hunhan: bitter coffee

[hunhanie]

Title: Bitter Coffee
Pairing: Hunhan / Sehan
Genre: Humor, Fluff, Angst
Word Count: 8,961 words
Author: Keanne
Summary: Sehun is a writer, a desperate one, to earn money under Luhan’s publication. He hates Luhan’s guts (not really). Yet he found his self falling for the older guy. But their love story isn’t like those in novels with a happy ending…
A/N: I started writing this exactly April 9th and only finished now. That’s how lazy I am. This is for the hunhan shippers out there. ♥

“Letting go means to come to the realization that some people are a part of your history, but not a part of your destiny.”

― Steve Maraboli



.Bitter Coffee

Sehun sipped the melted ice of his iced coffee and it made a sound that barely broke the silence of the coffee shop. He looked around and saw people looking at him in which he replied with a blank face, straw still on his mouth. The liquid tasted nothing but purely cold water but he didn’t give a damn since he is broke at the moment - and another iced coffee would be out of hand.

He was sitting at the corner of the coffee shop, his favorite spot, with his trusted laptop on his table. He had been staring at the screen, wanting to write something - but kept failing. He bit his now molested and out-of-shape straw and heaved a sigh. “I badly need to finish this book or else I’d be homeless,” he muttered and mirrored his reflection from Lulu, his laptop. He let out a desperate cry and kept kicking in his feet from under the table. “I need to pay my monthly rent, credit cards, electricity bill, water bill, monthly WiFi - aaahhhhh!!!!”, he sighed and ruffled his hair in a mess then hunched over his laptop.

“Love…. Romance…. Love,” he chanted and buried his face on his hands. He writes novels and he used to earn money with it but now he has become an unfortunate unpaid writer. He wrote three books and submitted them to the publication only to have those shoved back to his face.

“It lacks romance,” the owner of the publication simply said.

“What the heck! I used to write well, what happened?” he asked his self dramatically, now looking once again on his reflection. “My precious talent, come back to me…” he ended tragically and stayed staring at his empty MS-Word.

“Can’t write anything?”

Sehun lifted his gaze and met Minseok’s cutesy grin. Kim Minseok is the manager of the coffee shop and they have known each other quite long since he is a regular costumer. He looked at the cute creep and stared at his nameplate. Xiumin - Branch Manager, it says.”Minseok, you have an ugly Chinese name and I do not get why you use it a lot.” He stated and stayed blanked face.

Minseok abruptly pushed the Mocha Frappuccino near Sehun’s laptop and slammed the straw on the table. “I don’t even know why I’m bringing you this drink either.” He remarked and clicked his tongue.

Knotting his forehead, Sehun stared at the lovely drink ion front of him. “I don’t remember ordering this,” he said cheerfully as a smile slowly tugged on his thin lips. Without hesitation, he put the straw on the drink and sipped whole-heartedly. “Thanks.”

Minseok tapped his fingers on the table, as if being impatient, while his other hand was on his chin. “So, Sehun, when are you using me as the important character in your novel?” He cooed.

Sehun didn’t mean to cough from his coffee but damn, he did and it even made his nose hurt. He looked at Minseok and waved his hand in front of the latter’s face. “Hello? Kim Minseok, do you want me to be fired and become jobless forever?” He blurted out as he raised his hand.

Sehun swore Minseok’s cute face was gone for a while and was replaced with a beast that was ready to ravish him into thin pieces any time. He gulped and averted his gaze at the window then sipped back from the straw.

“Okay, you need to pay that drink.” Minseok snapped.

Sehun immediately gave a half-hearted smile and looked at Minseok. “Of course, Xiumin, I was just kidding. To be honest, I’ll let you cameo in this novel. Aren’t I awesome?” He then let out a fake laugh.

Minseok brightened up and smiled, “What did you write there?”

