Yuna wakes up to the sound of Mina shrieking.
Not just a little shriek either...a full-on banshee scream that rattles the bedroom door, vibrates the floorboards and sends Yuna scrambling out of bed in her Cookie Monster pyjamas like there's a murder happening. Her heart's jackhammering so hard she's convinced she's about to die.
She bursts into the living room, hair sticking up like a sea anemone, eyes crusty with sleep. She's already rehearsing the police report:
Officer: Ma'am, can you describe the attacker?
Yuna: Yes. About five foot three. Wearing bunny slippers. Holding an iPhone like it's the Holy Grail.
Because that's exactly what she sees:
Taking her half a second to remember that Mina, her best friend and eternal chaos goblin, lives across the hall and has a spare key to her apartment...a dangerous arrangement that means Mina comes and goes like a feral cat, usually without warning.
Sitting perched cross-legged on the couch, hair tied up in a messy bun, clutching her phone with both hands like it's delivering nuclear codes.
"WHY do you sound like a dying dolphin?!" Yuna croaks, clutching the doorframe.
Mina's eyes glitter like disco balls. "Girl. YOU. ARE. VIRAL."
Yuna blinks. "I...what?"
"Sit down. Breathe. You want me to pour you coffee first? Wait, no...coffee's trauma for you right now."
"I'm fine," Yuna rasps, even though she's wheezing and about two seconds from keeling over. "WHAT. HAPPENED."
Mina shoves her phone into Yuna's face so fast she nearly karate-chops it out of pure reflex. On the screen is Twitter.
The is the first post, the blurry screengrab from the café security footage. Yuna, mid-pour, eyes bugged out, iced Americano soaring through the air like an Olympic javelin.
But before Yuna can say anything, Mina flicks to another photo and her stomach plummets to her socks.
It's a crisp, high-definition shot of her and J-Min at the rooftop café yesterday. He's leaning forward, one hand half-blocking her from view, as if shielding her from the world. She's sitting there with the world's most painfully awkward smile, gripping a coffee cup like it might explode. A latte and half a muffin sit between them like silent witnesses to their mutual agony.
The caption reads:
"EXCLUSIVE: WHO'S THE MYSTERY GIRL WITH J-MIN?!"
#JMinDatingScandal #CoffeeGirl
Beneath it, thousands of replies:
"Is that the Americano girl?! They look cute together 😭"
"She's holding his gaze like she wants to kill him or kiss him."
"OMG THE TENSION. THIS IS A K-DRAMA."
"This has to be staged...right???"
Yuna slaps both hands over her face. "Oh. My. God. They already found us from the rooftop café!"
Mina is vibrating like she's powered by pure Red Bull. "Girl. Those rooftop photos are EVERYWHERE. People are analysing the angles. There's a TikTok zooming in on how you're looking at him. One video's like 'the way she softens when he laughs 🥺'."
"I WAS GLARING AT HIM," Yuna screeches.
"The Internet thinks you were flirting," Mina crows. "AND LOOK..."
She flips to a short video. It's from the same rooftop café. J-Min gently brushes a crumb off Yuna's lower lip with a napkin. The camera wobbles as the person filming gasps so loudly it's practically an air raid siren.
"OH MY GOD. DID YOU SEE THAT? DID HE JUST...?!"
Yuna stares at the video, mouth hanging open. "HE DIDN'T EVEN WIPE IT OFF PROPERLY! I STILL HAD MUFFIN CRUMBS!"
Mina is in tears from laughing. "Girl, you look like you're about to either punch him or drag him into bed."
"EXCUSE ME?!"
"Here, look at the comments!" Mina sings, scrolling down:
"Coffee Girl is lowkey hot."
"Who's the mystery woman?!"
"Protect Coffee Girl at all costs."
"She looks like a spicy webtoon heroine. I ship it."
"SPICY WEBTOON HEROINE?!" Yuna howls. "I look like I'm projectile vomiting espresso!"
Mina clutches her chest. "No. You look HOT. Like...sassy hot. Like a heroine who'd slap a rich heir and then accidentally fell for his perfect jawline."
"That's literally the worst idea ever."
"Too bad. The internet's decided. You're the new It Girl."
Yuna buries her face in her hands, groaning so loud it could shatter glass. "This is a nightmare."
Mina leans closer, practically whispering like she's divulging government secrets. "A nightmare where your face is trending and people think you're cute. Just admit it's kinda hot."
