ACCEPTING! / wordstuck.co.vu prompts / @hyejvng
yeoubi: 'fox rain'; a sun shower – the event of having a light rain while the sun is still shining
tuesday afternoons go something like this: two cups of tea, a slice of cake, and interludes of laughter. the lunch rush has already passed, and in this limbo of the day his only patrons consist of students from the university down the street and old friends catching up. every now and then someone in a suit will pop in for their on-the-go triple shot of caffeine, but the little bell above the door remains quiet otherwise.
at a few minutes to three, hyejung walks in with her white coat in the bend of her elbow, hair tied up but only barely. the stethoscope in the pocket of her coat clinks with each step, and her ID badge glints in the soft light of the pâtisserie. her bag, dotted with rain, hangs loosely over a shoulder, and she runs a hand through her fringe to shake it dry. the weather report hadn’t predicted rain, but at least it isn’t a surprise monsoon. kyungsoo doesn’t have to look up from where he’s dusting sugar onto a fresh batch of mille-feuilles in the kitchen to know she’s arrived. similarly, hyejung doesn’t have to pause mid-text to her colleagues about the new residents to know who joins her at their table in the corner two minutes later.
“new meat?” kyungsoo asks, passing a fork to the doctor and gesturing to the cake between them. it’s a new recipe again, chamomile-infused sponge with blackberry and mascarpone between each layer. tea is always tricky to work with, but kyungsoo thinks he’s finally worked out the flavour this time. subtle, but not so weak as to fade beneath the tartness of the blackberries.
“it’ll be their first overnight. i’ve prepped them as best as i can, but it’s up to them to survive. i do not envy them.” with a sigh, hyejung sets aside her phone in favour of the fork and dives right into the cake. after a noise of appreciation and a sip of freshly brewed tea, she gives the cake two thumbs up, goes for another bite, and murmurs, “he’s here again.”
entirely used to this routine, kyungsoo rolls his eyes good-naturedly and pokes at the cake to assess how it crumbles. it’s light, but fortunately not dry. when he says nothing in response, hyejung continues, “did you give him your number?”
“no,” kyungsoo answers perhaps a little too quickly, gaze glued to the thin line of blackberry jam in the cake. maybe he could add a little more next time, to balance out the richness of the mascarpone, but that might overpower the chamomile... as always, though, his tactics to avoid the topic fail spectacularly, and hyejung clicks her tongue while picking up more cake.
“he probably thinks we’re dating,” she says, and when kyungsoo chokes on nothing, hyejung gapes with disbelief and punches out an ‘okay, rude!’ between her laughter. glancing over at the subject of their conversation, sat near the counter with three empty mugs on his table, hyejung elaborates oh-so-helpfully, “we sit here and eat cake together every week. what else is he gonna think?”
again, kyungsoo elects not to answer, nervously fiddling with his cup of tea and fighting the urge to glance at the person in question. hyejung has always been good at reading people, but surely she could be wrong sometimes. who would be interested in someone who spends more time at work than their own home? someone who wakes up at five every morning, excited to start on several dozen batches of pastries? certainly not someone with a postdoc in english literature and tenure at the local private university.
before kyungsoo’s thoughts can delve any deeper, hyejung sets her fork down, takes a deep breath, and honest to god shouts, “kyungsoo, i don’t know why no one’s asked you out! people must be idiots, 'cause if they can’t make a move, then they don’t deserve you!!”
and in his mortification, all kyungsoo can reply with is:
“ohmygodi’mnevergivingyoucakeafterthis.”
