Changes Over Coffee
Park Dain stood at the cafe entrance, sipping her coffee as she gazed outside. Suyeon had said it'd take about five minutes when they talked on the phone earlier, so she should be arriving any second now. Sure enough, there was Suyeon, pushing through the door. Her face was a little blank—no, more like mildly pissed off.
"I sent you the address, right? Come here."
"...Where's this place?"
"A cafe."
"Dude, coffee's all the same wherever you get it. Why drag myself all the way up here just to drink some?"
"It's good. Great view too."
"Coffee's coffee... Ugh, fine, I'll go."
It looked like she was still carrying the exact same irritation from their phone call earlier.
She's changed so much...
Where had that old Ha Suyeon gone—the one who'd race to any cafe at the mere mention of a nice view or tasty desserts? Dain recalled Suyeon's reaction when she'd suggested Starbucks not long ago.
"Coffee's all the same everywhere. Why not just hit up a Baeksakdang or Ediya?"
These days, she seemed like the type who'd only touch canned coffee or instant mixes. Back then, she wouldn't go near anything that wasn't super sweet.
"You made it?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here. Why'd you call me all the way out here..."
Suyeon tossed her phone onto the table like it offended her and plopped down with a grumble.
"Coffee's all the same. What's the point of climbing up to a place like this?"
"It's pretty. Nice view out the window. You can even see Gyeongbok Palace down there..."
"I live nearby, so it doesn't do much for me. Gyeonghui Palace is right next to my place."
With that, Suyeon shrugged off her long padding coat and flung it onto the seat beside her. The soft thud interrupted their chat for a moment.
Come to think of it...
Staring at the coat, Dain mulled it over. Ever since that accident, "Ha Suyeon" had changed a ton. It wasn't just her attitude toward cafes—her SNS habits, her clothes... It felt like the whole person had been swapped out. Bluntly put, the old her never would've worn something like that long padding.
Frozen to death before she'd touch a coat like that. Mustang jacket and skinny jeans, or something...
But Suyeon's outfit now? Black Adidas long padding down to her ankles, black Adidas hoodie, black Adidas joggers. Like she'd raided an Adidas outlet yesterday. Clothes she wouldn't have glanced at before.
And cafes—if it were the old her, she'd have beaten Dain here, snapped a hundred pics of the desserts and scenery, selfies, pics with Dain, then posted them all on Insta with some haughty vibe. Tagging everyone, slyly dropping hints about hanging with seniors and juniors to flex, leaving comments like "whatever, stuff happened lol," sweet replies to guys, ignoring the girls.
Now? Suyeon's Insta hadn't updated in over a month. The last post was that blurry coin karaoke pic they'd taken after Dain and the friends nagged her to post something.
She'd switched to lurking only? Nah, not even that—didn't seem like she checked DMs at all anymore. Back in the day, Insta DMs got faster replies than KakaoTalk sometimes. Now she often left KakaoTalk unread till the next day.
It's a positive change, kinda...
Dain had listened to endless venting from the seniors and juniors too scared to confront Suyeon directly about her constant Insta shade-throwing and DM wars. At least that headache was gone.
As she thought that, Suyeon returned with her order: a plain iced cafe latte and a couple cookies.
"Here, eat this."
"What's this? Our Suyeon buying desserts? Mom's gonna cry..."
"Cut the crap. Lee Hyein's doing just fine at the office right now."
"Your mom's name is Lee Hyein?"
"Yeah."
She used to hate even mentioning family. Must've had some change of heart.
People change so easily... Or not easily?
Maybe surviving a brush with death flips a switch like that. Hell, even Dain might rethink her life after cracking her skull on a drunk kickboard ride.
"So, why'd you wanna meet today? Doesn't seem like just to hang."
"Need some advice."
At Dain's question, Suyeon tilted her head slightly, pausing as if choosing her words. Then she spoke.
"Dain, you heard I play guitar, right?"
"Huh? Oh... yeah, I heard."
Dain flashed back to that shocking video. A few days ago, Kang Chaerin had forwarded it in KakaoTalk with a "[BREAKING NEWS!!]". It was footage from Seoul Central High's festival next door. Dain had been stunned three times watching it.
First, the band was way too good for high schoolers. Second, they were performing Japanese "otaku" songs. Third, the guitarist was Suyeon.
The first two? Whatever, weird stuff happens. But Suyeon as the guitarist crushing those otaku tunes? Totally different story.
"Honestly, I wasn't planning much. Just keep guitar as a hobby. But now Mom's telling me to go on a broadcast."
"Huh? A broadcast?"
