I forgot this story was still checked under 'hidden'... I'm so sorry T_T 

This story was created for Eunhae Bonfirefest 2015 that was hosted by ThanhXuan, and I had quite some fun writing it. 13k words of pure fluffiness puahaha. Hope you guys enjoy it!! Leave me lots of comments please? I thrive on them hahaha XD Oh, and an upvote or two would be love. I sarang you all!! ^_^

 

 

Day 1 in Seoul. I met a cute guy in a café today. But I think he doesn’t like me. ㅠㅠ

The chilly wind blew a nasty draft as the yellowed and browned leaves fell by the dozens from the balding branches hanging in the sky. Several pedestrians huddled their thick, warm jackets closer to themselves, hurrying through the streets wanting to get home as fast as possible where the heat was waiting patiently for them.

A young man wearing a sky blue lightweight jacket with a matching white scarf walked briskly into the nearest café he saw, short pants of white mist escaping his mouth each time he took in a large breath.

The bell above the door dinged, and he could immediately smell the heavenly aroma of coffee, cinnamon and spices lingering in the air. There were only a handful of people in the café, so he took his time wandering and following his nose to the main counter. Then, his eyes brightened.

“Hi!” Donghae chirped happily, grinning from ear to ear as he caught sight of the attractive server with blazing red hair behind the counter. “What’s your name?”

The server rolled his eyes at Donghae, fingers running through his newly-dyed hair then tapping on the counter impatiently as he waited for the customer to order. Donghae smiled and waited patiently for his answer, but he never got it. The server glared at Donghae when customers began forming a long line behind him. He finally spoke up, much to Donghae’s delight, but it wasn’t what he expected to hear.

“Look, mister, if you’re not going to order then I’ll have to ask you to leave,” the server sighed, tired of customers and their weird behaviours. It was almost the end of a long shift for him and he wanted nothing better than to go home and have a good, long rest. He’d been on his feet for more than eight hours and he wasn’t in his best temper now. He didn’t want to deal with clingy customers who were probably after his number. All he wanted to was just shut down and hibernate at home for the next twelve hours.

Donghae jumped and pouted hard. “Sheesh, why are you so grumpy? I was just asking for your name.”

“Do you want to order or not, mister?” the server snapped.

“Fine.” Donghae straightened up and folded his arms over his chest. He quickly scanned the menu hanging above the server’s head, fingers lightly touching his lips as he thought hard for a minute, prompting several more eye-rolls from the server. “Do you have coffee?”

“What kind of coffee do you want?”

“Uhh, I don’t really know my coffee, but uhh, something sweet, but not too sweet, maybe? And milky. Ooh, do you have chocolate-flavoured coffee?” Donghae grinned happily at the thought of chocolate. “You got anything like that? Ah, and it would be nice if you have ice cream in it… but hey, do you think that ice cream in hot coffee would taste weird? Especially in this kind of weather?”

The server drew his lips in a tight line and nodded, ringing up the price on the machine. “That’ll be 30,000 won. Cash or card?”

Donghae’s eyes bulged in surprise. “Woah. I didn’t know the coffee here would be so expensive!”

“Cash or card?”

Pouting, Donghae dug in his pockets for his wallet and sighed at the thin walls. He handed over a worn-out card and winced when the machine beeped, indicating that 30,000 won had just been deducted from his life savings. Donghae then waited for his coffee to be ready, perking up a little when his number got called to collect his beverage.

“Blergh!!”

He took a small sip and grimaced, hanging his tongue out of his mouth because the taste disgusted him. He stole a look at the unfriendly server behind the counter, mouth curling into a pout again when he thought the server smirked at him. Donghae turned and left the café, cradling his precious 30,000 won coffee in his hands, hating it but not wanting to waste his money. He slowly walked back to his camp, thinking about the hot red café server who looked really grumpy but seemed like a nice person inside. Deep, deep inside. He gulped the coffee all at once, not wasting a single drop and burning his tongue in the process, but he just wanted to get it over with.

