Word count: 4,262
Note: A Valentine-themed story in the middle August because I’m apparently out of my mind. This is based on a prompt given by Rumourhasit12! Just a little warning, beware of thousands of word-vomit and useless chains of sentences ahead.

Eunji eyed his older brother who had been silent ever since he entered the apartment. She was actually planning to go home after Taekwoon got back from his work but it’s been a while since the last time she met her brother and there was also something strange about the way Taekwoon acted ever since she got back from Jeju-do last week, so she decided to stay the night, and maybe talk to her older brother.

Taekwoon was just finished taking shower and walked out from his bedroom towards the living room when he noticed that his sister was currently sitting on the couch, laughing at the comedy program aired on TV. He scooted closer towards the couch and took a seat beside her sister.

“I thought you’ve went home already.”

The sister diverted her attention from the TV while turning down the volume, “I was planning to, but I reckon that it’s Saturday night, and it’s been a while since we have a sibling time, so I think it’s better for me to stay.” She grinned, “I miss my oppa!”

Taekwoon chuckled at his sister answer but didn’t give her any reply aside from some ruffles to her hair, which she avoided, though to no avail. They both went silent for a while, both pair of eyes were back focusing to the television in front of them until the younger of the two heard her brother sighed for the umpteenth times.

“Oppa.” She called him, and got a hum as an answer, giving her a sign that he was listening to her. “You seem to have a lot in your mind lately.” She took a glance at him, “Something about work?”

The older brother hummed again and closed his eyes, resting his head on the couch and sighed. “That too.”

“Too? So there’s something else?” She paused and scrunched her face while thinking, “Hakyeon oppa? Does this have something to do with him?” She paused again, and then suddenly gasped when she thought of something. “Are you guys currently having a fight or something?”

Taekwoon opened his eyes again without moving his head from its resting place and eyed his sister with a surprised gaze. “What? No, we’re not. It’s not like that. Why do you even think that we’re fighting in the first place?”

Eunji heard his answer and chuckled. “Well, for a starter, I went to Coffee Drop this morning to accompany Binnie and Hyukkie as usual. You know how he was like? He sighed a lot, he frowned a lot, and he wasn’t really paying attention to everything I said. Exactly like you do ever since you picked me up on the airport last week.” She ended her explanation, “What’s exactly happening?”

Now Taekwoon was back in having his eyes closed, though he did listen to what his sister was saying. He sighed again. “With the recent promotion I got, I’m getting busier with work since now I have even more things to do. Like today, it’s Saturday and it’s supposed to be my day off but I still had to do overtime work.” Another sigh escaped from his lips. “It’s just like we’re… How should I put it? We’re not exactly drifting apart, but since the beginning of this month, we hardly see and talk to each other anymore.”

The sister nodded understandingly throughout his brother’s heartfelt confession about his deepest worries. She turned her body around in order to face him and smiled softly, “Don’t worry about it too much. It’ll pass.” She said while patting the older’s hand.

“I know that I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it.”

Eunji saw a worried expression on his brother’s face when she suddenly remembered that Valentine’s Day was coming soon. It’d fall somewhere around next week, she noted. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure you two will work it out.” She grinned while making up a plan inside her brain,

‘Yep. With a little bit of help from me I’m sure you’ll work it out.’

———

It was Sunday morning, and Eunji was planning to take her nephews to their favourite coffee shop, even though they had just been there yesterday. If she wasn’t mistaken, Sunday was usually the day when Hakyeon would take his day off, so there would be only Jaehwan there, and it’d be easier for her to talk him about her plan if one of the target of her plan wasn’t present.

She really couldn’t stop smiling at her own brilliant idea. So after compromising with the boys that they shouldn’t say anything to their father nor their Coffee hyung about everything that they’re about to do, and her telling Taekwoon that she’s going to take the boys to the park nearby, the three of them departed to their destination.

“Eunji-sshi, long time no see!” Jaehwan who were just finished in opening the cafe greeted his first customer of the day with his bright smile. Eunji just waved while the two boys ran to approach the friendly barista.

“Good morning Jaehwan hyung!” They excitedly greeted him.

He smiled at the two adorable boys in front of him, “Good morning! It’s nice to see you guys two days in a row. What brings you here today?”

Hongbin and Sanghyuk both shook their head, but then Hongbin whispered, “Aunty Eunji said it’s a secret!”

“Yes! It’s see… See… It’s secret!” Sanghyuk whispered too, mimicking what his brother was doing.

