I love... Have No Regrets - Gummy 

The first time I saw him was in the crimson month of August. He appeared before me as a mystery, and as someone who could see through people as if they were raindrops, this was rare.

In my ripe year of 21, I was working as a waitress in the coffeehouse closest to my house in the morning and into the sunny hours of the afternoon, and then went to a restaurant in the bitter hours of night. And now you're wondering why someone like me isn't in college. It's not because I was slacking off during high school; I was ranked 3rd in my class.

My father was a fisherman and that was basically our family's source of income, which wasn't a rare situation in our little quiet island of Anmyeondo. We didn't live the loud roaring life of the city, but rather we enjoyed the serenity of the waves kissing the shore in the summer, and suffered from the harsh winds in the winter, but overall, we were happy. When you live life like I do, little things make you happy and once you realize life is full of these little things, well, that's when you're truly alive.

We were living fine with the money my father brought home. It supported himself, my mother, my older brother and me. It wasn't until my mother was diagnosed with an illness that we realized what situation we were in. My brother was all the way in Seoul. My father was out at sea more than at home.

So there was me. After I found out my mom was ill, I skipped many days of school, until one day the principal personally came to my house. (A small town means a small school). He listened to my situation and since I was one of the top students, he offered to help us. My mother refused, worrying that he would one day ask us for a favor that we couldn't return. Secretly however, the principal gave me enough to cover half of my mother's hospital fees. The problem was that my mother passed away about four months after we heard of the illness. I'm not going to dwell on this because the past is the past.

So what happened to this money we got? Well it was only natural for me to return it. I found the principal the next day and told him what had happened but he refused it. He said I would need it because I had missed too many days of school and would not be able to graduate. This, was devastating to my entire family. After such a blow from the loss of my mother, my father felt that all the weight was on his shoulders.

The very next day, I went around our town, hoping someone would have work for me. That's how I ended up working in the cafe. I worked in the cafe for about two years before realizing that this money wouldn't be enough. We were still in debt because of my mom's funeral fees, and the principals generosity simply wasn't enough. I was raised to never beg for money, but to work for it, so I got my second job. My brother also started working on campus and sent money back to us. We sold our house and moved into a smaller one, since it was mostly just me at home anyway.

So here I am. An island girl of 21 working two jobs to pay off the debt from years ago. If you ask me if my life's story is a tragic one, I wouldn't say so. True, I've been through many obstacles, but I control my life. I decided that I could learn more than I thought I could at my two jobs. Not many people came to the coffee shop. I would take advantage of the situation and talk to any customer who comes in. This way, I learned the members of bands,  a few codes of law, and even American authors. Most important however, was how to read people's true intentions. After I talked to so many people, I could see through people's lies and boasts and I could tell if someone wasn't telling me something. I could tell when a guy was hitting on me and I could tell when someone was disgusted with me. I don't think I could have learned that in school.

So in this way, just as the cool temperatures were about to set in again in late August, I met him. Zhang Yixing.  

He strode in our small coffeehouse and took the seat right next to the window overlooking the ocean in a crisp black suit and silver watch and everything that screamed "city dweller". As the waitress, I had to ask him what he wanted to order.

"The strongest blackest cup of coffee you can possibly make." He replied.  

In the four years I've been working in this cafe, I've never heard an order like that.

"I'll ask the baristas to try their best, sir." I said while walking behind the counter and announcing his order. They looked at me in confusion before getting to work. Five minutes later I came out with a freshly brewed dark strong cup of coffee.

"Your coffee, sir." I placed the cup before him and then sat in the seat in front of him.

'Thank you." He said, and continued to look out towards the ocean.

"Are you from Seoul?" I asked out of curiosity. Well, this is how you become social, right?

He looked up at me with a blank expression. "Is it that obvious?"

I laughed at his response. "This is a small town. A small town has a small number of people. A small number of people can tell when someone from outside this small town comes."

"I like that answer." He smiled before taking a sip of the coffee. Again, blank expression.

