Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Minho finished setting out all the pasteries in the display case and wiped his hands on his apron. He walked to the front of the cafe, flipping the sign on the door to 'OPEN'. Moving back behind the counter and clipping his name tag to the pocket of his shirt, he sat back on a stool behind the register.

A 'ding!' from the front door alerted Minho of his first customer, and he looked up to see a regular his coworker, Jeongin, often talked about.

"Hey, Hyunjin!" Minho called, grabbing a sharpie to write his name on a cup. "Don't you normally come in during Jeongin's shift?"

"Normally, yes." Hyunjin replied, "My boss called me in early today. Too early." He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Medium Iced Americano."

Minho grabbed a medium cup and scribbled 'Hyunjin' with a smiley face near the top. "No problem, coming right up."

"Why do you need to write my name one it?" Hyunjin's face scrunched up. "There's no one else here." He gestured to the empty cafe.

"There will be by the time your drink is done."

"In five minutes?"

Minho chuckled ominously, "Right, you always come in the afternoons..."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Hyunjin barked over his shoulder as he went to sit down at a table close to the counter.

In the following two minutes, the bell to the door dinged about 15 times. Hyunjin gazed in awe at the line starting to form in front of the register. He glanced over at Minho who was speedwalking from machine to counter to display case back to machine at remarkable speeds.

"Iced Americano for a sleep deprived Hyunjin!" He shouted over the buzz of conversation between customers.

Hyunjin jumped for the cup and took a sip, melting into the flavor. "Thanks!" He called over his shoulder as he dashed out the door.

* * * * *

Close to 20 minutes after Hyunjin left, Minho saw one of his own regulars enter the cafe. He'd already seen a few of his regulars, but none of them stood out as much as the round-faced boy with squirrel-like cheeks who almost always wore a beanie.

Although, to be honest, he didn't really stand out at all, Minho just thought he was cute. He also had a playful personality from what Minho could tell. His only shortcoming being that he would never tell Minho his actual name. Last week he had insisted he was James Bond. And the week before that, Zuko from Avatar.

Minho always played along if he knew the reference, though. Mainly because smile he would recieve from the boy could light up his whole week.

He dealt with the customers in front of him quickly so the boy would get up to the counter faster. Even if it did annoy him slightly, watching his favorite regular put on a whole new persona and keep it going for 5 days out of the week was fun. Plus, the only real reason he wanted to know his name was because he thought he was cute. It didn't affect his ability to do his job at all.

Once the boy got up to the counter, Minho had already started the hot chocolate.

"Large hot chocolate with cinnamon and whipped cream."

"Large hot chocolate with cinnamon and whipped cream."

Minho spoke at the same time as the boy. He looked stunned for a moment, and Minho took that as an opportunity to ask, "Can I get a name for the order?"

This question caused the regular to smirk as he handed Minho the money. "Alexander Hamilton, my name is Alexander Hamilton~"

The boy's voice was surprisingly good. He sang an octave higher than the original, but still matched it note for note. Minho smiled and nodded, glad he knew the reference, and wrote in bold cursive on the cup: 'Monsieur Hamilton'

The squirrel-faced boy moved away from the counter, grinning, and Minho took the next 3 people's orders. He handed someone a croissant and a black coffee, then someone else a to-go cup of warm milk.

He also took an order from someone who wanted warm water with whipped cream. Their facial expression told him they only wanted it to see his reaction, so like any normal person would do, he said, "Finally someone who understands! I make this all the time, it's so good."

The person looked horrified, and Minho smiled brightly. He heard a snort to his right, glanced that way, and saw Squirrel Boy covering his mouth with the hand not holding his phone a few feet away. This made Minho crack a genuine smile. The customer handed Minho a five dollar bill, rolled their eyes, and walked away.

The water for the jokester finished warming at the same time as the hot chocolate for Squirrel Boy. The jokester sauntered up the the counter when he saw Minho piping whipped cream onto his and the other boy's drinks.

Minho noticed this, and piped some whipped cream onto the warm water, then handed it to the customer. Then proceeded to pipe more whipped cream onto Squirrel Boy's

"Hey, how come you're putting more on that drink than on mine?" The customer said, very clearly offended.

Minho looked up with an oblivious expression. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to." He said, piping even more onto Squirrel Boy's.

The other customer sputtered, put his hands on his hips, looked for words, didn't find them, eventually gave up, and walked out of the cafe with his abomination of a drink in hand.

"Hot chocolate for the ten dollar founding father without a father?" Minho yelled louder than he needed to considering the orderer was only a few feet away.

He tapped some cinnamon onto the drink as Squirrel Boy practically bounded up to the counter, absolutely beaming. Minho returned the smile sheepishly, sticking a red straw into the drink and sliding it across the counter. The boy stuck his hand out, holding money, and Minho frowned.

"You already payed..?"

"I know."

"And tipped."

"I know."

"???"

"Extra tip. For the the extra whipped cream."

Minho turned his head away and scratched the back of his neck, "That... That was just to piss off the other guy."

Squirrel Boy smirked, "Was it?"

Minho snatched the bill out of his outstretched hand and cleared his throat. "Yeah. It was."

