Work Text:
Park Seonghwa loosened his black tie. He inhaled and exhaled deeply before looking down at his desk which was full of scattered papers. Sketched on those papers were figures of humans, but the pencil strokes highlighted more on what they’re wearing. Yes, Park Seonghwa was a designer who worked for a quite well-known ready-to-wear clothing brand in the country. His job required him to always come up with new ideas and innovations that weren’t easy to obtain. And this was how Seonghwa would end up looking every time he was forced to make dozens of new designs in a short span of time until the deadline. Brain running out of ideas, physically and mentally tired, even laziness surged out of nowhere. But the 26-year-old man knew he must resist all of that negative energy. He had to, if he didn’t want to be unemployed the next day.
Those conditions of his weren't seen too often, however. Maybe only 2 to 4 times a year, whenever the season changes: Fall-winter and spring-summer. Seasons change as well as the way people dress. Therefore, as a designer, Seonghwa couldn't let people out there dress inappropriately to the season. But again, he'd ended up like that: physically and mentally tired. Dark aura could be seen radiating from his shoulders and back. It might sound like an exaggerating statement, but that was exactly how his co-workers saw it. Ah, Seonghwa didn’t care, anyway. All he wanted to do was to finish his job and hand those piles of sketches to the director as soon as possible. Some of his sketches might not be accepted since he worked in a rush and some of them were done without much consideration. But since work hours were about to end, he knew that that kind-hearted middle-aged woman wouldn't force her employees to work overtime, especially on Friday.
Seonghwa turned his gaze to look at a flower vase on a shelf placed across the aisle of his desk. An instant smile grew on his face as he noticed the tulips had been replaced by two stems of dwarf sunflowers. He believed that seasons did not only change the way people dress, but also the way people decorate either their house or workplace or both. And yeah, Sunflowers did match the upcoming summer theme for their office.
Speaking of flowers, Seonghwa remembered who placed the sunflowers there. A female intern whom, now that he thinks about it, he hadn’t seen for a few days in the office. Seonghwa got to admit that he might have a tiny bit of interest in that young woman. She was a student at S university who had worked there for six months already, as an assistant designer. Not only Seonghwa, though. There were 3 other designers competing to steal the director's attention so their designs would be accepted and added to every new collection.
"Seonghwa- ssi . Have you finished your work?"
A voice appeared from behind. Seonghwa looked away from the shelf in front of him and turned around. There was a man with brown hair standing next to his chair. Two women were behind him. One had long pony-tailed black hair, while the other one was blonde with a short bob cut. Yup, these guys were the other three designers we were talking about.
"Yeah," Seonghwa replied with a nod. The three other designers just watched as the tallest man was collecting the papers on his desk into one pile. "You guys have submitted your sketches to Mrs. Yoon?"
"Yup," the pony-tailed woman replied, "We were actually going to wait for you. But you seemed to be in your usual dark and gloomy mood, so we went first. You are scary when you're like that."
Seonghwa didn't take offence to that last sentence.
"Then why don't you go straight home?"
"We're going to have a drink to celebrate our last miserable day. It's Friday night, after all. Are you coming?" The brown-haired man offered.
Seonghwa smiled in a polite way before shaking his head.
"You're no fun," as his three co-workers complained, he got up from his chair, about to walk out of his desk and towards the director's room. But his eyes fell back to the flower on the shelf.
"By the way," Seonghwa spoke again with eyes still glued to the sunflowers. The other three followed the direction of his gaze. "About that flower…"
"Oh, so it's sunflowers now. I just noticed," the black haired woman exclaimed with a big smile, cutting off Seonghwa's words. "It really suits the summer mood, doesn't it? Yuna- ssi is really good at this kind of thing."
Seonghwa turned to look at the woman. "Yuna- ssi ?"
Oh, Seonghwa just realized he never knew her name.
"Yup. Hwang Yuna, the intern who has been our assistant for six months. You haven't forgotten, have you?"
Seonghwa shook his head again. "Then where is she? I haven't seen her in days."
"You don't know? Tsk, you shouldn't focus too much on your work, Seonghwa- ssi . She quit."
"What? When? Why?"
"Just three days ago. She said she got accepted at a fashion school in Paris. Isn't that cool?" The blonde said.
"Yuna- ssi dreams of becoming a world-wide designer. She studies really hard so she can study more in one of the fashion capitals of the world. Even the reason she took an internship here is to gain experience. Isn't she amazing?" The pony-tailed woman explained.
"Oh no. What if she becomes more famous than me?" The brown head panicked, jokingly.
"She definitely will," the women snapped and then the three of them laughed.
