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The first thing she noticed when she pushed the door open was the music. Some rock band was blasting over the speakers, muffled by the awful sound quality and a symphony of bird chirps.
This was not how she envisioned her Tuesday morning.
Minju initially resisted her brother's pleas to take care of his fish. Apparently, he was going on some trip for a month as a "last hurrah with the boys" (she was pretty sure one of them was just moving an hour away) and begged her to housesit for him. It was the middle of the semester, she'd signed up for more shifts at the cafe, and she'd never successfully taken care of anything before, so she refused at first. However, after a few more weeks of pestering and a promise to pay for a game skin she'd been eyeing, Minju relented.
The fish didn't seem to like her very much, though. They always darted away when she approached, and the flakes she scattered always sat uneaten on the tank floor. After consulting the textbook of a care guide her brother left behind, it turned out the only way to lure them out was some fancy brand more expensive than her own lunch that the fish were hooked on, and that her brother had just run out of.
One Google search later, she found herself at Fur-tastic Finds. It was an old building for sure, with tile flooring and yellow walls and tight aisles lined with food, cans and cages. But colorful posters for craft markets and dive bar shows littered the storefront window, and the displays were well kept. There was no one at the front counter, though a bunch of papers and a set of keys with an unthinkable amount of keychains sat unattended next to the cash register. Never mind, she could figure this out.
The aisles were more compact than she thought, needing to weave through cardboard boxes full of stock, but Minju was admittedly impressed by how much selection they managed to fit in this tiny store. She didn't even know that there were this many types of cat to give food for. Handwritten signs so neon that she couldn't help glancing at them scattered along the aisle, often decorated with a doodle of a dog, cat, or whatever animal begging her to take a look at their two-in-one deals. A few of them were a little unfortunate looking, but in an endearing way, and she snuck a picture of a rabbit with eyes that drifted a little too far apart.
Soon, the girl heard the hum of multiple water filtering systems, and she turned the corner to a wall of fish tanks. A few of the fish looked very similar to the one's in her brother's tank, and she couldn't help but crouch down and peer at the little critters. A school of shiny, gray guys darted around the tank, weaving around medium sized goldfish.
Out of the corner of her eye, a fish peeked out from a coral hide, and she watched as it eagerly nibbled at the floor. It was slim and covered in black spots with an iridescent sheen underneath that glimmered with each movement, with tiny whiskers that scavenged along the surface.
"Cute," Minju exclaimed to no one in particular, watching as it suddenly zipped up and down the tank walls.
"I think he likes you." A voice suddenly exclaimed from behind. It was soft with a hint of amusement, but she almost knocked over a few cans of fish food as she whirled around.
What Minju saw was maybe the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen, with sparkly eyes and an easy smile and strands of gelled blonde hair that daintily framed his face. He looked at her from behind a set of wide rimmed glasses, hands behind his back and head cocked prettily to the side. Minju's stomach twisted.
The beautiful boy was also much closer than Minju thought, less than an arm's length away, and the air heated up in the shop as she fumbled to gather her thoughts.
"What?" she asked dumbly. It was no use, her brain had purged everything to focus on the boy's plump and slightly parted lips. The blonde simply flashed another grin, but this time his eyes crinkled up, and Minju's heart squeezed. In her head, she cursed her past self for only throwing on loungewear and a hat to hide her second day hair.
"The corys. He started having the zoomies right when you came over," the stranger repeated, now looking fondly at the fish. Honestly, Minju only understood half of what he just said.
"Sorry, I'm just here for fish food, I don't know anything about fish." The boy's face twisted up in confusion, and yeah, hearing it out loud, that didn't make any sense. "I mean, I'm fish sitting for my brother."
A look of surprise flashed across his face before his grin spread into a full on beam. Before she knew it, the blonde crossed him arms against his chest, leaning so far forward she was afraid he'd fall. He looked...giddy?
"What kind of fish?" the boy questioned, literal stars glimmering in his eyes. His face was so eager she could imagine a tail wagging behind him, and his gaze was so intense that Minju was starting to feel embarrassed.
