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Today’s the day. Vivi is going to give her number to the cute customer that keeps coming by.
She’s got everything ready. Sooyoung had barely concealed a snicker when she practically ripped the last breakfast sandwich out of a customer’s hands, giving some excuse about “display only and also we’re recalling romaine”. But like the good friend and coworker she is, Sooyoung ultimately let her be and got the customer to change their order.
A toasted croissant with cheese, egg, bacon, lettuce and tomato, Hyunjin’s go-to, is now ready but with one extra ingredient: Vivi’s number sticking out from the tip of the croissant.
All she has to do now is wait. It’s peculiar that Hyunjin’s so late when she always comes at 10:45 AM on the dot, but working in the restaurant industry has taught Vivi tremendous patience. And so she waits.
After about an hour, Sooyoung passes behind Vivi to grab a cookie from the display case. “Looks like your favourite customer’s here,” she singsongs, and Vivi resists the urge to trip her. Sooyoung’s said that 5 times today and she’s fallen for it each time. But still, she looks up anyway and is pleasantly surprised to see Hyunjin walking through the door.
She fixes her hair as she watches Hyunjin enter the cafe. The line moves forward as she and Sooyoung serve customers and she’s not sure if she should be grateful for the distraction from her nerves or annoyed that she has to wait to properly see Hyunjin.
Soon enough, Hyunjin’s at the front of the line.
“Good to see you, Hyunjin. What can I get for you?” She asks, already knowing what Hyunjin’s going to order.
“Can I get a breakfast sandwich and an iced americano please?” Hyunjin replies, as expected. She knows Hyunjin likes to eat before her morning classes but she also needs something more substantial than granola. She still finds it odd that Hyunjin’s here off schedule, but she’s happy to see her nonetheless.
“Coming right up!” Vivi quickly turns to grab the sandwich she’d saved and personally put her coffee together.
Returning to the counter with her order, she sees Hyunjin pulling out her wallet. “Don’t worry about paying. It’s on the house.” Vivi whispers that last part with a wink thrown in for good measure, just because she’s feeling good. The only exchange of paper happening today is her slipping her number into that sandwich. The folded note should be just peeking out inbetween the ends of the croissant. Obvious enough to see when you’re about to take a bite, subtle enough that if her boss were to randomly show up Vivi won’t immediately be sussed out for slipping her number to a customer.
“Oh, I couldn’t-”
So precious. “You can and you will. Take the sandwich Hyunjin,” Vivi replies firmly, pushing the paper bag and coffee towards her.
Hyunjin rubs the back of her neck. “Well, can I get an extra croissant then please? I’ll pay for that.”
Vivi rolls her eyes and sighs playfully. “Well, alright I guess,” she says with a smile before quickly grabbing and bagging one from the display case.
As she rings her up, Vivi makes small talk. “So, class canceled? That’s always a treat.”
Hyunjin laughs. “I wish! Aliens could invade the country and Mr. Lee would still make us come in, 11:00 AM sharp.”
Vivi pauses. “... are you skipping then?” she asks because why else would she be here? Perhaps… “Did you come all this way just to see me then? You’re sweet,” she teases.
Hyunjin blushes furiously. She can’t wait to take this girl on a proper date. “I- of course I love seeing you and you’re super cool but uh- I’m here to get my regular before class? What do you mean ‘skipping’?”
“Hyunjin, it’s 11:54 AM.”
Hyunjin blinks. “What”.
“Your class starts at 11, right?” Hyunjin nods. “Well then, I’m pretty sure your class started, like, an hour ago.”
Vivi’s always thought Hyunjin’s eyes were pretty, but right now she’s more concerned that they’re going to fall out of her head with how wide they get.
“OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod” Hyunjin whispers to herself. “Food’s not allowed in the classroom I-” and before Vivi can offer any kind of response, Hyunjin chugs her coffee right in front of her. Then, in two quick and startling bites, she practically swallows her sandwich whole, following that by shoving the extra croissant in her mouth.
