Jongin kept picking at the crumpled napkin in front of him, trying not to look at the coffee shop entrance whenever the door dinged to signal that people were entering or exiting the establishment. He had arrived five minutes prior to their proposed meeting time, but now he was wondering if that had been a good idea after all. Although he knew that Kyungsoo wouldn’t suddenly cancel on him, at least not this close to the meet-up, Jongin was becoming hyper-aware of any stares from curious patrons who walked past his table. He had no drink in front of him, having decided to wait until the ophthalmologist arrived so that they could order at the same time, and the napkin was practically disintegrating in his hands as he mindlessly shredded the corners.

A young, long-haired girl had stopped by when the artist had first sat down, politely asking him if he needed anything. But Jongin had waved her away while silently thanking his lucky stars that Baekhyun, the owner of Café Noir, had been too busy helping another customer to notice the short exchange.

The less he interacted with the bubbly coffee shop owner, the better it was for his already paper-thin sanity.

As the minutes steadily ticked by, the pile of tattered napkins grew and grew into a small mountain in front of the artist. His phone lay unmoving on top of the table with no new messages gracing the black screen. At this point, ten minutes after four o’clock, Jongin was beginning to wonder if he should just cut his losses and go home, when a familiar smooth voice finally called out his name.

“Hey, Jongin! I hope you didn’t wait too long,” Kyungsoo said with an apologetic smile as he sat on the opposite side of the table from the artist.

Jongin immediately swept the shredded napkins into his hands and shoved the pieces into his pockets before looking at the ophthalmologist and sending him a lopsided smile.

“I got an important email a few minutes before I planned on leaving, so I had to settle that matter first before getting here.” Kyungsoo tiredly rubbed his temples before dropping his arms onto the table and leaning back into his seat.

“It’s okay,” the artist answered. “I didn’t realize doctors had so many emails to answer. I thought it was mostly just clinical work you guys dealt with.”

“I have several meetings coming up, which is why I’m getting more emails than usual,” the ophthalmologist explained. “I don’t usually get too many emails on a Sunday, since we all try to enjoy our days off when we can. Obviously, for physicians working in the emergency room, their schedules work differently from mine, but our work doesn’t really overlap for the most part so I don’t have to worry about that.”

“Then it’s just a coincidence that you’re bombarded with emails whenever you need to see me?”

Kyungsoo laughed and smiled sheepishly at the artist. “I guess so. I sincerely apologize for that though, Jongin. It probably gets annoying after a while.”

“No worries. It’s not your fault.” The artist then gestured to the front counter of Café Noir. “By the way, shall we get something to drink?”

Kyungsoo nodded and they both headed up to the counter, where the long-haired girl was stationed. “Welcome to Café Noir! How may I help you today?” Her smile then widened as she cheerily added, “Hi, Kyungsoo! Baekhyun is taking his break in the back right now, but I can let him know you’re here, if you’d like!”

“There’s no need to disturb him, but thank you for the offer, Yeonjung,” the ophthalmologist answered kindly. “I can always catch him next time.”

“How long are you staying today?” she asked, not bothering to hide how her eyes curiously flickered between the two men standing next to each other.

Kyungsoo turned to look up at the tall artist, his big eyes blinking owlishly. “How long did you plan on staying, Jongin?”

“Uh, I think we mentioned an hour or something like that yesterday, right?” He shifted nervously on his feet before continuing, “It’s really up to you, Kyungsoo, since you’re the one taking a break from work right now. I don’t really have anywhere I need to be after this, so I can stay however long you want.”

“An hour it is then,” Kyungsoo agreed with a smile. “I do still have some work to finish today, so I can’t be away from home for too long, but I’ll let future me worry about that later,” he said, chuckling softly. “Anyway, is there anything special on the menu today, Yeonjung?” the ophthalmologist asked as he glanced at the list of options written neatly in white chalk on the blackboard tacked on the wall behind the young, long-haired girl.

