Jeon Jungkook is a kind man.

 

Jeon Jungkook is a kind man when the number on the clock is in the double digits, and he’s had a minimum of five coffees in his system.

 

Dragging his feet towards the lobby of his apartment, clad in clothing more appropriate for a thief—a black oversized hoodie, baggy tracksuit pants, a black medical face mask and a bucket hat, eyes squint at the sudden sound from his phone revealing a text message from his manager.

 

[Jungkook, there’s a lot of traffic today… I’ll be late with your coffee, please go straight to hair and makeup. Sorry!]  

 

He groans, muttering a couple of curse words under his breath before deciding to stop at the nearby coffee shop just outside of his lobby. As he opens the door, the sound of a bell above him welcomes his presence, as he can see a small figure a couple of meters away sweeping the tiled floor. He doesn’t bother to look up.

 

“Good morning sir, wh—”

 

A soft voice welcomes him, but it’s 7am and he really is not in the right mind to be making small talk.

 

“One iced americano, 5 shots,” he practically growls, hearing the sound of feet jogging towards the counter, quick to start up the coffee machine.

 

He can’t lie in that he practically zoned out for the next couple of minutes, before he heard the honeyed voice calling for him.

 

“Sir, can I get your name for the coffee?”
 

Silence.

 

“Sir, a name please?”

 

Jeon Jungkook rolls his eyes.

 

“Just get me the god damn coffee, would you?” He practically snaps, a pang of regret against his chest as he seeks the way her chest rises in shock.

 

She doesn’t push further, and the soft sound of milk steaming feels oddly erie. He feels bad. Lifting the brim of his bucket hat slight (but not enough for his face to be recognizable) he notices the woman in front of him. Tall—yet petite, strawberry blonde hair that reached midway down her back despite being in high ponytail. Her eyes are concentrated as she scribbles something quickly on the cup before handing it to him. He quickly keeps his head down.

 

“That’ll be $5 please,” her voice is timid this time, almost like a whisper.

 

He reaches for his pockets, but only finds his car keys. He curses under his breath, realizing that his wallet was in the car. For the first time in a while, he feels flustered.

 

“Ah, don’t worry about it. This one’s on me,” it seems as though the woman understood the predicament.

 

“No, it’s in my car please let me quickly ge—”

 

His words are interrupted by the sound of his ringing phone, knowing that it was probably his manager ready to yell at him for being late.

 

“It’s totally fine, I insist,” her voice is sweet, cheery almost, “… hope you enjoy the coffee!”

 

“I’ll bring the money tomorrow morning, same time,”

 

“I’ll look forward to that.”

 

She smiles before bowing slightly, before her figure quickly disappears to the back storeroom.

 

Cute, he thinks.

 

*

 

When Jeon Jungkook gets to the studio, his drink is already halfway empty. He closes his eyes shut as they begin putting foundation on him and working on his hair.

 

“Jungkook, no fair I want coffee too!” A voice interrupts, and he opens his eyes to see Park Jimin running towards him, hands reaching for the coffee cup.

 

“ off that’s mine,” he quickly reaches for the cup, but he’s too late.

 

Park Jimin takes a sip before analyzing the plastic cup.

 

“Mr Buckethat?” The other man questions, raising a brow as he points to the writing on the side of the cup and the drawing of a bucket hat similar to what he wore to disguise himself early that day.

 

Jeon Jungkook can feel the way his cheeks turn red before he quickly snatches the cup back, seeing the contents drawn up by the woman making his coffee.

 

“Hope your day is less grumpy than you’re morning, Mr. Buckethat! Fighting, hope this coffee cheers you up!”

 

For the first time that morning, Jeon Jungkook smiles.

 

*

 

The next morning, Jeon Jungkook is extra late. Missing his alarm, and slipping on the tiles in the bathroom left him in an extra bad mood. Despite the persistent ringing and nagging from his manager, he decides to exit the lobby instead of the parking basement to get another coffee, and of course—pay his dues. It’s 8:30am and he was meant to be in the studio at 8:25am but who cares? Jeon Jungkook was an honest man and didn’t want to be oweing anything.

 

Again, the sound of the bell as he opens the door welcomes him. He sees her from across the room, a light sheen of sweat across her forehead as she moves her hand, working the coffee machine like a goddess. She’s making small talk with the long line of customers waiting, and he sees that she’s accompanied by another woman on the counter who’s helping taking orders. Seeing the line and knowing that it’ll certainly be longer than a 15 minute wait, he quickly exists the café and decides to come back earlier the next day.

 

He’s extra moody at practice that morning, even with the coffee purchased by his manager. What if she thought he’d run away and not paid? Or worse—what if that was the one and only impression she’d have on him?