Pushing the cash tray back into the register and handing over loose change to the customer for the fifth time today already, Seulgi let out a long breath she hadn’t noticed she was holding in.

 

She’d barely begun her weekly Saturday morning shift at the local café near her university, throwing over her head and fastening her favourite cinnamon brown apron in a hurry of tangled bunches of knots at the back, before customers came streaming through the front door demanding a fully cooked breakfast.

 

A quick glance towards the clock hanging above - 9am it read - and Seulgi could tell that today was going to be very long, busy, and positively tiring day when she’s running on barely 5 hours sleep from staying up at night to work on essays for her first year credits.

 

She knew deep down that deciding to pursue a degree would be tough, she was the first in her family to take the step into higher education, and Seulgi was trying her absolute best to make ends meet and pay for tuition fees on top of rent for a small flat in a nearby tower block.

 

Just as Seulgi manages to tie her long locks into a messy bun to make-do in the hot working environment, the jingle of the door rings loud again, and she’s hastily moving towards the front counter to grab the pen and order pad in preparation to greet another hungry customer.

 

In spite of this, it’s just her long-term friend Jongin, who has also arrived (slightly late, as usual for the sleepy head who likes to have a lay-in when he spends the night practicing in the dance studios) for his own weekend shift.

 

“Hold your horses,” he sends her a cheeky wink and quick smile in her direction while removing his puffy winter coat and hanging it in the staff room further back into the building.

 

And when it comes to Jongin, Seulgi is forever thankful to be working alongside her friend - he manages to keep her sane with his lame cheesy jokes when she feels like she’s just about to boil over with pent up fury for their boss.

 

Perhaps, he helps her so much to the point that Seulgi truly hopes that one day, Jongin will have his fair chance to chase his dreams of the arts, and perform on the great big stage rather than be cooped up in this horrid place.

 

The wafting smell of poached eggs and bacon sizzling on the grill brings Seulgi back to her senses, although she’d admit that she’d much prefer to stay in her vivid daydreams any time.

 

If the hectic business during a 9 till 5 shift could get any worse, having a sleazy old man complain about the supposedly ‘poor quality’ cooked food just took the cake.

 

“I’m so sorry, ahjussi,” Seulgi gives a ninety-degree bow and leans across the table to remove the plate from in front of said customer, hurrying into the kitchen to scrape away the remaining slivers into the trash disposal and speak to her boss about another serving as compensation or a possible refund.

 

Wiping her brow of sweat from the blazing heat in the cafe with the back of her arm, Seulgi intends to leave the staff room but stops dead in her tracks when she overhears none other than Mr. Kim Jongin conversing with the complaining customer:

 

“I won’t bother you with making another jacket potato if you’ll give me the girl’s mobile number,” the shady guy smirks.

 

Seulgi squirms, slightly angered, but nonetheless stays rooted to the spot.

 

“I’m sorry, dear customer, but I can’t disclose personal information about a fellow colleague,” it’s clear from his body language that Jongin is practically fuming, but does as best he can to keep it underwraps. “Please wait just a few more minutes for another order.”

 

Later that day, Seulgi plants a kiss on his cheek when she heads back into the cafe from her lunch break, a quick “thank you” uttered from her lips, before she skitters off to take a new order in order to avoid Jongin witnessing the tender blush that has crept onto her cheeks.

 

In more ways than one, can Seulgi count her shift as a bad day in the books. It comes to a point where every shift she endures is becoming a nightmare, and she’s desperately glancing at the clock with the hopes that the seconds and minutes would tick by just a bit quicker so she can get out of the place.

 

“SEULGI! You need to stop slacking and get the dishes clean! C’mon,” her manager seems to loom ever present over Seulgi’s shoulder, as she frantically scrubs the plates clean of muck and grime with the sponge, until her hands are worn down and pads of her fingers become wrinkled with the water.

 

“Yes sir,” Seulgi is going so fast now, stacking plates on the rack, that she accidentally flicks water over her face and down her front.

 

“It’s not good enough! You don’t want to keep the customers waiting, now, do you?” He continues to rip into poor Seulgi, when really, there’s nothing more she can do than what she already is.

 

“I’m trying my best…” Seulgi barely manages to squeak out, focused on the task at hand.

 

“Well in that case, maybe I should start looking for a replacement, hm?” The agitated man finally exits the room and Seulgi can allow her tense muscles to release for just a second before continuing her mission.

 

“Hey, give me that,” Jongin appears beside Seulgi, already clad in wash overalls and taking the plate from her shaking hands to see to the job himself, not before rubbing a hand soothingly up and down her back to calm the nerves.

 

“Thank you,” Seulgi’s eyes are already b with tears that her boss is so unforgiving in such a situation, and that Jongin is helping her out when he has his own jobs to see to around the café -- he’s so kind and she’s had this massive crush on him since preschool when he used to push her on the swings and-

 

“Do you want to eat out during lunch break?”

 

Seulgi thinks she must look like such a freak show right now, tears appearing to stream down her face and boogers crusted her nose while trying to speak in some comprehensible language, other than garbled nonsense.

 

Jongin seems to take notice of her slight pause and, turning round to see what the problem could be, becomes a little flustered at the state poor Seulgi has gotten herself into.

 

He’s immediately wrapping her up in a warm bear hug, wiping away the streaks down her cheeks with his own palms and resting his chin against the top of her head.

 

“Pabo, there’s no need for all that,” Jongin murmurs, “if you’re that broke, I’ll pay.”

 

Seulgi’s hushed giggles are utter music to Jongin’s ears as he wipes away a stray tear with the pad of his thumb.

 

It’s exactly 2pm when the duo break free from their shift and take a pleasant stroll downtown together to visit none other than a chicken shop to feast their grumbling stomachs.

