Work Text:
For once, Soobin is excited to go to work.
His favorite people are working today, the weather is great, and he’s working an opening shift.
However, something seems off. Because his boss – Taehyung – isn’t in his office.
Taehyung is always in his office, working on things that café owners should. Soobin doesn’t know what those things are, probably repeatedly calculating numbers and checking inventory on their coffee bean supply or something. Though he knows that one of those things is usually not coming outside of the office unless something major has happened.
And something major seems to be happening, because like Soobin said, Taehyung’s outside his office. Next to a new face.
And this new face is really pretty. Like. Really pretty. So drop dead gorgeous that Soobin could recite poetry on his eyes alone.
“Morning hyung-nim,” Soobin greets with a slight bow as he enters the café. Usually, he would head straight to the supply closet where his trusty apron waits for him patiently. However, Taehyung and this new face are standing right in front of it. In fact, the new face has an apron around his neck, sharp eyes perky and lips curled into an enthusiastic smile.
“Hey Soobin-ah,” Taehyung replies. He looks between the confused barista and the new face. “This is Yeonjun, my nephew.”
Soobin’s eyes widen in recognition.
Taehyung has a reputation for talking about his nephew excessively. He even has a photo of him as a baby hung over one of the tables by the wall. Soobin had tried his best to listen to his boss during the countless times he’s talked about him, though the only things he’s caught were “prodigy”, “good at everything”, and “adorable”.
Soobin doesn’t know about the first two, but he can definitely attest to the third point.
“Right, nice to meet you, Taehyung-nim has talked about you a lot,” Soobin chuckles, extending a hand to Yeonjun.
Soobin’s not sure how he does it, but Yeonjun’s eyes sparkle as he shakes his hand. “Nice to meet you too! Tae says that you’re his best barista.”
Soobin scratches the nape of his neck sheepishly. “Uh, yeah, I suppose.” He raises an eyebrow towards his boss. “Is Yeonjun-ssi going to work here?”
Taehyung nods firmly. “He just transferred universities from the States and needed a job. Seeing as I’m his favorite uncle, I thought I would help him out.” He fondly ruffles Yeonjun’s jet black hair, snickering as Yeonjun whines in embarrassment. “I’m going to teach him the ropes really quick. Go ahead and get the café ready, yeah?”
Soobin blinks at him. Taehyung has never initiated a new employee, always putting the task onto his more senior baristas (read: Soobin). It’s an odd sight and makes him nervous for some reason.
It’s alleviated for a moment when he sees Yeosang and Taehyun through the window, waving at him in delight.
“Wow, I’ve never seen you here earlier than us,” Yeosang teases, poking Soobin’s cheek as he passes by, pausing when he sees Taehyung and Yeonjun by the espresso machine. He greets them awkwardly before hurrying to the supply closet.
Taehyun glances at their boss and Yeonjun behind the counter. “We have a new barista?”
Yeosang returns to their group, handing Taehyun his apron as he slips his own on. “I hope he is, he’s kinda cute.”
Soobin frowns as he begins to take chairs down from the tables, setting them down just a little too roughly. “Yeah well, Yeonjun-ssi’s not really your type though.”
Taehyun quirks up an eyebrow in interest. “Since when did you care about our types?”
“I don’t, I’m just saying…” Soobin grumbles. He’s not going to admit that he has a small attraction towards their new co-worker, and that maybe he’s a little gone for the way Yeonjun laughs whenever Taehyung cracks a lame joke. His co-workers only deserve so much information about him.
“We get it, he’s all yours Bin,” Yeosang teases under his breath, Taehyun cackling alongside him as they head to the bar to prep their stations.
Soobin scowls at them, though the corners of his lips curl up in the slightest. His eyes meet Yeonjun’s, and he waves at Soobin shyly, accidentally spilling some ground coffee from the portafilter. He yelps and apologizes to Taehyung profusely, but of course Taehyung just laughs it off and pats Yeonjun’s shoulder.
Soobin smiles inwardly.
Eventually, the café’s opening hours begin, and Taehyung approaches Soobin with Yeonjun attached to his hip.
“Alright, he’s all yours Soobin.” Taehyung pushes Yeonjun gently towards Soobin, the new barista smiling blushingly as he bows deeply. “Please take care of me.”
Soobin chuckles, nodding at Taehyung as he retreats to his office. Yeonjun comes back up from his bow and glances past Soobin’s shoulder in mortification.
“Oh my gosh, there’s people already. It’s barely 8 in the morning!” Yeonjun whispers, more-so in fascination than in panic.
Soobin opens his mouth, ready with some words of support and a quick compliment on how cute Yeonjun looks, though Taehyun beats him to it and throws an arm around Yeonjun’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, you’ve got the best baristas to help you out. Right, Soobin-hyung?”
He grumbles a sound of affirmation, the moment already gone from him.
Their first customer of the day glances at their menu in thought. Soobin has the most seniority out of all of them, so under silent agreement, he’s the leader for the day. Or at least until he clocks out.
“Taehyun, I’ll have you finishing and handing out drinks and pastries. Yeosang-hyung, can you help Yeonjun-ssi at the cash register while I man the espresso bar?”
Yeosang nods mindlessly as he punches in the customer’s order and swipes their card, handing Soobin their first order. A mocha. Easy.
