Chapter Text
"again?"
the man shrugs, a small playful smirk on his lips. "what can i say?"
y/n rolls her eyes and turns her back to the customer, facing the brewing station. "this is the second time this week. it's tuesday." she didn't have to ask what he'd like to order: he was quite consistent.
"i like coffee," he explains, throwing his hands up defensively. "what, you want me to stop coming in? do you want to lose a customer?"
"dramatic much?" y/n chuckles under her breath and pours the preferred amount of creamer into the cup, counting the seconds in her head. "i just find it funny that you're always in here."
paradise bean was far from the only coffee shop in central seoul...but it might've been the most popular. there were at least twenty new customers a day, and y/n had always been good at remembering faces. that's why she was never truly shocked to see the big eyes and aegyo-sal enter through the door.
"best coffee around," big eyes replies, his voice laced with certainty. "everyone knows that."
"coffee is coffee," the barista hums and stirs the drink around a bit before turning back to face her customer, seeing there was (thankfully) nobody else in line. she sits the cup on the counter, then takes her spot at the cash register to ring him up. "here's your hot americano with heavy creamer. did you want your usual banana bread slice to go with that?"
the man shakes his head. he checks his watch, showing the barista the time. "nope, i gotta go to the gym," he explains. "thanks, though!" he reaches for his wallet and pulls out his card, tapping it on the reader. when the payment goes through, he grabs his cup and sends a smile towards y/n. "see you tomorrow, sunny?"
groaning, the barista waves him off. she had always wondered where the nickname had come from, but it had been being used as of late by the friendly customer. "yeah, yeah, sure. probably." she always hoped she didn't sound too mean or dismissive. she just hated working the morning shift.
drumming her fingers on the counter, y/n sighs. it was tuesday, yes, and most people were at work (or school now, since the academic calendar had started up again), but there was still usually quite the crowd. she looks at the clock: a quarter after two. sigh again.
the bell above the door chimes, and she lifts her head instantly. she's met with the cheerful face of her boyfriend of half a year, minhyuk. "hello? what are you doing here?" y/n smiles, lifting the gate and exiting from behind the counter. she greets her minhyuk with a sweet hug.
"thought i'd come see you," minhyuk replies, his voice a gentle lull, his chin resting atop her head as they embraced. "also, i wanted to let you know that our breaking bad binge will have to continue another night."
y/n looks up at minhyuk, eyebrows furrowed. "why? are you doing something tonight?"
"yes, actually," the male nods, stepping away from the embrace to better look at his girlfriend. "it's a colleague's birthday and a bunch of us are going to celebrate with him. minseok, i mentioned him to you, right?"
"ah," y/n nods and smiles, understanding. "yeah, i think i remember. he's the one who got in trouble for having a scene from a hentai as his screensaver?"
minhyuk laughs, scratching the back of his neck. "yeah, that's him," he hums, sliding around to reach behind the dessert display to grab a croissant. y/n had asked him to stop doing that, as sometimes there aren't anymore supplies of the desserts when customers order and she has to give them the display and the lack of display makes it harder for her to do that, but minhyuk didn't listen. "but, anyway, yeah, a couple of us are going out. he's thirty, so," the man shrugs. "kind of a big deal."
"that's nice," y/n smiles again, going back behind the counter to put a new croissant in the display. "where are you guys going?"
"we're going to nevermind," minhyuk responds. "you know nevermind."
y/n blinks. "the club right down the block from here?" she scrunches her face. she didn't like the idea of minhyuk being out so late when he had to work in the morning already, plus the fact that there'd be drinking involved? "well, how about after my shift i come find you? that way, i can drive you to your place so you don't have to walk or have one of your probably drunk friends drive you!"
minhyuk makes a face and looks away. "look, i appreciate it, babe, but there's a strict no-girlfriends rule," he explains with a look of sympathy on his face. "it's a guys' night. sorry." he takes a bite of his stolen croissant, the crunch a little more crunchy than it would usually be since it was most likely stale. it seemed a lot of things were stale as of late.
y/n furrows her brows, but nods, once again. "right," she swallows. "that's fine then. just...don't drink too much? you can't go in to work with a hangover. okay?"
the man lets a cross between a scoff and a laugh as he looks back at y/n. "yeah, got it." he rolls his eyes.
"babe—" y/n starts, only to be interrupted.