Her cheeks are puffed out like a chipmunk’s. If she weren’t so stunned Vivi would think she looked adorable. Hyunjin quickly dusts off her hands, spinning around to make a run for her class before stopping. She turns back and Vivi thinks she makes out a “Fffhank ‘ou Bibi!”, before giving a quick wave and sprinting away.
Vivi watches her go in a daze before she hears someone clear their throat. “Uhh, can I, like, order now?” some random guy in a Pro Bass Shop hat asks.
Oh yeah. She’s on the clock. It takes everything in her power not to glare at the frat boy now in front of her, wishing it was a certain pretty girl instead. Shaking herself out of it, Vivi goes back to doing her job, though much less enthusiastically, especially not for the same frat boy who tried to flirt his way into a free donut.
When her shift ends and her and Sooyoung are cleaning up, Sooyoung bumps her shoulder. “So, did you give her your number? Jungie wished you luck, by the way.”
“Oh, that’s sweet of her. Tell your girlfriend thank you for me next time you see her. You’re going out again this week right?” Vivi hopes the misdirect is enough.
Sooyoung grins. “I will! We’ve got a reservation at this new place downtown- wait a minute! You’re avoiding the question!” Damn it. Sooyoung gives Vivi a playful shove. “Come on, you gave her your number right?”
Vivi sighs. “Technically, yeah.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well,” Vivi starts hesitantly, “I slipped the number in with her sandwich, like we talked about.”
Sooyoung nods, urging her to go on.
“And she ate it.”
“Of course she ate the sandwich,” Sooyoung says, rolling her eyes. “I’m asking about the number.”
“No, stupid. I gave her my number in the sandwich and she... ate it, ” Vivi grits out.
For a moment, Sooyoung looks confused. But then, it clicks. And not a moment later Vivi is smacking her with a dishcloth to get her to stop laughing.
Today’s the day I give her my number, Vivi had thought when she woke up at ass o’clock in the morning to get ready for work. She did not want to get up, but that thought had managed to get the tired culinary student up and out of bed.
Being a culinary student is hard, considering the hours she puts into the cafe for what she hopes will be a decent grade and mediocre pay, but there are some nice things that come with it. Vivi knows she won’t burn down a house trying to cook breakfast, for one. And there are some things she appreciates about working in the student cafe and restaurant. Whatever they learn in class that week becomes the menu, and it’s good practice for when she graduates. Plus, it basically eliminates food waste while also providing affordable and nutritious meals for students.
The best thing though, is getting to see Hyunjin. If Vivi were to describe her in a word it’d be… unique. Their first time meeting was when Hyunjin barked to say she wanted a puppy decorated cupcake. That was when the cafe was doing a charity drive for the local shelter, but it still had caught her off guard. Hyunjin was pretty embarrassed afterwards, but Vivi couldn’t help but be endeared. And if that makes her a furry apologist then so be it.
She also made Hyunjin meow for a free kitty cupcake. Not one to turn down free food despite the embarrassment, Hyunjin had in fact meowed her way into a free snack. It was a surprisingly accurate impression, though not too surprising considering how good the barking was. Since then, Vivi's thought a lot about it and she wouldn’t be opposed to having a catgirlfriend.
And then they started talking. Hyunjin was a frequent customer, grabbing food before class and returning after to sit and study with some tea and whatever was on special. After a few weeks, they’d started sitting together during Vivi’s breaks since Hyunjin seemed to always be around.
They both have a passion for food, what with Vivi being a culinary student and Hyunjin studying nutrition for athletes, so conversation comes naturally. She also loves learning about what Hyunjin gets up to everyday - the varsity soccer team she’s on, the music she’s listening to, the courses she loves and hates. And Vivi shares in equal measure, treasuring the time spent at the cafe getting to know each other.
So things are pretty nice the way they are. But Vivi’s also beginning to get very annoyed. She really thought today was going to be her day.
Walking back to the counter she sees Heejin watching her expectantly as she restocks the baked goods.
