Chapter Text
“Halcyon (adj.): A time of idyllic peace amidst the storm / Calm, peaceful or prosperous / Halcyon bird: a mythical kingfisher said to calm the seas during winter”
It is a boring shift after a whole week of even more boring shifts. Sometimes Mia wonders how this place even manages to survive on so few customers, but it probably has something to do with it being a Starbucks. And as long as they insist on being represented in this neighborhood, for whatever reason, Mia will continue working there. Until a better opportunity comes along, at least, that’s what she’s telling herself.
The chiming of the entrance bell makes her look up from her phone, and she jumps up, straightening her apron and putting on her best customer service smile. “Good morning, what can I get you?”
The guy looks about her age and seems slightly lost, eyes darting from her face to the menu above her head and back. Mia wonders whether this is his first time visiting a coffee shop.
“Uhhh I’ll take, um, a Caramel Macchiato?”
“Sure!” Mia gives him a more genuine smile, feeling a bit more motivated to make an effort with this one. He smiles back, his eyes crinkling.
“Is it okay if I sit here with my laptop for a while?” He gestures towards the tables scattered around the room.
“Of course! Lots of people do their work here, you can stay as long as you like. And it’s not like you’re stealing anyone’s seat or anything.”
They both look at the completely empty space and the guy giggles. He seems pretty friendly and utterly harmless, despite his all black outfit and leather jacket. His hair is pulled back into a short ponytail, and she is pretty sure she saw a tattoo peeking out from his left sleeve. As far as customers go, she wouldn’t mind having this one hang around, just from first impressions alone.
“Do you want anything to eat as well?”
The guy glances at the displayed snacks, already shaking his head. “Ah, no thanks,” he says, slightly awkward.
“Alright, why don’t you go pick a seat and I’ll bring you your coffee when it’s done?”
“Yeah, thanks!”
He wanders deeper into the room and after hesitating for a bit, he chooses the small plush couch right in the corner with the window at his side.
Excellent choice, Mia thinks. She also prefers sitting in corners. There is just something very calming about being able to oversee the whole room.
She takes some extra time with the latte art on the macchiato, something she rarely bothers with but she wants to give this guy a nice first coffee shop impression. She also decides to place two cookies on the saucer, because he said he’d be here a while. Maybe he doesn’t have so much money that he can waste it on overpriced Starbucks cakes, and this way he’d at least have a little snack. She arranges it all on a little tray that is actually meant for collecting used dishes, since it is company policy to have people collect their own orders instead of bringing them out, but who cares. She doesn’t have anything better to do, anyways.
“One Caramel Macchiato! Enjoy!”
The guy looks up and hastily shuffles some papers to the side to make room for his drink. When he sees the tiny cat face on his macchiato, he gives a little squeak. “Oh my god so cute!! Aww thank you!” He beams at her, and Mia smiles happily.
It’s nice to have her efforts appreciated. The whole interaction leaves her with a warm glow, and she catches herself hoping he would come more often. As far as customers go, this is the sweetest one she has had in months.
When he leaves about two hours later, he says a quick goodbye and slides a folded bill towards her on the counter. Before she has the chance to thank him for the exorbitant tip or to ask whether he accidentally gave her way too much, he has already hurried out of the store.
~
The guy’s name is Wooyoung, and he does come back. He has entirely too much fun watching her struggle to spell his name correctly on one of the few times he takes something to go before he finally takes pity and spells it out for her.
The next couple of weeks, he drinks himself through their entire menu, only to realize in the end that none of the other options actually beat the Caramel Macchiato, which he then continues to order every single time.
For about a week, Mia is slightly worried that Wooyoung might start flirting with her or something, but he never does, and eventually she relaxes entirely around him. They usually spend a couple of minutes with idle chit chat while she prepares his drink, and then he just sits quietly at the corner table with his laptop for several hours. He continues to tip her way too much, and she continues to illegally give him free cookies.
~
“Oh hi!” Mia grins as Wooyoung barges through the door on a Tuesday morning with a dramatic spin, pushing up his sunglasses. “It’s my favorite customer!”
Wooyoung giggles and leans against the counter with his elbows, not bothering to give his drink order since she has already started preparing his usual. “You’re my favorite barista too,” he says and wiggles his eyebrows.
