Written by: "Lune Chat"
Pairing: WooGyu

Prompt: i always thought love at first sight was a lie but then you happened and proved it once again

(4,340 words)

 

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Meeting You

 

It was raining that day and the clock hanging on the café walls showed that it was already 3 p.m. when Sunggyu finally managed to land himself at his favorite café after fighting with the bad weather. He was not completely drenched since it only started to pour heavily when he was 10 meters from the café but still, it had made his hair and coat a little wet.

 

Sunggyu shivered slightly while peeling his no-longer-warm long brown coat, leaving him now only in his knitted white turtleneck. Rain in the beginning of winter was surely not a great weather for anyone, much less for someone like him who was not too fond of the cold. Thankfully, the café’s heater was doing a good job of preventing him from freezing.

 

He brushed his wet jet-black bangs that stuck to his forehead backwards before making his way to the counter. Fortunately, he did not have to wait long before it was his turn to order because the café was not as crowded as usual (probably due to the rain).

 

The barista smiled and greeted Sunggyu. “Hey hyung, the usual?”

 

Sunggyu replied with a smile before nodding. “Yes, Dongwoo. One vanilla latte with three pumps of syrup and please don’t add anything weird to them this time.” He gave the younger a stern glare.

 

Dongwoo just laughed at the elder’s words—that signature boisterous laughter. It was true that sometimes he sneakily added something to the other’s order because it was funny to see the reaction the elder gave (the worst was a hard flick on his forehead after the ‘bubble gum’ incident). After all, Sunggyu was a regular at the café for three years and they had become friends by now.

 

“Alright, alright. I’ll skip it this time. On the bright side, you once said that my mix with the strawberry syrup was good.” He gave the other a wide grin.

 

Sunggyu just let out a fake sigh, but then he smiled again. “You got lucky that time because it tasted good but I’m not in the mood for your crazy experiment today, Dongwoo-yah. I just need something to warm myself now; it’s extremely cold outside.” At that, he shivered again.

 

The younger let out a smirk and wriggled his thick eyebrows suggestively. “Ahh hyung, all you need is love then.” Then he burst out laughing at the elder’s unamused face. “Okay, okay. One vanilla latte with three pumps of syrup for my lovely hyung will be ready in a minute.” Dongwoo said in a singsong voice.

 

After making his payment, Sunggyu decided to wait for his order at his favorite spot in the corner of the room that luckily no one had claimed yet. With a small window beside the table, it was a nice spot to observe the people walking on the streets and those entering the café at the same time. He enjoyed watching people and their interactions after all, not in creepy way of course.

 

He admired how people could have different personalities but still harmonize well with others, how they adjusted themselves to match others. Additionally, he really admired every couple he had met (or secretly observed).

 

It was amazing how people behaved differently from usual just because they were with their loved ones. Either they become cuter, shyer, and quieter or even more talkative—in his brother’s case—when their significant other is around.

 

Yes, one of his favorite subjects to observe was the love life of his brother—Myungsoo—and his boyfriend of two years, Sungyeol. Even now, it was still fascinating for him to see his usually quiet brother become talkative once his hyperactive boyfriend was around.

 

 

For some, it might be weird to see their brother love another man. To Sunggyu, however, the term boyfriend did not faze him a bit. In fact, he was cool with his brother being gay because in his opinion, uality does not matter when it comes to love.

 

 

Which brought him to a sad reality—his whole 27 years of living was spent single.

 

 

It was not that his facial and body features were unpleasant, or that his personality was atrocious that resulted in his single status all these years. That was not the case, not at all.

 

With small but sharp eyes (his friends said that), straight nose, full lips, well-defined jawline and his above-average height, he had many admirers in high school and college (not to mention, his workplace now too). Moreover, with his hotly smart brain and down-to-earth personality, it was really not difficult for boys and girls alike to fall for him.

 

Despite getting at least one confession every few weeks, the true reason behind Sunggyu remaining single was because he had yet to find anyone attractive. Sure, he found some of those who had declared their love for him handsome or pretty, but it stopped just at that. Never had he found someone attractive enough to pique his interest and make him fall for them.

 

 

At least that was what happened, until now.

