Work for Taehyung was only getting worse.
His shifts had been extended and he ended up getting home a lot later than he used to, exhausted and grumpy and unable to slip on pretty much all of the weekdays. Then when the weekend came around, sometimes he'd get a day or two off which he'd spend just sleeping, but other times he'd be forced to come into work because of how understaffed they were.
The new boss was awful and treated all of the employees of the small cafe like utter shit, but Taehyung most of all. He was the only male who worked there other than his boss himself, and while he didn't throw horrible comments and push the girls around like he did to Taehyung, he didn't treat them well and they all thought of him as an utter creep.
"Taehyung! Thank God you're here, Yerin called in sick again." Jessica, the only other barista on shift, said with audible relief. Taehyung sighed as he wrapped his apron around his waist, sending the black-haired girl a soft frown.
"No wonder she's still ill after last week. I just can't believe that Mr Chen made her work all those shifts when she was visibly unwell. She must be exhausted." He mumbled, and Jessica could only nod.
"It's total madness." Jessica chuckled humourlessly, shaking her head in disbelief while stepping aside to let Taehyung behind the counter.
"He touched my hand yesterday in a really weird way; I've felt disgusting ever since." Jessica mumbled the moment Taehyung was next to her so that she could whisper it, and the brunette frowned.
"I'm sorry he made you uncomfortable. Have you managed to find another job yet?" He asked her, and her face visibly lit up.
"Oh! I've got an interview at the cinema down the road. Just manning the reception or whatever, but it'll be nicer than here, huh." She chuckled genuinely, so Taehyung grinned.
"That's great! I really hope you get it." He said, his colleague thanking his quietly and returning the smile, keeping it on her face when the first customers started to come in.
"How about you?"
The question caught Taehyung a little off-guard as he worked the coffee machine, looking up at Jessica and tilting his head at her in question.
"What do you mean?"
The girl seemed almost puzzled at how Taehyung was puzzled, frowning softly.
"I mean, aren't you gonna get out of here too? You are... right?" Her tone trailed off with concern when she saw the reluctant smile on Taehyung's face, and she gasped.
"Honey, no, you need to leave. Trust me, it'll work out." She spoke hurriedly, trying to reassure him, but the younger boy could only shake his head.
"Noona, I can't. I've worked here for years and I need the money, and Mr Chen literally said that things are only gonna get worse if I try and leave. I really don't have the energy to deal with him and I'm too scared to hand in my notice. Besides, this is pretty much the only think I've got going for me." He confessed, looking up and quickly apologising when he realised he'd left a customer waiting for their coffee.
"I'm sorry, how can I help?"
When they'd got a gap between customers, Jessica turned to Taehyung.
"If things get bad, please talk to someone about it." She whispered, and Taehyung nodded with a grateful smile.
"Of course, please don't worry. I'll handle it."
The girl wasn't convinced, but it was clear that she wasn't going to get any further with this conversation, so she just sighed and got on with their work.
Taehyung hadn't had much trouble at work that day, managing to leave on time and getting home in the evening after an eight hour shift.
"Tae!" Jimin greeted him with a smile, walking over to the younger and pulling him into a hug.
"Hi Minnie." The brunette hummed tiredly, closing his eyes and resting his chin on Jimin's shoulder while he hugged him back.
