Pearls of rain kiss my skin just as I notice the huge pillows of clouds forming in the sky. Hugging my sketchbook close to me, I quicken my pace and enter the neighbourhood cafe. The fragrant scent of coffee embraces me as I push open the door. Hayoung greets me with grin after she has attended to one of the customers.

"Naeun, having your usual?" Hayoung asks while making her way to the counter.

I nod and slump onto a chair beside a window. While waiting for Hayoung to prepare my caffe latte, I hurriedly check my sketchbook to ensure it has not been attacked by the pelting rain. After a while, Hayoung sets my glass of coffee on the wooden table and seats herself on the chair opposite mine. We banter as I sip my coffee, until another customer pushes open the glass door to seek shelter from the unrelenting drizzle. Hayoung leaves to serve the customer whose clothes are decorated by splatters of rain.

I soon finish the whole glass. The taste of the coffee lingers in my mouth, making me crave for more. Hayoung's coffee always puts a grin on my face, but the coffee that he made for me was beyond compare. I remember when I used to come to this cafe everyday to get my daily dose of caffeine. But after he left for France to study photography, I patronise the cafe less often as his scent still lingers here.

I shake off the thought and order another caffe latte. Then, I open my sketchbook to a fresh page, purposely skiping the first few pages where I had pasted photos of him and me together. I fumble for my art materials in my bag and after laying them out neatly on the table, I begin sketching a person's face in my sketchbook. Gazing out of the window, I gather inspiration. I continue drawing in the features of this person: wrinkles at the corners of big eyes, lips that are curved upwards, dimpled cheeks and shaggy hair. It reminds me of...

"That looks exactly like Myungsoo! Great job Naeun!" I hear Hayoung voice say behind me before rushing over to another customer.

Myungsoo... That name brought back so many memories...

I flip to the first page of my sketchbook. The page is littered with pictures that Myungsoo had taken for me. I look at a picture of me posing with a broad smile in front of the cafe. That picture reminds me of the first time I met Myungsoo. That fateful day, I went to the cafe to get a cup of coffee. However, instead of Hayoung standing behind the counter, it was Myungsoo. He barely spoke and only replied with curt nods. In fact, he looked sullen and cold. His mysterious aura made me very curious about him and I decided that until I got to know him better, I would call him L. So, from that day onwards, my ritual of visiting the cafe daily to see L began.

I look at the next picture. It was a picture that Hayoung took for us. It depicted Myungsoo and I sitting at the same table where I am sitting now and sharing a glass of iced americano. I giggled as I recalled the fond memory. After my relentless pestering, Myungsoo started opening up to me. Because of my frequent visits, whenever I entered the cosy cafe, Myungsoo would immediately prepare a glass of caffe latte for me. When he approached my table to serve my coffee, I would attempt to chat him up. Slowly but surely, our friendship blossomed... until it became something more.

The next picture was of me sitting on a blanket with a picnic basket next to me and of course, my trusty sketchbook in hand. That was our first date. I recall working extra hard on my appearance and preparing the food for our picnic. Much to my delight, Myungsoo had prepared some coffee for me. The memory of the endless waiting for Myungsoo to reply for my messages amused me. I thought of the time when I tried to make excuses to see him more often. A smile crept onto my face as I remembered always gushing to my friends about Myungsoo until they were so annoyed.

I continue to look through the pictures until I came to the last one. I flipped to the next page, hoping that there would be more but no. Myungsoo isn't by my side anymore. He is in France studying hard, probably too busy to think of me. It has always been Myungsoo's dream to be a professional photgrapher but he didn't have the funds to do so. That was until he received a scholarship. I was genuinely proud and happy for him but I really did not want him to go. But I knew I could not be so selfish... and I let him go.

The day when he left, I accompanied him to the airport. I had plastered a smile on my face so as to allow Myungsoo to leave without regrets. Before leaving, our eyes locked and he solemnly told me he didn't know when he would come back so I must forget him. To carry on with life without him. To love another man. I just bit my lip, forcing myself not to let my tears fall. But after he boarded the plane, I ran into the washroom and hid in a cubicle and let the river of tears flow down my cheeks. I stepped out and stared at my reflection. Myungsoo would not want this, I thought. I pulled myself together and washed the black stream of tears and reapplied my makeup.

Just like that day, tears starts falling onto the pages of my sketchbook. I quickly close it and wipe off my tears. Gazing out of the window, I notice the sun's rays shining through the clouds, the puddles of water the only evidence of the rain remaining. I drink the remaining of my caffe latte and after paying and waving goodbye to Hayoung, I leave the cafe, hugging the sketchbook close to me just like how I did when I entered.

Just as I am walking, I stop to look back at the cafe, where it holds memories of Myungsoo and me together. Myungsoo told me to find someone else but I can't. I will never love anyone other that him.

Unlike coffee that will eventually turn cold, unlike the rain that will eventually stop, unlike the shop that will eventually close for the day, I believe my love will come back to me one day.

Hello! If you are reading this, you probably have read the whole story so thank you so much! It may not be the best, but I hope you enjoyed it. If you did enjoy it or have opinions on how I can improve or if you would like a prequel/sequel, comment down below! I will do my best to reply. Thank you so much! :) <3