Four - Every cloud has a silver lining
My First Love, My Arch Enemy
#Su Eora#
I cross my arms and heaves a sigh, looking through the window at the new cafe right across from mine. The elegant theme of the building must be the first reason why people can't walk pass it without taking a good look at it.
Kyuhyun is seriously crossing the line. I seriously never imagined that he would challenge me by opening a cafe right in front of my own eyes!
I turn around to see empty tables. There are only three customers inside of my cafe and two of them already finished their cakes. They stand up and head outside.
"Thank you," I quickly flash a smile to them as they bow slightly to me. I look at them talking about something before they head to the "Dream Kingdom".
I bite my bottom lip to surpress my anger. Looks like Kyuhyun is serious about being my rival; he even holds the promotion of buy one, get one to gain more customers.
"This is just great," I groan after the last customer walked out from my cafe. "That Cho Kyuhyun! Aish!"
The bell jingles as a sign that a new customer just opens the door. Being the professional one, I quickly hide my annoyed expression with a smile, "Welco-"
My smile vanishes when I see the person who just entered my cafe, "It's just you."
"What's with that greeting?" Dongwoon raises one of his eyebrows and approaches me. "I'm a customer here just in case you forget."
"Yeah, yeah," I murmur and lead him to his usual seat. "You're the only customer I have anyway."
Dongwoon looks around and his eyes fix on the "Dream Kingdom". A staff is giving free colorful balloons to the customers while another one is making water bubbles with a gun to make the cafe more interesting.
Within just three days the new cafe has made my business change into a graveyard. I never thought that this problem will be like this.
The only thing I can hope right now is everything will turn into normal once the promotion of "Dream Kingdom" stops; customers like promotion, right?
"Are you worried about him?" Dongwoon asks when I put a cup of coffee on the table.
"Should I?" I retort him with sarcasm. "No, I shouldn't worry that my cafe doesn't have any customer while the crowd right in front of me is gathering for him."
Dongwoon doesn't say a word but he stares at me. I my lips and then sit across from him, "I'm sorry, Dongwoon... I just... Aigoo, he is too much."
I rub my temple, feeling headache is torturing me. I close my eyes while I'm actually cursing everything I can inside.
"Yah, every cloud has a silver lining," Dongwoon takes a sip of his coffee. "Since when did Su Eora become a pessimistic girl?"
Honestly speaking I feel better after listening to his words but his attitude shoves the thought away, "Yah, Dongwoon, what's with 'Noona'? I'm older than you!"
"Don't look like one," he retorts with monotone, taking a bite of the black forest. "I want another slice."
"Three slices in a day?" I tilt my head. "Yah, did you have your lunch yet?"
"I was busy practicing for the upcoming album," he replies without looking at me; he is too busy with the cake. "I need another cup of coffee."
Ah, he did tell me that he will release a new album in two months. I always love to hear the pieces of his song and I'm the only person who knows his true identity other than his family.
Being the arrogant and cold man he is, Dongwoon doesn't have many close friends. That's why he always visits my cafe everyday. Or maybe he just likes black forest.
"No," I state firmly. "No more black forest. No more coffee."
"I'll pay," he finishes the last bite of the cake. "I never left without leaving tips."
"That's not the case!" I take the empty plate. "You need to eat something else other than cakes!"
Dongwoon gives me a bored expression. I hit his arm lightly, "I'll treat you. No complaint!"
He has a serious problem about his attitude. However I know for sure that he is a good kid; maybe he just need a figure of someone in his life.
#Cho Kyuhyun#
"Thank you, Mr Cho!" the last staff bows to me and walks out from the cafe. I smile to her before turning my expression back to plain one.
It's another tiring day. Thanks to the crowd who gathered because of the promotion. It's a good thing that I am the one who manages everything in the kitchen as well because the staffs sometimes mess up things.
"If it's Eora, I don't need to worry about the cakes...," I murmur to myself.
Wait, what did I just say?
Why do I need to think about that girl?
I stand up and check every corner of the cafe before turning off the light. I lock the door and turn around to face the already closed "Sweetest Queen".
Looks like Eora closed her cafe earlier today. Or maybe I closed it too late.
