Work Text:
The day Taehyung gets asked out, he had been considering swallowing down his insecurities in favor of inviting the guy he’s been flirting with on a date.
Said guy frequently comes to the café Taehyung works at – usually in the morning, but always looking rather good, if Taehyung’s being honest, and he always orders an americano, two shots, iced. (Which generally is something Taehyung has absolutely no understanding for, but his entire country is obsessed with drinking coffee with ice cubes and water, even in the deepest of winter, so what is he to do.) They’ve been flirting – well. They’ve been exchanging glances, and there was that one time Taehyung drew a smiley face on the guy’s cup because he had been looking a little down when he came in, and the guy had been surprised, but happily so; and over the course of the last few weeks, Taehyung had been trying to convince himself to just write his number on the cup, it really isn’t that hard.
It is.
Definitely is for someone like Taehyung, who loves people and loves being social, but who’s just too much for everyone sometimes and then comes across weird.
He doesn’t want to come across as weird to this guy.
So. It’s been a few weeks, but he was getting close. Yesterday, he had already grabbed his ballpoint pen, only to change his mind two seconds after.
The guy hasn’t been in yet today, but it’s also Thursday, and he doesn’t always come on Thursdays, only sometimes – bi-weekly, if Taehyung’s correct, so he thinks his crush might have a class that conforms to a bi-weekly schedule and that’s why he’s there one week and not the next. (He’s not stalking. He just pays attention.)
So, when a really cute guy comes in and stands in front of the counter for a second too long after ordering (a warm Frappuccino!), only to then ask, with a little bit of a blush on his cheeks and a hand sheepishly at his nape: “Hey, I know this is really random, but you’re really cute, and would you like to go on a date with me?” – Well. Taehyung splutters for a few seconds, because who gets asked out at their job, and by someone that’s actually handsome – and then he says yes. Types his number into the phone that’s handed to him and saves his contact with the adorable kissy face emoji next to his name.
The guy’s name is Mingyu, he learns, and he saves his contact with the blushing face emoji, which fits, because his cheeks are still a little pink.
“Okay, I should probably go now, but I promise I’m going to text you!” Mingyu says after he’s taken back his phone and also after Taehyung’s colleague, Jia, has shouted out the number of his order (89, warm Frappuccino!).
“Yeah,” Taehyung says eloquently, and Mingyu smiles before heading out.
(Taehyung tries not to feel guilty, because he and the other guy have only been exchanging glances and a smiley face, and – he doesn’t even know his name, for God’s sake, but he still feels kind of guilty.
Especially when the guy comes in with a bright bunny smile and orders the strawberry latte, because Taehyung had said some time last week that he should try it, because strawberries are the best thing to ever happen to him in his twenty-four years on this planet, and really, who actually enjoys iced americanos.
Taehyung smiles back and tells Jia to prepare the order for him, and he tries to behave normally, but he thinks he’s blushing, and the guy sends him a look that’s maybe concerned or, more probably, weirded out.)
Thursday, 7:49PM
From: Mingyu
Hey Taehyung-ssi! It’s Mingyu from the café today
But you probably already knew that, I gave you my contact
Anyway! I just wanted to ask when you would be free for our date
Taehyung smiles when he sees the messages. (He’s not guilty, not at all.)
Thursday, 7:50PM
To: Mingyu
Hey! Yeah I remember who you are :D
It’s good to hear from you! I work Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and I’m covering for a colleague this Sunday, but I’m free besides that and work usually ends at 7! Let me know what works for you
Taehyung is in the kitchen, making some ramyeon when he hears his phone vibrate on the counter. He waits until he’s tossed the noodles into the boiling water to check the message.
Thursday, 8:07PM
From: Mingyu
How about Friday? I have university most days, and Friday is my shortest day
I know you’re working, but maybe it’s still alright? I’m visiting my parents in Gangneung this weekend
Thursday, 8:08PM
To: Mingyu
You mean tomorrow? Yeah, sure, we can do that!
What would you wanna do?
The answer comes, this time, when he’s just finished eating and is doing the dish-washing. Taehyung finishes the bowl and dries his hands.
Thursday, 8:26PM
From: Mingyu
Yeah, tomorrow! I hope that’s not too short-notice
I thought we could go to a bar?
Taehyung frowns. Is it common to go to a bar for a first date? He’s not sure. If he thinks about it, he hasn’t really been on all that many first dates. (Two, if he’s exact, the first date with his ex-boyfriend, and then once in his first year of university, but the guy had asked him fifteen minutes in if he always talked this much, and that had been that.)
