Coffee Idol / kim taehyung (#29)

칠

DongMi

The robot barista DaeYeon handed me a list of the orders that I am supposed to prepare for the boss, Kim Taehyung ssi to taste. He hasn't given me the green light to actually prepare for the customers and there is still a while before he would allow me to do coffee art as well. He is really strict on me and since I am the newest and inexperienced employee other than DaeYeon, he is keeping an eye on me.

It has been a week since I have been working here and all the time was just wasted on me learning each and every item on the menu, and honestly, I just sucked in memorising all the steps to prepare them. I could memorise all the dance moves back in the days when I was still a trainee and I didn't mess up any of it but how the hell did I not remember if I needed to add coffee powder or not to the drink?

"Yang DongMi ssi! The matcha  frappuccino doesn't have any caffeine in it, don't you dare add any coffee powder in there." He yelled and I flinched from his voice, he really has a booming voice and it is deafening. "Don't you remember?"

"Yes, I do..." I put back the coffee powder and added the matcha powder into the mixture before I covered the lid, shake it to even out the ratio in the drink. I poured the mixture into an empty plastic glass before I would cover the top with whipping cream, I was careful not to spill any whipping cream or I will get a scolding from the boss who has been monitoring me very closely.

I can't ever mess up in front of him or I am going to get fired right away, he said it himself when I came into work earlier in the afternoon. To be honest, I feel that I am just wasting time learning how to make coffee here when my plan hasn't been started yet.

I sprinkled on some of the matcha powder on the whipping cream and covered it with a lid before serving it to him, I placed it on the table and he scrutinised closely on the details to compare it to the star employee in the café, my drinks can never be the same as DaeYeon Oppa. He is like the textbook example of what a Barista should be.

"The appearance looks fine." He commented. "You perfected the shape of the whipping cream, good job."

DaeYeon had me do all the different frappuccinos and I had messed up a lot of it before mastering it earlier today, the customers didn't have to complain about the appearance of the frappuccinos.

"Thank you." I smiled at the first compliment that he gave me, he had only been nitpicking on everything that I had prepared.

"But it doesn't mean it is delicious." My smile instantly faded. He inserted a straw into the drink and brought it closer to his lips before he took a sip of it. Please say that it is nice...

He swallowed it and didn't show any expression as he ticked off the components on his checklist, the checklist to an idiot's training to be a Barista. I guess that it is as tasty as he had expected...

He then passed the drink to DaeYeon who is equally as nervous as I am, he spent all the time to teach me all the skills that he acquired as a Barista. "Drink this and tell me what you think of it. Don't try to help her and tell me very honestly."

"Yes..." He took a sip of it, taking a few seconds to savour the taste of the drink before he swallows it but he showed some expression than Kim TaeHyung.

"So, how do you feel about it? Can it pass?" He looked at DaeYeon for the answer that he wanted.

"It is better than I had expected and it is even better than what I had prepared. It is what a matcha frappuccino should taste like but it is at a much higher level than all the usual."

So it was delicious... I heaved a sigh of relief. "Why are you relieved? I haven't even said anything about the drink yet."

"So is it to your standards, boss?" I asked, afraid that he might disagree with DaeYeon's opinion.

DaeYeon has always been supportive and encouraging in every drink that I had prepared but Kim TaeHyung is very brutal and he had very high expectations for everything, of course, he had a robot for an employee and I am a poor little human being who just sucks at making beverages.

I guess that my only talent is in singing and dancing. "It was nice but you really need to practice more on it to be the same as DaeYeon, you need to be as good as DaeYeon so I can allow him to take some time off from work and you work in place of him."

Does it mean that I am not getting fired anymore? "Thank you for not firing me! I am glad that I can stay on in this café as long as I can." And my next step to my plan can start as well...
"If you mess up in any part of the production, you can still get fired on the spot. I mean it, I didn't only have one employee if I was this easygoing with everything." 

"I definitely will not disappoint you at all and I will work as hard as I can and be the female version of Song DaeYeon." I bowed down to him.

"I doubt so." He stood up and went out of the café to take a call.

"You did it! DongMi, you did it! He didn't spit out the drink at all!" DaeYeon Oppa rejoiced by jumping up and down and I did the same, hugging him.

I had reached the first milestone of his heart and there is still a few more before I would finally know the truth with his reason for working here. I looked out of the window and noticed that he was arguing with someone outside the café and my eyes doubled at the sight of it. Did I just witness him attempting to punch someone?