Chapter Text
the first day
it was a tough morning for hyunjin. having had pulled an all nighter, dance choreography yet to be perfected, he hadn’t started off the day well at all.
a black mask to hide his pout and a black cap to hide his dark eye bags, hyunjin even donned a black hoodie which was lazily thrown on before leaving his apartment. he looked every bit that edgy, emo kid he wasn’t— but without his daily dose of coffee in his hand, he was dangerously close to becoming as short-fused as changbin.
despite being rather short, changbin made up for his rather unfortunate lack of size by playing up his bad boy image to the best of his ability, which had, unexpectedly, suited him well. able to spit bars like fire, changbin was the university’s resident bad boy for his dark aura and rap skills. hyunjin had been in awe of changbin for years on end now, but had always been too intimidated by him to even strike up a conversation.
shaking off the thoughts about his own cowardice, hyunjin scanned his surroundings in search for some caffeine. and he found some, alright, with a whole lot more sugar than he bargained for. upon reaching the crowded, overpriced coffee shop near his university, hyunjin lowered his head, put in his airpods and begrudgingly joined the lengthy queue.
he was still very much unwilling to fork out eight full dollars for a cup of fancy coffee, but desperate times called for desperate measures. immersed in his own world, hyunjin only silently bopped his head to his playlist, the melodic tune of a got7 song playing in his ear. eyes slowly drifting shut, he unknowingly made it to the front of the queue after a long while of waiting at the crowded coffee shop.
“hi what could i get you today?” the striking voice cut through hyunjin’s music, causing him to look up in surprise. having been jolted awake by the shock, hyunjin blinked in disbelief, eyes widening as he drank in the sight in front of him. cute boy … barista apron… “hi? what would you like to order?” the sweet voice asked again, snapping hyunjin out of his love-filled daze.
love?
“i... i…an iced americano for hwang hyunjin… please?” hyunjin stuttered out hesitantly, voice muffled by the piece of cotton blocking his mouth. Internally cringing at his awkwardness, a mild blush had already started to climb up the nape of his neck and onto his cheeks. although the redness on his face was hidden by the mask, hyunjin felt no less self-conscious, half-expecting a poor response from the adorable barista standing behind the counter.
lucky for him, the pretty boy taking his order simply laughed it off good-naturedly, shyly adjusting the round-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. when the brown-haired boy confirmed his order, hyunjin hurriedly fished out a ten dollar bill from his wallet to pay for his drink. the endearing boy gave hyunjin a wide smile, vaguely reminding the latter of a puppy- utterly lovable.
love...
the charming boy then reached out to take the money from hyunjin’s extended palm, their hands accidentally brushing against each other. may sound dramatic, but that short moment of contact felt as though a spark had ignited between the two. a small, harmless flame, which could have very well been the start of something beautiful.
the attractive barista seemed to be unfazed, but hyunjin definitely wasn’t. heart pounding against his ribcage, heat spread out across his entire face, deepening the already-present blush. lowering his head to hide it, hyunjin nervously collected his change, muttering a quick thank you before stepping out of the queue.
hand clenching his receipt, hyunjin’s heart continued to race as he waited for his coffee, eyes never once leaving the sunny boy who was hard at work behind the counter. slowly feeling the blush fade from underneath his mask, hyunjin finally felt confident enough to take off his mask and hat, seeing as how stuffy it was getting in the store.
“one iced americano for hwang hyunjin!” the cute cafe boy called out from the pick-up station, holding up the dark-brown drink high up in the air. stuffing his hat and mask into his bag, hyunjin rushed in front to collect his drink, taking in the sight of the boy from the waist up, body no-longer hidden behind the various coffee-making machines or the cash register.
he wore a simple denim hoodie along with a pair of casual faded jeans, an employee’s apron draped over the front of his outfit, the glasses resting on the top of his nose complementing his whole look. squinting to read his nametag, hyunjin lowered his head slightly to make out the blur of korean words in front of him.
kim seungmin… so that was his name
finally regaining his senses, hyunjin’s head snapped up in pure embarrassment over being caught checking seungmin out. flustered and mortified, hyunjin didn’t quite dare make further eye-contact with seungmin, simply offering a tentative grin to him before grabbing his americano, “subtly” running out of the store, eyes still fixated on the floor.
on his way to university, hyunjin couldn’t help but think back to seungmin as he sipped his costly, bitter coffee. sighing to himself, hyunjin dipped his head to stare at the half-empty cup in his hand, finally noticing a small note scribbled on the side of the plastic cup.
“hyunjin~ cheer up! you would look much better with a smile hehe- seungmin”
smiling to himself like a fool, hyunjin felt a certain sense of warmth fill up his heart after reading the short message. as good of a job the coffee would have done waking him up, he was sure that it was something else that gave him the entirely new surge of energy. with the taste of something sweet still lingering in his mouth, hyunjin only chuckled as he finished his drink, which had suddenly seemed like an incredibly worth it investment.
but hyunjin swore, he had caught a glimpse of kim seungmin blushing. maybe he had just been seeing things, but that mild, rose-pink hue he saw fanning out on seungmin’s cheeks couldn’t possibly have been false… right? perhaps he was just seeing things, just like the way he was feeling things.
love?