He Wants To Be With You
When he went to sleep at night, he couldn’t help but think about this particularly long day. His sudden departure from home was surely He Jin’s most rebellious act since he was small. For this, he felt confused and anxious. However, he couldn’t resist his physical and mental exhaustion at the end, and he fell into a deep sleep.
In the morning, there was no annoying sound waking him up. He Jin could finally have a good sleep. He felt pretty energetic. After checking out, he ate something downstairs before heading to the café that he’d visited the previous day.
The job application process was relatively easy. The manager was a young man, and was a graduate student of Yan University. He let He Jin call him K. Since he wasn’t from a wealthy family, he had to earn his tuition fees in A city. He was quite fashionable, his hair was permed, and he had a piercing on his left ear.
The young man saw that He Jin looked quite clean and fresh, polite and that he spoke excellent English, so he didn’t hesitate to hire him. He didn’t ask him why he applied for a job, and didn’t ask him anything inappropriate.
He Jin was only a temporary worker. He couldn’t earn a decent monthly income, nor could he enjoy benefits like overtime pay or double pay. Also, there was a shortage of staff. Everyone had to make two shifts. They had to work from 9 am to 9 pm, 12 hours in total, and all of them earned their wages daily. He Jin was already grateful to be able to find a job at this challenging stage.
K taught He Jin for almost half a day. He taught He Jin how to use the coffee machine and the other tools. He Jin also had to memorize the English menu, and observed how some foreign customers placed their orders. He Jin was a quick learner. At noon, he could already almost manage the shop himself.
The number of customers began to increase at 10 am, and most of them were foreigners. He Jin began to understand that the dormitory of international students and staff of Hua University was nearby. Therefore, who were staying at the residence were mostly foreigners who spent the Chinese New Year in China, it is no wonder that the café was still recruiting at this time.
He Jin was busy until 3 pm. He ate a sandwich made from the store. Then, he discovered that there were a few unread messages and unanswered calls.
The messages were from Fire. He was asking He Jin whether he’d already eaten, and what he was doing, whether he was having a beautiful day, etc. The unanswered calls were from Qin Yu. He Jin struggled for a while, then he ignored the unanswered calls and replied to Fire, “I’ve found a job. I’m now working at a café. :P” Although he was busy, He Jin was in a pretty good mood, he even added a tongue out emoji at the end of the sentence.
Fire didn’t reply, yet Qin Yu called again. He Jin hesitated for a while before deciding to pick it up.
Qin Yu, “you told me that you’d call me today. How come you haven’t?”
He Jin, “ah…that…I’ve been busy, I’m working…”
Qin Yu, “where are you working at?”
He Jin, “eh…in a coffee shop, Costa next to Hua University.”
Qin Yu paused, then said, “when do you get off work?”
He Jin, “9 pm.”
Qin Yu, “okay, I know then. You work first.”
After that, Qin Yu hung up. He Jin felt a bit confused, he was thinking, is Qin Yu going to pick him up after work…well, he was right. About one hour later, Qin Yu appeared in front of the coffee shop. He Jin didn’t see him at first, it’s the girl who was cleaning the shop the previous day who yelled “handsome guy”, which had caught He Jin’s attention.
Qin Yu was wearing a black casual jacket with his zipper open. There was a red sweater with a skull pattern underneath. He was also wearing a loose smoky grey scarf, with a cowboy bag of the same color. Although he was wearing a pair of sunglasses, they failed to cover his handsome face…soon after he stepped in the shop, people couldn’t help but all look at him. At once, He Jin was unable to recognize him, as Qin Yu usually wore a sports jacket and jeans at school.
Qin Yu walked step by step to the glass counter. He Jin stared at him, and his heart couldn’t help beating fast. He saw that Qin Yu taking off his sunglasses, and when he was just about to call him, K suddenly approached and asked, “handsome, what do you want to order?”
Qin Yu folded his sunglasses and pointed to He Jin, “I’m looking for him.”
K, “…”
Another girl at the bar table, “…”
He Jin, “eh, why are you here? I’m still working.”
Qin Yu looked up and down at He Jin without any expression, “then give me a hazelnut latte.”
Everyone, “…”
He Jin then started to prepare the ingredients, while Qin Yu approached to his ear, “latte with a single portion of hazelnut.” He Jin noted it, and raised his head to ask Qin Yu, “tall size or grande?”
Qin Yu looked at the busy He Jin and laughed, “will you have a commission if I order a grande?”
He Jin, “no…” (=_=)
Qin Yu, “then tall size.”
On the side, people were still kind of stunned. They were used to seeing different kinds of customers, but again, they rarely saw such a handsome guy.
He Jin received the money, made the coffee, and handed it to Qin Yu, then asked again, “you’re here for only a cup of coffee?”
Qin Yu, “I’m going to wait for you to get off work.