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It’s another Friday night at the barbecue house, the bustling sound of conversations and sizzling meat with fragrant smells filling the restaurant. Friday is one of their busiest nights, mainly filled with people excited for the weekend or celebrating the end of a long week.
Beomgyu moves hastily, avoiding hot plates and trays of expensive meat, just to get to the register. As he sends the order to the kitchen, he wipes his forehead with his arm, already feeling the warmth since more people started rolling in 15 minutes ago.
He looks up, eyes focused on the entrance as another group of customers enter and are brought to their table by one of his fellow waiters. Funnily enough, it’s not a group of customers that he keeps his eye out for, but instead one handsome red-haired male.
“You’re never going to get your work done if you keep looking for him, hyung.” A voice sighs beside him, reaching for a pen.
“Shut up. I’m not that bad.” Beomgyu pouts.
“Sure, hyung.” Taehyun cocks an eyebrow in disbelief. “It’s not like you do this every night, right?”
Beomgyu slaps him lightly as Taehyun retreats to another table of customers.
‘Just focus on your job, Beomgyu.’ He tells himself. ‘He’ll probably show up sooner or later.’
And Beomgyu is right. He does show up. Just… not in the way Beomgyu expects.
“Yo, Beomgyu!”
“Hey! You came-”
Beomgyu’s words die on his lips as he notices the unfamiliar black-haired boy next to Yeonjun. His first instinct is that he’s just a friend.
Or at least, it would be, if Yeonjun didn’t so obviously link arms and hold hands with the tall boy.
‘Oh.’
They first met on a Monday night, three hours into Beomgyu’s shift, at around 6:15PM. In all honesty, he probably wouldn’t have paid much attention to him, if not for his red hair and handsome face that attracted Beomgyu straight away. It was more of a “Woah, that’s cool” rather than “Wow. He’s hot”. (Or so Beomgyu tells Taehyun and Kai.)
Beomgyu was also intrigued since Yeonjun entered the barbecue house alone. While it wasn’t entirely impossible, it was quite rare for their customers to turn up without at least one companion or ten. There was no in between.
‘He must be rich, hungry, and craving barbecue, then.’ Beomgyu mused to himself.
And he was right on all three (technically one was a half-truth).
Never had Beomgyu ever witnessed one single man going through a whole mixed plate of meat, a bowl of ramen, three rice balls, and extra side dishes. Beomgyu was genuinely scared that he might be a scammer, getting ready to bolt as soon as he’d see the cheque.
“You eat a lot for one person.” Beomgyu commented idly as he was clearing the table of empty dishes.
“What can I say?” The boy smirked. “I’m a hungry and growing man.”
“Even so, eating so much in one go can’t be good for you. Good thing you won’t get far if you decide to run.” Beomgyu chuckled.
“I’m sorry, did you just call me fat and accuse me of dine and dashing?”
If it were any other customer, Beomgyu would apologise immediately for being so rude (although he’d never let himself get to that point). But the boy’s laugh and playful nature assured Beomgyu that this was just fun banter, and nothing that would get him fired from the job.
“When you’re working in an expensive barbecue house, you can never rule out the possibility.” Beomgyu smiled at the boy.
“So you’re admitting that you called me fat.”
“I didn’t say that. You did.”
“I could still complain to your boss.”
“You wouldn’t.” Beomgyu laughed, taking the pile of dishes. “You seem like a pretty funny guy.”
“You think I’m pretty?” The boy looked amused.
“You’re hopeless.” Beomgyu chuckled and left the table.
And somehow, Beomgyu knew it wouldn’t be the last time he’d see the red-haired boy.
Alas, a week later, the boy turned up again, smiling upon meeting eyes with Beomgyu. He took a seat at the left side of the restaurant, waiting patiently.
“You’re back.” Beomgyu smiled.
“I am. I was craving meat again.” He chuckled.
“It’s good to see you again. I’ll go grab your waiter.”
