Ravi is nervous all morning, which makes him get orders wrong, which makes Sanghyuk slap him on the back of the head. 

“Hyung! I told you they wanted raspberry filling not cherry! They’re allergic to cherries!” He had never seen Sanghyuk so upset over a wrong order before, but one look out of his small window tells him the order is for the maknae’s crush. Ravi just tips his head down in an apology and starts making another pastry. The maknae huffs and turns on his heal to walk out of the kitchen, slamming the door behind him. Ravi winces, but doesn't stop rolling the new dough out. 

A few minutes go by before another head pops into the kitchen. Ravi looks up to find Jaehwan peering curiously at him. Ravi can only imagine what he looks like; wide eyes and slightly ruffled hair from pulling at it all morning. 

“You ok hyung? I heard Hyuk slam the door and decided to come and investigate. You look a little tense.” Ravi laughs at that statement and Jaehwan comes into the kitchen, closing the door behind him.

“Thanks Jaehwan, I’m just a little nervous. The guy I’ve been talking to said he was bringing a friend to the cafe today and I have no idea what that’s going to mean for me.” At this point, Ravi has his head in his hands and Jaehwan comes over to rub his back. 

“Seriously hyung, that’s nothing to worry about. He really likes you, I can tell by the way he looks at you. He makes it pretty obvious. The person he’s bringing is definitely just a friend so you shouldn’t feel intimidated or threatened. Maybe if his friend is cute I can have him. If it’s a guy, of course,” Jaehwan laughs at his statement but Ravi doesn’t feel any better. Jaehwan sighs and stands up. “Just wait and see, I promise it’s nothing to worry about. Now get back to work! I have like three tables that don’t have their food yet.”

Ravi picks his head up and makes sure to wash his hand before getting back to work. The butterflies in his stomach aren’t any better, but he’s confident that Hakyeon wouldn’t do anything cruel to him. 

It’s about noon, their busiest hour, when Ravi hears Hakyeon’s laugh filter in through the small window in the kitchen. He freezes and ducks under the table he had been working at. Slowly, he creeps to the window and peers though it just enough to see Hakyeon walk up to the counter to greet Jaehwan. Sanghyuk is serving tables and hasn’t seen him yet, which Ravi is slightly thankful for. 

Ravi’s eyes slide to the left of Hakyeon and sees a fairly tall and ominous looking man standing next to him. His heart sinks as he watches Hakyeon introduce his friend to Jaehwan. Taekhun? Taeksoo? Ravi tries reading his lips but he’s never been very good at it. Hakyeon’s eyes flit over to the kitchen and Ravi almost falls over as he ducks the glance. He’s pretty sure Hakyeon saw him anyways. 

Taking a deep breath, Ravi finishes the pastry he’s working on and walks out of the kitchen. Hakyeon isn’t at the counter anymore, so he assumes Sanghyuk has sat them down and goes to find their table. It’s off in the corner, where HE usually sits Hakyeon, and he can’t help but feel Sanghyuk has betrayed him. 

Get a hold of yourself Ravi. It’s just a friend. He told you that, and two of your friends told you that. Now have some courage and go say hi. 

He makes his way over to the table and taps Hakyeon on the shoulder. The older man jumps a little and turns around to smile at Ravi. “Ravi! I’m so glad you came over here!” Hakyeon jumps up to hug Ravi, who instinctively wraps his arms around the smaller waist. The warmth from Hakyeon’s body makes Ravi more than happy, until he remembers the stranger sitting in the other seat. 

“So, Ravi, this is Taekwoon. We’ve been best friends since we were 5. He doesn’t like to admit it though. We’re going to the same university too!” Hakyeon looks so pleased to be introducing Taekwoon that Ravi can’t even force himself to be upset. 

“Nice to meet you Taekwoon,” Ravi says as he bows slightly. Taekwoon gives a small bow with his head but doesn’t smile. Ravi is about to assume Taekwoon doesn’t like him before Hakyeon speaks up. 

“Taekwoon! At least smile a little. I told you to make a good impression for Ravi.” Taekwoon forces a smile that’s more uncomfortable than it is friendly. “Don’t mind him, he doesn’t like interacting with the outside world so most of the time I have to force him out of his apartment with the promise of food.” 

Ravi just smiles at Hakyeon, who smiles back until he realizes he hasn’t formally introduced Ravi. “Oh! And Taekwoon, this is Ravi, the guy I was telling you about.” Several gears seem to click inside Taekwoon’s head and he looks up at Ravi with judging eyes. Taekwoon stands up and bows to Ravi muttering “Nice to meet you” at the ground. Ravi, slightly shocked, nods and bows for the second time. 

By the time they’re done with introductions, Jaehwan walks up with the order pad in his hands. 

“Are you two ready to order?” he says with a cheery disposition. Ravi starts walking away as Hakyeon tells Jaehwan what he wants and practically orders for Taekwoon, who apparently can’t speak loud enough to do it himself. Ravi’s head swims with what just happened, and the way Hakyeon smiled at him, and the way Jaehwan smiled at Taekwoon. 

Maybe he is just a friend?

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Again, thank all of you who continue to read my stuff despite my lack of discipline :/ I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! And yes, this is the start of Keo. You will be seeing more of Leo from now on, once he warms up to Jaehwan. Hyuk's crush is still a little oblivious ;)     <3