Chapter Text
The first time she walks into the cafe, Juyeon has just told her parents that she won’t be home for the holidays.
It’s not that she doesn’t want to go home; on the contrary, she wants nothing more than a homemade meal created with love from her mother. She wants to discuss the latest book she’s read with her father, she wants to drag her brother out to play basketball, even in the cold winter air. Instead, she’s stuck here, alone in a strange city as she tries desperately to finish her papers on time and work on her research project. Grey clouds block out the sun, making it seem later than it really is, like her day is already near its end when she’s barely gotten anything done.
With a despondent sigh, she looks up from her feet and finds herself in front of a small coffee shop. A nice, hot cappuccino sounds like a wonderful treat to cheer her up on this gloomy day.
When Juyeon steps inside, a burst of warm air relaxes her shoulders and adds to the cozy mood of the cafe. Soft pinks and oranges and browns surround her and draw her in towards the counter, but she glances around to scope out a seat. There are a couple of people sitting on their own, at normal, small wooden tables, but there’s also a corner with small couches occupied by a few people, with one of them reading out loud to the others. That corner catches Juyeon’s eye, because it’s marked by a rainbow painted on the wall, flags on display near the small shelf of rainbow-colored books.
How has she missed this little place? She thought she had discovered all the hidden queer places in this area.
When she brings her eyes back to the counter, the cashier smiles at her. “Are you ready to order?” they ask.
Juyeon glances down at their name tag. Youngjae. Masculine terms. “Hi, Youngjae-nim,” she says, and she’s not sure if her low voice or her use of his name catches him off-guard. “Could I just get a cappuccino please?”
Youngjae leans in a bit to hear her better, tucking his blonde hair behind his ear. “Of course. One cappuccino. Can I get a name for your order?”
“Juyeon.”
“Juyeon-nim,” he says, typing her name into the register. “That’s a nice name. It suits you.”
Juyeon smiles shyly, using the chance to look away and reach into her purse for her wallet. “Does it?”
“Yeah, you’re very Juyeon-esque. Eye-catching, you know? So tall and really pretty. Sorry, um…” Youngjae flushes red, looking like he wants the ground to swallow him up. “Your total! Cash or card?”
Biting her lip, Juyeon hands over her payment and takes her receipt. “Thank you, Youngjae-nim,” she says and walks away to find a seat.
She ends up sitting near the couches, listening to the person reading out loud. It’s a book she’s never read, and it’s interesting to come in the middle of it and try to figure out the plot. Something about a woman scorned rising up after death to exact her revenge really appeals to her. It doesn’t quite match the soft jazz music playing on the speakers, but she enjoys them both.
A different employee comes out to place her cup at her table, along with a small slice of cheesecake. “Oh,” she says, before the employee (Sunwoo. Masculine terms.) can walk away, “I’m sorry, I didn’t order this.”
“I know,” Sunwoo says. “It’s on the house. Ericcie wanted to give it to you, but he’s busy now.” He jabs a thumb over at Youngjae, where he’s caught up with an indecisive group of girls trying to order. “He says it’s an apology for being weird or whatever.”
Juyeon bites her lip to hold back a smile and pulls the plate closer to her. “I didn’t think he was being weird, but alright. Please tell him I said thank you.”
Sunwoo hums in acknowledgement and walks away with a wave. He makes a beeline for Youngjae, whispering in his ear, and Youngjae immediately glances across the room at her. When their eyes meet, Juyeon smiles, and Youngjae ducks his head down, his pink cheeks visible even from a distance.
How cute.
—
The next few days are a flurry of books and papers and presentations. Juyeon’s advisor approves her draft for her thesis, and she gets accepted for the internship she applied for. As frazzled as she feels, everything seems to be going smoothly, which she’s grateful for. She’ll be even more grateful when she’s done with it all, though.
She goes to that same cafe twice more during that time, to grab an americano before hunkering down at the library. She looks a mess both times, with bags under her eyes and her hair sticking up from running her fingers through it in frustration. It’s a little embarrassing, really, but the cashier looks at her just the same as he did the first time, all flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes. She doesn’t have time to appreciate it in the moment, but when mulling over it later, she finds that she likes the attention.
This time, instead of just a quick coffee break, Juyeon steps into the cafe with the intent to stay a couple of hours. One of the employees greets her, and she smiles politely, glancing around the workspace in search of Youngjae. “Oh, it’s you,” the employee says. Their nametag says Haknyeon. Neutral terms. She thinks she’s seen them before, but they’re usually hidden behind the counter instead of on the floor wiping tables. “If you’re looking for Eric, he’s in the back. I think he’s just started his break. Let me go get him for you.”
“Oh, no, that’s fine!” Juyeon flushes red and fiddles with her skirt, a bit embarrassed about being so obvious. Or maybe Haknyeon is just saying that because Youngjae is so obvious. “I don’t want to interrupt his break or anything. I can just order with you.”
“Nah, he’ll be sad once he finds out he missed you. It’ll only take a second.” Haknyeon waves her off and walks towards the back, past the employees-only section. Their voice is faint but still audible as they yell, “Hey, Eric-ah! Your girlfriend is here!”
