"Did you receive a love poem or something?" 

Taeyeon almost burned herself as she side-stepped to avoid colliding with the overly interested Sunny. 

Her friend was more amused by her clumsiness and seemed to hold in her laughter.

Taeyeon couldn't help but think of it anyway.

No, in fact, my grade point average has dropped quite a lot this semester. I would offer you my research papers but I'd assume you are seeing to ia Woolf, I did someone quite different. -T. Hwang

"Earth to Taeng."

"What?" Taeyeon grumbled in response as she ducked down over the counter, retrieving more teaspoons from the cupboard below. Her mind drifted back briefly to Tiffany's response, then to hers.

Darn it (should've chosen your person instead). Did you know ia Woolf had a small affair with Vita Sackville-West? It's quite weird to be reading something as personal as letters to another person she cared about, almost as if I'm intruding on their privacy. That makes me wonder of all the little details that could have been lost in history. Vita writes to ia:

              "I composed a beautiful letter to you in the sleepless nightmare hours of the night, and it has all gone: I just miss you, in a quite simple desperate human way."

And I see such honesty there, a greater and possibly deeper relationship we know nothing of. As I sat, almost hungrily devouring their letters and their words (their letters were almost poetic) I could see the development of the relationship and soon, the gradual ebbing of it. Funny how something so close to their hearts is openly on display now, for all the curious to see. 

The cafe was relatively quiet for a Saturday afternoon, the customers consisting of mainly college students (who came trickling in a little after lunch) and well, a mixture of hipsters, to-be-authors who occupied a certain corner furiously typing away on their sleek macs and to-be-musicians who sat in their little corner composing future hits. It wasn't all that surprising the crowd the cafe attracted, considering the little establishment was tucked in a creative little alley with insane graffiti from various artists, blanketed by other little establishments that played house music and indie pop. 

Sunny smiled brightly at a bearded customer and passed him his paper cup house coffee and saw him off with a little wave.

"I mean this is the second latte you've screwed up." Sunny explained as soon as the customer left, watching as Taeyeon begrudgingly took out another ceramic cup and began the process again. "If I was manager I would've booted you already." 

Taeyeon grumbled. "There's a lot to think about."

Her friend didn't seem overly convinced in her words, instead, took a teatowel and began drying the wet cups.

Taeyeon took her silence as a means to look around the cafe once more. There were currently seven or so people. Jongin, their manager, was right that he predicted that today would be another slow day-- it wasn't unexpected, seeing as a range of festivities were being held this week (a good few streets down) where most of the people were attending, music festivals, food festivals, makeshift carnivals.

"And what's up with you creeping about the library these days?" Sunny's voice interrupted Taeyeon's thoughts. "You thought I wouldn't realize? Heck, you smell like books, gross."

She shrugged, eyes still fixed on the ornamental stag head Jongin treasured. "Research. And partly because their wi-fi seems to be functioning 24/7."

"Why'd you need all that internet?"

"Housing."

"You're moving?" Sunny's tone was a mixture of amusement and disbelief. "Why'd you ever want to leave a dorm?"

Taeyeon snorted and briefly recalled all the nights she'd lost sleep due to rowdy roommates. The guys three dorms down who blasted bad music, the two girls two doors down who seemed to have a guy over every other night, the guys who were in some frat and partied six nights a week, the gamers who mashed keys and didn't have the courtesy to use headphones, the helpless kids who left their expired food for too long and stank up the whole dorm (causing it to smell like death for two weeks) and the one idiot who thought smuggling in an exotic snake was a good idea (soon everyone discovered it was a very bad one, seeing as the giant reptile almost gave a girl a heart attack and her screams carried all across campus and woke every hardworking college kid up- Taeyeon included)...

