Sweet Caffeine | Park Sunghoon ◇

Chapter 6

Timeskip
(2 days later, at the cafe)

Sunghoon's pov

I went into the staff room to get a new set of cups, but I caught someone hidden behind one of the cabinets. They hadn't noticed my presence, so I carefully walked towards them while staying as quiet as I can.

I was in face with the familiar girl's back and I peered over her shoulder to see her flipping through my..

My sketch book.

I snatched the book out of her hand which startled her.

“Sunghoon”
Hoyeon spun around and looked at me, scared.

“Don't look through my things without asking”
I shut the book close and put it on the highest shelf.

“I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist looking at your drawings. They're beautiful Sunghoon, why would you hide it?”
Hoyeon drew her brows together.

“You ask too many questions”
I grabbed the new set of cups from behind her and left the staff room.

She came out after a while and sat quietly, avoiding any interactions with me. I didn't mean to come off as rude, but she seemed to have taken it personally.

The truth is, I never wanted to touch or open that sketch book again. It's associated with a memory and there's one specific drawing that made me sob..for hours.

And she lives in my memory.

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Flashback
(7 months ago)

“You'll be okay, hoon. Believe me, you'll do just fine. Mrs Hye will always be there with you at the cafe”
She smiled at me, stroking my arm.

“You're not coming back here, aren't you?..”
My tone, disappointed and doubtful.

She could only stay silent when I asked, looking down in guilt.

“I love you a lot, hoon, but fate has its own plans for us. You'll find someone even better than me. A girl that will be by your side forever. It just won't be me”
She wiped a tear that rolled down her cheek.

I felt a stinging pain in my throat. Seeing her like this shatters my heart. I hugged her tight before I needed to let her go for good. My chest rose and fell, trying to accept the fact that I'm never going to see her again.

She slowly pulled her head away and stared at my lips before kissing me. I kissed back, not wanting the moment to end. But she slowly pulled away, looking at me with a sad smile. Her eyes spoke so much.

“One last thing, keep this with you. Promise me, to never throw it away?”
She handed me a red book.

I flipped through the first few pages and was amazed to see drawings of many different things. They were as gorgeous as her.

“Why are you giving me this? These are your drawings”
I looked back at her.

“I need to start fresh, hoon. Moving to the states means that I'll be starting a completely new life. I’ll get going, I have a flight to catch”
She replied, waving to me.

“Thank you. Have a safe flight”
I forced the muscles in my face to pull up a smile, before watching her leave.

I went back into the staff room and looked through the sketch book she gave me. She drew all sorts of things, and I didn't even know she had this side hobby the whole time I was with her.

I kept flipping for a while, until I came to one of the pages. It was a sketch of me. I was making some coffee in the cafe and I was smiling. There was a little caption at the bottom in her handwriting.

It said ‘my favourite smile in the whole world’.

My heart sank. Tears ran down my face as I read the sentence over and over again.

How will I ever forget you, Yeon Sera?

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She cut all ties with me, and we never got in touch again. Over the last few months, it's been hard getting over her. I got so attached to her that when she left, the heartbreak caused me to become closed off.

Mrs Hye would always comfort me when I got emotional about it, and I was so grateful to have her.

When Hoyeon suddenly started working at the cafe, I was very reluctant to warm up to her. I was afraid to get attached to anyone again. It was to the point I forgot how to make friends with people.

But after I heard what Hoyeon did, I thought I should give her a chance, but even if I got close to her, I was still cautious about it. There were times when we were being playful, and I had to remind myself not to get too immersed in it.

I never want to deal with the cruelty of love again.

“Sunghoon? Hello? They want you to take their order. Gosh I'm sorry for earlier, but they're dying to see your face”
Hoyeon was shaking my shoulders.

“Huh, oh”
I scrambled to my feet and went to the counter.

Hoyeon was fast with the drinks and served it on a tray. The customers made their way to a table.

“I'm sorry for looking through your stuff earlier. I didn't know it'd be important to you”
Hoyeon told me and I sighed.

“Forget about what I said. It was never mine in the first place. It's my ex’s sketch book”
I replied.

“Oh, I understand, but it was still wrong of me to invade your privacy. You must've kept it there for a reason”
She fidgeted with her fingers.

I sat back down again and rested my arm on the table.

“Did I trigger bad memories?”
She asked cautiously.

“They're not bad, but I just wished I never thought about it. We broke up because she moved away with her family to the states And before she left she handed me that sketch book which I promised to keep”
I explained to her.

“I see. I'm sorry to hear that. Oh! How about this!”
She exclaimed and walked towards the coffee machine.

She started making something. I was curious and followed her. Her little dimple was showing again. I guess she's excited.

“Here you go! Vanilla latte!”
She passed me the cup, a proud smile on her face.

I was quite surprised that she made it for me. This was my favourite coffee.

“How do you know this was my favourite?”
I took a sip and hummed in delight.

It was delicious too. I'm a good teacher.

“A little birdy gave me a tip”
She grinned.

“Thank you. You made it well”
I continued sipping on the latte.

“Welcome. Apology accepted?”
She asked.

Apology accepted.