At last it was Thursday afternoon. Junmyeon and Jongdae were standing outside Cacoepy Café, the former waiting anxiously for his best friend/wingman, the latter for his two project partners, both of whom seemed to be running late. Byun Baekhyun and Park Chanyeol had texted to let Jongdae know they would be there soon, but Kyungsoo remained conspicuously absent and that made Junmyeon even more nervous.

            After Jongdae’s classmates arrived, the three waited with Junmyeon outside the café for an additional five minutes, but there was still no sign of the Do boy. At that point, Baekhyun—who was worried that the lingering summer heat would smudge his eyeliner—decided “forget this” and grabbed Chanyeol and Jongdae by the arms, trying to pull both inside. Kyungsoo chose that moment to finally arrive, and introductions were quickly made between Junmyeon’s best friend and Jongdae’s homework partners.

            “Sorry I was late,” Kyungsoo said apologetically. “I was talking to my professor after class and lost track of time.”

            It was well-known amongst Kyungsoo’s friends that the owl-eyed boy liked to converse with those people whom he considered same-level intelligent, so the fact that Kyungsoo had delayed the progression of Junmyeon’s love life in order to solidify his position as teacher’s pet was not surprising to anyone.

            Junmyeon was particularly aware of this trait, and scoffed at his friend’s sorry excuse before calling Kyungsoo a “pretentious idiot,” albeit lovingly.

            “Bite m—,” Kyungsoo was about to respond, but changed his mind at the last minute and said, “Actually, don’t.” (If Kyungsoo was historically elitist, Junmyeon was infallibly literal. In fact, Kyungsoo had been injured at the hands of his best friend on more than one occasion— “How was I supposed to know that when you told me to bite you, you didn’t actually mean it!?”)

            Baekhyun was understandably bemused by the whole exchange, and turned to Jongdae as the two best friends continued bickering. “Are your friends always like this?” he asked.

            “Unfortunately” was Jongdae’s response.

            This elicited a commiserating nod from Chanyeol. “Yeah,” he said sympathetically, “ours too.”

            With that as encouragement—the fact that he and his friends weren’t uniquely weird—Junmyeon mustered his courage and entered the coffee shop. Kyungsoo had been so caught up in their faux-fight that he was surprised by Junmyeon’s sudden absence and rushed in right after. Jongdae shrugged toward Baekhyun and Chanyeol as if to say “What can you do?” and all three went in too.

            Once his eyes had adjusted to the change from the sunlight of an early September afternoon to the cozily lit interior of Cacoepy Café, Junmyeon was surprised to notice that the place itself was almost as cute as the barista who worked there. (Kyungsoo commented that quaint might be a better word to describe the coffee shop, but Junmyeon was nothing if not stubborn, and remained a fan of the original comparison.)

            Whether quaint or cute, Cacoepy Café was small and, at that moment, also empty. Not only were there no people seated at any of the tables or in the individual armchairs, but behind the counter was vacant too. Junmyeon felt all of his temporarily banished anxiety return with a flourish and thought he might just pass out right there.

            Thankfully, Kyungsoo recognized the look of panic that suddenly appeared on his best friend’s face and gently suggested that Junmyeon might be of use in helping Baekhyun and Chanyeol find a table. The taller of Jongdae’s study partners took a long look at the vacant seating areas and raised an inquisitive eyebrow in Kyungsoo’s direction. Baekhyun was a little more perceptive and nudged forward by Jongdae, took the hint—and Junmyeon—to go sit down.

            The space behind the counter had been painted black with chalkboard paint, and Jongdae excitedly perused the menu written on the wall while Kyungsoo, though he’d never been overly fond of sweets, found himself admiring the array of baked desserts displayed prettily upon the wooden countertop. Chanyeol had dutifully followed Baekhyun and had watched as his friend tried valiantly to calm Junmyeon down a little. Despite Baekhyun’s administrations, however, the oldest boy couldn’t stop himself from pacing back and forth in front of their chosen table while he waited for the object of his affection to make an appearance.