"It's a PR STUNT, MINA," Yuna hisses. "He's a global superstar. I'm a coffee-slinging peasant. There's literally nothing hot about this."
Mina grins. "I dunno. You spilled coffee on him and now he's taking you on a street food date. I mean, that's basically Act Two of every K-drama ever."
Yuna makes a strangled noise. "Wait...how do you know about the street food date?!"
Mina's expression turns suddenly, devastatingly smug. "Girl. Please. I've been following every fan account, the official Fanclub ONARI, every Dispatch update, every shady gossip forum since three a.m. I've seen your dating schedule more times than my own menstrual calendar."
Yuna blinks at her. "There's...a schedule...online?"
Mina nods solemnly. "Oh, People are cross-referencing your outfit from yesterday and guessing your shoe size. You're basically a public figure now. AND..." She waves her phone wildly. "Manager Seo was seen leaving your café again. A fan caught him on video muttering about a 'street food concept.' It's out there."
Yuna collapses on the couch, wheezing. "I'm going to die. I'm going to spontaneously combust into a puddle of espresso."
Mina fans her dramatically. "No dying. You're trending. We need to keep the momentum going."
"WHY WOULD WE KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING?!"
"Because, babe, some people are saying you have natural chemistry. Look..."
She flicks to another viral tweet:
"I'm telling you, Coffee Girl is the first person I've seen make J-Min actually laugh in public. I stan. #JMinCoffeeGirl"
Another:
"They're so chaotic together. They give off enemies-to-lovers energy. I'm INVESTED."
Yet another:
"Can someone tell J-Min to stop staring at her mouth?! The sexual tension is unhinged."
Yuna claps a hand over her mouth, screaming into her palm. "They think there's SEXUAL TENSION?!"
Mina beams. "I mean...is there?"
Yuna yelps. "ABSOLUTELY NOT. Okay. Maybe. A tiny bit. NO. NO THERE'S NOT."
Mina gives her a look. "Babe. You're bright red."
"I'm not!"
"You're so red you look like a tomato about to burst."
"Shut up."
Mina flops beside her on the couch, wiggling her phone triumphantly. "Anyway...speaking of which..."
"Don't you dare say it," Yuna warns.
"I'm coming with you."
"NO."
"YES. I need to breathe the same air as J-Min. I'll stay like ten feet away and pretend to be a tourist. I'll wear a bucket hat. No one will know."
Yuna flings a throw pillow at her. "This is not a concert. You can't just lurk behind a Food stand!"
Mina dodges the pillow. "Try and stop me."
Yuna groans. "Mina. You'll blow my cover."
Mina crosses her arms. "So? You already have no cover. People recognized your bangs from SPACE. The rooftop café photos are in every news article. I've seen three clickbait headlines saying: 'Coffee Girl: Heroine or Homewrecker?'"
Yuna whimpers. "Oh my god. My mom is going to see this."
"Oh. She definitely already has," Mina snorts. "My mom sent me your photo and asked. I told her you were secretly married to J-Min."
Yuna's scream could peel paint off the walls. "MINA."
"Relax. She thought I was joking. Kinda."
Yuna sags back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "I just wanted to live my quiet coffee-slinging life. Now I'm starring in some mythical K-drama fanfiction."
Mina's voice softens a little. "Okay. Real talk. Are you...okay?"
Yuna hesitates. For a second, she thinks about the weird, fluttery feeling in her chest whenever J-Min's eyes linger on hers. The way he'd laughed yesterday...soft, unexpected. The way her stomach had somersaulted when he touched her lip, even though she'd wanted to murder him.
But she clamps down on it with pure panic. "Nope. I'm not okay. I'm one trending hashtag away from a psychotic break."
Mina leans her head on Yuna's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, you know. Even if you're a mess."
Yuna side-eyes her. "I hate you."
"I know," Mina says sweetly. "And tomorrow, you're going to wear the black dress with the low back."
"ABSOLUTELY NOT."
Mina's grin is evil. "Okay, fine. Then at least wear the red lipstick. You have to look spicy for your public. For the fan cams. For your K-drama boyfriend."
"He's NOT my...oh my god, I'm going to pass out."
Yuna presses her face into her hands again as Mina gleefully queues up more fan edits on TikTok. She tries to block it all out...the screaming fangirls, the paparazzi shots, the headlines.
But somewhere under the panic, there's that fluttering, traitorous feeling in her chest again.
And she absolutely, definitely refuses to name it.