Mr. No || NCT || Completed

1 - Where it all begins

"Can I add you on kakao?"

Renjun almost dropped the empty milk carton he was currently folding.

The girl, who was offering her phone to him over the counter, smiled shyly. Her cheeks were red and her fingers were trembling. In the corner table of the café, her friends were staring at the scene with such intensity that Renjun felt like he was an unusual specimen underneath a stethoscope.

Or was it a microscope?

Whatever.

The girl swallowed loudly.

"Why?" Renjun voiced his annoyance.

Had he been blessed with eyes in the back of his head, he would've seen how his co-workers cringed at the clipped tone he wasn't even trying to hide.

Luckily, he didn't have an extra pair of eyes, though, since he had enough to deal with already. Besides, he probably would've had to buy glasses for the additional eyes, and that would've just been a stupid way to waste his money.

The girl blinked rapidly, surprised by his answer. She was conventionally pretty with long, shiny hair and well-manicured hands. Renjun guessed that she wasn't used to being rejected.

Better to get used to it.

"Uh, I just - ", the girl uttered, glancing over her shoulder to receive some encouragement from her friends who were nodding furiously to her. One of them was grasping the back of her chair so tightly that Renjun made a mental note to check afterwards that the paint of its backrest hadn't get chipped. The girl bothering Renjun was done with her mental coaching session with her friends and faced him with new-found confidence. "You're my style. I would like to get to know you better."

Renjun threw the milk carton to trash and nodded to the girl slowly. "Uh-huh."

Joy lit the girl's face and she extended her hands further, trying to hand him her phone. One of her friends let out an excited squeal and the others shushed her.

Renjun ignored the phone and its owner, turned on his heels and went to the kitchen, leaving the confused girl and her friends behind.

Byongho followed him to the kitchen and, as soon as the door swung closed after them, he burst out into laughter.

"That was hilarious", he informed Renjun, who shrugged in response. Byongho shook his head in disbelief. "You could've at least been nice about it, though."

"I wasn't hired to be nice", Renjun pointed out as he started stacking used plates and cups to the rack for the dishwasher.

He had been hired four days ago. He had regretted taking the job for three and half days.

When Taeil had originally asked him about it, it had been quite easy for Renjun to decline the offer. He had never had any interest in jobs that included customer service or being kind to strangers.

"You chose correctly. No member of Huang family will ever work in such low-class profession."

Renjun grimaced at the thought of his father's obnoxious voice. If it only wasn't for his damned pride, he wouldn't have cared about his parents' snide remarks over the dinner, when he had slipped out a comment about the job offer as a barista.

But no, of course he had acted like an emotional teenager and announced then and there that he was going to take the job in Dalah Café.

Byongho sighed, rubbing his temple. "If you say so."

Then he pushed through the door, leaving Renjun alone with his thoughts and the dishes. That was what he wanted after being surrounded by his new co-workers and customers all day.