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Jinwoo sees the regular customer walking into the cat cafe he works in and it took every fibre of his being to not roll his eyes. The regular customer, Rubin, is one of those customers Jinwoo wishes he never has to deal with but somehow, the guy found out when Jinwoo’s shift is. So he can’t seem to escape the man. It’s not that Rubin is a rude customer, but more that Rubin is an annoying customer and Jinwoo suffers the most from his presence.
Jehyun, who is washing the cups behind him, notices Rubin’s entrance and snickers. “Look, it’s your boyfriend .”
“If you love your life, I suggest you shut up.” Jinwoo retorts, turning around to give Jehyun his death glare. Jehyun seems to cower a little, like a mouse, and goes back to his duty without a single word.
Rubin makes his way to the counter after petting a few cats on his way. Jinwoo eyes his every move with much unfriendliness. He always looks less than friendly with Rubin, that his supervisor, Sungho, told him to stop looking like he just witnessed an entire village burned down. So even though he is once again feeling his annoyance rising upon seeing that familiar face, Jinwoo forces himself to offer his warmest smile and greets Rubin.
“Welcome to Shy Cat Cafe! How may I serve you?”
Rubin seems to be holding back his laugh, and Jinwoo already feels like screaming. He does this all the time, every time he comes in. Then, as usual, he whispers rather audibly under his breath, ‘cutie’. Jinwoo positively wants to die. The worst thing is he can’t even not ask about serving Rubin because the sneaky little shit changes his coffee preference each visit.
Rubin, sly as he usually is, rests his elbows on the counter and leans forward, his eyes gazing up at Jinwoo’s face. Jinwoo can feel himself growing uncomfortable under Rubin’s piercing stare, crimson crawling up on his face.
“You’re already serving me...you’re serving me looks. ” Rubin says along with a wink, and he wishes no one heard that but Junghoon, who is less than a few meters away, did and starts to laugh. Jinwoo can only blink his eyes, feeling his embarrassment creeping up. This shameless piece of shit though, he smiles his smug grin and straightens up.
“Anyways, cutie, I’ll have salted caramel latte today,” Rubin shoots finger guns at him and Jinwoo wants to punch that darn face. If his job isn’t on the line, he really would have, honest to God.
Jinwoo composes himself, and smiles. “Sure, and the name is Rubin.”
“You should say my name often, I like it,” Rubin responds flirtatiously, and again, with a wink, giving his card to pay for the coffee.
Jinwoo doesn’t say anything, forcing a fake smile this time. He completes the payment transaction and returns the card. Jinwoo turns around gives the menu to Junghoon but not without first pinching the youngest staff’s arm. “Did you get a good laugh? Am I a joke?”
“Ouch, that hurts, hyung!” Junghoon yelps, although his a smile is still etched on his lips. “I swear I won’t do it again!”
Jinwoo pouts and runs off to sit at the back of the cafe, at the pantry. Ever since Rubin starts coming to the cafe a month ago and starts teasing him with the corny pickup lines, literally everyone is making fun of Jinwoo. And he hates it. Now, after he serves Rubin, he’d run off to the pantry but if another comes, he’ll have to drag himself back to the front. Rubin would always be there still, because he would spend an hour or so at the cafe, as if he doesn’t have a job.
“Jinwoo, counter!” Jehyun’s voice pierces through Jinwoo’s temporary calmness. He really can’t catch a break, can he?
He rushes back to the counter to see another customer waiting. Jinwoo does his usual job of taking the order and the payment. He is so ready to run back to the pantry except, this time, he can’t because their supervisor, Sungho, has arrived at the cafe. Sungho dislike seeing the counter being empty, so Jinwoo has to stay close by...and see Rubin.
“No running off, eh?” Jehyun whispers, nudging his side and Jinwoo sighs, nodding. He looks to his left and sees Rubin sitting on one of the cushions on the floor, a white Persian calmly resting on his lap. He seems to like the cats though, Jinwoo will give him that. Rubin isn’t so annoying when he’s just sitting and petting the cats.
Maybe Jinwoo stares at Rubin for a few seconds too long, because he must have felt the lingering eyes on him. Rubin looks up just in time to catch Jinwoo staring at him. Jinwoo is surprised by the eye contact, his eyes stretching widely and he immediately turns away. This is the first time that Rubin looks back at him whenever Jinwoo stares at him with the cats. Suddenly, Jinwoo doesn’t know what to do with his hands or where his legs should go, bringing himself over to stand next to Junghoon who is mixing a drink.
“Why are you standing too close to me?” Junghoon asks, shaking a mixer, raising an eyebrow.
