The Coffee House (Part 1) (1/1)

With a controlled flick of the wrist, Sunggyu completed his signature tulip latte art surrounded by his favourite fragrance, coffee. “The regular, and also a chai latte.” Sunggyu called as he placed a tray onto the counter. “Oh, and congratulations Jeanie on getting into Woollim High School!” “Thank you Sunggyu oppa!” A young girl approached with gleaming eyes. “Here, it’s chocolate croissant, it’s your favourite, if I remember correctly. It’s on the house!”  “Thank you so much. You’re way too generous,” a woman behind Jeanie chuckled. “No no, my treat! It’s also a thanks for being such loyal customers!” Sunggyu smiled. “It’s because this place is amazing. Hard to believe it’s already been three years. You started this shop from scratch, and now it’s one of the most popular cafes in the area!”  “Thank you, I just love coffee, so it wasn’t that bad! And I’m glad you guys like it”  “But you work too hard. You guys never close!” The woman looked sympathetically at Sunggyu, then giggled, “Maybe it’s also time to think about relationships!” She joked. The three of them laughed. Sunggyu waved the comment off, “No, I haven’t found the one yet.” “Well make sure to have some fun some time!” The mother smiled as she headed off to her seats. Sunggyu nodded with a sincere smile. He loved coffee brewing coffee and creating simple, but elegant art on the lattes. Creating work he loves, surrounded by the people and aroma he loves, seemed like a dream come true for Sunggyu. As mundane as it might sound, working 24/7 in a cafe, it was the smaller things that he valued which made it all worth the while. “One caffe latte please!” “Yes, one caffe latte, that’s four-fifty thank you.” Sunggyu looked up to see a man with jet black, messy, unkept hair and an overly cheerful grin. “Here, four-fifty.” “Thank you, that will be just a few minutes.” Sunggyu turned to the coffee machines, side eyeing the strange customer. “Aren’t you going to ask for my name?” The oddly cheerful man asked. Sunggyu made an attempt to hold back his laughter, but couldn’t hold back a grin, “No. We’re not Starbucks.” But the man did not seem discouraged, instead he replied, “Woohyun! That’s my name!” “Okay, nice to meet you Woohyun.” Sunggyu nodded as he brewed the coffee. He felt Woohyun’s eyes on him, staring him down. He wondered if he had accidentally screwed up the man’s order before by how intently he was being watched. He then returned to the counter with Woohyun’s latte. “One caffe latte?” He asked cautiously, “Woohyun?” Woohyun smiled hearing his name. “Yes, that’s me!” “Thank you, Woohyun, and have a nice day.” “Wait,” Woohyun called out, just before Sunggyu could dismiss him, “I didn’t catch your name.” Sunggyu gave Woohyun quizzically before slowly saying, “Sunggyu.” “Sunggyu! Nice to meet you Sunggyu.” Woohyun grinned. Sunggyu watched Woohyun leave. Had they ever met before? He was almost sure they hadn’t. He had been working there for three years, every day, and almost memorized every customer that had ever set foot in the shop. And he was certain Woohyun was not one of them. But there was an odd feeling of familiarity that Woohyun gave off, one Sunggyu could not identify. His thoughts were interrupted by an out of breath, high pitched voice. “Sorry Sunggyu! I missed the bus, tried to chase after it, but then it wouldn’t stop for me, but I was already late, and then I had to run, and now…”  Sunggyu watched as a teenage boy with big, clear eyes and flawless skin with beats of sweat dripping down and a fringe stuck to his forehead gasping for breath, clutching the counter for support. “It’s okay Sungjong. Lunch rush hasn’t started yet.” Sunggyu said as he polished the glasses. “Thank you, and sorry.” Sunggyu breathed in relief (and because he was still out of breath). His eyes suddenly lit up, “Oh, by the way, on the way here, I saw on twitter that Key, you know, the author you love? He is having his first ever book tour.” Sunggyu almost dropped the glass in shock. His eyes doubled in size and his mouth hung open. “No way.” “Yes! And he’s coming to Seoul as well.” “Shit! When?” Sungjong pulled out his phone and scrolled down. “Um… It is… Oh, in a few months. May, the 24th.” He held out his phone and showed Sunggyu. Sungjong watched in amusement as his boss did a little victory dance.  Sunggyu noticed what he was doing, clumsily stood up straight again, and cleared his throat.“Thank you Sungjong.” He smiled, “Oh, before I forget, can you please polish the cutlery. And also while you’re in the kitchen, tell Myungsoo to make some more pastries for later. The new mall opened down the street. It’s going to be busy.” “Okay!” Sunggyu smiled. It was just another day in the cafe, but it felt like he had the best employees, the best customers, and the best atmosphere in the city. The doorbell rang as a group entered the shop, and Sunggyu braced himself for a busy afternoon.

