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Chapter Text

Jay stumbled into the coffee shop- it’s another late night at Park’s Coffee and Tea.

The light was warm, and so was the air in the shop. The November chills had started seeping into his bones and he was starting to think he could never be rid of it. Thank god for heaters.

There were already some customers who had taken up tables and were chatting around, not uncommon in the early evening- especially when the shop was near the local university. As he usually did, Jay walked up to the counter with a small smile.

And as always, that damn cute barista was at the register smiling right at him.

“Hey, Jay! What brings you in tonight?” Daniel asked. He knew he didn’t have to ask, though it was practically routine for them at this point. Jay always came into the shop to study so he didn’t lose his mind alone at his place.

He tapped the textbook in his arms as he showed it to Daniel.

“Whoa! It seems we have a scholar here, Jay!” Daniel said as his grin stretched a little wider. “What’s the order for tonight, then?”

Jay shrugged and gave his guilty smile. Daniel knew what he was going to order- it was always the same thing after all.

“Alright then, you caffeine addict!” Daniel laughed. He called out to the back, “Jace! Jay’s here and he wants his regular!”

He scribbled Jay’s name onto the coffee cup he held his hands and slid it down the counter, where another young man was working the coffee machines.

Jace stared at the order, “Don’t you ever consider that you might be getting heart palpitations from the amount of caffeine you’re asking us to put into this thing, my man?”

Jay could only shrug helplessly. A med school student’s gotta do what they gotta do, you know? Besides, he recently filled in for Kitae at a business conference his brother wasn’t able to attend- that meant he missed out a little on what little time he had to study for the upcoming midterms.

“Well if you’re going to insist on putting four shots into that drink, then take this croissant!” Daniel said. “On the house!”

Jay shook his head no as quickly as he could, while also shaking his hands in an attempt to decline the offer.

“Oh no no!” Daniel teased. “You’re always coming in here and ordering so much coffee, you gotta put something other than caffeine into your system”

Jay blushed.

“Now come on,” Daniel laughed as he put a fresh, hot croissant into the mini paper bag. “Eat something before you drink that whole thing.”

Jay took the croissant with a smile. No sane student would ever want to turn down free food. He set his bags down and took a seat on the tall stool by the bar that was right next to the register after paying Daniel for his meal. Peering past the glass divider, he watched Jace as he worked on his order. Did Jay have to do this? He was already exhausted from the busy day he was put through. Was there a need to get going with the assignments?

Jay sighed as he watched Jace finish up his drink.

“Mocha Latte with quadruple shots of espresso for Jay!”

Yep, it’s time to get on that grind again.

The evening wore on with more students streaming into the tiny coffee shop from the local university. Jay couldn’t blame them, college was just hard sometimes. Hard times sometimes call for an all-night cram session.

His eyes glazed over his textbook, then over the notes he took, then past his pens and pencils until they slid over to Daniel’s hands as they worked the register. Has anyone ever told Daniel that he had nice hands?

As Daniel rang up another order, Jay quickly looked away- no need to be caught staring at the handsome young man. He already had enough admirers as is.

Bored out of his mind, he decided to start up a conversation with Daniel, it’d be good to take a break from studying, right?

He smiled at Daniel, once he finished chatting to a customer.

“Oh, not even a whole hour into studying?” Daniel teased. “Are those textbooks really that boring?”

Jay grinned back. Oh yes, these textbooks really were that boring. He couldn’t help it if the authors of the book wrote it as if they hadn’t thought of the fact student may actually need to read them. He shrugged at Daniel. It was all Greek to him. He closed the textbook on his bundle of notes.

“Really? So it’s all Greek to you?” Daniel said holding back his laughter. “Well then, mister, tell me- what’s in those heavy textbooks you carry all the time?”

He tapped the temple of his head with a sly smile.

“Oh yes!” Daniel teased. “So much knowledge!”