"Don't get me started on that." Taeyeon groaned and rubbed her eyes. Her hands were warm and smelled of freshly ground coffee beans. "Campus housing is expensive as hell and my GPA is dropping, I think that scholarship they offered is going to be over my head, my dormmates , my RAs want my head, I quit that stupid dry cleaning job because my manager was an absolute and can you believe it? She put me on for seventeen hours oh-"

Taeyeon's complaint session was readily cut off by the sound of the light chime of the bell, indicating the arrival of a customer.
Sunny pushed in front of Taeyeon, a smug smirk present as she whispered. "Maybe you should let me handle this, considering you can't even get a latte down, dear barista."

She playfully squashed the shorter girl against the counter before retreating to drying cups.

"What can I get you today?"

As Taeyeon dried the last cup she looked up. A new face, which was not uncommon, but still, a little bit rare. The girl had creamy skin, flawless, Taeyeon decided, which made her feel slightly self-conscious about her own acne scars. She had shoulder length hair, bangs that brought out the gentle yet fitting features of her face and eyes that easily captured anyone's attention. She was quite plain, not particularly handsome, not at all.

"A house special then." she said, a polite smile already gracing her features.

She was dressed casually, a printed tee and a long cardigan followed by jeans-- yet they suited her.

Sunny nodded and as she turned Jongin's voice drifted to the counter from the kitchen.

"Sunny!"

"Kim, can you go help him out?" Sunny was already picking up the papercups, seeing as the girl was about to take the coffee on the go. "Seeing as I am far more competent than you are."

Taeyeon snorted. She just screwed up one latte. It wasn't a big deal. They screw up lattes all the time. As she spun quickly to move to the kitchen, she slipped on a pool of liquid from Sunny's failed iced mocha attempt earlier, sending her body half crashing into the wooden walls.

Her friend winced. "Oh crap, I forgot about the spill."

"Yeah, right, safe working environment." Taeyeon muttered under her breath.

The new girl chuckled lightly, a hand politely over , as much as she struggled to hide her amusement, the mirth was as clear as day in her eyes-- Taeyeon noted, a calming brown which softened all her features when she smiled, and when she did oh her eyes became lovely crescents, a waning moon they reminded Taeyeon of, illuminating a summer night with a gentle glow.

She was quite beautiful and Taeyeon wondered why she didn't see it before.

She must've stared for Sunny coughed rather loudly to get her attention.

Embarrassed, Taeyeon quickly dropped her gaze.

She slipped into the kitchen without another word.

She could've sworn that the girl was blushing too.

When Taeyeon returned from Jongin's simple task of taking the cookies from the oven and placing a fresh batch in, he offered her a few and she graciously accepted, she found that Sunny and the new girl were talking quite comfortably. Sometimes Taeyeon envied how easily Sunny could banter (with just about anybody), and it made Taeyeon wonder why Sunny couldn't had become an actress, seeing as she had incredible chemistry with almost anything with eyes.

"You are such a bookworm." Sunny teased. Taeyeon assumed she was referring to the girl's paperback copy of Oscar Wilde's A Picture of Dorian Gray. "Ebooks are my thing."

"No!" The girl gasped in mock disgust, hands coming to her chest. "Don't you dare compare my magnificent paper book to something as ridiculous as an Ebook. That is not a book."

"I concur."

Sunny twisted the portafilter in and Taeyeon listened to the machine rumble to work. "That's not fair. You two are super old school. C'mon, catch up with this generation."

"No." Taeyeon grunted and imitated a typical old person's voice. "I'm going to read a newspaper, read a book, buy CDs..."

"And insist that my date call me instead of text me, buy me roses and serenade me on a tree whilst I gaze out the balcony." The new girl played along effortlessly and Taeyeon found herself laughing along with Sunny. When the espresso finally finished dropping, Sunny hopped over to fill the milk.

"What's wrong to romantacize a bit?"

"That is quite romantic, isn't it?" The new girl agreed gently with Taeyeon, a little sigh parting from her lips. "Or maybe cuddling on the grass in summer, with a sky full of stars."

Taeyeon smiled. She could almost see it, the picture. Smell summer, hear summer, taste summer. Oh how she longed for the cooler months to pass!

