~Eunhee~

 

‘The Café is a nice place’ I thought to myself peacefully as I picked up the used mug of the customer who had just left, before wiping down the table and wandering off into my own world again. The smells and sounds were peaceful; it gave me a time to think, but kept my mind busy enough to forget all my other problems.

“We’ll be closing soon” I heard one of the other waitresses call.

I looked out the window, slightly shocked. It was already this late? The sky was darkening outside, and the street lights were already on.

Most of the customers were gone, the last few trickling out of the door. I sighed contentedly, before untying my apron and walking to the back of the café to pick up my stuff.

“Bye Eunhee!” I heard some of the remaining workers call as I walked outside. I smiled half-heartedly as I turned and waved.

“See you next time!” I replied.

I looked up at the sky. It was cold tonight. I shivered and wrapped my cardigan around myself tighter, before huffing and beginning the walk back.

I wasn’t paying attention, I was thinking about dinner, how I was hungry and how I hadn’t bought anything to eat, so of course I wasn’t all that surprised when I bumped into someone. I grimaced and cursed myself mentally. Stupid! I should have been paying attention!

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” I yelped immediately, jumping slightly from the impact, frowning unhappily, praying that the person I had bumped into wouldn’t be mad.

“Woah, Eunhee?” I heard a deep voice and I recognized it immediately.

“Yongguk oppa!?” I felt my eyes widen somewhat.

He grinned. “Hey! How are you?”

“I-I’m good! I’m sorry for bumping into you!” I stuttered like an idiot.                      

He smiled a gummy smile and waved it off. “Nah, it’s okay! I should have been watching where I was going; I was in a rush to get to the store to buy some stuff for dinner” He smiled sheepishly.

I smiled. “I guess we’re the same… I was in a rush to get home because it’s cold… and I was thinking about dinner too” I frowned at the thought.

He chuckled at my expression. “Not sure what you’re having yet?”

I grimaced and nodded. “Not even sure I have anything to cook” I laughed slightly and sighed.

He smiled at me sadly before his expression brightened. “Want to come to mine for dinner?” he suddenly turned sheepish again “Well… uh… I’m only planning on cooking packet ramyun, so it’s not going to be extravagant or anything… but, you’re still more then welcome to”

I swear I could feel the sparkles radiating from my soul at that precise moment. He was so kind, like a saviour for my staring stomach.

“Y-yes please! I’d love to!” I rushed my words out, probably too fast.

He smiled happily. “That’s great! Well… We’ll just have to go to the convenience store and buy a few packets, but as soon as that’s done we can go straight back to mine and cook, sound OK?” he looked at me, as if asking for verification.

I nodded enthusiastically. “Perfect plan!”

He grinned at me before he grabbed my bag strap and tugged on it gently, pulling me along. “Let’s go then!”

I followed him after him, and we walked along in silence for a while before he spoke.

“Are you doing ok?”

It was just above a whisper, and I was confused for a few moments before I registered what he had said.

I grimaced and frowned sadly.

“I’ve been… ok” I said, my voice almost as quiet as his.

“You don’t look well, you should take a break if you’re stressed out” His voice was louder this time, and it sounded sure and full of authority.

I tried to shrug it off. “I’m fine”

He sighed at stared at me, his eyes boring into mine, as if willing me to speak.

“I’ve just been working a little harder than usual, I’ve been… struggling to pay my rent” I sighed, I felt almost embarrassed.

He looked down at me; I could see the pity in his eyes. “I’m sure you’ll figure things out”

I smiled half-heartedly. “Mmm… I hope so”

He nodded and we returned to walking in silence until we arrived at the small convenience store, the sliding glass doors opening before us as we walked in.

“What flavour do you want?” he smiled

I knelt down, scanning the row of packet ramyun before reaching over and selecting one.

“Seafood” I grinned.

He smiled and bent down, picking up another packet. “I’ll get the same then”

We walked over to the cashier, and Yongguk pulled out his wallet, quickly paying and taking the plastic bag that the cashier had placed our ramyun into.

“Let’s go” he smiled at me, and I grinned back, following after him as he walked along, leading the way back to his apartment.

 

                                                          ~ ~ ~ ~

“Here you go!” Yongguk said happily as he placed a bowl of steaming ramyun down in front of me before walking to the other side of the table and sitting down.

“This looks so good” I smiled, picking up my chopsticks and picking up a mouthful.

Yongguk picked up his chopsticks, following my lead.

We sat in silence before I finally spoke. “It’s yum”

He chuckled and nodded. “I guess it is”

I finished my last mouthful and smiled contentedly. Yongguk had already finished before me.

“Thank you for the meal!” I said, bowing my head downwards slightly before looking up and grinning at him.

He nodded slightly and smiled warmly at me. “It’s my pleasure” he looked over to the sink. “I’d better do the dishes”

I stood up immediately. “I’ll help, it’s the least I can do before I leave!”

