Work Text:
“Hi, what can I get you today?” Haewon asks with her best customer service smile.
“Yeah, can I get uhhhhhhhhh…”
Haewon feels one of her eyes twitch as the guy in front of her drones on, looking up at the menu.
It's a slow Thursday afternoon, right after the lunch rush. The only people who come in at this time are usually unemployed or running errands for their boss, so Haewon figures she should cut them some slack. But she's also tired and she's getting paid minimum wage - her patience runs thinner with every day that goes by.
“Iced Americano, large,” the customer eventually says.
Haewon nods, ringing him up before turning around to make the drink herself. That's another reason why her patience is running thin: her coworker is late yet again. There's supposed to be at least one person running the register and one person making the drinks, not one person doing both.
Jinsol will pay.
The bell above the door rings, signalling another customer coming in and Haewon has to stop herself from sighing too loudly.
“Sorry, I'll be right there,” she says over her shoulder, not really looking at the person.
When she finally finishes the drink and hands it to the tired man, she walks back to the register to find no one there. Did they leave without Haewon hearing?
“Hi!”
Haewon jumps out of her skin as a head pops up over the display case. It's a bright bubbly girl who looks way too awake for this time of day. She must've been bending down to look at the pastries and Haewon just didn't see her.
“I'm sorry for scaring you! Oh my god,” the girl apologizes, wringing her hands.
Haewon must be extra tired because she's starting to think that this girl is really cute. This never happens with customers. They're usually her number one enemy.
“It's okay,” Haewon smiles. “What can I get for you today?”
“What do you usually get?” the girl asks, looking up at the menu.
“Regular coffee, dark.”
“Okay, not that,” the girl laughs. “I'll get a green tea, please.”
“Sure. What's the name for the order?”
“Lily.”
“Lily,” Haewon repeats, writing the name on a label.
“Yes,” Lily leans over, squinting at Haewon's shirt, “Haewon.”
“Uh,” Haewon looks up, not expecting to hear her name from the cute girl's mouth. She likes the way that it sounds. Maybe her lack of sleep is getting to her.
Haewon rings the girl up, about to say how much it is, when she gets stopped.
“Oh nooooo!”
Lily digs around in her bag, searching for something. Then she looks up at Haewon apologetic, nervously smiling.
“I forgot my wallet at home..” Lily looks at her watch, then up at the menu. “I guess I'll just..” she looks at Haewon and points her thumb to the door, “leave.”
“I can pay for you,” Haewon offers.
It's one of the cheaper drinks and Haewon can spare a few bucks for a pretty girl. Plus, she seems like the kind of girl who will never show her face again in a place where she made a mistake like forgetting her wallet.
And Haewon would like to see her again.
“You don't have to do that!” Lily rushes out. “You haven't even made the drink yet.”
“It's okay! It's on the house.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” Haewon smiles genuinely. “Just promise to come back and try whatever pastry you were just looking at.”
“I can do that,” Lily laughs out awkwardly. “What days do you work?”
Haewon is not expecting this question. She freezes in the middle of paying for the order with her own card.
“Me?”
“Yeah,” Lily nods, “I want to be able to thank you next time.”
“I work Tuesday through Friday, 7am till 4pm.”
“That's too early! How do you even deal with that?”
“Coffee,” Haewon points behind her.
Lily stares at her for a beat before breaking out into giggles. Haewon can't help but smile and join in.
“Let me make you your drink.”
About halfway through the short process of making green tea, Jinsol bursts through the door. Haewon watches as Lily jumps at the sound.
“I'm sorry I'm late!!”
“Stop staring out the window and help me,” Jinsol complains, trying to lift up a large bag of coffee beans.
It's midday Tuesday and Haewon has yet to see Lily again. She can't say she's not disappointed - because she is - but she also isn't too surprised. That would be just her luck that the one customer she actually liked won't come in again.
“You can do it, I believe in you,” Haewon says to Jinsol, looking down on her.
“I'll just do it later,” Jinsol gives up.
