“But, hyu-ung!”

Chanyeol made sure to whine at the end, for good measure. Maybe it’ll work. Granted, his older brother Minseok was one of the rare people who seemed to be immune to Chanyeol’s charms, but it did work from time to time. Maybe Chanyeol would be lucky and this will be one of those times.

Chanyeol had just woken up, exulting in the fact that he didn’t have to get up early for the first time in months. He was just about to get started on his pancakes when Minseok sauntered in, casually reminding him that Chanyeol had to work at his café for three weeks.

It was summer vacation, for goodness’ sake. Time to be young and go out and travel and be free and all that. How could Chanyeol waste three weeks of it preparing coffees and wiping tables? He had already promised his best friend Baekhyun that they would hang out at the beach first thing this weekend—he’d told Minseok so. And for a minute the older even seemed to consider, but a second later and his face was back to being stern (or at least, it was the best “stern” look he could muster. To Chanyeol he just looked particularly constipated).

“You’re going to have to say sorry to Baekhyun, then,” the older says airily. “I’ve told you about this months ago and you said yes. There’s no time for me to look for someone else to help me with the café, and if you cancel on me I’m going to slow roast your favorite fox plushie.”

That made Chanyeol gulp. Minseok would never harm a hair on his Chen-Chen. Even if he tended to act strict around Chanyeol, Minseok wasn’t a plushie murderer. He would never.

But there is that glint to his older brother’s eyes that gives Chanyeol a pause.

“All right, fine,” he sighs in defeat. “I’ll be your slave for three weeks, hyung. Just know that you’re killing whatever’s left of my social life, and I’ll be complaining the whole time.”

“Great!” Minseok grins. He probably chose to hear only the first part of what his brother said. “Toss me my keys from the counter, will you? I have to go to my weekly book haul.”

Chanyeol chucks the keys at him with a pout. The next weeks are going to be a pain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“You’re going to what now?”

Chanyeol winced at how Hera’s question was equal parts disbelief and ridicule. Baekhyun, on the other hand, was full-on chortling in the background. The traitor.

Chanyeol hadn’t wanted any fuss, so he’d called his best friend to tell him about his upcoming status as a café slave. He’d thought that that was that, but Baekhyun wouldn’t be Baekhyun if he didn’t make sure to meet his Torment Chanyeol weekly quota.

Of course he would swing by the café during Chanyeol’s shift. And of course he’d bring his girlfriend Hera with him so they could make fun of Chanyeol together. And of course he would abuse his status as a customer and make Chanyeol his personal errand boy.

This was now the fifth time that Chanyeol had been called over by the bastard, this time asking if could Chanyeol please wipe the table down coz my baby spilled a drop of her tea.

Really, if it weren’t for the presence of his older brother at the counter, Chanyeol was certain he’d have strangled someone by now.

“So…we’re not going to see you for three whole weeks?” Hera confirms.

Chanyeol nods and takes the seat beside her in defeat. It was two in the afternoon and they were the only customers at the moment, so maybe Minseok wouldn’t mind.

“Why won’t we see him?” Baekhyun asks innocently. “We’re his friends, it’s our duty to come here every single day to show our support.”

Chanyeol flings a dish rag at him, but Baekhyun dodges it with ease.

“Aigoo, our poor Chanderella,” Hera coos, giving Chanyeol’s head a ruffle. “Don’t worry, three weeks will pass before you know it.”

“Hera and I are still going to the beach, though,” Baekhyun  casually informs him as he takes a sip of his lukewarm cappuccino. “Shame you won’t get to come drool at hot guys with us.”

“Yah,” Hera squawks and hits Baekhyun on the shoulder. “You’re disgusting,” she laughs.

Baekhyun was biual, and it was easy for his partners to get paranoid. A couple of particular nightmares actually got jealous of Chanyeol—to the point of asking Baekhyun to choose between them and his best friend. Baekhyun broke up with them on the spot, and Chanyeol may have teared up a little both times, but nobody needed to know that.

Hera, on the other hand, was the dream. What some would probably be nervous about Baekhyun, Hera took in stride. In fact, when Baekhyun had first told her he swung both ways, her first response had been to show him her secret stash of teenage magazines, gleefully declaring that they could coo over her favorite actors together now.

