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“Taeyong Hyung, where are you taking us?”
Glancing over at Haechan, Taeyong ruffles his hair with one hand, the other on the steering wheel. “I promised you three I’d treat you to a meal if you helped me clean the apartment before my mother came over, right? Well, this is me keeping up that promise. I’m taking you to a breakfast buffet that’s supposed to start in about...” Pausing to check the time, Taeyong continues, “ten minutes. I hope you’re all hungry, hm?”
From the backseat, Chenle and Jisung join Haechan in an attempt to deafen Taeyong as they all yell enthusiastically in agreement. “We’re always hungry, Hyung.” Chenle quips and Taeyong grins back at him from the rearview mirror.
Pulling up at the hotel, Taeyong informs them lightly that since this is a prestigious, fancy place, they’d all have to agree to be on their best behavior. Glancing down at their casual outfits, Chenle raises his eyebrow.
“You do know we look like shit right? I mean, I had just rolled out of bed when you called.”
Taeyong waves his hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter, Lele, we’ll never see these people again anyway. Besides, it’s fun to give rich people a little bit of a cultural shock sometimes.”
As they walk to the front door, Taeyong notices people glancing at them and giving them nasty looks that seem to say you don’t belong here. Uncomfortable despite his outward appearance and nonchalant words, he ushers the kids in hurriedly.
Taeyong had done all the planning for today; his friend, Johnny, had recommended this place, he’d calculated the total cost of everything, even went as far to call the hotel and ask if people who weren’t staying had to pay extra per head for the buffet (thankfully, they did not).
Once in, Taeyong walks up to the front desk and finds out that he can opt to pay for the buffet upon exit. His stomach rumbling aggressively, awoken by the scent of food wafting out from the inner hallway, he decides to pay upon exit, ensuring that the maitre d' is made aware of the number of people with him. She leads him inside, to a relatively spacious buffet area, where most of the inner seats have already claimed. Stopping next to a corner table near the kitchen with wide windows showing off the gorgeous view outside, she states that if they require anything, they can simply usher towards one of the waiters on standby, and they will be promptly served.
Politely, Taeyong thanks her as they all pull out seats and sit down. The second she’s out of sight, Haechan, Chenle, and Jisung shoot up out of their seats, dragging Taeyong along.
They hover around for a while, scoping the area out, deciding what to try first, formulating a game plan, how to divide the food in a way that they’d be able to try everything before getting full. Taeyong doesn’t quite understand their enthusiasm, simply placing whatever he encountered and liked the sound of on his plate. Still, it feels nice, he thinks, to see them all so excited and happy.
He’d first met the trio when he’d moved into his first apartment. All on his own, friendless and new to living on his own, he’d been able to make good friends with the noisy young adults that lived in the flat next to his, even adopted them as his little siblings-in-mischief. With them, he could escape his dull, mundane life and pretend he was a doe-eyed twenty-something-year-old again, learning how to navigate the world.
About ten minutes later, they all join Taeyong at the breakfast table, each of them with a different combination of food on their plates. Although Taeyong hadn’t asked, Jisung pipes up to explain. “We decided we’d all get something the other wants to try, and share our food. Fewer trips, more food, and this way we can decide what we like and get more of it on our next trip.”
Taeyong nods. “Ah. That’s smart.” He says, just for the sake of saying something.
“Oh, shit, I forgot to get something to drink— Jisungie, could you go get me some freshly squeezed orange juice?” Haechan says, batting his eyelashes sweetly, his voice dripping with honey. Jisung scoffs.
“Get it yourself.”
“Hey, why don’t you just call a waiter over? Here—” interjects Taeyong before they can start bickering, calling over to the nearest waiter.
“Yes, how can I help you, sir?” He says as he walks towards them. Taeyong looks up to meet his eyes so he can ask for a glass of juice and feels the world pause for a second.
What the fuck. This may be the most gorgeous man Taeyong’s ever met. His eyes are wide, eager to help; his lips are plump, luscious, kissable, and his skin is smooth, clear, perfect. Surely he must’ve sacrificed some innocent lambs to get skin that soft-looking. He looks like someone who’d only be accessible to Taeyong in his dreams— a literal God, with his insanely wide shoulders and sickeningly thin, petite waist. He simultaneously looks like someone who could pick Taeyong up and throw him against a wall, and someone who’d never dare to hurt Taeyong. Embarrassingly so, Taeyong has become starstruck. He can’t think— he can’t speak.
“Sir?” Prompts the waiter from Heaven, looking a little concerned as Taeyong gapes at him like a fish out of water.
“Uh. Um.” Speak, Taeyong, you look like a fucking idiot.
Before Taeyong can stutter out something stupid, and probably gay, Haechan chimes in. “Could you bring me a glass of orange juice, please?”
