Taehyung had always dreamt of being the owner of a café and now, finally, he did it. It was cozy, small and too new to be well-known, but he loved it.

So of course it was a surprise when one day, Jeon Jeongguk found his way into his café, located in a small backstreet of a large outdoor mall.

When the bell above the door rang, he looked up from where he packed some cupcakes to take them back home. He congratulated himself to not freak out and embarrass himself directly.

"I'll be there for you in a moment!"

After quickly finishing to properly pack the pastries, he grabbed a small notepad and strode to the table where Jeongguk had set down.

"Welcome to the Silver Spoon! What can I get you?"

The other seemed a bit startled and stared at Taehyung for a moment, but he regained his composure pretty fast.

"I don't really know... What can you suggest me?"

Taehyung didn't have to think for too long before replying. "Well, I have to say the strawberry cake is pretty good and my hot chocolate is no joke. But we also have other choices."
He pointed to a menu card that lay on the table. "Take your time, I'll wait."

"Thank you."

Of course, he wouldn't let the opportunity slip to look at Jeongguk's handsome face up close. Luckily the idol didn't notice his intense staring, too engrossed in studying the menu. Taehyung had never thought to see him in real life, let alone speak to him.

Jeongguk looked up and he tried not to look as if he had been staring the whole time.

"I think I'll take what you recommended me earlier."

"All right!"

He went back to the counter and prepared the order, before loading it onto a tray. When he placed the cup and the plate on the table in front of Jeongguk, he smiled brightly.

"Is that all for now?"

He didn't really expect anything, so he was quite surprised when the other spoke up hesitantly. "Actually, I have a question if that's okay."

"Of course, go ahead!" Taehyung crossed his arms behind his back, not quite sure what to do with his hands, still holding the tray in one hand.

Jeongguk took a quick sip of the hot chocolate, eyebrows shooting up for a second, before placing the mug back on the table.

"Why is this café still opened at 9 PM?"

Taehyung laughed. "Not the most impersonal question to answer. Well, I like to think that some people are just as crazy as me and go around searching for a piece of cake late in the evening. So if that happens, I'm here."

"Do you have many costumers in the evening?"

"This is actually the latest a costumer has ever been here, so congratulations?" He offered a little grin.

The other lifted the mug to his lips again to hide a little smile.

"Tell me if you need anything else."

With that said Taehyung went back to working behind the counter, packing up leftovers from the day. Today he had sold a little bit more than usual, but the leftovers were still enough to give as presents to his neighbours in the apartment complex he lived in.

He grabbed a piece of paper and began planning out the next day, thinking about if he should try a new recipe for a cake or if he should try making new beverages to add to the menu.

If Taehyung hadn't been so focused on doing just that, he would've noticed how Jeongguk's eyes fell on him every now and then, between sips of the delicious hot chocolate and bites of the even more delicious strawberry cake.

When Taehyung heared someone clearing their throat, he was startled and looked up from his paper where he was currently deciding which main ingredient to put into the cake. He saw Jeongguk placing the mug and plate on the counter and Taehyung stared at him, dumbfounded, before he remembered he should probably say something.

"Oh my god, I'm really sorry! You didn't have to carry the dishes here I- did you wait long? You probably want to leave, right?"

"Um, yes. But it's okay, really. I kinda just have to leave to go back now."

After Jeongguk had paid for his order, Taehyung quickly grabbed a small box off of the pile of packed pastries and handed it to the man in front of him. "I hope you like chocolate."

The other male stared at the white box decorated with a red ribbon. "I do... But, why?"

"You're my latest costumer ever so I felt like giving you something."

"Thank you..."

"No problem! Come by again soon and have a wonderful evening!" Taehyung smiled again at Jeongguk, who was still a little bit stunned by the fact that he had just gotten a free piece of chocolate cake.

"Yeah, you too." He then turned around and left, the doorbell ringing and Taehyung's smile faltered as he braced himself against the counter. Taking deep breaths in and out, he congratulated himself for a second time that evening for not making a complete fool out of himself.

He then decided to call it a day and began packing everything into a bag, checking twice if the oven was turned off before also turning off the lights and locking up the café.

On the way back home he sighed, reflecting the whole scene. 'Come by again soon' he had said. He mentally slapped himself for that sentence because there was no way Jeon Jeongguk would visit his café again, right? Then he groaned over realising that he just met Jeon Jeongguk and he didn't even went for it and got an autograph. Jimin would definitely kill him.