“We’re promoting a new butterscotch coffee that Baekhyun came up with recently,” she answered proudly while gesturing to a photo of the drink that was displayed next to the cash register. “It’s gotten a really good response from customers so far, so we’ll probably add it to the regular menu next month!”

“I’ll take one with no whipped cream, if that’s okay,” Kyungsoo said.

“Not a problem! And for you, sir?” Yeonjung politely asked as her gaze switched over to Jongin.

“I’ll have the same thing,” the artist replied while taking out his card. “And you can put both drinks on the same bill.”

“Wait, Jongin, there’s no reason for you to pay for me as well,” Kyungsoo immediately protested.

The artist just shrugged as he handed off his card to Yeonjung, who glanced in confusion between the two men. “You treated me the last time we were here, so now it’s my turn to do the treating.”

“But you paid for dinner that night,” the ophthalmologist reminded him. “We left off even. You don’t owe me anything anymore.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jongin insisted as he motioned for Yeonjung to swipe the credit card. “It’s just a couple thousand won. You can get the bill next time.”

Knowing that he had already lost, Kyungsoo nodded slowly and sent the taller male a grateful smile. “Alright, but I’m not forgetting what you just said. I’m paying next time and it’s non-negotiable.”

Once the transaction was completed, Yeonjung handed the credit card back to Jongin and happily chirped, “I’ll have your drinks ready in a few minutes!”

Thus, the two males stepped to the side and patiently watched as the long-haired girl expertly began brewing a new pot of coffee. She grabbed two glass mugs and then poured two ounces of butterscotch syrup into each cup before adding another ounce of heavy cream. After several minutes, the comforting aroma of coffee began wreathing around them and Yeonjung carefully poured the dark liquid into each mug until each one was three-fourths full. After carefully mixing the drinks with a small spoon, she grabbed a metal tray and placed the mugs on top before handing it off to Jongin.

“Enjoy!”

“Thanks again, Yeonjung! We will!” Kyungsoo beamed at her before following the artist back to their table. Once they were settled in their seats with their full mugs in front of them, Kyungsoo cheerfully asked, “How has your day been so far?”

“It’s been fine,” Jongin answered with a slight shrug before taking a few sips of the butterscotch coffee. “Nothing special happened before I got here. All I did was wake up, eat brunch, watch a few episodes of this new drama that my manager is obsessed with, and then come here. What about you?”

“Same for me,” the ophthalmologist answered with a small laugh. “I woke up, ate breakfast, and then drowned myself in paperwork until getting here to meet you.

“Well, aren’t we a couple of interesting old geezers,” Jongin commented sarcastically. “Will we even be able to talk about anything for an entire hour when our lives are that boring?”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll think of something.” Kyungsoo grinned before also tasting his butterscotch coffee. “For starters, I never pegged you as the type to watch dramas. Which one are you watching?”

“I honestly don’t even remember the name,” the artist said. “Yixing is the one who likes watching dramas. Oh, and my older brother does too, so that’s why they’re always playing in our house. If it isn’t Yixing who’s watching one, it’s Jongdae. Since I have nothing better to do right now, I watch with them but I’m not a die-hard fan or anything like that.”

“Do you only watch certain types of dramas or do you watch whatever’s popular at the moment?” Kyungsoo curiously asked.

“I dunno. I just watch whatever Yixing and Jongdae are watching. Even if the romance shows are pretty garbage,” the artist added with a grimace. “The crime-based shows are bit more engaging, but those aren’t as popular, I think, since there aren’t as many to watch. The one we’re watching right now is a courtroom drama, so that’s been relatively interesting, I guess.”

“What’s the premise?”

“Are you okay with spoilers?” Jongin asked warily, knowing how sensitive some people could be when it came to spoiler territory.

“Go ahead and spoil away. I don’t know if I’ll have time to watch it, so I’d rather live vicariously through you.”

