The past few days have been uneventful.

There was a significant change in the temperature, but the wet weather hadn’t come to a halt just yet.

Yesung managed to find some time to work more hours at the café.

He claimed to want to work extra shifts for no particular reason; just the extra money, but his manager let it slide anyway, saying it could be arranged.

The only drawback was that these days, Yesung would constantly space out and stumble on his words while taking and making orders. He was usually very focused and dedicated to the job, even as a part-timer. People respected that, but nowadays he would just stare at the entrance door, almost as if he was expecting someone to walk through.

He was smiling more often too. A genuine, legitimate smile. It seemed so long since Yesung didn’t have such a reserved and negative attitude, that it left his work colleagues feeling wary and the slightest bit uncomfortable.

Yesung would never admit it, but he was expecting someone. Not someone very close to him like a relative or friend, but rather, an acquaintance. It was strange how one meeting with this person was enough to get Yesung to anticipate seeing him again as soon as possible.

“Yesung-hyung!” A yell resounded in the room, earning harsh glances from the people seated nearby.

The said person whipped his head towards the direction of the voice, where he saw a frantic Donghae waving and signalling for him to come over. When he saw that a group of people had their eyes focused on him and Donghae, he suddenly felt the need to hide bury his face in his hands and avoid his friend. Faint whispers were heard from the crowd as well as curious and frustrated glances. So he desperately mouthed a ‘No’ and crossed his arms over each other, gesturing an ‘X’ while making use of his bangs in an effort to hide his face from the distressed customers.

However, when the younger male began to wave a sealed envelope above his head while pointing towards him and back at the note trying to express that it was for him, Yesung was becoming curious. He walked towards him and stretched out a hand as he leaned forward to slip the note from Donghae’s fingers, suddenly getting nervous when he looked up at him uncertainly.

“I found it on one of the tables this morning,” Donghae explained. “Any idea who it’s from?”

The older merely shrugged in return, honestly having no clue on why someone would give him mail through his workplace rather than his home. He scanned the envelope, but the only thing that stood out on the surface was the neat handwriting marking ‘Yesung’. No specific address was shown to or from. That was proof enough that it was delivered manually, rather than through the post.

There was, however, no information or evidence on the sender.

“Hold on a sec,” Yesung tapped Donghae on the shoulder. “Did you see anyone walk in this morning that wasn’t a paying customer?”

“Uh… I think I saw a guy walk in and out. Not sure if he bought anything or not though,” Donghae began tapping his chin in thought. “He looked kinda lost if you ask me.”

“Any details on how he looks?”

“I don’t observe every single customer walking past those doors you know,” he stated as-a-matter-of-factly and crossing his arms. He looked around for a moment until he realised something. “Crap, there’s someone that needs their order,” Donghae began to run off, leaving Yesung alone.

He stopped, however, to turn back and toss something at him before tending to the customer.

“This came with the note.”

“Hey, wait-mmph!”

Yesung was cut off when something flew towards his face without warning.

It was a jacket. His jacket.

“…the hell…”

He was still puzzled, but he slashed the envelope open anyway, using a butter knife set up on the counter next to him. Once he got it open, he anxiously read the roughly written message scrawled with pen onto notebook paper.

How sophisticated.

Didn’t see you when I came so I dropped this off before I left.

His eyes then trailed down to the last bit of the note. After reading this, his baffled expression morphed into one of satisfaction, his lips twitching up into a smile when he read what was written on the last line.

- Ryeowook

The smile lingered on his lips for a while.

Yesung regretted not being able to make it that early in the morning to thank him. He wouldn’t have even minded if he kept the jacket. Ryeowook seemed like the type of person to value the people around him more than himself.

Yesung hadn’t realised that he was still staring at the note till he tripped over his own feet after walking into a table. He hoped that no-one noticed, but seeing that a group of girls were hunched over their meals giggling and pointing at him, it was harder to cope. He just smiled awkwardly while brushing himself off and walking off. He stared at his feet, too embarrassed to look up from the ground.

“Care to elaborate?”

Yesung looked up. Donghae was wiping down the tables, smiling at him with an expectant look.

“On what?”

“You know… the tripping over your own feet, the dorky smile, the spacing out, etc...” the brunette stopped his task to continue talking. “This is my first time seeing you like this.”

“H-huh? What do you mean?” Yesung averted his eyes back at his feet.

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know,” he teasingly started to poke the male. “It obviously has something to do with that note,” Donghae pointed to the object within the other’s grasp, trying to reach for it.

Yesung clutched it to his chest defensively. “What’s it to you?”

“Jeez… a little jumpy aren’t we?” the younger scoffed. “It’s my duty as your friend to know about your love life, too.”