"If you say so..." He winked and walked away, the bell at the front of the shop dinging as the door closed.

Truthfully, the extra whipped cream was to piss off the other guy. Mostly. Although, Minho had caught himself adding a little extra whipped cream to Squirrel Boy's drinks occaisonally, or adding sprinkles and apologizing for 'messing up the order'.

Squirrel Boy didn't seem to mind when Minho 'messed up his order'. In fact, he normally seemed quite pleased to find a dash of sprinkles or a drizzle of caramel on top of his mountain of whipped cream.

Minho returned to his regular, speedy, work of rushing from counter to counter until rush hour ended, and he finally slumped against the display case.

With a quiet lull falling over the room, Minho snuck a slice of banana bread from the display case and ate it peacefully. The next few hours of his shift went by calmly, a customer or two popping in here and there.

Soon enough, Jeongin pulled on the door, and Minho laughed as he struggled to open the push door to the place he works 5 days a week.

Jeongin shot Minho a glare as he set down his bag. Minho returned the glare with a smile and headed for the door. "Alright, bye. Gonna go hang out at the library."

Jeongin scoffed, "Oh, you found new smut?"

"Unfortunately, no. I'm going to look for some."

Jeongin pretended to gag and ran for a trashcan. Minho rolled his eyes and opened the door, stepping outside.

* * * * *

Jisung slipped on his shoes and shrugged his backpack onto his shoulder, shoving a piece of bread in his mouth before stepping out the door. He shifted his beanie to make room for his headphones and stuck them on over his ears.

About halfway through his walk, Jisung stopped to take his headphones off and hang them around his neck. He pushed open the door to the coffee shop he always went to on his way to work, and stepped inside.

He wasn't really a coffee drinker, and he didn't really need the sugar from the hot chocolate he got every morning, but he had his reasons for coming.

Reason number one being the gorgeous barista, and reason number two... was probably also the gorgeous barista. Don't get Jisung wrong, he's extremely socially awkward, but he thinks cafes are cute, and if he pretends he's somebody else, he gets absorbed in the role and might forget said awkwardness for a minute or two.

A minute or two, which is generally enough time to order and pay for a large hot chocolate with whipped cream. Every week he switches up his character, y'know, to keep things fresh, and every week the gorgeous barista plays along.

The first time Jisung came in was a mess. He tripped over his words trying to ask for a drink as the barista just stared at him, smirking. When he asked for a name for the order, Jisung got so nervous he mumbled a low 'I'm Batman' and ran away to the other side of the shop.

This week was different, this week he was not Batman, but Alexander Hamilton. He had decided this yesterday, and the gorgeous barista played along, as always, earning a cheesy grin from Jisung.

Jisung noticed last week that the barista had memorized his order. It wasn't anything special, he probably remembered all his regular's orders, but it still made Jisung smile.

He finished his almost-daily interraction with the barista who he really wished had a nametag, and continued his walk to work, shoving his headphones back over his ears.

Chapter Text

The next day, Minho was dashing about behind the counter just as quickly as the day before. He saw his favorite squirrel-regular enter the shop out of the corner of his eye and smiled.

Minho's smile morphed into a contemplative frown as he worked when he noticed the impatience clear on on the regular's face, though. He bit his lip and tapped his foot and checked his watch two times in one minute. Minho sighed and started making his drink early, since he was so clearly late for something.

Squirrel Boy's drink finished quickly as Minho worked with other customers. He squirted the whipped cream on and stuck in a green straw.

"Large hot chocolate with whipped cream!" He shouted over the buzz of rush hour.

Squirrel Boy's head shot up, and he stared at Minho. Minho made eye contact, nodded, and gestured for him to come over.

He dashed up to the counter, money already in hand, and sighed in relief. "Ohmygod, thankyousomuch, you're a life saver."

Minho smiled, "No problem. You clearly have places to be, though, so don't spend the time I just saved you thanking me."

Squirrel Boy nodded and dashed out the door, calling an "I owe you one!" over his shoulder.

Minho returned to work as usual until his shift ended, passing it off to Jeongin. On his way to his car he was stopped by one of the florists from the flower shop across the street.

"Minho! Minho! I made you something." Felix yelled, running across the street. His coworker, Seungmin, flinched when a car honked and almost hit him. He barely seemed to notice.

"Felix, please stop cartwheeling into traffic, you're going to send your boyfriend into cardiac arrrest." Minho muttered, leaning against his car door.

The blonde boy giggled and shoved an intricate flower crown into Minho's hands. "Here! Do you like it?"

Minho gazed at the colorful display, turning it over to look at the weaving of the stems. "Hey, this looks different than the last one you made me." He traced the stem of a daisy until it intercepted with a black-eyed susan.

"Observant as ever! I tried a new weaving pattern so I could fit more flowers." Felix pointed out where more flowers were stuffed in between the stems of others.

Minho smiled. "This really is incredible, Felix. How come you don't sell these? I've never met anyone who can make them as good as you."

Seungmin raised his eyebrows and shouted from across the street. "Hey, I helped with that!"

