two cups of coffee
two cups of coffee
Taemin/Sulli (feat. Kai/Krystal)
7456 words, g
A/N: So sooriforever and I have decided to collaborate! This fic is fluffy af and this is our revenge for murdering our hearts with The Venn Diagram last year. As a wise woman (me) has once said, revenge is best served sweet ;) Also dedicated to Naomi and Elle who just had their birthdays several days ago. Enjoy ♡
PS Sehun is supposed to be in this fic but we kind of forgot about him.....
The sudden scream that comes from Jinri who is checking her phone causes Soojung to look up in shock. It doesn't take her long to realize that the scream was out of delight and not because something was wrong. Soojung covers her friend’s mouth hastily, darting glances left and right in hope that no one heard Jinri’s shriek. After all they are in the middle of the supermarket. Soojung could barely keep her friend still when Jinri squirms and elbows the former away.
“Man, what’s wrong with you?” Soojung asks, rubbing the spot on her neck where Jinri had mercilessly elbowed. “You can never seem to keep your shrieks to yourself whenever we’re in public places!”
A wide grin forms on Jinri’s face as she ignores Soojung’s remark. “Do you remember the guy from that café I always go to?”
“You mean the guy you’re obsessed with?” Soojung rolls her eyes. “How can I not remember him when you talk about him 24/7 every day?”
“I’m not obsessed with him!” Jinri retaliates in defiance, but then it’s quickly followed by her giggles. Soojung merely stares at her friend, convinced that she has gone mad. “Anyway, that guy just followed me on Instagram.”
“So?”
“So that should mean something because he can’t be following all of his customers, can he?” she flashes a smug grin. It doesn’t last long, however, because something crosses her mind and it causes her eyebrows to form a line. “But wait, how did he find me?”
“God, Jinri. Weren’t you stalking his Instagram the other day? Surely he has his ways too.”
“B-but still... how? I never used their hashtags, I’m not following him, I don’t follow the cafe’s Instagram too, and I’m 100% sure I never liked any of their pictures.”
Soojung’s face is a combination of shock and horror. “Oh my god Jinri I can’t believe how creepy you can be. Please remind me to never cross any line when it comes to you because I don’t think I can ever handle you as an enemy.”
“You’re talking as if you never stalked anyone before. And I don’t just mean on Instagram,” the taller girl rolls her eyes. “Anyway I’m asking a serious question here. How did he find me?”
“Dude, am I that guy? How would I know?”
“Gee, thanks, you’ve been such a great help, Soojung.”
Jinri reaches towards the aisle and grabs a box of chocolate from the shelf. Her hand stops halfway, meeting with Soojung’s as the latter darts a glare at her best friend. “You said you’re on a diet.”
“So?” Jinri mimics the word Soojung had used on her earlier.
“What if the cafe guy catches you eating chocolates and growing fatter and then he decides you’re automatically off his list of eye candies?”
Jinri gasps, hastily shoving the box of chocolate back onto its rightful place. “Eye candies? Seriously? Of all words--”
“What? It’s the most appropriate. He works in a cafe.”
“Which doesn’t sell candies.”
Soojung sighs. “Fine. Eye coffees.”
“Does that word even exist?” Jinri laughs but only for a short while, as her laughter slowly turns into a frown. “Excuse me but what are you doing?”
In Soojung’s hands is the same box of chocolate Jinri had placed back earlier. “I’m buying this chocolate,” she says in the flattest tone possible. “Unlike you, I don’t have any cafe guy to impress. I can be as fat as a cow, and no one would care!” Soojung exclaims happily before putting the chocolate into her cart, much to her friend’s chagrin.
“You’re a traitor.” Jinri scowls.
Soojung stucks her tongue out. “Says the person who fell in love and decided to dump her friend aside.”
“You’re the one who didn’t want to come along when I asked!”
“It’s too far away!” she retorts. “Besides coffee’s not healthy, Choi Jinri.”
“And chocolate is?”
“Chocolate makes me happy.”
“Well, coffee makes me happy.” Jinri mimics her friend’s tone.
“You mean the one who makes the coffee makes you happy.”
The accusation catches her off-guard, and as much as she detests it, she cannot deny that it’s partly true. Jinri does love coffee, but on normal occasions she wouldn’t spend as much money as she has so far on the drink, not including the transportation cost as well as the time she’s allocated just for the purpose of going to the cafe alone.
So the only thing that she can do now is to glare at Soojung for pointing out the truth that Jinri refused to admit, but Soojung’s already pushing the cart ahead to the next aisle, leaving Jinri behind to sulk by herself.
Since the first time she encountered a certain humble coffee kiosk that is located at a corner of Sindorim station, Jinri has been making regular trips there. Every day she weighs her chances of hopping on the train all the way from Sinchon, either in between classes or in the evening once she’s done, and calculates her spending at the same time so she doesn’t exceed her weekly budget.
Her dedication is kind of amazing that Soojung once pointed out that if Jinri shows as much commitment to completing her assignments on time and gives as much effort in them instead of bullshitting her essays in the very last minute, perhaps her CGPA would have been much better.
Jinri had scoffed then, saying a good cup of coffee is the very first step in doing good assignments which would lead to good grades, and that cafe provides the perfect cup to energize her. “The coffee there tastes really good you know. Besides I love the cafe’s ambience. It kind of gives a nice feeling, it’s calm and… uh, really nice?”
Soojung scoffed back. “The thing you’re addicted to is not the coffee…” she trailed off, but never continued. She didn’t have to.
As much as Jinri hates to admit it, the actual reason that keeps her going back and forth is not the cafe itself, but a certain knight in shining armour. In her case, the knight is just a simple guy with a lopsided smile and the armour is an apron tied around his waist. She can’t quite pinpoint what it is that she likes the most about him, but there’s something in the way he never fails to greet her brightly and strikes up a conversation with her that attracts her.
Taemin is charming in his own way, she thinks. He’s always curious about you so he always asks questions, on top of being a good listener, though he may not always remember some details. Despite the mature way that he carries himself, he’s never hesitant in letting the child in him out every now and then. The gap makes it easy for Jinri feel comfortable around him, as if he’s been a friend of hers for a long long time.
It’s not like she thinks she has a chance with him, however. She knows well that he’s always friendly with his customers and she is just one of them in his eyes. Still, she enjoys entertaining herself with the idea that he’s genuinely interested in her like a guilty pleasure to take her mind off her daily stress. Making trips to the cafe and talking to him makes her happy, so why not?
At least, that’s what she tries to convince herself.
♥ 53 likes
jinriiiii happy happy day
“Hello! Welcome to Coffee Day!”
The boy who is greeting her today is unfamiliar, so she cocks her head after returning his smile and finds a familiar face behind the espresso machine. Taemin who’s already looking up at her flashes his signature smile that would have come along with flower petals and dramatic background music if the world that they’re living in is a Japanese animation.
“The usual?”
Jinri smiles back, much wider for him, and nods before redirecting her gaze to the unfamiliar guy. “One hot cappuccino.”
“One hot cappuccino for you,” he repeats the order while punching it into the cash register. “Would you like some cakes to go with the coffee?” he then asks while pointing at the cakes on display in the counter on his right.
She shakes her head politely while retaining her smile. “No, thank you.”
“Alright,” he replies then tells her the amount she needs to pay, which she readily hands him a 10000 won note. He gives her back the change and with a smile, brightly waves her off as she heads towards the pick up counter. “Thank you. Have a nice day.”
At the other counter, Jinri struggles to calm herself as she watches Taemin preparing her drink swiftly with his expert hands. He sneaks a grin at her in between and asks about her day, a question he directs to all of his customers everyday without fail.
She recalls her earlier visits to this cafe. At first, Taemin would always ask simple questions like where was she coming from and where she was heading. In all honesty, those questions stressed her out because she obviously couldn’t tell him that she came all the way just to buy his coffee (read: to meet him).
Her usual excuse was a certain bookstore nearby. Half the times, Jinri wasn’t quite lying because she did go to the bookstore, but she can’t really say that buying or reading books was her main purpose because there are bookstores around her campus too.
When Taemin stopped asking those usual questions, Jinri felt both relieved and sad. She didn’t have to try hard to come up with excuses anymore, but then Taemin would either talk about other mundane things like the weather or simply keep quiet.
On some days, her visits ended up dampening her mood instead of lifting her spirit. Initiating a conversation especially with someone whom she can’t quite call her friend isn’t her forte, but she does make attempts to leave her comfort zone and be the first one to speak so she can make progresses. She’d ask him about coffee, figuring it might be a good subject to begin with, then moved on to more personal questions. Sometimes he would ask about her classes. Not long after she becomes a regular, they start bantering over silly things. From there, they started to grow comfortable with each other, and Jinri was able to call him a friend with more confidence.
“New staff?” she finally questions, and nods at the direction of the boy at the counter when Taemin looks up from the frothed milk.
“Yeah,” he answers. “Moonkyu quit. This is our friend actually. Jongin,” he suddenly calls, and the boy glances at them. “She’s a regular, so you probably should start memorizing her face now.”
Sensing a sudden rush of blood in her entire body, Jinri uses all her might to suppress herself from turning red although she can already feel her cheeks burning. “Um, hi,” she manages out of awkwardness, but the boy seems to be feeling the same way because the way he responds is similar. He quickly darts his eyes away and gets himself busy although there’s nothing much to do really.
“So…” Jinri begins hesitantly. “About Instagram.”
