Coffee is not just a mere drink that one consumes in the morning hours of a busy day.
It is a beverage that heightens the senses, sharpens the mind, and awakens the soul for the trials that might lie ahead.
A concoction of roasted beans and simmering water, whose very aroma warms and comforts those who display patience by savoring each sip rather than gulping the brew all at once.
Even the process of brewing the coffee is an art unto itself.
The amount of time the grounds are brewed, the speed of a stir, the strength of one’s grip when ripping off a packet of coffee, the amount of time the coffee is allowed to cool: all of these factors are paramount for yielding maximum flavor and aroma from a brew, and not all factors are equal for all types of coffees.
For example, stirring speed and grip strength hardly matter to those who use ground coffee, but they are the most important factors for instant coffee.
Cooling and brewing times are what matter for ground coffee and yet hardly matter for those who utilize coffee concentrate.
Ah yes, the art of making coffee and savoring the brew's aromas is what separates the coffee sommeliers from those who chuck the liquid for taste and energy.
Savoring the sweet, spicy, earthy, and bitter flavors of a brew while the aromas rising from the liquid permeate the air and enhance the taste of the coffee.
Hansung Yu had mastered the art of brewing long before he even mastered the art of shinsu. Learning from both the best and worst baristas the Tower had to offer, while also researching the many different types of coffee beans and how they were grown.
As time passed, his refined sense of taste, smell, and brewing skills allowed him to maximize the depths and aromas of even the cheapest of coffees, giving him the pleasure and honor of always enjoying a delectable cup of coffee, no matter the brand or state of the coffee.
However, his refined sense of taste and smell, the ones he trained for so long, were all brutally taken away by the one he trained since the Floor of Tests.
The one who smashed his face in, over and over again, obliterating both his nose and mouth into an unrecognizable, bloody mess.
A mess that took dozens of surgeries to fix and decades of healing to recover what was lost. And yet, despite all the treatments and medications, his sense of taste and smell were never fully regained.
Even after centuries of coffee training while hiding, Hansung could never truly savor the aromas or flavors of coffee ever again.
Of all the things that Bam could have permanently destroyed, why did it have to be his ability to enjoy the brew of liquid comfort known as coffee?
“Does it suck that much?”
Hansung looked up from his cup of steaming coffee. “Huh? Of course not. Why would you think that?”
“Because you looked disgusted after a single sip,” Evankhell answered, holding an ice pack at the center of her forehead.
Hansung stared intently at the center of Evankhell’s forehead with worried eyes. “Wait. Don't tell me that it's still giving you trouble after all this time.”
Evankhell chuckled. “Don't worry, my Yun. It's just a small headache from sleeping wrong last night,” The former high ranker removed the ice pack from her forehead to reveal a deep, sprawling scar where it looked like someone took a spoon and gouged out a piece of her head.
“It just sucks that it was my former student who did the deed.”
“Traitorous former student,” Hansung added.
Evankhell sighed. “Yes, of course. My traitorous former student whom we wasted precious time and resources training.”
Both former high rankers sat in contemplative silence, reflecting on everything that had happened before and after they and everyone else went into hiding.
“Do you ever think about what you’re going to say to Bam once we find him again?” Hansung asked, breaking the silence in the apartment.
Evankhell’s eyes narrowed at the mention of her former student's name. “Of course I have. You?”
After taking another sip of his coffee, which he could barely taste, Hansung’s lips twist into a spiteful smile. “More than you could have ever imagined,” Hansung’s grip nearly shattered the poor ceramic cup. “Once I find that bastardous prick, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”
Evankhell smirked. “My thoughts exactly.”
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