Park Jinyoung wouldn't say he had the best job in the world, but it was alright. Life as a barista wasn't as hard as it seems, with all the different drinks and the bunch of customers that range from college students to the workaholics, all craving for caffeine. He got pretty used to it by now, the smell of coffee and baked pastries greeting him every morning, along with his co-workers. 

Jaebum was his age at 21, with a permanent smile on his face that lightened up any mood. He had a natural air of friendliness, and was in charge of Jinyoung when he first entered. The two hit it off immediately, and things got better when they were joined by Yugyeom. He was younger, basically a kid. Your typical high school student who needed the part-time job for some extra cash. He was such an innocent soul, and he worked quickly. It was refreshing especially when things got busier around the shop. 

The store also had a lot of regulars, the type of customers to order the same thing every single day, usually at the same time too. There was this one man who had introduced himself as Heechul after his 6th visit, claiming that they should always expect him to arrive for his 8AM black coffee, with cream on the side in case there were some days he 'felt like it.' He hasn't missed a single day so far, and bets were beginning to start among the workers when he would. 

It was a slow day, so the workers weren't stuck to their post. Jinyoung, who took the side that Heechul was never going to miss a day, was explaining to Yugyeom how some people could literally live on only coffee, when the front door's little bell chime rang. He was midway his explanation, back turned to the door, when a deep voice came from the counter.

"Excuse me?"

"Hold up, Yugyeom, I'll enlighten you a little later," Jinyoung said, before turning around and rushing to the counter. He stopped in his tracks because wow the boy in front of him was really good looking. He was probably only a bit older, also still in university, judging by some books and the laptop in his arms. Probably a course that required summer classes, something Jinyoung didn't even consider. 

"What can I get you, sir?"

"One vanilla frappe with raspberry syrup," the boy replied without missing a beat. His hair was red, and for a moment Jinyoung wondered if it was related to how he liked raspberries. 

"Coming right up." 

Jinyoung worked pretty well, if he had to say so himself. His hands were already used to the work area, knowing where the milk and cream is, and which syrup pump is which flavour. He couldn't help but be a little bit more conscious of what he was doing knowing that a really hot customer was waiting. Ah, yes, it was impossible not to get a crush on a customer once in a while.

Hoping he didn't take too long, Jinyoung returned to the counter with the drink, a straw, and some paper napkins. The boy took the drink with a breathtaking smile and a small word of thanks, before heading to sit down at a nearby table. It was near enough that Jinyoung can still see him from where he worked. It distracted him quite well.

He didn't want to sound vain, but Jinyoung swears that sometimes he would actually catch the red-haired boy staring at him (because he's also guilty of glancing from time to time, you can't really blame him, the boy was gorgeous) before resuming whatever he did with his books or laptop. 

This began to happen a lot more often, as the vanilla-frappe-with-raspberry-syrup customer becomes a regular- he's been showing up atleast 4 days out of the 6 that they worked, and it would always be the same order. He would also always sit at the same table, seeming so close yet so far; without fail, Jinyoung would find himself staring at that direction a little more than he should. 

"Bro, stop checking him out," Jaebum says one day, elbowing Jinyoung in the ribs lightly. "Talk to him if you want." 

"I am not checking him out," Jinyoung replied, but already feeling the tip of his ears get a little warmer. 

"You were staring."

"Just shut up."

There was one Monday morning that was a lot busier than most. There were more university students cramming for their exams, and more lawyers in suits all ordering fancy drinks. It required all three guys to work faster than usual, rotating their positions every now and then to fit the flow of customers.  Jaebum was at the cashier, shouting the orders at Yugyeom and Jinyoung. Yugyeom would exchange places with him for the more complicated orders, and overall Jinyoung was manning the drinks. 

Jinyoung had about 2 drinks to finish when Jaebum shouted from the front, "Yugyeom! Can you do this?" 

Turns out, Yugyeom could not, and Jinyoung found himself beside a grinning Jaebum. He was looking surprisingly cheerful for such a busy day, his eyes with that twinkle of mischief- it wasn't until Jaebum pumped two shots of raspberry syrup into a white drink did Jinyoung realize what was up. The look of realization that dawned on his face must have been why Jaebum burst out laughing. 

"Way too obvious, Jinyoung," Jaebum said between laughs and shaking a drink. "Up front, see for yourself." 

Jinyoung did not want to give Jaebum the satisfaction. Instead, he waited until his co-worker disappeared to the front before allowing himself to glance, and maybe listen in. He noticed Jaebum take a marker and scribble something on the cup before handing it over, but before he could ask, somebody shouted, "Mark, over here!" 

The red haired boy, which he now knew is named Mark, made his way over to the guy- it was his usual table, just with around two other guys who both looked pretty foreign. Come to think of it, Mark also looked pretty foreign, and it took Jinyoung awhile to realize the other guy had spoken to him in English.  He was still staring when Mark began to look at his cup, and at whatever Jaebum wrote, and then he smiled. His smile got wider, revealing sharp canines, before he covered it with his hand. 

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