Prompt # 29: Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice

[100xoverfest]

Prompt #: 29
Word Count: 3028
Season: Fall
Title: Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice
Genre: Fluff
Rating: PG
Side Pairings: Park Chanyeol/Kim Jongin; Kim Minseok/Kim Jongdae
Summary: On a rainy October afternoon, Junmyeon meets a new, handsome customer in his macaron-specialized pastry shop.
A/N (Author's Note): to the lovely prompter: i hope you enjoy the fic (and the macaron flavors)! i'm sorry if this isn't what you had envisioned or expected ):
to the dear mods: thank you so much for your hard work!
to all the readers: i hope you enjoy this little fic! if possible, please leave me a comment below - it would mean the world to me!

 

Junmyeon loved rainy days. Sure, it made getting up in the morning and commuting to work a little bit harder, but his shop was only a few blocks away from his apartment building, so usually he could make do with an umbrella and a little extra determination to get out of bed. He just loved how the smell of the potted herbs by his kitchen window would be brought out by the rain, and how his kitchen at the shop wouldn’t get unbearably hot during the day even when the ovens were on, and how the rain created the perfect cozy environment for people to walk into his shop, order a hot beverage and enjoy one of his delicious creations. It was somewhat rare to have a rainy day in October, which Junmyeon thought was a shame, since it was the perfect weather for his newly-created fall-inspired desserts.

Junmyeon and his small crew had a routine at the shop: he would come in at around six in the morning and get started on his dessert preparations for the day. Jongdae and Minseok would come in about half an hour later and open the shop for customers at seven. At such an early time of the day, those who entered the shop were mainly looking for coffee, which gave the pastry chef a few more hours to work on his treats until they were put on display at around nine. Chanyeol would come in at noon, and Minseok and Jongdae usually left at half past one. By two, Junmyeon would be done with baking for the day, which meant that, during the afternoons, he would usually deal with paperwork in his office or come help Chanyeol at the front of the shop.

His afternoons at the register were his favorites. He would interact with his regular customers, hear the occasional praise for his skills, see Chanyeol embarrass himself every now and then, tripping or falling with no apparent motive other than his lack of control over his long limbs, and just enjoy the comfortable atmosphere he managed to create in the shop. He loved to watch the people passing by the large windows, busy with their own lives.

On one particularly rainy October afternoon, Junmyeon was so distracted by the sight of raindrops falling down the windows that he missed the little bell above the door indicating a new customer had arrived.

“Hi, can I get the largest cup of your strongest coffee, please? Thanks.” Junmyeon was startled by the deep voice coming from a very tall man standing in front of him, but he guessed the man must have missed the way he stumbled a little, given that the stranger was still struggling with his umbrella, looking quite annoyed.

“Rough day?”

“And it keeps getting…” He paused and huffed as he applied a little more strength to the item. “worse.”

“Well, I’ve been told my pastries can make any day a little brighter. Perhaps you’d like some of my special fall-themed macarons to go with your coffee? You can sit by one of our tables and enjoy them as you wait for the rain to stop, if you don’t want to deal with that umbrella anymore.”

“Oh, no, I don’t eat -” The stranger looked up at Junmyeon for the first time since his entrance, and the chef had to admit it was quite a sight. “Huh.”

“I’m sorry, what is it that you don’t eat?”

“I… Nothing. Never mind.” He seemed to be a bit lost for words. “Huh. Fall-themed, you say? Yeah. Sure. Ok. Just give me, I don’t know, pumpkin spice? That’s a fall flavor, isn’t it?”

Pumpkin spice. Of course.

Pumpkin spice.

Even though Junmyeon had gone through all the trouble of creating a whole fall-themed line, with eight innovative flavors, everybody always asked for pumpkin spice. Cliché, overrated pumpkin spice.

“It is a fall flavor, sir,” He tried to keep his annoyance to himself. “but I’m afraid I don’t make pumpkin spice macarons. You see, the purpose of this line was to use traditional fall ingredients, but twisting them in an interesting way, so no, we don’t have pumpkin spice. May I recommend you another flavor, sir?”

“… Sure.”

