"Bossman! I have an idea for our new coffee!"

Junmyeon turns around to face him, taking off glasses perched upon his nose. "Really, Seok? Tell me about it."

Minseok sits down across from him, patting down his already perfectly ironed shirt tucked in dress pants, and swishes his tongue across his teeth. He's so got this!

"I'm sorry, but no," Junmyeon says, turning back to reading the documents displayed on his desk, not even giving him enough time to explain the idea better. Okay, maybe he doesn't have it.

Minseok's face falls, as he barely sustains from wailing loudly. "But why? I think it would be perfect! Our business needs to put out something new, and I've been thinking about this brew for so long—"

"I don't want to poison anybody with the ingredients." Junmyeon deadpans like it's the most obvious thing, and Minseok's ready even for that option. But it wouldn't come to that, of course. 'The customer's always right,' Junmyeon's annoying voice comes to his mind briefly as the man himself deducts his suggestion once again.

"But avocado and syrup could go perfect together. Just last night, I was watching this program—"

"Do you really want to put avocado and turmeric in coffee?" His boss raises both of his eyebrows and Minseok realizes his mistake.

So he slowly tucks his bottom lip out, blinking cutely, and looks up through his lashes. "But Myun~~"

Junmyeon takes off his glasses once again, tilting his head in an exasperated sigh. "Seok, you're older than me." He reprimands.

Minseok inhales slowly, closes his eyes, and curses Junmyeon in his head. "I heard that!" Okay, maybe not in his head, but he still tries not to pounce on the man right away. 

"Fine! You don't have to be the best in the business." He stands up, moving the chair for the guests right to the desk in front, tucking it under a bit. He fixes his collar and then his styled hair, standing tall and proud. "You can be mediocre after all. I don't have a problem with that."

Junmyeon's silent for a second, before dropping his glasses down. He messages both fists in his tired eyes, looking up with a scowl. "Is this about Sehun's café across the street again?"

"No," Minseok shrugs, rolling his eyes.

"About that barista, Jongdae, then?"

This has Minseok recoiling a bit into himself, as he scoffs, shaking his head without meeting Junmyeon's eyes. 

"Minseok!"

"...Maybe.."

Junmyeon huffs out once again, gesturing with his hand for Minseok to leave his office. "I don't have time for this," He says loud, but whispers next. "And every single day, too." 

Minseok turns on his heel, and walks out, promptly shutting the door in Junmyeon's face. Well, not really his face since his office is not a small room where only their boss is seated, but the notion is there nonetheless.

"Minseok!" Somebody calls for him, and the blond-haired barista is already on his way to the register, tying the apron with the café's logo around his waist. 

"I'm here, I'm here." Minseok yells for their main pâtissier to go back to his own job, as he stands in front of the counter with a pleasant, and totally practiced smile, asking, "Welcome to Exodus! What do you prefer to marvel your taste buds for today?"

But the smile he finds when he looks up isn't one of those polite ones of their customers. Instead, the smile gets tucked in the corners of plump cheeks, thin lips getting lost in the width, already aiming for his disdain. 

"Oh, I like that. I might use that sometimes."

Minseok huffs out at the voice that speaks up at the other side of the counter, and ticks numbers in his head, 'till he reaches ten. By the time he counts back to zero, the voice is speaking again. 

"What are your specialties on this beautiful day?" 

Minseok rolls his eyes and in the flattest voice adds. "You can see it on the board above my head."

The man whose voice can be matched with nails raking over the blackboard, nods in thought, looking over their heads to check the list. And sure enough, there are two rows on each side, one for some new coffee blends that they just started to make and the second to that one is a list of their most bought and tastiest pastry. 

Kyungsoo takes great pride in the second list and even has Yixing's help each day when the waiter draws tiny pictures of the cakes on the menu, each next to its rightful name, before hanging them on the wall. 

So that's why Minseok doesn't have to remember each specialty every day because a thing or two can change each day. But that's exactly why the curly smile appears again, and the owner of it says smirking. 

"Can you name them all? I didn't bring my glasses with me." 

Minseok tucks his bottom lip between two perfect rows of teeth and turns around to read it. But the curly smile stops him, asking if he can list it while looking him dead in the eye. And Minseok really looks dead, as he reads it out loud for the customer to hear, nodding when he finishes. But it's not really a customer, since Jongdae is a barista like himself. A damn good one, that is.

