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The crisp and sharp noise of the bell above rang after the creaky wooden door opened. A woman dressed in baggy clothes who held a white cane inhaled the aroma of the café. It smelled of rich and bitter coffee. It was pungent bitterness, almost disgusting yet pleasing at the same time. Although it was a conflicting smell, it was one of familiarity and home.
She may not be able to see the café itself and its (most likely) unique and charming layout, but the aroma; the scent in which the café let out was distinguishable. It was like no other coffee she had ever had. It stood out from all those other fancy or convenient places with those overpriced and pretty distasteful drinks.
And because of that, she came back nearly every day. Hell, she came here so often that the staff and baristas were basically family to her.
She moved her cane left and right as she walked forward.
‘Nice, no line today.’ she thought. A grin formed on her face as she kept walking until she eventually reached the counter.
“Good morning….,” she prolonged the last syllable as she waited for the cashier on duty today to respond.
“It’s Heewon, Y/N,” she said with a small laugh. Jung Heewon was a tall woman who wore a messy bun and a comforting smile. Although her looks gave off an innocent girl vibe, she could be daring and intimidating at times, especially when the foe knew of her terrifying strength.
“Ah! Heewon, good morning! I totally knew it was you!” Y/N joked.
“Good morning to you too. Now, what are we feeling today? Tea, coffee? Something overly sweet? Maybe some old ol’ black coffee?”
Y/N brought her left hand to her chin. “Choices, choices,” she mumbled. “Ah, I know! Can I can a…” Y/N told Jung Heewon her order. She opened her wallet and pulled out a thin wad of cash, feeling for the folds on the bills to find the right ones. She handed Heewon the bills and got her change in coins.
“Sounds good, we’ll call you when it’s ready.” Jung Heewon wrote Y/N’s name on a cup with a squeaky sharpie. That was her cue to go find somewhere to stand or maybe find somewhere to sit.
It most likely wasn’t 11 am yet. No lines, no talking, and it was calm and quiet in the café. No rush hour equals an empty table!
She moved her white, worn-down cane left and right until she hit was seemed to be a chair leg. She waited to see if someone would tell her that the table was occupied or not. Thankfully, no one spoke up.
At least the woman who was previously staring at her computer didn’t speak up. Instead, she looked at the girl with the sunglasses with a hint of awe and curiosity.
The woman, Han Sooyoung, was in no way a simp. But damn, did she find that woman drop-dead gorgeous.
She was like a breath of fresh air—no—she was more like the light of the winter sun gently caressing her skin on a brisk yet bright morning. Wait no—
Han Sooyoung could barely keep herself composed as she looked at Y/N with such glee. Her lips quivered, they wanted to form a smile but she refused to conform to her body’s natural reaction to such a beautiful and pristine person.
Y/N pulled out a chair and sat down patiently, awaiting her drink. Han Sooyoung on the other hand didn’t dare to start clicking on her keyboard.
It’s not a crime to make noise around a blind person. But, what if she realizes she’s there and gets up to move?
Han Sooyoung’s train of thought came to a halt when clacking from a pair of shoes started approaching their table.
“Here’s your drink, Y/N. Thought it’d be more convenient to bring it over.” Jung Heewon looks to the right of her. “When did you and Sooyoung start talking?”
Han Sooyoung was glaring daggers at Jung Heewon. She took a deep breath, trying to hold in the urge to start arguing with her.
“Soo-young? Who’s that?” Y/N as she tilted her head up.
“The woman you’re sitting with. The one across from you— Sooyoung did you say anything in the first place?”
Han Sooyoung made a “tch” sound before she spoke. “No, she wasn’t making any noise or anything so I didn’t see a point to.”
“Uh-huh….,” Jung Heewon replied, not accepting a single word of her bullshit lie.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! I’ll find a new table right now!”
“No, you’re okay! I don’t mind at all!” Han Sooyoung sputtered, trying to persuade her to not leave without making an embarrassing fuss.
Y/M only responded with a hum while Jung Heewon responded with an eye roll. “Weirdo… anyways Y/N, if you need something just call me over, alright?” She walked around to behind the counter again.
Y/N fiddled with her hands before speaking up. “So, you’re Sooyoung….,”
“Han. Han Sooyoung.”
“Ah, I see. My name is Y/N L/N,” she lifted her left hand for a handshake. Han Sooyoung accepted it with her right hand, giving a small shake.
“Nice to meet you, Y/N.”
After their brief interaction turned into an awkward silence. People came in and out of the café, there was a bit of chatter here and there heard around them. Yet Han Sooyoung tapped away on her computer while Y/N sipped on her beverage.
Y/N cleared her throat. “So, what are you doing? Sounds like you’re doing a lot of typing, Sooyoung.”
Oh man, the way she said her name was even pretty. With a bit of hesitation, Han Sooyoung opened her mouth.
“Writing a book. I have a deadline coming up.”
“Ooo, you’re a writer?” Y/N piped up with curiosity. “What’s the story about?”
Han Sooyoung closed her computer to 45 degrees and rested her head on her hand. “Mm, the simplified version of the story would be a regressor trying to survive a ruined world.”
