Daehyun carefully read again Himchan’s e-mail explaining in detail the changes his company had decided to make concerning the TV spot. He sighed for the 100th time that day and flicked through his photo essay and his draft of the final project. At that point he was just desperate. He had to throw away his previous work (which took him two whole weeks) because Himchan’s company suddenly decided that they didn’t want a natural concept anymore. Of course, the brunet complained to Himchan, but he just apologised half-heartedly and sent him cute pictures of puppies.

He rubbed his reddish eyes and continued reading over the petitions while checking a huge handbook. He took notes from time to time and drew quick sketches on the edges of his draft. There where way too many things to devise in just a few days. Maybe he should ask for help, but his colleagues were as swamped as him or maybe even more. He felt like punching Himchan in the face although he knew it wasn’t really his fault. But he needed to blame someone.

He massaged his sore neck and looked through the window. The sun was hiding behind the tall buildings and the sky was dyed in warm hues of red, yellow and orange. It was a beautiful sight, so he couldn’t help but stare, blanking out. After some minutes passed, Yongguk coughed to draw his attention and eyed Daehyun’s desk, signalling him to focus. The brunet closed his slightly parted lips and flashed a sheepish smile before resuming his businesses. The previous days had been really tiring and he was starting to reach his limit. He glanced at the clock in front of him and huffed realising he had been working now for 9 hours nonstop. And there was another hour left until his shift was finished. He grimaced and went once again through Himchan’s e-mail.

Less than twenty minutes had passed when Daehyun received an e-mail. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion because it was his personal address and no one usually mailed him there.

                From: Bang Yongguk

                To: Jung Daehyun

Hey, you look tired. The guys and I are taking a break in 5, join us?

Daehyun scratched his nape considering his possibilities. Firstly, he didn’t know exactly who did Yongguk refer to when he said “the guys”. He knew everyone at the office but he had a good relationship with just a few of them, so there was a big chance of feeling awkward. Secondly he still had a lot of work to do before calling it a day and his shift was close to an end. But on the other hand he desperately needed a break since his brain was about to explode or shut off permanently. He pursed his lips and started to write his reply.

                To: Bang Yongguk

                From: Jung Daehyun

Okay, I’ll join you, but let’s make it quick.

He clicked the send button and leaned on his armchair. Now there was not possibility of backing out, but it was the best decision for the sake of his mental sanity.

The minutes passed quickly and soon Daehyun found himself walking silently next to Jinki and Yongguk. They reached the coffee vending machine and instantly the two elders stretched their arms and groaned loudly. The brunet closed the door of the small room and muffled back a chuckle.

“I’m so tired I swear I could fall asleep standing on my feet” whined Jinki shoving his hand on his pocket probably looking for a coin.

“Same here” admitted Yongguk.

The youngest was about to say something when the door snapped open. Sunggyu and Hana rushed inside with defeated looks on their faces.

“I want to kill someone” muttered Sunggyu gritting his teeth. “Hey there, how are you guys doing?” he asked softening his countenance.

Yongguk showed his gummy smile. “Well, we are stressed but no murderous yet.”

“Speak for yourself. I’ve been feeling murderous for days now” snorted Daehyun.

Hana chuckled and faced the brunet once her beverage was ready. “That’s right, this is your first ‘crisis’ isn’t it?”

“That’s how we call these situations when the CEO thinks we are demi-gods capable of anything and accepts two or more massive projects at one time” explained Sunggyu rolling his eyes.

Daehyun had to control a burst of laughter. “Yeah, it’s my first time” he confirmed sniggering.

“We are sorry for you” said Jinki with an apologetic look. He placed his hand on the brunet’s shoulder.  “But you’ll survive this, I’m positive.”

“You know? At first I was jealous of you. I mean, you are so young and already working at a company like this…” explained Hana cupping her drink. “But now I’m grateful I could enjoy my youth with no stress.”

