Hakyeon was rearranging the cash notes at the machine when his attention was drawn to another customer, a couple.

Immediately, he flashed a wide smile. "Welcome," he said, cheerfully, "what can I get you?"

The woman stared at the menu displayed behind him. "Hm, I don't know," she said, turning to her partner. "What should we get?"

The man smiled at her, turning back to Hakyeon. "We're new here," he informed Hakyeon. "But we've heard a lot of things about this place. May we speak with the owner for a moment?"

Hakyeon shrugged, placing his hands on either side of the counter. "That would be me," he said.

The man's eyes widened. "Oh, you look so young though," he exclaimed.

Hakyeon smiled, casting his eyes down for a moment before lifting them back up. "I know, I look young for my age. I take it as a compliment."

"It is," the man said. "Anyway, what would you suggest?"

"Well, this is the special," Hakyeon suggested, pointing to one of the drinks, looking especially appetizing with its soft rose coloring, whipped cream and cherry topping. "It's my own personal recipe, my best, if I do say so myself. Guaranteed to make any day ten times better!"

The woman chuckled. "We'll have two of those, then," she said.

"Right away," Hakyeon grinned as he took down the order and gestured for them to take a seat. 

He turned back to begin making the smoothies, all the while, his sharp ears catching the sounds of chatter among his regulars, many of them who happened to be female.

"Oh, Hakyeonnie is out today."

"Some of the part-timers must have called in sick today."

"Really? Well, I'm not complaining."

"Definitely. We hardly get to see Hakyeonnie nowadays. I didn't see him for a whole three weeks!"

"Oh my! Three weeks? That's a shame to be deprived of that handsomeness for three whole weeks!" 

Hakyeon chuckled slightly as he heard that. Handsomeness? That was hilarious.

Well, if these girls thought he was so handsome, then perhaps they wouldn't mind if he played a small trick on them...

He turned his head slightly to see three of his regulars sitting at a table near a corner of the cafe. The three of them immediately turned away, their faces flushed, when they noticed him looking at them.

The corners of his lips lifting, Hakyeon moved his finger a bit to the left, his eyes on the three for a split second before he went back to finishing the order. 

"Hah," one of the women sighed dreamily, "it's so nice to see Hakyeonnie out. Too bad he's all mine."

"Yours?" her partner asked. "I'm sorry, but what do you mean? Hakyeonnie is supposed to be mine."

The first woman shook her head. "No, you must be mistaken. He's mine."

The second stood up, slamming her hands on the table. "You must be terribly mistaken."

Hakyeon brought over a tray with the drinks to the couple who had ordered them. They had their eyes trained onto the squabbling pair on the other side of the room.

"What's going on there?" the woman asked as Hakyeon set down their drinks.

The man shrugged. "Probably just some jealous quarrel.

The two women left the cafe and Hakyeon returned to his post behind the counter, turning around to hide his sly smile from the rest of his customers.

"Again, Hakyeon-hyung?" a voice behind him asked.

He turned around to see a young dark-haired male standing by the cashier. "Oh, you're out already!" Hakyeon exclaimed. He then furrowed his brows. "How did you know?"

The male pointed behind him with his thumb. "Saw them on my way in," he informed. "And yeah, the lecturer took an off."

Hakyeon smiled. "Good thing you came, Hongbin," he said. "A few of my part-timers called in sick today. Rush hour's going to begin soon and I'm short on hands." 

"Great, is there anything I can do?" Hongbin asked.

Hakyeon smiled at him. "You could suit up and get ready for work. It's going to be a busy day today."

Taekwoon cast his eyes out the window as he felt the familiar jerk as the plane connected with land once more. He closed his eyes for a moment as the engines roared to life, speeding up and eventually dimming down as the plane slowed.

"We have now arrived at Incheon International Airport at Incheon, South Korea. We ask you to be seated until the plane comes to a complete halt.Mobile phones and electronic devices may now be used."

The announcement went on, thanking them for flying with them and other formal greetings. Taekwoon dug into his pocket, retrieving his phone and turning it on.

"3 calls, 2 voicemails and 1 message," he murmured when the phone finally booted up. 

Two of those calls were from his colleagues, probably about the new assignment they'd just taken on, but he could get to them later as they were of no urgency. The last call was from his mother, probably about dinner. He'd call her once he'd collected his baggage.

He checked the message, which just so happened to be from Hakyeon.

"CALL ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!" it read in all capitals.

Taekwoon gave a slight chuckle. Classic Hakyeon.

As the announcement finally went off about deboarding, Taekwoon put his phone back in his pocket, getting up and taking his bag from the overhead compartment. He then decided that the first person he'd call right after getting off the plane would be Hakyeon.

It had been a while since they'd met, and even though he wouldn't admit it, he had missed the cafe owner. Perhaps he'd drop by the cafe and ask for some of Hakyeon's famous coffee.

After all, what were brothers for.

A male about a year younger to Hongbin burst through the backdoor. "Sorry I'm late!" he yelled. "I got caught up with work, and then I didn't realize the time and by the time I realized it was already so late and it was raining and I couldn't get a cab-"

"Sanghyuk, relax!" Hongbin calmed the younger down. "Its only us today."

Sanghyuk looked around the kitchens, seeing only Hakyeon and Hongbin. "Wait, so i'm not in trouble?" he wondered. He then seemed to realize Hongbin was there. "Oh, Hongbin-hyung, you're helping out today?"

Hongbin nodded. "The part-timers called in sick, so hyung was a bit short-handed. He asked me to help out for today."

"You're not in trouble today, Sanghyuk-ah," Hakyeon chimed in. "As long as you humor me with a hug."

Sanghyuk scrunched up his face. "I think I'd rather be in trouble."

Hakyeon chuckled, taking in the younger's soaked and dripping appearance. He produced a towel out of nowhere and threw it to him. "Dry off and change. I want you at the cashier as soon as possible taking orders."

"Yes, sir!" Sanghyuk said, taking off for the locker room in the back of the cafe. 

Hongbin looked after him. "He could have used his speed to get here in no time, right?" he asked Hakyeon.

The oldest nodded. "He definitely could. But then again, it won't help us if someone sees him speeding through the streets like some kind of superhero. He's not the Flash."

Hongbin pursed his lips. "Or maybe he just didn't want to come in today."

Hakyeon chuckled. "Cut him some slack, he's been having a bit of a tough month," he explained. "Not to mention he's been toying with the idea of telling his friend that he's a demigod."

Hongbin scoffed. "That kid's got no brains," he said. "How's that conversation even going to go? 'Hey, bud, I just need to let you know that Greek Gods exist, and yeah, my father's Hermes.'" Hongbin used air quotations. 

"You're just a year older to him," Hakyeon pointed out. "And you should know more than anybody how difficult it is to be a demigod."

Hongbin looked like he wanted to argue, but sighed when he saw the look on Hakyeon's face. "Maybe you're right," he agreed. "Perhaps things really are different in this time."

"No time to chatter," Hakyeon said as the bell to his cafe dinged, signalling the arrival of more customers. "Get to work!"