“Alright, then how about pear & red wine? Don’t worry, the alcohol has evaporated in the process. I think it’ll pair nicely with your coffee.”

“Yeah. Ok.”

“Great. And your name, sir?”

“… Sorry?”

“Your name. For the coffee cup?” Junmyeon pointed to the cup in his hand with the Sharpie he was holding.

“Oh. Oh! Yifan. Y-I-F-A-N, Yifan.”

“Alright, Yifan!” Junmyeon said as the stranger – Yifan – handed him his card. The man still looked a little lost. “Would you like these to go?”

“No! No… I’ll grab a seat, yeah. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome!” He smiled, and Yifan slowly walked backwards, staring at him for a while before turning in the direction of the tables. “Oh, Yifan?”

“Yes?” He whipped his entire body in Junmyeon’s direction as fast as humanly possible.

“You forgot your card.”

“Oh. Yeah, my card. Sorry.” He said as he approached the register.

“Here you go. I’ll bring the coffee and the macaron to you in a minute. Please, make yourself comfortable!” Junmyeon said, smiling again, as usual. He couldn’t help but notice that a) Yifan was very handsome and b) he seemed like he was out of focus, sleepy, maybe? No wonder he’d ordered “the largest cup of his strongest coffee”.

The rest of the day went by pretty uneventfully. Junmyeon kept stealing a few glances at Yifan, who sat at one of the tables, reading and writing notes on a bunch of paper, for about an hour – not that he was counting. As Yifan left, the chef caught himself hoping the man would return the next day.

And he did, only this time seeming a lot less annoyed.

“Good afternoon! Yifan, right? How may I help you today?” Maybe Junmyeon’s smile this time wasn’t the usual one he directed at costumers.

“Oh. You remembered. Yeah, it’s Yifan. Uh… coffee? The same as yesterday is fine.”

“Would you like a macaron today as well? Perhaps a new flavor?”

“Right… any recommendations this time?” The chef lowkey hoped to hear a compliment on yesterday’s dessert, something along the lines of “No, yesterday’s flavor was amazing, it’s the reason I returned”, but it never came. And maybe Junmyeon didn’t want his pastry to be the reason for Yifan’s return either.

“How about apple cider?”

“Yeah, ok. Thanks. I’ll be at the same table as yesterday.” Yifan said, handing over his card.

“I’ll be right over!”

Junmyeon knew it wasn’t exactly nice to stare at people, especially when said person was a customer at his shop, but Yifan was sitting facing the counter this time, and he looked even more handsome when he furrowed his brows and focused on his papers, so the chef couldn’t really help it. And Chanyeol couldn’t help noticing.

“Got a little crush there, boss?”

“Quiet, Yeol! He might hear you!” Junmyeon half whispered, half shouted.

“First of all, I didn’t mention any names,” He said, quieter this time, bearing a little smirk. “and second, you won’t even try to deny it? Wow. He’s got you good.”

“Oh, just shut up and do your job! I think table 9 needs cleaning up.”

“And I think table 6 needs a dinner invitation!” Chanyeol said as he left in the direction of table 9, raising his voice again, but apparently not enough for Yifan to hear him.

The next day was a Saturday, which meant business slowed down considerably, especially during the afternoons. It was the perfect setting for Jongin, Junmyeon’s younger brother, to come in, order a single cup of tea, and spend the entire afternoon pretending to read a book for college, pestering Junmyeon every now and then and, most importantly, ogling over Chanyeol, who would return the favor and sit with him whenever he wasn’t busy with the few customers that came in.

Junmyeon didn’t expect Yifan to be one of those customers, since it wasn’t a workday, but there he was.

“Good afternoon, Yifan! The largest cup of my strongest coffee again?”

“Actually, I’ll go for a latte today, if that’s possible?”

“It sure is! Same size?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“How about a macaron? Yes or no?”

“Will you please show me a new flavor, Mr…?”

“Oh, just Junmyeon is fine!”

“Junmyeon…” Yifan repeated to himself, apparently.

“Well, you’ve had pear & red wine and apple cider, so how about whiskey & cranberries, to keep up with the alcohol theme?”

“Yeah, that sounds fine. I’ll be at the table, then. Thanks, Junmyeon!”

