When Irene finally emerged from the back room after giving herself a minute to breathe, she found the store in the first throes of the sale. All three registers were occupied, Gunhee, Eunae, and Joy marking cups as fast as they could talk, and down at the bar was Yeri making the odd espresso drink while Seulgi was already firmly planted at the cold beverage station. Wendy zipped past her into the back room, already running errands for the rest of the crew as the float. That left Irene to go help her two veterans down on the bar.

She planted herself next to Seulgi at the cold beverage station wordlessly, and the two seasoned baristas naturally fell into the company’s prescribed ‘beverage repeatable routine’. Yeri would sort the cold cups onto their side of the counter, and Irene would begin prepping: coffee, milk, into the blender pitcher, ice, syrups, pass the pitcher to Seulgi. Seulgi would trade her for a dirty pitcher to rinse while she finished the drinks. Blend, pour, then came the myriad toppings: vanilla whip, chocolate whip, marshmallow whip, caramel sauce, dark caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, chocolate curls, crushed cookie powder, cinnamon sugar, toasted salt… every year they added more drinks with unique toppings and a different presentation.

Seulgi was ‘in the zone’. There was no chance for her to feel awkward or broody that Irene was by her side, bumping elbows, reaching around her, unavoidably in her personal space. She barely even had time to glance at the cups themselves, checking each one only briefly enough to see if there were any customizations or deviations from the original recipes.

“Affogato,” Seulgi called behind her, asking Yeri to prep an espresso shot. She heard Yeri snicker, but ignored it, far too busy to be curious.

After a moment, Yeri volunteered what had made her laugh. “You know how I remember what ‘affogato’ means?” she asked to the two girls behind her. Neither of them answered. Seulgi wordlessly handed her the drink that was waiting on the espresso shot. Yeri continued undaunted. “It’s like saying ‘whoops, affogato your espresso! I’m pouring it in now!’,” she laughed as she delicately layered the shot on the blended drink.

Irene snorted quietly next to Seulgi, and the ‘Legendary Barista’ finally spared a glance at her. She was reaching, bending, pivoting, grabbing, and passing; she was like a machine, and Seulgi silently approved. Before Irene had come out onto the floor, Seulgi had instructed the crew who would be stationed where, electing to take the most demanding job for herself, so when Irene had tacitly agreed with her decisions and came to work with her on the bar, Seulgi felt reassured. At least there was one thing they both understood.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot to ask for nonfat milk.”

“... That’s no problem! Let me remake that for you!”

“I thought I ordered two of these…”

“Oh… th-the other one will come right out, sorry about that!”

“I didn’t realize this had coffee in it…”

“Did you want me to make you one without coffee…?”

“Oh, no that’s okay, really…”

“Are you sure? It would be no trouble…!”

Bless Wendy. She was currently leaning over the handoff station trying to make sure customers were satisfied with their drinks and interrupting the line of cups with remakes and forgotten orders. Each returned cup increased the stress on the bar, especially as Irene would take a drink out of Seulgi’s hand and replace it with a different one, or have to leave briefly to ask one of the baristas at the register if the customer had, in fact, paid for it.

“Yeri,” Irene said as she came back from one such interruption. Seulgi could hear how she was out of breath from running around. “Could you please slide in for Gunhee? He’s out.”

Yeri obediently left to push him out of the way and settled herself at the register.

“Wendy? Could you please cover the hot bar?” Wendy gave her a thumbs up. “Eunae? You’re out, too. Thank you,” she called over.

Seulgi waited until Irene was finished giving instructions and lightly put a hand on her back. “You know, you could take a little break if you need; I’ve got this.”

Irene raised an eyebrow up at her. “A break? Me?” she scoffed. “Maybe you need a break,” she retorted childishly, her competitive nature winning out.

Seulgi retracted her hand and returned to the drinks, casting Irene a surprised look while she waited on the blender. There was something in Irene’s tone and expression that reminded Seulgi of something. “Me? I could do this all day,” she boasted. It kind of reminded her of when she’d seen Irene with Heechul...

“Careful,” Irene said rolling her shoulders painfully from all the repeated motion. “We’re barely halfway done.”

Seulgi leaned over and tucked an errant strand of hair behind Irene’s ear. “I’m not the one who’s sweating,” she returned pointedly.

Irene stilled. Was Seulgi… flirting with her? Right here on the floor?! Yeri came to drop off another handful of cups and made a nauseated noise, rolling her eyes as she passed. That more or less answered her question.

“W-Wendy, could you switch with me?” she asked, trying to hide the fact that she was flustered. Seulgi took Irene’s retreat as a win and wore a pleased look. Wendy looked up at Seulgi as she slid in for Irene and gave the ‘Legendary Barista’ a wink.

