Seungkwan lets out an elongated sigh, slouching in his office chair that was in no way good for his back.

 

It’s 12:03pm, and he’s exhausted. And bored. The most unbearable combination of feelings.

 

He lets out a groan so loud that it catches the attention of his cubicle neighbor, Jeon Wonwoo.

 

Wonwoo peaks his head over the partition screen so he’s looking down into Seungkwan’s space.

 

“You’re being quite vocal over there,” Wonwoo deadpans. “Are you dying?”

 

Seungkwan places his hands over his face and lets out another dramatic sigh.

 

“Yes, in fact, I am,” he says. “I spend all these days writing for a romance and dating magazine column, when I’m the only one in this office who’s still single.” He crosses his arms and pouts.

 

Seungkwan has never actually been on a date.

 

From watching (admittedly, way too many) romance dramas, he’s gotten a pretty good idea of how dating works, which lets him offer the readers of Pledis Monthly the highest quality advice he has on the topic.

 

“That’s not true,” replies Wonwoo, who is now standing with his hands folded on top of the screen.

 

“Says you,” Seungkwan scoffs, rolling his eyes. “You and Mingyu have been dating for how long now?”

 

Wonwoo blushes. “Five months,” he answers.

 

“See?” Seungkwan says. “And not to mention Jun and Minghao too. They’re so in love.” He scrunches his face to further express his disgust.

 

Seungkwan is still pouting when Wonwoo decides to console his friend with an offer.

 

“Tell you what. Mingyu and I were planning to go out for lunch at the café, would you care to join us?”

 

As much as Seungkwan didn’t want to be a third wheel, he figured anything would beat staying behind in the office during his break.

 

“Sure,” he agrees. “Let’s go.”

 

//

 

Wonwoo and Seungkwan are waiting outside the entrance to the office building when Mingyu comes bursting out, camera strapped around his neck as per usual.

 

Immediately, his face lights up upon seeing Wonwoo.

 

“Hi honey!” he says, kissing his cheek. He turns his head and sees Seungkwan, and gives him a friendly smile. “And hello, Seungkwan!”

 

“Hi,” Seungkwan says, forcing a grin as he watches Wonwoo smile and return a quick kiss back.

 

As much as he enjoyed the idea of it, romance always seemed less appealing to Seungkwan when he wasn’t the one experiencing it.

 

The three of them walk to the bus stop and board the one headed in the direction of the café.

 

Today, the bus driver is a man named Seungcheol, who Mingyu and Wonwoo seem to know quite well. Seungkwan says hello, and they make small talk.

 

Seungkwan learns that Seungcheol the bus driver has been in a relationship with his two boyfriends (No fair, Seungkwan thinks, How can people get two when I can't manage to get one?) for nearly three years now. They’re all bus drivers, and share an apartment downtown together.

 

“Ah, that's right!” Wonwoo calls from his seat next to Mingyu. “Jeonghan told us this morning how you broke like, four mugs yesterday.”

 

Seungcheol lets out a groan. “It wasn't entirely my fault. Jisoo was responsible for breaking at least one and a half.”

 

Seungkwan doesn't want to know.

 

Thankfully, he doesn't have to find out, as Seungcheol pulls up to the bus stop in front of the café and opens the doors, waving them goodbye as they unboarded.

 

The café looks plain from the outside, the only standout feature being the huge, bold letters reading Seoul’s Specialty.

 

Mingyu leads the way inside, Wonwoo trailing close behind and Seungkwan making a commendable effort to keep up.

 

The aroma of coffee fills all of Seungkwan’s senses when they enter the café. It doesn't have many tables and chairs, and they're all occupied with people chatting and sipping drinks, save for one round table in the corner of the room.

 

The café is bustling, especially at this lunch hour, and Seungkwan hopes that empty table will become theirs. Standing in this long line to order was starting to get unpleasant.

 

Then again, he’d rather stand on this line than sit within earshot of Mingyu and Wonwoo’s flirting.

 

“…Yeah, but I tried that last time, remember? I don't think it was that good,” Wonwoo says to Mingyu, which directs Seungkwan’s attention towards the café’s surprisingly large menu suspended above them.

 

Seungkwan shimmies next to the couple and assesses his options. He decides that he'll order a turkey and Swiss sandwich on a small baguette and a cup of fruit juice.

 

“Fruit juice?” Wonwoo says, cocking his head to the side. “We’re at a café. Which serves coffee. Which is kind of the reason people come here. For the coffee.”

 

“I know,” Seungkwan says, rolling his eyes. “I just don't understand the appeal of coffee. It's just bean water.”

 

Wonwoo and Mingyu’s jaws drop at the same time as they turn to face each other at the same time, as if Seungkwan had just insulted the couple's first born child.

