It isn’t long before a mysterious black car is driving up and stopping in front of the café. Changkyun stands up so fast he nearly trips over his chair. He pauses only long enough to give Kihyun a grateful smile before rushing from the building.

Kihyun only manages to smile back until Changkyun’s back is to him.

He knows absolutely nothing about this situation he’s inadvertently been made aware of tonight, but he’s absolutely sure about one thing. If Changkyun walks into this café again after crying over that man, he’ll be going home not with his boyfriend, but with Kihyun.

Changkyun slides into the car, his good mood from the café faltering as Jinsoo leans over to kiss his cheek.

“What’d you forget that you had to go back out for in the rain, Kyunnie?” he asks, raising a brow. Changkyun tries for a chuckle, shrugging.

“I didn’t realize it was raining when I left,” he defends, purposefully not answering the question. He hates lying, so the less he has to do of it the better. Jinsoo chuckles as if that’s so typical of the younger. He reaches over to ruffle his hair, and Changkyun wants nothing more than to lean into the touch. However, as he does, his eyes flit over a fresh love bite, and he nearly begins to cry again.

Jinsoo, though, seems as oblivious as ever to the younger’s inner turmoil.

After ordering a pizza and watching a movie, Changkyun and Jinsoo retire for the night. After what the younger had walked in on, he most certainly did not feel like preparing a huge meal like before. Maybe he will later this week, when Jinsoo isn’t covered head to toe by a stranger’s hickeys.

It takes Jinsoo only a couple minutes to fall asleep.

I guess if I had such a busy afternoon, Changkyun thinks as he stares up at the ceiling, I would fall asleep pretty fast, too.

He sighs, turning his back to Jinsoo. He closes his eyes against the dark, mentally running through the day’s events. He remembers the kind barista at the café, the older man’s beautiful smile. He’ll have to be sure to return to that café when he has time to thank Kihyun.

Kihyun returns to his apartment after a long day’s work, sighing in exasperation as he tosses his keys in the bowl by the door and scoots his shoes beneath the shoe rack. At the sound, his roommate pops his head into the room. He chuckles knowingly, and goes to sit beside Kihyun with a beer in his hand.

“You look like you need this,” Minhyuk tells him, smirking over at his same-age friend knowingly. Kihyun hums gratefully, and takes the beer. He downs half of it in one gulp. As he closes his eyes, images of the last customer he served tonight flash into his vision.

“I met the cutest young man today…” Kihyun sighs out, taking another drink before resting the near-empty bottle on his knee. Minhyuk ‘ooh’s in a most juvenile way, causing Kihyun to roll his eyes.

“Kihyun-ssi!” Minhyuk cries out, hugging his roommate close. “I’m so happy for you! What’s his name? When can I meet him? When’s your first date?”

“Whoah, whoah, whoah,” Kihyun chuckles, squirming out of Minhyuk’s grasp and shoving him away playfully. “His name is Changkyun, but it won’t go anywhere. He already has a boyfriend.” Minhyuk pouts, very much not pleased with the answer.

“I’m disappointed in you,” he grumbles. “You finally meet someone who makes you take a second look after all this time, and you let him slip away without a fight… I thought I had taught you better than that.”

“Please, Minhyuk-ah,” he groans in frustration. “You’re not listening to me. He’s already taken. Maybe, if he ever breaks up with that in the car, I’ll give it a chance. For now, though, he’s unattainable beauty.”

“God,” Minhyuk says as he stands, making a retching sound in his throat, “you’ve got it so bad already. You’ll have him by the end of the month, I can tell already.” Kihyun rolls his eyes again, standing as well to join his friend in the kitchen for a midnight snack.

He thinks of the man’s expression, how he had looked almost happy before his boyfriend had called… It’s then he dares to hope his roommate is right.

Changkyun waits a couple days before returning to the café. He needs to stay in the apartment for a while, after all. If he were to leave Jinsoo alone, he runs the risk of coming home to a sight like before, and he can’t run the risk of that, at least until his heart has recovered from last time.

He feels a bit awkward about returning, but tells himself it’s nothing. He’s only thanking the man for his kindness. There’s nothing wrong with that, nothing whatsoever.

The bell dings above the door, announcing his arrival, and he suddenly realizes that Kihyun may not even be working today. He presses his lips together nervously, hunching his shoulders forward as he nears the counter. No one’s manning it at the moment, and he awkwardly stands there a moment before clearing his throat.

“Changkyunnie~!” Kihyun’s voice suddenly greets, and Changkyun’s head snaps to the side. He can’t help but smile at seeing the older man’s head poking out of the swinging door leading to the back. “I’ll be there in a minute,” he adds, and then disappears behind the door without waiting for a response.

Changkyun gulps, trying to regain control of his racing heart. His palms begin to sweat, and his eyes flit to the ceiling as he thinks of why he could possibly reacting in such a way to just a simple smile.

Jinsoo never made me feel like this… Changkyun thinks suddenly, though he instantly regrets it. Guilt fills him, but he can’t think of why he’s drawn such a connection .He goes to sit at a table to clear his head, twiddling with his thumbs under the table as he waits.