Two Shots

The bell in the Matoki Café chimed as the door opened, signaling another costumer walking in. Himchan was instantly greeted by the two baristas behind the counter. He waved at them before getting in line to place his order. He checked his watch to see just how much time he had until he needed to be back in the rehearsing studio for practice. He had been spending more and more time in the practice room the closer the concert got.

“Hey, Himchan hyung.” Junhong – the youngest and tallest of the baristas that worked at the café – greeted Himchan when it was the musician's turn in line. “The usual?”

“Yes Junhong, but make it a double shot and to go. Oh and I'll also take one of those muffins too.” Himchan pointed at the chocolate chip muffin in the pastry display.

Junhong frowned as he rang up Himchan's order. “You're not staying today?”

Himchan sighed. “No, I can't.” He hadn't been able to sit and relax at the café lately. His schedule for the past week was sleep, practice, sleep and more practice. He thanked the young barista when he was handed a small bag that contained the muffin he ordered.

“You've been taking everything to go lately.” Daehyun, the other barista said as he started to work on Himchan's iced Americano with two shots of espresso.

“I know, I wish I could stay and relax.” Himchan's shoulders slumped, a small pout on his face. “I've been doing nothing but rehearsing.”

“It must be tough with the concert around the corner.” Daehyun said as he the espresso machine. He grabbed two clean espresso cups, placing one of them underneath the drip so that it catches the bitter liquid. “Jongup-ah! Can you come out here and help me with these orders?”

“You guys are busier than usual.” Himchan commented as he noticed that there was more than their usual amount of costumers in the café.

“We can thank Daehyun hyung and Junhong for this.” Jongup said as he walked out of from the back of the café. “They started a SNS account for the café so we can get more costumers.”

“It's been working great.” Daehyun smiled, handing Himchan the cup of Iced Americano.

“Thanks Daehyun. I'll see you guys later.” Himchan waved at them as he started to walk towards the door. He turned around and bumped straight into a broad chest, his iced Americano soaking them both. He looked up to see Yongguk as surprised as he was. “Oh my god, Yongguk! I'm so sorry!”

“Himchan, it's alright. It's my fault, I wasn't looking.” Yongguk said as he took Himchan's now empty drink and placed it on the counter. He reached over and grabbed the clean towel Daehyun was offering him, handing it to Himchan. “Daehyun, make Himchan another drink.”

“Oh don't worry about it, Daehyun.” Himchan waved his hand at the barista. “I really have to go, otherwise I'll miss the bus and be late for rehearsal.”

“I can drive you.” Yongguk offered causing Himchan's inner self to scream. “It's the least I can do.”

Himchan waved his hands around, panicking at the thought of being confined with Yongguk in a car. “No, you don't have to. Honestly Yongguk, it's fine. I don't want to trouble you anymore. I'm just gonna go.”

Himchan didn't give Yongguk any time to response as he quickly exited the café. He checked the time as he walked past the fenced-in entrance of the café and cursed. He had spent longer in there than he had intended. The bus was going to pass by in a matter of minutes. He started to run down the street as fast as he could. Himchan shifted the messenger bag that he had draped on the side to his back in hopes that it would help him get there faster.

He turned the corner to see the bus driving off. He tried to scream for it, waving his hands around, hoping that the driver would see him. When he noticed that the bus wasn't going to stop for him, he sat down on the bench and leaned back, allowing his head to fall back. His hair was stuck to his forehead from the sweat, he could feel the sweat patches on his shirt from his armpits. Himchan hated how much he sweated and how easy it was for his glands to produce it. So the amount of sweat he was producing right now didn't surprise him. The summer's heat didn't help with that either.

He sat there without moving as he tried to catch his breath. If he had the strength to, he would have screamed. Today was definitely not going the way he would have wanted. First he started the day oversleeping, causing him to rush around his apartment to get ready. He normally wouldn't have stopped by the café if he was running as last as he was, but he had been so busy that he didn't have time to go grocery shopping. There was absolutely no food or coffee in his apartment and he hadn't eaten since he went out for lunch with some of the other musicians in the group the day before.

He looked down at the big coffee stain on the front of his shirt. “At least I gave everyone options on which stain to stare at.” He murmured to himself.

