Work Text:
Kim Rok Soo wakes up to the sun shining on his face. He quietly gets up and walks to the laundry where his work clothes hang. He puts on his clothes and looks around the room for his work hat. The room is slightly moldy, with the only furniture being a lone twin-sized mattress and a wooden wash tub with his clothes inside.
Kim Rok Soo picks up his hat from the end of the mattress with a tired blank expression. He slowly leaves the house so as not to anger his uncle by waking him. Some rain puddles were left over from the rain last night. He looks at himself in the puddle. He is a pretty short teen, his eyes have bags, and his hair is to his heart. He looks up at the sky, not wanting to look at himself, the sun shining brightly over the horizon. He walks to work.
Kim Rok Soo arrives at work as the birds start chirping. His boss is an old American immigrant lady who is setting up work for today. “Mrs. Miller, let me help with that.” He grabs the cart to transfer the donuts to the front display. He puts them on the cart from the oven and wheels them from the oven to the front, putting the cart next to the coffee materials behind the counter.
“Thank you, Kimmy. It’s wonderful having someone help me with the Cafe this early in the morning.” She walks behind the cart and starts prepping the coffee machines.
As she walks away, a small smile is left on Kim Rok Soo’s face. He continues to get the baked goods ready until six am when the Cafe opens.
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As the clock rings at six a.m., he stands behind the counter and waits for people to come in, taking their orders. The customers are mainly older people, with a few college kids coming in. He wants to leave.
Kim Rok Soo is five minutes to the end of his first shift of the day when another kid storms in, almost tripping over his feet. He looks like he threw everything on. Kim Rok Soo remembers him from school.
“Can I…..,” he looks at the menu, “Can I get a Caramel Macchiato?... Please.” He takes out money to pay, and Kim Rok Soo takes it, thinking about his classmate who doesn’t seem to recognize him. Kim Rok Soo’s face goes blank as he thinks.
This is the most social person in his year. His strong, muscular body is shown by form-fitting clothes. He has short black hair and a bright look in his dark brown eyes. If Choi Jung Soo had liked him at all or at least known he existed, he would have said ‘Hi’. His eyes are dull. He really is a bad person, huh?
He snaps out of his thoughts as the next customer comes up to order, and Choi Jung Soo goes to the waiting area. He’s able to take one more customer before his shift ends.
Kim Rok Soo changes in the back room before he starts walking to school. He can see Choi Jung Soo get in his uncle’s car before driving off, he looks away and starts writing faster, eating a plain bagel, Mrs. Miller's ‘messed up’, they don’t even make bagels.
As he arrives, he gets his stuff from his locker before going to his first hour. Kim Rok Soo looks at the board, seeing that they have new seats. He likes this room because this is an old science class, so they get comfortable stools and counters to sit at. He sits in his new seat, remarking at the irony of who he sits next to.
Just before the bell sounds, Choi Jung Soo runs in, barely making it. Noticing the seat change on the board, he sits next to his new seatmate, the guy from the Cafe!
Choi Jung Soo sits down, still looking at him, “Hey! I remember you from the Cafe! You work there?”
Kim Rok Soo nods at the dumb question.
Choi Jung Soo beams and is about to say something before the teacher speaks.
“Alright, class,” she claps, “You will be doing a self-study project with the person next to you. You will have to agree on a topic and then study it together to present for the class.” She nods and lets the class get to work.
Kim Rok Soo gets his notebook out, and Choi Jung Soo asks, “Can we do it at my house after school?”
Kim Rok Soo interjects, “No, I have work every day after school.” Kim Rok Soo cannot take a day or even a shift off, he knows he needs the money to move out of his uncle's house.
Choi Jung Soo hums, Are you free this weekend then?”
Kim Rok Soo shakes his head, “I work then too, can we just do the project during school?” He looks at Choi Jung Soo, knowing he’s probably going to throw a fit.
