Good morning Mister!! I hope you don’t feel too awful today, you were a sight last night…

I returned the pots you brought yesterday downstairs. Please rest, and make use of this number when you get a chance since I was the last one to see you alive!!! Night !!! ♡

 

Baekhyun ♡

 

“You’re ing kidding me.”

 

The overuse of exclamation points was enough, plus he put two hearts. Just when he thought he succeeded at making the guy hate him, making him stay away for good, he turns around and does this. Getting this CEO off his back feels like it’s going to be impossible.

 

Kyungsoo’s tired eyes focus in on the digits scrawled microscopically on the note. He probably ran out of room from writing so much he had to squeeze it in there. Kyungsoo contemplates even trying to get a hold of the person behind the number. Texting is very hard for him to do in a timely manner with a phone from 2009 and he still has to pay to talk to people.

 

He gets as far as putting the number in and saving it under CEO Bastard before he sighs and carefully pushes himself up from the couch. His neck is sore, his eyes hurt because he didn’t take his contacts out, and he would rather just die on his stupid couch but the wavering thought enters his mind that Baekhyun had no way to lock the restaurant from the outside when he left so it’s been sitting unlocked… All night.

 

Kyungsoo has to be careful not to trip down the stairs on his way to check on things. He was too panicked to get his glasses, the idea that someone, maybe even Baekhyun could have taken what little of his restaurant he has life makes his heart clench. When he bursts inside the restaurant it’s quiet. Two pots sit stacked in each other on a table near the door.

 

Kyungsoo breathes a sigh of relief, and makes a quick sweep around the place to make sure it’s exactly where he left it. It is. Nothing was touched, thankfully. He half expected Baekhyun to nose around a little and take advantage of Kyungsoo’s state but he didn’t. He just came in to finish what he travelled here for.

 

Kyungsoo almost doesn’t notice the slips of paper sitting inside one of the pots until he hears the rustling. Carefully, he reaches in and pulls out… Money. It’s not a check, thankfully. Knowing if there was one thing Baekhyun could try and pull off when Kyungsoo was drunk it would be attempting to write out another stupid check.

 

He counts it out slowly, his mind being too muddled to tell how much at first glance. It’s 55,000 won. A little much for two pots but Kyungsoo will consider it catering at this point as he counts it all away. This guy is really impossible. Kyungsoo has drilled his point through Baekhyun’s head multiple times and still, he doesn’t back down.

 

“Hello?”

 

“You left my restaurant unlocked all night.”

 

“Nice to hear you made use of my note. You get the pots?”

 

“Yeah… Thanks.”

 

Kyungsoo can hear Baekhyun snicker over the phone, it’s quiet for a split second and Baekhyun suddenly chirps, “It’s a good thing you decided to call me, I actually had to talk to you about something, but I have a conference to go to and Jongdae is gonna kick my if I’m late. Mind if I stop over like… Tomorrow? You’re closed today.”

 

“What?”

 

“Yeah, I’m coming- Listen, I gotta run. Tomorrow, okay?”

 

Kyungsoo is about to curse at him but Baekhyun hangs the phone up before he can get a word out.

 

“Mind if I stop over tomorrow?” Kyungsoo mocks, shoving his phone in his pocket and shuffling back upstairs. Jongin made a good call on going drinking the night before because Kyungsoo is closed today and he is not too keen on running a business while his head is spinning.

 

Kyungsoo actually locks the door to the restaurant, sulks back upstairs, to take a painkiller and falls into his bed. He isn’t the type to do nothing, especially on a day off, but Jongin managed to send him off the deep end last night. He remembers Baekhyun showing up, he remembers seeing him, but he doesn’t remember the conversation they shared. He doesn’t remember any traces of even talking to Baekhyun but Kyungsoo knows he probably said way too many things to the CEO that would’ve taken him much longer to say if he was sober. And that makes him panic just a little.

 

God, what if that’s what Baekhyun is gonna ask about? Kyungsoo probably talked a bunch of on Junmyeon or probably told Baekhyun how much he hated him to his face, he probably gave the guy an earful on shutting down or something. Kyungsoo has way too many problems that he can’t imagine what may have slipped out of his mouth.

 

If he was looking for a way to make Baekhyun hate him, that obviously wasn’t it.

 

Now he’s been cursed with having to meet him again tomorrow.

 

, he wasn’t trying take Kyungsoo on a date or something, right? Wait, Baekhyun didn’t say it was a date though. , he thinks, he just assumed Baekhyun…

 

Nope. No, that’s bad. That’s a bad thing and Kyungsoo should not be thinking a things like that when he has much better things to worry about, like his business, and making his best attempt at keeping it open even though the chances of him failing at that are very, very high.

