CHAPTER 5 (PT 3) - Coffee

Liu Xuejun was weird. Period. 

"Coffee~" he whined. His hair was messy, well past the age of haircut and his bangs fell floppily on his forehead. Even then, his big eyes were too big to hide and his long eyelashes stuck out like icicles. 

I pushed my glasses back, nudging them against the bridge of my nose but they slid down again. "We're thirteen," I whispered. 

Xuejun looked at me like I was stupid. I probably was. "This is a free country. And everyone should drink coffee. Age has nothing to do with it." He poked my cheek, finger nestling my dimples. He always did that. Like it was super natural. I should probably ask him not to do it. I didn't want them to become any deeper than they already were. 

"In fact," he said and his voice was a clear kind of raspy, so different but beautiful. Xuejun told me that he wanted to be a rapper but his voice was like divine glass. "If I were the president, I would make every school give out compulsory coffee." 

We were standing in a cafe, fidgeting like two misfits. We probably were. Older people stood in line before us and I couldn't help the shiver that ran down my spine. I looked back at Xuejun with wide eyes. 

"You want me to order? I've never been to a cafe before!" 

Liu Xuejun's lips jutted out, into a ridiculous pout. His eyes miraculously melted into shiny spheres, slapping me with blinding puppy eyes. "I'm shy and my Korean is horrible. So pretty please?" 

The queue moved fairly fast and dread filled every single cell of mine with each step we took forward. Soon we were at the front of the queue and the older female worker— a barista?— peered down at us, a smile on her face. 

"How can I help you?" 

"Um," my eyes darted around, helplessly looking for clues on how to order. Maybe I should've watched a YouTube tutorial. 

"Yes?" At least, she was nice.

"I—I would like to order an americano." 

"Small, medium or large?" 

"Uh," I glanced at Xuejun and his face lighted up with a smile. "Large," he mouthed. 

"Large please." The barista's face still had a smile so I presumed my first order of coffee was decent. But then, she asked more. 

"How many shots?" 

What the heck was even a shot? I glanced at Xuejun again and he pulled up all the fingers of his right hand. And a second later, he raised his left hand too. Wait, was that a sixth finger I was seeing? 

"Six?" Incredulity was strong in my voice. I didn't drink coffee or knew what a shot was but even I could see that this was not normal. The barista probably thought so too because she kindly started explaining. 

"Six shots would be too strong. Extremely strong. How about we go for two?" 

Suddenly, introvert Xuejun was pushed to the backseat and the coffee maniac in him reared his ugly head up. 

"No, I like my americano with six shots." 

His voice was firm, albeit childish and he lifted his head up, nose sticking to thin air like that would make the barista take him seriously. Perfect Korean rolled out from his mouth, though his accent stuck like a sore thumb. 

"Six shots is too much," she said again, and this time, her smile looked strained. Crap, here we go again. 

I elbowed Xuejun's ribs. "Don't warrant an early death." 

Xuejun's cheeks puffed up and he looked like he was making the biggest choice in his life. "Okay, five shots then." 

The barista was clearly bewildered. "How about three?" 

"Five." 

"Four," I interrupted him, pushing him aside. "With four shots please." 

The woman still looked incredulous but since the line behind us was not getting any shorter, she shook her head mildly, repeated our order before proceeding with it.  

It took more than ten minutes to get the coffee but for the entirety of the ten minutes, I had to sit through Liu Xuejun ranting about coffee. 'Even my mum is okay with it' and 'Too strong? Ha, if only she knew what kind of heaven six shots were,' and even a 'I'll teach you the refined taste, Winter.'

But when the coffee actually arrived and Liu Xuejun excitedly pushed the straw towards me, it took me less than a second to spit the warm, black liquid out. 

"This is poison! How could you drink that?" 

Liu Xuejun laughed, winking like a gremlin. He grazed the tip of the straw with his teeth, sucking a little and when the poison liquid actually made it to his throat, his eyes rolled back with a satisfied sigh. 

"Like I said, I'll teach you refined taste." 

"We'll have two large americanos. One with no sugar and the other with six shots. Thank you." 

Liu Xuejun is silent beside me but when I actually place the order, he steps forward, correcting the mask on his face. 

"Actually, make that three shots instead of six." 

A look of surprise crosses my face and I glance at him but his gaze remains straight ahead, jaws clenched. A second later, without glancing at me, he announces, "I cut down on the coffee."

Wow, miracles do happen. 

"Then what about refined tastes?" The words are out before I can stop it. Even to my ears, they sound too playful, teasing like we never fell out. I flinch internally. That was too familiar for comfort. 

But then, his next words freeze me. "Well, I didn't want to warrant an early death."