Work Text:
Jeonghan looks at the clock on the wall with hopeful eyes. It’s currently 12.50pm.
10 minutes until lunch break.
People are already starting to swarm into the diner he works at. Booths are beginning to be filled, the chefs in the kitchen already balancing ingredients and plates and working twice as fast as usual, and Jeonghan is trying his best not to get anyone’s orders mixed up. Peak hours are no joke, and being the only good diner around the block has its perks and disadvantages.
The perks being the place is always getting customers and no matter how slow a day can get, they’ll still have people coming in for their greasy grub and the signature shakes. People who work nearby go there for breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner, if their hours drag longer than usual and other places have already begun to close up.
Jeonghan is already familiar with the people who frequent the diner, like the lady who works at the pet shop down the street, who comes in sometimes with a carrier full of kittens and a puppy in tow. He also spots those two policemen who patrol the area nearby and orders their usual coffee and donuts.
He still wonders why coffee and donuts are a police thing.
The disadvantages are that sometimes Jeonghan gets multiple orders and he accidentally mixes them up, resulting in dissatisfied customers and a very displeased boss.
Jeonghan has been working there for a month and a half now, having just graduated college with a degree in Psychology and not knowing what to do with his life after that.
People might think it’s a bit odd for someone with a degree to be working at a run-down diner, but truth is, Jeonghan feels at peace being around great people, good food and positive vibes. Being a Psychology major has ultimately led him to be observant of other people, and that’s what he does when he’s not taking orders behind the cash register. He enjoys observing the customers and figuring them out.
Jeonghan recalls the cute couple who would come to the diner every Wednesday for their famous ice-cream waffles, and how they’ve been silently arguing inside their booth lately, one of the pair trying to reason with his partner, and the other unwilling to listen. Jeonghan couldn’t help but to eavesdrop (but honestly speaking, they might just whisper into a megaphone, considering how loud they were arguing) and he noticed that today, instead of the pair coming in together, only one of them came in, and ordered black coffee instead of their usual sweet desserts.
The man looked forlorn, and Jeonghan guesses that whatever happened between the two didn’t end up pretty well.
He tore his eyes away from the man, and proceeds to glance at the clock for time.
“Waiting for him to come in?” A voice says, breaking Jeonghan out of his reverie.
Jeonghan turns around to find one of the chefs, Seokmin, grinning from ear to ear, one eyebrow raised in a knowing manner.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jeonghan lies.
Seokmin’s grin widens as he plops himself down on Jeonghan’s stool behind the counter.
“Really?” He starts. “Are you sure you’re not waiting for that guy—“
“Aren’t you supposed to be cooking?” Jeonghan interrupts him. “Its peak hour you know.”
“Nah,” Seokmin says. “Mingyu’s got everything covered. Most of the orders are repeated so he’s just making everything in a batch. He’ll be fine.”
Just as Seokmin finishes his sentence, they both hear a loud crash from the kitchen and Mingyu cursing out loud.
Jeonghan turns to narrow his eyes at Seokmin, who just grins sheepishly in return and makes his way back into the kitchen to help out.
Just before Seokmin disappears into the kitchen, he shoots Jeonghan a knowing smirk. Confused, Jeonghan hears someone clearing their throat and turns around to face the customer who was waiting for his order to be taken—
Oh shit, Jeonghan’s brain goes into panic mode. It’s him.
He is the guy who works at the tattoo parlour down the block, who has messy brown hair and cat-like eyes, sharp cheekbones and pretty lips. He’s donning a fitted black turtleneck today, with black leather pants and Jeonghan just wants to scream.
He has multiple piercings on both ears, Jeonghan knows each piercing has a different name to it but doesn’t know what most of them are called, and he also has a nose ring that Jeonghan thinks looks really good, and he just wants to touch it.
Right now Jeonghan is probably the worst cashier ever, because instead of taking the man’s order, he has been staring at him for a good 30 seconds now.
The man clears his throat once again, pulling Jeonghan into reality.
“Hi,” Jeonghan says, embarrassed that he was caught staring. “May I take your order?”
The man smiles that shy smile of his and it contradicts everything that he appears to look like and Jeonghan is so confused and says, “One bologna sandwich and a side of fries to-go please.”
