Daehyun cleared his aching throat and knocked with his bare hand the glass door of the coffee shop. Junhong and Hyosung were inside yet, cleaning the tables and mopping the floor. When they heard the noise their eyes fixed on the brunet, who waved hello with a faint grin on his lips. The two baristas smiled back and soon afterwards the young woman started to give instructions to the tall boy. Junhong nodded and entered the staff room, leaving Hyosung cleaning alone. She looked again at Daehyun and flashed a smile before resuming her duty.

It was already half past six. The sun had already gone and the wind was freezing. The brunet hid his cheeks behind his coat’s collar and shoved his hands on his pockets, rocking his body to stop the shivers. Today had been probably a busy day for Hyosung and Junhong since they weren’t finished yet. Not that his day had been precisely relaxing. The whole office was swamped with work since they were supervising three advertising campaign including Himchan’s (which was the biggest one). Daehyun thought that his CEO was crazy when he knew about the third project being accepted. The quantity of work they had to finish before one month was insane and he wasn’t sure if he would survive it.

Moreover his day had been… intense. Basically he had to spend the whole afternoon with his boss, even during the breaks. Luckily, they weren’t alone but the whole team gathered to work together. She seemed happier as she came back to her sassy and cheery personality. She even made Daehyun laugh several times. But the brunet caught her staring at him with sad eyes more than once.  Ignoring those times, the brunet enjoyed her company, but he also felt again her miss.

Daehyun spun his head glancing again at the shop, wondering when would Junhong meet him outside. He was impatient and he couldn’t stop tapping the pavement with his right foot. They were going to check on Youngjae and bring him food because he was surely eating junk or not eating at all. The brunet couldn’t deny being worried about his friend. He spent the whole day containing himself from sending messages to the barista each five minutes. Daehyun was seriously starting to wonder if he was going mad because his obsession with the latter was no normal. He was somehow afraid because he didn’t understand his own feelings at all.

 The sound of the door behind him being abruptly opened startled him. He faced the tall boy and showed a broad grin. Junhong stepped closer and handed him a pair of bags which probably contained food.

“Help me to carry these, please” requested the younger.

The brunet took the bags and glanced at the remaining things the boy was carrying. “Wow, is all that food for Youngjae?”

“Yup. Everyone contributed to our cause” he replied nodding and smiling.

“Youngjae surely is loved.” The taller just hummed in response, his smile widening slightly. “I feel kind of bad because I didn’t get him anything” admitted the elder looking slightly upset.

“Haha, don’t even worry. I’m sure Jae will be happy just by seeing your face” assured the latter, his smile quickly turning into a smirk.

Daehyun blinked confused as he didn’t know what his friend was implying. He didn’t ask him about it nonetheless. They continued walking towards the bus station.

“Aw, man, I feel kind of bad about leaving Hyosung alone. Maybe I should let you go alone and help her” said Junhong.

The brunet had a short and intense panic attack at the thought of being alone with Youngjae. The last time he ended up watching the barista sleep and even touching him like a disgusting stalker. He quickly turned his gaze towards the younger widening his eyes. “No. I mean, please come. I think that would make Youngjae really happy.”

Junhong furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before chuckling. “Okay, but you don’t have to look so distressed about it.”

“Well, is just… you are his closest friend after all.”

The taller shoot him a quick suspicious look and soon smiled like a puppy again.

They didn’t have to wait long for the bus to come. As soon as it stopped they entered and sat on the bottom seats. Junhong settled all the bags on his lap and started humming a song. ‘This kid is so cute’. Daehyun enjoyed a lot being with the tall boy. He always had preferred to spend time alone with Jongup, but from now on he would suggest the youngest to come too. His first impression of Junhong wasn’t that good. He looked like a troublemaker with his hair dyed of flashy colours and his clothes always ripped and looking messy. Not to mention he was kind of jealous since he got to spend more time with Jongup.

“It’s been a while since the last time Jongup and I hanged out alone” he mumbled, more to himself.

The latter turned his head to look at him. “Yeah, he told me he misses being with you.”

Daehyun smiled genuinely. Hearing that made him really happy because he considered Jongup his best friend in Seoul. Surely, he also had a good relationship with Yongguk, Jinki and some other colleagues, but they didn’t usually spend time together after work. And in a separate category was Youngjae. They had a special friendship, at least from Daehyun’s point of view. But what was exactly their relationship? Maybe the brunet was overthinking and misunderstanding the whole situation. Maybe to the barista he was just a ‘normal’ friend like the others.

