Work Text:
You were never one to let something as simple as a rush ruin your day (a lie), but there was something about today's shift that took three years off your lifespan. Perhaps it was the Karen three matcha lattes ago, or the fact that one of your coworkers called off last minute, leaving just you and the poor new guy to fend off the rush alone. At this point, you were one more minor inconvenience away from threatening to quit.
As of now, a piece of your soul just died as a group of teenage girls began a heated debate about which drinks to order. Right in front of the counter of all places too.
You yourself began a harrowing mental battle as you tried to figure out the best way to tell these ladies to shut up and order. After all, there was only so much politeness you could spare before an irked eyelid began to twitch against your will. How badly did you really need this job? This barely-above-minimum wage part time job. Your lips pressed into a thin line as you thought about your very expensive hobbies. Yeah... You absolutely needed this job.
Because of this need, you mustered a forced customer service smile as the group's leader shuffled up to the cash register. The smile stayed plastered to your lips as you uttered a sweet "Hi, are we ready to order?"
The girl gave an apologetic smile as she placed the hefty order. Two matcha lattes, one caramel macchiato, and two Dalgona coffees later, you finally handed the last girl a receipt and printed a ticket for the new guy. You had no idea why your manager put the poor guy on drink-making duty when you were a year more experienced and much quicker.
There wasn’t much time to linger on your manager’s poor choices, however. You had to carry on as per your usual. You were too overworked to even give fake assurances to the new guy. Instead, all you could offer was a tired thumbs up and a pat on the back.
As you stepped back up to the cash register to brave the horrors (more customers), you plastered on the typical customer service smile and greeted the next patron.
“Hi, thank you so much for waiting, what can I get you today?” You greeted, not sparing the boy in front of you a glance as you unlocked the POS screen.
“No problem. Could I get a uhhh vanilla latte and ooh! Are those strawberries with chocolate?” The boy asked.
You looked up from the cash register to see what the boy had been talking about. His sparkly, boba-like cat eyes were practically burning as they devoured the display case of sweets. It was hard to believe such wonderful eyes belonged to a boy who looked about your age. How has college not broken his soul yet?
“Yes, would you like to add that to your order?”
He nodded vigorously. The more you looked at him, the cuter he got. A round face, strong eyebrows, high cheekbones. A dimple for days. “How many would you like?”
“What’s the limit before it becomes a health concern?”
You couldn’t lie, his cheery attitude was starting to make you almost enjoy working. “At least a dozen.”
“I’ll take six.”
You quickly input the boy’s order. “Name for your order?”
“Jungwon.” It was a cute, bouncy name. It strangely fit the boy. Jungwon.
“Ok Jungwon, whenever you’re ready,” you said before spinning the iPad around at him. Alas, it was your favorite part of the day, pretending not to notice which tip option your customers chose. Because it totally was not awkward whatsoever. Nope.
The printer jammed. You still hated messing with the tech at work despite being employed at this cafe for at least a year, so you immediately called the new guy for help. Of course you framed it like you were training him to work the printer. Yeah, that was it.
As he fixed it, you stood there, awkwardly apologizing to Jungwon who smiled absentmindedly at you. “How’s your day been so far?”
“I’m suffering.”
Almost immediately, you swallowed your words, not expecting them to come out of your mouth so easily. Where was your sense of customer service? “I uh. I mean it’s going fine thank you,” you spouted only for the boy to laugh. He had a nice laugh and a cute upside down triangle shaped smile that immediately caught your attention.
“I’m sorry to hear that. I hope it gets better.”
It was simple but sincere, and it made you crack your first real smile since you started your shift. “Thanks.” The machine was working again. “We’ll uh call you up when your order’s ready.”
He left you with a goofy little grin and an idea. You slipped him an extra strawberry. Just one. It was nothing fancy.
You hadn’t personally handed off the treat to him as you were still manning the register, but you certainly did hear the boy let out an excited “Yoi!” As he walked away with the box. He quickly turned to you as if accusing you of spoiling him.
You only smiled and waved. “Have a good day!”
~
The next time you saw the Yoi Boy was two weeks later, but you hadn’t even realized it. You never remembered your customers. Not their names, not their faces, maybe their orders. Everyone was just a nameless customer to you. Usually, you never remembered them until the order had already been repeated to you.
This time, you didn’t remember his order. The past two weeks had simply been too busy to be hung up on one positive customer interaction. Your college classes were beating your ass, and they were only GEs in the first week.
Of course there was also your lacking social and romantic life. You blamed it on work. Yeah that was it. If your job wasn’t so busy then you could've finished your homework over your shift, and if you had finished homework early, then maybe you’d have time to date. Yeah, sure, that sounded right. Let’s ignore the fact that you were chronically online, loved to isolate in your bedroom, and had a resting bitch face for the ages.
Your customer told you his order, and you input it. It didn’t hit you until he asked his signature “How was your day?”
On instinct, you said the first thing on your mind: “Suffering.” The customer laughed an ever so familiar laugh that caught your attention. “Oh! It’s you, I’m sorry,” you yelped.
The boy, the one you had started to call Yoi boy, gave you an amused smile. “Is that usual for you?”
“Unfortunately, yeah,” you chuckled.
“Do you think one day I’ll catch you saying something else?” He wondered as he tapped his phone on the payment terminal.
“Don’t count on it,” you replied as you flipped the iPad screen.
“Maybe one day. Oh yeah! What’s the WIFI password?”
You were now realizing the Yoi boy was carrying a backpack with him. Ah, so he was the typical cafe-studier-college-student archetype. You told him the password.
“Sorry, I forgot your name,” you added.
“It’s Jungwon.” That’s right, he was the one with the bubbly name. The Yoi boy’s name was Jungwon.
You then sent Jungwon off only to call him back to the counter a few minutes later. As you made his order, you couldn’t help but notice where he sat: at one of the tables along the middle of the room. It was definitely one of the less ideal spots at your cafe.
A part of you wanted to reciprocate his kindness. Either that, or you wanted to see the cute boy smile at you again. When he came up to retrieve his order, you couldn’t help but comment on his choice of seating.
“If you want the best spot for WIFI, it’s gonna be over there,” you said nonchalantly as you slid Jungwon his box of chocolate covered strawberries. You then pointed to the corner where the windows lined against the wall and let in the bright sunlight. On the side,, sat a decorated wall with leaves and other typical cafe assortments, and a booth-like bench attached to said wall. A row of outlets lined the bottom of the bench.
“Oh really? Yoi!”
“No problem,” you said smoothly, happy to have helped.
“Oh yeah, what’s your name?” Jungwon asked.
You were kind of taken off guard. Customers here don’t usually ask for your name. After all, you were just a random barista. “Y/N.”
Jungwon took a moment to mull over the information. “That’s a nice name.”
A wave of light bashfulness overtook you, and looked away. “Thanks, uh enjoy,” You muttered as you pushed the sweets at the boy again.
“Thanks, Y/N.”
You liked the way your name rolled off the cute boy’s tongue. What you didn’t like was how clear of a view you had of Jungwon. You could see clearly how diligently he studied because it showed in his ever so expressive face. Every time he seemed to come across a hard problem, his dark eyebrows would furrow as he scrunched his nose and widened his eyes at the screen. It reminded you of a cat. It was almost distracting.
You had to admit your little interaction left a happy feeling at the tips of your fingers.
From then on, the Yoi boy was your favorite regular. He came to study often, and he never ceased to ask you how your day was with a hopeful smile. You never ceased to tell him the truth.
Jungwon was often still there by the time you ended your shifts late at night. Your cafe was one of the few that closed later. Someone had to monopolize on dead tired college students who couldn’t bear to study at home.
As you were surveying inventory one final time for the night, you came across the chocolate cake with a frown. They hadn’t been selling much recently, so you’d have to throw these away soon before they went bad.
A blob caught your eye and you looked away from the cake. Jungwon had been coming later and later as of recent. He was always studying it seems. Tonight had finally been the straw to break the camel’s back because it looked like the boy had completely knocked out on the table, computer still open to a random screen of text. Looks like the reading had bored him to sleep.
