espresso shot ; njm ✔️

34

lightning cracked the sky, illuminating the dense, churning clouds that rumbled ominously in response. along with the thunder came the promise of torrential rain, a heavy shroud that mirrored the gloom in aera's heart. 

on this not-so-fine sunday, the girl sat on one of the stools in the empty café and sighed. not a single customer had walked through the door since the storm began, and she felt trapped, like a prisoner of the rain.

her manager, blissfully on his honeymoon, was the last person she wanted to disturb. so she resigned herself to sitting quietly, waiting either for the rain to pass or for the clock to strike nine, signaling her chance to close up and escape.

but as she sat there, her thoughts inevitably drifted to jaemin. the guilt of thinking about him while being with donghyuck gnawed at her, but she couldn't control her feelings. jaemin hadn't visited the café in over four days, an absence that felt like an eternity. usually, he might skip a day, but four was unheard of. if he didn't show up in the last hour and a half before closing, it would be a record five days.

out of concern, she texted the group chat, hoping someone had seen or heard from jaemin. but the responses were disheartening; not even jeno had heard from him. however, he mentioned that when he called jaemin the other day, it was a brief conversation, and it sounded like he didn't want to talk, so jeno left him alone.

this is what really worried aera. if anything, jaemin would want to talk to jeno; they're best friends. 

she couldn't take it anymore and aera called her manager, apologizing before even getting another word out. "can i get off early please? an emergency—"

"go, it's okay," he sighed. "just make sure you lock everything up."

"thank you."

she hung up and did as she was told, making sure all of the lights were off and locking the doors before stepping into the relentless storm. 

rushing out, she quite literally bumped into donghyuck, who grabbed her shoulders to steady her. he wasn't oblivious; he could see the distress etched across her face. 

"do you know jaemin's address?" she blurted out, desperation lacing her voice.

it was evident that she didn't care about her appearance anymore. donghyuck exhaled, rain soaking them both. "aera, I don't think it's a good idea to go to jaemin's house."

he moved towards her, attempting to comfort her, but his heart cracked when she backed away. aera's tears blended seamlessly with the raindrops streaming down her face, but donghyuck could still tell she was crying.

she was hysterical, and all he could do was watch as she yelled, "please, hyuck! this is the first time in years he hasn't come in!"

it absolutely broke his heart as she came forward, grasping his shirt with trembling fists, clinging to him as if he were her lifeline. her hair, usually kept in place, was now drenched and plastered to her face, but she didn't care about her frazzled appearance.

with a heavy heart, he gave her jaemin's address, watching as she ran off into the storm. but she didn't get far; donghyuck called her name and grabbed her arm.

aera, consumed by worry and frustration, just wanted to get to jaemin. her love for his best friend was beginning to get painfully obvious to donghyuck.

"what?" she screamed, her voice piercing through the dark of the night and downpour. 

aera couldn't think clearly. she had no idea that she had just yelled at someone who had been nothing but caring, loving, and supportive of her for months now.