Of course, Jeonghan thinks. Why does he even bother to ask for his order when he orders the same goddamn thing every single time he comes in?
“Coming right up! If you could please take a sea—“
Before Jeonghan can finish his sentence, Seokmin taps his shoulder and hands him a takeaway paper bag containing the man’s order. He then winks and slithers his way back into the kitchen.
Jeonghan turns to look at the guy, who is seemingly mirroring his surprised expression.
“Well,” Pierced-guy starts. “That was quick.”
Jeonghan hands the paper bag to the man and manages an awkward laugh. “I think they’ve gotten a hang of the routine. I mean, you do come in at the exact same time and order the same thing every single day anyway.”
He finds himself looking at the guy, who seems to be blushing like mad at what Jeonghan said and is bowing his head in attempt to hide the pink in his cheeks and Jeonghan feels his heart bursting right there and then.
“That’d be—“
“$7.50. Here you go.” The man hands over the money to Jeonghan, who smiles at him in return.
“Thank you, and have a nice day!” Jeonghan says.
The man nods shyly and says, “You too.” Before going leaving the counter and heading out the door.
Jeonghan watches him leave and just as he is about to disappear from his sight, the guy turns back to look at Jeonghan and smiles when they make eye contact. He then manages a small wave before continuing to walk down the street.
With the guy out of his view, Jeonghan couldn’t help dropping to the floor in attempt to hide behind the counter and cover his mouth in a silent scream.
Eyes still screwed shut and mind replaying the scene over and over again, he hears a smug ‘you’re welcome’ coming from the kitchen.
*
Later that day, Jeonghan learns from Seokmin that cute pierced-guy’s name is Jisoo, and Seokmin knows that because a while back he dared one of his friends to get a tattoo of the monkey emoji and his friend had it done at the very same tattoo parlour Jisoo works at.
“He was really gentle with the machine and all,” Seokmin says, munching on his hamburger. They are seated in one of the booths during their break, Jeonghan digging his chopsticks into a plate of noodles. “My friend barely felt a thing.”
“Bullshit,” Mingyu counters. “It’s the needles that go into the skin, done with a machine. It’s going to hurt regardless of who’s doing it.”
Jeonghan just nods to whatever his coworkers are saying as he thinks about the pierced tattoo artist with kind eyes and a gentle smile.
He feels a smile creeping up and tries to stuff more noodles into his mouth to prevent himself from doing so.
Jisoo, he thinks. What a pretty name for a pretty person with pretty eyes and a pretty smil—
“Earth to Jeonghan hyung,” He snaps out of his--third, for the day-- trance and finds Seokmin snapping his fingers in front of his face.
“What?” Jeonghan asks.
“You were drifting off again,” Seokmin says, raising an eyebrow. “Were you thinking of Jisoo?”
“Wh—no!” Jeonghan splutters.
“Right,” Seokmin grins. “Like I didn’t see how he turned to look at you when he left. And that little wave? Cute.”
Jeonghan’s cheeks turn red and he pouts. Stifling a retort, he picks up his empty plate and heads over to the kitchen.
*
Screw Seokmin, but how the hell could he not think about the dude when he comes in the next day during lunch hour and for the first time in forever, dines in instead of getting his usual takeout?
Jeonghan was utterly surprised when Jisoo came in and ordered his sandwich and a side of fries along with a tall soda and plops his ass onto the stool that’s nearest to the counter where Jeonghan is stationed at, giving him an excellent view of the man.
Jisoo then starts eating his sandwich, very slowly, like he has all the time in the world.
Half an hour went by very slowly, with Jeonghan needing to tend to other customers and while also feeling necessary that he should glance at Jisoo, who has been there for about half an hour and still has half his sandwich and fries left on his plate.
It’s like he chews 20 times per bite, Jeonghan thinks.
The diner starts to clear out after the 40 minute mark during lunch break and when Jeonghan finally gets to take a breather, he notices that Jisoo is still there, munching on what’s left of his sandwich.
He’s doing so while scrolling down his phone so Jeonghan thinks it gives him a great opportunity to steal quick glances at him.
