He hadn’t come Saturday. 

Or Sunday.

Donghae sighed, really starting to wonder if Hyukjae was right and he had scared the boy off by trying to interact with him. Some people just wanted to be left the hell alone when they were shopping, especially when they were tired. 

He sighed again, long and sad, handing a bag of donuts to the woman in front of him, telling her to have a good day, but without any enthusiasm behind the voice. He turned to the register to finish inputting the exact change she gave as she departed to leave.

As she was exiting, door’s bell ringing, chatter erupted as a small group of people made their way into the store, stepping around her. Donghae closed the register, then turned to the three men entering, exclaiming hello and welcome.

It was a welcome sight indeed. 

The missing prince has reappeared! Success! 

This time he was in the company of two other men, who were laughing about some joke and nudging their friend who waddled over to the coffee station, sleepy as ever. 

“I’m grabbing a bagel. Kyu, did you want one?” one of the handsome friends inquired loudly from the opposite end of the shop. 

Donghae’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Kyu’? Was that his name?

“Mm,” the tall boy grumbled. “No.” He slowly stirred in the sugar and creamer into the extra large foam tumbler. 

The boy who asked about the bagel shrugged and stepped back over to the coffee station, shaking his head at his friend. “Can’t hear you when you wear that thing,” he exclaimed, running a golden-tanned palm through his sandy brown locks. “I’ll get it for you if you want one. It’s not a big deal.”

Donghae watched the interaction with interest as ‘Kyu’ turned to the smiley boy and slowly pulled down his mouth mask. 

Donghae stilled, swallowing.