So much for the day going in a blink of an eye. In fact, I think today felt like the longest school days in history. I swear, everytime I looked up at the clock it barely moved, making me groan in frustration. Tick tock, tick tock. The clock was moving way too slow for my tastes. Tapping my pencil furociously, I began to get furious looks from nearby schoolmates and I bowed apologizing. Again I looked at the clock, again I tapped my pencil, again I got stares, again I apologized. This routine went on for a while until the teacher finally came around and actually took the pencil out of my hand. 

"Kyungsoo, everything alright? You're usually not...like this." The teacher asked gesturing to my inability to sit still.

"I'm fine. Sorry." I stated giving a bow.

"It's fine. Just....take a second and cool yourself off, ok?" She replied looking towards the door.

I sighed.

I've never gotten kicked out of class.

She must have noticed the look on my face since she added quickly,

"I'm not kicking you out. I'm letting you get some air. You look like you need it."

I did.

Standing up, I pushed in my chair and bowed to the teacher before exiting the classrom. Once outside, I rested against the wall closing my eyes. After minute or two and not seeming to work to calm my nerves, I walked down the hallway hoping walking would do the trick. But as god would have it, it didn't work. In fact, as I kept walking I only thought of working with him more, making my heart jump out of my chest. Stopping at the window, I leaned on the window sill willing myself to breath normal again. Closing my eyes and taking a few deep breaths, I jumped three fet when I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder. 

So much for going back to normal.

A hand over my now thumping heart, I turned to find a familiar face staring at my with worry.

"You alright?" He asked, his face furrowing.

I took a moment to get my breath.

"Yeah, you just gave me a scare." I replied, hoping my voice didn't shake.

He took his hand off my shoulder and scratched the back of his neck, stating sheepishly,

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's fine." I replied shaking my head.

Then I thought about it for a second,

"Wait, why arn't you in class?"

He just looked at me, a smirk on his face,

"I could ask you the same."

I felt my mouth open and close,

"I was just getting some air."

Laughing, he gestured down to his body and I followed his hands, taking in his casual attire,

"I have p.e right now. I went to the bathroom and was heading back when I spotted you."

Just like this morning.

"You always seem to find me." I muttered at the thought, but he heard.

Tilting his head he looked at me, and I brought up my arms shaking them,

"W-well I mean, sin-nce you also spotted me at the stor-re this morning."

I mentally facepalmed myself for stuttering so much. He just chuckled, shrugging,

"I guess I do." 

He looked at me and smiled. Relaxing, I smiled in return and for a mintue we just stood there looking at each other. Breaking the silence, he looked at me with a stern gaze,

"D.O?" He asked and I titled my head,

"Hmm?"

He stepped towards me and put his hand on my arm,

"I was wondering if you w---" He began, but was cut off when someone called out his name,

"Suho, hey Suho, there you are, I was---" 

I watched as the one boy I was thinking about all day, rounded the corner. Pointing over his shoulder and talking, when he spotted us his words came to a halt and he just looked at us. Hearing a sigh, I turned back towards Suho, who dropped his hand from my arm seeming disappointed.

"Oh, hey D.O." The tanned boy said walking over to us.

I just nodded and turned to Suho,

"What were you going to ask?"

Suho just looked from me, to the boy, back to me before replying,

"It's nothing. I'll tell you later."

I just nodded again and the boy with the fiery eyes stood there, looked between me and Suho his face once again taking on that sour look. Not looking at me, he turned to the side.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we gotta get back to class Suho. You know Mr. Sung."

Suho sighed again,

"Yeah I know."

Turning towards me, Suho put his hand on my shoulder smiling,

"I'll see you around, Kyungsoo." 

I just smiled back. Giving one last squeeze, he dropped his hand, walking away. I felt myself get exited, now it was just the two of us standing there. Mr. Popular and I. I smiled and he simply turned. I thought he would say some sort of goodbye, so I brought up my hand to wave. Instead he just jogged, walking next to Suho, and before I knew it they disappeared around the corner. My hand still in the air, I brought it back down awkwardly bringing it to my chest.

Well, that was weird.

Feeling rejected, I walked back to class, the rest of the day wondering curiously why I had been ignored.

_____

I pushed the cup under the machine and pressed button after button, waiting for the loud screech to signify that the machine was working. Once it started, I pivoted, moving towards the creamers, pumps, and all the other things that made coffee taste better. Pumping two shots, I pivoted back towards the machine, and poured the drink, mixing in some vanilla flavoring and topped it with wipcream. Sprinkling on some added coatings just for kicks, I moved to the counter where a woman stood there waiting.

