Disclaimer: am not a Starbucks hater, but just not a big fan. Also, not proofread yet!

Welcome to chapter 1, or, Donghae goes to Starbucks for the first time and kind of starts to get the appeal, though possibly for a very different reason. He's also a little embarrassing.

It’s the first day of summer break, and it’s nearly 12 in the afternoon when Donghae wakes up. 

Unlike all his other friends who could make use of this break to go overseas or throw parties, Donghae has a bunch of undone assignments to deal with. The only reason they’re undone is because he spent the better half of the past semester attending football training and playing for his university — which isn’t his fault, because how can he be blamed for having talent? — and rightfully neglected his studies. Which he ended up getting free passes for, considering the number of trophies his team managed to bring in, but also becomes the only thing on his to-do list this summer. Goodbye to plans of scrolling through his Tumblr feed for hours and binge-watching random Netflix romcoms. That, and also pool parties and summer flings or whatever it is that people his age are supposed to do.

Which is also why Donghae had fixed himself a study schedule. It’s packed, yes, but if he follows it diligently then he’ll be able to spend at least two hours a day doing nothing on his laptop. It’s the only light he sees in this dark, upsetting tunnel.

Waking up at 12 certainly didn’t fit the plan. He was supposed to have already completed two essays by this time.

Dejected and disappointed with himself for falling off the tracks on literally day 1, he puts on a random shirt and his best joggers and decides that the best way to teach himself a lesson would be to go on an endurance run. (Which puts him way behind schedule again, but whatever, maybe he can take the next day as day 1 instead. His life, his rules.)

So the blazing sun and the blistering heat weren’t really on his mind, but that’s okay — he’s Seoul University’s top athlete and favourite football player (and also the very person labelled as Seoul University’s most eligible bachelor twice in a row) — because Donghae’s a little reckless and stupid like that. He’s made it past so many years of his life living like that, who’s to judge him? 

Anyway. 

It ends up being a nice run and all, and he manages to clock 10km in 45 minutes. Not his best record, but he still ends off the run feeling dehydrated and on the verge of death. He was contemplating between pulling off his sticky shirt and blessing the eyes of the other passers-by with his Greek god body and doing the same thing but ending up facing an arrest warrant for public display of indecency when he looked across the street and saw an employee of a Starbucks cafe flipping the ‘Closed’ sign the other way around. 

On hindsight it was a stupid decision, and for many good reasons. Firstly, because he didn’t have any money on him — or even anything valuable, unless he pawns his very expensive AirPods or iPhone or Apple Watch. Secondly, because he’s probably not going to be able to find cheap mineral water or energy drink in a cafe like this, and caffeine probably isn’t the most desirable option post-workout. And lastly, because everyone in the cafe is going to see him sweat-stained and panting like a dog, and you know what they say about first impressions. That they matter. It’s not like he has enough foresight to know he’ll be seeing the cutest and most good-looking barista he’s ever had the privilege of being served by.

It’s easy to be wise after the event. Which is a nice way of saying that Donghae did the stupid thing — he crossed the street and walked into the cafe. 

See, it’s probably not supposed to be such a big deal. Sure, this is his first time patronising the cafe (he has one that he prefers near the other end of the campus), and even though he is quite the star of Seoul University, it’s not like he’s a celebrity or anything. He has substantial clout, but not enough that his sudden sloppy appearance at a public place would cause much uproar. So it probably doesn’t matter. 

That’s what Donghae thought as he felt the casual breeze of the air-conditioner against his skin and sighed happily. The sweat still clung to his skin uncomfortably, but it’s a lot easier to bear when he isn’t standing right under the sun. He stands in line and looks at the menu for a second too long, the realisation that they have nothing that he’s looking for suddenly sinking in. 

The queue in front of him was slowly disappearing, and Donghae starts to panic internally. He tries to comfort himself with the thought that it’s okay, he’s just taking some time to pick something off the menu. Maybe he’s just a really slow reader or something. (For the record, he isn’t. Not to brag, but he did come in first for literacy when he participated in a competition at the tender age of 7.)

Obviously it isn’t okay though, not when he ends up standing at the counter with nothing to say.

“Uh,” he mutters, his eyes still at the menu. A cup of espresso for 7 freaking dollars? A cup of iced green tea for 6? He may not be steep in poverty, but he sure as hell doesn’t go around spending money like this. Something about corporations like this just money from civilians by overpricing their products unsettles him — not to forget they’re just doing it so blatantly! This is why he never came here, even when his friends kept posting pictures of their cups with that lady with weird hair (is she the Statue of Liberty or a mermaid? Who is she?) on the logo. Donghae prefers the quaint little cafe that is patronised by people who aren’t brainwashed by the media and pop culture. 

“Hi?” the barista says then, pulling him out of his anti-capitalist rant. 

“,” he curses under his breath and shifts his weight to another foot uncomfortably. 

“Not sure what to get?” the barista asks, and the genuineness of his question brings Donghae’s attention back to the person standing right before him.

And oh my god. Oh. My. God. Donghae swears to god he has never, ever seen anyone with a face like this. If he had, he probably wouldn’t have been the most eligible bachelor on campus for so goddamn long, because this man, this man right here, is someone Donghae would have wooed — and properly, as well, with like flowers and chocolates and whatever it is that people do when they want a boyfriend — if he had seen him before. Call him reckless and stupid or whatever, Donghae knows that in life you have to fight for what you want.

But of course that kind of courage is what Donghae would expect himself to have when he imagines situations like this. In real life, though, he only manages a small smile and a shy nod. Way to go, Lee Donghae. 

He also belatedly realises that he probably stinks like , and pinches himself on the thigh (where the handsome barista can’t see from behind the counter) for being so stupid. He could have dressed up in his best outfit, maybe bring along a football so he can impress this handsome stranger with his skills. Anything would probably be better than showing up sweat-stained and sticky and gross. He didn’t even style his hair that morning. 

Then said handsome barista