The first time they met each other was at their workplace. Min ha was a senior barista while he, an amateur, even though she was younger than him. In his eyes, her movements was like a flowing liquid, flawless in his eyes. 

They never spoke. Strike that, no one ever spoke to her. From the very first day she entered the cafe for her first shift, no one could tell that she was different. Most of the staffs tried talking to her but she wouldn't budge; she didn't even gave them a glance. She would just turn her head to acknowledge the person and went back to making the coffee. She never looks up, her head is always down, brown bangs covering her forehead and half her eyes.

Min ha was the oldest staff until Yi Xing came. All of the other crew members were temporary part time students hoping to earn enough for their university fees but she wasn't one of them. She was a full time permanent staff who worked at the cafe for 3 years. Right after her graduation at the age of 21, she started working at the cafe. No one knew her background, her family or voice, except the lady boss of course. All the other baristas who tried working with her ended up quitting after 3 months due to reasons such as "she's too quiet" or "she's too unfriendly". Of course, the vibes and aura she was giving out to people indeed wasn't very friendly if misunderstood. Strangely enough, the lady boss never fired her, she let her continue working even though complains after complains flooded in from the crew. Rumour has it that she was the lady boss's daughter.

After hearing everything from different staffs over a one month period, Yi Xing found her mysterious and wanted to talk to her.

Getting a new order, he went up to the coffee counter and started pouring the coffee beans he roasted into the grinder. Without a word, Min ha walked in front of him, stopped the machine and poured all the black burnt beans into the trash can and, she scooped some copper brown beans which she roasted into it. Afterwhich, she just walked off to froth the milk. Yi Xing just stood there embarrased because he could not even roast coffee beans properly after working here for a month and became puzzled as to her actions. How could she spend 4 years, not even talking about 4 hours, not speaking to anyone. He just could not fathom her mind, neither could anyone.

Weeks passed by. Everyday when Yi Xing came in for work, Min ha would already be by the counter roasting coffee beans and checking that the coffee beans are still fresh and all the machines were working properly. The latte art she created were beautiful and intricate. Simply speaking, there was no designs she couldn't manage. Yi Xing started learning from her, of course it was difficult. It was always an all action no words lessons, adding to how she kept a stoic expression twenty-four seven, patience was important.

Weeks turned into months and Yi Xing has been working there for nearly 6 months now. They were both unanimously chosen the best partners and could understand each other's action or mind with just a small unspoken gesture. If either of them found an opened package of milk on the counter, they would start frothing the milk. If Yi Xing found a burnt coffee bean left on the table, he would throw the old, burnt and unfresh coffee beans and order new ones from the supplier. If Min ha saw a cup of coffee nectar on the counter, she would look at the order and start creating the designs which Yi Xing couldn't achieve.

The lady boss and crew were all amazed as to how Yi Xing managed to overcome this obstacle; Min ha's unwillingness to socialise or speak. Yi Xing said that it was nothing and it was only right that they work well together since all the other crew members were either working the cash register, cleaning up after the customer left or washing the untensils and they were the only 2 baristas working in the cafe. However, he missed out a point, he was also starting to grow fond of her...

Little did he know, she was growing fond of him too.

Soon, it was the first day of university again and most of the crew had to return back to school. The cafe was left with only Min ha, Yi Xing and Jackson, a 17-year-old foreign student but that did not change the cafe's business. Due to Yi Xing and Min ha's teamwork, they brewed aromatic coffee and detailed latte art which lured more customers in the past 6 months and thus made them busier. The customers also did not mind waiting if it meant drinking good coffee.

It was already 8.30pm and Jackson was allowed to end his shift for the night. Yi Xing went to the kitchen to wash up the crockery and Min ha was standing by the cash register counting the sales they made so far. The cafe was nearly empty with only another half an hour until closing time.

The bells hung on the glass door jingled.

Min ha looked up to see a man dressed in a suit walk in. He sauntered over to the register while scanning the menu written on the wall.