 

it, Kyungsoo can’t sleep like this. He rolls out of bed, trying to ignore the headache and fuzziness as he slumps into his desk chair, opens his drawer, and pulls out the one thing that has probably ever seen him cry besides his parents.

 

Minseok made way too many good points yesterday about reasons why he’s failing. Even though Kyungsoo does a good job at the technical stuff, like the financing and inventory, he also called Kyungsoo out on not relying enough on people, and not having the confidence to make things better, to innovate above his what his parents left him with, to generally appeal to a community that is constantly changing.

 

It hurt. He knows he should have tried harder but the thought of changing things makes him shudder. Kyungsoo thought he went to the ends of the world for this little place, he spent nights off handing out flyers anywhere he could and trying to make himself seen and tried to stand out, but he never did change. He never got too creative with anything, he never rotated food on the menu or had nights dedicated for trying new items. Kyungsoo just kept things as they were and expected everything to remain that way.

It isn’t that Kyungsoo lacks total confidence in his craft. He enjoys it, he has a passion for it, but something about the idea of changing has always scared him and made him too anxious to really do anything super interesting or above and beyond what most people’s expectations. It’s the same reason past relationships never worked out, it’s the same reason he pushes people away. Change is a scary thing to him, always.

 

Now he’s beginning to understand where he’s gone wrong, and it’s too late.

 

His phone buzzes off to the side, making him jump, and lose complete concentration in whatever he was doing.

 

From: CEO Bastard

 

> I really hope this is you

 

> You as in Kyungsoo

> I forgot to mention that I have something planned for tomorrow, please be excited ;)

 

“Planned” He thinks. The more Baekhyun shows up to ruin his day the more confused he gets about who he really is. Cute, young, spunky CEO who doesn’t seem totally awful but still makes Kyungsoo involuntarily resist his efforts to help him. Kyungsoo can tell he’s genuine, but Kyungsoo is genuine when he says he doesn’t need it. It’s not that he isn’t grateful that for once someone has decided to step and give him a hand, he is. But the act is so… Unlikely that for it to happen to him of all people just doesn’t sit right with him.

 

Kyungsoo is single, not married, no kids, and still has a little bit of his twenties to live out. He’ll survive even with a lifetime of debt and no degree. Sure, it’s not his ideal way of living. It’s not anyone’s ideal way of living, but he out himself into this situation knowing there would be consequences if he failed, and he failed.

There’s business owners who are the exact opposite of his situation; parents, couples, struggling families that would happily take that same offer Baekhyun had given him some days ago for rent or orders or even some groceries. It would make things a million times easier for them than Kyungsoo, who is only one person, therefore, doesn’t require as much to get by.

 

Point is, Kyungsoo rejected for a reason. Explaining that to Baekhyun is nearly impossible, and for that reason, keeps showing up at his door at random hours of the night. Kyungsoo is starting to think Baekhyun has a lot of time outside of being a CEO.

 

-- -- -- 

 

From: CEO Bastard

 

4:30 P.M

 

>  So Kyungja, I was wondering…

 

>  Where did the ramen thing come from ???? Dont get me wrong, its good but..

 

>  Ramen… what inspired it…...

4:31 P.M

Dont you have a business to run  <

 

Like a real one  <

 

4:31 P.M

>  Who said I cant multitask.

 

>  Its my speacialty.

 

4:32 P.M
>  Among other things ;)

4:35 P.M

My parents went to Japan for a while  <

 

My dad really liked the food  <

 

Brought it back here w them  <

 

Here we are.  <

 

4:40 P.M

Wait what other things  <

 

What the  <

 

 

Baekhyun has somehow managed to keep Kyungsoo distracted from business and non-business matters all day. Even when he had finished his paperwork and sealed it all up to return to the offices, he was hurling strings of text messages that Kyungsoo didn’t have the time to answer. One after another, series of questions, Kyungsoo has never tried to type on his silly little phone faster.

 

CEO Bastard:

 

5:00 P.M

>  You take a really long time to respond you know.

5:02 P.M

My phone is old  <

 

Like 2009 old  <

5:03 P.M

>  Youre kidding

 

>  Mister……

 

>  ……..you use…. a flip phone ?????

5:05 P.M

Yeah  <

 

What about it  <

 

Kyungsoo sighs, tossing his phone to the opposite end of the couch, trying to focus on what he was watching, only for it to buzz again. And two more times immediately after that. He hasn’t stopped all day. Kyungsoo is pretty sure the longest he went without responding was seven minutes (he counted).

