some aesthetic cafe

@kim jiho Eunwoo was left speechless, unable to utter any word back to her. He didn't know what to say. The only thing he was able to do was barely meet her eyes before averting them over and over again. It wasn’t that he was scared of her or anything; he was scared of what he would say. He was scared of saying the wrong thing, saying something he would regret later. He didn’t know that one night could turn the two of them like this. One night full of emotions even he didn't know he was able to muster up.

"I guess we took things and started running... we never got a chance to stop and catch our breaths until we ran so far that we lost sight of where we were going."

What did he even get himself into? Eunwoo just wanted things to be the way they were before. He just wanted to walk home with Jiho, hand in hand. He wanted to snuggle up to her side at night, enjoying the warmth between them. He wanted to hold her close whenever he could, especially when she was experiencing nightmares. He wanted to treat her out to cute, little dates around the city. He wanted to take pictures of them together. He wanted to see the smile on her face, the laughter that he grew fond of hearing. All of that, just thrown out the window because of one night.

He watches her carefully, his eyes flickering between her face and her actions nervously. If he just calmed down and just breathed for a bit, he would be okay. No overthinking right now, Eunwoo. No what if’s. None of that right now. He watched as she rummaged into her purse and pulled out their polaroid together, one of their first date. He knew every event that happened that day. He remembered the way her face turned a rosy pink the moment his lips pressed against her cheek. The hit she gave him to his shoulder for the actions he made. He was only able to grin back at her, his eyes curving upwards into little crescents. It all seemed like it happened just yesterday.

“Where are we going…” Eunwoo muttered under his breath, his voice small and quivering with nervousness. What exactly were they going towards? Were they trying to be a couple of some sort? Or was it more of a friends with benefit type of thing? He knew that their relationship couldn’t be like the latter. The picture on the table stares up at him, leaving his mind muddled and confused. He wasn't exactly sure what they were. All he knew is that he wanted her by his side. He never meant for any of this to happen, none of this.

“I- I don't know, Jiho. You’re an amazing woman. You bring me happiness everyday. You make my days worthwhile and you mean so so so much to me. But what we are? Us? That’s something I don’t know. There’s so many factors that play into our relationship,” he mumbles softly, his fingers fiddling with the corner of the photo. “What would you call us?”

@cha eunwoo She knew that despite what was thought to be a great chemistry and an incredible connection was lacking something that the two of them failed to understand, and at this point, could probably never fathom. It was sad to her that an excess of intimacy was able to shatter them so badly, was able to mess her up so badly, was able to keep her up for days, was able to haunt her forever.

"I guess I just missed you..."

Oh, how she missed him too. She yearned for his touch, his hold, his voice, his smile, and his stupid habit of buying too much food during their dinner dates. There was an innate desire in her that just wanted to leap into his arms and find that missing piece that might glue everything back together - but she stayed quiet and still, for she knew that was beyond impossible.

"And I wanted to apologize..."

The word "apologize" stopped time in that very moment. He didn't need to apologize, neither did she. They both had nothing to be sorry for. She didn't regret that night, despite wallowing in the negativity of it now, she didn't regret it. Maybe it was because she still cared about him so much, or the fact that she didn't want to let go of it - regardless, she knew that after that night, even if she had kept up with him and contacted him back and continued normally, there'd be some sort of hope that'd be missing between them... or maybe the anticipation, if that was the right way to say it.

"No, you don't have to apologize. I just..." She speaks softly, her fingers grazing the edges of her untouched coffee mug, unable to pull herself to take a sip as her eyes closely examine the fading steam. She wants to say more, but what to say?

"I guess we took things and started running... we never got a chance to stop and catch our breaths until we ran so far that we lost sight of where we were going." With a breath, she reaches into her purse and pulls out a fairly old polaroid - the one they took on their first date. It was a cliche couples pose in which he had caught her off guard with a peck on the cheek, they looked happy and she remembered the feeling clearly, the feeling like they had not a worry in the world and that everything could go every way and it'd still be okay as long as they stuck it through together.

"Now, I ask not only you but myself this: where are we going, exactly?" She pulls her hand away from the photo, sliding it back into her lap as she anxiously starts to pick at her hangnails.

@kim jiho He knew that her eyes were on him. He knew that he should say something, anything, to make this less awkward than it is. Eunwoo watched her carefully, his eyes never able to leave hers. He had spent so much time with her that it was weird not to talk to her every day. The good morning texts. The "what are you doing?" texts. The "can i come over?" texts. He found it weird that it was easy for her to remove herself out of his life, just like that.

Just because of one night. One stupid night where they both got carried away and too into the moment. That night never left his mind, only because the look on her face left his heart panging in its cavity. She looked so lost, unsure of what she just did. She seemed to have regretted it. She didnt text him the days afterwards. He had the habit of constantly checking his phone, checking to see if she sent him anything. But day after day, nothing. No text. No call. Nothing left behind. It left him with regrets. He should have stopped himself that night. he should've known better. He shouldnt have done the things he had done.

"So why did you call me out today, Eunwoo?"

And now there they were. Sitting across from one another, minds a mess and unable to forget their night together. Her voice, soft and comforting, leaves him wondering more. He fiddles with the cup near his fingers, watching the steam rise slowly before meeting her eyes once more. She looked restless, tired from not enough sleep at night. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, hold her in his arms until she got enough of sleep. Eunwoo was a mess. What did he truly want?

"I- I dont know. I just," he pauses, his lips pulled into a tight line. "I guess I just missed you. And I wanted to apologize, um, for.. you know. the other night. Things havent been the same since."

@cha eunwoo It was bittersweet entering the cafe. Not that her coffee wasn't brewed to perfection as she had hoped, not that a bunch of teenaged girls ruined her experience by expressing their innate desire to take aesthetic photos to post on social media; in face, the coffee was fine, the girls didn't bother her. She could only stare down the male across from her that sat behind the steam that emitted from her small mug, an awkward but tense silence lingering between the two.

He was exhilarating, he was fun, he wasn't like anyone she had ever met before that made her feel so much joy in her heart in such a short time. She liked his adventurous side, she liked how he was always up to do something with her, she liked how open he was to her. She remembered meeting him, 3AM at her job where he decided to but she still somehow winded up giving him her number at the end of the night. She spend days with him, and when she had nights off, she spend nights with him. They'd text each other good morning and good night, she thought their relationship was unlike any other. It was like that of movies, except without the happy ending.

It all would come crashing down right before her eyes.

It'd been a few days since she last contacted him, not that she didn't think of him it was just an awkwardness that would linger between them after getting carried away one night. She gave everything to him that night, and at some point in time she started regretting it. She hadn't slept a wink for a few days, for every time she tried to close her eyes she'd feel a weight on her chest and she couldn't breathe. Should she have done that? In the few weeks they had gotten to know each other, should she have given that much to him? "Hooking up" may have been the proper term, but did she really want that?

She heaved a heavy sigh, her fingers slowly fiddling with the handle of her mug, not thinking once to drink the coffee. He had called her out to the cafe that day, thinking that he was probably curious as to why she hadn't contacted him back and ignored him when he came to visit her at her workplace, she wasn't exactly sure why and how she had come to agree to meet him up again; her thoughts weren't exactly where she wanted them and on top of that, her lack of sleep had created a new person out of her.

"So why did you call me out today, Eunwoo?"