universe cafe // exo

- 3 -

Kyungsoo pushed open the glass door to Universe Cafe and entered the building. Chanyeol was already there, waiting behind the counter with a smug look on his face. His eyes lingered on Kyungsoo as he clocked in and put on his Universe Cafe apron.

"What's wrong with you?" Kyungsoo asked, suspiciously glancing in his direction.

"So..." Chanyeol scooted closer to his friend. "Did you and Jun-Oh have a nice conversation last night?

"Chanyeol, she never contacted me." Kyungsoo began wiping down the counter with an expressionless face.

Chanyeol's smile fell as he stared at his friend. "What? You mean, she didn't even send a little text?"

"I told you that it was a bad idea."

"No, it was a good idea." Chanyeol scratched the back of his neck. "It just, kind of, backfired."

"Well, now she's never going to come back to this cafe because she thinks I'm a creep." Kyungsoo dropped the rag into the sink and walked over to the front of the store, getting ready to officially open the cafe for today.

Chanyeol followed him, his mischievous look reappearing. "Someone seems a bit upset they won't see a certain person."

"Would you quit that? We just lost a customer and now we're going to lose profit."

   Chanyeol began to chuckle. "One customer isn't going to make that big of a difference, my friend. You're just upset that you won't see her."

   "Whatever." Kyungsoo looked at his phone to see that it was time to officially open. He flipped the sign and returned to the counter.

   Suho, the owner of Universe Cafe, popped his head out from the back room. "Hey, Kyungsoo, can I have you in the back? We have a truck coming in and I need some hands while Chanyeol and Chen are behind the counter."

   "Yeah, sure." Kyungsoo shrugged. "Beats having Chanyeol screaming in my ear all day." He then followed Suho into the back.

   "Awe," Chen entered the room with his apron on, "the little guy seems a tad more cranky than usual today."

   "I gave a girl his number and she never called or texted him," Chanyeol explained.

   Chen gave a small chuckle. "Why did you do that?"

   "He obviously likes her. She comes in everyday and he just watches her study and type on her computer. Kind of creepy. Kind of cute." Chanyeol flashed a welcoming smile as a customer walked in.

   "You mean, the devil has feelings?" Chen asked in a whisper before snickering.

   Chanyeol huffed a laugh. "I guess he does." Chanyeol took the customer's order as Chen started to make it.

   "Have a nice day," Chen warmly told the customer as he handed over their drink.

Chanyeol directed his attention back to the front as the door opened again. He raised his eyebrows at the sight of a familiar face. "You're Soojin, right?"

   Soojin nodded, hurrying over to the counter. "I'm here to pass on some information. So, you remember Jun-Oh?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

   Chanyeol nodded, leaning over the counter to listen to what Soojin had to say.

   "She's over in her apartment, lowkey freaking out and refusing to come here because Kyungsoo gave her his number."

   "Yikes, is she really that uninterested in him?" Chanyeol scrunched his nose in sympathy for his friend.

   "Oh, no that's not it." Soojin immediately shook her head. "So, Jun-Oh doesn't know I'm here because I said I was on my way home. But I couldn't stand seeing her like this; ignoring her favorite drinks and her favorite cafe." Soojin gathered her long hair to the side and started messing with the ends. "You see, she didn't blow him off... she accidentally threw away the cup when leaving the park."

   Chen slowly moved closer to listen to the conversation. "That sounds like a mess," he added himself to the conversation.

   "So, she was going to message him?" Chanyeol questioned.

   Soojin nodded. "Yeah, one hundred percent. She just accidentally threw it away."

   Chanyeol smirked playfully. "You know, we could have some fun."

   Soojin's eyes widened and she straightened herself. "Um... what?"

   "I mean, like teasing the both of them with this," Chanyeol went on. "Secretly setting it up so that they're doing something and run into each other? Things like that."

Soojin's mouth opened up and she nodded. "Oh, right."

"Sounds evil," Chen commented. "I like it. Mind if I join this plot?"

"And we're not going to tell Kyungsoo that it was a mistake?" Soojin continued.

"Nope." Chanyeol shook his head with a smile. "By the way, I'm the one who wrote Kyungsoo's number on the cup."

"You sly dog." Soojin chuckled.

"I knew he was interested in her. I couldn't just stand there and not help the poor guy." Chanyeol gave a casual shrug.

"Wow." Soojin smiled. "What a guy."

"How about you come back here around four?" Chanyeol suggested. "My shift ends then and we can discuss the plan a bit more across the street at the diner."

"Good idea." Soojin gave a quick nod. "I'll be there."

Chen glanced between the two. "Wait, so do I get to join you since I want to help with this plan?"

"I'll see you then, Soojin." Chanyeol slightly dipped his head in her direction.

"See you later, Chanyeol." Soojin smiled and turned on her heels to leave the building.

"A-and Chen," Chen added, pointing to himself.