Hakyeon had become surprisingly less active.

Ever since that day when he returned to the cafe wearing a strange look on his face, the owner seemed to have had the life out of him. While he smiled and greeted the customers as normal, there was something missing in his smile, a genuineness that couldn't be faked, a smile only he could give. 

Not to mention he stopped interacting happily with the patrons. While he did greet and take their orders, he would never miss an opportunity to chat with them and in some cases, play shrink to some of their problems. He loved people, he loved talking, and he loved listening. It was one of the things that had people coming back to his cafe.

Hongbin worried for his friend.

However, whenever he would approach the elder to talk about his problems, he would be brushed off with a simple "I don't want to talk about it."

Even though he wouldn't say it out loud, he suspected it had something to do with his new female friend he'd been seeing for the past few months.

Now that he thought about it, it had been a while since he'd seen her.

Could that be the reason why Hakyeon seemed to always look out for someone, waiting patiently?

"It's been a week," Hakyeon murmured.

"Huh?" Hongbin asked, the elder's voice snapping him out of his thoughts.

Hakyeon didn't respond, instead keeping his eyes fixated on a particular table, currently empty but previously hosting a couple in their thirties and their son. 

Now that he thought about it, he remembered that table being the one she'd sit at every day...

Oh, now it all made sense.

"I-is your friend not coming anymore?" Hongbin bravely asked.

Hakyeon stayed silent, leaning against the counter and staring at the surface.

"I thought she liked you," he mused.

"She's engaged," Hakyeon said in a monotone voice. "To Taekwoon."

Hongbin froze hearing that. Well ...

"So she's just not going to come anymore?" Hongbin blurted out. Well, at least he didn't say "Wow, so the girl you liked is going to get married to your cousin??"

"Wow, so the girl you liked is going to get married to your cousin??"  

Wait, that wasn't him.

The two turned around to find Jaehwan standing behind them, eyes open wide. At that moment, Hongbin had never felt like strangling someone so hard before. His mind filled with that particular thought as he put his head down in his hand.

Hakyeon simply turned back around, not answering.

"She hasn't shown up in a while, has she?" Jaehwan continued, obviously oblivious to everything and everyone around him. "Could it be that your cousin isn't allowing her to come over?" he suggested.

Hongbin went into a silent frenzy, battling between wanting to rip Jaehwan's big head off or tape his mouth shut and stuff him in the closet. Before he could speak up and ask Jaehwan to get back to baking another batch of the pastries or whatever (he just wanted him back in the kitchen and away from Hakyeon), Hakyeon decided to speak up.

"Why?" the eldest asked, in a voice quiet enough that Hongbin wondered whether he'd said anything.

Jaehwan shrugged. "It makes sense, doesn't it?" he rationalized. "Your cousin now knows that you and his fiancee have been meeting up privately, and doesn't want her to change her mind, so he probably told her not to come here anymore." He nodded. "Yeah, that seems like it could happen."

"Could you please go inside and see to the new batch of cakes?" Hongbin asked through his teeth, practically begging Jaehwan to leave before he worsened the situation. He seriously could not fathom how someone older than him was so freaking oblivious to the effect his words had.

Hakyeon then sighed, leaving the counter and removing his apron, dropping it on the counter. "I'm not feeling well," he told Jaehwan. "I'm taking an early day today. You're in charge."

Saying so, the eldest left, and the two remaining could only hear the back door shutting over the ruckus in the cafe.

Hongbin turned to Jaehwan. "What did you have to say all those for?" he accused.

Jaehwan looked mortified. "What did I do?"

"Don't play dumb!" Hongbin scolded. "You know exactly what you did, and exactly what you were saying."

"I was right thought, wasn't I?" Jaehwan shrugged.

Hongbin tightened his jaw. "Look," he said, his voice darkening. "I don't know who you think you are, but I've known Hakyeon-hyung for a long time, and I can say that he doesn't deserve any of this," he said. "If a single hair on his head gets hurt-"

"-You won't be able to do a thing about it," Jaehwan cut him off, his tone changing. The sudden shift in his voice sent shivers down Hongbin's spine, not to mention the look in his eyes. To see someone who was usually very bright and happy go lucky take a 180 degree shift was nothing but unnerving.

