➴ cafe。

@jeon wonwoo. Soyeon let the punches keep coming towards her. Her jaw clenches at the mention of her brother being their father's favorite, she had to look away for a moment. It was the truth anyways, they all knew. She could only sigh then shake her head, regaining her composure as she returns her gaze back to him with a soft smile. "ah yes, must be really tough to contact them while trying to juggle having such a successful lifestyle. I'm sorry, professor Jeon. I didn't realize." She bowed her head mockingly at him before furrowing her brows and taking the cup from him. The beans they have ground this morning should be strong enough even to an avid coffee drinker. "You're kidding, right?" She lifts the cup to her lips to take a tiny sip, her expression turning into a deadpan. "Wow, didn't know you can crack jokes. It's been a while since you've done that."

@lee dokyeom. wonwoo was taken aback. the way he didn't expect to meet her again after such a long time, but finally seeing her at that reunion, stirred up a whirlwind of emotions within him. he didn't know what to do and what to say to her — perhaps he should just stay silent.

he walked towards the cafe, to meet up with his adoptive brother, seokmin. the thought of seeing seokmin brought a small measure of comfort. he always had a way of making things seem less complicated. yet, wonwoo couldn't shake off the heaviness in his chest. he felt a bit down, a sensation that had been lingering for a while now. even though he wasn't the type to easily share his feelings, today he felt an overwhelming urge to let it all out.

@noh jihye. “One long black for table two.”

The man with sharp, pointed nose looked up, searching for the one who ordered a long black in the afternoon, when most people avoided that kind of strong caffeine. He smirked once his eyes caught a messy, yet beautiful lady who focused on her laptop, trying to get done whatever on the screen. The new part time staff might not know, but Dokyeom knew that woman. Her name is Noh Jihye, an investigative journalist who happened to be the cafe loyal customer and always ordered a glass of cold long black. How did he know all of that? Simple, the journalist has been investigating on e and drugs abuse case in the famous nightclub, which coincidentally owned by himself, or we could say, Seokmin.

Didn’t want to make his special customer waiting too long, Dokyeom swiftly make her order, with lots of ice on hot summer night. Once he’s done, the waiter in charge was going to served it but stopped by the owner. “No worries, I’ll serve it myself, you can serve other customer.” He said, earning a shrug as the waiter did what he was told to. Placing it on the tray, Kyeom served the drink to table two’s customer.

“One long black.” He served an iced long black on the table. “And one red velvet cake on the house.” Placing another plate of red velvet cake. “I’m Lee Dokyeom, I’m the owner of the cafe and I’ve noticed you’ve been here for a several times and ordered the same drink everytime. We have lots of options you can try too, hope you’ll try other drink as well.” He flashed a charming smile, trying to be friendly and as natural as possible to get to close to her without any suspicion.

@jeon soyeon. "if you are mad at dad, be it. but don't take that on mom. you know I can't stand it too if seeing her being sad especially because her only daughter didn't want to come home. " wonwoo says that nonchalantly as he shrugged and sighed. "well, ah the peak of being dad's favourite. " joked him trying to light hearted the mood between them. "of course he do, but I'm quite busy with my job right now. I have both aviation and photography classes on so, I couldn't really visit them, but I will do it soon, but I talked on the phone with dad yesterday, i guess that's fine." he sips his coffee and sighed. "is your espresso machine broke or something, why does this doesn't taste bitter to my liking. " complained him as he pushed his cup to soyeon. "taste it and tell it to your staffs or technicians." (it's a prank obviously)

@jeon wonwoo. "mm.. I guess not.." Soyeon, keeping her gaze down, not wanting to meet her brother's eyes until he mentions their mother's health. "Sick? She's gotten sick?" She slumps a little bit in the booth, sighing as she scratches on the table top with her fingernail. "I know, I know... tch. I'll see if i can see her soon."
Soyeon looks off to the side, wondering when she could possibily take a few days off. With grandmother fully handing over the business to her, she had full responsibilty of it. Thoughts swam around in her head before looking back over to her brother. "What about you? Dont they bug you to come visit them too? I'm sure dad probably misses you."

@jeon soyeon. "do you think mom would admit that in front of dad? of course, she didn't tell us right in front of him. she told me in secret. mom wants you to at least see her, even if you don't want to see dad," said wonwoo as he sipped his drink again. "dad is just being dad—you know how strict he is," he said with a small sigh. "are you sure? i guess you're happy here," wonwoo said, looking at the calm and cozy surroundings before turning to look at her again. "i might not be able to take you back home, but consider mom's feelings too. pay her a visit or meet her somewhere else. she misses you so much that she's getting sick." nagged him more to scold her in brotherly ways.

@jeon wonwoo. She slides into the booth across from him, holding her hands tightly in her lap. It felt like she was about to be lectured...
"mm.. they have? if they wanted me home, they've would've told me..." She mumbles out of definance, keeping her gaze on the wooden table top.
As they haven't said anything for bit, Soyeon looks up at her brother, brows furrowing together. "No.. I don't think I'm welcomed anymore? You know how dad is.." She had almost begun to roll her eyes before immediately stopping herself and looking away instead. "Anyways.. did they send you to bring me back home? If that's the case, im not going.."

@jeon soyeon. wonwoo sighed as he followed soyeon to a nearby booth, taking his seat and placing his drink on the table. "mom and dad have been asking you to come home. aren't you going to?" he asked as he sipped his drink. his eyes wandered around the cafe, finding the surroundings pretty calm and soothing. "how's the business going, though? there aren't many people today, I see," he uttered nonchalantly.

for a moment, they sat in companionable silence, the background noise of the cafe filling the gaps in their conversation. wonwoo took another sip of his drink, feeling the warmth spread through him. "have you thought about visiting them, though? even just for a weekend?" he asked, breaking the silence.

