If anyone asked, Oh Sehun would say that the reason he continued working at Just Sweet despite the strain on his time—and the scary student manager—is because he basically got paid to spend time with Luhan, his cute, deer-like boyfriend, and because Sehun really really liked bubble tea.

            He would not say that he stuck to this job because he's kind of come to like Tao as a person ever since Sehun's spout of jealousy made a mishap of their first meeting. Sehun would also not say it's because Tao's a wizard at cooking tapioca but is actually terrible at mixing any of the drinks. (That's why Sehun always opted for a simple coca-cola with bubbles whenever he was on break and Tao offered to make something for his favorite cousin-in-law.) Really though, Sehun would have felt kind of bad for the customers of Just Sweet if Tao was left without a barista partner during the shifts he shared with Sehun.

            But really, if anyone asked, the thing above all else that Sehun would never ever admit is that watching Tao and Yifan's relationship progress was fascinating. (Sehun wondered if this is how everyone else felt before he and Luhan finally got together. He posed this question to Jongin a few weeks ago while the latter had been waiting for Kyungsoo to get off work. They had plans to see the midnight showing of some movie musical—Dancing with Umbrellas or something like that to do with rain, Jongin had explained—but Sehun hadn't really cared about Jongin's romance in that moment and was only curious about his own. But then Baekhyun and Chanyeol had appeared out of literal nowhere and said at the same time, "Obviously!" Which prompted the thought that the couple seemed like they were always in Just Sweet, and Sehun had wondered about that, too).

            So Sehun continued working at Just Sweet, continues to happily date Luhan and continued to creep on Tao and Yifan whenever he got the chance. Which is why he was at the bubble tea shop today, even though it was supposed to be his day off. Because today was also his and Luhan's 22 day anniversary, and Sehun wanted everything to be perfect.

            While making some last minute preparations the night before, Sehun had ruefully asked himself when he'd become such a romantic sap, especially one who celebrated made-up romantic holidays that one couple on We Got Married celebrated one time, ages ago. But when Sehun surprised his boyfriend at work today with flowers and a gruff "Happy 2-2 Anniversary"—to which Luhan responded with a watery smile and an especially grateful kiss of thanks—Sehun decided he didn't really care about being a cheesy romantic if it meant Luhan would look at him with happiness like that every day.

            Luhan still had a shift to finish, so Sehun found himself just hanging out in the shop and watching his boyfriend work. At some point, Tao came over and asked if he wanted anything to drink, so Sehun just ordered his usual.

            "Bubble Coke, please," he said, grateful that he wouldn't have to go back to work after enjoying his drink and could actually relax. 

            "Oh! So your usual, then?" Tao clarified.

            "Yeah," Sehun replied. He was about to return to his previous pastime of ogling Luhan, but a thought struck him and he turned back to his coworker. "Wait a minute...Tao?" he asked, confused.

            Tao turned back toward Sehun from where he'd been walking to the counter. "Yeah?"

            "You're working today?" It came out as a question, but really Sehun was just stating the obvious. (Jongin liked to say Sehun was dropped on his head as a child and as such was particularly good at pointing out obvious things. Sehun just liked to say that Jongin was a jerk.)

            Tao scratched the back of his neck in a physical expression of minor confusion. He was unsure whether he'd understood Sehun correctly—because even after living in Seoul for years, Zitao's Korean could still use some improvements—so he replied, "Um, yes?" with a questioning lilt at the end—just in case.

            "Why?" Sehun prompted when Tao elaborated no further.

            "Oh! Oh!" Tao said, as if he finally got it—which he finally did. He answered Sehun, "Kyung-ge took the day because he and Jongin apparently had a pretty late night yesterday."

            Luhan, who overheard this part of Tao's explanation, waggled his eyebrows suggestively before going back to work.

            Tao continued, "And then you wouldn't answer your phone this morning, so Kris-ge called me instead."

            Sehun remembered that, actually. He'd been pulled from dreamland by the sound of Queen's "I Was Born to Love You"—his ringtone because it was the theme song of his favorite Japanese drama and he was just a er for sports television, okay?—but had decided to ignore the call when he realized that it was just Yifan on the other end and not someone legitimately important. (Like Luhan. Or Sehun's mother.)

            Sehun found himself being secretly self-congratulatory as Tao walked away to make his coca-cola with bubbles because it was really Sehun's doing which caused Yifan to call Tao and ask for the wushu panda specifically. (Sehun ignored the fact that Yifan had actually called him first, because he figured that was Yifan's way of letting him spend more time with Luhan anyway.) And actually, Sehun had noticed—while watching Luhan, of course—that today Yifan was much more present in the cafe area of Just Sweet than he ever was when it was just Sehun, Luhan or Kyungsoo at work.

            Yifan is so not subtle, Sehun thought to himself with amusement. He wondered why the student manager didn’t just make a move on Tao, who clearly reciprocated the interest and often made Sehun laugh with how not so obvious the panda was about being so obvious with his feelings.