Mia laughs. “Have you ever actually been to another coffee shop though?”
“I have once,” says Wooyoung, and Mia gasps, scandalized.
“Are you cheating on Starbucks with another franchise?” she asks, pretending to be offended.
“I mean yeah, but they didn’t even put cute animals on my coffee. Absolute scam, zero stars, wouldn’t recommend.” He giggles again.
“I guess I can forgive you then,” Mia says, and Wooyoung sticks out his tongue. “Hey be nice or you’re not getting any cookies!”
“I actually thought about eating something from here today,” Wooyoung says and starts eyeing the display. “Anything you would recommend?”
“Oh! Uhh depends, do you want something sweet or something savory?”
“Sweet,” Wooyoung decides.
“Then I would recommend the cheesecake. Can’t really go wrong with that one.”
“Cheesecake it is!” Wooyoung is bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly, and Mia has the sudden urge to pinch his cheek.
The chiming of the bell has them both looking up, and Wooyoung retreats to the pick-up area to wait for his coffee, making room for the new customer.
Mia puts on her business smile. “Hello, what can I get you?”
“One large Americano please,” the guy says with a broad smile.
He starts playing around with his earring, and Mia gets the distinct feeling that he is only doing that to show off his obviously expensive watch.
She quickly finishes up Wooyoung’s order and places both the cake and the drink on the wooden surface of the bar, next to where he’s standing. She expects him to pick it up and move to his seat, but he doesn’t. When she tries to catch his eye, she realizes that he is looking at his phone, which she has never seen him do before, and throwing glances at the new customer. Weird.
“Anything else?” she asks as she starts on the Americano.
“Your phone number.” He winks at her.
It takes Mia actual effort to not groan out loud, and she forces herself to smile coolly but politely. “I’m sorry, but that is not on the menu today.”
“I can come back tomorrow, no problem,” he retorts with a grin.
Mia sighs. He might be objectively handsome, but she is so not interested. The whole flashy and pretentious styling, the way he is looking her up and down, and the fact that he is trying to talk her up while she is working. That and the fact that she is really not looking for anyone or anything right now.
“I’m afraid it will stay off the menu.” She pours his Americano into a to-go cup, hoping he’ll take the hint. “Have a nice day.”
He hesitates for a moment, shooting a look in Wooyoung’s direction who is still ignoring his order and staring at his phone, and eventually pushes himself away from the counter. “Alright then beautiful,” he says and winks again. “I’ll see you around.”
I hope not, Mia thinks and breathes a sigh of relief when the door closes behind him.
She turns towards Wooyoung only to realize that he has apparently finally taken his order to his table and is flipping open his laptop, as if nothing happened.
Mia stares for a bit, confused, before she makes her way over to him.
He looks up at her and smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes the way it normally does. “Oh hello!”
“Wooyoung,” Mia starts, thinking about how to best ask this question. “Did you just… hover around the counter to keep an eye on that guy?”
Wooyoung’s smile falls, and he starts fidgeting with his fork. “Um, yeah, I kinda did.” He looks at her apologetically. “But not because I didn’t think you could handle yourself or anything, please don’t take this as some weird macho type protector shit, that’s really not me. He just, I dunno, gave me bad vibes. I hope that wasn’t out of line.”
Mia smiles. “Well, I did handle it myself,” she says and Wooyoung nods emphatically. “But it was still nice to have you close, you know, it felt kinda like I had back-up in case I needed it.”
She grins, and Wooyoung laughs, relieved. “Hell yeah!” he says and gives her a fist bump. “I totally got your back against whatever coffee shop creep decides to try their luck next. Just leave it to me, I’ll protect you, baby girl!”
He puffs up his chest and Mia makes a gagging noise.
“Please don’t ever say that again,” she groans, and Wooyoung cackles.
~
About two weeks after the coffee shop creep incident, the university closes for summer break, causing an influx of new customers. The company knows this and sends additional employees, and Mia is delighted that they rehired a girl called Annie, who had been there to help out during the Christmas break as well. Annie is loud and chatty and constantly snacks on the displayed cakes, and Mia is very happy to have someone with her who gives even less fucks about the company rules.
Wooyoung is still there almost every day, but he doesn’t seem too happy about all of the people, and he spends a lot of time glaring at everyone over the top of his laptop, sinking down low into the couch as if he wanted to hide.