 

It’s been an exhausting week, probably the most strange week Kyungsoo has ever had in his entire life, and now that he’s finished with punching all the numbers and making his eyes burn by looking at papers for too long, he’s trying to relax. Just a little, by watching the new movie he bought about a month ago but neglected because he’s just too damn busy.

 

He tries to remind himself that minor accomplishments, like going to the post office to mail out all these documents, are still accomplishments, and they still matter. They’ve been a lot of stress, a lot of going through only part way only to put it away, a lot of frustration, it’s totally drained him. Now he’s going to start getting mass amounts of phone calls and will have to go over all this stuff again.

 

He’s almost there, he just needs to look for a new apartment, a new job, and put this place up on the market.

 

Apartment, job, sell, done.

 

Job, apartment, sell, done.

 

, now Kyungsoo is panicking. Six months, he has six months to get this all settled and he’ll be good. He doesn’t need to worry right now, he’ll have enough time tomorrow to look for new gigs.

 

Wait, but the rent is due in four days.

 

Now his foot bobbing nervously as his eyes stare holes into the ceiling trying to think this through. He still feels like he has a million steps to go and he’s still so far behind.

 

Subconsciously, Kyungsoo knows he has time, but at the same time, he feels like the world is gonna end if he doesn’t have his together. Another thought, in the next four days, it’ll be five months and that’s going to send him in a frenzy. Kyungsoo has blocked out any and all dialogue from the movie now, his foot is still nervously bouncing.

 

He groans, sitting up and snatching his phone from where it fell between the cushion and arm of the couch and reads the messages from Baekhyun.

 

From: CEO Bastard

 

5:05 P.M

 

>  I honestly cant believe I just read this with my own two eyes.

 

>  How have I never noticed this…

 

>  You keep getting more and more interesting Mister ><

 

He really needs to stop calling Kyungsoo ‘Mister’. It makes him feel more like an old guy than he already does.

 

To: CEO Bastard

 

5:07 P.M

>  Stop calling me that.

 

>  and it’s embarrassing to show.

 

Kyungsoo is not exactly proud of whipping out a Samsung flip phone that he received in 2009. It was a high school graduation gift from his parents and he’s managed to hold onto it ever since. Putting his money into the restaurant and not bothering to get a new one. As long as it worked, he would be okay. Sure, he can’t listen to music or drown out the chatter of people around him with a push of a button, and he can’t waste his time watching videos or playing rhythm tap games, like Jongin does, but he’ll be okay. Maybe once he gets out of this mess he can focus on getting one.

 

He’ll admit, Baekhyun is a good distraction from his intruding thoughts and anxiety. For a few minutes he managed to immediately drag Kyungsoo out of his sudden wave of to-dos just by harassing him about his phone and then changing the subject by asking what he’s having for dinner.

 

If Kyungsoo hadn’t stepped foot inside his office, he would have never believed this guy was a CEO. Never.

 

Kyungsoo responds, just telling Baekhyun that he’s having some stuff his mom had sent home with him, and Baekhyun chimes in with exactly what he was expecting to hear from the man.

 

A snarky sounding “Mind if I join?” complete with another ing winky face. He knows, or should know, what Kyungsoo’s answer would be and he still ended up replying with a sad face.

 

Baekhyun is hard to try and tell goodnight to.

 

He ended up mass texting Kyungsoo all night. Kyungsoo ended up having to ignore them and wait until the morning because they just kept coming in. By the time Kyungsoo had woken up to check his phone, he had 11 text messages from Baekhyun, all from late hours of the night, minus one, from early in the morning, reminding him about tonight.

 

That’s right. After Baekhyun being a thorn in his side yesterday evening, he almost forgot that the CEO wanted to stop by tonight. Asking what for is probably going to get him nowhere, so he doesn’t bother answering and leaves his phone on his bedside table as he goes to get showered.

 

Kyungsoo had plans today. Plans to occupy himself rather than just staring out the window and being way too envious of everyone walking past. He’s going to look for a new job today. Something help ease his sudden spike in nerves. Something to just get him by.

 

A quick time check as he towels off his hair, he slips on a clean shirt, grabs his phone, and makes his way downstairs to get the shop ready.

 

When he was younger and the place had more frequent guests, Kyungsoo’s father would always nag him to put the chairs on the tables and clean the floor. Make sure the seat of the chair is sitting on the table, legs up in the air so they won’t scratch the table. Every chair in the place would go up on the table and Kyungsoo would be getting his daily cardio by sweeping and mopping the joint twice a day.