“Not a word,” she growls, moving past her into the backroom to sulk for the last few minutes of her lunch break. She can’t stay mad for long though when Heejin follows after her looking like a kicked puppy.
She sighs. “How much did you see?”
Heejin cringes.
She’d brought veggie wraps for them both. Hyunjin had never been one to turn down free food, but she was especially delighted to hear that Vivi had put some chicken in hers. She’d also slipped her number in as well, a small slip of paper sticking out from a crease in the wrap in a way she thought was pretty obvious. That was proven wrong when Hyunjin took a bite without even noticing.
And now she’s here, brooding in the kitchen. “Everyone knows that the culinary students flirt through food! It’s tradition!” Vivi says, arms raised in utter disbelief. She checks the time, and see her break’s over. She fixes her uniform and returns to the counter with Heejin at her tail. “I’m starting to think she might be doing this on purpose, letting me down easy,” she huffs.
“No!” Heejin yelps, looking, dare Vivi say, worried. Vivi watches her chew her lip before continuing. “Ok, I’m definitely breaking the friendship code by telling you this but you know she really likes you, right?”
Aww how cute , Vivi thinks as she takes in Heejin’s earnest plea. She’s a good friend, bro-code notwithstanding. “Yeah, I know. Why else would she have basically memorized my schedule?”
Heejin chuckles at that. “She thinks she’s subtle.”
Now that’s laughable. She looks to see if Hyunjin’s still at her table only to find her staring back. Hyunjin immediately turns away, and Vivi smirks at the way red creeps up her neck.
“Yeah, very subtle. I know she likes me, and I like her too.” Heejin looks relieved at that. But she should know Vivi’s not a quitter. “That’s why I’m trying to give her my number. I’m just frustrated, is all,” she huffs out.
Suddenly, she’s engulfed in a hug. “It’ll happen for you! It took Jiwoo a while to get the hint, and to stop tossing her food wrappers in the recycle bin before looking at them, but look at us now!” She says, pulling back to look Vivi in the eyes. “Hyunjin will figure it out,” she says, determined. Her energy is infectious, and Vivi feels her resolve slowly return.
“You’re damn right she will,” Vivi declares, standing a little bit straighter. “And while I appreciate you confirming what I already knew, please don’t be loose lipped about this with her. I’ll make this work, don’t worry.”
She wants to see what she’s sure will be the bashful surprise on Hyunjin’s face herself and feel the pride of knowing she caused such a reaction. It’s going to happen; she just needs to make a new game (or meal) plan.
Heejin mimes locking her mouth shut. “My lips are sealed! I’m rooting for you guys!”
The electronic ding of the door opening reminds them both where they are. Heejin gives her an encouraging smile before moving to continue restocking and Vivi readies herself at the counter again, starting a pot of coffee on the side. She’ll think of something.
Today is for sure the day she’ll give Hyunjin her number , Vivi thinks as she stretches and rolls her shoulders. She’s working in the kitchen this shift, and the manual labour of cooking is a bit tiring. While she mourns not being able to watch Hyunjin try not to stare at her from the counter, she does actually enjoy the feeling of pride that comes with making the food for the cafe and she’s even happier about being able to personally prepare Hyunjin’s meal herself.
Since Hyunjin knows her schedule, she usually shows up when Vivi’s off the clock so they can grab a table and hang out. It’s a little odd hanging out at her place of work, but Vivi doesn’t mind much since it’s time with Hyunjin.
Making a swift exit so she can’t be pressured into staying in the kitchen past 5:00 PM, Vivi makes her way to the dining area where she can see Hyunjin waiting in their spot. Hyunjin startles when Vivi drops a to-go box on the table and pulls a chair out before immediately brightening. It’s so cheesy she would rather die than say it out loud, but she feels butterflies in her stomach at the way Hyunjin looks up at her so happily, canines visible from how big her smile is.
God, she’s so cute , Vivi thinks. Now if only she’d stop eating her attempts at flirting.
