17.

A bottle of window cleaner stands tall on a cedar, wooden table inside Davinci Coffee café. I grip the bottle and squeeze the trigger, releasing the cleaning formula onto several areas on the window in front of me. Reaching into my apron, I pull out a clean white cloth and begin wiping away at the smudges, fingerprints, and stains. Moving to another part of the window, my mind begins to wander.

“While you were talking with everyone else, Jongin, uh Kai came up to me and told me that you were beautiful.”

“I mean, he wasn’t wrong. You really are.” He turns his body towards me and takes a step closer. His eyes flicker from my eyes to my lips. My eyes move to his lips, which are ajar.

I pause for a moment.

Did he really mean that?

Biting away on the corner of my lip, I resume wiping the window.

 “I..,” he says, with his voice no higher than a whisper.

“HYUNG!” A voice yells from down the hallway.

“I… I have to go,” his eyes flicker to mine. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Aya.” He touches my arm before turning to walk back down the hallway. I watch his figure disappear.

My hand aimlessly moves in circles as I continue to play that moment over and over in my head.

He wanted to kiss me…right?

Throwing me out of my thoughts is a knock on the other side of the glass window. Minseok’s knuckle rests on the glass as he flashes a bright smile at me. I blankly stare back at him as the thoughts race through my head.

He really came…

Another knock emits from the window, once again retaining my attention. This time, Minseok’s smile is gone; his face is replaced with a set of pursed lips and a sympathetic look of concern. I quickly shake my head and smile, which causes him to smile. He points to the door and turns to walk to the door.

What do I say?

Do I mention what happened yesterday?

NO. Just play it off… Act cool, cool Aya.

Oh goodness…Do I…look okay?

Swiftly, I pull out my phone from my pocket and quickly switch to the front facing camera. Looking into the screen, I check for blemishes on my face.

Wait… what am I doing?

The front door bell rings, signaling Minseok’s entrance. I shove my phone back into my pocket and turn back to the window, pretending nothing had happened. From the corner of my eye, Minseok strides towards Hyun, who is standing behind the register, tapping away at his phone. Hyun notices Minseok and strikes a conversation with him. After their conversation, Minseok orders, pays, and turns to walk in my direction. I immediately turn my full attention to the window in front of me. From a few feet away, I hear the scuffling of a chair being pulled out, followed with the sound of a person sitting down in the seat. I take a step to the side to wipe another part of the window. I raise my arm to wipe around the window, in a large circular formation.

Should I say something?

Smaller circles.

…. Should I?

My hand stops. Peeking over my shoulder, I see a seated Minseok, crouching over his phone before raising it, as if he’s taking a picture.

“Umm…what are you doing?”

Startling me, I drop the cloth and turn around to see Won with a raised eyebrow. Catching his question, I mimic him, raising my eyebrows, feigning confusion.

“Don’t give me that look. You two…”

I reach into the other pocket of my apron, holding my notepad and pencil. I pull them out and flip the notepad to a new page.  

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I write.

“You and wallet boy.”

“? I’m still confused.”

“He’s been drilling a hole at the back of your head and you’re here wiping away at the same window for the past five minutes. At this point, you would’ve been done. Did something happen between the both of you?”

“No, nothing happened. I’m simply working. Wiping the window like I’m supposed to.”

“Mmmhmm…. I can see that…” Won replies unconvinced.

“Kim Minseok-ssi, your to-go order is ready,” Hyun politely calls out.

Minseok gets up and walks over to Hyun to receive his order. Minseok thanks Hyun and politely bows to Grandpa, as Grandpa walks out from the kitchen, with a bag of coffee beans in his hands. Grandpa rests the bag down on the ground to fondly pat him on the back. Turning away from Grandpa, Minseok looks over at Won and I. Catching my eyes, Minseok advances in our direction. I hastily divert my gaze to look at Won. Feeling his presence, my body turns rigid and my heart begins to beats faster.

Heart chill… we’re supposed to be cool right now.

“Hey Won-ssi,” Minseok nods at Won before turning to me. “Aya…,” his voice trails off.

“I’ll leave you two. I think a customer needs my help,” Won pipes up and scurries off, after sending me a wink.

“I didn’t want to disturb you with the window,” he chuckles, “but I have to go. I wish I could stay longer, but duty calls,” Minseok jokes.

I softly smile and nod.

“I’ll see you later okay?” He asks, tenderly touching my arm before turning to head out of the door.

---

Finally break time...

Grabbing the pastry Grandma left aside for me, I make a beeline for my favorite table at the corner of the café. As soon as I sit down, a large group of middle school and high school aged girls rush into the café. One of them, appearing to be the leader of the pack, turns to approach Won as he walks away from a customer’s table. She tugs on his sleeve catching his attention.

“Is this Davinci Coffee?” She asks.

“Uh, yes? Can I help you?”

“Was Xiumin oppa here?”

“…Xiumin oppa?” Won responds with a confused look on his face.

“EXO Xiumin. Kim. Min. Seok. Was he here?” She demands.

“Ah yeah…. he was.”

“UGHH we missed him,” she groans out turning to her crew.

Won turns his head in my direction and raises his eyebrows.

“Even though he’s not here, I guess we can try out the café. He said that they have good coffee on his Instagram,” another girl says.

“I guess, since he was here. Tell the others,” she instructs. She turns away from her group and walks to the register and orders. Moments later, more girls begin to enter the café.

Won slips away from the group and walks to my table.

“Thanks to Wallet Boy, I don’t think we have to worry about saving the café anymore.”

Author's Note:

*shrugs* I got excited, so I updated early haha.

OOOOH IF HE LOOKED AT ME LIKE THAT.... WE CAN GO LOL