Chapter 5 (1/1)

If Sooyoung noticed anything about my off-behavior the previous night, I wouldn’t know because she doesn’t mention any of it to me the next morning at work. It’s in the peaceful mornings when I realize how much I actually enjoy working here. The quite gives me time to study the people that come here without the hectic pace. Each person that comes here has a different life story, some of it I overhear when I walk around, and some of it I make up in my mind as I analyze them from a distance. One of them in particular, an elderly woman, comes here every morning at 9 on the dot and every morning she insists on getting the same table in the corner at the back. On most days, she’s quiet and won't say much except tell me her order, which I already know from the back of my head because it’s always the same. On other days she will try to strike up a conversation with me by mentioning the state of the weather or by complimenting me on my looks. Sometimes I wonder if she feels lonely sitting by herself. Despite being alone though, she often wears this content look on her face and will always smile at me when our eyes meet. It instantly lifts up my spirits to take on the rest of the day. As I’m serving her coffee, a familiar laugh ringing like music to my ears catches my attention. I look up to find Seulgi sitting with someone I don’t recognize at one of our tables a bit further away. The sudden sight of her with another girl knocks the wind out of me, and in turn I accidentally knock over the cup of coffee I had just put down. “Oh my God!! I-I’m so, so sorry,” I frantically start apologizing as I hastily clean the table with a rag, while at the same time making sure I didn’t spill any of it on her. She puts a shaky hand on mine to stop me. “It’s okay, dear. Mistakes happen.” Her hand is a cold, a stark contrast to her warm smile. “I will bring you a new cup right away,” I say as I bow my head slightly and apologize for my mistake again. “Oh, there’s no need. To be honest with you I don’t even like coffee, so you’re doing me a big favor.” Her statement throws me off and she lets out a lighthearted laugh when she notices my confusion. “My husband used to love coming here for a cup of coffee. ‘It’s the perfect way to start the day’ he would always say. Two years of coming here and I have yet to discover the same sense of appreciation for the coffee he spoke so highly off.” The way she speaks of him in the past tense makes me feel a tinge of sadness, which of course also doesn’t go unnoticed by her. “Don’t be sad, my child. My husband lived a happy and long life. There’s no use to mourn those that are gone, instead we can only cherish the memories that continue to live on in our minds.” Her small hand on top of mine gives me a very gentle squeeze and it makes me feel a little bit better. “Can I get you anything else then?” I ask her with an apologetic smile. “A glass of water is fine, thank you.” I nod and tell her I will get it to her in a second. After giving her the glass of water I make my way to Sooyoung, who seems to be taking a reservation on the phone. “Sooyoung-ah,” I try to catch her attention. “Hold on a second babe,” she speaks into the phone and covers it with her hand when she looks up. “Are you seriously on the phone with your girlfriend during work hours?” “That depends… Are you going to tell on me?” The look in her eyes is challenging and I hold my head between both of my hands as I let out a groan. “What’s wrong?” Sooyoung looks a tad concerned. “My ex girlfriend is here. I think she’s on a date.” She quirks her eyebrow, suddenly very interested in everything I have to say. “Where?” “Table 3, just don’t be obv-” and of course she whips her head around before I can even finish my sentence. Luckily, Seulgi and the other girl are too busy looking at the menu to even notice Sooyoung staring at them. “Which one’s the ex?” “The cute one in the yellow shirt.” “She’s pretty.” She says it like it isn’t the most obvious thing in the world, before returning to her phone call. “-just a gay having a panic attack,” I hear her tell her girlfriend on the phone. I guess she’s talking about me. I let out a sigh and try not to eavesdrop on her phone call. Sooyoung being Sooyoung, however, it’s hard to ignore her. “Oh really? What are you wearing underneath?” she asks Rosé and I smack her on the shoulder while scowling at her. Sooyoung lets out a snicker and tells Rosé she has to go before finally hanging up. She puts the phone away and crosses her arms, seizing Seulgi’s companion up and down from a distance. “You could totally take her in a fight.” I pull her down with me, because she’s being too damn loud. “Please, can you just take their order and serve them?” I plead. Seeing Seulgi is one thing, actually interacting with her again is another story. “Fine, but you owe me,” Sooyoung says pointedly before walking away to take their order.--- “I dropped her toast and licked it before serving it to her, that’ll teach the ugly bitch,” Sooyoung tells me with a smug grin when she takes me aside after I finish taking another table's order.  “You licked it before or after you dropped it?” “Look I’m on your side, okay?” I have no idea what she means, but that’s not really news because I rarely get what Sooyoung means. “We can still go back to plan A. I’ll even tell Mr. Kim she threw the first punch and you were only defending yourself.” “I’m not going to fight her!” I hiss. Sooyoung rolls her eyes at me. “You’re no fun unnie.”  