Jaein’s POV:

Every day was the same routine for me ever since the night that Jongin came into my room. I woke up, went to work late, broadcasted about Exo, took on all four of my part time jobs and came home just in time for an hour of sleep before repeating the cycle again. Jongin was now the one avoiding me, leaving for his practices earlier than usual, and coming home later as well. I could tell by the quick glances that I stole from time to time that he was physically and mentally drained, especially since Exo’s showcase was coming up during the week.

“Jaein honey, I’ve arranged for a limo to pick you up at work on Friday,” Mrs. Kim spoke absentmindedly, scrolling on her smart phone rapidly.

I bit a piece of my bagel and looked at her confused, “A limo? What’s the occasion?”

“Jongin’s showcase of course!” Mrs. Kim stopped scrolling for a second to look up, “Don’t tell me you forgot…”

I shook my hands, “No! Of course I didn’t forget!” , what am I going to wear…I’ve been announcing all week to the viewers that his showcase was this Friday yet I can’t even remember the date for myself…

“I knew you didn’t forget,” Mrs. Kim winked, “Dahye will be picked up earlier than you so you two can chat inside the limo when it picks you up, sound good?”

I nodded and waved my free hand at her as she picked up her bag and headed for the door. As soon as the door closed, I let out a sigh and rested my head on top of the kitchen counter. Would he even want me to see him there? He hasn’t spoken to me in literally weeks…I groaned one last time before picking myself up and heading out the door to the coffee shop.

“You okay?”

I lifted up my head that seemed ten times heavier and saw Yunho leaning over the counter with a drink in his hand. He pushed the drink towards me, urging me to drink it, not taking no for an answer.

“Coffee?” I asked, which was probably a stupid question since we were in a coffee shop after all.

Yunho nodded, “At least drink that, you haven’t been taking breaks at all for the past couple of weeks.”

I took a sip of the sweet drink that refreshed my body instantly before answering, “That’s because I can’t afford to.”

Yunho had tried to get me to take a couple of days off ever since the constant nosebleeds I’ve been getting for the past couple of weeks. Even then, I refused to take a break and stuck around even after hours before heading off to my second job.

“What do you mean by that? You always say that you need to keep working for the money, but what are you planning to do with it?” Yunho raised his eyebrow curiously. But before I could answer, the door chimed and indicated that a new customer had walked through the door.

“Thanks for the drink boss,” I raised the cup at him in thanks and turned to serve the customer. “Welcome to Clarity Cafe, how may I hel-“ I stopped mid-sentence when I saw L standing before me, smiling softly.

“Hey,” he greeted, “can I get my usual?”

“So, how’s the coffee shop life?” L asked me while I set down his cup of coffee and sat at the seat across from him.

I shrugged, “Nothing really special, I serve a couple coffees, burn myself a couple times, get hit on by random ahjusshis.” L’s eyes widened at the last statement but before he could say anything, I spoke again, “I’m just kidding!”

His shoulders relaxed from the tension as he opened his mouth to speak, “Sunggyu’s pretty happy with the popularity of our section these days,” he twirled around the stir stick and took a sip of his coffee, “it’s probably because Exo’s debut is coming up.”

I cringed slightly at the name but did my best to keep a straight face, “Oh yeah, they debut Friday right? I didn’t even notice haha…”

“There you go again,” L said suddenly, setting his cup on the table.

I blinked at him confused, “What do you mean…?”

“You feel uncomfortable with the name ‘Exo’, you change the subject whenever someone mentions them, and you’ve been out of it all week,” his eyes stared back at me with strength, “I can’t help but think there’s something wrong with you and…Jongin.” I held my breath when I heard his name, and I could tell that L had picked up on it. “So there is something wrong…” L said slowly, waiting for me to reply.

There really was no use lying to L when he could see right through me, so I sighed and began to speak, “I had a fight with him a couple weeks ago and it didn’t end well…”

“As in..?” L asked me to elaborate.

“As in we don’t speak to each other anymore and now I’m supposed to go to his showcase because our families are friends and it’s basically mandatory,” I held my breath, waiting for L’s response.

After a couple moments of silence, L said, “Is that why you’ve been working so much? To stop thinking about your fight with Jongin?”

No, not at all. “Yes, that’s why I’ve been working overtime a lot these days,” I lied, sipping from my own coffee to get rid of the guilt.

L took a breath, “Do you…like him?”

I in my breath rapidly, making me choke on the coffee that had sprung up from the tube from my actions. Do I like him? He’s been on my mind for all this time, but I never really thought I…liked him. Even at the ball, I admit that I didn’t enjoy the sight of Krystal and Jongin together but does that necessarily mean I like him?

“You don’t have to answer that,” L said after the period of silence that followed his question. “I think I already know the answer anyways,” he took the last sip of his coffee and picked up his jacket from beside him.

“L, it’s not like that,” I protested, but L just gave me a weary smile and stood up to walk out the door. I watched his backside, leaving the cafe and I couldn’t help but feel deflated, weak, and helpless…if not more than I had before.

“Take care Jay,” Yunho called after me as I undid my apron and rushed out of the door, giving him a quick wave before sprinting to my second job. The second was equally as enjoyable as the third, serving as a waitress in a high end restaurant. The pay was much better than the coffee shop, but for some reason, I felt more at home with Yunho and the cafe.

“Miss, I need some more salt please,” a man wearing an expensive looking suit called to me, “Oh, and don’t forget, I need my steak to be medium rare, no less and no more.”

I blew a piece of stray hair away from my face, “Of course sir, it’ll be out in a moment.”

Mostly all of the customers at the restaurant were regulars, and nearly all of them were entrepreneurs, business people, or hotel managers. Their noses stuck high in the air, pinkies up while drinking their exquisite wine, and often they would trash talk me about my attire. I couldn’t help the fact that the restaurant called for a high waisted pencil skirt along with a white button up shirt when I didn’t even own any. Every day I dealt with the same kind of people; the ones that scolded me for too much cheese on their pasta, the ones who complained about hair being in their food when clearly it was their hair. All in all, the job paid well for what I had to stand for everyday.

“Here’s your pay for today Jay,” my boss handed me a porcelain envelope, “Don’t forget that starting next week, if you don’t have your uniform, I’m going to have to cut you off.”

I bowed politely and took the envelope, thanking him before running out the next job that I had waiting for me.

By the end of my third job, my energy was running on low and my hands were beginning to shake from all of the running. My third job required a lot of moving around, checking price tags, getting people different sizes of clothes and hanging the clothes they refused to buy. But after receiving my paycheque, there were no more complaints coming from me.

“Finally, the last one,” I sighed while sticking my legs through the tight black dress, pulling it up my body until it fit me snug.

“Hey pretty lady,” a drunken man pulled on my wrist, “How about I buy you a drink?”

I scoffed, pulling his hands away from mine, “Don’t think so.”

I had gotten  used to the many drunk men trying to buy me things and take advantage of me, but I guess that’s the cost that came with working at a club. I was just thankful that this club had lighting that was at least brighter than the club that I had gone to before with Ailee and the other boys, but even so, there were times when I felt vulnerable under the dimmed lights.

Right as I was about to grab drinks for a customer, I felt another hand grab at my wrist. I turned around with an annoyed look on my face, “Look, if you want to buy me a drink-“ I stopped, seeing Chanyeol looking down at me with a confused expression on his face.

“Jay? What are you doing here?” he asked, helping me set down the drink that I had in my hands. His eyes roamed up and down my body before I wrapped my arms around myself, turning crimson and blocking his view of my expose