A Cup of Sweet Espresso, please? - Chapter 1b
Title: A Cup of Sweet Espresso, please?
Fandom(s) : U-KISS
Pairing(s): KeMaru
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, Romance (?)
Warnings: Awful!English
Author's Notes: This is a birthday present for lovelybrii12! Happy (belated) birthday! I don't know how long and how horrible it will be, but I intend to finish it because it's a birthday present! :D
Prologue :: Chapter 1a
Kevin walked alongside Kibum as they made their way back to Kibum’s seat, Kevin still carrying the clean chair. Kibum offered to help the smaller boy, but Kevin figured he had messed up enough and should try his best to amend his mistakes.
He took swift steps to move in front of Kibum and placed the chair properly, before gesturing for Kibum to sit in it with an apologetic smile. Kibum nodded, settling down and wincing a little. Kevin widened his eyes and looked at the customer in concern, but Kibum quickly shook his head and said he was fine.
“Oh, your coffee.” Kevin bit his lower lip and walked swiftly to the counter, where Kiseop already had the coffee ready. “Thank you!”
“No problem, Kev. Fighting!” Kiseop whispered, noticing Soohyun at the corner of his eyes. “Soohyun-hyung, you’re buying us lunch today, right?”
Soohyun turned to Kiseop with a nod and saw Kevin behind Kiseop. He smiled to the new waiter but got blocked by Kiseop. “Yeah, buying for you guys but not paying for it.”
“Tch, but you’re rich!” Kiseop pouted and Kevin took it as a signal to deliver the coffee.
Kevin sighed, not really wanting to run away from responsibility of paying for the damage or apologising to his boss. He walked cautiously but a little more quickly, settling the tray down before carrying the cup of coffee out. “Sorry for everything, Kibum-ssi, enjoy your coffee.”
“Don’t think much about it, I’m fine, really.” Kibum smiled calmly and looked around the restaurant. “All right, if you’re feeling sorry, show me that you can improve.”
“Huh?” Kevin blinked.
“There’s a family over there. Serve them well. If you manage to do the job without faulting, then I’ll forgive you completely and you’re not allowed to feel apologetic anymore. Deal?” Kibum leaned forward and held out a hand.
Kevin turned around to look for the family, nodding furiously while shaking Kibum’s hand to seal the deal. “I’ll do my best.”
“Good. Go on, Dongho’s busy.” Kibum waved a little and turned to his laptop, hiding his hands as he rubbed his thighs.
Kevin hurried back to the counter for three menus and a tray, before brisk walking towards the family. “Sorry for the wait, here are the menus.”
“Thank you.” The mother figure of the family smiled. “I saw the accident earlier, so don’t worry about making us wait.”
Kevin nodded and smiled back, remembering yet again that he was hired for his smile. Maybe that’s why he messed up so much, he had nothing else but his smile.
After some considering and discussing, the father looked up and smiled. “A cup of flat white, a glass of mocha and a double dark chocolate brownie.”
Kevin returned the smile with a brighter one, collecting the menus while confirming the order. He arranged the menus on his tray and made his way back to the counter, informing Alexander of the customer’s order while putting the menus back on the counter.
“Coming right up!” Alexander chirped, patting Kevin’s head. “But just so you know, you can leave menus to them and walk away to take more orders. They will raise their hand to call you when they’re done deciding. That saves time.”
“Oh, I forgot.” Kevin nodded guiltily, deciding he shouldn’t stand around. “I’ll take another order then.”
“Mm.” Alexander grinned. “You’re doing great, keep up the good work!”
Great? Kevin thought sadly, but replaced his blank expression with a smile to a group of four girls entering the café noisily.
After leaving the four girls to think about their order, Kevin returned to the counter where the previous order was ready.
Soohyun passed him a waiter pad while apologising. “Sorry, forgot you need this. Scribble the order of the customers on these and give the original to the counter and the copy to the customer. That’s how they will pay. Are you coping well?”
Kevin nodded to Soohyun’s instructions, smiling a little. “I-I guess I’m fine.”
“All right, then go and deliver the order.” Soohyun ruffled his hair before arranging it. “My waiters must look good, heh.”
The waiter left after greeting the boss goodbye, placing the two beverages and the slice of brownie on the table occupied by the family. He quickly wrote down the order he remembered, giving the copy to the family and making a mental note to pass the original to Alexander or Kiseop. He then turned not to the counter, but Kibum.
“I…faulted.” Kevin sulked, remembering himself standing idly while waiting for the family to be ready to state their order.