“Ugh, I hate bitter coffee.”

 

 

Day 2 in Seoul. I don’t remember coffee tasting this awful. Yuck! I’m getting something else today. Chocolate, maybe? But I think tea is cheaper.

“Good morning, how may I – oh it’s you again.”

“Hi!!” Donghae grinned cheekily and made a ‘peace’ sign. “I’m back, did you miss me?”

The server rolled his eyes and smirked. “Did you enjoy your coffee yesterday? That was our Americano special, by the way. What do you want today?”

“Wow. Your mood is significantly better than yesterday,” Donghae noted. His eyes suddenly glowed. “Did you get laid?”

Narrowing his eyes, the server punched in a few keys on the register. “That’ll be a double espresso for you today. 50,000 won, please.”

“No, wait!!” Donghae smacked his hands on the wooden countertop desperately. “Is that less bitter than yesterday’s coffee? And, uhh, don’t you have anything less expensive than that?” he asked sheepishly. “I—I’m actually sort of… broke.”

The server narrowed his eyes at the cowering Donghae before drawing his lips in a tight line. “Anything else?”

“Well… Can you at least tell me your name?”

 

Donghae sighed and held the warm cup of hot water in his hands. At least he wasn’t served an ice-cold cup of water in this chilling weather. Hot water worked alright too, since he’d only been charged 500 won for it. Although he was sure he could have boiled some water himself in his electric kettle back at his place, at least he got another opportunity to talk to that grumpy server again. Call him a fool, but once Donghae set his eyes on something, he would get it by hook or by crook, and by no means was he going to let this redheaded beauty slip through his fingers — well, not while he was still in Seoul, anyway. Still, he was now more determined than ever to get Mr Grumpyface to tell him his name… and perhaps initiate a proper conversation with him besides arguing over coffee.

Better start reading up on coffee, then. He’d never regretted not brushing up on his coffee skills more than today.

Donghae reached his ‘home’ and sat down beside his tent, sipping the rapidly cooling liquid he held in his hands. The stool he was sitting on squeaked in protest as he rocked on it gently, devising a plan in his head to get the attractive redheaded server to talk to him. Perhaps he could apply for a job in the café. He had nothing else to do anyway, besides idling his time away in his tent. Besides, he was kind of running low on cash. If he really did manage to get a job in the café, well, then he’d be well-sheltered away from the harsh wind for at least 8 hours a day, be able to drink all the coffee and eat all the doughnuts he liked, and most importantly he could get the redhead to talk to him any time he wanted. And of course the cash, but the redhead was his priority. He finished his drink and rubbed his gloved hands together in glee. That was a perfect plan. He could start immediately the next day too. Too bad the café wasn’t hiring at all.

 

 

Day 3 in Seoul. Well that went really well, didn’t it?

The bell dinged for the umpteenth time that morning. The café was crowded with people, and everyone was hot on their heels serving customers one after another. The redheaded server-turned waiter rushed about in the café, running in and out of the kitchen and barely dodging running toddlers in the tiny place, careful not to spill anything on anyone as much as possible. Three of his co-workers called in sick, and that was why he’d taken over the position of waiting on tables as well. He skipped over a toy truck some kid left on the floor and avoided stepping into a mushy pile of mashed potatoes some toddler threw at him with a loud cry, while trying to ignore the coffee stains Sungmin, the other barista, accidentally splashed onto him when the coffee machine went out of control, all the while balancing two trays of dirty dishes on both his hands and making his way into the kitchen, hoping that no other tiny customer left any more ‘treats’ on the floor for him to clean up later.

It was a windy Saturday morning, but the weather was otherwise fine and sunny. Customers piled into the café by the dozens, attracted to the famous heavenly aromatic coffee one could smell from even miles away. Donghae was surprised by the patrons that seemingly doubled in number ever since the last two days he’d visited this same exact place. He entered the café that was hustling and bustling in excitement, making a small sound of exclamation when a little kid ran right into his legs. The little boy fell with a bump onto the ground and began to cry, but Donghae immediately knelt down and helped him up, brushing off the dust on his pants and petting his head.