Felix pretended not to hear him and looked back up at Minho. "Seungmin won't let me. He says I won't spend any time with him because i'll be holed up in the shop making these all the time."

Seungmin was about to shout something else across the street when Minho interrupted him. "If you want to join the conversation, cross the street, dude."

Felix cackled and went back over to the shop. "I hope you like your tiara." He teased, his lips quirking up into a smile when Minho put it on and spun around.

* * * * *

Jisung shot out the door, profanities flying from his lips as fast as his feet moved.

"shitfuckbitchasstitsandballsacks" He hissed through his teeth as he sprinted down his morning route, zipping around corners and apologizing to people he almost ran over.

For some reason, despite already being late, he skidded to a halt in front of his favorite coffee shop.

Stupid. This is stupid. My boss is going to kill me. Why am I even here!? Jisung bit his lip and tapped his foot and checked his watch two times in one minute.

His head shot up when he heard the voice of his favorite barista call out his regular order. What? Bewildered, he gazed at the smiling barista.

The barista gestured to him and he gaped, running up to the counter. "Ohmygod, Thankyousomuch, you're a life saver."

As Jisung continued his desperate sprint, now with a hot chocolate, he decided to have some thoughts.

He already knows my order.

He noticed I seemed impatient.

He made my order early even though he had other customers in front of me.

Jisung flushed lightly.

I need to get a grip.

* * * * *

Jisung got fired. On the spot.

He had money for a week or two of groceries saved up, but that was assuming he would still have a steady income.

"This is so shitty." He groaned into a pillow when he got home half an hour later.

Apparently there was a 'three strikes, you're out!' rule at his office that he had never been informed of. How the hell am I supposed to know that!? He moped around for another few hours before finally flopping down on his bed and going online to look for job listings in his area.

With his minimal resume of basic customer service and a tiny bit of theatre knowledge, it wasn't likely he would find anything with good pay.

"This is so shitty." He repeated.

* * * * *

The next day, Jisung woke up to his alarm blaring. "Augh." I forgot to turn my alarm off? I'm slapping myself in the face with the fact that i'm unemployed now.

He groaned, turning off his alarm, and rolled out of bed, falling to the floor and laying there on the carpet for a few minutes. "Fuck me."

He finally stood up and stared at his bed for a while before deciding something. Might as well.

Jisung showered and dried his hair. He changed into a fluffy white Hello Kitty sweater and a light pair of jeans, something he normally wouldn't normally be allowed to wear to work, and slipped on a pair of Converse.

He ignored his backpack, plucked his phone off its charger, and picked his wallet up off the kitchen counter.

It took him a little longer to get out of the house than usual.

* * * * *

Minho rested his chin on his palm as he leaned over the counter, narrowing his eyes at the door. It's a weekday. Where is he?

Today's rush hour had been a bit slower than usual, but to Minho, it felt a lot harder. That probably had nothing to do with a significant lack of his favorite customer, though.

Minho had accidentally pouted all through rush hour, and a couple of his other regulars had asked him what was wrong. He waved it off whenever he was caught, but now that there were only a few tables with people at them, and the occaisonal new person coming in to see what the place was about, he had a lot less reminders.

He freed his lower lip from the confines of his teeth when it started to sting. With no customers begging for complex orders, he decided to have some thoughts.

Yestersay he was in a hurry. Did he have a plane to catch?

Is he sick?

...Why do I care?

Minho turned around to hide his flush from any customers.

I need to get a grip.

Just as Minho turned around, the the door opened and the bell jingled. Minho covered his face with the palm of him hand to hide his smile. Motherfucker, you're late.

A certain squirrel-faced regular stepped into the shop. Minho noticed that instead of his usual button down shirt and kahki pants, he was wearing a more casual outfit. One that made Minho stifle a laugh. Didn't take you to be the Hello Kitty type. I probably should've. He gave the regular a once-over and turned around to start making his drink.

"Jisung."

"Huh?" He shot over his shoulder.

"Name for the order. Jisung."

Minho racked his brain. Jisung... What's that from?

Now that Squirrel Boy was closer, Minho noticed that he looked sad. Not angry or burnt out, just like the world had dealt him a hand so bad the only thing he could do about it was be sad.

Oh. Minho realized, That's his real name.

A frown crossed Minho's face as he nodded and scribbled 'Jisung' on a cup with and doodled a squirrel next to it. Maybe not a day off then but something else? A break up, maybe?

Jisung, as Minho now knew his name to be, nodded and sat down at a table near the counter. He pulled out his phone and stared at his home screen for a while.

A few minutes later, Minho finished the drink and added whipped cream. He stuck a pink straw in and stared at Jisung for a moment. Fuck it, he clearly needs this. Minho grabbed chocolate sprinkles and shook the bottle over the top of the whipped cream.

Minho waddled over to his regular's table andset the drink down. "I messed up your drink," He drawled, "So sorry about that." Minho watched in satisfaction as Jisung's lips quirked up in a weak smile and he reached for his wallet.

"Thank you," He mumbled as he handed over a wad of cash. "Minho." He tacked on, staring at the square, silver button on Minho's chest with his name and pronouns on it.

Minho snorted as he walked back to the counter. "Did you just realize I have a name?"

