The room was filled with the rustle of a forest and the soft rumble from the rain then came a melody from a harp combined with piano and flute. Sungmin closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He loved that song but the fact that it was playing told him he had been writing for three hours without a break, so he picked up his stereo’s remote control and paused the song. He looked at his computer screen and smiled at the story he was writing. He was satisfied with the number of pages and the word count he saw on the screen, so he stretched, saved his work and pulled down the laptop screen. “Time for a cup of cappuccino.” He told himself unplugging the device from the electric power and plugging back its battery.

With his notebook in hand, the young writer picked up his coat and headed out. He greeted a good afternoon to the guard at the entrance of his apartment building as he made his way into the sidewalk. With lively steps, he headed to the left and walked the five minutes distance from his apartment building to the chocolate store that served a mean coffee. That was one of his favorite places in the world.

The moment he opened the door to the shop he smiled as the chocolate smell filled his lungs. “Afternoon, noona!” he greeted the lady by the cashier and she retorted with a lively playful greeting over the customer's shoulder that she was attending. Sungmin wasted no time to find his way through the store, he pondered to himself if he should take some chocolates home as his eyes scanned the shelves full of delicate and elaborated sweets.

Nevertheless, he moved on from the front of the store to the small coffee lounge they prepared for their customers. Sungmin smiled at spotting his favorite table was vacant that afternoon. He liked to sit at the corner at the far back where he could sit down and not be bothered by the flow of customers, he nestled himself and placed his laptop over the table to go back writing his novel.

“Your usual, Sungmin-ssi?” his train of thoughts was broken in the middle of a paragraph by the deep voice of the waiter.

Sungmin looked up and smiled at the male in front of him. “Yup. And later a piece of chocolate cake.” He replied and then looked back at the screen to resume his writing. The waiter wrote down his order on his notepad and then left to prepare it.

A few minutes later a tall white porcelain cup with cappuccino was served for him. He spent the next half an hour taking sips of his drink and writing down his story, completely oblivious to the waiter that kept glancing at him in vain hopes of sharing some eye contact.

That afternoon Sungmin was going back home with an extra bounce in his step. His new book had been a success and he wanted to celebrate by wasting himself on chocolate. When he entered the chocolate store it was not his usual time so the employees had been surprised. He reached the counter before going to his table since he was not going to go with his usual.

“Excuse me.” He called and the girl closest to him looked up with a professional smile.

“How may I help you?” she asked glancing back over her shoulders and then focusing on her client.

Sungmin looked at the desserts and ordered with a light tone. “I want a piece of the black forest cake and chocolate frozen with extra whipped cream, please.”

When Sungmin looked back at the girl she had a strange expression on, but then she smiled quite forcedly with a nod. “We’ll take it to your table right away,” She said as she moved aside to first prepare his frozen. “Youngwoon, get his cake please?” she called over her shoulder and Sungmin’s line of vision followed hers to the only male working there, he was by the sink rising cups.

“Sure.” The waiter replied placing a cup on the counter and then drying his hand so he could get a clean plate to fix the cake on. Sungmin noticed something strange then. There was some kind of scribing on a cup he couldn’t read from that far.

“You can go sit down, Sungmin-ssi. I’ll take your order to the table.” The familiar voice spoke to him, startling him in the process. When Sungmin looked back at the waiter he was smiling but that smile didn’t reach his eyes.

Needless to say, all those little details he had noticed that afternoon were pushed to the back of his mind when his order was placed in front of him and he took the first bite of his dessert. “It’s delicious,” He moaned before looking up at the waiter that was still nearby. “Thank you, Youngwoon-ssi.” He added.

He should have noticed but he didn’t, how Youngwoon’s smile became bright and how he was being teased by the other employees because yes, Sungmin knew his name.

Youngwoon enjoyed the stolen moments he had in the kitchen and the sweets he was allowed to eat now and then, he also enjoyed how the female customers were always flirting with him. He liked guys ok, but the attention he got only helped to build his ego and he was thankful that it actually helped to get a little bit of the attention the customer at the far corner would only give to his computer.

