Title: Café Love
Genre: Fluff, Barista AU
Warnings: mentions of anxiety, alcohol, cancer
Word Count: 2389k
Author's Note: This is just something I've been working on the past week. I am a part-time barista, so I got a little inspiration for this story. My friend also helped me come up with half of this, so I credit her great ideas. So I really hope you guys like this. Thank you for reading ^ - ^
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Ever since freshman year of college started, Kim (Y/n) found herself in three places. The campus building where she attended classes, her apartment where she studied and recharged from social overstimulation, and the part-time job at Cafe 7 she had gotten two summers ago.
(Y/n) honestly enjoyed being a barista. Not so much the interacting-with-customers part. It was more of the soft music that played in the background and the aroma of coffee beans she had grown to like. Having friendly coworkers was also a plus.
"Hey, (Y/n)!" Jaemin waved from behind the counter when he saw her coming through the entrance. She smiled and shyly waved back.
Jaemin was one of those friendly coworkers. When they met a few months ago, (Y/n) was a little intimidated by his charismatic personality. But after getting to know him, she came to see that he was a pretty interesting person.
Early on, she learned he was a college dropout who would be in the year above her if he hadn't. He loved coffee and drank two to three cups of it with four extra shots every day. On his off days, he enjoyed photography and often liked to take pictures of his friends.
The two of them exchanged small talk until their other coworker, Hyejin came, allowing Jaemin to get off his shift. He usually worked in the morning on weekdays while (Y/n) took the closing shifts because of school.
Jaemin often noticed the tiredness in her eyes, whether she had stayed up too late studying or was drained from class. Nonetheless, she still came nearly every day, ready to work.
A few minutes after he clocked out, he realized he forgot his phone. Just as he reentered the cafe, he spotted (Y/n) and Hyejin behind the counter. (Y/n) was preparing a customer's order, while Hyejin was talking to her.
Not wanting to eavesdrop, he headed to the back and grabbed his phone to leave again. But he stopped in his tracks when he heard his name mentioned.
"Na Jaemin, is kinda cute don't you think?" He heard Hyejin say. "He seems like your ideal type."
(Y/n) hated how her cheeks immediately flushed at Hyejin's comment. What she said wasn't necessarily wrong. For one thing, Jaemin was one of those rare guys who was genuinely kind. He was introverted, which sparked many conversations about their quiet lifestyles. He also had a lovely smile.
Even though (Y/n) wasn't too experienced (or at all) in the field of dating, Jaemin was everything she could hope for in a guy. Yet—as much as the thought of him made her heart flutter, a sense of discouragement came with it.
"Yeah he is. But I don't think it would work out." (Y/n) shook her head, as she poured steamed milk into a cup with espresso.
"Why do you say that?"
She reached for a lid and cup holder. "I just...can't see why a guy would like me. Much less someone like Na Jaemin."
"What are you talking about?" Hyejin scoffed in disbelief. "There's so many things to like about you—"
But (Y/n) quickly interrupted and handed Hyejin the drink she just made. "No, there really isn't. Now, can you deliver this to the girl over there?"
A frown etched on Jaemin's face, upset by what he heard. (Y/n)'s words stuck with him the rest of the day. Frankly, he's liked her for quite some time now. In the beginning, she was very reserved and only spoke to him when necessary. But once she warmed up, he thought of (Y/n) as a bundle of everything soft and cute in the world.
He loved the way her eyes lit up when she talked about something she was passionate about. He liked the sweet tone she used when telling customers to have a good day before they left. His heart always did flip-flops whenever she hummed to certain songs that played in the cafe.
"You're so whipped," Jeno teased, after listening to Jaemin's rant back at home.
Jaemin's feet kicked on the bed. "I just don't understand! Why would she think that I wouldn't like her?"
"I don't know. Maybe you should try showing her you do," Jeno shrugged.
He let his best friend's words sink into his head. The suggestion didn't sound too bad. If he wanted (Y/n) to know his true feelings, showing was better than telling right?
