TWO days. That’s how long Mei’s been living with Jun and Ming Hao. Ming Hao isn’t any nicer—if anything he’s worse—but Mei expected as much. It’s not like he was about to do a one eighty in two days—that’s just not how things work. Jun on the other hand, is still that annoyingly nice guy that tries—at every moment—to talk to her, or be by her, despite her distaste for it. She compares him to that of a bumblebee. Always flying around, and doing “good things”—for bumblebees it’s pollinating flowers, for Jun it’s trying to make Mei comfortable—but sometimes they get annoying and fly to close to your face, or constantly roam around you; that’s Jun to Mei. He’s a bumblebee; a greatly annoying Chinese bumblebee.

At least with Ming Hao he only glares, or mumbles his indifference, before he’s leaving back to his bedroom. Mei can handle that, Mei can’t handle Jun.

She gathers her outfit for the day in her arms—after pinning her hair up in a bun—she leaves her room to the bathroom across from it humming the tune of that song that’s been on the radio for the past twelve months Some. She places her clothes on the counter and strips out of her pajamas. The minute she steps into the shower the hot water hits her body, and calmness absorbs her. There’s just something about warm water for a shower in the early morning.

Her calmness is short lasting when the doors to the bathroom spring open, and in walk two men. Jun and Ming Hao. Although there’s a non-see through shower curtain covering her, it doesn’t deny the fact that men and woman—unless married—should not be together in the same bathroom in which one is taking a shower, or is completely .

“Why do you have to pee while I’m brushing my teeth?” She hears Jun whine.

Ming Hao shrugs his shoulders as he groggily makes his way to the toilet. “Why do you have to brush your teeth while I’m peeing?” He responds as he lifts the lid to the toilet. By the time he hears the shower, he doesn’t stop himself from going. “Who’s in the shower?” She hears Ming Hao ask in a gruff voice as a sudden trickle of drops is heard. Minghao’s peeing, while she’s in the shower; he is oblivious to everything, much like Jun.

Mei shrinks into a squatting position as she tries not to scream at them in embarrassment, “I’m in the shower.” She manages to reply in a quiet voice to keep her anger under control. The trickling of water stops as Jun drops his toothbrush in the sink. “Can you please leave?”

The two men glance at each other—wide eyed, and mouths agape—and before Ming Hao knows it he’s being grabbed by the collar of his white shirt and pulled to the other side of the bathroom. “Why the hell didn’t you lock the door?” The blonde one manages to yell out as Jun is pushing him out of the bathroom with as much force as he can muster—though Ming Hao is a lot stronger than him, despite being shorter.

“Because, there’s not a lock!”

“Take your time; we’re in no rush!” Jun yells as he slams the bathroom door. Mei’s pretty sure she hears Ming Hao mumble a ‘like hell we’re not’ afterwards, though she lets it slip as she stands back up and finishes her shower. Although, the whole time embarrassment is covering her face, and she doesn’t dare to leave the bathroom when she’s finally dressed for the day; instead, she waits it out for a good ten minutes.

Needless to say, things are awkward when everyone is sitting at the small breakfast table. Ming Hao is glaring a hole into Mei’s forehead, and Jun gets flustered every time he glances in Mei’s direction. Though she’s not sure why, it’s not like he saw anything—the curtain covered her entirely, not to mention she crouched down into a ball to keep herself even more covered.

“Um, I’ll install a lock when I get back from class.” Jun voices as he ends up glancing at her—albeit still flustered—and smiles brightly.

Mei immediately shows gratitude when her head shoots up and she nods straight after. Unfortunately, Ming Hao doesn’t. “Great, now we’re changing the house for her?” He lets out an exasperated sigh as his silver spoon falls into the bowl of soup. “If she wants my room because it’s bigger does she get it too?” Ming Hao slams his hands down on the table, the loud screeching of the chair moving across the floorboards are heard, before he’s leaving to his bedroom. The two know he’s finally in there when a giant ‘slam’ is heard.

Jun immediately turns toward Mei apologetically, “I swear he’s nice when you get to know him,” He pauses to try and find the right words but Mei already knows that the situation is going to be like this for a while. She’s come to understand that Minghao’s the type of person to be rough when you first meet him, but after awhile will become that friend who’d do anything for you—much like her in a sense. “He’s just not used to you yet.”

