[Kei]
Kei woke up with immediate regret.
Not emotional regret.
Physical regret.
The kind that felt like somebody had replaced his bloodstream with broken glass overnight.
He stared blankly at the ceiling for several long seconds before dragging one arm over his face.
"…Never drinking again."
A pause.
Then, hoarse:
"That's probably a lie."
Morning light spilled weakly through the curtains beside his bed, gray and washed out from the rain clouds still hanging over the city.
Kei sat up slowly.
Instant mistake.
His headache sharpened immediately.
"…Unbelievable."
Fragments of last night returned in pieces.
Rain. Convenience store. Run-Seo.
Then—
Ramen shop.
No-Ah.
Kei blinked once.
The memory settled strangely warm in his chest despite the hangover trying to kill him.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
He reached blindly for his phone beside the bed.
The screen lit up immediately.
Their conversation from last night still sat open.
Night, Kei
goodnight, my savior:)
Kei stared at the messages for a second longer than necessary.
Then exhaled softly through his nose.
So much for someone who told him to stay away from No-Ah.
Everybody warned him like she was dangerous.
Meanwhile she was:
feeding him ramen,
preventing him from getting hit by traffic,
and lecturing him about hydration like an exhausted paramedic.
Terrifying behavior truly.
Kei leaned back against the headboard slightly, thumb hovering over the keyboard.
Then typed:
survived the hangover barely
He hit send before thinking too hard about it.
Almost immediately, the typing bubble appeared.
Fast.
Too fast.
Kei noticed.
Then:
Unfortunately.
A quiet laugh escaped him before he could stop it.
Still half-dead from alcohol poisoning and somehow being insulted first thing in the morning.
Amazing.
Kei smiled faintly to himself while staring at the contact name.
No-Ah.
Simple. Clean. Very her.
Then his thumb hovered over it thoughtfully.
A pause.
Slowly, something quieter tugged at the corner of his mouth.
And before thinking too hard about it—
he changed the contact name.
From:
No-Ah
To:
Traffic Safety Department
Kei stared at it for a second afterward.
Then snorted softly.
"Accurate."
His phone buzzed again.
Did you drink water yet?
Kei looked at the screen.
And for some reason—
that simple question made something in his chest feel strangely light.
He typed back immediately:
no
I'm choosing suffering
Three dots appeared almost instantly.
I can believe that.
Kei laughed quietly under his breath.
The sound surprised even him a little.
Because it had been a while since talking to someone felt this easy.
No performance. No calculation. No careful wording.
Just—
comfortable.
The realization settled slowly.
Dangerously.
Kei stared at the contact name again.
Traffic Safety Department.
A ridiculous name.
Still somehow fitting perfectly.
His thumb hovered briefly over the screen before locking the phone again.
Then he leaned his head back against the wall with a quiet exhale.
"…This is probably a bad idea."
But he didn't sound very interested in stopping.
☆ ☆ ☆
[No-Ah]
The café was louder than usual.
Milk steaming. Dishes clinking. Orders overlapping near the register.
No-Ah moved through the shift mechanically, sleeves rolled neatly to her elbows while she carried drinks between crowded tables without really thinking about it.
Her body worked automatically.
Her mind didn't.
Yun-Ra's voice kept replaying anyway.
You stopped feeling here even when you were here.
Annoying.
No-Ah wiped down the counter harder than necessary.
"Table three needs another americano," her coworker called.
No-Ah nodded once.
"Mm."
She grabbed the cup automatically.
Then—
that feeling again.
No-Ah looked up instinctively.
And immediately met someone's gaze.
Run-Seo.
Standing near the espresso machine with a tray balanced against one arm, apron still tied neatly around her waist.
Watching her.
Not casually.
Intently.
No-Ah's expression flattened immediately.
There it is.
Run-Seo didn't look away when caught either.
Which somehow made it worse.
No-Ah turned back toward the counter with visible irritation.
What now?
The last few encounters with Run-Seo had already been strange enough.
Questions. Warnings. Too much attention.
And now this.
No-Ah carried the americano toward table three while deliberately ignoring the uncomfortable awareness of Run-Seo's eyes following her movements across the café.
Annoying.
Very annoying.
Her phone buzzed suddenly inside her apron pocket.
No-Ah ignored it at first.
Another buzz followed immediately after.
Persistent.
More annoying.
She finally pulled the phone out while waiting for the espresso shot to finish pouring.
One unread message from Kei.
No-Ah stared at the screen briefly before opening it.
the concert killed me
Another message arrived immediately after.
i think I'm still spiritually unconscious
No-Ah exhaled softly through her nose before typing one-handed:
Tragic.
The typing bubble appeared almost instantly.
are you working?
Obviously.
wow
no "how are you kei? "
No-Ah glanced up automatically—
And immediately regretted it.
Run-Seo was still looking at her.
Worse—
her eyes had dropped briefly toward No-Ah's phone screen.
No-Ah's irritation sharpened instantly.
Stop bothering me.
A pause.
