Another Day, Another Shot

Café Memory

PROMPT: Memory

"Memories warm you up from the inside." - Haruki Murakami

Ri Jeong-hyeok waiting for Yoon Se-ri at a nearby café.

CAFÉ MEMORY

Ri Jeong-hyeok walked their favourite little puppy, Kitty, along the neighbourhood park. This was her favourite park because she had a lot of space to run around and get dirty from. There was a vast grassland she can roll around in and a water fountain she can accidentally jump into.

While the duo walked, a lot of people subtly looked at them. Their thoughts were most likely about who this gorgeous man was and why he was walking a little puppy in the park.

Ping!

Jeong-hyeok got a message from Yoon Se-ri.

Meet me at our fave café near Seri's Choice, arrasso? - YSR

Jeong-hyeok slightly tugged Kitty's leash toward the direction they're supposed to walk. "Kitty-ah, let's go meet eomma! Come on!"

Kitty sassily walked like she owned the doggo runway. She even barked at those who looked at her appa for them to back away. She's selfish and protective like that. For a puppy like her, she's got a lot of fire within much like her eomma. They marked their territories, especially with the ones they love, which was Jeong-hyeok.

Jeong-hyeok just bowed down to the people Kitty bumped heads with (figuratively). "Kitty-ah, be nice!" He scolded the puppy but she didn't listen one bit. She was still too busy hissing at them.

They finally reached the café. Jeong-hyeok tied Kitty's leash on the chair outside. "Stay here and don't go anywhere, arasso?" He crouched down to pat her head. "We don't want eomma to get livid."

"We don't want that, right? What we want are treats!" Kitty's ears perked up at the mention of her favourite activity. Eating yummy treats! She sat up straight and had her head tilted a little. She barked as if to tell Jeong-hyeok she agreed about the treats.

Jeong-hyeok stood back up and dusted off the non-existent dirt on his clothes. He went inside the café.

The bell chimed to signal the staff that a customer just entered their shop.

Jeong-hyeok looked at the pastries displayed out front of the desk before proceeding to tell his order to the person in charge. There were a variety of options to choose from. Cakes, cupcakes, muffins, croissants, brownies, tarts -- you name it!

"Hi! Good afternoon! What can I get for you?" The person smiled and asked Jeong-hyeok. "Can I get one cup of cappuccino and a croissant, please?"

The person punched in his order, "Is that all?" Jeong-hyeok looked at the menu above. "And one cup of iced coffee and some waffles. That's all. Thank you!" He added Se-ri's favourites.He grabbed his wallet and paid for their order.

Jeong-hyeok walked to the side where customers waited for their orders to be called out.

"Order for Mr. Ri!" One of the crew called out Jeong-hyeok's order. He grabbed the tray and gave the woman a polite yet dashing smile in return. He was really polite no matter what. It was part of his upbringing, and for that, he was forever grateful to his family.

Once Jeong-hyeok was outside, he let out a sigh of relief that Kitty was still there, patiently waiting for him to finish inside. She was now resting her head on her paws, tired from waiting. She's an energetic puppy so she really loved to move around. Being tied on a leash was brutal for her.

Jeong-hyeok placed the tray filled with food on top of their table. He checked his phone to see if Se-ri messaged him where she was already.

But before Jeong-hyeok locked his phone, he took a picture of Kitty. His photo gallery was filled with pictures of Se-ri and Kitty. He cherished every memory no matter how mundane it was. They were reminders of how grateful he was to be given the chance to be with the love of his life without worrying about potential danger and harm.

No more gunshots, fake identities, alleged spies, unknown girlfriends, or borders separating them from each other. They were finally free to love each other out in the open.

Jeong-hyeok sent the picture to Se-ri with a caption, "Pali, eomma!"

Se-ri replied immediately after receiving the picture. "I'm almost there!"

Jeong-hyeok started eating his croissant and occasionally gave Kitty some treats he brought with him. He hoped she would behave and be entertained with her treats while waiting for her eomma.

While the furdad and furbaby duo was busy chilling inside their own bubble, they didn't know Se-ri was already there -- looking from afar. Jeong-hyeok was oblivious to the stares he got from passers by. But she knew that they were ogling her handsome gorgeous man.

Se-ri can't blame them anyway. Jeong-hyeok's looks were to die for. It'd be a crime not to appreciate such beauty.

What didn't go unnoticed and made Se-ri laugh though was the fact that her little puppy was barking at them. She nodded her head and muttered to herself, "I taught her well."

Se-ri walked confidently to where her little family was. When she got there, she grabbed Kitty and walked over to where Jeong-hyeok was sitting. She kissed his cheek. He blushed, still not used to these displays of affection out in the open. She then sat down opposite him and placed Kitty on her lap.

Se-ri saw her favourite food already there. She gave Jeong-hyeok her signature eye smile. "Thank you for ordering ahead of me and you got me my favourites! I love you!" He just laughed at her. That was just a simple thing, he would gladly do more for her no matter what.

"How was your meeting?" Jeong-hyeok asked Se-ri. "It's fine. A little bit long but it was really needed."

Se-ri cut her waffle into bite-sized pieces and started eating. "Is everything alright?" Jeong-hyeok asked after he sipped his cappuccino. "Yeah. Just a bit stressed over the upcoming product launch," she answered.

"But that's that. How about you? The orchestra? And this little girl?" Se-ri asked Jeong-hyeok as she continued to eat. "Orchestra was fine. We have new students coming in to train with us, so that's exciting. I'm ready to hear from new talents and learn new techniques," he answered. You can clearly see his passion every time he talks about music.

Se-ri put Kitty down on the ground and it went to Jeong-hyeok. He picked her up. "On the other hand, this little girl was a little bit naughty today!" He said and kissed Kitty's head. "She kept on barking at people walking past us and I don't even know why! Maybe we should stop spoiling her?"

"Aigoo! Was Kitty-ah a naughty girl when eomma wasn't around? No more treats for you then," Se-ri said and Kitty whined. Jeong-hyeok and her laughed at how their dog was acting up.

Se-ri leaned in closer to Jeong-hyeok and Kitty to whisper. "It's alright Kitty-ah, I got you! Thanks for keeping appa away from the claws of these people." He overheard them and just laughed at his girls' silliness.

"You two really are something," Jeong-hyeok said. "But we're your favourites, right?" Se-ri and Kitty looked at him at the same time, all gooey eyes and pouts. He just laughed louder.

Jeong-hyeok handed Kitty over back to Se-ri and she cuddled her baby. He took out his phone and snapped a picture to add to his growing collection of memories. "Send it to me!"

Se-ri's phone chimed when she got the picture. She posted it on her SNS right away.

They continued chatting. It was an overall pleasant and beautiful day.