treasure imagines

cookie || junkyu

"KIM JUNKYU, can you come here?"

junkyu dusted his palms in his plain brown apron that he wore before removing it completely through his neck. a barista is bound to create a mess in his craft shop. as much as he liked his fort, he does not enjoy scrubbing coffee stains off his shirts relentlessly and repeatedly, hence why his apron stays with him 24/7 during work hours. and because it was a health protocol either way.

he made his way to the kitchen, where the smell of flour, butter, sugar, even spice, and everything nice swirled around the air. the sound of the mixer going off sounded lovely, and the added scent of vanilla and cooked pastries was enchanting. the kitchen of the café could possibly hold a candle to heaven if it was not heaven itself.

his eyes sparkled at their bestsellers. fudgy brownie bars and chunky chocolate chips, freshly baked and out of the oven, that were cooling in racks before displayed afterwards to be sold out immediately.

"junkyu is here," he emphasized. 

out of all the staff, a population of four people in one big space; the cashiers, two part-timers split into day and night shifts, him as the head barista, and the owner herself, the mastermind behind their baked goods—was the sole person to insist on calling him by his full name. it was fine, however it felt intimidating and nerve wracking to be called by the full name by the owner herself.

y/n is the young woman who owns the cafe he works at, and it is also she who bakes each good that is served on the trays until they get sold out within a record breaking time. many travel wide and far to get their hands on them. her baked goodies were exceptional and trended overtime with the rise of the café. "can you give this a taste?" she handed him a plate with a single cookie on top. 

it was a white, pale-ish colored cookie rather than the regular light brown one with chocolate chips. junkyu closely inspected the dessert. there were medium sized white and violet-like spots in it spaced out from one another. he held the plate closer, sniffing the scent of baked dough. "it's a blueberry cheesecake cookie," she said, gesturing in his direction. "try it."

he took a small bite on the crisped edges. it was almost a special talent for her to bake cookies that were crisp on the outside, chewy and moist on the inside. junkyu delicately and thoroughly chewed to capture every flavor that danced around his mouth. he took more bites of the sides that had the white spots, cream cheese, and the violet spots, homemade blueberry sauce.

it may seem like he was devouring the cookie for fun, which it partly was, although he was still taking mental notes of what to say and observe while eating.

y/n scanned for a reaction on his face. "crumbs," she pointed at the right side of her mouth. he followed suit and used the back of his palm to wipe off the said crumbs he wasn't aware about. "anyways, i'm pretty much still perfecting the recipe. criticism is welcome. constructive, if i may add," she mentioned.

he took another bite to the half finished cookie, "it's good, but.." he chewed slowly and swallowed before speaking, "i can't taste the blueberry that well. on the other hand, it looks chewy and it's also chewy to eat, which is a good thing."

y/n pulled pieces of tissue on the tissue roll on the counter and handed them to him, "right side. the crumbs are still there," she pointed out. he accepted the tissue paper politely and she crossed her forearms on her chest. "i think the same," she sighed. "got cautious on the amount of blueberries in case it overpowered, but it kinda backfired. is it too sweet?"

junkyu used the tissue to dab the crumbs on the right side of his mouth with his free hand. "not really. the cream cheese balances the sweetness fine," he crumpled the used tissue afterwards.

"how about the visuals? does it look too pale? would it be appetizing enough to buy?"

he was accustomed to her fast paced questioning. rather than getting flustered, he always enjoyed giving y/n honest feedback. it was promised and guaranteed that he wouldn't be fired if he ever said something not-so-positive. plus, she partly relies on his feedback to work on the improvement of her desserts, and they would work together until the product is perfected and put up for sale. 

"i'd say a little more color would be better. it could get outshined by our other products. but, i personally think, color-wise is fine as it is," he placed down the empty plate on the counter. y/n nodded, "noted."

junkyu smiled. "i'll go back up front now," he turned around to leave the kitchen and return to making drinks. their part-timer, a high schooler who takes up the night shift, takes orders and makes the drinks herself when he's unavailable for lengths of time. although, orders sometimes get stacked up and he wouldn't want the young part-timer to stress out by herself.

"kim junkyu."

"yes?" he spun right back around when called by his boss.

he didn't forsee her coming close behind him. "i don't want you going out serving customers with cookie crumbs on your lips," she was now standing in front of him as a soft material dabbed his lip's skin.

his eyes were wide and he looked down to scan her movements. their heights differ and she had to crank her head upwards a little higher as she used tissue paper to remove the crumbs he failed to eliminate himself. she wasn't too close at an uncomfortable distance, but he could comfortably take in the scent of her perfume mixed in with vanilla extract. he was not sure if his heart was faring well.

"i didn't touch you," y/n crumpled the piece of tissue, stepping back. "therefore, i didn't breach any employer-employee skinship contract, if ever there was anything like that."

"ah," he blinked his eyes. "uh, thanks," junkyu pointed at the kitchen door, "i'll, uh, go out now." he crookedly smiled.

"do a good job."

"mm."

there wasn't much of a line as he expected when he came out of the kitchen. he straightened his apron and stood beside the part-timer by the cash register.

the youth gave him a glance. "no pending orders yet, i made the drinks while you were gone." junkyu proudly gave her a thumbs-up, "good job."

the part-timer paused in silence for a moment as she stared at his face. he awkwardly smiled at her in return, "is there something on my face?" he asked, chuckling.

his question was replied to with another question. "what happened to you?" she asked out of nowhere.

"huh?"

"you're kinda red," she tilted her head worriedly. "are you sick?"

junkyu's lips parted as he quickly touched his face. heat transferred to his skin almost immediately upon contact. "it's nothing," hr laughed it off. it was just his luck that he was working with a teenager who was both street and academically smart. their young part-timer caught on well, hence why she was good in customer service. she was about to add something to say, until a group of customers came in.

junkyu readied himself to make the drinks as he waited for the newcomer's order to be punched. he patted his cheeks once more. they were still warm.

he sighed, wondering if there were any employee-employer contracts he was breaching for starting to like his boss.

yes i like the song cookie ( new jeans )

long time no ud fr + this was an old draft of mine hahaha just wanted to drop an update asap before my short break in school ends :')