“Then what are you?” He looked weirdly at Beomgyu.
“The waiter of a different section.” Beomgyu stuck his tongue out. “You’re sitting in Kai’s section.”
“Oh.”
It was safe to say that the rest of the night, Beomgyu couldn’t help himself from looking over at Yeonjun (and it was mutual). It made Beomgyu happy to see the boy eating so contently, like nothing else could enter his bubble.
An hour later, Kai pulled Beomgyu aside.
“My red-haired customer just rejected me for you.” Kai said, tilting his head towards Yeonjun.
“Really? What do you mean?”
“He said, I quote, ‘Can the pretty waiter in the ponytail clear my table instead?’” Kai giggled.
Yeonjun smiled knowingly, watching as Beomgyu looked slightly embarrassed before heading over to him.
“Did you enjoy your meal, sir?” Beomgyu asked politely, clearing the dishes that Kai was originally meant to.
“I did, in fact…” Yeonjun leaned forward. “Beomgyu-ssi.”
“That’s good to hear.” Beomgyu hummed.
“You’re not going to ask for my name?”
“What kind of waiter asks for their customer’s name?” Beomgyu chuckled. (He loved playing hard to get.)
“Pretty waiters like you.” Yeonjun ‘winked’. “But only for pretty boys like me.”
“Is that so? All the more I don’t ask, then.” Beomgyu burst into small giggles.
“You’re mean.” Yeonjun pouted.
“And you should sit in my section next time, if you’re so desperate for my attention.” Beomgyu winked back as he lifted the stack.
“What makes you think I’ll come back?” Yeonjun smirked.
“I’ve still gotta get your name.” Beomgyu smiled smugly. “Plus, if a place is worth coming a second time, it must be good, right?”
Yeonjun could only smile back. He supposed it was true. (Only, it was worth it for a different reason than Beomgyu had intended with his words.)
Over time, the two boys grew closer and closer, getting to know one another and having their usual playful banter (and flirting).
Beomgyu learnt that the boy’s name was Yeonjun. Despite his flirtatious manner and appearance, his main source of income came from tutoring people and research help, which shocked Beomgyu.
“I’m offended. You think appearance is everything?” Yeonjun jokingly scoffed.
“No. I think first impressions are very real, and a smart biology major was not my first guess.” Beomgyu explained simply.
“Let me guess, your first impression was a pretty and handsome, hot tall male with red hair.”
“Actually, it was that you eat a shit ton for a college student.”
Luckily, Yeonjun’s smack was drowned out by the loud conversations around them.
On his fourth visit, Yeonjun learnt the hard way that Beomgyu only worked night shifts. It was one of his coworkers that had to break the news after he showed up at lunch.
“You mean you seriously only work night shifts?” Yeonjun asked.
“Yes? I do have a life, you know. Literature majors are all about the morning grind.” Beomgyu sighed. “What does it matter to you, anyway?”
“I’m missing out on the lunch specials!” Yeonjun pointed to the little stand on the table, advertising their student deals. “Do you know how much money I’d save?!”
“You’re literally not making any sense. Just come at lunch, then!”
“But then I’d miss seeing your pretty face.” Yeonjun pouted.
“That sounds like a you problem, then.” Beomgyu coughed, trying to hide his blush.
And it would have been Yeonjun’s perfect opportunity to finally make a move, until Beomgyu got called over. It was still the dinner rush, after all. Part of Yeonjun wondered how and why Beomgyu still spent so much time talking to him.
They got into a pattern, with Yeonjun visiting at least twice a week and Beomgyu waiting expectantly every shift. Sometimes, Yeonjun really liked to keep Beomgyu waiting, though. One night, he accidentally (read: purposely) turned up 30 minutes before closing time.
“I got carried away with tutoring a friend, Beomgyu! Please, I’m so hungry, I’m not even kidding.” Yeonjun begged after the younger one threatened to only serve him water for turning up so late.
