Jongin had been pining for a guy he'd only seen once as they were walking to class one day and they'd never even spoken but he swore they were a destined match. The guy was on the shorter side with large eyes and a pair of heart shaped lips. He stared at Jongdae as if he could see into his soul, when his gaze shifted to Jongin his eyes widened before he blushed and looked away. Jongdae turned to say something to Jongin about the odd behavior and asked if he knew the guy, only to find his friend seemingly awestruck. Neither had been watching where they were walking and collided with their friend Chanyeol, who'd been walking backwards so he could more easily gaze into his boyfriend's eyes as they talked. The ruckus made them lose sight of the stranger and receive a scolding from a passing teacher. That was the first and last time they'd seen the stranger. Maybe Jongin was finally moving on, Jongdae thought to himself.

The thought of moving on had been plaguing Jongdae a lot recently, too. After his breakup with Minseok they promised to stay friends but whenever they'd run into each other the awkwardness was a very real issue. Especially if Luhan was with Minseok as he so often was. Jongdae respected that when Min met Luhan there was a strong and immediate connection and Minseok had been honest with Jongdae that he'd met his soulmate. It did little to ease the pain or cure the hole in his lonely heart but running into 'mall guy’ had stirred a powerful feeling, like nothing he'd felt with Minseok, one which Jongdae had hoped to pursue but now Jongin inadvertently stood between him and his possible destined mate. He just couldn't catch a break. 

The time flew by for Junmyeon. Before he knew it, it was time to head back to his dorm room and prepare for his coffee date with Silverlight or Eunkwang, Junmyeon corrected himself since they exchanged their real names and phone numbers after chatting online. The thought of breaking out the skinny jeans briefly crossed his mind only to be quickly dismissed again. Breathing is a good thing and since they'd be sitting for their date he didn't think passing out would be a great first impression. Party pants it would be then and maybe he could sneak out in his cute cat sweater too if Sehun wasn't around.

So busy with his planning was he that he didn't notice the cute boy sleeping in the nonfiction section or his friend with the sad expression watching him as he (danced) walked out of the library.

Junmyeon arrived at the coffee shop extra early so he could be there before Eunkwang got there, only to see the other man seated by the window sipping what looked to be a Cafe Americano. 

The warm smile that graced Eunkwang’s face when he glanced up from his coffee may have made Junmyeon's heart skip a few beats. He was even more attractive in person than his pictures made him out to be. 

“Hello! Junmyeon?” Eunkwang greeted him as he rose from his chair and extended his hand. 

A feeling of familiarity swept through Junmyeon as the other man's hand wrapped around his own. Yup, this was going to be the start of something special, he thought to himself.

They chatted together comfortably about subjects ranging from their childhood to their dreams for the future, not noticing the passage of time until a shadow fell across their table. 

“Sehun? Did you need something?” Junmyeon asked, secretly hoping the answer would be ‘no’ and his roommate would let him get back to his date.

“I am having a hard time choosing which snack I should buy,” Sehun replied with a hint of a whine in his voice. “I really want the triple chocolate cake but I'm sure Yixing would prefer the carrot cake and I only have enough money to buy one slice. What should I do?” 

“Just get both.” Junmyeon said as he handed his credit card to Sehun. “I'll catch up with you back at the dorm. 'Kay? Bye bye!”

“Sorry about that. What were you saying about enjoying travel?” Junmyeon asked, hoping to recapture the mood.

“Eunkwang hyung! Peniel won't talk to me! What should I do?!?!” Was heard before the tall boy stopped at their table, completely ignoring Junmyeon​'s presence and focusing solely on Eunkwang.

“Sungjae, can’t this wait until later? I'm kinda on a date right now.” Eunkwang asked patiently.

“Nooooo! I want to ask him to the big party at Doojoon’s house before anyone else can ask him! I know he’s hanging out with Amber a lot and I'm sure he'll go with her if she asks. What should I do????” Sungjae asked with a pronounced pout.

“Fine, I'll call him but you had better be ready to do the talking and apologize for whatever you did to upset him.” Eunkwang sighed as he silently looked to Junmyeon for his forgiveness for the interruption while fishing his phone out of his pocket. When Junmyeon nodded back with a smile Eunkwang pressed the call button. 

“Hello Peniel-ah! I know you are very busy but do you have a moment to talk to someone?” Eunkwang said as soon as the call connected, shooting Junmyeon a bright smile.

“If it's Sungjae, not unless he's ready to apologize for saying cats are the superior pets over dogs!” Peniel’s voice could be plainly heard saying.

