Prompt: “This isn’t what I wanted” - @challengingwords
Pairing: Jimin x reader
A/N: I know I’ve written a piece inspired by my little one. Then, when I was trying to figure out the next idol to write for, I realized I haven’t written one inspired by my older one. She turned 18 last month and I know she’s super eager to finally make her own money and start college life. Kinda hard with how times are now, but I had her in mind when I wrote this. I hope you all have a great Friday and you enjoy this piece <3
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You walked onto the dining floor of the diner you worked at and saw that it was pretty slow, especially for a Sunday morning. You must’ve missed the rush of all the partygoers nursing hangovers, which was fine and all, but it means you wouldn’t get as many tips as you would during that rush. As you were filling up the napkin holders, the hostess was escorting a big party into your assigned area. A party of all males wearing matching logos that showed up in different sizes on different parts of the garments they wore...a fraternity. Once she finished distributing the menus, she looked over to you and gave you a wink. Clearly she knew you had missed out on the tip rush and this was her gift to you.
You grabbed the wrapped up silverware and made sure you had your pad and pencil in hand before making your way to the full table. You smiled and greeted the guys at the table as you passed out the utensils. Your eyes then landed on a familiar face.
“Hi, Jimin,” you greeted as your smile grew bigger, “It’s nice to see you again.”
“Morning, Y/N,” he greeted back as a light shade of pink appeared on his cheeks.
Jimin had been having breakfast at the diner practically every other day for the past few months. He was usually alone, so if the day wasn’t too busy, you guys managed to talk for a few about this and that. You found out he was a dance major while you were a business major at the same college. Since the departments are at opposite ends of the campus, so the only times your paths would cross is at the diner.
“Jimin, did you put makeup on? Your cheeks are pink all of a sudden,” one of his friends teased which just made the color in his cheeks darken in shade.
“Is this the same Y/N that you’ve been going on about?” another had asked him not so very discreetly. A pained expression then showed up on this friend’s face.
Jimin nervously chuckled. “Don’t listen to what these idiots are saying, Y/N,” he warned, “They’re still a bit hungover.”
You smiled politely and nodded. “I’ll give you guys a few minutes to look over the menu and I’ll go get water for the table,” you informed them and walked away.
Once safely tucked behind the drink machine away from the eyes of the table, you took a deep breath. He talks about me?! you thought to yourself as you filled glasses of water. A shy smile then formed on your face and you bit your lip to stop it from getting too big. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t find Jimin attractive and the short conversations you’ve had the past few months were very memorable and you always regretted not being able to have more time with him before he left. Plus there was the fact that you too were talking about him to your bff whenever he came in and was positive she might be sick of the stories by now.
You took another deep, collective breath before taking your tray of water glasses back to the table. You passed out the glasses with a smile on your face and then took out your notepad and pen and asked, “So are we ready?”
You went around the table taking order after order. You were scribbling seat positions with their corresponding orders then finally came to Jimin. “The usual, Jimin?” you asked him. He smiled at you and nodded as he handed over his menu.
“What’s Jimin’s usual, Y/N?” his friend teased while wagging his eyebrows at him.
“Scrambled eggs, bacon and a side of pancakes with a hot chocolate,” you recited as you pocketed your notepad and walked away proudly with a smile. You heard taunting from behind you as you walked over to the waitress station to punch in the orders.
Having ears like a hawk, and the fact that the guys didn’t necessarily speak in hushed tones, you overheard the conversation from where you were at.
“She memorized your order, Jimin, I’m sure that means something,” one of the guys said.
“She’s a waitress, Kai,” Jimin argued, “Of course she’d memorize my order considering how many times I’ve been her and I order the same thing every time.”
“But didn’t you see how her eyes lit up when she saw you?” another friend commented.
“She smiled at all of us, Tae,” Jimin pointed out.
“It was different when she looked at you though,” Tae countered.