Everyone guffawed at her words making the youngest feel slightly annoyed. “Don’t listen to her, it’s amazing to start working in a place like this at your age” assured Sunggyu.

“You talk like you were 80 years old, you know?” scoffed the brunet. “You are pretty young too.”

Yongguk wrapped his arm around Daehyun’s shoulder and offered him a cup of coffee. “I think this kid wants a salary raise” he joked.

“That’d be nice” replied the brunet smirking and taking the drink.

Fifteen minutes passed without Daehyun noticing it. At first he felt to some extent intimidated by his superiors, but it didn’t take him long to blend in and immerse himself in the conversation. They constantly joked about the projects and shared their opinions about each other works. The brunet learnt a lot of useful tips and got to know Hana and Sunggyu better. They were cheerily talking when an assertive voice was heard, drawing them into a silence.

“You are too loud” said the feminine voice. Daehyun spun his head to see his boss leaning into the door’s frame. “Daehyun, get me a cup of black coffee, will you?” she commanded with a sweet smile.

The brunet just nodded and handed her the drink. He was confused and slightly annoyed because they had been without speaking to each other for weeks and their first interaction was her asking him for a favour.

“Thank you” she said flashing a grin. “What are you up to?” she enquired referring to everyone.

“We were just taking a break” explained Sunggyu shrugging.

“And what about you? I heard that your team is the one with the most work on their hands” asked Hana with a light smile.

She hummed in response. “We’ve been the first ones to get to the office and last ones to leave these past days. I’m kind of tired the CEO always lays so many obligations on me” she complained huffing.

Yongguk chuckled apologetically. “You know, you can always give part of your work to Daehyun” he offered jokingly.

But the brunet wasn’t amused. He just faked his best smile and nodded.

“I’ll think about it” she laughed it off.

“That’s right, you two used to spend lot of time together” pointed out Hana. “You are really lucky to had had her as your tutor, Daehyun.”

‘Yeah, really lucky.’ He thought.

They continued chatting until the sound of the clock announcing the time startled them. They all widened their eyes in surprise.

“Is it already seven o’clock?” asked Daehyun trying to not panic.

“It looks like it” replied Hana throwing her empty cup to the trash bin.

“I guess that’s our cue to go back to work” said Yongguk sighing.

The atmosphere suddenly became gloomy as everyone left the room dejected. Daehyun waited for everyone to leave unsure of what to do. His shift had officially ended but he still had too much work left. He bit his lower lip and walked towards the door, stopping dead when his boss suddenly blocked his way. He cocked an eyebrow waiting for her to talk.

She cleared his throat. “Daehyun, I’m sorry about before.”

“Don’t worry.”

“It’s just… I don’t know how to act in front of you” she averted her gaze nervously fidgeting.

The brunet softened his look and brushed her shoulder. “It’s okay. Give it more time.”

She gently took his hand and examined it. “You don’t like me anymore, do you?”

Daehyun carefully withdrew his hand and flashed an apologetic smile. “I have to go. Just… take care.”

She nodded with an obvious look of disappointment and stepped aside to let the latter go. Daehyun walked away without saying anything else and went straight to his desk. He didn’t feel like working anymore. He just wanted to go home and avoid his boss as longer as possible. Maybe he was being insensitive, but her presence made him feel uncomfortable. He would have a quick dinner and afterwards he would resume devising his part of the project.

He shut off his laptop after saving some files and shoved it into his backpack with his printed draft and his photo essay. Once he made sure he had taken his mobile and his earphones, he buttoned his jacket and walked towards the elevator. He waved goodbye to Yongguk and Jinki one last time and left.

Once he reached the street he felt relieved. It had been a while since the last time he had to run away from his boss. And he hated doing it but he couldn’t help himself. He tiredly flopped into the bus stop’s bench and waited patiently. In the meanwhile he busied his mind thinking about his dinner. Somehow, food always managed to cheer him up. He finally decided humming happily to have some delivered pizza to treat himself since he was giving his best at work.

