hoping for love | kth

|| part #7 ||

|- meili pov -|

I ran from the bus stop to the café, the heavy rain pouring around me, mud slushing around in my boots. I entered the café, my hair, bag, and clothes sopping wet.

"Forgot an umbrella?" Chul asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," I sighed.

Chul smiled. "There should be some towels in the family restroom."

"Thank you," I said. I walked into the bathroom. Sure enough, there was a small stack of fluffy white towels. I grabbed one and began to dry my clothes and hair. By the time I had changed and was as dry as I could be, it was 4:41 PM. I left the bathroom and entered the café itself, handing out menus and taking orders.

Taehyung hadn't arrived yet. My mind couldn't help but wonder where he was - even if I hated him and his harsh words.

To my surprise, Taehyung himself suddenly walked in, wet, his body covered with bruises.

I grabbed a menu and headed over to where he had just sat down.

"Welcome to Café Tart," I said, placing the menu in front of him. "I'll be back to take your order."

"Meili?" He asked as I walked away. I turned around to see him, his beautiful brown eyes looking up at me.

"Yes?"

"Will you sit with me?" He asked.

I raised an eyebrow. I had to work! I wasn't sitting around. Plus, he was really rude.

And really hurt.

I hesitated for a few more seconds.

"Please?" He begged, his wet hair creating beautiful bangs that surrounded his face.

I sighed, walking over to his table. I sat down across from him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, pulling a few napkins out of my pocket, but it didn't look like he was bleeding.

"Nothing," he said. "I just wanted to apologize to you for what I said. I'm sorry for insulting you. I know that your job must be very hard and tedious and people must spill food all over you. I was wondering if we could start over, as cliché as that might sound."

I couldn't help but smile at the last part, but I wasn't sure if I could forgive him.

Oh come on, Meili, I said to myself. It was one thing. Plus, he sounded pretty genuine.

"I forgive you," I said. "But I sense that there is more to your situation."

He looked down at the solid white tablecloth. "What situation?"

"I think what I'm talking about is obvious," I replied. "You know, the fact that you come in here everyday, bruised and bloody. What's that about?"

"Are we going to talk about that again?" He asked, looking up at me again.

"Yes, we are," I said, resting my chin in my palm.

"I don't want to," he said. "Let's talk about you. Why weren't you here yesterday and Tuesday?"

I rolled my eyes. "I have another job, okay? Now answer me."

Taehyung was quiet for a few seconds. "Are you okay?" He suddenly asked.

I knitted my eyebrows together. "Yes, are you ?"

"I'm fine."

"You're obviously hiding something," I said, standing up and wiping my hands on my apron.

"And so are you."

I scoffed. "Heck, no! What would I be hiding? That I work at two places? Why is that such a big deal?"

"Say what you want, but I know  that you're hiding something."

I rolled my eyes again. "Are you ready to order?"

"Yes, a hot chocolate," he casually said.

"Okay, anything else?"

"Where's the restroom?"

"Straight and to your right," I said, heading into the kitchen. I placed the order on the clip, and went back outside, continuing my work.

I was taking the order of a young couple when someone came up behind me.

"Bye, Meili."

I turned around, slightly furious for interrupting me, to see Taehyung, hot chocolate covering his upper lip.

"Oh, uh, you have something on your face."

"Where?"

"Above your lip," I said.

He wiped off the residue with his shirt sleeve.

"Yeah, you're good," I said, turning back to the couple. "Bye, Taehyung."

I heard Taehyung sigh before he left.

What did he want from me?

Many long hours later, I was done with work.

"'Night, Chul oppa," I said as I walked out the door.

"Bye, Meili," he called. I walked out of the café, glistening drops of rain falling down on my head. I jogged to the bus stop, jumped on and sat, plugging in my headphones. Suddenly, in the sea of calming tunes, a sharp ding sounded. I looked up to see a Skype from Minjun. Smiling, I accepted the call.

"Hey, Minjun," I said. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, Mei," he replied. "What's going on with you?"

"Same. School, work, sleep," I said.

"That sounds fun," Minjun said. "You know CUBE entertainment, right?"

I nodded. "Why?"

"There's this new girl that came to our school today. She's Taiwanese, but apparently she was a trainee in CUBE. She talked to me today," he said, talking fast, the way he did when he was anxious. "And she knows Korean."

"That's great, Jun," I said. "Now she can help you with your language barrier."

"Hey, I'm learning," he protested. "But, I have to admit that she did help me today."

I smiled. "And Meili wins yet again. Anyway, what's her name? What does she look like?"

"Why do you care? I just met her."

"I'm aware, I'm just making sure that you don't replace me," I teased.

Minjun laughed. "Yes, because she can replace you."

I smiled and glanced at my clock. "Minjun, I'm going to start my homework, but you can stay on the line. If you want."

"Ya, of course, but I have to leave for classes in a bit. And, her name is Ayaka."

"Cool."

I began my work.

"Oh, crap," I heard Minjun say. "Crap."

"What's wrong?"

"She's coming, she's coming."

"Ayaka?"

"Yes," he replied. "I'll call you back later."

"Alright. Good luck with your crush!" I exclaimed.

Minjun scowled as he ended the call. I laughed. It had been a long time since I had enjoyed myself so much.

Hoping for more enjoyment in my life,

meili

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So... do you know (G)-IDLE? If so, what is your favorite song by them?

Ugh, that is a hard one. I love all of their songs, but I do like DOLLAR  and DON'T TEXT ME.