Seonghwa just watched from his spot. Honestly, this goofy behavior of his co-workers made Seonghwa a little uncomfortable, especially after a hard day of work. But he knew that was just their way to bring back the mood in the office. Seonghwa sighed and began to walk, wanting to leave the three laughing young adults. But he stopped after a few steps and turned around.
"Hey," the three stopped laughing and looked at the tallest man there. "Do you happen to know where she bought the flowers?"
Not too far from the office of a well-known clothing brand, about four blocks away, was a flower shop called 'HANA-HANA'. 'Hana' in Korean means one, while in Japanese it means flower. The owner was a woman who was already in her 60's. Despite that, she was still very agile in managing her flower shop because she loves doing so.
From the outside, 'HANA-HANA' was a simple yet beautiful shop. Various kinds of colorful flowers were displayed on the shelfs near the entrance. For the day, they displayed both the flowers of spring and summer. Spring still embellishes the landscape, while summer is coming in a few days. It's still vague which flower of the season will attract people's attention more.
A man came out of the shop, carrying a small pot of daisies planted in it. He placed the pot in the front row of the shelf so that the small flowers would clearly be visible to passers-by. The dark haired male smiled as he watered the flower using a spray bottle.
Seonghwa noticed the flowers looked a lot fresher all of a sudden. Oh right, Seonghwa has been standing near that shop for awhile, apparently. Watching the man who looked a bit younger than him. From the way he dressed, Seonghwa could tell that he was just an employee there. He wasn't sure what made him pay attention to the man. Maybe that smile? The guy finally stood up straight and went back inside the shop. He seemed a little rushed.
Seonghwa didn't know what prompted him, but his legs let him into the shop. The small bell on top of the door tinkled as Seonghwa stepped in.
"Oh, welcome! How can I help you, young man?"
An old lady sitting behind a table greeted him. Seonghwa came to realization. Ugh, what made him act like this? He wanted to run quickly out of this place. But walking into someone's shop, and then running out immediately after being greeted was rude, wasn't it?
"Uhm, good evening. I'm… Looking for flowers."
Dumb answer, Park Seonghwa. It's a flower shop, what else would you be looking for? Toilet papers?
The old lady giggled as she approached Seonghwa's tall figure, "Sorry, my bad. I mean what kind of flowers are you looking for?"
"I… am not really sure. Maybe something that would suit summer? I don't know much about flowers, though. Can you recommend something?"
"Well, you seem to be preparing for summer, I see," the woman laughed a bit louder, showing her wrinkles around her eyes while Seonghwa just smiled. "Do you want it in a pot or a bouquet?"
"Uhm. I'll go with a bouquet."
"Alright. Please sit down and wait. I'll go see what's good for you."
"Thank you," Seonghwa bowed, then sat on the chair she pointed at.
He looked around at every corner of the shop. It was full of flowers. The decorations are pretty and the scents of the room were calming. Seonghwa felt like the tiredness on his body faded away somewhere. It was really calming and that made him smile. The only voice that could be heard at the time was the lady humming to an old song as she was looking around, choosing flowers to make a bouquet for her customer. But the calm was slightly disturbed by a voice suddenly bursting from the back door.
"Grandma! I'm going to deliver the order!" The voice appeared along with a man bursting out of the room. Oh, that's the dark haired guy from earlier. He made eye contact with Seonghwa, and then bowed to the customer. "Oh, we have a customer. Welcome to Hana-hana!"
Seonghwa only reacted with a slight bow. He watched as the bright smile was still there on the dark haired guy's face.
"Wooyoung- ah , lower your voice! You almost got me a heart attack, you know?" the lady nagged.
"Oopsie. Sorry, grandma. I thought you were outside, so I shouted," the guy called Wooyoung just grinned sheepishly to his grandmother as if he did nothing wrong.
The woman just sighed and shook her head at her grandson's behavior. She then busied herself again with the flowers for her customer.
"Whose order?" the woman asked briefly.
"Aurora Cafe. For their mini garden, as usual."
"Aurora Cafe? Where is it?"
Wooyoung lifted a basket filled with dwarf sunflowers near the door and then sighed, "Grandma, are you getting senile? It's uncle Kim's cafe. It's not too far from here, just two blocks away. Once a month, they'll order new flowers for their mini garden."
"Yah! I'm old, okay?" the woman nagged again. "What did they order this time?"
"15 stems of sunflowers."
"Oh, right. Our sunflowers haven't sold much, have they?"
The grandson grew a smile on his face, trying to cheer up his grandmother. "Summer is not until two weeks ahead, grandma. Don't worry. I'm sure it's gonna be sold out once it's summer."
The woman looked at her grandson's smiling face and finally smiled back, "Whatever you say, brat. Now go deliver those flowers!"