"Well, a few of them look like those," she started, pointing to one of the tanks and feeling a little self conscious when the stranger followed her finger with laser sharp focus, "and a bunch of them look like those super shiny ones up there."
"Guppies and neon tetras," the blonde mused under his breath, nodding his head, "Very compatible."
"Yeah, those guys," Minju hummed, squinting her eyes to make out the signs taped on the front. She should probably remember those.
"Maybe you should get more?" Minju snapped her head back, and the boy gazed back at her with that same giddy look. It was then she noticed the apron branded with the store's name tied around his waist, and a name tag littered with stickers reading Leehan. So this stranger worked here. Was this some business strategy? Hire the most breathtaking man and then have him rob her blind?
The boy, Leehan, pointed towards the fish that she was looking at, who had calmed down and laid docile on the tank floor.
"His name is Cory. He's a corydoras, a bottom feeder, and he gets along really well with guppies and tetras, the ones that you have. He's really friendly and outgoing, and really funny too," Leehan appealed, pawing at the tank with his finger before pausing to think, "Though I guess you'd have to get five more so he isn't lonely."
She should of refused, but it was too late to say no now; before she knew it, he had a thousand yard stare, as if he was already planning the future of his and her brother's fish in his head, and there was no way Minju was going to be the one to burst his bubble.
While he was distracted, Minju had a moment to take in the boy; on his pants, a bouquet of keychains dangled from his belt loops, making a clacking noise whenever he shifted. Some fish charms cut from fishing lures were sandwiched in between an earbud case and library cards, and the sticker on his name tag were almost all marine themed.
"So I'm guessing you like fish?" Minju observed, trying her best to hide her amusement, and the boy snapped out of his musing to follow her gaze to his fish memorabilia.
"Busted," retorted Leehan as he gave her a shrug, pursing his lips to hold back his own smile, "People think fish are just beginner pets, but they all have their own personalities and are really rewarding when you put in the effort to treat them right."
"Personality?" The most she'd gotten out of her brother's fish was them darting away whenever she approached. The doubt in her voice must of been obvious, because the part timer exhaled sharply out of his nose, looking as if he'd just accepted some sort of challenge.
"Here, let me show you something."
He stepped forward towards the tank with Cory, and without warning, stuck his hand into the water. For a few seconds, they both watched as nothing happened, the fish ignoring him in favor of the scraps on the floor. Minju was thinking about how the hell she got here when Cory, or another fish that looked a lot like him, started to bump up against Leehan's hand, nibbling at his hand and following it around as Leehan started to sway it back and forth in the water.
"Look, he follows me around!" For the one demonstrating, Leehan looked amazingly in awe, almost face flat against the tank, and she couldn't help but think it was devastatingly adorable.
"Cute," she agreed. Leehan lit up, but she didn't mean the fish.
"Leehan!" Suddenly, a shout rung out from the front of the store, and the blonde pulled his arm out and straightened his posture. "Stop spending all your time in the fish section and finish stocking the shelves!"
He turned to her slowly, wide eyed and beautiful, and her knees nearly buckled underneath her when he shot her a bashful smile.
"I gotta go," Leehan whispered, bumping their shoulders gently, "but I don't trust my babies with just anyone, you know. Ask your brother to consider it?"
Once again, she was in no position to consider it, but one look into his hopeful eyes and every racing thought in her mind went blank, so Minju nodded.
The boy shot her one last breath taking smile, then hopped away, and it was like a whirlwind came it and went as her heartbeat calmed and she caught her breath.
It was only after leaving the store and already halfway to home that she realized she forgot to buy any fish food.
-
"Yeah, so the train was delayed by 5 hours, so we had to lug our stuff back and everything."
"Wow, that's crazy. Hey, have you considered adopting some more fish?"
"...Huh?"
-
The moment the bell chimed above her again, Minju realized how dumb she must look. Ever since her visit yesterday, she couldn't even look at the tank without thinking about the beautiful boy at the pet store, and how it was only a ten minute walk to see him again. But the fact that she was so overwhelmed by a boy that she forgot to buy fish food was too much embarrassment for one day.
