Work Text:
Bin was not exactly a morning person. He liked his sleep, and he liked when it could extend past nine o’clock in the morning. For this reason, he very seldom agreed to work the opening shift on the weekends when he didn’t have school. The shop opened at six in the morning, and whoever was opening had to be there at least half an hour before that - there was no way Bin was getting up at 5:30 am if he could help it.
Usually there wasn’t a problem with Bin getting around the morning weekend shift- both the manager of the shop and Minhyuk were morning people, and one of them would open and run the first couple hours so that the earliest Bin had to stumble into the shop was ten o’clock. This particular weekend, though, the manager wasn’t doing the morning shift, and Minhyuk had begged Bin enough to take the shift that Bin had agreed. Which is how Bin found himself walking down the street at five o’clock in the morning, muttering half-formed curses under his breath as he huddled into his jacket. The bite of the cold was fierce- the nice temperatures of fall were quickly giving way to winter, and Bin had his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his coat to try and keep warm.
Bin probably should have noticed that there was someone hovering outside the coffee shop far sooner than he did. But he was so distracted by the cold and trying to fumble his key to the shop (given to him by the manager under threat of death if he didn’t return it in a timely manner) out of his pocket that Bin managed to completely miss the tall figure waiting outside until he was walking straight into it.
“Ah, shoot,” he said, looking at the keys that were now on the concrete pavement.
“Sorry,” a deep voice said, and Bin’s sleepiness faded as he looked up and realized that the tall figure was Eunwoo. Suddenly aware that he had only tumbled out of bed about twenty minutes ago after hitting snooze a few too many times, Bin gulped. “No problem,” he said, ducking down to pick his keys up.
It would have been a brilliant aversion tactic, had Eunwoo not had the same idea. Instead of hiding his still sleep-swollen face a little longer, Bin rammed heads with Eunwoo, and they both jumped back, hands flying up to where they impacted.
“I am so sorry,” Bin managed to get out around a grimace.
“No,” Eunwoo murmured. “My fault.” He was still holding his forehead, and Bin felt bad enough that he was willing to break the rule of no-customers-before-opening.
“Come on,” Bin said, grabbing Eunwoo by the wrist and pulling him to the front door. It took him a moment to fumble the keys into the lock, but he managed to twist them and get the door open.
Inside, Bin dropped Eunwoo’s wrist, moving to turn off the security alarm and flip on the lights. He didn’t look back towards Eunwoo as he walked behind the counter to turn on the rest of the lights, and when he turned around, Eunwoo was standing in the middle of the room, looking a bit lost.
Bin reached back to scratch the back of his neck, a bit unsure of what he should do now. It had been an impulse, dragging Eunwoo into the shop, and he was realizing that turning on the lights had been the furthest his plan of action went. “Do you need some ice?” he asked.
Eunwoo looked up, startled as if he had been in his own world. “What?”
“For- for your head,” Bin stuttered, gesturing towards the crown of his own.
“Oh,” Eunwoo said, a hand lifting from where it had still been gripping his forehead. “No, I’m fine.”
Bin wasn’t completely convinced, but nodded. Silence fell between the two of them again, and Bin tried not to feel awkward as he went about the usual duties of opening shop- booting up the computer system the cash registers ran on, starting the brewer for the different roasts of the day. As he went about it, Bin watched Eunwoo out of the corner of his eye, who had moved to lean against the wall. Upon closer inspection, he was realizing that Eunwoo was looking far more run-down than usual- he had deep bags under his eyes, and his clothes were in a state of mild disarray. He also wasn’t dressed quite appropriately for the weather- just a jacket, no scarf or gloves to help combat the chill of the outdoors. The only thing in addition to his jacket was a backpack, carelessly slung on one shoulder.
“Do you want some coffee?” Bin asked abruptly. Eunwoo jerked against the wall, and Bin realized that the boy had started to doze off standing up.
“Huh?” Eunwoo said, and Bin had to bit down on his lip to keep from laughing at the poor boy’s look of confusion.
“Coffee?” Bin asked again, lifting up a travel cup.
Eunwoo blinked at him for a moment, and then said, “God, yes please,” and shuffled up to stand at the counter.
