The next day, in the afternoon, after work, Woohyun rushed over to the Paradise restaurant. He figured Sunggyu would need the jacket for work, so he forced himself to step into the restaurant. He really didn’t want to see Sunggyu again. Only because it reminded him that he had already grown attached to the waiter and he didn’t want that. He wanted to be alone, and not be constantly pining after someone he knew he could never have.

But still, he felt a trip of excitement in his bones at the opportunity to see Sunggyu again.

“Hi!” The perky blonde employee from the other night greeted him. Woohyun scanned his nametag that read: Jang Dongwoo. “Oh! You’re…from last night.”

“Uh...yeah.” Woohyun nodded sheepishly.

“Well that was pretty bad.” Dongwoo frowned sympathetically. “How’re you holding up?”

“I’m fine.” Woohyun smiled slightly. “Actually I came here to see someone. One of your waiters…”

“Oh really?” Dongwoo grinned. “Which one? Do you know his name?”

“…Kim Sunggyu?”

“Sunggyu hyung…” Dongwoo pursed his lips. “He usually works the night shift.”

“Ah really?” Woohyun nodded, and folded up the jacket in his arms. “I guess I’ll come back then.”

“If you have something to give him, you can give it to me, and I can make sure he gets it.” Dongwoo offered.

“Uh…” Woohyun bit his lip and clutched on protectively to Sunggyu’s jacket. He had no reason to not take Dongwoo up on his offer. It would mean he wouldn’t have to see Sunggyu again. Then everything would be settled and he could go on with his life.

But he couldn’t. He wanted to see Sunggyu again. Even it was just one last time.

“It’s ok.” Woohyun shook his head. “I’ll just come back.”

××

Sunggyu fought a yawn, as he leaned on the counter near the front of the restaurant. There wasn’t much business since it was a weekday, so Sunggyu didn’t have much to do.

“The place is so empty tonight…” He sighed, and turned to Dongwoo, who was standing next to him.

“Yeah…” Dongwoo nodded. “Ah, did you meet that guy from last night?”

“Huh?” Sunggyu blinked.

“He came earlier today.” Dongwoo replied. “Said he wanted to see you.”

“Really?” Sunggyu thought of Woohyun, and couldn’t help but smile. Woohyun had left in such a hurry the other night, that Sunggyu was beginning to get concerned. But he was glad to hear that the younger man was ok, and had come back.

“Ah, it’s probably to return my jacket…” Sunggyu thought.

And as if by clockwork, Woohyun stepped through the front doors. He stopped for a minute, clearly not expecting to see Sunggyu when he first entered.

“Hi…” Sunggyu approached him.

Dongwoo grinned at the both of them, before disappearing somewhere into the kitchen.

“Here.” Woohyun pushed Sunggyu’s jacket forward. “Yesterday…I accidentally took it.”

“Thanks.” Sunggyu took his jacket. “So...how’re you doing?”

“I’m fine.” Woohyun replied curtly, still refusing eye contact. “I have to go. I just wanted to give that back to you so…”

“No you’re not.”

“Huh?” Woohyun looked up and met Sunggyu’s gaze, before quickly averting his eyes. He could feel Sunggyu’s eyes still on him and it made him feel uncomfortable. He didn’t understand why the waiter kept looking at him like that. He feared that if their eyes met again, Sunggyu would see straight into him. “O-Of course I am!” He attempted to lighten the atmosphere. “I’m great! In fact, I’m going to a strip club right now! Here I come hookers!”

But Sunggyu continued with those worried eyes. That caring expression…that made Woohyun’s chest ache and feel warm and safe all at the same time.

“C-Can you wait ten minutes?” Sunggyu suddenly asked.

Woohyun blinked. “Why—?”

“My shift ends in ten minutes…can you wait?”

“Uh…ok.” Woohyun replied, without thinking, and then mentally slapped himself. But he couldn’t take it back, when he had already agreed.

××

Woohyun sat on the cold metal bench outside Paradise, waiting for Sunggyu. He rubbed his hands together for warmth, cursing himself for not bringing a warmer jacket. He didn’t even know why he was doing this. Why he was waiting just to be let down again. Sunggyu already had someone, and he didn’t want to make the same mistake as before.

“After this…this will be the last time,” He told himself. “Then I won’t see him ever again.”

“Yah, what’re you doing out here?” Woohyun turned around to see Sunggyu rushing up to him.

“I was waiting—.”

“What’s wrong with you? I told you to wait inside!” Sunggyu reprimanded him, as he grabbed on to Woohyun’s frozen fingers. “You’re going to get frostbite or something!”

Woohyun merely stared at him, having never seen Sunggyu getting irritated. But at the same time…it still felt nice. Why does it feel good to be scolded like this? Woohyun didn’t understand at all.

