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it’s 7 in the hecking morning and donghyuck isn’t having it.
back in high school, donghyuck was that obnoxious morning person, the kind of monster that rolls out of bed with a smile (the horror the horror) and hum as he gets ready for the day.
(though his optimism was mainly fueled by the motivation that he can annoy his friends for yet another day.)
college, however, crushed that.
whoever invented morning classes has to perish, he thought to himself, there has to be a special place in hell for them.
he grumbled and rubbed at his eyes grumpily, annoyed at the way his camera bag thumped painfully against his leg and how his macbook’s corners bit uncomfortably into his back as he trudged along.
fuck university honestly, going back to bed seems like a much more viable option than seeing professor bae joohyun’s snarky face first thing in the morning.
their old, kind professor had retired, and his replacement was a complete lunatic. donghyuck felt like scratching his face off at the thought of the menace with the face of a cherub, but the soul of satan herself.
three months into the school year, and the first year was already ready for the semester to be over.
whoever it was that told me uni was fun was the biggest scammer, donghyuck thought sadly to himself.
his eyes were sore from staring at his computer screen until 5am in the morning, trying to finish editing the photos for one of professor bae’s many assignments.
the assignment was simple enough - to collab with models from the modelling department and take portraits suitable for a portfolio, but the catch (which for professor bae’s assignments, there was always a catch), was that they only had two days to work on it.
to find a model was already a difficult feat, let alone finding a shooting venue - the modelling department was notorious for their packed schedules, so finding a model who was willing to clear out their schedule was close to impossible.
if it weren’t for his eager friends jisung and chenle in the modelling department, and renjun, who was more than willing to offer his painting studio as a set, donghyuck would’ve been done for.
donghyuck thinks one of these days is going to be the day he finally loses his mind.
•┈୨♡୧┈•
he was taking a different route to the campus today, having woken up fifteen minutes after his alarm went off. he’d discovered the shorter route a few nights ago, while stumbling back to his apartment after a party with jaemin, his roommate.
(taeyong had offered to drive them, but by the end of the night, he’d disappeared into one of the rooms with jaehyun.)
passing by a small street around five minutes away from campus, the whiff of coffee beans was all it took to stop donghyuck in his tracks. he had no idea that there was a café around this area, but then again, this was the first time he was taking this route at a reasonable hour of the day. (he really had to stop giving in to johnny’s enthusiastic invitations to his frat parties.)
still just barely awake, donghyuck sluggishly backtracked and followed the smell to a small two-storey café, tucked away between a florist and a dance studio. quickly glancing at the time on his phone, donghyuck figured there was no harm in getting some morning caffeine, seeing as his class wasn’t until a good half hour later.
donghyuck pushed the door open, welcoming the smell of caffeine with open arms, already feeling a little less asleep.
•┈୨♡୧┈•
the café was minimalist, the interior furnished in the typical coffee shop white-and-brown theme. there were floor-length glass windows, and the sunlight filtered in, filling the entire café with natural light.
(it would make a good photoshoot spot - donghyuck made a mental note to come back for future assignments.)
it was still early, but there were already some students sat at the window tables typing away on their laptops. donghyuck recognised most of them as seniors he’d seen on campus, but none he knew well enough to go up to and greet.
turning away, he headed to the counter, peering at the menu. there was a barista behind the counter working on a drink.
“hi, welcome to maple & bean! i’ll get to you in a minute, please check out our menu in the meantime!” the barista cheerfully said, his back still turned. he must’ve sensed donghyuck’s presence.
the barista seemed to have a bit of an accent, korean rolling off his tongue in the soothing, laidback way foreigners spoke in. donghyuck wondered if he was from abroad.
•┈୨♡୧┈•
donghyuck was scanning the menu, eyes still threatening to fall close, when the barista placed the drink on a tray at the delivery counter, ringing the delivery bell repeatedly with an annoyed huff. donghyuck winced.