You checked the clock and then looked at the cakes again. Ss you clocked out, you grabbed a spare slice of chocolate cake and headed over to Jungwon’s table in the corner.
Technically, you weren’t breaching professionalism because you were off the clock. Gently, you set the cake in front of his sleeping head, trying not to notice how soft and squishy his cheeks looked, or how fluffy his hair was, or how long his eyelashes were.
“Yoi,” you said said softly as you gently poked his arm. You hoped he was ok with this.
“Mmmhhmm, five more minutes,” he muttered.
“I guess I’ll just eat the cake myself then,” you huffed playfully.
The boy’s eyes then shot open and he sat straight up. “Is that for me?”
You nodded, adjusting the straps of your backpack. “We had extra, and you look like you need some sugar to wake you up.”
The boy’s eyes lit up and he looked at you like he had fallen in love. Honestly, you would too if someone gave you freebies.
“Yoi! Thank you!” He then noticed your massive brick of a backpack on your shoulders. “Is your shift over?” He asked.
You nodded. “I gotta head home to study.”
“Why don’t you study here?” He offered as he moved his backpack away from the seat across from him.
You almost declined. You hardly knew Jungwon. All you knew was that he was cute, cheerful, and likely a college student. But you also knew yourself. If you had gone home to study then you would’ve wanted to eat dinner, and that would come with watching YouTube. But if you watched YouTube with your meal, you’d get distracted for hours. So you stayed.
“Only if you’re ok with me smelling like dish soap and strawberry syrup,” you said.
“I don’t mind.”
You settled down across from him, wondering how weird it was that you weren’t leaving work despite your shift finishing. As you took out your apple ecosystem, Jungwon let out an astounded “woahhhh.”
“What are you, a rocket scientist??” He asked.
You laughed. “Believe it or not this is for my GE. What’re you studying?”
He turned his laptop towards you and you almost expected a tip screen to face you. You were met with an online book instead. “Also my GE class. Can you tell I’m not good at this?”
“Just a little.” You thought about his endless hours at your cafe. “You’re here quite a lot. You got a test coming up or something?”
He paused, mulling over his thoughts. “Noo, I just like it here.”
~
Jungwon certainly meant that statement. He kept coming and you kept studying together. Sometimes you didn’t even have anything to study, but you kept him company anyways.
It got to the point where you began to look forward to seeing Jungwon every time you clocked in. You’d never seen him outside of work and sometimes you wondered if the boy was even real, or just a figment of your imagination. Yet even if you weren’t sure when he would pop up at your cafe, you knew he would make an appearance eventually.
Jungwon didn’t know your schedule and you could only guess his as he’d appear at random times. For whatever reason, you could be having the worst shift of your life and somehow he’d manage to show up a few minutes later with a bright smile that made your soul light up. You could never stay annoyed after that.
Sometimes he liked to stand at the counter talking to you if it wasn’t busy. Those were the rare occasions where you felt extra special knowing your favorite customer was making an active effort to talk to you.
You learned over time that he was a student at the nearby university, not yours though. His was in the next town over, and you often questioned why he came out of his way to your cafe in particular. Maybe it was the fact that you often snuck him extra treats.
Regardless, you enjoyed his company when he was here. Today had been no different. At least the two of you seemed to pinpoint a day when you knew Jungwon would come in and study, and Jungwon knew you were working. With all other days being wild cards, at least you had Saturdays.
Jungwon had been standing at the counter watching you restock the display case this time. You were silent as you listened to the boy talk about his favorite movie series. Most of the time, you weren’t much of a talker, fearing that all you’d end up doing was complain about your life. But Jungwon was ok with that. There was always a sense that this was never one sided. He would always make up for your silence with his conversation anyways.
He’d asked you about your favorite movies. Although you didn’t have much overlap, it just made him extra excited about convincing you to watch some of his favorites. “You know the third movie’s coming out soon? You should watch the first two. I promise they’re so good, and then maybe we can go watch the third one?” He asked both shyly and confidently. The casual manner in which he had asked you out was so nonchalant that you almost hadn’t processed his words.
Alas, the suggestion fell upon deaf ears as the door opened behind him. You jumped back into work mode as you finished straightening the display case and looked up.
A group of rowdy boys all shuffled in, taking in the ambience of your cafe.
“Hi welcome!”
Jungwon’s face seemed to drop a little at his ignored question. You grimaced a little, wondering how you should respond.
“So this is where you keep disappearing to,” one of the taller boys entering said as the group approached the counter.
Jungwon then looked behind him and you could see him freeze up before turning to the boys with an 0o0 type oh expression. The group of boys all laughed and greeted Jungwon with hugs.
You raised an eyebrow at the interaction. he looked like he had been caught red handed as he shrunk into his shoulders. “Hi guyssss.”
“I thought you said you were too busy studying today,” another boy said with what sounded like a faint Australian accent.
“I-I am,” Jungwon said as he rubbed his nape.
Jungwon was totally lying. He’d been standing at the counter talking to you for at least 15 minutes now. If he was in an urgent need to study, then he made no indication of it.
“Woah they have a mint chocolate shake!” Another one of the boys said as he read off the menu. A chorus of groans and ew’s followed. Even Jungwon made a scrunched little disgusted face.
“Wait guys let’s get drinks here before we go,” the mint chocolate shake boy said.
Jungwon then looked at you shyly, trying to play off his sudden bombardment. “Y/N, These are my friends,” he introduced.
“Ah nice to meet you all,” you responded. You weren’t quite sure what else to do. It wasn’t everyday that you met your customers’ friends.
The boys all seemed to catch on and turned to you with a chorus of ”Hi”’s and overlapping introductions. They all seemed to eye Jungwon suspiciously as he himself was acting extra awkward, hands shoved in his pockets and avoiding eye contact.
You brushed off Jungwon’s sudden shift in attitude as you took all the orders starting with the mint chocolate shake. Upon the last order, the boys all turned to the one with the chiseled jawline, and he responded with a sigh.
The boy’s payment was followed by a chorus of “thank you Jay”s as the group headed over to Jungwon’s table.
You thus set yourself the task of prepping 7 drinks, 3 cake slices, and Jungwon’s 6 strawberries. In your work, you didn’t quite catch any of the conversation that occurred at the table in the corner.
“Jungwon is that the girl you were asking advice about?” Jake asked.
“It has to be, he hasn’t stopped staring at her this entire time,” Riki teased.
“W-what? Nooo,” Jungwon sputtered unconvincingly. His eyes then got shifty as he looked over to you to make sure you weren’t hearing anything. Luckily, you seemed to be occupied, so he let out a relieved sigh. This elected a domino of laughs among the group.
“You’re so cute when you have a crush. I see why you come here all the time. She’s cute,” Heeseung said.
“What?! Hey!” the younger yelled.
“What? You said you don’t like her,” the eldest of the group defended half heartedly.
“Well she’s still my friend.”
“You should invite her to go bowling with us later then,” Sunoo suggested.
“After you do all that studying of course,” Sunghoon said as he patted Jungwon’s completely unopened and nearly empty backpack.
“No…it’s ok,” the boy replied, thinking back to his failed attempt to get closer to the cute barista earlier. He must’ve been noticeably dejected because Jay immediately gave him a pat on the shoulder.
“Jungwon” your voice called from the counter.
The boy lit up upon hearing his name. The group then sped over to the counter to pick up their drinks. They all echoed thanks.
“Wait Jungwon you didn’t order,” Jay noticed as he counted 7 drinks on the counter but 6 drinks on his receipt.
The boy just gave a proud and evil little smug smile as he collected his chocolate strawberries and latte.
“Yoi you get freebies?!” Jake exclaimed.
You laughed softly to yourself and gave Jungwon his items. You ignored the way your fingers brushed against with an electric spark, or the wide boba eyes he gave you, or the knowing glances his friends shot at him.
You also ignored your disappointment as his friends managed to drag him away to hangout for the rest of the day.