"Here is your Vanilla Latte."

She took the drink and smiled,

"Thanks."

"No problem, I hope you enjoy." 

Giving her a smile, she turned, walking away. Hearing a bell, I went back to the counter, and again and again, I did the same thing over and over, the only change being the type of drink I made.

"Here is your Cinnamon Dolce." I smiled handing another girl her drink.

The girl smiled back,

"Thanks."

"No problem, have a good day."

Hearing the bell again, I walked back over to the counter starting to say my script,

"Hello. Welcome to Coffee and Crumbs, how may I--" I looked up and my breath cought when I spotted the familiar tanned skin and thick lips.

"Jong In?" 

He just looked at me, pouting,

"Yah! Why you sound like you're not happy to see me."

I quickly ranted feeling guilty,

"No-No! I-I only, I-I thought you weren't coming." 

I looked down at the stacked cups, and picked one up, circling it in my hand. He just looked at me,

"Why? I told you earlier I was coming."

I looked up at him,

"I-I thought you were mad at me."

He just rose an eyebrow,

"Mad. Why would I be mad?"

I thought about earlier and the look he gave me.

"Well in the morning when I was talking to Suho you looked at me weirdly. And then later in the hallway, I was with Suho and again you looked at me funny."

I looked down,

"I- I thought maybe I did something to upset you."

He just stood there before turning and biting his lip,

"You didn't. I- I was. It was nothing. I'm sorry."

Looking back at me I nodded before smiling,

"I guess I should show you the ropes."

Walking to the side, I opened the counter and walked out. Gesturing for him to follow me, I walked to the back of the shop, and opened the door which marked employees only. Shutting the door behind us, I turned into the closet. Turning on the light, I looked through the shelves and smiled when I found it. 

"There it is."

Pulling out one in each size, I turned to him and raised one up at a time, guessing which would fit.

"Hmm, I think maybe a medium will fit. I'm not too sure."

He just looked from the apron to me,

"What's this?"

"Your uniform of course."

He just nodded and I shoved the apron in his arms,

"Try it on."

Taking it, I tried not to squeal when his hand brushed against mine, but I couldn't control the shiver that ran down my body. Quickly taking my hand away, I just watched as he began to put it on. Lifting the apron to put over his head, my eyes quickly spotted the now visable skin right above his hips in between his pants and his now riding up shirt. I bit the inside of my cheek and snapped my eyes upwards hoping he didn't notice. He didn't, and now finished putting on his apron, he patted it down, looking at me,

"How do I look?" He asked turning from side to side,

I snapped my jaw shut when not so appropiate thoughts dared to fall out, and I smiled,

"Great." giving him a thumbs up.

He nodded and I walked out the room,

"So this is back room. Any supplies that need to be restocked will be back here. This is also were all the cleaning supplies and what not are. Um..."

Opening the door, we were back in the shop and I walked over to the counter. Pushing it open, he walked through, and I closed it behind him.

"This is the espresso machine. You make all the coffee shots here."

"Do you know how to work an espresso machine?"

I looked at him and he shook his head,

"I can show you later then."

I pivoted towards the condiments,

"These are all the flavorings, and toppings."

I heard a bell ring and I walked towards the front of the counter, gesturing for him to follow.

"I guess for right now you could just watch." I shrugged.

He nodded and I went to the cash register.

"Hello welcome to Coffee and Crumbs. What can I get you?"

The custom ordered and I smiled taking there order. Going towards the machine, he followed and I quickly gave him a once over to how it works. Turning towards the pumps, I told him the amount needed, and even let him put on the wipcream. Finishing the drink off with the necessary flavors, I walked to the counter handing them their drink.

"Here you go, one Carmel drizzle, two shots."

The customer smiled,

"Thanks."

"No problem. Hope you enjoy." I smiled and they walked away.

Turning, I felt someone burning holes through me and looked to find mr. tan as the corprate,

"What?" I asked, wondering why he was looking at me like that.

"Nothing. I'm just not used to it." He shrugged and I tilted my head confused.

"To what?"

"You smiling so much. I like it."

I immediatly began to blush and walked by him quickly, hoping to hide it. The rest of the day went by quickly. I showed him how everything worked from the cash register to the espresso machine, which was the funniest. He would hit a button and when nothing happened he would put on this pout which I found very cute, and hit another button, again nothing happening. I would just laugh and show him once again, only for him to try again and fail.

"I give up. It hates me." He scoffed.

"Nothing can hate you Jong In." I replied without thinking and he looked at me curiously.

"I know." He smirked and I hit him playfully on the shoulder.

