C h a p t e r   XXII

[Kim Sunggyu - Light]

[7/5/14] [*Co-author's note: Yeah, yeah, yeah! I'm back!! It's my turn to make a new chapter! Lalala~ How are the polls going on? Just vote, vote, and vote, eo? The last time I checked, GyuTae is ahead by 3 votes in the old poll and also GyuTae is ahead by 4 votes (as of 6/28/2014) in the latest poll... Aish! It's really hard to choose... seriously....... But ..everything's  already planned, and the only thing you can do (readers) is to look forward to the next chapters.. The primary author & I are just busy, so please bear with us. I swear! Everything will be very exciting........ The TWIST is quite near....... Look forward to it, okay? Of course, I hate SPOILERS hahaha... I prefer CLIFFHANGERS... But as for now, it is only just the beginning.... hahaha ....... Patience, patience, patience. Okay? By the way, don't forget to support the primary author's other ff. for GyuTae fans out there: http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/702060/aftertime-angst-romance-sunggyu-taeyeon-infinitexsnsd-taegyu-gyutae]

*IMPORTANT NOTE: THERE WAS A MISSING PART IN THE 5TH CHAPTER (THE WICKEDNESS OF THE MR. GREASY MAN) AND THE PRIMARY AUTHOR HAS ALREADY FIXED IT LAST JUNE 29.

I WILL JUST EDIT THE TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS NEXT TIME, OKAY?

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9:00 am, Tuesday, Hope Café

“I wonder when we will have another staff member here. There are only seven of us here, including the two managers themselves.” Junho expressed while he was working on with the Affogato that the customer sitting on table number 3 has ordered.

Yoseob commented, preparing the dressing of the salad that one of the customers has ordered, “I do not mind it though, actually. I think it is not bad that we are only few here.”

“I second that motion! I think with us only being few here, it will be much easier for us to bond with each other.” Baro agreed.

“Bonding? Or do you mean that it will be much easier for you to bond with Taeyeon-ssi?” Kikwang joked as he was putting the plates on the dish washer.

Baro complained as he wiped the counter with a white damp cloth, “Psh! Stop teasing me, Kikwang-hyung! Didn't I mention before that we are only friends?" 

“Whatever you say, Cha Sun-woo. By the way, customers at table numbers 6 & 7 ordered two Osaka cakes and two Espressos.” The older one scoffed, wiping the beads of sweat covering his face before he went out of the kitchen.

“That man.. He surely loves teasing this cute dongsaeng of ours.” Yoseob observed and soon smiled when he finished the salad he was making. “Anyway, I will just serve this one. Be good guys, okay? Junho and Baro, behave. Please do not mess up here, arasseo?”

He left the kitchen afterwards, leaving the two men behind with Lee Junho scoffing inwardly after hearing the former’s words.

“Behave? What are we ‘dogs?’ That ahjussi-like Yang Yoseob! That man speaks as if he is older than me.” Junho blurted as he slammed a spoon on the counter hardly.

Baro said plainly as he fixed the coffee containers on top of the counter, “Well, he really is. By twenty days, right?”

“Whatever. Yeah, yeah. By twenty days. That isn’t too much, right?” The older one hissed as he placed the Affogato he was making earlier on a brown tray.

“THE AFFOGATO for TABLE NUMBER 3!” A loud voice was heard near the kitchen door. It was Yang Yoseob’s voice who had just served a plate of Caesar salad for the customer sitting on the table number 4.

Junho who was quite annoyed had the urge to roll his eyes in irritation before he shouted back, “NAE, NAE. AFFOGATO FOR TABLE NUMBER 3 IS COMING.”

“Annyeong haseyo, my name is Kim Dongjun! It is a pleasure to meet every one of you here.” A man who was wearing a red checkered polo shirt and a blank denim pants greeted the staff of the Hope Café with a big smile curved on his face. He politely bowed down his head as he continued, “I hope we can get along well with each other.”

