Archive of Our Own ^beta

Soobin fucking hated waking up at the ass crack of dawn everyday, he thought as he rubbed at his sleepy eyes and wishing the bread can just go bake themselves. But the sight he woke up to each morning had him wanting his mornings no other way. 

The early soft yellow sunlight casted gentle shadows over soft features and long lashes. Espresso-brown hair spread around Beomgyu’s head against the white pillow like a halo. Long limbs were tangled up in white sheets, drenched in the smell of sunshine. A deep, sleep-ridden voice mumbled as plush lips formed into a cute pout in complaint when Soobin moved to get out of bed. 

Soobin felt his heart stir fondly in his chest. He’s so whipped for this man.

Eyes still closed, Beomgyu made grabby fingers at Soobin before wrapping his arms around Soobin’s waist and burying his face into the older’s back as the latter sat at the edge of their bed. 

“Beomgyu-ah, I have to go downstairs to prepare the pastries for today.” Soobin chuckled warmly before gently patting Beomgyu’s head. 

“Noooo.” Beomgyu mumbled, half-asleep. “Come back.”

“The bread won’t bake themselves.” Soobin laughed. “You should get up soon too.”

“Fine. You go.” The brunet grumbled before reluctantly letting go after Soobin gently patted his hands. “But give me five more minutes.

After gathering all of the pillows at the head of the bed with his eyes still tightly closed, Beomgyu proceeded to bury his head under the pile of pillows. Soobin sighed resignedly before lightly shaking his head. Beomgyu won’t be up for at least a good 30 minutes at this rate. Despite his show of disapproval, Soobin couldn’t help the warm, dopey smile from curling on his lips. He swallowed down the strong urge to wrap his arms around Beomgyu right this moment and smother the younger’s face with kisses.

Fuck. He’s so, so whipped. 

Soobin walked downstairs to their cafe, S&B. He smiled. 

Their cafe. 

He’ll never get tired of the sound of that. Soobin and Beomgyu opened the cafe together on a whim. They bought a closed-down sex toys shop and renovated the entire downstairs into a cafe-bakery and the second floor into their apartment with the help of their friends. Nothing like a DIY project as a bonding experience. The sheer amount of petty bickering between Soobin and Beomgyu was enough to give Soobin a headache just at the thought of them.

At the time, the two lived quite far away from each other, so they discussed lots of their ideas over text and phone. One of their worst disagreements was when they were picking out decorative plants for the cafe:

“Hyung, did your vision get worse? They’re obviously flowers no matter how you look at it.” Beomgyu’s voice had blared over the speakers of Soobin’s phone. 

“What flowers?” Soobin said indignantly and jabbed angrily at the photo pulled up on his phone screen, completely forgetting that Beomgyu can’t see him. “The yellow looking stuff are tree leaves! It looks yellow because of the filter.” 

“What the fuck. The yellow stuff is a flower called rapeseed! How can that flower be anything but a flower.” 

A loud shutter sound blared over the speakerphone before a notification popped up on Soobin’s phone. 

“Taehyun-ah, look at this screenshot and tell me if you think this is a flower or,” Beomgyu mimicked Soobin’s voice. “‘Tree leaves’.” 

Soobin tapped at the notification impatiently. The new photo was a zoomed in photo of flowers with bright yellow petals. 

“The fuck. Beomgyu, that’s cheating. You can’t just show Taehyun a picture of yellow flowers, asking him if they’re flowers. Of course he’d say they’re flowers!” 

“How the fuck am I cheating! This is the flower I’ve been talking about.”

“Then show him the fucking original photo…” Soobin scrolled up to find the original photo he was talking about before he paused. 

There was another photo under the one Soobin was referring to; in it, a girl stood smiling brightly in a yellow field of flowers wider than the eye can see. Despite being in the midst of a heated debate with the espresso-brown haired barista, Soobin couldn’t help thinking about how good Beomgyu would look surrounded by the yellow flowers. Beomgyu’s bright smile and warm eyes would make him look like a spring fairy—wait…

Soobin’s jaw fell open as realization dawned in his mind. They’re so stupid.

“Beomgyu…” Soobin started. “Were you talking about the yellow flower field?” 

“Yea, what other photos are there?”

“Scroll up.” 

A pause. “Oh.” Then, “Trees.” 

“Pft.” Soobin facepalmed as he laughed brightly. “What were we arguing for?” 

He heard Beomgyu giggling with him through the phone. They’re so stupid; they were arguing about different photos this entire time. 

“I didn’t know you sent another photo.” Beomgyu said between bursts of laughter. 

“Me neither.”

