LA TTE II: A SPOONFUL OF MORNING WISH

Monday. 10:15. There are no such things as coincidences, get it?

Woohyun didn’t expect to meet the brunette again. He thought that after their embarrassing moment of first meeting, and a first impression gone wrong, Kim Sunggyu—the shy and cute brunette—won’t be able to step a foot in their café again. Lee Sungjong would kill him if he creates a disturbance and discomforts against one of their customer again.

Maybe the brunette did not like his choice of favorite coffee? 

He knows that he shouldn’t get worked up, different people will invariably come for different types of coffee, and for different reasons. He knows someone whose morning routine includes a tiny cup of espresso, drunk solely for caffeinating purposes (Lee Sungyeol). On the other hand, he also knows someone whose idea of a lovely morning is sitting down with a tall, foamy latte and thoroughly enjoying every sip of it (Lee Sungjong). The point is, there are a lot of options to pick from when it comes to coffee.

So, a week later, when he saw him again, he almost (read: definitely) beamed in his places at the slight amount of thrilled and eagerness. He takes pride in his ability to reduce the fluffy student into a stuttering mess who cognitive abilities have failed him big time.

He doesn’t look different than the first time Woohyun saw him, except this time, there’s a cute baby blue beanie on top of his—which Woohyun assumed—a disheveled hair. A Gucci glasses were donning as usual. Should he be concerned with the amount of self-praised he made for him just now?

Funny how every time Sungyeol disappeared from his counter, and send Woohyun off of his working station to take his place, Sunggyu will make a lovely visit. Coincidences mean he’s on the right path. 

Actually, maybe he should convince Sungjong to exchange their job and put him in charge of the money instead and make a run of the customer’s order. Who cares about his Professional certificate? 

“Welcome to Paradise café! What can I get for you, Sunggyu-ssi?” He says above the whispers. He decides to work the order slowly since there are no other customers lining up behind the brunette. “A Moccacino again?”

“N-No. I want to get a different order. Do you—um—have something in mind?” Sunggyu blinks his chestnut eyes, his hands were hiding in his sweater paws, showing only the tip of his fingers. And Woohyun’s hearts is definitely okay, just saying. Sunggyu who?

And then it was Woohyun’s turns to blink. Suddenly, he can’t remember their café’s menu. Wait, what is today’s special again? He looks up at the side of the café to take a quick glance at their bulletin board. Always depends on their blackboard whenever you can’t make a quick choice of coffee.

“Well, a special treat for you sweet cheeks, we have double Ristretto shot today!”

“Restricted?” Sunggyu repeats the words, in his failed slang.

“Ristretto. It’s a loosely put, a shorter, sweeter version of an espresso with beans from Guatemala. Something nice to get rid of your Monday’s blues.”

Knowing where your coffee comes from is important. Acidity, strength, and flavor are dependent on the growing region the coffee derives from. If they were unsure of what type of coffee to start brewing with, Guatemala is a good place to start. It is grown in Central America, Guatemalan coffee is complex while still being balanced in flavor and medium in roast. A perfect match for their special menu today.

For a Barista, Woohyun did knows a lot of things about his coffee. You can’t talk nonsense about coffee with him and Sunggyu thinks it’s nice. The way he portrayed his passion and dedicated himself for the pleasure of others. Which leads the brunette into his sick thought to hire the raven as his personal barista.

Maybe Myungsoo will agree?

“Would you like a milk with your Ristretto?”

“Y-yeah, s-sure.” He needs an additional sweetener to soothe the bitter taste later. He’s glad that he came for a visit in the morning and not during the night. He will have more than enough time to get rid of the caffeine later. Should he exercise? Wait no, that’s ridiculous.

“Having here or take away?”

“Take away. How much was it?” Sunggyu pushes the sleeves of his pullover upwards, showing his pale white, and flawless fingers. And Woohyun can’t help but think that he looks like he’ll be good for piano and some other things involving hands.

Coincidence obeys no laws and if it does they don't know what they are. Coincidence, if he will permit him the simile, is the manifestation of God at every moment on their planet. A senseless God making senseless gestures at his senseless creatures. In that hurricane, in that osseous implosion, they find communion. Maybe he’s on the right path indeed. And to stay still in the right direction, he looks up and replies.

“It’s on the house, sweet cheeks.”

Monday. 10:45. Ristretto? Sounds like an artificial plant to me.

After leaving the café and trying really hard to hide his grimace at the amount of bitterness present in a single cups of coffee, as well as the added grin from the cheesy words on his cup, Sunggyu headed to the Faculty to visit his Lab.

He doesn't really like coffee, but he doesn't really like it when his head hits his desk when he falls asleep either. So, he settles down to the next best solutions of his problem right now. A black, bitter cup of Ristretto. Even with an added milk, he managed to cry in displeased at the taste.

He doesn’t plan to visit the café after the first visit, too afraid of seeing his Adonis again, which rightfully speaking, he forgot to ask the other name again. See? This is the reason why he didn’t trust himself enough to make a quick conversation with a stranger.

Just the other week, he was in the same café, as instructs by Kim Myungsoo, his baby brother. He was enjoying a Moccacino when it occurred to him that to drink a mocha is to gulp down the entire history of the New World. From the Spanish exportation of Aztec cacao, and the Dutch invention of the chemical process for making cocoa, on down to the capitalist empire of Hershey, PA, and the lifestyle marketing of Seattle's Starbucks, the modern mocha is a bittersweet concoction of imperialism, genocide, invention, and consumerism served with whipped cream on top.