So Jongin began recounting the drama’s plot from the very beginning, attempting to paint a vivid scene for the ophthalmologist with his words. It was a bit difficult at first, since his memories of the first few episodes were quite fuzzy and fragmented. But with Kyungsoo’s obvious interest in the topic and his wordless encouragement, Jongin did his best to scour every last corner of his mind for relevant details and relay them in a picturesque way for the ophthalmologist to follow.

However, as he was reaching the most recent plot twist revealed in the storyline, Jongin was suddenly interrupted by an annoyingly familiar voice squealing, “Kyungsoo, you’re here!”

Jongin groaned loudly as Baekhyun the coffee shop owner came into view and shamelessly plopped down next to the ophthalmologist.

“Hey, Baekhyun!” Kyungsoo grinned widely. “I’m here for my weekly visit!”

“You should’ve told me when you were planning to come! Your drinks would’ve been on the house!” Baekhyun exclaimed as he eyed the half-empty mugs sitting in front of the other two males.

“Er, by the way, shouldn’t you be at the counter so that Yeonjung isn’t working by herself?” Kyungsoo hastily redirected, knowing how many times he had squabbled with his friend over this issue.

“It’s fine,” Baekhyun carelessly answered as he made himself comfortable next to the ophthalmologist. “She has it all under control.” He jerked a thumb at the long-haired girl, who was carefully stacking some paper cup sleeves at the moment. Yeonjung briefly looked up, catching sight of her boss, and beamed at him. Baekhyun grinned back at her and gave her a thumbs-up. “See? Nothing to worry about!”

Jongin snorted loudly, causing the ophthalmologist to briefly glance at him.

Kyungsoo’s lips then quirked upwards as he tried to stifle a chuckle, having already guessed that the artist was also restraining himself from making any sharp remarks. “Alright, but if it gets busy, I’m booting you out of here to help her out, okay?” the ophthalmologist sternly added to his friend. “Even if you own this place, you’re still technically on the clock.”

“I’m always on the clock,” Baekhyun dramatically cried out as he let his upper body flop onto the table.

Jongin let out a short hiss as he managed to pull both his and Kyungsoo’s mugs out of the way at lightning speed before the coffee shop owner’s sudden movements could knock down the drinks.

Kyungsoo mouthed a quick thank you to the artist before he pulled his friend up from the table. “What happened to hiring more part-timers to help out? I thought you posted a job listing last month.”

“I did hire a couple of people last week, but they’re still training with Jinki,” Baekhyun explained as he leaned his head against the ophthalmologist’s shoulder and wrapped his arms around his waist.

Jongin narrowed his eyes as he aggressively gulped down some of his butterscotch coffee.

“Until then, I have to hold down the fort and I barely have time to experiment in the kitchen nowadays,” the coffee shop owner whined. “It’s awful.” He flopped forward again with a petulant pout.

“Didn’t you make this recently?” the artist pointed out as he brazenly held up his mug of butterscotch coffee, not even bothering to hide the irritation from his tone.

“I did!” Baekhyun exclaimed, immediately sitting up and puffing up his chest in pride. “I spent weeks trying to figure out the perfect balance of sweet and nutty. If Yeonjung hadn’t agreed to take on a couple of extra shifts this past month, I don’t know how I would’ve ever finished it.” He then snuggled up against the ophthalmologist once more and grinned. “And now you got to try it, Kyungsoo! So it’s a win-win situation for everyone!”

Jongin was ready to barf up every last drop of butterscotch coffee onto the shiny black and bronze floor tiles, even if it meant he had to pay the cleaning fees.

“By the way, I don’t think we’ve ever formally introduced ourselves. I’m Byun Baekhyun, the owner of Café Noir. Nice to meet you!” He stuck out his hand and grinned brightly at the artist.

“I’m Kim Jongin. Nice to meet you too,” he stiffly replied.

Byun Baekhyun.

Interesting.

Jongin finally had a last name to go with the coffee shop owner’s first name. Not that it really mattered in the grand scheme of things, but at least he no longer had to refer to the outgoing man as “Baekhyun the coffee shop owner” in his head.

