Chapter Text
Kyungsoo's eyes fluttered open to see the sun casting light through the windows and onto his duvet. The patch where the sunlight hit was slightly warmer than the rest of his bed and his toes were poking out, what with his bedding being slightly too short for him. He glanced up at the clock that was sitting on his bedside table, it read 6:58am. Yesss! He'd beat his alarm once again. He smiled to himself and shut his eyes, laying his head back on his pillow for the two final minutes of rest.
Once the clock struck 7:00am, a loud beeping sounded and Kyungsoo reached his arm out to shut it off. Once his hand had collided with the snooze bar, he pulled back the duvet to allow his legs to get used to the morning air. It was slightly chilly (what with it nearing winter) and it made him want to curl back up, pull his blanket over himself again and just not go to work, but he knew that that wasn't an option. He had to go shopping soon and how could he buy himself essentials if he didn't have enough money? With a sigh, he forced himself out of bed and stood up, stretching his arms and yawning as he did. It got a little bit lonely in his small apartment as he wasn't used to living by himself. He'd had 2 roommates in his lifetime, Byun Baekhyun and Park Chanyeol, and it felt kind of odd not waking up to the sound of somebody playing the guitar or to a pile of dirty clothes on the floor.
After having a shower and putting on his work clothes, Kyungsoo grabbed an apple from his kitchen counter and took a bite of it as he pulled on his shoes. He was running slightly late due to having lost track of time in the shower. Once he was ready to go, he grabbed his coat from the hook and threw his apple core in the bin, before rushing down the stairs of his apartment building and into the cold, fresh air of the day.
When he arrived at the coffee shop, he glanced at his watch to check the time. 7:51am. Damn, he was 6 minutes late even though he'd almost slipped over on a semi-frozen puddle of ice because of his hurrying. He pushed open the door to the shop (the familiar sound of the bell ringing out) and recognised a face working at the counter.
"A little bit late Kyungsoo." The person smiled in Kyungsoo's direction as he rubbed at the countertop with a wet cloth.
"Hey Luhan." Kyungsoo smiled, walking over to the staff cloakroom to put his coat and bag away.
"Don't worry, I told Kris that you were in the bathroom 'cause you felt sick. He doesn't know you weren't here at 7:45." Luhan told him as he put away the cleaning rag and got down two mugs from the shelf.
"Thanks Luhan, what would I do without you." Kyungsoo laughed a little, tying the apron around his waist. He looked up at Luhan and studied him. No make-up, a little blue pin on his shirt and fairly masculine clothing. It was a guy day.
"So... is there any particular reason you were late? You're usually on time." Luhan enquired as he put the kettle on and took to cleaning out one of the coffee pots. Kyungsoo thought back to this morning. Nothing in particular had happened, he'd just started thinking about his life and how things were going.
"Nah not really. Just lost track of time in the shower." Kyungsoo replied, writing that day's specials on the board.
"I get you, when it's this cold out I often want to stay inside and a hot shower doesn't help much." He said with a slight chuckle.
The two continued with their work, exchanging comments about interesting things that were happening in their lives. The shop wasn't as busy today but that was probably because it was almost midday on a monday and most people were at work.
"So, how's it going with Sehun?" Kyungsoo asked as he put the carton of soy milk back in the fridge.
"It's going alright. He seems a little bit more distant lately, I'm not quite sure what's going on, he won't really talk to me about it." Luhan replied, a faint frown on his face.
"Oh? Have you asked him what's up?" Kyungsoo asked with a bit of concern.
"Yeah but all he wants to do is cuddle or have sex really. He never wants to talk about his life or how work is going. It's like, as soon as he comes home, I ask him how his day was and he always replies 'alright'. Every single time. I'm getting worried about him to be honest. It's like-"
Luhan was cut off by the sound of a bell. Two gentlemen entered the shop and took a seat by the window, scanning the menu. Kyungsoo recognised one of them straight away but he couldn't quite place the other one. Luhan glanced at Kyungsoo with a smirk on his face.
"I see that handsome guy is here again." He said, switching on the kettle and grabbing a notepad and pen. "I'll go and take their orders so you can ogle him from afar some more." And with that Luhan was off to their table before Kyungsoo could even reply or defend himself. He had to admit, the customer was pretty handsome. He had a nice figure, a bit taller than kyungsoo, and his hair looked soft and dark. His gorgeous skin was more tanned than Kyungsoo's and he had faint dark circles under his eyes. His hands though, they were, as weird as it sounds, Kyunsoo's favourite. His fingers were long and slender while his palms were wide (though not too wide) and they looked like they could do so many things - not in that way. Kyungsoo had never really had much of an interest in sex and it kinda grossed him out a bit if he had to be honest, but people kept telling him it was just because he hadn't tried it yet and that he would like it once he "gave it a go". At least, that's what Chanyeol had told him.