“I know.” Mei mutters as she reaches over and grabs for Minghao’s bowl of soup, and places it inside her bowl. She glances over at Jun who’s already starring at her—and although she finds it endearing that he’s always watching over her, it’s just plain weird that he’s starring at her whenever she looks in his direction. “Are you finished?”

He nods, allowing Mei to grab for his bowl and head to the kitchen. “We don’t have a dishwasher; it broke, like four years ago, so it all has to be hand washed.” Strangely enough, Mei has not taken one step inside their kitchen. Usually—at least she’s come to notice—Jun or Ming Hao, order takeout and everything ends up in the garbage.

Mei finds the kitchen nice, and comfortable. She’s pretty sure she likes it better than her bedroom. It’s more inviting, much like Bella and Lucca’s cottage. For the most part, when living with them, she stayed in the kitchen the only time she was ever in her room was to sleep, but most of the time she could be found in the kitchen.

Jun gathers his stuff for his classes, as he glances in Mei’s direction to see her washing the bowls and spoons diligently. “I have to head off to class now, I’ll see you later.” He begins as he walks toward the front door. Mei nods her head but doesn’t even spare him a glance. “I promise I’ll get that lock for the bathroom,” He continues and once again she nods, still not looking at him. “Oh, and I’ll get you your own key as well.” This time Mei does look up, just in time to see Jun pointing towards the front door.

“Really?” She asks cautiously—unsure of how to react.

Jun smiles and dips his head down to say yes, “See you later, call if something happens.” Jun spares her one last smile before he’s out the door and off to class. What class? Mei’s not sure; she’s never really asked him what he’s getting his degree in. What she does know, is that he must really love the industry he’s going into. He always has a smile when he leaves for class and a bigger one when he comes back. Not to mention she can hear him raving to Ming Hao about how great his teacher truly is. From what Mei can remember, Jun didn’t like school that much as a kid. He always looked so down, and he almost always needed a tutor for math. She knows he’s not stupid, but she also knows he’s not a genius when it comes to some things.

“You’re still here?”

Mei moves to look over her shoulder and watches as Ming Hao reaches into the fridge—now dressed in better attire—and takes out a bottle of water. “Where are you going?” She asks while turning to face him.

Ming Hao almost looks a little surprised at Mei’s words. She usually doesn’t talk to him; maybe a ‘hello’ or a ‘good morning’ never an actual sentence with multiple syllables. “Don’t act like you’re interested.” He coolly replies as he downs a good amount of the content of water.

He makes his way out of the kitchen, after placing the water bottle on the counter, and falls stomach first onto the couch—like the child he really is. Mei makes his way to him, to where she's standing right in front of the couch and facing his direction. “Jun told me, awhile ago, that your work is hiring.”

“So?”

“Well, I was thinking, maybe you could get me a job there in order for me to pay rent consecutively—every month.” She states and waits for Ming Hao to respond. At first he seems mildly interested as he swings his body around to sit properly in front of her.

“Why would I do that? That would be like me working two shifts to get double the pay.” He stands himself up, and it’s the first time Mei realizes how much taller Ming Hao is compared to her, and stares down at Mei. “Besides, I don’t want to work with you. Its bad enough I have to live with you. Find your own job.” He purposely bashes his shoulder into Mei’s—not even sparing her a look—before slamming the front door when he leaves.

Mei runs a hand through her hair. She’s never met a person so frustrating before—at least none to the standard of that of Ming Hao. Even when she’s trying to compensate for her horrible way of moving in, he’s angrily and grudgingly telling her not to get a job at a place that is hiring. Does that even make since? Not to mention it’s not like she can work in many places, she can’t fluently speak Korean—sure she can understand, but all she can stutter back is short answers; so it would be good to work with someone who knows her.

With a desperate sigh, she reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out her phone. Now’s a good time to call Jing Jing, she did say to call frequently anyway. “Mei, is something wrong?” Her voice comes out alarming and Mei cringes. Does she really think that the only reason she’d call is because something is wrong with her?

