______

EUNHEE held the black coat to her chest, sitting down at her usual table in the familiar café as she waited for Jungwon to show up.

She drummed her fingers against the table anxiously, leg bouncing up and down. She felt nervous. Why did she feel nervous?

It was just a normal hang out with her friend. Nothing out of the ordinary, right? Those things the boys had told her we're really making her overthink everything.

She sighed, a groan escaping her lips as she leaned her head into the table.

"Hey." A voice spoke, causing her to perk up and look at the familiar face now sitting in the seat opposite from her. She grumbled underneath her breath, not in the mood to deal with this anymore.

It was that one worker from however long ago-- the creepy one, unlike the usual, sweet employee whom Eunhee had grown fond of.

"You're Eunhee, right? I'm Jongsoo." The male introduced himself, reaching out for a handshake. The girl nodded, hesitantly shaking his hand. Tho, it was really weird as he held onto her hand for a long time.

"So, Eunhee, how old are you? I'm twenty-six." Jongsoo questioned, as she pressed her lips together in a thin line, shifting uncomfortably in her seat and pulling her skirt down.

Twenty-six? Sorry, but she really thought he was like, thirty years old at least.

"Uhh.. I'm eighteen." She mumbled, gaze shifting down to her hands, which were in her lap.

"Oh, so you're still a student? Ah.. that's unfortunate.. but, it's okay, I can work with that." He said, earning a confused and grossed out look from the girl.

"Oh.. okay?" She said confusedly, her eyes flickering between the male sitting across from her, and the door of the café, hoping Jungwon would show up soon.

"Are you going to order something? What would you like? I'm right here for you." The male quirked a brow, crossing his arms and leaning against the table, staring intently at her.

"Oh, no. I don't plan on ordering anything.. I'm just waiting for someone. He should be here soon." She quickly declined, shaking her head.

"He..?" Jongsoo furrowed his brows before adding on, "is it that same guy who you were with before?"

Eunhee paused before slowly nodding her head, watching his smile falter slightly as he cleared his throat.

"So.. uh, are you like, dating..?"

Her eyes widened, taken aback by the sudden question. She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was broken stutters. The soft chime of the bell rang throughout the building, as she quickly snapped her in the direction of the glass door.

A sense of relief rushed through her as she quickly stood up, walking towards Jungwon who seemed confused at her fast pace.

"Sorry, Jungwon, but can we not eat here?" She spoke quietly, holding her breath and stealing a quick glance towards the employee who was already staring at the two of them with a clenched jaw.

Jungwon followed her gaze, making eye contact with the employee and taking it in that he probably had made Eunhee uncomfortable in some way. Jungwon nodded his head, mumbling a small "of course."

Eunhee let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding, muttering out "thank you.."

"Eunhee," the employee called out, as she slowly turned her head in his direction, "wait here for a moment." The male said, disappearing to the back of the shop.

"What's going on?" Jungwon questioned, turning his attention to the tense girl.

"He started asking about my.. uh, love life, age and stuff. He was making me kinda really uncomfortable. And he seemed kinda upset when I said I was only eighteen but then he went oh, that's okay I can work with that. He's literally twenty-six, bro."

"What the heck? That's literally so creepy.. sorry I wasn't here sooner, Eun." Jungwon apologized, feeling guilt wash over him.

Eunhee shook her head, flashing him a small reassuring smile. "It's alright, Jungwon."

Just then, the employee, known as Jongsoo, came back, a small paper in his hand. Grabbing her hand, he forced the piece of paper into her hand, flashing her quick smile. His gaze shifted to Jungwon, rolling his eyes slightly before walking away.

"..come on, let's go." Jungwon spoke, placing a gentle hand on her back as he led her out of the café. Once they had gotten out of the café, Eunhee looked down at the folded piece of paper in her hands with curiosity.

"What is that?" Jungwon questioned, earning a shrug.

The girl unfolded it, nose scrunched in disgust once she had seen what was written down.

__

Eunhee, I find you to be stunning, and I'd like to take you out on a date sometime. Text me. I'll arrange the details.

###-###-####

-Jongsoo.
__

"Gross.. you're literally underage, and he's aware of that.. what a creep." Jungwon muttered in disgust, as Eunhee nodded her head in agreement.

"What're you gonna do with it?" He tilted his head.

"Well, obviously I'm not going to keep it.." she said, sighing as she ripped the paper so it was completely unreadable, crumbling up the remains of the paper in her hands. "I'll throw all of this away once I find a trash can."

Jungwon hummed, satisfied with her decision.

"Oh, yeah.. I brought your coat back." Eunhee suddenly chimed, raising the coat that was wrapped around her arm and extending it out to him.

"Oh, haha, I forgot about that. Thank you." Jungwon smiled, taking the coat gratefully from her hold and slipping it on.

"Mhm. Anyways, now where are we gonna go?" She asked, furrowing her brows slightly.

"I know a place. Eun, how fond are you of ramyeon?" Jungwon questioned, as her eyes lit up.

"I like it a lot, actually." She smiled brightly, as Jungwon hummed.

"Well, Heeseung and Jake actually have their own place not too far from here. They don't even need to work, they're already pretty financially set for the future. They literally just opened a ramen shop together for fun." Jungwon explained, a small giggle escaping his lips.

"Wait, really? That's so cool! How come you never told me?" Eunhee nudged him playfully, scrunching her nose up slightly.

"It never came to mind." Jungwon laughed, his eyes forming two small crescents.

"How do you fail to mention the fact that your friends own a literal business?" Eunhee teased, shaking her head with a smile.

_____

AUTHOR'S CORNER
dude i'm still sick 😭

but i'm literally coughing and blowing my nose every five seconds 💀

but hey, on the bright side, being sick gives me more free time to write more chapters which is both fun and kinda stressful at the same time for me

it's only stressful when i'm on a writers block and i have to find something to write about lol

anyways, paris by taylor swift is playing so i'm gonna go 😍😍🤞

but before i go, thank you for the large amount of support on this book i've been recieving recently.

i appreciate it so much and love you all <333
january 24th, 2023 -- 9:39pm.

not proofread.