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Scribbles of Courage

Genre: Coffee Shop AU. Barista x Writer. Seonghwa x OC

Rated: G

Summery: The owner of a small cafe has fallen head over heels for one of their regulars. He tries to keep it to himself though, worried about crossing the line with a customer. Meanwhile, a writer can't help but get distracted by the cute owner of the coffee shop when she's supposed to be working on her next book. Of course, they're unable to keep it from their friends who are more than happy to watch romance bloom.

First, Prev, Masterlist, AO3

✧10✧ Seonghwa

“Yunho, can you grab the props from the back?” Seonghwa said as he finished tidying up the table by the window. He put a sign on it to make sure no one took it since it was becoming a favorite seating spot. “Have you heard anything?”

“Got it,” Yunho said, joining him. He placed the tub of things in the chair, catching it last second as it almost tipped off from its uneven weight. “He should be here any minute.”

“Good,” Seonghwa said. “Hopefully he can get enough pictures taken before the rush starts. We can’t spare Wooyoung.”

“San is coming with him,” Wooyoung said. “Just got a text. He’s offered to cover for me if it gets too busy.”

“San.” Seonghwa looked skeptical. “behind the counter?”

“He can run transactions,” Wooyoung said. “There won’t be a repeat of last time. He promised.”

“Could be worse,” Yunho said. “Could be Hongjoong.”

Seonghwa and Wooyoung grimaced at the image of Hongjoong behind the counter. He’d likely try to help with preparing a drink, only to end up somehow burning something.

The bell above the door jingled and they turned to greet the customer, but were instead greeted by their friends.

“Hello,” San said, his tone taking on a cute lilt. “We have arrived. Song Mingi in the house.” His voice raised in volume, and Seonghwa’s eyes darted to the few customers already in the cafe.

“Morning,” Mingi said, voice just as loud. “Who’s ready for promo time?”

“We’ve got everything prepared for you,” Yunho said, gesturing to the box.

“And this,” Wooyoung said, as he pulled off his apron, “is for you.” He threw it at San, who barely caught it. “I’m so ready to take some nicer photos than our every day ones.”

“Just remember not to get too loud,” Seonghwa said. “People do come in here to study.”

“And work,” Wooyoung said with a wink which received a glare from the oldest in response.

“I’ll get started on some of our seasonal drinks,” Yunho said and headed towards the counters, dragging San along with him.

“Wooyoung, can you make one with art before you start on the photography?” Mingi asked as he shed his coat, which Seonghwa took from him. “I’ll start getting a background set up.”

“Sure thing!” Wooyoung left them quickly and Seonghwa looked at Mingi with a raised brow.

“You’re going to drink that one, aren’t you?”

“He never makes us fancy ones,” Mingi said. “Is it wrong for me to get one with art out of him every now and then under the pretense of work? At least it’s not going to waste.”

Seonghwa couldn’t argue with that. He was just happy to have the help with promotions. “Oh hey, I have an idea for an event I’d like to run by you later. But it can wait until you and Wooyoung are done,” he said, readjusting his apron as his eyes darted to the front door.

“Oh, yeah?” Mingi seemed to brighten. “That’s new for you. I’m excited to hear about it.”

Seonghwa half-heartedly bumped into his shoulder at the teasing. “I’ve got to get to work,” he said instead. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do, hyung.”

“And remember, please be mindful of the customers.”

“Don’t worry.” The response was instant, casual, like he’d said it a million times. Which, he had.

Seonghwa shook his head with an endearing smile as he walked off. Wooyoung was finishing up the design on a latte when he joined the others behind the counter.

“Changbin just texted and said they’d be bringing the baked goods over in about fifteen minutes,” Wooyoung said. He carefully placed the latte onto a tray and started to make his way out.

“Oh, good,” Seonghwa said. “That way we can add a couple items to the photos.”

“Wooyoung,” Yunho called out before the younger man could leave the space. “Let me know when you’re almost done with that one so that I can start the next one.”

