Blue {DoTae} | complete

Thirty-one: Stick with me

Doyoung feels rather bare walking down the street to Sweet Dreams Café. He's never been on his own before and, despite knowing how lovely Kun and his nephews are, he's still a little apprehensive. Kun invited him for a taster shift. He's getting paid for it, and Doyoung doesn't know what to expect. He rehearsed scenarios in the shower this morning, then mumbled to himself all the way, not caring that other pedestrians were giving him judgemental looks.

His mouth brightens into a smile when Kun greets him outside the entrance, just in the process of opening the café, Chenle bouncing around at his heels. Inside, Doyoung is fuzzy from anxiety and he prays his smile is convincing because he's genuinely happy to see them, if a little nervous all the same.

"Good morning!" Kun waves him inside. The owner turns over the wooden sign in the door to indicate that they're open for business.

"I helped decorate it! Look!" Chenle chirps, and Doyoung has to peer at the corner of the sign where a wonky daisy has been painted amongst the bed of flowers surrounding the swirly letters. "I painted that one! Renjun did the rest."

Doyoung nods with enthusiasm and praises the teen for his work, then Kun calls Chenle to make sure all the tables and chairs are arranged neatly.

"Here's your apron and name badge." Kun hands Doyoung the said items and waits for him to put them on. "You'll mostly be shadowing me today just to see how things work, so don't worry. I'm not throwing you in at the deep end."

Doyoung doesn't worry, not too much at least, because he's soon buzzing all over the place to fulfil task after task. Chenle's taking orders, Renjun is at the coffee machine and Kun is serving cakes, leaving Doyoung to wipe down tables and clear away plates and cups. He doesn't mind. He can get away with avoiding interactions with the customers, although he can feel the curious gaze of the regulars on his back as he makes sure to wipe away every single crumb and scrub the tables completely dry after. Once he's in the routine of it, it's therapeutic.

He gets used to the ebb and flow of people. His ears don't prickle when it reaches midday and all the tables are taken, the café alive with chatter, and his skin doesn't recoil from all the noise. It's actually enjoyable. Chenle doesn't seem so overwhelming in his extroversion, rather a happy-go-lucky teenager enjoying life, and Doyoung regrets not having the same attitude when he was sixteen. Renjun is more reserved, although diligent and the perfect counterpart to help guide Doyoung through working the till when Kun is on lunch break.

Chenle leaves, then Yangyang shows up, accompanied by a guy with jet black hair. Doyoung nods in greeting, unsure of how to approach the new face. The other laughs bright, squeaking as he does so, and introduces himself as Hendery.

"Kun said you might be coming. Doyoung, right?" Hendery asks and the elder can only nod again.

Doyoung takes a step back and resumes rinsing out glasses to allow Hendery to register the orders into the till. Doyoung can't help but peer in amazement over his shoulder at how dexterous he is at pressing all the correct buttons, the numbers flying in more or less as soon as Renjun brings the notepad over.

If he were to work here, there's a lot to learn. But Doyoung feels capable of tackling it all. His brain fizzes with determination all the way through to the final minute of his shift, and Kun comes over to pat him on the back.

"How did you find it? Was it all manageable?" Kun asks so many questions that Doyoung drops his gaze to the floor and ends up stuttering out a confirmation that he enjoyed it. "Splendid!"

Kun sends Doyoung on his way with a glorious selection of red velvet muffins and honey flapjacks. Doyoung lets out a long breath when he reaches the pavement outside. With the buzz of the café now muffled by the door, thoughts creep back into his skull and he doesn't know what to think of his morning. It went by without any mishaps. He didn't have to serve any customers, and he didn't spill any drinks either. Yet his knees seem weak and his chest is a little tight, fingers surely gripping the box of treats with too much force. It doesn't help that his phone is blowing up with messages from his mother asking how it went.