This early in the morning there were not many customers at the coffee shop. Those that were there definitely needed a lot of caffeine in the system. The same need had brought Sungjong here. The early shift at the hospital started at dusk, well, at night, for the normal functioning crowd. It was all a matter of adapting, tough. After 2 years as a paramedic, Sungjong could easily switch between day-shift and nigh-shift mode, his sleeping patterns as adaptable as it was humanly possible. There was, however, this one thing he craved when he got up this early - coffee, with a ton of sugar.Â
Clutching his venti paper cup of coffee goodness in both hands he crowded the counter grasping sugar packets and dumping the lot into his coffee. A medic in him was fully aware of the unhealthiness of his habit. The late sleeper in him didnât give a damn.Â
He tasted the liquid and added another three spoonfuls. Feeling slightly self-aware and maybe tiny bit remorseful he smiled sheepishly to his fellow coffee drinker.  âA bad habit. I know. This shit hooks you up faster than heroin.â And that was, actually, a scientifically proved fact.Â
Stress wasnât a foreign emotion to Hyunjung, but recently, sheâs been a lot more acquainted with it than even in her past. Despite the fact that she was living with someone, she felt lonely practically all of the time. Some relief was granted to her during her nights, however, since she now had a job occupying the time that she usually would have used to sleep, sheâs been more tired than usual. Caffeine was practically the only thing that kept her functioning, which definitely wasnât healthy, but what the fuck was she supposed to do about it? If she had a choice, sheâd be safe, happy... but, the world doesnât give a damn about her hopes, obviously.
She managed to weakly smile in Sungjongâs direction, hearing his words but also feeling slightly dazed. She knew what he said, and she was clearly in his presence, yet everything seemed a little distant. In a way, she felt like she wasnât even inhabiting her own body.
Eventually, she brought the cup up to her lips and took a long swallow, closing her eyes as the warm liquid slid down her throat. Once she was making eye contact with the boy again, she managed to focus enough to at least attempt to carry on the conversation, as they typically tended to do. âSo true. I mean, Iâve never tried heroin, but thatâs not hard for me to believe. I donât even know how Iâd survive without this by now.â