 

Even now, despite the lack of people coming in and out, Kyungsoo still has a habit of pulling out a broom and dustpan and getting to work first thing. Thing is, Kyungsoo didn’t stack the chairs up. He hasn’t since the night Baekhyun showed up. Blame it on being too tired, blame it on being too busy, blame it all on everything but him. He’s a stupid CEO who he should have turned around after he fed.

 

A stupid CEO with a really nice face… Goddammit.

 

Kyungsoo has to stack the chairs on the tables, sweep the floor, then take them all back down again. Flips on the stupid light up sign in the window, double checks to make sure it’s actually on in case someone is curious to know about his existence, and wait.

 

Kyungsoo manages to pass time by using the shop computer to write out a resume since he’s never had one, sipping coffee in between, then getting distracted by a buzz in his pocket.

 

Baekhyun wants to know what kind of music he likes.

 

"R&B" is all he says. It’s not even noon yet and Baekhyun has managed to creep his way back into Kyungsoo’s inbox.

 

It took Kyungsoo way too long to figure out how to make a resume, even longer to figure out how the template worked on the application, plus writing it out to make himself sound like he knew his … It took up the bulk of his day.

 

Not to forget the sprinkle of annoying texts from someone who really should focus on their job, Kyungsoo had taken a lot longer to finish one part of what he intended to do.

 

It was hard not to think about the possibility of the upcoming evening. The more time that passed, the more apprehensive Kyungsoo found himself getting that he nearly didn’t notice Jongin coming inside.

 

“You okay?” He asks, taking his usual seat, lips pouting, eyes full of concern.

 

“Hm? Yeah, I’m good. Just busy today.” Kyungsoo says, watching Jongin pull off his jacket and drape it over the back of his chair.

 

“Busy, huh?” The younger repeats, hinting smirk on his face and Kyungsoo stares at him in confusion as he brings a glass of water to his table, setting it down on the table, eyes not catching onto the others.

 

“Busy as in I was trying to find a new job so I can have somewhere to go after I close. What did you think?” Kyungsoo asks, pulling out a chair and taking a seat, finally meeting Jongin’s eyes again. His playing smirk falls into a pout again, he twists the glass around on the table slowly with his fingers.

 

He shrugs, “I dunno. I thought you had people today… Maybe that CEO you like so much… ”

 

“Who? Baekhyun? How would that make sense, he’s b- Wait, what? Like?”

 

Jongin shrugs innocently, sips on his water with his gaze wandering around the open space, he puts the glass on the table, “You said he’s been in here a lot…”

 

“Yeah but that doesn’t mean that I like him, dummy.” Kyungsoo scoffs, standing up and making his way to the kitchen to get started on Jongin’s food before the man can chime in on anything else and make Kyungsoo sputter.

 

“Like” is a broad term. Too broad for Kyungsoo. He can admit honestly that Baekhyun was cute, charming in his own unique way, but would Kyungsoo have a chance? Probably not, considering his situation. Add on his lack of confidence and that’s a perfect recipe to make the CEO really hate him.

 

He doesn’t like him. But there was nothing wrong with admiring him from a distance, or keeping him in the back of his mind because chances are, Kyungsoo is going to find some way to push Baekhyun away.

 

Don’t think about it. Kyungsoo gets busy on preparing Jongin’s ramen and tries not to think about it. A week. It’s literally only been a week and somehow, Kyungsoo has felt like he’s known Baekhyun his whole life. The guy has already seen his bad side, his generous side, him being scared and absolutely -faced, what more of himself can he show that will embarrass him tonight?

 

By the time Kyungsoo is bringing out Jongin’s ramen, there’s three more people sitting at a booth off to the far side of the shop.

 

Jongin whispers something to Kyungsoo as he hurries over to the table, all smiles and discarding any intrusive CEO thoughts as he welcomes the group, asking them what he can get them to drink, telling them what he does, what the added ingredients are, how much it is, and soon he’s running back and forth with drinks and taking orders.

 

Maybe his bell is broken, maybe he’s still thinking too loud to hear anyone come in. He’s just clearing up Jongin’s bowl and about to take his card when a sudden flood of people push inside and take their seats.

 

“.”

 

“Whoa, Hyung, what’s all this?”

 

Kyungsoo doesn’t respond, only stares like a deer in the headlights. His blood is pumping way too fast and his thoughts are all over the place. He silently hurries to run Jongin’s card, anxiously waiting for his ticket to print out to take it back, this time he hears the bell chime, more people walk in, he waves and tells them to sit anywhere they’d like, that he’ll be over soon.

