It’s exactly like how a slowburn 100k word coffee shop AU would play out to be, except that it’s not because there’s nothing romantic about feeding people caffeine or having hungry horndog jocks hound at her because they think it’s their 100k coffee shop au or embarrassing herself in front of the cute girl that she falls for at first sight.

 

Jeongyeon can’t help but think about how ridiculously cliché it is when the door opens, the bell chimes, and Beauty (because she loved the Beauty & the Beast and that was the only word she could think of) walks in, sunlight filtering through individual hair strands.

 

It actually makes Jeongyeon freeze up and cringe when she walks up to the counter and smiles.

 

And boy, her smile.

 

All of a sudden, minimum wage and a crumbling financial situation aren’t blotting up all the space in her brain. Jeongyeon’s eyes take pictures of Beauty with every blink and for a minute, she seriously considers pursuing a career in photography, except that one, cameras are expensive and two, she’d only be able to take pictures of Beauty.

 

Time to switch majors, I guess. Jeongyeon stands up straight and lets a wide grin spill onto her lips. “Welcome! What would you like to order?”

 

“Hmm…” Beauty ponders and rocks on her heels, glancing at the menu in front of her. Her hair falls into her face and she blows it away with a puff of air.

 

that was so cute she’s so cute Jeongyeon thinks to herself as her outside appearance remains professional and not at all reflective of the wreckage that is her inner gay.

 

“What would you recommend?” Her- Beauty’s- voice sounds like a stream of clear water and again- the thought is just so cliché that jeongyeon wheezes and physically shudders at it. Beauty frowns and looks down at her shoes.

 

“Sorry, I’ve never been here before, so I don’t really know the menu,” she says softly, quietly, like a whisper under a warm blanket in winter. “It’s annoying, I know,”

 

“No!” It comes out a lot louder than Jeongyeon expects and , nayeon’s smirking at her through the pantry window, Beauty looks up at her, obviously startled. “I do that sometimes. It’s not your fault or anything. So don’t apologise.” It’s supposed to be reassuring but it sounds anything but.

 

Beauty giggles, her laugh sounds like wedding bells, like our wedding bells stop it jeongyeon, and says, “Okay, if you say so. Your recommendation?”

 

What Jeongyeon is supposed to say: “The house specialty, a good ol’ hot cup of the best espresso in town.”

 

What Jeongyeon actually says: “Me.”

 

Nayeon snorts out loud in the background and Jeongyeon hears a faint clatter of things falling to the ground and a loud ‘!’ as she resists the urge to cut her tongue off and dunk it into a good ol’ hot cup of the best espresso in town.

 

WHAT THE WAS THAT is the only thought running through Jeongyeon’s mind as her hands grip the countertop edge as tightly as she wants to strangle her own neck. Beauty’s face is red, so red it almost looks like Jeongyeon’s hand that one time when she spilled boiling water over it. She watches Beauty open once, twice without saying anything.

 

“Th-then I’ll take one,” Beauty stutters. “House specialty, I mean. N-Not you. Oh, and a chocolate croissant. To go.”

 

Jeongyeon doesn’t show it as she nods but she feels a sting in her chest at Beauty’s words. “Coming right up!” That’s right, be professional. Act like nothing happened and that you didn’t just hit on a stranger with the worst pick up line in the history of pick up lines.

 

She whips up the drink in record time and ignores Nayeon’s obnoxious eyebrow waggling when she goes to retrieve the pastry.

 

As she keys in Beauty’s order into the register, Jeongyeon pauses and looks up. Beauty’s face is still flushed, one hand digging around in her pocket for cash while the other holds onto her food.

 

“It’s on the house,” The words slip out before Jeongyeon can even think more of it. “An apology of sorts for my comment before. I’m sorry for that; it was unprofessional.”

 

Beauty is struck speechless, hand frozen in her pocket as her eyes search Jeongyeon’s face for any sign of insincerity and finding none. “Oh, um, thank you. That’s really nice of you.” She mumbles, lips stretched into a polite albeit awkward smile. “And it’s okay. I’ll, um, see you around?”

 

Those are the last words Jeongyeon hears from Beauty as she backpedals out of the store, a small wave playing on her fingertips.

 

Jeongyeon decides right there and then that she’s never watching Beauty & the Beast or talking to pretty girls ever again.

 

I didn’t even get her real name.

 

---

 

Jeongyeon keeps an eye out for Beauty every day after that. When the store is empty and devoid of customers, she spends her time staring out the large glass window for the small possibility of catching a glimpse of her. And when it’s lunch rush and the line runs longer than Jeongyeon can possibly see, Beauty’s face blurs in and out of the faces that greet her.

 

I need to get my together.

 

Nayeon doesn’t leave her alone at work for the whole week either. She’s constantly hanging over Jeongyeon’s shoulder, hammering away snarky comments left and right.

 

“Hey boss, we should name the house specialty ‘Me’. Jeongyeon suggested it.”