He check the time again and sighed. The next bus wouldn't come around for another five minutes but this one had more stops than the one Himchan missed. Himchan knew he would be really late for rehearsal.

A sleek white car with tinted black windows stopped right in front of Himchan. Himchan looked curiously at the car, wondering who it could be. There have been times when people would stop in front of bus stops to ask for directions. Himchan tilted his head to have a better view of the inside of the car as the passenger side window rolled down. His eyes widened when he saw that it was Yongguk inside of the car.

“Come on Himchan. Let me give you a ride.” Yongguk's voice was clearly heard from inside the car.

Himchan wanted to decline Yongguk's offer but he had a feeling that the coffee shop owner wouldn't take no for an answer. He reluctantly got up from the bench and walked over to the car. He took a deep breath and opened the passenger side door, sliding into the awaiting seat. He thanked Yongguk as he closed the door and fastened his seat belt.

“So where to?” Yongguk asked as he readied the car's GPS.

Yongguk punched in the address for the rehearsal studio Himchan was headed to. Himchan stayed silent as the car started to move. He glanced at his reflection in the car's side mirror and mentally groaned; he looked like he had just ran a marathon. His fringe was still soaked from the sweat and his cheeks were tinted red. He couldn't believe that he had agreed to be in this close proximity with Yongguk, who he still had a massive crush on. How could he get closer with the coffee shop owner if he looked like a wet mop? The stains on his shirt didn't help his case either.

Himchan tried to secretly sniff his armpit, hoping that he didn't smell.

“Oh, here.” Yongguk grabbed the plastic cup filled with coffee that had been resting in the car's cup holder and handed it to Himchan. “Daehyun remade your Iced Americano for you. And there's a clean shirt for you in the backseat to wear so that you don't have to be in a coffee stained shirt the entire day.”

“Thanks Yongguk.” Himchan said. He took a sip of his drink and smiled. He was grateful that Yongguk had done all of this for him when the coffee shop owner didn't have to.

The car ride was a quick one. Quicker than Himchan had expected. Quicker than he would have liked it to be. Yongguk reached for the backseat, his arm outstretched to reach the shirt for Himchan. This gave Himchan a whiff of Yongguk's cologne and a better look at his perfect face. He traced up Yongguk's long neck, over his jawline, to those plump pink lips that Himchan dreamed of tasting. He scanned as much of Yongguk's face that he could before the coffee shop owner could notice.

Yongguk smiled at Himchan when he turned towards him with the clean black button down shirt he grabbed from the back seat.

“Here you go. It's one of the clean ones I had in my office.”

It shouldn't have been a big deal and to most people it wouldn't have been, but Himchan's mind was running wild at the thought of wearing one of Yongguk's shirt. He wondered if it smelled like him. Part of Himchan wanted to smell the shirt that was now in his hands to intoxicate himself with Yongguk's scent but he didn't want to seem weird.

“I...should get going.” Himchan said, opening the car door. He turned back at the coffee shop owner and smiled. “Thanks for everything, Yongguk.”

“Don't worry about it.” Yongguk's smiled back at Himchan, his gums on full display.

If Himchan wasn't already sitting down, his legs probably would have gave away on him from Yongguk's gummy smile. He quickly got out of the car and waved back before making his way into the building.

******

Himchan let out the breath he was holding. He wiped his sweaty hands on the front of his new hanbok, not caring if he dirtied it in the slightest. His janggu should cover it if he were to dirty his hanbok. He cursed as he felt a drop of sweat run down the side of his face. The last thing he needed was for him to mess up his hair and makeup before the concert with his sweat but he couldn't help it. He was nervous.

He balled his hands into fists and exhaled. Despite having performed in numerous of concerts before it didn't stop him from being nervous. He was always like this before a performance. He had been since he was young. But he knew that once he was on stage, in front of his janggu with the chaes¹ in his hands all the nervous feelings he was experiencing would vanish to thin air.

He unclenched his hands and stretched his fingers. He mentally went through the songs that they were performing, his hands subconsciously hitting the imaginary janggu.

“Himchan.”

