Episode 3

Café Americano with Love

A week has passed and I am now on my first day at the tutorial center I enrolled at for my bookkeeping certification. Things are going to get rough now that I have to manage my time here and in the café. It is not like I have not been into a situation like this but, my parents advised me not to have part-time jobs during the semester so I stopped working at the coffee shop I worked at last year and became a student assistant at the library instead.

My classes starts at three in the afternoon and ends at seven in the evening. I still have two hours after my shift at the café which means I can have time for reviewing lessons and such. The commuting time from the café to the center is about half an hour with bus so I practically scheduled it right.

Minji, while she is on her English classes in the morning, is also a band vocalist at a local bar at night. Her gig is on a Tue-Thurs-Sat schedule. We won’t being seeing much starting now but I promise to watch her perform on Saturdays.

The instructor is currently discussing some introductions which are already taught in the university so my mind is drifting away elsewhere. If it weren’t for the extra credits for my application to the internship, I would not enroll myself here. I opened my notebook and doodled whatever came to my mind while almost everyone is focused on the instructor. In the end, he prescribed a textbook and gave us an assignment.

At exact seven, we were dismissed from the class. I lazily walked out from the room and the center. I am sleepy and hungry already. Minji would leave me some dinner but I wouldn’t get home until past eight. That’s why I decided to buy some snacks at the convenience store before I went for the bus stop.

Just right in time, the bus arrived and I hurriedly went in. As soon as I took a seat, I opened the chips I bought and munched in. Fifteen minutes passed and the bus is almost full. Some are people who got off from work, some were young girls, probably came from a mall or something, some are from bars, judging from the smell of soju from them.

The bus stopped near the café I worked in. So the route of the bus goes around here too, I realized. A few number of people entered the bus again. The empty space beside me is now going to be occupied for sure. I sat properly and waited for someone to take the seat next to me.

Just then, the guy wearing his usual black suit entered the bus and looked my way. Is Mr. Jiwon going to sit next to me? I immediately avoided eye contact. I am not sure if he will recognize me or not but I suddenly felt nervous. Why does he have to be in the same bus as I am? I know he has not done anything after the first encounter we had but still I am very much uncomfortable. It’s as if seeing him every day at work is not enough, do I have to go home with him every time too? I already feel unlucky this year.

I moved myself more to the side as I don’t want to have any physical contact with him. I locked my stare at the window even though my neck is going to ache in a few minutes. I am not sure what is he doing but even if I am in a very uncomfortable position, I would not look at him.

A good thirty minute-ride passed and I felt like my shoulder became suddenly heavy. I slowly moved my gaze to the seat next to me and damn…

Why… why is he leaning to me? His… his head is right on my shoulder! I… I can feel his hair brushing the side of my neck! Why is he doing this to me?!

“E-excuse me…” I whispered to him as I slightly tap his left arm.

He didn’t budge. Is he sleeping? What the heck! What mistake did I do to deserve this?

“Hey,” I called him again. “Mister, wake up.”

I don’t want to be as rude as him and shove him away so I am patiently trying to wake him up. The next stop is where I am getting off. What should I do now?

As I keep trying to wake him up, I noticed his sleeping form. He has very long lashes that I am tempted to touch. His brows are like perfectly carved pieces that I felt ashamed of mine. His forehead is not creased like it does whenever I see him. He looks so peaceful right now. He is really one handsome man, too bad because he looked very different when he’s awake. Whenever I see him, he always looks distressed. He never smiled. It’s as if the weight of the world is upon his shoulders. Sometimes, I wonder if he is really like that or some incident caused him to be that way.

“Get a grip, Dara! What are you doing?” I murmured to myself.   

I did not realize that I was staring at him for too long, if not the driver announced the next stop. I did not know what to do. I tried to move his head away and tap him a little harder. And just then, his eyes slowly opened. He looked confused as his eyes shift focus to mine. He was just a good few inches away from my face and I felt like something is in my throat.

What should I do? He might think that I am taking advantage of him! What if he wants me arrested or something? Damn!

As soon as the bus stopped, I ran my way out. I did not know if he realize what was the situation is or if he knew that I was waking him up. I just moved fast away from him. I did not run a marathon but I am having a hard time catching my breath. Why am I like this? What is happening to me?

I was trying to calm myself when I heard a voice.

“Miss, I’m sorry for troubling you a while ago.”

I looked at my back to see that it was Mr. Jiwon. He was standing in front of me with his ever serious face.

He looked at me with his boring eyes as he said “And thank you for not creating a ruckus.”

“I-I…” I was lost for words. This is the first time I heard him talk genuine sentences. He feels different from the guy I usually see in the past week. And much more than that is, he said sorry and thank you. Did I really judge him wrongly?

Without even hearing what I have to say, he walked past me like that day -- the first time I saw him. Just when I was starting to think that he’s different from my impression of him, here he does it again.

I couldn’t digest what happened just now. My heart was still pounding fast. All the things happened all of a sudden and I just can’t bring myself to adjust to it just yet. I keep remembering his sleeping face and how slowly his eyes opened and the way he looked at me.

“Sandara what is going on with you?!” I cried to myself

I was still standing where the bus left me off when my phone rang. It brought me back to reality and I immediately answered. “Oh, Minji?”

“Hey, Sandara! Where are you now? Why are you late? The drama that you’ve been waiting to premiere is starting in a few minutes!” She told through the other line.

“What?! Is it today?!” was all I managed to say as I ran my way to our apartment.

I forgotten about it maybe because of all the thoughts that clouded my mind just a while ago.

“I cannot miss the first episode!”

I was breathing hard when I reached our unit. I keyed in our passcode and entered the room hurriedly. I saw there Minji seated comfortably on the floor as her eyes glued on our small television.

“Why did you arrive just now? Did something happen?” She asked.

I shook my head as I decided not to tell Minji what happened today. I know she will overanalyze things. I know she will insist it to be romantically inclined. “It’s just a traffic jam. What did you cook for dinner?”

“There’s a stew on the stove. Reheat it and eat already. Oh my! It’s already starting!” she said

Just like Minji said, I reheat the stew and sat next to her and eat my dinner as we watch the drama we waited for.

This is right. I should keep myself away from those thoughts. Why would I be thinking about that rude man when this drama is the best thing that happened today? Yes, this is right. No more Mr. Jiwon for tonight.

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Comments

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darabbitkrungy
#1
Chapter 3: Aaaaaaaaaaahhhh—please update. 🥺🥺🥺
darawonplease
#2
Chapter 3: Please upload more when you can ~
Dorina8
#3
darawon is sailing this days,pls update
greiyz_14 #4
Chapter 1: Interesting story please update more authornim
corea18
#5
Nice