“Yeah, yeah. Ren! Where’s that latte?”

“Here!” The alpha twirled around behind the counter, setting down a latte.

“Is Seungkwan back yet?”

“Nope. Five minutes.”

Wonwoo sighed, eyebrows knitting together. He simply went to take a seat in the front of the shop, staring at his boyfriend, waiting. The store had become very busy, somehow, without Woozi there to lift it – Wonwoo had booked the days off in advance, allowing Baekho to take his position as Jihoon’s bodyguard for the remainder of his weekend.

Jihoon’s presence – or lack thereof – was sorely felt in the café. He was the main attraction, the star barista: without him, the others were a little bit lost.

Wonwoo watched his steady boyfriend carefully. Or – boyfriend? No, that wasn’t the right word. Soonyoung wasn’t really there yet, with the labelling and holding hands in public.

Dealing with an alpha who hadn’t been in a monogamous relationship in the last fifteen years was a bit of a challenge for the romantically inclined bodyguard. Especially when he – the omega – worked as a bodyguard, and the alpha was a barista. They weren’t the typical couple. But Soonyoung was – after months – still getting used to being in an actual relationship. Whatever kind of relationship it was. And yes, the way they did business with each other left Wonwoo feeling lonely and isolated a lot. But what could be done? At least he’d obtained Soonyoung, in some form or other. That was enough.

It was just a little upsetting when somebody finally turned the sign on the door to closed, and everything began to calm down. Wonwoo perked up, waiting for his boyfriend to come over.

It didn’t happen.

It wasn’t until Soonyoung locked him in the café that Wonwoo pulled out his phone.

“…hello?” Soonyoung’s voice was thick was exhaustion. “Wonwoo, baby?”

“Soonyoungie,” Wonwoo tried to say normally.

“Hey. Do you mind if we just relax at your place? I’m beat.”

“Oh, no, I’m fine with that.”

The lilt in Wonwoo’s voice made Soonyoung stop in the middle of the street. “…Wonwoo-bear? What’s up?”

“Well, you know, to get into my place you’re going to need my keys.” Wonwoo paused. “Which are here in my hands.”

“I don’t understand.” Three seconds of silence passed. “!” He hung up, and within seconds he was opening the café doors again. “Wonwoo!” he called out in a panic before finally getting the door open, bursting through. “Baby, I’m so sorry!”

Wonwoo closed his eyes for a moment. “It’s whatever.”

Soonyoung leaned over but then hesitated, instead grabbing Wonwoo’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”

Wonwoo allowed himself to be dragged away – to Soonyoung’s apartment, since it was closer – and allowed himself to be seated on the couch. He felt a bit like a rubber doll, at Soonyoung’s beck and call.

“Wine?”

“Got something stronger?” he managed to answer.

Soonyoung brought back a whiskey on the rocks for his lover, sitting beside him with a glass of wine. “God, I’m tired.”

“Yeah.”

After a few minutes, the barista seemed to be noticing how down in the mouth his omega was. He leaned in, tousling the front few strands of Wonwoo’s hair. “Hey. Gorgeous. How’re you doing, huh?” He leaned in to kiss him darkly.

Wonwoo didn’t respond, simply shrugging a little. “Fine. I guess.”

Soonyoung backed off with a heavy sigh. He’d known something was wrong the last few times they had been together, but had been unable to pinpoint exactly what the problem was. He leaned over to put his wine glass down on a glass coaster on the coffee table before turning to his omega. “Okay,” he answered. “What’s up?”

Wonwoo closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “…half of it is… something that happened in Busan.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Can’t.” Wonwoo sighed a bit. “You’ll hear about it on the evening news, probably.”

“Is it to do with Woozi?”

Wonwoo shrugged. “No. That you’ll read in the morning papers.” There was a moment of silence before he spoke again, quieter this time. “He proposed to Hayi today.”

Soonyoung gawked a moment before reigning himself in. “Oh.” He looked away for a moment. “It must be killing him. I can’t imagine how Seungcheol must feel… does he even know?”

“Yeah.” Wonwoo took a hearty drink. “Seungcheol was right there in front of them when Jihoon got down on one knee.”

“God.”

“Yeah.”

Another few minutes passed in complete silence.

“Alright, you’ve gotta give me a clue,” Soonyoung muttered, fed up. “I don’t know what’s wrong. I’m not telepathic? Is it because I left you in the café?”

Wonwoo rolled his eyes a bit. “No,” he sighed, before thinking about it. “Yes. No. A little. I don’t know.”

The barista tapped his foot to the floor impatiently.

Wonwoo’s eyes danced over the windowsill, away from his lover. “…I just… don’t like it. Being without security. Without… I mean, I know how hard this has all been for you. But it’s hard on me too. I just want a normal relationship. With a normal boyfriend. You just… don’t see me, anymore.”

“Well, we both work,” Soonyoung tried to point out.

“Not like that. We could be the only two people in a room and you don’t really see me.” The omega shook his head. “It’s hard to explain.”

Soonyoung had to grab his glass of wine again.

Soonyoung was tired. Exhausted. Work was taking his all. He’d have to employ a few more baristas if Woozi was dedicated to being a Prince again, or work wasn’t going to cut demand. But no matter how tired he was, as the hours raced by in silence on a sofa with Wonwoo, he couldn’t sleep.

Because some