If anyone asked, Oh Sehun would say that the reason he so often frequented Just Sweet was because of the bubble tea. Not because of the cute, deer-like guy who usually worked there on weekday afternoons (during which time Sehun coincidentally didn't have class).

            Sehun's friends, however, might say otherwise. Kim Jongin in particular had known Sehun since the two of them were in diapers and he could tell when his friend was in denial. Of course, Sehun had always said he was straight--Jongin and everyone else had believed him--but Jongin also knew his friend better than Sehun knew himself.

            And Jongin knew Sehun didn't just like the bubble tea.

            The two friends had just started attending university in Seoul, and it was about that same time that Sehun discovered the Chinese drink. Jongin, who was a dance major, had dragged Sehun along to his various orientation activities and there the two met Yixing. He was from China, had ordered bubble tea as cheap catering for a welcome event, and Sehun had been hooked ever since.

            He'd pestered Yixing for weeks afterward to be a good Ge-Hyung and buy his dongsaeng the drink. ("Hyuuung," Sehun had whined, "you want me to be happy, right? Well, I think I'm going through withdrawals. I could die!" Jongin had rolled his eyes, but gladly accepted when Yixing's financial generosity and giving nature had naturally extended to include him.) That was when Sehun had discovered what Jongin liked to call his second life-changing experience: the BTG (Bubble Tea Guy, as he'd been so dubbed by Jongin.)

            Sure, it wasn't exactly a clever nickname, but the guy hadn't been wearing a name tag the first time they'd gone to the shop with Yixing, and during any subsequent visits Sehun was too distracted by anticipation for his drink to check for one. At least that's what he liked to tell himself. In reality, Jongin often thought that Sehun was too nervous to see the BTG's name because having a name would make the BTG a real person. By that logic, if the BTG was real that means Sehun's crush on him was real too and that, Jongin usually concluded, was too much for his seemingly-heteroual friend to handle.

            Today, though, was different. Jongin was usually stuck in class whenever Sehun decided to venture into Just Sweet, but today his professor had cancelled at the last minute and Jongin was free. Sehun was too--like always--so the best friends went for bubble tea.

            No one else was there when they walked in, except for the BTG and his cute coworker with heart shaped lips and the biggest eyes Jongin had seen probably ever. Sehun had always been a creature of habit, so he knew what he wanted and left Jongin to peruse the menu while he himself went to greet the other guy, calling him Kyungsoo and asking about some assignment from a shared class. Jongin, however, couldn't decide what he wanted--was it best to just go classic because caramel bubble tea sounded kind of divine--and he must have looked a little hopeless because he heard a cheerful "What can I help you with today?" He looked toward the BTG and automatically checked for a name, finding Luhan written in pretty Hangul and worn on a tag that was pinned neatly to a bright pink apron. Sehun chose that moment to reappear and Jongin purposefully replied, "I don't know Luhan, maybe you could offer me a suggestion...?"

            Sehun might have been somewhat familiar with Kyungsoo, but he blanched at hearing the BTG's name and blurted out "Your name is Luhan? Why didn't you have a name tag on the first time we came?" before he could stop himself. His face, which had been so pale an instant ago, suddenly turned bright red and Jongin couldn't help but chuckle at his friend. Kyungsoo and Luhan were laughing too, but Jongin couldn't help noticing that the BTG was also looking up at his friend through long lashes and blushing.

            "I remember that actually," he said. "You came with Yixing, right?"

            Sehun still seemed paralyzingly embarrassed so Jongin took the liberty of nodding in response for both of them.

            "Mhmm," Luhan hummed in remembrance. "A mutual friend of mine and Yixing is a manager here and he chewed me out for not wearing it. That was right after you guys left actually."

            "Good job, hyung," Kyungsoo said mockingly and Jongin found he quite liked the guy's voice.

            The BTG shrugged, "That was, like, my second day of work or something; I forgot my name tag. Big deal!"

            Sehun's mouth had dropped open when he heard that Yixing and Luhan knew each other--Sehun could have been drinking free bubble tea this whole time if he'd known that Yixing had connections. Jongin, however, was laughing again, both at his friend's idiocy and Luhan's forgetfulness.

            They're perfect for each other, he thought with a smile. He happened, in that moment, to catch the eye of Kyungsoo, who smirked as if he could read Jongin's mind and agreed with him.

            Luhan, on the other hand, was pouting. "You know," he said, turning away from Jongin to face Sehun directly, "you come in here at least twice a week, but you've never actually spoken anything more than your order to me. And now you clearly know my name but I don't have yours." (This was very obviously Luhan's attempt to flirt with his friend and Jongin was pleased to see the BTG at least was comfortable enough in his uality to express an interest. Jongin also wondered how Sehun could be so clueless as to know Kyungsoo but never stop to ask for the name of his coworker.)

            The BTG continued to pout prettily at Sehun, blinking his big doe eyes until Jongin finally had enough and said, "His name is Oh Sehun." Jongin should have stopped there but he temporarily placed his friend's love life above his own safety, and continued. "He's here as a rap major on scholarship; he likes the color black; he could happily live on bubble tea for the rest of his life; and he thinks you're cute but would never in a million years admit that to you, to himself, or to anyone really."

            At that point, Jongin's latent sense of self-preservation kicked in and he swiftly grabbed his drink from the counter--he'd decided on caramel and had ordered from Kyungsoo while his friend and Luhan had been ogling each other--leaving Sehun to deal with the unavoidable awkwardness Jongin was sure to follow. (Thoughtfully, because Jongin was nothing if not conscientious, he left Sehun the bill too.)

            Sehun was still standing gaping after his friend when he heard Luhan's giggle.

            "Oh, I like him," the BTG said, winking at Sehun and causing Kyungsoo to nod in agreement. "He's very informative. And if it helps, Oh Sehun," Luhan said, causing Sehun to shiver involuntarily at the way his name rolled effortlessly off of Luhan's lips, "I think you're cute too."

            He winked again. "y even."

            Sehun could only grab his drink from Kyungsoo and throw a ten on the counter, muttering a quick "Keep the change" to Luhan before running out after Jongin, his face flaming.