Chapter Text
5:00am was way too early to deal with someone else’s mess. Not for the first time, Jungwoo regretted taking a job at a place with “Bro” in the name. He should have known that a bunch of “broistas” couldn’t be trusted to know how to properly clean, at least not to his standard, which may have been one degree above OSHA’s. He turned on the lights and looked at the schedule to see which of his fellow bros had left the place in disarray. He wasn’t the manager – yet – but he could leave a strongly worded note behind when he clocked out later that afternoon reminding Yuta and Renjun that taking the trash out did not just mean taking the bag out and setting it next to the can rather than leaving it to Jungwoo to have carry out to the dumpster and subsequently re-line the trash can before the sun had even thought about coming up.
Once he had mentally composed his nasty-gram, Jungwoo went about re-organizing the chaos that had been left behind, turning on the company-mandated disco ball and music at a decibel level that was really unnecessary for a coffee shop at any time of day, let alone at the ass-crack of dawn. He was allowed to choose the station, at least, when he was the only one on shift, so he picked some sort of ambient lofi stuff to keep him company as he wiped down bottles of syrup and stacked plastic cups, preparing for the morning rush. The job wasn’t so bad, he thought, when he was solo in the little blue building with it’s drive through windows shut tight to keep out the February cold, the disco ball casting pretty light all over the surfaces Jungwoo had just cleaned within an inch of their life, and some mellow tunes to help him wake-up.
It wasn’t so bad. Just like the coffee they served.
~~
His shift-mate showed up ten minutes after said shift was supposed to start, knocking on the Broista Entrance and flashing Jungwoo a smile that was probably supposed to charm Jungwoo into forgetting that Jaehyun was ten minutes late. Jaehyun was always late. Jungwoo told him to stop taking the early shift but Jaehyun insisted for reasons that were known only to him. Jungwoo let him in with an eyeroll and added him to the list of people who would be getting that strongly worded note once Jungwoo could find paper and a pen that worked in this place.
“Hey,” Jaehyun said, his eyes barely open as he walked inside.
Jungwoo didn’t know if it was because he’d just rolled out of bed, never gone to bed, or because he wasn’t wearing any sort of corrective lenses and would be squinting at the digital orders all day, but he just waved at Jaehyun and said:
“Get in here. We have two new drinks on the menu this morning and we need to get up to speed.” Jaehyun ambled over at a speed that was the opposite of what Jungwoo intended. Jungwoo grabbed him by his baggy sweatshirt and pulled him in. “We should read over the Bro-guide to make sure we have all the steps down and the ingredients laid out on the bar in a way that makes sense.”
“Sweet.” Jaehyun put his chin on Jungwoo’s shoulder, as if he thought Jungwoo meant they should read the Bro-guide at the same time. “I’m listening.”
Jungwoo sighed but left him where he was. It was easier to get Jaehyun to absorb information if he shared it while Jaehyun was relaxed and he sure seemed cozy with his face half buried in Jungwoo’s neck, his cheek cold from the outside air.
“Sup, bros,” the press release read, “We’re embracing the season of love with two new drinks that are sure to steal hearts and blow minds.” With each word, Jungwoo once again regretted his choice of employer. “Chocolate Covered Strawberry Mocha and Strawberries and Cream Latte.” Jungwoo wrinkled his nose. These were going to be a pain to make. He just knew it. “They sound sweet.”
“Mmm.” Jaehyun’s little yawn moved over Jungwoo’s throat, his lips warm and a little wet. His hand rubbed up and down Jungwoo’s stomach, which was in knots, probably because he had skipped breakfast. “Tastes like lemonade.”
“What?” Jungwoo tilted his head to the side and squirmed. Jaehyun’s hair was tickling his ears. “Why would they taste like lemonade? These are strawberry drinks.” He put his hand over Jaehyun’s and squeezed. “Weren’t you listening?”
The tip of Jaehyun’s nose was cold as it touched Jungwoo’s cheek. “I always pay attention to what’s important.”
“Good,” Jungwoo said, turning around and pushing Jaehyun away. Lazy time was over. They opened in twenty. “Go practice making these monstrosities.”
“Sure, babe,” Jaehyun yawned again, stretching his arms out until his fingers slipped over Jungwoo’s waist. “I’ll make ‘em so good I’ll steal your heart and blow your mind.”
“You do that.” Jungwoo danced away, laughing when Jaehyun tried and failed to grab the end of the apron Jungwoo didn’t have to wear by policy but always put on by choice because Jungwoo liked his clothes more than he liked looking chilled out and real. “I’ll just be over here, restocking straws and lids because Yuta and Renjun suck.”
