Mino isn't one for love at first sight, not the way Jinwoo is, the way he can romanticise any meeting. He's not really quite convinced that The One exists; he thinks it’s all about choosing to make a relationship work. But then again the gay club where he spends pretty much all his social time at probably isn't exactly the right place to find a lover.

He supposes the cafe located on the edge of his university campus, where he works part-time as a barista, wasn't quite the right place to find one either, since all the interest he ever seemed to get there was from wide-eyed girls, many with pretty smiles and bright eyes and soft lingering fingers over change and mugs of coffee.

That is, until The One actually walks into the cafe one sunny winter morning in a gust of snow with an even taller friend and smiles at him over the register as he's giving Mino his name for his drink. The One’s name is Seungyoon, and his hair is dyed a pale platinum blonde, and he has smooshy cheeks and bright eyes and a really red mouth. Mino really isn’t one for love at first sight, but he finds himself helplessly attracted to Seungyoon and he cannot lie.  

“He's really hot.” Mino slumps over the counter, staring despairingly into the distance after the cute blonde as he disappears out of the door with a tinkle of bells, into the throng of students rushing for the noon classes. “I had my latte art all ready. ”

Jinwoo peers, doe-eyed, at him from the backroom, elbow deep in a box. “Latte art would be ruined in a takeaway cup. Isn't that why you always don't bother when they order to go?”

“Humour me a little, won't you,” Mino whines. He's tempted to stamp his foot, but that would be childish, and so he resists the urge.

“Okay, okay. So what were you gonna put, hearts in the milk foam and your number in chocolate syrup?”

“I was going to impress him. Like, maybe a bear, or a rose or something on his coffee. He'd love it and he'd come back. But no, his stupid lanky friend ordered him a yogurt smoothie, of all things, and he's gonna hate it and he's never gonna come back.”

“Hey, I made that smoothie order. And don't project your own preferences onto others,” Jinwoo says mildly, emerging victorious from the box with a new pack of drink straws. “Stop whining and refill the drink straws. I've to top up the raspberry syrup.”

“You aren't listening to me,” Mino whines, taking the pack of straws anyway.

“Of course I am,” Jinwoo soothes automatically, not even looking at him, balancing the syrup bottle in one hand and uncapping the squeeze bottle with another. Mino begins folding drink straws into hearts, but gets only to seven before Jinwoo yanks the straw pack out of his hands and pushes him out to the register.

 

 

It isn't two days before he's back again. Mino’s customer. He enters the cafe on a rush of biting winter wind, stamping fresh snow off his shoes onto the mat and his cheeks are red from the cold and plump against his scarf and Mino stares from the coffee machine and his stupid heart actually skips a beat. Thinks about maybe a snowflake, this time, on his coffee art. Something faster, so that he wouldn't have to wait.

Jinwoo tugs at his elbow and shoves him to the register, and Mino stumbles and barely avoids tripping over his own feet and the guy raises an eyebrow, goes to reach out a hand.

“Are you okay?”

“Hi. Welcome.” Mino says. He can almost hear Jinwoo snickering from the backroom. “Can I, uh, take your order-”

“I'll have a strawberry yogurt smoothie, please,” he says, red mouth pressed into a pout as he rummages for his wallet. Mino swears he hears a snort of laughter from somewhere in the vicinity of the boxes of coffee grounds.

He scrawls Seungyoon’s name on the cup, and when he looks up Seungyoon is staring at him, surprised.

“You remembered my name,” he says. “Even though i've only been here once.” Mino freezes.

“Uh, I have a very good memory,” he says lamely. “Here. Your change.”

“Thank you, Mino,” Seungyoon smiles, nodding at his nametag, eyes crinkling into crescents, and he moves down the line to the pick-up counter.

“We’re on first-name terms,” Mino gloats at Jinwoo over the buzzing of the blender. “Progress.”

“You and every other barista he talks to,” Jinwoo kicks at his ankle and reaches for the caramel sauce.

 

 

“I could do smoothie art, I guess,” Mino stares miserably down at the blender, again. “With chocolate sauce or something. It just wouldn’t look as good, and it’s harder to control than milk foam. Smoothies would collapse in on themselves.”

“He likes you, too,” Jinwoo nods sagely as he stirs milk into the iced latte he's preparing.

“And how would you know,” Mino grumbles, stopping the blender and pouring out Seungyoon’s sixth yogurt smoothie in two weeks. Mino isn't counting.

“Do you not realise he's just working his way down the list of flavoured yogurt smoothies?” Jinwoo gestures with his stirrer towards the menu chalkboard. “You should know, you were the one who wrote out the entire menu board. At this point he’s probably just coming to see you.”

