jaesun honestly had started to lose track of how much time he’d spent in line ; it wasn’t like he was in any kind of rush to get to the shop, though, so he didn’t particularly mind it. even though it wasn’t a particularly early shift, 9 am was still painful after having been up until 5, all thanks to his lack of motivation to ever get on a good sleep schedule. emily would have his head for it if she ever found out just how bad it was getting. he snorted to himself at that, continuing to scroll through tiktok on his phone as he moved at what felt like a snail’s pace through the line. he didn’t consider himself a coffee person, per say, he just knew very well when he needed it. it was the closest coffee shop to splattered, and he preferred their black coffee to others, honestly. it was cheap, and he got a decent amount of it for his money, so he couldn’t complain.
it was only when the mundane sounds of coffee brewing and idle chatter was broken that he was torn from his sleepy haze. he heard someone start to speak a little louder than normal, their tone very obviously off, forcing him to finally glance up to spot a man ( who appeared to be a few years older than him by his guestimate ) yelling at the girl behind the counter over their wait times.
jae was tempted not to get involved ; it was honestly a manager’s position to come defend their employees especially when customers become hostile, but after a few seconds of no intervention, he honestly couldn’t take the sound of guy’s voice. not to mention the girl, who couldn’t have been more than what, five feet? was starting to get visibly upset. he sighed and stepped past the person in front of him to grip onto the man’s shirt, pushing him back and away from the counter, making sure to block the view of the woman behind the counter. “ can you cool it? if you’re late to work, that’s your fucking problem. leave if you’re in such a rush. ” jae wasn’t sure what it was that had eventually been enough to intimidate the man: the kind of look he had in his eyes, the grip he held on him, or the fact that he was very noticeably shorter than jae, but his words were enough to make him back off. he watched him as he collected his coffee, spewing a few curse words in his and the girl’s direction before leaving. jae rolled his eyes, turning back to check on the girl who was, to his surprise, already gone, replaced by a coworker.
he shook the event off for the moment, focusing on getting his coffee and something quick for breakfast, paying and collecting them quickly before making his way outside. he only paused when he heard someone just off to the side of the building, where he assumed a backdoor must have led out from the employee’s backroom. he made his way over to her, clearing his throat to make his presence known while keeping his distance. “ you okay? don’t let assholes like that have the pleasure of upsetting you. the holiday season brings out the worst in people. ” he shrugged his shoulders lightly, leaning up against the wall beside her as he took a long sip of his coffee. he pursed his lips for a moment afterwards, sighing as he reached out to her, holding two of his napkins for her to take. one was spare, and in the other was half of his cheese danish. “ i’ve never known a problem a cheese danish couldn’t solve. ”
𝔠𝔩𝔬𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔣𝔬𝔯 ─ @naraesong
rae loved the holiday season; the gorgeous lights and whimsical decorations hung around nearly every corner, the delicious drinks and treats that had people endearingly eager to make their way to their favorite café for the limited time flavors, the enchanting smells of holiday candles, the wonderful movies and stories that began to once again occupy people’s minds and hearts, and, perhaps most of all, the magic that seemed to hang in the air throughout the whole season. she loved all of it. well ... all of it except for how crowded the holidays seemed to make bb books and brew. no matter how much they tried to prepare for the holiday season with extra staff and training, it never seemed to stop the small coffeeshop from falling behind on orders.
and, despite their best efforts yet again this year, she found herself once more scrambling behind the counter as she attempted to both take orders and help prepare them to cover for the unexpected loss of one of her co-workers earlier in her shift. they’d gotten sick, excusing themselves for the rest of the afternoon and leaving rae alone with just one other person to take care of the already usually overwhelming morning rush. despite all of that, the morning had been going surprisingly well. the orders were slower than usual, of course, but they’d managed to get everything out correctly and at least quickly enough that they hadn’t had any customer seem upset with their service. she was just on the edge of patting herself on the back for that grand achievement whenever a man approached the counter and brought it all tumbling down with a booming voice and loud opinions. she attempted to calm him down the best she could once he began to complain about the wait time but each attempt to pacify him only seemed to make him raise his voice more and she felt her anxiety bubbling up as she frantically glanced around her for her manager. she began to panic when she couldn’t find them, suddenly aware of all the eyes of each customer in line all focused in on her expectantly, until a man stepped between her and the aggressive customer. her breath came back to her all at once, leaving her feeling both incredibly relieved and a little lightheaded.
she recognized that the stranger had managed to get rid of the customer just as she felt her co-workers hand settle on her arm, quickly telling her to take her break before they slid right into her place at the register. grateful for the chance to put herself back together, she desperately blinked back the stubborn tears that had very nearly spilled from the corners of her eyes as she spun on her heels and headed for the back exit of the café.
once there, she immediately allowed herself to slide down the brick wall behind her until she was sat on the pavement below her with her head nestled on top of where her arms were folded atop her knees. only then did she allow a few of the tears that she’d been holding back to slide down her cheeks. and it was only when she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat that she startled, immediately wiping the tracks of her tears with the sleeve of her sweater and keeping her head ducked to attempt to keep the stranger from seeing. “ i’m okay, thank you. i just thought the holiday season was supposed to bring out the best in people? you never see people like that in the holiday movies, at least. ” she huffed, perhaps more offended by the concept of someone being that grumpy during the holidays than she’d been over any of the comments he’d shouted at her. she picked her gaze up to glance at the stranger once she trusted herself to look at least slightly presentable, only to immediately feel her eyes widen when she recognized him as the one who had saved her from him in the first place. “ wait ... you’re the one who scared him off, aren’t you? i’m so sorry you had to get involved in all of that. i mean - thank you, of course, but i’m sorry it became your problem. ” she sighed, turning her gaze back to the pavement below her as she let her eyes slide shut momentarily, trying to bring an end to the soft stinging sensation that always came after crying. when she opened them again, there was a napkin and half of a cheese danish lingering in front of her. her gaze turned back to the boy beside her and she couldn’t keep the smile off her lips if she tried. maybe her faith in the holiday magic wasn’t entirely gone just yet after all. “ well, you’re right about that. and at least the holidays bring out the best in some people. ” she offered softly, taking the napkins from his hands with a thank you before taking a quick bite of the danish. “ not to put you on the spot with this but ... what do you think about the danish, by the way? ” she’d helped make them this morning after their co-worker who usually took care of the baked goods had left them to finish with the prep work and she couldn’t pass on the opportunity to get a review. and, if she was perhaps only asking to keep the boy beside her for a moment longer, then she blamed it on the stress of her morning and how much she didn’t want to be alone.