It took no time for Min ha to set her legs running into the kitchen. Yi Xing looked up from the basin while holding onto a dirty plate and made eye contact with Min ha. "What's wrong?" He knew Min ha wouldn't speak but she wasn't dumb to not to use her hands to gesture. She pointed towards the door and advanced to the basin. Yi Xing took the blue rubber gloves off and passed it to her while drying his hands on the black apron he was wearing before taking big steps towards the register. He saw a man in a suit with his hair combed back in a slick hairstyle and brief case in his left hand. He looked east and west for a staff and eyes finally landed on Yi Xing.

"Hello sir, welcome to Orion Le, may I have your order?"

"Yes, I would like a cup of americano."

"Sure, your bill will be $5.60. Thank you very much," ending with a smile showcasing his prominent dimple.

After the man got his americano, Yi Xing stood outside the kitchen looking in through the glass panel. Scanning the small figure inside, he couldn't figure out why Min ha didn't want to speak. Was she so persistent in building up her barriers in her mind and staying locked up in her own world? Why couldn't she open up to Yi Xing at least? Sure 6 months wasn't very long but still...

Taking off his apron and bid farewell to Min ha, Yi Xing walked down the cemented pathway taking in the cool breeze. He turned into the nearby convenient store and began the hunt to look for snacks for the movie marathon he was going to have later on.

Stepping out of the store, he took a deep breath and buttoned up his trench coat. He turned and looked down the street for the corner shop for any signs of lighting. Seeing it was dark, he was sure Min ha had already locked up the cafe and had gone home. His thoughts wandered to Min ha, the quiet girl with brown mahogany hair, bangs covering her forehead and medium-length hair always tied in a small pony tail. Droopy double-eyelided eyes, upturned nose and roped thin pale lips against her warm beige complexion, he fell deeper for her.

There was rustling. Carton boxes and a small trashcan fell in the alley Yi Xing was walking by. He stood still, staring at it but because it was dark, he didn't let it get to him since stray cats were common. He walked away but the sound of fabric ripping and slapping caught his attention once more. He ran into the alley and saw what he least expected.

He dropped his bags of chips and popcorn and ran to the man and grabbed his collar. He had a 4-day-old unshaved beard, small wide set eyes and snubby nose. Dressed in a thin white tee that was filthy accompanied with small holes and 3/4 khaki pants. He had the scent of alcohol but was clearly not drunk yet.

"How dare you touch her!" Anger boiling within. Eyes filled with irritation and hatred, he gave the man a blow to the face. Shocked by the impact, the man tried to lunge forward again but Yi Xing had a firm grip on him and gave him a few more forceful punches. He gave the man a hard strike on his belly using his knees and threw him onto the sidewalk. Quickly regaining his footing, the man ran away.

Swiftly unbottoning and taking off his trench coat, he turned around and softened at the sight of min ha sitting on the ground. Knees tugged into her chest, head slanted to the side against the alley's vandalised wall, breathing appearing uneven. Her pink lacey shirt had been ripped and torn across diagonally exposing her right shoulder and bra, long jeans partially cut-up, face imprinted with red marks from the slap and pony tail gone replaced with dishevelled hair. Yi xing knew she put up a fight with the and could not help but sigh. He bent down and draped his coat over her shoulder buttoning up as far as he could go with her sitting down. She was limp. He wondered why he never heard screaming until he took a close look at Min ha.

She was wheezing and panting like any other normal person after a series of crying but she still didn't give out any sound.

He stayed still and tried to hear breathing.

Nothing.

Realization struck him.

Min ha was mute;

but not deaf.

Everything made sense now.

Why she never spoke but acknowledged others when she heard people calling her.

Even when she accidentally touched the boiling hot steam wand in the cafe, no one except yi xing saw her open to yelp but nothing came out.

Min ha was mute...

Lifting his head, his eyes widened and Min ha saw the look on his face.

She knew Yi Xing comprehended everything even without the need to tell and all she could do was nod...

Yi Xing looked back down onto the ground, shutting his eyes with a frown and took a deep breath before he looked up, turned around taking Min ha hands and draping it over his shoulders.

Carrying Min ha on his back, he walked back home trying to recover from what he had just understood. Standing at his doorsteps, he slowly inserted the key into the keyhole and pushed the door open with darkness welcoming them.

Min ha had already snuggled into his neck and fallen asleep during the walk home and Yi Xing did not want to wake her up. He carefully laid her on his bed, took off her shoes and closed the door. Trying to relax after the horrible eventful day, he took a short shower and went to sleep on the couch.