Since the espresso machine wasn't his thing, I left him to do the ordering which maybe wasn't the smartest idea since his damn good looks made every girl drool. I would stand there making the drinks, frowning at the way girls would throw themselves at him.

Not even a day and he's already popular.

Snorting to myself, he would walk over to me handing the reciepts and unable to hold my tounge I stated,

"Your pretty popular."

He just shrugged that smirk once again making its way to his face,

"I know. You should thank me."

This made my head tilt,

"For what?"

He looked at the now long line,

"For all the customers."

I just shook my head, hitting the button on the espresso machine probably a little too hard,

"Your so full of yourself."

So it went on. Him doing the ordering, me making the drinks. Over and over girls would fawn themselves over him and then come to me when their drinks were ready. I would just hand them the drink and mutter,

"Have a good day."

And for some strange reason they would just giggle and walk away.

Not even noticing mr. popular himself behind me, I jumped when I heard his deep smooth voice.

"I'm not the only one who's popular."

I turned towards him,

"What's that supposed to mean."

He just looked at me,

"Oh come on. Don't act like you don't know."

I didn't get it.

"Know what?"

"D.O. I'm not the only one their checking out."

I thought about it before pointing at myself,

"Who me?"

He just shook his head laughing,

"No donald duck. Who else?"

I looked around at the girls once again.

"Why?"

"Cause your hot."

I blinked a couple of times.

Did I just hear correctly?

I looked at him,

"What?" He shrugged.

Before I could ask him anything else though, the bell ring whisking him away to another happily waiting customer. 

Turning back towards all the girls occupying the shop, this time I noticed some of them giving me cutsey looks, lip biting, and kisses. I shivered.

Gross

Before I knew it the day was over and I was waving to the last customer telling them to come back. Mr. Popular called out behind me,

"And tell your friends too." making them giggle and walk away. 

Wiping my forehead from the sweat that produced. I finally realized how exhausted I was. The shop had never had so many customers before, and it was all because of one person. 

Him.

I turned towards the source who was now wiping down the counters. Turning back towards the door, I flipped the sign in the window from opened to close, dusting off my hands. 

Finished.

Now all was left to clean. Slowly I went, cleaning off the tables, and placing the chairs on top. Putting together all the dirty cups and plates, I called out behind me,

"Jong In. Can you get the broom and sweep for me?"

"Sure."  I heard him reply, the back door opening and shutting.

I walked to the sink and began to clean the dishes.

Why are there so many?

Then I remember.

Him.

Sighing, I began to feel my hands turning into prunes. Pick up, wash, add soap, scrub, put down. Pick up, wash, add soap, scrub, put down. Lost in the robotic motion, I didn't notice when someone was trying to tell me something. Ignoring it, I jolted when I felt someones shoulder bump against my own. Looking up, I was shocked to see him there, 

"Here, let me help."

I just nodded and watched as he took the plate out of my hand, drying it off. Taking the next plate, we got into a routine. I washed, he dried. All the while, I tried not to let his shoulder, which kept bumping up against mine, affect me. All that much. Before I knew it though, he dried off the last plate putting it in the cupboard. Taking my hands with the towel, he dried them off, making me blush,

"Um thanks." I stated embarrased.

"No problem." He replied putting away the towel.

Walking away all I could do was look at his retreating figure.

I wonder if I affected him as much as he did me?

Before I could let myself answer, I saw his head pop out, and he pointed to the back room. Following him, we went to the back placing our aprons onto the rack. Hanging his up, I looked from his soft looking hair, to his broad shoulders, to his long and strong back, down to his fit thighs, finally to his feet. Racking them back up unconcously, I cought his eyes as he turned.

"What?" He asked turning around.

I thought of something quickly.

"Thanks."

"For what?" He asked leaning against the wall.

I looked at the ground, my feet shuffling.

"For working. For helping clean up."

He shrugged,

"Well it is my job."

I looked at him,

"Still I appreciate it Jong In." 

I saw his cheeks turn red a bit, and he turned to the side coughing,

"Well I'm glad I could help. But I have to ask."

I rose an eyebrow,

"What?"

I watched as he turned looking straight at me,

"Why do you call me Jong In?"

I tilted my head,

"Because that's your name."

He just snorted crossing his arms,

"I know that. What I meant is, everyone else calls me Kai."

I didn't understand.

"So?" 

"So, why don't you call me Kai?"

I thought about it.

Why didn't I call him Kai?

Because I loved his name. Jong In. I loved the way it sounded. But of course I couldn't tell him that.

"Would you like me to call you Kai?"

I could have sworn I saw his body shiver, and he looked away again,

"No. It's fine."

