Fear.

Anxiety.

Restlessness.

Those were the emotions one young college sophomore was experiencing at the moment, his hairs standing on end and his heart in his throat.

With his fringe getting damp from the beads of perspiration forming on his forehead, the young man tried to gulp down his anxiety as his eyes focused on what was in front of him. His chest felt constricted, like there was a fist clenching his heart, and his shoulders started heaving from his heavy breathing. With every passing moment, he dared not to even blink, trying his best to ignore the stinging sensation in his eyes as they started to water.

Just a bit more….

3.

2.

1.

Ding!

“YES!!!”

The young man threw his hands up over his head as he exclaimed with joy, pumping his fists in the air. His smile was so wide one would think his face was going to rip in half. If any other grown man were to squeal the way he did just then, they would have come across slightly peculiar to say the least. Yet for some reason, it seemed perfectly natural when this man did.

“Oi, Kim Jongin, are you going to just hold the victory pose or are you going to actually take out the soufflés at any point?”

Jongin glanced at his boss who was standing behind him, his arms folded and a bemused smirk on his face. Turning back, he quickly but carefully opened the oven and brought out his perfectly-risen soufflés, a certain look in his eyes which was akin to how a mother would look at her newborn for the first time.

“Woooow! Ah these look great! Good job!”

Jongin could not stop smiling as he carefully set down the tray on the table and served the soufflés to his 2 customers who were now seated and waiting eagerly. It was 8am, and they had finished preparing to open the shop. There was just half an hour left to opening time, and Jongin had spent the whole morning preparing his beloved masterpiece.

“Wait, what’s the flavor again?”

“Chocolate raspberry with a hint of mint.”

Jongin giggled softly to himself at how he rhymed, making his colleague who had asked the question shake his head in amusement.

As Jongdae and Minseok delved into the soufflés, Jongin held his breath. Having them rise perfectly was one thing, but that was no guarantee that they were going to taste alright.

What if the ratio of butter to sugar wasn’t right?

What if he had used too many raspberries?

What if-

“Oh. My. GOD.”

Oh no.

This was it.

This was how it all ended.

Now he’d have to go back to that horrible cashier job he had in the mart down the street where the manager would tell the most awful jokes and start crying if no one laughed.

Just as Jongin let out his breath and dropped his head, Jongdae jumped up and threw his arms around Jongin.

“This is it! You did it! This is perfect!”

Jongins’ eyes bulged out of his head as he watched Minseok devour the soufflé like it was the last thing he was ever going to eat.

“You guys…you guys like it?”

Jongdae stepped back, his cheeks making his eyes crinkle into crescents as he laughed and slapped Jongin on the shoulder.

“It’s the best soufflé I’ve ever tasted! This is amazing Jongin, thank you so much. Oh man, this is going to bring in so many customers!”

Jongin’s grin returned and he let out a sigh of relief, feeling as if a mountain was just taken off his shoulders.

To know that his soufflé, a recipe of his own, lived up to Jongdae and Minseok’s expectations made Jongin giddy with joy. After all, all Jongin ever cared about was not letting them down and doing his best for Milky Way.

“You, my man, deserve a raise.”

And that.

It was safe to say that was something he probably cared about too.

Jongdae his cup clean, upset that the God-sent soufflé was over. Still, he was so grateful for Jongin. When Jongin first applied to Milky Way, Jongdae wasn’t too sure whether he could trust a college kid to be good enough to work at his beloved coffee shop. But despite being young and inexperienced, Jongin showed a burning passion for doing his best in whatever task he was given. Jongdae knew he would have to be a fool to turn him away.

And he didn’t regret that decision ever since.

“Hey guys.”

The trio turned to the door where 2 familiar faces walked in, holding hands.

“Oh hey, wow, what is this?”

All 3 men walked towards the couple at the same time, but each with a different expression.

Jongin was looking at the clasped hands and smiling fondly.

Minseok had his mouth open and was staring in disbelief at the owner of one of the hands.

Jongdae… well he was just smirking and waggling his eyebrows after he had made that comment, like the annoying friend he was.

“Shut up.”

Kyungsoo looked pained to be facing his 3 friends, whereas Chanyeol had his usual huge Cheshire grin which made him look like a big dumb puppy.

“Chanyeol and I…we um…we have an announcement.”

“Oh god, you’re pregnant?”

Minseok and Chanyeol laughed at Jongdae’s remark, whereas Kyungsoo just rolled his eyes.

(And Jongin was looking confused but then again what was new?)

“We’re getting married!”

Jongin, Minseok and Jongdae collectively screamed once Chanyeol shouted those 3 words, with all 3 pouncing on the couple and embracing them.

“Congratulations!”

“Oh my god!”

“I think I’m going to cry!”

“I knew this was going to happen soon!”

“Can I be the best man?”

The exclamations and questions and hugging continued for some time before Kyungsoo visibly stiffened up, making everyone else go quiet with confusion.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um, there’s something else. With us getting married and all, there’s wedding planning and we’ll also be moving into a new house and now we have Toben to look after as well and…”

Kyungsoo looked down, rubbing the back of his neck. Jongdae was puzzled for a moment, but then it clicked and he gulped.

“And…”

“And, I won’t be able to continue working here.”

.

It felt like someone had just rammed their fist into Jongdae’s gut.

“Of course I’ll try my best to help out and stuff, I’ll come by whenever I can. But on top of my office job, I just won’t be able to manage both.”

Jongdae went silent and stared at a black mark in the polished wooden floor, his lips pursed as he refused to meet his most valued employee’s eyes.

“Jongdae?”

“Jongin, Minseok, me and you. We’re all Milky Way has.”

“I’m really sorry. Look, it’s just for these few months leading up to the wedding. Like I said, I’ll still try to help out as much as I can, but I just can’t keep up 2 jobs right now.”  

Finally, Jongdae looked back up with his jaw clenched. Minseok and Jongin were silent, watching him closely while Chanyeol was gnawing on his lower lip and looking between his fiancé and his fiancé’s boss.

“I understand.”

Jongdae took in a deep breath and forced a smile, trying his best to appear convincing though the hurt was still clear in his eyes.

Kyungsoo was the glue that held the place together. With his excellent management and barista skills, he was a blessing to Milky Way. He had been by Jongdae’s side ever since Milky Way was set up 4 years ago. And not only was he Jongdae’s employee, he was his best friend.

But friends grow up, and get married.

He had to accept that.

“This is good news, and I’m genuinely happy for you and Chanyeol. Of course, it’s going to be hard managing without you. But…I understand. And when or if you choose to come back, the doors will always be open.”

Kyungsoo smiled and let go of Chanyeol’s hand, taking a step forward and pulling Jongdae into his arms.

“It’ll be fine. This is just temporary. I’m sure you’ll find someone who can take my place just for a while. How bad could things go anyway?”

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A/N: HI! if you're a new reader, hi there! and if you're here after reading on the pulse, thank you for coming back and supporting me :D I hope this first chapter was alright, I really love and appreciate constructive feedback so please do leave me some if you want! I'm having exams soon so I won't be updating very regularly, I'm aiming for at least once a week so please have faith in me! thanks xoxoxox