He laughed. “I won’t say no to a little bit of help”

I grinned at him as he walked over, turning on the sinks tap, grabbing a sponge.

“Ah~ here, let me wash, you can dry and put all the stuff away” I said, taking the sponge from him.

He nodded. “That’s probably a better idea… I’ll know where to put everything” He grinned.

I began to scrub at the bowls and dishes, deep in thought. Yongguk’s apartment was the total opposite of mine. It was well lit, spacious, clean and well… nice. It was strange that a young, single man was living all alone in such a nice apartment, and even stranger was the fact that he didn’t have a job and was still able to afford it. But I didn’t mind. There was something peaceful about being with him, he wasn’t the type to talk unnecessarily, often there was nothing but silence between us, but it was never awkward, it was peaceful, like the both of us were able to go and think without having to talk.

I placed the last set of chopsticks onto the drying rack and Yongguk picked them up, drying them swiftly and placing them into the top drawer on his left.

He turned and smiled. “Will you be leaving soon?” he frowned slightly “Not that I want you to leave or anything…”

I giggled. “Yeah, it’s pretty late, and I need to go to the library tomorrow to study” I sighed as I walked towards my bag that I had left on the floor by the table.

He followed behind me as I walked towards the front door. “I’ll walk you back”

I shook my head. “No no! Don’t bother! I don’t want to bother you anymore than what I already have! ”

He laughed and shook his head. “You’re not bothering me; I want to walk you back”

I huffed, unable to deny him or come up with an excuse.

He chuckled as I did up the laces to my shoes, already having tied his up. I jumped up and smiled as he opened the door, letting me go out before him.

We began to walk down the corridor, stopping only for a few seconds as we waited for the elevator doors to open. After a second or so, we were comfortably standing inside, and I watched as Yongguk pressed the button that would take us to the ground floor.

“So you’re going to the library tomorrow?” he asked casually, and I nodded, sighing yet again at the thought of it.

“Yeah… I’ve really been falling behind recently and I’m going to have to catch up before anything major happens at class”

He nodded. “So things aren’t going too well with your University courses?”

I groaned slightly. “It’s going so badly… I have no idea what I’m actually doing to be honest… I’ve been too caught up in all my financial problems that I’ve allowed myself to fall behind in classes even more and now I’m totally lost with all the work we’ve been set”

He sighed sadly. “That’s no good… I guess you’re suffering from a bit of a work overload?”

I laughed sadly. “You could say that… I have to sort everything out before I screw everything up; money is my biggest issue at the moment”

He nodded and we walked out of his brightly lit lobby of his apartment into the darkness of the street, slowly walking towards my apartment complex.

“Are you planning on getting a job or taking a course anytime soon?” I asked.

It was quiet for a few moments before he answered. “I thought about it… but I sort of came to the conclusion that I was no good, I’d end up making problems” he chuckled.

I looked up at him, confused. “Why would do you say that?”

He shrugged slightly. “I would like to believe that I could manage it and have an enjoyable experience at University and what not, but I’ve been told that for someone like me, it’s impossible.” He looked down at me, his eyes brightening strangely as he caught me looking up at him “And besides, I’ve decided I have more important things that I have to concentrate on”

 We both came to a stop in front of my apartment block, the lights from the front entrance illuminating us slightly. I nodded. “You shouldn’t be fazed by people like that, but I’m glad you’ve found something that you can focus on” I smiled at him and he returned my smile almost naturally.

I looked up at the building besides us and I huffed before turning back to him and smiling again.

“Thank you for treating me to dinner, next ones on me, ok?” I watched as he grinned, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly. “No problem, it was nice having you over, “And I’ll definitely be waiting for you to invite me out” he joked before chuckling slightly.

I giggled. “Thank you, I really mean it, you’ve cheered me up, weirdly” I shrugged embarrassedly and smiled sheepishly.

He grinned. “I’m glad. You’d better go in; its cold and you’ll get sick if you stay out here talking to me for too long”

I nodded “Ah~ ok…” I pouted slightly and he laughed before giving me a gentle shove towards the entrance of my apartment complex, I turned and looked back, and saw that he was still standing on the footpath, his hands stuffed into his pockets, his breaths coming out in white puffs.

“See you next time!” I called, raising my arm and waving at him.

 He waved back, and I heard him laugh slightly. “I’ll look forward to the next time we meet” His deep voice was soft, but it carried all the way over to me, and I watched slightly dumbfounded as he turned and walked away, his figure disappearing into the dark.

 

 

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I finally updated! Sorry that I was so slow! 

To be honest I actually got a little stuck on this chapter and decided to rewrite it entirely- so it took quite a while to get done!

I hope you enjoy it, and please tell me what you think! 

Feel free to comment and subscribe!

 

Until next time!~♡

(Also, I almost forgot to say thankyou for yet another up vote! It means a lot!)