Coffee Bastard, Part 2
Title: Coffee Bastard: Changtique Shoppe, The Sequel
Pairings/Characters: Yoochun/Junsu, Jaejoong/Changmin, Heechul/Yunho
Rating/Warnings: T for language and (eventual) making out
Disclaimer: I own nothing; written just for fun
Summary: Ryeowook makes an announcement.
Coffee Bastard, Part 2
Yoochun entered the coffee shop, the bell ringing brightly above him, to find all of the usual crowd, minus Jaejoong, gathered expectantly around the counter.
“Welcome, welcome!” Ryeowook lifted a hand from the countertop to wave Yoochun over to the group.
“Hey,” Yoochun gave a small wave to everyone before turning to Ryeowook. “Could I get a triple--”
“First,” Ryeowook silenced his most recent arrival with a raised palm and a magnificent swish of silky hair, “I have an announcement to make.”
“So we’ve heard,” Kyuhyun growled, kicking at the rung of his barstool with a grungy sneaker. “Let’s get this over with, Hyung. I have dishes to wash and...stuff.”
“Stuff?” Heechul scoffed, rising from his perch on Yunho’s lap to poke at Kyuhyun’s hunched shoulders with a pointy nail. “As if you actually do any of the work around here!”
“Hey!” Kyuhyun made a lazy swing at Heechul’s arm but missed by a good foot.
“I don’t suppose Jaejoong can come just now?” Ryeowook asked Yoochun with a smile, calmly ignoring the impatience of his petulant employee. Yoochun took one look over to Changmin’s puffy face and rigid form in a chair pulled flush against Yunho’s and shook his head.
“Maybe...you can just call Jae? Like, maybe on Thursday? He should be civil enough to answer the phone by then. I think.” Yoochun looked over his shoulder again, trying to spot an empty chair near enough to drag over but instead satisfied himself with stuffing his fists into the pockets of his sweatpants and leaning against the counter. The atmosphere inside the shop was a little...awkward at the moment.
“So--I’m thinking of closing the shop!” Ryeowook finally broke the growing stretch of silence with a beaming proclamation that did not match the tone of its contents. A toddler by the corner window suddenly started to wail.
“What??” Kyuhyun almost fell off his barstool, the staggering shock of the news hit him so hard. “But, but how will I eat? What will I do with my life?” He teetered and flailed his arms, either to catch his balance or because he thought imitating a dying turkey could somehow convince Ryeowook that this idea was a horror and a travesty. Neither one worked, though, and he landed on his ass with a dull thud.
“You could do something awesome, like come work for me?” Yoochun tried to joke, giving Kyuhyun a hand up from the ground.
“No!” Kyuhyun slapped his hand away like an angry toddler and hoisted himself to his feet.
“Then...you could do something lame, like what you already do anyway?” Heechul drawled, not even bothering to leave his seat to dodge Kyuhyun’s punch this time. Yunho easily deflected Kyuhyun with a raised arm and snuggled Heechul closer.
“You’re quitting?” Yunho asked Ryeowook in a quiet voice. Yoochun turned to stare. He hadn’t seen Yunho’s warm eyes that disappointed in a long time, not since--
“No, not quitting just-”
“You’re closing the shop?” Changmin repeated the statement incredulously, folding his arms across his chest as stiffly as he had during his faceoff with Jaejoong.
“It’s more like a sabbatical.” Ryeowook shrugged and scratched at his head, glancing off to the side as if to take a mental inventory of which syrup flavors he would be needing to replace soon.
“A sabbatical,” Changmin repeated in a hard tone, “from cake. Who the hell needs a vacation from cake?” Yoochun winced as Changmin’s voice escalated in pitch, remembering the ungodly screech that had managed to shut Jaejoong up. He hoped nothing that obnoxious would happen again for at least a half a week.
“Your fat ass?” Kyuhyun smirked, kicking at the rung of Changmin’s chair this time.
