Changmin really didn't usually make the effort of remembering customers' faces.

It wasn't that he was bad at faces – he just didn't feel like he had to or wanted to.

After all, he was there to make sandwiches, not friends.

But this tall, well-put together young man came to the Subway that Changmin worked at every single day for lunch, dressed always in a crisp shirt and dress pants that told him that he probably worked in one of the offices nearby. And then he'd stand there, chewing his finger and think about what he wanted before ordering the exact same thing every day – a simple order of a footlong tuna sub on white bread, toasted, with all the vegetables and mayo.

The first time Changmin said anything besides "Welcome to Subway, what would you like?" was a really, really busy lunch hour, since there was an event going on that day.

The man had come into the restaurant and was standing behind the glass again with his head tilted to the side, evidently trying to decide what he wanted, and Changmin had said, just to speed things along, "We're having a tuna sub discount event today. I'd recommend that just you get the same thing you always get."

 Changmin didn't know how he would respond, but his face bloomed the biggest, white magnolia smile and he said, "Oh, is that right? Please, I'll have that then!" in such an enthusiastic way with his big, dark eyes sparkling with stars that it made Changmin smile too.

Changmin gave him an extra large scoop of tuna that day.

 

 

Yunho didn't think the handsome, curly-haired young man who worked at Subway would ever say anything to him besides "Welcome to Subway, what would you like?" but to hear his voice say something else was so very, very nice that it made his trip to Subway to see the young part timer's face every day worth it.

And so, the next day, as he stood the counter and the he heard the familiar, "Welcome to Subway, what would you like?" Yunho worked up the courage to ask, "Is there anything you'd recommend?"

The young part-timer smiled again, his eyes becoming mismatched, and he said gently, "Why don't you try the teriyaki chicken today? It's one of my favourites."

Yunho smiled too. "Okay!"

"And try it on the parmesan oregano bread."

"Please," said Yunho gratefully.

The man behind the counter started making the sandwich, then rang it for Yunho. Yunho winked in response to the usual, "Enjoy!" and then realizing what he just did, felt himself blushing a bit before saying his usual, "Thank you," and he rushed out of the restaurant with the sandwich in his arms.

 

 

And so, Changmin made a different sandwich for lunch every day for the young man with the crisp shirts.

One day, the customer paid with his credit card.

Changmin swiped the card for him and gave it back, but not before he looked at the name on the credit card.

Jung Yunho.

Changmin was going to remember that.

 

 

Changmin finished his shift gingerly, thinking about the exams that were coming up and how in the world he was going to be ready for them. He was just about to walk through the door after saying a "see you tomorrow" to his co-workers when he almost bumped into someone coming into the restaurant.

It was Jung Yunho.

"Excuse me," said Changmin, looking away.

"Oh, hey! Are you off for the night?" said Yunho kindly, and he said it in informal speech. And as soon as he heard it, Changmin felt a pang of annoyance rip through him.

"Yes," shot Changmin, glaring at Yunho. "But why are you speaking to me informally?"

As soon as he said it, Changmin regretted it. Yunho was a customer after all, and he hadn't been rude – in fact, it was the exact opposite. There was an awkward silence between them, and Changmin could feel himself turn red now. He was about to apologize when the customer spoke, flipping back to honorifics again.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm not sure why I did that. That was very rude. I'm really, really sorry."

Flustered, Changmin looked away again. "It's fine," muttered Changmin. He was about to push past Yunho out the door, when Yunho spoke again.

"I'm really sorry. It's just… the first time I've seen you in your own clothes and I guess you looked a bit younger out of uniform."

"It's fine," repeated Changmin awkwardly. "Please go on in. Enjoy."

Changmin practically ran away.

 

 

Yunho didn't visit the Subway the next day, or the day after, or the day after.

Changmin didn't know why he cared, but he found himself worried, and anxious. Maybe he wasn't coming back because Changmin offended him so much the last time they saw each other.

But on the fourth day, Jung Yunho walked in, and Changmin found himself smiling in relief.

