Title: Operation Love Life

Genre: Comedy?

Words: 3.7 k

Note: there’s a small Taokai

Summary: the employees of Oh Cofee and Tea Shop conspires to help their boss find love

There is a conspiracy going on at a coffee and tea shop in down-town Seoul.

Its workers are currently working on Operation Get Our Obnoxious, Stuck-Up Boss Oh Sehun to Fall in Love So He Can Get His Head-Out Of His And Allow Rainbows And Butterflies In Our Excruciatingly Strict Working Environment.

It all started when Tao and Jongin were caught being flirty and lovey-dovey in the back room and were both threatened to get fired if they don’t keep their hands from each other.

He’s so unfair. Unreasonable. It’s not like we’re having in there.

This was followed by so many other anecdotes about touching, and groping, and kissing from other couples – hetero and homo –done in secrecy (but caught anyway) and then the painful stories about deducted salaries.

So unfair.

“Our boss doesn’t understand love. His parents shower him with money in place of loving affection. Don’t take this against him.”

“But—but---Yixing---“

“He set rules Jongin. We broke it. We get punished. That’s it.”

“But—

“No buts Tao.”

“Hey you know what---“Baekhyun joins in, “if we can get him into a real loving relationship, he may be more considerate. And maybe miraculously less insufferable-“

“Oh.”

“Oh.”

“Oh yeah.”

“Wait excuse me what are we oohing about?” Luhan asks.

Baekhyun answers him, “We’re helping Sehun find love.”

When they brought up their idea (disguised as a hey boss there is someone I think is a good match for you) to Sehun one day, they were all scared to get fired just by mentioning the idea. (Tao and Jongin made sure to clear out since they are main offenders to Sehun’s eyes and can’t afford to make another offence.)

What they didn’t know was that Sehun was thoroughly enjoying the cautious look on their faces and their desperate attempt to act casual.

“Uhu. Yeah, go on Chanyeol. I’m listening.”

“Ahem—er—where was I—“

(The picture Chanyeol---show him the picture--)

“Oh yeah. Here—boss---This is Junmyeon.”

They all went pitching in for Junymeon’s credentials – the alabaster skin, all around pretty boy, he has abs that you obviously can’t see from the picture but, he’s studying to be an environmental lawyer, he’s born with silver spoon in his mouth (like you), he’s very down to earth though, and just really really rich, you are match made in heaven boss.

Sehun agreed. Right then. He agreed and his employees stared open-mouthed as he even  gave lazy feed-back like how Junmyeon does look hot and expensive.

So the operation began, too easy than they expected.

And it went on.

And on.

And on.

Until they’re running out of friends. (and Junmyeon is no longer talking to his old friend Chanyeol)

They may have failed to consider something – Sehun’s inner playboy.

They suddenly find their pool of high quality friends dwindling dangerously. When nothing change in their strict working environment and when their inboxes are starting to get full of different variations of - Whatever happened to Sehun? He won’t return my calls, and sometimes, your friend is the most obnoxious, over-bearing I’ve met in my life - they decided to reboot the operation to include only their friends who have very high tolerance to ry.

The rebooted operation was launched and this time, Sehun did threaten to fire them all.

Because it seemed he had enough and it’s also unfortunate (and stupid) that they didn’t notice that their boss is nursing a hungover at the moment. (How would they know, when their boss usually sway around the shop in his dark sunglasses and automatic y remark about anything and everything.)

“And it’s like all your friends are ing clingy and assuming and buzzkills as .”

“How about-“

“How about you shut up before I shut you up for the rest of your life.”

Tao’s eyes bug out, taking the threat seriously as he sulks away.

Yixing sighs, “Our boss deserves someone to hug at night. We just want your happiness boss.”

“I’ll be happy if you leave me alone and do your job like I pay you to.”

