Chapter Text
“Welcome to Married to the Java! What can I get for you?” said the bubbly blonde haired barista standing behind the register.
Kibum paused slightly, eyeing the guy’s name tag which read ‘Taemin’, “Oh, it’s actually my first day? I’m supposed to meet with someone named Jonghyun?”
“Ah! You must be Kibum. He’s over there.” Taemin gestured to the side, where another man was busy using an espresso machine to foam milk, rather loudly. “Hey Jonghyun! Kibum’s here for you!”
Jonghyun looked up briefly, slung a small towel over his shoulder, and flashed Kibum a soft smile, “Hey, nice to meet you! I’ll show you where you can put your stuff.”
–
All things considered, Kibum’s first day wasn’t horrible. As far as first days go it was pretty normal. Kibum spent a lot of time learning how to use an espresso machine, as well as learning the basics of how to make coffee, though he wasn’t actually allowed to make coffee for customers yet.
“That’ll come later!” Jonghyun assured him, “We want you to be confident in your skills first, before we throw you to the wolves.”
Kibum had no real barista experience (aside from operating his Keurig at home) so he was grateful for the slow learning process. At the end of his shift he was leaning against the counter chatting with the two men.
“Honestly, you did great for your first day. I know it’s a lot to take in, but you’ll get there.”
Kibum flashed Jonghyun a small smile, “Thanks. So, who else works here besides you two?”
Taemin interjected, a bit excitedly, “Ah! Well there’s Jinki, the owner. You met him when you interviewed. He’s around more in the mornings, but these days he’s at home a lot. I think since we got busier he’s been trying to keep up with paperwork. Then there’s Minho. He’s been the morning shift person by himself for the last month or so since Jongin quit.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but why put me on the morning shift? Isn’t that like, way busier than evenings? Wouldn't it be better if one of you swapped?”
Jonghyun shrugged, “I mean it is, but we aren’t really available since we’re both in school, and Jinki tried to fill in but eventually gave up, and I think he was impressed enough with your interview despite your lack of experience that he decided to give it a shot. Once you’re trained up enough you’ll swap over.”
“What’s Minho like?” Kibum asked.
“He’s so great!” Taemin blurted out, “He’s really good with the customers and like, everyone loves him. I really don’t think I’ve met a single person that doesn’t like him.”
Jonghyun chuckled, “He’s very focused, kinda competitive at times but loyal? He’s been in denial about how busy the morning shifts have been and he’s been insisting he doesn’t need the help but Jinki overruled him.”
Kibum smiled lightly before thanking both of them and wandering to the backroom to grab his stuff, he popped his earbuds in and started the 20 minute walk back to his apartment while thinking back to his interview and how nervous he was. Kibum spent an inordinate amount of time that morning trying to decide on what to wear for an interview to be a coffee barista. He didn’t want to look too flashy, but he also didn’t want to look too boring either. Ultimately he decided on black skinny jeans and a loose fitting sweater. KIbum briefly thought about wearing his rainbow pin too, but decided at the last minute to leave it off. He wasn’t ashamed to be gay by any means, but considering everything up to this point in his life, he didn’t really want to come out to everyone right away in a brand new place.
Turned out though that he had nothing to worry about- when he walked into Jinki’s office for the interview he spotted a giant rainbow flag tacked up on the wall. Jinki must have seen him looking at it because the first thing he said was, “Like the flag?” Kibum nodded lightly as Jinki smiled, “I don’t tolerate assholes here of any kind. I’ve always strived to create a safe work space for everyone.”
—
It was late when he got home, but Kibum had a full night of reading the staff manual as well as studying the coffee guide Jonghyun left him detailing their drinks and how to make them. While Kibum usually loved to cook dinner, he was utterly exhausted after his first day and stopped by the convenience store for a quick meal to go before arriving back at home.
Popping the meal in his microwave, Kibum checked his phone while leaning against the counter. He was hoping to see a particular message from someone and smiled lightly when he opened discord and saw the message icon.
<<FlamingCharisma: Hey :) I hope your first day went well! Good luck!
Kibum typed out a brief response before the microwave beeped, signaling his dinner was ready:
>>AlmightyKey: Thanks! It went well enough. Learning how to do an entirely new job is exhausting though and I’m beat.
He had barely sat down to eat before his phone pinged again:
<< FlamingCharisma: Yeah? It definitely can be, but I know you’ll get better with practice :).
