“Fancy seeing you here, CEO Kim. I thought you were overseeing the new branch.” Tae Pyung heard Eon Jin say, pulling him back to their present conversation.
He was still leaning across the table, while Eon Jin’s attention was already on the man standing behind Tae Pyung.
He turned to look at the man who called his attention and saw that CEO Kim — as what Eon Jin called him — was a lean male with a delicate oval face who seemed to be of the same age as him. His medium-length hair was low tapered while the top was flowing freely to the back. And even with the apron on, one would immediately know that the guy owned the place because of the way he confidently carried himself — not to mention, his distinct presence which was complemented by his simple and neat style.
“Good to see you, CEO Son,” the man said. “I just made a quick visit to check how things are going here. Turns out, today’s a busy day since there are groups of students who are attending a workshop at a nearby cultural center. Glad I dropped by since the guys needed some help.”
“So that explains the youthful music that was blasting off the speakers,” she mused, then pointed up at a speaker on the ceiling.
“Oh. Was it too loud?” the man asked. “Did it bother you?”
“I don’t mind though,” Eon Jin coolly replied. “I just found it a bit uncharacteristic for the place.”
CEO Kim suppressed a laugh and said, “For an ‘Oldies' Place’, you mean?”
Eon Jin tittered as she rolled her eyes at him, totally oblivious of Tae Pyung who was almost gaping at her in disbelief.
“By the way, are you enjoying your coffee?” the man asked a few moments later.
Eon Jin shook her head, her face back to being all-business.
“Not quite,” she commented. “Is the barista new?”
“Ah, yes. He just joined us yesterday and wasn’t familiar with the regular customers yet,” he confirmed while shyly smiling at Eon Jin, his hand touching his nape. “Don’t worry. I'll talk to him later.”
Eon Jin waved her hand dismissively and said with a faint smile, “No need to reprimand him, though. It’s not a big deal.”
“What’s the ‘CEO’s blend’ anyway?” Tae Pyung interjected as he absentmindedly added mustard to his sandwich to no purpose.
Upon hearing Tae Pyung’s question, Eon Jin’s face turned blankly inscrutable. She willed to turn and look at the man sitting across the table who was resting his chin on his hands as he waited for her answer. He raised a questioning eyebrow and looked at her with a smug expression, although his lips were pouting ever so slightly.
“It’s her go-to order,” CEO Kim replied on her behalf. “My staff already knows it by heart since CEO Son is one of our patrons. Given that it’s not part of the regular menu, the barista would need to have the order itemized to get it right.”
Eon Jin was very well pleased with the man’s explanation that she closed her eyes and nodded slowly in agreement, a self-satisfied smile playing on her lips. At that instant, it just occurred to Tae Pyung that maybe, she was the type of person who took pride in making things complicated for others, like what she did to him the first time that they met.
“How complex can it be?” Tae Pyung asked the man, although his eyes were still fixed at Eon Jin.
The owner of the coffee shop placed two fingers on his chin as he tried to recall the recipe.
“It’s iced Americano, no water, with white mocha syrup and a splash of breve,” he replied, running through the list with confidence. “And the breve should be half cream, half soy milk.”
“That’s why I liked going to this place. They pay close attention to details,” Eon Jin said, obviously still quite pleased with herself and her classy choice of beverage.
The man also seemed to be content with her approval as his bashful smile seemed to become a permanent feature on his face.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be ordering Americano if you will be asking for no water,” Tae Pyung suggested — more like lectured — as he leaned back and crossed his arms on his chest. “Americano is diluted espresso. You should have just ordered espresso and added extra shots if you wanted it strong.”
Eon Jin turned to Tae Pyung, keeping her smile intact.
“Sure, Officer Kim, sure,” she humored him. “I’ll take note of that for future reference.”
Tae Pyung just shrugged at her mock agreement and took a sip of his coffee instead, which, at that time, had already cooled down.
“You seem to be well-versed with coffee,” the café owner quickly noted in an amicable manner. “We love having customers who truly appreciate coffee and the art of making it. But, how come this seems to be the first time I saw you visit with CEO Son?”
Tae Pyung tilted his head to the side — the questioning eyebrow back on display — as he stared at Eon Jin, who responded by simply staring back blankly at him.
“CEO Kim, I’d like to introduce you to Officer Kim Tae Pyung,” Eon Jin lazily mentioned, gesturing towards the man in front of her while she shifted her attention to the neglected slice of cake on the table. “Officer, this is Kim Nam Gil. He is the owner of this coffee shop.”
Tae Pyung turned to face the man and offered his hand, which Kim Nam Gil briefly but firmly clasped.
“Officer Kim and I are just chatting. I guess he had too much time on his hands so much so he was able to treat me out, apparently for us to get to know each other better,” Eon Jin explained.
“As acquaintances,” she added before shoving a spoonful of cheesecake in her mouth.
“I see,” CEO Kim replied. “Well, I hope you’d visit our coffee shop again, Officer Kim. Please feel free to bring your colleagues if you happen to be in the area.”