"Nice to see you again," said Changmin.

Yunho looked surprised, perhaps since the greeting wasn't the usual "Welcome to Subway, what would you like?"

"You too," replied Yunho a bit awkwardly.

"I… guess you've been busy?" asked Changmin timidly, but as he said it, he wondered if he said the wrong thing – did that sound too business-like? Like he wanted Yunho to eat at the Subway every day to help with sales?

"Oh, yeah, a bit. I've been away on a trip for work."

"Ah," replied Changmin, and there was even more relief now – it wasn't that he stopped coming because he didn't like how Changmin treated him before.

Changmin made the sandwich for Yunho, and this time, he was so happy to see him that he gave him an extra-large handful of lettuce that day.

 

 

Yunho opened the paper wrapping from the sub, and there was so much lettuce on it today that almost a whole handful of it fell onto his desk as he ate. His co-worker, Hojun, glanced at him. "That's a lot of lettuce."

"Yeah," chuckled Yunho. He bit into the sub. It was as delicious as ever.

"You know that guy that works there? He's really cold."

Yunho looked up. "Huh? Who?"

"That tall guy with the curly brown hair who makes the subs every lunch hour."

"Huh…?" said Yunho, tilting his head and frowning just a bit. "He's not cold. He's really nice! He always recommends good subs and he always gives me lots of toppings!"

Hojun shook his head. "I don't think we're talking about the same person."

"Hm," said Yunho. He took another bite of his really, really delicious sub.

 

 

One day, Yunho went to the Subway for lunch with Hojun.

Seeing him, the young man with the deer-like eyes and cute ears behind the counter smiled and started to say, "Nice to –" then, for whatever reason, his expression stiffened and he said instead, "Welcome to Subway, what would you like?"

"Hmm, what do you think?" said Hojun. Yunho ripped his gaze away from the part-timer and looked up at the board, but before he even had the time to think, the part-timer said coldly, "Let me know when you're ready to order." Yunho stared as Changmin yelled out, "Next person please! Welcome to Subway, what would you like?"

On their way back to their office, Yunho mused, "I wonder what's wrong with him today. Maybe he's really tired."

"What are you talking about? He's like that every day!" said Hojun. Yunho didn't agree.

He didn't understand, because shouldn't he be happier for more business? Or did he not like it because it made him busier?

When he got back to his desk to eat his sandwich, he found that his sandwich was mostly bread with very scant toppings.

 

 

Yunho came back to the Subway a few times with a few different co-workers, and every time, Changmin found himself becoming inexplicably jealous each time. Changmin didn't even try to hide his discontent, and was as brisk about the interaction as he possibly could. He wasn't sure if Yunho even understood how he was feeling, since it always looked like Yunho was so clueless all the time, but it seemed like he realized that Changmin didn't like it at any rate, because he stopped doing it.

 

 

Changmin had about a week off from work one week. He was pretty happy about having time to study for his exams finally, but for some reason, he found himself wanting to go back to where his part-time workplace was. He circled around the area a few times, then he settled down at a café on the same street as his Subway. The café had a large window that he would be able to sit at and open up his laptop to study while having a good view of the street.

He sat at the same spot for hours and hours, and finally, Yunho walked by. Changmin's heart lifted when Yunho saw him too, and from the other side of the glass, smiled, waved, and came into the café himself.

"Wow, nice seeing you here! I thought you were off."

Changmin indicated his laptop awkwardly. "I'm just here to study for exams."

"Ah, you're in university. No wonder. You seemed really young."

"I'm not young," Changmin blurted out, becoming inexplicably irritated.

"Oh, is that right?" chuckled Yunho. "I'm sorry. How old are you?" asked Yunho, again, kindly, in honorifics, but somehow still as if you would be for a child.

"Twenty-four," replied Changmin annoyedly.

Yunho chuckled. "Good times."

Changmin stopped his urge to roll his eyes.

"Anyway, it's been so long since we knew each other, but I still don't know your name. May I ask what it is?"

