Chapter Text
Seven doesn’t like coffee very much.
To him, coffee is a means of getting caffeine. It’s best when drunk completely black, maybe some sugar if he’s feeling adventurous or has the time to add it. He doesn’t usually, considering he spends most of his life working for Jumin Han as a tech support man and/or hacker. Seven has a complicated relationship with Jumin. When he was younger, Jumin and his best friend V ended up helping Seven and his twin brother get out of their abusive household. Ever since then, Seven has felt a debt towards Jumin and somehow ended up working at his company after college.
Believe him, it wasn’t part of the plan.
Though Seven is forever grateful to Jumin, there are also times when he wants to strangle the dark haired man. Mostly when he’s standing over Seven’s desk with that infuriating smile, giving him more work while Seven is tangled in a bunch of wires that the interns didn’t know how to properly plug in. Right after Jumin gives him more things to do—which sometimes involves illegal means, but Jumin doesn’t shy away from that—Seven usually goes to get some coffee, just to annoy Jumin.
Right. Coffee. That’s how the story starts.
Or maybe it started with Jaehee. Jaehee and coffee. To Jaehee, coffee is something more than just a beverage—Seven can tell. Maybe it’s the way her eyes light up when she sees the fancy espresso machines or the pleased sigh at the first sip of her caramel macchiato. Either way, Jaehee seeks solace from her hectic job at the nearby coffee shop. It didn’t used to be this way. A few months earlier, Jaehee couldn’t even leave the office because she was so busy and stressed. But once Jumin started dating someone—it’s not confirmed, though they all suspect that’s the reason for his sudden good mood—he became much more lenient and forgot to pile more work on Jaehee.
In order to get away from Jumin and his annoying requests for a better firewall, Seven often goes with Jaehee to get coffee. Which he doesn’t even like very much. Which he’s said. Right. God, it’s hard to start at the beginning. And it’s much harder to get all his thoughts together. He’ll try one more time.
It started with Jaehee, coffee, and a very cute, very clumsy barista.
“Wait up, Jaehee! I’ll go with you!” Seven finished wrapping his scarf around his neck, grinning widely at the scowl on the brunette woman’s face. He caught up to her at the elevator, Jumin’s annoyed face coming into view right as the elevator doors closed. His grin melted into a tiny, smug smirk at the fact that he successfully escaped the clutches of Jumin Han, at least for another twenty minutes.
“Are you trying to avoid Mr. Han by going with me to get coffee?” Jaehee asked, looking very much like she was resisting the urge to either sigh or pinch the bridge of her nose. Maybe both, if Seven was being particularly frustrating that day.
“I plead the fifth,” Seven responded happily, adjusting the scarf he had put on haphazardly. Finally, Jaehee sighed, though her fingers stayed in her coat pockets.
“That’s an American thing. And you don’t even like coffee that much.” She tossed the last part over her shoulder as the elevator doors opened into the company’s main floor, shiny floors glistening. Part of Seven wanted to rip off his converse and slide across in his socks.
“Yes, I don’t like coffee, but I’m doing it for you. I can’t let my friend brave the Korean cold alone!” Seven said dramatically, pulling the glass door open for Jaehee. As he did, cold air rushed into the building, slamming into his body, causing goosebumps to rise on his skin. Though some of their coworkers joked about Jaehee being a robot, she was very much human, and it showed in the way she shivered at the cold, attempting to burrow into her coat.
“Yes, I’m sure it’s not because you’re trying to escape Mr. Han,” she replied, though the corner of her mouth was curving up a bit. It was a lovely expression on her, considering she almost never smiled during work. Despite the freezing cold, it was nice to get out and for both of them to relax, even if it was just a brief respite during the day.
“Can you blame me for wanting to? Wanting me to replace the hard drives in five computers, and update all the security systems in the sales department in one day? He’s a bit of a slave driver.”
Jaehee hummed, evidently deciding it was too cold to respond. The two walked along in companionable silence for a few minutes, enjoying the crisp, fresh air. There was undoubtedly going to be a mountain of work waiting for him back at the company, but for now, Seven was ignoring his responsibilities and focusing on the walk to the coffee shop.