~~
Some mornings were slow. When it was really cold or really wet, when people didn’t feel like sitting in the long line of cars that snaked through a drive through that was really poorly designed, or when the dreaded PSL made its reappearance at the Bucks, a shift could be slow.
Today was decidedly not one of those days. Even Jaehyun, perpetually blessedly blissed out Jaehyun, seemed a little harried by the time 9:47am rolled around and the worst of it was finally over. Schools were in session, workdays had begun, and there was a nice little lull between the morning craze and the afternoon crunch. Jungwoo sat down on a bunch of milk crates in the back of the cramped Bro-hut and tried to massage his neck and shoulders.
“Hey,” Jaehyun said, even though they had literally just spent the last four hours within four feet of one another making drink after drink after drink.
“Hi,” Jungwoo said, too tired to think of anything clever to say or a good enough reason to tell Jaehyun that these milk crates weren’t really big enough for two. He just closed his legs together and let Jaehyun take up half his space.
“How’s it hanging?” Jaehyun’s eyes were now fully closed, but his palm was warm on the back of Jungwoo’s neck, fingers that still smelled like coffee and strawberry syrup digging into the sore spots between his tendons.
It felt so good that Jungwoo didn’t mind the other hand that landed on his thigh and the fact that Jaehyun never said anything remotely normal. It was like he was made to be a Dutch Bro, with streaks of frosted blonde hair, his suburban-surfer boy lingo and his penchant for wearing the flip flops that Jungwoo had told him more than once were absolutely not up to code. He was very very lucky that he was the hottest person Jungwoo had ever seen. And funny, and kind of sweet, in his weirdo way.
Otherwise Jungwoo would have reported him to corporate ages ago for the premeditated bare-feet.
“It hangs,” Jungwoo sighed, shifting a little on the crate when Jaehyun’s thumb inched up beneath the hem of his apron. “Only a few more hours to go, but I’m already hungry.”
Jaehyun massaged Jungwoo’s right shoulder and murmured, “Yeah, I feel that. I could absolutely smash right now.”
“Too bad there’s no real food in here.” Jungwoo looked around at the cafe that was once again a cesspit of disorganization and despair, having been wrecked beyond recognition by the morning rush and the clamoring for drinks that had more sugar than caffeine. “All we have is the high-fructose corn syrup version of fruit.” Jaehyun’s fingers moved into his hair, rubbing the base of his scalp. Jungwoo tipped his head into Jaehyun’s palm and said, “What I wouldn’t do for some real strawberries right now.”
“Got it.” The hand on Jungwoo’s thigh squeezed before Jaehyun stood up.
“Got what?” Jungwoo asked, letting Jaehyun pull him off of his milk crate throne and into a loose hug. He looked over Jaehyun’s shoulder. There was probably just enough time to put the place back to rights before Doyoung and Taeyong showed up.
“You.” Jaehyun set Jungwoo free and sent him forward into the chaos with a truly unnecessary swat to the ass. “I got you.”
Jungwoo rubbed his hand over his butt and told Jaehyun to go get the mop instead. They still had three hours left on shift.
“Finally!” Jungwoo ripped open the Broista entrance as Jaehyun came jogging through the impossibly long line of cars that had shown up at quarter till lunch time, just before Jungwoo was supposed to be free of his coffee prison. “Did you get it?”
“Cleared out as much as I could carry,” Jaehyun wheezed, dumping two grocery store bags of whole milk at Jungwoo’s feet.
Jungwoo picked them up and hurriedly put out three bottles by the bar, needing them to be steamed and frothed two minutes ago. He added Mark and Donghyuck to the angry letter he’d been composing off and on all day. They were supposed to have checked inventory on Thursday, but clearly they had failed to account for how much milk the new “heart stealing and mind blowing” drinks required to do their stealing and blowing. Had they done their job, and basic math, Jaehyun wouldn’t have had to run to the grocery store across the street and Jungwoo wouldn’t have been half-melting beneath the weighty, impatient, unhappy stares of the customers piling up outside of the pick-up window.
Everyone he worked with was going on his shit list. Even if they were his bros. Even if he was absolutely going to hang out with all of them later that weekend at Johnny’s house party. Until then, until Friday night, they were dead to him.
“What is that?” Jungwoo pointed at the single plastic bag dangling from Jaehyun’s wrist, just above the puka shell bracelet Jaehyun wore every day, without fail, rain or shine. It was cute. It suited him. Even if Jungwoo thought it would be better for his time management skills if he had worn a watch.
“Nothing,” Jaehyun said, tossing the bag in the fridge just behind all of the to-go orders and so blatantly dodging Jungwoo’s gaze that Jungwoo knew something was up.
Fortunately, he didn’t have time to wonder what was in Jaehyun’s mystery bag. There were people three feet away from him who were upset and if there was one thing Jungwoo liked less than mess, it was upset.