 

“Good choice,” Seulgi mumbles between bites of her drumstick, taking a quick swig of her lemonade before chomping on the meat again.

 

“You get grouchy on an empty stomach,” Jongin sticks his thumb into his mouth to rid of the spicy sauce that had covered his own portion of chicken, pulling it back out with a pop, “ can’t be having that.”

 

Seulgi can only smile like an idiot at her friend, he always puts other people’s interests before his own and she wonders if she’ll ever be able to repay him one day.

 

They spend the remaining time just enjoying their meals and warming their bellies when the day is slightly colder with the brisk winter chill.

 

The streets are filled with stalls and small businesses that sell street food and hot beverages to passersby, smoke rising into the air and pleasant smells filling the streets. It’s a lovely scene to witness, and Seulgi could just sit and stare at the scene for hours on end.

 

But opposite from Seulgi, Jongin is much more interested in the radiant beauty of the girl before him that that of the busy streets of Seoul.

 

He’s finished eating and continues to stare at Seulgi, but she soon catches on.

 

“What’re you looking at, silly,” Seulgi hopes her cheeks are already flushed to hide the rosy tint appearing on them now, before she surprises herself by reaching across the table and wiping off a hint of the spicy sauce that remains at the corner of Jongin’s lips.

 

This time it’s Jongin’s turn to flush as bright as red as a tomato, coughing loudly and grabbing a napkin to dab at his mouth for any more remains.

 

“Cute~” Seulgi teases him, eliciting a small chuckle.

 

“YA, stop it…” Jongin’s whining for her to stop, pulling his hood over his head in an attempt to hide from the other.

 

“We best get going,” Seulgi reaches for the straps of her backpack and loosely flings it over her shoulder, standing up from her seat before walking away, leaving Jongin to chase after her while complaining that she abandoned him.

 

Only a week later, does Seulgi find herself in the same precarious situation as she had previously.

 

She’s swiftly weaving in and out of the tables with wobbling stacks of dirty plates that need to be scrubbed and reused for more customers and orders, placing them on the counter and hurriedly grabbing the cloth and antibacterial spray to polish the tables to sparkle again.

 

“I want to be able to see my reflection in those surfaces.” Her boss is constantly watching her like a hawk around every corner, as if trying to psychologically scare her.

 

And perhaps it’s working.

 

“If you want to keep your job, I guess you keep scrubbing little girl.” He turns around with his arms folded to head back into the comfort of his plush chair in the staff room, to find Jongin standing behind him there, glaring back at the man.

 

“Don’t talk to Seulgi like that.” Jongin moves around the man to now stand in front of Seulgi, gripping onto her forearm as if to protect her.

 

“Excuse me, son. I’ll talk to my employees just how I’d like to.”

 

“Well maybe you should learn to treat your employees with more respect, then.”

 

“You’d better watch your mouth boy. Don’t step out of line, or I’ll gladly give your job to someone else.”

 

“Go ahead. I quit.” Jongin unties his own navy pinafore wrapped round his firm frame and throws it at the man's face, a direct him, then turning to Seulgi as if to apologise that she’s left with this. However-

 

“So do I.”

 

Seulgi peers up to Jongin and takes a hold of his hand, clinging on tightly.

 

Unbeknownst to them, they are the entertainment to a room full of customers who have diligently been eating their lunches before heading back to work. The raise of voices and outright shouting had really caught their attention.

 

“You can’t just leave! Who will work now?” The panic is seen in the man’s eyes visibly now, perhaps he didn’t think they would actually go so far as to leave their jobs mid-shift.

 

“Maybe you should have thought about that before you treated us like dirt.”

 

They grab their coats and storm out the front door, leaving the place in awkward silence as customers glance at the man is disbelief.

 

“Did that really happen?” Seulgi stands at the bus stop in a daze, the scenes of earlier on in the day playing through her mind as they stand there with no other entertainment but the measly posters of the bus shelter.

 

“I guess so.”

 

“But how am I going to pay for my rent now?” The panic begins to set in all at once, Seulgi is unemployed and her thoughts start to run wild- she could end up living as a tramp on the streets, in a cardboard box-

 

“I’ll help you out, don’t worry,” Jongin chimes in, “I can lend you my savings and you pay me back whenever, or you could bunk in my flat until you find a new job? Choice is yours.”

 

“And obviously I’ll help you find a new job, seen as it was my fault.”

 

When the bus finally arrives just 5 minutes later, no words are spoken during the short journey as Seulgi stares out the window, deep in thought over her options.

 

She’s reluctantly bought back to the real one when Jongin who occupies the seat next to her nudges her arm with his elbow, that this is her stop.

 

“Let me walk you home.”

 

It’s only when Seulgi reaches her front door does she seem to take notice that there’s a hand wrapped tightly round her own.

 

“Why are you so kind to me Jongin? I don’t deserve to have a friend like you.” She sighs to herself and pulls out her keys, inserting one into the lock and twisting it to the right to open the door.

 

“Because I love you,” Seulgi thinks she must be hearing things by now, it’s getting late and she’s tired from today’s events, “but you don’t have to love me back. I’ll always care for you.”

 

The sadness in Jongin’s voice is evident, and it breaks her heart.

 

Jongin’s eyes widen in shock when Seulgi pulls on his scarf and plants a kiss square on his lips. It’s brief, but confirms all he had hoped for.

 

“Don’t say that.” Seulgi proceeds to clock him over the head, much to Jongin’s annoyance, but swiftly moves in to secure her arms around his waist and hug him tightly.

 

Jongin wastes no time in returning her cute gesture, grinning.

“I suppose I could get used to this.”