Today is the day , Vivi reminds herself, pulling out her water bottle to take a sip. Right now, she doesn’t have to worry about being whisked away by work or Hyunjin being late for class. They can share a meal, and Vivi can make sure Hyunjin eats slowly and attentively, or at least attentive enough to not eat the damn paper in her food.
And the food today is delicious, if Vivi says so herself. Today’s special is a Mississippi style pot roast with a side of either mashed or baked potato. Naturally, she’d opted for the baked potato. Less messy, and with a slit in the middle, the perfect place to have her number peeking out.
Hyunjin hasn’t seemed to notice it yet as she pulled everything out, but that’s alright. She’ll make sure she sees it this time. It’s just her and Hyunjin.
And Yeojin?
“Hey Vivi! Hey Hyunjin!” Yeojin greets them brightly, plopping down next to Vivi. “Mind if I sit? I wanted to grab a bite before my night class. I keep falling asleep so I need the energy boost, you know?”
Normally she’d be happy to see the little firecracker, but right now Vivi’s barely containing a mildly hurtful refusal.
“Sure, bean,” Hyunjin tells her and Yeojin whips her head over, aghast.
“I’m not a bean!”
“You’re like a pinto bean. Tiny,” Hyunjin laughs.
Vivi kind of wants to laugh at their bickering but overpowering that, she really just wants Yeojin to leave. So as Yeojin starts to whine, she interjects. “Wait, doesn’t your class start soon? Shouldn’t you get going? You don’t want to be late.” She’s hoping Yeojin will take the hint.
She does not.
“Wah, you’re so nice Vivi, unlike SOME PEOPLE at this table,” Yeojin says, sticking her tongue out at Hyunjin, who only smirks back. “But I’m good. I will need to leave in a bit but I’m not rushing right now.”
Vivi holds herself back from dragging Yeojin out by the ear. She wanted this to be a private moment in a public place, is that too much to ask? Then Yeojin turns to her. “But Vivi, you’ve really outdone yourself. This food smells incredible! Like, if I was rushing, I’d eat this so fast, no problem.”
Resting her head on her hand, Vivi resigns herself to having to ask out Hyunjin with an audience. All’s well that ends well she supposes.
Then Hyunjin scoffs. “Please, it takes you forever to eat. Vivi’s cooking is so good I could finish it in a snap.” Vivi narrows her eyes. This sounds like a challenge and it better not be.
Yeojin scowls. “Oh yeah? I bet I could finish this faster than you!”
Vivi prays to any divine power that may be listening, dear whatever god can hear me now, please don’t let her take the bait.
A tense moment passes before Hyunjin responds. “Oh, you’re on!”
Head in her hands, Vivi thinks about where she went wrong. She hadn’t accounted for this in her plans. And now, peeking through her fingers, she can only watch in horror as Yeojin and Hyunjin aggressively open up their containers.
“Alright, on the count of three. One… two…” They both look so silly with their serious expressions and cutlery raised but all Vivi can see is red.
“Hyunjin wait, maybe-”
“Three!”
And immediately they begin to shovel food in their mouths. Vivi bites her fist as she watches Hyunjin tear into the baked potato, eating it like a sandwich, not noticing the slip of paper poking out of the slit. Vivi reaches to stop her but it’s too late. Hyunjin’s bitten into the paper, cringing but eating anyways, and Vivi doesn’t have the heart to say anything.
Even for someone like Vivi, a bonafide horror fan who is no stranger to gore and mess, their little eating contest is hard to watch. Vivi likes Hyunjin, but she can’t help but cringe at the messy display. Looking away, she fiddles with her water bottle just to have something to do with her hands other than smack both of the girls in front of her.
When it’s all over, Hyunjin wins, but at what cost? Vivi curses her competitive nature.
“Uh, Vivi, you alright?”
She snaps out of her disgust. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Yeojin eyes her warily. “You’re just gripping your water bottle really hard.”
