Lee Yunji’s POV

Typically widespread grey stone lined the exterior walls, interrupted by large bay windows with frosted glass. That frosted glass was generously decorated with petite round circles that had been hand painted to resemble soft tapioca pearls, personified with adorable eyes and small smiles. A glass door with a curved brass handle coaxed passers-by to become acquainted with its cool metal feel, while a strawberry pink sign above read Black Pearls in simple black print. The establishment sat on the corner of an ordinary block belonging to the busy CBD of Seoul, South Korea. It wasn’t a striking place nor did it have an abundance of customers flooding in with every waking hour- but that wasn’t too say that no one visited the place. Black Pearls the bubble tea café was completely and utterly normal- my café was completely and utterly normal.

I hummed to myself the last song I heard before I left my apartment this morning, What is Love. The tune undeniably catchy and refusing to leave my mind at rest like chewed up gum on the soles of shoes. The tapioca pearls on the walls continued on with their daily lives, acting cute and playing together, as I prepared for another day behind the counter. They were colourful unlike the pearls on the glass outside, a rainbow of different pearls, sporting several expressions, acting out numerous cartoon-like scenes. They brought life to the otherwise plain white walls and were unique to my café alone. Not a single squeak was heard from the cushioned seats of the three white booths the café housed and no chairs screeched against the black lino floor from the matching white tables scattered around the room.

“I lost my mind. Noreul choeummannasseultte” I sang to myself while warming up the last of the machines. The clock ticked away contently, counting down to the beginning of business hours.

Some people may have felt lonely, working alone. But I wasn’t one of those people. Some people hated their jobs and would begrudgingly get out of bed. I wasn’t one of those people either but too be fair, I did have difficulty parting ways with my bed in the morning- but then again, who didn’t? I was strange, that’s what my friends told me, because I wasn’t one of those people. But I loved my job so how could I act like that? There was no reason for it. I loved bubble tea and I loved serving it to others. With or without pearls, with or without milk, strawberry or chocolate, it didn’t matter.

My phone started ringing.

“Yeoboseyo?” I answered. The phone pressed up against my ear while I straightened out the pile of hand out menus I kept on the counter for people who intended to become regular customers.

“Yah! Lee Yunji! Do you have my work blazer? You know, the one that hugs my chest really well?” Sora yelled over the phone.

A knowing smile played on my lips, “No I don’t have it. Why? Did you lose it again Unnie?”

“Why does this keep on happening to me?” A distressed Sora groaned, “Yes I’ve lost it again.”

“When did you last wear it?”

A sigh was heard, “I don’t know.”

I rolled my eyes and peered into the glass case holding small savouries and deserts, “Unnie, I haven’t seen you in days. What makes you think I have it?”

A long silence was what I was met with, followed by a distorted slur of curses.

“Mianhe Yunji-ah, I’m not really thinking straight this morning.” Sora said. “You wouldn’t happen to have any idea where I might have left it do you?”

It only took me a second to come up with a list of possibilities. Sora was very forgetful and it was a wonder she did well as an executive in her father’s company.

“Were you with Gunwoo- sunbae last night?” I bluntly asked.

“Oppa? Yeah I was and then,” She paused.

“And then?” I expectantly popped, though I already knew what she would tell me.

It was as if I could hear her cheeks turning sizzling red over the phone, “And then I stayed the night at Oppa’s place.”

I giggled and shook my head while Sora complained about me teasing her. It was funny how flustered she got about that kind of thing and I could never resist the temptation to get a reaction out of her. None of our friends could.

“Mystery solved then?” I bit my lip.

Sora let out an awkward cough, “Yes. Um, thank you Yunji-ah. You always help me locate my stuff…I will try to be less forgetful in the future.”

“No problem Unnie,” I grinned.

“Well…um, I’ll talk to you later I guess. Byebye.”

“Byebye.”

I placed my phone down on the pink counter top and walked across the room to unlock the front door and flip the sign to open.

I met Sora when I was 19. She was 21 and in her third year of studying at SNU. She walked into this very café, and spent half an hour deciding what to order. I was lucky that she chose to come during the stores quietest time- before lunch. If she had come during the afternoon, I would have lost a lot of business. Sora ended up ordering a large peach milk tea with pearls and to my horror, finished the whole beverage within a mere 5 minutes. She claimed it was the best bubble tea she had ever had and from there our friendship started. She would come either in the morning or near closing time, order something to drink and then keep me company for a while. Eventually we started hanging out when I wasn’t working and before I knew it, she had introduced me to her circle of friends- which soon enough turned into our circle of friends.

Hyejin, Jieun, Minsuh, Sora were my new best friends. Hyejin was studying to become an architect, Jieun was an apprentice chef at a traditional Korean restaurant, Minsuh was an aspiring novelist and Sora was in the middle of completing her bachelor of commerce. I had just opened up my café too, so we were all just beginning to really live. Everyone was Sora’s age but Jieun, who was smack right in the middle at age 20. We bonded over anything and everything. My high school friends had all gone overseas to study and had left me behind, so it was a miracle that I met Sora and the girls. 4 years went by quickly.

The sound of the door opening brought me back to the present.

“Welcome to Black Pearls”.

Writer's Notes:

Hey Everyone! 

It's been a while...
I was originally planning to start THE HUNTRESS, but then I had this idea during my Winter break and it has consumed my mind- so I just needed to start it. The chapters for this story may start out short, but they probably will get longer. Kris is my ultimate bias so I really will enjoy writing this. 
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exoexo,
HEARTACHES <3