"i know, baby, i know you're only trying to look out for me," minhyuk reassures, sighing. he places his hands on y/n's shoulders, one still holding the flaky croissant, the crumbs now adorning the shoulders of her top. "you're a great girlfriend. i love you."
y/n grimaces as the crumbs tickle the back of her neck now. "love you too," she whispers into his chest, just loud enough for minhyuk to hear. "be careful, tonight, okay?"
minhyuk pulls away and nods, a toothy grin on his face. "i know, thank you," he leans in for a kiss, y/n turns her head to let his lips grace her cheek. the man thinks nothing of it and pats her head before turning around and leaving paradise bean.
y/n wipes the crumbs off of her and wipes his wet kiss remnants off her cheek, then wipes her hands on her apron and gets back to her work station.
it had been two weeks since y/n had grown tired of her relationship with minhyuk. it wasn't anything he had done...well, maybe it was. maybe it was things he hadn't done. he wasn't a perfect boyfriend by any means, but the perfect anything, let alone boyfriend was practically impossible to find. she wasn't...settling perhaps...it was just...sigh. she was twenty-seven now. the dating game was over. at least, in her head it was. the goal was always married by twenty-five, kids by thirty. one of those goals had been crossed off...should she skip marriage and go straight for babies? no! of course not!
y/n rests her chin on her palm as her other hand's fingers drum on the counter. please let a customer walk in...please...any second now...anything to make this day seem worth it...
it's around nine o'clock, y/n is happily snug in her beige colored throw blanket on the couch, scrolling tiktok. the air conditioning was working overtime, so much so that the whole apartment is freezing. she had always preferred the cold, so it was almost ideal. this was too cold. she didn't know how to work the ac...that was her best friend and roommate's leah's thing. and of course...leah was out tonight.
having had enough, y/n dramatically flings her blanket off herself and gets off the couch, almost stomping toward the kitchen to where the air conditioning contraption was. she takes her phone for research, and also to call in case of an emergency.
she pushes button after button, the numbers getting lower and lower, the chill hitting her in the face. "ah, shit—" she hisses under her breath, holding her hands up in front of the vents, trying to block the cold air.
her phone buzzes in her hand and she jumps, startled. she steps away from the cold air blowing machine to take the call from her coworker and friend, namjoon.
"namjoon, thank god," y/n speaks, relieved. he was a man, after all. he should know how to work one of these things, right? "i so need your help,"
"i'm sure it can wait, y/n," namjoon speaks hurriedly. there's bass booming in the background of his end of the call. "i need you to listen to me, okay?"
y/n holds her other hand to her other ear. "what? i can barely hear you," loud music plays into her ears, overtaking her friend's voice almost entirely. "where are you?"
"your boyfriend is here."
"are you at nevermind?" she had never taken namjoon as the type for clubbing, but, hey! to each their own.
"yes, so is minhyuk."
"he told you he'd be at nevermind tonight?"
y/n furrows her brows now, getting confused. "yes...he did. namjoon, what is it?"
"he told you he was going clubbing tonight. am i getting that right?"
"yes! it's a work thing!"
"doesn't seem like it..." namjoon trails off and is barely audible.
"what? namjoon, i can barely hear—"
she's interrupted by her phone vibrating once again, this time with a text message from namjoon. why would he text, they're already on the phone—
oh.
namjoon had sent a photo. there was minhyuk...dancing with some girl.
wait.
y/n's thumb and index finger zoom in on the image.
it wasn't some girl.
it was leah. her best friend. who she lived with. who she had seen at her worst, and who had seen her at hers.
her best friend was dancing with her boyfriend.
her phone buzzes again. another text from namjoon, this time a video. holding her breath, y/n opens the video and plays it, watching as minhyuk's tongue slides down leah's throat.
namjoon's muffled voice is heard. "y/n? are you there? are you okay?"
she lifts the phone back up to her ear and her throat feels scratchy. her head hurt all of the sudden. "i'm here." she replies.
"oh, i thought—"
"i'll be there soon."