Choi Jung Soo just slumps, “I guess we can just work on it here, what other hours do we share?” Choi Jung Soo looks at him, and Kim Rok Soo gets a puzzled look as his face evens out of the frustrated expression.
“We have the first three hours together and the last one.” Kim Rok Soo wasn’t going to explain; Choi Jung Soo’s acceptance helps his schedule.
“We do? Huh, I didn’t know that…” Choi Jung Soo doesn’t remember him from anywhere but the Cafe. Has Kim Rok Soo really been in his classes all year without him noticing? Has Kim Rok Soo been in the same year since he transferred?
Kim Rok Soo confirms Choi Jung Soo’s thoughts, “We have had the same classes since you transferred here in elementary.” Kim Rok Soo looks at Choi Jung Soo with a deadpan expression hiding both his sadness and amusement.
“We have?!” Choi Jung Soo blurts out, trying to remember Kim Rok Soo, but his thoughts are interjected.
Kim Rok Soo tilts his head, “What do you want to do the project on?”
Choi Jung Soo finds the head tilt to be kind of… cute? “Umm… What do we have in common?” Choi Jung Soo asks because he knows Kim Rok Soo would know their shared interests better than he would.
“We both like coffee in the mornings. We can do the project on how to make coffee?” Kim Rok Soo can’t think of anything else they might have in common.
“Hmm? Are you inviting me to do your job with you?” Choi Jung Soo seems a bit confused, but he might get some money out of it.
Kim Rok Soo thinks for a moment that it might be nice to have someone help with the customers since Mrs. Miller is getting too old to handle hot liquids. “I’ll ask Mrs. Miller when I go to work today.”
Choi Jung Soo thinks about the coffee shop, and Kim Rok Soo must be able to drive to school from work. He was staying there till school almost started. “Hey Rok Soo, you drive to school, right?”
“No? That's a waste of money? Why buy a car and pay for it all the time when it’s free to just walk?” Kim Rok Soo is a bit confused as to why Choi Jung Soo would ask that.
“I can have my uncle drive us after school if you want.” Choi Jung Soo asks Rok Soo with a wave of his hand and a smile on his face.
Kim Rok Soo nods, who would say no to a free ride, “Which entrance?” he asks, not looking away from that smile.
“We have the same last hour… You said that, right? I’ll just walk you there.” He can never remember which entrance is which. He pulls out his phone to text his uncle about this new development. “Oh”, he remembers something, “Can I get your number?”
“I don’t have a phone.” Kim Rok Soo tells Choi Jung Soo this and continues, “They are too expensive.”
Choi Jung Soo tilts his head a bit and looks at him for a second before looking away. “Okay, guess I have to locate you my way then…” He nods at his own words. Choi Jung Soo looks at Kim Rok Soo’s face and sees a slight smile. He smirks.
The bell rings, and the two pack up their things, and Kim Rok Soo looks down, not wanting to look up and see Choi Jung Soo walk off with his friends.
When Kim Rok Soo looks up to head out the door, he sees Choi Jung Soo next to him. This makes him feel warm, and he looks to the floor again to hide his blush.
Choi Jung Soo looks at Kim Rok Soo, wondering if something is wrong, before he sees Kim Rok Soo’s pink face that mirrors his own. Kim Rok Soo doesn’t seem like he’s used to being around a crush for too long. His blush worsens at the thought of him being Kim Rok Soo’s crush. Dammit mind, I only just acknowledged his existence this morning! Give us time!
“Let’s head to our second hour, okay?” Choi Jung Soo takes Kim Rok Soo’s hand and leads them out the door.
Kim Rok Soo stares at the hand and then at Choi Jung Soo’s face. The grip is kind of hard, and a red face usually means anger, right? Why would Choi Jung Soo be mad at him?
Over the next few hours, Kim Rok Soo thinks about this. Is he mad that he doesn’t have a phone? Maybe he is mad because he thought he wasn’t going to walk with him? He is glad he doesn’t sit next to him any other hours; he wants to give Choi Jung Soo time to cool down before they talk again.