“So how’s the drink? I know Yeonjung made a version that isn’t as sweet for you guys, since Kyungsoo has a criminally non-existent sweet tooth,” Baekhyun disclosed with a giggle.

“It’s great,” the ophthalmologist told him with a bright beam. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it became a new favorite amongst customers here.”

“Thank you!” Baekhyun wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo in a tight hug, causing Jongin to choke on the mouthful of coffee he had swallowed just now. “With your stamp of approval, there’s no way it won’t be a hit!”

“You’re giving me too much credit as an unofficial taste-tester,” the ophthalmologist laughed while waving his hands in front of him in mild protest. “Your drinks do just fine without me approving them or anything like that.”

“Even so, I know they’ll be a guaranteed success whenever you give me your feedback and I’d rather have that assurance before making any gambles,” Baekhyun declared.

Jongin scowled after taking another swig of his butterscotch coffee before pushing the mug away. Suddenly, the taste of the sweet drink seemed to have curdled within his mouth and he didn’t think he could have another sip of it without throwing up.

As his stomach curled uncomfortably, another voice rang throughout the coffee shop, causing the knots to twist more tightly within him.

“Kyungsoo, I had a feeling you’d be here!”

All of their heads turned and Jongin’s face darkened even more when his gaze landed on Park Chanyeol, whose guitar case was slung over his back as he waved wildly to the group.

Just his luck.

Not only did he have to deal with Baekhyun’s unwanted presence, he knew Chanyeol would stick to Kyungsoo’s side like a barnacle as well.

What was next? Would Kim Junmyeon also waltz into Café Noir? Would Park Sojin magically decide that she wanted a cup of coffee this afternoon as well?

“Chanyeol, what’re you doing here?” Kyungsoo asked his best friend before shooting Jongin an apologetic look. It was clear that the artist hadn’t expected all of these interruptions, thanks to the frown on his face.

“I just finished busking at the subway, so I wanted to see if you could hang out!” Chanyeol answered, beaming brightly at the ophthalmologist. “I know you always come here on the weekends, so I figured I’d stop by first before heading to your place and it looks like my gut was right!”

Jongin rolled his eyes.

“You’re here too, Jongin! Nice to see you again!” Chanyeol greeted as he sat on the other side of Kyungsoo, to the artist’s annoyance. “I haven’t seen you since Kyungsoo’s latest gig at the Chat-Shire!”

“That was only last week,” the ophthalmologist genially reminded him.

“Oh yeah, has it already been a week? Man, time flies!” Chanyeol laughed heartily, the bright sound ringing throughout the room.

“Wait a minute, Kyungsoo, you never told me that you sing at the Chat-Shire!” Baekhyun cried, once again pouting as he stared at the ophthalmologist.

“You never asked,” Kyungsoo smartly replied.

“He’s great! You should come to his next show too!” Chanyeol eagerly suggested.

“Better yet, you could also sing here, Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun exclaimed. “We could renovate part of the café and build a stage for you!” He motioned towards the northern wall, which was considerably emptier than the other sides of the coffee shop. “It’ll be amazing!”

“Oh, no, it’s fine, Baekhyun! You really don’t have to go through all of that trouble just for me,” Kyungsoo objected. “Besides, I’m busy enough as it is with one monthly gig on top of all of my work. I don’t think I could fit another one into my schedule.”

“Aw, c’mon, Kyungsoo! You love singing, though!” Chanyeol wheedled. “Jieun and I keep saying you should do an extra show at the Chat-Shire, since everyone loves your performances there! The place is always packed on your show days!”

“You could be healing people with both your medical knowledge and your musical talents!” Baekhyun added excitedly.

Meanwhile, Jongin continued sitting there in silence, fidgeting every so often as he tried to tune out Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s annoyingly bright voices. They yapped away non-stop while clinging onto the ophthalmologist as if he were their lifeline. Whenever one of them stopped to take a breath, the other would fill in the empty space without a moment’s hesitation and Jongin was left stewing in his discomfort, unable to get a word in edgewise.