Youngjae had something unusual that made Daehyun crave for his company. Not only he was cute and sassy (two mannerisms which he loved) but he was special in some way that the brunet couldn’t explain. More specifically, he wasn’t able to put into words how the latter made him feel sometimes. As an example, when the barista laughed and his eyes bended into two thin lines, or when he looked focused and peaceful while making coffee. Those times the brunet would feel a pleasant warmness on the pit of his stomach.

“I’m bored, what are you thinking about to be so quiet?” snapped the tall boy.

“Hmm.” The brunet took a while to process the question. “Just work” he lied.

The younger rolled his eyes. “Oh my god, you are so boring.”

“What do you think about usually, then?” he asked cocking an eyebrow. “When I was at the university my studies were everything I could think about.”

Junhong laughed. “What? Your student life must have been damn boring.”

The elder frowned. “That’s not true. I mean, I thought about other things too, but the studies were my priority and I really worried about them.”

“Maybe you get stressed too much over things.”

“Maybe. But I also attended to almost every party.”

“Wow, really? Here there are way too many parties from different faculties.”

Daehyun shrugged. “Well, also in Busan. But I had friends everywhere so I got invited to most of them.”

Junhong widened his eyes. “Don’t tell me you were the popular kind.”

“I… guess so?”

“And did you hook up a lot?”

The brunet laughed at the question and shook his head in disbelief. “Yeah, I had several girlfriends and friends with benefits.”

The younger’s eyes went even wider and his mouth fell open. “Oh my god. Tell me your secrets.”

“So, I’m not boring anymore, huh?” he inquired showing a smug smile.

Ten minutes and 100 questions later, the two friends reached Youngjae’s stop. The streets where empty and just a few cars crossed that road. The sky was already pitch black as it was quarter past seven. Daehyun took three bags this time, to take some load off from Junhong, and started to walk at quick pace. He was surprised to remember where the latter lived.

“Hey, slow down. Youngjae won’t go anyway, you know?” requested the younger in a whiny tone.

The brunet just chuckled and slowed his rate. He couldn’t deny how impatient he was to meet the barista. He had seen him the day before, but they weren’t able to even hold a conversation. He spent the next minutes focusing on his feet and trying to supress his cheesy thoughts about Youngjae, because, well, it was starting to become an obsession.

“We are almost there” announced the tall boy, although Daehyun already knew when they reached the block of flats.

And in less than two minutes they arrived at Youngjae’s apar. The brunet left the bags on the floor and rang the doorbell chewing his lower lip in anticipation. Youngjae’s congested voice was heard asking them to wait and soon the door was slowly opened. The barista poked out his face and beamed a wide smile when his eyes met Daehyun’s. The elder had to restrain himself from hugging the latter because he was really too adorable. Instead he just smiled back. Junhong muffled back a chuckle and elbowed the brunet making his way inside the small apartment.

“Hello you too, Youngbaby. I’ll be inside making myself at home while you too exchange your lovey dovey smiles” cooed the youngest dropping the bags he was carrying on the kitchen’s counter.

The two latters coughed and averted their gazes immediately, Youngjae stepping aside to let the brunet enter and Daehyun picking up the bags. Once the eldest was inside the warm house, the barista closed the door and went to the kitchen to examine the food. He had a sheepish smile on his face.

He looked better, Daehyun thought. The deep bags under his eyes were almost gone and he wasn’t so pale. His lips regained their natural pink colour and he wasn’t wrapped on a thick blanket anymore. The brunet placed the three bags beside the others and joined his two friends.

“Okay, those are paninis made by Jieun and a quiche, also her creation” explained Junhong pointing at the food. “On this bag there are muffins and in the other right next to it bagels and sandwiches, which I just made” he said proudly. “Hyosung is helpless at cooking, you know, so she just bought you Korean food. And on that paper bag there are four cups of hot chocolate. Well they’re not hot anymore, but you can microwave them so…”

The barista gaped at all the bags displayed on his kitchen. “Oh my god, this is too much food just for me.”

“Well, we know your eating habits are normally , but we can’t let you feed on junk when you are sick” explained the tall boy with a tone of mockery in his voice.

A low snigger escaped Youngjae’s lips. “C’mon, you are overreacting. Thank you, though.”

“Are you feeling any better?” asked Daehyun softly.