Jisung's face flushed an adorable pink and he turned back to his drink, taking a sip as Minho put the cash into the register.

A while later, Jisung was still there, and still looking mopey. Minho did not approve of this. In an attempt to fix it, he plucked a chocolate chip muffin from the display case, and set it on a napkin. He took a sticky note and stuck it to the muffin before walking it over and setting it on the table in front of the depressed squirrel.

* * * * *

Jisung stared at his home screen for a long time, his hands in his lap and his head lowered. Ugh.

Eventually he opened Google and searched for more job listings, this time with more specific criterea. He gave up last night because everything he found had terrible hours. Some of them didn't even have bad pay but no way in hell is he working 6 AM to 7 PM.

His drink arrived a few minutes later, topped with an "accidental" dash of sprinkles. (And a dash of embarrasment for not realizing his favorite barista who he had been going to for almost 2 months had a name tag the whole time.)

He smiled against his straw when the barista- Minho, he corrected, walked away.

The web continued to provide unsatisfactory options and he was just short of giving up again when a muffin was deposited in front of him. He looked up in surprise to see Minho wandering away while whistling a tune like he wasn't the
Mystery Muffin Misplacer.

Jisung was about to call out that he put the muffin at the wrong table, when he noticed the neon green sticky note attached. In neat, slanted writing, it read:

ON THE HOUSE

For messing up your order.

P.S. What's wrong?

Jisung put his phone down and took the sticky note off the muffin. He picked it up and walked over to the counter. He stared a Minho, took a bite, and chewed slowly while making purposefully uncomfortable eye contact.

"Um..." Minho chuckled nervously, "Is... Is there a problem with your muffin?"

Jisung nodded, still chewing and not breaking eye contact. He slid a bill accross the countertop, slowly.

Minho narrowed his eyes and put his hand over Jisung's, sliding it back towards him. Jisung stifled a laugh.

"I'm paying for the goddamn muffin."

"You are not paying for the goddamn muffin. I'm sorry I assumed you could read."

Jisung cracked a smile, a real one not smothered by what was weighing him down today, and something in Minho's eyes shifted.

Jisung sighed dramarically and took his away from Minho's, pulling the bill back with it. "Fine!" He grumbled and took another bite of the muffin.

"It's a pretty good muffin." He mumbled, quieter.

Minho beamed and nodded enthusiasctically. "I know, right? We get all our pasteries from the bakery on the corner."

Jisung gaped. "No way! My best friend runs that bakery!" He bounced excitedly.

Minho's eyes widened. "Changbin, right? That's awesome!"

"Yeah! I have no idea how he does it all by himself."

"Time well managed and loads of patience."

Jisung and Minho giggled like teenage girls at a sleepover about how they both knew Changbin until another customer came in and Jisung scampered back to his table like a skittish deer.

Minho dealt with the customer, and she thankfully didn't seem to mind Jisung standing terrified in the corner, nor Minho's irritated attitude.

"Long day?"

Minho grunted.

"Haha, okay, i'll leave you alone."

Minho traded her the drink and cookie for a bill. She winked before adding "You two are a cute couple."

Minho flushed a bright red and spun around, pretending to work on a machine. The lady chuckled and walked away.

He turned around, accidentally meeting Jisung's wide eyes. Fuck, did he hear that? I don't want to make him uncomfortable. Before he could apologize, he noticed Jisung's ears were pink. He shot Minho a sheepish grin and Minho had to turn around again.

Once it reached the time that Minho got almost no customers until the end of the shift, he walked over and sat down at Jisung's table. "Rude of her to interrupt our conversation, don't you think?"

Jisung flushed and glanced away, nodding. Minho laughed. "You never answered my question, though."

"Ah, yes." Jisung scratched his the back of his neck and tapped his fingers on the table. "So, uh. I kinda maybe sorta got fired," He deflated. "And I don't have a backup plan."

Minho nodded patiently before breaking out in a grin. "I might be able to help with that."

Chapter Text

"Please? I'll train him. I won't even ask for extra pay." Minho was just short of dropping to his knees. He stood pathetically in front of the coffee shop as the owner, Chan, crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows.

"And how do you know him, again?"

Minho bit his lip. "He's... He's a regular
He got fired from his job recently."

"Fired? What for?" Chan's eyebrows rose even further, the 'mom look' plastered firmly across his face.

"I... I don't know." Minho deflated. He really didn't know enough about Jisung for this. "But I'll take the fall for it if he turns out to be a terrible employee." Bargaining seemed to be the only valid option at this point.

Chan sighed, pinching his nose bridge. "Do you have any idea if he'll come in tomorrow?"

Minho shrugged. "He hasn't missed a weekday before. Why would he now?"

"Maybe because he just got fired and doesn't have anywhere to be in the mornigns anymore?" Chan narrowed his eyes.

Minho's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Look, Minho, I'll cover your shift tomorrow and hope he shows up, that way I'll get to at least meet him." Chan suggested.

Minho agreed, nodding his head eagerly. "Sure!"

As long as it gives him a better chance...