He honestly didn’t know how Kyungsoo could stand it all.

The overt simpering from the two others reminded him of Kim Junmyeon’s embarrassing display of flirtation. These people seemed to have no shame when it came to worshipping the very ground that Kyungsoo walked upon. All they did was laud over the ophthalmologist, as if he were a pile of gold they had giddily struck upon. The stars in their eyes never once left whenever he was in their presence and Jongin was ready to knock them out at this point, just so he wouldn’t have to suffer another minute of this incessant groveling.

All he had wanted was to enjoy a quiet afternoon with a new friend. Simple as that. The artist didn’t think it was too much to ask.

But neither Baekhyun nor Chanyeol seemed to have any intention of leaving the crowded booth anytime soon, even though they had to have known that they were uninvited guests. Were they so blinded by their infatuation with Kyungsoo that they completely missed Jongin’s sharp glares? Were they so taken by Kyungsoo that they had to stick to him like a magnet whenever he appeared in front of them?

Jongin scowled even deeper, internally muttering to himself about how much he hated people.

No wonder his circle was as small as it was. If he had to deal with smitten simpletons like this on a daily basis, he’d rather carve out his brain with a spoon and leave it on the ground for the wolves to feast on.

He would never fall to their level. Ever.

Finally unable to tolerate even another second of Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s tooth-rotting drivel, Jongin abruptly stood up and swept his empty mug off of the table. He marched straight to the front counter and dropped it off in front of Yeonjung, sending her a pained smile, before whirling away and heading for the exit. The artist kept his hands clenched to his sides until he was several streets away from the coffee shop and finally allowed himself to exhale deeply.

What a disaster.

But, at the very least, it was now over.

And that was the last time he would ever ask to meet Kyungsoo at Café Noir.

Never again would he put himself through such a horrendous ordeal.

Never again would he allow himself to bear witness to such disgusting displays of…whatever that was.

Never again would he—

“Jongin, wait!”

The artist automatically turned around and searched for the origin of the voice, his gaze eventually landing on a panting Kyungsoo who had stopped a few feet away and was slightly hunched over as the ophthalmologist regained his breath.

“You… You left so quickly… I didn’t even…have a chance…to say goodbye…” Kyungsoo wheezed in between breaths.

A wave of guilt washed over Jongin and he stepped over to the shorter male, placing a hand on his back to support Kyungsoo as he straightened up. “Sorry,” he murmured as he let his hands drop back down. “I, uh, forgot that I needed to do something for my manager while I was out.” His mind spun wildly, grasping for any viable excuses it could use, before his mouth automatically blurted out, “I need to go grocery shopping. We’re out of fruit at home.”

“Oh,” the ophthalmologist briefly glanced at his gold-plated watch, “well, I can come with you, if that’s okay. I’m also out of fruit at my place.”

“No, no, you don’t need to,” Jongin quickly replied. “Your friends are probably waiting for you back at Café Noir. Sorry I didn’t say anything earlier. I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation. I didn’t even think you guys would notice that I left.”

Kyungsoo caught the bitter undertone lacing Jongin’s words and grabbed the edge of his sleeve before the artist could suddenly take off again. “I’m really sorry, Jongin. I should have told my friends I was busy instead of letting them interrupt us like that. They’re…not the greatest when it comes to respecting personal space—”

The artist let out a loud snort, but refrained from making any extra comments.

“—and while I’m used to it since I’ve known them for years, it wasn’t fair to you to let them intrude like that.” Kyungsoo briefly bit his lower lip before continuing, “I don’t blame you for suddenly walking out the way you did. I would’ve done the same if I were you.”

Jongin heaved a loud sigh before looking straight at the ophthalmologist and saying, “It’s not your fault, Kyungsoo. I’m an adult. I could’ve spoken up, but I didn’t. At any rate, this isn’t anything to really get upset about and I’m already over it.” He gestured in the general direction of Café Noir while adding, “You can go back now. They’re probably waiting for you.”