Jay grinned, he shrugged as if he was implying that there wasn’t much else to be said about his ongoing struggle with med school. He pointedly stared towards the backdoor of the kitchen where the sign stated, “EMPLOYEES ONLY.”

“Oh, mom?” Daniel asked. “Yeah, she had a long day today, she insisted on staying for the evening shift, but she looked so tired- I insisted that she went home while Jace and I took care of closing.”

Jay nodded in understanding. Mrs. Park had always been such a hard worker, she deserves a few nights of rest every now and then.

“How about you, Jay?” Daniel said as he looked at him with curiosity. “How are things on your end?”

Jay sighed, gesturing to his closed textbooks and glaring at them through his bangs. Oh, man, did he hate studying. It was like the bane of his existence at the moment. Though deep down inside, he knew he was probably struggling because of how he had skimmed a few readings instead of diving deep and attempting to read things thoroughly.

“That bad?” Daniel said empathetically. “Well, Mr. Nerd, I know for sure that you’ve got a big brain up there and that you’d definitely get the hang of it in no time- don’t sweat it!”

The door to the shop rang as a group of people walked in.

“Hello!” Daniel said, straightening himself to greet the customers who had just walked in. “Welcome to Park’s Coffee and Tea! My name is Daniel!”

Jay left Daniel to work on the customers. He pulled his phone out of his bag and scrolled through the notifications. Spam email, robocalls, a missed call from Kitae, and a few text messages from his sister, Joy.

Are we having dinner tomorrow? I’m bored!!!!! Eat with me!!!!!!! Joy texted.

Jay snorted and sent her a thumbs-up emoji. It’s been a while since he had a meal with her, he’ll have to make sure to get her some of those chocolates she’d been raving about. Maybe she’ll stop whining about it if he brought it? He hoped she would.

“Hey, Jay!” Jay snapped his attention back to Daniel. It seems that the customers had already left. More time with Daniel? It seems to certainly be an auspicious night for Jay.

“Don’t you think it’s time to get back to studying?” Daniel teased. “You’ve brought all your books here for a reason, after all.”

Or maybe not.

Jay continued to sneak glances at the handsome young man throughout the evening. This isn’t fair. Daniel needs to stop being so good looking. This is a distraction. Jay certainly didn’t mind the company though. He looked at the young man again.

Daniel bit his lower lip as he leaned against the counter, he flipped through a notebook lined with writing and notes, staring intensely at the words.

Oh god, Jay wanted to be that notebook so fucking bad. The things he would do to be that notebook.

His intense staring was cut short when the bell chimed, signaling new possible customers.

“Omg, hi!!” Or maybe not.

“Hello!” Daniel smiled, he began his spiel all over again as the young female customers went gaga over him. They fawned over his smile and his height, giggling amongst each other, begging for his number. “We’re almost at closing time, so we can’t take orders to dine in anymore, but nothing can stop you from ordering out!”

“Awww,” the girls pouted. One of them asked, “Are you sure?”

Jay couldn’t blame them, he was jealous over a notebook not even a minute ago.

“Yeah,” Daniel chuckled. “I’m pretty sure.”

He gestured towards Jace, who had walked up to the front of the store. He had just flipped the sign to “CLOSED” and began to turn off the neon lights, confirming that the shop was closing for the night.

The girls groaned. “Maybe next time…”

One of them was bold enough to ask, “Will you be here next time?”

“Maybe,” Daniel smiled. “If you’re willing to buy something!”

The girls giggled and soon found themselves walking out the door, promising each other that they would find themselves here again to stare at the dashing young man behind the counter.

Daniel turned to Jay, “Speaking of closing time, you should get packing soon too, Jay! It’s pretty late already!”

Jay shook his head, smiling as he took a mop Jace had left to lean on one of the tables.

“What do you mean?” Daniel asked, surprised. Realization soon dawned on him. “Jay, you can’t! You’re a customer here! I can’t treat you as an employee all the sudden!”

