Study Cafe
Time passed, and the weekend arrived.
Sia had suggested studying at a study cafe over the weekend, so I woke up early and got ready.
I packed my bag with workbooks, notebooks, a tablet, and a few snacks, then headed to Sia's house.
When I arrived, Sia was already waiting outside for me.
"Siwoo! Let's go!"
Sia said she had already made the reservation and paid for the study cafe.
I offered to split the cost, but she shook her head.
"I was the one who suggested it, so it's fine!"
After some back-and-forth, we agreed that I would buy lunch instead, and we set off for the cafe.
There weren't any study cafes near our houses, so we had to walk a bit.
As we walked, Sia explained the place we were heading to.
It was a little outside the city center, but the facilities were nice and there were plenty of places to eat nearby.
We chatted about the study cafe and what we planned to study today.
Before I knew it, we had arrived.
Looking up from the first floor, I saw "Study Cafe" written large on the third-floor exterior wall.
"Whoa… it's bigger than I expected."
"Right? The air conditioning is amazing too! Let's go in."
"Yeah."
We opened the door and stepped inside.
The interior felt even more spacious than it had looked from outside.
Since Sia had already reserved and paid, she quickly operated the kiosk.
"Alright, let's go in."
"Okay."
We headed inside.
Near the entrance was a lounge area.
Further in, the center was filled with individual desks for studying alone.
Along the sides were private rooms where people could talk while studying.
Sia had reserved one of those rooms, so we received a key card and went in.
"Oh…"
Inside was a long desk like the kind you'd see in an office, with power strips in the middle.
—Beep!
"I turned the air conditioning on full blast."
"Thanks."
"There's an air purifier too, so the air feels fresh."
"Nice."
Sunlight came through the window, but we could just close the blinds.
"By the way, how loud can we talk in here?"
"As long as we don't shout like we're in a karaoke room, it's fine."
"Got it…"
That meant we could chat normally, just like studying at home.
I unpacked my bag right away.
"Shall we start studying?"
"Yeah!"
Sia and I sat side by side and began studying.
We had each brought the subjects we wanted to work on.
The plan was to solve problems first, then teach each other anything the other didn't understand.
"Hmm…"
At first, I had been a little excited since it was a study cafe.
I had only ever heard about them, never actually been to one.
But once we started studying, my honest impression was…
"Not much different."
Everyone's experience might vary, but I really didn't feel a huge difference.
The strong air conditioning was nice, but we could do that at home too.
Having other people studying around us did create a certain atmosphere.
"……"
"……"
Neither Sia nor I really needed that kind of atmosphere, given how focused we both were.
Still, being able to talk to each other—unlike at a library—was definitely a plus.
We were concentrating on our problems again when—
—Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep!
The alarm went off.
I had set it to ring every hour, and this was the second time.
That meant…
"It's probably around twelve thirty now. Want to eat lunch first?"
"Sure!"
It was lunchtime.
We left our things behind and headed out.
Because the study cafe was near the city center, there were plenty of restaurants around.
Most of them, however, were bars or meat restaurants.
There was a snack place selling things like kimbap, but since I was treating Sia to lunch instead of splitting the cafe fee, fast food felt a little cheap.
I decided to ask what Sia wanted first.
"Is there anything you're craving, Sia?"
She smiled and answered without hesitation.
"I'll eat whatever you want."
"……"
She always said that.
And she really meant it.
No matter what I chose, Sia would just go along with it.
Even if I suggested cup ramen and triangle kimbap from a convenience store, she would happily agree.
Fortunately, our tastes were similar.
I opened the map app and searched for decent restaurants nearby.
Nothing looked particularly good.
The proper restaurants were all further into the city center, so I was stuck.
While I was frowning at my phone, Sia spoke up.
"What's wrong? Can't find anything?"
"Uh… yeah…"
"I'll look too."
Sia also searched on her phone, but she came up empty as well.
"Hmm… you're right. There's a dakgalbi place, but…"
"Not really the right vibe for lunch right now, huh?"
"Yeah…"
It wasn't that we didn't want to eat it, but it felt too heavy for a study session.
Plus, both of us loved dakgalbi and tended to overeat, which would probably make us sleepy afterward.
So we ruled it out.
"Siwoo, how about this place?"
"Huh…"
What Sia showed me was a fast-food restaurant.
It was probably the most practical choice given the situation, but I still wanted to treat her to something a little nicer.
"I mean… since I'm paying, let's get something better."
"This is fine with me, though?"
"Still…"
As my voice trailed off, Sia grinned.
"Then you can treat me on our first date after we start dating."
"Huh…?"