Sunggyu paused, realizing he had gone off on the younger. He sighed and let go of Woohyun’s hands, and stuck his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

“C’mon, l-let’s go.” He announced and started walking down the street, slightly embarrassed by his own actions.

“Where’re we going?” Woohyun followed behind him. Sunggyu looked behind and slowed his steps so Woohyun could catch up.

“Just somewhere.” Sunggyu smiled shyly.

They walked for a few more blocks before arriving at a book café.

“This place…” Woohyun studied the display window that was decorated with the newest bestsellers.

“I like to come here sometimes…” Sunggyu explained. “When I’m upset or something bad happens…”

“Oh…” Woohyun nodded as they entered the warm store.

It was quiet and filled with the smell of newsprint and coffee beans. Woohyun followed as Sunggyu went to random shelves and picked out books. When he stopped at the manga section, Woohyun’s expression brightened. Sunggyu noticed and grinned as well.

“Which is your favorite?” Sunggyu asked.

At that they went into a lengthy discussion of all the series they’ve read and recommended good ones for the other to read. After picking a couple of volumes, they settled onto a cushioned bench nestled in a quiet corner of the store. Sunggyu ordered them some warm drinks from the barista at the front of the store, and they then proceeded to read their selected books.

But Woohyun couldn’t even concentrate on his book, because he kept staring at Sunggyu. He had no idea why Sunggyu was being so nice to him like this. They were perfect strangers, really. But he felt like they were so close right now. And he wanted to be even closer. He was completely enchanted with this man. So much so that he even began to dismiss the notion that he was straight.

Before he realized what he was doing he had already put his book down on the coffee table in front of them, and was leaning closer. Sunggyu remained clueless however, completely engrossed with the novel in his hands.

“H-Hyung…” Woohyun murmured softly, his gaze focused on taking in every inch of Sunggyu’s face.

His long eyelashes…his shiny black bangs…and those pink lips.

“Hm?” Sunggyu looked up, only to realize Woohyun was less than two inches from his face. But instead of backing away like Woohyun thought he would, he merely stayed where he was, his eyes staring straight into Woohyun’s.

Woohyun ended up feeling embarrassed instead, and quickly backed away, hurriedly taking a sip of his hot chocolate only to burn his tongue.

“Woohyun…”

“Uh d-did you bring the latest One Piece volume?” Woohyun stuttered, attempting to change the subject.

“Huh?” Sunggyu frowned slightly. “No…I didn’t bring it.”

“Oh…I-I’ll go get it then.” Woohyun announced and rushed over to the manga section, leaving the older man sitting there alone.

Sunggyu watched him go before hesitantly putting his fingers to his lips, and smiling slightly.

××

“I can’t be like this…” Woohyun told himself, as he paced back and forth through the book aisles. “He has a girlfriend…I just got out of a relationship...well sort of. I can’t be like this…I’ll just get hurt. What’s the point of even being here right now? I should just go home.” Woohyun decided, and turned around only to run into Sunggyu.

“It’s getting late, huh?” Sunggyu commented. “We should go.”

Woohyun silently nodded in response, and they headed out of the store.

“I know it wasn’t much…” Sunggyu piped up. “But…I thought maybe this would help you forget about her…pretty dumb idea huh?”

“No.” Woohyun answered immediately, looking straight ahead of him, as they made the trek down the street. “It’s not dumb at all.”

Sunggyu smiled bashfully, and looked down.

“The truth is…” Woohyun’s voice was low. “I’ve completely forgotten about her.”

“Really?” Sunggyu glanced at him, trying not to appear too hopeful. “That’s good…isn’t it?”

“Yeah…” Woohyun nodded. It wasn’t like he could tell Sunggyu that he had forgotten about his ex, because he kept thinking about him. “Uh anyways…I guess this is goodbye.”

“Oh…” Sunggyu bit his lip, as he anxiously watched Woohyun walk ahead of him. He didn’t want it to be goodbye though. “W-Wait!”

Woohyun stopped and turned around. “Yeah?”

“I-If you want…on Friday…y-you could come over to my house?” Sunggyu stammered, trying hard to not seem like he was begging, as he anticipated Woohyun’s reply. “I-It’s close by to here…”

Woohyun just stared at him for a moment. “Just say no.” He told himself in his mind, but then he saw the way Sunggyu was looking at him…waiting for a response so eagerly, and he caved. “Ok.”

“O-Ok…” Sunggyu looked down shyly. “How about nine?”

“Sounds good.” Woohyun smiled, though inside he was dying.

××

The whole night Woohyun couldn’t sleep. He paced his bedroom, phone in hand, contemplating whether he should call Sunggyu to cancel or not.