“You’re welcome, Yifan!”

This time, instead of piles of paper, it was a laptop that kept Yifan company. Junmyeon tried not to stare, but failed so hard that he only remembered Chanyeol and Jongin were around when the two were standing next to him at the register.

“Wow, hyung, when Chanyeol told me you had a crush, I didn’t think he was serious, but it looks like he was!”

“Can we drop the word ‘crush’? I’m not 12.”

“See? I told you, he doesn’t even try to deny it! He’s whipped.”

“You’re one to talk, Park!” Chanyeol blushed at his comment and Junmyeon felt instantly happier.

“What do you mean, hyung? Yeollie, are you seeing someone?” Jongin looked like a sad puppy.

“No! No, Nini, I’m not! I… no, your brother’s just... I…”

“Oh, alright then…”

“Unbelievable. Whipped. Both of you. Whipped and clueless.”

“What do you mean?” Both Chanyeol and Jongin said at the same time.

“Go sit at your table, both of you, and put those brain cells to use, for once!”

Yifan left about half an hour after that, leaving Junmyeon alone in the shop with Dumb and Dumber. He hoped to forget about Yifan on Sunday, since the shop would be closed and he would be at home.

He dreamed of Yifan’s gummy smile and furrowed brows that night.

Monday morning went by as usual – Jongdae arriving a little late and saying it was the last time he would do that, Minseok helping him with his apron and saying it was the last time he would do that, Jongdae giving him a quick kiss on his cheek and saying it most definitely wasn’t – Junmyeon was used to it by now. It was like his Mondays weren’t really Mondays without the “last time” ritual, as he called it.

Chanyeol came in at noon looking weirder than usual. It was about 2:15 when they could finally stop and have an actual conversation.

“What’s wrong, Yeol? You look like you’re worried about something.”

“Hyung… I like Jongin.”

“You don’t say!”

“No, listen – I know you already knew and even I have to admit it was pretty obvious but then on Saturday you said we were both whipped, right? And you’re Nini’s brother and you know him really well, so I thought ‘Well, what if Myeon said that because Nini likes me back?’ and I decided to ask him about it, and I did, and I confessed to him, and he said he does like me back? But that was on Saturday night, and we’ve been texting all weekend, and I wanna ask him on a date, but I wanted to get your permission first, because you’re my boss and his older brother and my friend and you might think it’s too weird and –”

“Chanyeol, I think you two would be great together! I can’t believe you were worried about me!”

“Sorry, hyung, it’s just…”

“I know, I know, but you have nothing to worry about. Really. You have my blessing.”

“Thank you so much, hyung! You’re the best! I love you!”

“Don’t let Nini hear you say that! You saw how upset he was on Saturday!”

Yifan walked in shortly after that, looking a little tired and disgruntled.

“Good afternoon, Yifan! What will it be today, latte or regular coffee?”

“If by ‘regular’ you mean the strongest one, then yeah, regular coffee. Early morning classes should be banned from the planet.”

“Are you a professor or a student?”

“A professor. Chinese literature.”

“Oh, that’s nice! Would you like a macaron today?”

“Which ones haven’t I tried yet?”

“I believe… maple & bacon, caramel & walnuts, apple & ginger, sweet potato & cinnamon and my personal favorite, carrots & chocolate!”

“Huh. I think I’ll go with maple & bacon for today. I used to live in Canada, but I haven’t been there in a while, so it’ll be nice to have a glimpse of it.”

“Wow, Canada seems amazing! It was actually my main inspiration for this one!”

“Well, maybe some other time you could tell me what inspired the others? I’d like to hear it.”

“Sure! I’d like that!” Junmyeon couldn’t help but smile wide for the rest of the day.

On Tuesday, after Chanyeol told him about his plans to take Jongin to a nice restaurant on Friday, Junmyeon found himself smiling at the mere thought of talking to Yifan again. The professor arrived at around three.

“Good afternoon, Yifan!”

“Good afternoon, Junmyeon! Which macaron do you have for me today?”

“How about apple & ginger? They’re inspired by traditional American apple pies!”

“Sounds good! I look forward to it and to my coffee!”

“Coming right up!”