            “Here you go,” Tao said, handing Sehun his finished drink some minutes later.

            Sehun thanked him, but it came out tersely because he was distracted by Yifan’s sudden idiocy, which then attracted Tao’s attention too.

            Tao turned to see where Sehun had been looking, and he quickly noticed Yifan happily conversing with a female customer who must have been served while Tao was busy with Sehun’s drink. The panda frowned instantly and the bags under his eyes seemed to become even darker than they already were. Sehun even thought he heard Tao growl and had to remind himself that since Tao wasn’t actually a panda, he’d most likely imagined that. Hopefully.

            When the barista started marching in the manager’s direction, Sehun started getting worried. What if Tao did something rash and got fired? Sure, the guy wasn’t too good at most aspects of working in a bubble tea shop, but he was pretty cool most of the time and Sehun thought he’d be quite bored without Luhan’s cousin around. Instead of confronting Yifan and the manager’s friend, however, Tao simply brushed past the two angrily and went into the employee back room, slamming the door behind him angrily.

            Yifan looked a little lost at the sudden turn of events and gestured Sehun over. Sehun, who was almost positive the student manager still didn’t totally like him, knew that Yifan would have called Luhan instead if the latter hadn’t been working in that moment.

            “Yes?” Sehun inquired nervously, bowing slightly to Yifan’s friend as he approached their table.

            “Something is going on with Tao.” Yifan stated bluntly. “Tell me…” he paused, “or else.”

            To say that Sehun was afraid of Yifan was an understatement. But Yifan was only tall with an intimidating glare, while Sehun had recently learned that Tao was a wushu master who could do actual physical harm, so Sehun took his chances and refused to answer.

            “Oppa,” Yifan’s friend said, placing a hand on his arm in a gesture so familiar that even Sehun felt uncomfortable. “Stop being so aggressive; you’re going to scare everyone away!”

            Yifan noticeably relaxed under her touch and Sehun was desperately curious about the relationship between the two. Just then, Luhan came over.

            “My shift is over,” he told Sehun, and his boyfriend responded with a silent nod.

            “But what about the shop?” Yifan wanted to know. “If you’re leaving and something’s wrong with Tao, who will serve the customers?”

            Luhan huffed at the manager and rolled his eyes in annoyance. Tao was the BTG’s cousin, after all, and Sehun thought Luhan was probably upset that Yifan had done something to hurt Tao. “That’s on you. You are the manager, aren’t you?” he asked snarkily.

            Yifan furrowed his eyebrows and nodded, puzzled at Luhan’s somewhat venomous response. Sehun caught the girl rubbing soothing circles into the student manager’s forearm.

            “And anyway,” Luhan continued, still speaking with barely concealed irritation, “aren’t those new hires supposed to start today? You can just have them take care of things around here.”

            “But they’re new,” Yifan said petulantly. (Sehun thought that maybe Yifan also had a problem with stating the obvious. And if the way the student manager was treating Tao right now was any indication, Yifan was probably dropped on his head as a baby, too.)

            “Again,” Luhan responded, “not my problem.” Sehun internally groaned at this, worried for the second time today that someone at Just Sweet would very soon be out of a job.

            Something in Luhan’s response finally seemed to make Yifan snap, because he glared at the BTG pointedly and said with finality, “Yes, Luhan. I am the manager. And you know what that means? You’re working a double shift today.” He turned his glare to Sehun, who reflexively shrunk back in fear. “And you,” he continued, “make sure he’s wearing the apron and his nametag; I’d hate for Suho and Jongdae to get the wrong idea of what it’ll be like to work here.”

            Sehun gulped, but nodded and dragged Luhan away by the wrist when the BTG had tried to return Yifan’s glare with one of his own. “Lu,” Sehun hissed at his boyfriend, “stop it! You’re just going to make things worse, okay?”

            Luhan turned to Sehun and instantly appeared calmer. “The way he’s treating Tao just makes me so mad, you know?” Sehun nodded sympathetically but didn’t interrupt, allowing Luhan to continue. “And didn’t you say you made plans for our 22 day anniversary? I was really looking forward to that all shift, especially since I basically ruined our last one by being so stupidly superstitious.”

            It took Sehun a moment to remember what Luhan was referring to, but he soon recalled the disaster that had been their fourth day of dating, as well as Luhan’s attempt to celebrate the supposed good luck of their eighth. (He’d wanted to take Sehun paddle boating since water is sometimes lucky, too, but the BTG had only ended up with a cold after falling into the pond and needing to be rescued.) “Lu,” he replied, “yes, I made plans. But it’s okay.”

            Luhan looked downcast, so Sehun pulled his boyfriend into a hug of reassurance. “Look,” he continued, “I can always reschedule and the whole point of this was so that I could spend time with you. Which I’m doing right now anyway.” That comforted Luhan a little, but he still seemed a bit skeptical, so Sehun added, “Besides, anniversaries are important because they celebrate how much time two people have been together as a couple. Since I plan on being with you forever, though, what is four, eight, or 22 days in the face of an entire lifetime spent together?”

