Author's note:

This was just supposed to be a one-shot but I enjoyed writing it so much, so I added another chapter. 😅 Hope you enjoy reading all this tooth-rotting Teukchul fluff ☺️😆

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'That is most definitely Heechul,' Jungsoo thought as he stared through the glass walls of what seemed to be a new coffee shop in his neighborhood.

Jungsoo had been out walking his dog Simkoong at night when he noticed that there seemed to be a new shop right by Simkoong's veterinary. He had just come back to Seoul after being away for 3 months straight. Jungsoo was currently the manager of one of Korea's hottest boy groups, Prince, and thus went with them on their latest world tour. He had adopted Simkoong just last week and Simkoong really took all his stress away. So he was taking the time to bring his little princess along with him as much as he could after that long arduous world tour. Since he hadn't been around for a while, he decided to take his time to stroll around the neighborhood as well, and that was when the new cafe had caught his attention. It didn't seem to be open yet, but the set-up looked to almost be complete so he had decided to pass by and see what the cafe had to offer. What he didn't expect was to see Heechul fussing over the menu display inside after almost 2 years of not seeing him.

'Damn,' Jungsoo thought, 'He still looks good.' Heechul's hair was much longer now than when they first met at Donghae's birthday party, and he had it tied into a loose bun at the back of his head. But his hair wasn't quite long enough, so there were wisps of hair covering his nape, while some of his bangs fell onto his forehead and framed his face. 'I missed that beautiful face', Jungsoo thought.

After Donghae's party, they had gone out a couple of times and they really did enjoy each other's company. But they were both so focused on their work back then that they had such a hard time meeting up. Heechul had just started his new position as a senior developer at a gaming company and it really kept him in the office until odd hours. Jungsoo had just been promoted then to manage Prince, who had just debuted at that time. He had accompanied the members to both their group and individual schedules, and Jungsoo wasn't even sure how many hours he slept in a day, that is, if he even slept at all. They both had tried their best to keep in contact despite their schedules but time and weariness got the better of them, and their once lively chats turned silent over time. So no real relationship ever progressed past the few dates they had.

But here was Heechul again, in front of Jungsoo, in a small coffee shop in Jungsoo's neighborhood. 'Maybe I should say Hi,' Jungsoo thought. 'Maybe the universe is telling me that it is time for a second chance.' And the universe did speak... in the form of Simkoong. 

Simkoong suddenly rushed to glass door of the cafe and started yipping loudly. Jungsoo scooped her up into his arms because as much as he did want to say Hi, he hadn't thought of what else to talk about with Heechul. But just as Jungsoo stood up with Simkoong in his arms, the glass door opened and there stood Heechul, giving him a slightly incredulous look.

"Jungsoo?" Heechul softly asked. "What are you doing here?"

Jungsoo had always been a smooth talker, but seeing Heechul again after 2 years suddenly rendered him speechless in that moment. Thankfully, Simkoong did all the talking for him as she started to bark happily upon seeing Heechul and she squirmed slightly in Jungsoo's arms. 

"Ohhh... is this your dog?" Heechul cooed. "Does he/she have a name?" Heechul had lowered his head to Simkoong's level and began petting the soft fur on her head. Simkoong seemed to really enjoy Heechul's attention and kept giving happy little yips. 

"Ah, yes. Her name is Simkoong." Jungsoo said as he finally found his voice again. "I was walking her around our neighborhood and I saw this new cafe so we decided to take a look. I didn't know you'd be here." 

"Oh, you live in this neighborhood?" 

"Yeah. My house is just a 10-minute walk away. Is this cafe yours?"

Heechul nodded and said "Why don't you two come in? We won't open until next week, but most of the things are already in place. Just take a look, it's just me anyway going over some final details."

"Is it okay for me to bring Simkoong inside?" 

"Sure! Maybe just keep her on your lap because there's still some parts under construction and I don't want her to get into an accident."