“Hi little fella, are you alright? Hyung is sorry for bumping into you. Are you hurt?”

The kid closed his mouth and nodded, pouting softly while clutching onto a teddy bear. Donghae smiled. “What’s your name? Mine is Donghae. You can call me Hae hyung if you want.”

“Henwy.” The boy grinned and pointed to himself, then the teddy bear. “Mimi.”

“Well then, Henwy, you should go back to your table. Your mommy is probably worried about you, Mimi too. Be careful next time, okay?” Donghae stood up with a grin. “You want Hae hyung to carry you?”

“No. Henwy big. Mommy say so! No cawwy. Henwy walk.”

Donghae smiled again and was about to ask him where his family was when the red-headed waiter suddenly appeared before the boy, who smiled and ran towards him with a laugh.

“Hyukkie!”

“Henry, what were you doing talking to strangers like that? Aish, why won’t you stay in one place instead of having me chase after you everywhere? You could get kidnapped!”

Henry hung his head with a pout. “Hyukkie no scowd Henwy. Henwy sad.”

Donghae cleared his throat. “Uhm, hi. I can take care of Henry if you want. You seem a little busy.”

The waiter seemed surprised to see Donghae there. He picked Henry up and carry him on his hip while looking at Donghae with a condescending face.

“Uh huh, and why should I trust you when I don’t even know you?”

“Hi, I’m Donghae!!” He smiled and held out his hand for a handshake, which the other ignored. “And you are?”

“Hyukkie!!” Henry garbled, happily hitting the waiter on the head with his teddy bear. “Henwy hungwy! Henwy want ice cweam!” The toddler began squirming and struggling until he was set down, and then ran into the kitchen. The waiter made to chase after the boy, but decided against it when a few customers got angry and started yelling for the bill. He frowned at Donghae. “Look, I don’t know why you’re here when you don’t even like coffee anyway, but if you’re not here for anything then I suggest you leave. Sorry for Henry bumping into you. I have to go.”

Donghae blinked and the redhead was gone in a flash, waiting on a table that had gotten impatient. He decided to slide into an empty booth and observe the waiter instead. He felt a massive sense of accomplishment because he’d talked properly to the waiter today, and it wasn’t even past the lunch hour rush yet. He grinned dreamily into the distance, and only snapped out of it when he realized someone else had joined him in the booth.

“Hae hyung, want some ice cweam?” Henry smiled cutely, offering Donghae his messy cup of melted chocolate ice cream. Donghae chuckled and helped the little boy into a seat.

“No thanks, you can have it all,” he replied, ruffling the boy’s hair all up.

Henry grinned and continued slurping his ice cream. “Why was Hae hyung looking at Hyukkie? Hyukkie is a meanie who likes to scowd Henwy. Hyukkie bad man.”

Donghae laughed and scooted closer to the toddler. “Who is Hyukkie to you? Is he your hyung too?”

Henry shook his head. “Noooo… Hyukkie is Papa’s fwen. Papa make coffee there,” he said, pointing at Sungmin, busy making coffee art at the counter while waiting for the brew. “Papa busy today and Hyukkie busy today. Henwy sad.”

“Now, now. Don’t be sad. Hae hyung is here. I’ll play with you. Would you like that?” Donghae asked, grinning at once when the toddler perked up. Henry nodded enthusiastically and squealed in laughter. “So what do you want to play? I’m quite good at games.”

 

“Say, do you know who that guy is?” Sungmin asked while handing Hyukjae a tray of 3D art lattes. “The guy Henry is sitting with.”

Hyukjae glanced at them and rolled his eyes. “I don’t know him. I don’t even know why Henry likes him. He looks too playful. I wouldn’t trust him near anyone. You want me to shoo him away? He hadn’t even ordered anything for the past half hour.”

