kangdae ∞ minhee #admiring you from afar has always been my speciality

Your secret admirer is here

T he life of Do Kangdae had turned upside down from the day he began his first year in high school, one look at his classmate was all it took to shake his world and make him believe his whole life wasn’t complete up until that point. He didn’t know her well, he only admired the girl from afar safely without letting anybody find out his affections for Ju Minhee which have become his greatest secret over the years. He always thought it would go away, that it was just a crush that he’ll grow out of eventually, so he waited patiently for that to happen. Because what could he have offered for someone as beautiful as Minhee was, flawless in her appearance and charming people with her kind soul. Kangdae on the other hand was an ugly little nerd  (at least it was how he thought of himself) until he became friends with the class’ most popular kids (he still didn’t know how he managed to do that), his outer appearance and demeanor have changed, he didn’t become the bad boy, he was just more open to people and often went out to party with his friends, but he still didn’t forget about his responsibilities helping his family out and he was still a little nerdy but only behind closed doors now. Years have passed since he first met Minhee, his crush for her only became stronger, and their senior year in school have started, Kangdae still was yet to confess. He felt like he was running out of time that made him a little desperate, so on the first day of being back to  school he did something he never thought he would be able to do: he slipped a small hand-written letter inside Minhee’s locker hoping the girl won’t freak out in public demanding to know who have put it there. Nothing like that happened, from the big silence Kangdae wasn’t even sure if her friends knew about it, so he kept doing it, once a week, every Wednesday a small, but important love letter found its way into the girl’s locker. Kangdae never put a name under his messages, and he felt free finally being able to share his love with her, and even though his friends would have thought he was a coward for hiding behind papers and sweet words, he didn’t care. How could have he approach the girl while every time she was near, his mind had shut down, he had a minor mental breakdown and wasn’t able to say hi to her without his tongue tripping over such simple words? It was embarrassing, so his best tactic was to avoid the girl like his life depended on it before he made a total fool out of himself, but it wasn’t always so easy. Not after school at least when he was working at his brother’s very popular street food restaurant where all his classmates and basically everyone else from school hung out at, including Minhee and girl gang as Kangdae liked to think of them that way. (He swore girls hanging out in groups together were really scary!)
Today was a day like that too, and he couldn’t escape from his duties as other waiters weren’t around to trade tables with him at the moment. So he took a deep breath before slowly walking up to the girls’ table, grabbing onto his notepad to soothe his nerves in some ways. He knew he was being ridiculous getting worked up over nothing, it was not even a real conversation as his job was just to take their orders and leave them alone, besides, they were his classmates for God’s sake! But tell that to his trembling lips and racing heart that beat abnormally fast every time he laid eyes on Minhee.
He cleared his throat right before arriving next to the girls and tried so hard not to look at Minhee from close, who sat on his right, it would have been just a small turn of his head to see her.
“Hi, girls! Can I get you something to drink?” Okay, this part wasn’t that hard considering that he first took the friends’ orders, then looked at Minhee going full circle over the table. He knew it was inevitable, he knew it was coming, yet his voice still wavered a little. Or a lot. He couldn’t determine that at this point. “A-and you?” Kangdae gripped that notepad in his hand so hard he almost ripped it apart, and he made the mistake of looking up once till not hearing Minhee’s answer, and he managed to lock eyes with the girl just for a brief second before he looked away as if he was burned by her at least, scribbling down the last order. “Okay, I’ll be right back!” With that, Kangdae fled the scene before he could have embarrassed himself more. Now he just hoped his legs won’t give in and make him trip with their drinks, but he had served them before, and managed to survive every occasion without spilling anything over the girls so far. It would have been cruel to break his fortune on a Friday evening.
His heart still couldn’t calm down while he was preparing their orders, the only thing he could think of was how utterly beautiful Minhee was in her after school clothes, bright smile and angel eyes (maybe he glanced at them while they were immersed in their conversation once or twice… or like a hundred times). Not to mention her totally kissable cherry lips, but that was a thing Kangdae didn’t want to get lost into in midst of working.