God am I that obvious, you scolded yourself as you turned the corner to wait for your orders to plate up. With all the teasing that’s been happening with Jimin and his friends you couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he was interested. Or maybe it was just your head jumping the gun and getting your hopes up. After a few minutes of being lost in your thoughts, the bell rang signaling you that a plate has been finished. It wasn’t long until a few more plates followed. You grabbed as many as you could that would fit on your tray and began serving Jimin’s friends. After a couple of trips, all the plates were served to their designated patron.
The rest of the meal went pretty ordinarily. After Jimin and his friends ate their fill and processing their payment, you left the folder with the receipt for them to sign and told them to take their time. You were just finishing taking an order for a table when Jimin and his friends started to exit. They all expressed their gratitude for the service and pleasantries in meeting you. You wished them farewell as they exited out the door. Jimin was the last at the table.
“Thanks for putting up with them,” Jimin said to you as he put his jacket on.
“It’s my job,” you said as you smiled and collected the empty plates on the tray.
He smiled back. It looked like he wanted to say something, but hesitated. Instead, he handed you the check folder. “I’ll see you for breakfast next time.”
“I’ll see you then,” you smiled back as you received it and he walked away to join his friends.
You dropped off the bin of dirty dishes to the kitchen and then took the receipt to add to the stack by the register. When you opened the folder, you found a very generous cash tip and a note on the extra receipt.
Y/N, give me a call sometime. ~Jimin
Below it was a number on the line designated for the tip. You blushed. This has never happened to you before, but it made you smile because it was Jimin. If you were being honest with yourself, you were hoping he would personally ask you for your number and have him call you while you wait by your phone all day, but this way is good, too. You placed the note in your pocket along with the cash tip. You were counting down the minutes until your shift was over now.
***
You stepped out into the cool air as the sun set off in the distance. You slung your bag containing your uniform over your shoulder and pulled out the note and your phone from your pocket. Took a few deep breaths as you dialed the number and held it while it rang.
“Hello?” Jimin said after a few rings.
“Hi, Jimin? It’s Y/N,” you replied after you exhaled and slowly began your walk home.
“Y/N?!” Jimin exclaimed, “Hi! How did you get my number?”
“On the receipt,” you answered a little confused, “I’m sorry. The note was signed by you. I assumed you wanted me to call.”
“This isn’t what I wanted,” he responded, sounding a little embarrassed.
“Oh,” you whispered and took a moment to think of something to say.
“No, I’m sorry,” Jimin apologized, “I didn’t mean it like that.” He sighed. “It must’ve been Tae or Kai that wrote the note. I didn’t want it to happen like this.”
“Oh?” was all you could think of to say.
“I wanted to ask you personally,” Jimin admitted. You smiled thinking about the thought you had when you first saw the note. “I tried to ask you earlier when I handed you the check back, but I chickened out.”
“I see,” you said with a smile on your face, “Does it really matter now? I mean I do have your number and you now have mine.”
“I guess in the end it really doesn’t, does it?” Jimin chuckled. A moment of silence filled the air as you continued your walk home while talking to him. “Where are you right now?” he finally asked.
“Walking,” you answered, “heading home from the diner.”
“I thought that looked like you,” Jimin said, “Look across the street.” You looked up and smiled when you saw Jimin smiling and waving at you with his phone at his ear. “You wanna grab some dinner? I’m sure you’re hungry after your shift.”
“I’d like that a lot,” you answered. He cut the phone call as did you when the signal came on for you to cross the street to him. “Hi,” you simply greeted him as you came face to face.
“Hi,” Jimin greeted back with the smile you have now engraved in your brain. He grabbed the strap of your bag and transferred it to his shoulders and offered his elbow for you to hold on to. “Shall we?”
You nodded as you took his elbow. As you followed his lead you looked up to him and said, “Hey, Jimin.” He looked at you ready for you to continue. “Be sure to thank your friends for the tip.”
Here is our new writing challenge! The next one will be issued on the 25th May at 8am NZST.
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What is Challenging Words?
We invite you to join us and write 500 words or less on the prompt above over the next two weeks. Make sure to tag #cwchallenges in the first 5 tags so we can share your story on the blog. For further information, feel free to check out our guidelines below to make sure you’re ready to be challenged!
