( ♡ ) closed starter: company building, present day
⤷ @chrkitae
in hindsight, mimi realizes that there is a possibility that someone other than yoon taehee would be delivering her food and glanced over at the personalized message. it’s not as if he chose to deliver to them regularly, it was merely coincidence. but she ultimately decided to push any thought of embarrassment to the back of her mind with a quick roll of her eyes. it’s not that she meant anything by what she said — she simply wanted to thank the worker and pay whatever dues owed for the extra dishes, just as she wrote. mimi did not feel uncharacteristically giddy, nor were her cheeks flushed a faint red. she continued her other tasks for the day, all while keeping a careful eye on her phone as she waited anxiously for a notification message.
when you can’t pay it back, you pay it forward.
two hours into his shift and it’s countdown to lunch rush, the most dreadful and demanding of any delivery run. abundant with prissy office workers and personal assistants writing paragraphs of dietary requirements, jotting down items clearly not on the menu, whom he knew he shouldn’t blame for simply doing their job. the cherry on top is whenever he shows up on their doorstep just a few minutes late, all thanks to peak hour traffic; when he finds himself close to going down on his knees to avoid getting a one-star review? well, he’d be damned the rest of the day.
as anticipated, a notification lights his phone screen, and kitae smiles. laughs a little at how absurd fate can sometimes be, and how quickly exhaustion leaves his eyes at the mere sight of a familiar name. a gentle tap turns the accept order button green and he proceeds to put his helmet on, pushes up the kickstand with his heel and releases the clutch inch by inch, driving away.
kitae doesn’t think much of it at first. just like any other delivery, only ever going the extra mile for his own benefit — a free snack on the side courtesy of a vendor, or a pity tip from a charitable customer. it changes when he hands her order for the first time in the company building. questions whether it really is the girl he used to spend his afternoons with in the hannam high library, the girl whose mother kindly offered to be his makeshift family while he’s abroad, bridging the distance between seoul and tokyo a little closer. more stolen conversations between an intern and a good-for-nothing deliveryman slowly convinces him that it should be one shared by two friends: often brief, yet warms the soul.
in passing, he wonders if she’s starting to realise that it’s him too.
“ ahjumma, can i get more of those fishcakes please? ” he cries out to the kitchen, tone sweet and dynamics subtle. “ yeah, it’s her—um, my favourite. keeps me going on busy days. ” there’s a feeble smile he shoots back in response to the shopkeeper’s raised eyebrow, crinkled eyes and nose and all, and thanks her courteously while grabbing the red plastic bags from her hands. with a stolen sharpie he scribbles on the receipt — you’re doing well, mimi-ssi. fighting! — nothing out of the ordinary, a minor gesture that stemmed out of habit for his favourite customer.
[ 12:11 ] good afternoon mimi-ssi, this is taehee
[ 12:12 ] i’m really sorry to hear about your orders being mixed up and would like to extend my deepest apologies for my negligence, i can assure you that today’s deliveries will be exactly as requested.
[ 12:12 ] i’ll be arriving soon. see you at the back entrance in 10
the company is filled with the hum of conversations and gusty sighs, heavy footsteps thudding from a distance. someone’s running late to dance practice, someone’s eye make-up is smudged, someone’s complaining about their connection being cut in the midst of a livestream. the air around him turns stale — he’s unsure whether it’s from the prickling heat of a crowded lobby, or the uneasiness that transpires from the note she had left with her order. nerves brushed aside, he picks up his phone and types up another message.
[ 12:20 ] hi mimi-ssi, i’m waiting by the entrance now but there’s no rush
[ 12:20 ] let me know when you’re nearby :)