Junmyeon sat there in shock. What had the two been doing on the counter, the counter where food was being made for their customers? He made a mental note to speak to Jongdae, and Chanyeol, once he got the chance to. No one was doing anything else than baking on those counters.

Wait. 

"Did you just say "Sehun told Zitao"? They know each other?" Junmyeon asked. Yifan nodded. "Yeah. Apparently they went to the same school."

"They went to the same school? The one Sehun attends right now?" Junmyeon asked. "Well. I don’t know which one that is, but probably. Zitao had just arrived from China so he had some classes with Sehun’s class to learn the language and things like that."

"Oh. How did he get the job as your assistant? He can’t be that old."

"Our families are friends and his parents suggested him to me since he was in need of a job," Yifan explained, "and I was in need of an assistant."

A few minutes passed and Junmyeon turned to look as he heard the door to the back opened. The waiter, Minseok, was back, but this time he had two bowls with him. Junmyeon watched as he placed the bowls down in front of the two of them. That was very little food to be dinner, wasn’t it? Especially as it was soup.

"What’s this?" Junmyeon asked.

"Cream corn soup," Yifan replied. "I wasn’t sure what you liked, or if you have any allergies, but I was hoping choosing something I like would work out."

"Oh." Junmyeon looked down at the bowl in front of him. It smelt good. "It looks good," he said. "I can’t wait to try it."

"Go ahead. I’m not stopping you."

"So. How long have you worked at that coffee shop?" Yifan asked, picking up his spoon. "You’re the owner right?" Junmyeon nodded, making sure to swallow and not make the same mistake as the last time he was in this restaurant. "Yeah. I’ve worked there for a few years now. Originally it was just me."

"And now it’s you and three others?"

"Yeah. Jongdae has worked there the longest, then Chanyeol and then Sehun," Junmyeon told him, placing his spoon down to take a sip of his wine. "So I haven’t known them for long, especially not Sehun, but we went to the cinema the other day-. Wait."

"What?"

"The movie. You." Yifan raised an eyebrow. "You held my hand. What was that about? It wasn’t even your seat." Junmyeon swore he could see a faint light pink colour spread across Yifan’s cheeks. Was he blushing?

"First of all, I swear I’m not a creepy stalker. Zitao just told me Sehun was going out to watch a movie with a coworker, as in you, and I decided to go as well in hopes of seeing you," Yifan explained. "And I saw you so I decided to sit next to you and then you grabbed my hand and I didn’t let go because I liked it... I swear I’m not a stalker."

"Zitao just randomly told you that?"

"I might’ve asked him to ask Sehun... Which I really don’t mean to make sound creepy."

"Alright then." Junmyeon slowly nodded, taking a sip of his wine. "I liked it too."

A while later Minseok returned, taking their bowls and replacing them with two plates, these ones including more food. It looked good, but Junmyeon didn’t recognise what dish it was. Was it Chinese? They were in a Chinese restaurant after all. 

"What is this?" Junmyeon asked. 

"It’s chicken. Sticky orange chicken I believe," Yifan replied, already taking his first bite. "It’s really good. You’ll love it. Yixing can make anything good."

The chicken was indeed really good. It was gone before Junmyeon knew it and he made a mental note to remind himself to come back and order that dish some other time. 

"I see you liked the chicken," Yifan said before finishing his own, washing it down with a sip of wine. "Yeah. Yixing sure does know how to cook."

"I’ll tell him you said that. And who knows, maybe there’ll be some chicken left over for you if you decide to come by."

The dessert was apparently not ready yet so there they sat, not saying much as they waited. Junmyeon didn’t really know what to talk about. They’d talked about so much already. What more was there to tell? Junmyeon was pretty sure Yifan knew him better than himself by now. He knew all about his job, his interests and plenty of other things. 

Junmyeon glanced at him and noticed the other playing with something.

A pen. 

"Hey, Yifan." The other stopped what he was doing, placing the pen down on the table. "Yeah? Is there something wrong? Do you want more wine? Water? A napkin?"

"You gave me a pen a while ago. One worth one point one million won. What’s that about?" Junmyeon asked. "Do you just carry around expensive pens?"

"No. To be completely honest, I bought it for you."

"You bought me a pen worth more than a million?"

"Yeah. I didn’t know what else to give you. I didn’t want to spoil the surprise just yet so I wanted to get you something subtle," he explained. "I don’t think a one million won pen is very subtle, Yifan."

"True, but I couldn’t just give you a random cheap pen either. And I was pretty lucky since you just so happened to need a pen, and it seemed like you didn’t recognise the brand."

"Well, I don’t really look for expensive pens when I’m going shopping." Yifan chuckled and Junmyeon couldn’t help but smile. "Do you want to keep the pen?" Junmyeon asked. "I don’t really need a pen worth that much. I’m afraid to use it, or break it for that matter." Yifan just shook his head. "Keep it. I bought it for you."

Junmyeon opened his mouth to protest and tell him he really didn’t need the pen, but stopped as Minseok returned, this time empty handed. "Is the dessert ready yet?" Yifan asked. 

"Uh... No, but it might be a little..." Minseok glanced over at the door.

"On fire."