Chapter Text
“it seems i drank a lot of coffee
my heart’s beating fast and i can’t sleep
after a while when the stars come
i won’t be able to sleep again.”
part i.
the first sip of coffee in the morning. the perfect definition of heaven on earth.
kang sol has always loved drinking coffee but she completely did not expect herself to love it even more by the time she entered law school. the feeling of caffeine through her veins is unmatched—well, except by the fluttering feeling of butterflies in her stomach every time she is with han joonhwi. her han joonhwi.
it has already been a few years since they started dating in their last year of law school. now married, and of course living together, kang sol never misses a cup of coffee to start her everyday life. joonhwi is usually in-charge of brewing the morning coffee they enjoy together but because her partner is still sleeping, exhausted due to excessive work, she’s currently standing alone in front of the refrigerator in their home.
she then decides to just drink a canned instant coffee for now, which she doesn’t really mind. she simply misses the home-y taste of the coffee joonhwi prepares for her. just like any other day when she drinks canned instant coffee, her lips slowly turn into a genuine smile as she stares at the can in her hand. it’s because every time she sees it, she naturally reminisces about how their romantic relationship officially started. or rather, the time when joonhwi confessed to her.
-
it was early morning when kang sol was sound asleep in the school’s copy room, or in other words, her and her study group’s haven . because of the gentle streaks of sunlight passing through the room’s windows that touched her face, she woke up from her peaceful slumber and lifted her head off the table. ah, i slept here again. when she first opened her eyes, there was something in front of her that immediately caught her attention.
it was a can of her favorite instant coffee and attached to it is a yellow post-it which looks exactly like the one she occasionally sticks on her forehead. there was something written on it, which by that time was still quite blurry for her to read because her eyes were still dead-tired. despite that, based on how the writing looked at first sight, she instantly recognized the handwriting. it’s joonhwi’s , she thought.
she gently rubbed her eyes and stretched her torso a little bit, and reached out to get the can to read what was written on the post-it.
“rise and shine, dear. drink this and i am sure you’ll feel a lot better. i will be in our criminal law classroom. you can take your time, though, so don’t worry much about me. i’ll be waiting for you, okay?. :) - jh”
before she knew it, her heart started to beat louder and at a very, very, fast tempo. she hasn't even drunk any of the caffeine yet. she decided to go there as soon as she could even though she cannot pinpoint the exact reason behind the hurry. she just felt like doing so.
she rose up from her seat with her muscles a little sore due to her prior uncomfortable sleeping position and didn’t mind temporarily leaving her belongings in the copy room. she started to run towards their meeting place while tightly grasping the canned product with her right hand and the post-it with her left.
why am i even running? gosh, kang sol, i really don’t get you.
when she finally arrived at their meeting place, their currently empty criminal law classroom, she slowly opened the door while trying to catch her breath. scanning the room, she immediately saw a familiar figure sitting in one of the room’s chairs which she recognizes by heart. that was his seat when we first had class together.
kang sol went down the classroom, quietly, to go towards the platform where the man currently was. the familiar figure moved his head, faced her with a huge, genuine smile plastered on his face, his eyes sparkling. gosh, he’s so beautiful.
a little flustered by the sudden thought, kang sol tried to shake off her thoughts by literally shaking her head, earning an earnest chuckle from the man in front of her.
“it’s still early morning but you already seem to be in a good mood… sunbae.”, joonhwi teased, earning a soft groan from sol.
clearing her throat, sol tried to speak despite the continuous beating of her heart inside her chest. ugh, why am i like this?
“what’s with the sudden treat?”, pertaining to the coffee, “and, why in the world would you want me to come here? oh and yes, exactly, it’s still early morning plus we do not have any classes today, mr. second-round judicial exam passer.”, sol talked as calmly as she could, hoping that the man in front of her wouldn't notice her still-unstable breathing.
“well, first, i know you love that brand of coffee so much so i just thought of treating you one, especially because our midterm exams just ended yesterday. knowing you, you’re not taking care of yourself again. for your second question…”, joonhwi’s speech halts a bit, “...it seems like you haven’t read the note closely yet, have you, sunbae? eyy, that one student who noticed a single comma in a law exam, cannot read a simple note properly? hmm, that’s kind of strange, isn’t it?”, joonhwi teased again with his head now slightly tilted. even if kang sol was looking downwards, she already (heard) from his tone the smirk that was plastered on joonhwi’s face.
a bit confused, kang sol, with her brows furrowed and with her lips now pouty, looked at the note in her left hand and tried to read what was written on it, hoping to know what joonhwi was pertaining to. i’m sure i have already read everything, haven’t i?
joonhwi was just lovingly staring at her as the woman tried to look literally closely at the yellow post-it, and noticed how her eyes widened all of a sudden because of the tiny 좋아해. (i like you.) written at the back part of the paper.
it’s now his time to be nervous.