As the bell for the sixth hour rings, he concludes that the anger must not be at him, but at his friends who walked out before Choi Jung Soo could even try to talk to them. Yes, that must be it.
Kim Rok Soo’s head pops up once he has heard his name behind him. Choi Jung Soo is running up to him. “My uncle confirmed that he is going to drive us to the Cafe!” Kim Rok Soo looks at him and nods. Choi Jung Soo’s previous class is on the other side of the school. He knows Choi Jung Soo is athletic, but that's just superhuman…
Kim Rok Soo blinks, “Isn’t your uncle our teacher next hour? Couldn’t he just of told us then?”
Kim Rok Soo doesn’t like Choi Han, although he is Choi Jung Soo’s uncle. Choi Han looks at him oddly with an angry look and asks him a lot of questions he doesn’t like. Hopefully, that will change if his nephew tells him that he is a good person. That's if Choi Jung Soo considers him a good person… Which is unlikely.
They head into the changing rooms, and Kim Rok Soo goes into a stall to change. Choi Jung Soo just changes next to a locker and does so quickly, his uncle wanted to talk to him about something before Kim Rok Soo got done.
Choi Jung Soo rushes out without Kim Rok Soo’s notice to have the chat.
“Uncle! What did you need to talk about?” Choi Jung Soo comes up to his uncle.
Choi Han turns around. “You said Kim Rok Soo was the one I am driving today, right?” He looks at his nephew for confirmation.
Choi Jung Soo nods, “Yeah, we are working on a project together, so he is going to teach me how to make coffee and maybe even get me a job at his work.”
Choi Han nods, deciding to let Choi Jung Soo in on something. “I was just wondering if you could tell me if you see anything with Kim Rok Soo?”
Choi Jung Soo is about to ask, but Kim Rok Soo walks in the door and walks to the back, and his uncle slips away when he turns to look at the boy.
Choi Jung Soo ultimately decides that he will find out what his uncle means “if anything happens to Kim Rok Soo”. So he walks over to him.
He looks at Choi Jung Soo walking over to him. He hopes Choi Jung Soo won’t ask about him wearing the winter uniform.
Choi Jung Soo sees the uniform and decides not to say anything. He instead focuses on Kim Rok Soo’s neck, the winter uniform doesn’t go up as far as his turtleneck. There is a nasty-looking bruise on his neck. Choi Jung Soo wasn’t able to see it until he had looked up, but it looked kind of like a hand. Choi Jung Soo knows what his uncle was talking about earlier now, but still wants to confirm it.
“Is your neck okay? It looks like a bruise….” His voice wavers as he asks.
Kim Rok Soo looks down, hiding the bruise from view, and his eyes are dull. “Hmm? This?” He touches the bruise, “This is from when I fell down the stairs this morning.
Choi Jung Soo does not think that it was from the stairs. He decides to tell his uncle once they are alone and learn more about Rok Soo’s situation by feigning ignorance. “So what do you think we are doing today?”
Kim Rok Soo sighs. It seems like Choi Han is having them play dodgeball against the other gym class today. He looks at the other team as they walk into the other gym. He sees a few people who look like they will try to win and a few people who look like they want out.
Kim Rok Soo focuses on the people who will try to win and deduces their strengths and weaknesses. The group on the right seems to have stronger throwing arms, and the people on the left seem to have better dodging skills.
He goes up to Choi Jung Soo and relays this, knowing Choi Jung Soo is super competitive. He looks at Choi Jung Soo’s body while he relays the information he knows about him. Choi Jung Soo is from an old family of swordsmen, and it seems they still teach their firstborns how to wield the sword, as Choi Jung Soo has a strong body. Good throwing arms and strong running legs.
As Kim Rok Soo looks him up and down, Choi Jung Soo blushes a bit, Rok Soo looks him up and down while smiling, like he’s checking him out.
Choi Jung Soo focuses back on what Rok Soo is currently telling him. “Thank you, I’ll make sure to target them!” He does a little fist to show Kim Rok Soo he is grateful for his input and will now destroy them.