Sungmin had ordered his usual and the waiter had just placed it on the table when a bunch of girls on a nearby table had called for him. It was a fraction of seconds really, he was there smiling down at Sungmin expecting the younger to spare him that one second of attention, but in the next second he was looking at the one calling his name and his awaited exchange didn’t happen. When he looked back at the male, he was once again looking at his screen and didn’t give him a second glance as Youngwoon excused himself to attend the other customer. The waiter had to hide his disappointment with a smile at the girl.

“Oppa, what time do you leave?” the girl asked as she combed her hair with her fingers and gave him what she expected to be a y smile.

“At six, miss,” Youngwoon replied kind of flirting back, he really enjoyed those little moments.

“Wanna catch a movie with me tonight?” she bit her lower lips invitingly, completely expecting a favorable reply.

“I don’t think that’s possible. I have to head to another job after.” Youngwoon replied with a tiny bit of disappointment to his tone but he secretly enjoyed her surprised expression.

“Oh my, another job?” she retorted disappointed. “Where do you work at night, oppa? Maybe I should just follow you and have a midnight date?” she asked genuinely curious and Youngwoon wondered if he should continue with the prank or not, he glanced up at his co-worker, she was smirking at him and her expression said she was expecting the reply so they could laugh over it afterward.

“Sorry, you can’t follow me there. You see, it’s a gay stripping club.” Youngwoon replied and yeah the reaction was worth it after all. His co-workers would juice it to the last drop.

The astonishment of those girls lasted only a few seconds and then they were laughing at Youngwoon, who kept his straight face. “You’re joking, right?” one of the girls chirped and the waiter just smiled amicably.

“In part. I’m still gay though, so a date is not happening,” He replied and then gave them his practiced business smile. “Can I get anything else for you?”

The girls pouted on him but did dismiss him not asking for anything else. When he was back to the counter his co-worker was still smirking down at him. She took pit of his confused expression since he was expecting her to laugh at the moment he got there. “He noticed the writing and he kept looking at you as you turned the girls down. In fact, he is now staring at his cup.”

For a moment her words didn’t make much sense but then Youngwoon was abruptly looking back at Sungmin. The writer was indeed staring down at his cup, his thumb brushing over the writing softly as he had a pensive expression on his face. Was that a sign he had a chance?
 

Sungmin entered the store cheerfully as usual, but this time he had a mission in mind. The last time he had been there he noticed that his cappuccino had been served on the cup he had previously noticed had something written on it. The words were engraved in his head and they caused wild thoughts to cross his mind. A plotline was forming and he wanted to make sure his wild imagination was not so wild. He smelled romance in the air, he saw potential in those two little words and he wanted to make sure how that story would end.

As he strolled through the hall he kept looking at the occupied tables, searching for that particular cup. He felt slightly disappointed he didn’t spot it. Not long after the prankster waiter came to his table and enquired about his usual. Sungmin looked up at him, for real this time, as he replied and he agreed, no doubt that guy would get flirting girls flooding his way, he was handsome. “Yes, my usual, Youngwoon-ssi.”

The waiter nodded and wrote down his order, Sungmin felt it slightly peculiar. “You always have to write down the orders even if you are the one fixing it?” he asked out of the blue and he felt it was strange how Youngwoon looked back at him surprised.

The waiter smiled softly before he replied smoothly. “It’s a way to keep track of the exits, this way boss will know who sold what.” The explanation made sense and the writer took note of it. It wasn’t like him to write about every day’s situation, but he felt tempted to write something with that setting, write something with that cup.

Youngwoon excused himself and Sungmin couldn’t keep himself from following the waiter with his eyes, somehow he really stood out, being the only male working there, even the people working at the kitchen were also all female, somehow it felt like a harem for him. But then again Sungmin was entranced. The way Youngwoon would delicately hold the cup as the coffee machine prepared the drink, then how he would place it on his tray and walk smoothly back to him was captivating.