* * * * *

I am really getting desperate. Jisung sighed, his breath appearing before him because of the crisp, early autumn air. He pulled his hood over his near-dry hair and turned the corner onto the street where his favorite cafe sat.

The familiar ding of the bell signaled his entrance. He looked up, meeting the eyes of the person behind the counter who was... not Minho? Jisung paused in the doorway, eyeing the new barista suspiciously.

"Close the door, please." The new guy said with a polite smile. "It's starting to get cold."

Jisung jumped, hissing an apology and letting the door shut behind him. The guy seemed nice, but different. He glanced at the nametag on his chest. Bangchan. Yep, definitely...

"...Not Minho."

The guy- Bangchan, Jisung corrected himself, nodded and confirmed Jisung's statement.

"Correct, I'm not Minho. He took the day off."

"Oh." Jisung muttered, hoping the dissapointment wasn't apparent in his voice.

"Can I get your order?" Bangchan asked, still politely smiling but seeming moderately impatient.

Jisung narrowed his eyes in confusion for a moment before rembering that this was not, in fact, Minho. "Oh, yeah, uh... sorry. Large hot chocolate with whipped cream."

Bangchan nodded grabbing a cup. "Minho was right, then."

Jisung was glad he had decided to come in after rush hour today because this was taking longer than it normally took when Minho was around. No hate to Bangchan, he just seemed more quizzical, more... Jisung didn't entirely know. More like he was trying to sum up Jisung's entire being by asking only a few questions, maybe.

"What?"

"Minho told me what your order was. He said you would probably come in today."

Jisung tried to hide the way his cheeks warmed. "Oh... So, why did you ask?"

Bangchan shrugged, scribbling something onto the cup he'd grabbed. "To see if Minho actually knew his favorite regular's order. Testing his customer service, y'know?"

Favorite.

Jisung brushed away the thought, simply humming in response. "Are you, like, his boss?"

"Somewhat," Bangchan talked over his shoulder as he manned the machine which would magically produce jisung's steaming chocolate cow juice. "I pay him, but we were friends before he said he would help me kickstart the shop."

"Huh." Jisung muttered, walking away to sit at the table closest to the counter. Most people sat farther away from the counter because they wanted to have their own conversations without being interrupted by peoples' orders. Jisung, when he had the time to sit down and wasn't rushing to his now nonexistent job, sat as close as he could to the counter. This was 100% not so he could talk fo Minho. He just liked that specific table.

His drink was set down on his table. No surprise sprinkles or caramel drizzle or an ungodly amount of extra whipped cream, just... a normal amount. Exactly what he'd ordered. He fought back a frown.

He turned the drink so that the straw was facing him, and saw 'Jisung' was written on the side of the cup. "Uhm... How did you know my name?" I didn't tell him... Did I?

Turning around from the display case where he was realigning the muffins, Bangchan said, "Minho told me."

Of course. Jisung turned back to his drink. He had been starting to skip meals, eating only cup ramen when he did, but he still wasted his money on coming to the damn coffee shop.

Minho probably knew Jisung was pretty much only there to see him, but he still couldn't bring himself to come in without ordering. It was too embarrasing.

Jisung's phone buzzed just as he took a sip of his drink. He glanced down at it and smirked. Changbin...

He stood up, heading for the door. He reached for the handle and paused. "Um... Thank you." He called over his shoulder.

* * * * *

The lights flickered gently before shutting all the way off, and Bangchan locked the door behind him. "Maybe i'm missing something..." He mumbled to himself, taking out his car keys.

"I really don't see anything special about him. I mean, he's polite, but what caught Minho's eye about him in particular?" Chan continued to mull over Minho's regular on his drive home.

He unlocked his front door and stepped inside, kicking off his shoes. "Sigh... I'll give him a chance." Chan pulled out his phone and shot Minho a text.

Me:
Give your regular my information
I'll give him a chance.

His phone lit up a few minutes later, vibraring against the table.

Minho:
thanks hes gonna do great

* * * * *

I hope... Minho chewed his lip and shut his phone off, plugging it in next to his bed. He shuffled to thr kitchen, his fluffy house socks silent on the hardwood floor.

"Dinner time!" He called, tapping a spoon against a can of tuna. An orange cat peeked its head around the corner of the counter, and another bounded in from Minho's bedroom.

Minho emptied the tuna onto his cats' dry food and smiled as they dug in.

* * * * *

Jisung set a reminder for the next day to visit Changbin at the bakery, as per his request. Just as he was about to put his phone down and head to the bathroom to shower, a notification popped up at the top of the screen.

(555) 555 - 5555
hey it's your favorite barista
i wanna talk to you about the job rhing
thing*

Fuck. Jisung's eyebrows shot to his hairline. I forgot I gave him my number the other day. His finger hovered over the notification, but it went away before he could click on it. Urk. I'll... deal with that tomorrow.

He stared at his homescreen a while longer before setting the device face down on his bedside table and walking to the bathroom.

* * * * *

"Jisung!" Changbin smiled, "You need to come see me more often.

Jisung apologized weakly as he stepped through the door of the bakery. "Lots of stuff going on, sorry." He slipped behind the counter (baker's best friend perks) and grabbed a slice of cheesecake, puting it on a paper plate.