“What about it?” Taemin returns casually.
“How did you find mine?”
For a quick second (she notices), he stops on his track and clears his throat. “I have my ways,” he says easily with a confident smile. “Speaking of that, you didn’t follow me back!”
“Why should I?”
“Because…well, I’m that hot barista guy every girl fantasizes about.”
“More reason not to follow you back,” she scoffs.
Taemin puts a hand on his chest, pretending that her words had hurt him. “Ow, that’s harsh.”
“I d-didn’t mean--” Jinri finds herself turning pink, oh god please don’t pout, please don’t--damn it! She clears her throat slightly, hands drumming casually on the counter as Taemin resumes making her drink. “Alright, fine, I’ll follow you back if you tell me how you found me.”
Taemin brightens up immediately, turning around so that he is now facing her. He places the cup of cappuccino on the counter and flashes his signature grin at her direction. Jinri pretends not to hear herself swooning mentally.
“One hot cappuccino for you. I’ve also added some sweetener, just as how you like it. I hope it’s as sweet as you today.”
“Thanks, Taemin.” Jinri squeaks out an answer as she grabs her drink and looks away hastily. She is almost convinced that he has seen the glow on her cheeks. “So...er, are you going to tell me how you found my instagram?”
“That’s a secret.” Taemin winks, much to Jinri’s irritation (maybe joy, since she just received a wink from him). “If you really want to know, then come back tomorrow.”
Jinri manages a small smile, despite feeling slightly disappointed. She avoids looking straight at the boy behind the counter because by now, her cheeks are a scarlet red. “O-okay. I’ll...drop by if I’m in the neighbourhood.”
♥ 38 likes
itaem78 hmmm
kmoonk r u that sad about me quitting that ur thinking of jumping off?
jongin.jpg hyung whatever it is SUICIDE IS NOT THE ANSWER
jongin.jpg but hyung if you die will you let me take over the cafe?
Jinri kind of senses that Taemin more or less already knows about her feelings, so she doesn’t go back to the cafe until three days later.
This time though, she manages to rope Soojung into following her. Despite the latter being not too keen on following, Soojung decides to tag along. She has nothing else to do that day, anyway.
“If I hear and see you make awful and cheesy flirtings with your cafe guy, I’ll leave in an instant.” Soojung had warned Jinri earlier when they stepped onto the train. Jinri had rolled her eyes in response, assuring Soojung that it was harmless, her friendship with Taemin.
“Welcome to Coffee Day!” The usual greeting floats into Jinri’s ears as she steps into the cafe, face beaming with a smile. She glances at the cashier and sees the new staff--Jongin, she recalls Taemin telling her his name--and greets him politely with a wave.
“Hello, Jongin.”
“Oh, Jinri, isn’t it? Hi!” Jongin replies curtly with a polite smile while Jinri glances at the direction of the espresso machine where Taemin is always at. He’s missing today, however, and she can’t help but to feel disappointed. “Are you two together or…”
Hearing his question, she turns around only to find herself raising an eyebrow when she sees Soojung staring wide-eyed at the boy behind the cash register. Looking back and forth from Soojung to Jongin, it doesn’t take Jinri long to know what is going on in her friend’s mind. She smirks.
“Jongin, I would like you to meet my friend.” Jinri gestures casually as she sees Soojung flinches from the side of her eyes. Hah. So this is how things would go, huh? “Her name’s Soojung. She’s really pretty, isn’t she?”
Soojung, completely in horror at what Jinri had said, quickly shakes her head. “N-no. I’m not. Uh, um.... I--nice to meet you,” she finishes lamely, a blush creeping onto her cheeks as she fights hard not to shoot a death glare at her friend.
Jongin nods, still smiling. “Hey, Soojung.”
Jinri is now grinning, and Soojung feels like strangling her. “Please excuse us for a second, I need to ask Jinri for recommendations, I don’t really...er...drink coffee.” Without waiting for Jongin’s response, Soojung pulls Jinri to a corner. From the side of her eyes, she could see that Jongin has returned back to his duty behind the cash register.
“What the hell, Choi Jinri, I thought we’re friends?” Soojung whispers in a rush. “You did not tell me there’s a cute guy in the cafe!”
Jinri smirks again. “Oh so now you’re interested, huh?”
Soojung’s face turns cherry blossom pink as she straightens her body and clears her throat, trying to regain her poise. “I’m not interested. I was just thrown off guard.”
“And that’s not being interested?” Jinri teases, poking a finger rapidly against her friend’s arm only to have Soojung slapping her finger away in one swift motion. “Shut up.”
Jinri laughs and walks away, now heading towards the counter to order her drink. Soojung watches her from afar, slightly impressed at how easy and carefree Jinri is when she’s conversing with the cashier dude.
“Hey, what do you want to drink?” Jinri asks loudly, and Soojung jumps in her converse.
“We have hot chocolate if you don’t drink coffee,” Jongin adds.
“I...er,” Soojung frowns. Did I say I don’t drink coffee? She notes how Jongin is looking at her expectantly, waiting for her response. But I want to drink coffee! I need coffee! “S-sure.”
Jinri chuckles and Soojung feels like punching her, knowing that she’s totally enjoying this.
“So that would be one hot chocolate and…”
“Cappuccino for me.”
Soojung curses quietly under her breath as she opens her purse to take out a 5000 note while Jinri only giggles. It’s not everyday that she gets to see her supposedly chic friend to get this flustered. However, her joy is short lived when she catches Taemin taking his usual place.
“Hey there,” he says with the same smile while he puts his apron on, and Jinri thinks it’s sort of unfair how he can do it that easily when her heart has already started pounding so hard at just the sight of him.
“Hi,” she returns simply as she moves towards the pick up counter. He’s already began making her drink, so she just quietly watched him until she remembers the real reason she came today. “Hey, you promised to tell me about how you found me on Instagram when I come back.”
Taemin’s cheeks flush for a quick second, but Jinri misses it. He clears his throat and regains his composure. “I said tomorrow. It’s been...how many days?”
“Well in case you’re not aware of it I actually have a life, you know,” she replies in a rather cold tone. Jinri almost regrets it but he only laughs it off.
“Alright, fine. I was going through the hashtags of this cafe - it’s something I do to find out what my customers say about my coffee, okay? I wasn’t stalking for no reason. Anyway, amongst the people who posted, I found your friend… Se...ho?”
“Sehun?”
“Yeah. He came with you so I recognized him.”
“So you found me through him?”
“Uh… yeah.”
“So you were stalking alright.”
“Wa- no- I told you I wasn’t stalking!” He suddenly gets flustered. “I really was checking my customers’ feedbacks, but when I saw him, I got curious so I- well, the point is, I wasn’t stalking!”
It’s Jinri’s turn to laugh. Seeing this side of him amuses her somehow because he’s always so composed and confident. “Fine, I believe you,” she tells him at last. Taemin gives her a lopsided grin before turning his full attention back at the drink he is making.
Jinri glances to her left and realizes that Soojung is still lingering around the payment counter. One look is all it takes for her to know that her friend is definitely still checking Jongin out--her fail attempts to look interested in the display of cakes are too obvious. Jinri muffles a laughter just as Soojung darts a glare at her. “What?”
“You’re so obvious.”
Soojung stands straighter, smoothing her hair and then her blouse before going towards her friend. “I was looking for cakes to buy for Sooyeon.” She says flatly. Jinri shrugs, as if saying whatever before turning to look at the barista again.
Taemin brings over both their drinks, placing them on top of the counter lightly and flashing a smile at Soojung. “Oh, you brought your friend today. Hi.”
“Hi Taemin,” Soojung puts on the most innocent and sweetest smile she could muster. Jinri’s eyes widen, knowing immediately what her friend is up to. “I’ve heard many stories about you. Jinri here wouldn’t stop--”
“WOW WILL YOU LOOK AT THE TIME? WE REALLY NEED TO GO!” Jinri suddenly exclaims out loud as she pinches Soojung’s arm from behind so Taemin wouldn’t see.
When Soojung yelps in pain, Taemin, who is already confused at the two friends’ sudden strange behaviours, now frowns at her. “Uh, are you okay?”
With Jinri’s fingers still lingering on her skin, Soojung is forced to smile at him. “Yeah, I’m fine. It was just some bitc- I mean some bee I think.”
“We have to go now so bye,” Jinri says hurriedly.
“Uh, Jinri? Your drink?”
She halts her steps abruptly, but doesn’t turn back right away due to embarrassment. Soojung’s smirk widens. “Oh, don’t worry about it. I’ll take it for her.”
The former whips her head at Soojung’s direction as she marches towards her friend. “I’ll take that myself, thank you. Have a good day, Taemin. LET’S GO, SOOJUNG.” Forcefully linking an arm around Soojung’s, Jinri begins to drag her away.
“Wait, I haven’t said goodbye to--” Soojung starts, but Jinri merely pulls her along her way.
“Hush, no more words from you. Just, zip it!”
♥ 63 likes
taemiiiiin name change!
jinriiiii this blatant plagiarism where do i file a lawsuit
taemiiiiin @jinriiiii my cafe please come tomorrow
jinriiiii do i get a free drink?
taemiiiiin @jinriiiii no
♥ 28 likes
jinriiiii ❤
taemiiiiin hmph
taemiiiiin so ugly
taemiiiiin i can make a better heart than that
After that almost slip of tongue incident, Jinri decides to not visit Taemin’s cafe again for the time being. She figures if she lets some time pass, that incident would eventually fade from his memory and she could pretend like it never happened.
