[No-Ah]
The message arrived just after lunch.
No-Ah glanced down at her phone.
Kei
Working tomorrow?
She stared.
Once.
Twice.
Then typed:
No-Ah
Obviously.
The reply came surprisingly fast.
Good
No-Ah frowned.
That was it.
Just—
Good.
No explanation.
No context.
No reason.
Typical.
She typed:
Why?
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Then disappeared again.
Finally—
Nothing.
No reply.
No explanation.
No closure.
No-Ah stared at the screen.
"...Annoying."
☆ ☆ ☆
The next day—
The café was busy.
Not crowded.
Just busy enough to keep everyone moving.
Run-Seo was making drinks.
Min-Ji was attempting to be useful.
Results were mixed.
No-Ah was in the storeroom.
Trying to find a missing box of coffee beans.
Which was proving significantly harder than it should have been.
The bell above the entrance chimed.
Run-Seo looked up automatically.
Then froze.
Just slightly.
A tiny pause.
Easy to miss.
Unless you were looking for it.
Kei stood in the doorway.
Cap pulled low.
Mask covering most of his face.
A paper bag in one hand.
For a second—
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
The silence stretched.
Uncomfortable.
Familiar.
Old.
Then Run-Seo finally broke it.
"...Kei."
His gaze shifted toward her.
Polite.
Distant.
The kind of distance that hadn't existed years ago.
"Hi."
Not cold.
Not warm.
Just...
Careful.
Which somehow felt worse.
☆ ☆ ☆
From behind the counter—
Min-Ji immediately sensed drama.
And became interested.
A terrible development.
Run-Seo set down the cup she was holding.
"You came here."
"I did."
Another pause.
Neither seemed eager to continue.
Min-Ji looked between them.
Confused.
Very confused.
Run-Seo swallowed.
Then quietly—
"I want to talk to you."
The words had barely left her mouth—
when the storeroom door opened.
"No, seriously, where did the coffee beans—"
No-Ah stopped.
Kei looked up immediately.
Instantly.
Automatically.
Like someone flipping a switch.
His attention left Run-Seo completely.
Gone.
Just like that.
The change was so fast it was almost embarrassing.
For everyone involved.
Including him.
Especially him.
"No-Ah."
No-Ah blinked.
"...What are you doing here?"
Kei walked forward.
The paper bag extended toward her.
"You left this."
She took it automatically.
Looked inside.
And froze.
The container.
The food container she'd left at his apartment.
That night.
Washed.
Dried.
Spotless.
Carefully packed into a paper bag.
Like it was something valuable.
No-Ah stared.
Then looked at him.
Then back at the container.
"...You came here for this?"
"You left it."
"You could've thrown it away."
"You would've complained."
"..."
The worst part?
He wasn't wrong.
Min-Ji leaned over the counter.
Immediately.
"How long have you been keeping that?"
Kei ignored him.
A wise decision.
No-Ah looked down at the container again.
For some reason—
her ears felt warm.
Which was ridiculous.
It was a container.
A completely normal container.
Nothing strange about it.
At all.
Then Kei looked at the menu.
And said:
"I'll take one of everything."
Silence.
The café stopped functioning.
Completely.
Run-Seo blinked.
Min-Ji blinked.
No-Ah blinked.
Even the coffee machine seemed confused.
"...What?"
"One of everything."
"Everything?"
"Everything."
Min-Ji looked around.
"Do we look like a supermarket?"
☆ ☆ ☆
No-Ah stared.
"Why?"
"I'm hungry."
"That's a lie."
"It is."
"Then why?"
Kei adjusted his mask.
"Because I felt like it."
Which explained absolutely nothing.
Five minutes later—
The receipt was absurd.
Completely ridiculous.
It just kept printing.
And printing.
And printing.
The machine sounded exhausted.
No-Ah was beginning to sympathize.
She held the receipt.
Looked at it.
Then looked at him.
Then looked at it again.
"...This is insane."
"Probably."
Kei seemed completely unconcerned.
Leaning casually against the counter.
Watching her.
Just—
Watching.
No-Ah tried ignoring it.
Failed immediately.
Because every time she looked up—
he was still looking.
The same calm expression.
The same steady eyes.
Unhelpful.
Very unhelpful.
Eventually she looked away first.
Because eventually somebody had to.
And apparently it wasn't going to be him.
Nosy Min-Ji noticed.
Of course he noticed.
He noticed everything.
Unfortunately.
The order was finally finished.
Several bags sat on the counter.
Enough food and drinks to feed a small organization.
Kei paid without hesitation.
Collected the bags.
Then paused.
His attention returned to No-Ah.
Again.
Naturally.
Effortlessly.
Like it belonged there.
"Are you working tonight?"
No-Ah frowned.
"Until seven."
"Good."
There was that word again.
Good.
She was beginning to hate that word.
Kei adjusted his grip on the bags.
Then said—
as casually as if he were commenting on the weather:
"Meet me at the park."
No-Ah blinked.
"What?"
"Eight p.m."
"...Why?"
"You'll find out."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Eight."
"No."
"Eight."
Min-Ji looked delighted.
Run-Seo looked like she wanted the floor to open.
Neither of them mattered.
Not at that moment.
Not to Kei.
No-Ah crossed her arms.
"You can't just order me around."
"I know."
"Then why are you doing it?"
Kei's eyes softened slightly.
Just slightly.
"Because you'll show up."
"..."
"..."
The worst part?
Neither of them was entirely sure he was wrong.
Then, before she could answer—
Keu picked up the bags.
Turned away nonchalantly, and walked toward the door.
The bell chimed.
The door closed.
And just like that—
he was gone.
Leaving behind:
One empty café.
One suspicious Min-Ji.
One unhappy Run-Seo.
And one very confused No-Ah.
And yes, she was still holding a perfectly clean food container.
☆ ☆ ☆