Feeling Brew

~3~

Isla stood at the edge of the pool, staring into the still water. Her reflection smiled back at her, and she kicked it, rippling her form. Eagerly, she dove in, letting the cool water surround her once again. But this time, it felt terribly cold, and the deep end looked about ready to swallow her up. She tried to kick her legs into motion, but she couldn't focus.

"So we'll let her try out, but we'll just pretend to lose her forms and forget she ever tried out for the swim team."

"Mi Ran, why do you hate her so much?"

Mi Ran smirked. "I don't hate her. I'm just not letting some 5'0 girl that's skinnier than a twig onto the team. I don't want NCTU's reputation to go down just because of some loser."

Isla lost control and rammed into the edge of the pool, bruising her side. Remnants of his face flashed in her memory, and she shook her head wildly, trying to pull herself together. Quickly, she climbed out of the pool and drew her towel tightly around her when she noticed the lifeguard's lingering gaze on her. That same pathetic reflection greeted her in the empty locker room.

Just a few days ago, the most popular girl at NCTU had approached her, asking to be friends and whatnot. But just minutes ago, she had overheard Mi Ran's conversation with some of the other girls on the team. She had thought she could start anew and leave all her insecurities in the past.

Isla sneered at her reflection in disgust and quickly changed into her jeans and t-shirt. She swung her duffel bag over her shoulder and headed outside only to be greeted by dark storm clouds that looked ready to burst any second. Not even two steps down the sidewalk, the rain started coming down in sheets. There was no point in taking shelter in a store until the storm passed. She was already soaked. However, she noticed a warm-looking coffee shop down the road and smiled. There was nothing like caffeine to give her spirit a kick start.

She walked into Feeling Brew and noticed that dark, fluffy hair and prominent jawline. His kind gaze met hers, but he quickly focused his eyes anywhere but her. Was she that much of a sore sight?

Isla tasted the hot latte he had made her and couldn't hide her smile. As much as she had wanted to cry and be sad, the drink had really lifted her up. But this was just a temporary fix. Tomorrow, she'd have to go back to NCTU and live this torture all over again.

She locked herself in her apartment and stress baked a crap ton of cookies while she was at it.

Dang, I've made too many cookies again, haven't I? She stared at the baking sheet and smiled. Hopefully the neighbors wouldn't mind finishing a batch up for her. She packed the cookies neatly in a box and knocked on the door across the hall. A guy who looked twice her height opened it and smiled warmly.

"I'm new here, and I just wanted to give you these. Please enjoy them. I moved in just across the hall."

The boy nodded. "Oh I see! My roommate and I definitely have a bad sweet tooth, so we'll enjoy these for sure. Thanks for swinging by!"

Isla collapsed on the sofa and shivered as her hair stuck to her neck. It was still wet from when she had gotten drenched in the rain earlier. Maybe transferring to this Korean university had been a big mistake. But NCTU was ranked top five in the world for music studies, so this was the place she needed to be in order to establish a strong foundation. Her parents would be so disappointed if she couldn't even last a semester.

Fine. Just one semester. I can hang on for just one semester, right? Should be easy.

Isla hoped she could avoid Mi Ran and live like a normal college student, but then again, she liked a good challenge.

~~~

"Yo, Taeil. Can you make me some liquid gold?" Johnny asked as he looked through pictures on his camera.

Taeil grinned. His job as a barista never really ended, did it? All his experience at Feeling Brew had seasoned him into an expert. He crushed some Robusta coffee beans in a French press and prepared a steaming pot of coffee for his roommate- what Johnny referred to as 'liquid gold.' There was nothing better than a warm drink on a day like this. As he made himself a mug of hot chocolate, he wondered if Isla got home okay.

"What are you thinking about so deeply over there?" Johnny asked, snapping a picture of him at the counter.

Taeil rubbed the back of his neck. "Say, if you keep running into someone, how would you say hi?"

Johnny laughed. "You want to say 'hi' to someone? Forget it. Remember the last time that happened?"

Taeil remembered the incident from freshman year and cringed. "Don't remind me. But what would you do?"

"It's simple. I'd just let it happen naturally. I find it strange to plan what I want to say ahead of time. Are you trying to make a new friend?" Johnny was glad Taeil was opening up. Ever since that incident in middle school, Taeil had become the timid boy he was now. He was terrified of making friends and going on social outings. Johnny felt bad for him. He had had to defend the kid all through middle and high school, convincing everyone that Taeil wasn't actually a cold person.

"I dunno yet. I'll be in my room if you need me," the older of the two sighed, and he grabbed his mug of hot chocolate and retreated into his room.

Closing the door behind him, he slowly sank to the floor, his back pressed against the wall. The warm glow of the lamp and the soft drizzle of rain drops was enough to help him lose himself in his memories. It seemed like just yesterday he had been that kid sitting all alone in the cafeteria.

"Look at him. He thinks he's all that just because he has a nice face."

Taeil gripped his lunch tray tighter as he took a spot at an empty table. He wanted to tell them they were mistaken, but the words wouldn't come out. All he could do was stare at them sadly and roll his internal monologue. He wearily lifted his chopsticks and poked at his rice.

"Is anyone sitting here?"

Taeil looked up and noticed a tall boy with a huge grin on his face. His name tag on his school uniform was printed in English instead of Korean, but Taeil could read it easily.

"No one's sitting here... Johnny."

Johnny took a seat. "So, what are your hobbies."

Taeil watched as Johnny wolfed down his food, and suddenly, the tray in front of him looked more appetizing.

"I like to sing," he replied.

Johnny nodded. "Okay, so I guess I have to record you, so you can be my ringtone. I've always wanted to be friends with a good singer so that they could wake me up in the morning with their lovely voice. My mom's voice is nice, but it doesn't make for the best alarm."

Taeil and Johnny laughed as they ate their lunch together. That had been the start of their ten year-long friendship.

Having someone there to stand by him had made a world of a difference. Even when things got hard, Johnny had had his back, and fought for him until the very end. His roommate was right. Conversation wasn't something you could force, and the last thing Taeil wanted to do was make the same mistake he made freshman year. And maybe making a friend would break that cold image people had of him.

"You got this, Moon Taeil. You totally got this."

 ---

Question of the chapter:  What song do you would you have as your ringtone to wake you up?  I always choose super energetic songs so that I don't feel tempted to snooze.  Recently, my alarm has been "Gashina" by Sunmi :)