[Ongoing] Café Junior - Chapter 7
Café Junior
Chapter 7
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“Let’s see… bus card, check, keys to the café, check.” Gazing around his apartment as he put on his shoes, Jungsu went over his list of things to bring to the café in his mind. Today was a special day. A small duo on the rise of fame had agreed to come and sing at the café today and the boss was excited. He had told all of the others about this and they had been just as excited as well, happily making the arrangements with each other.
“Oh! My cell phone.” The auburn haired manager exclaimed to himself, putting down his bag and making his way to his bedroom; of course, finding his cell phone on the night stand where he usually left it. Just as he was about to pick up the small piece of technical equipment, it lit up and started playing Kim Jong Kook’s, Sarang Surowo as its ring tone. It startled Jungsu for a moment, but as he took a look at the display, a number he thought he’d deleted a long time ago was there.
His heart stopped for a second, but once again he found that his body was separate from his mind as he felt himself pick up the phone and answer the call. “Yeobosyeoyo…?”
“Jungsu yah! I have some time off right now; do you want to meet up downtown? I really want to catch up with you and apologize for surprising you the other day.” The voice at the other end of the line was deep and soothing, but sounded as cheerful as ever. Jungsu felt like his heart was being squeezed with a wrench and ripped out of his chest. He’d told himself over and over again he wouldn’t let Youngwoon ensnare him back into his web of lies and deceit and he’d had the power to stay away from him for a long time now. No. He wouldn’t go. He had the café to manage anyway. Today was important.
“Where do you want to go?”
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“Man, what is taking Jungsu? They’re going to be here any minute and we’re not even close to done!”
Hankyung was at his wit’s end, not knowing heads or tales in this maze of people and equipment that had taken over the café. Fangirls from all over town had come to see their local heroes and the café was filled to its maximum even from the break of dawn.
“Relax hyung, it’s going to be fine. I’m sure Leeteuk hyung will be here soon.” Eunhyuk tried calming the older chef down, but it didn’t work and he ended up becoming even more frustrated than before which showed on his facial expression. He had been trying to coordinate the queue of people outside and the mass inside and needed a break. “It’s times like these I wish I smoked.” He growled, making the young waiter beside him laugh. “You don’t mean that hyung, you’re just frustrated.” Hankyung shot a glare towards the redhead, “Oh you think so?”
“Ya! Why are you two just sitting there? The girls are getting restless.” Heechul managed to squeeze past a few of the girls who were torn about showing their love for their idols and the waiter beside them. You could practically see the hurt in their eyes as Heechul brushed them off and so their choice was made easier. The blonde rubbed his temples and sat down on a chair beside Eunhyuk. “Honestly, I don’t know how men can tolerate screaming fangirls like this all the time.”
Eunhyuk deadpanned, “You’ve got your own, pretty boy. Way to be a hypocrite.”
Heechul smiled sweetly before turning the expression into one of disgust as he looked at the younger waiter. “Don’t be jealous, monkey.”, “Who are you calling monkey?!” The redheaded waiter rose from his seat, readying his fists as he stood in a fighting position towards Heechul. The older one just turned his head and brushed his fingers through his blonde locks. “Idiots always try to use force.”
“What did you say?!”
“Guys! We don’t need this right now!” Hankyung had stood up beside the young waiter and held a hand on his shoulder, holding him back from pummeling the older one. “We already have our hands full, so could you wait until afterwards to kill each other? Thank you.”
A deep sigh of relief left his lips as the two made one last offensive glare towards each other, but quietly kept in their seats.
“Hyung~!” Looking up, Hankyung now saw Donghae trying to make his way through the mass of people from the stage he had been setting up with Sungmin and Kibum’s help. “The lights are all up now and ready to go.” He announced cheerfully, saluting as if he was in the army. The head chef nodded and checked it off on his list of things to be done. “Great. And it looks like the sound is good too.” Sungmin’s voice could be heard through the café as he tested the microphones and blushed when the girls started squealing because of it.
A smile finally manifested itself upon the Chinese man’s lips as he folded his list together. “Everything should be set then.”
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“What?! What do you mean you’ve been held back in traffic? We have a café full of girls here, waiting to see you!”
“I’m really sorry Hangeng ssi. But we probably won’t be getting out of here for at least a couple of hours.”
As the phone call ended, Hankyung was out of options. He didn’t know how to break this to his employees who had spent so much time setting up, but what he was most afraid of was what the fans would think. They had spent all day there without getting even a shred of the entertainment they had come for. He sighed as he ran his hand through his dark blonde hair, resting his elbows on the desk he sat at. [i]What should we do?[/i]
A knock at the door alerted him to another presence and he looked up, seeing Yesung’s youthful face popping in through the crack at the door. “Hyung… I sort of overheard your conversation and I was wondering; what are we going to do?” His face was full of worry and the chef leaned back in his chair, almost throwing his cell phone onto the desk. “I honestly don’t know. Jungsu decides to miss the one day of work where we need him the most and now this. We can’t tell those girls out there that they’re not gonna be able to see their idols. They’ll be crushed.”
Yesung nodded, “I know.” Silence lingered in the room as they tried coming up with ways to tell the girls that there wouldn’t be any entertaining after all. It would be such a disaster.
