a cup of coffee • kim doyoung

fourteen

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Kim Dongyoung

As much as I hate to admit, I was a little jealous of Mark. The way he and she got along so well made me sour, and there was nothing I could do but to just stand there and watch.

Mark trotted back to the kitchen with his tablet in hand. I looked towards the girl, who had her head rested on her palm and concentrating on her work. At least, it didn't look like she was interested in him.

"Yah," I stopped Mark in his tracks, "Why are you doing school work during working hours?"

"Don't worry, I just need to finish off this part and I'll get back to work." He left before I got to reply. I exhaled and
glanced at the corner table again.

"Why are you so down today?" Johnny walked to me with a cloth and cup in hand.

"I'm not," I let my sulkiness leak through my voice involuntarily despite my words.

"You know, if you want something to happen, you should be the one instigating it," He advised genuinely, "By the looks of it, Seyeon doesn't seem like the type to speak to others first."

"Her name is Seyeon?" I asked without missing a beat. That was the only part that got through my head. Johnny clicked his tongue.

"See? You didn't even know her name."

He leaned against the counter and wiped the cup he was holding thoroughly, "If you need some competition, I'm always here to give you a little determination." He looked at her with a smirk.

"I don't need another one, thanks," I assured him calmly even though my heart was thumping heavily inside me. Johnny looked at me cluelessly, then towards the kitchen, before looking back at me hysterically.

"Wait, you don't mean Mark, do you?" He laughed out loud while I tried to shush him.

"That's not what I mean-"

"That's exactly what you mean." He wiped away his imaginary tears and set the cup down. "Look, if it makes you sleep tonight, they're just really close friends who would kill each other for the last piece of cookie. I even asked Mark myself."

Silence fell upon us with that last sentence. Even though I sort of knew that it still felt relieving to hear it from someone else. Johnny placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Dongyoung ah, I hate to bring this up but it's been long since you've been interested in someone else since Yena," He started carefully despite my uncomfortableness, "Seeing you actually take notice of someone after 3 months of the isolation really moves me to help you, you know?"

He fake-sniffed and pretended like he was trying to hold back his tears. I scoffed at his unnecessary acting, but his words hit really near to home. Yena and I were really tight, dating for almost one year. However, during our first anniversary, she suddenly broke up with me with the reason for moving away. I knew there was more, but I was too shocked to question and just accepted it. About the isolation part... I won't talk about it.

"What are you saying," I mumbled while playing with spare change lying on the countertop.

"It's time to step out of your cave, man," Johnny said in English, before switching back to Korean, "Pour her a refill, make some small talk, although you did that one already. Once you feel like you're comfortable, ask for her number and get out of here."

"Sounds simple when you say it," I sarcastically replied, knowing I won't ever have the guts to try it.

"Just start with a refill, it already looks like both of you are acquaintances so it wouldn't be that hard, would it?" He gave me an assuring smile before looking towards the corner table, "I guess this is your chance now."

I followed his gaze and noticed the empty cup sitting on the table. Johnny gave me a signal and left, leaving me contemplating what to do. I glanced at Seyeon, then to the counter where a kettle of freshly brewed black coffee was sitting, then back to her. Aish.

I walked over to the counter and grabbed the kettle, calming myself before walking slowly to her table. I gave two knocks on the table and she lifted her head in surprised.

"Want a refill?" I poured the coffee into her cup before she got to say anything.

"Oh- thank you," she seemed baffled and fidgeted around, looking through her bag for something. I knew immediately what she was looking for.

"Don't need, Mark's friends get a special coffee refill." I gently shook the kettle in my hand. She let out an embarrassed laugh.

"Still, I don't wanna seem like a freeloader..." She looked around uncomfortably. I didn't want to turn this into another awkward situation, so I scurried to find a decent reply. My eyes landed on her tablet with two character sketches.

"It's not like you came here to slack off either, you're working on a school project, right?" I leaned in to get a better look at her sketch, but she hurriedly snatched it away and hugged it tightly against her chest. I stepped back in surprise.

"Ah... I'm sorry." she placed the tablet face down onto the table gently, "It's not complete yet so I can't show it to you."

I nodded in slight disappointment, a huge wave of regret crashing onto me. Silence fell over us almost instantly as I watched her fumble with her stylus. Did I accidentally cross her boundaries this time?

"Why not I tell you about it instead? As repayment for the refill too," She spoke after a while, and I smiled in relief.

"Sure."

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