He peeks up at Yeonjun listening to Yeosang attentively as he goes through their POS system, answering Yeonjun’s questions patiently. As much as he would love to be at Yeonjun’s side for his first day, they work a lot quicker with the tasks Soobin assigned them all to, and to be honest, he’s a little wary about Yeonjun’s ability to make anything more than an americano.
It seems his intuition is right, because Taehyung was definitely wrong about Yeonjun being “good at everything”.
Everyone has their Achille’s Heel, but Yeonjun’s is more like a leg.
Within the first few hours of opening, Yeonjun managed to crash the POS system three times.
The first time Yeonjun crashes the POS system, it’s technically not his fault.
Sometimes the machine doesn’t like it when someone uses the tap feature for their card, and the register freaks out and freezes. It’s an easy fix – just restart the system, tell everyone to wait for a few minutes and to avoid tapping their card. Yeonjun promises to keep this in mind.
The second time Yeonjun crashes the POS system, Soobin has no idea how he did it.
It just shuts down. Doesn’t want to wake up. Puts everyone in a panic. Yeonjun says he swears he didn’t press anything wrong, all he did was mess up putting in the customer’s order in a few times and was trying to figure out how to go back to the main screen to re-do the order. In the process, the screen glitched, and it turned off without warning.
Soobin has to hold back a sigh. There’s a red button on the top corners of the screen, and sometimes the one on the upper right gets mistaken for a “back” button when it’s actually a “shut down” button.
He reboots the system, and it comes back to life without a hitch. Yeonjun thanks him profusely. He can’t blame him; he probably didn’t know.
The third time Yeonjun crashes the POS system, Soobin swears that Yeonjun is messing with him at that point.
Somehow, Yeonjun inputs the customer’s order to 100 lattes. The system freaks out, thinks it’s being hacked, and locks Yeonjun out of his employee ID.
The worst part is that Yeonjun had charged the customer’s card already.
It’s so bad that Soobin doesn’t know what to do, nearly pulls out his hair at the fact that this makes the line longer and the customers more impatient. It’s so bad that Soobin has to bring Taehyung out of his office to deal with it himself.
Thank God for Taehyung, because he eases the angry customer that was yelling at Yeonjun, reassuring that he can manually revert the transaction if they would follow him to his office, and Yeosang inputs his own employee ID to take over as cashier.
Yeonjun looks overwhelmed and filled with guilt. He’s so lucky Soobin has the patient of a saint.
After the POS system fiasco, Soobin’s faith in Yeonjun’s ability as a barista falters, so he puts him in charge of waiter duties. He hopes that it’ll keep him from making a mess, though he shouldn’t have had such high expectations for the newbie.
Because in the span of ten minutes, Yeonjun broke two mugs.
He drops the first mug on the way to giving it to a customer, the liquid splattering across the pristine white tiles. Thankfully Taehyun comes in swiftly with a broom and a rag to save the situation, though Yeonjun is quick to make more of a mess.
When he reaches to grab a replacement mug, it slips out of his hands, due to them still being wet from the spilled coffee. It shatters on the floor, and Yeonjun hastily crouches down to pick up the pieces, accidentally cutting his hands in the process.
Biting his tongue to keep from screaming, Soobin hurriedly grabs Yeonjun’s hands from continuing to clean the broken glass. “Stop, you’re bleeding.”
Yeonjun pouts in annoyance. Soobin really should be paying attention to the trickle of blood coming out of Yeonjun’s left hand, but he’s staring at plump, pouty lips that with just a simple lean, would be on Soobin’s.
“I keep ruining everything,” Yeonjun mopes helplessly. Soobin keeps his gaze low, the first-aid kit at his side while he presses against the cut with a tissue to stop it from bleeding. Yeonjun’s hands are oddly soft. Soobin finds himself mindlessly stroking his thumb against the back of Yeonjun’s hand. Why do their hands fit so nicely together?
He doesn’t look at Yeonjun, but for some reason his hands feel warmer. He dresses the cut with a cotton pad and secures it with a few wraps of medical tape. “Go ahead and take your fifteen now. I’ll take care of the glass.”
He chances a glance up at Yeonjun, his cheeks red probably out of shame. Soobin takes Yeonjun’s good hand and pulls him up, the other weakly smiling back before trudging to the break room with a defeated hunch of his shoulders.
While Yeonjun’s on break and the morning rush finally calms down, Soobin takes a moment to collect himself. He brings the bottom flap of his apron to his face and shouts. It’s muffled, but some customers crane their necks to see which barista has lost their mind this time.
“I’m assuming that’s a cry for joy?” Yeosang smirks.
Taehyun peers behind him while he’s brewing an espresso shot. “I don’t know, if I were Soobin-hyung, I’d have my hands around Yeonjun-ssi’s neck,” he scrunches his face, “and not in a sexy way.”
Yeosang snorts, shaking his head as Soobin reveals his fatigued face, little pieces of ground espresso dotted all over and his hair slightly disheveled. He’s had many off days at the café, but none quite like this.
“I don’t remember any of us being this bad on our first days,” Yeosang muses. “To be fair, Taehyung-nim never interviewed him. Yeonjun-ssi only got the job because they’re in the same bloodline.”
Taehyun knits his eyebrows together. “If Yeonjun-ssi came from the States, shouldn’t he be kinda, y’know-“ he rubs his fingers together, “-rich? Why would he need a job?”
