BaekHyun is not what you would call a coffeeholic, Java-lover or a Joe-addict—or any of those other names that people who love coffee are called—and he certainly wasn't a fan of tea, either. Heck, he disliked the dark liquid so much he had gotten to a point where he couldn't even stand stepping inside a coffee shop, let alone having to stay in one all day. So, for a person like him to be working as a barista was something quite ironic, to say the least, but reality . In fact, he had started preparing coffee drinks at his dad's cafeteria some time before he turned thirteen years old, and he's been stuck doing the same thing ever since. After losing his job during BaekHyun's first teenage years, Mr. Byun started managing a small restaurant and BaekHyun would help him out on the weekends dealing with the coffee machine, the dirty cups and the moody customers addicted to their morning caffeine fix.

This wasn't even part of his dream, but after becoming jobless himself, the thought of working as a barista as a temporary occupation (until he found a better job—one in his field at that) didn't seem so bad. BaekHyun was an IT technician; he was knowledgeable about computer software and hardware, operating systems and networks. It'd been his life-long passion and, despite not being exactly the same, he was the one in charge of fixing all the electronic devices at home because you're the one who knows about all these electronic stuff, BaekHyunnie. Regardless of all that, he wouldn't start complaining about anything as he would rather work the coffee machine than serve others at their tables.

Lady Luck wasn't on his side. After releasing a product which was similar to that of a bigger company, said big company absorbed BaekHyun's workplace. EX'ACT was the strongest company in the market and their sales margin had been superior, so when it bought the small business BaekHyun was working at, BaekHyun and several of his coworkers were laid off.

It's not like it had been a tragedy at that moment, and he didn't pay much attention to the fact that he was back at a café—even after swearing he would never work in one again once he finished college, ugh. However, a year had passed, BaekHyun was 28, he couldn't find a new job and he was about to fall into despair—because, honestly, he was reaching his thirties and the only things he had under his name were a bank account and a phone bill, his mother kept asking him when he was going to get a boyfriend, and he was fed up with smelling like ing coffee.

And maybe, the stupidest and most ironic part of all his situation was that the coffee shop he worked at was right across from EX'ACT. As if he needed a constant reminder of what he was, BaekHyun had to serve coffee, tea and all types of pastries to the employees of the company he would have liked to work for. Instead of being an IT technician who came over to El Dorado to buy one of those time bombs called "coffee" and follow the herd of people addicted to the dark beverage, BaekHyun was either behind the bar or serving tables.

It wasn't fun, nor satisfying, or anything. It was S-H-I-T in all capital letters and he hated his job.

"Stop grumbling under your breath! You're scaring the customers, BaekHyun!" Junmyeon, his boss, scolded him.

"There are barely any people here," he replied while looking around him as if to prove his point.

Break time was at ten and the employees from the other side of the street hadn't made their way to the El Dorado yet to fill their stomachs with coffee and pastries. Shrugging, JunMyeon smiled indulgently while placing the box he was carrying on one of the shelves in order to replenish the pantry.

"You're scaring me. I know this isn't El Dorado per se, but you could at least pretend you like it a little." His words might have sounded harsh, but they were not malicious; on the contrary, they were pointing out a fact.

BaekHyun had the decency to blush.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine," was his sincere reply. "Why don't you bring more coffee beans from the storage room and refill the coffee machine? We have to be ready by ten."

He didn't object. JunMyeon was a good manager and that was the only reason why BaekHyun had endured being his employee for so long. Well, that and the fact that he needed the money to pay his bills. In fact, he had applied for a position at a men's clothing store before, but the salary he was offered there wouldn't have been enough to make ends meet without starving for some days.

And BaekHyun knew those weren't the only two reasons—not for the last couple of months, at least. Making his way to the storage room, he couldn't help but smile cunningly as he remembered the day he met the other reason he hated his job a little less and that kept him from jumping in front of a car so that he didn't have to work anymore—exaggerated much?

A new customer had come into El Dorado, which wasn't surprising at all unless said newcomer was a tall, drop-dead gorgeous and really hot male. BaekHyun's jaw dropped so low that it almost touched the floor when his eyes landed for the first time on such a fine specimen of a man, one who seemed pretty disoriented as he looked around the coffee shop for a place to sit among so many people.