The staff members bowed down their heads as they said in unison, “Annyeong haseyo, Dongjun-ssi. Nice to meet you too.” Soon, they introduced themselves one by one. The only female staff, Kim Taeyeon was not present at that time since the manager of the café, Nam Woohyun assigned her to buy some goods at Hongdae for the upcoming event at their shop.

Mr. Bong and Woohyun bowed their heads down as well as they both said, “Annyeong haseyo, Dongjun-ssi. Welcome to our café. It is also a pleasure to meet you.”

“Thank you, Sir Woohyun and Mr. Bong.” The man said as he bowed down his head once again.

“Being the assistant manager of this café, I would like to do the further introduction of Dongjun-ssi in behalf of our manager. He will now be a part of our café’s staff, so please watch over him. He has the skills in baking, but still needs improvement in coffee making, so I hope all of you will help him improve and nurture the skills he need in order to work as part of our staff members.”

“Yes, we will.” All of them said in unison.

“Anyway, Kim Taeyeon who is the only female staff here is not present at this moment since she had to run an errand for the manager. But, you will meet her soon. By the way, I will be handing you your uniforms later.” The old man explained.

“Ah, nae.” Dongjun nodded his head. "I understand, Mr. Bong."

“Please do your best, Dongjun-ssi. We are looking forward to your performance.” Woohyun said to the new employee. "You will be starting today, okay?"

Dongjun replied as he bowed his head down, “Yes, Sir. I hope I can get along well with everyone, and I promise to do my very best.”

“Hwaiting..” Junho suddenly muttered which earned him a confused glance from the other staff members, so he paused for a while before he cheerfully said as he looked away from them, pumping his arms on the air, “Hwaiting! Hwaiting! Hwaiting, Dongjun-ssi!”

They chuckled before they imitated what the man had said, “Hwaiting! Hwaiting, Dongjun-ssi!”

"Where do you intend to go, Madame? It has been two months since you arrived her at Jeonju." An old woman who appeared to be in late fifties asked, fixing the eyeglasses which were supporting her sight.

"Seoul. I want to go to Seoul." The young lady answered back, putting down the broadsheet which was covering her face. Placing the newspaper on top of the table, she folded her legs before she added, "I want to go there as soon as possible."

The old woman curiously asked, "Seo-seoul? If you would not mind, I would like to ask why you want to go there."

"Well, I want to visit someone there. Someone who I know when I was on my childhood years." She replied back to the woman's question with a subtle smile forming on her face.

"Someone?" Fascinated with her answer, the ahjumma asked.

"That man.. He has really changed for the past years." The young lady paused for a while after rubbing a part of her chin with her left thumb finger. "And I want to meet him again after the long time that has passed."

"Who could that be?" The old woman bowed her head as she said, "Yes, Madame. I will inform Madame Shin-ae that you will be going to Seoul."

"Thank you, Mrs. Roh. Please tell Mr. Yoo and my aunt Shin-ae that I intend to go there two days from now." The lady said as she bowed her head down as well before she left.

Noticing how the young lady stared at a picture at the next page which was probably at the second or third page of the newspaper that the old woman was not able to see properly while the young lady was reading a while ago, she was killed by her curiosity. Madly curious who the person who she was referring to, the ahjumma picked up the newspaper which was on top of the table as her eyes read the headline which was written in big and bold letters:

"Legend and Undomitable: Nam Corporation as the leading company across the country vows to provide the best quality of service they can give to the South Korean nation."

"Who could that person that Madame was referring to?" The ahjumma mumbled before she turned the newspaper to the next page.

Reading a part of the headline's article written at the next page, the old woman was silent, focusing on what she was reading.

"With the legendary and powerful corporation's executive director who business experts say is the future successor of the company, many are having their high hopes and expection that Nam Corporation will continue to dominate the industry with its massive success."

At the right corner of the aforementioned article was a picture of the Nam Corporation's incumbent president along with his son, the executive director of the company.

Amazed with how good-looking and how successful he was at a tender age was the future president of the Nam Corporation and also his father, the president who had been handling the company for decades, the old woman had gaped widely. "Like father, like son. Haha~ Very good-looking and also filthy rich people."

