Work Text:
"Just go tell him already," Seungmin nudges Jisung's shoulder.
Jisung bats Seungmin away, trying to calm his nerves (and beating heart). "Shut up, I can't do this."
Minho is taking the order of an elderly lady now, not noticing the two boys in the back of the line muttering about him. He smiles at whatever the woman says, and Jisung feels his heart shoot into his throat.
"Come on, it's never going to happen if it doesn't happen now," Seungmin tries to reason with Jisung, but he's too far off to hear anything. The line is getting shorter, and so is Jisung's confidence (not that he had any to begin with).
There's only one person between them and the counter, and Jisung is half-deciding to drop out of the line and go back outside.
Seungmin grabs Jisung's hand, squeezing it tightly. He winks at Jisung, and walks to one of the tables in the cafe.
"Wait--"
"I can help you next."
Oh, fuck.
Jisung slides forward hesitantly, not making eye contact with Minho, who is just staring at him expectantly.
"Can I get--uh--can I get a caramel cappuccino?"
Minho drops his hand to the cash register and asks, "Will that be all for you?"
"Uh, yeah." Jisung clenches his hands together, grimacing at his sweaty palms.
"Name?"
"Jisung." Voice crack, not good.
Minho pauses for half a second, mouth twitching, but is otherwise not bothered by Jisung's nervousness and writes his name on the cup.
Jisung walks out of the line after Minho tells him that his drink will be ready soon, and slumps back to Seungmin, who is leaning against an empty table.
"Well?" He says expectantly. "Did you do it? Did you tell him?"
"No," Jisung slumps into a chair and Seungmin takes the other.
"Dude, come on! If you never work up the courage to ask him, someone else will and then you'll be miserable for the rest of your life."
"Don't remind me," Jisung mutters. But his stomach is twisting uncomfortably, a sense of guilt and anger blooming inside him. He's angry at himself, for being such a goddamn coward.
He first saw Minho when he started working there, a couple weeks ago. He and Seungmin came in for their usual coffee-chatting time, and Seungmin had pointed out the new barista, who just so happened to be the most beautiful man Jisung had ever seen.
Black hair, slim body, and dark judging eyes, he was Jisung's fantasy in real life. Seungmin had caught on not too long after, only when Jisung had started spacing out staring at mystery boy, and had started teasing Jisung for it relentlessly.
Each day they would come in, Seungmin pressuring Jisung to confess, but each day Jisung would chicken out at the last minute and the moment would pass with disappointment.
Jisung had selfishly hoped the barista would only have eyes for him, but it was an unrealistic dream as the cafe was always busy and Minho probably didn't even remember Jisung's name.
"You tell him your name everyday, he's bound to remember," Seungmin always tries to convince him.
"Yeah, so is the entire population of Seoul," Jisung just sighs. "My name, out of hundreds, isn't important."
"Jisung!"
Jisung jolts "awake", hearing his name being called at the counter. Seungmin laughs at his surprised expression, and Jisung manages a goofy smile as he walks to the counter.
He grabs his drink and a straw before making his way back to Seungmin, who is sipping his tea judgingly.
"Tomorrow?" Seungmin asks as Jisung sits back down. "I can get Chan to come for extra moral support. You know how motherly he is. Once you go up, you can't back down with Chan around."
Jisung takes a long sip from the straw, thinking about it for a minute. "I mean, yeah, I guess..."
Suddenly, Seungmin glances up nervously, staring behind Jisung intently.
Curious, Jisung turns around and his mouth freezes on the straw as he stares dumbly.
"Here," says Minho as he sets down a cup of tea in front of Jisung. "It's on the house." Before walking away, Minho winks at Jisung.
Seungmin's gaze travels back to Jisung--who's still frozen--, then to the cup. He reaches for it, but Jisung unfreezes finally and grabs it first.
The drink is honey citrus mint (Jisung's favorite), but that isn't what catches Jisung's attention. Scribbled onto the side reads:
Minho
xxx-xxx-xxx
Figured I'd make the first move
The straw falls out of Jisung's mouth as he gapes dumbly at the cup, face burning.
"What does it say?" Seungmin grabs the cup out of Jisung's hand and his eyes widen as he reads the marker on the side. "Dude... Holy shit."
Jisung glances up to the counter, and Minho is standing there taking orders as if nothing had happened.
"Oh, fuck," Jisung whispers as he stares in disbelief at the cup. His fingers are turning white from his grip on the side of the table, but he didn't care.
Seungmin laughs as Jisung buries his face in his hands. "Oh man, I never would have expected that. I gotta say, that was a surprising turn of events. He doesn't seem like the type to make the first move..."
Seungmin keeps blabbering aimlessly about the whole situation, but Jisung zones out and just stares at Minho's number, thumb tracing the marker lines softly.
He can feel Minho's gaze on him, and yet, every time he looks up, Minho is always absorbed in the cafe business and is chatting with the other customers. Just his imagination, probably.
And yet, Jisung has never felt happier.