“He could just really like yogurt,” Mino sighs, looking down at the yellow banana concoction he's working on today.

“-and he watches you, when he thinks you aren't looking. You're a clueless idiot so he's right when he thinks you aren't looking, because you really aren't. Most other people just pretend not to be looking.”

“Whose friend are you,” Mino says, knowing that Jinwoo is pressing his buttons on purpose and trying not to let him win, he has to resist, he's stronger than this-

“He watches me?” he finally asks. He'll be strong another day instead.

“He's watching you right now, don't look,” but it's too late and Mino’s head has snapped up, and then he's looking right into Seungyoon’s eyes, from where he's seated next to the full-length paned windows. Seungyoon’s eyes meet his, surprised at first, but he smiles, and looks back down at his book.

“I told you not to look, you ,” Jinwoo hisses, as Mino turns back to the counter, a little starry-eyed.

 

 

Seungyoon starts on the tea selection the following week, having exhausted the list of smoothies - “I told you so,” Jinwoo says smugly - and Mino contemplates sand art with tea leaves on the saucer - the snow gets heavier as December deepens, and classes let out for the winter break, but Seungyoon still turns up. Sometimes he's with that tall, lanky friend - Mino has even learnt his name by now: Seunghoon. But most of the time he comes alone.

Mino comes to look forward to his visits. He's of the opinion that in life, especially on dark days, one should always look for little bits of light and happiness in the everyday. Perhaps a small pinprick of light would be when he achieves the perfect latte art tulip. (Which happens more often than not, because he's awesome at this, but still. It's a reason to be happy.) Another little sparkle might be if it happens to snow on his way to work and he can stick out his tongue and catch snowflakes. In that context, Seungyoon’s visits to the cafe are a whole starful of light.

“You changed your hair,” Mino says one day, when Seungyoon pulls off his beanie to reveal soft brown tousled strands. He looks younger now, compared to his platinum blonde locks.

“Yeah, the blonde was growing out quite a bit and I didn't want to rebleach the roots. It hurt like hell the first time i had it done.” Seungyoon tugs off a glove and runs a thin hand through his hair. “The hairdresser chopped off quite a bit of my dry ends though, so it's a little shorter than what I'm used to and I'm not sure if I really like it.”

“You look really good either way,” Mino says honestly before he can think about the words coming from his mouth, and Seungyoon stares back at him, but there's something sparkling in his eyes that makes Mino think maybe he wasn't that surprised after all.

“Thank you,” Seungyoon smiles at him, taking his change and receipt, and their fingers brush, sending an electric tingle down Mino’s skin. He watches as Seungyoon ambles to his usual seat next to the windows, all long legs and broad shoulders, and thinks god, when was the last time he was so attracted to someone?

“Stop staring, and move,” Jinwoo hisses, elbowing him away from the register. “Subtlety 101, dude? Were you even trying?”

“Isn't he beautiful,” Mino says instead, and Jinwoo stamps on his foot.

 

 

“Why ever not?” Taehyun is confused. Mino supposes it's natural for him to be, because it's the first time he's refused an invitation to a night out at the downtown club. It's odd, because the decision not to go comes so naturally to him. The option of going isn't even on the cards he has on hand. (Seungyoon is the banker of his heart.)

“I just… don't feel like it,” Mino hedges.

“You've got someone?” Taehyun’s eyes sharpen, and Mino sighs. What was he thinking trying to get past Taehyun?

“I'm just not really up for getting myself blind drunk and grinding up against random half-strangers on the dance floor,” Mino says truthfully.

“There's someone,” Taehyun leans across the counter, raising a perfectly manicured eyebrow at him. “Who, where, how-”

“He's sitting right there,” Jinwoo supplies helpfully from the coffee roaster. “At that corner table next to the window.”

Taehyun whips around, then turns back to him, wide-eyed.

“Seunghoon? He's straight as , what were you thinking- ”

“Not him ,” Mino gripes. “Wait, how did you even know Seunghoon?”

“He's in my elective geography class. He probably doesn't know me but everybody in that class knows him. No thanks to the very open crush the TA has on him.” Taehyun rolls his eyes.

“He's handsome, I guess.” Mino eyes him speculatively. He's never really taken notice of him, not when Seungyoon was around. Now that he's gotten a proper look, Seunghoon looks like he’s walked straight out of a magazine, long legs and sharp features and all. If this is the type of friends Seungyoon hangs around with… thank god Seunghoon’s straight, Mino can't help thinking. But what if Seungyoon is, too, his brain interjects, and Mino shakes his head furiously.