“Jung Daehyun clicked his tongue as he stayed standing near the lamppost. He had been there for about two hours now and he had slowly lost his patience. YooYoungjae, you are forever late, he murmured and kicked the snow that started piling near his shoe. He sighed and looked at the paper bag on his hand. He tok a peek and bit his lower lip as he picked a white Chinese bun from it. He looked at it then took a big bite. Oh how xiopao makes him happy…”Sehun recited as if reading something from his laptop.

“What? Where’s my cameo?” Minseok asked furiously and had his eyes bulged out from their sockets as he realized something. “Fuck you, Oh Se Hun!” Steam was practically going out from his nostrils.

“At least you appea-“

“Did you finish your book already?”

A sudden voice interrupted them. Sehun needed not to know who it was. Minseok stayed staring at the newcomer, as if he just saw a god descending from Mt. Olympus. He then silently excused his self and it was practically Sehun himself and the newcomer on his table.

Luhan sat regally on the opposite seat on Sehun’s table then crossed his legs. “So? Have you finished your book, Sehun?” He asked once again.

Shaking his head, Sehun stayed fidgeting on any keys from his laptop. Luhan was the young owner of the successful Dear Han Publication. Sehun hated his guts. Luhan was a genius in maths and he, too, writes books. Yep, books, not novels. Those thick books wherein you can practically learn something about life. Luhan was a good writer and he writes really awesomely and he is almost perfect if only not because - wait, was he actually praising him?! No way.

“I’m done writing three chapters though.” He lied then sipped from his coffee.

Luhan raised his brow and smirked. “Oh, really? Let me read it.”

Sehun blew from his straw, making his coffee bubble. “No way.” He prompted then glanced at Luhan in front of him. He now puffed both his cheeks and blew again on his coffee.

“You’re really gross, Sehun,” Luhan commented and attempted to touch Sehun’s laptop.

“No!” Sehun yelled and instantly held it. “Don’t touch my precious Lulu with your dirty hands.” He then clutched the laptop closer to him.

“Lulu?”Luhan asked, amusement visible on his doe-like eyes. “Don’t tell me you named that after me, Sehun.” He then leaned closer to the table and looked at the younger guy in front of him.

Sehun stopped short, staring at Luhan as if startled. “N-no way!” He said furiously and he secretly kicked his self for stuttering. “Why would I even name my precious laptop after you? You may be my employer but we’re not friends.”

“My friends used to call me Lulu to annoy me but nah, isn’t it cute?” Luhan asked, now smiling and looking like a baby again.

Sehun’s heart did something it hadn’t done in years, it gave one hard thump against his chest as he stayed staring at Luhan. He badly want to smash his laptop on Luhan’s smiling face because he swore to heavens that he looked so cute and so handsome and so perfect… he felt like his boss was deceiving his innocent and pure heart - but of course, that wasn’t the case. “It’s cute.” He nodded in agreement although his eyes were now focused on the table. Damn, why wouldn’t he look at Luhan’s eyes?

Luhan chuckled and tapped his fingers against the table. Oh what lovely fingers, Sehun thought and abruptly brushed it off. Sehun took the courage to stare at Luhan’s face and he just did. Wrong move because he saw Luhan looking at him, smiling oh so innocently. There it was again, that foreign feeling and sudden thump on his chest. With a last sip from his drink, he stood up, laptop on his hand.

“Where are you going?” Luhan asked, surprised at Sehun’s sudden act of movement.

“I’m off to my apartment and write something so I won’t be jobless because Almighty Luhan is excited to read my book because he is obviously a fan of me,” he muttered as he held his breath then let out a sigh exaggeratedly. With last one look putting up his blank face, he glanced at the older guy then headed for the door.

“I’ll pay you a visit in your apartment later!” He heard Luhan said in a voice enough for him to hear. He was so pre-occupied that he passed through the glass door and it made really made a thud.  Cursing Luhan under his breath, he went home giving death glares to everyone.

