I n t e r r o g a t o i r e

It’s still a little early in the morning when Hyukjae carefully steps further inside the Starbucks coffee shop, holding a steaming cup of White Mocha in one hand – with an extra shot of white chocolate syrup to drown in the bitter taste of coffee (he needs the caffeine on weekdays). It’s slightly too crowded and loud to his liking, considering he is planning to get some work done, but he decides to ignore the thought, and heads towards an empty spot he finds at the other side of the room instead.

It’s not like he really has any other choice, anyways; his cousin has been squatting his apartment for the past two weeks already – something about his mother wanting him to become responsible –, living off his food supplies and loud TV shows, while his office is far too gangrened with annoying co-workers to be a comfortable environment at all.

Life is a complete , Hyukjae bitterly decides.

After tripping on his own feet a couple of times – skillfulness has never been his strongest point –, he flops down onto the comfortable seat with a loud groan of relief. It earns him a startled glance from the man settled at the table next to his – discretion isn’t really his forte either, obviously –, who looks up from his laptop with a small frown.

Hyukjae grimaces, embarrassed.

“Sorry,” he mumbles under his breath and glances up at the stranger.

And damn, he thinks as he bites his lower lip and takes in his handsomeness – damn, he’s ing hot!

The man looks about the same age as himself and is dressed quite casually, wearing a red checkered shirt and simple jeans. He has messy dark-brown hair, soft-looking locks brushed to one side and hovering just above thick brows. His eyes are double-lidded and sparkle a little whenever he blinks, hypnotizing irises surrounded by a chocolate-colored depth.

Tanned, smooth skin stretches over flawless features, all of which make Hyukjae want to stare until he turns completely blind. He has a pair of pink thin lips, which are slightly pursued in concentration, while his nose stands straight in the middle of his perfect face. A small crooked tooth peeks through his parted lips when he distractedly them, small imperfection that makes him look even more endearing than he already is.

Then, belatedly realizing he has been gawking for a long while already, he winces and hastily looks away. The other man throws him another odd glance, looking a little creeped out – which he can understand, in all honesty –, before he focuses his attention back on his laptop.

Wonderful, Hyukjae groans in embarrassment as he runs a hand through his auburn hair and takes his own stuff out. Really, really wonderful, Lee Hyukjae.

Sighing a bit dejectedly – he has been single for a while now, after all –, he opens his laptop and wraps his hands around the hot cup while waiting for the device to wake up. He takes a long gulp and clicks the files he needs to work on open, before finally setting himself to work.

*

“Err – excuse me?”

Hyukjae startles as he drinks another long gulp of his second White Mocha, almost burning the tip of his tongue with it. Yelping, he grimaces in slight pain and hastily puts the steaming cup down.

Goddamn it, he moans inwardly as he takes a long breath in, hoping to soothe the sting a little. , it hurts.

“Err – hello? Sir?” the unfamiliar voice calls again.

The auburn-haired man confusedly turns around, frowning slightly, then blinks upon finding himself facing the handsome guy seated next to him. The latter is wearing a sheepish expression, although an amused glint shines within his chocolate orbs.

“Oh, yeah,” he gulps, unconsciously straightening up in a small attempt to look a little more attractive. “H—hi.”

“Hi,” the man grins at him, and oh, God!

His smiles, and even his voice – everything is beautiful. It sounds low and warm whenever he talks, a hint of huskiness sharpening the smooth edges of his spoken words with something delicious and appealing. His crooked tooth briefly taunts him again when he grins wider, peeking through his thin lips, and Hyukjae wonders how it would feel to run his tongue over it.

Stop it, you ing creep.

“