 

Jongin is standing closeby, looking over his shoulder every now and then at the accumulating crowd on the floor, then back to Kyungsoo, who hands him his card and ticket.

 

“That’s quite a bit of people. Do you… Can I help you?” Jongin asks, looking back over his shoulder again, “I can be your… Unofficial waiter or something. You can’t go through all of these people and then cook it all, Soo.”

 

“Uhm,” Kyungsoo watches the door, bottom lip caught between his teeth and another few people file inside, taking seats. He nods silently, mumbling a quiet “Yeah, okay.” to Jongin as he fumbles for his notepad and hands it to the male, along with his pen.

 

It took a second to dig for in the supply closet, but he eventually found the aprons that would have been worn had he actually had employees, and tosses one to Jongin, leading him over to the kitchen.

 

“Add ons to the ramen is an extra five-hundred won, tables are organized by the rows moving lateral. One being that one there,” Kyungsoo points towards the table sitting outside the kitchen, “And eighteen being that far one way down there. Booths are the same. Orders get pinned up on the line right above where the veggies are laid out and I’ll put the ticket on the tray when it’s ready.”

 

Kyungsoo almost swears when he hears the door chime again, “Also, you need to take care of drinks, be a nice boy, don’t drop anything. Okay?”

 

Jongin nods, clutching tightly onto the pen and notepad as he scurries out of the door, leaving Kyungsoo to get as much prepped as quickly as he can without amputating one of his fingers or burning his hands.

 

Jongin returns with the first few orders in a matter of minutes and Kyungsoo is quick to jump on them. It’s that temporary blackout moment again, Kyungsoo’s body moving exactly where it needs to go without a second thought. His hands kneading out dough, tossing vegetables, to get ready for small appetizers, throwing others into the broth for cooking.

 

Kyungsoo hasn’t felt his heart pump like this forever. His heart is about to burst from the anticipation and sudden excitement and adrenaline of it all. This is the kind of stuff he saw his parents do when he was a kid. This is what he dreamed about doing all those times he told his teachers he wanted to own a restaurant. This is what it was supposed to be all along.

 

“, Hyung this is crazy.” Jongin says, pinning up a couple more orders on the line as Kyungsoo throws the noodles into each of the corresponding broths, “Yeah, no kidding. I wonder what sparked it.”

 

“You think your friendly CEO had anything to do with it?”

 

“Shut up and go fill glasses.”

 

“Whatever you say, Chef.” Jongin sings sings, walking out of the kitchen with a little too much confidence.

 

First booth is down, the next table follows after that. Kyungsoo repeats the orders Jongin has scrawled down on the paper to himself, making sure to add black mushrooms and boiled eggs to the spicy ramen, fish cakes to the tonkatsu, and to not touch his face after he cuts jalapenos.

Jongin is in and out silently. He’s working way more diligently than Kyungsoo had thought he would. He doesn’t seem the least bit pressured under the crowd and is taking it all like a champ. Kyungsoo is definitely going to treat him after all this is over, Kyungsoo would have died had Jongin not been there to make the offer.

“Uh, Hyung.” Jongin taps his shoulder making Kyungsoo jump and face the taller, “You have… Someone…”

 

“What? Jongin I’m busy just tell them to give me a minute and I’ll be right out.”

 

“No it’s… Your CEO.”

 

“So? Tell him to wait.”

 

“But he said-”

 

“I said wait.”

 

Jongin obeys and scampers out of sight again, only for the sound of the door flinging open sounds. Kyungsoo doesn’t flinch, doesn’t even take his eyes off of his task at hand, “Jongin he’s gonna have to wait I don’t care who he is, I’m-”

 

“Oh.”

 

Baekhyun is all smiles as he stands in the middle of the kitchen, hands clasped behind his back, stupid grin on his face. Cute, Kyungsoo thinks, but why. Why is he standing there?

 

“I went to all this work just for you to make me wait. I’m gonna file a complaint.”

 

“I’m busy. So unless you want to wait tables for me, then I’ll make you suffer for a few minutes.” Kyungsoo says, attention turning back to the vegetables, chopping them up and tossing them into the mix. Baekhyun isn’t even allowed here right now, why does he think he can do this now, of all times?

 

“Perfect!” He claps his hands together, beaming, “I’ll help your cute little waiter then. Where are those aprons, I want one too.”

 

Kyungsoo sighs, tells him where the supply closet is, and waits until Baekhyun makes a sound of achievement and closes the door, tying an apron around his waist and then awkwardly hovering a few feet away from Kyungsoo.

