AN: So here's the deal... after a LOOONNNGG hiatus from this story, I've finally finished up my 2-part Playing Lifeguard series and I completely FORCED myself to write another chapter for this baby :) Since it's been so long since I've looked at it and I already had this chapter half written, it might flow a little funny.... but after this one, it should even out again ^^

“Waaahhhh, it looks so nice!!!”

This was how Hyukjae knew Sungmin had arrived. He stood up from his kneeling position behind the coffee bar, two packets of creamer in his hands. Looking towards the door, he saw the familiar face of Sungmin, smiling as bright as the sun, and close behind him stood Kyuhyun. Both were looking around the shop and seemed pretty impressed with the set up.

Hyukjae walked out from the behind the counter and over to where the duo were standing, “Hello! Welcome. You guys picked a good time, we are usually pretty slow around this time.”

Sungmin nodded, still beaming, “It looks really great, Hyuk! So cozy… Thanks for inviting us.”

Hyukjae simply shrugged, tightly gripping the packets in his hands. “Thanks for coming. Please pick somewhere to sit and I’ll be over in a second.” He then hurried over to the accessible coffee pots where people customize their coffee to restock the packets of creamer. It was the last thing he needed to do before sitting down with his friends, besides getting them their drinks as well.

Hyuk set the two cups of coffee down in front of his companions and scooted into the seat across from them. Sungmin peered down at the beautifully crafted foam flower topping his drink and fawned over it. “Oooh, look at how pretty it is!” Hyuk watched, with new found interest the way Kyuhyun responded to Sungmin, how he looked on with loving eyes and always had a comforting hand touching Sungmin’s back.

Kyuhyun must have seen the way that Hyuk was kind of absently watching him because he suddenly asked, “Are you alright?”

The waiter jumped and blushed, looking down. He didn’t often feel so uncomfortable with other people, especially if he was embarrassed; he’d always been able to handle it well. But now he felt on edge and was having trouble maintaining his composure. “Er..” He glanced up and tentatively asked his first question. “I was wondering… how you guys… you know…know…”

Both of the men raised their eyebrows simultaneously and exchanged confused looks before leaning forward—all in a synchronization that was uncanny—to figure out what Hyuk meant. “What do you mean, exactly?” Sungmin asked first.

Hyukjae swallowed hard and forced out the sentence despite the knot growing in his chest. “How did you guys know that you like each other?”

The question was obviously amusing because smiles sprang into boy the men’s faces and they began nudging each other like fidgeting children. Hyukjae just watched, mesmerized with their ease around each other. He felt a similar easiness around Donghae… but he didn’t want to quite think about the implications of that yet.

“We met in high school,” Sungmin began before being cut off by Kyuhyun.

“He was kind of weird and I felt bad for him—“

“Wha?? You were weird too. Honestly, neither of us had many friends—“

“What do you mean? I had plenty of friends! I just decided to—“

“To what?? Completely stop talking to them just to hang out with me? I doubt—“

“That’s exactly what happened, as a matter of fact!”

Sungmin hitched up an eyebrow, looking skeptically at Kyuhyun. Both of the men seemed to have forgotten that Hyukjae was sitting right there watching their comical argument.

“Why would you do that?” Sungmin asked, and Hyuk thought he saw the soft-spoken man glance over at him. In that second before Kyuhyun answered, Hyukjae had the feeling that this entire argument was for making a point rather than having a real argument… but he wasn’t sure where that inkling came from and had little time to think about it.

Kyuhyun smiled, everything about his face softening, “Because I knew that even if you were the only friend I would have for the rest of my life, that would still make me happy.”

The trio sat in silence. The couple was staring at each other in a way that can only be described as loving, and Hyukjae sat in deep thought. He thought about his relationship with Donghae, which had moved quickly to a place where they were both comfortable. He found himself frequently thinking about how he would do anything for the other man. Whenever he tried a new combination of flavors in the coffee house, the first question in his mind was “Would Donghae like this?” And when they were apart…

Quite frankly, he hated it. He worried about his studious friend.