~
It was hard for Jungwon to break into your walls. You had built them pretty thick. You were always busy outside of work and almost a little too high strung for a social life. So it was hard for you to consider Jungwon a friend when you had never seen him outside the four walls of your cafe.
One day he got to you though. Just one day.
You had been studying from dusk till dawn the night before for a test in the morning. You then proceeded to butcher the test before hauling your ass over to work because the grind never stops.
Yet over at work, things just couldn’t get any worse. It was a Friday, so there was naturally a rush of students eager to spend their free time at a cute, overpriced cafe. Unnaturally, the rush lasted 5 hours straight out of your 8 hour shift.
Your face hurt from smiling. Your feet hurt from running around. Your back hurt from the lack of support from your worn work shoes. Your hands were perpetually semi-sticky from syrup. Not to mention, you hadn’t eaten in several, several hours.
You couldn’t tell if it was genuinely the customers that irked you or your lack of sleep, but boy did they get to you today.
You spent at least 10 minutes explaining to one customer how your matcha lattes did not in fact come in decaf because you didn’t carry the proper decaf powder. The customer had the audacity to ask why not. It took everything in you not to swing at him on the spot. You gave them all your decaf options but of course they didn’t want a single one. The customer then proceeded to order the matcha latte anyways, effectively wasting your time. You still took it like a champ.
The next was no better. They asked if you could replace the hazelnut in your hazelnut latte with another nut but still make it taste like hazelnut because they liked the flavor but were allergic to hazelnuts. You wished it was a joke, but smiled through the pain anyways.
Somewhere in there, sandwiched between the difficult standouts and the masses of repetitive orders, was your favorite customer. He’d shown up right after you had to explain to another customer about why her expired online coupon from your rewards program no longer worked three months after it had expired.
Jungwon approached the counter with a concerned expression. You felt bad rushing him, but there were more customers you just wanted to get through. As soon as he showed up at the counter with his card out, you shook your head and told him not to worry about it. He gave you a hesitant thanks before heading to his table.
You took Jungwon’s order as a moment to ground yourself as you switched with another coworker at the cashier. Making the boy’s order was probably the only thing that brought you peace in this hectic place. Not only was it easy, but it was natural.
After though, you had to go back to the cashier station. Your manager unfortunately designated that role to only you because you were only one who could still deliver decent customer service under pressure.
After about four more customers, your manager tapped your shoulder and told you to take your break. You had nearly reached your sixth hour on the clock.
You debated sitting in your car for your 30, but you also felt bad for brushing Jungwon off today. So you plopped your sticky self down in front of him. The boy lit up and he immediately closed his laptop to talk to you.
You couldn’t help but notice his phone opened to the Shazam app as you sat. “You know you can just ask me what song is playing,” you said as you rested your head on the table.
He closed his phone quickly. “That’s you playing the music?!” All this time he had been Shazamming song after song and never realized you were the one feeding his new playlists.
You just missed the way his eyes sparkled as he seemed to find yet even more respect for you. “You doubt my music taste?”
He laughed a little. “No, no I promise. I like your taste in music.”
“Mhm.” Your eyes were closing the more you went into this conversation. You hadn’t intended to, but the table was just the right height to sleep, and your playlist had put on a smooth rnb song that lulled you away.
Jungwon was looking at you with that same concern from earlier. You were looking paler than usual, and he couldn’t tell if the darkness under your eyes was from the shadow of your hair and folded arms hiding your face, or something else. He almost couldn’t see them had he not been so focused on your pretty eyes as you lazily looked up at him through your lashes.
“How have you been?”
“Suffering.” You closed your eyes for just a moment so you wouldn’t have to see Jungwon’s sad face. He was an expressive one for sure.
Just then your stomach decided to grumble, betraying your overworked self. You hid your face in your folded arms on the table. That was embarrassing.
“Have you eaten yet?”
You looked at him again, this time seeing the worry written all over his face. He really was such a sweet guy. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
He frowned. “But I wanna.”
Your heart thrummed in your chest and you suddenly felt nervously nauseous. Either that or it was the lack of sustenance in 24 hours. You were finally crashing out.
All you could really manage was a few half hearted “mhm”’s before your eyes completely shut and you knocked out on the table.
Again, it wasn’t your intention. You had actually been hoping to chat over your break. You’d just recently finished watching that movie he suggested, and you wanted to let him know. But of course life had other plans.
You awoke again after who knows how long to your shoulder being shaken awake softly. “Y/N….Y/N,” the husky voice of Jungwon coaxed you out of your nap.
“Y/N, your break is just a thirty, right?” The boy asked.
You grumbled and pushed his hand off your shoulder. “Five more minutes.”
You then felt a package slip into the gap between your curled up arms. Curiosity got the best of you as you sat up to look at the disruptor.
It was a box of Pocky. You looked up at Jungwon to see him smiling softly at you. “It’s not a lot but I think this should help you get through your shift.”
“Oh…thank you.” You felt kind of seen for once, and it made you warm and fuzzy inside. You’d been hiding yourself in school and work for so long you almost forgot what it felt like to be cared for. Because lord knows you haven't been doing that for yourself.
Jungwon’s eyes were so filled with kindness and sincerity, it was distracting you from the pocky at hand. “What are friends for?”
Huh. Friends. You liked that. In fact, you liked Jungwon a lot. As friends. Of course.
You wanted to tell him about the movie now. “Y’know… I finally started watching-“
“Nope! Nope you can’t get me started Y/N!” He said suddenly, holding a finger up at you.
“What?”
“If you get me started then I’ll make you late to work.”
Your heart jumped and so did you. That’s right! You were on break. “How long has it been?!”
“29 minutes,” he replied.
“Shoot!!” You quickly retied your hair and pushed in the chair.
“Wait, you’re missing something,” Jungwon stopped as he grabbed your hand.
“I am?”
“Yes,” Jungwon continued. He then picked up the box of pocky with his other hand and held it up to you while shaking it playfully. “Don’t forget to take care of yourself Y/N.”
Something in that sentence struck a chord in you for some reason. “No promises.” The boy made a cute little scrunched face that made you laugh. “Fine, I’ll try. Thank you.”
You hadn’t even realized he was holding your hand until you let go. Suddenly your hands felt cold and empty.
Sometimes that’s how you felt about Jungwon. This guest-starring character in your life seemed to always bring joy to your day. He always brought a warm comfortable feeling and thrum of excitement to your boring days. But when he wasn’t here, life was cold, and that kinda sucked.
~
You started taking your lunch breaks with Jungwon instead of sitting alone in your, car scrolling through your phone. He talked a lot, about his friends, his dog Maeumi, his university, high school, clubs, movies, anything. And you’d listen. Sometimes you had nothing to share about yourself, and you realized you’d spent most of your young adult life slaving away at some sort of school work, extra curricular, or plain old work.
He never mentioned a girlfriend, ever. In fact, the only girls in his life seemed to be his mother and his older sister. Curiosity got to you one day, and you asked if he had a girlfriend.
The boy got shy and nervously smiled as he looked away. “No one’s really caught my eye before.”
“It’s ok, Jungwon. I’m sure whoever you end up with will be a lucky girl.”
“Have you ever liked anyone before?”
It was your turn to look away. From that, you didn’t catch the disheartened look that danced across Jungwon’s face. “Just once. I dated him for two years.”
“Oh. Why’d you break up?”
“I don’t think he really had the same feelings for me that I did for him. I got tired of being the only one trying all the time.” You started fiddling with your fingers as you thought about it.
“Like how?” Jungwon had been deeply pondering over every word. He began to wonder how someone could fumble you so badly.
“I always visited him at his job and brought him lunch. He’d never come here. I always ate the foods he liked with him but he’d never do the same. He was always first on my priority list but I was never near the top of his.”
Thinking back, perhaps that ex of yours was the start of your romantic isolation. You can’t get hurt if you never give the time of day to anyone ever again.
“What’s your favorite food?”
“Really? That’s what you get out of this?”
The boy laughed at your befuddlement, but didn’t explain himself. “Please?”
“Tteokbokki. Medium spicy because I can’t handle anything spicier.”
“Really?”