Yesung’s composure fell when he heard the last couple of words slip out of the other’s mouth. “L-L-Love l-life?”

“Yeah, like it wasn’t already pretty damn obvious,” Donghae laughed. “Why else would you be acting so dreamy and giggly all of a sudden? And since when do you smile?”

“Donghae-ah!” Yesung buried his face in his hands.

Even after the elder yelled in protest, he continued to laugh. “Hyung,” his co-worker said in between laughs. “I was only teasing.”

“W-whatever…” he muttered out, his eyes travelling to the time on the wall. He thanked the gods that it was the end of his shift. “I’m leaving now, so can we drop the issue?” “But I was having fun,” Donghae whined.

“Please,” Yesung brought his hands together in a pleading manner.

Donghae sighed and waved him off anyway. “Whatever you say…”

Yesung waved back at him and walked off, relieved that Donghae didn’t push the matter further than necessary. When he realised he still had his work attire equipped, he slipped the article of clothing off above his head and stuffed it roughly into his shoulder bag, replacing his apron with the jacket in his hands. He could faintly hear a supressed snicker from him while stepping out, but decided to ignore it anyway.

When the raven-haired male opened the door slightly, the sound of cars manoeuvring across a wet road filled his ears, along with the light pitter patter of raindrops from the shop’s awning. The downpour had ceased temporarily, leaving the sky grey and the streets marked with puddles of water.

He opened the door about half way till a loud bump and a pained grunt sounded on the other side.

“What the… ”

Yesung stood there, confused for a moment, until a familiar groan resounded on the opposite side of the door.

“Urgh…”

When he looked through to check who had been injured, his heart stopped when he did, indeed, recognise him as none other than the docile man he had only met a few days ago.

The injured male pushed himself off the ground, struggling in the process of getting up.

“You know, a helping hand or an apology would be appreci-” his speech was cut short when a hand curled around his wrist and swiftly got him back up on his feet.

He brushed himself off and was about to thank his mysterious helper, but halted when got a good look up at his face.

“Yesung-shii…”

Ryeowook stared for a moment, before he brought a hand to his mouth and turned away from him.

“Pfft-” It was the faintest sound, but it was just loud enough for Yesung’s ears to pick up on. It was muffled by the hands covering his mouth and he could’ve sworn it was either sneezing or crying, but then again, what would he have found so depressing?

Yesung was beginning to feel uneasy when the other’s shoulders hunched over and trembled slightly, but all he did was stand there, unable to process what was going on.

“Are you alright?” he finally asked, a bit afraid of what the response would be.

Ryeowook turned around immediately, bearing the worst poker face possible. He was holding back a smile and looking as if he was about to burst out in excitement in any second.

“Ye-” his voice came out as a raspy whisper, sounding almost as if he had not had a single sip of water for days. He whacked his chest with the side of his fist and cleared his throat behind his hand. “Just fine.”

“Were you…” Yesung began, eyebrows furrowing. “Were you… laughing?”

The latter darted his eyes back and forth, then nodded shyly. “You might want to um…” he began to giggle, motioning his finger down to the taller male’s trousers, covering his eyes with the palm of his hand. “Zip up.”

“H-huh?” when Yesung looked down at where Ryeowook’s finger was aimed at.

His cheeks coloured when saw and realised what he was talking about, and his reaction was almost reflexive. He went on to covering his... lower region then pulling the zipper up as quickly as possible. The embarrassment was unbearable and made the seemingly normal atmosphere shift to more of an awkward aura. The taller of the two looked up to glance at the also flushed and giddy male, and noted that he was still unable to contain the remaining laughter he had left in him.

Yesung had even lost his ability to look directly at the other man.

“I’m… I-I’m really sorry,” Ryeowook finally collected enough of his left over sanity to break the silence and apologize to the flushed figure standing before him. “Don’t get mad please…”

Yesung looked up with an expression of discomfort. “Should I be mad or thanking you?” he asked with a frown in place on his features.

“Thanking me for what?” Ryeowook questioned, not having the slightest clue on what he had done to deserve appreciation.

“Thanks to you, now I wouldn’t be walking around with my pants undone,” He smiled for a bit, but covered his mouth after those words had spilled out. “W-Wait! T-That came out wrong.”

Ryeowook couldn’t help but laugh at the panicky side of Yesung. Something he had only witnessed today.

The taller man decided to change the topic. “Are you here to see me?”

“I’m came to check if you were here because-”

“-of the jacket?” Yesung interrupted.

The brunette nodded slowly. “I see you got it fine," he looked up at the other and smiled. "I’m on my way now-” Ryeowook was about to walk off till a firm grip on his wrist stopped him without warning.