☆彡

Sehun had been receiving radiation from his laptop for about five hours now and he had only written one chapter; that’s the best he could at the moment. He arched his back and stretched his arms before yawning with all his might. He lay down on the floor then stayed staring at the ceiling. He really wondered why he could not put the right amount of romanceon his novels now - he used to do well. “Maybe I need an inspiration,” he commented absent-mindedly. He cocked his head and his eyes widened when Luhan’s smiling face came to his mind. He immediately got up and on the process; he accidentally kicked his foot on the sofa’s leg.

“Fuck!” Ugh, fuck you Luhan!” he screamed in pain as he sucked air through his teeth.

His unit’s doorbell rang and he knotted his forehead. He threw a glance at the clock and it says it is 9:48PM. Who could be visiting him at this hour?

He decided to ignore it and went back to lying down on the carpeted floor. It must be Luhan, he told his mind. Ah, no way. As if that bossy guy would know his place… He then think about the plot of his book and wrote bits of pieces for the next chapter on his mind. The doorbell rang again…

“Who’s that?!” He demanded although he knew he couldn’t be heard. He rolled on the floor again and again until he came
to the door lazily. He stood up and let his hair stay ruffled in a mess. Luhan’s baby-face greeted him with an impatient look.

Sehun immediately closed the door and was about to go back to the living room when Luhan pushed the doorbell endless. He rolled his eyes then opened the door again. “What are you doing here?” he asked, looking at Luhan through his hair that was covering his eyes.

Knotting his forehead, Luhan looked at Sehun from head to toe. “Who are you?”

“I’m Lu Han so get the fuck out doppelganger,” Sehun mocked and was about to close the door for the third time when the real Luhan held his hand that was holding the doorknob then smiled. “I brought coffee and band-aid for you,” Luhan said then came inside the apartment.

Sehun couldn’t do anything but to look at Luhan’s back then look at his hand that was on the knob. Was it just his imagination or he felt tiny voltages from Luhan’s touch? Weakly, he removed his hand then closed the door. Luhan was now studying his apartment, hands on his waist. See? This is why he hates him.

“What brought you to my little place?” He asked but obviously sounding displeased.

Luhan shrugged then pointed his laptop that was on the sofa. “Are you done?”

Sehun dropped his self on the floor again and kept rolling until he reached near his sofa. “You are disturbing me. I was busy writing when you came.” He mumbled then threw his long legs on the air. “Go awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.”

Luhan’s brows rose. “What are you doing? You are obviously procrastinating,” he said as a matter-of-factly. He then reached out something from the plastic that he brought and picked the band-aid then threw it to Sehun.

“What’s this?” Sehun asked as the box of band-aid landed directly on his face.

“Lube.” Luhan mocked then sat down near him - so near that air couldn’t pass in between them.

Widening his eyes, Sehun stood up and stayed staring at the box. Fuck you, Luhan. For a moment I was about to believe it! He shouted mutely on his mind. He was about to say something when it vanished like thin air from his mind because Luhan’s hands are now cupping his face. “W-what are you-“

Luhan tightened holding Sehun’s face. “Stay put!” He commanded and he was only glad that the younger guy obliged. He pushed back Sehun’s bangs and clicked his tongue when he saw the bruise. “Hand me one,” he demanded then the younger one gave him. He then put it on the bruise as gentle as he can.

Blinking again and again, Sehun knotted his forehead while looking at Luhan. The older guy was acting weirder than usual. Strange. “What brought you here!!!!!!!?” He shouted at Luhan’s face and that wasn’t obviously a question.

Wrinkling his nose, Luhan fanned his hand near his face, as if brushing away an unwanted smell. “Go back to writing, Sehun. I’d make you jobless if you fail this.” He warned then stood up. “I’ll be going now so I won’t be disturb you anymore,” he added then ruffled Sehun’s silky hair.

