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Jihyo groans internally when she hears the doorbell chiming, announcing the entry of yet another customer. Don’t get her wrong, Jihyo loves her job (for the most part anyway), but it’s been an exhausting week. All she’s done for the past days is: go to her classes, work, turn in assignments, eat cheap ramen, sleep for a few hours and then repeat. It doesn’t help at all that she works at the campus café, so not only she has to manage her own dark, gloomy mood, but other student’s as well.
On top of that, her friend bailed on her the busiest night, so she’s on her own for the shift.
Still, she manages to flash an acceptable smile to the customer, speaking kindly “Hey! We’re actually closed.”
A really distressed (or at least it seems so for jihyo) student, who shouldn't be more than a few years older than her, looks in her direction as she speaks. “No, yeah. I know. I just want whatever you have hot and ready”
Jihyo tries not to smirk at the girl, who’s either too tired to know the double meaning to her words, or too tired to care.
“Coffee.” The girl points out, face getting red as she adjusts her bag on her shoulders. Jihyo raises an eyebrow. “Please?” she chimes in again.
“Alright, so i shouldn’t since we’re...” the bartender looks over her shoulder to the clock in the white wall “fifteen minutes over the hour of service.” she looks back at the stranger.
“But?” the girl tries.
Jihyo eyes her for a bit. “Something tells me you really need it.” she answers, then looks at the clock ticking in the white wall behind her. “I really should start closing though, otherwise more people might come in and I can just handle a pretty overworked student at the time”.
The customer's face grew red again, looking sheepishly at the ground while adjusting her glasses. Jihyo walked past her to close the door definitely for the night and started to tidy up the place like she did all of her shifts.
“Don’t worry, I see that all the time. You’re probably pulling an all-nighter, right? An essay?”
“Third time in a row” the girl says. Jihyo whistles low, motioning her to sit down while she finishes rearranging the chairs. “And no, but i am having an exam really soon, i need to get things done”
“Wait, is that even healthy?” she says, stopping her tracks to look at her “How are you even functioning right now?”
The girl laughs. “Probably not, I can't remember when was the last time I ate anything but leftovers and energy bars. But it needs to be done, right?”
Jihyo nods at that because she can understand, and she takes a fraction of time to really look at the stranger as she carefully puts her bag down and closes her cardigan. She really looks like she could use some food, and company (or maybe that’s just her?). Jihyo bites her lip looking back to the kitchen, there must be some snacks or something left too, right? Surely her boss won’t mind. She debates herself for a moment, before deciding to help the girl. “Okay, so coffee, yeah? Anything in particular?”
“Oh no, please, just anything to keep me awake. I really don’t want to be more of a bother.”
Jihyo nods. “Alright, i’ll be back soon then...”
“Ah, Nayeon. Im Nayeon” the girl says, standing up and offering her right hand.
Jihyo takes it, making sure to look her in the eyes as she smiles warmly. “Park Jihyo, your favorite emergency bartender, at your service”. she ends with a wink. Nayeon's ears paint a slight pink, and she clears her throat with a small “thank you”.
Jihyo walks back to the kitchen, wandering around until she finds two slices of bread; she then slides the fridge door open and pulls out some jam and an avocado (which were there for her own lunch, so technically she’s not stealing anything. Like she said, she likes this job, she’ll like to keep it, thank you). She starts humming that popular pop song that’s been in her mind since the morning. She puts the bread in the cute little oven they have, careful not to overheat it, and she finishes the toast just in time for the coffee machine to catch her attention. Unfortunately for Nayeon, she came into the café when the machines were already taken care of, so Jihyo had to use the old machine they kept for employees only, plus her bartender abilities; she hoped Nayeon liked her improvised dinner. She walked back to the table where Nayeon was waiting for her patiently. The more she looked at the girl, the more she was intrigued by her.
“Ah, there you are, I was worried you were gonna leave me here or something”. Jihyo laughs as she puts the toasts and coffee on the table. Nayeon opens her eyes in surprise. “But…”
“Oh shush, I know you’re hungry.” Nayeon blushes again, causing Jihyo to tilt her head. “You blush a lot.”
“I really don’t.” The student said, chuckling good naturally. Jihyo raises an eyebrow.
“Is that so?” The bartender teases. She can’t help but be proud of herself for making Nayeon nervous because, come on, she has eyes. Nayeon is gorgeous. Even when she looks like she hasn't slept in weeks (Jihyo wonders how long it has been since she had a full 8 hours of sleep), and even when she’s wearing simple pants and a white shirt. Even with that overworn beanie that chirps her cute ears and her big round glasses, Nayeon is beautiful.
Also, she’s gay, okay? Give her a break.
“It was really not a problem.” Jihyo shrugs. “If you’re really grateful though, I could take a bite of that toast. It looks tastier than I intended and I haven't eaten anything since my Economics class ended.”
Nayeon nods, pushing the plate on Jihyos side of the table. “You can have one while I drink my coffee, I really feel like I’m gonna pass out if I don't get caffeine into my system.” She takes the warm cup between her hands, making her look even smaller than she already does. She sips cautiously at the hot beverage. “So, you’re a Business major?”
