19:20    

Taemin came back to the café, take-out in a white bag, filling the small room with the smell of Jajjangmyeon instantly. His heart started beating when he saw Minho still sitting there. It has been several weeks since the day they call D-1. The younger had thought about how to possibly go on a date with the tall male. He didn’t like loud places, he wasn’t a big fan of movies, he didn’t like sand. There weren’t many options left, and in the end Taemin decided to just bring the date to them instead of going on one.

He had offered Minho a deal: on some days, he would get take-out food and bring it to the café. If, by the time he returned, Minho was still sitting there, they would spend the evening together at the familiar place. Over ten times up until now, Taemin had returned to an empty café, ending up eating both portions, feeling sick the rest of the night. He wasn’t angry. He himself told Minho only to stay if he was feeling well enough to spend the evening with him maybe even talking a little. He told him not to stay if he was having a bad day. Their first date should be special after all and not end after a few sentences of forced conversation. Despite all that, he was hurt. The continuous anticipation while he chose the menu and walked back to the café, and the following disappointment when he saw the empty chair slowly creeped into his heart, getting harder to endure every single time. Was this ever going to work?

Sometimes when Taemin sat with him during regular hours, Minho was completely alright with talking, even holding hands – on days like that, the following emptiness of the café was especially painful. On days like those, Taemin the radio while sitting and eating what he ordered. Alone. Alone in the café, staring at the chair where Minho was supposed to sit. He thought about how the night would have went, if Minho had stayed. Maybe they would talk about his studies. Maybe they would talk about Minho’s work. Maybe they would talk about a book – or rather Minho would recite whole passages while Taemin listened to him with genuine interest. Maybe they would hug in the end. Maybe they would kiss?

There were so many places the evening could go and at the same time all of them would be the same. It would be their first date.

Seeing Minho sitting at his usual spot, was surreal. After so many evenings of disappointment, he hadn’t expected that today would be the day where Minho finally decides he would decide to spend the evening with him. He hadn’t been especially talkative the last hour which had almost led Taemin to not try getting dinner tonight.

Now, that the day had finally come, his mind went blank. With hesitant steps he walked closer, hoping that Minho wouldn’t leave. Softly he placed the plastic bag on the wooden table, earning a soft smile form the older which almost made his heart jump out of his chest. This was really happening.

“I will get water.” Taemin said, filling two cups of water and returning to the table. He noticed that by the time he returned, Minho had put his book away and opened the food containers, setting the table properly, also separating the wooden chopsticks for both himself and Taemin. Very neatly, they were placed on the napkins also provided by the restaurant.

Minho knew he should prepare the table. He had been consulting many romance novels and the relationships that worked out the best were usually ones where tasks were shared. After reading several classic ones, he had to realise that manners in classic literature were only hardly applicable to today’s society and he had to refer to contemporary literature. Herman Raucher’s “There Should Have Been Castles” was gently put away so it wouldn’t suffer from any stains. Sharing tasks would mean that if Taemin got the food he should set the table.

With joy he noticed that napkins were provided. The plastic was rustling when he got the food containers out of the bag, but he was old enough to not let it bother him. He could do this. Minho heard the water colliding with the glass of the cup as he placed the napkins on the table. While he pulled the wooden chopsticks apart, he heard Taemin’s footsteps on the wooden floor of the café. It was funny how you could make so many things out of wood. The floor, the table, the chopsticks. In a way, his books were also made from wood. While his thoughts were keeping him occupied, his fingers kept working, getting rid of the small splinters by rubbing the chopsticks against each other.

“Thank you!” Taemin said when he returned and sat down across from him. Minho smiled and nodded. He liked it when Taemin thanked him. It meant he did well. It meant it hadn’t been strange to take it upon himself to set the table.

“I’ll eat well.” The younger initiated and Minho was happy. He liked it when Taemin ate. It was good to eat. It was important.

“I’ll eat well.” Minho repeated and took the wooden chopsticks. Funny how he was eating with something made of the same material as the chair he was sitting on. He had always known wooden chopsticks existed, but at home he used metallic ones and his cafeteria also provided re-usable ones made from stainless steel. Instead of a cold slippery chopstick, his lips touched the rough surface of the wood. He didn’t like it.

“I don’t like these chopsticks.” Minho said and he saw that Taemin stopped eating instantly.

“Why? Do you not eat with these?”

“I always have metallic ones.”

“Oh.”

There was a moment of silence and Minho wondered if there was another way to eat the noodles.

“Wait one moment.” Taemin said before standing up in a hurry, leaving the coffeeshop. The sound of the bell by the door was ringing in Minho’s ears as he worried that Taemin wouldn’t come back. Was he offended? Was it strange that he didn’t like the wooden chopsticks? Should he just try and eat with them? That wouldn’t bring Taemin back though.

He tried it. The second time it wasn’t as bad. He tried it again. The third one wasn’t as bad as the second bite. He took another one. The fourth wasn’t as bad as the third. He could do this. When he was about to take the fifth when the bell by the door rung again and a panting Taemin entered the coffeeshop.

“Here, I got you some.” He said as he sat back down on his chair, handing a pair of metal chopsticks over.

“I can eat with these now.” Minho answered with a smile, his eyes blinking rapidly as he held up the wooden ones.

“Oh!” Taemin exclaimed.

“Is it alright if I eat with the ones you brought anyway?” Minho then added and Taemin smiled a big smile – one Minho didn’t pick up, but he felt the mood lifting instantly.