Sehun just stayed staring at Luhan until the latter reached the door and went home. That was it; Luhan came to his apartment for the first time and bugged him about his book endlessly. He shrugged then looked at the paper bag on the center table. It was from the coffee shop where Minseok works. He smiled when he saw a coffee and a slice of cake. Wow, he never knew Luhan could be this thoughtful.

After eating, he went back to his precious Lulu and started writing. Just this once, he will be making Luhan as the main character in his novel. “Yup, just this once,” he nodded in agreement. “Because… he seemed sweet today.” He added and paused for a while. It’ll just be for the novel, nothing else. Luhan will never be a hero in my real life.

☆彡

Sehun felt like he would fall asleep any moment by then when he came out from his apartment. He started writing last
night and finally got it done. He checked his wristwatch and let out a cry when he saw it was almost 6:00PM. If he would go to the publication company now, it would close the moment he’d come. He let his brain think and came up with a good idea. He picked his cellphone from his pocket and dialed Luhan’s number.

“I’m done with my novel and you should pick me up, like, right now before I’d throw this masterpiece on the nearest trash can. Don’t make me wait for an hour because I had a sleepless night all because of you. I’d wait for thirty minutes. Your time starts now.” He demanded as soon as Luhan picked up the call.

“Who do you think you are speaking wit-“

He then ended the line.

Exactly after thirty minutes, Luhan came driving his Bentley Continental that was screaming elegance all over. Sehun let out a satisfied smile on his tired face after seeing it.

“Get in,” Luhan commanded.

Sehun maneuvered to the front seat and threw his manuscript that was placed on the brown envelope. “Here’s my masterpiece, Almighty Luhan.” He coaxed then settled deeply on the comfortable seat. “Whoa! Is this foam?”

“Hollowblocks.” Luhan countered then placed the brown envelope on the back seat. And off they went.

“Don’t disturb me while I sleep, okay.” Sehun warned him then closed his tired eyes. He saw Luhan nod as an answer.

☆彡

Opening his eyes, Sehun stretched his arms then yawned. He looked around and noticed they were still in Luhan’s car. Only was that Luhan is sleeping too. Where are we? He asked his mind. He was about to wake Luhan up but then the latter was sleeping so pleasantly. He stayed staring at the older guy’s features when he felt something on his stomach. He felt a sudden jitter on it. He held it with curiosity and went back to busying himself by staring Luhan.

Luhan was really handsome - or beautiful - or both. He had a small face that wass charmed with small yet pointed nose. He had thick and long lashes and he knew if Luhan was awake, his eyes were big and seemed like always smiling. He wanted to cry because Luhan looked so pale - like a doll. He had thin and pinkish lips too. I wonder how it feels to be kissed by him, he asked his self. He slapped his self to remind Luhan was a jerk, a moron, and a heartless one. He kept staring at him and pouted when noticed Luhan had really cute cheeks - almost like a baby’s. He reached out his hand to caress it, to make sure it was as smooth as how it looked. There was a thud on his chest as he did so and it surprised him. He jerked away from Luhan and went back to his seat. It was still a mystery for him why he always has a sudden thump on his chest for Luhan. He wrote about it on his novel but he firmly believed those feelings are just fictitious.

Slowly jolting awake, Luhan rubbed his eyes. “So you’re awake now.”

“Where are we?”

“At my place.” Luhan answered then reached out the brown envelope from the back seat. “Let’s get inside.”

Sehun stared unknowingly at Luhan, who was now out from the car. “Hey! Why are we on your place?”

“Well,” Luhan started, “the publication is now close and I still have to judge you masterpiece so I brought you here instead. You were asleep and you clearly told me not to disturb you so…”

Heaving a sigh, Sehun got out from the car and followed Luhan entering the house. Luhan threw the envelope to the nearest sofa and headed straight to the kitchen. Sehun could only let his eyes follow him.

“Let’s have dinner first,” Luhan declared and started pre-heating the food in the oven.

Sehun only nodded as he felt his stomach churning.

Five minutes passed by and Luhan started preparing the table. “Come here,” he demanded.

