I soft layer of wool shielded Wonwoo's cold cheeks from the winter's wind. With his face buried in his favourite maroon scarf he waddled beside Soonyoung towards SVTea.

Soonyoung's dark purple hair was mostly covered by a black bobble hat. He looked cute with his round cheeks nuzzled in his coat collar. Soonyoung patted Wonwoo's shoulder to get his attention and signed; "The barista guy is really hot. I tried hitting on him once but I'm pretty sure I'm not his type." His sign language was a little off as he hadn't been learning it for long but Wonwoo understood nevertheless.

"No. You're just too ugly." Wonwoo signed back. It took him a while to figure out what the hand movements meant but the purple haired boy eventually realised and punched Wonwoo's arm who just laughed in response.

"You know, I was going to compliment you and say that you and him would suit each other but I'd be lying through my teeth." Soonyoung had given up on signing and left Wonwoo to lip read despite the fact he hated it with a passion.

"Use sign language, idiot!" Wonwoo spoke out loud and his best friend stuck his middle finger up in translation.

The coffee shop was sweet and smelled of morning tea and cocoa. It's wooden, beige door held a handwritten 'open' sign that swung from side to side upon the two boy's entrance. A bell chimed as the door swung open but, of course, went unnoticed and unheard by Wonwoo. Soonyoung idly strolled to the front counter whilst his friend trailed behind admiring the pine wood ceiling and huge ebony lights that hung above fawn tables. The café was stylish but also incredibly homely. Wonwoo loved it.

A tap against his shoulder suddenly brought him back into focus to find Soonyoung and the cashier looking at him. After quickly assuming he had been asked what he wanted to drink he answered "Hot chocolate, please." timidly.

Whenever Wonwoo was in a public place he tried to look and sound as normal as possible which meant no sign language and lots of lip reading a.k.a Wonwoo's worst nightmare. Soonyoung knew how much he hated social interaction so he always took care of him and tried to make everything as easy as possible.

Wonwoo watched the silent conversation between his friend and the cashier. The cashier's hair was a light mahogany and was swept back off his forehead. He wore a dazzling smile in between his thin lips and below his prominent cheekbones that gave his face a beautiful shape. His features were delicate and so was his soft gaze that often wondered towards Wonwoo. He seemed to be studying Wonwoo's appearance as if he knew him from somewhere but couldn't put his finger on it.

Once the two boys had taken a seat by the window to wait for their drinks Soonyoung spelt out the cashier's name with his hands: Jeonghan.

"He's pretty." Wonwoo said and Soonyoung nodded.

Wonwoo's eyes and mind wondered to the busy street on the other side of the window. A happy couple crossed the road outside hand in hand with bright faces. They chatted merrily as they walked and their smiles made Wonwoo ponder whether he could ever find love like they had. Being deaf took away a lot from a relationship- Wonwoo knew he would always feel as if he was burdening his partner (if he ever had one).

A kick to the shin from under the table interrupted his thoughts and he turned to give Soonyoung his attention. Not as subtly as he intended Soonyoung nodded his head towards the tall barista who was placing Wonwoo's hot chocolate on the table. Wonwoo gave his friend a confused look as he even more obviously motioned towards the barista but Wonwoo still didn't get the hint for him to look over.

"Thank you." He nodded as he took a sip of his drink.

"No worries." A voice answered back and Wonwoo heard it.

The sudden overwhelming feeling of verbal letters in once deaf ears was shocking. Wonwoo spat out his drink. Everywhere.

"!"

He heard the barista giggle through a smile. "Oh dear." He said with a hint of teasing in his voice. "You always act so shocked when you see me. I'm not that hot am I?"

Don't flatter yourself, is what Wonwoo wanted to say but instead he sat there stuttering and gawping like an idiot.

Luckily Soonyoung was there so save him. After hopelessly watching his lips move along with a voice he couldn't hear Wonwoo assumed he had asked for some napkins because the barista replied: "Yeah, sure thing." before turning on his heels towards a staff door.

"That was the hot barista. I tried to tell you to look ovsr but you didn't get it." Soonyoung signed with his hands as close to the table as possible in hopes nobody else could see.

"He's the guy who had my wallet." Wonwoo hissed back.

"No need to spray him with hot chocolate. You haven't even had your first date and you're already making a fool of yourself."

Soonyoung got a middle finger reply: an action the two friends commonly used when using sign language. It saves time and gets the point across.

The barista came back through the staff doors with a pile of napkins in one hand and a wallet in the other. Thank God.

Wonwoo tried grapping a napkin as he placed everything on the table but the barista was too quick and had already started rubbing at Wonwoo's clothes. A blush spread across his face and down his neck and Soonyoung stared back with wide eyes.

Wonwoo stayed deadly still not knowing how to react until the barista finally stepped back and smiled. Or smirked. He couldn't tell due to the flustered state he was in.

"Here's your wallet." The barista winked as he passed it over.

"Um, t-thanks." Wonwoo turned an even darker shade of red.