The coffee shop was one that Jaehee and Seven had been going to for a couple of months now, once they discovered that Jumin’s good mood actually enabled them to leave the office. A female barista there always flirted with Jaehee, which Seven suspected was at least half the reason Jaehee kept going back. They hadn’t been there in a few weeks, though, considering how busy they had both been. Today had been the first day in a long time that they could spare time away. Well, Seven couldn’t really spare the time away, but he was doing it anyways, consequences be damned.
It could be stifling working at Jumin’s company. The man could be overbearing and sometimes even unfeeling. Jaehee had been working there even longer than Seven had, but it seemed that she had become resigned to the back breaking pace long ago. Seven was used to working relentlessly—he double majored in college, after all—but Jumin Han brought a whole new meaning to the word ‘work’. To Jumin, it seemed that if you didn’t finish the Wall of China equivalent of work in one day, you were a disappointment. However, he had been getting better lately. Maybe Seven should hack his phone and see what was going on…
Seven was jerked out of his nefarious thoughts by the sight of the coffee shop. It would be warm inside there, and smell like freshly roasted coffee beans. At least coffee smelled good, or else it’s only redeeming quality would be the caffeine boost it offered. Which he could get just as easily from Dr. Pepper. Or an unhealthy energy drink.
The two entered the shop, the bell above the door jingling cheerfully as it announced their arrival. Sure enough, a few moments later, the beaming face of the cute barista Jaehee always flirted with popped around the espresso machine she was maining.
“Oh, hello, you two! I’ll be done in just a moment!” she called out, going back to the drink she was making. Now that they were inside the shop, Seven’s shoulders slumped in a bit of stress relief. It seemed that he had forgotten just how soothing the shop was in the short time he had been away. The interior was darkly furnished, but not in a oppressive way. Tiny pods of brown cushy armchairs near the windows were laden with dark red pillows faded with use. Several tables were strewn around, a bit battered but still usable. Fairy lights lined the trim of the shop, lending a warm, comfortable feeling to the cozy space that was filled with soft, alternative music floating from speakers mounted on the wall. In between the two speakers was a giant corkboard filled with polaroids of workers, customers, and sometimes even both. There was one in the upper right of Jaehee and Seven on their third week visiting the shop, both smiling hesitantly as they cupped their coffee in their hands.
The counter which they were now standing in front of was the same color as the tables-- a rich, dark brown, though several flyers for local events were littering the top of it. A tip jar with a tiny sign that said ‘feed me!! :3’ was filled with some change. The letters were done in bright turquoise and Seven felt the urge to shove a dollar bill in just because of the neat handwriting and cute face on the note.
“Hello, Jaehee!” The worker appeared at the counter, two spots of red high on her cheeks from running around the shop. Although it also might have been at the sight of Jaehee, who was smiling softly at the woman in the brown apron.
“Hello, MC,” replied Jaehee, who pretended to scan the menu even though she probably already knew what she wanted-- she was just buying time to talk to MC. The women continued to chat, flirting, and Seven thought about getting his phone out to look at, considering the two of them were being gross, but then the door to the back opened.
“Hey, MC, um, where do you want this box of flavor stuff? I got it down from the rack like you asked me to, but--”
BAM.
The person who had just entered from the back tripped over something, a startled yelp escaping from their mouth as they tumbled to the ground, box slipping from their grasp.
“Yoosung!” exclaimed MC, rushing over to the person. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” the person deemed Yoosung whined. “I think I just banged my knee.”
Then he looked up and, as cheesy as it sounded, Seven’s entire world seemed to slow to a crawl.
A pale, round face, slightly red from the fall, framed by mussed blonde hair with dark roots, bobby pins askew. There were involuntary tears in his beautiful purple eyes, dark lashes fluttering as he rubbed his nose, pink lips pursed in a pout.
He was adorable as hell and Seven was going to die in this coffee shop.
“Sorry,” the adorable worker apologized to everyone in the front, his face flushing an even deeper red. “This is only my second week, and I guess I still haven’t gotten the hang of that uneven wood plank…”
“It’s okay, Yoosung,” said MC, rubbing his shoulder with a comforting hand. “I tripped over it fifteen times on my first day.”
Thankfully, nobody had noticed that Seven had gone completely still, enraptured by the figure in front of him.
