“Hyung, plea—“

“No.” Jonghyun cuts in and gives Taemin a gentle nudge. “We want customers to return, Taemin, not be scared off because a cashier had a frantic outburst. So, go over to their table and offer your sincere apologies. I’ll be watching from here.” 

“But you already apologized on my behalf.”

“Then you can consider it your punishment. Now go .”

It’s with a dreadful sigh that Taemin turns on his heel and sets his eyes on the table where Mr.Handsome and his ignorant date, or even possible boyfriend, are still seated. They seem to be having a lively conversation but quickly stop as Taemin carefully approaches the table. 

Already he feels the pools of sweat on the inside of his white dress shirt and his throat quickly felt dry. With their curious eyes set on his figure it only intensifies. 

“I, Uhm— I’m… I want to offer my apologies… about earlier.” One by one, Taemin forces each word. His eyes are set on the man with the boisterous laughter, who previously looked carefree but now looks calm and serious. “I didn’t mean to shout at you like that. It was unprofessional.” 

There’s a moment of silence, and then the man smiles. “That’s okay. What’s your name?” 

“Taemin.”

“Do you want to sit down for a bit, Taemin?” 

Taemin is instantly hit with panic. He’s too nervous to decline so with an uncertain nod he mildly scrambles to grab a chair and place himself at the end of the small table. He’s still only brave enough to glance at his crush momentarily. Otherwise, his eyes are stuck on the other man, who appears surprisingly civil for having been shouted at unhinged not too long ago. 

“My name is Kibum,” he says, hand then gesturing across the table to Mr.handsome. “That’s Minho.” 

Minho  

Taemin realizes it’s only at this moment he actually learns his name. 

“I-it’s nice to meet you… both.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Taemin. I’m sorry about our little misunderstanding before.” 

“Don’t be. It was entirely my mistake!” Taemin feels his cheeks burn in shame. His hands, resting on his lap, are wet from sweat. He wants to excuse himself, get up and run off, but for some reason, he’s glued to his chair. 

“You know… there’s a reason I asked if you were seeing anyone, and it wasn’t to attempt to hit on you.”

“I understand, you don’t have to expla–”

“It was actually because of the nut job over there. I thought if I could convince him you’re single he would finally get off his and ask you out.”

Taemin quickly realizes Kibum’s referring to Minho. The latter looks stunned and embarrassed at the same time but doesn’t object. There is a moment of silence. Taemin replays Kibum’s words in his own head. 

Get off his and ask you out 

Ask you out 

Ask you— 

His thoughts come to a halt as he glances at Minho. His brown hair, which is neatly parted, and thin arch round glasses. They frame his large eyes and magnify the intensity of his gaze. But it’s not intimidating, but rather warm, almost affectionate. The clothes he’s wearing are fancy, as always. Everything about him is in accordance with what Taemin’s been admiring for so long. 

What’s different is the uncertainty playing on his face. He actually looks nervous. For some reason, it brings Taemin a sense of calm from a previous whirlwind of worries and the fear of making an utter fool of himself. 

“I’m sure you both have some things to discuss, so I’ll be leaving first.” Kibum is quick as he excuses himself with a smug grin and then strolls off before anyone could object. 

The table quickly falls silent. Taemin plays with his own hands in his lap and scrambles for something to say. In the end, it’s Minho who speaks first. 

“Sorry about Kibum, he has a tendency to be very... upfront . I hope it didn’t make you too uncomfortable.” 

“That’s okay.” Taemin chokes out. There is no space to be embarrassed about the way his voice sounds, however. His head’s still repeating the same words as before. 

Ask you out 

It just didn’t make sense. 

“Aren’t you and Kibum…” Taemin pauses, suddenly feeling extremely uncertain. Minho’s sudden laugh then cuts in and soothes the tension. Even with the sentence uncompleted, he knows what Taemin wants to ask. 

“Oh, definitely not.” 

Relief quickly swells in Taemin’s chest and extinguishes the previous doubt. “I’ve seen you come here together many times.” 

“We are really close friends. And Kibum really likes coffee.” 

“I see… I suppose you must like it too.” 

“I do, but… it’s not coffee that brings me in here every week.” 

Taemin feels his cheeks burn but underneath it, he’s pressing his lips together not to smile like some kind of idiot. Especially as Minho examines him carefully. 

“This isn’t exactly how I planned for this to go but— would you like to go out sometime? With me? Like, you know, a date?” 

This time Taemin can’t suppress his smile. Beaming he nods as soon as Minho has said the words he’s previously only dreamed of ever hearing. 

“I would love that.” 

(Six months later) 

It’s Friday. A busy one with many customers. Taemin scrambles to get through every order and yet never loses his smile. He knows that at the end of the day he’ll be reunited with his boyfriend and it fills him with vast excitement. 

During the week their routines are busy, so weekends are their best friend. They always make the most of them. 

Taemin glances at the digital clock on his lock screen. One more dreadful hour to go. Perhaps if he works his cute charm on Jonghyun he’ll be let off his shift early. The thought fuels his excitement even more. 

As he removes dishes and wipes empty tables clean, someone enters through the large glass door on one end of the coffee shop. Slow but determined, they steer away from the counter and register and instead make their way toward him. When Taemin raises his head, their gazes met and he instantly feels shy. Those charismatic eyes never fail to leave him in emotional shambles. 

“I thought we would meet at the subway station?”

“I got off work early, so I thought I might as well wait for you here.”

They both smile. In that brief moment, their surroundings fade and they lean into one another for their usual greeting. The one has lovers, no longer clueless strangers. 

“Ahem,”

Before their lips can touch they step apart at the interruption and face Jonghyun’s playfully stern gaze. 

“No faces on the clock. Coffee shop policies.”

“Sorry,” Minho smiles sheepishly. 

In the meantime, Taemin forms his most promising puppy eyes. 

“Then, can I get off the clock?”

“You still have thirty minutes left of your shift.”

“Please?”

An added pout and Jonghyun reluctantly gives in. 

“Finish the dishes first and then you can go. Deal?”

“Deal.” Taemin smiles in victory. 

He asks for Minho to stay put and then swiftly disappears into the kitchen. Ten minutes later he returns in his casual attire and grabs Minho’s large hand. They say a quick ‘bye’ to Jonghyun and then they are on their way. 

Outside at the center of a busy street, they stop. Briefly but passionately, their lips meet. It’s a sweet and savoring kiss. They can still taste it as they pull apart and continue their stroll. 

Hands tightly intertwined, smiles blissful, and burning desire brewing steadily inside.

a/n

Hi, I want to apologize for taking so long to finish this! It's just been difficult to write with bad things happening everywhere but it also offers a needed distraction.

Anyway, I'm glad I finally finished. I hope you enjoyed this fic. It's my very first so it's definitely not as good as the ones of other writers in the fandom but I did my best!

I hope to give writing a try again sometime in the future.

Thank you so much for reading! <3