In sheer panic we threw ourselves against the wall and closed the door as much as we could manage without making a sound to alert the others. Under the unfortunate circumstances Luhan had thrown himself against me and pinned me against the wall, which resulted in me being pressed against his body with my nose buried in his neck. Despite the immediate danger of being in the way for Chanyeol and Sehun, as well as revealing to them that Luhan lives here, all I could focus on was the smell of Luhan’s neck. I’d never really noticed it before, of course I hadn’t, but now I did and it was making my heart beat faster. His body was warm against mine, whereas the wall behind me was cold, and his neck smelled sweet and soapy. We heard someone enter and saw the lights be . That is when we realised that there was a glass window in the door into the office, as we suddenly got to see the reflection of ourselves being coupled together and pressed against the wall. Our eyes widened in fear of being discovered and we quickly slid down along the wall, making as little sound as possible, our bodies weirdly tangling together until we both sat somewhat comfortably on the floor, hopefully out of range of being seen. The door wasn’t quite closed, so we could hear everything going on in the other room. Someone was turning on all the machines and fidgeting with some of the metal pipes while huffing to themselves.
“It’s only Chanyeol,” Luhan whispered to me and his breath hit my forehead softly.
“Should we get up and leave then? Just tell him you came to bring me cake and then apologise and leave before Sehun arriv-…” The entrance door opened again with the ring of the electronic bell that alerted us of new customers this time.
“Ah, you-you’re here,” we heard Chanyeol’s voice from outside.
“Yes. Am I… Am I late?” the boy’s voice was insecure.
“,” Luhan and I whispered in unison.
“Nah, not really. I just got here a little early,” Chanyeol reassured him.
“Did you eat well?”
“Ah, yeah. My aunt is a chef, so dinner is always nice.”
“Wow, I’m so envious! My mum always work night shifts, and dad travels a lot, so I always have to make my own dinner – noona usually eats before me. I can’t really make anything but ramen… I also want delicious food.” They both laughed a little nervously.
“Well, I guess we better get started,” Chanyeol interrupted their awkward moment and we heard some equipment being placed on the counter.
“I’m not sure what Minseok-hyung has shown you, but have you seen how these are used?”
“Uhm, yeah, I think so. That one is for milk, that one is for coffee and that one is for blending the coffee, right?”
“Yes, very good,” Chanyeol’s voice sounded pleased and impressed.
They spent a good few minutes going through the equipment and settings on the machines, and I couldn’t really bother to listen because I already knew all about the machines and equipment and I was much too busy noticing how Luhan felt against me where our bodies met. As it was dark, I couldn’t really see how exactly we were intertwined, but I knew for instance that my had was resting on his knee, and his hand was resting on my other hand and I felt his thigh against my own, and I heard his breath in the darkness in front of me and I was so focused on him that I jumped five feet in the air when he suddenly leaned against me, his head pressing against my shoulder.
“What do we do?” he whispered in defeat.
“We just sit here and wait for them to fall in love,” I responded.
“But love can take a very long time,” he said.
“I know,” I sighed. He hit his head against my shoulder a few times.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Don’t be.” I placed a hand on his head and started his hair. It was surprisingly soft and light to the touch and I found myself want to entwine my fingers in it.
“Should we move closer and look,” he finally asked after an eternity.
“Do you think that would be possible?” Our voices were soft and low, and cleverly hidden by the noise from the coffee machines and other equipment they were using in their lesson.
“If we lie on the floor and look out, don’t you think that’ll work?” Instead of responding to his question with words, I followed an impulse I had gotten when he said ‘lie on the floor’ and pushed myself over and against him, pushing us both to the ground, me partially on top of him. There was no longer any doubt in my mind that I was at least attracted to my friend, and I was determined to get what little bits of pieces of closeness I could get without complicating things or making it hard on either of us. Together we slid further across the floor until we could look outside, and I silently slid down and placed myself pressed against his side, his arm around my waist and my arms under his head and over his chest, my chin resting on his shoulder so I could look out more comfortably. Sehun was standing leaned against the counter, his back directly towards us, while Chanyeol was standing with his back towards the main door so he could have the machine on his right and the boy to his left, and he was showing off his amazing skills, once in a while checking that Sehun was paying attention. Whether that was to teach him or to show off to him however was a little more uncertain. And with every move Chanyeol did, Sehun “oooh”-ed and “aaaah”-ed and “wooow”-ed, making Chanyeol’s smile grow wider and wider and his cheeks pinker and pinker. I could help but smile at how stupidly cute they were, and by the low chuckles coming from the man I was pressing myself against I was sure he felt the same.