Then:
ok
i'll wait outside until your shift ends
No-Ah frowned immediately.
No you won't.
yes i will
You don't even know when my shift ends.
i'll adapt
No-Ah stared at the screen with visible disbelief.
Unbelievable person.
She typed:
Go home.
rude
No-Ah locked her phone before she could think too hard about it and shoved it back into her pocket.
Then turned—
And nearly walked directly into Run-Seo.
No-Ah stopped immediately.
Run-Seo stood there holding two clean mugs against her chest, expression unreadable.
"You seem distracted today," she said quietly.
No-Ah immediately felt irritation crawl up her spine.
"You seem observant today."
Run-Seo ignored the tone completely.
Instead her eyes flicked briefly toward No-Ah's apron pocket where her phone sat.
Then back to her face.
"You've been texting a lot lately."
No-Ah stared at her flatly.
That was absolutely not her business.
Run-Seo seemed to realize she'd crossed some invisible line because her expression shifted slightly afterward.
But she still didn't step away.
"…Be careful," she said softly.
No-Ah's patience snapped slightly.
"With what?"
Run-Seo held her gaze for a long moment.
Then after a pause:
"With people getting attached too quickly."
Silence.
No-Ah's annoyance sharpened instantly.
Cryptic again.
Always cryptic.
"You say strange things for someone making coffee."
Something flickered briefly across Run-Seo's expression.
Almost amusement.
Almost sadness.
Then she stepped aside quietly.
"Maybe."
And just like that, she walked away toward the back counter again.
Leaving No-Ah standing there irritated for reasons she couldn't fully explain.
Three hours later—
No-Ah pushed open the café door with exhausted shoulders and immediately regretted existing.
Because Kei was there.
Leaning against the railing outside the café beneath the evening streetlights like he'd been there the entire time.
Hands in his pockets. Dark hoodie. Half-asleep expression.
Waiting.
No-Ah stopped walking.
Kei looked up immediately.
Then smiled faintly.
"…You're late."
No-Ah stared at him in disbelief.
"You were serious?"
"You sound shocked."
"You actually waited here for three hours?"
"Four, technically."
"That's worse."
Kei straightened slightly from the railing.
"I got bored halfway through and started emotionally harassing pigeons."
No-Ah blinked once.
"…What does that even mean?"
"They were judgmental."
"You need hobbies."
"I'm looking at one."
No-Ah immediately started walking past him.
Absolutely not.
Kei fell into step beside her instantly anyway.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"You can't stop me. We exchanged numbers already."
"That's not legally binding."
"It feels emotionally binding."
No-Ah walked faster.
Kei matched her pace easily.
Annoying.
Very annoying.
"You should go home," No-Ah said flatly.
"You've said that like six times since meeting me."
"You keep ignoring it."
"Correct."
No-Ah rubbed tiredly at her forehead while continuing down the sidewalk.
The city lights blurred softly against the darkening streets around them.
Beside her, Kei glanced sideways briefly.
Then again.
Longer this time.
No-Ah noticed immediately.
"What?"
"You're weird today."
No-Ah looked forward again.
"You say that every day."
"Yeah, but today feels upgraded."
Silence.
Kei's expression shifted slightly.
Not joking now.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"That sounded fake."
"It was real enough."
Kei watched her carefully for another few seconds while they crossed the street.
No-Ah shoved her hands deeper into her pockets.
She really did not want this conversation.
Especially not with Yun-Ra's words still lodged painfully in her head.
Choosing him already.
Annoying.
Dangerous.
Kei suddenly stopped walking.
No-Ah took another few steps before realizing.
Then turned slightly.
"…What are you doing?"
Kei disappeared briefly toward a convenience store near the corner.
No-Ah frowned.
A minute later he came back holding two ice cream bars.
He held one out toward her casually.
No-Ah blinked once.
"…Why do you have ice cream?"
"Emotional support."
"That's not a thing."
"It absolutely is."
"No, it isn't."
Kei shook the ice cream slightly toward her.
"You look like you're about to fight somebody."
"I might."
"See? Emotional support."
Despite herself, No-Ah stared at the ice cream for a second too long.
Then slowly took it.
Kei looked absurdly pleased about succeeding.
Annoying.
"You're very easy to manipulate with snacks,"
he informed her.
"That's not what happened."
"You accepted the peace offering."
"It wasn't peace."
Kei opened his own ice cream calmly.
"Sure.
They started walking again afterward.
Slower this time.
Cool evening air brushed against them while traffic hummed softly in the distance.
No-Ah looked down at the unopened ice cream in her hand.
Then more quietly:
"…You really waited outside that whole time?"
Kei shrugged lightly.
"You said no one else at work talks to you properly."
No-Ah looked at him immediately.
Because she had said that.
Once. Casually. Days ago.
And somehow—
he remembered.
Kei glanced sideways at her.
"What?"
No-Ah looked away again too quickly.
"…Nothing."
But her grip tightened slightly around the ice cream wrapper anyway.
the tightness in her chest eased.
Just a little.
☆ ☆ ☆