The cafe was empty besides him and the baristas in the kitchen. The strong smell of coffee lingered over every table and chair while the soft sounds of smooth jazz ran over them.

"What's your name?" He asked me after a few minutes of silence between us.

"Choi Ahreum." I replied, mentioning towards my nametag. "And you?"

"Zhang Yixing. "

I stared at him.

He let out a chuckle. "I'm Chinese so that name must be difficult for your Korean tongue. You can call me Lay, as in re- I "

"Lay." I said, tasting the word I my mouth. "That's unique."

"Thanks."

"Why'd you decide to come to South Korea?" I asked him.

He looked up at me. "Do you ask everyone who comes in these questions?"

"Not the same questions." I laughed, "but yeah I talk to everyone who sits down. Usually the people who come in here are people who are looking for company anyway."

"I see," he said. "Well to answer your question, I'm a teacher. I teach, well taught, math in a school in Seoul."

"So why did you decide to ditch the city life for..." I paused, stammering mentally at what the right word was. "...this?" I motioned towards my surroundings.

He smiled at me. "When bad things happen in one place, a new place seems to hold better things." He took another sip of coffee.

"That's arguable." I looked down at my hands, my mother coming to mind. Silence settled between us.

"You seem quite young to not be in school." He said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah." I admitted. "I should be in college right now, but a whole string of events that shouldn't have happened happened and now here I am."

"I'm guessing you're not really willing to share that string of events."

"I'm okay with sharing, it's just that it will take a while."

He chuckled at my answer. "Well, Choi Ahreum. Thank you for your company." He got up from his seat and walked towards the door.

"Its my pleasure, Mr. Zhang."

He nodded at me before walking out of the door and into his car.

And so just like that, he left like how the leaves leave the branches in late autumn. Swiftly, but silently. But somehow even after he left, I longed for his presence. He wasn't a regular, as I learned in the days to come,but rather he came more like once a blue moon, or maybe it was just how much I longed for him that made the days feel long.

The next time he came was three weeks later. September had settled in and was already finding a home for itself. The trees began changing color and the waves became more wild.

This time when he came in, the red leaves and cool wind came through the door with him, along with the same black suit that practically signed SEOUL. But this time, instead of a mysterious and unreadable face, he came in with a sad and confused one. Now that the weather was getting colder, more people came to our little center of warmth but I still managed to smile when I saw the familiar presence of Zhang Yixing. Maybe it was that I longed to figure out his secrets and put together this puzzle, or maybe I felt like I could relate to him.

Fortunately, his confused expression changed when he saw me which could have made my day. The tables were full however so he had to leave as fast as he came. I, watching this action, stopped what I was doing and followed him outside into the brisk cold. He must have noticed the sound of a door closing behind him because he immediately turned around and I swear in that moment when I saw his face, I fell in love with him. You can call me whatever you want but he looked at me with so many emotions mixed in one, some of which I could read and some of which I couldn't.

"Ahreum." That's what he said. There was no ending. I was just Ahreum to him, and for some reason I loved that. I loved the way my name came from his tongue and I loved the way he looked at me.

"Lay." I tried to say confidently but my voice faltered on me because of the sudden gust of wind that nearly blew me over.

He smiled at me before walking over and shrugging his shoulders to take off the outer layer of his suit and wrapping it around my shoulders.

"You really don’t-" I began but was stopped by a cold finger on my lips.

"Just take it. It'll be chilly when you go home later." He said and went back into his car.

And just like that, Zhang Yixing came into my life for a few minutes. And like how the sun longs for the horizon in the late afternoon, I fell in love with him.

a/n: hi readers! glad you decided to read my fic :D how was it? what's your first impression of this story? i hope that you guys aren't afraid to comment or anything like that LOL and as promised, i updated on tuesday ^^

also, please listen to the background music; it really is nicer to read with the song playing in the background. i have a playlist in the forward, but usually chapters have a specific song that i think matches with it really well. :D

don't forget to comment, upvote and subscribe ^^ have a nice day :)