BaekHyun couldn't deny that he fancied the guy ever since he first saw him and that he loved it when his new customer sat by the bar, in a corner nobody else wanted—because it was hidden behind a column which was badly located inside the shop. Nevertheless, the guy was sitting there completely sideways, with his back resting on the wall. BaekHyun was bubbling over with excitement since he was in charge of the bar—due to his speed—while JunMyeon and JaeHwan were in charge of the tables. He also happened to make the best strong, foamy coffee drinks, mind you.

"How do you like your coffee?" was the first question that left the barista's lips. The taller guy turned to him, completely disoriented, looking so adorable with wide eyes and his mouth open that BaekHyun could have pinched his cheeks right there and then. Heck, he didn't even blush at the absurdity of his own question.

"Cappuccino. I'll have a cappuccino," the customer stuttered slightly, a hint of uncertainty in his deep, husky voice. BaekHyun could have made a small victory dance if it weren't for the fact that he was at his workplace and that the guy was right in front of him, but... yes! He loved hoarse, manly voices and this man was one by one meeting the requirements of his ideal guy checklist.

Well, he was bold enough to top the cappuccino with a foam heart and wink at the tall guy while placing the hot beverage in front of him. In fact, his lack of subtlety made JunMyeon approach him at the bar to scold him and ask him to stop harassing the customers, BaekHyun. He couldn't help it, though. This guy was H-O-T and he couldn't remember the last time he found himself a man who was so y and adorable at the same time.

He learned that the guy was a staff member at the company he would've loved to work in, but he couldn't really bring himself to hate him just like he did with every other EX'ACT employee. He just couldn't because the guy was cute and he'd blush until his ears would turn a deep shade of red whenever BaekHyun stared at him—a tad longer than he should—after taking his order. And he definitely couldn't because his dear customer had become a regular at El Dorado and even preferred BaekHyun's cappuccino over the bean juice he could get from his company's coffee machine.

His name was Park ChanYeol. He found out the second time the y man stepped into the coffee shop the following day. BaekHyun had though the first time that he would never see him again, but was glad to see that he was wrong. Truth be told, he couldn't help being straightforward when he asked him for his name. Now that you're a regular customer at El Dorado, it would be great if I knew your name so that I can it write it on your cappuccino. ChanYeol took a couple of seconds too long to reply, bewilderment written all over his face.

After this visit came another, and another. ChanYeol had indeed become a regular at the coffee shop and BaekHyun would always serve him—gladly. JaeHwan had tried to take ChanYeol's order once but he ended up almost eating the tray he was carrying as he landed so hard on his face that one of his front teeth started dangling afterward—his boss didn't buy that his foot was just casually resting there when JaeHwan tripped on it, but he couldn't care less, actually.

Something noteworthy, though, was that BaekHyun tried on every single occasion to hit on him and make ChanYeol see that he liked him; however, the last couple of months taught him that his love interest was not only y but really shy and he would never flirt back—not straightforwardly, at least. BaekHyun was almost sure that ChanYeol was gay and that he liked him back, but perhaps he couldn't play along because he was too naïve.

In any case, ChanYeol's morning visits to El Dorado were bliss to BaekHyun. Not only was ten o'clock the time when the shop was packed with EX'ACT's employees, but it was also the time when BaekHyun could serve his favorite customer. And despite it being a short half-hour break, those (barely) 30 minutes with ChanYeol were enough to give him the strength he needed to get up every morning without having the desire to drown himself in the bathtub.

We don't even talk, he thought to himself as he grabbed a sack of coffee beans from the storage room and hung it over his shoulder. It wasn't that he didn't want to or hadn't tried, but getting more than four words out of ChanYeol—that were not related to his order, the current time or the weather—was proving to be a more difficult task than he'd like it to be. He didn't want to be too pushy, though, just in case the guy changed his mind about the coffee from his workplace and that his great cappuccino turned out not being enough compensation for putting up with an annoying waiter

It was because of this that he tried to hold back on his advances as to not overwhelm him, even though there were times in which he really felt like confessing to ChanYeol and telling him he desperately wanted to go out with him. BaekHyun let out a long sigh at that thought before putting the sack down on the floor, quickly refilling the coffee machine and making sure it was ready for today's morning rush.

He tightened the black apron around his waist and brushed a strand of his magenta hair, putting it back in place despite his messy hairstyle. Perhaps his hair was not suitable for a tech company. After being fired, though, BaekHyun had nothing to lose and JunMyeon didn't really care much about his employees' hair color, so he gave it a try and ended up liking the outcome.