Still, there are days when she feels tempted to just get on the train and go, especially when her class gets cancelled at last minute and she suddenly has a long free period. Soojung is not helping as well. Since the last visit, she has started whining and asking Jinri to take her there again (to see that cute cashier boy, no doubt), but Jinri remains firm in her decision.
“It’s your fault that I can’t face Taemin, so no Jongin for you as your punishment,” Jinri says with a glare so sharp she nearly cut Soojung’s face.
“You know I can always go alone, right?” Soojung deadpans, unimpressed and unfazed by her friend’s glare. “I know you always do. I can just take the train...”
Jinri sucks in her breath, her face paling. “You wouldn’t.”
Soojung smirks. “I would. And I wonder what will happen if I see Taemin again...”
“God, Jung Soojung. You’re so evil,” Jinri hisses, but admits defeat. “FINE. We’ll go to the cafe again tomorrow. Happy? Cute cashier guy waiting for you. YOU HAPPY NOW?”
Soojung cackles as she walks away while Jinri only rolls her eyes and exhales a sigh, why is she friends with Soojung again?
They do not end up going back to the cafe the next day as promised because life gets in the way like it always does. There’s a new essay that needs to be written, and despite everyone’s protests it needs to be turned in by the end of the week.
Soojung finishes it in no time (she’s unexpectedly diligent, really) but Jinri spends two whole days working on it. An essay wouldn’t normally take up that much time but it’s Jinri the serial procrastinator, so there are other assignments too to be done. By Friday evening when she’s finally finished with everything, she’s too burnt out to do anything else and would rather write another essay than to see Taemin in her current condition.
“How many times did I tell you to stop procrastinating and start working on your assignments right away instead of doing it last minute? You do this every semester!” Soojung nags when she comes to Jinri’s room that night.
The latter only grumbles in return. “I completed everything anyway, didn’t I? Not everyone is like you, Soojung.”
“I’m only sayin-”
“You could’ve just gone to the cafe alone without me if you wanted. You did say you can go alone so why wait for me?”
Soojung’s face flushes so she turns the other way and pretends to be searching for snacks instead. “I… I was just being a loyal friend.”
Jinri tries hard not to snort so she pulls up her blanket and spends the remainder of the week sleeping. The cafe is closed on weekends anyway, so she figures she might as well try to get rid of her eyebags first before she meets Taemin again.
♥ 56 likes
jinriiiii freedom at last! but my eyebags ᅲᅲ
view all 11 comments
taemiiiiin betrayer!!!!!!
jinriiiii @taemiiiiin what
taemiiiiin this is not my cafe
jinriiiii @taemiiiiin can’t i drink coffee from another cafe????
taemiiiiin no 8<
The first thing they do on Monday after all classes for the day are over is heading to the train station (Jinri almost rolls her eyes when she sees Soojung waiting impatiently outside her class).
When they finally reach the cafe, however, Jongin is alone once again. Jinri’s heart sinks, but she figures Taemin might have gone for a short trip to the toilet or something, since it has happened before.
Soojung, on the other hand, gets a nervous breakdown the moment her eyes connects with Jongin’s, so she pushes her friend forward and uses Jinri’s height to hide behind her. “I can’t do this,” she mumbles, all panicky. “He looks too cute in jumper oh my god I can’t look him in the eye properly I’m going to get a heart attack.”
“Hello,” Jongin greets them with the same bright voice. He might not be her type, but Jinri totally understands why this boy can cause heart palpitations. He is tall and slender, though not as thin as Taemin (which makes her wonder sometimes if he even eats), has a low voice that is enough to melt any hearts, and a sweet smile on top of everything.
“Hello, Jongin,” Jinri replies in a matching tone. At the same time, she grabs Soojung’s hand and pulls her so Soojung stands by her side. “You remember my friend, right?”
“Oh, of course I do.”
Soojung is too flustered to say anything back to him but she manages to glare at Jinri. “I’m so going to push you off the train platform after this.”
“Would you like the usual too today?” Jongin proceeds to ask Jinri, who only nods with a smile in response. “Ah, your friend doesn’t drink coffee, right?” He then turns to Soojung. The sudden eye contact catches her by surprise and Jinri can swear Soojung may collapse anytime soon from the lack of oxygen in her brain.
“Who? Me? Oh… yeah.”
Jinri thinks she can faint anytime soon as well from holding in too much laughter.
“So would you like to order anything? Hot chocolate?”
“Ah, sure.”
She finally decides she’s had enough so she slyly intervenes. “Can you make it iced chocolate instead? She needs to cool down.”
Soojung also decides she’s had enough of her friend’s teasing so she gives Jinri a good shove in stomach using her elbow after making sure that Jongin’s attention is fixed on the cash register as he keys in their orders. It’s quite painful since Soojung’s elbow is sharp and thin, yet it’s not enough to stop Jinri. Her grin only grows wider and she continues to ridicule her friend until she finally sees Taemin coming in.
There is something off, she can tell, because his face is dark and somber. When he notices her, he tries a smile but it doesn’t reach his eyes so her heart aches somehow.
Taemin breaks off the eye contact quickly then turns to Jongin. “You can make the drinks, right?” he asks, and when Jongin nods, he grabs a notebook from one of the drawers and goes off to fill the chair at the corner behind the counter without another word to her.
With a pencil in hand and the book open, he seems immersed in whatever he’s doing. Jinri has never seen him being that serious, so she figures it’s best not to disturb him though she can’t deny feeling disappointed.
“Here are your drinks,” Jongin announces happily as he places the two cups down on the counter. “Have a nice day.”
She steals another glance at Taemin who doesn’t appear to be listening before smiling back at Jongin. It doesn’t reach her eyes.
Jinri tries again the next day.
This time, Taemin is on the phone when she arrives. His expression hasn’t changed. Dark shadows colour his face, brows knitted together, hair a mess, shirt crinkled and not tucked in properly, a hand on his waist. He almost looks like a completely different person than the Taemin she is used to.
He gives her a slight nod when their eyes meet, and then he storms out with the phone still pressed on his ear. The door slams behind him and causes Jinri to jump a little.
“I’m so sorry. Something came up so he hasn’t been in the best mood lately,” Jongin explains, sounding guilty and regretful.
She shakes her head, tells him it’s okay because he doesn’t need to feel bad, and flashes him a smile because he deserves it. For a moment she considers asking Jongin what he meant by ‘something’, but decides against it. He is trying to keep the atmosphere light so she doesn’t want to let his effort go to waste.
“So, the usual?”
“Make it iced instead,” Jinri says. Maybe today she’s the one who needs to cool down.
If anything, she feels more sad than upset about Taemin’s recent behaviour. It makes her realize that she pretty much is still an outsider to him.
As lame as it probably sounds, Jinri couldn’t stop thinking about him since she left the cafe that second day. She tried to find ways to help him, but she realized she doesn’t even know what exactly is troubling him.
She thinks back about times where Jinri would rant about her day to him, small things like when a classmate was being annoying and when the cafeteria ran out of her favourite side dish and she had to settle with something else. She thinks she is comfortable enough with him to be able to tell him those details of her mundane life because she sees him as a friend, and thought he feels the same about her, but she guesses she might have overestimated their friendship.
Jinri ends up sulking in her room for days. She’s just disappointed at herself for thinking too much and wants to give it a rest so she can clear up her mind.
♥ 33 likes
jinriiiii :(
“You know I went to the cafe yesterday,” Soojung tells her when they’re having lunch together a couple of days later. Jinri’s eyes widen and she almost chokes on her radish when she tries to yell at Soojung. “I couldn’t help it, okay? These days you look like you’re ready to jump off from the platform anytime. When that happens I want to be the one who pushes you off, not you jumping off yourself.”
That statement manages to form a smile on Jinri’s lips as she scoffs at her friend. “Thanks for the info. I’ll be careful from now on.”
Soojung returns the smile, then picks up her chopsticks again. “I gathered all courage I have to ask Taemin directly. He was kind of confused because why the hell would I be interested in his life? So I told him you’ve been moping around worrying about you.”
“I haven’t been moping around worrying about him!” Jinri protests.
“Check your note book, it’s full of doodles that don’t even make sense. Look at your plate, you’ve been eating since half an hour ago but it still looks untouched. Look in the mirror and check your dark circles. You don’t even have assignments left. And you say you haven’t been moping around? Try again, Choi Jinri,” Soojung rambles on without batting an eyelid. “Anyway, I asked Taemin what’s his problem. Anyway, apparently he has been stressed out lately because there’s a problem with one of their suppliers and it was kind of ugly, so he was pissed off and spent the past week trying to settle it out. It’s all okay now so he’s no longer that brooding male protagonist in those shoujo animes you like to watch.”
Jinri is left speechless. Her hand that’s holding the spoon pauses mid-air as she stares at her friend, finding it hard to believe in what she just listened. “Wow Sooj-”
“I might have yelled at him and scared Jongin a little though. Ah, my image, all ruined now.” The other girl exhales a sigh defeatedly and starts pouting. “It’s all your fault, Choi. There goes my potential romance.”
The next day goes normally. Jinri is still dragging her feet to and from classes, and to and from the cafeteria in between. Her mind is still elsewhere, perhaps her soul too. “You’re suffering from caffeine withdrawal,” Soojung points out sarcastically, but Jinri knows she means otherwise. Jinri makes no attempt to come up with any remark as sarcastic to counterback because she knows she can’t win anyway.