All of a sudden a figure appears behind her and taps her on the shoulder. “Excuse me, can I ask you something?”  “TOAST IS SUPPOSED TO TASTE LIKE THAT!!” Sooyoung shrieks while her arms fly into the air. It’s the girl who came here with Seulgi and I quickly lower my head and start cleaning a random table near us, pretending not to eavesdrop on their conversation.  “Oh no! The food was delicious. I just wanted to ask if I know you from somewhere. You look really familiar,” the girl states. “I do? I mean, you’re probably mistaken me with some other really hot chick,” Sooyoung chuckles while twirling her hair between her fingers. Ugh. Growing tired of their conversation already, I move to a different table. When I look up from cleaning the table a familiar pair of brown eyes are set on me. Her mouth is slightly agape, and my eyes might be betraying me, but for a second it looks like she’s going to call out my name. This moment, however, never arrives.  Seulgi is the first one to break eye contact, a hint of conflict written on her face. She's the type of person to wear her soul in her smile and her heart on her sleeve, but right now it's hard for me to tell what's going through their mind. The cup of coffee in front of her makes me question whether the other girl convinced her to order it, because the Seulgi I knew hated the bitterness of coffee. Her hair looks a little bit lighter and the way it’s reflecting the early morning light gives her a mesmerizing glow and I find myself captivated by her beauty.  I’m abruptly taken out of my trance when her companion returns to their table. The frown on Seulgi’s face fades away like frost under the morning sun as she shoots the girl a smile and it makes me wonder… Seulgi-yah are you happy?--- Sooyoung approaches me after during our lunch break and mentions the girl’s name is Kim Jisoo and that she’s a family friend of Rosé. Apparently Jisoo recognized her from when they both attended Rosé’s family barbeque a while ago. “She’s actually really nice,” Sooyoung gushes. “I’m sure she is,” I grumble bitterly. “And pretty too! Seulgi unnie really knows how to pick them.” I glare at her and she just smiles at me innocently in response. “What? It’s basically a compliment, because she dated you and I’m saying she has great taste.” “You were calling Jisoo an ugly bitch just a while ago,” I scoff. She throws her arm around me and cackles again. “People change their minds all the time” She pauses for a moment, taking in the sour look on my face. “I know what will cheer you up! Me and Rosie are having a small get-together this Friday night. You should come.” “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m still recovering from our last one,” I quickly decline her invite, not really wanting a repeat of last night. “You can’t say no unnie. You owe me, remember?” she winks. The devil works hard, but Park Sooyoung works harder.--- “Yo Seungwan!” I walk into the room and drop my bag on the table, accidentally startling her in the process. She stops typing and looks up from her screen. “What do you know about Kim Jisoo?” I ask her, trying to sound casual. Surely if Seulgi was dating someone new, she would have told Seungwan. “Name doesn’t ring a bell,” she simple states and she returns to typing away on her laptop. “So Seulgi has never mentioned her?” I try to sound casual, but it’s to no avail because Seungwan lets out a loud sigh and closes her laptop. “Why are you asking?” I shrug. “They came by my work today and seemed pretty close.” Seungwan clasps her hands together. “Ah, so that’s what this is about. You’re jealous.” “Or maybe I just want to make sure the people she’s hanging with are good people?” Seungwan doesn’t seem to buy any of my bullshit and I don’t blame her, because I can’t even seem to convince myself.  I let myself collapse in the chair opposite of her and say, “I don’t have the right to be jealous.” This earns me a sympathetic look from Seungwan. “To be honest with you, I haven’t spoken to Seulgi in a while. This paper has been taking up all of my time for the past couple of weeks,” she says while scratching the back of her neck. Come to think of it, Seungwan hasn’t been going out a lot, other than when she had lectures to attend or when she goes to the library to study. She has mentioned how stressed she is about her paper to me a couple of times, but I hadn’t realized how much time and effort really went into it. It makes me feel kind of bad for causing her troubles and being inconsiderate, so to make it up her I decide I’ll make her seaweed soup. The subject of Jisoo and Seulgi is dropped and Seungwan continues working on her paper in silence while I start cooking. It turns out the younger girl is a huge fan of seaweed soup because she won’t stop saying how delicious it is when I let her have a taste. Her overly expressive face brings a smile to my face and I make sure to keep in mind to cook for the both of us more often. As I watch her eat, an idea comes to mind all of a sudden. “What are you doing this Friday night?” “I don’t really have any plans…” she says hesitantly. “Great. Sooyoung is organizing a get-together and you’re coming with me.”