The weeks that followed Kang Ji Eun's first date with Byun Baekhyun had been far better than she could have ever imagined.
Right after Baekhyun had dropped her off home from the date, the girl was quick to save her new pictures onto her computer. She didn't waste any time to edit all of them to her tastes. And no one would think, with the way she worked the hours away, that she hadn't been practicing her skills in a year. The concentration she held was at its maximum and not even when her father came in to check on her, did she stop.
It was just incredible motivation when her pictures will always remind her of the fantastic first date with Byun Baekhyun.
Once she had her scenic pictures fixed to their desired look, she began sending them (as well as her older prized photos) to professional Haejin.
It was just spur of the moment, she wanted to share her treasured photos to someone who would give her suitable feedback, something she haven't had for a long time. And as nervous as she was to get critiques on her work, she will just have to bare and grin it. That was the way of doing it, how else would she learn and grow?
And now, she will have to wait, since she knew the older photographer was a busy woman. The anticipation was killing her, but at least there were other things to keep her mind occupied.
Ji Eun still had her work at the restaurant eat up most of her time. This time around however, she was making the effort to learn how to cook some of the dishes served. Her new drive lead her to follow her father around the kitchen, making mental notes, slicing and dicing vegetables, adding spices, and every other thing to do. And honestly, this was the first in a long time that she'd consider work fun. If only she had been a little bit more involved, she wouldn't have thought of things the way they were.
Ji Eun felt completely happy.
And determined for once.
She had a motive, she had something to work for and get better at. Work was going okay, her passion for photography returned, and she no longer has any drama with people she's close to. She doesn't have to depend on just one thing to keep her going... But she will admit that a certain EXO member made up most of her days, even when majority of their relationship were through phone calls, video chats, and text messages.
Alive.
That was the new Kang Ji Eun.
It was a typical weekday, Kang's Kickin Chicken crew at work to take care of the lunch rush. Lately, however their restaurant had been gaining more customers than usual, not just the usual regulars that come in. Everyday has been a busy day and as much as they loved the sudden wave of income, it was sudden and tiring.
Ji Eun bustled about the building, occasionally helping her father in the kitchen and serving tables with Wook Yong. With her usual, cutesy grin on her face, she trudged through it all with ease.
It's fine, just a bit more people than usual. Nothing I can't do here.
"Hey, table for 2!" Ji Eun craned her head to the familiar voice, a smile already plastered on her face. But once she gaze fell on the source, her whole body stiffened. The sole man wasn't alone.
Jong Hoon sheepishly waved over, a plaid clad Mona clutching at his arm. The blonde woman held an unreadable expression, but Ji Eun could only guess that she was stabbing her over and over in that small brain of hers. The shorter sighed under her breath at the situation in hand but decided she might as well treat them as she usually would.
"Right this way," Ji Eun responded as she lead the couple to a vacant booth. She handed over the two menus before taking out her notepad to write their orders. "What would you two like to drink?"
The older woman probably wanted to blast out of the restaurant but she bared a smile, a fake one, but a smile nonetheless. Ji Eun was sure Jong Hoon brought her over against her own will.
There's no need to make it so obvious.
"Just a water with some lemon for me."
"And a glass of beer for me," Jong Hoon chimed. "And actually, we know what we want." The order was the usual he would get every time he'd eat at the restaurant. Before, the male could've mentioned "the Jong Hoon Special" and her and her fellow coworkers would know what to get. Maybe it has been a while since his last actual visit to eat, so he had to voice his order.
"Alright, I'll get right to it."
Ji Eun entered the kitchen with Sun Woo curiously following after her. "Noona, who's the blonde chick with Jong Hoon-hyung?"
"That's his girlfriend."
The college boy's eyes widened. "His girlfriend? Why did he have the audacity to bring her here? She knows that you're the ex?"
"Of course," Ji Eun sighed as she left the order slip for her father to see. "Don't make such a big deal, will ya? You know that we've all moved on."
"Yeah, but it's courtesy, ya know," he mumbled with a frown. His eyes narrowed as he gazed from afar. "Don't you think that it's rude to bring her here?"
"It's not like I'm mad anymore. What do you want me to do?"
"Call your own boyfriend here."
The short girl shot him a warning glance. "You know damn well that's a bad idea," she hissed at Sun Woo, smacking his shoulder. "I'm not going to bring my boyfriend every time some dilemma comes up, you know how fucking busy he is."
"Well, I don't know, to put her in her place. Just imagine the look of her face once she finds out you're dating an idol--" Whack! A swift smack to the boy's arm. "OUCH! Okay, okay, I get it! It's a bad idea."
"It is!" With a shake of her head at the delusional boy, she went back to work.
As well as giving the couple their drinks, she served the other customers as well. She kept herself busy, her mind off of the two who chatted amongst themselves... However, she couldn't help but overheard her name pop up in conversation a couple times.
She tried her best not to mind it.
Just as she left the two's order on their table fifteen minutes later, Jong Hoon stopped her before she could whisk away. "Ji Eun-ah, how about you join us?" He uttered, catching her curiosity. "We have tons of food and um, Mona would really appreciate it if you stuck around."