So Jungsoo gingerly stepped into the cafe and made his way to one of the tables where Heechul directed him to. It was already nighttime but the cafe was styled in such a way that it still felt warm and bright. The walls were painted an eggshell white, which complemented the walnut wooden floors. Most of the chairs were upholstered with a similar shade of white, and the padding looked so cozy that you'd just want to spend the entire afternoon lounging there with your friends. The only stools in the cafe were placed by the ivory and mushroom-brown marbled counter-top of of the main bar where you could talk to the baristas while they made your drinks. But the highlight was the shelves that took up the entire wall behind the cashier where all the various coffee beans and equipment were displayed. Heechul's cafe looked absolutely stunning. And it looked even more stunning for Jungsoo having Heechul standing there in the middle of it. 

"It's so pretty, huh?" Heechul asked as he admired the giant shelf centerpiece behind the counter. 

"Absolutely stunning." Jungsoo said as he kept his eyes trained on Heechul. Simkoong also seemed to agree with her tiny barks from Jungsoo's lap. That seemed to snap Jungsoo out of his reverie though, so he asked "How long have you been doing this? Is this your work now, or do you still go to that gaming company if i remember correctly?" 

"Oh, I resigned from that job just after one year. I thought since I loved playing video games that I'd also enjoy making them. Turns out it doesn't always work that way. You remember what I was like back then, right?" Heechul chuckled.

"You were so busy you didn't reply to my messages for days." Jungsoo recalled. 

Heechul suddenly looked hesitant at what Jungsoo brought up. It had been years, but he didn't expect that Jungsoo would still remember those small things that silently drove them apart.

But then Jungsoo added "And then I'd go out of the country suddenly for work and I wouldn't be able to reply to you either."

There was a tinge of longing in Jungsoo's voice. A longing for what could've happened if their circumstances were different then.

Jungsoo sensed that this conversation was getting heavy, so he tried to lighten the mood a bit. "So, what made you decide to open a cafe?"

Heechul seemed to cheer up at the topic and excitedly answered "Around a year ago, just before I had resigned, I was so stressed out at work that the one thing that I could always count on to brighten my mood instantly was a good cup of coffee. Then after I resigned, I had gone to Vietnam for a vacation and I had the best coffee I've ever tasted there. So I thougt that if the gaming industry was one passion I pursued but didn't work out, maybe it was time for me to pursue a different passion instead? So with a lot of research and help from my friends, I decided to open my own cafe! I even sourced some beans from Vietnam for my cafe."

"Oh, I'd love to try that. When does the cafe open?"

"Next Monday. But... I can make a cup for you right now if you'd like. Some initial feedback would be a big help to me." Heechul gave Jungsoo a soft smile and Jungsoo just couldn't resist saying no to that, so he simply nodded okay.

Heechul stood up and started to make the coffee for him while continuing their small talk of what had been going on in each other's lives. Jungsoo oddly felt so comfortable to talk to Heechul again after not seeing each other for so long. It felt to him that they just picked up where they had left off almost 2 years prior. There was an easiness in the way he wanted to share all the small things to Heechul that he hadn't felt with anyone else in those years. Heechul seemed to also enjoy talking to him as can be heard by his laughter from the bar as Jungsoo recalled some funny anecdote about ordering the wrong food because of his broken Japanese during one of the stops of the tour. Jungsoo had even started to tease Heechul again just like he used to, and hearing Heechul laugh like that felt so nice. 

Heechul finally arrived back at the table with a cup of coffee for him and a small bowl of water for Simkoong who happily drank it up. But it was the cup and saucer that were a matching deep shade of red that made Jungsoo smile.

"And there's the Heechul I was expecting. I was actually wondering why your entire cafe was in white and brown. Not a twinge of Heechul red anywhere. I didn't expect them to be the cups and saucers." Jungsoo teased as he blew on the hot coffee. 

Heechul gave a light laugh and said "This is why I said I had a lot of help from friends. If it were all up to me, the entire cafe would be stark white and all the seats would be bright red." 

Jungsoo almost spilled his coffee because he couldn't help but laugh out loud at the idea of how different the cafe could have been. 