How dare she? Irene thought to herself as she gripped the hot bar counter, giving herself a moment to breathe. Did Seulgi have such an easy disregard for both of their jobs? Irene carefully stood on her toes and scanned the sea of customers in the line over the tops of the espresso machines, trying to see if any of them might have noticed. But of course she was probably overreacting. Maybe. Hopefully. She lightly traced her ear where Seulgi’s fingers had brushed at her hair.

How dare she make Irene fall for her.

She spent the rest of the sale period on the hot bar, feeling safer with their backs to each other.

“It’s over!” Yeri cried, throwing her arms around Joy and startling the customer she was in the middle of helping. Irene felt relieved, too, and motioned for Wendy to slide back in to cover for her.

Steeling herself, she stepped up to Seulgi. “Take your break, please.”

Seulgi was the one sweating now, beads of perspiration dotting her forehead. She doffed her glasses and wiped at the bridge of her nose. “Yes, boss,” she teased, enjoying the look of disgust Irene gave her.

“I told you not to do that.”

Seulgi gave her a big grin and vacated her station. As she scooted around Irene, a sudden devious inspiration overtook her and tugged at Irene’s apron strings, untying the knot.

Irene sharply inhaled and turned, aiming a kick at Seulgi’s knees. “Break. Now.”

Seulgi beat a hasty retreat to the back room.

Joy, Yeri, and Wendy were all staring at Irene as she retied her apron. She glared back at them, though a deep blush on her cheeks underminded her expression. “Yes?” she demanded.

Yeri and Joy shared a look, but Wendy was the only one brave enough to offer an answer. “I’ve just never seen her do something like that before.”

Clearly frustrated, Irene turned her attention to the waifish barista. “Do what, exactly?”

Wendy seemed to understand that her life hung in the balance and decided against answering.

Irene double-knotted her apron and started cleaning up the disaster that Seulgi had left on the cold bar. After a moment of reorganizing the ingredients and wiping down the blenders, she took a long, deep breath.

She turned back around and faced her crew. “You guys did really well today. I think this sale is going to go well. Joy, before you leave tonight could you please run the numbers for me?” The tension on the floor visibly broke and everyone seemed to relax all at once. Irene knew it was her fault. Seulgi’s teasing was having a negative effect on her. Once upon a time she had asked the ‘Legendary Barista’ if her feelings for Eunae would impact her work, but now Irene felt the tables had turned. Her feelings for Seulgi were clearly impairing her ability to lead. How could she operate if she was constantly being pushed and pulled back and forth like this? How much longer could she continue to do her job like this?

Suddenly a suggestion Heechul had made to her a couple of weeks ago didn’t seem quite so far-fetched.

“So who quit?” he asked Yongsun as they were coming out of their district meeting.

“Dami and Haeryeong,” the pink-haired barista replied despondently. “Haeryeong was a floor manager. They won’t be easy to replace.”

Heechul thought for a moment. “It’s too bad I can’t give you Moonbyul…” he said half to himself. “Irene, what if you gave her Seulgi? She’s such a force, I’m sure she could really help them get back on their feet.”

Irene laughed in surprise. “You want me to give them my strongest barista? You’ve got to be joking.” She had other reasons for feeling a little possessive of Seulgi, but there was also her tentative status as a brand new store manager to consider. If she failed even one health inspection, she could be fired.

“Just think about it,” he said, watching her shrewdly. “What about Joy, then?”

“Joy’s too new,” Irene said. She had every faith that Joy would grow into her position as a floor manager, but giving her to the Drivethru would be like throwing her to the wolves. That store was the black sheep of their district. “I could give her Joy if you gave us Moonbyul to replace her. I’d rather do that than give them Seulgi.”

“Whoa, hey, don’t get too excited, there!” Heechul said with his hands raised. “Now you’re asking for my best barista!” He reached out and ruffled Yongsun’s hair and she squawked in protest. “Don’t worry, kiddo, for now you can keep Hyejin. We’ll figure out something permanent.”

Irene excused herself from the floor with a handful of dishes that needed to be put through the machine. Seulgi was predictably seated at the desk, eating a sandwich. She seemed exhausted now that she was off the floor, barely propped up on her elbows, her back hunched, her legs kicked out in front of her under the desk.

Irene felt bad. She shouldn’t have relied on her so heavily for the whole three-hour sale. She should have rotated herself or Yeri in for a brief respite. Her anger at Seulgi’s cavalier attitude simmered to a dull irritation as she carefully set the dishes down in the sink.

Seulgi tiredly roused herself and sat up straighter. She smiled when she turned and saw that it was Irene.

Too familiar. This needed to stop. Now. “Seulgi,” Irene began, steeling herself. Seulgi could sense that Irene was settling into ‘manager mode’ again and frowned. “Seulgi I think… I think it should be you. I think you should go to the Drivethru store.”

Seulgi slowly set her sandwich down on the desk.