"I borrowed some money for a bus ride home, by the way."

"Oh. Um-"

"It's ok. I'll take you out sometime to pay you back. You like pizza?"

"C-can't you just pay me back in cash now?" Wonwoo could tell his voice was quiet and timid.

"Ok. I'll pay you back in cash and take you on a date anyway. See you soon, Hot Chocolate." The tanned man flashed a breathtaking smile before turning back towards the staff doors.

Soonyoung nearly choked on his coffee and Wonwoo gawped with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.

"Let's go." The latter stood up suddenly and grabbed his friends wrist who said something along the lines of "But I haven't finished my donut!" Wonwoo didn't hear. Nor did he care.

As soon as the two boys had stumbled onto the street Soonyoung tackled Wonwoo into a hug and shook him like a rag doll. Wonwoo assumed he was screaming as he did it which made him momentarily thankful he was deaf.

"The hot barista guy hit on you!" He signed with a insane grin after calming down a little.

"I was shaking." Wonwoo signed back.

"You've gotten better at lip reading. Did you understand everything he said?"

"Yeah." Wonwoo mumbled. Soonyoung didn't know about Wonwoo's sudden ability to hear the barista. He didn't want him to know either.

Although the unique fact that Wonwoo could hear the low timber voice of the golden skinned man he knew he would be labelled as a nutcase if he told anyone about it. The situation was way too unrealistic and unbelievable even for Wonwoo who was experiencing it first hand.

"How much money did he take?" Soonyoung signed after elbowing Wonwoo's stomach to snap him out of his thoughts.

Wonwoo pulled his wallet from his back pocket to check. A slip of paper fell out as he ped the centre and fluttered to the floor. Soonyoung was quick to pick it up and his eyes grew wide when he read the writing inside it, but his smile grew wider and didn't fade either as Wonwoo snatched the paper from his hands.

It was a note. The handwriting wasn't neat and had been smudged. It didn't take a detective to know that the person who wrote it was a lefty. It didn't take much to figure out it was from the barista either.

You're cute and awkward and I like that a lot. Text me?
- MG

The note was followed by a series of digits: MG's phone number. Before Wonwoo could process what he had just read Soonyoung had snatched his phone from his coat pocket and entered his password (because only the best of friends know each others phone passwords).

Wonwoo desperately tried to yank it back out of Soonyoung's hands but by the time he got it back a message had already been sent.

Me:
hey hottie ;)

"No!" He stared at the text on his screen. "Why would you do that?"

Soonyoung laughed.

Wonwoo punched him.

"It's not funny! Now he's going to think I like him!"

"You do. It's obvious." Soonyoung signed after rubbing his arm where Wonwoo had hit him only to recieve another punch.

"I don't."

Wonwoo's thumbs hovered over his keyboard whilst his head spun in panic. Before he had anytime to make an excuse or muster a response a reply from 'MG' had appeared on his screen. Crap.

MG:
woaahh hey ;D

No no no no no. Wonwoo face palmed himself hard enough to rattle his brain and sighed through his teeth. It was too late to take it back now.

"Soonyoung. I will kill you." He said as he showed him the text. Soonyoung's mouth opened wide with a smile and his shoulders started shaking with laughter. Within seconds he was bent over trying to catch his breath between chuckles.

A buzz from Wonwoo's iPhone interrupted him before he seriously injured his friend.

MG:
whatcha doing? :P x

Wonwoo sighed before thumbing a response.

Me:
about to murder my
friend for texting you
from my phone.

MG:
ohh. so the 'hey hottie ;)'
wasn't from u?

Me:
no.

MG:
oh man. you really got
my hopes up for a second.

Me:
but if it makes you feel
better i'm not denying
that you're hot.

Wow, flirting felt awkward. Wonwoo blushed as he tried to hide his phone from Soonyoung who was currently trying to read their texts over his shoulder.

MG:
aww thanks :)

Me:
haha no problem :)

MG:
you're hot too!

MG:
like really really hot

Wonwoo didn't know how to take the compliment. His heart was beating faster than it should be and his stomach was doing double backflips.

"He's so into to you." Soonyoung signed once Wonwoo had looked up from the messages.

"We literally just met. He doesn't even know my name yet." He signed back whilst still holding his phone which made it hard for his friend to understand.

"Whatever. It's obvious he likes you. You should go on a date."

Wonwoo shook his head. A date was near the top of his list of worst nightmares (right under job interviews) and he wasn't sure if he was into how upfront 'MG' was. He seemed rather shallow and quick moving- the sort of person that acts before they think and when they do think it's not with their brain and rather something more down south. Those type of people don't mix well with Wonwoo. He needed someone who cares more than most people do because being him was a lot more difficult. It took time and effort. It was impossible to be in a normal relationship with someone who is just not normal. That hurt Wonwoo; he was such a burden to everyone he met.

He quickly pushed away the feeling of his beating heart and bubbly stomach and replaced it with doubt.