"No matter what you feel about me, you can't do a thing, can you?" Jaehwan continued, taunting Hongbin. "Because you know the reason you were given a second chance at having a life, and you will play your part perfectly."

Hongbin clenched his jaw, trying not to speak about, despite the feeling in his heart. Jaehwan stepped closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, leaning in next to his ear. "Of course, no one wants to go back to being tied up to that rock again, do they, Prometheus?"

Hongbin's hands balled into fists at his side, yet he forced his mouth shut. He contended himself with staring angrily at the jar of mints by the cash machine.

"I think you've also had enough for today," Jaehwan told him, giving his shoulder a pat, a rather hard pat. "You can go home, I'll call in Sanghyuk to help."

He then walked to the kitchen, leaving Hongbin out by himself.

She wasn't going to visit anymore.

This thought kept floating around in Hakyeon's head, taking up a bigger and bigger part of it. Even as he tried to keep the thoughts away by shoving his earphones in and going for a run, they were still louder than the music that was loud enough to be unhealthy for his ears.

He eventually gave up, removing his earphones and shoving them back in his pocket. He instead sought refuge with sitting on a park bench and collecting his thoughts, or at least trying to.

Why would she stop coming to his cafe just because she was marrying Taekwoon?

Taekwoon wasn't the kind of guy to stop his girlfriend or wife from meeting other people, even if they were guys, he just wasn't the type. And he especially wouldn't stop a meeting with his cousin, he'd actually see it as a good thing, since they were going to be family. 

So why?

Could it be she didn't trust herself around other guys?

No, that couldn't be it, considering how happily she met up with both of them before the announcement.

What changed?

Did she stop coming to see him because he confessed?

Yeah, that could be it. 

He probably just needed to give her time to get over it.

Now that he thought about it, he should just give her a quick call and at least apologize for taking her by surprise and telling her that they should be close now that they would become family in a few short months.

Pulling out his phone, he dialed her number, his leg unintentionally shaking as he anticipated hearing her voice again.

She picked up on the third ring. "Ah, Hakyeon?"

The happiness in him couldn't have been measured. "Uh, Hi," he stammered. "I just wanted to say, congrats on the match, again. My cousin is a really great guy, I should know, I've known him for literally twenty seven years-"

"Hakyeon," she quickly said, making him pause mid-sentence.

"Yeah?"

"Hakyeon-ah, I'm really glad you're a friend, and really glad for all the support you've given me on my story. But...I'm afraid our relationship stops here."

"What?" he asked, not really understanding.

"It's just...I'm getting married now, and I'll have other responsibilities too. I need to prioritize."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry, Hakyeon, but I'm going to have to ask you to look at me as your cousin's fiancee from now on."

He shrugged. "I'm alright with that," he admitted. "As long as we can still be friends, right?"

"Uh, not really," she said, her voice sounding really apologetic. "Hakyeon...I don't know how to explain this...but I need to distance myself from you. I'm also going to have to ask you to not call me on this number again."

Before he could ask what she meant, she cut the call and Hakyeon was left with the ringing sound of a cut call in his ears.

He let his hand drop with the phone still tightly clutched between his fingers, bending over as the familiar feeling overtook him.

He chuckled darkly. "What a stupid excuse."

Taekwoon was very happy with himself for finishing his work before time.

Stretching the stiffness out of his joints, he pushed his chair back and got up, cleaning up his desk. It wasn't often that he finished early, even if it was an hour early, and he was going to take full advantage of it.

The first thing he did was call Hakyeon.

"Hey," he said when the other picked up. "I finished up early today. I wanted to know if you could bring over some good coffee and pastries? It's been a while since we've hung out, and I do want to try your new creations."

"That sounds good," Hakyeon said on the other side. For some reason, he sounded tired. "But I'm afraid I can't, not today."

"Why not?" Taekwoon wondered. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Hakyeon quickly denied it. "I just wanted to give you and your fiancee some time together without me in the picture."

Before Taekwoon could say anything else, Hakyeon hung up the phone. Taekwoon stared at the phone in his hand, scrunching his eyebrows. 

"What's up with him today?"