CHAPTER 17

U n s p o k e n   T r u t h s

The Milk Tea Shop opens like it had for the past month, at exactly eight in the morning. A bright young boy greets the morning sun with propitious anticipation and a welcome glow. He sweeps the front porch to a familiar tune of B1A4s ‘Amazing.’

Coz’ you are so amazing

Oh baby, you’re so amazing to me

Dalkomhan coffee wi whipping cream chereom

Hyeo kkeyteul gamssaneun your lips

“Well someone woke up on the right side of the bed today.” SunWoo chirps after hearing KyungSoo singing gleefully. “I take it that whatever was bugging you yesterday had resolved itself?”

“Hahaha, well let’s just say I had a good nights’ sleep SunWoo hyung. And how are you this fine Sunday morning?”

“Not bad myself KyungSoo. Listen, my girlfriend will be dropping by later, so I would appreciate it if you man the deck at least for an hour for me, yeah?”

“Sure no problem hyung!” He smiles and proceeds to cleaning the shop interior. Not soon after, customers start flocking the small shop. KyungSoo and SunWoo busy themselves as they take order after order from both regulars and new customers. The amount of people that came today is considerably higher than that of yesterday. He hopes the throng of customers never die down as he didn’t want to deal with a certain co-worker when afternoon comes.

“Hey KyungSoo, I want you to meet my girlfriend, Min DoHee.”

“Annyeonghaseyo DoHee.” KyungSoo bows politely before extending his hand to shake hers.

“Nice to meet you KyungSoo.” The small girl smiles.

“We’ll just be on the porch, if you need anything just holler, ‘kay?”

“Neh hyung. Enjoy. Nice meeting you DoHee.”

--

Surprisingly, around eleven thirty in the morning, the crowd dies down leaving the shop with just three customers plus SunWoo and DoHee on the front porch. He happily drinks the last drop of the strawberry juice that JongIn left for him. He remembers how pleasantly surprised he was when he closed the door to their room earlier when he was about to leave for work and saw a small pink bottle plastered on the door with JongIn’s quirky hand-writing cheering him on.

The shop door opens and before he can greet the person who entered, he quickly closes his mouth and rolls his eyes towards the opposite direction.

“Good morning KyungSoo!”

“Pft.”

“Is that anyway to greet your co-worker on a beautiful Sunday morning?” ChanYeol teases the younger.

“Now that you mention it, SunWoo wants you to take out the trash at the back. How’s that to start your beautiful Sunday?” KyungSoo retorts. He isn’t in the mood to bicker with ChanYeol, but just the thought of bursting the bubble of this inhumanly happy person provides him a pleasant disposition.

“I’m on it.” He happily squeaks. KyungSoo notices how infectious his smile can be. It has that certain luster that can enthuse anyone who sees it. Not that he’s starting to appreciate, but he’s just stating an observation. He’d soon rather puke than to admit to himself that he finds ChanYeol’s smile gorgeous.

Did I just think his smile was gorgeous? What the eff.

He shifts his attention to the two lovers outside. They seem to share an air of bliss between them and he couldn’t help but admire how this couple effuse of luminosity and everything pleasant. He wonders if to others that how he and JongIn looks like. He lets a small smile creep his face as he remembers the date they had last night. He merrily draws heart shapes with his finger against the wooden counter as he let his silent musings take over.

“Ahh, to be young and in love,” KyungSoo’s jolted back to reality, “ain’t it grand?” ChanYeol finishes.

“Yah! What’s the deal startling me like that!?” He demands. He hides his smile under a fake façade of annoyance; he hopes the other doesn’t take wind of this.

“I’ve been here for two minutes already. Well, I can definitely understand why you didn’t notice me. You had this ludicrous glaze about you as if you’ve stepped in a world of your own.” KyungSoo blinks furiously at the ridiculous observation that was thrown to him.

“Well I’ll have you know, Mr. Park, that yes I do have my own world. And in my world I run a business. It’s called ‘there’s no business like keeping the away from mine.’”

“Wow, and how’s business? Dismal I suppose.”

“Why are we having this conversation? Who told you can talk to me?”

“Well in my world Mr. Do, I also run a business. It’s called ‘we’re workmates.’”

“Well your business .”

“I don’t see anyone else loving your business.”

“Well you don’t live in my world so you don’t know anything.”

“So why don’t you let me?”

“Let you what?”

“Let me into your world, must be grand in there the way you go on about it.” ChanYeol’s having the time of his life. Since his return, this is the longest he has ever talked to KyungSoo. It isn’t exactly the dialogue he’s been picturing, but beggars at this point, cannot be choosers.

