Leo sauntered over to one of the many empty tables, parking himself in one of the three chairs. He leaned forward, burying his head in his arms the way that school children would when their teacher scolded them and they didn't want to look them in their accusing eyes. The room seemed darker all of a sudden, and Sanghyuk and Hakyeon just stood there, and looked.

After a minute or two, the stillness was unbearable, and Sanghyuk had to break it. "Well, are you gonna talk to him, or not?" he whispered, facing his friend. Hakyeon gave him a somewhat horrified look. "What, me?" he murmured back.

"Well, yeah, you're the one who has a crush on him. You're not expecting me to do it, are you?" he hissed quietly. Hakyeon rolled his eyes, heartbeat speeding up at the thought of really talking to him. It felt tabooed somehow, and he felt uncertainty bubbling up in every part of him. "C'mon, maybe he'll talk back. You haven't got much to lose, at this point."

Hakyeon swallowed hard, trying to perk up his confidence because Sanghyuk was right. When it came down to it, there wasn't really any connection between the two of them that he could ruin. Gathering all the courage he could muster, he took a deep breath, and tiptoed, almost like a child breaking the rules, over to the only somewhat occupied table in the little shop. He stopped by the sad looking figure's side.

"Are you alright?" he asked, in a voice that was a little too quiet. He didn't budge, and Hakyeon assumed that the sound of the air conditioner had effortlessly drowned out what was barely a whisper, along with his head being buried in his arms. "Leo," he said persistently, and louder this time, with a small touch on his shoulder. Finally, the man lifted his head out of the tangle of his limbs to face him, but there was a very strange look in his eyes, and only then did Hakyeon realize why.

He had called him Leo.

Oops.

He continued to stare at him curiously as Hakyeon struggled to find words that could cover his little slip up. The red on his cheeks was growing in intensity because Oh god, why did I say that?  I probably look like a complete loser right now. He cleared his throat loudly. "Are you alright?" he asked again. Leo nodded, not taking his pretty eyes off of Hakyeon, who could feel the attention burning into his body.

He walked, quickly behind the counter again, and Sanghyuk gave him a look that seemed to ask what on Earth he was doing. He was glad he didn't answer because honestly, he didn't really know (and Sanghyuk hadn't actually said anything, so that might look kind of strange).

At an almost stupidly fast pace, he scooped just one little ball of vanilla into a cup, and shoved the correct amount of his own money into the register. Leo continued to watch him as he trotted back over to the table. Hakyeon sat down across from him, setting down the little cup on the cold surface. "Here," he offered, scooting it closer to him.

Leo had an unsure look on his face, and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a crumpled bill and offering it to Hakyeon, but he waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. It's from me to you," he assured him. He slowly stuffed the bill back into his pocket, a certain guilt glazing over his expression, but he accepted the small cup of ice cream, cautiously pulling it closer to him.

"Thank you."

And the breath caught in Hakyeon's throat. He'd been waiting to hear that voice for so long, and the second the soft, gorgeous sound had sailed off of his lips, his heart had stopped. It was so sweet, so timid. He knew right then that he was done for. He had fallen too hard for this near stranger.

"You're welcome," he choked out, trying to keep the smile on his face. He was slowly eating the ice cream now, and Hakyeon just stared. After a while, he finally found it in him to speak up again. "Would it be...out of line for me to ask what happened?" he questioned carefully.

Leo looked up again, and shook his head without too much hesitation. He paused, taking a moment to consider his word choices before he opened his mouth to begin.

"Well, you know the girl that's usually with me?" he mumbled. Hakyeon nodded; he had been wondering about her as well. "You see, she's my little niece, my sister's daughter. Her name is Hyeri. Usually I would pick her up from school and take her here." Hakyeon wouldn't like to admit how much it relieved him that the girl wasn't his daughter, but it certainly did. "But they're moving. Far away, actually. I won't get to see her anymore. It's probably kind of silly, but...she means a lot to me, and it's really hard for me to say goodbye," he explained slowly.

Empathy welled up in Hakyeon's heart; he knew the feeling of having to let go of a loved one, and it was definitely not fun. "I understand," he responded quietly. "It hurts a lot at first, I won't lie to you. My younger sister passed away when she was only seven. But don't worry. It gets better, and soon enough you'll be feeling just fine," he comforted him, offering a consoling smile.

Leo looked at him gratefully. Somehow this person who was almost a stranger to him had just made him feel so much better, and he didn't even have to say too much. After a few moments of gazing at each other, Leo turned around to look at the clock. He faced Hakyeon again, disappointment in his eyes. "I have to go."

"It's alright. See you tomorrow?" he offered carefully. Leo seemed to light up a little bit. "Y-Yeah, sure!" he replied clumsily, with excitement at the edge of his cute voice.

He stumbled towards the door, but stopped in front of it. He turned around. "I'm Taekwoon, by the way," he told him.

"Hakyeon. Nice to meet you," Hakyeon replied. Taekwoon smiled brightly at him, pushing the door open and finally walking out.

A huge grin spread across Hakyeon's face.

Taekwoon.