Jay shook his head one more time, smiling at Daniel. He placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder to tell him that it was all right and tilted his head towards the direction of the paper bag that once contained his free croissant.

Daniel burst out laughing. “Free food doesn’t equal free service, Jay!” He gave a soft, sweet smile. “You’re a good guy, but I can’t do that to you!”

Jay grinned, making a shooing motion at Daniel and proceeded to mop the floors.

Daniel, astonished and still smiling, said, “Okay, fine! But I swear to you it’ll only be just this once!”

If Daniel could only see Jay wink through his bangs, he would’ve done it right then and there. Still, it was just an absolute pleasure to help the Park family at their shop- it didn’t hurt that their barista was not only handsome but also an absolute sweetheart.

-

The three men stood outside the coffee shop on the sidewalk, all the work had been already done. A streetlight shone on all of them as they began to part ways

“Now don’t you go blabbering to my mom that you helped tonight!” Daniel grinned. “She’d be mortified to hear that one of our most loyal patrons helped with the cleanup, but it was still really sweet of you to help us- we’ve been so short-staffed recently too.”

Jay shrugged it off with the barest of smiles and held his hands up, it was his pleasure really- it was more time with the handsome and kind Daniel Park.

Daniel put in the final lock to the shop.

It was official. Park’s Coffee and Tea was closed for the night.

Daniel turned towards Jay and Jace.

Jace grinned. “Another day, another dime! See you and Mrs. Park tomorrow night, Daniel! You too, Jay!”

And so Daniel and Jay watched as the young man rushed down the street to meet his ride home.

Daniel turned to Jay, “Thanks for the help tonight, Jay. Really- I mean it.”

Jay shrugged it off, besides the pay off was worth it. He turned his head to the watch on his wrist.

Oh? It was already nearly 11:00.

Jay raised his eyebrows in surprise but soon brushed that off. Luckily he didn’t have anything in the morning, and no one was expecting him to be home tonight, he can deal.

Daniel cleared his throat. “Well, I gotta head home, Jay. Thanks again!”

As the brunette began to turn away from him, Jay gently reached for his arm.

Daniel turned back to him, surprised, “What’s up?”

Jay merely grinned back and tilted his head towards the direction of the vehicle on the curb and patted the seat behind him.

“Wait,” the young man sputtered. “Wait that’s yours?”

Behind Jay was a dark orange sports motorcycle. Proudly, Jay grinned. It was his pride and joy after all.

“Oh no, Jay! I can’t!” Daniel said worriedly. “You had already done so much for us tonight!”

Jay waved it off as if to say that it was the least he could do for the Park family. He really did believe that. He was their regular for a reason, after all. He tugged gently on Daniel’s coat sleeve.

Daniel blushed. “No!”

Jay must have had shocked written all over his face because Daniel backtracked real quick.

“No! That’s not what I meant!” Daniel stuttered, his face turned even redder. “I- uh… I… I’d feel too bad taking too much from you, especially your time after all your help tonight.”

Jay nodded in understanding. He guessed that offering Daniel a ride home might’ve been a little too much for tonight.

“But… uh…” At this point, Daniel was beet red. “I’d really like to… uh… Maybe?... Get a ride down the road.”

Jay felt guilty that he couldn’t hide his grin at this point. But if he were being honest, he didn’t feel that guilty. He shrugged casually, giving Daniel a teasing smile.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Jay,” Daniel said gently, regaining his composure.

Jay slipped on his motorcycle jacket and waved at the young man, smiling softly.

Daniel turned away, taking his time to walk home.

Jay took his time. He slipped on his bag, then his helmet- watching the tall young man disappear from the spotlight of the streetlamp. He can’t wait until he can give Daniel a ride on his bike- it sounds like a fun idea after all.

He started up the bike and headed home once Daniel’s silhouette disappeared past the dim lights of the street.

It was a good night tonight.

