Chapter 52: 39-1

"I haven't seen you in a while," Hansoo says as he wipes the table next to me. "Believe it or not, Jaewook and I are not joined at the hip." I blow out air in frustration as I realize my studies will likely be disrupted for a while now. "Doesn't seem like it to me," he mumbles as he puts his hand on his own hips. I wish the cafe was busy, but unfortunately, it's quite dead right now, meaning Hansoo has all too much time on his hands. "You know, I don't really appreciate the informal language you're using with me, how old are you Park Hansoo?" His eyes squint, ready for the battle I've proposed. "21," he says confidently. Bingo. I lean back in my chair and cross my legs casually. "Oh, still only 21? Hmm..." I look at my nails as if they're more interesting. From the counter, Jaewook watches us with worried eyes. Our body language must give it away. "What? What do you mean?" Hansoo's voice falters, clear hesitation overtaking him now as he watches me intently. "I turned 22 a while ago," I smile wickedly at him. "I'm older," I stick my tongue out at him, likely contradicting the statement I just made. Hansoo guffaws, "So what, by like six months?" "Hey! I'm still older, you have to respect me," I stand up from my seat in order to gain some power back. It's easy since Hansoo isn't too much taller than me. His mouth twitches into a wicked smile as he also stands up straighter. "So what, you want me to call you Noona?" "No," a voice other than ours replies. We turn our heads to see Jaewook watching us now. He looks bothered but the expression quickly turns bashful when our eyes land on him. When neither of us says anything, he looks down at his feet and mumbles, "Don't call her that." A smile can't help but form on my lips at the childish words. He sounds like Ben a few weeks ago. I resist the urge to squeal and pinch his nonexistent cheeks. "You heard him, I'm calling you Destiny and that's that." Hansoo puts his hands in the pocket of his apron and leans lightly against a table. I curl my lip at him and glare. "That doesn't mean you can be rude to me you ungrateful twat." Hansoo's eyes widen and he looks over at Jaewook. "What the hell does twat mean?" Jaewook just shrugs his shoulders. "There's a customer waiting for you at the counter," he suddenly says. Hansoo's eyebrows cross, probably about to say that's your job when he looks over at the customer. He rolls his eyes and mumbles "not again," before walking away. Jaewook immediately smiles once he's gone and grabs my hands. I sit back down. "You're the cutest," I coo as I look up at his cute face. He grows bashful and tries to change the subject. "When do your exams end?" He asks. "A week," I say gloomily. "I'm almost done too. We can do something every day when you're on break," he says excitedly. "Jaewook," I begin to whine. And I thought I was the clingy one a week ago? "Okay, okay not every day. Just most days." We both flinch from the high pitched sound coming from the counter. "Hansoo!" a girl basically squeals as he makes his way to the cash register. I can't help but laugh at Hansoo's all-too-fake smile and Jaewook soon follows. His grin only grows before he takes my iced Americano. "Oh, I d—" Is all I can say before he takes a sip. His face scrunches up painfully, his tongue leaving his mouth as his eyes close. "Bleh—So bitter," he painfully says while putting the cup back down. "How can you drink that?" I shrug my shoulders, "easily," I say before taking a long sip. I make a satisfied noise after and he pretends to shiver. "You're a barista now Jaewook, you should learn to appreciate true coffee without the masking of sugar." He rolls his eyes, "no thank you. You don't need sugar in your drinks because you're already sweet enough." He smiles triumphantly. I guffaw at the corny statement. Jaewook's been in a heightened headspace ever since we made up. His happiness is infectious and from what I can tell, there haven't been any family issues in almost a month. The fact that his graduation ceremony is in a few days only makes his mood even better. I hold onto his hands with a smile, poking at the pendant on his bracelet. "Let's go out to celebrate after your graduation. We can go to an all-you-can-eat or something." His eyes immediately light up. "Yes, let's do it, I'm in need of some fattening up," he says as he pats his stomach. I scoff. "Fattening up? Yeah right, we both know everything you eat just turns into muscle." I grumble, truly annoyed by the unfair gender advantage of being able to lose fat quicker. "But for now just focus on finishing your examinations. Do you want to have another study session?" I've been helping him study when I can lately, despite the fact I should probably focus on my own studies. "No it's okay, I'll be fine. You have enough to study."