“Will do.”

Now that the chaos from set up was under control, Seonghwa took a deep breath and went through his mental checklist of what needed to be done. The rush wouldn’t hit for a while, and all the current customers were set with their orders. The case was ready for the bakery items and Nari wasn’t in yet. There wasn’t much to do now except make drinks as Mingi needed them and make random orders as more customers came in.

He busied himself with cleaning that wasn’t necessary, making mental note of stock as he went. Before too long, their neighbors showed up with pastries and he filled the case while Yunho made the next drink for the photos.

“How’s it going with the regular, hyung?” Changbin asked as he started placing cookies on the top shelf. He nearly dropped one, eyes darting to the two in front of him. Felix’s eyes were sparkling, and both held equally knowing grins.

He cleared his throat and focused back on the cookies. “I don’t know what your talking about,” he said.

They looked at each other and rolled their eyes, Felix’s grin turned into a smirk. “Wooyoung hyung has been keeping us updated. We know all about her,” he said.

“Don’t you two have a business to get back to?” Seonghwa insisted. How many people had Wooyoung told about his crush?

“He said she’s the reason you insist on having multiple slices of the strawberry cake available every day,” Changbin said. “Here I thought you just wanted leftovers for yourself or San.”

“Don’t worry, hyung,” Felix said, raising a fist. “Fighting.”

They both left after that, chuckling and meeting Wooyoung’s eyes as they exited.

“Why don’t you just ask her out?” San said.

“Not you too,” Seonghwa groaned, closing the dessert case with more force than necessary. “We’ve been over this. She’s a customer. I’d be overstepping.”

“If you say so, hyung.”

Another customer came in and Seonghwa nudged San. “Focus please.”

When the transaction was done, he started on the drink, giving him an excuse to ignore San’s teasing. Instead, he focused on figuring out how to best execute the plan he had in mind.

What to say.

What to offer.

How to offer without it coming across as out of the blue or feeling like a burden.

“Hello, welcome to The Wishing Star,” San greeted brightly.

“Noona!” Wooyoung shouted and Seonghwa’s head shot up, eyes darting to the entrance in time to see Nari give a small wave to Wooyoung before continuing to the counter.

Seonghwa couldn’t escape his drink making to meet her there.

San glanced back at him with a knowing smile before turning back to her.

“Hi,” he said, more enthusiastic than when she entered.

“Hello,” she said, unsure.

“You must be the regular hyung talks about,” San said.

“Oh,” she said as she glanced behind San to seek him out. Their eyes met and pink dusted across her cheeks.

“Hi Nari,” Seonghwa said quickly. “I’m just finishing this drink, then I’ll be right there.”

“D—don’t worry about it,” she said.

Still, he finished the to-go order as quickly as he could, listening in on their conversation in case he needed to do damage control for anything San said.

“Are you San?” she asked.

“I am?” San said in surprise. “How did you know.”

“Intuition,” she said. “It’s nice to finally meet the famous roommate.”

“Psh, famous? I’m not so sure about that.”

Seonghwa could hear the blush in San’s tone. If he were a bird his feathers would be puffed up.

“Look’s like we’re both meeting celebrities today then,” San said as Seonghwa handed the drink off to the customer, then started to rush back. “The famous regular that plays animal crossing and writes books for a living.”

“I’m not…”

“Nari,” Seonghwa said when he was close enough. She looked up at him as he quickly closed the distance, hopefully missing how his hand latched onto San’s shoulder with a little more force than necessary. “More editing today?”

“Of course,” she said. Then, she looked behind her, towards the two by the window and dropped her voice a bit. “What’s going on today? Who…?” She didn’t finish the question, but he could see the curiosity burning in her eyes.

“That’s Mingi,” he said. “He’s our marketing and promotions manager. And Yunho’s best friend. We’re getting more professional photos today of our new and seasonal drinks to post on socials for the next month or so.”

“And Wooyoung is getting to take the photos?”

He nodded and she beamed.