So following Jeno's advice, Jaemin became determined to prove (Y/n) wrong. His official plan to pursue her was formed.
He practically had to beg their manager, Johnny, to put him and (Y/n) together for more shifts. It took some convincing, but the tall male eventually gave in.
"(Y/n)-ah!" He called, standing by the espresso machine.
"Yeah?"
He picked up the slip of receipt paper with a customer's order on it and scratched his head. "I forgot how to make a matcha frappe. Can you show me?"
(Y/n) sighed and shook her head before grabbing the bottle of matcha from the fridge.
"Haven't you been working here longer than me? How did you forget?" She lightly scolded.
In response, Jaemin smiled brightly at her. "Luckily, I have a beautiful, smart coworker to help me out."
He didn't miss the shade of pink that was dusted across her cheeks. But she tried to play it off and cleared her throat before asking him to hand her a measuring cup.
After that day, there were several other occurrences where (Y/n) would find herself in a flustered state. Na Jaemin was seriously driving her crazy. Receiving compliments from him wasn't anything out of the ordinary. But recently, (Y/n) felt like he was doing it on a different level.
After closing, Johnny would say, "Good job today, guys!"
Jaemin would then add, "Especially our (Y/n)-i~!"
The days passed and Jaemin's flirtations continued.
One day he would be like, "That sweater looks nice on you, (Y/n)-ssi. The color compliments your skin!"
Another time he said, "I like the way you styled your hair today! You should wear it like that more often."
Every day they worked together, he somehow managed to say something to make her blush profusely. But the more he did it, the more (Y/n) found herself appreciating his kind words. For someone who was constantly overthinking, Jaemin's encouragement was reassuring.
"(Y/n), try this!" He handed her a glass containing a red-colored beverage.
Business was slow today, and only two customers were here. So Jaemin was fooling around, making random drinks.
She raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you try it?"
"I don't like strawberries," He said plainly.
Convinced by his excuse, (Y/n) reluctantly took a sip of the smoothie. He watched as her eyes widened with delight.
"It's good!" She gave him a thumbs up in approval.
(Y/n) placed the beverage down and glanced over to the people sitting near the window. Her smile slowly began to fade as she watched the girl feed the guy a piece of cake. They looked at each other with so much endearment.
"They look cute, don't you think?" She gestured to their table. "The couple over there."
"Why do you sound so sad when saying that?" Jaemin asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know...I kinda wish I had what they had. But I know that could never happen to me."
He tilted his head in confusion."What do you mean?"
(Y/n)'s gaze shifted over to Jaemin, looking at him with slight hesitation. She bit her lip, contemplating whether to be truthful. It was Jaemin at the end of the day. He wouldn't judge her, right?
"I've struggled with anxiety all of my life." Her eyes rested on her folded hands on the counter. It sounded as if she was embarrassed by this confession. Jaemin could tell this was a hard topic for her to talk about.
"And it stops me from doing a lot of things," (Y/n) continued, "I've never been in a relationship. But if I were, I fear I'd just end up becoming a burden to that person."
What she said next made Jaemin's heart hurt. She turned to look at him, wearing a sad smile. "Honestly, I can't imagine why a person would love me."
This was probably the most real she's ever been with someone. She wasn't exactly sure why she was telling Jaemin all this. It felt scary, after being used to hiding this part of herself.
Jaemin went silent, pondering on what to say. She began to worry, afraid she had overshared.
"I'm sorry for telling you this—"
"A person doesn't need a reason to love, they just do," Jaemin then said.
He took a step closer, where the two faced each other. Their shoes almost touched. The compassion pouring from his eyes made her heart beat faster.
"You deserve to be loved, Kim (Y/n)," He spoke softly. "Even if you don't think so."
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That moment with Jaemin kept replaying in (Y/n)'s head. She couldn't stop thinking about his words, and it was slowly driving her insane.
"It seems like he likes you," Hyejin said after hearing what happened.
