Chapter Text
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Shotaro’s palm stopped the blaring alarm sound, accompanied by a tired and prolonged groan. He raised his upper body with his arms before he could rub his eyes with his fists. He takes his phone from his nightstand, and by squinting his eyes to regain his sight, it’s unfortunately time to work… again.
He kicks his sheets with his legs and begrudgingly starts getting ready. Shotaro has worked at this coffee shop for the past few months to help with his rent and tuition. This is albeit a good thing, but there is one major setback.
He hates coffee.
Like any other college student, Shotaro tried various ways to combat sleepiness, such as continuing to study or cramming at the last minute. While studying for his economics class at another cafe further from the campus to avoid big groups of other students. Out of curiosity and desperation, Shotaro thought it would be time to try coffee and see what the big deal was. He ordered a small cup of coffee to test the waters and, of course, to save money.
The very moment it touched his lips, he absolutely despised it. If he could, he would’ve immediately spit it out (but Shotaro is a very polite man). It could be the way the barista made it or if it was that particular brand that they used, but Shotaro promises he will never have another cup of coffee again unless he wants to gag.
He starts heading to the kitchen to brew his morning black tea and grabs his leftover sandwich from the fridge to microwave for breakfast. If Shotaro’s not a coffee person, then he is totally a tea person. It’s way healthier for the body and the mind, as Shotaro would remind himself. As he waits for everything to heat up, he half-heartedly continues to get ready for the day.
He hears multiple sounds from the kitchen, signaling everything is ready. However, he noticed time was moving faster than he anticipated. He quickly puts on the last piece of his uniform and hurriedly gathers his items with his breakfast to take before he ultimately misses his commute.
-
Even from a block away, he can smell the disgusting aroma of coffee beans being crushed by the coffee machines. He scrunches his nose out of habit as he walks into the coffee shop, greeted by elevator music and the continuous sounds of multiple machines going simultaneously.
“Hey, you were almost late, Shotaro!” He swiveled his head toward the voice to see Wonbin preparing customer orders.
“Sorry! The upcoming mid-term exams have been killing me.” He quickly goes into the employee area to clock in before joining Wonbin to help him out.
“Oh, don’t even mention mid-terms. Professor Jung has us writing a 5-page essay about a topic I don’t know about!” Wonbin exasperatedly says. Shotaro mildly chuckles, knowing how Wonbin becomes very expressive despite what the whole college campus thinks of him. Mysterious and calm, my ass.
“Guys, why are there so many online orders today?! I might break something if I hear another jingle from that computer!” Another voice pops in behind the two; without looking, Shotaro knows who that voice belongs to—no other than Shotaro. The new employee started working a couple of weeks ago. Even though he never worked at a cafe, he was a quick learner. Shotaro thanked the heavens as mid-terms approached, and everyone’s hang-out place were cafes near the campus. “Mid-terms, duh. Everyone is meekly surviving off of caffeine and no sleep.” Wonbin said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Sohee shrugs and goes on about his shift. Shotaro shakes his head at the little banter between the two. As they continue, Shotaro hears the small bell at the top of the entrance ring. Two customers come in with whom Shotaro isn’t familiar with. As protocol, he greets them with a smile and asks them what they are ordering.
“Uhm, it’s my first time here. What would you recommend getting?” The taller of the two asks, Shotaro noticing a slight tint of red on the customer’s ears before digesting the question. Cute-
In all honesty, Shotaro hates this question; he does not drink coffee like it’s their last day on Earth, so of course, he doesn’t know what kind of coffee is actually good. But for this customer in front of him, he will let it slide. He doesn’t know why exactly, but it’s something he’ll have to figure out later. Shotaro gets this question daily and has come up with the same response. Occasionally, he would alter it if there were seasonal drinks or new items. He personally wouldn’t do it, but the boss complained about low sales. So, Shotaro can’t do anything about it but comply.
