The café is much livelier than usual, with more than just the two live-in baristas bustling around the space with a multitude of trays balanced precariously on their arms. It's finally back to school season after a long, humid summer, and the city, along with Café Callisto, is coming to life.
Wonpil sits on a corner table with his chin cradled in the dip of his palm. The seat of the chair digs into the bones of his butt, but it's the only free seat in the café, the rest of which is populated by laughing college-age students and stressed-looking high schoolers. And he barely feels the pain anymore, after a quarter of an hour of butt-numbing stillness helped along by the book that lies open in front of him.
It was the thinnest book Wonpil had been able to find in the cupboards stacked against one wall of the café, after Joshua had informed him that the orders would take longer than usual. His original goal in picking the thin paperback had just been to distract himself until he got his strawberry milkshake and piece of pie, but after a few turns of the pages, he found himself immersed.
The volume is a beginner's guide to constellations, with neat letters dividing the book into sections according to the constellation. There's nothing scientific about the book—it's filled with myths and stories, legends behind the names of the stars. He's always been a sucker for fairytales, and it doesn't take long for the book to suck him in.
Wonpil is three-fourths through Orion when a drink is set down on the table in front of him, casting an elongated shadow over the page. He looks up, blinking as he is broken out of his reverie, and finds a smiling Joshua standing over him with his hands on his hips.
"I hope you haven't spilled anything onto my book," he says superiorly, but there is a joking undertone to his voice.
Wonpil grins, unable to help it. He's moved about quite a bit throughout his childhood, but this is the first time he's met someone who's grown on him so quickly. If someone had told him two months ago that he'd be all buddy-buddy with a stranger who dumped coffee on him, he would have laughed, but here he is. Here the both of them are.
"I haven't actually gotten my order yet," Wonpil says with half a smile, and inserts a finger between the two halves of the book on the page he's at before closing it shut. "Service is pretty bad here."
"Oh, please," Joshua says, the same all-knowing smile playing across his lips. Despite his joking demeanor, Wonpil knows that underneath lies layers of wisdom he hasn't even begun to understand. "I had more important customers to serve."
"As probably your only friend in this city, I'm offended."
"You haven't even begun to see the extent of my popularity," Joshua says with a shake of his head and a theatrical sigh that singles him out as an art kid. "Why do you think all these people flock to this café?"
"Your brother is prettier than you," Wonpil says with a challenging incline to his head.
"We combine our charm to exercise it on the masses," Joshua answers, without missing a beat. "It brings all the girls to the yard."
"I thought that was your milkshakes."
"Aha," Joshua exclaims deliberately, "those bring the boys."
Wonpil laughs, and the door opens. He doesn't see it open, of course, the glass gates being out of his line of vision, but he feels the hot wind that ushers in at its opening, the fingers of the warm outdoor breeze tickle his face and the fringe of his hair. They both glance towards it—Joshua out of necessity, and Wonpil out of instinct. A person steps through, with the strap of her bag slung across one shoulder and hair mussed from the hot winds, a skateboard clung in one free hand.
Daehyun glances around in visible almost-panic, looking alarmed at the sudden increase in crowd, and Wonpil smiles an unconscious smile of fondness which doesn't go unnoticed by Joshua. Neither of them moves for a moment as she looks around hastily, her eyes growing larger with every passing second until they land on the boys and her tense shoulders relax immediately.
Joshua glances at Wonpil out of the corner of his eye with a sideways smile just as she makes her way towards the table, gripping the strap of the bag with relief. "Hey, Wonpil," she says with a shy smile, then nods at Joshua seriously. "Josh."
Joshua winks at her as she swings the bag off her shoulder and onto the table, narrowly missing his milkshake. "What brings you to my humble café?" he asks. "Looking for Vernon?"
Daehyun opens her mouth to answer, but something flashes across her face before she can, and she snaps it shut defiantly. "Who said I was looking for him?" she asks, challenging and petulant like a child fighting over whose mom was better. "Why does everyone think I'm always looking for him?"
"Well, because you usually are," he answers, then seems to reconsider his reply. "Scratch that. Because you always are."
She stares at him incredulously for a moment. "That's not true," she says in a small voice, the stands up straighter. "Anyway, no. I'm just here for...something to eat."
"I see," Joshua says, amusement dancing in his crescent-moon eyes. "Do you want to order or do you intend to steal something from another table?"
"I'll have whatever Wonpil's having," Daehyun answers with a tilt of her chin. She must have come in directly after school, because she's still in uniform, the crest of her school winking from the pocket of her otherwise plain white blouse. "And also..."
Joshua raises an expressive eyebrow.
"Where's Vernon?" she asks sheepishly, unconsciously picking at the end of the bag strap. Then, hastily, she adds: "Just in case."
Amusement flares in the barista's eyes, violent and unabashed. "Why don't you look for yourself?" he suggests triumphantly, before turning away and sauntering back to the counter with the air of a debate champion delivering his final argument.
Both Daehyun and Wonpil watch him go, one annoyed, one mystified. She clears her throat and turns as Joshua reaches the last table, fixing him with a sideways smile. "Hi."
Wonpil looks at her, eyes suddenly wide. "Hello."
