An early winter-morning, 24-year old Kim Minseok was running down the street trying to catch work in time. As he constantly tried to shield his eyes from the cold winter-rain, he almost stumbled an impressive amount of times. He was just stable enough to manage not to fall, but he was pretty close a lot of times.

This happened quite often, actually. It wasn't the fact that he didn't have the willpower to get up every morning, and then for once, get to work on time. It was more of the fact that even though he had four alarms set to wake him up every day, he still managed to sleep through them. Kim Minseok was a very heavy sleeper.

Not that it was his fault of course. If it had been up to him, he would wake up on time each morning. But his head just wouldn't function, and this always resulted in him being late.

As Minseok barged in the door to the small, cozy coffee shop where he worked, his co-worker, Zhang Yixing, lifted an eyebrow at him. He half-smiled and apologized, which caused Yixing to sigh, but smile back.

"That's the second time this week, Minseok. What if the boss-lady finds out?” he warned jokingly. Luckily for Minseok, his boss didn't arrive until twelve o'clock, and Yixing was never late with more than a millisecond. So whenever Minseok failed to reach work on time, he was covered by his very nice friend. And Yixing didn't tell on him either, even though it would earn him respect with the boss. Actually, if he did, Minseok would feel very offended. They were not only co-workers, but also friends, and most importantly - comrades. Their boss was terrifying, and they always had to stand together when she scolded them. Which she usually did. Every day. Even though they drew the most customers. But if there was a spot on the counter, or if one of the cakes they sold were a little bit out of place in the display case, they'd hear it.

Minseok sighed as he took off his black winter coat and hung it in the staffroom, revealing a cream-white knitted sweater and a pair of dark jeans underneath. He never meant to be late, but it seemed to happen anyways. It wasn't more than roughly five minutes each time, but if one counted five minutes of every shift... It became a lot in the end. And he didn't even hate the place - he never dreaded coming here. It was well paid, he had a nice co-worker and the atmosphere was just as he liked it.

"I'm sooorry, Yixing," he called back to his co-worker that manned the counter for now, smiling for himself.

Minseok could hear Yixing huff and let out a small laugh from the store, and he knew he was forgiven. Yixing just was that way. He always cared. He was that kind of person that one could find helping an abandoned kitten in the evening-rain. Even though Minseok referred to Yixing as his co-worker, during the two years they had been working together, they had become really close and eventually best friends. As sad as it was, Minseok didn't really have many of them. Or friends in general, for that sake. He hadn't been around kids his own age since childhood for various reasons, and it was just when he moved out from his parents he met other people. To sum it up pretty well; because of that, he had become socially awkward. When he had been hired in the coffee shop Yixing had been there to help him, but he was pretty sure any other person would have given up on him pretty much as soon as they met him.

As Minseok got ready in the staffroom, Yixing took care of a couple of customers that came in. Most of them were here often, so Minseok and Yixing knew their faces and what they usually ordered. The coffee shop wasn't placed along the main street - one needed to have a good eye to see it. But every now and then they would see a new face, which was nice. And when Minseok came out after putting on hos nametag and a couple of comfortable Nike-shoes, Yixing was manning a customer Minseok didn't recognize. He looked strangely tired, even though he probably wasn't even Minseok's age. He was most likely closer to Yixing, who was one year younger. But his eyes showed such tiredness... It was weird. But Minseok decided that this was not his problem, as that was a customer and he was an employee and they would never meet again. Though it still bothered him in the back of his mind...

When Minseok walked over to Yixing, the customer was paying and shortly afterwards sat down at a nearby table.

Yixing turned it Minseok with a strange look in his eyes. "That person over there ordered a plain, black coffee," he whispered. Minseok looked shocked back at him, furring his eyebrows. No one ever ordered that one. It wasn't that the coffee didn't taste good. In fact, it was great. The thing was, all the other coffee-choices were even greater, so when people came here they ordered something extraordinary that one couldn't get other places. Like Minseok's Double Mocha with cream. Or Yixing's Triple Caramel Cafe Latte. But never plain, black coffee.

Yixing shook his head slightly, as he made the boy's order from the coffee beans on the little island behind the counter, filled with all the necessary utensils. "Maybe he just likes black coffee the best," he said. Minseok nodded. In the end, that was probably the most logic answer. 'Do not judge a book by its cover' was his motto anyways.

Even though Yixing and Minseok's boss was really horrifying, she actually had a really good eye for interior. The coffee shop they worked in was the coziest there was, according to Minseok. It was kind of vintage, and it felt... home. It reminded Minseok of those old living rooms you saw in English movies. The chairs were soft and comfortable, and kind of worn. The brown, wooden tables were low and round, with glass plates on top. This made it easier to clean, at the same time as it preserved the vintage image. Some of the tables were small with space enough to only one person, and some had space for two or more.

And then there were the bookshelves that covered most of the walls. It was these bookshelves that made the coffee shop so special. When you came in, you could buy a coffee to go or you could sit inside. Usually most people would choose a coffee to go, but the majority here chose to sit inside. And the reason was all the books. The little shop had most of them, both famous and unknown. One could come in, and just escape the rush outside, even if it was just for a couple of minutes. And reading was free. All you had to pay for was the coffee. For only one thousand won per day, you could also rent the book to read at home, if you didn't finish it either.

This unique setup was what had drawn Minseok here. And, with other reasons more commonly known as Zhang Yixing, had made him stay.

