Free Napkins & Coffee Spills completed Free Napkins & Coffee Spills AUTHOR: vexedstars 
LEAD: Xiumin
GENRE; SETTING: Fluff, humour; coffee shop
CHAPTERS: 1
READER INFORMATION: None  

Flirting is never easy, especially if both individuals are socially inept.

thoughts PLOT: Everything is nicely contained within the short story without extra padding or waffle – the plot is direct, simple, and to the point, and there's no faffing around. Jung Hee spies a hot barista in her local café and makes a fool of herself. Then she tries to express how much she likes him and largely fails. He notices she might be interested but is too shy and awkward to be blunt about his own interest in her, so he tries to be subtle. That fails, too. Amusement ensues.

CHARACTERISATION: Both Xiumin and Jung Hee are just so delightfully awkward. Jung Hee can barely string two words together around him, and Xiumin's intent on giving her his number, which she constantly manages to misplace. The awkwardness of not really knowing the best way to flirt with somebody is wholly relateable, even if you're a confident flirt. The giddiness and the frustration of both characters when something goes right, only to go wrong shortly after, is clear, but not overdone. A couple of other (unnamed) EXO members show up, but are clearly identifiable. And Chen. Okay, yes, I guess that the characters do play into EXO stereotypes in the