Sipping at his nearly-cold coffee to make it last longer, Youngjae watched the blonde-haired waiter weave his way through the tables with a tray balanced on one hand- a true professional. Arriving at the table the confectionery delights were intended for, the waiter lowered his tray with a flourish and smiled at the pair of high school girls- still in uniform- that sat there. Rolling his eyes as the girls barely prevented one another from lunging at the waiter, Youngjae glanced around the cafe to see if the owner was seeing this ridiculous display; surprisingly, he was. Eyebrows raised, the cafe's owner leaned against the far wall with his arms folded over his chest, watching as the waiter finished serving the small cakes and retrieved his tray for another delivery. Although the man appeared just as embarrassed as Youngjae, there was a faint glimmer in his eyes that suggested he was enjoying having an employee that was so popular with the ladies.

     Which didn't come as a shock to Youngjae, who had noticed the immense number of female customers when compared to the occasional male. The discrepancy was, certainly, a result of the Melody Cafe's recent addition to the staff.

     "Moron," Youngjae thought, catching sight of the waiter giving him a cheesy grin and holding up two fingers. From the corner of his eye, Youngjae could see that there were only two more minutes before break. For the business's sake, Youngjae hoped that all the female customers currently ogling the waiter's behind as he hurried into the back were gone when time was up- the change from charming to dork might be too much for some of their hearts.

     When the clock showed noon, the face of the charming waiter that had disappeared into the back reappeared, but on the inside he had been switched with a dork named Daehyun. Rolling his eyes, Youngjae set his coffee mug down on the table and tried not to make eye contact with Daehyun, who was making a bee line for Youngjae's table while simultaneously stripping. "So even the moronic side of him does well with the ladies," Youngjae thought, leaning against the table and hiding behind one hand. He did not want to be associated with Daehyun- who, already having tugged off his apron and tossed it lazily over one shoulder, was undoing the first few buttons of his dress shirt and loosening the cuffs.

     "Thanks for waiting!" Daehyun exclaimed, sliding into the seat across from Youngjae and grinning. Nodding, Youngjae pretended that he had been scratching the side of his head, then slowly reached over for his coffee. "You aren't busy today, right? I mean, now that you're a a business hot shot, I imagine you have all sorts of meeting and... other stuff," Daehyun teased, flagging down one of his coworkers so he could order.

     "Yup, lots of 'stuff'," Youngjae agreed.

     Catching his friend's tone of voice, Daehyun crinkled his nose and frowned at Youngjae. "Not all of us need to keep track of the self-important tasks we are given," he rebuked before brightening his expression once more and turning to their waiter. "I'll have a cheesecake, and can we have another cappuccino? His went cold." Pointing to Youngjae's half-filled mug, Daehyun ordered for the both of them.

     For as dense as he could be sometimes, Daehyun took notice of a surprising number of things. Youngjae's coffee, for example, which he realized had grown cold even though Youngjae hadn't said anything on the matter. This awareness of others made it impossible for Youngjae to stay annoyed with Daehyun for very long. It would be like trying to scold a puppy for getting the floor muddy, then finding out later that it had gotten paw prints all over your floor because it had been fighting off an intruder; the floors were still muddy, but that didn't seem like such a big deal anymore.

     "So, what have you been doing since I left?" Youngjae asked once their order came. He had been hoping to catch Daehyun before his mouth was full of cake so that they could have some sort of a conversation, but despite his best efforts the answer still came delayed. Sipping his coffee, Youngjae waited patiently for Daehyun to finish chewing.

     "I stuck around town for a while and thought about what I wanted to do, then packed up my things and headed to Seoul," Daehyun explained. He took another bite of cheesecake. "Except-" Youngjae frowned disapprovingly as Daehyun began speaking with his mouth full, forcing the latter to finish chewing first- "I hadn't actually decided on a place to stay yet. I'm living in a hotel right now." Youngjae was not surprised that such an important detail had been left out of Daehyun's 'go to Seoul, get famous' plan. He couldn't exactly fault Daehyun for it, though- Youngjae was still living out of a hotel as well. "I've been looking at some apartments, though, and I think I might have found one I can afford!"

     "Congratulations!" Youngjae exclaimed, only a slight trickle of sarcasm running through his words. "Where is it?" Naturally, Daehyun was only able to give  a vague description of the general location of the apartment's location; completely useless in giving Youngjae any sort of picture of where it was. So, Youngjae moved on and saved Daehyun any more struggle. "Is it at least near here? You don't want to be too far from where you work."