"Why not?" Soonyoung asked with his hands.

"Because I'm different and MG won't want someone different."

Soonyoung frowned. He knew exactly what Wonwoo was trying to say. "It's worth a try, buddy. MG might be a good guy."

"He won't be." Wonwoo wasn't sure if this was the truth but he wasn't content on running the risk.

The conversation ended and they continued to walk in silence.

Soonyoung worried about Wonwoo like a brother would. He felt a responsibility to take care of him and make him happy and the fact that Wonwoo was so afraid to meet new people and try new things due to his deafness upset him. Wonwoo was an amazing person that always made him laugh and cheered him up but he never gave anybody the chance to see that side of him. He always hid himself away and cut himself off from the outside world.

"See you soon." Wonwoo mumbled as they reached the front door of his apartment complex. He had grown considerably more upset since MG had last text him mostly due to the feelings he was catching for him that he didn't want to feel.

Soonyoung nodded in reply before patting his shoulder and waving goodbye down the pathway.

Wonwoo had hit a low. He often got very upset and depressed but this time it was a low that he thought would be impossible to get out of. As he lay on his small, creaky bed staring at his ceiling he couldn't help but let a tear run down his cheek. Once it hit the pillow another one welled in his eyes. Then another. And another.

Soon he was curled up in a ball with a puddle on his pillow, lying in blue bedcovers of his own self hate. He wondered if he lay there long enough would he would fade away? Would the dark air and musty walls eventually engulf his weak body?

Would anybody notice if it did?

He closed his eyes and hoped he would sink into the covers.

Then a light interrupted his meloncholy wishes. It was white and heavenly and pushed through his eyelids. When he had finally gained the strength to open his eyes his phone screen was cutting bright light through his dark room.

A text notification was on the screen.

MG:
i'm sorry. did i scare
you off?

Wonwoo ignored it. Now was not a good time. He needed to be alone but another text came through.

MG:
i didn't mean to be
so upfront.

"Please go away." He muttered to himself. His nose was blocked from crying making his voice weak and nasally.

MG:
i won't do it again.
i promise :(

The screen lit up again and Wonwoo jumped off his bed as if it was on fire and grabbed at his phone.

Me:
listen clingy. when i leave
you on read it means that
i don't want to talk to you.
so take a hint and off.

Then the phone went flying across the floor and hit the wall and so did Wonwoo's fist. He didn't understand what had brought on this sudden rage. Maybe it was the fact that he knew that as soon as he opened up and let MG into his life he would leave and Wonwoo couldn't live through a heartbreak like that.

He put his head in his hands and sunk back onto his bed. This time crying harder than ever. His jaw ached, his muscles ached, his head ached and so did his heart. He felt completely crushed and worthless; an utter outcast that could never be loved.

Another white flash of light crept through his fingers. MG just wouldn't shutup. He got up from the bed and made his way towards his phone.

MG:
are you okay?

MG's persistency burrowed a hole through the brick wall Wonwoo was trying to build around himself. He felt a pang of sudden guilt for being so unkind to someone who seemed to care a lot more than he realised.

He picked up his phone and hesitantly typed a response.

Me:
i'm sorry.

Within seconds MG text back. It was obvious he was waiting for a reply.

MG:
it's ok. do you wanna
talk about it?

Me:
no. i can't

MG:
that's alright.

MG:
do you wanna talk
about something else
to take your mind off
of things?

Then the brick wall fell down. MG was kind and cared. Wonwoo liked that. So he let him in but only a little bit.

Me:
yes. please.

MG:
alright

MG:
what's your name by
the way?

Me:
Jeon Wonwoo

Me:
what's yours?

MG:
Kim Mingyu

Me:
that's a nice name

MG:
thanks. you too :)

Upon finding out 'MG''s name Wonwoo hurried to contact settings and changed his ID to something more friendly.

Mingyu☕:
what makes you happy
Wonwoo?

Me:
reading and hot
chocolate!

Mingyu☕:
cute :)
well if you're ever in
need of a hot chocolate
and a quiet place to
read come to SVTea.
i'll be happy to treat
you to a free drink :)

Me:
thank you.
i'd like that i think

Mingyu☕:
can't wait to see you
there.

Wonwoo hesitated with his thumbs above the letters on his screen. His fast beating heart was back and so was the light feeling in his stomach. He couldn't decide whether he hated Mingyu's upfront flirting and generosity or if he was starting to fall for it.

He secretly hoped it was the latter.

Mingyu☕:
it's getting late.
aren't you tired?

Me:
i can't sleep

Mingyu☕:
if you like i can
stay up and keep
you company until
you can

Me:
that would be nice.

Mingyu☕:
i hope you cheer
up soon, wonwoo.

Me:
actually, mingyu
could you do me a
favour?

Mingyu☕:
of course :)

Me:
can you call me
...i want to hear
your voice.

Mingyu☕:
sure

[Incoming call from Mingyu☕]

"Hello."