wondrous things can happen in a small cafe in the middle of an unknown province. you never know what you can experience, you never know who you can meet.
A late night shift was the one you were working. And that being the case, you didn't expect anything to come out of it. In the province where you were, people don't show up all that much. Sure there would be one or two groups of customers that would come every now and then, but within a certain time, they'd leave.
The cafe is usually empty by 2 AM, but today turned out to be a little different. At this time, you'd be quite exhausted. You would lay your head on the free counter where there are no items placed. Though it's still your shift, it was your moment of silence. Your small moment of freedom.
However, not even a few minutes into resting your head, you heard the bells hanging from the entrance door chime. Quickly, you lifted your sleepy head and stepped into the main area to tend to the customer who just arrived.
He was dressed in a puffy black jacket, with some black joggers and he was wearing a white face mask. He looked quite stylish, though that might just be because he exuded a very confident aura.
As he approached the counter, you smiled and asked him, "Hi, what can I get you?" He didn't answer you immediately as he browsed the menu to find if what he was looking for was there.
His eyes stopped on a particular item, then he looked back at you. His eyes were smiling, well it looked like it. Though his eyes were tired, they lifted as if he was smiling at you as he said, "I would like an Iced Americano please."
"Alright, that would be 4,000 won." You processed his order and told him. He immediately brought out his wallet and paid you.
"Thank you so much!" You smiled brightly as you received his payment.
"I can just bring you your coffee once it's ready. Feel free to have a seat while waiting." You spoke to him once again.
"It's fine." He replied with a chuckle. "I'll just wait for my coffee here."
"Oh, alright." You smiled at him once again as you went to prepare his coffee.
"I have a question." He spoke as you were preparing the ingredients you needed.
"Yes?" You looked into his eyes, waiting for his question. He seemed to be quite taken aback as you looked at him. He didn't say anything, he just kept looking at you.
"S-sir?" You studied his eyes more as you tried to call for his attention.
"Oh—sorry. I got distracted for a moment." He spoke with a light tone, then proceeded to laugh out of slight embarrassment.
"Uhm... But I was going to ask, is your coffee shop open all day?" He asked, still with that light tone. You could hear that slight laughter in his voice. Honestly, you found his voice quite nice. It was soft, with a bit of nasality.
"Why? Are you looking to come back here soon?" Upon allowing those words to leave your mouth, you immediately want to smack yourself in the head. You asked yourself why the heck you would ask that when it's none of your business. You furrowed your eyebrows in disappointment with what you just said.
He looked quite taken aback, but as his eyes were hardly open, it would seem as though he was laughing.
"Please ignore what I just said. It's quite late and I guess I'm out of my mind." You smiled, trying your best to explain yourself.
"But answering your question, our cafe is open all day."
"Okay, that's nice." He said. "And by the way, it's all fine. It is late, you're probably tired." He continued. His eyes were still smiling at you and for some weird reason, it was making you feel giddy inside. The way he looked at you, it was comforting. It honestly felt as though he was concerned with you still working at a very late hour.
As a reply to his words, you just nodded and smiled. You continued preparing his coffee as he just looked at his phone from time to time and then watched you.
After a few minutes, you finished making his coffee.
"Here is your Iced Americano, sir." You said to him as you handed him the cup along with a bamboo straw.
"Thank you very much." He replied as he took off his mask. You could finally see him smile. He was really attractive, and you didn't know why but you found his smile very cute.
You watched as he inserted the straw in the cup and as he tasted your coffee creation. You were waiting for any type of facial response or feedback. Okay, perhaps not waiting, you were dying to know.
Once again, you didn't know why, but you wanted so badly for this guy to like the Americano you made. It's a given it's just a type of coffee that will taste the same in most cases, but you still wanted to know how he would react.
With that, words couldn't express how happy you were upon seeing a smile on his face after tasting the Americano.
For you, working as a barista was the dream. You couldn't ask for anything else. You just enjoyed making coffee and seeing how people would react after tasting your coffee. It's a given they don't like it every once in a while, but that's like the bitterness of coffee isn't it? You won't always have a coffee that is just sweet and creamy, sometimes you'll taste something bitter, and frankly, that was alright.