Jinwoo shakes his head. “Nothing, just wanted to, why? Can’t I?”
“Of course, you can...you just never do.” Junghoon replies, his lips turning downwards in a feigned frown. Jeez, the kid talks back a lot, Jinwoo thought. He ignores the comment and continue to stands close to Junghoon.
However, from his peripheral, he can see Rubin stealing a glance at him. He decides that he will not look back. He will just stand like a statue here. Jinwoo will be fine, he will survive this day, as he always does whenever Rubin comes into the cafe. It’s fine.
No matter how much Jinwoo feels annoyed at Rubin every time he comes in, he isn’t going to lie to himself about one thing: he finds the man somewhat endearing but in a strange way. It’s not like he’s in love with Rubin or find him that attractive, but yes, Jinwoo finds him endearing when he’s with the cats. Not so when he’s flirting with Jinwoo with cringy lines.
Still, Jinwoo does not steal a glance anymore.
_______
Jinwoo survives that day. A few days passed before Rubin turns up at the cafe again, this time uncharacteristically dressed in suit and tie. Perhaps he’s got something important during the day, not that Jinwoo bothers, right? Although that attire isn’t great with cats, imagine all the fur on that suit later.
“Welcome to Shy Cat Cafe! How may I serve you?” Jinwoo greets routinely, a smile plastered on his lips.
Rubin, he notices today, looks rather unhappy. But it seems that seeing Jinwoo smiling at him lifts his mood, as he reciprocates with a grin, his ‘cutie’ remark missing this time. “Serve me what you want.”
“Eh?” Jinwoo blurst out, leaning his head forward slightly. He points a finger at himself, and continues, “I choose...your drink?”
“Yes,” Rubin nods, letting his head lean to one side, staring rather fondly at Jinwoo, “I wonder what the cutest cat in the cafe would choose for me, if he could.”
Jeez, Jinwoo thought for a moment, he’s still as flirtatious and sly as ever. Although his not so great mood seems to help tone down on the winks and finger guns. Jinwoo presses his lips together, taking a cursory view of their cafe’s menu. He wonders if there is anything Rubin might dislike but guesses it might not matter since he has never seen Rubin be picky.
“Then, maybe you can have the coffee I like...” Jinwoo says, sounding almost like he is asking. Rubin’s grin becomes wider, as he nods agreeably.
Jinwoo finds himself grinning more sincerely. Rubin doesn’t look too bad when he isn’t annoying, he figures. Jinwoo shyly trains his eyes on the man in front of him. Rubin doesn’t stare at him, cooing at the cat cozying up by his legs.
Jinwoo tries to speak, his voice coming out softer than he initially thought, “I like having the affogato here...do you think you’ll like that?”
“I think I will, I’ll have that.” Rubin answers, his demeanour comely. Then, returning to his usual self, he winks at Jinwoo. “I’m curious to know what the cat loves.”
That day, Jinwoo watches as Rubin takes a sip of his favourite coffee. He admits affogato might not be for everyone, as he sees Rubin’s face scrunch up once he registers the bitterness. But he doesn’t complain. He keeps sipping on it, playing with the cats around him. Jinwoo doesn’t notice the smile he dons the entire time he watches over Rubin.
When Rubin glances over at him, once again catching Jinwoo red-handed staring at him, Jinwoo doesn’t turn away. Perhaps he does flinch a little and his cheeks must have been crimson, but he doesn’t tear away. Instead, he dips his head slightly and holds the gaze. Rubin stretches his arms out then, his hand ushering for Jinwoo to come closer.
Jinwoo feels unsure, resting his hands in front of him politely. He muses that Rubin does gesture for him, but he isn’t sure about coming up to the guy. But Rubin doesn’t quit the attitude, as he now uses his head to gesture for Jinwoo to come to him. Nervous as he is, Jinwoo covers the distance from behind the counter to the seat where Rubin has settled himself in earlier.
“Is...there anything you need?” Jinwoo asks the moment he gets close enough. Rubin smiles at him and shakes his head.
“Not really, I just wanted to see your face from a closer distance.”
“Ah...I see,” Jinwoo answers like a fool, almost stuttering even. He wants to pinch himself. Although it’s starting to get a little awkward, Jinwoo doesn’t return to the counter, instead opting to settle in the seat across from Rubin.
He watches as Rubin pets one of the Siamese cats, holding the cat carefully. He has such pretty fingers for a guy, Jinwoo thought for a moment. He looks outside and see that it has started to rain, which means they might not be getting a lot of patrons for a an hour or two.
“You don’t mind me staying at the cafe longer, right?” Rubin suddenly starts, peering to look at Jinwoo.
