Ji Mina's POV

I woke up the next day. Fantastic; another boring day working in my mum's restaurant as a stupid waitress. Is this going to be my life forever?

Mingyu set off to his school, leaving my mum and I to lock up the house and walk to the docks. Oh right. I forgot to mention that we live practically on the coast, and the restaurant my mum owns specialises in fish. Every day we go down to the docks to collect the fresh fish caught that morning, then spend the rest of the day preparing the fish to be served in the evening.

I didn't hear from that Taeyong guy again, he left last night claiming his mum was at the door and I haven't heard from him since. I know it's oNLy been an evening, but I've probably soiled all my chances at finding a new friend. I also don't wanna text back first because what if he actually doesn't like me? I don't want to seem to forward.

My day was very boring, as per usual. After school Mingyu comes along to help at the restaurant with washing dishes, and when he came home today he claimed that he's joined the investigator's club. Apparently they take real life cases in the news and attempt to solve them for fun. They usually take cases that have already been solved, but they've decided to focus on the most recent case of the missing girls in order to raise awareness of all the dangers - which I thought was pretty cool.

It was around 9:30pm - prime time had passed at this point, and we were only left with a few stragglers. The three of us have our own individual chores: Mum does the cooking, I do the serving and Mingyu does the washing. I was busy taking orders for an elderly couple when the bell rang, meaning another customer had walked in.

When I finished I turned to face the door, and I was greeted with a middle aged lady and her son, who looked around my age. Wow, was this guy even real? He looks like a doll. I showed them to a table, taking their drink orders when something clicked in my mind.

This guy.... looks very familiar. The feeling was very strange. I've never met him before, that's for sure, but I feel like I've seen his face somewhere? He wasn't paying any attention to me, so I doubt he was thinking the same - probably meaning that I don't know this person. However, the thought just wouldn't leave my mind.

I took the orders back to the kitchen, where I stood for a moment to think. Where could I have seen his face where he can't see mine? Is he famous or something?

As I was waiting for their drinks to be made, I sneakily listened in on their conversation the best I could. I didn't catch much at all really, stupid Mingyu was clashing the plates together too loud. I decided to just leave it - eavesdropping was rude anyway.

However, as I was walking towards them with their drinks, I heard the mother say "Oh Taeyong, I'm so proud!" And their conversation was cut short with the bringing of beverages. I took another look at this Taeyong as I placed his drink down, sending him a polite smile.

Taeyong? Could it be that Taeyong!?

I left hastily, eager to check my phone to see if it was true. Speeding my way into the kitchen I grabbed my phone and began tapping.

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9:38

Mina
hey, wyd?

Taeyong
i'm out rn, wbu?

Mina
oh cool, where at? i'm at work ;-;

Taeyong
this cute little place on the coast. idk if u know it but they serve loads of fish here which is pretty cool.

Taeyong
wait you're at work??

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I took a sneak peak around the corner, and there he was, typing away as I could feel the vibrations of texts coming through on my phone. Fuck. What do I do now? Do I just tell him? What if he thinks I'm ugly and won't talk to me?

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Taeyong
mina??

Taeyong
did you get caught??

Taeyong
helllloooooo

Mina
haha yeah sorry, i have to be sneaky lol

Taeyong
lolol, where do u work?

Mina
i'm a waitress 🤥

Taeyong
lolol the emoji

Taeyong
where at?

Mina
it's a seecretttt ;)

Taeyong
(￣ー￣ )

Taeyong
speaking of waitresses

Taeyong
the one here isn't doing her job properly (-᷅_-᷄) she's just sat on her phone instead of working.

9:47
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Third Person's POV

Mina felt her heart drop upon reading the sentence, glancing up at Taeyong and noticing that he was looking at her, kind of impatiently. Fuck, she thought. I didn't go round the fucking corner, shit! At this point she pretended to put her phone away, walking around the corner and over to Mingyu.

Taeyong picked up on this instantly, curiosity spiking in his mind. He'd already done a little bit of research on his new little friend Mina; finding her Instagram link was a fairly simple task. By stalking through her photos he discovered what she roughly looked like, her shape and stature, as well as where she worked, where she likes to hang out and even where she went to school. Also, the fact that she texted first implies that she recognised him and wanted to check.

Of course all of these were assumptions, but it seems coming here was the right choice. He was now sure that this 'waitress not doing her job' was indeed Mina - he just can't say anything to avoid suspicion. Her profile picture on her messages is of a cute bear, not her face, so theoretically Taeyong shouldn't know what she looked like.

