i. compliments & complements

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“One Grande Java Chip Frappuccino, please.”

Myungsoo looked on at the slight, mousy brown-haired girl standing in front of him as he wrote her order down on a cup without even having to spare a second’s thought. 7:42AM. She never seemed to deviate from her structured morning by even a second and he felt himself inwardly cringe at how high maintenance she seemed to be. Probably much too high maintenance to want him… He had found out soon enough that the girl, Nicole, according to the name she always gave him to write on her cup (Ah, the perks of working as a cashier here he found himself thinking before he could stop himself), had become a regular at this particular Starbucks establishment about a month before he was hired. And, on the dot at 7:42AM every morning, she would show up without fail and have her regular Grande Java Chip Frappuccino with a please thrown on at the end, as a farce of politeness towards a stranger. (But we’re not strangers, his inner thought liked to think, because we’ve seen each other every morning for the past five months.)

Honestly, Myungsoo didn’t want to think of her as a stranger either. She knew his name (at least he hoped she spared a glance at his nametag) and he knew hers. They were the only two Koreans in this small New York city, for all he knew. (How he knew that she was Korean was simply the result of a little unintentional eavesdropping on a phone conversation she had with her mum, was all.) And he didn’t want her to think of him as a stranger because, quite simply, he thought she was so, so beautiful and she spoke with the prettiest lilt, and he’d seen her smile once and he nearly forgot how to breathe and oh god why was he sounding like a fifteen year old boy at the age of twenty-two.

What it was about her that made him so nervous and self-conscious failed to register in his mind. He was never like this around girls. Myungsoo was suave, and charming, and cockiness aside, he knew he was handsome to boot. He’d had his fair share of girls coming after him, especially now that he worked at Starbucks and they could leave him with just a flirtatious wink and their numbers on a napkin. Still, his gut told him that this girl, Nicole, wouldn’t be won over with a few smooth lines and a crooked little smile. What would win her over, he had no idea.

Snapped out of his ruminations by the shout of “Nicole!”, Myungsoo realized, as his ears turned red and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, he had been staring into air for at least a good five minutes. He was lucky that this morning wasn’t busy at all, or else he probably would have been fired for letting a line build up. Surprisingly, there was nobody save a few already-seated patrons. And Nicole of course, who was gliding her way towards a table in the corner with her drink and bag – and wait, what? She never stayed with her drink. To Myungsoo’s dismay, and somewhat relief that he wouldn’t accidentally end up staring at her, Nicole made it soon apparent that she never sat down after his first few days here. As soon as her name was called, she always whisked her drink away and out the door, leaving him with nothing but her faintly vanilla scent. (Or perhaps that was the smell of the coffee everywhere, but he liked to think it was her.)  Today, however, she was still there, in the flesh, setting up her laptop at that corner table that he would refer to as “Nicole’s table” from now on, even if this was her first and last time.

Under the guise of wiping down the counter, Myungsoo took this time to look at the pseudo-stranger he had become infatuated with. Surprised that he hadn’t noticed earlier, he realized that she looked entirely different today than she did normally. While her attire wasn’t out of the ordinary in any way (she was always dressed in a simple way, with cardigans and some nice flats and such. Not that he noticed.), it was her face that gave him the impression that something was wrong. Usually with a smile as bright as sunshine, was now (barely noticeably, but he saw it anyways) pulled down at the corner. Her hair, normally flowing down her back in loose and relaxed waves, was now pulled into a haphazard fishtail braid that was pulled over one shoulder. Sitting in front of her laptop with her lone cup of coffee at the furthest corner of the café, Myungsoo felt like his pretty, pretty infatuation looked much too despondent.

. . . . . . . . .

When Nicole came in the next day, looking the exact same way as yesterday, she didn’t say her usual order of One Grande Java Chip Frappuccino, please. That was what threw Myungsoo’s mind into overdrive when he wrote down her new order, because she wasn’t supposed to be like this.

The following weeks passed by in a similar manner.  The newly despondent Nicole, whose smile never reached her eyes anymore and whose outfits got sloppier with each passing day, ordered something new every time she stepped up to the counter now. What never changed, however, was that she always claimed that far-back table for herself now. Even on the busiest morning days, she would arrive early enough to claim the table and stay there for a few hours. While Myungsoo liked having a longer period of time to see her, and to fail at working up his courage to approach her, he didn’t like seeing her so … glum.

