Hana watched silently as Seungyoon played every note of her song’s chorus from memory. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt at that moment, but her hands went clammy and hung ajar. Those were signs of surprise, she told herself, but how can she explain the fact that she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him? He’s playing your song. You’re flattered, Hana. That’s it.

Seungyoon pursed his lips as he concentrated, a habit Hana noticed the first time she saw him play the guitar. It always fascinated her how whenever she watched musicians, she can catch the tiniest of details in their performance. For instance, how Seungyoon likes to bob his head whenever he gets into a more rhythmic riff, and how his adlibs are always spontaneous. This time, she realized how long and dainty his fingers were as they grazed over the piano keys.

“How does it go again?” Seungyoon glanced up at her momentarily, snapping her from her stupor. She didn’t like the way he unnerved her somehow.

“Hmm?” She squeaked.

“The lyrics,” he clarified.

“Oh,” Hana fiddled with the envelope in her hand, listening carefully to the notes. “Uhh… this part? Uhh. I’d do anything to feel nothing at all…” she scrunched her nose at the cringe-worthy line. It never particularly bothered her before but as she was saying it in front of Seungyoon, she had a tremendous urge to disown the entire song. “Ugh, it’s embarrassing,” she muttered.

Seungyoon continued to play, but Hana noticed how his shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. “They’re good lyrics,” he shot her an amused look. “Cheesy, but most love songs are anyway.”

Hana averted her eyes, still not accustomed to this rather tame side of Seungyoon, and tried to repress a smile. The piano-playing went on, with Hana standing a few feet away, resisting the impulse to sing along. The atmosphere was still kind of awkward, which begged the question of why she was still there, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave just yet. And oddly, it seemed Seungyoon was okay with her presence. He sort of stopped her from leaving, didn’t he?

When the music ceased, Hana looked up to see Seungyoon had shifted his sitting position to face her.

“Don’t let them get to you,” he said.

There was something earnest in the way Seungyoon spoke, but it was only momentary. It disappeared as soon as he stood up from the stool and walked to the fridge as though he didn’t say anything at all.

It took a while for Hana to process what Seungyoon was talking about. She wanted to tell him that the students’ cruelty wasn’t getting to her at all, but that would be a lie. As much as she made a conscious effort to ignore them, sometimes, it was just difficult to brush away nasty comments. But she genuinely thought she was holding up pretty well, since there weren’t any meltdowns or punches launched yet.

She decided to stay quiet. It wasn’t like Seungyoon was ever going to understand her situation, nor would he bother trying to. At least, she was appreciative of the gesture. It still baffled her why Seungyoon went on a limb to tell her this, but she’d like to believe that they bonded in a strange way. Over music, she added as an afterthought.

“You should probably go,” he said after taking a sip from a bottle of water. “The guys will be here in a bit. And you’re still not allowed in this room.”

And just like that, he was back to cold Seungyoon. Hana let loose a scoff. “Says the guy who dragged me here.”

“If the music majors saw us talking in the hallway, it’s really the end for you.”

“No one told you to talk to me,” she huffed under her breath and marched to the door. Seungyoon didn’t seem to have heard her comment since he didn’t say anything and turned his attention to the piano again, playing the melody from earlier.

Before Hana could go out, she turned to look at Seungyoon one last time, whose back was faced towards her. She mouthed the lyrics of her song quietly as the sides of her lips twitched up. Cheesy, but most love songs are anyway.

It wasn’t much later, as she was walking back to her classroom, that she realized Seungyoon was the only person other than her Father to play her song.

12 – Yes, 5 – No.

Hana flipped the coin lifelessly for what seemed like the nth time and missed the catch. The coin spun like a top before landing on heads on top of the coffee bar. Plopping her chin on her palm, she stared at the silver crane and noticed for the first time in eighteen years that she’s seen the 500-won coin how the bird was weirdly-shaped.

13 – Yes, 5 – No.

“Uhm. What are you doing?”

Hana heaved a sigh and kept her eyes on the coin. Not even Yixing’s pretty face was going to lift her mood. “Entrusting my future to fate,” she said flatly.

“Huh?” The boy leaned on the bar and gave Hana one of his famous ‘I-don’t-know-what-you’re-talking-about’ looks that could make him get away with almost anything. One time, he accidentally ruined Ha Neul’s precious beans when he was playing with the coffee roaster machine. Ha Neul was about to flip out but Yixing pulled that exact, same face on him, and Ha Neul melted like a five-year-old girl who found a stray puppy on the sidewalk.

Hana pointed to the coin. “I can’t make a decision about something so I’m letting this thing decide for me,” she explained. “You know. Fate. Heads means yes, tails means no.”

Yixing scratched his head, still confused. “But you’ve been tossing that coin over and over.”