***

There was no way Jeon Jeongguk would visit his café again, right?

Wrong.

He actually came back the very next day. It was around the same time as the day before.

Taehyung flinched from where he stood behind the counter when he looked up and saw Jeongguk standing in front of him.

"W-welcome to the Silver Spoon! What can I get for you today?"

"I'll take a hot chocolate." He regarded the cake display. "And a piece of that cake in the middle."

"Will do! You can sit down. I'll prepare it and bring it to you."

"Okay."

Taehyung turned around to grab the cocoa powder but when he felt a gaze searing into his back he turned his head to find Jeongguk still standing in his spot in front of the counter, looking at him.

"Is... is there anything else?" He was now fully facing Jeongguk again, cocoa powder in one hand, a pot in the other.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Um, no?" He swallowed thickly. "Should I? Have we met before?"

Jeongguk eyed him suspiciously, the silence lasting too long between them before he finally spoke up. "No, it doesn't matter." With that he went to the exact same table as the day before and sat down.

Taehyung let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and went back to working on the order. When he was finished with everything, it almost felt like a déjà vu of the day before. Almost, because just as he wanted to walk away from the table, Jeongguk stopped him by grabbing his wrist and his eyes widened in shock.

Holy .

"Do you really not know who I am?"

Taehyung sighed in defeat. "Of course I know who you are."

"Why did you lie? Or didn't say anything in the first place?"

"Look, it was late and you looked like you wanted to think or be alone, so I thought it was the best to not say anything. But I've never been one of those fans who cherish and kiss the ground you're walking on. Seriously, have you seen that? It's gross. You're just a very talented human being who made a living out of your talents. I think you deserve to be treated normally like everyone else."

The perplexed look on his face almost made Taehyung laugh out loud. "Okay. Wow. That's... Thank you, I think?"

Now Taehyung really had to laugh. "It's nothing. And I would appreciate it if you could let my wrist go now."

Jeongguk immediately let go as if he had only realised now that they were practically holding hands all the time. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Let me know if you need anything else." Then Taehyung winked and walked back to the counter while dying of embarrassment, because did he really just wink?

What he didn't see was the small smile on Jeongguk's lips, what he didn't hear was the "cute" mumbled into his cup right before he drank the first sip of his hot chocolate.

This time, Taehyung directly saw when Jeongguk was finished and wanted to pay, wallet already on top of the table. He rushed over to him. "Was everything all right?"

"Speaking of all right, your cakes are probably the most delicious ones I've ever eaten."

A light blush sneaked its way on Taehyung's cheeks and he bowed his head a little bit in order to hide it. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

After he had paid, Jeongguk stood up and started to pull his jacket on. He slowed down when he saw the other fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

"Do you... Of course you don't have to and it's just an offer and I could also give it to other people so don't feel obliged to take it, but do you maybe want to take some cake home? For free, of course."

"I would love to."

It was definitely worth it to work out a little bit more because of the cake when he got to see that box smile more often, Jeongguk thought to himself.

"Well then, follow me please."

He did as he was told and waited patiently in front of the counter.

"Do you still have strawberry cake? I'll take that then." He added when Taehyung nodded.

"Thank you." Jeongguk thought the smile still lingering on Taehyung's lips was very contagious and he couldn't find himself wanting to hide his own smile.

"No problem and have a nice evening."

"You too. See you tomorrow." It was amazing to watch how quickly the smile fell and was replaced by a confused expression.

"What?"

Jeongguk just smirked as he shrugged and left the café.

"What the hell..."

***

And against Taehyung's expectation, Jeongguk came back the next day. And the day after that, and the day after that and so on.

He's been visiting the café for one and a half weeks, when he apologized to Taehyung and said he can't come the next day. Taehyung told him he didn't have to apologize because his job came before whatever reason that induced him to visit every day when the café was opened. He knew Jeongguk had a TV show then and he closed earlier that day, going home to watch it.

Jeongguk got asked if he had someone special right now, but he denied and Taehyung didn't like that he felt relieved.

The day after the TV show Jeongguk asked him to sit with him. Taehyung gave him The Look. "I've been doing that for the past week. Why wouldn't I today?"