“No, you didn’t.” Kibum shook his head with an encouraging smile. “At least not my definition of faulting. Don’t feel apologetic anymore, all right?”
Kevin hesitated, but remembered the waiter pad in his hands. He wrote down Kibum’s order and gave a copy to him, which gave him an idea. “If you ever come again, I’ll treat you!”
“No need.” Kibum sighed, looking slightly annoyed. “Kevin, we had a deal.”
Kevin sighed quietly, not wanting to anger Kibum anymore as he didn’t realise Kibum wasn’t really angry. “All right, a deal is a deal. I hope I didn’t make you not want to come anymore…”
“Kevin!” Kibum facepalmed himself and smiled a heart-stopping smile. “You’re so cute.”
The waiter blushed at the sudden compliment, but was dragged away by Dongho who passed by. “Hyung, the café is getting busier, no time for chitchat.”
Kibum nodded understandingly before Dongho had a chance to explain, which made Dongho thanked the customer again. After sending Kevin off, Dongho stayed a little while. “Are you sure you’re all right? I mean, I can tell you were just trying to make Kevin-hyung feel better, but I need to know the truth.”
“I’m fine, really.” Kibum gave an assuring smile, which Dongho frowned at.
“The cup of coffee was at least 80 degrees Celsius.” Dongho stated and observed Kibum’s reaction.
“All right, you caught me.” Kibum chuckled. “Yeah, I got a slight burn, but it doesn’t kill.”
Dongho pushed out his lips as he considered what to do, but Kibum waved his worry away. “I can’t leave you like this, you’re the customer, we should do some kind of compensation. How about a week’s work of double shot espresso?”
“You’re so much like Kevin.” Kibum sighed and shook his head. “Are you taught to be insistent?”
Dongho blushed, knowing that being stubborn had always been a natural to him. “All right, I wouldn’t insist anymore then. I sincerely apologise for the accident earlier.”
“I guess that means you are taught to be apologetic.” Kibum joked. “I shouldn’t take up any more of your time, there are other customers.”
Dongho noticed Kevin pouting at him since he was the one who sent Kevin to take more orders. He quickly bowed to Kibum to indicate him taking his leave, before handing the order he had previously took to Soohyun.
“Why are you talking to him?” Soohyun twitched.
Dongho tried to think of something to cover up for Kevin, but need not since Soohyun was tentatively distracted by Kevin asking him what white coffee was. Soohyun patiently explained, which gave Dongho the chance to escape.
Soohyun then forgotten all about it until it was close to dinner time, when Kibum would pay and then leave. Kibum packed up and reached the counter, where the crew was lazing around since there weren’t many customers. Dongho and Kevin were polishing utensils, while Soohyun frowned at Kibum’s approaching figure.
“Alexander, to the counter.” Soohyun ordered, tapping Dongho’s shoulder. “I think you owe me an explanation.”
Dongho saw Kibum at the corner of his eyes, gulping.
“What explanation?” Kevin intervened with a curious expression.
“Talking to that customer.” Dongho gestured at Kibum, reminding Kevin of Soohyun’s dislike for “idiots”.
“He-He was apologising for me!” Kevin guiltily announced, which was pretty loud due to him feeling bad for Dongho getting the blame.
Kibum raised his eyebrows at the sudden statement, paying Alexander and leaving a generous tip. He inched his way to the two waiters and the boss of the café as Kevin ranted on how he messed up earlier that day.
The customer shook his head while placing a calming hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “I’m the one at fault. I probably gave him a scare, asking for his name.”
Soohyun scowled at Kibum, which Kevin thought was a little too rude to a customer. “Don’t talk to my waiters that way!”
Kibum winked at Kevin, which the rest of the crew except Eli and Soohyun understood. They kept quiet, not wanting to spoil Kibum’s good intentions. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave now.”
Kevin turned back to Soohyun, shell-shocked. “He-He-”
“It’s okay, don’t ever talk to him if not for work-related things, all right? He’s dangerous.” Soohyun smiled and ruffled Kevin’s hair.
“No! He did n-”
“Kevin, I think we might have some leftovers. Want to try Eli’s new recipe?” Alexander cut Kevin off, while Kiseop tried to distract Soohyun.
Dongho sighed at Kevin’s denseness, and the customer being so nice about Soohyun’s acute rudeness. Weird, Soohyun never showed such a side, especially not to customers.