Vasco was energetic as always. He rolled down the window. “How was work tonight, Jace?!”

Jace opened the car door and slid in quickly- rolling the window up as fast as he can.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” he chanted. “It’s too much.”

Confused, Vasco asked, “Too much? What’s too much?”

“Them, Vasco!!! THEM!!!!” Jace screeched. “Oh my god, do they know that they’re flirting? Aren’t they obviously trying to flirt?”

Vasco’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

“You know what?” Jace inhaled. “Just drive. Floor it. Their romance? Bromance? Whatever it is, it’s cute, yeah sure- but can they please take a break???”

Vasco decided the questions were enough and just drove both of them home.

Chapter Text

When he had passed the streetlight, Daniel began to blush furiously once more. Jay was far too sweet to him. And far too kind to the family business. Is this how loyal patrons usually act? It was a little much.

It didn’t hurt that he was able to spend more time than usual with Jay, though.

Daniel shook his head as he continued to walk home. Nope! He most definitely cannot allow himself to be weak like that, there really isn’t any time to indulge his emotions in such a way.

Especially not when his mother was working even harder to keep the shop afloat.

Daniel sighed as he began to worry. His mother had been feeling more exhausted nowadays, and he was starting to think that he should be taking up more of the workload for his mom. Over the years, more Starbucks shops were popping up lately, scooping up their old regular customers- leaving them to try and find ways to reel new ones in.

He frowned. The shop is gonna have to do something different if they’re going to try and survive. But what else can they do?

Nearing his home, Daniel cleared his thoughts. His mom can’t see how worried he’s been over the shop. He needs to be strong, just like how dad was. 

He inserted his key and unlocked the door, knocking loudly to signal to his mom that he was home. 

“Hey, Mom!” Daniel called out. “I’m here!”

Oh, something definitely smelled good.

“Moooooom!” He hollered. “Is that ramen?!”

His mom’s laughter rang out throughout the house. “It is, honey! Come over soon! I put an extra egg on it since you’ve worked hard tonight!” 

Daniel dropped all of his things on the couch, taking extra long strides to get to the kitchen faster.

“Oh, Danny!” His mom said with a smile. “You come here and eat your soup! A good son like you deserves it.”

He blushed. “Mom! Don’t worry about it! Please! It’s okay to take a break, I promise!”

Taking a seat at the small circular kitchen table, and picking up his soup spoon, Daniel began to gulp down as much as he could of the steaming ramen his mom had set down just for him.

Mrs. Park laughed. She stood behind Daniel’s chair and massaged his shoulders gently. After doing so, she took a seat next to her son, content to watch him eat her food.

“How was the evening in the shop, honey?” Mrs. Park asked. 

Daniel lifted his head from the bowl of ramen to take in some air and speak. “It’s been pretty good so far. Jace was great as always when making the coffee, customers were still flowing- it’s been a great idea to have been located near the university. Since it seems to be midterms season, there should be more customers this month.”

Mrs. Park smiled as Daniel resumed to shovel more noodles into his mouth. “That’s good, darling. That’s good.” She stood up from her seat and rubbed her son’s back gently. “I’m going to get dressed for bed, you should soon too. But I think we should talk a little more about the shop before we head to bed, I have some things on my mind.”

“Mmkay, Ma!” Daniel mumbled, mouth still full of food. 

“And slow down!” Mrs. Park said as she held back her chuckles. “It’s dinner, not a competition!”

-

When Daniel finished the ramen, he felt grateful. His stomach was feeling full again. He collected the things he had dropped on the couch and moved them to his room- only to drop them on a clear space on the floor. No need to worry. He can always clear that up later. 

He moved towards the dresser and began to change into his pajamas. Little chibi Vegeta was printed all over the pants, while he pulled a black shirt on. 

He snickered when he stared at his pants. This was definitely an item worth buying.