 

“So, boss...” He drags, “What do I do?”

 

“You can start by taking these out,” Kyungsoo says, ripping the ticket off the line and laying it on a tray, placing four piping bowls of ramen on it, being careful not to spill any of the broth, “Jongin will help you with the rest.”

 

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything, he just slowly reaches out to grip the tray, lips pursed in effort not to spill or drop anything, knuckles white from the weight. He walks slowly, one foot after another, step by miserable step, until he pushes the door of the kitchen out, and disappears.

 

He should have known that er planned this. Kyungsoo didn’t even think to connect the two until Baekhyun had mentioned going to all the trouble. All those people out in the dining room are probably all people from his company, people that all work under him. Still, even after the two attempts he’s made within the past week, this one has been the least obnoxious and one that Kyungsoo can’t really turn against.

 

Even though the thought that he’ll never see any of these people, minus the two stumbling servers that are laughing way too loud, ever again, it still warms his heart that they made the trip. Coming all the way to the outskirts of the city for some mediocre, handmade ramen, was not something people usually do. It’s more than likely there are carbon copies of his establishment in the city, that are close by and convenient already.

 

To think that just last night, Kyungsoo was losing his breath over the idea that he’d come out a little short on rent again, and now he’s sweating buckets while frying tofu and making broths while he has a full dining room waiting.

 

Maybe having Baekhyun around isn’t awful. When he actually thinks things through, carefully and skillfully takes Kyungsoo’s worries into account, and then finds a way to make it work out while still holding onto his original intentions, was almost a little scary.

 

Then again, it isn’t like he made each one of his points hard to understand. Kyungsoo made it crystal clear to him multiple times.

 

Baekhyun was lucky that the people he ended up serving were his own employees and coworkers because in any other case Kyungsoo would probably have fired him. He took the trays out way to slowly and he talked for way too long with everyone, he kept forgetting the layout of the tables and ended up accidentally serving extra spicy ramen to Chanyeol, who they have now found out can’t tolerate spicy food for the life of him. Poor Jongin was a flustered mess as he tried to apologize for Baekhyun, who was trying to apologize over Jongin.

 

Jongin was a flustered, panting mess and was a heaving against the counter by the end of the night. For a second Kyungsoo thought he was going to collapse right there in his kitchen. Kyungsoo ended up cutting his index finger and nipping his thumb, leaving his left hand covered in two bandages, and Baekhyun was complaining about his arms being sore and his wrists hurting from carrying the trays back and forth.

 

All three of them were standing around in the kitchen, trying to catch a breath, get a grip on themselves, and give Kyungsoo an update on how things were going.

 

Kyungsoo has heard the chatter ascend everytime the door opened and then die down as soon as it closed. He hasn’t gotten a chance to even look outside yet but when he does he can’t help the grin that pulls at his lips.

 

Every single seat is full. People are eating, and laughing and talking among themselves, drinking, joking. If it wasn’t for the throb in Kyungsoo’s fingers to remind him of the pain, he would have thought this was a dream. He can’t stop staring, he probably looks like a little kid meeting their favorite character at Disney with the way his eyes light up and the small laughs that bubble in his chest.

 

Kyungsoo stands there taking it all in. Every face, every smile and giggle, and sound of glass pinging. The simple image of just having a full seat. Kyungsoo absorbs every bit of it.

 

If he could turn around and squeeze the hell out of that stupid CEO that keeps joking behind his back he would, because nothing could ever compare to this.

 

Kyungsoo hasn’t felt this much joy for what he does in a long, long time. It’s like that feeling of dusting off an old relic. The way it shines, that way it’s color returns, vibrant against the gray and monochromatics, the way it just feels lighter. Kyungsoo forgot what passion felt like. He forgot this kind of feeling, he forgot this sort of weightlessness that came with doing something he was truly passionate about. Kyungsoo had given up, accepted that the direction he was falling was the way he’d continue forever.

 

To be able to feel like this, even for a few hours, minutes, was enough to make him feel okay about all this. Bad or good outcome, he’s going to remember this moment all thanks to

 

“Baekhyun.”

 

Kyungsoo turns around, facing the male who is leaned up against the counter opposite to Jongin. He turns his head up, eyes bright and wide, lips parted slightly. A bead of sweat falls down the side of his face.

 

“Thank you.” Kyungsoo finally manages to get the words out. Baekhyun smiles, tilts his head, “You deserve this.”

 

Kyungsoo huffs in response, turning to look back outside at the crowd.

