Café, Waiting, Love 。[ - a little crazy - ]
He wasn’t ready.
In about a week, Kyungsoo would have to start classes again, and he wasn’t ready to swallow down the ball of dread that had been weighing him down throughout his holiday break. He had studied almost every day of break so far, which made his life far less appealing that it was supposed to be. And now, there he was, standing with an armful of books in front of a cafe he’d never bothered to enter before.
Although Kyungsoo had passed by the little coffee shop several times before, the name of it had always acted as some sort of repellent for him. Cafe, Waiting, Love. He had scoffed the first time he saw it. Being the sort of guy who was already quite awkward in regards to anything related to love, the last thing he wanted to do was step into a cute, romantic coffee shop where young couples were probably giggling at each other over cups of tea or feeding each other cute little desserts.
But today, today was different. Today, Kyungsoo was probably a little out of his mind. He decided he would give it a go because why the fuck not? Maybe the bright, colorful atmosphere would lift his dark, brooding mood and remind him that there is life outside of studying. Maybe the cafe was magical and would give him oodles of energy and concentration. And maybe, just maybe, he could find a table that had plenty of room for him to perch his schoolwork on (because the really popular mainstream cafes were always too crowded) and not have to worry about other miserable college students hovering around him like vultures.
Maybe.
So, Kyungsoo pulled open the door and walked in, eyes immediately observing his surroundings for an empty table. It took him less than 5 seconds to spot an empty haven of glorious table space in the far corner, to which he quickly descended upon after giving a hasty head-bow to whomever was located behind the front counter. He didn’t even bother to look at the worker while doing so, instead far too concentrated on triumphantly securing the table for himself. But once Kyungsoo placed his items onto the table top and looked back toward the front of the shop, he quickly regretted not giving a proper greeting. The worker happened to be a young woman who, in his opinion, looked like a porcelain doll that someone had painted with utmost care before breathing life into her. Or perhaps she was one of the beautiful fairies from Disney’s Fantasia, with perfectly smooth skin and aesthetically pleasing features he had always admired when he was a child.
Fuck, he really was out of his mind right now…Comparing a pretty girl to cartoons and paintings while dumbly standing with an arm stuffed in his backpack. He was in the middle of pulling out his notebook when he looked at the woman, which caused him to literally freeze all movements and gape like some sleep-deprived creep. Quick, he thought, act normal.
And then he remembered that his life goal is to hang around dead people and discover every little detail about the cause of their death.
There’s nothing normal about that.
Taking a small break inside the resting room, she noticed that another customer had hurried in, without much of a greeting, towards the empty part of the cafe. Having a small cafe had its perks, less crowds, and more intimate interactions with each customer. However, this new customer seemed to have no intentions of interacting with anyone whatsoever, which was evident from the many books that he held in his arms with such diligence.
She wondered briefly whether he was in “Do Not Disturb” mode and thought that regardless of his mood, she had to at least do her part of the job. She walked over to him cautiously with light, quick steps and silently glanced at the thick books that were currently already scattered onto the table. The books seemed to be university textbooks, and for some reason, she wanted to flip through and see what it was about. Her curiosity stemmed from the fact that she couldn’t attend university back then after her parents left.
Although she could “try” to attempt university, she simply didn’t have the time or energy. Work was already weighing her down, and adding university work on top of that wasn’t going to help her situation at all. Honestly, she didn’t even have a high school diploma. Near the end of high school, she had quit school to take over her parent’s store, and nothing had been the same since then. Of course, she kept that a secret. She made up a lie saying that her parents had decided to transfer her to a new school and left the school without anyone’s suspicion. That’s how she left the path of getting an “education”, only to walk onto the path of “society”.
After a few more moments of glancing and observing, she eventually gave him a proper greeting “Hello, welcome. Can I get you anything for today?” she asked softly, afraid to disturb him from his studies, and oblivious to the fact that he had given her a long stare.
NAME: Tina Tamashiro