Jinwoo shakes his head vigorously. “No, of course. you’re a customer, you can stay however long you need to.”
Rubin then puts down the Siamese cat, Juno, letting the cat return to her furry friends. His eyes are trained on Juno for a few seconds before he focuses his gaze on Jinwoo again. This time, it doesn’t feel strange anymore, and Jinwoo can relax. Rubin shifts his body to face Jinwoo properly, resting his clasped hands on the table.
“Do I make you uncomfortable when I come to the cafe?” Rubin asks with a raised brow.
Jinwoo doesn’t reply quickly, so Rubin adds, “I’m not good with...impressing the people I like...so I say and do things that can be...stupid.”
Those words causes Jinwoo to look up at Rubin with a confused expression. He furrows his brows, tilting his head slightly. Is Jinwoo registering those words correctly? Is Rubin implying that he might have a mild crush on Jinwoo? He isn’t going to get way ahead of himself and assume things that aren’t true yet doesn’t find any courage in himself to actually ask if Rubin means what Jinwoo thinks he does.
“You make me slightly uncomfortable,” Jinwoo says instead, braving himself to glance at Rubin again, his lips pouting, “But you’re somewhat...alright.”
“Just alright, kitten?” Rubin repeats, with that gentle, flirtatious voice of his. He’s giving Jinwoo the usual charming gaze he would give when he orders coffee on a good day. On God, Jinwoo starts to feel his face getting warm whenever Rubin does this to him.
“W-what else? You’re just a customer!” He defends, wishing he could have slapped his mouth for stuttering. Jinwoo always gives himself away at times, it’s his worst quality. It doesn’t help either that when he’s nervous, he can’t stop blinking profusely and can’t stop himself from looking at the other person and then darting his eyes away.
Rubin chuckles, covering his own mouth while he lets out a laugh. He seems to find Jinwoo amusing and that isn’t making Jinwoo feel better.
Rubin offers him a quick look, before gazing elsewhere. But his lips moves as he utters a question Jinwoo doesn’t expect to come from him.
“Do you know cat language, Jinwoo?”
Jinwoo honestly doesn’t know why he even needed to think about the question. He legit actually give the question some thought before answering. “I don’t think so?”
“Do you know what ‘mEooWW’ means?” Rubin curls his tongue, trying his best to imitate the sound cats would make when it wants attention. Does he want attention?
Jinwoo isn’t sure what he is supposed to do with a customer who’s making cat sounds, meowing at him while the rain continues to fall outside. From his peripheral, he can see the two idiots, Jehyun and Junghoon, snickering from behind the counter, trying their best to choke back their laugh. He can already foresee the teasing he will get from those two.
“MeeOOOwwww, you know, like meEEow,” Rubin won’t stop with his explanation. Jinwoo is about to combust from the embarrassment at this rate.
“Okay!” Jinwoo finally says, holding his palms out and perhaps with a voice that’s a little too loud. Rubin shuts up instantly, innocently looking at Jinwoo as if he totally did not do the strangest goddamn thing on Earth moments ago. And he didn’t make Jinwoo feel so embarrassed.
“I don’t know what that means and I don’t think I want to,” Jinwoo smiles almost sarcastically when he answers. And it isn’t a lie, because he really doesn’t what to know. Who knows cat language anyway? Maybe Sungho but not Jinwoo, and least of all, not Rubin.
The man sitting across from him shrugs. He doesn’t seem to take offense at Jinwoo’s words although he does cut down on the dumb things. Rubin, after a moment of silence, finally decides to say something.
“I want to say a pickup line actually but I can’t think of any,” he sighs, closing his eyes, “I’m gonna say this: are we in a litter box because I’m digging you.”
Junghoon probably can’t contain himself anymore ever since he started eavesdropping. Both Jinwoo and Rubin can hear him as he bursts out laughing, followed by Jehyun who has also failed at suppressing his laughter. As for Jinwoo, well, he wants to laugh too but can he really do that in Rubin’s face?
Rubin, on the other hand, shameless as he is, leans into his chair. His smug face would have made someone think he just said something smart and not a stupid, cringy pick up line.Jinwoo exhales loudly, half-smiling now.
“I don’t know how to feel about that.” He scratches the side of his head that is’t even itchy. “Maybe I should go back to work.”
Jinwoo pushes the chair back, rising from the seat. He can’t do this anymore, he decides. Jinwoo is ready to sit behind the counter, catching up on variety shows on his phone while there are no customers. That’s better than suffering through a series of cringy pick up lines by Rubin, the customer who has been trying to win him for a month now - although Jinwoo can’t be sure whether he likes Rubin back or not.