"wha—?"
click.
y/n's stomach is in knots when she finally parks in front of the club. she had never been, even though it was conveniently three doors away from paradise bean where she worked. the club scene was never her thing. it didn't have to become her thing...she was just here to handle some business.
stepping out of her car in her thin white sleep shirt and cinnamoroll pajama pants, y/n's house shoes walk with fury towards the bustling entryway of club nevermind. there was a girl throwing up into the alley next to the building, a couple that looked they were about to break up. seemed to be the theme of the night.
y/n gulps, still finding time to be anxious in her rage as she was about to enter the club. a tall, muscular man in a shirt way too snug for him blocks her path; the bouncer. "hold on, i need to see some identification—"
"hey, she's with me!" a voice comes from the blacklight void on the other side of the bouncer. namjoon comes into view. "it's okay, jinho, she can come in."
the bouncer steps aside and namjoon greets y/n. "you just missed them, y/n."
the girl's face, already not pleased, falls even more. "what? how? i got here literally as fast as i could, i didn't get dressed, i didn't do my hair," she leans in to whisper to her friend. "i didn't even put on deodorant."
namjoon shakes his head, looking past her into the busy seoul streets. "i know, i know," he puts a hand on her shoulder. "do you want me to go find him? i will go, y/n. i'll punch him."
"you won't punch anybody, namjoon," y/n sighs, rubbing her temples. her purse hangs lazily from her elbow and she shakes her head. the pain was almost unbearable now. the throbbing had started on the right side of her head, now it had spread everywhere, including the nape of her neck, meaning it would surely head down her spine next. "ugh."
"are you alright? hm?" namjoon leans down to look at his friend. "you don't look so good, y/n."
"my head hurts," she groand, massaging her temples now. "and my stomach is in knots. i need to sit down."
namjoon starts to lead her into the club now. "come with me. i'll get you a seat. and maybe a drink."
y/n slumps into him, not even caring about getting a drink. she had probably had a sip of alcohol maybe...twice? even in her legal drinking age life, she wasn't the type to drink. where was the fun? it's just flavored beverage in cup. she would much rather have a nice cup of coffee.
2010's rihanna pounds into her brain as she sits down in a stool at the bar. namjoon brings his fingers to his mouth and whistles for the attention of a bartender. "hey, get her a drink, please! something strong."
the bartender comes over, y/n's head is bowed low out of half-shame, half-pain. she sees the hand of the bartender leaning on the bartop as he talks to namjoon. where had she seen those tattoos? where had she heard that voice? wait, oh god—
"sunny?"
y/n cringes and looks up to meet the big eyes of the bartender, who looks at her with slight amusement.
"what happened to you? you look terrible."
namjoon snaps in his face. "hey, get on that drink, please," he turns to y/n and speaks into her ear. "do you know him?"
she nods weakly, her throat itchy on the inside. "he comes by the cafe," she explains. "very often. he's a regular. always calls me that cheesy random nickname."
namjoon nods, skeptic. he keeps his hand on the back of y/n's stool, letting her know she was safe.
y/n watches as her friendly usual customer works on...whatever he was working on. he mixes a few different colored drinks together. her insides churn. she hadn't really eaten much since she got home. she had planned on reheating something with leah whenever she came back. sigh. leah. her friend. well...if they were still friends. which they weren't. only how was leah supposed to know that? she didn't know that y/n knew what was going on. she should text her.
y/n pulls out her phone and opens leah's text thread.
"woah, hey," namjoon reaches forward and turns her phone off for her. "what are you doing? you don't wanna talk to her!" he frowns. "and don't even think about texting minhyuk."
y/n was getting extra irritated. it wasn't namjoon's fault, and she was sure that somewhere deep inside her, she was grateful for his closeness and protectiveness. but right now...
"namjoon, please, can i have some space?"
"y/n, no, i shouldn't leave you here."
"i'm fine, okay? i'm fine. i just...you're too much right now." she massages her temples again. between her racing thoughts, the loud music, the strobe lights, and namjoon's persistence...it was all too much. "just...please."
"she's fine here, man," bartender big eyes speaks to namjoon. "you know me."
namjoon takes one last glance at both y/n, then the bartender before nodding. he gives y/n one last shoulder squeeze. "text me or call me if anything. okay? i'll see you." and then, he disappears.
y/n watches her friend—her only friend—leave the club, her eyes catching the strobe lights head on. ugh, who even invented these things?
"so..."
y/n's head slowly turns back to face forward. bartender big eyes pushes a glass to her.
"what's up?"
she didn't want to talk about. she didn't want to even think about it, but that's what every thought in her head was about. she looks down at the drink in front of her, the smell seeping into her senses. it was unfamiliar, completely unfamiliar, and yet...right now...it smelled like all she needed.