“Stress.” Taehyun uttered after not saying a word during the entire 20-some-minute argument, probably knowing full well that they were bickering for no reason. “I can feel myself losing brain cells listening to you two bicker like an old married couple.” 

“We’re not married!” Both of them had complained loudly. 

“...You’re fine being called an old couple, but not married?” 

Not married, but maybe not for long. Soobin smiled fondly at the memory as he grabbed the apron from the hanger downstairs, dusting off the white flour clinging to the brown cloth with a quick snap of his wrists before tying it around his waist with practiced ease. 

Today’s pastries were pineapple buns. 

The recipe is very similar to making Soobin’s specialty, soboro bread, but this will be his first time officially baking pineapple buns for their cafe. The baker pulled out the well-rested bread dough, the filling, and the topping mix he made the night before he took out a small scale from the cabinets. 

Dividing the dough first into two halves, Soobin took one half of the dough and started pulling it into six even pieces, weighing the palm-sized blobs on the scale every once in a while to make sure they’re around the same sizes. Then he did the same with the other half of the dough. He turned on the oven with a click, preheating it to 190 celsius for 15 minutes, while he finished preparing the buns.

Taking each of the divided doughs, he pressed his thumb gently into the center and created a small crater for the filling. He took one generous spoon-full of filling before he pulled at the sides of the dough to completely cover it, rolling it gently between his palms before setting it lightly on a baking sheet on a metal tray. He repeated the same for the other 11 pieces. 

Soobin then grabbed the topping mix, scooped even sized balls of mix into his hand, and squashed it flat against a plastic sheet. He laid the topping gently onto one of the pieces of dough before moving on to prepping the topping for the next. 

Two trays of six buns were ready.

Soobin placed this first batch into the oven, set the timer, and started the next batch. 

Soon, the cafe was filled with the delicious aroma of baking bread when he heard the creaking sounds of the stairs. Beomgyu popped his head into the kitchen. 

“Morning. Something smells good.” He said sleepily with a smile. 

“Right on time, Beomgyu-ah.” Soobin returned the smile before pointing the bread on the counter, baked to a delicious and perfect golden-brown color. “Come try one and tell me what you think! Be careful though. I just got them out of the oven.” 

Beomgyu poked at one cautiously to test the temperature before picking it up gingerly and taking a tiny bite. “It tastes like bread.”

“Try it properly! How can you just nibble a tiny bit and say it tastes like bread? Of course, it tastes like bread since you didn’t get to the topping nor the filling.” Soobin whined. 

“What’s wrong with wanting to savor the taste?” Beomgyu grumbled but he still did ask Soobin asked and took a bigger bite. Soobin huffed, irritated, but did nothing to stop the fond smile from appearing on his lips when Beomgyu’s eyes lit up. 

“Hyung! This is really good. I knew you could do it!” Beomgyu beamed. 

“Of course. This is me we’re talking about.” Soobin said, shrugging his shoulders, earning him a snort and a fond roll of his eyes from Beomgyu.

The baker knew he could do it because the brunet kept him company every night he stayed up practicing, washing away his frustrations with lighthearted conversation. He could do it because he had Beomgyu to support him. 

Soobin fiddled with the small box he hid in his pants pocket. While Beomgyu was busy with the coffee beans, the raven haired baker took out the box and peeked inside. A bright, simply designed ring lay in the soft velvet cushions, the small diamond on top twinkling slightly under the cafe lighting. 

Should Soobin go for it? With the aroma of coffee beans and fresh baked pastries, two of Soobin’s most favorite smells, wafting through the air and the warmth of morning with the promise of another day with the love of his life, it seemed like as good of a time as any.

“Soobin-hyung, is our new coffee grinder here?”

Soobin flinched, closed the box with a quick snap, and stuffed it back into his pants right in time as Beomgyu turned towards him. “Y-yea. It arrived yesterday night. I placed the box near the door.” 

“Oh, thank god.” Beomgyu wiped the corners of his eyes dramatically, faking tears. “I don’t have to hand-grind the beans anymore. My arm muscles are saved!” 

Soobin smiled lopsidedly, watching the barista struggling to lug the box over to the coffee counter.

“What are you doing standing there, Hyung? Come help me!” 

Looks like the baker missed his chance. Maybe next time. 

Beomgyu frowned at the sad cup of espresso in front of him. Coffee grinds floated at the top of the liquid and slowly sank to the bottom. Beomgyu grimaced. That doesn’t look too appetizing.

He sucked in a breath and steeled himself before lifting the cup with mock trembling hands.

“Oh my god. I don’t think it’s that bad this time. Stop being over-dramatic.” Soobin said with a laugh and slapped Beomgyu’s arm good naturally. 