“Well, our popular drinks are the iced americano and matcha tea latte. I would recommend the Earl Gray tea and our newest drink, lavender strawberry milk tea.” Shotaro studied the customer’s face; seeing the man struggle to pick a drink with his eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed together almost made Shotaro chuckle to himself.
“Then, I’ll go with the lavender strawberry milk tea, medium.” Shotaro was honestly surprised by the answer. He assumes the customer attends the same school, making him a college student. Almost 90% of the students order the iced americano. Shotaro mentally makes a face as the thought of iced americano is utterly disgusting. Worst of the worst, but he digress.
“I’ll get an iced americano, large” Ahh… There it is. Shotaro nods at the other person who is next to the tall man. “Okay, that’ll be $9.50. Can I get a name for the order?”
“Sungchan.” Sungchan.
Shotaro nods once more as he types in the order before Sungchan taps his card to pay. “Okay, Sungchan. I’ll ring that up, and your drinks will be ready in a few minutes.” He smiles at the two customers before noticing the red tint on Sungchan’s ears again, although it was redder than it initially was. The other customer leads Sungchan to a table nearby, prompting Shotaro to start making their drinks.
-
“Dude, what the fuck?!” Sungchan punches Eunseok’s arm before hanging his bag on the back of the chair and sitting down. He whispers, not knowing it was louder than he intended, “Did you know he worked here this whole time?”
“Uh, yeah. I found out when Seunghan and I worked on our project for that one class. I’ve been telling you to come with us, but nooo.” Eunseok rolls his eyes and imitates Sungchan, “Not much of a coffee drinker.”
“It’s the truth! Now, I’m pretty sure I looked stupid in front of him!”
“Oh c’mon, you’re so dramatic! I’m pretty sure it’s fine.” Eunseok is too nonchalant for Sungchan’s liking while on the cusp of a mental breakdown. “...Until your ears started to become redder by the second, I thought you were bleeding, dude!” Before Sungchan can hover over the table to make another hit on Eunseok’s arm, he hears his name being called.
“2 drinks for Sungchan!” Sungchan swiftly changes his expression to a softer tone, clears his throat, and dusts his clothes. He gets up from his seat and ignores Eunseok’s “Oh my gods.” Sungchan stiffly goes up to the counter out of nervousness. “Yes, that’s me. Thank you.” He nervously lets out a chuckle.
Sungchan’s fingertips slightly brush against Shotaro’s hands as he reaches for the two drinks. Their small interaction made Sungchan’s mind go haywire, and his body slightly jumps. If he thought he couldn’t look dumber in front of the person he has been pining over since starting college, Sungchan might as well be 6 feet under. He quickly nodded and made a sharp turnaround to return to their table. “Oh my god.”
“Yeah… that was kind of embarrassing of you.”
If looks can kill, Eunseok would be 6 feet under before Sungchan could be. Despite the glare, Eunseok gladly took his drink and sipped from the straw without a care in the world.
-
“Was that not Sungchan, the soccer captain for this year?” Wonbin peeks over Shotaro’s shoulders with his brows raised out of curiosity. Shotaro shrugs and looks back at Wonbin. “I guess so; I’m not one to be caught up with the athletes… unless they are dancers.”
“...Do you want details on that Sungchan guy? I can ask Anton since he’s on the swimming team. I’m pretty sure there is something that he knows.”
…Huh? Shotaro bends his neck to the right, confused. “Why would I need details on the guy?”
“Oh, don’t play dumb with me. I saw that little interaction between you guys. It wasn’t much, but there was something. The vibes-” Shotaro rolls his eyes, scoffs at Wonbin teasing, and slaps Wonbin’s chest with the back of his hand to stop him from saying more nonsense. “Just go back to work, Wonbin. Why can’t you be like Sohee?” Pointing at Sohee, who lifts his head with his eyes widened, showing apparent confusion.
Wonbin lifts his arms in surrender mode and turns his back towards Shotaro to start working on other drinks. “Okay, okay! Fine, but I’m not hearing a no!” Wonbin says in a sing-song way.