Café Latte | JUNGWOO

Chapter 8

It was a calm Friday night. There wasn't anyone in the café at this late hour but Jungwoo still wanted to keep the place open until the last second just in case there were any stragglers.

Jungwoo hummed as he made himself a café latte, a drink that was strong enough to keep him awake but not too much that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep that night. Knowing that he had more time that night, he decided to make a swan as his latte art.

Satisfied with his creation, he snapped a picture on his phone just as the bell rang. He put his phone down, surprised to see Hayoung stumbling into the café, barefoot, holding her red heels in her hands. She wore a tight silk black dress, much too revealing for Jungwoo's liking and her hair was curled. Jungwoo watched as the girl gripped tightly to the table before slumping onto one of the chairs.

Jungwoo quickly poured a glass of water, holding it in his hand as he approached her. The smell of alcohol hit him hard as he got close to her.

"Hayoung?" Jungwoo said, crouching down so he was level with her. That's when he noticed that there were tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Jungwoo asked, placing the glass of water on the table. Hayoung stopped sobbing as she turned to face him.

"I don't know." Hayoung said softly. Jungwoo didn't know what to do so he went to the counter to grab some napkins and a straw. When he returned, he began dabbing her tears away with the napkins.

"Shh, it's okay." Jungwoo said, slowly patting her back trying to calm her down.

"I didn't know where to go, so I came here." Hayoung told him, taking the napkins in her hand. Jungwoo looked at his watch. He had five minutes until it was time to close.

"Here, drink this." Jungwoo said, placing the straw in the glass of water  in his hands so she would drink slowly. Hayoung nodded, sipping the water through the straw like Jungwoo had instructed. Once she was done, Jungwoo returned the glass to the table.

"I'm going to to close up now and afterwards I'll take you home." Jungwoo told her but Hayoung immediately shook her head.

"I don't want to go home." Hayoung told him. Jungwoo placed his hands on his hips.

"Why not?" Jungwoo asked.

"My fiancé has some girl over." Hayoung replied. Right, she's engaged. Jungwoo remembered. Not wanting to ask more, he suggested another household.

"I'll take you to Doyoung's." Jungwoo said but Hayoung shook her head again.

"Mark is there already and he has alcohol poisioning." Jungwoo sighed, fully aware of how bad Mark was when his drinking got out of hand. He noticed Hayoung's phone buzz on the table. Jungwoo picked up her phone, staring at the notification. Doyoung had texted, asking if she had got home safely. He sighed, taking out his own phone to tell Doyoung that Hayoung was with her. He decided to clean up the café first before figuring his next steps.

Once the café was ready to be closed, Jungwoo looked at the girl sitting in the chair, resting her head on the table with her eyes closed before looking back at his phone. Doyoung had asked him to take care of Hayoung for the night and knowing how much he owned his best friend, he couldn't say no. He poked Hayong's back.

"Hm?" Hayoung mumbled.

"Can you walk?" Jungwoo asked her. Silence.

Jungwoo let out a deep breath, helping the girl into his jacket and putting her heels and phone in his backpack. He slung his backpack over his shoulder, lifting her up, bridal style. Hayoung's arms naturally wrapped around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder.