Don't Fear The Reaper [A Ravi Fanfiction]

Already Here?

That Wednesday had been amazingly slow for Kim. It was only mid afternoon, but it felt as if the time had stopped for a while. Not many people had come to the shop, and much to her disliking Jia had called in sick, and she wouldn’t be around for the rest of the week; a tough cold, apparently. Her co-workers were chatting excitedly about what she could tell was a party that weekend.

The only things that made her day a little bit better were the little texts that came in from Wonshik from time to time, wishing her luck with the rest of her day. I’ll need it if things are going to be like this all day, she thought with a smile. She was cleaning the few cups used that day when a voice startled her from behind.

“Guys, if the place is still quiet at 5pm, you’re free to close early; I’ll need to go in a minute so make sure that everything’s in its proper place before you leave,” her boss Hyunwoo said, popping his head through his office door. She looked at him, a little happiness growing inside, and nodded lightly. A few minutes ago, he hurriedly made his way to the entrance door, and left without even saying goodbye.

“Wow, he must be in a hurry,” she said to herself as she noticed someone approaching the shop. Quickly finishing what she was doing, she placed the cups back on the counter as the man entered the place. He approached the counter with his sight fixed on his phone, almost running into a table. Looking away, she covered her mouth as she tried to stifle a small laugh.

When she looked again, the stranger was right in front of her, checking the menu above them. With a closer and quick glance, Kim noticed he was dark skinned and fairly tall. He had soft features and short, reddish hair.

“Good afternoon, what can I get for you?” she said, and the man lowered his gaze until it met hers. Blinking a few times, she felt herself blushing as a smile appeared on his face. Damn.

“I’ll have a latte with a slice of strawberry cheesecake, please,” his voice was quite delicate and it almost seemed to be just a whisper. She didn’t notice she was staring at him until he waved his hand in front of her. “Um, hello? Are you okay?”

“S-sure, I’m sorry, it’ll be done right away,” typing as fast as possible on the cash register, she waited while telling her co-worker Jimin, who was in charge of the coffee machine, what the man had asked for. She got one of the last cheesecake slices and handed it to him along with his ticket, while he paid for everything. “You can take a seat, I’ll bring you the coffee as soon as it’s ready,” she said, and with a last smile he turned around and sat at a table close to the door.

“God, Kim, keep yourself together,” she whispered as she turned her attention to her phone, “you can’t just stare at people like that; I’m sure someone wouldn’t appreciate that.” She sighed loudly as she typed a small message for Wonshik.

‘Hey, are you free tonight? We’re closing earlier and I think I need to go out for a while x’

Before she could get a reply, she felt Jimin’s voice telling her that the order was ready. Grabbing the coffee carefully, she made her way to the man’s table, where he was looking outside apparently in deep thought; the dessert in front of him was almost untouched. He turned her head and bowed lightly when she placed the cup on the table.

She was about to leave when his voice stopped her on her tracks. Turning around, she saw him fiddling with his thumbs as if he was hesitating about what he was about to ask.

“Excuse me; is this place always like this? So… empty,” he sounded worried, which puzzled her. Before she replied, she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket, but decided to ignore it for a moment. She chuckled and his gaze fell on her once more, but this time it seemed more innocent. He looks cute- wait, what? she thought.