*inspired by a ff I read a few years ago
Tay patiently taps his finger on the table as he watches the heavy rain pours outside the cafe. His wristwatch reads 11:15 PM.
"I should have been more conscious of the time, now I have to wait until the rain stops. Off's probably worried"
He muttered to himself. He is currently at the corner of her favorite cafe. The rain suddenly poured really hard outside when he's about to leave an hour ago. Unfortunately, he hadn't brought his umbrella with him, despite the many times Off, his best friend and roommate, reminded him about it earlier.
Blame it on New, the multi-awarded actor he adored so much. He goes to the cafe daily after class to connect to the cafe's internet connection and watch the latest dramas, news and updates about the actor who he nicknamed Hin, as most of his friends in the showbiz industry describe his body to be hard as a rock. Tay can't agree more. The actor's build is indeed great.
Like other fans, Tay makes sure to support New in every way possible. He sends him gifts, attends his mall shows and now, watched the actor's virtual fan meeting which just ended, the same reason why Tay was not able to monitor the time and left him with no choice but to stay inside the cafe and wait for the rain to stop.
He chose the bowiee cafe out of all the cafes near his campus because it is smaller than the others. It's quiet and has a very comforting ambience. The interior also reminds him of New since they displayed a lot of cat images in the cafe, which is the actor's favorite animal. The service in the cafe is also amazing. Once he arrives, the crew will make sure to smile and greet him which makes him feel important. They never failed to give him discounts and even gave him a special cupcake during his examination day. At first Off teased him about it, telling him that he's also a regular customer of the cafe but never been treated the way the staff treated Tay. He reasoned, it's probably because he comes to the cafe more often than Off. His best friend visits the cafe when he doesn't have a date with his boyfriend while Tay visits the cafe daily. It became his hideout most especially during the time that he's feeling unmotivated and under the weather.
He heard the sound of the windchimes at the door when a man in black jacket, cap and mask entered. He watches him place his umbrella on the cafe's umbrella holder which brings him back to his current situation. He looks outside to watch the rain again, which doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. The cafe will be closing at 12MN and that means he doesn't have any choice but to leave anytime soon. He actually considered leaving and just got drenched in rain but knowing how weak his immune system is, he had to think twice. The final exam will be a week from now and he can't afford to get sick and skip classes this time. Tay rested his back on his seat as he frustratedly looked at his phone, which is now dead since he used it earlier during the virtual fanmeet.
Looking around, he saw that aside from the customer who just arrived and now sitting two tables away from him, he is the only one left in the cafe. He's too desperate to go home and was planning to approach the staff to let him borrow their phone for a bit just to contact Off and ask to pick him up but when he looks at the staff, they seem to be very busy doing stuff in the counter, probably preparing for the closing. So he was left with only one option which is to approach the only customer left aside from him.
Out of desperation, he took a deep breath and started walking to the man's table. He hesitated twice since the man doesn't look very approachable. He's facing his back and he can't see his face because the cap is still secured on his head. But the second his feet almost backed out, he was reminded that the shop will close down in less than 20 minutes and the rain is still pouring heavily outside so he has no choice but to continue his plan so he did.