“Straight, he's straight,” Taehyun snaps.

“Seungyoon’s straight?” Mino feels his heart sink through his shoes.

“No, I said Seunghoon was straight, no point ogling- wait, who?”

“Seungyoon,” Jinwoo nods, now placidly drying water glasses. “The other one.”

Taehyun cranes his neck around again to look, and as if on cue Seungyoon looks up, straight at all three of them. Mino ducks behind the bar so fast he thinks he might have gotten whiplash.

“Stop staring, guys, he saw us, ” he hisses from somewhere around Jinwoo’s shin. “You're embarrassing me.”

“You're embarrassing yourself,” Jinwoo tells him. “You should've just stayed put.”

Mino peers tentatively over the edge of the counter. Taehyun is eyeing him, an inscrutable look on his pretty face.

“You got a good one,” he tells him. “He's hot.”

“What's the point, I don't even know if he's gay,” Mino moans, thunking his head on the edge of the counter.

“You must really like him,” Taehyun says. “Even when you were eye candying Jiho from our music module you still went with me for men’s night.”

“I don't even know why or how, but I just really do,” Mino says miserably. “I'm just ridiculously attracted to him and we don't even talk anywhere else except over the register.”

“Maybe you should ask him out,” Jinwoo suggests.

Taehyun gets this glint in his eye that Mino doesn't like, and Mino half-launches himself across the counter to clutch at Taehyun’s arm.

“No, no, no,” he says, and Taehyun frowns back at him.

“Why ever not? Both of you could use some alcohol to loosen-”

“I want to do this properly,” Mino grimaces at Taehyun. “The club isn't the right place to do it. I’d much prefer to be sober, thank you.”

“That's true, he says stupid when he's drunk. And he's a kissy drunk,” Jinwoo says. “He'd be better off sober.”

“Shut up,” Mino says. “I kissed you all of one time, and that was only when I was really sloshed blind-”

“ And that's already one time too much,” Jinwoo frowns at him and drifts away.

Taehyun shrugs. “Suit yourself. You're still welcome though, loverboy, to the year-end countdown party, if things don't work out.”

“Do you think it will?” Mino isn’t really expecting an answer, but Taehyun uncharacteristically reaches out to pat him rather awkwardly on the arm.

“You’ll never know until you give it a shot.”

 

 

It's Christmas eve and Mino is left to close up alone, having drawn the short straw during rostering last week. It’s ten minutes to closing with an empty cafe and he's dead tired - he’s briefly contemplating beginning to close up early when the bell over the door tinkles. When he looks up, he's surprised to see Seungyoon, and maybe that's not so bad after all.

“Hey,” Seungyoon smiles. “I hope I'm not too late.”

“No, you're not, we aren't closed yet.” Mino slumps tiredly over the register. “Why are you still in the area when it’s Christmas eve?”

“There was something I wanted to get for Christmas,” Seungyoon laughs, and Mino is briefly confused, thinks about it as he makes Seungyoon’s hot chocolate order. There isn't much down this university street, mostly a smattering of bookshops, cafes, barbecue joints and convenience stores.

“It’s a Christmas tree,” Seungyoon says in awe, when Mino puts his drink down in front of him. “It's beautiful.”

“I’d been wanting to do this for ages, but you kept ordering everything and anything but coffee,” Mino says, trying not to be too gratified at Seungyoon’s obvious amazement.

“I don't like coffee,” Seungyoon laughs, looking up at him, and his eyes are so bright.

“I sort of figured that out,” Mino says. “The way you were working down our entire menu of everything but coffee. Here, try it before it gets cold. It's dark chocolate.”

Seungyoon takes a sip, his eyes little crescents over the rim of the mug.

“Y'all are known for your coffee though,” he says, conversationally.

“Yeah,” Mino shrugs. “We don't get customers like you often. You must have really liked our drinks either way.”

“I might have liked more than the drinks, about this place,” Seungyoon puts his mug down, looks Mino in the eye, deliberately the foam off his upper lip, and Mino feels this sudden wave of anticipation in the air -

He doesn't know who made the first move. He could have reached out first, to clutch at the lapels of Seungyoon’s coat, or Seungyoon could have leaned in - either way, he presses his parted lips to Seungyoon’s mouth, heart thundering in his chest, pounding in his ears - and Seungyoon kisses him back.

He tastes like hot chocolate, bitter and sweet at the same time and he kisses so soft and warm, and Mino tightens his fingers around his coat lapels to pull him closer, closes his eyes, forgets everything but the wet hotness of his mouth. He realises that the corner of the cash register is digging painfully into his hip only when they pull apart, Seungyoon looking up at Mino with dark, dark eyes, mouth shiny and swollen.

