I felt something vibrating against my right leg. Without opening my eyes, I began fumbling around with my hand in an attempt to make the device still. In my sleep-addled state, I barely registered what sounded like a soft groan. ‘Huh?? It felt like I touched something ...hard, firm?’ I stroked it with my hand again.
"Hmm-hh." The sound came from someone right next to me.
‘Wait a minute.’ I opened my eyes and saw Han Min-Jun sleeping beside me. My head was on his shoulder, his face way too close to my own. My whole body jerked away and I scrambled to the other end of the bench to gain distance. ‘Had I been leaning on him?!’ I swallowed, trying to force back my heart that had jumped up and lodged itself in my throat. Han Min-Jun was sleeping there without any care in the world.
Then the realization hit me.
‘Had my hand been on his thigh?! I didn't mean to feel him up! Dang it!’ I could feel the pulse in my ears when they gradually warmed up. Thankfully Han Min-Jun seemed to still be asleep or else I would’ve combusted from embarrassment. ‘It was an accident, okay?! Damn, when did I fall asleep and for how long?’ I again felt the vibration I had momentarily forgotten about in my panic. Now that I was sufficiently awake, I realized it was my phone. I took it out of my pocket and I looked at the lit up screen and jolted to my feet. "The heck, I'm LATE!!"
I felt cold dread creeping up the back of my neck. ‘I'm doomed, I was supposed to have a meeting with Mrs. Jeong Ah-Reum this afternoon to talk about her book advertisement! What should I do?!’
"What happened? Mr. Baek-Yang, is something wrong?" Han Min-Jun asked while he rubbed his eyes in confusion, having been startled awake by my abrupt scream.
"I'm late from a meeting! So I'm leaving first Mr. Han Min-Jun, thank you for the food again!" I replied to him quickly, but before I could run to the door, he grabbed my arm. I snapped my head to glare at him. "What, I'm kinda busy right now?!" I growled, ‘God, what does he want now? I don’t have time for this right now!’
"This won't take long. About your promise— to treat me, can we go to an amusement park this Saturday?" Han Min-Jun seemed to be searching my eyes for an answer. "And could I have your number so that I can contact you about the specifics?"
'Is this jerk asking me for my number right now? And an amusement park, really? Is he a kid? If it’ll help with paying off my debt to him, I guess I wouldn’t mind going. I have a bad feeling about giving out my number to him but what can I do? This guy is way too good at driving me into a corner damn it.'
"Okay fine." I grumbled, taking out a business card from my suit's inner breast pocket and I rudely gave it to him with one hand. He was holding the other one hostage, so what would you expect. "Here, my phone number is on the back. Is there anything else because I am really running late." I urged him with an impatient tone and tugged my arm, trying to get free.
"Oh, that's all, thank you." Han Min-Jun told me, looking somewhat surprised but let go of my arm and took my card instead. A blinding smile spread on his face as he flipped the card in his hands. I couldn't fathom why he looked so happy receiving a piece of paper.
When it seemed like the jerk got what he wanted I started inching closer to the door. "Okay, see you later then!" ‘Finally I'm free!’ I immediately left the rooftop, running as fast as my feet could take me.
I ran for 15 minutes from the company and sped through the streets to the place where I was supposed to meet my client. My blonde hair was sticking to my forehead in several places and my heart was beating fast from both the running and anxiety.
'I've never been late to a meeting with a client before… Baek-Yang what were you thinking!? Drama's are for the weekend!'
The people I passed by gave me weird looks and a wide berth so they could avoid me.
'How could I fall asleep before an important appointment like that?! I'm such an idiot! Argh!'
After a few more running steps I finally came to a stop in front of the café and hunched over, leaning on my legs. Every breath I took was slightly burning my windpipe. 'I’m in rather good shape compared to an average office worker, but damn.' I straightened my back and tried to even out my breathing as I looked up at the huge wooden sign hanging above the door. The first thing I noticed was the name of the shop, written in cursive; "PIÑA’S CAFÉ". '...Very western. Sure could use some juice right now.' Somehow the name reminded me of pineapple fruit. The exterior of the café looked decent and the light blue outer walls gave a refreshing feeling in the middle of all the grey of the concrete jungle. There are two potted plants guarding the entrance outside, with a small board on the side with the menu for the day written on it. ‘Well whatever’. I took a deep breath to ground myself, got up and stepped inside the café.
