TITLE: cream stencil (chaptered, 1/2 of chp. 1)
PAIRING: wonkyun (for this chapter) and other ships eventually
RATING: pg-13 and up
WORD COUNT: 2241
SUMMARY: In a small town is a place where the scent of warm coffee fills the whole neighborhood. And in this quaint family cafe lives seven gorgeous men fit for any woman’s taste. Dare thee walk past these rich oak doors?
A/N: They’re all gay. I said it. This might turn into a chaptered fic showing each pairing. And each chapter will include wonkyun from their POV. MX in barista/waiter outfits gave us this prompt and this honestly would have been done earlier had it not been for my busy schedule. This was also written while I was suffering a headache and a small writer's block so it's not that great OTL. And yes, unbeta-ed as always Hope y’all enjoy nonetheless!
he knew he should have dressed better.
for one, a job interview in khaki slacks, a beaten old sweater and his hair in ruins guaranteed him a place in the rejected pile. secondly, he was going on a blind date after said interview. he didn’t even have any spare clothes or a bar of soap and a towel.
im changkyun was a mess.
which was a pity, truly.
oh he had the ability to make any girl swoon. with his deep voice and eyes that reflected last night’s anime marathon. he also rocked a pair of circle rimmed glasses and he swore he should have cleaned it before he went out. he could barely see where he was going now which caused a few clumsy accidents. he was truly god’s gift to the female race.
since the cafe he was meaning to apply for was fairly popular, he only had to follow the excited chirping of the girls who walked in front of him. school girls, in fact. he was glad to have graduated already. having girls think that you were their gay best friend was a fun experience until shit got too real. once a full fledged heterosexual man he slowly became something else.
he continued his commute with his head tilted low, avoiding any unnecessary social interaction. which wasn’t hard, considering he was anti-social himself. he took a bus, got off after three stops and walked the rest of the way. there was a slight chill to the air but it did not make him sweat any less.
he stood in front of the cafe in awe. a wall thick with thin branches and leaves with small white flowers he didn’t know the name of decorated the entrance. there were quaint windows that reminded changkyun of those he’d seen in movies shot in european countries, all in wood with four panels. there were white chairs and tables set aside for when summer came around and a large tree that he pegged for a cherry blossom one would hover above the area.
just judging from the exterior of the cafe, it would definitely attract a lot of customers due to the cozy feeling it exuded. although there were many cafes around much popular parts of seoul, this was clearly around for quite a while.
a wooden board just beside the entrance displayed today’s specialty and another, much larger one, was located just above the door with the cafe’s name. “cream stencil,” he whispered as he walked closer to the door. he made sure to push his hair back further and fix his attire. nervous, he breathed in and breathed out before he held the doorknob.
and when he pushed the wooden door and the little bell chimed, he swore he immediately wanted to shut the door and run away.
the cafe was to open in thirty minutes and he was asked to come early. and he, a desperate and freshly graduated individual, couldn’t afford to ask them to schedule it later. besides, the one he talked to on the phone said they wouldn’t have the time for an interview once their usual rush of customers started arriving. the manager thought it was best for him to come at this ungodly hour.
but how could he even work here when there were were six attractive young men sitting in front of him. he gulped.
i’m totally straight.
taking small steps and making sure to push his hair back in its original place even if it was waxed in place, he was about to make a grand announcement of who he was. until a much taller male with blonde hair and a smile that was far too bright for his liking started speed running towards him and hugged him really tightly.
naturally, he stiffened.
who is this, gorgeous yet terrifying blonde being, hugging him out of the blue? and why was he, a normal human being who just desperately wanted a job, being put through such torture? and what was worse...why is the hug tightening? and why was no one saving him?
“i’m so glad to finally meet you!” the blonde chirped against his ear and oh my god changkyun swore his eardrums popped and blood was currently streaming down his ear.
“i--- i-- could you please--”
“let the new guy live, minhyuk,” a cool voice called out.
seconds later changkyun was allowed to breathe and he used a wall to steady himself, trying to catch his breath.
the source of this voice was a tall and mildly buff man with a buzz cut and steady eyes. he smiled when changkyun met his gaze and the startled changkyun nodded in thanks.
minhyuk hopped (yes, a grown man was capable of hopping because changkyun could see it in front of him) behind the said man and started whining. meanwhile, changkyun was approached by another man. he had rich chocolate brown hair parted to the side and he was so pale changkyun was blinded for a second.
“that was minhyuk. and the guy he’s clinging to is shownu, the cafe manager. he’s the one you talked over the phone with. and i’m wonho”
wonho, shownu and minhyuk. gotcha.
“nice to meet you all. i’m cha--”
“i’m jooheon,” another man, much shorter than the rest, with bright red hair and dimples greeted him before he could fully introduce himself. he was followed by two others who introduced themselves as kihyun and hyungwon.
changkyun was suddenly overwhelmed. he had to step aside from the modelesque blonde that was hyungwon, feeling really small. he was given a faint smile that looked nothing short of forced.
everyone was then asked to sit down and changkyun was asked to sit between wonho and kihyun. he had his head down the entire time shownu was going through the recent theme change and the change, also, in salary. changkyun didn’t know what he was doing here when he was supposed to be interviewed. and the longer he sat down, the more he felt like opening his mouth to voice out his thoughts.