One day, however, Nicole walked in looking … well, looking like her old self. Myungsoo felt his heart lighten as soon as he saw her in the way that had intrigued him in the first place.

“One Grande Java Chip Frappuccino, please.”

Myungsoo saw her truly smile again after so long and decided that today’s the day. He would go up to her after she seated herself, say whatever the hell it was that came to mind and probably make a fool of himself – But he wouldn’t let this opportunity go away. He would get her to notice him and perhaps a bit more. Suddenly, he heard her name being called and he began steeling himself to finally make his move.

Except his opportunity never came because Nicole picked her drink up and whisked herself out the door like a breeze of wind that was never meant to have entered the shop in the first place.

She didn’t come back the next day, or the day after, or the week after, or the month after. Myungsoo was left with nothing but her name and the regret of being a coward.

. . . . . . . . .

This week would be his last working at the café. After repairing his shortly strained relations with his parents, he wouldn’t have to be working at this place anymore. While he would miss the ever-present smell of coffee and the companionship of his co-workers, he could always make his own coffee at home and keep up with them somehow. If he really wanted to be a lawyer, he would need all the time possible to focus on his studies. There was a dull, dull pain as he thought of a petite and bright girl that he never got to meet again, but he let those thoughts slip away.

The days passed by as conventionally as they could until his last day hit. Myungsoo had his elbow propped on the raised counter to the left of the cash register as his eyes bored down on his textbook. He faintly heard the chime announcing someone entering the café and, with some pain because his exam was quickly approaching, he tore his eyes away from the book.          

“One Grande Java Chip Frappuccin, please.”

His head snapped up before he could help himself and he realized that his neck would be feeling the effects of that tomorrow. But that was of no consequence now because she was there in front of him, smiling as if she hadn’t just abandoned him for seven whole months. (But it’s not abandonment when you were the one too afraid to talk to her, his thoughts told him.)

“C-coming right up.”

Oh god, he just stuttered. He was supposed to escape this place unscathed on his last day, and he just stuttered in front of the pretty, pretty girl that finally came back. His last day. This was it, he realized. If he didn’t do something today, he probably would never see her again. And really, what was there to lose if she rejected him? Still… he didn’t think he could handle her rejection. Without really thinking, he told his co-worker who was about to prepare Nicole’s drink that he could handle this one.  Myungsoo was surprised to see that his hands weren’t shaking as he was doing so. He put together her drink before finally scrawling what he needed to on her cup. Myungsoo placed her drink on the pick-up counter and called out her name (he really liked the sound of her name on his tongue, he decided), before watching her grab her drink and whisk away as usual. A smile flitted to his lips as he realized what he just did. Today was a good day.

. . . . . . . . .

Nicole took a sip of her drink as she set the alarm for her car and walked towards the office building at a quick pace. It was her first day back in the office after a business trip had taken her away for the past months. She was proud that her firm would trust her when she was so new and young, but she also realized that business trips left her tired. Fresh out college and already working for a distinguished brand, Nicole couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed with it all. That, and the coffee didn’t quite taste the same in Los Angeles as it did in New York, and she found herself craving her regular from the quaint little Starbucks that she liked to frequent in her hometown.

It also helped that the quaint little café had a gorgeous cashier. Nicole found herself flushing when she realized her train of thought, but gave herself a mental pat on the back at her ability to keep her cool every time she ordered. She wasn’t one of those dimwits that just fawned over good looks, after all. Still, it was shocking when she saw that the cashier was the one to prepare her drink today. She liked it when he had called out her name.

Reaching her office, Nicole set down her drink and bag and mentally prepped herself for everything she would need to accomplish today. It was when she was shuffling papers around on her desk in an attempt to organize them that something on her cup caught her eye. Where her name was supposed to be was a rather long string of characters, much longer than the six letters of “Nicole” that was for sure. Picking up her cup, she gave it a closer examination and felt giddy butterflies erupt in her stomach as she realized what it said. In place of where her name should have been written on the cup, a boyish scrawl had written “For the prettiest girl I’ll ever meet.” Nicole bit her lip in order to contain the overwhelming smile waiting to burst out because the gorgeous cashier thought she was pretty! Soon, she became lost in thought. What was she supposed to say him when she saw him there tomorrow morning? “Hi, you’re the prettiest boy I’ll ever meet!” seriously wouldn’t cut it, especially since she knew guys didn’t especially appreciate being called … pretty (even if it was the truth). Well, she decided, since she was always an assertive and out-going person, she’d figure out what to do at that point in time. For now, she’d need try and calm the fluttering in her stomach and get back to work.