It was a sunday when Yi Xing opened his eyes again. Glancing at the watch on his wrists and realising it was already past 10, he jolted up and began looking around. Forgetting that sundays were the days Yi Xing and Min ha got their day off, he relaxed and laid back into bed.

Not feeling the soft pillow behind his head, he opened his eyes again and looked around.

Why am I in the living room?

Taking a moment to realise the happenings from yesterday was real and everything but a dream. Rubbing his face, he got up and walked towards his room. Knocking on the door before opening them, he peeked into the room and saw Min ha already up and sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked up still dressed in the same condition as yesterday. Yi xing nodded his head and walked towards his wardrobe to pick out a white t-shirt, a pair of black sweatpants and towel for her before taking out another set for himself. He passed the fabrics to min ha and exited the room.

Whipping up some breakfast after his shower, he set the food on the table and waited for min ha. After a good 7 minutes, she came out of his room with her head down. Her appearance completely different from how she looked like at the cafe; black polo Orion Le shirt, jeans, black apron and tied up hair. Now she looked small in his slightly over-sized clothing and hair wet dangling off the side of her face.  

"Sit down and eat your breakfast. Later we will be going to the police station to file a report."

Nodding her head, she started on her meal, afraid of offending him due to his change of attitude. He was always so positive, respectful and cheerful but his change of seriousness made her nervous.

Yi xing observed her eat as he ate. She looked so weak and fragile unlike the girl he knew at work. Of course, last night's trauma was not going to fade away any sooner. He tried to understand.

Unable to take the stare coming from Yi Xing, Min ha started tearing up. Her hands held her utensils firm turning her fingers white and body started shaking, she kept her eyes locked onto the plate of eggs.

Of course, he must be judging me. Who would want to be friends with a mute person like me? I shouldn't have got my hopes up thinking we might have a future together.

Yi Xing saw the tears drop onto her plate. He didn't know what to do. The emotional side of him wanted to hug her, console her and tell her everything was going to be alright, but the logical side of him wanted to just let her be, time was the only cure.

Min ha quickly drop the utensils down and bowed to Yi Xing as a gratitude and ran towards the door. The emotional side of him won. He quickly put his utensils down and ran ahead of Min ha, hugging her. He looked straight ahead at the violet painted living room wall with one hand on her lower back another on her head pressing it firm against his chest. Comfortable silence embraced them. He knew she was still crying as he felt his shirt getting damper and damper. Sound was not needed, tranquility was.

Rocking her side to side in a hushed lullaby, he finally felt calm even breathing.

Setting her on his couch, he whipped up his laptop and opened an empty file. They started speaking like this. Yi Xing asking her a question and Min ha responded by typing her answer into his keyboard.

Through this, Yi Xing came to realise the life Min ha went through. Her parents abandoned her at the age of 5 because they didn't wanted to take care for a mute daughter. They felt that there was no fun and interest in raising a mute kid and left her in an orphanage. She didn't have aspirations, she just hoped to graduate university with a degree and that's what she did. She managed to walk her way through education by at least passing every test she took. She was never the smartest. Never being put into a school or taught about hand signs, Min ha had trouble communicating with others. She chanced upon the lady boss of Orion Le during her darkest days and promised to repay her the favour as long as she lived. After graduation, she immediately started working at the cafe, producing works of beautiful designed latte. The boss was certainly elated and started treating her like a daughter, that was how the rumour started.

The atmosphere became very solemn after Min ha completed her last sentence. Feeling the tense atmosphere, she shut the laptop and gave Yi Xing a smile. A smile; The very first time in 10 years, she smiled, feeling a weight lifted off her chest.

"Oh wow, so you do know how to smile."

Looking at Min ha snicker at him, he suddenly felt so dumb.

"Of course she knows how to smile idiot. I just never imagined it to be so beautiful."

Min ha looked up at him dead in the eyes.

"Oh , did I say it out?"

Nodding her head keeping her stoic expression on again, their eyes never left each others.

Taking a deep breath to gather up his courage, he moved towards her and said, "Since you heard it, I will just say it out straight."