            Kyungsoo was still focused on the various goodies—he thought he could be convinced to try a slice of coffee cake—when he heard a soft “oof” and the unmistakable sound of who he assumed was Junmyeon sinking into one of the café’s cushioned chairs. The Do boy reflexively looked up in response to his friend’s actions and met the eyes of someone who was definitely not Yixing.

            The other boy smiled generically at Kyungsoo and finished closing the door of the café’s back room behind him. Straightening his apron, he made his way behind the counter and turned to the two waiting customers.

            “What can I get you?” he asked politely, his voice enriched by a barely detectable country accent.

            “Zhang Yixing!” Junmyeon shouted from somewhere behind Kyungsoo, and the owl-eyed boy felt his face flush in embarrassment that his friend would act so childishly in front of this perfect human specimen. But at Junmyeon’s exclamation, the barista’s controlled smile became a real one, and Kyungsoo was shocked to find that when the other boy smiled, his eyes nearly disappeared into two little half-moons that were absolutely adorable.

            “Sorry,” the barista directed toward Junmyeon, “Yixing’s out today.” He chuckled before turning his attention back to the two in front of the order counter and repeating his earlier question, “What can I get you?”

            In that moment, though Kyungsoo desperately wanted to open his mouth and order something delicious from the delicious barista in front of him, he found himself completely tongue-tied. Instead, he merely gaped at the boy who was still waiting and staring at him expectantly. When Kyungsoo finally managed to re-gather at least some of his wits, he turned to Jongdae for help, but his friend was too busy giggling at Kyungsoo’s misfortune to be of any assistance.

            Kyungsoo had only managed an “Um” before Chanyeol, who had been in the bathroom and missed all the commotion, shouted out “Kim Jongin! I didn’t know you worked here!”

            Junmyeon, Kyungsoo, and Jongdae assumed the barista was the Kim Jongin that Chanyeol was talking to because the barista in question suddenly raised his hand to rub the back of his neck sheepishly.

            “Yeah,” he said to Chanyeol as the latter made his way over. “I got a part-time job to pay for my…” Jongin paused there and Kyungsoo wanted to know why. “Expenses,” the barista finished lamely.

            Chanyeol nodded, as if he knew something the others didn’t. “Anyway,” he said to Jongin, “I’m here with Baek. We’re supposed to be working on a project with Jongdae here but I guess the guy had an ulterior motive when he suggested this place for our meeting.”

            As if he’d heard his name—which he probably did because the café was still very much empty—Baekhyun came strolling up to the counter, Junmyeon in tow.

            The Byun boy greeted the barista warmly. “Hi Jongin! Congrats on the job!” A wrinkle appeared on his forehead and he looked pensive for a minute before saying, “Though I wish I’d known you were looking for employment; the manager of the music store where I work said we needed to bring someone new in.”

            Jongin blushed under Baekhyun’s scrutiny and Kyungsoo got the strangest feeling in the pit of his stomach. He imagined that sensation was what people meant when they mentioned butterflies and other such nonsense, but even stronger was the feeling of want. Baekhyun’s comment was the second time someone had mentioned Jongin in the context of needing money, and Kyungsoo wanted to know what everyone was talking about.

            Baekhyun, oblivious to the thoughts swirling around in Kyungsoo’s head, continued his conversation with Jongin.

            “Do you usually work Thursdays?” he asked the barista inquisitively. “I thought you have normally have practice.”

            Jongin nodded and told Baekhyun that the space he usually used had been bought out so until another studio was found, Jongin was forced to stop his regular Thursday afternoon practices. Since his Thursdays were now free for the unforeseen future, when Minho had called Yixing and asked the Chinese boy to cover his dance class, Jongin had volunteered to take Yixing’s shift for him.

            It fascinated Kyungsoo that the longer Jongin spoke to Baekhyun, the more obvious his accent became. The barista slipped into satoori about half-way through his explanation, and Kyungsoo’s inability to understand much of Jongin’s dialect was fascinating too. Surprisingly, in all his study of various foreign languages, it had never occurred to Kyungsoo to study Korean dialectic speech, and in that moment he was certainly kicking himself for such an utter lack of foresight. (Junmyeon later mentioned that he was glad Kyungsoo was rethinking his prejudices. Kyungsoo said that he actually wasn’t, and that people who communicated in satoori should either learn to speak their native language properly or not speak it at all. Junmyeon said nothing and merely smirked at his friend in response.)