Kyungsoo's thoughts were interrupted when Luhan made his way back to the counter, orders in hand, humming a catchy tune that Kyungsoo had heard on the radio.
"Okay so it's gonna be one semi skimmed café latte and one black coffee. Oh, and a slice of carrrot cake." He told Kyungsoo, who then set to work making the drinks. As Luhan cut a slice of cake, he glanced over at Kyungsoo.
"You okay? You seem a bit quiet."
"Yeah I'm fine, thanks. I was just thinking." Kyungsoo assured him with a smile. "So, are they like on a date, do you think?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure. I got a fairly friendly vibe from them when I went over, didn't seem particularly romantic, but I guess it could be. Why?" Luhan responded.
"Oh no reason. I just rarely see that customer come in here with anyone else." Kyungsoo explained while pouring the hot, frothy milk into the cup of coffee.
Luhan smiled a little and brought over a tray and the slice of cake. "You sure that's why? And not because you're jealous?" He inquired.
"What? No. I don't even know his name. I honestly could not care less about who he dates." Kyungsoo told him bluntly but still, the smile stayed.
"Okay then." Luhan said before putting both the drinks and the slice of cake on the tray. "Then why don't you go and take this over to them?"
With a small sigh Kyungsoo picked up the tray and headed over to where the two men were sat. As he neared them, he could overhear their conversation.
"What I'm saying is, she's hot and she likes you."
"Yeah but you know I'm not into her like that."
"I know but c'mon dude, she could-"
The two men halted their conversation as Kyungsoo arrived at the table. He put down both of the coffee cups and the cake, knowing to give the black coffee to the handsome stranger (it was his usual order) and the café latte to his friend. He gave them both a smile and a nod of the head before turning back and walking over to Luhan with a slightly faster pace than before.
"So..." Luhan started. "He was totally checking you out." He finished with a grin.
Kyungsoo rolled his eyes.
"No he wasn't, I could see him. You're just imagining things." He told Luhan with a mildly irritated tone of voice.
"Um yes he was. I could see him when you were walking back. He was totally checking you out."
"Well. I don't believe you." Kyungsoo replied, throwing one of the kitchen cloths over his shoulder and getting back to work.
"Whatever." Luhan mumbled, a smile still reminiscent in his voice.
About half an hour later, the two men stood up, preparing themselves to leave. The shop had gotten a little busier, what with most people on their lunch breaks at this time, so Kyungsoo almost didn't notice them get up. His shift was almost over though and then he would be able to get paid, go buy his groceries and head home to the warmth of his apartment. Just as the two men were about to leave, the handsome customer decided to visit the counter first. He left a pretty hefty tip (as usual) and slid a napkin across the worktop to Kyungsoo. "Hey, uh, you gave me an extra napkin by mistake so here you go." He explained before giving Luhan a nod and turning back to his friend. The two left the shop as Kyungsoo watched, turning right and disappearing from sight. He looked down at the napkin he was given, about to put it away, when he noticed something scrawled on it in black pen. Squinting, he read the words.
'My name's Kim Jongin. Wanna hang out some time? You seem cool. Here's my number, call me.'
Kyungsoo's eyes widened. Was this real? Had this actually just happened? He tried to hide his smile but it wasn't working very well. Luhan handed drinks to the last people in the queue and turned to Kyungsoo.
"What are you so happy about?" He asked, looking down at the napkin too. His eyebrows raised and his mouth fell open a bit. "I told you! He likes you! He even gave you his number!"
"That doesn't mean he likes me. He just wants to hang out. Besides, I don't think I'm ready for another relationship anytime soon." Kyungsoo shrugged, putting some mugs away and keeping his hands busy. After Chanyeol, Kyungsoo didn't think it was likely he'd ever be ready for another relationship.
"Come on." Luhan said, folding his arms. "You think he's hot, don't deny it. If I weren't dating Sehun and a cute guy like him gave me his number, I would be ecstatic. Why do you seem so disinterested?"
"Because he didn't ask me out - he asked me to hang out with him. It's different. He could be dating that guy he came in with. And for the record, thinking somebody isn't ugly doesn't mean that you're compatible. For all I know he could be awful."
"Well, at least call him and hang out then? Maybe you guys can become best friends." Luhan said with a slight chuckle. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes once more but gave Luhan a tiny smile nonetheless. Maybe they could be friends.
About 15 minutes later Minseok arrived for his shift which meant that Kyungsoo could finally go home.