Usually if people came in 30 minutes before closing, it would more likely be people looking for alcohol or getting takeaway. Not someone looking to sit in and eat a whole meal.
Beomgyu sighed, giving in because while he could take the time to convince Yeonjun to eat elsewhere (like a convenience store), he didn’t have it in him to refuse service to his favourite customer.
“So? What’s your order?”
Yeonjun raised an eyebrow, confused. By this point, Beomgyu had his usual order memorised, to the point where he didn’t even bother asking unless Yeonjun specifically wanted something different.
“It’s getting late, so you probably want something light, like rice balls or a small bowl of ramen. You don’t want to eat too much meat, because it’s heavy on the stomach.”
“Wow, you’re actually being nice to me.” Yeonjun laughed as Beomgyu hit him on the shoulder.
“Excuse you, I’m a waiter. I’m considerate of my customers.” Beomgyu huffed.
“I’d hope so. Otherwise I wouldn’t be coming so often.” Yeonjun ‘winked’ again.
“I-Idiot! You still can’t wink properly, silly.” Beomgyu blushed, teasing Yeonjun to hide his shyness.
“But you know what it means anyway.” Yeonjun smiled fondly.
“I swear I’m leaving you here to starve-”
“Wait, wait, I’m sorry!” Yeonjun tugged on his sleeve. “I’ll get two rice balls and a small bowl of ramen. Please?”
“Fine.” Beomgyu pouted. “Since you’re so nice.”
Yeonjun sighed in relief. The rest of the night was spent chatting and for Beomgyu, stealing Yeonjun’s food, much to his disapproval.
“You stole my fucking chashu!”
“You snooze, you lose!”
By the time it had been a month and a half since knowing Yeonjun, Beomgyu was well aware of his obvious crush on the boy. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say that Yeonjun was his motivation to turn up to work sometimes. They surprisingly hadn’t exchanged phone numbers or anything, and Yeonjun turned up sporadically, so it kept Beomgyu on his toes every shift. He never knew whether he’d end a shift content and satisfied or disappointed and tired.
Unfortunately, tonight was the latter as Beomgyu flipped the sign to “CLOSED” with a sigh. He was looking forward to seeing Yeonjun (like always), but it was just one of those nights.
“You really really like him, don’t you?” Kai asked as he started to sweep the floor at the front of the house.
“What am I supposed to do? I see him twice a week, sometimes more. How about you try not to get a crush on someone as hot as Yeonjun?” Beomgyu pouted.
“No thanks.” Kai laughed. “Taehyunnie’d pull me aside in a second.”
Beomgyu sighed, exasperated, and sat down on a chair.
“You gotta ask him out, hyung. Take your shot. It’s been ages.” Kai said.
“Are you dumb?! I can’t ask a customer out!” Beomgyu argued.
“What happened to your confident, flirty self?”
“Don’t you know, Kai? Beomgyu-hyung is all about the talk and not the walk.” Taehyun laughed, wiping a table down.
“Wow, thanks dude.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Taehyunnie aside, you should do something about it. Don’t you want to date him, hyung?” Kai asked genuinely.
Beomgyu frowned, thinking to himself. What did he want from Yeonjun? What was stopping him from asking Yeonjun to hang out somewhere that didn’t constantly smell like meat? From asking Yeonjun if he could see him every day, rather than twice a week? What was he afraid of?
There was one time where Yeonjun was determined to stay until Beomgyu’s dinner break. He showed up at 8:00 to secure a spot, and asked Beomgyu when his break was.
“Why are you asking?”
“I want to eat dinner with you.” Yeonjun smiled.
“What if I’d already taken my break?” Beomgyu chuckled.
“Then I’d wait until you’re free to sit down and eat with me again.”
Beomgyu sighed with a smile at the stubborn boy.
“I’ll be another 30 minutes at least.”