“Sounds interesting! I wish I could read it,” Y/N fiddled with the rough paper band that circled the cup of her drink.
“Well, I could just,” Han Sooyoung’s face became flushed with a rosy pink as she choked on her words. “Read it to you, if you want, that is..”
“That would be wonderful!” Y/N beamed a smile. It put Han Sooyoung at ease. She really was like the sun on a winter day, warm and inviting but not overwhelming, she just melted the cold away.
“Ok, well-“
And just like that, their relationship blossomed. It seemed like every day Han Sooyoung was awaiting Y/N at their designated hangout spot, the café. They were there so often that the staff and regulars automatically knew that the little table in the back was “Sooyoung and Y/N’s flirting table”.
Han Sooyoung fiddled with the straw of her frappé. “Hey Y/N,” she called.
“Hm?” She responded.
“Were you always…visually impaired?” Han Sooyoung asked with hesitation. It could be taken as an insensitive question, but Han Sooyoung knew so little about Y/N.
Every day she would spill out stories about herself and her few friends, basically giving her life story out on display for her, yet she barely knew Y/N.
“Well, no. I was born with sight, but when I was around, I don’t know, 8? 9? My vision began to worsen until it was pretty much reduced to nothing. I can only make out the light. You know, if it’s dark or bright outside, maybe if someone is passing me sometimes.”
Han Sooyoung listened quietly. That was terrible. Going from seeing to not seeing? That must have been a harsh transition.
“What do you enjoy nowadays?” Han Sooyoung asked, feeling more daring on asking questions.
“You’re asking a lot of questions today, Sooyoung. What’s the occasion?” Y/N asked.
“I just feel like…I just want to know more about you.” Her eyes softened as she looked away from Y/N as pink colored her cheeks.
Y/N only gave a pleasant hum to her answer. “Well, I enjoy touching things since I can’t see things. The textures of objects. I especially love touching and smelling flowers!”
“What are your favorite flowers?”
“I don’t know, I don’t get to touch flowers that often.” There was a pang in Han Sooyoung’s heart. Y/N sounded quite sad about it. She tried to act like it wasn’t a big deal, but she did a poor job of doing so.
Then an idea popped into her head. The next day she popped into the cafe with a small bouquet of roses.
“Surprise!” She shouted as she presented them to Y/N. She ran her hand over Y/N’s delicate hand, placing them on top of the roses, almost urging her to start touching them.
“Wow! What are these?!” Y/N’s face lit up, she could’ve single-handedly lit up a room.
“They’re roses. They’re soft, aren’t they? Oh wait, you should smell them! I made sure to get the most fragrant ones there!”
Han Sooyoung held the bouquet up to Y/N’s gave? The bouquet was an inch away from her face. She took a long whiff of the scent of the roses.
The sweet, watery, and almost seductive fragrance of the roses flooded her nose.
“So this is what roses smell like? I think I’ve passed them a few times but none of them have smelled as nice as these, where did you get them from?”
“Just the nicest ones I could find at the local grocery store, no biggy” Han Sooyoung scoffed.
That was a lie. Not a single portion of that claim was true. Han Sooyoung went through a bunch of trouble trying to get those roses from her dear florist friend, Yoo Joonghyuk.
She was so nit-picky about how the roses smelled or looked that a good chunk of Yoo Joonghyuk’s mental strength was going to not offing himself as he helped her.
“Ah, wait…it’ll be hard for you to hold the roses and use your cane won’t it?” Han Sooyoung asked with a depressing mutter.
“Hm, I guess you’ll have to come with me to my apartment. I mean if you want to, not going to force you.”
“O-of course I wouldn’t mind!” She agreed. And before she knew it, Han Sooyoung had already entered Y/N’s apartment.
The whole walk there was a blur. All she knew is that she was walking with Y/N. The. Whole. Time. It was like a dream come true yet she didn’t remember any of it!
Y/N crouched down to slip off her shoes and set aside her cane as she got up. She then made her way to the kitchen, touching and feeling the objects around her, getting a better idea of where she needed to go.
Again, she crouched down, this time to open the cabinet door, and there she pulled out a beautiful glass vase. She filled up the vase with water and put it down before gesturing for Han Sooyoung to come over to her.
“You can put the roses in here. Also, make yourself feel at home.” Y/N carefully made her way to her couch.
Han Sooyoung carefully set the roses into the vase before joining Y/N on the couch. They sat quietly for a few moments until Y/N turned on the TV.
Y/N quietly listened to the show playing. On the other hand, Han Sooyoung felt hot, maybe a bit sweaty. Her heart was basically beating out of her chest. She was a whole mess that Y/N couldn’t see.
Just being with her made her feel woozy and delighted. But human greed wanted more. Han Sooyoung looked at Y/N’s delicate hang that was resting beside or ok the couch.
Han Sooyoung’s hand snaked onto Y/N’s, earning a slight tension from her hand. Y/N turned her head to face Han Sooyoung.
“Sooyoung, is there something wron-“ she was about to ask until a suddenly cut off.
“I love you!” Han Sooyoung blustered out. Y/N’s cheeks turned rosy.
Y/N opened her mouth to speak, “I—“.