Jongin can’t seem to get rid of those water marks, ugly residues that make the glassware look unclean, so he wipes them down all over again. At least that’s what he hopes he looks like and silently prays he seems busy enough to be left alone--

“What’re you doing all the way over here,” a voice says over his shoulder. There’s a teasing lilt at the edge of that voice and Jongin can’t hold back a grimace. He wipes away as if his life depended on it.

“The glasses needed cleaning,” he says through gritted teeth. “Must be the water, they leave stains that stick if you don’t dry them right.”

“Is that so…” Baekhyun replies. He sounds absolutely unconvinced.

“Yo Kim!” Junmyeon’s voice suddenly booms all the way from the opposite end of the counter. “Leave those for Byun to finish. You know you’re up front today.”

Defeated, he abandons the towel together with any hope of him not looking like an incompetent weirdo today. When he turns around, he gets the strongest urge to smack that smirk right off of Baekhyun’s ugly mug.

“Hmm…” Baekhyun glances down at his watch, “it’s almost that time of day. You’re up,” he says with a jerk of his thumb at the register. Jongin rethinks that smack. A solid punch would fit right into his annoying face-- The doorbell suddenly rings alerting them to a customer and it cuts Jongin’s thoughts from drifting into homicidal territory.

Stuffed in a frumpy striped sweater, he still looks cute, his usual black glasses hanging by the bridge of his nose. Jongin pats a hand to his hair on automatic and steps to the counter, blind to the amused grin Baekhyun throws at him. Glasses Guy makes a beeline for his usual table by the glass window, dropping his bag on the empty seat, before walking straight to the counter.

“Good Afternoon! Welcome to the Courtyard Cafe, can I take your order?” He’s said these words too many times to count at too many faces to keep track, but saying them in front of this one particular face has him reminding his lungs to keep working, inhale exhale inhale exhale--

--darling, I will be loving you--

“--cafe latte and could I have one--”

--’til we’re seventy

Today the music blares especially loud and Jongin tries to keep the panic out of his face. He watches the guy’s lips move and figures it all out from him pointing at the plate of cookies inside the display shelf.

“One cafe latte and one chocolate chip cookie,” Jongin says over the voice crooning in his head.

--people fall in love in mysterious ways

The guy’s glasses almost tips over when he nods and he pushes it back in place, smiling shyly. Jongin almost coos.

Maybe just the touch of a hand--

Their fingers almost brush as Jongin slides the plate filled with the one giant cookie and Jongin feels his face burn.

“I’ll have your coffee sent to your table,” Jongin says, avoiding eye contact as he takes his money. He settles for staring at the red and blue lines running across his blue sweater. It’d do him no good to know what the reaction is if Glasses Guy sees him blushing for no obvious reason.

“Thank you,” Glasses Guy replies just as the song builds, bursting at the chorus. Jongin heaves a huge sigh of relief as he watches him walk away just as Ed Sheeran sings of kissing under stars and placing of heads on hearts. The song eventually dies in his head much like when you twist the knob down on an old radio, the music softening until it fades into silence.

Jongin manages to convince Minseok to deliver the coffee without much grovelling because Minseok is actually a good guy and doesn’t take pleasure in adding fuel to the fire of Jongin’s misery, unlike everyone else in this shift. Jongin hangs behind the tall display shelf, almost out of sight from the customers enjoying their afternoon drinks and sweets, yet still keeping a good enough view of Glasses Guy now typing away at his laptop. No more stirrings of music in his head so this distance is okay.

“What was it this time?” someone says over his shoulder and Jongin’s heart jumps. Damn these people and their light as feet. He ducks down, pretending as if he’d been studying the row of pastries and not the object of his affections and the catalyst of random love songs in his head.

“Hm? What?” Jongin rearranges the cookie plates so they’re more even.

“The song, Kim.” Another voice joins in and Jongin knows he can’t play dumb for long. He exhales loud before straightening up.

“Ed Sheeran,” he replies and he can already see Baekhyun holding back laughter.

“What? The new one? Perfect?” Joonmyun asks, more curious than teasing.

Jongin exhales louder, more theatrical so they’ll know this interrogation is causing him equal parts grief and embarrassment. “The older, more popular one.” He refuses to answer directly if it means making it more difficult for these brown nosers to enjoy his misery. “People sing it at weddings and stuff.”

Baekhyun takes a still confused Joonmyun by both hands and proceeds to like their crowded workspace were as wide as a ballroom. “BABY NOW,” Baekhyun wails and Joonmyun’s blank face light up in recognition. “Take me into your loving arms--” Joonmyun pulls Baekhyun by the waist and they dance to what they think is the waltz but in Jongin’s eyes they end up looking like two drunk dudes fighting a large blast of wind. They’re all oblivious to the curious glances and amused laughter from the customers. Even Minseok makes an awkward twirl with his mop and Jongin takes back what he said about him because Minseok is enjoying this just as much.

Jongin steals a quick glance over at their audience and feels his heart skip multiple beats at Glasses Guy hiding a smile behind his hand. What Jongin would give to have an unobstructed view of it and to be the reason for it spreading wider on that cute little face. Well, indirectly he kind of is. But he wants the reason not to be this humiliating. Jongin shrinks back, making himself smaller if just for the chance that he won’t get associated with the embarrassment that is unfolding inside the cafe.

The scene ends with Baekhyun’s foot catching with Joonmyun’s and they fall in a mixed heap of hysterical laughter. Jongin throws them a disgusted glare that’s supposed to be menacing but only makes him look like a surly puppy. “C’mon, you’re embarrassing!” he hisses under his breath. “Quit it you guys. Joonmyun, you’re supposed to be in charge, act more professional. People are laughing at you.”

Joonmyun gets up, pulling