The bus arrived in a few minutes and Daehyun lazily stood up to get in. He greeted the driver with a quick nod and looked for a vacant seat. But he abruptly stopped at the sight of a familiar person. His eyes widened and he genuinely beamed a broad smile when his gaze fixed on Youngjae. His heartbeat speeded up and a faint giggle escaped his lips as he made his way towards his friend. The latter had also seen him and was grinning cutely, one of his hands gripping the holding bar above him.

“Hey” greeted Daehyun stepping closer and trying to not squeal.

“Hiya” greeted back the barista chuckling.

They remained in silence for a whole minute, eyeing each other and smiling, unsure of what to say.

“Long time no see” said the elder setting himself beside the latter.

“Yeah. I assume you’ve been busy since you haven’t shown yourself at the shop” replied the barista moistening his lips. “Actually I texted you a few hours ago to tell you I was taking this bus today.”

Daehyun widened his eyes and reached for his phone. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry I didn’t see it.” He beat himself up for not checking his messages. He would had never forgiven himself if he had missed meeting with the younger even if it was just for a while.

Youngjae chuckled. “Don’t worry, we are together now and that’s what matters.” He bit his tongue looking slightly flustered. “That came out cheesier than it sounded in my head” he admitted shyly.

The brunet smiled fondly and enjoyed the sight of the latter. He had missed him so much he had to stop texting him because it was saddening not having time to even pay him a visit. “So, how come you are taking this bus? Not that I’m complaining or anything” he said smirking.

Youngjae scoffed. “Of course you aren't complaining! I’m sure you missed me a lot” he teased wiggling his eyebrows.

Daehyun forced an eye roll and shook his head. “Actually, I’m regretting now bumping into you.”

“You are lying, I can tell by the look in your eyes” said the barista with mockery.

“Youngjae the mentalist. Oh, show me your power. What am I thinking now?” asked the brunet with faked astonishment.

The barista closed his eyes and pressed his temples. “You are thinking…” He fixed his gaze on Daehyun. “You are thinking: oh my god, Youngjae is so handsome.”

“That was so uncreative I’m not even going to make any comment about it” replied the elder flatly.

Youngjae puffed and nudged his friend. “Hey!”

Daehyun laughed amused and ruffled the latter’s hair. “Getting back to our conversation. Did you change your shift today?”

The barista hummed and fixed his hair. “Yep. Junhong begged me to do his shift today since he has a final exam tomorrow.”

“I see” replied the elder messing up again his friend’s hair.

Youngjae huffed and strongly grabbed Daehyun’s hand. “Stop that, bully!” he complained nibbling his lower lip to prevent his smile from widening.

“So, you came to do the afternoon shift?” asked the elder noticing how his friend was still holding his hand.

“Hmm, I did the morning shift too” he explained absentmindedly. “Today I’ve been really busy.”

Daehyun ignored the tickling sensation under his skin and the butterflies in the pit of his stomach trying to focus on the conversation. “That makes two of us, then. We’ve been swamped these past days at the office.”

Youngjae gave him a look of concern. “Are you okay?”

“Sure!” reassured the brunet. “Just a little bit tired.”

“To be honest I was worried because you wouldn’t text me as much” he admitted with a faint grin.

Daehyun chuckled. “I’m sorry. I promise to text you more often from now on.” He was moved by Youngjae’s words since he didn’t expect the latter to notice his absence.

“I’ll take you at your word” said Youngjae narrowing his eyes.

Suddenly Daehyun’s phone started to ring startling the two friends. The barista let go the elder’s hand mumbling an apology sheepishly. The brunet reached his backpack to pull out the device almost whining at the miss of Youngjae’s touch. He unlocked the screen, rolling his eyes instantly when he saw it was another message from Himchan with a picture of a kitten.

“Seriously?” he blurted out in disbelief, angry because he had to let go Youngjae’s hand just for that.

The latter blinked curiously. “What is it? You look vexed.”

