The pattering sound of raindrops hitting the window is somewhat relaxing to the man sitting comfortably in his cushioned seat. He takes a sip of his coffee and lets out a sigh, fingers tugging at the tie around his neck. The coffee shop he decided to enter was secluded off from the rest of the city, smooth jazz playing in the background with the occasional whirring of machines.

The shop is practically empty, and the man finds himself relaxing for the first time in a long while. He watches as foreign faces pass by the glass, blonde hair and blue eyes – something he isn’t used to at all.

A familiar ringtone snaps him out of his daze and the stress that was washed out returns in an instant, his eyebrows furrowing at the cell phone in his palm.

“Hello?” he answers, flinching at the loud response on the other side.

“Yah, Daehyun! I see you’ve arrived,” Kim Himchan boasts through the phone in that usual obnoxious manner of his. “Have you settled down in your apartment yet?”

Daehyun pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs the second time that day, this time in annoyance. “Yes Himchan, I arrived and I’ve found my apartment and I was just relaxing before you rudely interrupted.”

“Ya- Aish you brat, it’s Himchan hyung to you! Need I remind you that I’m your boss as well, and that you wouldn’t even have an apartment if I didn’t buy you one?” he nags, and Daehyun swears he can feel a migraine coming on.

“I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for you, boss,” he mutters, downing the rest of his coffee in one shot. “Now if you excuse me, I’m going back to what I was doing earlier. Bye hyung.”

“WAIT, I STILL NEED TO TALK TO YOU. JUNG DAEHYUN, DON’T YOU DARE HANG-“

His voice cuts off at the press of a button and Daehyun squeezes his eyes shut. He did not want to deal with a certain Kim Himchan right after an 11 hour flight and the 3 hour process of finding his apartment that followed after it.

The waitress approaches him and asks him a question, and from his limited knowledge of English he makes out “would you like some more coffee sir?” His head shakes and he smiles politely, replying “no, thank you,” with a nod. She leaves him alone and Daehyun goes back to looking through the window, his breath slightly fogging up the glass.

He can’t help but feel as if someone is watching him though, and his head turns only to catch the gaze of a man sitting in the corner of the small shop, a sketchbook in his lap. Daehyun can’t make out his features very well, but from what he can see the man was his age, give or take a bit, and was very attractive.

The man blinks and goes back to his drawing, and maybe it’s kind of creepy that a stranger was staring at him and drawing something but Daehyun smiles anyways.

He stands up to leave, the tinkling of the bell above the door bidding him farewell. His eyes scan his surroundings, and he makes a mental note to come back here some other day.

Maybe it's the city lights and the magical atmosphere that distracted him, but Daehyun doesn’t seem to notice that something was missing from his pocket. 

“Excuse me? You left this on the table earlier,” someone calls out, and Daehyun turns his head in surprise at the man’s fluent Korean. He comes face to face with the guy from the coffee shop earlier, who he failed to notice was actually korean in the dimly lit setting they were in before.

The man hands him his phone with one hand, the other brushing away the curls of his light brown hair. The action allows Daehyun to see his face clearly, and he finds himself lost without words at the man’s perfect features.

“O-oh, thank you,” he bows slightly, giving him a grateful smile. “I didn’t even notice it was gone.”

“No problem,” the man says, adjusting the beanie on his head. “Well that’s all, I guess I’ll be going now.”

Daehyun doesn’t know what causes him to do this but he calls out “wait!” before the other can leave. The man blinks cluelessly at him and Daehyun smiles sheepishly. “I just moved here today and it would have been horrible if I lost my phone, so how can I repay you?”

“Don’t worry about it,” the man grins, “I know just how distracting this place can be.” Before Daehyun can even reply, he turns around to leave again. “Welcome to the city of love – oh, and I’m Youngjae by the way,” Youngjae laughs, the sound reminding Daehyun of the bells he heard leaving the coffee shop. “Yoo Youngjae, famous artist-to-be. Au Revoir!”