(Chanyeol knew the story by heart, what with Baekhyun retelling it at any social gathering he was in. The first time that Baekhyun told it though—he’d come knocking at Chanyeol’s door, only managing a simple “Chan, I think I’m marrying this one” before bursting into actual tears. Sap.)

(Chanyeol was happy for his sappy , though.)

 

Chanyeol thinks, if he could like girls, he would probably like someone like Hera.

Unfortunately for him, he was 110% gay.

 

“You know, I was gonna stay for at least an hour. But—“ Baekhyun gets interrupted by a yawn. “This place is dead, man,” he continues. “Why do people even come here?”

Chanyeol rolls his eyes. “Some people enjoy silence, Byun. You should try it sometime.”

“Excuse you, I was perfectly quiet while I was waiting for my order.”

“For the whole twenty seconds of it? Damn, is that a world record or something?”

The cheerful sound of the bell hanging on the café door halts what would have been a hair-pulling war (much to Hera’s relief). With a groan, Chanyeol stands up and makes his way to the counter to help with the order.

There’s a man at the counter, and it must be a friend of Minseok’s, with the way that his brother is smiling. Chanyeol raises his eyebrow at him but Minseok only signals for him to come over.

Oh god, it’s probably another one of his brother’s weird art major friends. And of course Minseok had to introduce every single one of them to Chanyeol. Maybe he was hoping some of their “energy” would influence him? Chanyeol was fine. He had enough eccentricity (aka Byun Baekhyun) in his life at the moment, thank you very much.

“This is my brother Chanyeol,” Minseok says proudly with his bright gummy smile that makes Chanyeol abandon his plans of acting prissy. Minseok should be thankful that he has such a nice brother, Chanyeol thinks.

He looks down at the floor before preparing his own thousand-watt smile. “Hi, I’m Chan—“ he raises his head and finds himself looking into the stranger’s hazel brown eyes, slightly curved into crescents. “…yeol,” Chanyeol manages to finish before his voice dies in his throat.

The stranger gives him a friendly smile, with just a hint of shyness that fills Chanyeol with an unexpected warmth. This reminds Chanyeol of those scenes in the movies where the star makes their entrance and everybody just freezes in reaction to the presence of the visual deity. Or those scenes in anime (anime is for all ages, Minseok-hyung!!) where the pretty people get introduced with sparkles and rose petals and halos—wait yes that was exactly what he was seeing around the stranger’s head right now? An actual ing halo. The guy was probably an angel. Chanyeol starts lamenting his existence. Why did he have to be born a mere human?

He absently notes that the stranger is introducing himself as well. What was it, Juyeon? Oh, Junmyeon. It was perfect, just like him. The angel nods to something that Minseok says, and some strands of his silky raven hair falls over his eyes. Chanyeol fights the urge to reach over and brush them aside, arguing with himself that no matter how soft the angel’s hair looked, he must not pet people he just met.

“…just like the usual, okay?” the angel says before giving Minseok a final smile and turning around to leave.

Chanyeol stares after him in awe and asks Minseok, “Hyung, was that your friend?”

“Hmm?” Minseok looks up from the cash register and follows Chanyeol’s gaze. “Oh, Junmyeon? Yeah, he’s a friend. He’ll probably come here every day like he always does when it’s summer, so better get used to him.”

Chanyeol hides his gleeful smile with a nod. Who the hell said summer was ruined? Summer was perfectly fine.

(And Junmyeon was fine *wink wink*)

(Chanyeol cringes at himself. He’s glad no one could hear his thoughts.)

 

 

 

 

Junmyeon hated the summer heat.

Walking around in the sweltering weather was not something he was fond of, not that he went out much in general. So why was he strolling right under the torturous rays of the sun?

The answer was that Junmyeon loved coffee—that piping hot cup of liquid heaven with just the right amount of milk and sugar and a hint of hazelnut.

Curled up in his favorite armchair, book in hand and a steaming cup of coffee paired with some cookies just within his reach… along with a rainy weather to both provide a calming background noise and a cooling effect—that was the most immaculate combination known to man (Junmyeon).

Summer and hot coffee though, that was not a good combination. Unless you had the AC blasting 24/7, of course.

Which was why he found himself seeking shelter in his favorite café. Deja Brew was the only book café in this small city, and the only café with good air conditioning. Books? Check. Good coffee? Check. Tasty pastries? Check. Comfy armchairs? Well, no. But then again the world was bound to disappoint you from time to time, right? Still, Deja Brew was the best. (Plus, Junmyeon appreciated the pun)

He enters the café as usual, relishing in the cold air that welcomes him.