The day goes as normal as all her days have been, except Jinri receives a surprise when she leaves the lecture building after she is done for the day and spots a familiar looking guy leaning against the wall. A little too familiar, actually.
Panic registers and she halts her steps abruptly, causing Soojung to bump into her back unaware. The latter stares at Jinri confusedly, then elbows her out of the way before finally seeing the reason that caused her friend to suddenly freeze.
“Am I hallucinating or is that--”
Jinri snaps out from her reverie immediately, turning her back against the guy who has yet to spot them to hide herself. She faces Soojung, eyes widening as she begins to stutter. “W-what is he doing here?”
Grinning, Soojung shrugs as she feigns innocence. “Well, it seems like he’s waiting for someone? From the look on his face I’m guessing he’s here to meet a certain tall and slightly dumb girl whose family name is Choi. He probably wants to apologize or something. Wow, I’m such a psychic, don’t you think so? Maybe I should start my own business in the future--”
“Jung Soojung! What exactly have you done?” Jinri hisses. She then turns her head slightly to see what Taemin is doing. “Never mind, forget it. Is my hair okay? Is my makeup fine or should I go touch up a little? What about my outfit? Oh gosh, I should have worn a skirt today instead of this ugly looking baggy pants. He’ll take one look at me and be disgusted and then he’ll never want to see me again and then my life will be over and I’ll cry and I’ll never be able to drink coffee again and--”
“Woah, can you please calm down? I could not catch a single thing you just said.” Soojung motions a ‘stop’ with her hands. Once Jinri starts breathing normally again, she pats her friend’s shoulder gently and offers her a smile, “You look fine, Jinri. Your outfit today is definitely not your best, I must say, but don’t worry, he won’t run away when he sees you. If he does, I swear I’ll pour red paint all over his cafe.”
Jinri breaks into a slight grin, “ Really? You would do that for me?”
“Sure,” Soojung says as nonchalant as possible, “But you’ll have to pay for the paint, of course.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Jinri sighs, though she is still smiling. “Hey, Soojung-ah, I just want to thank you for all the--”
“HEY TAEMIN, JINRI IS HERE! SHE IS TOO SHY TO FACE YOU SO CAN YOU PLEASE COME OVER HERE?”
“--shit!” Jinri screeches, her face turning pale just as Soojung waves with all her might at Taemin’s direction. Soojung’s grin is so wide now that Jinri feels like shoving her fist into her mouth--it’ll probably fit, anyway.
“Okay Jinri, your coffee prince is coming. Good luck!” Soojung turns back to look at Jinri and gives her a wink. “I’ll see you later.”
“I never want to see you again.” Jinri snaps under her breath just as Soojung flits away and she feels a tap on her shoulder.
“Jinri?”
“HI TAEMIN!” Jinri greets a little bit too loudly and quickly feigns a cute cough. “Sorry, I was… there was something stuck in my throat.”
Taemin’s usual sunny smile is on his face, and Jinri feels herself dying a little in the inside again. She hasn’t seen him looking so bright and happy for such a long time that the feeling is almost foreign to her.
“So… what are you doing here?”
“Um, sorry about, uh…” Jinri isn’t sure if her eyes are deceiving her, but is he blushing? “...well, for suddenly appearing here without telling you.” Taemin finishes his sentence awkwardly, but all Jinri could think of at the moment is how cute he is with his hair combed sideways like this today.
Realizing that he is waiting for her to say something, Jinri slaps herself mentally. “Nice hair today.” Shit, what the hell, Jinri? “I mean, it looks.... uh, nice.”
Taemin laughs. He doesn’t seem to mind her rather sudden compliment. “Thanks. Nice...outfit today. Very different from how I usually see you at the cafe.”
Jinri wishes the ground would just open up right there and then and swallow her whole. Why must Taemin see her on the day she wears her ugliest outfit to class? Why didn’t Taemin visit on days when she is wearing her cute yellow sundress that would have made him swoon--
“--today?”
Crap, what did he say?
“Uh...I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”
“I asked how was class today.” Taemin repeats, laughing slightly at how flustered Jinri is. “I haven’t really talked to you in a while since you haven’t been coming to the cafe lately, so I decided to just drop by today to see how you’re doing. Soojung told me about...uh, you.”
Jinri blushes. “Oh, class was fine. And about Soojung, I’m really sorry. I’m sure she was a bit high when she visited your cafe and yelled at you. I totally understand your situation though so you really don’t have to apologize for anything.”
“It’s fine,” Taemin shoves his hands in his pocket; Jinri feels like dying again. “I owe you an apology, I guess. I shouldn’t have acted that way when you were there. I haven’t really thought of your feelings before this, and as a friend, I’m sorry that I didn’t bother explaining anything to you and made you worry.”
“F-friend? We’re friends?” Jinri blurts out before she can stop herself.
He quickly nods. “Of course we are! If we aren’t, would I give you so many discounts every time you visit my cafe?”
“Oh.”
An awkward silence suddenly engulfs them, and Jinri shifts her feet nervously. Taemin runs a hand through his hair before clearing his throat. “Uh, Soojung told me your classes ended at 2 today.”
She frowns at him. “Soojung?”
“Um,” he hesitates a little. “I started following her on Instagram recently- wait, don’t misunderstand me. It’s not that I’m interested in her or anything. I just wanted to ask her something kind of urgently, and I didn’t know where else to find her.”
“Is this also one of your customer feedbacks research?”
“No, it’s not. I swear it’s not. I only talked to her once. Virtually, I mean,” Taemin admits sheepishly. He keeps fidgeting in his spot and his eyes wander back and forth between her and the floor, and Jinri finds delight in watching him, in all honesty. “Well, to tell you the truth, I asked Soojung about you.”
“About me?”
“Yeah. What she said to me the other day bothered me so I thought I’d come meet you, to make up for my lack of explanation and ignorance. You were always the one who came to the cafe, anyway, so I figured this time around I’ll be the one who goes to you instead. And Soojung’s the one who told me I’d find you here today,” he explains. “Oh, she also said you’re dressed badly today and if I say anything about it I’ll find my cafe covered in red paint one day.”
Jinri swears that when she sees that friend of hers again, she’ll push her off the tracks for real. “Soojung can be aggressive sometimes.”
“I know. I learned it the hard way,” he responds with a light laugh.
Wind breezes past them and picks up their hair, and Jinri watches the way Taemin tucks his overgrown fringe behind his ear. As she laughs along with him, suddenly, everything is back to normal again, if not better. Being here with him like this feels good. It feels right.
“So... wanna go grab some coffee?”
Jinri grins. “I thought you’d never ask.”
♥ 65 likes
ohohsehun did i contribute to this?
jinriiiii @ohohsehun no
taemiiiiin @ohohsehun no
jungsooj @ohohsehun dude no
“Seriously, where the hell are you?”
“Sorry! Can you come to the playground? You know where it is right?”
“The one where the Saturday flea market is?”
“Yup, that’s the one. Come quick!”
“Wai-”
When the line suddenly goes dead, Soojung grumbles and mutters something unintelligible under her breath as she slips her way through the throng of people. Does Jinri not know how packed Hongdae is on weekends? There are far better places for them to meet. They can always drop by each other’s room, anyway. Why must Jinri insist on coming here today?
As Soojung approaches the promised place, she hears a voice singing that’s accompanied by some instruments. The playground is a common place for busking, so it doesn’t surprise her to find a crowd there. She decides to stay away from the mass of people watching the performance and settles at a bench nearby instead.
That’s when she hears someone calling her name.
“Soojung?”
Her heart almost explodes the moment she glances around and sees “J-Jongin?”
“What a coincidence,” Jongin grins happily. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I-I’m…” she begins to stutter. What makes things worse is that he looks really good today in faded jeans and a plaid shirt that coincidentally matches the colour of her blouse. Maybe I shouldn’t tease Jinri too much back then, she thinks. “Jinri! I’m waiting for her. Did you see her anywhere?”
“No, sorry. That’s funny, though, because I’m here to meet Taemin.”
“Taemin?”
Soojung’s brain starts working immediately as she pieces the information together. It can’t be another coincidence that both of them are supposed to meet here as well. Then she realizes something. Is this why Jinri literally forced her to dress nicely in such a strange tone? Is this Jinri’s form of revenge for secretly arranging her meeting with Taemin the other day?
Soojung opens her mouth to say something, but Jongin beats her to it. “I think we got tricked by them,” he says, giving her his phone so she can read a text from Taemin that contains a similar instruction as what Jinri had told her. “No wonder he told me to buy some coffee first,” Jongin adds while showing her what’s in his other hand. Realizing something, his forehead forms creases as he frowns at her. “Wait, I thought you don’t drink coffee.”
“Um” is all Soojung can manage as a response. She swears that the next time she sees her supposedly best friend, she’s going to make Jinri jump in front of a train for real. “I have to confess something. You see, I do drink coffee, to be honest. I said I don’t because I was too flustered that day.”
“Oh.”
They break off their eye contact and Jongin goes back to fiddling with his phone while tapping on the ground with one foot. Awkwardness grows between them and she presses her lips together nervously.
“Um,” he suddenly begins, turning at her again.
“So.”
Jongin chuckles at the awkward atmosphere, and eventually she does too. At last, he offers a soft smile. The corners of his eyes crinkle at the same time. “Well, for starters, want to go have some coffee?”