“han joonhwi…am .. i reading this properly? a-are y-ou sure y-you are n-not mi-mistaken?”, kang sol asked while stuttering, as she focused her slightly shaky eyes on the note she was tightly holding on to, her mouth slightly gaped, her fingers severely trembling and with her legs feeling weak out of pure shock.
han joonhwi... my bestest friend, my confidant, my i-don’t-even-know-anymore ... likes me?
“kang sol,” joonhwi called, to which the woman responded by lifting her head to meet his eyes, “ yes, you are reading that properly. and, i have never been this sure in my life.”, with joonhwi reaching out his hands to hold and caress kang sol’s shaky hands.
“sol, i like you. no, erase that. i love you. ever since the day we met in that bookstore around 6 years ago, even though this might sound cringey or cliché, i have always felt like we are connected by something. by an invisible string, i guess. when i met you once again in this classroom, in our very first class together, my heart felt in an instant how connected i already was with you. funny though, i didn’t even know your name back then if not for professor yang.”, joonhwi paused to laugh, and together laughing with him was kang sol with her usual laughing face—but with tears forming in her eyes this time.
“that is why,” joonhwi continued after taking a deep breath, “ do not ever ask me if i am sure or if i am mistaken. i am more than sure that i love you, kang sol, more than anyone else in this world. so, if you may, will you be my lover?”
kang sol was stunned and remained silent while looking at joonhwi. time felt slower than usual but she didn’t mind at all. she’s with the one she loves , after all.
she was so lost in her train of thought, thinking of the moments they had each other’s back and how their overall relationship blossomed more as years went by, to the point that it seemed to him that she’s going to reject him because of how long her silence was.
however, when sol finally noticed the shift of joonhwi’s facial expression from a mix of nervousness and pure affection to a mix of fear and concern and when she felt his hands being pulled away from hers, her consciousness got awakened.
kang sol, you idiot, you’ve been standing here for so long without saying anything. what are you going to do now, huh?
the moment joonhwi opened his mouth, about to apologize and to assure kang sol that it’s okay to not reciprocate his feelings, kang sol settled the can of coffee on the desk nearest to her and embraced him.
joonhwi felt the nodding of sol’s head against his torso when she softly utters a “yes”. with that, he felt free , not only because he finally got to breathe normally again but also because he finally got to confess to her properly. he chuckled out of relief and tightly yet so delicately wrapped his arms around now - his woman.
they stayed in that position for no-one-knows-for-how-long, comforted by the warmth of each other’s bodies. they playfully shifted their weight from side-to-side, as if they were dancing without any music. that moment felt so familiar as if it was something they have been doing for so long already.
later on, they sat down on their assigned seats in the classroom with kang sol finally getting the chance to open her canned instant coffee. or rather, joonhwi opened it because he offered to do it for her. they stayed in their respective seats, the seats they were assigned to for their criminal law class, not until sol decided to take the chair at joonhwi’s right side because she was quite bothered by the staircase “separating” them.
though at first she felt a little shy by their close proximity, sol decided to lean her head on joonhwi’s shoulder. smiling, joonhwi leaned his on hers in return. they sat quietly in each other’s presence without feeling the need to say anything.
they felt calm. they felt home . for them, it was the best way to start a weekend morning, and more so a new chapter in their ever-growing relationship.
-
going back to the present time, sol had finished drinking her canned instant coffee. when she was about to enter the bathroom to prepare for another stressful yet fulfilling day of work, she thought of something . because of that she smiled by herself in a way that if anyone sees her right now, they would certainly think she’s crazy or that she’s out of her mind.
well, she is crazy—crazy in love with the love of her life.
she is already done with all the preparations she needs to do when she goes back to the place where she drank her first cup, or rather, can of coffee of the day. she gets another one from the fridge, proceeds to their bedroom, and looks for a pen and the post-its she uses for work.
she writes down something on the post-it, attaches it to the surface of the can, and places it on their bedside table. after that, she softly kisses the still-in-deep-slumber joonhwi on his forehead and stares at his ever-so-lovely sleeping face for a while. she smiles to herself again while she carefully goes out of the room and gently closes the door so as to not wake joonhwi up. she knows how much he deserves this much needed rest time.
she now goes to work with a light heart and a light mind, with her looking forward to see her clients for today and to achieve justice for them, and of course to spend time with her home at the end of the day.
~
“rise and shine, dear. drink this and i am sure you’ll feel a lot better (‘cause you know, i’m speaking from a wonderful first-hand experience). i will be home earlier today. take your time in your office and don’t worry much about me. i know you’ve been very busy these days so no need to worry about dinner as well ‘cause i will cook for you tonight. i’ll be waiting for you, okay?
p.s. you’re a fast learner, aren’t you? so, i suppose you do remember to read the back part (learn from my “mistake” hihi) :) - forever yours, s”
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사랑해. (i love you.)