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Zen watched lazily as the steam from the boiling water started to rise above the kettle, swirling in the air. He waiting patiently, the high pitched 'ding' emitting from the machine scared him back awake. He grabbed the handle of the titanium kettle, tilting it down to let the hot water fall inside a dull purple coloured mug. His hand reached out to grab the sugar from the counter, adding 5 teaspoons, a soft smile gracing his face at the thought of much his lover liked his coffee sweet.
“I don't understand how you like to drink it like this, isn't the point of coffee the bitter taste?” he only laughed when he got no reply. He was always met with silence this early in the morning anyway. He looked down at the brown liquid inside the mug, “How can you drink this every morning?” Zen shook his head, he really didn't get why the other liked to have this every single morning, whenever he asked the only reply he got was,
“I like it”.
He smiled to himself once more, feeling curious as he wondered if it was even going to taste good, he preferred alcohol of course and it had been a while since he had coffee. The urge to try it and find out was too strong and he brought his lips to the mug, blowing cold air at the liquid first before taking a small sip. A loud groan escaped him, not liking the taste at all.
“This whole time it had tasted like this? Are you sure my coffee is even good?”
He gently placed the purple mug on the dining table, taking a seat on the other side to watch the view in front of him in silence. The corners of his thin lips slightly tugged upwards,
“You know Jumin, doing this every morning for you is getting tiring” Zen frowned as he once again was faced with silence. The steam that was rising from the mug that was placed on the table was slowly becoming interesting, the patterns it created in the air entranced him slightly, “But I will continue to do this for you everyday, since you love it so much and I had promised you”.
He could tell that the coffee was getting cold, the steam had completely disappeared, the beverage was horrible in its hot state, he could not imagine how much more horrible it would taste when it got cold.
“Jumin, look at this chore as a token of my love” the sound of laughing echoed in the room, “Whenever you look at the coffee I made you, let it remind you how much I love you” he smiled, he knew it was cheesy but it felt right, it felt right to have this coffee routine to be the constant reminder of his love for the other.Zen slowly got up, grabbing the purple mug, placing it down into the sink,
“I hate cleaning but I’ll never let anyone else do it for me… that’s how much I love you... you jerk”. He played around with the bubbles that were created from the detergent, but he got too into it, the mug felt slippery in his grasp and it fell to the hard ground, breaking into small pieces. He cursed out loud, kneeling down to pick up the pieces.
“Ahh! I am such an idiot! I should have been more careful, I'm so sorry”, the sharp thick pieces of glass tickled his skin, “I promise to buy you another one ok? Our first anniversary is coming up soon… it could be your present! Ah! Dammit it could have been a surprise, my damn mouth just won't shut up ha?” the same laughter that was heard moments ago erupted in the room once more. His vision started to blur, feeling horrible for breaking something that belonged to his lover, something that was very special. “I... I'll try to find a mug th-that looks the s-same” his voice sounded broken and the tears that fell onto his hands almost seemed to burn through his skin.
Zen let the tears spill, there was no one there to comfort him, no one there to sooth his pain, the pain he had been dealing with for so long now. He needed to buy a new mug and fast, he had promised his lover, he had promised Jumin to make him coffee every morning.
“I promised you... and I'll keep that promise until the end of time” he softly smiled, “I'll stop when death decides to take me too”. He could only stare down at the broken pieces on the floor, his chest feeling heavy.
“I wonder if they have coffee wherever you are, I wonder if it's better than mine?” he sighed deeply… he missed his lover so much. He missed how he would wince when he drank the hot beverage too fast, how his face would scrunch up when there wasn't enough sugar, how he tapped his finger against the glass and what he mostly missed was how he had thanked him everyday for doing such a simple task.
“How much longer will I have to do this Jumin? How much longer will I have to make coffee and watch it turn cold right before my eyes? It hurts you know, it hurts so much knowing you'll never taste it again, it hurts to know I'll never see the love in your eyes as you drink the last drop, thanking me for it”. He remembered the last day he made coffee for his lover, he had recently settled into Jumin’s penthouse, “I love you, and I'll keep doing this for you, it was a promise” he slightly pauses for a moment, “a promise I’ll never break”.
His red eyes looked down at his hands as he held a few broken pieces of the mug. “Everyday, Every morning, I'll wake up early just for you and everyday, every morning I'm reminded that you are no longer with me. My life has become like the coffee you loved to drink, bitter and turning cold… no amount of sugar can help” he chuckles softly, “the one 'sweet' aspect in my life has already left, nothing else will be able to cover up this horrible bitter-sweet mess”.