“good morning sweetie!” your grandma wished you as soon as you left the room you had slept in.

you rubbed your eyes while mumbling a small ‘morning’ with a groggy voice,  giving your grandma a soft smile.

from what you had remembered from your grandma’s house tour on the video calls, you walked straight through the narrow hallway and opened the last door at the left, leading you into the washroom. you did a victory dance for finding the bathroom yourself before moving onto your morning routine.

it was your second time visiting grandma’s house and your hometown. the first time was when you were seven which you barely remember how you used to spend time here before.

on getting out of the washroom after a warm shower, you put on your favourite clothes to cope with the cold weather and entered the living room only to find your mom and grandma sipping on their barley tea. 

“oh y/n! your mom told me you prefer coffee so I prepared it for you.” once your grandma said that, your gaze moved to the table where your grandma had placed a mug of coffee with hot steam coming out of it.

you gave her a big smile and bowed to her as a way of gratitude before taking a seat beside her, blowing on your mug of coffee.

“did you sleep well?” 

you gave her a friendly smile as you nodded and answered a ‘yes’ and indeed, you had slept well. it was the first time in months that you had a comfortable sleep though it lasted for only a few hours.

“daehee-ah, why didn’t you visit here sooner? it took me so long to see my grandchildren.” she laughed, making her wrinkles show up.

“you know it mom, it’s all with jaechan and his work.” mom spoke, and they continued to have their chat.

you kept on sipping your coffee, observing the living room decorated in a vintage and minimalistic way. you had to admit, your grandma had an incredible taste in furniture and decor. she was fond of vintage style and owned a cafe which was handled by her. on remembering the cafe, you faced grandma, ready to ask questions. 

“grandma, how’s your cafe going?” you asked her with your twinkling eyes filled with curiosity.

“so far, so good. i’ll visit there in a few hours. would you like to accompany me?” she asked you.

you nodded in enthusiasm. she spoke gently and precisely, helping you understand every word of her.

It amazed you how slow the time flowed and it was only six in the morning! according to your grandma, she would go to the cafe at nine o’clock to check up on the workers. long time to go.

•••

“are you ready to go, sweetie?” 

you nodded as you ran to your grandma with the polaroid camera in your hands and walked out of the house, after bidding goodbye to your mom and your brother who was in deep slumber. 

your grandma had worn a french vintage dress with ballet flats and had her long raven hair tied to a bun. she looked like the decent old lady you’d see in the classic movies who was always full of mystery and knowledge.

you stepped out of the neighbourhood and onto the streets of busan. the people rushing to their workplace while their shoulders brushing with your thick coat and the noisy vehicles blaring on the roads did not differ from seoul. the chilling cold was nowhere to be found, as you could now hear the heavy breaths of others while they ran.

as you were walking, your phone vibrated in your pocket and you took it out checking the caller id which showed ‘goofie’.

you hesitated on picking up the call since your grandmother was by your side. you looked at her with a worried smile but she shrugged and said it was fine to pick up the call. so you did what she indicated.

“kim y/n! did you just dump our study sessions for going to busan?! since when did going out become more important than study to you?!” annie yelled from the other line, making you keep the phone away from your ear until she was done ranting.

once she was done, you giggled and replied, “stop exaggerating as if study is so important to you. i know you came over to my place just to hit on tae.” you mocked.

the other line’s silence became louder as annie didn’t speak a single word for a good minute.

“uh, yeah but this was such a wonderful opportunity to shoot my shot..” you could picture her frowning with her lower lips puffed out.

you laughed heartily as you said, “alright. i’ll do something about it. i’ll call you later. and goofie, stay goofy!” you giggled as you heard a little ‘hmph’ from the other line before hanging up the call.

“she is a pleasant companion.” you heard your grandmother speak.

“she is.” you said with a small smile on your face.

“so? are you going to give her his number?” grandma said with a sly smirk on her face while nudging you.

you laughed at how she was being like a teenager even though she was way older than you. “yeah, i am.” you both giggled as you continued walking to the cafe.

after a few more steps, you stopped near a building. 

it was a one-storey building, compact and painted with beige, that made you feel at peace during the mid of the winter where people shuddered in the crisp. the small flower pots resting near the staircase greeted you with warmth and promised to provide you their best while you’re here. lastly, a classic striped canopy sheltered the cafe from all harm while an abandoned looking bicycle rested near the big glass windows. shifting your eyes to the top, you saw a board written ‘saudade’.

your brows furrowed once you read the cafe’s name. out of all the cafe names you had seen, it was the most unusual name you had ever come across.

"here we go."