 

 

 

He heard the bell from the café entrance ring, indicating a new customer. He shifted his glance from the window, and a soft blonde head of hair came into Sunggyu’s line of sight. A pair of warm dark brown eyes met his own when the newcomer whipped his head in his direction.

 

 

Suddenly it felt like the world stopped spinning on its track and his breath hitched, almost choking on nothing. His heart beat faster against his rib-cage and drummed in his ear. He got dizzy, but he was not so sure why (it might have something to do with him suddenly forgetting how to breathe). He felt it.

 

It felt like the stars were aligned in a perfect constellation, and suddenly everything made sense to him. He felt complete, a warm sensation sparking in his chest that soon spread to every inch of his body. He did not even feel the remnants of the cold from the rain which were on his fingertips seconds ago. This has to be the answer.

 

 

He is the answer.

 

 

The man with boyish features was shorter and definitely younger than him, and had a pair of twinkling dark brown eyes that practically outshone the stars on the darkest night.

A pointy nose with a hint of red on the tips and rosy cheeks adorned his delicate face that might even put Snow White to shame. Combined with the slightly parted, plump and soft-looking, kissable cherry lips.

His sharp jawline and slender pale neck just added more reasons for Sunggyu to think this male was the most stunningly beautiful thing he ever saw. He’s dazzling.

 

 

No, not even the word dazzling was enough to describe this gleaming male clad in an oversized navy blue knitted coat with a white shirt underneath, complete with dark skinny jeans and a pair of sneakers. He looked so good almost effortlessly that it made Sunggyu’s stomach churn uncomfortably, as though hundreds of butterflies started flying in his stomach suddenly.

 

They held their gaze for what felt like eternity when only 60 seconds had passed in reality. Time stopped ticking for the both of them the moment their eyes met. They were so lost in each other’s eyes, staring as though the world ceased to exist except the two of them at the moment.

 

 

Only when Dongwoo shouted Sunggyu’s name to tell him his order was ready did the two of them snapped out from their trance. The stranger quickly whipped his head to hide the blush (or maybe Sunggyu’s eyes were just playing tricks on him) and proceeded to walk to the counter to make his order while Sunggyu was still seated in his place, dazed.

 

It was only after the third time Dongwoo had shouted his name and the attractive male was already seated at a table some distance away from him that Sunggyu’s mind seemed to start working again. He slowly walked to the counter to take his hot beverage while still subtly glancing at the newcomer, his heartrate yet to resume to its normal tempo. Of course, his definition of subtle might not be that subtle, as he saw a grin forming on Dongwoo’s lips when he reached the spot where the shorter male was standing.

 

“Ahh... I see that you’ve taken my advice seriously, hyung.” He grinned widely at the quiet elder while handling him the hot coffee carefully.

 

“Shut up Dino, he might hear you!”  Sunggyu said in a flustered manner before stealing a quick glance in the direction of the captivating male, making sure they were not within his hearing range.

 

Dongwoo snickered at his hyung’s behavior, suddenly coming up with an interesting idea to match-make the two obviously-attracted males. He went back to finishing the hot chocolate he was making earlier, decorated it with some whipped cream, and then poked at the distracted elder male’s arms.

 

“Hyung, why don’t you deliver this to him? I sort of forgot to ask for his name and now I don’t know how to tell him that his order is ready.”

 

The younger gave Sunggyu his most innocent smile and shoved the hot mug to the elder’s free hand (making sure it would not scald the other’s hand first), before feigning to busy himself with making someone else’s orders (which was a pretense because there were no other customers after the attractive stranger).

 

Sunggyu contemplated for a moment if he should really do what his younger friend told him or to just leave the hot chocolate on the counter and return to his seat. He knew what Dongwoo’s intention was when he asked the favor, because Sunggyu was not stupid. However, he saw the good-looking male shiver and he knew that his inner debate had to end right there if he did not want the other suffering because of his indecisiveness.

 

Sunggyu was usually not a coward (heck, he was the epitome of confidence), but somehow this male had the ability to make him act differently. He slowly understood the unconscious change in attitude when someone had to interact with a certain person (the thing he found amusing in people) and right then, he knew this stranger is that certain person.

 

After trying to calm his heart (but failing miserably), Sunggyu let out a defeated sigh and started to walk hesitantly to the seemingly younger male’s table but he spotted a cream puff on display and his step came to a halt. He got another idea, so he asked Dongwoo to give him the creamy pastry on a plate and walked more confidently towards the blonde male this time.