“Work smarter, not harder.”
“That's my motto.”
The bell above the door rings and Haewon turns her head to see who interrupted her and Jinsol's good banter. Her breath gets caught in her throat when she realizes that it's Lily. She came back.
Wet bangs stick to her forehead from under her raincoat hood and Haewon has to fight back the urge to compliment her. That would be weird. Right?
“Oh, is that your girl?” Jinsol whispers in Haewon's ear. Haewon elbows her in the stomach.
“Hi!” Lily says, a huge smile painting her face.
“Hi,” Haewon smiles back. “Welcome back.”
“Thanks! Look what I brought this time!” Lily takes her wallet out of her coat and waves it around.
“That'll be helpful!”
“Yeah, I thought so too.”
“How was the green tea, by the way?”
“Good! I'm just here for a little snack though. I don't want to spend too much money.”
Haewon already knows that she's going to make a green tea on the house for her. It's cold and rainy outside - Lily probably needs something to warm her up.
“Jinsol,” Haewon whispers. Lily is thankfully distracted by looking at the pastries.
“Yeah?”
“Make me a green tea real quick.”
“Why?”
“Because I say so.”
“Yes ma'am,” Jinsol whispers, rolling her eyes. She still moves to make the drink, even after giving Haewon a hard time.
“What's catching your eye?” Haewon looks over the display case, watching as Lily browses the selection. Lily hums, taking it all in.
“A blueberry muffin sounds good to me right now.”
“Blueberry muffin?” Haewon confirms, putting on gloves.
“Or maybe an egg tart?”
“Egg tart?”
“No,” Lily waves away her thoughts, “let's go with blueberry muffin.”
“Sounds good.”
Haewon picks out a muffin, dropping it into a paper bag. She rings up the older girl, moving slower than usual to give Jinsol enough time to finish the drink.
“That'll be 3,500₩.”
“Cheap!”
Lily taps her card against the screen right as Haewon receives the tea from Jinsol.
“Here you go,” Haewon says, holding up the bag and the tea. Lily looks at the drink with wide eyes.
“I didn't order this.”
“I know,” Haewon smiles sweetly, “it's on the house.”
The older girl looks at her watch and whines before taking the drink and bag, starting to walk away backwards.
“You have to stop giving me things on the house. I'll pay you back some day.”
“You don't have to.”
“But I will!”
Then she's out the door. Haewon watches as she jogs away, clearly late for something.
“Gross,” Jinsol whispers in Haewon's ear, making her jump. Haewon leans up against the counter, looking smug.
“You just wish you were as smooth as me.”
“Haewon, you're about as smooth as sandpaper. She's just more of a mess than you are.”
It's Jiwoo's birthday and Haewon has decided to switch her shift so that she can make it to the party. She in no way was forced to by Jinsol. She's sad about missing out on a few extra meals worth of money, but she loves her friends, so she can't really complain.
She's currently playing Mario Kart against Kyujin and winning by a lot. Kyujin grunts from her spot on the floor, whipping around her controller wildly with each turn.
“Unnie,” Haewon hears Jiwoo call, “can you get the door?”
“I'm in the middle of a race. Give me a minute.”
Haewon only has one lap left in the race. Surely the mystery person at the door can wait. Haewon didn't even hear anyone knock - though she is a bit distracted.
“Unnie,” Jiwoo whines.
“Yeah, unnie, go get the door,” Kyujin says from her spot in second to last place.
“Fine.” Haewon pauses the game, making Kyujin groan.
“Just let me win.”
“No,” Haewon teases.
She walks to the door, laughing to herself for her evil plan of.. pausing the game. Maybe it's not that evil. But she's not going to give up on her first place streak. She swings the door open, still thinking about the game.
But that quickly changes and her face turns into one of surprise.
“Oh, hi,” Lily says from the hallway, also surprised.
“Hi.”
“Am I in the right place? This is Jiwoo's place, right?”
Haewon blinks at her a few times before stepping to the side, letting her in.
“Yeah, yeah it is. Sorry. Come in.”
