Café Latte | JUNGWOO

Chapter 11

Doyoung had dropped Hayoung off at her place after checking up on Mark and letting Hayoung pick up her clothes. Hayoung wondered if Yuta's friend was still there when she opened the door to her place.

Noticing a pair of shoes missing, she assumed Yuta had gone out, leaving her alone in the house. Hayoung let out a sigh of relief, putting her keys down before making her way to the private washroom in her bedroom.

She turned on the hot water, running a bath to relax. She stripped from Jungwoo's clothes, folding them onto the spacious counter before entering the bath, closing her eyes. Hayoung let herself relax into her thoughts.

The warmth of the water made her recall the warm feeling of snuggling next to Jungwoo as she slept, enjoying the warmth his body gave her. Wait, no. I'm engaged. Hayoung immediately opened her eyes, shaking the thought from her head.

Hayoung let out a sigh, leaning back to stare at the cream coloured ceiling instead, thinking about what to do for the rest of the day. When she decided that she had been in the water long enough, she got out, drying herself with a towel. She stared at the black sweater Jungwoo had lent her, deciding to put it on, pairing it with a pair of black shorts.

When Hayoung went out to the kitchen to make lunch, she noticed Yuta had returned.

"Hayoung." Yuta called out to her as she walked past him.

"Yeah?" Hayoung replied, turning to face him. She watched as Yuta shuffled his weight between his two feet, scratching the back of his neck.

"I uh.. I don't know if your parents told you but it's Tokyo's Fashion Week next week, so I'll be going to an event in Japan next weekend. My parents want me to bring you as my date." Yuta told her. Hayoung bobbled her head, avoiding his eyes.

"I mean, if your parents want me to go, I don't really have a choice, do I?" Hayoung replied.

"I guess not." Yuta said.

"Thanks for telling me. I'll put it in my schedule." Hayoung said before walking away.

...

Hayoung was working in her office when she glanced at her clock. It was 12:00pm, time for her lunch break.

Hayoung had made it through most of the work that she needed to do that day, especially since Doyoung had been taking more work than he normally did. Hayoung stretched her arms above her head before getting up, making her way to her brother's office.

"Come in." Doyoung called from inside. She opened the door to his office, revealing a stressed Doyoung rubbing his temples.

"Um, are you hungry?" Hayoung asked her brother. Doyoung looked up from his desk, checking the time.

"Oh, it's lunch already?" Doyoung grumbled. Hayoung nodded, giving her brother a small smile.

"I was going to go down to the café, do you want anything?" Hayoung asked him.

"Just a sandwich, thanks." Doyoung said, returning back to his work. Hayoung closed the door to the office before making her way to the elevators.

...

Jungwoo was tired, and it was only 12. He stretched as a yawn escaped his lips. I need coffee. Jungwoo thought to himself, quickly brewing himself a cup.

Business was like the usual, the workers of the building making their way down for lunch. Jungwoo noticed that it was typically busy in the mornings till around two, then there would be a little break until the workers were done for the day, many of them grabbing a baked good to go.

As he sipped his coffee from behind the counter, he noticed some of the workers looking out the window before quickly packing up and making their way out just as the bell rang. He turned towards the door. Hayoung had entered.

"Hi Jungwoo." Hayoung said, greeting him with a smile. Is this girl greeting me? With a smile?

"Uh, hi Hayoung." Jungwoo said, slightly bowing his head. Was she being nice because of what happened that night?

Jungwoo quickly looked down at the cash register, thinking of how to get out of that awkward situation. "A regular café latte?" Jungwoo asked her.

"Yes, also one turkey sandwich and a tomato basil sandwich please." Hayoung added.

"Two sandwiches?" Jungwoo asked. Hayoung nodded.

"Yeah, Doyoung's a little swamped today so I'm getting him lunch." Hayoung told him.

"Oh, that's nice of you." Jungwoo immediately covered his mouth with a gasp. The words had came out in a sarcastic tone, which was completely unintentional. Hayoung simply giggled at the boy's cute little action.

"I guess it is." Hayoung said as Jungwoo's ears turn red. He quickly turned away from the counter to prepare Hayoung's order, trying to avoid embarrassing himself even more.

Jungwoo notice Hayoung make her way to the pick up area of the counter, looking around the café. He couldn't help but wonder why the employees of the building constantly avoided the girl. Judging by the aura she gave off, Jungwoo assumed that the girl was probably very harsh on her workers.

"Here you go." Jungwoo said, placing the sandwiches and latte on the counter. Hayoung let out a small sigh as she took the items in her hands, surprising Jungwoo.

"Is something wrong?" He asked her. Hayoung paused for a moment, seeming to think to herself before answering his question.

"I'm um... going to Japan with my fiancé this weekend." Hayoung told him. That's when Jungwoo noticed that Hayoung had no ring on her finger.

"Fiancé?" Jungwoo asked, motioning to her hands. Hayoung looked down, realizing what Jungwoo was pointing out. She massaged her left hand.

"Yeah, it was arranged between our parents." Hayoung told him. "I don't really know him that well to be quite honest, so it feels weird to wear the ring."

"Oh, I see." Jungwoo was shocked that Hayoung was being so open with him, but then he remembered that the girl indeed did spend a night at his place and was aware of one of his biggest secrets. "Is that why you're feeling uneasy about Japan?" He added.

Hayoung thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I guess."

Even though Jungwoo lived a hard life, he had to admit, he was glad that he would never have to deal with an arranged marriage. His mother always told him that he could freely live as he'd like, marry whoever he wanted.

"Maybe you should try to get to know him better, then it won't be so awkward." Jungwoo suggested, leaning on the counter.

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea." Hayoung said but Jungwoo noticed that she didn't sound too convinced. Jungwoo eyed the baked goods on display and decided to grab a pink sugar cookie, placing it in a pink paper bag before putting it beside Hayoung's items.

"What's that for?" Hayoung asked as she eyed the paper bag.

"You sound sad, maybe the cookie will help." Jungwoo told her. Sure enough, a smile appearded on Hayoung's face.

"Thanks Jungwoo." Hayoung said, taking the bags in her hand before giving Jungwoo a small wave, heading out of the café.

———————————————————————————

Jungwoo cutieeee