“Did you expect my favorite food to be the souls of lost children or something?”
“A little.” You smacked his arm. “Ow! What’d I do?”
You crossed your arms in fake anger. “You know what you did.”
Just then the door opened and a customer walked in. You, being the ever attentive barista that you were, sat up straighter and immediately turned your attention to the guy. But wait, you were on break. Immediately you slumped back in your chair, feeling caught.
“It’s like a super power,” Jungwon commented.
“More like a curse. It’s so bad. You know I’ve had dreams about work before?”
“Really?”
“Mhm. I think in one of them I showed up without pants and worked a whole rush. It was terrible.” You elected not to tell him that you saw him in your dreams sometimes. It sounded too weird. Plus, he never did anything in them. He just stood there talking to you, and you just stood there behind the counter, enjoying his presence.
“Sounds stressful.”
“Well, you know how it is here sometimes.”
“Have you ever thought about quitting?”
“You trying to get rid of me already?” You teased. You didn’t mean it, but a part of you worried about the opposite. If you quit, that meant you had no excuse to see Jungwon. You would’ve asked for his number, but you were too pessimistic to hope for anything more from Jungwon. He could just be your favorite customer.
“No! It was a genuine question,” he whined before blowing his hair out of his eyes.
“Sometimes,” you started as you leaned back. “But I don’t know what I’d do without work. I’m so used to it, I think I’d be even more boring without it.”
“I don’t think you’re boring.”
You looked at him with his sharp yet sincere eyes and his sweet words. “You’re just saying that to be nice, but thank you.”
“Also!” He started again. “Did you see the guy’s shirt?”
You actually did not. Usually you looked at customers as just a body, a dull faceless entity with no meaning other than “customer”. So when you looked at the man, and took notice of his shirt, you were pleasantly surprised. “Isn’t that from-“
“Yeah! That reminded me. Have you watched the second movie yet?”
“No, I haven’t got the time. But I really want to.” Roughly, this translated into ‘I could but I’m always forcing myself to be busy.’
“Awwww man. You have to. It’s so good.” The boy went on to gush on and on about the characters and the action. You got distracted watching his eyebrows and lips moving wildly with his excited narration.
“I’ll try.” That was code for ‘I’ll forget about it in five minutes..’
But Jungwon was persistent. A week or so later, he came in with a peculiar request. And no it wasn’t about his drink. The boy had stride right up to the counter and asked for a favor.
You raised an eyebrow at him. “I can’t sneak you any more strawberries today. My manager’s gonna notice.”
“No, it’s not about that. Can you take your break at 4?”
“Weird request, but sure.”
“Good,” Jungwon smiled evilly and clapped his hands together before tapping his phone to pay.
You went about your shift wondering what the boy had planned for you at 4. At 3:45, Jungwon returned to your counter to order an iced americano. You debated questioning him on the order change, but let it go. A bit after you handed Jungwon the coffee, one of his friends, the one you’d come to know as Jay, showed up with a bag and dropped it off at the table.
Jungwon handed Jay the drink, and they exchanged words before Jay waved at you and walked away.
When 4 hit, you pulled up to Jungwon’s seat where he had been waiting patiently. As soon as you arrived, he pulled out a pair of chopsticks and held it out in front of your face. You looked at him and then the table to see a big takeout container of Tteokbokki.
“What’s this?”
“You haven’t eaten today.”
“Who said?”
Jungwon gave you a knowing look before you gave in and grabbed the chopsticks. “Sit here,” he said, patting the seat next to him on the booth. You obliged, but wondered what he was up to. He looked so proud of himself. His eyes were nearly closed and his cheeks were extra round from his satisfied smile.
The boy had Netflix opened up on his laptop to the second movie of that series he’d been gushing about. “So this is a trap.”
“It’s a very well thought out plan. You said you don’t have time, so let’s make time.”
“And the Tteokbokki?”
“A bribe.”
You grabbed a rice cake as you tried to suppress the urge to call him cute. That warm feeling that you got when you were around him came back in a flood of butterflies. You really liked Jungwon. But you couldn’t tell if it was as a friend anymore. “Thank you Jungwon.”
~
You liked to think that you could keep your feelings hidden, that you could rationalize your way out of destroying your friendship over a simple crush. Jungwon had always been sweet and kind to you from the start, so you could never tell if he liked you or not.
Sometimes his friends would bombard him at his table and they’d talk and hangout. His friends would treat you kindly, like you were part of the group, and sometimes they’d bring up things you swore you’d never told them, like your university. You wondered if Jungwon had told them about you. Or what he thought of you.
When they were here, it was common for them to get quiet and whispery so you couldn’t tell what they talked about. Parts of you hoped it was about you, and other parts hoped otherwise.
Jake had invited you to a group hangout of theirs once. Jungwon was almost hiding behind the Aussie, mostly silent. They were going to an arcade. You declined. Your finals were coming up and you wanted to study more.
You tried to ignore Jungwon’s disappointed face as you declined. It was the same face he had made when he had asked you to the movies a while ago. Perhaps you had made the wrong choice.
It was unfair of you to put work and school first so often when you hated it so much. You rarely caught a break at this job and you could barely understand why you stayed too. The pay wasn’t even that good and the customers often annoyed you to near death. Except Jungwon of course. You were also almost always understaffed. Sometimes it was your fault.
Today, it was your fault.
Today, you came into your shift a soaking mess. It was just one of those days where just about nothing went right. You’d shown up very late to your shift, earning you a write up. It was only partially your fault. Yes, it was your fault for waking up late after studying all night long. Yes, it was your fault for not checking the weather before leaving the house. Yes, it was your fault for not grabbing a coat or an umbrella on your way out.
No, traffic wasn’t your fault. If you had it your way, you’d have broken a few more traffic laws to get to work quicker. No, parking wasn’t your fault either. Despite the rain, everyone apparently decided it’d be a great day to be out and about. Thanks to that, you had to park at the farthest possible space from your job.
Needless to say, you were worse for wear when you trudged into your place of employment looking like a cold, sopping, shivering mess.
Your manager ruined your day just a little bit more with that write up and a lecture about appropriate time management. As if you didn’t show up on time every single shift. The new guy clearly felt bad for you as he solemnly patted your shoulder mid lecture.
But he didn’t look too good himself. The poor lad was looking extra sickly today. He had eye bags for days, sunken cheeks, and a pale complexion to rival a ghost. He clearly needed rest. Too bad your manager could be anal about call outs.
Your concern grew more and more as a rush started. The new guy could barely keep up, and he looked visibly exhausted. He was almost ready to drop. Not that you were any better.
Almost as soon as the rush ended, you told the new guy to just sit down and chill before you handed him a warm tea for his troubles. You didn’t mind tidying up in his place.
“Hey, I think we should send Mark home today. He doesn’t look too good right now,” you mentioned to your manager as you wiped down the counter next to him.
“He looks good to me.” As if the new guy wasn’t teetering and wobbling on his last life.
The door opened and a customer walked in. You immediately switched into customer service mode and addressed the incomer with a well rehearsed “Hi welcome”.
The customer, your customer, your favorite customer actually, smiled warmly as he approached the counter. You quickly tried to finish your argument to your manager, “Look, it’s slow. I’ll stay to finish Mark’s shift for him. I know he has a longer shift. If he calls off tomorrow too, I’ll cover for him.”
Your manager blinked at you a few times. He wasn’t evil. Even he knew how precious your time was to you, especially as a stressed college student. “Ok I’ll let him know he can leave if he wants.” Then he walked away.
You then turned your attention to the boy at the counter. He, unlike you, looked dry and cozy with his oversized hoodie. As usual, his fluffy bangs hung over his eyebrows, and he looked good.
The mere sight of him made you cringe. He should’ve chosen a day when you looked less crusty. You were suddenly self conscious of your founding father style work ponytail, your tired, slouched back, your wet shirt that still clung to your arms, and anything else you could possibly think of. Compared to Jungwon, you were but a wet, stray dog.
“How are you?”
You looked at him, almost smiling at the all-too-familiar word bubbling up. “Suffering.”