Unfortunately, the day had passed, and she really didn't want the fish, the guppies and tetra, to starve to death. So now she was here, trying to ignore how excited she was to see someone she'd spoken to for five minutes total.
It was quieter in the shop this time, no over distorted guitar blasting over the speakers. Instead, the familiar melody of a top 50 song strummed throughout the store, and the birds clearly sounded less excitable than last time. This time, she'd made sure to put on a sleek jacket, and half of her morning was spent meticulously styling her hair. Minju was prepared this time; no matter how irresistibly handsome Leehan looked today, she would be cool and collected.
But instead of Leehan, a sharp looking man stepped out of the aisles, decorated with piercings and jet black hair. Minju would have felt intimidated if not for the large earred bunny nuzzled in his arms, clearly feeling drowsy as he massaged circles into its forehead.
"Welcome to Fur-tastic Finds, do you need help with anything?"
"Yeah, er, I was actually here yesterday, for some fish food."
"Oh, the girl Leehan hounded, right?" The dark haired boy gazed at her with a curious look that she couldn't exactly place, but she decided to ignore it.
"Uh, yeah, that's me." Did Leehan talk about her? Her heart fluttered in her chest at the thought.
"I'm Taesan. I'd shake your hand but," he nodded toward the bunny, "He's off today, but if you ever come again, feel free to shut him up about the fish. I can't believe he talked so much you couldn't even get your food."
Oh, he was off today. Minju tried her best to mask her disappointment, but she could feel her shoulders droop a little.
"Will do," she replied, even though she would never dream of doing anything of the sort.
Would it be too obvious if she left right away? Something told Minju that this Taesan guy was a little too perceptive.
Shooting a polite smile, she instead made a beeline towards the fish tanks, using the route that she'd become so familiar with after replaying the first encounter over and over in her head. Sadly, no Leehan for today, but at least she could get that Michelin star fish food without interruption.
Well, maybe she was too overconfident, because the girl spent the next ten minutes digging through shelves of stock to no avail. Who knew that fish food was this complicated, and who knew that a store called Fur-tastic Finds would be so well stocked with fish supplies? Though Minju had a guess who was responsible for that.
After an embarrassing amount of time, she finally found the brand of fish food at the bottom most shelf, hiding behind a stack of unpacked boxes. Fish food in hand, Minju took a second to pause in front of Cory's tank. There were a few fish out this time, and she frankly had no idea who was who.
"We could be friends, right?" she mused to none of them in particular. None of them reacted, though they didn't dart away, which gave her the slightest sliver of confidence.
"You're back!" exclaimed a familiar voice, the one that was replaying in her head for the past 24 hours. She turned around, and there stood Leehan. His hair seemed softer this time, the lack of gel letting his bangs poof up, and one wired earbud dangled freely onto his chest. He also seemed a little out of breath, taking in gulps of air as he beamed at her, and he wasn't wearing the pet store's apron around his waist.
"What are you doing here?" Minju blurted out, a lot more bluntly than she intended. The blonde's eyes widened slightly, and he tucked his chin in slightly as if he was a kid being scolded.
"I work here?"
"That's...a fair point, but I mean, the other guy, Taesan, told me you're off today," she incredulously. Her heart thumped in her chest as hard as when she first saw him; he'd got the jump on her again.
"Taesan doesn't understand that my work is never done when raising my babies," Leehan declared, smiling proudly as he motioned towards the tanks, "Cory is very high maintenance, after all."
Minju quirked an eyebrow, and she watched as the pride on his face instantly slipped when he realized what he said.
"Not like that!"
"For someone who works here, you're not a great salesman," the girl teased, giggling into her hand.
"I swear, that's not what I meant! I've raised them to be self sufficient!"
"Okay, don't worry, I was just kidding," Minju reassured, though the sight of the blonde's panicking was really cute, "I really don't know if I'm the person you're looking for though. I literally need to bribe my brother's fish with this stuff to not run away from me."
