Izone | Oneshots

jinjoo ; cafe

It was a gloomy night for the city of Seoul. Yujin admired the scenery of big screens, tall skyscrapers, and the busy night market as it illuminated the city. With an umbrella in hand, she decided to satisfy a sudden craving—a cup of hot latte.

Yujin is only here for a couple of days. She would be back in Busan after she signs paperworks for her successful franchises. Being an active investor is no joke. It is an exhausting, yet fulfilling job. She loves the feeling of being the wind for a startup to fly.

The rain started pouring down, stronger than it was a couple of minutes ago. Yujin cursed under her breath, looking down on her white rubber shoes.

"I shouldn't have worn white shoes! This can't get wet." She said and rushed to enter a small cafe. Perfect! Satisfied craving and safe from the pouring rain.

She made her way to the cashier. A brunette girl with wavy hair and beautiful eyes welcomed her.

"Welcome! May I take your order please?" The girl said in an innocent tone. Yujin did not reply. She was busy admiring the girl. She swore to herself she was talking to a literal goddess.

"Ma'am?" The girl consciously followed up.

"Oh! My bad. Sorry. I'll take a regular hot cafe latte and a croissant." She said, quite embarrassed from the recent encounter.

"One regular hot cafe latte and a croissant. That would be 5500 Korean Won. May I take your name for your order?" The brunette said as she took Yujin's payment.

"Yujin." She replied.

"Alright, Yujin. Kindly wait for you order to be called." She said as she flash a huge smile at Yujin. Yujin definitely thanked the universe for allowing her to see such a precious smile.

Yujin found herself a seat adjacent to the cafe bar. She was so mesmerized of the other girl's work. She was the cashier and the barista all at once! Yujin didn't want to seem weird nor creepy. She opened her iPad and started reading a boring book, occasionally raising her gaze to admire tue brunette.

"Order for Yujin?" The girl announced. Yujin stood up and made her way to the counter. Just before she could reach the counter, a genius idea popped into her mind.

"Thank you... Minju?" She uttered, reading the name plate pinned on the brunette's apron. Tited from the night's worth work, she just reciprocated it with a smile.

Yujin was quite disappointed. She thought she could have a longer interaction with Minju. Perhaps, her genius plan wasn't as genius as she thought it would be. She took her order, sat down, and continued reading the book as she divert her attention to the beautiful scenary of Seoul.

Usually, scenaries like this are mostly admired with the sun shining light to the city, but Yujin was different. She likes it this way—peaceful and calm. Although focused on the view outside the cafe, the thought of speaking to Minju once more never left her mind.

Minju on the other hand was too busy on her work. Customers kept coming in and out. She was tired for all the lineups of drinks—Iced Americano, Matcha Latte, Strawberry Latte, and counting— all those she had to make within minutes.

It was a couple of minutes of peace when she decided to look around the not-so-busy cafe. Her eyes landed on a particular girl, looking out the window. The girl seemed mesmerized, too mesmerized even to the point she didn't notice she was trying to sip her iPad, not the drink. Minju let out a soft chuckle as the girl, named Yujin, recognized what had just happened.

"First time in Seoul?" Yujin was surprised to hear the familiar voice near her. She first thanked the universe for allowing her to talk to the beautiful goddess again.

"Not really. I always go here for work, but I never got to internalize the beauty of this city." Yujin replied.

"I'm so used to that view, I could actually name you all the buildings you see." Minju said, trying to make it seem as if she was just giving Yujin a napkin. She didn't want to let her boss see that she wasn't working. Yujin let out a small chuckle.

"Name it then." She dared Minju.

"I would love too, but I still got a shift." Minju replied.

"What time does your shift end?"

"In about 30 minutes."

"I'm not busy. Tell me all about it after your shift. I want to know if you're really that smart." Yujin provokingly said and shooed the girl away.

"You're lucky you're cute." Minju winked at her before returning back to her station.

"Damn. She just called me cute." Yujin said under her breath, smiling like a dog with her drink in hand.

"Thank God I wore these white rubber shoes. Best. Decision. Ever." She thought to herself as she patiently wait for the barista's shift to end.