The Maid Prince (Chapter 1)
Title: The Maid Prince
Rating: PG-13 (for this chapter)
Pairing: 2Min
Summary: Getting a job for a university student is nearly impossible nowadays and it doesn't help when Taemin's scholarship runs out and he suddenly has to pay for school himself. The only job available is at a local maid cafe, a popular restaurant where young women dress as maid and treat their customers as their masters. Taemin applies imagining he'll be hired for kitchenwork but the owner confuses him for a girl from his feminine looks and offers him a job as a maid. Not willing to risk passing up a good-paying job, he accepts.
aka: something to keep you busy while I write my 1000 other fics
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"Minho," Joongsu tapped the boy's shoulder to get his attention. "You look like you need a break..."
Minho lifted his head from the counter and was surprised by the brightness of the lights. "Oh, yeah..." He flattened his wrinkled shirt and vest and picked up the tray. "Do I have any tables?"
Joong laughed. "No, but you'd better get on the ball. Boss is probably watching." He smiled and walked away to serve a table of women who'd just entered.
The small restaurant was especially busy for a Friday night.
Minho approached a table with a few businessmen. "Good evening, can I start your dinner with some drinks?" Before even receiving an answer, he poured wine into their glasses as he'd been trained.
Perhaps it was the build up of stress or the sudden oncoming of sleepiness that struck him again because out of nowhere he fell forward and spilled the wine on the table and one of the businessmen. "Omo, I'm so sorry!" Minho rushed to clean it up but the red stain had already soaked into everything.
"Get your manager! This is unbelievable. I've never had service like this!" The prestigious man was outraged and his fellow diners glared at him angrily.
Without another word, Minho bowed deeply and ran to the kitchen, face beet red.
"Kyunghee hyung," Minho held his head and tugged on his manager's shirt. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" For a manager, Kyunghee was only a few years older than Minho.
"Just go to table eight... they demanded to see you."
"Demanded? Oh what happened this time?" Kyunghee pinched the bridge of his nose and bravely walked out into the restaurant. Joongsu walked in shortly after.
"Minho, what's up with you lately? Are you okay?" He bent to try and see Minho's shadowed face. "Did something happen with Sooyoung?"
That was it. Joongsu knew Minho too well.
"Ah, hyung. We broke up a few days ago." Minho solemnly confessed. It had been a rough breakup, too.
"Aigoo, come here~" Joonsu took Minho into a bone-crushing brotherly hug. "That explains everything. Why don't we go out for a drink or something later?"
"I just want to get this shift overwith and sleep hyung.." Minho stood limply.
Kyunghee came back with a scowl on his face. "Minho-yah, what happened? I convinced them to stay, but the meal is coming out of your paycheck."
"Hyung, give the guy a break! Him and Sooyoung broke up." Joongsu wasn't the greatest at being delicate with sensitive information.
Kyunghee looked to Minho and sighed. "Well, I'm sorry. Half of the meal then, alright? Go home and get some sleep, you have panda eyes."
~*~
Minho barely got his uniform off before he fell onto his bed. Every stressor was piling on top of him; work, school, finances, and now Sooyoung. He wasn't necessarily upset about the breakup but she was making his life a living hell for being the one who broke it off.
The truth was that he wasn't sure how he felt about women anymore.
It was a frustrating complex going on in his mind. He didn't consider himself gay by any means and hadn't even thought about trying to be with a guy either... but the thought of being with a woman for one day longer simply bothered him.
Maybe curious was the right word.
As much of a gentleman that he was, he wouldn't dare 'experiment' if he was committed to someone in a relationship.
Hence, Choi Minho and Kwon Sooyoung are no longer an item.
These spinning thoughts kept him awake every night.
~*~
"Okay, so, if I wait until next week to pay the electric bill, I should have enough for groceries this week. Then next week when I pay the electric bill I'll be able to pay half of the water bill.... aish." Taemin hit his head on the desk. Doing calculations for bills was always stressful since he started living alone, but he insisted on doing everything himself.
He'd moved into an apartment that was closer to both school and work so he wouldn't have to pay for commuting, but the place was terrible. Drafty too.
Taemin looked to the clock. "Time for work..." He reluctantly changed into the most humiliating outfit he's ever worn; a maid uniform. A women's maid uniform. It took him about 45 minutes to curl his hair and apply makeup too, but this was something he had to live with for a while.
Taemin's eternally grumpy-looking orange cat watched him carefully as he left for work.
"Don't look at me like that, Snickers..." He sighed and left for the maid cafe where everyone there knew him as "Taeyeon," a pretty 19-year-old college girl.
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A/N: The names of Minho's co-workers are random and are not affiliated with any other popstars.
Also Kwon Sooyoung is my friend IRL lol
And this is what I picture their uniforms to look like:
Yes that is Lee Uhn from Coffee Prince :)