Soobin sighs heavily, turning to look at the construed reflection of himself in the drip coffee brewer as he brings his hands up to fix his messy hair. “His financial situation doesn’t matter. The important thing here is that Yeonjun-ssi is a hot mess. Like- he’s hot, but he’s also a mess.”
“He’ll probably get better though, we should have some faith in him,” Yeosang says. Taehyun hums in agreement.
“Excuse me?”
All three baristas turn to the sound of the voice. A man is at the counter, holding up a receipt with an irritated expression.
“Your new barista promised me a discount on my drink for accidentally spattering coffee on my research papers earlier, but it says here that I’ve been charged for fifteen lattes, not fifteen percent off one latte.”
The hands in Soobin’s hair grip tightly against his roots. Yeosang and Taehyun look at him anxiously. Soobin has never lost his cool during work. It was always before and after, never in-between. It’s a little daunting how it took just one person to bend Soobin over sideways, and then some.
“Let me figure out that refund with you, sir. Just one moment.”
He grabs Yeosang and Taehyun in aggravation. His eyes are unfocused and very crazed. Soobin looks like he’s on the borderline of complete madness.
“Faith in him? We should have some faith in him?!” Soobin whispers frantically. “The only thing I want in Yeonjun-ssi is some sense. Knock some fucking sense into him, and maybe I’ll change how I feel about him. But right now, he’s the bane of my existence.”
He shoves past them as he plasters on a grin that not even the Cheshire Cat could attempt. Yeosang and Taehyun are left with weak knees after the scariest encounter they’ve had with Soobin yet.
The thing is, Soobin isn’t even at his breaking point yet. He’s almost there, but not quite. Yeonjun just has to push his buttons one more time, and Soobin will absolutely lose his mind and more.
And he does. Soobin expected nothing less.
Yeonjun gets on Soobin’s very last nerve. How?
By spilling coffee all over his new shoes.
It was a purchase that Soobin had contemplated for months. His old shoes were on the verge of ripping in a new hole in the sole, and Soobin’s bank account was looking pretty solid for the first time in forever, so the splurge was well-justified.
White high-top Converse. At regular price! It was the first time Soobin didn’t seek out the clearance rack or a coupon. He felt very proud about it.
Sure, it didn’t make sense to wear such shoes in a coffee shop, but Soobin was used to working with competent baristas who followed the number one rule at their café: Never let a drop of coffee go to waste.
Not a single gram of grinded coffee beans left futile, not a single pour of milk to be spilled, not a single cake crumb on the floor. It was the only rule that Taehyung drilled into every barista’s mind, reciting these rules like they were his family’s credo.
Though it didn’t seem that Yeonjun followed it very well. At all, really.
After Yeonjun came back from his break, Soobin put Yeonjun at the espresso machine. All he had to do was make the espresso shots, steam milk, and mix any ingredients together. On top of that, he had Soobin as his crutch, so there was no way he could mess up this time. Soobin is admittedly the best barista in the entire café, passing the interview with flying colors on top of extra credit, impressing Taehyung with latte art that he had no idea he could even do.
Yeonjun was kind of horrible at making drinks. He was unceasingly nervous, his hands never stopped shaking and he always dropped anything that was in his hands. Especially if Soobin came too close, which he had to be, because he had to be there whenever Yeonjun let anything fall. But they made it through the rest of the shift without any other problems. Soobin was starting to see things look up for the newbie.
The accident happened at the end of Soobin’s shift.
He was literally putting his apron away in the supply closet, slipping his backpack as he had a class right after work, and carefully opened the door not to hit anyone. The supply closet is just behind the counter, so if one isn’t careful, a human collision could happen.
Soobin was cautious. But Yeonjun was not.
Soobin took one step out the door and felt a body slam into his side, heard a small oof! before a sharp gasp, which was then followed by the sensation of ice-cold liquid seeping into his socks.
He was so close. Freedom was only a few steps away.
Soobin slowly looked down at his shoes, completely drenched in the iced coffee Yeonjun was holding. From far away, one would probably think Soobin was wearing brown Converse.
This thought makes Soobin laugh. Not humorously, of course. Maniacally.
Every single stressor Yeonjun has caused all crashes down on him, leaving Soobin to drown in his own psychotic meltdown.
Yeonjun stares at him apprehensively, hand clutching at the now empty coffee cup in fear. Everyone’s watching Soobin, actually. He’s laughing so loud that the chatter in the café dies down a smidge, nearby customers sticking their nose where it shouldn’t, wanting to see what the commotion was all about. Even Yeosang and Taehyun stop what they’re doing. Their leader’s gone insane. This isn’t going to fare well.
“Soobin-ssi, I’m so-“
Soobin holds up a hand, signaling Yeonjun to stop talking. He looks back at him with a sardonic smile, one that mirrors the Joker’s. Soobin didn’t even know he could feel and show such detestation towards anyone, well, ever. He was known for hiding his emotions so well, though Soobin supposes he’s finally met his kryptonite, and not the good kind.
“This is so hilarious,” Soobin howls. He sounds nothing like himself, but he can’t find it within him to hold back anymore. It’s been a long and horrible day, and Yeonjun had not only made the sundae, he put the cherry on top too. “You ruined my shoes. And my day. At the same time!”