To her surprise, the boy shriveled in on himself when he saw the food in her hands, looking at the ground as he started to fiddle with his hands.
"Oh, you're back for the food," Leehan muttered quietly, hanging his head, "Sorry that you couldn't get your fish food last time. If it makes you feel better, my boss gave me an earful as 'revenge for that poor girl'."
"Oh, I didn't mind, really," Minju insisted. Watching the schools of fish dart around really was calming, and of course, seeing the glint in Leehan's eyes as he talked was a huge plus. "It was cool learning more about the...corydoras'?"
"Right!" The boy's face brightened up, but then he paused, and his whole demeanor deflated once again. Wow, his boss must of really tore into him that day. "But I know I have a bad habit of pushing the fish onto customers. It's just kinda rare for people to come in for fish."
How did Leehan expect her to respond when his eyes shimmered with poorly disguised hope?
"I don't think my brother is looking for more fish. Maybe soon, though," she admitted with guilt, quickly adding on the last part in hopes to lift his spirits.
Her efforts were in vain as the boy tried, but horribly failed to hide his disappointment. She was considering if her brother would really notice a few new fishes in his tank when the part timer suddenly clapped his hands together, clearly trying to mask a frown. "No worries, I'll be here if you change your mind."
"I'll tell him to look for Leehan when he comes back." The girl flashed a smile, but now she just felt guilty for keeping his hopes up.
For a second, a weird look flashed across the boy's face, and Minju was about ready to run out the store in case he'd somehow figured her out, but his expression was quickly replaced with realization.
"I was wondering how you knew my name," the blonde mused, putting a hand to his chest where his nametag used to be, "I'll never get used to that." The boy looked at her expectantly.
It took her a second to realize what he was asking for. "Oh! I'm Minju."
"Minju." Her heart skipped a beat. "Thanks for sticking around. Usually, people run away after the first minute." The comment was light hearted, but Minju couldn't help but feel like she was losing her chance.
Soon, Leehan escorted her to the register to ring her up. The dark haired part timer, Taesan, was at the counter as well, meticulously combing the rabbit's fur and picking it out of the brush, throwing it onto a pile that was almost as big as the bunny itself. He looked up, pausing at the fish food she placed on the counter as a sharp smile crossed his face.
"Hey, congrats, you made it out with your food," Taesan smirked, shooting a pointed look at the blonde as he scooched behind him, "Probably with no help from this guy."
"You're starting to sound like boss," Leehan pouted, dejectedly scanning the fish food and packing them into a plastic bag, "She isn't looking for a fish anyway."
He was right, Minju wasn't looking for a fish. But getting one meant that she had an excuse to talk to a certain cute part timer again, and if Leehan thought that she really was fit enough, then it couldn't be too bad, right?
"Who said that?" A voice asked, and it took a moment to realize that it was hers. The two part timers looked up with wide eyes, and even the bunny on the counter trained one of its boba eyes on her.
"You said that your brother wasn't looking for another fish," Leehan reminded, confusion apparent on his face.
"He isn't. But I could be convinced." For a moment, she wondered what the hell she was doing, but her thoughts were instantly silenced when a brilliant, blinding smile bloomed across Leehan's face.
Taesan, whose eyebrows were knotted with apprehension and jaw nearly on the ground, snapped her out of her trance.
"You're gonna willingly listen to this guy talk more?" He sputtered out before being pushed out by Leehan, who was still gazing at her intently.
"You're not joking? You're sure?" The blonde marveled, leaning forward so eagerly he was practically climbing over the counter.
"You're pretty convincing," Minju replied simply, fully unable to hide her smile as Leehan seemed ready to erupt in excitement.
"Oh my god, we have to pick out a filter. And the tank. I'd recommend a minimum of 20 gallons if you want a variety of fish. Does your place have somewhere sturdy to put a tank on top? What about outlets?" Her head started to spin at the onslaught of questions, and she wondered if it would be a bad look to ask the boy to repeat everything he just said.
