Snow at First Sight.
That Winter, My Heart Beats
Darkness surrounded her, enveloping her like a blanket. The only light source she had was faint beam from the phone that she held in her small hands. She felt a vibrate coming from the little device and tapped on the touchscreen to read the incoming message. ‘Where are you?’ it read. The girl’s fingers moved in a blur as she expertly typed back a reply. ‘Help,’ she had said before another beep came in.
‘I can’t help you. Sorry, girl.’
‘No! Please… You have to! Te-…’
“Lee Byeol!” An angry yell rang through the entire place which made the poor girl jump, bumping the top of her head with the hardwood of the counter table. Byeol winced as she crawled out from under her hiding spot –underneath her café counter– to meet her red-faced boss, Mr Jang. If this were a cartoon, she could imagine puffs of smoke coming out from the elder man’s ears. He had his chubby arms on his hips, eyebrows crossed and pupils staring holes through her head. Byeol gulped, preparing to receive an earful. Her boss gave her a stern look before pointing to an unattended table with already impatient customers. When he had left her to her job, Byeol let out a short sigh of relief before rushing to the table with a notepad and pen in hand.
The people at the table threw her unpleased looks when she had approached them with a smile. Her fingers brushed the nametag located just above her left shirt pocket as she introduced herself and proceed with asking their orders. They spoke out their orders without sparing her a single glance, as if she weren’t there at all and continued chatting among each other. Byeol blinked at the customers’ behaviour but jotted down their orders quietly on her paper. She even repeated the order just to make sure but they didn’t even bother listening so she simply sighed and walked off to drop the orders. She continued her job, serving tables and welcoming customers into the café. All were the same as every other day. None of the customers had gave her a single smile or even a short look. They just bustled pass her as if she were just a passing breeze. She still kept her smile though and recommended the specials of the day to them but none bothered so she had to hand over the job to her colleague and surprisingly, they listened attentively to. Even leaving the latter a tip after he was done attending their table. Byeol could only look away when she saw the bill her colleague had held in his hands before stuffing them into his apron pocket with an amused smile.
“What am I lacking? Everyone treats me like I’m just some invisible person.” She mumbled while clearing a messy table by the corner. It was unfair indeed for her to be treated so, ever since her childhood days. The kids used to ignore her, eventually isolating her which made her friendless until the day she graduated. Probably because she wasn’t unique in any way unlike the students that went to her prestigious elementary and high school. All were the children of the rich and famous, while she was just the daughter of a clerk in a well-known company. Teachers don’t acknowledge her hard work and good grades which made her feel even more useless. Finally, she decided to work after graduating to help feed her family of five.
At around six thirty in the evening, the crowd subsided and eventually it was time for closing. Mr Jang assigned her for the cleaning up and dismissed the rest before leaving himself. Byeol swept and mopped the entire place, lifting the chairs on the tables and rearranging the decorations around the café. When she was done, she dusted her uniform shirt and took the café keys to lock up. The chilly wind blew her hair and sent tingles down Byeol’s spine when they caressed her cheeks. As her shirt was long sleeved, she didn’t bother wearing any overcoat and settled with a pair of mittens matched with a scarf of the same colour. She walked down the streets, passing by closing stores and some 24 hours convenience stores. The road was still filled with cars so she didn’t feel too afraid with walking all alone back to her apartment a few blocks away. There were also working people who ran around trying to catch any available bus home, of course she being Lee Byeol was shoved and pushed around by the hurried mob coming from her opposite direction. Byeol tried avoiding the people but they still knocked into her as if they couldn’t see a 5’ 5 girl in the middle of the crowd. In the end, she came out of the herd messy-haired and wrinkled-clothing as if she had just stepped out of a cat fight. Mumbling and mentally scolding herself, Byeol pulled her hair free from the ponytail behind her head and decided to let it fall over her shoulders.
She had her eyes focused in front, unaware of a small bump in the pavement and tripped over it. Byeol stumbled and stretched her arms in front of her falling body, shutting her eyes to face the hard impact of falling face-first to the floor. But she didn’t feel anything. In fact, her outstretched hands had come in contact with something and had simultaneously wrapped itself around the thing tightly for support as she fell forward. Her body collided with something –or someone, both falling onto the pavement with a loud thud. Pedestrians stopped in their tracks to catch a glimpse of the scene before them with saucer-like eyes. Byeol’s eyes fluttered open as soon as she felt herself falling onto something else instead of the hard ground. The first thing she saw was a pair of clear brown eyes that stared right back at hers. She pulled her head back to catch a better view of the person and gasped. An angel. Such a handsome one. She stared at the milky-skinned boy, taking in his light brown locks that hid under a red beanie. His mouth, those mesmerizing lips she had thought, curved into a slight grin which snapped Byeol out of her little staring contest. With a clear of , she stood up and brushed the dirt from her jeans, trying to avoid any eye contact with the handsome stranger as she mumbled a mere whisper of an apology before running off straight ahead.
