"what is it going to be today yu?" MINGI asks.
"umm.. an iced caramel latte."
"again?" the orange haired laughs, taking one of the plastic cups and writing the order in, as he had for the past week.
"you recommended for me and i just... want to ordering it." the smile on yunho's face looked genuine to mingi, but on the inside, he didn't realise why he asked for that drink again.
yunho goes to that cafe almost every day now to support the small business, say hi to hongjoong and his business partner SEONGHWA once he was introduced to him. and yes, despite the language barrier, it was still painfully obvious that hongjoong had the fattest crush on seonghwa. it was like he had hearts in his eyes every time he glanced at the love of his life working behind the machine without a care in the world.
he'd be in the cafe all day sometimes, carrying his thick stack of textbooks and going to his usual booth in the corner of the cafe so as to not disturb others and to be able to sit in there all day despite only ordering 1 drink. (he did say support but he's also broke as hell.)
he's come to know all the employees that worked at the cafe as well, most of whom had simply dismissed him or smiled as a courtesy but never any more. it didn't bother yunho, he knew that it would be difficult to please everyone. whilst there were others who seemed very fond of this new foreign-but-not person that had sort of joined their circle of friends.
one of which was WOOYOUNG, an english major that yunho suspects is only friends with him so they could speak english together, which didn't upset him either. it was good practice after all.
his dark hair was long and grown out, fluffy but in the cutest way. he was a little ball of bubbly energy that managed to never fade, despite claiming to never drink any sort of caffeinated beverage (seonghwa blames his hyperactivity on all the sugar he consumes). he brought out the inner yunho that was left behind in the US. the one that always cracked jokes and wasn't afraid to do something embarrassing for the sake of everyone else's laughter and enjoyment. plus, the fact that they were able to converse in konglish at least made their friendship much easier.
then there was BANGCHAN, though not an employee, he frequented the cafe just as often as yunho and when yunho heard someone speaking english in a rather distinctive australian accent one day, he knew he had to introduce himself.
"oh! my roommate's boyfriend works here, he's australian too, you should totally meet him!" chan was referring to wooyoung in that statement, whose boyfriend felix was also australian and was chan's roommate and friend.
just like that, yunho had found 2 more friends that spoke fluent english and korean, after living in the country for so long. they were definitely helpful, bringing the taller grocery shopping and showing him around the best parts of seoul that was english friendly, if he wasn't feeling like exerting his brain by speaking in the alien tongue.
everyone he met had treated yunho like family. even if they needed a translating app to talk to each other sometimes. it was all alright because it was the effort that mattered.
in fact, hongjoong and seonghwa saw yunho so much, they were even willing to offer yunho a job there too.
"a-a job?"
"yeah! one of our employees quit so there's a space free."
the altruistic act was touching and he was shocked hongjoong even knew he was considered getting some part time work. unless it was an educated guess or coincidence of course.
yunho had been looking for some ways to bring in some extra cash, the amount that his parents sent him every month was only enough for the bare necessities. getting some other work was the only way he'd be able to afford things that he wants as opposed to only what he needs.
"my korean isn't good enough yet and well..." and yunho looks up at the two other workers behind the counter, mingi was the other one that he's come to learn. with the orange hair that yunho found incredibly adorable, he was the one always there to take his order, "i'm not handsome also."
the comment surprised hongjoong, other than the fact that yunho knew what the word handsome was in korean, he couldn't believe that the taller didn't realise just how attractive he was. "that... is not a requirement to come and work for me yunho."
"but you and seonghwa, wooyoung, mingi are all very handsome!" he tries to defend himself, speaking far too loudly and not noticing when mingi's ears perk up at the sound of his name. "i want not to be ugly when work here."
hongjoong's face burns a shade of pink from the compliment, "first off, your korean is okay! it's a work in progress and if a foreigner comes into the cafe then we have someone who can talk to them in really good english." he had to agree with that point. wooyoung could speak english but he was only one person. there had been a lot of tourists and visitors lately that would struggle to order because they couldn't read the hangul letters. not that yunho was any better, but he figured being able to converse with someone in english (or even the little spanish that he knew) would bring the business more customers too.
"secondly, you're very attractive yunho, you would fit right in." this makes the taller's sheepish, smiling down at his lap and genuinely considering it.
"soon." was all he could think of saying, because he just wasn't ready yet and figured that the one word answer was all that he needed to relay his message to hongjoong. he takes a sip of his iced caramel latte when the sour look falls upon his face that had been reoccurring every time he had some of his drink.
"what's wrong?" hongjoong asks concerned.
"too sweet." the response was simple and slightly incomplete but it got the message across clearly. something that he'd had come to master in the past few weeks.
every time he visited he continued to purchase the same thing, an iced caramel latte, despite quickly learning that he absolutely despised the taste.
it's strange, something so sweet was surely good enough to please almost anyone. who didn't love a cup filled with an extremely sugary and caffeinated, satisfyingly cold and smooth, drink with whipped cream on top? yunho apparently. the overwhelming drink just made him sick to the stomach. it wasn't the coffee, yunho had no problems chugging americanos if he really needed the caffeine boost (and it wasn't like you could taste the bitter notes of coffee through the sugar.) perhaps it was the calories or the weird off taste that the caramel had.
yet he couldn't get himself to order anything different.
it wasn't the cheapest drink either. he had no particular reason as to why he continued to torture himself with the sugary concoction that surely wasn't good for his waistline.
hongjoong asks him to try a different drink but yunho declines and shakes his head.
"but.. you don't like this one?" hongjoong was utterly perplexed that yunho continued to consume the beverage that he clearly didn't enjoy. and yet, it was as if the reason he had bought it was because he liked... how bad it tasted (?).
