Mina thought it was going to rain.

Maybe because she was upset, she thought it’d rain, and she was also brooding while walking through the roads, set on a heavy scowl. Half of her was sad about Suho’s words and everything that had happened, and the other half was simply angry, bristling with growing fire that nothing could douse it (Maybe that’s why she wanted it to rain. Perhaps if she were drenched, her aching soul will grow cold, something she currently needed)

Throughout her walk to the interview to the café she wished would hire her, she kept on cursing under , tripping over air and doing samurai assaults on pillars she walked by. She was so angry, so upset, so unfocused, everything seemed like an attack from the Gods. So how did she retaliate? By tripping, and fighting air.

She knew she was being unreasonable, childish, and unrealistic, but how could she swallow her feelings when they were so big? Everything was getting harder to breathe down her pipes, from her sudden relationships with Jongdae and Baekhyun, Suho’s stupid nonsensical bull about the bonds and whatnot, his afterward apology that didn’t satisfy any of her bursting feelings but still couldn’t ignore. Was her tripping on nothing understandable now? She was buzzing from within, and everything around her felt like it was poking at her inflated soul.

Should she even go pursue her interview when she was so upset? Would she say something bad and have her expelled before she can even start? What if she burst into tears while she was interviewed? No, she didn’t feel like she was going to cry, she felt like she as going to explode, and she had no space inside for tears.

She tried to shrug her feelings away, pausing in her long, angry strides and taking two – three – calming inhales in. She had gone through a lot of humiliation to get this job interview, and she wasn’t about to let it go to waste. She screwed every other job she has had and she didn’t have any particular talent beside creating buildings, so until she’s capable of using her architectural abilities, she’ll take any small part-time job that would feed her always roaring stomach. How hard can working in a café be anyway?

With a newfound strength, she drilled her sneaker-clad feet on the ground and marched to the destined café. She found it rather easily, since she had the location of it installed in her phone. The café, as she remembered the first time she asked for a job, looked straight out of a geek’s fascinating imagination. The outside was deep, velvet red, but from the sheer wall mirrors all over the front, she could spot some inner designs, and Mina could confidently say that it had a theme for supernatural creatures.

Maybe the owner loved supernatural creatures and believed in them? Or maybe he/she/them were ones themselves. Mina didn’t get to meet the boss the first time she came here asking for a job, and she talked to one of the employees (she can’t remember her name now) and she didn’t feel any supernatural ‘feeling’ coming from her, not like she can sense it or anything. Mina was a bit – a lot – dense, and she wouldn’t spot a supernatural creature even if they’re under her nose.

The glass door of the café released a damn dragon roar, and Mina jumped in surprise. She didn’t remember that sound when she came through the first time. Did they install it newly or something? With pacing heartbeats by the sudden surprise, she wandered her eyes around the surprisingly normal décor of the café, the color scheme being fair red, dark red and pale white. A person’s chest came through her vision as she stared around, all of a sudden, and she guided her pupils upward to see a girl staring at her weirdly, a slight grimace to . Right away, Mina straightened, her cheeks tinting.

“Hi, um, I’m Mina?” She said, awkwardly, the piercing stare of the cat-like eyes of the girl making her uncomfortable. “I was told to come for an interview?”

“You are Mina?” The girl murmured, a dip of curiosity in her voice that she didn’t seem aware of herself. Mina blushed scarlet. Why did she seem hostile when saying that?

“Uh, yes? Is there something wrong?” Mina blinked her eyes like a fool, the fair pink of her cheeks warming up even more, and she wasn’t even a person that blushed that easily! What the heck? Why was she so embarrassed? Maybe because the girl was low-key glaring at her, her nose settled into a cute scrunch as if she was smelling something highly uncomfortable, and her eyes wide yet squinted, flashing with a fox’s cunning intelligence.

“No, not at all.” The girl shook her head, although a little forcefully. It was Mina’s time to grimace. “Come inside, she’s waiting for you in the back.” The girl turned around, her long brown hair cascading down her back and whipping around at her sudden turn. It was smelling largely of tulip and vanilla. How can someone so sweet-smelling have sharp eyes like ice? Mina wondered, meekly following after the girl and being aware of the stares following her from the occupying customers around. Mina had never received such large attention alone, when the boys are not with her, and it made her feel a little uncomfortable.

She was led to a room that was as red as the other interior of the café, but less bright and more intense-looking. The degree of red was warm, like blood warm, and the red fluorescent light dipped lowly in the ceiling made Mina feel as if she was in the middle of a movie. It didn’t help that the couches spread to the side were deep black that could be reclined and shifted into beds, with fluffy throw billows scattered over it. Mina saw an older girl with soft, honey hair locks that trickled past her chest and stopped in the beginning of her abdomen, her eyes gentle and innocent, her body small and tender. Mina smiled awkwardly. This was the boss?