"This is really good actually." He spoke as he took another sip of the coffee.
"Well, the cafe is always open if you want more." You told him with a smile on your face.
"That is true..." He spoke, then his lips curled into a smile as he looked you in the eyes,
"But I believe the Americano will only taste this good if you make it." His eyes curved as his smile got sweeter. He knew exactly what he was doing.
You were quite taken aback. And admittedly, that did make your heart flutter,
You took a deep sigh.
"Well, sir." You smiled brightly.
"If you want more of that Americano, I'm in the shop from 5 pm to 5 am. I can't promise that I would still be speaking like a human in those long hours, but I can definitely give you an Americano." You proudly told him. You were even giving very inviting gestures with your arms.
At this point, you didn't care how you came across to him. It was almost 3 am and to be frank, this conversation was keeping you alive.
He then laughed at your response to his remark. "You're cute." He softly said.
Your cheeks flushed a red color. You couldn't believe how easy it is to get your heart beating loudly.
"You too." And that. That was the response you chose to make.
"What?" He just replied with a small chuckle.
You shook your head, laughing at your own words.
"What?" You also asked, but with your voice, it was obvious that even you were confused with your words.
At that point, the both of you were just sharing cute little peals of laughter. It was the best thing to have come out of your late shift.
You took a deep breath once more after the laughter died down.
"Don't tell my boss, but as much as we should be keeping customers in the cafe, I think you should really head back. It's almost 3 am and it's not safe in this area at this time." You told him in a whispering voice.
Again with that attractive and energetic smile, he stepped closer to the counter to whisper back, "I think you're right." He just said.
You couldn't help but laugh. Why was that so cute?
He then went back to standing normally, then with his beautiful voice, he said, "I'll be back okay. I'm not sure when, but I'm definitely going back here."
"Alright, sir. The Americano will just be here waiting for you." You told him.
Then with a sly smirk, he looked you in the eyes.
"And who said the Americano is all that I will come back for?" He asked with very cheerful and complementing eyes. Once again, he knew. what he was doing.
You looked down at the ground and smiled.
"Okay, sir. I better see you again soon then. Perhaps we can have another chance to talk outside of the cafe." You told him with a welcoming smile.
He puckered his lips and then proceeded to smile.
"Okay!" He happily said, even signing an okay out of the joy he felt.
He then took a sigh.
"I'll really leave now. It was really nice talking to you." He said. He was still smiling, but this time around, it felt happier and more serious.
You smiled at him with a little nod.
"Thank you for coming! See you again... soon?" You replied sounding a little shy.
He happily turned his back away from you and walked through the doors of the cafe.
You smiled to yourself, thinking about the whole encounter you just had.
But as you were in your little sweet thoughts, the bells from the door chimed loudly. You immediately look at the entrance, "Welcome to the cafe, what can I get—Sir?" He was back in front of you again. He was breathing loudly and holding his chest.
"Sir, what happened?" You stepped out of the counter to ask.
"I forgot..." He spoke.
"You forgot what, sir?" You questioned with a lot of concern.
"I-I forgot to ask your name..." He spoke in the little breaths that came out of him.
You laughed. You didn't know whether to be flattered or worried.
Cute.
"Sir, my name is Y/n." You smiled as you told him.
"Ha..." He said with a breathy chuckle.
"Y/n... that's a pretty name." He spoke, still catching his breath.
He then stood up properly. He had a huge smile on his face as he stabilized his breathing.
"I'm Yeonjun. Choi...Yeonjun." He spoke, holding his hand out to shake yours.
Of course, you also reached out your hand to shake his.
"Nice to meet you, Choi Yeonjun." You said to him.
"Now, seriously. You should get home." You then said to him with a concerned smile.
He agreed immediately. He still had that smile on his face as he nodded like an obedient child.
As soon as you two let go of each other's hand, he left the cafe once again. Occasionally, looking back at you as you watched him leave.
You laughed yet again.
"L/n Y/n, what have you gotten yourself into again?" You asked yourself as you felt your heart beating loudly. Those little thumps made you know immediately what you were feeling.
It was safe to say that if he looked forward to seeing you again. All the more did you look forward to seeing him again.