Contrary to his initial intentions, Jeonghan’s eyes are glued to Jisoo’s face, and he notices things like how his eyes crinkle when he smiles at whatever he finds funny on his phone, how he keeps his mouth closed while chewing, and how he looks so tender that Jeonghan feels so calm just by watching him eat.
His eyes trail from Jisoo’s mouth to his nose stud, which he thinks is recently changed because Jeonghan is sure he saw a ring yesterday…
He would never admit this if he was asked, but he has always thought pierced people were intimidating, and he has never known anyone who has anything more than simple lobe piercings. The most bizarre piercing someone around him had was one of his classmates in college, and she had a cartilage that Jeonghan thought was oozing blood one time during class. He shudders at the memory.
Jeonghan has never given much thought about piercings, let alone being interested in someone who has them. But this Jisoo guy, with his sparkly deer eyes, kind smile and somewhat shy persona, just contradicts Jeonghan’s initial outlook on people with piercings in general.
Jeonghan looks up to find Jisoo done with his sandwich and is disposing his trash. Get you a man with basic manners, Jeonghan thinks. Just as Jisoo was about to walk out the door, he turns around to look at Jeonghan, one hand on the door handle and another hand lifted to wave at Jeonghan as he smiles that brilliant smile of his.
Jeonghan returns the smile and says, “Thank you. Please come again” like the good employee he is.
He’s still blushing 10 minutes after Jisoo left.
*
For about a week after that, it became a routine that Jisoo would eat at the diner during his lunch breaks. He would order his usual meal and eat quietly at the counter, usually for about 45 minutes, because damn, the man sure does take his time chewing.
“I bet he eats like a snail just so he could stay here longer and check you out.” Seokmin whispers to Jeonghan, both of them looking at an oblivious Jisoo, who is scanning through a newspaper today.
Jeonghan scoffs. “No, I heard chewing thoroughly eases digestion. I mean, just look at him.” He motions to Jisoo’s figure. “He’s so lean.”
“Maybe he just works out.” Seokmin says, grinning. “I still think he’s here to check you out. Why else could he be here? He could have just ordered and left like he used to.”
Jeonghan takes a moment to reply. “But he never even looks at me.” He pauses, turning to Seokmin. “And I know that because I stare at him, all the time.”
“So you admit then?” Seokmin’s grin grew.
“Admit what?”
“That you constantly check him out.”
“….fuck….” Jeonghan groans before putting his head inside his hands. Seokmin proceeds to laugh like a hyena and jabs the other’s stomach.
“I knew it,” Seokmin teases. “You are so obvious. The guy comes in every single day hungry for food and you look like you’re hungry for him.”
“Shut up.”
Jisoo leaves the premises 5 minutes to two, and he pauses at the door to look at Jeonghan and sends him a smile.
Let’s just say Jeonghan, being the drama queen that he is, wailed for almost thirty minutes in the store cabinet as Seokmin and Mingyu laughed their assess off back in the kitchen.
*
Jeonghan misses the keyhole twice, turns the key at the wrong direction, almost rips off the doorknob, stumbles ungracefully into his apartment and falls flat on his face on the carpet floor as he groans at whatever he thinks is unfair in his life at the moment.
He fails to notice the pitter patter of feet coming towards him and a pair of wondering eyes staring at his sad lump of a human form on the floor.
“Hyung,” Chan starts. “What’s up?”
Jeonghan mutters something unintelligible that sounds very much like, “Mhfpftskmcuteguy smilefjsnat mhmpfme”
Chan stares for a moment before shrugging. “Okay then,” He says.
Jeonghan looks up from the floor and stares at his flat mate. “My life is a mess.” He whines, sniffling invisible snot and wiping unseen tears for dramatic effect.
Chan sighs before plopping himself on the floor, sitting cross-legged, and taking Jeonghan’s head and putting it on his lap. He’s been living with Jeonghan for too long to not know his tactics of wanting attention and being not-so-subtle about it.
“Awwwww, hyung,” Chan cooes, patting Jeonghan’s head as the latter pouts in return, but clearly pleased with the attention he’s getting. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Well,” Jeonghan starts, and he goes from Whiny Princess to Gossip Girl in two miliseconds. “You know the guy I told you about? Who always comes in during lunch hour and grabs everything to-go?”
