Baekhyun took off a little after three once the lunch rush died off and left the store in Kyungsoo’s hands. He had to make it to the business services office in time before they decided to close. It was a Sunday, and everything closes early on Sundays. When he reached the building, after talking with the receptionist, there was an easy flow to things. They had him fill out papers on his business, what kind of employee he was looking for, and what benefits his employee’s received from working there. After being fairly satisfied with his answers he handed them to a stern looking woman maybe in her mid-thirties and offered her a dashing smile. He noticed the woman blush inconspicuously and held out his hand to shake hers. She accepted the handshake much to Baekhyun’s delight and even gave him a small, almost unnoticeable, smile.

Baekhyun takes pride in his people skills and he finds himself constantly trying to bring the best out in them. He believes it’s a trait he picked up when Chanyeol left, because this was more of Chanyeol’s thing and now that he’s not here Baekhyun felt the need to accommodate that. It was a conscious effort on his part whereas he knows Chanyeol was just born with it. Baekhyun, rather, was born with the ability to judge a person. As horrible as it sounds he felt Chanyeol was easy to take advantage of because the younger only saw the good in people whereas Baekhyun could easily tell when a person was playing games. He simply had a good judgment of character, but was often seen as unreasonable because of his lack of proof. Both were helpful in business and Baekhyun had learned how to use them well.

Baekhyun had certainly thought of creating a chain of shops instead of his one local café, he certainly had the potential to, but he really loved the idea of it being unique. Even if he expands to two shops it’s still much more exclusive than if he were to become national. Plus Kyungsoo would be the owner of his second shop and he’s a personal friend of his.

Baekhyun shrugs at himself in the elevators mirror, ending the argument running through his mind. As he scrutinizes his appearance he’s forced to realize just how much he’s actually changed. Sure, this is his work uniform, but still. The clean cut white button-up shirt, his black slacks and nice leather loafers along with his perfectly styled black hair which is parted to the side, it screams business man. Baekhyun can’t even begin to imagine what Chanyeol had thought when he saw Baekhyun, the kid who wore oversized hoodies and skinny jeans, like this. He didn’t have time to dwell on it because the elevator doors opened and he was hastily out of the building’s doors.

Baekhyun decides to head back to the café, Double Shot. It was a little bit of satiric humor at the time. Three years ago he believed his coffee shop would be the reason for his second chance with Chanyeol and seeing how it was the reason for them meeting again after Chanyeol’s return he might not have been too far off with his assumptions. The other reason being that Chanyeol clearly loves his espresso, if the amount of Americano’s he’s consumed is anything to go by.

A strong gust of wind blew past, tussling Baekhyun’s once perfect hair. He watched as the leaves danced around, coming loose from their previous home in the trees. Dark gray clouds started to litter the sky, telltale signs of a storm brewing. Baekhyun’s pace quickened in hopes of missing the pouring rain which was to come anytime soon. He maneuvered expertly pass other city dwellers trying to escape the inevitable. He noticed the large building in his peripheral eyesight and stopped. It had become a habit. He was only a street away from the safety of his shop yet, just as all the times before, he stands frozen in front of the hospital. He can’t help it, it’s the best known hospital in Seoul and he was always certain that Chanyeol would end up working here one day, thus why he shamelessly bought the corner shop which was oh so close.

Now that he’s actually seen Chanyeol and the man mentioned he works close by, he can’t help but to wonder. Though that was more than 10 hours ago, if he’s a doctor it’s still possible he’s there right? His feet move on their own and before he realizes it he’s walking through the automatic doors and in front of the receptionist’s desk. She gives him a funny look before asking “can I help you sir?”

Baekhyun jumps at the voice and smiles sheepishly at the nurse. “Uhm, I was just wondering if a Park Chanyeol works here.” Baekhyun can feel heat creep its way up to his face, clearly embarrassed that he’s come to such an important place that has plenty more important things to do other than quell Baekhyun’s curiosity.

The lady looks through the computer, probably the employee roster, before nodding. “Yes, he’s here. He just started about a month ago actually.”

“O-oh… Thanks…” Baekhyun feels bad about the awkward atmosphere he’s giving out, but whenever it comes to Chanyeol he just doesn’t know how to function properly. He decides to settle with a nod and races out of the hospital and toward Double Shot.