“It’s just Himchan being corny” he explained showing his friend the picture.

Youngjae burst into laughter and had to quieten down when an old woman shushed him. “But that’s really cute” he said smiling tenderly. “Why is he sending you this, anyway?” he asked widening his grin, his eyes bending into two thin lines.

“Well…” Daehyun’s voice trailed off as he was too distracted by the barista beautiful smile. He cleared his throat and tried to regain his concentration. “He’s doing it as an apology since his company got me into a big mess.”

“Oh, what happened?”

“They decided to change the concept of the TV spot when I had my design almost finished” explained the brunet smiling dryly.

Youngjae chewed his lower lip. “I’m sorry. Is it so difficult?”

The brunet nodded. “Pretty. And my creativity has its limits.”

“But you are awesome, I mean, I remember your sketches and they were truly amazing” breathed the younger. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

Daehyun looked at his feet embarrassed, starting to feel self-conscious. “I think we had this conversation before, but you are pretty awesome too” he mumbled discreetly glancing at the latter. “You should give yourself more credit.”

Youngjae’s cheeks turned slightly pinkish. “What are you talking about? You make art and I just make coffee, it’s not comparable.”

The brunet shook his head. “You are great in many aspects, and I’m sure you are awesome with computers too” he pointed out remembering that Youngjae studied computer engineering.

“Please, stop saying those things.” muttered the barista lowering his head.

“This is new, Youngjae being all shy” mocked Daehyun to loosen up the atmosphere. Although the latter looked more upset than shy.

The younger looked up at him with a deep frown. He opened his mouth to say something when the bus stopped abruptly surprising the two friends. They glanced at each other, blinking in confusion and then they averted their gazes towards the front part of the vehicle.

“The bus got a flat tyre” announced the driver apologetically. “It shouldn’t take long to repair it. I deeply apologize for the inconvenience” he said opening the doors of the vehicle.

Most people inside the bus groaned and complained, getting off and demanding a refund for the troubles caused. Daehyun and Youngjae looked at each other, their mouths slightly opened due to the surprise.

“So… what are you going to do?” hesitantly asked the younger.

Daehyun shook his head clearly unsure. “I don’t know, we are still pretty far, don’t we?”

Youngjae nodded in response and spoke again after a few seconds of reflexion. “I think I’m going to wait. I mean, I don’t feel like walking or taking a cab.”

“Then I’ll wait with you” said the elder smiling.

Youngjae flashed a toothy grin. “Looking at the bright side now we have vacant seats.”

Daehyun agreed smiling back, but soon his face darkened when he remembered he still had a big amount of work to do.

His friend noticed his sudden dejection and looked at him in concern. “What’s the matter?”

The elder groaned and slapped his forehead. “I still need to finish a few things of the project before tomorrow.”

Youngjae fidgeted and chewed his lower lip. “You can try to work here… maybe?” he hesitantly said. “I’ll just sit beside you and keep quiet. But, I don’t mean to be selfish so… if you want to go it’ll be fine.”

Daehyun pursed his lips suppressing a silly smile and stared at the elder who was avoiding his eyes. “Are you asking me to stay with you?” he breathed feeling genuinely happy.

“Well, yes.” He coughed. “I don’t want to be alone.”

The brunet nodded with a bright grin and took his backpack. Then he grabbed the latter by the shoulders and gently pushed him towards the nearest seat. “Of course I’m staying with you. I was going to anyway” he said leaning closer and chuckling.

Youngjae stiffened and quickly sat next to the window. He was visibly flushed and his gaze was focused at anywhere but Daehyun. The elder sniggered amusedly and took the other seat. The barista was really cute. Too cute to be a grown up man; and the brunet was starting to struggle with himself to refrain his wish to cuddle with him.

