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𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘
𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒊
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I don't know what I was expecting, exactly. Of course that guy would be back to return the book he checked out, but I was just hoping Soonja would be heading to the front counter when that time came. Also, I didn't expect him to be back so soon given that The Great Gatsby wasn't a quick read... Unless you had zero other things going on in your life.

Jisung. I barely remembered his name as he pushed through the front doors of the café, which usually I wouldn't remember something like a stranger's name, except he had been a weirdo about it when he ordered his beverage the first time. My lip corners subconsciously curled downwards slightly at the recollection of what seemed to be a joke he'd made regarding my name and demeanor.

Small iced chai.

Huffing quietly to myself, I forced my eyes away from the young man as he approached the counter, the familiar royal blue cover novel in his grasp. Wiping the distasteful expression off my face, I smoothly replaced it with my usual emotionless look.

"Hey, Chai," Jisung greeted casually as if we'd known each other for years, causing my working hands to halt in their movements for merely a second as I finished drying one of the freshly washed glasses. He'd pronounced my name wrong again, but before I could correct him, he continued. "I finished The Great Gatsby. It was good but I think I expected more exciting content given how famous it is. I still enjoyed it though. Have you finished it?"

Pausing for a moment as I contemplated how to respond, given I'd never actually read the famous English novel, I decided that being as vague as possible was the safest bet.

"No," I answered, reaching my hand forward to meet the boy halfway as he handed over the book.

I could feel his big brown doe eyes watching me as he rhythmically drummed his slender fingers over the counter, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of looking up. I simply scanned the code along the book's spine to enter its return into our library system before beginning my trek towards the shelves to return it to its home.

Why do I feel like he's gonna follow me-

"So, any other book recommendations? Maybe something more... Not boring?"

Skidding to a stop, I rotated my body halfway to cast a flat stare up at the young man. He simply stared back at me with a dumbfounded and slightly surprised expression before forcing a goofy grin.

"No offense," he added.

Facing forward once again, I simply followed my body's built-in compass that had memorized the ins and outs of these labeled bookshelves.

"What genres are you interested in?" I questioned in a tone that I tried my best to make sound professional as a worker here, though I was still not the type to ever speak in a chipper manner.

In my peripheral vision, I noticed Jisung reach my strides and fall in step beside me, digging his hands into the pockets of his cargo pants as he hummed in thought. "Probably horror or thriller. I wouldn't mind a mystery as long as it's got some action in it," he explained as we reached the shelf where I slipped the classic novel back into its original spot. "Or maybe a comedy with an interesting storyline..."

I wonder what this guy's lung capacity is, my mind wandered as he rambled on and I wordlessly guided him to the horror and thriller section amongst the many shelved aisles.

"I've got a few ideas," I spoke up when he finished and I scanned my eyes over the shelves' labels in search of the letter K. "Do you prefer paranormal, murder mystery or Sci-Fi horror?"

Jisung paused and pondered my question, and I took this minuscule moment of time to glance over his appearance without him noticing or drawing conclusions by my gaze. I often found myself to enjoy people watching and my curiosity often caused my eyes to pick apart each detail of someone's clothing. Also, the last two times I'd seen this guy, I had to admit that he seemed to have a good sense of style. This time he'd decided on a white graphic t-shirt with a few purposeful holes splitting the fabric in small increments by the left shoulder and bottom hem. He had on a long silver chain necklace with some kind of pendant on it shaped a bit like a whistle though it wasn't. His cargo pants were a deep grayish blue color with a few acid washed spots that may or may not have purposefully been added to them. His sneakers were simple though I'm sure they were some kind of name brand based on the unique designs from what I could see. Atop his head was yet another bucket hat, a different one than last time, and a single shiny earring hanging delicately from one ear. A black mask covered his face like before as well, though he had pulled it down below his mouth slightly once he'd begun following me to the horror section.

