Seoul was at that perfect temperature- hot enough to not need a jacket but cool enough for the forgotten canine dogs of the city to not be sprawled out under every inch of shade they could find. In one particular side street was a popular café with female high-schoolers making full use of this blessed weather.

Happy hour is from 3 to 5! Come on in, relax and leave refreshed!

"Hello! How may I help you today?"

"Can I have a green tea cream latte, please?"

"Of course! Hot or cold?"

"Cold please. Iced."

"Certainly. And may I take your name?"

"Kim Soomi."

"Wonderful. Your drink will be ready in just a moment."

With dark brown tousled hair and a cheeky grin, Byun Baekhyun was the perfect barista. Girls flocked to the café on the weekends in their hundreds just to catch a glimpse of him. Boys also came to the café occasionally but the main bulk of customers were female. In the way a geisha would flash a glimpse of her wrist to seduce a man, all Byun Baekhyun had to do was gently brush his fingers against theirs and they were hooked. Upon payment, he’d 'accidentally' make skin contact. When handing over the drink, he’d ensure there was no way of taking it without touching his hands. Little things like that made Baekhyun indispensable to the café. He had a way with the ladies and boy did they fall for it.

And that wasn’t all. Baekhyun took his relationship with customers even further than that. No other barista or waiter in Seoul would ask for the name of the person who had placed the order. It wasn’t mandatory for staff to do so but Byun Baekhyun always did it.

"It makes the experience a lot more personal if I ask their name. Like I’ll remember them next time."

But Byun Baekhyun didn’t remember them the next time, or at least that was what it seemed like.  His aim was not to remember the girls who so lovingly came in their masses to see him. He only wanted to make it seem like he would. No matter how many times he'd ask them their name, he wouldn’t remember them. To his boss, it was a fantastic ploy to lure the girls back to the café. You get treated like a princess and the next time you get served by him, it’s as if he doesn’t know you.  It keeps you hungry for more because who can't resist a handsome guy that needs more than just a smile and a swish of hair to be remembered? You want him to remember your name. You need him to remember your name. The satisfaction and bragging rights of him remembering you were something the high-schoolers could only dream of.

"Oppa, do you play hard to get?"

"Aniyo. Why do you ask that…?"

"Miyoung. My name is Kwak Miyoung."

"Miyoung… I like that name." Baekhyun purred, smiling as he expertly shook up her Zesty Lemon Icer, "and to answer your question? No, Miyoung-ah, I don’t play hard to get."

"Then why do you act like you don’t remember us?"

Baekhyun smiled and poured the drink into a plastic tumbler with ‘Miyoung~’ scrawled over it. He passed it to her, ensuring his fingers touched hers. An electric shock ran through the young girl’s veins as she felt her heart fluttering. The rest of the girls standing in the queue could feel their own hearts pounding.

"It’s all part of the chase, jagiya. Isn't it more fun this way?"

"Baekhyun-ah! Baekhyun-ah!"

Baekhyun was sitting in the back room playing on his phone when his boss, a lovely lady always dressed in white came running in. Her hair was in a topknot, as always, and she was wearing the exact same apron as Baekhyun. She was easily recognisable from a mile away.

"Boss?"

"We’re going to extend the happy hour tomorrow during your shift just because there seems to be a major influx in customers at the moment. I was wondering if you’d be alright to work the over time? Jongin’s got his college entrance tests so he’s taking a few weeks off work."

Baekhyun sighed but agreed to work the extra hours. He was older than Jongin by quite a bit- Jongin only worked part time as he still attended school and often had after school study classes to go to.

"Could you possibly lock up for me too tomorrow?" Baekhyun's boss smiled, beaming to herself happily, "it's my neice's birthday- I wonder what she'll be like when she's your age."

Baekhyun nodded, hoping he’d be getting a bonus for all this extra work. How Jongin had been hired in the first place, Baekhyun couldn't really figure out. The kid was never around. He settled for Jongin's good looks being the main reason. It was the only reason that made sense too really. Why just have one piece of eye-candy when you can have two? Because although Jongin was young, Baekhyun couldn't deny that he was quite the stunner for his age. With dark skin and pigmented lips, Jongin was the definition of what Koreans would call y. So in this café that Baekhyun worked in there were two workers: the 'young and y hearthrob that was never there' and the 'play-hard-to-get oppa with a special touch'.

The next day was rather quiet much to Baekhyun’s disappointment. Since he was taking the entire day's shift, he had hoped for a lot of customers to entertain. He enjoyed the attention he got, especially when Jongin wasn't there to lap up a bit too. As it was approaching exam time, most of the students that regularly came didn’t have time to break and have an iced coffee. The majority of the customers that day were female university students. The quaint and pastel décor of the café was particularly enticing and having a good-looking barista like Baekhyun raked in good online reviews.

But it was on this particular day however that Baekhyun saw him for the first time.

Coos erupted around the cafe when the door opened and the little bell attached to it jangled. It was a male- one of the few males to ever come into the cute little joint and he wore black sunglasses, so dark that Baekhyun wondered whether it was actually necessary. It was hot and sunny, sure, but wearing them inside as well? Really? Baekhyun frowned a little when the tall boy didn't remove his sunglasses but quickly smiled again at him, cursing himself for forgetting where he was. 

