"Good morning, Jaemin-ssi!" Renjun greets with a wide smile written on his face as he enters his workplace, the Bunny Café.
"Oh, wow! You're early today." Jaemin, the Bunny Café owner and also his bestfriend, says as he's cleaning the coffee machine. "Looks like someone's in good mood today."
Renjun giggles, walking up to the counter. "You bet I am."
"Oh! What's going on?" Jaemin grins, leaning closer as he lend his ears. "Tell me about it."
"Don't you remember, Jaemin-ssi?"
"What?" Jaemin suddenly furrows his eyebrows, "Don't I remember what?"
"Oh my God, Jaemin-ah! You don't care about your employees. It's payday today! Come on, gimme my salary." Renjun lend his palms in front of the coffee shop owner.
Jaemin playfully rolls his eyes. "Oh, so that's why! I'll give it to you later. You're not even starting today yet."
"Well, then, let's open the shop!" Renjun grins.
"Go ahead!"
Renjun skips and happily walks to the entrance to flip over the 'Sorry, we're CLOSED' sign to turn it into 'Come in, we're OPEN!' sign. Jaemin watches him fondly and confusedly at the same time.
What's gotten into his bestfriend that made him like this today? Jaemin thinks, but he's actually glad that Renjun's in good mood.
Renjun goes back to the counter and brushes the dust off the cash register, still with a grin on his face. Jaemin smiles.
"Keep it up, Renjun-ssi! Just call me at the back if you need anything."
"Don't worry, Jaemin-ssi~ I'm alright. Now, scoot!"
Jaemin laughs before walking at the back, in his office. Well, not really an office. It's a storage room where some more cups, coffee beans and other materials are located.
The bell rings, indicating that someone enters the shop. Renjun smiles and greets the person, "Good morning!"
It's a girl that looks like she hasn't slept for days. She wears sweatpants and oversized shirt. Her hair's a bit messy, tied up with a claw clip. She's rubbing her eyes as she walks to the counter.
"Hi." she manages to greet.
Renjun remains smiling, "What can I get for you today?"
"Uh, can I get an Iced Americano, please? With maybe, 3 shots of espresso. Thank you."
Renjun nods before registering her order. "Would that be all? For take out or dine in?"
"That's all. Take out."
"Alright! Eight dollars, please."
As she slides her hand into the pocket of her sweatpants, she suddenly widens her eyes, making herself fully awake. "Oh my God! I forgot my wallet."
"Oh." Renjun purses his lips together.
"I'm sorry, can you wait? I'll just going to get my wallet. I live nearby."
"Sure. I'll make your order while waiting."
"Here's my ring so that you know I'll come back." She takes off her ring and places it on the counter. "I'll be quick!"
Renjun nods and the girl leaves the shop. He chuckles as he starts to make her order.
Few minutes later, the girl finally comes back, panting heavily. "Here!" She places an exact payment then grabs her ring and puts it back on her right thumb finger.
Renjun picks up the money and puts it on the cash register. He also grabs the coffee and slides it in front of her.
"Here you go!"
"Oh, my God, thank you! You know, I haven't slept and like, I need coffee to function again. I've been doing my plates, I'm so tired."
"Are you an engineering student by chance?"
"Yes!" she answers, "I'll come back here, maybe tomorrow, to show you my work. Are you willing to wait?"
Renjun widens his eyes, "Oh. Sure, I'd be glad to see your work. And you should get some sleep, a lot of rest even. You deserve it."
"Thank you! You're so nice. My name's Jung Saerim, by the way. See you soon!"
Renjun waves at her as she's leaving the coffee shop. He sighs and sits on his chair, dropping his smile.
×××
While serving another customer, his co-worker comes in.
"Good morning, Renjun-ssi!"
"Good morning, Minjeong-ssi."
Here's the thing. Renjun's shift starts at 7AM but Minjeong's at 11AM. When they applied, Jaemin asked them what time do they want to start their shift a day, hence the difference in their shift time.