"what's this?"
"huh?" big eyes blinks.
"this drink," y/n points a finger at the glass. "what is this? i'd like to know what i'm about to drink."
"oh, yeah," big eyes leans forward, closer to y/n, his elbows on the counter. "it's a manhattan. basically, whiskey and wine."
"whiskey..." y/n repeats, nodding. "is this...manhattan...strong?"
"how strong do you need?" he raises a brow at her. she didn't look like the exasperated barista he liked to bother whenever he came by the cafe. she looked...sad. very, very sad. it was concerning.
"clear my head," y/n replies quickly, locking eyes with the bartender again.
he nods. "yeah, okay," he nods and steps back. "this should do well. this and like, three more. but, i don't want you going crazy, so let's keep just this one for now—"
y/n downs the drink in one long gulp, grimacing immediately after. "what the hell? ew."
the bartender stifles a laugh. "you're not supposed to do that at all, but okay."
"i thought you're supposed to take a shot!" y/n pouts, embarrassed. "that's what i did!" she sticks her tongue out, shivering slightly from the unpleasant and unfamiliar taste.
big eyes, chuckles. "when it's in a shot glass," he explains, his tone bordering on condescending. "you take a shot when your drink is in a shot glass, sunny."
y/n scowls at the bartender, her taste buds still angry with her. "yeah, got it now," she groans and watches as the male starts mixing up the same drink. she goes to grab her wallet from her purse. "how much is this?"
"hey, hey, what? no," the bartender waves his hand. he slides the glass, filled again, back toward y/n. "you're obviously going through something right now. plus, namjoon-hyung made it clear that you needed to be taken care of. it's on the house. anything you want or need, it's covered."
"no, it's fine—"
"i insist," the bartender interrupts. his voice stern, more serious than y/n had ever heard him be. he looks up at the ceiling for a moment, the silver of his lip ring catching light. "also, if i'm gonna be giving you free alcohol, i think i should know what's going on. no pressure, though."
y/n gingerly pulls the glass up to her lips, taking a sip. now that she wasn't slamming it all down in one go, she actually could pick up flavors. it wasn't bad. not exactly pleasant, but not horrible. it was quite strong. maybe it wasn't but for her, it sure was.
"oh, my boyfriend," y/n starts explaining. "or, well, maybe not my boyfriend anymore. i came here to break up with him. after what namjoon had sent me. but, i got here too late," she takes another sip, wincing. "i had just missed them. oh, him and leah. leah's my friend. well, maybe not..." she takes another sip, her vision blurring for only a second.
"so this guy and your friend? they were here together?" big eyes was leaning in now to get a good listen. when y/n doesn't respond, he sucks his teeth. "shit, sunny, that's awful. i'm really sorry that happened. he seems like a total dick. and that friend of yours doesn't sound much better."
y/n still doesn't respond, just nodding. she was appreciative of him, for sure. all namjoon had asked was that she be safe. big eyes didn't have to give her free booze. it seemed like he was close enough with namjoon for the elder to trust leaving her here with him, and close enough that the bartender was calling namjoon 'hyung'. maybe it was just a favor for a friend. or maybe he was just a nice person.
before she knew it, y/n had finished her drink. it wasn't half bad.
"do you want another?"
"huh?"
"another drink," big eyes blinks. he was already pulling the glass and preparing to make her another. "i'll make you one. gotta take it slow, though. i know you're a newbie, and clearly a lightweight." this time, he makes the drink right on top of the bar top, not at the well. when he's done, he slides it back to her.
pulling the drink up to her lips, she speaks. "how do you know i'm a lightweight?" y/n raises a brow. was it really that obvious?
"well, you're sweating."
"it's hot in here."
"not that hot."
y/n purses her lips and swallows her current sip, her throat feeling a little warm. "what's your name, hm?"
"me?" the bartender, lifts his brows at y/n before looking down to pluck a piece of lift off his rolled-up sleeve. "i'm jungkook."
"jongkook?"
"jungkook."