Just then, Taesan interrupted the giddy blonde, pointing up at the clock on the wall. "Just so you know, we're supposed to close in ten minutes. And no, I'm not gonna stay overtime."
Sure enough, the clock showed it was almost six as yellow rays burst through the windows. Leehan groaned, splaying onto the counter as he glared at the taller boy.
"You couldn't let me have this moment?" he grumbled, though his face was still full of glee.
"No, I couldn't," Taesan retorted bluntly, shoving a broom into the blonde's chest, "Now get sweeping."
"I'm not even on the clock right now!" Leehan argued at Taesan, who'd already picked up the rabbit and walked away towards her pen. He took the broom anyway, turning back to Minju with pleading eyes.
"Come back soon," he practically begged, "I can answer anything you need, I'll use my employee discount!"
The girl couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry, I'll be back. I promise."
It was almost laughable at how willing Minju was to dig her own grave just to get another smile out of the part timer. They waved goodbye to each other, and the girl pushed open the door. Her heart was racing, her head was spinning, and she had ten minutes of bliss before the reality of what she just did fully hit her.
Back in the store, Leehan stood motionless against the counter, still looking at the door. Taesan popped his head out of the aisle he'd hidden himself in, mildly amused by the mesmerized look on the blonde's face.
"So is she coming back?" He asked, even though he was peeking between the shelves just a second ago.
"Hopefully," Leehan replied gleefully, "Hey, can I start working the front?"
"...Why?"
"I don't want to miss her."
The taller felt his eyebrows shoot up, and it was only then that Leehan snapped himself out of whatever haze he was just in, turned back to look at Taesan, and shot a dumb smile before quickly adding, "I can't believe she wants a fish."
"A fish? I think she wants a little more than that," Taesan muttered under his breath, watching hopelessly as the shorter blissfully skipped into the aisles. Jeez, this guy was oblivious.
Now left alone, Taesan walked behind the counter and fished his phone out. A text chat was already open when he unlocked it.
taesan: your girl is back
leehan: ???
taesan: yesterday girl. no fish food bc you scared her away girl
leehan: really??
leehan: coming now
taesan: ? aren't you off?
leehan: if she's back she might want a fish
Taesan sighed, shook his head and slipped his phone back in his pocket. That guy was too blinded by those fish; Leehan probably had no idea about the heart eyes he was shooting at this girl, and he definitely didn't know that she was sending them right back.
Whatever, it wasn't his problem, and there was an half an hour of taking inventory to tackle. But Taesan really hoped this girl knew what she was getting into.
-
"So...you're gonna get a pet fish to pick up guys?" Yunah sat splayed across the couch, biting into an apple as she watched Minju vigorously shake the fish food into her brother's tank.
"Don't make me sound like those guys in the park with their dogs. I'm seriously considering adopting them to give them a better life, and it just so happens that a really cute guy is helping me do it."
Miraculously, the fish all started to feed eagerly, suddenly unbothered by Minju's presence. Maybe she could do this.
"You know you kill house plants, right?"
Or maybe not.
-
It was supposed to be a normal day, except it was maybe the worst day of her life. Two of her coworkers had called out sick today, and of course, the bad customers were especially brutal to reward her. Usually, it wasn't too bad, with the cafe being close to the university and most students understanding the perils of customer service, but this week was midterms and everyone was hungry for their caffeine fix.
The door jingled opened, and out of the corner of her eye, a head of blonde hair entered the store. Immediately, a certain pet shop employee popped into Minju's head. Would Leehan be working today? He was her age, so if he was in university, maybe he'd be busy with midterms. Either way, she probably wouldn't be able to swing by the store today.
Honestly, she'd been purposefully avoiding another trip to the pet shop. Midterms keeping her busy was her reasoning, but frankly, the girl couldn't believe she was actually doing this. Minju assumed an excuse would come up eventually, but Yunah gave her the okay (after a lot of teasing), and even her landlord asked to come see the fish when they got set up.
