This time Hongbin was watching the time, and Hyuna laughed at him.

            “Less than a week ago you were annoyed when he came in and now look at you, you’re waiting and excited. Cute,” Hyuna said, stretching out the word. Hongbin reached for her to smack her, but she just kept laughing and went to the back.

            “Hey, could you wipe down the counters too?”

            “The counters are just as messy as always,” Hongbin called after her, hearing her laugh fade. He rolled his eyes.

            The clock above the register read 5:49, and Hongbin turned back to the front of the store. Why does he feel excited? It’s not it was any different from the routine. Something was different though.

            Exactly on time, like always, the bell above the door chimed.

            After Hongbin had finished up, he told Hakyeon to go ahead and wait while he got his bag from the back. Hyuna eyed him as he walked past.

            “Going on another date?” Hongbin’s cheeks turned pink, and she laughed.

            “Aww, Bean, you’re so cute! Have fun with your little elf friend.” She winked, putting unnecessary emphasis on the “friend” part. Hongbin pushed past her, flicking the side of her head.

            “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

            “Yah, no you won’t, tomorrow’s your day off, did you forget? You always do, I can’t count the number of times you’ve walked in on your days off.” She gathered her jacket, walking with him back to the front of the store. She saw Hakyeon and grinned at him.

            “It’s Hakyeon, right? I’m glad Hongbin has finally made some friends that he can get out with, he keeps talking about you.”

            “I do not! Absolutely do not, no talking going on, I’m very professional.” Hongbin protested, but Hakyeon only laughed.

            “I just hope he doesn’t bother you too much talking about me.”

            Hongbin glared at him, and Hyuna laughed, saying her goodbyes and looking rather suggestively at Hongbin, who ignored the look.

            “She’s nice!” Hongbin rolled his eyes.

            “Yeah, when she’s not being intrusive. Anyways, we should get going. The place we’re going fills up pretty fast around this time of day.” Hakyeon nodded, and reached for Hongbin’s hand, lacing his fingers through Hongbin’s.

            There were clouds in the sky, and it was chilly outside. Hakyeon was leaning into Hongbin, who was trying to walk straight against him, almost pushing him off, but relented when Hakyeon rested his head against Hongbin’s shoulder.

            “Ahh, I’m tired.”

            “I thought elves didn’t need that much sleep.” Hakyeon huffed at him.

            “’That much’ does not equate to ‘none at all’, and I couldn’t sleep at all. I’m blaming you.”

            Hongbin was about to reply, but they had arrived at the building, and so he stopped.

            “Why are you stopping? There’s no restaurant here,” Hakyeon asked him.

            “Yes there is, it’s on the roof.” Hongbin directed them around the back and to a set of stairs, leading up to the doorway. Hakyeon followed him, eyes widening as they reached the top.

            The little restaurant was split in half, half was the inside dining area and the other half was outside under trellises that held strings of lights. There were some vines intertwined with the lights and the entire area was infused with a soft glow. It was warmer up there, and after the waitress seated them, outside per Hakyeon’s request, who smiled wide at her, making her blush, Hongbin handed him the menu.

            “It’s nice, isn’t it?”

            “I didn’t even think humans were able to make things this pretty!”

            Hongbin huffed.

            “Should I be offended?”

            Hakyeon laughed.

            “Come on, you have to admit it, you don’t see as many pretty things out here, compared to places like the clearing last night,” Hakyeon said, and then paused. “Well I guess there’s you, so that’s another thing.”

            “You definitely get some sap from the trees,” Hongbin told him, ducking his head anyways, already feeling the blush creep up his cheeks. Hakyeon just laughed at him again.

            The food was good, but not as good as the previous night’s meal, if you asked Hongbin. There definitely wasn’t any equal comparison between the elven food and what they were eating at the little rooftop restaurant. Even so, Hakyeon seemed to enjoy it, insisting again on Hongbin giving him some of his food. It was fun and simple though, and the lights above them grew brighter as the sky around them darkened. There were heat lamps spaced out around them, so it was warm and cozy around them. There weren’t a lot of people outside with them, so it was relatively quiet. Except for the loud laughter that came from Hakyeon every once in a while, when he was telling a dumb story or when Hongbin was complaining about his job or anything else.

            After they had finished eating, the waitress brought them a dessert menu, which Hongbin was about to refuse had it not been for the excited look that Hakyeon shot at him, and so he accepted it and thanked her.

            “So, I take it you want dessert?”

            “Yeah! I mean I’ve never eaten at a lot of human restaurants, so excluding the bakery and some other little places closer to my house, I never really get to have treats like the ones you guys have up here.”      

            “They aren’t really that special, just like little cakes, and ice creams. There’s a sundae bar, where you get to customize your own sundae, there’s some little pies, it looks like, ooh, looks like it’s probably freshly made. What’re you in the mood for?”

            Hakyeon looked at the menu in Hongbin’s hands, looking at the little descriptions and pictures.

            “How about the sundae thing you mentioned? That sounds interesting.”

            Hongbin nodded.

            “Sure, that sounds fine, you just have to pick what toppings and flavors you want, and then you mix it up when they bring it.”

            “Let’s share one!”

            Hongbin finally agreed to share a single sundae, but then the grand debate over what options to pick. Hakyeon obviously had a big sweet tooth, and kept adding things onto the list of what he wanted, and Hongbin kept telling him no, it wasn’t what he was thinking, no, butterscotch chips were not made out of butter or scotch. There were some things that he just thought was funny, and almost let him add on, but since they were going to be sharing he decided he should definitely have a say in what was going on.

            It kinda felt like a real date, Hongbin thought to himself, watching the way that Hakyeon was waving his hands around, talking about some cat thing that Taekwoon kept doing, after they had finally agreed on some elaborate combination of items to add to their ice cream. He was very expressive, and everything he did was just as lively as he was.

            “And then he kept scratching at it, and I told him that he either had to stop or I was going to make him wear a hat, ooh you should have seen the look he gave me, Taekwoon doesn’t like hats that much, unless they are little and soft. Sometimes I think I should learn how to knit, and just make him tons of hats so he can wear one every day.”

            Hongbin laughed at the picture of Hakyeon knitting a hat, and then at the image of Taekwoon wearing that same hat. Hakyeon smiled over at him.

            “You have a nice laugh.”

            “Trees, Hakyeon, I swear it’s the trees.”

            At that point the sundae arrived, bigger than Hongbin had expected, so he was glad they only decided to get one. Hakyeon’s face was lit up, excited, and he brandished one of the spoons in Hongbin’s face.

            “Let’s eat up!”

waaaah sorry I haven't posted a chapter sooner, school has been a and I've been tired (maybe because you stay up so late, win, you dumb)

anyways! nothing really happens in this chapter, it's just setting me up for the last one (!!!!)

like i said in the last chapter's notes, this is gonna stay as it is, and then i'll probably write like a real story story in the same universe, a longer one (maybe? we'll have to see) so if you want, you can stick around!

really nothing happens in this one

is it boring? i hope not

UM but yes that is that

thanks for reading and commenting!

~Win