Stretching his arms over his head, Daniel yawned. Remembering that he still needed to have that conversation with his mom, he walked out his bedroom door and found his mom looking through pages of articles and the bills for both the shop and the house. 

“Mom,” He said gently as he placed his hand on the back of her shoulder. “I graduated with an accounting major for a reason, let me take care of those books.”

His mother sighed. “I just worry so much, Danny. Ever since your dad passed all those years ago…”

“But I’m here now,” Daniel said firmly, hoping to convey some reassurance. “I’m here now, Mom- I promised you that you wouldn’t worry again. Please tell me what’s wrong?”

“It’s the competition,” Mrs. Park said with a frown. “These big chain stores seem to be taking away some of our customers, and it’s only making it harder for us to catch up on these bills.”

Daniel pursed his lips. He understood what his mother was saying. The change was slow and gradual, but it still was a big change to their livelihood. They’re going to have to evolve and adapt if they’re going to try and keep the business running. 

He squeezed his mother’s shoulder reassuringly, he didn’t know what to do just yet, but in his heart, he wanted to live up to the promise of giving her no worries. 

“We’ll find a way, mom,” Daniel said after contemplating her words and the weight they held. Smiling at her, he continued. “There’s always a way around things.”

His mother nodded. “I’ve been looking at all these articles and things, but it just doesn’t seem like enough sometimes. I feel like we need to come up with something new, maybe even something trendy-”

“And we will,” Daniel said still smiling. He grasped her hand and held it tight. “Don’t worry, Ma. I’ll make sure we’ll find a way.”

His mom looked up tearfully and nodded. Daniel kissed her cheek. “Now come on, Mom! We still got another day tomorrow, let’s head to bed.”

Mrs. Park smiled. “You’re a good son, Danny- don’t you forget it.”

They both walked down the hallway soon after that, tucking themselves into bed, sleeping the night away, waiting for tomorrow. 

-

Jay found himself up later than he expected. Splayed out on his couch, he glanced at the inside of his penthouse. It felt cold. Almost empty. He picked up the glass of rosé and took a sip. 

It wasn’t unusual that he felt lonely at this hour. It was pretty much routine, aside from the pleasure of helping Daniel close up the shop- Jay still found that the night was still the same.

He set the glass down on the coffee table. It was probably time for him to head to bed tonight. 

He turned and walked towards the light switch, to dim the lights. 

As the lights dimmed, he remembered admiring Daniel’s face through the dim lights of the coffee shop. Jay certainly was glad to be a regular. He was also glad to have met Daniel.

Walking to his room, Jay smiled at the thought of him.

It was probably good to try and look up that brand of chocolate his sister really liked for dinner tomorrow- Joy would be happy. 

Settling into bed, Jay heaved a sigh of relief. Another busy day was over with.

There was a knock on the frame of his door.

“Young master? I have put into the schedule the dinner you had agreed to attend with the young mistress, is there anything else you need me to do for you, sir?”

Jay shook his head.

“Then rest well, and goodnight sir,” His caretaker said. “Your older brother, Kitae, gives you his thanks for your assistance today.”

Jay nodded as his caretaker closed his bedroom door. Another busy day was over with indeed. 

-

For Daniel, it felt it morning could not have come soon enough. He stumbled out of bed and proceeded to walk to the shower. Once he had finished, he hopped out in a towel and moved on with his morning routine.

“Hey, mom!” He called out, “I’m gonna go to the shop early today! I’ll start the daily prepping with Zoe!”

Mrs. Park yelled back, “Alright! I might take a bit, do you mind if I take the car this morning?”

“Not at all!” He said before disappearing into his room to change. It didn’t hurt to take a walk every now and then after all. Besides, Daniel felt like he just needed the space in order to keep try and find a solution for the shop in his head.

He waved his mom good-bye and began his walk to the shop.

It had rained in the earliest hours of the day, but the sidewalk had already started drying as the sun began to rise. It looked like it just might be a good day today. 

