“Come on, Baek, let’s do some exploring!” Luhan grinned, pulling on his friend’s arm.

“Lulu, you dragged me out of bed at eight in the morning, which made us over an hour early to work, and then your uncle made us memorize the entire menu since we had free time, and now, when we finally get five minutes of break time before the lunch rush starts, you expect me to have enough energy to explore?” Baekhyun groaned, refusing to get up from his seat at Table 5. “Can’t we just rest?” Baekhyun pleaded hopelessly.

“But Baek, I haven’t been to my uncle’s restaurant since I was a kid! So much has changed since then, this is so exciting!” Luhan exclaimed, practically jumping up and down with energy.

“Lu, you need to calm down,” Baekhyun sighed, leaning back lazily in his chair. “Look, that guy’s relaxing, why can’t I?” he whispered, pointing to a waiter sitting over at Table 2 with earphones on and a cell phone in his hand, texting.

“Well, he’s clearly been working here for a while, seeing how relaxed he is, but we just got here, and I want to look around! Please, Baek...” Luhan smiled innocently. “Besides, I–”

Wait.

Luhan cut himself off as his breath suddenly caught in his lungs. A realization had registered in his mind.

Without a second thought, he turned away from a confused-looking Baekhyun and looked back over to the waiter sitting at Table 2.

It’s him...

The chocolate bubble tea boy from yesterday...

~~

Since it was only their first day, Luhan’s uncle decided Luhan and Baekhyun weren’t ready to serve during the lunch rush yet, especially since Luhan insisted that he hadn’t fully memorized the menu. Instead, the two of them were ushered outside to pass out flyers to advertise the restaurant to neighboring office buildings, thus thwarting Luhan’s hopes of spending any extra time watching the chocolate bubble tea boy from afar as he worked.

But right before they had left, Luhan caught sight of the boy in action, as he led an incoming customer to a table and took her order, all the while smiling gently, even though his eyes betrayed a look of confliction, almost fear.

That fear...

It’s almost like...

He’s hiding something...

When the lunch rush ended and the dead shift started settling in at around two in the afternoon, Baekhyun was to be put on server duty, under the assurance that only two or three customers would come in to eat between 2:30 and 4:30pm.

For Luhan, his uncle had different plans, which he promised to unveil later.

But for now, they were directed to the kitchen area to go get some lunch.

With the chefs still busy at the stoves and the busboys rushing in and out with dirty dishes to be washed, Luhan and Baekhyun were rather lost in the commotion. Not knowing where to go or what exactly they were supposed to eat, they froze in the doorway, Luhan practically cowering behind Baekhyun, intimidated by the sight of all the bustling workers, and afraid to disrupt them in the middle of their jobs.

“What should we do?” Baekhyun whispered apprehensively to Luhan, realizing none of the workers had even noticed their confused presence.

“I don’t kn–”

Luhan gasped mid-sentence at the sudden feeling of a pair of strong hands grasping at his shoulders. The look of surprise on his face matched that of Baekhyun’s as he turned around and his eyes met those of the boy standing behind him.

The chocolate bubble tea boy...

Luhan’s heart skipped a beat at the sudden contact, feeling unusually shy under the touch of the boy’s fingers.

Without a word, the boy pushed Luhan gently past Baekhyun, steering him towards the back wall of the kitchen. There, they were met with a large rice cooker and two steaming plates of a chicken and vegetable dish. The chocolate bubble tea boy passed Luhan and Baekhyun empty bowls and proceeded to scoop some rice and the mixed dish into a bowl of his own. Following his lead, Luhan filled his bowl as well, taking a pair of chopsticks that the boy was offering to them with a soft smile.

“Thanks,” Luhan murmured, his voice barely audible.

What’s wrong with me...? I’m never usually this... quiet.

Just speak normally to him.

The chocolate bubble tea boy didn’t answer, but Luhan could’ve sworn he saw a hint of a smile curling at his lips before he turned and quickly led them out of the busy kitchen.

Just like yesterday... His smile is gentle, but he doesn’t say a word...

Taking a deep breath, Luhan decided to take the initiative and follow the chocolate bubble tea boy to Table 2, setting his bowl down at the seat beside him. To his relief, Baekhyun accompanied him, so he wouldn’t have to face the boy alone.

