♥ Min: Past ♥
Lady Love
♥ Min ♥
I took a peek at the owner of this small cafe, a girl who was busy preparing a cup of hot chocolate for her only guest. She sat in front of the guest and smiled politely, offering the hot beverage.
Her guest was sobbing, wiping her own tears away with a piece of tissue. Straightening my body slightly, I watched as Ai said something to her and the guest nodded slowly until a smile appeared on her face.
The guest's name was Choi Sooyoung. I saw her a week ago when I visited Ai at her cafe. Seemed like they knew each other because Ai would spare her time to listen to Sooyoung.
I hid myself when Sooyoung left the cafe, leaving the owner alone. After seconds, I decided to step inside and greeted Ai with a polite smile, "Are you still open for this lonely man?"
Ai lifted her head and she didn't look surprise with my sudden presence. Probably because it's the third time I visited her cafe with exactly same excuse.
After graduated from college, there was nothing much I could do. I helped my brother with the florist shop while thinking of what kind of business I should do. Florist shop was a good option too.
That's why, while I was thinking about my future, Ai's appearance in my life was quite amusing. To know that she helped girls who confessed to me, I was curious.
Why did she want to help them? Were seven of them her friends? Did she pay them? What kind of idea she had in mind? I was so curious that I found myself looking for her and it led me to this cafe a week ago.
My friend told me that there was this small cafe, owned by a girl named Kim Ai. It's not really famous but there was rumor that new couples could born from a visit to this place.
On my first visit, Ai didn't hide her surprise. I ordered a slice of black forest from her, amazed by the delicious dessert. I held the urge to ask her about her connection with those girls until my second visit three days ago.
Unfortunately she closed the cafe right when I arrived. To my surprise, she apologized and said that she would give me a free cake when I came again.
"Please take a seat," Ai gestured to an empty table. "I will prepare something for you. Do you mind with a cup of tea for the companion?"
"No. Not at all," I nodded slightly and made my way to the seat. I looked around, thinking that it must be nice to have a small yet cozy cafe like this. "No wonder people love to come here..."
My eyes found a board with sticky notes on it. With those colorful notes, the board caught my attention so I stood up and stepped closer to read them.
My favorite. Sweet is love. You are the best. I love you. Love is the best recipe. Because I came here. My heart is filled with love.
Different people wrote those short notes on the sticky notes. One pink sticky note stood out because it looked like it's the newest.
Thank you.
Only that word was written there.
"The visitors insisted to leave notes there," Ai had returned from the kitchen. She put the cake and tea on table before standing next to me, smiling at the board. "It's very nice of them."
"Why did you help them?" the question I had been thinking since my first meeting with her, since she left by only giving me her name, finally came out. "Sunhwa and the other girls. Are they your regulars here?"
Ai moved her gaze from the board to me. She answered calmly, "They only told me that they liked you. When Hwayoung came, I was surprised because she was the second person to ask my opinion about you."
"Third. Fourth. Fifth. Sixth. And then seventh. When Sunhwa told me that you rejected her, I couldn't help but to think I must know why you kept rejecting them," Ai took a seat. "Why did all of them fall for you who never received their loves"
"I believe it's even worse if I pretended I returned their feelings when I wasn't," I reasoned, taking a seat across from her. "All of them are nice but I have the right to be friends with them, don't I?"
"True...," Ai murmured softly. She suddenly pointed to the cake, "You can have it. It's your free cake. I promised you before."
After thanking her, I took a spoon of it and commented honestly, "Wow, it's really delicious! Did you take special major before? Do you always make delicious cakes like this everyday?"
Then, for the very first time, I saw a sincere and sweet smile from her as she answered.
"Doing what I love is what I do."
♥ ♥ ♥
Ever since that day, as if it's a habit, I visit Ai's cafe from time to time. One day she told me about the regulars who happened to ask for her help, ones she called as requesters.
Ai always does everything sincerely, one thing that I admire from her. From baking to helping people, Ai never complaints about whatever things that make her difficult.
Just like what she is doing now.
"Another requester?" I ask her while she is reading a letter. I take a bite of the pancake, waiting for her answer.
Yesterday she just went to an amusement park with Joon and I asked my cousin about how it was going. Joon didn't talk much and I wondered if everything went well. So I came this morning to meet Ai at her cafe but she's busy already.
"It's Sooyoung," Ai answers with a small smile. "She asked me if I could make a cake for her first month anniversary with her boyfriend. She sent a picture of them along with this request letter."
I frown and murmur, "Ah, Sooyoung... Did she make it with the one she talked to you months ago?"
Ai shakes her head, putting back the letter to envelope, "No. She met a good guy at her current office. He had his eyes on Sooyoung for long ago but she was too... blind to notice it."
Ai once told me that love is what you can't describe with words. You can't expect love to stay and go the way you want. All you need to do is to understand and have faith, both in yourself and love.
When you think that the one you love right now is your everything, things may turn upside down and, for your surprise, your love is actually someone you never expect.
"Hoo...," I prop my chin on palm, staring at Ai. I notice that her hair is slightly longer nowadays that she always put it as a ponytail.
Ai raises her eyebrow, tilting her head, "What?"
"Perhaps the Lady Love is also too blind to notice that someone is in love with her now?" I grin, trying to make her tell me about her love in past or, perhaps, her fiancee.
She did tell me she has a fiancee she never met before. It's because of her parents but she never really wanted to talk about it. Neither did she want to talk about her ex-boyfriends.
I don't believe if she never had one.
"I'm pretty sure no one sets their eyes on me, Hyuk," Ai laughs it off. "It's not like I'm going to fall for anyone."
Ai murmurs something shortly while she drops her gaze to the floor.
"Eh?" I blink with confusion but Ai tells me she said nothing, saying that she needs to think about what kind of cake she will make for Sooyoung.
I'm not sure if I'm mistaken but I'm pretty sure that she mumbles something afterwards.
"At least not after him."
Is there something about her past that she doesn't want me to know?
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