"Ah, such a diligent worker," The smirk is back, the eyes shining, in a match with the teasing glint already spilling into the next words. "But I think I just want one brownie today."

Minseok blinks. "That's not on the specialty list. It's literally the blandest thing on the menu."

The man shrugs, taking the exact amount of money out of his back pocket, on purpose. He's not leaving a tip, once again, and Minseok swallows the insult when he turns around to pick the chocolate brownie from the tray displayed on a glass shelf. Kyungsoo doesn't slave all day in the kitchen to have only his brownies sold. 

Besides, Jongdae's café literally sells the sweets that he can enjoy as much as he liked since both their bosses allow their workers to eat the goods.

Minseok packs one piece in a brown, paper bag, already typing the code for the pastry in the cash register, waiting to hear that ping of his order going through. When he takes the bag to push it into the customer's hands, Jongdae surprises him by grabbing at his wrist all of a sudden, pulling him until their noses are touching. 

The man takes one look between his eyes, which are now bulged out, similar to Kyungsoo's, and says finally. "You smell of cakes again. Are you eating at your work, too?"

And then he moves away, paying for the brownie, and Minseok watches as he leaves without a tip. Great, he did it again. He made him flustered and deep in thought, and Jongdae's swaying of his hips doesn't help with Minseok's rage.

When somebody moves behind him, poking his shoulder blade since the next customer stood in the line, Minseok turns on Yixing's voice calling his name. 

"Huh?"

"I said, you're daydreaming again." The man gestures the lady to the first available table at the front, before going back to Minseok's side. "One Americano, please. She says she doesn't have a sweet tooth." Yixing grumbles. And Kyungsoo's just finished another batch of peach tart with honey and black pepper. He needs to grab a piece while it's still hot.

Minseok nods and gets down to preparing the drink when he feels someone's still watching him. When he turns, Yixing's leaning on the counter now, both arms overlapped over his chest. There's that annoying smirk on the taller male.

"What?"

He's wearing that knowing smile when he finally asks. "You're awfully dazed... Is it Dae again?"

Minseok throws a paper cup in his face. 

 

☕☕☕

 

Kyungsoo works the register once again, and he huffs out when the customer says how his coffee is not that sweet, and how she doesn't intend to pay for such monstrosity. "For the last time, Ma'am, but you literally have five types of sugar, cream, and milk right behind you. It's for you to use it!"

Junmyeon appears at the right time, moving his work away from the counter, as the lady in front threatens to sue both him and the café for trying to kill her with his sour coffee. Like Kyungsoo's that untaught.

"Here," Junmyeon picks the sugar for them to use while adding to sweets and coffee blends, and mixes it in the cup Kyungsoo's already made. "It's on the house! We're sorry for the inconvenience." The lady picks the cup from the counter, turning around to leave, all the while sending a nasty scowl Kyungsoo's way.

"And don't come back!" Kyungsoo yells after her until his view of the entrance door is blocked by their boss nonetheless. 

"Kyung, how many times have we talked about this?" Junmyeon looks around, seeing only Chanyeol, their other waiter, running around the café, hurrying to take as many orders as he can. The tallest of them all likes to compete with Yixing in how many orders they can remember without a pad, and in one walk around the café, too. Yixing, surprisingly, has been beating him for over four months now, but Chanyeol still tries. 

Junmyeon huffs—their competition is something he's got to take care of later—and turns to face their main pâtissier, asking. "And why are you alone?"

Kyungsoo tucks both lips in his mouth, shaking his head.

"You don't know, or don't want to tell me?"

Kyungsoo shakes his head again. 

Junmyeon inhales, calling for his waiter to come by, ruining Chanyeol's concentration. "Great, hyung! Now I don't remember even those two orders," Chanyeol grumbles when he comes by the counter, and casually leans over it. 

This is a somehow slow day, only the locals getting by for their usual fix of coffee drinks, and it's no wonder Kyungsoo doesn't need to be locked up in the kitchen to work on pastries. The batch from this morning is still warm on platters in a glass display. 

"What's up, boss?" Chanyeol has this habit of chewing gum really loud, and Kyungsoo smacks him upside down for the slobbery mess he makes around his lips. "Aw, Kyung!!"

"Do you know where Minseok is?" Junmyeon asks instead, and that shuts him up. 