Now, her Google history was littered with searches like 'fish eat meat or not' and 'do fish have teeth', and she kept imagining nightmare scenarios where she would have to tell Leehan that she accidentally killed his precious babies that he reared from birth.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a customer knocking at the counter, insisting that they tasted two pumps of syrup instead of three. Right, back to her horrible day.
Ignoring the burning of hot milk against her fingers and the aching of her back, the girl bulldozed through the line as she churned out drink after drink.
"Minju?" A familiar voice bellowed out in front of her, and it took a moment for her eyes to focus to recognize those strands of blonde hair.
"Leehan!" She exclaimed in surprise. She was literally on the brink of insanity, and here he was, standing in front of her with sheepish eyes and his fists shoved into his sweatpants.
Most shockingly, he was bundled up in a grey hoodie donning her university's logo front and center, the same hoodie that she was wearing right now. Well, to be fair, half of the people in this cafe was wearing a variation of this sweatshirt. But still, they sat in a stunned silence for a few moments before they accidentally caught each other's gaze, and the two shared a small, sheepish smile.
"I didn't know you worked here."
"Yeah, well the guppies have expensive taste," Minju sighed, "And I guess I have to save up for my own kids soon."
"Your kids?" Leehan quirked an eyebrow, looking at her with a mix of amusement and pride. "Honestly, I thought you got cold feet, but you're on your way to becoming a proper fish parent."
He was clearly joking, but a small pang of guilt shot through the girl's chest. Minju really hoped that was true.
"And you're a bad influence," she retorted weakly, moving behind the register, "Now, what can I get you?"
The boy paused for a second, parsing the menu with furrowed brows.
"Um, just an iced coffee is good." Thank god, an easy drink.
"An iced coffee," she echoed, fingers flying across the screen as Leehan moved to pay. The receipt shuddered out, but before she could say anything else, she was interrupted by the whirring of the receipt machine as another online order came in to ruin her life. She practically threw the receipt and a pen at him before rushing over to catch up on the chain of orders that had started to pile onto the floor.
"It'll be over there when it's done." Minju nodded over at the opposite counter, which was cluttered with drinks yet to be picked up.
He looked up a second later, putting down the pen and shooting her a small, reassuring grin. "Good luck."
The girl couldn't help but smile back. Maybe today wasn't all that bad.
In between brewing, blending and steaming, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blonde shuffle onto a bar stool. Minju tried her best to not let her eyes wander, but she wasn't used to seeing him in a setting without the sound of water filters and the faint smell of animal poo.
Soon, she got to Leehan's order, and although Minju could make an iced coffee with her eyes closed, she took her time scooping in the ice and pouring the shots into the cup. After cleaning any spills from the saucer, she peeked out from behind the espresso machine; the boy was typing away on a laptop with furrowed brows and lips tight with concentration. A set of dark circles had settled underneath his eyes, and he looked drained, something she'd never seen at the pet shop.
Before setting out the cup, she ripped off a piece of receipt paper and clicked her pen open. After a few moments, she paused to admire her work. It was supposed to be Cory, but looked more like a badly maimed banana. It was rushed and shaky and quite frankly awful, and Minju giggled to herself as she set the paper under the drink.
"Leehan!" Her voice cut through the bustle of the store, and a few of the regulars looked startled at her volume, but the embarrassment was worth the way the blonde's head bit back his grin as he made his way to the counter. They shyly smiled at each other when he approached, and Minju pushed the drink toward him.
"Enjoy," she added, shrugging at his quizzical expression. They exchanged looks as he gingerly balanced the drink and made his way back to his seat.
After clearing through the last of the orders, Minju tried to catch his eye only to find the blonde staring directly at her with a goofy grin, holding up her masterpiece to his face. Before she could laugh, he nodded toward the counter, and her gaze landed on his receipt, abandoned in the chaos.
Minju picked up the receipt, and to her surprise, right next to Leehan's scratchy signature was another doodle of a corydoras. At least, that was what she thought it was; its face was too large for its body, with eyes that were two drastically different sizes, and fins so tiny she started to feel bad for the thing. To the left was a speech bubble, but an accidentally drop of water caused the ink to bleed into each other, leaving a barely legible 'Good luck :)'.