✽✽
By the time Tae Pyung reached the building where Eon Jin’s shop was located, it was already almost noon. He offered to buy her a decent meal but she declined, saying that she was still full from the cake she had earlier. He thought the excuse was absurd, yet decided to go along with it anyway.
It was a bit awkward when he turned off the engine, as Tae Pyung became superfluously more aware that it was just the two of them in the SUV in an almost empty basement. To be frank, this wasn’t the ending he expected when he invited Eon Jin for coffee this morning. He basically just wanted to build rapport with Eon Jin for him to get to know her better, ergo be able to solve the mystery behind his instances of déjà vu, the apparent connection between them, and her seemingly coincidental appearances during certain unfortunate events. However, the transcendental scenario he experienced earlier made it difficult for him to look at her and not remember the feelings it kindled deep within.
Of course, Tae Pyung knew that it did not necessarily mean that the Eon Jin he was seeing in those moments he felt he already lived through was the same as the Eon Jin who was now sitting beside him inside the vehicle. It was just that the most recent experience was so poignant that he found the lines getting blurred.
He was so absorbed with these inner rumblings that he became oblivious to the fact that silence already befell them. To break the ice, Eon Jin cleared her throat before speaking.
“Thanks for the brunch,” she spoke casually as she unfastened her seat belt, then reached for her bag in the backseat.
Ever the gentleman, Tae Pyung beat her to it.
“You’re welcome,” he told her as he handed her the bag. “I hope you had a good time.”
She thought about it for a second, then said, “I had an interesting time, to be honest.”
“Me too,” Tae Pyung admitted, but he kept his eyes focused on the pavement in front of him.
“That’s good,” Eon Jin said, giving him a sidelong glance. “I thought you were already at your wit’s end earlier.”
Tae Pyung turned to look at her and asked, “What do you mean?”
Eon Jin was not able to suppress a giggle as she recalled Tae Pyung’s pouting face, which she eventually disguised with a cough, pretending as if there was something irritating her throat.
“Nothing,” she told him, brushing off his question. “You amused me today in ways you cannot imagine.”
“Glad to be of your service, then,” he sighed.
“You surely are easy to annoy, Officer Kim.”
“I am not.”
“You are,” she refuted. “You should have seen your face while I was talking to CEO Kim. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought you were getting jealous.”
“Don’t worry,” she continued. “He’s just an acquaintance.”
Tae Pyung rolled his eyes and blew a gust of air out of his mouth, which made Eon Jin shamelessly free her previously-suppressed giggles.
After Eon Jin’s momentary gaiety subsided, she ran her fingers through her hair and then reached for the door handle, turning to Tae Pyung before opening the door on her side.
“I’ll see you when I see you, I guess?” she teased.
Tae Pyung gave her one last steady, intent look before replying, “Maybe even sooner than you expect.”
It was Eon Jin’s turn to roll her eyes at his brazenness.
“Hey, Officer Kim. Are you saying you’re planning to make this a habit?” she tested him.
“If you’d allow me to,” he shrugged.
Eon Jin was so obviously taken aback, she didn’t even have time to control her reaction. She regarded him suspiciously with narrowed eyes as she struggled to decipher the whys and wherefores to no avail.
After a good minute of uncomfortable stillness from both of them, Eon Jin mustered a smile.
“Let’s see if our next chance encounter would prove that third time’s a charm,” she told him.
“But this is our third —”
“No it’s not. You didn’t meet me by chance today,” she refuted. “No cheating, officer.”
Tae Pyung eyed her suspiciously and said, “You frankly don’t come across as someone who is a believer of fate to me, Son Eon Jin.”
Oh boy, you have no idea , Eon Jin thought to herself.
She flashed one last smile at him, then proceeded to open the door, leaving Tae Pyung guessing.
Unfazed, she walked towards the elevator area with her heels clacking against the floor, determined not to look back. The doors of the lift opened almost immediately after she pressed the button going up.
Lo and behold, there stood Hyo Jin who apparently was waiting for her, leaning comfortably against the cold metal wall. Their reflections were a stark contrast against each other: the other in white while the other was clad in a classic black suit.
“So, were you able to figure it out?” Hyo Jin asked as the doors of the elevator closed.
“Not yet,” Eon Jin said, exasperation and disappointment evident in her sigh. “It happened again this morning when we were out having coffee.”
“The memory resurgence, you mean?” Hyo Jin clarified. “What was it this time?”
“I was — or should I say, I felt — several years younger,” Eon Jin explained. “My voice was even a pitch higher than this.”
At that point, they were five floors away from the rooftop.
“And I was talking to someone. He was younger, too,” she continued. “It was a sad conversation.”
“What made it so?”
Eon Jin shook her head and said with much regret, “I have yet to find out.”
The shrill elevator bell sounded once, a signal that they had reached the rooftop floor.
“But there was another thing I discovered today,” Eon Jin told the grim reaper as the elevator doors opened. “It seems that it isn’t just me who’s trying to figure out what these visions are all about.”
Photo by Karl Fredrickson on Unsplash
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