Their lips flatten into twin smiles, matching each other in their levels of awkwardness. Wonpil's usually pretty good at initiating conversation, like the way he had engaged her so easily during their first meeting/date, but now that he actually knows her better he finds it baffling how he did it the first time. Maybe that's how it works. You find it easier to talk to someone when every subject is open to discussion.
"What are you reading?" Daehyun asks carefully, tapping a beat against the strap of her bag which lies on his table.
"Oh," he murmurs, more to himself, and looks at the pocketbook a little more closely. "Nothing, just, uh, just something I found on the shelves, to pass the time. It's not long, but I have somewhere to be in some time, so I don't think I'll be able to finish it. A pity, actually. It's pretty interesting."
"I did say you could borrow it," says Joshua, appearing once again at the table, carrying two piece of pie. He hands one to Daehyun, who stares at it like it's a mini UFO, and sets the other on the table beside Wonpil. "As long as you don't get your grubby fingers all over it."
"My fingers are not grubby," Wonpil defends, but there's a smile on his face.
"Well, your manners sure are," the pink-haired boy says. "You always offer the lady the lone seat."
Wonpil looks down at his lap, then at a wide-eyed Daehyun, and realizes she's been standing the whole time. "Oh!" he exclaims, rising a little, a blush spreading across his cheeks from the physical force of his embarrassment. "You can—"
"Oh, no, that's not a—" she starts, but Joshua grips her elbow before she can complete the statement.
"Actually, you can sit," he says to Wonpil, then glances at her a little guiltily. "Remember when you were looking for Vernon?"
Her eyes narrow. "Is that what this is—"
"He's actually not back yet," he interrupts. "And since we're lacking manpower, I'm kind of running out here." There's a helpless edge to his voice, glazed over with an almost self-deprecating humor. "And since you know the café's layout better than anyone... Would you mind filling in for a few minutes until he gets back?"
"Oh," she exclaims softly, unconsciously smoothing down the front of her pleated skirt, which is part of her uniform. "Oh. Yeah, of course. Sure. Why not?"
"Thanks, you're an angel," Joshua says, hastily but not unkindly, and turns her around, only pausing to glance back at Wonpil. "By the way, I need to borrow her for some time."
"Go right ahead," Wonpil says with an amused smile.
|
"I'm actually not sure what I'm supposed to do," Daehyun frets. The apron tied over her uniform is a cool bluish-gray, a much calmer color than her mood. "Do I just stand there and take orders, or—"
"You don't have to go up to the tables right now, since we don't need any unnecessary spills," Joshua says, not unkindly. "Just stand here and let them come to you. Big smile." He makes a sweeping gesture with his hands and puts on his signature flashlight smile. "Look, like this."
She nares her teeth at him, and it takes a moment for him to register that she's attempting a smile. "Like this?"
Joshua sighs, passing a hand over his face tiredly. "Never mind," he amends. "Just—be casual. You don't have to impress anyone or anything, just make sure they get what they need and pay you for it."
"But I don't know how to make anything!" she calls as he moves out from behind the counter.
"You don't have to. I'll be back here every few minutes, I just need you to take their orders." he says. Then, as an afterthought: "Don't freak out too much."
"Too late," she mutters nervously before another thought hits her. "Wait, if I'm not serving, why am I wearing the apron, then?"
But Joshua is already gone, navigating the café's interior with unmatched grace. She watches as he eases into the middle of an intense debate happening at the fourth table among a group of college kids, and interjects a smile and a greeting when he comes to a lone, nervous-looking high schooler. He has a way with people, an easygoing air that makes people want to talk to him.
Daehyun sighs, looking away from him talking to a middle-aged woman about the perils of grocery carts. The door opens, and a boy steps in. He's tall, all angles and limbs, with dyed hair the color of milk and a perpetually dry expression. She stares at him, wondering why he looks so familiar, until he turns to the counter and she catches sight of his face.
"Oh, you're that guy from the cat shelter!" she says with a natural smile, and he blinks at her. "I don't know if you remember me, but me and my—my friend, we volunteer there."
He looks at her for a few more seconds before speaking. "Where's Joshua?"
She deflates. "He's not here at the moment," she answers. "I mean, he's still in the café, but—"
"Jeonghan!" A grinning Joshua emerges from the crowd. "I thought you were working today."
"Yeah, I got someone to sub this shift," Jeonghan replies with a rare smile. "I texted you."
"I've been unable to access my phone for quite some time now." Joshua shrugs, then looks at Daehyun. "I see you've met Daehyun."
"Much against my will," Jeonghan says, but not unkindly. "So the blond was Vernon?"
"We did sign in at the shelter that day," Daehyun says. "With our names."
"Details." Jeonghan shrugs, and turns to Joshua. "I need the color prints. Do you have a minute? If you don't, show me where they are anyway."
Joshua laughs, then casts Daehyun a quick look. "Do you think you can handle the café for about fifteen minutes? Thanks."
She opens her mouth to protest, but he disappears inside the employee door after Jeonghan without hearing her answer. With a sigh, Daehyun turns back at the newly-developed line in front of the cashier, and suddenly feels ill. "You're welcome," she mutters under her breath, and turns to the waiting customer with a smile like the one Joshua greets her with every day. "Welcome to Café Callisto. What can I get you today?"
"An explanation would be nice," Vernon replies.