-
Part B came out a little too fast? :S Had another fic I wanted to post but I had too many stories being written at the same time so that isn't completed. DX
Fandom(s) : U-KISS
Pairing(s): KeMaru
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, Romance (?)
Warnings: Awful!English
Author's Notes: This is a birthday present for lovelybrii12! Happy (belated) birthday! I don't know how long and how horrible it will be, but I intend to finish it because it's a birthday present! :D
Prologue :: Chapter 1a
Kevin walked alongside Kibum as they made their way back to Kibum’s seat, Kevin still carrying the clean chair. Kibum offered to help the smaller boy, but Kevin figured he had messed up enough and should try his best to amend his mistakes.
He took swift steps to move in front of Kibum and placed the chair properly, before gesturing for Kibum to sit in it with an apologetic smile. Kibum nodded, settling down and wincing a little. Kevin widened his eyes and looked at the customer in concern, but Kibum quickly shook his head and said he was fine.
“Oh, your coffee.” Kevin bit his lower lip and walked swiftly to the counter, where Kiseop already had the coffee ready. “Thank you!”
“No problem, Kev. Fighting!” Kiseop whispered, noticing Soohyun at the corner of his eyes. “Soohyun-hyung, you’re buying us lunch today, right?”
Soohyun turned to Kiseop with a nod and saw Kevin behind Kiseop. He smiled to the new waiter but got blocked by Kiseop. “Yeah, buying for you guys but not paying for it.”
“Tch, but you’re rich!” Kiseop pouted and Kevin took it as a signal to deliver the coffee.
Kevin sighed, not really wanting to run away from responsibility of paying for the damage or apologising to his boss. He walked cautiously but a little more quickly, settling the tray down before carrying the cup of coffee out. “Sorry for everything, Kibum-ssi, enjoy your coffee.”
“Don’t think much about it, I’m fine, really.” Kibum smiled calmly and looked around the restaurant. “All right, if you’re feeling sorry, show me that you can improve.”
“Huh?” Kevin blinked.
“There’s a family over there. Serve them well. If you manage to do the job without faulting, then I’ll forgive you completely and you’re not allowed to feel apologetic anymore. Deal?” Kibum leaned forward and held out a hand.
Kevin turned around to look for the family, nodding furiously while shaking Kibum’s hand to seal the deal. “I’ll do my best.”
“Good. Go on, Dongho’s busy.” Kibum waved a little and turned to his laptop, hiding his hands as he rubbed his thighs.
Kevin hurried back to the counter for three menus and a tray, before brisk walking towards the family. “Sorry for the wait, here are the menus.”
“Thank you.” The mother figure of the family smiled. “I saw the accident earlier, so don’t worry about making us wait.”
Kevin nodded and smiled back, remembering yet again that he was hired for his smile. Maybe that’s why he messed up so much, he had nothing else but his smile.
After some considering and discussing, the father looked up and smiled. “A cup of flat white, a glass of mocha and a double dark chocolate brownie.”
Kevin returned the smile with a brighter one, collecting the menus while confirming the order. He arranged the menus on his tray and made his way back to the counter, informing Alexander of the customer’s order while putting the menus back on the counter.
“Coming right up!” Alexander chirped, patting Kevin’s head. “But just so you know, you can leave menus to them and walk away to take more orders. They will raise their hand to call you when they’re done deciding. That saves time.”
“Oh, I forgot.” Kevin nodded guiltily, deciding he shouldn’t stand around. “I’ll take another order then.”
“Mm.” Alexander grinned. “You’re doing great, keep up the good work!”
Great? Kevin thought sadly, but replaced his blank expression with a smile to a group of four girls entering the café noisily.
After leaving the four girls to think about their order, Kevin returned to the counter where the previous order was ready.
Soohyun passed him a waiter pad while apologising. “Sorry, forgot you need this. Scribble the order of the customers on these and give the original to the counter and the copy to the customer. That’s how they will pay. Are you coping well?”
Kevin nodded to Soohyun’s instructions, smiling a little. “I-I guess I’m fine.”
“All right, then go and deliver the order.” Soohyun ruffled his hair before arranging it. “My waiters must look good, heh.”
The waiter left after greeting the boss goodbye, placing the two beverages and the slice of brownie on the table occupied by the family. He quickly wrote down the order he remembered, giving the copy to the family and making a mental note to pass the original to Alexander or Kiseop. He then turned not to the counter, but Kibum.
“I…faulted.” Kevin sulked, remembering himself standing idly while waiting for the family to be ready to state their order.
