Work Text:
“Ugh, again?”
Shin stared with annoyance at the cappuccino glass in his hand. The word “Shun” was written in the owner's name section on the plastic cup of his coffee. This had happened once before, and Shin had complained to the barista that his name was Shin, S-H-I-N. When he was ordering, he even spelled his name out loud. But for some reason, his name was still written mistakenly even the fourth time he ordered his favorite coffee.
It wasn't a big deal, but the continuous misspelling made Shin irked. His parents had gone to the trouble of giving him a beautiful name, but someone randomly replaced his name.
"That's all right, Shin. No need to sweat it. After all, your name doesn't affect the flavor of the drinks you order, right?” said Akira. Her fingers danced swiftly over the keyboard, stringing words on her laptop.
“I understand, though, if you get upset when your name keeps getting written incorrectly. But, Akira's right, your name doesn't affect the flavor of the coffee, does it, Shin?” added Lu casually. “Let's focus on working on the report that's due tomorrow. We don't have much time.”
Shin smacked his lips, then seated himself on a café chair. He then quietly took out his laptop. His friend and twin sister were right, there was no point in getting pissed off right now. He would complain to the barista who made the coffee again, probably after his task was done.
Shin stretched his body after almost 3 hours of sitting and typing the report on his laptop. His head felt dizzy, and his brain felt fried. Yet in spite of that, he was proud of himself because his report had also been finalized. He just needed to contact the lecturer's assistant to submit it.
Shin glanced at the watch on his left arm. It was half past ten at night. He looked around, apparently he was left in the café all on his own. He noticed the barista who made his coffee this afternoon. He was still busy behind the counter.
Shin wanted to reorder a drink to drink on his way home. Thus, he packed his belongings into his bag and walked back to the counter to order a drink. The barista, who had been wiping glasses, turned around and flashed Shin a friendly smile.
“Hello, what can I help you with?” said the barista. Shin took a long look at the barista in front of him. The barista had a tall and well-proportioned body, jet black hair, round eyes with dark black irises, and a wide smile that was still firmly planted on his lips.
Shin cleared his throat and replied, “Another latte, please. Just one.”
“Alright. Would you like it iced or hot, sir?”
“Iced, please."
“Very well. May I know your name, sir?”
Shin gave an exasperated look at the barista in front of him, but the barista just stared at him with his inocent gaze. “Shin, the name's Shin.”
The barista took down the order deftly and then asked Shin to wait. About 15 minutes later, Shin took the paper package that was his order and left the cafe. It was quite late, he should hurry to his apartment now.
Shin was currently waiting for the bus to take him home. As he waited, he opened the package of coffee he had bought earlier. When he took out his drink, he realized that there was a piece of paper attached to his cup. Shin furrowed his brows, who was the prankster who put this note on his drink? What a prankster.
Shin quietly read the words on the slip of paper. He read carefully, until he realized that this note was written by the strange barista with a big smile at his usual café.
"Hi there, Shin! I'm sorry, I always misspell your name. It's not on purpose, but over time I love to watch your cute angry expressions when you see your misspelled name. But please, don't be discouraged from coming to my cafe just because of this. I'm being like this because I really like you, just like that. Oh, enjoy your drink and please come again tomorrow!”
It wasn't the flowery nervousness that he was having, but the frightened nerves that Shin was getting. Should that be the case, the barista of his favorite cafe had been watching his behavior silently all this time? Furthermore, he suddenly confessed his love in such a way.
The whirr of a bus approached. Shin then shook his head, trying to get rid of the bad feeling that arose in his head. The bus he was expecting had stopped, he then got up from his place and entered the bus.
From a distance, a man with black hair who was still wrapped in a barista uniform smiled sluggishly. A smirk was etched on his lips. He was still watching the bus that his favorite blond man was taking, until it disappeared into the night. His right finger still tightly grasped the polaroid photo of the man with the bright hair, until he stuffed the photo into his jacket pocket and got on his motorcycle, preparing to hit the road in the chilly air.