As far as he knew, his hair was irrelevant and he was completely sure that, no matter what color it had, the result would be the same: he was never chosen to fill a position in any company. BaekHyun didn't want to be a pessimist; nevertheless, he couldn't help but think he was doomed to smell like coffee and work in a damn café for eternity.

"Hey, BaekHyun, stay alert; there's only three minutes to ten," said JaeHwan in an excited, high-pitched tone.

Unlike himself, the boy really liked what he did for a living. Perhaps it was because of his bright personality, or maybe because he was younger, he was a college senior and he was going to slay the world with his music—or so he believed—but JaeHwan's lips were permanently curled up in a smile, from the very beginning of his shift right until the end of it.

BaekHyun did what he was told and began preparing drinks, serving pastries and even making smoothies as soon as the clock struck ten. As a matter of fact, despite being busy behind the bar handing over the customers' orders to his coworkers, he was able to see ChanYeol making his way into the café in his typical clumsy way (as a result of his gangly legs), and with that bewildered look on his face due to the bustle and the sudden change of lighting.

ChanYeol sat at his usual spot as BaekHyun finished serving green tea with the expertise gained from his years of experience in the job and handed the beverage to JaeHwan so that he could approach his favorite customer quickly.

"Hello, ChanYeol. How's your day been?"

"Hi," the guy shrugged. "Same old."

"Cappuccino?" He arched his eyebrows, looking at him closely.

"Yup. And a sweet bun."

"With or without filling? The filled ones are the best, if I may say," he added, and he certainly did not want to sound so sultry because they were talking about pastries, after all, but ChanYeol choked and he couldn't stop the cunning smile from spreading his lips.

"Filled is okay."

"Perfect."

JunMyeon was already glaring at him from the back of the cafeteria when he turned to make ChanYeol's cappuccino and BaekHyun snorted, ignoring him. He didn't need to be monitored, he was an adult and he knew how to be subtle—kind of.

He placed the cup of cappuccino in front of ChanYeol once he went back to his side at the bar. He had drawn a Rilakkuma this time after finding out the guy liked it and as he winked at him, he noticed ChanYeol's blush because of that small gesture. Then, as he put a custard-filled chocolate bun next to his cup, he purposefully touched his arm with his fingertips and quickly withdrew his hand, feigning innocence.

He went back to work saying goodbye with a smile, mostly because he didn't want to look like a harasser or trouble ChanYeol—not because he really wanted to—and now that all the tables had been provided with their orders he took the chance to clean the coffee machine. He really liked the man in his simple business suit, messy brown hair and those blushes that were so uncommon in big guys like him. The problem was that he didn't know how to approach ChanYeol without coming off as annoying, so sometimes he would feel discouraged and even think he wasn't liked back.

"BaekHyun?" he heard someone calling him from the back of the bar. It was ChanYeol's voice. He turned around so quickly that he could've been mistaken with that possessed girl from The Exorcist, dammit, and when he saw the guy, he felt his heart stop. "Can you hand me a napkin?"

ChanYeol had his lips all covered in chocolate and custard, the combination of the dark sweet and the white cream was too much for BaekHyun's mind. He tried not to, but he couldn't help imagining his mouth covered in something else in a completely different situation and, , he felt hot.

BaekHyun grabbed a random napkin holder and took one out himself and, instead of handing it over like he was expected to do, he leaned over the bar when he was close enough and reached out to clean the corners of his customer's lips, who had been taken by surprise, his face completely flushed.

 have to be careful with the cream, ChanYeol," he whispered, a tad too low to be in a coffee shop talking to a customer. He didn't give a . "You have to bite the bun gently so it doesn't spurt."

There was a clear ual connotation behind the words that he could not help and BaekHyun had the feeling that for once, the guy did understand what he was saying and that this was not something only he felt.

However, JunMyeon just had to be a .

"BaekHyun, I need you to work your magic at the coffee machine," he said indulgently, a meter away from him.

BaekHyun smiled slyly at ChanYeol, backing away to do what his boss asked him.

"Enjoy your breakfast, ChanYeol"

No words were spoken between them for the rest of the break; nevertheless, ChanYeol's face was a deep shade of red during the five minutes he took eating his custard-filled chocolate bun after that and BaekHyun couldn't have felt more pleased about it.