wrong number, sunghoon

sixteen

hayeon groaned as she watched yet another group of people come through the cafe doors. she had been working for hours that morning, and today was the busiest the cafe had ever been. not only that, but they were understaffed as well.

her coworker miyeon had called out sick that morning, her notice being too late to find another available person to cover the shift with hayeon. so there she was, at 1 pm on a tuesday, working alone.

not only did the girl have to take orders, but she had to make them too, causing customers to lose patience with her due to the speed they were receiving service at. the whole thing was stressing her out greatly, yet she had no choice but to try and complete the impossible task of doing two things at once. who else would if not her?

finally, an hour later, hayeon got a break. every day the cafe was closed at 2 pm to clean the area and give the staff a late lunch break, and then it was reopened again at 3. hayeon gave the remaining few customers in the shop a few minutes to finish up their activities before closing the doors and getting back to work. even her break wasn't really a break.

she grabbed a wet rag from behind the bar she worked at and moved to the closest table near her, wiping it down and removing any leftover trash. one by one, she slowly cleaned all the table tops, allowing herself to finally sit down and rest for a moment when she was finished.

hayeon opened her phone as she took a seat on one of the cafe's couches, a smile instantly forming on her face when she saw her notifications.

SUNGHOON

sunghoon
hayeon
what are you doing
i'm bored
i miss you :(
hayeonnn

hayeon
hi hoon

sunghoon
hayeon!

hayeon
i'm working
imagine me frowning while saying that
actually no imagine me dying
because i am

sunghoon
oh shit i forgot you had work
is it not going well?

hayeon
if by not going well you mean working our busiest shift yet all alone then yes it's not going well
and i have like 3 more hours before closing ugh
sorry ur getting my rants

sunghoon
it's ok
i like hearing you talk
why are you working alone?
that doesn't seem right

hayeon
i wasn't supposed to be
but my coworker called in sick right before our shift
and today wasn't supposed to be busy either
but god is just not on my side today
every single person in the city of seoul seems to be here...

sunghoon
so you're doing everything by yourself?
that doesn't sound possible

hayeon
oh trust me it isn't
idk how i'm alive rn
seen

hayeon
hoon...?
where'd you goooo
oh shit wait i have to go too
wish me luck wherever you are

hayeon took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her anxiety as she once again opened the cafe's doors to the waiting customers outside and started taking and making orders again. the crowd somehow managed to be even bigger than before, which made absolutely no sense to hayeon.

the part of seoul she was in was not usually very busy, and even when it was the crowd was still never this big. she wondered if a new building had opened up that attracted all these new people to the area, she would have to look it up after work.

the girl was snapped out of her thoughts as the door chimed  its signature entrance jingle, signaling she once again had a new customer. the sound had been something she loved when she first started working at the cafe, but now it was one she had grown to hate more than anything. all she wanted to do was just go home.

looking up, hayeon plastered a cheery smile on her face in preparation to take their order, only to be met with familiar eyes staring back to her.

"sunghoon!?" she whisper-screamed, not wanting to reveal his identity but not being able to hide her surprise either.

he had on a white button down shirt accompanied by black pants and his signature face mask he wore whenever he went out in public and didn't want to be seen. but even with half of his face covered, hayeon would always be able to recognize his eyes.

sunghoon just chuckled at the girl's shocked expression, finding it extremely cute. without a word, he moved away from the door and to behind the bar with her instead of towards the cash register like she had expected.

"what are you doing?" hayeon asked, looking a little panicked at the unexpected action.

"relax," he finally said to her, his voice managing to calm her down by a bit. "you shouldn't have to work this alone, i'm here to help."

"what?" she exclaimed, not believing what she was hearing. "hoon, what if someone recognizes you? you're not even supposed to be back here anyways i could get fired and-"

"no one else is here with you right?" sunghoon interrupted her rambling, receiving a shake of her head in response.

"then how will anyone know i'm back here?" he finished, throwing her a wink that she couldn't help but blush at.

"well i can't have you at the register," hayeon decided, "too many people that could recognize you. but the only option would be to make the drinks? do you even know how to do that?"

"i can learn!" he replied back, his eyes shining brightly showing his enthusiasm despite his smile being covered by his mask.

she glanced around the cafe, letting out a small laugh in disbelief of her situation. here she was already working a shift alone, doing two jobs at once, and now she was about to train a literal kpop idol at how make drinks.

at the sight of new customers coming through the door however, hayeon quickly made a decision and shoved an apron into sunghoon's hands for him to put on. "i hope you know what you're getting yourself into," she said, knowing he was greatly underestimating what he would have to do.

but she didn't care. he was here, and he was trying, and that's all that mattered. he was there for her.