"No," shot Changmin with a glare. "Goodbye."

Changmin turned back to his laptop, and out of the corner of his eye, watched Yunho chuckle and then go on his way.

 

 

The next time Changmin went back to work after his exams and Yunho was at the counter, picking his vegetables, his manager yelled, "Changmin, please help clean the tables after you're done with that order!"

Yunho laughed. "Your name is Changmin?"

For whatever reason, Changmin felt like he was losing again. "Which vegetable would you like?" Changmin repeated. "Lettuce? Tomato?"

At the counter, as Yunho was paying, he spoke again.

"You're not going to tell me your family name?"

"Shim," said Changmin simply. He held out the change for Yunho and pushed his sandwich towards him. "Enjoy."

Yunho took the sandwich with a smile, but not the coins.

Changmin dropped the coins into the tip jar.

 

 

That day began as it usually did, Changmin having changed into his uniform and put on his apron, and he was just starting to take to the counter to start making sandwiches, when his manager noticed him and called him over to one of the tables in the far corner.

"Changmin, we need to talk. Sit down, please."

He did.

The manager began seriously. "Changmin… I know the work can get very busy and I'm sure you get very tired, but…"

He was talking about a complaint that went in against Changmin to headquarters, saying that Changmin was rude to customers.

Changmin disagreed, because he didn't think he was rude, per se; he was business-like, to be sure, but this wasa business after all, and Changmin didn't have a reason to be there except to make sandwiches and be paid for it. Changmin guessed that the person who filed the complaint was that one woman who had been unhappy with Changmin's robotic, business-like tone and said, "Can't you be a bit more pleasant?"

Changmin had shot back, "I'm here to make your sandwich, ma'am. What would you like in your turkey club?"

The manager was going on about the complaint, how Changmin wasn't pleasant enough to the customers, and how this was supposed to be a service job, and part of his job is, even if he doesn't make his customers feel good, he should at least not make them feel bad, when the familiar face walked through the door.

He noticed Changmin, smiled, and walked into the store far enough that now, he was in earshot of Changmin and his manager's conversation. Changmin felt himself blush and become terribly, horribly embarrassed and made to stand.

"I'll keep that in mind. Sorry."

"No, Changmin, you don't understand," said his manager before Changmin could get up. "This complaint went into headquarters and it was escalated. We can't work with you anymore."

Changmin felt his fingers curl into his palms and hot blood rushing to his face.

Did Changmin just get fired?

In front of Yunho?

Changmin let himself process that for a short second, and then he nodded, trying to hide how embarrassed and upset he was.

"Okay. I'm sorry," muttered Changmin. He got up and had just turned towards the locker room again to get changed out of the uniform, but he felt someone grab his arm to stop him.

Changmin turned, and saw that it was Yunho.

"That's not a reason to fire an employee!" Yunho was shouting at the manager. "Are you serious? You're firing him over one complaint?"

Changmin pulled his arm out of Yunho's grip. "It's okay –"

"This is illegal! You can't fire him over something like this! Do you know how pleasant he actually is? Are you really going to ruin the future of a young university student who works hard for you every day?"

Changmin didn't think he could feel more embarrassed than he already was, but he was finding that he was. "Please, it's fine, just go, get out –"

Changmin almost literally pushed Yunho out of the store, and then he apologized to his manager again before heading to the locker room, and giving back his uniform.

Changmin had just gathered his things out of his locker and into his backpack and was about to leave the store, but he saw through the glass door that Yunho was waiting for him just outside of it. Changmin hesitated, but then pushed the door open and turned, away from the side that Yunho was standing. But Yunho didn't let him walk away from him.

"Changmin, this is wrong!" he said heatedly.

"Please stop," pleaded Changmin, trying to pull himself together. "It's fine."

"It's not fine! You can't let them do this! You have to report them! You're so nice, and the fact that they're doing this to you for that reason is –"

"I'm not nice!" exploded Changmin. "I'm only nice to you, okay? I'm not nice to everyone else! You're the only one I'm nice to, because – because I like you, okay?"