Ji Eun's brow rose, gaze shifting over to the blonde, the confusion evident on her face. "Would she?"
"Would I?" Mona mumbled simultaneously as her. Their eyes met, and as fast as it was, they looked away from each other back to Jong Hoon.
"Today is Mona's first time to try your famous fried chicken!" The male pressed on. He gestured for Ji Eun to sit in the booth across from them. "Wouldn't it be great to see a customer's first try?"
"I am in the middle of working, you know."
"Just for... A couple minutes!" Jong Hoon grabbed onto the girl's wrist and pulled her closer to the booth.
Defeated, Ji Eun sent a glance over at Sun Woo and motioned that she'll only take a couple minutes. She hesitantly sat down across the couple, the awkwardness already kicking in. The male glanced over at his girlfriend and whispered that she go ahead and try the food set out in front of them.
As Ji Eun wouldn't want to admit, she watched the older girl pick up a chicken wing from the plate and take a small bite, a crunch audible as she sunk her teeth in. Slowly chewing, expression blank as Mona ate the chicken. If she were to insult the chicken right in Ji Eun's presence, she would throw her out of the restaurant without hesitation.
Mona licked her lips and uttered softly before taking another bite, "Oh, it's good." The blonde went straight into their lunch.
Ji Eun nodded, pleased with her answer. But once the couple began eating leisurely, she wasn't sure what to do now. A sense of pride surged through her with the look of enjoyment on their faces, but what was the point of staying here longer than she should? "So, I guess I'll go back to--"
Jong Hoon held up his hand, stopping the girl mid-sentence. "No, no, we actually wanted to talk to you, Ji Eun-ah."
"About what?"
The male glimpsed over at the blonde and gave her side a nudge. Mona shot a sneer at her boyfriend's direction before looking at Ji Eun, face softening. With much reluctance, she murmured out, "I'm sorry."
Ji Eun blinked, "What?"
"I said I'm sorry," Mona repeated herself. "You know at the party, when we... First met."
"Oh, that," Ji Eun uttered, the memory clicking. Their first meeting was more than a month ago, honestly the younger wasn't expecting an apology from her.
Clingy.
Pathetic.
The words rang in her mind. Those were the words that Mona had told her at Su Bin's birthday party. Seeing her ex-boyfriend again with his new girlfriend and then being told off, that was an overwhelming moment.
She actually forgot that happened that night.
Because now every time she thought back on that Su Bin's birthday party, she just remembered everything Baekhyun did for her.
If anything, what had happened between the three of them had helped her get closer to EXO's vocal.
Ji Eun's lips perked into a small smile. "Thank you, really. I'll admit back then, I was a bit clingy and pathetic."
"Kang Ji Eun." The disappointed look on male's face made it obvious how displeased he was by her reply. "No, you weren't."
"I was. Don't even deny it now, idiot. I tried to hold on to you for as long as I could and that only resulted to you drifting away from me. As I'm still not one to be okay with cheating, I understand that you fell out of love with me and that's okay now." Ji Eun pursed her lips as her eyes drifted back to Mona. "I can't really wish you happiness wholeheartedly, but I could only hope that you and Jong Hoon work out or else everything would be for nothing."
Mona's gaze returned back to the food. "We should get a drink altogether sometime."
"Sure, one day."
Ji Eun stood up from the table and bid her farewells to the couple to let them have their privacy to go back to work. She then realized an odd emptiness in her apron pocket, the place where her cell phone usually stayed in. Her eyes darted around her for the familiar device and fortunately enough, she found it at the counter alongside Sun Woo.
However, when she approached the younger male, an odd look crossed his face. He strained a smile at her, in which threw her into suspicion.
What on earth did he do to look at me like that?
"Jagi, I'm here!" The girl rounded towards the entrance, mouth agape as a particular male clad in covering clothing burst in. Through his circular glasses, his eyes met hers and he began striding over to where she stood. He didn't fail to send threatening glares to Jong Hoon and Mona before reaching the short-haired brunette. "I came here as fast as I could once I got your messages."
"I sent you messages?" Ji Eun muttered, bewildered.
"Yes!" He slipped out his phone from his jacket pocket and showed her his lit up screen.
From: my gamja ❤️
> omg, jagiiiii
> my ex just came to the restaurant with his current gf
> can you come over??? :(
Once realizing what could've happened, Ji Eun shot a glower over to the guilty college kid at the opposite side of the counter. All she earned was a sheepish grin for her idiot coworker. She averted her gaze back to her boyfriend. "I thought you would know how I text by now."
"Are you telling me that you didn't send this?"
"Idiot, I never called you jagi."
"Well, how about--"
"I'm not going to start calling you oppa, either." She grabbed Baekhyun's arm and lead her to the back of the restaurant towards the steps to the apartment. "Just go upstairs before anyone recognizes you."
"So, you're not in trouble?" The idol halted in his tracks to glance at her. "Are they not causing any problems? Do I need to punch him again?"
"Bacon Bits, it's seriously fine. We just had a chat. Everything's okay now."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, now choose. Go upstairs or leave."