 

When he reached his destination, the other male did not seem to notice his presence because he was busy fiddling with his cellphone. It was only when Sunggyu had let out an awkward cough that the other looked in his direction, clearly shocked at his sudden appearance.

 

 

Meeting the pair of lustrous eyes for the second time did not make Sunggyu’s heart calmer; instead, it leapt faster at the intimacy. Maybe this was a bad idea after all, but what should he do about the warm feeling in his chest?

 

He was lost in his own thoughts again.

 

Suddenly, the other male’s cell phone slipped from his hand and hit the table, startling both of them.

 

Just then, Sunggyu could not help but let out a small laugh at the awkward tension and fortunately the other followed along, somewhat easing the awkwardness.

 

Taking their time to recover from laughter and calming themselves down, Sunggyu regained his confidence. He took a deep breath and weirdly his heartbeat started to slow down now (but still not back to normal).

 

“Hello, did you order a cup of hot chocolate with extra whipped cream on top?” Sunggyu let out a small smile while raising his hand which was occupied with the mug filled with the sweet hot liquid, trying to convey the purpose of his sudden appearance.

 

“Y-yeah, that’s my order. B-but why?” The sitting male stuttered a bit, looking confused. Cute.

 

“Well, our barista there forgot to ask your name and did not know how to call you to inform that your order is ready. I was on my way to pick my order, so he kind of asked me to deliver this to you because eventually I’ll be passing your table on my way back.” Sunggyu’s smile did not falter as he carefully put the hot liquid on the stranger’s table, as well as the cream puff he picked earlier.

 

“B-but...” The attractive male shifted his gaze to the counter, looking utterly confused. Then, he looked back at his table and noticed the sweet pastry he did not remember ordering so when he met Sunggyu’s eyes that were staring at him once again, he raised his eyebrow. “Uhh... I don’t think I ordered this.”

 

Sunggyu smile sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. “I know, but I just thought you might like it. Did I guess wrong? I can take it back if you don’t.” He offered a bit too quickly as he saw the lack of reaction he got from the other.

 

The blond shook his head, a bit too quick for normal. “N-no, I like cream puff. I was just shocked as to how you knew that, but thank you.” He gave Sunggyu an appreciative smile, the bright eyes turning into crescents and cheeks puffing up.

 

Upon seeing the lovely eye smile, the raven let out a breath he did not remember holding, relieved at the other’s reply. “Glad you love it.” He let out a light chuckle.

 

Soon, it grew silent and the awkward tension returned. “Uhh... I should probably go back to my seat now. Enjoy your hot chocolate.” Sunggyu barely took a step when he heard the other’s voice calling him.

 

“W-wait!” The younger male blushed (this time Sunggyu was sure his eyes were not playing tricks on him) when Sunggyu whipped his head back to meet his gaze in confusion, wondering if he had left anything behind. “W-would you like to s-sit here with me?”

 

Sunggyu was left speechless for a minute, and the other male was shifting uncomfortably in his seat as he avoided looking into the elder’s eyes. After his mind had processed the other male’s invitation, he let out a grin. He placed his own coffee on the table and pulled out the chair opposite the blond. “May I?”

 

Maybe Sunggyu’s reaction was not the one the attractive male was expecting, as a shocked expression was pasted on his face that soon turned into a shy smile. “Y-yes, please.”

 

With that, the two of them finally sat face-to-face in silence, stealing shy glances towards each other until Sunggyu’s eyes caught a movement behind the younger male. There he saw it — Dongwoo being his bizarre self, making a weird gesture with his body at the elder.

 

It took Sunggyu a minute to understand what the other meant, with Dongwoo gesturing a handshake and mouthing ‘name’ to him over and over again. He now knew what the younger male wanted him to do — to introduce himself.

 

He felt his nervousness return at that. Sure, he wanted to know the other male’s name, but should he? Sunggyu contemplated for a moment, but one last glance towards the soft eyes of the other made him smile and finally determined his course of action.

 

“Ahh! I’m sorry, how rude I am to not introduce myself before. I’m Kim Sunggyu by the way.” Sunggyu thought he might come on too strong with this, but still extended his hand towards the other, offering a handshake.

