If anyone asked, Oh Sehun would say that the reason he stopped frequenting Just Sweet was because he’d lost his taste for their bubble tea. Not because the deer-like guy who worked there—who’s name Sehun now knew to be Luhan—had blatantly hit on him and called him y. And definitely not because Jongin, Sehun’s sorry excuse for a best friend, had admitted to the BTG that Sehun thought he was cute but was too embarrassed to admit it.

            (Sehun wondered if Jongin had a death wish because his friend was clearly asking for it that day. Sehun might have been going to school for rap, but he was also minoring in composition and could be quite creative when the situation demanded it. He’d kicked his friend so hard that Jongin had complained he’d never be able to have kids. Sehun had retorted that Jongin was gay and probably wouldn’t be fathering any biological children anyway.)

            Jongin, on the other hand, just thought that Sehun was being a chicken. Unlike his best friend, Jongin was more than willing to go back to Just Sweet—especially since Jongin had somehow ended up with Kyungsoo’s number written on the side of his drink, despite leaving the shop in a total hurry. Alas, Sehun refused to accompany his friend when Kyungsoo texted asking Jongin to stop by sometime. (Kyungsoo had written, “Drinks on me? :*” followed by a “#^_^#”, and Jongin thought it was so adorable that he had just about passed out.) Sehun claimed that the bubble tea at Just Sweet no longer appealed to him, but Jongin knew his friend was still embarrassed about the whole Luhan situation. On top of that, Sehun was likely wrestling with his sense of identity and seemed to be having a bit of a difficult time coming to terms with the fact that he was probably bi—or at the very least, gay for Luhan.

            Which is why Jongin took it upon himself to intervene on Sehun’s behalf. Again. He’d annoyed Sehun until his friend had agreed to wingman for him under the condition that Jongin would not be hanging out with Kyungsoo at the latter’s place of employment. Jongin felt he was well-equipped to handle Kyungsoo on his own, but he’d pretended otherwise for his friend’s sake. Kyungsoo, who wanted to see Luhan happy and for some reason seemed to like this mischievous side of Jongin, had agreed to participate in the Kim boy’s plan to push Sehun and Luhan together.

            When the time for their date came, Jongin admitted that he’d offered to pick Kyungsoo up from work after his shift and Sehun was then so adamantly against accompanying them that Jongin had to literally drag his friend to Just Sweet by the ear. As he was being dragged against his will, it occurred to Sehun that today it was both the weekend and mid-morning, so the likelihood of Luha—err, of the bubble tea being delicious—was slim. With that thought, Sehun felt slightly better about third-wheeling on a Saturday morning when he’d much rather be sleeping in.

            What Jongin and Kyungsoo knew—but Sehun didn’t—however, is that Luhan loved the idea of Kyungsoo and Jongin together, and had practically begged to cover for Kyungsoo today. Their manager, Yifan, had pointed out that Just Sweet did actually have more than two employees, but Kyungsoo had quickly stepped in to accept Luhan’s offer, hinting to Yifan with his enormous eyes that there was a very good reason Luhan had to be working today.

            As the two best friends approached the bubble tea shop, Sehun couldn’t help but surreptitiously check his surroundings for the presence of the BTG, sighing with relief when Luhan was nowhere to be found. Jongin, who saw everything when it came to Sehun, noticed his friend’s actions and had to pinch himself to keep from grinning at what was soon to come. Sehun, who knew Jongin pretty well too, saw his friend’s smile despite Jongin’s attempt to hide it, but attributed the mini-dimples and the ascending cheekbones to excitement at going out with Kyungsoo and remained none the wiser.

            They came to the front door and Sehun stopped short. “I thought we’d be meeting Kyungsoo at the employee’s entrance?” he asked Jongin with a little trepidation. He’d known Jongin long enough to realize something wasn’t right and Sehun was starting to wonder what exactly he’d gotten himself into.

            “Uh,” Jongin stuttered out, trying to come up with a reason to get Sehun inside. “Well, you know he said he’d make me bubble tea. Kyungsoo-ssi suggested we get drinks here and go hang out in the park to save money.”

            Sehun was still skeptical, but had to agree that, as struggling college students on scholarship, he and Jongin could definitely do with saving money. He’d planned to make Jongin buy him something wherever they ended up going—as compensation for his services—but figured a drink courtesy of Kyungsoo worked just as well.