Oh. She’d forgotten she had that. She looks down and yeah, she’s holding her water bottle in a gorilla grip, the plastic wrinkled and bunched. It looks about ready to burst.
Taking a deep breath, she lets go, flexing her fingers before putting it back in her bag. “You know, I really should get going myself,” she says to the table. “I’ve had a long day and I have some assignments due, so I’m just going to head out now. Bye!” she throws out, standing and making a hasty exit.
As she walks out the door, she sees Haseul approaching her with a smile.
“Hey Vivi! Where’re you going? I just saw Hyunjin and Yeo- oof!”
Haseul stumbles as Vivi pushes past her. “Sorry, gotta run!” she says, not sparing a look back. She needs to get out of there to regroup.
Today has to be the day. Or else Vivi is going to turn into the Joker.
She stares at the plastic container before her. Inside is a plain piece of ricotta cheesecake with a small cup of strawberry drizzle on the side. Is it cheating if she just puts her number on the food instead of in it? Thinking it over, it’d be gross to try and put paper in cheesecake, so Vivi comes to the conclusion that she’s just doing the best with what she’s got. Just as she’s about to lay her number on top of it, Sooyoung interrupts her.
“Dude, you can’t just lay it flat.”
Vivi doesn’t like her tone. Judgemental. As though Jungeun didn’t constantly toss her number in the trash before they got together. She crosses her arms. She just wants to get this over with. “And why not?”
“Because, it’ll absorb the moisture and get weird and soggy. Here, you gotta twirl it,” Sooyoung says as she grabs the little slip of paper out of her hands, twisting it artfully and handing it back. “The less paper touching the cake, the better.”
“I guess…” Vivi carefully places it on the cake. She admits it does look nicer, like a white chocolate twirl but thinner. “I mean, it still clearly looks like paper, right?”
Sooyoung nods. “Right. And you can see bits of the writing too. She won’t eat this.”
Vivi hopes she’s right. “If you say so…”
Sooyoung bumps her shoulder. “Now go give your girl her food.”
“She’s not my girl yet,” Vivi says, but still goes. Hyunjin had already ordered lunch and taken a seat, but Vivi was planning to surprise her with dessert during a lull in their midday shift.
“But she will be!” Sooyoung calls out as Vivi crosses the room.
As she sets the cake down in front of Hyunjin, se sees a big group from the window and frowns. So does Hyunjin, and ever thoughtful, she waves Vivi off, telling her they’ll talk later. Vivi apologizes and makes her way back to the counter where a line is slowly growing.
“Thank God you’re back,” Sooyoung sighs. “So how’d it go?” she asks as she pours coffee.
“I didn’t get the chance to see. Soo, I have a bad feeling about this,” Vivi replies after cashing a customer out and moving to get their order ready.
Sooyoung cranes her neck back to take a look at where Hyunjin’s sitting. “It doesn’t look like she’s eaten anything yet. It’ll be fine.”
Coffee and food ready, Vivi turns to head back to the counter. “I just don’t know about this- and she’s eating the paper.” Hyunjin had drizzled the strawberry sauce over the cheesecake, seemingly unaware that she was drenching Vivi’s number. And picking it up with her bare hands like an animal, she’s now devouring that cheesecake with a fervour Vivi hadn’t seen even in her gross eating competition with Yeojin.
“What?! She can’t be- oh my God, she is going in on that cheesecake.” Sooyoung winces.
It’s like watching a nature documentary, where you see a gazelle just minding its business when a lion sneaks up behind them. You yell at the screen, “Run! Run gazelle run! Get out of there! Save yourself!” to no avail as the lion sinks their teeth into flesh and tears that poor animal to shreds.
There’s red dripping from Hyunjin’s chin and graham cracker crumbs on her cheeks. Her fingers are sticky from the cake before she sucks them clean, conjuring up thoughts in Vivi that are inappropriate for the workplace. Vivi turns away when Hyunjin picks up the container to lick up any leftover strawberry drizzle.