His hair looked like it had been run through numerous times as it stuck up at odd angles but he didn't seem to care about his appearance. He wore a cotton t-shirt, grey and plain, and average straight leg jeans. His trainers were white and navy- the sort you'd wear for gym class at school and his black wallet looked like the ones you would get as a freebie in a magazine. Nothing about him stuck out as particularly fashionable but yet the girls in the cafe stared him down like meat on a spitroast. Baekhyun was pained a little- the customer was almost as attractive as him.

'So! How can I help you today?' Baekhyun asked, snapping out of his short-lived mood. He could see the looks of anticipation on the other customers’ faces. Was he going to treat this guy like a prince the way he treats everyone else like a princess? Would he clash fingers with him too? Would he ask for his name aswell? Would he carry on in the same way as usual or would he switch his routine for this male customer?

"I'd like a drink please."

"Of course. What would you like?"

"What would you recommend?"

Baekhyun smiled as he gestured to the blackboard above his head.

"The Icers are our best sellers in this heat right now."

The boy didn't look up and only looked straight ahead.

"I'd like to have one of them then please."

"Sure," Baekhyun continued, "which flavour would you like?"

"What flavours do you have? Or what do you recommend?"

Baekhyun was beginning to feel slightly confused at this point. Couldn't the boy read? He'd literally gestured to the menu just seconds ago.

"We have... Strawberry, lemon and peach. Lemon's popular at the moment. It's very refreshing."

The boy nodded slowly, taking in and processing all of the information.

"Oh, and you're extra lucky today because I'm the best barista at making it too," Baekhyun added with a grin.

"Then can I have a lemon one please?"

"Certainly. Can I take your name?"

Baekhyun held his pen to the plastic cup, waiting for the name. He didn't really need to take the name as this guy was easy to recognise: tall, floppy eared, with huge black sunglasses. However he was a proffessional when it came to his job and he wasn't going to treat this customer in any way that would be different to his norm.

"Park Chanyeol."

"Wonderful,"Baekhyun signalled to his right, "you can wait here, your drink will be ready in just a moment. One Zesty Lemon Icer, coming your way!"

Chanyeol didn't move and Baekhyun smiled again, flashing his million dollar smile.

"Sorry sir, this way please?"

Chanyeol stood there, unmoving. "Sorry," he said nervously, "which way was it?"

"Over there. To your left. My right. Cheers."

Chanyeol began walking towards the end of the counter, his hand tracing the wooden worktop as he cautiously moved to where Baekhyun had described. When he reached the end, he stopped, moving his head to look around as he tapped his feet. He was impatient, as if he were waiting for something urgentThe bell at the entrance jangled again and a girl came flying in, puffing and panting. Now this was more like his usual- a female customer trying to cool down in the heat.

"Hi there," Baekhyun started, flashing his pearly whites, 'How can I help you-'

'Park Chanyeol! Do you know how angry I am at you?!" she shouted, storming up to the tall boy standing on the opposite side of the cafe, "why the hell did you wander off?! I've been worried sick!' 

"N-Noona?" Park Chanyeol turned around to face the girl. 

"Yes, it's me."

Chanyeol beamed with pride, holding his hands out to express his excitement properly. "Noona, look! I ordered a drink! I ordered a drink!" he said proudly, waving his hands around.

The girl stopped panting and held onto his arm. "What? How did you even order? You can't even tell what this place sells."

There was a hint of exasperation or perhaps... frustration? As though she was annoyed at herself. It was intriguing to see the scene unfold before Baekhyun's eyes and he found himself watching the boy named Chanyeol and the girl interact. There wasn't anything else to do. 

"He helped me," Chanyeol says, pointing in the direction of the toilets which were situated to the right of the counter, "he was really nice."

Baekhyun shifted uneasily as he finished pouring out Chanyeol's drink into the plastic tumbler. The girl looked at him and he smiled at her but she only scowled back.

"Chanyeol-ah, those are the bathrooms. Are you okay?" She was worried, that was evident. "You're not usually so disoreintated..."

"Zesty Lemon Icer for Park Chanyeol?"

Chanyeol spins around, following Baekhyun's voice, and begins walking towards the counter but the girl grabbed the drink first. Only this time did she smile at Baekhyun, as if it was out of gratitude.

"Thanks," she said and they left the cafe together, her hand firmly gripped around Chanyeol's arm as he led the way.

I believe I first began writing this in draft back in June last year. It's now coming to the end of April. I've been trying to get the characterisation right for Baekhyun and Chanyeol, and I hope you'll enjoy this story as much as I love writing it. I've so far only fully written the first 3-4 chapters so updates may be a little slow but I want this to be perfect. I estimate there'll be around 7 chapters in total- similar to my other angst story 'Inebriation'. The relationship between Baekhyun and Chanyeol will also be purely friendship based, in case you're wondering.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to comment and subscribe! Tell me how you're finding it because I'd really love to know!