Soojung grins. “Let’s have some hot chocolate instead.”
credits (1) (2) (3)
Taemin/Sulli (feat. Kai/Krystal)
7456 words, g
A/N: So sooriforever and I have decided to collaborate! This fic is fluffy af and this is our revenge for murdering our hearts with The Venn Diagram last year. As a wise woman (me) has once said, revenge is best served sweet ;) Also dedicated to Naomi and Elle who just had their birthdays several days ago. Enjoy ♡
PS Sehun is supposed to be in this fic but we kind of forgot about him.....
The sudden scream that comes from Jinri who is checking her phone causes Soojung to look up in shock. It doesn't take her long to realize that the scream was out of delight and not because something was wrong. Soojung covers her friend’s mouth hastily, darting glances left and right in hope that no one heard Jinri’s shriek. After all they are in the middle of the supermarket. Soojung could barely keep her friend still when Jinri squirms and elbows the former away.
“Man, what’s wrong with you?” Soojung asks, rubbing the spot on her neck where Jinri had mercilessly elbowed. “You can never seem to keep your shrieks to yourself whenever we’re in public places!”
A wide grin forms on Jinri’s face as she ignores Soojung’s remark. “Do you remember the guy from that café I always go to?”
“You mean the guy you’re obsessed with?” Soojung rolls her eyes. “How can I not remember him when you talk about him 24/7 every day?”
“I’m not obsessed with him!” Jinri retaliates in defiance, but then it’s quickly followed by her giggles. Soojung merely stares at her friend, convinced that she has gone mad. “Anyway, that guy just followed me on Instagram.”
“So?”
“So that should mean something because he can’t be following all of his customers, can he?” she flashes a smug grin. It doesn’t last long, however, because something crosses her mind and it causes her eyebrows to form a line. “But wait, how did he find me?”
“God, Jinri. Weren’t you stalking his Instagram the other day? Surely he has his ways too.”
“B-but still... how? I never used their hashtags, I’m not following him, I don’t follow the cafe’s Instagram too, and I’m 100% sure I never liked any of their pictures.”
Soojung’s face is a combination of shock and horror. “Oh my god Jinri I can’t believe how creepy you can be. Please remind me to never cross any line when it comes to you because I don’t think I can ever handle you as an enemy.”
“You’re talking as if you never stalked anyone before. And I don’t just mean on Instagram,” the taller girl rolls her eyes. “Anyway I’m asking a serious question here. How did he find me?”
“Dude, am I that guy? How would I know?”
“Gee, thanks, you’ve been such a great help, Soojung.”
Jinri reaches towards the aisle and grabs a box of chocolate from the shelf. Her hand stops halfway, meeting with Soojung’s as the latter darts a glare at her best friend. “You said you’re on a diet.”
“So?” Jinri mimics the word Soojung had used on her earlier.
“What if the cafe guy catches you eating chocolates and growing fatter and then he decides you’re automatically off his list of eye candies?”
Jinri gasps, hastily shoving the box of chocolate back onto its rightful place. “Eye candies? Seriously? Of all words--”
“What? It’s the most appropriate. He works in a cafe.”
“Which doesn’t sell candies.”
Soojung sighs. “Fine. Eye coffees.”
“Does that word even exist?” Jinri laughs but only for a short while, as her laughter slowly turns into a frown. “Excuse me but what are you doing?”
In Soojung’s hands is the same box of chocolate Jinri had placed back earlier. “I’m buying this chocolate,” she says in the flattest tone possible. “Unlike you, I don’t have any cafe guy to impress. I can be as fat as a cow, and no one would care!” Soojung exclaims happily before putting the chocolate into her cart, much to her friend’s chagrin.
“You’re a traitor.” Jinri scowls.
Soojung stucks her tongue out. “Says the person who fell in love and decided to dump her friend aside.”
“You’re the one who didn’t want to come along when I asked!”
“It’s too far away!” she retorts. “Besides coffee’s not healthy, Choi Jinri.”
“And chocolate is?”
“Chocolate makes me happy.”
“Well, coffee makes me happy.” Jinri mimics her friend’s tone.
“You mean the one who makes the coffee makes you happy.”
The accusation catches her off-guard, and as much as she detests it, she cannot deny that it’s partly true. Jinri does love coffee, but on normal occasions she wouldn’t spend as much money as she has so far on the drink, not including the transportation cost as well as the time she’s allocated just for the purpose of going to the cafe alone.
So the only thing that she can do now is to glare at Soojung for pointing out the truth that Jinri refused to admit, but Soojung’s already pushing the cart ahead to the next aisle, leaving Jinri behind to sulk by herself.
Since the first time she encountered a certain humble coffee kiosk that is located at a corner of Sindorim station, Jinri has been making regular trips there. Every day she weighs her chances of hopping on the train all the way from Sinchon, either in between classes or in the evening once she’s done, and calculates her spending at the same time so she doesn’t exceed her weekly budget.
Her dedication is kind of amazing that Soojung once pointed out that if Jinri shows as much commitment to completing her assignments on time and gives as much effort in them instead of bullshitting her essays in the very last minute, perhaps her CGPA would have been much better.
Jinri had scoffed then, saying a good cup of coffee is the very first step in doing good assignments which would lead to good grades, and that cafe provides the perfect cup to energize her. “The coffee there tastes really good you know. Besides I love the cafe’s ambience. It kind of gives a nice feeling, it’s calm and… uh, really nice?”
Soojung scoffed back. “The thing you’re addicted to is not the coffee…” she trailed off, but never continued. She didn’t have to.
As much as Jinri hates to admit it, the actual reason that keeps her going back and forth is not the cafe itself, but a certain knight in shining armour. In her case, the knight is just a simple guy with a lopsided smile and the armour is an apron tied around his waist. She can’t quite pinpoint what it is that she likes the most about him, but there’s something in the way he never fails to greet her brightly and strikes up a conversation with her that attracts her.
Taemin is charming in his own way, she thinks. He’s always curious about you so he always asks questions, on top of being a good listener, though he may not always remember some details. Despite the mature way that he carries himself, he’s never hesitant in letting the child in him out every now and then. The gap makes it easy for Jinri feel comfortable around him, as if he’s been a friend of hers for a long long time.
It’s not like she thinks she has a chance with him, however. She knows well that he’s always friendly with his customers and she is just one of them in his eyes. Still, she enjoys entertaining herself with the idea that he’s genuinely interested in her like a guilty pleasure to take her mind off her daily stress. Making trips to the cafe and talking to him makes her happy, so why not?
At least, that’s what she tries to convince herself.
♥ 53 likes
jinriiiii happy happy day
“Hello! Welcome to Coffee Day!”
The boy who is greeting her today is unfamiliar, so she cocks her head after returning his smile and finds a familiar face behind the espresso machine. Taemin who’s already looking up at her flashes his signature smile that would have come along with flower petals and dramatic background music if the world that they’re living in is a Japanese animation.
“The usual?”
Jinri smiles back, much wider for him, and nods before redirecting her gaze to the unfamiliar guy. “One hot cappuccino.”
“One hot cappuccino for you,” he repeats the order while punching it into the cash register. “Would you like some cakes to go with the coffee?” he then asks while pointing at the cakes on display in the counter on his right.
She shakes her head politely while retaining her smile. “No, thank you.”
“Alright,” he replies then tells her the amount she needs to pay, which she readily hands him a 10000 won note. He gives her back the change and with a smile, brightly waves her off as she heads towards the pick up counter. “Thank you. Have a nice day.”
At the other counter, Jinri struggles to calm herself as she watches Taemin preparing her drink swiftly with his expert hands. He sneaks a grin at her in between and asks about her day, a question he directs to all of his customers everyday without fail.
She recalls her earlier visits to this cafe. At first, Taemin would always ask simple questions like where was she coming from and where she was heading. In all honesty, those questions stressed her out because she obviously couldn’t tell him that she came all the way just to buy his coffee (read: to meet him).
Her usual excuse was a certain bookstore nearby. Half the times, Jinri wasn’t quite lying because she did go to the bookstore, but she can’t really say that buying or reading books was her main purpose because there are bookstores around her campus too.
When Taemin stopped asking those usual questions, Jinri felt both relieved and sad. She didn’t have to try hard to come up with excuses anymore, but then Taemin would either talk about other mundane things like the weather or simply keep quiet.
On some days, her visits ended up dampening her mood instead of lifting her spirit. Initiating a conversation especially with someone whom she can’t quite call her friend isn’t her forte, but she does make attempts to leave her comfort zone and be the first one to speak so she can make progresses. She’d ask him about coffee, figuring it might be a good subject to begin with, then moved on to more personal questions. Sometimes he would ask about her classes. Not long after she becomes a regular, they start bantering over silly things. From there, they started to grow comfortable with each other, and Jinri was able to call him a friend with more confidence.
“New staff?” she finally questions, and nods at the direction of the boy at the counter when Taemin looks up from the frothed milk.
“Yeah,” he answers. “Moonkyu quit. This is our friend actually. Jongin,” he suddenly calls, and the boy glances at them. “She’s a regular, so you probably should start memorizing her face now.”
Sensing a sudden rush of blood in her entire body, Jinri uses all her might to suppress herself from turning red although she can already feel her cheeks burning. “Um, hi,” she manages out of awkwardness, but the boy seems to be feeling the same way because the way he responds is similar. He quickly darts his eyes away and gets himself busy although there’s nothing much to do really.
“So…” Jinri begins hesitantly. “About Instagram.”