“he’s already accepted you,” wonho whispered.
changkyun covered his ear, feeling a shiver ran down his body because of wonho’s warm breath against his ear. “w-what? i thought i was going to be interviewed still?”
suddenly, he felt like he was being part of a sick game.
wonho laughed, opting to ruffle his hair but then took his hand back, feeling the ickiness of the wax changkyun used. “uhm...well, the last part of the interview itself was when you entered past the door. not many would dare.”
in response to this, changkyun furrowed his brows. he was about to ask but was cut off by a mass of clapping and his name being called. they patted him all on the back and after that they dispersed and continued setting up. he was led to the changing room where he already had his locker with a uniform in his correct measurements. it fit all too well which struck him as odd.
once the cafe opened, people came swarming in slowly. he was being taught how to brew coffee so he didn’t directly interact with the customers. but even so, they were having way too much fun staring at his new co-workers.
and yes, most of the customers were girls.
with the exception of a group of guys who sat in the innermost corner.
changkyun glanced up every now and then and was amazed by the amount of gossiping, squealing and...fanservice.
there was a lot of fanservice going on.
subtle touching, flirting, looking at each other sensually…
changkyun felt as if he had willingly signed up to be part of a completely different world.
and it wasn’t as if the girls were jealous, either, whenever the waiters interacted with other girls in an equally flirtatious way. it seemed to changkyun as if they were aware of the rules inside the cafe.
suddenly, he wanted to read through the papers he was made to sign earlier. was he going to do the exact same things they were doing? panic rose like a bile in his throat and he wanted to run away.
and he was about to until someone blocked his path.
“wo-woah,” he said, falling back a step unsteadily.
“wonho, not woah,” wonho corrected changkyun, amused. “i know it’s hard to remember names at first but i didn’t think you’d be that bad.”
changkyun nodded and scratched the back of his nape. “yeah, okay. uhm.” he stepped back and let wonho pass, but the other man simply stood in front of him.
wonho placed the empty tray he was holding on the tabletop and smiled a million karat smile at changkyun. which struck the latter as very, very weird. but he was handsome, no doubt. so the weird was mostly a good weird.
“so, what do you think so far? it’s quite exciting, isn’t it?”
“i don’t really know,” changkyun answered truthfully. “this isn’t my typical...scene.”
raising an eyebrow, wonho bent down to look at changkyun straight in the eye out of the blue. changkyun blinked at him. for some reason blinking caused the customers to squeal in the background. he heard a few clicks meaning that people were taking pictures. he didn’t know why since he was definitely no celebrity. he just thought that it was because of wonho. but still, they were just talking, him and wonho.
“does that mean you’re a virgin?” wonho challenged, smirking.
changkyun looked at him for a long time. here was a guy who was used to having his way. a guy who had so much charisma people fell in line just to see him every day. and here was a guy who had way too much self confidence.
aka a guy im changkyun disliked.
stepping even closer. even more screaming from girls. “why, i don’t see what being a virgin has anything to do with how well i work.”
with that, he pushed wonho away, storming towards the bathroom.
he could hear the commotion even through the door was closed. feeling safe inside the confines of the room, he sat on the covered toilet bowl and wiped the sweat that started building up on his forehead wit he back of his hand. then he closed his eyes and started breathing.
the truth was, im changkyun was awkward with skinship.
he couldn’t see himself freely lingering around customers, caressing their cheek or playing with their hair or even looking at them for longer than a minute. it struck him as too flirtatious and it went against his moral code as well as his view on love. being brought up to follow the traditional way of courtship and relationships, changkyun was in a state of culture shock.
thinking that he had to work here was horrifying. especially after his trainee period was finished. he would have to interact with the customers then. he didn’t have the luxury to find another job, especially since this one was the one that paid the most out of every single one he saw in the newspaper and online.
“changkyun ssi?”
changkyun stood up so fast and held the doorknob to prevent someone from opening it.
“changkyun ssi, i know you’re in there. it’s shownu.”
he let go of the doorknob slowly and sighed. “yes, i’m inside.”
“i know it’s a bit much at first. but i can assure you that it’s not bad once you get started,” shownu explained, chuckling. “we’re just here to entertain the ladies. we sell an image as well as good coffee and pastry. you are not required to do all of the stunts that your co-workers pull. that’s the “image” they’re selling. and you have another personality entirely. you just have to interact with them by just being you.”
changkyun listened intently, his shoulders relaxing a little. shownu, for an odd reason, had known exactly what his troubles were. he figured wonho had told him but seeing as he was a bit rude earlier, he chose not to believe it. maybe shownu was simply observing him earlier and saw his obvious discomfort. it’s not like he made an effort to conceal it either.
with a loud sigh, he opened the door and saw shownu standing there. and behind him was a huge poster with the words “welcome to cream stencil, changkyun!” in colorful and beautiful cursive handwriting. the customers had lined up behind the six beautiful young men with bright smiles. when he stepped outside, confetti pops popped everywhere and everyone started clapping.
he suddenly felt really guilty for judging everyone without fully knowing anything. he smiled a little and looked at everyone shyly. “t-thank you,” he said simply, bowing gratefully.
more cheers erupted from the small crowd that gathered around him and minhyuk eventually locked changkyun in a tight hug until more arms were wrapped around him and he couldn’t help but laugh out loud. they turned around all seven of them as the girls clapped and music played from a customer’s phone.
all the doubt he had about his new workplace suddenly ebbed away. and as the crowd got back to their seats and they resumed their jobs, he felt as if he was going to enjoy himself.
in the corner of his eye, he saw wonho, clapping and smiling at him. and maybe it was him but there was a dangerous glint in the other’s eye.
