The Coffee
A Magical Christmas Collection 2022
The snow fell heavily against her windshield. Her foot generously stepped on the gas petal, 10 miles per hour. Even with her glasses on, the road blurred. She glanced at her rearview mirror and exhaled a breath of frustration, a breath of relief, no one was behind. Her phone vibrated against the navigation holder. She steered the wheel right and pressed her emergency light.
“How dare you leave without me?” Minho’s voice roared. Her face crinkled. Damn the speaker. Minho was an earful, but he wasn’t hard to tame. Bring him along next time and he’d forget everything she’d done wrong.
“I headed out early. Didn’t think you could wake up that early.”
“Jang Seungah, what do you think of me? I ne…ver miss out on an adventure. No matter how….”
“Minho? Minho?” Seungah panicked, unsure if something happened to him or if signal was lost.
“What’s the place you’re going?”
Seungah breathed. “Nostalgia Farm.”
“What? I thought you said you’re going for coffee?”
“There is a café at the farm,” Seungah elaborated.
“There’s nothing. I can’t find anything called Nostalgia farm. Are you joking with me?” Minho snorted. “Come on Seungah, you already left me. I’m not going to get in the car and follow you.”
“What are you talking about?” Seungah sighed. Minho was being the extraordinary him. She screenshotted the name and address and messaged him.
“Happy?”
“Happy about what?”
“I sent you the name and address on my GPS.”
“I told you to quit it Seungah,” Minho pleaded. “You sent me a blank image.”
Seungah double checked the image. She lacked sleep, but it wasn’t blank. She removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. The location was still there. “Minho, I got to go. I still got a long drive.”
“You don’t believe me? I even search the farm on the internet and noth—”
Seungah ended the call. She opened her browser and searched the post “The Perfect Christmas Coffee”. She hissed under her breath at the bolded title on her screen. Minho must be taking revenge.
She returned her phone to the navigation holder and pulled onto the road. Her mind wondered. The post claimed the perfect Christmas coffee was at Nostalgia Café. The taste, ingredients, and everything else remained a mystery. There was a pen sketch of the author, but Seungah couldn’t visualize with its faded ink. The mysteries intrigued her, but what captured her was the last paragraph. It wrote: you can only arrive at the farm if you drive out on Christmas Day, alone.
“You will soon enter a place without signal. Please continue to follow the physical signs to arrive at your destination.”
Seungah swallowed a hard lump in . She slowed the car, just a few extra seconds with signal sounded pleasant. She definitely took technology for granted. Her GPS disconnected, no more bar. Her eyes returned to the street with a pair of eagle eyes. She approached the first sign. It directed her to turn left. The next one pointed right. And right. Then left. Then she lost count.
The road was deprived of lights. She was thankful there wasn’t a blizzard. She approached a narrow road on the cliff and cold sweats dotted her forehead. Was the cup of coffee and the mystery really worth her life? Her hand clenched onto the steering wheel, please let the café be just on the other side. If not, at least Minho knew where she went.
She circled the mountain twice and the road finally expanded. Her anxiety ended. The road continued with red carpet, a new world. In the near distance, Christmas lights wrapped around trees. A large wooden sign stood in between, Welcome To Nostalgia Farm.
She smiled and dared to step on the gas petal, the fastest she’d drove since this morning. Beautiful fluffy green garland wrapped the top of the gate. It stretched out far. Even out of her sight, the garland followed. The gate opened and she continued on the red carpet.
Everything was maintained well, even the snow fell at in synchronization. Seungah frowned, was it possible to keep the snow off just the carpet? Then the sound of bells pulled her focus to the road. A gentleman waved to her by the frozen water fountain. A 3-piece suit under the thick black trench coat and a pair of white gloves on his hands kept him warm.
Seungah grinned. Now, this was what she was talking about. Paradise. A place full of Christmas spirit. A magic land. Seungah parked at the building entrance and the gentleman opened her door.
“Welcome to Nostalgia Farm,” he bowed with an arm crossed his stomach and one extended.
Seungah smiled and stepped out of the car.
“I will take care of the car for you,” he said and opened his palm for her keys.
Seungah followed his direction to the café. She strolled through the cemented walkway surrounded with bushes on the two sides. Even the bushes were covered in Christmas lights. She turned back and gazed at the huge Christmas tree in the middle between the café and the gate entrance. The lighted Santa on his sled with reindeers looking back at him was adorable, she couldn’t help but squirm warmly. Just one day she would have a place with that much land, where she could place such decorations.
