After helping Yeonwoo up, we kind of just ended up sitting on top of the counter facing the entrance of the shop and sat in silence with my head on her shoulder. The soft jazz music was still playing in the store and the atmosphere was so laid back and relaxing. It was only 5pm and it was already super dark, but it seemed peaceful outside.
Being that it was late November, our little neighbourhood strip has already decorated the streets with festive lights and garland around lighting posts; and sitting inside the coffee shop with Yeonwoo made everything even more perfect. The warm aura and the cozy cabin feel the shop radiated, along with the fragrance of dark roast with nodes of vanilla gave me such nostalgia. It was such a beautiful sight and the world outside seemed quiet.
Without realizing it, I look down to see Yeonwoo's hands playing with mine. Each caress was featherlike and every time her thumb grazed over the back of my palm, little back flips were making their way in my stomach. I fix my gaze to look at Yeonwoo's face to see her looking out the front windows of the shop with a soft expression dancing on her smile.
Everything about this moment was too good to be true, so I closed my eyes and tried to paint a permanent picture of the "right now." The images, the smell, the feel, the sounds - everything.
I wish I could freeze time right now.
...
A few minutes passed, and we began to hear the faint laughter getting louder as they come from the back. At this, Yeonwoo smiles at me and jumps down from the counter while offering her hand to me as we walk behind the counter once again.
The both of us each took a drying cloth to make it seem like we've done something and we finished wiping down the last of the damp utensils and plates. While we did this, we just kept on stealing glances at each other and smiling like idiots - and I knew for a fact that she was blushing because I have never seen her this red in a long time.
Then, the door leading to the back room opened and laughter filled the room. At this, Hyebin stops and gasps in surprise, causing a hush to fall over everyone, "Oh... ya, you guys are so quiet. Did something happen?"
I glanced at Yeonwoo but reverted my gaze back to Hyebin after seeing that her eyes were already on me and replied, "Nah, you guys just caught us at a quiet time."
"Ah, okay," she shrugs off.
Jane came up to the cash register and leaned on the counter, "What did you guys do the whole time? We didn't realize that we were gone for this long."
Yeonwoo decided to respond, "We just did some cleaning, talked, chilled. Not much action either so we didn't really do anything." While she was talking, Daisy caught my attention and was sending me obvious winks and funny hand gestures.
I sent her a death glare, but I was low-key thankful she left me alone with Yeonwoo.
"Well, since there hasn't been action, let's just close up, yeah?" Hyebin says as she head to the door and locks it.
Suddenly, Taeha speaks up, "Oh! Don't you guys have an aux cord?" Yeonwoo was already by the cord and says, "yeah, toss your phone over here!"
Once her phone connected, R&B music started playing softly in the background and everyone started walking towards the coffee bar area. Since there weren't many seats by the bar, Nayun and Hyebin gathered 2 tables and placed them beside each other. But instead of sitting on chairs, Hyebin, Jooe, Taeha, and Nayun opted to just sit on the table.
"How about we play a game?" Nayun suggested.
"Hell yeah, I'm down," Hyebin says.
"What kind of game?" Taeha questions.
After a short silence Daisy suggests, "How about truth or dare? It's a classic!"
Out of nowhere, Hyebin jumps off the table and says excitedly, "Yoooo, lets play it. I have a bottle of soju upstairs." Everyone in the room agrees with the plan, and although I'm not a huge drinker, I think it would be good to let loose for a bit - Jooe and I have just been super stressed lately and I feel like relaxing tonight is well deserving.
"Ya, Hyebin," Daisy calls out, "you still got any Baileys left?"
"Trueee, I'll bring that down too," and just like that, her figure disappears.
Jane turns to Daisy and asks, "Why do you want Baileys? Isn't it soft?"
Daisy shrugs at Jane and says, "It is, but have you ever tried it with coffee?" Jane just shakes her head slowly in response and Daisy doesn't hesitate to grab onto her shoulders and looks at her straight in the eyes, "Are you serious?" At this point, Jane is looking terrified and this gets Taeha and Nayun laughing while Yeonwoo and I just smile at the whole situation.
"Bro, I'm definitely gonna change your world with this drink."
Not to mention, Daisy doesn't normally get this close with newcomers this quick - it's actually impressive how she's even touching Jane right now. All Jane replies with is, "I'll be the judge of that."
Being that Taeha and Nayun hardly talked, I decided to spark up a conversation with them, "Sooo, why did you guys decide to move into the city?"
Without a second thought, Taeha begins to explain how back in Korea, she dreamed and studied her ass off to one day get into the theatre industry - but her parents hated the idea. Even her extended family criticized her because Taeha was born in a family of doctors, and I guess they thought she was a disgrace to the family's name.
"Yeah, even though pursuing a career in the arts is becoming normal back in South Korea, no one in my family wanted me to be anything else other than a doctor. So, here I am," she says with arms wide open, "I came here to start from scratch and hopefully find my way back into doing something I love."
To come to think of it, she does suit the image of a "Theatre geek" - the loud yet clear voice, the bubbly and outgoing appearance, and her use of body language definitely screams "Theatre".
"Gheez, and how's it going so far?" Yeonwoo asks.
"Meh, not bad - it's slow and steady, but I'm actually looking into a few roles. Hopefully I'm able to get a callback or something after the auditions," she looks down with a sad smile, "I just want to prove to my family that I can do this." Nayun wraps one arm around Taeha's shoulder and comforts her.
All of us in the room begin to show her our support by saying encouraging words and just letting her know that we'll be here for her, and she showers us with small thank-yous.