The sound of the female calling out to him snapped him out of his routine. He looked up to see a woman a few years older than him in a pink and lavender hanbok, her hair was pulled back into a low braid with a matching pink ribbon at the end of the braid.

“You'll be fine.” She smiled at him, knowing that he was nervous. “It's normal to be nervous.”

Himchan sighed for the nth time. “I know, Junghwa noona but I can't help it. I've been like this since I was young.”

“Five minutes people! Let's go!” Their musical director said as he popped his head into the room.

Himchan turned to look at his reflection in the mirror, making sure his hanbok wasn't wrinkled. He was dressed in a beautiful blue, green and white hanbok. It was one of his favorites that he owned. He had to admit, he looked like royalty in the hanbok and he wanted to look good for this concert.

Butterflies danced around his stomach at the thought of Yongguk being out in the audience. The coffee shop owner had texted him earlier saying that he was eager to see him perform in the concert.

Himchan smiled.

“Himchan, come on.” Junghwa said as she walked to the door.

Himchan grabbed his chaes and walked out the door, down the hall and onto the stage. The moment he stepped out on stage and the audience's applause filled his ears, his musician switch . Every hit on the janggu was in a fluid motion, the chaes were like natural appendages, each one knowing exactly when and where to hit. Everything was second nature for Himchan. Like always, Himchan lost himself in the music. Before he knew it, the sounds of the audience applause filled his ears once again.

He finally took the chance to look out at the crowd. He was greeted with a standing ovation. His eyes looked around, searching for the person he was hoping to see. A big smile spread across his face when he spotted Yongguk in the crowd clapping, a big gummy smile on his face. He noticed that the other baristas from the café were there as well.

He didn't know what he was more happy about. The fact that all the employees from the Matoki Café were here or that Yongguk was here.

Himchan took his bow with the rest of the orchestra group before he walked off the stage. He walked backstage with the rest of the musicians, congratulating everyone of them for a good concert. Himchan grabbed a towel and lightly patted the sweat running down his face in order to not disrupt his BB cream. He went off to change out of his hanbok and into jeans and a button down.

“Hey Himchan, you coming out for drinks?” One of his fellow percussionists asked as he walked out of the dressing room into the hall after he had finished changing.

“Um, not tonight.” Himchan draped the garment bag that held his hanbok over his arm.

“Himchan!”

Himchan turned to the direction of the voice calling out to him. He waved at Yongguk before he turned back and said his goodbyes to his band mates. He walked to where Yongguk was standing and instantly blushed when he noticed the bouquet of flowers in Yongguk's hands.

“Congratulations.” Yongguk said when Himchan stopped in front of him. He handed him the bouquet of flowers. “I got these for you.”

Himchan took them from the coffee shop owner, a shy smile on his face. “Thanks.” He brought the flowers to his nose, inhaling their scent. “So where are the other guys?”

“Oh, they said they had something urgent to do.” Yongguk scratched the back on his neck. “They were really bummed when they couldn't stay to congratulate you for the concert. They really loved it. Jongup and Junhong couldn't stop dancing in their seats.”

Himchan laughed. “I could only imagine.” He had seen the two young baristas dance to the music being played in the café from time to time and he knew just how much they liked to dance.

“Let's get out of here?” Yongguk asked as he motioned to the door.

Himchan hummed and followed Yongguk out of the concert hall. Himchan's heart began to flutter when Yongguk placed his hand on the small of his back as they walked to the car. Himchan placed the bouquet of flowers close to his face in hopes that it would help conceal the blush that spread on his cheeks. They both walked in silence to Yongguk's car. Himchan thanked him when he opened the passenger side door for him. The entire car ride was filled with them talking about the concert, Yongguk praising Himchan for his concert causing the musician to become bashfully giddy.

Himchan had been so lost in the conversation he was having with the coffee shop owner that he didn't notice when they arrived at the Matoki Café until Yongguk turned off the engine. Himchan turned to the direction of the café; his eyes widened at the sight of the its exterior being completely lite up, balloons were tied to the café's fence and a banner with the words “Congratulations Himchan” strung up on the side of the café's wall. He smiled when he noticed the other four baristas waving at him.

“Surprise.” Yongguk said from his seat.