“Shut up, Kyu.” At the hard edge in Changmin’s voice and a warning look of concern from Yunho Kyuhyun fell silent, although he glared right back at Changmin.
“I dunno, I’m just...tired.” Ryeowook let out a heavy sigh, scrubbing at his cheekbones with the heels of his hands. “And itchy. I wanna write.”
“Then write a new menu for god’s sake and--!”
“I want to finish the novel I started senior year,” Ryeowook’s quiet voice cut off the beginning of another rant of protest from Kyuhyun.
“And eat what while you fuck around with your novel?”
“Yoochun’s friend set me up with this freelancing gig. I’m going to write a weekly advice column for his blog. Doesn’t that sound like fun?” Ryeowook raised his eyebrows expectantly at the circle and giggled, though the mirth didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“My friend?” Yoochun blinked. “Which friend?”
“Advice column?” Kyuhyun pouted, yanking at the collar of his thick gray sweater. “What the hell, Wook!”
“Who knows, maybe if it goes viral they’ll offer me a radio show,” Ryeowook teased, leaning forward to give Kyuhyun a coy wink.
“In your dreams!” Changmin spat out bitterly, surprising even Heechul in his intensity.
“Changmin-ah,” Ryeowook moaned pitifully, his serene smile suddenly melting from his face as he flopped forward onto the counter and buried his face in his forearms. Changmin looked up with a start, his jaw working in nervous tension. “You of all people should understand me. Don’t you ever just get tired of it all?” Ryeowook continued, his voice now slightly muffled by his shirtsleeves but still audibly poignant. “Tired of business, I mean. Tired of your shop?”
“Nope.” Changmin didn’t have to consider the question at all. “It’s the most comfortable place for me, actually.” He coughed slightly, his voice still unusually husky, from all the yelling earlier Yoochun guessed.
“But you live there,” Ryeowook countered. “That’s different, it’s your home. This is…” He lifted his head from the crook of his arm to gaze around the cafe, taking in the smiling couples leaning in over formica tabletops to exchange secret smiles, high school kids slouching in chrome chairs with ipods and pastries to keep them company over math homework, old ladies sipping tea out of fine china and bragging about their pet shih tzus’ new haircuts.
“...Our home!” Kyuhyun wailed, filling in for his boss. “You can’t do this Ryeowook!”
“Give it three years,” Ryeowook said gently, reaching across the counter to pat Changmin’s head. “Give it three years and you’ll be sick of everything.” Changmin bristled at the touch.
“Dude, we opened the same year! We bought real estate here together so we could live in the same neighborhood!”
“Don’t waste your breath trying to talk me out of this, because I’ve decided.” Ryeowook turned around, leaning his back against the counter to roll up his sleeves. “Thank you all for your time and attention.”
“Are you dismissing us now, or what?” Heechul asked, getting to his feet with a grudging laugh.
“Sure, as you wish,” Ryeowook waved them off with a limp hand, not bothering to turn around. “All except for Mr. Cho, of course.” Kyuhyun groaned and slithered off his stool to go wash dishes and...stuff.
“See you later, crocodiles.” Heechul toodled his fingers at everyone before pulling Yunho out of his seat with a sharp yank and dragging him towards the door. Changmin rose to his feet with a suffering sigh and slumped off to an unoccupied corner table and settled down with a thick novel, his back turned on the world.
“So…” Yoochun started hesitantly, pulling on the strings of his hoodie. Ryeowook ignored him, scrolling idly on his phone still facing the kitchen. Yoochun tried again louder, “could I maybe order my drink now?”
“Oh my god, Yoochun! Go away!” Kyuhyun hollered from the kitchen. Ryeowook started to hum the chorus of an upbeat APink song, still blatantly ignoring his customer.
Yoochun looked over at the baby still crying in the corner, who was just about to the reach the almost-out-of-tears-wheezing stage, and walked out the door. Changmin had probably replaced the instant coffee at home the last time he went shopping. Hopefully.
