Wonho took one last look in the mirror, adjusted the collar of his shirt in a cool way and gave himself a confident wink. What guy wouldn't want him? They would have to be mad to pass up on him! He was the perfect mixture of cute and y. Before he exited the door, he paused for a second and opened the second button of his shirt. There was no point in holding back. He had worked hard for these perfectly chiseled muscles, it was a waste to hide them.

Before he entered the coffee shop, he got butterflies. He wasn't sure whether he was nervous or excited. Maybe a bit of both. He was so new to this. Of course he had been on dates before, he even vaguely remembered having been on a blind date in the very distant past. But this was his first date with a guy. He was having trouble picturing it. He wasn't sure if it was going to be the same as going on a date with a girl, which he was pretty darn good at, or if there were some totally different rules that applied. Maybe his charm only worked on girls. Nah, no chance. He swallowed, a completely pointless gesture since his mouth was dryer than the Sahara desert. He adjusted his collar again, making sure it was in the right place, showing just enough skin. He was ready.

He scanned the first floor of the coffee shop, looking for anyone wearing a black beanie. That was how he was supposed to recognize him. He couldn't for the life of him remember his name, but he was just going to let him introduce himself first so that he would be none the wiser.

“Please be cute. Please be cute.” he whispered to himself as he strained his eyes, trying to will them to spot the right guy.

There he was!

He had his nose buried in a book so he couldn't really see his whole face, but he was definitely not horribly ugly. That was a good start.

“Hey!” he greeted him energetically, overcompensating for how nervous he was.

“Ee.. hey...” the guy resurfaced from his book, looking at him with surprise in his eyes. It wasn't exactly love at first sight, but that was probably too much to ask for. He wasn't the type he usually went for. He liked beautiful feminine princes that lit up the room just by being in it. This guy was more generic than that. Not that he was completely plain. There was something about him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe the lips, they had a hint of attitude about them.

Wonho planted himself on a chair opposite him, determined not to make this awkward.

“Ah, I'm so happy you just went ahead and ordered.” he smiled. He was a bit late. The grooming process had taken a bit longer than expected, he had wanted to look his best. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it properly.

“Mmkay, good that you're happy.” the guy raised his eyebrows and chuckled lightly. The chuckle tickled something deep inside Wonho's gut. It was a strange feeling. He had never really felt anything quite like it. It wasn't some epic fireworks show, but it was something special, unique. It threw him off his game a bit, but he tried not to let it show.

“So what's good here? Do you come here often?” he asked brightly, looking over the specials.

“Uhm... yeah, I come here most weekends I guess, and as for what's good here, it depends on what you like.” the guy grinned slightly. Was he flirting? He was definitely flirting. Wonho's heart skipped a beat. He decided to flirt back. It was the first time he was going to flirt with a guy in the open. He could feel the excitement creep into every cell of his body.

“Oh, you know what I like.” he said enticingly, giving him a brief wink. The guy nearly choked on the sip of coffee he was taking. Had he been too forward? He could feel his cheeks heat up in embarrassment, a giggle breaking free. The guy coughed loudly, but then started laughing as well, and before they knew it, they were both laughing heartily. It completely cleared the air. The guy had the cutest smile, it kind of took over his whole face, lighting everything up around him, especially Wonho's insides. Wonho had this warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest. He wanted to continue laughing forever, but that would've come out weird.

“Eh, I'm really sorry, but can you tell me your name, I'm Wonho.” he couldn't wait any longer for him to introduce himself.

“I'm Minhyuk.” he smiled. That smile was going to be the death of him. This average looking guy, that didn't look like a threat in any way, only needed one smile and he was hooked. It took him completely by surprise.

“Ah, I'm so glad we're doing this. This is actually my first time doing anything like this.” Wonho admitted, feeling like he could tell him anything.

“Sitting down at a table with a complete stranger?” Minhyuk chuckled.

“Exactly.” Wonho giggled. “I think it's going pretty well so far!” he declared confidently. Minhyuk bit his lip and looked down for a split second as he kind of nodded.