She was pretty sure that the sound of her heart being crushed was audible when she inquired about a certain cashier’s whereabouts the next morning, only to be told by his manager that yesterday had been his last day of work at their establishment.

. . . . . . . . .

Lounging about in a chair at the café he used to be employed at, Myungsoo felt more relaxed than he had in a long time. It was summer now, and all the stress that came with going to school seemed to be gone. Now, instead of looking forward to some mid-term that he would always cram for, he could look forward to doing whatever the hell he wanted to with his summer. He had just left a meet-up with his six best friends, who had flown in from California just to see him, and was now left with a lethargic sense of happiness. He hadn’t seen them physically, despite the fact they had all kept in touched, since their high school graduation. Being the only one to opt for a university in New York instead of staying in California, that was understandable though. He had offered to tour them around, but they had declined saying that they’d like to sightsee from a fresh perspective. They had also said that he had had a severe case of stupidity when he told them of his crush (of massive proportions) on the pretty café girl, whose name he didn’t dare reveal to them. Even though he told them that it was too late for regrets, they still told him to go for it. Or, rather, Dongwoo shouted an exuberant “Cowards never win!” at him before all of his friends simultaneously ran out on him to begin their New York adventures.

Now, sitting alone at what he used to believe was Nicole’s table (but who knew if she even frequented here anymore? People did move on, after all), Myungsoo wondered how to go about with his friends’ advice. He could always take the coward’s way out and forbid his mind from dwelling on the girl any longer, but Myungsoo had to admit that he was getting a bit fed up with his stagnant lifestyle. He hadn’t gone on a date for over a year, mostly his own fault because he couldn’t seem to conquer his infatuation, and he had to admit he was feeling lonely. So, he decided that he would approach Nicole. The problem that arose, though, was the fact that he had no idea where or even how he could approach her. He racked his brains, thinking of any clue she may have accidentally left as to her occupation or something of the sort, but came up with nothing. His only hope was for fate to be as so kind to bring her in his path once more, perhaps even at this very table.

. . . . . . . . .

Nicole was at a loss. It was a beautiful summer day and she didn’t have any work to do. Being the workaholic that she was, Nicole had no idea what to do on such a fine day. Normally, she had friends to fall back on, but they all seemed to be busy with something or another. So, that left her sitting on a park bench by a small lake, thinking of ways to possibly entertain herself. Fruitless thinking, it turned out to be, because she had warmed her seat on that particular bench for about an hour and a half now. With a heavy sigh, Nicole reached to adjust the small satchel she was wearing and was in the midst of standing up when she heard her name called out. Turning to face the source of the exuberant voice, Nicole broke into an ear-splitting grin as she caught sight of a familiar group of boys.

“Woohyun!”

She quickly jogged over to the group and engulfed the owner of said name in a big hug, which was happily returned. Nicole couldn’t contain the overwhelming sense of happiness at the unexpected encounter with the six males that she all saw in an almost brotherly light. During her somewhat extended business trip to Los Angeles, she had found herself a bit of an awkward outcast. The attitudes of people in Los Angeles were a far cry from what she was used to in her little city. On one of her little sight-seeing excursions through town on her weekends, however, Nicole chanced upon this rather eccentric group of individuals. She was surprised to learn that they were all Korean, just like her. Even more shocking was that they were all relatively the same age, give or take a few months, and everyone had gotten along splendidly from the moment they had all introduced themselves (Woohyun, Dongwoo, Sungyeol, Sungjong, Howon, and Sunggyu, she had learned their names were). During her business stay, the boys had taken turns showing her around the city, to the point where she felt as if she had lived there for as long as they did. They were all like the siblings she had wanted, but never been granted by her parents. Seeing them appear so suddenly in her hometown gave her more than just a warm feeling inside.

After a brief explanation as to what they were doing there in New York, the rowdy group decided that they wanted to show Nicole exactly why they were there. Visiting an old friend! You should totally meet him! You’ll love him just like you love us! Those were Sungyeol’s exact words and she smiled faintly as she felt someone grasp her wrist and pull her along. Who was she to deny an offer of friendship, albeit an indirect one, anyways? It wasn’t as if she had anything to do with her day, so this little bit of adventure should provide interesting. Nicole always did love the time she spent with the guys.

