Tuesday evening, before he left work, Ryeowook knocked on the door to Leeteuk’s “office.”

“Come in.”

Ryeowook gently pushed open the door, biting his lip. “You sound tired, hyung.”

“Siwonnie keeps me busy,” the other answered with a hint of a smile. “You’d think he’d give me a break sometimes, me being the hyung, but the kid is very serious about this little shop.” Choi Siwon was the technically the owner of Coco Bean, though Teukie did enough for it that he was basically part owner as well. Siwon was one of the new up-and-coming businessmen in South Korea and, for that reason, he took all of his properties extremely seriously, though he definitely still had a playful side.

“Hyung…” Ryeowook paused, now unsure as to whether he should ask this or not.

“What is it, Wookie?”

“Um…well…I was wondering if I could have the afternoon off tomorrow. I wanted to go with Zhou Mi hyung to the airport. I didn’t want him to have to go alone.”

Teukie smiled, standing and ruffling Ryeowook’s hair. “You do enough for this little shop, Wook; of course you can have an afternoon off!”

“Thanks, Teukie hyung!” A bright smile broke out across Ryeowook’s face, his eyes lighting up. “I’ll see you in the morning!” he chirped, giving Leeteuk a hug before bouncing out of the room.

Eeteuk grinned after him, stretching. Time to go home.

~~~

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, his bag thrown over his shoulder, as he looked up at the vaguely grey sky. It looked like it might snow later, which he couldn’t decide if he liked or not. With a little shiver as a cold breeze blew over him, he turned down the street, heading toward Coco Bean.

Upon entry, his eyes immediately swept over to the counter where he expected a certain lovable figure to be standing.

“Yesung-shii!” Sungmin grinned, waving at the older man. “What would you like today?”

Jongwoon blinked as he drew closer to the counter, frowning ever-so-slightly. “Um…a café mocha, I think.”

“Coming right up!” Sungmin said cheerfully, turning and grabbing a to-go cup from the shelf behind him.

“Where is Ryeowook-shii today?” Yesung tried his best not to sound too interested.

“Oh, Wookie took the afternoon off. Zhou Mi is going to Paris today, so Wookie was going with him to the airport. Zhou Mi is one of his best friends, so he wanted to be there with him.”

Yesung nodded slowly. “Ohhhh.”

Sungmin smiled as he handed the man his cup a minute or two later. “Ryeowook really likes it when you come in, you know,” he said, nearly giggling at the other’s shocked expression. “He was here this morning talking about how he wasn’t going to get to see Jongwoon-shii today and how he was going to miss that part of his afternoon.”

“I like seeing him too,” Yesung said softly, a hint of a smile on his face. “He’s like a breath of fresh air.”

Sungmin nodded in understanding; he felt the same way about Kyuhyun. “You know, Yesung-shii, if you ever wanted a break from your fancy little vocal coach job—Ryeowook told be about that, by the way, and it sounds awesome—then you should come work here sometime. Teukie hyung would be completely fine with you coming in and you’d get to spend more time with Wookie!” He giggled in his mind, a devious sort of plot beginning to develop there (obviously, he’d been spending far too much time around Kyuhyun and Heechul hyung recently…).

However, his plan didn’t get the chance to grow past infancy, as it was promptly snuffed out by the head shake Yesung was giving him. Dejected, it retreated back into a dark corner where it would brood and pout until it saw another chance to come to life.

“No, that’s alright. I don’t want to bug him.” Yesung smiled. “I’ve got to get going, but it was nice talking with you, Sungmin-shii!”

Sungmin watched as he left, sighing. It had been slightly over a week since Kim Jongwoon had started coming to Coco Bean and first met Ryeowook. He could see that the older man already had a soft spot for the little barista but apparently he was the only one who could.

~~~

Airports were noisy. They were almost always filled with bustling crowds (which included, of course, the ever-crying child, much to everyone else’s dismay), impatient business men, frantic families, sobbing girlfriends, fascinated tourists, electronic voices announcing times and gates, and occasionally even the completely calm citizen who carried his bags through the people without a fuss. This particular gate, however, was almost completely open; only a few stragglers were left, hurrying to board the plane. Two figures stood close to each other, one anxious and another sad.

“Well, good bye, Zhou Mi hyung.”

The model noted the sad, kicked-puppy facial expression on the other and sighed softly. “What’s wrong, Wookie?”

“Hyung…one of my best friends is going away for three whole weeks.” Ryeowook replied in a small voice, feeling slightly embarrassed by his “childish” answer.

“Wookie…” Zhou Mi smiled as the younger man threw his arms around him. He hugged him back gently, running his hand up and down the other’s back. “It’s only three weeks, little Ryeowook. I’ll be back before you know it. And I promise to call and text you while I’m there. Don’t worry, okay? Henry, Sungmin, Kyuhyun, Kibum, Leeteuk hyung, and all the others will take care of you while I’m gone.”