“I wish I could help,” He said earnestly.
The new guy walked past you right to the door. He whispered quiet thanks as he made his escape. “I mean…as of now, we’re short staffed. So you could climb back here and start making drinks.”
“I can try, but Jay says I burn everything I touch.”
You gave him a tired smile that told him everything he needed to know. Jungwon could see you were trying. You were trying your best to keep yourself sane, to pretend that you weren't shivering cold, or that you needed to go home and rest just as much as the coworker you had just sent away.
Jungwon couldn’t even be excited as you handed him an extra chocolate covered strawberry. He was concerned about you. He didn’t want you to get sick, and clearly the rain wasn’t letting.
Jungwon stayed your entire shift and into the cold night. Luckily, you weren’t closing, but you still left when the sun had long set and the moon had shown itself. The entire time, you had caught him sneaking glances at you and checking up on you.
On your break, he seemed like he was always on the edge of asking your something. From his face alone, you knew it was just the boy trying to gage if you were looking extra sickly or not. But you didn’t want his pity. You made your choices so you’d live with them.
By the time you clocked out, the rain had yet to let up, and you were vastly unprepared to brave the waters. Despite the rain, you left the cafe without hesitation after waving goodbye to Jungwon. You would have stayed, but you were tired of seeing the four walls of your chosen prison after such a long day. You also had a load of studying waiting for you once you got home.
You, however, did hesitate once you were under the awning outside the building, standing among the soaking benches and dripping plant leaves. The rain looked awfully harsh, and the wind was terribly cold. Your arms were already raising goosebumps as if the ghost of your wet clothes was coming back to haunt you.
In fact, your clothes actually were still very wet. The dishes had gotten to you today. For whatever reason, it was always your stomach that got soaked whenever you were asked to wash the suckers. So your abdomen was very, very much wet. And it was much more cold.
The pitter patter of the rain on the cement was loud, but not loud enough to silence the battle in your head. Today was terrible. If only you weren’t so dead set on getting to work. You would have brought a jacket.
You let the dread settle into your chest as you sighed. This was your life now. You were tired. Immeasurably tired. The stress of your finals, lack of sleep, and dismal self care finally set in. You just had to hold on. At least until finals. Just a little longer.
You took a deep breath and prepared yourself to step out into the rain. You took one tentative step out into the storm. While your shoes felt the cold splash of water pattering on the floor, you felt nothing on your head.
As you looked up with confusion, you saw an umbrella hovering over your head. Attached to the umbrella was an arm, and attached to the arm was Jungwon.
He had himself of that oversized hoodie of his and now held it out for you with pleading boba eyes. “You’re going to get sick Y/N.”
“It’s fine. Keep it. You’ll be cold.”
“Y/N. Please do it for me?”
He gave you this look. You’d seen it a few times when he tried to get his friends in line, but never on you. It was all encompassing. His sharp eyes were serious. They held care, concern, and protection. He silenced you immediately.
You took the hoodie. The fabric was soft, thick, and plush. More importantly, it was warm. As soon as you put it on, it was like you melted. It was like receiving a warm hug from a sheep. No, it was like receiving a warm hug from Jungwon.
Suddenly, you couldn’t hear the pitter patter of the rain anymore. The world seemed to go silent as you looked into the boy’s deep chocolate eyes. You forgot everything. You could barely even remember what had you so stressed to begin with because Jungwon was here now.
Whatever was outside the umbrella he held over the two of you, no longer existed. The rain was nothing but dull background music to the thumping of your heart. The cafe was nothing more than a source of light to tinge his dark hair gold.
His hoodie smelled so much like him, it made you dizzy in a good way. He always smelled nice when you sat with him, but never in a cologne-y way. You suspected Jungwon didn’t wear any cologne, and you were right. His hoodie was just fresh, clean, spring water laundry scent. You wrapped your sweater pawed hands around yourself, feeling the warmth that you’d been missing for too long.
There was this softness about Jungwon. At first you thought it was because he was sweet, like the strawberries he ordered. Then you thought it was because he was cute, like a fluffy cat ready to play. Then you realized it was because he was kind, like all those times he asked how your day was or all those times he brightened it right after.
He had that softness about him now. Often, Jungwon was playful or energetic, but right now he was strangely gentle and more.
He looked at you like you’d never been looked at before. You never knew how badly you wanted to be seen until this moment. The boy’s chocolate eyes didn’t look hungry at all, but rather like they’d just eaten. Like he would never need anything else in life when he had this moment. He was satisfied with himself, seeing you safe and warm.
“Can I walk you to your car?”
“You’ve done a lot already Jungwon.”
“It’s ok, just bring me more strawberries with chocolate.”
You laughed and began your trek. He followed close behind, his shoulders bumping into your occasionally under the small umbrella. You didn’t mind though, he was warm. You almost wanted to reach other and hold his hand, knowing how soft and warm they were from all the fleeting touches you’d exchanged over the past months. “So you’re just trying to extort me now?”
He laughed with that familiar jubilance of his. “Would you be mad at me if I was?”
You shook your head, smiling to yourself as you looked down at the wet pavement. You never realized how pretty the ground was when it rained. The soaked pavement twinkled with the nearby street lights like dancing stars. Despite the rain, it was nice out.
It was almost romantic, like a date. But it wasn’t. You were cold and wet still. Your fingers were still perpetually sticky from syrup. Your arms were still tired from restocking in the back. Your body still needed sleep. You were all too aware of just how crusty you looked and felt. Jungwon was too good to be on a date with you right now.
He was too cute, too sweet, too kind for someone as pessimistic and grumpy as you.
But your weakness had always been yourself. You’d completely missed the way Jungwon gazed down at you like you were the only light in the dark sky. How could you know that you made his heart beat faster than the pouring rain. You underestimated the way your half smiles and weary eyes made Jungwon melt. Or the way your sarcastic comments amused him and made him laugh. Sometimes, it was nearly impossible for Jungwon to contain himself. He wanted to ask you to be his so badly it hurt. He wanted something more with you, but he didn’t know if he’d ruin his chances by pushing it. So Jungwon was ok just watching you from afar, asking for small moments as if you were together. He was okay giving you his all, even if you never asked for it.
“You know what I really like about you Y/N?”
Your heart completely stopped. Could this be a confession? No it couldn’t be. Not when you looked like this. You diverted. “The fact that I give you freebies?”
He shook his head. You’d just arrived at your car all the way at the end of the parking lot. It was the one lone vehicle under the dim glow of the street light. You stood face to face with Jungwon under the cover of his clear umbrella.
“You’re a really hard worker.”
“What do you mean?”
“I feel like you’re always working.” You were sure he was getting at something, but you weren’t sure what.
“Well yes. You’ve only seen me at my place of employment.”
“Nooo not like that.“ he scrunched his face at you like a kitten. It made you want to hold him all the more. “You’re always so…strong. You’re always pushing yourself even when you’re tired. And you don’t have to. You could be mean, but you choose to be kind and put others first.”
You were speechless. You felt like an imposter to your own perception. And here you were thinking you were giving attitude and sarcasm when the boy in front of you could only see you as kind and selfless.
“I saw what you did for your coworker today.”
“Yeah, well he was sick, that's only natural.”
“But you could get sick too. If you overwork yourself.”
“It’s fine.”
“No it’s not.”
Suddenly, Jungwon brought his hand up to your forehead. He was feeling your temperature. It was totally inaccurate because your own body almost exploded at the touch. You forgot to breath for a second. He’d effectively shut you up.
He didn’t seem to find the fever he was looking for and removed his hand. Instead, he gave you a quick pat on the head and dropped his hand. You missed him immediately. You craved him, craved more.
You still couldn’t breathe. Instead, you battled the deep warmth that blossomed in your chest and threatened to spill out from your throat into three words.
‘Don’t say it. Don’t say it. Don’t say it. Don’t say it.’
No, you couldn’t say it. Not when you hands felt the way they did. Not when your hair was practically the founding father’s envy. Not when your feet were killing you. Not when your eyebags could carry a week’s worth of groceries. Not when you smelled like sugary strawberry syrup. You weren’t good enough for Jungwon.