“I- I’ll buy you a new pair! I’m really really-“
“I’m going to go to class,” Soobin feigns a friendly tone, slowly turning his head to look at Yeonjun. The new barista stumbles backwards, flinching when Soobin’s manic eyes meet his. The silence between the two of them is heavy and dreadful. Soobin blinks at him for a few moments, trying to find the right words to say. Life - or Yeonjun really - gave Soobin a shitload of lemons, and instead of making lemonade, Soobin decides that he’s going to throw them back. Just one, not all of them. Despite his mental breakdown, Soobin is still a decent person. Kinda.
“When I come back, I hope I don’t see you. Again. Ever.”
***
“No way, please tell me you didn’t say that.”
“I was pissed, hyung. I had to walk into class reeking of coffee, my shoes making the most disgusting, squelching sound against the floor with every step I took. I meant what I said, I didn’t want to see him after what he did!”
Soobin’s home after what felt like the longest day of his life. His shoes are still brown and a little stiff from the dried coffee. His brother and roommate Jin is cooking them dinner, even though he had an equally rough day at his own job.
Jin slides him a bowl of kimchi fried rice. God Bless Jin.
“Well, do you still mean it now?”
Soobin can’t imagine the hurt expression on Yeonjun’s face he must have caused after making such a scene when he was leaving work. Those adorable little hands cradling the plastic cup. His cat-like eyes probably filled at the brim with tears threatening to fall down his flawless face. His thick lips quivering like a wounded puppy.
He can’t blame Yeonjun for everything, at least not entirely. It was his first day. Sure, Soobin never made that many mistakes on his first day, and neither did Yeosang or Taehyun. Maybe Yeonjun’s just an outlier. But all in all, Yeonjun’s new. Soobin shouldn’t have expected perfection when Yeonjun was just learning the ropes of a new job, in a new country too.
Though that doesn’t change the little annoyance Soobin feels. He can’t help it. Yeonjun’s cute, but his actions weren’t.
So Soobin just shrugs as he scarfs down his food (gratefully, of course). Jin rolls his eyes at his brother’s stubbornness.
“You think Yeonjun’s good-looking, but when you associate his actions with your misfortunes, you find Yeonjun… repulsive?” Jin asks in clarification with Soobin nodding firmly. “Okay, I’m confused. What exactly is Yeonjun to you? Is he your enemy? Your crush? Both?”
Soobin furrows his eyebrows at his brother, as if the answer is obvious. Which it is.
“Yeonjun is like sour candy. When you first taste it, it’s sour.”
“…and?”
Soobin deadpans.
“That’s it.”
Jin snorts, shaking his head. “But you love sour candy. You buy those packets of Sour Patch Kids every other week, and your dentist hates you for it.”
Soobin smiles proudly, three cavities and all.
“Sour candy is good because it’s sour, and Yeonjun is sour candy because he leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It’s that simple,” Soobin says.
Jin still isn’t convinced, and he’s staring Soobin down like he’s analyzing him underneath a microscope, making Soobin shift in his chair uncomfortably.
“Sour candy is sour at first, Soobin-ah. You end up liking it because that taste ultimately becomes sweet,” Jin retorts with a knowing smirk.
Soobin stares at him with a blank expression. What is that supposed to mean?
Jin rolls his eyes when he’s met with Soobin’s perplexed gaze. “You’ll get what I mean eventually.”
***
Soobin figures out what Jin means several days later.
He runs into Yeonjun at a café. No, not the one they work at. He finds Yeonjun in the campus café hunched over his laptop and the hood of his jacket pulled over his head. He has a table all to himself, and Soobin almost finds himself making his way over to him.
Almost.
As soon as Yeonjun’s head comes up, Soobin quickly turns back around to wait for his coffee.
The audacity he has, to try and greet Yeonjun like it’s a normal day. Like he hadn’t humiliated and insulted Yeonjun just a few days ago.
He peeks at Yeonjun again. The boy is chewing on his bottom lip, glancing between his laptop screen and the papers splayed in front of him. There’s just a bunch of notes and flow charts. He wonders what Yeonjun’s majoring in.
Outside the hectic environment of the café, Yeonjun looks peaceful like this. His jet-black hair brushing delicately against his fluttering eyelashes, plump lips jutted out in a concentrated pout, long and delicate fingers typing furiously against the keyboard. A student shyly approaches him and asks if they can sit at his table, seeing as all the other ones are filling up fast. He smiles politely, his eyes nearly disappearing as he does so, pulling out a chair for them. He seamlessly starts a conversation with them, and Soobin can see the nerves of the other person simply melt away.
Yeonjun looks up, and this time, he catches Soobin staring at him. His face turns pale and suddenly, Soobin feels bad for existing. Thankfully the barista calls out his name and he hurriedly snatches his drink, making a mad dash for the door and willing the cold winter air to cool down his burning cheeks.
Before that horrible moment, Soobin realized that Yeonjun is not the incompetent fool he let himself believe him to be. Yeonjun is just another ordinary person. With an exceptionally cute face. And a really adorable laugh.
Underneath that sour first-impression, Yeonjun’s actually kind of… sweet.
Well, shit.
Jin really knew what he was talking about for once, and Soobin kind of hates him for it.
