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The smell of coffee beans and chocolate chip cookies permeates the air. Nestled in the front corner of Destiny Books, a large, locally owned bookstore in a small college town, Crescent Cafe is a cozy corner for students to study and elderly customers to spend their days. It always smells like baked goods and freshly ground coffee, and is decorated warmly. The couches and chairs surrounding the tables are all of a plush leather, which attracts the tired bodies of students and older folk alike. The cafe is a bit of a haven for the surrounding town.
Yunho sits behind the cafe’s counter, bored out of his mind while the cookies bake and the lull in customers has him sitting idle. He has been reading the assigned chapter in his Intro to Mechanical Engineering textbook for the past half hour, and he feels like his brain is going to melt and leak out his ear.
He checks his watch, however, and realizes it's almost his favorite time of the day. Perking up, he readies himself behind the counter, pushing his textbook to the side and straightening his apron.
It’s almost 1:30pm, the exact time that Song Mingi comes out from the store room of the bookshop and orders a drink from him every day.
Mingi is a bookseller, almost as tall as Yunho and cute as a button with his boba eyes and cheesy smile. He spends most of his shift in the back of the building, sorting all of the incoming inventory and restocking shelves, doing what he can to avoid talking to anyone. Yunho is pretty sure his only interaction throughout the day is when he comes to order his drink, and Yunho feels pride in the fact that he’s the one that gets to talk to Mingi every day.
Yunho frantically pulls up the camera on his phone and starts fixing his hair, wanting to look his best for his coworker. Mingi is quiet and never says much to Yunho. Most people see him as a bit standoffish, but Yunho knows that it’s really just because he’s shy. He’s so sweet when he timidly orders his drink, always from Yunho.
Yunho is obsessed.
He knows there’s no chance that Mingi likes him, but he can always hope, and at the very least he can enjoy their interactions every day.
Right on time, Mingi appears from the back room, head down and hands in his pocket as he ambles over to the cafe at the front of the store. He dodges around customers, keeping his eyes on the floor, likely in hopes that no one talks to him.
In all the time Yunho has liked him, has secretly observed him, he can tell that Mingi is passionate about the store, but not about the customers, and he avoids them at all costs. He even takes off his badge when he takes his break at the cafe so no one gets any ideas about asking him questions.
It’s alarmingly charming to Yunho.
He quickly tries to make himself look casual as Mingi approaches, not wanting it to seem like he has been waiting. He leans against the counter and resumes flipping through his textbook, waiting until he hears footsteps approaching to look up.
And then there he is. Mingi stands before him, all broad shoulders and cute glasses and soft looking, gray hair. Yunho wonders if it's as soft as it looks. He’s in a casual outfit, Hongjoong lets him wear t-shirts and shorts since he really only works in the back, but Yunho thinks he still looks amazing.
Mingi is looking at the menu on the wall behind Yunho, scrutinizing it with a cute scrunch of his face.
“What’ll it be today?” Yunho asks, even though he knows exactly what Mingi will say, has his order, or lack thereof, memorized by heart.
“Hm, just surprise me please. Something sweet.” The small smile that graces Mingi’s lips nearly knocks Yunho off his feet.
He’s so whipped.
“How do you feel about a frappé?” Yunho asks a bit too eagerly, already having had the plan for the day’s drink since that morning. He feels a bit like a puppy, wagging his tail now that his favorite person has showed up. Here’s hoping Mingi doesn’t notice, Yunho would never live it down.
“I don’t really know what that is, but I trust you,” Mingi replies honestly, aiming his cute smile and sweet eyes at Yunho. He wants to clutch his heart dramatically at the visual, but he figures it might freak Mingi out a bit.
Instead, Yunho beams at him, and then turns to start making the drink. It’s not a hard one, mostly just a blended iced latte, but he mixes a couple of sweet syrups into it that he knows Mingi will like. He blends the concoction of coffee, ice, milk, and syrup and then pours it into a large cup. Whip cream is added on top, and Yunho sprinkles small chocolate shavings over that to finish the drink.