Making his way on the kitchen, Sehun bit his lower to prevent his stomach’s growling from being heard but it was of no use. His stomach just growled loudly again - shamelessly.

“What was that?” Luhan asked in disbelief yet amusement was on his eyes.

“Atomic bomb.”

And off they eat.

Sehun wondered why his relationship with Luhan progressed this far. Luhan was his strict boss and he was a simple writer that was desperate not to be jobless. They weren’t even friends, just acquaintances. And look at them now, even eating together at Luhan’s house. Oh well, it’s still part of the work.

“That was a good story,” Luhan broke the silence.

“I thought you’ve not read it yet?” Sehun took another spoonful of rice then smiled. “I told you that it wash my mashterpieshe.”

Shaking his head, Luhan scratched his brow. “Don’t talk when your mouth is full, Sehuna.”

Bulging his eyes out, Sehun stared at Luhan. Did he just call me Sehuna?! “Did-“

“Although the main character or hero of your novel was kind of…” Luhan continued and kept staring at him, “familiar.”

Sehun coughed from the food that stayed on his mouth which made Luhan panic as the latter handed him the glass of water. “You think so?”

“Yeah, I just can’t pinpoint who though…” Luhan said then continued eating.

Before they could even finish eating, Luhan’s doorbell rang. Luhan stood up only to see that the guest has come inside. “Oh, hi Luhan, I didn’t know you have a guest today,” the guest said, as if mocking.

Sehun looked around and saw a handsome guy, or more like a pretty guy looking at him, with eyebrows raised. “Where have you picked him up this time? How could you replace me with someone like him, Luhan? What happened to your standards?”

“Listen, Baekhyun, it isn’t like that…”

Shrugging, Sehun continued eating and enjoyed every bite of it. He didn’t give a damn about the drama; it was none of his business. So, Luhan has a boyfriend… Interesting. I was about to like that jerk-no, I was just-

“Baekhyun, Sehun is just my employee. He writes for me; I pay him for it. Satisfied?” Luhan explained once again. “Our fight last week was a different thing.”

“Tell me, do you love him? That Sehun?”

“Yes.”

For the second time, Sehun coughed from his food. He abruptly reached for the glass of water to calm him down. The food hated him way too much. He looked around and saw Luhan’s worried look. He replied with an awkward smile while Baekhyun looked at him with disgust. He raised his brow at the guest then shrugged his shoulders. He secretly stuck out his tongue too.

“Do what you want, Luhan. We’re over. I don’t know what I’ve seen in you. You are a jerk. You don’t deserve to be loved. You don’t deserve top be happy.” Baekhyun declared then went outside from the house. Sehun didn’t fail to see the flicker of hurt and betrayal from the guy that just walked out. His heart went out for him…

Sehun looked at Luhan that acted like nothing happened. He obviously looked ambivalent. “I’m fine, Luhan. You can after that Baekhyun guy.” He encouraged and forced a smile.

Luhan furrowed his brows and stared at Sehun. “No way. Why the hell should I?”

“Because you love him.” Sehun simply answered. Idiot, he added on his mind.

“I don’t love him. Luhan confessed then went back to his seat on the dining table.

Still staring at his food, Sehun went absent-mindedly. “Still…”

“Don’t flatter your self too much… that was just an alibi.”

The pity that Sehun felt for Luhan vanished and was replaced with irritation. He drank the remaining water from his glass then stared at Luhan. “You know what? You are really a jerk. If you didn’t love him, why the fuck did you have a relationship with him?” He started.”Baekhyun might be right.” He then stood up and went out from the kitchen. His nerves stretched tighter until he feared they’d snap.

“Where are you going?”

“Going home, of course. I’m not staying in your place for the whole night.” He said as he started walking out. He felt bad and he was sure it was for Baekhyun… or maybe a bit for his self.

☆彡

part ii

- Thank you for reading!  Continue to part II. ♥