Daehyun is left standing alone in the middle of the sidewalk, staring curiously at the back of the strange man walking away from him.
 

***

A week has passed and Daehyun finally manages to organize everything in his new apartment. The last couple of days were a complete mess, filled with unfinished paperwork and furniture moving and his hunger for korean food. Not that he completely detested the French cuisine, what’s food is food after all.

When he finally manages to stop and take a breather, Daehyun decides to go visit that small coffee shop again. He’s visited other cafés in Paris for his daily dose of caffeine in the morning but none of which had the same character as this one.

The tinkling bell signals his arrival and the barista who took his order the other day nods at him. “Welcome back,” she greets, and Daehyun smiles. He orders a caramel macchiato and sits down at the spot by the window, just like the last time he was here. This time though he brings his laptop with him, taking a sip of coffee occasionally while he works.

Another ring of the bell and Daehyun glances up, only to see the artist from the other day enter the café. Youngjae puts his black sketchbook on the table in the corner, not even glancing in his direction. He nods at the barista before going to the washroom, and Daehyun gets up.

“Can I… Pay for him?” Daehyun asks the barista, glancing at the bathroom door. She raises her eyebrow but nods, and Daehyun hands her a 10 euro bill. He’s not too sure what Youngjae will order, but 10 euros should be enough to cover it. She puts the bill into the cash register and Daehyun returns to his seat before Youngjae gets back.

Daehyun watches him approach the counter and murmur his order, reaching for his wallet in his pocket. The barista shakes her head, moving – telling him his order has been paid for already. She looks in his direction and Youngjae follows, eyes widening in surprise.

Youngjae walks back to his spot in the dimly lit corner and Daehyun goes back to looking at his laptop. There’s movement in the corner of his eyes and he glances up again, only to see Youngjae slip into the seat across from him. “I told you not to worry about it,” Youngjae says, setting his sketchbook on the table. “But thank you.”

“It’s only right if I did,” Daehyun smiles, pausing when the waitress comes by to give Youngjae his drink. “I didn’t get to introduce myself last day. I’m Daehyun, Jung Daehyun.” He extends a hand and Youngjae shakes it, the artist’s hands slender yet rough.

Youngjae blows lightly on his coffee and gingerly takes a sip. “So, Daehyun then, why did you move to Paris of all places?” he asks, and Daehyun chuckles.

“Work. My step-brother owns a company and wanted to open a branch here,” he shrugs, “he trusted me most so he decided to make me head of the Paris branch.”

Youngjae looks him up and down and smirks slightly. “You don’t seem like the business man type,” he notes, causing Daehyun to roll his eyes.

“What, the suit and tie don’t give it away?”

“No, the forgetting-his-phone-on-the-table thing kind of ruined the serious image,” Youngjae grins. “It’s not that though, you just don’t have that business man feel about you. You seem like the playful type.”

Daehyun raises an eyebrow and leans forward. “You would know that, how?”

“I’m an artist,” Youngjae laughs, fingers gently skimming over the smooth cover of his sketchbook, “I know these things.”

Before Daehyun can question him further, his phone vibrates and he checks the text before groaning. “I’m sorry I have to go, I need to attend to-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Youngjae chuckles, smiling at him. “Go ahead, I won’t keep you.”

He smiles back gratefully and shuts the screen of his laptop down, packing up his things. “It was nice talking to you,” Daehyun nods, running his fingers through his hair. “Maybe we can continue this conversation another day?”

“Sure. I’m here almost every day,” Youngjae grins, “now go, you’re busy. It was nice talking to you too!”

Daehyun waves and says goodbye before leaving the small coffee shop. He turns around and sees Youngjae wave at him from behind the window, and for some reason he feels warm on the inside.

It’s the coffee, he thinks.

Although the coffee doesn’t explain why his heart just skipped a beat.

A/N; My inspiration disappeared after writing two essays for my english final ((and having a mental breakdown afterwards orz)) so I'm splitting this up into two parts. Hopefully I'll get my inspiration back soon ;;;