He turns around from his work to see Mingi’s eyes on him, having watched Yunho the whole time. Yunho slides the drink across the counter and Mingi picks it up. He takes a sip and closes his eyes at the flavor, clearly enjoying himself if the small, pleased sound he makes is anything to go off of.
Oh, Yunho is fucked.
Yunho just stares at him as he continues to sip, and his ears turn a deep red when Mingi makes eye contact with him. Mingi’s plush lips pop off of the straw, and then he licks them. Licks them. Shiny lips move as Mingi says something, but Yunho is so entranced that he completely misses it.
“Wait, what? Sorry, what did you say?” Yunho asks, the blush deepening on his cheeks.
“I said I like your pin,” Mingi answers, pointing to the Spider-Man pin newly attached to Yunho’s apron.
“Oh! Thank you! I just bought it here and figured it would spice up my uniform a bit.” Yunho smiles down at the pin.
“Is that your favorite superhero?” Mingi asks, seemingly truly interested in the answer.
“Yeah!” Yunho exclaims. “He really resonates with me, you know? Someone who comes from nothing but is doing good for the world, I’ve always really loved that idea. He’s been my favorite since I was a kid. Both the comics and the movies are awesome, and I love collecting the merch, see?” Yunho pulls out his phone and shows Mingi his Spider-Man phone case.
Mingi’s eyebrows are raised up nearly into his hairline, an unreadable expression on his face as he listens to Yunho’s spiel. “Wow, that’s really cool. I’ve got to get back to the back, but thank you for the drink.” Mingi waves and heads to the back of the store, barely waiting for Yunho’s small wave back.
Yunho groans, head dropping into his hands. He’s so embarrassed, he can’t believe he acted so nerdy in front of Mingi. Clearly Mingi wasn’t all that interested, and he just word vomited all over him about his dorky hobbies.
“Yunhooooo! I’m back from my break, you can take yours now!” Wooyoung sing-songs as he walks behind the counter, returning from no doubtedly bugging San at the register. He takes a look at Yunho’s defeated form and gasps dramatically. “Oh no! Did something bad happen with Mingi?”
Yunho looks at him all confused, not realizing that other people have caught on to Mingi’s daily schedule.
“Oh, c’mon. You think we all haven’t noticed? He only comes out when everyone else behind the counter is on a break or lunch. None of us have ever even talked to him, yet we see him come up to you at the same time every day!”
Yunho is even more confused at this. “Wait, what? That can’t be true. There’s days when I’m not even here! And he just has a routine that happens to coincide with me being the only one back here.”
“Dude, he doesn’t come out from the back unless you’re here. I think he’s interested in you, though you’d never be able to tell with that stoic expression he always wears.”
“He’s not stoic! Mingi always looks so sweet,” Yunho pouts.
“Yeah sure, whatever you say. Now go take your break!”
☕︎
“So, which one are you gonna buy?” Yeosang asks him.
“Ugh, I don’t know!” Yunho answers, miserably draped over Yeosang’s small counter.
Yunho always spends his breaks with Yeosang in the Gaming and Music section of Destiny Books. The two bonded initially over gaming, both having affinity for League of Legends, and became fast friends after that. Yunho lounges in Yeosang’s rolling chair and eats whatever he makes quickly for lunch at the cafe— today is a grilled cheese sandwich.
Yeosang is currently asking him what he will purchase tomorrow; the new Nintendo Switch RPG game or the next edition of the Spider-Man comic. Unfortunately, both release tomorrow. Even with the store discount he gets, each item is just expensive enough that Yunho really can’t afford both at the same time.
“I know I’m going to get spoilers for both of them online, so it’s a lose-lose situation no matter what. I want to eventually buy both, of course, but I don’t know which one I’d rather have spoiled versus figuring everything out myself,” Yunho explains, pouting over his sandwich.
“A real conundrum,” Yeosang says, his tone commiserating, and only mildly mocking.
Just then, Jongho, another bookseller, walks past carrying some stock from the back. Most of the book sellers here use carts, but Jongho has always preferred to just carry boxes around the store to restock the shelves.
It never fails to be the perfect distraction for a certain gaming section attendant.
