if there was anything that brightened a day for ten, it was a hot drink. rain or shine he’d always have some hot drink in his hand. there was something comforting about a hot chocolate, or chai latte, or mocha cupped between his hands as he wandered through the streets of seoul. it helped him fall back into his own little world, words fitting together in his head as he blocked out the noise around him by the music playing through his earbuds. he moved through the streets like a shadow, never attracting attention, and often hiding beneath the hood of one of his favourite hoodies. so finding someone who made mouthwatering, tummy warming drinks really was something worth giving back for.
“yeah, y’know, aesthetically pleasing. bet you’ve got all the girls coming in here asking you out and such. but thank you, i think my favourite part of my days is the coffees you make.” overall he’s pretty pleased with the more than comfortable reaction he’s receiving from the barista. it might’ve been terribly awkward had he been freaked out by the compliment. he hesitates, however, at the offer of a drink on him, but is soon swayed, and finds himself sighing and giving in with an “oh, alright then, i really shouldn’t let you, but i guess since it’s the christmas season, and i have spent almost all my money on presents.” still, he shakes his head, not too pleased with himself for giving in - but he’d agreed now, and couldn’t really take it back.
As much as Doojoon has his own share of big dreams, he had also fallen in love with his current occupation and current job. It wasn’t like his dream at all, it wasn’t about music and it was far from the very attention he had been wanting to achieve should he finally be able to step out on that stage and face a huge number of fans. This was different. It was more, subtle, in a sense. He had “fans”, but it wasn’t on a big scale and yes, he had the attention from the girls but this job gave him a sense of acknowledgement. A positive feeling. A comfort. Sure he wasn’t living his dream yet, but he was doing something good with his life and that made him a little bit more passionate about making coffee.
It was words like his regulars have muttered that left him inspired and relieved. It lifted his spirits, to know that his coffee made someone feel good, it was a job well done. “Ah...well I can’t say no, I bet you’ve noticed since you come here all the time but I try not to pay much attention to that.” He was not ready for something serious, besides, maybe he already had someone in mind but it was almost impossible.
A smile appeared when he finally agreed and he nodded, “I’ll make you the best cup yet,” he punched it on the registered and just shut the drawer when it came out, reminding himself to put in the payment later on his own. He moved away from the cashier and started to make the coffee for him. He made sure that everything was great, maybe adding something secret to make the coffee taste stronger, yet not too overpowering or to change the very taste he was used to. After a while he was done and he moved to serve it up. “There you go.” A bright smile, a thankful one. He hadn’t felt this good in a while.
