1.
Sun shining in a right amount, sheering through the window of a small coffeeshop, probably less than 60 sqm, placed in the corner of the busiest street of Hongdae, the coffeeshop has the view of students of two big universities nearby passing by, some are in hurry, some are walking slowly with friends while chatting and laughing.
Inside the coffeeshop is the noise of the coffee machine that lowly buzzing, completed with the smell of freshly grinded coffee beans filling the air, it calms down whoever in it.
A guy standing behind the counter is sipping the first espresso he made today to help him start his day at work. 5,7 ft tall, brown hair, sharp nose and jawline, long neck with a slight dimple on his left cheek when he smile or smirk. He's wearing apron with a leather pull across his back and the small name badge on his right chest, Kim Hanbin.
The little bell in the upper corner of the glass door jingling.
"Welcome." Hanbin smile bloom and greet the familiar face that came in, super tall, probably almot 6,1 ft, jet black hair, and cute little pouty lips. "Hey Chan." Hanbin high fived him.
"Hey, hyung." Chanwoo replied, "two iced cappuccinos please."
"Sure," he took two plastic cups while peeking on the person who came with Chanwoo but straightly sat on a chair near the window, "that's Yunhyeong hyung, right?"
"Yeah." Yunhyeong is Chanwoo's brother who lived in HongKong. "He's moving here for good"
"Oh, cool." Hanbin said.
"Hanbinnie, sorry, I'm late!" suddenly a voice coming from behind him.
"Hey, nuna, it's okay. You've text me that your bus had a problem, so it's fine." Hanbin said.
"Anyeong Jisoo nuna." Chanwoo greet her.
"Oh, hey, Chan." Jisoo smiling. Jisoo is Hanbin's neighbor in his hometown, Busan, she also Hanbin's senior in middle school. They're now live in Seoul and since Hanbin open a coffeeshop, Jisoo helped him. "What's your order? I'll make it."
"Hanbin hyung handle it already." Chanwoo said.
"Okay, tell me if you need anything else." She winks, and it made something in Chanwoo's chest. Well, Jisoo is pretty, and got winked by such pretty girl of course will get your heart excited, right?
But Hanbin smirk, Chanwoo went to the university near here but not the nearest, different from Hongik uni that only around the corner, Chanwoo's campus is around two blocks from here and for sure, there's a lot more coffeeshops in that area, but let's assume we don't know why he choose to come here almost everyday. Except for the fact that his ear just become cherry red after talking to Jisoo.
He finished making the drink for Chanwoo when another customer came in.
"Can't you believe he actually asked me to go abroad with him??" the girl, petite with a cute face, rolled her eyes. Hanbin eyes unconsciously following her, not only because she's pretty, with a nice posh clothings, her handbag seems expensive enough to pay for someone's college fee, or because her hair looks like she has a hairdresser following her everywhere, but because she remind him of someone... from the past.
"Aren't you like it like that?" the guy came with her replied, he's the hunk. Muscular, rebellious jawline, he's wearing a simple wayfarer sunglasses and his messy wavy hair falls perfectly bellow the eyebrows line.
"Last time I did that, his wife suddenly came and surprised him, and me? I was kicked to another hotel."
The guy chuckles and stop the talk when they reach the bar counter.
Hanbin push a button to inform Chawoo that his coffees are ready, then he turned to the new customer who just came. "ready to order?"
The girl looking at Hanbin's eyes, her gaze is challenging, "I am." She said.
Hanbin smiled, "What can I get you?"
"Coffee." She replied almost immediately, then her eyes scanned Hanbin, a slight smirk creep up her cute face, changing it into something naughty at instance, "since I can't drink you..."
Hanbin paused but then he just threw another smile, "we have more than 15 kind of coffee here, miss, if only you could help me decide which one you want to drink."
The girl rolled her eyes in annoyance, "café latte, but change the milk to coconut milk. Please."
"No problem." Hanbin input her order to the system, "and you, sir?"
"Americano... hot."
Hanbin paused, "sure." He continue his works.
"I wasn't hitting on you when I said hot." The guy said.
"Oh, too bad, I almost fell for it." Hanbin replied in a flat tone, "that would be 18,000 won, and can I get your name?"
The guy smirk and the girl chuckling in a mocking tone.
"Are you hitting on us?" the girl asked.
Hanbin didn't answer.
The guy laughing at her joke and giving Hanbin their name, "Bobby, I'm Bobby and she's Jennie."
"Ok, cool, thank you."
