Playboy

Dix-Neuf

Eunji

Eunji rocked back on her heels, trying to alleviate the pain in her feet in any way possible. She took turns shifting to stand on her toes, and then rolling back to stand on her heels. Today had been a fast paced day at the shop, leaving her no time to rest until now. It was about six in the evening, two hours away from closing, and there were only a handful of people sitting down and enjoying their coffee. For the most part, Eunji wasn't expecting many people to come for the remainder of the day.

It had now been six months since she started dating Sehun, two since she slept with him. Despite Sunmi's doubts, Eunji's plan to solidify their relationship had worked. Sehun stayed at her place more often and only ever hung out with Kai in the afternoons. They were closer than ever. Sure, Sehun was still learning about being in a relationship, but he was quick to learn. Sometimes, they got jealous, but they always talked it out. Eunji was happy that they were both very willing to talk through everything and fully understand each other.

Through dating Sehun for half a year, Eunji had learned much that she had desired to. She learned that he was insecure about her keeping interest in him because he didn't know how to keep a relationship interesting after so long. His world had been fast paced and temporary where those things hadn't mattered. Now, he had to worry about dates and trying new things, but also understanding that falling into a pattern wasn't bad either. Eunji had also learned that he was afraid of committment. She had figured that much in meeting him, but had never guessed the reason why. He was afraid of people leaving him. His father had walked out on him and his mother when he was young, leaving some emotional scarring. He then decided that he wouldn't give others a chance to leave him, but would always leave them first. That was, at first, a little frightening to Eunji, but Sehun promised that part of being with her was getting over that.

"Why hello there, Eunji," a bright voice accompanied by the bells on the front door shook Eunji from her thoughts.

"Suho! What a treat!" Eunji grinned at her friend's brother. He had long ago promised to drop by the shop, but had never followed through.

"Wow, you really own this place?" Suho asked as he looked around, coming to rest his elbows on the counter before Eunji.

"Sure do." Eunji beamed.

"Impressive," Suho said with a nod and glanced over the menu.

"What can I get you?" Eunji asked.

"I will try your Xocolatl," Suho said after a moment.

"You come into my coffee shop and you don't even order coffee?" Eunji shook her head in mock disapproval before shouting over her shoulder. "Chanyeol, can you get out here and do some actual work?"

"I'm not one for coffee," Suho laughed as Chanyeol came out from the back, grumbling under his breath.

"I don't pay you to play video games on your phone." Eunji rolled her eyes with her hands on her hips. "Now, make Suho some Xocolatl."

"So this is the great Chanyeol," Suho said with a smirk, watching closely as Chanyeol prepared his drink.

"Aren't you Sunmi's brother?" Chanyeol asked. "She's told me a lot about you."

"And she's told me much about you." Suho raised a challenging eyebrow.

"If you two are going to fight, can you please do it outside of my shop?" Eunji asked with a laugh.

"Don't worry, Eunji." Suho turned to her. "I like this Chanyeol clown. He's made my sister happy and that's all I can ask for."

"I am not a clown!" Chanyeol protested as he placed Suho's drink in front of him.

"Yeah, you are," Eunji said with a grin.

Suho winked at Eunji and grabbed his drink to sit at the counter by the pastry case. Eunji watched as he drank his Xocolatl and eyed the snacks in the glass case. The two of them chatted for a little while longer about Sunmi and what Suho had been up to since he came to visit Korea. When a new customer came in, Eunji left Suho to himself as she served them. Chanyeol was busy cleaning up the empty tables, so she made their drink herself. After they had been served, Eunji went back to standing at the counter and shifting her weight on her feet. She hoped Sehun would drop by soon. Eunji remembered Suho suggesting that he meet Sehun and give her his verdict on how much he had changed. After six months of dating, she hoped that Suho would see a positive change in Sehun.

As if by some miracle, at 7:30 the door opened and Sehun entered the shop. He immediately came over to greet Eunji with a kiss and she made him his favorite Nitrogen-infused iced coffee.

"Sehun, I want you to meet Suho, Sunmi's brother," Eunji said when he had settled down by Suho at the counter, "he was at the party I met Kai at, but you two didn't really get to meet."

"I don't know if you remember, but we were roomates for a few months when you first started college," Suho said as he reached out to shake Sehun's hand.

"You know, I vaguely remember that." Sehun nodded and shook Suho's hand.

"Well, I've got to start on preparing to close up, so you two can chat." Eunji waved, thankful that she had an excuse to leave them alone together. Without her there, Suho could talk to Sehun about their relationship and see what he thought.

She quickly busied herself taking inventory of the beans she had and what would need to be roasted and refilled the following morning. Eunji jotted down what she needed on the whiteboard hanging in the back and then organized her things so she would be ready to go as soon as it was closing time. When she was done in the back, Eunji went to the register to count the money and put it away in the safe in the back. She came back out once more to collect any dirty dishes and disappeared into the back one final time to wash them. By the time she had finished all her duties, it was time to close up. All the customers that had been in her shop were now long gone save Suho and Sehun.

"You boys have a fun trip down memory lane?" Eunji asked with a small laugh.

"It was cool seeing you, Sehun, but I've got to run," Suho said, standing up from his chair and shaking Sehun's hand once more.

"Thanks for stopping by." Eunji smiled.

"Of course!" Suho grinned back. "I'd love to come back again before I leave."

"Bye now." Eunji waved.

"Oh!" Suho turned around as he held the door open, pointing at Eunji. "I will email you about that thing with the thing."

"Thanks," Eunji said gratefully.

Suho left and Eunji double checked that everything was in order for her to close up for the night. She, Sehun, and Chanyeol all exited the shop and Chanyeol went on his was as Eunji locked the door. When everything was all locked up, she and Sehun left to her apartment. They walked hand in hand, swinging their arms in time with their steps. Eunji savored the cool night breeze and the feeling of warmth coming from their interlocked fingers. She truly did enjoy being with Sehun.

When they arrived at her apartment, the two changed into their pajamas and lounged in Eunji's bed. Sehun was reading a book from Eunji's vast collection and Eunji brought out her laptop to see if Suho had emailed her yet.

Eunji,

I think you guys are golden. Sehun is nothing like the guy I met in college, he's, like, 100% committed to you. When I asked about your relationship, he gushed about how great you are and how much you've taught him. He said he thinks he has a lot more to learn, but he's pretty confident that you two will last a long time. I'm surprised that you've already been together for six months! That's incredible for the Oh Sehun I knew. Honestly, if I had to say it, I think he loves you. Cherish that, okay? From what Sunmi told me, he makes you really happy. I think that you make him happy too. I wish you guys good luck! If you ever need some brotherly advice, come to me, okay? Sunmi considers you her sister, so I consider you my sister too.

Suho

Eunji smiled at her computer screen, content. She had masterfully dodged any conflict with Kai, and now had both Luhan and Suho rooting for her relationship. She had a great feeling about this. As she looked over at Sehun with his brow furrowed over some imaginary conflict in his book, she wondered if one day he would ever say that he loved her.