Lily steps in, smiling at Haewon as she passes by her.
“Let me take your jacket,” Haewon offers.
“Thank you!”
The younger girl helps Lily out of her jacket and feels a sweet sensation in her heart as the flowery smell of Lily’s perfume washes over her. She sort of feels like she's moving around automatically, still processing the fact that her favorite customer is here and she knows Jiwoo somehow.
“Kyujin, you can unpause. I'm done,” she says absentmindedly, following Lily into the kitchen area where Jiwoo is.
She watches as Lily approaches the birthday girl, wondering how this even happened. How does she even know Jiwoo? How long has she known Jiwoo? Why haven’t they met before? Could they have been friends for years and she just missed out because Jiwoo never introduced her?
Her eyes move over to Jinsol's, who’s also looking at Lily in confusion. Well, at least she's not the only one who's confused.
“Jiwoo!” Lily announces, holding her arms out. Jiwoo turns around at the sound, her face lighting up with joy.
“Unnie!” Jiwoo replies, going for a hug.
“Wait, how do you two know each other?” Jinsol interrupts, popping a cherry tomato into her mouth.
“What?” Jiwoo is mid-hug, looking at Jinsol like she just said something stupid.
“I'm just asking how you know each other.”
“Why?” Jiwoo narrows her eyes.
“Why?” Jinsol looks over at Haewon for support. “She's a customer at our cafe. I didn't know you knew her.”
“Oh!” Jiwoo relaxes, letting go of Lily. “She's the unnie I've been telling you about - the one who has been helping me with my papers.”
“I thought you said that she was way older than you.”
“She is,” Jiwoo tilts her head. “She's a year older than Haewon.”
“I'm not that old..” Haewon mumbles.
Yoona barks out a laugh from the corner of the kitchen. The sound makes Haewon jump - she didn't even realize she was there. Lily shuffles away from Jiwoo, moving to stand next to Haewon, clearly not wanting to be in the middle of whatever this conversation is going to turn into. Haewon isn’t even paying attention at this point, she can only focus on Lily standing next to her. She feels her body buzz in excitement from the proximity.
“Three years older isn't ‘way older,’ Jiwoo,” Jinsol argues.
“Oh my gosh, who cares?”
“I do! It's rude. Apologize to her.”
“You don't have to do that,” Lily waves her hands around, laughing awkwardly. Haewon can tell that she's trying to defuse the situation.
“See, she doesn't even care!” Jiwoo points out.
“She does, she's just being nice.”
Haewon watches as Yoona's eyes flick back and forth between the two, enjoying the drama.
“Ugh,” Jiwoo turns to Lily. “I'm sorry for calling you old, unnie.”
“It's alright,” Lily smiles.
“There. Are you happy?” Jiwoo turns back to Jinsol, hands on her hips.
“Yes,” Jinsol answers, popping another cherry tomato in her mouth.
Haewon wants to get out of the tense situation, back to the comfort of the living room. She turns her head towards Lily, trying not to be shaken up by how close she is.
“I'm going to go,” she whispers to the older girl, pointing towards the living room. She’s hoping that Lily will follow.
“I'll go with you,” Lily whispers back, answering Haewon’s wishes.
The two start heading away silently, while Jiwoo and Jinsol continue to bicker.
“Why were you so suspicious of me asking how you two knew each other?” Jinsol asks.
“Oh my god-”
Haewon never considered herself a lightweight, but she feels like she might've turned a new leaf tonight. She's not even halfway through her drink, yet everything that Lily says seems like the most interesting thing in the world. Sometimes, it's the funniest thing in the world. She really can't keep her eyes off the older girl.
“You're staring,” Yoona whispers in her ear, from her seat next to her on the couch.
“I know.”
It's embarrassing, but she feels like she can't look away. Lily is on the other side of the couch, telling some story about how annoying her boss is. Really, it's a banal story, but something about Lily makes it fun.
