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The Celebrity and the Student

THE CELEBRITY AND THE STUDENT

Taekwoon paced the interior of his home, one thought on his mind. Bae Hana. Why was he so stuck on her? He couldn't decide, but the way she looked at him now lingered in his thoughts. He didn't know much about her, but what he did know was already amazing to him. She was working on her masters degree when she looked barely old enough to be in college to begin with. His pacing came to a halt as he remembered the look in her eye. The excited look as she spoke of her interest in animal science and biology. He hadn't even made it through a bachelors degree yet and he had no other interests other than singing though his interest in acting was just beginning to pique. And then there was the fact that they liked their coffee in a similar way. The woman had rattled him. She had been the only woman to treat him as a human being since his debut when he was 18 years old.

 

Taekwoon's youngest sister and mother watched him from the kitchen, a little surprise written on both of their faces. They had never seen him like this before.

 

"Why is he like this?" Jung TaeYeon, his youngest noona, whispered to their mother. His mother could only shake her head. It was the first time witnessing her son act in this way. "It has to be a woman, right? It just has to be."

 

"Now on local news, Gangnam was completely locked down during the day. Jung Leo, the popular male celebrity, had a special, pop-up photoshoot." The news report made Taekwoon's mother and sister swivel their heads and attention towards the tv. The video replayed the same footage of Jung Leo entering a coffee shop. There were small glimpses of him talking to one of the female workers. In a close-up, obviously provided by one of the many fan-girls lined up outside of the shop, it could be seen that Leo smiled affectionately at the worker. It had been a long time since the artist had been seen smiling so naturally at anyone.

 

"Who is that girl?!?" Jung TaeYeon crept closer to the tv, her mother not far behind. Small smiles grew on their faces. It had been a long time since either of them had seen Taekwoon so happy. It made the event so much more exciting when they realized that one woman caused all the difference. That one woman could make him smile so affectionately.

 

Lee SeoHyun, Taekwoon's mother, turned to face her son. Her smiled quickly turned into worry when she noticed how pale he had suddenly become. Otherwise he was motionless as he watched the news report. She was about to ask him what was wrong when the reporter added to the news.

 

"It has been confirmed that the coffee shop is staying open until 1 in the morning so that any fans can order exactly what Jung Leo had ordered earlier in the day." The cameras shifted to peer inside the coffee shop once more. A line of people was still waiting to get inside. "Also, the barista that served Jung Leo, Bae Hana, is still working dutifully inside."

 

Again the cameras shifted, glimpsing the barista as she worked skillfully to create order after order in such a timely manner. The poor girl seemed tired and her clothes ruined due to the long day of work.

 

"! ! !"

 

Jung Taekwoon's voice grew in octaves as he flung himself into his room. He was quick to tug on a worn, gray zip-up and smash a hat onto his head. Then he made a mad dash to the front door. His sister and mother blinked, confused as to what was happening.

 

 

 

 

Sweat dripped down her spine, goosebumps rose along her arms. When she had a chance to glance up, she could see that the line outside the coffee shop was never-ending and the clock seemed to move as slow as ever. This was all because of a certain celebrity. The only relieving factor was that everyone in line wanted the same thing. Carmel latte. That was simple enough, right?

 

"You don't look so good, my friend." Han MiJin managed to mumble between orders. Hana kept shut to conserve all her energy to fill each of the orders. She hadn't eaten in hours and was running on very little rest. Everything in front of her was beginning to spin and blur, but she forced herself to continue going.

 

"Fifteen more minutes." MiJin reminded her, though the line still filed out the door and around the corner of the building. Hana sighed, wishing they could work in silence but she knew how her friend liked to talk. She took a moment to close her eyes, resting for just a moment as the espresso machine took its time. It was probably tired too, it wasn't used to so many orders. When she reopened her eyes, she noticed a man quickly approaching the front counter, a roar of outrage following him as people realized he was cutting the line.. Didn't he know these women were waiting in line for hours just to get a glimpse of the girl that made Jung Leo smile and taste the same coffee she had made for him?

 

"Everyone! Everyone! It was just reported that Jung Taekwoon was spotted two blocks away!" The man had everyone's attention for about a millisecond before all the females raced to the door. Hana straightened, watching the horrifying scene in case someone were to get hurt in the struggle to get out of the shop.

 

Together, Hana and MiJin watched as the cafe and the line outside of the shop cleared out within a record time. It was only a matter of seconds before they were left alone with the man who had started the chaos to begin with. He smirked at the both of them, crossing his arms in front of him as though he were waiting for something.

 

"Let's start cleaning up. Hopefully we can clean up before the crowd returns." MiJin yawned, ignoring the odd man's existence. Together, they began to bring the dirty mugs and other dishes to the sink. MiJin then took over the dishes while Hana started cleaning down the counters and tables.

 

"Ladies! I've heard you haven't eaten all day. Don't lock the doors, just give me one moment!" The man left the shop, leaving the two to continue cleaning as though they hadn't heard him to begin with. A few minutes later, the man returned with two large bags. Behind him, another man clad in a beaten zip-up and a face mask followed him in.

 

"Please! If you would, dinner is being served." The original man placed the large bags of food around one of the tables. MiJin immediately stopped her work with the dishes and went to inspect the food. Hana continued to clean the tables. The second man silently approached her till she had no choice but to stop what she was doing.

 

"I'm going to finish the cleaning. Please..." The man waved her towards the food and quickly picked up where she had left off, effectively stealing her rag. The first guy hopped over to her, quickly leading her towards the food. She couldn't deny that it did smell delicious. It just seemed a little suspicious that these two men showed up with food right after the place cleared out.

 

The room spun, catching her off guard. Before she knew it, she landed roughly on the floor of the shop, unable to keep her head up.

 

"Bae Hana!" Han MiJin squealed across the room. She felt hands squeezing her arms, more hands feeling her forehead and finally some pulling her into a seat. There was a barking of orders she did not quite understand. Then the taste of delicious food awakened her senses and she wanted to moan at the taste. Luckily, she didn't.

 

When she able to lift her head again and recognize her surroundings, she noticing 3 sets of eyes staring at her. She blinked, chewing on her lower lip nervously. Why were they staring at her?

 

"Oh Hana!" MiJin hugged her, squeezing her tighter than necessary. She returned gentle pats to her friend's arm.

 

"You need to eat some more, and get some liquids too." The man with the tattered zip-up spoke, though his voice came up muffled due to the face mask. She turned her attention to him. He looked familiar and her eyes narrowed as she leaned forward, their eyes locked together.

 

"Come on, you heard the man!" MiJin pulled her over to the table of food and the two men put themselves to work.

 

"Oh yum!"

 

MiJin sighed, full. Hana couldn't help but to twitch her lips at her. It was hard not to be amused. MiJin did love her food so there was no stopping her now. Hana did turn back around, her eyes following the man that had taken over her duties. He was doing surprisingly well. He had already cleaned the counters, threw even more dirty dishes into the sink and began to wash the floors.

 

"Eat Hana! I don't want you passing out on me." MiJin yelled at her, causing her to jump. The last thing she needed was Jung Taekwoon turning around to find her gawking at him. He would definitely think she was weird then.

LEO & HANA
//CHOANNA320
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