“Um… Guys?” Hyukjae said, looking between the two lovebirds in front of him. He snapped his fingers and waved his hand to get their attention and they both came back to the café, blinking and picking up where they left off.

“Why do you want to know?” Sungmin asked.

Hyukjae didn’t say anything right away. He opted to stare down at the table and rub the back of his head with one hand. He really wasn’t sure how to proceed from that point.

Then he heard Kyuhyun gasp and say, “You like someone!!”

When Hyukjae glanced up, he saw two eager faces leaning halfway across the table, staring at him as if he were going to burst into diamonds. He didn’t even have to say anything else for the two to seemingly understand the situation.

“It’s that kid you bring to dance practice, isn’t it??” Sungmin asked, his voice hushed and excited.

To this, Hyukjae shrugged and looked out the side window next to them. “Maybe…” he began. “But I’m really not sure…”

“You have to snatch him up!” Sungmin said, arms stretching across the table and gripping onto Hyuk’s forearms. “Get him before some pretty little girl does!”

“Yeah!” Kyuhyun added, “Sungmin’s been complaining that we have no one to double-date with and—” a sharp elbow to his ribs from Sungmin shut up the blabby Kyuhyun before he could spill anymore secrets.

Hyukjae’s eyes moved between the two, curious about their enthusiastic responses and how easily they were able to guess exactly what was going on. Was he obvious about it or something?

“We really like him,” Sungmin rushed on, Kyuhyun nodding in agreement. “He seems really sweet and he’s good for you.”

Hyukjae arched an eyebrow at the duo. “Good for me? What does that mean?”

“It just means that you seem to have more fun around him,” Kyuhyun explained. Honestly it was scary how well the couple seemed to know what each other was thinking. “We can tell that you’re happier since you’ve started bringing him around practice.”

Just then the door to the café sounded and all three looked towards the other side of the room. The person who entered was an older looking woman who had a cane in one hand and a purse in the other. Promptly, Hyukjae rose from the seat to go help her, assisting her to a booth and taking her order.

While he was busy, the door rang with another entrance and standing there was the subject of all the excitement at the table of Kyuhyun and Sungmin. Donghae was looking around sheepishly, a hand moving up to smooth out his tousled hair.

The pair at the table watched how Donghae and Hyukjae made eye contact and seemed to smile at each other gently. Sungmin and Kyuhyun locked eyes knowingly and began elbowing each other in excitement. It was then that Donghae’s eyes fell on the obnoxious pair and he tilted his head curiously, walking over to the booth.

“Hello,” Donghae greeted, smiling politely.

Sungmin and Kyuhyun replied unanimously, their tones matching perfectly. Donghae had to resist the urge to laugh at how in-sync the pair seemed to be.

“This is our first time here,” Sungmin volunteered.

“O-oh,” Donghae said, feeling only the slightest bit awkward around the pair. He’d only met them at the studio for the dance practice so it felt strange to be seeing them outside of that setting. Clearing his throat, he organized himself and slid into the booth opposite of the two men. “What do you think of it?”

“We can see why you come here so oft-” Kyuhyun was cut short by yet another elbow to the ribs.

“It’s really nice. And Hyukie made us these really pretty drinks.”

Donghae smiled and nodded, though he was a little weary about the couple’s strange behavior. Were they usually this quirky, or did something happen..?

Sungmin and Kyuhyun fell into quiet whispers across from him so Donghae turned his head to find Hyukjae with his eyes again. Now the other man was behind the counter steaming some milk for the elderly woman (who happened to be the only other patron in the facility at the moment).

Donghae’s last class had been cancelled so he had naturally made his way to the café. Past the initial shock of seeing Sungmin and Kyuhyun, he was starting to settle into that familiar comfort of being in this place. The smell and atmosphere was something he was getting incredibly used to. He found it a nice escape from the drudge of college life…

Eventually, Hyukjae came back over to sit with the group and they chatted happily, the four of them having a good time in each other’s presence. Periodically, Hyuk would have to leave to tend to customers and eventually the clock had wound down to the point where Hyuk needed to begin the evening clean up.

