"E-eh--maybe?" Taken aback by Daehyun's
very quick mood change from "mild disgust" to "apology accepted," Minkyu simply nods and tries to follow the conversation the best he can. And when Daehyun strides up to him, apparently staring him down, he does the logical thing--he trembles like a leaf, imagining some cruel and unusual punishment that Daehyun is about to exact upon him--or maybe just some verbal insults? Either way, Minkyu is 90% sure he would cry.
So when instead of insulting him, Daehyun pulls him in for a side-hug and ruffles his hair, all Minkyu can feel is relief. Relief, and happiness, because this means Daehyun is his friend! Unfortunately, Minkyu can only afford a feeble smile before his legs give out and he collapses behind the counter in a exhausted heap. Making friends is overwhelming, he thinks. Or maybe it's just Daehyun who is overwhelming.
Peeking over the counter only to see Daehyun walk right towards where Amelia is... er...
collecting herself, Minkyu makes a high, barely-there noise of panic, waving his hands wildly but ultimately too shy and panicky to do anything other than say a few hurried warnings, which Daehyun quickly disregards.
Turning back the other employees of the café with a forlorn expression, Minkyu is immediately assaulted by both March, who is simply looking for work to do, and Rebekah, who excitedly lays out her pastries on the café counter for him to sample. They all look really delicious, it's true, but how much should he save for Amelia? he doesn't know a lot about pastry making, so Amelia should probably be the one to sample everything...
"They look really good," Minkyu admits, looking in wonder at the candy-colored sweets in front of him.
I'll, um, save these for Amelia..." Bypassing the fancier sweets, he instead selects a pretty pink macaroon from the pile and takes a bite.
Munch. Munch. Munch. Self-conscious of the eyes fixed upon him, Minkyu chews very slowly, then brightens. Wow! These are pretty good, maybe even better than Amelia's, though he would never tell her
that.
"Um... they're good," he says quietly, placing the macaroon back down and dusting his hands on his apron.
"I'm sure Amelia will like them." As he debates on whether to take a small bite of either a cream puff or the mille-feullie, the door's bell rings, causing Minkyu to look up at whoever has just entered the café.
And then! Like a ray of light shining through Minkyu's dark existence! Somebody who he has not seen for a long time, but is a whole four years older than him and Amelia! That's right, it's none other than Monty Romero, an old friend of Victoria who offered to work in the café when it first opened! Minkyu could cry tears of joy, but he doesn't!
"MONTY!" Minkyu cries, maybe a little louder than he meant too, overjoyed at the sight of an actual functioning adult.
"I-I-I didn't know you were coming back! I-it's nice to see you... Amelia's in the back, but I wouldn't bother her..." Like Daehyun is currently doing.And
then! Another person makes their presence known in the café, and this time it is Mari! Mari is a friend! Mari is a friend who doesn't scare Minkyu to death like Daehyun! Smiling, Minkyu waves shyly at her.
"G-Good morning! You, um, you guys should try these macaroons! R-R-Rebekah made enough for everyone, right?" The last part of his sentence abruptly trails off into worried territory as Minkyu once again doubts himself. His eyes connect with Monty's, the message conveyed unarguably a plea for help as the barista finds himself over his head without Amelia's steamroller personality to take over for him.
TheWendil,
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prinsipessa,
Azure Bubbles,
BunniesOfDoom,
Yanadere,
erikh,
Guardian Angel Haruki
