a cup of coffee • kim doyoung

four

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Kim Dongyoung

"Here's your caramel macchiato and strawberry cheesecake," I said as I placed the food on the table.

"Thank you," the lady at the table said as I returned a smile.

I went back to the counter, exhausted. It's 12 pm, but the morning crowd has only just died down. That's for having a University and a high school within your radius.

"I'm going to rest for a while," I tapped Jaehyun's shoulder and went to the break room. I sat down and rest my head against the wall. My eyes burned as I closed them gently, probably from the lack of sleep these past few days. Maybe I could get some shut-eye before the next customer comes in.

"Yo guys!"

Too late. A voice chimed from outside, but it's not a customer. Finally, someone who can help with the crowd. I stood up and went back out.

"Finally, you're here."

Mark was chest-bumping the other two, before walking towards me and doing the same.

"Yeah, man. Would've been here earlier if my professor didn't lose track of time," he complained. It was the second week of school for University students, and apparently they're not going easy at all. Been there.

"Go drop off your bag," Jaehyun said, nodding his head towards the break room, "Lunch hour is starting soon."

Mark nodded, then looked around.

"Johnny's not here, he called in sick this morning," Ten exhaled deeply like he's repeated himself for the nth time.

"Sure he's sick," Mark chuckled, "Sick of seeing the same old customers."

He looked around cautiously, just in case anyone was listening. I'm not surprised if anyone did, this boy's voice has the same amplitude as a loudhailer.

"We've hardly seen anyone new coming in," he continued.

Ten rolled his eyes, "Oh please, not like you remember any of them. And isn't it good that we have regulars here?"

The door opened and a few high school students walked in. I subconsciously walked to the counter.

"But it would be nice to see some new faces," Jaehyun replied. Oh gosh, they are still not done with this topic. I took down the orders of the students and turned back around.

"If it makes you happier, I served a new face this morning," I said nonchalantly, and both of their eyes widen with curiosity. I turned to Jaehyun, "You know, the one who ordered a black coffee."

"How'd you know she's new?" Mark came out at that moment, adjusting his green apron.

"Well, if you work at the cashier, you know everything," I tapped the counter proudly, "Besides, not every day you have someone ordering just black coffee during a busy hour."

"Or you just have creepy observation skills," Mark said and the other two sniggered. They're right, just not the creepy part. I didn't realise I tend to pay attention to every little detail until my friends called me out for it. For one thing, I told them things that I shouldn't have said, like oh you have this tiny pimple under your chin but don't worry, no one could see it. Guess only I did.

I rolled my eyes, "Just make the order already, there are kids waiting." I gestured to the table with the students busily chatting away. They all reluctantly went about their own duties while I rested my palms on the counter. I gazed around the cafe.

The group of students that were seated at the window table were whispering and looking in my direction. A couple seated near the wall was being super lovey-dovey, the guy feeding his partner some cheesecake and her loving it. Opposite them, two students had their laptops out and were furiously typing away. I'm guessing Business Management at University. And then there were few customers waiting for their take out order at their usual spots. There wasn't anyone I couldn't recognise.

My friends are right. As much as it's pleasing to see regulars come in and out of our cafe, some new faces would mean our name is getting out there. Maybe Johnny is busy promoting it online in the home of his luxury hotel.

My mind went back to the girl in the morning. I have definitely not seen her before, and her choice of beverage proves my point. No, I'm not judging, in fact, black coffee is no doubt one of the best drinks, especially in the morning. I wonder if she'll ever come again.

Just then, the door chimed open. Great, it's lunch hour.

Customers start piling in one after another, and I can hear the panic from behind me. At least now they have one more person in the kitchen. I, myself, am not so fortunate.

With the orders coming in consecutively, I had to mend both the cashier and the collection counter. Luckily, most of them were takeaways. I let Mark do the serving since he likes interacting with the customers, and the high school girls seem to have a thing for him.

"One piece of raspberry shortcake, to go please," A guy behind the counter said. I bent down to the display case and took out a slice when something appeared at the corner of my eye. I turned to look, and immediately recognised those pair of muddy shoes.

"Um, excuse me," I looked up, surprised, "How much is it?"

The guy smiled sheepishly as I quickly packaged the piece into a small box.

"Ah- that'll be 3 500 won," I keyed into the cashier, before taking another look outside. She's gone.

I sighed as I attended to the next customer. Of course, what was I expecting?

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