“I guess we’ll be going then,” Sungmin said, standing up from the booth and giving a stretch. He walked up to Hyukjae and threw his arms around the working man’s neck, giving him a tight hug and kiss on the cheek.

Donghae fought the stirring in his heart at the display. Why did he feel so negative all of a sudden?

“Thanks so much for inviting us here, Hyukie,” Sungmin said, smiling brightly. The duo then headed for the door.

At the last minute, Kyuhyun turned around and yelled, “Good luck with that thing!” before getting yanked out of the café by his boyfriend.

Both Donghae and Hyukjae watched out of the window as the couple made their way across the street, holding hands and having their heads bent together as they were apparently giggling.

Donghae decided not to ask about the comment. But he was happy that he could finally be alone with his friend.

“Aish, those two,” muttered Hyuk before he walked behind the counter to begin the process of restocking for the next day.

Donghae approached the counter as well, leaning against it from the customer side and watching the other man work. “What do you need to do?”

“I have to refill the supplies that we use a lot, like cups, lids, stirrers, sugar packets… all of that. Then I need to sweep, wipe off tables and balance the cash drawer.”

Donghae blinked at the long list and glanced around. “Is there anyone here to help you?”

Hyukjae shook his head and disappeared as he kneeled behind the bar. “My aunt and uncle are visiting some family today. They won’t be back until really late, so I have to hold down the fort.”

Donghae made an appreciative sound in his throat and let the silence fall between them for another minute. He thought about his pile of homework sitting at home that he needed to do. He also had a huge mountain of laundry that needed tending… and dishes sitting in the sink that were, perhaps, starting to grow mold…

“Do you want some help?”

Donghae mentally slapped himself after the offer flew out of his mouth. He desperately hoped he wouldn’t regret it.

Hyukjae straightened, looking quizzically at his friend for a moment as if assessing if he could be serious. In response, Donghae just shrugged his shoulder and offered a friendly smile.

“Well… Ok, you can help. What do you want to do?” Hyuk conceded.

“I can wipe off the tables if you want,” Donghae offered. That wouldn’t be hard.

Hyuk nodded and turned around, getting into one of the bottom cupboards and pulling out a bucket and a rag. He fixed it up with the sanitized water and handed it to Donghae with a smile. “Thanks a lot. This will make my evening easier.”

Hae just nodded and turned around, picking the table closest to the door to begin.

The two men worked in silence with just the café music playing quietly in the background. Hyukjae began sweeping while Donghae wiped the tables and soon they were done with that portion.

“Well,” Hyukjae began, impressed with how early he was probably going to get off. “Let’s restock the shelves next. Is that ok?”

Donghae just nodded happily, feeling oddly fulfilled at all the help he was being to his friend. In a way, he felt like he was paying Hyuk back for the kindness he had shown by helping him study that night… and taking him home…

Hyukjae showed Donghae into the back room of the café, that mysterious place where regular customers weren’t allowed to go.

It was dark in there, the overhead light hardly doing anything to help with seeing better. Hyuk would point at an item—straws, lids, spoons—and instruct Donghae on how many to grab. Then they would exit the storeroom with their arms full and Hyuk would tell Hae where to put the things he brought out.

Soon they were almost done. Hyuk was busy rearranging bags of coffee below the counter out in the café area and Donghae was looking for a very specific bag of dry creamer in the storeroom.

“Where is it, again?” Donghae half-yelled from the room. Sound was easily absorbed in there.

“Top shelf on the right!” Hyukjae instructed from outside.

Donghae looked and looked but didn’t see it. He was starting to get frustrated. “I don’t see it! Could it be anywhere else?”

There was a pause and then he heard, “No, it should be right there. Is it behind something?”

Donghae sighed, looking up at the top of the shelf. He was average in height, but not exactly tall. Standing up on his tip-toes and using the shelving unit for balance, he stretched his arm to its full length and pushed some things out of the way to see if perhaps the dry creamer had been shoved behind something.

“What’s it called?” He yelled, his voice obviously strained.

“Columbian Creamer!” came the distant reply of Hyukjae.

Sighing then inhaling deeply, Donghae held his breath as she stretched half an inch farther than he figured he could feasibly go. His fingers brushed something he couldn’t see and he finally managed to inch it enough to the edge to cause it to fall into his other waiting hand.

