Fire and Ice

Chapter Three

Another day, another long ass shift at work. I swear, if it wasn't for how well my boss paid me, I wouldn't step foot in this place again. Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely café. The decorations in this place give off a calm vibe that makes you want to live here. The coffee is amazing and don't get me started on the baked goods. If it wasn't for the types of customers this establishment drew in, I'd love it here.

The café was located a couple blocks away from KQ Entertainment so we tend to see a lot of K-pop fans in here hoping their biases will come in for coffee and they'll get the chance to gawk at them without a screen. Then you had the males who thought that this would be a good place to find females or one-night stands. And more often than not, I'm the victim of their attempts.

I was in the middle of grinding more beans while Jade finished preparing the coffee order we had just received when a girl walked in. She was slightly shorter than me, with pretty eyes and face. Her hair was brown, but she had a strip of white hair located right above her eyebrows. It looked good on her despite it being the only section of hair with no color.

"Hello! Welcome to C's Coffee House! I'll be with you in just a moment," I informed the female as she stood before the register.

"Ah, no, I'm not here to order. I'm the new trainee," she spoke softly, shyness coating her vocal cords.

I turned off the grinder and made my way to her. "Well, hello! I'm Laney, it's nice to meet you!" I bowed slightly in greeting, and she did the same. "Hi, I'm Bonnie! It's nice to meet you too!"

I pointed to Jade as she gathered some empty plates and cups off a table. "That's Jade over there."

Bonnie nodded and I guided her to the back of the counter. She followed me to the back, and I directed her to the lockers so she could store her things. Then I gave her a clean apron and began to run through the things she needed to know. After a few hours and a couple of messed up coffees, Bonnie was finally getting the hang of things.

"So, Bonnie, what brought you here?" I ask coolly as I wipe down the counters.

The girl shrugs, "I needed a job. Being a Uni student is expensive. More expensive than I had anticipated."

I nod in understanding. "I understand that. I remember those days."

"You went to Uni?" she asked as she turned toward me, her body resting on the counter behind her.

"Yeah, I minored in Music Production and Majored in Language."

She quirked her brows at me, probably wondering why I was here instead of following my dreams. Sometimes, I wondered the same thing but seeing as how I'm now 25 years old and I just escaped my parents' evil clutches, following my dreams has not been my top priority. Just as I guessed she would, she asked me why.

"I think that's a conversation for another time," I replied, and I saw her face flush with disappointment. It's not that I didn't want to talk about it, but I felt it was best to do so when we weren't on the clock. I don't need to think about my embarrassing life while I'm here. I do that enough on my own.

Bonnie turned her attention back to work as the door opened with a loud ding and four males walked in. They were all wearing masks on their faces. Two out of the four were really tall and I had to look up as they approached the register. I mentally prepared myself for the flirty remarks, but none came. The shortest out of the group removed his mask and I almost choked as I realized who it was.

"H-Hi," I stuttered before putting on my customer service façade. "Welcome to C's Coffee House! What can I get for you today?" I smiled at the male.

My heart raced as he smiled at me sweetly. He told me their orders and I typed them in, making sure I didn't miss any minor details. I told him the total and he pulled out his card to hand to me. I finished the transaction before looking back up at him.