Upon seeing the expression on Jeongguk's face, he swallowed down all other sarcastic remarks, closed the shop and led him to the table. He handed Jeongguk one of the mugs filled with hot chocolate, before taking a sip of his own.

"What's wrong?"

Jeongguk ran his fingers through his hair, the action seeming to scream restlessness. "So you know yesterday, when everything was filmed, one of the people in the auditorium suddenly came running onto the stage and security staff barely managed to catch her before she could like jump on me. Luckily, none of the cameras were on and nobody could record it with their mobile phone, so it didn't cause any trouble, none of the media could actually proof it really happened and her identity wasn't revealed. But it really terrified me. And she could have received so much hate when the public would know it."

"What makes you so concerned about her?" Taehyung asked when Jeongguk didn't speak for a few minutes.

"Not really about her but it made me think." Jeongguk looked up and the concern in his eyes made Taehyung shiver. "Just imagine my fans finding out about you. What she would receive would be nothing in comparison. That's the thing I don't like about being constantly under everyone's watch. I have to be perfect almost 24/7 and it's tiring. I can't allow myself to just slip in my everyday life, like every other normal person does, because it could hurt my image, or my fans don't like it... But I allowed myself to slip, I found a new friend and someone I like-" He sighed, his hand finding its way through his own hair once again. "I shouldn't tell you this, I'm sorry. It's just bothering you."

"No, it's not. I... I can't say I know how you feel, because I don't, but I understand you. It's okay to not be perfect all of the time. When people don't like you for who you are, it's their loss." Taehyung's serious expression softened. "I'm sorry, my advice is probably really ty, it's not like I ever advised a person in your situation before, so..."

Jeongguk ignored the urge to take Taehyung's hand in his, which rested on top of the table, one finger drawing meaningless patterns onto the tabletop.

"I'm very thankful that you are listening to me in the first place."

"Anytime. We're friends, right?" Jeongguk returned Taehyung's smile, although much smaller, and the fact that he didn't feel like smiling at all didn't make it much better.

"Yeah..."

Taehyung suddenly placed his right hand on his heart. "And I promise I won't tell anyone."

Jeongguk's smile grew a little bigger and a little more genuine. "You didn't have to promise that. I know you wouldn't tell anyone."

The little bubble they sat in was suddenly destroyed by the tingling of the doorbell as the door was opened and they both turned to face whoever came in just now.

"I'm here to pick you- holy ing ."

"Oh no." Taehyung had the presence of mind to stand up and grab Jimin's arm, before the other would go and do something stupid. Trying to Jeongguk, for example, who looked like a deer in the headlights.

"Oh my god, I can't believe this. Taehyungie, you know that's Jeon ing Jeongguk, right?"

"Yes, I know that and please, calm down."

"Okay, okay, I've got this. But care to explain what he's doing here?"

Taehyung was uncertain of what to say when he heard Jeongguk speaking up, "I can talk too, you know.", and Taehyung was certain he saw Jimin die in that moment. However, Jimin was a bit too lively to be a corpse.

He grabbed Taehyung's shoulders and shook him. "Satan! He received that voice from Satan to torture us all!"

Taehyung successfully freed himself from the iron grip, but he still didn't let the other's arm go. "Jiminnie, I know your thirst is real, I follow you on Tumblr, but please behave yourself."

"I won't do anything, but you have to tell me one thing."

"Sure."

"Why are you not excited or surprised at all that he's here? And what the were you two doing, sitting there at the table together?"

Taehyung laughed, but Jimin knew it wasn't real. "That's not one thing, Chims." And of course, Jimin noticed the glance between the other two.

"Okay, what the is going on?"

"Let me sum it up." Jimin had his arms crossed and looked almost normal, like the whole thing wasn't affecting him one bit. "Jeon ing Jeongguk has been visiting you" Said boy flinched, caused by how right he was. "for almost two weeks now and you didn't say one word to your best friend about it, who stans him to death."

"How could I have possibly told you this? 'Oh, by the way, I somehow befriended Jeon Jeongguk and he comes to the café and we talk but please don't tell anyone. Nice weather today, isn't it?'"

Jimin scoffed. "Better than nothing. I need a piece of cake."

With that he stood up and walked over to the counter, grabbing himself some vanilla cake and glaring at them out of a safe distance while eating,

Taehyung just sighed and leaned back in the chair. "Since when is being someone's best friend so exhausting."