Kibum smiled and typed a response back in between bites of food. Kibum didn’t know his real name. Kibum actually knew very little about them. It started when Kibum was moving to the area and joined a local discord group dedicated to helping new people acclimate to the area. Kibum had posted under the username AlmightyKey that he was going to be new to the area, gay, and wanted advice on things to do.
FlamingCharisma responded almost right away via private message with a massive list of activities and said that they were also in the queer community and would be happy to chat more at any time. Kibum wasn’t really looking for any kind of conversation beyond that at the time, so he thanked the person and said he’d let them know if they tried any of their recommendations.
At first, Kibum only messaged him back here and there to let the person know that they tried one of their recommendations, but it quickly spiraled into them just messaging each other randomly, though they never shared personal details beyond basic stuff. Even to this day all Kibum knew was that Flaming Charisma lived kinda near him, was male and had a job that kept him working odd hours.
Kibum was resistant to the idea of ever meeting him in person, though neither of them had ever mentioned it before. Online, the interaction was safe, distant almost. Having just recently left a relationship that ended… badly, Kibum was in no real rush to date anyone, though he couldn’t even say with any certainty that FlamingCharisma was thinking of that at all. But if they did meet in person, then everything could change and Kibum wasn’t sure if he could really handle that right now. It might be an online only friendship they were forming, but Kibum didn’t want to lose that.
—
The next day of training went better than the first. Kibum impressed Jonghyun enough that he was allowed to even make a few drinks for customers that they didn’t immediately spit out, which Kibum took as a win.
The only annoying thing was just how often he kept hearing about Minho and how great he was. The guy seemed to have no faults if the customers were to be believed. Even Taemin and Jonghyun seemed to be head over heels about the guy judging by just how often they talked about him!
“No one’s that perfect.” Kibum mumbled to himself, as he was wiping down the counter by the trash can. Kibum left his second shift grumbling all the way home about this mysterious Choi Minho he’d be working with. Was he really that perfect? Annoyed, he arrived back at his apartment and opened discord.
<<FlamingCharisma: How was your second day?
>> AlmightyKey: Better! They let me do more today and nothing exploded so that's good.
<< FlamingCharisma: Depending on your job if something exploded that could potentially be very very bad.
>> AlmightyKey: Oh, I’m definitely not doing anything where a disaster would occur, no worries there. But I might make my coworkers upset and a little messy.
<< FlamingCharisma: Do you like your coworkers? I know you were worried about that. Do they seem welcoming?
>> AlmightyKey: Yeah, at least the ones training me. Honestly I think the two training me are fucking, but you didn’t hear that from me. The owner has a massive rainbow flag in his office too so that bodes well. I’m a little nervous about this other guy though.
<<FlamingCharisma: Why?
>>AlmightyKey: I dunno. Everyone keeps talking about how great he is.
<<FlamingCharisma: And that's… bad?
>>AlmightyKey: I dunno. Maybe I’m just jaded but the way they talk about him you’d think rainbows shoot out of his ass or something.
<<FlamingCharisma: Now there’s a visual.
>>AlmightyKey: Sorry. Am I being too negative again?
<<FlamingCharisma: A little, but just try and keep an open mind? You seem to dislike this guy and you haven't even met him yet.
>>AlmightyKey: Sigh. I know. I’m just anxious. I wish I could keep working with the people I’m working with now.
—--
On Kibum’s 4th day of training he walked into the coffee shop to find the counter abandoned, with a small sign that said “Back in 5!” on the register. Taemin and Jonghyun were probably in the back, grabbing stock he mused so Kibum wandered to the back and shoved the door open to the staff area only to stop in his tracks entirely and clear his throat lightly. Jonghyun had Taemin shoved up against some boxes and his tongue was clearly shoved down the others throat while Taemin was grabbing Jonghyun’s ass and pulling him closer.
Flustered, the two sprang apart upon hearing Kibum’s throat clear and immediately started rambling excuses and apologies.
Kibum had his arms crossed with a light smile as he simply replied, “Guys, it’s fine. Honestly I kinda already thought you were fucking or something so this just confirms that anyways.”
“You did?” Jonghyun asked, “What uh, what gave us away?”
“I mean, you guys look at each other with bedroom eyes all the time. That and I’m gay as hell- sometimes you just know these things. Are you guys out?”
“Yeah.” Jonghyun responded, “We just swore we’d keep it under control at work. Jinki caught us once and made us promise we wouldn't do that again. We really haven’t slipped up until today, promise!”
Kibum laughed, “Honestly, as long as I don’t catch the two of you actually fucking back here I don’t really care. I’m gonna put my stuff away now yeah? I think I just heard the front bell ding.”