“Junmyeon-ah!” came Minseok’s greeting.

“Hello, Minseok,” Junmyeon responds. “I’m here to abuse your nice air conditioning as usual,” he adds with a shy chuckle.

“Aww don’t be silly. If anything being abused here, it’s probably your wallet. I swear, you probably fork in a third of our summer profits,” the café owner laughs. “The usual?”

Junmyeon nods as he grins along. “Where’s Jongdae, though?” he asks.

“Oh, Jongdae took the month off,” Minseok answers as he mixes Junmyeon’s drink. “Went back home to help his parents out a bit. He’ll be back before summer ends.”

“I haven’t seen him in a while but my muffins still tasted great so I figured he’s been hiding in the back or something,” Junmyeon muses.

“The muffins do taste amazing, don’t they?” the barista agrees in a pleased tone. “I keep trying to get Chanyeol to work here permanently but the kid avoids my café like the plague. Says that he has games to play and boys to chase after and all that.”

Junmyeon offers a sympathetic smile even as his heart stutters at the revelation. Does that mean Chanyeol was gay? That’s what Minseok meant, right? He doesn’t mean chase as in chasing criminals or something, right??

So maybe Junmyeon also likes this café because of a certain cute worker, but said worker was just a crush that he liked to look at and had no plans of pursuing, okay???

And Chanyeol made those muffins? How could he be even more amazing than he already was? God, the restraint that Junmyeon had to muster everytime Chanyeol went Oh hi, hyung, you’re here? with that velvety low voice of his, combined with an adorably bright and childlike smile that had no place in that giant body – it made Junmyeon want to throw himself at that broad chest and bury himself in it.

But Junmyeon was a rational adult living in the proverbial “real world”, and upstanding citizens do not throw themselves at people they like.

Besides, Chanyeol was way out of his league.

“Oh hi, hyung, you’re here?”

Junmyeon positively shivers at his voice. He clenches his hands into fists as he curses the universe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Junmyeon couldn’t understand.

He knows he put Artemis Fowl on the bottom shelf yesterday, so why the hell was it at the topmost shelf now? He casually looks around before he stands on his toes to reach for it. The golden book is just a couple of inches out of reach and he could probably get it if he jumped but he could not—would not­ allow that indignity.

He curses his height as he tries to reach for it again. Maybe if he tried hard enough the book would take pity on him and take a fall? That gives him an idea. Maybe he can shake the shelf a little—

“Let me get that for you hyung.”

A warmth presses against Junmyeon’s back and he freezes. His head stays trained at the book as a slender hand reaches over him and easily slides the book out from the shelf. He follows the hand with his eyes as it moves back, and Junmyeon finds himself staring straight into the eyes of Park Chanyeol.

Junmyeon’s heart skids to a halt, and he can almost picture himself exploding into a shower of heart-shaped confetti.

Chanyeol gives him a smile. “Did you want this book, Hyung?” he asks in that velvet voice of his.

“Hing?” Junmyeon answers intelligently.

Chanyeol hands him the book, and Junmyeon takes it with a stiff hand.

“Enjoy your book, hyung!”

Junmyeon can only watch after the reatreating figure. The lingering warmth on his back makes him shiver for some reason. Smiling, he looks down at his book. Maybe being small wasn’t so bad after all.

 

 

 

(A few meters away, a certain part-time worker watches in silence. He grins as he watches Junmyeon smile. Maybe working in a café wasn’t so bad after all.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol snaps in attention as the door chimes ring to signal the arrival of another customer. He looks up in anticipation, only to be let down for the eighth time that day. It was just another lost college kid, probably looking for a place to write a report, judging by the laptop and folders they were holding.

Chanyeol sighs for the nth time. Where was Junmyeon-hyung? Minseok gave him the impression that Junmyeon would be a regular. Regulars are supposed to come everyday. Or was it that they come every other day? Weekly? Chanyeol shakes his head in confusion. That didn’t matter. What mattered was that it has been a full day since meeting Junmyeon-hyung so where the hell was he?

He tries to cheer himself up by recalling yesterday’s incident.

Why did I ever think that working in a café was easy? Chanyeol thinks to himself as he mops the floors. His shoulders are sore from all the baking he’s been doing, not to mention serving orders and cleaning up once in a while. It was nothing he couldn’t handle. But still.