Yunho looks over at Yeosang, and realizes he’s once again stopped in the middle of what he’s doing, in this case organizing the CDs, in favor of standing and admiring Jongho’s arms.
“You know, I’m surprised how dense Jongho is when you have this reaction every time he walks past.”
Yeosang scowls at him, flipping him off but still never taking his eyes off of Jongho. “You’re one to talk. I’m surprised your ears aren’t permanently red from seeing Mingi for five minutes a day,” he bites back at Yunho.
Yunho sighs as he rolls up the wrapping from his lunch, having finished the grilled cheese, and throws the trash away. He stands up and stretches, knowing he has to get back to the cafe now that his break is nearing its end.
“I guess we’re both hopeless, huh?” he asks teasingly, and slightly self-deprecatingly.
“Yeah, seems like it.” Yeosang sighs as well, taking the seat from Yunho and resting his body against the counter, chin in hand.
“Well, I’ll leave you to your show, then.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Yunho leaves the gaming section as Yeosang waves him off. He makes his way back through the store towards the cafe, clapping Jongho on the back in greeting when he passes him and nodding at Hongjoong when he walks by the help desk in the middle of the store. When he arrives back at the cafe, it's to a harried looking Seonghwa and an Wooyoung that’s wearing what can only be described as a shit-eating grin.
“You’re never going to guess what just happened!”
“Wooyoung, quiet down and start cleaning. I know it was you who left the matcha all over the sink!” Seonghwa says, clearly annoyed and doing his best to clean the dirty work stations. This typically happens when he first comes in for the day, in the hour or so that Yunho, Wooyoung, and Seonghwa’s shifts all overlap, because Yunho and Wooyoung tend not to keep it as clean as the cafe manager likes. Even if they did keep it that clean, Seonghwa would likely go through and clean it all over again.
“Guess who came by during your break to leave you a little present,” Wooyoung says excitedly, completely ignoring Seonghwa. He hands Yunho a manila envelope with a sticky note on front.
Since you like Spider-Man so much, I figured you might want to read this a bit early. Please don’t tell Hongjoong.
-Mingi
Yunho reads the note once, twice, a third time and then looks up at Wooyoung. “Did he leave this for me?” he questions frantically.
Wooyoung scoffs. “Of course he did! Like I told you, he doesn’t talk to the rest of us. And who else is as obsessed with Spider-Man as you are?”
Yunho reads the note again, tracing his fingers over the messy handwriting, and then hastily opens the envelope. Inside he finds the new Spider-Man comic, the same one he was planning on (maybe) buying tomorrow. The one that is definitely not supposed to be in a customer’s hands prior to its release the next day.
“Holy shit.”
“I know right? Isn’t it so cute?” Wooyoung sighs, leaning against the counter with his head leaning in his hand and a romantic look in his eye. “Ugh, I wish I could get Sannie to do something that cute for me,” he pouts.
“Holy shit. Wooyoung, I think I’m in love with him,” Yunho says earnestly. He feels like his heart is bursting out of his chest, and he knows his ears must be bright red once again.
It’s not really an exaggeration either, he feels like he’s been half in love with Mingi for the last two years they’ve been working here together. It’s not just the five minute conversations that they have, but everything else as well. Sure, he’s incredibly handsome, but he’s just as sweet. He seems to notice small things about Yunho that others don’t necessarily take the time to notice, like the Spider-Man comic, or that time when he saw Yunho struggling with his chemistry assignment (that he definitely wasn’t supposed to be doing at work, but there was a deadline) and suggested some good textbooks in the science section that ended up saving his ass that semester, or even the time that he saw Yunho stressing out and offered for Yunho to come to the back room and chill out for a bit on his break so he could get away from the world for a little bit.
There are so many small things that Mingi does for him, and even if they don’t know each other well, it adds up. Yunho isn’t sure what his love language is, but he thinks it's probably close to how Mingi treats him. How Mingi notices the small things, asks about his day, and knows how to take care of him in small ways.
It’s almost a good thing Mingi doesn’t like him as more than a friend, because Yunho isn’t sure he could compare to Mingi’s thoughtfulness.
