With each day that passed, the morning mist seemed to get colder. It bit at Youngjae’s exposed hands and fingers when he rolled up the shutters to signal the opening of business for the day. The heart of the year’s rainy autumn had passed, and now the chill was replacing the drab weather. He couldn’t decide which season he disliked more. 

When the job was done, the brunette scanned the front quickly before he ran back into the warm confines of the café. It had the familiar yet intoxicating smell of coffee beans, which were being grounded by the female barista. Himchan, on the other hand, was languishing next to the counter like he was the owner of the place, yawning and sipping at an iced Americano he’d made for himself. 

“Channie-hyung,” Youngjae sighed, waggling a finger at the still sleepy-looking man. “Didn’t boss just tell you off yesterday for drinking coffee during working hours?” The barista merely squinted at the younger boy in response, as if not comprehending what he was saying. “Hngg… Relax, there are no customers yet…” Himchan slurred before stifling another huge yawn, drawing a laugh from his colleague.

“Himchan-ah!” The girl giggled, slapping the man’s shoulder with a gloved hand dusted with coffee bits. Rolling his eyes, Youngjae still found himself smiling at their antics. Moments later, he found himself jumping a three feet into the air when he was suddenly clapped on both shoulders from behind by none other than Jung Daehyun. 

“Yah, you brat… what was that for?!” Youngjae scowled, turning to shove aside the older waiter. Daehyun dodged his arms smoothly, stepping back to stick his tongue out before running away. "Yah– Jung Daehyun you–!" 

Despite the yelling he was doing, the corners of Youngjae's lips invariably tugged upwards. He decided to plan his revenge later, straightening up as the first customers of the day trickled through the glass-panelled doors. Slapping on his best customer smile, the waiter strolled over and wished the couple a good morning.

He had just dropped the order off at the counter before Youngjae’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Muttering “Hang on a second,” the boy disappeared to the back to take the phone call after checking that his superiors weren't paying attention to him. A check of the bright screen showed that the call was from his mom in Canada. 

The brunette let out a huge sigh before pressing the answer button. "Omma?" Youngjae breathed into the phone, trying to hide his nervousness. 

"Youngjae-ah!" The much-too-familiar voice of his mom assailed his ear, making him wince. "Are you free to talk right now?"

The boy toed the ground with his shoes. "Actually, I just started my work shift... Is it important?"

"Ah, no, I had some time before a meeting and I remembered you haven't called in a while–" his mother's tone turned slightly accusing, "You're still working in the cafe? You know how I feel about that, Youngjae. You should just come over to Canada, if you don't want to study you can help out with omma and appa's business, you'll do fine–"

"Omma," Youngjae interrupted, heat rising in his ears. "We've had this talk before, right? I'm not ready to leave Korea. I can't speak English to save my life, and I certainly do not want to spend the rest of my life working in a company, family business or not." It wasn't like he hadn't tried helping out before. He'd had a short stint as a manager. Dealing with numbers, multi-international communication folders and worst of all, backstabbing staff – it all gave him a headache.

Youngjae's mother's voice was cracking up in annoyance as well. "There's nothing to make you stay there. Your life is stagnant now, since you got blacklisted after beating up Mr. Choi's only son. You know that. Psychology courses are pretty good here as well. Can't you rethink things?"

"Omma, I have to work. I'll call you back later to discuss this, okay?" The waiter was beyond pissed but his voice was calm, with a tone of finality. Ending the call, Youngjae stared at his phone for several seconds before tossing it onto the table. The only thing he was dead sure of right now was that he wasn't going to make any international call anytime soon.

He kicked the leg of a chair, lava of resentment and guilt spilling over in him. He knew his mother was right. He'd messed up badly, after all. Moving to Canada was a rational decision, all factors considered. 

But he really didn't want to go, even if there was nothing keeping him here. Maybe he could find an obscure college to finish his degree in peace. Youngjae needed time to clear his mind - why couldn't his parents understand?

Ruffling his hair frustratedly, Youngjae leaned his head against the wall, muttering under his breath. Youngjae belatedly realized he must have holed himself in the back room for some time when Daehyun's worried voice greeted his ears. "Jae?" He felt Daehyun squeeze his shoulder slightly. "What are you doing? The café's getting busy. Are you alright?"

