Hakyeon smiled to himself, humming a cheery tune as he counted the paper cups stacked up along the side of the counter, giving up after he reached twenty in favour of restocking the cups regardless of how many there were. The morning rush was always the worst, anyway.

The strong, earthy scent of coffee floated gently on the air, a rich smell that flitted between the golden wisps of sunlight and reminded Hakyeon of the earth and the woods after a night of rain.

The brunette chuckled and shook himself out of his thoughts, immediately taking stock of the numerous coffee beans and whispering the names to himself.

“Blue Mountain, Brazilian, Bourbon, Colombian, Ethiopian, Java, Mocha, Pacamara, Robusta…” Smiling, he readjusted the bow that tied together his dark blue apron.

Eternity was a small café on the corner of a somewhat busy street, nestled cozily between the much larger shops that flanked it on either side. The interior was mainly exposed brick, lined with photos and filled with plush chairs and sleek tables. It was modest to be sure, but it was his.

Muttering to himself, Hakyeon continued to check their supplies, making sure that there was enough cream, flavoured syrups, and strange tea blends that were slowly becoming more popular. The bell above the door chimed brightly, letting Hakyeon know that the co-owner of Eternity and the pastry chef had just entered.

“What’re you doing, loser?” The black-haired man said confidently, striding in with his own apron tossed carelessly over his shoulder. Hakyeon snorted.

“Inventory, which was, by the way, your turn to do. How was your sleep, Wonsik?”

Wonsik was a tall, compactly built man with pin-straight hair that just brushed his eyelashes. His face was long and angular, narrow eyes framed by slightly short eyebrows that made his face look even longer than it was. He flashed Hakyeon a cocky smile, tying his apron behind him with a flourish.

“I was thinking about making a batch of blueberry-violet muffins. What do you think?”

Hakyeon raised an eyebrow.

“You can make the muffins, but there is no way that you’re dying your hair blue.”

Wonsik had known Hakyeon since birth – literally. Hakyeon’s mom was pregnant with her second child and happened to be sharing a room with Wonsik’s mother. The two of them hit it off, and when his mother came back with his younger brother Hongbin she brought along a new friend and godson.

Anyway, Hakyeon knew Wonsik too well. He could tell if Wonsik had diarrhea or if he woke up late or if his socks were mismatched (which they usually were) by simply staring at him hard enough and potentially making an off-hand comment.

Wonsik stuck his tongue out, brushing past him to head into the kitchen while mentally bracing himself for the intense heat. The kitchen wasn’t air conditioned, and when all of the ovens were on… Whew. That was a doozy.

Wonsik was a trooper, Hakyeon would give him that.

“You’re not my mom,” Wonsik sniped back, the door closing behind him as he began to fire up the pits of hell, also known as the ovens.

Snorting, Hakyeon quickly wiped down the counter, opening the doors just as the other barista, a young man with fluffy brown hair that constantly fell into his eyes named Jaehwan, ran in. “Hey boss, incoming!” He shouted, blasting past him in a mad dash to get into work on time.

“You’re twenty-two seconds late,” Hakyeon chirped, smacking Jaehwan’s neck firmly as punishment.

Jaehwan tossed his hair, arching an eyebrow sassily. “No need to be so stingy,” he said, strutting over to the counter and taking his place behind the register just as Hakyeon flipped the sign to ‘open’.

Hakyeon shook his head, smiling brightly. “Well, if I let you get away with it you’ll be in here twenty-two minutes late next time. C’mon, let’s start grinding up some coffee beans.”

The regular morning crowd soon started to trickle in, most of their orders already memorized by heart. Rovix, the stray tabby cat that frequently basked in the light on the terrace, was busy up to the slim young woman who always ordered two small macchiatos with a muffin and cheesecake to share with her boyfriend.

The woman smiled down at Rovix and subtly dropped a bit of the cheesecake, smiling guiltily at Hakyeon as she noticed him watching. Hakyeon chuckled, waving her off to the third table from the door where her boyfriend was sitting. Rovix had become a bit of a mascot for the café, so it wasn’t unusual to see the customers spoil him every now and then. It was more of a surprise that no one had adopted the cat yet.

It was around noon when he came in, the only other customers an elderly woman, a middle-aged man, and a pair of younger men who looked remarkably similar. Hakyeon off-handedly wondered if they were twins.

The man was easily one of the most handsome men Hakyeon had ever seen, with soft blond hair tousled to frame his high cheekbones and slanted eyes. Although his face was slim like Wonsik’s, there was a certain roundness to it that leant him an air of youth. The man was tall, dressed in a white button down and denim-clad legs that went on for miles, a long trench coat draped over his arm.

Hakyeon gulped, feeling himself flush. Jaehwan whistled lowly. “He’s delicious,” he commented lightly, cackling as Hakyeon’s face turned bright red and dashing off to who-knows where.

The man’s eyes skimmed over the menu board behind Hakyeon. Hakyeon smiled when he thought the gorgeous man was done, hands folded in front of him nervously. “Hello, welcome to the Eternity Café. What can I do for you?”

He smiled softly, only just taking the edge off of his cold, slightly aloof look. “Medium slow-drip Brazilian, please.”

Hakyeon nodded, punching in the order with practiced ease. “Of course. Is this for sit down or to go?”

“Sit down.”

Nodding once more, Hakyeon swallowed the lump in his throat. Dear lord, he was going to be distracted by this ethereal man for who-knows-how-much-longer while Jaehwan was poking at him?

Shaking his head, Hakyeon continued. “It’ll take a while for your drink, so you can find a seat in the meantime. I’ll bring it over when it’s done. Whipped cream, foamed, or liquid?”

The man blinked in surprise at the sudden question, before a wider smile crossed his face. “Foamed would be lovely. How much do I owe you?”

Smiling in return, Hakyeon flicked some hair out of his face with a sharp jerk of his head. “That’ll be three fifty-five, please.”

The man obligingly took a bill out of his wallet, waiting patiently as Hakyeon counted out his change and deposited it in his palm. Hakyeon’s fingertips accidently brushed the man’s palm in the most cliché of clichés, sending electricity sparking down his spine and sending his heart pumping in overtime.

Forcing a smile onto his face, Hakyeon motioned for the man to go sit down and turned to start on his coffee, only to see that Jaehwan was already on it.

The barista smirked, cocking a hip cattily. “You’re taking it over, boss.” His eyes twinkled mischievously. “So you can, you know, get a closer look at that eye candy.”

“What’s this about eye candy?” Wonsik said, exiting Actual HellTM with flour smeared across his face and streaked in his hair. Jaehwan’s eyes lit up; whether it was because he could gossip or because Wonsik was baring his well-muscled arms Hakyeon would never know.

Maybe a bit of both.

“A total blond babe just walked in and Hakyeonnie was totally checking him out,” the brunet crowed, draping himself across Wonsik. Wonsik grimaced; sharing body heat with the brunet barista totally defeated the purpose of escaping into the air conditioned part of the café.

“So were you!” Hakyeon jeered back, crossing his arms. “Just… go make his coffee.”

Jaehwan rolled his eyes. “It’s already brewing, dweeb.”

Sticking out his tongue, Hakyeon turned back around to stare at the blond as subtly as he dared. “I won’t see him after today,” Hakyeon said. “So don’t get your hopes up. He’s just… good-looking. That’s all.”

Wonsik snorted. “You calling someone good-looking is like