"I'll say Sci-Fi," Jisung answered my question, and I nodded once, reaching for the book I'd originally had in mind.

"This one's really famous. It won awards and they made it into a movie," I said as I latched onto the blue, red and white spiral design novel and handed it over to him.

"'Ring'," Jisung read the title aloud, then his eyes lit up in recognition as he grinned at me. "Oh yeah, I've heard of this! Never seen the movie though. What's the plot exactly?" He added as he flicked through the pages mindlessly.

Holding back a sigh, I reached forward and flipped back the first few pages of the book to direct him to the summary.

"Ooh, how about you read it to me in that signature expressive and captivating tone of voice of yours?" The boy suggested in a voice so genuinely joyful that I almost didn't catch onto the sarcasm emitting from it. However, his expression revealed no intention of being hurtful, simply cheeky as his eyes glittered with amusement. "That way I can really get the full experience, like a movie trailer," he added as he humorously shut his eyes and awaited my narration.

I stared at the boy in deadpanned silence for a few moments before I decided to read the summary in an even less enthusiastic tone than the one I'd already been speaking in.

"'A mysterious videotape warns that the viewer will die in one week unless a certain, unspecified act is performed. Exactly one week after watching the tape, four teenagers die one after another of heart failure. Asakawa, a hardworking journalist, is intrigued by his niece's inexplicable death. His investigation leads him from a metropolitan Tokyo teeming with modern society's fears to a rural Japan- a mountain resort, a volcanic island, and a countryside clinic- haunted by the past. His attempt to solve the tape's mystery before it's too late- for everyone- assumes an increasingly deadly urgency.'"

Jisung blinked his eyes open once I'd finished reading and forced the book back into his hands. "Wow. I really felt like I was in it," he spoke and I couldn't decipher whether or not he was being sarcastic again, but my gut told me yes.

"Chilling," I deadpanned.

Nearly losing my patience, I then looked at the boy with an expression as if I were silently asking, 'Do you want to buy the book or not?' Though I didn't expose my irritation entirely on my face anymore than it had already.

"Hmm... You've read it?" Jisung raised a brow, referring to the book in his hands and I simply nodded, which seemed to be his deciding factor. "Then it must be good. You don't seem like the type to waste your time with boring books."

Responding with a brief and uninterested hum, I began heading back towards the front counter with Jisung in tow.

"...Which leads me to wonder whether or not you've actually read The Great Gatsby."

His accusation caused me to nearly freeze in my movements behind the counter as I scanned the barcode of the new novel selection he handed to me. However, I remained calm and unassuming, simply doing my job to check out the book and ask if there was anything else he wanted. The comment was clearly a joke as I found that he once again had that mischievous expression on his face, so I decided to pretend he didn't say it.

"Anything else?" I'd asked as I placed the book carefully in a waterproof bag with the receipt once he'd paid the rent fee.

Jisung hummed lightly as he scanned his gaze over the menu, then smiled back over at me. "Small iced chai," he ordered the same beverage again, causing me to internally throw a tantrum. "I enjoyed that very much last time."

Deciding not to give him the satisfaction of being outwardly affected, I only entered the order into the separate list on the tablet from the library purchases. "It'll be ready in a few minutes," I informed him before grabbing a cup and writing his name on it in marker. I could feel his eyes on my movements, causing me to twist around to move the cup out of his vision and begin making the requested drink.

As I retrieved the ingredients for the mixture, I couldn't ignore the burning feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was that same balled up irritation that greeted me the last time he ordered this specific drink, yet I couldn't understand why it bugged me so much. It was a silly, harmless joke that didn't seem to have bad intentions behind it, yet it got a rise out of me much bigger than the outright insulting words from those rude girls the other day.

My thoughts were interrupted as Soonja emerged from the back room with a few supplies she'd retrieved from storage. She paused in her steps and gave me a once-over before she tossed a glance towards the remainder of the café and library. A small smirk tugged on the corner of her lips as I stirred the completed mixture and added a lid to it and wrote an added message to the cup under Jisung's name.