@jeon wonwoo. [] all good! Either one works for me ^^

@jeon wonwoo. "I--" Soyeon fell silent, biting her bottom lip as her eyes drift downward, not wanting to meet her brother in the eyes.
She had left home practically without letting anyone know. He must've been disappointed.. right?
"No.. no please stay. We need to talk anyways.."
She mumbles before signaling to an employee to take care of her position. She steps away from the work counter and walks to a nearby booth, gesturing her brother over.

@jeon soyeon. ( *soyeon I mean, I'm sorry I always mispelled her name TT)

@jeon soyeon. "wonwoo? are you sure you're going to call me by my name, jeon seoyeon. is that what we are?" asked him. there's some coldness in his tone and his gazes also changed — clearly dislikes it when seoyeon speak to him like that like he was nobody, when he's her actual brother.

"why would I be here, of course I'm taking my time to see you and see how are you doing ? unless you're not welcoming me here ? I'll just take this and leave. " said him as he picked up his drink and sighed.

@choi chanhee. She peers over the other's phone, glancing at his profile and takes account over his following.
"Wow.. couple of thousand is nothing to sneeze at.."
She smiles softly at the kind gesture before shaking her head. "Nope! Film everything and anything! As long as it doesn't exploit the cafe in any way..." she narrows her eyes at him playfully as a warning before grabbing a nearby clean towel and starts wiping down the countertops and machinery nearby. "Oh! You have to try our best seller.. the Chocolate Avalanche!" She pauses for a moment to point to the three pastries on the top shelf of their display cabinet. "It's a puff pastry with a dense chocolate filling and chocolate chip bits on the inside. It's heavenly if it's warmed a bit."

@jeon soyeon. Seeing how nervous the lady seemed to get at the question made Chanhee feel a tad bit bad as he didn't mean to scare her, offering a reassuring smile as he began to speak again. "Oh no need for tidying anything! It looks amazing in here and by the looks of it, the customers are happy and content. Plus, if you don't want your face shown, I won't film you out of respect." Chanhee nodded his head and pulled out his phone real quick, bringing up his Instagram page as more reassurance that this wasn't a scam of any kind. "Look here. I have a couple thousand followers and my content is mostly giving exposure to small businesses. I see it as a win-win situation as I promote your cafe and it gives me something to share about to my followers... Now that I'm here, what are menu items you're particularly proud of? I'll go ahead and buy them, if they're not already sold out."

@jeon wonwoo. In the late afternoon, Soyeon expected a small wave of customers to stop by as classes ended. She prepared some coffee mixes in the back of the cafe before heaving them up in her arms and pushed the door out with her foot.

"Coming through! Watch yourself."

She s through the two employees in front of her before setting the pitchers on the countertop, The sounds of the cafe lifted her spirits, enough for her to continue on for the rest of the night. She pulled open the bottom fridge door and slid the pitchers in. "Stay.." She muttered to herself, pointing to the pitchers as if that would've made a difference. She then wiped her hands on her apron from sticky residue as she glanced over to her cashier who was already wide-eyed, worried, and looking at her. Soyeon mirrored her look before looking at the customer. She clenched her jaw to see the sight of her older brother standing just a mere feet away from her.
"Wonwoo..? I-- Why are you here.."

@jeon soyeon. wonwoo sighed after finishing his teaching classes. he checked his phone and somehow thought about his younger sister, soyeon. he could only watch her make the decision to leave their family's house and live on her own. he thought she deserved better than working in the cafe owned by their grandmother. it wasn't that wonwoo disliked it; it just didn't sit right with him when he knew the girl could do more, especially with her dreams.

he drove his car toward the cafe and made his way inside. the sound of the bell signaled his entrance, and the workers quickly greeted him with cheerful voices. well, wonwoo was a pretty good-looking guy, so it was no wonder some of the girls in the cafe were stealing glances at him, which he ignored until he reached the front counter.

"h-how may i help you today, sir?" asked the female worker, somehow blushing at the sight of him. wonwoo sighed at this kind of antic. "iced americano, seven shots of espresso. less ice. that's all." he took out his card and let the worker proceed with the payment. "is your owner here?" he asked. "i want to see her." the worker seemed hesitant, perhaps worried that her behavior was a little too much while serving him.

@choi chanhee. "Yes! That will be 4.99 please." Soyeon handed over two chocolate muffins, setting them down on the tray for the last customer of the rush hour. The gentle rains from the outside always seem to usher more people into her little cafe. She beams as she waves the customer off before having her attention to the man in front of her, the question causing slight panic within her as she looks down at her dirty workspace then returns her gaze to the other. A hint of courage swells up inside of her, nodding her head in determination. She has never been filmed before but who was she to turn down such a great oppurtunity to get more customers? "I-.. I'm the owner! Yes! If you'd give me ten minutes to tidy up everything, you can film."

@jeon soyeon. As much as Chanhee would have loved staying home, he had to make the most of today since he would be busy in the next couple of days. His mission for today was to visit a cafe that has been causing a buzz recently on social platforms and he had to try it out himself, for the great opportunity of content. It was lightly raining outside which always seemed to revitalize his existence, even with others using umbrellas or a hoodie, Chanhee let the droplets touch him as he made his way to Asteria cafe. Once he entered, the smell of freshly baked goods combined with grinded coffee beans made themselves present and he couldn't help taking a good inhale before heading towards the counter. "Hello! May I speak with a manager? or better yet, the owner, if they're here today? I'd like to ask for permission on possibly filming?"