Ryeowook nodded slowly. “I know. I’m just going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, Ryeowookie.” Zhou Mi ruffled Ryeowook’s hair fondly before taking a step back. “Alright, I’ve got to go or I’ll miss my flight. See you later, little one!” He grinned happily before dashing toward the gate, clutching his designer bag as he did.

~~~

Ryeowook didn’t go back to work after he made his way through the hordes of people and out of the airport. He’d contemplated it before remembering that Teukie hyung had given him the entire rest of the day off. The only problem was that he wasn’t quite sure what to do with that time.

He hopped on the bus at the airport, riding it silently through the streets, staring out of the window. The sky was slowly beginning to turn dark as clouds moved in; it looked like the forecast for snow later that evening would actually prove to be true. The thought of being cooped up in his apartment for the rest of the day with the snow and silence did not appeal to him. Sighing, he took out his phone, flipping through his contact list.

Leeteuk and Sungmin were out of the question. They were both working at Coco Bean.

Kyuhyun was probably still in his afternoon classes and, if he wasn’t, he would be working on the game he was helping design.

Kibum was filming today.

Henry—one of his absolute best friends that he’d met while visiting Kyuhyun at University—was busy on Wednesdays with extra violin classes.

Kim Jongwoon. Wait. Kim Jongwoon!

Ryeowook found himself smiling at the name. Jongwoon had said that he would always be there to talk to the boy if he needed it and he certainly needed it now. With only the slightest hint of hesitation, he dialed the number.

Ring.

Ryeowook bit his lip, suddenly having second thoughts. Maybe this was a bad idea.

Ring.

That’s it, he wasn’t going to answer, this was a terrible plan, he shouldn’t be bugging someone he barely knew.

Rin—

“Hello?”

“Jongwoon-shii?”

“…Hello?”

“Oh! Hello, Kim Jongwoon-shii, this is Ryeowook.”

“Ryeowook-shii!” The other man sounded delighted. “What do you need?”

“Um…well…I have the rest of the day off and…and I was wondering…if maybe…you wanted to do something later?”

“Of course! I’m in the middle of a vocal lesson right now but I’ll be done at six. What would you like to do?”

“Um…maybe we could eat something? I don’t really know…”

Jongwoon laughed and the sound washed over Ryeowook, filling him with warmth; he smiled. “How about this: I’ll pick you up after this lesson and we can decide where to go.”

“Okay! I’ll meet you at Coco Bean, then. It’s not far from you, right?”

“Right. See you then.”

“Thanks, Kim Jongwoon-shii.”

“No problem, Ryeowook-shii. I’ve got to go. See you later.” The line went dead.

Ryeowook felt his heart swell with pure happiness. See you soon.

~~~

Sungmin sighed behind the counter, resting his chin in his palms. He knew now why Ryeowook had been so excited to have company during the afternoons; sitting there alone in the midst of that empty shop was boring indeed. He’d cleaned everything that could possibly have needed cleaning, he’d organized the various cups, he’d even arranged and rearranged the various types of tea. There was absolutely nothing left for him to do. So, when the little bell above the door went off, his head shot up, the words “Welcome to Coco Bean! How can I help you?” leaving his lips before the chimes stopped.

“Sungmin hyung sure is prompt today, isn’t he?” Ryeowook bounced toward the counter, giggling at his hyung. Sungmin made a face at him.

“No, I just thought you were an important customer!”

“You were bored out of your mind, weren’t you?”

“So very much. I even rearranged the tea, Wookie.”

“And now you understand what I went through for months at a time.”

“I don’t know how you did it. You are an amazing human being. But I thought you had the afternoon off?”

“Ohhh, I’m not here to work! I’m meeting Jongwoon-shii here. We’re going to grab dinner or something.” 

“Aww! You know, he came in earlier like he always does and he wanted to know where you were. He said he likes seeing you every day.” Sungmin noted with a triumphant grin the light pink color that rose to Ryeowook’s cheeks at this announcement. “I think he missed seeing you today.”

“Hyung, I’ve only known him for ten days. Do you think that it’s okay for me to just go to dinner with him like this?” This little fact had been gnawing on his brain since he’d gotten off the phone with Jongwoon earlier. He hadn’t thought about it before hand, but immediately afterwards that fact had popped up and made its presence known in a way he really didn’t like.

Sungmin, however, didn’t seem to have any problems with it and just nodded. “Sure, Ryeowook. He seems like a really nice, genuine person. Besides, if you need any help or anything, you have my number. I’d be there in a heartbeat to help you out if he started being creepy.”

“Thanks, hyung,” Ryeowook giggled, picturing his Bunny Hyung beating up all those people who got on his nerves.

