The New Girl | 𝘈𝘛𝘌𝘌𝘡

Tea

ROSE

로스: San, please talk to me
로스: you can't just ignore me forever
로스: for the sake of the musical, please at least forgive me long enough for us to get through the show

I groan and fall back against my bed as my texts go unread, along with the 20 other texts I've sent him in the past couple of weeks. I know I messed up, but how am I supposed to fix it if he won't talk to me?

리사: I ended things with Hongjoong and I feel like a jerk
리사: let's go for drinks? I need a distraction

I want to be excited by the text, but I only feel the nagging in the pit of my stomach.

로스: on my way

I sit up and grab my jacket before slipping out the door—

...and colliding with San.

"Hey..." he gives me a forced smile, which only makes the guilt in my stomach grow.

"Hey..." I scan his face and look for signs of anger, but there is none. He just looks... sad. "Any chance you want to go for drinks with me and Lisa? I'm on my way to meet her now."

"I'm good, thanks." He shakes his head and walks straight past me, but he pauses before he gets to his door. He grips the doorknob, but his gaze shifts back to me. "I... I don't want to lose you as a friend, but it's hard to be around you right now. I need a little time to get over you, so please just give me a little space."

A single pebble is lifted from the pile of rocks on my chest, but at least it's something. "If that's what you need, then okay."

San gives me a small wave before making his way back into his dorm room, and I finally find the courage to walk to the elevator to meet with Lisa.

ANNA

The cafe is quieter than I'm used to seeing it, but at such a late hour on a weekday, it's unsurprising. A couple of small groups are bent over their laptops as they discuss the details of their assignments, but my only assignment is to get tea for me and Mingi before his father arrives.

"What flavor do you like?" Mingi asks softly, the nerves very apparent in his voice even as he attempts to mask them.

"Matcha is my favorite," I tell him. It's obvious that he's looking for anything to distract himself from what's about to happen, but if I can alleviate that stress with talk about tea, I'm happy to. "Have you ever tried it before?"

He shakes his head. "I always just get taro even though it's way too sweet for me."

"Why get it if you don't like it?" I can't help but chuckle slightly at the odd lack of logic.

"It's what Yunho gets," he mutters, "and I guess I'm not big on trying new things."

"Well, you should broaden your horizons a little." I knock his arm with my shoulder, though I basically hit his elbow due to the height difference. "If you try different things, you can find something you actually like."

"What can I say? I'm a creature of habit." He chuckles as we approach the counter.

"Well, we're going to shake things up a little bit today." I order a strawberry milk tea and a matcha milk tea and lead him to a table to wait for our order.

"What made you pick strawberry?" He asks as he takes the seat to my left.

It's Seonghwa's favorite, my subconscious answers, but I have a feeling Mingi wouldn't be too happy to hear that. "I don't know. It just sounded different."

"I'm excited to try it." Mingi stands when our order is called and retrieves the drinks for us, but once he's returned, the silence thickens past the point of normality.

"You hate it, don't you?" I ask, and he grimaced with a nod.

"It's way too sweet," he says with a slight cough. "Oh my god, that's sweeter than the taro."

I laugh and trade cups with him. "Try mine."

He takes the green cup and eyes me with hesitation as the straw finds his lips. He hums thoughtfully, taking his time to slowly nod in approval before pushing the pink cup towards me. "Much more my speed."

I playfully swat his arm before taking the pink cup and trying the sweet drink, and the rush of sugar brings Seonghwa to mind.

Seonghwa

I check my phone for any missed messages from him, but there's nothing, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed by the fact.

"I'll trade back with you," Mingi says, breaking me of my concentration.

"Huh?" I push my phone back into my pocket and try to bring my attention back to him.

"If you don't like the strawberry, I'll trade back." He looks nervous again, which is still so foreign to me given his usual demeanor.

"No, it's okay," I take another sip of the strawberry tea and try not to think of the boy who's lips taste just like it. "Did Hongjoong confirm that he's coming?"

After Mingi's reaction earlier, I won't dare mention 'his father', but I am curious to know when exactly we'll be meeting him.

"He should be here in a couple of minutes..." his eyes trail over to the door as he becomes lost in thought. "...we're you scared to meet Yoongi?"

"Part of me was," I tell him. "I was scared of what he'd be like, but I think I was mostly scared of rejection."

"That's kinda how I'm feeling right now," he admits quietly. "What if he's disappointed when he meets me? I'm not exactly the model child that parents dream of."

"What? Because of a piercing?" I pat his hand to try and comfort him. "Mingi, as hard as you try to come across as an asshole, you have a good heart. Your d—this man has been actively looking for you. He loves you even without knowing you. He's only going to love you more once he get to know you."

"I hope you're right..." he mutters just as someone around Yoongi's age comes into the shop with Uncle Namjoon.

"Jieun?" Uncle Namjoon gives me his heartwarming, dimpled smile that I've become familiar with as he and the new man walk over. "Hongjoong said you'd be here. It's good to see you."

"Uncle, are you..." I glance at Mingi, who is frozen in place as he watches us. "Hongjoong said—"

"—oh no, sweetheart," he glances over his shoulder at his friend, who looks a bit nervous himself. "I'm just here to help facilitate; same as you."

"Hi," the other man greets, but his gaze is fixed on Mingi, who refuses to meet it. "Mingi?"

Mingi doesn't budge, and so I take my seat once more and give his clench fist a soft squeeze. "You can do this. I'm right here, okay?"

Mingi unlocks his fist and laces our hands together before finally finding the courage to look up at the man. "Hi"

"I..." he looks to Uncle Namjoon, who gestures for him to sit across from us. "I don't even know where to begin... you... you're so tall."

"I get that a lot," Mingi mumbles quietly, which makes the man smile.

"Do people also tell you that you look just like your mother?" He asks.

"Not really," he answers, followed by silence.

"Jackson, do you want some tea?" Uncle Namjoon asks.

"That would be great, thank you," the man answers before turning back to Mingi. "Oh I uh.. I guess I didn't ever really introduce myself. I'm not really sure how you want to call me, but my name is Jackson Wang... I'm your father."