Arrangements, Coincidence and Tea (ii)

Daehyun slams down his sketchbook while I hastily try to rescue his spilt coffee. Thank goodness it had a cap, else Daehyun's book would not have survive that accident. That did not go as planned at all.

"I'm sorry," we blurt in unison. I shouldn't have approached him; why didn't I just leave? 

Daehyun retrieves his drink from my hand, grabbing a napkin and gingerly patting my palm with it. "Are you okay? Did it scald you?"

"No, I'm fine," I wheeze, trying to comprehend how everything snowballed into this mess. "Is your book okay?"

Daehyun's eyes fly wide and he stares at me before nodding rigidly. What was he drawing, portraits?

"I didn't mean to surprise you. I just wanted to say hi." I grimace, noting the skin on Daehyun's neck growing red and irritated.

"Oh," Daehyun fills in, clearly still unnerved by what happened. I step backwards slightly, prepared to leave when Daehyun holds me back.

"I- Uh, how long have you been here?" Daehyun murmurs.

"Just walked in," I answer, twirling my drink. Daehyun nods again, tongue darting in and out of his mouth as his shoulders fall in relaxation.

"What about you?" I ask softly.

"Since four."

I hum, coughing to break the tension between us. You know how when you're around someone who is obviously a lot more popular than you, you automatically feel more self-conscious? Yeah, that's what I'm feeling right now. I'm having doubts if I'm even standing in a cool enough stance for Daehyun.

Yesterday, Bomi caught me before I left class and pelted me with questions about how I got to know Daehyun. I told her one thing led to another and she said I had the luck a thousand girls would want. She's been infatuated with Daehyun since sophomore year. It's apparently hard to befriend him because Daehyun keeps to himself (which, according to Bomi, just makes him "a hundred times hotter").

"What are you doing here?" I ask, settling my eyes on the sketchbook clipped between his arm. He murmurs to himself and I strain my ears to hear him.

"Just... drawing," he answers dismissively.

Alright, he doesn't want me to know what he's doing so I'm clearly intruding. I should leave.

"That's cool. I didn't know you draw."

I mentally smack myself on the head for saying that. Of course I wouldn't know; we've been friends for just over a week.

"Yeah," Daehyun laughs nervously, smile twitching just the slightest. He glances at my jacket, picking up a tissue. Tugging at my sleeve, he dabs at the damp, brown spot.

"Sorry. I- I got a shock." He rises, my eyes following him up.

"Here, have a seat," he murmurs, leaving to bin the soiled napkins. My bad decisions seem to be at an all time high around Daehyun.

Okay. Just tell him you weren't planning on staying. Indie music can wait.

"Actually," I start the moment Daehyun gets back from his excruciatingly slow walk, "I was just about to leave." 

Daehyun blinks at me and I bite on my lip, patiently playing with the ends of my bag straps.

"Oh."

"It was nice seeing you." I edge away from Daehyun with a small smile and he dips his head slowly, searching for words.

"You too."

Waving weakly, I spin on my heels, ready to make my escape, when I crash into someone's collarbone.

"Hey!" Zelo nearly shrieks into my face and I back away, bumping into Daehyun. A stony-faced boy stands behind him, one of the other baristas named L if I recall correctly.

"We saw what happened," Zelo apologetically announces, grabbing at Daehyun's half-finished beverage and ing it into L's hands. L mutters under his breath, walking to the bin, while Daehyun makes a noise that's a cross between a whine and a soft nooooo.

It's... cute.

"And we are so, absolutely sorry for it." Zelo places the back of his hand over his forehead, as though about to faint. L falls back into his place, crossing his arms.

"Let us make up for it." Zelo claps his hands, a glint sparkling in both his pupils. "Spaghetti and drinks on the house!"

Daehyun and I exchange glances, staring at the boy expectantly waiting for a response. Why are they sorry when we were the ones who spilt Daehyun's coffee? Alright, I mean just Zelo; L looks like he has ten thousand better things to do than be here.

"I-It's okay," I squeak, creeped out by the extremely tall barista towering over us. "I was about to go-"

Zelo conveniently puts his hands on the two opposite empty chairs by his sides, almost as if blocking my exit. He sends L a glare and the boy sighs, striding into the kitchen.

"No, I insist! You guys are Coffee Cojjee regulars; how can we treat you this way?"

What. I shift the chair beside me subtly, gauging whether I'll be able to squeeze through it and away from Zelo. "It's really fine," I counter, looking at Daehyun who is equally as bewildered.

"No!" Zelo rams his arms towards us, effectively forcing us to retreat. The customers around us are staring at us curiously. This isn't okay; I had to deal with Himchan today who is all sorts of mental and now this?

"Our chef, Chen, has already started cooking for you two." He gestures at the window of the kitchen, where another staff grins and waves.

"Sajangnim is going to castrate you," L grumbles upon his return, a cup in his hand.

"Took you long enough, hyung," Zelo grumbles, passing the cup to Daehyun. He pulls up an overly sweet smile, ushering me into the seat opposite Daehyun's.

Alright, this is freaking me out. I arch an eyebrow at Daehyun and he scratches his head, pupils flitting here and there. Zelo drags a chair over, sitting with his arms propped on the back rest.

"So," he begins, brows squirming, "I've seen you two here all the time but this is the first that I've seen you guys talking."

I turn towards Daehyun, surprised. "You come here often?"

Daehyun nods, squashing his lips against one another. Zelo sits up, snorting. "Haven't you guys noticed one another?"

I gradually shake my head, earning a groan from Zelo. I've honestly never seen Daehyun here before; I don't pay attention to the people around me when I'm here as it's my "special" alone time.

"That's probably because he always wears a mask." Zelo circles the bottom half of his face up to his nose bridge. He purses his lips, blinking at Daehyun. "You have though, right? I mean, you've seen Youngjae here before."

Daehyun hums quietly. Zelo folds his arms, resting his chin on them. "How did my two regulars meet?"

"School project," I answer. Zelo beams, running a hand down my back and fiddling with the hood of my jacket.

"And it seems you guys have gotten close!" He stands, face wearing a look of satisfaction. "I'll leave you guys to talk, then."

The chair scrapes noisily across the floor, Zelo pressing out the creases in his apron and walking away with a wink. Daehyun and I blink at one another for a few seconds and I break out into an uncontrollable laugh.

"That was weird," I remark, tears pooling at my eyelashes.

Daehyun muffles back a chortle, slouching over the table. "Yeah. What was that all about?"

I shrug, turning back to glance at a grinning Zelo. The clock just struck six, which means this is a free dinner for us. It couldn't hurt to wait.

"But do you mind me staying? I don't want to disturb you."

Daehyun puts his hands up, shaking his head rapidly. "No, it's alright; I'd love for you to stay."

His tongue runs over his lips, glimpse of watery brown on the tip. He grabs at his coffee, swallowing thickly.

"So how'd you find this place?" 

The tabletop is scattered with eraser dust, several pencils strewn all over with an empty transparent case by the side.

Daehyun hesitates, fiddling with his hands under the table. "Someone." 

There's a picture of a bird on his pencil case with a rose in its mouth. It looks like it's drawn in marker. I wonder if Daehyun drew that; it's really p