     "Yes, mom," Daehyun drawled, leaning back in his seat- his plate was already empty- and rolling his eyes. "It's within walking distance, and so long as I don't go crazy I should be able to afford the rent with my current paycheck. Anything extra will have to come from my singing," he explained, rolling the sleeves of his shirt up. Knowing Daehyun, food was not going to be one of these 'extras', so at least Youngjae didn't have to worry that his friend wouldn't be eating right. Whether he would have heating, running water, or electricity, though... Perhaps he should give Daehyun more credit. He wasn't a complete moron, after all, and would certainly have the things necessary for a decent life style.

     "How is your singing going, anyway?" Youngjae asked, resting his empty coffee cup on the table.

     "It's alright," Daehyun visibly deflated, and Youngjae wondered if he shouldn't have asked. "Back home, I was a big fish in a little pond, but here... well, I'm the algae at the bottom of the ocean." Chuckling dryly, Daehyun shrugged his shoulders. "When I first moved here, I thought that if I could perform just once, I would be able to make it- look, I know that was a bad call," Daehyun griped when Youngjae animatedly shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Nobody was interested in letting me perform, though. They all didn't want to take a risk. So, I started performing on the streets, hoping that with a little experience I might be able to change their minds. It didn't work, but having Yong Guk perform with me did." If Youngjae remembered correctly, Yong Guk was the one who had been performing with Daehyun when he and Hei-Ryung watched.

     "He's been trying to help me get onto my feet, but so far the only way most places will let me perform is if I've got Yong Guk with me. He's a big shot in the underground scene." Although disappointed in the fact that nobody was taking him seriously, Daehyun obviously admired Yong Guk and was grateful to the rapper. "I thought that, since they want big shots, I could try and find you and have your uncle bribe them- I'm kidding!" Daehyun yelped, reaching down to wrap his hands around his now-bruised shin.

     "Kidding about wanting to use my uncle's money, or kidding about looking for me?" Youngjae asked suspiciously, raising one eyebrow.

     "Your uncle's money," Daehyun quickly clarified. "But, if you think about it, it isn't a bad idea. You've said so yourself that I'm talented enough to make it in the business if I try, so why not think of it as a business investment? You could help me get my foot through the door-" Youngjae quietly wondered why everyone appeared so intrigued with that particular analogy- "and then, when I make it big, you'll get a return. In business, you have to take risks before you can reap the rewards. If you don't take a risk with me- and let's face it, this is not that big a risk- then when I make it big you'll be kicking yourself at night because you didn't take the chance..." After knowing Daehyun for years, Youngjae had become familiar with his fast-talking ways and knew that, if you weren't careful, the guy would con his way into getting whatever he wanted. So Youngjae tuned out Daehyun's voice for a moment.

     When he caught on to what Youngjae was doing, Daehyun quieted down and gave up on convincing Youngjae to give him a loan. "I don't see why you can't spread the wealth a little, though. You're a big-shot CEO, aren't you?" For a brief moment, Youngjae worried that he had really offended Daehyun, but looking at his face it was easy to tell that Daehyun was just teasing. "I can't imagine a good hospital here in Seoul will cost every penny you make, so why not-"

     "Could you please not start that all over again?" Youngjae sighed, frowning at Daehyun.

     "The part about you becoming a millionaire because you believed in me, or the part where you need money to-" judging by Youngjae's expression, it was obviously the latter. Daehyun snapped his mouth shut. For a minute, the two remained perfectly quiet, though Daehyun occasionally would shift in his seat, obviously wanting to discuss the situation some more. Youngjae, not wanting to talk about his family issues, didn't show any signs that might suggest to Daehyun that he felt otherwise.

     Sighing, Daehyun switched topics- somewhat: "Have you told your uncle?" Youngjae, giving in a little, shook his head. "You're a good son, Youngjae. Moving all the way to Seoul so you can get a good job to support your mom-" catching the darkening look on Youngjae's face, Daehyun quickened his pace- "and then not even using her story to drum up sympathy for the votes you need." Youngjae was genuinely surprised that Daehyun remembered what they had talked about the last time the two had seen each other- he had figured that all the street food had been distracting Daehyun from listening. "You're working so hard for your mom, even though you had other plans for yourself, and you never complain about it. She's really lucky to have you for a son."

     Apparently, Daehyun's family was still fighting him on his dream of becoming a singer. "I'm sure your parents are proud of you for following your dreams. They're just worried, since-"

     "Since I came all the way to Seoul and don't even have a place to live?" Daehyun interjected with a laugh, quirking one eyebrow upward. Although his demeanor suggested that he was no longer upset, Youngjae knew that this wasn't the case. Even a moron couldn't bounce between emotions as quickly as that. Inhaling slowly, Daehyun stood up and began putting his uniform back in order- apparently, his break was almost over. "I hope you're right, Youngjae. Having your parents disappointed in you is the worst thing a person could experience; you're basically being rejected by the people who were supposed to have your back forever. So if even they've given up on you..." he let the sentence hang and shrugged his shoulders.