“I can wait.”
“You don’t want anything? What are you, gonna drink water for half an hour?”
“Yep.” Yeonjun smiled. “We can eat your favourite. I’m sick of my usual.”
“Fine.” Beomgyu couldn’t help but smile back. “Just be glad customers are leaving, not coming, otherwise I’d have to kick you out.”
“Just hurry up and do your work. I’ll be here waiting.”
Yeonjun’s words made Beomgyu’s breath catch in his throat. He saw Yeonjun’s smile, so genuine and… fond? And it made Beomgyu work even faster, hurrying to take his break quicker.
With a wide smile, he set down two bowls of black bean noodles and a plate of tteokbokki. Kai brought some side dishes for them.
“Enjoy your dinner date~” Kai teased, running away just as Beomgyu was about to get up to threaten him.
Neither of them spoke about it, only blushing as they happily ate together. Beomgyu’s break only lasted 30 minutes, but he wanted it to last forever. He hurriedly finished his food within 10 minutes, wanting to talk to Yeonjun and chat for the remainder of it.
Being with Yeonjun made him so happy. It gave him a joy that he couldn’t find elsewhere. It was so easy to get along with him, and he truly thought they were a match made in heaven. If the attraction and interest between them wasn’t mutual, then why would Yeonjun come over so often?
During their dinner ‘date’, all Beomgyu could think about was if it was real. If he wasn’t just a waiter on his break, eating with a regular customer. If their friendship meant something more than the biweekly visits and banter.
He saw Yeonjun’s smile and heard his laugh, and his heart warmed, filled with hope.
Surely, if all the signs were right…
Yeonjun liked him back.
“Beomgyu! This is Soobin. Soobin, Beomgyu.” Yeonjun introduces them, smiling wide.
“Hi. I’m Beomgyu.”
“It’s great to finally meet you! Yeonjun-hyung talks about you a lot.”
Beomgyu notices Soobin’s large dimples first. And then it’s his eyes that crinkle into crescents whenever he smiles too wide. For some reason, Beomgyu finds himself annoyed.
“Call me when you’re ready to order.” Beomgyu says as he forces a smile and hurries away.
He sighs as he stands behind the counter, feeling down all of a sudden, as if all of his energy has depleted with the one interaction.
He had thought he had it all figured out, but apparently not. Was he too optimistic, not knowing that Yeonjun was just a really sweet friend? Overanalysing every interaction when in fact, Yeonjun was never interested in him?
“Looks like someone’s jealous.” Kai chuckles, tapping the buttons at the register.
“I’m not-”
Beomgyu pouts, turning and being met with a Look from Kai.
“Fine! I’m jealous. What do you want me to do?” Beomgyu throws his hands in the air, exasperated.
“I’m not sure there’s much you can do, hyung. But who knows! Maybe they’re friends.” Kai says, trying to cheer him up.
“Yeah, right. Friends who walk in hand in hand.” Beomgyu deadpans.
“It’s not that bad, hyung. Just don’t be like Taehyunnie and hold a grudge on the dude, okay?” Kai chuckles. “Remember that time I brought a friend and he got so jealous he kept messing my friend’s stuff up? I had to explain that my boyfriend was just being petty and jealous.”
“That’s it!” Beomgyu laughs as Kai just tilts his head.
“I’ve gotta check out whether he’s good for hyung or not!”
“Beomgyu, what are you-”
“I’ll be right back!”
Beomgyu smiles to himself, grabbing a water jug and two glasses as he returns to the table.
“Ready to order yet?” Beomgyu smiles.
“Not quite. Soobin can’t decide what to get.” Yeonjun chuckles.
“That’s okay. Take your time.”