“The cute one? The one with piercings?” Chan recalls. (Like he could ever forget. He’s all Jeonghan ever talks about, aside from telling everyone that milk goes before cereal and trying to persuade Chan into believing that Dodo birds still exist)
“Yes,” Jeonghan says. “But now he actually stays for lunch. And guess what?”
“What?”
“Every time he leaves the diner, he stops by the door and waves at me!” Jeonghan says dreamily.
“Sounds like he definitely wants to initiate something,” Chan starts. “Or at least knows you exist.”
Jeonghan buries his face in Chan’s chest and makes a sound that resembles something between a squeal and a kazoo. Chan wonders how his vocal chords keep up with the sounds he’s trying so hard to make.
“Have you ever talked to him before?” Chan asks.
“No,” Jeonghan sniffs. “Aside from taking his order and thanking him and telling him to come again, we’ve never really had a real conversation.”
“Why not? Don’t you want to talk to him?”
“Of course I do!” Jeonghan exclaims. “It’s just that, I don’t know what to say! Well, I’ve never really had a reason to talk to him, other than asking if he wants large or medium sized fries.”
“How long does he usually stay for lunch?”
“Like, a good 50 minutes or so?” Jeonghan says. “Come to think of it, he’s there the entire lunchtime. He eats super slowly, by the way. My grandmother can chew faster than the guy, and she barely has any teeth left.”
Chan laughs. He continues to stroke Jeonghan’s hair, even if the latter has stopped whining and is now ranting on about how much of a turtle this pierced eye candy of his is when it comes to eating, mentioning that its agonizing because he’s stationed at the counter and it makes it harder for Jeonghan to ignore him.
“Why don’t you initiate conversation the next time he comes in?” Chan suggests.
Jeonghan pauses for a while, pondering Chan’s words. “But his food is usually served immediately. Seokmin and Mingyu already have his order memorized.”
“Well, tell them to prepare it slowly next time.” Chan says with a shrug. “If Seokmin hyung can tease you about it, I’m pretty sure he’s willing to stall in hopes that it’ll give you time to talk to the guy.”
Jeonghan thinks about it briefly and turns to face Chan with wide, contemplating eyes.
“You’re right,” He says. “That may work.”
Jeonghan leaps up and starts for his bedroom. “Thank you, my little baby” He says and blows a kiss towards Chan.
“I’m not your baby!”
*
Jeonghan can’t believe his luck.
It’s a usual weekday and its lunchtime, which means people should be swarming in by now and Mingyu and Seokmin should be juggling plates and frying eggs and Jeonghan should be balancing orders while keeping an eye on Jisoo but right now, its 15 minutes past lunchtime, the diner isn’t even half as crowded as it is on regular, slow days because right now Mingyu is taking a nap in the store room and Jisoo is nowhere to be seen.
“Why is it so slow today?” Seokmin questions, coming out of the kitchen and plopping his ass down on one of the stools. “Is the office having free taco day or something?”
Jeonghan hums nonchalantly, eyes still trained on the diner entrance. It’s unusual for Jisoo to be this late, and for the diner to be half empty altogether on a normal, supposedly busy weekday. Jeonghan finds himself worrying, and his warped mind has led him to think things like Jisoo not having anything to eat for lunch, Jisoo getting kidnapped, Jisoo already having a significant other to hang out with during breaks, or that he has found a new place to dine at.
Just as he was about to berate Seokmin and Mingyu for not cooking up to his standards, the front door slams opens and said man barges in, sweaty, wide-eyed and breathing rapidly.
Jeonghan and Seokmin turn to face him, both wearing alarmed expressions.
The man looked like he had run from down the block in 30 seconds flat, like he was chased by a rabid dog, or running away from criminals, and Jeonghan is about to ask him if he should call the police or animal control when Jisoo speaks up.
“Hi! I’m sorry I won’t be having anything but can I please use the restroom here? The one at my place is clogged up.” He says frantically.
Jeonghan blinks. Well, that took a turn.
“Um, sure. It’s at the back.” Jeonghan starts, motioning the way. He then casually elbows Seokmin, who looks like he is about to burst into a fit of laughter.
