In the staff room behind the café, Suhee changed into her work clothes without fuss. The so-called uniform wasn’t much, just a plain white button-down shirt and a black bowtie to look presentable. The top was one of Himchan’s spares, so it hung a little loose; the girl tucked it into her black skinny jeans. The bowtie had been loaned from Jinri after Himchan had a quick word with the waitress.

The girl tied her hair into a quick ponytail and adjusted her glasses, smiling at her own reflection in the window. Grabbing a notepad from the table, she fiddled with her bowtie, feeling slightly nervous.
 

On the other hand, Youngjae the dark-haired waiter was halfway down the queue when he came upon a little… stumbling block, one could say. The customer he was currently dealing with was a middle-aged European lady that spoke English with a thick accent. The problem was: he had absolutely no inkling of what she was trying to order.

He wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone, but unfortunately the boy’s knowledge of English was limited to a “How are you? I’m fine thank you, and you?” and a smattering of other phrases he remembered from school and song lyrics. Jinri’s English was probably better than his, but she had her hands full as well, waiting on tables at the other side.

“Caramerr… frappeu?” Youngjae parroted helplessly, a confused look on his face. She was now flapping her leaflet impatiently, having repeated her order several times with little success in getting Youngjae to understand her. The customer let out a frustrated sigh, which made the boy shift nervously on his feet. “Sorrie… okei. Ex- extra-” 

A tap on Youngjae’s shoulder distracted him. Turning to see who it was, the brunette’s eyes widened in surprise. “Let me do it,” Suhee muttered into his ear, gently elbowing him aside. “Sorry about that… can we have your order again, miss?” the brown-haired girl said in fairly accurate-sounding English. Helpless, Youngjae stood back and watched awkwardly as the girl effortlessly took over his role.

“So, it’s a caramel frappe with extra chocolate sauce… and no whipped cream? And less sugar too? No problem, I’ll pass the order to the counter,” Suhee smiled as the lady nodded, satisfied. “Thank you, sweetie pie!” she chimed and patted Suhee on the shoulder. “You sure saved that lad over there!” She nodded at Youngjae, who bowed politely when he noticed the attention being directed to him.

Slightly amused, Suhee was about to move down the line when Youngjae put his hand on her arm and dragged her away for a second. “What are you doing?” Dropping all honorifics, the boy stared confusedly at the customer from the other day who was now wearing a uniform similar to his own.

“I’m your colleague for the day,” Suhee shook her head lightly when Youngjae continued looking nonplussed. “I’m being serious. Now let’s get back to work, shall we? If you’re worried, I’m pretty sure I know how things go around here. But you can watch me for mistakes if you’d like.” To be honest, Suhee was only asking out of courtesy since he was new as well.

Blinking a little, Youngjae nodded dumbly. They needed the help after all. “Okay, then if you have any questions, feel free to ask. If I can answer them I will.” Suhee hummed in reply. She was feeling cheeky though, and couldn’t resist mentioning one last thing before they got back to the orders.

“Oh, and you’re welcome… you know, since I did help you out with the customer earlier… when you were nearly dying…” The girl giggled when the brunette’s plump cheeks turned pink in embarrassment. At least he was grinning too.
 

Wiping down the last table with her washcloth, a spent Suhee sat down and peered out of the window to admire the beautiful city scene. Although the sun had set a while ago, the street continued to buzz with both locals and tourists alike.  Many of the buildings were lighted up with billboards in neon colours that moved and swirled together, creating dizzying rainbows.

Suhee had seen the view as a customer in this very seat before, but the mood seemed slightly different this time. Maybe it was because she’d never stayed in Illa until closing time? Or was it because she had never worked her off to satisfy customers like today? All in all, it was a nice feeling –like she’d adequately earned her rest for a change, instead of simply wallowing in boredom while trying to read textbooks.

Being closest to Daehyun, she hadn’t really gotten the chance to know the other waiters. Playing with her rag on the table, Suhee observed as the cashier lady laughed at something Jinri said. She was actually really friendly – Suhee had quickly warmed up to her endless amusing stories and dramatic flair.

On the other hand, Youngjae was a typical young boy who took everything to heart. Two years younger than Suhee, he seemed distant at first but luckily a couple more jokes on his nonexistent English skills loosened him up. Suhee noted that he had a sharp sense of humor, bordering on sarcasm. Youngjae especially liked to take the mickey out of Himchan, even though he was older than him – which she secretly approved of because it was funny to watch and she did the same thing as well.

