It started with the man in the red necktie, the sound loud and self-satisfied in the quiet restaurant, and spread to the other tables like wildfire. Kyungsoo shook, his face flushed under the candlelight of his untouched Italian dinner. Please. Stop. He felt a headache coming on and turned to Seungho, sitting across all smart and handsome in a crisp suit and tie and currently looking down at his lap. The tips of his ears were red.

“Seungho, I thought—”

Seungho didn’t look up but began to shake his head at the breadcrumbs he had littered onto the table. He had been a mess throughout the whole meal, twiddling his fork and dropping his butter knife twice, and Kyungsoo had thought maybe it was just the nerves, that maybe Seungho was planning a special surprise after the news of Kyungsoo’s job offer in New York, so of course Kyungsoo just had to ask, “Is something wrong?” while holding back a stupid grin. They had been dating for five years. Popping the question in this quiet, fancy setting seemed like a very Seungho thing to do.

But Seungho had just hung his head and sighed, mumbling, “I’m sorry, I-I can’t do this,” as if he was still struggling to swallow that giant meatball he had choked on earlier. “I feel like your job is more important to you than I am and you don’t seem to care—”

Kyungsoo had felt his heart drop into his shoes. “Are you serious? Seungho, I do!” Tears began to prick at the corners of his eyes. Shock, it was just the shock of it all. He wasn’t usually one to cry. From somewhere behind him, a man in a red necktie interpreted his distress as tears of joy.

Seungho stayed silent as the entire restaurant erupted in applause, didn’t even bother to stop or look up at the people standing up and beginning to crowd around them, hot and stifling in their terrible curiosity, or the waiter who rushed over with a decadent tiramisu cake. “On the house for the lucky couple,” the waiter said, his face grinning and elated among the crowd and then confused as Kyungsoo pushed past him with a wobbly, teary expression and ran out crying, whipping past the flapping glass doors and into the cool, pouring rain of the parking lot. The stars were out. He was alone.

•┈┈••✦ ♡ ✦••┈┈┈•

 “Miss independent, miss self-sufficient, miss keep your distance…”

The rain was coming down hard, the unfamiliar winding road beginning to look like a gaping tunnel in the darkness. “Miss-never-let-a-man help her off her phone,” Kyungsoo sang along brokenly before shutting the radio off. The signal was wonky. He blinked rapidly, wanting nothing more than somewhere to lie down and cry; he hated how hot his face was starting to feel from holding back tears.

He drove in silence for what felt like hours, until his became numb and the repetitive pavement markings lulled him into a sort of trance. The side of the road was dark and empty save for the crunch of gravel and the occasional deserted car, so it wasn’t until he was a red-eyed, hiccupping mess that he saw it.

Something in the distance was blinking, a flash of neon shrouded in purple mist. Kyungsoo slowed to a cautious crawl. The fog was thinner now, and he could finally make out the words to the neon sign, bright in the window of a little pink store surrounded by barren trees. ‘The Shake Shack.’ ‘Gas $1.50.’ ‘Broken souls welcome.’

Bizarre. But one fifty for gas? Count me in. The light from the windows looked warm and cheery, like a place where you could buy retro sweets by the penny. Kyungsoo parked by the old gas pumps, took a few shaky deep breaths as he wiped his eyes, and stepped inside.

The place was lively, with a dozen or so people sitting around in lounge chairs or at the bar chatting to waiters in red and yellow aprons. That was odd; he hadn’t remembered seeing any cars parked outside.

Suddenly, a whoosh of red and yellow flew by and made Kyungsoo jump. It was a waiter on roller skates, spinning towards him in a dancy whirl. “Hi, welcome! I’m Jongin and I’ll be your waiter today. How may I take your order?” Jongin was smiling, a towering tray of milkshakes balanced impressively on one hand. He had sweet brown eyes and a boyish grin that made Kyungsoo feel like he had seen him somewhere before, maybe as a model in a magazine or something. Kyungsoo’s stomach did a confused flip flop .

“Oh, hi, um—is there a menu?”

“Sure. Would you like a seat at the bar?”

“Oh. Okay.” Kyungsoo could feel his ears redden. He felt like an idiot already. Damn it.

“How about our peachy cream bubble shake? It comes with cherries—special, for Heartbreak Thursday.” Jongin smiled again, and this time Kyungsoo swore he winked. At this point, Kyungsoo was convinced that his own face resembled a tomato.

“I—that sounds good.”

“Great!” Jongin sped off in a flash, leaving Kyungsoo to swing his legs and awkwardly rub at his neck. He tried to look outside but the windows were black and obscured by the reflections of the Shake Shack’s hanging lights. With the way the lights twinkled, it almost looked as if a galaxy of golden stars was floating just outside the window.

A few minutes later, Jongin came by with the tallest, fanciest milkshake swirl Kyungsoo had ever seen. Kyungsoo’s eyes widened into moons as he swallowed a spoonful. “Mmm! It’s fluffy !”

“Good, right?

“Yes!” Kyungsoo sighed and practically melted into his bar stool. This place was positively dreamy.

“Hey, you want to see something even better?” Kyungsoo thought he saw a mischievous glint in Jongin’s eyes. He was being very smiley. “I want to show you something,” he said, grabbing Kyungsoo’s wrist and leading him past the bar to a plain red hallway. Kyungsoo supposed he should have felt apprehensive, but then an excited giggle bubbled past Jongin’s lips and Kyungsoo couldn’t help but to follow along as Jongin bounced on the balls of his feet, excited. The only door in the hallway was labeled as a bathroom. Jongin opened it to reveal a set of red curtains.

“What are you…” Kyungsoo trailed off as Jongin swept aside the curtains with a magician’s flourish.

“Wow,” Kyungsoo gasped, stepping past the curtains to crane his neck up at arched ceilings, smooth oak floorboards, shelves and shelves of skates lining the walls. They had entered the largest roller derby rink Kyungsoo had ever seen. “This place is like a hockey stadium! How—?” Kyungsoo turned to Jongin