The whistle blows, and Choi Jung Soo runs to the front while Kim Rok Soo runs to the back. Choi Jung Soo takes out the people Rok Soo had recommended first, and after the rest of their team is easy to take down.
Choi Jung Soo runs over to Kim Rok Soo and smiles. “Thanks, Rok Soo!” He smiles wider at the other boy’s blush.
The bell rings and they walk to the changing room together. They go to the places they had changed earlier, but this time, Kim Rok Soo gets done first.
Kim Rok Soo gathers his stuff to put back in his locker, and Choi Jung Soo walks up behind him. “I’ll need to put some things in my locker before we head to your uncle's car.”
Choi Jung Soo nods and informs the other boy, “My uncle is talking to a student. We have a bit of time.” Choi Jung Soo looks over at his uncle, talking with an upperclassman in a Romeo costume. They seem to be glancing at Rok Soo, so he blocks Rok Soo’s view of them as he and Rok Soo walk out the door towards Rok Soo’s locker.
Kim Rok Soo puts everything away, and Choi Jung Soo texts his uncle to see if he’s ready for them to head towards his car. “Uncle says he’s just out of the main doors.” He points at the doors next to them.
Kim Rok Soo nods, and they walk out to Choi Han’s car. He sits in the backseat behind Choi Han, and he expects Choi Jung Soo to get in the front and is surprised when Choi Jung Soo gets in the other back seat next to him.
Choi Han starts to speak, “Kim Rok Soo? Will I be driving you home after this?” He starts the car and drives to the cafe.
Kim Rok Soo is not one to deny a free offer: “Yes, please, Choi Han.” Choi Han smiles at him, and they reach the cafe.
As they get out, Kim Rok Soo thinks about how much quicker it is driving; what was a twenty-ish minute walk turned into a ten-minute drive.
Kim Rok Soo Watches as Choi Han gets out of his car as well. “Ah, I don’t want to be wasting gas driving home and back, so I’ll just stay here.” Choi Han looks at the sign near the entrance, only paying customers can sit in the chairs. “I’ll get a drink too.”
Kim Rok Soo nods, “After I show Choi Jung Soo how to use the machines, you can be the taste tester.” Kim Rok Soo sits them at a table near the entrance and goes back to talk to Mrs. Miller.
“Uncle? Why do you care about gas prices?” Choi Jung Soo is confused, his uncle drives an electric car.
Choi Han sighs, “As I told you before, I need to make sure my student is okay.” He waves his hands as he speaks, “The only person he talked to was a junior last year, and even then, he was still withdrawn. He shows up in bruises and old n’ new scars he attempts to hide with the winter gym clothes.” As Choi Han speaks, his accent comes out a bit.
Choi Han knows his nephew will use this information to help Kim Rok Soo. He sees the way his nephew has been looking at him today, and he has been seeing the way Kim Rok Soo has looked at his nephew since he transferred his nephew here.
Choi Jung Soo puffs up mentally, wanting to help Rok Soo. he is about to say something, but the boy walks out with an old lady who points at him.
“Is this the young man you want to train to work here with you?” She looks Choi Jung Soo up and down.
Rok Soo nods, “Yes, Choi Jung Soo had said he wanted to work her.” At these words, Choi Jung Soo gets up and walks over to them.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Miller.” Choi Jung Soo puts out his hand to shake. She does so and smirks at Kim Rok Soo.
“Just your type, Kimmy. He’s hired.” At both of their blushes, she walks over to Choi Han and sits next to him. “Ahh, look at those love birds.” She watches as Kim Rok Soo teaches Choi Jung Soo about the cafe and how to run things. “Kimmy seems so happy…”
Choi Han looks at her and is about to talk, but she speaks first. “If anything happens, drop him off here. I already have a room set up for him.”
Choi Han nods, “I will.” He watches the two flirt in their special ways around the counters. Kim Rok Soo serves any customer that comes in and shows Choi Jung Soo how to make each of their orders.