"Eye eye, captain!"
The young man exited the shop and headed to a bicycle outside, not realizing the customer's eyes were still on him. Wooyoung tied the basket to the back seat of the bicycle using a rubber rope. After making sure the basket was stable and the rope was bound tight, Wooyoung sat on the front seat.
"Grandma! I'm leaving!"
"Careful, Wooyoung- ah !"
" Ne ~"
The dark haired man started to ride the bike away from the shop. At the same time, the woman approached Seonghwa with the bouquet, snatching his attention from the disappearing bike outside.
"Here is your bouquet, young man," Seonghwa eyed the bouquet in her hands. He smiled at the bright colors. "Do you like it?"
"Very much. Thank you, ma'am," he took the bouquet. "May I know what flowers are these?"
"The purple ones are Aster, these yellowish red are Dahlia, the bright yellow over here are called Achillea, while the pink ones are gaura. And you must have known this two big yellow guys here,"
"Yes. Sunflowers."
"Correct!" she exclaimed with a wide smile, showing wrinkles around her eyes. Seonghwa looked at her and mirrored the smile. "By the way, it's 2000 won."
"Oh, right," Seonghwa almost forgot to pay. He fished into his pocket, taking the amount of money out of it and gave it to her. "Here you go. Thank you so much, ma'am."
"Thank you! Have a great weekend!"
"Thank you! Have a great weekend!"
A man dressed in a barista attire—white shirt, black vest and pants, and dark brown apron hanging from his waist—bowed to two teenage girls who were about to exit the cafe. The two girls who seemed to be still fascinated by his good looks finally exited the cafe, making the bell on top of the door tinkled.
The blonde man stood up straight again and sighed, eyes roaming around the cafe. The room was finally empty so he thought he could take a rest for a while. It had been 7 hours of his hand not stopping to make coffees since the shop opened in the morning. He wondered why the customers seemed reluctant to stop coming for the whole day. Was it a national coffee day or something? Lots of people seemed to be craving coffee.
Meh. The man rolled his eyes, annoyed by his own thoughts. It wasn't strange for him to be making such weird and nonsense statements in his mind. But he gotta admit that it was just the way his brain works. That didn't cost him anything, after all. Sometimes, those silly and weird thoughts helped him cheer up whenever he was tired or sad. That's a plus point.
His eyes turned to the corner of the room where a mini garden decorated the shop. That reminded him, the sunflowers he had ordered from his grandmother's shop should have arrived by now. But his cousin who used to deliver the flowers hadn't shown up yet. He shrugged. Maybe that nosy cousin of his had to deliver somewhere else first.
The barista finally decided to go to the kitchen to clean up. It was 6pm, another hour until the closing time. He didn't want to come home late for even a minute when there wasn't anything important to do at the cafe anymore. To him, time is the most important thing. Especially Friday night.
But then the bell on top of the entrance tinkled again.
"Welcome to–"
His greeting was cut off by a familiar nosy voice coming from the entrance as well as a hug around his tiny frame so tight he could die.
"Joongie hyuuung !!"
"Hey, Wooyoung- ah ! Let go, I can't breathe!!"
The barista made a fake choking sound until the other guy actually let go of him.
"Sorry," Wooyoung grinned.
"Tsk. You need to throw away that habit, Woo. Consider your energy when you hug people. I feel bad for your future lover. They might not live long," the blonde barista nagged.
"You know that's just how I show my love for you, right, Joongie hyung ?" The younger pouted.
"Yeah yeah. But Woo, I told you to stop calling me that."
"Why? I thought you like being called that? Joongie hyung ~"
"Not by a nosy 24 years old man, though."
"What's that supposed to mean, Kim Hongjoong?!"
The so-called Kim Hongjoong just put an angelic smile on his already gentle face.
And Wooyoung is weak for that smile of his cousin. He just pouted in defeat. "Never mind. I'm here with your order, hyung ."
Wooyoung walked towards and out of the front door, heading towards his bike again. Hongjoong followed behind to help him with the basket filled with flower pots. A few minutes later, the two were back inside the cafe. They placed the basket on the nearest table from the mini garden.
Hongjoong started working, arranging the small pots in the mini garden. He didn't mind getting his hands dirty. He no longer had to make a customer's order, after all. Next to him, Wooyoung stood still as he darted his eyes around, especially to the door behind the counter as if he was looking for something coming out from there. Hongjoong took a glance at his cousin and realized what the younger was doing.
"Looking for Choi San?"
Instead of answering, Wooyoung asked another question, "Where is he?"
"Out for groceries. He's short on some ingredients for tomorrow."
"Oh," was the only response from Wooyoung. The next second, the dark haired guy crouched down next to his cousin. "Need help?"
