“UGH. I can’t believe it! It’s a real deluge!” A man enters the bus shelter, shaking the rain of his dark grey coat and umbrella. “How is this even possible? Global warming?” You’re alone, but you’re not sure he’s speaking to you since he’s turned away. He ignores your lack of reaction and goes on: “I mean; where’s that much water coming from? Like, really clouds, you’re going to be like that?!” Facing straight in front of you, your lips curl into a subtle smile; he seems to be quite a colorful character. “I hear houses are flooded everywhere outside the city. Don’t you just hate weather on these days?”

“I guess rain feels right when you’re sad.” The stranger falls silent, taken aback by your taciturn statement. For a whole minute he stays quiet and you start to believe you’ve killed his need for small talk.

“I wish winter would come faster, don’t you think snow is better than that? Snow is cold, but at least it’s pretty and less depressing.” You shrug and the man sighs. “Anyway, when is this bus coming? Have you been waiting for lon- Oh!” At his exclamation, you steal a glance sideways and find that he’s staring at you with renewed interest.

“7:15 Latte?” The man claps his hands, seemingly pleased. “That’s you! 7:15 Latte, right?” Frowning, you turn to face him, not getting what he’s talking about. “Ah sorry! I mean; you are the one who always comes in on Monday, Thursday and Friday mornings to get a Latte, right?”

That’s when you recognize him too; his friendly grin, playful conversation skills and gorgeous dark puffy eyes.

“Ah, yeah yeah… That’s me.” You face forward again, vaguely embarrassed to be meeting an acquaintance. You don’t even know his name, never took the time to read his nametag. Accidental meetings like this make you uncomfortable; you never know what to say to a person who’s almost a stranger.

“Right!” The young man chuckles, pleased. “I thought I it was you!” You wish the bus would come this instant. It’d interrupt this impromptu conversation; keep you from feeding your devious curiosity. You want to know about the girls he probably saw come in on Tuesdays or Wednesdays mornings; the other girls. You bite the interior of your cheek to keep from yielding to your self-destruction tendencies.

“You haven’t come in for a while! Are you one of those rare human beings that can survive without caffeine?” He laughs, ignoring everything of your inner battle. “Or are you grabbing your coffees elsewhere?” His voice dies down, almost sad and you shake your head.

“It just…” The man his head to the side, genuinely curious, awaiting for your explanation. You know he doesn’t really want to know about that, but still; it’s the truth. “Your coffee shop is actually across the street of my ex’s apartment.”

“Oh…” His face falls for a second then goes back to his usual warm expression. “I get it… An Ex… Two weeks, right?” You nod; amazed that he remembers when you stopped coming in. The man’s shoulders begin to shake like he’s repressing laughter.

“Is there something funny about my breakup?” You ask, trying and failing to not sound offended by his amusement.

“No.” He winces and then bites his lips to refrain from grinning. “I mean yes.” You raise an eyebrow and he shakes his head at your inquiring look. “Wah- It’s just weird… I don’t know why, but I never thought about the possibility of you having a boyfriend!” He chuckles again, nervous.

“What?” You in a breath, way more affected by his opinion of your love life than you should be. For some reason, this man insinuating you aren’t datable bothers you. “What’s so surprising about me having a boyfriend?!” A cheating, liar and ty boyfriend, but still.

“Oh no! That’s not it!” He wiggles on his feet, your sensitive reaction visibly making him uncomfortable. “I’m just glad that I never actually asked you out before.” He lets out the same nervous laugh. Asked me out? You watch as he pouts pensively. “It would have been kinda humiliating…”

“You…Wow…” You breathe out in disbelief “the cute barista wanted to ask me out?”

“You think I’m cute!?” The man beams and his plump lips curl up to reveal perfect pearly white teeth. There’s no way a guy like that doesn’t know how hot he is. “My name’s Daehyun…” He pauses to ponder on something. “But I definitely prefer cute barista!” He claps his hands, laughing with his whole body. “I think it sounds way better, I can’t wait to tell Himchan, that I-” he points a finger to his chest “-am the cute barista. Burst his bubble!” You stare at him with a mix of incomprehension and shock. “So what’s your name, 7:15 Latte?”

“Y/n.” It’s your turn to laugh this time and he smiles wider, satisfied. The sight warms you, making you almost forget about the gloomy weather.

“Nice to finally meet you Y/n… May I propose something?” He leans in and waits until you nod to go on. “It’ll eventuallystop raining…” Daehyun stops to comically mimic skepticism and you find yourself laughing again. “When it does and you feel better… I’m thinking, maybe you could come visit the cute barista to get a coffee. On the house, I mean… If you want to?”

“I would like that… A lot.” You feel a blush tint your cheeks and you smile, suddenly timid. “When the sun comes back?”

“Please…” Daehyun grimaces. “Please don’t wait ‘til Summer… This isn’t what I meant by sun. I’m just saying that you should drop by my coffee shop when you’re ready. I’m actually a co-owner by the way… When you’re over the one-that-lives-across-the-street… We could meet each other and hang-”

“Daehyun” You interrupt his babbling when the public bus you were waiting for turns the corner of the street.

“We agreed on cute barista” He corrects. “But, please, do go on…” Chewing on his lower lip, he glances down at you, hopeful.

“I get it; you’re asking me out.” You look sideways at the bus that’s approaching his stop. “And my answer is; Yes, I’ll drop by the coffee shop soon…”

“Wow! Uh- I mean perfect…” For a second he seems surprised and you giggle. “I’ll eagerly wait for the sun to come back then!” He nods, opening his umbrella again.

“Wait, aren’t you getting on?” You ask curious as the doors open in front of the shelter. The cute barista turns to smile warmly at you, one last time.

“Oh, I forgot to confess; I wasn’t really waiting for that bus!”