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It had been a while since Jeonghan had been allowed to treat himself, which was the reason he now found himself standing before the door to the cafe he had once frequented almost daily, but now it was something rare, a place he could only go when his now-busy schedule allowed him to do so.
His modelling career had only taken off recently, meaning he had been swamped with the sheer amount of work that was expected of him, though his manager had been doing most of the work for him.
Now that he was free, he pushed the door open, smiling as the smell of freshly baked goods washed over him and the warmth from the room made him shiver gently, a contrast to the bitter cold of winter that awaited him outside. His smile grew bigger when he spotted the man at the counter admiring his reflection in the window beside him before he looked up at the sound of the bell at the door and lit up.
“Jeonghan-hyung, it’s been a while!”
Jeonghan nodded, glancing up at the updated menu displayed above Junhui. “I know, it’s been far too long.”
“The usual?” Junhui asked with a cheeky grin, already tapping the order into the register.
“You know it.” Jeonghan glanced around as he slipped out his wallet, attempting to be subtle, but Junhui caught on immediately when he looked up again.
“He hasn’t been in yet.”
Jeonghan’s head snapped towards him, his face flushing scarlet. “That wasn’t- I was just-” He dropped his money into Junhui’s outstretched hand, looking away from his smug grin as he grumbled quietly. “Keep the change.”
“Of course.” He paused, leaning a little closer with a wink. “I’ll let you know if he turns up.”
Jeonghan ignored his raucous laughter as he made his way to his usual table, though it had been long enough that it could barely be counted as ’his’ anymore. It was situated right in the back corner of the cafe, hidden well enough that he could take advantage of the broad view of the other tables without the fear of being caught. He was out of the way enough that he escaped the notice of anyone else that frequented the cafe, which was both a curse and a blessing.
A blessing, because he could watch one particular man without arousing suspicion. A curse because, well… Said man had no idea he existed.
Jeonghan had pretty much figured out the stranger’s schedule in its entirety, unless it had changed since he had last been here, from the time when he came here almost daily for weeks. At the time, he really shouldn’t have been spending as much money as he did, but thanks to Junhui being ridiculously easy to sweet talk, his funds had merely been dented rather than washed out as he had feared.
He’d be coming any minute now, Jeonghan noted as he glanced up at the clock, taking a sip from the coffee he nursed in his hands gently. The cafe was a little emptier than usual, with only an elderly couple speaking in hushed voices and a young woman who looked as if she hadn’t slept in days typing away furiously on her laptop.
He was at the till again, trying to persuade Junhui to give him a refill when the door opened with a signature ring of the bell, causing Junhui to glance past him. The moment the barista’s expression morphed into one of smugness, Jeonghan knew who had just walked through the door. Junhui took his mug and filled it up with a shit-eating grin, handing it over far slower than was necessary, then holding back a snort when Jeonghan practically snatched it out of his slowly approaching hands, mumbling thanks under his breath.
He hurried over to his table, glancing back to see the stranger regarding him with a slightly baffled look, sending him a small smile when the two of them made eye contact.
Jeonghan looked away before he could notice the red creeping up his neck, cheeks flushed.
It was only when he sat down that he realised how rude that must have come off as to him, and he winced with regret, sipping his coffee in a vain attempt to distract himself from the sonorous voice that rang out above everyone else’s. As usual, he could make out the faint hint of an American accent, despite his entirely fluent Korean, and Jeonghan almost melted on the spot.
The model managed to watch as he made his order before the man turned and made eye contact again, his smile now holding a little mirth.
Jeonghan’s eyes widened a little but he managed to force a shy smile before he looked away again, this time more out of timidity than awkwardness, locking his gaze permanently on the table.
The man looked as gorgeous as ever, though his hair was a little shorter at the sides than Jeonghan remembered from his last visit. He probably had a haircut between then and now. He also couldn’t make out the slightly darker roots anymore, so he must have redyed it to the chocolate brown he seemed so fond of.
His smile was familiar, despite how long it had been since he had glimpsed it last, and Jeonghan knew he could easily get lost in his eyes which were, unfortunately, never looking his way, as far as he could tell.