It does end up raining, pouring cats and dogs. A shiver runs up Baekhyun’s spine as he works on his stock order. There are only two of them left in the shop now, him and Minseok who’s manning front. They close in an hour and Baekhyun’s never been more thankful he kept a spare umbrella in his office, with the way the storms going it doesn’t look like it’ll quiet down anytime soon. A rough crack is heard against Baekhyun’s office window and he lets out an unmanly sound from the surprise. A soft of relief escapes his lips when he realizes it’s just the tree going wild from the wind whipping it around.

Once he manages to finally settle down enough to type in his stock order on the website he’s quick to shut down his laptop and grab the umbrella before heading to the front. Minseok looks at him with a gentle smile. The shop is dead. They only have ten minutes until close and Baekhyun’s glad he doesn’t have to chase out any people trying to find shelter from the rain.

A small cough from the lounge side of the room proves him wrong.

One look at the miserable figure has Baekhyun’s heart clenching. The poor guy was obviously drenched. He feels a presence behind him and turns to see Minseok giving him a curious look. “He’s been here for more than an hour, clearly got caught up in the rain.” A look of horror runs through Baekhyun because if the man’s been in that state for over an hour he could clearly get sick.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Baekhyun hissed. He rushed off through the doors, to the very back of the shop and into the dressing room. He pulls out a towel and spare clothes before returning and dropping them onto the coffee table in front of his customer who was probably trying to warm himself up with the Americano in his hand. “Go to the bathroom and change.” He flinches at how angry and demanding his voice sounds, but lets it go when the man begins to do as he was told.

“Minseok, it’s seven, you’re good to go. Thank you for your hard work today.”

Minseok looks to the bathroom and then to Baekhyun before the pieces seem to click in his mind. “Will you be alright?”

Baekhyun groans. “You know too?”

The barista shrugs, “Sehun has a big mouth.”

Baekhyun can’t help but laugh because isn’t that the truth. When Minseok walks past he gives Baekhyun’s hand a reassuring squeeze and disappears into the pouring rain with a bright red umbrella.

A small ding from Baekhyun’s pocket diverts his attention as he pulls out his phone.

From: Oh BigBaby (Sehun)

Hyung if he makes you cry my shoulder is open!

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. Minseok probably texted Sehun about what’s going on.

A creak of doors has Baekhyun moving his eyes to see a Chanyeol clad in his stores uniform. The slacks are just shy of his ankles, but everything else fits nicely.

“It’s Sehun’s spare,” Baekhyun informs. 

Chanyeol just nods. “I was actually hoping to find him here.” Baekhyun tries not to feel hurt by the comment. “I was called to the hospital for some last minute errands even after my shift was over, but then it started raining and horribly too. I could barely see through that and fog. I haven’t been living here long enough to find my way back to the apartment by pure memorization.”

“Well sorry to say, but you’re stuck with me.” Baekhyun mutters bitterly. Chanyeol gives him an amused look, but doesn’t say anything more. Baekhyun grumbles to himself all the while reaching for his white umbrella that he laid off to the side. “I’ll take you home.”

“What, the big business man doesn’t have a car?” Chanyeol joked, probably trying to make light of the situation.

Baekhyun has half a mind to hit him with his umbrella, but holds back. “What about you, being a doctor and all.”

“I only came back a month and a half ago, but I guess you wouldn’t know. I’m not exactly expecting you to be keeping tabs on me.”

 Baekhyun’s grasp on the handle tightens until his knuckles turn as white as the umbrella itself. If only you knew, Baekhyun wanted to say. Instead he opts for, “I do have a car, but I prefer walking, the car is for grocery shopping.”

“When did you get into exercising? I remember you couldn’t even manage to roll out of bed on time for classes. Yet here you are up bright and early maintaining my coworker’s favorite coffee shop.”

Baekhyun can’t tell if these are jabs at him or just pure observations. Either way they’re really setting his temper alight. He figures if he was in Chanyeol’s shoes he’d be pretty peeved too. The person he loved for an innumerable amount of years supposedly turned him down after probably the most amazing kiss he’d ever experienced, at least for Baekhyun. Then drops contact, not that Chanyeol tried to contact him either, but perhaps Chanyeol was waiting for some type of assurance after his departure that it was all just a misunderstanding.  Baekhyun finally puts down his guard and allows the aggravation to seep away.

