Work Text:
With one last click of his keyboard, Minho tapped a button on screen, submitting his work, before slamming his laptop shut and throwing his head back, releasing a loud sigh. 3 days of working on his application, all of which consisted of him deleting, re-entering, and over exaggerating information to make himself look good, and him darting around Seoul in order to find people who would put in a good word for him, and he was finally finished. As worn out as he was, he hoped and prayed that it would work out in the end. The corporation he was applying for was extremely hard to get hired at, and he could only hope that everything he’d put on the application would be enough to make him stand out.
He blinked rapidly at the ceiling, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness of his bedroom, the curtains closed, not allowing any of the evening sunlight to peek in. He heaved another sigh before standing up from his desk chair, bending backwards to stretch. He skipped opening the curtains, and instead shuffled to his closet, pulling out a black hoodie to tug over his white t-shirt. He ran his hand through his orange hair, which was beginning to dull, and slipped on a pair of tennis shoes, before slipping out of his bedroom and down the hall, opening, closing, and locking the door to his apartment behind him.
Minho had only one place in mind as he made his way out of the apartment complex, stepping out into the crisp evening air, the breeze ruffling his hair. His favorite place, especially when he needed to relax or unwind after a day of hard work. Minho didn’t feel sad, but something about all of the non-stop work and effort he had put into his application made him feel almost empty, not having taken any time for himself the past few days. He trudged down the sidewalk, his head filled with nothing but anxious worries of whether or not he would get the job, faces blurring as he passed them. Minho had never been this worried in his life, not when he applied for his dream college, not when his parents worried about losing their jobs, never. He didn’t know why he was so anxious, after all, it was only one job, one that could easily be found in a different building, he was sure, right?
He shook his head, trying to clear the worries from his mind, before twisting the glass doorknob of his favorite cafe, and darting directly to the pink couch nestled in the corner, the one with his favorite cat, a beautiful black one, with green eyes and a soft, heart shaped pink nose. He scooped up the cat, who mewed softly, pawing Minho’s chest for a moment before relaxing in his arms, and sat on the couch, setting the cat on his lap.
“Hi girl, did you miss me?” He murmured, scratching her gently behind her ears. Another soft mew in response. Minho smiled, the soft mews of the cats in the other areas of the cafe, nestled comfortably on the laps of the few other customers in the stores or on their scratching posts, putting him at ease. This cafe was his favorite place in the world, it having been his hideout since he was a high schooler. The majority of the staff knew him by name, and had his order memorized. He didn’t even have to go up to the counter anymore.
But tonight, none of the workers he recognized were on the clock. Only a senior manager who worked the night shift, and a new, young recruit, who caught Minho’s eye immediately. Minho stared at the boy behind the counter for a moment, before gently nudging the cat on his lap off.
“Sorry, love. I’ll be back in a minute.” He gave her one last scratch behind her ears before padding up to the order counter, tapping his fingers on the glass case that displayed variations of different treats. A handwritten chalkboard sat on top of the counter, showcasing the different specials that were going on at the moment. Minho quickly glanced over the sign before turning back to the counter, now face to face with the new worker, whom he’d never seen before today.
“Hi, I’m Felix. Can I take your order?” The boy--Felix--’s deep voice took him off guard, the voice completely contrasting to his soft, fairy like features. A perfect, freckle sprinkled button nose sat in the middle of his face, heart shaped lips, soft longer blond hair… He looked like he’d walked straight out of a Disney movie, and Minho couldn’t help but stare at him, his mouth slightly agape.
Felix, on the other hand, was amused by Minho’s sudden speechlessness. He’d always been on training when Minho entered the cafe, and he was always in the back, away from the lobby, so he never really got a chance to do more than hear Minho’s joking banter with the other workers. He’d never gotten more than a glimpse of Minho, but he was pleasantly surprised now that he saw the boy up close. His nose was a seemingly perfect angle, his eyes round and bright. His hair was a dull orange color, and his earrings glittered in the soft lighting of the cafe. Felix smirked, taking in the boys looks one last time before repeating his question.
“Can I take your order, Minho?” Felix grinned at the boy's expression again, his mouth dropping before closing and nodding.
“Uh.. Yeah, yeah, I want a small hot chocolate and a brownie, please.” Minho set a five dollar bill on the counter, muttering, “Keep the change,” before scurrying back to the couch, ducking his head down behind his phone. He peaked over the top of his phone, trying to catch a glimpse of this new Felix barista, watching him pour the hot cocoa into a mug and topping it off with whipped cream and a drizzle. Something about the way he worked seemed delicate and elegant, like he was taking pride in everything he created. Minho found that intriguing, never having seen a barista at this place work so carefully.
He watched as Felix stared at the tray of brownies, before picking out an almost perfectly cut square from the middle of the back row and setting it on a small plate, turning around to deliver Minho’s order. Minho quickly jerked his entire phone in front of his face again, but to no avail, as when Felix set the cocoa and brownie in front of Minho, he took the seat across from him, wiping his hands on his black apron.
“I saw you staring at me, catboy.” He said, smirking as he saw Minho’s cheeks burn a light pink color. It was cute.
“Don’t call me that. You know my name, obviously.” Minho mumbled, setting his phone down on the table before scratching the cat next to him’s ears once more. He refused to make eye contact with Felix, picking up his mug of hot cocoa, letting the heat of the cup warm his hands.
“Yeah, but I think I like calling you catboy better. You’re obviously really good with cats, so I think the name suits you.” Felix chuckled as the cat next to Minho mewed, pawing her way up on Minho’s lap, curling up. “Not to mention, I think you look like one.”