Jaehwan tilted his head, half in confusion and half in amusement. He then follow the two boys in whispering, “It’s a secreeeeet? From whooooom? And whyyyyy?”

He exaggerated his whisper by dragging out the last syllable of every sentences he said, and it caused the two brothers laughed even though they still shook their heads, signalling him that they didn’t know anything about the so-called secret they were talking about. So Jaehwan shot a questioning look at their aunty, asking for an explanation.

“Ah right,” Eunji laughed, “I actually wanted to ask you for a favour, Jaehwan oppa.” She paused, “Oh, you don’t mind I call you as oppa, do you?”

“Of course I don’t. We should start talking comfortably then.” Jaehwan answered with an amused expression on his face, while his hands were busy preparing the cake and pastry that Hongbin and Sanghyuk had chosen. When he was done, he set the boys’ plate on the table Eunji was sitting on and took a seat across her. “What’s the favour?”

“First things first,” She finally stated after Jaehwan was sitting closely to her, “is Hakyeon oppa somewhere near this place?”

“Nah.” He shook his head, “As usual, he took Sunday as his day off. He’s probably at home, working on last month’s revenue sheet thingy.” Jaehwan chuckled sheepishly, “I feel bad that he’s doing all of those things himself when I’m also the co-owner of this cafe. But what to do? All I understand about is food.”

Eunji stared at him with an amazed expression, “Whoa. Hakyeon oppa is in charge for that too?”

Jaehwan paused a moment to think, “Hmm… It’s like this, I’m being the co-owner is because my passion for food and pastry, while my older brother is the one who’s in charge with anything related to financing of the business. Hakyeon hyung is a little bit of both, and his love for coffee also helps too. So even though it’s not really his responsibility, when my older brother was too busy with his real job, Hakyeon hyung helps him in managing the revenue.” He explained.

She nodded, “I see… Sounds complicated though.” She stated, which responded by a nod from the older guy.

“It is.” He answered her simply. “So… What’s the favour you wanted to ask me? And why did you ask about Hakyeon hyung? Is it a secret from him?”

“Yep. And from their father, too.” Eunji motioned her hands to Hongbin and Sanghyuk, grinning.

“Oh! Some kind of surprise for the happy couple then?”

“Yeah, something like that.” She nodded again before moving her head closer to Jaehwan’s, “So oppa, here’s the plan………”

———

Another week flied by so quickly and it was already Sunday again. Taekwoon sighed while resting his head on the pillow and closed his eyes. He knew that it was already afternoon (3PM, to be exact) but he didn’t have any will to move his body out from the bed, he was too exhausted. Besides, the boys were out with their aunty since several hours ago, so he didn’t really have anything he had to do. Maybe resting was his best option.

His mind wandered off to the day before, when Hakyeon called him to ask if they could meet up. He couldn’t stop thinking of how disappointed the other sounded when he said he couldn’t since he just had to do another overtime work. It was Valentine’s Day too, of course Hakyeon would be really disappointed. But Taekwoon didn’t exactly have much choice.

‘I should make it up to him somehow…’ Taekwoon thought to himself. So he grabbed his phone and was about to dial his lover’s number when he saw a message popped up on his screen.

Sender: Eunjijijiji~rong!
Message: Have you wake up yet? :D Come to Coffee Drop tonight at 7PM sharp, and wear the outfit I have chosen for you which I hang on your wardrobe’s door. We’re waiting for you! DON’T YOU DARE NOT TO SHOW UP. >:(

Taekwoon was stunned by the message he just received. He surely didn’t know about why Eunji suddenly said that she, no, they were waiting for him. Who exactly are they? Still, he reckoned that Hakyeon must be there, so he finally got up and shifted his way towards the wardrobe. Once he found the outfit Eunji was talking about, he examined it. It was a white button up shirt, brown knitted vest, black skinny jeans, completed with black boots and black and yellow spotty necktie. Amused with his sister choice of clothing, he then walked his way towards the bathroom to get ready. After all, with the threat Eunji gave him, he really didn’t want to be late.

Meanwhile at the same time on different apartment…

Hakyeon eyed the outfit Jaehwan gave him earlier this morning and tilted his head. It wasn’t the most casual outfit he would ever put on, but it wasn’t exactly a formal attire either. The outfit were made up of dark brown suit jacket, grey button up suit, black skinny jeans, brown necktie with abstract white patterns, and boots. It made him wondered what kind of event Jaehwan referred to when he said that there would be an event held on their cafe tonight. He then noticed there was a card stuck on the pocket of the suit jacket. On it written what clearly was Jaehwan’s handwriting:

Seriously, I know you’re considering to just wear another outfit since you always doubted my fashion sense, but just trust me on this one and wear it. Come at 7 o’clock and don’t be late!