As the area gets quieter and there is no one in line, Rok Soo lets Choi Jung Soo take over.
Kim Rok Soo nods to Choi Han, “Alright, try taking your uncle’s order.” Hearing this, Choi Han walks over to the counter.
“Can I have, uh…” Choi Han looks at his phone at what Choi Jung Soo ordered earlier, “Can I have a Caramel Macchiato?” Choi Jung Soo nods and starts making the order right away.
Kim Rok Soo looks at Choi Han, holds out the money, and sighs, putting it in the register.
Choi Jung Soo quickly gets done with the order, and his uncle tries the drink; it tastes great! Choi Jung Soo puffs in pride. “I’m so good at this! Thanks for teaching me Rok Soo!”
Rok Soo blushes, “You’re welcome.” He starts to pack up for the night.
“Oh, Kimmy, here’s your pay for the week.” She goes behind the counter and starts counting out his pay. She hands him the money.
Kim Rok Soo puts a quarter of it in the inner pocket of his bag and the rest in an outer pocket.
At this, Mrs. Miller glances at Choi Han, her eyes narrowing. Mr Han nods at her.
“We'd better get you home soon, Kim Rok Soo.” Mr Han states and starts guiding them to his car. Said boy waves goodbye to Mrs. Miller.
Choi Jung Soo opens the car door for Kim Rok Soo and asks, “What time do you work tomorrow? We can pick you up the,n too.” He smiles at Rok Soo, who blushes a bit, then he gets in the car.
“I usually start working at five am.” Choi Jung Soo sets an alarm for four a.m. to hear this. Kim Rok Soo sees and responds, “You don’t need to come then, most people only arrive around eight, because it’s a weekend.” He looks away.
“I’ll come pick you up at five when you get there. I like spending time with you.” Rok Soo blushes, and they soon reach his house. He gets out, and they wave and say their goodbyes.
Choi Han stays in the driveway. Choi Jung Soo questions this, and he just responds with, “I just want to wait a bit…”
As Kim Rok Soo walked into the house, his uncle greeted him with a slap to his face. “The money?” Kim Rok Soo pulls out the money from the outermost pocket of his bag. His uncle snatches it, counting.
He counts the normal amount and gets mad. “I thought I told you to work more!” He is full-out yelling in his nephew's face before he picks up one of the bottles he was drinking from earlier and smashes it in the boy’s face. The door snaps open.
What do you think you are doing to my student?" Choi Han grabs his collar, while Choi Jung Soo holds Rok Soo. Choi Jung Soo has a med kit and is treating his wounds.
Choi Han drops Kim Rok Soo's uncle and rushes to his student, taking the glass out of his wound professionally. The boy just blinks at them, not comprehending what is happening. “Rok Soo, where are your things?" Said boy just points to his room. Choi Jung Soo runs to get them.
“Kim Rok Soo, let's get you somewhere safe..." Choi Han tries to calm the boy down, but he doesn’t seem to realize he is having a panic attack.
As Choi Han calms the boy down, Choi Jung Soo enters Rok Soo's room. He doesn't see anything of importance in there, and he tries to think of where people hide things and notices a zipper on the mattress.
Choi Jung Soo unzips it, and there are just stacks of bills in here, no stuffing or anything. He walks back out and sees that Rok Soo has calmed down. “Do you have anywhere we can put your stuff?” Kim Rok Soo looks at him.
"What do you mean? Are you taking my things?" His heart hurt a little as he thought of them taking his things, but they did help him get out of a beating, even though his uncle would be angry later. Choi Han pats his back.
"We want you out of here, Kim Rok Soo. Mrs. Miller said she already has a room ready for you." Kim Rok Soo knows Mrs Miller has been adamant about feeding him, but a room in her apartment feels like taking advantage of her.