“Just do it. Save yourself.” He told himself. “Cut this off, while you still can!” But then he remembered the way Sunggyu had gone out of his way to ask him to hang out, and at his house no less. “C-Could it be that he…?” Woohyun quickly shook his head. “No! What’re you thinking?! He has a girlfriend! You saw with your own eyes!” But then he thought of what happened at the bookstore, and how Sunggyu didn’t back away, when Woohyun tried to kiss him. “Why…didn’t he move away?”

××

For the following days, Woohyun not so accidentally made it a habit to pass by the restaurant on his way home from work. He even stayed and worked late, just so he could match up with Sunggyu’s shift, which began about an hour after Woohyun finished work.

He never went inside though. He merely got off the bus and casually strolled past the eatery, not forgetting to steal a glance at the waiter from outside. In a totally not creepy way of course.

Friday was coming too fast, and he was nervous and confused and yet he wished it was already Friday at the same time.

××

Sunggyu sat on his sofa, drumming his fingers on his thigh. He leaned over and grabbed his phone off the coffee table, and checked the time once again. It was half past nine, and still no sign of Woohyun. Sunggyu was starting to dread asking him over.

“It was probably too forward…” He thought. “He probably got scared…” He remembered what had happened at the book store. “He was leaning in to kiss me…wasn’t he? Was it just my imagination…?”

He stared at his phone for a moment, deciding whether he should call Woohyun up, to see if he was coming. He finally gave in and called him. But then he heard a ring tone playing faintly. He got up, and followed the sound, only to reach his front door. He quickly opened it, and there was Woohyun fumbling about with his phone. He immediately looked up at Sunggyu with wide eyes.

“I-I…!” Woohyun panicked. “T-This isn’t—!”

“You were here…the whole time?” Sunggyu blinked.

“Uh…” Woohyun looked down. “K-Kind of…”

“Why didn’t you knock?”

“I-I just…I don’t know.” Woohyun mumbled.

Sunggyu grinned, and pulled at the younger man’s arm, guiding him inside. “Well this is my place…its not much, but its home.”

Woohyun looked around the small apartment. There was a brown sofa and a stained coffee table in front of a television, and a small kitchen off to the side. Woohyun spotted a guitar leaning against the wall in the corner.

“You’re a musician?”

“Uh…yeah, sort of…well I want to be.”

“Oh.” Woohyun nodded. “You’re probably really good.”

“Ah…not really.” Sunggyu admitted, and then glanced at Woohyun and murmured. “B-But maybe, one day I can play for you…i-if you’d like.”

Woohyun smiled softly. “I’d like that.”

××

After Sunggyu had shown Woohyun around his place, they sat down on the couch to watch a movie. It was some comedic action flick that Sunggyu had borrowed from a friend.

“Ah, do you want something to drink?” Sunggyu got up and headed for the fridge.

“Sure…what do you have?”

“Beer, soda, juice, milk, water, choose one.”

“Uh…I don’t know.” Woohyun pouted. “Choose for me.”

Sunggyu glanced at the bottle of soju on the counter, before opening up the fridge and grabbing two cans of beer.

He walked back over, and handed Woohyun a can, and sat down beside him. Then he grabbed the remote and started the movie.

Woohyun looked down at the beer for a moment, and then at Sunggyu.

“What?” Sunggyu turned to him.

“Uh…nothing.” Woohyun shook his head and attempted to concentrate on the movie. But he couldn’t.

Not when Sunggyu’s thigh kept brushing against his, and he could practically smell the shampoo Sunggyu used in his hair.

“Why does he have to sit so damn close?” Woohyun groaned internally, as he continued to side eye the older man. It wasn’t like he could scoot away, because that would make him seem rude, and might make Sunggyu feel bad.

Then he thought of something. He could scoot closer and make Sunggyu so uncomfortable that he would be the one who would move away.

“Great idea!” Woohyun mentally gave himself a high five, quite proud of what he thought was an ingenious plan.

At first, he attempted to be subtle about it, and scooted only a bit. Of course Sunggyu didn’t notice, and merely took a sip of his beer, and focused his gaze on the television. Woohyun moved even closer, this time, so that their arms and thighs were touching, but Sunggyu still seemed oblivious. Woohyun bit his lip in aggravation, and pushed himself forward rather forcefully. He ended up shoving Sunggyu down and landing on top of him.

“W-What’re you doing?” Sunggyu looked up at him, obviously surprised.

“S-Sorry!” Woohyun spluttered, and hurried to get off the other man. They managed a sitting position and sat there awkwardly for a moment. Well it was awkward for Woohyun because Sunggyu kept looking at him. “S-Stop…” He murmured quietly.

“Hm?” Sunggyu leaned in. “Did you say something?”

“S-Stop staring at me…” Woohyun nervously met his gaze.

