It started out as a once a week visit. Jihoon would sit at the same table, usually with a book, and relax there for an hour or two. Taeil would serve him with a smile, eventually managing to get his entire greeting message right. Even if he messed up, Jihoon would just laugh it off, and that put Taeil even more at ease.

After the flower, Jihoon folded his tips into cats, dogs; every living thing under the sun became a little piece of art that was left sitting on the table when Jihoon left. Most of the time Taeil had to unfold his little masterpieces to put them in the drawer for the night, or for change. However, on those rare occasions that he got to keep them, he simply put them in his pocket and took them home, giving them a permanent place on his dresser.

Yes, he needed the money.

But he couldn’t bring himself to lose those little memories.

Eventually the once weekly trips started happening more, Taeil finding Jihoon there twice, or even three times in a single week. Every time he came in Taeil could feel the day become that much less boring, and he brought him coffee immediately now that he had his order memorized.

Setting the mug down at the table, Taeil smiled at Jihoon, who grinned back.

“Good morning,” he said, and Jihoon gave him a little wave. “You’ve been coming in a lot more recently.”

“Yeah. I like it here. The atmosphere is nice. And I like the people that work here.” There was a long pause when Jihoon caught Taeil’s gaze and Taeil looked down, smiling almost shyly and blushing as he looked away.

“Oh… Oh, well… I’ll let you get to reading, then,” Taeil said, nodding and starting to walk off. Jihoon stopped him though, reaching out and taking a loose hold of Taeil’s wrist and keeping him there for a second.

“I’d… I’d like to try one of those sandwiches?”

Taeil cocked his head, smiling happily and nodding after a moment and continuing to nod with a bright smile on his face until he got back to the kitchen. After putting in the order for the sandwich, he was about to head back out when Minhyuk stopped him, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a gentle smirk on his lips.

“So who is this guy? And why does he always sit in your section?” he asked, and Taeil just shrugged.

“I don’t know. His name’s Jihoon, and he’s nice. Plus, he tips me well, so I’m not complaining.” Minhyuk rolled his eyes, chuckling a bit.

“Do you realize how you act when he’s in here?” Taeil looked at him with a blank expression, blinking a few times before Minhyuk sighed. “You get all shy, you start fumbling over your words, you smile and blush…” Taeil continued to stare expectantly, but Minhyuk just huffed and grabbed the now finished sandwich from the window, handing it to Taeil. “Take this, so it’s nice and fresh.” Nodding, Taeil took the sandwich and set it down on the table in front of Jihoon, grinning.

“All done,” he sang out, bowing to the other man politely. “Please enjoy,” he added, though when Jihoon gestured to the seat across from him he cocked his head in confusion.

“It’s slow. Why don’t you just chill with me for a second? You can have a bit of my sandwich.” Taeil pulled back for a second, looking around in slight apprehension.

Jihoon was right – it was really slow. He might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

Plopping down in the chair across the table, Taeil made sure to fix his apron and pants so they wouldn’t get wrinkled before he got completely situated, smiling up at Jihoon. He didn’t know what it was, and maybe Minhyuk was on to something. He didn’t care, though. Jihoon just always managed to brighten his day.

“So…” Taeil started, though when he didn’t know what to say he clammed up, looking down at his hands. Jihoon stifled a chuckle, shaking his head.

“So? Day going alright?” he asked, and Taeil just shrugged.

“It’s… slow. But it’s getting better.” Taeil glanced up, catching Jihoon’s gaze and smiling awkwardly. Jihoon nodded.

“My day’s getting better, too.”

There was an awkward moment where Taeil started playing with his hair, looking down and biting his lip. Jihoon grinned, taking a bit of his sandwich and reaching across the table with it. Without thinking Taeil opened his mouth to take a bite from it, to which Jihoon raised a brow but didn’t pull back, once again stifling a laugh.

“I was just going to hand it to you, but I guess I can feed it to you,” he said, and Taeil blushed deep red, shaking his head.

“Oh! Oh, I’m sorry, I… I wasn’t thinking. I’m… I’m gonna go. I have a… thing to do.” With that, Taeil stood suddenly, bowing and turning and walking away. He let the door to the kitchen swing closed and he covered his eyes with his hand, leaning against the wall.

“You ready to admit you might have a bit of a crush?” Minhyuk teased slightly, and Taeil let his hand slide down to uncover his eyes, brows furrowed.

“I just let myself get hand fed by someone in the dining room,” he mumbled, pouting. Minhyuk nodded.

“Yeah, I saw. So?”

“So what?”

“So… Do you have a crush on your ‘Jihoon’?” Minhyuk asked again, brow quirked. Taeil narrowed his eyes at Minhyuk, slapping him playfully and printing out a check. Quietly Taeil walked back into the dining room, setting the check down and bowing again.

“I’m really sorry about that,” he mumbled, and Jihoon shook his head.

“It’s alright. I don’t regret anything.” Jihoon winked, causing another deep blush to form on Taeil’s cheeks. For the first time Jihoon blushed as well, looking down at the check and nodding as he toyed with it almost awkwardly.

“I… I really like seeing you here. When you come in, you make my day better.” Taeil smiled at him, walking back into the kitchen and pushing his hair out of his face.

When he finally went to grab the check he found not only the usual amount left, but now even more was left, folded into two stars and covering the receipt. Taeil grinned widely, though a bit of writing on the receipt caught his attention. He picked it up, and his grin got even wider.

It was a phone number.

Slipping his two stars into his pocket, Taeil cashed out and made his way home, plugging the number into his phone and humming as he wrapped his coat tightly around himself. Today had been good, though he was trying to ignore what Minhyuk had been talking about. He didn’t have a crush. He was just happy that his days at work weren’t as bad as they had been.

Once Taeil got home he tossed his coat onto his bed, putting his new stars on his dresser with the rest of his origami masterpieces. After he got changed he flopped onto his bed, looking at his phone for a second before texting Jihoon.

Hey. This is my number. Just to let you know. It’s Taeil.

After he sent it he felt himself cringe. He felt like he had just taken a huge chance, though he wasn’t sure why he felt so awkward about it. For a while he just lay there in bed, lips pursed and covering his face with his hands so he could rub his temples.

“That was dumb. He’s probably not going to respond.” Rolling his eyes, Taeil got up to stretch. When his phone buzzed though, he dove for the bed, immediately opening the text with a happy smile.

Oh good. Now I can text you whenever I want~

Taeil smiled happily, though his face heated up a moment later as he bit his lip.