A few minutes had passed and the two friends were still stuck ona side of the road, waiting for the driver to fix the tyre. Youngjae was quietly playing some racing game on his phone and Daehyun was reading over his draft. Or more like blankly staring at the papers. He couldn’t concentrate at all with the barista sitting just beside him. His mind was filled with strange thoughts about the latter and he was starting to creep himself out.

From time to time he stole a glance at the younger. He was really focused on his game, humming whenever he won and softly grunting whenever he lost. His eyebrows where strongly furrowed and his lips slightly parted. Those beautiful pink lips. Daehyun shook his head and averted his gaze seriously starting to panic at his own musings.

“What’s the matter?” asked the barista locking the screen of his phone.

The elder looked at him not knowing what to answer. “Err, I just can’t focus.”

“Am I distracting you?” he asked not mischievously.

“Yes” blurted Daehyun regretting instantly.

Youngjae looked at his hands. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop playing that game” he said apologetically.

The elder shook his head. “No! That’s not what I meant.” The latter blinked in confusion. “I can’t stop thinking about some stuff” admitted the brunet, feeling how his cheeks were starting to heat.

“Stuff?” asked the latter softly.

Daehyun scratched his head wanting to punch himself for talking too much. “Yeah, well. I guess I’m just tired” he forced a chuckle, trying to laugh the matter off. “You can go on playing, really, it’s fine.”

He quickly fixed his gaze again on the draft and pretended to start reading, but he could still feel the latter’s eyes on him. He brushed off his nervousness and narrowed his eyes scanning thoroughly the text. He visibly loosened up when the barista returned his attention towards his mobile phone.

Daehyun was finally getting into his work when a loud voice snapped him out of his musings, making him groan in frustration. “The tyre is already repaired! Sorry for the trouble” announced the driver with an apologetic look.

The few passengers who remained inside the bus sighed in relief. The two friends looked at each other flashing pleased smiles. “We’ll get home in less than 10 minutes” mumbled Youngjae cheerily.

“Nice” replied the elder.

“You shouldn’t waste time, though. Keep working until we reach Seorim Dong, we can always hang around some other day” said Youngjae grinning gently.

Daehyun wanted to whine, but he just nodded and went back to his project.

The bus closed its doors and was about to drive away when someone approached the vehicle running and yelling. The driver let the young man get in and after glancing at him critically he started the motor. The man muttered something and stumbled along looking for a seat. His face was pale and his eyes half lidded. He was completely drunk.

Daehyun was about to resume his task when he felt Youngjae stiffening next to him and clutching with strength his forearm. Daehyun winced in pain as the latter’s grip was too firm. He looked at the younger confused and then he realized that the barista’s face had turned ghostly white and his eyes were wide open, fixed on the drunk man.

“What’s going on?” he asked as soft as he could.

But the latter didn’t answer. He just remained in the same position, panic starting to show on his face. Daehyun glanced again at the man, who had stopped his motions to stare back at Youngjae. His mouth was agape as he struggled his way towards the two friends.

“Youngjae?” he clumsily said, his voice deep and his tone rough.

The barista unwittingly clutched Daehyun’s arm even more strongly. “Dongyul…”

Wowowowowowow, cliffhanger, I'm a monster <(￣︶￣)>

I guess by now you have an idea of who Dongyul is... anyway, you'll just have to wait for the next chapter muahahaha.

This came out shorter than I initially had planned, but welp, couldn't really help it (︶︹︺)

AaaaaAAAAAAAAA I'm sad because from now on I'll be REALLY busy with school and other stuff and I won't be able to write that often, i'm so so so so sorry ;_;

how i feel 24/7

Anyway, luckily I already have 1k words of the next chapter written so I shouldn't take long to update :'D

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Uuhh, thaNK YOUU VERY VERY MUCH for reading, commenting, subscribing and upvoting (♡´❍`♡)*✧ ✰ ｡* You are truly amazing and I love you all (灬♥ω♥灬) Please, stay healthy and happy <3

have a nice week~

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BONUS:

I LIVE FOR DAEJAE IN SUKIRA OMG