Work Text:
Cupid’s arrow strikes Donghyuck at around 4:45PM on a Tuesday.
His day had been fine until then. Not good or particularly nice, but not awful either. Just normal. Just alright. Work was busy in the coffee shop, but not so busy he had to skip lunch. His manager had yelled at him a little, but not enough for him to end his eight-hour shift with a headache. The most exciting thing that afternoon had happened when a pair of toddler twins walked in the shop hand in hand, dressed in the exact same outfits, and Donghyuck got to play with them for a few moments while their mom ordered her coffee.
All in all, a pretty ordinary, uninspired day. Until Donghyuck stops at a crosswalk on his way home, waiting for the traffic light to change. He bends down to tie his shoelaces as best as he can surrounded by a crowd of people, notices a small hole in the beat-up sneakers. He frowns, then stands back up, then throws a casual look to the road ahead of him.
And there, across the street, Donghyuck sees him.
The love of his life.
He’s tall. He’s dressed in a stylish denim jacket and sweatpants, hands in his pockets. He’s got pink hair. Pink lips, too, and a sharp jaw, and big-ish ears that are way too cute. His eyes are wide and brown when they meet Donghyuck’s.
Donghyuck sucks in a breath, suddenly a little lightheaded. It’s like everything else fades away, and all he can see is the man, staring back at him curiously, pink head tilted to the side. It’s like time is moving in slow motion. It’s like IU’s Love Poem is playing somewhere in the background—
Donghyuck realizes the song is actually coming from someone’s phone just as the traffic light turns green and the crowd shifts. He’s forced to move along, and so is the man across the street. They eye each other as they cross paths, separated by the throng of people coming and going. Donghyuck walks forward on unstable feet, looking back at the man until they’re both safe on opposite sidewalks again. He turns around then, fully intent on crossing the street to the man’s side.
But the light is already red.
Donghyuck sighs as a bus drives between them and he loses sight of the man for a few seconds. When he’s visible again, the man gives Donghyuck a searching look. Then he smiles.
Donghyuck’s heart beats so hard he thinks he’s going to stop breathing and suffocate. The man’s teeth are blindingly white and long and there are way too many of them, more than should fit in a normal mouth. At least that’s what it looks like. The smile makes him look a little deranged, a little insane, like he could eat Donghyuck up quite literally.
He’s the most beautiful thing Donghyuck has ever seen.
“What the fuck,” Donghyuck mutters to himself. It earns him a dirty look from a grandma next to him, but whatever. He smiles back at the man.
The light turns green again. The man steps forward until he’s on the curb, so Donghyuck stays still, smiling, waiting for the man to come to him.
Except he doesn’t. He just raises his eyebrows at Donghyuck, smirking, like it’s a challenge. Donghyuck narrows his eyes, scoffs and crosses his arms. He’s not going to lose.
They stay like that, both of them refusing to make the first move, for about five green lights. The man looks like he’s actually enjoying himself, leaning lazily against a light pole like he has all the time in the world. Donghyuck, though, grows more frustrated and restless as the seconds tick by. He tries to pretend the waiting game doesn’t bother him, sticking his tongue out at the man, which gets him a laugh he’s unfortunately too far away to hear.
A few more minutes pass. Donghyuck is about to give up and just cross the street when the man raises a hand to get his attention (not that he ever lost it). Donghyuck blinks at him, and the man smiles, wider and crazier than before, then proceeds to run away.
He just dashes down the sidewalk, startling everyone around him. Donghyuck is startled too, too stunned to do anything but gape for a few seconds. Then his brain catches up, and he yells out “Yah!!” and starts running too.
People leap out of his way when they see him, for which he’s thankful, too busy watching the man across the street and trying to keep up to really pay attention to his surroundings. He trips and almost falls about three times, but when he sees the man across the street laugh, his face breaking into a stunning grin, he can’t help but laugh as well.
This is so much fun.
They run for about two blocks until they reach the end of the road. Their parallel streets end in front of the gates of a small park, and just like that they’re on the same sidewalk, both panting with their hands on their knees.
Donghyuck catches his breath and marches up to the man, who smiles at him, closing his eyes like he’s ready for a kiss—
Donghyuck slaps his arm.
“Oof,” the man says, surprised.
“Yah!” Donghyuck yells. He doesn’t know if this man is older than him, but he has a feeling he wouldn’t mind either way. “What was that!”
The man has the audacity to shrug, smirking. “Got tired of waiting for you.”
He has a nice voice, Donghyuck notices, trying hard not to smile. “You’re insane.”
“And you’re beautiful.”
It takes a lot to leave Donghyuck speechless. Usually, he’s the one saying dumb shit and shamelessly flirting and doing aegyo, but this man has managed to make him sputter like a fool twice in as many minutes.
Finally, a worthy opponent.
Donghyuck recovers enough to roll his eyes, but he’s feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.
“My name’s Lee Donghyuck,” he says. “What’s your name?”
“Buy me some coffee and I’ll tell you.”
