It was a good five weeks before Hakyeon found himself back at the cash counter, taking orders once again.

To be honest, this time, he wasn't on a personnel shortage. Ever since Jaehwan had joined, he'd been working extra hard, with the determination of three people. He could easily fill in for two part-timers, so Hakyeon never had to worry about them calling in sick. Sanghyuk had also been pulling in a couple more shifts, there was a girl, according to him, so Hakyeon was happy to let him work some extra shifts. Not to mention, Hongbin also began helping out a bit more, and Hakyeon was always ready for extra help.

That day, none of them had come in. He'd been expecting Hongbin, but the younger apparently had work at the University. Hakyeon wasn't too bothered since he had a full hand, so he didn't really feel their absence.

After putting all the new breads in the oven, Hakyeon cleaned his hands and removed his apron, coming out to the person at the cashier. 

He patted her on the shoulder. "The bread's baking, so you can take a small break. Be in the back, I'll handle the cash counter for now."

She nodded and left, looking happy to get a break. Luckily for him, after two orders, it was pretty much empty, so the owner busied himself with setting the condiment jars behind him.

So absorbed was he in his work, that he didn't register the bell's ringing and the door opening.

"Um, excuse me?" 

"Oh, yes, what can I-?" he began to ask, dusting off his hands and turning around when he lifted his eyes and his breath caught in his throat. 

In front of him was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She was quite tall, but that could also be the heels she might be wearing. Her long brown hair fell around her shoulders, framing her oval face and complimenting her high cheekbones. Her dark eyes immediately drew him in. 

Even though all she wore was a simple black striped full sleeved shirt and a brown skirt, she had captivated him at once.

"Um..." he mumbled, then remembered what he was meant to be doing. "Uh, w-welcome. What can I get you?"

She hummed slightly, her dark eyes running over the menu she held in her hand. "Um, how about a simple latte and a brownie?" she asked, pointing with her finger.

He nodded. "Coming right up," he said.

She paid for her meal and retired to a table just by the window. As he turned around and quickly made her coffee, he snuck glances in her general direction, watching as the evening sunlight bounced off her skin, giving her an almost inhuman glow. 

She can't be normal, he thought. She has to be a daughter of Aphrodite.

He closed his eyes, concentrating on seeing the auras around people. He had to wait quite a few minutes for it to work and he could see the almost invisible blue auras surrounding the people in his cafe.

Before it faded again, he looked at her, only to find a slight blue fading energy around her.

Oh, she's human...

He shook himself out of his trance and quickly put the cap on the coffee, that he had honestly forgotten was still in his hand. Placing it on the tray next to a heated brownie, he took it over to her and placed it in front of her. 

Occupied with something on her phone, she hadn't noticed him until he placed the tray on the table. Distracted, she had whispered a thanks to him and gone back to her phone. Slightly disappointed, he'd given a small nod and returned to his post.

Approximately half an hour later, he saw her raising a hand, beckoning him. 

To say that he was a bit excited might have been an understatement.

He walked over to her. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes," she agreed. "You can give me the recipe for this marvelous coffee." She pointed at the empty cup beside her. "I don't think I've ever tasted coffee this good in my entire life!" 

He chuckled at that. "Well, if I told you my secret, I might run out of business," he joked.

"I promise I won't tell a soul," she promised.

"Sorry, trade secret," he grinned. "It's my way of getting my patrons to return."

"Well, it sure worked," she smiled at him. "I definitely want to try more of this going forward."

He was sure his smile was wide enough to tear his face apart. "If you do return," he suggested, "I can keep giving you more of my dishes to try out."

Her eyes sparkled. "I'd like that very much."

"I don't get it," Sanghyuk told the older demigod beside him. "If Prometheus was a Titan and you're his second incarnation, then why do you call yourself a son of Zeus?"

"Because I am one," Hongbin replied.

On seeing Sanghyuk's stumped look as he attempted to make sense of the situation, Hongbin sighed. "When Zeus granted me salvation from the bird, he turned me into an energy, a soul, if you might. He then put me in the womb of a woman he'd had an affair with not long back."

"So...?"

"So while my essence is that of my previous form, my body is one of a demigod. Technically, my father is Zeus, although I feel nauseous just thinking about that." Hongbin wiped his lip as he swallowed his reflex.

"Another question," Sanghyuk piped up. "Didn't Heracles free you from the shackles centuries ago?" 

Hongbin exhaled lightly. It seemed the younger wouldn't stop grilling him until he'd satisfied all of his curiosities. "Yeah, he did, thousands of years ago," he said. "I'm a Titan, Zeus is a God, meaning neither of us can ever die. Zeus tolerated me running around at the expense of his son for a while and then simply chained me up again until the next big hero decided to set me free." 

He rubbed his eyes. "It was almost a game to him, he chains me up for centuries, someone comes along and releases me, he locks me up again and the cycle repeats. To be honest, I was tired of it. I just wanted to be left to my fate in peace." He then chuckled. "As if having a killer bird tearing out your innards is peace."

"So when Zeus gave you an offer for a rebirth?" Sanghyuk questioned.

"I grabbed it at once so I could get out of that cycle," Hongbin somberly admitted. "Although, right now, I worry I made a rash decision."

With his final words still hanging in the air between them, the two walked in silence down a familiar street. 

After a while, Sanghyuk worked up the courage to break the silence once again. "Did you...know all the Gods?" he quietly asked.

Hongbin pursed his lip. "The memory is faint, but yeah, I did."

"Did you know my father?"

Hongbin turned his head to look at him. "Which one?" he asked.

"You know very well who I mean," Sanghyuk said. "I'm talking about Hermes."

Hongbin raised his eyes to the sky. "I will admit, most of my dealings have been with Zeus and his brothers. I was chained up before Hermes was born, so I don't really know him." He looked at his friend's disappointed expression. "I'm sorry."

Sanghyuk shook his head. "No bother, I'm sorry for pressuring you so much." He then decided to change the subject when he realized the street they were on. "Hey, don't you have to go back to your apartment?"

Hongbin shook his head. "Hakyeon asked me to be here during rush hour. So I thought I'd put in a couple of hours before I get home."

"Sounds reasonable," Sanghyuk agreed, as they turned the corner where Hakyeon's cafe sat, nestled in a turning.

They stopped when they saw another figure going towards the cafe from the other side. The figure put a hand on the doorknob when he seemed to know that he was being watched, he turned around to look at them.

"Jaehwan," Hongbin murmured.

Jaehwan gave the two youngsters a nod, which they reciprocated, and then went inside.