"You never told me you sold to the cafe down the street." Jisung's conversation starter was muffled through the bite of cheesecake in his mouth.

Changbin smiled, "You never told me you went there," he said, leaning againt the counter and quirking up an eyebrow. Jisung shrugged.

"From time to time..." He mumbled. "They make good hot chocolate." Shoving another bite of cheesecake into his mouth, he met Changbin's eyes.

"Y'know..." He started, picking at his nails and looking back at Jisung. "One of the guys that works over there mentioned a regular that just got fired from their job the other day." Jisung cleared his throat to hide the fact that he nearly choked. "You wouldn't happen to know them, would you?"

Shaking his head, Jisung swallowed so he could speak. "O- Oh really? No, I... I didn't hear about that." He smiled sheepishly. "Tell me more?"

Changbin raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips. "You would tell me if you needed help." Changbin pushed off the counter and walked over to plate himself a blueberry muffin, shooting a "Right, Jisung?" over his shoulder.

Jisung bit the inside of his cheek and hesitated. He spun around dramatically and batted his eyelashes, speaking in a high voice. "Of course, Binnie!"

A fake gag noise emerged from Changbin's throat and Jisung cackled. "I would probably have gone to the cafe today, before I came here, but alas, on Sundays it is closed." He said after his laughing fit was over.

Changbin groaned. "I wouldn't have let you in if I was open. You would've distracted me too much."

"I'm flattered you think I'm distracting." Jisung winked and spun around Changbin, trying to be as "distracting" as possible.

"Jisung!" Changbin slapped his fist onto the counter separating the back of the bakery where the goods were made, and the front where the goods were bought. "That wasn't a challenge!" Jisung giggled, getting up close into Changbin's face.

"I hate you."

"You love me."

"Don't remind me." Changbin sighed, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "It's tiring."

"What? Loving me?" Jisung questioned. "How?"

Chanbin raised his eyebrows yet again, putting his hands on his hips. "How? Jisung, just talking to you drains peoples' energy."

Jisung shook his head. "Um, nuh uh. I hype people up!"

"I have yet to meet these people."

* * * * *

Jeongin picked up the remote and pressed pause as fast as his body would let him. "Wait, what!?"

"Calm down! It's not that big of a deal..." Minho glanced away, tapping his foot on Jeongin's carpet.

"Minho." Jeongin twisted so he was facing the older. "You have a crush!" He practically squealed, bouncing up and down in his seat.

"Stop bouncing. You're going to break your couch." Minho deflected, avoiding eye contact with his coworker/friend. "And don't call it that, we're not in middle school."

Jeongin giggled, clapping his hands. Minho picked at his nails.

"But that's why you come over, isn't it?" Jeongin asked. "To pretend to watch a show and actually have a gossip session that rivals those of middle school girls?"

A sound somewhat reminiscent of a snort emerged from Minho's throat. "Sure." He parried. "But that doesn't imply calling it a 'crush' when I think a guy is cute."

"He gave you his number."

"...I don't- that's not- it doesn't-" Minho never finishished those sentences, as Jeongin interrupted him by leaning in close, so their noses almost brushed.

"You" Jeongin poked Minho in the chest. "Have" another poke. "A cru- mmph!" This time Jeongin was cut off by Minho slapping a hand over his mouth and crawling on top of him.

"Stand down, soldier. You will never win this battle." And thus began Minho's and Jeongin's medival-style war over what Minho should call his regular.

* * * * *

Jisung eventually decided to go home. Well, more like Changbin kicked him out because he was scared that Jisung would eat all of his cheesecake. Same difference.

Jisung flopped onto his couch and pulled out his phone. He saw a red dot with a '1' in it over the messages app. Groaning, he clicked on it. I do not want to talk to anybody right now. He reluctantly clicked the square. Changbin drained all my- wuh!?

"Fuck me." Jisung stated loudly, glad he lived alone. "I need to stop forgetting about that bastard."

Jisung's brain spoke to him.'No, not a bastard, Jisung. He's nice and sweet and really attractive. Like, reallyreallyreallyreallyreallyrea-'

'Okay. I get the idea, brain.' He replied to his brain.

Opening the conversation, he dragged his fingers over the keyboard and bit his lip, stalling. "Fuck it." He clicked send and instantly turned his phone off, throwing it to the other side of the couch.

Me:
Hey ^^
What did you want to talk about?

When Jisung didn't hear a 'ping!' right away, he crawled over to the other end of the couch and re-opened the device, deciding to send another text.

Me:
You can't just give people your number and promise them a "surprise" ( ﾟーﾟ)

Chapter Text

Minho checked his phone when he got back from Jeongin's and noticed a response from his regular. He had saved himself as 'Jisung ♡' in Minho's phone. That digital heart made Minho's real heart flutter. Just a bit.

Jisung ♡:
Hey ^^
What did you want to talk about?
You can't just give people your number and promise them a "surprise" ( ﾟーﾟ)

The corners of Minho's mouth curved, and he opened his keyboard.

Me:
you never told me what you were fired for
if it was something bad my idea might not work

Within a few seconds Minho saw three dots appear on the other side of the screen.