Daniel grinned. Maybe Jay would come in tonight? He was certainly looking forward to catching a ride on his bike. The chances were unlikely though, Jay didn’t usually come over on weekend nights.

Well, it didn’t hurt to daydream about his handsome grin.

An aggressive bark interrupted his thoughts and caught his attention just as he was about to turn around the block and reach the store.  

Daniel turned towards the noise and found its source.

The dog growled at him as it had stood near an abandoned old home. He frowned. That can’t be any good, the poor thing looked malnourished. And especially with the rain from last night, it had to be freezing.

Taking slow steps, Daniel attempted to reach out to it. He noticed that a red scarf was wrapped around the animal’s neck. Is it a stray? A runaway, perhaps?

The dog growled even louder, and before he could reach the poor animal it chomped down right on his hand. Startled, Daniel tried to pull away.

But then he realized that the bite didn’t even hurt at all.

He tugged his hand away and inspected it. There wasn’t even a scratch.

Chuckling, Daniel turned to the dog. “Hey there, silly. You’re too friendly to even nip at me right!”

The dog growled again.

“Okay, okay!” Daniel held up his hands and took a step back, but as he looked even closer at the dog, he realized “it” was a “she.” Even more concerning was the fact that she was pregnant.

“Oh that wouldn’t do,” he frowned. “You’re so skinny, but you’re supposed to have babies soon.”

He paused and realized that Zoe was probably already waiting at the shop. Sighing, Daniel turned to the dog.

“I’ll be back soon, okay?”

It didn’t seem to matter to the abandoned girl, as she could only growl more.

Daniel walked away, noting the fact that he needed to wash his hands thoroughly before even thinking about morning prep. He sighed. 

Turning right around the block, he saw Zoe leaning against the locked door, scrolling through her phone. 

“Hey, Zo!” He called out. “Thanks for waiting! How long have you been there!”

Zoe smiled at him. “Hi, Danny! I wasn’t waiting for too long, no worries!”

And so their morning began.

-

Luckily for Daniel, his mom hadn’t come in until they were right about to open. That was good, she deserved some rest after worrying so much over the shop. 

“So your mom is worried about the other businesses around isn’t she?” Zoe asked. “Honestly, I wouldn’t blame her- all these Starbucks stores do seem overwhelming.”

Daniel let out a sigh. “Yeah, she and I were starting to think that maybe we should do something different for the shop, kinda keep it the same, but also be able to reel in newer customers.”

Zoe seemed to think about it. “Well, maybe you could start hosting community events?”

“You think so?” Daniel asked.

The bell rang and some familiar faces came into view.

Luckily, it was the weekend, so there weren’t too many students streaming in during the late morning. It was definitely a good time to chat.

Zoe squealed. “Mira! This is so unfair! I haven’t seen you all week!”

The young woman smiled sweetly, “Well at least it’s only been a week!”

The athletic young man that stood next to Mira scowled, “What am I to you, Zoe? A corpse?”

Zoe shrugged. “I don’t know, I need to think hard about it.”

Daniel burst out laughing. “She got you there, Zack!”

Rolling his eyes, Zack gave in. “Whatever, man.” 

“We were just talking about the things we could do to gain more customers,” Zoe explained.

“Oh yeah?” Zack asked surprised.

Daniel nodded. “Yeah, the customers just aren’t coming in like they used to. My mom and I were talking about things we could possibly do just to keep them coming.”

“I suggested that we start hosting community events!” Zoe said, a smug smile plastered on her face.

“That does sound like a good idea,” Mira hummed. “What do you think, Zack?”

“You guys are located near the university, it can definitely work.”

Daniel smiled. “Well, it does sound like a great idea. I was thinking of doing promotional things to get business going- happy hours and stuff.”

Zack scrunched his nose. “Sounds like a waste of money.”

Giggling, Mira told him, “It’s mostly to hook customers in the first time, Zack!”