(“More like your parents pay us. And the job was to baby sit your spoiled ,” Kyungsoo mutters in a corner)

 “This is the last time I hear about setting me up okay. Everybody stop acting like matchmakers you all are my employees. And I’ll tell you what to do, not the other way round. Now, get back to work all you little pieces of asswipes.”

They disperse just when an unaware Lu Han comes in, “Sehunnie baby boss, I made you coffee for your hungov-.”

“YOU’RE FIRED! STAY AWAY FROM ING SIGHT!”

Luhan spilled the coffee all over himself.

After Lu Han getting fired then unfired, and calling Sehun not-at-all nice names behind the latter’s back, they terminated the operation for good, but t before they reveal to each other their underlying motives.  They all really, genuinely, sincerely, from the bottom of their hearts, look after Sehun and hope for the best for him. Despite what Sehun lets on, they know that the coffee shop staffs are the closest thing Sehun has for a family..

They know this because Sehun spends his birthday, Christmas. New Years, and all, here at the shop. And they are all there with him ----if not, they took turns in making sure Sehun has company and is happy. They hope Sehun will find someone who will stay by his side forever and ever.

(“Jesus Christ Luhan please stop crying.”

Luhan is being guilty for being mean at Sehun a while ago and now he won’t stop whimpering  my---baby---boss.)

Then one day, a new face comes into their shop, deep sharp eyes wandering around and pinks lips slightly parted, apparently impressed...all while looking cute and dominant which is an unusual and impossible mixture, but here he is looking just like that.

Luhan actually abandons his post behind the counter to approach the customer and extend his special service.

“What can I get you cutie sir?”

The customer raises an eyebrow and there is something unnervingly diplomatic in the way he does it that makes Luhan stand straight and smooth the front of his uniform.

“Yes can you get me your boss?”

“Certainly sir—wait what?”

“Sehun? Is he here?”

“Er—why? who are you?” Despite the situation, Luhan’s protectiveness towards his baby boss won him over and also he’s simply curious to know.

The customer, or not, fixes him a look that suggests Luhan just violated a code of ethics or something. But thankfully the expression softens into something amused.

“I’m his friend,” he simply says.

“Friend?” Suspicion is all over Luhan’s tone and face and the customer inches back a little to look at him and decide what the is wrong with him.

Yixing comes to the rescue.

“Boss is not yet here sir. If you would like to wait, let me direct you to a table.”

“Okay thank you,” the customer says but it sounds as if he is being grateful for being out of Luhan’s company.

“Who’s that?”

The others come up behind Luhan’s shoulder to investigate.

“He says he’s Sehun’s friend.”

“Friend?” Baekhyun gasps. “Sehun has no friend, he has allies and cronies.”

“Exactly the point.”

“Who’s that Yixing?”

They ask when Yixing finished serving the customer.

“Will you all go back to work? You’re starting to creep Minseok out.”

“Minseok? that his name?”

The door chimes and they collectively turns to its direction, only to come face to face to their boss wearing his usual aviator glasses and hung-over swagger.

Sehun stops on his tracks, apparently just noticing the congregation of his employees.

“Do I ing pay you all to hold a prayer meeting or whatever you’re doing in this little gathering? Get back to work you asswipes,” he says in controlled voice because there are customers around.

“But boss you have—“

“GO BACK WIPING THE FLOOR BAEKHYUN OR ELSE I’LL USE YOU FREAKING HUGE TO---“

“What you need a huge for?”

The voice comes from behind the employees but Sehun heard it and he stopped, jaws hanging in the air.

The employees skedaddled out of the way to reveal who spoke, some of the customers are looking over curiously.

Sehun takes off his glasses, revealing blood-shot eyes, to look properly, neck elongating forward in disbelief.

“Hy—hyung?” he stutters, straightening up and smoothing his clothes just like Luhan did earlier, but he has the tips of his ears reddening.

The employees look at each other.

“Sehunnie,” Minseok says.

All the employees take a sharp breath in shock when Minseok bounded to Sehun and envelops him in an embrace, that’s not the shocking part but how Sehun melted into the hug like a baby.