Dain couldn't parse the slight stutter on "Mom," but she brushed it off and pressed.
"Yeah, broadcast. So I got thinking... I don't remember well, but I did some stuff back then. Bullying kids and crap."
"Mm... yeah, kinda."
Dain nodded. Suyeon fidgeted with her hands, thirsty maybe, chugged her coffee, then continued.
"Might sound like I'm just doing it for the show... but nah. Anyway, even if I don't remember, it's still stuff I did. So I wanna apologize to the kids I bullied. How should I go about it?"
"...Huh?"
Dain thought her ears were busted. Words that didn't fit Suyeon at all: "bullied kids," "apologize." "Ha Suyeon" and "apologize." Impossible combo.
"I don't remember my past stuff clearly... so it's hard to know how. You're the closest friend I had, so maybe you can help? That's why I called you. Felt like a face-to-face thing."
Dain was speechless. How does a person change this much? The old Suyeon? No way she'd ask. She guarded her weaknesses like a fortress. Apologies? Never. She'd bully underclassmen and juniors, seduce guys to silence seniors. If she asked a favor, it'd be twisted—using past dirt to force compliance.
And if she went on TV later, everyone would've blasted her as a bully... I'd have done it first.
The blade was with the victims, after all. Suyeon wasn't running a gang ruling Jongno-gu. Just a scary student with no real backup. How do you shut them all up?
But now? Sure, there was self-interest in apologizing before her broadcast debut... but taking that step first? Shocking compared to the old her.
I should help, right?
Dain was Suyeon's friend. But technically a victim too. Pretty much everyone in her crew had gotten chewed out or bullied by Suyeon at some point. Dain dodged it, but her friends? Dragged to seniors for beatdowns over nothing, or hit with baseless rumors. Most traced back to Suyeon—fixing "bad habits" without leaving evidence.
That built her rep until she was untouchable.
But current Suyeon? Way softer personality, treats everyone normally. Lets boundary-crosses slide. Acts like a regular student.
So Dain decided to help. For her changed friend.
Digging through Myeongjeon's past memories, "Ha Suyeon's" antics weren't even bullying starting with a G. Calling kids out and chewing them? Kid stuff. To Myeongjeon, who'd lived in savage times, it was child's play.
True violence? Broken limbs, disabilities. Yelling and hassling? Not even violence.
Student council beating heads, killing refusers (for real), deadly brawls, extortion rackets—that's school violence. (Not that Myeongjeon did all that.)
But that was his high school era. Now it's 2023. Worlds apart.
So, feelings aside, Myeongjeon resolved to wrap up "Ha Suyeon's" messes.
Will she help?
Myeongjeon clenched his hand anxiously. Suyeon's memories were fading... without her help, cleaning up the past would be brutal.
And buried in those memories? Even this girl had unknowingly been bullied by the old Suyeon.
What kinda head was this girl living in? Can't make sense of it.
Dain's reply snapped him out of it.
"Got it."
"Huh?"
"I'll help."
"...Thanks!"
Myeongjeon sighed in relief. No clue how much help, but better than nothing. Just listing her misdeeds would make apologies easier.
"But Suyeon, if you're apologizing, how were you planning to do it?"
"Dunno..."
Right, hadn't thought that far. Just go apologize, simple. But nah, wouldn't be easy. If it were, celebs wouldn't quit over bullying scandals.
Dain saw it differently.
"Friends and juniors? No big deal."
"Why?"
"Wasn't that serious. You hassled them, but never targeted one kid to the point they'd dread school."
Dain recalled: tons of incidents, but few with evidence or witnesses. Suyeon was sly—avoided traces. Best examples? Mood-setting intimidation, "keep your head down," nicknames for weaklings.
Problematic if called out. But Dain figured a honest "I don't remember clearly, but seems like I messed up, sorry" could smooth it. Suyeon's rep had flipped dramatically.
Old her: ignored low-ranks, sneers default. Now? Greets classmates, asks about their day, shares snacks. Even gifted stuff at end-of-term, lots of positive reactions.
So other kids? Probably fine.
"Gotta give gifts as sorry, compensate sure. But that's minor. The real issue's elsewhere."
"Elsewhere?"
At Suyeon's question, Dain recalled the incident that put Suyeon's name around Jongno-gu a year ago.
"You don't remember? Last year, drinking with seniors, you slapped a sophomore girl, huge fight. Hair-pulling mess... I wasn't there, but word is you knocked her out. Beat her ass. She was so humiliated she dropped out, now doing sketchy stuff. That's the big one, I bet. Middle schooler drinking, smoking, guys, fighting seniors. And that senior's been sharpening her knife for you lately."