Chapter 6: Of Awkwardness and Luncheons

Sungmin climbed out of the cab after settling the fare, he pulled his overcoat closer to himself and sighed. Kyuhyun and Sungmin had agreed to meet up for lunch at a local restaurant close to both their workplaces.


He sweeped the screen of his phone to unlock and a small smile etched across his features as he read the recent text message he'd received from Kyuhyun.




Kyuhyun hadn't been the incorrigible that he was during their first meeting almost a week ago. As twisted it seems, Sungmin had forgiven the act of rashness and unpleasant memories from that dinner meeting.


He had been very skeptical and unsure about giving Kyuhyun another chance but... he could see that Kyuhyun wasnt that bad of a guy. And it wouldn't hurt to try getting along with the male for three months,right? It was the question of his cake studio after all.







I'll be there in two minutes tops.. -Kyuhyun




He shifted his weight from one foot to another as the delicious warmth of the afternoon sun seeped into his clothes.



Sungmin hesitantly raised his hand to greet back Kyuhyun as the latter pulled up on the sidewalk.




Tossing the keys of his Audi to the valet boy, Kyuhyun jogged to where Sungmin was waiting and murmured softly,"Hey."





Sungmin's lips turned into a small smile and he nodded in response.

"Let's go in?" Kyuhyun asked while motioning with his arms towards the restaurant.





Allowing Sungmin to lead the way into the restaurant, Kyuhyun followed right behind the shorter male.


After making sure that Sungmin was seated comfortably, Kyuhyun waved his hand to catch the attention of the server. Sungmin blinked innocently at Kyuhyun as the server proceeded to pour the sparkling water into the tall glasses.





The server in charge placed the carte onto the table, bowed softly before excusing himself, leaving the two men behind fidgeting awkwardly.


Kyuhyun cleared his throat slightly and sighed, his eyes scanning the dining room, the menu card, and table setting, only occasionally making eye contact with the male seated across him.




The silence was so awkward and thick, that it could be cut with a knife.

Sungmin wanted nothing more than to bury himself into a dark corner and never come out. Seriously, the entire aura surrounding them was very nerve wrecking.




After placing their respective orders, Kyuhyun twiddled his thumbs nervously and started,”Umm...”


Sungmin rested his eyes on Kyuhyun curiously and stared at the jittery male across of him,”Yes Kyuhyun-shi?...I m-meant Kyuhyun.”






Kyuhyun swallowed slightly while raking his brains to search for any thing sensible to say.


Honestly, the silence that radiated from their table was a bit too much. And Kyuhyun wanted to get rid of it.





But...how?




“Ummm... Do you like cheese?”




Kyuhyun resisted the urge to smack himself in the head as Sungmin stared at him in bewilderment.





Just what the hell was he saying?!





Sungmin slightly shifted his weight before settling his elbows on to the table. He pursed his lips together and answered,”Well...”


Kyuhyun hurriedly swatted his hands and exclaimed,” You dont have to answer that. I was just.... Umm. I was just..”






Sungmin chuckled heartily, his rich laughter evading the foreboding silence.
“You really are....something.”



Kyuhyun flushed slightly and exclaimed,”The salad course is here.”






Biting back a amused smile,Sungmin simply nodded and shifted slightly as the server in charge proceeded to carefully place the dishes on to the table.





The two pick at their dinner salads, staring down at the leafy mound before them. Kyuhyun seemed tongue-tied and Sungmin seemed self-conscious.






And then finally, one of them tried to grease the wheels of conversation.



Sungmin started slowly,”How’s your salad?”



Shoving another piece of lettuce into his mouth, Kyuhyun answered,”Good. And yours?”



“Yeah.. Really good.”


And more excruciating silence ensues. The only sound that could be heard was the chomping and crunching of the vegetables.


Kyuhyun glanced at Sungmin who had his eyes glued down to his bowl of salad, he groaned slightly and thought,”Come on, Say something. Anything.”




Sungmin twirled the piece of cabbage with the prong of his fork and thought to himself,”Why doesnt he say anything? Or maybe I should...but I dont know what to say!”