***
Soobin’s excited to go to work again. He’s going to apologize for being a shitty person, and hopefully Yeonjun forgives him. If not, he’ll quit and move back to Ansan, having completely given up on his life as a decent human being in society.
He shows up to work. The enthusiasm is gone, because Yeonjun should’ve been there. He’s not. Yeonjun isn’t there.
Oh God. Did Yeonjun quit? Was Soobin really that irrationally mad that he drove out Taehyung’s nephew out of the café, out of the university, out of Seoul? Oh no. Taehyung’s going to kill him. That’s his precious nephew that he hurt. That he yelled at. Soobin might as well move out of the country while he’s at it, while he still has a life to live. He’d rather not die at the hands of his own boss.
It’s only Yeosang there when he arrives, so he asks him where the new barista is.
“He asked Taehyun for your schedule, then asked Taehyung-nim to adjust his schedule to be opposite of yours,” he gives Soobin a sad smile, “he made sure that Taehyung-nim didn’t know what you said. You should be thankful, because if he knew, you’d be jobless by now. Or y’know, six feet deep.”
Great. Soobin feels like the scum at the bottom of a trash can. When he said he never wanted to see Yeonjun again, it was only something said in the heat of the moment. He didn’t mean it literally, and he didn’t think Yeonjun would take it literally either. But here they are. Yeonjun had listened to him. He doesn’t have to see him again. For some reason, that’s the worst possible thing that could’ve happened.
Yeonjun doesn’t even appear before or after his shifts, that’s how spaced out their schedules are from each other. Soobin never sees him on the way to work, after work, or even on campus anymore. He sees every other co-worker within the vicinity except for Yeonjun.
It leads Soobin to believe that Yeonjun is actively avoiding him, and that leaves an even worse feeling in his stomach.
Every day, he looks at the door or out the window, wondering if he’ll ever catch a glimpse of him. It goes on for several weeks, his co-workers just letting him wallow in his misery.
“Stop staring out the window like you’re waiting for your husband to come back from war.”
Soobin flinches out a Yeonjun-infused trance, blinking at Taehyun as he realizes he’s been wiping the same spot on the counter for five minutes.
It’s been several weeks without Yeonjun. Soobin’s sneaking Sour Patch Kids into his mouth from the pocket of his apron every time he turns away from customers. It doesn’t taste the same anymore. They’re tangier than their usual flavor.
“I’m not…” Soobin grumbles.
Taehyun scoffs. “Right, like I’ll believe an idiot like you who yells at new employees on their first day.”
Soobin’s eyes nearly fall out of his head. “I- Taehyun! That was just- I didn’t mean…” he deflates, slithering onto the floor with a small thud. Soobin’s pretty sure he’s sat on some spilled milk. Figures. He deserves it. “I’m really sorry for what I did. I just want to tell him that, but I can’t.”
“We all go to the same school, though. You could’ve talked to him there.”
Soobin puckers his lips in frustration. “I tried, but he looked at me like he had seen a ghost.” He peers up at Taehyun helplessly. “How could I approach him when he looks at me like a monster?”
Taehyun sighs in exasperation, pausing for a moment to take an order. Soobin tries to pick himself up off the ground, but he collapses back down like a wet noodle. Useless and hopeless. Taehyun glances at him and lets out an even longer sigh.
“If it makes you feel worse, the first time Yeonjun-hyung came back to work, he did great. Not a single mistake. In fact, he’s been doing a lot better without you around.”
Soobin furrows his eyebrows irritably. He didn’t ask, and he does feel worse now hearing it. It doesn’t help that everyone in the café calls Yeonjun informally except for him.
Though something doesn’t make sense.
Why was Yeonjun so clumsy around him and no one else? Soobin understands that it was his first day, but not a single mistake on his second day? Something’s not adding up.
“So, he acted like an idiot around me on purpose? Because he didn’t like me?”
Taehyun groans in annoyance. Loudly. Soobin grimaces. “No, Soobin-hyung, you’re the idiot! He just- because you- ugh! I can’t tell you,” Taehyun replies in annoyance, taking it out on the ground coffee in the portafilter by tampering it harder than normal. “You two really need to talk.”
“…how can I talk to Yeonjun-ssi if he doesn’t want to be anywhere near me?”
A small yet evil smile forms on Taehyun’s face. “I’ll get him to show up, don’t worry.”
***
Yeonjun does show up, but it doesn’t seem like it’s on his own will.
When Yeonjun walks into the café, he stops in the doorway and curses under his breath when he meets Soobin’s eyes.
Soobin weakly holds a hand up in greeting, mustering an extremely awkward smile.
Yeonjun passes by him silently to grab his apron.
It’s Saturday evening, their slowest time of the week. There normally aren’t any customers to tend to, aside from random couples that like to have a café date at night, or the sad students who have weekend homework. Soobin typically works these shifts alone or with another person if Taehyung needs someone to fill him in.
He just didn’t think he’d work one with Yeonjun.
They stand behind the counter silently, Soobin fiddling at the espresso machine and Yeonjun playing with the register.
When Taehyun said he should talk to Yeonjun, Soobin didn’t think this was the way they were going to go about it.
“Taehyun asked me to cover for him, said he was going to go home to his family for the weekend,” Yeonjun explains quietly, keeping his gaze on the register’s screen. Soobin hums in acknowledgement. Well, that explains Taehyun.
“I only said yes because he said you weren’t working today.”
