Today was a special day.

Countless Happy Birthdays were heard throughout the building as Xiumin walked to get to the front door.

Men pulled smiles on their faces, hoping to leave a good impression on their boss.

Women were shamelessly trying to flirt with him as he walked pass, using his birthday as an excuse to walk up to him. Wishing that he would notice them and allow them to stand by his side.

But none of that mattered.

Because the only plan he had today was visit the cafe. It wasn’t that the cafe was special or anything, actually it wasn’t even that good. It was because she was there. He hadn’t even known her for that long. It was only just a week ago that he actually spoke to her. Yet he couldn’t wait to see her today.

“Hyung, where are you? We wanted to all get together to celebrate your birthday.”

Reading the text Minseok almost felt bad. Almost. Everyone really busy today, everyday. Being a CEO was time consuming. Papers needed to be checked, meetings to attend. All of them being free for lunch was even a rare occasion. Still, he continued across the street, his eyes only on the cafe that stood on the other side of the road.

Taking in a deep breath, Minseok gently pushed the door open, disturbing the two little bells hanging on the other side by a couple red strings. He looked around, noticing a girl in the corner and a guy by the window. Needless to say, business wasn’t going exactly well. Who could blame it though when the coffee tasted watered down and the pastries tended to be dry and crumbly. Not to mention there was a Starbucks just a few buildings down.

A girl came walking out from the back, her hair pulled into a low side ponytail. Fingers fiddling near her ear. She wasn’t particularly paying attention to who just walked through the door. Just mindlessly trailing towards the counter because she heard the bells ringing. Notifying her a customer had stepped into the store.

Minseok noticed a couple wavy strands framing her face. It had looked effortless, unintentional, but he knew better. He knew she had spent way to much time just simple pulling a couple strands out. Too little, too much, that piece of hair was too long, that… looks weird. He could practically read the thoughts running through her little head.

A little smile appeared on his face as he walked up to her.

“A special latte please.”

Upon hearing those words she knew exactly who stood in front of her. She lifted her head up instantly, meeting his piercing gaze. It was as if he was memorizing her features, unsure of when he’ll get to see her again.

“Minseok oppa! Happy birthday~ Are you taking a break now?” The girl cheerfully inquired while quickly getting started on his order. She knew he was very busy as a CEO, in fact, most of the time it wasn’t even him that got his own order, it was his P.A.

“Mmm lunch break.” Minseok answered simply.

“Have you decided if you wanted to work elsewhere? Your skills are too good to be contained in this small place you know.” He knew business would close just as soon as it had opened. And he didn’t want her to be jobless when the owners announced the news suddenly.

“I know, but customers are too high maintenance in other cafes. You know how it is, they always complain at the littlest things. At least here it’s peaceful and quiet.”

It was true. Thinking back Minseok had been one of those people. Complaining about how the coffee wasn’t good and didn’t suit his taste.

The coffee was bad. Even so, every single time he found himself never saying it to her face like he did to other baristas. He just complained quietly in his office, coming back to the same bland coffee shop again and again to see her face. He didn’t know why he didn’t say it to her face then and there. In fact he wasn’t sure as to why he kept coming back. His heart beat rapidly at the mere thought of her. Her scent was intoxicating to him, given off a fresh orange, cinnamon, vanilla scent. Combining it with the smell of coffee was his euphoria.

As work started getting busy again he found himself sending his P.A. over to fetch his coffee instead. It was strange. He wasn’t even seeing her directly so what was the point in getting the horrible coffee there? As long as it was made by her it didn’t matter how bad it was. He would still only drink her’s. 

Finally finding the time to go himself again, he was met with a question.

“Do you really like the coffee here?” She had asked him so innocently, as if curious that there was someone who liked their coffee like this.

No. Yes. No. Yes. No. Minseok’s brain had been racing back and forth, trying to figure out what the right answer was. His mouth opening and closing just a tiny bit every time his thoughts changed.

Chuckling, she got started on a latte, this time making it the way she like it.

“You don’t, do you?” Placing the cup in front of him, she quietly encouraged him to try it.