Yunho fell silent and froze.

Changmin snorted at Yunho's response. "I know. Now you think this is ridiculous too."

Changmin shook his head and turned away. A few steps away, Changmin felt a hand close around his wrist.

"Changmin."

He pulled his wrist out of Yunho's grip and started running.

 

 

Changmin made the most of his unemployment. He spent most of his time studying or working on his essays for school.

He didn't go back to that café with the big windows anymore. He focused on school.

At least he tried to.

He couldn't shake the guilt that he'd treated Yunho so poorly after all Yunho did was stand up for him. It was really because of how embarrassed and upset he was, but he still shouldn't have treated Yunho that way. That ate away at him.

A few weeks later, though, Changmin received a phone call from his former manager at Subway. Changmin really didn't want to pick up, but if he was calling, it probably had to do with his last paycheck. Changmin picked up reluctantly.

He really didn't expect to hear what he did.

"Would you like to work with us again?"

"W...What?"

"I'm so sorry for the way we dealt with the situation. It was wrong, the way we dealt with it. We'd really like to have you back."

"I mean, I… I haven't found another job yet, but – but why –"

His manager told a story about how there were multiple daily compliments about Changmin on the online message board on the Subway website, about how a part-timer named Shim Changmin was so very nice and how he makes the best Subway sandwiches ever, and since he left, they didn't feel like coming back to that Subway. Also, that man came to the restaurant every day demanding to see Changmin, and every day, left without buying anything because Changmin wasn't there, and it was becoming a bit ridiculous.

Changmin stifled a laugh.

"Okay. I'll go back to work," said Changmin.

"You can start again tomorrow," said the manager.

Changmin agreed.

 

 

On his first day back at work, Yunho came through the door. Upon seeing Changmin, a huge smile spread across his face.

"Changmin!"

"Hi," said Changmin, trying to hide a smile of his own but failing. "Nice… Nice to see you again."

Changmin recommended the prime rib sub this time.

As he paid, Yunho smiled. "When do you get off work today?"

"Uh – seven," said Changmin.

Yunho looked up at Changmin. "May I see you at seven?"

Changmin gave a small nod. He looked up into Yunho's eyes and held out his sandwich. "Enjoy."

 

 

Yunho watched Changmin walk through the restaurant, say goodbye to his co-workers, and then push the door open out of the store. He saw Yunho just out side of it, waiting for him, and he stopped.

"Hey," said Yunho with a smile.

"Hi." Changmin looked down at his feet. His high cheekbones blushed pink. Changmin looked a bit like a peach like this.

"So good to see you again."

Changmin nodded, and then spoke to his shoes.

"I just felt like… I should to apologize. I yelled at you that day when all you were doing was standing up for me. I… just couldn't stop thinking about it."

Yunho laughed.

"You couldn't stop thinking about me?" teased Yunho.

"Please stop," said Changmin with his head down, looking truly pained. "I'm really sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," said Yunho quietly. "I'm so glad I got to see you again, because I wanted to tell you that – that I didn't think it was ridiculous at all. I like you too."

Changmin looked up, looking surprised. "You – you do?" stuttered Changmin.

"Yeah," replied Yunho, feeling himself blush.

"I – I thought you – you didn't, because you always treated me like a little kid," said Changmin.

"Did I?" laughed Yunho. "I'm sorry. It must have been because I thought you were cute. But I'm sorry if it made you feel upset."

Changmin shook his head. "I… I'm not… not upset…"

Yunho laughed again and looked into Changmin's eyes.

"Changmin, do you want to go out on a date with me?" asked Yunho.

Changmin didn't know why he was struggling to keep tears from falling.

 

 

From then on, whenever Yunho came to the Subway, Changmin smiled at him and welcomed him with the usual, "Welcome to Subway, what would you like?" And when Yunho paid, Yunho always asked, "May I see you after work?" and Changmin would reply with, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm seeing someone."

And then he would wink.