sami

He looked like a little kid. The kind whose eyes light up every time he gets a sweet, or even a handshake from a friend. The kind who sees beauty in the ugly, color in the darkness. Yeah… Jungwon had always been like that. Always.

“Have you been waiting long?” you asked with a friendly smile as you sat across from him.

He quickly shook his head.

“Just… like five minutes,” he replied, his tone as shy and awkward as ever. “It was my fault, though. I came earlier than I should’ve.”

You nodded.

Your eyes wandered around the place—pink walls lit by weak sunlight, big windows that allowed you to see the sidewalk, and cats walking around or napping wherever they pleased. You hadn’t even tasted the food yet, but you already knew this would become one of your favorite spots.

Thanks, Jungwon.

“Shall we order?” you asked, looking back at him.

He nodded immediately. You smiled again, completely ignoring how fast his eyes darted away from yours the moment you faced him.

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You swore you’d never had a conversation as painfully awkward as the one you had with Jungwon that afternoon.

You hated silence because it only made things more uncomfortable, so you forced conversation. You asked about college first (he almost failed), then about his family (his aunt had just passed… R.I.P.), and finally you realized that sometimes silence is definitely the best option.

But Jungwon seemed more like you than you had imagined, because he didn’t let the silence linger for more than thirty seconds.

“Have you—”

His question was interrupted by an orange cat—a.k.a your savior.

The little feline climbed onto the table like it owned the place (it did) and immediately rubbed its fluffy tail against Jungwon’s face.

You laughed, probably louder than you should have, but you felt relieved the moment you saw Jungwon smiling. Genuinely smiling. He quickly reached out to pet the cat, which then chose his legs as a napping spot.

“You’re the chosen one.” You said, amazed.

You suddenly remembered how cats used to run away from Sunghoon every time he tried to touch one. He was never someone that… trustworthy. Maybe the cats had been giving you signs all along—signs you never noticed, of course.

Dumbass, you thought.

“I think I am!” Jungwon exclaimed, gently caressing the cat’s fur as it purred on his legs.

Thank God that little furry friend interrupted the nonexistent conversation, making the air between you feel lighter. Less heavy and suffocating. It was already dangerously close to becoming torturous.

You grabbed your phone to take a picture of the cat napping on Jungwon’s legs, but then—

“H’tss!” A sneeze. “Sorry.”

“Bless you,” you whispered, looking up at him with a smile. “Do you want some tissues?”

“Yes, plea— H’tss!” Another one.

You were about to say bless you again, but another sneeze interrupted you. Then another. And another.

You handed him a tissue, and he immediately brought it to his nose. He was suddenly a sneezing mess—even the cat stood up and abandoned his legs, choosing a safer spot by the window.

Isn’t it dangerous to sneeze that much? You remembered that Dumb Ways to Die episode where a man died from sneezing too many times in a row.

You really hoped that wouldn’t be the case here, though.

“Are you okay?” you asked.

A dumb question, considering how red and watery his eyes were, and the pinkish tone creeping onto the tip of his nose. But you were genuinely worried.

He still nodded.

A few seconds later, now that the furry menace had moved away, taking its fluffy tail and its attack on his sensitive nose with it, the sneezing stopped.

You blinked.

“Are you… allergic?”

Another dumb question. You already knew the answer—you just wanted to know why he hadn’t mentioned his allergies before bringing you to a cat café.

A cat café. He was allergic to cats.

“A little…” he whispered. He smiled at you like a kid apologizing to his dad after messing up.

“You’re allergic to cats.”

“Yes,” he said softly, rubbing his eyes. “I don’t usually stay around them for long. I forgot to mention it.”

You blinked, incredulous.

He stopped rubbing his eyes and looked at you carefully, as if checking whether you were mad. Then he shrugged slightly, an apologetic expression settling on his face.

“You know this is a potentially dangerous place for you, right?”

“I know,” he said, his voice thinning. “I just really wanted to come here with you. Sorry.”

Something tightened in your chest at that, but you brushed it off. You always did.

“You’re insane.” You said, unable to hide the smirk forming at the corner of your lips.

“I’ll be fine.” He assured you—though his red nose and watery eyes said otherwise.

You noticed how his body relaxed the moment he realized you weren’t mad. You were just… smiling.

A sigh escaped your lips as you shook your head, grabbing your jacket from the chair.

“Let’s get out of here before you start sneezing nonstop again.” You joked—though the genuine worry in your voice was obvious.

Jungwon’s eyes lit up despite the redness and tears. He stood up at the same time as you, that childish smile shining on his face. For a moment, it looked like he’d follow you anywhere you led him.