“That little jerk better be where we left him!”

Never one to let an opportunity to make a new friend pass by, Nicole sure hoped the “little jerk” was.

. . . . . . . . .

It was a wonderful twist of fate, Woohyun decided. On the way back to Starbucks, the boys had enthusiastically asked Nicole about her life since she had returned from L.A. Somewhere along her storytelling, she had let it slip that she harbored regrets for not getting to know the cashier at a coffee shop she frequented. Without having to communicate with one another, the group of guys had instantly known that it was their missing member she was referring to. Giddy with anticipation and the thought that the two would soon be reunited (oh, the looks on their faces! was what each boy thought), they had all sped up their walking pace.

Now in front of the café, Woohyun didn’t think his grin could grow any wider. He and Howon had walked ahead of everyone else by a bit, so they were the first ones to notice through the glass windows that Myungsoo was working behind the register. Even though his head was down, Woohyun knew it was him. They weren’t quite sure what led this to happen, but they noticed his stuff was still at the table from before.

Turning back to the others, Woohyun made a great effort to bring Nicole’s attention to him. He didn’t want her to look through the window prematurely and ruin the surprise. He babbled on for a bit about caffeine and how great it was and what a quaint place this Starbucks was and how they would look for their friend. All of that, before he grabbed her wrist and pulled her in through the door, happy that he had confused her enough so that she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings.

With a quick “We see our friend’s stuff and we already drank earlier so you go order and come to the table after!”, the group of boys fled to the table, leaving Nicole at the register by herself.

. . . . . . . . .

Myungsoo let his head drop to crossed arms the counter, slightly regretting his decision to cover for a worker as they ran a bit late for their shift. The manager had seen him sitting in the corner and had nearly begged him to take over for a bit, with the promise of repayment in the future. Knowing that he would feel guilty if he said no, Myungsoo grudgingly agreed to relinquish part of his free day to help out. There was nothing to do though, as no customers seemed to come in today. Still bored, Myungsoo continued to allow his arms to act as a pillow for his head.

Oddly enough, he seemed to hear the voices of his friends outside, although a bit muffled. Perhaps they had finished their sightseeing and decided to come back and retrieve him. Yes, it was unmistakably Woohyun’s voice that penetrated through the door now, rambling about caffeine or something another. The door chimed open and based on the sounds of footsteps it seemed that the guys were all … walking away from him? Myungsoo figured that they didn’t realize it was him at the register, but would soon deduce it, given the fact that he had left his stuff on the table he sat at earlier.

He felt his blood run cold when a familiar voice lightly said, “One Grande Java Chip Frappuccino, please.” It couldn’t be her, could it? Myungsoo didn’t want to get his hopes up, but the voice and the specificity with which the order was said all implied that it was the girl he couldn’t get over. Lifting his head up, he was somewhat relieved to see that the shock in his eyes was mirrored in hers. It was a good feeling to know that she recognized him, at the very least. He coughed to cover up his bout of silence, before quickly muttering that her order would be coming up. Busying himself with making her frappe, he failed to see the disappointment in Nicole’s eyes as she mistook his hasty retreat as a sign of him not remembering her. Out of the corner of his eye, Myungsoo could see her fiddling with the hem of her shirt and wondered if he had unintentionally done something to make her feel bad. Ignoring the sudden thumping of his heart, he decided it was probably best to just finish her order and join his friends. Taking a deep breath, he returned to the waiting girl and plastered his best I’m not affected by your presence, not at all! smile on, before holding out her drink for her.

“Here, Nicole, your order is ready.”

. . . . . . . . .

Startled out of her thoughts, Nicole accepted the drink before realization set in and her face lit up.

“You remember me!”

She laughed a bit, upon seeing the startled look on the face opposite of her. He was very clearly confused by her outburst, seeing as their interactions with each other had been limited to her ordering a drink and him taking it.

“My name! Nicole! You remembered it even though you didn’t ask me for my name today!”

. . . . . . . . .

Myungsoo could almost hear his jaw drop as he realized his mistake. Well … aish. He had been planning to just carry on as usual, with him and Nicole being strangers and what-not, but his hand had just been painfully revealed.

