he’d heard her name in passing a multitude of times before, mainly via jeon jungkook who kept fawning about how excited he was that their long distance friendship would suddenly bear near. if his ears were correct (which mostly, they were not because listening was far from his realm of expertise) park chaeyoung was childhood friend who’d he’d holiday with during family vacations in australia. it seemed as though she decided to move permanently to seoul. opening a modest cafe that sold a multitude of cakes and coffee. jeon jungkook spoke very highly of her and the way they practically were penpals from the age of seven, often reminiscing about the pact they’d made at the age of ten to get married to each other if they were still single by twenty five. kim taehyung on the other hand, felt as though she sounded stupid and naive. he’d often scold the younger group member for having what seemed to be such a childish crush on someone who seemed so much like she had nothing going on. but by fate, he found himself meeting her after almost forgetting his mothers birthday and needing a fresh cream strawberry cake to compensate. and what a mistake it was. 

kim taehyung finds himself in an unusual position. despite his rigid words behind closed doors about the legend of park chaeyoung, he finds himself completely mesmerised by her, watching as she prepares his coffee behind the counter at four in the morning. firstly— kim taehyung hates waking up after noon and four in the morning was closer to his bed time than his awake time. secondly— kim taehyung lives an hour against traffic to her cafe, and that’s when he’s speeding. it’s about a two hour ride to his home alongside the morning commute traffic, on top of a hour an hour trip to the studio. lastly— kim taehyung hates coffee. but he didn’t know what to say when he’d rocked up the day after his mothers birthday to her cafe to personally thank her, and it seemed as though a coffee run was the only plausible excuse at the time that wouldn’t make obvious his interest for her. 

“here you go, let me know if the coffee is okay. i’ll change it right away if you’re not happy,” she speaks in a light tone despite the early start, sliding the iced latte towards him before joking, “… after all, i’m on my best behaviour trying to get you as a permanent customer.”

kim taehyung hates it. he delicately brings the cup towards his lips, a silent prayer in his head before he takes a sip, trying his best not to let the distaste show in his expression.

“it’s great,” he lies boldly, somehow easier than usual because her expression gave him his own weird sense of satisfaction, “… consider me permanently sold.”

“i’m glad,” she smiles gleefully, patting the edges of her apron before making her way towards the other side of the counter, loading the morning load of milk into the fridge as she calls out, “… but aren’t you here a little early? jungkook told me last night that you guys didn’t have anything on today, yet you’re still here during opening. shouldn’t you be hibernating like every other famous performer dreams of when they have a day off?” 

his heart practically sinks at the mention of jeon jungkook. a part of him wonders if it’s a sick karma for all the times he’d bagged at her before knowing. and on top of that, he was exposed for coming in too early and on a day that had no real reason for caffeine. 

“i uh—” he clears his throat as he realises the shakiness of his words, knowing that seeing her before all the customers come was a somewhat creepy response, “… wanted to visit my mother early in the morning before the day goes and there’s a higher chance of being spotted. i like the privacy of being able to enjoy a coffee at peace, i guess.”

he hates it. his brain can only begin to over analyse and over compensate for how cocky he must have sounded for mentioning his fame. park chaeyoung doesn’t seem fazed at all, mouthing a ‘oh’ before commenting under her breath about how it made sense. kim taehyung taps his foot nervously against the hardwood floors, wondering whether he should simply leave before he makes a bigger fool of himself. minutes pass and he thinks that the silence is unbearable. he’s about to send his mother a text when he sees a carefully arranged box of cake slices in front of him. 

“you should give this to her. they’re my best sellers among older laddies: rum cake, fruit tart, tiramisu and our grape cake dome,” she points to each before sliding it closer to him, “… share it with her. it’s on the house, don’t worry.”

kim taehyung feels a combination of feelings in his core: warm at the touching gesture, yet somewhat nervous as he politely takes the gift. he reaches for his wallet, but she quickly hits his arm before running to the other side of the store. 

“i already said it’s on the hous