Till the End of Time [Bbangsaz & Daerin]

04 | Heartache

| The Same Evening |

This woman. Hanni had seen her before, wasn't she the boss of the barista? She felt a sudden twinge in her chest, as if a knife was being plunged into her heart, but she had no idea why. She still sat on the cold ground of the sidewalk and looked into the grieving face of the black-haired woman. Minji herself couldn't believe it. It was as if she was catapulted back in time, the vision around Hanni changed and suddenly the image of her Hanni was sitting in front of her, with a delighted smile on her face, as if she had been waiting years for Minji to finally pick her up. But she was quickly torn from her thoughts when it suddenly started to rain and the woman spoke up.

After someone was apparently lost in thought, Hanni helped herself up and pulled herself up by the helping hand. The woman, who was a stranger to her, seemed to be really steadfast because even when she was clearly distracted, she didn't move a muscle. Back on her feet, Hanni patted the dirt off her pants and obviously let go of her hand. Only then did she turn her attention back to the other girl: "Eh, have we met?" Hanni cocked her head to one side, visibly confused that she knew her name and immediately wondered whether she had perhaps met her somewhere before, but unfortunately nothing came to mind. But the more she thought about it, the more her chest ached and as she continued to look in her direction, her eyes filled with tears again. Hanni didn't notice the latter, just like last time. At the same moment, it started to rain and dripped on her face as she looked up at the sky.

The question was hard for Minji to take, now she had just been stabbed in the heart by the woman she once loved. Of course she couldn't know, who else but Minji alone remembered the course of history? She really had to pull herself together not to wipe the tears from Hanni's face when she noticed them. Did her heart remember their time together? Minji wiped away the small tears on her own face with her sleeve and looked up as well: "No. . . you just reminded me of someone." Maybe it was for the best, she couldn't just tell her everything, that would only confuse her and drive her away. And the fact that the image of her former love might hate her in some way was something Minji couldn't bear. Nevertheless, she gestured to the café and the nameplate above it. "...I have dedicated this store to her. Filled with all the things she loved." Minji cleared her throat and looked back at Hanni, and the sight of her really pained her. "The rain seems to be getting heavier, can I give you shelter until then?" she asked Hanni, opening the door to the café and waiting to see if she wanted to come back in or leave.

Hanni wiped the wet raindrops from her face with her hand, wiping away her unnoticed tears at the same time, and tilted her gaze back towards the woman. So she even owned the whole store? She didn't look much older than Hanni herself. She must have come a long way, or maybe her parents were just successful in life? The little revelation about how the café came about sounded a lot like she had lost someone? Hanni didn't really dare to ask, she didn't want to open a wound that hadn't completely healed and she certainly wasn't in a position to ask her about it. "She seems to be very important to you," she replied and still had to giggle a little, "I guess we have more than just the name in common." A statement that Hanni didn't mean in a negative way, but it definitely left a mark on Minji. However, Hanni nodded unconsciously at the invitation, even though she actually wanted to go home, after all, she still had so much to do and had already wasted her time here with Haerin all day. But there was something that made her not want to leave just yet.

Danielle, who was still in the store, turned her gaze in the direction of the entrance and was about to greet the new customers when she realized who had just come through the door. Her boss and another woman, together? Actually, Minji being nice to her customers was nothing new, but the look she gave the shorter woman spoke a whole history lesson for itself. Of course Danielle had an eye for it, especially since it was the first fucking time she'd seen her boss like that. But she probably had to save the questions, because Minji wasn't even paying attention to her and only had eyes for her little new friend, what a cheek. She merely raised her hand to greet them both and Hanni responded with a small smile and a raise of her hand. Only then, and only now realizing it, did Minji raise her hand and give Danielle an apologetic look.