The moment I opened the door, a mix of different kinds of strong coffee aromas hit me so hard that it felt like I ran into an invisible wall. I grimaced as the smell made my nose tingle, almost causing me to cover my face by reflex. The cold breeze coming from the aircon made it a bit easier to breathe. It was also doing a good job cooling me off after the running.
The walls of the café that were painted with soft yellow hues made the place feel warm and welcoming. The dark wooden furniture was well arranged and I noticed that they had placed small and cute flower arrangements as decorations on each of the tables. Looking around the café I finally spotted my client sitting at one of the corner tables, away from the windows. I briskly walked up to her, not wanting to waste any more time. "Good day and I'm really sorry for being late Mrs. Jeong Ah-Reum!" I apologized to her with a deep bow that I hope conveyed my sincerity. My hair was still disheveled and I was still yet to straighten my clothes. It was clear I had come here in a hurry.
Mrs. Jeong Ah-Reum had been looking at me sympathetically when I approached and was now chuckling softly behind her gloved fingers. "Good day Mr. Su Baek-Yang. It's okay, I really wasn't waiting for that long. You arrived just in time." She lowered her hand down into her lap, brown eyes twinkling warmly with only the faintest signs of crow's feet wrinkles forming at the corners. "I sent you a text informing you how I would be coming in late because of some changes in my own schedule. I guess you didn't see it?” She looked lovely in her wide brimmed hat with flowers under the pastel silk ribbon going around it. Small strands of platinum blonde hair had slipped out from under the cap, framing her face nicely.
‘Still, I was late and if Mrs. Jeong Ah-Reum had been on time... God why did I fall asleep in such a place today?’ I scolded myself inwardly. "Ah, no. No, I didn’t see it. Thank you for your understanding Mrs. Jeong Ah-Reum." I sighed in relief, at least she didn’t seem angry with me.
“Oh I'm just glad that I didn't make you wait for me." She said and I was still feeling sorry and awkwardly tried to pat down my hair and suit jacket when taking my seat right across from her.
"So, shall we start our meeting?" She asked me after politely giving me time to gather my bearings.
"Sure, let me get all the materials out." I started to pull all the necessary papers and samples from my briefcase to place in front of her on the table. 'Mrs. Jeong Ah-Reum is counting on me to help promote her newly published book. What am I even doing, letting down a client entrusted to me? I'm a failure as a publicist. Agh. At least I’d had half a mind to go back to my desk to retrieve my materials before running here.'
An hour passed as we discussed how to best advertise her book and the medium that should be used in doing so. "That should be all we need to decide for today, Mrs. Jeong Ah-Reum. Things should be done by next week, so we can meet again then for your approval of the advertisements’ preliminary design when the prints arrive. I’ll contact your manager about the next meeting’s schedule."
Mrs. Jeong Ah-Reum nodded and got ready to leave, standing up from her chair and picking up her purse. "In that case, I'll see you again sometime next week, Mr. Su Baek-Yang." I felt her warm gaze on me as I scribbled a reminder to myself of a post-it-note.
I stood up from my seat and bowed. "Yes Mrs. Jeong Ah-Reum, thank you for your time and see you next week." After we exchanged our goodbyes and Mrs. Jeong Ah-Reum had left, I sighed in relief and slumped back down on my seat. ‘I think she must be an angel in disguise since she didn't get mad at me for being late.’ Despite being 40 years old, Mrs. Jeong Ah-Reum was very beautiful beyond her years and acted kind towards everyone. Many people I had met could take a page from her book. Figuratively.
“God, I'm craving for something sweet again. Should I order something before returning?” I pondered out loud by myself while staring at the ceiling of the café.
"What kind of dessert would you like then, buddy?" Suddenly a familiar face popped out to look down at me.
"Gyahh!" I screamed in surprise and almost fell from my chair. 'God! How many times was I going to be surprised today? This is not good for my heart.' I placed a hand on my chest in an attempt to still my racing heart. "Chin. Sun! What are you doing here?" I said, accentuating each syllable.
Chin-Sun just laughed and grinned at me. "Sorry bestie, I unexpectedly saw you here so I got a bit too excited. Did you want to eat something? I originally came in to get myself a drink so I'll get you something as well as an apology for scaring you." Jee Chin-Sun grinned down at me, twilight blue eyes sparkling and her beautiful hazelnut brown hair pulled up out of her face into a braided bun.