Pause, pause. The ahjumma folded the newspaper and placed it back on top of the table.

"Oh wait, hold on." She inferred while tapping her chin, "Could it be that Madame was referring to this young man? Is he her friend, or maybe her... But isn't it that..... Aish! Whatever! I am too old to be nosy. Nevermind."

"Taengjumma!" A deep hoarse voice of a man was heard which awakened the woman who was taking a nap on the kitchen. "Ya! Wake up! Wake up, sleepyhead Ahjumma." He teased as he sat on the long marble bench beside the sleepy woman while ruffling her hair who had her head slumping on an empty kitchen counter.

Rubbing her eyes as they slowly opened, she instantly had the surprise reaction on her face once the man appeared right in front of her eyes with his face welcoming her face with their very close gap. Taeyeon mumbled, "Sunggyu-seong.... Sunggyu-ssi, annyeong haseyo." 

"Annyeong haseyo, Taengjumma." He answered back with a genuine smile forming on his face. "Why are you sleeping here, huh?"

Too close gaps. Awkward. Silence. Their eyes were locked for a couple of minutes.

"I felt tired buying goods at Hongdae." Brushing off the odd silence, she plainly answered back before she broke the close gap of their faces by moving away from him. 

"Hey! It is not like I have a terminal or contagious disease." Sunggyu humorously expressed as he moved near to her. "Why do you always act like that?"

"Act like what?" Taeyeon innocently questioned as she moved away a little bit from him. "I do not see anything unusual with the way I act, Sunggyu-ssi."

"See that? It seems like you are backing away from me again. Ms. Kim Taeyeon, I have just gone to my doctor yesterday, and I was not diagnose with any disease." He moved near her again which made the latter shoot him a 'what-the-hell-are-you-doing' look.

"What?" She asked in slight annoyance as she moved away. 

Sunggyu clung his arm on her shoulders which halt her from moving away from him. He hissed, "Do I have to repeat it all over again? I said that I am not sick with a contagious disease, so can you please stop moving away from me?"

She fell silent as she looked away from him which made him release shoulder from his grip. Momentarily, Sunggyu pulled off a grumpy reaction on his face as he purposely let his shoulder bump her shoulder. "Hey! Why are you being like this? Did I do something wrong? Hey! Tell me, Taeyeon-ssi. What is wrong with you? Why are you having your mood--"

Taeyeon mumbled before she closed her eyes, "No, there is none. I am sorry. I am just feeling tired. I am sorry, Sunggyu-ssi."

"Ah alright. I understand. I also apologize for being overacting. Anyway, have you heard about the new employee? I heard his name is Kim Dong-jun."

Silence.

Sunggyu noticed her peculiar silence, so he asked, "Taeyeon-ssi, are you listening--" Unknown to him while he was speaking with his eyes staring at the ceiling emptily, the woman fell asleep again with her head landing exactly on his broad shoulder. "Hey, Taeyeon-ssi. I am asking--"

The man turned his eyes to her as his words were halted back the moment he saw Taeyeon sleeping peacefully on his shoulder. "And now, you are sleeping. Kim Taeyeon, do you seriously love pulling off a prank on me?" Sunggyu chuckled silently, letting his arm cling again on her shoulders.

"Sleepyhead Ahjumma.. beautiful Taengjumma. You must be very tired, right?" He whispered sweetly as he smiled. "Sleep well."

"Annyeong haseyo, Je ireumeun Kim Dongjun imnida. It is a pleasure to meet you." The young man politely bowed his head down as he smiled shyly. "Is she really the Kim Taeyeon that Junho-sunbae and the rest were talking about? Aigoo! She is so pretty. No, she is a Goddess! Darn! Eotteokhae? Eotteokhae? My heart! I think I am dying here!"

"Annyeong haseyo, Dongjun-ssi. My name is Kim Taeyeon. I am also pleased to meet you." She introduced herself formally as she also bowed down. "Welcome to the Hope Café, Dongjun-ssi."