“Oh gosh, that was embarrassing!” Byeol brought her fist up to her temple and hit herself a bit too hard. She winced at the slight pain she had caused herself and massaged her sore knees instead. Instantly, the memories of her embarrassing fall into a complete stranger’s arms flooded her head once again. It brought a faint shade of pink onto her cheeks which she hid it behind her palms, cupping her face as she continued the walk home to her apartment. She fished her keys from her backpack and twisted the key in its hole until a click sound was heard.
She took off her shoes and placed it on the rack, “I’m home!”
The sound of hurried footsteps came from the other side of her apartment, the kitchen to be exact. Soon, a small figure bounced into the living room with a spatula in hand. The girl’s hair was in a mess as wild strands of hair stuck out from various spots. She wore on a Pikachu apron too, paired with matching Pikachu house slippers.
“Nayoung, you’re cooking?” Byeol grinned. Nayoung nodded in respond, pointing to another pair of house slippers—a sky blue bunny slippers which belonged to Byeol— before shuffling back into the kitchen.
Already changed and bunny slippers worn on, Byeol entered the kitchen and saw her housemate halfway done with dinner. She had volunteered to help but Nayoung just shot her a look. “Don’t bother helping now. Just sit and relax. You’ve worked all day.” Her voice was stern but it felt warm to Byeol’s ears. She watched the girl work her way around the kitchen and finally tugged off her apron when she was satisfied with her cooking. Nayoung invited her friend to sit at her usual seat and sat across her before scooping rice for the both of them.
“You know, I can scoop my own rice actually.” Byeol mumbled, eyes not wavering from the amount of rice that filled her bowl. It was just to her liking when Nayoung set the bowl in front of her and scooped for her own.
“It’s the least I can do to help you since I couldn’t save you from work today.”
“Well, it’s alright… I didn’t get an earful from Mr Jang so all’s well.”
Nayoung sighed in relief as she rose her head from her bowl to meet her friend. “I told Ahjumma already. To feed Squishy. That’s what you wanted me to do right?” Byeol let out a tony giggle before nodding. She had completely forgot to remind the lady next door to feed her toy poodle because poor Ahjumma was too busy to bother about the dog and would sometimes leave it to starve. Byeol had taken good care of it ever since it squeezed its way in between the railings of their joint balcony and raided Byeol’s and Nayoung’s kitchen for food. He was the squishiest puppy she had ever laid eyes on so the name Squishy stuck. The two girls exchanged small glances and continued dinner with Byeol completely forgetting about the past incident which she had wanted to share with her housemate.
“Oh, hyung! You’re back.” The younger boys called from the living room as Baekhyun entered. Sounds of screeching tires and rock music blasted through the speakers of their plasma flat screen TV. The boys were playing a racing game and Sehun was taking the lead, leaving a furious Tao trying his best to catch up to him by distracting the latter with shoulder shoves. Baekhyun just shook his head at the immature pair before walking into the kitchen, being greeted by Kyungsoo and Suho. Kyungsoo was busy making pasta while Suho was at the table, flipping through bills and muttered to himself. The boy took a seat beside the older and peeked at the electricity bills Suho had in his hands. The calculator buttons were the only think he could hear besides the sound of noisy car engines from the game in the living room.
“Seriously! These boys should cut down on the games and movies. The amount on the bills keep increasing as the months go by!” Suho banged his head against the table, rattling the dishes that were placed on it and earning a look from Kyungsoo who went back tasting his pasta and smiling after that.
Baekhyun chuckled, “You’re rich, hyung. Just swipe your card and all’s well.”
Suho glared at him, throwing a dirty kitchen cloth his way just in time as the latter dodge it and sent it flying to the cook’s direction. Baekhyun fled the crime scene, leaving the older boy to handle the wrath of ‘Mom’.