But to his surprise, Kyungsoo shook his head. “Let me make it up to you. I’ll pay for your groceries. I still owe you, since you paid for my drink earlier.”

“Well, yeah, but that was one measly drink,” Jongin pointed out. “Fruit is expensive nowadays. I can’t let you pay for me.”

“Think of it as also paying for your time, since I wasted it earlier by letting Chanyeol and Baekhyun infringe on our conversation for as long as they did.”

“That…is getting into some dangerous territory that I don’t think we should be treading,” the artist pointed out dryly.

Picking up on Jongin’s insinuation, Kyungsoo laughed sheepishly and quickly said, “You know I’m not talking about anything inappropriate like that! I just want to make it up to you however I can. I promise we’ll be completely even after this. Neither of us will have any debts left to repay to each other.”

Seeing that the ophthalmologist wasn’t planning to budge even a single inch on this issue, Jongin let his shoulders drop and another sigh escaped his lips. “Alright, I accept,” he relented, causing the ophthalmologist’s grin to widen even more. “But like you said, after this, we’re even.”

“Perfect!” After releasing Jongin’s sleeve and briefly glancing over his shoulder, Kyungsoo faced the artist again and said, “I’m going to go back and quickly say goodbye to them before we go. Is it okay if you wait for me here?”

“I’ll just go with you.”

“It’s fine! You don’t have to force yourself, Jongin,” the ophthalmologist hastily replied. “I’ll just tell them you went home. I know they’ll probably invite themselves if I tell them we’re going somewhere else.”

“No, I should properly say goodbye to them too,” Jongin said with a pinched smile. “It was rude of me to walk out without saying anything.” Even though he personally believed that they didn’t deserve any prior notice, he decided that he might as well try and be the bigger person, especially after Kyungsoo had gone through so much effort in chasing him down. “C’mon, the sooner we head back, the sooner we can go to the grocery store.”

Kyungsoo nodded and began following the artist’s long strides back to Café Noir. They walked in silence for about a minute before the ophthalmologist quietly said, “Thank you for being so understanding, Jongin. I really appreciate it.”

The artist momentarily glanced sideways before giving him a small nod. “I should say the same to you too, Kyungsoo. Thank you for giving me so many chances at the clinic. I would be a lot more lost if it weren’t for your patience.”

Kyungsoo let out another bright chuckle as he replied, “I guess we’re even here as well then.”

Jongin nodded and allowed his lips to quirk upwards at the thought. “Yeah, I guess we are.”

With that, they continued walking side-by-side to Café Noir.

And Jongin had no idea when it had happened, but all of the irritation that had built up within him earlier had now melted away and dissolved into nothingness.

♈♈♈

A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALISON!! <3 Omg, how is it that the pandemic is still here?! It's been over two years now since we've properly hung out in person ㅠㅠ At the very least, technology has allowed us to stay connected and I'm so glad we've been able to play Among Us, Settlers of Catan, Covidopoly, Gartic Phone, and Jackbox together!! And just, THANK YOU SO MUCH for always being the most supportive person as we both chase our dreams and make our ideal futures become a reality!! I'm always so grateful to have you in my life, and I promise I will do everything in my power to get you and Kyungsoo to meet one day!! (/crying because the pandemic needs to end first so I can travel to Asia again but we're making this happen) Speaking of Kyungsoo, YAY, I'M SO HAPPY YOU GOT HIS ALBUM IN TIME!! His solo debut is SO good and I already have so many ideas cooking for TMOP because of it hehe ^^ Kyungsoo is thriving, Sakura is thriving, YOU ARE THRIVING, and we love to see it!! And because we can never end this without some laughs, I present to you a special birthday meme, made by yours truly, HAHA. PLS ENJOY THE CRAZINESS THAT EXISTS IN MY BRAIN. Anyway, good luck with school and hopefully we get to see each other in-person very soon!! Miss you always and I hope you have a wonderful birthday!! Stay safe, stay amazing, and WE WILL SEE EACH OTHER SOON!!