"Hey Luhan! What's up Kyungsoo?" Minseok asked with a broad smile.
"He got a cute guy's number." Luhan interjected before Kyungsoo even had the chance to respond. Kyunsoo sighed and nodded.
"Yeah. I did. And Luhan won't shut up about it." He added, sending a glare Luhan's way. The other boy just chuckled in response.
"Oh, nice." Minseok told Kyungsoo. "Anyway, I'll just go and grab an apron." And with that Minseok excused himself.
Luhan stared at Kyungsoo as he took off his apron and put away the last few mugs.
"Kyungsoo?"
"Yes Luhan?"
"Promise me you'll call him?"
"Why?"
"So you can date him."
"Fine I'll call him. But I'm not going to date him."
"Okay then."
Kyungsoo gave Luhan one last goodbye, popping his head into the storage cupboard to say goodbye to Minseok as well, before heading over to Kris' office for his pay check.
"Why did you give him your number?" Taemin asked his friend as they walked along the pavement. They were headed back to the studio but since their lunch break wouldn't be over for another 20 minutes, they decided to walk with leisure.
"I dunno. He was cute. I've been going to that shop for months now and he seems cool, so I thought we could hang out sometime." Jongin shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets to spare them from the cold nip of the air.
"What do you mean by cute?"
"I mean cute. You know, like, I like his face. I like the way he acts. It's just cute, nothing more to it really." He answered while looking up at the clouds that were coming nearer.
Taemin looked at him suspiciously but decided to drop it.
"Okay fine. But can you please tell me why you won't give Hyoyeon a shot?" He practically begged.
With a sigh Jongin replied "Because she wants to date me. And I don't date people."
"But that's silly! How are you ever supposed to settle down if you won't give anyone a go?!" Taemin protested.
"Have you ever considered that I don't want to settle down with anyone?" Jongin retorted with a raised eyebrow. Taemin sighed and folded his arms, partially out of annoyance and partially because of the cold.
"Okay but you could still sleep with her. Or do you have an issue with that too?" He inquired.
"I have less of an issue with that. But I don't want her to get the wrong idea and end up thinking that I like her. Because that's just gonna end in a really awkward conversation and probably a slap directed at me." Jongin explained as he fumbled around for the cigarette packet in his coat pocket. "Aha!" He said, grasping the box and withdrawing it.
"What the hell Jongin?" Taemin asked, stopping in his tracks.
"What?"
"What do you mean what? You know what I mean." He said, voice stern.
"...They help me relax." Jongin told him with another shrug of his shoulders.
"They also kill your lungs! Don't you care about your dancing?"
"I do but I get stressed out sometimes. I'm gonna quit soon, I swear." Jongin promised as he took a cigarette out of the pack and lit it.
"Fine. But if you don't quit I want you to know that I'm going to come to your house and personally get rid of every single cigarette. Just to give you a heads up."
At that Jongin laughed a little bit. "Sure." He smiled before inhaling and then exhaling a cloud of wispy, white smoke. He coughed a bit but chose to ignore the concerned looks Taemin was giving him.
Eventually they reached the studio and parted ways. Jongin found an empty room that he could practise in alone. He headed over to the speaker and took out his phone so he could plug it in and play his dance music when he noticed a text notification. He tapped the notification with a stiff finger.
From: Unknown Number
Are you doing anything today? After I buy some stuff I have no other plans. - Do Kyungsoo (The guy you gave your number to)
Jongin smiled to himself. He saved the number to his phone under 'Do Kyungsoo' before opening up a new message.
To: Do Kyungsoo
Im free pretty much the whole day. My friend is having a party tonight, wanna come with me? :^) Not as a date though. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression but Im not looking for a relationship. - Jongin
He waited for a response whilst he set up the music and changed into his dance gear. He hoped that Kyungsoo hadn't go the wrong idea as so many people seemed to do. To be fair, if a stranger gives you their number it usually means they want to go on a date, so he could understand why they'd make the mistake. About half an hour later he heard the familiar 'ping' of his phone, alerting him of a new message.
From: Do Kyungsoo
Sounds good. And don't worry, I'm not looking for a relationship either :) - Kyungsoo
Jongin smiled again as he read the message. Nice to know they were on the same page. He was kind of excited now though, he hadn't really been looking forward to the party before (especially as Hyoyeon was going to be there) but now at least he would have some new company.
To: Do Kyungsoo
Cool. Ill text you the details later. See you there. - Jongin
To: Do Kyungsoo
Also, its smart-casual. So dress nice but not too nice. Talk to you later. - Jongin
And with that Jongin went back to practice, letting his body become one with the music.