 

“You should go out there. They need to meet the master behind all this.” Baekhyun pipes up from behind him. Kyungsoo puts a hand on the door to push it but freezes, contemplating last second. He has no idea what he would say, where to look. He probably looks like a total mess right now too.

 

“C’mon, I’ll introduce you.” Baekhyun whines, pushing the door open and stepping in front of Kyungsoo to take the lead.

 

Baekhyun does most of the talking for the both of the both of them. Kyungsoo was just hoping no one had noticed how red in the face he was. Baekhyun had thrown his arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulders, pulled him in and practically gushed about Kyungsoo, telling everyone about how he showed up during that storm and how Kyungsoo fed him. To Kyungsoo’s surprise, Baekhyun left out everything else, saving Kyungsoo the added embarrassment and said he was thankful they met.

 

It was strange to see so many people in one place and knowing he was responsible for their enjoyment here. He had gone to every single table and made sure things were okay, checked on Chanyeol and apologized for probably the millionth time that night for his two clumsy waiters. Baekhyun even dragged along his COO, Jongdae, who he Kyungsoo had seen briefly but ever properly met, and Minseok, the CFO who he has a hard time looking at now without wanting to hide himself away for the rest of his life.

 

“If I hadn’t seen you in person I would’ve called Baekhyun a liar. Thanks for saving his , seriously.” Jongdae smiles, shaking a very embarrassed Baekhyun by the shoulders.

 

After everything had gotten delivered out Kyungsoo was left taking everyone’s payments and seeing them out. Kyungsoo tells Jongin not to worry about anything else and that he’ll treat him to something later in the week, and sees him out, with a very tall figure following not far behind.

 

By 10 it was only Kyungsoo and Baekhyun left, cleaning up bowls, wiping down tables, stacking up chairs, counting out money.

 

Baekhyun talked Kyungsoo in staying after and helping, claiming that he caused this and he’s going to help stay and cleanup. Kyungsoo was too tired to fight back and sent him off to clear out the dining room while he counted out his cash drawer, put money into the deposit, and stashed it away to take to the bank in the morning.

 

By that time Baekhyun had only gotten one row of tables cleared and chairs stacked and Kyungsoo had gotten the rest done in record timing.

“This whole business is like your own personal gym or something, I swear.” Baekhyun grunts, lifting a chair up and flipping it to sit on the table the way Kyungsoo showed him.

 

Kyungsoo huffs, stacking up another few chairs, and moving onto another table. He really has no idea what to say now. He feels completely burnt out of conversation at this point and can only spare glances and breaths in response to anything Baekhyun says.

 

After another few awkward minutes of silence of stacking chairs and clearing out any other bowls and utensils, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun stood side by side at the sink washing and putting everything away.

 

Kyungsoo washed, and passed it off to Baekhyun who put it in its proper place on the drying rack. It was strange to be standing here doing this with someone, it’s strange to be standing here, sharing a space with someone comfortable. It’s strange not being alone.

 

“Hey,” Baekhyun murmurs, pulling Kyungsoo’s attention to him and out of their now shared silence.

 

“Can I tell you something?” He asks, taking another bowl from Kyungsoo and setting it on the rack, eyes only turning away for a second before they fall back on Kyungsoo, who looks at the CEO for a moment turning his attention back to the dishes, “Shoot.” He says.

 

“Tonight was the first time I’ve ever seen you smile.”

 

Kyungsoo pauses scrubbing for a split second and continues. It makes sense considering all he’s done since he’s met Baekhyun is argue with him. Kyungsoo doesn’t look at him, he doesn’t acknowledge any of what Baekhyun has just said because he doesn’t know how.

 

Baekhyun chuckles beside him, “Your lips turn into a little heart, it’s kind of adorable.”

 

“Stop.” Kyungsoo demands, shoving Baekhyun playfully with his elbow, eyes still turned away.

 

“What? I’m serious.”

 

“I can still kick you out, you know.” Kyungsoo says, glancing up at Baekhyun for a split second.

 

“You wish.” Baekhyun jibes, “You gonna ban me like you said you would the other night?”

 

Kyungsoo stops, actually pauses this time, and looks up at Baekhyun in confusion, eyebrows pressed together, “What?”

 

Baekhyun shrugs, leaning his waist against the edge of the sink, “You were drunk, so maybe you didn’t meant it, but… You said you would ban ‘pretty business owners’ like me and some other guy from ever coming here again. You’re really a sight when you’re drunk too, by the way.” He smiles.

 

Kyungsoo turns his head towards the sink just slightly, thinking of another guy, having a name in mind, hoping it isn’t who he thinks it is and asks, “What… What other guy?”