Before Soonja could say anything, I grabbed a wrapped straw and brought it to Jisung at the table he'd chosen to sit by, the straw resting atop the lid. Just as he thanked me for the order, I nodded and returned to the kitchenette to tidy around the counters.

"That boy seems to get a rise out of you," Soonja commented finally, quiet enough that he wouldn't hear as she began to assist me in cleaning.

"He doesn't," I disagreed without letting my facial expression change.

"You get more sour than usual when he's around," Soonja countered, only partially joking.

"It's just because he talks a lot," I rebutted. "I get impatient with anyone who talks a lot."

The old woman hummed in a manner that suggested she didn't buy my excuse. "Did he refer to you as a small iced chai again?" She chuckled without looking at me.

Shooting her a sharp side eye, Soonja simply shut her mouth without the amused and devious expression leaving her face. We both finished cleaning in silence and I glanced up at the clock to see that my shift was nearly over, causing my shoulders to sag with relief. That meant the café would be closing soon and hopefully I could make it to the aquarium before Geunhae left for the night.

"You go. I'll sterilize the tabletops," Soonja urged me with a wave of her hand that gripped a rag and a spray bottle of chemicals in it.

"I'll just grab the dishes left," I nodded in agreement as I turned on my heel to find that Jisung had left, leaving the café empty of any customers.

Making my way to his table, I noticed he'd left his empty to-go cup there, leading me to believe that he did that to me on purpose so I'd have to throw it away. However, as I looked closer and picked up the cup, I noticed a message written under mine in a different color marker, causing my heart to stop.

Jisung,

It's pronounced
" Cha - y "

‎
‎

Chai,

I know.
I just couldn't
pass up the
opportunity.

•ᴗ•

Forcing my eyes away from the cup, I then noticed several folded bills where the emptied cup of ice had been sitting. My eyes couldn't help but to stretch wide open at the tip he'd left. I raised my head to glance around, making sure he'd actually left so he didn't catch me looking so dumbfounded.

Slipping the tip into my jeans pocket, I continued clearing away the dishes from the other tables where no tips had been left. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think I'd ever been tipped at this job. Understandably, though, as I was well aware of my non-friendly appearance though I didn't purposefully try to seem that way... Usually.

"I'm off," I called to Soonja as I grabbed my bag and headed for the front doors, earning a blown kiss from the elderly woman before I left her sight, slipping my headphones over my head.

One of the many things I learned since I had moved to Seoul was how unpredictable the weather could be in late summer and early autumn. Most bouts of rain showers occurred in the spring, but the more spontaneous occurrences greeted the city as the heat of summer began to slowly fade away until next year.

This evening was one of those spontaneous occurrences.

As I stepped out into the city, the sunset bathing the cloudy skies and buildings in a peachy glow, I began to mentally panic as the raindrops began to smother the surface of my headphones. They weren't entirely weatherproof and there was no way I could run the risk of my only source of noise-canceling being destroyed.

My heart rate escalated in no time as I rushed back under the lip of the building's roof, using my oversized hoodie sleeves to desperately dry off my headphones. My panic and discomfort was only elevated as the endless number of sounds of the city surrounding me felt as though they were growing louder in my sensitive eardrums.

Two car horns honking out of sync were only lightly drowned out by the thumping of a bar's music in the near distance; Relentless cries emitting from a baby held by a father rushing inside the grocery store two doors down to escape the weather and ease the child's distress; The mid-range buzzing and humming of a malfunctioning streetlight, it's street name sign clanking against the vertical pole with each gust of wind. The high-pitched laugh of a young woman chatting on her phone as she passed by me; An older woman walking beside her wearing skinny stiletto heels that 'click-clack'ed on the concrete echoing around my bubble of personal space that was rapidly shrinking and growing uncomfortably warm.