“So sorry to keep you waiting!” Jungwoo turned on the charm, smiling brightly and leaning out of the window onto the counter, hoping that he’d look pretty enough in the sunlight to sweeten a few sour tempers. He saw at least three women and two men start to cave. Maybe his tips wouldn’t be a total loss.
“What’s up, my friends?” Jaehyun elbowed him out of the way, clearly having decided that Jungwoo wasn’t as qualified as he was in using good looks to get away with murder. He pushed Jungwoo behind him and back towards the bar. Jungwoo sighed as Jaehyun gave the assembled crowd a free dimple and said, “Keep it chill. We’ll be slinging those drinks to you in just a sec.”
Five minutes and one bottle of hastily frothed whole milk later, the line was half-as-long, the mood was half-as-bad and Jungwoo didn’t even mind when Jaehyun smacked his ass again when Jungwoo smiled and told him, “Thank you.”
~
By noon, Jungwoo felt like he had lived an entire day in only seven long hours. He was tired, he smelled like cleaning products and coffee grounds and he was still really really hungry. Like starving. He hung up his apron in the closet on the hook with the little post-it note above it that said “ Fellow bros, do not touch. Property of Jungwoo.” He found Jaehyun wearing the post-it at least once a week for reasons unknown, but he allowed it because at least Jaehyun put Jungwoo’s things back where he found them, unlike the other miscreants he worked with.
“I’m leaving,” Jungwoo announced to the broistas who had just come on shift. Jeno and Jaemin and Jisung – Triple J as they liked to call themselves, even though both Jungwoo and Jaehyun thought it was kind of shady that they weren’t included in the J crew – gave him high fives on the way out of the exit, which was separate from the Broista Entrance.
He supposed it allowed all of them to leave the bro-sona behind when they left the coffee shop. Jungwoo shed it gladly as he stepped out into the sunshine and started to make his way to his car, looking forward to food, a shower, and thirty minute nap before he had to go to class. Paying for university out of his own pocket really was the worst.
“Yo! Jungwoo!”
Jungwoo tripped, stumbling into the passenger side door of his old Elantra and catching his hip on the mirror. Grabbing at his wounded side, Jungwoo turned around and gave his dirtiest look to Jaehyun, who was chasing after him with a plastic bag and more energy than he’d exerted all day.
“What?”
“This.” Jaehyun shook the plastic bag and sidled up close, pushing Jungwoo’s hand off of his hip and replacing it with his own, taking over the rubbing. Jungwoo looked at the bag and then looked at Jaehyun’s stupidly attractive face. “This is for you.”
Jungwoo took the bag and untied the handles, shivering when Jaehyun decided his bruised waist needed to be touched better beneath this shirt. Jungwoo let him do it. Jaehyun was studying holistic medicine. Maybe skin to skin really was better for stimulating blood flow and the healing process.
Jungwoo peered inside. He thought his cheeks were probably the color of the contents when he looked up and said, “Strawberries?”
Jaehyun smiled at him, full-dimple, all whipped. “You were hungry.”
“I am hungry,” Jungwoo clarified, almost tempted by the sweetness of the gesture and the rumble in his stomach to forgo thoroughly washing the strawberries and just open up the carton and eat them right then and there. Jaehyun was looking at him like he wanted Jungwoo to take a bite. Jaehyun couldn’t remember the steps to making a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Mocha but he could remember that Jungwoo wanted to eat real fruit. He really did pay attention to the things that mattered. “Here,” Jungwoo said, opening up the carton and picking out the biggest, juiciest one. “You have some. You worked hard today too.”
Jaehyun’s lips opened, his smile spreading for Jungwoo and Jungwoo’s strawberry, his eyes crinkling and the corners and his teeth sinking into ripeness. Juice slipped out of Jaehyun’s mouth and Jungwoo was hungry and it looked yummy, looked sweeter and better than anything they had served up all morning so he licked it right off Jaehyun’s chin.
It tasted as good as it looked.
Jaehyun swallowed. Jungwoo watched Jaehyun’s lips close and his throat move and decided that maybe he didn’t need a nap, that maybe there were better things he could do with the time he had between bro-life and school-life, so long as Jaehyun filled him up and kept him fed.
“Get in,” Jungwoo said, opening up the door he’d crashed into because Jaehyun had called his name. Jaehyun moved fast, for someone who moved slow, sliding into Jungwoo’s passenger seat like he slid into Jungwoo’s DM’s every time he got a little drunk. “I’ve got exactly one hour. Can you make it good?”
Jaehyun smiled at him with strawberry red lips and put his hand on Jungwoo’s thigh. “Baby, I’m gonna steal your heart and blow your mind.”