You gazed up at the boy you so desperately desired. You’d just realized now how close you were. And yet somehow the two of you managed to get even closer and closer. He was taller than you, but you couldn’t tell how much because you were too busy finding yourself in his eyes.
You wanted him so bad. Nothing else mattered.
You could feel the heat radiating off his body. You could faintly catch his fresh scent. Like a spring breeze. You didn’t need the hoodie when he stood right there.
Just one kiss. You could mess it up so badly, but you could also be the happiest girl in the world
‘Don’t say it. Don’t say it. Don’t lean in. Don’t lose him.’
Jungwon liked you. You think. You liked Jungwon. You know.
You swallowed down your emotions and took a step back. If you kissed him like this, you’d never forgive yourself. He deserved better.
You just needed more time. You just needed to not smell like fake strawberries. You needed to deserve him. Jungwon’s shoulders dropped and his face softened a little. It was like he knew, but that still wouldn’t stop the disappointment.
Despite it all, you felt strangely light. “Thank you Jungwon.” You went to grab the bottom of his hoodie to hand it back to him, but the boy stopped you.
“Keep it. It looks better on you.”
Your heart leaped. Perhaps this one time you’ll be kind to yourself. “Let’s hang out some time Jungwon.”
The boy’s cute face absolutely lit up with joy. It was a small step but it meant the world to him. He had to stop himself from jumping up and down and running around and hugging you with all his might. “Yoi really?!”
“Really. Let’s finish finals first and then we’ll talk about it. Promise.” You held out a pinky for him, and he wrapped his own pinky around yours without hesitation.
You smiled warmly at him, then opened your car door. “Good night Jungwon.”
~
Things had been different with Jungwon after that. You couldn’t explain it. There was some sort of tension ever since that rainy night. There always unspoken words at the tip of your tongue that you pushed down.
Something had changed for the better.
The gazes that you shared lingered longer. Your shoulders bumped more. The sun was shining more. The world was more vibrant. The swirling deep chocolate you prepared for your strawberries reminded you of him whenever you made it. It was just like his eyes that crinkled in those pretty upside down crescents.
Most important of all, you quit your job.
You had come in one day, dead tired from studying, and were greeted with not only a rush, but an attitude from your manager for showing up late. You were just 5 minutes late because you had to park in the very back of the parking lot again.
To make things worse when you had woken up that morning, it hurt to swallow. Your fatigued body ached and dragged you down, yet you still got dressed and carried on. You’d never called off sick from a class or from work before in your life, but you should have.
Also your period started so that was just great.
You tried your best to keep a good attitude, and you did. It was just your manager who kept getting on your nerves, telling you to work quicker for the rush. At some point, as your cheeks finally gave up smiling and your voice turned hoarse from talking, your favorite customer turned up. For once you wished he hadn’t.
You were suddenly very conscious of yourself again. You wished he wasn’t here to see your downfall. But like usual, Jungwon didn’t care how crusty you thought you looked.
“Y/N…Are you ok?”
You closed your eyes for a second as you gathered the courage to not break down. “Just suffering,” you answered.
“You should take care of yourself,” he said softly as he handed you hand warmers.
How did he know your hands were freezing? Perhaps he could hear your frozen hard fingers clacking against the iPad screen. Your hands melted into the heat, and so did your heart. You made up your mind.
“I have a surprise for you Jungwon.”
“Yoi you do?!”
You smiled a little at him. This one didn’t hurt your cheeks. “I do. But not now. I need to fix up the surprise first. Now shoo you’ll know soon enough.”
He turned around, eyes to the sky as he tried to conjure up an idea of whatever it may be. His long bangs hung over his eyes, ticking his cheeks, causing him to blow it out of his face.
You turned right around and put in a one week notice to your extremely shocked manager. You couldn’t lie, there was a big of a smugness in your words as you finally set yourself free from food service hell. He hadn’t even tried to fight in, just told you he’d likely cut your shifts since you also wanted to study for finals. You were completely fine with that. Even Mark, the no-longer-new guy, stared at you, dumbfounded. As far as he knew, you’d always been a rock at that cafe, coming into work with a perfectly curated customer service smile and a work ethic for the ages.
A weight had been completely lifted off your chest as you went back to your station with glee. You could finish the shift happily, knowing you’d finally get some rest soon. Perhaps you’d ask Jungwon for his number today. You were already planning to ask him to watch the newly released movie in that trilogy that he, and now you, adored. Work place professionalism didn’t exist anymore when you just quit.
Your stomach curled into knots just thinking about telling Jungwon about your new life development. you hoped he would still want to see you even after you quit. Even as a friend.
You were helpless to your wild thoughts the rest of the shift. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t start to wonder what dating Jungwon would be like. How would it feel to rest your head on his broad shoulders? What was it like melting into his warm spring?
You had just began to rehearse your surprise in your head when the door opened. Once again, you jumped into customer service mode, putting on a smile and a positive attitude.
The girl who had walked in was absolutely stunning. With pretty, sharp amber eyes, and long, shiny curled hair, she put you to shame. You felt almost embarrassed to breathe the same air as her with your own messily tied hair and syrup stained apron. Not that breathing air was all that easy when you were sick right now. As you input her matcha latte order, you couldn’t help but notice everything she had that you were lacking.
Comparison truly was the thief of joy, and your shattered, sick body couldn’t fight the robber.
After the pretty girl picked up her order, you couldn’t help but notice that she headed confidently over to Jungwon’s table. You certainly weren’t the crazy jealous type, but your stomach flipped nervously as you watched from behind the counter. You weren’t even dating Jungwon. You had no place to be jealous, but you were.
You tried tour best to not stare as the girl introduced herself to Jungwon and sat down on the chair across from him. You couldn’t read the boy’s expression and that made you nervous.
You also tried to ignore the stab at your heart when you realized the girl was sitting in your seat. Except it wasn’t your seat. You just worked here and sat there sometimes. No one reserved that seat for you and neither had Jungwon.
It was fine. You were fine. the girl beat you to Jungwon’s heart, it was no one’s fault but your own. You should’ve asked for it sooner. Perhaps you should’ve let yourself be rejected sooner so you could get over your little crush.
You should’ve expected this. Jungwon was totally out of your league.
You looked away as soon as you heard the words “could I get your number” leave the girl’s plush lips. You’d heard all you needed to hear. No one could resist that beauty.
You took a moment to shut your eyes and breathe. With every deep inhale, you locked your feelings for Jungwon away. He was a wonderful experience while it lasted. You were ok with things ending like this. You had to be. He was just a customer after all, and you weren’t going to be an employee in a week. You should move on.
You told yourself he deserved better. He was finding better. It’s ok. The Yoi boy didn’t need a girl who could barely take care of herself enough to not get sick. He didn’t need some down on her luck minimum wage part-timer.
As you opened your eyes again to a newly gray world, you noticed Mark carrying a tub of strawberry puree. Recently, the cafe had switched from strawberry syrups to purées. It was better for taste and quality but infinitely more difficult to make, taking time out of your customer interactions to monitor. But you also liked it more. You hated fake strawberry flavors.
“Do you need help?” You asked.
“No, it’s ok just relax. You’re not looking too good right now,” Mark replied.
“Don’t worry about it, here." You grabbed the pitcher right out of his hands.
“Y/N, you should be focused on the stocking display,” your manager spoke suddenly from behind you.
Out of surprise, you turned around and collided with your manager. The pitcher cracked and exploded onto your body, smearing bits of strawberries across your clothes. You gasped and stepped back to survey the mess. It seemed like it was only you who really absorbed the product.
Something bubbled up in your chest and throat and threatened to spill out. It was tears. You didn’t say another word as you grabbed some towels and then a mop to clean it up.
“Y/N let me help,” Mark offered.
You grunted monotonously. “Sorry Mark. Don’t worry, I got this. Could you do me a favor and start with the next one. I’m so sorry, I know you just finished this one.”
He eyed you nervously before stepping away to restart the puree. Your manager had already left to wash the viscous red substance off his hands. They left you alone with your towel, mop, and thoughts.
