It takes two days for Jimin’s cold to be manageable enough that he can leave his house for work and eat solid foods. It’s two days of Jimin getting random texts from Hoseok, Yoongi, and Jeongguk during their downtime at work and sleeping, trying to get better.
On the third day, Jimin is both eager to get back to work, and dreading it. He’s still slightly stuffy, but for the most part his outward symptoms are gone. The contagious phase has passed.
“He missed you,” Yoongi tells him when he gets into the café that morning for set up.
“Who?” Jimin asks, ignoring the way his chest fills with anticipation because that’s stupid.
“Your businessman,” Hoseok sing-songs.
“What?” Jimin hides his shock in a fit of coughing, face buried behind his sleeve.
“He asked about you,” Yoongi tells him with a soft of amused smile as he begins warming up the machines for their earlier customers. “I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen him look connected to the real world.”
On one hand, this is reassuring information. On the other, now it has Jimin waiting and on edge for most of the morning, Hoseok and Yoongi casting him amused looks as he takes orders from irritated and busy busy people trying to get their coffee faster than everyone else in a rush. Jimin is practically levitating, bouncing all around the counters on the tips of his toes, making coffees, getting muffins, taking orders, and smiling nicely the whole time.
In fact, Jimin is so busy doing everything he can to keep himself from thinking about things that he shouldn’t be thinking about because they don’t mean anything, he almost misses the door opening and a familiar figure walking in.
It’s three people from the front when Jimin realizes Namjoon is here, phone against his ears as per usual and the small look of persistent hard-tasked on his face as he looks into space. The difference today is that Namjoon’s hair is just a little bit more styled to look like a gentle mess on his head, a new tawny color that actually looks rather nice on him. The difference today is that he’s wearing a loose scarf around his neck because of the autumn winds outside that had Jimin sneezing when he left his apartment.
The difference is that when Namjoon steps up to the counter, he puts his phone down and actually looks at Jimin, paying attention to him as he waits to give his order.
Not once in the entire time that Jimin has been making Namjoon’s coffee has Namjoon actually looked him in the face when he gets to the counter. It’s… alarming.
“Morning,” Jimin says anyway, pushing on a smile as his nerves buzz. “What can I get for you?”
The corner of Namjoon’s lips twitch, almost like he’s not annoyed to not have his coffee instantly ready, and instead of just throwing Jimin his order as per usual, he pauses before asking for his drink. It’s exactly the same as every morning, and Jimin, on autopilot, asks for his name and tells him to wait please.
Just as every other morning (albeit feeling much more self conscious because Namjoon is just standing there and not on his phone, which is downright abnormal), Jimin makes him his coffee and writes his name on the side of the cup incorrectly.
Just like every other morning, Namjoon takes the coffee when Jimin puts it on the counter. Unlike every other morning, Namjoon doesn’t just walk away looking harried. Instead, he pauses, makes eye contact, and then turns away, without his phone and his typical ‘too busy for anyone but myself’ attitude.
“Wow,” Yoongi says, eyebrows raised and looking realistically impressed. “That was something.”
“What just happened?” Jimin asks, still watching as Namjoon walks towards the exit of the café, already having taken a sip of his coffee. He hasn’t even looked at his name.
Granted, today was a bit half-assed. Jimin is running out of good names, which means they’re a bit-
Suddenly, right by the door, Namjoon stops.
“What did you label his coffee today?” Yoongi asks as Jimin scurries back to the register and the next customer. Yoongi watches with interest as Jimin begins to panic slightly, not used to Namjoon actually walking back to the counter now that he has his order.
What if he wants to talk to him? What if he’s finally managed to get under his skin with his name butchering? Jimin wasn’t ready for this, suddenly realizing that perhaps, in all respects, this is winning whatever game he’d been playing with Namjoon.
Suddenly, Jimin doesn’t want to play, just perhaps hide behind Hoseok until Namjoon goes away.
“Excuse me,” Mr. Businessman Namjoon says as Jimin hops behind one of the espresso machines with a woman’s order scribbled all over the side of a to-go cup. “Jimin?”
Stay calm, says a voice that sounds obnoxiously like Yoongi’s in the back of his head as Jimin looks up, trying to smile and look easy to work with. “Yes?” How the Hell does Namjoon know his name? “Is everything alright? Is there something wrong with your coffee?”
“No,” Namjoon says, and presses his lips together as he looks at Jimin over the counter. Jimin realizes Namjoon is quite tall, able to see over the espresso machine to look at him where Jimin has to lean up to see him. Why is he here?. Why is Namjoon talking to him in a nice person voice rather than irritated and annoyed and yet Jimin still feels an odd sense of satisfaction because - “No, my coffee is fine, it’s just-“
Jimin, in a fit of panic as something in his too slow mind finally clicks, turns on the espresso machine before Namjoon can finish talking.
YOU ARE READING
❞Venti Macchiato, please.❝ minjoon ✔
Fanfiction[complete] Namjoon didn't know that sometimes, a barista is all it takes to make your morning routine skid to a halt and open your eyes.
