Coffee Noona

blue lemonade

"Yeah, last year was easier."

"Listen to your teacher during class, and don't forget to ask questions. It will make the end of the term more bearable." Irene lectured as she lifted her eyes from Lisa's collarbone.

"Ok."

"Are you an engineering major?" Irene had once seen her working with a drawing of some machine's frame on the computer. The nearby Daegu Technical University placed in the nation's top ten for mechanical engineering, so Irene guessed that Lisa was probably studying that major.

"Yeah, mechanical engineering."

"Wow, that's awesome." Irene said, "Ok, please wait a bit. I'll start on your order after I deliver this to table three."

"No rush." Lisa replied as she watched Irene walk away.

Irene returned to the counter and was about to make the coffee when she glanced at the glass pitcher full of lemonade that sat under the bar. Irene personally preferred lemonade over coffee, especially when the weather was hot, so she always had a pitcher or two's worth of lemonade prepared beforehand. She had let this pitcher of lemonade sit for a while so that the ingredients could mix and settle. It should be ready now.

"Do you want to try a glass of lemonade?" Irene lifted the pitcher of lemonade and removed the lid. A light, yet fragrant smell wafted into the air from the fermented lemonade. "I made it myself. Blue lemonade."

Lisa nodded, "Sure. Thanks."

Lisa was in her third year of university, so that meant she was around twenty years old, only about five to six years younger than Irene. However, her demeanor and speaking lacked the passion that many others her age showed. Even when Irene tried to converse with her multiple times, she only responded with a few words at most.

As the store became more crowded, Irene quickly poured Lisa a large glass of lemonade and hurried off to tend to other customers.

With so many customers to serve, time flew by quickly. In a blink of an eye, it was already three.

Irene took a break to catch her breath and looked up the weather forecast. The forecast earlier this morning had said it would be only 37-40° C. It was currently around 43° C. Not to mention, because this building wasn't near any shade, and the sun was notorious for being extra hot in Dalseo-gu, it probably felt like it was closer to 50° C. Anyone stuck outside during this weather would probably die.

Scrolling through Kakao, Irene's family group chat was quite lively. Her sister-in-law had just given birth to her second child in mid-June and had sent a picture of the cute little one-month-old in the group chat.

Irene couldn't resist commenting:

Irene: The baby looks cute.

Immediately a reply popped up.

Cousin: If you hurry up and get married, you can have a baby as well!!!!

A few more people joined in as well, telling her to find a partner. All of the relatives around her age, both men and women, had settled down, some with children already. She was the only one left, and although people marrying late is a more common trend now; still very few took that route.

Not to mention, she was different.

For people like her, forget marriage, finding someone was hard enough already.

During her university days, she had been in a few relationships, but each one had failed. The reality was not like the stories, just finding someone doesn't mean she'll fall in love.