side effects with @zyradxrandom coffee shop near city centre
he is stressed. he is so visibly stressed in this cafe, he isn't even sure if it's worth the wait for a coffee he would drink in sub five minutes as soon as it gets cold. his hands feel a bit sweaty, his tail is practically between his legs, the ears as way too stiff like the rest of his body and pulled back. he is doing his very best not to pant while in line. the less people paid attention to him, the better, but it was so loud, and so busy, and so many smells and sounds and he feels his head turn square.
yet, hyunwoo keeps his head down, as low as he can have it without looking as insane as he feels. his turn comes way later than he hopes, like time was dragging on just to spite him but he orders through gritted teeth, does his best not to growl or snarl at the poor barista who seems just as overwhelmed as him. but he orders, takes a few deep breaths as she moves to the side to wait for his order. it feels even worse now that he doesn't have the need to think or remember what his order is, he's stood there on the side, tapping his foot nervously, arms folded over his chest and dingers digging into his arms.
he doesn't even know where to focus, what to do with himself, he's doing his best to breath properly but he can feel other's looking at him, he has to force himself to focus on the sound of the steamer or the barista talking to ignore the itch that makes him want to listen to everything and everyone else.
it takes hyunwoo three times to hear his name and to snap out of it, but just as he had zoned out the word, lowkey maybe even disassociated mid coffee shop chaos, all the noise and the smell flood back in and he feels any possible resolve he had snap. he manages to say a thank you to the barista, through gritted sharp teeth and his ears twitch uncomfortably as he turns around to leave.
but it's not that simple maybe. despite being a whole six foot tall man, someone manages to walk straight into him and the freshly brewed coffee he spent too much time waiting for slips out of his grip and lands on the floor, spilling anywhere. it feels crushing, the amount of emotions hyunwoo is currently expiring feels crushing and there is an unsettlingly deep growl that leaves him. his breathing is visibly irregular and his ears twitch back again, tail dropping even lower if possible. the coffee shop goes too quiet all of a sudden and all hyunwoo can hear is the deafening thud of his own heartbeat.
"it's fine-" the tone and sound he makes do not sound fine, it's more of a whine than a sentence. he isn't even hearing what the person that had tried to explain- he hears the faintest apology, something like it "no, no it's fine, it's fine-" he repeats to the person, despite his voice saying anything but that, despite already not looking at them and moving away. he is already moving past the queue of people, towards the door, doing his absolute best to not run anyone over.