Your secret admirer is here

K angdae tried to remember every drink and food he has served for Minhee so far, it was his pathetic way to get to know her a bit better without actually talking to her and asking about her favourite stuffs, or God forbid asking her out because that would only result in utter heartbreak and humiliation as there was no way a girl like Ju Minhee would ever want to date a boy like him. Impossible. Period.
He always prepared every drink with care, but somehow Minhee’s orders always took more time than others, he wanted to make sure she gets the absolute best from everything and he couldn’t allow to make even a tiny mistake because that would have been a huge failure in his eyes. Kangdae wasn’t a good chef like his brother Kangmin was, but if he was a master in something, it was making drinks. He learned it from the best - Kangmin - so it was nice and easy for him. He felt like he wasn’t completely useless because he was good at something, despite being a very dramatic guy, he always enjoyed the little joys of life.
Kangdae looked pleased with himself glancing down at the pretty heart he drew on top of the foam of Minhee’s drink, he always drew different kinds of figures on everyone’s coffee, but never a heart. It was only Minhee’s privilege.
Fortunately he didn’t trip on the way over the girls’ table and it was a small victory for him.
“Have you guys decided what do you want to eat?” He looked at each girl smiling, jotting down their orders one by one, and his smile actually widened when he glanced at Minhee. He managed to avoid acting weird this time, his smile actually widened watching the girl, he just hoped nobody noticed. He took the orders fast, ready to leave them alone again.
However, he didn’t expect to stay and chat with them, so he must have looked like a deer caught in headlight, but he quickly managed to hide his fear. As long as he didn’t have to talk to the girl of his dreams, his voice was actually solid and his words were reliable.
“I have been working in here since he opened, just helping out in the kitchen and I serve customers a little more than a year now,” he answered the question honestly, why would he lie? He didn’t understand why Sooyoung cared about this, they weren’t friends after all, but also it was an innocent question, it meant no harm to him.
Kangmin was nice enough to give his fifteen year old little brother a job from the beginning, and even if his task was to wash the dishes for almost two years, at least he got money on his own and the staff was nice to him because he was the boss’ brother.
“Why though? Are you looking for a job as well?” He inquired, he was curious about why the girl did ask, and the another question was just necessary politeness. He couldn’t afford to be nothing but absolutely kind and helpful to every customer. It was Kangmin’s most absolute rule.
Kangdae was about excuse himself to get back to the kitchen with their orders when he felt something bumping into his leg, latching onto it immediately. When he looked down, a small girl grinned up at her, showing her beautiful toothy smile.
“Oppa!” It was her adorable niece Jangmi, reaching out her small arms to signal she wanted to be picked up. Kangdae noticed his mother closing the door, but his attention was back on Mimi quickly, picking her up without a hesitation and pressing a long kiss to her head. She was usually a well-behaved girl who hung out at the restaurant almost every day, but she was still a child who couldn’t contain her excitement when she saw her favourite uncle. “Who are these pretty girls?” She laid her curious eyes on Kangdae’s classmates, she was always like this, saying out loud what was on her mind. That’s why Kangdae adored her so much.

Your secret admirer is here

T he boy tried to be as polite as he could talking with those girls, he didn’t really like to be in the center of the attention and the fact that Minhee, the girl of his dreams was watching as well didn’t make it easy for him. However, it was also the same reason he stopped to chat with them in the first place, he didn’t want to appear as a rude person in front of her.
Mimi’s arrival changed everything though. She wasn’t shy at all and had a natural skill of talking that made most people’s heart melt, just like it did now with the girls. They were saying nice things, but Kangdae found them irritating nonetheless. He wasn’t used to being around girls that much, or hear them talking in an overly cute way that had the completely opposite effect on him. Minhee seemed to be the only normal one among them, she remained calm and collected, which Kangdae appreciated for several reasons. Mostly because the little girl in his arms was the only person who knew about his big crush on his classmate and also have seen a picture of Minhee before so she could easily recognize her if she paid attention a little more. She was clearly more invested in grinning and giggling like the cutie pie she was while clinging to his neck. She always enjoyed the attention she got from the customers.
Her uncle, however, had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes before anyone would have noticed how annoyed he was with all the squealing. Can they ever shut up? Gosh! Mimi was the most adorable and prettiest kid, that was true, but she was just still a kid, nothing extraordinary, Kangdae was sure the girls have seen other children before so he didn’t understand what this big ruckus was about. He thought they went over a line where they didn’t seem to be genuine enough for him to believe them. In his opinion, they just wanted to be in the spotlight while playing nice, enjoying that Mimi has called them beautiful. Thankfully Mimi made sure her favourite uncle stayed smiling by pressing a long kiss to his cheek just because she could, and also involved him in the conversation. For a moment, Kangdae even forgot he had a job to do.
“She’s my niece,” he answered the question, because Mimi’s answer wasn’t so helpful. She wasn’t lying though, stating that she was his favourite cuddly bunny, a cute and special nickname he often used for her, but Kangdae knew that wasn’t enough information to figure out she was Kangmin’s daughter. She could have also been the daughter of Kangdae’s older sister, but given Mimi’s age, Kyungri would have been only 20 when she was born and he thought that normally people wouldn’t assume someone gave birth that young, so he didn’t bother to clarify. It wasn’t like he needed to explain something there.
“Oppa, that silent girl is your crush right? She is the prettiest of them all, want me to ask her out for you?” Mimi whispered into his ears which made him freeze and his eyes comically widened. Of course she noticed! Why did even Kangdae hope that Mimi wouldn’t recognize Minhee? She might have been little, but not stupid.
“Alright, this young lady needs to go with mom and I need to get back to work, so say goodbye!” Kangdae needed to prevent the catastrophe before it even started, so he wasted no time bringing the laughing little girl to his mother who was talking with one of the other waiters at the kitchen’s entrance. Looking down at Mimi, she exactly knew why they exited the scene so fast, she was only 3, an angel on most days, but she could also be a smart little devil sometimes. Though Kangdae couldn’t be mad at her, he was weak for her puppy eyes, so he just shook his head and let his mom to take her while he gave the girls’ orders to the kitchen. His shift has only started an hour ago, but this was already a crazy night. At least he got good glances at Minhee, who blessed his Friday night with her beautiful face, she was also looking incredibly pretty right now (that wasn't a new thing though), so nothing really mattered beside that.