Chapter Text
You see, Jaeyoung hadn’t always believed in faith, destiny or whatever you would like to call the inexplicable source that pulled the strings of one's life. But since a certain man had walked into the coffee shop he worked at, his mind had changed, just a little. Jaeyoung truly believed that this man was sent by the universe to make him pay for all his wrongdoings by simply annoying Jaeyoung out of a job. It all began a couple of months ago when the mystery man, Sangwoo, had walked into the store.
- a couple of months ago
It was Jeayoungs second week on the job and frankly he was getting a little tired of it. When his friend had offered it he had thought it would be easy money, who knew that being a barista actually entailed working as a barista. Although his work made him grumpy, a nice, customer-friendly smile was needed to, well, attract customers. So when the door chimed, and a friendly looking duo entered, a bright smile was what wore Jeayoung down most. ‘’I don’t want to get a latte macchiato, I’ll just stick with my regular black coffee.’’ “You’re no fun Sangchu*’’ The woman said, pushing against ‘Sangchu’s’ arm lightly. At least they were having the time of their lives, Jaeyoung thought sarcastically. When the duo finally arrived at the register, ‘Sangchu’ stared slightly annoyed at Jaeyoung. ‘’You know that your hair is a healthcode violation right?’’ As if Jaeyoung wasn’t irritated with this job already, nagging customers sure made his irritation way worse. ‘’Well the owner doesn’t have a problem with it so I just keep it like this.’’ He stated. ‘Sangchu’ looked as if he was about to rebuttal so Jaeyoung decided to shut it down before their disagreement continued - no arguing with the customers of course - “So, now that is cleared up, what would you both like to drink?’’ Such an annoying face, Jaeyoung thought. He hoped this was the first and last time he would have to witne-
- current time
“Jaeyoung?’’ “Hello dreamland, wake up asshole.’’ The last word was uttered under his fellow barista’s breath. “Jaeyoung there are literally customers in front of you.’’ A hand waved in front of his face wildly. He put the hand down gently with his own while waving the worried voice away with the other. ‘’I know I know, sorry Yuna.’’ Yuna had been the one to introduce Jaeyoung to the friend who had offered him a job, so he had her to thank for it.. Besides the job Yuna and him also had a lot of history together as they both majored in art and design. Those years had glued them together like the photos they used to use for their projects. A lot of parties, talks about trashy professors and late night meals were shared back then. Now Yuna was probably the closest friend he had. Yuna was also the friend who had the balls to put his loud mouth into place if needed. And well, today, it was very much needed with all the slacking he was doing.
‘’Want me to hit you awake next time?’’ She said with a self-impressed smirk. ‘’Yuna,’’ Jaeyoung gasped loudly, ‘’there are literally customers in front of me.’’ She hit him lightly on the shoulder as she walked over to the baked goods, probably to avoid work as well and instead chat to Jihye, the woman who was always with Sangwoo. It was then that Jaeyoung locked eyes with the person at the back of the line, Sangwoo. He should’ve expected it really. Jihye and him came in daily around lunchtime. But whereas Yuna had found a friendly face in Jihye, Jaeyoung still couldn’t properly get along with Sangwoo. Although their digs at each other were now more part of their own common banter, they were still digs at the end of the day.
The line seemed to take forever to Jaeyoung. Each customer seemed to get more specific and needy than the last. He needed to make blend after blend, burning himself on the hot liquids more than once. His mind was so consumed with his work that he didn’t notice a certain person's turn was finally there. ‘’One black coffee.’’ Jaeyoung smiled gently at the easy order until he looked up and realised who it was for. His smile depleted into a more judging one as he took in the man in front of him. The thing about Sangwoo was that he didn’t have a certain style, he had a certain look. A look that was infuriatingly repeated over and over again.
‘’One black coffee almost as plain as your outfit, coming right up.’’ Jaeyoung said teasingly. ‘’You know that black coffee has one of the most intense flavour experiences from the café’s whole menu, right?’’ Sangwoo said plainly. ‘’I said it was boring not that it wasn’t intense, besides the whole black combo is quite overwhelming actually, you should try colour sometime.’’ Jaeyoung shot back. ‘’I will not base my fashion on a barista’s opinion.’’ ‘’Correction, barista that dresses exceptionally well with the options he is given.’’ He said with a smirk as he elegantly poured the coffee into a to-go cup. Sadly the universe wasn’t on his side today and he missed the cup by quite a bit. Coffee splattered onto the cup, counter and Jaeyoungs uniform. His ears turned red under his cap. Jaeyoung hoped desperately that his hat covered at least that part of the disaster. Luckily Sangwoo didn’t seem to notice as he folded his arms triumphantly.
“I would focus on the job in front of you if I were you.’’ ‘’Thankyou for the incredibly helpful advice, Sangwoo’’
Jaeyoung sarcastically responded as he wiped down the surfaces that he covered in coffee just seconds ago. He filled up a new cup quickly and scribbled down ‘Sangchu’ on the label.
‘’Here’s your coffee, you can go and keep your girlfriend company now.’’
He said while he ticked the amount into the register. Sangwoo paid silently, clearly caught off guard by the suddenly made suggestion.
‘’She isn’t my girlfriend, she’s a friend from school.’’
Ah well, Jeayoung supposed that could make sense.
‘’Okay, go keep your friend company then, she is preventing my friend from doing actual work.’’ ‘’Your friend keeps talking to her about books and recommending her ones, so I don’t think my friend is the distraction.’’
Sangwoo said pointedly, looking over at the pair who were deep in conversation about their newest literary obsession; Le Petit Prince. Along with noticing the two girls, Jaeyoung also noticed the impatient looking line of customers that had formed behind Sangwoo.
‘’Look Sangwoo I would love to chat about our friends some more, but I have an actual job to do, so if you wouldn’t mind-.’’ “I wouldn’t, I have class soon anyway.’’
With that, their daily interaction was finished and Jaeyoungs work life felt a little lighter with it over.