CH. 4

Kihyun was cleaning the flower shop lazily. Today he had to take over the flower shop and cafe since two of Jooheon's lazy workers were absent for almost two days in a row. Kihyun grumbled along when he saw Jooheon was waving goodbye with Changkyun by his side. That two seemed to get along well. Everything went well for Jooheon. While he and Hyunwoo ... 

Kihyun sighed. He leaned on his both elbows on a counter and thought about Hyunwoo. That cold-hearted, handsome guy who secretly invaded Kihyun's mind lately. Especially after the caterpillar incident in Uncle Jedong's flower farm. 

He remembered after he ran out frantically from the greenhouse, that darn caterpillar still determined to stick on his shirt. In the end, Kihyun who was shuddering internally took off his shirt and leaving him with his sleeveless. He threw his shirt and rubbed his body as if it's itchy because of that caterpillar. He was still busy rubbed his arms and kept an eye on his shirt-contemplating whether he should take it or burn it-when a pair of hands landed on his shoulder.

"Aaah!!" Kihyun screamed and jumped. He turned and saw Hyunwoo who was looking at him; squinted his small eyes on him.

Kihyun's legs felt like jelly today. His poor heart couldn't handle all these surprises.

He slumped down on the ground and frowned. Hyunwoo didn't say anything but he squatted beside Kihyun. 

"That's your shirt? Is it still there?" he asked, pointing at Kihyun's shirt.

Kihyun weakly followed the pointing finger and slowly nodded. And then he realized he only wore a thin sleeveless. Suspiciously, he covered his torso the best he could while watching Hyunwoo.

Hyunwoo stared at him without expression. "What?" he asked.

Kihyun didn't say anything but kept looking at him. 

In this large farm with no sign of Uncle Jedong or workers because they are having lunch, anything could happen, right? Even if he is too robotic, he was still a man, right? Wait--I'm also a man. This guy is straight, right. Ah, Kihyunnie, you think too high on your self. There is no way this man is attracted to you even if he is gay. 

Feeling relieved, Kihyun shook his head. "Nothing." Then he took a glance at his shirt again.

Hyunwoo followed Kihyun's glance. "Oh," then he took off his suit and put it on Kihyun.

Kihyun widened his eyes. 

What has just happened? Snow is falling in summer? This-this robot has just given his jacket suit for him?

Hyunwoo cleared his throat. "Don't think about something weird. It's too pity for you to wear that dirty shirt. Just leave it here. You can use my suit to cover you. " Hyunwoo then rose up and started walking away. 

After some time, he stopped and realized Kihyun still froze in his spot. 

"Yah! Come here quickly! I'm starving! In 3 seconds if you don't move, I will leave you here and you have to crawl back to Seoul! Three-two-" Hyunwoo started counting.

Kihyun abruptly stood up and ran towards Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo stared at him without saying anything. The annoyance look was clearly pasted on his face. Kihyun smiled timidly. He's not going to leave him here and crawl back to Seoul for real, right? But, he looked serious ...

"Stop thinking. The answer is no. I'm not going to leave you here. Unless you start acting annoying."

"I won't! I promise!" Kihyun exclaimed. This guy, aish!

"Follow me," said Hyunwoo sternly then after that small talk, they walked together to Hyunwoo's car and leave the farm.

Every time Kihyun remembered that he got funny tingling feeling inside his heart. That cold and flat expression he had. But why his mind couldn't stop thinking about him?

Kihyun sighed. How pitiful to like someone that is likely to be straight and too cold like him. Wait-Kihyun stopped-did I say that I like that person? 

Kihyun slapped his cheeks ten times and muttered how stupid he was. He quickly got up and finished his job. After closing and made sure the other shift knew what to do, he walked to the cafe and opened it. 

"Coming!" he shouted to let other employees knew someone was coming. He walked inside and went to the kitchen. 

He furrowed his brows because nobody was inside. 

