She knew she was late. There was no clock necessary to remind her of this minor detail--her boss’ menacing glare was already ingrained in the back of her head. Wincing at the thought, Nayoung dropped her bag on the dining table and dug through her belongings.

 

“Where is it!” she seethed through her teeth and let out a harsh sigh. The continuous ticking of the clock seemed to taunt her as she stood there, desperate and in search for her phone. Nayoung left her bag and scurried through the compact living room, searching through the drawers and between randomly scattered books.

 

“Youngie?” a groggy voice startled Nayoung, halting her movements. She glanced at the source of the voice and found her housemate hidden between multiple pillows. Nayoung frowned at Yewon’s languid struggles to sit up and continued to look for her phone.

 

“Why are you on the couch?” she asked with a curious undertone. Nayoung forced out another harsh sigh when she still couldn’t find that damned electronic piece of hell. Yewon released a groan and tiredly rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, smudging whatever was left of her make-up from the other night.

 

“What are you doing up so early?” Yewon managed to ask in the middle of her yawn. Her arms reached above her in a wide stretch before she draped herself over the backrest of the couch. Nayoung pursed her lips and quickly moved herself to the other side of the room. She dropped herself onto her knees and began digging through the wicker hamper filled with clothes.

 

“Work,” she said and continued to throw articles of clothing around. Unfortunately, she still didn’t feel the hard case of her phone hidden in the soft material. “Have you seen my phone?”

 

A soft snore was what Nayoung got as a reply, and when she looked at the couch, she found that her housemate had fallen asleep again in her awkward hanging position.

 

“Kim!”

 

The girl snapped out of her nap and sat up in an instant, wiping away some invisible drool. “I’m up!”

 

With half-lidded eyes, Yewon searched for Nayoung in the room and showed a sheepish grin. “What?”

 

“Phone!” Nayoung said and got to her feet again. Her eyes scanned the room as she raked her brain of where she might’ve left it. What frustrated her the most was that it wasn’t the first time that she had lost her phone. You’d think one would learn from such cases, but Nayoung seemed to be the exception.

 

Yewon glanced around with slow movements before she understood what her housemate meant. Her hand dove between the pillows of her fort and searched for something hiding underneath it. A smile formed on her lips when she felt what she was looking for and pulled out a black device.

 

“It has been buzzing all night, you know?” Yewon said still exhausted and waved it at Nayoung.

 

The latter’s jaw dropped at the location of her phone and she hurried over to grab it. “Why did you hide it!”

 

Nayoung clicked on the home button and noticed the multitude of messages and missed calls on her screen.

 

“And yeah, I figured,” she added with a dismissive shrug. Without checking the unread messages, Nayoung threw her phone in her bag. Relieved, she shuffled to the front door and got her coat from a hook next to it.

 

She scrunched her nose when she noticed a pungent scent in the air. Frowning at her coat, Nayoung took a whiff off the fabric, thinking it came from there.

 

“Why does it smell like dead animal in here?” she asked frowning, but Yewon had caught her question. The woman provided her with an answer that wasn’t exactly what Nayoung wanted to hear at 8:15 in the morning.

 

“Jaebum puked all over my shoes and I didn’t have the time to clean them.”

 

“Yewon!”

 

“It was a strange night, okay!”

 

Nayoung sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. It was far too early for this. She shrugged the sling of her bag onto her shoulder and called into the room, “Whatever! But it better be clean when I come back!”

 

And with that, she slipped through the entrance of her shared apartment to somewhat lessen the time she was already late.

 

His cocked eyebrow wouldn’t be regarded as one of the most threatening out there. It was mainly the scowl he wore that scared Nayoung. She knew it wasn’t the first time the glare was meant for her; still, it left her slightly cowering.

 

Yixing was a young man and had gentle features. The secret dimple that would appear when he was in a good mood eased Nayoung every time she saw it. Together with his sweet smile, he almost seemed harmless.

 

Almost.

 

“This is the fifth time this month already, Nayoung,” Yixing told her—which was nothing new, really. Nayoung was well aware of her tardy behavior.

 

“I know,” she said with a soft voice and averted her gaze to her feet, internally frowning at the choice of the color orange for the carpet. “I know it’s no excuse but I lost my phone this morning, then found my hungover housemate on the couch and then there was puke—”

 

“You’re right,” Yixing interrupted her and crossed his arms. “It’s no excuse whatsoever. I’ve given you multiple warnings already, yet you do nothing with them. It’s starting to look bad on your record.”

