Coffee

“I thought you had class until 5pm, Seungs?” Hyunjin latches on his seatbelt, pulling on it a little to see if it was secure. He stares at Seungmin seated beside Woojin through the rearview mirror. But waited in vain when his question was not answered.

Hyunjin huffed out air, throwing a fit. He got more pissed off when Seungmin answered when Woojin asked him. “You .”

“Thanks, Jinnie, you dickhead.”

“Why I!” Hyunjin crossed his arms and puffed his cheeks. He looked out the window mumbling incoherent words underneath his breath. The car was filled with soft chuckles. “Your class got canceled huh?” Seungmin shrugged at Woojin’s words, opting to reach out for the AUX Cord. Vague answer, again. “You can just use bluetooth.” Seungmin nodded, connecting his phone to the car’s speakers.

“Whose shop are we gonna go to?”

“Not the antique shop, sorry.” Jeongin glowed red in embarrassment from Woojin’s words. Seungmin gave the boy a careful appraising eye through the mirror.

The lack of acquaintances affected Jeongin's behavior while growing up, not in a negative way though. And being in a relationship was part of the question. He liked multiple people before, but gazing from afar was the only option he had. He didn’t even have enough courage to say hi to his classmates, what more if it was a confession?

“We’re going to my café!” Woojin enthusiastically answered.

“You have a café?!” Jeongin gasped. He looked at Hyunjin who scooted over to his side.

Hyunjin rested his head on his shoulder, at the same time letting his arms snake around the boy’s waist, filling in the space between them. Jeongin could feel the vibrations from Hyunjin’s voice as he spoke softly. “Yeah, their cheesecake is amazing. Jisung's always chattering about how good it is.” his mouth watered. Jeongin loves sweets.

“Jeongin, you’re drooling.”

He almost slapped himself as he tried to wipe off his saliva. But before he could react, Seungmin let out a howl of laughter.

Hyunjin can’t help but giggle as he watches the boy beside him, writhe in embarrassment. “And yes, I do have a café .” Hyunjin detached himself from Jeongin, looking out the window as cars drove past them. “We really need to know each other more.”

“No thanks, I don’t like opening up to idiots.”

“HEY!” Seungmin was joking, of course. But that didn’t stop Hyunjin from acting like a kid. Pouting and stomping his feet on the car floor. "But, that doesn’t sound so bad.” Seungmin's voice trailed off vaguely. He focused his eyes on the road, obviously ignoring the searing stares from the others.

Seungmin held his breath in silence. He went from hot to cold, the 2 pairs of eyes bearing holes on his skin, and the other one stealing constant glances. He flushed crimson as he adjusted his seat and cleared his throat.

“Woojin,”

The alpha hummed, glancing at the witch’s face before his eyes fell on his fidgeting fingers. Seungmin heaved a deep sigh, it was weird. He never felt nervous around anyone, however, after hearing about Woojin's past… his heart asserted itself again, thunderously beating against his chest. “About the barrier…”

Woojin mused a little while in grave thought. His smile was linked with a sigh. “We’ll go over everything later, Seungmin. Don’t worry.” Seungmin murmured a vague acceptance. He wanted to brood over the matter immediately. But an air of uncanny familiarity hung over.

Noticing the sudden shift of mood, Hyunjin croaked “I thought you’re gonna drop some beats, Seungmin.” Even though the witch snickered, he can’t help but thank Hyunjin for saving his out there.

“Yes, boss.” The muffled sounds of an electric guitar resonated within the car.

As they ventured further down the road, the chorus of the song neared. Someone was definitely whispering, no. He was singing.

A soft-sounding voice softly muttered the lyrics, getting every melody right. His voice was far from different from the singer, but it definitely had its own color. Woojin gingerly pressed on the brakes, the car came to a halt as the red light shines above them. “You sing, Jeongin?” the boy flinched, hastily covering his mouth, exchanging glances with Hyunjin, and Seungmin and Woojin, who were looking over their shoulders.

“No need to be shy about it.”

“Yeah, Woojin is right! You sound amazing!”

“He’s a music major for a reason, you nitwit.”

Hyunjin ignored Seungmin's snarky comment and looked at Jeongin eagerly as if he was waiting for the boy to continue singing. The boy warily put his hand down, he gulped loudly.

Woojin turns back to the wheel, tapping his fingers against it. “Don’t pressure the kid, Jinnie.” Seungmin had to admit he also paused for a while to see if Jeongin would continue singing. He turned back to the front, the song ended and he waited for the next one to play.

“Sorry, Jeongin.” the boy floundered.