Sungjae danced impatiently from one foot to the other while wildly gesturing for Eunkwang to hand him the phone. 

Eunkwang handed over the device and before he could say a word Sungjae had wandered off with his phone. “I'm probably going to never see that phone again.” He laughed. In response to Junmyeon's quizzical look he explained. “He sometimes 'forgets’ to return what he borrows. But anyway, where were we?” 

Before Junmyeon could reply another shadow fell across their table. 

“Junmyeon! Thank goodness I found you! I need to buy Baekhyun's birthday present. Can I have your credit card?” Chanyeol asked without properly greeting either occupant at the table. 

“Isn't Baekhyun's birthday in May?” Junmyeon asked, automatically reaching for his wallet until he remembered he'd already given his card to Sehun. 

“Yes, but I can't wait until the last minute to find the perfect gift can I?” Chanyeol asked as if his reasoning made perfect sense.

“No I suppose not but Sehun has my card. He was here a short while ago if you're​ quick you should be able to catch him.” Junmyeon offers to hurry his friend along. 

“Right. Thanks!” Chanyeol called over his shoulder as he disappeared as fast as he'd arrived.

“I can commiserate with you. I'm always the one that my friends go to when they need something too.” Eunkwang chuckled. 

Junmyeon began to say how amazing he thought the other man was being, when a boisterous group of young men entered the coffee shop. The noise drew the attention of most of the patrons of the cafe including Eunkwang’s. Seeing the smile disappear from his date’s face was enough to make Junmyeon turn to see what was happening. He didn't see anything disturbing, just four handsome guys laughing and generally horsing around. 

Eunkwang looked like he wanted to disappear when the group spotted him and waved before strolling over to the table he and Junmyeon were seated at. 

“Hey Eunkwang! Who's your friend?” One of the boys asked. Three of the newcomers stared curiously at Junmyeon as they waited for an answer. 

“Junmyeon, this is Hyunsik and his boyfriend Ilhoon, Changsub and um… Minhyuk.” Eunkwang performed the introduction reluctantly. 

The boy introduced as Hyunsik was rather intimidating until he smiled and his eyes disappeared into crescents of happiness. His boyfriend on the other hand, while not as muscular, was more daunting just because he stared without smiling while assessing Junmyeon. The boy introduced as Changsub immediately offered his hand to Junmyeon to shake while his other arm stayed wrapped around the shoulders of Minhyuk, who still couldn't quite meet Junmyeon’s gaze. 

Hoping Eunkwang could clear up the mystery, Junmyeon noticed that his date’s eyes were glaring holes in the hand Changsub had casually draped on Minhyuk’s shoulder. Minhyuk’s slipping out from his friend’s grasp didn't seem to ease the tension between the two boys.

“We were just saying Min should buy our coffee since he’s the oldest.” Changsub explained, his eyes dancing with joy. 

Watching the expressions that crossed before quickly disappearing into a more neutral one, both Eunkwang and Minhyuk's faces told enough of the story for Junmyeon. He’d seen that look before. He’d even had that look before. They liked each other but neither had gathered up the courage to make the first move. Probably with the excuse of “Not wanting to ruin their friendship”. Junmyeon also realized it would be in his best interest to step back and let them work things out before he jumped into the mix and ended up with a broken heart.

“Why don’t I pay and you guys can sit here. I just remembered I need to be somewhere anyway.” Junmyeon offered, pulling out his back up credit card, which his friends weren’t aware of his having. 

A chorus of “Thanks” and “Are you sure?” was heard from three of the boys but Minhyuk and Eunkwang stared at Junmyeon in shock.

While Minhyuk’s gaze held a mixture of gratitude and something that may have been determination, Eunkwang’s was an odd combination of sadness and hope. 

“I’ll text you later, okay?” Junmyeon offered with a slightly wobbly smile as he made his way to the counter to pay so he could make as hasty as possible escape.  Risking a quick glance back at the table, he saw Minhyuk had pulled a chair up to sit next to Eunkwang. Their hands joined and Minhyuk was whispering in Eunkwang’s ear as the latter blushed and nodded. It would seem as if Minhyuk decided it was time to make his move. Hyunsik and Ilhoon were seated across from the pair with Ilhoon sitting in Hyunsik’s lap while he rested his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Changsub was nowhere to be seen.

That is until Junmyeon started walking towards the exit. There standing in front of him was none other than Changsub, casually sipping his iced coffee.

“I just wanted to say “Thank you” not just for the coffee. We’ve tried everything we could think of to get those two together, all without success. Guess it just took a better man.” Changsub said with a wink before he disappeared as silently as he appeared.