Bin smiled, and picked up a sharpie, brandishing it dramatically as he pulled the cap off. “Eunwoo, right?” he said jokingly, poising the marker as if he actually needed to write
Eunwoo’s name when he was the only one in the shop.
Why Bin decided to make this joke, he couldn’t quite say. He could say, however, that he was expecting a chuckle in reaction to his dramatic pen-waving. Maybe just a smile, given how dead to the world Eunwoo seemed to be. What he did not expect, though, was for Eunwoo to jolt a little, then flush furiously to the roots of his dark hair.
“Um,” Eunwoo said, raising a hand to rub the back of his neck. “Actually, it’s Dongmin.”
Bin blinked. “Dongmin,” he repeated.
Eunwoo- no, Dongmin’s face flushed a darker shade of red. “Yes.”
There was a moment of silence. “Okay,” Bin said, and scribbled the correct name on the cup. He wanted very badly to ask what had caused the name change, but didn’t want to seem rude. Instead, he started making a latte, and only once he was putting the foam in did he realize that he hadn’t actually asked what Dongmin wanted. Biting his lip, Bin turned towards the counter, latte in hand and apology on his tongue.
“I wanted to apologize-” he started to say. At the same time, Dongmin said, “I’m so sorry for-”
Both boys stopped, staring at each other. “You go,” Bin said after a moment.
Dongmin flushed again. “Sorry for lying. About my name. Your friend- Myungjun?”
“Not my friend,” Bin said quickly. “More of an acquaintance. I’m real sorry for him, by the way. I know he’s obnoxious.”
Dongmin took the latte that Bin had extended out to him during his sentence. He looked down at it, then mumbled, “He made me flustered.” Dongmin’s ears were bright red, and Bin had to fight to keep from smiling at it.
“He does that,” Bin said. They stood in silence for another moment. Bin wasn't sure what to do- he didn't want Dongmin to leave, but he’d already given him the coffee in a to go cup. But, then- Dongmin hadn't moved to leave yet, either. He was hovering, playing with the coffee cup in his hands rather than heading towards the door. Deciding that the risk was worth it, Bin said, “Do you want to hang around for a bit?”
Dongmin looked up from the coffee cup, eyes bright. “Am I allowed to?”
Bin scratched the back of his neck. “I mean...you’re already here. And the only reason I’m here this early is because no one else could be. So. It’s not like anyone would find out?”
The smile that broke over Dongmin’s face was small and soft and just about melted Bin’s heart. “I’d enjoy that,” Dongmin said, and it was all Bin could do to nod as Dongmin moved to one of the tables, hoping his smile only looked kind and happy, and not mildly crazy.
After Dongmin sat down, Bin was able to shake himself out of his (happy) dumb stupor and start opening shop in earnest. He was, after all, at his job, and there were things that needed to happen before the shop officially opened in half an hour. Kicking into high gear, he went about all his opening duties- cleaning syrup pumps, setting up the pastry display, counting in the register drawers. Every so often he’d glance over at Dongmin, who had pulled out a textbook and a notebook. Sometimes he was reading the textbook intently, other times scribbling away in his notebook. Bin wondered what he was studying. He wondered what grade Dongmin was in, if he went to school near the coffee shop, how much of a chance there might be of Bin seeing him outside of the shop.
At exactly six o’clock, Bin walked over to the front door. He flipped the ‘closed’ sign to ‘open,’ unlocked the door, and turned around, ready to finally chat with Dongmin a little more. What he saw, though, made his heart melt a bit.
Somewhere between the last time Bin had looked at him and that moment, Dongmin had fallen asleep. He was face-down in his book, one hand resting on his notebook, pen still in hand. Bin carefully took the pen out of Dongmin’s hand, placing it gently on the notebook. Dongmin didn’t stir, and Bin smiled a bit. He picked up the travel cup he’d filled earlier, and was unsurprised to find it empty.
It wasn’t so much of a conscious decision on Bin’s part, but five minutes later he was walking back to Dongmin’s table with a fresh latte in one hand and a warmed muffin on a plate in the other.
Placing them carefully in front of the textbooks, Bin gently nudged Dongmin’s shoulder. “Hey,” he said. “You probably shouldn’t be sleeping in public spaces.”
