#— ✕ ·˚ friendship is a simple yet complicated thing | w / kai ❜

[partywithgyu]

𝓢𝓬𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓒𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓻𝓼

//𝓒𝓱𝓸𝓲 𝓢𝓸𝓸𝓫𝓲𝓷//

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Pairing: Soobin x Reader.

Tag: Café!au.

W/C: 1810.

Chapter summary: Soobin starts working at Screaming Colors.

Chapter 1.

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1

Sage green were the tiles on the wall. you faced as you arranged the many things placed on the counter. Packets of sugar you placed in a cup. The cup was to be placed on the collection counter. There were a series of tasks you'd have to do every morning to prepare for the day ahead of you. You enjoyed doing them. At least, now you did. For life seemed to be more monotonous, you found tiny packets of joy in tasks as simple as arranging packets of sugars. 

 The sound of the door swinging open made you look up. Finally, your co-workers Huening Kai and Beomgyu had arrived. It was something you'd anticipate. Working in a busy café all by yourself would be difficult. The place was understaffed because it had opened recently. You even brought the issue up to the owner once. The old lady told you, with the sweetest smile, that she would hire another person soon. All you could do was try to not get distracted by her colorful, fancy earrings as she spoke. Seeing her smile, you smiled, hoping she'd stick to her word. Well, she didn't hire anyone very soon. 

She stuck to her words, though. Today was the day the new guy was going to start working. "Good morning," said the two boys in unison as they walked toward you. "Morning," you greeted them. Your eyes then landed on the boy who had walked in behind them. The tall boy gave you a small, polite smile. "Good morning," he said awkwardly, making Huening Kai laugh. Laughing when nothing funny had happened was a very common thing for Huening Kai to do. You were used to it. "He's Soobin, the new guy," informed Beomgyu. "Oh. Nice to meet you." "You too." 

 On your first day of work, you were unsure of if you would be decent at the job even. Well, you were pretty good. The best thing about being a barista was the power you held. You had the power to set the tone of someone's day. People walking in, yet to consume their daily dose of caffeine, interacted with you every morning. You tried to make the interactions as positive as possible, even though some of them seemed rather cranky with clouded minds. 

 Your interactions with the customers were amazing. At least, that's what Soobin thought. Taking orders was your job. Preparing the drinks and meals, were the jobs assigned to Beomgyu and Huening Kai. Though Beomgyu had taken over the duty to explain to him how the café would be run, you had managed to gain his interest. You truly enjoyed the job, he could conclude. The morning he had spent placing muffins and pastries on the plates, when they were demanded and then washing the rather colorful plates and cups. 

 "I hope you had a good first day," you said to Soobin. There was a smile on your face as you adjusted the bag over your shoulder. The shift did come to an end after all. It was evening when the four of you found yourselves walking down the same lane as you always did. "Yes. Thank you," he said to you, making you chuckle. You found the formality cute. His nervousness showed through his awkward mannerism.  "Don't thank her. I taught you everything," said Beomgyu, confident as ever. He really did take pride in his mentoring. Soobin shyly turned to him. "Thank you," he said to Beomgyu. It was a rather funny sight to watch someone actually take Beomgyu seriously. Huening Kai and you shared a look before laughing. "Wow. He's so nice," you praised. "You were like this when you joined too. Look at you now," said Huening Kai, earning a light slap on his arm. "I am nice." 

 The not so meaningful conversation came to an end when the lane did. Waving at the other three guys, you turned to the left. Everytime you'd part ways with them here. This was when you felt more lonely because someone once waited for you, right at the turn, on weekends. The boy named Yeonjun, was your lover. Outside the café, you were lonely because most of your time you would spend with him. Living in apartments just a series of steps away, made it easy for you to do so. When you two were kids, you would build sand castles with him. That was your earliest memory of being his friend. The latest memory was the one of him ending the relationship for he had to move to the states. You two were distant, soon the memories would be. He hadn't even cared to call you once or twice. Not even his new number you knew. The birthday wish you had sent to them on instagram, was never read. As if, he had realized that he was happier without the relationship. 

Still you tried to convince yourself otherwise. You held onto meaningless hope, you wished you could let go of. You couldn't. Such things weren't as easy to you as you wished they were. 