She really should be getting back to the customer she was serving, but she needs a second. Why had she listened to Sooyoung? Why does this keep happening? Why couldn’t Hyunjin have used a fork like a normal person?
Vivi takes a deep breath and turns to her well meaning friend. “Were it not for us being understaffed,” she says, “I would have killed you.”
Ignoring Sooyoung’s affronted “Hey!” she puts her customer service-sona back on and returns to the register. “Here you go. Next customer!”
Today WILL be the day. She will give Hyunjin her number or she’ll go crazy trying. Well, she already kind of has gone crazy, but if this doesn’t work she will be certifiable. It’s bad enough that her Jokerification is already in motion, but the only way to stop it is Hyunjin getting her number. Going on a date with her, she’s pretty sure, would fully reverse the process too.
This has to work, it just has to. Walking out from the kitchen, she cradles her to-go bag close to her chest, the warmth of it almost calming. She thinks about the cups of pho inside, and the single fortune cookie on the side. It’s a total cop out, she knows. It doesn’t go with the meal and it’s not creative in the least. She didn’t even make the cookies herself, buying a kit instead. But since there’s no real way to slip her number in a bowl of pho, she’s just doing what needs to be done.
At this point, she’s desperate. Everyone knows to expect a little paper with a fortune cookie, so surely Hyunjin will too. It’s obvious. There’s paper inside a fortune cookie, hence the fortune. Common knowledge. But what if she doesn’t? What if she just pops it in her mouth and-
Nope. Vivi shakes herself out of it. She can’t let herself go down that line of thought, lest she accidentally manifest it.
She walks to her and Hyunjin’s usual table. As usual, Hyunjin is already there, but she looks uncharacteristically serious. She perks up marginally when she sees Vivi, but she seems… nervous.
“You hungry?” Vivi asks, sitting in front of her and dropping their food on the table.
Hyunjin nods shyly. Vivi thinks she looks adorable. She also hopes this fucking works.
She pulls out their food, placing the cups of pho in front of them and slowly and purposefully placing the fortune cookie beside Hyunjin’s portion.
Popping the lid off her own cup, she watches Hyunjin stare down at her food. She just has to make sure Hyunjin gets through her meal so she can ask her out properly.
“Actually, I wanted to tell you something first if that’s alright?” Hyunjin asks, pushing her food away resolutely.
Vivi raises an eyebrow. So many questions are running through her head right now. Is Hyunjin stepping up? Why did she push that delicious pho away? Is she going to beat me to the punch and ask me out? Or is she going to share something else? Whatever it is, she’ll hear her out, and then get back on track to her cookie reveal. Even if Hyunjin asks first, she worked really hard, ok? So she nods and asks, “What’s on your mind?”
Hyunjin straightens up and takes a deep breath. “Vivi, I like you a lot. Like, a lot a lot,”
Oh! Yes! Composed on the outside, but cheering on the inside, Vivi celebrates. This is an unexpected but welcome turn!
“ButIcan’teatyourfoodanymore so I was wondering if you wanted to go-”
Hold on. What the fuck?
Vivi stops her. “ What did you say about my food?”
Hyunjin audibly gulps.
“W-wait, your food is excellent! It always starts out super tasty,” Hyunjin explains, “but then it gets weird? Like, there’s this weird texture in everything you give me. Like, papery?
Vivi wants to scream. “That’s because there is paper!” she blurts out.
“What? Why are you feeding me paper?!”
She wants to facepalm, and so she does. “Oh my God, I wasn’t feeding you paper!”
“But you just said-”
“Hyunjin,” Vivi starts, “open the fortune cookie.” This is not how she wanted this to go, but dammit she’s going to make it happen.
“Wh-”
“Just do it,” she pleads.
Hyunjin reaches for the cookie and begins to raise it to her mouth before Vivi yanks her arm back by the wrist. “Break it first!”