“I’ll have you know that I work well with people if they leave me the alone.”

“Why are you so bitter?”

“Why are you so nosy?”

“I asked you first KyungSoo.”

“I asked you second ChanYeol.”

“Okay fine. I don’t have a lot of friends. I just moved in to town so I was kinda hoping to meet new people.”

“By pouring drinks on them and stealing their bestfriends? Well good luck with that.” ChanYeol bites his lip at this point. This definitely isn’t the direction he wants their conversation to go.

“Look KyungSoo, I didn’t mean for any of those to happen. They just,” He pauses for a while. KyungSoo takes this opportunity to examine the taller boy in front of him. If he didn’t know any better, he looks and sounds sincere, desperate even. “Happened.”

“That’s your answer to it then, huh? Look, bad things happen to people, even to good people. But I, I never used that as an excuse to hurt others and be cocky about it. You on the other hand -- have done nothing but pester me at every turn. I must’ve been pretty bad in my previous life to deserve knowing someone like you.”

It stings the way KungSoo played with the words. So much that ChanYeol feels uncomfortable, hating even. For anger most incurable, is one that rages where love once resided. And right now, something in him snaps.

“You want to talk about bad things? Well I’ve got one for you.”

“I don’t need to listen to you, you don’t deserve it.” KyungSoo turns but was surprised when he hears the rise in ChanYeols voice.

“Don’t you dare turn your back on me when I’m talking. I listened to you so listen to me but good. You think your life huh? Well I have spent the last five years of my life stressing over someone who said will never forget me. But the moment we got separated, it was like that was the only thing that that person was waiting for. I never heard from them ever again. So while I never fully regained the keenness to open up to anyone else, that person moved on. While I imbibe in forced interactions, needless conversations and meaningless familiarities, you–,” ChanYeol stops. His emotions are getting the best of him. “I mean that person -- has already moved forward.”

KyungSoo flinches but never lost his resolute bearing. Something in ChanYeols voice seems to have disturbed him. It was like a chest full of secrets have been opened, and for some inexplicable justification, he feels that he is somehow responsible for it. And he couldn’t be more right.

ChanYeol looks away. Tears almost brim his eyes as he blinks back the sorrow that he’s been holding back. He didn’t know if he should be relieved or distraught. All he knows at this point was that he needed to let all that out.

“Hey, whoa what’s happening here?” SunWoo barges in and surveys the two with caution and with an inquiring gaze.

“It’s nothing SunWoo hyung, we were just,” ChanYeol starts defending. KyungSoo bolts, almost hitting the taller one’s shoulders. “Uhm, talking.” ChanYeol furnishes a quick glance towards the leaving boy’s direction.

“Must’ve been some quite of a talk.” SunWoo says suspiciously. ”Look ChanYeol I just need to bring my girlfriend to the bus stop. I’ll be just a few minutes. Do you think you guys will be okay?”

Ain’t that the million dollar question?

“Yes hyung. We will be.”

--

The rest of the 5 hours that their shifts overlapped were spent on reticent interaction and mute conversations. It wasn’t until 5PM that both of the tensed boys eases as KyungSoo bids SunWoo goodbye. He steals a glance at ChanYeo who was feverishly polishing one of the tables like his life depends on it. Guilt somewhat grips KyungSoo. And it’s this little known secret that he decides to deny even to himself, that will ultimately challenge what is still logical. For whatever purpose he elects to refute his conscience, evading what his heart quietly tells him will only pain his forgotten memory. That evasion will soon make him realize that whatever resentment he has towards this stranger of the sort that’s named ChanYeol, all antipathy is actually pointing towards himself.

And somehow a part of him that has gone together with his amnesia, is trying to fight for its rightful place.  Back into his heart.

Their eyes meet for one last time, but this time there’s no exchange of incredulity or remorse. Only impalpable pretenses and earnest stopgaps. Could this be the start of reconciliation?

*********************************

Will I make a 3rd chapter for this weekend like I promise?

We'll see.

So SMEnt has released the teasr for Umin and gramps.

Joonie looked like a gangster rapper in my opinion.

Anyway so this is a oosuɐɥɔ centric chapter like I said.

Not the fluffy one you imagined, but breaking the ice between them was necessary.

Comments again will be appreciated, though I won't complain if I receive donations instead.

kkk~

'Til later or next time.

PS

Here's Min DoHee from TinyG

oosuɐɥɔ is love