One time, a group of girls actually have the audacity to steal his table, and he looks so incredibly shocked and offended that Mia gives him his macchiato for free, as soon as she managed to stop laughing. He takes it to go.
He does immediately hit it off with Annie, which is no surprise at all since they are both loud and mischievous, and Mia had introduced him as a friend and treasured regular as soon as Annie came in for her first shift.
She regularly catches them giggling and talking shit about the other customers, and one day they spend an entire hour scrolling through tinder, trying to find Annie a girlfriend, leaving Mia to handle the customers on her own. She doesn’t mind at all, she is much too happy about the bright and friendly atmosphere at the café, and she realizes she hasn’t had this much fun going to work in years.
~
It stays like that for about a month until the guy returns. Mia doesn’t immediately see him, as she is busy with another customer, until he is grinning right at her face. She stares at him for a second before just deciding to pretend she doesn’t recognize him.
“Hello, how can I help you?”
“Oh I can think of a couple things,” he drawls, leaning across the counter and winking at her.
Mia takes a step back, having no desire to get any closer to his stupid face. She throws a glance at the corner of the shop and realizes with some surprise that Wooyoung is already watching, a hard expression on his face. They are not alone though, Annie is next to her, busy cleaning the espresso machine.
“Does one of those things involve coffee? Otherwise I’m afraid I can’t help you,” she says, her voice frosty. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Annie looking up at the tone of her voice.
“I’ll have a large Americano again,” says the guy, and he gives her what he probably thinks is a sultry look.
Mia grabs a to-go cup again and clicks open a pen. “Your name?”
“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” He grins.
Mia stares at him. There’s a badge with her name on her uniform, and she has the sudden urge to cover it up with her hands.
“Alright,” she says and starts writing on the cup. “’Dude with the bleached hair.’”
There’s a high pitched cackle to her right, and she sees Wooyoung who appears to be studying the folded menu, leaning against the far side of the counter.
The guy narrows his eyes, and there is something truly unpleasant in the way he stares at Wooyoung for just half a second before he immediately composes himself again.
He opens his mouth to say something but gets interrupted by Annie, who shoves Mia to the side with her shoulder and pushes a paper cup into the guy’s hands. “Here’s your coffee,” she says with a flat voice. “Bye.”
They stare at each other for a second, him looking offended and somewhat shocked and Annie looking incredibly bored.
“NEXT!” she eventually shouts and he jumps a little, flushing a deep, angry red, before he turns on his heel and stomps out.
“Dumbass,” Annie mutters, and Mia starts laughing, hiding her face behind her hands while Wooyoung gives Annie a high five.
~
Things stay quiet for a while after that, and Mia is truly sad when Annie comes in for her last shift. They celebrate by eating an enormous amount of cake that nobody pays for, and Wooyoung plays obnoxiously sad violin music over his laptop, turning it up as loud as possible in an attempt to drown out the coffee shop music. Mia wants to claw at her ears.
After Wooyoung leaves for the day, Annie and Mia spend the rest of her shift just chatting and exchanging numbers, with a promise to actually stay in touch this time.
Mia is horrible at staying in touch, and she fervently hopes that Annie will be back for Christmas again. Much too soon, it’s time for her to go.
“Oh, by the way,” Annie says just before she walks out the door. “I left you a little present, in case you get lonely and need company.”
She has a shit-eating grin on her face, and Mia groans. “What did you do?”
“Loverboy left his phone number a couple days ago, when you were on break. I put it in your coat.”
“Thanks,” Mia says flatly, trying to ignore Annie’s giggles.
“And guess what,” she says, slightly out of breath, her eyes twinkling.
“What?”
“His name is KYLE! What a DUMBASS name!” She doubles over with laughter, holding her stomach as she finally stumbles out the door. “Byeeeee!”
Mia rolls her eyes, making a mental note to burn the number as soon as she gets home.
~
With the end of the summer break, the number of customers drops to their usual amount, and more often than not it’s only Wooyoung sitting in the shop, just like before, with occasional exceptions.
Today is one of those days, and there is a whole crowd of middle-aged guys in suits all coming in at the same time, staying for way too long despite Wooyoung throwing them evil looks every now and then.