Yoosung was wearing a green sweater with a purple button up underneath, collar peeking up from the putrid green material. The two colors didn’t go together at all, but somehow Yoosung made it work with how the button up matched his eyes and the green looked wonderful with his hair. It didn’t make sense, but Seven had a feeling Yoosung could put on one of those trash bags in the corner and be able to wear it down a runway. The sleeves of both shirts had been pushed up his forearms, revealing a few bracelets and pale, soft skin. Seven had the sudden urge to touch that skin and see if it was as smooth as it looked.
“Seven? What do you want?” Jaehee nudged him lightly in the side, snapping him out of his stupor. Dammit, he had gotten carried away.
“Uh,” Seven started, his mind a complete blank except for pretty purple eyes.
“Oh, let me get this!” A cheerful voice called out and then a few seconds later, Yoosung was standing at the counter and beaming.
“What can I get for you two?” he asked, one hand reaching for an aqua sharpie and the other for a coffee cup.
“A large caramel macchiato, please,” Jaehee said, a small smile on her face. It seemed that the blonde man had charmed both members of their tiny group.
“And for you?” Seven made eye contact with Yoosung, who was still grinning, looking like it was his ultimate pleasure to take Seven’s coffee order that day. To his ultimate horror, Seven felt his face begin to heat up. No. He had gone years without feeling any romantic feelings towards people, and he wanted to keep it that way. Anyone who got close to him just got hurt.
“Four shots of espresso, please,” Seven said darkly, staring hard at the cash register instead of that lovely face.
There was a long moment of silence as everyone digested what Seven had said, his voice devoid of any joy like he had been ordered to the guillotine. A very cute, very energetic guillotine whose hair was still rumpled.
“Just...four espresso shots?” Yoosung asked, his voice quavering with a note of hesitance. When Seven glanced at his face, he noted that Yoosung’s smile had slipped a bit, but it was still present.
“Yes,” Seven replied, a wave of dread crashing over his body as he realized that he was digging the grave even deeper. “Put them all in one cup together.”
“Oh...um, okay. Name?” Yoosung’s hand hovered over the cup, and Seven caught sight of Jaehee’s cup, her name written in the same swirling script that was on the tip jar.
“I’m going to fucking die,” Seven muttered.
“I...um, excuse me?” Poor Yoosung was incredibly confused now, his dark eyebrows furrowing together.
“His name is Luciel,” Jaehee interjected.
"No, it's Seven," he grumbled, still sweating profusely. Why would Jaehee choose now to use his Catholic name??
With a tiny nod, Yoosung scribbled that down on the cup, passing Jaehee’s cup to MC, who quickly started on the caramel macchiato. Yoosung was working on Seven’s espresso shots with a perplexed look on his face. Each shot added into the cup made him wince and Seven felt a stab of guilt at being that weird customer on the man’s second week.
“What was that all about?” Jaehee asked, raising an eyebrow as she gathered napkins and hot sleeves for their drinks.
“Oh, uh, just remembered that Jumin asked me to do some more work. Looks like I’ll be at the office late tonight,” Seven smoothly lied, internally cursing. Jaehee would likely be there late too, so if he didn’t stay, she’d ask him why.
Jaehee just nodded with a sympathetic wince. She knew all too well the laments of working late. Thankfully, a few minutes later, their drinks were done and Jaehee grabbed Seven’s for him, handing him the small cup full of strong espresso. The first sip crashed into Seven’s senses, almost making him shudder.
“Bye! See you later!” MC called out as they left. Jaehee returned the sentiment, raising a hand in farewell. From behind an espresso machine, Yoosung’s hand shot out to give a quick wave. Once they started walking back, Seven expected Jaehee to ask why he had been so weird inside, but she didn’t. Instead, she started talking about how some people in purchasing were trying to convince Jumin to have a company Christmas party. The rest of the walk back was spent brainstorming ideas to make the party a reality.
Once they were back to the office, Seven managed to make it to his computer without running into Jumin at all and he flopped heavily into his chair, frowning as he thought about what had just occurred at the coffee shop. Sure, Yoosung was cute, but why had Seven been so drawn to him the moment he saw him?
“Whatever,” he mumbled. It was just one guy. How hard would it be to go there and see him? Lots of people were attractive.
Then Seven picked up his cup again and noticed that there was something scrawled right under his name. Squinting, he saw that it was a note from Yoosung.
‘Don’t overdose on caffeine!! :)’
Seven immediately threw his head down on his desk, cradling it with his arms, groaning loudly.
Okay, it would be really hard.