 

“OH IS THAT HER oh wait it’s not haha made you look,”

 

“I just wanted you to know that your iconic pick up line is in my twitter bio now. And my Facebook status.”

 

“It’s the new ‘“Okay?” “Okay.”’ except that it’s not so okay.”

 

Jeongyeon blocks Nayeon on every social media site she has an account for and changes her contact name from ‘Im Nayeon’ to ‘blasted ’ (Chaeyoung saw it once and raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything else other than “new friend?” and Jeongyeon almost choked on her dry cereal).

 

“’Recommendation? Me’ hasn’t come back for a week now,” Nayeon casually says out loud from the pantry window and Jeongyeon groans, instantly getting war flashbacks of that Day™.

 

“We lost a customer and it wasn’t even because of the food. Only you, Jeongyeon. Only you. Get it? Yoo? It’s a play on your name.” Nayeon laughs as if it’s actually funny.

 

“So original,” Jeongyeon drawls. “And for ’s sake, can we please not call her that? I really do not need to nickname traumatic events in my life.”

 

“You have as much a chance of that happening as you do of ‘Customer -1’ ever coming here after that horrible pick up line.” Nayeon laughs. “I mean, hit on her all you want, but you could have at least picked a better one to say? All you did was make yourself look like you had a limited vocabulary.”

 

“Do you get off on saying things like this or something?” Jeongyeon lazily glares at her. “Is this what is for you?”

 

Nayeon is barely fazed by the comments, only grins back with a youthful, mischievous light in her eyes that Jeongyeon has never seen before.

 

“Nah, just that there’s finally something interesting to talk about. The last time we had something this funny happen was when you burned your hand with boiling water.” Nayeon dramatically gasps and covers with a hand as though she’s had a revelation. “What a coincidence. There seems to be some sort of correlation between the two incidents. A common factor, perhaps?”

 

“You talk too much.”

 

“Well, we all have our shortcomings, don’t we?” Nayeon’s smirk is devilish, brown eyes glinting in the soft glow of the orange-tinted store lights. “I’ve been quiet for weeks so please allow me the freedom of speech now.”

 

“I like you better then.” Jeongyeon crushes her empty cup and throws it into the bin, only to miss it completely.

 

“And that was a shot even a five-year old could have made but not all of us can be winners, can we?” Nayeon laughs and Jeongyeon grumbles, walking over to her crushed paper cup to throw it away properly. “Except for me, that is.”

 

“I honestly can’t tell whether you’re joking or not.”

 

Nayeon rolls her eyes and grabs an egg tart to munch on from the tray beside her. “It’s called wit; something that could have really helped you in your encounter with Fast & Furiously Embarrassed.”

 

Jeongyeon makes another pained groan, which Nayeon blissfully ignores.

 

“You can’t just gay out when a pretty person walks in. Next time, don’t even open your mouth. Just put your number on the cup and pray that they don’t post it on the internet because - trust me, I’m speaking from personal experience - you do not want to go through the painstaking process of changing your phone number. Are you listening to me?”

 

Jeongyeon isn’t, because standing right outside the large glass window is Beauty, peering inside and looking around and we just made eye contact oh my god. Her eyes widen and her cheeks flush pink all in a matter of seconds before she walks away as quickly as she arrived, before Jeongyeon even has the chance to leap over the counter and apologise and maybe ask for her number or a date or –

 

Jeongyeon, you useless lesbian.

 

“Oh my god, was that her? ” Nayeon’s voice is strangely far, only a muffled annoyance to Jeongyeon. “What are you waiting for? Go after her!”

 

She tenses up, ready to do just that, but she stops herself before she can. “No. I’m not going to chase after her like a stalker. If she doesn’t want to come back, then she won’t. I can’t force her.”

 

Nayeon stays strangely quiet, only letting out a frustrated sigh and leaving Jeongyeon alone to look out the window again, gaze stuck to the exact spot where their eyes met.

 

She was looking for me.

 

---

 

Three more weeks go by, and Jeongyeon is actually able to breathe again. She doesn’t see Beauty’s face on random customers and her eyes don’t stray to the glass window anymore. Everything seems to be going back to normal and even Nayeon becomes less obnoxious as the days roll by.

 

Until of course, the door opens, the bell chimes, Jeongyeon looks up, and in walks Recommendation Me in a varsity jacket, black skinny jeans, and a pair of full-rimmed, metal round glasses that strike an arrow straight through Jeongyeon’s heart.

 

It takes all but three seconds for her to scramble her into the pantry where Nayeon is before she can even make eye contact.

 

“This is the first time you’ve come in here willingly,” Nayeon says, tone coated in suspicion. “Gotta mark this date on my calen-“

 

“She’s here.” Jeongyeon’s hyperventilating, gulping in air as she slides to the floor, back against the wall. “Nayeon, she’s here.”

 

Nayeon is visibly alarmed at that, almost runs to the pantry window without any sense of subtlety. “, she’s hot.”

 

“Nayeon!”