 

His gaze softened the slightest when Nayoung still hadn’t looked up. “Youngie, I’m sorry but I’ll have to make a note of this—”

 

“Ah, loosen up, Yixing,” a sudden pleasant voice mingled with their conversation, followed by an arm that was slung over Yixing’s shoulders. Nayoung smiled relieved at the sight of her co-worker, Baekhyun.

 

“You shouldn’t be so hard on her. Sure, she has some time-management issues, but she’s a fine employee and you know it,” Baekhyun said with a grin and moved his arm so he could tighten his hold around Yixing’s neck. “Like you’ve never been late to anything,” he added with a coo and ruffled Yixing’s hair.

 

The latter struggled to escape from the chokehold; even though Baekhyun wasn’t that great in height, his strength made up for the loss in verticality.

 

“Byun, let go of me!” Yixing muttered and turned in his employee’s arms so their positions were switched. Baekhyun let out a strangled chuckle as he was trying to somehow loosen Yixing’s grip around his neck. It wasn’t the first time he found himself in that compromising position and usually he could slip away. Today seemed different.

 

Nayoung watched on with a small grin on her lips and took a few steps back, for she was waiting for the magic words.

 

“Go on without me, Youngie!” Baekhyun said dramatically and sent her a wink from his awkward position in Yixing’s arms. “Leave me to deal with the everlasting wrath of the sleeping dragon hiding within Zhang Yixing and be free!”

 

Yixing frowned and was about to let go of the man in his arms, when Baekhyun wrapped an arm around his boss’ waist to keep him from moving any further. A laugh escaped Baekhyun’s lips when he threw his weight back so they nearly tumbled to the floor.

 

“Wha- wait! I wasn’t done yet!” Yixing yelled, but Nayoung had already slipped away from the backroom into the café. Chuckling, she closed the door behind her, silencing the distressed pleas of her boss for Baekhyun to let him go. She greeted Sunhee, another colleague of hers, and took her position behind the counter.

 

“Sorry for the wait,” Nayoung said with a smile to a customer. “What can I get you?

 

The Grind was a small college café, wellknown for its cheap drinks and delicious pastries. It had started as a small project of Yixing for his business class; the assignment was to come up with a business plan that would allow entrepreneurs to understand the amount of work they have to put into a personal establishment.

 

Yixing had always been interested in the catering industry so he chose that as his target demographic and began working from there. Each student was allowed to create a stall to test the waters and see what their ‘audience’ preferred. Yixing came up with a small idea that would benefit both him and the poor students of his college. Soon he became the school’s spokesperson.

 

His stall became an immediate success and his teacher encouraged him to start his own business.

 

The Grind was born the moment he graduated and Yixing was set.

 

Nayoung’s role emerged when she caught the news spreading about a new café on campus. She was in need of a job that was near her school and had a decent salary so she could pay for her rented apartment. She applied and luckily didn’t have to wait long before she got the call that she was hired. On her first day Nayoung went through her hours with Yixing and both came to the conclusion that morning shifts fit her schedule best since she attended night classes. Her colleagues were great and Nayoung learned a lot about brewing coffee and working with people—she truly enjoyed it.

 

But somewhere during her second year of working at the Grind, a shift in her motivation occurred.

 

“Good morning.”

 

Nayoung’s fingers tightened over the fabric of her apron.

 

“Good morning,” she said, but it sounded more like a squeak. She fished her black marker from her shirt’s front pocket and looked over the man’s head as to not look him in the eye. “What can I get you today?”

 

The customer in front of her pulled his eyes away from Nayoung and scanned the wooden signs behind her. He pursed his plush lips, seemingly in thought, and Nayoung felt a blush creep up from her neck onto her cheeks. His chocolate brown hair was slightly parted at the front and pushed back into a messy coupe. He still managed to look effortlessly handsome, Nayoung thought.

 

Usually, he would wear short-sleeved shirts or have them rolled up to his elbows, showcasing the dark tattooed bands on his lower arm. Today, however, with the colder weather around the corner, Nayoung noticed that his nicely tanned skin was hidden behind a thin blue striped jacket.

 

“May I have the medium caramel frappe, please?”

 

Before Nayoung could further feast her eyes on the man’s outfit, his voice pulled her back to reality. Blinking startled, with slightly trembling hands, she got two empty cups.

 

“Medium or large?” she asked but when a silence fell, Nayoung realized her mistake.

 

“Medium,” the man repeated his answer with a smile before Nayoung could apologize for her not paying attention.

