-- end
Christmas Cookie
It's Christmas, but here I am swerving my car along the highway at approximately 80 kilometers per hour or so. Well, it's not exactly Christmas yet—maybe a few minutes early before 12—though I couldn't help but to skip our family's Thanksgiving dinner and save my job by rushing over the other side of the city to meet with my boss. right? Not to mention the whole absurdity of this point because I might have been missing the most precious holiday dinner with my beloved ones just because of a stupid malfunction in our services. As the architectural head of one of the major staffs in our housing company, I should be present for the recently called meeting to discuss on the immediate problems at hand—which means more paperwork (there will always be paperwork when problems occur), and on the holiday itself.
Despite my internal frustration, I can feel my eyes drooping as drowsiness slowly approach me on my drive. I'm only a few streets away from the office, yet this sudden sleepiness just enters the picture. Blinking away the wariness of my eyes, I park my mazda at the nearby Starbucks chain from our building and enter the coffee place without much hesitation. The scent of brewed coffee coaxes me as I take my first step inside. The people inside the café are close to none and I am quite glad that this place is open 24/7 despite the holiday season. I then trodge towards the counter and order a usual—a tall cup of hot latté with a whip of cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. My coffee is prepared in an instant, and I am about to exit the place when this guy suddenly pops out of nowhere and bumps me right at the side with a loud thump.
Guess what? My coffee spilled. What else? It soaked my coat from the cloth to the skin of my torso. Did it burn? Well, it's hot, what do you expect? And as if on cue, I let out a muffled scream and shot daggers towards the guy. Apparently, he was too busy mopping the floor with his earphones on. And that's when my 'piss off' self overpowers the day. So I skipped Thanksgiving, got called to a meeting at almost 12 am which is so against my will, got stained by an extremely hot cup of beverage due to an employee's stupidity and he just stands there unaware of what his state of the art clumsiness has gotten me into?
With a quick yank on his earphones, I grasp on the neckline of his shirt. I pull it with such force, causing him to bend down a bit--it occurs to me that he is /that/ tall to begin with--and I give him the evil eye. For a second, I meet a pair of jet black orbs, which kind of startles me in some way, but clearly I am not oblivious to the shock that clouds his irises. Instead of cowardly stooping down like a frightened chicken, I push him away and let out a grunt, "Thanks for ruining my Christmas." With shaky hands, I throw my cup down the floor in which the remaining content of the beverage spilled all around the area. I look at him again before taking my leave--his mouth merely hanging open at the ruckus I made at the first five minutes of Christmas.
"Since the engineers eventually pointed out structural flaws in your plans, I'm afraid you have to restart everything for project number 129, Ms. Choi." My boss, Mr. Lee, explained. But I remained silent, practically hopeless.
"The deadline is still the same though, we will be needing all aspects of the architectural plan by Thursday, the 1st of January. I will need both soft and hard copies of your design." He said in a less monotonous voice since I could tell from his expression that he hates to see me work on a holiday, but in this project, I can decipher that he has no other choice.
Okay, I'm losing it. Somebody hold me.
"On the good note, it is a good thing that you submitted a week earlier from the deadline. At least now, you can work on it before New Year. I guess that's not much of a problem now, is it, Ms. Choi?"
I sighed. Reluctantly, I nod as a response and head out of the conference hall as soon as the meeting ends. Just how am I going to handle this now?
Despite how my insides are against the option of re-entering Starbucks, well, here I am again. But instead of ordering a drink, I just sit on one of the couches at the corner of the cafe and place my leather bag on top of the coffee table which encloses my laptop. I know the folks here wouldn't mind if I stay for a while. In all honesty, I actually prefer hanging out in here as I do my work than in the cold lifeless office elevated at the 19th floor of a skyscraper. Plus, I wouldn't have to worry about the creepiness of the wee hours at the crowdless office or else I might have scared myself by believing that there are ghosts inside that place.
I then push the on button and my beloved lappy hums into life as the screen flashes a bright welcome user note. For a brief moment, my eyes dart off towards the spot where I have gotten godzilla over the employee who bumped against me accidentally--yes I have thought over my puny little act and I actually feel guilty about it. The area where I had spilled my coffee is all cleaned up as if nothing had happened, and I eventually feel worse about my victimized employee.
Trying to shrug off the thought, I keep myself occupied by re-typing and making some changes on the written report of our proposal plan for our upcoming project that is to be built on summer. I work endlessly, my fingers pressing on various keys as time flew faster than I could keep track of. By the time I am done with the revision of the report, it's 3:05 am, then I close my laptop and lean back the chair when something catches my eye.
Standing on top of the table, waits a large cup of Christmas Cookie latté.
Baffled, my eyes catch a sticky note at the side of the cup in which scribbled a couple of words in thick blue handwriting:
Wouldn't want to spoil a beautiful lady's Christmas. I hope she forgives me. :(
I feel my face burning--is it from embarrassment, guilt, or flattery--I don't know. I hesitantly reach for the cup and find myself staring at the note once more before I actually take a sip. Surprisingly, It tastes wonderful. I take a sip again, longer this time, and now I can feel the warmth of the drink coursing through my system.
A shadow looms over me, and I try to hide a smile--flustered. "I suppose the apology's taken?" I silently inhale the intoxicating scent of coffee and the masculine perfume stirring the air around me as I feel all the warmth weigh on both sides of my face at the sound of his deep, foreign voice. I nod ever so slightly and get myself captured in those intense black eyes, which are now less startling and more enthralling than of what I remember.