            Baekhyun responded to Jongin’s story with a grimace. “Yixing should really learn how to say no,” he said of the other barista.

            Chanyeol agreed with Baekhyun on that, but Jongin thought that their friend was simply a really nice person who liked aiding others when he was available to do so.

            “Wait,” Junmyeon interrupted, “you three know Zhang Yixing?”

            Kyungsoo rolled his eyes at his friend’s slowness. It had always taken Junmyeon a little longer to catch onto things—like the reason why in high school Kyungil would close and lock his room door whenever Yijeong came over, even though Junmyeon assured Kyungsoo’s hyung that neither of the younger boys would disturb their “studying”—so Kyungsoo wasn’t surprised that Junmyeon hadn’t realized Jongdae’s study partners, the unbearably attractive barista, and the dimpled coffee boy were all friends. He couldn’t say any of this out loud, of course, because any time Kyungsoo thought about opening his mouth to speak, he’d take one look at the boy behind the counter and his brain would suddenly be empty except for a continuous loop of “Jongin, Jongin, Jongin. His name is Kim Jongin.”

            At some point, Jongin realized he’d been completely ignoring actual customers by conversing with his two friends, and turned to face Kyungsoo, Junmyeon, and Jongdae, repeating for the third time, “What can I get you?”

            Kyungsoo could only squeak in response—now he knew why Junmyeon had hidden himself under the glass study table—especially when Jongin looked at him in particular and asked in a concerned voice if the owl-eyed boy was alright and if he wanted anything.

            “You!” Kyungsoo blurted out, much to his eternal humiliation.

            Jongin looked at him in confusion as Jongdae started giggling again.

            Kyungsoo managed to say “Uh, you—r recommendation. I meant I want your recommendation,” before turning away to hide the blush that was threatening to consume his face with its flames.

            The barista still wore a look of confused concern, but quickly rattled off some fancy sounding coffee order that was basically a bunch of sugar masquerading as caffeinated refreshment in liquid form. Kyungsoo could only nod at Jongin’s suggestion, especially when the barista’s eyes returned to those adorable half-moons at the further recommendation of whipped cream.

            Two days of nerves at seeing Yixing again had made Junmyeon unbelievably cranky, so the Kim boy could admit to severe disappointment at hearing his crush wasn’t even working that Thursday. Seeing Kyungsoo unable to verbally communicate in the face of Yixing’s barista replacement, though, was an amusing alternative. Junmyeon found it particularly hilarious that Kyungsoo—who still didn’t like sweets—had been so easily persuaded to order not only whatever sugary concoction Jongin had suggested, but also a thick slice of vanilla-frosted coffee cake. He watched Kyungsoo obediently pay for his order when Jongin asked, and assumed from the dazed look on his friend’s face that the boy was having some sort of out-of-body experience, and would later ask why Junmyeon hadn’t tried to stop him.

            With that look to the future, Junmyeon leaned toward Kyungsoo as the latter was signing his payment receipt and said, “I thought you didn’t like sweets?”

            Kyungsoo thought he had died and gone to heaven when Jongin’s lips came together in a perfect O at Junmyeon’s words. The barista was about to ask the cute, owl-eyed customer why he’d agreed to the recommendation if he didn’t like sugary drinks. And why he’d ordered cake. Before he could, however, Kyungsoo blushed again and turned to face his best friend.

            “Shut up,” he bit out in breathless Mandarin. This time, when Jongdae started giggling, Junmyeon joined him.

            Flustered, Kyungsoo left his friends behind at the order counter and went to place his things at the table Baekhyun and Chanyeol had previously selected. Junmyeon followed his friend not long after, but Kyungsoo had already decided to pout, and wouldn’t speak when Junmyeon tried to laughingly apologize.