 

She pressed her lips together and quickly nodded while scribbling his order on the clear cup.

 

“Name?”

 

“Kai.”

 

Nayoung felt her heart skip a beat when his name rolled off his lips. Kai, she mentally repeated and traced the letters twice before handing the cup to her colleague. Not looking up at Kai, she entered his order into the register. “That’ll be 2.50, please,” Nayoung said and watched from her peripheral vision how Kai looked through his wallet before handing her a 5-dollar bill.

 

Her gaze trailed to Kai’s profile, but she instantly regretted it. He still wore his perfect smile, which honestly just made Nayoung feel weak to her knees. She tried to keep her expression as neutral as possible when she thanked him and opened the register for his change.  

 

“You can pick up your order in a few minutes at the left counter,” she told him, her eyes averted to their hands. She heard him thank her before he walked away and Nayoung could breathe again. Her whole body relaxed when she didn’t feel the handsome customer’s eyes on her anymore.

 

When she looked up again, another customer was waiting for her to take their order. So Nayoung followed through the previous steps again, making sure her eyes didn’t shift to the left too often. When she wanted to step away from the counter, a voice stopped her from leaving.

 

“I’m sorry, miss?”

 

Nayoung felt herself grow warmer again.

 

“I think there was a mistake with my order.”

 

Again, Nayoung caught Kai standing behind the register where she had gotten his order, but this time with a filled cup in his hand. The one on which Nayoung had traced his name twice. She approached him and glanced at the cup, and where he was pointing.

 

“I’m pretty sure I ordered a caramel frappe instead of a strawberry one,” Kai smiled at her and set the cup on the counter. Nayoung’s eyes widened at her mistake; she quickly apologized before getting a new cup and scribbling the right order.

 

“It’s okay, it’s still early,” Kai said with a chuckle and checked his watch. “I don’t know how you do it, though.”

 

Nayoung looked up from her writing with a slight frown, showing her confusion. Kai smiled and to Nayoung it looked as pleasant as a summer’s twilight.

 

“Standing behind the counter and dealing with annoying customers like me this actively in the morning, I mean,” he said with the same smile he had been wearing the whole time Nayoung had seen him. A forced smile of her own crept onto her lips because truthfully, she didn’t particularly enjoy waking up that early either. But it paid the bills and gave her the structure she needed in her day.

 

“It builds character, I guess,” Nayoung muttered and handed Amy the new cup when she had finished ticking the boxes.

 

The man snorted amused and nodded. “I’m sure.”

 

Nayoung pressed her lips together when a silence followed so she gestured at the left counter again. “My colleague will prepare the right drink for you. It’s on the house,” she explained, “I’m so sorry for the inconvenience.”

 

Kai waved it away with a grin. “It’s okay, I don’t feel like going to class just yet so this was a nice hold-up. Anyway, thanks! Have a nice day.”

 

He saluted Nayoung before slipping to where his frappe was at, and waved at Nayoung’s colleague as well before he left.

 

A sigh slipped past Nayoung’s lips as she watched his back get smaller and smaller as he crossed the road to the school. A nudge pulled her gaze away from the window and to her left where she found Amy wearing a huge grin. Nayoung frowned at her and let out a chuckle.

 

“What’s up with you?” she asked with an amused smile and searched for a wet cloth she could wipe the counter with.

 

Amy latched onto Nayoung’s lower arm and wiggled it enthusiastically. “He was so handsome! It’s a blessing whenever he comes in because it feels like an angel graces us with his presence!”

 

Nayoung snorted and felt a smile tug onto her lips when she thought of Kai. This was actually the first time they had had a full conversation without the usual ‘what can I get you’ and his answer, and she couldn’t help but feel giddy. Nayoung already knew that he was handsome—she might’ve stared at him on multiple occasions—but now she had found out that his voice and personality quite fit his character. Additionally, he didn’t ignore her, so Nayoung thought he couldn’t be that big of an .

 

When Nayoung felt eyes on her, she turned her attention back to Amy who hadn’t left her side.

 

Nayoung threw the cloth into the sink, opened the faucet and rinsed it. “What?”

 

Amy narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

 

“Come to think of it, you never make mistakes when it comes to taking orders,” she said and cocked her head. “Then why did it happen today?”

 

Nayoung frowned, suppressing the smile that was threatening to spill over her features. “I do make mistakes, you just never see them,” she said and dried her hands on her apron. She saw that Amy still wasn’t quite convinced so Nayoung chose to shrug off the conversation.

