Chapter Text
The first hints of the winter wind nipped at Donghyuck's cheeks, and he felt his body shiver in response. It was a chilly day, the perfect time to drink coffee ( really, any day was a perfect day to drink coffee in Donghyuck's opinion ), and he was walking down the street to his favorite café. He had a job interview at 11 and had wanted to get some caffeine in his system to wake him up before he went for it. A bell signaled his entrance into the café, where the aroma of the roasted beans and warm pastries took over his sense of smell.
There wasn't anyone in line, so Donghyuck happily made his way to the counter, already very well versed in what he was going to order. What he didn't expect was the cute barista in glasses behind the cashier, who didn't look like he was older than Donghyuck by much.
"Hi, welcome to Timeless café, how may I help you?" said the guy.
Donghyuck squinted slightly at his name tag, which read Mark. Immediately, he felt himself become more alert, which was very impressive considering he hadn't had his routine morning caffeine hit yet. He let a small smile grace his lips.
"Hiya, Mark, is it? I haven't seen you around here before, are you new?"
Thank goodness there was no one behind him in line or he would've had to rush his interaction with Mark the cute cashier.
"Um, yeah I'm new? Kinda I guess because I used to work behind in the prep room, only occasionally coming out here to help out. The bosses recently deemed me good enough to come out here to help full time." Mark replied.
Ah, this explains why I never saw him before, Donghyuck thought. "Well it's nice to see such a cute, refreshing face early in the morning, don't ya think?" He threw a wink Mark's way, which caused said guy to blush profusely.
"Hmm- ah- I- thanks I guess?? You too?" he stammered out.
Cute, glasses, and awkward? Definitely Donghyuck's type. He'd have to tell the others about this new guy. They'd love to see who caught his attention after being single for quite some time.
"You're welcome," he grinned, "So are you ready to take my order? Get ready cause it's a complicated one."
Mark nodded excitedly, his slightly permed hairdo bouncing up and down, giving him the effect of an overeager puppy. "Shoot." His pen was hovering over a plastic cup, waiting for Donghyuck to say his order.
"Ok. I'd like to order one venti iced latte with four shots of espresso, three pumps of pumpkin spice syrup and one pump of caramel syrup. Oh, and make sure the milk is lactose-free, wouldn't want any unfortunate accidents happening now do we?" he chuckled.
Mark scrambled to write down his order, tongue stuck out in concentration in the most painfully adorable way possible (that caused a mini-stroke for Donghyuck). "Alright, anything else you wanna add?"
"Throw in an apple strudel for me please," Donghyuck added, as he fished around in his bag for his card.
As Mark passes the cup to the barista waiting, he rang up Donghyuck's total on the cash register. "Your total is $7.60."
Donghyuck handed the card to him, and as Mark fumbled around with the cash register a bit, he took the time to just appreciate Mark's face ( it REALLY didn't hurt to see such a cute face on the morning of his job interview, in fact, it seemed like it was a blessing or a sign almost, that everything would go smoothly ).
"Thank you, please have a seat while we get your order ready," Mark beamed at him.
Donghyuck took the opportunity to chat with him, figuring it wouldn't hurt his chances to try to be friendly with Mark. "So how old are you Mark, and how long have you been working here?"
"Let's see, I'm 24 this year. I've been working here part-time for almost a year and a half, mostly in the mornings. I'm doing my masters in finance right now, so this job is great for some side income on top of paying off student loans. What about you?"
Oh wow, a masters student AND financially organized? He was just checking off every box in Donghyuck's mental list of the perfect guy. "I'm 22, fresh graduate in music production. I'm looking to intern right now, to gain the experience and establish some networks in the field. In fact, I've got an interview at a radio station at 11 today."
"You did music production? Wow, that must've been so cool! Finance can get pretty boring sometimes but it has its own good I guess," Mark laughed, "I hope you do well in your interview Donghyuck, I wish you nothing but the best wishes!!"
"Aww thank you so much," he cooed. Mark was so cute, Donghyuck was about to combust on the spot when the barista called out his name. As he took his order from the barista, he turned back to Mark. "Well, that's my cue. It was really nice meeting you Mark, hopefully I'll see you around more often. Have a great day!" "You too Donghyuck!! Bye!" And with that final greeting, Donghyuck walked out the door back into the cold streets, feeling like absolutely nothing could go wrong today, with a slight skip in his step as he made his way to the station.