Requested by: Biitchface

Characters: Lay [EXO] & Jihyun [OC]

Premise: Lay frequents a cafe with the sole purpose of confessing to Jihyun.

Author: Admin K, DivinestSense

Of Bitterness and Sunshine

“I was wondering when you would stop in! What can I get for you, Lay?"

“Hi Jihyun, one americano, please," Lay said, flashing a dimpled smile as he handed her the exact change.  There was no need to even wait for her to tell him the amount (and she did not even bother anymore)—it was his usual order.  

Graciously accepting the drink from her, Lay moved to sit at his favorite spot in the front of the small cafe—at a table for two next to the windows.  He loved taking a long sip of his cool drink and staring out at the busy street, watching people and cars alike pass with no heed to the cozy little coffeehouse.  He, too, lived a busy life, one filled with dance competitions, practices, and academic exams.  He was in Korea to break into the underground dance scene, something that was difficult to do back in China.  While balancing school work, each day was packed with things to do, yet he always made time in his week to get coffee.

To get the chance to see her.

It was rather embarrassing how he knew her schedule and it was rather shameless how he only bothered to come into the cafe on days that she worked.  To her other coworkers it must have been obvious how much he liked Jihyun, but it was not their opinion he was worried about.

She was all that mattered.

The first day he had stepped foot into the shop, he was with his friend Baekhyun.  The two of them had suffered through an intensive day of dance practices at a local studio and were dying to relax.  At that point in the evening, most of the cafes were closed while the bars began to open—the few that were open refused to serve them because they were preparing to close.  

After what felt like an eternity, they had managed to go far out of their way and land themselves at this cafe.  Jihyun was closing up the cafe, but when the two of them walked—in all of their sweaty, exhausted glory—she stopped cleaning and served them the easiest thing she could make with as little equipment as possible (and he did not blame her, cleaning that stuff must have taken forever).

An americano.

But it was not her beautiful, wavy black hair nor her stunning, large brown eyes that stole his heart—it was her compassion.  After serving them their drinks at his favorite table in the front, she pulled up a chair and struck up a conversation with them.  She asked about what they were doing—about their goals and aspirations.  She smiled as Baekhyun weaved tales of becoming the next great Hallyu star and listened intently as Lay spoke of traveling from China.  At that point, his Korean was nothing spectacular, but not once did she comment on it, simply nodded and gave words of encouragement.  

He made her want to learn more.

He and Baekhyun listened as she told them the woes of being a student at one of the nation’s finest universities (not that she bragged about her intelligence—Baekhyun noticed her phone background as the school’s emblem).  Hanging on every word she said, Lay was captivated by her life, by her world—

By her.

She was the youngest of three and fighting to maintain her scholarship while simultaneously working a part time job at the cafe.  She dreamed of working for the government and abroad—and to his own secret pleasure—in China.  She was intelligent and beautiful and graceful and generous and all he wanted was to tell her that.

After that first day, he made the half hour trek back to the cafe at least four times a week, each trip with the intention of telling her how much he admired and adored her.  But each time he walked through the doors, his anxiety got the best of him and he just sat there, staring at her, staring outside, and drinking his bitter coffee.  In all honesty, he did not even like americanos—he only drank it because it was what she had given him out of kindness that day.  He eventually learned her schedule and limited his visits, but she remembered him.

And that’s all he could ask for.

He had asked Baekhyun if he wanted to accompany him—to make it seem less weird that some lone Chinese kid would come to a cafe only when one specific girl worked and look at her—but after the Korean boy joined him once more, he quickly determined that he was better off coming alone and being that weird guy.

“Hello, what can I get—oh, Lay!  I bet I know what you’re getting.”  

“Hi Jihyun, one americano please.”

Cheeks warming at the grin the girl sent his way, Lay moved aside so that Baekhyun could order as well.  

“I’ll have a latte.”

“I recognize you, you’re Baekhyun, right?  I’m Jihyun, we met a while ago, remember?”  she said as she took the bills from Lay, easily sorting them into the register.  It was amazing how even during the busies hour of the day, even with a huge line behind them, even as she multi tasked, she looked earth shatteringly beautiful.

He watched as Baekhyun flashed the girl his signature bright smile—the one that made girls fall over him—and laughed gently.  Nervously tapping his fingers against his thigh, Lay suddenly regretting asking his smaller friend to come along.  Even though he, himself, was not bad looking, his companion had a face (and a voice and a personality—depending on who was asked) that was difficult to resist.  

As he watched the two smile at each other, Lay forced himself to remember that Baekhyun was only being kind—he was not trying to flirt with Jihyun.  It’s not like it was the Korean boy’s fault that his smile made girls fawn over him and it was not as though he could change it.  Lay was overreacting—there was no reason to feel threatened.  Plus, it was not ask though he and Jihyun actually had something going on between them.  All that existed was an eternally impending confession on his part and pure kindness on hers.  

He had no reason to worry.

“It was nice to see you again," said Baekhyun, snapping the dancer out of his racing thoughts.  Jihyun gave a pleasant bow their way before attending to the next customers in line and Lay—completely caught off guard by the time that had passed when he was stuck in his mind—aimlessly made his way over to his seat.

Looking up at Bakehyun, who was placing the tray on the table, Lay wanted to slap himself.  The other guy had a girl friend for heaven’s sake—why did he let a simple smile get under his skin?

“Isn’t this where we sat the first time we were here?”

“Yeah.”

“Dude, you are so obvious,”  Baekhyun scoffed as he took a sip of his drink.  Ignoring his friend’s words, Lay took a sip of the bitter drink, only to raise an eyebrow when saw his friend’s sly look.  “I thought you didn’t like americanos?”

Guiltily putting the drink down, Lay directed his attention out of the window.

“I can grow to like them.”

“You’re not even dating and you’re whipped.”

Sighing, Lay transferred his gaze to the beautiful girl behind the cash register.  He watch in silent content as she efficiently took each person’s order and gave back proper change, most of the time before the machine even had the chance to tell her how much was owed.  He felt his own lips curl slightly at the sight of her tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.  All he had to do was go up there and tell her everything he thought of her (or maybe just one thing—“everything” may overwhelm her and freak her out, even though they were all thought with the purest of intentions).  

“Have you talked to her besides ordering coffee?”

“No,” mumbled Lay.  “With our schedules, I can never stay until the end of her shift or get here before.  I have to compete.”

“Well I doubt she’s interpreting your staring as, ‘hey, let’s date,’” Baekhyun said as he fiddled with the lid of his drink.  “You may have to use your words.”

“I want to, but I just freeze.  The moment I think about it, I forget everything.”

“You?  Forgetting things?  Never," drawled his companion.  “But seriously, she’s an attractive girl and you’re a nice guy, Lay.  I know you, you’ll wait forever and by the time your brain decides to function like a n