『 Ethereal 』𝐊𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐬𝐮 𝐧𝐨 𝐘𝐚𝐢𝐛𝐚 𝐎𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬

17。𝓡. 𝓚𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓳𝓾𝓻𝓸𝓾

Barista! AU
Happy Valentine's Day! The rest of the Valentine's fics will only come out on the next few days. (I'm sorryyy (｡ŏ﹏ŏ))

~

The door clanked open and the familiar aroma of coffee beans reached your nose as you stepped into the cafe. Just a quick glance and as usual, there were only a few customers in the shop. Occasional whispers and music can be heard in the background as you made your way to the counter.

"Welcome! May I take your order?" The barista with yellow hair paused what he was doing to see who his customer was. "Oh! Welcome back, it's nice to see you again! Would you like the usual?" His smile grew wider and the excitement in his tone could be heard. Greeting him back, you nodded your head and uttered a small thank you.

After making your payment, you went to your usual seat and began to scroll through your phone. That was nothing more than a habit. In the background, you could hear the carefree barista hum a soft tune as he worked. In all honesty, the reason you kept coming back here was because of him, and just him.

You could remember the first time that you stepped foot into this cafe as clear as day. Immediately welcoming you was the exact same barista, he introduced all the drinks that was on the menu enthusiastically with the widest grin you have probably ever seen. His energy rubbed off on you almost instantly and every time you saw him, you just felt recharged.

Listening to his quiet humming, you can't help but let out a silent giggle. You must admit that you are quite impressed, given that you have never seen anyone that works so happily before. Oh, here he comes with the usual order.

"Thanks for waiting, here's your order!" Carefully placing your order on the table, he flashed you another smile. Not knowing what was going through your mind at the time, you grabbed the hem of his shirt just as he was making his way back to the counter. Thankfully, he didn't seem to mind as he just looked back at you, his head tilted slightly.

"Is anything the matter?" How does he even manage to look that unbothered?

"Um... wh-what's your name?" Immediately after asking that, you wanted to facepalm yourself. Out of all the things you could say, you decided to ask that? It was obviously on his name tag. But to be fair, you were always too distracted by that face of his so fine... a valid question.

"Kyoujurou, Rengoku Kyoujurou," He turned to face his whole body towards you and pointed at his name tag.

"Well... Kyoujurou, was it? Thanks," Pointing at your order, you forced your voice to come out of your throat despite the embarrassment you felt. After replying, he walked back to the counter, humming that same tune with a smile.

What a huge fail, you had much more expectations as to where you could lead the conversation but it ended just like that. Letting out a small sigh, you looked out the window. The sky had a beautiful gradient of orange to pink, how quickly timed passed. After peeking into the bag that you had brought along, you took another look around the shop specifically at Kyoujurou. Kyoujurou... a beautiful name for a beautiful man.

Secretly, you took out the small box of homemade chocolates that had been sitting in your bag. On the post-it note on top of the box, you filled in the blank space with 'Kyoujurou' before slipping the box back into your bag. From the week before Valentine's until now, the actual day, you had been contemplating whether it would be a good idea to pass him chocolates. Both of you don't even know each other, is it too early for this? Maybe you should find a chance to get closer to him first?

"Excuse me, we are closing now," Anxiousness took over and before you knew it, it was time for the shop to close. Taking a quick look around, you realised that you were the only customer left.

"Are you not feeling well?" Once agin snapped back into reality, you turned to face Kyoujurou who was much closer to you now, worry expressed all over his face.

"Oh! Yes, I'm sorry... Wait!" Taking out the box, you held it up to him shyly. "F-for you..." You were so afraid, what if he thought you were stupid? What if he just rejected you?

Instead, surprise was evident on his face. After his moment of realisation, the corner of his lips tugged upwards as he replied with the most enthusiastic 'thanks!' you have ever heard. Seeing how excited he was when receiving the chocolates, you were very glad all went well. However, there was only one thing left bothering you. Does he think of this as obligatory? Should you explain yourself?

It seems as if he thought you were leaving now, since it was closing. Before you even got the chance to speak, he talked first.

"It's closing now, are you going home? Or somewhere else?"

"Home?" Not understanding why he was asking you this, you answered like you weren't sure.

"Well, I'll walk you back," Before you can interrupt him, he continued on. "If you're taking the train, I'll walk you to the train station. If you're walking home, I'll walk you back. It's late so it's very dangerous to go alone,"

Unable to reject his kindness, you nodded.

"Alright then! I'll change out of my work clothes first, it'll only take a minute," With that, he went to the back of the store where only employees can enter. True to his words, he came out just within a minute, entirely changed.

Seeing Kyoujurou in casual clothings for the first time caught you off gaurd. You had thought he was the peak of beauty yet he just became even more handsome in your eyes.

"Let's go," He locked the shop before letting you lead the way. Along the way, he was humming that same tune of his and you were just too flustered. The guy that had caught your attention for so long, now suddenly walking you home? That was too unexpected for you.

"Anyways... thanks for the chocolates! And what's your name?"

"(F. Name)... (L. Name) (F. Name),"

"A very nice name... oh, are we here already? That was quick, we didn't even get the chance to talk much," You had to agree with him there, you wished you could take this opportunity to get to know him better.

"That's fine though, would you like to hang out with me more? You know, maybe outside of my workplace," Hearing what he said, you nodded repeatedly, hope bubbling inside of you. Your response made him chuckle in amusement before he scribbled on a piece of paper.

"Here, I'll get going now. Good night, (F. Name)!" Not letting you reply to him, he started walking off and you just stared at his figure getting smaller and smaller. Opening the note, you saw one simple line that made you smile.

"0XX-XXX-XXX call me! :D"

Who knew a box of chocolates could do so much magic in a single day.

Word count: 1185

♡ 15.02.20 ♡