Signs of a coming rainstorm during midsummer were relatively distinct.

Shadowy clouds would shroud a formerly blue sky.

The air begins to feel humid.

Even the smell of rain is unmistakable.

While outdoors, you would feel light drops of a water fall and delicately splash on your skin.

The sound would come eventually. Starting off as quiet as trickles and splashes, later developing into a loud rhythm resembling white noise.

Yesung liked rain.

It was probably by reason of his superstitious beliefs. He was certain that rain had the ability to wash away all distress and negativity. It oddly did have that impact on him.

Recently it had been pouring down ceaselessly for weeks.

“Excuse me, sir?”

Yesung flinched at the sudden voice directed at him. He realised he had been lost in thought for a while now. Turning towards the direction of the voice, he walked towards the table where a woman was waiting patiently. He hastily grabbed a notepad and pen from his front pocket.

“S-Sorry… uh… what would it be?” When he looked at the customer, she gave him a small smile. He had to smile back as courteousness was obligatory in his line of work.

“A large café mocha with a choc pastry bun to go, thank you.”

He quickly scrawled the order down before proceeding.

“Yep, Anything else?”

Yesung wasn’t sure as to whether she heard him or not, because she immediately looked down at her hands instead of answering the simple question.

“Is there something else you would like to order…?”

“Hm… I’m not so sure if it’s something you can just order right off the bat,” she gave him a slight wink, making him avert his eyes in wariness.

“I-I’m not quite sure what you’re getting at,” he frowned, a bit confused at the statement.

“Well, I was just wondering what time you would get off work today.”

Yesung’s eyes widened at the implication behind those words.

The woman was obviously flirting with him and he had absolutely no knowledge on how to respond to it. Honestly speaking, he just wanted to take her order and leave, but in order to do so; he needed to think. An excuse that would hint that he didn’t want to be involved.

He bit his bottom lip nervously, and the words just spilled out.

“U-Uh, I’m not interested in you,” Determined to keep a composed stature, he bowed in apology. He wasn’t pleased with himself after finishing unsteadily, and a tiny pang of guilt struck him when she looked up at him.

Hurt was clearly seen in her expression.

“I-I… ok then, I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

He lowered his head and cursed at himself inwardly before resuming towards the direction of the register.

His co-worker was waiting behind the counter with a smile as he approached him in a hurry.

“Why’d you let her down?”

Yesung stared at him and blinked, before the words were finally digested.

Why did he reject her? She wasn’t necessarily unappealing, by his standards. He thought it was just because he wasn’t ready to be in a relationship just yet, but that was a poor excuse.

“Not my type.”

“Tsk… she seemed to be really interested in you for a while now,” he began with a sigh. “She even asked me a couple of questions about you. Besides she’s not too sore on the eyes, either.” The younger began to nudge him lightly with a smirk on his lips.

“Donghae-ah, let’s just drop the issue,” he pleaded.

Donghae just shrugged it off and took the notes from Yesung before turning and walking to get the order ready.

Before he moved any further, he felt a pair of hands grab him by the shoulders, bringing his movements to a halt. When he turned around Yesung was looking at him with a nervous smile.

“Can you do me favour?”

“Depends on what this favour is, exactly.”

“I’m being serious.”

“Go on…” Donghae encouraged.

“Can you serve that table for me? I don’t really want to face… her,” he shook his head to the side and directed his eyes over to the previously waited customer.

Donghae nodded in affirmation and patted Yesung’s shoulder in assurance. He silently thanked him in return for understanding, and watched as his colleague began to prep himself behind the coffee maker.

The dark-haired male glanced at a clock on a wall. It was fairly early in the morning. Around 8:00AM. Just about the time where a few would come over to grab a bite to eat before work comes around. The place was normally packed with regulars at this time round, but he noticed that most of them weren’t present. With the cold weather and all, he expected the place to be flooded with people.

It seemed so empty.

From what he could see, the woman had left with her order in hand. Not another word or glance back at him.

Donghae scowled after she snatched the food from his hands rudely and walked off. He turned to face Yesung from across the table and mouthed a ‘You can do better’.

The older male had to stifle a laugh.

When his eyes trailed over to the customer walking out of the building, his line of vision stopped at a figure standing outside the shop in the midst of pouring rain. Just fixed on a spot outside the protective canopy with no umbrella or raincoat equipped either.

When he squinted, he also noted that the person was soaked from head to toe. Just how long had he been standing in the rain?

Out of consciousness, he headed for the front door, grabbing an umbrella in the process before stepping outside.

What Yesung didn’t anticipate, was the rain to be as heavy as it was now. The drumming of rain against the awning was deafening. In this weather, the lack of customers wasn’t really a wonder anymore.

The rain was obscuring his vision and he lost sight of his objective.

He searched the area where the person was positioned previously, but his brows only furrowed when he realised the person disappeared. He was irritated to say the least.

“Excuse me…” A petite voice abruptly came up from behind him.

He was taken aback when he turned around to come face to face with a very drenched male. He was shivering from the cold; lips tinted a purplish colour, but he somehow managed to keep a bright smile up. Was this the person from before?

Judging from outward appearance, he seemed very feminine. The features on his face that stood out the most were his defined cheek bones and the most dazzling eyes he had ever seen.

