Talk To Me
-anonymous





The small bell above the frosted glass door tinkled, announcing to the new barista that her first customer of the day had entered. Brushing the snow that had fallen onto her shoulders off, Taeyeon shook her hair free of any snowflakes and stomped her boots on the welcome mat. It was the first snow of the season, the temperature dipping in the middle of the night and casting a soft, white blanket across the city of Seoul.

Making sure that she wouldn’t drag snow into the warm café and dirty the rest of the cozy shop, Taeyeon continued cleaning the snow off her boots and onto the mat. Her arms were folded across her chest, her mitten-covered hands tucked under her arms. A rather large bulge protruded from her chest, creating an awkward impression on others.

“Hey, caramel coffee please.” Taeyeon said and took a seat at the bar stool.

“One hot caramel coffee coming right up.” The cheerful, smiling barista replied.

“Oh no no, not hot please. Ice blended.”

“Ice blended?” A slightly worried and confused look came over the barista’s stunning features, and a more than lovable pout formed.

“I’m really sorry but I’m new here, I don’t know how to make an ice blended yet. The manager just went through with me how to make the hot drinks. It’s you know, winter now.”

“Hmm… I think you just need to make the coffee the same way. Then pour it into the blender and add some ice.” Taeyeon offered helpfully.

“Oh! Yeah, why didn’t I think of that. Alright, one ice blended caramel coffee coming right up.”

Taeyeon nodded at the smiling barista, taking note of how her glossy black hair complimented her pearly white teeth and flattering smile.

“I’m Taeyeon.” She smiled.

“Tiffany, I’m new here.” The barista looked up from the coffee machine and smiled.

The bulge on Taeyeon’s chest wriggled and Tiffany’s cheeks immediately flushed.

“Hey little buddy, I’ll let you out for a while now kay? You poor poor little fuzzy wuzzy boogy.” Taeyeon crooned.

Taeyeon unfolded her arms, carefully carrying from within the depths of her thick down jacket, a white and brown puppy. Setting the furry creature down on the table before her, she kissed the puppy’s head and removed her mittens, dropping it next to the puppy as she did.

The puppy shook itself a few times, causing its long fur to fluff up and creating an illusion of it being a moving mop.

“Puppy!” Tiffany squealed from behind the counter and immediately swore when she lost focus and the hot water spilled over onto her hands.

Dropping the mug she was holding, she cursed again when the cup shattered and shards of ceramic flew across the floor. Startled, the puppy dove for the mittens, squirming underneath the pink wool, its tail still sticking out.

“Oh dear, are you alright?” Taeyeon asked concernedly and got up, tip toeing to look behind the counter.

“Shoot! I broke a cup and on my first day too! Damn it, I’m so clumsy.” Tiffany chided herself, bending down to sweep up the remains of the cup into her palm before disposing it off in the bin.

“Here, let me help.”

Taeyeon moved to the low swinging door which separated the staff from the customers and pushed through it. Once she was on the other side, she grabbed a cloth she saw on the counter and started wiping up the hot water.

Tiffany thanked Taeyeon feverishly, while mopping up the spilled coffee with a mop she had retrieved from the cupboard. When the mess had been cleared up, Taeyeon looked up and frowned when she spotted Tiffany picking up another cup to begin again.

“Tsk tsk,” she clucked her tongue in disapproval, “you should get your hand seen to first.”

Standing next to Tiffany, she gently took Tiffany’s red and slightly swollen right hand in her own, blowing at it with puffed cheeks.

“I’ll get some ice, you go run it under some cold water.”

“I’m fine, really. I should be getting your order done.”

“Run it under cold water, where’s the ice?” Taeyeon asked, completely ignoring Tiffany’s resistance.

“There, next to the blenders.”

Taeyeon scooped up a handful of ice, wrapping them in a clean cloth and tying the ends together to prevent the ice from falling out. Tiffany was at the tap, releasing a sigh of relief once the icy water hit her hand and started soothing the burning pain.