Baekhyun abandons all pretence of mopping the floor, Chanyeol is wiping the same spot on the table again and again, Tao and Jongin stops secretly touching under the table, Kyungsoo is transferring coffee to cups but really just spilling it all over the counter, Luhan is manning the register and accidentally gives a girl a button for a change, even Yixing stops to watch as Sehun goes tongue tied while staring with starry eyes at Minseok who does all the talking.

They gather that Minseok is finishing a medical degree in New York and here for a vacation, the first place he goes to after his return is here, the coffee and tea shop which is apparently originally his and Sehun’s dream but he had to continue the family’s dynasty of doctors, he is of course very happy to know that Sehun at least continued the dream, he even recounted how the two of them used to try all the coffee and bubble tea shops in Seoul until they’re sure they’ve tasted absolutely everything.. They gather that the Kim’s (Minseok’s family) is a family friend of the Oh’s and that Minseok has known Sehun since childhood and that of course he missed Sehun so much and that they should hang out and catch up.

Sehun agrees cutely, blushingly, and by this point the employees are going in a state of half-coma in their disbelief at what they’re witnessing.

Oh Sehun blushing? Oh Sehun bashful? Oh Sehun acting cute? Jesus.

And then Minseok is saying he needs to go to see his parents, which he has foregone in favour of surprising and seeing Sehun (“and the shop too”) so he bids goodbye and a see you later.

Sehun walks him out of the door.

The employees are only barely letting out a what in the effing was that? when Sehun comes back looking ready to murder whoever will bring up what just happened.

They all try their very best to focus on work and absolutely avoid each other’s eyes in fear of bursting into fit of giggles or all-out laughter.

Sehun goes inside the store room and soon they hear his cry of lament, “Oh no, arrghh I look awful”. He’s probably checking himself on one of Baekhyun’s many mirrors.

And then Sehun emerges looking aghast and approaches Jongin who looks around fearful and asking for help. But Sehun grabs him by the collar, “tell me Jongin. Do I smell like cigarettes?”

Jongin stares confused for a sec before inching closer to tentatively sniff at Sehun.

“Not really boss, you’re aftershave mask it off just fine.”

Sehun lets him go with a groan and loudly stomps on his way back to the store room while muttering to himself. They only manage to catch things like Minseok, hyung, hates, smoking.

The following days are sort of heaven already, Kyungsoo didn’t get reprimanded when Sehun caught him texting while on shift and Luhan who dropped and broke two platter only got a “Tsk, clean that up,” and most of all when Sehun walked in on the break room where Tao was sitting on Jongin’s lap while eating lunch, Sehun only passed by them to get himself a drink from the fridge. Yixing who was taking a break with them that time, offered the couple a grin and Tao looked like he might cry.

“Where is Minseok’s temple so I could pay homage?” Luhan wonders loudly after Sehun told him to continue working hard and he can, maybe, become supervisor alongside Yixing.

“Man, told you love can do wonders to a person,” Baekhyun said proudly.

Then a week later, Minseok visits the shop again. Sehun looks up from the inventory, smile already breaking on his face but it slowly fell into a grimace.

That’s because closely following Minseok is a blonde bombshell and the employees already sensed that this blonde is bad news.

She’s Sophie, Minseok’s classmate, who after initially refusing Minseok’s offer to spend her vacation in Seoul, decided to change her mind.

Sehun opened his mouth to say maybe something like “I wish you didn’t” but closed it again to form the most plastic smile ever known to mankind.

Maybe because she’s American and the culture is different, because she’s touching Minseok in ways that are not acceptably “just friends” in Sehun’s Korean standards (or maybe it’s just Sehun’s Minseok hyung is mine standards.) But the worst of all, Minseok is letting her!

Sehun can speak English fairly well but he insisted on speaking in Korean to purposely leave Sophie out but it backfires since now Minseok has to lean to her and translate.