“Good morning um... Yesung-shii, you wouldn’t have happened to see a-”

“How you do know my name?” He cut in, growing suspicious.

“Oh…um...” The man pointed to Yesung’s blouse where a name tag was pinned securely to his right pocket.

“E-Eh? Oh… sorry, I forgot about that,” he laughed awkwardly.

What a way to greet a stranger.

“It happens,” the man let out a suppressed giggle. “Do you work here?”

“Part-time.”

“It’s nice,” he eyed the structure with a pleased smile. “I would buy, but as you can see, I’m a bit pre-occupied.”

“Why are you out here? You’re dripping wet and shivering. You’ll catch a cold if stay out here any longer.”

“I’m fine... don’t worry,” he ensured.

“Not from what I can see,” Yesung replied with a raised brow.

“Oh! I was hoping you would help me find something.”

The taller male pinched the bridge of his nose to emphasize his frustration. “If you bring yourself inside, I might consider helping you.”

“I’m f-fine, r-really,” he slapped a hand over his mouth to stop his teeth from chattering excessively.

Yesung wasn’t the least bit convinced.

He supposed that his man was either too modest or too stubborn for words.

Without warning, he grabbed the other’s free wrist harshly and dragged him through the front door, pressing a finger to his lips when the smaller man made an effort to protest.

“Please take a seat, I’ll be with you shortly,” Yesung suddenly spoke in an unnaturally friendly tone, almost as if nothing had occurred. The puzzled male was too surprised to form a proper retort.

Yesung dashed towards the counter in a hurry.

“Donghae! We have a waiting customer. Large cappuccino. Make sure it’s hot.”

He ran past his bewildered co-worker and headed towards the back in search for a jacket… a coat… anything. When he did finally find the jacket he wore previously today, he tossed it over his shoulder and turned around, walking back as casually as possible.

He grabbed the ready-made coffee on the way with one hand, and took a couple of napkins in the other.

When the man sitting at the same table spotted Yesung coming his way with his hands full, he instinctively got up from his seat to help him.

“Stop,” he demanded. “This is my job. Servicing you, not the other way around.”

“But you’ve helped me enough,” he smiled gently while taking the beverage from his hands. “You’ve earned my gratitude. Now it’s my turn to make it up to you.”

Yesung was surprised. The man did make a good argument, but regulations were regulations.

"Please, you should just relax," he said, refusing to accept his offer of kindness.

"Didn't you just hear what I said? Allow me," he said while taking the napkins.

Yesung sighed in defeat.

“Thanks.”

When his hands were free, he took the opportunity to wrap the jacket he brought around the other’s shoulders carefully.

“H-huh?” the man was confused when unfamiliar weight fell on his shoulders. “Wha-”

“You’re welcome,” Yesung smiled.

It was his first genuinely kind smile ever since their meeting.

The man turned to face him and muttered a reply.

“T-Thank you.”

When their eyes met, Yesung could’ve sworn he felt his heart skip a beat. His eyes really were breathtaking. Those lips too. When he finally saw them back to their original colour, he noticed how soft and moist they looked.

He unconsciously began to move his face closer to the other’s. The warmth of the other's breath was present on his own skin, but as soon as realised what he was doing, he stopped in his tracks and looked away from him with flushed cheeks. He cleared his throat, hoping that the young man didn’t realise what his intentions were just then.

“I-I never did catch your name,” Yesung decided to start a conversation to avoid the uncomfortable spot he put himself in.

“Ryeowook. Kim Ryeowook,” he flashed yet another bright smile at him, making him choke on his spit. “Hey, are you feeling alright?” He frowned in concern when Yesung began to have a coughing fit.

Ryeowook encouraged him to take a sip of the coffee he gave him. It did sooth his throat enough to stop the coughing, but the soreness was still there.

“I’m good… for now,” he forced a smile. “Ryeowook huh? Nice name.”

“You have a really unique name too. Ye… sung,” he smiled at the sound of it.

“Kim Jongwoon.”

“Who’s that?”

“Me.”

“I’m still confused…”

“Yesung is just a pen name. My real name is Kim Jongwoon.”

“Why would you need a pen name?” Ryeowook leaned forward, beginning to find the conversing very intriguing.

“U-Uh... its’ not something I can tell someone like you at the moment.”

“That’s ok, I can wait. Besides I like Yesung a lot better," he flashed his pearly whites again.

This man really did love to smile.

"This place is really nice," Ryeowook scanned his eyes around the interior of the building, very much impressed by the design.

“Always having a tendency to change the subject rapidly. You are one of a kind.”

“I’m flattered,” he finished. He looked at his watch and his eyes widened immediately. “Oh god… I have to go. I appreciate your time, really, but duty calls me.”

“What duty? You never told me what you were after in the first place.”

“It wouldn’t matter now anyway,” Ryeowook got up from his sitting position hurriedly and bowed. “Thank you for your hospitality.” Just as he was about to walk away, he was cut off.

“Kim Ryeowook.”

“Yes?”

“I’m expecting you to be back.”

“Don’t you miss me so soon, I’m not gone just yet,” he laughed when Yesung’s expression went from indifferent to stunned.

“Bye.”

He watched as Ryeowook waved him an empty farewell and run out of the café.

The coffee that was given to him was left untouched by him. Not one sip taken. Not one bit of physical evidence of his presence here.

“See you soon.”

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