You sighed, staring at the bits of strawberry splattered across the floor. “Defeated” couldn’t even begin to describe you. Soon, the floor was spotless, but you weren’t.
Your apron was cold and wet as it stuck to your shirt. The texture alone irked you as you pried the strawberry seeped apron off your stomach. The coldness made you shiver and reminded you that your body’s health was already compromised from a cold before.
The customers in the corner of the store were now the farthest from your worries. The manager soon returned with only a few scattered wet spots from where he wiped off the puree with a wet towel. You were beyond that. It looked like a crime scene on you.
The manager gave you a once over and sighed. “Your shift is ending soon. You can go home now if you want.”
You blinked back tears of joy and nodded your head. You needed to get out of here, out of this living nightmare. You were clocked out faster than you could say coffee. The puree was driving you crazy.
This shift has finally broken you. You felt like shit. You felt defeated and ugly on the inside and out.
You didn’t say goodbye on your way out. You didn’t want to be seen in your puree stained mess. You didn’t even want to look at him.
It wasn’t defiance. It was petty jealously. You let yourself feel bitter knowing that Jungwon was not the one who got away, but the one you ran away from.
But you didn’t see how Jungwon’s eyes glued to your figure as you made your escape. In fact, you didn’t see how nervous he looked as the random girl approached him. Or how hard he fumbled his words when he tried to say the seat was yours after the girl suddenly plopped herself in front of him. You didn’t see how he tried to politely but dryly end the conversation as he focused on the mess that was going on behind the counter. You didn’t hear him tell the girl outright that he was interested in someone else. You didn’t see the frown that accompanied his sad puppy dog eyes as he realized how tired and sick you must’ve been feeling. Even as you left, he couldn’t help but worry.
~
You didn’t see him for two weeks actually. By then, you think you’d convinced yourself you were over Jungwon. It was just a fun little event. He was just a short experience. Sure, he brightened your days and made you look forward to something other than the absolutely dreadful cycle of work and exhaustion. But it was also a dream. Just that.
Yet, as you stood at the counter of your old place of employment to collect your last paycheck, you found yourself looking around nervously. You weren’t sure if you wanted to see him or not. He was always on your mind, and you knew the only way to get him out of it was to see him in person. But you were kind of an asshole the last time you were here, and you didn’t know if the sweet soul would forgive you for disappearing.
Mark handed you your final paycheck solemnly. He was the one you spent a majority of your shifts with after all. You kind of regretted not befriending him. But you were always miserable and work focused back then, so you knew it never would’ve happened. “Can I get you anything before you go?”
“Six strawberries with chocolate please.” Jungwon’s favorite.
Your old coworker had this knowing look in his eye that made you cringe. Was it that obvious? “We’re out of them right now, but if you give me 5-10 minutes I can whip them up for you real quick.”
You nodded. Finals were over and you could breathe easier knowing there was no rush to go anywhere. “That’s fine”.
The patio was calling you. No huffs or puffs or plops or sighs followed as you sat yourself down on one of the couches with their back to the cafe windows. The seat cushion sunk in pleasantly as you leaned backwards and took in the view. You’d never really been to the patio before, except to clean it or to come in or leave.
Like the rest of your cafe, it was, to plainly put it, aesthetic. Swirling plants and small trees surrounded the area, wrapped with fairy lights. You never noticed until now. You think they would’ve been pretty at night, but you only saw them when you were unplugging them to close the store. The awning had an industrial aesthetic style black trim with lightly frost glass planes that filtered in soft beams on sunlight. But you’d only remembered it existed when it shielded you from the rain the night you decided you liked Jungwon.
A warm feeling swam through your veins and into your cheeks as you recalled the electricity that ignited between you and your crush that night. The sun’s rays almost mimicked the feeling of being engulfed in his hoodie. But nothing could mimic his sparkly chocolate eyes and gentle hands on your skin.
Ugh, what has gotten into you? You tried to think of something else.
You wondered what your life would’ve been like had you discovered this cafe as a customer and not as a broke, unemployed college student. Perhaps you would’ve also sat here on this very couch, typing away on your laptop while the warm sun bounced off the swaying leaves and danced on your warm fingertips. Instead of your cleaning solution-soaked, pruney cold fingers wiping down water stained tables and picking up straw packaging.
You had to stop living in the what ifs. So you picked up your phone and started to mindlessly scroll through Instagram. It helped to look at memes and whatnot to ease your mind.
From beyond the little plant-fence enclosed patio, a group of boys could be heard from the parking lot. It was a large group from the sounds of it. They were rowdy too, but in a fun way it seemed. The group seemed to be laughing and telling one of them to cheer up.
There was a little irritation bubbling up in you. Had you been a barista here still, you just know you probably would’ve been irritated by the large group. But you weren’t a barista anymore, so you minded your own business. As bad as it sounded, you were glad it wasn’t your problem anymore.
As the group entered the patio, you kept minding your own business and continued to scroll through your phone. Except something was wrong. The group had gone quiet and there was some sort of tension lingering in the air. A shadow darkened over your sunlight. You looked up, confused.
A pair of chocolate cat eyes looked down upon you.
Your own sun-kissed eyes gazed up at your ex-favorite customer. Something akin to relief and apprehension settled into you. Relief that you got to see the Yoi boy one more time. Apprehension that you’d ghosted him and now didn’t know how to proceed.
You were so used to work mode that you also met him with a “hi welcome.” You weren’t working anymore though.
“Hi...”
“Hi.”
A silence followed. You shriveled up in the boy’s intense gaze and looked away. He was probably mad at you. And rightfully so.
“How have you been?” He asked softly. His voice was gentle as always. The soft hum and huskiness of his voice lulled you into a sense of okayness. You were almost excited to answer for once.
“I’ve been okay.” You meant it.
“”That’s good,” he replied softly. “Can I sit here?”
There was no hesitation. In part, you were eager to feel close to him one more time. “Go ahead.”
Jungwon looked over to his entourage by the door. Apparently one look was all they needed to scramble into the shop without another word. He had some darn good friends.
The boy sat down. The two of you had gotten into the habit of not leaving room for Jesus when you sat together. Today was no different. His broad shoulders bumped yours gently as it usually did and his knee occasionally brushed against yours. You were more comfortable that way. You liked the feeling of having him there with you.
“Mark said you quit… Was that the surprise?” He sounded hurt. Jungwon was a cat by all means but right now he had puppy dog eyes that would put real puppies to shame.
Your heart hurt knowing it was your fault. Because it was. Your voice seemed to catch in your throat and it was hard to form the words. But they came eventually. “I’m sorry.”
Jungwon’s eyes softened. Hesitantly, he took your hand in his and his soft fingers wrapped delicately around yours. It was like he always knew what to do to make you melt. Like he looked right into your soul.
Your heart did flips in your chest. You weren’t sure where you were with him but it felt right
“I understand.”
You didn’t deserve him.
As if on cue, that pretty girl from last time strolled through the patio. You couldn’t stop staring at her. “She's pretty,” you muttered. Softly, you slipped your hand out of his grip. Maybe it was too good to be true. You were fine being just his friend. “Did you end up getting her number?”
Jungwon never once stopped looking at you like you were the most beautiful girl in the world. There wasn’t a soul on this mortal plane who could steal his attention away from you. “No.”
You looked away, then back at Jungwon. “Why?”
“I don’t like her.”
He was telling you something with his eyes but you didn’t want to see it. You wouldn’t believe it until he said it. Please stop hoping Y/N. You didn’t know what to respond. It made you squeamish. “Oh.”
You stood up abruptly and startled the boy. “I’m going to check on my order.”
As you entered the sunlit shop, you ran your hands through your hair. Deep breathes. Deep breathes. With warm cheeks, wide eyes, and a pounding heart, you approached the pick up station. Mark had been leaning attentively over the counter, and un-subtly jumped into customer service mode.
“This is too much,” you said. Surprise was evident on your slightly furrowed brows.