When they finally leave, Mia breathes a sigh of relief. It’s not like they had been particularly unpleasant customers, but she much prefers the peace and quiet with only Wooyoung there.
She snatches up a tray and starts collecting all of their empty cups and plates, noticing absentmindedly that Wooyoung is not at his table. Probably in the bathroom.
She is on her third run and just picking up the last three glasses that didn’t fit on the last tray when the entrance bell chimes.
“I’ll be there in a second!” she calls over her shoulder and quickly wipes down the table. When she turns around, she almost collides with a broad chest. Apologizing profusely, she takes a step back, before realizing who she just ran into. It’s the dumbass. Kyle, she thinks, and her heart gives an unpleasant twinge. Something about the lack of a barrier between them feels profoundly unsettling.
“Just a second,” she mutters and tries to push past him. He steps to the side, blocking her path. Mia stares at him, and he tilts his head slightly, smiling at her.
“I’m gonna take you out to dinner,” he announces. “How does Friday sound?”
Mia is genuinely flabbergasted for several seconds, then she takes a deep breath. “I am not going out to dinner with you,” she says, very slowly and very clearly.
“Why not?”
“I don’t even know you.”
“Exactly, that’s what the dinner is for,” Kyle says, and his tone is infuriatingly condescending. Like he is explaining something to a child.
“I have no interest in getting to know you,” Mia says, forcing her voice to stay calm and neutral.
“Well that’s a bit rude now, isn’t it?”
Mia’s mouth drops open. “Rude? I have told you no MULTIPLE times, just accept the rejection and get the fuck on with your life!”
Kyle has the audacity to chuckle. “Now, now, there’s no reason for that tone. Especially from someone like you.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Kyle gestures at her with a pitying smile. “I mean look at you, you’re a waitress! You should be a little grateful, hm? To get this much attention from someone like me.”
Mia is gripping the tray so hard that her knuckles have gone white. A part of her really wants to whack it across his stupid face.
“Okay that’s enough now, asshole. You are banned from the coffee shop, which I should have done ages ago. If you come here again I will call the police. Now get the fuck out of here and waste your time on someone who’s actually interested in your stupid ass!”
Kyle’s smile drops, and he grabs the tray and rips it out of her hands, causing the glasses to crash to the ground and shatter into hundreds of shards around her feet.
Mia gasps in shock and freezes, her heart hammering. Before she is able to think of what to do, he shoves her, hard. Her back collides with the wall, causing the back of her head to slam against it painfully.
“Now listen here, you fucking bitch,” he hisses, close enough for his breath to fan across her face.
She wants to throw up.
“You are going to show me some respect, because if you d-”
He disappears so suddenly that it takes Mia a moment to understand what just happened, and then the guy crashes into the wall next to her, face first, his arm twisted behind his back by none other than-
“Wooyoung,” Mia whimpers, and she is so relieved she could cry. Then she notices their size difference. Kyle is almost an entire head taller than Wooyoung, and much broader.
Her heart racing, she starts looking around for something to use as a weapon, when Wooyoung suddenly calls her name, sharply. She looks up.
His face is hard, harder than she has ever seen it, and his jaw is clenched. For some reason, he doesn’t seem to struggle too much with keeping Kyle, who has started cursing loudly, pressed against the wall.
“Go into the kitchen and stay there,” he commands. Mia hesitates, not wanting to leave him alone with the asshole.
“Go!” he says, louder than before, and Mia pushes herself away from the wall, knees shaking, and makes her way to the counter.
“Now you listen here, you bastard,” she hears Wooyoung say, his voice dripping with anger.
She hesitates, looking back.
Wooyoung shoots her a warning glance, and she hurries into the kitchen, leaning against the closed door. Panic still courses through her body, and she tries to calm her breathing, to slow the hammering of her heart.
She is almost successful, until a scream suddenly rips through the air, and she flinches so violently that she bangs her head against the door. She pushes it open with shaking hands, just enough to see that Wooyoung is still holding the bigger guy against the wall. She quickly closes the door again and sinks to the ground, burying her head in her knees.
“Mia?”
She flinches again and looks up at Wooyoung, who is standing in the doorway to the kitchen, looking worried. “Are you hurt?”
“Me?” asks Mia, her voice embarrassingly high and shaky. “No, I’m – I’m fine.”