“Wait.” Yesung said sternly, with a serious expression reading his features.

“Huh? Why?” he was beginning to worry, tugging a little to escape from the other’s tight grasp.

“Are you headed this way?” Yesung pointed up the path to his left.

“No… I’m going down that road.”

“I’ll walk with you,” he turned to walk down the path, ahead of the other male. He hadn’t even spared a glance back at him, continuing up the path until Ryeowook called out to him.

“Hold it!”

When Yesung turned his head back to the direction of the voice, the small man was seen hurriedly walking with an arm stretched out, motioning for him to slow down.

“My legs aren’t long like yours,” he began to jog slightly; slowing down and coming to a stop once he was side by side with Yesung. They resumed walking at the same pace.

“My legs aren’t long,” the other muttered, unconsciously looking down at his legs and then to Ryeowook’s.

“Comparatively, I mean,” he said.

“Oh…” Yesung muttered out. He looked elsewhere, as if the birds in the trees were more interesting than anything else. The exchange of words had ceased suddenly, leaving only the sound of cars zooming past and the faint conversation from another group of people across the road.

Ryeowook sighed at the lack of speech he was able to get out of him.

“You know, you don’t really seem like the quiet type,” he pointed out. “Are you uncomfortable around me?”

“No,” Yesung looked him directly in the eyes. “Why, are you?”

“Of course not, it’s just that…” He paused, chewing on his bottom lip. “I wish you weren’t always so… kept to yourself.”

The taller man shrugged in response. “Do you usually have a lot to say?”

“Nope,” he shook his head roughly, a smile still lingering on his lips. “Only around people I like.”

“People you like?” Yesung looked in Ryeowook’s direction when he nodded confidently. "Is there anyone in particular?"

"You."

Yesung stopped walking and stumbled over a gap in the sidewalk, only making the matter worse when innocent onlookers were caught in the midst of his accident. They would gasp then stare at him, and then he would mumble a barely audible apology and went on to bending down in polite bow.

The strangers would only walk off as if nothing went on, and the now red-faced male cursed his own clumsy feet for not cooperating with his brain.

“You okay?” Ryeowook’s voice was heard, but ­­­Yesung couldn’t find his voice or the courage to show his face. “Hey,” he was about to tap his shoulder with a finger cautiously, but flinched when Yesung turned around quickly. The taller man’s face was expressionless, apart from the slight smile which had vanished as quickly as it had surfaced.

“You…” he paused, pointing to himself.“Like me?”

“Yeah,” Ryeowook beamed. Yesung was surprised at his over-confident reply, making him contemplate whether or not the brunette had heard him right.

“Wh-Huh? What do you-”

“Aren’t we friends?”

Yesung tried his best to keeps himself composed once he had comprehended what the man had meant, and inwardly bashed himself for being so senseless. “I-I honestly don’t know...”

The small man crossed his arms. “There’s really no pleasing you, is there?”

“I just…” Yesung tried to think up a retort, but truthfully speaking, he agreed completely. “It’s hard to tell whether you’re a friend or just some person I know.”

“Why?” Ryeowook pouted disappointedly.

“We barely know each other…?”

Ryeowook furrowed his brows when he realised that this was only their second meeting and conversation. They basically only exchanged names in their previous chat, but he found it so easy to communicate with the other male. He still wanted to know him better.

“How old are you?”

“Err… Why?” Yesung hesitated.

“Just answer me, please.”

“Twenty-two.”

Ryeowook simply nodded with a fairly content expression and crossed arms.

“You’re three years my senior,” he brought his hands together and smiled. “How bout if I call you my ‘hyung’ from now on?”

Yesung stared for a bit, surprised and a bit amused at Ryeowook’s odd tactics to confirm the friendship between the two. “I… don’t mind.”

“Give me a sec,” was the brief response he gave before he cleared his throat and rehearsed in the sweetest voice he could muster. “Yesung-hyung~.”

That was Yesung’s queue to sputter rather unflatteringly from both surprise and embarrassment, making Ryeowook step back a little. “S-Sorry-” he managed to choke out.

This made a chuckle escape from the small man’s lips. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

“Wh-Huh?” Yesung stuttered. “I-I’m not flustered…” he hopelessly defended himself, unable to stop tripping over his own words.

“Really,” he crossed his arms. “Your cheeks say otherwise.” He began to poke at his cheeks playfully, laughing when the other flinched and flushed even more. Yesung merely kept his head bowed down, using his chilling hands to cool down the burning in his cheeks.

“Is this how you always treat your elder’s?” the dark-haired male asked softly, brushing his bangs out if the way, unable to regain his composure. “Calling them… c-cute, then poking their cheeks like a parent would to their kid?”

