Last Night at the Café

18 | Cha Yen Tart

A / N

Welcome to another chapter of LNATC! If you are a new reader here, cheers! Have yourself a cha yen tart!

~

AUNT TO HER babies.

Seollal let out a laugh as she edited the photographs she had taken with Yu Ah earlier. She would miss the hallway gossip, the shared lunches, the morning commute to school when she would drop by Home and meet her friend along the stretch of street side stalls to buy their snacks. Her shy, quiet self of four years ago would never have envisioned the friendships and the experiences she had chalked up over time. She could still recall the bright and pretty Kim Yu Ah striding up to her in her heels, the friendliest smile on her face as she offered to show her around the school.

She would miss the warmth of such close friendship indeed, but it wasn't as if they would never see each other again.

All of a sudden, a message popped up on her phone.

카즈 오빠:

Are you still awake?

I have something for you.

Be there in ten minutes.

Just received

She hopped off her couch with a gasp, her heart nearly jumping from her chest as one hand flew to the towel wrapped around her damp hair.

Ten minutes!

She was in her pajamas!

She unwound the towel from around her head, hurriedly dashed to hang it up, then glanced frantically around for her hairdryer. As she willed her hair to dry while aiming the hairdryer here, there and everywhere, she scanned her tiny house for any item out of place. She was glad she had put her things in order the moment she got home.

But was the floor dusty?

Did it still smell of last night's cooking?

Was she even presentable in her pajamas?

"How is that ten minutes?" she exclaimed when the buzz of the door resounded in her apartment.

She had just put her hair brush away, straightening her hair over her shoulders, before letting out another gasp. She hadn't changed out! She couldn't see him in her pajamas! Not in this variety at least, consisting of pink and white stripes and slightly puffy sleeves. There was a soft knock at the door. She couldn't make him wait out there either! With a huff, she scurried to it, peered into the peephole, then opened the door an inch.

"I'm in my pajamas," she blurted when she caught sight of him. 

He was decked in his black puffer jacket, his eyes lengthening when he smiled, his hair falling over his face.

"I'm here to deliver a treat." He waved a brown paper bag in her face. Then his gaze dropped to her outfit. "It's pretty. You look cute."

She swallowed, just detecting the scent of pastry crust and something sweet. She tugged her hair over her shoulders - goodness, she hadn't even time to put on a bra - before ushering him in.

"You didn't have to come so late," she said when he slipped out of his shoes and hung up his coat. "You have a shift tomorrow."

He pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head, startling her so that she jumped.

"I wanted to see you."

Warmth spread over her features as she cast him another glance. As he found his way to her bathroom to wash his hands, Seollal laid the box on her tiny dining table, together with utensils. When she opened the lid, her eyes grew wide, taking in the bright orange filling surrounded by a brown crust. It looked tantalising, emanating a familiar scent. He had joined her across the table, watching her with an expectancy in his gaze, his fingers held in a steeple under his chin as if in prayer.