Scared, Minseok slowly brought the cup to his lips. How was he going to fake that he liked it? He would do anything to prevent her from frowning. Luckily he didn’t have to fake it. It was good. No. To say that was an understatement. This was how he liked his coffee. She had gotten it perfectly. But how? The shock was evident on his face.

“Xiumin-ssi?”

Hearing her voice pulled him back to reality. Lifting his head up way to fast, he started spouting words like a fountain, “This. I like. I mean… Good. It’s good. No it’s not. Wait I didn’t mean that!”

At this point she couldn’t help but laugh at him tripping over his own words. And at that moment the answer came to him. He now knew why he kept coming back to this cafe. To her. It was because she was his mate. He was just to oblivious to all the signs until now. Her laughter sounded like bells ringing, the sun was shining through the windows and giving her the perfect soft glow. She looked angelic.

“I like it now.”

“I see, so you didn’t like it before?”

“Not particularly, if I must say…” Once again he found himself treading very carefully with his words. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but he didn’t want to lie to her either.

“Most people don’t. The owners have a specific way they want their coffee to be made, makes them unique from other competitors they say. Although I’m sure you’ve noticed, uniqueness doesn’t equal business.” She explained

She was right. And he knew it well. Being the CEO of his company, he understood that just because you make something different doesn’t mean people will like it.

“Special latte.”

“Huh?” Now he was confused.

“Whenever you order, just order a special latte, I’ll know it’s you and make it the way I personally like it.”

He felt himself smiling once again. It was happening much more often ever since she came into his life.

“Oppa, call me oppa. You don’t seem that much younger than me, it’s only appropriate right?”

“Even if that’s the case, we aren’t that close to…” 

“Then lets become close. I may be really busy but let’s slowly get to know each other.”

The wait was killing him. He could see her eyes wavering, considering what he had just said. He didn’t even know what came over him. Oppa? When was the last time someone called him that. He took it back, there were a couple women is his building that were brave enough to fling themselves at him everyday screeching ‘oppa’. When was the last time he wanted to be called oppa was the true question.

“Alright… Xiumin o-oppa”

“Minseok.”

“Minseok?”

He wanted to run. Oppa? Minseok? Did he like her this much without realizing it? Sure she was his mate, but just how fast had he fallen for her in the short amount of time. Was this even normal? To want her to call him by those two names? Only his friends and family were allowed to call him Minseok. And yet here he was giving permission to the girl in front of him. This was all to new.

“It’s my real name, Xiumin feels like business for me.”

Who was she to argue, she couldn’t use his more business name with the words oppa following behind it. It would be strange.

“Then, Minseok oppa, here’s to the start of a new friendship?” She asked hesitantly.

“Yeah…” He couldn’t believe how much he liked those words coming from her. Persuading her to call him ‘Minseok oppa’ was totally worth it. Except now he was getting more greedy. He didn’t just want a friendship, he wanted to be an item. But that could wait, this would be enough for now. He couldn’t scare her away by moving to fast. So he made a vow to himself, to take things slowly. Only he was worried if he could actually keep that promise, with the way she was smiling at him now, he could fall on his knees and give the world to her if she asked.

Setting the coffee in front of him, she brought him back from his memories.

“Are you free tonight?” Hoping she would say yes because he had already made reservations that very same day they agreed to be friends. 

“I’m free, is there something going on?”

“I just wanted to take you out to dinner, is 8 okay?”

Sure the two had gotten close within that previous week, but was it enough to go out to dinner together? Do friends even go out to dinner alone in the first place?

“Please? As a celebration for my birthday.” Minseok was never really the one to really care about his birthday, but he knew. He knew she’d be a little hesitant in accepting his offer, so what better excuse than his own birthday. It could be donuts day and he probably would’ve still used it as an excuse to take her out on a date.

“Okay, 8 it is then.” And with those words his heart started beating uncontrollably, due to the excitement, yes, but also from all the nervous thoughts that kept popping out of nowhere. He was simply praying he won’t mess up their first date.

A/N:

Soo tbh this was just a quick story the appeared suddenly for Minseok's birthday. I wrote it in 2 hours and haven't edited it yet so forgive me if there are any mistakes. That being said I don't think I did a horrible job... hopefully. And because this was kinda sudden, I'm not sure if I want to keep it a one shot or turn it into a short story. Let me know how you feel about it~