A Journey to Find a Home | Bang Chan

Americano

"He doesn't even think you exist anymore, Y/n. Maybe not only him, it seems like no one else wants you either.

Because in the first place, there's no place for you-"

*RINGGGGGGG*

Damn, that dream again.

You wake up gasping for air and a few tears running down your cheeks. Taking a deep breath, you harshly wiped away the tears from your eyes.

Day-8030 from so many other bad days that you had to live in your life. The days where the atmosphere was always noisy with shouts and unreasonable orders. The days where the morning air always felt hot and unhealthy.

"Dad, can you stop smoking in front of my bedroom window?" you said while coughing.

With an annoyed face, your dad just pointed his cigarette in the opposite direction, which didn't make the smoke go away either.

Maybe you could no longer distinguish between fresh air and cigarette smoke.

With unsteady steps, you came out of your room to take a shower and get ready. At the end of this week, the cafe will be crowded. You had to get there before 10 o'clock.

"Oh my gosh, you just woke up at this hour?"

The woman said in a loud voice while walking here and there. She had put on her clothes neatly with the fragrance emanating from his expired perfume. It was clear that she was preparing to go somewhere.

"I slept at 5 in the morning, it's still okay for me to wake up at 8, right?" your answer as concisely as possible. Rolling your eyes, you headed for the sink to wash your face.

Your under eye seems to be getting darker since last week. Did you care? Of course not. If people say, "You have to take care of yourself. You're a girl." Well, it made no difference if you were beautiful or ugly.

"I want to go out. Don't forget to do what I ordered yesterday. You promised."

"Yes mum. I will cook for dad and wash the dishes."

Now everyone knows what made your mornings so bad.

-

"Good job, Y/n, good job for today. I'll leave the cafe, please make sure everything is locked. I'm leaving."

Your boss' voice goes along with the lazy waiters his boss invited for his birthday treat. Honestly, you were wondering, why did lazy waiters often get treats from the boss?

And why were you the only daily worker that was not invited by him?

And here you were, mopping the cafe terrace floor alone while guarding the cafe. Suddenly, a stray dog approached you.

"Are you hungry, little one?"

You quickly ran to the kitchen, grabbed a few pieces of leftover meat and headed back to the door. You smiled seeing the puppy sitting there patiently wagging its tail.

"Are you alone? Me too." You continued while looking at the puppy who was eating voraciously, "Sometimes I get confused, what am I doing in this world."

You smiled, reminiscing about the life you lived. It feels really hard every time you wake up in the morning.

It's hard to carry on tomorrow.

"You like dogs, don't you?"

A young man out of nowhere had suddenly been there. He crouched down next to you patting the dog on the head. He seems familiar, but you were not sure who he was.

"Ah- yes. You too ?"

"Yeah, uhm- is the cafe closed?"

"Oh no, not yet, still about 30 minutes to go. Come in, Sir."

The man laughed at your polite words. Calling 'Sir' seemed too old for him who was only 24 years old. Moreover, he also knows exactly who you are.

"Don't call me 'Sir', it's too old for me. Ha ha ha."

"Ah, sorry, then what should I call you?"

"Chan, just Chan. You're y/n right?"

Your eyes widen. Wait- how did he know you? Especially all this time, since you just entered university until your last months of there, you didn't stand out too much.

Or rather, trying hard not to stand out anymore.

"Sorry, you must be confused, huh? I am an alumnus of another major at XX University. You also study there, right? Have you graduated yet ?"

"Well that's that then. By the way, what would you like to order?" you said to change the subject. No, you don't want him to keep talking about those sad times. Especially to this foreigner who is said to be in the same university as you. Really, you don't care.

"Ah, I want an Americano, no sugar."

You nodded as you left him there. You walked to the coffee bar and started making his order.

Chan was bored, so he chose to walk towards you and leaned against the coffee bar, "Why is this cafe so quiet? Where are the other waiters?"

"They are having an event with the boss, my shift is at night."

"Every day?"

"Every day."

Chan nodded even though his heart didn't agree. The woman doing her night shift alone? That's not safe. Moreover, this cafe was at the end of the road which was of course dark and dangerous.

"Here's the Americano, enjoy your night!"

"Thank you."

You left Chan there and chose to start cleaning up the cafe. If you were being honest, it's uncomfortable for someone to stare at you while you're working. It reminded you of people's judgmental views on you throughout your life.

Luckily you could still hold yourself until the end.

"Can I take you home, Y/n? It's late. It's dangerous if you go home alone," said Chan who was now in front of the cafe with you, locking the cafe door.

"No, thank you. I used to go home alone."

"But what if there is a stra-?"

"You're also a stranger. I'm leaving, bye." you said and left, leaving Chan there with a disappointed chuckle.

This woman is not easy.

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

Shaking the half-filled americano, Chan entered the bar lazily. He wanted to go home and rest. Tomorrow he had to meet with the creative team and members of his group for a meeting.

"Look, our celebrity is coming."

Chan shook his head and sighed softly, "What do you want? I already agreed."

"We want to know how things are going. Even though it's only the first day, there must be something right?" said the man named Alex Jung, Chan's best friend.

Chan took a sip of his americano briefly, then showed it to the men in front of him with a smirk, "Here's the proof, she made it."

They all nodded to each other. Well, not only Chan, all the men there also 'reported' their respective updates.

"Don't forget the bet, bro. You have to make your target fall in love with you."

-

To be continued.