“Hi, I’m Luhan, and this is Baekhyun,” he greeted cheerfully, while still noting the surprisingly quiet volume of his voice. He paused before continuing hesitantly, “I think we saw you yesterday... at the bubble tea store?”

The boy merely nodded, the whisper of a smile returning to his lips once more.

Excitement sparkled in Luhan’s eyes, realizing the boy remembered him, or at least, remembered him and Baekhyun together.

“I like taro bubble tea the most, but I think I remember you got chocolate bubble tea yesterday, is that your favorite?” Luhan tried to strike up a casual conversation, forcing back the strange shyness from his voice.

The boy only nodded again.

Luhan wondered what it would take to get the boy to talk to him.

“What’s your name?” Luhan tried asking, knowing that the boy had to speak in order to answer this question.

To his surprise, the boy still refused to open his mouth. Instead, he used his finger to trace “Sehun” on the palm of Luhan’s hand. Luhan giggled, feeling the boy’s finger grazing upon his skin so softly.

“Sehun?” Luhan asked to make sure, his voice withdrawing to a whisper.

The boy nodded.

Luhan had to look away from the boy’s dark brown eyes in order to slow the unfamiliar skip in his heartbeat. He smiled gently, still shy to meet the boy’s direct gaze, as he summoned the courage to murmur, “I like your name.”

Again to Luhan’s surprise, the boy shook his head, as if disagreeing.

Luhan tilted his head slightly, in questioning. “You don’t like your name?”

The boy shook his head again.

“Why not?” Luhan asked curiously.

The boy didn’t answer. His eyes drifted downward to his bowl of food, and a heavy silence followed.

Baekhyun nudged Luhan with his elbow. “Maybe you shouldn’t be so direct about it... it might be an uncomfortable topic,” he murmured quietly.

Luhan bit his lip, afraid of offending Sehun. “I’m sorry, Sehun, I didn’t mean to be insensitive,” he apologized softly. 

The chocolate bubble tea boy gently shook his head, but he didn’t lift his gaze.

To Luhan’s dismay, Baekhyun soon finished his lunch and was called off to server duty, which left Luhan alone at the table beside Sehun. The silence continued. Luhan snuck a few glances at Sehun as he continued eating his lunch quietly, but the dark-haired boy never looked up again.

“I’m sorry,” Luhan whispered again, but it was too soft, too scared, even Sehun couldn’t hear. 

Before long after they had both finished their lunches, Luhan’s uncle came over and dropped off three cardboard boxes by their table, telling Sehun to teach Luhan what to do. Sehun let out a deep sigh as soon as Luhan’s uncle left, but he unwillingly followed orders, opening the first box without complaint.

Luhan peered inside and realized that the boxes were filled to the brim with snow peas. Without saying a word, Sehun reached inside and took one out, breaking off the corners and pulling out the tough string of fiber that ran along its side. Following suit, Luhan took a snow pea and tried to trim it in the same way, but he found it to be surprisingly difficult. Luhan’s nails were rather short, making it hard to snap off the corners, and in peeling, he found that the string broke off halfway down the side.

Luhan furrowed his brow, unsure of what to do.

A light, stifled laughter from beside him immediately caught his attention, as he realized Sehun was amused by his helplessness.

Taking another snow pea from the box, Sehun demonstrated for Luhan again, only to have Luhan try and fail once more.

Sehun pressed his finger to Luhan’s palm and traced out the words “Try going slower.”

Luhan nodded and tucked his bottom lip between his teeth as he concentrated. Slowly, so the string won’t break. Slowly, so you won’t get frustrated. Luhan coached himself in his mind.

When he finally succeeded in peeling the snow pea, Luhan grinned and pumped his fist into the air in triumph. He looked to Sehun for encouragement, and the boy smiled to Luhan happily, his eyes curving into half-moons. Seeing this, Luhan’s heart fluttered.

His smile...

As they progressed on, making their way through the first two boxes of snow peas, Luhan sighed, his fingers starting to hurt from all the peeling.

Sehun patted his shoulder, giving him a worried look that asked, Are you all right?

Luhan merely smiled back softly. “Don’t worry,