He liked him back! He was sure of it. This was exactly like dating girls, only he was way more invested in the outcome. He could get used to this, he thought happily, genuinely glad for the first time that he was finally out. He didn't have to pretend anymore.

“I might even be persuaded to do this again sometime.” he ventured, fishing for a second date. Maybe he was jumping the gun, but the feeling was there, they worked. He always trusted his gut.

“There's only one problem.” Minhyuk pointed out with a peculiar smile dancing on his lips, like he was teasing him.

“What?” Wonho took the bait even though he smelled a trap. He felt slightly uncomfortable at the thought that maybe Minhyuk would turn him down. The chance was slim though. But still, it made him uneasy.

“Next time, I won't be a stranger anymore.” he chuckled and bit his lip again. Ah, he was so pretty. He was getting prettier and prettier with every smile.

“You can just pretend you don't know me then.” Wonho grinned sheepishly, laughing at the thought. Minhyuk giggled and took another sip of his coffee. He hadn't said no. He had said next time. There was going to be a next time. A swarm of butterflies attacked his stomach.

“Excuse me... Wonho?” a voice behind him asked. He turned around, surprised that somebody knew him in this part of town. He hoped it wasn't anyone at work, since he hadn't come out at work yet. Not that it was obvious that he was on a date, but he didn't want any rumors to start flying.

“Yeah?”. It wasn't anyone from work. In fact, it wasn't anyone he knew. He had never seen this guy before in his life. He would have remembered it if he had. He was exactly his type. Tall, lean and delicate. Model handsome. It would've made much more sense if Kihyun and his wife had set him up with someone like that. And then it dawned on him. He too was wearing a black beanie. He looked at Minhyuk and then at the other guy. His jaw crashed to the floor.

“Hi. I'm Hyungwon. Nice to meet you. I was waiting on the second floor, everything was full down here, you see. I almost left, but then I spotted you, you look just like your picture.” he said in a very polite, monotonous voice and stuck out his hand as a greeting. Hyungwon! Now he remembered, Kihyun had definitely said Hyungwon. He was his blind date. But... he looked over at Minhyuk, who looked just as puzzled as he did.

“Hehh... ah... the beanie...” he just said, stunned, pointing at both of their beanies that looked exactly the same.

“Right. Okay, so should we start our date?” Hyungwon suggested, clueless what it was that he had just interrupted. Wonho looked helplessly at Minhyuk with apologetic eyes. He couldn't stand Hyungwon up when he was standing right there. He couldn't tell him he would rather have his date with Minhyuk. He couldn't even ask Minhyuk for his phone number, not in front of Hyungwon.

“Ehh...” he looked at Minhyuk, trying to find something to say, but Minhyuk just nodded, like he too had realized what was going on. It might have been wishful thinking, but he thought he saw a glint of sadness behind his apprehensive eyes.

With a heavy heart, Wonho went with Hyungwon to order a coffee and then they went upstairs to have their blind date. He really was beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. But something didn't feel right. While Hyungwon told him all about his career, instead of listening, his brain started conjuring up images of Minhyuk laughing. He had the biggest smile he had ever seen, his eyes disappearing into an eye-smile and his nose and even his cheeks crinkled as those cutest of cute big front teeth sparkled their brightest, leaving no one untouched by the happiness they reflected. It was addicting. He craved more. He liked how he felt when he was with him. He chuckled out loud as he relived their conversation from Minhyuk's point of view. What a hilarious situation. He could hardly believe Minhyuk had known nothing, to him this complete stranger had just walked right up to his table and sat down, without even asking if the seat was free. He snorted as he wondered what had gone through Minhyuk's mind. He had probably thought he was bat crazy.

“What's so funny?” Hyungwon asked baffled, since it definitely wasn't him.

“Ah, nothing. I just... randomly thought of a really funny joke.” he half-lied.

“Oh, do tell.” Hyungwon looked at him with something akin to anticipation.

“Ehh.. nahh... it was kind of.. like... you had to be there kind of thing.” he tried to dig himself out of the grave he had made for himself.

“Ah.” Hyungwon just said, and continued his explanation. Wonho made an honest attempt at focusing only on Hyungwon and his story, but it was useless. His mind was full of questions. Questions about Minhyuk. Was he even gay? Had he imagined the palpable connection between them?

