Chapter Text
It was all a routine. Grind the beans, tamp the grounds, pull a shot of espresso, froth the milk, pour it all in a cup, and serve. It was a process that Sung Hanbin could do absentmindedly. His body moved as if he did this for an entire lifetime— but he’s only been a barista for six months.
Hanbin felt a heightened level of satisfaction when the drinks he made came out perfectly. He wouldn’t have to deal with an unhappy customer and occasionally, his speedy work would earn him an extra dollar or two in tips. As a broke college student, anything helped.
Sometimes the repetition of a routine is addicting, but addictions can be dangerous. The routine of making a drink sometimes meant not remembering when a customer made an alteration to the standard drink.
Hanbin served the steaming latte with a smile, “One medium hot latte!”
The customer walked up to the marble counter and smiled, retrieving his drink. Hanbin watched their face contort as they took a sip and as they approached the counter again, Hanbin internally sighed.
“Just wanted to make sure! Is this made with oat milk?”
The customer set down the latte in front of Hanbin. Oh no.
Hanbin bowed slightly, genuinely apologetic for his mistake. “I’m so sorry! Give me a few minutes and I promise you it will be ready.”
The customer walked back to his seat and scrolled on his phone, seemingly comfortable in his chair.
At least the cafe’s vibes are nice.
Celestial Cafe was a bustling business with a steady stream of customers. The coffee was good, the specialty drinks were interesting, and the interior design was gorgeous— courtesy of the owner, Kim Taerae.
Taerae was young, maybe a little too young to be running a business this large, but he was a natural at it. In university, he triple majored in Business Administration, Music, and Interior Design and still managed to graduate a year early. Celestial Cafe opened only a few months after Taerae graduated. Despite being the sole owner, Taerae simultaneously was getting his masters degree in Business Administration. Hanbin had no idea how the man managed to do that. As a boss, Taerae was kind, empathetic, and gentle. Hanbin has never heard Taerae raise his voice, which is a stark contrast with some of his prior bosses. In some ways, Taerae felt like more of a friend than a boss—probably because of his age—but none of the staff took advantage of that. They all respected Taerae for his kind leadership style and determination.
Hanbin quickly made the drink again but as a large, praying that the free upgrade would convey how apologetic he was in inconveniencing the customer.
“One latte with oat milk!” Hanbin called out, noticing the customer perking up at the order being called.
As the customer approached the counter, Hanbin made sure to apologize profusely. The customer thanked the barista and (hopefully) left satisfied with the customer service. Hanbin felt his tense muscles relax. He always anticipated getting yelled at.
Good thing they were nice.
Most customers were. Celestial Cafe was located near a university so most customers were tired and anxious college students. Occasionally, they’d get a rude customer but it wasn’t frequent. Hanbin still felt bad every time he messed up.
A supportive hand landed on his shoulder, “Don’t beat yourself up. This is the first order you’ve made wrong in weeks.”
Hanbin turned to the tall, brown-haired boy. “Thanks, Gyuvin. I just want to make sure this place gets good reviews, for Taerae’s sake. It’d break my heart if we got a bad review because of me.”
Gyuvin punched Hanbin’s shoulder lightly. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. Stop worrying. You’re not a manager for nothing. You’re great at what you do.”
Hanbin appreciated his friend’s words of encouragement. Truthfully, Hanbin loved working, especially with the others. The staff at Celestial felt like a family— despite being the oldest, the other staff were always so supportive of Hanbin. Celestial only had four staff members: Sung Hanbin, Kim Gyuvin, Shěn Quánruì (who preferred being called Ricky), and Han Yujin. Hanbin had known Gyuvin since high school and it was by chance that they ended up at the same university. Hanbin actually got the job at the cafe through his high school friend. Without the job, Hanbin would not have been able to pay rent all these months and with the promotion to Celestial’s only manager, Hanbin didn’t have to worry about his finances too much. Kim Gyuvin was Hanbin’s lifesaver (but he would never admit that).
Hanbin met Ricky five months ago and Yujin one month ago. Ricky was an international student from Shanghai, China, with looks that could rival a model. Hanbin secretly thought Taerae hired Ricky knowing he’d attract a ton of customers with his looks alone. Ricky’s name was usually in Yelp reviews, with girls commenting on how handsome he was, how pretty his handwriting was, and a million other things about him they found attractive. Hanbin swears that some girls even memorized Ricky’s schedule.
Han Yujin was the youngest of the part-timers. He was a freshman, new to the area, and soooo adorable. But Hanbin would never say that in front of Yujin, knowing that would earn him a glare. However, that never stopped Gyuvin— he’s practically babied Yujin so much that the youngest has given up on retaliating.
Hanbin smiled at Gyuvin, “Thanks Gyuvin. You always know exactly what to say.”
“Are you sure I know what to say? Or am I just telling you what you want to hear?” Gyuvin chuckled, “Anyways, don’t forget how kind I am the next time we’re choosing what songs to cover, captain.”
Hanbin scoffed as he cleaned the counter, “Are you bribing me?”