“Special cappuccino.” He announced delicately placing the cup on the table. Sungmin noticed two things then, first the position the cup was placed, with the wing placed in the right direction it would be most convenient for him to pick it up, second, there were two more words written there and Sungmin smiled unconsciously. He had guessed right, someone was trying to write a message to someone else thought that mug. He thought it was sweet.

“Thank you, Youngwoon-ssi.” Sungmin replied picking the cup up and taking a sip. He should definitely write that story out. The writer just wondered: who was the lucky couple that would star in one of his stories.

He stared down at the writings and mumbled to himself. “I envy this cup as well, because it will witness it firsthand.”

Sungmin never noticed how Youngwoon kept stealing glances back at him when he was not looking.

 

Youngwoon wouldn’t fool himself, he knew Sungmin had no clue that the message on the cup was actually meant for him, but at least he was happy the writer was paying more attention to him. He was actually paying more attention to his surroundings overall. Watching the customers, watching the waitresses, watching him. He couldn’t deny he was being self-conscious whenever he felt there was someone staring at his back. He was just happy.

| I envy |

| this cup |

| that gets |

Youngwoon added two more words to his message wondering what reaction he would get from the writer this time around.

“You are looking like a complete fool in love.” An older female voice sounded startling Youngwoon to the point he almost dropped the cup. When he looked at the old lady that had spoken to him, he had tried to hide the evidence of his crime.

“Hello, boss.” Youngwoon greeted lamely but the old woman just made a face at him.

“Don’t try to hide it. I know everything that happens in my store, Youngwoon. I know what you’ve been doing,” She pointed an accusing finger at him but then smiled. “Just be careful with the shop and with yourself. You know I only wish my grandson to be happy, even though I know that cup is not meant for a lady. Your father still wants your head though.”

Youngwoon placed the cup on the counter safely and then moved over to his grandmother to give her a hug. When he came out to his family, he had expected to be thrown out of the house the exact same way he had come into the world, and penniless. He had never expected his grandmother to take him under her wings and give him a chance to be who he really was. “I love you, grandma.”

She patted his shoulder but as the hug lingered longer she slapped it. “Enough! Let go! I’m not supposed to be your grandmother in here.” She scolded halfheartedly.

Youngwoon let go of her and saluted. “Yes, boss.”

The old lady went around doing her rounds and checking up how the store was going while Youngwoon resumed his job. Not long after Sungmin came in, unexpectedly with a friend. The waiter bit back his disappointment as he moved over to get their order. All the while having his grandmother’s eagle eyes on him.

 

Sungmin opened the door to his friend with a wide grin. “This is where I hide now and then,” Sungmin announced beckoning his friend to his favorite table. “You should bring Jongwoon here, Kyuhyun, he has to taste their coffee and I swear he’ll have this place as favorite as well.”

Sungmin’s friend nodded to himself enjoying the smell. “and since I am a chocoholic this would definitely be the best option for our celebrations.” He added with a small grin of his own when he took a seat beside Sungmin.

“I am telling you. You’ll love their cakes. This is definitely the perfect place for dates.” Sungmin added not noticing how those words had seemed to disappoint Youngwoon, who had just approached the table with the menu.

“Good afternoon. What would you like to order?” He asked Sungmin’s friend as he handed him the menu, he was about to turn to Sungmin and enquire if he would want his usual but the client beat him to it.

“Youngwoon-ssi, would it be ok to bring samples of every cake you have?”

Youngwoon focused his attention on Sungmin, feeling his heart drop even more. “Are you planning some sort of celebration?” he asked hoping he had kept his tone in check.

It was Kyuhyun who replied him though. “1000th days together.”

Youngwoon nodded at the reply and extended his hand asking for the menu back. “I’ll prepare samples from our cakes, would you like samples from sweets too?”

“That would be great,” Kyuhyun replied smirking down at Sungmin’s goofy expression.

Youngwoon had just turned around when Sungmin called again. “Oh, and Youngwoon-ssi! My usual.” He asked with a smile before he looked back at his friend and they kept chatting quite whispery.