As soon as he walked into the living room, Sehun’s shoulders slumped in defeat while Tao on the other hand jumped in the air, doing one of his wushu kicks and mocked Sehun for being a slow-poke. “I could’ve won if you hadn’t cheated!” Sehun pouted, throwing the controller on the floor as the screen read, ‘Gucci #1.’ Tao continued his victory dance before challenging his friend, Kris to another round. Kris looked up from his phone and walked off, mumbling about how games aren’t his style and disappeared into his room. Baekhyun grabbed the remote control and switched the TV off, sending Tao to one of his tantrums as he wanted to play another round with Chanyeol.
“Look,” Baekhyun sighed. “You guys have got to give Suho hyung a break. He’s working hard and you lot are adding more numbers into the bills. Go do something better which does not involve electricity. Let’s say, indoor soccer?”
Luhan’s ears perked up at the mention of his favourite sport. Immediately, he reappeared with a soccer ball in between his arm and body and left with a delighted Sehun and a grumpy Tao. Baekhyun let out a small chuckle before flopping down on the couch and closed his eyes. Suddenly, his thoughts wondered to the moment from earlier were a girl had knocked into him on his way home. She had the most innocent looking eyes he had every laid eyes on, the perfectly craved pink lips that look irresistibly kissable and brown hair that poured down from her shoulders which covered half her face when she fell. She didn’t even stayed longer to ask his name or even cast a second glance at his direction before running off, which bothered him.
The couch underneath him dipped a bit as another being sat in the empty space next to him. Baekhyun’s eyes fluttered open, finding Kai smirking at him in a I-know-what-you’re-thinking way. His eyes narrowed at the boy, arms crossed in front of his chest. “What are you smirking at, Kim Jongin?” His eyes went from mischievous to cold when Baekhyun uttered his full name. He didn’t like being addressed with his real name, preferring Kai as he was known to be the coolest in his gang with it. Jongin sounds too vulnerable, at least that’s what he said. Baekhyun flipped up his palms, switching to his cutie pie mood to work his way around the mad young lad.
When he cooled off, Kai spoke. “You’re in love.” It wasn’t a question although that sentence hung in the air between them like an unfinished phrase.
“No, I’m not!” Baekhyun yelled, looking the other way a little too soon. Kai laughed at his friend’s reaction and patted the boy on his back lightly.
“It’s time to love, Baekhyun hyung. You’re getting old.”
Now that earned a hard smack from Baekhyun at the back of Kai’s head. He winced in pain, rubbing the sore part with his hand and whimpered. “Look, I told you. I don’t know what the word means. How can I love someone when I don’t even know what and how it is.” Baekhyun explained and let out a short sigh.
“Maybe you just have to let it flow. You can’t shape it so follow it. Follow what you feel, not what you think.” Kai gave the confused latter a comforting smile before heading to the kitchen and pester Kyungsoo to hurry up with the pasta.
That night, things were just like the usual at the dining table all until big mouth Kai decided to share a little something. “Guesshhh whaffh, guysshhh.” He announced with his mouth full of pasta. Kyungsoo glared at him and pointed his fork to the other’s direction, telling him to swallow and then speak up his mind. Following Mama Soo’s order, he did so and then cleared his throat. “Baek hyung here…” A dramatic pause was inserted before he continued, throwing his arms in the air as if he won a lottery. “HE FOUND A GIRLFRIEND!”
Chanyeol choked, Chen laughed his head off, Lay forgotten what Kai had said after a minute and asked for a repeat, Luhan and Xiumin were gaping, Kris with the usual poker face and not giving the situation a single thought, Sehun and Tao were cheering and already planning the perfect wedding while Kyungsoo’s eyeballs looked as if they were about to pop out of their eye sockets and Suho just had that I-approve smile on. Baekhyun was in denial all the way through Kai’s explanation of his ‘unloved for too long’ friend’s situation.
Kai turned to Baekhyun after a long and bull story, mainly his version of the whole thing even though he didn’t know what had really happen and asked, “What’s her name again, hyung?”
That made him pause for a moment before a shake of his head came. The other 12 boys in a long breath like he had committed a crime of some sort. “You didn’t ask her name and you’re already together? That’s funny. Or you forgot about it like I do?” Lay snickered, Baekhyun glaring at the angelic being across the table. And that was when Baekhyun, finally, able to re-tell the story with detail and even highlighting every lie Kai told.
“Well, at least you didn’t kiss her in the middle of the moving traffic like Kai said.” Chanyeol sipped on his drink, a small smile creeping on his face too cute for his voice.
