Chapter 3

It was just the next day when Donghae decided he'd try to leave his house again. Maybe he'd see the pretty fashion designer again. But where should he go? Donghae had no idea where this guy actually worked, maybe he worked from home? Then it'd basically be impossible to see him at work. Unless he followed him around like some stalker, of course. But, considering the fact that he could barely bring himself to talk to the man just the day before, he wasn't about to try to find out where he lived. Plus, that'd be weird. He tried his best to make himself look at least half decent, even though he still looked like a raccoon. He tugged on a sweatshirt and his skinny jeans before heading off, stopping to get a coffee first. Now, when he walked into the Starbucks just a few minutes from his house, he didn't exactly expect to run into Hyukjae again. Definitely not. But guess who was sitting at the table in the corner? None other than Mr. Fashion Designer from the day before. Donghae felt his heart jump up into his throat as he took his cup and slowly shuffled over to the table. The man looked pretty invested in whatever was on the paper in front of him, but Donghae managed to work up the courage to interrupt him. Hopefully he wouldn't mind. "Um- H-Hyukjae?" Of course he'd stutter. Him and his stupid voice. A sigh of relief escaped his lips, though, when the other guy looked up.

A gentle smile spread across Hyukjae's face when he seen the guy standing in front of him. At first he was a little annoyed that someone would bother him while he was working, but now he didn't mind so much. Donghae! Come, sit down. Unless you're busy.

"No, I'm not busy." He shook his head with a small smile as he set his cup down before pulling out the chair, taking a seat.

Great. How are you today? Sorry if I was kinda weird yesterday. I panicked.

"I'm okay. Don't worry, I panicked too." A small laugh escaped Donghae's lips as he took a sip of his drink, taking a moment to look over Hyukjae. He was wearing a leather jacket today, which Donghae thought looked great. Honestly, he'd probably look good in most things that he put on. This guy was just.. beyond attractive. He didn't even realize he was staring until he made eye contact with Hyukjae, who was looking at him with this sort of 'are you there?' kind of look. He shook his head quickly to get himself out of his thoughts, cheeks flushed. "Sorry, I was daydreaming."

He watched as Hyukjae laughed, silently wishing he was able to hear him. He had a nice smile, his pretty teeth and his gums showed when he did. That's alright, I daydream too.

"Um, so, what were you doing when I came over? I'm not bothering you or anything, am I?"

No, no! No bother. I was just trying to come up with some stuff. My boss wants me to send in some designs and things. Hyukjae rolled his eyes, a soft smile still present on his lips. Bosses, you know? So annoying.

"I guess I know, still don't have a job." Donghae chuckled a bit, looking at his lap. "This is honestly the most I've been out in a while. I tend to stay in my house whenever possible."

Really? Don't you get bored in there?

"I do get bored, but.. I prefer being bored to going out and having to deal with some stuff. I don't like going out because you can't see that I'm deaf, so people just think I'm stupid most of the time."

Ah.. I'm sorry if I came off as one of those people yesterday. I was really just having a long day. My designs had gotten rejected and my boss was being a . I mean, he's always kind of a , but he was being extra y yesterday. Annoying.

Donghae nodded in understanding as he drank his coffee slowly, in a deep breath as he set the cup down. "Can I uh- would it be weird if I gave you my phone number? I think you're really cool, and I realized that yesterday I didn't give you my number, and I really want to.."

Wouldn't be weird at all. Much appreciated, actually. He smiled softly and decided to rip a piece of paper out of his notebook, sliding it and a pen over to the guy sitting across from him.

"Thank you." Donghae took the pen carefully, writing his phone number down.

Hyukjae watched this, a smile on his face. All of Donghae's movements were slow and gentle, including when he set the pen back down on the table, sliding the paper over to him. Thank you. I'll be sure to text you when I get home.

"Perfect." He sighed contently and leaned back, arms crossed over his chest. "You're a really nice guy, you know?"

You really think so? I honestly thought you would've hated me after what I did.

"Nah.. everyone has bad days, I get it. You took your anger out on me, I guess. I didn't exactly enjoy the experience, but it's not your fault. I get it. I've done it before. Sort of."

Hyukjae nodded with a gentle smile, nearly jumping out of his shoes when his phone started to buzz on the table. He was so busy in his mind with Donghae that he didn't even realize what was happening for a second. "Crap." He muttered to himself, before looking at Donghae. I've gotta go, boss is calling again. I'll talk to you later, though. And with that, he was up and gone.

Donghae watched him go before standing up and tossing his now empty coffee cup out, heading back to his apartment. He could've stayed out longer, but he achieved what he set out to do today, so why would he push himself to talk to all of these strangers for even longer? Exactly. Time to go home. Home was safe for him, and he liked it. Plus, now he didn't have to worry about the pretty guy forgetting about who he was, because he had his phone number. He would call, right? Donghae sure hoped so. He doesn't have a whole lot of friends, let alone people who would even think about dating him. Maybe this would be good for him.

Not even minutes later, Donghae's phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a text from a new number, and the mystery of who it was was quickly solved when he unlocked the phone, reading the message.

Hey! This is Hyukjae. I'm really hoping this is actually Donghae and you didn't give me a fake number lol. Sorry I left so suddenly, work sometimes. Anyway, I'm rambling. Oopsies.

A smile spread across Donghae's lips as he read the message, taking in a breath before typing out a response.

Hey :) Yep, that's me. And it's okay, don't worry about it!!

a/n: heyeyeyyeyy guess who's back it's me
and on hyuks bday look at me go
one of my friends got me back into them and i realized how much i missed my boys
love u guys oxooxoxoxo