“Things aren’t going very well over there, as I’ve told you, and Heechul and I discussed it,” she continued, soldiering on without looking to see Seulgi’s reaction. “You’d be a big help. It just makes the most sense.”

“Does it?” she heard Seulgi ask in a neutral voice.

Irene chanced a look at her. Seulgi was watching her with a pensive expression. Not seeing Seulgi nearly every day would undoubtedly do wonders for her leadership skills if the past few weeks were any indication. “I think it would be for the best.”

“Do you?”      

Irene could feel her frustration rising again, provoked by Seulgi’s calm demeanor. “Don’t you?” she shot back suddenly. She gestured up at the camera watching them even here, in the back room. “Do you know I could be one phone call away from a disciplinary review?! And not because the safe was short, and not because I fired someone against policy...” but because of you. “I can’t work like this,” she said, her voice dropping until it was barely above a whisper. “I can’t do my job with you here,” she finished, gazing at the floor.

She heard Seulgi stand with the tell-tale sound of the desk chair’s wheels rolling across the tiled floor. She saw Seulgi’s feet walk across the room until they stopped in front of her own.

“Why?” she heard Seulgi ask. She wouldn’t look up. She couldn’t look up.

“... You know why.”

There was a pause that lasted so long Irene almost found the courage to finally meet Seulgi’s gaze, but just as she was about to look up, Seulgi suddenly walked away.

“Fine,” Seulgi said, going back to the desk to toss the rest of her sandwich in the trash. “I’ll do it. Let me know when you fill out the paperwork, and I’ll sign it,” she said as she left the back room, leaving Irene all alone at the sink.

Before she could change her mind, Irene took a seat at the desk and pulled out the carbon-paper transfer form.

+++

The rest of the evening shift passed by strangely. Joy and Yeri were closing together, but for some reason Seulgi had sent Wendy home early, opting to take her place as the pre-closer. Irene still being in the back room long after her shift had technically ended had become the norm, so the fact that she was still around barely registered to the girls.

The strangeness came from Seulgi’s expressions. All throughout the evening she had worn this faint, wan smile, so very different from the playful one she had had during the sale. While Yeri was dying to ask, she had a suspicion that it had to do with Irene and that she should wait until their boss finally left to satiate her curiosity.

But suddenly Irene stuck her head out from the back room and motioned for Seulgi. “Could I see you for a second?” she asked coolly.

Seulgi suppressed a wry smirk. “I’ll be right there.” She could feel Yeri boring holes in the back of her head with her stare. She walked past the blonde and gently tugged on her ponytail on her way towards the stockroom.

Once she was sure the door had swung to a shut, she walked over to the desk where Irene sat. Irene didn’t look at her.

“It’s ready. All you have to do is sign here and date it, then I’ll take it over to the Drivethru tomorrow and have Elly sign it. I already called her. Everything’s all set.”

“That easy, huh?” Seulgi asked, still trying her best to keep her smile in check.

Her odd tone made Irene glance at her as she slid the papers over to the ‘Legendary Barista’. Was Seulgi… amused? Was she happy to be leaving? “Y… you’ll start there after the next pay period,” Irene continued to explain, confusion marring her expression. “So, Monday.”

“Sounds good,” was all Seulgi said as she read down the page, noting that Irene listed the reason for the transfer as barista’s request. She barely suppressed a laugh.

Irene thought she’d feel some sense of relief as she had completed the form and called Yongsun and Elly to explain the situation to them. Well, most of the situation. But all she had felt was a mild sense of loss. Like she was giving something up, and not just her best employee.

Despite having every reason to need this transfer to happen, Irene knew she was going to miss Seulgi. She was going to miss the way she had practically trained Seulgi to make her tea latte whenever they were on shift together. Or the way Seulgi used to stammer and blush when she’d take her hair down in front of her. She was even going to miss the way the rest of the crew was starting to tease them about each other.

Instead of wondering whether Seulgi was worth risking her job over, she was beginning to wonder if her job was worth risking Seulgi over.

But before she could change her mind, Seulgi suddenly reached into the pencil holder and grabbed a pen.

“Sign right here?” she asked pointing at the page.

“Y-yes, right there,” Irene answered.

As soon as she had finished signing, Seulgi dropped the pen on the form and stuck her hand out to Irene with a big grin on her face. Irene was startled at the sudden gesture and stared up at the ‘Legendary Barista’ in confusion. Was she really so eager to be off that she-?

“Hi, I’m Seulgi,” she said breathlessly. “I’m a floor manager at the Drivethru store, and I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner some time.”

Irene blushed. “W-what are you doing?”

Seulgi continued to smile down at her. “Starting over,” she answered softly.

Irene squinted at her, a slow smirk spreading across her face. “I’m Irene,” she said with a note of wonder in her voice. “I’m the store manager here.” She carefully put her hand in Seulgi’s.

“And I think I’d like that very much.”

fin