“Nothing, I just—I wanted to talk.” She calmly replies as she takes a seat on the couch and stretches out her upper body. “How do you get a job?”

Jing Jing laughs, and Mei likes that. That Jing Jing can still laugh despite everything the pair have been through. “Have you ever had a job Mei Fen?”

“Yes,” Mei pauses to let out a short chuckle. “But it’s because I was living with the couple who owned the restaurant. And the other time was because the guy thought I was pretty and that I’d bring customers into the record store.” This time the two women chime in with laughs.

“Yah, are you boasting that you’re beautiful?” Jing Jing replies.

Mei shakes her head as she imagines what Jing Jing’s features must look like. Pouted lips, narrowed eyes, and a scrunched up nose—that’s what Jing Jing would look like when she’d tell Mei not to boast about her intelligence or beauty. Her face almost always made Mei laugh—she looked like a little bunny rabbit, especially when they were kids and Jing Jing’s two teeth were buck tooth and crossed. Mei found it cute; so did half of the boys at their school.

“No, I’m just saying why I got hired.” She hears the brunette girl let a ‘tsk’ roll of her tongue before a loud sigh comes out of .

“Alright, first things first, you need a resume.” Jing Jing moves around her apartment until she’s in front of her laptop sitting at her desk. “Alright, what’s the most schooling you’ve had?” She asks.

Mei shuts her eyes tight as she responds, “Junior year.”

“Of college?”

“Middle School.”

“Oh,” The brunette musters awkwardly. She should’ve known. It’s not like Mei could just up and go to school in the middle of all her traveling. “That’s fine, no, that’s great!” She comments and Mei knows she’s lying because her voice goes up an octave as she tries to overcompensate for the situation. “At least you have schooling. Any schooling is good schooling.” She reminds Mei—the same comment Jing Jing use to always say when they were in school.

Mei takes a deep breath in and lets it out right after, “Let’s talk about something else.” She offers and almost immediately Jing Jing agrees. “How’s the wedding planning going so far, is there a date set?”

“Yes,” The brunette squeals as she claps her hands and kicks her feet in utter excitement. “December fifth. It’s a Saturday so mom and dad can make it.” Mei stops smiling. Mom and dad? Jing Jing’s mom and dad? No, she’s met enough people from her past, not them too.

“Jing Jing, your parents are going to be there?” Mei asks.

The other girl scoffs as if the question is that ‘stupid’. “Are you serious Mei? Of course they are; they’ve only been raving about it since my birth.” Jing Jing takes a deep breath as she composes herself into that of her mother. “Jing Hua, do as I say and get married early—to a rich man, and have two of his children so that way if you get a divorce you’re tied to him forever through childcare.” She ends her mocking of her mother with an evil laugh at the end.

“Yeah, you’re mom was always saying that hunh?” Mei laughs, and for a second she forgets all about the fact she’ll be seeing more people from her past; because the prospect of happiness from back then, keeps her mind and conscious at ease.

Jing Jing laughs, “She didn’t just do it to me either—she did it to you to.” A soft sigh escapes the brunette’s lip as she nestles herself back into the couch. “Mom and dad always treated you like a second daughter. I regret not telling them about what was happening with you. They could’ve helped.”

“No,” Mei firmly states. “No one could’ve helped.”

“Mei, you can’t seriously believe that.” Jing Jing states incredulously. “My parents could’ve gone to the cops, and they would’ve taken custody of you. There’s no way mom and dad would’ve let your parents do what they did. They abused you, and shouldn’t have gotten away with it. They ruined your life; that’s grounds enough for punishment.” Mei stays still and quiet; unsure of what to say. Before Jing Jing even realizes it, she’s asking the one question she knows her best friend will never answer. “Mei, you don’t think it’s your fault…do you?”

“I have to go.”

“Mei!”

The blonde headed girl ends the call and shoves her phone back into her pocket. Slowly she reaches a hand up to brush away the few drops of tears that threatened to fall. Mei can’t think like that; that the past could’ve been different. Where she was happily living as the second daughter to Jing Jing’s parents, and Jing Jing’s smarter sister. Where she wasn’t so frighten to enter her house. Where she wasn’t begging for food for days on end. Where she wasn’t physically and mentally hurt by the people she professed to love and professed to love her. That life couldn’t have happened. It’s just a dream. A far away dream.