“I did keep tabs on you actually. All the way from how you were doing to marking the day you’d be back on my calendar.” The truth should be the best way. Right?

“Are you a stalker?” Chanyeol nudges Baekhyun playfully in the arm, though his voice didn’t hold all that much amusement.

Wrong.

“No, just happened to be your best friend at one point in time.” Baekhyun was getting tired. It’d been a long day and he really could have picked a better time for this confrontation.

“That ended three years ago, the day you rejected me.” Chanyeol quirks an eyebrow, “Or do you not remember?”

“Yeol I didn’t reject you” Baekhyun rushes out.

“Baekhyun, I’m pretty sure I said ‘forget you,’ on that day.” Baekhyun felt his heart clench at those words. Once was bad enough. “And admittedly I did a horrible job of that the first year, but the second and third year I got better and better. Now I’m interested in someone else and you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

Chanyeol was about to walk out into the rain, without an umbrella and Baekhyun grasped his wrist, efficiently stopping him. No tears, no tears, he tried to remind himself. “I’ll take you home,” He repeated his sentence from earlier.

Chanyeol shrugged nonchalantly, clearly done with the previous subject. “Okay.”

The walk was silent. Baekhyun knew if he spoke one word his voice would crack and give away the fact he was actually crying. There was no way he could stop the tears that had pooled in his eyes so he faced the ground and walked. Chanyeol opted for holding the umbrella since he was clearly taller than the other. He was sure it would look comical with Baekhyun raising his arm as high as it would go to accommodate Chanyeol’s height, but he knew it wouldn’t be comfortable for the either of them.

They reach a large building that looked more like a hotel than an apartment complex. The lobby was extremely nice and it only proves the wealth Chanyeol was able to attain. Chanyeol didn’t bother with inviting Baekhyun up to his place and Baekhyun didn’t ask. What right did he have anyway?

“Thanks for the help and clean clothes. I’ll get these back to Sehun when I can.” Baekhyun nodded, still not trusting his voice. The vow he made to himself repeats incessantly in his head. If Chanyeol is happy with another, he’ll forget him. But just like he thought back then, there’s no way he can forget Chanyeol.

He quickly brushed the tears out of his eyes and looked up just in time to see Chanyeol walking away and into the elevators. He’s not sure if it was his imagination, but it looked as though Chanyeol had a wet spot on his shoulder.

A few days pass normally. He had already gone over the applications the service had sent him for potential employees and was a little surprised at the amount he had received. He decided he could start with two. He doesn’t really need any more than that, one in the kitchen and one up front. Today was the day the two would come in for training.

Baekhyun stared at the checklist he made for himself as he sat on the couch of the lounge. His legs were crossed and his glasses had slipped a little down his nose, but his intense focus on what he was doing had everyone leaving him alone. He probably looked daunting to some despite his lacking in the height department. He had thick thighs, a frown placed on his lips and dark hair styled sharply to the side. He sighed heavily, tapping incessantly on his clipboard with his pen. Really, he was just nervous at dealing with the new coworkers. It’s been a while since he’s had to train someone and he’s not exactly sure which side he wants to show today. He decided on being intimidating for the sole fact that he can be friendly after they’ve been officially hired. The once steaming mug in front of him has cooled down significantly during his daze and his first sip has him scrunching his nose. Hot coffee was not meant to be cold.

Minseok, as if reading his mind, came and set a new mug on the side table. “This is why I don’t want to hire anyone else.” Baekhyun whines to his employee.

Minseok chuckled good-naturedly and rolled his eyes. “For someone twenty-six you sure do act like a child.” Baekhyun gives him a pout. “And look like one too.”

“Like you’re one to talk.”

Minseok shrugs his shoulders, he’s heard it enough times it doesn’t bother him. He really does have a baby face and he’s been forced to admit that long ago. “You know, in time they could be like family too. You just need to give them a chance.”

Baekhyun feels a squeeze to the shoulder and looks over at the mug that was set down for him, “Chai latte?”

“I thought you needed a change, it seems a lot’s going to be changing around here soon.”

Baekhyun grimaced. “I wonder if it’s for the better.”

