After Eric survived his gruelling days in the hospital, he was finally free. He wasn't exactly the healthiest, but he could finally make decisions to stay with Juyeon forever.
[ alternate ending to " New York " ]
Eric waved at Juyeon as the older left him at the cafe where he'd hopefully be working from the next few days onwards. Juyeon turned to leave, smiling at the younger sweetly. Eric turned around, reaching for the door handle of the cafe, but felt a pair of arms envelope him suddenly. Eric laughed slightly, hugging the arms that held him.
"Do your best," Juyeon smiled softly in his ear, kissing his cheek gently. Eric nodded and Juyeon left, leaving him to enter Donggu Cafe all alone. But that was okay for Eric - he was almost confident he'd get the job. He breathed out heavily before entering the cafe, bowing at the person at the ordering desk.
"Ah, hello," Eric greeted, walking forward to the boy. "I'm here to see Jeon Wonw— you."
Eric stared at the person, recognising them immediately. The person recognised him as well, and Eric could tell as they met eyes. It was the person from before, the person that had bumped into him in front of the hospital. The male was surprised, to say the least, to see Eric after they had accidentally encountered each other.
"A-ah, hello," the boy eventually greeted, bowing nervously. "U-uh, Wonwoo is in the back. The door to the right."
Eric stiffened slightly, seeing that the stranger was probably embarrassed about bumping into him before. Eric bowed in thanks and walked to the back rooms, knocking on the door to the left. He heard a faint allowance of entry and walked in, opening the door carefully. There was a man sitting behind a laptop. He quickly stood up and Eric bowed while greeting.
"Ah, you're Eric," the man smiled. "I'm Jeon Wonwoo, owner of Donggu. Thank you for agreeing to see me, I just needed to make some further statements and agreements before you start working here. I'll introduce you to our few staff we have. Have a seat." He put his laptop to the side and Eric sat down on the chair in front of him. "You new in town?"
"Not really," Eric shook his head. "I lived in Seoul, but moved to New York for 2 years for health reasons. But I'm back now, with my… p-partner."
Wonwoo raised an eyebrow. "Boyfriend?"
Eric blushed brightly and looked away. "Y-yeah…"
Wonwoo chuckled, lifting his phone and showing Eric the screen. "Don't worry, you'll be comfortable here." On the screen was a photo of Wonwoo, his lips on the cheek of a handsome, tanned male — presumably his own boyfriend. Eric's eyes brightened and Wonwoo smiled, looking at the photo for a moment. "You'll be just fine here. My cafe is LGBTQ+ safe."
"How long have you been dating?" Eric asked, becoming more comfortable around the spectacled male.
"Around 6 years now," Wonwoo smiled. "Anyways, back to the interview. If you are free to work here, your hours will be from 9am to 4pm — Allen works the bakery during those hours. Currently, he's working both as barista and bakery, since Suyeon only does the actual baking. Dongju is the cleaning boy — another one with a handsome boyfriend, by the way — and I'm usually dealing with finances or doing things outside of office. You'll be our new barista and Allen will help you with training, and I'll help as often as I can."
Eric smiled and bowed. "I'll work as hard as I can."
"You were referenced to me by the owner of Rumi Cafe — our sister cafe. You know anyone there?" Wonwoo asked, leaning back in his seat.
"Oh, my boyfriend works there," Eric replied calmly. "I attempted to get a job there first, and they suggested trying here, since you had an opening, so I tried my luck. Once again, thank you."
"It's not a problem, we're short-staffed anyways," Wonwoo chuckled. "Dayeon left because of personal reasons, and Yoojin left because he's a dad now, and got a better job. So we still have another position open, technically."
"I'll do as much as I can," Eric grinned brightly, earning a smile from Wonwoo.
"Great," he nodded. "Let me introduce you to the staff, organise your uniform, and then we can sort out payment and your sick leave days. You can start tomorrow while I list you as a temporary employee until your probation is over." Eric nodded, standing up from the sat. Wonwoo followed, pushing the door open and they walked to the main room. "Staff meeting — to the desk."
Eric and Wonwoo walked to the ordering desk, and Eric made eye contact with the ash brown-haired male again. The male's eyes widened a bit and he looked at Wonwoo to avoid eye contact. Two other employees joined their side, stopping at a comfortable distance.
"Guys, this is Eric — the new barista in training," Wonwoo introduced, and Eric bowed politely. "He'll be starting soon, but he'll be on a month's probation as a part of training and such. Please treat him well, since he'll be the youngest." Wonwoo then turned to Eric while pointing at the various staff with his thumb. "Eric, this is Dongju, Suyeon and Allen. Allen is the oldest worker, but they're all hyung and noona."
"You're older," Allen commented, earning a laugh from the others.
"It's great to meet you, Eric," Suyeon smiled brightly. "I was hoping for more female staff, but…"
"Then try to get a girl to sign for the position," Wonwoo chuckled. "I trust you'll see yourself out, Eric? I have work, unfortunately. Thank you for coming today."
Eric bowed at Wonwoo as the older male went back to the office. The staff went back to work and Eric turned to Allen, stiffening immediately as the male seemed slightly uncomfortable. Eric gulped down his fear and sighed. "Sorry—"
"We'll talk when you start working here," Allen said with a nod. "See you soon, Eric."
Allen bowed and walked into the kitchen, leaving Eric in the main room of the cafe. With a confused sigh, Eric left the cafe with more questions than when he entered. He wasn't too sure about Allen, but for some reason, Eric was confused about what kind of person he was.