The idea immediately caused (Y/n) to shake her head in denial. "What? No, it can't be—"
But Hyejin cut her off. "You seriously don't know guys, (Y/n)-ah. Giving compliments, making drinks for you, and saying sappy sweet stuff? Those are all signs that he likes you!"
Was she that oblivious? The possibility of Jaemin actually liking her never crossed her mind. This whole time, (Y/n) thought he was just being a nice senior.
"You really think so?" (Y/n) asked, still a little unsure.
Hyejin nodded, "But the real question is, do you like him too?"
Thinking back to what her coworker said, (Y/n) recalled all the time she experienced this strange feeling whenever she was around Jaemin. He truly was a kindhearted person. She didn't think she'd ever met a man as sincere as him.
But just as (Y/n) was slowly accepting her feelings for Jaemin, the boy's sweet acts toward her stopped. He barely talked during shifts and kept to himself. (Y/n) started to think that maybe Hyejin was wrong. Maybe he was just playing with her.
However, (Y/n) suspected that wasn't it when he started missing days of work. She began to understand that the saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder." (Y/n) tried not to dwindle on it too much. But as the days went by, (Y/n) found herself missing him.
Unable to sleep one night, (Y/n) left her apartment and dropped by the convenience store. Having a drink sounded like a good idea to get her mind off things. She didn't expect to see the very boy occupying her thoughts, sitting outside downing a shot of soju.
"Jaemin?"
Instantly his head turned to (Y/n) who cautiously approached his table. She noticed his eyes were slightly red. Had he been crying?
"Oh (Y/n) sorry, I didn't see you there." He swiped his eyes, pretending as if everything was normal.
But (Y/n) wasn't fooled by the fake smile he wore. She sat down in the empty chair beside him. He reached for the green bottle to pour another glass for himself. But she placed her hand over his, stopping him.
"Jaemin-ssi...what's wrong?" She asked gently.
He sucked in a breath and looked down. He didn't want to bother (Y/n) with his problems. But he had been holding so much in, that he was on the verge of exploding if he didn't tell someone.
"My mom has stomach cancer, stage four," Jaemin swallowed.
Her jaw dropped slightly at this. She didn't know what to say. "Jaemin, I...I'm so sorry."
"I'm such a bad son," He lamented, pressing his knuckles against his temple. "I should've known something was wrong. I should've been taking more care of her."
Seeing Jaemin look so utterly broken made (Y/n) want to take away all his pain. She could only imagine what he was going through.
"Jaemin, your mom being sick isn't your fault. It was out of your control," She said, squeezing his hand.
The boy shook his head. "It's not just that though."
He started to tell her about how throughout his childhood, his mom worked as a single parent and had a tteokbokki stand. She spent so many years, earning money to send her only son off to college. But he didn't even last a week and instead was working a part-time job.
"Gosh, I'm so worthless!" He clenched the shot glass in his hand, as more tears spilled out of his eyes.
(Y/n) frowned and countered, "Na Jaemin, you are not worthless. So many people think you're lovely and wonderful. Anyone who has you in their lives is lucky and loves you."
"Do you?" He glanced up at her with teary eyes.
She didn't say anything for a few seconds, thinking about his question.
"Honestly, I was worried when you suddenly disappeared," She quietly admitted. "I guess I got used to you always cheering me on. When I'm with you, I feel like I can be myself without judgment."
(Y/n) gathered all the courage to meet his eyes once more. "You've become the most precious person in my life. So yes...I think I'm in love with you."
Those three words that just left her mouth were frightening. But they felt that much real. Her heartbeat sped up uncontrollably, and her face was hot. She searched Jaemin's eyes for a response, wondering if she made a mistake.
But then he leaned over to pull her into a hug, startling her. "Thank you (Y/n) For being the one person in my life that doesn't mind my flaws."
Touched by his words, (Y/n) slowly smiled and hugged him back. By the way, he held her tightly, she knew that her feelings were not one-sided.
"Maybe because I have a lot of flaws myself," She murmured.
Jaemin slightly pulled out of the hug and smiled at her brightly. He leaned over to place a soft kiss on her forehead.
"And they are perfect."
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