Lily meets her eyes in the middle of the story, checking to see if she's listening. She's not expecting Haewon to be listening quite as intensely as she is. It makes her choke up a laugh in shyness before continuing the story. Haewon can feel a smile grow on her face.
It’s honestly funny to her how immediately infatuated she is with the girl.
Haewon corners Jiwoo after the cake is presented and everyone has settled down a bit.
“Hey,” Haewon whispers to her. “Do you know if Lily is dating anyone?”
“No, I don't know, but I don't think she is,” Jiwoo says, before leaning in closer as if to tell her a secret. “She likes Taylor Swift, though.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“It means that there's a high chance that she's straight. Sorry, unnie.”
“Gay people like Taylor Swift too.. right?”
Jiwoo shrugs, taking another bite of cake.
“I'm just warning you.”
Haewon crosses her arms, frustrated. To be honest, Lily never read as obviously queer. Maybe Haewon's barking up the wrong tree. But she shouldn't give up right away based on stereotypes of fans of one musical artist that she likes.
“Lily-unnie,” Haewon asks across the room. Lily looks up from where she was scrolling on her phone.
“Yeah?”
“What's your favorite movie?”
“Titanic!”
“Shit,” Haewon swears under her breath. “That's a really straight answer.”
Haewon doesn't see Lily again until two weeks later, when she walks into the cafe on another rainy day.
“Hello!”
“Hi,” Haewon smiles warmly.
If she's being honest with herself, Haewon is regretting letting Jiwoo get into her head the last time she saw Lily. She ended up avoiding her for the rest of the night, just watching her from afar like a weirdo.
“How have you been?” Lily asks, her smile reaching her eyes. Lily must not have been bothered by Haewon's staring if she's being nice like this.
“I've been okay,” Haewon shrugs. “I missed you last week, though.”
Lily lets out an awkward, nervous laugh that hits Haewon right in the heart. If this is how she's reacting to light flirting, maybe Jiwoo was wrong.
“Ah, I'm sorry. I've been busy at work,” Lily says while tucking some hair behind her ear.
“Tutoring?”
“No, no. That's just for extra money. I work at a local record store a few blocks away.”
“Oh, yeah? Which one?”
“Slingshot Records. You should come by some time!”
“I would love to! What days do you work?”
“Weekdays 1pm-8pm, weekends 10am-8pm.”
“Weird hours.”
“Weird owner,” Lily shrugs. “He likes to sleep in. He only opens earlier on weekends because that's when we're the most busy.”
“I can try to come by Monday, if that works with you.”
“That would be great! I'll look forward to seeing you. Oh! I should get together some records for you.”
“But you don't know what I listen to,” Haewon laughs.
“That doesn't matter! I can put together some that remind me of you. I think that'll be nice, no matter what your taste is.”
Haewon's heart warms at even the idea of the gesture.
“It would be.”
“Cool! I'll see you then!”
Lily starts to walk away before Haewon calls out to her.
“Were you going to order anything?”
“Oh, right!”
Haewon decides to drop by the record store after dinner, hoping to stay long enough that she can offer to take Lily home. She's not expecting anything - she just wants to spend more time with her, maybe show off a bit. But her confidence wanes as she stands outside the store, nervous to see Lily at her place of work.
It's scary, going out of your way to visit someone. It feels vulnerable. But Lily offered and Haewon itches to see her. So, she takes a deep breath and steps in.
The record store is quaint, to say the least. It's bigger than Haewon expected from the small space it takes up on the street, but not that much bigger. She wonders how it makes enough money to stay afloat - it seems like she's the only customer in there. She doesn't even spot Lily - there's no one standing behind the counter in the back of the store.
She checks her watch, making sure that she didn't arrive too late. Lily did say it closes at 8pm, not 7pm, right?
“Oh, Haewon!”
Haewon looks up to see Lily walking out from behind a curtain in the back, holding a few records.
“Sorry, were you waiting long?” she asks, putting the records somewhere behind the desk.
“No, I just got here.”
Haewon makes her way over to the counter, trying to seem casual and not nervous at all. She hopes that it's working.