Pairings/Characters: Yoochun/Junsu, Jaejoong/Changmin, Heechul/Yunho
Rating/Warnings: T for language and (eventual) making out
Disclaimer: I own nothing; written just for fun
Summary: Ryeowook makes an announcement.
Coffee Bastard, Part 2
Yoochun entered the coffee shop, the bell ringing brightly above him, to find all of the usual crowd, minus Jaejoong, gathered expectantly around the counter.
“Welcome, welcome!” Ryeowook lifted a hand from the countertop to wave Yoochun over to the group.
“Hey,” Yoochun gave a small wave to everyone before turning to Ryeowook. “Could I get a triple--”
“First,” Ryeowook silenced his most recent arrival with a raised palm and a magnificent swish of silky hair, “I have an announcement to make.”
“So we’ve heard,” Kyuhyun growled, kicking at the rung of his barstool with a grungy sneaker. “Let’s get this over with, Hyung. I have dishes to wash and...stuff.”
“Stuff?” Heechul scoffed, rising from his perch on Yunho’s lap to poke at Kyuhyun’s hunched shoulders with a pointy nail. “As if you actually do any of the work around here!”
“Hey!” Kyuhyun made a lazy swing at Heechul’s arm but missed by a good foot.
“I don’t suppose Jaejoong can come just now?” Ryeowook asked Yoochun with a smile, calmly ignoring the impatience of his petulant employee. Yoochun took one look over to Changmin’s puffy face and rigid form in a chair pulled flush against Yunho’s and shook his head.
“Maybe...you can just call Jae? Like, maybe on Thursday? He should be civil enough to answer the phone by then. I think.” Yoochun looked over his shoulder again, trying to spot an empty chair near enough to drag over but instead satisfied himself with stuffing his fists into the pockets of his sweatpants and leaning against the counter. The atmosphere inside the shop was a little...awkward at the moment.
“So--I’m thinking of closing the shop!” Ryeowook finally broke the growing stretch of silence with a beaming proclamation that did not match the tone of its contents. A toddler by the corner window suddenly started to wail.
“What??” Kyuhyun almost fell off his barstool, the staggering shock of the news hit him so hard. “But, but how will I eat? What will I do with my life?” He teetered and flailed his arms, either to catch his balance or because he thought imitating a dying turkey could somehow convince Ryeowook that this idea was a horror and a travesty. Neither one worked, though, and he landed on his ass with a dull thud.
“You could do something awesome, like come work for me?” Yoochun tried to joke, giving Kyuhyun a hand up from the ground.
“No!” Kyuhyun slapped his hand away like an angry toddler and hoisted himself to his feet.
“Then...you could do something lame, like what you already do anyway?” Heechul drawled, not even bothering to leave his seat to dodge Kyuhyun’s punch this time. Yunho easily deflected Kyuhyun with a raised arm and snuggled Heechul closer.
“You’re quitting?” Yunho asked Ryeowook in a quiet voice. Yoochun turned to stare. He hadn’t seen Yunho’s warm eyes that disappointed in a long time, not since--
“No, not quitting just-”
“You’re closing the shop?” Changmin repeated the statement incredulously, folding his arms across his chest as stiffly as he had during his faceoff with Jaejoong.
“It’s more like a sabbatical.” Ryeowook shrugged and scratched at his head, glancing off to the side as if to take a mental inventory of which syrup flavors he would be needing to replace soon.
“A sabbatical,” Changmin repeated in a hard tone, “from cake. Who the hell needs a vacation from cake?” Yoochun winced as Changmin’s voice escalated in pitch, remembering the ungodly screech that had managed to shut Jaejoong up. He hoped nothing that obnoxious would happen again for at least a half a week.
“Your fat ass?” Kyuhyun smirked, kicking at the rung of Changmin’s chair this time.