The younger met his eyes and nodded. “Yeah. I’m much better, thank you guys.”

“Why does the whole house smell like coffee?” mumbled Junhong sniffing.

“Oh. It’s because I just made some” answered the barista.

“This late?” exclaimed the youngest.

“I can’t help it! The coffee Daehyun’s gave me is too addictive…” he admitted.

The brunet’s lips curled upwards. “Really? I’m glad you like it.” He felt kind of proud of himself for choosing right.

“Saying that I like it would be an understatement. Do you guys want a cup? You have to try it.”

Junhong grimaced. “Like hell, I’d rather sleep.”

“Me too” said Daehyun chuckling.

“Huh, wussies” muttered the latter. “Anyway, why don’t you stay with me for a while and help me to swallow all this food” he suggested.

“Well, that was the idea. I mean, I already told my parents I wouldn’t have dinner at home” shrugged the youngest.

Daehyun doubted for a few seconds. “I guess I’ll stay too, but this time I’ll go early because you need to rest.”

Junhong widened his eyes and his smile looking at the barista. “This time?” he asked containing a giggle.

Youngjae’s cheeks went slightly red as he glimpsed at Daehyun. “We-well, yeah, he came to check on me two days ago.”

The youngest looked back at the brunet and wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh, I see. And did you sleep together?” Daehyun almost choked on his saliva trying to contain a gasp. “I mean, did you stay for the night?”

Daehyun shook his head violently. “No” he replied inwardly cursing the tall boy for asking too much.

Youngjae suddenly smacked Junhong on the head. “Shut up already, will you?”

“Oh my god, you are blushing!”

The elder hit him again, this time harder. Daehyun just nibbled his lower lip and looked at his feet trying to stop the images of him touching Youngjae repaying on his head.

“Can we eat already? I’m starving” whined Youngjae sounding defeated.

“Yes, please” breathed Daehyun.

And just like that they settled on Youngjae’s small dining table an improvised feast.  For the next hour and a half Junhong and Daehyun kept eating nonstop. As Youngjae’s stomach wasn’t fully recovered, he couldn’t take that much food, so he instead continued filling his friends’ plates. The chatted about trivial stuff and made constant jokes trying to embarrass each other. Daehyun munched on his food happily, enjoying each second of the evening. The only thing that he was missing was Jongup’s company, but they always could hang around all together some other time.

Junhong had already stopped chewing when Daehyun was starting to eat the dessert. He picked two random muffins and nibbled them in tiny bites, observing his two friends talk cheerily. The youngest was updating his friend about the new subjects he had and about his multiple crushes on his colleagues. Youngjae just chuckled and shared himself some of his experiences when he was at the same year of the career. The brunet tilted his head, not really listening but more like just enjoying the barista’s voice. He liked it a lot, especially when he laughed. It reminded him of how he fell for his boss.

He used to observe her in the distance, melting into her laugh and memorizing the way she smiled. Maybe seeing her bright grin again that afternoon was what made him feel so emotionally tired. It had been like rekindling the butterflies in the stomach.

“Daehyun.”

The brunet fluttered his eyelashes and looked at Youngjae, who was calling his name.

“Are you alright?” he asked furrowing his eyebrows.

“Yeah, sorry” replied the elder with a sheepish smile.

“You are so quiet suddenly, what are you thinking about?” asked Youngjae clearly amused.

“Probably about work” scoffed Junhong.

Daehyun shook his head. “No. It’s just… today I remembered why I fell in love with my ex.”

“Oh.” The barista’s smile faded.

“That’s right, your mysterious girlfriend” said the youngest smirking. “Jongup told me that you two had a difficult relationship, but he never explained further. Care to tell us about it?”

The brunet opened his mouth about to start talking when the tall boy’s countenance changed into a look of panic. “Well!” he quickly said, taking a glimpse of the barista. “You don’t need to talk about your ex. I mean, you don’t love her anymore, so what’s the point?” he laughed awkwardly. “Because you don’t love her anymore, right?” he briskly added.

Daehyun couldn’t help but smile at his friends’ faces since they looked to be yearning for his answer. “No, I don’t love her anymore.” Both baristas visibly relaxed.

“Right! That’s all that I wanted to know” exclaimed the youngest showing a toothy smile.

“Junhong, have you ever been told that you are really weird?” asked the brunet tilting his head.

“I remind him every day but he still behaves like a savage kid” said Youngjae sighing.

