Author: ShiningRose

Pairing: Minseok/Luhan

Rain sloshed down the sidewalk, battering the window behind which Minseok waited out the storm. Every instinct had told him this was a fruitless gesture, coming here. A friend of a friend said the bookstore was hiring, but his information was evidently old. Behind him, half of the store laid in boxes, the shelves half empty, and several handwritten signs on neon orange cardstock littered the window display and door: Going out of business sell.

The employee hadn't even bothered to spellcheck. It was no wonder the shop was closing, and the tiny cafe along with it. 

A cough emerged from behind the counter. 

"One coffee for... Minseok?" read the attendant. Minseok wouldn't call him a barista because it was clear the brown-haired man had no idea what he was doing with all of the machines left behind for him to use. 

"Thank you." He accepted the drink, grimacing at the creamy confection atop the styrofoam cough, like the man had attempted to decorate it with some kind of foam flower which instead Minseok thought resembled a dying insect. It didn't taste much better either, although he regretted making such a face when the man caught sight of his expression and cringed in a self-pitying manner. 

"Is it... alright?" 

"It's... hot. Thank you. That's what I needed." His name-tag spelled out 'Luhan' in similarly bad handwriting. Can't spell, can't write, can't make coffee. At least his face was handsome. Minseok caught himself staring over the rim of his coffee cup and quickly looked away, back outside.

"Terrible weather, right?" said Luhan. "Sorry you came all the way out here for nothing. And now you're stuck... I feel bad."

Minseok hummed, giving himself a moment to collect his thoughts so he wouldn't say anything mean. "That's okay. Not your fault the store is closing. Bookstores all over the place aren't doing so well, not little ones like this anyway. It happens."

Outside the storm was actually gathering in intensity. Lightning streaked across the sky as more and more pedestrians sought shelter under window covers and shop awnings. None of them came inside the bookstore though, and Minseok was a little bit relieved. Inside here it was peaceful, quiet, if a little depressing. The end of something he hadn't even known before now.

"Maybe if I made better coffee more people would have come in." Luhan was still talking to himself, to Minseok actually, he realized after a moment.

"It's... not really that bad?" he suggested, holding up the cup and meeting the man's eyes one more time. 

Luhan smiled and then laughed sadly. "Really? Well, thank you anyway for the lie."

Minseok tried to refute it. He opened his mouth to speak, caught Luhan still looking at him, but then he failed. Instead he laughed faintly, and Luhan smiled a little more brightly, as if appreciating his honesty. He wondered where Luhan would go from here, if he had another job lined up or if this was just a dead end for him. Kind of like how life was now for Minseok.

"Do you have any kind of radar app?" he asked the man. "I kind of wanted to see if... when the storm would pass."

All of a sudden Luhan looked sadder, but he pulled out his phone anyways from an apron pocket. "Yeah, hang on. I guess... I guess you want to get out of here, huh? Don't blame you. This place is... depressing."

All those books no one had wanted to read; Minseok agreed. Even if he really really liked books. Books and coffee. But currently, his messy little apartment was cozier than this place. He wished Luhan had somewhere better to go. The atmosphere seemed like it sapped his personality, like he was meant for brighter things, and that saddened Minseok even more than the state of the bookstore.

"It's not too bad. Although, your coffee-making skills could do with a lift."

Luhan smirked wistfully, and then he coughed. "I know..." 

And before he could tame his words, Minseok heard himself volunteering. "I could help you with that actually? I know a little about pouring coffee. What do you say? So you don't end up dooming the next cafe you work in?" 

He smiled his most winning smile, begging Luhan not to take offense. It was all just a joke, except for the offer because that... that Minseok could see himself actually doing.

"R-Really?" said Luhan, surprised and just a little bit lovestruck.

"Yeah..." said Minseok.