Ft. NCT's Kim Jungwoo
Life happens, coffee helps.
A kind-hearted café worker meets his match, a young business woman, who believes that she had much better things to do than to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee.
COMPLETED
It was finally Friday, the end of the week. Hayoung stretched her hands above her head as she sat in her office, making her way through her stack of folders when she her phone began to ring. She looked at the caller ID. It was Doyoung.
Today Doyoung was out of the office, visiting anad evaluating one of the properties the Kim's owned. It was a long task, one that would take up most of the day so he decided not to go to the office that day.
"Hello?" Hayoung said, picking up the phone.
"Hey, I left something important in the office, can you get it for me?" Doyoung asked. Hayoung let out a deep sigh before getting up.
"Why are you so forgetful?" Hayoung mumbled as she went into her brother's office. "Where is it?"
"Go to my desk, bottom cabinet, in the safe." Doyoung guided her. Hayoung tried to recall the password for her brother's safe. Doyoung have noticed the problem as he quickly told her the password.
"Hm, okay, it's open." Hayoung told him.
"There's a white envelope, do you see it?" Doyoung asked her. Hayoung peeked inside, pulling out the white envelope. Her eyebrows raised as she saw the name on it.
"Jungwoo?" Hayoung said in a surprised tone.
"Yeah, it's his paycheque. Can you give it to him once your done work?" Doyoung asked her.
"Can't you come back and it give it to him yourself?" Hayoung whined. She heard Doyoung chuckle on the other side of the line.
"You know the property is closer to my house anyways. Plus, Mark is doing the night shift today so I won't make it back before he leaves." Doyoung told her.
"Just go to his house then." Hayoung suggested.
"Are you stupid? Why would I go to his house when you're literally in the same building!" Doyoung scolded her.
"Ugh, fine. You owe me." Hayoung said to him.
"Oh please, you've been getting free coffee from my café!" Doyoung exclaimed.
"Whatever, I'm hanging up now." Hayoung said, ending the call. She closed the safe, locking up her brother's office before returning to her seat.
As she took a seat, she stared at the white envelope on her desk.
"I swear he's doing this on purpose now." Hayoung muttered before putting it aside, opening another folder instead.
...
Jungwoo's head perked up as the bell rang. He saw Mark running into the café, quickly making his way to the back. Jungwoo peeked at the clock. It was only 6:02 pm.
"Sorry I'm late." Mark said as he shoved his backpack into his locker. "Class ended late, I'm so mad. I wanted to leave early but his was going over an important question." Jungwoo let out a small chuckle as Mark came out, tying his apron around his waist.
"It's okay, there's not much business anyways." Jungwoo told him. Mark gave him a small smile as he walked passed, heading to his own locker in the back room.
As Jungwoo removed his apron, placing it inside his locker, he heard the bell ring, signalling a customer had arrived. He was grabbing his jacket and bag when he heard a familiar voice.
"Is Jungwoo here? I have his paycheque." Jungwoo smiled to himself. He had thought Doyoung had forgotten. His smile soon faded as the realization hit him.
"Jungwoo, Hayoung noona is here for you." Mark called out. Jungwoo cursed under his breath before placing a smile on his face.
"Hi Hayoung." Jungwoo said, as he approached the girl in front of the counter. He gulped as he saw her. Hayoung was wearing a black skirt with a grey blouse, the first two buttons undone. Her brown hair was curled, pinned to one side with a diamond bobby pin.
She passed him the white envelope in her hands, his name written on the front.
"This is from Doyoung." Hayoung told him.
"Thanks." Jungwoo said, taking it in his hands. He opened it up, eyeing the cheque inside as Hayoung began walking away. His eyebrows furrowed as he saw the number in front of him. This can't be right.
"Wait!" Jungwoo called out to Hayoung. He watched as she let out a deep breath before turning around.
"I think Doyoung made a mistake, give me a moment, I'm going to call him." Jungwoo said, taking out his phone.
"Of course he did." Hayoung mumbled, taking a seat at a table. Jungwoo heard Mark ask if she wanted anything, which she shook her head, declining the offer.
"Hello?" Doyoung said as he answered the phone.
"Hey, I think you made a mistake with my paycheque." Jungwoo told his best friend. He heard shuffling on the other line before it was quiet again.
"Jungwoo, how's your mother?" Doyoung asked. Jungwoo froze at the question. He glanced at Mark and Hayoung to see if they heard, but Mark was dealing with a new customer and Hayoung was playing on her phone. Jungwoo moved to the back of the café.
"She's doing... well." Jungwoo told him.
"That's good to hear. Just take the extra money as a thank you gift for working the extra shifts." Doyoung said.
"But-"
"No buts Jungwoo. Aren't your bills due today anyways?" Doyoung asked him. Jungwoo let out a sigh.
"Yes, yes they are." Jungwoo said, feeling defeated.
"Okay, go pay the bills then and use the extra money to pay the fees." Doyoung instructed him.
"Okay okay, I owe you one." Jungwoo said to him.
"Don't be ridiculous. Now go home and spend some time with your mother." Doyoung said before hanging up. Jungwoo let out a deep sigh as he made his way back to the front.
Hayoung looked up as she noticed him approaching her.
"Did you get it sorted out?" Hayoung asked.
"Yeah, sorry for wasting your time." Jungwoo told her. Hayoung shrugged.
"It's okay, I was just going home anyways." Hayoung said, standing up to head out the door.
"I'm going now." Jungwoo said, waving to Mark.
"Oh, Doyoung hyung told me to give you this." Mark said, handing him a small box. Jungwoo hesistated for a moment before taking it. "Tell your mom I say happy birthday." Mark said with a small smile.
Jungwoo walked out of the café, heading to the elevator that would take him to the underground parking, where Hayoung was waiting. He watched as she shuffled her weight, going on her tipy toes before leaning back to balance on her heels. The doors opened, both of them stepping in. They stood in silence as they waited inside the elevator.
"It's your mom's birthday?" Hayoung asked breaking the silence. Jungwoo nodded his head as the elevator doors opened.
"Happy birthday to your mother then." Hayoung said, walking out of the elevator towards the parking lot. ———————————————————————————
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