Juyeon can’t help but giggle at that. They’ve only met briefly, but Youngjae’s coworkers are already calling her his girlfriend. He’s definitely crushing hard.
Youngjae bursts through the door, appearing flushed and frazzled. “Juyeon-nim! Hi! Wait just a moment, I’ll take your order.”
“No need for that; you’re on your break,” Juyeon says. There’s absolutely no way she’s making this poor guy work off the clock.
“Oh, but… Um…” Youngjae shifts on his feet, wringing his wrists nervously.
Juyeon realizes very quickly that taking her order is just an excuse to talk to her. She decides to take pity on him and says, “If you’d like, you could sit with me for a bit?”
Youngjae visibly brightens. “Really? You wouldn’t mind?” When Juyeon shakes her head, he smiles. “Okay, cool. Let’s get Haknyeon-ssi to take your order then.”
After Juyeon has paid for a delicious-sounding butter toffee latte and two mango mousse desserts, Youngjae leads her over to the couches. It’s her first time getting a close look at the area, and she reaches out to run a finger along the spine of a book. There’s quite a few feminist books, as well as queer ones, some of them translated from another language, others in English. “Do you speak English, Youngjae-nim?” she asks, pulling a book off of the shelf, one of Kim Bi’s works that she’s read many times before.
“Um, yeah, actually. I lived in America for a while, and my parents still live there.”
Juyeon hums and turns to look at him. “I’ve heard your coworkers call you Eric. Would you prefer that name?”
“Oh, no, Youngjae is fine!” Youngjae waves his hands as he talks, little gestures to emphasize his words. “I just got so used to introducing myself as Eric when I came back here.”
“Are you going home for the holidays?” Juyeon asks. “It must be difficult to find the time to visit.”
“It is,” Youngjae says with a pout. “My classes ended too late, and I have my job here, so I just decided to stay. What about you? You seemed really busy lately. Do you go to the university nearby?”
Juyeon looks down at the book in her lap, fingers brushing over the cover. “It’s my first year of grad school. It got a bit hectic, and I’m a little worried about my thesis… so I also decided to stay for the holidays.”
“So we’re both stuck here.” Youngjae leans back with a sigh, and then he leans forward again, suddenly energetic. “Wait, you’re in grad school? So you’re older than me.”
Juyeon smiles at his enthusiasm. “Is it that exciting? Hm, I guess that means you can call me noona if you want,” she says teasingly.
Youngjae flushes red, but before he can say anything, Haknyeon shows up with Juyeon’s order, masterfully balancing it all in their arms. Juyeon takes the latte graciously, letting them place her desserts down on the table. Her first sip is divine, and her shoulders relax as the warmth of the drink seeps into her body. She sets her cup down after a few more sips and turns to look at Youngjae again.
The moment she sets her eyes on him, it’s obvious he’s been staring, but he doesn’t look away. His cheeks are still red, growing redder under her gaze. Nervously, he runs a hand through his hair, pulling his bangs out of his face.
“So,” Juyeon says, setting the book aside and smoothing out her skirt, “this place is pretty… inclusive. Did you choose it for that reason, Youngjae-ssi?”
Youngjae bites his lip, worries at the split there. “Um, yeah. I got lucky, I think. I didn’t have to look very far to find a place that would accept me, even though I haven’t had my documents changed yet. Does that, uh… bother you?”
Juyeon hums. “That would be pretty hypocritical of me, I think. Does that bother you?”
“Of course not, noona,” Youngjae says quickly, shaking his head.
Juyeon giggles and says, “Good, because if you said yes, I would have taken away your dessert.” She reaches out for the plates and sets one in Youngjae’s lap.
“Oh. For me?” Youngjae picks up a spoon with a small smile. “How’d you know this was my favorite?”
“Just a good guess.” Haknyeon must have been more subtle than she thought when they first pointed out the mango mousse— or maybe Youngjae’s attention was simply focused elsewhere. He does have a bad staring habit whenever she’s in the room.
They eat their dessert and talk a bit more, about their classes, their families, until Haknyeon comes by to remind Youngjae to get back to work. Just as he jumps up, Juyeon grabs his hand impulsively. “Hey,” she says, the idea forming in her head only moments before she speaks, “do you have any formal wear?”
Youngjae looks taken aback— as he should, since Juyeon sort of brought this up out of nowhere. “Uh, I have a button-up and some slacks?”
Good enough. “Would you like to come with me to a party in a few days? My job is holding one, and I’m allowed to bring a plus one.”
“Oh.” Youngjae blinks at her for a moment, and then he squeezes her hand as he processes what Juyeon has asked. “Oh! Yes, absolutely. I would love to come. Do you need my number?”
Juyeon holds her free hand out and waits for Youngjae to dig his phone out of his pocket. It only takes her a moment to add her number to his contacts and to send herself a text, and she passes the phone back to him with a self-satisfied smile. Sure, she hasn’t known Youngjae for very long, but he’s cute, he’s sweet, he’s interesting.
And her coworkers were complaining about her showing up alone.
Youngjae lingers, despite Haknyeon glaring daggers from the other side of the counter. “I guess I’ll see you in a few days, then,” he says. He steps away from the table, his hand slipping from hers.
“It’s a date,” Juyeon replies, and she laughs when he trips over his own two feet.