It’s barely the crack of dawn, yet a quaint café in Hongdae has already opened for business. Illuminated by the dim orange lights from his shop, its owner – a petite young lad with sparkly rounded eyes – stood on his tiptoes as he struggled to reach the top of the glass window with the rag in his hands. After much exertion he finally relaxed his body as he exhaled from holding his breath from when he stretched upwards, a huge smile hanging on his face in satisfaction as he admired the shop name printed across the glass in an elegant cursive writing. Heaven.

The shop space with Heaven was relatively generous, with enough space to accommodate a stage for the indie bands that he often invited to perform on Saturday nights. But what he was proudest of were the secondhand tables and chairs that he managed to purchase at a steal. Each piece was queer in their own way with either loud prints or unique shapes, mixed and matched like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The vibe of Heaven was the essence of the hipster café, enabling it to stand out against all the others along the bustling street.

Of course, the owner also prided himself with his cooking skills, slipping into the kitchen every now and then to personally whip up special dishes for his customers so much so that the chef he hired often , threatening to resign since the boss was taking over his job in the kitchen. Whenever that happens, he would chuckle with his head lowered in embarrassment as he claims the spot at the cash register instead, forcing the cashier to either take a break or help out in the kitchen. He was a lovable young man really; someone who never fails to smile, someone who always makes a point to remember habits of his regular customers, and someone who tries his best to become everyone’s friend although he was a little shy with strangers. His name was Do Kyungsoo.

“Welcome to Heaven. May I get your order please?” Kyungsoo smiled as the previous customer moved out of the line to reveal a head of blonde hair.
“Hey, could I get six egg and salmon croissants and six Americanos?” the customer had distinct facial features which contrasted his obnoxious hair color – someone who screamed ‘cool’ and ‘popular’ with his intimidating presence.
“Sure,” Kyungsoo made sure to keep up with his smile although he felt the pace of his heartbeat picking up. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”
“Yeah, it’s actually my first day working at the dance studio just opposite your shop.”
“I guess I’ll be seeing more of you then!” Kyungsoo handed him his change and receipt.
“If your food satisfies my stomach, perhaps? I’ve a really huge appetite.” The man grinned, ruffling his blonde hair sheepishly.
“I hope the six servings were not all meant for you?” Kyungsoo’s eyes rounded in alarm.
“Of course not!” the man roared with laughter, oblivious to the line that he’s been holding up while he chatted with the owner. “I was hoping that getting breakfast for my colleagues would leave them with a good impression. Although now that you’ve mentioned it, perhaps I should get a second serving for myself?”
“Oh, come on! We’re rushing for work!” someone from the back hollered and Kyungsoo cleared his throat awkwardly before gesturing for the dancer to move to the next line for his food.

Throughout the day, Kyungsoo found his thoughts drifting to the dancer whom he now knows work just across the street. As menacing as the man appeared, Kyungsoo enjoyed his sense of humor very much. It wasn’t every day that he finds someone who was on the same frequency as himself and he was hoping that dancer boy would show up the next morning for breakfast as well. The bells attached to the door tinkled melodiously in the distant before the shop assistant’s cheerful voice sounded. “Welcome to Heaven!”
Kyungsoo furrowed his brows as he tasted the sauce he had just bought to a boil. ‘Way too sour.’ He sighed as he picked the pot off the stove, disregarding the chef’s mocking. “Concentrate on your pasta, Chef Chanyeol. The dinnertime crowd is streaming in.”
“Hey, boss?” the shop assistant poked her head into the kitchen, successfully garnering Kyungsoo’s attention. “A customer is looking for you. He says his name is Kai.”
“Kai?” he cocked his head to the side, certain that he knows no one by that name. “Has he placed an order?” his eyes lit up as a concoction brewed in his mind.
“Not yet. He wants you to make the recommendations.”
“Great, tell him I’ll be there in a sec.”

According to Luna’s description, the customer who asked for him was extremely attractive with his blonde hair and Kyungsoo knew Kai had to be the customer who has been occupying his mind the entire day. “Sorry to keep you waiting, I heard you requested for my recommendation.” He felt his lips stretching from ear to ear in a huge grin as he caught the dancer unguarded while he was busy on his phone. Placing the plate of spaghetti before him, Kyungsoo took the seat opposite him. “I present to you Moody Monday.”
“Moody Monday? The day’s nearly ended though, why so moody?” Kyungsoo allowed the question to go unanswered as he kept his eyes fixated on the dancer’s face, anticipating his reaction as he took a bite out of his food. Kai’s eyes rounded into saucers before gulping the food lump down his throat, raising an eyebrow at the boss. “Moody Monday, huh? I don’t think business would be very good on Mondays with this… very unique flavor.”

“After the regrettable experience with Moody Monday, I’m really grateful you’re still willing to give Heaven a second chance.” When Kyungsoo placed the plate of spaghetti that resembled what was served yesterday, Kai gulped nervously before picking on it with his fork and the former nearly burst out laughing. Carefully placing a tiny serving into his mouth, Kai half expected another sour concoction but was pleasantly surprised by the flavor which whets his appetite. “This is definitely a vast improvement. I suppose your mood is pretty good today?”
“Tangy Tuesday,” Kyungsoo explained. “This is how Moody Monday was supposed to taste like. I screwed up yesterday.” What went unexplained was the reason why he screwed up the day before.

