Absently pressing the buttons of the coffee machine, Mark found his eyes continuing to wander to the guy seated in the corner of the coffee shop, his back hunched and his eyes glued to the laptop screen in front of him. Rolling his eyes, Mark grabbed hold of the mug and slammed it on the counter with more force than was really necessary, thanking his lucky stars that it didn’t spill. “Hot chocolate!” he called out, turning his back to the guy who was walking up. Don’t stare at him. Dooon’t stare at him.

It wasn’t Mark’s fault that he was a naturally curious guy, right? And it wasn’t his fault that this particular regular came in at least three times a week to not interact with anybody and drink only hot chocolate. He only knew this person’s name (Youngjae) because he’d had to give it one busy evening, but other than that Mark knew nothing.

He was a cute guy, this Youngjae, his tousled hair managing to look artful and not messy. If Mark had to guess, he was about his age, probably a student at the university next door. He spent multiple nights a week at this coffee shop, always coming in after 9 PM. Youngjae only ordered hot chocolate. Either he had an insatiable sweet tooth, or he was particularly set in his ways and was a person who hated changing up a routine. Mark had also never seen him interact with anyone else except other servers. Even then, he’d exchange only the minimal amount of words needed before retreating to “his” corner.

Chewing on his lip as he absently poured new coffee beans into the machine, Mark stared at Youngjae out of the corner of his eye. He was looking at the screen with an intense expression, obviously absorbed in whatever he was tapping away at. Mark found himself wondering idly what it would be like to be on the receiving end of that expression...and pinched himself immediately. It wouldn’t do him good to start thinking things like that. Youngjae was just a stranger, someone who came into the coffee shop frequently. And for as much as Mark liked to think he knew about him, there wasn’t actually very much he knew about Youngjae.

Sighing quietly to himself, Mark felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned slowly to see the frowning face of his boss. “I’d like it if you paid attention while you worked, please.” His employer had a way of talking that made his “suggestions” sound vaguely threatening, and this was no exception. With a gulp, Mark looked over to see that he’d poured too many beans in, and they were busy bouncing around on the countertop.

“S-sorry, sir.” Mentally cursing Youngjae, Mark set about cleaning up his mess, aware that the person who’d caused this grief was staring at him from across the room. That is not what I meant when i said I wanted him to look at me.

The rest of the evening dragged on as Mark was left to close up, his boss leaving early to go to some family event. Sighing as he reclined against the counter, Mark shot a glance at the only remaining customer. He kind of wished that Youngjae would leave so that he could close up and go home, but there was still thirty minutes until official closing time. Youngjae had his headphones in, his empty mug pushed to the opposite edge of the table. Stretching his arms above his head, Mark decided to go ahead and take the cup, so that maybe Youngjae could take the hint.

Crossing over to the other side of the store, Mark snatched up the cup and saucer, the ceramic clacking together. Youngjae didn’t move. Irritation growing now that he couldn’t even get the guy to pay attention to him, Mark frowned down, completely intending to start telling him off. Just as he opened his mouth, a couple of tears slipped down Youngjae’s cheeks.

Mark was so startled he almost dropped the saucer he was holding. “U-um, are you okay?” he asked tentatively, moving closer to the other man. Youngjae didn’t respond, instead holding a hand up to his mouth and tearing up once again. Mark swallowed the lump in his throat. What if there was something bad happening? Shuffling even closer, Mark moved into a position so that he could see the computer screen.

Dog videos. He was crying over ing dog videos. Mark let out a loud groan. “I thought something genuinely bad had happened, you fool!” he said, voice heavy with exasperation. Youngjae turned around suddenly.

“But....they’re so beautiful,” he whispered, meeting Mark’s eyes. Mark found his face heating up inexplicably at the eye contact, and decided to turn away instead.

“Okay, yeah, dogs are cool. But are they worth crying over?” he muttered in return. Youngjae’s facial expression said yes. The earnestness in the other man’s eyes somehow made Mark feel even more self-conscious, as if it was weirder to not cry over puppies. Clearing his throat, Mark looked into the half-darkened coffee shop. “I have a...dog at home. Since you seem to like them, would you...like to see her sometime?” His stomach squeezed uncomfortably. . What am I doing? We’ve never even spoken before today. Running his free hand through his hair nervously, Mark glanced down at Youngjae.

Youngjae’s eyes were practically sparkling. Mark felt his heart jump, just a bit, and nodded shakily. “So I’ll leave my phone number with you, yeah? Text me when you’re free.” Scrawling the number down on a random napkin, Mark set it down on the table and walked stiffly away, his heart starting to beat more quickly. He couldn’t force his face to turn towards Youngjae even if he wanted to.

A light hand landed on Mark’s, a hot breath against his ear. “I’ll text you.” Before he could react, the door jingled shut behind Youngjae. Mark watched him head into the night, his breath puffing out in the cold air, and allowed himself a small, gleeful smile. He might not know what the was about to happen, but he would at least have fun with it.