~

“Good job guys, we’re finally done for the day!” Sunggyu high-fived both Sungjong and Myungsoo in the kitchen. “I’ll see you two tomorrow.” Sunggyu watched Sungjong and Myungsoo leave as he went and switched the lights and music off in the shop. “Hey!” Sunggyu almost shat himself as the voice echoed through the shop. He immediately turned the lights back on, and rushed around to the tables around the back. To his surprise, a just as freaked out Woohyun sitting behind a laptop sighed in relief when he saw Sunggyu. “Um, sorry sir, but we are closed now.” Sunggyu muttered awkwardly. “Oh yes, I forgot.” Woohyun laughed sheepishly as he gathered all his stuff and rushed out the shop. “Sorry, about that!” Woohyun called back as he left. “Hmm… Strange guy.”

~ ~ ~

“Hello Sunggyu! One caffe latte please!”  Sunggyu looked up from the familiar voice, and saw just what he expected to see. Woohyun had the same grin plastered on his face as he caught eye contact with Sunggyu. “How are you today?” “Just the same as always.” Sunggyu replied, brewing Woohyun’s order. “You’re early today.” “The early bird gets the worm!”  Sunggyu laughed at the man’s response. “The worm?” He asked as he handed Woohyun the coffee. “Yes, the worm.” Woohyun repeated as he winked at Sunggyu. Sunggyu, struck by surprize, felt the heat rising on his face as he stood as still as a statue. “The coffee that is.”  “Whuh?” “The good coffee.” Woohyun chuckled at Sunggyu’s reaction, “The coffee’s better when you guys aren’t in a rush.” “Ah, yes. Th - that’s right.” Sunggyu stammered. “Um… Excuse me, Sunggyu?” Sunggyu snapped back into reality as a hand waved in front of his face.  “Sunggyu? You there?” He turned to see Sungjong looking at him with a rather concerned expression. “Oh, yes. I was, uh, thinking about something.” He didn’t notice how long he had been staring into space, but the odd familiarity he felt from Woohyun irritated the hell out of him. “We better get ready for the lunch rush soon.”

~ ~ ~ “NO WHAT THE FUCK? A TRIPLE!” Sunggyu cringed as the scream could be heard throughout half the shop. Woohyun, who had been coming in almost every day for the past month, had apparently told his friends about the place, and today was the day that the shop had turned into a internet cafe for the group of them. Sunggyu had to be thankful that it was right in between rushes when it was relatively quiet, or they might have driven away dozens of customers. Even though the lack of customers just magnified the sound of their screams. “Should we kick them out? Or tell them to shut up?” Sungjong asked, just as done with the screams as Sunggyu was. “No, it’s fine. Just tell them to tone it down a little once more customers start coming in.” Sunggyu muttered, side eyeing the group of rowdy boys, “ Plus, they all ordered, so we technically can’t tell them to leave.” Sungjong winced as another scream filled the shop, but nodded at Sunggyu’s orders. “Ugh, can’t they take gaming to some other place? There’s an internet cafe literally five minutes away.” “Well, what can you say, I simply serve the best coffee.” Sunggyu replied, casually complimenting himself. Sunggyu laughed at his boss’ rare childishness. “Hey, my pastries are nice too.” Myungsoo added in, as he approached the two. “See, that guy ordered so many.” He said, pointing to the very thin, lanky man with the face of a child sitting next to Woohyun, who had been screaming just a second ago. “Oh yes, he’s ordered three times already. He loves your fruit tarts.” Sunggyu noted. “Three times? Wow…” Myungsoo gawked at the man who was now nibbling on the crust of the fruit tart while slouched over the table, waiting for his character to respawn after a very careless death. He then jumped up again, almost knocking over the table, screaming. “YES! WE GOT BARON! WE CAN STILL DO THIS” “How old do you think they are?” Sungjong winced, giving the lanky boy severe stink eye. “Uni students I presume.” Sunggyu replied, “It’s a school day, they don’t appear to be in uniform and they seem pretty young… Che! Students these days, should be studying, not playing computer games all day!” “You should try gaming too, gramps.” Myungsoo chuckled. “Hey! If I’m your gramps, then show some respect!” Sungjong and Myungsoo both bursted into laughter, while Sunggyu fought to keep a straight face. He rolled his eyes. As his eyes landed on the noisy group, they caught another pair of eyes. It was almost too coincidental, but Woohyun still took the chance to send another wink at Sunggyu. “Hey gramps, where do you want me to put the leftover flour?” “Whuh? Huh? Oh, yeah. Here, come with me, just at the back…”