When Kyungsoo served Wednesday’s creation, Kai guffawed so loudly that the other customers turned their way and Kyungsoo had to bow in apology before smacking Kai on his arm, hinting for him to shut up. “Is your face that funny?” he hissed.
“This…” Kai gestured to the weird placement of fruits on the waffle. “Is supposed to be me?”
A sulky Kyungsoo was the response he got and Kai had to muster all of his discipline to stop himself from breaking out into a laugh again. “Can I name this one Wacky Wednesday?”

Thursday flashed by in the blink of an eye with Kyungsoo busy mastering latte art under the coaching of his newly hired barista, Xiu Min. He didn’t even notice that the sky had darkened and it was only when Kai leaned over the counter and waved his hand in Kyungsoo’s face did he notice that the dancer was here again. “Look!” Kyungsoo exclaimed proudly as his eyes curved into beautiful crescents. “I think this is Terrific Thursday!”
“Too bad, Terrific Thursday is preparing to go down my stomach,” Kai took a stirrer and whisked it into the cup, paying no heed to Kyungsoo’s horrified expression. “In 3… 2… 1!”
“Oh my God, I’m going to kill you!”

Kyungsoo was eerily quiet when Kai came the next evening. “Hey, you’re not still upset about the latte art, are you?”
“No,” the former gave a curt answer and pushed the plate of pasta towards Kai, urging him to try it. Shrugging, Kai took a huge bite out of it and immediately choked with tears clouding his vision. “Did you mistake chili sauce for tomato sauce?” he gasped in between the gulps of water and Kyungsoo smirked in victory.
“I hope you enjoyed Fiery Friday. Now I’m not angry anymore.”
“Yah, I’ve been frequenting your café every day since I started working at the dance studio. You should be presenting me with a loyalty membership card by now instead of… this!”
“Revenge is so, so sweet.” Kyungsoo closed his eyes and leaned back against his seat in relish.
“Are you even listening to me?”

Even before Kai crossed the street, he could tell that the café was more crowded than usual with a line snaking out of the shop. Joining the end of the queue, his tummy rumbled rather loudly and he pretended to cough in embarrassment, wondering if he’ll ever be able to get a seat today. “Kai!” jolting out of his reverie, he saw Luna scurrying over with a smile playing on her lips despite how tired she appeared. “Boss saved you a seat. C’mon in!”
The crowd was no joke but Kai was pleasantly surprised when Luna saw him to his seat. He was right in front of the stage where a band was playing, naturally having the best view. However, his sight searched for a tiny figure weaving in and out of the crowds, taking orders before vanishing into the kitchen. “Saturdays are always busier, especially since we have a popular band playing today.” Luna’s voice piped beside him as she placed a plate of juicy grilled pork sandwich before him. “Grilled to perfection after marinating in the sauce overnight, boss says the sandwich is named Soothing Saturday. Enjoy!”

Sunday was the day that left Kyungsoo wondering if Kai would show up. The latter had stayed into the wee hours the night before but Kyungsoo had been too busy helping Chanyeol in the kitchen. Surely the guy had to take a break from all the western food Kyungsoo had been serving him? Just as he was about to head into the kitchen, Luna’s frantic waving and exaggerated pointing towards the door had him spinning around hopefully. There was Kai, sleepy-eyed in plain T-shirt and skinny jeans with a cap covering his blonde hair as he waved to Kyungsoo. It was then that he decided today had to be Gratitude Sunday.

“Wow, this is a lot of food! Shall we call this Supreme Sunday then?” Kai beamed as he tucked into the truffle fries.
“No, I’ve already named this Gratitude Sunday.”
“But that doesn’t rhyme.” Kai raised an eyebrow. “Why gratitude?”
“It is to thank you for all the support you’ve shown this week. As the boss, I’d like to confer you the first VIP member of Heaven!” Kyungsoo clapped excitedly.
“Does this make me an angel?” Kai looked at him amusedly. “Who’s the devil then?”
“No devils are allowed in Heaven.”
“Oh, really? How can there be no devils when angels exist?”
“Are you going to start a debate or something?” Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes on the dancer and the latter immediately sniggered.
“Okay, no debate. I’m supposed to accept all of your gratitude after all!”
 

A/N
Hello my dear readers! This is my second attempt (my first being angst!hunhan) at writing an EXO pairing and I'm entering this piece in OVERDOSE; an EXO writing competition. 
As you can probably guess from my poster (or my tag), this story is gonna be a thriller and I hope it's going to be something really different from what you're already reading. Let's enjoy some fluffy KaiSoo in my Forewords before gets real in my next update ;)

hopebunny <3

- CONTEST ENTRY -

STORY TITLE : Beware
RATINGS : NC-17
WORD COUNT : 6068 Words
COMPLETED : 17 May 2014

PROMPTS USED: 
#35 Shadow by f(x)
#49 Ravage
#50 Fixation


 

DO NOT TRANSLATE OR ADAPT MY WORK INTO YOURS. Any similarities to other written works are purely coincidental and I own the story idea, written work, and any self-designed graphics related to this story. No reuploads or translations, copies of PDF or word document, or adaptations of any kind are allowed in part or in whole.