It’s 2pm, and the café is empty save for the old lady enjoying her jasmine tea at the far corner, and Junmyeon-hyung (!!!) who had chosen to sit near the bookshelves.

Ahh, Junmyeon-hyung. It’s been a week since he’d met Junmyeon, and Chanyeol could only thank all his lucky stars that he at least had Junmyeon-hyung’s smiles to look forward to. And the picture of the older as he thumbed through a novel, his visage highlighted by the warm afternoon light pouring from the windows…it made Chanyeol want to sit beside Junmyeon, put his arms around the smaller and ask him what he was reading that was making him smile and frown so much. He was probably reading the world’s most interesting story, Chanyeol thinks, with how focused he was on the book, unperturbed by the occasional noises in the café.

Chanyeol blinks as he catches himself. He turns around and starts mopping the floor furiously. He’d actually stared at Junmyeon-hyung for a whole damn minute. Thank goodness nobody was around to—

He catches the old lady’s eye as he looks up. She smiles at him, nods towards Junmyeon-hyung’s direction, and then winks.

Chanyeol’s face burns up. What the ?

A soft thud distracts him, and Chanyeol turns towards the noise. It’s Junmyeon-hyung, or rather, the book that he was reading. It was currently lying on the table infront of him, seemingly abandoned. Junmyeon himself was slumped on the table, his head cocooned in his arms. Something about the picture tugs at Chanyeol’s heart, and before he knows it, he has made his way to the beautiful male.

“Hyung?” he asks in a worried voice. “What happened? Are you all right?”

Junmyeon raises his head in answer, and Chanyeol almost bursts into tears at how fragile the other looked—tears hanging off his eyelashes like dewdrops, eyes rimmed in pink and cheeks softly powdered crimson, lips a lush red and pressed resolutely together to keep his sobs into a minimum. The sight effectively drives away any shyness that Chanyeol may have felt, replaced instead by the need to comfort the other.

“A-are you hurt somewhere?” Chanyeol stutters.

The older bites his lips and shakes his head. “It’s nothing.”

“It shouldn’t be nothing if you’re crying over it.”

“It’s just—“ Junmyeon shakes his head again. “It’s dumb.”

“Hyung.” Chanyeol takes the seat infront of the older. “Just tell me. Gotta take care of our #1 customer, you know?”

It sounds lame even to Chanyeol, but it does make Junmyeon crack the slightest of smiles.

“Promise you won’t laugh at me?” he asks in a small voice.

“I promise.”

“Well, you see…” Junmyeon reaches for his book and hugs it to his chest. “My favorite character died.” He glances up at Chanyeol hesitantly, much like a child awaiting punishment.

Chanyeol blinks. He—no way. No freaking way. There was NO WAY that someone could be this cute.

“Hyung, are you for real?” he blurts out before he can think about it.

“I’m sorry! I know it’s dumb of me,” Junmyeon wails as he slumps onto the table again.

“What? No, no hyung.” Chanyeol reaches for the other’s arm and pats it for attention. The older looks up at him again, but this time with apprehension.

“What I meant was, are you for real, because I’m so glad I’ve found someone who mourns fictional characters like I do!”

Junmyeon sits up straighter. “Do you cry over them too?” he asks with a sniffle.

“Hyung, when L died in Death Note I was inconsolable for a whole week.”

That seemed to catch Junmyeon by surprise. “L? Wasn’t that a bit inevitable, though?” he asks with a small laugh.

“Ah-hah! So you know Death Note! I just knew you were a man of culture as well, hyung. And don’t judge me! I thought we were weeping buddies here.”

Junmyeon positively chuckles, and the sight of it makes Chanyeol feel like his heart, his chest, his whole being was floating.

With another sniffle, Junmyeon shows him the cover of the book. All The Light We Cannot See is printed on the cover, and Chanyeol forces his mind to conjure any knowledge about it. Sadly, he’s never heard of it before. How was he going to keep the miraculous conversation going now?

“I won’t tell you who it is,” Junmyeon says, obviously noticing how the younger did not know about the book. “It’s just—this character, they went through so much, you know? And I wanted them to have a happy ending. But they didn’t and it makes me so sad.” The older’s lips jut out in a pout.

“It’s a pretty thick book,” Chanyeol observes. “It must be frustrating to read all of that only to end up with heartbreak.”