 

“Tables two and six need clearing, you should get to that before Yixing sees,” Nayoung nodded into the café and handed Amy a platter.

 

“Thanks,” Amy said with a voice filled with suspicion, but left Nayoung for what it was.

 

The smile that Nayoung had tried to keep from appearing, had now pushed itself onto her lips. She chuckled to herself--Amy was right.

 

She never made mistakes.

 

But that didn’t mean she couldn’t make exceptions.

 

“Sometimes I wonder why we even attend this lit course,” Yewon said scowling, as she was sliding her books back into her bag. “It’s not like what they tell you is vital.”

 

Stretching her stiff back, Nayoung hummed in agreement and followed her friend’s example. “I like to think that there are some informative classes, though.”

 

She slid from her chair, letting it flip up against the backseat again, and swung her bag over her shoulder. Nayoung indeed shared the same mindset as Yewon but unlike the younger, she enjoyed the literary documentaries and found the hours filled with dissecting poems and short stories pure bliss.

 

For Yewon it was simply a mandatory subject she minored in, whilst for Nayoung it was her appetizer, main course and dessert.

 

“Well, that makes one of us,” Yewon said and followed her housemate out of the stuffy auditorium. They didn’t have the time to dwell any longer on the subject because a familiar chime broke through the low hum of tired classmates exiting the building. Nayoung sighed at the sound. She ignored her phone and just followed everyone out until the fresh November air was all that surrounded them.

 

Yewon stared at her, waiting for her to make any moves to pick up the still ringing phone. But Nayoung continued zipping up her coat and smiled at Yewon, as if asking what they were doing next.

 

“Aren’t you going to take that?” Yewon asked and for a moment she swore Nayoung’s smile fell. Nayoung shook her head but took her phone out to redirect the call to her voicemail, then turned the sound off.

 

“It’s not important,” she said and hopped down the steps to the boardwalk bordering the parking lot.

 

Yewon followed after her. “Who was that even? Is it the same person that kept bugging you last night?”

 

Pressing her lips together, Nayoung shrugged. “Possibly.”

 

She figured they would walk home, so she took the lead to their apartment. “I don’t really care. I’m with you right now so it would be rude to pick up anyway,” she added and threw Yewon a smile. “Now come on, I’m freezing!”

 

And with that, Nayoung grabbed her friend’s arm and began dragging her with her as if nothing was wrong. They passed The Grind which was already closed; it was nine-thirty in the evening and the cafe closed at nine. Nayoung scowled--she could really use some coffee right now.

 

She didn’t have to worry, though, because Yewon acted as her energizer instead. The woman had found a new topic to rant about, which was her everlasting love for their classmate Jaebum. He was one of those social butterflies with a dazzling smile that caught many people’s attention and, unfortunately, Yewon had fallen victim to his charming ways.

 

Nayoung could only grin at her friend’s monologue because she was so boy-crazy, no wonder she still hadn't settled down. Though Nayoung wondered what she would think of the handsome customer at The Grind.

 

Nayoung immediately shook the thought away because one mention of his existence to Yewon meant she would never hear the end of it. She’d rather live in peace than being constantly reminded of her unrequited crush.

 

So smiling to herself, the two women continued on their way home. After a few minutes of walking and listening to Yewon’s God awful rendition of Beyonce’s ‘Formation’, Nayoung felt a familiar buzz against her hip. Feeling her earlier frustration return, she unhooked her arm from Yewon’s and rummaged through her tote for her phone. The name that lit up her screen when she found it caused a scowl.

 

Nayoung sighed and rubbed her forehead. “.”

 

After a few seconds of walking, Yewon realized that her company had disappeared from her side. She turned around and spotted Nayoung a good ten feet away from her.

 

“Why’d you stop?” she asked, a surprised tone lacing her words.

 

Nayoung remained silent for a moment, staring at her phone until it stopped buzzing before she locked eyes with her friend. “I think I’m going to take a detour for now.”

 

Even more surprised now, Yewon took a step closer. “You okay?” she asked and scanned Nayoung’s face for any sign of reason that could explain her sudden change.

 

“Yeah, just need some fresh air,” Nayoung explained and slipped her phone back into her bag again.

 

“Alright then,” Yewon said, choosing not to cause any conflict between the two. “Don’t take too long, alright?” she said and smiled at Nayoung as she turned back to the road again. Nayoung nodded, returning the smile and gave her a small wave.

 

“See you at home then,” Yewon said with a wave as well and began walking down the road, missing Nayoung’s smile slipping away from her features.

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