Jisung ♡:
Ah...
There was a rule if u did 3 bad things u were out
I was late 3 times in two years TvT

Me:
that seems rather unfair
thats good for my idea though

Jisung ♡:
Just tell meeeeeee

Me:
so my boss was thinking about having 2 employees work shifts to make it easier on everyone
hes gonna work with jeongin but he needs another person for my shift

Jisung ♡:
I know nothing about coffee.

Me:
who said i was talking about you

Jisung ♡:
( ・∇・)

Me:
okay i am talking about you
your lack of coffee knowledge can be fixed
he said he would give you a chance if i trained you

Jisung's three dots didn't pop up for a while, and Minho wondered if he crossed some sort of line by offering.

Me:
um i can give you his contact
if you want

Jisung ♡:
Yes please :P

A sigh of relief escaped him when the reply came quickly. Minho gave Jisung Chan's information like he'd asked, and reread the conversation. He uses so many emoticons... cute.

* * * * *

Jisung contacted Bangchan later that evening. He tried waiting until an hour that he would probably not be busy, eating, or getting ready for bed. (In truth, he got anxious and procrastinated calling, but thoughtfulness was in the back of his mind)

Minho told him that calling would be best since Chan preferred calls over emails and Jisung didn't have that extensive of a resume (ouch) so that's what he ended up doing.

Jisung wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that he picked up.

"Hello, who is this?" The voice crackled slightly through the phone.

"Hi, um, this- this is Jisung. Minho gave me-"

"Jisung! Minho told me you were going to call. He wanted to train you, right? There's not much you need to know that he can't help you with."

Jisung was taken aback by the enthusiastic reaction, to say the least, but not disheartened. If anything it was a good thing, right? It meant he liked him. This is what Jisung told himself again and again throughout the call to calm himself down.

He let out a breath that it felt like he had been holding the whole time when Chan hung up. To anyone else, it would've seemed that it went great, but to Jisung, it went terribly. He couldn't stop stuttering, and he'd forgotten a lot of what Chan had said.

All he remembered was that he was supposed to come in at 6 AM on Tuesday. A bit earlier than Jisung was used to waking up, but he could handle it. Minho was supposed to teach him the basics and after Jisung got the hang of things, offer help when and where it was needed.

With a potential job, Jisung went to sleep with even more nerves buzzing than he had when he was worrying about being unemployed.

* * * * *

Minho arived at the shop a few minutes before 6 with the key to the front door. He saw a certain round-faced boy wearing a beanie turn the corner and he smiled.

"Hey, Jisung."

Jisung looked up, nose slightly pink from the autumn chill, and waved. "Hi Minho!"

The door clicked open and the bell dinged as Minho stepped inside, holding the door for Jisung. "We're collegues now, eh?"

"Er, well, kind of. Chan-nim said-"

"Call him hyung. I called him Chan-ssi for a week and he almost fired me because it was 'too formal'."

"Oh, uh, okay..." Jisung wasn't sure whether or not that was okay, since Bangchan hadn't told him himself. "Anyway, he said I was still technically a trainee and he would ask you on Friday if I was good enough."

"You'll be fine. I'll put in a good word for you even if you still suck by then."

Minho thought the pink dusting Jisung's cheeks looked like it was from the cold, but who knows.

The lights flickered on when Minho flipped the switch. "Now then!" He clapped his hands, the sound echoing around the space.

"This place has nice acoustics." Jisung noted.

"Sure." Minho stepped behind the counter and gestured for Jisung to follow him. "Behold... the machines!" He cackled maniacally, posing with his hands in the air, before instantly switching back to deadpan and continuing. "So, this one works like thi-"

"Nonono, hold on." Jisung interrupted him.

Minho hid the way his lips curled up by coughing into his fist. "Questions already?"

"I agreed to take you up on your offer to work here, but I didn't know I was going to end up collegues with a comic book villain."

"I forgot to mention that part." Minho grinned, "sorry." He said with the face of someone who was definitely not sorry.

"I'm sure." Jisung raised his eyebrows. They held eye contact for a few seconds before Jisung giggled and gestured for Minho to go on.

After getting a thorough explanation on how things worked, Minho told Jisung that because it was his first day, he could watch Minho for a bit, ask if he had questions, and help if Minho let him.

Jisung nodded and sat down on a stool next to the register. "Will I be in the way here?"

"You'll find out." Minho walked to the front of the cafe and flipped the sign to 'OPEN'.

"That's very reassuring."

* * * * *

Jising spun around on the stool to watch all through rush hour, in awe of how quickly Minho worked. He barely caught how each machine worked as Minho darted to and fro, using multiple at once.

"So you click this button and flip that switch and twist this handle and pull that lever and-"

"This is a coffee shop, not NASA. Calm down."

Minho laughed, the corners of his eyes wrinkling, and shook his head. "I'll show you again once rush hour's over."

True to his word, once most of the customers had left the shop aroumd noon, Minho spun Jisung around on the stool and pointed at the machine he was trying to explain earlier.

"Do you want me to break it down into steps for you?" Minho murmured in Jisung's ear.

