Little Coffee Shop

Who Am I

Sandeul had a recording session early in the morning, collaborating with seniors on a new ballad album. These kind of recording sessions tend to take more than a couple hours because of the number of people working on it and the artists' perfectionism in every little detail from emotion to enunciation. Around 11 AM, Sandeul had finally finished recording his first part for the first song and was in the back room practicing for the next song while the production team worked with his seniors. Having to leave the dorm around 6 in the morning to get to Gangnam in time, he began to feel his drowsiness catch up with him.

 

"Seonbaenim (senior)," he tapped one of the producers on the shoulders, "I'm going to grab a coffee downstairs. Back right back."

 

"Ok. Yeah, go get some fresh air. You've worked hard all morning." his senior smiled at him before returning to his work.

 

Sandeul bowed and exited the recording room, heading toward the elevator. He stretched his arms and yawned, "hmm... I wonder what Channie is up to." He took out his phone and saw they Gongchan had texted him:

 

"Hyung! Jinyoung hyung and I are on our way to visit Tori nuna today~~ We're going to have so much fun! maerong (sound made to symbolize sticking out the tongue to tease someone)~ ^^"

 

"Hyung! You won't believe how happy I am right now! Tori nuna just listened to the doctor! She hasn't said anything all day but just seeing her imrpove from yesterday makes me soo happy! You should have come along with us. I don't know why, but nuna really just made my day!"

 

Sandeul smiled at the messages as he entered the empty elevator. He pressed for the lobby and then called Gongchan.

 

"Ya! Are you trying to make me jealous that while your hyung here is working so hard, you get to play all day with Tori-ssi?"

 

"Tehehe. Hyung! Are you done for the day?" Gongchan asked, there was background noise that sounded like he was outside.

 

"No. I still have a couple more songs to record. Might be here for another few hours. Ya, aren't you in the hospital? Why is it so noisy?"

 

The elevator dinged on the ground floor and Sandeul headed out of the building to a coffee shop down the block.

 

"Oh, hyung and I are on our way to meet up with Dongwoo hyung. We just got off the train in Gangnam and will meet him at the café. Then, we're going to get some chicken and go back to see nuna!" Dongwoo is CNU's real name. The members try not to say each other's names in public just in case it catches someone's attention, but when they do, they tend to say their real names, which are regular and fairly common names.

 

"Oh? Realy? I'm down the block from the café! I guess I'll get to see you guys for a bit before I head back." The café was in sight and Sandeul was pleased with the thought of seeing s for a bit before returning to work.

 

"Really? We're almost there, we'll see you soon then hyung!"

 

Sandeul heard Gongchan telling Jinyoung of the situation on the side. "Yeeaap." He ended the call and entered the cool café, "Aigoo, it's already really hot out and it isn't even 12 yet," he mumbled to himself.

------------

 

"Welcome!" The girl standing behind the counter automatically greeted when she heard the ringing of the bell hanging over the door.

 

Sandeul walked over to the counter and, without looking up at the menu, ordered an iced caramel latte with whipped cream.

 

"That would be 3400 won please," the girl said, while entering the order into the computer.

 

Sandeul, who was looking down the entire time, looking for his wallet, finally looked up to hand over a 5000 won bill, "oh!"

 

Reaching for the bill, the girl looked up at his surprised expression, "oh!" she replied.

 

"Ana-ssi. Hello" Sandeul tipped his head slightly at her.

 

Ana looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to their conversation. Luckily, there weren't any customers in the café and her coworker was in the back room.

 

"What brings you here?" she whispered, pleasantly surprised.

 

"I was working down the block" Sandeul smiled at her secrecy, "You work here?"

 

She looked down at her hands, "Yeah," and as if to cover up her embarrassment, she looked back up and smiled, "I just found this job today actually. Just temporarily while unnie and I are staying here."

 

"Oh... I see" he nodded, trying not to seem too nosy. "What a coincidence that you started working here. This is our member's hang out spot whenever we're in Gangnam."

 

"Oh," Ana was surprised to hear that even idols have a favorite hangout spot in public places-- like regular people. She snapped out of her thoughts and charged his drink, "1600 won change." She said, tipping her head as she handed him the change. Awkwardly, she went to make his drink and Sandeul followed her down the counter, watching her make his coffee.

 

"Channie, and the two hyungs are coming by in a bit, too. They should be here soon." He said, breaking the awkward silence.

 

"Oh? really?" She quietly replied, focusing on the coffee.

 

A girl came out of the back room. Seeing Sandeul, she bowed and continued with her tasks.

 

"Your latte" Ana handed the coffee over with both hands, pretending to be a stranger.

 

Sandeul couldn’t help but smile, "Thanks." He took the coffee and headed to a seat by the widow, looking outside to watch for s.

 

"Ana-ssi" her coworker went up to her.

 

"Neh?" she was wiping milk off the counter.

 

"Do you know who that is?" she quietly asked.

 

Ana's hand stopped moving and she slowly looked up at her coworker, "N-neh? Who?"

 

Her coworker nodded her head at Sandeul's direction, "him."

 

Ana glanced at him and immediately looked away, "No...am I supposed to?" She continued to clean the counter.