“Henry seems to like him anyway. I’ll just keep an eye on him. Don’t chase him away.” Sungmin then grinned. “Besides, he’s pretty good-looking. If I weren’t happily married for a few years already, I’d have gone after that . Have you even seen it before?”

Hyukjae gagged and made a sound of disgust. “Seriously Min, you’re grossing me out. Stop ogling the customers and continue making your coffee. I’ve got an order for twenty-four coffees here from that large table over there. Good luck with that.”

 

 

Day 4 in Seoul. Cute guy got mad at me. Imma cry forever. ㅠㅠ

“Hi Hyukkie! I’m Donghae, in case you forgot my name again. How nice to see you here!”

Hyukjae drew his lips in a tight line and stared at the overly cheerful guy in front of him. “Look, I don’t care what your name is and what your business is in here, but my name is not ‘Hyukkie’ and even if it is, who are you to call me that? I don’t even know you.”

“Well, we could get to know each other better if that’s what you want me to do. I don’t mind. In fact, I’d love that. I won’t call it a date if you don’t want me to, but here’s my number just in case you change your mind.”

“Sir, if you’re not going to buy any coffee, I must ask you to leave.”

“Now now, Mr. Grumpyface. I know I haven’t made a great first impression on you but perhaps we could start all over. What is it that you don’t like about me? As you can see yesterday, I’m great with kids! Even the other barista likes me. If we ever have a kid together I wouldn’t mind being the one to look after him at home while you worked—”

“That’ll be a double shot espresso for you. 35,000 won, please.”

Donghae blinked in surprise. “But I hadn’t ordered any coffee yet! And besides, you haven’t told me your name yet, Hyukkie. I can’t un-call you Hyukkie if you don’t tell me what else to call you other than ‘Hyukkie’, Hyukkie.”

Hyukjae glared angrily at Donghae. “Only Henry calls me that. Can you quit it already?”

“B-But—”

“35,000 won, mister. Or else I’ll have to personally you out of the café and bar you from coming back in for as long as you’re around.”

 

Donghae decided to slide into a tiny corner booth after negotiating for a cup of hot tea instead which didn’t burn a hole in his pocket as large as coffee would. He observed quietly from his seat, the cogs and wheels in his head turning, churning out devious plans one after another. He thought of a couple of ways to get the waiter to like him, including kidnapping him or forcing him into a dark alley at night to kiss him or even kissing him over the countertop the next time he came in. But in the end he decided that it would make him hate him even more so he just leaned back in his seat and sighed.

 

 

Day 5 in Seoul. I’ll just stay here until he talks to me. Which might take forever since he’s not even here.

Hyukjae wasn’t in the next day. Donghae ordered a small cup of hot tea and sat in his corner booth, sipping the fragrant liquid while moping over the fact that he had no job, no money and no eye candy today. It was Hyukjae’s day off apparently, but of course Donghae didn’t know that. Sungmin had taken over the register for the day. The barista watched Donghae from the counter, as business was quite slow, and realized that Donghae hadn’t changed his outfit in some time. Long bangs swept messily to the side and hidden partially under a beanie that looked as if it had seen better days. Small streaks of dirt slightly visible hidden under the outer jacket’s collar. Knuckles that looked like they had been rubbed raw from doing some rough work. Puzzled, Sungmin frowned and thought long and hard about it. It was Monday, and Donghae hadn’t even gone to work. Maybe he was having some problems, but he didn’t want to prod, so he shrugged it off.

Donghae waited in his booth until Sungmin was getting ready to close for the night. When Sungmin lightly reminded him that he was about to close in ten minutes, he muttered a soft apology to the barista and quickly downed his ice-cold tea before leaving. As Sungmin rolled the shutters down, he remembered the slight disappointment that had flashed in the guy’s eyes. He wondered why. Donghae had only been patronising their café for a few days, and already he managed to intrigue him and poke at his curiosity. Did he really like Hyukjae that much?