Thursday, 8:29PM
To: Mingyu
No, don’t worry, it’s fine!! Yeah, we can go to bar, that sounds fun
What time?
Thursday, 8:32PM
From: Mingyu
Perfect! 8PM?
If he finished his shift at seven, that gives him less than an hour to get home, get ready, and make it to whatever bar Mingyu has in mind. That’s fine. He can do that – he won’t have time for make-up, properly, but that’s okay.
Thursday, 8:34PM
To: Mingyu
Okay! Looking forward to it
(Mingyu reacts with thumbs up to his last message.
Taehyung goes to work the next day, and smiley face guy comes in right after Mingyu sends him the location. He makes the iced americano – “sorry, but I really need my coffee today, I promise the strawberry latte was great though!” – and hands it over with a smile, and maybe they look at each other for a moment too long, but then Taehyung remembers Mingyu just sent him the location for their date tonight.
He checks Naver, and it’s forty minutes from here, all the way over in Gangnam. He sighs and lets Mingyu know that he’ll be a little bit late because he’s getting off at seven and needs a while to get there. But it’s fine.
The smiley face guy with the bunny smile is gone by the time Taehyung looks back up.)
The bar they meet at is louder than Taehyung expected. The lights are low, but the chairs have velvet covers and there are mood lamps on every table; paintings on the walls, Klimt and Frida Kahlo, and he thinks he would’ve loved this bar had he not also been so stressed.
It took him half an hour to get here, as expected; half an hour squished in the metro during rush hour, and he didn’t have enough time to do any make-up after work - barely enough for the quickest of showers and a change of clothes. He’s now wearing a leopard-print shirt with the top few buttons left open, paired with a pair of black slacks and one of his favorite necklaces.
It’s not so bad, really. He just somehow expected a first date to go a little differently.
But Mingyu, who’s sitting at a table in the right corner, blonde hair meticulously styled, gives him a wave as soon as he enters and smiles so brightly that he thinks it’s going to be worth it.
And it is, at first.
They share a serving of nachos and sip at their cocktails - a Joon Bug for Taehyung and a Long Island Ice Tea for Mingyu - and they just talk. Mingyu is studying finance, in his final semester. He’s always wanted to work in his father’s company, and he will start there as soon as he graduates. He reads in his spare time, and they spend a good half hour talking about the newest Murakami novel, even if their takes slightly differ. Taehyung talks about his art, too; and Mingyu listens with interest, asks a few questions and makes comments and by the time the waiter comes around and asks if they want a third drink, they’re both tipsy, and Taehyung is having a good time.
“Should we head somewhere else?” Mingyu asks, after they’ve told the waiter no and thank you.
Taehyung nods. Mingyu pays for the both of them, which Taehyung rewards with a bright smile and a fleeting touch to the back of his hand; and then they’re out on the streets. It’s getting late, but Gangnam is buzzing, and Mingyu starts walking, clearly with direction.
“I know a place,” he says in explanation when Taehyung asks. “You’re gonna like it, I know it.”
And then they arrive at a club and Mingyu is already dragging him inside before Taehyung can even get as much as a word in.
It’s not that he doesn’t like clubs. It’s just that he usually wants to be in a specific kind of mood when he does go to one, and he’s not in that mood now; and besides, he’s not dressed for dancing, and he’s bare-faced. In a club in Gangnam - and a quite popular one at that, judging from the amount of people inside.
“Mingyu, I’m not sure if this is a good idea, you know I have work tomorrow,” Taehyung shouts over the cacophony of sounds.
Mingyu, already halfway to the bar, turns, smiling. “Ah, come on, don’t be a buzzkill! I swear this place is great!”
Taehyung wants to say that that really isn’t the issue, and he’s sure the club is nice, that he’d have lots of fun here if he were actually in the mood for dancing or drinking and didn’t have work tomorrow, but the fact is that he does have work tomorrow and he really doesn’t want to have to work through an eight-hour shift with a hangover and less than seven hours of sleep.
But Mingyu has already turned away, and Taehyung closes his mouth and follows him through the dense crowd of people, feeling not nearly tipsy enough for this and also not really in the mood to drink more.
It is a nice club, he’ll give Mingyu that.
The lights are low and have a blue and purple tint, there’s a big space for dancing, and the music’s good. Not even too loud. It’s quite packed, sure, but that’s a good thing on any other night than this one, and everyone who’s dancing looks like they’re having a good time. It’s not the club’s fault that Taehyung doesn’t want to be here.