Jisoo shoots him a grateful look and didn’t spare another second before disappearing into the back door not before muttering a quick, “Thanks.”
Jeonghan is still baffled, Seokmin is still tearing up with laughter, and Mingyu just came out of the back door, having brushed past Jisoo, bleary-eyed and raised eyebrows.
“Did Jeonghan hyung’s eye candy just--?” He mumbles groggily.
“Yes, Mingyu, he did.” Seokmin replies.
He lets out another boisterous laugh before turning to Jeonghan and saying, “Well, at least now you’ve seen him in his most vulnerable state.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know, explosive diarrhea, constipated.” He then makes a horrible facial expression, trying to imitate said vulnerable state, and Jeonghan cringes, because he looks nothing like how Jisoo looked like when he barged into the diner.
He wonders why Jisoo would run all the way to their diner down the block when there are other shops near the tattoo parlour that possibly have bathrooms installed inside their compound as well.
Seokmin is probably thinking the same thing when he says, “He’s definitely into you.”
Jeonghan plays dumb when he replies, “And what makes you think that?”
“Come on, dude.” Seokmin cries out like it’s obvious. “There’s a park down the block near the tattoo parlour and they have portable restrooms for the public to use. Why else would he run all the way here when he could have just used the ones there?”
That rendered Jeonghan speechless.
“Well maybe he’s into Mingyu,” Jeonghan shrugs. “Or you.”
Seokmin snorts. “We all know that’s bullshit, hyung.”
*
“Why do I have to do it? Why me? Why?” Jeonghan wails loudly.
A smart phone lays on top of the counter, the three of them staring at it. They’re doing it in such manner that it seems like they are trying to solve a murder case, and they only have one clue.
Dramatic.
An hour before their shift ends, Mingyu comes out of the bathroom holding a phone that isn’t his, immediately declared that it’s Jisoo’s and now Jeonghan is being pestered into returning the phone to said owner.
“How do you know it’s even his?” Jeonghan whines. “Maybe it belongs to some teenager. It’s in a freaking Pikachu case for god’s sake.”
Seokmin presses the home button and the screen lights up, revealing a rather aesthetic side shot of Jisoo himself, posing in such a way so that the piercings on his left ear are no doubt the actual star of the picture.
Jeonghan slams his head onto the countertop. He feels the need to do so because not only is it obvious that the phone did belong to Jisoo, but also because he looks painstakingly attractive in the photo that Jeonghan sort of does not want to return the phone because he wants to keep it.
“Whyyyyyyyyyy” Comes his muffled reply.
“Come on, hyung.” Mingyu teases. “The universe actually favors you today. Take this as a chance for you to finally talk to him!”
Jeonghan then makes that kazoo sound of his.
“Well then would you look at the time!” Seokmin says, with too much enthusiasm and exaggeration. “We should probably get going, right Mingyu?”
“I fucking hate you guys.” Jeonghan mumbles.
*
Jeonghan is nervous and his hands are clammy as he walks down the block towards the direction of the tattoo parlour, not only because he was going to see Jisoo after that somewhat awkward bathroom encounter earlier, but also because Jisoo’s phone won’t freaking stop ringing.
That stupid Marimba ringtone is playing for the fourth time now, and Jeonghan hasn’t attempted to answer because 1) Its not his phone 2) He’s almost there and 3) The caller is ♡ Mommy ｡◕‿◕｡♡
Jeonghan is about to give in and pick up the call when it stops ringing, and the next thing he knows, he’s in front of the tattoo parlour.
The shop front is decorated with a neon red dragon, and Jeonghan wonders why tattoos are always associated with dragons.
The moment Jeonghan finally realizes he’s been staring at the shop front for a while now, is when he lets his view slip from the neon sign and straight into the glass window, where he meets the wide-eyed gaze of the man stationed at the front counter.
The man looks as if he has been aware of Jeonghan’s presence ever since he stopped in front of the store.
The bell chimes when Jeonghan pushes the door and enters the store, and the person who caught him staring at the neon dragon immediately greets him with evident amusement in his voice.