Glancing at the said barista behind the counter, Suhee watched him whistle loudly as he cleaned some utensils. The sound earned Himchan a glare from his colleague, Bomi which he responded to with a cute smile. The black-haired man waved at Suhee to come over when he caught her looking at them. “Suhee-yah! Have you told your omma you’re helping out here today?”

The younger girl nodded, leaning on the counter. “Mhm, I texted her.”

Himchan gave her a big smile and ruffled Suhee’s hair, making her wince. “Good! It’s late, I’ll walk you home okay? Gotta make sure you get back safely.” Suhee laughed a bit at that. The girl’s house was only two blocks away from the place and the streets were still full of people. She was about to chan for being overprotective, but he continued, “-oh that reminds me, I left my cap with Gukkie earlier… so I need to take it back from him anyway. And maybe I could hang around for a while if he’s not asleep yet. How does that sound?”

Suhee shrugged. Despite her complaints she knew Himchan liked to fuss over her in a brotherly manner, especially when Yongguk wasn’t around. Himchan was noisy but caring, and can be good company... sometimes. “Anything you say, Himchan oppa.” The girl sighed. At that, the barista smiled widely and slung an arm over her shoulder. “That’s my Suhee!”

In the corner, Youngjae was watching the two, an amused smirk playing on his lips as he put on his sweater and hoodie. It was about time he made his way home as well. He nodded at Suhee and Himchan when they were at the door. The brunette waved a cheerful goodnight to the other employees before extending a hand to the brown-haired girl, which Suhee shook firmly. “Seeya around, Suhee-nuna. Thanks for today.”

The girl gave Youngjae a warm grin. “No worries! You definitely will, I'm a regular here, remember?”

At that, he narrowed his eyes into a playful squint and waggled a finger with an ‘ahuh’ of realization, making Suhee burst out into giggles. Himchan clucked in disapproval. “I thought I was the greasy one, aish. Are you working tomorrow, Youngjae?”

He shook his head. “Nope, off-day.” Youngjae pulled the hood over his head and opened the door, holding it for the pair. “Bye, hyung,” he acknowledged as they walked past. As Suhee nodded and waved back in thanks, Youngjae winked. The gesture made the girl look down at her shoes and smile shyly.
 

She had been thinking about a question the whole day, and Suhee found the words spilling from her lips the moment they were out of earshot. "So oppa… what's Youngjae like?" Himchan looked at her, surprised. “Whoa, you’ve just met him and you’re already digging for information from me? Are you that interested?”

“It’s not that,” Suhee whined in embarrassment, clinging onto his elbow. “It’s just that I actually know Youngjae from university, and there was something I was curious about.” She thought about the few times she had seen him around campus. They didn’t really know each other, but Youngjae wasn’t exactly inconspicuous with his old blonde spiky hair. His stylish jackets and ripped pants didn’t look cheap either, and those Beats headphones that were a permanent fixture around his neck…

She wasn’t the psychology major but Suhee would have assumed Youngjae enjoyed attention very much. So what could be the reason of him picking up a mundane job such as waiting tables?

“Youngjae told me yesterday that he dropped out of university due to financial difficulties, but he was one rich kid back in campus. It doesn’t make sense. Do you know what happened?” To her disappointment, Himchan furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head.

“He hasn’t really talked about himself yet. Give it some time though; he’s new and all. Maybe he’ll be more willing to spill his life story soon, then I can give you all the juicy details you crave for.” The way Himchan put it made her blush and she started whacking his shoulder. It was true – all this was none of her business anyway. Half-heartedly dodging her blows, Himchan grinned and petted the younger girl’s hair fondly. “He’s a bit like you, you know.”

The statement made Suhee look at him, bewildered. “Who, Youngjae? How so?” Himchan shrugged. “I don’t know, I just think you guys will get along.”

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Finally an update! Sorry, I've been busy with preparations for the B.A.P Malaysian showcase. You can see my mini fan-account here: http://www.asianfanfics.com/blog/view/257307 It was epic! :))) Youngjae and his tofu skin and apple cheeks nggghhh~

Also, I made a quick cover of Secret Love that you can find here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhWz_n-DznI&list=UUVOxnncmELPD70zIOe4vjlQ&index=1&feature=plcp Comments and critiques are appreciated! This also applies to my writing, I've been struggling majorly with POVs and complicated sentences and all that . -___- So any tips on how to improve would be awesome, really!

Can't wait for the No Mercy comeback!!!!!!!! YOUNGJAE IS BACK TO DARK YOU GUYS DON'T KNOW HOW HAPPY I AM OKAY :'DDDD