Seungah felt like she went back in historic time. The huge wooden double door automatically opened. The smell of pumpkin and cinnamon filled her nose. Her jaw dropped at the golden two-story high Christmas tree wrapped in golden bells, strings, and ornaments. She pulled out her phone. Minho’d be jealous. Then the sound of expresso grinding echoed. Her eyes found a tall barista behind the bar station to the right of the Christmas tree. His 3-piece suit was finer than the valet attendant. The black waist apron didn’t tarnish his appearance. The rich bitter smell of the expresso swayed in the air. The gurgle sound of steamed milk lured her over. His features became clearer and clearer with each step. He was the author of the post, Leo.
His hair parted and covered his forehead. His dark and sharp eyes, his prominent nose, his small but thick lips, to his defined jawline. Her eyes observed his every features. The real person was ten times better than the faded ink.
“Hey,” she beamed. Her body lightly rested on the edge of the counter. “I heard this is the best Christmas Coffee. This place was quite hard to find. Dangerous too. But it’s beautiful. It was worth the trouble.”
He looked up from his task at hand and smiled.
A flush of pink crawled onto her cheeks and she continued, “Working on Christmas? By yourself?” Seungah scanned the place. The café was empty. Even the outside was empty.
“Well, that makes it two then. I came by myself to visit this place. I came alone because it said to—”
That smile with white teeth made her words caught in . He hadn’t said a word. So, she waited.
“This is what you came for right?” He pushed the cup to her. It glided smoothly against the marble. Her jaw dropped against at the Christmas tree with Merry Christmas written in red and green colors. Golden dots decorated the white tree. She was a dripped coffee person, so she seldom witnessed beautiful latte art. Such beauty couldn’t go to waste. She pulled out her phone.
“It’s best to drink it warm,” he asserted.
Seungah shoved the phone back into her pocket and picked up the mug. She admired the artwork as she brought it up. The warm coffee touched her lips and seeped into . It allowed her body to relax. The hint of sweetness and bitterness danced in , an earthy taste.
“You’re my first customer,” he confessed.
Seungah set the cup down, the coffee settled sourly in her stomach.
“You’re the first one to ever try my drink. The first one to ever arrive at this place. You’re quite fascinating.” He grinned.
Seungah didn’t like the way her heart raced. His grinned was attractive, but what he said frightened her. “I read many articles about this place. About your coffee. There were many reviews too.”
Seungah pulled out her phone, but there was no signal. “Do you have wifi here? I can show you all the articles I read about you. About the coffee.”
His grin disappeared. “There is no such thing as a phone, service, internet, or wifi here.”
Her gaze focused on him. What place on earth didn’t have such an everyday necessity? Wait, did he smile? Or did she imagine he smiled? Her vision blurred. He was near but distorted. Then her vision out.
The valet attendant rushed forward and Seungah fell onto him. “Boss, what are we going to do with her?”
Leo took off his apron and threw it on the counter. He loosened the top two buttons on his collar shirt and growled. “Whatever you want. She’s no longer needed.” He left through the large stairwell covered in jewel on the opposite end.
It stopped snowing for the first time in a hundred years, but why…nothing had changed.
The warm showered didn’t clear his head, but it at least removed the stench of coffee. He secured the robe, took the hair towel off the rack, and exited the bathroom. The steam escaped the bathroom and followed him.
Leo was confused. He satisfied her, didn’t he? He gave her what she wanted, needed, so why was he still there? A soft snore in the corner made him jumped. The towel slid from his grip and crumbled on the floor. He made his bed this morning, so why was it clumped to one side? Leo proceeded with careful steps. The light snoring became more audible. The girl from earlier lied on his bed. Her head peeked out from the blanket. How would she like it if someone slept in her bed? His hand aimed for the blanket, but he stopped at her smile. She was probably having a dream she could only receive at his place. Still he disliked the fact, he hesitated.This couldn’t be. Leo snapped his fingers and Seungah’s eyes fluttered opened.
“Oh…” Seungah choked and cleared . His hair was damped. Droplets threatened to fall from a few strands and her eyes followed the ones that landed his collarbones, on his opened chest. Her eyes traveled further south, and it grew wider each centimeter. His dark gaze attempted to swallow her alive, but she didn’t sense any fear. She felt challenged and excited. Leo suddenly walked away. Her neck stretched until he disappeared into the bathroom then ran to the mirror by the dresser and combed her hair with her fingers and checked for any trace of drool and eye mucus.
