3 Paths to Love

Chapter 6

Seunghyeon growled at his phone and stuffed it into his apron pocket. "Stupid, hyung. Why couldn't you wait till tomorrow to go to the hospital," he muttered.

He turned around to see Kwangsun squinting at the baked goods display in his obnoxious orange jacket. Was this guy trying to be a traffic cone? Kwangsun's eyes flicked up and he smiled. "Are you going to let me in now?"

Grumbling, Seunghyeon ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, yeah," he said and waved his hand. "I doubt your uniform is in yet, but we have extra aprons," he said as he led Kwangsun to the back and into the cramped locker room. "You can put your stuff in any locker," Seunghyeon said and crossed his arms, leaning against the door.

"Got it." Kwangsun unzipped his jacket, revealing a fitted black t-shirt. Seunghyeon pursed his lips. As Kwangsun stuffed his bag and jacket into the top locker, it stretched around his muscles, untucking from his jeans, daring to rise up to expose more definition underneath.

Seunghyeon tore his eyes away, clearing his throat. "Didn't Hyung tell you to wear something beige or cream," he scolded, gesturing to his own uniform shirt.

Kwangsun shook his head. "Wasn't told a thing," he said and gestured to his chest. "What's wrong with my shirt?" It'll get hidden by the apron anyway," he said as he grabbed a random apron off the hook. Thankfully, the apron also covered the outline of his chest.

Rolling his eyes, Seunghyeon led him back to the front. "Do you know how to use an espresso machine?"

"Yeah, of course," Kwangsun said and tilted his head side to side as he studied the machine. "Is this the ON button?" he asked, pointing to the single-shot button. Seunghyeon frowned.

"Dude, for real. You have to tell me if you know how to use it," Seunghyeon interrupted. "I can't have you breaking this."

Kwangsun laughed. "I'm kidding. Obviously, I know," he said and pressed the right button, the machine whirring on.

Unamused, Seunghyeon crossed his arms. "Sure. Okay," he said and pointed under the counter. "There's the coffee grinds and cups. Make me an Americano." Kwangsun gave him a curious look and Seunghyeon waved his hand. "Chop chop."

Kwangsun shook his head with a chuckle and looked around for the port-a-filter and filled it with ground coffee grinds. Seunghyeon tapped his foot, biting the inside of his cheek. He had to admit, there was a lot less pressure knowing Kwangsun had experience. But this was one cup, could Kwangsun handle rush hour?

Kwangsun set the mug on the counter next to Seunghyeon with a proud smile. "Done."

Eying the top, the colour was good. He watched Kwangsun clean up over the rim and huffed. Apparently, he did have the ability to clean up after himself.

Shaking his head, Seunghyeon took a tentative sip. The coffee was smooth, with no stray grit from poorly pressed grinds and no bitter aftertaste. Seunghyeon took another sip with a frown. It was annoyingly refreshing.

"Good enough," he mused, warming his hands with the cup and taking another sip.

"Told you I know how to use it," Kwangsun said, winking. Seunghyeon rolled his eyes. It wasn't that good.

Customers soon poured in as lunchtime rolled around. Despite Kwangsun knowing how to use the machine and the other coffee methods, orders were slow due to the sheer amount of times they'd bump into each other.

Seunghyeon gasped and stumbled back, almost dropping the matcha cake. "Eh, listen. You make the coffee. I take the orders and serve the food. Got it?" Seunghyeon scolded. At this rate, he was bound to break something.