Chapter 42

I'm walking around a busy part of Hongdae, searching for the café Jaewook works at now. Despite being 9 PM, the area is crowded with mostly university students. I find the lit up sign and head towards it. It's very aesthetically pleasing—one of those cafés people go to just to take selfies to post on Instagram. I can just imagine the kind of Instagram girls that flock here. The decor is flawless with moss green and warm, natural brown tones. And the smell. The smell of coffee always makes me feel better. Sure enough, when I'm far enough inside, I see that it's pretty packed with university students—most being girls seemingly dressed up for a photo shoot. Actually, there's a lot of girls here. My eyebrows cross in confusion as I head towards the counter. There are voices from behind it as people work quickly. Then someone comes up to the counter. "Welcome—oh Noona!" I take in his black apron and styled hair that lets his forehead show. He looks older, like a university student himself. He wears a white button up underneath the apron, the sleeves rolled up and showing off his strangely attractive forearms. "Is everything okay?" He asks nervously, adjusting his apron. "Everything's great. You look hot in uniform." A smile breaks through his face. "Just wait until I'm in police uniform baby." He winks at me and I can't help but snort in laughter. "I'll have a large iced Americano please." He hesitates before tapping the screen in front of him. "Anything added to it?" "Just a splash of milk please." He nods with his mouth slightly open as he searches for more buttons. I hold back my laughter at his intense concentration. "Need help?" A guy asks as he walks behind Jaewook. "Uh, no I think I got it." "Okay," the guy pauses when he looks at me. Attractive. Very attractive. My head cocks to the side when I notice the other employee, also male, who is also model-worthy. "Huh," I say aloud as I put two-and-two together. "So you're working at a flower-boy-esque cafe." Jaewook chuckles. "Yeah, I guess you could call it that." He hands me the change. The guy is still watching us, probably realizing we know each other. I walk down to the end of the counter where the drinks are made while keeping my eyes on my boyfriend. He smiles as his eyes follow mine. Then he begins to take the order of the next customer. The guy who asked if he needed help earlier starts to make my drink. "So you and the new guy know each other?" He asks without looking at me. I have to take a moment to realize he's talking to me. "Uh yeah," I smile as I look back at Jaewook, whose tongue is in between his teeth as he focuses on the screen. "He's a hard worker." He hands me the drink with a charming smile. "Thank you," I slightly bow my head and force my eyes to leave his. Then I target an empty seat and head for it before someone else does. Taking off my backpack, I grab one of my books and start taking notes. Might as well study if I've bought a cup of caffeine. I soon notice that the baristas here often leave the counter to ask customers how they're doing, which is clearly just 'fan-service' sort of speak since they only ask females. Girls' eyes light up every time the unknown guy walks up to them—he seems to be a favourite. After an hour, he walks up to me. "This is from Jaewook," he says with a smile. He places a plate in front of my books. It's a cute red velvet cupcake. "Oh, tell him thanks," I laugh. "Are you two more than friends?" I notice the girls beside me watching intently since the employee is lingering longer than usual at my table. "He's my boyfriend." "Ah," he nods his head in understanding. "Too bad." He says bittersweetly before turning and walking away. My eyebrows raise as I watch him walk away. I wonder if that's also part of the job, flirting with customers. The thought makes my jaw clench just imagining Jaewook doing the same. Who am I kidding, the boy is terrified of even just talking to strangers. I try to resist the temptation for a bit, but after a while the desire grows too strong. I put my pen down and slightly stick my tongue out in focus. I unwrap my cupcake and start licking the icing first. Delicious. "Baby, the way you lick that is turning me on." I almost choke on the cupcake as my eyes move up to see Jaewook now in front of me. He whispered the words, but I can tell the girl behind him heard just by the widening of her eyes. At a loss for words, I just take a sip of my drink instead to try and soften the dull pain in my throat. "Can I sit down?" I nod, looking at him questioningly. Man, his hair looks really hot like that, it gives him a different vibe. A bad boy vibe. "Are you allowed to do this?" "15 minutes break," he says as he unties his apron. "How's the cupcake?" "Stupidly good. Jaewook I haven't been working out lately, are you trying to make me gain weight?" "I love my Noona no matter how she is, skinny or chubby." I grimace at his cheesy words before taking a bite. "It really does turn me on though, your lips are so goddamn tempting," he whispers as he leans in with his elbows on the table. His eyes are fixated on my mouth, his own mouth slightly open. "Excuse me sir, people are watching. You have an image to uphold here." "What do you mean?" "You're not just selling coffee Jaewook, you're selling the whole fantasy of having a hot barista serve you baked goods and ask you if service is good." "Hot barista huh?" He smirks and I roll my eyes. "I'm serious. But don't you dare flirt with anyone for show, I'll find you." I point my finger at him and he raises his eyebrows. "Jealous Noona is surfacing." "Don't trigger me." I lift the last piece of cupcake and hold it to his mouth to shut him up. He opens his mouth and chews with a smile. "So much for upholding my image hm? Now customers are going to assume they can feed me." I freeze when I realize what I did. When I look around, sure enough, many girls are whispering to each other while watching us. "Has it been 15 minutes yet?" I ask. "You want me to leave already?!" He asks with an exasperated expression. "You're interrupting my studies." "Study me instead." He holds his head in his hands as he smiles at me. We have an unintentional staring contest as I scramble for words to counteract with. When I can't think of anything, I grab my straw and take an annoyed sip of Americano. "Mm," he says as he stares at my lips yet again. "Seriously? Can you stop making me feel flustered for like one second?" "I'm making you flustered? Destiny, the master of blank-face?" I scowl. "It's the hair," I mumble. "My hair?" He runs his hand through it. "I tried something different. You like it?" I nod my head with a grimace. His eyes squint as he laughs. "I've found my new weapon." All of a sudden his expression changes. He runs his hand through his hair slowly, his eyes hooded as he softly bites his lower lip. I shove my burning face into my hands as I hear someone squeal from behind me. Jaewook giggles as his hands try to pry mine from my face. "Noona." "Don't Noona me." I lift my head. His gaze is more serious now as his fingers come to move my hair behind my ear. "Will you come here every time I work? I've been missing you." Because of his new job alongside it being the last months of school, he's often been too busy to see me. "I miss you too. We'll get to spend tomorrow night together. Remember?" I softly say as he stops playing with my hair. I refer to my father's concert in Seoul, the last one in Korea before he goes back to Japan. "Of course I remember. What should I wear? It's a small venue right? Is it like heavy metal or something?" I snort at him. "It's not heavy metal. Think anime rock theme-song opening—his band is more popular in Japan for a reason. It's out-dated in my opinion but hey, to each their own." I twirl my straw around the cup, moving the ice cubes around. "Just wear whatever. Maybe dark clothes. It's not a G-Dragon concert so as long as you keep that in mind you should be okay." He lightly laughs. My eyebrows cross as something comes to mind. "How were you able to get a job? I thought your mom didn't want you to get one." "She's been different lately, quiet. I think she feels bad or something. I asked after I saw the opening for this job and she agreed. She didn't seem happy about it but she said yes, that's all I needed to hear." "Do you think she'll be okay? You work until midnight." His eyes pause over mine as he thinks. "I hope so," he solemnly says before sighing. "I have to go back now." He stands up and leans over me. His hand cups my chin before he leans down and quickly kisses me. It's fast and done without second thought, but as he leaves, the disappointed looks from the girls in the café are hard not to miss. "Well, so much for your image," I say under my breath as I watch him tie his apron back on. The girl sitting beside me is glaring at me for some reason, so I glare back. That makes her turn to her drink. ...