Oh. Yeah, Yeonjun definitely hates him. This is great.
“Yeonjun-ssi, I-“
The door opens, bringing in a cold gust of wind from the winter night. Soobin hugs himself a little tighter, but Yeonjun shivers noticeably.
Two boys walk in, just around Taehyun’s age. They approach the counter with timid demeanors.
Yeonjun glances at Soobin warily before turning to the couple. “Welcome, what would you like to drink today?”
The taller of the two speaks up. “We’ll get a hot chocolate and a decaf vanilla latte.”
“Can we also get a slice of that chocolate cake, Kai-yah?” The other asks quietly.
The taller – Kai – smiles at the long-haired boy and nods. Yeonjun taps the correct items on the POS system and processes the transaction smoothly, albeit he stumbles a bit when the two begin bickering on who’s paying (it’s the other one, Beomgyu, who wins) and fumbles a little bit when the receipt gets jammed in the printer, but he handles it all on his own. Soobin watches this with perplexity.
Yeonjun clears his throat, and Soobin finds that the merchant receipt is in his face. Right. He has a job to do.
He prepares the decaffeinated coffee beans in the grinder, peering at Yeonjun while he gets the espresso shots ready. Yeonjun looks much more put-together and refined than before, though he seems just as tense as the first day. He trips on his feet a bit when he catches Soobin watching him, nearly dropping the cake on the ground. Maybe it’s Soobin’s fault. He probably makes Yeonjun uncomfortable, that’s why he can’t do his job right. Soobin bites his lip and looks away, pointedly staring at the espresso dripping into the tiny glass cup instead.
When the espresso is done, he turns to begin steaming the milk, but he jumps when Yeonjun’s there instead, milk already in the metal pitcher and in the steamer. Yeonjun’s hands are shaking in the slightest, his gaze seemingly too focused on the task at hand that the milk is well past steamed and is nearly boiling hot. Yeonjun squeaks in pain when he realizes this, ripping his hands off the pitcher and letting it clatter against the counter. Without thinking, Soobin grabs the piping hot pitcher to keep it from spilling any more milk. He doesn’t feel the stinging though, his mind on overdrive as he checks on Yeonjun’s hand. They’ve been here before. He gets déjà vu.
“I-I’m fine,” Yeonjun stutters, but Soobin doesn’t listen. He takes Yeonjun to the sink, placing his hands underneath the faucet and turns on the cold water. “I’m sorry…” Yeonjun murmurs.
Soobin frowns. He should be the one apologizing, not Yeonjun. “Mistakes happen,” he glances at Yeonjun beside him, the other’s eyes widening, “I should’ve told you that before.”
“Excuse me, can I order?”
Yeonjun whips his head back, ears burning as they both realize a customer has been waiting on them for some time now.
“I’ll take care of it, just keep soaking your hands until they feel better,” Soobin says as he dries his hands to take the customer’s order.
The silence is back.
Soobin steams the milk with his semi-burned hands. Yeonjun grabs the finished drinks and takes them to their designated persons. He returns and taps away at the POS system again. Soobin pretends he’s interested in cleaning his station.
He’s not. He’s been cleaning it for fifteen minutes. It’s been wiped down three times now.
“I think he’s going to confess.”
Soobin nearly gives himself whiplash at how fast he turns his head towards Yeonjun.
Why would I confess? I don’t- I CAN’T like Yeonjun. He hates me. And even if he didn’t, it would be irrational of me to like him. Besides, he looks annoyingly pretty, even more so when he doesn’t have the apron on – because he shouldn’t be a barista! He should be a model! He has the worst lips I have ever seen, especially when they’re pouting when he makes a mistake. He has a really dumb laugh, especially when he’s shy and doesn’t know what else to do. It’s weird, makes me want to hear it more. And he’s frustratingly attentive and kindhearted, giving me space when I asked, even though I didn’t mean it, and-
Huh.
Yeonjun peeks behind him to look at Soobin. “The cute couple-to-be over there. Kai, I think he’s going to confess to Beomgyu.”
Oh?
Oh.
Oh.
Soobin stupidly staggers to Yeonjun’s side to get a better look at the two boys sitting by the window, their stools facing each other as they share the chocolate cake and sip shyly on their drinks.
He’s dizzied with all this new information in his head. He might actually have a genuine crush on Yeonjun. Yeonjun’s willingly talking to him. They’re creepily watching two boys being extremely oblivious of their feelings for each other. He has a crush on the new barista that he insisted was a nuisance and now he’s too embarrassed to admit it.
Beomgyu turns his head to look their way and out of panic, they twirl around to lean against the counter, shoulder to shoulder.
“We should, um, look busy,” Soobin suggests. Apparently, they have this unspoken agreement that they’re going to use their time watching Beomgyu and Kai take an agonizingly long time to admit their feelings for each other, so they shuffle over by the espresso machine. A much better hiding spot. Soobin’s arm burns at the feeling of Yeonjun pressed to his side.
There’s one more piece of cake on the plate. Beomgyu and Kai stare at it intensely.
Suddenly, Beomgyu’s stabbing his fork through the piece, offering it to Kai instead. Kai’s cheeks burn at the gesture and accepts it as he opens his mouth and takes a bite. Beomgyu smiles in satisfaction, wiping Kai’s lips with a napkin when he finishes.
