"Ah, the scent of freshly brewed coffee and the delicate hum of whispered conversations—truly, there is no place more fitting for romance to bloom than this little corner of the world." The Cupid says in his overly-exaggerated dramatic tone. "Welcome, dear hearts, to Café Amour—a charming little cafe nestled in the heart of this quaint town, where love lingers in the air like the aroma of vanilla and espresso.

Oh, but don't be fooled! This is no ordinary cafe. No, no—this is a place of destiny, where strangers become lovers, where stolen glances turn into lingering gazes, and where even the most stubborn of hearts find themselves entangled in something oh-so-sweet.

And yet... despite all my careful planning, all my well-aimed arrows, a certain mix-up seems to have taken place. A small mistake, really! Hardly worth mentioning. But, well... let's just say that love has a funny way of surprising even me.

Shall we begin?"

~~~

"Ivanna! A Flat White for table number five quick please!"

"Coming right up!"

Setting the latte art tool on the side, Ivanna put the coffee on a tray. Scrambling her way through multiple black wooden chairs and chattering people sitting on them, she served the coffee to an old man who was easily thrice her age. It was saying much, since she was twenty-two currently. The man smiled sweetly at her after reading the note before having the coffee. 'May your day be as sweet as this coffee!'. As he smiled, she noticed that he had space on the place where his canines were supposed to be, but even then, his smile had brightened her day a little more.

Dusting her hands on her strawberry-patterned apron, she placed herself on the counter again. Fastening her light brown hair into high ponytail, she shuffled through the pens beside the espresso machine and grinned at the sight of the red marker.

It was Valentine's season, and this year, she had taken the task of the cafe's annual Mystery Love Notes tradition. She opened the cap of the marker and started writing sweet messages for the customer's on it. It was simple—one or two of the staff members made handwritten notes for the customers on the occasion of Valentine's day, just to bring a smile to the customer's faces.

Meanwhile, her friend, Alice, was preparing a baby pink colored 'Love Is In The Air' banner that was supposed to hang down from the order counter. A few tiny heart bubbles were drawn around the five words with a ribbon on either side of the banner.

"Ivanna, look how pretty this looks," she said excitedly, showing the banner to the brunette who was lost in her world of calligraphy. Propping her face on one elbow on the counter, she watched Ivanna write the notes behind it.

The brunette lifted her face up, and an expression of awe formed on her face. "It looks gorgeous," she whispered, more to herself. Her soft pink lips tipped up into a smile that she offered Alice, before turning her attention back to the notes.

"Mmh. Ivi, write something flirty on it too."

Ivanna quirked an eyebrow, sparing a glance to Alice who was grinning at her mischievously. "Yeah, no."

"Come on. I mean, Valentine's Day is about finding someone magical for you. Why not use this chance to see if you can find magic with that anonymous note?"

"That's cause A) They're customers, and-"

"No, stop right there at the A point. So what if they're customers? Where is the rule that you can't date a customer when you're a barista?"

Sighing, Ivanna put the marker down and put her hands on her hips. "I hate that you make so good points," she groaned, clicking her tongue in mock frustration.

"I know I'm awesome." Alice blew a kiss to the brunette, tucking her neck-length red hair behind her ear. "Now, if you won't do it, I will. Gimme that marker."

"No!"

"Ugh. This woman." Rolling her eyes, Alice leaned over the counter and grabbed the marker, before taking a light pink cutout of a paper heart. Whistling, she wrote a note before folding the heart in half and throwing it in the pile of already done notes.

Ivanna's eyes widened, all chances of finding the note and throwing it in the trash disappearing. Alice whistled coolly, capping the marker and handing it back to Ivanna who took it back with a loud sigh.

"I hate you," she said in what she wanted to seem like a scolding but rather sounded like a whine.

"Love ya too!"

Alice blew her a kiss before taking the order of a man who just walked in the cafe. The cafe was sorta less-crowded in the afternoon, while several of the staff members worked on the decorations and stuff for the day of love. Though a few of them grumbled and whined throughout, throwing a tantrum over how working hard for the Valentine's day was making them feel even more single.

Something which Ivanna related to.

