𝔹𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕜 ℂ𝕠𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕖 II ʜᴡᴀɴɢ ʜʏᴜɴᴊɪɴ

1

[６：０４ａｍ] Ａｐｒｉｌ １４，  ２０２１

"What is your issue?"

I could barely hear the piercing voice over the jingle of the shop's door bell as I stepped inside.

The usually calming scent of fresh-ground coffee and cinnamon was soiled by the unbearable-looking woman and her jarring voice at the front counter.

"I bring Duri in here all the time! Just let me buy my damn drink and sit in peace!"

Her terribly dyed blonde hair nearly blocked out the bored-looking boy behind the counter, his jaw clenched into a slight frown.

The woman adjusted her shoulder bag, the small head of a Pomeranian peering through the bright pink straps.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry. I don't know who's been letting that happen, but again, dogs aren't allowed in the café. Company policy." He said, his sweet tone clearly forced.

The woman suddenly changed her approach, pouting and looking up at the boy with her over-lined eyes.

"I would hope someone so handsome would have a little patience for a girl and her sweet dog."
She batted her eyelashes. "Duri is so well-behaved. Isn't that right?"
She peered down into her bag, the Pomeranian was too distracted by the passing customers to return her gaze.

The barista stared her dead in the eyes.
"No." He simply said, waving her away with his hand. "Please get out of line if you aren't going to be cooperative."

Everyone in the café was unsurprised by the outburst that proceeded his response, the line of people that formed behind me only looked on with silent annoyance. The woman shrieked about "corporate", the phrase "I'll have your job" tossed into the mix too many times to count.

I watched the boy's dead expression, and I couldn't help but feel pity for him. How could people be so demanding of these overworked employees? Not to mention it being 6 am, none of it made any sense to me. As I studied his face, the realization of just how good-looking he was came over me. What a shame, overworked and gorgeous.

Before the argument could continue further, an angry-looking man emerged from the back entrance of the building. Hurriedly tying his apron, he quickly approached the two.
"Hwang!" He hissed through gritted teeth. "I give you one opening shift and it's already an issue?"
The boy's expression softened into slight worry as the older employee roughly nudged him from the front counter.
"I'm so-" the boy began.
"Get the breakfast orders moving." The man cut him off. "I'll handle this." He ordered the boy quietly, moving over to the register to reconcile the woman.

As much as I wanted to ignore the drama and relieve my latte craving, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the boy. His expression was clouded with frustration and worry, biting his lower lip as he slid sandwiches into the toaster ovens. He looked so troubled.

He looked so pretty.

Stop. I thought to myself. There's no use in getting yourself worked up.

Once the noisy drama-starter was satisfied with her drink, I was finally able to get my breakfast order in.
As I made my way over to the pick-up counter, I decided to wait for the boy to walk towards me and call my order.

I want to apologize. I thought to myself. He didn't deserve that.

I watched as he quickly walked over with the drink in hand, our eyes meeting as he grew nearer.
His gaze was so piercing.

So pretty.

Stop. it. I told myself.

"Hey-" I began, my voice cracking.
I blushed, coughing to clear my throat.

"Hey," I said more strongly.
He looked up at me, annoyance still plastered on his face.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with," I continued, nodding towards the dog woman near the window. "That so early in the morning. I hope you have an easier rest of your day." I finished, smiling as naturally as I could under his stern gaze.

He softened ever so slightly, but his voice was still cold.

"No need. It's just a part of this hell job." he said quietly.

I nodded, slightly disappointed that I wasn't able to make him feel any better.

I hate seeing people upset.

"Well, I'll be here all day. I'll be your dog.. watchdog." I awkwardly choked out, mentally slapping myself for the awful joke.

He broke a smile at that comment, looking up to stare me straight in the eyes. He leaned his forearms onto the counter, lessening the gap between our faces.

"Don't try too hard, sweetheart. I see this kind of stuff all day." He said, his voice low and smooth.

I shuddered at his sudden change of character, my palms beginning to sweat.

Don't let it go any further, I warned myself. You only feel bad for him.

Sweeping my bangs from my face, I glanced at his name tag.

"Well if you're here this early every day, I'll be seeing you pretty often, Hwang Hyunjin." I forced my tone to remain steady.

He maintained eye contact, my calm demeanor rapidly deteriorating with every passing moment.

"Oh, ain't that nice." He said, borderline sarcastically. "And what might your name be?" He said, nodding his head towards me as he said your.

"Jeo-" my voice broke again. I took in a deep breath. For fucks sake.

"Jeong Chaewon. I practically live here every morning." I finally said.

"Hwang!" The older employee bellowed from the counter. "Get moving!"

Hyunjin broke his gaze to glance at the man, then shot me an amused glance. He pushed himself back upright with his palms, re-gaining his eye contact.

"Gotta go, Jeong-Chae." He mused. "See you around."

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A/N
Hi guys!! This is literally the first fic I've ever published, so I really appreciate whoever may be reading this! I'm not really familiar with how I should pace chapters, so I'm sorry if they're ever too long or too short. I'll get the hang of it soon, and I hope you stick around for upcoming chapters!
I plan on fleshing out Chaewon's character a lot more in the upcoming chapters, as this chapter really does feel a bit more like an intro than a full chapter...
Anyways! Any and all criticism is welcome, so please give me feedback!

Thank youuuuu!!
~Roob