elements

chapter 2

The five men walked altogether, the one from before pointing to the things he saw when he came in alone. A bunch of "ooos" and "aaas" filled the air as Taehyung watched them, trying to be as neutral as he could in the situation.

"Look! Look how many books there are!" the guy from before said, Taehyung recognizing his voice. Taehyung's chest swelled, his stomach spiraling as he heard words of praise that he hadn't heard for months. His heart was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode, the closer the men came towards him.

Kim Soo squealed from behind him, watching the men's amused faces. From the kitchen, Do-Yun was pacing around, cracking his knuckles through the latex gloves he wore on his hands. This moment right now was what all three of them had been waiting for ever since Elements opened up. Every new customer was a milestone for them, but this- this could be considered an entire trophy.

Taehyung took a deep breath in, closed his eyes, and couldn't help but grin as he felt his heart pulse with pure elation. So, it begins. "Welcome to Elements!" he chirped and opened his eyes to see the group of men bunched around the register, still taking in everything at the cafe as they murmured to each other. "What can I get for you today?"

"Sorry that took so long," said the only guy that Taehyung recognized, "these guys don't know how to choose quickly. Uhhh alright, anyways. Yoongi, what'd you pick?"

One of the guys, Yoongi as he was called, came up front to speak and looking at the menu, he placed his order. "Could I get the bacon dip and some scrambled eggs? White bread please, and some fruits on the side."

Taehyung nodded and entered the order into the register. "Are you paying separately?" he asked. Yoongi shook his head before disappearing behind who Taehyung saw as the head of the group. One of the guys snickered and mocked how Yoongi made his order, but instantly stopped talking when Yoongi turned his head. To Taehyung, whose biggest group of friends was his mystery collection at home, the dynamic made him shift in his stance.

"Jin, stop bothering him. Tell him what you want," the guy sighed, and moved over to give the man, Jin, some space to order. He briskly came out of the bunch, the hood of his hoodie slipping off in the movement.

"I'd love the chocolate pancakes. Um, topping would be strawberries but no powdered sugar please. Thank you," he said, and bowed. Taehyung quickly tapped in Jin's order, feeling a lot less nervous than before. They seem nice. He turned his head to the 'leader' and waited for him to call up the next person.

"Jimin," he called. Nothing happened. The guys turned around but seemed lost when they couldn't find him. "Where'd he go?" Taehyung looked towards the only place where he could go- the bookshelves. He tried his hardest to keep a poker face as he saw the guy, Jimin, wander through the shelves of books on the balcony. The leader sighed and called his name louder, making Jimin turn abruptly. "Hey man, get down here. We're ordering food." The guy shook his head and turned back around. "In the meantime, Jungkook, you go."

Taehyung got ready to hit in the order as 'Jungkook' stepped forward. He was still reading the menu carefully, his hand scratching the back of his neck as he did so. "I'll just have the same as what Jin had but uh- keep the powdered sugar on," he said, and quickly glanced at Taehyung as he stepped away. Taehyung cleared his throat and nodded before putting in the order, ignoring the slight throb of pain he felt due to the awkwardness.

Jimin had made his way down and back into the bunch, both a book and a menu in his hand. "I'll have what Jungkook is having. What do I do if I want to check out this book though?"

Taehyung, inputting the order, motioned for Jimin to hand over the book. Silent Sequence. Good choice. "I'll happily ring it out for you. The books here don't really have a due date that you should return them by," he explained and then bit the inside of his cheek, "but uh.. please don't steal them. They're books I've collected and handpicked from every genre."