“What about it?” Taemin returns casually.
“How did you find mine?”
For a quick second (she notices), he stops on his track and clears his throat. “I have my ways,” he says easily with a confident smile. “Speaking of that, you didn’t follow me back!”
“Why should I?”
“Because…well, I’m that hot barista guy every girl fantasizes about.”
“More reason not to follow you back,” she scoffs.
Taemin puts a hand on his chest, pretending that her words had hurt him. “Ow, that’s harsh.”
“I d-didn’t mean--” Jinri finds herself turning pink, oh god please don’t pout, please don’t--damn it! She clears her throat slightly, hands drumming casually on the counter as Taemin resumes making her drink. “Alright, fine, I’ll follow you back if you tell me how you found me.”
Taemin brightens up immediately, turning around so that he is now facing her. He places the cup of cappuccino on the counter and flashes his signature grin at her direction. Jinri pretends not to hear herself swooning mentally.
“One hot cappuccino for you. I’ve also added some sweetener, just as how you like it. I hope it’s as sweet as you today.”
“Thanks, Taemin.” Jinri squeaks out an answer as she grabs her drink and looks away hastily. She is almost convinced that he has seen the glow on her cheeks. “So...er, are you going to tell me how you found my instagram?”
“That’s a secret.” Taemin winks, much to Jinri’s irritation (maybe joy, since she just received a wink from him). “If you really want to know, then come back tomorrow.”
Jinri manages a small smile, despite feeling slightly disappointed. She avoids looking straight at the boy behind the counter because by now, her cheeks are a scarlet red. “O-okay. I’ll...drop by if I’m in the neighbourhood.”
♥ 38 likes
itaem78 hmmm
kmoonk r u that sad about me quitting that ur thinking of jumping off?
jongin.jpg hyung whatever it is SUICIDE IS NOT THE ANSWER
jongin.jpg but hyung if you die will you let me take over the cafe?
Jinri kind of senses that Taemin more or less already knows about her feelings, so she doesn’t go back to the cafe until three days later.
This time though, she manages to rope Soojung into following her. Despite the latter being not too keen on following, Soojung decides to tag along. She has nothing else to do that day, anyway.
“If I hear and see you make awful and cheesy flirtings with your cafe guy, I’ll leave in an instant.” Soojung had warned Jinri earlier when they stepped onto the train. Jinri had rolled her eyes in response, assuring Soojung that it was harmless, her friendship with Taemin.
“Welcome to Coffee Day!” The usual greeting floats into Jinri’s ears as she steps into the cafe, face beaming with a smile. She glances at the cashier and sees the new staff--Jongin, she recalls Taemin telling her his name--and greets him politely with a wave.
“Hello, Jongin.”
“Oh, Jinri, isn’t it? Hi!” Jongin replies curtly with a polite smile while Jinri glances at the direction of the espresso machine where Taemin is always at. He’s missing today, however, and she can’t help but to feel disappointed. “Are you two together or…”
Hearing his question, she turns around only to find herself raising an eyebrow when she sees Soojung staring wide-eyed at the boy behind the cash register. Looking back and forth from Soojung to Jongin, it doesn’t take Jinri long to know what is going on in her friend’s mind. She smirks.
“Jongin, I would like you to meet my friend.” Jinri gestures casually as she sees Soojung flinches from the side of her eyes. Hah. So this is how things would go, huh? “Her name’s Soojung. She’s really pretty, isn’t she?”
Soojung, completely in horror at what Jinri had said, quickly shakes her head. “N-no. I’m not. Uh, um.... I--nice to meet you,” she finishes lamely, a blush creeping onto her cheeks as she fights hard not to shoot a death glare at her friend.
Jongin nods, still smiling. “Hey, Soojung.”
Jinri is now grinning, and Soojung feels like strangling her. “Please excuse us for a second, I need to ask Jinri for recommendations, I don’t really...er...drink coffee.” Without waiting for Jongin’s response, Soojung pulls Jinri to a corner. From the side of her eyes, she could see that Jongin has returned back to his duty behind the cash register.
“What the hell, Choi Jinri, I thought we’re friends?” Soojung whispers in a rush. “You did not tell me there’s a cute guy in the cafe!”
Jinri smirks again. “Oh so now you’re interested, huh?”
Soojung’s face turns cherry blossom pink as she straightens her body and clears her throat, trying to regain her poise. “I’m not interested. I was just thrown off guard.”
“And that’s not being interested?” Jinri teases, poking a finger rapidly against her friend’s arm only to have Soojung slapping her finger away in one swift motion. “Shut up.”
Jinri laughs and walks away, now heading towards the counter to order her drink. Soojung watches her from afar, slightly impressed at how easy and carefree Jinri is when she’s conversing with the cashier dude.
“Hey, what do you want to drink?” Jinri asks loudly, and Soojung jumps in her converse.
“We have hot chocolate if you don’t drink coffee,” Jongin adds.
“I...er,” Soojung frowns. Did I say I don’t drink coffee? She notes how Jongin is looking at her expectantly, waiting for her response. But I want to drink coffee! I need coffee! “S-sure.”
Jinri chuckles and Soojung feels like punching her, knowing that she’s totally enjoying this.
“So that would be one hot chocolate and…”
“Cappuccino for me.”
Soojung curses quietly under her breath as she opens her purse to take out a 5000 note while Jinri only giggles. It’s not everyday that she gets to see her supposedly chic friend to get this flustered. However, her joy is short lived when she catches Taemin taking his usual place.
“Hey there,” he says with the same smile while he puts his apron on, and Jinri thinks it’s sort of unfair how he can do it that easily when her heart has already started pounding so hard at just the sight of him.
“Hi,” she returns simply as she moves towards the pick up counter. He’s already began making her drink, so she just quietly watched him until she remembers the real reason she came today. “Hey, you promised to tell me about how you found me on Instagram when I come back.”
Taemin’s cheeks flush for a quick second, but Jinri misses it. He clears his throat and regains his composure. “I said tomorrow. It’s been...how many days?”
“Well in case you’re not aware of it I actually have a life, you know,” she replies in a rather cold tone. Jinri almost regrets it but he only laughs it off.
“Alright, fine. I was going through the hashtags of this cafe - it’s something I do to find out what my customers say about my coffee, okay? I wasn’t stalking for no reason. Anyway, amongst the people who posted, I found your friend… Se...ho?”
“Sehun?”
“Yeah. He came with you so I recognized him.”
“So you found me through him?”
“Uh… yeah.”
“So you were stalking alright.”
“Wa- no- I told you I wasn’t stalking!” He suddenly gets flustered. “I really was checking my customers’ feedbacks, but when I saw him, I got curious so I- well, the point is, I wasn’t stalking!”
It’s Jinri’s turn to laugh. Seeing this side of him amuses her somehow because he’s always so composed and confident. “Fine, I believe you,” she tells him at last. Taemin gives her a lopsided grin before turning his full attention back at the drink he is making.
Jinri glances to her left and realizes that Soojung is still lingering around the payment counter. One look is all it takes for her to know that her friend is definitely still checking Jongin out--her fail attempts to look interested in the display of cakes are too obvious. Jinri muffles a laughter just as Soojung darts a glare at her. “What?”
“You’re so obvious.”
Soojung stands straighter, smoothing her hair and then her blouse before going towards her friend. “I was looking for cakes to buy for Sooyeon.” She says flatly. Jinri shrugs, as if saying whatever before turning to look at the barista again.
Taemin brings over both their drinks, placing them on top of the counter lightly and flashing a smile at Soojung. “Oh, you brought your friend today. Hi.”
“Hi Taemin,” Soojung puts on the most innocent and sweetest smile she could muster. Jinri’s eyes widen, knowing immediately what her friend is up to. “I’ve heard many stories about you. Jinri here wouldn’t stop--”
“WOW WILL YOU LOOK AT THE TIME? WE REALLY NEED TO GO!” Jinri suddenly exclaims out loud as she pinches Soojung’s arm from behind so Taemin wouldn’t see.
When Soojung yelps in pain, Taemin, who is already confused at the two friends’ sudden strange behaviours, now frowns at her. “Uh, are you okay?”
With Jinri’s fingers still lingering on her skin, Soojung is forced to smile at him. “Yeah, I’m fine. It was just some bitc- I mean some bee I think.”
“We have to go now so bye,” Jinri says hurriedly.
“Uh, Jinri? Your drink?”
She halts her steps abruptly, but doesn’t turn back right away due to embarrassment. Soojung’s smirk widens. “Oh, don’t worry about it. I’ll take it for her.”
The former whips her head at Soojung’s direction as she marches towards her friend. “I’ll take that myself, thank you. Have a good day, Taemin. LET’S GO, SOOJUNG.” Forcefully linking an arm around Soojung’s, Jinri begins to drag her away.
“Wait, I haven’t said goodbye to--” Soojung starts, but Jinri merely pulls her along her way.
“Hush, no more words from you. Just, zip it!”
♥ 63 likes
taemiiiiin name change!
jinriiiii this blatant plagiarism where do i file a lawsuit
taemiiiiin @jinriiiii my cafe please come tomorrow
jinriiiii do i get a free drink?
taemiiiiin @jinriiiii no
♥ 28 likes
jinriiiii ❤
taemiiiiin hmph
taemiiiiin so ugly
taemiiiiin i can make a better heart than that
After that almost slip of tongue incident, Jinri decides to not visit Taemin’s cafe again for the time being. She figures if she lets some time pass, that incident would eventually fade from his memory and she could pretend like it never happened.
