It was the same feeling the next day, gloomy and depressing. There weren’t many customers, just a couple sitting face to face on one of the booths. I was admiring the way they looked at each other’s eyes while talking. The girl was helping him clean his mouth after he took a sip of his hot coffee. They looked really sweet. But they both have someone they love.

“They’re cute together aren’t they?” A deep voice caught me by surprise. I turned to look at the culprit and it was none other than Do Kyungsoo. I stared at him in shock. Was he here the whole time? Watching me watch the couple do sweet things to each other and sighing here and there because I wished I was in a relationship like theirs?

“What would you like today?” I asked him, trying to change the subject. I lowered my head, seemingly unable to meet his eyes. Why am I always so awkward in front of people? Especially towards men.

“Iced coffee, please.” He clears his throat, probably sensing the awkwardness surround him and I. He pays for the drink and I quickly went to make his drink, wishing that he’d leave here as soon as possible. I can feel myself being watched while I was making the iced coffee. And as I turned around, I find Kyungsoo staring at me straight in the eyes. I got really self-conscious then. Why was he being a weirdo again?

“Here’s your iced coffee.” I placed his drink in front of him on the counter and waited for him to say “thanks” and leave. But he just stood there, and just stared at me…

“Did you… need anything else?” I asked him. While I was waiting for him to answer, I got a scan of his profile from head to toe. He was wearing a maroon turtleneck accompanied with another layer of a brown knitted sweater, this pair of dark grey pants and black shoes. Most importantly, he has quite a look. Those pair of big round eyes, a clean hair cut, and really plump lips. He is actually quite attractive and he gives off a mature vibe to him. My eyes reached back up to look at his, to find that he was probably watching me checking him out the whole time, because he had a little smirk on. Oh how I wish I could slap that smirk away, but the fact that he was watching me checking him out made me feel so embarrassed. And then I start rocking my feet back and forth, a habit of mine when I feel nervous.

“May I ask w-what time do you get off work? I need to talk to you about s-something.” He stuttered a little and it was pretty cute. What was it that he’s going to tell me that’s making him stutter kike that? And he seemed as nervous as I am… why though?

“Um, I actually get off work in an hour, if you don’t mind waiting?”

“Oh, no! I don’t mind! I’ll wait for you outside.”

“But it’s too cold outside. You can just sit in one of those booths and wait.” I told him and smiled in politeness. He nods and gives me a smile as well, showing a bit of his teeth. And I’ve just realised he has this cute pair of heart shaped lips that makes me smile even wider.

An hour has passed and I was dead tired from scrubbing the floor, I really hate it when I have to close the café. Closing the café meant having to scrub the floor, mopping it, wiping the windows and basically just cleaning everything without leaving a piece of dust. Things seriously got harder when the new manager came.

I was actually kind of hoping for Kyungsoo to ask me if I needed help but you know… that only happens in dramas and books. Suddenly, as if reading my mind Kyungsoo asks “hey, did you need help with cleaning?” And I almost laughed out loud. Why? Because I was already almost done cleaning.

“Nah, it’s alright. I’m almost done anyway.”

“I guess I should’ve have asked earlier, huh?” I smiled and shook my head at him and sighed, jokingly. At least he tried… He seems really cute but clueless at the same time. I know it’s too fast for me to think of a stranger that way but I couldn’t lie, could I?

“And… I’m finally done for the day!” I went to sit at the opposite of him after I put the mop back to its place. “So, what was it that you were going to talk to me about?” I think I got a little bit too excited and scared him a little. Because I had both my palms under my chin acting like a little kid being told a really interesting story. Kyungsoo gets caught off guard and starts stuttering, “I… uh… I’m…”

“I’ll go now if you’re not telling me anything. You’re kinda wasting my time here and I have something else to do. Plus, customers were supposed to leave like a while ago. So if you don’t mind, please leave now.” I told him bluntly. I was already tired from work and now he’s making it even worse.

“Wait! No! I’ll tell you! It’s just, I’m afraid you’ll think I’m weird once I say it. That’s all.”

“I already thought you were weird when you came here a few days ago to order an iced coffee, in this cold weather.” His ears go red and lowered his head from what I just told him. I giggled at how embarrassed he looked.

“Hey, stop. I’m being serious here! I mean… a lot of other people order cold beverages in this cold weather as well, I’m not the only one!”

“Haha, yeah sure. So? What is it that you wanted to tell me?”

“Okay, just promise me one thing,” he stops for a while and I nod my head, “don’t freak out or say anything until I finish telling you what I have to say, alright?” He says slowly and carefully like I might actually freak out if he starts talking. I just stared at him, signalling for him to go on and he takes a deep breath before continuing on.

“I think, y-you’re my s-special someone.” He says, finally.

But wait, special someone as in… there’s no way.

“W-what do you mean by s-special s-someone?” The whole situation was crazy. I was frozen in my seat and he started looking worried, like he just said something offensive. There was no way that someone like him, a very weird guy, would be my special someone. Who does he think he is? Who does he think he is that he could just come into my life and blurt out that I’m their special someone? But just like I am, was he waiting for that special someone too? How long has he waited for? There were a lot of questions in my head that I wanted to ask him. However, I was still in shock and couldn’t speak properly so I let him finish with explaining himself.

“I’ve been having dreams ever since that day when I first met you. Remember when you bumped into someone while you were shopping for groceries and all the stuff you were carrying fell from your hands? And that someone helped you with picking them up from the ground? That person was me. So ever since that day, I’ve been having dreams and you were in them. And coincidentally, I got to meet you again a few days later here in this very café. And turns out you work here and that the world is actually a small place. In my dreams, now this is going to sound really unbelievable, but in my dreams, we were really close… like boyfriend and girlfriend close. And we were−” I cut him off by standing up and heading towards the door. I know I’m being really rude right now and breaking his promise, but I just couldn’t handle it anymore. He didn’t even give me time to think and just slapped me with all of that explanation in one go. It felt so hard to even breathe.

“Please leave.” I held the door handle and pulled it open for him to exit. But he just stood there looking at me with upset eyes, begging for me to let him explain more.

“But I−”

“I said leave!” I yelled and instantly regretted it right away. But I must keep my guard up at all times. He takes heavy steps out the café with his head held low and once he was all the way out, I shut the door right away and locked it. Leaving him outside in the cold.

“I’ll come back for you soon, Aerin! Just you wait, my special someone!” I heard him shout from the outside and he left right after. I was trying to take in everything that just happened, and it didn’t work. I needed some help, help from the person who cares about me and understands me. I needed help from my best friend Nara. She’d probably know what to do if she was in my position. I grabbed my phone out from my pocket and I dialled her number. She’s the person I go to every time I have any problems to rant about, and she’d always help me solve them in a minute. She has always been there for me through thick and thin, and she felt like my own sister.

A few rings later, Nara picks up the phone.

“Hey Nara? I need help, and this time it’s a really serious problem. A guy problem.”

~~~

i know this whole chapter was really dramatic okay im weird too..