On Sunday, Soobin was the second one to arrive. He had walked in to see you lost in your thoughts as you stared at the green tiles. The golden sunlight highlighted the tip of your nose. Your lips were curved into a frown. It was a sight beautiful but sad. You were more cheerful the day before. He cleared his throat to earn a cheerful greeting. You smiled when you saw him standing there. "Good morning," you said to him. "Good morning," he said shyly before heading to the back room. 

Few minutes later, you watched Beomgyu and Huening Kai running into the store. Startled, you could only question the reason. "Why are you guys running?," you asked. The two boys were panting. Beomgyu even sat down on the floor. This only made you wonder if you should lock the door or something. "Will you guys answer?" Huening Kai decided to destroy your curiosity. "We saw Miss Park's car on our way here. Didn't want her to know that we were late," he let you know. The two of them then rushed into the back room. Soobin who walked out as they went in, gave them a look of curiosity. "The owner is on her way," you let him know. "The two of them don't want her to know that they're late again so the rush," you explained. The tall boy came and stood beside you. "They're late often?," he asked casually.    

 "Yeah. The two of them plan on coming here together. Beomgyu oversleeps. Huening Kai is an angel who waits for him without complaining. That's how they get late," you went on. Soobin's lips formed  a small 'oh.' His face to you seemed rather beautiful. The comforting kind of beautiful. It was his nose that caught your attention. It was so cute. You wished you could tell it out loud or maybe poke his cheeks. You couldn't. That wouldn't be a normal thing to do. So, you didn't do it. You looked outside, through the glass door to see the owner of the café named Screaming Colors, getting out from the red SUV. 

Bright colors really were her thing. At least it suited her bright personality. Even this early in the morning she could get herself to walk into the café with a smile on her face. 

 "Good morning, Miss Park," you greeted the lady. 

  "Good morning, Y/N," she said to you with a warm smile. Miss Park was a stylish woman. Anyone you knew her, knew that. On this day she wore an orange coat over black trousers. To compliment the coat, she wore huge, sunflower earrings. The yellow color was indeed eye catching. "How are you?," she asked. Dragging your attention away from the yellow earrings you looked at her. "I am fine. How have you been, ma'am?," you asked her. "I've been good. I thought of coming in and checking if everything is going well," she said as looked around the café. 

"So, this is the new guy?," she asked. "Yes." "Nice to meet you. I am Choi Soobin." The tall boy bowed slightly while introducing himself. "Nice to meet you, Soobin. I hope you work diligently," she said. She always smiled as she spoke. Some giggles too were heard as she spoke. This woman always sounded so happy, you felt rather dull compared to her. "Where are the other two guys?"

  "We were cleaning the staff room," lied Beomgyu as he walked outside the room. The taller boy, who definitely didn't seem like a good liar, followed the older. "Ah. Good. Good." Them being praised by the older woman for work that you did wasn't the best thing in the world. It just made you stare at Beomgyu with a blank expression. He just gave you a small, mischievous smile. These were the things you had to deal with quite often now. 

 "I know we don't have a lot of staff. It's a new café. There are no dorms around. It's difficult," she said to the four of you. Her apologetic tone made you  feel the need to tell her to not worry. But then again, the manager wouldn't even arrive before noon. Also, Beomgyu really couldn't even get up on time. On a few days, he had definitely arrived much later than he had today. You noticed that his apron wasn't even tied properly. He wanted to make you facepalm so hard. You could not do that. So all you did was give him a small glare. 

 Soobin looked over at you, secretly wishing for this boring conversation to end soon. It was rather awkward to him. Especially since it was just his second day of work. But then again, he didn't have a lot of plans for the day. His best friend who seemed to have been making their friendship complicated had moved to the states. No explanations for the impulsive kisses were left behind for him. He was left to remain curious. Wondering if he was just one of the many people Yeonjun had made such impulsive decisions with. He wished he would have been more than that. Somehow, no one in college felt like they were more than that. They were all left to wonder if there was a reason he didn't date anyone. He was a player they assumed. To Soobin, he didn't seem like one. He was so caring and genuine. Someone Soobin could connect with. He had to be more than just a player.

He would forget about him sooner or later, he assured himself. His classmates had stopped talking about him. His name was not mentioned as much in conversations anymore.

"Well, what about your friend who was interested?," the old woman asked you.

 "Yeonjun? He moved to the states." 

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