"Nothing in life is a bed of roses."
"But roses have thorns too."
The nation's pride, a sophisticated fencer. A cafe owner, with a charming smile.
They were bound to be caught.
Book 4 of the YOU NEVER WALK ALONE series
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"Babe, get over here and help with the cleaning for god's sake. You're such a materialistic guy," Eunbi yelled at her fiance as she looked up from the table she's wiping, glaring at the guy that sat behind the counter counting the bills.
Beomgyu chuckled without looking up from his mopping, this always happened at the end of the day, when they had to clean up the place. Mark got up before giving the girl a sheepish grin, taking the rag from her and helping her wipe the remaining tables.
"There's a few pastries left. Do you want to bring some home?" Eunbi asked as she packed the few still displayed into a container.
"Yes please, I think Yun-Jae's going to be pulling another all-nighter," Beomgyu hummed as he rolled back his shoulders, putting the mop back into its place.
He froze, catching sight of the woman at the window who stared at the sign dejectedly. Searching his memory, he realised he had served her earlier in the day. He also realised that she was Shin Ryujin, the fencer who recently competed in the Olympics.
He cursed himself as he weaved through the tables, causing the couple to look at him in confusion as they put on their coats to get back home. Beomgyu threw open the door, calling for her before she could leave.
"I can't believe Shin Ryujin came to our cafe." Eunbi whispered to her soon-to-be husband, crossing her arms as she watched Beomgyu serve her something.
"Darling, let's go back home. I'm pretty sure Beomgyu can handle one customer by himself," Mark hummed as he lightly placed a hand on Eunbi's back, guiding her to the door before they bade goodbye to Beomgyu.
After waving them off, Beomgyu turned back to Ryujin, who had closed her eyes and had a hand on both of her temples. He frowned before rushing to his bag, digging out something he conveniently had in his bag.
He walked back to where Ryujin was seated, pressing the pill onto the tray in front of her. Her eyes fluttered open, staring at the pill in wonderment.
"It's for the headache. We didn't have any coffee left, but the hot chocolate should help as well for the pain. Sorry again," Beomgyu softly excused, giving a small awkward smile to Ryujin. He bowed to her once she popped the pill into her mouth and turned around to let Ryujin enjoy her hot chocolate.
"Hey," Beomgyu paused in his steps, hearing Ryujin call for him softly. He felt goosebumps crawl on his skin at how effortlessly cool Ryujin sounded. He turned around to take her request, not expecting it at all when Ryujin gestured to the chair.
Beomgyu awkwardly took a seat opposite Ryujin, feeling intimidated at how charismatic Ryujin was, despite her just taking a sip from her hot chocolate. He felt honoured, to say the least, that this big celebrity invited him to sit with her.
"What's your name?" Ryujin asked as she placed the hot chocolate down, curious about this extremely cute waiter. She cursed her limited vocabulary, but he truly was shining. Ryujin didn't have an ideal type, but if she did, this guy would fit all her requirements.
"Oh, I'm Choi Beomgyu. I'm the owner of this cafe," Beomgyu answered, mentally patting himself in the back for not jumbling up his words in front of the girl. Ryujin nodded to his question.
"Shin Ryujin, fencer." Ryujin added in case this guy didn't know who she was. Beomgyu smiled lightly once he realised there was this certain awkwardness in the atmosphere. Beomgyu nodded eagerly before he started raving about her.
Ryujin listened keenly, nodding along quietly as she watched this overly animated man talk enthusiastically about something before he could shift to an entirely different topic altogether.
She couldn't help but let a smile grow on her lips as she soon grew comfortable to have this sort of presence who just had such positive and good vibes. There was no way she could control it, but she quickly grew fond of this guy.
Beomgyu wasn't one to ramble on for too long, but he was too nervous to notice. Whenever he talks, he would look into the other person's eyes, and there was just something different about Ryujin's eyes.
They shone brightly, and he would get butterflies when her eyes crinkled with a smile at something he would say. He noticed her dimple that was right below her eye, finding it cute since he's never seen something like it before.
His chatter grew to a natural stop, and the duo found themselves staring at each other. Beomgyu watched as she averted her eyes, reaching out a hand to grab her hot chocolate to drink from.
He watched as subtly as he could, how she tilted her head upwards to drink the cup's contents. The way her hair dropped from her shoulder and how she drank with such grace.
He couldn't help the question that spilled from his lips.
"Would you like to go on a date?"
He watched as Ryujin's eyes grew wide, and suddenly she started choking on her drink. Panicked, he passed her tissues as she covered her mouth, hacking violently as she thumped on her chest.
He was so embarrassed that he didn't notice the blush on her cheeks that mirrored his. Ryujin cleared her throat once more before lowering the tissue, averting her eyes from Beomgyu.
Before Beomgyu could take back what he said, Ryujin opened her mouth. He watched her lips as she dragged her words out slowly, his eyes growing wide realising it was a phone number. He fumbled for his phone, hastily keying in the numbers as Ryujin repeated her phone number.
He looked up to lock eyes with her after saving her number, before she looked away again. It was safe to say that Ryujin was just as flustered as Beomgyu was. She had never been asked out, and it felt surreal to be asked out by a guy who she was interested in as well.
Feeling way too shy to continue sitting there and talking to him, she got up from her seat. She stuffed her hands into her pockets as Beomgyu stood up as well, and escorted her to the door.
"Wait, I need to pay-"
"Don't worry about it. It's complimentary,"
Ryujin pursed her lips as she watched Beomgyu wave it off coolly. She felt her stomach lurch as the heat rushed up to her cheeks again. She clambered for the door, throwing it open and stepping out before Beomgyu could see her in her flustered state.
Beomgyu stood rooted in the spot, he couldn't believe what just happened. Just as he was about to turn around, the door flew open again and Ryujin popped her head in. She flashed him a quick smile.
"Text me,"
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