“What do you want?” Mingyu asks when Taehyung has caught up with him, voice raised so that he’s still heard over the music.
Taehyung quietly breathes out and takes a quick look at the drinks menu. A whole lot of shots. Cocktails. A few mocktails.
“I’m good, actually,” he says. It’s expensive. He’s not really in the mood to pay twelve thousand won for a mocktail when he doesn’t even want to be in this club to begin with.
Mingyu raises a brow. “Seriously? We’re in a club, man,” he pouts, which, admittedly, is a good look on him.
Taehyung gives a smile and shakes his head.
“Suit yourself then,” Mingyu comments, already turning back to the bar, and Taehyung wonders if he’s imagined the slightly condescending note to his voice and waits while Mingyu orders.
“Two tequila shots, please,” he shouts across the counter, and one of the bartenders, a man with tousled black hair and a tattoo sneaking out underneath the sleeves of his black button-up, turns around.
Taehyung’s mouth is suddenly dry.
Smiey Face. The bartender is Smiley Face. And he has tattoos. And he’s wearing eyeshadow; dark brown tones that make his features look positively sultry.
Taehyung swallows, and that’s when smiley face looks up and spots him.
His hands, previously reaching out for a bottle of tequila, stop mid-motion. His eyes stay glued to him for a second or two before moving on to Mingyu at his side, back to Taehyung, and Taehyung can almost see the moment of realization in his face.
He wants to disappear into the ground.
“And you?” Smiley Face asks, and maybe Taehyung’s imagining it, but his voice seems lower than normal, and he’s turned his gaze back to his hands and the tequila, starts pouring the shots, grabs two slices of lemon.
“Um,” Taehyung says unintelligently, to which Mingyu reacts with a raised eyebrow.
“He’s good,” Mingyu answers for him, sounding rather unimpressed with his behavior, and Taehyung wonders how red he can become before the ground will swallow him up.
Smiley Face nods and doesn’t say anything else, and Taehyung presses his fingers to his sides. The music is too loud now. He’s not really feeling tipsy anymore, either, and if he’s being honest with himself, he’s still feeling kind of – guilty, even though he knows he doesn’t have a reason to.
As soon as the shots are done, Smiley Face slides them over the counter and Mingyu tosses them back with frankly impressive speed.
“On you, right?” he asks when he’s done, wipes a hand across his mouth, and it takes Taehyung a second to figure out he’s being addressed.
“Um,” he says again, and this time, he gets an eyeroll in response. “Uh, yeah, sure, I guess.”
Mingyu had paid for their drinks in the bar, after all. It’s only fair. Probably. He could be a little nicer about it.
So Taehyung fumbles for his credit card and hands it to Smiley Face, tries his best not to look at him.
He’s sure he’s imagining it when Smiley Face holds on a little longer than needed, a little tighter.
“Thanks,” Mingyu says when Taehyung slides the credit card back into his wallet.
“Sure,” he mumbles, but Mingyu has already turned and is walking towards the dance floor, an arm reaching out for Taehyung.
He grabs on to it and tries not to falter under the gaze that he’s sure he’s just imagining trailing after him.
The music is still kind of loud. Well, he’s pretty much sober now, which is probably part of it, and it’s getting late, too.
He says Mingyu’s name, but he’s too quiet and his date doesn’t hear him. Instead, Mingyu drags them to the middle of the dance floor and starts moving, body close to Taehyung’s, not exactly touching, but close enough.
He’s a good dancer. His hips swerve with the exact right of momentum, and on any other night, Taehyung thinks he would’ve probably been impressed, but he’s kind of tired now.
But okay. He can do – like, half an hour? That’s okay, right? Mingyu knows he has work tomorrow, and he already came into the club despite not being sure about it. Half an hour is fine. He’ll head home, and – sure, he’ll get less than seven hours of sleep because he needs to get home first too, from Gangnam nonetheless, but it’s okay. The first part of the date had been nice, right? He can bear with this. Relationships mean compromising, he knows that.
So.
He dances. Tries his best to lose himself in the music and just move, enjoy Mingyu’s company and the easy smiles he’s throwing him. Mingyu’s obviously having a good time, and Taehyung can enjoy dancing, even if the music is a little too loud if one is sober. They get a little goofy to a song that’s super popular on TikTok even though it’s in English and they’re not entirely sure of the lyrics, and Taehyung relaxes as Mingyu playfully shoves his shoulder and then soothingly squeezes his hand.
Then the half hour is almost over and Mingyu wants to go to the bar for another drink.