Taeyeon moved to stand next to Tiffany again, removing Tiffany’s hand from the tap and pressing the homemade ice pack to her hand. Tiffany smiled, a small and shy smile, as she felt Taeyeon’s soft and sure hands press against hers.

Tiffany didn’t know why, but the moment Taeyeon had entered the café, she had caught Tiffany’s attention. From the unusually placed and unusually large lump at her chest, to the stomping of her boots against the mat to rid it of all snow, Tiffany had thought that all of the quirky habits had been extremely cute.

It didn’t help that Taeyeon looked so much like she had just stepped out of the Children’s Choir from the local church or that she looked so remarkably alike the cherubic faces carved onto marble.

As Taeyeon’s fingers grazed against her palm, Tiffany’s eyes darted up to sneak a quick look at the angelic face and she flushed a little when Taeyeon’s eyes bore straight back into hers.

“You always this clumsy?” Taeyeon chuckled.

“It gets a lot worse sometimes, when I’m not paying attention.” Tiffany admitted unwillingly.

“Hmm, you should be more careful. Don’t want to hurt that pretty face of yours.” Taeyeon said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Tiffany turned scarlet, her hand trembling a little as Taeyeon continued to rub soothing circles. The swelling was starting to go down and the pain was ebbing away slowly. Tiffany couldn’t decide if it was because Taeyeon was there or because the ice was working. Either way, her heartbeat was quickening and she felt hot around her neck.

“There, it should get a little better.” Taeyeon finally said and released Tiffany’s hand.
Tiffany’s hand dropped to her side lifelessly, too cold for her liking. It didn’t feel right now, even though the pain had subsided. Freezing; without Taeyeon’s hand.

“Thanks, a lot. I probably should get started on your coffee.” Tiffany said sheepishly and smiled.

“No problem, I’ll get it myself.”

Taeyeon moved around the coffee machine with surprising gracefulness, filling up the cup with coffee before emptying it into the ice blender. Tiffany watched, mouth agape as Taeyeon poured the ready concoction into the plastic cup and passed the exact change over to Tiffany, grinning as she did so.

“Thanks for the coffee.” Taeyeon said and on the straw.

“Wow.” Was all Tiffany could say.

“I’ve worked as a barista before, I know my way round.” Taeyeon replied and grinned.

“Well this is embarrassing. You’re the customer yet I’m the one standing and watching you fix your coffee.”

“Oh, no worries.”

Taeyeon smiled down at her puppy which had wandered around the bar table, sniffing at tissue boxes and sliding on its furry paws. Scooping up the dog from under its belly, Taeyeon brought it back to her seat and plopped the creature down.

“You have such a cute puppy, what’s his name?”

“It’s a girl. She’s called Kako.”

Tiffany smiled at the brown and white terrier affectionately, scratching it behind its ear.

“Hi Kako, you’re such a pretty little baby aren’t you?” She giggled at the puppy.

Kako, as if sensing that someone was complimenting her; barked, a high-pitched yelp which seemed as though she was agreeing. The barely month old puppy bounced on the table, its tiny paws stepping over Taeyeon’s mittens in the process.

“What did I tell you about being complimented huh Kako?” Taeyeon asked lovingly, rubbing her hands across the terrier’s furry back.

“You’re supposed to say thank you.” She continued, holding her hand out.

Kako immediately stopped jumping around excitedly, pausing to sniff Taeyeon’s outstretched palm for a hidden doggy treat. Finding none, she playfully nipped on the tips of Taeyeon’s fingers and barked indignantly.

“I’ve been trying to teach her how to shake her paw to say thank you. Seems like I’m not making much progress.” Taeyeon explained and shrugged her shoulders.

Tiffany burst out laughing at Taeyeon’s sulky expression. Her laughter continued on for the next few minutes, the image of the dopey puppy and the equally dopey owner doing handshakes in a tiny little apartment in her mind.

“What breed is it?” Tiffany asked as the puppy started sniffing the table.