The last relationship she had was in college, which was more like a college fling, it was fun while it lasted. But even then, Ivanna felt like she never truly felt that attached to that guy, and neither of them adored each other to the extent which she could call love. Given how Valentine's day was just in a week, Ivanna had lost all hope.

"Excuse me, miss," a silky voice traveled it's way to Ivanna's ears, making her whirl her head up to see a man around her age drumming his fingers on the counter. Now that she noticed, he had a pretty small pinky finger. Cute.

"How may I help you?" She mustered a smile, putting the marker down and standing up straighter, dusting her hands on her apron.

"I wanted to order an Iced Americano, please."

Ivanna's fingers flew over the keyboard of the computer in front of her hazel eyes. When she heard the 'buzz' of the bill coming out of the machine, she took the cash from the customer, whose plump lips seemed to have tipped up into an amused smile now.

"Please have a seat while we prepare your order, sir," she said in her usual polite voice, but she found the man genuinely amused by her now. For what reason, she couldn't understand. Giving him a final smile, she started preparing the coffee while the customer sauntered off to the chair beside the glass-wall.

While she placed the coffee on a tray, she found her eyes traveling back to gaze at the same man whose order she was setting up. Surprisingly enough, the said man was already looking at her. His front tooth sunk into his plump lip as he tried to bite back his smile. Shaking her head, Ivanna picked up a random folded paper heart and placed it beside the glass of coffee.

Making her way towards the alluring man while balancing the tray in one hand (as their manager said looks cool so they should do it that way), she placed the coffee in front of the customer on the wooden table. And for some odd reason, the man looked familiar to her.

"Hope you enjoy your coffee!"

With raised eyebrows, the said man took the glass, his full lips pressing on the edge of it as he tasted the coffee. All the while maintain eye contact with Ivanna, who seemed somewhat rooted to her spot because of the heated gaze of the blonde before her.

Now that she paid actual attention, she took in the details. He had plump lips, which she realized had stayed pink ever since he had entered the cafe. She took in his deep brown eyes and the sight of the faint freckles dusting his rosy cheeks. That made her smile to herself unknowingly. She always had a certain adoration for freckles.

"It tastes nice," he said simply, before putting the glass back on the table after two sips. Propping his doll-like face on his palms, he tilted his head as he took in the sight of the brunette before him. A small smile formed on his full lips at the cute strawberries decorating her apron.

"Cute."

"Huh?" Ivanna blinked, taken aback by the sudden compliment. The man's puppy-like eyes widened as he realized he said it out loud. Scratching the back of his neck, a faint blush creeped up his face.

"Well, I—Uh. I wasn't supposed to say it out loud..."

At his flustered state, Ivanna couldn't' help but break into a fit of laughter. Her hazel eyes crinkled, her lips parting to show off her straight teeth and her cheeks flushing with color. For a minute, the customer felt himself at a loss of words at the woman's ringing laughter, and he couldn't help but join in with her.

"Hey, that's totally okay. I was just surprised, that's all. You're good, don't worry."

"I... see," he mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

"Ivanna! Espresso shots. Two please!" Alice called out, taking the register and bowing to the new customers, that were, a teenage boy and girl.

Ah, the reminded her of the teenage love that she... never experienced.

"Coming right up!"

She whipped her head back towards the man who was smiling at her now. His eyes crinkled at the corners, almost disappearing and turning into crescents. The curly blonde locks of the man fell over his forehead and reached the tip of his ears.

"So... Ivanna, is that right?"

He stretched his hand out for a handshake, and Ivanna quite frankly didn't know what to do now. A man, a very attractive one at that, was asking her for a handshake. That was all. Then why the fuck was she freaking out so much over it?

She unfolded her hands which were wrapped around the tray she was hugging to herself and shook the man's hand. As soon as his eyes locked with hers, she felt herself go weak in the knees and her heart to race. Something funny bloomed in her chest, making her heart expand and her pupils dilate.

"Well, I'll take that as a yes." Bringing her hand closer to his lips, sufficiently slowly to give her ample time to pull it way. When she didn't, he pressed a soft kiss to the back of it, all the while caressing her thumb with his own. His eyes never left hers, and the never-ending eye contact made cold sweat to break on her palms.

"Nice to meet you, Ivanna. I'm Jimin. Park Jimin."

₊˚⊹♡ ₊˚⊹♡