ATZ Special Unit

nine

Chapter 9: "This One's On The House."

Yunho works at Levanter in the evenings and teaches dance in the mornings. He was no stranger to being busy or constantly on his toes. Today was a great example of that, as lessons were cut short because Yunho was called in for an earlier shift. 

His co-worker, Jay, had caught a cold and had asked Yunho to cover his two mid-shifts for the week. Yunho took them with stride. Jay had always been a helpful friend, covering for him whenever necessary, which used to be a lot when Yunho was still in college. 

So, he was always the first to offer coverage for the other. 

Though that did mean scrambling around and re-sorting his entire teaching schedule for the week. Still, even when parents seemed slightly upset that they needed to pick up their child earlier than usual, Yunho couldn't complain. 

Today, Yunho was working a double shift, mid, and closing. He's worked either plenty enough. The regulars for each shift varied, though. So when Yunho wasn't able to work his barista magic on a regular he wasn't all that familiar with..

He got the order "terribly wrong" and couldn't understand what the customer was trying to say. It was an older man with very serious eyes, and the other employee on the clock had made it clear they didn't want to interact with him. 

It'd become increasingly obvious why, as the old man just continued to try and bicker with Yunho. When Yunho only responded with patience and no argument, that seemed to anger the man even more. 

It was obvious he wanted drama, and Yunho wondered if this man really was a regular. Yunho tried to signal to his co-worker, but they'd gone to hide in the back, attending to some cleaning duties. Yunho huffed and made the man's drink again for the fourth time. 

When he returned to give the man his new drink, the door dinged. Yunho greeted them half-heartedly as the man at the counter was complaining about his drink again. "It's still too sweet! You added sugar, I know it! I am diabetic you know!" Yunho could almost feel his eye twitching.

It's been a while since he's dealt with such a difficult customer like this. "I'm sorry, sir, but as I've said the last few times I've made it, it should be a plain cappuccino. It could be the milk that you may be tasting, but that usually isn't sweet. I could make you an americano inste-"

"Useless, you're useless at this! Can't even make a normal cappuccino.. Jay always gets it right. Why are you even here?!" Yunho cringed slightly at the shrill shout from the older man. Yunho wasn't sure how to respond to that, trying his best to keep his personal anger aside. 

"Jay is out sick today, and as his friend, I took his place. I'm sorry for any in-"

No matter what Yunho said, it was no use. The man kept getting angrier until he was shouting with every word and pulled back his arm to throw the coffee at Yunho. The barista shut his eyes, awaiting the hot impact, but instead, there came a familiar voice. 

"Whoa, whoa. Hey there buddy, throwing that perfectly good coffee would be such a waste, wouldn't it?" Yunho opened his eyes again to see Mingi in all his glory. Mingi was holding the old man's arm back, preventing him from throwing the coffee. 

The old man went red in the face, embarrassed and angry. "What do you know?! You look like a clown, and I'm sure your taste in coffee is dirt!" Mingi almost laughed, what was with this clown narrative, seriously?

The old man tried to remove his hand from Mingi's grip, but his grip stayed firm as he took the cappuccino from the elder's hands. Setting it on the counter, he gave a sarcastic smile. "How about you just leave? It's obvious your favorite isn't here."