At one point Sungmin looked over the front counter where Youngwoon was fixing their order and he kept staring at the waiter. He couldn’t say Youngwoon was delicate, but there was some sort of grace in his movements and the way he touched things left Sungmin wondering how soft his hands could be.

“Hyung… are you flirting with the waiter?” Kyuhyun asked with a grin, it only widened as Sungmin looked back at him with wide eyes and a way too fast ‘of course not.’ Kyuhyun laughed at his overly cute hyung. “If you say so.”

Sungmin quickly averted his eyes from his friend because he knew he was blushing and his line of vision ended up falling on Youngwoon again. The waiter was coming in his direction with quite a large tray, he stopped midway to lay down a delicate cup in front of a very jovial old lady and give her a smile Sungmin had never seen before. It was lovely and lovingly.

Youngwoon placed first the samples in the middle of Sungmin’s table and then placed Sungmin’s cup of cappuccino in front of him. Sungmin felt glad as he once again noticed the position of the wing but then felt disappointed as he saw it was not the message cup. It was just a fraction of seconds, he was looking up to smile at Youngwoon and thank him for the service, he was expecting his gaze to meet the waiter’s but then someone called him and Youngwoon looked back. Sungmin followed his line of vision because that had only happened once before, and it was the day Youngwoon proclaimed he was working at a stripping club and was gay. It was the old lady calling for the waiter.

“Excuse me. Enjoy the samples.” Youngwoon offered with a smile before he retreated to the old lady. Sungmin looked back at his cup, ignoring how Kyuhyun was munching on the desserts as if he was starving, but also trying to overhear the conversation.

“Youngwoon, I got invited to the theater, but I have no company to go with. Are you free tonight?” the old lady had asked and Sungmin hopped Youngwoon would not scare the lady with the gay thing, but he felt baffled and somewhat disappointed with the waiter’s reply.

“Is it opera or a musical?” he had asked softly.

“It’s a musical. You don’t have to dress fancily.” The old lady replied. Sungmin dared look at them and he couldn’t believe his eyes, Youngwoon was once again with that lovely lovingly smile as he asked.

“What time shall I pick you up?”

Suddenly his cappuccino tasted bitter.
 

Youngwoon sat on his stool at the other side of the counter and glanced down at Sungmin’s private cup wondering if he should continue or not with his message. He glanced up at the far corner table and saw Sungmin laughing at the delighted expression his friend had.

“Shall we head for some beer tonight?” his co-worker asked petting his shoulder.

Youngwoon looked at her pouting. “I have a date with my grandma. Tomorrow.” He announced and the girl laughed.

“She’s the boss after all.” She retorted before directing her attention to a new client that had just arrived. Youngwoon looked up again and saw Sungmin calling him over with a hand gesture.

Picking up his notepad he made a beeline for his crush.

“Have you decided on a cake?” he asked politely looking from Sungmin to the other guy and back.

“Do you make reservations for parties?” Kyuhyun asked stating he would be the one dealing with the party conversation.

“We have a hall upstairs for small gatherings, twenty people at most. Would that be enough?” Youngwoon replied and felt slightly discouraged with the way his client looked at Sungmin and smiled.

“That would be perfect. Would decorations be included in the rent?” Kyuhyun probed causing Youngwoon to smile apologetically.

“I’m sorry, but no, sir. We only provide the space, food and drinks.” Youngwoon replied.

Kyuhyun stared pensively at the table but then decided. “Can I deal the reservation with you?” he asked then, but Youngwoon stepped aside and pointed to the lady at the cashier.

“You can book everything with her, she’ll give you a file with our menu for you to select what you would like to have for the celebration and will explain the details.”

Without further ado, Kyuhyun stood up and bowed at Youngwoon in thanks for his services. Youngwoon bowed back expecting Sungmin to follow his friend but instead, he moved from his seat to where Kyuhyun had been sitting. “Youngwoon-ssi, could you let me know the details of his reservation?” Sungmin asked when Kyuhyun was out of earshot, beckoning the waiter closer.

