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âThank you so much! Have fun!", Jacob waved to the little girl who was tightly holding her mother's hand and entering the first theater with a bag of popcorn, smiling happily.
âHyeona?", he suddenly called me from behind, as he noticed we run out of plastic cups below the counters. I rummaged around in our small storage room for a cleaning cloth, because I had dropped a bowl of nachos and cheese sauce while serving a guest earlier, and the mess was now sticking all over the floor.
He stuck his head through the door and almost knocked me off the stool I was standing on. "Do you know where the cups are? They're empty.".
"For real? I swear I refilled them yesterday.", I climbed down and left the room to check it myself. But he was right, besides tons of sauces, bowls for popcorn and nachos, and a pile of crumbs, there was nothing left under the counter. "Okay, I will go and get some new ones, you hold the fort here for a moment. After work, I'll show you where all the stuff is stowed away," I promised, and without further ado, I made my way to the basement of the movie theater. Maybe I was even lucky and found a cloth there.
I carefully balanced two large towers of cups in my hands up the stairs and was immediately relieved by Jacob when he saw me. By now, a long line of customers had formed, waiting for their drinks. "I'll quickly get some more, and then I'll help you serve them. I called out as I jogged back down the steps.
After a few minutes, I reappeared and was surprised to see that there were hardly any people left to serve and Jacob was just saying goodbye to the last customers. "Wow, I'm impressed, newbie," I said in amazement, earning a proud grin. "I'm just a natural," he boasted, and i laughingly threw him a towel. "Are you also a natural at drying off? Let's see your skills, pro.".
Unfortunately, the dishwasher had been out of order for several days and my boss was in contact with a repair company to finally repair the damage. However, this was probably a long time coming, and we had to clean all the cups by hand.
"I really wonder where all these cups disappear to?" asked Jacob as he waited for me to rinse the first few cups. "I mean, it's not that hard to just throw them in the bucket next to the movie theater. Now we're already using recyclable ones, and yet you need new ones all the time.".
I just shrugged my shoulders. "If you ask me, there should be a deposit system or something. I mean, they look pretty cool.", I took a closer look at one of the cups. "I'd just take those home, too.".
We worked silently for a while, when he suddenly asked a question that surprised me. "So you're back in steady hands, too?", I turned to the older one in amazement and frowned. How would he know about that?
"Earlier, when you were downstairs, your cell phone lit up a few times and a guy whose name you saved with a heart behind his name texted you.
I quickly dried my hands and reached for my cell phone behind me on the counter.
"Don't get it wrong. I wasn't spying or anything. I just happened to notice it when I was putting the cups away," he explained himself, but I was only listening with half an ear.
I opened up the chat between me and Heeseung and my eyes directly jumped to a photo he sent me. A selfie with the whole team, in the background Beomgyu, who was lifted into the air by some people, raising a golden trophy. A big smile appeared on my face. It seemed like they really managed to win the final game. "I will be right back.". I excused myself and left Jacob behind with a confused face as I disappeared into the storage room and closed the door behind me, while dealing his number.
"Pick up, Pick up, Pick up.". I muttered impatiently. I just wanted nothing more than to say how proud I am. But my smile faded more and more with every single beep by him not answering my call. After a minute, I gave up and let my cell phone slip into the pocket of my apron. The boys were probably celebrating their well-deserved victory. With a sigh, I went back out to the sales area, where Jacob was washing up again.
To be honest, I had underestimated the value of a long-distance relationship. Sure, you texted and called each other regularly. But still, something was missing. I longed for some physical affection. His touch. The feeling of his breath on my skin when he whispered something in my ear. Especially, seeing all the happy couples in love, walking around in the cinema and enjoying their private time every day, made me sick to my stomach and I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat all of a sudden.
"Are you okay?". I noticed how Jacob glaced at me worriedly.
"Yes, Uhm yes, I am...he just didn't pick up.". I intimidated hid my hands in my pockets.
A slight smile appeared on his face. "Don't worry, he's probably just busy at the moment. I'm sure he will call you back any moment.". I nodded with encouragement and his smile infected me. Suddenly I could see again what had made me fall for Jacob back then. His friendly, uplifting nature had not changed at all. He knew how to motivate and cheer people up. He always had an open ear, and you could talk to him about anything without worrying that he would tell anyone.
"What's his name?", he asked curiously, while cleaning the counter.
"You seriously wanna talk about him?"
He shrugged. "Why not. I'm curious.".
"Heeseung.", I answered briefly.".
"Bless you".
Confused, I looked up and burst out laughing. "That's his name, idiot.", I pushed him from behind, and he staggered a few steps to the side with a laugh.
"I know. I just like messing with you.". Jacob replied. "You speak English so casually, sometimes I forget that you are actually Korean.".
I giggled at his compliment and checked the time on my wristwatch. Only 30 more minutes before closing time.
The last hour hardly new guests arrived, because usually no movie started after 11pm. So it's actually a pretty chill job, besides the bumb times of course.
"Okay, let's do it this way. I'll take out the trash and clean the machines, you sweep the floor." I suggested, and Jacob agreed.
"How long has this been going on between you and Heeseung?". I had to stifle a laugh at the way he pronounced his name. "A little over two months, I guess? We officially started dating one day before I left Korea.".
"Wow, that's insane.", he marveled.
"Although, it's not official to be honest.", I corrected myself. "Actually, no one knows that we are dating. We agreed to keep it secret. But..It's kinda hard.". I confessed.
"Wow", he mouthed again, but this time he was so shocked he even stopped sweeping. "I mean, why that, though? Is it like a cultural thing in Korea?".
I shook my head. "It's actually a family thing, you know? Heeseung is the best friend of my brother, and he won't accept that I have a crush on his best friend.", I tried to shorten everything. "My brother even hit another friend of his, because we get along with each other well.".
"That's actually insane!", Jacob repeated, even more shocked.
"So the only possibility was to keep it secret. But it's so frustrating honestly, and I don't know if I am capable of it.", I bit my lower lip. "Every day anew, I have the feeling of limiting Heeseung, because he lies to his best friend for me. And that is not right. There is this constant fear in me that my brother will somehow find out and completely freak out. I'm just so scared, you know?".
Jacob looked at me in a pity. He could obviously understand the carousel that was going on inside me and that I had so many doubts swirling around in my head. "This sounds horrible, and it's actually confusing at the same time.", he rubbed the back of his nape.
"I know right...".
He cleared his throat. "You can always talk to me if something bothers you, you know? I will try my best to help you.".
A smile flitted across my face. "Thank you so much, Jae...!".
***
On my ride home inside the bus, I was finally able to reach Heeseung. Well, not by calling him, but he had responded to my congratulations text.
>>Can I call you?>I csnt talk right niw. The boys are withh me.>Tpday, at 11:55 pm, I will call you!>You are the pwrson I wanna see first at middnoght â¤ï¸>Are you maybe a little tipsy? ð>Maybe> sett up 3 alrms>>
>>See you later>Love you â¤ï¸>Love you tooâ¤ï¸<<
I quickly sent the reply and literally threw my phone into my pocket. Almost like I always did, when I had written a risky message to someone and was afraid to check on their reply.
Fuck, how should my head process that. He literally texted me "love you." Heeseung loves me. Even though it was only over text, it almost vanished my body to cloud nine.
Gosh, shit. I looked up startled when the bus suddenly braked, and I realized I had to get off. I quickly snatched my bag from the empty seat next to me and stumbled towards the exit.
On my short walk from the bus stop to Kathy's apartment, I quickly calculated the time because of the different time zones and also set up an alarm at half hast seven in the morning.
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