“Cute,” I leaned down and whispered in his ear, and by the sound of movement that followed I think he nodded in agreement. I let my hand, as naturally as I could possibly manage, slide a little further across his chest while we watched the two outside, and was pleased to finally register the feel of his heartbeat against my palm. I left it there, feeling his heart, and focused on the couple outside again.
“Okay, how about you get to try something this time,” Chanyeol questioned. Sehun’s posture changed into something a little more unsure and hesitant again, but he agreed to do whatever Chanyeol told him to.
“We’ll start with something easy,” Chanyeol explained.
“The hand filtered coffee is usually really easy for most people unused to make coffee. It’s still a little difficult and definitely require a whole lot of practise, but the basics of it is very simple and thus, even if you do it a little bit wrong, the result should still be fine.”
“Oh, okay,” the boy muttered.
“That’s good, because I’ll probably get it wrong.”
“Nonsense,” the older encouraged.
“Here, let me show you.” Slowly, and with clear descriptions, he demonstrated the proper technique and procedure, and gave the pot over to the boy for him to try.
“Remember, it is all in the wrist – you’re not supposed to move anything else. It’s tiresome, but the result is amazing, and it looks really cool when you get it right.” The boy nodded and turned to focus on his task, and Luhan and I both followed his movements eagerly. He did everything right, but when it came to the pouring he used his whole arm, both his shoulder and his elbow. Chanyeol was good and patient and demonstrated several times without being cross or strict or seem displeased. When Sehun still couldn’t get it right at his 15^th try, he put the pot down hard and cried out in frustration, stomping his legs like a child; cute and annoying.
“I don’t get it! It’s too difficult! I’ll never be able to do it,” he whined, but Chanyeol just smiled at him and let him finish his little temper tantrum before he moved closer to the boy. He stopped and hesitated a bit, before he closed the distance between them, only leaving a few centimetres between his own chest and the boys back, grabbed the younger’s hand and reached for the pot with it. They were both face somewhat in our direction, so their faces were clearly visible to us as we were lying on the office floor; Chanyeol was concentrated and focused on not looking too much at the boy and their skinship but rather teach him the trade, while Sehun had almost completely frozen over, his face unsure and relieved at the same time.
“Here, let me guide you,” Chanyeol mumbled towards the boy and led their hands back to the filter with the coffee beans. Steadily and with precise movements, Chanyeol moved Sehun’s hand beautifully with the pot, displaying the most perfect pouring he could manage to bring out. Slowly he let go of the boy’s hand, and for a second the younger hesitated at the lack of the teacher’s touch, either because he felt confident with the guidance of the touch or because he liked the contact, but decided to do what was expected of him instead. His wrist and hand must have been really tired by then, but he did his very best, and though it wasn’t perfect, it was way better than the pitiful display from earlier. A few times Chanyeol’s hand moved in and corrected his wrist until the boy had filled a full can almost entirely on his own.
“Wow, that was great,” the teacher praised as the pot hit the table again.
“Was it really?” Sehun’s face lit up with a smile.
“Absolutely, are you kidding me? You’ll be a master barista in no time,” Chanyeol bragged.
“You think so?” The boy span around in eagerness, forgetting how close they were, happy to hear Chanyeol’s approval. By the time they realised, it was far too late and they were face to face with each other, eyes locked with the other’s, and their happy cheers fell silent. After only a few moment’s Chanyeol came to himself and started backing away, embarrassed and flustered, and Sehun turned sideways, looking down at the table – his entire face red as a tomato. The silence was deafening, and I could feel both Luhan and myself holding our breath in anticipation.
“Hyung,” the boy suddenly began.