“Hey, you Mina?” The boss stood up from the brown chair she was sitting on, sipping on her tea, giving Mina a tender yet somehow y grin. Mina heavily heard the door close behind her, which meant the pretty, foxy girl had left her alone. She forced a gulp down . “I’m Irene, this café belongs to me so I’m practically your boss.”

Well, Mina thought, she didn’t have to tell her that, she had already thought about it. Nonetheless, Mina took the hand she was offering in a handshake while trying to make her grin seem more genuine.

“Hello, Irene. Is that alright to call you with?”

“Yes.” Irene nodded quite seriously, her bouncy honey locks moving with the movement of her head. “I don’t like the hoobae-sunbae, and superior inferior kind of relationships. You can just call me Irene. If you succeeded in this interview, you’ll be a part of our family.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Mina awkwardly said, scratching her cheek self-consciously. Irene sat her down in the chair in front of her, taking the files she previously was previewing and eyeing Mina with a look that wasn’t anything less than friendly, yet Mina couldn’t help but feel like she was in the presence of a predator.

Irene asked her a few questions about her job experiences, her reasons of wanting to have a job in her café, and other businesse questions that shouldn’t have eased her nerves like they did. Maybe because of Irene’s playful yet comforting way in asking them, or the fact she looked so young and tender to be her superior. Whatever it was, Mina was getting more and more relaxed as the session went, and she couldn’t help but think she aced her interview. Suho would probably not like it if she got a job without telling him. She thought, quickly shaking the thoughts away. It wasn’t Suho’s life, or decisions, they were both hers, and she’d do what it takes to make her survive. It did burn a little hole of satisfaction down her belly at the realization she did something out of his consent so willingly, and she began to grin.

“May I ask you a question, if you don’t mind?” Mina asked, a little shyly, and Irene placed the tea cup she was drinking from on the table separating them. She had on a pleasant smile that eased Mina more into her seat.

“Sure, as I said, I don’t like these formal meetings and interviews,” Irene released a small, tinkering chuckle, and Mina had a deep rooted will to scream ‘how is this girl the boss!’ “You can ask me anything whenever you want.”

“Why the supernatural theme?” Mina quickly asked, throwing the thoughts of Irene’s delightful personality and face behind her back.

Irene’s eyes flashed with intelligence and a deep, hazel-kind of color, the same shade as her beautiful hair, and Mina didn’t know if she imagined the glint of mischievous arrogance that passed in her iris or not.

“You have something against them?” Irene asked back, and Mina didn’t know if she was dodging the question or if she was genuinely curious about her thoughts.

“Not really,” Mina answered truthfully anyway. Having werewolves for friends that tattled about every person’s species made it hard for her to decline their existence. “This whole room screams with a succubus-incubus theme and I really contemplate whether any of these lived here. Your front door handle had a picture of a cute-looking dwarf that roared like a dragon when I opened it, and I spotted a few mugs with unicorn faces on them around this room and the whole café. There are a lot of tulips on the walls and I think I read somewhere that they’re dangerous to vampires.”

So perhaps Mina was a geek when it concerned supernatural beings and their dislikes, likes, weaknesses, strengths, etc. Ever since she began to become suspicious of whether her best friends were demons or aliens with how peculiar they were, she grew this uncanny love for supernatural creatures and had an endless research about them. When her friends told her of their truth, she stopped becoming a freak about that side of the world, and stopped googling so many things at once, but she didn’t stop for good. Sometimes her friends would spew some nonsensical things she wouldn’t understand and she’d quickly google them in the internet. Now, she had a lot of knowledge about some of the creatures that fascinated her, like vampires, succubus, dragons and of course, werewolves. Whether these informations she learned are true or not is completely irrelevant.

“You sound like a supernatural geek.” Irene commented, and Mina puffed her chest in pride. There was nothing more amusing and priding than someone else, particularly a stranger, pointing out your clear love and obsession about something specific. She didn’t know how to be embarrassed regarding that.

“I like searching about these types of things whenever I have time,” She said in a tone that was border-line bragging, and there was nothing to brag about! “They’re pretty interesting.”

“So you believe in them?” Mina’s eyes caught to that glint of mischief and innocent playfulness in Irene’s eyes, and narrowed her eyes just as playfully. “That they exist?”

“Would it be creepy if I said I do?” Mina admitted quite sheepishly.

“No, not at all.” Irene said with a pretty smile, and Mina smiled back, searching for any sighs of disproval in her new boss’ eyes. However, she caught none, and she was ready to dance in her seat with joy.