As if reading his mind, Choi Han sighs, "She wants you there, Kim Rok Soo, she cares about you, he laughs a bit, "Hec,k today she threatened me for looking a bit too harshly when I was watching you, I was just worrying about you." When he saw Kim Rok Soo's face, he saw that Kim Rok Soo also thought he didn’t like him. "I care about you," his nephew interjects.
“I care about you, too, Kim Rok Soo, I don't want you getting hurt.” He found Kim Rok Soo’s bag and stuffed it with the money from Kim Rok Soo’s mattress. He also found Kim Rok Soo's turtlenecks behind Kim Rok Soo’s wash tub.
Kim Rok Soo is getting tired, not wanting to deal with these emotions today. Choi Han sees Kim Rok Soo's expression, ”How ‘bout we get you to Mrs. Miller’s apartment?" Kim Rok Soo nods and holds his money-filled bag to his chest tightly.
The ride back to the cafe is largely silent. Mrs Millen walks out as they arrive, running to Kim Rok Soo's door, “Kimmy? Are you alright?" She holds his face, looking worried. Kim Rok Soo just nods, not saying anything.
Mrs. Miller looks at the two others and thanks them before guiding Kim Rok Soo to his room. It's larger and very clean, the bed being huge compared to his old mattress, and more comfortable, he notes as he lies down. Mrs. Miller nods at his readings and pets his hair till he falls asleep asLee Soo Hyuk.
Mrs. Miller stays next to him till morning, when she hears a knock on her door, she opens it, and it's Choi Han and Choi Jung Soo. The latter showers her with questions about Kim Rok Soo's health. “He hasn't woken up yet, and I find it best to let him sLee Soo Hyukp." The boys nod.
"Can we help with the cafe as you will be busy?” Choi Han asks, it will keep them nearby and busy.
As they talk in the living room, Kim Rok Soo sits in his new room and attempts to process what just happened. Ms Miller seems to care about him like her child, and the teacher who he thought hated him, cares about him… and Choi Jung Soo likes him. The fact makes his heartbeat.
Mrs. Miller comes in soon after to see Kim Rok Soo, thinking in bed, she looks at him and knocks on the wall. "Do you want any food?”
“Please…” Kim Rok Soo answered, still attempting to process what was going on. Mrs. Miller sees this before sitting next to him and hugging him. He hugs her back and starts crying in her arms.
“Let it all out, Kimmy, I'm here." She assures him, and he cries a bit harder.
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Kim Rok Soo, Choi Jung Soo, Mrs Miller, and Choi Han all sit around a table, eating dinner. "So, I can go back to working at the cafe again soon, right?" As Kim Rok Soo asked, everyone stared at him.
“I have hired other workers, honey," Mrs. Miller pats a hand on his thigh, "You don't have to work for a while Kimmy.” Kim Rok Soo tilts his head and looks at Choi Jung Soo.
"Oh! She hired Lee Soo Hyuk, he's our upperclassman." Choi Jung Soo explains to Kim Rok Soo. Kim Rok Soo blinks.
I thought Lee Soo Hyuk was only staying for last year?” Kim Rok Soo had thought Lee Soo Hyuk was back in his home country by now.
"He said he needed to stay and look after someone.” Choi Han tells Kim Rok Soo what he had discussed with Lee Soo Hyuk earlier that day when the boys went to Rok Soo’s locker.
Mis. Miller nods, "Kimmy leaves an impression on people." This makes the boy blush.
"You know, he once told me that ‘Living was best’ and not to throw away my life for not being happy.” Kim Rok Soo looks content; he's found his happiness, and people want him around; it's all he’s ever wanted.
They all hug Kim Rok Soo.
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Choi Jung Soo looks at Lee Soo Hyuk and Kim Rok Soo, “Do you two want to go to the arcade?” He pulls out his uncle’s wallet. Rok Soo nods, and Soo Hyuk laughs softly.
Lee Soo Hyuk tilts his head and smiles while asking, “Who will cover for us?” Mrs Miller comes from the back.
“I will,” She grins at them, “have fun, love birds.” She shooed them away and threw a rag in the protesting Han’s Face.