"Well you ready, Jong In?" I said slowly, emphasizing his name and he just smirked at me,

"How about you Kyunsoo, you ready?"

I shivered when he said my name. Turning on my heel I squeeked a yep, earning a laugh, and walked out the door and through the shop ending at the front door. Opening it, I waited for him to walk through before shutting it behind him, locking it. Turning, I watched him standing there shuffling his feet as if he was waiting for something. And as much as I didn't want the night to end, I knew it would. 

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow." I stated ready to walk away, but he quickly asked,

"Can I walk you home?" 

I stopped in my tracks, taken aback for a second at what he just asked. Scratch that, I took a second, to make sure that what I heard was correct, and when I was certain I had really heard it, I could feel the blush creeping up my neck, thankful that it was night and he couldn't see it.

"You sure?" I asked hoping I wasn't an inconvience.

He shrugged,

"I mean if you don't mind."

"Of course not." I stated, inwardly hitting myself for replying too quickly.

With that, we walked down the sidewalk towards the bus side by side. At first we just walked in silence. Then our conversation went to school, and classes, then the gang. He went silent for a second before turning towards me,

"May I ask you something?"

I nodded as we walked,

"Shoot."

I heard him take in a deep breath before asking,

"What's going on between you and Suho?"

This cought me off guard. I stopped walking making him also stop,

"Me and Suho? What do you mean?"

I didn't understand.

He looked at me,

"I mean what do you think of Suho?"

I thought about,

"I like him."

He quickly began to cough, doubling over.

"You alright?" I asked worried,

"You like..him?" He said in between coughs and I nodded.

"Yeah, he's a great friend."

He stood back up straight, shaking his head,

"Do you like like him?"

I don't get it.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, oh nevermind." He said turning back around and cursed under his breath.

I followed his line of sight and saw the bus.

Oh the bus.

I smiled, but my smile quickly faded when I noticed that the door was shutting and it was now beginning to drive away.

"We're going to miss it." I groaned, thinking about the long walk ahead of us and he just turned towards me.

"Not if I can help it." He smirked.

Before I could proccess what was happening, I felt his arm shoot out, grabbing my hand and he took off, dragging me along with him. Shouting and waving his free arm, the bus came to a stop. Opening the doors, we jumped on scanning our passes before we walked to the back sitting down. Allowing myself to catch my breath, I felt something warm tingling up my arm and looked down to see our hands still connected. I in my breath. 

Mr. Popular and I, were holding hands.

Stealing a glance to the side, he didn't seem to notice and I bit my lip wondering if I should speak up and say something or just keep quiet and see what happens. Sighing, as much as I wanted to do the latter I went with the first. Giving a small cough, he turned towards me and I gestured down. He followed my gaze and when he saw our hands entertwined he jerked his hand back,

"Oh, I'm sorry I--." I cut him off laughing at seeing him so flustered,

"It's fine."

I smiled.

I think it's my first time ever seeing him so..not him.

I watched as he scratched the back of his neck and a chuckle left his throat. My own laugh died in my throat and I sat there gaping at him. Looking straight ahead, and sitting right next to him, I took this moment of clossness to take in all that was Jong In. I took in the way his eyes crinkled at the corners, his eyes turning into cresent moons,

I loved his eyes

I took in the way his mouth formed a smile, so different then the normal smirk he wore on a daily basis. His true smile, where when you looked close enough you could see a small dimple form at the corner,

I loved his smile

And I took in that deep smooth laugh that left his throat.

I loved his laugh.

As the bus when on all I could do was stare.

The image forever engraved in my brain.

______

November 28, 2013

Dear Diary,

Today was the first day that he worked.

I couldn't believe it.

I didn't know why I thought he wouldn't show up.

But he did.

I'm so happy right now.

I think for the first time, I didn't think about what will come.

What I'll loose.

I only can think about being here.

Being in the moment.

Being with him.

He looked perfect in his uniform.

So perfect.

It's as if he was made to wear it.

As if he was supposed to work with me.

Gosh, I'm so happy.

He even walked me home.

Can you believe it?

It's so corny.

But I loved it.

It was like another one of my mothers dramas.

Where the guy grabs the girls hand.

Rushing after the bus.

He grabbed my hand.

I swear my body jolted just from that touch.

And when we were on the bus sitting,

He was still holding me hand.

When I told him he acted so surprise.

So flustered.

It wasn't like him.

He wasn't Mr. Popular.

He wasn't Kai.

He was Jong In.

The face he made.

His smile.

His laugh.

Even after I'm no longer able to see.

That moment will forever be there.

My first bus ride with him.

The first time we held hands.

-Do Kyungsoo