So Sehun switched to English, “Do you want coffee, Sophie? Tea?”

Sophie refused and even joked if they serve beer.

Sehun went back to Korean and whispered, “We have poison.”

The employees looked alarmed and they made sure to clear out and away.

Minseok leaves with Sophie and Sehun takes to banging and breaking whatever he touches and he fires the new employee Minee for wearing that ridiculous butterfly thing on her braid and fires another one because he’s smiling. Needless to say, Tao stays as far away as possible from Jongin.

So the operation was relaunched but it was renamed into Get Kim Minseok, Sehun’s Most Favourite Hyung and Most Favourite Person to Fall In Love With Him, Get Him in a Bag and Deliver Him to Sehun’s Doorstep If They Have To.

They tracked and cornered Minseok in a restaurant where he’s eating with damn it Sophie. They’re hiding behind and under a table and Baekhyun said “go go go” when Sophie excused himself for the ladies room.

Minseok blinks in alarm when he’s suddenly surrounded by seven guys who are looking at him with desperation and determination.

“We just want you to know that Sehun is the most amazing, sweet, considerate, compassionate baby boss we’ve ever had and we think whoever dates him is one lucky person,” Luhan says his practiced line and the others nodded in confirmation.

Minseok leans back to absorb all of them. “You guys do know that Sehun refer to you as asswipes? And he thinks you all are worthless and nosy as .”

Minseok smiles at the look on their faces and then continues, “But nah, I know he secretly loves all of you and I think you love him right back.”

“But how about you?” Jongin asks tentatively. “Do you---love him?”

They hang for Minseok’s answer, hopeful but Luhan looks warningly as if he’s daring Minseok to say no.

Minseok frowns at them, looking offended by the question. “Of course I love him,” he says and looks back at Luhan as if daring him to doubt that.

Luhan however looks convinced.

“But Sophie?” Tao asks.

“Is my friend like I told you guys.”

“So what’s stopping you?”

“Look—“ Minseok sighs. “I still have two more years of school and I won’t date anyone from around here while I’m over there on the other part of the globe.”

Baekhyun is unimpressed by the excuse, “Pshhh, we have skype for that, video calls and all.”

“I know I know, but I don’t want that. Not for Sehun, he doesn’t deserve to be binded to that. He deserves to have fun.”

“Oh believe us he’s had enough fun,” Chanyeol says smirking, probably thinking of all those dates they provided to Sehun. Kyungsoo elbows him, because that bit is not particularly helpful for Sehun’s image.

“You know what I think,” Kyungsoo says, “you’re underestimating Sehun’s maturity a little and definitely underestimating how much he likes you.”

The others nod solemnly, some enthusiastically.

“He really likes you,” Tao adds, softly and a little miserably. “When he’s around you he’s more—likeable.”

“Way more likeable,” Jongin says in the background.

“And way more cute,” Luhan pipes.

“And way more happy,” Yixing finishes.

Minseok swallows and doesn’t say anything.

“What’s going on? Oh! Hi guys!” Sophie has come back and looking quite confused.

“We’re just saying,” Kyungsoo says while looking at Minseok, only at Minseok, “You’re making him suffer by giving him the freedom you think he deserves. Freedom, he has a lot of that you know it and you know that’s not what he really needs.”

They leave without any sort of affirmation from Minseok and they all feel second-handedly heartsick.

The door to the shop chimes and the first that comes to view is a bouquet of flower.

Baekhyun nudges Chanyeol hard on the ribs. One by one, the employees become aware of what’s going on.

Minseok handing the flowers to Sehun from the other side of the counter and Sehun is trying his best to look at anywhere, everywhere but Minseok.

He puts the flowers down at the counter, resuming his scribbling at the clipboard where he’s making a list of all the things his employees has done and looking for ways to deduct their salaries.

‘What’s that for?” he asks in an attempt to be not so thrilled and not taking his eyes off the clipboard.

“For the shop. I think the place can do with some ornamental flowers you know?” He says but with a -eating grin directed at the employees.

