Coffee

Chapter 1

Lee Rinji had always wanted to live at the sea side, the crashing waves washing over her senses, calming her as she sat at the porch of her beach home. Meanwhile her cat would perch itself on the little coffee table beside her, meowing softly as she would scratch her head gently. She would play soft music while she pushed her way through a riveting book. She would be happy. She would be content. She would be alive.

Such was not the case at the moment.

At that very moment, instead of being at the seaside, she was inside Baepsae Café, taking the order of a more than entitled high schooler who, for some reason, was trying to flirt with her as if she wouldn't get jailed for trying to flirt, let alone date this child. Not that she wanted to. But he and his friends didn't seem to notice that, as they were too busy cheering him on from their loud table in the little corner of the café.

Rinji gritted her teeth as she made it through the order. "Would you like an iced or hot Americano?"

The boy smirked. "I'd like it hot. Like you are. Hah. Get it, because you're hot-"

"That'll be $4.50," Rinji smiled her polite customer service smile as she rang him up,  while also contemplating clubbing him upside the head to teach him some basic etiquette and manners.

The boy looked slightly crestfallen as she handed him back his change, but perked up when he fished a piece of paper and pen and scrawled something on it. "My number," he said, wiggling his eyebrows in what he thought was an a attractively suggestive way, though all it really did was make him look like his eyebrows were having a little seizure on his forehead.

Rinji smiled tightly, willing herself to keep the smile on her face. "No thanks. But thank you for choosing Baepsae Café!" She pointedly looked at the person behind him and chirped. "Next customer!"

Behind her, a chuckling Park Jimin grabbed the order cup from Rinji's side and muttered jokingly (at least, she thought it was jokingly), "Do you want me to poison his drink?"

Rinji shook her head and grimaced. "Let him be, for now. He's carefree and young as of the moment. But he'll graduate soon, probably, and then go to college, and maybe he'll suffer the fate that we all suffer."

Jimin cursed under his breath. "Student loans," he groaned. "I'll be fifty by the time I even pay half of it. Anyways, I'll leave you to that," he nodded toward the short girl approaching the counter, full of rage and menace and ready to ruin some lives. "Good luck", he smirked though not unkindly.

Rinji sighed an inaudible sigh and plastered on her unfailing customer service smile. "Hi, I'm Rinji!" she greeted the girl brightly. "How may I help you this fine day at Baepsae Café?"

The girl glared at her and proceeded to look at the menu with searching eyes, not even having an order ready before she came up to the counter. And by the looks of it, it was going to be a long time before Rinji could take the stupid service smile on her face.

It was going to be a long day

♤♢♤

By the time Rinji left the café, she was exhausted and was honestly thankful that it was a Friday, and she could stay in and finish all of her homework  (read: binge watch all of that one drama with Jimin). She couldn't wait to be covered in her mostly warm bed, and fall asleep into a deep sleep. A long, very long sleep. She liked sleeping. She was doing it a lot more as of recent, but she didn't know why.  Maybe she could check the internet for that.

Her thought were interrupted by Jimin throwing his arm around her shoulder, smiling up at her. "Let's go to a gay bar," he announced, completely ruining the plans she had made in her head.

"No," she said immediately and firmly, shooting him down. "I want to sleep."

Jimin whined. "You sleep all the time," he pouted at her. "Loosen up a little."

Rinji rolled her eyes. "No," she repeated.  "What the hell am I gonna do at a gay bar any way?"

"Support me? Be my wing-lady?" Jimin shrugged. "The possibilities are endless my dude, my guy, my best friend."

The taller sighed. "Next time."

He raised his eyebrow. "So what you're saying is, we'll go at some point, just not today?"

"Not today," she shook her head, and wave of tiredness washing over her.

Jimin looked at her for a moment, and then backed off, a look of understanding passing through his face. "Okay," he said softly with a small smile, and they walked the rest of the way home to shared apartment in silence.

When they got there, Jimin jumped onto their burgundy couch, pulling Rinji down with him. "Let's finish that drama we were watching." Before she was able to protest he held her close to him. "I know it's been a rough week for you, so let's just relax today, okay?"

Rinji nodded silently and let him go to get his laptop to link it to the TV, so that he could play the drama from his computer. He then went to go and get the popcorn together as she laid there, slowly relaxing her body and becoming one with the couch.

Jimin came back silently with a bowl of popcorn and carefully sat down next to her. He looked at her for a moment, surveying her expression. "Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked carefully.

Rinji smiled a small smile and shook her head. "Let's just watched the drama."

"Okay," Jimin complied and pressed play.