as soon as wonwoo arrived in front of the cafe, he looked at the exterior of the place and was mesmerised. the building was covered in wood, similar to a small cottage you can stay in for a vacation in the woods, but instead in the city area. benches and tables placed outside so customers could dine outside and enjoy the fresh air.
"this looks pretty cosy." wonwoo thought as he continued to admire the beautiful cafe from the outside before he opened the door to enter.
"welcome to lee's cafe! please help yourself!" said a young woman with an enthusiastic voice from behind the counter. wonwoo looked at her brewing drinks from afar. he appreciated the warm welcome from the girl in a brown apron and white cap that covered her brown hair.
he approached the girl who smiled at him and asked what he wanted for a drink. "sorry, i'm not here to order anything, i came here for an interview with mr. lee?" wonwoo looked at her awkwardly as he rubbed the back of neck.
"oh right! so sorry about that, totally forgot that this place was hiring!" she giggled which gave wonwoo the feeling of relief that she was quite comfortable to talk to. she immediately went to the back and called for someone, the manager to wonwoo's assumption. there stood a tall man in a black button up shirt and brown dress pants, hair covered with streaks of grey. wonwoo could guess that this man was in his late 40s, or early 50s.
"hey! you must be jeon wonwoo, right?" he asked as he reached his hand out for a handshake.
"y-yes sir." wonwoo stuttered as he took mr. lee's hand shyly and shook it with little hesitation. not knowing what else to say, mr lee spoke up to break the awkward silence. "so let's do the interview right now, shall we? it's not that busy right now so i think we have some time." the taller and older man said as he brought wonwoo to a table to conduct the interview, making wonwoo's heart beat faster than when he played horror games at home alone.
as they took their respective seats, mr lee leaned forward and reassured wonwoo. " don't worry kiddo, it's just a small interview, get yourself comfortable." the reassurance made wonwoo less tense but still quite nervous.
"tell me about yourself, doesn't have to be a long one." he smiled at wonwoo, making him quite relieved. wonwoo noticed how mr lee had a smile quite similar to seokmin's, giving the idea that mr lee could be seokmin in an alternate universe.
wonwoo hesitantly spoke, hands sweaty and rubbing his thighs quite roughly to dry off his wet palms. "i-i'm jeon wonwoo, about to become a freshman in college, s-so i want to take up this job as a way to pay my school fees and to buy some really cool things" "really? what kind of cool things?" he replied, making wonwoo's eyes widened. he didn't know if he should talk about his nerd side to gaming and books because it could be bit embarrassing.
"i-i'm not really sure sir, i guess i want to buy new gaming equipment and some interesting bo-" "what games do you play? cod? apex? lol?" mr lee interrupted as he shot up from his slouching position with a more enthusiastic tone, making wonwoo feel more comfortable in speaking. "uh yea, not a lot though, i regularly play valorant and-" "VALORANT? WE SHOULD PLAY SOME TIME!" mr lee yelled making everyone in the cafe look at them with confusion for a split second, with wonwoo looking down at the tip of his shoes in embarrassment. "my apologies." he coughed. "that's actually really cool, back in my days, i used to play loads of games on my nintendo ds." he laughed as he looked away, ignoring the fact that wonwoo was completely immersed in the elder's past.
suddenly, the girl from earlier came up to us with a worried look painted all over her face, making wonwoo quite concerned as to what had happened. "appa, there's a problem." she said in panic. "what now, eunji?" mr lee responded with a stern look. "there are many orders right now and i don't think i can do this all by myself!" she stomped her feet like a little kid throwing a tantrum at the mall when her parents wouldn't buy a toy. at that moment, wonwoo wished he wasn't in that position with the quarrelling pair.
"damn it eunji! i'm paying you to do your job, it's not that hard!" mr lee stood up and went back to the counter with his daughter following him from behind, leaving wonwoo alone on the table, fidgeting his fingers with nervousness flowing through his blood system.
"APPA, JUST HIRE HIM ALREADY! WE HAVE 12 DRINKS TO MAKE WITHIN THIS HOUR!" the girl yelled at the top of her lungs, catching the attention of everyone in the cafe. to suppress the embarrassment which flushed all over mr lee's face, he left the counter after making a couple of drinks and approached wonwoo who was admiring the decor of the location.
"wonwoo, you're hired."