"Took you long enough," with sarcasm, Hongjoong received a soft hit on the shoulder.
As Wooyoung was about to lift a pot out of the basket, they heard the bell above the door tinkling again.
" Hyung , I'm back!"
"That's San–"
"SANNIE!!"
Wooyoung rushed towards the man in Patissier attire and jumped towards him, giving the said man a tight hug like he did to Hongjoong a few minutes ago. But this time, the victim did not feel annoyed. Instead he kind of looked flustered.
"Oh, Woo, you're here?" Wooyoung pulled away and nodded. "Great timing. I tried a new cake recipe today and haven't tasted it myself. You wanna have a taste?"
"Of course!" Wooyoung exclaimed. The two of them disappeared into the door behind the counter, leaving the barista alone in the corner of the room, cursing.
"I should have known that brat had no intention of helping in the first place."
Seonghwa stopped walking in front of a cafe. The bouquet he had bought at the flower shop was still in his hand. He saw the familiar bicycle the guy from the flower shop was riding earlier. That assured him this was the cafe the grandma and grandson were talking about. He didn't seem to realize what he was doing, until he heard the sound of a bell tinkling above his head.
"Oh? Welcome to Aurora!"
And again, Seonghwa couldn't run away after being greeted. That's still rude. He couldn't stop wondering what made him keep entering people's shops. His brain knew exactly that his body was tired and needed to be rested the whole night. But why did it insist on hanging around the shopping complex like this?
Oh, never mind. Let's just take a seat.
Seonghwa moved to sit at a table not far from where he saw an employee crouching down in front of a messy mini garden. He noticed those were the sunflowers from Hana-hana earlier. But wait, where did that delivery guy go? He looked around the shop but couldn't find the dark haired male. Instead, he jolted when he realized a blonde barista with dirty hands was standing next to his table.
"Excuse me, sir. I'm in the middle of arranging the mini garden. I'll finish soon, actually. Do you mind waiting for your drink?" The blonde barista asked politely. Seonghwa just shook his head. "Okay, thank you. May I know what's your order now?"
"I'll have a latte," Seonghwa answered.
"I'll make it right away after I finish the garden. Thank you for willing to wait, sir," the barista bowed and went back to quickly and diligently working on the mini garden.
Apparently, Seonghwa happened to choose a seat where he could watch the barista from the side. He wasn’t sure why, but for some reason, his eyes couldn't seem to let go of the image in front of him. He noticed when the blonde laughed alone several times. Oh no, Seonghwa didn't think that man was crazy for laughing alone. Instead, he looks… Adorable?
Damn, Park Seonghwa. You sound like a creep.
But it was strange to him as well. Seonghwa even found himself smiling as the man in the corner of the room chuckled again. Oh, what's with Park Songhwa today?
Seonghwa forced himself to let his gaze off of the barista who had finished the mini garden and walked into a room behind the counter. He sighed before his gaze fell on the bouquet still on his hands under the table. He just realized. This was what made him couldn't take his eyes off the blonde male. From the first second he stepped into the cafe, out of nowhere, he could see the floral aura gushing around that guy. Like bright and pure shades were painted behind him, matching the nuances of the upcoming season.
Seonghwa's lips curled into a smile once again. Seems like summer this year wouldn't be as bad as he thought.
"Whoa! That looks good!" Wooyoung looked at a perfectly round cake that San had just taken out of the refrigerator. "No one has tried it yet?"
"No. I don't know why Hongjoong hyung didn't want to when I offered it. And I don't taste my own cake. It'd be better to be tasted by someone, right? So I know what people think about it."
Wooyoung rolled his eyes at the explanation. "Right, right, I got it! Now let me have a taste!"
San chuckled at the behavior of his best friend's cousin. He wondered many times, was this guy really his age? He has the personality of an elementary kid. But he noticed sometimes Hongjoong would act this way, too. Was that a related-blood thing?
"San- ah , what's so funny?" Wooyoung asked with a pout.
"I- it's nothing," San stopped laughing before he took a knife and cut the cake into 6 pieces. He placed a piece on a small plate. Then he handed Wooyoung a fork. "Here, have a taste."
"Bon appetit!" Wooyoung scooped the cake into his mouth. His eyes widening, looking at the patissier. "San- ah ! This is so good!"
"Is it? Oh, glad to hear that," San rubbed his own chest, feeling relieved to hear the comment. But then he frowned when he saw the slightly shorter guy put the plate and the fork back on the table with a dejected face. "What is it, Woo? Is it not that good?"
"No, no! It tastes amazing that I want to devour everything. But this is for sale, right? I can't just eat them all myself," Wooyoung pouted again.
