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She's hesitant to go inside the infamous coffee shop in Intramuros. Full of doubts are in her mind while she walks back and forth to the empty street in the wee hours. Surprisingly, the shop was still open, which made her nervous because she made a pact (with herself) that when the shop was still available at this hour, she would go inside and see Seulgi.
When Irene remembered Seulgi's name, she stopped walking and looked at the shop's window. The door's signage says it's open, but not a single soul can be seen outside.
Maybe it's because it's already 11 in the evening. She thought. She took a deep breath, and just as she was about to open the door, a woman with short light brown hair and cheerful eyes appeared. The woman smiles at Irene and opens the door widely. "Do you want to see someone?" she asked.
Irene was taken aback by her question, not expecting that she would be asked by it. "Uh… Well, you see…"
"Just come in." Irene followed the woman inside the coffee shop. She introduced herself as Wendy, the owner of this place. Other than that, she became quiet and proceeded to do what she was doing before opening the door for her.
The coffee shop has limited chairs and tables with a wooden motif on the walls and floor. It can be passed as an antique store because of the decorations hanging on the wall. And then, at the left corner of the shop, there's a broken clock above a table with two chairs. There, a woman is reading a book.
"So…" Irene started talking to Wendy, who was at the counter doing something, "I heard this place can bring back people?" she asked, and Wendy answered with a shocked face.
"Who told you that?" Wendy chuckles, "We don't bring back people to life–if that's what your thinking–or if they're in a different city or country."
"I see…" Irene, who was embarrassed, replied, "So, what's so special about this coffee shop of yours?" she asked again. Wendy's smile leaves her face, and she looks at Irene directly in her eyes. She sighs.
"We can let you see them. Only if they've been inside this coffee shop before." Irene nods. She remembers the first time she was here together with Seulgi. They were only in college when they decided to visit it because of the rumors about how people could meet their former loved ones. It was Seulgi who told her that story.
But once they got inside, they just ordered a drink, told stories to each other, and then left. She needed to remember why they even went to the shop in the first place. Only a few days ago, Irene remembered about this shop when someone on her Instagram feed uploaded a photo of the coffee shop's interior.
"But you won't be able to go to the past easily." Wendy added, "Do you see that woman reading on that table?" Wendy extends her left arm to point to the woman Irene saw earlier, "She needs to stand up in the chair. She only stands up once a day to go outside, and there's no exact time or day when she does. Many have waited but got impatient, so they just leave." she explained.
Irene nods slowly. Is she determined to meet Seulgi after all those years? Will she be able to tell her how she feels even if it's too late?
"You're going to wait for her, I guess?" Wendy asked Irene, still looking at the woman sitting and reading a book. Irene looks at Wendy and shows her her faint smile. Wendy smiles back and goes inside the kitchen to prepare the food and drink Irene ordered.
☕︎
Wendy wakes Irene, who fell asleep on the counter. She told her that the woman was walking towards the entrance. They look at her as she calmly approaches the door and opens it. Wendy hurriedly heated the coffee inside the kitchen and told Irene to sit on the chair.
Once she sat down on the chair, it felt eerie. She's unsure if it's because she knows that the woman sitting before her is a ghost, which she learned now when Wendy prepares the coffee, or because of the magic it does.
She heard Wendy's footsteps walking near her. She looks at her holding a silver tea kettle and a white cup and saucer. She just remembered that she doesn't like coffee. What if I didn't like the taste? Does that affect this whole situation? She thought. Wendy, before starting to pour, started telling the rules to Irene.
The first rule: the only people you can meet in the past are those who have visited the cafe. If the person you want to meet has never seen the restaurant, you can return to the past but not meet them.
Second: there is nothing you can do while in the past that will change the present. Many of our customers were dismayed once they learned this rule and left the shop.
Third: this is the only seat that allows you to return in time. While in the past, you cannot move from your heart because if you do, you will be pulled back to the present by force. Whatever you do, remain in that seat.
And last rule: your stay in the past begins when the coffee is poured and must end before the coffee gets cold. Moreover, the coffee cannot be poured by just anybody; it must be run by the shop owner, Wendy.
