behind the counter, kevin blinks in surprise, "you..."
walking up to him, jacob chuckles, "kevin, right?"
"yeah, and you're jacob?" the barista makes sure with a smile. after receiving his nod, he goes on, "another pumpkin latte with extra whipped cream, iced coffee and two salads?"
"actually, just iced coffee and a salad."
while registering the order, kevin furrows his eyebrows, "did... nari quit her job or something? I haven't seen her in like, what, three weeks?"
"me neither, actually," jacob answers, lips pursed and sounding rather sad but shortly after reassures, "but no, she's just busy with uni so she's taking her comp time."
"ohh, I see..." kevin hums, "good to know she hasn't quit at least." in the middle of registering the order, the customer's silence makes him curiously look up; met by an arched eyebrow of amusement, his cheeks grow a tad warm, "I mean, it's just, y'know, she's been coming here for months now, would suck to lose a regular."
"I know, you're good," jacob laughs. "right... so, can I get you anything else today?"
he's about to say it's fine, that he doesn't need anything else until a thought hits him. "actually... I'll take a pumpkin latte and another salad too."
almost immediately, kevin starts chuckling. "on the go with extra whipped cream?"
"on the go, with extra whipped cream."
• • •
the conversation with her co-worker from a little while ago had left her rather confused...
[12:12pm]
cobie 🌻: > are you at home?
nope, studying @ the lib <
cobie 🌻: > good girl 🤧
ikr <
why tho? <
cobie 🌻: > just wondering ^^
cobie 🌻: > don't move away from there btw
however,
"psst..."
it didn't take long until it was explained either.
"nari, to the right."
at the silent outcall of her name, nari shoots her head up from her books and looks to the side.
"right is this way, silly," an all too familiar voice suddenly whispers in her ear, from the other side. jumping in her seat, she puts her hand to her chest and lets out a deep breath, making jacob laugh, "sorry."
"what are you doing here? aren't you on lunch break?" "that's exactly why I'm here."
too puzzled to bother questioning, nari just remains still in her seat, watching as jacob nervously looks around, sits down next to her and takes out what he had been hiding underneath the jacket he's holding onto.
"wha– dude, they'll kick you out if you bring food with you inside," she sighs when she sees the familiar paper bag of their local coffee shop.
"only if they find out," jacob snickers and starts taking the orders out from the bag. "also, I've got something for you."
nari's face lights up when she sees her usual set of lunch. that said, it's not exactly what he had talked about, making her both curious and confused when jacob hands her a scrap of paper that had been inside the bag.
"what's this?" "see for yourself."
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it's impossible for her to not break out in a smile. "who the hell actually writes uwu?"
"he seemed kind of worried, thought you quit your job or something," jacob explains, resting his chin in his hand, entertained by how she keeps observing the piece of paper like it's some masterpiece. "cute, isn't he?"
nari notices his smug grin, knowing what he's getting at. still, while putting the note away, she speaks under a breath, "I guess he is."
"oh? is little nari falling for coffee-b–" "I knew it," she says in something between a laugh and a groan, "no, I'm not. I meant cute as in, it was a cute thing to do."
jacob lets out an airy chuckle. "sorry, I know you have a boyfriend already so I'll stop the teasing."
"..." "... nana?" once again left with no answer, he leans a bit closer to get a proper view of her face. "hey, did something happen between you two?"
she shakes her head. "not really, or I don't think so."
"what's wrong then? you know you can talk to me, right?"
nervously chewing on her bottom lip, nari glances up at jacob and by the gentle expression she's met by, she slowly but surely finds herself giving in.
"remember when dae came to pick me up from work to take me somewhere that day?" "sure, what about it?"
there's a pause as she contemplates on how to put the memories into words. "thing is, I didn't know what to expect but I was still– shocked, I guess, when he took us to a club, party or something. we met some of his friends and stayed there until the ass crack of dawn and it's just..."
"just...?"
nari sighs into the palms of her hands. "it looked like he had fun, and that's cool and all but he's never like that with me. I didn't know any of those people, I don't know where they're from or what they are to him. on top of that, dae barely looked at me the entire night, only got mad when some of the guys came up to me."
there's yet another pause but this time, she takes a deep, shaky breath and though voice muffled against her hand, he doesn't miss the way her voice cracks: "I don't what what I am to him anymore, I don't know what it is I'm doing wrong and honestly, it's making me feel pathetic."
it doesn't take the co-worker more than one, two seconds to grab onto her hands and pull them away from her face; despite the suffering look he's met by, he speaks, his own voice solid, "nari, that's not how it's supposed to be and you know that already. if that's how he's making you feel, he doesn't deserve your time."
knowing what he's trying to say, nari admits, "I know, I know but he hasn't always been like that. I love him now too but I also love the person he used to be. I really do, cobie, and it constantly makes me want to give him a second chance. that's why I can't make myself leave him."
though not particularly happy about the situation, jacob is unsure about what to say, or how to feel. though, giving her hands a light squeeze, he slowly holds them closer to himself.
it's not a kiss, just a mere brush of his lips humbly crossing her knuckles and as he speaks, eyes closing, she can still just barely feel them ghost over her skin,
"I won't stop you but whatever you do... please, never forget your own worth."