San stared at that face for a while before bursting out laughing again. Wooyoung glared at him.
"Why are you laughing again?!"
"Sorry, it's just so funny!" San had no intention to stop laughing yet even after getting hit hard on the arm.
"What's so funny?!"
"You are funny," San suppressed his laugh, "Yes, this is for sale. But not specifically this one. You know I can make lots of them, right? I'd have to make it everyday, after all," San bursted out laughing again. That made Wooyoung blushed in embarrassment and looked down, realizing he just said something stupid. Just then, San stopped laughing. "You can eat them all, or bring them home to eat with your grandma."
Wooyoung raised his head fast. "Really?"
San nodded.
"Aww, thank you, San! I'll pay for it!"
"No need, Woo. Just take them all. I made this cake for you, anyway."
"What?"
"Uhm."
San quickly shut his mouth. Wooyoung stared at him in confusion. You and your clumsy mouth, Choi San, he cursed in mind .
"You… Made this cake for me?"
"Th- that's… I mean… Le- let's just say that! Yeah, consider that I made this cake for you, so you can take it with you!" San grinned at the younger.
"Tsk. ‘Consider that blablabla' my ass."
A mocking voice coming from the kitchen door stole the two young men's attention. They saw Hongjoong standing there with a smirk on his face, as if saying, 'Come on, Choi San. You're being too obvious right now.' San felt like dying right at that moment. Should I? But I don't wanna die yet!
"What do you mean, hyung ?" Wooyoung asked.
Why do you feel the need to ask that, Woo??? Kim Hongjoong, I swear to God, if you dare to say anything about it– San's mind was in chaos.
"Wooyoung- ah , Choi San over here actually made that cake especially for you," Hongjoong explained as he walked towards the sink on one side of the kitchen to wash his dirty hands as that was his first intention going into the room.
"Huh? But San said you didn't want it when he offered you to taste it. Just why, hyung ? This cake is amazing!" Wooyoung exclaimed again as he scooped another piece of cake into his mouth.
Hongjoong turned on the tap and washed his hands. But his eyes were still on his fellow worker, raising an eyebrow as if saying, ‘Nice try, buddy.’
“Who said I didn’t want it? I even tried to snatch it from him,” Hongjoong was now drying his hands with a cloth hanging above the sink. “You know, he even kept it in the fridge with a lock.”
“What?” Wooyoung looked at the oldest guy there with a weird look, but his hands and mouth didn’t stop devouring the delicious cake.
“ Hyung , stop!” San covered his face with his left hand. Wooyoung turned to him, with a more confused look. “I’m sorry for hiding it from you, okay? But that’s not the reason!”
Hongjoong rolled his eyes, ignoring San before returning with a serious look at Wooyoung. “Trust me, Woo. Choi San actually made this cake especially for Jung Wooyoung.”
Wooyoung choked on his cake.
“ Hyung !” San mentally wanted to kill his hyung .
Meanwhile Hongjoong was grinning widely as he yelled, “Bye! A customer is waiting for my latte!” and left.
The two young men were left alone in the kitchen, one with a red face and one with eyes widening as he seemed to just understand what his cousin meant by all that teasing.
That the cake was made specially for him.
Hongjoong didn’t understand what was happening while he was making the latte behind the counter. He didn’t even know what was wrong with him. Was there something on his face? Why was he looking at Hongjoong like that? The barista couldn’t seem to focus on making the drink knowing the fact that the only customer in the cafe was watching all his movement from his seat with a sharp gaze. Hongjoong wondered how a person with such sharp eyes exists. Was he a cat incarnate? A wolf one? Hongjoong groaned in silence as the none-sense thought came across his mind again. Hongjoong had a hard time continuing his work.
Fortunately, he managed to get the latte done with no mistake. After placing the cup on a tray, Hongjoong walked out from behind the counter and towards the only occupied table. He tried his best not to tremble because honestly, he was frightened by the man’s gaze which was still sharp on him.
As expected, the uncomfortable feeling was still hanging around his shoulders, causing him to be clumsy and ended up tripping on his own foot.
Loud crashing sound and scattering glass were heard from the middle of the shop.
The broken cup was scattered while Hongjoong was on his knees and hands on the floor. And oh, how unlucky he was, his left hand stepped on a piece of the broken cup.
“Ouch!”
Watching the accident, Seonghwa, as the only person who happened to be nearest the barista, got up from his seat and approached the other man who was still on the floor.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, sir. Sorry, I will make your drink again,” Hongjoong quickly stood up and was about to return to the counter. But the man held his wrist. “Sir?”
“Hongjoong hyung , what’s that sound-- Oh my God! Hyung , what happened?!”