"You don't mean that, do you?" Jeongguk's voice was quiet, reserved like he was afraid that Jimin could even hear him from across the room where he angrily ate another piece of cake.

"No, I don't." He sighed again. "Please just bear with him. Jiminnie's a bit... well... he's a fan of you, so..."

"Yeah, I noticed that." Jeongguk grinned at Taehyung and Jimin choked on a bite of the cake.

Taehyung rushed over immediately with Jeongguk following him. After a few strong pats on the back, Jimin luckily was okay again. He gladly accepted the glass of water offered by Taehyung and downed it in one go.

"Don't scare me so much, I thought you'd die!"

Jimin rolled his eyes in response. "Don't overreact, as if I die so easily."

But Taehyung still flung himself into Jeongguk's side and clasped his arm dramatically. "I'm so glad." His sob was half fake, half genuine.

Jeongguk froze in his spot. He tried to look anywhere but Taehyung and that was nearly impossible to do when he noticed how close the other was to him. It would be so easy to turn to him, to gently push him against the counter and kiss-

Jeongguk slapped himself in the face and received two confused stares, but at the moment he couldn't care less.

Where the heck did that come from?

His eyes darted around nervously and when they stopped on the clock hanging on the wall, he took a sharp breath in. "Oh . I have to go, I'm sorry." He freed himself from Taehyung and rushed back to the table to grab his jacket. "My manager will kill me." Just before he left the café, door already opened, he turned around and flashed a grin in Taehyung's direction. "I'll pay for the hot chocolate tomorrow, yeah?" And then he was gone.

Jimin watched as Taehyung walked to the nearest wall and proceeded to bump his head against it a few times.

"So apparently you know you're screwed."

He took the sigh as a yes.

***

It's been three weeks and Jeongguk was forty-five minutes late.

"Where have you been? I was worried!" was the first thing Jeongguk heard when he entered the café at 9:48 PM on a Tuesday evening.

"Hello to you too."

Taehyung felt relieved when Jeongguk was amused more than anything else. He gulped. "I swear I planned to say 'hey'."

It was refreshing to hear Jeongguk laugh as he walked up to the counter until it was the only thing separating them. "You look tired."

"I am." Today had been a lot more busy than usual and Taehyung should really hire a part-time worker. Maybe he could ask Jimin to help out occasionally.

"Do you want to take a walk with me?"

"Don't you want to get something?"

Jeongguk suddenly looked sad. "My manager set me on a diet because he saw me taking cake home almost every day."

Taehyung nodded in understanding before his brows furrowed with confusion. "If you're not going to get anything, why did you come in the first place?"

He held his breath when Jeongguk leaned across the counter and flicked him on his forehead. "We're friends, you idiot, remember? And I was going to ask you to take a walk with me anyway."

"Okay... Wait for me outside, I'm going to close the shop then."

Jeongguk smiled and followed the order, while Taehyung went into the kitchen. He took a few deep breaths in and out, before checking everything, turning out the lights and lastly locking the door.

"You have everything? All right, let's go." Jeongguk added when the other nodded.

For the first fifteen minutes, they walked in silence, occasionally pointing out which direction to go. It was comfortable but Taehyung still found himself interrupting it.

"Why were you late today?"

Jeongguk looked a little bit startled, but then he averted his eyes to the street. "I was just thinking and forgot the time and it's a really stupid reason. I should've texted you.."

"It's okay. We didn't even exchange numbers and it's not like you have to come every day anyway."

"Right..."

They fell silent again and Jeongguk shoved his hands into his jeans pockets after Taehyung's hand had brushed against his.

This time, it was Jeongguk's turn to break the silence. "But I want to. I like talking to you and how you're always listening to me."

Taehyung let out a dry laugh. "I guess that's what friends do, right?"

Jeongguk looked at him, confused, but he didn't say anything.

Instead of continuing, he then pointed to a playground they were passing by. "Let's sit down there."

"Bench?"

"Nope," Taehyung smiled his little box grin and Jeongguk's heart skipped a beat because this was so different to the serious demeanor Taehyung has had just a minute ago. "swings."

Now Jeongguk smiled too. "What are you? 5?"

Despite the remark he had willingly sat down with the other and they swayed a little bit.

"Can I tell you what I thought about today?"