Curious Youngwoon bent down slightly. “Isn’t this reservation for the both of you?” the waiter asked genuinely confused.

Sungmin chuckled hearing that and Youngwoon felt his heart beating with newfound hope. “Nope, Kyuhyun and his boyfriend are my close friends and in fact, it’s not just a 1000th days together celebration. Kyu wants to propose. He actually wants to book the hall just for the two of them but it’s a waste of space, so I’m planning to barge in with our friends after Jongwoon accepts the proposal. Could you help me with that?”

Youngwoon was not certain if he could do that, but he promised to try. He technically was the next boss of the store after his grandmother decides to retire, so he could try to play the boss for Sungmin, just for that event.

 

Kyuhyun didn’t come back to the table after he booked the hall for his special day, he simply waved at his friend with a wide smile and left.

Seeing him leave Sungmin pulled out his mobile phone and called another of his friends to give updates about the grand day.

Meanwhile, Youngwoon took Sungmin’s cup to prepare the second cappuccino of the day. He also fixed up a small slice of black forest cake and took it to his favorite customer.

Sungmin had felt surprised at seeing the dessert being placed in front of him. When he looked up at Youngwoon, the waiter had a conspirator-ish smile playing on his lips.

“it’s a sample.” Youngwoon offered as an explanation and shot a wink Sungmin’s way as he placed the cup on the table as well. Sungmin had felt lost for words for a second there, but then he was smiling thankfully.

“Enjoy your cappuccino.” Youngwoon offered as he bowed slightly and left to continue doing his chores. Sungmin had just taken his cutlery to eat the cake when he noticed a smear of black on the cup, but then he felt slightly taken aback because there it was, the message cup with two more words added to the message. He had to find out who was writing that and to whom. His mind was drifting away with his future story.

 

It was a Sunday and Sungmin had taken the day to find his mother a nice birthday present. He was strolling on the streets filled with brand stores when a lone figure called his attention. It took some time for the writer to recognize Youngwoon without his working uniform. He was sitting on a delivering dock from a store, looking at his hands and apparently waiting for someone. He was wearing a sportive suit and gave off a wealth vibe, Sungmin could even say he seemed more like the only heir of a rich family than a poor waiter.

Sungmin had considered approaching Youngwoon, he had taken two steps in his direction, but someone called for the waiter from the opposite intersection and he promptly stood up and marched to the woman. It was the same old lady from the chocolate store. Sungmin frowned. Something seemed to be out of place.

The writer continued on his path and was still able to see Youngwoon closing the door of a fancy luxury car and driving off. Sungmin felt weird because he didn’t like the view because he wanted someone to tell him what exactly Youngwoon was doing.

Later that afternoon he decided to go out of his routine, he knew the chocolate store would always open on Sundays and close a little bit earlier, but he had never visited the place on weekends. When he walked in, the first thing he looked for was Youngwoon and he felt disappointed at not seeing the waiter.

He sat at his usual table, ordered his usual cappuccino and continued to scribe down the ideas for his next novel. He read what he wrote about his main male character. | visits the same coffee shop and suddenly notices something written on his cup, as days pass the message gets bigger until it turns into a confession.|

He read what he wrote about the main female character. | works at a coffee shop; writes down on a cup a love confession to a customer.|

A waitress came to him and asked if he would like his usual. Sungmin looked up at her and nodded. “Yes, please.” He retorted before looking back and re-reading what he had written. He didn’t like it one bit. | waiter at the coffee shop has a dual life: stripper and swindler.| he frowned as he pictured Youngwoon in his head and deleted what he had written. With a sigh, he stared at the screen and proceeded to describe the physical appearance of his male character, halfway the process he deleted everything again. Why the hell was he describing the Youngwoon he saw that morning?

Not long after the waitress put his cup up the table and then left after Sungmin thanked her. While the words were still slipping past his lips his hand had automatically reached for the wing, but his finger held on to nothing. When he looked at the cup he saw the white porcelain surface staring at him. Right. Youngwoon was not the one serving him. With another sigh, he rotated the cup, but in doing so he saw the writing, there was nothing added to the message but he felt a shiver run up his spine nevertheless. He brushed his thumb over the black ink and tried to convince himself it was just a coincidence.