"Sungmin-ah! Songhee-ya! Dong jun hyung? Jieun noona? " Kihyun called the employees one by one. He checked the locker room, storeroom, and even toilet-in which he braced himself first before entering the women toilet because he once accidentally entered without checking and welcomed by a pair of high heels of a customer who was yelling furiously-but nobody was there. 

Suddenly he felt angry. How dare they left the cafe without even locking it or letting him know. Even it's not theirs or Kihyun's, they should feel a bit of responsibility.

Angrily, Kihyun stomped to the front and opened the fridge; looked for something cold to drink. He looked for mint leaves and lime juice and put them all together in a jar after adding some ice cubes. He drank furiously. Realizing that being angry didn't make anything better, he the hip-hop song loudly and took the rag and started to wipe everything. 

It was true what people said that music could make you relaxed in some sort of way, and in Kihyun's case, it gave him energy.

Lots, lots of energy...

The cute man was so into the music, wiping everything with his cool pose ( acknowledged by no one, of course). Or just placed one of his legs on a stool while rapping along. He laughed and kept singing, not realizing that a pair of small eyes widened seeing his action. 

Hyunwoo froze in his spot. 

He was on his way to his house and suddenly he wanted to eat something. He decided to visit Jooheon's cafe because the place was cozy and the food and cakes were delicious. After he parked the car, he walked along the stone path. When he approached the door, he could hear the speakers were blaring with Jooheon's recording. Hyunwoo closed both of his ears but when he opened the door, he was literally jaw-dropped.

Kihyun was placing his right leg on a stool with his imaginary microphone ( a broom, precisely) - and jammed along with the song. His face was reddened due to the lack of oxygen and the veins in his neck were stuck out. For a moment, Hyunwoo didn't move or say anything, nailed on his spot, with his confused face as his gaze finally met Kihyun's. Then they both froze together for a moment.

One, two, three ...

Kihyun blinked. 

Four...

Kihyun blinked twice.

Five...

Kihyun frantically let his leg down and about to run to the kitchen when his leg got stuck on the stool. He fell down to the floor, dragging along the stool.

"Ack! Ouch, ouch!" Kihyun rubbed his forehead, his leg and his arm that supported his body when he fell. The impact was pretty hurt. But what he's feeling was beyond that. He was so embarrassed. Why on earth this robot had to be here at this moment?

Hyunwoo felt a twitch in the corner of his lips seeing Kihyun fell down to the floor comically but he put on his flat expression and calmly walked to Kihyun. He squatted and observed him. 

"There's always a bad thing that happened to you every time we met. Kihyun-ssi, you must've been born under one unlucky star." He then shook his head and helped to get Kihyun's leg out of the stool.

"Huh? No, no, Hyunwoo-ssi. I'm just not being careful, that's all. " Kihyun shook his head to deny. 

But to think of it, what Hyunwoo said was true. He banged his head to the edge of counter table accidentally, that caterpillar scene, and now when he met this guy.

"Hyunwoo-ssi, couldn't it be that you are the carrier of all unfortunate events that happened to me? You said yourself, I always get bad things whenever we met," suggested Kihyun, still rubbing his forehead that was getting blue.

Hyunwoo stared at him without saying anything. Kihyun shut his mouth abruptly. He stared back but with an embarrassed look. 

"I mean, I was joking. Hahaha." Kihyun grinned and scratched his hair awkwardly.

Hyunwoo snorted but proceeded to help Kihyun's arms to stand up. 

Kihyun, still grinning, got up with a shy smile. 

"T-thank you, Hyunwoo-ssi." he said.

For a moment, they didn't say anything. Totally awkward. Kihyun could ever hear the ticking sound of the old imported clock on the wall.

"Um," Kihyun awkwardly scratched his head again. "Are you looking for Jooheon, Hyunwoo-ssi?" asked Kihyun, feeling grateful secretly that there's finally something to break the silence.

Hyunwoo stared. "Do I have to?"

"Eh?" Kihyun stared with a confused look.

Hyunwoo turned his body and sat on a chair. He picked up the table number, played it on his hands and placed it again. "I came here as a guest, Kihyun-ssi." he smiled thinly. 

"Eh?" Kihyun blinked.