“Hey, you!” whined the youngest looking at the barista in disbelief. And he was about to say something else when his phone started to ring. “!” He turned pale as he declined the call. “It was my mother. Aw man, I’m so dead.” He quickly stood up and put on his coat.

Daehyun widened his eyes “What’s going on?”

“It’s already half past nine and he probably was told to be at home at nine” explained the barista with a grin of mockery.

Junhong turned towards the two adults and scratched his head. “So I’ll be going now. Sorry for leaving without helping to clean up.”

Youngjae stood up to walk him to the door. “Don’t worry kiddo. Just text when you get home, okay?” he said with a reassuring smile.

The tall boy nodded smiling cutely. “Goodbye, Daehyun.” And after waving one last time he left closing the door behind him.

The barista sighed like he was relieved and flopped into a chair. “What a nuisance” he mumbled resting his cheek on the dining table.

The elder chuckled in response. “You say that but you actually love him.”

“No” he just replied childishly.

There was a brief silence before Daehyun spoke again. “Are you tired?” he asked softly, leaning towards the latter to close the distance.

Youngjae nodded and rubbed his eyes. “Yes” he got up stretching his arms. “But I have to clean this mess so…”

“I’ll help you” offered the elder.

The latter just hummed and went to the sink to wash some dishes and the silverware. Daehyun stored the remaining food of their dinner in the fridge and left on the counter next to Youngjae a pair of dirty plates. Then he wiped the table and swept the floor. He finished in less than five minutes, but Youngjae was still doing the dishes. The elder stepped closer and leaned on a counter beside his friend to meet his eyes.

“Hey, let me do it” he said closing the distance between them.

The barista shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine” he assured.

“I insist” he said trying to elbow the latter with a playful smile, putting his hands inside the sink. He accidentally grazed Youngjae’s hands and stopped dead surprised by the low temperature of his skin. “Youngjae, your hands are freezing” he blurted out holding them gently.

“Hmm, that’s because the water hasn’t heated yet” he explained absentmindedly.

Daehyun rubbed with care his friend’s hands, caressing the skin to try to warm it up. “Are you crazy? You could worsen.”

“I’m sorry” he mumbled.

“You don’t have to apologise, just let me finish the dishes.”

Youngjae drew back his hands and turned around to face the sink. “Nope. I’ll do it, you’ve done enough.”

Daehyun immediately missed the touch. The barista’s hands were soft, gentle and really beautiful. “Youngjae” whined the elder. “C’mon, you are sick, let me take care of you.”

The younger just shook his head and resumed his chore. The brunet furrowed his eyebrows and snorted. “Fine. You leave me no other choice.” He placed himself just behind the latter, pressing his chest against his back, and sneaked his arms under the barista’s armpits to reach the dishes on the sink. A surprised gasp escaped Youngjae’s lips. He jumped startled and spun his head to look at Daehyun.

“Seriously?” he asked in disbelief.

The elder let out a short burst of laughter. “Yeah, look, now I can reach these two bowls” he said striving to clean them with his bare hands.

Youngjae laughed too, unable to refrain himself anymore. “You are unbelievable.”

He smirked. “I know, right?” He gripped the younger’s right hand to snatch the scourer from him.

“Hey, that’s mine!” complained the barista.

Daehyun laughed evilly. “Not anymore.” But before he could start with the washing, Youngjae’s full of foam hands reached out his face. “No!” he cried closing his eyes.

The barista muffled back a triumphant chortle and took more foam from the sink. He turned around to face Daehyun and threatened him cocking his eyebrow. The elder wiped his face with the sleeve of his jumper and flashed an evil grin. “Are you sure, Youngjae?”

The latter scoffed. “I already won this battle.” He aimed again for his friend’s face, but Daehyun grabbed his both wrists and forced him to smudge his own face with the foam. Youngjae voiced out a defeated cry and burst into laughter again. “You are taking advantage of me now that I’m sick” he managed to say trying to regain some air.

“You totally got me” admitted the elder smirking. “But what are you going to do about it?” Then he wrapped the latter with his arms and lifted him ignoring his loud cries. He haltingly carried the younger to the couch and dropped him there before returning to the sink.

Youngjae remained curled up on the sofa, unable to stop his boisterous guffaw. “Ahh, I can’t breathe.” And after saying that between pants, he started to laugh again.

