Lonely Kitten

49

Now that 3racha's album was released and the dance cover going viral online, the three dancers didn't have a project to work on anymore and although they met up to dance together quite often, Hyunjin and Felix went to focus more on their classes, while Minho started to take on more shifts at the café. 3racha was back to their usual work, producing music without deadlines they had to meet. It was far more fun this way, especially because the newest album was a full success, which boosted their confidence in their music. Without deadlines to meet, Jisung would usually walk Minho to the café, where the hybrid would start his shift and his mate picked up some coffee for his hyungs and himself. Minho's work situation had changed significantly, most of the other baristas had been exchanged by new ones and Jeongin felt much more comfortable working there, not needing to rely on Minho for protection anymore.

Minho would be working an early shift today and Jisung had insisted to get up along with him but now that the morning came, the rapper regretted it. He felt a bit off and would've truly appreciated to sleep in a little longer. Minho actually considered just letting him sleep when the younger had gone back to sleep for the third time after being woken up but he was afraid his mate would be upset at him for not waking him and getting his morning coffee together. Jisung did pull himself together and got out of bed eventually, having to rush through his morning routine, so they could walk to the café together without making Minho late for his shift. As he got ready, the rapper saw some weird smudges on the bathroom mirror and tried to wipe them away before looking slightly off to the side and realizing the smudges weren't on the mirror but rather in his vision, no matter where he looked. Weird. He didn't have time to dwell on it and hurried to the front door to put on his shoes, Minho already waiting for him.

Jisung slipped his hand into Minho's, the older giving him a warm smile. Assuming his mate was still sleepy, Minho led their conversation and rambled on about how things had changed for the better and he really enjoyed working at the café now, which was all thanks to Jisung's idea on how to take care of the baristas harassing Jeongin. The rapper shot a small smile back, happy that his mate was happy and proud how the older had built a life for himself after his time as a stray cat. A little out of it, it took all of Jisung's attention to follow Minho's words and he didn't notice how they arrived in front of the café. Minho pecked his cheek before heading off to the back to clock in and put on his apron. The younger took a bit longer to enter and walk up to the counter because in all honesty, he wanted Minho to be the one preparing his coffee, insisting he could taste the love his mate prepared his drink with. In reality, the hybrid always added a tiny dash of cinnamon to Jisung's drink, so it'd taste slightly different from when one of the other baristas prepared it but the rapper didn't need to know that. Cinnamon was as good as love anyway.

Not long after, Jisung was on his way to the company building with only one to go cup because he knew he was early and the coffee would be cold by the time his hyungs would join him. Having more than enough time, the rapper entered the studio and kicked off his shoes before stretching out on the couch to wait for Chan and Changbin. He had still not been able to blink away the odd smudges in his vision, so he figured he could rest his eyes a little until they had to work, a small smile still playing around his lips at the memory of Minho's happy rambles. The hybrid started his shift with the same enthusiasm Jisung had seen in him all morning and his mood couldn't be dulled by the fact that his shift wasn't with Jeongin today. The younger would come in later that day and take over from Minho for the second half of the day, so they'd still get the chance to talk. Minho wanted to thank Jeongin for taking such good care of Felix and also let him know that the Aussie had talked things out with his mate, so everything was fine now.

To Minho's surprise, Jeongin actually came in two hours before his shift started, carrying a stack of book, which he set down at one of the tables with a heavy thud. The younger shot Minho a smile when he spotted the hybrid behind the counter. Waving at Jeongin, the older already started to make Jeongin his usual caramel macchiato, which he took over to his dongsaeng's table and carefully placed it down in the tiny space not covered by books and papers. "Exams coming up?", Minho asked sympathetically. Jeongin nodded. Ever since the situation with their coworkers had changed, he had started to appreciate the ambience as it helped him focus on his studies. His boss didn't mind him occupying one of the tables as long as he also ordered coffee while he was there, so the café had become one of his favorite places to study at. He had been really focused for the past hour but was starting to slowly lose his focus.

As Jeongin glanced around the mostly empty café, he found Minho pacing behind the counter. With only a few tables occupied and no other customers there, Minho didn't have anyone to serve at the moment and started to pay attention to other things like his own thoughts. He only realized now, that he actually felt a bit on edge and the longer he payed attention to that sense that something was off, the more it seemed to consume him. Now being more than convinced that something was seriously wrong, Minho's heart started to race and he anxiously paced behind the counter until Jeongin came over, shooting him an adorable smile. Any other day it would've been enough to soothe the hybrid's nerves but today it didn't change anything. "What's wrong, hyung?", the younger asked softly, his head tilted to the side. Minho only shrugged, glancing down. That was when he noticed his hands were shaking like crazy. He shut his eyes and took a few deep breaths in an attempt to slow his pounding heart but he wasn't really successful.

With his eyes closed, Minho paid even more attention to his body and wondered when his head had started to hurt and why he only noticed the pain now. Realizing that Jeongin was still waiting for an answer, the older muttered: "I-I don't know. My head hurts and I feel really on edge all of a sudden but no idea why." - "Have you been sleeping enough lately", Jeongin frowned. Minho nodded, insisting: "More than usual actually. The deadlines we had been working towards have passed now, so there is not the slightest reason to feel stressed, yet I feel more stressed than I can remember feeling in a long time." Tapping his lips, Jeongin took some time to think. He usually talked to Seungmin when he felt that way as his mate usually had the power to calm him down in an instant. "Do you want to call Jisung? If you need a moment, I can take over the counter for a few minutes", Jeongin offered, shooting his friend a sympathetic smile. Minho didn't really want to keep the younger from studying longer than he already had, knowing how hard the boy was working to get into the same university as Seungmin. On the other hand, Minho doubted he'd be able to relax without having spoken to Jisung, so he gave a hesitant nod.

"Alright, you go to the back and call Jisung, I got everything handled out here, hyung", Jeongin smiled, stepping behind the counter and gently pushing the older towards the back of the café. As he walked into the small break room at the back, Minho took a few deep breaths to calm himself. If he sounded too panicked, he'd worry Jisung and he didn't want to distract the rapper too much or make him feel like he needed to come over to check on him. He struggled a bit to pull his phone from his pocket and ended up dropping it to the floor, from how badly his hands were trembling at this point. It took him some time to unlock his phone and dial Jisung's number and then it took even longer for someone to pick up. Minho was already pacing again, as he felt like nobody would pick up from how long it had been ringing already. It wouldn't be that unheard of for the rapper to have silenced his phone because they were recording something. Minho heaved a sigh of relief when the call was finally accepted before his blood ran cold because that wasn't Jisung on the other side of the line.