Suho plopped his elbows on the table and placed his chin on his fists, “Did you get something that could help you find her again? Let’s say a card, a number or maybe even an expensive jewellery she was wearing?”
At all the coming questions, Baekhyun only shook his head. “For the last time, she didn’t say anything other than a soft sorry before running off somewhere. Not even giving me a second glance. That’s all!” Xiumin reached out and patted the boy on his shoulder, smiling. “First time for you huh?” Yes it was indeed a first for Baekhyun to see a girl not sparing him a second or third glance after an encounter. Usually, girls swoon and fall head over heels for him. Not exaggerating here. He was perfect : Looks, personality, charms and with a bonus of great power vocals. Being in his old school’s singing team had brought Baekhyun fame and girls, the dream of every boy alive on this planet. However that pretty stranger was not like any of them and that made him interested in her. Not in a romantic way, at least that’s what he thought so. Cold and quiet Kris who was eyeing the chicken that sat in the middle of the table spoke, “Winter’s here which means it’ll snow anytime now yet she isn’t wearing an overcoat. How weird of her.” Then with that, a memory slammed itself into Baekhyun’s mind and he stood up, slamming his palms on the table, shocking everyone and all heads snapped to see what the guy had to say this time.
“I remember! Her shirt!” He shouted, the twinkle in his eyes was hard to miss as he was excited at his late discovery. “It said, Brew Cottage. Know what it is, Kris?”
At the mention of his name, Kris dropped the chicken he had picked up with his chopsticks on his plate, eyes blinking at Baekhyun before his head bobbed once.
“Of course I do. It’s my favourite café in town. They serve the best Americanos.” He replied dryly.
“Why, what are we waiting for? We’ll set off to the journey at the crack of dawn!” Kai hollered. The boys fixed their gazes at him, shutting him up and making him mutter a small sorry for his ridiculousness. It seems Baekhyun gets to meet the girl again after all. A small smile plastered on his face as he thought silently. I wonder if she’ll remember me. Please… Why the please? Well, to keep his ‘Most Charming Guy Alive’ title of course!
The next morning, things were the same for Byeol at the café. She would do all that’s assigned to her and even help around the other’s jobs when they have difficulties. Being the one who’s versatile with anything given, Byeol could easily get a promotion but sadly Mr Jang isn’t too favourable of her as she didn’t interact with the customers unlike her other colleagues. It’s upsetting how he raised their pay checks based on the customers. That’s one of the few disadvantages of being a wallflower like Lee Byeol. She was busy clearing a table when the bell chimed as a customer entered the store.
“Welcome to Brew Cottage,” she had chimed when she in her breath. It wasn’t a customer, it was twelve customers. Twelve handsome, model-like male customers and they were all staring down at her like she was a monkey in a cage back in the zoo. She gulped before fumbling to grab her paper and pen from the apron pocket, wearing a nervous smile. “Take a seat and I’ll take your orders.”
The boys obediently took a twelve seat table and flipped around the menu. As Byeol stood there waiting, her brown eyes scanned the group. All look as if they had just stepped out of a fashion magazine, wearing sophisticated outfits and looking flawless as ever. One guy in particular, caught her attention. He was tall, sharp jawline and light coloured hair which looked blondish in the sunlight that crept from the near window. The usual customer who would go for Americano every time he came by the café. Byeol always swiped places with whoever who stood at the counter when he came around, just to get a closer look at the piercing eyes and hear the accented voice of a Chinese man flowing out of his perfect shaped lips. She knew his name, Kris, the name he would give whenever she asked to placed it on the order. Byeol hadn’t realized she had been staring too long until a light tap was felt at her elbow. She jumped in shock before regaining her cool. “Yes?” she had managed to squeak. Clearly her lack of attention and the sudden jump had surprised the boy that tapped her elbow before he cleared his throat and stole a short glance at Kris before turning back to her and pointed out his order. All had placed their orders except the handsome blond, who was busy scanning the menu up and down. She moved closer to him and leaned into the menu, enough to smell the spicy cologne he was wearing. Her head felt light as if flying on air and immediately snapped out of her little spacing. Kris glanced at her and pointed to the menu. “I’m confused.” His voice, Chinese accent and all made her smile as she tapped on the picture of an Americano special.