Dongmin’s shoulders shifted, then there was a groan, muffled by the textbook. “Do you say ‘hey’ to all your customers?” Dongmin mumbled into his books.
Bin laughed quietly. “I brought you more coffee.” Almost immediately, Dongmin sat up. Bin scoffed, plunking down into the chair across from him. “A response like that makes me think you like it more than me.”
Dongmin snorted, rubbing his hands over his face. “After the night I’ve had you’d like coffee more than people, too.”
Bin watched as Dongmin picked up the coffee, hands tucked in his lap. “What kind of night did you have?” he asked, trying to act like he wasn’t totally distracted by the soft smile that fell over Dongmin’s face when he noticed the customary heart in the latte foam.
“Group project,” Dongmin said. He took a sip of coffee, then sighed. “My partners aren’t holding up their ends of the work. I meant to go to bed but when I looked at the clock it was morning.” Dongmin smiled, and Bin shook his head.
“Wow,” he said, leaning back in the seat. He sat for a few moments. Dongmin seemed unfazed by the silence, continuing to drink his coffee. “Eat your muffin, too,” Bin said, nudging the plate towards him a bit.
Dongmin looked surprised, lowering the mug. “Is that for me?” he asked.
Bin snorted a bit. Customers approaching the door caught his eye, and he stood. “Who else would it be for, dummie?” he said, taking a risk on using a potentially insulting word, and seeming a little too close. But the way Dongmin smiled seemed to mean he didn’t mind, and Bin’s heart soared when he pulled the muffin closer and started nibbling on it.
It was easily the best time Bin had ever had at work. Dongmin sat in the shop for another couple hours, and every time he had the opportunity, Bin went and talked to him a little more (always bringing a rag with him so he could pretend to wipe tables when other customers were there). By the time Dongmin finally left the shop, another latte and pastry later, Bin had found out that he had been born a year earlier than Bin himself had been, but they were in the same year of school.
When Minhyuk finally got to the shop around ten, Bin was happily wiping down counters, humming a bit to himself.
“Wow,” Minhyuk said, walking up as he tied on his apron. “You’re chipper today.”
Bin tried not to grin even more. “Yeah,” he said.
Minhyuk narrowed his eyes at him. “You’re never chipper after working opening,” he said, voice accusatory.
Shrugging, Bin tossed his rag in the dirty bin and moved to clean out one of the blenders. “Maybe I’ve turned a new leaf.”
“Not likely,” Minhyuk said, then shouted in surprise when Bin got a solid kick on his rear. “That was unnecessary!”
“Stop pouting,” Bin told him. Minhyuk frowned a bit more, but rolled up his sleeves and walked to the kitchen, undoubtedly to start a fresh batch of some pastry. As soon as he left, Bin’s smile bubbled back up, and he grinned through the entire process of taking the next customer’s order. Another half hour later, when he was taking his break, Bin glanced out of the break room and towards the counter, making sure Minhyuk was distracted with customers. Then he picked up his phone and created a new contact, carefully copying the number he’d been given off of the napkin it was written on, and naming it Lee Dongmin. He hesitated for a brief moment, but then added a heart to the name. He spent the rest of his break staring at his phone, wondering if he should send a message so soon. A split second decision saw him sending a couple texts, right before his break was over.
[10:37 AM] To: Lee Dongmin ♥︎
i hope u take a nap or smth
[10:37 AM] To: Lee Dongmin ♥︎
staying up all night isn’t good 4 ur health
[10:38 AM] To: Lee Dongmin ♥︎
also this is moon bin the latte boy
“Binnie-hyung! I need help!” Minhyuk’s shout jerked Bin’s attention up from his phone.
“Coming!” Bin yelled back, standing up and rushing back out to the counter, leaving his phone on the couch in the break room. A few minutes later, it lit up with a short buzz.
[10:41 AM] From: Lee Dongmin ♥︎
No need to fret, I’m experienced with all-nighters. I’ll make sure to go to bed nice and early today. [wink emoji] [sleeping emoji]
[10:43 AM] From: Lee Dongmin ♥︎
Don’t worry. I know who you are. :)