Chapter 95: The Day a Random Noona’s Heart Exploded

“What the…? Why are there so many people here?”

Jieun had taken half a day off work and was heading home when she noticed her usual café packed with people.

“What’s going on?”

There were cameras around, and men in white shirts she’d never seen before were visible inside the café.  

Since she was planning to just crash at home anyway, she found herself drawn toward the crowd like a moth to a flame.

“Everyone~ please line up in a single file!”

A staff member came out and started organizing the crowd into a queue, and before she knew it, Jieun was standing in line with everyone else.

Well, whatever. I’ve got nothing to do anyway; might as well celebrity-watch.

It was obvious celebrities were inside, so she figured she’d just take a quick look.

“Um… who exactly is it?”

Wondering if they were idols, she asked the person in front of her.

“Ah… you came without knowing who it is?”

“Haha, I just stumbled upon it by chance.”

For a second she worried only fans were allowed in, but the person immediately showed her their phone screen.

“This is the teaser; take a look.”

“A teaser?”

She was a little flustered by the sudden video, but they’d already hit play, so she had no choice but to focus on the screen.

– Crazy, what do you want to do with me right now?

– A fruit shop.

– Hey! Hey! Hey!

“Huh? That’s Taewoon.”

The very first face she recognized in the video was someone she knew—Taewoon.

“That’s right! This is his first drama!”

Ah~ a Taewoon fan.

She instantly knew whose fan the person was.  

The screen changed, showing the other characters—faces she’d never seen before.

– Don’t look at me; I don’t even want to meet your eyes.

– You still talk like that, huh.

– You want me to run a shop with these hopeless idiots? No way.

– That’s my line. Pathetic bastard.

– What did you say, you little—?

Four guys who seemed to be friends spent the whole time swearing and bickering with zero filter.

What’s the story even about?

A drama with four male leads was rare in Korea, so it caught her attention even more.  

Then one person’s face filled the screen in close-up.

– Even if you hate it, you’re doing it.

Wow~ he’s gorgeous.

That was her immediate thought the moment she saw him.

– Arghhh!

– What! What!

After that, the four friends ran a fruit shop in total chaos.  

The teaser was comedic and looked fun.

“It premieres tonight at 6 p.m. on OTT, so please watch it!”

“Where can I watch it?”

“On Mving.”

Conveniently, it was an OTT service she already subscribed to, so she thought she might give it a try.

“You can order, and while your drink is being made, feel free to take as many photos as you want, but once your drink is ready, please leave right away!”

Thankfully, the system required people to leave immediately after receiving their drinks, so the line moved quickly, and her turn came soon.

“Next four people, please come in~”

“It’s our turn!”

The people in front of her hurried inside, and Jieun followed.

“Wow…”

The moment she stepped in, she let out an involuntary gasp at the sight of one person.

How can someone look like that? He’s on a completely different level from the teaser.

Her company was in Gangnam, so she’d seen celebrities from time to time, but this was the first time she’d had a reaction like this.

“Hello~ I’ll take your order.”

While she was busy staring at his face, he walked right up to her.

“Uh… um…”

He was wearing a white shirt and black apron, smiling brightly and making direct eye contact; she completely blanked out and started stammering.  

Seeing that, he just smiled and said,

“Take your time deciding; just call me when you’re ready. I’ll help the person behind you first.”

“One grapefruit ade, please…”

She blankly watched him calmly take the order while looking into the wide-eyed customer’s eyes.

How is it fair to look that good and act this sweet?

The person in front finished ordering, and it was her turn again.

“Ready to order?”

“Uh…”

She’d been too busy staring at his face and completely forgot to choose, so she just ordered the same thing as the person before her.

“Yes, please wait over there for a moment.”

As she moved to the waiting area, she could see their faces even better while they made the drinks.

No wonder the place is packed.

Unlike the front counter where the coffee machine blocked the view, the side offered a clear and closer look.

“Here’s your green grape ade~”

“I’ll definitely watch Taewoon-oppa’s drama!”

“Haha, thank you. It premieres tonight at 6, so please don’t miss it.”

Their real purpose wasn’t selling drinks but promoting the drama, so they sprinkled in plenty of fan service.

“Hyeonjae-ya~”

Someone beside her called “Hyeonjae,” and when he responded, she learned his name was Hyeonjae.

“Yeah?”

He looked a bit frazzled, hair slightly messy, pausing what he was doing to answer.

“Pfft, cute!”

“Stop teasing me~ I need to concentrate. Hyung, how many pumps of syrup did I put in this one?”

“How would I know?”

“I’m screwed.”

He made a sulky face and gently poured the failed drink down the sink.

“Seriously, don’t call me anymore. I need to finish this fast…”

“Okay, okay, I won’t.”

But he reacted so well that teasing him was just too fun.

“Number 36, your drink is ready!”

“Ah…”

The person whose drink was called walked over slowly, clearly reluctant to leave.

“Please enjoy your drink, and show lots of love to Today’s Fruit Shop!”

“Taewoon-oppa, just one finger heart, please.”

“Here’s a heart~”

“Kyaa! I’ll definitely watch the drama!”

The person who ordered right before her received their drink and left, and soon her number was called.

“Number 37~”

“That’s me.”