"I'll take that as a yes! Let's go!"
Sia grabbed my hand and pulled me along before I could react.
I really liked this bold side of hers.
Instead of overturning everything when she didn't like something, she found a way to clear the obstacle in front of me in one go.
I loved that about her.
"Alright, then let's get extra sides."
"Okay! I want cheese sticks!"
"Got it, let's order everything."
After filling up on a hearty lunch and buying coffee on the way back, Sia and I returned to the study cafe.
Sia had mentioned that snacks were allowed in the lounge, but drinks were fine inside the room, so we brought the coffee in.
As we approached the door, Sia went ahead to tap the card.
"……"
Suddenly, she stopped.
"…? What's wrong?"
I whispered quietly, sensing something off.
"It's nothing. Let's go in."
"O-okay…"
She said it was nothing, but I heard some rustling before she tapped the card and opened the door.
Once inside, we focused on studying again.
Sia checked the problems she had solved in the morning and marked the ones she got wrong.
When either of us didn't understand something, we explained it to each other.
For the parts we both didn't know, we watched explanation videos together on the tablet.
"Did you get it, Siwoo?"
"Yeah, mostly. Look here…"
Maybe because it was a new environment, I felt a little awkward and unfocused at first.
But being with Sia made that feeling disappear quickly.
We went back to studying on our own.
"……"
Sia seemed distracted.
She hadn't been like this in the morning.
After lunch, she kept spacing out, so I asked if something was wrong.
"It's nothing. Let's keep going."
She started studying again.
"Did you eat too much?"
"No, I'm really fine. Thanks for worrying."
"Okay…"
I wondered if she had indigestion, but she didn't seem to be forcing herself, so we continued.
After studying for a while longer, with about an hour left before checkout—
"Siwoo, do you mind if we head back now?"
"Hm? Not really. Why?"
"Then let's go."
"Sure."
Since Sia wanted to leave, we packed up and exited the study cafe.
Then—
"Wait, I need to use the restroom real quick."
"Should I wait here?"
"Wait for me downstairs."
"Is it safe…? Ah… okay."
"Yeah, I'll be right back."
I had been worried about her safety, but then remembered how strong Sia actually was, so I went downstairs as she asked.
About five minutes later, Sia came down.
"Did something good happen?"
"It's nothing. Let's go!"
"Okay."
For some reason, Sia seemed to be in a much better mood than before as we walked home together.
Not long after Park Siwoo went downstairs, the study cafe door opened and two men stepped out.
Lee Sia glared at them sharply, but the two didn't seem to care.
"You saw my note earlier, right? Give me your number."
One of them shamelessly held out his phone.
Sia stared down at the phone in silence before speaking in a voice lower than usual.
"Who put up that stupid note?"
Anyone who knew Lee Sia would have been shocked by her icy tone, but these two were hearing her voice for the first time and simply thought it sounded attractive.
The reason Sia was angry was simple.
Park Siwoo hadn't noticed, but there had been a sticky note on the door of the room the two men had been using.
It said that if Park Siwoo's looks weren't up to par, they should contact the note's writer instead.
The moment Sia saw it, she had felt a surge of rage and nearly flipped the entire place over.
But because Park Siwoo was there, she held herself back and simply tore the note off quickly.
Still, her mind was filled with the desire to find out who had written it.
The two men, oblivious to her mood, kept smiling creepily.
"What do you mean, 'stupid note'? Honestly, it's true, isn't it?"
"Boyfriend? I don't know about that, but his level is way below—"
"Shut up."
""……""
At Sia's noticeably colder voice, both men fell silent.
She wanted to crush them, but she kept her volume low because Park Siwoo might still be in the building.
"If I hear you insult my man one more time, I'll grind your faces into the floor. You're already ugly enough that people can't tell if you're human or not—do you really want to stop being treated like people too?"
"This crazy bitch. We were being nice—!"
The man standing beside him raised his fist threateningly.
But Sia moved fast.
She grabbed his arm and twisted it with incredible strength.
The man screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground.
"Aaaagh…!"
"I know that look in your eyes. You're full of lust. Satisfy your desires with each other. If those disgusting eyes land on me one more time, I'll crush both of your eyeballs."
"……"
"Ugh…!"
At Sia's warning, the two men said nothing and lowered their gazes.
Once she confirmed they had backed down, Sia immediately went to find Park Siwoo.
"Hehe, let's link arms!"
"Suddenly?"
"You don't want to…?"
"…I do."
Sia clung to his arm as they walked.
'Hmph. How dare those pieces of trash talk about Siwoo like that.'
Lee Sia was deeply upset that other men had looked down on Park Siwoo.