“Yeah, anyone could have told you that one, Yuyu,” Wooyoung teases, snapping Yunho out of his reverie.
Seonghwa finally halts his cleaning of the drink making stations and leans over Yunho to take a peek at the note and the contents of the envelope. He huffs and says, “He’s lucky he’s Hongjoong’s favorite. I hope he doesn’t get in trouble.”
“Mingi’s not Hongjoong’s favorite, you are. And the only way he’ll get in trouble is if a certain cafe manager tells a certain store owner about this very cute, very romantic gesture,” Wooyoung says pointedly, staring Seonghwa down.
Seonghwa lifts his hands in surrender and raises his eyebrows. “I won’t say anything! I couldn’t care less what happens on the bookstore side of things, anyway. That’s for Hongjoong to take care of.” He pauses. “And I’m not Hongjoong’s favorite,” he huffs.
Yunho doesn’t listen to them all that much. He is simply standing there, hugging his new comic to his chest and thinking about all the ways he should repay Mingi for his kind gesture. With that in mind, he heads to the back room of the cafe to store the comic safely within his bookbag.
☕︎
Yunho planned to get up bright and early the next day so that he could get to Destiny before his shift and buy the new game. Unfortunately, life rarely goes as planned.
Sleeping through his alarm, Yunho doesn’t wake up until about ten minutes before his shift. Even with getting ready in five minutes, it takes almost fifteen minutes to get to work, so he is severely behind schedule and he is late for his shift at Crescent. Wooyoung doesn’t mind, but he sympathizes with how tired Yunho looks and fixes his hair a bit so he doesn’t look too much like he just rolled out of bed (even though he did).
Of course, it doesn’t end there.
There is no end to rude customers today, as it turns out. Plus, Yunho keeps seeing a number of people walking into the store and beelining straight for the gaming section, no doubt going for the same game that he had been wanting to get this morning. On top of all that, Yunho also has a discussion post due at 5pm for class, right when his shift ends, covering that chapter for mechanical engineering that he was struggling through the day prior. He has no idea what any of it means, despite having read the chapter three times now, so that means he also has no idea what to put in the discussion post.
It’s shaping up to be a very, very bad day.
Yunho is so tired that by the time 1:30 rolls around, he doesn’t even realize. It takes Mingi tapping his shoulder to even realize there was someone in front of him. Startling up from his position leaning over the front counter with his head in his hands, he plasters a perfect customer service smile on his face, until he realizes it's Mingi.
“Oh, Mingi! You scared me. I thought you were a customer,” Yunho breathes out, relieved that he wasn’t caught slacking off by a patron. With the kind of day he’s having, he would no doubt receive a complaint that Hongjoong would have to write him up over.
Mingi raises his eyebrows at Yunho, clearly taking in Yunho’s ragged and slumped appearance. He’s kind enough not to say anything, though, and just gives Yunho one of his soft smiles. He quietly orders his normal drink, and that’s when Yunho’s day gets even worse.
In his rush to get to work and through the events of the morning, he had no time, or forethought, to plan out Mingi’s drink.
Still, he turns around and starts looking at all the ingredients. Surely something will come to mind, he has been a barista for two years after all. That has to count for something.
It apparently counts for nothing, because his mind is completely blank as he looks through all of the options. What he comes up with are either things he’s already made before or something he knows Mingi won’t like. He prides himself in coming up with new drinks for his crush every day, feeling like that’s the one thing he can do for him, but right now he’s stumped.
Relief comes in the form of Mingi saying, “Why don’t you fix me what you made yesterday?”
“Are…are you sure?” Yunho asks, relief clear in his voice.
“Yeah,” Mingi smiles softly. “I really liked it, I just didn’t know how to order it.” His smile turns a bit sheepish as he looks at Yunho and scratches at his temple cutely.
Yunho nods at him and sets to work. The mental exhaustion from the day has finally worn him down to the point that he is fumbling around, but he quickly makes Mingi’s drink, just like how he did yesterday, and is happy that he seems to make it just fine despite his fatigue.