 

The younger looked taken aback by his action, but slowly started to put out his hand to meet with Sunggyu’s waiting one. “I know, Dongwoo-hyung kind of shouted your name loudly before.” He let out a shy giggle (Sunggyu had to admit that he liked it very much). Apparently the younger had this playful side to him that was previously hidden.

 

Then, he continued his sentence. “I’m Nam Woohyun. Nice to meet you, Kim Sunggyu-ssi.” Once again the captivating eyes turned to crescents, accompanied by the dimples showing, causing Sunggyu’s stomach to perform somersaults.

 

After that, things went smoothly for both of them. It was easier for them to chat, getting to know each other and sometimes laughing at the other's funny stories. From their conversation, Sunggyu acquired new information about the other. For instance, Woohyun was actually two years younger than him (although his face looked like it should have been more than that) and he was working as a part-time vocal teacher for the music company three blocks away from the café since 6 months ago.

 

It was a wonder for Sunggyu to have never met the other despite the close proximity of his workplace to the café, but it turned out that Woohyun had just moved in with his cousin earlier this month because his previous place was too far from work. Usually the younger would only go to the café at nine in the evening when the it was almost closing (Sunggyu always went back to his own apartment after 7p.m.), but he got to the cafe early today since it was the last day before their Christmas break  and his CEO had let them off from work earlier.

 

They paused once in a while to sip on their temporarily forgotten drinks. During one of their silent pauses, Sunggyu laid his eyes on Woohyun once again and saw the attractive male in front of him carefully sipping on the still hot liquid but there was some whipped cream left on his upper lips.

 

Sunggyu gulped and considered what to do as his mind told him to let it be (maybe tell the younger and let him wipe it off himself) but his heart urged him to do something entirely different.

 

Then, he felt his mind slowly going blank as Woohyun glanced back from his cup and looked straight into the elder’s gaze with his innocent puppy-like eyes, bestowing him with a contented smile (with the whipped cream still decorating his upper lips). At that moment, his hand somehow worked faster than his mind could, reaching out to the stained lips.

 

He wiped it clean with his thumb slowly. Even after there was none left, Sunggyu still let his hand linger near the other’s soft lips, not fully realizing the effect his unexpected action had on the younger male.

 

Suddenly there was a loud cough coming from behind the counter (he cursed Dongwoo silently in his mind), snapping Sunggyu from his daze and he immediately retracted his hand to his sides. A light blush slowly crept to his cheeks as he realized what he had done to the other not too long ago.

 

When he snuck a glance at the younger, he saw that Woohyun was not in a better condition than he, in fact maybe worse. He was still in shock, cheeks blushing hard and one hand touching his lips that had been touched by Sunggyu earlier. It was a really endearing sight for the elder.

 

Wait, endearing?

 

Sunggyu honestly never thought he would ever use that word; moreover on his first time meeting the object of his affection.

 

He suddenly remembered that once, he even had an argument with his friend about how high the possibility of ‘love at the first sight’ happening in real life. His friend argued that the chance is huge of course, because love can happen anywhere and anytime without the subject even realizing it.

 

But there was Sunggyu who just happened to have never once fallen in love, insisting that it was just a myth: that people sometimes just romanticized everything when they fall in love, that love can only be built by the amount of time someone spent with each other (with no actual proof for him, actually).

 

He laughed silently in his mind, more at himself though. How contradictory his words were back then with his actions right now. Love is a strong word, but there was no other word that fully encapsulated what he was feeling right now.

 

 Sunggyu fell in love. Hard.

 

 

The feeling was overwhelming. He needed to vent it out before it burst out of his chest. He needed to grab this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and pursue what he wanted. In this case, Woohyun.

 

Sunggyu took a few deep breaths to calm his heart, gaze settling on the other male who still refused to make eye contact after the incident a minute ago. His right hand slowly made its way to gently grab Woohyun’s hand that was still resting on top of his lips, pulling it until it was placed on top of the table, making the younger’s eyes meet his in the process. Confusion was evident on his face, perhaps questioning the elder’s motive but his cheeks were still painted red.

 

“You know what?” The elder let out a light chuckle. “I always thought love at first sight was a lie, but then you happened and proved it once again.” Sunggyu confessed honestly, letting out a soft smile.

