Vanilla Espresso Romance- The Epiquel (Ch. 2)
It was the Friday of the same week, and for Jaejoong everything had gone as it always had.
Changmin panicked in the mornings, threatened the blond with contract termination if he wouldn’t stop drooling on customer’s drinks whenever Yunho walked into the establishment, then twenty minutes later apologized for saying those kinds of things, then panicked again when an angry customer approached him as manager, then-
Jaejoong never realized how much he paid attention to his best friend during the work shift before, but apparently he did so a lot.
Tch, who cared about Changmin? He was so grumpy.
But all of that was beside the point.
Just like before Jaejoong began to go steady with Yunho, his days always started off with a bang thanks to his- his!- boyfriend. The student still watched him in the mornings, still thought about him constantly, still panicked whenever he got too close… still got that sarcastic eye-roll from Changmin as he talked incessantly about the business man of his dreams.
The only difference was that now instead of just daydreaming about the older man, Jaejoong could be with him for real. He could touch him and hug him and kiss him and-
“Jae, are you blushing?” Junsu asked incredulously from his perch sitting- yet again- on the counter in front of the coffee grinder.
Jaejoong scowled and tried to hide his traitorous cheeks, who were at the moment giving away the indulgent edge in his thoughts. “No, I’m just hot! It’s hot in here, Junsu. Aren’t you hot? Aish, it’s hot!” He fanned a hand in front of his face to get the point across.
The younger man quirked an eyebrow and giggled. “Well… no? We have air conditioning, duh. You were just thinking something dirty about your Yu-“
Jaejoong’s eyes opened wide in panic and his hand flew over his friend’s mouth almost instantly. Junsu gasped for air a little as the force of the pale palm that had attached itself to his face smacked the back of his head against a few of the buttons that lined up along the outside of the coffee grinder’s cool exterior.
A light whirring sound escaped the machine as the green on button was pressed in the tiny moment of panic, and that sound alone was enough to push away any serious kind of momentum that may have sprung from Jaejoong’s ministrations.
Junsu whimpered a little and pouted, scratching the back of his head. “Damn, Jae! YOU’RE SO MEAN TO ME!”
Jaejoong laughed as his friend continued to work on soothing his “wounds,” and turned away to sit himself on the opposing counter from Junsu, right next to the register.
That was another thing that was different between now and before Yunho- Changmin gave his best friend the evening shift on Fridays now. It had become the certified “Date Night” for the couple, and Yunho would come around at the end of his boyfriend’s shift to pick him up so they could go out.
And Yunho was quite the gentleman, taking Jaejoong all across Seoul so that each date was completely unique from the next. Moonlight picnics, dance lessons (where, Jaejoong observed, Yunho had quite a lot of talent), the occasional restaurant, karaoke, dark movie theaters, spas, rose gardens, even traditional walks on the beach- you name it, they had experienced it. And even at the most cliché dating spots Yunho somehow managed to make everything seem magical without even looking like he was making an effort.
Not that it would have mattered to Jaejoong. To him, just being with Yunho was a special brand of magic in and of itself.
Jaejoong wondered every Friday what the next date was going to be like, because his boyfriend would never let him know. “It’s always going to be a surprise for you, okay?” Yunho had told him with a wink.
Because of that, Jaejoong was practically useless on Fridays while his imagination drove him crazy- and so Changmin begrudgingly set him up for the night shift, because he “can’t deal with the overzealous amount of fluff that you emit each and every time that day comes. It’s lovey-dovey suffocation, and let me tell you Jae- I plan to die by the hands of a rabid caffeine addict, not by Yunjae romance being shoved down my throat.”
That was another thing- Yunho and Jaejoong: Yunjae. They had been given a quirky little couple name by Jaejoong’s coworkers, and to be honest the blond was quite fond of it. It just sounded… right.
“I am suing you, Jae,” Junsu said with a wince. His words brought Jaejoong out of his thoughts, and the student watched his friend get away from his seat on the counter to stand in front of Jaejoong with a very- very- poor attempt at a serious look on his face.
“Suing? Suing me for what?”
Junsu scowled amusedly. “Property damage. Or I suppose Yoochun will- you injured his man. Which would be me, in case you were wondering.” The man sighed in content after relaying those words.