"Thank you, Godd-- I mean, Taeyeon-sunbae. I am really glad to meet you." He stammered as he tried to hide his red cheeks by lowering down his head. "A beautiful woman like you... Kyahh! I am really dying here. Kim Dongjun, brace yourself up."

"Since Mr. Bong mentioned to me an hour ago that you have enough skills in baking, I will just have to train you in coffee preparation. He assigned me to be the one to train you for the next three weeks. Coffee preparation is where you should improve because as a staff of this café, you should know the basic skills in that." She explained while the new staff member, Kim Dongjun was drowned with different thoughts of her. "I hope you will improve even if the training will just be within a short period of time."

"Do not worry about it, Taeyeon-ssi. If it is you who will teach me, I will definitely listen. Aigoo! I really cannot imagine that I am in front of this Goddess." Noticing how her face hardened after seeing him unfocused with what she was explaining, Dongjun was snapped out from his trivial thoughts as he affirmed, "Nae, I understand. I will do my very best in order to improve, Taeyeon-sunbae."

"Alright, Dongjun-ssi. I will be heading back to the kitchen because I have to finish the pastries for today. Please assist the other staff members in serving the foods to the customers. Kamsahamnida." She said, bowing her head down before heading back to the kitchen.

"Aigoo! Aigoo! She really is beautiful. I just wonder why she had that cold aura in her." Dongjun muttered, stretching his neck in opposite directions. "Maybe, Taeyeon-sunbae is just like that. Ooh~ So, sunbae is an 'ice princess'. Wow! That is very interesting."

"Ya! Dongjun-dongsaenggie!" Dongjun flinched from where he was standing when he felt a hard pat on his left shoulder and heard a loud voice from his co-staff member. "Uhh~ Junho-sunbae, what is the matter?"

"Ya! Ya! Ya! We are like brothers here, so as a new member of our team, I will also treat you as my brother. Brush off the honorofics, Dongjun-dongsaeng. Just call me 'hyung', arasseo?" He blurted, waving his index finger repetitively.

"Nae, Junho-sunbae. Ooops.. What I meant was Junho-hyung."

The older one clung his arm on his hoobae's shoulder as he spoke up, "Dongjun-dongsaeng, you are right. I heard what you have said.  Well, yes. Taeyeon-ssi is really an ice princess. Are you interested in her?"

"Mw-mwo? What are you saying, Junho-hyung? I was not saying anything a while ago. I do not know what you are talking about. And interested... me? No, that is not it. I have just met all of you and Taeyeon-sunbae today, so liking is her is impossible." He firmly denied, pulling off a poker face in front of Junho.

Junho teased, nudging the younger one's elbow, "Jeongmal? Oww~ You are just like Baro-dongsaeng." 

"Huh? Baro-sunbae? What do you mean?" Dongjun innocently questioned.

The older one answered back as he started to walk back, "Denial kings. Both of you are denial kings." 

"Junho-hyung! Denial kings? Hyung-nim, what are you talking about." Dongjun cluelessly asked as he chased after Junho who went inside the kitchen.

"How is work? Is everything doing well?" Sunggyu asked before taking a sip on the cola beside the bowl of ramyun he was eating. They were sitting across each other at the dining area.

"Nae." She nodded her head, giving him a quick glance as she focused on the ramyun she was eating. Time swifted quickly like a breeze. It was already five in the afternoon. She had an early dismissal at work because Dongjun volunteered to take over her shift as a way of showing his gratitude to her after the tiring hours of training he had to undergo with, having her as his trainer.

Sunggyu offered her to have a snack with him at his house at Gangnam. Taeyeon refused it at first, but he insisted her firmly that he almost kneeled down in front of her like a child begging her mother for a candy. He wanted to order two boxes of Italian pizza and he also planned to cook a Ricotto Cavatelli, but his friend thought of eating ramyun instead because it will take much time if he will order for pizza and cook food, so both of them stopped by a convenience store near the cafè before heading to his house.