When he turned around, Gyuvin was taking a customer's order— clearly making himself busy so he didn’t have to answer that question. Oddly enough, Hanbin and Gyuvin lives were so deeply intertwined. The two were in their university’s K-pop dance crew together and Hanbin was this year’s captain. Dancing was something that Hanbin found invigorating. If his life was filled with routines, dancing was the one thing that disrupted all of that. Hanbin’s definition of a good day would be working at Celestial all afternoon and living in the university’s practice rooms until 1AM.
After Gyuvin served a customer her drink, he turned to face Hanbin. “I’m not bribing you. In fact, I’m offended that you would even suggest that I would do such a thing!” He wiped a non-existent tear from under his eye, “All I’m saying is that ATEEZ’s new song has my name on it. And if I don’t get San’s part, I can and will tell Taerae to fire you.”
Hanbin chuckled and ruffled Gyuvin’s hair, “Fine. I’ll think about it.”
Gyuvin pumped his fist in celebration and Hanbin smiled fondly at the younger.
⋆˚🐾˖°
Within the depths of his apron, Hanbin felt his phone vibrate. He looked around and didn’t see any customers on line to order. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to check the text he received and if a customer just so happened to walk in, Gyuvin could handle it. From his home screen, he saw the familiar name on the notification, belonging to his long-time friend. Seok Matthew was a constant in Hanbin’s life— they went to elementary school, middle school, high school, and now university together. Except going to university together was totally planned. Matthew was from Canada and naturally, his family wanted him to go to university there and they would not budge on that. The moment he told them he wanted to go to university with the Sung Hanbin, they quickly agreed. Hanbin could do no bad in Matthew’s family’s eyes and Matthew knew exactly how to take advantage of that.
seokmae: is he there?
Hanbin immediately glanced up to the corner of the cafe to see if the man was there. Matthew’s cafe crush. A few weeks ago, Matthew spotted the man and claimed that he immediately “fell in love.” Hanbin understood that as Matthew had a big fat crush. From that day forward, Matthew went from a casual customer to a dedicated regular. Hanbin chuckled when he saw the man was there, as always. He didn’t even know why Matthew bothered asking.
me: yup. see u soon.
Hanbin could see where Matthew was coming from. It was indisputable; the man was handsome. He always sat in the corner of the cafe with papers, books, and a laptop sprawled out in front of him. Today the man was wearing a light grey crewneck, khaki pants, and his signature thick-rimmed black glasses. His black hair was parted in the middle, exposing his forehead slightly. He had one leg crossed over the other in an elegant manner and with a pen in his hand, he was rigorously taking notes on a thick packet, stopping to occasionally take a sip of his English breakfast tea. Hanbin knew Matthew would drool at the sight. He thought of what Matthew had said to him last week.
“He looks so dreamy! He has to be the smartest guy in the entire world,” Matthew sighed, “I would pay to be in his class and get to see him everyday.”
Hanbin rolled his eyes at his delusional friend.
Minutes later, Matthew came running in and Hanbin could’ve sworn he saw the moment that Matthew’s soul left his body.
Gyuvin pointed at Matthew and started laughing, “Close your mouth. You’re going to get drool all over the floor.”
Matthew glared at Gyuvin, “Not funny.” He turned to Hanbin and pouted, “He looks so good today. Why didn’t you tell me that over text? I would’ve dressed nicer!”
“You say that everyday!” Hanbin rolled his eyes at his friend, “He doesn’t even know who you are anyways. You really should just shoot your shot, Seokmae.”
Matthew gasped as if he heard the most offensive thing in the world, “I could never! What if he doesn’t think I’m cute? What if he has a boyfriend already? What if he’s straight!?! I can’t embarrass myself like that!”
Gyuvin handed Matthew an iced Americano, “Just go sit at your usual spot and soak in his visuals.”
Matthew complied, sitting in his usual spot at a table a few over from the handsome mans’ table.
⋆˚🐾˖°
Hanbin glanced at his phone for the time, “It’s 4PM. Where’s Taerae?”
Gyuvin shrugged, “I’m not sure. He should be here by now? He said he’d be back from his lunch break at 3PM.”
The door chimed, indicating someone was entering. Gyuvin and Hanbin simultaneously looked up at the entrance.
Speak of the devil.
The five foot seven man practically ran into his establishment. His forehead was glistening with sweat, as if he just ran to the cafe. He looked around frantically (To see if there were any customers? Hanbin wasn’t sure.) and flipped the WE’RE OPEN sign to CLOSED.
Hanbin panicked, walking around the counter to where Taerae was, with Gyuvin following closely behind him.
“What’s wrong?” Hanbin said, eyeing Taerae up and down to make sure he wasn’t hurt anywhere. He couldn’t notice anything different other than the fact that Taerae was carrying a huge brown box with holes, instead of his usual colorblock backpack.
Turning around, Taerae smiled brightly at the two, placed the huge brown box on the floor, opening it.
“Look!”
Hanbin raised an eyebrow and glanced over with Gyuvin to see at least ten cats— all of different breeds, coat colors, sizes, and ages.
“Cats?” They asked in unison.
Taerae nodded and Hanbin never would have expected the following words.
“Starting today, we’ll be Celestial Cat Cafe!”