Offering an outstretched hand, he stared at me, the corners of his lips twitching into a drop-dead gorgeous smile. "Kris."
"Sooyoung." I catch my breath, slipping my hand in his.
Despite my internal frustration, I can feel my eyes drooping as drowsiness slowly approach me on my drive. I'm only a few streets away from the office, yet this sudden sleepiness just enters the picture. Blinking away the wariness of my eyes, I park my mazda at the nearby Starbucks chain from our building and enter the coffee place without much hesitation. The scent of brewed coffee coaxes me as I take my first step inside. The people inside the café are close to none and I am quite glad that this place is open 24/7 despite the holiday season. I then trodge towards the counter and order a usual—a tall cup of hot latté with a whip of cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. My coffee is prepared in an instant, and I am about to exit the place when this guy suddenly pops out of nowhere and bumps me right at the side with a loud thump.
Guess what? My coffee spilled. What else? It soaked my coat from the cloth to the skin of my torso. Did it burn? Well, it's hot, what do you expect? And as if on cue, I let out a muffled scream and shot daggers towards the guy. Apparently, he was too busy mopping the floor with his earphones on. And that's when my 'piss off' self overpowers the day. So I skipped Thanksgiving, got called to a meeting at almost 12 am which is so against my will, got stained by an extremely hot cup of beverage due to an employee's stupidity and he just stands there unaware of what his state of the art clumsiness has gotten me into?
With a quick yank on his earphones, I grasp on the neckline of his shirt. I pull it with such force, causing him to bend down a bit--it occurs to me that he is /that/ tall to begin with--and I give him the evil eye. For a second, I meet a pair of jet black orbs, which kind of startles me in some way, but clearly I am not oblivious to the shock that clouds his irises. Instead of cowardly stooping down like a frightened chicken, I push him away and let out a grunt, "Thanks for ruining my Christmas." With shaky hands, I throw my cup down the floor in which the remaining content of the beverage spilled all around the area. I look at him again before taking my leave--his mouth merely hanging open at the ruckus I made at the first five minutes of Christmas.
"Since the engineers eventually pointed out structural flaws in your plans, I'm afraid you have to restart everything for project number 129, Ms. Choi." My boss, Mr. Lee, explained. But I remained silent, practically hopeless.
"The deadline is still the same though, we will be needing all aspects of the architectural plan by Thursday, the 1st of January. I will need both soft and hard copies of your design." He said in a less monotonous voice since I could tell from his expression that he hates to see me work on a holiday, but in this project, I can decipher that he has no other choice.
Okay, I'm losing it. Somebody hold me.
"On the good note, it is a good thing that you submitted a week earlier from the deadline. At least now, you can work on it before New Year. I guess that's not much of a problem now, is it, Ms. Choi?"
I sighed. Reluctantly, I nod as a response and head out of the conference hall as soon as the meeting ends. Just how am I going to handle this now?
Despite how my insides are against the option of re-entering Starbucks, well, here I am again. But instead of ordering a drink, I just sit on one of the couches at the corner of the cafe and place my leather bag on top of the coffee table which encloses my laptop. I know the folks here wouldn't mind if I stay for a while. In all honesty, I actually prefer hanging out in here as I do my work than in the cold lifeless office elevated at the 19th floor of a skyscraper. Plus, I wouldn't have to worry about the creepiness of the wee hours at the crowdless office or else I might have scared myself by believing that there are ghosts inside that place.
I then push the on button and my beloved lappy hums into life as the screen flashes a bright welcome user note. For a brief moment, my eyes dart off towards the spot where I have gotten godzilla over the employee who bumped against me accidentally--yes I have thought over my puny little act and I actually feel guilty about it. The area where I had spilled my coffee is all cleaned up as if nothing had happened, and I eventually feel worse about my victimized employee.
Trying to shrug off the thought, I keep myself occupied by re-typing and making some changes on the written report of our proposal plan for our upcoming project that is to be built on summer. I work endlessly, my fingers pressing on various keys as time flew faster than I could keep track of. By the time I am done with the revision of the report, it's 3:05 am, then I close my laptop and lean back the chair when something catches my eye.
Standing on top of the table, waits a large cup of Christmas Cookie latté.
Baffled, my eyes catch a sticky note at the side of the cup in which scribbled a couple of words in thick blue handwriting:
Wouldn't want to spoil a beautiful lady's Christmas. I hope she forgives me. :(
I feel my face burning--is it from embarrassment, guilt, or flattery--I don't know. I hesitantly reach for the cup and find myself staring at the note once more before I actually take a sip. Surprisingly, It tastes wonderful. I take a sip again, longer this time, and now I can feel the warmth of the drink coursing through my system.
A shadow looms over me, and I try to hide a smile--flustered. "I suppose the apology's taken?" I silently inhale the intoxicating scent of coffee and the masculine perfume stirring the air around me as I feel all the warmth weigh on both sides of my face at the sound of his deep, foreign voice. I nod ever so slightly and get myself captured in those intense black eyes, which are now less startling and more enthralling than of what I remember.
Offering an outstretched hand, he stared at me, the corners of his lips twitching into a drop-dead gorgeous smile. "Kris."
"Sooyoung." I catch my breath, slipping my hand in his.
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