Himchan turned back to Yongguk and smiled. “Really, Yongguk?”

“We wanted to congratulate you on the concert.”

Himchan climbed out of the car before Yongguk could get out and open the door for him. “Guys, you shouldn't have.” He said when he reached the fence.

“You've been rehearsing a lot these past few weeks that we all could tell that you needed some kind of break. So we thought of this.” Youngjae said as the other baristas nodded.

Himchan didn't know what he did to deserve this surprise party. He wasn't anything to the baristas other than a loyal customer. He was pretty sure that they didn't do this for just any customer. Himchan wondered what made him different. He hoped it was because of his new friendship with Yongguk.

The last couple of months the two have talked whenever they had a chance. Yongguk walking Himchan home at night after practice had become a normal occurrence, one that Himchan didn't mind one bit. He also enjoyed those times he spent in the café for hours and having small conversations with all the baristas that were on shift. And the looks he got from the other customers whenever Yongguk would sit with him and talk was something that they laughed about. He was happy that he could finally get close to Yongguk, even if it was in a friend capacity.

Part of him wished for more but at the moment, he was content on having Yongguk in his life.

Himchan giggled as Junhong and Jongup pulled him into the outdoor seating area. The outdoor tables were rearranged to one long table, long enough to seat them all. Himchan's stomach started to rumble when he saw the layout of food on the table. He had been so nervous the entire day that he hardly ate at all. He was pretty sure if given the chance, he could eat all of food on the table.

Daehyun appeared with a bottle of wine in his hands. “Celebratory wine?”

Yongguk grabbed the wine bottle from Daehyun's hold and turned it to look at the label. “Where did you get this?”

“Um...I may have found it in your office?” A sheepish smile spread across Daehyun's face, it only got wider when Yongguk glared at him.

“With the day I've had, I would love some wine.” Himchan said as he eyed the wine bottle. There was nothing Himchan loved more than wine with his meals. Well maybe Iced Americanos but they usually didn't go well with food that wasn't a pastry.

Part of Yongguk wanted to scold Daehyun for going through his office yet again after he had told the boy not to, but the smile on Himchan's made him change his mind. He opened the bottle before realizing something.

“We don't have wine glasses.” Yongguk said.

“We thought of that too!” Youngjae handed Yongguk a small glass cup. “It's not exactly a wine glass but it's a glass and you can drink out of it. So it works.”

“I don't think this will be enough wine for all of us if we use these glasses.” Yongguk said as he poured a glass for Himchan. Daehyun placed another bottle of wine in front of him causing Yongguk to sigh. “So you found both bottles of wine I had in my office.”

Himchan laughed at the interaction Yongguk had with his employees. Yongguk didn't seem to have a boss/employee relationship with them, it was more of a fatherly relationship. It wasn't hard to tell that they were a family even if Yongguk had told Himchan how they all had been friends for years before Yongguk opened the café. It was still pretty obvious that they were a family.

******

Himchan moved his hand over his mouth, covering the big yawn that overcame him. The food was long gone and the two bottles of wine was almost gone as well. All that was left was music and laughter. Junhong and Jongup thought it would be a good idea to make a small dance floor even though they were the ones mainly using it at the moment. Yongguk hardly left Himchan's side. Occasionally their hands or knee would “accidentally” graze one another causing sparks to course through Himchan's body. The alcohol running through their veins had them flirting more than usual. Even if this was only for a night, Himchan was happy to flirt with the coffee shop owner.

Himchan could feel yet another big yawn approaching. Not wanting to be rude, he turned himself so that no one could see the yawn that overcame him, causing tears to form in his eyes. He didn't want this night to end but all the excitement from the day was starting to hit him as his body grew more tired and tired by the minute.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Yongguk asked when Himchan turned back in his seat, his hand still over his mouth.

Himchan shook his head as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “I don't want to be rude. The guys are still having fun. I don't want to ruin their fun.”

Yongguk chuckled. “Himchan you've been yawning for the last five minutes. I think it's time for you to call it a night. The guys will understand.”

