*beep* *beep* *beep*

Tristan's mind and ears slowly recognized the sound of beeping, and realized it was his phone. He grabbed it on the bedside desk and turned off the alarm clock.

Five more minutes…

He placed his phone onto his bed as he snuggled into his pillow more, trying to savor that extra minute of rest.

Until an image of Fidel smiling at him flashed through his mind that made him blush.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and tried to resume his dream.

"By the way, it was a last-minute decision. But my parents moved me to the new branch too! Guess I'll be your new co-worker!"

Tristan’s face instantly turned beet red. He quickly grabbed his pillow with both hands, pressed his face into it, then let out a loud, muffled scream.

“AHHHHHH!  How can I face him again!”

He squished the pillow to calm his heart, trying his absolute best to stop thinking about Fidel for a second. But his efforts were in vain as the more he tried, the more it does the opposite instead.

I don't want to be late for the cafe's opening!

Tristan tapped his cheeks rapidly to clear his thoughts, then he got up from his bed, went to the kitchen and grabbed some leftover rice, garlic, butter, hotdogs, and eggs.

Once he prepared all the ingredients, he began making himself stir-fried rice with diced hotdogs and eggs. His stomach growling at the scent was enough to fully wake him up.

Afterwards, Tristan ate his breakfast in silence, but his mind liked to play tricks with him as it kept flashing out images of Fidel. He felt his cheeks feel hot again and absentmindedly touched his chest.

Is this what having a crush feels like?

He stopped chewing his food as his mind delved deeply about Fidel, heart going wild. He never felt such intense emotions before.

Tristan snapped out of his thoughts when he realized he'd been staring into thin air for a minute. He continued to eat his breakfast, still mentally preparing himself to face Fidel again.

Tristan closed the gate of his house and began to walk to his new workplace. It was rather chilly, and still dark outside, only illuminated by the outdoor lights of his neighbors' houses and cars passing by once he reached the highway.

I can't wait to see the new cafe. I wonder if it's the same as Eton Centris?

Later on, Tristan walked down the stairs of the footbridge just outside of Light Mall. He glanced to his right as he heard some shuffling noise in that direction. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the exterior of the newly opened Kofienrest Cafe branch for the first time.

“Woah…”

Tristan reached the end of the stairs and turned right, straight to the cafe doors. The first thing he noticed inside the cafe was Fidel mopping the floor, Mrs. Garcia wiping the tables clean, and an unfamiliar bald middle-aged man behind the counter.

Huh? Who's that? And why is Mrs. Garcia there?

When he got closer inside the cafe, Tristan felt a small whiplash at the sight of the interior. Everything looked brand new, from furnitures, walls, floors, even the espresso machines were sparkling.

He had just passed by the wide open cafe doors when Fidel heard his footsteps. He turned around and waved his hand when he saw Tristan. "Oh, hey! Good morning!"

Tristan’s face exploded at the sudden bright expression of Fidel. He could feel his cheeks steam. "I-uh- Good morning." He returned a small wave, not sure how to act in front of his crush.

The middle-aged man turned around and looked at Tristan with mild curiosity. "He's the new hire?".

Mrs. Garcia hummed, "Yes hun. Also, good morning dear." She smiled kindly at Tristan.

Mr. Garcia let out a booming loud laugh enough to jolt Tristan. "Welcome to Kofienrest Cafe boy! I heard great things about you from my son!"

His mind blanked out after his mind registered what Mr. Garcia had just said.

Fidel said… good things about me?

Tristan didn't know how long froze in silence as Mr. Garcia stared at him with patience. "T-Thank you sir! Glad to be part of Kofienrest Cafe!"

He took a quick glance at Fidel.

Big mistake.

Because Fidel smiled even more brightly at him.

It almost blinded him. Tristan felt like cupid struck his heart with a very sharp arrow again.

"Oh, yeah!" Fidel clasped his hands. "Let me show you around the cafe!"

Fidel placed the mop beside the wall, then walked towards Tristan, oblivious to his internal freak out. "The interior is pretty similar to our Eton Centris branch, but since this is a smaller shop, some changes had to be made."

He reached for his pocket, then handed Tristan a locker key. "Let's go to our new storage room!" he signaled his hand to follow him. Tristan clutched his side bag strap to control his nerves and took a deep breath before he followed him.

They entered an entryway that lead to the kitchen. Tristan used the opportunity to distract his thoughts by mesmerizing at how also brand new everything looked. From the L-shaped counter, sink, chiller, and a suspiciously extra shiny dishwasher.

