because i remember | jjk

twenty three

"jieun! can you bring a slice of coffee cake over to table six?"

"yeah!" jieun wiped the invisible sweat off her forehead and placed a piece of cake on a clean plate.

approaching the table, she smiled at the lady who was on the phone before placing the place on the table.

"enjoy," jieun whispered, to which the woman mouthed a 'thank you.'

jieun turned back to the kitchen when she bumped into a tall figure.

"oh, sorry."

jieun kept her head down at the familiar voice. "no problem."

quickly making her way back to the kitchen, jieun exhaled and slapped her cheeks a few times.

jaebum watched from a distance as jieun ran away from their frequent male customer. did they know each other? why is she so uncomfortable around him? why does he look normal?

◇ ◇ ◇

soyeon exited the bakery with a white scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. she unconsciously shivered from the cold night's wind as she walked towards her car.

"soyeon! wait!"

she turned around at the sound of the voice calling her.

"oh, hey." she smiled.

jaebum adjusted his jacket and smiled at her. "i'm glad i caught you before you left."

"is there anything you need?" she asked, trying to control the pounding of her heart.

"yeah. i didn't want to be rude and ask you, but it looks like that's what it's come to." he paused, looking for her approval. "who's that guy that keeps coming to see you?"

"you don't know him?" soyeon looked at her surroundings before taking a step closer to jaebum and whispering, "he's jungkook from bts. but don't tell anyone!"

"who?"

soyeon blanked at him. "you don't know bts?"

"i don't think so?" he answered, racking his brain for any mention of this "bts" figure.

to no avail.

"anyways--" he started. "is there any connection with him and jieun?"

soyeon's eyes widened. "why would there be?"

"i don't know. it's just-- whenever he's around, she gets really quiet and sad and tiny, and it makes me uncomfortable to know that she feels like that."

soyeon smiled sadly. "you really care for her, huh?"

he scratched the back of his neck. "yeah, i guess i do."

soyeon stared longingly at him before deciding to focus her attention on the stars above them.

"hey," she started. "can i say something completely ridiculous right now?" she asked, tilting her head down and looking down at her toes.

"yeah, go ahead."

she took a deep breath and gathered up her confidence to look him straight in the eyes.

"i like you, jaebum. i like you a lot."