Minho’s cheeks burned again, not used to getting any sort of compliment on his looks. Of course, he was extremely attractive, but nobody ever really commented on it, and if someone compared him to a cat, of course he was gonna take it as a compliment. Cats were his favorite animals, they gave him a great deal of comfort, and he thought they were gorgeous, majestic creatures.
“Is that a compliment?” He let his volume drop a little, finally taking a sip of the hot cocoa. Felix glanced at him for a moment, seeming to take a second to think, before nodding.
“Why wouldn’t it be? I work with cats for a living, I think they’re beautiful. So, I suppose,” He paused, thinking again. “I think you’re beautiful as well. Hope you don’t find that odd or anything, but I feel as though nobody’s ever outright said that to you before, and, well, you deserve to know.” Felix smiled at Minho, before standing up.
“Wait-- thank you, uh,” Minho stammered for a moment, gesturing for Felix to sit back down. “I was hoping maybe you’d, you know, sit with me while I ate and stuff.” He grinned, considering Minho’s request before retaking his seat.
“Let’s just skip all the awkward stuff, alright?” Felix said, watching Minho as he sipped from the mug, ignoring the brownie that was sitting on the table still, completely untouched. “You came in here looking really anxious, can I know what for?”
Minho gulped, shaking his head. “You’d probably think it’s something stupid, and we don’t really know each other-”
Felix cut him off at that. “Okay, I’m Lee Felix, 19. Born in Australia, moved to Seoul when I was 16 to live with my grandparents. I go to university to be a vet, anything else we need to cover?” Minho shook his head, taken aback by Felix’s boldness. “Great, then I think we’re besties. Do you wanna explain why you looked so worried, now?”
“It’s just because of this job, that’s all. I spent the past three days filling out this application and I’m terrified I won’t get the job and-” Minho cut himself off, his breath hitching in his throat. He wasn’t about to open up to almost a complete stranger about his worries, was he? “I’m just scared if I don’t get it, I’ll let down my parents, you know?”
And that’s how Minho found himself sitting across from Lee Felix, talking the night away with this stranger. Felix was amazing with words, Minho discovered, watching as the boy stopped speaking multiple times to think about what he was going to say next. An hour passed, and then two, and then three, and four, until it was after midnight, and the manager was yelling at Felix to lock the place up and feed the cats when he was finished.
Minho glanced at his phone, watching as the time flipped to 1:06 AM, his eyes filling with worry again. “Oh, shit, I probably took you away from so much work, I’m so sorry.” Felix chuckled and shook his head.
“You’re fine. It was a slow night anyway, and honestly, don’t tell my boss or anything but uh, talking to you was much more entertaining than having to listen to him complain about his wife.” Felix stood up, reaching for Minho’s mug and plate. “If you wanna stay a little longer, maybe I could walk you home? You know, since it’s late.”
Minho nodded at that, already feeling a sense of safety and comfort in his new friend. “Yeah, I think that would be great, actually. Thank you.” Felix smiled before dashing off to finish off the dishes, leaving Minho with his thoughts again. Felix had given him the advice to not worry so much about how his parents would react, and to quit focusing on the negatives. He said something along the lines of not attracting negative energy, to think positively.
“For me, atleast, positive thoughts have always outweighed the negative ones, when I tried hard enough to focus on them. It helped me worry less, and enjoy life more.” Minho thought about Felix’s words again, letting them bounce around his brain as he mindlessly pet the sleeping cat in his lap, giving her a name, Moon, without thinking.
“Moon.. Do you like that name?” He murmured, not looking at the cat and instead staring at the pale blue wall across the cafe. The cat mewed in response, which Minho took as a good sign. “Moon it is, then. I’ll see you soon, yeah?” He bent down and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, right between her ears, before nudging her off his lap. Moon leaped from the couch and padded over to the other corner, where Felix was just finishing distributing cat food into the bowls.
Minho began to space out once more, until a light tap on his shoulder pulled him back to reality.
“C’mon, sleepyhead. Let’s get you home.” Felix grabbed Minho’s hand, an action that took Minho by surprise, gently pulling him up from the seat and over to and out of the front door, locking it behind him.
“I uh, I don’t live far from here. Just two blocks down, in that apartment complex on the corner.” Minho muttered quietly, sleepiness finally registering in his body.
“Well, let’s get going then.”
The walk was relatively silent, aside from the occasional bark or mew, or the random car that would whiz past. Felix never let go of Minho’s hand, though, continuing to check on the elder, noticing how tired he was.
“This one is my complex, thank you.” Minho broke away from Felix, beginning towards the door, before pausing. “Actually uh, I know this is weird because we just met and everything but… Would you maybe like to stay the night? It’s really late and I’d hate to have you walk home alone..” Or, Minho just liked Felix, and his company and didn’t wanna spend his night alone, but he wasn’t going to say that one out loud. What type of idiot gains any sort of feelings for someone he just met?
“That would be great, Min.” And with that, Minho grasped Felix’s hand again, pulling him inside the building and up the stairs, straight into his apartment.
Minho swapped his hoodie and t-shirt for another t-shirt, and his jeans for a pair of shorts, before tossing a pair of sweatpants and a shirt to Felix, who was already half asleep on Minho’s couch. He sleepily thanked him, trudging to the bathroom to change, and reappearing on the couch in a flash.
“Goodnight, Lix.” Minho said, pausing in front of the couch. “Thank you for the talk, by the way. You uh, you’re probably my first real friend here since high school.” Felix smiled a tired from his spot, nodding.
“You’re welcome, catboy. I’ll see you tomorrow.”