Still, her heart squeezed in her chest, and Minju caught his eye again, waving around his drawing this time.
"You're as bad as me," Leehan mouthed. She rolled her eyes playfully, taking care to fold the paper before sliding it into her apron pocket and getting back to work.
It was an uneventful hour from there until the fish enthusiast slung his backpack over his shoulder and waved goodbye. Ten minutes after he left, Moka finally clocked in as reinforcement, taking over the register.
Minju took that time to clear some of the tables, grabbing empty cups and wiping spills, and when she got to Leehan's spot, she couldn't help the wave of adoration at the five empty packets of sugar left in the cup.
Maybe it was time to accept that this boy had her wrapped around his finger.
-
She couldn't believe she was actually doing this. It'd been 10 minutes that Minju stood at the storefront of Fur-tastic Finds, staring listlessly through the window display at the bubbling fish tanks tucked away.
It'd been a week since they ran into each other at the cafe, midterms were over, and it was now their third day of spring break. Now that it was out that they went to the same university, that meant that Leehan knew she should be free.
But there was no way to back out now. And sure, Minju had come into this with ulterior motives, but she couldn't live with herself if she got his hopes up like that just to flake at the last second.
Best case scenario, she became a fish savant, and Leehan didn't hate her. Worst case scenario, she'd be flushing Leehan's precious kids down the toilet and actively moving to a different city to avoid the consequences. Whatever happened, she'd just have to face it.
Resolved, the girl marched towards the entrance, hitting the door harder than she intended. The store looked the same as usual, save for some new products swapped out on the displays.
However, all of her thoughts washed when the girl looked at the counter, and saw Leehan leaned against it, resting his chin in one hand while scribbling on a clipboard. He was wearing contacts today, and the full force of his gaze sucked the air out of her lungs when he looked up. His eyes lit up as he set the pen down.
"Minju!" he greeted, eyes crunching up into crescents. She pretended it was because he missed her, and not just because she would be the soon-to-be caretaker of his literal children.
"Long time no see," the girl responded, suddenly feeling as shy as their first meeting.
"Taesan kept telling me that I got stood up,"
"Sorry" she grimaced, "Here, think of this as an apology for the wait."
She set the coffee carrier she'd been carrying on the counter. Slotted inside was one iced americano, and right next to it was a wonderfully pink fruit tea with strawberries at the bottom. The girl swore the boy winced when he saw the coffee.
"Something tells me that you don't actually like black coffee," Minju teased, taking out the americano for herself and pushing the other drink towards him.
"Was it that obvious? Or is this a sixth sense baristas have?"
"Let's go with the second option," she said, watching with pride as Leehan excitedly picked up the drink and sipped at it gleefully.
"Ok, let's get down to business. I've been thinking of the best tank setup for you, but I need some answers from you to really know what'll work," he explained, putting up the notes he'd just written, "Walk with me?"
The girl simply nodded, tightly gripping her drink as she trailed behind him back to the fish tanks. The whole conversation was a blur, with her listlessly giving answers about the size of her apartment and schedule, and Leehan excitedly jotting down the answers. He showed her all the tanks they had, the food, the decoration, and Minju tried her best to remember everything but it was like the information was going in one ear and out the other.
Soon, they were at the fish tanks, full of Leehan's carefully reared fish.
"I remember you being interested in the corydoras'," he said as they walked over, "Corydoras' are very even tempered, so as long as they're with other nice fish, they should get along with whoever else you choose."
"I have to get multiple?" Minju exclaimed, immediately cringing at the shock in her voice. To her relief, Leehan seemed largely unaffected, the next bit of fish trivia already on his tongue.
"Most beginner fish are social and shoal together, so as as general rule, at least six of each kind is recommended to keep everyone happy," he explained, gesturing to the clusters in all the tanks.
"How many do you have?"
"Well, depends on the tank size, but if I were to get fish, I'd get around 40 for a 70 gallon tank," Leehan mused.
