❞Venti Macchiato, please.❝ minjoon ✔

❞ Chapter VIII ❝

This is wrong. It's so wrong, in fact, that Namjoon has stopped listening to Seokjin talking to him over the phone to just stand at the front of the line and stare at the barista smiling at him.

The barista, not his barista.

"Morning!" says the man labeled 'HAPPY VIRUS' with a brilliant grin. "Venti Macchiato as usual?"

Shaking himself from his momentary stupor, Namjoon clears his throat, nodding curtly twice and saying, "yes, thank you" as the barista scribbles the order on the side of a white to-go cup.

It's wrong because...

"Did your barista boy actually remember you for once?" teases into Namjoon's ear through the phone, Seokjin sounding entirely full of himself.

"He's not here," Namjoon says. It's like reality has given up. Namjoon has a routine. He comes in every morning on his way to work, orders his coffee from his barista, his barista looks frantic and perpetually happy, and Namjoon's name is spelled wrong intentionally.

But not today. Today, the world stops making sense as Namjoon goes to get his coffee and reads the perfectly legible 'Namjoon~*' written on the side. He didn't even tell the barista his name, and Namjoon can't walk away from the counter because it's all just so wrong.

"Where is he?" Namjoon is asking before he can stop himself, looking around behind the counter. One of the baristas, his hair bleached pale under his work cap, glances up at him with an almost lazy expression.

"Who?" he asks, deep voice drawing out the words over the sound of the coffee machines and morning chatter.

"My-" My barista sounds very strange. Namjoon clears his throat. "I usually have the same barista every day, and he's-"

"Oh," the barista actually pauses, straightening up as he looks at Namjoon curiously. "Jimin? Yeah, he's out sick today."

Oh.

That makes sense.

"I see," Namjoon says, knowing he should walk away right now before he does something stupid, like ask more questions about this so called 'Jimin' (at least the rotating Name tag mystery is solved now). It might make him late for being early to work.

"Do you want me to pass on a message?" the barista asks, and something about the line of his mouth almost looks smug.

"No," Namjoon says, stepping back and shaking his head, laughing even if there is absolutely nothing funny about the situation. "No, it's fine. Thank you."

"I'll tell him you asked about him," the barista says with the hint of a smile.

"No, that's fine," Namjoon continues. He's going to be late. He has to go. He's completely forgotten about his phone call with Seokjin. He didn't even realize he'd lowered his phone from his ear, thrown because Jimin is out sick. "You don't have to."

"Alright," the barista shrugs, but looks way too smug about something that makes Namjoon's stomach twist in curious irritation. "Have a nice day." He smiles, lips pulled back to flash a smile that makes Namjoon think of a squirrel as his eyes crease into nothing. He's cute as he waves off Namjoon in a sort of tempestuous manner.

Not as cute as Namjoon's barista, but-

"Thank God, I thought you died," Seokjin says when Namjoon places the phone back to his ear. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Namjoon says, shaking himself from his brief stint with unreality. "It's fine. Everything is fine." Namjoon takes a sip of his venti macchiato and immediately grimaces.

It's not bad, per se, it's just-

"How is your barista?" Seokjin asks, voice needling.

"Not here today," Namjoon says, frowning at his coffee. It's not a bad coffee, but it's like the coffee Taehyung brings in the afternoon sometimes, which never tastes as good as the coffee his barista makes. Jimin makes.

Oh.

"How tragic," Seokjin sympathizes. "I'm sorry your romantic saga had to come to a crushing end."

"Shut up," Namjoon says, not sure if he's telling Seokjin or his thoughts though as he walks outside the café feeling agitated and unsteady. "It's not over."

The sound of Seokjin's laughter is so loud Namjoon does the smartest thing he's done in weeks and hangs up on him.