Breaking eye contact with Taeyong, the man smiles pleasantly at Haechan and nods. “Thank you.” Says Haechan politely as he walks away.
As soon as he’s out of earshot, the trio turns to Taeyong.
“Hyung, what was that?” Asks Chenle.
Taeyong blinks innocently at them. Lowering his eyes to his plate as he fiddles with his napkin, he replies, “What was what?”
Haechan grins at him and waves vaguely at Taeyong. “That. You couldn’t even look him in the eyes! Is he someone you know?”
“What? God, no. No, I don’t know him. I don’t know why I couldn’t speak properly in front of him, I’m sorry, guys. Anyways, forget about that.” Please start talking about food again, he thinks, knowing that if he doesn’t distract the trio now, they won’t leave him alone until and unless he secures a date with the pretty, pretty waiter.
“No, we aren’t forgetting about it. You think he’s hot, don’t you?” Asks Chenle, bluntly.
Taeyong spots him walking back towards their table, and hurriedly rushes to adjust his hair. “Alright, yes, I think he’s hot, but I swear if any of you try anything I will leave dead lizards under your pillow every day for a month.” Hisses Taeyong, to which they all scoff.
“Here you go, sir. Is there anything else I can get for you?” Pretty Boy asks pleasantly.
“No, thank you, um…” Haechan squints at his name tag. “Doyoung?”
His smile is blinding as he nods and replies, “No problem at all, sir.” He leaves with one final glance at Taeyong, who’s sitting as straight as a pole, staring ahead into the distance. When he’s out of Taeyong’s peripheral vision, he sighs and continues eating, not noticing his troop exchanging glances and winking at one another.
🍽
Walking back towards the kitchen, Doyoung can’t stop himself from thinking about the pretty, tongue-tied boy at table fourteen. He signals his co-workers to gather around him for a moment, knowing he’d have to make it quick to not waste precious time. “Hey, guys? See that table over there? Yeah, I’ll be attending to them today. Can you cover the others?” Asks Doyoung, trying not to let his voice give away any of his intentions.
“Doyoung… we have a full house today. You can’t just focus all your attention on a single table, dude, we need all hands on deck.”
Doyoung resists the urge to roll his eyes. Half the staff preferred to slack off and stay out of the guest’s line of sight. He’s had to cover for many of them, multiple times, a point he’s never brought up until now. It’s the only card he has, and he’s using it today, all because of that boy. God, Doyoung hasn’t had a date in months and hasn't felt interested in another human being until today. Aside from the fact that Taeyong is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, he’d been watching him since he’d walked in, seen how he took care of his friends, and it’d made him curious. Now, he just wants to look for an opening through which he could slip him his phone number, or directly ask him out, anything. Which won’t be possible unless he gives that table all of his attention.
“You all owe me one. Need I remind each of you of the countless favors I’ve done for all of you? I’ll be attending that table, and only that table, end of conversation.”
🍽
Haechan nudges Chenle, who coughs loudly to signal Jisung.
Stiffly, Jisung starts. “Oh, would you look at that, all my toast has finished. Oh no. I need someone to bring me some. But I don’t want to go and get it.”
Suppressing a giggle, Chenle looks around wildly and announces, “Oh, look, it’s Doyoung. Hey, Doyoung?”
At the sound of his name, Taeyong pauses, a spoonful of baked beans hovering in front of his mouth. He glares at his friends but says nothing as Doyoung walks over to their table again. “So sorry to bother you again, but could you bring us some toast, please? And, uh, Taeyong Hyung, do you need anything?”
Taeyong opens his mouth to say something, but one glance at Doyoung, his expression soft and expectant, and all of a sudden he’s coughing aggressively, even though there’s nothing stuck in his throat. Way to make a fool of yourself, Taeyong, he thinks.
He feels a soft hand thump his back firmly, gently, and all of a sudden he’s surrounded by the scent of apples and oceans, a pair of wide, concerned eyes meeting his, an angelic voice asking are you okay? Do you need some water?
It’s all too fast; when he clears his throat and murmurs, “I’m alright, I’m okay, thank you.” Doyoung moves away too fast, and Taeyong starts to miss him. Can we always be this close? A part of him whispers, to which he responds, can you stop quoting songs around pretty boys, please.
“I’d like a glass of water, I think. Thank you, Doyoung.”
The second he’s gone, the table bursts into giggles, sans Taeyong. “Are you all having fun at my misery?” He whispers furiously and sighs in defeat when the trio nods in unison, showing no sign of sympathy for Taeyong.
When Doyoung places a glass of water in front of Taeyong, he looks up and grins at Doyoung, who gives him a bright, gummy smile in return, and Taeyong feels lightheaded again. God, boys are so fucking gorgeous, he thinks to himself.
🍽
The rest of breakfast passes by smoothly enough, with Taeyong and his merry band of misfits eating twice their weight in waffles and croissants.