 

They turn with their mouths agape to look at a now befuddled Seungkwan.

 

“Bean water? Have you even tried coffee? It's like, the best thing ever!” Mingyu says, waving his arms excitedly for emphasis. Wonwoo is gazing over at him lovingly, and Seungkwan can literally feel the affection seeping out of him. He shakes his head no in response.

 

“Seungkwan, the least you could do is try it,” says Wonwoo, loosely linking his arm with Mingyu’s.

 

“Order the special,” he suggests.

 

Mingyu nods in agreement, pointing out the part of the menu that literally just reads ‘The Special.’

 

Seungkwan agrees, figuring he could add extra creamer and sugar if he didn't like it (he knew already that he wouldn't) and they line up single file in the same order that they'd entered the café.

 

“Hi Chan,” Wonwoo greets the boy standing behind the counter. “Busy day today, huh?”

 

“Yep,” says Chan, tearing off a page of his notepad and handing it to another barista running around behind him. “What'll it be today?”

 

Wonwoo orders, followed by Mingyu, and Seungkwan steps up when Chan glances down at his watch and begins to take off his apron.

 

“Sorry,” Chan grumbles. “It's my break. Gotta blast.” He disappears into a door behind all the coffee apparatuses and leaves Seungkwan standing there, dumbfounded.

 

He glances over at Wonwoo, who simply rolls his eyes and gestures towards the free table, which isn't so free anymore since Mingyu is sitting there, and Seungkwan takes it as a signal that they'll be there waiting by the time he gets his order.

 

If he could even place his order.

 

He begins to rap his fingers on the countertop, daydreaming about his knight in shining armor whisking him away on a noble stallion when he hears a loud noise from behind the counter.

 

A new barista shows up, frantically tying the apron around his waist and hastily running his hands through his hair in attempt to smooth it out. He was wearing a work uniform similar to everyone’s else's; black shirt with a brown and white pinstripe apron accompanied by a small name tag. This boy’s name tag reads ‘Hansol.’

 

Hansol is making noises that sound vaguely like beat boxing as he whips out his own notepad and pencil. He looks up at Seungkwan and smiles brightly at him.

 

What a really nice smile, Seungkwan observes. Real nice dental hygiene.

 

“Sorry about that. There was some miscommunication about who was working what shift and blah blah blah,” Hansol says, twirling the pencil in his fingers. “What can I get ya?”

 

Seungkwan is distracted by Hansol’s pencil tricks before blurting out his order.

 

“Oh, right, can I also have the um, special?” he tacks on at the end.

 

Hansol lets out an excited squeal. “Oh, awesome! Jihoon finally let me come up with the special today, and you're the first person to order it! Hold on while I go make it!”

 

He darts away from the counter, and Seungkwan hears a chorus of exasperated sighs behind him of people who just want to place their orders without an interruption every five seconds.

 

It wasn't Seungkwan’s fault. It's not like he expected the one barista taking orders at this hour to leave.

 

Hansol is replaced by another barista, who dons the same uniform, only the name tag reads ‘Jihoon,’ and underneath that, ‘Manager.’

 

“Please proceed to the pick up counter over there,” he points out to Seungkwan. “Hansol is there with your order. Next!”

 

Seungkwan can detect a hint of frustration in his voice. He does as he’s told as he makes his way to Hansol, who is standing there with his sandwich and a fairly large to-go cup.

 

“Here it is!” he exclaims. “Try it! Let me know how it is! Try it right now!”

 

Seungkwan nods enthusiastically, and forces himself to take a swig of the drink.

 

In that moment, Seungkwan feels his life flash before his eyes. This was probably one of the worst beverages he's ever tasted.

 

No amount of creamer and sugar could improve it. It's a combination of all the worst flavors; bitter, sour, maybe a little spicy.

 

But Hansol looks so happy watching him try his special. He can't offend him.

 

Seungkwan tries his best to mask his disgust as he takes another sip.

 

“It's great,” he croaks, giving Hansol a weak thumbs up.

 

In response, Hansol does a fist pump, shouting something like ‘yessssssssssssssssss!’ in English.

 

“Yay!” he says, beaming. “I'm so glad, that took me hours to come up with! Hey, what's your name? You should come back more, I'll make you some more stuff!” He playfully nudges Seungkwan’s arm with his elbow.

 

Seungkwan thought he could die on the spot with the repulsive taste of the coffee, but Hansol’s bright smile and cheery expression brings him back.

 

“I’m Boo Seungkwan,” he responds. He can't help but smile back (how could he not?). “I’m sure I can find time to come around again.”

 

He bids farewell to Hansol as he makes his way to his table, where Mingyu and Wonwoo have n