**
Chaeyoung sat at the outside table at her favorite cafe next to the flower shop. She went there to do some work or search for inspiration, or even just to people watch while she sipped her coffee, often times bringing her tablet or sketchbook and doodling random things or people she found interesting.
One day she just couldn’t seem to find any inspiration anywhere she looked. She felt like she exhausted everything she could draw. So, she sat in her seat, lazily doodling circles on a notecard.
She had looked up for a moment, noticing her favorite florist was working that day. She could see her clearly through the massive wall of windows that the floral shop had, displaying the mass amount of flowers of every color. She smiled to herself as she doodled on the notecard, occasionally glancing up to look at the eyes that had enchanted her from afar. She never had the guts to go talk to her, nor did she know what she’d say.
Chaeyoung felt a little...weird keeping a picture she drew of a woman she never spoke to, and waited till the florist went into the back room before choosing to swing into the shop next to the cafe and drop the notecard on the counter next to the register, writing a note on the back for her.
It became a habit when she was low on motivation and inspiration, she would go to the café and doodle the florist, and wrote a note on the back, she would only occasionally drop it off at the shop for fear or creeping her out. But every time she did, she would watch from a distance and see her reaction.
A slow smile would creep across her face as she read the notes and she would look around, hoping to catch the eye of the person with the notecards.
—
Lisa smiled and handed the woman her the boquet of flowers wrapped in colorful paper. She grinned back and handed her the receipt as well.
“Thank you, enjoy your bouquet !” she said to her as she left. She waved back, acknowledging that she heard her. She was a regular, she loved the arrangements that Lisa made and she frequently told her what her husband thought of the last set of flowers when she came in. She was a sweet girl, and she enjoyed the familiar face.
She slipped into the backroom, checking her phone for messages from her friends. There were a few, mostly asking what she was up to.
She stepped back out and noticed a card on the counter by the register. She was smiling before she even looked at it. Her heart was already fluttering at the illustration of her handing her favorite customer her flowers with a smile. Written across the top of the card, it said “your cute when you smile”
Lisa bit her lip, looking around and hoping the person was still within earshot.
“You spelled ‘you’re’ wrong,” she said with a light laugh. “But thank you. I wish I could say the same about you.”
As always, there was no reply, but she hoped they had heard her. She flipped the card over, seeing a longer note than normal.
‘I hope this doesn’t freak you out, I don’t really have the guts to walk up to you so I started doing this to get around that. Anywho, I really like your smile, it’s genuine and full of happiness. It’s beautiful ;)’
Lisa’s pulse fluttered and she smiled wide, putting the card on the pile with the rest of them next to the register. Before she closed up the shop for the night, she rubber banded all the cards together and tucked them in her pocket.
—
The next day, she was scheduled to go in more towards 10am, and she had time beforehand to go to the coffee shop right next to the flower shop right before her shift.
She stood at the counter and ordered a coffee and a breakfast sandwich. The woman behind the counter who was taking her order kept glancing back at her, and she felt a little awkward under the woman’s stare. Her nametag read Jenny.
“Oh!” she finally gasped, glancing back at her again as she finished up her coffee. “You’re the one Chaeng’s been talking to.”
“Chaeng?”
“I saw your uniform and nametag, and the combination had seemed familiar. Chaeng was talking about you last night.”
“I-I’m sorry...who’s Chaeng?”
“The illustrator girl who frequents this Café, she’s my best friend,” she said with a shrug, handing her her cup. “I guess I had you mixed up with someone else. Sorry ‘bout that. Have a nice day.”
Lisa stayed silent and left, utterly confused at the interaction. She had a sneaking suspicion, but she didn’t exactly want to assume anything.
--
Today’s illustration was of her leaning against the counter with the notecard in her hand, smiling.
‘Yeah I spelled “you’re” wrong I didnt see till it was too late. My name’s Chaeyoung btw :)
I’m nothin’ special, just a plain girl living a plain life.’
Chaeyoung. Chaeng...
And below the note was a phone number with a winky face.
She waited until her shift was over to text that number on the notecard. She’d made it home and was laying in bed. She sucked her lip between her teeth and hit send.
‘is this my mystery girl?’
It took a few minutes for a reply to come through.
‘I’m glad you found my note today ;)’
‘why wouldn’t I? I look for them’
‘You do?’
‘yeah, reading them is the best part of my day’
The typing bubble popped up and went away a few times.
‘I’m happy to hear that’
Lisa smiled.
‘do i get to see you soon?’ The reply she got made her smile widen in hope.
‘If I can buck up the courage to maybe ;)’
—
“Hey."
Lisa stood straighter, looking at the face that had walked into the flower shop, one she vaguely recognized but she couldn’t place from where.
“Chaeyoung?” she asked hopefully
She bit her lip and scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. “Yeah, hi.”
Lisa smiled wide, leaning forward against the counter to see her face. The face of the woman she’d tried to imagine for so long. Piercing brown eyes and long blonde hair. She had a cute mole under her lip, and her smile was small but genuine. She was tall, maybe an inch or so taller than Lisa. She looked like she would be an artist.
“You’re a lot prettier than I imagined.”
Chaeyoung’s cheeks flushed and she smiled again, showing off her dimples. Lisa’s heart jumped. She was already starting to love that smile.
“I-I’m glad they didn’t freak you out,” she said, and Lisa knew she meant the notecards.
“Freak me out? I kept all of them,” she smiled, holding up the small pile. “You’re very talented.”
Her smile stayed stretched across her face and Lisa couldn’t help but smile back. Chaeyoung’s eyes matched her smile in brightness, and Lisa decided that was her favorite brown eyes. She had to know this girl better, she barely spoke to her but she made her heart flutter in ways she wasn’t familiar with. She wanted to know this girl.
“Can I take you to dinner?” Lisa suddenly asked.
Chaeyoung grinned smugly, leaning her palms against the counter.
“I don’t know, I’ve got a delicious bowl of instant ramen at home with my name on it.”
“Damn,” Lisa laughed, leaning forward, towards her eyes that she could drown in happily. “Instant ramen sounds really good right now.”
“Dinner at my house instead?”
“You have yourself a deal, Chaeyoung.”
“You can call me Chaeng,” she said with a wink, making her next sentence far too sexual to not laugh at. “Chaeyoung is a mouthful.”
“Alright Chaeng, instant ramen at your house,” Lisa laughed. “You’ve swayed me with your instant ramen.”
Chaeyoung burst into laughter, showing off a genuine laugh. One that was distinct and contagious.
Lisa decided that that sound was the best sound she’d heard all week.
****
Ctto