The thing Taeil hated most about working at the maid cafe was the drunk men that would come in an hour before closing.

It was the worst, the most disgusting;  like a herd of alcohol filled human es come to and seduce the servers. While Taeil wasn't a server, only the host of the cafe, he was very aware of their loud suggestions of going to their places after their shift and that they should keep their uniforms on. Taeil would give the men aggravated looks, but the servers never asked him to kick any out.

This was probably due to his size. Taeil was a roaring 163 cm with about as much muscle definition as a hot dog. It was probably this fact that got him hired as the host, as well as his cute expressions he apparently possessed (the servers always pointed them out), and his multitude of large, thick framed glasses that made him look slightly childish. While he never found himself particularly adorable he accepted the rare flaunts as they came. 

Tonight seemed to be one of those rare occasions, it seemed. It was the dreaded hour before closing, and Taeil gave a deadpan expression to the group of young men drunkenly heading towards the cafe. He sighed and glanced at the two servers working right now, wondering which one can handle their harassment, before a loud yell broke through his thoughts. “YOU ARE SO CUTE!” Startled, Taeil whipped his head to the entrance, watching one of the three young men look at him with a naïve grin on his face. “You are so cute!” He yelled again, and Taeil became incredibly aware that this man was yelling at him, calling him cute. Taeil cursed under his breath as his cheeks grew hot, glancing around the small cafe to see all eyes on him. His stomach flipped in the embarrassment.

“Can we have a table?” The least drunk of the three came up and asked, grinning widely. There was a jump of a giggle in his question and Taeil tried to ignore it.

“Isn't he so cute?” The naïve faced one was still on about it, talking loudly to his laughing friend. Taeil bit his tongue, nodding to the request for a table and grabbing the menus. He turned to lead them to a table but was struck at the site of the full cafe. Having been working for so long he hadn't come to realize that there was only one empty table, conveniently the one closest to his podium. Once more Taeil cursed.

Taeil slowly turned, indicating to the table. “...It appears this table is the only one open. I hope that's alright.”

“It's -”

“ yes!”

“- perfect.”

Nodding, Taeil set the menus out on the table as they sat, trying to ignore the naïve faced one complaining about wanting to sit closest to “the cutie's” podium. Usually it was the maids getting fawned over, but the night had taken a weird turn when Taeil became the center of attention to the group of drunk men. Quickly he explained that a server would soon be with them, turning back to the podium to work as if that hadn't just happened.

His shift seemed to drag on for the last hour. As it came to be no more drunks came in, only their current customers slowly trickling out as the hour progressed. Ten minutes before closing the now sober friend of the three began to his friends out, consoling the sad naïve faced one. He was making quiet crying noises and Taeil could hear the servers giggling about it as they cleaned the tables. He felt completely embarrassed by the whole situation and tried to ignore the group as they got up to leave, reorganizing the menus to look busy, but stopped when a hand clumsily tapped him on the shoulder. Turning, a shadow casted by the naïve one covered him, and only then did Taeil realize how tall he was. He was a good 10 or 12 cm taller than Taeil but he had a complete baby face, even wearing a pout at the current moment. Softly he sniffled before talking.

“You're really adorable. I just want you to know that.”

There was a loud cackle behind him, presumably from the still drunk friend, and Taeil tried to ignore it as he continued.

“I would ask you out if I were out of the closet. But my two friends don't know that I'm gay yet.”

The cackle only grew.

“My name's Jihoon. But you can call me P.O~”

At the “P.O” he raised his fingers in a v-sign to his face, grinning. It was adorable, admittedly, and Taeil felt his heart jump at the look. Before he could reply Jihoon was being pulled away by his friends, waving at him with that same cute, wide-eyed expression.

It was a week before Taeil saw him again. When he came in it was after the lunch rush, a quiet midday, and Taeil noted how completely unsure he looked about being there. Taeil watched him walk over to the podium, noting his now quiet demeanor and how he couldn't seem to look up from the ground. He looked impossibly shy and Taeil smiled softly at him before speaking. “Hi, welcome to the cafe.”

Jihoon looked at him, forcing an uneasy smile on his face, cheeks red. Taeil tried not to snicker at his timidity.

“One table, then?” Jihoon nodded and Taeil led him to a two person booth, setting the menu in front of the now impossibly quiet man. “A server will be right with you.” Jihoon nodded and bowed his head before Taeil headed back to his podium. In a half hour he left with a silent bow and sheepish smile to Taeil and the adorableness of the whole meeting made Taeil decide that he forgave him for the embarrassing night he had given him a week ago.

Over the course of two weeks Jihoon became a regular. He never said a word to anyone but his servers but Taeil always felt that he was there for him. During his breaks the servers would always report to him about what he ordered and how he kept his eyes to the front of the cafe, his eyes making hearts for Taeil. Although the attention was mildly embarrassing Taeil felt fond of it, having found Jihoon become increasingly cute during his visits. He always found a way to give genuine compliments to the servers or those seated around him and had even accompanied his mother one visit (the maid who served him that visit was absolutely positive it was so he could show her Taeil). It was a crush, Taeil had come to accept, and his heart certainly reacted like it during Jihoon's next visit.

It started off the same as usual -Taeil would seat him at his usual booth spot and then spend the remainder of his time there at his podium, resisting the urge to glance back at the cute Jihoon. He would maybe sit another customer or two but for the most part would be patiently sitting at his position. When it came time for Jihoon to leave, though, he stopped in front of Taeil with a quake in his voice. “Taeil?”

Taeil flipped his head up at the sound of Jihoon's voice, his heartbeat pulsing loudly in his chest. He didn't know Jihoon knew his name. “Yeah, Jihoon?”

Jihoon looked shocked at what Taeil had said, his expression turning from embarrassed to astonished. “You know my name?”

Taeil felt dumbstruck. Suddenly worried that Jihoon didn't remember how they met he sat in an awkward silence for a moment, his mouth opening to speak right as Jihoon spoke again. “I -I mean, I remember introducing myself- sort of...I thought I just dreamed that though.” He smiled sheepishly at his words, chuckling cutely.

“No, you didn't...” Taeil replied, his lips nervously, the whole situation making him feel increasingly coy. Jihoon looked equally as shook up though, his cheeks and ears flushed. Biting his lip Taeil noted how cute he was up close.

“I like you!” Jihoon suddenly blurted out loudly. There were a few muffled chuckles from other customers in the cafe but he continued without acknowledging them. “Will you please go on a date with me? My friends think you're really cute and even my mom does! And, I mean, I do, too but I just want you to be my boyfriend please accept me!” At the end of his speech he put his hands together as if for a prayer, pouting at Taeil. Taeil felt blown away by the whole thing, his mouth hanging agape and cheeks reddening by the second. The moment was drawn out in a silence that filled the whole cafe. Timidly Jihoon watched him, begging for an answer.

Ultimately, Taeil replied. “...yes.”

Jihoon gasped cutely, grinning widely. “Yes to the date?”

Taeil nodded, smiling shyly. “...yes to all of it.”