When even Chanyeol stops talking, Junmyeon crosses his arms, realizing that they're trying to hide something. "Chanyeol?" He repeats, but the taller isn't the toughest to break. He has a way with each of his workers.

"Yes, boss?"

"I asked you something."

Chanyeol straightens up, scratching behind his ear. "You did?" He's tense all of a sudden, and when Junmyeon looks at Kyungsoo again, the man is sending daggers in Chanyeol's direction, motioning to shut up or else.

And then something clicks. 

"Unbelievable." Junmyeon huffs out, turning around to leave this part of the kitchen, and exits the café, ignoring Kyungsoo's calls to come back. 

When he crosses the street—on the unmarked part of the roadway, because he's that done with everything, especially this quarrel between their two main baristas—he enters the café on the exact opposite side of his own and turns to the guests mingling in the spacious part of the local. 

"How can I help—oh, Myeon hyung, what are you doing here?" Junmyeon turns when the café waiter comes by to take his order, and looks up when Baekhyun stands before him. 

"Have you seen Minseok?"

Baekhyun scratches his ear, much like Chanyeol did, and looks around confused. "Minnie-hyung? No, I haven't." Both of them look around the room, trying to find their mutual friend before Baekhyun turns to the counter. "Hey, Dae, have you seen your boyfriend today?"

Junmyeon looks up to see a smiling Jongdae saying bye to one of their customers when the man looks up to see what's the commotion. "Minseok? No, I haven't." He answers, totally not fazed by the title of which Baekhyun has called his archenemy. 

But not really, because he loves to disturb Minseok while he works, and the elder loves to get mad at him. They've been going on at each other for a while now, and even though Jongdae's place of work has been opened shorter than Minseok's, they still compare their success 'till this day. 

"See, hyung." Baekhyun turns to Junmyeon after getting an answer. "He's not here."

But just as Junmyeon turns around to leave, there's a boisterous voice booming through the small café. "I'm not your boyfriend!!"

Junmyeon turns again, finding his own employee in the back of the café, wearing a grey trench coat, like that detective in old spy movies, with a matching fedora on top of his head, and even some sunglasses underneath. Where did he get those, Junmyeon doesn't even want to think about them. And to make things worse, his own apron is still tucked around his waist, dragging under the short coat; his own café's name is proudly written underneath.

Minseok stands up from the tucked corner, and walks to the counter, ignoring his boss that has already sighed out many, many times. 

"You wish I was," 

Jongdae leans on the counter with both hands, tilting his head to the side. "Oh, honey, it's only a matter of time."

Minseok looks appalled at the proposition that he could ever fall for the younger male, and takes off his glasses to glare. "Take that back!!"

Jongdae smirks at the tantrum and lowers his voice. "..Or what?"

Junmyeon jumps in just in time to pull the enraged Minseok from climbing over the counter, probably in the need to finally strangle Jongdae dead. He pulls the trashing male out of the café, and over the street, trying to miss the cars coming their way. 

Baekhyun follows them out, tucking the tray behind his back as he waves with the other hand, saying, "Say hi to Chanyeol for me!"

"Hi, Baek!" Junmyeon looks back to see his other waiter standing at the entrance of his own café, waving at his boyfriend from the threshold, as Kyungsoo steps over to help Junmyeon with the still pissed-off Minseok. 

"Hyung, again with the spying?" Kyungsoo asks when Minseok glares across the street, stopping to huff out in front of the café and rearrange his coat. It is well known that Minseok likes to spy on the barista across the street since he wants to know what Jongdae has up his sleeve for the new coffee blends. And no, not to steal his ideas or anything. Just pure keeping-an-eye on his opponent. Totally healthy.

"I hate him!" Minseok seethes, and by now everyone from both of the cafés is trying to see what's the commotion about. 

Junmyeon tries to calm down his own customers when Baekhyun re-enters his work of place smiling. Kyungsoo goes back behind the counter because Minseok's not in the place to work anything now. This is like a regular thing for all of them, to be honest.

Even Chanyeol's going back inside, and Junmyeon looks at a few customers leaving both cafés, grumbling about the poor service. Then, he sighs out once again, feeling light-headed all of a sudden, when he says, "Sehun's gonna kill me."