Finally, when they’re done, they call over Doyoung— who’s been hovering around their table as if he doesn’t have anyone else to attend to, strangely enough— to take their dishes.
“Should I bring the cheque here?” Asks Doyoung sweetly, directing the question over at Taeyong. His eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, Taeyong asks, “Aren’t we supposed to pay at the front desk while exiting?”
Doyoung nods. “Yes, but I could bring it over here, too.”
“Oh, no, it’s alright, we should be heading out.” Says Taeyong, waving his hand awkwardly.
“No, no, I insist. Wait here.” Says Doyoung, a little more firmly than before. Unwilling to dismiss Doyoung a third time, Taeyong nods in agreement. Doyoung’s eyes soften, and he gives Taeyong another adorable gummy smile. The urge to kiss the pretty waiter comes back stronger than ever, and Taeyong thinks, God, I can’t take much more of this.
The boys watch their interaction intently; silently. It’s nothing short of a miracle.
When Doyoung leaves once again, the boys turn to Taeyong instantly. Leaning in, Haechan whisper-speaks dramatically. “Oh my god, Hyung, I think he wants to give you his number.”
Taeyong scoffs. “Right, the hottest man I’ve ever encountered wants to give me his number after I’ve made a complete fool of myself because that’s just how the world works.”
Rolling his eyes at Taeyong’s behavior, Haechan mutters, “Anything could happen”.
Chenle. “Yeah, you could get laid after a year, who knows, anything’s possible.”
Jisung. “Woah, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
As they giggle amongst themselves, Taeyong decides to get his wallet out.
Wait.
Oh, fuck no.
“Hold on a second, guys,” Taeyong says, and Haechan, Chenle, and Jisung all look at him as he double, then triple-checks his pockets. “Fuck—don’t freak out okay, but, I think I forgot my wallet at home.”
He feels slight guilt wash over him as their grins fall and disappointment starts seeping into their expression. “Well. What are we going to do now?”
🍽
“Okay… so if we put together all the loose change we have, it’s just about enough to pay for two people.” Announces Taeyong. His eyes flitting back and forth from Chenle to Jisung to Haechan, he chews on his bottom lip anxiously, trying to come up with something to get them out of this mess.
Haechan lights up suddenly.
Taeyong notices and snaps at him. “What? What is it?”
“Hyung, look at that sign.”
Taeyong twists around in his chair, searching wildly. “What sign? I don’t see any sign?”
Haechan sighs. “On your left, Hyung. It says that breakfast is free for children under the ages of twelve.”
Taeyong twists back around and raises his eyebrow. “I don’t see how that helps any of us right now, Haechan.”
“Just trust me, Hyung.”
Addressing Jisung and Chenle next, he commands Jisung to lean down, his legs stretching out so far they’re almost on top of Taeyong’s under the table, and he tells Chenle to speak in a higher voice. "Better yet, don't say anything, okay? Just try to look like really quiet, nice kids."
When Doyoung returns with the cheque, Taeyong grins at him maniacally, his eyes panicked and wild. Placing the change inside without actually glancing at it, he calls Doyoung back to get it, and signals to the trio that it’s time to leave. However, before any of them can move, Doyoung glances at the change, looking more than a little confused.
“Um… Sir, I’m sorry, you have a party of four people. But you only paid for two? Who’ll be covering the cost for the other two?”
Okay. Go time.
“Well, it’s free, isn’t it?” He says, and it comes out far more confident than Taeyong actually feels.
Doyoung tilts his head, and Taeyong can’t help but notice how he looked like a confused puppy. “Not unless you have a coupon, sir, which I highly doubt since we don’t offer those here. It’s only free for children aged twelve and under.”
Taeyong nods as if he already knows this. Gesturing towards Jisung and Chenle, who are fiddling with their respective napkins trying their best to avoid making eye contact with each other or Doyoung, Taeyong says, “These are my sister’s kids. They’re a bit tall for their age, I know. They get it from their father. Is there a problem?”
Taeyong is surprised at how convincing he sounds.
Doyoung resists the urge to laugh. “Sir, are you trying to tell me these fully grown men in front of me are actually twelve-year-olds that look like they’ve been through puberty three times?”
Taeyong hesitates, and Haechan steps in. “Excuse me, Kim Doyoung-ssi, but are you implying that my uncle here is lying about his nephews?”
“Well, I don’t mean to be rude, but yes; yes, that is exactly what I am implying.” Replies Doyoung smoothly, trying not to sound too condescending.
“Alright then, Kim Doyoung-ssi, I’ll have you know that these are my best friends and I’ve watched them grow, and grow, and grow, and grow—”
“Yes sir, I get the point.” Doyoung mutters.
“—And grow , until I wasn’t sure who was the oldest one of us.”