“About… About that time… At the… At the party…” He couldn’t seem to finish his sentence, and Chanyeol closed his eyes in preparation for the boys words.
“I just… Well, you never come to our parties anymore,” he finally continued.
“So I never got to talk to you about it.” Complete silence. Chanyeol relaxed his face a little, unsure of how to continue and still not sure of what the boy was trying to say.
“Hyung, are you avoiding me?” It was not the question he expected, but I felt Luhan and myself inch closer to the doorway under the intense atmosphere, eager to catch every single detail.
“What, no! Well, yes. But no. Not… I don’t know. I try to, but then I can’t…” Chanyeol wasn’t really making any sense.
“Is it because of what happened in the library?” No answer.
“It is isn’t it?” Still nothing.
“I guess it is.” Sehun’s body relaxed a little against the table before he turned to face the older, staring at him directly.
“Then please don’t tell anyone.” What?? The three of us all felt as though we’d fallen off the moon.
“Please don’t tell anyone. Please don’t let them take me away again. I promised I wouldn’t do this kind of thing, but here I am being a trouble maker again and they’ll send me away for good if you tell them, but I don’t want to go!” His voice grew more desperate.
“I don’t want to go away. Please don’t tell them I did that, please hyung – I promise I won’t bother you again. I’ll only watch you from your side, I’ll be your colleague and I won’t do anything else that repulse you, I’ll leave you alone, just please don’t let them take me away. I just want to be by your side and I don’t want them to put me away and give me pills and put things in my brain to cure me. Please hyung, please don’t let them do that!” The tears were streaming down his cheeks while he was desperately trying to wipe them away and clear his throat. Chanyeol’s hands sought out the boy standing next to him, his hands moving up to wipe the tears away and he leaned in close, resting his head forehead against forehead. Sehun’s sobbing slowly came to a stop at the light, friendly touches, and he let out a weak gasp as Chanyeol’s arm wrapped itself around the boy’s waist, while his hand cupped is face lovingly, and as he whispered “You don’t repulse me,” their lips connected. The kiss was rough and passionate,  Chanyeol’s hand making its way from the boy’s face to being entwined in his brown, fluffy hair, and after a short gasp for air, Sehun wrapped his arms around Chanyeol’s neck and fully returned the kiss, pressing the two of them closer together. Every so often we heard them sigh and whisper “hyung” and “Sehun” into each other’s mouths, and slowly they moved around until Chanyeol was pressing the boy against  a wall, their bodies in full contact, lightly rubbing together against the wall. I hid my face against Luhan’s chest.
“I can’t watch this,” I whispered. It wasn’t until then that I noticed Luhan’s uneasy breathing, and at my words he sat up from the floor, bringing me with him. I was still pressed against him, head buried in his sweater as we sat there and he silently whispered “me neither.” It didn’t take long before the breathing inside the café turned to panting and , and from the sound of it the movements became bolder and rougher. I moved my head so that only my chin was resting on Luhan’s shoulder, but I refused to move further away from him unless he were to push me away himself. Slowly, but surely, the panting in the other room turned to steady breaths and the sounds reduced to only the weak sounds of lips parting and connecting.
“I’m in love with you,” Chanyeol croaked.
“You don’t hate me?”
“I don’t hate you.”
“So you’ll let me stay?”
“I’d dare them to take you away.”

They stayed quiet for a while, until the sound of a quick kiss which was followed by the two of them moving across the room again.
“I think we should clean up all of this and call it a day for now.” His voice was groggy from the kissing and .
“That’s probably for the best,” the boy agreed. They quickly cleaned and tidied and packed up. Before they left the café, Sehun stopped them by the door.
“You… You said… You’re in love with me?” The sound of someone clearing their throat.
“Yes.” His response was more of a whisper than anything else.
“Then you don’t mind if I fall in love with you?”
“…Not at all.”
“Good. Then I won’t stop me either.”
“…What does that mean?”
“It means you’re mine, hyung.”
“Oh.”
Someone left, and the other stayed behind and turned off the lights. Before they closed the door we heard Chanyeol smugly admitting “I’m okay with that.”