The brunet barista fumbled a bit but managed to prevent the espresso from spilling at the last second. He shot the baker a glare before he took a tentative sip of the drink. 

“…How does it taste?” Soobin asked with bated breath.

“…nothing.”

“What.”

“It doesn’t taste like anything.” Beomgyu looked at Soobin in disbelief. “How did it turn out like this?”

“I don’t know? I did everything you told me to do.”

“How is this possible?”

“Maybe I’m not suited to make coffee.” Soobin sighed.

“You’re ok at making steamed milk.” The barista furrowed his brows. “But espresso is a must! I’m going to teach you how to make the perfect espresso if it’s the last thing I do. We can’t have the Americano Fiasco happen again.” 

Beomgyu shuddered at the memory.

The Americano Fiasco, name coined by yours truly, Choi Beomgyu, occured when Beomgyu had stepped out of the cafe for half-an-hour to temporarily restock on milk—just enough to tide them over for the day until the delivery the next day—and came back to very upset customers, a confused Soobin covered in coffee grinds, and a broken coffee grinder, leaving the barista to hand grind beans for a week. Beomgyu still has no idea how Soobin managed to break the coffee grinder.

But ever since, the barista has been trying to teach the baker how to make coffee everyday after the morning rush. 

“Alright, Teach.” Soobin laughed. “Let’s try again tomorrow. I’ll stick to bread for today, so go do your job.”

The baker ducked back into the kitchen, leaving Beomgyu alone with his thoughts.

Beomgyu was still frowning at the unfinished cup of coffee when the store door chime rang. He looked up in time to see a familiar face making a beeline straight for the coffee bar where the barista was.

“Yeonjun-hyung,” Beomgyu smiled. “Morning. What can I get you today?”

Instead of his usual order, the first words that left Yeonjun’s mouth when he sat down was: “So when are you proposing?” 

Beomgyu hid the waves of “Oh no! Oh no! How the fuck does he know” under a mask of indifference and crossed his arms defensively.

“Who? What? Unfortunately, we don’t have a Proposing on the menu.”

Yes. Very good. Real natural, Choi Beomgyu. 

“Proposing.” Yeonjun repeated and, as if to make a point, lifted a brow. “To Soobi—”

“Ahh!” Beomgyu screamed as he leapt forward onto the counter to cover Yeonjun’s mouth before his eyes darted around nervously for any traces of the raven-haired baker in question. The scream was loud enough to gather the attention of the customers in the cafe. Yeonjun’s brows shot up so high they almost disappeared into his hairline. 

Beomgyu only loosened his grip on the other when he heard a familiar hum—Soobin was all too used to Beomgyu’s sudden bursts of exclaims and self-made sound effects—coming from near the ovens, enough distance away from the counter. 

He whipped back to the blond, hissing under his breath. “Shut the fuck up, hyung. Do you want to ruin the surprise? And how do you know about me proposing anyways?” 

Yeonjun ripped the other’s hand off of his face with an irritated expression and sighed heavily. “Did you forget who you asked for jewelry stores recommendations, specifically—and I quote—‘ones with good rings that carry ring sizes large enough to fit on Choi Soobin’s beautiful large-ass hands’?” 

“Oh.” 

Right. He forgot he asked Yeonjun for recommendations. 

“So when are you p—”

“Shh!” Beomgyu almost screeched, this time earning a few concerned looks from the customers nearby. “Don’t you dare say the p-word.” 

“The p-word.” Yeonjun deadpanned. “Alright. When are you p-word-ing?” 

“Hyung.” Beomgyu said, suddenly calming down and giving Yeonjun the most dead-serious expression he can muster. “You shouldn’t say stuff like p-word in a cafe this early on a Saturday morning. I know this place used to be a sex toys shop but now it’s a cafe. And we’re a kid-friendly establishment! People could think that you’re saying penis—” 

“Choi Beomgyu.” Yeonjun said—using The Voice reserved for whenever Beomgyu got into some sort of unspeakable trouble—and Beomgyu instantly sealed his lips shut. The older pursed his lips, looking like he could erupt with anger at any second. “Stop avoiding the question.” 

“I’m not.” Beomgyu sighed, deflating against the counter. “I just… don’t know the answer either. There’s just no good timing.”

“There’s never good timing with you two.” 

“Yea, that’s true.” The brunet agreed easily. Soobin and Beomgyu bicker almost every day and then make up just as fast. He’s never going to be able to propose at this rate if he keeps waiting for a perfect moment that might never come. What is the ‘perfect’ moment anyways? “I guess I want to propose in a way that Soobin deserves. A way that will give him good memories.”