Taehyung turned his head to look at Jeongguk, but the other had his eyes fixed on something in front of him. What, Taehyung didn't know. "Of course."

Hesitantly, Jeongguk began to speak. "Have you ever thought about how strange love works. I mean, just when two people fall in love with each other, is it coincidentally? But it's very unlikely, don't you think so?"

Taehyung clearly heard the desperation in his voice. "A week ago, you said you liked someone. Maybe you thought I didn't notice what you said, but I just didn't want to comment on it. Is it an idol too?" He continued when Jeongguk shook his head. "It's tough, isn't it? To like someone, when you don't know if that person likes you back."

"You sound like you're experienced."

"That's because I am. I have the exact same problem right now, to be honest, and now that I know you too have it..." Taehyung stopped considering if his next words should be gentle or straightforward.

For whatever reason, he chose the latter. "But Jeongguk, you can't."

It felt like a slap in the face for Jeongguk. He knew it wasn't a direct rejection because there was no way Taehyung could know it was himself, but it sounded like one and Jeongguk despised it.

"You may think it's unfair but you gave up the privilege to love whoever you want when you signed that contract."

Every word hurt because they were true. Even when the object of his affection sat right in front of him on the other swing, eyes full of understanding and sympathy. "I'm sorry I'm so harsh."

"No, don't. Apologize. You're just speaking the truth. It's just... I'm sometimes feeling like I'm suffocating. The urge to just reach out, it's nearly unbearable sometimes." As if to punctuate his point, he stretched his arm in Taehyung's direction, eyes fixated on his hand that tried to grasp something, or someone.

While Taehyung thought the other imagined the person he liked instead of him, Jeongguk just wished the swings hadn't been as far away from one another as they were.

***

"Since we know each other for one month now, I thought I'd make a special cake." Taehyung took said cake out of the fridge and Jeongguk's eyes grew wide. "A double chocolate fudge strawberry cake."

"Oh my god. It's official. I'm going to be fat and it will be your fault."

"You could still not eat it." He went back to the salesroom and the other followed him.

"No, no, no. I'm so going to eat this cake."

He managed to eat two pieces.

"Already giving up?" Taehyung grinned.

"Please, you ate as much as me." Jeongguk returned the grin, before it fell from his face, replaced by a downcast expression. "Taehyung. I will go to Japan for one month."

"When?"

"Tomorrow morning."

Taehyung crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Why are you only telling me this now?"

"My manager told me yesterday. I have various events in that month, and to just stay there instead of traveling around is easier. Also I can improve my Japanese in the time where I don't have anything."

"That's good, I think..."

"But I won't be able to text you much..."

"No." Taehyung sighed defeated and let his hands drop into his lap. "I understand. It is more important anyways, and don't-" He held his finger up when Jeongguk opened his mouth to speak. "object to me. We both know it's true."

Jeongguk searched for something to say, to express how important Taehyung had become to him but nothing seemed to be able to phrase just how much the other meant to him without it being almost a confession.

He asked himself again, like he did so many times before when practice had been long and he'd been exhausted, when he woke up late at night due to having dreamt of a certain someone, why he had to go and develop a crush on his new friend. But he thought he probably knew the answer.

Instead of voicing out one of the thoughts that went through his head, he said "I think I should get going now... I still have to pack my bags and stuff..."

Taehyung seemed surprised, however there was something else on his face and it looked somehow close to disappointment but Jeongguk thought he had to be wrong. "Yeah, no, of course." He hurried off of his seat when Jeongguk stood up. "I'm sorry to have kept you back for so long."

The other stopped and turned around, taking the few steps to almost completely close the distance between them. "I stayed here because I wanted to, I am just going now because my manager would kill me otherwise. So don't apologize for that."

Taehyung felt his heart starting to beat faster because of their proximity and he managed to stutter out a reply. "O-okay."

For a moment it seemed as if Jeongguk would hug him, but all he received was an awkward little pat on the shoulder. It was still enough to drive him insane though and he decided having the idol close enough to be able to smell his cologne wasn't good for his health at all.

"See you, Taehyung."

"Bye, Jeongguk."

-------------------------------------------------------

here you go. it took me longer than expected to type out the first part, sorry. please don't hurry me with uploading the next one since i don't know when i'll have it finished. i hope you like the story and bye.

(i really wanna try a double chocolate fudge strawberry cake. did you see those, they looking delicious af.)