San and Wooyoung finally came out of the kitchen, both immediately saw Hongjoong’s hand covered in blood.
“I- I was being careless and fell when I brought out the drink. But I’m fine, I promise!”
“How could you say you’re fine?! You need to be careful, hyung !” Wooyoung scolded the older. “San, do you have the first aid kit?”
San did not answer and quickly ran behind the counter to open a drawer where he could find a box of first aid kits.
“Come on, hyung . I’ll treat your--” Wooyoung pulled Hongjoong’s arm to bring him to the staff room, but when the older man didn't move, he turned around and finally noticed that someone else was holding his cousin’s other wrist.
He frowned as he recognized that man.
“Let me do it,” Wooyoung and San shared a look at the man’s words. While Hongjoong’s eyes widened, staring at the tall man holding his hand.
“You- You don’t need to, sir. My friends can do it--” Hongjoong refused.
“I insist.”
That was when Hongjoong realized how deep and sharp the man’s voice was. And that didn’t help easing his fright even the slightest. Hongjoong bit his lower lip and turned to look at his cousin and colleague. Eying them to say, ‘What do I do? He is so scary.’ Wooyoung returned the look with a serious one. As if he understood what was happening.
The younger one then looked at the customer and bowed slightly. “Alright, sir. You can do it while we clean up the mess here. Please take care of him.” He nudged San to give the first aid kit box to the tallest man there. Then he pulled San back to the kitchen.
“Yah! Jung Wooyoung!”
Hongjoong couldn’t help but somehow find himself already sitting at the table, facing the man. He had no choice but to silently curse at his cousin. That kid had no idea how bad this man scared Hongjoong. A thought came across his mind. What’s with this man, anyway? He had never seen a customer willingly offering to treat a worker’s wound at a cafe where he was supposed to enjoy a coffee he wanted. Completely weird , Hongjoong thought as he watched the man searching something from the box. Unexpectedly, the fear caused by the man disappeared somewhere.
“A- ah!” Hongjong whimpered when the man pulled out a very small piece of glass that was still stuck in his palm.
“Oh, sorry,” the man then applied the ointment on his wound.
Hongjoong hissed at the stings and bit his lower lip. That hurt like hell when the alcoholic liquid smeared the surface of the wound. But something else was occupying his mind at the moment. It was the uncomfortable silence that enveloped them in the empty cafe. Wooyoung and San had done cleaning the mess a minute ago, doing it in a glimpse of eyes in purpose to left Hongjoong alone with the handsome customer. And of course Hongjoong had zero idea about that.
Wanting to get out the annoying awkwardness, Hongjoong tried to break the silence.
“Uhm… Sir--”
“Park Seonghwa,” the man blurted out..
“Yeah?”
“My name is Seonghwa,” the man answered again, eyes still focused on Hongjoong’s wounded palm.
“Oh? I- I’m--”
“Kim Hongjoong, i know,” Hongjoong’s eyes widened.
“Ho- how did you--”
“Your name tag.”
Hongjoon immediately looked down at the name tag pinned to the left side of his vest. His mouth shaped an ‘o’ as he realized that. A slight red hue came across his cheeks. He decided to stay quiet so he won’t ask something stupid like that again. He returned to watch as Seonghwa unrolled a bandage and wrapped it around Hongjoong’s hand. That’s when Hongjoong felt the awkwardness even more bothering.
“Uhm. Seonghwa- ssi ,” Hongjoong called, hoping for a response. But the other seemed too focused on his work of treating Hongjoong’s hand. Or he might just not have wanted to answer him. Oh, whatever. Hongjoong just needed to ask. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you doing this?"
This time, instead of answering, Seonghwa paused and raised his head to look at the blonde as if asking what he meant by that question.
“I mean, we didn’t know each other, right? I don’t think we’ve met or even passed each other somewhere before. But why do you bother treating my wound?”
Seonghwa refocused himself on the barista’s hand. There was a moment of silence but not until the bandage was wrapped around Hongjoong’s hand firm and properly.
“Done,” Seonghwa said, letting go of the small bandaged hand.
“Oh. Thank you,” Hongjoong withdrew his hand from the table top and placed it on his lap.
“Technically, I was what caused you to trip, wasn’t I?”
“Wh- what do you mean?”
“Did the way I stare at you scare you?”
Hongjoong did not answer, but he honestly wanted to say ‘yes’. He knew that would be rude. So he ended up just lowering his head, avoiding Seonghwa’s gaze.
“It’s okay, if it was. And I apologize for that.”
“Uhm. I just want to know what made you stare at me like that? Was there something wrong with me? Or did I do something wrong to you?” Hongjoong asked again, glancing up at the man.
