coffee shop; 598 words

He sees her at that coffee shop the first time and falls in love instantly

The drizzling rain is pouring onto the city of Seoul when Woohyun gets out of the subway, heading to the only place he ever wants to be at right now. The coffee shop. It has a name but Woohyun doesn’t really know how to pronounce the words. They sound French or Spanish, he isn’t so sure. He doesn’t go there for the coffee either. He still prefers his own creation of three spoons of Mexican black coffee and one pack of creamer he buys from the shop 2 levels below his apartment.

“A pure perfection.” He will tell his roommate every morning and Myungsoo will pour it into the sink every time.

No, the only reason he troubles himself going on fifteen minutes bus ride, approximately 200 foot walk across the park and twenty minutes on the subway is because of the girl.

The girl he first saw on Christmas day last year. At this very own coffee shop.

She is wearing a white chiffon blouse tucked in a knee length pencil skirt with a pair of pink open-toe wedges, her favourite colour (he assumes because she also owns a pink sling bag, a pink sundress and even a glittery pair of pink loops). Her friends are laughing at something she says (“A sense of humour!” he adds to the list of everything he knows about her which is already at number twelve) and they walk in, taking their seats on their favourite spot, at the patio.

Which is exactly opposite to where Woohyun is sitting right now. He takes out his Hemingway novel (he stills at page seven though he bring the book with him every time) and pretends to read while stealing glances at her perfect smile, her cherry flushed cheeks or her beautiful pair of eyes.

He watched somewhere that a girl takes 8.3 seconds to decide whether she wants to see the guy again or not. Sometimes, he narrates a scenario on how their first 8.3 seconds will be.

Scenario one, she looks over her shoulder, catches his eyes and falls in love with him just like how he falls in love with her.

Scenario two, he walks over her table and coolly offers to pay for her drinks.

Scenario three, it is snowing and he grabs her into his arms and declare his profound love.

None of them happens (obviously) because he doesn’t even know her name. She probably has a boyfriend, he once thought. 

Exactly thirty minutes after, her friends leave and she is alone, sipping her pink frappe (another proof shows that she likes pink). From the corner of his eyes, he sees her gets up, grabbing her bag and walks directly towards him. He refuses to believe but she is now standing in front of him, flashing that sweet smile.

“Hi.” She greets, the smile is still on her face.

Woohyun can hear his own heartbeat as he says, “Hey.”

“You still haven’t finish that book?” She gestures to the book in his hands.

He shakes his head but deep down, his stomach is churning.

“Maybe,” she tilts her head, “once you finish with the book, you can tell me how it ends. You know, over coffee.”

“Y-yeah, sure.” He answers, almost convinced he sounds like a quacking duck right now.

“I’ll see you around, Hemingway.” She giggles and walks away.

Woohyun blinks, torn between slapping his own face and screaming his heart out. He reaches his notebook and writes, ’13. Like Hemingway’.

Amidst the excitement he is feeling, he remembers.

He exchanges two sentences with her and he still doesn’t know her name. Never mind. Maybe he’ll ask at the third sentence.

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