Mei gathers herself together before she’s leaving the apartment and to the outside world. She crosses the street when the walking signal comes on, and retreats into the café she’s frequented for the past few days she’s lived in the area. 11:11—the coffee shops name. It’s small, maybe as big as two regular sized bedrooms stuffed together with no wall in between. There are only booths, and all have outlets and lamps for those that come into study. The bar area, also has outlets and overhanging lights for those that like to sit at the bar and watch their drinks being made. The colors throughout the story are that of blue and brown—she’s yet to find any other color tone.

Mei’s been at the café long enough to realize that there’s only three barista’s. All men, all very handsome, and all are Korean—for some reason Mei keeps looking at different stories for hints of Chinese men: she’s yet to find any, other than her roommates.

“Oh, Miss Mei-sshi, you’re back.” The brown haired, well built man—whose name tag reads ‘Seok Min’—says with a bright smile. “One cappuccino and banana muffin?” He asks politely with that goofy smile he seems to always have on his face. Mei nods and passes him the Korean money Jun had given her last night. “Go ahead and take a seat, I’ll have Won Woo bring it to you.”

Mei dips her head down in acknowledgement as she huddles her way into a corner booth to relax. It’s almost like left and right she’s being hit with stress, first with Ming Hao and Jun, and then comes Jing Jing with an upper cut explaining how her parents are going to show up. Mei can’t meet Jing Jing’s parents again, they’ll coddle her and ask her where’s she’s been—and do that thing that parents do: worry.

“Here, you go.” Mei looks up just in time to see the dark haired, very slender man, with dark rimmed glasses set down her cappuccino and muffin before bowing and scurrying off back behind the counter to work.

Mei’s come to notice that the café is never that busy when’s she around—there are only ever five or six people inside. Although she usually comes around noon and who really wants coffee at noon? Maybe businesses, but not regular every day people. She remembers hearing a high schooler say that the owner only keeps the café open throughout the whole day so that college, high school, and middle school students have a place to study and or relax.

It’s admirable. Someone out there truly cares for all those struggling students. If she’s ever going to have a boss, she hopes it's someone like this man. Someone who genuinely cares for the community.

Mei glances in the way of Seok Min to see him laughing wildly in Won Woo’s ear, who doesn’t look the least bit amused. The other barista—the tall one—leans on the counter of the bar flirting off to one of the two Korean ladies, older ladies, sat at the bar.

“Seok Min-sshi?” Mei asks when she reaches the counter.

Seok Min turns away from Won Woo, and the two look over at Mei in curiosity. “Oh, Mei-sshi, is something wrong with your drink? Does it need to be remade?” He asks worriedly, and almost immediately the girl shakes her head.

“Is this place hiring?” She asks while tilting her head to the side.

Won Woo and Seok Min glance at each other—almost as if their having a non-talking conversation, and instead are communicating through facial expressions. Seok Min turns to look back at Mei, “It depends; do you know how to make different coffee drinks?”

“No, but I’m a fast learner—and if needed I can just be the one to deliver drinks so neither of you three have to leave your station, or I can work at the cash register.” She pauses to think of what else she can do as the two men, now three since the third one has sparked an interest in the conversation, pay attention to her. “Oh, I’m also good at cleaning. All I did at the last restaurant I worked at was clean; so if you need someone to clean, I’m willing to do so. And you don’t have to pay me much, I don’t need that much money—it’s only to cover my rent for the month.” She fumbles the last part but all three of them catch the information as they turn to look at each other.

Seok Min turns back toward Mei, after what seems like a satisfying facial conversation, and smiles at her. “Why don’t you start off with delivering the drinks to customers, and keeping the tables clean? If I see fit, I’ll have Ming Yu or Won Woo begin your training…deal?” Mei almost dies over in happiness and accomplishment—how’s that for not finishing school?

“Thank you so much, Seok Min-sshi!” She beams.