It was silent again between them. Seonghwa wondered. He himself was not quite sure what had intrigued him so much to the other’s sight. Was he just admiring him? Was he attracted to him? Or… falling for him? The thoughts burned some heat on Seonghwa’s face. He then tilted his head away from Hongjoong’s direction towards the view outside the glass-wall.
“Yeah, I wonder why,” he mumbled in a low voice, wishing it was inaudible to Hongjoong. But the barista seemed to hear him mumbling, so he kept staring and waiting for a proper answer. Seonghwa sighed before continuing, “Whatever it is, I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.”
“N- no, it’s okay. I should be the one apologizing for having not made you order yet,” and that’s when Hongjoong realized. “Right! I should make your latte again. Please excuse me!”
Hongjoong got up from the seat with the first aid kit box in his hands and was about to walk back toward the counter. But Seonghwa’s sudden question stopped him. “Are you sure? With your hand like that?”
“Yeah, fortunately I'm not left-handed. So that will be okay,” Hongjoong smiled, then bowed, “Please wait for your drink, Seonghwa- ssi .”
Hongjoong returned to making a latte for Seonghwa. But this time, the customer had his eyes glued on the already orange sky outside the shop instead. He hadn’t been looking at him even a glance, not wanting to make the barista feel uncomfortable again. But instead, Seonghwa was the one feeling uncomfortable this time. He wanted to see the other’s wide smile again. But he didn’t want anything bad to happen to Hongjoong for the second time.
Maybe later, when they were not strangers anymore.
Will they be, someday?
Seonghwa kept the thought to himself as he watched the orange shade on the sky slowly fade out and be replaced by dark blue night.
Until Hongjoong was standing again next to his table, carrying a tray with his cup of latte. He put the tray on the table before placing Seonghwa’s latte on the table with his right hand.
“Sorry for keeping you waiting so long.” Finally. Finally Seonghwa saw that smile again as he nodded at the barista as a thank you. Hongjoong held the empty tray between his arms and his torso before shyly saying, “Uhm. This is on me. Consider it as a thank you from me for treating my wound.” He rambled, not minding that he did not get any reaction from the special customer. The man was still admiring Hongjoong’s sweet smile. “Uhm. Alright, I have to go back. Please enjoy your drink, Seonghwa- ssi .”
Hongjoong bowed again before sprinting out of Seonghwa’s sight and towards the door behind the counter. Wait. Why was he running? What actually happened that made him acting so weird like this? What caused his heart to beat faster than it normally does? What was exactly the reason he felt his face as burning as San’s oven on its maximum heat?
Never mind. Hongjoong didn’t want to even think about it. He just wanted to stay away from Park Seonghwa for now.
Back to the only customer left at the cafe, Seonghwa smiled as he looked at the cup of latte in front of him. The barista actually decided to make a heart on Seonghwa’s latte? What a cute guy. Seonghwa giggled as he picked up the cup and decided to pretend to be oblivious. He’d like to tease the barista at the moment.
Or again, someday.
Hongjoong entered the kitchen quickly, shutting the door behind him and leaning on it. That surprised both San and Wooyoung who seemed to instantly part away from each other. You might not want to know what they were doing before Hongjoong barged in. And luckily, Hongjoong wasn’t aware of that, and was just focused on controlling his breath. But that just made Wooyoung frown. He approached his cousin with confusion.
“ Hyung ? Are you okay?”
“What? Oh, yeah. I’m fine,” Hongjoong replied nervously.
“ Hyung ? Did he do something to you again?” San asked, sounding a bit furious and worried. Because honestly, he was still being skeptical about that suspicious customer.
“What do you mean ‘again’? He didn’t do anything bad to me. He just helped me and then ordered another latte. That’s all,” Hongjoong replied as he could finally breathe normally. Then he turned his gaze to his cousin. “Wooyoung, isn’t it closing time at Hana-Hana? Aren’t you going to help grandma?”
Wooyoung’s eyes bulged. “Oh my god, you’re right I almost forgot! I’m going first!” He snatched a large paper bag on the table and ran towards the door. Before he opened it, he turned around. “Oh, and San- ah ? Thank you so much!”
Wooyoung winked at San’s direction before dashing off the kitchen. Hongjoong stole a glance at his colleague. He saw the man just smiled with his teeth showing off to the world, eyes widened, and body stiff as stone. Hongjoong was aware of the red tinge spreading around the younger’s cheeks.
“Oooh~ What was that for?” Hongjoong teased, elbowing San’s arm with a smirk and wiggling eyebrows.
“Uh, that’s… for the cake I made for him. Yeah,” San looked away from Hongjoong, making it obvious that he was lying.
“Oh really? Sure it wasn’t for something else?”