Upon reading the card, he chuckled. It seems like Jaehwan had already read his mind about wanting to wear his own favourite outfit. So he shrugged and decided, ‘Why not?’ and get himself ready for whatever event he was getting ready for.

———

At 7PM, Hakyeon had just parked his car of the cafe’s parking lot and walked towards the entrance of the cafe when he noticed that someone’s familiar was walking closer towards him.

“Taekwoon?” He called the familiar figure when he was already closed enough to him. There was a smile tugging on his lips, he was glad that he’s finally able to meet his lover.

“Hey.” Taekwoon greeted the other’s simply, with a wide smile plastered on his face. He then proceeded to hug Hakyeon and nuzzled his nose on the older’s thick winter jacket, “Ah, it’s so cold out here.” He muttered.

Hakyeon chuckled as he releasing his hug from his lover. “Jaehwan also invited you to tonight’s event? Do you know exactly what it is? Because I have no idea.” He asked his lover confusedly.

The younger shook his head, “Eunji told me to come here, saying that there are people waiting for me. Besides, I knew that you’d be here, so here I am. I have no idea what this actually is though.” He grinned before rubbing his hands together, “Let’s go inside, it’s so freaking cold out here.”

“That’s probably a good idea.” Hakyeon nodded and grabbed the other’s hand to enter the coffee shop with their hands intertwined, but then he felt the younger pulled on his hand which turned his body around, and he was met with a cold lips on his own in a sudden kiss. Hakyeon happily kissed back.

Not long after, Taekwoon broke off the contact, “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it yesterday…”

“It’s okay. At least I can spend times with you today.” Hakyeon smiled, caressing his lover’s cheek with his thumb, “Whatever the event is going to be.” He then suddenly giggled, “Let’s go in, your lips and cheeks are really cold.”

When they entered the cafe for real though, they quickly noticed that it was actually empty. And rather dark too. Only the smaller yellow lights were , leaving out the big white lights off. No wonder the overall feel of the cafe was different, even from the outside. The usual bright and busy cafe has now turned into quiet and cozy. Hakyeon was about to get mad at his cousin before he saw a table positioned right in the middle of the room, decorated with red velvet cloth, candles, and a vase of flowers. His eyes widened, “What’s that?”

“I think…” Taekwoon look around, “I think that table is meant for us.”

“Us?” The older of the two doubted, “Us as in you and I?”

Taekwoon shrugged, “Who else? We’re the only one here.” Well, there were actually a jazz band playing out a soft music on one corner of the coffee shop, but that was beyond the point.

All of the sudden, a waiter-dressed Jaehwan came out from nowhere and approached them. “Good night, and welcome, gentlemen! Here, let me put away both of your jackets.” He assisted the couple in taking off their winter jacket and put it away in behind the coffee bar, before quickly got back to the two confused male.

“A table for two, right? Please follow me right this way.” He smiled and motioned for both of them to follow him. He then gestured them to sit in the decorated table.

Once seated, Taekwoon looked up to the waiter and stared at him with an amused expression. “Are you cosplaying or something?”

Jaehwan dramatically shook his head, “This is an event specifically prepared for both of you, Sir.” He answered while bowing, and went away for a moment, and got back with a bottle of wine in his hand. “Red wine, Sir?” Both men nodded and chuckled, while Jaehwan still keep his face straight and gracefully poured the wine into the glass and served it to his ‘customer’. He bowed once again, and this time he went away towards the kitchen.

Hakyeon chuckled. “It seems like Jaehwan and Eunji prepared all of this for us.” He smiled widely and looked around, noting every single change and decoration that had been made by the two. “It really caught me off guard, but this is nice.”

The younger of the two hummed and nodded while sipping his wine, “Yeah, this is really nice.”

Not long after, a waiter-dressed Eunji got out from the kitchen, with a tray on her hand. In front of her were Hongbin and Sanghyuk who were also dressed in a mini-waiter outfit, both of them holding a pair of pink and red roses each. The two little boys giggled.