“I’m aware that you have an interest in our specialty, Americano so I strongly suggest that you go for this one. It’s new and also highly enjoyed by the crowd that went off earlier, before you –I mean, you guys came along.” Byeol wore on an assuring smile, waiting for Kris to agree which he did and mirrored the smile she gave him. Her inner feels squealed when he looked into her eyes. Quickly, she jotted down the order and floated to the counter, the boys went on into an animated conversation as soon as she had her back to them.
Baekhyun’s eyes travelled along with the girl he had collided into from yesterday. She didn’t even look my way. Nor did she show any hint of familiar when her eyes had met mine for the briefest second. He turned his attention, diverting his eyes from the girl and to his buddy, Kris. Kris raised his eyes to meet the quiet stare from the other and tilted his chin up once. With his thumb pointing to the direction of Miss I-Don’t-Remember-Seeing Baekhyun, Baekhyun didn’t have to ask himself before Kris answered.
“Well, I come here often. It’s only logical that she talks to me only and recognizes me only. She even knows my favourite. What a sweetheart.” The first time Kris had spoken with slight emotion. It wasn’t always Kris had showed any interest in anything, not to mention a girl. The once cold eyes were now filled with something else as they stared behind Baekhyun, clearly looking at Lee Byeol’s way. Byeol noticed herself being watched because when she peeked through her bangs, she could see that the boys from the table she had attended to earlier had turned to look at her ALL TOGETHER. Her cheeks warmed at the sudden attention she was receiving and not knowing what to do, she bolted into the kitchen and asked if she could help with the dishes instead.
Kris laughed. “She’s cute, very cute. Don’t you think so, Byun Baekhyun?”
He couldn’t tell how he felt but it wasn’t pleasant. The blood inside him boiled and he could imagine steam escaping from his ears. His eyes must have set dead cold because Chanyeol nudged him by the elbow and teased in his deep voice. “Byun Baekhyun is jealous. Byun Baekhyun is jealous.” Soon the whole table was following the chant that the giant started and the childish singing echoed through the whole café.
Baekhyun, clearly embarrassed by his friends’ teasing, covered his ears and started doing weird sounds. “I can’t hear you. Can’t hear you. Can’t hear you.” But it was the opposite of what he said. He heard their words loud and clear. The blush on his cheeks were a dead giveaway. Xiumin cooed at him along with Chen who was dropping into the arms of Xiumin, acting out a Byeol-and-Baekhyun romance drama play. The crowd in the café was sending glares to their table, telling them to shut up but soon became a sea of snickers and whispering. The chants had made its way into the kitchen—Byeol’s hiding spot—, filling Byeol’s ears. She looked as red as a tomato, refusing to head outside into the open and face the now noisy café. Her friends tried convincing her to go and tell the boys to keep quiet but she just stayed still and washed her dishes quietly. Minutes passed and the chants died out, leaving everyone forgetting the embarrassing event of Lee Byeol. Maybe they have left already. I hope they did. The clock struck seven, indicating the closing of Brew Cottage. Again Byeol was the last to leave after she had done with the cleaning. She turned the key, locking the café door and faced the cold streets. Something cold tapped on her nose, white and fluffy. Byeol’s hand reached out and wiped it off but another one landed on the same spot, more eventually falling from above. Her brown eyes trailed up to the sky and that’s when she realized, it was snowing. The first snow of the winter. Her hand stretched out, collecting the falling snowflakes in her open palms. They were cool and soft like cotton. She blew on the flakes, sending it fluttering in the wind like ice flowers. A giggle escaped her lips as she twirled in the dancing snow. Stopping after a circle, coldness attacked her body and she started to shiver a bit.
“Now I regret not wearing an over coat. It’s freezing so soon!” Byeol rubbed up and down her sleeved arms. Suddenly, something draped over her back. The cloth had covered her petite body, warming her almost instantly. Her head snapped to her right and there he was, the boy she had knocked into the night before. It was around this time too. Speaking of coincidence.
“Here. Wear this and stay warm.” The stranger fixed his coat on the girl as a soft smile broke on his angelic face. He stretched out a mittened hand to her. “Hi, I’m Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun,” he introduced.
Byun Baekhyun. Something tells me I’ll remember this name for the rest of my life.
Okay, so I'm done with the first part. The second update will be the final chapter to this one-shot. Since I had a lot to say about this fanfic so I decided to break into two chapters. Don't worry, I'll update it soon. Maybe even now! Hope you enjoyed this. It's a belated Christmas entry actually.
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