On Wednesday, Junmyeon got caught up in paperwork and barely left his office. He had to leave Chanyeol alone at the register, which wasn’t normally an issue, because even though the boy was clumsy and a little loud, he was really good at the job, but that also meant not seeing Yifan for the day.

“He asked about you.” Chanyeol said as they were closing up.

“Huh?”

“Your crush? He asked about you. Something about you telling him stuff about the macarons? I don’t know for sure, but he also asked if you’d be at the register tomorrow~” He said that last part in a suggestive tone.

And Junmyeon was indeed back at the register on Thursday, completely enamored just one week after seeing Yifan for the first time.

“I believe I only have two flavors left? I had the carrot one yesterday.”

“Yeah, that leaves sweet potato & cinnamon and caramel & walnuts.”

“I’ll have the walnut one today.”

“Let me guess, and a large coffee?”

“Exactly.” Yifan seemed to ponder over something as Junmyeon handled his credit card.

“Here you go,” The Chef said as he returned the card to Yifan. “I’ll be right over!”

“… Junmyeon?”

“Yeah?”

“You said the carrot one was your favorite, and it was really good, but I missed the explanation yesterday… maybe… you’d like to tell me over dinner some time?”

“How does Saturday sound?”

Yifan showed up again on Friday and tried the remaining flavor. On Saturday, Jongin and Chanyeol were noisier than ever upon hearing about the date.

“Is he taking you somewhere nice, hyung? I bet it won’t be as nice as the date Nini and I had yesterday~”

“I need to ask him about his intentions before the date!”

“Yifan and Junmyeon, sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G~”

“Ew!” Jongin screamed after hearing that. “Yeollie, that’s my brother!

“What? Brothers can kiss, too!”

“Enough, both of you. Some of us have work to do!”

Yifan took him to the movie theater first – their favorite actor, Do Kyungsoo, was the villain in a new movie that they both hadn’t seen – and after the movie, they decided to take a stroll on Hangang Park.

“So, what was the inspiration behind the carrot macaron?”

“Well, you know those recipe videos you can find on Instagram and Facebook and the likes?”

“Yeah, what about them?”

“I was watching a few of them a while ago and there was one about this Brazilian carrot cake that was bright yellow and had a special chocolate frosting, and I thought it would taste awful, but the pastry chef part of me decided to try it anyway, and I ended up falling in love with the recipe!”

“Now I want to try the actual cake!”

“Well… I could bake one for you one day…”

“That sounds good… maybe I could help you? You know, as a second date type of thing?”

“A second date seems really nice…”

They both had stopped walking at this point and were talking while facing each other. Junmyeon saw Yifan leaning in slightly and did the same.

“Can I kiss you, Junmyeon?”

“Please.”

It was a short, tender kiss at first, but Junmyeon wanted more, and apparently so did Yifan, as he softly grabbed the back of Junmyeon’s head and pulled him in for another kiss, a deeper one this time. They kissed for a while, until Yifan pulled back and spoke close to Junmyeon’s ear.

“Can I tell you a secret?”

“… Yes.”

“I really like you, Junmyeon. That first day at the shop, when you suggested a macaron to go with my coffee, I was about to tell you I wasn’t really a fan of sweets, but then I looked up and saw how beautiful you were, with your shiny rosy cheeks and that little strand of hair falling on your forehead, and I just forgot what I was doing in the first place.”

Junmyeon thanked the heavens for the darkness of the street, because he was pretty sure he was blushing very hard at that point.

“I really like you too, Yifan… wait. Does that mean you didn’t like the macarons?”

“I did! I just liked you even more!”

“Oh, okay then…” Junmyeon let out a little giggle. “Can I tell you a secret too?”

“Of course!”

“Remember how I told you that the inspiration behind the apple & ginger macaron was the traditional American apple pie?”

“Yeah, what about that?”

“Well, I mean, that did play a part in the creation of the flavor, but my main inspiration was actually… Geri Halliwell…”

“Geri… Halliwell? Who’s Geri Halliwell?”

“… Ginger Spice, from the Spice Girls?”

“Oh! I guess you should introduce me to your friends, then.”

“What? Why?”

“Because the thing that I want, that I really, really, want, is to be your lover.”