Youngjae’s dark mood must have carried over to the rest of the morning, alerting his other colleagues. He inferred this because Daehyun mostly left him to his devices instead of trying to annoy him to oblivion. Of course they were pretty good friends, and he understood when Youngjae needed to be left alone. He was currently talking to Jinri, who blushed when Busan boy complimented her.

Even Himchan seemed quieter than usual, settling with just a corny grin every time their gazes met. The peace didn’t last too long, though. When a particular customer walked in, the barista called loudly from the counter and waved in greeting, drawing looks from the other patrons. The man seemed to sigh from the door, pulling his baseball cap lower. “Bbang! You’re here!”

The customer wasn’t someone Youngjae recognized in his few months of employment, but he assumed that it was someone close to his loud-mouthed hyung. He tried to ignore the fact that the said man was staring at him up-and-down. He looked like the type not to be messed with. Putting on a tight smile, he sauntered over to the unfamiliar face and offered him the menu.

“You must be Youngjae,” the man Himchan referred to as ‘Bbang’ spoke slowly as he flipped the pages. His voice was disconcertingly low and raspy. It sent goosebumps down Youngjae’s back.

“That’s right,” he nodded evenly and bowed, “Do I know you, sir?” His nametag was attached to the front of his shirt and he was fairly certain he’d never seen this blonde before, but Youngjae thought it polite to ask anyway.

The man let out a rumbling laugh. “Ah, no. But you should know Suhee. She’ll be stopping by soon.” Youngjae blinked at the mention of the girl’s name before nodding curiously. “I’m her elder brother. Yongguk’s the name.” He extended a hand for the waiter to shake, which Youngjae did briefly. “Thank you for taking care of her,” the man smiled, gums showing. The sight made the brunette grin as well.

“No problem.” Youngjae hesitated before adding rather shyly, “Suhee is pretty nice herself, there’s no reason for me not to be the same.” He bowed his head to hide the pink coloring his plump cheeks, waiting to take Yongguk’s order.

“Yeah, I’ll just have a black coffee. Make it sweet, thank you.” The blonde took off his cap and bowed slightly as Youngjae smiled and left to drop off the order at the counter. Yongguk seemed to be a lot less fierce than he looked; just like how Suhee was friendlier than she was normally pegged as. It was appropriate that they were siblings, after all.

On cue, the bell above the door jangled as Suhee entered, a thick scarf covering the lower half of her face. She was gripping a textbook in a hand and her phone in the other, looking slightly flustered. “Oh, oppa, you’re here already? I was just about to call you. Hi, Youngjae!” She reciprocated his friendly wave and did the same to Himchan, then slid into the seat opposite Yongguk’s.

Daehyun took her order this time around, leaving with a friendly squeeze to her shoulder. “How was university?” Suhee’s elder brother leaned back in his seat, surveying her. The brown-haired girl merely shrugged. “Hmm? Boring lectures. Retards for classmates. Nothing new, really.” Her snarky reply made Yongguk smile. “Waiter Youngjae looks cranky as well. He’s well-mannered though.”

“Oh, you spoke to Youngjae? You didn’t interrogate him or anything, did you?” Suhee’s head shot up worriedly from staring at her phone. Yongguk rolled his eyes. “I don’t do interrogation, Suhee-yah. I just make music, that’s all. Not a terrorist, but a composer. Get it straight, okay?”

“Sure, sure,” Suhee giggled. “It’s been a while since you came to Illa. I’m glad you did. Himchan-oppa might want to talk though.” At the mention of the pretty boy’s name, they both glanced at his direction. Himchan raised Yongguk’s coffee in the air before discreetly pretending to sneeze into it. They started laughing. “Oh, Himchan can wait.”

---

I have some serious problems deciding on where to go with this a.k.a making Youngjae and Suhee grow closer. Right now they're so awkward. Which is a pity because all the drama can only take place once they're together ;AAAA; HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME!

Also, sorry for the long drought without updates... I'm a bad author, I know ;___; But I feel too lazy to update most of the time and if I force myself things come up uninspired. Mianhae!