"i bought drink when i came here first... then just.. i don't want to change it. that's all." he takes another sip and once again frowns because it was like dipping his face into a jar of honey.
"here.. let me get you something you might enjoy." hongjoong has a knowing look on his face as he jumps out of the booth and strides towards the front counter to where mingi was cleaning some dishes.
"mingi-yah! make me a mocha frappucino." he calls rather loudly, "cut the sugar to 50% and bump up the ice."
the orange haired grunts, turning off the water faucet since he'd just finished cleaning the blender, but not it had to be dirtied again. "you're not my boss."
"i am actually. one more word and i'm making you close the store for the next week."
with a huff and pout that makes yunho giggle from his seat, he does as he's told (because he did not want to stay until the store closed and have to witness hongjoong incessantly ogling over his crush.)
meanwhile, seonghwa takes over the register and a really good looking customer enters the cafe, making seonghwa's eyes light up in a way that hongjoong did not like.
at all.
"jaehyun-hyung!" he smiles brightly, the other grinning at the barista.
the two proceed to make small talk that yunho couldn't understand because they were too far away and talking too fast. he does manage to grab onto little bits of their conversation though, especially towards the end when jaehyun actually orders something.
hongjoong on the other hand, very clearly understood every last word.
it looked like they were really close, they were able to talk so easily and there was an obvious excitement on seonghwa's face that carried into his melodic vocal tone that ringed over the lofi background music.
they continue to chat whilst seonghwa makes the customer's drink, waltzing around behind the bar, hongjoong basically growling where he stood just out of the older's line of sight.
"can i have your number," the handsome customer flirts with seonghwa once the coffee drink had been constructed. it made the man embarrassed and sheepish, tucking some of the lose curls behind his ear like the female lead of a drama and scribbling, what's presumably, his phone number onto the coffee cup. he slides it towards the gentleman, his cheeks dusted a peachy colour. "i'll make sure to call you seonghwa-yah."
with a wink, that hongjoong doesn't fail to notice, he quickly leaves the cafe. there's a small upturn on the corner of seonghwa's mouth as he twirls the black sharpie between his delicate fingers, biting down softly on his bottom lip at the thought of the gorgeous person that had just asked him out.
"who was that?" hongjoong had to stop himself from seething at the sight of that stupidly gorgeous devil that was going to steal his soulmate away from him.
hongjoong knew exactly who it was, he's followed seonghwa enough times to university to figure out the names and the appearances of the friends that he studies with. but asked because he needed to hear it directly from the source before jumping to any conclusions.
"oh.. jaehyun-hyung?" that alone was already enough to further fuel the anger in the blue haired. they're already on hyung terms? "he's in the year above me studying the same subject. jaehyun-hyung is really smart, he helps me study if i need it!"
they were study buddies? that, hongjoong didn't know. he wished he could help the older with his studies, but he was helpless when it came to textbooks and tests. and with him trying to build a portfolio of clothes and outfits he designs and makes all in his own, he didn't have time to completely learn all the different theories in economics just to impress his crush.
though seonghwa's macroeconomic textbook had never looked so tempting.
"how did he not have your number already then?"
"we see each other in class all the time, there wasn't a need before to exchange phone numbers." seonghwa felt like he was getting picked apart by hongjoong's pointed gaze, making him uncomfortable and the excessive eye contact made seonghwa cower. even if he was a good bit taller, he had never felt so small.
"and what's so wrong about one date?" he mutters out shyly.
"he's just a stranger seonghwa!"
"jaehyun-hyung is not a stranger!" seonghwa now looks genuinely upset at how angered hongjoong was at the thought of him going on a date with someone else that wasn't him. seonghwa though that his business partner was merely that, his business partner. they should be allowed to do whatever they desire in their private lives so long as it didn't interfere with the professional aspects of their relationship. "we see each other all the time and we started off as strangers too joong."
they continued to bicker away and it allowed mingi to easily slip out from behind the bar with yunho's mocha frappucino in hand. it was a quiet morning anyways so there wasn't much work to do, and he decided to not be a wimp like hongjoong and actually get to know the person he had an infatuation on himself.
with a goofy grin, he slides into the booth and pushes the drink to the other side of the table, saying something that yunho didn't exactly understand. with a confused look, he points towards the translating app that was already ready to go.
"lover's quarrel am i right?" the robotic voice speed out in english, making yunho laugh and nod his head because it was still happening.
mingi then points at the coffee, "drink."
"oh right." and he does, going to take a sip when his eyes instantly go wide with joy. he was unsure how hongjoong guessed that yunho had the biggest affinity for chocolate, and that this drink was absolutely perfect for him.
it wasn't sickly sweet like the caramel latte was, the chocolate was smooth and significantly more bitter, just as he liked it.
he didn't really know what to say, more trying to use his facial expressions to convey how much he was truly enjoying it, slightly scared that mingi would look at him like he was crazy. but all he could see was a fond smile, and pride shining in his eyes.
"and you?" yunho asks, but only after gaining the courage to converse in korean. "what kind of coffee drinks do you like?"
"oh.. i'm not that crazy when it comes to coffee orders. i just go for a boring iced americano."
yunho furrows his eyebrows. "no sugar?"
mingi shakes his head. "i like the bitterness. it.. makes me feel alive."
"...a-alive?" yunho didn't quite understand what the last word meant, he didn't recognise it from the ones that he'd studied previously. either way, yunho doesn't think he could handle the bitterness, and he expresses this with a sour face before sipping on his sweet (but not too sweet) mocha frappucino.
"you remind me of seonghwa-hyung." he smiles, looking back to see that they had somewhat reconciled, the business partners no longer arguing but the older had a pout on his face and hongjoong was no where to be seen. "i just like the bitterness. that's all."
he's so beautiful.
•••