Of Crooked Smiles and Iced Americano
I'd never knew that his pressence could affect me fhis much.
I'd never knew that I'll miss him this much.
Most of all, I'd never knew that I'll miss that usual order of Iced Americano, from the guy with the crooked smile.
It all started a few months back, August 2013. I finally got accepted as a waiter at the coffee shop near my apartment.
"Do well, Yigeum!" Smiling, Jaeyeon encouraged me as she patted my brown apron. I was wearing the usual uniform - black polo shirt, jeans and a brown apron. My long jet black hair was tied into a ponytail.
"I will!" I replied, smiling back at her. It was my first day of work, and I couldn't help but to feel excited.
As I settled myself behind the counter, the door was opened as the small bell rang. The sound echoed inside the empty cafe. Yunseok, the cashier guy hasn't arrived yet so I had to fill in his position for a while.
"Good morning, what would you like to order?" I asked the customer with my best smile. Although I'm smiling outside, I was worried that I might say something wrong.
"An Iced Americano, please." The customer replied with a small smile. His smile was crooked, so it looked like a smirk instead. How cute.
"That would be..."
Shoot, I forgot to memorize the price list. Thankfully, Yunseok came to rescue my day as he quickly put on his apron and took my place behind the cash register.
I heaved a sigh and massaged my temple, that was close.
"It's okay, Yigeum. You did well for a first timer." Jaeyeon said.
"Thanks." I nodded without looking at her. Spacing out, I hung my head low until Yunseok's words drag me back to reality.
"Yigeum, take this order to table number one, please."
As I took a deep breath (and exhaled), I took the tray and walked to table number one - which was the table located in a comfortable corner of the room. Probably the best table, if I must say.
"Here's your order, sir." I carefully placed the cup onto the table, bowed slightly before going back to the counter.
---
That was just the beginning.
Days passed by and it has became a usual routine for me; Yunseok arriving late, I filled in his position for awhile to take Mr. Crooked Smile's order, and me delivering his order to his table.
Whether it was day or night, he always came.
Unconsciously, I started to steal glances from behind the counter. He was writing something in his notebook, sometimes he would smile a little because of whatever-he-wrote-in-that-notebook.
He had never went absent in those three months but now? It has been a week since he stopped coming by.
"Hey, Yigeum. You seem down lately." Jaeyeon wondered as she cleaned the counter. She cleaned it twice or thrice. You got it, she has a slight obsessive-compulsive disorder.
"Me? I'm fine." I tried to squeeze out my best smile to her, hoping that it would convince her that I'm fine.
"Really? Then can you please throw the garbages?"
Great, after all those work, I just had to receive the worst task of them all.
After I finally disposed those garbages, I didn't pay attention to where I was walking so I bumped into someone.
I looked up, only to meet those familiar pair of eyes and crooked smile.
"You're from the cafe, right? Could you get me some Iced Americano? I know it's already closed but I can pay you tomorrow and I really need my daily dose of Iced Americano." He smiled.
Oh how I wished I could throw myself to him, hug him and just blabber about how I miss him. But I can't.
Stop it, Lee Yigeum. You're just making it worse for yourself.
And with that, I gave him a simple nod and ran back to the cafe.
---
"Jaeyeon! You can use the coffee machine, right? Could you make me some Iced Americano, please?" I gave Jaeyeon my best puppy eyes and pleading face. Ot confused her at first but she nodded in the end.
"Oh, sure. Count it as a reward for throwing away the garbages earlier."
My heart raced as Jaeyeon made the coffee. Thousands of thoughts started to linger in my mind. What if he left? What if I was just hallucinating? What if it was just someone who looked like him?
I brushed those worries aside as I received the cup of coffee from Jaeyeon. In a minute, I changed back to my white blouse and blue coat and set off to find him.
He was there. Standing still while he tapped his foot onto the sidewalk.
"Here's your order." I handed him the Iced Americano. He sipped it in an instant and a huge smile crept up to his lips, as if he hasn't drank coffee in a year.
"Want to go somewhere and talk?"
---
The playground.
It was a weird choice to hang out at 12AM but I was too happy to care about it. At least he was back.
We sat side by side at the swings. This place made me reminisce about my childhood memories.
We shared stories and experiences. Turns out that he got dragged by his friends for a vacation at Jeju Island. Oh, no wonder he was missing for a week.
I told him how it was my first day working at the cafe when I didn't know the price for a cup of Iced Americano. He laughed as he remembered my flustered face that time.
It's funny how I feel happier talking to a stranger than talking to my friends.
"So, what's your name?" He finally asked. Sipping the last drop of Americano until the cup was only occupied by ice cubes. He threw the cup to the garbage bin and it went in perfectly.
"Impressive." I chuckled.
"Thanks. And.. your name?" His eyes twinkled in anticipation. Is it just me or does everything about him seems to make my heart race?
"Oh, right! I'm Lee Yigeum." I smiled brightly. Probably too bright since I couldn't hide my happiness. Way to go to be obvious, girl. "And yours?"
"Kim Hanbin. An aspiring rapper and lyricist whose life revolves around notebooks and Iced Americanos." He smiled. No matter how much I saw his smile, I'd never get bored of it. "But it seems like it will revolve around another thing I had just discover."
It took a while for me to process all of his words into my brain. After finally understanding his words, I asked him. "What is it?"
"You."
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this is so messy and unedited and ugly formatting im sorry writing in firstpov is hard
i just need something to pour my emotions to idk if it turns out well
i'll probably post this into a story later and oh the names are just temporary
i havent decided them yet lol ok bye
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