 

Baekhyun’s lips jut out as he hums and think for a name, “I don’t remember. I think the first part was Jun… But you said we could both go off.” He chuckles.

 

Oh no. He not only told off Baekhyun, but Junmyeon too. There’s no telling what else he said to Baekhyun that night and he isn’t sure if now it’s safe to ask.

 

Kyungsoo apologizes, saying that he had a particularly rough day but leaving out any mention of Junmyeon, but didn’t get far. Baekhyun asks who the guy was, and Kyungsoo is quiet for a while trying to think of a decent explantation without sounding like a jackass.

 

“Kim Junmyeon… He owns a few establishments around here. He’s really good looking, like, model status.” Kyungsoo drawls out slowly, passing some chopsticks off to Baekhyun, who is listening carefully next to him.

 

“Anyways,” Kyungsoo shakes his head, “He’s… Buying this place out when it goes on the market. We had already established a deal, that’s… That’s why I couldn’t let you when you had offered.”

 

Baekhyun is uncomfortably quiet. He takes the utensils Kyungsoo passes him and puts them away, but he doesn’t say anything.

 

“Him and I have sort of been butting heads for a few years. We both started this business thing around the same time and since then he’s made it his mission to buy me out. It’s a big reason I’ve lost so much business.”

 

Kyungsoo is careful to bite his tongue after that. He doesn’t want to spill too much about Junmyeon or talk too much about himself, there’s no telling how Baekhyun will take it, and Kyungsoo doesn’t want to drag out his problems more than he already has.

 

“I see.” Is all Baekhyun responds, with, brushing their shoulders together slightly when he takes a bowl from Kyungsoo.

 

“He already made me a pretty good offer. I didn’t have a choice at the time.”

 

“No I get it,” Baekhyun sighs, “It’s just that you’ve lost so much in a only few years and haven’t gained anything in return.”

 

Kyungsoo takes another few seconds to process the way Baekhyun had said what he did, following by what he meant. His voice was soft, it sounded genuinely sorry, and Kyungsoo found himself trying to reject the idea.

 

“You got really personal the other night. That’s why I wanted to talk to you.” Baekhyun says, turning to face Kyungsoo and waiting until the male stops what he’s doing. 
 

“, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to take everything out on you I-” Kyungsoo cuts himself off and worries on his lip before asking,

 

“What all… What all did I say?”

“You just complained a lot about my presence. But you talked about your parents at one point. You never told me you lost your dad.”

 

So that’s what he talked about.

Good job, Kyungsoo. Any and all attempts to keep Baekhyun away forever are now non existent. Kyungsoo ended up spilling the tragedy about his father and is now left to explain himself and face the whole series of sympathetic phrases after that he’s heard a million times. At this point he just doesn’t talk about it, and if he does, he doesn’t make it sound like a big deal. It was a thing that happened and it’s over now and he’s moving forward in life. That’s it.

 

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo sighs, “He died of cancer about four years ago. A year or so before I took over here. He’s kinda the whole reason this place is what it is.” Kyungsoo says, turning to face Baekhyun and handing him a clean bowl.

 

“You must’ve really looked up to him then, right?”

 

Kyungsoo nods, turning back to finish off the rest of the dishes.

 

“I think he’d be really proud you persevered for this long considering all the trouble you’ve faced up until now. It’s not easy, especially all the way out here.” Baekhyun says. He can feel the sincerity in Baekhyun’s voice. It makes flinch. He’s so unused to this.

 

“Jongdae and I started G-Light in our college dorm room. I worked two jobs while going to school part time. I almost ended up dropping out because I was so exhausted but Jongdae didn’t let me.”

 

“You’re parents would’ve been pissed too, right?” Kyungsoo asks. He pretends not to notice the way Baekhyun’s muscles tighten and relax when Kyungsoo spoke, “Yeah… Something like that. Jongdae was always up my about everything though since we were practically inseparable.”

 

It took ten minutes for them to finish up at the sink and tenth of a second for Kyungsoo to decide that he wasn’t done, and pulled Baekhyun upstairs with him. Not for any sort of late night activities. Kyungsoo has a little decency. But he didn't get to finish that movie he watched yesterday. 

 

“, do you work tomorrow?” Kyungsoo asks, pushing the door to his place open and leading Baekhyun inside.

 

“Probably.” He shrugs, toeing his shoes off “We’ll see tomorrow when Minseok calls me and rate his tone on an annoyance scale from one to ten.”

 

“Aha!” Baekhyun cheers, making Kyungsoo turns to question him, “Second time to make you smile. I think I’m getting good at this.”