Work Text:
He’s always sleeping; black hair fanning around his pale smooth skin as he rests his cushioned cheek against the window. His arms are always folded across his chest as the empty coffee cup sits in front of him beside the opened laptop. Most of the time his headphones are hanging loosely around his neck, but today they remain over his ears playing something with a loud beat even I can hear at the counter across from where he sits.
My eyes can’t help but wander over his features each day. There’s something about him I admire rather it be his soft pink lips or the small button nose that scrunches up slightly while he shifts in the booth. Seeing as I work the evening shift into the late night, when I arrive he’s never awake. Usually a friend of his comes in to grab him around 2 am and tugs at his sleeve until he stirs into consciousness. However, my shift ends at 1:45 meaning by the time I gather my things to go, the next worker takes shift at the 24 hour café while I leave through the glass door just as the unknown man goes to open his eyes.
I’ve grown accustomed to this cycle. I sleep all morning into the afternoon where I lazily get up to ready myself and clock in at 6pm. It’s the same thing each day considering I dropped out of college meanwhile in order to save up enough money. My parents aren’t fond of this lifestyle I have, but what else am I supposed to do? I know I’m the disappointment to this family even if everyone tries to sugarcoat it. My sister obtained a scholarship through her swimming team to attend a great college and compete all over the place. At the young age of 18, she has already found her soulmate, one of her competitors from a rival school. She had never seen green before until looking into his eyes under the water. She could only describe it as a fairytale moment where everything seemed to fall into place; my sister had always been jealous of me for seeing the crisp green color as we grew up but now she viewed the world in all of it’s glory.
My mother described the summer sky as something marvelous. She admired the soft color that surrounded her gaze, complementing the grass. I’d become accustomed to the color green; it holds comfort as it is the same shade of my mother’s eyes. I spent my younger years gazing at her face to memorize every speck and shade of emerald there was. It was fascinating. My father simply held grey eyes that gave no interest to me. Yet, my mother always spoke fondly of them explaining he brought her the prettiest shade of blue.
Blue. What is blue? Is it like orange, but deeper? Does it match the yellow sun or perhaps stand out like the bright pink of my sisters room? I tried to imagine it but it’s impossible to imagine a color you’ve never seen before. I was often confused when I was younger. I tried to let my parents explain the shade but there was no way to catch on. They told me I had to wait until I was older, seeing as the lack of shade only meant my soulmate would bring it to me to see when the time was right. My parents saw their colors at 17 and fell into a fairytale life.
Now here I am, age 21 and still lacking the most important color according to those around me. I’m missing the water, the sky, the bright lights during Christmas time and the sweet designs laced on the popsicles I eat every year on my birthday. I often find myself dreaming of the day I find my soulmate, but what if they never show up? I’ve heard stories of those who never crossed paths with the one they were destined to be with and while not common, it would be just my luck. I can tell my parents are worried; usually everyone is paired up between the ages of 16 and 20. I’m only a year late, but I guess a year feels like 10 in this type of situation.
Eye contact is a dangerous, dangerous thing. But lovely. Oh, so lovely.
My stare lingers on every handsome face that orders a drink from my register, but no color ever appears. I’m left with the aching reminder inside that I may see every day as a rainy one for as long as I shall live. It’s why I prefer to take the night shift. If I can sleep through most of the day, I don’t have to be reminded that the sky is just a deep grey.
-
The bell on the door chimed as soon as the clock struck midnight, making me jump from the intrusion on my thoughts. Looking up, I recognized the familiar tall figure that strode over to the sleeping boy. I’d seen him often, as he was the one who usually picked up the unknown man; if not him, I briefly could image two other boys who’d come in to bring him out of dreamland. What confused me is that it was 2 hours earlier than usual this time.
I was in the midst of wiping the counter down of any sticky spilled drinks from the day when I saw him shake the pale boy lightly.
“Yoongi hyung, wake up.”
Yoongi. His name danced around my tongue as I mumbled it to myself. I liked the taste.
I heard an obnoxiously loud groan coming from his parted lips, making me giggle perhaps a bit too loudly as the taller figure turned to face my direction. My eyes widened for a split second before I snapped my stare back down to the counter to continue wiping.
This time, he whispered words into the elder’s ear, causing the veiny hand to swat him away as he stretched in his seat, moving to stand up. However, he was blocked from my view by the other stranger.
“Why are you waking me at this time?”
I nearly gasped; not expecting such a deep and gruff voice to come out of his frail figure. He seemed so soft and simple, yet his tone was intriguing and filled with mystery.
“We have an early flight tomorrow, you still need to pack.”
The boy simply let out a small ‘hpmh’ sound, slamming his laptop shut and shoving it into the bag swung around the back of his chair. Finally, the tall figure moved away and towards the door leaving Yoongi to gather his things quickly by himself. I peeked from under my lashes, watching each small movement. Why was I so eager to see his every step? There was nothing interesting going on, yet it felt like an intense movie I couldn’t look away from or else I’d miss the most important clue to the plot.