            As he said the words, Sehun was appalled at the mush coming out of his mouth. When he saw Luhan smile and melt in response, however, Sehun again decided he didn’t really care that he was becoming a sap, even if Jongin liked to occasionally about being whipped. (Luckily, all it took from Sehun was a sarcastic “Oh? And who tops in your relationship?” to get Jongin to instantly blush and stop his teasing.)

            Luhan, still nestled in Sehun’s arms, sighed contentedly. “Fine,” he whispered out, eventually pulling away to re-don his apron and pin his nametag securely into place.

            Once Suho arrived, Luhan’s next few hours were occupied with teaching the new employees how things worked at Just Sweet, leaving Sehun to entertain himself. Around 4pm, he saw Baekyun and Chanyeol saunter in hand-in-hand, so Sehun stopped staring at Luhan’s figure in his work uniform and went to join the couple instead.

            Figuring they’d be curious about the tense atmosphere that still seemed to linger in the air, Sehun filled the two in on the day’s events and asked their opinion on the situation.

            “I mean, it’s not like Tao has any claim to be jealous, you know?” Sehun said, perplexed. “But, like, Yifan clearly likes him, right, so why come here of all places acting like that with someone else. And a girl, no less!” Apparently Sehun had forgotten to mention the small detail of the gender of Yifan’s friend and Baekhyun gasped out an appalled “No!” in response.

            The three were still discussing what had happened when Yifan came over a few minutes later, greeting the familiar customers and wanting to know what Sehun was still doing in Just Sweet when just last week he had begged so ferociously for today off. Sehun just looked at him blankly, and Chanyeol, who didn’t work at the bubble tea shop and had no job to protect, said “It’s their anniversary, pabo” under his breath.

            Unfortunately, Chanyeol had never been too good at being quiet—that’s how he and Baekhyun had gotten together in the first place actually—so Yifan managed to hear the tall boy’s words. He had the decency to look at least a little apologetic though. “Oops?” he said, the word coming out like a question.

            “Yeah!” Baekhyun added, “Oops!”

            “Whatever,” Sehun replied. “It’s too late now, anyway. Besides,” he concluded thoughtfully, “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to. Not really.”

            For once, Yifan was not confused and said confidently, “You’re talking about Tao!” Sehun just rolled his eyes in annoyance, but Baekhyun patted the student manager on the head like a dog, while Chanyeol nodded, looking pleased. “But what do I do?” Yifan wondered aloud.

            “You break up with your girlfriend; apologize to the panda for being an idiot; tell him you love him…” Baekhyun paused in thought.

            “And then live happily ever after,” Chanyeol finished for him.

            “Right,” Sehun and Baekhyun chorused, amused that Yifan could only blush and gawk at their suggestions.

            “Right,” the student manager agreed in a daze. Yifan was so overwhelmed by the realization that his secret crush on Tao wasn’t such a secret anymore, that he didn’t even think to defend himself against the title of idiot, or to protest that he didn’t have a girlfriend, actually.

            As Sehun and Luhan walked home together after a late dinner that night, Sehun wondered what tomorrow would bring. He meant that literally because Yifan had decided that until Suho and Jongdae were experienced enough to partner up on their own shift, three people would work at a time instead of two; in other words, Sehun had to work tomorrow and Jongdae would be there, but so would Tao. (The panda hadn’t been in the back room when Luhan had taken the new hires there to get their aprons, but he hadn’t yet called in sick for work tomorrow either, so Sehun was apprehensively hopeful that Yifan and Tao would manage to work things out.)

            Luhan, however, took a different approach to Sehun’s question and said sagely, “Well, Yifan is going to apologize to my cousin or I’m going to shave off his caterpillar eyebrows while he sleeps.”

            Sehun coughed awkwardly and said, “Hyung, I’m not sure that’s the best approach. And this is best handled by the two of them, don’t you think?”

            Hearing that, Luhan stopped the two of them in the street, withdrew his hand from Sehun’s grasp and glared up at his boyfriend. “You’re so attractive, Sehunnie,” the BTG drawled out, causing Sehun to shiver and question whether or not he heard some time of vague threat in Luhan’s tone.

            Sehun’s fear was confirmed when Luhan continued innocently, “It would be such a shame for you to wake up one day without eyebrows too, don’t you think?” Gulp.

A/N: I'm not big on writing author's notes after chapters because I feel like it affects the flow of the story, you know? But this time I felt like I absolutely had to because Just Sweet now has more than 50 subscribers. Like, what even?!

Thanks to everyone who subscribes, who comments and even those who just read my story. If I'm busy with life then I know you all must be too, so I'm so so appreciative that you were willing to give even a little of your time to Just Sweet. Thank you, sincerely. Author-unnie