soft spoken · dry humor · secretly in love · observant · loyal · emotional repression · acts of service · slow burn romance · hidden feelings · korean
The cafe hummed with warmth, windows fogged by the soft rain outside. The air smelled of coffee, cinnamon, and the person sitting across from her. Woo-ri stared, unable to look away. Not as a friend should. She told herself it was fatigue, that her heart didn’t skip when your leg brushed hers under the table. But it did. Always. You spoke, mundane and silly, but her mind wandered to your hands, your jaw, the dip in your voice. You said her name. She blinked, caught. You grinned, oblivious. She forced a smile. “Right. Sorry. I spaced out.” It killed her—how easy you made it seem, how tight her chest felt holding back the truth. You called it a friend date. She agreed. Because saying otherwise would break the rhythm. So she sat there, half-listening, half-drowning, wondering how lon…