The Coffee Shop (1/1)

The scent of brewed coffee disperses throughout the house. Jaehyun carefully sliced open a bagel and threw it into the toaster. He took a deep breath as he sat down onto the dining chair. Jaehyun rested his chin on his palm as he waited for his bagel. A picture of him and Ryujin on top of the desk next to the TV made the boy smile. It was their first date in Everland two years ago. After he settled in Seoul, Jaehyun started to go to a coffee shop in the corner of the street near where he lived. Ryujin was working there every morning, and she was the one who took care of his orders. It became a whole new routine, and before he knew it, the boy found himself drawn to her.

The smell of burning toast made Jaehyun snapped back. "Shit." he quickly walked over to the kitchen counter and carefully took out his overly toasted bagel. "Jeez." he sighed. The edges were charcoal black because it burnt. The boy then settled himself down onto the couch and turned on the TV. *"Thank you, have a nice day." Ryujin slightly bowed as she returned the changes to the customer in front of her. She glanced at her watch and sighed. The morning rush finally died down, and she finally got to breathe. It was a typical morning where everybody got their coffee just before they go to work, making the shop packed with a sea of people. "Ryujin-ah, can you wipe down the tables?" her manager suddenly tapped her shoulder, making the girl turned her head. "Yeah, of course." she nodded. The girl made her way towards the tables and started stacking the dirty coffee mugs onto the tray.She had been working in that coffee shop for four years. After she graduated high school, Ryujin decided that it was time for her to move from her hometown, Tongyeong. The plan was to settle down in Seoul, find a job, and go to college. She started working there as a part-time job to support herself. After she graduated from college last summer, Ryujin decided to keep her job because she truly enjoyed working there. That place meant a lot to her because it was also the place where she met Jaehyun, her first love. Flashback... Jaehyun pushed the glass door open and sighed. He slightly raised his eyebrows when he found out that the shop wasn't as busy as the usual mornings. A small smile appeared on his lips as his gaze immediately fell upon the girl standing near the register. He sucked in a breathe as he nervously walked up to the counter. Jaehyun was a regular, and he had been going to the shop every morning for the same thing. He noticed the long-haired girl who had always taken his order from the start. She had beautiful dark brown eyes and pink lips. "Jo Ryujin" was written on her name tag. The boy had wanted to ask her out for so many times, but he wasn't able to muster up enough courage to do it. "Good morning," Jaehyun stood in front of the register and smiled. "Oh? Jaehyun-ssi." the girl greeted as she smiled. Jaehyun felt his heart beating faster, but he tried to keep his composure. "Can I get-""Iced Americano with light caramel?" Ryujin suddenly said, cutting his sentence off. Jaehyun couldn't help but giggle. "You know it." "Of course. Your regular drink." she chuckled. The boy felt his heart skipped a beat seeing her smile. He quickly took out his card and tapped it into the screen to pay for his order."Thank you Jaehyun-ssi, have a nice day." Ryujin smiled as she handed him his receipt. Jaehyun nodded and took the piece of paper from her. "It's now or never Jaehyun-ah. Don't be such a pussy." he thought to himself. He bit his lower lip as he turned around. Just when he was about to walk away, the boy suddenly turned back towards her. "Jo Ryujin-ssi," he called out. "Yes?" Ryujin glanced, looking puzzled. There were a few moments of pause before one of them started talking again. Jaehyun took a deep breath. "I-I was just wondering, would you like to get dinner with me tonight? If you're not busy." Ryujin blinked a few times as she looked at the man in front of her. The look on her face wasn't helping Jaehyun at all. At that point, he swore he thought he was going to get a painful rejection. The girl suddenly smiled as both of her cheeks slightly turned pink. Ryujin nodded. "Yeah, I'd love that." Jaehyun widened his eyes slightly in surprise. "Yeah?" he asked in disbelief. He felt his heart almost burst. Ryujin nodded while smiling brightly, assuring him."O-okay awesome," the boy couldn't contain his happiness at this point. "I'll meet you here after your shift?""Yeah, sounds good." Ryujin shyly smiled."One Iced Americano." a voice suddenly called out from the other side of the counter, making both of them shift their gaze. "Oh- my coffee. Perfect timing." Jaehyun quickly grabbed the cup of iced coffee. "I'll see you later then." the girl said. "See you in a bit," he replied as he walked towards the exit. Ryujin waved as she watched him leave. "Omo! Did someone just got asked on a date?" a girl suddenly squealed. Ryujin glanced to her side only to see her co-worker Minchae grinning.The girl touched both of her cheeks as she felt them burning. Her heart was beating so fast that she felt like it would leap out of her chest. "I guess so," Ryujin said shyly in disbelief."Whoaaa my girl Ryujin is going on a date~" Minchae said nonchalantly. "Sssshh, Minchae-ah you're too loud!" Ryujin widened her eyes as she tried to shut her friend up.  End of flashback... The girl couldn't stop smiling as she recalled to the day Jaehyun asked her out. She picked up the tray full of empty cups and turned around and started walking when,THUD! The tray fell off Ryujin's hands as she bumped into a person, sending the mugs falling to the ground, making shattering noises. She widened her eyes in horror as she covered her mouth. "I-I'm so sorry!" she instantly bowed to the person in front of her. "A-ah, it's okay. I'm sorry." the man replied. He suddenly went down on his knees and started picking up the shards of ceramics."O-oh, don't- I got it." Ryujin quickly picked up the shards. "It's okay I can help," he said. "These aren't glass, so they're not sharp." "Ah, but still. I can do it." Ryujin bit her bottom lip. "I'm very sorry." she spoke. The man looked up, and their gaze met. "You don't have to be sorry. Things happen."*Jaehyun had the remote control in his hand as his finger pressed the same button over and over again, trying to find something that he liked on the TV.  A sudden vibration from his pocket made the boy slide out his phone. 1 New Message - unknown number"What the." Jaehyun frowned as he tapped open the message. Jaehyun felt his heart stopped, and his eyes widened in horror as a picture of Ryujin working at the coffee shop popped out. "No, no, no. This isn't happening." he immediately sat up as he clenched his fists. *