Unfortunately, when he goes to turn around with the drink in hand, he accidentally hits the blender cup he just used off the counter. The excess drink splashes all over the floor just as Yunho takes a step, right into the liquid. It’s as if in slow motion the way Yunho feels his foot lose purchase on the slick, tiled floor. As his feet slip under him, he falls in an almost comical way, and Mingi’s drink goes flying from his hand, landing with a plop and a splash right on his chest. To top it all off, when Yunho landed, his head hit the cabinet with a pretty sick thunk, and an extra harsh throbbing is now sprouting from the contact zone.
Before he can really process what just happened, Mingi is cursing and swinging himself over the counter top, then crouching in front of Yunho. He gently cups the back of Yunho’s head, right where he had thwacked it on the cabinet.
“Fuck, Yunho, are you okay?” Mingi asks, a bit frantic, his eyes searching all over Yunho’s face. He’s leaning into Yunho’s space, clearly looking for signs of injury, and the sheer closeness is fogging up Yunho’s brain.
“I…think that’s the first time you’ve ever said my name,” Yunho says a bit dazedly. “I didn’t even think you knew it to be honest…”
Mingi gives him a bewildered look that quickly morphs into something sad. “Yunho, of course I know your name.”
“Oh…” Yunho says eloquently. To be fair to himself, he has gotten very little sleep, and his day has been particularly shitty. Still, his ears start to heat up at his dumb response.
Mingi starts to prod gently at the back of Yunho’s head, feeling at the tender spot where Yunho hit his head. As his fingers glance over the soreness, Yunho winces and groans lightly. Yunho notices that Mingi’s face flushes, but he’s not sure why.
“Why are you feeling the back of my head like that?” Yunho asks, not able to think clearly with Mingi so near.
“I’m trying to make sure you aren’t hurt. Here, look me in the eyes, I need to check for a concussion.”
Yunho obediently looks at Mingi, staring up into his beautiful brown eyes. Not like it's a chore, Yunho is pretty sure he could do this all day. It's harrowing, however, being this close to him. He can smell the cologne that Mingi uses, an intoxicating musk that makes him smell as sexy as he looks. Mingi grasps Yunho’s face between both of his hands, tilting it to look at him better.
“I didn’t know you knew how to check for a concussion. Are you a med student?” Yunho asks, realizing he’s never actually talked about school with Mingi, though he knows he’s a student.
“Um…actually, I don’t really know what I’m looking for,” he admits. “I just always see them do this in the movies. I study Korean history,” Mingi says a bit bashfully, a pretty blush coloring his cheeks.
Yunho giggles at the sight, already feeling leagues better than he has all day just from the care that Mingi has shown him. “I think I’m okay,” he reassures Mingi. “It was just a slight bump, and it really doesn’t hurt that much.” He smiles softly at Mingi, unconsciously leaning into the hand that still cups Yunho’s face.
Mingi starts sliding his thumb back and forth along Yunho’s cheek, caressing it softly. They are so close, closer than they’ve ever been before. It feels as though their breath is mingling in between them, and the feeling of it fanning over Yunho’s lips sends a heady rush through him. Mingi glances down at his lips, and then back up into his eyes, and begins leaning forward slightly.
“Oh my god! Yunho, what happened?” Wooyoung screeches from where he is standing near the edge of the counter.
Fuck, Wooyoung’s break is over.
Mingi springs backwards, then, leaving Yunho a dripping mess leaning against the cabinet. He seems to realize what he’s done however, and turns back to Yunho, holding his hand out to help him up. He keeps him steady with his other hand on Yunho’s back as they both stand from the floor. Yunho looks miserably at the floor and the mess that has become of his clothes as he answers Wooyoung.
“I tripped while making a drink. No need to worry, Youngie, I’ll get this cleaned up asap.”
“Jeez, Yunho. I knew you were tired today, but I’ve never seen you this much of a mess. Why don’t you ask Seonghwa if you can leave early when he comes in, I feel like he’d understand.”
“Nah, I’m okay, I promise. Plus, I need the money.”