The warmth in Mino’s chest is so overwhelming he can barely breathe, but Seungyoon stretches a hand across the counter, runs a gentle thumb over his cheek.

“Are you a dream,” Mino whispers, and Seungyoon laughs, pulls back a little.

“Do you want me to be?”

“No,” Mino tightens his grip on the front of Seungyoon’s shirt. “People wake from dreams.”

Seungyoon looks steadily back at him.

“I came from a Christmas party with some friends of mine,” he says. “And we were talking about how, as we get older, we kind of don't really want material things for Christmas anymore. All we really want is to achieve our dreams, and be happy, because that seems so hard to do, these days.”

Mino knows. Some days are in fact dark nights, where even the smallest glimmer of light is hard to find, where he has to work especially hard to find his daily sparkle.

“They were talking about what they really wanted, and you were the first thing I thought of. I figured this Christmas I’d just work for what I really wanted for, for once, and I upped and came here right away,” Seungyoon smiles wryly up at him. “I was half-worried I wouldn't be able to make it before you closed.”

“Thank you for rushing down for me,” Mino says, trying to swallow around the lump in his throat. “You get your hot chocolate on the house for all your efforts.”

“Is that all?” Seungyoon’s widening smile is enchanting, and Mino thinks he probably will never get used to how beautiful Seungyoon looks with that sparkle in his eye. He'd been searching all his life for sparkle and light.

“And you get me,” Mino murmurs, reaching out across the counter to pull him into another kiss. “Happy Christmas.”

 

 

“I chose you, I think, the moment you walked in that first day. I just didn’t know how to get around to... doing this. I haven’t really done this before.”

“I think you caught my eye just because I liked that beret you were wearing that first day.”

“Hey.”

“Just kidding. I spent almost 100,000 won at that cafe just to find excuses to drop by, okay. Seunghoon nagged me so badly about it all the time. Said he could make cheaper yogurt smoothies for me back at home.”

 

 

[prologue - yoon interlude]

 

“The fairy lights are really pretty. They look like stars.” Seungyoon is a bit starry-eyed himself.

“Of all the things,” Seunghoon rolls his eyes. “I brought you here for the drinks, not the lights.”

“And those bronze wire chandeliers.” Seungyoon points up. “Look. D’you think I could find them on Amazon?”

“No, because you'd make me install them anyway, even though you were the one who bought them, and the wooden Chinese bulb frames you got off eBay just two weeks ago are still spanking new. We don't need new ones. And if you don't choose a drink I'm rescinding my offer.”

Seungyoon duly shuts up, because nobody looks a free drink in the mouth (or straw, whatever) and looks up at the menu artistically scrawled into the chalkboard perched above the counter. He'd been wanting to take those free calligraphy lettering classes that the art department offered, if it meant he could letter like that-

“I can barely read the writing on the menu, it looks like chicken scratch,” Seunghoon promptly pipes up from beside him, squinting at the board.

“Why are we friends,” Seungyoon says. The menu is largely coffee, which he doesn't like, and anyway he's probably going to get one of his yogurt smoothies as usual. He looks around.

The new cafe on the edge of campus is bustling with chattering students for its first few weeks of business, and Seungyoon takes in the full-length windows letting in the natural sunlight, the cushy and artfully mismatched sofas, tables, and chairs, glass case of warm pastries, really cute barista - he does a double take.

The really cute barista is working the espresso machine, with dark eyes, beret perched rakishly on his head, a gorgeous smile as he looks up to grin casually at a girl as he hands her her drink - and Seungyoon lets his eyes wander: broad shoulders, tanned and lightly muscled arms under crisp white sleeves folded above his elbows.

Seungyoon doesn't realise he's been holding his breath until Seunghoon whacks him on the back and knocks the wind out of him.

“Stop staring, it's our turn.”

“He's really cute, look, the barista with the beret,” Seungyoon hisses, clutching at Seunghoon’s arm, and Seunghoon sighs and turns back to the cashier and orders a plain yogurt smoothie for him anyway.

Seungyoon peers carefully at the barista from over Seunghoon's shoulder in an attempt at subtlety. If he'd been asked ten minutes ago if he believed in love at first sight, he would probably have answered no, but he's impossibly attracted to this barista, and it's been less than five minutes since he stepped into the shop, and he thinks he could take that all back.

The barista happens to look up, at that moment, right at him, and smiles, his eyes crinkling softly at the edges and his mouth crooking in the most endearing way ever.

His wooden name tag reads Mino. Seungyoon tests the name out on his tongue, under his breath, thinks this is a taste he could really get used to.