“Hi and welcome to Inkheart.” he says and Jeonghan just nods and mutters a soft ‘hello’.
“So,” The man clears his throat, then nods towards the shop front. “Want a dragon tattoo?”
“No.” Jeonghan quickly says, shaking his head for good measure. “No, I don’t. Thanks anyway. I just came by for Jisoo.”
The man raises an eyebrow in question. But before Jeonghan can explain, his eyes go from calculating to recognition.
“Oh.” He says, a smile forming on his lips. “So you’re—“
“SEUNGCHEOL!!!”
Both men turn to the direction of the voice and another bellow came out before the person did.
“SEUNGCHEOL HAVE YOU SEEN MY PHONE?”
A crash is heard, then a stack of items falling, several furniture being moved around and, for the second time today, the door opens to reveal a frantic looking Jisoo, who seems unaware of Jeonghan’s presence as he heads straight to Seungcheol and continues to search the counter.
“Dude,” Seungcheol starts, eyes moving from Jeonghan to Jisoo.
“Not now,” He continues moving things around. “I could have sworn I had—“
“Dude.”
“Cheol, if this is one of your hide and seek games, I swear—“
Jeonghan clears his throat. “Hi.”
Jisoo turns to look at him with wide eyes and a bewildered expression. “Oh, hi.” As if remembering where he was, he regains his composure and clears his throat. “Can I help you?”
“On the contrary, I think it’s you I should help.” Jeonghan chuckles. “One of my co-workers found this in the bathroom just now. I believe it belongs to you?” He holds out the phone to Jisoo, who gapes at it in return.
“Oh my god,” Jisoo groans and takes his phone from Jeonghan. “Thank you so much! I’m so sorry you had to come all the way here to return this to me.”
“Its fine,” Jeonghan reassures. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Jisoo’s co-worker—Seungcheol—eyeing the both of them in sheer amusement. “I’m just glad nobody got to it before we did.”
“I told you not to get those free tacos they were handing out.” Seungcheol whispers to Jisoo, but loud enough for Jeonghan to hear.
“They had free tacos?” Jeonghan questions. Well, that explains why the diner was progressing slower than usual today.
“Yeah, at the park during lunch hour.” Seungcheol replies. He pats Jisoo’s back, who looks as if he wants the ground to swallow him whole. “But Jisoo right here can’t really handle spicy food. Therefore,” He then makes a bomb gesture, along with sound effects that made Jisoo turn two shades redder.
“Gee, thanks, Seungcheol.” Jisoo deadpans.
“You should have seen him,” Jeonghan has to pause for a moment to register that Seungcheol is talking to him. “His face when I told him our restroom is clogged up again. I thought he went to the park’s portable toilets, I didn’t think he’d run all the way down to the diner.”
Jisoo turns red at that statement. “It’s far cleaner at the diner.” He mumbles.
There is an awkward silence before Jeonghan clears his throat and motions to the door.
“Well, I guess I’ll get going then.” Jeonghan laughs awkwardly. Not only did he have to witness his eye candy on the verge of shitting his pants, he gained extra information about how his eye candy almost shat his pants. He nods at Seungcheol, “It was nice meeting you.”
He turns to look at Jisoo. “I hope your stomach gets better. See you soon.”
“Thank you again.” The latter replies, still red in the face. “Sure, I’ll see you soon.”
“Oh, by the way,” Jeonghan adds, one foot out the door. “Mommy called four times. I think you should get back to her before she thinks you got kidnapped or something.”
He hears Seungcheol’s barking laughter and turns to smile and wave at a blushing, puppy-eyed Jisoo before making his way home.
Jeonghan goes to sleep that night with a giddy feeling inside his chest and the memory of a blushing, smiling Jisoo replaying inside his mind.
*
Tomorrow arrives and it’s already 1:30pm, and Jeonghan has already come to the realization that if Jisoo hasn’t arrived before one p.m., he’ll probably not be there at all. Unless, of course, the man hasn’t learned his lesson and ate a bad taco and the toilet at his place is clogged up again. But after remembering how bashful he looked when Jeonghan returned his phone and how Seungcheol spilled the tea on him yesterday, he probably wouldn’t ever come back to use the restroom, or the diner, ever.