Hyunwoo sighed. He rubbed his temple with clear annoyance. "Just, just get me a cup of hot latte with non-fat milk. And one slice of blackberry cheesecake." 

"And don't be too long. Alright?"

Kihyun nodded absent-mindedly. He walked to the kitchen and suddenly realized that he didn't know how to make this cafe's signature coffee. He came back to the front shyly. "Um, Hyunwoo-ssi?"

Hyunwoo who was checking his phone lifted his gaze at Kihyun. He just raised one of his brows.

"That, it's just that, er, Hyunwoo-ssi, I am not a barista. The basic coffee-making that I know is just boiling the water and pour instant coffee to the mug and add with hot water." Kihyun grinned guiltily.

Hyunwoo didn't know what to do or say. He closed his eyes in frustration. Taking a deep breath, he got up. "Come here!" he grabbed Kihyun's wrist and dragged him to the kitchen.

"Ah, slow down. Hyunwoo-ssi! " Kihyun protested.

Hyunwoo didn't stop or say anything. After they were in the kitchen, he took one of the aprons that were neatly hanging in the rack. With a quick movement, he tied the apron and turned his face to Kihyun. "Where do you usually keep the milk? The non-fat one?" he asked.

Kihyun grinned again. "Actually," but he didn't continue what he's about to say as he saw the slight frown appeared on the taller man's face and quickly said, "I knew where! Haha. Just wait here. Just a moment. Alright? I'll be back like-"

"-the more you talk, the more time I have to spend to wait," said Hyunwoo without expression. He folded his hands on his chest.

Kihyun ran like a bolt of lightning when Hyunwoo said that to the storeroom upstairs. Arriving in front of the storeroom that looked like a giant room of refrigerator, he leaned against the door; holding his chest and breathed in and out to stabilize his breathing. 

Why does he have this trouble breathing every time the man was around? 

Kihyun sighed and pushed the buttons near the steel door and used a heavy box to hold the door when it opened. He vaguely remembered that Jieun noona put fresh ingredients somewhere around here. 

It took ten minutes to find what he was looking for. Kihyun hastily got out and closed the steel door and marched downstairs.

He stood in front of Hyunwoo, panting and gave the fresh milk in a large bottle. 

Hyunwoo took it without saying anything. He stared at Kihyun for a moment before turning his body to the fridge. 

"Is there anything I can help? Or search for?" asked Kihyun, offered his help.

Suddenly Hyunwoo turned his body and in a second Kihyun felt a stinging cold sensation on his forehead. For a second after, Kijhyun just stood there, trying to decipher the cold feeling on his forehead, before he screamed. "Ah! Ah! Cold! Cold!" abruptly, he took what's in Hyunwoo's hands. 

An ice cube. Kihyun stared with a questioning look on his face.

"Your forehead got more blueish. Sit down and hold this on it." Hyunwoo covered the ice cube without feeling any guilt at all with his handkerchief from his pocket. He gave the ice cube, ignoring Kihyun's stare and motioned Kihyun to sit down.

Kihyun sat on a large table counter where barista usually prepared the drinks and food. Hyunwoo was standing in front of him, in the middle of Kihyun's legs that were dangling on the table. He pressed the ice cube to Kihyun's forehead where the bump started to form. "Give a light press here. Keep it there for a moment," said Hyunwoo calmly.

Kihyun nodded, still confused. He took the ice cube form Hyunwoo's hand. They stiffened for a moment when their hands brushed against each other unintentionally. Hyunwoo quickly regained his sense. He inched backward and turned his back and prepared his own coffee. 

Kihyun couldn't really see what he was doing from behind as the ocean back was covering his view, but Hyunwoo looked like knowing what he's doing. So he sat calmly, mumbling ah-ah every time he pressed the ice cube to the bump on his forehead. 

Meanwhile, Hyunwoo steamed the milk by heating one cup of milk in a saucepan. He adjusted the heat before putting it. Then, he let the milk simmer until bubbles form around the edges. It took some time before he removed the pan from heat and set it on a flat surface. The next thing he did was whipping the milk with an electric mixer; increasing the speed as the milk began to thicken. He kept mixing until he got the desired volume of froth. 