“Are you sure?” Mingi asks, concerned. “I think Wooyoung might be right, and Seonghwa definitely would agree.” From the corner of his eye, Yunho sees Wooyoung raising his eyebrows, likely as surprised by Mingi knowing their names as Yunho was. It seems Mingi is much more in tune with the store than any of them realize.
“It’s okay Mingi, I’ll be okay. I only have a couple hours left, anyway.”
“Why don’t you at least come to the back on your break. There’s a couch there you can rest on for a couple minutes, and I have some extra clothes in my locker that you can change into. I’m sure Hongjoong and Seonghwa won’t mind,” Mingi all but pleads with Yunho, his sweet eyes wide on his face.
How can Yunho say no?
Wide eyed, Yunho can only nod at Mingi. He takes it in stride, of course, and gives him another one of his signature cheesy smiles before he heads back to work, leaving Yunho in a daze at his care.
☕︎
Before he heads to the back room, he checks in with Yeosang. Sure enough, just as he expected, they have already sold out of the RPG. Yunho sighs, figuring that this was just the final nail in the coffin of his no good, very bad day.
The back of the bookstore is a veritable jungle of merchandise when Yunho arrives. Since the store sells more than just books, there are shelves upon shelves of various items— toys, video games, movies, music, e-readers, record players, Pokemon cards, board games, and far, far more line the towering shelves.
“Mingi?” Yunho calls out into the expansive room, incredibly timid.
“Yunho!” Mingi calls as he rounds the corner of one of the massive shelves. He’s holding a large stack of clothing within his arms. He sees Yunho eyeing the stack and blushes a pretty pink once again. “I have options,” Mingi says sheepishly.
Yunho blushes as well, unsure why but his ears turning red nonetheless. It seems it's the only thing he can do around Mingi at this point.
Mingi hands over the stack of clothing to him, and Yunho heads to the employee bathroom that's in the back room. Once there, he sees the options Mingi gathered for him. There are three t-shirts, a pair of sweatpants and jeans, and a sweatshirt. He figures the jeans are the best choice, knowing Hongjoong would likely get on his case for wearing sweatpants at work. He knows he should probably wear one of the t-shirts, but the alluring comfyness of the sweatshirt is too much to resist. He’s surprised to find the pants fit both his legs and waist. Mingi always wears such baggy shirts, Yunho never knew he had such a slim waist. He shivers as he buttons the jeans. The sweatshirt is far baggier than what he typically wears, but it smells really good. He presses his face into the hood, breathing in the deep scent that is all Mingi.
He leaves the bathroom quickly, knowing he only has a short time to rest before he needs to head back for the rest of his shift. Upon his return, Mingi is pacing slightly where Yunho had left him, something in his hands that he is worrying over. Mingi looks up with a nervous smile when Yunho approaches, with what seems to be a permanent flush to his face.
“You look nice in my clothes,” Mingi says quietly. Then, he seems to realize what he’s said, and straightens up abruptly. “I mean…”
“Thank you,” Yunho says bashfully, cutting him off before he can even think to take back the compliment. It sends flutters through his stomach.
Mingi nods at him jerkily, then seems to remember what is in his hand. He looks at it again, and holds the item out to Yunho. Yunho takes a look at it, and nearly howls when he sees what’s being handed to him.
“Oh my god! There was one left? Where did you find it? Yeosang said the store ran out an hour ago!” Yunho exclaims, grasping at the new RPG that he had wanted to buy today.
“I…I overheard you talking about the comic and the game yesterday. I knew I could help, and knew the games would go fast, so I figured I'd save you one…” Mingi tells him, shyly rubbing the back of his neck.
Yunho immediately bursts out crying. It’s the embarrassing, slightly blubbering kind. The day just built and built beneath his skin like a geyser, and the sweet gesture from Mingi finally blew everything open.
“Are you okay?” Mingi asks frantically, his hands waving out in front of him, clearly unsure what to do. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry! Oh my god, is it because I was listening in to your conversation? I’m so sorr—oof!”
Yunho flings himself at Mingi, effectively cutting off his tirade of sorry’s in favor of a big hug.