            The café was still empty by the time Jongdae, Baekyun, and Chanyeol had finished ordering, so Jongdae had no problem chatting happily with Jongdae and his friends while the three waited for him to finish preparing their drinks.

            After a few minutes, Jongdae joined Junmyeon and Kyungsoo at their table, carrying the latter’s drink in his hand.

            “Here,” he said, handing Kyungsoo his iced, non-fat, caramel latte with extra whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

            “You’re welcome, by the way,” Jongdae continued, chuckling at grimace on Kyungsoo’s face as he tried his first sip of the sugary goodness.

            “For what?” Kyungsoo asked, still attempting to down what Jongin had suggested and having a really poor time of it. He caught a whiff of the whipped cream and nearly gagged.

            Jongdae rolled his eyes at Kyungsoo’s dramatics. “I stayed and did recon. Duh.”

            Oh. Junmyeon had thought Jongdae was simply getting to know his classmates better. Apparently not. The more mischievous Kim started looking at Kyungsoo expectantly, but it was Junmyeon who caved first, asking Jongdae what on earth he’d found out about Jongin to want to share it so desperately.

            Jongdae sniffed in faux annoyance. “That makes me sound like a gossiping market Ahjumma,” he compained.

            “Aren’t you?” Kyungsoo quipped, slightly annoyed that Jongdae knew more about the mysteriously attractive barista than             Kyungsoo did. It wasn’t fair; Jongdae had Minseok.

            “I’m not, actually,” Jongdae responded to his friend’s insult. “And stop interrupting!” he added.

            Impatient, and now nearly dying of curiosity, Junmyeon almost shouted “Fine! Just get on with it!”

            This unexpected outburst startled Jongdae right into his story. “Well,” he said, “Chanyeol asked Jongin how he expects to do his choreography homework now that he doesn’t have a practice studio, but Jongin just brushed him off with an “I’m sure it’ll work out.””

            Again, Kyungsoo wanted to know what the  was going on with Jongin.

            His friend continued, “Then Jongin asked if the class we were working together for was Mandarin because Baekhyun had mentioned to Yixing that he taking that class with Chanyeol. I was going to tell him it was actually for Economic Democracy, but before I could, Jongin looked at Chanyeol and both started laughing. Apparently the two of them went to the same high school in Busan and Jongin was notorious for being absolutely unable to learn any foreign language.”

            Jongdae stopped his story here to breathe, and Junmyeon thought that Jongin and Chanyeol might find the story funny, but the inability to speak anything other than Korean was definitely no laughing matter to Kyungsoo.

            Baekhyun made his way over to their table and caught the last ends of Jongdae’s explanation.

            “Oh yeah,” he contributed, “Jongin’s really bad. I remember Yeol-lie telling me that Jongin in their high school Mandarin class was actually painful to witness. I think the school even let him out of the foreign language requirements his senior year because the English and Mandarin teachers refused to have him in their classes.”

            Both Junmyeon and Kyungsoo in a breath. The former was concerned for his best friend; he’d recognized the look on Kyungsoo’s face as one Junmyeon himself often wore around Yixing, and he didn’t want Kyungsoo to be disappointed that Jongin wasn’t as expected.

            Except Kyungsoo had in a breath because he too had expected to be disappointed, only he wasn’t. The Do boy had been quite young at the time, but he could still vividly remember the wild beating of his heart during his whole two minutes of crushing on Junmyeon. Equally vivid was the abrupt ending of that crush when Junmyeon hadn’t been able to properly speak to Kyungsoo in Korean.

            Yet here Kyungsoo was, twelve years later, entering a similar situation with the same expectations yet receiving completely and unexpectedly different results. Because Jongin couldn’t speak anything, and Kyungsoo found that appalling, but he liked the boy anyway.

            That worried him. Not that Jongin didn’t do foreign languages, but that Kyungsoo desperately wanted to do Jongin. (Oh, God, that was cheesy.) But he couldn't because Kyungsoo didn't know any other way to communicate. Languages had always worked for him, but since he couldn't even form coherent thoughts in Jongin's presence, Kyungsoo doubted knowing how to ask for less sugar in nine different languages would be of much help.