 

Youngwoon had just written two more words on his message to Sungmin, he was wondering how he could hint to the male he was actually getting flirted with but he decided to wait a little bit more, at least until Sungmin noticed he was the only one getting to drink from that cup, or at in the least suspect that. It couldn’t take much longer, Sungmin seemed to be cunning, so he hoped that afternoon the writer would feel something was at least strange.

When Sungmin walked in with his laptop, Youngwoon was serving a customer at a table nearby his. Sungmin had faltered a bit on his path, staring at Youngwoon with a blank expression. The waiter didn’t like the hesitation he felt from the other as he moved forward.

After Sungmin settled down, Youngwoon approached the table with his usual charming smile. “Your usual, Sungmin-ssi?” the waiter inquired.

Sungmin looked past him to the counter where the waitress that had served him the day before was fixing a chocolate tart on the cold display. “No, I’m not going for the usual today, I want a chocolate frozen and a piece of chocolate tart, please?” when Sungmin looked back at the waiter he had a somewhat forced smile on.

“I’ll bring it in a minute,” Youngwoon assured before turning around to fix the order.

Sungmin couldn’t help but keep on watching as Youngwoon moved around. He would never make any brusque movement, the way he held the tall glass, the way he dealt with the frozen machine, the way he picked up the plate, the way he took a piece of tart and placed on it. They had some reverence for it, some grace the other waitresses didn’t seem to have. As if the food and the drinks were something special to Youngwoon.

The writer hastily opened his laptop when Youngwoon picked up his tray, he didn’t want the other to know he had been watching him.

The waiter placed first the plate with the dessert, a little farther way he placed the frozen. Sungmin noticed it had extra whipped cream, Sungmin didn’t ask for it and he couldn’t hold in the comment. “I didn’t order frozen with whipped cream.” He said with a low tone that made Youngwoon feel cold.

“I’m sorry. Whenever you ask for a frozen you order it with extra whipped cream, I just thought it was something like your usual… I’ll prepare another one without it. I apologize for pretending to know like that.” The waiter replied reaching for the glass.

Sungmin had wanted to pretend there was no hurt in Youngwoon’s tone, but he couldn’t. The writer quickly reached for Youngwoon’s hand, softly touching it as he spoke. “That’s ok. Frozen without whipped cream is not frozen to me. I was just surprised you had added it even if I didn’t ask.” He said softly as he stared at his hand touching Youngwoon’s. They were really soft. When he looked back at Youngwoon he was taken aback by the relief on the other’s face and couldn’t help but add. “Thank you for knowing my preferences, Youngwoon-ssi.”

The smile Youngwoon showed him then had completely left Sungmin out of breath. That kind of relieved and lovingly smile should be a crime. “Enjoy your meal, Sungmin-ssi,” Youngwoon told him with a soft voice, almost a whisper. For a moment longer it seemed he had wanted to say something more, but before he made a fool out of himself further he retreated to continue with his chores.

Youngwoon felt like his heart was about to explode, not only Sungmin had touched his hand, but also acknowledged that Youngwoon knew something about him. Never mind it was just the fact that Sungmin preferred extra whipped cream on his frozen. It was something that had somehow brought them closer. When his eyes met his co-worker’s he couldn’t stop himself from grinning.

Even though he couldn’t pass on his message that day it was still a very good day.

 

Sungmin drank from his frozen glass, savoring the taste of the whipped cream mixed with chocolate, yet he also couldn’t shake off the image of Youngwoon’s smile from his head, or the feel of his soft skin on his fingertips.

The writer closed his laptop and just stared ahead in wonder. Bringing the cold glass closer to him, he kept thinking about the earlier exchange with the waiter and the more he thought the more he got self-conscious. Youngwoon wouldn’t be playing favorites, right? He was a waiter, it was kind of his duty to know what regular customers would like. Youngwoon treated him like any other customer, right?

