Work Text:
All throughout her time working at Starbucks, Jungeun has never even dared to step foot in a Dunkin’ Donuts. Every day, she passes by one of their stores on her way to work, and each time, she practically shudders at the thought of buying something from there.
One of her co-workers, Haseul, has a lot of bad things to say about the chain. “The staff in there are demonic,” she exclaims. “I can’t believe they have the audacity to say their coffee is as good as ours.”
“Who said that?” Jungeun laughs.
“No idea, but I bet you anything that their staff talk shit about us behind our backs,” Haseul replies.
That statement is incredibly hypocritical, of course, but Jungeun knows better than to point that out to Haseul.
Considering that she works at Starbucks, of all places, Jungeun thinks it’s ridiculous that anyone who works at Dunkin’ Donuts would claim to have good coffee. Then again, they’re all working for corporate companies, so no one’s in much of a position to brag about their store. Jungeun likes to act as if she takes the high road on the matter, but that's pretty far from the truth. She always joins in whenever Haseul's complaining about their 'rivals'.
None of this would be a problem if the two buildings weren’t situated right opposite each other on the high street. Jungeun’s view day in, day out, is the colorful Dunkin’ Donuts sign blinking at her, almost mockingly.
The staff at the Starbucks all have running jokes about how they imagine the Dunkin’ Donuts staff to be (needless to say, none of them have paid the place a visit since they started working at Starbucks). Jungeun refrains from joining in with those particular conversations, although occasionally she finds the jokes amusing.
One morning, Jungeun gets up earlier than normal. Her shift doesn’t start until midday, but she’s heading into the city centre a good twenty minutes ahead of her usual schedule. When she hits the high street, instead of crossing at the traffic lights just before Starbucks, she continues onward. At long last, she slows her pace, and enters the lair of the enemy.
The second she steps inside, she's hit with the sickening sweet smell of donuts, wafting towards her from every direction. All her senses are overwhelmed at once, the bustle of the store almost enough to make her turn and walk out. It's heaving, which is something of worthy note. She makes a mental reminder to tell Haseul and the others that this place is ridiculously busy at lunch time, much more so than Starbucks. That's going to be a hard pill for them to swallow.
"Hi there, what can I get for you today?"
An overly cheery voice rouses Jungeun from her stupor, and she raises her eyes to meet the gaze of the staff member. She's wholly surprised to see that the girl, who looks to be about the same age, is giving her a dazzling smile. Not even Haseul, customer service extraordinaire, could do such a good job upon first greeting. What really catches Jungeun out is just how gorgeous the girl is. Jungeun's rarely the type of person to gawk at a pretty girl, though she's been guilty of it on occasion, just the same as everyone. However, something about this girl stands out. Perhaps it's the playful glint in her eyes, or the way she's bouncing on the balls of her feet, giving the impression that she's eternally exuberant. No matter the reason, Jungeun's immediately drawn to her. That already spells trouble for her.
Jungeun blinks at her. "I'll have a cappuccino, please," she says, almost in a daze. She blames it on feeling sleepy still, even though she's been awake for a couple hours already. In reality, the girl standing in front of her definitely has something to do with it, but Jungeun's determined not to dwell on that prospect. It's one thing for Jungeun to be attracted to someone within mere minutes of encountering them, but another problem entirely when it's a girl from a place she's been slandering for years. Jungeun wonders what Haseul would say to all of this.
"You're not going to try one of our premium donuts?" the girl teases. "They're all on offer today."
"I - I've tried them before," Jungeun replies. She wonders if she's imagining things, or whether the girl's tone really was flirtatious.
The girl tilts her head, and fixes Jungeun with a mischievous look. "You absolutely sure about that?" she asks. "I've seen you before, you work at Starbucks, right? I know you guys over there absolutely love to hate us."
Jungeun gapes at her. "We don't hate you!" she protests. "That's just - it's just a joke, you know. It's nothing serious."
"Oh, I know," the girl chuckles. "I'm just messing with you. It's true, though, our coffee definitely can't compare to yours. Why don't you go and tell your co-workers that? I bet they'll have a field day."
Jungeun lets out a quiet sound of frustration. She hates how spot on this girl is about them. "Surely you must have some opinions about us?" she prompts, desperate to get the attention away from herself.
The girl hums. "I guess so, we are rival chains after all," she muses. "I don't care, though. It's not like any of it actually matters. We're all just doing our jobs, right? Sure, it's fun to talk shit about other people when you don't know them." She leans over the counter, a twinkle in her eye. "But now you know me. At least, sort of. My name's Jiwoo." At this, she points at her name tag, which Jungeun hasn't registered yet. "Maybe I'll come and see you, once my shift's over. Then I can find out your name."
"It's Jungeun."
Jiwoo raises her eyebrows in amusement. "That was easy, huh?" she grins. "Well, here's your coffee, Jungeun. Let me know whether it matches up to the cappuccinos you make." She slides over a paper bag. "This one's on me. Have a nice day!"
Walking out of the store, Jungeun's stunned, trying to wrap her head around what just happened. She opens up the bag, and pulls out a mango pudding donut. A napkin rests underneath it, and something catches Jungeun's eye. She unfolds the napkin, and laughs when she sees that there's a message written there.
'Hope you like the donut! I'll be in Starbucks later to test out your coffee. You better make a good brew! -Jiwoo.'
Jungeun sighs to herself. She knows that there will be no escape from the teasing, once Haseul finds out about this.