“That’s great!” she said. “He’s such a good photographer. It’s a shame he doesn’t do it more.”

Seonghwa opened his mouth, but San spoke before him.

“That’s what I keep telling him. He’s been using every excuse in the book lately about why he hasn’t been taking any photos,” he pouted.

“We’ve all been trying to get him to take some time to work on it,” Seonghwa said. “But he won’t listen.”

“Ya!” Wooyoung shouted. “Stop talking about me like I’m not here.”

San raised a finger to his lips to shush their friend, who just started grumbling under his breath as he went back to work.

“I’m taking photos now, aren’t I?” he huffed to Mingi, who just patted him on the shoulder.

“In his defense,” Yunho said, joining them. “It has gotten a lot busier here lately. There’s not really a good time for him to take off.”

“I’ve offered to cover a shift or two,” San said, pouting again.

“Why don’t you focus on the shift your covering now instead of berating me for something completely unnecessary and wasting everyone’s time? Hmm? Hmm?” Wooyoung said, speaking 90 miles and hour as he walked over.

Seonghwa raised his hands, gesturing for Wooyoung to calm down before he bothered the customers. “Okay, okay,” he said. “We’ll drop it.”

“Thank you,” Wooyoung huffed. “I swear, no one ever takes my side. Yunho, can you start on the next drink please? I’m nearly done.”

“Of course,” Yunho said, holding back his laughter from the mild altercation. “I was taking your side, by the way.”

“Whatever,” Wooyoung said, with a wave of his hand as he walked back over to the photo area where Mingi was watching, mildly confused.

San started typing on the tablet in front of him, then looked up at Nari. “Just coffee, right?”

“That’s right,” she said, in surprise. “Guess I really am famous. Or does my order just annoy Wooyoung that much.”

“What do you think?” San said with a grin. “If you really want to annoy him, you should order something else today when he’s not working.”

“Hmm,” she hummed in thought. “Maybe…”

“Noona! Don’t you dare!” Wooyoung whined, stomping his foot once.

She chuckled at the response as she fished her wallet out of her purse. “I’m only teasing,” she said. Her eyes shone like stars, completely captivating Seonghwa’s gaze. The light brown shone in the sunlight, with little flecks of sparkling gold, and he felt like the air had left his lungs.

“I’ll…get started on you coffee,” he said, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his apron and turning away. “You’re table is open.”

“Thank you, Seonghwa,” she said, her voice light. The way she called his name was gentle, and he couldn’t help the blush from rising to his cheeks.

Still, he turned and smiled at her, praying that the evidence of his crush wasn’t too visible. “Of course. Do you mind if we use your table to eat lunch again?”

“Not at all,” she said. “I’m always happy for the company.”

He turned away again to fix her mug of coffee, hoping that the heat on his face would die down enough that he could actually take it to her.

The bell above the door dinged, thankfully knocking him to his senses. The following sound of the late morning rush had him hurrying to drop off her drink with a promise to check on her once everything had died down again, before he was back to work.

His and Yunho’s hands were full with keeping up with the orders, as well as making sure San didn’t get too overwhelmed or confused. But, just as quickly as the rush had come in, it was gone and he was left catching his breath along with the other two behind the counter.

“I don’t know how you do this every day,” San said. “Multiple times a day. I’m wiped.”

“You’re doing great, Sannie,” he said, ruffling the younger man’s hair. “Don’t know what we would have done without you.”

“Hyuuung,” San huffed, pushing Seonghwa’s hand away to fix his hair.

“I’m going to get started on the next drink for Mingi and Wooyoung,” Seonghwa said. It was one of his favorite new additions, so he was excited to work on it. Excited to share it. But he had two versions to work on, so it would take him a little bit.

“Then, I’ll go around and check on customers,” Yunho said, grabbing the coffee pot.

“Okay,” Seonghwa responded, too focused on gathering the ingredients and going through the checklist. He’d have it memorized before too long, but he had to make sure this one was perfect…for the photos.