He shuddered, "No, I want you to instantly transfer me the information via telepathy."

"Brat." Minho rolled his eyes and walked back over to the machine.

Jisung fucked up about 30 drinks in the next 45 minutes. Minho wondered how this was possible. At one point a customer walked in and stopped in the doorway, saw Minho and Jisung staring at a fucked up drink, and walked out.

"Aww, I'm sorry, dude. I'm scaring off customers..." Jisung dropped his head and jutted out his bottom lip. He felt a presence behind him and looked up. "Gah! Why do you look like that!?"

"How many drinks do you think I screwed up on my first day here?" Minho's face was contorted in a weird way where his eyebrows were raised but his eyes were narrowed.

Puffing out his cheeks, Jisung shook his head. "I don't know. Probably a lot less, you're really good at this."

"Of course I am, dumbass, I've been doing it for years!" Minho scoffed and put his hands on Jisung's shoulders. "You're doing great, okay?"

"I guess I did make a couple drinks without catching anything on fire." Jisung looked up.

Minho smiled and patted Jisung on the back. "I have an idea." He clapped his hands. "If you're not comfortable making drinks yet, and watching me run around is boring, you can talk to customers, and I can handle ther orders."

Jisung nodded slowly. "I don't have to, like, tell jokes or anything, right?" He moved his stool to in front of the register.

"No, don't worry about comedy." Minho rolled up the sleeves of his sweater. "It should be easy for the next..." He looked at the clock. "Two hours. So, until our shift ends."

Jisung dramatically sighed in relief, making Minho chuckle. "So... What time does the shop close? I know you said someone took over at 12:30, is it-"

"Shop hours are 6:30 to 6:30. Jeongin takes the afternoons. Oh! You'll get to meet him today."

"Cool." Jisung spun around on his stool when he heard the front door bell. "Hi, welcome in."

* * * * *

Minho leaned against the counter, staring at Jisung while he talked. Something about how his old boss had a cactus for a heart. He heard a 'ding!' and looked at the door.

"Hey, Jeongin." He pushed himself off the counter and stretched his arms up, rocking onto the balls of his feet.

Jeongin waved and threw his bag behind the counter. Minho's coworkers locked eyes. He inhaled sharply when Jeongin looked between him and Jisung, smirking. "It's him." He mouthed.

Before Jeongin could make things uncomfortable, Minho wrapped his arm around his neck and pulled him into a headlock. "Jisung, this is my idiot- sorry, my coworker, Jeongin."

Jisung laughed quietly and bent down so he was face-level with the writing Jeongin. "Nice to meet you, Jeongin." He held out a hand which Jeongin took with much difficulty.

"Nice to- fuck, hyung, let me go! -meet you, too."

Minho finally let go when Jeongin started coughing. He picked up his bag and gestured at Jisung to follow him. "The nice thing about working the morning shift is that we don't have to lock up. Well, unless Jeongin has something come up. Then we either cover his shift or close early."

"That is nice. Less work." Jisung nodded, taking off his apron and hanging it up on the hook next to Minho's. He pulled his flannel on over his hoodie and hiked his bag over his shoulder.

Jeongin waved as Minho held the door open for Jisung. Minho rolled his eyes and waved back.

The door shut behind them with a clack. Jisung stood still awkwardly, shifting his weight. "I'm not used to getting out so early..."

"That's why working here is better. You still have half a day to do whatever you want, you get weekends off, and you get to work with me!" Minho jerked his thumb at himself and nodded his head proudly.

* * * * *

The pink that dusted Jisung's cheeks as his new coworker talked was from the cold. Definitely. "I'm so happy to be working with you good sir."

Minho smiled brightly and held his hand out to shake. "You, too. I am looking forward to good business in the future."

Turning away with a wave and pulling out his phone, Minho smiled to himself and shot Chan a text.

Me:
the new guy did great
i will update you more on friday

* * * * *

Me:
Binnieeeee
I lied I was fired but I didn't want to tell you

Jisung texted his best friend as soon as he got out of the shower. He changed into shorts and a t-shirt, turning on the heat. Changbin texted back only a few minutes later.

Changbinnie:
Yeah ik
Ur a bad liar

Me:
Ok well I have a new job...
＼(^v^)／

Changbinnie:
Already?
Ji, is it illegal

Me:
Gasp how dare you assume that
No its not
Guess

Changbinnie:
I just did
Dude tell me

Me:
Ok fine
Y'know that coffee shop down the street you sell to?

The three dots to indicate Changbin typing appearsd for a long time. Jisung wondered whether he was goong to give him a congratulatory speech or a "stern talking-to".

It turned out to be neither as the message came through.

Changbinnie:
Ji
You know nothing about coffee

Jisung sighed and jutted out his bottom lip.

Me:
Well yeah but my coworker said I did great
So hmph

Changbinnie:
K
Wait who is ur coworker do I know them

Me:
Minho

Changbinnie:
. . .
HE said u did "great"

Me:
Yes??

Changbinnie:
What
Hes literally so cold to me

Me:
Proof that i'm better than you

Changbinnie:
I hate u i'm going to bed
Gn

Me:
I hate you too <3
Gn