The hat is absolutely ugly. The green shade reminds him vaguely of rotten vomit and the white brim and white pompom adorning it look like a poisonous fungus born from the putrid felt. He can’t hold back a disgusted snort and Jaehwan lets out a deep sight.

         “It’s not like we have a choice hyung, so take it and start to work.”

         Reluctantly, he takes the repulsive and offending accessory between two fingers, wondering if he could get away from wearing it with some good excuse, like a sudden felt allergy...

         He loves his part-time job but has only one wish right now: strangling the damn creative who came up with the idea of their uniforms design. First, the poo-coloured aprons (you’ll never convince him the items were coffee-coloured) and now, to top it all, the rotten green Christmas hats which are supposed to make them look like what? Christmas trees?

         “Taekwoon!”

         He’s suddenly crushed in a terribly tight back hug and for a second feels like all the air has been pushed out of his lungs. He turns around at once, ready to violently elbowing himself out of the embrace, but he didn’t expect that Hakyeon would be so close to him. If his breath is taken away, it’s for an entirely other reason now.

         Hakyeon is looking at him, all bright smile and sparkling eyes under the green Christmas hat, and suddenly the terrible item doesn’t look ugly anymore. No, it makes Hakyeon look like a playful forest elf, the kind you wouldn’t mind to spend a lifetime with, curled up in front of a warm fireplace, deep inside the protective silence of the wood.

         He musts have stare for too long because Hakyeon is now looking at him questioningly.

         “What? Is there something wrong?” He asks while starting to check the hat on his head and touching his face, unsecure.

         “Ugly”. That’s all Taekwoon offers as an answer before he pushes Hakyeon away to make his way behind the counter. Jaehwan is giving him a hard look but he ignores him to turn his full attention to the coffee machine. If Hakyeon is hurt by the comment, he doesn’t show it. Undeterred, he comes to Taekwoon’s side and pokes him in the ribs while whining melodramatically at Taekwoon’s back.

         “You meany! You’ll have to put the hat on too, you know.” Then he’s gone and soon Taekwoon can hear him taking the orders of the newly arrived customers.

         Jaehwan doesn’t wait to scold him.

         “Damn hyung, can’t you be nice to him for once? You know he’s a human being, not some punching ball?”

         “Leave me alone.”

         “Seriously, I don’t know how Hakyeon hyung manages to put up with your crappy attitude.”

         “I said ‘Leave me alone.’”

         “Fine, you old bear. I swear the Grinch is more amiable than you!”

         To be honest, Taekwoon thinks he deserves the admonition. But he can’t help. He just doesn’t know how to act with Hakyeon. The other is too much for him to handle: too bright, too joyful, too friendly, too kind, too overwhelming. When they’re near each other, he feels like suffocating and it soon became a reflex for him to push the other away, with words or even physically, so he can breathe easily again.

         He’s aware of what Jaehwan and the other workers of the coffee shop think of his behaviour.

         “I know you can be cold hyung, but I wouldn’t have taken you for a homophobe”, Hongbin told him once. He tried to deny that his reactions had anything to do with the fact that Hakyeon was so open about his ual orientation. Nevertheless, Hongbin didn’t seem impressed with his feeble attempt to defend himself of the accusation. And he can understand his disbelief when the only thing he found to say was: “I just can’t stand his personality.”

         The statement sounds ludicrous even to his own ears: Taekwoon’s best friend since childhood is Jaehwan and even Hakyeon can’t be considered as hyper as the self-proclaimed ‘cutie barista’. Besides, the two have in common to be very responsible despite their antics. So it doesn’t make sense that Taekwoon doesn’t get along with the older, to the point of being rude to him on a daily basis. Still, that’s how it is and Taekwoon doubts it will ever change...