            He instantly regretted his decision to enter Just Sweet, however, when he was greeted with an “Our Sehunnie! You’ve come back to me!” as soon as he walked in. Sehun could hear Jongin laughing at him, but he couldn’t help that the tips of his ears turned pink, or that his fight-or flight instinct kicked in, causing him to turn back toward the door and try to flee from the BTG.

            “Nuh-uh,” Jongin said, like the devil Sehun knew he was, “You’re not going anywhere.”

            Sehun could only groan in protest, but allowed himself to be turned to face Luhan, even letting his friend press him down into a polite bow of greeting toward the older BTG.

            “Uh, yeah,” Sehun managed to get out, scratching the back of his neck in a futile attempt to hide his embarrassment at seeing Luhan again. “You’re a ,” he whispered to Jongin under his breath; but his best friend only grinned wider and went to say hello to his date.

            “It’s been a while, Sehunnie,” Luhan said with a pout.

            “Uh, yeah,” Sehun said again, cursing his apparent inability to communicate where Luhan was concerned. “I don’t really like the bubble tea here anymore.”

            Luhan gasped like Sehun’s words were a personal insult, and said quickly, “Bubble tea is always delicious! How could you say that?!”

            Sehun, who’d never actually verbally admitted his cover story for his sudden absence from Just Sweet, was actually just as appalled as Luhan. To save face, however, he maintained an expression of detached distaste, to which Luhan responded with, “What about trying something else then?”

            Huh, Sehun thought. I’m here, so I might as well, I guess.

            “Uh, sure,” he replied.

            “How about this,” Luhan said with a slight smirk, “I’ll make you something and you’ll just have to be pleasantly surprised by my genius, okay?”

            Sehun found himself nodding before he could stop himself, unable to halt the thought that Luhan would probably be appealing even without being a self-proclaimed bubble tea genius. (Because, fine, yes; Sehun could admit that Luhan was attractive, and cute, and cheerful, and adorable, and kind of funny, and sweet too—according to Kyungsoo via Jongin. Objectively speaking, of course.)

            “This is a green tea with pudding and topped with coconut whipped cream,” Luhan explained as he handed Sehun his finished drink, making sure to brush their fingers together in the process. “It’s on me,” he said, “so enjoy.” He winked at Sehun as he said this, causing the younger boy to wonder if Luhan ever operated in anything other than full-on flirt mode.

            Five turned to fifty minutes later, and Sehun tried telling himself that the reason he didn’t leave Just Sweet was because he felt indebted to Luhan for buying his drink. But when he finally stopped conversing with the BTG to look around for Jongin, Sehun found that his friend and his date were nowhere to be found. At that point, Sehun thought he should probably stop denying what Jongin had said all along: the Sehun liked liked Luhan.

            Sometime during their extended conversation, Sehun had finished his drink and Luhan had thoughtfully made him another one—this time it was Sehun’s usual order of an original bubble tea—and delivered it with a smirk but no comment. When Luhan somehow managed to get whipped cream on his nose while preparing something for another customer, Sehun couldn’t help reaching out to wipe it off, reflexively his thumb afterward.

            This time, Luhan was flustered by Sehun, and the BTG squeaked in surprise at the feel of Sehun’s touch on his face. Sehun chuckled, finding he quite liked his ability to make Luhan react like that.

            Yifan eventually appeared some time after noon, and he grumbled about “distracted employees” until Sehun felt too guilty to stay.

            “I should, uh, go,” he said to Luhan, trying and failing not to cower under Yifan’s glare.

            “Aw,” Luhan said, pouting again. “But you just got here!”

            Sehun blushed and Luhan reached out to pinch his cheeks. “Aigoo! So cute!”

            “I think so too,” Sehun admitted. He was trying to get past his own embarrassment to admit for himself the secret that Jongin had so rudely shared the last time.

            Luhan giggled and Sehun sputtered out, “I mean, you! Cute! I think, You!” Luhan continued giggling and Sehun just groaned, rushing out of Just Sweet to hide his embarrassment.

            “Come back soon!” Luhan called out to him as he left.

            (“Why,” Sehun asked Jongin later, “Why does this always happen to me?”)