Haunted by your memory,

You're in my thoughts and dreams,

They say you never forget your first,

There's truth to that it seems

 --Kirsten Burgess, First

                Park Chan Yeol is at it again. As much as Min Seok values his friendship with his co-worker, who has known him for only two weeks, he really gets exhausted of his constant interrogation.  It was solely his mistake for spilling out certain details of his debunk lovelife during an ‘employee’s only’ night out. Min Seok wasn’t expecting the younger to remember details when he’s absolutely positive that his co-worker was more plastered than he is, considering his been belting a song from an idol group he have proclaimed he hates. His other co-worker, Do Kyung Soo is just too happy to be able to have the incident recorded. For future use the latter says, the evil look on his face made Min Seok want to take a bath in holy water.

                As it turns out, Chan Yeol is familiar with his ex-boyfriend through a friend’s friend and is knowledgeable of said ex-boyfriend’s infamous flirting ways. Min Seok is over it, really. But it doesn’t mean that he’s all too willing to put himself back on the dating scene. He is aware that he is mildly attractive and has his own charms (this is solely based on what his bestfriend has told him after the messy break up, he doesn’t know if it’s just a consolation or if Kim Jong Dae is telling the truth) but the thought of dating makes him uneasy as of the moment.

                “Why don’t you want to date, hyeong?” Chan Yeol inquires for the nth time that day. Min Seok wants to reprimand him for interrogating him instead of refilling the straws and things at their condiments bar, as the younger was supposed to do.

                “I’m busy…”

                “You have time to do movie marathons every Friday, you’re not busy…”

                Min Seok stops cleaning the counter and fixes Chan Yeol with a ‘how dare you’ look. “You don’t know my entire schedule Chan Yeol-ah, don’t assume things… I’m busy…”

                “Is it because your first attempt at a relationship was a disaster?”

                “We’re  not going over this again, Chan Yeol…” Min Seok resumes cleaning the counter, clearly indicating that he doesn’t want the conversation to continue.

                “Kai is an . And everybody and their moms probably knows that…” Apparently, Chan Yeol doesn’t seem to get it when enough is enough. Min Seok deadpans and resolves to just ignore the younger male. “I mean he’s notorious in my friend’s school for having an ego as large as the solar system. He thinks himself a god just because he’s good looking, not that I think he is, hyeong…”

                “Chan Yeol…” Min Seok says through gritted teeth. He doesn’t need anyone reminding him his ex was an . He’s experienced it first hand, thank you very much.

                “I’m just thinking, hyeong… Do you want to date?”

                “What?!” What is this kid on about? Did he inhale to much coffee?

                “It’s just, you know… If you want to. There’s a soccer game playing tonight. If you’re interested…”

                “I’m interested, Chan Yeol… You’re not. You don’t even like the sport…”

                “I like soccer!!”  Min Seok and Chan Yeol both snapped their heads towards the speaker. Min Seok doesn’t know if he should be glad that the creepy stalker is alive (and apparently not mad  at him) or think he has been propositioned.

                “And I like..” a frown mars the boy’s face and Min Seok notices the lad reaching into his pant pocket for a piece of rumpled paper. What the piece of paper was for, Min Seok has no idea. But it’s amusing to look at the boy’s panicked face. It’s as if he just forgot to say his lines. Wait, he shouldn’t be thinking that way about a customer, not that he was actually saying his thoughts out loud.

                “Ummm… Can you read this for me, please?” the lad shows the rumpled paper to the barista who looks ten times confused at the request but not wanting  to get into his customer’s bad graces relents and takes the paper from said customer.

                “When do you feel the warmest?” Min Seok raises an eyebrow at the question. He was about to ask this weird customer what this was about when a loud ‘ttak’  (did someone just face palmed? Or is that the sound of someone face-desk-ing?) resounds around the café. He was about to turn around to look for the source of the sound when the person in front of him layed a hand on his arm.

                “When I drink the coffee Min Seok makes, what about you?”

                “Huh?” Has he been propositioned twice today? Min Seok asked himself. He tries to discretely remove his arm from the other’s grasp. His heart is beating pretty fast right now. Maybe because the face the customer (yes, he is aware that the person’s name is Lu Han and he should use it to not sound redundant but actually thinking it makes him feel like they’re intimately acquainted and he’s keeping it professional) looks a cross between murder and dare he say, adoration.

                The customer is anticipating an answer, should he tell the other the truth? He’s been keeping a slight obsession towards this particular idol group these days. He probably should say he feels the warmest when making coffee while dancing to ‘Growl’.  That sounds awkward though and the customer might laugh at him. Nope, he’s not doing it… it’s not a sane answer.

                Before he could even answer, Chan Yeol, who has been keeping quiet all through out the crazy banter came barelling into him. Trapping him in a suffocating hug.  “Hey! I asked him out first, go look for another barista to make googley eyes on…”

                The customer’s eyes went wide and Min Seok thinks he’s about to cry. He’s keen on consoling the customer coz the latter might disappear again and that’s one less regular. As of the moment, he can’t afford  to lose another regular, the other regular chose that other café two blocks away all because Kyung Soo is being Kyung Soo and he really doesn’t want to elaborate, more on that later coz right now they have more pressing matters to attend to, like losing another regular.

                “Ya!” Min Seok felt like the ground shook from the impact of that single word and there’s that sound of something breaking. Before he’s able to comfort his creepy customer, said person made a bee line towards the café’s glass door. “I’m not giving up!” was the customer’s last words. Well, Min Seok thinks to himself, that means he still has a regular, right?

                “Hyeong, that guys’s definitely creepy. You really attract weird people…” Chan Yeol says as he let’s go of Min Seok to (finally) refill the condiments bar. Min Seok rolls his eyes. He needs a normal life.

~o~

UNDER THE MOON CHATROOM

Handsome Manly China Man:

You at giving advice >:(

Yue Lao Wannabe:

You broke my tablets

HMCM:

I’m never asking advice from you…

YLW:

Do you have any idea how long it is to order just one tablet?

And you broke two… You don’t deserve my service >:/

HMCM:

I want my money back…

YLW:

????

HMCM:

Oh…

I forgot, this is free…

Anyway, you …

Yue Lao is typing…

HMCM left the chatroom