Fidel opened a door with a 'Storage' label on the farthest side of the kitchen, then pointed at the lower left locker of a small eight-piece locker. "That's your locker! Your white polos are already there!" Then Fidel tapped Tristan's shoulder a few times, "Alright, see ya in a bit!" he said before he left the storage room.

When the door lock clicked, Tristan covered his flustered face with his palms, letting his flustered emotions go wild after holding it for a few minutes.

"I can't do this… Everything he does-! Gah!" He let out a gargle of noise from the overload of emotions he felt.

Tristan smacked his cheeks thrice and shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

He clutched his hand, building up his determination. "No! I can do this! Crush or no crush be damned!”

After Tristan calmed himself down, he left the storage room and headed to the dining area. He began to help the Garcia family prepare for the grand opening by helping Mrs. Garcia wipe all the furnitures clean, making sure that everything was sparkling and spotless.

However, at the same time, he purposefully avoided going anywhere near Fidel. But his traitorous heart influenced his mind as he kept shooting quick glances at Fidel, who was wiping the windows squeaky clean while humming a song to himself.

Tristan continued to work around, doing any various tasks Mr. And Mrs. Garcia asked him and whatever tasks he could do himself.

Later on, Mrs. Garcia approached Fidel while holding a large fabric. "Fidel, can you tie this up in the front?"

"Sure Ma!" Fidel took the fabric from her hands, swung it on his shoulder, then headed towards the entryway to go to the storage room.

Mrs. Garcia turned to Tristan, "Tristan sweetie, can you place the flowers in front of the shop? Side by side besides the doors." She pointed at the two large inaugural flowers in the corner.

"Y-Yes ma'am!"

Tristan lifted one of the inaugural flowers, surprised by their lightness, and carried one outside. He placed it on the left side of the cafe doors, and adjusted its position so it's facing slightly to the right, directly welcoming the customers with its beauty.

He entered back inside to carry the other inaugural flowers. At the same time, Fidel returned, carrying a small stepladder.

His heart skipped a beat as they both went outside at the same time. Fidel opened the small stepladder, then climbed up to tie the left edge of the fabric on the top left corner of the cafe doors. While Tristan placed the other inaugural flowers on the right side of the cafe doors, mentally panicking at Fidel's presence.

"So, are you excited about today?"

Tristan flinched at Fidel's teasing tone. He looked away as he blushed. "I-Yes! Yes, I do!"

"Oh, yeah!" Fidel snapped his finger. "Congrats on being a full-time employee now!"

"T-thank you… I need to work on my speed making coffee though…" Tristan mumbled the last part, but loud enough that Fidel heard it.

"Don't worry! In just a month or two, you will be faster than before!" Fidel chuckled. "I forgot to tell you earlier, but my parents will help us when things get busy. They haven't done this since we opened our second branch, but knowing them, they were itching to make hundreds of coffee again!"

Tristan felt awe at hearing a small backstory of Fidel’s parents. "T-that's sweet to hear."

He already finished his task, but he didn't want to appear rude to Fidel, and he was still too flustered to speak, so he waited for Fidel to finish his task despite his nervousness going wild every second.

Once Fidel finished his task, both of them entered back. Tristan still kept his distance from Fidel, but not much, so it won’t look too obvious. Mr. And Mrs. Garcia occupied some seats with four cups of drinks on the table. "You two should take a break." Mrs. Garcia said.

"I-Uh! Thank you, Ma'am!" Tristan nod, while Fidel pointed his thumb at the entryway. "I'll just return this ladder back for a sec."

Tristan took a seat while Fidel went to the storage room. "So, how is your work experience so far, dear?" Mrs. Garcia asked.

"I… It's been very great ma'am, I am very thankful to Fidel and Ernest for teaching me everything about my job."

"I'm glad to hear that, dear." Mrs. Garcia let out a satisfied hum. "Did you know Fidel used to hate coffee? It took us years to get him to love coffee, and he's been a coffee lover ever since."

“R-really?”

"It's bound to happen. Coffee is practically in our blood!" Mr. Garcia joked and let out a howl of laughter.

"Ma! Pa! You didn't have to tell that!" Fidel shouted while he dashed his way to the table, a bit flustered. Mrs. Garcia chuckled, "I know dear, I'm just reminiscing about the past."

Fidel took his seat beside Tristan, took a huge gulp of his coffee, and let out a refreshed taste. "Your coffee is still the best Ma!"

"Of course."

Fidel began to talk animatedly to his parents. Tristan observed them in silence, taking a sip of his coffee occasionally. He felt awestruck watching Fidel so relaxed and open to his parents, cracking jokes along the way, and his parents bouncing back felt endearing.

I’m so glad to be part of their family business.