Taemin flew out to the lobby to attend to the customer while Jonghyun leaned against the wall, watching Kibum put his stuff away before asking, “Thanks for not freaking out. It really won’t happen again, promise. Are you out by the way?”
Kibum shrugged, closing his locker as he spoke, “Yeah, I have been for a while. How long have you two been together?”
“Just a few months actually. The first time Jinki caught us was a week into us dating, you know the phase when you can’t keep your hands off the other person? I mean, we still can’t really, but at least we’re better about it at work. Well, until today that is. Are you seeing anyone?”
Kibum paused, choosing his words carefully, “I was yeah. I’m not anymore. That's part of why I’m new to this area, I had to find a new place to live.”
“I’m sorry. Did it end badly?”
“In a way. It wasn’t all bad though, but that's in the past. We should get to work, yeah?”
Jonghyun smiled, “Sure, Kibum, today, I thought you could practice using the register more. You seemed to pick up the coffee part fine, now you just need to learn to interact with customers more.”
—
>>AlmightyKey: Oh my GOD
<<FlamingCharisma: Everything ok?
>>AlmightyKey: Remember when I said I thought the guys training me were fucking? I caught them at work today.
<<FlamingCharisma: Please tell me they weren’t fucking at work??
>>AlmightyKey: Oh no. But they were making out in the backroom when I walked in on them. Honestly they were so embarrassed I can’t even be mad.
<<FlamingCharisma: I think most of us have had some kinda embarrassing moment like that happen to us. I’m sure they appreciated you not freaking out.
>>AlmightyKey: I don’t know why I would. Just because I’m bitter and alone doesn't mean everyone should be. They make a cute couple, honestly I’ll be a little sad when my training shifts end.
<<FlamingCharisma: Bitter and alone? You wanna talk about that?
>>AlmightyKey: I… I’ll be honest, I really don’t. It’s nothing against you, it’s just that I don’t know you, not really.
<<FlamingCharisma: Ouch. I’ll try to not get offended at that, but that's not entirely true. I know a lot about you.
>>AlmightyKey: Do you? I don’t know anything about you.
<<FlamingCharisma: I mean, I know more about you then you might think. I know you just moved here, because you needed a place to live after leaving a relationship. You mentioned being bitter and alone so I can only assume it ended poorly. You just started a new job where you desperately want to fit in and do well. You’ve been nervous about parts of the job but so far you’ve been doing great, because you’ve been working hard and studying. And I know that you’re anxious about meeting the coworker who apparently has rainbows shooting out of his ass. See? I know a lot about you, even if I don’t know your name or where you work. I'm sure if you really thought about it you know more about me than you think too.
<<FlamingCharisma: I know you’ve been resistant and I’m not trying to push you, but like it or not you and I talk literally every day.
<<FlamingCharisma: Pretty sure that makes us friends.
<<FlamingCharisma: You still there?
<<FlamingCharisma: Alright then, take your time. I’ll be here.
—
At the end of his first week of training Jinki stopped by and spent several hours sitting at the counter, filling out paperwork while flicking his eyes up every so often to watch Kibum work. Near the end of his shift, during a lull, Jinki flagged him over and asked Kibum how things were going so far.
“Good. I think. I’m picking things up pretty well mostly. Jonghyun’s a great teacher.”
Jinki smiled, “I’m glad. I talked with him earlier and he said that you were doing more than just good. He said yesterday you didn’t need any direction at all, honestly, you’re probably ready to graduate from training if you wanted.”
Kibum blushed slightly, “Yeah? When would I swap to mornings? Tomorrow?”
Jinki laughed slightly, “No, no. I swore when I started this place I’d never make people clopen against their will. You’d have the next few days off and then start your regular schedule on Thursday.”
“That sounds great. I’d be working with Minho right?”
“Yeah. He’s a really great guy, I’m sure you’ll get along just fine.”
Kibum did not fully believe Jinki, but smiled politely and went back to making drinks.
—
>>AlmightyKey: I’m sorry I ghosted you the other day.
>>AlmightyKey: Truthfully, talking with you is the one constant in my life right now that's been good since I moved here. I’ve been resistant to changing that because I’ve been hurt before, and the thought of getting hurt by you wasn’t something I wanted to think about.
>>AlmightyKey: But you are right. We are friends. I’m sorry I’ve been a weird flaky ass.
<<FlamingCharisma: Well hey there. We’ve all got our own stories, you don’t have to share yours if you aren’t ready. Just know that I’m only ever asking because I do actually care about you.