“I was just looking at it! I know how to eat a fortune cookie,” Hyunjin mumbles. For a moment, Vivi’s still holding her arm before she lets go and Hyunjin slowly pulls back, cheeks growing red as she breaks the cookie. Vivi notices of course, and it pleases her that Hyunjin is so reactive to her. Now she wants to see her reaction to what’s in the cookie.
Placing the paper inside on the table, Hyunjin eats the cookie because of course she does. She looks at Vivi and gives her a thumbs up. “Good cookie! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have doubted your cooking.”
She didn’t really make the cookie, but she’ll take it because her cooking is in fact excellent and Hyunjin should apologize for doubting it. “Thank you.” Then Vivi looks at her expectantly. “So, are you going to read your fortune?”
Hyunjin laughs. “Don’t tell me you believe in that stuff.”
Vivi’s eye twitches. “So what if I do?”
Hyunjin raises her arms. “Sorry, that’s fair. I just don’t take it as seriously, that’s all.”
Now, Vivi doesn’t beg. But she knows the power of her beautiful face. She gives Hyunjin her best doe eyes and purses her lips into the perfect pout. “Will you humour me then please? Who knows, maybe you’ll get some good news.”
Hyunjin softens. “Alright.” She picks the paper back up and turns it over to see what’s written. She furrows her brow in confusion. “These are just a bunch of numbers,” she says, showing it to Vivi.
“I know,” Vivi drawls. “Wrote them myself. I signed my initials too,” she adds, pointing out the little V.W. xoxo .
She waits a moment. Then she sees the moment it clicks, Hyunjin’s eyes widening as she stares at the little slip of paper in her hand. “Is this…?”
“My number? Yes, thanks for catching up,” Vivi teases. Finally!
Hyunjin’s cheeks are even redder than they were before and Vivi beams. “I’ve been trying to give this to you for ages. You really should eat more mindfully.”
Hyunjin gasps. “So that’s why I kept tasting paper!”
“Because you were eating paper. My number to be specific.”
“Oh my God,” Hyunjin breathes. “I’m so dumb.”
“A little bit, yeah,” Vivi agrees.
“Why didn’t you just ask? I would’ve said yes in a heartbeat,” Hyunjin admits shyly.
Vivi grabs her hand across the table. “I couldn’t just give you my number. There’s no pizzaz, no aesthetic, no flare to that,” she explains. “And this is, like, a thing for the culinary students. Did you not know how Heejin and Jiwoo got together?”
Hyunjin rubs the back of her neck with her free hand. “I kind of thought they were joking?”
“And Sooyoung and Jungeun?”
“... OK, you got me there. I’m just dumb.” Hyunjin huffs out a laugh and Vivi joins her. They lapse into a comfortable silence, hands intertwined, before Vivi pipes up.
“Earlier you said you would’ve said yes in a heartbeat if I asked you out.”
Hyunjin squeezes her hand. “Yeah, and I meant it.”
“Well, you haven’t said it yet.”
“Huh?”
Vivi nudges her under the table with her foot. “You haven’t said yes. Will you go out with me?”
“Yes, of course!” Hyunjin exclaims. “Vivi, you’ve got to be direct with me. I think we’ve established that I’ll miss the point otherwise.”
“I will remember that in the future. I felt like I was going crazy every time you literally ate my number,” Vivi groans.
“Can I make it up to you?” Hyunjin asks so earnestly it takes all of Vivi’s power to not visibly swoon. She’s so charmed.
Vivi pretends to think about it. “Hmm… that depends. What do you have in mind?”
“Let me plan our first date. There’s a place by the dorms that just opened up that’s all the rage. Let me take you out for dinner, please?”
“Text me the details,” Vivi replies. At that, Hyunjin lets go of her hand to grab her phone and finally put Vivi’s number in.
Her phone pings a minute later. It’s a message from Hyunjin, reading rosy cafe, tomorrow after your shift? 🐱
Vivi texts back a simple sounds perfect.
She feels like a weight’s been lifted off her shoulders. Today, she finally gave Hyunjin her number. And tomorrow she’ll have her first date with her.