“Of course. That’s what I got them for. You are lucky that I made good friends with the Ajumma in the Restaurant across the street.”

“I am very lucky. That is true. You are a great boyfriend.” Minho said.

He didn’t notice the blush on a flustered Taemin’s cheeks for the rest of the meal, but it didn’t matter. He liked the quiet atmosphere he had created. The food was really tasty. Taemin had made a great choice. Sometimes he wondered why Taemin had chosen him. He wasn’t as tasty as this Jajjangmyeon. He didn’t have anything to give him. He wasn’t interesting. He was interested in Literature. He had always been interested in books. But lately he was interested in something new. Something he had never been interested in his whole life. He was interested in a person.

Taemin was interesting. He wanted to know more about him. He wanted to know what he liked. He wanted to know what he wanted to do. He wanted to know at what time he went to bed. He wanted to know if he preferred coffee over tea or tea over coffee. He wanted to know Taemin. He wanted to know about his thoughts. He wanted to know how he felt. He wanted to know Taemin. As a person, as a human and as his boyfriend

“Is it alright if I talk to you?” Taemin asked and Minho liked that.

“Yes. I want to know more about you.”

As if he had been waiting for it, Taemin didn’t stop speaking. Minho tried to follow what the other said as good as he could, but he drifted off several times making it hard to puzzle the different stories together. It wasn’t uncomfortable though. Minho was aware, that Taemin was aware, that he wouldn’t be able to register all of it. Hence, the pressure of pretending to be neurotypical wasn’t there.

“Minho?”

“Yes?”

“This one is important. Are you listening?”

Minho nodded. He was listening.

“I am taking the entrance exams for the university you went to this summer. I don’t want to stay in Seoul.”

Not staying in Seoul? But Taemin was from Seoul. He had to go back. Didn’t he?

“But your home is in Seoul.” He stated simply. It didn’t make sense if Taemin studied here. “Everyone wants to live in Seoul.”

“Well I don’t want to live in Seoul. I like it here better. Also, My Halmoni is getting older and I have to help her with the café. You wouldn’t want it closing down, wouldn’t you?”

That was a valid point, Minho decided and nodded in affirmative.

“I understand.” He answered and smiled a little. If the coffeeshop didn’t end business, he could keep coming here. It Taemin studied at the University nearby he could see him more often. He could even see him at the library. He could get him his books and make sure he never had to pay the fees even if he returned his books late. Maybe, finally, he could do something for Taemin. He could show him around the buildings, showing him where he could get the stainless steal chopsticks so he wouldn’t have to use those rough wooden chopsticks that came with take-out food.

“I will remit the fee if you return your books late.” Minho said with a smile on his lips, his eyes trying to take glimpses of Taemin’s face. It was exciting. Sometimes he wished he could look at Taemin’s face more closely. He wanted to see how he reacts. Learn what kind of expressions he made when he liked something. He wanted to learn about Taemin. Learn how he looked at something he liked. Learn how he looked at something he didn’t like.

He had looked into his eyes before but barely remembered. Many things had been going through his mind that moment. He only remembered the shape. The colour, he knew would have to be something around the dark brown spectrum. There weren’t any blue or green eyes around this latitude. These two indicators made it possible for him to reconstruct the look of Taemin’s eyes to a certain degree. It wasn’t enough. He wanted to know about the eyebrows. He wanted to know about his lashes. He wanted to know the expression they carried.

There were so many things Minho wanted to do. So many things floating around in his head. So many things he wanted to do. Taking them one by one was hard. How should he choose what to do first? The exact situation he was in at the moment had never been in any story he had read. Depending on what he chose, would Taemin think he is strange?

Taemin chuckled.

“I still have to pass the exam, Minho.” He said and the older instantly answered.

“The exams aren’t hard. I can help you study.”

“I will gladly take that offer.” Taemin replied, still chuckling slightly.

Taemin loved how exited Minho suddenly was. He had rarely seen him like this. After all this time of knowing the autistic male he had learned much about him and how he reacted to certain situations. While he had been speaking by himself, he knew that Minho was only partly listening, but never did he see any signs of discomfort, so he kept speaking. The reaction he got from Minho just by telling him about his plan to study at the university he went to was surprising. This kind of excitement the older had only shown in connection to literature – when he was talking about a novel, he thought about a lot that day. He didn’t mind his enthusiasm one bit though. It made him feel warm from the inside out. Made his heart beat faster at the thought that Minho cared about him so much that he was excited to keep him around.

If he was honest, he was even glad that Minho offered to help him study. He wasn’t disciplined enough to study properly and the other seemed to be REALLY good at exactly that, considering how he held up his routines so tightly.

“Tonight?” Minho’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Hm?”

“Tonight… Can I kiss you?”

A/N

Here we go! The newest chapter is a little longer than usual! Despite it taking ages to write I hadn't had this much fun writing a chapter in a while so I hope you enjoyed it!

At this point I also want to thank everyone who commented on the last chapter. It was a dream come true to have so many people expressing their feelings/opinions and I feel incredibly grateful. Please comment again it makes me really happy and warm inside

Last thing: on behalf of a nice reader's wish, I have made a Twitter account to share some insights behind the scenes with you, as well as to talk some of you. It is still in baby shoes but I would be happy to see some of you there: TWITTER

See you next time!

xx

R