Daisy shifts her weight on the bar stool and turns to Nayun, "How about you?"
When the two catch each others gaze, Nayun just smiles brightly, "Well, I've always wanted to travel around the world and after I learned that Taeha was planning on moving here, I decided to take my chances and saw it as an opportunity." She then goes on to list all the places she wants to travel to but explains to us that she is probably staying here for a while to save up for her trips.
The conversation died down as Hyebin came walking in with the drinks, "Let's get fucked up tonighttttt!"
"Okay, how should we start it off?" Taeha questions.
No one gave an answer right away, so I suggested, "Maybe spin the bottle style? Avoid the truth or dare and you gotta take a shot." And with that, we began the game. Hyebin spun the bottle and it landed on Nayun, "Truth or Dare?"
"Dare."
Hyebin had a devilish glint in her eyes and smirked, "Choose someone other than Jane or Taeha and try to seduce them."
"Pfft, easy," She scans the room until her gaze fell back on Hyebin. She looks her in the eyes and you can definitely tell that Hyebin is panicking.
"YA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
"You said not Jane or Taeha," she shrugs and begins her attempt in "seducing" Hyebin.
"Oh my goodness... Why are you on the floor, get up... Yo, stop it... GUYS HELP HER OUT... NO NAYUN, PUT THAT SHIRT BACK ON YOUR SHOULDER... STOP PLAYING WITH YOUR HAIR!"
Oh my fucking God, I can't breathe - Nayun is my new favourite person. She's doing all these next moves which are literally jokes and Hyebin is starring at her with wide eyes - at this point, I think they're going to pop out.
Everyone in the room is crying from laughter - even I had to hold onto my stomach, and from both my arms, Daisy and Yeonwoo were using me as a support to not fall over.
"Nayun... p-please, we g-get it... you win..." Hyebin whimpers.
"Cool! Can I still take a shot?" And all of us - but Hyebin - fall to the ground, rolling around, and clutching our stomachs while laughing super hard. I feel like I'm dying, I honestly can't breathe.
...
A few truths, dares, and a million shots after with the game forgotten, we all somehow ended up sitting on the floor in a circle. Daisy and Jane were actually behind the counter making some coffee with a shot of Baileys while everyone else was on the floor and acting very giddy - but I couldn't judge. At this very moment, I was giggling at everything for no reason, and I couldn't help myself. But thank God I wasn't black out drunk... yet.
Yeonwoo ended up sitting across from me while her head was on Jooe's shoulders and her head on Hyebin's. They're so cute - I struggled to get my phone from my back pocket, but managed to get it without falling over and took a picture of them.
Everyone else was kind of in their own little world, so I just spent my time looking at everyone.
Yoo, why is my jaw open? I laugh to myself, why can't I close it? I laugh a little harder, maybe I should lay down? Okay, but I don't want to put my head on the floor - is Yeonwoo's lap good? I tested my theory and all I can say is - Yes.
After a few moments, I felt a pair of hands messaging my head and playing with my hair. I look up to see Yeonwoo looking down at me - hehe, she has extremely bad asian glow.
I reach up and cup her cheek in my hand - immediately feeling the heat from her face, "Wow, you're really hot Dabin," I slur. Woah, did I just say that? Well, I guess I do mean it literally and figuratively.
"Yeah, I know," she moves both hands to cup my face, "you are too," and begins squishing my cheeks. Yeonwoo starts giggling like crazy and doesn't take a moment to stop touching my face until Daisy and Jane called us to get our spiked coffee. Yeonwoo and I get up and playfully shove each other until we heard a loud thud behind us to see Jooe blacked out on the floor while Hyebin kind of freezes in a position that pretty much says she dropped Jooe.
Yeonwoo and I kind of just looked at each other, then at Hyebin, and we shrugged it off and made our way to the coffee.
Everyone was standing around the counter but Yeonwoo and I just decided to sit on the counter top. We talked for a bit until Taeha shushes everyone, "Yoo, shut up, this is my songgg," and she begins to sing:
I like my girls just like I like my honey, sweet
A little selfish
I like my women like I like my money, green
A little jealous
Damn, this was my shit too - I couldn't help but join:
'Cause I'm a beautiful wreck
A colorful mess, but I'm funny
Oh, I'm a heartbreak vet
With a stone-cold neck, yeah, I'm charming
At this point, a couple of others were singing along but when I turned to Yeonwoo, I caught her looking at me with a gentle expression - I couldn't help but wonder if she was blushing or if it was just her asian glow. As crazy as this sounds, after making eye contact with her, it feels like I've sobered up a bit, and I guess it's not a completely bad thing.
All the pretty girls in the world
But I'm in this space with you
As I sang, I just kept on looking at her in the eyes and she did nothing to break the contact other than occasionally look down at my lips.
Colored out the line
I came to find, my fire was fate with you
Heartache would stay with you
Fly great escapes with you
She shared her infamous and charming smile and eventually tore her gaze from me to look at the ground while slightly shaking her head.
I don't think it's just a crush anymore.
Every time she gives me that look, my heart swoons a million times over.
Every time she touches me, a chill goes down my spine, yet heat radiates from our contact.
Every damn time she laughs, I always feel so tempted to hug her with all I am.
When she looked back up, she began singing.
Damn, I am definitely whipped.
...
I'm sorry these last two have been super long - do you guys prefer shorter chapters? Let me know!
Tonight's song is "Honey" by Kehlani - lyrics are not mine.
As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this two part short and I'll see you in the next one!
- S.A