"jungkook," y/n nods, finally hearing him right. she takes a sip, wincing again. she swallows, the taste finally familiar. "it's nice to meet you."
a slight laugh comes from the other. "we've met a couple times already, but i know what you mean." jungkook smiles a friendly grin that y/n found quite familiar.
from down the bar, a voice calls to jungkook: a customer in need. sending another look at y/n, he quickly gets started on another manhattan. "i gotta go for a bit, but if you need or want anything, call for me. here's another drink for when you need it. okay?" jungkook puts a second glass in front of y/n, leaving her with a glass and a half of alcohol.
she watches as big eyes—jungkook—tends to the customer. she takes a sip of her current drink, not wincing this time. her head hadn't stopped throbbing. wasn't this supposed to take the pain away? or was it to make her forget? either way, it wasn't working. y/n very much remembered what had led her to come into club nevermind tonight. she would invision it even more clearly if she opened up her phone and watched the video namjoon had sent her.
it wasn't even that she was that upset about losing minhyuk. she wasn't that crazy about him anymore. it was just...the principle of the thing. it was mostly leah. leah, who was supposed to be her best friend, her ride or die. her best friend had somehow seduced minhyuk. was this a recent development? or had it been brewing all along? leah had never seemed like the biggest fan of minhyuk, often voicing her dislike of him. was that all a ploy?
y/n reaches in her purse, taking a while to find her phone. it felt like her vision had completely gone away for a second, but it was back. she opens her message thread with namjoon, clicking on the video, her blurry vision blocking the several new messages from namjoon that sat right below the video.
as she watches, she narrows her eyes, zeroing in on the way minhyuk and leah make out on the dance floor, their bodies moving against each other in time. they weren't moving like it was a recent development, that was for sure. y/n felt her stomach churn uncomfortably. she really should have eaten something, but how was she to know?
she reaches for her glass, seeing it was empty. she grumbles and grabs the second manhattan, sipping off it, not wincing. there was a pain in her ribcage now. god, she really was a lightweight. it wasn't like she hadn't had alcohol before. it was just...it had been a while. she wasn't a day drinker...she wasn't even a night drinker. but it didn't matter right now. her hand shakes as she lifts her glass to her lips. her fingers on her phone slip, opening her text thread with minhyuk, her blurry eyes reading the new message from him.
hey babe :) i made it home safe from the club. see you tomorrow for dinner? love you
somehow her vision had unblurred just enough to read that message. her head throbbed harder. her hand shakes as she lifts the glass to her lips again. it almost slipped from her grasp. sweat? was it really that hot in here? was the glass really that cold? was it neither?
a tattooed hand grips the glass before she can lift it all the way. "hey, hold on, alright?" jungkook takes the drink from her hand. "i left you in bad shape, i come back you're even worse."
y/n reaches for the drink still, her eyes desperate. she wipes her brow with her free hand, her head sweating profusely. "please..." she grumbles.
"i'm sorry," jungkook sits the drink down out of her reach. "you're cut off, sunny."
y/n blinks, and sees stars for a moment. she was still sweating, her stomach was past churning; it was swirling now. she looks up, the purple overhead lights hurting both her eyes and her head, and somehow also her throat was hurting? jungkook was still talking to her, but her ears were ringing too loudly for her to register a word he was saying.
"hey?" jungkook snaps his fingers in her face. no response. "umm...okay..." he nibbles on his bottom lip, lifting his head and looking for someone. he waves his hand high in the air as he calls out. "hyung? taehyung? take over the bar, okay?"
the other man comes over quickly as jungkook steps out from behind the bar for the first time that night. he comes beside y/n, putting a hand on her shoulder. "hey, come with me, okay?" he pulls her up from the stool by gently by the arm. "gonna get you some fresh air, yeah?" he leads the woman outside.
y/n didn't know where she was. she felt herself being carried, but couldn't protest. her feet dragged across the floor as he purse remained lazily slung from her arm. the cool night breeze hits her in the face and for a moment, she feels reality come back.
a heavy force rams into her shoulder. "watch where you're going!" someone yells back, but it was too late. the whiplash from being slammed into by someone, along with the pounding in her head, the throbbing of her temples, the itchy feeling in the back of her throat, the swirling in her stomach, and the vision blurriness, what happened next would be imminent.
y/n doubles over, the retching sound leaving her throat before anything even comes out of her mouth. there's splatter everywhere, and she tries to spread her legs a little wider on instinct as to not get anything on her house shoes. in doing so, she almost falls completely over. almost, because a hand wraps around her waist, a little tentatively. a soft "i got you, it's okay" echoes through her head as her vision fades out...then back in...then out.