“Oh,” Sehun says, not able to hide his disappointment.

“So,” Minseok turns to look at Sehun, or to the top of Sehun’s head, “do you have anything to do tonight?”

“Tonight? Nope, nothing why?” Sehun says to his clipboard.

“I was thinking maybe I could take you out to dinner?”

Tao awwwws loudly but Jongin claps his hand on Tao’s mouth to not ruin the moment. The other’s look at him as if saying Jonging control your boyfriend.

Sehun pretends not to hear anything and continues playing unawares. “You mean---like a---like a date?” he asks timidly.

By this point it’s very hard to keep Jongin’s hand securely on Tao’s mouth and Tao still manages to release a mummed squeal.

“Yeah,” Minseok answers. “If you want?”

That gets Sehun to look up swiftly, because he can’t believe Minseok hyung is even asking, “Of course I wa—“ but upon seeing Minseok’s smile, he feels Minseok knows the answer anyway. Feeling stupidly enthusiastic, he drops his gaze again and continues in a lower voice, “I mean yeah, I’d like that.”

He resumes scribbling and by the motion of his hand, he’s probably doodling little heart shapes in there.

“So do I pick you up here or---at your apartment?”

“At home, yes, that’d be...” he trails off, maybe already imagining being picked up by Minseok.

“Okay, I’ll see you later?”

“Later.”

Minseok starts to turn but looks as if he just remembered something.

“The flowers are really for you by the way,” he says before finally turning away and looking into the watching employees. He winks at them before going out the door.

Sehun blinks at the closed door for a few moments as if trying to come to terms with what just happened. Then he looks at the flowers, pick it up, smiles and is half-way through smelling it when he looks up to realize all the eyes of his employees on him.

He turns around so swiftly to hide an embarrassed flush before carrying the flowers to the store room, probably to finally get to smell it in peace.

Kyungsoo who is behind the register and closest to the abandoned clipboard, inches towards it to confirm.

Yup, definitely little heartshaped doodles.

Also there’s M heart S.

The next day, Sehun comes to the shop with an unmistakable smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Instead of going behind the counter or to the store room which he usually does, he sits on one of the empty booths and taps away on his phone.

“So—ah—how was your date?” Yixing asks.

Sehun looks up sharply from his phone. “I don’t pay you to pry at my---love life,” he pauses before saying the last words as if he’s so fond of the words.

“But if you really want to know---it went quite well.”

It’s so obvious that he’s dying to tell and it emboldens Tao to ask, “Did he—did he kiss you?”

He looks at Tao feigning offense for being asked such personal question.

“Oh so he didn’t,” Baekhyun says purposely.

“Excuse me, he did!” Sehun says in indignation and then in a softer voice, and far away eyes,  adds, “And it was so amazing-”

He gets cut off by Tao squealing like a girl and it looks as if Sehun would join along but he stops himself at the last second.

‘Wait wait,” Luhan says sounding like a protective mother, “Please tell me you didn’t let him you alread-“

Kyungsoo stops him by backhanding him in the stomach and it’s almost a punch since Luhan doubles over. Chanyeol kindly advices to “breath through the pain.”

Sehun ignores all that or didn’t notice because his phone chimed signalling a new message and he’d been invested on his phone since, tapping away with a stupid smile on his face.

Afterwards, he puts the phone down, and looks around the room.

“Minseok hyung thinks I should give you all a bonus,” he says and his employees stiffen in disbelieving anticipation.

“But I disagreed....” he adds and pauses to bask on the crumbling hope and pout-inducing disappointment.

“I think what you all deserve is a pay raise.”

They all stare, open-mouthed, they stare and stare and stare without saying anything. Sehun just smiles at them, a little shyly, before his phone rings and he answers with a breathless, “Hey hyung.” He stands up to take the conversation outside.

“Man, I hope those two get married,” Jongin whispers before tugging Tao by the waist for a kiss.