“Oh, good. I was worried when I saw you just standing there.”
“I thought maybe I had the time wrong and the store was actually closed.”
This makes Lily giggle, which makes Haewon's heart flutter wildly in her chest.
“No, we're just not very busy on weekdays.”
“Right,” Haewon leans on the counter, looking up at the girl. “So, where's my mixtape?”
“That would've been a much better idea!” Lily gasps. “Instead, I have to fiddle with a bunch of records. Why didn't I think of that?”
“I like the record idea. I’ve been looking forward to it.”
“Really?” Lily's eyes sparkle in happiness.
“Yeah, really,” Haewon smiles back.
“Well, follow me. It's in here.”
Lily walks behind the curtain again and Haewon follows, making her way past the counter. Inside the little hidden room seems to be a listening station. A record player sits on a table in the middle of the room with a few headphones hooked up to it. A couch and a few chairs surround it. It's comfy. Haewon likes the atmosphere.
“Sit,” Lily instructs, patting the seat next to her on the couch.
Haewon sits down, close enough that their arms brush against each other. Sure, she has the rest of the couch to sit on, but she'd rather be closer to Lily.
“Okay, so I'm starting out with this,” Lily reaches to the side of the couch and pulls out an album.
“Otis Redding?”
“Yeah,” Lily stands up and takes the record out, putting it in the player. She unplugs the headphones and adjusts the volume before putting down the needle and turning the machine on.
“Specifically, Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay. It's a bit of a cheesy one since it's his most well known song, but something about it just reminded me of you. I think it's a very introspective piece and you seem.. introspective.”
Haewon listens to the song, trying to pick up any English that she recognizes. It's a nice song, it sounds calm and warm. She's honored that Lily was reminded of her through this song.
“What's it about?”
“It's kind of just a song about doing nothing. Choosing to sit and watch the world go by as you take it all in - but in a good way. Like, appreciating the world around you.”
“That's nice.”
“Isn't it?”
Haewon takes it all in, trying to understand how Lily sees her. She guesses that she didn't come off like a dork like she was worried that she would. Maybe, she even seemed cool.
The song finishes and Lily gets up to switch it out. When she puts the next album on, she skips to a certain area on the record, like she knows right where the songs start and end.
“Okay, this one is a little silly,” Lily laughs as she sits back down.
The song starts playing and a fun, catchy, almost groovy song starts playing.
“This one is by a group called Shonen Knife. They're a Japanese punk group but they also make pop songs like this.”
“What's this one about?”
“How they want to eat chocolate a lot.”
Haewon laughs loudly at Lily's answer, her heart feeling light. Lily joins in, aware that the answer is stupid.
“Hey, I told you it was silly.”
“How does this remind you of me?” Haewon laughs out, a bit shocked and delighted.
“I heard from Jiwoo that you're quite the jokester. I haven't seen it personally, but when I found that out, I thought of this song. A bit silly, but in a way that feels.. familiar? I'm not sure I'm describing it right. Warm, I guess.”
“I think I get what you mean.”
The song ends shortly, and Lily gets up once more.
“I didn't have that much time to prepare, so this is the last one, but if you come again next week, I can show you more.”
“That would be fun.”
“Yeah! And I think I'll know you better just from being with you today. Maybe this can be a weekly thing.”
“Can I choose some that remind me of you?”
Lily freezes in the middle of trying to move the needle to the right spot on the next record. It only lasts a split second but Haewon notices.
“Sure,” Lily replies, quieter than anything she's said so far.
The next song starts and it feels familiar to Haewon somehow. When Lily sits back down next to her, she realizes that the older girl is fidgeting a bit.
“This one is a bit embarrassing,” Lily admits.
“What is it?”
“You don't know this song?” Lily turns to Haewon with a surprised look on her face.
“It sounds familiar, but I can't say I know it off the top of my head.”
“Oh,” Lily looks away, clearly shy. “It's Something by The Beatles.”
