Maybe It's You || Irene X Male Reader

ix.

Yoo (Y/N)'s POV

I was laying down my bed staring at the ceiling, an hour passed by after Irene had urged me to take a break from working due to my meeting with Chaemin.

I still had cried after I went to my room. Pathetic and a loser, that was what I had thought of myself. The pain was still glaringly fresh but after crying, I felt a little better. Since I thought I was okay now, I should be able to get back and help downstairs.

I got up from my bed and stopped by to the bathroom to wash my face. The cold water was refreshing and cooled my head for a bit. I wiped my face with a towel before heading downstairs.

I saw Irene being hugged by a handsome tall man. They seemed to be flirting given by the laughing and hushed tones. I stopped at the middle and just observed the two. Soon enough, the guy let go and occupied one of the empty seats in the cafe. I also went down the stairs and greeted Irene who got back behind the counter.

"Thank you for letting me rest for a bit," I thanked her sincerely. "I hope you haven't had a hard time managing the counter alone."

"It's no big deal. I was worried for you earlier so don't mention it."

I slowly nodded my head, still feeling down. Irene must have noticed it given by the friendly pat she gave me before passing before me to tend to the customers. I shook my head and willed my mind to focus on the job for the time being.

I did the usual things like tend the counter whenever customers were coming and also helped serving their orders. I also observed that Irene and the guy she was hugging earlier were exchanging frequent glances to each other.

'That must be her boyfriend.' I thought.

Trying not to stare too much, I sneaked a long glance towards the guy who was sitting not too far from the counter. He wore nice clothes and must have come from a rich family which complimented his handsome looks.

I couldn't help myself but feel envious of the guy given that a certain unpleasant thought came to my mind. It was the fact that maybe if I was just like that guy, she might have avoided feeling the need to cheat.

"(Y/N)," I heard a familiar voice call out to me.

I turned my head and saw Grandpa coming in, he was holding a plastic bag to which I immediately tried taking away from him since it looked heavy.

"These are the things I got from the market. We're gonna have a celebration for today."

"Eh."

"Why? I have something to announce later." Grandpa winked and nudged me over towards the new customers that just entered.

I could only look surprised and quickly pulled some menus before going over to the new customers as Irene finally noticed Grandpa and came over. I was curious and wanted to know what Grandpa meant when he said we were going to have a celebration and he would announce something.

I saw the Irene's boyfriend raise his hand up and so I immediately attended to him since I saw Irene was still busy talking to Grandpa. I politely bowed my head and asked what he wanted. The guy gave me a polite smile. Now that he was in front of me, I could see his face clearly and I almost immediately understood why Irene was going out with the guy. The sharp features and princely aura had his looks going.

"Can I have a coffee?"

I nodded my head and smiled. "I understand and ask for your patience."

I turned around and headed behind the counter, my mind swirling with thoughts of comparing myself to Irene's handsome boyfriend. I glanced towards a mirror near the counter, taking in my boring appearance, my looks appeared ordinary and simple. Probably, the only thing I had was my towering height, standing at 185 cm.

I felt a tap on my back and then the worried face of Irene came into view. She was holding a cup of freshly brewed coffee which seemed to be the order I got and was about to start on but she beat me to it.

"Are you okay, (Y/N)? Do you want to rest up more?"

I shook my head, feeling embarrassed that she caught me spacing out and even helping me with making the order. I extended my hand so that I can get the cup of coffee out of her hands. I forced a smile to which I hope to fool her with.

"I'm okay, don't worry. Sorry about that, I'll concentrate now."

Irene didn't look convinced for a second but in the end, she gave me a small smile and nodded her head. I got the cup of coffee on the tray and rounded the counter to finally serve it to the waiting customer. I arrived at the boyfriend's table and served him the coffee.

"Thank you for waiting, please enjoy it."

As I was leaving, he threw out a question. "Are you new here?"

I turned around and he seemed to realize that it was rude to question someone all of a sudden. I didn't mind him asking the question so I figured I would answer.

"Sorry, that was rude of me to ask. I was just surprised to see someone new working here."

"It's alright, no need to apologize. But to answer your question, yeah, I just started working here." I gave out a polite smile.

He seemed to scrutinize me, his gaze coming from my feet up to my head. I didn't mind it and bowed my head, dismissing myself and getting back behind the counter.

It seemed like Irene didn't see my little interaction with her boyfriend to which I felt relieved for some reason. My line of sight once again swept through Irene's boyfriend who was blatantly staring at his girlfriend with loving eyes.

'Looks like they're fine now,' I thought about their situation which Irene told me about.

I arrived at the table and served the coffee to the customer, thanking them for waiting and for them to enjoy it. I went back behind the counter to help with other things as well. As time passed by, the coffee shop got considerable amount of customers and since I got back to my usual self and concentrated, I was able to efficiently do my job. Since there were only a little amount of customers left, I went towards Irene.

"Hey, you can go now. Your boyfriend must be waiting for a while. I can handle and hold the fort now so go and have fun."

Irene was taken aback for a moment but she eventually nodded and gave me a thankful smile. I was happy that she seemed to be able to smile more which I attributed to the fact that her boyfriend was here for her.

"Thank you, (Y/N). I owe you one."

I shook my head, "No worries, go ahead. He must be waiting for a while now."

Irene bowed her head and went into the kitchen, probably to bid goodbye to her grandpa. She emerged from the kitchen, taking off her apron and rounding the corner to go where her boyfriend was sitting. I tried not staring but my line of sight went to the both of them. They seemed to be close and the guy was whispering to her ears to which Irene seemed happy to hear. They left the coffee shop in a short while.

Gloomy thoughts started coming to my mind but before I could even shake my head. The sound of the bell ringing which indicated that people came in and their footsteps stopped before me. As I raised my head, my eyes widened in surprise and I unconsciously let go of the cup I was cleaning.

~~~

Good day, everyone! I hope you enjoy a new chapter after literally a year of not updating hehe. Anyways, I hope y'all stay safe and in good health amidst what's happening right now. :)