#the things u find cuz of a review of ‘the menu’

[daemon-in-my-head]

The ‘Judas Kiss’ statue inside the Lateran Palace in Rome.

It’s screaming durgetash. It’s screaming very loudly. Look it up. I can’t be the only one tormented by this.

[luvknow]

barista au | lee minho

❝ hey, how’s it goin’ ~? are you ready to order? ❞ ❝ do you have any suggestions? ❞

LEE MINHO

afternoon/early night shift has tasted every item on the menu The DJ™ dances behind the counter when he thinks no one’s watching often forgets which customer he was helping

chan | woojin | MINHO | changbin | hyunjin | jisung | felix | seungmin | jeongin

the first thing minho does when he walks into work is change the radio station.

chan was already gone for the day, so he had full access to dj, since he was the oldest one between the boys that were on the clock.

he liked the lofi hip hop station the most because it was sfw but still poppin’, y’know.

minho liked the afternoon/early night shift the most because there were less customers at that time.

either people had class or they were on their lunch break eating real food with actual sustenance and not just sugary breads and pastries.

it’s not that he disliked dealing with customers, it’s just he likes being immersed into the lofi music and practices his dance moves to the beats.

besides, the less customers, the easier it was for him to remember who had ordered what.

but most of the time, the customers didn’t really mind he had forgotten.

his toothy grin made them forget that he took so long.

“ah, i’m sorry for the wait! i forgot what you looked like for a second.”

“th-that’s ok...!”

customers still tipped him, anyways...

cafe glow was the one cafe you hadn’t visited on campus yet simply because it was so out of the way from your home and classes.

but you’ve heard so many incredible reviews about this place that you thought you should treat yourself after a long morning of back-to-back lectures.

walking inside, you could see why so many people liked this place.

there were lots of tables to sit at;

the music was fit the atmosphere;

the menu looked promising;

an especially because all of the workers were incredibly handsome.

there were no customers waiting at the register, which usually meant that you would be assisted right away, right?

wrong.

the red head was busy cleaning the tables, the black haired one was busy taking pictures of the food, and the last one was dancing and popping to the beat of the music behind the register.

his back was facing you, so he hadn’t noticed that you walked up to the register yet.

it was a funny sight to see and you had to bite your bottom lip to stop you from making any noise that would let him know you were waiting.

you simply waited for him to turn around and notice you.

it wasn’t until the song stopped a couple minutes later when he turned back around.

his eyes widened at your playful smile.

“u-uh, hey! how’s it goin’...!” he stuttered nervously. “h-how long have you been waiting...?”

“a couple of minutes. i wanted to wait until you were finished.”

“oh jeez, i’m so sorry i kept you waiting!”

“no, it’s ok! i liked watching you.”

“really?”

“yeah! you’re really good. oh gosh, did that sound weird?”

“no, of course not! no one’s ever really said that to me before,” he said, scratching the back of his head shyly.

you thought he was so boyish and so cute.

boys like him were your weakness.

“are you ready to order?” he asked.

“it’s my first time here. do you have any suggestions?”

“oh, welcome to cafe glow!!! and it really depends on what you like. do you like tea or coffee?”

“i like both. i’m not really picky, to be honest... can you surprise me?”

“that’s a lot of power you’re giving me. are you sure you want to do that?” he challenged.

he averted his playful gaze when you giggled at him, showing your cute eye-smile.

“i trust you. surprise me with a drink that you think i’d like.”

“hmm...”

minho scratched his chin while he eyed you suspiciously for a couple of seconds.

with a snap of his finger and not another word, he quickly got to work on your surprise drink.

moments later, a pink drink topped with whipped cream was handed to you.

“what made you think i’d like this?”

“a sweet customer needs a sweet drink!” he winked playfully.

“well, you’re not wrong,” you said, taking another sip of the sugary drink. “you’re spot on, actually. i like it a lot.”

“thank goodness, i was afraid you were gonna hate it...”