Jisoo watch him from the back, "got distracted, sir?" she asked.
"By what?" Hanbin asked back.
Jisoo pointed at Jennie with her chin, "she look a lot like—"
"No." he replied immediately then smiling.
Jisoo faintly laughing, flusterred Hanbin is always her favorite. Jisoo is more that a close friend, she already like his sister. "my cute baby bro." she ruffled his hair while caught him glancing at the cute petite girl again.
Hanbin's mind flew for the girl Jisoo just mentioned. Naeun was her name, excessively beautiful and pure, she and Hanbin had this long stable relationship before she studied fashion and fall for luxurious branded items, she left him after four years together for a richer guy who could afford her fancy bags and expensive dates.
He sighs before push the button and the buzzer in Bobby and Jennie's table blinking and buzzing.
"Jiwon, take it." Jennie said while busy with her phone, Jiwon rolled his eyes and raised to take the coffee, at the same time with when the bell jingling again.
Hanbin lift his head to see a girl stepped into his coffeeshop, she looks very simple in a messy bun, and her clothes are a bit boyish in a baggy jeans and a t-shirt neatly tucked inside the jeans, she brought an eco friendly tote bag, bluetooth earphone inserted in one of her ear, eyebrows furrowing into a frown.
"Leave if you can't stand her anymore, dad." She said, "what mom said? Oh I told her the same, leave, split up, if that makes you both happy." She inhales a big amount of the coffee scent that strangely mixed wit the tangy scent of a masculine after shaved, she turned and found another person standing next to her taking two cups with the name Bobby in it, he must be the owner of that masculine scent. "I gotta go, dad, bye."
Jiwon took his cups and back to his seat, not very far from the counter, he could still looking at the girl who just came, a little unusual but the book she brought, Science of Footwear, caught his attention.
She reached the counter bar and smiling at Hanbin, "hello."
"Rough day?" Hanbin casually asking, just a chitty chatty with an unknown customer.
"Yeah, I wish my parents got divorce." She shortly answer.
Jiwon heard it, that's what he wished for when he was a kid, but only because he couldn't bear to see her mother appeared falsely happy everyday in front of him even though her face decorating with new bruises from his father. Well, they separated shortly after and the old guy vanished, hopefully died already.
"Oh." Hanbin a little taken a back.
Suddenly wider smile blooming the girl's face, "You surely weren't ready for such answer, were you?"
That smile is so pretty that Jiwon scold himself for feeling jealous that the smile is for the dull guy behind the counter, well okay, he's not dull, he's kind of handsome, but for Jiwon, everyone received that kind of smile should've be someone as hot as him.
"Yeah, I wasn't ready."
"But true story tho, my parents keep on yelling at each other yet they don't wanna split, both are complaining to me about each other, tiring." She playfully rolled her eyes.
Hanbin chuckling, and again Jiwon from other corner doesn't like their interaction.
"I wish I had a good advice for you problem, but for now I only have coffee, so, what can I get you?" Hanbin asked.
She glance a bit to the menu on the wall, "Double shot latte." She grinned.
"Double shot latte?"
She nodded.
"Iced?" he asked again.
She nodded again.
Hanbin smiled, "right away!" he took a cup, "may I get your name?"
"Lisa."
"That'd be 10,000 won, miss Lisa." He smiled.
Lisa tapped her t-money to the machine and received her receipt right after.
"Thank you." Hanbin said.
"No, thank you for lending an ear."
"Anytime." Hanbin replied.
Chanwoo sat in front of her brother, Yunhyeong.
"Who's that?" Yunhyeong asked.
"Who...?"
"The female barista."
"Ah, Jisoo nuna?"
"She's very pretty."
"Yeah, I know right..." he murmured. Chanwoo tried to look around to change the conversation, he doesn't want Yunhyeong to be asking further question about Jisoo, worse if he ask for her number. Knowing his brother, Chanwoo doesn't want Jisoo to end up with him. "Lisa!"
He saw his classmate sitting not very far from him.
Lisa lifted her head, "Chan!" she grinned.
"Hey you coming to DK's birthday this weekend?" Chanwoo asked.
She nodded, "Yeah, you?"
"Yup!"
"Great!" she took her sketchbook from her bag.
"You joining the sneakers design competition?" Chanwoo asked.
Lisa nodded, "you?"
"I'm moving to furniture design this semester."
"Why?"
"Fashion is not my thing." Chanwoo replied.