The door opened. Her swift turned flung her wrist and hit it the edge of the dresser. She clenched her teeth suppressing the tingling pain crawling up her arm. He came out with only a trouser on. He possessed long legs and defined abs. Her lips puckered shyly, but her eyes begged to differ. Leo held a smirk. No human could compare to him. That was a fact. He lived longer than anyone. He passed the towel he dropped earlier and swung his hand behind his back. The hair towel flew to his grip.
“I’ll give you a chance to be near me.” Leo held out the towel. “Dry my hair.”
“Why don’t you use a hairdryer?” Seungah asked.
Leo closed his eyes. He wasn’t in the mood to entertain human and threw the towel to her. Seungah caught it in her hand, a surge of anger building from her stomach. No one had been that fierce with her. She hurried over. At the snapped of his fingers, she tripped on her feet landing face down on the bed. Seungah quickly flipped around in time for Leo to hover above. He lowered until she supported herself with her elbows.
The warmth of his skin transferred to her. Droplets still dripping from his hair. One dropped onto her cheek, and she flinched. The coolness of the droplet burned against her skin. Then came a second and a third drop. It pooled and slowly dripped down her neck. It made her inside fluttered in a foreign way. His breath was against her cheeks. She steadied her breath. Was that how it felt to have an attractive guy so close? She felt deprived of air, but so alive. The next droplet of water tickled her skin and she pushed herself upward. Her lips crashed against his and everything paused. Then dust clouded her vision.
Seungah opened her eyes. She patted the wet drops on her cheeks to her neck. Did she cry in her sleep? She sat upward and an image of Leo flashed across her eyes. His image was vivid, but she didn’t recall ever seeing him in her everyday life.
Ding Dong Ding Dong Ding Dong
Seungah sighed. No one rang her doorbell in such an impatience way like Minho.
“What took you so long?” Minho complained and invited himself in. “How was your trip?”
Trip. Right. The trip was real. Leo was real. She wasn’t dreaming. She touched her lips. That was the last thing she felt before she woke up in her bed. Seungah checked her huge clock on the wall. 8 P.M. Christmas did not end yet. She shook her head and tried to recall how she returned home.
“Guess what? I finally found that café you were talking about.” Minho propped himself on her couch. “I didn’t get why you had to go so far when there was one in town.”
Seungah jumped next to him. “What do you mean there’s one in town?”
That wasn’t what she case when she’d researched. She snatched his phone and searched up the perfect Christmas coffee. Nostalgia Café popped up. Just two miles away. Close at midnight. She stared at Minho with wide eyes.
“We’re going, aren’t we?” He asked matching his eyes with hers.
Seungah was thankful Minho drove so she could relax. It allowed her to think about her insane trip if it actually happened. The article stated the cafe was far away, so how could there be one in the city? Nothing was connecting for her, but she remembered this peculiar feeling.
“You know I went there for the coffee, but when I got there, he was way more…” Seungah stopped and thought about what she was about to share. “…when I saw him, it was like something took over. I didn’t want the coffee anymore. But maybe…him.” Seungah whispered the last word. It made her sound desperate.
Minho laughed. “Too lonely, Seungah. Depleted.”
Seungah knew it was the wrong idea to bring Minho along.
Nostalgia Café. The letters were cleared and illuminated. People queued inside even at the late hours. The place was real.
“Go,” Minho pushed her inside.
Seungah entered the café. She walked pass the lobby and to where the line began, to where she saw the person behind the expresso machine. Her breath caught midway. Leo stood there. In the same apron but a simple black t-shirt with Nostalgia Café printed. It fitted him perfectly.
“Minho,” she called, but it came out a whispered. She panicked, hopefully, she wouldn’t hyperventilate. Minho popped by her side. She asked without taking her eyes off Leo, “Is everything real? Can you touch everything?”
Minho rolled his eyes. “I’m real. You’re real. This is real. Or you’re saying I’m fake?”
That was sassy Minho, so this had to be real. Seungah glanced over at Leo. And this time he looked up and locked his eyes with hers, with the same smile when he first looked at her. Everyone around them disappeared. He mouthed, “Merry Christmas.”
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