“It’s not all bad, I guess? It was a very nice read, but I still feel down about it.”

“Tell you what, hyung,” Chanyeol says as he stands up. “I make a mean chamomile tea. Let me whip one for you in a jiffy, on the house.”

“But that’s—“

“You’re not allowed to refuse, hyung. It’s a privilege for mourning customers.”

“Chanyeol – wait, it’s fine!”

The older’s protests fall on deaf ears, and five minutes later a cup of steaming tea is placed infront of him.

“Drink up, hyung.”

“Chanyeol, you really didn’t have to,” Junmyeon weakly protests. “But… thank you.”

He smiles up at the younger, eyes gently curving into crescents, just like the first time he and Chanyeol had met.

“You’re welcome, hyung,” is all that he says as he turns around and mumbles an excuse about having to go back to work. But really, he is clutching at his chest, willing his heart to stop hammering.

He makes a vow to himself that he will summon that smile out of Junmyeon-hyung again if it cost him his entire plushie collection.

 

 

Chanyeol smiles at the memory. He still could not believe he was able to maintain such a long interaction with the man of his dreams like that. You did great, though, Chanyeol. Keep it up! he thinks as he gives himself a mental pat on the shoulder.

The chimes give another cheerful ring and Chanyeol looks up again, only to be greeted by Baekhyun’s grin.

“Hel-LO, dear bestfriend, Emperor of furries and six-foot tall dweebs!” Baekhyun greets gleefully. “I have come to grace you with my presence.”

Chanyeol could not even find the energy to come up with a retort. “What are you doing here again, Baek?” he asks with a tired voice. “Minseok-hyung warned me that if you clean out the pastries without paying again, he’ll pluck out your hairs one by one.”

“Ooh, . But tell him he’ll have to think of something else coz this is smooth as glass,” Baekhyun says flippantly as he reaches into a jar and pops two cookies in his mouth.

Chanyeol merely watches as his bestfriend proceeds to grab a cupcake and a macaroon from the display shelf. He sighs in defeat and slumps on a chair by the counter. Who even cared anymore? Without Junmyeon-hyung, the world may as well fall to ruins. The door gives another chime, but this time Chanyeol doesn’t bother to look. Junmyeon-hyung probably wasn’t coming today…

Absently, feels Baekhyun poke him in the ribs. “Park, get your up,” he hisses. “A total hottie just came in!”

Chanyeol lazily gazes upward and nearly leaps out of his skin when he meets Junmyeon’s warm gaze.

“Huh-hyung!” he stutters as he stumbles out of his seat. “You’re here!” He wipes his hands on his apron and hopes for the love of all things cute and fluffy that his uniform wasn’t wrinkled or – god forbid – that he had a hair out of place.

“Hi, Chanyeol,” came his beloved hyung’s voice. “I won’t have coffee this time. Can I have the tea you made for me yesterday? I really liked it.”

“Sure, hyung! Do you want something else with your drink?”

“No, thank you. Maybe later, though.”

Junmyeon pays for his drink and takes his usual seat by the bookshelves. Chanyeol stares after him elatedly, only to have be slapped on the arm.

“Ow!” he yelps. It was Baekhyun. “Baekhyun, what are you still doing here?”

“You! You and Hottie know each other? You met a total babe and you didn’t even tell me!”

“Why do I have to tell you?” Chanyeol asks incredulously. “You have a girlfriend!”

“That doesn’t make me any less of an art enthusiast!” Baekhyun counters. “And that over there-“ he points to Junmyeon. “Is art. And did you see that ? Damn. What a masterpiece.”

“Don’t talk about hyung that way.” Chanyeol finds himself frowning. He grabs a mug and tries to distract himself from the strange feeling of annoyance in his chest by making Junmyeon’s drink. 

That makes his bestfriend pause. “Oh?” he says as he watches Chanyeol. Baekhyun steps infront of Chanyeol right as he is turning to put the mug on the counter, effectively freezing the taller in place. Baekhyun brings his face right at Chanyeol’s, narrowing his eyes in scrutiny.

“Wh-What?” Chanyeol demands, heart pounding. Baekhyun couldn’t know about this, he hasn’t figured it out, right? He can’t—

“You like him.” Baekhyun accuses.

“Wha-Who? No, I don’t!”