“Wel— welcome!” Sanghyuk said while still giggling, and was followed by his brother greetings, “I hope you enjoy your dinner!” Then the two of them handed the roses they were holding towards the couple, Hongbin gave his to his father and Sanghyuk gave it to Hakyeon. It was clear that either Jaehwan or Eunji had taught them to recite the greetings, and they looked so adorable in saying it while trying to suppress their giggles. Both of them then proceeded to give the couple a kiss on the cheek and hugged them.

“Do you like it, Appa?” Hongbin asked his father giddily, “Aunty Eunji, Jaehwan hyung, Hyukkie, and I prepared this for you!”

Taekwoon smiled fondly at his oldest son, “I do, dear. I really like it.” He then gazed towards his lover, “Hakyeon hyung likes it too.”

“Yes, I really like it!” Hakyeon answered while ruffling the maknae’s hair. “Thank you, boys!” He then smiled at Eunji, “And thank you, Eunji-yah. And Jaehwan too.”

“No problem!” Eunji finally spoke while serving the bowls containing appetizer dish that she got on her hands. “This is the jatjuk, Korean-style pine nut porridge, served with a sprinkle of pine nuts and pine needles dressing on top of it. It’s warm and creamy, and it’ll help you to work out your appetites for the main course.” She grinned, “I might be not the best cook you’ll ever know but I made this one myself and I guaranteed that you’ll like it!”

“I like it!” Sanghyuk nodded and gave his thumb up towards his aunty, and she nodded back to him.

She then motioned her nephews to follow her back to the kitchen, “Let’s go boys, we need to prepare the rest of the food. Just let your father and Hakyeon hyung finished their appetizers, okay?” The three of them were about to walked away when Eunji turned around to face the couple again, “You might don’t want to eat the pine needles, it’s really only there for the purpose of dressing.” She explained sheepishly and bolted her way towards the kitchen.

The couple laughed, but tasted the porridge anyway. As soon as the white warm soup-like substance hit his tastebuds, Hakyeon gasped. “This is delicious!”

“I never thought that I’d say this about my sister’s cooking, but it is.” Taekwoon chuckled. “I supposed staying for four months in Jeju-do without anyone available to cook for her had really made her learned how to cook.” He laughed heartily while continuing to scoop out his porridge.

Hakyeon laughed at his lover’s remark. “So how’s your work, Woon-ah? Everything’s alright? You sounded so tired lately…” He put down his spoon and then caressed the other’s hand, “I’m worried.” He stated with a frown on his face. “Do you eat regularly? Do you get enough sleep? You should rest a bit. Yesterday the boys were complaining that it’s been three weeks in a row that you had to work on weekends.”

Taekwoon also stopped eating, and then sighed happily while seeping into the moment. He gazed at the male in front of him lovingly and smiled. Hakyeon’s face showed that he was really worried but it somehow made Taekwoon happy. The older was concerned about him, he genuinely cared about him, and it made him wanna squish the slightly shorter male in a bear hug as a thank you for treating him like that.

“I got more responsibility, meaning that I got more workloads to do. But it’s fine…” He smiled and gave the other’s hand a squeeze of assurance, “Hopefully starting next week I wouldn’t have to work overtime anymore.”

“That’s good to hear.” Hakyeon smiled, “The boys miss their father. I miss you too. We rarely see each other anymore.”

Ah, so he wasn’t the only one that was worried about that, Taekwoon noted, and a smile was spread on his face. “I’m sorry.” And that’s all that he could say.

“No need for you to apologize, just… Spare some times for your mind and body to rest, okay?”

Taekwoon just hummed as his answer and the two continued to eat and chat for a while. Several minutes later, Jaehwan got out from the kitchen bringing the main course for the couple. He then served the dishes, “The main course for today is essentially a spicy bulgogi. But it was prepared and plated as a steak and served together with Korean-style potato salad and perilla leaf kimchi.”

“Wah! Jaehwannie’s signature dish!” Hakyeon exclaimed once Jaehwan put down the plate in front him.

The cousin smiled proudly, “It is my signature dish, I only cook this for special occasion! And since this is one special occasion, I cook this for you two. Enjoy!” He then served two glass of iced water for the couple and then also refill their wine glass. After he was finished, he bowed his way out and returned to the kitchen.

“I thought he was only a baker, turns out he’s a chef too?” Taekwoon cut out a piece of meat, placed it on a perilla leaf, topped it with some of the mashed potato, folded it with his fork, and finally put it in his mouth to taste it. “Damn, he really is a great cook.” He stated after tasting the food.