“It’s okay, Hyunjin! Well,”

“I can sing one song if you guys want.” the wolf beside him beamed. “Hey, giggles. Your tail’s wagging so hard.” the wolf glared at Seungmin's shoulder. But immediately turned his attention back to Jeongin. “We’re not forcing you to do so, okay?” the boy could hear the sincerity behind Woojin's voice even though he was facing the road. He smiled.

“I want to do it.”

Seungmin stopped his thumb from scrolling through his playlist. Woojin saw how the witch bit his lips, trying to hold back a smile.

Seungmin caught Woojin glancing at him, he cleared his throat “So what song would you like, Jeongin?” As the boy fell into thought, Seungmin couldn't help but finally let a smile form, a frown coming up later when Woojin nudged his elbow, wiggling his thick brows.

Finally making up his mind, Jeongin mumbled the title.

Soon enough, the melody started. It was awkward at first, he didn’t dare to raise the volume of his voice. But with Hyunjin's encouragement, Jeongin took a deep breath. Letting his voice be heard within the confinements of the car.

-

By the time they arrived at the café, Hyunjin was fast asleep on Jeongin's lap. The wolf had been nodding his head out of drowsiness. Seungmin waited for him to bang his head on the car window, but Jeongin prevented it from happening. Pulling the wolf towards him, before the incident happened.

“Hyunjin, wake up.”

Woojin chuckled, pulling into a parking space in front of his café.

“Jeongin, that idiot would not wake up with just that.”

He turned the engine off, removing his seatbelt as he slid his upper body through the seat gap. Jeongin and Seungmin waited for his actions.

They both expected him to tap Hyunjin's face with just enough strength to wake him up. But they were caught off guard when Woojin leaned in more, reaching out his hand to Hyunjin's… left ear?

“OW OW OW OW!!!!” Seungmin let out a howl of laughter, wiping a few tears from the corner of his eye. Jeongin, who was biting down his lower lip, trying his best to stifle his laughter, felt a bit sorry for the wolf.

He patted the wolf’s head, cooing at him like a kid. “Woojin, you jerk.” the alpha laughed, whispering a soft sorry as he kissed the wolf’s forehead. They emptied the car, Woojin made sure the doors were all locked before leading the rest inside the café.

Unlike Woojin's awful taste in interior design. His shop was not half bad. It was aesthetically pleasing, to be honest.

The tiny café huddled among the huge city buildings. It had a simple vintage exterior, not so overly decorated so it was very warm and welcoming, especially this winter weather.

Just like the outside, the interior was warm and cheery, with bright lights and vintage photographs placed around the walls of the café. Delectable pastries are tidily placed on the transparent glass cabinet, lining up and waiting to be eaten. The strong bitter aroma of ground coffee beans drifted in the air, the scent almost soaking into your clothes.

The usual gentle murmur of voices could be heard above the harsh occasional stomach-churning sound of the coffee machine.

An ‘eye-catching’ barista waved in their direction. Woojin walked past the three of them, a warm smile evident on his face as he headed towards the counter.

A guy with ghost-white skin circled the counter, giving Woojin a brief hug. His soft brown locks tousled a little as he rested his chin on Woojin's shoulder. After pulling away, his soft voice can be heard and the little dimple that played at the corners of his mouth appeared when Woojin , he was… breathtaking.

His mellow eyes glanced over to their position and again the dimples made an appearance.

Woojin noticed, turning his head and signaling the three of them to approach him. “Jaehyun! Long time no see.” Hyunjin babbled, circling his arms around the older man.

“It’s been a while, Hyunjin.” Jaehyun replied, creeping his arms on the wolf’s back.

Drawing back from the embrace, he curiously looked at Seungmin and Jeongin. Woojin pulled the two on each of his sides. “This is Seungmin.” the witch nodded, eyes falling briefly on the guy’s outstretched hand.

His eyes went back up to the guy’s face, a small smile forming on his lips as he reached out to shake it. “So, you’re a hand shaker. Interesting.” Seungmin was caught a bit off guard when Jaehyun chuckled, honestly speaking, he expected the guy to give him a weird look of disdain. But instead, the guy laughed, running his hand through his hair.

“I’m really a hugger but, I think it would be weird to hug someone you just met. Ruins the idea of a great first impression.”

Woojin held off a chuckle. It looks like someone has met his match.

“And this adorable little guy is Jeongin.” Jeongin shut his eyes, craning his neck a little bit as Woojin’s large, heavy hand ruffled his hair. He let out a whine and pouted, fixing up his tousled hair.

A faintly quizzical look came into Jaehyun’s eyes, scanning the boy up and down. Jeongin looked up as Woojin nudged his side, reminding the boy about what Jaehyun said. “It means a hug, Jeongin.” not quite getting the point, Jeongin stepped forward nuzzling his head onto Jaehyun's chest. “It’s nice to meet you.”