Rubin rises from where he sat as well, catching up to Jinwoo. He grabs Jinwoo by the wrist, rather gently, and makes him turn back to look at Rubin. They don’t have much of a height difference but why does Jinwoo feel small when Rubin is looking at him like this? He even feels his chest beating in a strange way.
“MeeOOwww has a meaning.”
Jinwoo’s mouth moves, but like a fish out of water. He can’t make a sound nor form any words, let alone a coherent sentence. He’s just moving his mouth for no goddamn reason. Rubin notices it, resting his index finger on Jinwoo’s lips.
“Meow means ‘I miss you’, and it’s true. I haven’t come by in a few days.” Rubin explains, his eyes meeting Jinwoo’s own. Suddenly, Jinwoo feels like he isn’t witty because he doesn’t know what to say. Rubin continues, “Meow.”
“Are we furries for you to speak to me like this?” Jinwoo finds his voice, starting to guffaw, a smile forming on his lips, “Please stop with the ‘meows’ it’s embarrassing, mister.”
Rubin grins wider than before. “Jinwoo, I like you, and you’re the only reason I come to this cafe.”
“Not the cats?”
“The cats , yeah but like you’re the cutest cat here, let’s be real. You’re the T to my TUNA.” Rubin concedes, classic him with the not-so-subtle pick up line.
Jinwoo rolls his eyes. He’s half annoyed, half endeared. Honestly, he doesn’t know how he’s going to respond to this, although he has always suspected that Rubin likes him. He isn’t sure about how he feels about Rubin though. Jinwoo gulps, biting his lips.
“I guess you can think about it...if you want.” Rubin says, sounding somewhat disappointed, loosening his grip on Jinwoo’s wrist.
Jinwoo sees, for the first time, the nervousness in Rubin’s demeanour. Sure, he is confident most of the time and says the most embarrassing things but perhaps those are nothing compared to baring his feelings to Jinwoo. Even if it’s just a simple sentence. Jinwoo asks himself if he really needs a lot of time to think this over. He decides that he doesn’t.
All along, despite his annoyance and running off to the pantry, every now and then, Jinwoo would take a secret peek of Rubin. He falls in love with the way Rubin treats the cat, with his kindness to other patrons especially children. He likes it when Rubin coos at the cats with his tender voice or the way he rolls his sleeve, until Jinwoo can see his beautiful tattoos. Maybe, just maybe, Jinwoo has been crushing on Rubin in secret too but refuses to own up to it.
So right now, perhaps Jinwoo can, for once, be honest with himself and to the man standing in front of him. Does Rubin think he’s the only one who can come up with cringeworthy, terrible cat-centered pick up lines?
Jinwoo grabs Rubin’s hand, staring up at him and says with a thick skin, “Be mine, it’s meow or never.”
He watches as Rubin’s serious face morphs into a more relaxed countenance. But upon hearing those cringy words, he sees Rubin trying to hold back his laugh by biting his lips, although he fails. A laugh escapes his lips soon enough and Jinwoo realises that he’s laughing too. It’s embarrassing for the both of them.
“Is that how embarrassing I sound?” Rubin gasps, wide-eyed. Jinwoo nods and Rubin covers his face with the palms of his hands.
“You should have stopped me!”
“How was I?” Jinwoo chokes out in between laughters “You were saying them shamelessly!”
They can’t stop laughing at each other, but soon manage to calm down. Jinwoo can feel Jehyun and Junghoon looking from the other side, besotted by the scene in front of them but he can’t care less. Rubin rubs his own nose, scrunching them as if nervous. But he finds his voice soon enough.
“So, can I come here again?” He raises a brow, smiling. “And wait until your shift finishes so I can take you out?”
Jinwoo can sense his shyness creeping up. Nonetheless, he nods, smiling sweetly at their regular customer. Rubin seems agreeable to the plan, his hands now in the pocket of his pants - Jinwoo notices the suit and pants with cat fur on them now.
“See you soon?”
“Yes...Rubin,” Jinwoo replies, timid like a maiden.
Rubin smiles at him, perhaps the widest Jinwoo has ever seen him don. They probably should say goodbye now, but they don’t know how. So they just stand in front of each other, staring at the other person. It’s a full ten minutes before Rubin starts moving to leave the cafe. He has not once stopped looking at Jinwoo and Jinwoo watches Rubin until he turns the corner outside their street and disappears.
Jinwoo can’t wait for Rubin to come again, because this time, he doesn’t think he’ll feel annoyed anymore. It’ll be purrfect.