After the longest half an hour in the history of the universe, Hyungwon had to cut their date short due to a prior engagement. Wonho was so relieved, it was hard to hide it. As they descended the stairs, his heartbeat doubled, tripled in speed. Would Minhyuk still be there?

The plan was to be discreet, but his body didn't listen and he looked in the direction of Minhyuk's table the moment it became visible. He was still there, reading his book. Then, as if he could feel his presence, Minhyuk looked up and straight into his eyes. Wonho felt as an electric current shot through him, it was like a mild electric shock. Minhyuk had this cryptic look on his face, making it really tough to read what he was thinking.

Reluctantly, he broke eye-contact in order to say goodbye to Hyungwon, who, nice as he was, offered to walk him to his car. Ah. It was as if he had been sent to keep Minhyuk and him apart.

“So, I'll call you?” Hyungwon asked when they had arrived at Wonho's car.

“Yeah. Sure. We'll be in touch.” Wonho forced a smile. It wasn't Hyungwon's fault, he was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and Wonho was in a hurry.

The moment Hyungwon disappeared from view, he turned and ran back to the café, like he had never run before. Out of breath and starting to sweat through his strategically tight shirt, he charged through the door. But as soon as he was inside, he froze in his tracks, his heart sinking to the bottom of his gut. Minhyuk was gone. There were two middle aged ladies sitting at his table. He was gone. He was really gone. Wonho put his hand on the wall to support his dizzy, stupefied body. He didn't have his number. He didn't have his full name. He had no way of contacting him. The only thing he had to go on was this coffee shop.

Sad and disappointed, he decided to come back next Sunday. Minhyuk said he came here most weekends, so Wonho was convinced they would be able to meet again next weekend.

The week went by slower than a sleepy sloth. He tried to will the minutes to pass by, but it had the opposite effect, slowing them down even more. But, however slow the time passed, it still passed, and finally Sunday arrived. He had already decided his outfit five days ago, and this time he wasn't late. Full of hope and beauty products, he waltzed into the coffee shop, trying to make a big, flashy entrance. He did get an audience, but the most important member was missing. Minhyuk wasn't there.

Deflated, he got himself a coffee and a muffin to munch on as he waited. And waited. And then waited some more. But Minhyuk never came. He had already made friends with all the staff and some of the regulars, and probably gained a full five kilos consuming their entire stock of pastries. But it was all for nothing.

Next Sunday he came back. And the next. And the next. It had become a habit. He had been on other dates, but for some reason, he couldn't forget those few, brief moments with Minhyuk. He didn't really know what it was that made Minhyuk special, but he just was.

Two months later he made his last visit to the coffee shop. He had met a really nice guy, that more importantly was insanely hot and he wanted to give it a go. He wanted to give him and Shownu a chance. He needed to say goodbye to his Minhyuk-obsession, and so, for one last time he sat down at “their” table. He would have thought that the memories would have faded by now, but he could still picture every moment like it was yesterday. It still made him giggle. He decided not to be sad about it, he had reserved a special place in his heart for that day, for Minhyuk. If it wasn't meant to be, it wasn't meant to be. He was still glad he had met him.

“Hey stranger, I'm so glad you ordered already.”.

Wonho started, he had been completely engrossed in his thoughts, not noticing anything. He looked up and saw a familiar grin. And, as if no time had passed, the butterflies returned, fluttering happily around inside him.

“Where have you been!?” Wonho asked a little too pointedly, a pout taking over his lips.

Minhyuk snorted. “You weren't waiting for me, were you?” he asked in disbelief.

“No... I always drive over an hour to the other side of town to buy myself a single cup of coffee when there's a perfectly good coffee shop in my street.” he answered with a bit of an attitude.

After a short struggle, trying to keep his cool, Minhyuk's face disappeared into the biggest smile yet. He glanced around the half-empty shop, before sliding his hand under the table, finding Wonho's hand and softly intertwining their fingers together. Wonho had never felt anything like it. It was an indescribable feeling. It somehow felt like home and like the start of the biggest adventure of his life, all at the same time.