“No, you didn’t.” Kibum shook his head with an encouraging smile. “At least not my definition of faulting. Don’t feel apologetic anymore, all right?”
Kevin hesitated, but remembered the waiter pad in his hands. He wrote down Kibum’s order and gave a copy to him, which gave him an idea. “If you ever come again, I’ll treat you!”
“No need.” Kibum sighed, looking slightly annoyed. “Kevin, we had a deal.”
Kevin sighed quietly, not wanting to anger Kibum anymore as he didn’t realise Kibum wasn’t really angry. “All right, a deal is a deal. I hope I didn’t make you not want to come anymore…”
“Kevin!” Kibum facepalmed himself and smiled a heart-stopping smile. “You’re so cute.”
The waiter blushed at the sudden compliment, but was dragged away by Dongho who passed by. “Hyung, the café is getting busier, no time for chitchat.”
Kibum nodded understandingly before Dongho had a chance to explain, which made Dongho thanked the customer again. After sending Kevin off, Dongho stayed a little while. “Are you sure you’re all right? I mean, I can tell you were just trying to make Kevin-hyung feel better, but I need to know the truth.”
“I’m fine, really.” Kibum gave an assuring smile, which Dongho frowned at.
“The cup of coffee was at least 80 degrees Celsius.” Dongho stated and observed Kibum’s reaction.
“All right, you caught me.” Kibum chuckled. “Yeah, I got a slight burn, but it doesn’t kill.”
Dongho pushed out his lips as he considered what to do, but Kibum waved his worry away. “I can’t leave you like this, you’re the customer, we should do some kind of compensation. How about a week’s work of double shot espresso?”
“You’re so much like Kevin.” Kibum sighed and shook his head. “Are you taught to be insistent?”
Dongho blushed, knowing that being stubborn had always been a natural to him. “All right, I wouldn’t insist anymore then. I sincerely apologise for the accident earlier.”
“I guess that means you are taught to be apologetic.” Kibum joked. “I shouldn’t take up any more of your time, there are other customers.”
Dongho noticed Kevin pouting at him since he was the one who sent Kevin to take more orders. He quickly bowed to Kibum to indicate him taking his leave, before handing the order he had previously took to Soohyun.
“Why are you talking to him?” Soohyun twitched.
Dongho tried to think of something to cover up for Kevin, but need not since Soohyun was tentatively distracted by Kevin asking him what white coffee was. Soohyun patiently explained, which gave Dongho the chance to escape.
Soohyun then forgotten all about it until it was close to dinner time, when Kibum would pay and then leave. Kibum packed up and reached the counter, where the crew was lazing around since there weren’t many customers. Dongho and Kevin were polishing utensils, while Soohyun frowned at Kibum’s approaching figure.
“Alexander, to the counter.” Soohyun ordered, tapping Dongho’s shoulder. “I think you owe me an explanation.”
Dongho saw Kibum at the corner of his eyes, gulping.
“What explanation?” Kevin intervened with a curious expression.
“Talking to that customer.” Dongho gestured at Kibum, reminding Kevin of Soohyun’s dislike for “idiots”.
“He-He was apologising for me!” Kevin guiltily announced, which was pretty loud due to him feeling bad for Dongho getting the blame.
Kibum raised his eyebrows at the sudden statement, paying Alexander and leaving a generous tip. He inched his way to the two waiters and the boss of the café as Kevin ranted on how he messed up earlier that day.
The customer shook his head while placing a calming hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “I’m the one at fault. I probably gave him a scare, asking for his name.”
Soohyun scowled at Kibum, which Kevin thought was a little too rude to a customer. “Don’t talk to my waiters that way!”
Kibum winked at Kevin, which the rest of the crew except Eli and Soohyun understood. They kept quiet, not wanting to spoil Kibum’s good intentions. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave now.”
Kevin turned back to Soohyun, shell-shocked. “He-He-”
“It’s okay, don’t ever talk to him if not for work-related things, all right? He’s dangerous.” Soohyun smiled and ruffled Kevin’s hair.
“No! He did n-”
“Kevin, I think we might have some leftovers. Want to try Eli’s new recipe?” Alexander cut Kevin off, while Kiseop tried to distract Soohyun.
Dongho sighed at Kevin’s denseness, and the customer being so nice about Soohyun’s acute rudeness. Weird, Soohyun never showed such a side, especially not to customers.
-
Part B came out a little too fast? :S Had another fic I wanted to post but I had too many stories being written at the same time so that isn't completed. DX