Actually, she does not like visiting someone else's house, especially if it is a man's. Not unless she is close with that person, she will not hesitate to pay at least a few minute visit. Since Sunggyu is someone who certainly deserves her trust, she decided not to refuse his request. And besides, it will not be her first time to visit his house because the first time she did was during the day both of them went back to Seoul after his birthday that Sunggyu requested her to bake strawberry cookies for him because it has been a while since the last time he ate some. Since the man insisted that it will be his post-birthday celebration, Taeyeon baked two dozen of strawberry cookies for him which eventually made him very happy.

His house was very nice. No, the word 'nice' is an understatement. The place was very spacious and elegant. Who would have thought that the most wanted bachelor slash the successful young businessman, Kim Sunggyu lives alone in such an elegant house? The only things which made it different from the usual luxurious and elegant places were the numerous bookshelves with almost hundreds of books that anyone would be amazed with, proving that behind those black office suits, neckties and suitcases is a simple man who loves reading books. Indeed, Kim Sunggyu is a bookworm.

Blue here, blue there... The place oozed the serenity that will soothe anyone's eyes. Everything in the house will say that Kim Sunggyu loves blue, and his friend, Kim Taeyeon knows it very well.

"That is a relief, then. Anyway, do you want to eat something else? It is almost dinner time, don't you want to eat something more decent?"

"No, thank you. If you want to eat more, you go. Ramyun is enough for me." She plainly answered back as she continued eating ramyun.

He put down his chopsticks as he said firmly, "Ani, this is not enough. Aish! It is not surprising that you have a very petite and thin body. You need to eat a lot of foods, so that you will somehow gain weight."

"This is actually fine. Besides, we are having a snack, aren't we?"

"Anio, anio. I want to cook something. What else do you want to eat?" He asked as he gently stood up from his seat. "I will feel bad if I will send you home with ramyun as the only thing inside your stomach."

"No need. Thank you. I do not want to get fat either." Without looking back at him, Taeyeon shook her head as she continued eating the ramyun.

Sunggyu's face hardened as he muttered, "Alright, just finish your food there. I will just cook bibimbap, kimchi jigae, beef stew and samgyeopsal for dinner."

After hearing his words, she immediately looked back at him as she uttered, "Sunggyu-ssi, there is no need for that. I will go home after finishing this one, so I do not--"

"But, I insisted to. You will be having your dinner here, arasseo?" He landed a soft pat on her head before he left the dining area.

She called out for his name, "Sunggyu-ssi, Sunggyu-ssi. Hold on~" Watching him as he disappeared from her sight, Taeyeon let out a sigh as she pouted like a defeated child. "I guess I can't say 'no' again."

"Sunggyu-ssi."

"Oh, what is it?" The man who was busy chopping onions asked as he turned his head, making his eyes meet the eyes of his friend who had just entered the kitchen.

Taeyeon hesitantly asked, "Do you want some help?"

"Help? There is no need for you to do that. You are a visitor, right?" A sweet smile was formed on his face as he answered back before he continued chopping the onions on the chopping board. "Just sit back and relax, okay?"

"Alright. I understand since you insisted so." Taeyeon said, nodding her head as she started walking out of the kitchen.

Suddenly..

The man winced in pain after accidentally cutting a part of his right index finger's skin with the knife, causing it to bleed moderately. "Ahhh!! Ah!!"

Blood. There were a few drops of blood dripping on the marble floor. Sunggyu winced in pain as he closed his eyes. 

"Sunggyu-ssi, what happened?" Taeyeon worriedly rushed to his side. Her eyes widened when she saw his finger bleeding after obtaining a laceration. "Aigoo! Let us wash your wound first." She hurriedly pulled him to the sink and washed the wound with soap and water.

"Ahh.." Sunggyu groaned loudly, having his face hardening with an apparent reaction of pain. "Apayo."

"Aish.. I offered you some help, but you turned it down. Now, look at what happened." She blurted as she continued wa