Swallowing thickly, I squeezed my eyes shut as I did my best to secure my headphones in my bag without taking my aggression out on them. When I blinked my eyes open to search for a place to escape the overstimulation, I found myself to be entirely shocked by the sight that greeted me.

"Mind if I ask where you're heading?" The overly-positive and ever-smiley Jisung called out from the rolled down window of a sleek black car. He'd seemingly spotted me and parked by the curb where I stood, the engine still running and his hands resting atop the steering wheel. "If you're comfortable, I'm happy to drive you."

Perhaps my typical self would immediately refuse such an offer and may even brand him as a pervert without any logical evidence, but my overstimulated and anxious self was going to do anything she needed to get into a quiet space. Also, that generous tip he had left for me with the playful response written on his cup was a thought that continued to linger around my mind for some reason.

Without much further thought being put forth, I stepped forward to head over to the car, which seemed to trigger some sort of 'gentleman reflex' in this Jisung dude. He hurried out of the driver's seat with an umbrella in hand and pushed it open to raise over my head as I rushed to the passenger side door. Once I'd settled myself in the seat and buckled myself, Jisung offered me another smile before wordlessly returning to the driver's side and buckling himself in as well.

"Where to?" Jisung asked me in a tone that was lacking his usual projected tone full of gibe and mischief.

There was a miniscule pause of silence before I answered him in which my brain seemed to relax upon registering the lack of noise, sparing the soft taps of rainfall on the outside of the car. I sent a slightly embarrassed side-glance over to the boy and told him the address of the aquarium, with which he seemed to be familiar.

My head was screaming at me to say something to Jisung to express my gratitude, anything polite or appreciative, but the sudden switch between overstimulation and complete immobility was still processing in my brain, rendering me speechless. However, I soon found that the guilt gnawing away within me was a short-lived issue as a familiar tune began to flood the vehicle's atmosphere after Jisung had pressed a few buttons on the radio's screen.

'I'm always a drink away from a good day...'

My body and mind naturally relaxed at the sound of the nostalgic melody and raspy singing voice, recognizing it as Socialite by Post Malone, and the realization suddenly sank its teeth into me.

"I like your shirt. I love Post Malone. I listen to all of his music- well, almost all of it. Have you heard his new album yet? It's so good..."

"Thanks... His new album is great."

"Do you have a favorite song on it?"

"Socialite."

Before I could fully process the fact that Jisung even bothered with remembering a random café girl's favorite song, my attention was captured by something else entirely.

The sound of it was soft and gentle, melodious with a hint of smokiness to it like subtly sweet bourbon. The unique combination of tones underlying his voice as he quietly sang along to the song immediately cleared my brain, heart and mind of all its prior chaos. That was rare; something having the ability to not only bring a sense of ease and comfort, but to completely erase the turmoil scribbled all over my amygdala in ink that I previously thought to be permanent.

How can someone's voice be so chaotically chatty and overstimulating when they speak... yet so unbelievably calming and angelic when they sing? I wondered to myself in silent disbelief.

I hadn't realized I was staring until Jisung fixed his gaze on me while pausing at a stoplight, a dumbfounded yet amused chuckle leaving him. "What is it?"

Although I was unsure as to why, I decided not to voice my enjoyment of his singing and simply faced forward again. "Nothing," I replied in a quiet voice, debating on my next words. There was a pause of my hesitation before I swallowed my pride and added, "Thank you."

Jisung's lip corners gradually lifted higher and higher until he displayed a wide grin. I could sense the mischief behind that grin and expected a snarky response regarding my 'iced' exterior, but noticed the way he seemed to remember something and let the grin fade into a calm smile with a less teasing aura to it. His words proved to be just as shocking as the switching of smiles when he responded, "Anytime, Chaisai."

Only, this time, he pronounced my full name... correctly.

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author's note
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Thank you so much for reading!

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