“Between you and I,” Mina leaned conspicuously toward her new boss, a grin of delight visible on her face. Irene didn’t need to lean over to hear her. “I think my best friends are secretly demons from hell.” Mina flashed her teeth, like a demon (or so she believed) and grinned. Of course, her best friends are not demons, they are werewolves, but Irene didn’t need to know that.

“You’re funny, I like you.” Irene said decidedly, standing up from her place to get a tea refill in her cup of tea from the other corner of the room, and Mina stood up as well, her eyes widening in delight and happiness.

“So did I pass?” She then laughed, remembering something. “I scared all of my superiors with my nonsense in my previous jobs. None of them thought I’m funny.”

“Let me be the first then.” Irene turned around to give Mina a similar grin, both of the two girls looking highly satisfied with how this interview ended. Irene raised her cup at Mina with a mock salute. “Miss Mina, you’re hired.”

“Oh my God! Thank you so much!” Mina bowed once, twice, and thrice, before stopping when she began to feel dizzy with her violent head lurches. “I swear you won’t be disappointed!”

“No need to bow down at me,” Irene waved at her bows with a furrow to her brows. “Seriously, what did I just say about my dislike to superior-inferior relationships?”

“I can tell that you’re going to be an amazing boss, boss.” Mina giggled like a school girl, the pure, strong feelings of contentment and happiness of being hired after months of not being approved feeling like a drug of some sort. Her smile was too wide and she was sure she’d burst into tears by how happy she was. It didn’t help how amazing her new boss was and the whole supernatural theme (her favorite!) was a delight to watch. Did she just hit the jackpot?

“Call me Irene, Mina,” Irene chided gently, placing her cup on the table. “That’s the only thing you’re not funny about.”

“Okay, sorry, miss Irene.” Mina laughed again, unmoved by Irene’s declaration. “Thank you so much for this opportunity. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

“Glad you’re confident about yourself, Mina.” Irene smiled in approval, and went back to her chair in front of the girl. Seeing that, Mina sat down as well. “I’m going to assign you with cleaning the café and bringing in the new products to the back rooms until your waitressing uniform gets ready. Did you send in your tailoring information?”

“No, actually. I brought them here with me.” Mina handed her a small white envelope, which her new boss accepted.

“That’s great! I’ll call Seulgi and have her teach you how to make lattes and other things. I look forward to work with you.”

“Thank you.” Mina bowed her head again, unconsciously, and then bit her lips at her idiocy. What if her new boss didn’t like her concessive respect and bows? She did just say that she wasn’t a fan of all of this. Mina needed to have a better restraint on herself.

“Seulgi!” The boss called out with a mediocre voice, not yelling so excessively nor murmuring lowly under her breath, but the tone of voice she used was tiny nonetheless, not enough volume for the other workers – who were at least two doors away – to hear. Miraculously, however, Seulgi showed up, not four seconds after she has been called. She opened their interviewing succubus-like roomdoor and popped her head in. Mina blinked her eyes. Seulgi was the same foxy-looking girl that didn’t seem to like her?

“Yes?” Seulgi raised one of her eyebrows, her eyes flitting from her boss to Mina.

“Take Mina out and show her what she’s supposed to do,” Irene instructed with surprisingly a strong, superior, bossy voice, and Mina blinked at her. For a person who didn’t like all of this superficial nonsense, she had a damn good voice for it. “She’s going to start working with us now.”

“Really..” Seulgi dragged her tone suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at Mina in a face that didn’t even seem like it showed many emotions, yet she was here ready to attack Mina. The girl gulped. What if Seulgi didn’t like her? The worst thing that could happen was working with uncooperative, bullying co-workers!

“Yes, really.” Irene raised a single, sleek eyebrow up, daring the younger girl to say otherwise. “You have a problem with that, Seulgi?”

“No, Irene,” Seulgi shrugged, her tone truly suggesting that she didn’t mind or even give two s about who Irene hired. Mina didn’t know what to make out of Seulgi, she reminded her a bit of Kyungsoo. “Come, Mina, follow after me.”

-

“This is where we keep all the mobs and the cleaning supplies,” Seulgi showed Mina a small but wide door a little to the left, and it was well-hidden if you didn’t know there should be a door there. Mina listened attentively, placing her hands over her stomach like an obedient student listening to her teacher. “Even though it’s stuffy, make sure to knock on the door every time you’re about to come in.”

“What? Why would I need to knock?” Mina asked quizzically, eyes wide, and Seulgi released a slow, tortured breath out. Her bored tone became a little irritated then.

“Wendy is usually always in here suffocating a poor boy’s face with her teeth. She thinks Irene is unaware of her affairs, but boss lady is not an idiot.”

Mina didn’t say a word, stunned into silence. Who the hell was Wendy? Would she be another one of her co-workers? Mina hoped she showed a little more emotions on her face than Seulgi did.

“Next sto