<<FlamingCharisma: How was work today?
>>AlmightyKey: Good! I’m graduating from training soon. So I’ll get to meet Mr. AssRainbow soon enough.
<<FlamingCharisma: Promise me you’ll be nice to him?
>>AlmightyKey: Who me? I’m always nice.
<<FlamingCharisma: I just choked on my dinner. Thanks for that.
—
Thursday quickly came and Kibum was a nervous wreck. The coffee shop opened at 6, but he wasn’t due to start until 7, since the first hour was always slow according to Jinki. When Kibum woke up that morning he was surprised to see a message from Flaming Charisma from that morning wishing him luck (how early did he wake up). Too anxious to respond, Kibum popped his earphones in and began the walk to work.
Turning the final corner and approaching the main door Kibum was definitely not prepared for the sight lying before him. The lobby was absolutely packed with people and Kibum couldn’t even see who was behind the counter past the crowd. Eyes widening a bit, Kibum steeled himself and pushed through the door. He tried to catch a glimpse of anyone working, but decided it would be better to just get ready to work right away, so he pushed through to the back room and put his stuff away quickly before pushing back through the crowd of folk and finally, making it behind the bar to find one very flustered Choi Minho, who was currently juggling both the register and the espresso machine by himself.
Minho looked over briefly, eyeing Kibum and barked, “You the new guy? Must be. I’ve got 10 drinks to make over there, think you can handle that?”
Kibum blanched at that. Ok, so maybe he’s a little stressed. Whatever. He thought, as he got right to work. Stealing glances at the man behind the register Kibum couldn’t help but notice how naturally gorgeous he was. He was wearing a t- shirt underneath his work apron that was doing a delightful job of highlighting his muscular arms.
Shaking his head slightly, Kibum refocused on the espresso machine and sent out drink after drink to the crowd. 30 drinks and 4 spills later the crowd finally thinned enough that Kibum wasn’t just constantly shoving his face into either the espresso machine or the fridge. Looking down Kibum laughed slightly as his apron was absolutely covered in a mixture of coffee, espresso grounds and milk, but he was proud of himself for hopefully making a decent impression.
“Not bad, new guy. You almost kept up.”
“Kim Kibum.”
“What?”
“My name. It’s Kim Kibum. Not new guy.”
Minho laughed, “Alright then new guy. You wanna go clean yourself off or you wanna walk around looking like that for the next few hours?”
Kibum suppressed a glare and stalked away, rolling his eyes as he turned around to go to the back room to swap aprons quickly before coming back out to see Minho leaning over the counter talking with a customer. Kibum grabbed a rag and started wiping down a counter nearby so he could totally not listen in.
“You feel like trying something different today? I can recommend something I think you’d really enjoy, or maybe you’d like it to be a surprise?”
The customer was also leaning on the counter as they replied, “Why don’t you surprise me? I’ll love anything you make me I’m sure.”
Kibum scoffed under his breath as Minho replied with a wink, “You got it. One Minho special coming right up!”
Kibum stayed behind the drink machine for the next few hours churning out coffee to the masses as he listened to Minho banter and flirt with customers for hours. So he was a flirt huh? Was that why people loved him so much? If Kibum wasn’t in public he’d gag from the annoyance of it all.
Several hours later Taemin wandered in to start his shift. He was the swing shift most of the time, so at least Kibum wouldn’t be stuck with just Minho the whole time. Kibum smiled at Taemin as he walked behind the counter who smiled back and asked, “How’s your first shift going? Minho treating you ok?”
Kibum stole a glance over at Minho who was busy flirting talking with a customer before replying, “I guess. Hasn’t really been time to talk yet. It’s been chaotic since I walked in the door.”
“Ah. Yeah, some mornings are like that. It’s part of why Jinki insisted on hiring someone to help.”
“He was really doing all that by himself? For how long?”
Taemin’s response was cut off as Minho interjected, “Just over a month. It’s fine most of the time. I like the challenge, new guy.”
"Kim Kibum!"
“Right, but what’s the fun of a challenge if you lose us customers because you are too damn stubborn to accept the help?” Taemin said with an air of humor. Though judging from his tone this was clearly an argument they’d had before.
Minho sighed and turned around with a shrug to go back to the next customer waiting to order.
Finally, Kibum's shift ended and he gratefully went to the back room, popped in his headphones and grabbed his bag before heading straight for the front door. Minho's shift ended at the same time and he could have sworn he heard him call out but Kibum pretended not to hear and kept walking down the street.
One thing was certain, Kim Kibum did not like Choi Minho.