 

 

Day 6 in Seoul. Tricked him into letting me stay. HA! But he still chased me away. Big pout.

“Hyukkie! You’re back! I missed you so much!” Donghae squealed, as soon as he stepped into the café the next day. “Where did you go yesterday? I waited the entire day for you!”

Hyukjae grunted. “May I help you?”

Donghae grinned. “You could tell me your proper name, or I’ll keep calling you ‘Hyukkie’. I think you don’t mind, do you? Otherwise you’d have told me your real name already.”

“May I help you, other than telling you my name?” Hyukjae rolled his eyes in exasperation. “You’re such an annoying brat. Can I please just send you away with a free coffee this time?”

Donghae’s eyes dimmed at once. “But I don’t want to leave. I like staying here, especially since you’re working today. It’s warm and toasty.”

“Go home and switch on the heaters. Enjoy the heat. Taa-daah!! Problem solved.”

“I don’t have a heater.”

“Are you kidding me? All the houses here are equipped with one. You’re lying through your teeth.”

“What if I told you I didn’t live in a house?” Donghae asked, drumming his fingers lightly on the countertop.

“You’re lying again. Now, please choose whichever damned coffee you want because I’m gonna make you leave after that.”

“I just want some tea. Less sugar, piping hot.”

“Anything else?” Hyukjae asked, sighing softly.

“No. Just that,” Donghae replied with a grin, then handed over the money. Hyukjae packed up the drink in a to-go carton but Donghae shook his head. “Don’t bother with that, I’m drinking it here.”

“I thought I said you’d have to leave after ordering your drink.”

“No, you didn’t.” Donghae smiled widely and took the drink before Hyukjae decided to poison it or whatever. “You said you’d make me leave after ordering coffee, but I ordered tea instead. You can’t get rid of me.”

“It doesn’t matter what you order!! I’m asking you to stop bothering me and leave, right now!”

Donghae’s smile dropped and a pout began to take over. “You know what? Henry was right when he said that,” he said sadly, cradling the cup of tea in his hands before leaving the premises. “You really are a meanie.”

 

 

Day 7 in Seoul. First week and I’m sick. Gorgeous.

The last of the leaves fell from the bare branches, and a hard frost blew overnight. When Donghae woke up that morning he was sporting a runny nose and a high fever. Groaning, he filled his kettle with tap water and struggled to make a fire outside, since most of the dry twigs and branches he stored up had moistened with frost. He bundled more blankets over his shivering body and debated visiting the café since he wasn’t feeling too well, and decided against it after all. Hyukjae wouldn’t miss him anyway. In fact, he’d probably be even happier to be given a break from him. Donghae hugged his knees and held them close to his body. He never knew the people in Seoul could be so unfriendly. It had already been a week and he still wasn’t able to find a decent job, so here he was in his tent half-frozen to death. He remembered the remark Hyukjae had made when he told him he didn’t have a heater at home and smiled bitterly.

“But I was telling the truth.”

 

 

Day 8 in Seoul. I’ll just watch him from afar. Don’t want him to hate me.

Donghae ordered his usual cup of tea and sat in a corner, looking totally miserable with permanent dark circles under his eyes. His cold had gotten better, but he still had a runny nose and already a pile of soiled dirty napkins were on the table. His eyes were closed and his head resting on his propped elbows, the picture of misery. He stayed that way for a couple of hours, occasionally shifting a little in his seat while napping. The ground was literally frozen over, and it was a miracle that his fever hadn’t gotten worse over the night. The steamy fumes from the tea helped clear his nose a bit, enabling him to breathe a little more comfortably.