But it sure is Jennie's thing, she stored her cle de peau cushion inside her new dior bag. Jennie sipped her drink and her eyes look around, her gaze stops at the guy behind the counter, Hanbin.
"Hey, Jiwon." She said.
Jiwon who's busy typing something on his phone lift his head.
"That barista," she said, "he's cute."
"Hm." He hummed. He knew Jennie didn't mean it, she doesn't like playing with young boy, well, boy in her age or around her age is considered ineligible for her because she only likes mature guy, better if he has a family, or at least a wife, so they couldn't be together. Because all she needs is just their money and undemanding sex without very much feeling involved.
"He ignored me." She continued.
"Oh, so you think he's interesting because he ignores you."
Her eyes still pinning on the guy.
"No, Jen, don't." Jiwon said.
"Don't what?"
"Don't ever think of fuck him for fun, he's the typical person who will baggage you with unnecessary drama. He'll fall in love with you immediately and will cling on you and cry on the phone everytime he could reach you."
Jennie laughs, "How can you describe something like that so precisely?"
"Well, uhm, kind of my everyday meal."
"Yeah, but you dealt with girls, of course girls would cry a river when you left them." Jennie rolled her eyes.
Customer are not all easy, Hanbin wiping wet cups while looking around his coffeeshop, his eyes moving from one customer to another, the one who ordered double shot latte and wants her parents to get divorce, Lisa, she's now sitting quietly while reading some books, Hanbin peeked on the book she reads; Science of Footwear, beside her is blank white papers, she might be a design student. He heard her and Chanwoo greeted each other, they must be friends. Chanwoo and his brother doesn't seems like talking, his brother, Yunhyeong is busier with his cellphone, taking picture of his coffee and uploading it to his SNS.
Then his eyes moving again to several customers that came with a group of friends chatting or alone with their laptop, typing something. Finally his gaze found the two good looking people who was flirty enough. Seems like the girl still dominating the talks, she's talking with hand gestures here and there, her expressive eyes widen and squinting as she describing something. The guy sat in front of her, crossing legs in a way it looks so good, his glasses are now slipped between his carefully-planned messy hair, elbow supporting arms on the chair-arm, fingers tangled beautifully while he's listening to her, sometimes smile formed, sometimes laughter heard.
"Okay, I told him I'll go with him abroad, now would you accompany me to buy some new clothes, Jiwon-ssiii~~" Jennie said in a cute tone.
"I am disgusted right now." Jiwon hissed.
They both stand off their seat and went towards the door, Jiwon is about to open the door when his hand bumped into Lisa's hand who was in hurry, and since his hand was also occupied with his coffee cup and the lid seems to be not installed properly, it fell and the coffee spilled a bit but it goes straight to Lisa's canvas shoes.
"Oh shit." Jiwon murmured.
Jennie peeked from behind him.
"Oh my God, I'm so so sorry!" Jiwon said.
"It's..." Lisa has to admit that she's captivated by his face, those lips that twisted into a worried pout.
Jiwon regretting the fact he's not that kind of old fashioned gentleman who always bring handkerchief everywhere.
"It's okay." Lisa repeated, "it's really—" she glance at the bus that coming from a far, must be her bus since she seems in hurry, "It's okay!" then she ran towards the bus station.
"Oof you spilled some on the floor!" Jennie turned to the counter to see if the baristas saw it.
"It's okay, I got that!" Jennie's smiling when Hanbin said that. He's quick.
"Thank you, man, thanks!" Jiwon salute him.
"You saw that girl's face?" Jennie asked
"Which girl?"
"The one you spilled coffee to her shoe."
"Oh, yeah, do we know her?" he asked.
"No, but, Jeesh, her face is like a doll."
Jiwon trying to remember her face, not so hard because everything in her face is so bold, her eyes are big decorated with a long lashes, her nose is not small and pointy but it screams snob, her lips... yeah that the first thing caught his eyes, its so plumpy and inviting.
"Not my type." Jiwon said.
Jennie scoffed but back to smile when Hanbin approached with a mob.
"I'm very sorry, man." Jiwon said.
"No worries." Hanbin pressed his lips into a thin smile.
"Thank you..."Jennie said and slightly bowing before leaving the coffeeshop.
Hanbin undeniably admit how pretty is that girl named Jennie. But too bad, even himself agrees that Hanbin and in love will never belong to the same sentence.
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a.n/ first chapter arrives! Please drop a comment or vote if u have time^^ and by the way, no offense for any Naeun stan bcs i only search for someone resembles Jennie.