Himchan was about argue with Yongguk but his body was begging for the comfort and warmth his bed would give him. Just like Yongguk had assured him, the baristas understood just how tired Himchan must have felt that they didn't protest at all when Yongguk informed them that they were leaving. Yongguk decided that it was best to walk Himchan back to his apartment. He would have driven but he had a couple of glasses of wine and didn't want to drive while he was buzzed. Himchan didn't mind the walk. Walking this path with Yongguk right next him was something that Himchan looked forward to everyday.

Himchan shifted the garment bag that was slipping from his arm as he walked down the street.

“Let me carry that.” Yongguk grabbed the garment bag from Himchan's arms.

“Thanks.” Himchan smiled at the coffee shop owner.

“No problem.”

Silence fell between both of them but unlike the first time they walked this path, it wasn't uncomfortable or awkward. They both welcomed it even if it was only for a moment.

“You know,” Yongguk was the first to break the silence. “You were really great up there tonight.”

Himchan smiled bashfully, waving Yongguk off. “No. I wasn't.”

“Himchan, I'm serious. From the moment you walked on stage, I couldn't take my eyes off of you. You were...beautiful.” Yongguk turned to Himchan, his gaze softened.

“Yongguk...” If Himchan wasn't already blushing from the alcohol, he would have started to at the sudden praise from Yongguk.

“I mean it Himchan.” Yongguk reached up and lightly grabbed Himchan's arm, stopping the musician in his tracks so that they could face each other. He wanted to make sure Himchan was looking at him. He wanted Himchan to understand that what he said was the truth. “You were beautiful. Breathtaking even.”

The fingers from Yongguk's free hand lightly tilted Himchan's chin up. A soft gasp was heard from Himchan when Yongguk's lips pressed against his. He froze, his brain trying to decipher if this was really happening. It all felt like a dream to him. A dream he didn't want to wake up from. But he did when Yongguk pulled away from the kiss.

Himchan stared directly Yongguk, blinking a couple of times.

“Him-”

Yongguk was caught off guard when Himchan wrapped his arms around his neck pulling him into another kiss. It only took him a second to realize that Himchan was kissing him back. He wrapped his arm around Himchan's waist as he sighed into the kiss. Himchan tilted his head to the side to deepen the kiss. Himchan opened his mouth as he felt Yongguk nibble on his bottom lip. Their tongues danced around each other as they tried to taste every inch of the other's mouth.

Himchan didn't know just how long he was kissing Yongguk but he reluctantly pulled away when his lungs begged for air. He kept his eyes closed, resting his forehead against Yongguk's; both of them taking their time to catch their breaths and relish their first kiss.

“Sorry.” Himchan whispered. “I didn't mean to do that.”

Yongguk chuckled. He kissed the tip of Himchan's nose before pulling away so that he could see the musician's face better.

“I'm glad you did.” Himchan opened his eyes and looked up at Yongguk. “I was starting to think that I misread the signs and that you didn't like me when you froze after I kissed you.”

“You just surprised me, that's all.” Himchan fidgeted with his messenger bag. “I didn't think you liked me so I was surprised when you kissed me.”

Another chuckle erupted from Yongguk but this time a hearty one with full gums on display. “Himchan. Of course I like you. How could I not? You're perfect in every way.”

Himchan wanted to bury his face in his hands to cover up the embarrassment that he felt at this very moment. He was the one that misread the signs. He didn't think he even saw any signals from the coffee shop owner. He was normally really good at reading people when it came to things like this but with all of the rehearsing he had been doing the past couple of months, he wasn't surprised that he missed the signs.

“To tell you the truth, I lied about living around here.” Yongguk scratched the back of his neck. “I only said that I did so that I could walk with you and talk to you.”

It was Himchan's turn to laugh. “And here I was, thinking that you would never notice me. And starting to accept that I have fallen into the Friend's Zone.”

Yongguk grabbed one of Himchan's hands and intertwined their fingers. “I noticed you from the very first moment you entered my café.”

“Funny. Cause that's when I first noticed you.”

Oh boy, this final chapter took me longer to write than I had intended it to.  I was supposed to get it done earlier than this but sadly I didn't.  Hoped you guys liked the final chapter.  I personally liked the way I ended it.

Please comment and upvote if you haven't already.

Til next lovelies~