Beomgyu serves Yeonjun’s water first (something he doesn’t usually do), earning a weird look from Yeonjun. When he goes to serve Soobin’s water, he ‘accidentally’ jerks his arm, spilling it past Soobin’s glass and getting onto the table as it drips onto Soobin’s lap.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Beomgyu apologises, putting the water jug down and grabbing tissues from the box on the table. “My hand slipped, I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, it’s fine. It’s just water.” Soobin smiles, dabbing his pants with the tissues. “No harm done at all.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.” Beomgyu bows his head and takes the tissues to run off and dispose of them.
As Kai gives him a look, he just smiles back.
“It’ll be harmless, trust me.”
The next time, Beomgyu stuffs up Soobin’s order on purpose. Instead of a peach iced tea, he gets Soobin a sour lemonade. He personally loves it (seeing as he enjoys sour flavours), but it’s rarely ordered, hence why he’s sure Soobin probably won’t like it either.
“Beomgyu, he didn’t order this-”
“It’s fine, hyung! I’ll drink it. I’m sure it would be more trouble for Beomgyu to change it.” Soobin smiles politely.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry. I’ll treat you next time you come back.” Beomgyu smiles. “I’m sure Yeonjun-hyung will bring you back, after all. He loves our restaurant.”
“Yes, I’m sure he will. He visits it so often, after all.” Soobin chuckles.
“Can you stop talking like I’m not here?”
“So, Soobin-ssi! What do you do for a living?” Beomgyu ignores him, focusing on Soobin instead.
“Oh! I’m a psychology major.” Soobin smiles.
“Cool! That must be a lot of fun! Are you aiming to become a psychologist?”
“That’s definitely an option.”
“Wow, what a great career, right, Yeonjun-hyung?” Beomgyu finally turns back to an annoyed Yeonjun.
“You’re being weird.” Yeonjun says.
“I’m being nice. You’re just not used to it.” Beomgyu teases.
“That’s enough chatting for you. Get back to work.” Taehyun says, dragging him back by the arm.
“I’ll be back!” Beomgyu smiles wide at Soobin.
The rest of the evening, Beomgyu spends more time chatting with (read: interrogating) Soobin when he can. If he’s going to date Yeonjun, he needs to be worthy of it. One does not simply date Choi Yeonjun (or so Beomgyu has decided).
After seeing Soobin being so lovely and understanding, not to mention never once getting angry at Beomgyu even after what he did, Beomgyu deems him fit to date Yeonjun. He knows he doesn’t have a say, but if Yeonjun ever asks him, Beomgyu would tell him to go for it.
By the time the rush has died down, Beomgyu finally has time to process everything during his dinner break. He spends it in the bathroom.
As much as Beomgyu seems like a confident, flirty, and unbothered person, he’s still human. He’s still heartbroken once he has time to sit down, instead of ignoring his problems with customers and busily handling food. He doesn’t allow himself to cry.
It’s not like the really hot and cute guy he’d fallen in love with over the past two months just rocked up with a date at his workplace. The place that used to be just theirs.
‘Well,’ Beomgyu supposes. ‘It’s not like he’s banned from dating whoever he wants. That’s stupid.’
But all in all, Beomgyu is just sad and disappointed. He’d hoped so much, only to crash once reality hit him. Yeonjun doesn’t like him back, and now he has a broken heart to nurse. Honestly speaking, Yeonjun is the first person he actually thought he had a chance with. Compared to other small crushes, Beomgyu had fallen hard for Yeonjun, even more than he anticipated. Beomgyu knows it won’t be easy to bounce back from this… but he’ll try. He still wants to be Yeonjun’s friend, and his stupid crush won’t ruin that for them.
He’s glad it’s Soobin. He can trust someone like him to make Yeonjun smile and laugh the most. He supposes he’ll be seeing more of Soobin now, so he kind of has to like him.
“Beomgyu-hyung, your break time is over.” Taehyun calls. “And your crush is calling for you.”
‘Great.’ Beomgyu sighs.
“I’ll be out in a second.”
He begrudgingly goes to Yeonjun and Soobin’s table, passing them the cheque after seeing their table had been cleared already.