Taehyung’s been having a good time despite everything, so he figures yeah, he can do one more drink. Another half hour.
“Okay, but I need to go in thirty, yeah?” he asks as he follows Mingyu to the bar, who nods, already looking at the menu and proceeds to order a vodka orange. The bartender is someone else, and Taehyung briefly wonders if Smiley Face’s shift is over or if he’s simply on break, and tries to not think about why he’d rather it’s the latter.
Mingyu downs half of his drink in one go, but he smiles at Taehyung so dazzingly that he figures that’s fine. He can be the sober one.
They go back to dancing. Taehyung moves his body and tries to enjoy himself, but the fatigue is back and he’s a little worried about work tomorrow. He’ll need to tell Mingyu that they’ll need to do something else next time, because he can’t – and won’t – keep this up.
The song changes to something bass-heavy and lyrics so dirty even Taehyung with his less-than-mediocre English can’t help but understand the gist. He grimaces, that’s not really his type of music, if he’s honest – but then Mingyu turns and smiles at him, a slow smile, the corners of his mouth lifting halfway only, and suddenly there are hands on his hips.
Taehyung chuckles, a little startled. It’s fine, he can let Mingyu have this – he obviously likes this type of music – and then he can head home.
The hands on his hip grip on tighter, and then Mingyu’s pressing his body to Taehyung’s.
“Um,” he says, because this is their first date, and Taehyung’s really tired, now, and Mingyu’s obviously drunk. “Hey, you’re kind of drunk…”
Mingyu draws even closer, and suddenly his face is close to Taehyung’s neck and he can feel his breath on his skin. It’s very intimate, all of a sudden, all of this touchiness. He gets goosebumps.
“Who cares?” Mingyu drawls, sounding slightly slurred, and Taehyung flinches because there are now lips pressing wet kisses to his neck.
“Mingyu,” he says, lifts his hands to Mingyu’s waist to push him away slightly.
There’s a hum against his throat. He catches a whiff of tequila.
“Mingyu, I need to go,” he says, a little more decisive. The music is really very loud. He wants to get out of here, and there are still goosebumps on his skin.
“Come on, Tae,” Mingyu murmurs, voice low, almost undistinguishable, lips against Taehyung’s throat. He’s still so close. His hands are still on Taehyung’s hips.
“No,” he says, because it’s too close, and really not okay at all. “Mingyu, let me go.”
Mingyu doesn’t react, and Taehyung pushes again, more forcefully.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asks, stumbling back. He looks very drunk, and his eyes are dark. “Why’d you push me like that?”
Taehyung draws in on himself. He doesn’t want to cause a scene. He just wants to go home.
“Um,” he starts, and Mingyu laughs, loud and very cold.
“That all you ‘ave to say?”
Taehyung swallows. He doesn’t know what else he does have to say. He doesn’t know how the night turned into this, and there are still goosebumps rising on his neck.
“Let him be,” someone says then, and Taehyung turns to his right.
Smiley Face, who is currently not looking very smiley. His sleeves are rolled back, tattoo-filled arms exposed, and he looks angry, eyes fixed on Mingyu.
“What the fuck do you care?” Mingyu scoffs, and it looks so ugly on his face that Taehyung wonders how he didn’t see it there before. This cockiness. The cold.
Smiley Face steps up to Taehyung’s side. They’re not touching, but Taehyung at least kind of wishes that they were, if only because he’s feeling a little bit unsteady on his feet. Not because he’s drunk. But because he’s tired and this really isn’t okay at all, none of this has been okay, and he kind of wants something to hold on to.
“We don’t let people like you harass anyone in this club,” Smiley Face says, and Taehyung thinks that he really needs to learn his name.
Mingyu scoffs, turns around. “I’m done with this bullshit,” he announces, making to move to the back of the dance floor. “He’s a buzzkill anyway.”
Taehyung flinches, can’t help it, and Smiley Face next to him tenses.
“Hey!” he shouts to someone over to their right, and Taehyung watches as a guy with shoulders twice the size of his steps up to them. “Get him out of here,” Smiley Face instructs and points to where Mingyu is weaving through the crowd.
“Sure thing.”
The man follows after Mingyu, and Taehyung doesn’t have to keep his eyes on them to know he’s being thrown out.
He watches anyway.
“Thank you,” he says then, turns. Smiley Face is looking at him, and his eyes seem kinder now, soft.
“You okay?”