“Won’t know unless you try,” is Minseok’s last piece of advice before drifting back to the counter and servicing a customer.

Looking back down at his checklist, Baekhyun feels a little better. Minseok has always been like an older brother, a voice of reason. He’s especially grateful for the older. He writes a tiny note at the corner of his paper reminding him to sign Minseok up for barista competitions.

The café’s bell jingles and Baekhyun looks up in time to see two well-dressed men standing awkwardly at the entrance. Baekhyun waves them over and ushers them into the two maroon chairs that reside across from the couch.

“Byun Baekhyun,” he starts and puts his hand out for the two of them to shake.

“Kim Jongin,” says the tan, reddish brown haired male. Baekhyun notices he’s tall and lean, good looking too. He’ll definitely draw in his own fair share of customers.  Baekhyun can’t shake the thought that he looks familiar though.

“Zhang Yixing,” the darker brunette pipes up. He smiles widely and his dimples send Baekhyun through a loop. He’s also handsome. His accent is cute, but probably not good for working with customers in a rush. It’s good he’ll be in the kitchen with Kyungsoo. The man has a genial feel and he’s already sure he’ll be a good worker.

Perhaps this won’t be so bad after all.

Baekhyun gives them a tour of the building. He shows them the counter where Minseok waves cheerfully, the kitchen where Kyungsoo gives them a polite nod, but is too busy to do much else. When he goes to the very back it’s a hallway with two doors aside from the one they came out of. “This is my office,” he gestures to the one at the left, “And this is the locker room.” He leads them through the right door and picks out the clothes he got ready according to their size on the application papers. “You may change and we’ll start your training.” With that he waits outside the door until the two are ready.

Really there wasn’t much for Baekhyun to do in the training process besides supervise. He ended up handing the majority of the duty to both Minseok and Kyungsoo since they were to be the ones actually working together with them most of the time. He gave the appropriate checklist to each for them to fill out what the trainees had learned that day and will need to learn in the following days to come. Below the list he asked for personal input from his two employees on how cooperative and friendly the trainees were, both received good remarks.

At the end of the day he clasped both of them on the shoulder. “After your week of training, you’ll have a trial period. However; chances are if you completed the training successfully we really shouldn’t have a problem.” He smiles brightly at them for the first time and the two seemed to visibly relax.

“Oh and Jongin,” Baekhyun begins, ready to ask what’s been bothering him since they shook hands. Before he can continue his sentence though the bell chimes and Jongin is enveloped in what looks to be a bone crushing hug by a tall individual. He hears Jongin laugh and watches as he smacks the man’s back until he let’s go. The moment the man turns around to face Baekhyun, he can’t bring himself breathe properly.

Chanyeol grins widely at Jongin and puts his arm around him. “You got the job?”

Jongin grins back and shrugs. “Kind of, it’s the training process right now.”

Suddenly it hits Baekhyun. Jongin was one of Chanyeol’s friends from high school.

“You’ll take good care of him, right Baekhyun?” Chanyeol is finally sending that smile his way, but Baekhyun can only smile weakly in return. He knows the smile isn’t actually meant for him anyways.

Realizing Chanyeol is waiting for him to actually respond he coughs uncomfortably before replying, “Of course, as long as he’s good at his job.”

 He diverts his eyes to Sehun who’s coming in to relieve Minseok of his duties. The younger boy stops at the scene before him and scans over each person before deciding his next move. Sehun grins and settles on hugging Baekhyun’s shoulders from behind. “Long time, no see!” he says to the two before them.

Baekhyun shifts uncomfortably at the gaze of Chanyeol who seems to be looking through his soul the moment Sehun decided to pop into their little conversation. Baekhyun subtly tries to elbow Sehun off him, but the younger won’t budge. He turns his head and hisses, “Sehun!”

Sehun takes no heed and tightens his hold on Baekhyun.

“Well we should go then!” Jongin breaks the tense atmosphere, dragging Chanyeol with him out of the shop.

“Since when did you get so protective,” Baekhyun mumbled lowly.

Sehun nuzzles his face into Baekhyun’s shoulder before replying, “I’ve always been this way since the day you took me in.”

