With a thick hardcover book in her arm, Minju pushes the door open, ringing its bell.

Chaewon was busy tending to a customer but caught the brunette slipping into the back kitchen. She smiles at the lady. "I'll call you when it's ready." She tore the receipt off the machine.

Minju swiftly puts on the apron, tying the string around her waist. She looked up to see Chaewon approaching her while she tied her hair up into a bun.

"Slow down." The older girl could feel the rush from her actions.

Minju snickers. "If you treated me like the others, I probably wouldn't get paid." This isn't the first time she's late for her allocated shift.

Chaewon scoops ice into a plastic cup. "If I treated you like the others, I'm afraid I might get a lawsuit from the customers saying I'm pushing a med school student too far." She made her point, taking the jug off the blender filled with strawberry smoothie.

"They won't even know I'm one." Minju read the receipt stuck to the top of the coffee machine, doing up an order Chaewon hadn't done.

The older girl glanced at her. "You know, you can take a break." She worries about those eyebags that are appearing under the latter's eyes.

"This is my break," Minju insisted. "I'm almost done with my revision anyway. This is nothing."

"That's not what I mean."

"What do you mean then?" She packages the drink nicely, handing it to Chaewon who chucked two beverages into a plastic bag.

She called the customer and gave them their order, thanking them on their way out.

Chaewon slipped a hand into the apron pocket, shoulder shrugging. "Some time for yourself."

"I'm fine."

"Are you?" The older girl would prefer that Minju be truthful when it was just the two of them. "I want to think it's the lack of sleep and not something else." She clearly detected how strained Minju's eyes were.

For all she knows, this was the first heartbreak the brunette was going through. Minju just didn't want to realise it.

Before they could say another word, the chime of the bell disrupted their conversation. They both turned to see a familiar face.

Yujin gave her little smile which made Chaewon return an amused one as she headed to the cashier. "Odd to see you here in the evening." A midnight customer she'll always recognise.

Yujin glanced at Minju who was by the coffee machine. "Class ended early," she said. "Here's on the way back so..."

Chaewon turned to Minju who came to collect the receipt that was getting printed out for deliveries. The brunette goes to make the orders. Yujin was a little baffled, unsure why she expected a word from Minju.

"What can I get for you today?" Chaewon asks. "Iced Americano?" Not only was it a drink Yujin had ordered before, but it was the most common drink around.

Yujin saw that Minju was busy but nodded at Chaewon's question. "To go, please." She waits before tapping her card on the reader, receiving a receipt from Chaewon.

Yujin goes to the side, sitting on a chair by the counter. She fiddles with the receipt in her hand, a faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips as her eyes remained fixed on Minju

Minju moved with a graceful efficiency behind the counter. Her movements were practised, each action purposeful, whether she was pulling espresso shots or delicately crafting foam art on lattes. Yujin admired the way Minju's brow furrowed in concentration, her focus solely on creating each drink to perfection.

Yujin begins tearing the recipe into a square, creating folds by the edges. From time to time, she glances at the brunette while waiting with a mix of eagerness and patience.

Finally, as Minju carefully slid the completed drink onto the counter, their eyes met in a brief moment of connection. Yujin's heart skipped a beat as she felt a flush rise to her cheeks, and a shy smile curved on Minju's lips in return.

"What made you smile like that? Did something good happen?"

Yujin cradled the cold drink in her hands and tilted her head slightly. "You could say that."

"As if you didn't walk in with the weight of the world tied to your ankles the other day."

"That was nothing. You made it better." Only truth spilt from Yujin's lips as she stuck the straw into the cup.

Minju's eyes narrowed slightly, trying not to read too much into it. Chaewon returned with a tray of neatly prepared orders, placing them on the counter before shooting a knowing look at Minju and Yujin. "Seems like you two are having a moment," she teased, earning a playful roll of the eyes from Minju.

"We're just enjoying some friendly conversation," Minju replied, her gaze never leaving Yujin's. "Isn't that right?"

Yujin nodded, her fingers tightening around the cup. "Just some friendly conversation." She echoes her words, dimple-smiling.

"I wouldn't mind if it was a bit more," she whispers in a hushed tone before standing up, ready to leave when she notices more customers pouring in. "I'll get going first. Thank you for this." She lifted the coffee before heading to the door.

Chaewon gives a small wave and whispers, "Friendly conversation." She left the remark, earning a jab into the side of her body as she went to the cashier.

—

"You're seriously not going to consider her? I'm giving you a good chance to move on." Yuri says.

Minju lays her head on the pillow and scrolls her phone. She's over at Yuri's place today. The girl has her own room in the dormitories. They brought each other to their college lives, best friends since elementary.

Minju, in response, shifted her attention to her best friend. Her lips curved into a half-smile, a facade of nonchalance that veiled the currents swirling beneath. "I don't need another person to move on," she asserted, her voice steady despite the lingering traces of pain. "Just let me live quietly. I think I'm making a good decision to not date anyone at the moment."

Yuri's fingers grazed her forehead. "You'll live your life in misery," she warned softly, her worry for Minju's well-being etched into every word.

A dismissive chuckle escaped Minju's lips. "How's being single miserable? I'm totally fine now," she countered, her tone light, almost impervious to the concerns surrounding her.

Yuri's hand trailed down her face, a sign of her internal struggle to convey the depth of her feelings. "You say you're fine now and complain that you're painfully in need of attention," Yuri retorted, her voice carrying both frustration and care. "I'm not going to be here forever; I have my own things to settle."

"Ah," Minju remembers, lying on her side. "How's she?"

Yuri suddenly stops interrogating her when a certain girl pops into her mind. The nameless "she" hung between them, a mystery that held significance in Yuri's world. "She's sweet–you're not changing the topic here."

The brunette groans, getting caught. "I'm not going on that blind date." She declines, her stance unwavering despite the tide of Yuri's persistence. "It's a waste of time. I have many things to memorise and an exam at the end of the month. I don't have time to meet new people."

"Those are excuses."

"Great excuses," Minju claims.

As if summoning the last of her reserves, Yuri released a sigh of disappointment, her frame shifting as she sat up. "I already told her you'll be going."

Minju instantly sat up. "You did what?"

"I did what I had to do," Yuri affirmed, her eyes