∘ café

Curled up in a tight ball, legs tucked beneath his bottom in one of the plush white chairs in a back corner of the cafe, Cheng tilted his head back, just inhaling the sweet scent of fresh ground coffee and baked goods. He didn't come to one of these establishments often, the cost of keeping such a habit too costly for his budget yet when he was able to splurge on it, he liked ordering one of those fancy frozen drinks, that always felt a little awkward to say. An f-frappucino? He internally questioned, a small smile playing at his lips, only to widen when one of the baristas began walking his way, a large dark chocolate frappucino with mint and a piece of dark chocolate pound cake and whip cream icing, topped with strawberries in his hands. This was his go to, the bittersweetness, playing on his taste buds and mingling together in a flavor explosion that no matter how he wished he could replicate, it was quite impossible due to his lack of a fully functioning kitchen. At this moment, Cheng was experiencing utter contentment, despite the aches in his muscles. It had been a long day, he had worked on three separate houses which had taken him around nine hours, and then, he worked his delivery job for another five hours. His day had begun at four am and had ended somewhere around seven pm. He was physically exhausted, and he had quickly gone home to wash off the sheen of sweat he had gathered. His fingers burned slightly having run out of gloves during his second job, the chemicals of the cleaner having made his skin react with a slight harsh redness. His delivery job was the same as usual, however, there were some particularly nasty customers, who decided that they would take out their personal frustrations towards life at him. One lady had screamed so loudly that one of her neighbors began to bang on the wall. Cheng had bowed deeply, and offered his condolences, forgoing payment to try and brighten her day before scrambling away nervously and paid for her food with his own money. It had placed some burden on his pocket, but Cheng had felt terrible that she was suffering so badly that she had to take it out on some stranger. So, having decided to try and unwind in hopes of making the rest of his week more comfortable, Cheng found himself at a little cafe not too far away from where he was staying. The baristas were always kind and the atmosphere was cozy. It was his favorite place and so as his food was placed before him, he hunkered down and took a bite of his cake, groaning out loud at how delicious it tasted, it was heavy on his tongue but the flavor was rich.