Vanilla+brown sugar (Hyunlix)

Strawberry shortcake

I jolted awake. Sitting up on my bed and covering my eyes immediately. It was bright, I had forgotten to close my curtains last night. On top of the blinding light from the morning sun. I was having a nightmare about my aunt just now. One of the many terrifying reoccurring dreams, one where she locks me up in the punishment room, because 'I had been bad again'. Well, that's one way to wake up.I slid out of bed and made my way to the living room. Walking slowly with my head down, until I heard Jeongin's laughter. "Your hair looks crazy" he laughed, "good morning by the way." I lifted my head and smiled, "good morning."

We were sitting on the counter stools in the kitchen, eating the breakfast I just made. Which were avocado toast with eggs and iced coffee. "So what are we going to do today ?" Jeongin looked up from his phone, now staring at me. "Today's my day off," He smiled.

"Oh, where do you work ?" I don't know why but I was surprised to hear about his job. Well, I guess most normal people have one, plus he needs some way to pay for his apartment.

"A country club," he said while pushing the rest of his avocado toast into his mouth.

I giggled, "where's that ?".

"Well, it's basically a place where rich assholes-mostly the sons and daughters of old money families, come to spend all their free time, playing tennis or golf or just ordering expensive drinks the whole day." He rolled his eyes. "Sometimes they can be a real pain in the ass to deal with, and they really look down on us 'lower class' workers. But that's rich people for you, the pay is really good so I don't think I'll be quitting no matter how bad the rich people are." He shrugged.

"Oh wow, I didn't know a place like that existed," I stood up with my plate and glass, gently placing them down into the sink.

"Yup, now back to the first topic, what are we going to do today?."

I turned on my heel now facing him. "How about shopping?." I really needed some new clothes and most importantly a phone.

He hummed excitedly."Let's go get ready then."

We made our way down the sidewalk on Rue street. Just like the past couple of days, today's weather was also gloomy. I wasn't bothered by it though. It was the type of gloomy weather that came with a cloudy sky and a calming aesthetic to it.Jeongin was talking about all the different stores he buys his clothes from and how much I would love them, and he wasn't wrong. The store we entered had everything from clothes to accessories to shoes. We started with clothes and I immediately went for a brown hoodie with teddy bears on it, its material was almost fur-like, like a stuffed animal.

"That's cute, you really like teddy bears, don't you ?", Jeongin watched as I checked the hoodie for my size.

I blushed a little. He wasn't wrong.

Just like me, Jeonjin seemed to like shopping a lot. He helped me pick my size and told me which outfits looked the best. He also waited while I tried on the clothes we picked. Telling me to turn around and inspecting me from head to toe. He was very serious about it. After what feltlike forever I picked out a couple of pieces, well a lot, but that doesn't matter anyway, it's not like I'm spending my own money. We also picked out some jewelry and 2 pairs of shoes. In the end, I bought myself beige leg warmers, oversized hoodies, some basic shirts, cardigans, sweatpants, shorts, and other things that suited my style. I had been eyeing a white skirt, but after thinking for some time, I decided I wasn't confident to wear something like that yet.

We were sitting on a park bench with my shopping bags resting beside us.  Feeling tired and hungry after that nearly 3-hour shopping spree.Jeongin was on his phone, searching for a place for us to grab lunch. Even if lunchtime had already passed. Ordinary Flower and Cafe had popped up, and seeing that it was close we picked there. Not to mention the amount of shopping bags we had to carry.That seemed like the perfect place to go at that moment.

As we walked into the Cafe we were immediately greeted by a man with Orangish-brown hair. He was holding a bouquet of flowers. "Good day, are you boys here for some coffee or flowers ?." His voice was friendly and welcoming. We were confused by what he meant, but we quickly told him lunch. He brought us to an empty table in the corner and took our order."Can I have a strawberry shortcake and ice tea please?" I said. Watching as Jeongin looked up from his menu, mumbling a "me too."

"Okay, I'll be right back. The man said, swiftly making his way behind the counter, to a boy who looked a few years younger than him. His black hair was covered by a beret and his delicate features stood out on his face, especially his brown puppy-like eyes. After what felt like a few minutes the same man brought us our orders, telling us to enjoy with a wide smile on his face. It honestly looked delicious. He was about to walk away until Jeongin asked him a question.

"Did you guys just open?, I've never seen here until today."

The man smiled again. "Actually yes!, we just opened a week ago. I'm Chan and that's my friend Seungmin behind the counter. As you can tell by now, this place is a flower shop and cafe. I sell the flowers and Seungmin sells the food and drinks." Now that he mentioned it, I just noticed the almost hundreds of flowers decorating the cafe. It was in the ceiling, the back of the chairs just everywhere. The Cafe smelled like a flower garden.The smell wasn't too strong, it was very pleasant to be in.We chatted and ate, enjoying the ambiance of the cafe. After a while we even ordered more food. Chan and Seungmin looked like they got along well. Seeing that Chan would occasionally go behind the counter, pestering Seungmin until his face turned red. We finished our food, giggling at the scene in front of us. They were honestly cute. Until Jeongin's phone vibrated. He looked down at it immediately, his expression dropping while he read whatever message had popped up. He looked upset. I watched as he placed the phone on the table, huffing a little. At least this time he didn't slam it down.

"It's my boss, turns out the guy that works with me quit just now." He looked concerned. "See in the country club, I work on the tennis courts attending to the guests, things like getting the ball for them, giving them water, fresh towels and other things. We're supposed to work in pairs while doing that. The guy I normally work with, he's really timid and gets shouted at by the guests a lot. Seems like today he finally had enough and quit." He sighed, tapping his fingers on the table.

"That's horrible, I hope he's okay," I said. Thinking back on the times my aunt shouted at me and all I could do was go to my room and cry. It was the worst feeling, getting shouted at.

He sighed again. "That is horrible, because now he's gone and I don't have anybody to work with tomorrow."

"Maybe I can come in to help you tomorrow" I joked, taking a sip of my iced tea. It was peach flavored.

"Oh my God, Felix, that's such a good idea." Jeongin's face lit up. "How about we work together ? I can message my boss like right now and I know he'll say yes since he's really desperate for new workers." Jeongin looked serious and was smiling at me like if I said no his whole world would crumble. I froze for a second. Me working ? I mean, I've thought about that a lot and what my dream job would be. Although I lost hope after a while. The constant reminders from my aunt that I will never be anything. Eventually got to me and I even thought that for some time. Another thing is the money. I'm on my own now and I need to be independent. Jeongin did say the pay is good. "Sure why not," I finally looked at him, giving him an answer.His smile brightened. "Then I'll message my boss right now." By now we had left the cafe. On our way out we said goodbye to Chan and Seungmin. Seungmin was shy but he still gave us a little wave. However, Chan was all smiles, telling us goodbye and to come again. Which I'd definitely do. Jeongin's boss had responded and told us I could start work tomorrow. Not gonna lie, I was super excited about my first job. Also, the fact that I would be working with Jeongin. On our way home we stopped by the apple store and I bought myself my first phone. It hadn't been that long since I ran away but it was the happiest I'd been in years. Hope bloomed inside me for the first time in a long time. From now on I could finally live the life I always wanted.

૮꒰˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ~♡︎
  /づ🍨づ