Wow.

After throwing the last glance at his Adonis, Sunggyu can’t bring himself to stop blushing. What the hell does he even say to Myungsoo? Kids would probably diagnose him with another cardiac-related disease. 

Should he skip class? Hell yes, his mind said. But the true fight lies in critical situations where his heart agree with something that his brain has labeled as wrong. Let’s stop worrying and rewind back your entire embarrassing moment, Kim Sunggyu.

Despite the increasing desire to giggle and scream in excitement, he discarded the thought of procrastinating again and proceeds to the faculty. When he saw the tall purple and white building in front of him, he quickly skips towards the elevator to reach the Lower Ground level where he best friend currently resides in, helping him with his thesis.

He quickly headed straight to his designated cubicle to continue his data collection for his experimental Thesis. He took a quick glance at the embossed paper cup that has a feathery, foamy feel when he gets there, and he can feel a double triple butterfly effects in his lower abdomen again.

‘There’s nothing sweeter than you-W’

W? What does it mean by W?

“Your lab rat has finally stopped screaming. I’ve run a micro-CT on them, so you can go and calculate the Mean Grey Values... Are you okay?” A sudden voice interrupts Sunggyu from investing himself in another deep embarrassing moment.

He turns to the other, his lips tight. “Why? And uh—thank you.”

“I don’t know. For a starter, you look red.”

“I don’t look red Dongwoo. It’s hot!”

“Did I offend you? I—”

“No, you didn’t.” Beyond that, he can’t speak. His mouth is open, but words don’t come out. He never understood the concept of someone flirting with you. Until now.

His interlocutor laughs softly. “Sunggyu hyung?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I didn’t mean to render you speechless.” Believe me, you didn’t. “Here, sit down, sweet cheeks.” Don’t call me that, oh my god. “Eat something. I bring you a takeout. I just realized you didn’t have your breakfast yet.” Sunggyu obeyed, and quickly sit down on his chair after placing his cup of coffee on the table.

“Oh, you went to Paradise café?” Dongwoo reached out for the coffee and take a sip of the bitter drink. “Just what did you order hyung?”

After taking a few, slow bites of his sandwich, he begins to relax. Maybe the hunger and a dropped in his sugar level makes his stomachs feels funny. Although he’s still trying to process the words on his cup, and the surprising desire he has to go back to the said café, he still answers calmly.

“Ristretto.”

“Ristretto?”

“Yeah, Ristretto.”

“Sounds like an artificial plant to me. Are you sure this is not a green smoothie in disguise?”

Sunggyu’s nose cringed in response. He pinched the bridge of his nose too forcefully swallow the dried sandwich. He should never leave his house without a proper breakfast. Myungsoo is the only person whose self is capable of making a breakfast that is not sandwich or cereal. 

“I’m pretty sure it’s not. It’s a loosely put, a shorter, sweeter version of an espresso with beans from Guatemala.” Sunggyu recited his Adonis’s words and his jaw almost dropped when the gravity of his actions quickly fall in his mind. Did he just do that? 

There are these little things about Sunggyu’s Adonis and everything that he does. The beauty of which the mere words can't cage or explain. When he talks about coffee and all those details that he could care less, Sunggyu felt like he can listen for an eternity. That was the moments that grabs Sunggyu’s attention slowly, throws him to the cloud nine, bangs him back on the earth and throws him into the sea. Like he is dead for a moment while watching the barista doing his work. 

And the next second he’s reciting his words and followed his viewpoint of coffee. 

Haha. Great.

“Um, maybe I should make a visit. It’s been a while since I met Sungjong anyway.”

Sunggyu’s eyes perk up at the mention of someone’s name. “Sungjong who?”

“The café owner. Do you want to come with me?” Dongwoo asks, yawning, despite the time.

“Nah, I have to head home for a moment to meet Myungsoo. I left my phone at home, and I need to prove to him that I’m still alive before he lodged a police report for a missing person.”

Dongwoo snickers. “You should go before he grilled my head alive because then I’ll feel really cheap.” 

Sunggyu nodded, throwing his plastic wrap and get up before heading out of the lab with his cup of coffee which writing still as clear as the sky.
 

Wednesday. 17:50. How to master the art of deceiving your best friend by Nam Woohyun.

“There’s a ten dollar short from my counter. Did you, Nam Woohyun, manage to mess up the order somehow?” Sungyeol ask from the front station, just behind his counter, making the Barista in charge to stop doing his Latte art and frowned at the questions.

He. Is. Such. An. Idiot.

Reaching into his back pocket, he pulls out a ten dollar bill. He shoved it in Sungyeol’s apron’s pocket, smiling in delight, with a slight guilty and maximum satisfaction portrayed in his eyes as if to say that he knows something that Sungyeol didn’t. Which makes sense. 

They share a lot of things, but giving Sunggyu a cup of free coffee is something that Woohyun needs to keep as a secret before Sungjong kill him. He can only hope that they indeed share a common interest for each other, so everything could’ve been worth it at the end. He’s tired of being in a meaningless relationship and seeing Sungyeol and his fake blonde boyfriend. 

“That’s your ten dollars. I forgot to put it into the registry counter before. The line is killing me, how you manage to keep the order in check is amazing, Yeol.”

Praise is a gold. Praise the sea, on shore remain. Praise is the bridge that carried you over.