Jung Woo Sung looked sadly at the girl sitting down in front of him. Ye Jin was his favorite employee at his coffee shop. Three days ago she suddenly asked permission to take several days off, and now she's back to resign?
"Is it about your salary? Is it not big enough? Or is there another problem?" Woo Sung asked probingly, "Come on, I'm sure we can compromise, you don't have to immediately submit your resignation like this..."
Ye Jin bit her lip as a sign that she was nervous, one of her habits that drove Woo Sung crazy, "I'm sorry, Oppa... But this is a family matter... I'll probably be back to Seoul soon..."
Woo Sung heaved a heavy sigh, his brain spinning for a way to stop Ye Jin from leaving. During the six months Ye Jin worked at her coffee shop, Woo Sung has got used to seeing her beautiful face. Woo Sung is not ready to suddenly have to say goodbye to her, especially when he was planning to approach her.
"Is there anything in Seoul that you can't get in Daegu?" Woo Sung asked carefully. He honestly wanted to ask if there was someone waiting for her in Seoul, but his heart wasn't ready for the worst.
"It's not like that, oppa. It's just time for me to go back. It's been too long since I left Seoul." Ye Jin smiled expecting him to understand. "Thank you for accepting me these six months, I hope your coffee shop will get busier and more successful..."
Woo Sung looked at Ye Jin resignedly, "If there's really nothing else I can do to hold you back, that's fine.... But please stay for one more day, your co-workers will want to say goodbye one last time too."
Woo Sung can only hold back his urge to beg Ye Jin to stay. It seemed that the decision was made up, and there was nothing else to do but let this beautiful girl go.
***
"Eonnie!" Yu Mi called Ye Jin who was talking to some of her coworkers behind the counter. Ye Jin looked up and immediately smiled at her.
"Yu Mi! Sorry I'm still stuck here, where's Gi Dong?" Ye Jin pulled Yu Mi to sit at one of the small tables near the glass wall.
"Gi Dong at Halmeoni's house with Gong Yoo oppa and Hyun Bin oppa... I offered to check on eonnie when everyone start getting restless..." Yu Mi explained while looking around, "This place is nice too..." she commented. There is no coffee shop like this in her village in Jeju.
"Aigooo.. I'm sorry, my boss asked me to wait for my coworkers first so they can say goodbye..." Ye Jin felt bad that she had worried her family, "I should have called home earlier..."
"It's okay eonnie, after all, I have the opportunity to take a walk and look around," Yu Mi waved her hand in front of her face, "by the way, who is this super macho handsome man who has been watching eonnie since earlier?"
Ye Jin turned her head reflexively and immediately regretted when her gaze met Woo Sung oppa's. "Haissshhh.. That's my boss..!" Ye Jin whispered as she covered her face, embarrassed.
"Omo... Eonnie's boss is so handsome...! Is he married?" Yu Mi asked curiously, "I think he likes eonnie." she added teasingly.
Ye Jin pursed her lips pretending to be angry, "Don't talk nonsense! Let me treat you a cup of coffee, you must try my Dalgona Coffee!" Ye Jin said as she rose to her feet.
Yu Mi smiled brightly, "Sorry for the trouble, thank you, eonni!" she said shyly.
Ye Jin walked behind the counter again. Her friends seemed to ask while looking at Yu Mi curiously, but Yu Mi noticed that the coffee shop owner only stared at Ye Jin eonnie even though he pretended to be busy fixing a wooden shelf nearby.
"I'm pretty sure your boss is really interested to eonnie" whispered Yu Mi when Ye Jin returned with a glass of Dalgona Coffee.
"Haish don't make things awkward..." Ye Jin replied, glancing back.
"Ah, I'm so jealous, Ye Jin eonnie is surrounded by handsome men... Especially Gi Dong appa..." Yu Mi took a sip of her coffee slowly, "or maybe it's the boss that makes eonnie can't get back to Hyun Bin oppa anymore?"
Ye Jin looked at Yu Mi with furrowed brows, "Do you really want to know why I still can't get back with Hyun Bin oppa just yet?"
Yu Mi nodded her head hesitantly, hopefully Ye Jin eonnie doesn't think that she's too meddlesome.
"Since you're part of the family now, I'll explain," Ye Jin hinted at Yu Mi to come closer, "I want to see first if Hyun Bin oppa is still the same person he was five years ago before we separated."
Yu Mi looked at Ye Jin confused, "What is eonnie really afraid of?"
Ye Jin stared outside the glass wall, "I myself feel that I am not the same person as five years ago, maybe Hyun Bin oppa too... For five years he thought that I was married to Gong Yoo oppa... Maybe he has tried to move on, trying to hook up with other girls?"
"Has eonnie asked Hyun Bin oppa about this...?" Yu Mi asked then.
"He said there was never anyone else... But I don't know if he said that just to calm me down or if that was the truth." Ye Jin shrugged her shoulders.
"So the problem is that eonnie doesn't trust Hyun Bin oppa and worried if he's been with other girls?" Yu Mi tried to conclude.
"The problem is that during the five years I harbored disappointment because he broke his promise to return before Gi Dong born. It's hard to just give back that trust. There were too many prejudices between us during the five years apart..." Ye Jin lowered her head sadly.
"Eonnie, I'm sure Hyun Bin oppa only loves eonnie. Even blind people can see it. Hyun Bin oppa's gaze never leaves eonnie whenever you are in the same room." Yu Mi touched Ye Jin's hand gently, "It's almost exactly like eonnie's boss, actually..." she added with a mischievous smile.
"Haishhhh stop it already!" Ye Jin protested, her cheeks flaming red.
"So eonnie really never considered your boss?" Yu Mi whispered curiously.
Before Ye Jin could answer, a masculine voice chimed in from behind, "considering what?"