After starting the espresso and prepping the dark chocolate, he pulled the pre-cut strawberry stars and star ice cubes from the mini freezer, then the homemade strawberry compote from the fridge, along with creams. Everything was a matter of timing. He grabbed one of their new latte glasses and filled the bottom with the strawberry compote. Then he carefully added in the star strawberries, using the ice to help hold them in place along the side of the glass before drizzling some chocolate to help hold them a bit better.

The espresso finished just as he was ready for it, and he quickly poured it into the mixing glass with the dark chocolate and mixed them together. He then poured it into the glass in tandem with some cream, allowing the liquids to marbleize. Then, he topped it with a healthy amount of whipped cream and added a couple more strawberry stars as a garnish. The finishing touch was a sprinkling of dried strawberry crumbs.

Satisfied, he stepped back. It was perfect.

“Ooo,” Yunho said. Sidling up next to him. “Looks good, hyung. You finally perfected it. Got a name yet.”

Seonghwa shook his head, quickly getting to work on the hot version of the drink. “No,” he said. “But it will come to me.”

“I’m surprised. You’ve never really struggled with naming one before. And this is the only new one without a name.”

“I know. I just want to make sure it’s perfect.”

“Whatever you decide will be great,” Yunho said, his voice encouraging.

The name was taking a surprising amount of time, and it irritated him. He wanted to get it on the menu as soon as possible, but couldn’t until he made a decision. Still, he knew what was holding him back. Why he wanted to be perfect.

Finishing touches on the hot drink, he loaded the two onto a tray, then retrieved a slice of strawberry cake that he had set aside earlier. Then, more careful than was probably necessary, he took them to the front.

“Perfect timing,” Mingi said, him and Wooyoung looking up from the screen of Wooyoung’s camera. “We just finished with this one.”

“I’ll take it off of your hands then,” he said as he carefully unloaded the items on the tray to the table, then grabbed the other hot and cold drinks. “San has been waiting patiently.” The whip cream on the hot chocolate had certainly deflated, making the mint leaf and cookie droop a little sadly, but the mint chocolate lover wouldn’t mind.

He turned to see the temporary cashier watching him with crescent eyes. Hands clenched and shaking on the table as he tried to contain his excitement. He was certainly earning the drink today.

“Wait,” Mingi said before he could walk away. “I want one of those. Does he get both?”

“No, one of those is mine,” Wooyoung said. “San and I have been trying to get a mint choco drink on the menu for ages and he finally listened to us, so we have dibs.”

“But I like mint choco too,” Mingi whined. “You can get one whenever since you work here.”

“Then just come by more frequently. Besides, you took the latte art one earlier,” Wooyoung argued back as he started to arrange the drinks and cake for the perfect photo. “Ooo, your labor of love,” he teased the oldest. “Finally ready to debut?”

“Almost,” Seonghwa said. “Just needs a name. Here,” he handed over the cold mint chocolate drink. “Share it.”

“I don’t want to share,” the two said in unison.

“Then rock paper scissors for it,” Seonghwa sighed. “Those are mine when you’re done.” He pointed at the strawberry based items, ignoring the whining.

“Just yours?” Wooyoung said, wiggling his eyebrows, but Seonghwa ignored him and turned to head to the counter. He handed the mint hot chocolate to San, who took it with glee, ignoring the rock paper scissors game happening behind him.

San took a long drink of the now mostly cooled liquid and hummed in satisfaction. Then he sent a wink at the oldest. “Do I get a bite of the strawberry cake?” he asked innocently.

“No.”

“But—”

“No buts.”

San pouted, then took another sip of his hot chocolate and was satisfied all over again. He grabbed the mint chocolate cookie, that was barely floating now, with his teeth and it fell apart on him.

“I’ll get you a spoon,” Seonghwa said, starting to round the counter. “Don’t make a mess.”

