Damp, clean swipes of his rag cleared the early spring pollen off of the counter in gleaming rectangles. The sun was setting just right now, glimmering in brilliant warmth onto the lake that made it's own showcase several meters away from the doors of the small shop that Kyung worked in daily. A rattle of the honey-based lollipop moving against his teeth clattered faintly in the back of his conscious. He, as he did every day, watched the blonde man with the full lips loosen the tie of the expensive suit he wore with exhaustion. They shared this routine, Kyung would watch him go to work at 7am, eyes not even glancing into the store; then he'd come back home at around 7pm, tugging at a faded-coloured tie. Kyung noticed how the man ripped at that tie as if it were a Hangman's Knot.

As Kyung leaned onto the damp counter, the luke-warm droplets clinging to the linen of his thinly striped black and yellow uniform, he swore to himself that he'd try to get his attention tomorrow.
Do something to catch his eye.
Maybe give him some candy or something.
Another clatter of him shifting the lollipop in his mouth sounded.
But it was a bit more clear this time.

With a satisfied, toothy grin, he gave himself a nod and pulled the keys out of the pocket of his apron, almost running to the doors of the shop to see if he could watch the mysterious walk for just awhile longer. Just until he faded out of view. Out of reach.

Kyung jammed the gold-black key into the lock of the clear doors and turned it, the heavy doors setting themselves shut with a sluggish thunk. Kyung, desperate to rid himself of the bee attire, flung off the uniform shirt and ran his way up the stairs of the two-story building. To his living area.

--

He arose to the tapping of fast-paced footsteps that bounced up the wall of the building and crept into the room through the open window. Kyung jerked awake, remembering how fast that the stranger moved so that, Kyung supposed, he wouldn't be late for work. Without even bothering to run his fingers through his hair, he ran down stairs in the clothes he slept in from the day before, stumbling and clambering over his own feet to get to the counter before the suited man could run by the door. He was determined to catch his attention.

But, as if it were a sign from the honeyed heavens, the suited man stopped. He was panting, leaning over his knees with a reddened race. Sweat shining faintly under the newly risen sun. Kyung watched him, eyes wide. This was the first time he'd notice the stranger running out of breath like this.
Kyung's eyes widened further when he saw the man's face turn toward him, into the shop. He looked into the shop. For the first time, the stranger so locked into the routine of running down the sidewalk to work and running back like a ghost trapped into the same pattern for the rest of eternity, burned his gaze this way.
Kyung's stomach twisted into knots of disbelief when the man opened the door, the warmth of his hand clouding the clear glass of it with a white fog. Despite the new actions, he could've sworn that he locked the door the night before.

The man walked around the shop mindlessly for a short while before coming up to the counter with a lone candy.
It seemed shrunken in his hand.
He placed it in the center of the counter, a cocky smile barely hidden behind his thick, plush lips.
"How much is this?"

Kyung blinked, unsure if he was dreaming. Now that the man was actually here, he didn't quite know what to do.
"E-eh... 15 cents..."

He nodded, fishing 15 cents in pennies out of his coat pocket and stacking it into a pile on the counter as he counted.
"I'm Woo Jiho, I'll be back again."

And he left.
The whole scene happened in less than three minutes.
Kyung watched the man stuff the candy into his pocket, opening the door with a hand on the glass rather than the doorknob. He gave a casual wave without a look back before disappearing from sight.

It was like that for awhile, he'd come twice everyday. On his way to work, and on his way back. The only distinct change was that he only ran to the shop, then walked at a casual pace the rest of the way. Each time giving that gazeless raise of his palm. Sticking the candy into his coat pocket rather than in his mouth.

"Do you like them?" Kyung would ask.
"I like something here, anyway." Jiho would reply, a display of pearly white teeth would be shown from behind his lips as if they were glistening stars being revealed by bright red curtains at a theater.

This was their new routine.

Until, finally, Kyung had realized that he wanted so much more from the suited man.
He woke up on that Wednesday morning an hour earlier; brushing his teeth, running a comb through his hair, putting on fresh clothes, cleaning himself up for the first time since his highschool graduation.
He had feelings for Jiho.

And as Jiho went into routine mode, running to the doors of the shop,
Palm against glass,
Waltzing into the shop,
Taking hold of the golden sweet into his warm palm,
Placing it on the center of the counter,
Stacking his pennies,

Just like any other day.

Except this time, he added another question to the usual banter they'd exchange.
"Do you like them? The candies?" Kyung would ask.
"I'm more interested in the sweeter thing here," he'd reply coolly, not batting an eyelash.
"What would that be?" He shot back, perhaps too quickly.
Jiho tilted his head, the same cocky-clever smirk showing with an intensity that was never emitted before.

"You."

Kyung blinked, lips parting in a small "o" of surprise.
Jiho laughed, throwing his blonde head of hair back as he did so.
An embarrassed blush rose to his cheeks as the other's laugh melted into the same grin that he'd seen daily.

"Well?"

"Uhn?" Kyung grunted back, confused.

"You're supposed to say how you feel about me now. You like me, right?" Jiho said, raising eyebrows to the black-haired man in front of him.
Kyung laughed from embarrassment, covering his face as tears of pure humiliation caught light in his eyes.
Jiho furrowed his brows, lips tightening before he brought the shorter man closer to him. Pulling Kyung to him by his hips, he pressed his body firmly against his.
Kyung's hands went from his face to Jiho's hands, eyes wide with shock.
Jiho pursed his lips in a joking manner, moving closer to the other's face.
Kyung's face brightened with a light pink, even his ears getting warm at the action.

"Yes, yes! I like you! Is that enough?" the words stumbled out of his mouth like he did down the stairs the first morning Jiho made his way into the shop.
And just as they did, Jiho's eyes opened and deepened with such delighted tenderness that Kyung's heart flipped in his chest. He moved forward seriously this time, pressing his hot, plush lips against the other's inexperienced ones. Moving with such passion and adoration that Kyung struggled to keep up. Kyung felt Jiho's teeth gently bite against his bottom lip with a primitive lust seeping between the heat of the two of them. After a few moments of teasing the lip, Jiho pulled away, hands still firmly clamped against the hips of the other's body dominantly before resting his forehead against Kyung's.

He was panting slightly.

"Do you want me to answer your question honestly?" Jiho intoned after a few moments.
"Huh?" Kyung responded instinctively, still hot from the kiss.
"If I liked the candies?"
"Ah--" a chuckle caught in his throat. "Do you like them?"
Zico grinned, eyes locked lovingly into other's as he pecked his lips once more. Gently.

"I'm allergic to honey, actually."

--

A/N: I forced this out, and it didn't even turn out that well tbh. I'm going through intense writer's block jfc. I hope you like this!!