40 fish? 70 gallons? Those big numbers made her head spin, but then she stopped.
"'If you were to...?' Wait, you don't own any?"
"Technically, no, my landlord won't let me. Something about a freak flooding accident in the past," Leehan explained, "That's why I work here. I've raised pretty much everyone you see right here, but they can't live in a pet store forever."
Oh my god, what was she doing? Across from her was an angel who was willing to part with his children for a better life, and she was essentially catfishing him. Suddenly, things were starting to feel overwhelming.
Leehan looked over in concern when she didn't respond.
"Are you okay?"
"I don't think I'm gonna be good at this," Minju admitted, guilt weighing in her chest. The boy merely shook his head, giving her a reassuring smile that just made her feel worse.
"Oh, I get it. I know it's a lot of information at first, but once you get used to things, it's really easy to manage-"
"I don't want to kill your fish!" The girl didn't mean to shout. She didn't mean to say anything, actually, but now that it was out in the open, she couldn't seem to stop.
"At first, I just thought you were cute when you were talking about fish, and I guess the easiest way to talk to you was about the fish, and I thought volunteering to be a fish parent would make you like me, and I actually thought I would be good at it, but then I remembered I killed my succulents, and I don't want you to hate me if I have to flush your children down the toilet, and all I really wanted was a date."
By the end, she had ran out of breath, and the store had gone completely silent, or as silent as it could get amidst the bubbling filters and her own thumping heart. Leehan's mouth was agape, and Minju could see him try to parse the words that just shot out of her. The thought of running out of the shop was extremely tempting, but she was sandwiched in between the corner and Leehan.
Finally, the boy spoke.
"You...you were gonna adopt my fish to date me?"
She winced; it sounded really stupid when he said it like that.
"I...don't know? I guess I wanted you to...like me." She wanted to dunk her head in a fish tank and pretend like this wasn't happening.
Another pause. Well, she guessed she could just continue to dig her own grave until she was banned forever. Minju wasn't even all that nervous anymore; after all, there was only one response to a situation like this, and that was cold, utter rejection.
But to the girl's surprise, Leehan's face turned a bright shade of pink, and he twisted to face the fish tanks.
"You didn't have to do all that."
"I know, I'm sorry, I should of come clean sooner-"
"No, I mean, you didn't have to do anything to make me like you," he admitted shyly, thumbing at the hem of his sweater, "It was a lot easier than you thought."
At that moment, Minju's heart felt like it just fell into her stomach. Was this a hallucination? Because why was Leehan looking at her with the softest, most timid eyes she'd ever seen after she told him her stupid plan?
"Shouldn't you be angry?" Minju exclaimed, a little too shell shocked to be thinking clearly.
"Should I be angry?" Leehan replied simply, cocking his head a little.
"I mean, didn't I just lie about adopting your precious children just so I could talk to you?"
"Well, first of all, I don't think it was a lie, you were actually going to get them," Leehan pointed out, almost with a hint of teasing, "and sure, I don't think going around adopting pets is the best way to pick up a guy, but you owned up in the end, didn't you? That has to mean you care about my 'precious children' at least a little."
"Oh, and Cory clearly still likes you," the blonde assured. Sure enough, a spotted fish, which she still didn't know how he was telling them apart, energetically zoomed around the tank. Minju almost felt touched for a second before snapping back.
"Wait, was that you trying to sell me on Cory? Again?" Leehan looked away without a lick of guilt on his face, biting back a smile.
"I mean, we got this far in the process, right?" She couldn't do anything but laugh.
The days leading up, Minju had prepared for every outcome she could think of. Angry Leehan, disappointed Leehan, call the cops on her Leehan. Nothing could have prepared her for this Leehan right in front of her, with cheekily scrunched eyes and a shy smile, who had just accepted her disaster of a confession and reciprocated tenfold.
Still, she had one thing that she had to do.
"I know I should of asked this first instead of promising to adopt 30 fish, but do you want to go out sometime? On a date?"
The blonde laughed softly, nodding his head.
"It's a date," he replied.