Genre: Crack, Fluff, Romance

Summary: Chaewon decides that the best way to make the cute barista fall for her is through terrible pick-up lines.

Word Count: 3253

Hashtag: #SSBB_ILikeYouALlate

I like you a llate

Every morning Chaewon visits the nearby Starbucks for the dose of caffeine she needs to get through the days at university. She always orders an Americano, this never changes. The baristas have long gotten to know her and all have her order remembered. At this point coffee has probably replaced the blood on her veins.

This morning, though, there is an unfamiliar girl standing behind the counter. Chaewon doesn’t pay her any mind and just places her order. She sits near the window and plays with her phone, never paying attention to the other sleep deprived adolescents in the café. Only when her name is called and she returns to the counter to get her drink does she look up.

She almost drops the cup.

Chaewon is certain she has never seen this girl before because she would never forget someone so breathtaking. Warm brown eyes, blonde hair styled lazily, and a bright smile to rival the sun. She manages to tear her gaze away from the girl and mutters a quiet, “Thanks.”

Within seconds she is out of the store again, walking as fast as she could without making it seem like she was fleeing. She hadn’t managed to catch her nametag, but maybe that was better.

Chaewon hopes this was the only time this girl worked at this hour, because she didn’t think she could handle seeing her again. The beauty she had seen in only the blink of an eye would probably be fatal had she looked for a second longer.

The stranger quickly fades from her mind throughout the day. With hectic lectures and hard work it’s nearly impossible to get distract by the memory of a pretty girl with warm eyes.

___

Unfortunately, Chaewon does see her again. Too often for it to not cause mortal wounds on her poor heart. Almost every morning this girl – she had learned her name was Hitomi – serves her coffee. Every time she wears the same shining smile so Chaewon has stopped believing she is human.

All in all, Chaewon is suffering.

Her terrible best friend Eunbi has noticed that something is up. At first she doesn’t say anything and just looks at her with puzzled expressions. After a week of first seeing Hitomi she does ask, “Did something happen?”

“No, not at all.” Chaewon replies, way too quickly for it to not be suspicious. “I’m just stressed out!” After another suspicious glance Eunbi leaves it alone.

That is, until Chaewon caves in after a whopping amount of time. Two days, to be exact. It’s just a silly crush on a beautiful stranger, but Chaewon is weak for the way her hair was a little wavy with some cute hair pins this morning.

“Unnie, I have a problem,” Chaewon starts the conversation. Eunbi looks up from the webcomic she was reading with a confused expression. She already regrets bringing this up, but she knows that if she doesn’t talk about it she will explode.

Eunbi puts her phone away and sits up. Her expression is rather grave, although it’s hard to see her as such. She is wearing fuzzy socks and a Bulbasaur onesie, she fix her hair to make place for a facemask. “What’s wrong?”

“Ok, so,” Chaewon starts, all while cursing herself in her mind. “What would you do if the person who brews your coffee every morning looks more beautiful than anything you’ve ever seen?” Her own lack of subtlety makes her flinch and look away.

Eunbi grins at her which Chaewon considers to be a bad sign. “Flirt a little, if this person then seems interested you ask for their number.”

“You are aware that I don’t know how to flirt?”

“So you admit it’s you?”

“I’m in a serious crisis, there is no time for teasing.”

Eunbi only laughs. “Try pickup lines,” she then says, sounding completely serious about her advice. “They always work for me. Trust me, you’re talking to Cupid herself.”

Chaewon genuinely wants to trust her, but pickup lines sound like the worst idea she has had in a while. The reason why they work for Eunbi isn’t because they were good. It is because Eunbi is charming and beautiful. No one in their right mind would say no to go out with her. Still, Chaewon doesn’t see another way to properly get Hitomi’s attention.

“Fine,” she states. “Write some pickup lines for me and I’ll use them on her. Only if I consider them acceptable.” She knows her and her terrible sense of humor very well after years of friendship. With the amount of puns and jokes Eunbi tells she was surprised she still has new ones left. One more knock knock joke, though, and she will snap.

The way Eunbi gasps dramatically would almost make it seem like she’s offended. “As if they wouldn’t be! Don’t you trust me?”

“No.”

“Get out.”

“I live here!”

Eunbi kicks at her and just barely misses her stomach. “I’m older. Don’t be a brat and accept my advice,” she scolds, her tone already betraying that she’s teasing. Chaewon knows better than not to take the warning seriously, though, so she composes herself and sits up again.

“Thank you for listening and for giving me advice,” she mumbles.

“Trust me, Chaewon. They’ll love it.”

___

The next morning she already receives a piece of paper littered with Eunbi’s messy handwriting. She decides not to ask how long she worked on thinking of all these and just reads them all. They’re bad, of course they are, but to Chaewon this seems like the only way to get Hitomi’s attention. Apparently just asking for her number was not an option.

So there Chaewon is, walking into the Starbucks like always. Gaze fixed on the ground, headphones on, and a pickup line repeating in her mind. She is already flustered when she sees Hitomi standing behind the counter. Chaewon takes a deep breath and orders her coffee like always.

When her name is called by Hitomi and she walks up to the counter, she doesn’t take her drink and runs out like always. This time she looks up into her eyes and smiled as she says, “If you were a vegetable, you’d be a cute-cumber.”

Her cheeks flush a brilliant shade of pink and she quickly takes the cup, fleeing as fast as she can. She didn’t even get to see Hitomi’s reaction, but if she was very honest she didn’t want to. For the next hour her cheeks are flushed red and she feels incredibly embarrassed. That definitely hadn’t been a good idea. Chaewon had a lot of bad ideas in her lifetime, but this had by far been the worst.

She can’t buy her coffee again there. Hell, she will have to move to Antarctica and get friendly with the penguins there while hoping she doesn’t freeze to death. Freezing to death actually seems better than facing Hitomi again.

When Eunbi asks her how it went she lies and says she hadn’t mustered up the courage yet. All her friend does is sigh and shake her head which Chaewon considers neither a good nor a bad thing. It’s better than laughing at her for her cowardice.

But who can blame her? Hitomi could rival Adonis with the way she shines.  

___

For two days Chaewon doesn’t drink her usual Americano. She actually starts showing withdrawal symptoms, so the third morning after embarrassing herself she strolls back into the familiar café. Everything is the same, the scent of freshly brewed coffee, the light brown furniture, the withering plant in the back. Only Chaewon’s feelings are different.

Hitomi is there, brewing some coffee like always. When she spots Chaewon, she doesn’t look disgusted or afraid. There’s a glint in her eye wh