“Wait…” Yesung suddenly spoke up, a pink blush present on his cheeks. “W-what if… well, I know it wouldn’t be as good as the real thing but… what if I went up there and sang instead?” Hankyung lowered the hand he had been rubbing over his face to look at the jet-black haired man, his interest piqued. “I mean… I’ve been singing a lot of my life a-and I know Eunhyuk and Donghae can dance…”
“Yesung!”
The sudden exclamation startled the younger one and he stood up straight, almost anticipating being turned down immediately. “You’re a genius!” Blinking, Yesung thought he had heard wrong at first, but Hankyung’s triumphant look on his face was unmistakable. “You should go pick a song and inform Donghae and Eunhyuk and get something together. Go go go!”
As the young singer left the room, Hankyung fell back in his chair, leaning as far back as he could and closed his eyes. 'They’ll be disappointed, but at least it’s something for their troubles.'
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“We know that you’re extremely disappointed right now, but allow us to make up for it with our own little show. Plus, when you leave the café tonight, you’ll get free coffee vouchers for the rest of the month! So everybody, please give it up for our very own… Yeeesung!”
Applause quietly spurred from certain parts of the large group of girls that had gathered while others weren’t exactly sure if this guy would be any good, plus their disappointment being obvious. Yesung, however had expressed his concerns about going on stage to Kibum before actually going there. Kibum had just smiled and rubbed the older man’s shoulders, reassuring him everything would be fine. It was partially that, that made him even go up there. The raven haired singer stood in front of the mic, nodding to Donghae that he could turn on the music.
Slow, beautiful piano sounds resounded quietly through the room, almost instantly silencing the chattering group of girls. Yesung’s grip around the mic intensified as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, softly uttering the first words of the song.
And the room went completely quiet.
Yesung’s soft vocals reached out to everyone as he sang the slow love song. His voice pitch perfect as he reached baritones and high notes. When the song picked up pace through the middle, the girls had already started to squeal and wave their arms above their hands in unison. His performance was spell binding and one person in particular stood back and watched him from afar, his surprise evident on his face.
This was not what Kibum had been expecting.
And as the song finished, it took a few moments for everyone to realize before everyone broke out in loud applause and squealing, making the already embarrassed Yesung even more embarrassed than he had been in his life.
Hankyung smiled as he watched the scene unfold in front of him, his arms wrapped across his chest. He was pleasantly surprised by Yesung’s capabilities and as Donghae and Eunhyuk joined him on the stage, he couldn’t help but laugh at how right it seemed for them to be up there.
“So the boss never came today, huh?”
Hankyung let his gaze wander to the voice beside him before returning back to looking at the trio’s antics up on stage. “Yeah. But Jungsu is a big boy, hopefully he can handle himself.”
The blonde smiled quietly before pulling himself up on the counter and resting his hands on either side of himself. “True.” He paused, a small smirk on the side of his lips. “But then why are you worrying so much?”
The Chinese man didn’t respond to Heechul’s question simply because he was stunned at how the older man saw right through him, not that he would ever admit to it though.
“I’m worried about the café, is all. Don’t read too much into it.”
Heechul mused to himself and nodded, smiling a bit. “Yes, sir.”
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In another part of town, the moon had already risen onto the early night sky; leaving the soft cherry, orange and lavender colors to dominate the vastness. A pair of tired eyes fluttered open, their vision blurry as they blinked a few times. The window gave a perfect view outside, seeing as the building was almost fifty storey’s high.
But Jungsu knew that this wasn’t a place he was supposed to be. He shifted a bit on the bed he laid on and sat up on the edge, his feet trembling at the coldness of the floor. He rested his arms on his legs, sinking together as he covered his ears with his hands. He should have known this was going to happen. He should never have agreed to come in the first place.
His gaze glanced over his shoulder, watching as Youngwoon’s chest rose and fell in time with his breathing. His hair was messy and the white covers only draped over the lower part of his body. Jungsu hated this man. He hated him more than anything in the world for raking him back into his own world. The one he’d been trying to escape from for so long…
“Mn, Jungsu… why are you awake?”
A pair of warm, strong arms slid around the older one’s thin waist, instantly spreading warmth - warmth Jungsu both detested and loved - through his body as his chest pressed against his back. The older one didn’t answer immediately, sighing as he let his fingers run over Youngwoon’s cheek as his gaze kept looking outside. “Just thinking, go back to sleep.”
The grip tightened a little bit, a soft kiss being placed on his neckline. “Only if you come with me.” Youngwoon murmured against Jungsu’s milky skin, his kisses growing wetter as he slid his tongue over the small, almost unnoticeable mark he had left earlier. An involuntary moan slipped from the other’s mouth, his eyes closing as he let the younger, stronger one pull him back onto the bed and placed him with his back against the sheets.
Soon, the hotel room was filled with soft groans from both men. Jungsu arched his back at the attention Youngwoon was giving him all over his body in forms of kisses, caresses and softly spoken words; his arms tightly folded around the broad shoulders his younger lover had. Youngwoon’s raven hair mixed with Jungsu’s auburn as he leaned down against his ear - whispering soft, reassuring words of love and promises, trying to calm Jungsu down as he rocked his hips against his.
Jungsu wasn’t sure if the tears that rolled down his cheek were from the physical pain he was receiving - no, it definitely wasn’t that.
It was the emotional wounds that had been healed long ago which opened once more - and this time around, Jungsu didn’t know if he was strong enough to close them again.