✧✧✧

It took longer than he was hoping, but they finally finished and were on to the next drinks. He took the items to Nari’s table with light steps, careful not to spill them. They weren’t as pretty as they had been, and probably not as good, now closer to room temperature.

Carefully, he set the cake in Nari’s peripheral, then the two drinks. She looked up, watching as they appeared one by one, then look at him in surprise.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“New seasonal items,” he said. There was some awe in her expression as she looked back at the drinks, and he couldn’t help but be filled with pride. “I wanted to make something for the season that complemented the strawberry cake. Since it’s a favorite.” He added the last bit quickly. “And it will be a collaborative promotion with the bakery next door.”

“Well, they look amazing,” she said. “Are you getting to take a break now?”

He nodded and slid into the booth across from her. “Just for a minute. Which one do you want?”

“I’m sorry?” she asked, eyes wide. “I get one?”

“Of course,” he said. “I want to get your opinion on whether or not they actually complement the cake.”

“Are you sure?” her hands hesitated forward, but he could see the anticipation in her eyes. “I’m sure one of you is a better judge of that. I don’t know the first thing about coffee.”

“But you’ll be able to tell if they go together.” His tone was insistent. “It’s good to get customer feedback, and I trust your opinion. Plus, you’ve been working so hard. You deserve a treat here and there. So,” he nudged them towards her slightly, “which would you like?”

“Then…” she reached forward and slowly slid the cold one towards herself. “I’ll take this one.”

He smiled and slid the hot, now cold one, towards himself.

She took a long drink from hers, closing her eyes and really savoring it. She hummed in delight then finally opened her eyes and looked at him. “This is amazing!” she said.

He held out a small fork for her, then slid the cake a bit closer once she took it.

“You have to stop spoiling me with all these free treats,” she said even as she readily sunk the fork into the spongy cake.

He wanted to tell her he would happily spoil her every day, in greater ways. That the drink was made specifically for her. That she was quickly becoming his favorite person.

But he couldn’t.

So, instead, he told a half truth. “Let me treat my favorite customer every now and then,” he said.

She looked up at him in surprise, fork still in her mouth. Pink dusted her cheeks as her eyes shot back down to the table, cake, laptop, anything but him.

She took another drink, then swirled the straw around in thought. “You treat me a lot though,” she said.

He shrugged, but she didn’t see it. Instead, she continued.

“Tell me about the drink,” she said. “What all is in it?”

He scooted forward in his seat, and explained it in detail. She looked at him again, met his gaze, her attention matching his excitement. There was still a light dusting of pink on her cheeks, and he was sure his matched. Especially once Yunho called for him to come back.

He stood reluctantly, hand still on the table. “I’ll be back in a little while to eat lunch,” he said. “If it’s not a bother.”

She shook her head. “It’s never a bother.”

“Then,” he cleared his throat, to overcome with her response. “I’ll have the others come eat lunch first.”

“Okay,” she said, then lifted she glass slightly. “Thank you again, Seonghwa. I think this will be a big hit. You did a great job.”

“Thanks,” he forced out, then walked away. His face was burning. He needed a minute. But one look at the others told him he didn’t have that. So he swallowed the embarrassment and joined them. Shooing Yunho away to take his lunch break.

✧✧✧

It was another hour before Mingi and Wooyoung were done. They joined him and Yunho behind the counter with the props and final drinks and Wooyoung slouched against him dramatically. “I’m starving,” he whined. “I could practically fade away.”

“Then go eat,” Seonghwa said. “I’m not stopping you. It’s long past your normal break time.”

“Thanks, hyung!” Wooyoung cheered, then tried to plant a kiss on Seonghwa’s cheek. But the oldest was faster, pushing him away before he even got close.

“Don’t,” Seonghwa said with a grimace. “Just go eat.”

The youngest saluted, then disappeared into the back to grab his food.

“I’m going to head out to eat,” Mingi said. “As long as you don’t need any other photos taken.”

“No. But, before you go,” Seonghwa said, stopping him in his tracks. “Let me give you some money for lunch and…” He trailed off as he searched for his wallet.