“Ahh, well…” she turned to him sheepishly. “I didn’t like fate’s answer so I thought maybe it might like to change its mind.”

“I’m almost sure that’s not how fate works.”

Hana groaned and flicked the coin off the bar top angrily as though she was punishing it, but Yixing was quick to catch it in a cool swoop of his hand. He looked down at the poor, abused coin then regarded Hana curiously. “If you have a problem, why don’t you ask a human being for advice like normal people do?”

“Because,” she paused in uncertainty. It wasn’t like she can just tell people about her current predicament. It had only been six hours since YG handed her the document along with an offer that could change her life forever and yet it still felt unreal. Yixing would probably suggest she talk to a shrink if she told him that the President of YG Entertainment personally asked her to join his elite bunch of trainees, because she certainly would.

She wasn’t going to see her Grandmother until after work, so that left her having to deal with the situation by herself. She knew that flipping a coin was possibly the stupidest idea ever, but it was better than nothing.

“Because…?” Yixing tilted his head, still waiting for her answer.

“It’s complicated.”

“And yet you’re willing to consult a coin?”

Hana noted the teasing hint in his voice and hit his shoulder with a fist, earning a chuckle from the dimpled-boy. “Will you give me good advice if I ask you?”

Yixing smirked. “Hana, I’m Chinese. My ancestors practically invented wisdom.”

Hana snorted a dry laugh. “This coming from the boy who forgets the name of his own workplace,” she shook her head and looked down the bar. She grabbed a mug and took it out to show Yixing.

“So here’s the thing. I used to love coffee. But then I found out that coffee ruined something important, so I decided to never drink cofeee again. But for some reason, coffee just keeps popping out of nowhere. To top it all off, there’s this really, really good cup of coffee teasing me to drink it. Everybody else wants to drink that cup, but the cup says only I get to drink. And you have to understand, it’s a HUGE honor. But as you can see, I can’t drink it.”

Yixing creased his brows and looked at her with a concerned expression. “Hana. You shouldn’t have taken this job if coffee makes you feel this conflicted.”

“Aish. Ya, that’s not what I—“

The boy’s laughter rang through the café. “I know, I know. I was just teasing.”

Hana pouted, but Yixing took the mug from her. “You said you used to love coffee, right? Do you still love it?”

Hana bit her lip and nodded, seeing no reason to lie. She grew up surrounded by music. For the longest time, it was her passion, her friend, her only outlet. She knew she wasn’t going to stop loving music anytime soon.

“Then I don’t see the problem. Drink the damn coffee,” he shrugged, putting the mug down firmly in front of her. He flipped the coin in his other hand and smiled. “Easy, peasy!”

She rolled her eyes and huffed. Of course it wasn’t as simple as that, but Yixing wouldn’t know. “Never mind,” she dismissed haughtily, attempting to grab the coin from his hand. Yixing put up a bit of a fight, but she growled and he loosened his grip. “This is why I’d rather ask the coin.”

“Rén fúhé tā xūyào bìmiǎn tā de dàolù shàng tā de mìngyùn,” Yixing spoke.

“YA Zhang Yixing, did you just curse at me in Chinese?”

“One meets his destiny often in the road he takes to avoid it,” he said calmly, pushing the mug closer to her. “It’s a Chinese proverb. It looks like the more you avoid this thing, the more it makes its presence felt. Don’t you think that’s telling you something?”

Hana considered his words and wondered if the universe was really trying to make a point. And if it did, way to go sending her some Chinese boy to make it sound even more compelling. She was about to reply when she felt something hit her head.

“YA! I’m not paying you two to goof around,” Ha Neul exclaimed, holding rolled up paper that Hana guessed was what he used to hit the two of them. “I was gone for a few days and people act like there’s no more boss here.”

Yixing rubbed his head and frowned. “But there are no new customers, boss.”

“Maybe that’s because they heard that this Cafe’s waiters like chatting more than serving them,” he answered, hitting Yixing one more time. Hana laughed and stood up from the stool to find something to do before Ha Neul really loses it. Yixing backed away too, but before Hana could leave, Ha Neul stopped her.

“Hey, I heard about Music Night. How come you didn’t tell us you could sing?” He crossed his arms and grinned.

Hana grumbled. “I thought I told Gikwang sunbae not to tell you about that.”

“He didn’t,” Ha Neul replied. “Seungyoon did.”

“Oh.” He did? What did he say?

“He said you were good,” Ha Neul continued, as though he heard the questions in her head. “And coming from him, I can assure you that’s already a huge compliment.”

Hana fought a blush threatening to tint her cheeks and cleared . “He was probably just being nice.”

“Oh no, he wasn’t. He even said he wished