Jeonghan gripped his coffee a little tighter, forcing the images that had been summoned against his will from his mind.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard that same voice right behind him.
“Is this seat taken?”
The model glanced back, air escaping his lungs at an alarming rate as his gaze trailed upwards before meeting warm, brown eyes that looked down at him. “U-uh, yeah. I mean- no. Y-you can sit there.”
The man smiled a little wider, sliding the chair out and dropping into it casually.
Jeonghan was busy cursing himself out at his stuttering and reddened cheeks, so he didn’t notice the intense gaze the stranger was directing at him. It wasn’t as if he was usually this flustered, even around people he was interested in, but he couldn’t calm his nerves enough to school his expression into one of confidence as he usually did.
“Are you ok?”
Jeonghan’s head snapped up. “Uh, yeah. Just…” He trailed off, unable to think of a way to play it off and save himself the embarrassment.
The stranger snorted, offering a hand across the table with a wide grin. “Hong Jisoo.”
Jeonghan stared at him blankly for several long moments before accepting the outstretched hand with a small smile of his own. “Yoon Jeonghan.” Then he hesitated. “I thought you were…?”
Jisoo laughed gently. “Yeah, I’ve been living in America, but both my parents are Korean.”
Jeonghan nodded, eying their still-joined hands carefully, wondering when the other was going to pull away. “Do you have an American name? Or do you prefer Jisoo?”
“Joshua.” Jisoo- well, Joshua- finally withdrew his hand. “I don’t mind what you call me. Well, except…” He trailed off, his carefree expression falling into something far more mischievous, and Jeonghan swallowed nervously.
He finally dared to ask. “Except…?”.
“Except…” Joshua leant forwards, face moving dangerously close to Jeonghan’s. “Maybe you should be calling me later?”
It took him a moment- well, several moments- to realise what they had meant, and then Jeonghan’s entire face went beet red and his skin was aflame. But he couldn’t bring himself to pull away or break his gaze with Joshua. He stuttered and stumbled over his words, red crawling down his neck and disappearing beneath his clothes.
Joshua’s face never fell, despite Jeonghan’s hesitation, leaning back to give him some space to breathe, presumably, since he was practically choking on air at this point.
“Unless I’ve been mistaking you for someone else who can’t seem to take their eyes off me whenever I’m here.” Joshua was smirking now, looking rather smug as he eyes Jeonghan with an expression Jeonghan couldn’t quite decipher.
“I-” The model opened his mouth to deny it, before realising there was really no point. In fact, this could work in his favour if only he could get his body’s reactions under control.
He schooled his expression, naturally falling into one that conveyed far more confidence than he actually felt, and his face finally cooled down. It must have surprised Joshua because his mouth fell open for a moment before he snapped it shut.
“So what if I was? Art is meant to be looked at, you know.”
This time, Joshua’s mouth fell open and hung there for several long moments and Jeonghan glanced down at his lips against his will, trying his best not to imagine his own covering them. Instead, he chuckled and leant over, pushing Joshua’s chin back up gently.
Neither of them dared to move, Jeonghan’s finger lingering for a few seconds before he swallowed and leaned back, starting when Joshua grabbed his wrist.
“I think you should give me your number.”
“I think you should give me yours.” Jeonghan’s confident smile was still there, but he was beginning to falter again.
Joshua held onto Jeonghan’s hand, entwining their fingers and dropping it to the table as he held out the other with an expectant expression on his face along with a smile that flickered with nervous energy.
Jeonghan waited a moment, sliding his phone out and dropping it into his waiting hand, biting his lip slightly as he typed in his details a little clumsily with only one hand available to him.
He pressed the call button and returned it to Jeonghan as he got out his own phone, waiting for the ringing to cease before adding the model’s details to his own phone, glancing up. “Mind if I stick around for a while?”
The tension that surrounded them melted away and Jeonghan’s smile became carefree, playing with the hand that was still gently holding his own. “Not at all.”
Joshua smiled, taking a sip of coffee before he began to speak, rambling about this and that, eyes occasionally flicking to their joined fingers, smiling slightly to himself before trying to hide it with his mug.
And Jeonghan didn’t mind at all.