Ye Jin turned her head slowly in horror when she realized Woo Sung Oppa was standing behind her smiling sweetly.
"S-sorry oppa... Let me introduce my sister, Yu Mi.. She's here because she's worried that I haven't been back home since this morning..." Ye Jin stammered.
Yu Mi just smiled while waving weakly. Up close, the boss looks much more handsome, his messy appearance after working on fixing the shelves makes him look even more masculine.
"Greetings, Yu Mi, I was hoping that I could stop Ye Jin from returning to Seoul, but it seems that my wish is futile, right?" Woo Sung oppa suddenly pulled a chair from the next table and sat between Ye Jin and Yu Mi.
"I-I think so, ahjussi..." Yu Mi smiled awkwardly.
"Haish don't call me ahjussi, just Woo Sung oppa!" Woo Sung oppa smiled broadly showing a row of neat white teeth.
Ye Jin and Yu Mi smiled back stiffly and were still thinking of a topic for small talk when their gaze caught three male figures standing outside the glass wall.
Gong Yoo, Hyun Bin and Gi Dong stood there, looking at Ye Jin and Yu Mi with sullen faces seeing their interaction with the coffee shop owner where Ye Jin worked.
***
"Why the hell are they telling us to sit at separate tables like this?" Gong Yoo looked at Yu Mi, Ye Jin and the man who was said to be the owner of the coffee shop where Ye Jin worked at the table opposite them.
"Apparently because the table is too small for the six of us to sit." Hyun Bin replied as he flipped through the menu book, trying to distract himself from the tall man who kept staring at Ye Jin.
"Appa, Gi Dong wants ice cream," said Gi Dong unaware of the gloomy mood of his father and uncle.
"Look at them, smiling so much. What's so good about that guy anyway?" asked Gong Yoo groggily.
"They're just trying to be polite I guess," replied Hyun Bin trying to suppress his possessiveness.
“Ahjussi, Gi Dong wants ice cream,” Gi Dong turned to Gong Yoo now.
"Haisshhh I told you to call me samchon! Go ask your eomma for ice cream..!" Gong Yoo replied in annoyance, looking at Yu Mi who continued to stare at Ye Jin's boss blushing.
Hyun Bin lifted his face from the menu book hearing Gong Yoo's words, what a great idea! "Come on, let's ask eomma for ice cream!" asked Hyun Bin excitedly, holding Gi Dong's hand to the opposite table.
Ye Jin turned around with a big smile realizing Gi Dong's presence nearby, "Gi Dong-ah, sorry for the long wait... We'll be home soon..."
Woo Sung looked at Gi Dong interested, "This kid is so cute.. Is he your nephew, Ye Jin?" he asked then.
"Eomma, Gi Dong wants ice cream!" Gi Dong tugged at Ye Jin's clothes suddenly. "Appa said Gi Dong need to ask eomma."
Hyun Bin wanted to laugh out loud when he saw the boss' face turn pale hearing Gi Dong's words.
"Oppa, this is Gi Dong, my son." Ye Jin pulled Gi Dong closer, "Gi Dong-ah, say hi to ahjussi." The boy followed his mother's orders obediently.
"Y-you're married...?" Woo Sung stammered.
Ye Jin looked down shyly, "Not yet oppa, I gave birth to Gi Dong when I was in 2nd grade of high school... Gi Dong's father and I were separated before Gi Dong was born..." Ye Jin looked up at Hyun Bin who was just standing watching them all this time, "We only met again three days ago..."
Woo Sung followed the direction of Ye Jin's gaze, and just realized that Hyun Bin standing behind him. "Hi, I'm Gi Dong's father." Hyun Bin stretched out his hand.
Ye Jin's boss stared at Hyun Bin's face for a few seconds before shaking his hand with a wry smile, admitting defeat.
"I can see your resemblance." Woo Sung answered while looking at Hyun Bin and Gi Dong alternately. "So they are the reason you came back to Seoul, Ye Jin?" he asked slowly.
Ye Jin smiled and nodded, "We have a lot to take care of in Seoul, oppa..."
"I see.. Well, have a happy life, Ye Jin," he said sincerely. Then he gently stroked Gi Dong's head before retreating to his room at the back.
"Aigooo.. I can hear the sound of his heart cracking," Yu Mi commented breaking the awkward silence between them.
"Why? You feel sorry for him?" asked Gong Yoo who had suddenly joined them.
"That ahjussi clearly likes Ye Jin eonnie!" Yu Mi replied while glancing at Hyun Bin timidly.
"Don't say that Yu Mi..." Ye Jin pouted as she hugged Gi Dong who was now sitting on her lap.
"Yu Mi is right, I can see that too..." Hyun Bin commented.
Ye Jin raised her face, "So what if Woo Sung oppa likes me?" asked Ye Jin defiantly.
Yu Mi and Gong Yoo quickly shifted their gazes from Ye Jin to Hyun Bin, eagerly waiting for an answer.
Hyun Bin shrugged, "I don't know... I'm not interested in that person's feelings, I only care about your feelings." Hyun Bin replied while looking at Ye Jin seriously.
Yu Mi smiled and nudged Gong Yoo who looked at Hyun Bin with disgust. "Haishhh since when did your appa become so sweet-mouthed," he asked Gi Dong, who could only stare at his parents dumbfoundedly.
Author's Notes:
Hi! Anyone noticed Jung Woo Sung from A Moment to Remember? Actually, I was a big shipper of Ye Jin-Woo Sung after watching that movie, until I was introduced to Hyun Bin's Min Tae Gu. 🙈
Masculine and scruffy men are just 👌 *chef kiss
Anyway, thank you for taking time to read my story, I hope you're all well and healthy.. 💕
Love,
Ratna