AN: i just edited this a bit like just slightly and changed the layout so if u dont wanna reread it dont even bother haahhaaaaahahahahahhaa

enjoy :)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

She was seated directly in front of him.

Her hair ruffled in the soft breeze coming through the half open window, and her cream scarf fluttered like a severed butterfly wing.

Joonmyeon had no idea why he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

He watched as she took out her phone, and, staring at the screen, smiled softly, her eyes crinkling up at the edges. I wish I could make her smile like that too.

The bus jolted to a stop, and as she stood up, their eyes met for a split second. A small smile graced her full lips, then she was gone.

Joonmyeon couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the bus ride.

The bells hanging on the glass doors tinkled delightfully as she, snugly wrapped up in layers of pastel woolly jumpers and thick jackets, entered.

Joonmyeon nearly dropped the steaming coffee onto the floor.

He couldn’t believe his luck.

Maybe his job as a barista wasn’t that bad after all, despite the measly pay.

She walked up to the counter and smiled at him. “Hmmm...I’ll have a...um, what would you recommend?” She blinked at him, her long dark lashes brushing her cheekbones.

It took Joonmyeon a few seconds to respond. “Personally, I’d choose a caramel macchiato, but then a mint chocolate is good in this weather, but, mmmm, green tea lattes are a tad less sweet, and, um…” He stopped, realizing she was laughing at him.

“You’re so cute,” she said, smiling widely.

Joonmyeon heart fluttered wildly, like a trapped bird in a cage.

Pursing her lips, she ordered a caramel macchiato, unconsciously twirling a lock of her wavy hair around a slim finger. Joonmyeon noticed she was wearing pale pink nail polish. It looked really pretty on her.

He handed her the coffee, trying not to look awkward.

She thanked him sweetly, nodded to his nametag and said, “Bye, Joonmyeon!”

Then she left in a flurry of woolly clothing.

His friend Xiumin winked at him and said, “Looks like SOMEONE’S in luuurve,” nudging him and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“She’s probably so weirded out by me she won’t come back,” Joonmyeon muttered, blushing. I hope she does.

Little did he know, he was very wrong.

“I’m baaaack! Miss me?” She bounced in through the glass doors, donning a pale blue ribbon in her hair, the exact color of the sky on a clear summer morning. She rested her elbows on the counter and smiled and Joonmyeon, reminding him of a kitten exposed to large amounts of catnip.

Joonmyeon was sure he was going to have a seizure. Boy, he was sure he was going to have a ! He smiled back at her and asked, “W-w-what

would you l-l-like to order?”

Laughing, she winked at him. “A caramel macchiato, of course. Oh, and with extra syrup and soy milk.”

Joonmyeon couldn’t help but smile as he prepared her drink, with all the additional changes she asked for. He handed her her coffee, unable to keep the grin off his face. “Here you go, miss.”

She waved a slender hand offhandedly and said, “Pshh, don’t call me ‘miss’! That makes me sound old. I have a name, and it’s Park Chorong.”

Suddenly, the colors around him became sharper, the lights brighter and the scents sharper, and his stupid heart began to thump at an irregular pace.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Joonmyeon’s slow reflexes caused him to reply a few seconds too late. “Okay, Chorong.”

Pleased, Chorong fluttered her fingers at him and walked out of the coffee shop, the bells jingling as she departed as if yearning for her to come back.

Days, weeks, and months passed, and Chorong became a regular visitor at the coffee shop. Joonmyeon always knew to add extra syrup and exchange the milk for soy milk, and she would smile every time she took the coffee out of his hands.

Each time, Joonmyeon would leave a message inside the paper sleeve, and Chorong would usually return the in the most indirect way possible, slipping them in shelves, slits between coffee machines, etcetera. Once, she was even cunning enough to leave her phone number in the sleeve, and when Joonmyeon saw the string of numbers written neatly on the inside of the paper sleeve, he knocked over a steaming cup of espresso onto Xiumin's shirt, earning himself a sharp tug on his ear from the older man.

Joonmyeon was the happiest man alive.

The tinkling of the bells was mixed in with the muffled sound of sobs, and Chorong walked in, wiping tears from her face. Abandoning his post,

Joonmyeon walked over to her and put an arm around her. “Chorongie, are you okay?”

Chorong smiled at him half-heartedly and sniffed. “Of course I am.” She leaned onto Joonmyeon’s shoulder and sighed as salty tears ran down her face.

“Apart from the fact I just got kicked out of my house, I’m fine.”

"What, did your parents find out you had a secret stash of crack in your bedroom or something?" Joonmyeon joked halfheartedly. He was rewarded with a blank stare from Chorong. Okay, maybe that wasn't so funny.

“Uh, sorry. Forget I said anything, haha. Why don’t we go out and just, um, forget stuff for a while?” Joonmyeon suggested. The moment the words left his mouth he bit his lip and stared at her, regretting his careless words.

Chorong stared at him in shock.

They stared at each other for a while, and the tension in the air was thick enough to be cut with a chainsaw.

Chorong broke the icy silence by pulling him up and out the door, kissing his cheek. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard in a long while.”

Joonmyeon regretted his words no more.

“Rongie-yah!” Joonmyeon exclaimed into his phone, flopping back onto his comforter and beaming profusely. “Why did you call at a time like this?”

Her smile was almost audible through the phone. “Because I was bored.”

Joonmyeon laughed, and he settled back onto the fluffy sheets. “Aren’t you always bored?” Holding the phone between his ear and shoulder, he reached for the pitcher on his bedside table, poured himself a cup of water and took a sip.

“Mmmm, not when I’m with you.”

The pitcher slipped out of his limp grimp and shattered into a million glass pieces onto the floor. “H-h-h-huh?”

“You heard me,” Chorong giggled, and Joonmyeon did a double take. How did she not hear the pitcher shatter? “Oh, and by the way, d’you want to meet up tomorrow after your shift ends?”

Time seemed to stop for Joonmyeon, and the air grew denser, like treacle, sweet, honey-like treacle that parents would trickle into yoghurt so kids would eat it. The only thing audible was the hammering of the red, fist-sized muscle in his chest called his heart. Why am I so nervous? It’s not like we’ve never gone out before...ugh, I'm such a klutz...

Joonmyeon stammered, “Y-y-y-y-yeah, sure! Why not?” How smooth of me!

“‘Kay then, see you!” Chorong hung up.

Joonmyeon dropped the phone, unable to stop grinning, and knelt down awkwardly, picking up the jagged glass remains of his beloved pitcher on the floor as he hummed 'Gee' under his breath.