Sungmin’s gaze fell on Youngwoon again, he had to make sure. Youngwoon was not really smiling at the girls, he was more like grinning at their advances, he also didn’t seem to place their order in any special way, though his grace had never left his movements. Whenever we went to prepare someone’s order he would still treat the food and the drinks as if they were something special. Sungmin played with his glass some more, with his mind in a slight daze, Youngwoon did seem to treat him in a special way.

 

The next day the writer walked in talking on the phone, still holding on to his computer, yet as he passed in front of the counter he did turn to Youngwoon with a smile and mouthed him he wanted his usual. It felt kind of strange to the both of them. To Sungmin, it felt like they now shared some sort of link, to Youngwoon it felt like Sungmin was opening up and filling him with hope.

When the waiter approached the table, he placed Sungmin’s cup upon a little piece of paper. As the writer was still talking on the phone, Youngwoon was gone before Sungmin could inquire what that paper was about. He didn’t really bother with the cup at first, he simply reached for the paper to read it. His eyes widened in surprise and he searched for the waiter with them. When their eyes met Youngwoon was smiling and nodded as if saying ‘you’re welcome’ to Sungmin’s soundless ‘thank you’.

Youngwoon had written down on a page of his notepad the information about Kyuhyun’s reservation in the store, so he apologized to his publisher before hanging up so he could call one of his friends, the one responsible for the decorations.

When that second phone call was over Sungmin finally reached for the cup, at first he didn’t really notice the addition to the message because he was re-reading Youngwoon’s note, actually kind of admiring the neat handwriting. Since his eyes were very sharp he noticed something though, the paper was marked with something the waiter had written on the page before that one, taking it closer Sungmin could read it was someone’s order and that included a ‘berry frozen’ he probably had meant strawberry frozen, but then Sungmin felt a shiver run up his spine.

The next second he was staring at his cup, he knew it was the message cup because he had noticed the writings before, and he felt another shiver as he read two more words in the message. He placed it down and then stared back at the paper. | I envy this cup that gets to touch | the used to write the ‘E’, the ‘Y’ and the ‘N’ as well as the perfectly circular ‘O’ were way too similar. Sungmin bit the insides of his cheeks. “It’s a coincidence.” The writer mumbled to himself. There’s nothing wrong with the fact that Youngwoon was actually the one writing on the cup, it didn’t mean the waiter was writing it with Sungmin in mind. He’s been getting to drink from that cup as a coincidence. It had to be.

 

Sungmin tried to calm himself down. That afternoon he didn’t even bother to turn on his laptop since he decided he had something else more important to do. When he finished his cappuccino he simply stood up and walked to the counter where Youngwoon and another waitress were talking.

“Excuse me,” Sungmin called with a smile. “Regarding the event room upstairs, can I take a look at it?” he questioned understanding the surprised look on the employees’ faces. “My friend had booked the room for an event, and another friend of ours is going to prepare the decoration, he asked me to snap some photos to show him, because he is a bit busy to come to this end of town.” Sungmin explained.

The employees stared at each other. “I think it won’t hurt,” Youngwoon told her before looking back at Sungmin. “I can take you there if you promise it will be fast.”

The writer smiled and nodded. The two of them headed to the cashier lady who had the room’s key and after a second short explanation and a lingering stare Youngwoon’s way, the lady handed the key to the waiter.

Sungmin followed Youngwoon up the spiral staircase that landed on a very small hall, there was a mahogany double door to his left, and blind walls on the other directions. The door opened to an empty lounge, well not so empty, the room apparently had the same size of the table’s area downstairs and had the same three vintage arched windows, practically at the same place from downstairs the room also had a counter and behind it a coffee machine and a frozen machine. Sungmin smiled and promptly started to snatch photos with his phone.

“How many tables you can fit here?” Sungmin asked as he moved around. “Same as downstairs, ten. We can actually fit here forty people, but we don’t have enough people to serve that many in an event, so we limit it to twenty.”