~ ~ ~

For weeks, the same scenario occurred almost every day, much to Sunggyu’s irritation. Woohyun, the man who originally felt so strangely familiar, also a little annoying, would come in just about every day, order his latte, and sit behind his laptop for the rest of the day until Sunggyu would eventually have to kick him out after closing.  Woohyun had also become more and more talkative, often asking Sunggyu dozens of questions while he brewed his coffee. Sunggyu didn’t mind. However it just felt a little like he was being interrogated by a little kid. Woohyun would always just lean on the counter, gazing at Sunggyu brewing his coffee. He would also sometimes ask for custom latte art, and that part amused Sunggyu. (flashback) “You never told me I could ask for the picture on the foam thingy!” Woohyun whined. “You never asked for a custom one.” Sunggyu chuckled. Woohyun pouted, then proclaimed, “Well now you owe me over thirty custom latte arts! One for every time I missed out!” “You know they don’t cost extra right?” “Yes I do. But I still want custom ones… Although the flower is really pretty.” “It’s a tulip,” Sunggyu corrected, “But thank you.” Woohyun thought hard for a second. “Can I have a soccer ball?” “A soccer ball?” Sunggyu asked. He was surprised. He had done soccer balls before, but no-one had ever asked for a soccer ball before. “Yup, a soccer ball.”  Sunggyu saw the delight in the latter’s eyes, the pure anticipation was something he could not turn down. He reciprocated the smile, “Sure. You play soccer?” “Yes. Well, I used to. I still do, sometimes for fun. What about you?” “Hmm… I don’t play sports.” “What do you enjoy doing?” “Making coffee.” “I mean apart from that.” Sunggyu thought. It was something he had always enjoyed doing, but would never tell anyone about, since it was too far fetched. “I enjoy singing.” “Oh, same! I like ballads? What about you?” “Rock. I was in a rock band in high school.” Sunggyu reminisced back to his teenage years. “Can you sing for me?” “Excuse me?” “Can you sing for me? I really want to hear.” Woohyun insisted. Sunggyu laughed. “No.” “Why?” “Because that was years ago.” “Aww, pease?” “Nope.” “Pretty please?” “No. And your coffee’s going to go cold.”  (flashback end) Sunggyu finished polishing the last of the glasses and cutlery, and finished closing for another day. He returned to the front of the shop, getting ready to notify Woohyun again just like every other day, that they were closed.  “Woohyun, we’re closed…” He stopped in his tracks when he saw Woohyun sprawled out on the table, in front of his laptop like always, but deep asleep. It must have been quite a while since his laptop was already blank and asleep, just like him. Sunggyu had noticed a few days ago that Woohyun had been looking shabbier. His hair was messier, and he had gotten pretty severe eye bags under his eyes, and even bloodshot eyes that morning. He wondered if the coffee was starting to lose its effects on Woohyun, perhaps he had developed a resistance to the drug. Sunggyu folded down the screen of the laptop, and retrieved the cup which previously held Woohyun’s daily cup of coffee. He wondered whether he should wake the man up, but he had looked so sleep deprived the past week his appearance was frightening, Sunggyu decided it was better to just move him somewhere where he could catch up on some sleep. “Che! Kids these days are always on their laptops… He was probably gaming again.” Sunggyu muttered as he swung Woohyun’s arm around his shoulders and proceeded to lift the man up. “You sure are heavy for being so tiny.” Sunggyu chuckled to himself, but then grunted as he heaved Woohyun up across the room, and up the staircase to the second floor.  A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this. This is part 1 (of 2), so it doesn't just end here :')