“Thank you so much, this just made my day so much better. I don’t know how to repay you,” Yunho sniffles. He leans back to look at Mingi in the eyes, all while still having his arms wrapped around his shoulders. “And thank you for earlier. It’s been a really bad day, and having you care for me has helped a lot.”
Mingi’s eyes soften from the worry they held only a moment ago. He tentatively grabs Yunho around the waist, holding him close. “Of course, Yunho. I’d do that and much more for you.” He smiles softly at Yunho, holding his gaze tenderly.
As if in their own little bubble, they don’t notice when Hongjoong enters the back room. He sees the two of them, physically and emotionally wrapped up in one another, and groans lightly. “For the love of god, please ask each other out already. I can’t keep losing merchandise sales like this.” Hongjoong throws his hands in the air with a huff and leaves the back room. He pops his head back in for a second to yell, “And keep your clothes on back here!”
Yunho and Mingi both blush for what seems like the hundredth time today. Yunho looks back at Mingi, still wrapped in his arms. At this distance, he can tell he’s slightly taller than Mingi, but Mingi is still far bigger than he. He feels petite in Mingi’s arms, safe there. He can’t wait any longer, Hongjoong is right.
“There’s this food market tomorrow night, a bunch of local restaurants and food trucks are going to be downtown. Can…Can I take you out on a date?” Yunho asks, ears aflame but with far more confidence than he would have previously had.
☕︎
The market is lit up with twinkling lights all around, the beauty of the small, old downtown highlighted in the chilly, autumn evening. Market stalls and food trucks line the main road of the town center while students and residents of the town mill about. The air is filled with the heavenly aroma of food, happy chatter, and the lilting sounds of a busker strumming his guitar near the end of the street.
All in all, yesterday didn’t end up being such a bad day. Yunho had quickly fallen asleep on the couch after his crying fiasco, and only awoke when Mingi had gently shaken his shoulder when his break was nearly over. It was a dream come true waking up to Mingi’s sweet face, and he fears the smile that had graced his face had been a bit too wide and a bit too goofy.
Plus, Mingi had accepted his invitation. So, now here Yunho is, in the small downtown area and watching Mingi walk up to meet him from a little ways down the sidewalk. Mingi looks incredibly handsome. He is sporting his usual glasses, framing his pretty eyes so well. A soft, grey sweater that matches his hair is paired with a pair of loose fitted, straight jeans. Yunho thinks he looks beautiful, and he matches well with Yunho’s own date outfit. He is wearing a casual, light green blazer over a grey shirt and black pants. It feels like their outfits scream two people on a date, and he loves it.
Mingi waves at him when he gets close, calling out a sweet, excited, “Hi, Yunho!”
The date is comfortable, warm. There’s never an awkward silence between the two, like they’ve known each other forever. It feels like falling into a familiar embrace, the heat of fondness enveloping Yunho and keeping him warm on the chilly night.
They get small things from multiple stalls. Breadsticks from a pizzeria, kabobs at a Greek stall, warm noodles from the local Japanese restaurant, and finishing with delicious churros at a stand near the town’s gazebo at the center of the food market. Yunho pays for everything, of course, hoping it pays even a small amount back to Mingi for the kindness the bookseller has shown him this week.
They sit together in the gazebo, looking out at the market and watching the people mill about. Yunho is busy munching on his chocolate covered churro, hands tucked into his jacket sleeves like little sweater paws. He feels the heat of a gaze upon his cheek, and looks over at Mingi.
Mingi reaches out and brushes some sugar granules off of Yunho’s face, but he doesn’t pull his hand away. He allows it to sit there, caressing Yunho’s face while he looks over at him fondly. Yunho’s breath hitches, the closeness and gentle touch setting his heart beating erratically. Mingi glances down at Yunho’s lips, and starts to lean in. Yunho can feel Mingi’s breath ghost over his own lips as Mingi looks up again, making eye contact, requesting silent permission. Yunho nods almost imperceptively, but he knows Mingi sees.
Mingi gently lays his lips upon Yunho’s, and it feels like coming home.