There had once been a group of students who were very fond of their teacher, Seo Gio.
‘Two boys and two girls.’
Each had a different personality.
One was blunt, one unruly, one cheerful, and one calm. They were as different as one extreme from another, but they had been remarkably close.
‘If someone asked whether any particular students stood out in my memory, they would unquestionably be the first to come to mind.’
As Gio sat in a chair in the break room, the man asked him,
“Is coffee all right?”
“Of course.”
Seo Seohui had been one of the male students Seo Gio remembered.
“I personally enjoy this sort of instant coffee because it is sweet.”
“Then I’m truly relieved. You don’t look like the sort of person who would enjoy something like this, so I was a little nervous.”
At the joking remark, Gio tilted his head and asked,
“Then what do I look like I would enjoy?”
“Hmm. Coffee personally brewed by a professional barista, perhaps, or an elegant flower tea?”
“I do enjoy those as well, of course.”
“Then I’ll take that to mean you aren’t picky.”
“Every food has its admirable qualities. You are correct, Mr. Seo Seohui.”
As he said that, Gio thought,
‘His childish palate did not change even after he became an adult.’
Apparently, he had yet to appreciate the true flavor of water steeped in burned beans.
In the past, he had even worn the impassive face of a model student while asking why anyone should bother drinking bitter coffee when the world held so many delicious things.
Gio could not tell whether Seo Seohui was serving instant coffee now because of that preference or simply because they were sitting in an Association break…