“Don’t worry about it. share it with Jungwon.” Sometimes, you forgot that it was Jungwon’s world and you were just living in it. Of course he was everyone else’s favorite customer. How could his cheerful sweet self not be.
“Thanks Mark.”
You turned right around and braved the journey back to your seat with a thumping heart and a bigger box of strawberries with chocolate than anticipated. When you arrived, the boy was talking quietly to himself. His fists were closed and pumped as if he were trying to hype himself up.
You couldn’t help but smile when you set the box on the table in front of you. Jungwon’s eyes sparkled a little at the sight.
In no time, you were bumping shoulders with the boy again. There was an air of excitement about Jungwon now. It must’ve been the strawberries.
You picked one up and handed it to Jungwon first before grabbing one for yourself. You leaned back on the couch, brushing shoulders with the boy in the process. Your eyes were staring straight into the brush in front of you. “I got another job,” you started casually before taking a big bite out of the treat and disposing of the stem.
“Y/N.” Jungwon said softly. He had put his own strawberry down and had completely turned to face you. This must be serious.
“Mhm?” You hummed. Hopefully your attempts to sound nonchalant came out ok. He really couldn’t spring that up on you when you were eating. You almost choked on the melted chocolate before you could swallow it.
“I have a crush on someone.”
You swallowed thickly and turned to him. Your heart was pumping so fast in your chest that it almost hurt.
“Okay?…Who?” You intended to tease it out of him. You don’t know if you could handle an outright rejection or confession.
He was undeterred. “Someone whose always suffering but brings me strawberries with chocolates.”
Your heart burned with electricity. “Are you sure you like me and not just the strawberries?”
He laughed a little. “I'm sure. I really like you Y/N. Really.” Your cheeks finally erupted into a deep shade of red, causing him to laugh even more. “You look like a strawberry right now.”
“Leave me alone,” you whined as you hid your face in your hands. From inside your fingers, you mumbled unheard words.
“What?” Jungwon’s eyes squinted like that would help him hear.
You mumbled it one more time.
“Huh?”
You threw your hands off your red face and looked right at the boy. “I like you! A lot!”
An infinite amount of stars sparkled in his cat eyes. His plump cheeks raised with his triangle shaped mouth as his jaw dropped with delight, revealing the light indent of a dimple. Jungwon’s thick eyebrows raised even higher as if they were floating with joy.
He clapped his hands together and once again met you with chocolate eyes. “Will you go out with me?”
You smiled and flicked his head.
“Is that a yes???”
“Yes. It’s a yes.”
“Yoiiii!!” Jungwon threw his arms around you with glee. Happy little giggles escaped both your lips. You welcomed the soreness in your blushed cheeks as you hid your smiling face in his shoulder. You were acting like stupid little teenagers.
Being engulfed in Jungwon’s arms was so much better than you had ever imagined. You had never felt so light and airy in your entire life. Your heart was floaty and warm and you felt indescribably safe in his embrace. Perhaps this was what love felt like?
He separated, much to your dismay. The boy’s chocolate eyes had that look in them again. The same one from your rainy, streetlight lit night. He hadn’t touched a single strawberry, but it was like he had just eaten. He was full, with love.
“Can I kiss you? Please say yes.”
You felt stupid and high on love. Jungwon could ask you to marry him and run away to another country and you’d say yes. You’d never felt so sure of anything in your life, except the ever present exhaustion of work, and that was saying a lot. Jungwon was undeniably your person.
“Anything you want.”
You were his universe. It was like nothing else existed as he tucked a stray hair behind your ear. Jungwon never stopped looking at you. He was also gazing right into your soul, and you gladly let him.
His hand settled somewhere between your jaw and your cheek, leaving his thumb to brush against your rosy cheeks.
You leaned into his touch as you gazed up at him through your eyelashes. Jungwon leaned down, tilting his head gently. His plush lips grazed hesitantly against yours before you pushed forward and planted a soft kiss on his lips.
The world felt unreal. Your body felt light, like it could no longer hold your soul onto this mortal plane. But Jungwon’s gentle hands held you firmly here in this moment.
You forgot everything but Jungwon as your lips melted into his. His own lips melded into yours as you both deepened the kiss, moving on your own like you had done this a million lifetimes over.
He finally broke the kiss for air. The two of you pulled away, warm and flustered from the surge of electricity that erupted between your bodies.
With heavy breaths and swollen lips, you gave Jungwon that smile that you only ever reserved for him.
A loud flurry of noise from inside the cafe suddenly caught your attention. It startled you and caused you to bump into your boy as the two of you turned to the window behind you.
That’s right. Windows existed.
From within the cafe, all six of Jungwon’s friends practically rioted as they jumped out of their seats and pumped their fists in the air. The one with the thick eyebrows who you knew to be Sunghoon was particularly loud, which was funny because he always seemed so quiet and aloof.
Jake jumped up and down as he yelled a resounding “Let’s gaur!!!” Throughout the store.
“What did I tell you?! He told her straight up and now they’re dating!” Jay announced to another boy.
“Look you don’t know women like I do. She liked him anyways,” Heeseung defended.
“You’ve only had one girlfriend and you only dated her for three months after chasing her for three years,” Riki deflected.
You snorted, hearing the conversation. From behind the group, Mark leaned over the counter and gave you two a bright thumbs up. Wow. At this point it was like everyone wanted you to get together except you.
You hid your embarrassed face in Jungwon’s shoulder as he laughed and ran his hand through his fluffy hair. You huffed and grabbed the box “Eat your strawberries and chocolate.”
He leaned in one more time and planted a soft kiss on your lips. “What was that for?”
“You taste like strawberries.”
~
You were grateful for Jungwon. Had he not shown up to your cafe and asked you how you were doing, you probably wouldn’t have quit. You probably would’ve been miserable for the next few years, holding onto a part time job just because it was easy and you were used to it.
But you found an easier job. And it was much easier to get used to. The people were nicer, and you never once had to finish a shift with sticky hands and a heavy heart.
Getting a job at your university’s student center was quite possibly one of the best decisions you had ever made. The pay was minimum wage, but so was the workload. Realistically, you sat behind a desk and directed the occasional lost student to various offices all day long. Otherwise, you did homework or hung out with your coworkers for hours on end.
The best part was that when you were done with work, you were done with work. The ickiness didn’t follow you home. The exhaustion didn’t latch onto your back and arms and make a permanent stay.
Today, you felt great. You’d ended your shift with a smile knowing that you’d already completed two homework assignments while at work. That left you totally free for the day. Maybe you’d hang out with your cute boyfriend today.
The sun was setting by the time you stepped out of the student center. It was nice out. A gentle breeze danced across some nearby trees before they floated through your hair for a few seconds. A leaf then blew into your face. You laughed to yourself as you peeled it off.
Then, you felt a tap on your left shoulder. You turned left, wondering who was looking for you. Then, you felt a tap on your right shoulder. You turned right, knowing exactly who was looking for you now. One more tap to your left shoulder had you rolling your eyes playfully.
As you turned your head one last time, you were immediately met with your beautiful, beautiful cat of a boyfriend. He smiled proudly.
You couldn’t contain your own smile as you wrapped your arms around his neck. He too wrapped his arms around you before giving your lips a soft peck.
“What’re you doing here? I thought you had class right now.”
“Class canceled. I wanted to see my girlfriend.”
“You saw me this morning.”
“So like a million years ago.”
“Mmmhmm. You’re right. Eternity had nothing on 7 hours.” You let go of the hug and instead slipped your hands into his. The walk to the parking lot would be a long one that was for sure.
“How was your day?” He asked. His shoulders brushed lightly against yours as you walked.
“Chill.” You smiled a little to yourself after, knowing you meant it. “Kinda hungry though. Wanna get curry?”
“Mmmmm no, let’s get Tteokbokki. Medium spicy.”
You eyed him with playful suspicion. “Then I guess we have to get dessert too. I’m feeling strawberries with chocolate.”
You couldn’t resist taunting him with his favorite dessert. And he couldn’t resist leaning down and kissing you right on the lips, still remembering the taste of strawberries, chocolate, and You.