“Did you enjoy your break?” Yeonjun asks.
“Yes.” Beomgyu says in a heartbeat. “Did you enjoy our food, Soobin-ssi?”
“It was delicious! I’ll definitely be sure to come back.” Soobin smiles. Beomgyu ignores the twist in his chest.
“We’ll be here to welcome you, then.” Beomgyu smiles as he takes the cheque and money. “You know what? I’ll get you some ice cream, on the house. What flavour would you like? Hopefully not mint chocolate like Yeonjun-hyung.”
“Hey!” Yeonjun pouts.
“Oh, definitely not. I don’t mind it, but I’d prefer something else.” Soobin chuckles. “Chocolate is fine.”
“I’ll be right back.” Beomgyu nods.
The least he can do is finish their date off with dessert.
“Hey. We’re gonna leave. Thanks for tonight.” Yeonjun smiles.
Beomgyu looks up from the takeaway order he was writing down.
“Sure. Hope you two have a great night.” Beomgyu gives a small smile.
“See you tomorrow?” Yeonjun asks.
“Sure! You can bring Soobin along too! Although, maybe that’s not a good idea, having a second date in the same place…” Beomgyu muses.
Yeonjun pauses, and then bursts into giggles.
“Soobin’s not my date.”
‘Oh.’
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry-” Beomgyu chuckles, blushing lightly. “I just assumed it, how embarrassing.”
“But you can be mine, if you want.”
Beomgyu’s eyes widen at Yeonjun, who seems to be biting his lip nervously. He can’t believe what he just heard. Surely, it isn’t real. Yeonjun smoothly slips a piece of paper into his apron pocket.
“You’re cute when you’re jealous.” Yeonjun giggles, smiling that damn fond look again, and then leaves promptly.
Beomgyu freezes, stunned and unable to process anything as his cheeks grow warmer.
“Hyung, you look so stupid right now.” Taehyun teases.
“Don’t be mean, Taehyunnie. He just got asked out by his crush~” Kai giggles.
“What just happened?” Beomgyu says softly, more to himself.
“You scored a date, silly. He probably gave you his number.” Taehyun says, pointing to the paper sticking out of his pocket.
Beomgyu slowly takes it out, unfolding it.
Lo and behold, it does have a number written on it. And underneath, the words: 'Did two months of calling you pretty and coming to your expensive restaurant more than twice a week mean nothing to you? Guess my crush really is dumb. xP I’d still like to take my pretty waiter out properly, if that’s okay. Give me a ring (NOT a literal ring)!'
Beomgyu laughs, re-reading the dorky words again. Yep. That’s definitely Yeonjun.
“See! You worried about nothing, hyung.” Kai says, patting his back.
“I wouldn’t say nothing.” Taehyun chuckles. “Overheard Yeonjun talking with Soobin and asking if he thought the plan was working.”
“What plan?” Beomgyu furrows his eyebrows.
“He wanted to see if you’d get jealous. Y’know… if he pretended to be on a date.”
“Wow. What a sly fox.” Beomgyu smirks.
“But it worked, didn’t it?” Kai smiles.
“I believe it did.” Beomgyu smiles back.
The next week, they meet up for lunch, finally having their first date. It’s Yeonjun’s first time seeing Beomgyu in non-work clothes, and his breath is literally taken away. He’d known Beomgyu was pretty, but to find out he also likes fashion and dresses well is just a bonus.
“I wonder why it took us so long.” Beomgyu laughs, playing with Yeonjun’s hand in his.
“Dunno. I guess I was never sure whether you were seriously flirting or just playing around and being nice.” Yeonjun chuckles.
“For real? I might be a waiter, but I don’t flirt with anyone unless I think it’s worth a shot.” Beomgyu says.
“How did you know I was worth it?”
Beomgyu giggles, squeezes his hand, and then smiles softly.
“Your smile.”