Looking down, he saw in pretty English script Colombian Creamer written across the front and he beamed, feeling very proud of his accomplishment.

“Hyuk-ah!” He spun around in a hurry, excited to share his victory with Hyukjae. He was prepared to run out of the storeroom, but was stopped short.

Without him realizing it, Hyukjae had walked up behind him in the storeroom. Not knowing that, Donghae now ran head on into Hyukjae’s body, knocking him backwards on accident.

The shock was so great, that Donghae couldn’t do anything except cry out in shock and fall with him.

They landed with a loud “oof!” the wind knocked out of both of their lungs.

Coughing and trying to regain his senses, Donghae tried to ask Hyukjae if he was ok, but the words came out choppy and useless.

Hyukjae’s hands came up to press against his eye sockets, digging the heels of his hands in deep. The sudden splitting headache from hiding his head on the ground was enough to make him feel nauseous. He only managed a groan.

With shaking breaths, Donghae watched his friend’s face contort with pain and he instinctively brought his fingers up to brush the bangs off of Hyukjae’s forehead, concern and guilt rapidly spreading throughout his being.

“I’m so sorry, Hyuk-ah,” Donghae finally managed. “Are you ok? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Hyukjae was trying to steady his breathing and block out the pain threatening to take over his brain. He shook his head in response, knowing that he was probably fine… he just needed a moment to recollect himself.

In that time, Donghae became acutely aware of how they were laying… He was fully on top of his friend and their faces were unusually closer together. He also became aware of how smooth and warm Hyuk’s skin was under his palm.

Blinking rapidly, the next thing Hae noticed was that Hyuk had dropped his hands from his eyes and he was looking up at Donghae’s face.

Had Hae’s head just tilted to the side a little?

They stared at each other, breaths mingling in the space between them. Donghae swallowed hard, his fingers involuntarily playing with the hair he was holding away from Hyuk’s face.

“Donghae,” Hyukjae finally whispered.

Hae didn’t stay anything. He just lay there atop his friend, frozen.

“Hae,” Hyuk started again. He almost seemed to hesitate for a moment before going on. “You can get off me, now…”

Like someone flipping on the lights in a dark room, Donghae could suddenly see very clearly. His eyes widened and he began to scramble up, untangling himself from the other boy. He offered Hyukjae a hand and pulled the café worker to his feet.

“A-are you sure you’re o-ok?” Donghae stuttered, feeling embarrassed and guilty.

Hyukjae rubbed his temples, obviously trying to control a raging headache. However, he managed a small smile and he nodded slightly, cautious about moving his head too suddenly. “I’ll be fine. I just hit my head a little… Did you say you found the creamer?”

Suddenly Donghae remembered the cause of the collision and he frantically looked around on the floor. He found the creamer against a pile of boxes to the side and leaned over to pick it up. “Just tell me where to put it,” he said in a rush, anxious to make up for the accident by being helpful.

Hyukjae told him where to put the product and Donghae hurried off to fulfill the task.

Soon there was nothing left to do. Hyukjae flipped the “Open/Closed” sign on the door so no one would try to come in and he shut the lights off in the main dining area. Donghae was still plagued with he guilt from what he’d done and was being awfully quiet.

Just when he was getting ready to head out the main door, a voice stopped him.

“Why don’t you come upstairs?”

Donghae turned and looked at his friend, confused. “Well… I thought I would head home…”

Hyukjae smiled a little. “I locked the front door, so you’ll have to leave through the apartment. Come on up, I’ll make some tea.”

Donghae’s heart pounded, feeling nervous about…

Well, he wasn’t quite sure why he felt so nervous.

But before he knew what was happening, he was following Hyukjae up a flight of stairs that were strategically placed along the backside of the facility, leaving the café in darkness behind him.

AN: Expect more updates from this story!! Also, if you haven't already, go check out my 2-part series "Playing Lifeguard" (also a Eunhae fic) which I just recently wrapped up! I'm going to put the links in the forward ;)

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Love you all to PIECES! See you soon! ^^