a cup of coffee • kim doyoung

eleven

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Kim Seyeon

I stared at back at the big round eyes above me.

"I should be asking you the same thing," I was still bewildered by his presence, "I didn't know you worked here."

"I didn't know you ate here," Mark didn't miss a beat, "You should have told me."

"Same goes to you," I retorted, although it was partly our fault for not asking. I didn't realise we never knew the name of his workplace, but I just assumed he wanted to keep it as a secret.

"You never asked," he snarled. It seemed like this heated conversation would only go back and forth endlessly. At the same time, I took in his waiter look.

"Woah, but this style suits you though," I sniggered as I scrutinised him from head to toe, "Who knew the great Mark Lee would be serving me coffee?"

"Yah, cut it out, people are watching," he muttered through gritted teeth and glanced around us. Other customers started to turn heads and I could tell he was a little embarrassed, but it was just so fun to tease him.

"What's going on here?" A tall guy suddenly appeared beside Mark, looking at him curiously. Wait, I remember him.

"Dude, are you flirting with a customer?" That guy asked in disbelief and I almost choked on my saliva, "Didn't we make a deal to not do that anymore?"

"Flirting? With her? Over my dead body," Mark scoffed and somehow I got a little offended, "This is my close friend."

"Hello, I'm Kim Seyeon," I greeted the guy politely, "And I'm way too out of his league anyway," I smirked at Mark, who was stunned by my reply. The tall guy beside him nearly burst out laughing.

"Ouch... I see," he managed to compose himself, "I'm Johnny, by the way. The owner of this place." He stuck out his hand boastfully and I shook it with a smile. He seemed like a rather friendly person, but Johnny's Cafe? Maybe not much on the creative side.

"Yah, why didn't you tell us your beautiful friend comes to my cafe? Selfish much," Johnny nudged Mark, who looked as baffled as he was.

"Excuse me, but I just found out today she comes here too!" Mark defended quickly. I see where this is going.

"Um," I interrupted in the most polite tone as possible and they both looked at me, "I don't wanna be rude, but if you're going to continue arguing, please go somewhere else."

I finished my sentence with a smile, hoping I didn't sound harsh. Their astonished reactions made me think for a second that I actually did, but I wasn't gonna let them ruin my study session.

"Wow, feisty," Johnny chuckled after a few seconds. Now I felt bad for saying that to someone I just met.

"Yah, isn't this project due in 3 months? It's only the second week," Mark scanned my screen, "And what are these supposed to be?"

He laughed while pointing at the sketches of my human characters. I immediately slammed my laptop shut, internally wincing at the sharp sound upon impact.

"These are ideas which apparently, you don't have," I shot back at him. Soft sniggers were heard around the cafe while Mark's ears turned red in embarrassment. Who is he to judge anyway? I'm the one who taught him how to draw a perfect circle.

"I have ideas, okay," Mark fought back pathetically, "I just haven't put then onto the drawing board yet."

"Alright kids," Johnny eventually stepped in after enjoying our show for a good minute, "Let's not have a fight right before peak hour."

He placed a hand onto Mark's shoulder to calm him down. He bent down to my level and whispered, "Let us know if you need a refill. Johnny's treat."

He winked and shot a finger gun at me. I managed to return a smile before he left with an angsty Mark. Johnny's an interesting character.

I followed them until they entered the kitchen, and my eyes gradually travelled over to the counter. He was talking to someone at the back and I couldn't help but wonder so many things. What his life is like, how his personality is, what he does every day, thoughts like these keep popping into my head every now and then.

Our eyes met momentarily when he turned. We exchanged smiles and I quickly returned to my screen.

It was nice meeting Johnny, and he seems like a great person to get along with especially with Mark around, but I kind of wished the person who walked over was someone else.

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