Taehyung breathes. “Yeah,” he replies then, because he is. He knows this could’ve gone a whole lot – differently, could’ve gone a whole lot worse, and he’s stil feeling a little bit unsteady on his feet. But it’s okay. He mostly just wants to sleep, and forget why he ever went out with Mingyu in the first place when Smiley Face was right there. “He was an asshole.”
“Yeah, I kind of gathered that,” Smiley Face says, and then they’re both chuckling, and Taehyung feels a little more grounded, a little less heavy.
“Thank you, again,” he murmurs, and Smiley Face’s chuckle softens into the first actual smile of the night, a smile that reminds Taehyung of bright mornings and strawberry lattes because he recommended them.
“Get home safe,” Smiley Face answers, and it only occurs to Taehyung when he’s safely back at his apartment and curled up in the blankets that he forgot to ask for his name.
He’s almost late for his shift.
He comes in a little out of breath, the strip of his bag dangerously low on his shoulder, and he thinks he might actually appreciate one of those damned americanos for once.
“Hey,” someone says before he’s even looked up because he’s trying not to stumble over his shoelaces. They’ve come untied somewhere between the bus stop and here, because he was jogging to get here.
Taehyung glances at them for a second as if he can will them to tie themselves until he realizes he’s been spoken to.
He almost stumbles again.
Smiley Face is waiting in front of the pastry display. He’s wearing an oversized t-shirt, tattoos on full display, and a sheepish smile, and he’s holding a bouquet of strawberry pink roses in his hands.
“Um,” Taehyung says, because apparently his vocabulary has reduced itself to a one-syllable utterance.
Smiley Face chuckles. “These are for you,” he says, holding out the flowers. His cheeks are a little red, and Taehyung’s heart skips a beat. “I figured you might need a little cheering up today.”
Taehyung slides his bag back up his shoulders with shaking fingers. “Thank you,” he gets out eventually, still kind of breathless. “You – you didn’t have to do that.”
“I know,” Smiley Face says, and Taehyung somehow makes his way behind the counter. Manages to grab the flowers Smiley Face is still holding out to him, fill the vase a widely grinning Jia hands him with water. The roses smell nice, too.
“Thank you, really,” he says again, looks up from behind the cash register.
Smiley Face is standing behind the counter, and Taehyung subconsciously registers that he’s lucky there’s no line because this wouldn’t have worked so well otherwise.
“Can I – Can I get you anything?” he asks. “On the house, obviously.”
Smiley Face smiles. The blush on his cheeks deepens. “A strawberry latte,” he says. Takes a breath. “And a date. With you.”
Taehyung whips his head up. “What?”
Smiley Face’s eyes are bright, and he rakes a hand through his hair. It’s shaking slightly. “A date,” he repeats with a chuckle. “I – I’ve wanted to ask for a while. I figured – when I saw you yesterday, I figured I’d maybe lost my chance.”
“No!” Taehyung almost shouts. Smiley Face’s eyes flick up to meet his gaze. “No,” he repeats. “You haven’t.”
There are a few seconds of silence. Taehyung smells the roses, sweet, and the coffee that’s brewing somewhere behind him.
“Good,” Smiley Face says, and his voice is soft.
Taehyung stares at him for a few seconds longer, until Jia gently nudges him from the side.
“The drink,” she whispers conspiratorially, but then she winks, clear for both of them to see, and Smiley Face erupts into giggles that seem to surprise himself.
Taehyung wills his hands to move, reaches for the milk and the syrup and everything else. He’s made this drink a thousand times, so it’s okay that his ears are rushing and his heart is really beating very loudly. His hands are shaking, too, but he manages somehow, without spilling anything, and fills the finished drink into one of their to-go cups.
“One strawberry latte,” he says, aware his voice is sounding a little hoarse.
Smiley Face smiles, broad, and Taehyung suddenly remembers.
“Oh!”
“Huh?”
Taehyung reaches into his back pocket and draws out the ballpen he keeps there because come on, he’s an artist. Of course he carries a pen around.
“A strawberry latte,” he repeats, and then lifts his gaze to meet the light-filled brown eyes across the counter. “For…?”
His soon-to-be date breaks out into the same surprised giggle, and this time, Taehyung finds it’s contagious.
“Jeongguk,” Smiley Face says, and Taehyung’s smile widens. “My name is Jeongguk.”
Taehyung writes the name onto the cupsleeve with hands that are shaking a little less, and then slides it across the counter.
“Nice to meet you, Jeongguk. I’m Taehyung.”
(For their first date, they go to a café in Ikseondong, and Taehyung brings Jeongguk a bouquet of pink roses.
They’re having strawberry lattes.)