Doyoung sighs. “Well then, pardon me for asking, but how old does that make you, exactly?”
Haechan blinks. “That’s not the point, the point is that you are acting as if we’d lie about my poor friends and their unfortunate heights.” He says, affronted, and he seems so offended that Doyoung almost wavers. Almost.
“Well, it seems like you are.”
Taeyong, watching them interact with wide eyes, starts biting his nails anxiously, hoping Doyoung wouldn’t call the manager or security to kick them out. And then, Haechan starts crying.
Taeyong gapes at Haechan as he forces real tears out of his eyes, saying, “Noona has never let these kids out of her sight ever since they got bullied in third grade for being so tall… everyone accused them of failing classes, even the teachers didn’t believe how old they were… and she let us take them out today as a special treat… is this the way you wish to treat these poor, troubled kids?”
Chenle and Jisung keep their heads down, only this time to try and hide their laughter from the poor waiter. Haechan uses this to his advantage, pointing at their shaking bodies. “Look, look how upset they’ve become, they’re crying too.”
Doyoung watches this scene with mild amusement.
When it seems like Haechan has run out of material, he turns slightly to look directly into Taeyong’s eyes.
“Alright so I have something to confess. I overheard you all speaking about how you forgot to bring your wallet, and I know you don’t have the money to cover the cost for all of your friends and yourself.” He says, fighting back a laugh.
Haechan’s tears seem to go back right into his eyes as he deflates instantly.
“Oh.” He says sheepishly, and Doyoung smiles at him, patiently.
“Yes. Oh.”
Taeyong, feeling embarrassed, pulls on his ear nervously as he asks Doyoung why he’d let them lie to that extent if he’d already known that they couldn’t pay.
“Honestly, I just wanted to mess with you all. I also wanted to see how far you’d go, and—" Turning to Haechan, he says, “Props to you, really, I almost believed you for a second there.”
Awkwardly, Haechan makes a finger gun at Doyoung and winks.
Finally being able to sit properly in his seat, Jisung leans back up again. “So, what are we going to do now? We can’t pay, can we?”
Doyoung glances over at Taeyong, who looks worried again. Taeyong meets his eyes and shakes his head. “We can’t pay. I’m so sorry, I’ll make it up to you— I can do the dishes to cover the cost? Or, if you could wait for an hour or so, my friend will be awake and I can ask him to bring us the money?” Turning to the trio, he continues, “Or one of you could go and get the money for me?”
Doyoung raises a hand to stop Taeyong’s tangent. “There’s no need to go through all that trouble.”
Taeyong is tired of being confused. “We need to pay, though.”
Doyoung nods. “Yes, I agree, someone needs to pay. Not you though.”
“I don’t understand.” States Taeyong, still unsure of what Doyoung’s trying to say.
Annoyed, Chenle hisses— “Oh my God, Hyung, he’s offering to pay for us! Why are you so dense?”
Taeyong swats Chenle’s arm and hisses back at him to shut up. “I don’t think that’s what he was saying, you idiot.”
“That was exactly what I was saying.” Interjects Doyoung, and Taeyong feels embarrassed again. He’d forgotten Doyoung could hear every word he was saying.
“I can’t allow you to do that, you’re practically a stranger and we’ve already bothered you enough.” Taeyong refuses stubbornly.
“Well, I never said I was doing it for free. You’d have to pay me back, of course.”
Haechan, Chenle, and Jisung all glance at each other grinning, knowing exactly where this was going. Taeyong, sadly, does not seem to have the extent of their deduction skills. He feels both unsure and uneasy, but he nods anyway. It’s the fastest way out of here.
“Yes, yes of course. How would you like me to do that, should I transfer you the money or—”
“You can pay me back by going on a date with me.”
Taeyong blinks.
“Huh?”
The trio, watching gleefully, all nudge each other and start whispering amongst themselves, but neither boys pay them any attention.
“I said, you could pay me back by going on a date with me.”
Taeyong starts coughing again, choking on thin air. Am I dead? Is this Heaven?
Doyoung hands him a glass of water, and waits patiently, his hands folded in front of him as he stands up straight and watches Taeyong.
When Taeyong feels like he’s recovered enough to be able to speak properly again, he shakily replies. “Yeah, that seems about fair.”
Doyoung beams at him, his smile radiant, his face practically glowing with the sparkle of a thousand angels. Taeyong feels dizzy. Somehow, being on the receiving end of Doyoung’s smiles feels like his biggest achievement in life yet.
Before he leaves the table to fetch his wallet, Doyoung turns around and says, “My number’s on the cheque, by the way. Note it down.” Winking at Taeyong, he walks away.
Taeyong looks up at his friends, dazed.
Smugly, Haechan turns to Taeyong. “What did I tell you, Hyung, what did I say?”