It's actually just the two of them working at the coffee shop. Jaemin said he doesn't need many employees since he only has two cash registers. And besides, his coffee shop is still small and not that popular.
Another customer comes in and while Renjun is busy, Minjeong greets the customer. "Good morning! May I take your order?"
"Uhm, it's actually my first time here, but can you offer me something that is not Caramel Macchiato nor Iced Americano."
"Gladly! Perhaps, can I offer you our Affogato? It has milk and a scoop of vanilla, coffee or chocolate ice cream. And then we'll top it with a shot of espresso. Would you like that?"
"Hmm, that sounds delicious. An order of Affogato, please."
"Okay! For the ice cream, which flavor would you like? Vanilla, coffee or chocolate?"
"Vanilla, please."
"Of course!" Minjeong registers his order. "That would be four dollars, please."
"Here." The customer pays an exact payment and Minjeong puts the money in the cash register.
"Oh, wait, for take out or dine in?"
"Dine in."
"Alright! We'll serve it for 10 minutes. Thank you!"
"Thanks."
"Genius! Offerring Affogato for a first time customer." Renjun suddenly says. "Haven't had someone ordering Affogato for a while."
"Yeah! They're always like: Iced Americano, Caramel Macchiato, Matcha Latte, ugh!" Minjeong chuckles. "Anyway, I'll go make Affogato now."
"Sure."
×××
Renjun couldn't sit still in his chair. He keeps looking at the clock, waiting for it to strike five o' clock. Minjeong has been giving him a confused look.
"Why are you so fidgety? And you keep looking at the clock. What's the matter?" she finally asks after serving a customer.
"He's coming."
"Who? Oh! Your crush?" Minjeong giggles when Renjun shushes her, putting a finger infront of his lips.
"He's not my crush!"
"Yeah, right." Minjeong playfully rolls her eyes. She grabs her bag from her chair and taps his shoulder, "Anyway, my shift ends now. So, it's just you here. Take care of the shop, okay?"
Renjun nods. "Bye!"
"Bye-yee~" Minjeong waves at him, finally leaving the café.
Five o' clock strikes and he turns to the entrance. Anticipated, he taps his finger on the counter. He watches as customers leave one by one as minutes pass. Still, no medical student guy coming in the shop. Maybe he falls asleep again and no one wakes him up.
He pouts, sighing heavily. He stares at the cash register for a long time. So long that he didn't realize that Jaemin's been calling him.
"Hey, Renjun-ah!" He gets startle when Jaemin taps his shoulder.
"Oh, Jaem. You leaving?"
"Yup, Jeno and I have a date tonight. Anyway, here's your salary. Keep up the good work!" Jaemin hands him an envelope. "I'll just give Minjeong's tomorrow."
He receives the envelope with a smile on his face. "Thanks, boss."
Jaemin laughs. "You be careful, okay? I'll go ahead now. See you tomorrow!"
"See you! Enjoy your date."
Renjun sighs heavily, watching Jaemin exits the café.
He usually likes being alone in the shop. It's peaceful and quiet. It's calming his mind. He likes the sight of an empty coffee shop. But not right now. He feels like there's something missing, or perhaps, someone.
While he's waiting for some customers, he makes himself his favorite French Vanilla Latte. He doesn't drink coffee as much as Jaemin enjoys drinking ten cups of coffee a day, but he likes this certain type.
He sits on his chair and sips on the straw. "Yum!" he sighs contentedly.
He looks at the clock and he's sees that it's already 6:46 in the evening. He pouts. "I wonder what happened to him? I hope he's fine." He sips on his coffee, staring at the cash register.
He finishes his coffee and looks at the clock again. It's already 7PM.
"Guess it's time to close the shop." Renjun sighs, getting up from his seat, with the cup in his hand, and goes to the kitchen to throw it away.
-
A/N
See the multimedia for the menu !
Hello there! How was the first chapter? By the way, I'm using dollars instead of Korean won because it's easier to convert Philippine peso to dollars than to won, haha.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Thank you for reading ♡