The bell chimed once more and this time both boys chorused, “Welcome to Coco Bean!” before they realized who was in the doorway.

“Jongwoon-shii!” Ryeowook chirped, smiling. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sungmin hyung!”

“Bye Wookie! Have fun!” Sungmin called, waving to his friend.

Ryeowook waved back as he and Yesung headed back out into the street, grinning the whole time.

~~~

“So, Jongwoon-shii, what do you want to do?”

“Hmmm…” Yesung shook a bit of his black hair out of his eyes, thinking as he shoved his hands in his pockets. He and Ryeowook were walking down the street slowly, looking around them for some sort of inspiration as to what they could possibly do on a cold evening like this. “I don’t know.”

“But we have to do something!” Ryeowook shuddered as the cool breeze blew in his face. “Preferably something indoors.”

“Well…are you hungry?”

Just as he opened his mouth to say “not really,” Ryeowook’s stomach growled in a rather audible manner. “I guess I am,” he laughed, a sound that nearly sent shivers down Jongwoon’s spine.

“I know a great place to go for dinner. It’s on the thirty third floor of Jongno Tower and has some of the best views of Seoul. It’s really gorgeous and, if it snows like they keep saying it will, then I think it’ll be even prettier.”

“Okay!” Ryeowook smiled. “Lead the way, Kim Jongwoon-shii!”

~~~

Eternity was known for its fantastic views. All four walls were made entirely of glass, giving the customers a three hundred and sixty degree, unobstructed, bird’s eye view of Seoul. Tourists and natives alike met there, especially during the winter months when the cozy interior made them feel safe and warm. The staff was helpful, the food was amazing, and the desserts were to die for. Between the modern elements and the warm wood tones, it was essentially just a nice place to be. When Ryeowook first stepped inside, he almost immediately regretted agreeing to come. He’d never been, but he hadn’t thought it’d be a fancy, expensive restaurant.

“Jongwoon-shii, it looks too expensive…” he whispered to the older man, turning red for the second time so far that day. “I don’t think…” He didn’t want to finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear: I can’t afford this.

“Don’t worry, Ryeowook-shii; this is my treat.” Yesung smiled reassuringly at his shy friend and turned toward the waiter that approached the pair.

“How many, sir?”

“Two. Upper level, please.”

“Absolutely, sir. Right this way.” The waiter grabbed two menus and began to head toward the spiral staircase that lead to the second floor of the restaurant; Yesung grabbed Ryeowook’s arm and drug him along when he resisted. Once they were seated, Ryeowook hesitantly picked up the menu, opening it and searching for the cheapest thing he could find. Jongwoon, on the other hand, was staring out of the window; he knew without looking what he was going to get as he often came here with executives from the companies that hired him. The sky was beginning to darken and Seoul was starting to light up – it was one of his favorite times.

A different waiter brought them each a glass of water a moment later, asking politely if they were ready to order.

“A few more minutes, I think,” Yesung supplied, glancing over at Ryeowook, who looked positively distraught.

“Of course, sir.” The waiter bowed slightly and left.

“What’s wrong, Ryeowook-shii?”

“Everything is so expensive,” he mumbled, nearly whimpering.

“I told you it was my treat, didn’t I? Honestly, Ryeowook-shii, get whatever you want. Don’t worry about the price. It doesn’t matter.”

“But—”

“I’ll order for you if you don’t make a decision.”

Ryeowook decided that it’d be better if he picked so he quickly returned to his menu. The waiter returned shortly after, notepad in hand.

“I’ll have the apple cranberry stuffed pork roast,” Yesung said, keeping his eyes on Ryeowook, who looked much less confident about his order.

“Um…c-chicken citrus salad…” he stuttered. It had been one of the cheapest things on the menu.

“Your food will be out shortly,” the waiter supplied before disappearing once more. Yesung shook his head.

“Just a salad? I told you to get whatever you wanted!”

“But I just…I’m not used to eating out in fancy places and spending a lot of money on food…” Ryeowook bit his lip.

“Its okay, Ryeowook-shii; you don’t have to feel bad. Next time I’ll just have to get you to try something a little more adventurous than just a salad.” Yesung’s innocent smile was enough to calm Ryeowook’s nerves.

“Next time?”

“Of course, silly. We’re friends and friends hang out with each other, don’t they?”

Friends. Ryeowook liked being friends with Kim Jongwoon.

“Um…well…Jongwoon-shii? Would it be alright…um…can I call you hyung?”

“Only if I can drop the –shii after your name.”

“Deal!”

They grinned at each other across the table.

The beginning of a beautiful friendship.

I'm sorry I didn't update sooner; my week as been crazy-busy! Hope you enjoyed it~! :3

love,

afallingstar