prologue ; first visit
word count : 702
It was a cold day in December when the pair first met, Minhyuk was at the patisserie's register serving customers whilst his two best-friends slept upstairs, Hyungwon most likely curled against Changkyun's chest. The youngest of the three had woken up in the middle of the night screaming his lungs out, old nightmares coming back to haunt him as he hadn't adjusted yet. Minhyuk left Changkyun to watch over the smaller, manning the store by himself as he knew it wouldn't have many customers due to it being so close to Christmas. Hyunwoo had entered quickly, trying to avoid the fast-falling snow. He filled the doorway as he was slightly muscular and pretty tall, Minhyuk guessed that he was probably the same height as Hyungwon. The eight customers of the café turned to watch the tall brunette, the small tinkling bell above the door alerting them of his presence.

Minhyuk's presence however, was attracted for a completely different reason, mentally ticking all the boxes for physical attributes that completed his version of a perfect male. It was true that the blonde was a touchy male and formed crushes quickly, a new one not causing him to worry much. Their eyes first met when the taller of the two reached the counter, easily looming over Minhyuk as he rested his forearms on the countertop. 

"H-Hi" the taller male stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck nervously  which was a habit he had picked up from one of his best-friends, Hoseok. "Hello, what would you like to order?" Minhyuk chirped, placing a bright smile on his face and hoping that it would calm the other's nerves. It did, Hyunwoo stopped rubbing his neck and gave the cashier a soft smile. "I've been told to try your macaroons, but I don't know where to start" he said sheepishly, brown eyes flickering to the display case beside him that was stocked heavily with various coloured macaroons. Minhyuk smiled brightly, happy at the fact that news about  their patisserie was spreading around despite being quite new. 

"Oh. Let me get a couple tasters, on the house and you can choose a box from there. Sound good?" Minhyuk asked although he had already grabbed a plate, standing behind the display case as he went to unlock it's sliding glass doors. "Y-Yes, that s-sounds great. T-Thank you" Hyunwoo replied a little late, Minhyuk already placing the seventh and last macaroon on the small plate. He was glad that the shop was currently empty apart from the eating customers, it meant that he could spend as much time as he wanted with this  handsome male. "I've got vanilla, chocolate, hazelnut, mint, strawberry, cherry and espresso. Personally, I like hazelnut" Minhyuk said as he pointed at the various macaroons before deciding to be cheeky, leaning over the counter and playfully whispering his opinion in the male's ear. 

Hyunwoo then tried six of them, Minhyuk sighing in relief when he clearly disliked the cherry one. He had always disliked cherries since he was young, his taste not changing even after he hit his twenties. It started when he had a bad bag of cherries, his body being unable to stomach the taste after that. Lastly, he tried the espresso macaroon and  immediately pulled the largest smile Minhyuk had seen so far. 

"One box of the espresso macaroons please" He ordered quietly and placed the correct amount of money on the counter, Minhyuk going into the display case once again to gather twelve macaroons into a pale mint box with the patisserie's logo decorating the side. 

"There you go. Please come again" Minhyuk said politely, internally praying that Hyunwoo would say yes. It would be a first if he did, most of his past crushes turning him down. He never knew what he did wrong, the other males never staying around long enough to answer his questions. 

"Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow" Hyunwoo smiled and waved goodbye, entering the snow again with the box of macaroons now clenched to his chest protectively as he made his way back to his cafë a few blocks down the street. 

"I'll be waiting"