“W- what do you mean?”
“Oh, come on. You seriously think I didn't see what you guys just did? You were--”
“DON’T! You dare say it,” San glared at Hongjoong, a finger pointed at the older’s paused mouth. Hongjoong burst out laughing as San exhaled roughly. “Will you stop? We better talk about that weird customer now!”
Hongjoong choked at that, stopping his laughter. San withdrew his hand from in front of Hongjoong as he noticed the joy wore off his face. San frowned. What's wrong with him? San didn’t even mention his name, so what made him react this way?
“Hongjoong hyung ? What’s with your expression?” Hongjoong shook his head, and San noticed his face was red. “ Hyu-hyung ! Your face!”
“What? What’s with my face?” Hongjoong panicked.
“It’s red.”
Hongjoong smacked his head. “Don’t play around!”
“But I’m serious! Your face is so red, hyung . What’s with-- ” San gasped as he got an idea of what possibly happened there. “Could it be…that guy is your boyfriend?!”
“WHAT?! NO!” Hongjoong’s eyes bulged as he glared at the younger in annoyance. “I just met him today, okay?”
“Then why is he being so nice to you? Is he your secret admirer and he intentionally came here to confess to you? Am I right?”
“NO! Stop making up stories, Choi San!”
“Then what?” San still tried to reprocess his mind with another guess. And somehow, San was sure that his next guess was 100% right. “ Hyung… Do you like him?”
The older man’s eyes bulged even wider. Did this kid just read his mind? Hongjoong had no idea what to do. He would get caught if he opened his mouth right away because to be honest, he was the worst at hiding his emotions. So he chose to remain silent. But that just made things worse.
“Silence means ‘yes’! So you do, hyung ? Wait, I can’t let you have feelings for someone you just met, hyung ! What if he is a bad person? I consider you as my brother already, I don’t want you to get hurt!” San whined as he clung to Hongjoong’s upper arm, practically side-hugging his only and precious colleague.
“Geez, what are you talking about? Let me go, I gotta clean up the counter!”
“Not until you promise me you won’t fall for him!”
“Stop the none-sense and let me go already!”
“I don’t want to!”
Hongjoong could feel the grip on his arm getting even tighter. But then the sound of the bell tinkling saved him.
“Look, another customer! Let go, I have to serve them!”
Hongjoong, with all his strength, finally managed to kick the patissier off his arm. While San just pouted. Hongjoong sighed while adjusting his slightly messy uniform. Then he opened the door to the counter.
“Welcome to--”
Instead of finding another customer, Hongjoong faced the empty shop. Park Seonghwa was no longer sitting on one of the tables there. Not knowing what urged him, Hongjoong ran towards the front door and stepped out of the shop. He looked around on the sidewalk, but the figure he was looking for was nowhere to be seen. The barista ended up sighing before deciding to enter the cafe again. He’d just tell San to close the shop since it was already closing time and it was almost dark outside.
After flipping the sign on the door, Hongjoong dragged his feet towards his counter, but something at the tail of his eyes caught his attention. To where Seonghwa was sitting earlier. The place where he got to know the other’s existence. Even if he just got his name. Tiny smile appeared on his lips as he recalled when the stranger was offering to treat his injured hand. Hongjoong really wished he could see him again someday. He wanted to know more about the man. How old is he, what he does for life, where he lives, and many other things that he was willing to know about him. But Hongjoong doubted fate will ever bring him to meet Seonghwa again. But well, who knows?
Hongjoong walked over to the table, about to clean it up. But as he approached the table, Hongjoong noticed that the cup Seonghwa used to drink his latte with, wasn’t the only one left on it. There was a bouquet of colorful flowers. Much to coincidence, the flowers there were all his favorites. The flower of summer. Hongjoong loved summer. It represents happiness, cheerfulness, and brightness.
But wait, did Seonghwa forget to bring the bouquet? If that was the case, Hongjoong felt the need to return it to him. But he didn’t know where that man lived, nor did he ever get his phone number. And Hongjoong wasn’t sure the man would return to this cafe soon. Judging from Seonghwa’s outfit earlier, he didn’t seem like someone who got a lot of free time to just hang around some random cafes.
Sighing, Hongjoong took the bouquet from the table. A paper slipped off from among the flower stems. There was a small note, that when Hongjoong read it, a smile bloomed again on his pretty face. A thin blush spread across his cheeks. With a suddenly increasing mood, that evening, Hongjoong went home with the bouquet without San knowing. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow.
Well, it might be the best day of summer he would ever get this year.
To. Barista- nim ,
I really like your latte. I left this flower here on purpose. I’ll pick it up tomorrow.
From. Park Seonghwa.
END