Work Text:
Each morning starts the same.
Waking up disoriented only to realise that once again Namjoon has fallen asleep at his desk. A sheet of paper is sticks so his face as he lifts his head to stretch and hopefully dull the ache deep in his bones. His hand blindly slaps at his desk in search of his phone beneath the scattered sheets of paper, each one covered in crossed out verses and half arsed sentences, each one annoys Namjoon more. Finally his hand finds his phone under a sheet completely covered in black ink scribbles with the words "Stupid" scrawled across the top. Huffing a curse at the page he squints at the bright phone screen for the time. 5.45am. He needs to leave his desk. He needs coffee. He needs a fucking break.
To say nothing has been going well for him would be an understatement. Every song he has proposed has been rejected one way or the other. "The track is shit did you even try?" files deleted. "These lyrics have no flow at all." Note books filled with lyrics thrown straight into a metal bin to burn. "How do you expect this to sell?" Crumpled papers pushed to his chest. "Come back when you get your shit together." Doors slammed in his face. He really needs to catch a break.
Walking in the early morning is the only relief he has. Early birds singing light melodies in the sleepy streets for all those unlucky to be awake at this time. The cold bite to the morning air wakes him up a little more, enough for him to appreciate the morning sunrise painting the sky in pink and baby blues chasing the last of the night sky away. He decides to take a different route for his morning coffee, walking along the Han river he loses himself to the sounds of lapping water, the cars in the distance running along the bridge, the heavy footfall of a group of runners in front. Breathing deep he relaxes to the sounds of life flowing around him forgetting about the stagnant room filled with papers he left behind. It’s enough to get him to release some of the tension in his shoulders and quicken his steps. He can do this. He can make it through the day without picking himself apart in his mind.
By the time he finally reaches his favourite coffee shop the time is nearing 7am, the streets are beginning to come alive with people rushing to work and shops are opening to early morning customers. Namjoon only knows of this place thanks to his friend and fellow producer Yoongi, he had run into the elder in the early mornings confused as to where the man had found a place that sells good coffee at what Namjoon dubbed "Ass-crack o'clock". Sick of the tar found in the company building Namjoon has found this little café to be his savour. The thick heady smell of freshly ground coffee hits him as soon as he opens the door, the warm décor welcoming him in with open arms. The staff welcome him with practiced smiles too happy for the time of day but it never fails to make Namjoon smile back at them as he orders his usual double shot espresso.
Once his order is complete he moves to a small booth near the back of the shop, phone sitting on the table as he scrolls through the various emails he missed during his time pouring over failed tracks. Deadlines, meetings, cancelations, one from Yoongi to tell him to stop moping about, he has some tracks for him to look at once he sees the outside world again. Where would he be without a hyung like Yoongi looking out for him?
Probably drinking shit coffee.