“like i said, i’m not picky ~ i’ll come back and try something new again.”

“come back? when will that be? you know, so i can prepare and stuff...” minho covered up smoothly.

“it’ll be a surprise."

“what, that’s not fair!”

“have a nice day ~”

for the remainder of his shift when he had free time, minho made a schedule of all the drinks he wanted you to try.

the list went on until he had every item on the menu.

which was like, a lot of stuff...

he didn’t even know how often you’d be coming in, let alone knew when you’d even come back the next time!

but then you came back the next day.

and then after that, you didn’t come back until a week later.

you were just a tease, weren’t you?

you had him waiting for you to come back all week.

“you’re back!” he cheered happily when he saw you walking in.

“are you always this excited to see returning customers?”

“if i’m being honest, i don’t really remember other customers this well...”

“oh? i guess i’m special then, huh?”

“yeah,” he agreed. his gentle smile was genuine and soft that it had you weak in the knees.

“i have a new surprise for you ~” he sang.

and that’s how it went every time you visited cafe glow.

he welcomed you into his second home with open arms and made you try a new drink each time.

there were drinks that you loved and there were drinks that you absolutely could not stand, but if finishing the drink meant that you would get to see the cute barista smiling at you, then so be it - let your taste buds suffer.

minho knew he wasn’t the best barista in the cafe.

he knew there were times he put too much sugar or too little in your drinks.

and sometimes it showed in your face, even though you were trying so hard to hide it.

yet you still finished the entire drink every time.

it was finals week on a cold december day when you would be coming in for the last time until next semester.

you had been studying your ass off the last couple of weeks to get all of your essays done, finish all of the study guides, and reviewed all of the material you needed to know for all of your finals.

minho could tell by how stressed you were by your tired eyes paired with your tired smile.

“hey,” he greeted softly. “are you ok?”

“yeah... i’m just tired, that’s all.”

“do you want coffee -”

“nuh-uh! i still want the surprise drink! it’s the last one, isn’t it?”

“mmhmm. i’ll be right back.”

you waited for him patiently. he could take as long as he could if he wanted to. you were just going to lay your head down on a table and rest your eyes just for a second...

“psst,” he hissed once he arrived, but you didn’t wake up.

first, minho whipped out his phone and took a quick picture of you.

there was no way he would pass up that opportunity - you were way too cute.

then, he poked your cheek gently, but you were barely waking up.

it was moments like these where he wished he had stayed by your side instead of making you your drink.

like the time spilled all of the spoons by the sugar station;

and the time he caught you dancing to the music;

and the time he saw another guy flirting with you.

and now you were sleeping on the table when it was so obvious that his shoulder was much more comfortable.

but regardless, after so many weeks of casual coffee talk, you were still here, next to him.

and that’s all he could ever ask for.

“hm?” you mumbled, slowly rising up from your grave.

minho laid a supportive hand on your back. “i have your last drink of the semester.”

in the cup was a rich hot chocolate with heart-shaped marshmallows.

“pink heart marshmallows? that’s a surprise for sure.”

“do you like them?”

“they’re really cute.”

“good, ‘cuz i searched every market on campus for those. they’re hard to find when it’s not valentine’s day...”

“you did that? for me?” minho gave you a shy nod. “why? you didn’t have to do that.”

“but i wanted to! i won’t be seeing you for a while, and i guess it’s my way of saying that i’ll miss you.”

you were stunned silent.

who knew the cute barista boy who danced behind the counter like no one was watching without a worry in the world would miss a plain jane customer like yourself.

your silence made minho nervous, thinking that you didn’t feel the same way.

“w-well, have a nice winter break...! good luck on your finals -”

before he could get up to leave, you pressed a gentle kiss on his flushed cheek.

now he was stunned silent.

“i’ll miss you, too,” you admitted.

thank god.

“so can i get your number, or something? or do you want to go on a date first? o-or study together?”

“how about all of the above?”