“You like him!” Baekhyun declares, finally hopping out of Chanyeol’s way. “So that’s why you’ve been all smiles everytime you were on your way here! You’ve gotten yourself a huge, high school girl crush!”

“Shh, stop it!” Chanyeol hisses, frantically silencing his friend with his hand as he peers to see if Junmyeon heard anything. The older seemed engrossed with his book, as usual.

“Aww, our Channie is all grown up.” Baekhyun pretend to wipe at his eyes. “Have you written him a love letter yet?”

Yes. “No! Who even does that these days?”

“What about his number? Please tell me you’ve at least achieved that.”

Chanyeol simply looks away.

“Ugh, you are such a loser,” Baekhyun says in disgust. “What are you, a maiden of the medieval times? What’s taking you so long? You want him to slay a dragon for you first or something?”

“Not everyone is a thot like you, some people need time,” Chanyeol argues weakly.

“Time for what? For someone else to come sweep him off his feet? Just look at him.”

Chanyeol turns his gaze back at Junmyeon and for the first time, actually realizes what Baekhyun was so annoyed at him for.

Hyung was so pretty. He doesn’t seem to have a girlfriend (or boyfriend), with his lone visits to the café. But someone so pretty, if they weren’t taken, they would be soon.

“But I don’t even know if he’s gay,”Chanyeol mumbles weakly.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “Enough with your excuses, Park. I’ll find out if Hottie likes . And you – “ he gives his bestfriend a push. “Focus on wooing him. Go give him his tea and dazzle him.  Blind him with your ten thousand bright teeth!”

Chanyeol tears up a little, feeling like he’d been scolded by his mom. He marches resolutely towards Junmyeon, tea in hand and an awkward grin stretched on his face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From: The Love of My Life

Yo park

 

 

Chanyeol frowns at the message. Who the hell—it dawns on him and he grits his teeth as he changes the contact name, mentally stabbing Baekhyun in the nuts. Then again, it was probably Chanyeol’s fault for not changing his phone password. He really should think of something more complicated than his lost ferret’s birthday.

 

 

From: Buckbaek

I kno ur on the afternoon shift 2day

 

 

(Chanyeol giggles at the new contact name, congratulating himself for being witty.)

 

 

From: Buckbaek

But i went 2 d café n guess who i ran into ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

Chanyeol scrolls down to the attached picture, and promptly shoots up from his bed. It was a picture of Baekhyun with (his) Junmyeon-hyung. Why were they squished so close together? And was that Baekhyun’s arm around (his) Junmyeon-hyung’s shoulders?

Byun ing Baekhyun, Chanyeol curses. How could he take a selca with (his) Junmyeon-hyung before him??

 

From: Buckbaek

Ok b4 u throw a fit clam down

 

From: Buckbaek

*CALM

 

From: Buckbaek

Clam works too

 

From: Buckbaek

ANYWAY a promis is a promise n I fulfilled my mission 2day

 

From: Buckbaek

Ur prince is defnitly gay

 

From: Buckbaek

Lyk 110% gay

 

 

From: Buckbaek

 So stop bein pahtetic n get dat

 

 

From: Buckbaek

Also i gave him ur # coz i kno u dint n im a nice friend

 

 

From: Buckbaek

Also also hes wearing glasses 2day??? Not in d pic but boiiii ha was hawt af like im taken but he put it on n i swear i almost offered my ity then n there

 

From: Buckbaek

 Course my v card expired yrs ago but myeon hyung kinda purifies all sins ya kno?

 

From: Buckbaek

TL,DR: ur myeon hyung luks xtra cute 2day so better come running or sum1 else is gon snatch him up (aka me)

 

From: Buckbaek

Do u think hera wud b open to a poly relationship???

 

 

Chanyeol snorts. As if Baekhyun would actually lust after Junmyeon-hyung. He’s definitely not Baekhyun’s type. As Chanyeol moves to throw his phone on the bed however, it vibrates with another message.