After a moment, he brew the coffee. He used a coffeemaker; poured about 4 tablespoons of fresh coffee into the boiling water. 

Kihyun was watching in awe. The combination of Hyunwoo's back view, sweet fragrance of steamed milk and the aroma of brewed coffee filled his sense and created flickering flames of something that kept appearing whenever this man was around. 

It wasn't a disturbing feeling. It was rather a comfortable feeling like when you were at home. That warm, cozy and content feeling that you would miss whenever you were away from home. Kihyun didn't really know how to describe this sudden thought that was attacking his mind.

Once the coffee was finished brewing, Hyunwoo started to make his own 'barista show'. He combined approximately the coffee with the steamed milk for a basic coffee latte, then he sprinkled cinnamon flavor on the latte. As the cherry on top of his show, he added mint leaves. Proudly, he smiled at his own masterpiece. 

Kihyun was more than fascinated. He was enchanted by this private coffee making lesson that was done silently and efficiently by none other than the Coffee-maker Robot Hyunwoo. 

Great. Now he has a nickname for Hyunwoo.

"Done." Hyunwoo took one cup and gave one for Kihyun. 

"Try it."

Kihyun sipped the coffee slowly because it's still hot. After taking a sip, he exclaimed excitedly - and clearly impressed by it, "Whoa, Hyunwoo-ssi. This is really good! How-how did you know how to make coffee? Wow! Wow!" 

Kihyun couldn't hold himself from being too excited. He clapped his hands with enthusiasm and forgot his stinging bump on his forehead. He then stared at his cup, thinking about something. 

"Wait, there's more to accompany this." 

He jumped from where he was sitting and quickly went to the fridge. He took out his chocolate handmade sponge cake sprinkled with white chocolate powder. 

"It's not a cheesecake but I think it's tasty enough to accompany us enjoying this coffee." Kihyun beamed.

Hyunwoo nodded. "Anything would be good for me. Now, be a good waiter. Cut the cake and bring it in front."

"Sure!" 

Kihyun started to sliced the cake and put it nicely into two plates. Hyunwoo had untied his apron and brought his own coffee to the front. He chose the table that faced the big window so he could enjoy the afternoon sky.

Kihyun came back from the kitchen; carefully brought his own cup and two plates of cake in a tray. He placed them gently on the table where Hyunwoo was sitting now. Hyunwoo was watching him without saying anything. He was going to say that Kihyun didn't have to sit with him since he liked his own space but he changed his mind by the time he saw that happy smile curled in Kihyun's lips. Hyunwoo turned his head, feeling embarrassed. He cursed himself because for a moment, he felt so drawn to the cherry lips of Jooheon's employee. 

Kihyun sat down and grinned happily to Hyunwoo. 

"Thank you, Hyunwoo-ssi for making this coffee. Ah, it must be very delicious be-ah! Ow! Ah, hot! Hot!" Kihyun frantically fanned his mouth after taking a sip without blowing it to cool it down.

Hyunwoo chuckled. He couldn't hold himself from laughing Kihyun, the man of many charms that he barely even knew. He closed his eyes with the palm of his hands while laughing. 

Kihyun was still fanning his burnt tongue with his small hands but he stopped when he saw Hyunwoo laugh at him. 

He should feel offended but he was not. In fact, he was feeling warm inside as he saw the crinkles on the corner of Hyunwoo's small eyes which appeared as he laughed heartily towards Kihyun.

Kihyun looked at the afternoon sky from the window out of embarrassment. The sky was beautiful, but the way this man laugh was more beautiful.

Truthfully, right now, Hyunwoo was even more beautiful than the sight of the cake, the coffee and the flowers on a small jar in front of him. 

Kihyun mentally took a picture of this moment, cherished it and kept it inside his warm heart. 

Nothing could be better than having a coffee in the afternoon with a man named Hyunwoo.

-tbc-

(edited at 04/06/20)