Seok Min only keeps the smile on his face as his eyes wander around the shop, “Do you mind starting today? The shop is already kind of dingy; none of us like to clean.” He sheepishly states, but Mei doesn’t take it in a bad way but instead nods. Honestly, it’s just another way to stay out of that apartment. “Great, your shift is over at nine—that’s when the shop closes—and by tomorrow I’ll have your contract ready to sign. Go ahead and grab an apron from the back room.”

She sprints off behind the counter, dodging Ming Yu in the process, and finds her way into the back room. Which, not so surprisingly, is dirty; two lockers on either side of the wall, a window on the back wall, and a bench thrown straight in between the lockers. On the bench, floor, and hanging from the lockers are thousands upon thousands of clothes: shirts, pants, shorts, you name it it’s there.

Seok Min wasn’t kidding when he said none of them like to clean. With a sigh she wraps the apron—found a top the right side lockers—around her body and ties it tight, before she gets to work starting in the back room.

It took approximately two hours and ten minutes for Mei to really clean up the store; which includes the back room, bar, all the booths, and part of the outside. Needless to say Seok Min, Won Woo, and Ming Yu are pretty pleased with the new employee.

Mei sits at one of the bar stools sipping on the cup of warm green tea, Won Woo had made for her. “Won Woo-sshi, who’s the owner of the store?” She asks. The older male chuckles a bit as he turns to face her.

“You haven’t figured it out yet?” He asks.

She bites her lip, “Seok Min-sshi?”

“No,” He responds with another laugh as he leans down on his elbows to be eye to eye with Mei. “Me.” Surprisingly, to him at least, Mei doesn’t seem the least bit shocked. Mei had come to the conclusion that if it’s not Seok Min, the only other reasonable candidate is Won Woo—since Ming Yu seems to young, and a bit immature.

She smiles, “Nice to meet you boss.”

“Nice to meet you too, employee.” He smiles back.

He turns back to finish what he had started doing as Mei drums her fingers against the edge of her cup. “May I ask you a question Won Woo-sshi?” She hears the man mumble a yes. “What’s your reasoning behind keeping the store open so late? It’s honestly humbling if it’s to help all the students.”

The man doesn’t turn to look at her but instead keeps focused on working on what he’s doing. “When I was in high school—only a few years ago actually—I lived in a really small apartment with my mother, and my brother—Ming Yu—and neither of us had a real good place to study. The library, to say the least, was the place kids would go to deal drugs and I never wanted to be around that nor did I want my younger brother around that. So, I made this place—not just so busybodies can get their coffee—but for those students that don’t have the luxury of studying at home.”

Mei lets her head lean on her hand as she glances in the direction of the few students already getting to work in the shop. “I wish there was something like this when I was a kid.” She voices, and Won Woo catches the sad tone of her voice mustered behind her kind smile.

The rest of the day went by pretty good for Mei. She did her job diligently, and got to know both her boss and co-workers who are all very nice and friendly. She’s come to realize that Ming Yu is that immature girl-crazy boy, while Seok Min is the outgoing super sweet man who likes to poke fun at people and make jokes but all in all keep people happy, and Won Woo is the quiet and reserved one who doesn’t like to show off that he’s the boss and instead let’s Seok Min take control of a majority of things—like bossing people around. All in all, Mei seems to like everyone but she gets along the greatest with Won Woo.

By the time the shop closes, it’s already dark out and the moon is being covered by clouds making it seem as if it’s going to rain. “Work starts tomorrow at five in the morning.” Seok Min states as he pats Mei on the shoulder.

“I’ll be here.” She says back.

Ming Yu steps in front of her and throws her that swoon worthy smile he’s been throwing at every girl who’s walked into the store. “Noona, do you need me to walk you home?” He asks with a wink.

“No.” She states bluntly and this time Ming Yu gets a pat on the shoulder. “I’ll see you all tomorrow!” She shouts back at them as they watch her cross the street and travel up to her apartment.

Ming Yu slaps his older brother’s back the minute Mei stumbles into the building. “I told you it’d be a good idea to have a woman working here. Did you see all those male customers ogling her—they bought more coffee just to stay longer and stare at her.” He laughs earning a slap to the back of the head from said older brother.