Ryeowook giggled. “Our isn’t that big,” he covered his lips with a closed fist to supress the upcoming laugh when the other raised a brow comically. “And I say that because it’s true.” He went on to face the other way with a spring in his step.

“Well I’m not cute,” Yesung retorted. “You are.” He fastened a hand over his mouth. The words had just come out before he could think.

Ryeowook turned around quickly. “H-Huh?” the brunette stared at Yesung briefly before darting his eyes away in confusion. “What did you sa-”

“Nothing,” he cut in. His face was tinted red from embarrassment. “I-It’s… nothing…”

Ryeowook coughed awkwardly, knowing full well what the other had said. He couldn’t help but smile, though. It was a compliment after all. He was about to speak, but was cut off when a cold substance had unexpectedly settled on the tip of his nose.

“Eh?” He stopped walking and brought a finger to where it landed, noticing that it was wet.

Yesung bumped into him lightly when he suddenly stopped. Ryeowook had his back turned to him, not having much of a reaction as he was expecting. “What’s wrong?”

Ryeowook still hadn’t turned around, but spoke anyway. “It’s raining.”

He looked up at the sky. It was getting a lot darker and cloudier, so he should’ve expected it to come down sooner or later. He was probably too focused on their conversation rather than what was going on around him. A cold gust of wind made him shiver and rub the rub the sides of his arms to keep warm. His jacket was doing no good in keeping him cosy.

The droplets soon turned into a light shower and the hair on the top of his head had started to become embedded with dewdrops. The problem was that the mix of both the water and wind on his face and hands were making his body shudder from the cold. It was surprising when he turned around to check on Yesung’s condition, only to taken by a firm grasp of the hand and pulled into a tight hold with an arm wrapping around his shoulders.

“I don’t have an umbrella today,” Yesung’s low voice startled Ryeowook, making him look to his left where the elder was standing there, smiling. “Sorry about that.” He patted the other’s back to show him that he should start walking faster, so he began to pace forward slowly till Ryeowook started to walk alongside him.

“I can live without one,” he said, lips curving up into an all too familiar crescent shaped smile. “So it’s no problem.”

Yesung’s eyes went to those lips again. He noticed that when he pursed them, his cheeks would puff up, almost like a reflexive reaction. He ran his tongue over his own, noticing how chapped they’ve become from leaving it agape while staring at the other.

“Are you sure you want to walk the whole way with me?”

Yesung looked up and blinked rapidly and shook his head from side to side to snap out the trance he had left himself in. he dropped his arm from the other's shoulders.

Ryeowook was looking at him, confused when he shook his head. “Is that a no?” his voice came out softly and Yesung saw a look of disappointment reading his features.

“What! N-No, No…” he said waving his hands his front of his face. “I want to walk the whole way, really.”

“…Ok,” Ryeowook suddenly felt a bit guilty for being so selfish for dragging someone he barely knows to his own set destination. “You… don’t have anything to attend to, do you?”

Yesung thought it over. He had a night shift at a shop quite far away in the opposite direction, but that wasn’t till six. He slipped his phone out from his right pocket to check the time.

5:07.

Damn… I'm gonna have to call a cab.

“Actually, I do, but there’s plenty of time,” he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

Ryeowook frowned and shivered slightly from the cold. “Are… are you sure? I-It’s about a forty minute walk from here,” he crossed his arms over his chest.

Yesung’s eyes widened for a split second when he heard the larger than expected number escape from the other’s lips. “F-Forty?”

“Yeah, the train station isn’t that close from here you know,” he giggled. “It’s fine if I go alone.”

“B-But…”

“I can take care of myself,” the younger patted his back, surprised at how wet the fabric had become. He almost forgot that it had been sprinkling non-stop. “I’m leaving, ok? It’s too cold and wet to be walking around like this.”

“W-Wait!” before he could move an inch, Yesung’s grip stopped him in his tracks. “Do you have a phone?”

“Uh-huh.”

He motioned his hands for him to hand him the device. Ryeowook hesitantly handed it over to him, with his hands already numb from the freezing weather. He watched as the black-haired man hastily grabbed the phone, punching in a few buttons here and there and smiling afterwards as he gave it back. “My contact details,” he said proudly. “Call me if you need me.”

“O-Ok…” the shivering male swiped the screen clean with his sleeve from the rain droplets as he took his phone back. “Bye hyung.”

Yesung finally waved back with a smile.

Hyung. He needed to get used that.

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A/N: How long has it been since I last updated? ;A;

As soon as school starts I get side-tracked cos of homework, assignments, exams and such, but i won't leave my devoted readers hanging forever.

I love you guys <3

[btw, could you tell me whether or not the plot is moving too slow and whatnot]