But he played it off.

“Next time,” you said, pointing a finger at him, “you tell me important things like that.”

He smiled softly, making a serious effort to hold back the sneeze creeping up on him.

“Next time,” he repeated, the words lingering in the air longer than necessary.

You nodded before heading outside, Jungwon walking right behind you—leaving a noticeable gap between the two of you.

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But good for you. Because thanks to all those shitty moments when he left you alone while you clearly needed someone, you learned how to be an independent woman. So independent that you couldn’t accept the fact that your parents were covering not only the full rent of your apartment, but also your college fees.

And that’s what brings you here—working full-time during the holidays and part-time once college starts again.

Even though your parents insisted it wasn’t necessary, and all your friends told you it would only make things worse for your health, you were surprisingly enjoying the experience of having a first job.

Maybe it was because you tried to romanticize every single thing you did there—probably daydreaming about meeting the love of your life while using the espresso machine (and accidentally burning your hand in the process). Or maybe it was because you simply enjoyed being distracted. From college, from the fact that you almost lost a whole semester, and from your evil ex who still crossed your mind from time to time.

Whatever the reason, you couldn’t deny how much you loved the smell of coffee every time you walked in, and how cute the brown uniform looked on you.

“I want to get out of here already.”

You laughed softly at Leehan’s comment, watching him lean against the counter while you prepared a black coffee for a customer. His eyes followed the movements of your hands.

Today was a particularly busy day at the café—one of those days that Leehan, your easily frustrated coworker, hated the most.

“We have less than an hour left,” you said, carefully placing the cup on the counter. “Why are you always so impatient?”

“Why are you not impatient?” he replied, almost offended by your question.

You laughed at his tone before calling the customer’s name. You thanked the woman as you handed her order to her, wishing her a great day with a polite smile.

Customers were nice to you and Leehan most of the time—maybe because you both looked young and friendly, even though Leehan could look scary and mean sometimes. But you weren’t always that lucky.

Today, however, seemed to be a particularly good day.

“Someone’s looking for you.” Leehan’s voice caught your attention, his tone slightly playful.

Your eyes followed his gaze, landing on Jungwon standing near the door. He looked nervous, but still gave you that childish smile of his as he waved slowly. He almost seemed afraid of getting closer, like he didn’t want to bother you.

You grabbed the hoodie from under the counter and quickly walked over to where Jungwon was, greeting him with a smile.

“Hi! I was wondering if you were coming.”

“Sorry I’m late,” he apologized, his hand moving to the back of his neck. “I tried to text you, but my phone died.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry,” you brushed it off. “I don’t think I would’ve read it anyway. It was pretty busy today.”

He nodded slowly, and silence settled between the two of you. His eyes avoided yours, his hands pressed against his thighs like he didn’t know what to do with them.

He was uncomfortable. You noticed.

Was it really that hard to talk to a friend’s ex?

“Um… here’s Sunghoon’s hoodie.” You handed it to him, immediately feeling a weight lift off your shoulders once your hands were empty.

He nodded. Again.

Before the silence could grow heavier, you ignored the strange tension in the air and decided to ease things up.

“Do you like coffee?” you asked, tilting your head slightly.

“Um—yeah,” he replied. His voice was so quiet and shy you could barely hear it. “Why?”

You shrugged.

“I need to thank you somehow.”

It took you less than five minutes to prepare his iced americano under Leehan’s teasing stare—even though you had already told him to stop being childish about the situation, since he kept insisting that Jungwon liked you.

You ignored him when he said it again, grabbed the coffee, and walked over to Jungwon’s table.

“Here you—”

Why did he have to be so awkward?

He probably didn’t see you approaching, because he stood up just as you reached the table, bumping straight into you.

You froze. He froze.

His wide eyes immediately dropped to the mess he’d caused—the huge coffee stain on your brown apron, and on Sunghoon’s hoodie.

“I’m sorry!” he exclaimed, grabbing tissues and trying to clean your apron without even realizing what he was doing.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” you said quickly, taking the tissues from his hands and trying to fix it yourself.

You assured him everything was fine, but the moment your eyes landed on the ruined hoodie, your smile no longer reached your eyes.

Well. That was a problem.

He apologized and bowed at least a hundred times before finally leaving, promising he would make it up to you somehow.

You cleaned the table in silence, then wiped the floor with the old mop. When you finally returned to the counter, Leehan was standing beside you, arms crossed, lips pressed together as he tried not to make a sound.

“Don’t say a single word,” you warned.

One look at your face was enough for him to take the advice.

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