A Cup of Calm

The sight of my noona standing by the front door, trembling, sent another surge of fury through me — all of it aimed at Park Woojin.

But I put the anger on hold. Right now, making her feel safe mattered more.

I was pretty sure I'd seen something in the shop before — an herbal tea that settled the mind. People always said a cup of tea loosened a tight chest and brought you back down to earth. And this one had that same Surefire tag I'd seen on the fatigue recovery potion, so I had a feeling it would make a real difference right now.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I opened the shop and scrolled through the listings until the item I was looking for caught my eye. I selected it at once.

It looked like it came in tea bags — a box of fifteen, just like the herbal teas you'd find on any store shelf.

I only had two points to my name, but spending one on my noona didn't feel like a waste at all. If this could settle her heart, it was a bargain.

Okay. Buy.

I'd never used the shop before, so I was curious how the items actually showed up.

The instant I confirmed the purchase, a box of herbal tea bags popped out of empty air, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠took solid form, and dropped right in front of my face.

Whoa. Okay, that was actually kind of amazing — watching something just appear out of nothing like that.

Amazing or not, this wasn't the time to stand around gawking. I scooped up the tea bags and strode into the kitchen.

"Ah — when did you come in?"

She startled and straightened up, only just now noticing me. The sight of her like that just made my chest ache.

"Just now. Hey, noona. This is an herbal tea I drink a lot when I'm feeling anxious. Try a cup."

I opened the box, pulled out a tea bag, and started steeping it in a mug of hot water.

"What kind of tea is it? It smells amazing."

"What it is... uh, I'm not actually sure myself."

I glanced at the box. There was a name for the leaves written on it, but it was one I'd never seen before, so I had no idea what it meant. I just mumbled my way through the question.

It might have looked a little suspicious... but if I drank it with her, that should be fine.

I figured I could use a little calming down myself, so I steeped two cups, carried them over to the table, and slid one in front of her.

"Go on, try it. It'll help."

Honestly, this was my first time buying anything from the shop, so I had no idea how well it would actually work. But I'd spent a point on it. I hoped it would at least be worth that much. I took the first sip.

Gulp.

Okay, this was... actually really good. The scent was wonderful, and so was the taste.

It had that clean, refreshing fragrance herbal teas always carry, and it went down warm and smooth. I wasn't even much of a tea person, but this was genuinely pleasant.

And more than anything else — the rage that had been burning in me just a moment ago started to drain away, fast.

I glanced over to see how she was doing.

"...This is really good. It's warm. I like it."

She wasn't trembling anymore. The tightness in her face had eased.

Thank god. That one point had more than paid for itself.

Dayeon had been skeptical when Dohyun came back from his phone call, tea bags in hand, offering to brew her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a cup. How much could a little tea really help?

This is... actually incredible.

The moment she drank it, she could feel her heart settling. No — it had started even earlier than that. Just watching Dohyun's back as he steeped the tea, just breathing in that scent, she had already begun to relax more than she had minutes before.

...How does he always know how to put a person's heart at ease like this?

When he had stepped out for a moment, her head had been so full of thoughts that her whole body had been shaking. Now it felt like a deep calm had settled over both her mind and her body, as if none of that had ever happened.

This is so strange.

She had never felt this comfortable just being around someone.

The truth was, she had called Dohyun because he lived nearby and she had been so suffocated and scared that she needed to tell someone — anyone. But even as the words came out, a part of her had wondered if she shouldn't have called him at all.

And then there was the sheer absurdity of it: someone in her position — a boss, basically — dumping something like this on an employee. That thought had only made the chaos in her head worse.

Which was why she had been even more afraid.

Afraid that Dohyun would condemn her for it and walk out. Afraid that Eunchae, who liked him, would demand to know why she had done it and hold her responsible.

Of course Dayeon knew neither of them was that kind of person. But in a situation like this, she hadn't been able to keep her composure.

But now I think I'm actually okay.

Her head was clear. She could look at everything with a level gaze. During the stream, she had barely held herself together by trying not to think about it at all. Now she had the courage to face it properly.

"Thank you, Dohyun. Coming over on your day off, listening to all of this. I really do feel a lot better."

Watching her say that, Dohyun let out a quiet breath of relief.

"I'm glad. I was really worried. Oh, and noona — I was going to wait until you'd calmed down a bit to bring this up."

He explained that the call he had stepped outside to make had been to the manager of the convenience store, and that the manager's daughter was a lawyer who might be able to help.

"I mean, of course you could hire your own attorney if you wanted. I just started wondering if there was anything I could do, and this occurred to me, so I called."

He made it clear that she didn't have to accept the help if she didn't want it. Dayeon was nothing but grateful.

"No, thank you so much. I'd actually been worrying about whether I could find a lawyer I could trust."

She didn't have an agency, and she had never hired an attorney for a legal matter in her life. Just the thought of finding a firm she could rely on had been enough to make her head throb.

And now he was introducing her to a lawyer she could actually trust.

"This is such a huge help I almost feel bad."

"Come on, all I'm doing is making an introduction. I wish I knew more about the law so I could actually be useful."

Of course, if he had been well-versed in the law, he probably would have ended up in the legal field instead of becoming an editor.

"You're already helping plenty. How much more help are you trying to be?"

The easy smile on Dayeon's face — the one that looked like her usual self again — put Dohyun at ease too.

"It's such a strange feeling. When I'm with you, my heart just... settles. I end up saying things I could never tell anyone else."

The truth was, the shop-bought herbal tea was doing most of the heavy lifting when it came to how at peace Dayeon felt right now. It stripped away tension, fear, and stress while lifting a sense of comfort, so of course the calm would feel enormous.

"You can lean on me more, if you want. I'll listen whenever you've got something on your mind."

Of course, this version of her was nothing like the Dayeon he had always admired. What Dohyun had looked up to was her brightness, her strength.

But I think I like this even more.

Seeing her like this — not the bright, unshakable Dayeon that everyone else got to see, but a woman who let herself sound weak and lean on him — was more satisfying than he had expected.

"Hmm... then would you have a drink with me tonight?"

"Alcohol? It can take the edge off stress in the short term, but long-term it actually has a negative—"

"Come on. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Just drink with me today, okay?"

She cut him off, looking up at him with a faintly pouty expression. Dohyun burst out laughing.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Yeah, let's drink. Want to go out?"

"Mm, no. Let's stay here. If the things we talk about over drinks leaked out... I don't think I could handle it."

"...What exactly are you planning to talk about?"

He had already figured she wanted to talk about Park Woojin and things like that. And he understood perfectly well why she would be uneasy if that kind of conversation got out. But the faintly sly smile on Dayeon's face made him narrow his eyes at her.

"Well, I guess you'll find out once we start drinking?"

"Alright, alright. Should we order some food to go with it?"

"Yeah. Let's order from a pocha."

The two of them sat side by side on the sofa, shoulders touching, huddled over a single phone as they picked out what to eat, one dish at a time.

"Tteokbokki is a must."

"You really love tteokbokki, huh?"

"Because it's delicious. What do you want?"

"Hmm. I'll go with spicy sea snail noodles."

They settled on a few dishes, placed the order, and Dohyun stood up.

"I'll go grab the drinks."

"I'll come with you."

"No, it's fine. I'll go by myself."

It was a small consideration. He had only just managed to calm her down from a terrible state — if they went out and she ran into viewers, and people started whispering about her being alone with a guy, it could stir everything up all over again.

"I'll be right back. Have some more of the herbal tea."