"Ah jeez, you two are made for each other. I'd just be glad if a guy brought me out to pizza."

Taeyeon pulled Sunny's hand down lower as the machine made an awful squelch noise, she'd held the milk way too high. A part of Taeyeon felt a bit sad that she wasn't making the coffee and having a banter session with a friendly girl. Yet, she had to agree, that Sunny was quite good at whatever she did. Instead of admiring her friend's good coffee making skills, she turned to the girl, (who was also oddly glancing at her).

"Would you like anything else with your coffee?" Taeyeon asked.

Sunny beckoned for the girl to come close, and she played along. "I wouldn't trust her if I were you."

"Why not?"

"She received a declaration of love and now she's a bit crazy. She can't even make a latte and that's a crime."

Taeyeon rolled her eyes dramatically. "I can't screw up a cake that's already made."

Sunny drew up her hands in surrender and the girl chuckled.

"A vanilla slice then."

"Good choice." Sunny agreed, already screwing the lid onto the top of the cup.

"I make good choices."

"Do you live on campus?"

"No, I live a few streets off, actually. Why?"

The barista handed her an extra serviette."Never seen your face around before. Have you seen any good housing advertisements lately either? This one-" Sunny gestured to Taeyeon- "Is looking for some place to live. Requirements are dead silence, boring, good wi-fi and cheap. She doesn't get along with anyone."

"I have standards, okay?" Taeyeon grunted, carefully placing the vanilla slice in a brown paper bag. This was handed to Sunny, then passed onto the new girl. She took hold of it steadily and bit her lip.

"Actually," she began, "My dorm is actually looking for someone. We're not that expensive, the internet is great, the people are respectful, it's a ten minute walk..."

"That sounds good." Sunny chirped in before Taeyeon could get a word. The bubbly barista frowned when she saw the time. She had a last minute lecture and quickly bid farewell to Jongin, Taeyeon, then the new girl, before she hurried out herself still fully dressed in uniform.

The two of them watched Sunny's hasty exit.

The girl smiled again and Taeyeon could confirm she melted a bit. She was fiddling now, with her pearl necklace, her voice shyer. "The rooms aren't particulraly big but they're very cosy. You might have to room with one of us... But if you don't want to I'm sure something else can be arranged so-!"

Taeyeon couldn't resist a laugh to her onslaught of information. "I'm fine with that." Taeyeon said.

Her heart must've fluttered when the girl's relief donned on her features.

Taeyeon found herself staring. The girl returned the gaze with a smile. This continued until the bell chime, which snapped them out of their awkward exchange. A customer. Taeyeon inwardly groaned.

"I should probably give you a number-- oh, here." The girl reached for a serviette and scribbled the numbers. "You can call me when you have time, the manager is always home, so I can give you directions and um, we could see how it turns out..."

"Thanks, really." Taeyeon meant all the things she said. "Enjoy your coffee."

Taeyeon watched as the girl dipped her head lightly. Just as she was about to walk out the door, Taeyeon mentally scolded herself for not even introducing who she was or what she did or even her name.

"Oh and- I'm Taeyeon." she called out across, just as the door opened, and the bell chimed a little like a distant whisper.

She came back, rushed, slightly embarassed herself and reached out a hand, the other carrying both the bag with the vanilla slice and her papercup of house coffee. Through her fast movement, she brought along a gentle gust of air, scented of lavenders.

Her hands were warm and supple. Their hands fit well together. For a second Taeyeon wanted to take her dancing. 

She had a peculiar thing in her eyes that glinted and twirled, reminding Taeyeon of some foreign galaxy light years away.

"Miyoung."

Her voice was a melody.

Before Taeyeon could register, she heard the bell chime again.

She was gone.

Taeyeon was left with a new customer demanding a soy latte.

A/N: Not beta'd. All mistakes mine. This was done in half a day. I'm very guilty of not writing when I could be.