“So one of you will serve in Kyuhyun’s event? Do you know who it will be?” Sungmin asked already trying to imagine how they could organize the tables and the decoration, he liked the vintage feel to the room and he knew Heechul had the perfect stuff to fit there.

“Your friend requested a waiter, so I’ll be the one stationed here,” Youngwoon replied with a small grin. Sungmin looked at him with a surprised expression, but then he smiled. “That’s perfect, then. I’m more comfortable to bargain the extra hour and the extra food with you.”

Hearing that Youngwoon laughed wholehearted. “I’ll conspire with you, sure. Let me know what you need and I’ll try to fix it for you.”

Somehow Sungmin had felt slightly giddy and strangely reassured by those words. With a grin of his own, he approached Youngwoon and handed his phone to the waiter. “Then give me your number, you shall text me how the proposal develops so we’ll know when to barge in.”

The very straightforward request had left Youngwoon with a racing heart and he actually felt glad his hands were not trembling when he typed his number and wrote his name. After getting the device back Sungmin fumbled with it and moments later Youngwoon’s phone went off stating he had a new message.

“It would be good if you could hand me a list of preferences from the people that will barge in, so I’ll know what I’ll have to prepare,” Youngwoon replied calmly, trying his best not to pick up his phone and give Sungmin the impression he was dying to see his number on his screen. Sungmin didn’t have to know how desperate he was.

“I think we could drop the formalities a little right? How old are you?” Sungmin asked as they stood there in a close proximity, comfortably staring at each other.

“28. You?” Youngwoon replied easily, throughout loving that situation.

“27. So it’s Youngwoon hyung.” the younger replied reaching a hand the waiter shook firmly.

Youngwoon felt giddy for being able to actually hold Sungmin’s hand like that, his hand was warm, he had a firm grip and fitted so nicely in his grasp since his own hand was bigger. On the other end, Sungmin felt warm, the waiter’s hand was really soft, was firm but kind and gave the younger a sense of security. Without another word but a mutual understanding, they exited the room and Youngwoon locked it once more.

That afternoon was unusual in a very good way.

When Youngwoon saw the damage on his precious cup he felt like strangling his co-worker. With a surgical attention and precision, he had tried to mend the damage by adding another layer of permanent ink over the old. Youngwoon could be a restorer because the damage was not so obvious anymore, he hopped Sungmin wouldn’t notice. That is because his co-worker had decided to keep a secret from him what Sungmin had said.

Later when the writer came in Youngwoon took in a deep breath, held his heart firmly and walked to the back to inquire about Sungmin’s order of the day, he was already hopeful he could pass on his message since the writer had come in alone.

Youngwoon frowned slightly when he saw the strangely sad tentative smile on Sungmin's lips as he said “Afternoon, hyung, my usual please.” There was something wrong with Sungmin, that much Youngwoon could tell.

He had wanted to ask what was the matter, but he didn’t exactly had the courage so he just smiled back and told him softly “I’ll be right back.”

With determination – and a trembling hand – Youngwoon picked Sungmin’s cup and prepared the cappuccino, but he also fixed a small piece of black forest cake – Sungmin’s favorite he had concluded – and took the two items to the younger. The waiter placed first the plate with the dessert getting Sungmin to look curiously up at him. “You seemed sad. I just wanted to cheer you up. It’s sampling.” He explained smiling tentatively happily to get Sungmin to smile back. It worked.

Before Sungmin could reply though the waiter placed on the table the cappuccino, wing in the usual perfect position. Youngwoon felt his heart beating wildly because the writer had stared at the cup all along as if he wanted to make sure it was ‘his cup’. When Sungmin smiled at seeing the writings and smiled overly sweetly at it, Youngwoon felt he was about to explode.

“Enjoy your meal,” Youngwoon told the younger with a happy grin. “Thank you, hyung. You did cheer me up.” Sungmin replied picking up his cutlery to take a bite of the dessert before drinking his cappuccino. The waiter walked back to the counter with an extra bounce in his step.