“So.. How was your day?” Sungmin asked timidly while reaching for the glass of water.




Oh.



“Nothing much.. Umma’s kitchen nearly caught fire today.” Kyuhyun remarked while gulping down some water.


“What?!”

 

“Well, Yesung hyung, Ahra Noona’s fiance... Wanted more of blueberry muffins after stealing two from your batch.. Which was simply delicious by the way... So he begged Noona to bake him some more.”


Sungmin smiled softly and hummed, asking Kyuhyun to continue.
 

“And Noona is very..extremely bad with baking. Or even cooking for that matter. So after two hours of kneading and mixing. Umma’s kitchen caught fire..” Kyuhyun finished while guffawing over how Hannah has scolded Ahra that very morning.





“Wow..” Sungmin mumbled while trying to control himself from chuckling.



Cho Kyuhyun doesnt look all bad while laughing.




Shaking his head to get rid of thoughts, Sungmin simply settled for,” I could drop off some more muffins, if you’d like..”






“Sure! I mean... If its not a bother..” Kyuhyun exclaimed.


Sungmin flicked his hand slightly,” I’d love to...”








As the server cleared the salad and set down the dishes with tender pan seared meat, and freshly baked ravioli, the table located two behind theirs, laughed boisterously. Sungmin winced a little as the loud voices cut through the serene atmosphere.



Kyuhyun put down the fork and asked softly,”Is it too noisy in here for you?”


Considerate.


Sungmin simply shook his head,”I’m alright.”






After patting his mouth slightly with the table napkin to wipe away the gravy, Sungmin asked lightly,”So what’s your favorite dessert?”




“Muffins!” Kyuhyun blurted out before he could stop himself.



“I’d like anything actually. I’m not really picky about food.” Kyuhyun mumbled totally forgetting about how his Umma had to force him to eat cauliflower when he was a kid.



“That’s nice..?” Sungmin remarked hesitantly.



Kyuhyun reached for the restaurant check before Sungmin could even move a muscle.


“Let’s just pay for ourselves, alright?” Sungmin asked softly seeing Kyuhyun dig into his coat, searching for his wallet.




Kyuhyun completely disregarded Sungmin’s words and remarked,”No way.Think of it as an apology for the other day and gratitude for your lovely muffins, Sungmin.”


“I dont like people paying for me..” Sungmin frowned slightly.




Kyuhyun looked Sungmin into the eyes and answered, softly,”I’ll take care of it, Sungmin.”





“I’m not a gold digger.. You know, I can pay for myself. ” Sungmin started suddenly.



Embarrassment flooded Kyuhyun’s eyes and he shook his head regretfully,”Im sorry about that night Sungmin-ah.. I really apologize.”



“Okay.”

“But next time, Im paying.”



Next time....?

 

Sungmin asked suddenly,”Is anyone monitoring us right now?”


Kyuhyun grinned slightly,”Uhh... Maybe?”



Sungmin looked over his shoulders cautiously looking for any suspicious person. He nibbled on his bottom lip worriedly as his eyes wandered all around the restaurant.


“I’m kidding. I’m kidding!” Kyuhyun laughed.


Sungmin hmmphed indignantly and slid down further into his seat and pouted slightly before murmuring,” So mean..”


 

Sungmin shifted his weight from one foot to the other as the valet boy scrambled through looking for the key to Kyuhyun’s Audi.


“Umm... I have to go now. It was nice meeting you Kyuhyun.” Sungmin mumbled slightly before pulling his coat closer to himself and walking ahead.
 

“Wait~!”



Sungmin turned back slowly and glanced at Kyuhyun curiously.



“I’ll drive you to your workplace.”

~tbc
 

......(A/N) 

Oh how I love an awkward Kyuhyun. :'D They're really stiff and uptight now orz..

I might not get the time to update as frequently as before cause I started my college recently~^^ But I shall try whenever I can.

Do comment.. A lil bit of your thoughts and feedback about the story is always nice :)))

Have a nice day~ Until next time!

~95anichan <33