But of course he knows.

"You keep looking at that waitress." His mother teases. "She's pretty, isn't she?"
"I guess so." Mumbled the boy, preoccupied in his thoughts. Of course she's pretty, were the words circling through Taeyong's mind. She's perfect - just like he is. The mother quietly squealed, excited that her son was showing an interest in the opposite sex. Little did she know that it was the wrong kind of interest.

Taeyong's phone signalled that another message had been received, but was too slow to cover it up before his mother could see.
"Mina?" She asked, an eyebrow raised. "Who is she?"
"Someone I met online." He replied honestly. "This sounds crazy, but I think that this Mina is actually the waitress."

In an instant, his mother's eyes lit up with excitement.
"You have to speak to her!" She exclaimed. "I assume her shift will be over soon, so when she brings the bill over, ask if you could talk to her."
"I-is that not a little too forward?" He questioned, receiving a swift shake of the head from the other.

The time came for Mina to bring the bill over. Taeyong has been thinking through all the possible scenarios, and decided that not listening to his mum wouldn't turn out well. Well, here goes nothing... he thought.

"Excuse me." He coughs, catching Mina's attention. She turned to face him, a polite smile plastered on her face. Outside, she looked calm and collected, but on the inside Mina was screaming. He's figured it out. She cried in her mind. He knows, oh god I'm so dumb. "Could I talk to you for a moment?"

"Ermm..." Mina looked around at the not-so-busy restaurant, wishing there was someone else there to help her. But there wasn't. Of course there wasn't. When was there ever. "Of course," she switched back into waitress mode. "What is it you want to talk about?"
"Can we talk outside?" He gestured to the darkness through the window, and the thought sent shivers down her spine. "When your shift ends, of course." He added sheepishly, flashing a short but breathtaking smile.

"Let me just go check with-" Mina gestured towards the kitchen where her mother was working away - to her knowledge - when she was suddenly interrupted.
"Take her away, she's free." Mina's mother yelled from the kitchen door. She'd been listening in ever since she realised Mina was talking with the boy.

The pair made their way outside, stopping just as the door closed.
"So, you're Taeyong right?" Mina looked away, pursing her lips together. "I'm Mina." The boy flashed a smile at her, focusing on all the features of her face as if his life depended on it.
"Nice to meet you Mina." He replied, "I wasn't really expecting us to meet this soon." He lied, playing a convincing character.

"Bold of you to assume we'd planned to meet in the first place." She replied, smirking a little. "At least now I know for sure you're not one of those creeps."
"Haha, yeah." Taeyong smiled at her.
"Is that your mum?" Mina gestured to the lady sat at their table, staring at them with a scary smile on her face through the glass.
"Oh gosh- yeah it is... don't mind her.." He stuttered. "She tends to get a little... ehh... excited when I talk to girls."

"Ugh I get you," She sighed. "My mum wants me to get a husband as soon as possible because apparently I 'can't look after myself' and I 'need to have kids' and whatever."
"My mum's the same." He told her. "Always nagging.."
"And I've told my mum numerous times" Mina continued. "I'll marry someone I fall in love with, falling for personality, not just how good-looking someone is."

Whilst Mina rolled her eyes Taeyong felt his heart tighten and his breath hitch slightly. This is perfect; it's what he's been looking for - someone to fall in love with his personality, not his looks. The excitement he felt made his entire being tingle, as if he'd just completed his life long quest.

I've done it mum. He glanced at his mother and smiled. I've found her!

"Well, now that you know I'm not a creep.." Taeyong chuckled. "Do you maybe wanna go get coffee sometime?"
"Yeah. Sounds cool." Mina smiled, "I'm free this Saturday if you are?"
"Perfect." He grinned. "Do you want me to pick you up from your house or..?"

"No it's okay, I'll get the bus." She smiled. "There's a coffee shop just down there." She gestured down the dimly lit lane. "We can meet there at 1pm?"
"I'll see you there." Taeyong replied, sending Mina a grin before noticing his mum had walked outside.

"Are you ready to go Taeyong?" His mum asked, and the boy nodded. The two then left, but as they did Taeyong made sure to give Mina one last wave. He was disappointed that he couldn't get her address, but he could always offer to walk her home... especially if she's drunk...

Mina walked back into the restaurant, her mum smirking at her as she did.
"What are you lookin' at?" Mina asked teasingly, only receiving a cheeky look off her mum. Mina really had absolutely no idea as to what she was getting into.