The Girl Behind the Counter

Addiction is a destructive force, especially when it involves money. You were addicted to none other than Minji, the world-famous K-pop idol. The worst part is that she doesn’t even know you exist. By no means were you one of those crazy people who followed idols around or snuck into their homes.

You had spent a ridiculous amount of money to support Njz. Albums didn’t come cheap; sometimes the shipping cost as much as the album itself.

Not even in your nightmare did you imagine that your addiction to her could become so painful. It has been a year since she was last seen taking part in official activities. The last time was in front of the court before the legal case started.

It was hard to support the movement against their company, especially considering you lived in Romania, a country that knew nothing about K-pop. All your friends called you a madman for caring so much.

It didn’t matter to you what others thought. In your opinion, was your addiction actually helping you become better?

Yes.

You got a part-time job to help you buy albums. It paid enough for you to indulge in your needs while also fulfilling your wants.

Enough about your glorious life, let's get back to the humongous situation at hand.

Kim Fucking Minji was in your store, and what’s worse is the uniform she was wearing. It is the same fucking uniform as yours. At first, you thought you were imagining things and that your addiction had finally become an obsession that destroyed your perception of reality.

Luckily for you, she was real. So real that she broke a glass when wiping the table.

Your supervisor assigned you to train her, which you promptly sweet-talked your way out of, probably because you won’t be able to say a single word to her.

The supervisor trains Minji. Shockingly, Minji is quite the klutz. So far, she has messed up 3 drinks and broken two cups. It was honestly cute watching her panic so much over something so trivial when a few months ago, she was performing on the biggest stages in the world.

When she broke the second cup, you were helping her clean up when she said, “No wonder I was never allowed in the kitchen, I am a danger to everyone when I am around utensils.”

You laughed at her sudden sass.

The shift today was fun but also painful; it finally ended, and you and Minji were left to close up. While you were restocking the freezer, a voice broke the silence.

“Hey, I am Minji. I don’t think I got to introduce myself.”

I know who you are. Obviously!

Somehow, you managed to get the words out of your mouth and introduce yourself without stuttering, but the conversation ends there.

You finished most of the work and ran as soon as you finished closing. Your brain was still processing what just happened. None of your friends on Discord would have believed you even if you told them.

Like a light bulb, you realized what was happening. Minji is hiding from the camera and from all the people who see her as nothing but a doll that needs to remain perfect. It made a lot of sense. This was probably one of the few places on this planet where she wouldn’t get recognized.

That entire night, you didn’t get a wink of sleep. You were contemplating whether to come clean to her or let her enjoy the freedom in ignorance. By the time you came to a decision, the sun was already up.

You decided to let her enjoy the peace and freedom.

The rules were simple:

Don’t mention Njz.

Don’t stare at her.

Don’t make things awkward or weird.

One would think these are simple rules that can easily be followed. Which they were, except for the last one. Outside of K-pop and gaming, you didn’t have many interests. This meant that the only topics you could talk to Minji about were cafe stuff or gaming. From what you know, Minji cared little about gaming. To be thorough, you decided to keep your communication with her to a bare minimum.

But there were times when you had no option but to step in, like that one time where a customer was trying to order a particularly complex drink and Minji couldn’t keep up with her speed. When asked to repeat the order, the customer started getting aggressive, but you stepped in before it got worse.

“Thanks, but you didn’t have to step in, you know? I was just about to throw espresso on his face,” Minji said.

“As much as I would’ve loved to see that. I didn’t want to get involved in a brawl,” You replied.

No matter how hard you tried, you always had an eye on her. To the point where you memorized her routines without even trying. Like how she skips meals when she messes up, or how she gets overwhelmed during rush hour, or how she hates loud customers or sounds.

During almost every shift, you would hand Minji water or tell her to take a break when things got too complicated or loud. You even took the blame for some of her mistakes when the manager noticed.

Some nights when closing took a little longer, you would even offer to walk with her because you lived in the same direction she did, even though you didn’t. She would always try to strike up a conversation, but you would shut it down with just one-sentence answers, purely because you were scared she would be creeped out.

All of a sudden, during a long and painful shift, you get cornered by the very same girl you are trying to avoid a conversation with.

“You know who I am, don’t you?” Minji asked, her tone sharp and clear.

Surprised would be a small word for what you were feeling. So many questions went through your head.

How does she know?

What did I do to get myself caught?

How do I get out of this?

“N-no…” You managed to croak out.

“Why are you lying? I’m not going to kill you, you know?”

“Fine, I do. Trust me when I say, I had no intention of ever letting you find out or bothering you at all, nor did I join this job because I followed you here.” You ramble.

There is no reply; she is just standing there staring at you like a predator sizing its prey. The silence was suffocating.

“How did you find out?” She asked.

“Been a huge fan of yours since the day you debuted. So it wasn’t hard to recognize my bias when she appeared in front of me on a random Monday,” you answered honestly. You were scared that she would find it annoying or be repulsed by the thought of someone who knew her being here.

“How did you find out that I knew?” You questioned, trying to make it less awkward.

“It has been 2 months since I came here. Not many people offered any sort of help. A lot of them looked at me like I didn’t belong here, their eyes said what their tongues feared.”

You wanted to say something, but you knew how bad some people could be, especially to someone from a different country.

“But you. You were different. Every time I struggled to understand what a customer said, you jumped in. Always making sure that I ate during the shift by leaving some food, and the part that confirmed it was the new jeans cross bag I saw you wearing last week.” She spoke.