“What’s up?” Mingi asked when he didn’t finish.

“I just wanted to go ahead and run my event idea by you so you could start thinking it over.”

“Oh yeah! I completely forgot.” Mingi put his hands in his pockets, attention fully on Seonghwa in anticipation. “What were you thinking?”

“Well, what about a book launch event? A reading and signing with the author. Maybe some live music. I’ve heard it can be a really great evening event. Especially in the winter.”

“Sounds good. Do you have an author in mind?” Mingi’s eyes were wide and curious as he leaned forward in excitement.

“I do,” he said, matter of fact. “She has a book coming out soon, but I don’t know the exact date yet. It might not work out timing wise. Or she or her company might not be interested. I wanted to run it by you before bringing it up.”

Mingi nodded in thought. “It would fit the atmosphere of the cafe well,” he said. “And a rare evening event could pull in more people. San could probably sing…” he trailed off, then looked at Seonghwa and smiled. “I like it. Why don’t you go ahead and reach out to them, see if there would even be any interest, find out a timeline. And I’ll start brainstorming some ideas.”

“Really? You like it?”

“What’s not to like, hyung?” Mingi said with a chuckle. “Whether you believe it or not, you have good ideas.”

“He’s right,” San said, joining them.

“You don’t even know what we’re talking about,” Seonghwa said.

“Don’t need to,” San argued. “Mingi said you have good ideas, that’s all I need to know to agree.” He grinned at the oldest, adjusting his apron. “I’m ready to get back to work boss.”

“And I’m going to head out,” Mingi said, happily placing the offered lunch money in his pocket. “I’ll get to work on the photos after lunch and reach out to you tonight or tomorrow about any extra information I need to start posting.”

“Thank you, Mingi.”

“Just keep me updated on the event idea.”

“Will do.”

Mingi headed off and San turned to Seonghwa curiously. “What event idea is he talking about?”

“Something that is still very much just an idea. I’ll tell you about it later.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” San said, taking his spot back behind the register.

“Thank you again for the help today. You can go as soon as Yunho and Wooyoung are done with their lunch.”

“I don’t mind staying longer if that would help. That way they have an extra hand while you take your break. And then, you can take your time.” He looked at Seonghwa with meaning and the eldest looked away, busying himself with cleaning the already spotless counter. “But really,” San continued. “I’m happy for the extra income after losing so many days to that stupid bug.”

“Do you have enough gigs lined up right now?” Seonghwa said in concern.

“Yeah. I’m booked up the rest of the week, so I’ll be okay. The rebooking and slow start back just stressed me out a little. But it’ll be fine.”

“Okay. Just let me know if you need some extra hours. I’m sure we could figure something out. You could sing here on the weekend maybe. Get some tips.”

“That might not be a bad idea. Thanks, hyung. I’ll let you know.”

✧✧✧

Seonghwa took a slow bite of his food, trying to figure out how to start the conversation.

Nari was editing her story, and he didn’t want to interrupt her, but he also knew she still hadn’t eaten. And, he didn’t want to wait another day to talk to her about his idea.

When she started tapping a key in thought, fingers no longer flying over the keyboard, he took a risk. Carefully, he tapped her hand, and she looked at him. Her eyes weren’t really focused on him though, her thoughts still clearly somewhere on the story, and he couldn’t help but smile at her concentration.

“Why don’t you take a break and eat?” He said. “You look like you might be stuck.”

She sighed and leaned back in the booth. “I am,” she said. “That obvious?”

He nodded. “You weren’t typing as fast, and it looked like you might have erased a line a couple times.”

“I did. It’s just a sentence that I struggled with when I was writing the first draft. I still can’t seem to clear it up. Even with my editor’s notes.”

“Well, maybe taking a break will help. Clear your head. Give it some fuel.”

“You’re probably right.” She closed her notebook and pushed it to the side, then her computer. “It’s just hard to take a break once you start making progress.”