Baekhyun sighs at the reminder of the day Sehun was kicked out of his home and fully drowning in school debt. He offered Sehun a place to stay and to this day he’s still bumming off his apartment. He guesses that’s not completely true since the younger has two jobs and helps pay for things. Which reminds him, “Quit your other job,” Baekhyun says after finally detaching himself.

“Huh, why?” Sehun’s looking at him likes he’s stupid and Baekhyun has half a mind to kick him in the shin. He almost does, but remembers that the boy needs to work in his store today.

“I make enough off the café to pay my own bills. You can stop helping out and just focus on your school. I know your grades are struggling since you spend too much time working already.” Sehun pouts, ready to refute, but Baekhyun puts his hand up. “This isn’t an option.”

Sehun shakes his head dejectedly, but shrugs nonetheless. He knows once Baekhyun is set on something, that’s that. Plus it was true; his grades really were taking a beating.

Baekhyun shoos Sehun off to get ready for his shift so Minseok can finally leave.

Once Baekhyun is back in his office doing payroll he can’t help his mind from wandering. Chanyeol and Jongin, is Jongin the one Chanyeol likes? He chews on the end of his pen in frustration. And Chanyeol knew he was applying here? Baekhyun tries hard to think back to when he visited Chanyeol’s friends in high school. Baekhyun sits up sharply in his desk and the pen drops from his mouth. Jongin liked Kyungsoo, totally had a thing for Kyungsoo. .

Baekhyun slips through the kitchen door to find Kyungsoo resting on a plastic stool, head bent back against the porcelain white wall.

“Soo,” he calls lightly, checking if the other was even awake. The small boy opens one eye in response. “Can we talk in my office?” Kyungsoo nods languidly and slinks to Baekhyun’s office. Baekhyun feels bad because he knows Kyungsoo worked a double today and probably wants nothing more than to curl up in bed. “Okay so… Do you remember a Kim Jongin?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes fly open at the mention of the name and his posture turns rigid. “Yeah… why?”

“I remember him from high school, when I met you guys with Chan at that party.” Kyungsoo nods apprehensively. “But since he didn’t go to college with the rest of us I completely forgot about him… until now.” He grabs for Kyungsoo’s hand who gives him a strange look. “He kind of… works here… for now?”

“Are you out of your mind?” Kyungsoo screeches in horror. The poor boy looked terrified and Baekhyun winced. “Does he know I work here?”

“I’m not sure. I only remembered him when Chanyeol came and practically attacked the guy into a hug.” Baekhyun hesitated before continuing. “What happened between you two?”

“We used to be close, like closer than you and me close.” Baekhyun urged him on with a squeeze of his hand. “He got into some really bad things that I didn’t agree with after I rejected him.” The look in Kyungsoo’s eyes said there was a lot more to tell, but perhaps that was a story for another time. Like when Baekhyun would come over to Kyungsoo’s and they’d cook dinner together before watching a ton of sappy dramas and letting out all of their deepest darkest secrets. Yeah, that sounds like the appropriate time.

“So… Dinner night?”

“Tomorrow... I’m going to need it if he’s going to be here.”

Author's Note

So my friend recommended doing some chapters from Chanyeol's POV.

Perhaps that will come next chapter?

Enjoy ~ ♥

COMMENT REPLIES : I'm very thankful to everyone who's commented on both Double Shot and Not My Taste. It's very encouraging and I read each and everyone of them.

Foryouxoul: Drama is everywhere ~ I have so much planned for this fic, but at the same time it's kind of spur of the moment. It's ending up even more drama filled than I had intentionally planned. I think Sehun is my favorite character tbh... Gotta have barista Minseok and Chef Kyungsoo <3

taking-tea-with-kpop: Well yes... It's fairly unfortunate :c

Zero-kun: Yes I missed Channie too, I want to write more of him. A lot of people write Sehun as aloof, and I think he's very playful with the ones he cares about. Plus I ship Sebaek brotp...

abcdefghiluvyou: Cute username ~ Thank you so much, it means so much that you see it all as beautiful <3 I don't know if I deserve such a wonderful comment, but thank you! Don't worry Kaisoo cannot be forgotten! Just... they're in a huge struggle boat with the rest of the ships. Okay so it's not assistant chef, but barista. How did you knoooooooow!

PS: Can y'all guess the other pairings that might show up? Not everyones even been introduced yet TT