Just like my prediction, the customers explode in numbers. The promotion and the taste of the cake are the best combination. My uncle also said that taking the cafe right in front of another cafe is an advantage since the customers will come to my place.
"Yah! It's mine!" I hear a girl complaints. I stop my steps immediately; I know that voice.
Around five metres from me, Eora is in the middle of argument with Dongwoon. She is holding an ice cream cone while Dongwoon looks at her without any expression.
"You don't have your name written on it," Dongwoon retorts, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Besides you said it's your treat tonight, right?"
"But I-" Eora stops abruptly when she notices my presence. She blinks for numerous times, "Kyuhyun?"
The uneasy feeling because of their togetherness appears again. I walk pass them without a word but Eora's next words make me freeze on my feet.
"Congratulations," she says out loud, "for your cafe. Looks like you maintain a great business."
I feel like something inside of my stomach, as if butterflies are dancing. However I just manage a smirk because of the past memory crosses my mind.
Looks like I still can't forget about the past at all.
"Is that your white flag?" I ask her coldly. "Maybe you should consider to close your cafe."
"Yah! I-" Eora raises her tone, feeling really annoyed by my cold attitude. Dongwoon is the one who stops her.
"There is no need to argue with him," Dongwoon grabs her wrist and gives me a deadly glare. "Let him talk whatever he wants to."
"Don't care about me," I lock my eyes on Eora, "because I will never care about you either."
#Son Dongwoon#
"Unbelieveable! He is unbelievable!" Eora groans with anger. We are on our way back to Eora's house after the short meeting with Kyuhyun.
She has been complaining for around ten minutes now and I don't reply her since I know she just want to complaint about him.
I still don't understand that guy's intention. First he worked for Eora even though he said he hates her. Then he opened a cafe right across from Eora's and he told Eora not to care about him.
This guy is seriously cruel. Eora even congratulated him but he told her to close her cafe instead.
"How could I fell in love with that guy?!" Eora stomps the ground impatiently. "I should have not hired him at the first place!"
"Fell in love?" I repeat her words. Did my hearing just deceive me?
Eora quickly covers with her hand. She looks at me with wide eyes; looks like the words just slipped out her lips.
"You fell in love with him?" I ask her. "Is that why you agreed to let him work for you?"
"I-I...," Eora bites her bottom lip nervously. "It's... It's an old story! It's nothing! It's-"
"Do you still love him?" I cut her explanation. I don't really care if he is her first love or else, but I will mind if she actually loves him now.
"What?" this time Eora is the one who puts the surprised expression. "Me? Love that evil one? Pfft. It's even more impossible than the sun rises from west."
"That's a no," I conclude, studying her expression carefully.
"That's a forever no," she mutters and continues to walk. "I was in the same elementary school with him. Talking about irony, he is the reason why I wanted to become a patissier."
"He loved sweets," a smile appears on her face. "I studied really hard to make great taste for sweets and I made it. He moved to New York ten years ago and me, being childish and stupid, handed over my diary to him."
"You could say that I embarassed myself because I wrote about him on the diary," Eora lets out an empty laughter. "That's why I agreed to hire him. Now he is my arch enemy. Isn't it great?"
She gives me a sarcasm smile. I tuck her hair behind her ear, looking at her lips. I touch her lips with my thumb, feeling her soft lips.
"Don't worry about me!" Eora grins widely and continues walking since we almost arrive in front of her house. "Someone said to me that every cloud has a silver lining."
Eora turns around and smiles confidently to me when she has reached the front foor of her house, "As long as I still have one customer, I will never give up on my cafe."
Her smile makes my heart to skip a beat. To know that her smile is because of my words, I feel really happy.
"If I give up, you will miss the black forest, right?" she sticks out her tongue to me. "Ah, thank you for walking me back as usual, Dongwoon. Now-"
When she is going to bid me good night, I lean closer to her and tilt my head, planting a kiss on her left cheek without any warning.
"I'll see you tomorrow," I murmur, ignoring my uncontrollable heartbeat. "Good night."
I will protect her smile. I swear I will.
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Author's Note:
"Every cloud has a silver lining" is a phrase which means "Every bad situation has some good aspect to it".
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