Hyukjae couldn’t help staring at him throughout the day. Business was alright, but he had ample time in his hands, and most of them were spent on pondering about the overly cheerful guy who came into the café every day for a week who was now sitting quietly in a corner booth seemingly asleep. Also, he looked worse for wear and seemed like a proper night’s sleep would fix everything so that he’d return to his cheerful self again. Hyukjae also felt bad for yelling at the guy and chasing him off the other day. Sungmin had overheard him in the back room and lightly ticked him off after closing hours. He wanted to apologize, but had no idea how to. After all, Donghae was only a guy he’d met only a week ago and they hadn’t exactly hit it off at first impression — Hyukjae didn’t even know for sure what Donghae’s name was — he vaguely remembered it being blared in his face a couple of time but he wasn’t really listening all the while. He was pretty sure though that the name had some connection with the sea.

Business was slow towards the end of the day, and Sungmin decided to close an hour earlier. Hyukjae agreed and started to clean up the counter. Donghae was still lightly snoring in the corner booth; nobody else was in the café. Hyukjae then realized that Donghae hadn’t eaten or drank anything except for that tiny mug of tea, which was still half-full. Biting his lips, Hyukjae went into the back kitchen and cooked up a simple meal of sausages and scrambled eggs and brought it to Donghae’s table along with a fresh cup of mint tea. He set it on the table before sitting on the seat opposite the sleeping man.

“Uhm, hey, wake up.”

Donghae grunted and yawned stiffly, whining softly as he began to stir. For a moment, Hyukjae thought the nose scrunch he did was kinda cute. He blinked and rubbed away the sleep from his eyes, then suddenly remembered where he was. He looked up in panic to see Hyukjae staring at him and startled in his seat. “Ah, I’m so sorry Hyukkie, I didn’t mean to sleep for so long. I’ll go now.”

“Wait,” Hyukjae stopped him before he could get up to leave. “You didn’t eat anything today. Finish up the food. I don’t want you to faint in the middle of the street.”

“I have food at home,” Donghae started, then stared longingly at the dish of greasy sausages and cheesy eggs in front of him. “I can’t afford this,” he added in a small voice.

Hyukjae rolled his eyes and made Donghae sit down before handing him a knife and a fork. “Eat up. It’s on the house. Or if you’d rather, you can pay for it in instalments. If you don’t eat it, it goes in the trash.”

“No,” Donghae said and snatched the cutlery from the redhead. “I’ll have it. Thank you very much.” Donghae proceeded to gobble up the food hungrily. Everything was gone in mere minutes.

“You were really hungry. When was your last proper meal?” Hyukjae inquired.

“Mmh. Last week.” Donghae tried the grease off his nose and gave up after a few tries. “Before I got kicked outta my house, but I survived.”

“You got kicked out of your own house?” Hyukjae blinked in horror. “Whatever for? What kind of bad things have you done to get you into this?”

Shrugging, Donghae lifted the mug and inhaled the sweet minty aroma. “Parents wanted me to grow up instead of lazing around in the house all the time. They gave me an allowance but I used up nearly all of it to come here. I’m from Mokpo, actually.” He took a sip and sighed in pleasure. “This is awesome.”

“Why don’t you go get a job? You could earn your own money like normal people do. You can’t survive in Seoul without a salary.”

“Well, nobody wants to hire me! I’ve written letters and sent my resume — which is practically empty by the way — to a couple of companies big and small, but nobody wants to take in a loser who didn’t even finish high school.”

“Well then, what are you planning to do? You can’t just spend the rest of your life sitting in a corner of this café drinking one cup of tea per day!”

“I just did,” Donghae grinned, sipping his tea nonchalantly. “I’ll find something to do when spring rolls around. I’m too cold to work now.”

Hyukjae huffed and shook his head. He gathered the dirty plates from Donghae and stood up to bring them to the kitchen to wash.

“Hyukkie?”

Hyukjae stiffened. “Don’t call me that. My name is not ‘Hyukkie’.”

Donghae leaned closer to him and asked with a lazy smile on his face. “But you haven’t told me what to call you yet, so until you do, I’ll keep calling you ‘Hyukkie’. Or would you prefer Mr Grumpyface?”

“Mr Grumpyface would suffice,” Hyukjae smirked, then quickly disappeared into the kitchen.