Still, there are days when she feels tempted to just get on the train and go, especially when her class gets cancelled at last minute and she suddenly has a long free period. Soojung is not helping as well. Since the last visit, she has started whining and asking Jinri to take her there again (to see that cute cashier boy, no doubt), but Jinri remains firm in her decision.
“It’s your fault that I can’t face Taemin, so no Jongin for you as your punishment,” Jinri says with a glare so sharp she nearly cut Soojung’s face.
“You know I can always go alone, right?” Soojung deadpans, unimpressed and unfazed by her friend’s glare. “I know you always do. I can just take the train...”
Jinri sucks in her breath, her face paling. “You wouldn’t.”
Soojung smirks. “I would. And I wonder what will happen if I see Taemin again...”
“God, Jung Soojung. You’re so evil,” Jinri hisses, but admits defeat. “FINE. We’ll go to the cafe again tomorrow. Happy? Cute cashier guy waiting for you. YOU HAPPY NOW?”
Soojung cackles as she walks away while Jinri only rolls her eyes and exhales a sigh, why is she friends with Soojung again?
They do not end up going back to the cafe the next day as promised because life gets in the way like it always does. There’s a new essay that needs to be written, and despite everyone’s protests it needs to be turned in by the end of the week.
Soojung finishes it in no time (she’s unexpectedly diligent, really) but Jinri spends two whole days working on it. An essay wouldn’t normally take up that much time but it’s Jinri the serial procrastinator, so there are other assignments too to be done. By Friday evening when she’s finally finished with everything, she’s too burnt out to do anything else and would rather write another essay than to see Taemin in her current condition.
“How many times did I tell you to stop procrastinating and start working on your assignments right away instead of doing it last minute? You do this every semester!” Soojung nags when she comes to Jinri’s room that night.
The latter only grumbles in return. “I completed everything anyway, didn’t I? Not everyone is like you, Soojung.”
“I’m only sayin-”
“You could’ve just gone to the cafe alone without me if you wanted. You did say you can go alone so why wait for me?”
Soojung’s face flushes so she turns the other way and pretends to be searching for snacks instead. “I… I was just being a loyal friend.”
Jinri tries hard not to snort so she pulls up her blanket and spends the remainder of the week sleeping. The cafe is closed on weekends anyway, so she figures she might as well try to get rid of her eyebags first before she meets Taemin again.
♥ 56 likes
jinriiiii freedom at last! but my eyebags ᅲᅲ
view all 11 comments
taemiiiiin betrayer!!!!!!
jinriiiii @taemiiiiin what
taemiiiiin this is not my cafe
jinriiiii @taemiiiiin can’t i drink coffee from another cafe????
taemiiiiin no 8<
The first thing they do on Monday after all classes for the day are over is heading to the train station (Jinri almost rolls her eyes when she sees Soojung waiting impatiently outside her class).
When they finally reach the cafe, however, Jongin is alone once again. Jinri’s heart sinks, but she figures Taemin might have gone for a short trip to the toilet or something, since it has happened before.
Soojung, on the other hand, gets a nervous breakdown the moment her eyes connects with Jongin’s, so she pushes her friend forward and uses Jinri’s height to hide behind her. “I can’t do this,” she mumbles, all panicky. “He looks too cute in jumper oh my god I can’t look him in the eye properly I’m going to get a heart attack.”
“Hello,” Jongin greets them with the same bright voice. He might not be her type, but Jinri totally understands why this boy can cause heart palpitations. He is tall and slender, though not as thin as Taemin (which makes her wonder sometimes if he even eats), has a low voice that is enough to melt any hearts, and a sweet smile on top of everything.
“Hello, Jongin,” Jinri replies in a matching tone. At the same time, she grabs Soojung’s hand and pulls her so Soojung stands by her side. “You remember my friend, right?”
“Oh, of course I do.”
Soojung is too flustered to say anything back to him but she manages to glare at Jinri. “I’m so going to push you off the train platform after this.”
“Would you like the usual too today?” Jongin proceeds to ask Jinri, who only nods with a smile in response. “Ah, your friend doesn’t drink coffee, right?” He then turns to Soojung. The sudden eye contact catches her by surprise and Jinri can swear Soojung may collapse anytime soon from the lack of oxygen in her brain.
“Who? Me? Oh… yeah.”
Jinri thinks she can faint anytime soon as well from holding in too much laughter.
“So would you like to order anything? Hot chocolate?”
“Ah, sure.”
She finally decides she’s had enough so she slyly intervenes. “Can you make it iced chocolate instead? She needs to cool down.”
Soojung also decides she’s had enough of her friend’s teasing so she gives Jinri a good shove in stomach using her elbow after making sure that Jongin’s attention is fixed on the cash register as he keys in their orders. It’s quite painful since Soojung’s elbow is sharp and thin, yet it’s not enough to stop Jinri. Her grin only grows wider and she continues to ridicule her friend until she finally sees Taemin coming in.
There is something off, she can tell, because his face is dark and somber. When he notices her, he tries a smile but it doesn’t reach his eyes so her heart aches somehow.
Taemin breaks off the eye contact quickly then turns to Jongin. “You can make the drinks, right?” he asks, and when Jongin nods, he grabs a notebook from one of the drawers and goes off to fill the chair at the corner behind the counter without another word to her.
With a pencil in hand and the book open, he seems immersed in whatever he’s doing. Jinri has never seen him being that serious, so she figures it’s best not to disturb him though she can’t deny feeling disappointed.
“Here are your drinks,” Jongin announces happily as he places the two cups down on the counter. “Have a nice day.”
She steals another glance at Taemin who doesn’t appear to be listening before smiling back at Jongin. It doesn’t reach her eyes.
Jinri tries again the next day.
This time, Taemin is on the phone when she arrives. His expression hasn’t changed. Dark shadows colour his face, brows knitted together, hair a mess, shirt crinkled and not tucked in properly, a hand on his waist. He almost looks like a completely different person than the Taemin she is used to.
He gives her a slight nod when their eyes meet, and then he storms out with the phone still pressed on his ear. The door slams behind him and causes Jinri to jump a little.
“I’m so sorry. Something came up so he hasn’t been in the best mood lately,” Jongin explains, sounding guilty and regretful.
She shakes her head, tells him it’s okay because he doesn’t need to feel bad, and flashes him a smile because he deserves it. For a moment she considers asking Jongin what he meant by ‘something’, but decides against it. He is trying to keep the atmosphere light so she doesn’t want to let his effort go to waste.
“So, the usual?”
“Make it iced instead,” Jinri says. Maybe today she’s the one who needs to cool down.
If anything, she feels more sad than upset about Taemin’s recent behaviour. It makes her realize that she pretty much is still an outsider to him.
As lame as it probably sounds, Jinri couldn’t stop thinking about him since she left the cafe that second day. She tried to find ways to help him, but she realized she doesn’t even know what exactly is troubling him.
She thinks back about times where Jinri would rant about her day to him, small things like when a classmate was being annoying and when the cafeteria ran out of her favourite side dish and she had to settle with something else. She thinks she is comfortable enough with him to be able to tell him those details of her mundane life because she sees him as a friend, and thought he feels the same about her, but she guesses she might have overestimated their friendship.
Jinri ends up sulking in her room for days. She’s just disappointed at herself for thinking too much and wants to give it a rest so she can clear up her mind.
♥ 33 likes
jinriiiii :(
“You know I went to the cafe yesterday,” Soojung tells her when they’re having lunch together a couple of days later. Jinri’s eyes widen and she almost chokes on her radish when she tries to yell at Soojung. “I couldn’t help it, okay? These days you look like you’re ready to jump off from the platform anytime. When that happens I want to be the one who pushes you off, not you jumping off yourself.”
That statement manages to form a smile on Jinri’s lips as she scoffs at her friend. “Thanks for the info. I’ll be careful from now on.”
Soojung returns the smile, then picks up her chopsticks again. “I gathered all courage I have to ask Taemin directly. He was kind of confused because why the hell would I be interested in his life? So I told him you’ve been moping around worrying about you.”
“I haven’t been moping around worrying about him!” Jinri protests.
“Check your note book, it’s full of doodles that don’t even make sense. Look at your plate, you’ve been eating since half an hour ago but it still looks untouched. Look in the mirror and check your dark circles. You don’t even have assignments left. And you say you haven’t been moping around? Try again, Choi Jinri,” Soojung rambles on without batting an eyelid. “Anyway, I asked Taemin what’s his problem. Anyway, apparently he has been stressed out lately because there’s a problem with one of their suppliers and it was kind of ugly, so he was pissed off and spent the past week trying to settle it out. It’s all okay now so he’s no longer that brooding male protagonist in those shoujo animes you like to watch.”
Jinri is left speechless. Her hand that’s holding the spoon pauses mid-air as she stares at her friend, finding it hard to believe in what she just listened. “Wow Sooj-”
“I might have yelled at him and scared Jongin a little though. Ah, my image, all ruined now.” The other girl exhales a sigh defeatedly and starts pouting. “It’s all your fault, Choi. There goes my potential romance.”
The next day goes normally. Jinri is still dragging her feet to and from classes, and to and from the cafeteria in between. Her mind is still elsewhere, perhaps her soul too. “You’re suffering from caffeine withdrawal,” Soojung points out sarcastically, but Jinri knows she means otherwise. Jinri makes no attempt to come up with any remark as sarcastic to counterback because she knows she can’t win anyway.