When I heard her say the word "treat", my expression brightened immediately. "Really?! Then let's order one of each dessert on the menu!" The look on her face seemed to be disbelieving as I continued to speak. "Don't worry, I can finish it. And even if I can't, you’ll help me right?"
Chin-Sun rolled her eyes but ultimately agreed. "You have a point there, it's not like I can't afford it and it could double as market research... Okay, wait here." She said to me and went to the counter to place our ridiculous order, after which she came back and sat down across from me. "So how has the life of a company employee been treating you bestie?" She questioned me.
"Well, I don’t know how much you saw but I just had a meeting with a client. It's been a bit tiring but rewarding I guess. The hectic times can be especially annoying." I answered her while I was looking at the dainty violet flowers in the well matched mini vase that had floral design on it. "How about you? How has working as a pastry chef been for you, Noona?"
"Honestly, it's not that easy and it's suuuper tiring. All the pressure from other pastry shops in the area is heavy." She explained to me with her shoulders slumping. "Still I love making sweets and it's fun, so yeah. For now I'm hanging in there." She noticed me looking at the flowers and perked up. "Did you know those flowers are called ''pansies" and they're actually edible? You can use them to decorate cakes and pastries!"
"Really?" My eyes widened in surprise as I looked at the flowers, pansies, in a new light. 'I wonder if they taste sweet...' I shook my head to get back at the subject at hand. "Don't worry about it too much. We got this! Let’s believe in ourselves, Chin-Sun. And I'm here for you when you need to rant." I reached over the table to give her shoulder a pat. She gave me a small smile at my subpar attempt at comforting her.
The moment of awkward silence was interrupted by a waiter arriving with the desserts that Chin-Sun had previously ordered. He placed the plates on our table while glancing anxiously between us before returning behind the counter to tend to the next customers lining up. To break the awkwardness I started to shove sweets down my throat before trying to continue our talk.
"Noona, did I ever tell you that I have an annoying co-worker in my company who bothers me all the time, like, he's there wherever I go! And when I try to go home, that stupid annoying jerk forces me to walk with him! I know we are neighbors, but isn't this just him crossing the line?" I rambled, absent-mindedly choosing between one of the cakes and a muffin. "I want to have time for myself to relax and be alone after a day at work. We see each other at the office anyway, so why does he have to stick to me like a piece of chewing gum on the bottom of my shoe?!"
"But… Is he cute?" She demanded to know after all the complaints I had voiced.
"...Noona, is that the only thing you are going to ask me after everything I said?" Exasperated, I shook my head, taking a bite of a citrus muffin decorated with powdered sugar and filled with vanilla creme. ‘Mm, delicious’.
"Well, the way you talk about that guy… I mean, I got curious, why are you so annoyed with him? Now that I think about it... Didn’t you used to hate guys who were handsome since high school?" Chin-Sun was propping her chin with her hands and observed my reaction.
‘Eh?? Something like that happened?’ I just laughed at her claim. "That's not true, I mean I didn't really hate them but it just pissed m-"
I was still talking when my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I took it out to see who was trying to reach me. The number was unknown, but sure enough talk of the devil and he shall appear. Han Min-Jun texted me asking if the meeting went well, and that I should return to the company now if it was over because apparently they pushed more paperwork on me while I was gone. Bastards.
"What, is it your girlfriend? You didn't tell me you got one!" She teased me. I don’t know what expression she saw on my face when I was looking at my phone but the mirth in her voice was evident.
"What are you saying, I don't have a girlfriend or anything of the sort! It’s the annoying guy I told you about." I defended myself while angrily tapping at the screen and saving the number as ‘Jerk’ on my phone.
“Sure sure.” She rolled her eyes, clearly not believing any of it.
"I'm telling you the truth! Anyway, I still should go now. I’m still technically on the clock and apparently I’ve stayed too long."
"Okay buddy. Say hi from me to your girlfriend! And what abou-" She stopped mid sentence and looked at all the empty plates on the table.
I glanced at her. “Yes? Oh and thanks for the pastries.” I said to her while I made sure I had all of my previous materials from the meeting packed up securely and I wasn’t forgetting anything.
"Oh, I just thought there were still some desserts left over, but I guess you really ate them all. Bye bye, be careful on your way back okay? See you again later." Chin-Sun waved at me.
I stood up and waved back before leaving to go back to the company. I was full of energy again, recharged with sugar.
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