“That's why it sounds familiar. My family never got into them, so I don't know their stuff too well, but I'm sure I've heard this one around.”
“I wouldn't be surprised.”
“What's this one about?”
“Well,” Lily slaps her hands down on her lap, taking a large breath. “It's a love song. It's about that feeling you get when you know you love someone. You're not sure if it'll work out, but you're sure of your feelings, so you try.”
This makes Haewon's heart beat wildly in her chest. She can feel herself blush as she stares at Lily. She almost doesn't want to ask how this made her think of her. If it's what she wants to hear, it'll be too much. If it's anything other than what she wants to hear, it'll be disappointing.
So she doesn't ask.
“It's a nice song.”
“It is,” Lily says softly, looking over at Haewon. “It's one of my favorites of theirs.”
Haewon doesn't know the group too well, but she thinks it might be one of her favorites, too.
“Thanks for walking me home. I'm never too fond of walking back alone at this time of night.”
“Of course,” Haewon replies. She almost offers to walk Lily home every night - she's free at the time she gets off work - but she thinks that might be too much.
It's chilly outside as Haewon and Lily walk the streets of the city, but Haewon feels incredibly warm inside. The time that she just spent with Lily almost felt like a first date - it makes her want to ask her out on a real one.
“I had a nice time with you today. Thanks for visiting,” Lily says, looking down at the ground with a smile.
“Me too. Is it okay if I come next week too?”
“Yeah. I offered, didn't I?” Lily looks over at Haewon, a smile still on her face.
“I just wasn't sure if you were serious-”
“I'm serious - it would be nice. I would like it.”
“Okay,” Haewon reassures.
She knows that she must be looking at Lily with the softest face, but she can't help but feel soft and mushy around her. It's a bit embarrassing, but she's not sure she'd have it any other way. She loves the way she feels around the older girl.
“This is me,” Lily announces, stopping in front of a building.
“Oh.”
Haewon can't help but be disappointed. She thought that the walk would be longer - she doesn't want the night to end. It'll be hard to go back to her empty apartment after this.
“Hey, can I have your number?” she asks, hoping that texting the girl will at least make her feel better. Usually she would be nervous asking this from a pretty girl, but she's a bit desperate for more time with Lily.
“Oh my gosh, I can't believe I never gave it to you earlier!” Lily digs through her bag and pulls out her phone, opening her contacts. “Here.”
Haewon puts her information in, polar bear emoji and all, and hands the phone back to Lily. Their fingers brush as the phone is handed off and Haewon feels it from the tips of her fingers straight to her heart.
“Don't forget to text me, okay?” she says, trying to ignore the feeling of wanting to move closer.
“I won't.”
The two stand in the doorway of the apartment building, neither making a move to leave. Haewon really should start to head home, but her heart longs to stay with Lily as long as she can.
“I should probably go,” Lily points to the door, but doesn't move.
“Right, yeah,” Haewon nods, taking a step back. “I should too.”
“Before you do.”
Lily leans over and kisses Haewon on the cheek. Haewon stands there, flummoxed by the move.
“Okay, bye!” Lily rushes out, retreating into her apartment building.
Haewon still stands in the doorway, frozen in place. She can still feel the trace of Lily's lips on her cheek. It makes her feel giddy like a teenager and she can feel a large smile breaking out on her face. When she finally starts moving again, she feels her phone buzz.
hey, this is lily! sorry for doing that haha
Haewon quickly types up a reply as she walks to the nearest bus stop. She feels like she's walking on air.
it's okay, I liked it. I wouldn't mind if you did it again
haha yeah?
yeah. though maybe next time I should return the favor
fjhfdjkfcxchhddv
The cluster of English letters confuses Haewon and she stares at the screen, trying to decipher them.
sorry. I would like that too. maybe when I pick up my tea tomorrow?
there's nothing I'd like more. in fact, I'll even give you a discount. one tea for a kiss on the cheek
LOL
technically, I haven't paid for a single tea since you've been giving them all to me for free, so this would actually be an upcharge
but I guess I'll oblige