Minseok's shifts were 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. He shared these shifts with Yixing, so they had always worked together. Being together so many hours a week required that they tolerated each other, and as Minseok tended to think people were so stupid he gave up, he was glad he met Yixing. 

When he went to work that evening, he was early, for a change. Well, he would've been. He left his apartment on time, at least.

On his way, he went past a small side street. It was quite normal. Graffiti were all over the walls, shouting angry messages no one could figure out because of the messy way it was written. Overturned trashcans were scattering litter here and there, and grass grew where ground met building. It was already dark, and no lights lit up in there, like they did on the main streets. But this wasn't what got Minseok's attention. After all, this was fairly normal. No, it was the one who was sprinting through the narrow street that caught Minseok's eye.

The person running didn't just seem like someone that was in a hurry. It seemed like someone who was running from something truly terrifying.

This was what made Minseok stop and watch, on the middle of the pavement, almost blocking whoever would walk past. Luckily, the streets were almost empty.

The person quickly closed in on Minseok. By now he could see that it was a boy, maybe even on his own age. He was wearing tattered jeans and a green jacket, which didn't seem very warm in this cold. And if he saw that Minseok was standing in the way, he didn't give any signs that he had seen him, but rushed forward.

"Hey," Minseok called, which was very out of character for him. He usually didn't care to mess with other people's business. "You shouldn't run like th-" he didn't have time to finish his sentence before the boy got to him. For some reason, he seemed strangely familiar. But it was hard to say in the dim light from the streetlights.

Minseok had honestly expected him to run past him, but instead he hid behind Minseok's back for a second.

"If they ask which way I ran, it was that way, okay?" his voice was shaky as he pointed to the right, and Minseok didn't have time to react before he ran to the left, hiding behind the next corner.

"What do you mean, they?" he asked, confused. It was like he was in one of those movies, where he was the unknowing and innocent victim that got killed for being at the wrong place to the wrong time. They? It sounded like the Italian mafia was after him. And Minseok had read more than his share of books about the Italian mafia in the coffee shop. Maybe he'd end up hanging from a bridge in Venice, for giving them the wrong directions. Or maybe the Leaning Tower of Pisa. If the Italian mafia even had a Korean base, of course.

And just as the boy hid, a group of pretty shady-looking people came running through the same street. Minseok just stood there shocked, and the guy that ran in the front, obviously the leader, eyed him and jogged over. The guys in the group were all dressed in baggy clothes and weary flatcaps, and most of them had piercings in the most questionable places. It made Minseok doubt how serious they were, but he decided not to say anything. Well, at least it wasn't the Italian mafia. Because everyone knew that the Italian mafia wore fancy suits and bowlerhats.

As the guy in the front - who was at least twenty centimeters taller than Minseok - stopped in front of him, Minseok wondered how he looked, standing there with the biggest 'what'-face ever.

"Have you seen a boy come running?" the leader-guy growled. He wore saggy jeans, and a baseball-jacket that should've been thrown away ten years ago. Not even close to suit and bowlerhat. When Minseok didn't answer, the guy started to explain, obviously thinking that Minseok didn't know who he meant. "He's kind of petite, a little girly-looking. He wears a green jacket."

Minseok pretended to think for a couple of seconds. Whatever the boy had done, he'd rather lie for him than give him up to these people. They might just kill him. And he liked the boy better than these people anyways.

"Oooh, you mean him!" Minseok said after a few seconds. It was really bad acting, and he couldn't believe these guys were actually falling for it. "I think he ran that way," he pretended to be surprised, and pointed to the right. The shady guys nodded for themselves and ran in the direction Minseok was pointing, shouting and making a lot of noise.

"Morons," Minseok muttered to himself. Well, at least it wasn't the Italian mafia.

As soon as the shady guys left, the boy came out from where he'd been hiding. He bowed to Minseok as soon as he reached him, expressing his thankfulness. "Thank you so much for doing this!" he said. He sounded stressed - that's what stood out to Minseok.

The boy looked down, ready to leave. But Minseok put a hand on his shoulder, and he quickly turned his head to him, surprised. It was already dark, and he couldn't really figure out the boy's facial features very well, but he could see that he had some dirt smeared across his cheek.

"Hey, are you okay?" Minseok asked, looking into the boy's eyes. They were terrified. But the boy nodded, even though the fear made it obvious that he wasn't.

Minseok sighed. "Look, I'm headed to work right now. Why don't you join me? Coffee's on me," he didn't know what drove him to say that. It was something about the boy that just... Drew something out in him. Minseok wondered what.

But the boy shook his head. "No. There is no way I could make you do that. You've helped me more than enough already, and I -" he didn't get any further before Minseok cut him off.

"Hey, listen, because of you, I'm going to be -" he took a quick look at his watch. Five past seven. "At least ten minutes late for work. You can pay me back by joining me, okay? I work in a coffee shop, and it's quite a nice place." he insisted. Whatever his head was doing right now, his common sense did not agree. Well, the other parts of his head usually - like now - trampled on his common sense anyways, so this wasn't completely new. And he liked that boy, even though he didn’t know why.

It was obvious that Minseok's words had gotten through to the boy, because he nodded slowly and looked at him with doubtful eyes. So he still didn't trust him.

But Minseok shrugged the boy's doubting look off, and started to walk towards work again. "And I'm Kim Minseok by the way. What's your name?"

The boy looked at him. "Luhan," he replied.

"Just Luhan?"

The boy nodded. "Just Luhan."