a cup of coffee • kim doyoung

nineteen

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Kim Seyeon

My phone rang as I stepped out of the subway station. It was from Seha.

"Why?" I walked behind a pillar to hide from the wind, which hit me like a cold wall of ice.

"Did you see my message?" She practically yelled through the phone due to the background noises on her end. "Make sure you get the 6-pack vitamin drinks!"

"Yes, yes, I know so you didn't need to call me," I sighed irritatedly. I don't really like calling because it drains my energy fast, so I only use it for emergency uses. My friends all know this so they text instead, but my sister is an impatient cookie.

"Who knows when you'll look at your phone? Calling is better," she complained, "Anyway remember to buy those! Bye!"

She hung up before I even got to say anything. Geez, what do I do with this girl? Whenever it's competition season, she has this habit of drinking this vitamin water that is a hassle to find, the sole reason why I'm here in the first place.

I stepped out from behind the pillar, almost bumping into someone. I apologised hastily when someone caught my attention.

"Kim Seyeon!" A familiar voice yelled from a distance as I squinted through the bright sun rays, trying to find the source of the subject. I spotted a recognisable figure running towards me.

"Oh?" I waved as an enthusiastic Mark came trotting towards me, followed slowly by his friends.

"I thought you were visiting your grandparents?" Mark asked curiously, "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, I just came from there, now I have to get something for Seha and then head home." My words dragged as I felt a food coma kicking in. Sigh, why did I eat so much just now?

"Really? So fast?" He pondered for a second, "Why not hang with us for a while?"

"Us?" I looked past him and noticed four people strolling towards us, immediately recognising them.

"Ah, those friends from the cafe?" I felt a little queasy just at the thought of hanging out with them. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I hate them or anything, but it's gonna be extremely awkward. But then again, this might be my chance to get to know him better.

"Well, sure, why not?" I answered as Mark's eyes gleamed with happiness.

"Wow, you ditched us real quick," A voice from behind him chattered as his friends surrounded him. I made eye contact with Dongyoung but looked away quickly.

"Seyeon's gonna be joining us today!" Mark announced excitedly like a kindergartner boasting about his big birthday party. I bowed a little out of habit.

"Really? Nice!" Johnny casually slid beside me, suddenly sticking out his hand. "Hi, I'm Johnny, pleased to meet you."

"I know, we met before." I shook his hand gently but he winced in exaggeration. If he sensed even a little of my awkwardness, I really applaud him for his ability to make me feel comfortable.

"Ah, you probably haven't met the rest yet." Mark gestured to the other three. "This is Jaehyun, Ten and Dongyoung."

I greeted them politely, exchanging glances yet again with him. There was a weird atmosphere between us, almost like we had never shared a conversation at all. My stomach churned horribly. Maybe hanging out today wasn't a good plan after all.

"Ahh I'm hungry," Ten whined, "Can we find somewhere to eat?"

"Sure, do you have any cravings, Seyeon?" Johnny suddenly directed a question to me.

"I just had dinner so I'm good."

"Oh, I think there's a burger place somewhere there, let's go!" Mark chimed as he skipped in front, leaving me uncomfortably between his friends.

"Yah, do you even know where you're going?" I caught up with him to escape the awkward air behind me.

"Of course! It's right over there, see?" Mark pointed in the direction ahead of us, but all I could see was blocks of buildings. I'm starting to lose hope in this guy.

"Don't worry, I have Google Maps," Johnny suddenly poked his head between us, startling both of us. "It's a 3-minute walk straight upfront."

"See, I told you I knew where I was going!" Mark retorted and nudged me hard, causing me to stumble back. I caught sight of a quiet Dongyoung at the corner of my eye and glanced over my shoulder. As much as I wanted to talk to him, I didn't want his friends to sense anything amidst between us, because there really isn't anything. To put it simply, it shouldn't look weird. I needed a more natural approach, but how?

"We're here!" Mark's voice snapped me out of my thoughts as the smell of freshly baked chicken patties entered my nose, tackling my sense nodes fiercely. I suddenly felt hungry again.

We found a table for four and two, meaning we had to sit separately. Not wanting to be stuck in that two-seater, I snagged a corner seat at the table for four, with the rest of them eventually settling down, Dongyoung diagonally across from me.

"I'm going to order." Jaehyun stood up and went to the counter, with Mark and Johnny following behind him. Ten left to go to the washroom, leaving only both of us at the table. It almost seemed like it was planned.

I pulled out my phone, scrolling through Instagram for a few seconds before getting bored of it. I looked up and made eye contact with him for the third time today, managing a small smile this time. He returned it back, but things just seemed to get more awkward.

Well, this is suffocating.

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