Ryeowook always waited until a couple of weeks into the new year to buy his calendar. Prices were cheaper then and he really didn’t mind not having a calendar for a week or two if it meant that he could save part of his meager income for something more important. The only downside to his plan was that there was never much choice.

He sighed softly, standing in front of a shelf of calendars, his eyes gliding over all of the different titles and animal pictures, biting his lip. He had one calendar in mind, one he’d seen when he was out shopping for Christmas presents, and he was desperately hoping that it would still be in stock. He furrowed his brow slightly in concentration, not hearing the soft footsteps approaching his side.

---

Jongwoon always waited until a couple of weeks into the new year to buy his calendar too, but for a different reason. Most of the time he would get so caught up in the bustle of the holiday season and the excess amount of customers they had at his family’s café that he would forget about searching for one until the holiday crowd had died down. By then, it was already halfway into January and he would grudgingly bundle up and head to the nearest mall to hunt down a calendar before they were all sold.

Usually there wasn’t anyone else in the store when he went other than the single employee that looked bored out of their skull and would sit behind the counter playing on their phone. Today, however, there was a short figure standing in front of the animal calendars; he slowly walked toward the shelves, stopping beside the man and blinking in surprise when the other didn’t move.

---

It wasn’t until Ryeowook moved to grab the giraffe calendar – the one he’d been looking for – that he realized someone was standing next to him. The man reached out to grab a turtle calendar at almost the same time and their hands bumped into each other. Ryeowook pulled back immediately, the tips of his ears turning light pink as he bowed slightly.

“I’m really sorry! I didn’t see you standing there!” he apologized quickly, not exactly meeting the taller man’s gaze.

“It’s fine. No harm done.” The man paused for a second before sticking out his hand again. “I’m Jongwoon.”

Ryeowook hesitated before smiling and taking Jongwoon’s hand, shaking it happily. “I’m Ryeowook!” He laughed softly. “It’s nice to see I’m not the only one who waits to calendar shop.”

Jongwoon made a face playfully. “I always completely forget about them, honestly, until my brother starts hounding me about getting one for our café and then I remember I need to get one for my apartment too.”

“Oh!” Ryeowook blinked, his surprise clearly evident in his eyes. “You own a café?”

“Sort of.” Jongwoon shifted his weight to his left foot, running a hand through his dark hair. “Mobit is more of a family café, but my brother and I make all of the executive decisions now. Our parents like to say they’re training us to take over officially in a year or two. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” he finished with a laugh. “What about you?”

The shorter man glanced down at his shoes, a little embarrassed of his own profession when he was standing next to a business owner. “I work at a small bakery,” he mumbled. “And, um, I should be getting back, I guess. I came here on my lunch break.”

Jongwoon reached out, grabbing both the giraffe and turtle calendars. “You wanted this one, right?” Before Ryeowook had a chance to protest, he marched up to the counter at the other end of the store, pulling out his wallet and quickly paying for both. Wook fidgeted uncomfortably, unsure what to do and if he should really let this stranger buy a calendar for him, but, he noticed with a sigh, he didn’t have much of a choice, considering that was the only giraffe calendar left and he had really wanted it.

The taller man returned a moment later, holding out a bag to him; Ryeowook noticed that he was blushing slightly, but didn’t think much of it. “I hope to see you around, Ryeowook! I really enjoyed talking to you.” Jongwoon smiled brightly before ducking out of the shop and disappearing around the corner.

Ryeowook clutched the bag in his hand tightly, looking troubled as he slowly shuffled out of the store.

---

After a long day of work, Ryeowook flopped down face first on his couch in his small apartment, groaning.

“I am never taking Donghae’s shift for him ever again,” he mumbled into the cushion, lying there for a few moments before rolling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling.

Donghae worked the evening shift, but had been busy that night and had asked Ryeowook to fill in for him. The younger had agreed, but had begun regretting that decision barely half an hour into the shift. It was quiet in the shop that night, which meant that Ryeowook’s mind had a lot of time to wander. And, rather irritatingly, it kept wandering back to the man that he met at the calendar store.

Jongwoon. It had a nice ring to it; he liked the way it rolled off his tongue and sounded softly in his ears. He liked the way his own name sounded when Jongwoon was the one saying it. He liked that bright smile and small hands and the kindness he could see pouring out of his heart. He groaned softly, pushing himself up off the couch. He had never believed in ‘love at first sight,’ but there was definitely something about this Jongwoon that made him want to get to know him better. The problem was, Jongwoon probably didn’t feel the same way. To him, Ryeowook was probably just another person that he met in the mall, just another face in the crowd, someone he took pity on and nothing else.

With a sigh, he fumbled around and grabbed the bag from the calendar store, trying to push those thoughts out of his mind. He hadn’t had a chance to really look at his calendar since he’d left the shop and he figured that now was as good a time as any, since he needed to hang it up anyway. He frowned a little when he realized the plastic had been taken off of it but didn’t think much of it until he flipped it open to January.

There was small, mostly-neat handwriting on January twenty-fifth.

Dinner at 7. Call to confirm. –Jongwoon

A row of small numbers followed the words written there and Ryeowook felt his face heat up as a smile twitched at the corner of his lips. Well, that was certainly a new way of asking someone on a date. And it certainly answered the question of Jongwoon’s feelings toward him.

He didn’t think twice before grabbing his phone, typing a message quickly before pressing send.

Confirming~! ^^ I’ll see you then!