State Of Grace | SEVENTEEN VerKwan

Chapter 01 - Will I Get To This Place?

There certainly isn't exactly anything that surprised me today. Well, except— that. My eyes trailed over to the other side of the road, where the brand new coffee shop stood. That place has been hyped for months! Even I heard of it. Me! A person who doesn't even spend much time on any SNS. I've kinda heard pretty good comments on it. Well, of course— Other than the pretty aesthetic interior and exterior design of it. It's just like your everyday, Seoul normal café. Just new. Hopefully they'll have more variety in their menu. “Here are your orders, sir.” the woman behind the counter tells me, before handing over the two cups of bubble tea I purchased. “Thank you.” I simply mouthed, before leaving the building. Nothing beats bubble tea. I gave the new coffee shop a good glance again, before looking back at the sidewalk and surging forward with my day. I mean, there's typically nothing new. The design just really catches my eye more.

Funny, how I can hear a vibration better than a ring tone. I dipped my hand inside my back pocket, fishing for my beeper. Yes, it's 2020 I know. And I still use one of these. I bought this old thing off the thrift store about a year ago, and honestly— it's way better than my own smartphone. I mean with this, I'll be able to receive messages directly and get alerts on my schedule without getting distracted. I switched my beeper on, and checked the message. “oh, Seokmin.”

[ Where are you? ]

I didn't bother to reply. This is already our damn routine, why is he still looking for me? I walked pass the book shop, and swiftly entered the coworking station. I wouldn't want to spend half of my allowance on books again. “Morning, Boo!” Mr. Dae greets me. “Good morning, sir.” I smiled at him, and walks pass the counter. He's the station manager. Been stuck here for nearly eight years. And I've been going here with the gang for the past six years already. I basically live here by now, I even help close sometimes. Nothing that difficult too. My house is just three blocks away anyways. I felt my beeper vibrate again. Ugh. So impatient. Once I got to our table right beside the bookcase, I immediately recognized him. That ass. Does he always have to send me a notification?

“Hey, Doks.”

“Why weren't you replying to my messages?” of course that's the first thing you'd ask. I rolled my eyes in sass, as I handed him his bubble tea. “If only your messages had sense.” I cheekily told him, sitting across him then taking out my notebooks. Midterms are two and a half weeks away, and I've got a lot of lectures to write. “Hey! Asking your whereabouts has sense. I was going to ask you about that new café.” Dokyeom snipes. “Oh, the place looks good. The structure was aesthetically designed.” I flatly replied, not even sparing him a glance. “Did you check the interior?” he asks, and I just shook my head in denial. Me and Seokmin have been friends since diaper days. Can't even remmeber the last time we were apart. We attended the same schools, and nearly did every thing together. Considering our families are that close-knit. It's been me and him since day one. It's both great and.. Questioning.

Being in the same sections since kindergarten, 'til college— which is now. We're both architecture students. We joined the glee club together too. It's creepy and amazing in every way, but that's us. Me and Dokyeom all the way. I mean, we have our own gang too. Consisting of me, Dokyeom, Jihoon, Jisoo and Soonyoung. We're all glued to each other, but it's mostly just me and Dokyeom in all our days. “We should go check out that new coffee shop later.” Dokyeom says, breaking the silence. “Sure, let's bring the others later too?” I ask, continuously writing my lectures. “Yeah, that would be fun too. But, I think it'll just be a triple date if we brought them.” And there goes his happy tones. I looked up at him and snickered. This idiot can never really hide anything from me, “Why do you say?” that question just made him stare at me in awe. Like the "what-the-heck" face he usually makes when he finds something senseless. “If we bring those three, they'd bring their dates too. Jihoon with Seungcheol, Jisoo with Jeonghan and of course Soonyoung will probably bring his girlfriend.” he deadpans, and I laughed in amusement. Well, ain't that petty? My best friend is.. Jealous? Annoyed? Or is probably just mad at the world that he's not dating anyone yet. Dokyeom just sighs, and returns his attention to his notebook. “Yeah, you're right. Let's just go without them.” even if I want to take them, Dokyeom will just feel left out again. So, it's best if we go on our own. I took a sip of my bubble tea, whilst eying Seokmin. He can't hide it from me. He doesn't like seeing the "couples". It just makes him feel more uncomfortable than he already is in crowds. I just brush the thoughts away, and return my focus on studying again.