“Why?” Sunggyu moved even closer.

“B-Because…” Woohyun turned away, his voice lowering to a whisper. “I-I can’t do this…I-I don’t want to get hurt—.” Suddenly Sunggyu pressed his lips to Woohyun’s. But Woohyun quickly pushed him away with wide eyes.

“I-I’m sorry.” Sunggyu uttered quietly, and shifted in his seat. Woohyun put a hand to his mouth and stared at Sunggyu.

He seemed…hurt.

Woohyun still didn’t understand this. Why was this happening? He was scared, and confused but then he looked into Sunggyu’s eyes and realized that it wasn’t the same…Sunggyu wasn’t like her.

All this time, he was afraid of making the same mistake…but he finally opened his eyes for the first time since meeting Sunggyu.

He wasn’t the one chasing after Sunggyu, because Sunggyu had been there right beside him. And now here he was in front of Woohyun. And he was looking at him, really seeing him, like no one else could.

It made him realize that all those things she had never done…Sunggyu had done. In the span of a few short days, he had supported Woohyun, spent time with him, paid attention to him, talked to him, looked at him, smiled at him. And more than that, Sunggyu actually seemed like he wanted to do those things…like it made him happy.

Woohyun wondered if this is what it really felt like to have someone like you back.

Meanwhile, Sunggyu was starting to get up with a shameful look.

“I-I’m really sorry…” He mumbled. “I just thought that you—.” Woohyun immediately pulled him back down onto the couch and wrapped his arms around Sunggyu’s waist and held him close.

“Don’t be sorry.” He spoke softly into Sunggyu’s ear. “I-I’m the one who should be sorry…” Sunggyu pulled away slightly.

“I don’t understand.” Sunggyu frowned, confused by Woohyun’s conflicting actions. “What’re you talking about?”

“I…I was scared that I would make the same mistake again…” Woohyun admitted.

“What mistake?”

“Of ripping my heart out of my chest, serving it up on a silver platter and begging someone to take it…” Woohyun joked bitterly, and then looked down sadly. “I have a tendency to do that…”

“But it never felt like that to me…” Sunggyu tilted his head. “Actually it seemed like you were trying to push me away a lot. Honestly I thought you didn’t like me that much, but then at the book café…”

“Ah…” Woohyun nodded bashfully.

“That was what gave me the confidence to invite you here…but I still had doubts.”

“You did?” Woohyun blinked.

“Well yeah…” Sunggyu rubbed the back of his neck. “I-I was really nervous…”

“Y-You were?” Woohyun’s eyes watered.

“O-Obviously!” Sunggyu groaned, and covered his face with his hands to hide the blush forming on his cheeks. He shyly glanced at Woohyun. “It’s really weird…I haven’t even known you for long, b-but…I really like you.”

“Y-You do?”

“Stop asking dumb questions.” Sunggyu frowned.

“I just…” Woohyun beamed. “This is the first time in a long time…that someone’s confessed to me first.”

“Seriously?” Sunggyu cocked an eyebrow. “That’s because you only go after bad people.”

“Yeah I guess.” Woohyun nodded, and then smiled at Sunggyu. “But that stopped with you hyung.”

“But you didn’t go after me…I’m the one who went after you.”

“Mm…let’s just say we went after each other?” Woohyun grinned, but then he remembered something. “Wait! But don’t you have a girlfriend?”

“Girlfriend?” Sunggyu blinked. “No—.”

“But then who was that girl who came to pick you up when we first met?”

“Oh, that was my cousin.” Sunggyu explained. “She lives close by so sometimes she gives me rides.”

“Oh.” Woohyun nodded.

“You seriously thought she was my girlfriend?” Sunggyu chuckled, clearly amused.

“I-I don’t know!” Woohyun pouted. “How was I supposed to know?”

“Yeah I guess.” Sunggyu grinned. “But anyways we should—.” He was cut off when Woohyun suddenly pressed his lips to Sunggyu’s. Sunggyu moaned slightly in protest, but Woohyun refused to stop and pinned Sunggyu down on the couch. Sunggyu quickly gave in and wrapped his arms around Woohyun neck, to pull him closer and deepen the kiss.

“H-Hyung…” Woohyun breathed against Sunggyu’s lips.

“W-What?” Sunggyu looked up at him with a hazy look.

“You know your waiter uniform kind of looks like a butler outfit?”

“…So?”

“Do you think that maybe you could wear it sometimes, and let me pretend that you’re my personal butler and that your name is Sebastian—?”

“No.”

⇔⇔⇔⇔

Wow thank you for the comments and upvotes! Honestly I wrote this when I was severly sleep deprived, and depressed, so I didn't think it was any good. But thank you so much for just bothering to read this. It means a lot to me <3