one more coffee please

*SPECIAL* The Case of the Missing Cards

A short special for Elly who was wondering about Lay's Christmas Cards =)

It is early Spring, and vibrantly pastel and primrose in the café.

And apparently, Jongdae has had a pleasant year so far; in fact, so pleasant that Lay walks straight into the door before opening it, in pure surprise at the change of interior design.

The walls have gotten a paint job (and thank god it doesn't smell), there are little glittery fairy lights around the place and there are also new tables and chairs just outside the café, draped in red-checkered cloths (those were the ones that caught Lay's attention).

However, the hulking pot plant seems to have been moved less than a millimetre.

It isn't exactly 'painting the walls red' as requested in their infamously-neglected Things To Fix/Do In Jongdae's Grandmother's Wonderful, Amazing Coffee Shoppe, but he's willing to tick that point off. Perhaps it also means that Jongdae has actually paid attention to the list and done something, like a belated Christmas present.

Perhaps the cash register has been replaced.

Perhaps.

But once he gets behind the counter and the flood of trendy shop ornaments littering it, he sees that the cash register has not been replaced, and in fact looks even more ancient in the midst of sprightly Spring decor.

Oh well.

Lay hits shuffle on his music- which was briefly paused in his absolute awe- and perches himself on his stool.

Jongdae walks past him, just nods at a glossy card lying on the cash register, and doesn't even bother to tell him he's late; they both know, and are quite far beyond caring anymore.

Kyungsoo sweeps off with a tray and Lay gets a waft of peppermint and vanilla. He wrinkles his nose and picks up the card.

Halmeoni's Happy Café

(a/n: can anyone think of a better name? XD please comment your ideas!)

SWEET SPRING SPECIALS:
• raspberry white mocha
• vanilla & coconut latte
• espresso cortado
• caffe marocchino
• cherry/peppermint slice

"Oh my god," Lay says as he waves for Tao to come over. "He agreed to these-" He jabs a finger at the card. "-things to be served? Hell, but he goes insane every time someone gets an avocado- sorry, affogato!"

Tao shrugs solemnly. "Well yeah; he made it up himself?"

"He what?"

"I made it myself," Jongdae repeats as he passes them again. "You definitely need to stop listening to your music all the time."

Lay leans against the counter with a pensive look at the thought of Jongdae turning over a new leaf after all the fuss he's made over a simple dessert. The expression becomes increasingly more dubious.

He grabs the calendar and runs his finger over Chocolate Day: The Day Jongdae Went MAD in soothing circles.

After reaching a plausible conclusion, he hangs the calendar up and handles the cash process for a customer absentmindedly.

Jongdae doing all this means something really, really important.

~

On the day he calls some-twenty-ish AC (i.e. twenty-ish days after The Day Jongdae Went MAD, or After Chocolate), Lay comes in early with his messenger bag bulging with questionable items.