Baekhyun didn't have to be told twice to hurry up the steps into the Kang residence. Ji Eun turned, murmuring her apologies to the onlooking customers. To make up for the disturbance, she went back into her routine of serving. After thirty minutes, she got permission from her father to go up into the apartment.
Inside, she spotted Baekhyun just lying on the couch in the living room. She hopped over to his side and plopped down on the sliver of space by his legs. "So, you better be either done with today's schedule or on break right now, Byun Baekhyun."
A pout instantly etched onto his face at Ji Eun's words. "It's like you don't want to hang out with your boyfriend."
Ji Eun sighed, as she patted his leg for assurance, "Of course I want to hang out with you, I just don't want you to have any consequences while seeing me."
The idol pulled himself up into a sitting position so to be eye to eye with the girl. "You should trust me more, I gotten permission from my manager to come over. How else would I have come in the middle of the day?" He reached over and grabbed onto her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers and giving a light peck to the back of it. "I missed you."
A warm smile tugged at her lips. "I missed you too. I guess selfies aren't enough."
"Are you able to stay with me for a bit longer or do you have to go back to work?"
"I got a couple minutes to spare." With his arms spread out towards her, Ji Eun let herself collapse into his embrace. His body warmth was enough to erase all her stress. "I hope you don't mind the greasy chicken smell."
"You smell delicious."
She can't believe how bad she has it for the boy. If she were to thought this was a possibility mere months ago, she would have crossed out the idea instantly for the sake of loyalty.
"Has Haejin-noona replied to you yet?" Baekhyun asked her out of the blue. Ji Eun slightly pulled away to shake her head at him in reply. There was a subtle smile to his lips, like he knew something she didn't. "Why don't you check your emails?"
"Did she tell you something?"
"I don't know~"
Following his advice, Ji Eun went ahead to check her email through her phone. From a couple hours ago, Haejin's name popped up in her long list of unread messages, sending a shot of anticipation into the younger's veins. Clicking the email, she began to read what the professional photographer had written for her.
Hello Ji Eun!
Sorry for such the late reply, I've been busy with work lately that I haven't been able to see your pictures earlier. But, really, I'm so impressed with your shots. Of course, there's still some things you should improve on, but with the way things are now without much education on it, it's amazingly done!
Like the picture of the woman in the sunset? You mentioned that you took that picture when you were in high school, and that shot is gorgeous. The lighting from the sun contrasts really well with her dress. Definitely helps that you found a great model for that shoot.
And the recent shots you got at Eungbong Mountain and that cafe are beautiful as well. Despite not taking pictures for a long while, it looks like you haven't lost your magic touch. The shots look magical. And I'm not sure if you meant to send me pictures with Baekhyun as well, but he looked picture ready, haha. Did you ask him to model for you too? He was probably more than happy to pose for you, ah young love!
But, anyway, bottom line here is that you have so much potential, Ji Eun. So, I thought up of something.
Would you like to be sort of like, my apprentice? That's such a weird word to use, but you know, like an intern, but I'll definitely pay you for your work as well. If you so desire to accept, I think going back to classes for this as well should be needed, because they do have a lot of lessons that could help you improve. But under my wing, I think you'll become the photographer you want to be! If this happens, you'll be travelling to different countries and be watching a lot of photoshoots and more.
I already discussed this the to director at our company, and he's more than happy to let me do so. I've shown him your works to, and thought the same as I do. And who knows, maybe you can be a permanent employee here too! How does that sound?
Rereading this might be a bit overwhelming, but really, we can make this happen! We're not doing this because you're Byun Baekhyun's girl, but because you are a talented young lady that needs the opportunity to shine as brightly as you can. Plus, I like you! I think it'd be a joy to work with you. So, message me back as soon as you can once you made your decision, I'll be waiting for it!
From, Lu Haejin
Main Photographer; associated with CHEER Magazine, Mystic Photo Co.
It felt like all the air had left Ji Eun. She read and reread the email twice, thrice, and it still doesn't seem like it was believable.
"Ji Eun, you haven't said anything for a solid five... now six minutes," Baekhyun quipped, bringing the girl out of her frizzled thoughts. At her flabbergasted expression, the idol smiled as he patted her back. "Noona told me about it all earlier. I promise that I didn't have any influence on her decision to do this. This was all her and her company's doing."
"They really want me to... are you sure this is real?" Ji Eun choked out. "They want to accept me as an intern? Is this really happening?"
The male cupped her cheeks into his hands, so to maintain eye contact. "Jagi, yes, this is real. They are genuinely impressed with your photography and want to make you even better. This is your chance to continue on with your dream. It's your choice, but you should definitely do it once you talk to your father about it."
"I'm just... I don't know how to feel right now," Ji Eun mumbled out.
She was close to tears.
Tears out of her joy right now.
Everything finally seemed perfect.
And just being here, sharing this moment with her boyfriend was even better, her heart filled with so much admiration and adoration. The warmth and the pure excitement he resonated enough to bring her into a ethereal state. How could she have been so lucky?
Wasn't it a bit too unfair to be this blessed?
Was it
too early
to say
I love you, Baekhyun?
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A/n: I really am tasting the end of this story! Maybe a chapter left?