     After watching Daehyun struggle to tie his apron, Youngjae stood to help. "Want to sing karaoke after work?" Spinning around to face Youngjae, Daehyun's face lit up at the suggestion. "Turn back around," Youngjae grumbled, grabbing Daehyun's shoulders and forcing him to face away so he could finish tying the apron on. "I have to go meet with my uncle, but I should be done soon enough to come back in time for the end of your shift."

     "You'd better be here, or I'm spending all your money," Daehyun threatened, holding up Youngjae's wallet. When he had gotten a hold of it, Youngjae had no idea. "Here's enough money for a taxi. You can have the rest when you get back." And with that, Daehyun stuffed Youngjae's wallet into his back pocket and hurried into the cafe's kitchen. Dumbstruck, Youngjae clenched his fist around the "allowance" Daehyun had been so kind as to give him.

     "Moron," he muttered under his breath, turning on his heels and marching out of the cafe.

     Youngjae was the first to leave the karaoke bar. Behind him, Daehyun promptly exited with the 'help' of two men that had been forced to manhandle him all the way. When they reached the door, Daehyun was thrown out onto the sidewalk- despite his incoherent protests- where Youngjae caught him by the shoulders to prevent the man's 'flawless face', as Daehyun had proudly declared earlier, from being damaged. Behind them, the door slammed shut.

     "It was you!" Youngjae exclaimed, clubbing Daehyun over the back of the head with his fist. "You're the one who got us thrown out on my birthday, and now you've done it again! Can't you keep it in your pants for longer than five minutes, Daehyun?" Although he was grinning sheepishly and appeared remorseful, the glazed look in Daehyun's eyes made Youngjae question if the obviously intoxicated man would even remember any of this come morning. Heaving out a sigh, Youngjae rolled his eyes and stalked towards the curb, planning on calling a taxi to take him back to his hotel- Daehyun could fend for himself.

     Laughing at the situation they had found themselves in, Daehyun began fumbling with the buttons of his shirt so that his chest was no longer exposed to the chilly air of a March night. "My pants... stayed on," he pointed out, slurring slightly, and followed Youngjae. He had managed to get most of his buttons done up, but they were mismatched and left bulging holes. Glancing down at Daehyun's disheveled appearance, Youngjae rolled his eyes. Although he had to admit that neither of them did well with alcohol, at least he was able to acknowledge his limits and avoid surpassing them.

     They weren't on a main street, so there were no taxis driving around looking for customers, and Youngjae didn't have his phone on him to call one. Looking at Daehyun, it was easy to see that he didn't have a cell phone on him, either. Which meant that Youngjae would be walking back to his hotel. Sighing, Youngjae turned to face Daehyun.

     "Are you going to be able to walk back home on your own?" he asked, already caving on his plan to leave Daehyun to his own devices.

     "I had to take an... an inter... intercity bus... t'get here... and you... you want me to walk?" Daehyun frowned in confusion as he struggled to focus on Youngjae's face.

     Pinching the bridge of his nose, Youngjae resisted the immense urge to smack Daehyun again. "Not that home, you moron! Your hotel room!" His self-control was apparently the first to go when Youngjae drank, because once again he was caving- this time, he gave in to his desire to lightly slap Daehyun's arm.

     The effort of trying to think through the cloud of alcohol descending on his brain was rough, but Daehyun managed to do it. "No, 't's too far," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "Can I stay w'you?"

     "Yeah, sure- what are you doing?" The moment Youngjae agreed, against his better judgment, to let Daehyun into his hotel room, the man had crouched down in front of Youngjae.

     "You're drunk, right? I'll piggyback you," he offered, turning to look over his shoulder at grin at Youngjae.

     Shaking his head, Youngjae lightly pushed the back of Daehyun's head and sent him reeling, before walking ahead. "You moron- leave that sort of thing for the ladies, alright?" He grunted, unsure if he should be embarrassed or grateful that Daehyun- despite having been the cause of most of the night's troubles- was trying to be helpful. When Daehyun came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Youngjae's shoulders, leaving Youngjae to practically carry Daehyun back to his hotel, he decided on being embarrassed and agitated.

Author's Note

Inititially, this chapter was going to be a lot more important to the plot than it ended up being. The next chapter ends up discussing the same things this one was going to, though, and I didn't want to just repeat myself. I suppose I could have just ommitted this chapter all together, but I figure a few "fluff" chapters (17-19, basically) before we get back into serious stuff can't hurt. Plus, DaeJae! ^-^