"But of course, it's still my cafe, so I made sure all the cups and saucers would be red. And I think it fits the name of the cafe perfectly!" 

"Oh, what is the name of the cafe? I don't think I noticed a signboard up yet outside." 

"Well, all these red cups and saucers are round and they look like they form a flower when placed side by side. So that's why my cafe is named Petal!" Heechul proudly claimed. 

Jungsoo smiled at Heechul. He didn't realize how much he missed how warm he would feel whenever he talked to Heechul. And honestly, he could get used to this feeling again. 

Jungsoo began to sip his coffee and had to agree with Heechul: this really was a good cup of coffee. Heechul must have noticed that Jungsoo liked it when he suddenly stood up and said "Wait, I forgot to bring you something to go with your coffee." 

Jungsoo quietly sipped little by little while waiting for Heechul to return. 

When Heechul sat down again, he placed another red saucer in front of Jungsoo. And on that red saucer was a chocolate cupcake. 

"I got the baker to supply these to my cafe, seeing as how I loved these." Heechul explained. 

Jungsoo couldn't hide the smile he was holding anymore. In fact, he was probably beaming right now at Heechul who gave him a knowing smile back. It suddenly felt like 2 years ago when he first got to know Heechul as they shared those chocolate cupcakes on the staircase that led up to Donghae's rooftop party. He remembered being in such awe over Heechul's beauty and being drawn to his warm personality that he had wanted to kiss him right then and there. And he almost did! His lack of sleep really clouded his better judgment that night. Thankfully his senses kicked in just in time and he just made some lame excuse about wiping the chocolate off Heechul's cheek that time. But right now, he was feeling that exact same feeling all over again as he started to bite into the cupcake Heechul gave him. 

"You have some ganache on your cheeks" Heechul pointed out while smirking and looking straight into his eyes. 

"Aren't you going to wipe it off for me?" Jungsoo back. 

"Well, it's not like you have your eyes closed. I bet you can clean your face perfectly fine if you look at a mirror." Heechul said with a straight face as he handed him a piece of tissue. 

Jungsoo's silent stare moved from Heechul's expressionless face to the tissue he was handing him. Did he misread the entire night? Was Heechul actually cold towards him? And that was when he heard Heechul laughing out loud at their joke. No, actually, Heechul was guffawing. Jungsoo wiped the chocolate off his cheek started laughing with him. Even Simkoong joined in and gave small happy barks from Jungsoo's lap. 

When their laughter died down, Jungsoo started to tease Heechul again and said "I really should visit your cafe often. I like the coffee, the cupcake, and the cute guy who runs the place." 

Heechul laughed and said "You can visit the cafe in between your tours." 

"Oh, but I won't be accompanying the members as much anymore." Jungsoo replied as he finished his coffee. 

This seemed to pique Heechul's attention, so he asked "Oh... why? Are you not their manager anymore?" 

"Oh, I still am. But we finally hired managers for each of the members, so I don't have to go with each of them all the time. And right now, they're starting to venture into individual activities more, so the next tour won't even be until next year." 

"That means, you'll be around more?" Heechul tentatively asked. And with the hopeful tone of Heechul's voice, Jungsoo knew that he wasn't just talking about visiting the cafe anymore. So he took a shot. 

"That means we can probably go on those dates we had planned before but never got to go on. That is, if you still want to." Jungsoo slowly looked up to Heechul to meet his eyes. 

Heechul seemed to be in thought for a second before he smiled the warmest smile Jungsoo had seen in a while. 

"Okay, I'd like that." Heechul replied as his cheeks developed a hint of a blush. 

And Jungsoo knew the universe was finally giving them a second chance. The circumstances felt more giving this time, so he had much higher hopes now. And as he popped the last bite of the chocolate cupcake into his mouth, he caught Heechul smiling. It was that soft shy smile that captivated his heart the first time he saw it; the smile that was sweeter than any cake he'd ever had and will ever have. And he was looking forward to seeing it more often from now on.