“That’s gross,” Soobin comments with a frown.
Soobin can practically hear Yeonjun rolling his eyes. “I think it’s romantic.”
“It would’ve been if he did it like they did in Secret Garden.”
Yeonjun chokes on his own spit. Soobin glances at him in confusion. “O-oh. That’s pretty… forward.”
“No, it’s not.” Soobin points back towards the couple. Kai’s hand is on Beomgyu’s thigh now, patting it supportively. They must have missed some crucial context from their conversation, because Beomgyu looks sad.
Yeonjun gapes. “What happened?”
Soobin shrugs. “Dunno. My bets are on that he knows that Kai’s confessing today and trying to figure out how let him down nicely.”
“That can’t be right,” Yeonjun huffs with a shake of his head. “Beomgyu looked so nervous walking in. He must have a crush on Kai too.”
Soobin furrows his eyebrows. “How would you know?”
Yeonjun flushes as Soobin looks at him curiously. “Um, personal experience.”
“I’m sorry I was avoiding you, Kai. I just… I was dealing with some personal things, and I was too scared to tell you.”
The two barista’s attention are back on the couple. Kai has an arm around Beomgyu’s shoulders now, his chair much closer to the other boy.
“Oh, that’s why Beomgyu’s sad,” Soobin sighs with relief. “Cool. Love isn’t dead.”
To Soobin’s surprise, Yeonjun snorts. This time, both Kai and Beomgyu look their way, and the two duck under the counter before they can get caught snooping.
Yeonjun’s doing an awful job of suppressing his giggles, but honestly, Soobin doesn’t mind. This is definitely his favorite look on Yeonjun – his face scrunched up, eyes squinted because of how high his cheeks rise when he smiles, and his dorky, adorable laugh. Soobin hates it so much. He hates that it makes him laugh too, how it forces him to grin against his will.
“It wasn’t that funny,” Soobin chuckles with a raise of an eyebrow.
Yeonjun’s laughter simmers down into cute little hiccups. “Sorry, I just really-“ his eyes widen and he clamps his mouth shut, quickly looking away from the taller, “-never mind.”
Soobin juts his lips out into a pout. What is it with everyone keeping secrets from him? What is it that he doesn’t know but probably should?
“It’s okay, Gyu-hyung. I think I understand… I’m just happy you came back, so I could finally tell you this.”
Soobin’s mouth forms an “o”, and Yeonjun glances back at him with the same expression. They both peek over the counter.
Beomgyu looks more confused than sad now. Across from him, Kai looks extremely pensive yet skittish at the same time. So much so that there’s a film of sweat on his forehead.
“Poor boy is nervous,” Yeonjun coos.
“He’s been prolonging this confession for an hour now, he’s probably out of his mind by now.”
Beomgyu waits patiently as Kai fiddles with his own hands. He takes a moment too long it seems, so Beomgyu slips his hands into Kai’s shaky ones and shoots him a reassuring smile. “Hey, are you okay?”
Kai frowns deeply at their intertwined hands. “No. You keep holding my hand saying that this is what best friends do,” he looks up at the long-haired boy with a determined look in his eye, “but I want you to hold my hand like boyfriends do.”
“Oh. My. God,” Yeonjun swoons, smiling giddily at the way Beomgyu’s entire face opens up in shock. “I wish that were me.”
Soobin grunts in displeasure. He can do that too.
He places his hand on top of Yeonjun’s, keeping his gaze on the blossoming couple before them. Soobin does not want to know what Yeonjun’s face looks like. Disgusted, satisfied, indifferent… he’ll leave it to his imagination. Though he’s pleased that Yeonjun doesn’t move away.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Beomgyu holds Kai’s hand a little tighter and drags a stunned Kai out the door.
Soobin blinks. They’re gone.
“They didn’t bus their table,” Soobin says in exasperation.
Yeonjun coughs furiously beside him. Their hands pull apart as Soobin speeds towards the door, leaving it open to let the last few stragglers out before he slips the sign to “closed”. He takes his sweet time cleaning each table and taking out the trash as Yeonjun polishes the counter and reorganizes all the supplies.
Soobin forgot to consider the time after closing. He knew he needed to talk to Yeonjun, but he didn’t realize that he wasn’t quite ready. He’s still a little cowardice, truth be told.
What is he even supposed to say when the time comes? Hi, I’m sorry I was such an asshole to you on your first day, but I realized that I think you’re super fucking cute and if you don’t hate me, could I take you out on a date?
It’s not the worst. At least it gets the point across.
Eventually, the last tasks they have are to shut the lights and lock the door. Soobin removes his apron and makes his way to the supply closet, not before Yeonjun stops him, taking Soobin’s apron and handing him his jacket.
“I, um, I have something for you. Hold on.”
Yeonjun runs into the closet, leaving Soobin a little dazed and confused as he stumbles to the other side of the counter while he puts on his jacket, though the moment is short-lived when Yeonjun comes back out with a paper bag.
Yeonjun shyly approaches him, holding out the bag for Soobin to take.
Soobin accepts it in confusion. He gasps when he peeps inside.
A new pair of white Converse.
He’s too choked up for words. He didn’t think Yeonjun actually meant it when he said he would buy him new shoes. He doesn’t deserve this at all.