“yah, lee jeno!! i swear to god, stop flirting around with my customers and get this for table three!!” the barista yelled up to the second floor, and a giggle was heard, before footsteps thumped down the stairs.
“you’re just jealous i don’t flirt with you, mark hyung-ah!” a lilting voice taunted, and a golden haired boy with smiling eyes (and dressed way too out of place with the café aesthetic, donghyuck thought) hopped off the last step of the swirling staircase.
mark. now the barista had a name.
the barista sighed. muttering “should’ve let the brat remain jobless, what the hell was i thinking” under his breath, he finally turned to donghyuck.
“hi, sorry about that, can i take your order?”
donghyuck glanced up, and- oh.
•┈୨♡୧┈•
donghyuck thinks he’s dreaming.
the barista (mark, donghyuck’s brain helpfully supplied,) had jet black hair, swooped stylishly but in a messy way over his forehead, almost reaching his eyebrows. warm brown eyes stared back at him, as donghyuck’s eyes trailed down his nose and all the way to his mouth, soft pink lips, which were pulled into a smirk.
yeah. definitely dreaming.
donghyuck thinks he’d take standing here all day over sleeping anytime.
the barista coughed. (or was it a laugh?)
“your order?” his voice sounded a little amused.
donghyuck flushed red, warmth spreading across his cheeks and to his ears.
“a-ah yes, uh.. coffee. r-right.”
“what kind of coffee?” mark’s lips twitched, as if holding back a smile.
“a-an iced moch-latte.” the words spilled out of his mouth. at this point, donghyuck didn’t even know what he was saying.
“so is that a latte or a mocha?” mark was smiling in earnest now, eyes sparkling with mirth.
he propped his left arm on the counter, head tilting as he raised his other arm to run a hand through his hair.
poor, poor donghyuck.
his mind goes horribly blank, mouth parting, as he took in the barista’s outfit.
mark, or minhyung, as his silver nametag reads, had on a black tank top under his apron, and his arms were on full view.
he wasn’t buff, but he was toned, toned enough that his veins strained as he leaned to his left.
(donghyuck wonders whether mark- or minhyung?- lifted weights at the gym.)
donghyuck thinks he’s going to fucking die.
minhyung clears his throat, somehow still managing to sound incredibly entertained. donghyuck flushes deeper.
he finds his voice.
“a l-latte. to go plea-”
“you’re cute.” the smirk is back.
donghyuck’s face is on fire.
he chokes. not trusting his voice enough to say anything coherent, he silently hands over a 5000-won bill for the drink. minhyung taps a few buttons, and hands the receipt back to him.
“thanks.” donghyuck’s voice was embarrassingly tiny.
“your name?”
“d-donghyuck.” donghyuck doesn’t think cafés other than starbucks asked for their names, but he lets it slide.
minhyung’s smile only stretches wider.
“i’m mark. but you can call me minhyung.”
•┈୨♡୧┈•
later, when jeno calls “one iced latte for donghyuck!” teasingly and hands him his drink and a napkin, donghyuck flushes red, cheeks hot.
(out of the corner of his eye, donghyuck thinks he sees minhyung shoot him a little wink as he headed to the back room.)
balancing his drink in one hand, he slips the napkin into the other, and was about to stuff it into his pocket when the napkin falls open in his hand.
three rows of scrawled handwriting written in black marker stares back at him.
010-xxxx-xxxx
nice meeting you, hyuckie ;)
call me x
donghyuck thinks he might be in love.
•┈୨♡୧┈•
(minhyung thought he had experienced hell before, but nothing will ever be able to trump this - jeno teased minhyung about flirting and dating a customer endlessly for the next five weeks and never shut up about it.
at least, until the day donghyuck brings one(1) na jaemin with him to maple & bean, for his "bro stamp of approval" on minhyung.
the very second jaemin introduced himself as nana, jeno was a goner.)
•┈୨ the end ୧┈•