Mr. No || NCT || Completed

35 - Where being crazy is okay

"You can leave early", Byongho told Renjun while they were re-stocking takeaway cups and bags behind the counter.

The café had quieted down from the early afternoon rush and the people working in the evening shift were supposed to come in fifteen minutes, when Renjun's shift was supposed to end. Renjun looked around the calm space, where many of the tables were vacant. The dishwasher was done in the kitchen and they had used the peaceful extra time to check the expiration dates of the drinks on display.

"Isn't the crazy girl waiting for you, anyway?" Byongho continued, nodding towards Chaewon who was seated on the armchair by the window, writing something on her notebook.

Earlier, when Renjun had entered the café through the backdoor with Chaewon in tow, Byongho had raised his eyebrows and wiggled them suggestively, as if meeting someone on the alley was the most scandalous thing ever. When the girl received her free saviour cappuccino (bedazzled with attempted latte art that looked like a childish take on... well, a certain body part), Byongho had pointed at Renjun aggressively while looking around in search of other witnesses of the spectacular event.

Renjun leaned against the counter and eyed his annoying co-worker slowly. "This isn't the first time you call her crazy."

Whenever Byongho had seen Chaewon in the café, he called her crazy behind her back, despite the fact that they didn't seem to know each other.

Byongho pushed a bag of wooden spoons into Renjun's hand for him to fill the box for utensils. "The first time I saw her, she was here to meet with some older man but he upset her or something because she got up looking like she was going to murder him. I went to check up on them because I didn't want to have police come here again, and she got angry at me too before storming out." He glanced at the girl sitting in the corner. "But then, the next time she came by, she was acting the way she usually is – all happy and chatty."

Chaewon had said that she started frequenting the café in the spring after leaving the entertainment industry and her group. It wasn't surprising to hear that she had had been having rocky times.

Renjun crossed his arms over his chest. "Being angry at someone hardly makes person crazy."

"But the contrast between the way she usually is and how furious she was back then was too big." Byongho crouched to search for the lids for the small takeaway cups from the cupboard below the counter. "It's not normal for someone to get so angry in a public setting, especially at an older person."

Renjun pointed towards the corner where the lids were kept. "You don't even know why she was upset. It's childish to judge her based on one moment."

While Chaewon's emotional outburst had nothing to do with Renjun, he didn't like the idea of Byongho making assumptions about her because of it. The man she had met back then had somehow pushed her too far, and Renjun had seen how difficult it was for her to deal with the anger.

Byongho stood up with the lids and gave him a knowing look. "She can be however nice but I know crazy when I see it." He pushed past Renjun and continued re-stocking. "And the fact that she's hot doesn't change anything."

Renjun placed a hand on his shoulder as a warning because resorting to violence wasn't an option. He had never really liked the annoying co-worker but now the guy was crossing the line in an entirely new way.

"Stop talking about her that way", he spoke coldly and fixed his posture. "You sound like a prick."

Byongho stopped to think for a moment before he swallowed and pushed Renjun's hand away. "Well, you asked me about it", he pointed out, sounding awkward.