The guy stiffened a bit as he felt warm hands snake around his back. Jaehyun couldn’t help but blush, wrapping his arms around the boy’s structure.

“Jeongin! Let’s sit there!” Jaehyun watched as Hyunjin pulled the boy away from his grasp, leading him and Seungmin towards the back end of the café.

He can’t help but find the situation a bit irksome. Woojin threw a measuring eye at Jaehyun, who seemed to be utterly detached from life. “Jaehyun.”

“Huh, what?” Woojin smiled, another victim of Jeongin's irresistible cuteness. “Can you give us,” Woojin paused, waiting for Hyunjin's voice inside his head as he asked Seungmin and Jeongin what they wanted.

“One hot chocolate, with extra whipped cream. 2 americanos, a café latte, and 2 cheesecakes.” Jaehyun nodded his head, quite impressed. How did he know about what the others wanted?

It wasn’t really his business so he went back to the counter. “Johnny. Order up.” A tall chiseled man with medium brown hair, a very prominent cupid’s bow, and soft eyes appeared from the kitchen area. “Woojin, wassup man!” he ignored Jaehyun, making his way towards Woojin. “Hey, Johnny.” bro-fist was more of a Johnny style. Considering he grew up in the US.

“Johnny, the orders!” the man frowned, glaring at Jaehyun before turning his eyes back to Woojin. “Catch ya later.”

Woojin proceeded to their seats. Pulling a chair beside Jeongin who was fiddling with his phone. The corners of Woojin's lips rose as he, not intentionally, read the contents of the screen.

‘Chan, where are you?’

‘I’ll be a bit late, Jeongin.’

‘Okay~’

The alpha shakes his head. His eyes danced around the café. Everything is familiar to him, well, even the distant stares coming from the female customers. He thought to himself again, maybe it was not such a good idea to bring the boys here. Jaehyun and Johnny bring enough clout to the shop. Hiring handsome full-timers was a really really bad idea.

Hyunjin stood up from his seat, excusing himself as he headed towards the restroom. The number one gullible person. He doesn’t know his effect on the people around him. Which kinda makes him more attractive, more or less.

Sometimes they have trouble walking around the city with that wolf. He gets scouted so much on the streets, Changbin starts grumbling about how they spend 90% of their time shaking off the scouts. Woojin leans back in his chair, fishing out his phone from his pocket.

After sending a brief text to Changbin, he placed it down on the table. A few seconds later, the screen lit up. Woojin leaned forward, reading the preview of the message.

“Changbin's with Jisung and Felix. They’ll be here in 20 minutes.” The sound of plates being placed on the table made Woojin look up to the server. His bright pink hair screams ‘KPOP Idol’.

He was overwhelmingly handsome, he looked like he came straight out of a comic book. His face was a cheat. Was he new?

“Hey, boss! This is our new guy, Taeyong, Jungwoo's boyfriend.” Taeyong bowed his head, his big doe eyes nervously danced around the room, trying hard not to make eye contact with the owner.

Johnny didn’t have to tell the boss about his relationship. “I’ll work hard, sir!” Johnny cackled, patting him on the shoulder as he turned to walk back to the kitchen.

Woojin gave him a warm smile, telling him to just drop the formalities and call him by his name. Taeyong fervently nodded, bowing his head before heading back to the counter.

The alpha eyed the new guy as he carried a few drinks towards a group of what seemed to be high school girls. All of them giggling and trying their best to make the guy stay a bit longer.

Woojin drew his attention back to his friends when Hyunjin came back. “What took you so long?” Seungmin questioned.

“Had to take selfies! My outfit looks great!”

Seungmin sneered, making Hyunjin hit his shoulder lightly.

Jeongin observed in silence, occasionally glancing at his phone to see if Chan had messaged him. Much to his dismay, Chan was probably busy. His eyes fluttered back up when Seungmin threw Hyunjin a question, “How did you become a model?” Hyunjin fell into thought, running a hand through his hair as he delved into his memories.

“I think, when I posted my OOTD on Instagram. A local shop sent me a DM, asking if I could model for them.” Hyunjin reached out for his phone, typing down the name of the shop, scrolling through their recent photos until he found his first ever photoshoot.

“I grew bored of hanging out here at the cafe and coming with Changbin and Jisung to their workplace only consisted of me playing with my phone at the sofa of their studio, while they buried their faces onto the screen and paper. And, well, I wouldn’t say much about Chan. He’s an old guy. I usually just sleep in his room. So, I guess modeling was a nice opportunity. I asked Woojin first, and he told me to give it a shot.” he continued, handing his phone to Seungmin.

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