“Still sounds like a waste,” Zack said, waving off the idea. “But hey, whichever helps your guys the most.”

The bell rang again, signaling more customers.

“Go chat with them,” said Zoe. “I can hold the fort down over here.”

Daniel nodded gratefully. “Thanks, Zo.”

He turned to his two friends. “The community event idea sounds great, but I can’t even think of what to suggest.”

“Big ideas always start small,” Mira said smiling. “You just gotta know where to start.”

She handed her purse to Zack, “Do you mind if you could hold this? I really need to use the bathroom around here…” 

“Not at all beautiful!” Zack enthusiastically replied. “Anything for you, Mira!”

Daniel snickered, though it stopped shortly as Zack glared at him. Daniel knew that Zack can’t deny it, he’s whipped for Mira- in the best kind of way. Their relationship had only grown from the years they had spent together since college.

Mira took that opportunity to head into the bathroom.

Zack slammed his hands onto the customer’s side of the counter.

“Okay,” he whispered urgently. “Okay, okay, okay. Daniel. Okay. Whooo.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow, picking up the written on cup Zoe had slid over to him and began working on the order. “Yes, Zack?”

“I was thinking,” Zack scratched the back of his neck. “Well… You know? Mira and I have been together for so long?”

Daniel hummed in acknowledgment as he used the milk steamer.

“We’re already done… With college for years, I mean.. I was thinking, maybe- that it was time to pop the question?”

Daniel almost dropped the cup right then and there as he stared at Zack, grinning. “No way, you serious?”

Zack started looking flustered. “Yeah, man. I think it’s time?”

Daniel’s smile only got wider. He turned towards the public and yelled out the order, “Medium-sized caramel latte for Jake?!”

He put the fresh cup of coffee down on the pick-up section and began on the next order. 

“Go for it!” He said with a grin. “It’s been more than a few years! Have you guys talked about it like that, yet?”

Zack had a dopey smile on his face as he began to talk about Mira. “Yeah, there’s been a few times… I’m thinking of asking more about it with her tonight, but I’m starting to think that I really want us to be committed like that.”

“I say go for it,” Daniel smiled. “You guys are great together for sure.”

Zack smiled.

The bathroom swung open and out came Mira with the bun on her hair straightened out.

“Your lovely lady just came out of the bathroom,” Daniel teased.

Zack panicked. “You shut it, Park! Shut your trap!”

Daniel snickered again. He turned to work on the rest of the orders for the morning while he left his lovebird friends by themselves. 

He started to wonder about how Jay was doing today, he really hoped he would come in tonight. That motorcycle ride was starting to sound like a good idea. Oh god, why did he have to turn it down the first time?

-

The morning had passed by fast. It felt like a blur. The morning sun had crawled its way through the sky and soon started looking like it was about to set. But then again it was only 3 pm in November.

Daniel sighed, his brain felt like it was about to burst out of boredom. Mira and Zack had left half an hour ago, and Zoe was already starting to finish up the tail end of her shift. At this point, it was just Daniel, the customers, and the orders.

 Was this how Jay felt looking at those textbooks he carries into the shop?

Zoe smiled in sympathy, she began to untie her apron as she finished her last duties on today’s shift. “You holding on there?”

Giving his coworker a thumbs up, he said, “Thanks for coming in today, Zo.”

“It’s no problem,” she replied. “You guys pay me the big bucks after all!”

Daniel laughed. “You’re sweet.”

“You guys have been family friends for a long time,” Zoe winked. “Plus, I get extra cash working in this job- nepotism is working great for me.”

“Have a good day!”

Zoe waved goodbye as she headed out the door. “Don’t let boredom kill you first, Danny!”’

And then there was one.

The door’s bell rang again. 

Or maybe not?

His handsome smile was pointed right back at Daniel.

Oh, definitely not.

“A little too early for it to be considered the evening, don’t you think, Jay?” Daniel smiled back.