𝓐 BUSTLING CAFE DURING THE MIDDLE OF SEEMINGLY rush hour for the entire town wasn’t always Gunwoo’s scene, but after spending all of yesterday inside of his apartment ( minus taking Birdie for walks, of course ) he desperately needed to be around other people. He was probably going to regret this the following day as he had a long shift at 8 Ball, but that was a problem for tomorrow Gunwoo quite frankly. Today? Today he just wanted to listen to the sounds of Jasper in the background while burying his nose into his Paperwhite. Maybe get himself a matcha ⸻ even if the ones that The Bean Scene served were not the greatest. It was hard to compete with the real thing after all. He often asked his parents and friends back in Korea to send him traditional matcha if they ever happened to go to Japan on their travels, so he had quite the little hoard in his home.
After making sure Birdie had plenty to keep her occupied, and wasn’t going to tug down his blinds for the third time since moving into this apartment, Gunwoo had hopped onto his bike to head towards the cafe. Going the scenic route over his car was always his preferred method of travel if he was able to get away with it. The only times he really didn’t were if he had to bring Birdie somewhere, was closing late, or needed to get some major groceries that could ( potentially ) result in an item, or himself, breaking. Besides, the day was beautiful, and he needed to take advantage of the weather while he could. The ride there was easy and gentle on his skin, his mind alight as he pulled in easily to the bike rack just outside.
It’s with practiced ease that Gunwoo locks up the front tier with the chain he kept hooked over the handlebars. There wasn’t a real need for him to lock the bike up in a place like Jasper but he was always the cautious type. Besides, it wasn’t the locals he didn’t trust, it was the tourists. Right now the place seemed to be full of them as he pushed his way gently into the cafe, the place absolutely bustling. Lips pulled into a firm press as he moved to carefully get in line, eyes scanning the entire space for literally anywhere to sit. He was hopeful for a place to keep to himself but it didn’t seem as if that was going to happen. Even after ordering his matcha ( a little bit of extra sweetener and iced of course ) he couldn’t find anywhere isolated. It seemed as if he was going to have to sit with someone.
The only empty chair was in front of someone he vaguely recognized. That familiar hair and face … Gunwoo was positive that they were in the brewery recently, but he couldn’t place their name, or even their order. It niggled in the back of his mind a little bit as he wandered his way over, placing a hand gently on the back of the unoccupied chair. “ Are you waiting for someone or is this unoccupied? ” Gunwoo asks with a quirked brow, shifting his weight onto one hip as he looks at the other. It takes a good minute or so for them to actually look up and, by then, it’s taken a bit of effort not to let the embarrassment of just standing there get to him. Once given the okay he slides down into the seat with little grace, landing on the edge the first time before scooting himself into the center.
Gunwoo waves a dismissive hand as he settles as comfortably as possible in the hard wooden chair, slipping his coat off as well and draping it along the back. He shifts a bit to adjust the tee shirt some on his shoulders, the fabric hanging a bit looser than he would have liked on his form. He wanted it to be oversized for sure, but this felt a little bit silly. “ Don’t sweat it, man. It’s loud in here, things happen. ” Gunwoo made sure to reassure the other as he grabbed his Kindle from the pocket of his coat, placing it gently in front of himself alongside his iced drink of choice. He can’t help but notice the other’s reading material, a singular brow shooting up his forehead at the topic. He hadn’t meant to peep a bit, it was just right there in big bold letters. “ Are we reading about carnivals today? ”