“But, you’re not making progress at the moment,” he said, helping her clear a small space for her to eat. “So that means it’s time to rest.”

“Thanks,” she said with a small smile. Then she pulled out a rapped kimbap roll. “It’ll come to me.” The small space filled with the sound of foil and the nervous tapping of her foot under the table. “It’s just this sentence. I just can’t…” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “It’s fine. Sorry. You don’t want to listen to me rant about this.”

“I don’t mind.” He said, bumping her foot with his. She immediately stopped bouncing her leg. “If it helps you destress, I can listen.”

She smiled, hand coming up to rub the back of her neck. “Thank you,” she said. “I appreciate it. But I would rather talk about something else while we’re both on break. Get my mind off of it.”

“Okay,” he said. “Um, it’s still work related. But I had something I wanted to talk to you about, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, sure,” she said, eating a piece of her kimbap.

His leg started bouncing under the table as he tried to formulate the words. Her foot bumped his, mimicking his earlier action and he smiled at her in gratitude. “Have you ever had a launch event for one of your books?”

Her eyes widened in surprise and she shook her head. “No,” she said slowly. “I’m not really well known, so I haven’t seen a reason to.”

“Well…I was looking at event ideas for the cafe this winter, and there were couple book themed ones out there. The book launch seemed interesting, and with your book being published soon, I thought it might be a good one.”

She leaned back in her seat, face scrunching in thought before she bit her lower lip. Then she sat forward again. “What exactly would that look like?”

“There’s a couple of ways to go about it,” he said, putting his food down to really focus on explaining. “Usually a reading of the first couple pages or the first chapter. Or a random exert from the book. Sometimes a book signing. Sometimes live music. Something calm to match the atmosphere. From there the details vary.”

She looked away in thought, chewing on her lip again. “It sounds like a really fun idea,” she said slowly. “But I don’t know that my book will pull in very many people, and…I don’t know if I would be comfortable reading in front of others. Public speaking was not my forte in school.” She smiled, but he could tell it was somewhat forced. “I can see if there’s another, more popular author who might be a better choice though.”

That took him by surprise. He wasn’t even sure how to respond at first. But he met her eyes and didn’t back down, reaching across the table to gently wrap his fingers around her wrist. “I don’t want another author though,” he said. “The reason the idea caught my eye was because it made me think of you. This isn’t about big numbers or a grand promotional event. This is about creating a cozy, friendly atmosphere. Giving people a something to enjoy on a cold winter night. And collaborating on something with someone I care about. Besides,” he smiled brightly, switching his grip to her hand and giving it a little squeeze, “I’m sure you have plenty of readers who would be interested. And we have regulars who I’m sure would be happy to discover your writing.”

She smiled back at him. Less forced, but still unsure.

“But, what if no one comes. It will be such a waste of time and money.”

“It won’t,” he insisted. “Promise. No matter the outcome.” She started chewing on her lip again and he pressed on. “And if you don’t want to read, we can just have someone else do it. I was also thinking San could sing while people are arriving. His voice fits the vibe perfectly. I can send you some of his recordings.”

“I like the idea,” she said. “I really, really do. I’m just not sure.”

“I am. But I don’t want to force you into it. So why don’t you give it some thought today, and talk to your publisher about it. Mingi already said he liked it and is going to start making a plan.”

She took a deep breath then squeezed his hand back. “Okay. I’ll think about it,” she said. “You won’t be upset if I decide not to though, will you?”

“No,” he said quickly. “Of course not. It’s whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“Okay.” She smiled, more genuine this time. Relief noticeable in her shoulders. “Thank you, Seonghwa.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” he said. His eyes landed on his hand on hers, and he rubbed this thumb across her palm. In comfort, in support. “I’m sorry if this stressed you out. I didn’t mean for it to.”

She squeezed his hand back and he looked at her again. She shook her head then met his eyes. “You were just thinking of something that would benefit both of us,” she said. “That was really thoughtful. I’ll let you know once I make up my mind.”

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