The man points to a cafe a little further down the sidewalk. Donghyuck sighs; he doesn’t really want to go to a coffee shop when he spent the whole day in one and is expected there again tomorrow at 8AM sharp, but he nods. The man sticks close to him while they walk, too close for a warm June evening, but he smells like expensive cologne and his clothes feel nice against Donghyuck’s skin, so he’s not complaining.
As soon as they step inside the shop, the man makes a beeline for one of the vacant tables and sits down graciously on a chair. Instead of going up to the counter and giving his name with his order, like Donghyuck expected him to. He blinks.
“I’ll have an iced Americano with eight espresso shots, thanks, babe,” says the man, winking at Donghyuck.
“Or I could just kill you right now,” Donghyuck deadpans. “If you want to die that bad.”
“Nah, I won’t die,” the man smiles. Butterflies dance in Donghyuck’s stomach. “Can’t die before I get to know you properly.”
Donghyuck gets his face really close to the man’s, who blinks, startled, but doesn’t pull back. His eyes are so brown. He is so pretty.
“You get five shots, handsome,” Donghyuck whispers. “Not one more.”
The man pouts. Donghyuck is endeared.
He gives the woman behind the counter the man’s order – all eight shots of it, ice, no water – and only feels a little judged when she glares at him. He’s sure she gets all sorts of fucked up orders every day just like him, but this one is really fucked up, so he also buys himself some iced chocolate to go.
The man has his chin in his hands when Donghyuck goes back to the table with their drinks, watching him approach with a small smile.
“Here’s your coffee,” Donghyuck says, offering the man his cup.
“Thank you, Hyuck-ah.”
He extends his hand for the cup and, just as he’s about to grab it, Donghyuck yanks it out of reach. The man blinks. Donghyuck smirks, and the man smirks back.
Donghyuck turns on his heels and walks outside, not looking behind him to see if he’s being followed. After a few seconds, he feels someone fall into step beside him. He silently offers the man his cup again and lets him take it this time. When he takes a sip of his drink, he beams at Donghyuck and smacks his lips, sending Donghyuck a kiss.
They walk quietly to the park, side by side, their hands brushing between their bodies until Donghyuck gets bold and grabs the man’s hand. It’s big and warm and smooth, and Donghyuck wants to hold it forever.
“I bought you coffee,” Donghyuck reminds him as they enter the park. It’s a quiet little place with trees and a pond and small, narrow bridge, and the only other people there are a group of high school students who barely glance their way. Above them, the sky slowly turns from pink and orange and red to dark blue. They find a bench near the water and sit down. “Now tell me your name.”
The man laughs in Donghyuck’s face.
“Don’t wanna,” he sing-songs.
Donghyuck literally throws himself in the man’s arms then. He whines and does his best aegyo, the one that usually gets people to pay for his meals or buy him gifts. Except this time he gets nothing but a warm, fond smile thrown his way, the man’s eyes sparkling with affection, his strong arms around Donghyuck.
“Well, I didn’t wanna know your name, anyway,” Donghyuck sniffs. “With the amount of coffee you drink, you’ll be dead in like a year, so there’s no reason to even keep this conversation going. Bye now.”
He makes absolutely no move to walk away, instead resting his head on the man’s shoulder and sighing against his jacket.
“I’m a surgical resident, I haven’t slept in like two days,” the man sighs. “I need the coffee.”
Donghyuck softens, patting the man’s head and getting a tired smile in return.
“Are doctors allowed to have pink hair?” he asks, narrowing his eyes, exaggerating the suspicion in his voice. He doesn’t think the man is lying, but it’s fun to play with him.
The man shakes his head. “I lost a bet.”
Donghyuck hums. This man is a doctor. A surgeon, no less. That’s very different from Donghyuck, who’s been working at the coffee shop for the last two years and giving singing lessons to kids in his neighborhood when he can, his dream of being a singer tucked away in a drawer, collecting dust.
He wonders if the man has always dreamed of being a doctor. If he wanted to do something else, but chose this path instead. If he likes it, if he thinks he’s good at it.
Donghyuck can’t wait to find out.
“What about you?” the man asks. “What do you do?”
“I work at a cafe and give singing lessons sometimes,” Donghyuck shrugs.
“Oh! You sing?” the man looks genuinely impressed, eyes wide and round. “I’d love to hear you sing.”
Donghyuck tucks his hair behind his ear, pretending to be shy. Says, “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly”, then takes a deep breath and sings IU’s Love Poem very softly.
Under the night sky, the man stares at him open mouthed, the glint of awe and affection in his eyes brighter than the light of the few stars above them. When the song is over, the man is quiet for long seconds. Donghyuck waits, thumb stroking the back of the man’s hand.
“Jaemin,” he says, finally. “My name is Na Jaemin.”
Na Jaemin, Donghyuck thinks. Na Jaemin. That’s a good name.
“Well, Na Jaemin,” Donghyuck grins. “You’re stuck with me now.”
Jaemin beams back at him, his smile wide and promising and full of impossible teeth. “I can’t wait.”