Jihyo takes a bite of the avocado toast and she has to bite back a moan because damn, she really outdid herself this time. “Yep.” she answers emphasizing the “p”. “I’m in my second year. You? What keeps you up at night?”.
“Unfortunately not pretty coffee bartenders.” Nayeon says, resting the cup on the table and inclining herself on it, a bit closer to Jihyo. Who, by the way, is having a full gay panic attack. Nayeon laughs at her, and Jihyo starts thinking the other girl isn’t as shy as she thought she was. “Med school. And not even close to finishing it.”
Jihyo takes a pause in between bites and she sends a low whistle. “Now it makes sense, that you look so tired.”
“Are you implying that I look bad?” Nayeon narrows her eyes.
“What? No! You look great!”
“So you think I’m pretty, Jihyo-ah?” She says as she sips her cup again, smiling.
Jihyo stared in disbelief, what happened to the cute clueless girl that walked to the coffee shop?. “I liked you better when you were shy.”
Nayeon laughs good naturally, and something tells her she wants to tease her again, but her stomach rumbles loud enough for the bartender to hear. “I think I’m gonna eat that toast now”.
The conversation keeps flowing between the two as they eat and Jihyo learns more about the stranger that walked to the coffee shop literally a minute before it was supposed to close. Nayeon chose med school because her father is also a doctor and while she is indeed exhausted most of the time, she really enjoys learning about the human body. She even reveals some histories she’s gathered from attending her father and even when Jihyo doesn’t know anything besides what she learnt in high school, she recognizes the passion that Nayeon’s eyes hold when talking about the field. And Jihyo listens.
The girl is older than her, she finds out. Of course the other girl teases her, saying that she can call her Unnie whenever she feels like it and sending a wink her way. Jihyo blushes and slaps her arm softly.
She also learns things about herself that night. For example, she’s super gay, and she likes spending time with Nayeon. The girl is smart and funny, and that playful personality she has makes Jihyo forget she was supposed to close the coffee shop an hour or so ago. She feels a little discouraged when Nayeon is the one pointing out that they should head out since it’s getting pretty late and they should call it a night, although Jihyo can see the hesitance in her eyes. She could only hope Nayeon is having a good time as well. Jihyo bites her cheek, unsure to say what’s on her mind.
The older girl stands and grabs her bag, extending her hand to her. “Come, I’ll walk you home, it’s the least I can do after all of this.” she gestures at the food. “Are you sure you’re not getting in trouble for it?”
Jihyo accepts her hand as she stands up. She shakes her head. “Don’t worry, I’ve worked here since I got to the campus, and my boss is pretty chill.”
“Good, no pretty overworked student should get you in trouble.” Nayeon says. “Not even me” she winks at her.
Jihyo narrows her eyes. “Why are you like this?” Nayeon laughs, looking at her with those sparkling eyes of hers, making Jihyo’s heart beat just a little faster.
They spend a few more minutes in the café because the business major needs to finish tidying up and closing the kitchen before heading out and securing the door. Nayeon waits patiently for her outside with her bag in hand, and she adjusts her beanie probably due the unexpected cold breeze.
They adventure to the streets, filling the emptiness with loud laughter and flirty remarks. Jihyo is overwhelmed by how comfortable she feels with the other girl, and she finds herself wanting more time, more coffee, more everything with her. She gets a little sad when she sees her building appear on the street.
“This is where I get off.” Jihyo starts. Nayeon giggles her brows.
“Shut up, what are you? 14?” The older girl laughs before she gets serious, but keeps a warm smile on her face. Jihyo feels she could get smitten by that smile.
“Thank you, Jihyo-ah.” Nayeon starts, getting her hands into her cardigan. “For the food also, but I really needed company tonight.”
Jihyo doesn’t ask, only nods. It feels a bit too personal. Still, she’s intrigued by Nayeon. She refuses for this to be their only encounter. She can’t imagine not knowing the other girl. “Had it been anyone else, I would’ve kicked them out. You’re really lucky you’re cute.” she says.
Nayeon mutters a small “ah”, laughing a bit as she adjusts her glasses. “Fourth time.” she states simply, looking at Jihyo.
Jihyo furrows her brow. “What?”
“You calling me pretty, this is the fourth time” The older teases, causing the younger one to roll her eyes.
Jihyo laughs. “You know, it really says something that you’re counting them.” She replies, walking to her door. She can feel Nayeon's eyes on her as she takes her keys out of her bag, debating what to say before getting into the apartment. She thinks for a moment and then tightens the keys in her hands. She opens her door slightly, before looking back at the other girl.
She walks back to her, and Nayeon tilts her head to the side in a way that makes her look so damn cute Jihyo wants to die. She takes a breath before giving a small kiss on Nayeon’s cheek.
“Goodnight, Nayeon.” Jihyo emphasizes the last word intentionally. “I’ll see you around.”
Nayeon blushes like she did the first time, muttering a “goodnight” that's barely audible for Jihyo, who’s already hidden behind the door, heart beating a thousand miles per hour. She tries to sneak a peek of Nayeon and finds her roommates looking expectantly at her instead.
Jihyo knows she won’t hear the end of it.