 

The girl smiled, "That's why you were hired." She turned her attention to the milk steamer and wiped it clean, "Even though we're a small coffee shop, this location is near a few studios so artists tend to come in here once in a while for a break." She turned around to rinse out the towel she was using, "the boss goes through all the interviews personally to make sure none of her employees are Sasengs (obsessive fans)."

 

Ana looked at her coworker, who continued to speak, "Being that you've been living in the states the past few years and are only here for the summer, the boss probably found that you don't really care much for the hallyu stuff." she turned to face Ana, "but while you're here, you will probably see his face more often. He's part of a group called B1A4. Though usually artists come in and out once in a while, that group comes here often. It's once of their favorite hang out spots when they aren't busy."

 

"Oh..." Ana looked over at Sandeul again who was waving at someone outside.

 

"That means," she thought to herself, "I'll being seeing them a lot more."

 

The bell over the door jingled and Ana's coworker greeted the customers. Ana heard them greet back and call out to Sandeul.

 

"Can you watch the front? I'm going to check on the pastries in the back" she tapped Ana's shoulder before disappearing into the back room again.

 

Ana quietly stood by the counter, suddenly feeling a sense of OCD when she saw the cakes not lined up perfectly straight. Not being able to resist, she proceeded to straighten the rows.

 

Gongchan sat next to Sandeul and Jinyoung sat across from him with CNU beside him.

 

"Ya~ you won't believe who I bumped into" Sandeul whispered to the guys.

 

They all leaned forward to hear what he had to say and he tipped his head to the side, the direction of the counter.

 

As if they were all in sync, they turned their heads at the same time to look at Ana who suddenly felt a chill down her spine like she was being watched. She slowly stood up from arranging the cakes and saw them looking at her direction.

 

"Oh!" Gongchan exclaimed in recognition.

 

Realizing the situation, Ana bowed and awkwardly smiled before continuing her work.

 

"I purposefully found a small, unknown cafe far away from running into people I know. And this just so happens to be their hang out spot." She thought to herself and shook her head at the situation, "they must be starting to think I'm a saseng using unnie as an excuse to see them."

 

"Ana-ssi" a voice called from up above.

 

Ana looked up and saw Gongchan standing by the counter.

 

She stood up and straightened her red apron, "Neh? Do you need something, customer-nim?"

 

He blinked a couple times, surprised she referred to him as Mr. Customer, "Uh... yes." He composed himself a bit, "Can I get an Americano and two Mochas?"

 

Ana wrung up the order, "7900 won please."

 

He gave her the money and watched her treat him like a stranger. Walking to the other end of the counter, he leaned over, watching her make their coffee.

 

"Ana-ssi. I have a question."

 

"Yes?"

 

"Does nuna like fried chicken?"

 

She looked up from the cup of mocha she was preparing, "what?"

 

"We were thinking of bringing chicken to nuna and having lunch together. But, we don't know if she would like it." He said, seemingly oblivious to her shock.

 

"Um.. yeah. She does sort of like it."

 

Gongchan's smile grew wider, causing his eyes to disappear, "awesome!"

 

Ana felt her shoulders relax; she didn't even realize they were tense in the first place. She finished the drinks and handed them over on a tray. "Enjoy," she said with a smile.

 

He picked up the tray, "Ah, right. Ana-ssi, are you the same age as Tori-ssi too? I should be calling you nuna too if so."

 

She blinked a couple of times, letting his question process again in her brain, "Um, no. She's two years older than me."

 

"Ah, I see. That means, you're the maknae!" He said teasingly, "then, would it be alright for me to just call you...Ana?"

 

She nodded slowly, still having trouble processing the conversation properly. "I guess I'll see you later, then." He thanked her for the drinks and went back to the table where s were at.

 

The door rang again and Ana returned to the counter to take the next order, "could it be" she thought to herself, "that we have made friends with these impossible people?"

 

She took down the order and counted the change, "well, whether it seems like it or not, unnie and I are leaving when summer ends. And then we and these kpop stars from a distant social level will return to our normal lives, the way it's supposed to be: distant. For now, Ana, just be thankful that they're kind enough to offer to help unnie get better."

 

=~=~=~

GAH~ sorry. I'm trying SO HARD to get this flowing faster lol bear with me a couple more chapters! >.<

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Hitomie #1
Chapter 15: thanks for this awesome B1A4th present :) haha .. I didn´t expect a update for this Story but now I´m more happy as before^^ thanks alot :) I hope Tori will gain her memories back soon and restart to live a normal Life^^ :D
nikiiiichan
#2
Chapter 15: waaahhh! i missed this story~~
AndreaC20 #3
I hope you can continue it soon, your story is really amazing!
Hitomie #4
Chapter 14: ahhh why did I find this FF so late .. this is really a great one :) hope you continue it^^ :D love Tori & JY *mental interactions* :D
CrissyLovee #5
Chapter 13: Yay! An update(: I really enjoy reading this story and your update honestly helped to destress me from my hectic week
its_just_me #6
Your story is so good, author-nim! I love it!
nikiiiichan
#7
Chapter 10: yayyyy~ an updateeee~ me likey, but Ana is thinking a bit negatively... :S
nikiiiichan
#8
Chapter 9: uhuhuhu. /cries/ gongcha is so cute in this~ and jinyoung is soooo cooollll~
CrissyLovee #9
Interesting story, I like it so far(:
nikiiiichan
#10
Chapter 8: uwahhh~ i think i'm a fan of your writing~