Nocturnal Buddies ✩ Yang Jeongin

Chapter 65

Hyunjoo hummed to herself while wiping down the counter, prepping it for the afternoon rush. Her eyes flickered up when she heard the bell ring. She greeted the incoming customers with her usual smile before finishing up her task. While Taeyoung busied himself with accommodating the group of three, she went to accompany him, peering over his shoulder to see what was being ordered.

The longer she lingered near the cash register, the more she started to feel their eyes on her. It was something she was trying to initially ignore, but now it was clear that they were staring at her. She didn't have enough confidence to meet their gaze and determine if they were malicious or not. The nonverbal pressure she felt started to suffocate her, causing her to shift uncomfortably in her spot.

"Um... excuse me, you're Hyunjoo, right?" one of the girls perked up.

Hyunjoo felt her heart lurched forward at the question before she started to jump to conclusions. Despite the panic ensuing inside her, she slowly nodded her head in response, unsure why they asked. Her eyes flickered up to them before watching their expression light up with excitement. That's when it hit her, she was a social media influencer- a public figure.

"We're really big fans of yours- we were wondering if we could take a picture with you?" the other one said.

"It's almost rush hour, so we understand if you're too busy," the last one quickly interjected.

Hyunjoo's lips pulled into a warm smile, grateful for their consideration, before glancing around the café. She returned her attention to the three girls, who were shyly waiting for a response, before nodding her head.

"It's not that busy right now so I don't mind at all," she replied, her smile widening.

.𖥔 ݁ ˖☾𖤓.𖥔 ݁ ˖

(Bold is English)

Hyunjoo looked up from her phone, and towards the eight boys, as soon as the music drew to an end. She watched as some of them fell onto the ground, gasping for air, while others hunched over in their spot, supporting themselves on their knees. Knowing they were too exhausted to move, she got up and retrieved eight water bottles. She started to hand them out one by one, receiving a thank you from each member.

"I didn't know you guys had such a cute waterboy, I might have to steal her from you guys."

The familiar voice drew everyone's attention towards the door, where Nayoung greeted them with a smile and wave.

"What are you doing here?" Minho asked as he ran his fingers through his hair, eyes fixating on the older girl.

"I finally got a break, so I decided to pay you guys a visit. I'm happy I did, especially since Hyunjoo is here," she hummed, making her way over to the younger girl.

They shared a hug before Nayoung went over to Minho, going to pester him. Hyunjoo watched them for a while before shifting her attention to Jeongin, who was lying on the hardwood floor with his eyes closed. She finished distributing the bottle of water to the remaining members before making her way over to her boyfriend.

He failed to notice her approaching him due to his heavy breathing and loud heartbeat overwhelming his senses. Once she was near him, she crouched down and started to scan his expression, noticing the tiredness seeping from him. She poked his forehead, causing him to furrow his eyebrows ever so slightly, before he opened his eyes.

"Are you okay?" she quietly asked, despite the answer being evidently clear.

Jeongin simply nodded his head out of habit, being used to pushing aside his actual feelings to not worry others. His actions halted when he noticed her lips pull down into a little frown.