“She’s a west highland white terrier. For some reason, she turned out a little brown though her parents were both purely white.”

“Oh, that’s cute. She’s such a sweetie pie.” Tiffany cooed and picked the puppy up.
“She seems to like you a lot. She usually isn’t this calm when she meets strangers.”

“She isn’t? She’s such a dear though.”

“Hmm… Gosh, I’m so sleepy.”

“Why’re you here so early in the morning?” Tiffany asked.

“Oh, just thought I’d take my dog out for a walk. Didn’t seem like such a bad idea before I left the house.”

“No school today?” Tiffany questioned again, slyly hinting for Taeyeon’s age.

Taeyeon smiled and shook her head.

“I graduated from high school about 4 years ago.”

“Oh! That goes the same for me! Wow, you’re lucky. You still look so young! Well, not that I’m saying you’re old, but that’s not a bad thing to look old, I’m just saying well yo-“ Tiffany blabbered on, her nerves getting out of control as Taeyeon’s smile widened.

The dimple in Taeyeon’s cheek hadn’t been obvious before, but as Taeyeon’s friendly smile grew, Tiffany noticed that the lopsided toothy grin became more and more stunning.

“Tiffany, I’m 22.”

“Oh.” Tiffany mumbled.

Although she tried to appear calm on the outside, the tiny mastermind in her brain was doing a little victory jig, overjoyed that she was the same age.

“And you’re 22 too I assume?” Taeyeon asked, a flirtatious smile flashing her way.

Tiffany’s mind went blank upon seeing Taeyeon’s extra wide smile. It was dazzling; brighter beyond any smile she’d ever seen. Replaying the scene over and over in her head, Tiffany didn’t realize that she was taking longer than usual to reply.

“I’m sorry, forgive me for being too rude. I shouldn’t be prying into your personal life.” Taeyeon apologized after a while when Tiffany still hadn’t replied.

Unknown to Tiffany, Taeyeon’s mind was frantic as she thought of a way to get back into Tiffany’s good books. The stunning barista had sent Taeyeon’s heartbeat into a frenzy when she had seen her while she was at the doorstep and she had to refrain herself from smiling like a fool.

When Tiffany’s loud outbreak had scared her puppy, as guilty as she felt, the first concern that came to her mind had been Tiffany’s wellbeing and not the frightened dog. Deciding whether to help Tiffany clean up had been a huge mental war for her; part of her thinking that she was going overboard and appearing too desperate, the other part insisting that there was nothing wrong with being a Good Samaritan.

Her first mistake of the day came when she entered the back of the bar and caught a full body view of Tiffany. When she had first seen Tiffany, it had only been from in front of the counter and she had just gotten to see Tiffany waist up. Even then, Taeyeon had fought to keep herself from blushing. She couldn’t help but notice that Tiffany had a very nice figure.

Seeing that Tiffany did not only have a pretty face, but had a gorgeous figure to match it too, Taeyeon had gotten extremely worked up and used the spilled coffee as an excuse to hide her face. Grabbing the nearest cloth she saw, she began wiping up the spillage, ducking her head as she fought to keep the dirty thoughts at bay. It barely lasted.

When she was done, she looked up and saw Tiffany’s back to her, the girl mopping up the puddle from the floor. As if they had a mind of their own, Taeyeon’s eyes began travelling up the figure, taking in the slender ankles, the long and slim calves, the knee-length red skirt, the why hello there!

Taeyeon had always had a weak spot for that, and Tiffany’s certainly did nothing to better it. Instead, Taeyeon had gotten even more worked up as she found herself staring for a tad too long and she unconsciously her lips.

“You weren’t prying, don’t worry,” Tiffany replied when she snapped back out, “Yeah, I’m 22.”

Taeyeon gave a small nod, her mega-watt flirty smile still directed towards Tiffany. She could see that Tiffany liked it. The smile that Tiffany failed to hide often sneaked up onto her face.

Deciding that it was enough