 

 

From: Hera (/^▽^)/

Yeol

 

From: Hera (/^▽^)/

Come to the café. Baek’s flirting with your Junmyeon-oppa

 

From: Hera (/^▽^)/

Save oppa, he looks like he’s going to implode soon ㅋㅋㅋ

 

From: Hera (/^▽^)/

His blushing face sdfjhsdfkjhsdfhs I wanna roundhouse kick someone coz oppa is too adorable

 

From: Hera (/^▽^)/

And Baek asked if I would be open to having one more person in our relationship

 

From: Hera (/^▽^)/

If it’s with Junmyeon-oppa? The answer is yes

 

From: Hera (/^▽^)/

I’m kiddingggg but if you don’t get here in 15 minutes I’m going to start considering it  (￣ω￣)

 

 

Chanyeol positively squawks and fumbles with his phone, fingers clumsily tapping at Hera’s contact to give her a call. Before he can place the call, however, his phone vibrates with yet another message.

 

 

From: unknown

Chanyeol?

 

 

From: unknown

This is Junmyeon-hyung

 

 

From: unknown

I’m sorry, I know you must be sleeping? But… Baekhyun said you’re going on a blind date today?

 

 

 

Blind date? Chanyeol wonders. What was hyung talking about?

 

 

 

From: unknown

I know it’s not my place but can you maybe…not go?

 

 

From: unknown

I’m being too much, I’m sorry. I won’t bother you again I’m really sorry please forget what I said

 

 

Before he knows it, Chanyeol has tapped the number and pressed his phone to his ear.

 

“Junmyeon-hyung?” he asks as soon as the call is connected.

 

“Ch-Chanyeol? I’m really sorry! Please don’t get mad at me, you can go to your date if—“

 

“Hyung!” Chanyeol cuts him off. He takes a deep breath and mentally sends a bow of thanks to Baekhyun. “Are you free today?”

 

“…huh?”

 

“If you’re free, do you wanna go to the movies with me?”

 

“Chanyeol what do you… movies…? Do you mean like… a date?”

 

“Yes, hyung,” Chanyeol chuckles. “A date.”

 

 

 

 

From: Umin-hyung

Chanyeol

 

 

From: Umin-hyung

Where the are you and why are Baekhyun and Hera manning the counter? Baekhyun snacked on the brownies I’m taking that out of your salary

 

 

From: Umin-hyung

And what’s this I hear about you dating Junmyeon?

 

 

From: Umin-hyung

Chanyeollll

 

 

From: Umin-hyung

Answer my texts, you ferret

 

 

From: Umin-hyung

That’s it, I’m taking your Chen-Chen

 

 

From: Umin-hyung

Hurt my favorite customer in any way and I’m disowning you

 

 

From: Umin-hyung

Park Chanyeol!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bonus

 

 

Chanyeol peers over the customer’s shoulder and watches as Junmyeon walks up to a bookshelf, wondering what type of book he was going to read today. For the past days, hyung was mostly reading books from the YA section. He’d drifted to the crime novels yesterday, but today looks like he was in another mood entirely. Chanyeol suppresses a smile as Junmyeon walks to the children’s section.

“Here you are,” he hands the lady her coffee. “Have a nice day!”

There are no more customers in line, so Chanyeol leans on the wall beside him to get a better view. He watches as Junmyeon tries to choose which book to read. His back is turned towards Chanyeol, which was a pity.

Junmyeon doesn’t seem to see anything he likes at the bottom shelves, so he takes a step back and peers at the ones higher up. Finally, he reaches for a book.

Except it’s a little too high for him.

He stands on his tiptoes, and his small fingers snake out of his loose knit sweater as he extends his hand up but he still can’t quite reach it.

Chanyeol’s breath catches at the sight. He’d known that Junmyeon was small, but was he always this  small? And this adorable? He bites his lip, wondering if he could step in and help the older. The picture of hyung pressed against his chest as Chanyeol reaches for a book for him—

Chanyeol blushes.

When he focuses back on Junmyeon, however, the older had already obtained his book, and was walking back to his seat.

 

 

1 hour later

Junmyeon-hyung had rushed out of the café after getting a call, but not before returning his book—this time placing it on a lower shelf. Chanyeol had taken note of the book from afar: a paperback with a gold cover.

Chanyeol looks around nervously. It’s not like he was doing anything wrong, he thinks as he pulls the golden book out and places it high up on the topmost shelf. It’s not like he was planning anything evil. It’s just—he knows that Junmyeon wasn’t able to finish this book. And that Junmyeon tended to read from cover to cover, never abandoning a book midway. And that Junmyeon would not be able to reach that golden book by himself.

Chanyeol smiles to himself as he sets multiple alarms on his phone. He couldn’t afford to be late tomorrow. He had to help someone reach for a book, after all.