Wooyoung looks somewhat doubtful at that, but he doesn’t say anything and instead offers her his hand. She allows herself to be pulled up.
He turns towards her, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding her eyes. “I’m not usually- I don’t- I just-”
He sounds like he is trying to apologize or something, and that won’t do. Mia takes a step towards him and throws her arms around him, hiding her face in his neck. Wooyoung makes a startled sound but after a moment of hesitation, he hugs her back.
“Thank you,” Mia whispers, and Wooyoung tightens his arms. She releases him after a couple of seconds, suddenly scared that she crossed some kind of line.
But Wooyoung smiles at her, his eyes warm. “Let’s go sit down, yeah?”
A few minutes later, they are both sitting at Wooyoung’s table, Mia’s hands wrapped around a huge cup of hot chai that Wooyoung had insisted she make for herself. The first couple of sips cause warmth to spread through her body, and she feels herself relax a little.
“That’s better.” Wooyoung takes a sip of his coffee. He sets his cup down and regards her for a moment. “Are you alright?”
Mia swallows the impulse to say I’m fine and tries to give an honest answer.
“I… I think so? I’m a bit shaken, to be honest.”
Wooyoung nods. “That sounds like a normal reaction,” he says and gives her one of those smiles that crinkles his eyes.
Mia suddenly realizes that, unlike her, Wooyoung seems completely unfazed. “What about you?”
Wooyoung blinks. “Me?”
“Yes, you! You just- I mean, what even happened? I uh, I heard a scream?” Her hands are shaking again.
Wooyoung looks unhappy. “I’m sorry you had to hear that.”
“Can you please tell me why he screamed?” Mia asks in a small voice. Wooyoung hesitates.
“Please?”
He sighs. “I broke his finger,” he finally says, and looks at her searchingly. Trying to see her reaction, probably. Mia tries to look calm.
“Accidentally?”
“No.”
“Okay,” Mia says, her voice slightly squeaky.
Wooyoung’s eyebrows pull together into a frown, and he looks down at his coffee. “You’re not… you’re not mad at me, right?” he asks quietly.
“What? Of course not! Wooyoung, you saved my ass! I was so scared, I…” she suddenly finds it hard to breathe. “I don’t know what I would have done without you,” she finishes with a shaky voice, blinking furiously against the stinging in her eyes.
“Okay,” Wooyoung whispers.
“And he totally deserved to have his fucking finger broken. I would have broken his arm if I could have!” she adds, shaking her fist.
Wooyoung chuckles. “I agree.”
“So you, what, you broke his finger and politely asked him to leave and then he just did?”
“Um, not exactly. I explained to him what he had done wrong and when he kept spewing egotistical and misogynistic nonsense, then I broke his finger.”
Mia nods. “That’s fair. I mean, you tried.”
Wooyoung grins. “Right, so then he was screaming and whining and I told him to shut the fuck up or I would dislocate his shoulder, and then I told him to never come here again, and if I ever see him around the coffee shop or if he ever talks to you again, I would, uh-” he suddenly stares at Mia with wide eyes, interrupting himself.
“You would?”
“Not important,” Wooyoung says, staring down at his coffee again. “What’s important is that he left, he’s gone, and I’m pretty sure he won’t show his face here again.”
He starts sliding his middle finger along the rim of his glass in slow circles, still avoiding her eyes. Mia is pretty sure that he is withholding a lot of information, but it’s not really her place to pry. Wooyoung literally saved her.
There is a slight pause before Mia speaks up again, her voice soft. “I’m really glad you were here today.”
“Me too.” Wooyoung smiles, but then his face falls slightly. He seems to debate something with himself.
“Alright, so,” he says finally, ripping off the corner of one of the papers on his table, and starts scribbling on it.
“If he ever does show his face here again, and I happen to not be there that day, um, call me, okay?” He slides the piece of paper towards her, and Mia takes it very carefully. It’s a phone number.
“Okay,” she whispers.
“But, and this is very important,” Wooyoung says, waiting until she looks up to meet his eyes. “Do not, under any circumstances, share this number with anyone, and only use it if there’s an emergency. Do you understand? Promise me.”
Mia nods, still staring at the piece of paper in her trembling hands.
“I promise.”