"Medium iced coffee, for Eunji?"

Eunji went to the counter to collect her coffee. "Gamsahabnida." She did not take one of the disposable plastic straws, instead opting to use her own metal straw. The coffee was deliciously cold, offering relief from the summer heat. She swirled the straw around in her drink, watching the ice cubes turn circles in the cup. Sighing, Eunji sat down at a table and waited for Namjoon to come.

A few minutes later, the bell at the door dinged, signalling a new customer. Namjoon strolled into the coffee shop, undoubtedly inhaling the familiar, comforting aroma of coffee.

Eunji watched as Namjoon got his drink and sat down opposite of her. "Nice to see you," he said.

She nodded her head. "Nice to see you too, sun-bae."

Namjoon took a long sip of his coffee, then said, "There's so much I want to ask you. You're not obligated to answer all of my questions, only the ones you're comfortable answering. I like that metal straw you've got there. We love an environmentally-friendly person."

She smiled, looking down at her drink. "Thank you."

"I didn't know you went to SNU," he continued. "My sister's going there, because the tuition's cheaper than other schools. We need the money."

"I noticed," said Eunji. "I saw someone trying to get a wheelchair onto the sidewalk, as if there was no wheelchair-friendly ramp that they could use."

A short laugh. "Yeah." Namjoon seemed unwilling to elaborate.

"You don't have to talk about it," said Eunji quickly. 

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. Anyway, computer science is a respectable field. You chose well."

Eunji laughed. "Actually, my parents chose. It's alright, I like it. Where do you go?"

"I'm out of college. I graduated two years ago from Global Cyber University. I majored in music engineering and production."

"That's cool," she said. "I've never met anyone who works in that field. Do you work anywhere?"

"Yeah, I work at Big Hit Entertainment as a producer. I've always dreamed of becoming an idol rapper, but the idol life is too much for me. I can't take the risk."

Eunji nodded. She'd heard of "I understand."

Namjoon looked back up at her. "I'd like to ask you something."

"You're making this sound like an interrogation."

He chuckled to himself. It sounded like the sound a spray bottle makes when the lever is pushed. "You're not obligated to answer if you don't want to. Why did you want to jump?'

"Namjoon-ssi..."

"You don't have to answer it if you don't want to."

"No, I do. It was just...the stress of school. My parents pressured me to attend a SKY university, as do most parents. You know most parents want their children to do well academically. Well, my parents...they were even more so than your average South Korean parent." The words rushed out, like they were bursting from a dam. They poured from her mouth onto the table and her lap and the floor, and Eunji could do nothing to stanch the flow. "They shouted at me a lot, told me I wasn't worth it. You know that feeling when someone calls you lazy but you're actually doing the best you can, and it just feels so...what's the word? Disheartening. But anyway, I was so stressed in junior year, with schoolwork. I didn't have a social life last year either, Namjoon-ssi. I never—I never talked to any of my friends. Not even on the weekends. We were all studying in the library. I was miserable." She stopped, noticing his gaze.

"Eunji-ssi..." He looked like he wanted to give her a hug, but was physically restraining himself.

"It's better now," she said, a little softer. "I might not be the best I can be, but I'm definitely doing better than I was six months ago."

Namjoon nodded, looking away. "That's good, though. You should drink that coffee." 

They sat silently for a while. Eunji drank her coffee while watching Namjoon gaze over her shoulder. She could practically feel the pity radiating from his being. Eunji wanted to tell him that things were a little better now, that she had resolved things with her parents, that she had gone to see a therapist. But even still, her life was not quite the way she wanted it to be. Eunji still had immense amounts of stress about senior year. Her depression had not gone away. Also, her favorite K-drama's storyline was reaching its climax, and she was dying to know what would happen next.

"Eunji-ssi?" said Namjoon. Eunji looked back up. "You know, it's weird that I know so much about you, yet I don't even know your last name." He smiled. Eunji found herself looking at his dimples again. Just the thought of Namjoon made her heartbeat quicken. His dark brown hair brushed down his forehead in the most attractive way, and his skin was flawless and glowing. Namjoon had been blessed with superior genes—Eunji had never met anyone this handsome before.

"Eunji?" said Namjoon.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Eunji said abruptly. "I—you wanted to know my last name? It's Lee."

Namjoon nodded. "Mine's Kim." Eunji nodded. "Anyway, I want to get to know you, Lee Eunji." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. She would've gotten uncomfortable, but Namjoon had a comforting, pleasant aura that Eunji was, strangely, drawn to. "What are you really like?"

"Why don't you tell me about yourself instead?" Eunji countered.

"Well, I think I'm...very ambitious, and humble. I consider myself book-smart. Oh! And we can't forget, I have an IQ of 148. Not to brag, of course. I would never..." 

"148?" said Eunji.

"Yeah," said Namjoon.

"Wow," said Eunji. "I've never met anyone with that high of an IQ before." After a pause, she said, "What do you like, Namjoon?"

He thought for a moment. "Well, I like rapping. And producing. I like learning, and people-watching. I like walking in nature and collecting figurines. It...helps with the anxiety, you know. Doing things you like. Oh, and I love crabs."

"Crabs?" said Eunji. "Like, food?"

"No, just crabs in general. They're my favorite animal." He wrinkled his nose, and Eunji died a little bit inside. "That's why I hate seafood. I can't imagine eating a crab." He shuddered.

"Good thing we have imitation crab, then," she replied. "Even if it's unhealthy."

Her phone rang, and she picked it up. It was her mother. "Oh, my eomma's calling, sorry." Eunji raised the phone to her ear. "Eomma?"

"Eunji-ya, you've been out for two hours, what's taking you so long?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm going home right now. Bye, eomma." Eunji hung up. "I'm sorry, I have to leave."

"That's alright. It was nice seeing you again." Namjoon stood up to shake her hand, but Eunji gave him a hug instead. "Thanks for listening to me vent," she said.

"No problem," he replied, with a soft smile. "I'll see you around?"

"Yeah," she said. She took her coffee and stepped out of the coffee shop, into the summer heat.

a/n: if you liked this chapter, please vote :)

midterms week is upon us (or me, at least). this means i won't be writing or updating for the next two weeks, while i prepare for midterms. updates will resume in late january. thanks for understanding ❤️