The elder genuinely chuckled and looked at him. It was somehow healing watching the latter having so much fun. And it was even better considering that Daehyun was the source of the laughter. He felt like teasing the barista a bit more, but he decided to refrain himself and continued doing the dishes.

“Oh my god, you are such a bad friend. What happened with that ‘let me take care of you’ you said before?” brought up the younger wiping his tears.

Daehyun snorted. “What just happened was necessary collateral damage.”

“My ” he retorted.

They remained in silence for a few seconds, the elder thoroughly cleaning the dishes, and Youngjae regaining some air. After a whole minute the barista spoke again.

“Daehyun” he called.

“Hmm?”

“I… err, want to tell you something” he said clearly unsure.

The elder’s heart missed a beat. He dried his hands with a cloth as he was finished cleaning, and turned around to meet Youngjae’s eyes. He was somehow really nervous and his breath quickened. “What is it?” he asked with the most nonchalant grin he could make.

Youngjae averted his gaze and chewed his lower lip. He sat up straight on the couch and looked at his hands avoiding deliberately the elder’s eyes. “Well…” he let out an awkward snigger. Then he looked up again with a forced smile. “You know what? Forget it. It was something really silly to be honest.”

Daehyun furrowed his eyebrows. “But I want to hear it anyway.”

“Seriously, it wasn’t important” insisted the younger.

The brunet stepped closer. “Are you afraid of telling me?” he inquired.

Youngjae remained in silence for a few seconds. “No, I…” He was interrupted by the sound of his phone buzzing. “Let me check that” he said scurrying towards the table where the device was.

Daehyun sighed and rubbed his temples. ‘What was I expecting exactly?’ He flopped into a chair and waited patiently for the latter to come back to resume their conversation. Just then also his phone buzzed. He blinked in confusion and unlocked the screen.

“Sorry, it was a message from Junhong” explained Youngjae.

The elder chuckled when he saw the name which appeared on his screen. “I got one from him too.”

The latter sat beside him with a cute grin. “What does it say?”

“Daehyun, it’s late, go home and let Youngbaby sleep.” He burst into laughter when he finished reading.

“This kid, seriously” hissed the barista frowning deeply.

The brunet shoved his phone back into his pocket. “He’s right, though. I should leave.”

Youngjae nodded languidly. “Yeah it’s pretty late.”

“Okay then.” He stood up and took his coat, hiding with a smile his disappointment. He wanted to stay and try to coax Youngjae into telling him what he was about to say, but that would be extremely rude. If he wasn’t ready to talk the best thing would be to wait for him to open up.

“Hey, thanks for coming” said the younger grinning brightly.

The brunet smiled back, his heartbeat speeding up. “No problem.”

Youngjae opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again, showing a sheepish grin. Daehyun buttoned his coat and walked towards the door, the younger following closely.

“See you soon, I guess?” said Youngjae tilting his head.

“I hope so” mumbled the brunet to himself. “Sure, see you around. Sleep well and get better!” he replied cheerily.

The barista hummed. “Goodnight, Daehyun” he bid farewell.

“Sweet dreams” answered the latter stepping outside.

They locked eyes for a few moments, smiling at each other, before Youngjae finally closed the door. Daehyun shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away with a bittersweet sensation building up in the pit of his stomach.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY I was really fast to update this time heheheh ໒( ͡ᵔ ▾ ͡ᵔ )७

I feel like the first part of this chapter is really poorly written (sorry, I really tried to fix it ;_;), but I like how the rest came out so...

Ok, this was supposed to be like 2k words because I wanted to update soon but it ended up as 4k lmao. I guess it’s because I was having so much fun writing it I couldn’t help myself. I mean, I really enjoyed a lot this chapter, and I think it came out very cute and fluffy (❁´▽`❁) Just my impression, though.

Now, about the plot:

JUNHONG IS SHIPPING THEM SO HARD, EVEN HARDER THAN ME. HE HAS 0 CHILL!!!

And DaeJae... these two dorks, I swear imma jump off the window. YOU LOVE EACH OTHER DAMMIT щ(ಠ益ಠщ)

.you two, kiss right now

Weeeeeeeee, thank you as always for commenting, subscribing and upvoting. You make my kokoro go doki doki ✿♥‿♥✿ I love you guys more than I love most people around me and I don't even know you irl ❤⃛❤⃛❤⃛❤⃛❤⃛❤⃛ 

have a nice day and smile a lot!! <3