PROMPTS

Coffee Lover - 7

Jeong Hyeok and Se-ri continued to see each other regularly. Sometimes it was on formal dates, on other times it was casual drop ins at the coffee shop.

From the time of their first formal date, Jeong Hyeok didn't let a week pass by where he wouldn't take Se-ri out on a formal dinner or lunch date where they sat down to talk with no interruptions.

Soon, they were coming up on their 10th formal date in over 2 months.

"Where is the boyfriend taking you this time?" Mi-yeon asked.

"He's not my boyfriend," Se-ri told her for the nth time.

"You've been seeing him exclusively for two whole months. You obviously like each other and the sexual tension between you two could light up a whole city. What's wrong?" Mi-yeon asked.

Se-ri flopped down on her bed beside Mi-yeon. "I really like him, Unnie."

Mi-yeon frowned. "Okay... liking someone is a good thing. Why do you look so troubled?"

"I worry that... I worry that it will only be happy while we're not officially together yet. That once we become a couple, real life is going to set in and we're going to dislike the simplest things about each other and then break up," Se-ri confessed.

Mi-yeon hugged her best friend. "Oh my precious sister. Life is going to set in no matter what. And we work hard at relationships in hopes that it lasts. If it doesn't, we just have to let go and move on and find the love that's right for us."

"But break ups hurt!" Se-ri pouted. "And I know myself. I know I'd push him away and then hope he'd stay. Then, if he doesn't through no fault of his own, I'd think, see I was right?"

Se-ri looked at Mi-yeon with sad eyes. "I can be a crappy person."

Mi-yeon nodded. "Yes. You can be. But look at me. I'm still here and I love you." Hugging her again, "Not everyone leaves, Se-ri-ah. I have a feeling Jeong Hyeok would like to at least try."

"And if he doesn't? If he leaves?"

"I know a few witches. Let's have them pinch him in the most uncomfortable places. Make sure to get a piece of his hair tonight," Mi-yeon assured.

Chuckling, Se-ri hugged her tightly. "No. I don't want that. I don't want to see him hurt."

After that discussion with Mi-yeon, Se-ri called Jeong Hyeok. "Hi. I think I'd pass on tonight. I'm sorry if it causes you trouble with the reservations."

"Don't worry about it. Are you okay? Are you ill?" He asked, his voice conveying to her his concern.

"No, I'm not sick. I just... there are things I need to sort out," she admitted honestly.

"Things... meaning you and me?" He asked tentatively.

"Yes," came her quiet response.

"I see. Alright. I'll wait until you're ready."

When they ended the call, Se-ri buried her head in her pillows. She hated herself for her issues and loathed that she may be hurting someone because of them. But she needed to sort things out before it was too late.

***

A few years ago...

"Yoon Se-ri, this is Seo Joon-hee. He's going to be your partner for this account."

She knew from the start she was interested. He was a cute man and although he was younger, it didn't seem to bother him that she was at least a decade older than him.

But she wanted to be careful. Love and relationships weren't easy for an insecure woman like her. Everytime a relationship fails, she would go on self discovery moods to find out what she did wrong so that she would do better the next time. However, time and time again, when things went rough, her insecurities would come up and she would push people away.

So, she accepted this awareness that she was interested in Joon-hee but this time she would keep her attraction in check. "I'm not looking for a relationship," she told him one time when they discussed something a little personal.

But Joon-hee crept his way in.

He started with sharing food with her. Simple things like cookies, pastries, sweets. Eventually, he added notes like "I hope you like these" or "I hope this makes you smile" to "The next one should be a meal together".

The meals did come. Lunches and dinners long after their account work wrapped up.

But, life happened. They were assigned to separate accounts and often found their schedules in conflict. They still kept in touch through messages and a few phone calls but Se-ri could tell things had changed.

So, she did what she always did: leave before you are left behind.

As always, she knew this part. When you leave them, they will chase you. When they do, Se-ri will invest herself more. As soon as she does, the man pulls away and she's the one who ends up chasing him.

"What's wrong? You said you wanted this. Why are we going through a break up now?" Se-ri asked Joon-hee.

She ends up kicking and screaming but always alone.

"There's something wrong with me, Mi-yeon. I think I'm the toxic person," Se-ri told her friend tearfully when it was obvious that she wouldn't be able to repair things with Joon-hee.

"Then maybe for now it would be best for you to be on your own to work on that," Mi-yeon said. "Will you be okay though?"

Se-ri shook her head and pouted, trying to keep her tears from falling. "I want him back. I'll be better." For all her bravado that she wants to be single, her hopeless romantic heart was unleashed by this recent heartbreak and alcohol.

Mi-yeon hugged her. "You'll be okay, Se-ri-ah."

"I'm sick of being alone."

Mi-yeon consoled her. "Better be alone than be with the wrong person."

"And what if I'm the wrong person?"

"Then take this time to be better. I have faith in you," Mi-yeon assured.

Since then, Se-ri stopped dating, believing that being in relationships just brought out the worst in her. Years have gone by and the people she met made it easy to stay single. There was no one she was truly interested in.

Once in awhile, she would miss being with someone and often wondered how long term relationships made it work but she would resign herself to thinking that it was probably something she would never understand.

As always, life happens and in a few years, she would meet someone who would challenge her resolve to stay single.

Because underneath her surface of being a cynical single woman lies a hopeless romantic, expecting her great love to just be around the corner.

For years, she kept that belief hidden because no matter how many corners she turned, there was no one.

Until one day, she stepped into a coffee shop around the block.