A/N: It's a long time since I posted a one-shot. This one is influenced by the song with the same title by Gabrielle Aplin and you can find a lot of lyrics here .... :DI find this song really beautiful and soothing and I got an idea so here's my new one-shot! Please enjoy and tell me what you think please! <3

There is your image reflecting on the glass window in front of me, standing behind the counter and trying to draw some picture

on the cappuccino cup. Smiling at seeing just your serious face which is different from your usual cheeky personality, I rub the

glass with a cloth tainted with cleansing liquid, making the material a little shinier and more sparkling than before.

In the process, I look through the glass towards the empty street outside. It is just past lunch break and all have already been

back to their offices, leaving only a few customers in the cafe too. Sunrays seeping through the clear large glass windows around

this small café are reminding me that the summer is in the air.

Almost a year has passed since I started working here as a waiter and it also implies to our meeting too. A nervous and timid boy

who was also desperate for a job was welcomed by a cheerful barista who is the same age with him, namely Eric, a year ago.

I still remember your wide grin when I timidly inquired about the small notice of wanting a waiter in front of this café. When I

chuckled even without caring to act cool after hearing there was still a vacancy, the grin on your face grew wider and suddenly

you told me …

“Please grab it … I want to work with you …”

Accepting your blunt yet warm comment, I somehow managed to get to wait tables in this small yet cozy café which only has a

barista which is you, one waiter and one waitress, me and Ji Ae, and a pastry chef who goes by the name of Baek Do Hyun under

the quiet owner, Mr. Park.

For me, it is a new and only family and then, you must be the closest one among this family. Starting with mistakes and

clumsiness, you pulled me through all these hard times with your acts and knowing there is always you giving an encouraging

smile whenever I turn back has been the most sure thing of my life.

Suddenly, I feel a hand grabbing my free hand and turning my head abruptly, I find you standing behind me with your usual grin

and your hand transferring something into my hand. Then, you just turn back to your counter and even without releasing my

fist, I smile automatically knowing what is inside of it.

There must be two or three white and fluffy marshmallows which are usually given out as a service for the customers who place

an order for Americano. You always steal two or three of them in the quiet and less-crowded afternoons like today in the

absence of Mr. Park to stuff them into my hand somehow. Sometimes, it is one or two candies or strawberries or even a mini

cupcake that you have successfully grabbed sneakily from Do Hyun Hyung’s kitchen.

When you started this ritual, I was afraid of being caught as a kind of thief, having the café’s properties without permission and

of course, I refused your little gifts. But there, you succeeded again to convince me just to take them and there will be no

problem. And now, I am quite skilled at stuffing those little sweets you give me into my mouth without being noticed by anyone

and working normally while sneakily munching them.

I know even our colleagues of this café have raised their eyebrows at least once, seeing our interactions. But, luckily, they have

never asked out loud and at least they do not show any annoyed or uneasy expressions due to our actions.

But even if they ask out openly, I still do not have any answer to give back. If I say “We’re just friends”, it must be an obvious lie

that makes everyone snort. Then shall we say “We’re an item”?

It does not work too …

I assume we are on the middle of the thin line between friends and something more than that after all this time. Months have

passed and we are just the same. No more, no less. It may be a dangerous position since it can be something or nothing.

However, the look you give me now and then and my skipping heart when you look at me like that assure me that there is no

need to worry since those feelings cannot be faked or made. There is no need to worry when you see just where we are at.

There is also no need to put pressure on everything we have until now. Sometimes, precious things can break under pressure

and since we know we are doing it right, I do not want to rush. I just do not want to.

Because I cannot afford you to lose …

My life was empty until I entered this café and met a barista with a nametag “Eric” on the chest just above the shirt pocket. For

me, with just your presence, everything falls into place and life is perfect like a complete jigsaw. Without a single piece missing,

it is just perfect.

But I am still in a cautious state, putting my guards on not to let a piece fall out of the picture. I am afraid that if I walk forward

too fast, I may trip and break the complete picture in my hand into pieces.

So, I wish one thing whenever I see you.

Please don’t say you love me …

Because I might not say it back to you …

Because I’ve been a fool once and rushed in too much, hurting myself and losing someone as a final result.    

So, this time, I will slow down and take it in a careful way since I want this to be more than what I have experienced. I will make

sure for the thing that I am looking for and I will make sure until I cannot deny it anymore, until we cannot deny it anymore.

Until we cannot ignore it anymore …

Just wait for the right moment to let it happen naturally and smoothly.

