✈ cafe.

@✉ ⋮ moon junyoung her brow furrowed when the man looked away, returning his attention to whatever he had been paying attention to prior to staring at her. she didn't allow that to deter her from watching him for a few minutes, taking in the way he sipped at his coffee and interacted with the cat at his table. minhwa wasn't unaccustomed to being stared at. it came with the territory of having a growing online presence, and honestly was a little disturbing at times since she didn't view herself any differently.

this man, however, seemed different.

there was a certain look to his gaze that had her wondering if it was more than just recognizing someone from their social media presence. if she were being honest, he didn't necessarily seem like the type to be infatuated with an author who happened to go viral on tiktok a few times, but who was she to judge a book by its cover?

the heat of his gaze would occasionally return to minhwa's cheek, though, as she retrieved her drink and continued entertaining the orange tabby for a moment longer. once the cashier seemed to have a free moment, though, she leaned over to quietly chat with him, requesting another coffee be delivered to the man who seemed besotted with her (not really, but it was humorous to image). her break was almost up so she wouldn't have time to entertain conversation with the handsome man, but perhaps she would see him again and receive some answers for his glances. until then she would consider using the moment as inspiration for a scene in her next novel.

@✉ ⋮ ahn minhwa it was so peculiar, how the woman looked so familiar and yet they had never met. He hadn’t realized how long he had been staring at the woman until she turned away from the cat by her side to look back at him, their gazes meeting startling him, although on the surface he appeared unfazed. He knew he needed to look away, but it was hard given the strange feeling inside of him.

When the woman held his gaze, her finger pointing to herself as if to ask if he was looking at her, he finally managed to peel his eyes away. He didn’t want to appear as a creep, but given the fact that he had just stared at her for at least five minutes straight, he wouldn’t blame her if she was creeped out. His gaze fell to his coffee instead, bringing the dark liquid up to his lips for another sip before setting the mug back down and turning his attention to a small black cat that approached him, he reached out to pet the cat, willing it to distract him from the woman.

He snuck little glances at her here and there, trying not to make it too obvious. It wasn’t necessarily that he was romantically interested in her, not to say she wasn’t attractive- but the draw toward her was something he simply could not explain. He wanted to approach her, to talk to her, to learn more about her and why he felt this warmth in her presence. But instead of making a move to approach her, he stayed glued to his chair.

@✉ ⋮ moon junyoung visiting jiho's cafe, ruff & fluff, was really a daily occurrence for minhwa. her bookstore was located just across the street and it was a lot easier to satisfy her coffee craving with the iced brown sugar, oat milk latte that always seemed to taste better when it came from her friend's cafe. she even slipped past the long line that never seemed to end because of her friend privileges with the owner, and the thought never stopped bringing a self-satisfied smile to her face.

she even chatted amicably with the staff as she leaned against the front counter, waiting for her drink to be ready. she trusted that her employee could handle the shop on his own for the brief break she intended to take hanging out with the cute animals. everybody needed a break from work at some point and what could be a more perfect way than with furry, four-legged friends? she couldn't think of anything.

as minhwa stood there, though, it was like she could feel the heat of someone's stare of her, making her lift her gaze from the orange tabby she had been affectionately cooing at. as she did, her gaze met that of a handsome man sat at a table across the cafe. she even went as far as to glance around herself slowly, sure he must be looking at someone else because she would have remembered if she had met someone that looked the way her did. there was something indescribable about him, a familiarity she assumed was because he would represent one of her favorite characters perfectly.

still, to humor him, she met his gaze once more and pointed at herself with a slight tilt of her head.

@✉ ⋮ ahn minhwa it was a rare day off for junyoung, and out of all the things he enjoyed to do in his free time, today he chose the most surprising of his hobbies. on the surface he appeared to be a cold man, his visage nearly permanently settled into a blank, unreadable expression. he reserved the warm and friendly side of himself for the people in his life that he cared about. given this knowledge, it would surprise anyone and everyone to know that junyoung was actually a fan of going to cat and dog cafes for entertainment. he had a soft spot for the small animals and enjoyed sipping on coffee, petting them as they walked by him. it was a comfortable atmosphere that greatly contrasted the tense energy of his work.

today he sat at his usual table, at the cafe he frequented often. there was nothing special about the day, nothing spectacular had happened, and he was about to leave when the chime above the door rang, his gaze falling on a woman as she entered the building. she was beautiful, and that was an undisputed fact, but it wasn't her beauty that grabbed his attention.

it was the feeling of warmth that passed through him at her presence that truly drew him to her. it was both strange and intriguing how he couldn't manage to look away. he was known to be a little too flirtatious at times, and he definitely had an appreciation for the beauty of women, but he wasn't the type to be drawn in easily. what was it about her that seemed so familiar? it was as if she was someone that was very important to him, but he could have sworn he had never seen her before. he would have remembered her for sure. who was she?