Jeonghan wants Jisoo to know that he is always welcome to use the restroom, or any other facilities in the diner without feeling embarrassed.
That’s how he finds himself in front of the tattoo shop 10 minutes later, a takeaway bag of Jisoo’s usual order in one hand and a large cup of soda in the other.
Jeonghan refuses to admit that it’s just because he wants to see him again.
“Hello, Seungcheol.” He chimes when he enters the store. Said man looks up from behind the counter and offers him a smile.
“Well, hello…. uh.”
“Jeonghan.”
“Hi, Jeonghan. Nice seeing you again. What brings you here?”
“Is Jisoo here?”
At that, Seungcheol’s eyes twinkle. He hums before replying, “He is, but he’s busy working on a client at the moment. If you could come back in an hour or so?”
“Oh, it’s alright. I’m just dropping by to give him this.” Jeonghan places the takeout on the counter and says, “I thought he might want this.” Need, more like, but Jeonghan would never admit that he’s taken consideration of Jisoo’s food and beverage intake.
Before Seungcheol could say anything else, Jeonghan says goodbye and leaves the premises, smiling as he walks out.
*
“I leave for 5 minutes and the two of you manage to set hell loose.”
Coming back to the diner, Jeonghan is greeted with the sight of a long queue, Mingyu fumbling with the cash register, seemingly unable to open it, order notes plastered on his face, and soup on the floor.
“You’re the best, hyung.” A worn-out looking Seokmin says. They have just finished cleaning their mess, and their shift is almost ending.
“Yeah, hyung.” Mingyu adds. “You’re my super super hero.”
“I know.” Jeonghan says. “What would you do without me?”
They take jabs at each other as they are getting ready to clock out when Mingyu suddenly gasps when he looks out the front door.
“Jeonghan hyung, look.” He says, motioning outside. Both Seokmin and Jeonghan turn to where he is pointing at.
Jeonghan’s eyes widen at the sight of Jisoo standing outside the front entrance, smiling that soft smile of his, eyes twinkling and waving at him as their eyes meet. Jeonghan notices that he has his right hand behind his back, hidden from view. He doesn’t look like he’s taking the steps to come into the diner so Jeonghan quickly grabs his coat and bag and heads for the door.
“I’m going,” He announces.
“I’ll clock out for you.” Mingyu says.
Jeonghan misses the sound of his two coworkers starting a bet as he pushes through the front door and comes face to face with a smiling, but nervous, Jisoo.
“Hi, Jeonghan.” Jisoo utters.
“Hi—wait, how do you know my name?” Jeonghan asks. He has never recalled telling the man his name, and they have never indirectly addressed each other before, so Jisoo knowing Jeonghan’s name is a bit
Whatever, Jeonghan thinks. HE KNOWS MY NAME!!
“I’ve heard your coworkers call you that.” Jisoo explains. “Also, Seungcheol told me.”
“Oh,” Jeonghan forgot he had mentioned his name to Seungcheol.
“So, um,” Jeonghan starts. “Do you want to come in? My shift just ended but someone else can take your order.”
“Not really, I have an appointment with a client in 5 minutes. I just wanted to come by to say thank you for lunch.”
It’s Jeonghan’s turn to blush. “You’re welcome.”
Jisoo is about to reach into his pocket with his free hand, but Jeonghan, assuming he was going to pay for the meal, stops him.
“No, please, it’s on me.”
“I figured you would say that.” He mutters. “I also came because I wanted to give you this.”
He brings out the hand that he was hiding behind his back, and in his grip is a bouquet of Baby’s breath.
Jeonghan feels his breath hitch for two reasons; the first being the bouquet of flowers is one of the most beautiful things he has ever seen, apart from the giver, and second, the giver is Jisoo.
Their fingers brush lightly when the bouquet of flowers is passed to Jeonghan’s hand, and Jeonghan feels his cheeks heat up.
“These are beautiful,” He says softly. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Jisoo replies, voice suddenly deep and it sends shivers down Jeonghan’s spine, and waking up the butterflies in his stomach.
They stand in silence for a few seconds before Jisoo breaks it by saying,
“Would you like to have coffee with me sometime?”