Because I know you are not going anywhere and I am also not going anywhere.

We just need not to give the game away and go on playing in our little paradise, just the two of us. Let our feelings fly freely for

a while before we tie them down with commitments and heavy words. These times are more precious when we are taking turns

to steal a quick glance at each other.

Like the stolen marshmallows you give me are more fluffy and yummy than the ones I buy in stores.

So … Please don’t say you love me … yet …

The day is finally over and after cleaning the floor for the final time, I see you standing while leaning onto the counter with my

bag and yours in your hands. As usual, you wait me to go home together in the urban night being lit by several neon lights,

walking the less-crowded streets of the post-rush hour.

We leave the café and walk slowly while you are reciting all the incidents in the café today back to me like I was not there all day

and witnessed them. Always, you are the speaker and I am the listener in our conversation. But I have never told you to stop

talking and you, too, never forced me to talk unwillingly. We just enjoy our own ways of pleasure while walking under the night

sky.

Finally, we get the bus stop and taking each place on the bench, our conversation continues, sometimes laughs being mixed in.

Since I live quite far away from downtown and it is usually quite late when I go home, my bus is usually empty or only with a

passenger or two in it. We hop into it quickly before heading to the last seats of the bus, our usual sitting places in bus.

I have known a long time ago that you live quite near from our café but still, you never fail to take a bus with me until my bus

stop and then to walk me home every night. By the time I found out whereabouts of your home, neither I asked you why you

take the bus with me very night nor you cared to give me a reason first, just letting it pass like something invisible. We just

accept it like the unspoken truth.

We just keep on going like that as a ritual and tonight is not an exception. When we have finally seated, habitually, I fish out my

worn out ipod with white earphones attached on it and play one of our favorite songs after offering one of the earphones to

you. Then, we would keep silent all the way, drowning in the music from the tiny earphones and the warmth emitted from each

other’s body.

Staring at your reflection on the window again while pretending like I am watching the passing scenes outside, I also know you

know I am looking at you because you are also looking at me from the corners of your eyes.

We enjoy our own little game, acting like there was no one around us and we were the only people on this world. Others may

not understand it but those little glances speak more than words and sentences for us. This game is for two of us and I know we

will never give up.

So … Let’s not give the game away …

Finally, we get off at my bus stop and start walking towards my old tiny single-room apartment. Passing through the narrow,

dimly lit, empty lanes, you start talking again about a movie you watched recently and I just give smiles and nods back at you

now and then, secretly admiring your side profile and your sparkling eyes filled with enthusiasm.  Even in the dim light, you

sparkle up in my eyes and at the same time, you give the warm vibe like the coffees you always make in the café, making my

heart feel like wrapped in a cozy and fluffy blanket.

Then, after the seemingly short walk from the stop, now we are standing in front of a worn out building where my shabby place

to sleep in is located. You fix the position of the strap of your backpack on your shoulder again as a sign of “I’m leaving now”.

“Good night Eric … See you tomorrow …”

Letting out those words into the humid air of summer, I flash a weak smile at you before receiving back your “Good night … Sleep

tight …” attached with your trademark warm smile.

Then, you turn around and retrace your steps to the lanes we have just walked through. I am still standing at that spot,

watching your broad back getting further and further.

However, I get surprised when you decide to turn your body around again, facing to me and walking back to my direction with a

determined look on your face.

“Hyesung-ah …”

You call out my name with a firm voice and I admit that I get a little nervous with your serious expression. I just stay silent and

you take this as “Yes” and continue what you are going to do.

“Please let me tell you something …”

“Eric-ah … Please don’t … Please don’t … yet …”

I abruptly interrupt your words, being half-excited and half-worried while knowing which words you are trying to say. You get

silent for a while, just staring at me with a blank look and this makes me worried slowly.

“I mean … You know me, right? … You understand me, right? I just want to take it slow … I’m sorry …”

My mumbling words seem to reach you because you let out a chuckle after a few moments before nodding firmly.

“I think … I know you … and well, I hope my guess won’t go wrong … I believe you … Hyesung-ah …”

A smile creeps onto my face and that makes the same reaction on your face too.

“Just let me know when you’re ready … Just let me say it when you’re ready … Please just don’t give that chance to a person

that’s not me … I’ll be waiting …”

Your words flow right through my heart, leaving a warm and peaceful sensation along its path.

“I will … I surely will … Eric-ah … Thank you …”