Donghae’s face fell immediately and his lips contorted into a pout. He quickly finished the mint tea, which helped clear his nose completely. As he stood up to bring the mug to Hyukjae in the kitchen, he bumped into Sungmin who was just coming out of the employee lockers.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you there. I thought all the customers were gone. Are you alright?”

“You’re Henry’s papa, aren’t you?” Donghae asked with a smile. “I’m just on my way out. I’m sorry for bothering you.”

“You seem pretty lonely. Do you want a ride home? Hyukjae and I are going back anyway. We could give you a lift,” Sungmin offered, taking the mug from Donghae, whose mouth pulled into a small grin.

“No thanks, I live not too far away from here. I can walk alright.”

“I insist.”

“I don’t really—”

“Okay, that’s settled then. I’m sending you back. There’s gonna be another frost tonight and I don’t want any of my customers getting sick. That includes you, buddy.”

“Donghae,” Donghae corrected, smiling softly. “I didn’t know you owned this place. My pa— I mean, I thought you were just a barista. I’ve never heard of owners working at their own cafés before.”

Sungmin smiled. “We’ll just wait for Hyukjae to come out. Then I’ll send you home.”

“Does Hyukjae live with you?”

“No, but he’s my upstairs neighbour. We carpool for convenience, that’s all. By the way,” Sungmin whispered with a small glint in his eye. “Hyukjae’s single and just back on the market. I’ve seen the way you look at him and I’d like to give you some advice, Donghae. He one hard nut to crack, but once you get him to show you his soft side, then you’re on the highway to his heart. Trust me. I’ve known him since we were six.”

“Are you talking behind my back again?” Hyukjae asked as soon as he emerged from the kitchen, apron gone and clothes changed into casual ones. Donghae thought he looked absolutely stunning. “Really, Sungmin, when will you stop gossiping about me?”

“Until you get a new boyfriend, that’s for sure. This one here looks like a keeper,” Sungmin cackled loudly when Hyukjae glared at him. “Ever since you broke up with that supermodel boyfriend, you’ve been really cranky. Don’t think I never realized.”

“He was a jerk. Obsessed with money and his abs. I don’t even know what I saw in him last time. I hate rich people. They’re useless, snobby jerks,” Hyukjae retorted, putting some stuff into his bag. “Is pandaface here coming with us?”

“The name is Donghae.”

“Pandaface.”

“Donghae!”

“Pandaface!”

Sungmin rolled his eyes and walked towards the door. “Keep squabbling, the both of you. I’ll be waiting outside.”

Donghae immediately sprinted for the door and slammed the door shut on Hyukjae. Hyukjae scowled angrily. “Yah! Is this what I get in return for feeding you?”

“No, that’s for making fun of my name. My parents gave me a beautiful name and you wouldn’t even use it!”

“Well, they kicked you out of your own house so I’d say they don’t care about you anyway.”

Hyukjae froze and regretted immediately when he spat out the last sentence. Donghae’s eyes had grown red and it was obvious that he’d just made him upset. That was a low blow under the belt. Hyukjae felt like a jerk.

“I’m sorry.”

Donghae grit his teeth and kept quiet. He marched out of the café in silence and started walking off  instead of towards Sungmin, who had his car parked right next to the café. Sungmin called out to him. “Where are you going? I said I’d give you a lift home!”

Hyukjae appeared right beside the café owner with a guilty look. “I… might have upset him unintentionally. Sorry.”

Sungmin sighed. “Really, Hyuk?” The duo watched Donghae pull his outer jacket closer to his body and rub his mittened hands together. “Maybe you should go after him and apologize.”

“In this weather? Please tell me you’re joking, Min.”

“I wasn’t the one who got him upset. You broke him, now you fix him.”

“Fine,” Hyukjae agreed begrudgingly and fetched a thick coat to put on. “Wait for me here.”

“With pleasure.”

 

Hyukjae chased after Dongh