“I, uh … You, back then, every day … With the frappucino, 7:42AM … Uh … The table in the corner … You are a loyal customer of this Starbucks branch and employees are taught to always value loyal customers.”

Myungsoo winced at how dorky he sounded, and oh man, did he really just have to bring up the fact that he knew the precise time she had come in each day? His attempt of a suave cover-up with his last sentence was completely negated by how lame he sounded the moment he opened his mouth. He wanted to just melt into the floor right now, because he was pretty sure his friends were being witnesses to his rather uncharming display.

            . . . . . . . . .

If there was one thing that Nicole was to be described as, it would be outgoing. So, despite the cashier’s rather endearing attempt at being nonchalant, she decided that she wasn’t one to let this opportunity go to waste. Taking a quick glance at his name tag, after feeling a bit silly for not doing so before so that she wouldn’t have to just know his as “cashier boy”, she began to try to dispel any misunderstandings he might have towards her. He had been the one to “confess” before, with that message on her cup, so Nicole felt that it was only fair to let him know what she thought of him as well.

“Well, Myungsoo, I’d like to let you know that you’re the most handsome of any of the guys I’ve ever met!”

Despite her daring words, she still felt heat rise to her cheeks. Nicole hoped that she wasn’t mistaken that he would remember his written words to her from before. When she heard cheering from behind her, she didn’t know whether to feel even more embarrassed or encouraged. Nicole had completely forgotten about the group of guys that had taken here for a moment. Turning around fiercely, she gave them a pout that had the boys stop their cheering and turn it into laughing. Looking back at Myungsoo, she gave a sheepish smile before saying, “Uh, sorry about them. They’re kind of rowdy but they’re good people, I swear!”

“Wait, you know my friends?”

His friends? Clarity sparked as Nicole realized that Myungsoo was the one that the guys had initially brought her here to be introduced to.

“You’re the little jerk!”

            . . . . . . . . .

Myungsoo’s eyebrows furrowed at the petite girl before him. Sure, he hadn’t been suave, but to call him a jerk out of the blue like that? He was about to question her when she began to ramble out some sort of apology.
 

“Oh no, I don’t mean you’re a jerk! You’re actually really nice and stuff, even though we haven’t really talked much, but I can still tell that you’re nice because I have good intuition you know! The guys are the ones that called you a jerk, well, I mean I don’t think they meant it in a bad way, but they brought me here to meet their friend, and I’m guessing that’s you so hi! I’m Nicole, except you already know that and I hope that we can get to know each other more and become friends too! Because I really don’t think you’re a jerk, I wouldn’t want to be friends with a jerk in the first pl–”

He coughed, effectively breaking her ramble and allowing her to catch a breath. This was the most he had ever heard her speak, and he decided that he liked it. Seeing her flustered effectively dispelled the “high maintenance” image he held for her long ago. Also, knowing that his friends had “approved” of her, although he would have to question how they all got to meet each other later on, was rather relieving as well. Myungsoo’s mind felt a bit lighter and more at ease, because now that Nicole’s personality had been presented to him, he felt as if he could be more easy-going around her as well.

“I’d like to be friends with you too, Nicole.”

A light smile broke out on her face and Myungsoo felt the nerves that had built up in anticipation for what he was about to say next dissipate at the sight.

“For now, at least.”

“I … huh?” were the words that came out of Nicole’s mouth. He realized that it seemed like he only wanted to be her friend for a short while, so he continued on with what he had to say.

“What I mean is, I want to friends just for now, because I was hoping we could be … something more later on. Ah, what I want to say is, would you like to get coffee with me some time? Not here of course, but somewhere else! But not as friends …”

Okay, so his nerves hadn’t dissipated at all. At least he had gotten his message across, albeit in a messier way than he would have hoped.

“Only if they can make my Java Chip Frappuccino.”

Myungsoo’s face was overtaken by a grin as he realized that this was her way of accepting, if the bright smile that mirrored his on her face was anything to go by. Despite both being well beyond their middle school years, it felt as if they were little kids receiving each other’s first confessions, goofy grins and all. Trying to hide her happiness, Nicole took a sip of the drink that was slowly melting but found that it tasted even better than before, and she knew that a certain boy’s confession had a lot to do with that.

. . . . . . . . .

“Now let’s go discipline those guys back there, because I can hear them cackling at our expense.”