"You're here early today Jonghyun." a co-worker at the cafe noted. "Don't you have trainings today?"

Jonghyun shook his head and faked a smile. "No I don't." he admitted.

"Then why don't you enjoy your free time before your shift starts?" the co-worker asked amusely. It was weird that someone came to work early out of his own accord.

"I..." Jonghyun bit his lip. *I needed to get away from Ji Eun baby.*

He took a deep breath. "I was bored anyway." he fibbed. He took his waiter uniform and changed into it. "I'll help out here since I'm here anyway." he offered.

He made a mental "Fighting!" sign and went out to greet the customers. He tried very hard to maintain that fake smile on his face. He tried to focus on his job, to do his best as he didn't everyday.

But he couldn't. Ji Eun's face kept surfacing in his mind. He was scared, scared out of his wits.

He couldn't lose her, she was too important to him. But he had doubts all the same. What if he isn't good enough for her as that Minwoo kid was? What if she took a liking to that Minwoo kid instead?

Where would he be then?

He flinched as the third tea cup of the day smashed on the floor. The manager of the cafe came out, face red with anger. He kept calm and apologised to the customer politely, as did Jonghyun.

After the mess was cleaned up, Jonghyun was called back by the manager immediately.

"What is wrong with you Jonghyun?" the manager demanded. "You come here early, I appreciate it. But if you come here to create trouble, I might as well you don't come at all!"

Jonghyun winced. "I'm sorry. I was just not focusing, that's all."

The manager gave him a warning look. "Look here Jonghyun, we can hire another waiter easy as ABC." he hissed. "If you do anything wrong today again, I'll see to it personally that you get fired."

Jonghyun nodded meekly. "I understand, sir."

The manager smirked. "Good. Then go out and serve the customers."

Jonghyun tried to make himself focus on the tasks at hand. At least, that was why he wanted to come to the cafe early for. To keep his thoughts off Ji Eun.

But it wasn't working. In fact, it was failing badly. He got more and more absorbed in his world, thinking of the problems circling round Ji Eun, him and that Minwoo.

He placed a plate of tiramisu in front of a customer and walked away. The customer called him back. "Excuse me, I didn't order this. I ordered cheesecake." she told him.

Jonghyun nodded, and took the tiramisu to change. But in the process, his hand knocked over the cup of tall macha green tea in front of the lady, and it split on her entire blouse.

In order to catch the falling cup, Jonghyun let go of the plate to balance the cup. But instead, the plate of tiramisu aimed itself at the lady's face instead. Soon, the lady was raging like a mad cow, with stains all over her blouse and her face smashed with cake.

"WHATTT IS THISSS!!" she shrieked annoyed.

Jonghyun panicked. "I'm so sorry!" he bowed. "I didn't mean to! I-"

"Will be going off to pack your stuff." the manager appeared. He looked extremely furious and seemed ready to kill someone. Jonghyun flinched. "I told you Jonghyun, another mistake, out."

Jonghyun bit his lip. "Please sir, just one more chance-"

"Out."




The lady customer's friend was waiting outside the cafe when Jonghyun came out. "Hi." she approached him. "I'm sorry that you lost your job."

Jonghyun faked a smile. *Now I can't even help Ji eun with the finances, another reason why that No Minwoo is better than Kim Jonghyun.* "It's my fault anyway."

"Well I was wondering," she smiled. "I operate a club near here. It's called Midnight. I was wondering if you want to work there? We have a vacancy, and by how you look, I think you're fit for the job."

Jonghyun's eyes lit up. "What is it about?"

"A stripper."




"No." Came Jonghyun's immediate reply. "I will not associate myself with such jobs."

The woman frowned. "Don't be pessimistic about it." she urged. "It is really quite decent. You just strip to your boxers and maybe let some women around the club touch your body. Nothing else involved. I promise. And the pay is much higher than what you'll be getting in the cafe."

"But its-"

"You do have a girlfriend don't you." The woman asked. Jonghyun remained silent. "Well, I'm sure your girlfriend would like a boyfriend who has a financial ability stronger than some waiter at a cafe. How much can you earn there anyway? If you work in my club, you can buy her gifts and take her out on dates whenever you want to."

Jonghyun's eyes lit up. Dates and gifts for Ji Eun. Exactly what he wanted for her, that Minwoo has and he doesn't.

He hesitated as the woman searched his eyes, knowing that she caught his weak spot. "You'll regret it if you refuse this offer." she stated. "But I think you're going to do so anyway." she sighed.

She smiled. "Nice meeting you anyway." she turned to go.

...

"Wait ... I'll do it."