Baekhyun believed in fate and he believed that everything was interwoven to cross paths, meet, and, sometimes, separate from one another. As sad as the separation of two things might've been, he often looked on the brighter side of things. And maybe that was why he loved romantic movies and books so much, holding both close to his heart. They always (for the most part) ended happily, and despite how unrealistic it was compared to reality, Baekhyun preferred fiction over the outside world.

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Usually, he was always on top of his schedule, but between work, sleep, and his ethnic studies course exam the Wednesday of that very week, Baekhyun was behind on a five page essay analysis due in roughly about five hours. His fingers were tired and cramped so he took breaks here and there to crack his knuckles. The macchiato was beginning to kick in and the only reason he could even tell was because his fingers started shaking faster than he could type, which he didn't like. The drink tasted more bitter than usual, so the barista must've been new. That wasn't a good thing either because bitter drinks just never worked with the brunet's taste buds at all, but he decided to keep it anyways. Starbucks was expensive and he was broke (at the moment).

He was sitting at a long table, facing the window that peered out into the streets. There were other undergraduates around him working or casually talking, but he tuned out in general. As a double major in English and Journalism, he was well adapted to writing essays and analyzing any given reading, but due to poor choices that week (binge watching a few TV shows), work, and cramming, he never had the time to fully read all of the necessary material needed to make a viable essay to turn in.

Internally, he was screaming "!", but in reality, he probably looked like he was constipated, being so highly stressed from simultaneously writing and reading at the same time. So consumed in his task, Baekhyun barely noticed the seat next to him being taken and occupied by another individual. In fact, his mind registered it as nothing important since it was a public cafe after all. As long as he kept in his own space and business, it usually wasn't a problem to have someone sit next to him. It was part of college. However, accidentally forgetting that his macchiato was on his left side rather than on his right led to him breaking that entire philosophy about keeping to himself as much as possible because as soon as he took a sip of his table neighbor's cup, dark, bitter coffee spewed out of his mouth and covered his entire laptop.

It was beyond embarrassing. Baekhyun covered his mouth with his hand, trying to keep things in rather than out. He tried to apologize, but half-way through, he realized that he probably should wipe his mouth first.

Sleep deprived, tired, and somewhat defeated by the week already, Baekhyun must've looked like he was about to burst into tears because in the midst of him scrambling to grab a disposable napkin nearby, his ears caught what sounded like quiet laughter.

Completely convinced that he was being laughed at, Baekhyun kept his eyes low as he excused himself to grab more tissue napkins near the barista bar. Once he returned to the scene of his accident, he continued to avoid eye contact, but insisted on apologizing ten thousand times.

"I'm so sorry!" he said, wiping the table quickly, missing obvious spots, even fumbling with the napkins. "I'll pay for another drink. I really didn't mean to do that. I'm so sorry, I--"

"Hey, listen. Don't worry about it."

For the first time, Baekhyun glanced up to see the face of the man he was talking to, and, in a way, regretted it, because all of a sudden, he was confused about whether he was intimidated by the man's height or the fact that he was cute. At a loss for words, he spent three seconds with his mouth wide open before catching himself.

"I'm really sorry," he blurted out again. "I thought it was mine and I--well, I don't really drink black...extremely black coffee. I shouldn't spat since that's actually a really gross habit. Unhygienic, I know. I'm gross. I--"

Baekhyun had to bite down on his bottom lip. He was talking too much. It was the caffeine's fault... and the fact that he was flustered.

Giving him a half smile, the man shrugged it off. "Like I said, don't worry. I shouldn't have put my drink right there. I probably would've made the same mistake."

Pursing his lips, Baekhyun gave him a playful, skeptical look. "Really?" he asked with a slight chuckle. The best thing he could do is probably laugh off the embarrassment and joke about it.

"I probably wouldn't spit everything out like you did, but... yeah."

Laughing, the brunet shook his head as he finished collecting the used tissues. "I swear I usually don't spit," he said before realizing what he just said. "That came out wrong. I swallow-- Wait, no. I didn't mean that I...you know? I'm so sorry. I just don't usually spit my coffee out like this, but I just keep talking like I'm referring to that one other thing, which I'm not--"

"No, it's fine. I know what you mean."

It was officially the worst day of his week and Baekhyun wanted to go home to binge watch another series just to forget about the entire incident. But, for some reason, he felt like he something good was going to balance out all the negatives that day.

Exhaling as he slumped his shoulders, Baekhyun drew his lips into a thin line. "Thanks... I'm sorry for this. I'm sure you were doing something important."

Looking back behind him at his own laptop, the tall individual shrugged again. "I was just reviewing during my gap period. Nothing too important."

"If you say so... Listen, can I please just buy you another drink? I know it won't make up for the time I wasted rambling, but it would make me feel better."

As the latter thought for a moment, Baekhyun wondered what the the man reminded him of... Then, it came to him. Unfortunately, it came right around the same time the stranger answered.

"A giant!"

"Sure, I guess--"

They stared at one another for a fleeting moment before Baekhyun felt like facepalming himself. Instead, he held his breath, hoping for something to happen. He didn't exactly know what, but he waited.

Finally, the giant laughed for the first time and Baekhyun couldn't help but smile. "I'm sorry. I had a thought and it just..."

"Came out?"

"Yeah."

"Seems like a bad habit. Unhygienic, as some people would say." The subtle joke didn't go unnoticed for the brunet who only smiled a little bit wider.

As he watched the way the latter was looking down at him, he asked, "So, I guess I'm ordering you another cup of iced black coffee. What name should I tell the barista?"

Baekhyun believed that everything in life had a purpose and, in that moment, as his eyes stayed glued and mesmerized by the other's, something clicked inside of him and he knew that on that day, he was meant to meet...

"Park Chanyeol."