“I had to ask around for your size, so… I just hope it fits,” Yeonjun explains softly, fiddling with his trembling fingers. “I apologize for being such a clutz on my first day… and today. I promise you won’t have to deal with me ever again.”
The shoes feel heavy in his hands. Soobin puts them back in the bag and looks up at Yeonjun’s tense expression with a stern one.
“Don’t avoid me anymore.”
Yeonjun’s eyes bulge. He stares at Soobin in astonishment. To be honest, Soobin has no idea what he looks like right now. He’s a little too high on adrenaline. He hopes he looks as calm and collected as he imagines himself to be.
“I told Taehyun I wanted to talk to you, and I didn’t think it would be in this setting, but I wanted to apologize to you.” Oh, he’s really doing this. The words are coming out of his mouth. Soobin takes a step forward. Yeonjun gulps and watches him like a hawk. “It was your first day, and my patience was running thinner than usual, but that’s not an excuse and I shouldn’t have lost my cool like that. I was rude and disrespectful, and you don’t deserve that.” Soobin’s gaze falls on his feet. He’s wearing his coffee-stained Converse. “If anything, I should be the one keeping my distance from you. It’s clear that I make you uncomfortable.”
There’s a hand on his arm. Soobin glances up. Yeonjun’s looking at him with a panicked expression.
“No! You don’t make me uncomfortable. It’s the total opposite of that, actually…” Yeonjun’s voice withers out. He sucks in a breath before he continues with feigned confidence. “I acted like that on the first day because I was crushing on you really hard.” Soobin’s eyes nearly fall out of his head as Yeonjun bites his lip sheepishly. “You walked in like a dream, the most handsome man I had ever seen, and I just… I was so nervous around you that I kept fumbling around you like a lovesick fool. Which I was- am… sorry, this is really weird, you must think I’m so weird.”
Yeonjun squeezes his eyes shut as if Soobin will disappear at his will. Soobin chuckles at this, cheeks tinted pink as he shakes his head in endearment.
This is an unexpected surprise. Sour candy is sweet indeed.
“Yeonjun-ssi, I don’t think you’re weird. That explains a lot, actually.” The smile on his face threatens to break it in half. “Can you open your eyes, please?”
Yeonjun shakes his head adamantly. “No. I’m embarrassed. Please just let me go home.”
Soobin giggles fondly. This entices Yeonjun to pop open one of his eyes, the other one opening as well when he sees the pleased expression on Soobin’s face.
“When I walked in the café and saw you for the first time, I thought you were really pretty,” Soobin confesses, feeling more sure of himself when Yeonjun flushes furiously at his words. He takes Yeonjun’s shaky hands in his and pulls him closer. “I still do.”
“O-oh. That’s cool.” Yeonjun’s too shy to look him in the eye, though Soobin can still see the small smile on his lips. “Thanks for the apology, by the way. I forgive you.”
Soobin gapes at him. “Really?”
Yeonjun nods his head coyly, though a cheeky grin appears on his face. “To make it up to me, the next time we work together, you have to tell every single customer you face that you have a big fat crush on me.”
Soobin feels his dignity shrivel on the inside, but if that’s what’s going to make up for hurting Yeonjun’s feelings, then so be it. If Yeonjun is going to come back to work with him again, Soobin would gladly throw away his pride and tell the entire world about his crush on Yeonjun. No big deal.
He shrugs nonchalantly. “Not a problem.” Soobin feels his face burning up at the thought of spending eight hours telling people he thinks Yeonjun has the cutest eye-smile he’s ever seen.
Yeonjun sees right through him and giggles. “Good. Then I look forward to working with you again, Soobin-ssi.”
Soobin blinks owlishly at the hand extended to him to shake, then frowns as he notices Yeonjun’s only wearing a thin long sleeve to protect himself from the freezing cold outside. He takes his jacket off and drapes it over Yeonjun’s shoulders before taking Yeonjun’s hand to hold instead of shaking it, pulling him towards the door and turning off all the lights.
“Let’s drop the formalities,” Soobin states as he finishes locking up the café for the night. Yeonjun’s staring at their interlocked hands before looking up at him in shock.
“O-okay. I’m older than you, ’99, so…”
“How do you feel about convenience store food for a first date, Yeonjun-hyung?” Soobin asks with a tilt of his head, smirking at the sight of Yeonjun biting back a smile from the new way Soobin addresses him. “I’ll even tell the cashier there about my big, fat crush on you.”
He really enjoys leaving Yeonjun no time to compose himself, absolutely flustered with Soobin’s every word. The older’s hand tremors in his hold.
“Only if you’re paying… and if you’ll be true to your word,” Yeonjun replies bashfully, rocking back and forth on his heels.
Soobin hums in agreement, Yeonjun’s expression brightening at the confirmation. They start heading in the direction of the closest convenience store, Yeonjun swinging their hands as they do.
“Just make sure you don’t drop anything when we get there,” Soobin snickers. Yeonjun whines, giving the taller a small punch on the arm. Soobin holds up their intertwined hands. “Don’t drop this either, yeah?”
He glances at Yeonjun with a sneer, though is surprised when he’s looking back at him the same way. The older presses his lips to the back of Soobin’s hand in a small peck, leaving Soobin to gawk at him with rosy cheeks.
It makes him curious what other flavors of Yeonjun there are. His sour candy.
“I won’t, not this time.”