The day goes as normal as all her days have been, except Jinri receives a surprise when she leaves the lecture building after she is done for the day and spots a familiar looking guy leaning against the wall. A little too familiar, actually.
Panic registers and she halts her steps abruptly, causing Soojung to bump into her back unaware. The latter stares at Jinri confusedly, then elbows her out of the way before finally seeing the reason that caused her friend to suddenly freeze.
“Am I hallucinating or is that--”
Jinri snaps out from her reverie immediately, turning her back against the guy who has yet to spot them to hide herself. She faces Soojung, eyes widening as she begins to stutter. “W-what is he doing here?”
Grinning, Soojung shrugs as she feigns innocence. “Well, it seems like he’s waiting for someone? From the look on his face I’m guessing he’s here to meet a certain tall and slightly dumb girl whose family name is Choi. He probably wants to apologize or something. Wow, I’m such a psychic, don’t you think so? Maybe I should start my own business in the future--”
“Jung Soojung! What exactly have you done?” Jinri hisses. She then turns her head slightly to see what Taemin is doing. “Never mind, forget it. Is my hair okay? Is my makeup fine or should I go touch up a little? What about my outfit? Oh gosh, I should have worn a skirt today instead of this ugly looking baggy pants. He’ll take one look at me and be disgusted and then he’ll never want to see me again and then my life will be over and I’ll cry and I’ll never be able to drink coffee again and--”
“Woah, can you please calm down? I could not catch a single thing you just said.” Soojung motions a ‘stop’ with her hands. Once Jinri starts breathing normally again, she pats her friend’s shoulder gently and offers her a smile, “You look fine, Jinri. Your outfit today is definitely not your best, I must say, but don’t worry, he won’t run away when he sees you. If he does, I swear I’ll pour red paint all over his cafe.”
Jinri breaks into a slight grin, “ Really? You would do that for me?”
“Sure,” Soojung says as nonchalant as possible, “But you’ll have to pay for the paint, of course.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Jinri sighs, though she is still smiling. “Hey, Soojung-ah, I just want to thank you for all the--”
“HEY TAEMIN, JINRI IS HERE! SHE IS TOO SHY TO FACE YOU SO CAN YOU PLEASE COME OVER HERE?”
“--shit!” Jinri screeches, her face turning pale just as Soojung waves with all her might at Taemin’s direction. Soojung’s grin is so wide now that Jinri feels like shoving her fist into her mouth--it’ll probably fit, anyway.
“Okay Jinri, your coffee prince is coming. Good luck!” Soojung turns back to look at Jinri and gives her a wink. “I’ll see you later.”
“I never want to see you again.” Jinri snaps under her breath just as Soojung flits away and she feels a tap on her shoulder.
“Jinri?”
“HI TAEMIN!” Jinri greets a little bit too loudly and quickly feigns a cute cough. “Sorry, I was… there was something stuck in my throat.”
Taemin’s usual sunny smile is on his face, and Jinri feels herself dying a little in the inside again. She hasn’t seen him looking so bright and happy for such a long time that the feeling is almost foreign to her.
“So… what are you doing here?”
“Um, sorry about, uh…” Jinri isn’t sure if her eyes are deceiving her, but is he blushing? “...well, for suddenly appearing here without telling you.” Taemin finishes his sentence awkwardly, but all Jinri could think of at the moment is how cute he is with his hair combed sideways like this today.
Realizing that he is waiting for her to say something, Jinri slaps herself mentally. “Nice hair today.” Shit, what the hell, Jinri? “I mean, it looks.... uh, nice.”
Taemin laughs. He doesn’t seem to mind her rather sudden compliment. “Thanks. Nice...outfit today. Very different from how I usually see you at the cafe.”
Jinri wishes the ground would just open up right there and then and swallow her whole. Why must Taemin see her on the day she wears her ugliest outfit to class? Why didn’t Taemin visit on days when she is wearing her cute yellow sundress that would have made him swoon--
“--today?”
Crap, what did he say?
“Uh...I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”
“I asked how was class today.” Taemin repeats, laughing slightly at how flustered Jinri is. “I haven’t really talked to you in a while since you haven’t been coming to the cafe lately, so I decided to just drop by today to see how you’re doing. Soojung told me about...uh, you.”
Jinri blushes. “Oh, class was fine. And about Soojung, I’m really sorry. I’m sure she was a bit high when she visited your cafe and yelled at you. I totally understand your situation though so you really don’t have to apologize for anything.”
“It’s fine,” Taemin shoves his hands in his pocket; Jinri feels like dying again. “I owe you an apology, I guess. I shouldn’t have acted that way when you were there. I haven’t really thought of your feelings before this, and as a friend, I’m sorry that I didn’t bother explaining anything to you and made you worry.”
“F-friend? We’re friends?” Jinri blurts out before she can stop herself.
He quickly nods. “Of course we are! If we aren’t, would I give you so many discounts every time you visit my cafe?”
“Oh.”
An awkward silence suddenly engulfs them, and Jinri shifts her feet nervously. Taemin runs a hand through his hair before clearing his throat. “Uh, Soojung told me your classes ended at 2 today.”
She frowns at him. “Soojung?”
“Um,” he hesitates a little. “I started following her on Instagram recently- wait, don’t misunderstand me. It’s not that I’m interested in her or anything. I just wanted to ask her something kind of urgently, and I didn’t know where else to find her.”
“Is this also one of your customer feedbacks research?”
“No, it’s not. I swear it’s not. I only talked to her once. Virtually, I mean,” Taemin admits sheepishly. He keeps fidgeting in his spot and his eyes wander back and forth between her and the floor, and Jinri finds delight in watching him, in all honesty. “Well, to tell you the truth, I asked Soojung about you.”
“About me?”
“Yeah. What she said to me the other day bothered me so I thought I’d come meet you, to make up for my lack of explanation and ignorance. You were always the one who came to the cafe, anyway, so I figured this time around I’ll be the one who goes to you instead. And Soojung’s the one who told me I’d find you here today,” he explains. “Oh, she also said you’re dressed badly today and if I say anything about it I’ll find my cafe covered in red paint one day.”
Jinri swears that when she sees that friend of hers again, she’ll push her off the tracks for real. “Soojung can be aggressive sometimes.”
“I know. I learned it the hard way,” he responds with a light laugh.
Wind breezes past them and picks up their hair, and Jinri watches the way Taemin tucks his overgrown fringe behind his ear. As she laughs along with him, suddenly, everything is back to normal again, if not better. Being here with him like this feels good. It feels right.
“So... wanna go grab some coffee?”
Jinri grins. “I thought you’d never ask.”
♥ 65 likes
ohohsehun did i contribute to this?
jinriiiii @ohohsehun no
taemiiiiin @ohohsehun no
jungsooj @ohohsehun dude no
“Seriously, where the hell are you?”
“Sorry! Can you come to the playground? You know where it is right?”
“The one where the Saturday flea market is?”
“Yup, that’s the one. Come quick!”
“Wai-”
When the line suddenly goes dead, Soojung grumbles and mutters something unintelligible under her breath as she slips her way through the throng of people. Does Jinri not know how packed Hongdae is on weekends? There are far better places for them to meet. They can always drop by each other’s room, anyway. Why must Jinri insist on coming here today?
As Soojung approaches the promised place, she hears a voice singing that’s accompanied by some instruments. The playground is a common place for busking, so it doesn’t surprise her to find a crowd there. She decides to stay away from the mass of people watching the performance and settles at a bench nearby instead.
That’s when she hears someone calling her name.
“Soojung?”
Her heart almost explodes the moment she glances around and sees “J-Jongin?”
“What a coincidence,” Jongin grins happily. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I-I’m…” she begins to stutter. What makes things worse is that he looks really good today in faded jeans and a plaid shirt that coincidentally matches the colour of her blouse. Maybe I shouldn’t tease Jinri too much back then, she thinks. “Jinri! I’m waiting for her. Did you see her anywhere?”
“No, sorry. That’s funny, though, because I’m here to meet Taemin.”
“Taemin?”
Soojung’s brain starts working immediately as she pieces the information together. It can’t be another coincidence that both of them are supposed to meet here as well. Then she realizes something. Is this why Jinri literally forced her to dress nicely in such a strange tone? Is this Jinri’s form of revenge for secretly arranging her meeting with Taemin the other day?
Soojung opens her mouth to say something, but Jongin beats her to it. “I think we got tricked by them,” he says, giving her his phone so she can read a text from Taemin that contains a similar instruction as what Jinri had told her. “No wonder he told me to buy some coffee first,” Jongin adds while showing her what’s in his other hand. Realizing something, his forehead forms creases as he frowns at her. “Wait, I thought you don’t drink coffee.”
“Um” is all Soojung can manage as a response. She swears that the next time she sees her supposedly best friend, she’s going to make Jinri jump in front of a train for real. “I have to confess something. You see, I do drink coffee, to be honest. I said I don’t because I was too flustered that day.”
“Oh.”
They break off their eye contact and Jongin goes back to fiddling with his phone while tapping on the ground with one foot. Awkwardness grows between them and she presses her lips together nervously.
“Um,” he suddenly begins, turning at her again.
“So.”
Jongin chuckles at the awkward atmosphere, and eventually she does too. At last, he offers a soft smile. The corners of his eyes crinkle at the same time. “Well, for starters, want to go have some coffee?”
Soojung grins. “Let’s have some hot chocolate instead.”
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