“Let’s go.” Won Woo drags his brother—Seok Min trailing behind—to his car, knowing now that all his employees are safe.

By the time Mei enters the apartment, she’s about scared out of her wits when she’s pulled into a giant hug by none other than Jun. “Where the hell have you been? Do you know what time it is?” He cries as Ming Hao comes flying into the room with just as big of a pissed off face as Jun’s.

“We’ve been worried!” Ming Hao shouts; and it catches Mei off guard.

She drops her head towards her chest apologeticly, “I’m sorry.”

“Jesus Christ, do you know how much a young Chinese woman like yourself would go for on the market?” She hears Ming Hao mumbles as he flops down onto the couch.

Jun takes a deep breath and pulls Mei back into a hug—despite her unwillingness. Arms wrapped around her shoulders, head buried into the crest of her neck—and legit awkwardness radiating off from Mei. “Where were you?” He mumbles, and this time he’s forced out of the hug by Mei’s consistent pushing at his chest.

“I got a job.”

“What?”

“What?”

The two manage to mumble the same thing, one after another, as Mei finds her way to the kitchen to get herself something to drink. “That café across the street—eleven, eleven—they hired me.” Jun shakes his head as he moves around to stand in front of her, Ming Hao even pulls himself into a sitting position to watch the interaction.

“The café with only male workers?” He asks.

Mei nods, “And now one female worker.”

“You see what’s wrong with that picture, right?” Jun asks and to his question Mei shakes her head. “You’re the only female in that café, it’s not safe. They’ll take advantage of you. You should quit. Ming Hao will get you a job at his work.”

The blonde boy rejects that idea with a shake of his head, “Not happening. Working and living together—big no for me. She’ll be fine working with a bunch of guys. Maybe she’ll start dating one, and move in with him instead of living with us. Actually, yes—let them take advantage of you.” The blonde boy nods happily at the scenario in his head—seeing as it will benefit him.

Both Mei and Jun ignore him as Mei faces Jun with a glare. “Isn’t it the same situation as living here? You’re being hypocritical Jun. I live with men, why I can’t work with men as well?” Ming Hao voices out a ‘she’s right’ as Jun spares him a harsh glare: one he’s never seen before.

“You at least know me. You don’t know them.”

Mei let’s out an annoyed groan, “Will you stop being an overprotective jerk for one second and let me do something I want to do?”

“I’m being an overprotective jerk because I care about you!” He shouts, but it only pisses Mei off even more. Honestly, all she keeps thinking about is why he has the right to get mad at her when she’s done nothing wrong. He doesn’t have the right. It’s not like he’s her husband, boyfriend, or family member.

“Stop caring then!” She shoots back.

By now Ming Hao is watching them as if it’s a scene of a movie. The part where the main leads are so frustrated they end up making out. He notes that Jun and Mei have the frustrated part done but not the making out part. “I can’t!”

“Why not?”

“Because I like you!”

Mei stares at Jun wide eyed as Jun frustratedly runs a hand through his hair before dodging her and going into his room. Meanwhile Ming Hao stares at Mei with an amused grin. “Didn’t see that one coming did you?” The blonde boy sighs, as Mei tears her gaze away from the hallway and to him. “I mean, I at least kind of knew. He said that he had a crush on you back when you were younger; but no guy goes out of the way for a girl he doesn’t at least like. And well, he does like you.”

Ming Hao gets up from his seat and begins his way to his room when he stops short to look over his shoulder at Mei. “Don’t hurt him, okay? He’s been through a lot of —he doesn’t need some girl messing with his feelings too.”

He’s been through a lot of ? What about Mei?

d i c t i o n a r y :

• Middle School: Middle School in China is like the equivalent to High School, and Secondary School. Middle School in China is also known as Senior high school but the previous is more commonly used. Also to note that the only years of schooling that are actually compulsory are Primary School and Junior Middle School. (Primary is the equivalent to Elementary School or Primary education, and Junior Middle School is the equivalent to Middle School/Junior High and Primary education.) And most children start schooling at six, so it’s a bit late compared to most educational systems. Also ‘Middle School’ in China is only three years and you start at age fifteen. 

• Noona: Meaning older sister/female said only by a younger brother/male.