“Shut up, Kyu.” At the hard edge in Changmin’s voice and a warning look of concern from Yunho Kyuhyun fell silent, although he glared right back at Changmin.
“I dunno, I’m just...tired.” Ryeowook let out a heavy sigh, scrubbing at his cheekbones with the heels of his hands. “And itchy. I wanna write.”
“Then write a new menu for god’s sake and--!”
“I want to finish the novel I started senior year,” Ryeowook’s quiet voice cut off the beginning of another rant of protest from Kyuhyun.
“And eat what while you fuck around with your novel?”
“Yoochun’s friend set me up with this freelancing gig. I’m going to write a weekly advice column for his blog. Doesn’t that sound like fun?” Ryeowook raised his eyebrows expectantly at the circle and giggled, though the mirth didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“My friend?” Yoochun blinked. “Which friend?”
“Advice column?” Kyuhyun pouted, yanking at the collar of his thick gray sweater. “What the hell, Wook!”
“Who knows, maybe if it goes viral they’ll offer me a radio show,” Ryeowook teased, leaning forward to give Kyuhyun a coy wink.
“In your dreams!” Changmin spat out bitterly, surprising even Heechul in his intensity.
“Changmin-ah,” Ryeowook moaned pitifully, his serene smile suddenly melting from his face as he flopped forward onto the counter and buried his face in his forearms. Changmin looked up with a start, his jaw working in nervous tension. “You of all people should understand me. Don’t you ever just get tired of it all?” Ryeowook continued, his voice now slightly muffled by his shirtsleeves but still audibly poignant. “Tired of business, I mean. Tired of your shop?”
“Nope.” Changmin didn’t have to consider the question at all. “It’s the most comfortable place for me, actually.” He coughed slightly, his voice still unusually husky, from all the yelling earlier Yoochun guessed.
“But you live there,” Ryeowook countered. “That’s different, it’s your home. This is…” He lifted his head from the crook of his arm to gaze around the cafe, taking in the smiling couples leaning in over formica tabletops to exchange secret smiles, high school kids slouching in chrome chairs with ipods and pastries to keep them company over math homework, old ladies sipping tea out of fine china and bragging about their pet shih tzus’ new haircuts.
“...Our home!” Kyuhyun wailed, filling in for his boss. “You can’t do this Ryeowook!”
“Give it three years,” Ryeowook said gently, reaching across the counter to pat Changmin’s head. “Give it three years and you’ll be sick of everything.” Changmin bristled at the touch.
“Dude, we opened the same year! We bought real estate here together so we could live in the same neighborhood!”
“Don’t waste your breath trying to talk me out of this, because I’ve decided.” Ryeowook turned around, leaning his back against the counter to roll up his sleeves. “Thank you all for your time and attention.”
“Are you dismissing us now, or what?” Heechul asked, getting to his feet with a grudging laugh.
“Sure, as you wish,” Ryeowook waved them off with a limp hand, not bothering to turn around. “All except for Mr. Cho, of course.” Kyuhyun groaned and slithered off his stool to go wash dishes and...stuff.
“See you later, crocodiles.” Heechul toodled his fingers at everyone before pulling Yunho out of his seat with a sharp yank and dragging him towards the door. Changmin rose to his feet with a suffering sigh and slumped off to an unoccupied corner table and settled down with a thick novel, his back turned on the world.
“So…” Yoochun started hesitantly, pulling on the strings of his hoodie. Ryeowook ignored him, scrolling idly on his phone still facing the kitchen. Yoochun tried again louder, “could I maybe order my drink now?”
“Oh my god, Yoochun! Go away!” Kyuhyun hollered from the kitchen. Ryeowook started to hum the chorus of an upbeat APink song, still blatantly ignoring his customer.
Yoochun looked over at the baby still crying in the corner, who was just about to the reach the almost-out-of-tears-wheezing stage, and walked out the door. Changmin had probably replaced the instant coffee at home the last time he went shopping. Hopefully.