 

 

The younger seemed to be utterly shocked at his sudden confession as he froze on his seat, eyes slowly widening and face flushing even more than before. It was not until a long minute had passed before he finally gave his first reaction.

 

“Wh-what are you talking about, hyung? I-is this a joke?” Woohyun whipped his head up, looking in the direction of the counter (Sunggyu thought it was weird) before meeting the elder’s eyes once more, searching for hints to convince him that he was being tricked into some kind of bad joke. Yet, he saw none.

 

“W-wait, it’s not?” The younger gasped, covering his mouth with his two hands and his eyes widened even more.

 

“It’s not.” Sunggyu confirmed, smiling sheepishly. “I’m sorry, did I surprise you too much?”

 

A slow nod came from the other male, followed by the barest of whispers. “H-how come? W-we barely know each other.”

 

“Hmm? Oh, but isn’t it the essence of ‘love at the first sight’? Not knowing about each other but still falling for them?” Sunggyu grinned at the confused male in front of him.

 

“S-still—”

 

“And we still have time to know about each other more after this, right?”

 

The younger stayed silent after that, eyes averted from Sunggyu’s hopeful ones, making the elder worry if he was indeed too forward and had ruined everything between them. But then he saw a small smirk playing at the other’s lips — a reaction he never thought he would ever get from the shy male a minute ago.

 

“What is this, hyung? An invitation to a date?”

 

The playful attitude of the other once again stunned the elder, but the blush still adorned his cheeks, making it even more endearing. Sunggyu decided to just go with the flow.

 

“And what if I say it was? Should I ask for your parents’ permission first, Woohyun-ssi?”

 

 

The younger faked a scowl. “S-stop it, it’s embarrassing.” With that, the playful Woohyun was gone and replaced by the usual shy one, earning a chuckle from the elder.

 

Deciding that he had teased the other too much, Sunggyu returned to his composed self, eyes softening but the smile never left his lips.

 

“I’m serious Woohyun-ssi. But I won’t force you if you’re not comfortable with it.”

 

This time, the younger took his time to answer the elder’s question, rendering Sunggyu into a nervous wreck, afraid of getting a rejection. Time flowed slowly for him like never before, until he heard a soft mumble coming from the other’s mouth. He even had to ask him to repeat it because he could not hear the younger’s reply clearly.

 

“I said I do. I want to go to a date with you, hyung.” Woohyun repeated while averting his eyes and biting his lower lips lightly, hands fiddling on his lap. Sunggyu found the gesture too adorable.

 

“Well, we can start now.”

 

Sunggyu had a huge grin on his face as he saw a shy nod coming from the younger. But he wanted to take it slower this time, so they continued talking about themselves, their surprisingly same taste in music, getting to know each other better. They had all the time in the world anyway.

 

 

Or at least until the café closed, which they really did and the two of them were the only customers left. Even after hours of spending time with each other, it felt insufficient. They reluctantly said goodbye to each other after exchanging phone numbers, shy smiles promising another date.

 

 

Sunggyu offered to walk Woohyun to his cousin’s apartment, only to get a confused stare from the younger in response. For a second, the elder thought that Woohyun was offended by his offer and was starting to apologize for his rudeness when he caught where the younger’s stare was directed at.

 

Just then, Sunggyu’s mind reverted to its normal functioning capability and connected the dots as to the reason for those ‘weird’ glances the younger gave to the counter every so often when they were talking earlier. His eyes widened as the sudden realization hit him and his suspicion proved to be true as Woohyun spoke hesitatingly.

 

“Uhh... I thought you already know that Dongwoo-hyung is my older cousin whom I'm staying with?” Woohyun slightly cringed, sounding unsure after seeing the elder’s reaction.

 

 

For the umpteenth time that day, Sunggyu found himself silently cursing (and slightly thanking) the grinning barista behind the counter who was now looking in his direction. Damn you Dongwoo!

 

 

 

 

 

A/n: I’m sorry for the great amount of (cringeworthy) cheesy moments and if it feels like the ending is rushed. Oh, and if Sunggyu comes out a bit creepy too.

I tried my best to finish it earlier but was not quite satisfied with the result. It’s better than never submitting it, right? *No*

The cliché prompt really gave me a hard time, but I loved it nonetheless. Hope you like it too.