"When I first came into the cafe for a cup of coffee, I saw you. You looked absoulutely incredible. Your eyebrows would come together as you slowly and carefully pour the milk into the coffee. Your hands moving swiftly as you brought the designs to life. I just couldn't take you off my mind. Remember the guy who said 'hasta la vista' as you handed him the coffee? Yes, that was me and it meant 'until I see you again'. Although you literally gave me the cold shoulder when I said that, I didn't want to give up, I wanted to see you again. I went back to the cafe the next day and I asked Mdm Yoon if she needed help in the cafe. Thank goodness lady luck was on my side as the cafe was short on baristas. I joined a week later. That one week, I couldn't stop thinking of what to say to impress you when I would see you again but all my efforts were washed down the drain when the university students said you would just ignore them when they spoke and you were probably some snobbish person. It was so damn true."

Laughing a little before he continued speaking.

"The glance you would give me when I tried to start a conversation with you. You just rolled your eyes and walked away leaving me hanging. I figured that to get close to you was to pretend that I didn't know a single thing about coffee making and hopefully catch your attenton so that you would teach me. Thankfully, it worked. I know I probably overdid it at some point of time where you would get so annoyed but I found you cute. Terribly cute. I don't even know what lured me into you. You are definitely not the prettiest, not the smartest, not the richest, nor are you,"

Leaning in to whisper into her ears, "the bustiest."

Holding in her breath because of the shock, she stayed frozen.

"But your attitude and personality drew me in. I couldn't believe my eyes yesterday when I saw you struggling in the alley. The guy almost ravaged and had you there. I saw your expression of fear and fright and I had to internally blame myself for not protecting you. What if I wasn't there? What... what. I know that all of what I just said might be a shock to you but I really hope you would maybe give me a chance."

Moving backwards away from him, Min ha just stared at him. She quickly picked up the computer and typed in a few lines.

I know that you probably got really annoyed with me at times. I just didn't want to get close to you. I was afraid you would be like my parents. After finding out that I was mute, they tried to accommodate but they couldn't. They couldn't grab onto the fact that their daughter would never call them 'mummy' or 'daddy'. The friends in school also treated me like glass. Invisible. I was afraid you were going to be like them. After I saw the look on your face yesterday, all hopes shattered in me. Yes, hopes of even having a future together. We might not have spoken at work at all but I totally felt your kindness and positive vibes. The chemistry we have at work was something I never felt before. But, who would want to be with me, I am just a mute person who would be a liability to you.

"What are you saying? Look at me, I don't mind if you are mute, deaf, blind or even dying. I just want to be with you. You don't feel it cause you aren't looking at yourself through my eyes. If you saw it, you would fall for yourself too."

Looking at her fingers in between her thighs, she started her lips. Min ha still didn't know whether she should believe him. What if he liked her out of sympathy? All thoughts were erased when Yi Xing grabbed her face and slammed his lips against hers.

Min ha did not respond back to the kiss neither did she push him away. When he finally removed his lips, he stared deep into her eyes. The pair of dark brown eyes which was wet. He regretted his actions and thought that he had crossed the line; but Min ha pushed herself forward attaching her lips onto his again.

Another 2 years down the road, Min ha had just received a text from Yi Xing saying that he is arriving soon and told her to look around first. She entered the bridal store, the smell of lavender wafting into her nose. Racks after racks of wedding gowns filled the shop. Her eyes twinkled as she scanned the entire store. Never would she have imagined standing in a bridal store getting ready for their wedding photoshoot, everything still felt like a dream ever since that day. She just couldn't believe how lucky she was.

"Min ha!"

Running out of the store to welcome her fiance across the street, she gave her widest smile.

Not being able to wait for the traffic light to turn green, he ran across the street seeing that the road was near cleared.

What he didn't see was that a silver car was speeding towards him.

Min ha saw the car. She tried to warn him but coudn't. Her thoughts couldn't become the strength to save her lover.

She saw how everything ended before her eyes in just a few seconds.

The black-haired, fair skinned male was sent flying across a couple of lanes.

Blood.

It didn't stop flowing out of her beloved's head.

A precious life just ended before her eyes in a split second.

At that point of time, she wished that her life doesn't revolve around this defect that caused her such misery.

 

 

 

Hello everyone! Thank you for reading my story and have a merry merry christmas! *throws hugs*