"Do you know him?" 

Sehun looked up from the table he was cleaning. "Yes, I do." He stood up straight, moving on to the next table. "He’s one of those people that can buy their way into every school and workplace they want to, because of parents’ money of course. He used to go to my school, a grade or so above me."

"What does he do now?" Junmyeon asked, watching the table visibly shake as the younger vigorously scrubbed it clean. 

Sehun shrugged and let out an annoyed, slightly defeated noise. "Probably goes to some prestigious university that he bribed himself into. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t know how to multiply." 

Junmyeon nodded and stayed quiet for an odd moment before speaking. "What was his name again?" 

"Kim Jongin. Why?" Sehun stood up straight and took a look around once he was done with all the tables, fiddling with the piece of cloth in his hands as he did. 

Junmyeon shrugged. "I just thought he looked familiar."

"Yeah, he was at that Halloween party. I wonder who thought it would be a good idea to invite him. Only boosts his ego."

Junmyeon rested his elbows on the counter, thinking for a moment. The man had looked really familiar; his facial features, his smile and his charm and confidence, but the name didn’t ring a bell. "Did he wear a striped suit?"

"Yeah."

"He said his name was Kai though."

"Yeah, he calls himself that. No clue why."

"Oh." Junmyeon nodded. "Well, he didn’t seem nice, that’s for sure." Sehun hummed in agreement. He could tell he was annoyed, that he didn't like him at all. Junmyeon couldn't blame him. "Yeah, quite the opposite really. He has to be the most stuck up person I’ve ever met."

"Anyway. I was looking through all my ideas for the limited edition menu a little while ago," Junmyeon said, changing the topic. Sehun leaned against the table he was standing by, arms folded over his chest. "Is it done?" he asked. 

"Almost. I’m just missing a key part in the menu making process, I mean as well as a few finishing touches of course."

The corners of Sehun’s lips twitched, a knowing smile forming on his face. "Taste testing?"

"Taste testing," Junmyeon replied and the two proceeded to smile goofily at each other, Kim Jongin and his insufferable attitude long forgotten. Hey, taste testing was always fun, especially when it involved some delicious baked goods fresh from the oven and warm beverages involved.
 

It wasn’t everyday they got to do this, never mind there being a limited edition menu. Only Christmas and Halloween involved that really, though sometimes he’d switch things up on Valentine’s Day or during Easter as well, adding some fun decorations and a new drink or something. 

"Alright. You stay behind the counter, I’ll go make something," he told the younger. "I found this recipe for hot chocolate with peppermint. It sounded good and I figured we could put those peppermint candies in them, sort of like a spoon. He stepped away from the counter, making his way over to the door leading into the back. "I’ll see if we have some. Shout if you need anything," he said before disappearing into the back, leaving Sehun to tend to the cash register. 

The rest of the morning was spent sipping on cups of hot chocolate and eating candy canes, as well as snacking on an occasional Christmas themed treat. Junmyeon only made the tiniest of batches, not wanting to waste too many ingredients if something happened to be a complete failure. He did, however, make enough to put a couple of each treat aside for Chanyeol and Jongdae, and perhaps someone else as well, knowing full well Jongdae would take it very personal if he didn't. 

Every once in a while, once he was done with whatever this baked good might be, he'd slip out from the back to feed it to Sehun. He'd stay in the door long enough to see the change in his expression, whether it be a smile and a nod of approval or a scrunched up nose and furrowed brows, as well as to hear what he had to say. 
 

"'s good," he'd say and nod, words muffled. "Very buttery."

"Tastes a bit..." he'd say other times. He'd pause and chew for a few seconds, swallow and his lips, trying to find the right words. "Gross." 

By the time they were done, it was officially the afternoon and all that was left of their taste test was an empty cup on the counter beside Sehun and the remainder of the sweet treats Junmyeon was still trying to get out of his teeth before he got himself a cavity or two. 

Each and every treat were scored by both of them and Junmyeon made sure to note it all down as they went, creating a little score sheet on a piece of paper Sehun found under the counter. He made the title all nice and swirly and wrote down their names and scores in carefully drawn boxes, making sure to leave some room for the others' opinions as well. 

Pushing the remaining treats and the paper to the side, he made a mental note to get the menu done as soon as possible, preferably before Christmas rolled by.

It was nearing closing time when Luhan walked through the door. Sehun was long gone at that point, having left nearly three hours earlier to get some studying done. Behind the counter stood now Jongdae, being as cheerful and charming as one could be while heating up muffins and making coffee. The seemingly permanent smile on his face grew, if that was even possible, at the sight of the accountant walking in. 

Junmyeon watched them share an unreadable look and nod ever so subtly at each other from where he was mopping the floor, wondering what he was missing. Without a word, Jongdae put down the pen he had been twirling between his fingers and disappeared through the door into the back, leaving only himself, the accountant and a young couple sitting at a table by the windows. 

It was only when Luhan's gaze landed on him that he rid himself of the mop and walked over to stand behind the counter. He had expected Jongdae to come back, lips pulled into a smile and maybe something or another in his hands. Clearly, that was not the case. 

"I'll have the usual," Luhan said before he himself could get a word out. Junmyeon debated on whether to ask what the interaction, if that's what that had been, with Jongdae was, but decided against it as he watched Luhan lift a hand to look at his watch. 

"Alright," is what he said, already pulling out a cup and picking up the abandoned pen, "a letter this time too, I'm assuming?" 

"Of course." Luhan dug around in his pocket now, pulling out his phone. "That would be... an "O"."

Without as much as a raised eyebrow, let alone a question about the meaning, the use or the need of all these letters, he got to it. He knew full well he'd just get a cryptic answer or a mere grin if he asked, so he didn't. He made him his latte and off the accountant went, leaving Junmyeon there with his unanswered questions and a rather oddly behaving Jongdae lingering in the doorway.