After running down the rules to Irene, she nods, indicating that she's ready to go in the past and meet Seulgi.
She hears the coffee getting poured down the cup. It grew louder and louder that it made her head spin. She can feel herself floating, and when the pouring coffee turns into echoes away from her ears, she is brought back into the same place she was looking at a few minutes ago.
☕︎
"H-How would I know if I'm in the past?" she asked loudly as if waiting for an answer somewhere.
"You are, dear." a woman behind the counter said. Irene almost stands up but remembers what Wendy told her earlier. "Don't try to stand up. You might get sucked into the present." the woman added. Irene felt like she knew the woman who was talking to her.
"Is… Wendy also here?" she asked the woman.
"Ah, well, no. I can't believe you know my daughter! She's in school right now." the woman smiled, who presented as Wendy's mother.
The door opened, and a woman whose eyes were also smiling entered the cafe. "Unnie!" she cheerfully said as she went towards Irene.
"I'm sorry I had to go out. The phone's not working inside the shop," she explained as she sat down on the opposite side of Irene. "I wasn't expecting that we're the only customers left here. Should we head over to our class?" Irene remembers. Before heading to their next class, this was their first time going to the coffee shop. Irene's eyes widened as she tried to pull Irene up the seat.
"W-Wait, Seulgi! I-I can't leave." she burst out. She didn't know what to do, so she said that. She touches the white cup that's been sitting at the table since she arrived. As much as she didn't want the coffee's taste, she gulped a few liquids to check if the heat was unbearable. It is; I still have time.
"Why? Is there something wrong?" Seulgi asked as she went back to her seat. "Wait, Unnie, you look older. Are you stressed from school?" Seulgi added.
Irene smiles, remembering how thoughtful Seulgi is. She sighs, "I'm sorry, Seulgi. I'm sorry I put you in a condition you weren't supposed to be in the first place." Irene started explaining, trying to hold back her tears before Seulgi.
"I'm confused… Irene, what's wrong?" Seulgi asked in her serious tone.
Irene couldn't bear looking at her and kept her head down, "It should've been me, Seulgi. I should be the one who's in the hospital bed. Not you."
"But… But I'm here, Unnie. What are you… Oh." Irene looked at Seulgi as if she felt that Seulgi knew what was happening already. "W-When will it happen?" Seulgi asked.
"5 years from now…" Irene can't hold back her tears. That's why she let it roll down her face. She touches the white cup again, and it's not as warm as before. She drank it again. "I realized that after you were hit by the car, you were serious about dating me. At that moment, I realized it was too late to tell you, 'Seulgi, I love you just as much as you love me.' 'Thank you for staying beside me and assuring me that things would get better.' I was… a coward. I didn't risk being with someone who loves me more than I love myself."
"Unnie…"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not saving you. I'm sorry for not telling you how much I love you. And I'm sorry that this was how I confessed to you." Irene looks at Seulgi and cusps her face. "I know this won't do anything. I can't change the past even if I wanted to, but… always know I'll be beside you; that's why I need you to be strong. Whatever happens, you need to be strong." she added and gulped down the cup that was getting colder.
☕︎
Irene woke up from the tapping of the woman who was supposed to sit in the chair she was occupying. She stood up and went to Wendy, who was still at the counter. "Your eyes, they're puffy," Wendy said. The woman sits comfortably in the chair and continues to read the book she left inside the shop.
Irene nods. "I told her to be strong and regret not telling her how I feel for her."
"I see… Someone called you on your phone earlier while you were drawn in the past." Wendy said while Irene started to fix her things. She gets her money in her wallet to pay for the orders she got in the coffee shop.
"How much would it all be?" she asked Wendy. She paid the exact amount after Wendy told her the total. They both said their goodbyes, and Irene booked a ride home as she reached the door.
One by one, she looks at her contacts and messages to see why she's been called by her friend, Yeri, at this kind of hour.
As she scrolls through a hundred messages on her phone, she is caught by what Yeri messaged her, "Unnie, she's already gone."