 

☕☕☕

 

It's another beautiful day in the capital city. There's no traffic bustling the streets with noise, and the evening is calm enough for a nice walk by the Han river if you wish to. The Sun has settled down, but the air is still warm, not too hot, and just enough to bring only a light jacket to keep you toasty. The trees are starting to shed their green leaves in favor of putting on thick yellow coats over, and some of the birds that were left behind are still chirping, welcoming Fall with their—

—But Minseok doesn't get to hear it, because he screams at another fail that's smeared all over his kitchen, mocking him for even trying. He's been mixing ingredients for the past three hours, and none of the coffee blends up until the last one didn't explode when he mixed it up. 

To be honest, neither tasted good either, but this last drink is like a punch in the face. 

He collects the brown powder and even a couple of charcoal pieces of ingredients he doesn't even remember putting in and dusts it off the counter into a trash bin. The residue is still there like someone smeared wet dirt all over the once pristine-looking counter, but he so doesn't have the strength to clean it properly.

He's been going through the same process for a while—even he doesn't know how long—and the competition between him and Jongdae is taking a toll on him. Hell, even Jongdae himself doesn't see it like they're competing for anything, certainly not for who's better at the job, but Minseok still wants to be the best. 

But it's too damn hard when coffee making and new tastes come so easily to his arch-nemesis. 

It's already half past one in the morning, and the weariness is getting the best of him. His eyelids droop, and on his way to the bathroom, Minseok catches a glimpse of his reflection in the hall mirror. His dead eyes stare right back, and Minseok barely recognizes himself.

It's no wonder why people avoided his cash register today, back at the café, when he looks like those yellow leaves coating trees outside of his apartment building - worn out and ready to crumb away. 

Plus, his budget for the week is practically nonexistent by now, since he used the money to buy all the ingredients that could—have if you asked him—make a good cup of coffee, and he hasn't eaten anything since breakfast this morning, which he was force-fed by Kyungsoo. 

Minseok showers on auto-pilot, using his shower gel to wash his hair by mistake and continues with the task even when he realizes it. The gel takes a bit longer to wash away, and he can't help but grumble each time when he has to raise his hands above his head to rake fingers through the wet strands. He's so tired.

Once dried and in his comfiest jammies, Minseok rolls over his still made bed, and kicks at the duvet from under, until he can tuck his legs underneath. He has to wake up in about six hours, which is enough time for his grown body to relax. 

And when he closes his eyes, the sigh that leaves his body is the first good sign that he's already forgetting about previous mistakes, and that the recipe for the perfect new coffee blend doesn't bother him. For now, at least.

But just as he tucks one hand under his pillow, and brings one leg over the other, his phone beeps from the nightstand. Minseok curses again since he has to roll over to the other side to grab it, and once you find a perfect position, it's tough to acquire it for the second time too. 

From: Kyung-bun
Whatever you do, don't 
go online!!

Minseok blinks at the bright lighting and rereads the message once again. 

Weird, he thinks. Why would he visit his social media at this hour of the night? 

... But then, why wouldn't he?

Minseok backs up the bed, until his back is on the headboard, and scrolls his phone until he stops at the social media accounts all lined up alphabetically in one folder titled 'Meh'. 

It's like Kyungsoo's watching him contemplating what to do because the next message beeps in.

From: Kyung-bun
You'd be mad at me! 
And then at Jun, and then 
at me again! 
Don't! Do! It!

Minseok closes the message and presses his SNS account. As soon as his profile loads in, he sees one message in the inbox, which turns out to be one more warning from Kyungsoo. 

He laughs at the persistence, and scrolls down to see what's so urgent that got his friend so worked up. So far, nothing comes up, and Minseok yawns and moves back down to lay. 

But then something about the newest brew catches his eye, and he scrolls back up. It's on Sehun's profile, and he's following the tall noodle as well, even though Sehun's not his boss. Sehun likes to put up pictures of his dog Vivi constantly, which Minseok loves to look at. Plus he's married to his own boss, so it's only natural to follow his account too.

But not now! 

Minseok starts reading from the beginning, and sleep evaporates from his eyes like he wasn't tired in the first place. His jaw settles on the second line, and he's seconds away from throwing his phone across the room. 

