Old Scar maybe was worth it

As soon as they entered the cafe, it didn't stay quiet for long; it exploded with noise. The conversations, the bickering between them, were like, "I told you to buy strawberry, not the chocolate," "Chocolate was on sale," "That's not the point," "That's always the point." Listening and watching this scene, Se-rin was frozen on her chair, eyes following whatever was happening with both her hands on the mug; it was like she was watching a live sitcom. Five minutes ago the cafe was silent like a library, and now it's energetic and noisy like at a family reunion. The bickering on the other end was still going; the messy-haired man stole a piece of bread and started eating, to which the tall woman saw and hit his hand, and they both started bickering loudly. Jinwoo sighed and said, "It's 3 in the morning. Why are you so loud?" Se-rin's house was empty, and she didn't realize when she had been somewhere that was this lively. A small laugh slipped from her mouth, which she covered quickly. Kang Do-hyun noticed it and moved closer to her apart from the chaos, thinking it might overwhelm her, and asked, "Are you okay?"

She nodded and answered, "It's nice." He nodded and told her, "Let me know when you are finished with the drink; I will make you a new one, on the house." He moved around and removed a few more cups and started pouring drinks; she watched him move again, pure rhythm and the same quiet focus like before. It contrasted so well with the noise that it made her smile; she has forgotten the number of times she smiled here. She told him, "They are loud," to which he just replied with, "Yeah." She said again, "Are you not going to stop them?" To which he said, "There is no point in me trying to stop them." She asked again, "Aren't you the boss?" He glanced at her and then at the skim milk and said, "Not really." Before she could ask again, something clicked in her mind, and she asked him, "Why do they keep calling you captain?" His hand stopped for a second; it was so short that most people wouldn't even notice, but she did. He said, "Ah ... that, we were in the army together." 

Her eyes drifted to his hand, the scar and the rough skin, and the old cuts before Se-rin could say anything. A tall woman came between them, and she looked at Do-hyun and said, "Oi, Captain, are you hiding snacks from us again..." She stopped mid-sentence and looked at Se-rin and suddenly gasped and was about to say something, which Do-hyun noticed, and he spoke first, "Ara, stay professional." The tall woman understood and looked at Se-rin, stuck her hand out, and said, "I'm Choi Ara, the floor manager here and a professional troublemaker." Se-rin shook her hand, and Jin-woo commented, "Unprofessional worker." She kicked him without looking. One by one, everyone gathered, and the messy-haired guy spoke after, "I'm Lee Min-jae. I am the tech support, and all the machines you see here are made by me, and, oh, I am also a victim of bullying here." Ara interrupted and said, "No one bullies you," to which he said, "You just punched me five minutes ago." She didn't say anything. The gentle-looking woman came forward and said, "I'm Han So-yeon. I bake here, and I patch them up when they act like idiots." Se-rin, who was already introduced to the other two, just nodded and looked between them. She was overwhelmed; they weren't treating her stiffly, no fangirling, no gasps, no photos, and said, "I'm Yoon Se-rin, nice to meet you all." She said that and looked at Do Hyun and at his scar, which Ara noticed, and Ara turned to Do Hyun and asked, "Captain, you already told her that we are from the army. Look at her; she is really not amused and was not entertained before we came, so now we will tell her your scar story."

So-yeon suddenly interrupted and said, "Don't exaggerate the story." Before Do-hyun could say anything, Ara leaped over the counter dramatically and sat next to Se-rin and said, "Do you want to hear something idiotic?" Do-hyun warned her quickly, "Ara." She ignored him completely and pointed at Do-hyun and said, "This idiot got the scar because he tried to be cool." Do-hyun said, "I did not." Ara said quickly, "You absolutely did." Min-jae nodded vigorously and said, "He did; it was like a full movie scene." Se-rin leaned forward and asked, "So what happened?" Ara cleared her throat like she was about to narrate an epic tale and said, "Picture this: it's a rainy night, we are on a mission, we moved forward slowly, and right in front of you, you notice the enemy warehouse. We had to wait for Min-jae; he was our explosion guy, but the captain was like, 'We don't have time,' so he got his knife out…" Do-hyun interrupted, "It was a multitool." Ara continued, "Yeah, so a knife, and he goes to open it himself." Se-rin stared at Do-hyun and said, "With a knife?" Do-hyun looked at her and said, "Because someone forgot the breaching charge." Min-jae looked offended and said, "It was ONE time." Ara continued, "Anyways, he is trying to get it open, and the knife slips because of the rain, and instead of the door opening, he opens his arms." 

There is silence in the cafe, and then suddenly Min-jae laughs, and so does Ara, and she continues, "So-yeon looked at him like this is our leader." So-yeon covered her mouth, but her shoulder shook. Do Hyun rubbed his temple and said, "It wasn't that bad." Ara said, "You bled everywhere, and also, to add Se-rin, he fainted." Jin-woo, who was silently smiling, suddenly pointed at So-yeon and said, 'You carried him bridal style. 'So-yeon admitted that. Se-rin looked at him and laughed, head tilting back, a bright and uncontrollable laugh. The cafe that was silent was now filled with laughter and voices. Seeing her laugh, Do-hyun looked at her properly; her eyes were shining, there was no heaviness, no mask. He saw her happy and then looked at her scar and thought that the stupid old scar was worth it. Se-rin said, "You guys are terrible." Ara smiled and said, "Welcome to the team."

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