a cup of coffee • kim doyoung

sixteen

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Kim Dongyoung

Don't you hate it when your day always starts with the same old nice morning but I'm standing here waiting for something fun to happen?  Well, today's one of those days.

"Ah~ I can't wait for Chuseok," Ten exhaled loudly as he stretched his back backwards, "We can finally take a break from this place."

"Right?" Mark chimed as he strolled back after serving another customer. "I already have a full set of plans laid out for the holidays." He jumped up to sit on the counter, smiling satisfactorily.

"Aren't you still a university student? Don't you have assignments or something?" Ten poked Mark's arm while the latter brushed him off.

"I still have enough time before submission, I can make time," He answered, annoyed. Ten looked him up and down and clicked his tongue. Mark looked at him questionably.

"I pity that friend who's helping you," Ten sighed exaggeratedly, side glancing the red-haired boy beside him. He joked, "Don't you feel guilty?"

Mark became speechless, playing with the excess string on his apron as he tries to think of a plausible argument. I subconsciously let out a small laugh, drawing the attention of both of them.

"By the way," Mark started, and for some reason, I felt anxious, "Do you know Seyeon? You two seem unexpectedly close."

Ten shifted his eyes on me as well as I felt the heat from the sudden question. Truth or lie, I had to answer fast or they'll know something is going on, and I don't want to drag her in this.

"Ah, that." I bit my lip and looked at them, trying my best to conceal my nervousness, "I was just trying to be nice since she's your friend."

I held my breath, hoping that would ease their suspicions, but to no avail. They seem the least bit convinced at my textbook answer, but what I'm worried about is what they'll ask next.

"No... there's more than that," Mark narrowed his eyes on me as Ten just seems confused, looking back and forth between us. It suddenly felt like I was being interrogated, with tension rising within the 2 metres between us.

"Do you like her?" Ten suddenly asked blatantly, startling both me and Mark. Well, more of Mark because I sort of saw that question coming. That's why I was prepared.

"What are you talking about? We barely know each other," I answered after a slight pause to make it more believable. Ten took the bait and nodded, while the person beside him was still deciphering on his own. After a few seconds, he suddenly jumped down from the counter, adjusting his glasses that had slipped down his nose due to the sudden motion.

"Alright, you're off the hook for now due to lack of evidence, but I will find out what's happening." He pointed at me, trying to look like those cool detectives in movies. Right now, he just looks like a red-headed Detective Conan.

"You're gonna ask your friend, aren't you," Ten replied as Mark flinched.

"Don't expose my ways of investigation." He turned his finger to Ten, who smacked his finger away immediately. Mark eyed me sceptically, before walking away to clear some tables. I exchanged glances of exasperation with Ten as he left for the kitchen, while I let out a huge sigh.

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The day continued as per normal, but now with much more uneasiness. Every time I made eye contact with Mark, he'll narrow his eyes and mouth - I'm watching you, and to be honest it's quite uncomfortable. I'm not worried about him asking Seyeon anything because I wouldn't have a say in that, but more of him observing what I do around her. For the first time, I was glad she hadn't come here yet.

The door opened and I jumped a little but heaved a sigh of relief.

"Why are you so shocked to see me?" Johnny joked, before running a hand through his hair, "I guess it must be my unrivalled beauty."

"What a joke," I coughed. At least he got my mind off the walking time bomb that was busy serving customers around the cafe. My eyes travelled down to the yellow paper bag he was holding.

"Did you buy gifts for us?" I pointed to it brightly as he lifted it up.

"Woah~ You sure have great insight!" He placed the bag on the counter and reached inside. Johnny is quite the gift giver especially when it comes to special occasions. Maybe it's because it's nearing Chuseok or we're just such great employees, but I was still surprised to see him bring something out of the blue, although the bag looked kind of flimsy.

After fumbling around, he finally pulled out what looked like a handful of tickets. He exclaimed, "Ta-da! I got us a trip to a moon rabbit exhibit!"

He waved the tickets in front of my face as I felt a mixture of both delight and disappointment.

"What? Then what was this huge bag for?" I complained. I was legitimately expecting something like a new coffee dispenser or something close to that, I don't know but tickets was the least expected.

"Ah sorry, I ran out of bags and I didn't want to crumple them." He brushed off lightly, "Anyway, hope you're all free next Wednesday so we can go there together!"

He passed on a ticket to me and left to find the others. I took a look at the pastel yellow piece of paper that was decorated with tiny stars around the corners, and traditional calligraphic characters written neatly in the middle. It almost looked like someone handmade the tickets themselves. My eyes shifted to the details of the exhibition.

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26 Sept 2020 - 4 Oct 2020
Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Experience the Legends of the Moon Rabbit through a picturesque corridor of its history, interactive storytelling walls as well as a room filled with various rice cakes and their origins, a place to be enjoyed with your family and friends!
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It's a shame that only the 5 of us could go.

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