 

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it; she is hot!” Jeongyeon stands up and shuffles over next to Nayeon, tries to remain as inconspicuous as possible as she watches Beauty leaning over the counter, like she’s looking for someone.

 

Looking for me.

 

“What do I do now?” She whispers to Nayeon, who simply rolls her eyes, grabs her by the shoulders and pushes her out the swinging pantry door without so much as a warning.

 

“Anything but what you did the first time.”

 

And with that Jeongyeon finds herself facing a startled Beauty, whose face lights up in recognition once she realises that it’s Jeongyeon and not some random chick stumbling out

 

“H-hi welcome to Too-Wise, the store with the coffee for the wise people.” Jeongyeon blurts out on reflex.

 

Nayeon facepalms so loudly, Jeongyeon would have laughed if it weren’t for the fact that Beauty is here she’s actually here right in front of me.

 

“Hi,” Her voice sounds exactly like how Jeongyeon remembers it. “It’s been a while.”

 

“Yeah,” Jeongyeon anxiously chuckles. “About 3 weeks and 4 days? I mean, not that I kept count or anything.”

 

Beauty laughs too, bubbling with nervous energy. Jeongyeon feels like dying.

 

“I never got the chance to properly introduce myself,” Beauty sticks out a hand and Jeongyeon stares at it. “My name is Mina.”

 

Mina.

 

Mina.

 

The name makes Jeongyeon’s heart bloom; it instantly becomes her favourite word in the entire world.

 

“Hi Mina,” Jeongyeon says (the name rolls off her tongue like the sweetest of sighs) and grips her hand (a shiver runs underneath her skin, feeling Mina’s soft hand in contact with her own). “I’m Jeongyeon.”

 

Mina giggles, pulling back but moving closer towards the counter and Jeongyeon’s heart is struck with conflicting emotions.

 

“What brings you back here?”

 

Ok good that was smooth that was slick.

 

Mina scoots even closer and Jeongyeon thinks that she’ll be fine if she dies from asphyxiation right there and then if it means that the last thing she smells is Mina. That’s not creepy at all.

 

“Remember that conversation we had the first time I came here?” Mina asks and Jeongyeon snorts a little.

 

How could I not when that was the only thing on my mind for a month?

 

“Yeah, of course I do,” Jeongyeon says, because she has to reply Mina with actual words. “I was so embarrassed.”

 

“Me too.” Mina blushes and tucks her hair behind her ear. “I was kind of caught off guard, actually. I didn’t get to say what I really wanted to say.”

 

. Jeongyeon gulps and glances back at Nayeon who only spares her a thumbs-up and a smirk on her lips that Jeongyeon wants to wipe off, preferably with a dirty rag.

 

“Oh. What were you going to say?”

 

Mina actually clears and takes a deep breath and Jeongyeon takes a deep breath with her because how can a human being be so cute I’m dead.

 

“What’s your recommendation?”

 

It takes a few seconds for her to realise that Mina wants to re-enact their fateful encounter. Jeongyeon is seized by the sudden urge to dunk her head in a sink out of habit but Nayeon is most likely recording as they speak and she does not need a viral video of herself circling through the internet.

 

“Me.” Jeongyeon says. I can’t believe I said that out loud, again.

 

“I can’t ing believe she said that out loud again.” Nayeon fiercely whispers from the pantry window and Jeongyeon whips her head around to glare at her and, as she had already suspected, Nayeon’s holding up an IPhone, camera lens pointed directly at exactly where she and Mina are standing.

 

“And, um, how much would that be?”

 

Mina’s question comes out in a sultry whisper and Jeongyeon literally just freezes on the spot. Her head creaks as she turns back to face Mina, slowly, because she’s sure it’s a dream and she’ll wake up from it if she moves too quickly.

 

She’s also pretty sure she hears an awed holy from behind her.

 

And how much would that be. The question replays again and again in her head, almost echoing throughout the chamber of her fragile, mortal body.

 

The absolute most awkward silence fills the entire store, as Jeongyeon struggles to process what the exactly happened did that really just happen w h a t and Mina struggles not to scream in embarrassment and smash her head against the counter.

 

Nayeon’s wheezing gasps can be faintly heard from behind them.

 

“A date.” Jeongyeon holds onto Mina’s hand before she can even attempt to change her mind and escape. “All it costs is a date. If it’s too expensive, I can give you a discount.” She attempts a wink but blinks instead and feels the earth swallowing her up immediately afterwards.

 

Mina looks at her, speechless, before bending over and laughing. It’s exactly what Jeongyeon thinks true love would sound like if it could laugh.

 

“Funny,” Mina’s fingers grip Jeongyeon’s tightly. “That was just what I was going to offer.”

 

Jeongyeon later learns that Mina’s watched Beauty & the Beast thrice and that their date makes it a fourth.

Two weeks later, a viral video of two girls confessing to each other in a coffee shop, posted under an anonymous nutbuster69, draws in a record-breaking number of customers to Two-Wise.