Hyeonjae called her number, and she raised her hand and walked forward.

“Hello~ Please enjoy your drink, and our drama premieres tonight on Mving, so please watch it! I promise it’ll be fun.”

“I definitely will.”

“Thank you! Take care~”

What a shame.  

The café was chaotic with fans and cameras, so normally she’d want to leave immediately, but she actually felt a little disappointed.

That was pretty fun.

Watching Hyeonjae with all his different expressions and great reactions had been genuinely entertaining.

“Everyone who received their drink, please exit now~”

Following the staff’s guidance, she stepped outside, where people who had already left were still glued to the glass windows, unwilling to go.

“This event is straight-up legendary.”

“The outfits are insane; why did they only do this now?”

“Honestly, I was kinda meh about the drama, but now I’m hyped. The hype is real.”

“Huh?”

While they were excitedly chatting and staring at the guys working inside, Hyeonjae suddenly looked toward the glass.

“Hyeonjae-ya!”

When their eyes met Hyeonjae inside, they frantically waved.  

Hyeonjae smiled brightly at them, then called the frazzled-looking Taewoon next to him.

“Kyaaaa! Taewoon-ah!”

“Taewoon-ah~”

Recognizing his fans, Taewoon waved back and gave the tiniest, cutest fan service.

He’s pretty thoughtful.

Working in the service industry herself, Jieun could tell right away.  

While thinking that, her eyes suddenly met Hyeonjae’s.

“Hm?”

Hyeonjae looked straight at her and mouthed something very deliberately.

I… made… it… myself… enjoy…?

It wasn’t hard to read his lips, and when he saw that she understood, he grinned so wide his eyes curved into crescents and nodded.

What the—

When she left, she’d only thought cute, but this changed everything.  

That little punk had the audacity to flirt with his noona.

“Arghhh! My back!”

Jibin stretched with a scream, pounding his lower back.

“You okay?”

“I’ve been bending over making drinks all day; my back is going to die.”

“Ah! Someone asked for light coffee earlier, but I think I put the regular amount.”

“Too late now.”

The chaotic one-day café had finally ended, and we were taking a short break at a café table.

“There were way more people than I expected.”

“Right? I heard they had to cut the line midway because people kept flooding in.”

“I thought fewer would come since it’s a weekday.”

“Hyung, your fans were insane today.”

At least eighty percent of the visitors seemed to be Taewoon fans.

“But I did see some of your fans too.”

Thankfully, there were a few people calling my name as well.

“Hehe.”

“Look at that smug face. So annoying.”

“What time is our interview?”

We even had an interview scheduled right after the café.

“5 p.m.!”

“We won’t be able to watch it right when it drops.”

“I’m dying to see it.”

“Want to watch it together after we’re done?”

Jibin asked if we should all watch together, but Taewoon firmly refused.

“No way, I’m going home and watching alone.”

“Why~”

“I’ll be too embarrassed.”

“We’re all going to see it anyway.”

“I still don’t want to.”

Taewoon apparently still wasn’t ready to face his own acting.

“Um, fans keep gathering outside, so we’ll need to clear the place soon.”

“Ah, got it.”

Because the café had full glass walls, our resting figures were completely visible, and of course the fans had no intention of leaving.

“Then we’ll meet at the interview location.”

“See you later. Hyung—where did you park?”

“Taewoon-ah, let’s go.”

One by one we left with our managers, and I was about to leave with Hayoon too.

“The one-day café was so much fun. Great work, everyone!”

I greeted the remaining production staff and opened the café door with Hayoon.

“Hyeonjae-ya~”

“You’re so handsome!”

Fans were busy filming with their phones but didn’t crowd me uncomfortably.

“Thank you so much for coming~ Be safe going home!”

While walking to the car and greeting everyone who had come all this way, a hand suddenly shot out from the crowd.

“Huh?”

Hayoon reacted faster than my own startled self.  

I’m pretty quick myself, but Hayoon was on another level.

So all that working out wasn’t for nothing.

In an instant, Hayoon swatted the hand away and shielded me while glaring at its owner.

“This is not okay.”

“H-Hyeonjae-ya!”

Surprisingly, the owner of the hand was a middle-aged man.

An uncle fan?

While I was marveling at the idea of having an uncle fan, he thrust a thick wad of papers toward only me.

“Here!”

“Huh?”

I was confused by the sudden offering of papers and looked at his face—something about him felt familiar.

“Wait… haven’t we met somewhere… ah!”

As I kept thinking, I finally remembered who he was.

Why is this person here?

He was none other than the director of my very first commercial—the heat-relief patch ad.

“You know him?”

“Uh…”

I hesitated for a second about whether to call him an acquaintance, but first we needed to get out of here.

“Did you come looking for me?”

“Yeah!”

“Then let’s move somewhere else to talk.”

I took the director and headed to my car together.

“Director-nim, I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Once inside the car, we properly greeted each other.

“Haha, I looked pretty rough back then, didn’t I?”

The tracksuit-and-slippers version of him was nowhere to be seen; he was dressed neatly with styled hair, so I genuinely hadn’t recognized him at first.

“But what brings you here…?”

I was puzzled why someone with no recent connection to me would seek me out.

“You seem busy, so I’ll cut to the chase. Work with me on a project.”

“…Pardon?”