Hakyeon chuckled and also ate his own food. “He basically knows everything about food, from traditional to modern, from complete meal set to snacks. He just knows it all.” He smiled proudly of his cousin, “We do have our own pastry chef, but most of the food and pastry we got on our menu was developed by him.”

Taekwoon hummed. “No wonder that cupcakes he gave for my birthday were all delicious.”

“I’ve told you.” Hakyeon grinned, “This whole Valentine dinner thing is a strange mixture of Western tradition with Korean food.”

“But it works. Quite well.” Taekwoon returned the grin, “And it made us to have our first proper date, so I’m enjoying it.”

“Ah right, come to think of it, we never really had a proper date before, hadn’t we?” He asked in between his bites.

The younger of the two hummed again. “I don’t think so. We either spent times at my places, yours, or here. Well, we went shopping or such occasionally, but I don’t think those can be counted as a proper date.” He paused, “We should do this kind of thing more often.”

“We should.” Hakyeon nodded, “With Hongbin and Sanghyuk too, that’d be really nice.”

After the couple were done eating their meal, both Eunji and Jaehwan scooted closer towards their table while holding hands with the little boys; Eunji held Sanghyuk’s hand and Jaehwan got Hongbin holding on to his. The four of them grinned and then Hongbin and Sanghyuk came forward. The couple saw that the little boys were holding a little baskets on their hands.

“The boys got a little something for you two, so we hope you enjoy. They choose it themselves!” Eunji explained excitedly.

Both Hongbin and Sanghyuk placed down their baskets, which turned out to be filled with little sweet treats such as candies, chocolates, and toffees, and even though it wasn’t actually a proper dessert to close their meal, the couple gladly accepted it. It was personally picked by the boys, so of course they would still happy to eat it whatever it was, their precious boys were the one who gave it to them.

“Whoa, thank you, Hongbin-ah, Sanghyuk-ah!” Hakyeon smiled at the two siblings and gave them a hug. Sanghyuk then picked one of his favourite strawberry-flavoured candy from the basket and gave it to Hakyeon.

“This is for hyung… It’s delicious!”

“Really? Why don’t you feed it for me then?” The adult requested, so Sanghyuk put it into the hyung’s mouth and looked at him expectantly. “It is delicious, Hyukkie. Thank you.” He smiled fondly at the maknae.

Taekwoon on the other hand, had already ate an orange-filled chocolate candy. “These all are your own favourite, isn’t it?” He asked his sons, chuckled, which was responded by a grin from his oldest son.

“But Appa likes it too!”

The two other adults in the room chuckled too, when one of them finally talked. “I hope you enjoy our surprise for you, Taekwoon oppa, Hakyeon oppa.” Eunji said while smiling.

“We do. Thank you, Eunji-yah.” Taekwoon stood up and gave a hug to his younger sister, also not forgetting to ruffle her hair.

“Seriously, oppa? You really just couldn’t leave my hair alone, could you?” She pouted, but then laughed.

“Yay! Surprise project plan is a total success!” She said and gave Jaehwan a high-five.

“Ah, I’m relieved that you liked it.” Jaehwan stated.

Hakyeon laughed, “Awwwww.. Our Jaehwannie had worked so hard. Thank you~!” Hakyeon cooed, which made Jaehwan grimaced.

Eunji laughed at the two cousins, “Okay, now we’re going to leave you two to do whatever you wanted, and don’t worry about the boys, they’ll be with me for tonight.” She grinned as she held her nephews’ hands, “Oh right, if you go back to Taekwoon oppa’s apartment, Jaehwan oppa had prepared some more desserts for you to eat. I put it in the fridge. Enjoy it, okay?” She winked and then walked back to the kitchen, also followed by Jaehwan before he turned around, and had this huge mischievous smile on his face,

“I don’t know what is your plan for tonight, but whatever you do, stay safe! If you know what I mean.”

He then ran away towards the kitchen with his cousin screamed, “LEE JAEHWAN SHUT THE UP!” with Taekwoon laughed hysterically behind him.

• I am so sorry if some of the food doesn't make any sense. If there is any Korean reading this, I sincerely apologize, I actually had no idea about Korean cuisine. Well, I don't know anything about fine dining on that matter.. Anyway, if you're wondering if this chapter takes place directly before chapter 2, the answer is NO. Chapter 2 takes place at least several weeks or months after this.
• Just a little bit reminder, please do keep it in mind that each chapter of this whole side-stories doesn't necessarily happened in timely order from chapter to chapter. If it did, or there was something about the timeline, I'll make sure to put a note so that you wouldn't be confused.