He reached out to grab his cup, walking towards the counter I stood behind as the trashcan was in front of where I remained. Throwing in the cup, he looked up into my eyes to wish me a good night, but his words stopped short.
I gasped aloud, looking at his gaze as I grew still. His eyes were a marvelous shade I had never seen before, but somehow it matched the descriptions my parents offered me perfectly. It’s the calm feeling in the pit of your stomach after you let out all your sobs and worries. It’s the aroma of the sweetest treats baked on a winters night. It’s the soul of the music that blared in your ears night after night. I looked at him and I was terrified. Terrified of what I’d do for him. I’d give up the entire world at the snap of his fingers if it meant keeping him happy. I ached to be the cause of his sweet gummy smile, and I craved to see the sparkle in his eyes. His blue eyes.
We didn’t speak a word, but just stared. With small breaths and parting lips. Our cheeks both flushed a light pink, but before I could think what to do next, he was being tugged out of shop by the younger friend.
-
As the days followed, I eagerly walked into work with a bright smile in preparation to see him sitting in his usual spot, but instead I was left with an empty seat. I briefly remembered his friend mentioning their “early flight” and panic ensued at the idea of him moving away. What if I was to never see him again?
I’d never properly spoken a word to him, yet the idea of never seeing him again tugged so hard at my heart it felt as if I would break down.
The work days felt longer as time went on. Instead of having him to look at, I was forced to rearrange the napkins over and over until the stand was overflowing. I scrubbed every cup clean, restocked all the ingredients and coffee filters. I baked new treats to display in the case, and also ones to shove in my face. Despite the overwhelmingly full feeling, I still felt empty.
Two weeks. It had been two weeks since I last looked into his beautiful eyes. Instead of waking up early to glance at the sky, or revisit memories with old beach photos, I turned away from every shade of blue I caught a glance of as it only left the reminder of him.
Why does blue have to be so beautiful? It’s like an itch I can never reach. I crave to admire each shade there is, but I also want to go back to the basic grey I’ve grown used to.
I felt a whoosh of air beside me, indicating my manager had stepped closer, placing his hands over my own that fumbled with the jar of stirring sticks. I glanced up and out of my own thoughts to see his face of sympathy.
“Please, take a break. You look exhausted.” He spoke quietly, making me offer a small smile. I was exhausted. Instead of sleeping away the day, I instead sat for hours staring at my ceiling after work and into the morning. He was on my mind. How dare he take away my precious, precious sleep? The thing I love most in this entire world? Yet, I don’t feel anger towards him like I do with anyone else who dares to disrupt me. If anything I feel for him as I feel for my shut eye time. How can I admire someone whom I’ve never spoken to? Is this what a soulmate feels like?
I moved from around the counter, untying my apron and tossing it over the hook by the entrance. The café was nearly empty, besides one or two customers sipping lightly as they worked in the corner of the medium sized room. Soft music played overhead only lulling me further into a tired state.
Perhaps a short nap wouldn’t hurt. I thought to myself as I looked for a place to rest. Immediately, my eyes shifted towards his seat; the cozy booth that seemed to have his imprint from where he sat each day. The smile wouldn’t wipe from my lips as I slid into the red cushions, leaning my side against the window as my legs curled up beside me. I felt a sense of comfort at the idea of staying in a place to close to him. Oddly enough, I felt myself drift into the best sleep I’d had in the past two weeks.
-
All I felt was the cool touch of skin against mine causing goosebumps to appear. I snuggled further into my own arms that wrapped around myself from the chilly air. I heard a bit of shuffling and seconds later something warm was wrapped around my shoulders and side making me slip further into dreamland; a blue paradise inside my own mind.
-
I stirred awake to the feeling of a weight against my shoulder. With a confused stare, I opened my eyes slowly and adjusted to the dim lights overhead. Turning my head, I only let out a gasp at the sight of a sleeping figure leaning on me. Not just any figure, but my sweet blue eyed beauty. I couldn’t tear myself away. His soft skin looked even sweeter up close and I felt the urge to gently trace my own fingertips across his cheek. Those long eyelashes still framed his eyes in the best way and the black hair fell over his forehead messily with soft waves instead of his usual straight style. I don’t know how long I was staring, but he must have sensed it seeing as his face scrunched before he opened his eyes, making me widen my own once more. He slowly moved off my shoulder to sit up straight, gazing down at me with admiration.
So beautiful.
I found myself staring just as I did to my mother; desperately trying to memorize every spec and shade of blue. It seemed he thought the same as he stared at my own golden brown eyes; a color I never found to hold beauty but the way he stared made me feel the opposite.
We were only broken out of our stares when someone dropped a mug from behind the counter causing us both to jump out of the mesmerized state we remained. I wasn’t sure what to say to him, but we didn’t need words to communicate. I felt the connection swelling deep inside my heart as it grew larger and larger with each passing second.
He took my hand in his, and with that sweet gummy smile, I just knew everything was going to be okay.