★ — Noah & Gureum ( @latibulx )
After changing in the formal attire he brought along, Noah grabbed the black long waist apron from the locker he was assigned to in the staff room of the event he got hired to work at and wrapped it around his waist, making sure it was secured tightly before stuffing his bag and clothes into the locker and closing as well as locking it.
The catering team was short on staff and a friend of Noah introduced him to their boss and they agreed to hire him for the duration of the event as an extra after confirming that he had experience working as a server. The barista didn't know any details about what the party was for, only that it was some kind of charity event, nor who organized it but he knew that some high profile people would be there and that he had to make sure to deliver the best service or he'd be in trouble and possibly not get paid.
They had a team meeting before the first guests arrived and Noah was told where he would be stationed, what he was supposed to do and the route he was supposed to take while he was walking around with a tray offering drinks or appetizers to the arriving guests.
Back in the kitchen area, he grabbed a tray with glasses filled with champagne and got ready to be out and about to present them to the guests who were to arrive any minute.
Waiting in the hall of the spacious building, he saw the first guests walk through the door where they were greeted by the welcoming staff who made sure that they were on the guest list and stored away their coats and jackets once everything was sorted.
Standing straight with one hand behind his back, a towel draped over his arm of the hand he was balancing the tray on, Noah waited for the first guests to walk by him. Putting on a smile, he bowed his head to every single one of them and it didn't take long before almost all of his glasses were gone. Mentally preparing himself to return to the kitchen area, he eventually stopped paying attention to the faces of the people walking by him but when his eyes landed on a familiar face, his eyes slightly widened but he had to remain calm and still.
What was Gureum doing at such an event? Noah thought to himself.
Thankfully, the tray was empty before his best friend got past the staff at the entrance, and without hesitation, Noah disappeared from where he was and went back to the kitchen area. Just as he was about to head back out with a tray filled with appetizers this time, the person in charge of the catering staff walked up to him and asked him if he was familiar with alcoholic beverages and how to serve them and after Noah told them that he did, they told me that they want him to take a spot behind the bar, serving people there.
Noah welcomed the change of location because he knew that he couldn't just walk up to Gureum and talk to them unless he'd be able to catch them somewhere alone but they didn't seem to have come to the event alone so he wasn't sure whether or not he'd get the opportunity.
The bar was fairly quiet as everyone was busy with introductions, conversations, drinking champagne, and eating appetizers, which was something Noah didn't complain about. Occasionally, a guest stopped by the bar and asked for a glass of Scotch or a Martini but other than that, Noah had plenty of time to converse with the young woman that was assigned to work at the bar together with him.
As the event progressed, more and more people started coming to the bar and it wasn't long before the man he had seen together with Gureum stopped by and ordered two drinks, a Bourbon and a Cosmopolitan. After handing over the drinks, Noah watched the man walk to a table in one of the corners of the room and that's when his eyes once again landed on Gureum who was smiling and bowing his head at the man, probably thanking for the drink Noah guessed.
Gureum hadn't seemed to have noticed Noah yet but he figured it would only be a matter of time before their eyes would meet. Of course, Noah couldn't just stand there and stare at Gureum the entire time, he had a job to do after all if he wanted to get paid and that's exactly what he did.
Every once in a while, he glanced over to where his best friend was sitting and he couldn't stop wondering what he was doing at this event, it just didn't make sense. What made even less sense was the way the man he was with was behaving. He kept touching Gureum a lot, moving closer to them, putting his hand on their thigh, he wasn't being super obvious with what he was doing but seeing all of it made Noah somewhat uncomfortable and confused him because the man seemed to be quite a bit older than Gureum.
Trying not to pay too much attention to what they were doing, Noah focused on serving guests whatever drink they ordered. A little while later, when he looked over to the table his best friend was sitting at again, the man he was with had just gotten up from his chair, leaned over Gureum, and seemed to whisper something into his ear before he quickly pressed his lips against their cheek then came walking back over to the bar.
This time, Noah noticed Gureum looking over to the bar and this was when he locked eyes with them. His eyes widened and he immediately felt as if he was caught doing something he wasn't supposed to do but his attention was quickly averted when the man started talking to him and ordered the same drinks he did before.
He prepared the drinks and placed them on the counter, waiting for the man to grab them and walk back to the table. As soon as he had turned his back to the bar, Noah glanced over to Gureum with questioning but also confused expression, maybe even a bit of disappointment. He just didn't know what to think of the entire situation.
Part of Noah wanted to walk up to Gureum and ask them what was going on but another part of him just wanted to get away to process by himself what he saw and what any of it could mean.
Taking a deep breath, he tried not to think about it too much and a couple of hours later when the majority of guests were slowly but surely leaving, he was told that he could finish up and go home which he was quite thankful for.
On his way to the staff dressing room, he looked around to see if he could spot Gureum anywhere but he didn't see them so he got changed, grabbed the money for his work, and went home.
After taking a long shower, thoughts still running wild, he slipped into a pair of shorts and plopped down on his bed. Turning on the TV, he browsed through different channels until he found something remotely interesting, hoping that it was distracting him from the thoughts rushing through his head but nothing seemed to bring them to a stop.
Another hour or two later of him just laying in bed, mindlessly staring at the TV screen, he figured that the best thing to do would be to try and get some sleep so he grabbed the remote and pretty the off button, switching off the TV, leaving him in a dark and mostly quiet room, the only sound the quietly hummed in the background was his air humidifier.
Turning on his side, he stared at his phone debating on whether or not he should send a message to Gureum but the more he thought about it, he wouldn't even know what to write. Just as he was about to close his eyes, however, the display of his phone suddenly flashed and the new message notification played.
Reaching over to his phone, he unlocked his lock screen and immediately saw that the message was from Gureum.
[drunk text] Please don't hate me I'm too tired and too dizzy to be hated
Noah furrowed his brows as he read the message his best friend had sent him and if he hadn't been already confused out of his mind, he definitely would've been now.
[ ✉ Bestie 🌺 ] Why would I hate you?
[ ✉ Bestie 🌺 ] I'm just confused...
[ ✉ Bestie 🌺 ] We should definitely talk but not tonight
[ ✉ Bestie 🌺 ] Are you home?
[ ✉ Bestie 🌺 ] Did you get home safely?
[ ✉ Bestie 🌺 ] Go get some rest.. we can talk tomorrow
[ ✉ Bestie 🌺 ] I’m off tomorrow so feel free to just stop by whenever
[ ✉ Bestie 🌺 ] And believe me I don't hate you
[ ✉ Bestie 🌺 ] Good night 🤗