Hun_Kim94
Great news from our café Universe!! Our talented barista @chenmachine just created this explosion of taste for your taste buds! It's got the perfect mix of our most known drinks but this time with something special that you have to try to believe! Come by the café Universe and see- taste for yourself! You won't be wrong! #thanksDae #smallstepforhumanity #butbigfortheUniverse

 

☕☕☕

 

The morning starts as usual for Junmyeon. He wakes up with the love of his life next to his side, soundly asleep and drooling over their new bedding. Then he proceeds to shower, again with the love of his life, since Sehun always uses the opportunity to ogle at his husband, especially wet and . Plus, he uses the excuse how they're actually saving the Planet by saving up water with showering together, and Junmyeon's too smitten to say no. 

They make breakfast together, sharing bits of food since Sehun doesn't like bacon from his omelet and Junmyeon isn't a fan of lettuce that Sehun likes to put in, but they still don't make two separate meals for each. 

So after their morning routine, Junmyeon drives them off to work, parking at the same spot each day, as both of them walk hand in hand. Until reaching their respective cafés, where Junmyeon pulls Sehun close to leave a lingering kiss on his thin, pink lips.

"'Gonna miss you," Sehun comments, brushing the hair from Junmyeon's forehead. He's in a need of a haircut, and Sehun reminds him once again. 

"'Gonna miss you more!"

Sehun shakes his head, hugging him around his neck. "Not a chance. I'm gonna—"

"Oh for the love of God! Just miss each other in silence!" Kyungsoo's head pops out from the corner before his body moves to get beside them and walk to the entrance door, waiting for Junmyeon to unlock it. Junmyeon and Sehun share a laugh at the grumpiness. 

"Once he finds love—"

But Junmyeon finishes it off. "It's over for you, es."

Sehun laughs out loud, kissing his husband once again, before crossing the road to his own café. Junmyeon watches him go, smiling happily when Sehun waves before entering. When he turns around, he's just in time to see one of his baristas walking down the street and smiles when Minseok's close enough.

"Hello, the lovely day we have—"

He starts to say, but Minseok slaps him across his cheek instead. 

 

☕☕☕

 

"You're fired!"

Sehun looks up from where he's holding a bag of ice cream over Junmyeon's cheek, and his jaw drops when he sees who said it. 

"Kyungsoo!" Junmyeon hisses when the bag moves and some popsicle scratches his already tender skin. It doesn't hurt that much, since Minseok's practically a corpse walking, but Sehun's taking care of him, all worried for his well-being, and Junmyeon enjoys it too much.

"I'm sorry Myeon, but he assaulted you," Kyungsoo states the obvious, sitting on the farthest from the scene, having both arms over his chest. He's glaring so badly at Minseok, who hasn't said a word ever since they announced their impromptu meeting. 

"That's enough," Junmyeon says to Kyungsoo, but pushes the bag out of his face. It's slowly starting to melt, and the cold water is sliding down his neck, and into his shirt. "Minseok, what happened?" He turns to their barista and slowly asks. 

Sehun stands up to take the bag back to the freezer and dials someone on his way over. 

"He made it! He made it, not me." Minseok grumbles at the tabletop, not even looking up. The fact that he slapped their boss hasn't really settled in. Junmyeon lets him have his moment. They've been friends longer than coworkers, and Junmyeon has seen worse.

"Who made it?" Sehun asks instead of anyone else, and Minseok whispers 'Chen machine' softly. When they realize what's behind it, Sehun shares a worried look with Junmyeon.

"Okay, then this is not a good time for this, so—"

But the doors of their café being opened brings back everyone, and just in time, Sehun's employees walk in. Everybody except the mentioned machine.

"What's up, baby!" Baekhyun yells after waving at the only married couple and drops down in Chanyeol's lap when the tallest rolls his chair from underneath the table. They're all seated in Junmyeon's slash Kyungsoo's office since the onyx-haired male is the manager of the place. It's still early for both cafés to be opened, so they use the opportunity to bring them all together for a talk. 

There's someone new behind him, and Kyungsoo looks up when a boy shuffles in all scared and awkward, bowing respectively. 

"My name is Kim Jongin. Take good care of me—"

"Oh, Jongin, just gets in here," Luhan yells after entering behind him and sits down next to Yixing. "And hello there honey-bun." He turns and puts on a sleazy smile.

Yixing splutters at that and playfully hits Luhan's arm when the elder starts laughing, wiggling his eyebrows. Nobody un