“You were saying things that other customers could hear!”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Jaejoong turned around and looked at the blatantly empty coffee shop in front of him. “Well… I mean I-“
“Should have seen your face before you tried to maul me. Your eyes were all big and unfocused and your lips were twitching all excited-like. You always look like that when you think about Yunho. I mean, isn’t that how I look when I think about my Chunnie?”
The blond shook his head. “No, you look like this!” And then, in the most immature way possible, Jaejoong used his fingers to push up his nose to look like a pig’s while simultaneously pulling at his eyes. “You look like this, dweeb!”
Junsu immediately burst into a fit of laughter, and within seconds it had the blond laughing, too. The younger man’s laughter was insanely contagious.
“I don’t think Chunnie would like-“
“What wouldn’t I like, baby?” The man in question stepped into the coffee shop with a twinkle in his eye. He had shortish black hair that fell near his cheeks with deep smile lines along his cheekbones, and a deep, melodic voice.
Junsu almost shoved Jaejoong away the second Yoochun stepped in the doorway, and a happy gurgle passed through his lips. “CHUNNIE~!” The younger man practically flew over to his boyfriend and within milliseconds it seemed they were locked in a warm embrace.
Jaejoong felt jealous just seeing the encounter, but it warmed his heart nonetheless.
“Chunnie, I haven’t seen you for almost six full hours! Baby, it’s torture here~” Yoochun laughed at the whiny innocent rambling coming from Junsu’s mouth.
“Hey! I resent that, you jerk!” Jaejoong shouted from the register. “That hurts, Su. That hurts real deep. You have me here, after all…” His tone was not remotely serious.
Junsu stopped hugging Yoochun to look over at his friend. “Yes, yes, you’re cool and all- but look! It’s… it’s Yoochun!” He exclaimed as if in proper explanation. He was even pointing to make things seem clearer.
“It’s nice to see you, Jae! How’re you and Yunho, going, eh? Eh?” Yoochun questioned pointedly as he let his hand rest nicely on Junsu’s hip.
Jaejoong felt himself blush again as his boyfriend was brought up. “They’re great, Chun. Like always. We’re gonna go out later tonight and-“
“Are you finally going to…?”
The blond fell off the countertop right onto the floor as the topic was brought up. “NO! Haha. No, I- um. I don’t think he knows how to- with a guy- I- No? No. What are we- I have to… I’m gonna go wash dishes…” He stammered.
For a few blissful seconds, Jaejoong let the warm water caress over his hands as he tried to wash random cups and silverware in the sink. He ignored the new lovely caramel stains that now graced his work apron from falling off of the countertop- but most importantly, he tried to still the anxious beating in his heart.
It had been two and a half months. That wasn’t nearly long enough to take something that far, was it? Jaejoong wasn’t ready to do… that. Was he?
Was Yunho? Was he ready to do… that?
… With a boy?
Had Yunho already….?
With a girl…?
Omo! Was Yunho even a v-
“Why doesn’t my brain stop? Why? I don’t need to be thinking about this, lalalalalalalala~” Jaejoong sang out to himself loud enough to hear his voice over the sound of running water.
“Actually, the real question is why you’re talking to yourself. And why you’re not out here, Jae!” Junsu’s voice floated from the front of the shop.
Jaejoong sighed. “Why?”
Yunho’s voice answered. “Because I’m here, Boojae!”
The blond smacked his head in embarrassment. Dating for two months or no, he was never- ever- going to stop making a fool of himself in front of Yunho.
But none of that mattered to Jaejoong as he walked out into the coffee shop and saw his still suit-clad boyfriend smiling at him, with his suitcase still in hand. He had dashed right from work to see the blond.
Jaejoong bit his tongue to prevent himself from practically screaming and jumping for joy, because the best time of the week had finally come, and the best man in the entire world was there to share it with him.
It was finally time for their date.
Yunho.
And Jaejoong didn’t even hear Junsu yelling at him that his shift wasn’t over yet as his boyfriend draped an arm around his shoulders and led him out of the coffee shop.
A/N: Aaaaaand… let teh date begin!!!!! >=D Bwahahaha XD *cuddles Yoosu* *squishes Junsu’s cheek* aish, he’s cute~ Omg I hope you all like the rest, I’m nervous ><” (YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN BY “THE REST,” DON’T YOU?! XD)
And thanks everyone for your comments! I had a pretty horrible day (that won’t end T_T”) so reading your nice words made me smile ^_^
Leave me love and I will cherish you forever!
Or… Yunjae will :3
(I promise!! XD)
<3