“Beomgyu.” Yeonjun’s eyes softened. “Soobin is head over heels for you. Don’t you think he’ll have good memories no matter what?”

For Bemogyu, that was true. He felt nothing but endless love and fondness for the raven-haired baker when he thought of their memories together. They started off on the wrong foot, constantly at each other’s throats. Archenemies, or so Beomgyu liked to call their relationship at the time. But when Beomgyu was at his lowest—this was the time before he got to know the others in their current small friend group—Soobin was the surprisingly only one who stayed by his side: 

“Hey, stupid.” Soobin had spat. 

“Stupid…” Beomgyu sniffled, big drops of tears rolled down his cheeks, making Soobin flinch. “Yea, that’s me. I know I’m stupid.” 

“Wait. Fuck. That’s not what I meant. Not in that way.”  Soobin rushed over, kneeling down in front of Beomgyu, and grabbed his cheeks. “I wanted to say that you’re stupid if you don’t see how special you are. I don’t give a fuck what those so called ‘friends’ of yours think. You’re infuriating, annoying, obnoxiously loud, always manage to get on my nerves—”

“Are you trying to comfort me or insult me?” Beomgyu spluttered. 

“Let me finish! Oh. And you’re the most annoying person I know.” Soobin continued, making Beomgyu roll his eyes, then the older broke out into a gentle smile that sent butterflies into Beomgyu’s stomach. “But you always make others laugh. You’re bright, caring, warm, and always reach out your hand to anyone who needs help. Even someone like me who you hate. And you’re fucking stupid for not realizing how amazing you are. And save whatever comeback you have because this is the one argument where I’ll never back down. So don’t cry, Choi Beomgyu.”

Back then, when someone told Beomgyu not to do something, he’d wanted to do it even more. And this unfortunately was not an exception. As if a dam broke inside of Beomgyu, his tears streamed down his face. Soobin’s eyes widened in surprise, unsure of what to do. 

“Oh my god. Sorry. I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong? Don’t cry.” Soobin said, arms hovering around Beomgyu hesitantly. “I’m going to hug you. Is that okay?”

The younger nodded timidly and Soobin immediately pulled Beomgyu into a tight hug and gently rubbed small circles into his back. His archenemy’s presence felt incredibly warm and comforting. Beomgyu broke down his walls and let himself rely on the older as he buried his face into Soobin’s shoulder. 

After that, by some strange twist of fate, they became inseparable best friends and soon a couple, going strong to this day. 

“Soobin-hyung means a lot to me. I want to make him happy. A special proposal for a special person, ya know?” Beomgyu told Yeonjun with a lopsided smile before going to the espresso machine. “The usual?” 

“Yea, I know. So what are you thinking of doing?” Yeonjun returned the smile. “And yup, the usual.” 

“How about the beach?” The barista said, making grand motions in the air with an empty cup in his hands. “Pretty sunset backdrop, in the middle of a heart drawn in the sand, and gentle crashing of waves as I drop on my knee. Romantic.” He nodded excitedly to himself. “You can drive right, hyung?” 

And that’s how they end up on an impromptu beach trip in the middle of the week. Soobin and Beomgyu had to close the cafe for a few days for some maintenance anyway and took the chance to set off for the beach with Yeonjun, Taehyun, and Kai. Maybe Beomgyu was a little too excited for this trip because the second his butt hit the car seat he was gone, out like a light while Yeonjun drove them to their designation. 

He had stayed up all night brainstorming ideas and drawing up The Perfect Plan to propose to Soobin, earning grumbles from Soobin about the bright light coming from Beomgyu’s phone. 

“What are you doing? Go to sleep already. We have to get up early tomorrow to meet up with the others.” Soobin had mumbled, fumbling his hand through the blankets to find Beomgyu’s to lace them together with his eyes still closed. 

“Okay. I’ll go to sleep right after this.” 

And maybe his lack of sleep is the reason why when Beomgyu came to he felt so disoriented. He blinked, trying to clear his sleep-hazed vision. 

“Oh, you’re up?” A warm voice said, laced with amusement. 

And wow. Beomgyu gaped. Soft, milky skin. A smile brighter than the sun shining overhead. Pretty brown eyes swimming with mirth. Holy shit. Who is this breathtaking beautiful person? 

But no, Choi Beomgyu is taken.

“Sorry.” Beomgyu laid back into his chair with a huff, covered his eyes with his oversized jacket sleeves. “You’re very handsome, but I already have an idiot named Choi Soobin in my life. So go away! Stop seducing me.” 

A snort. Maybe Yeonjun? A familiar cackling laughter. And Kai is here too? And an oh-so-familiar squeaky, breathy laugh that he’s fallen in love with over and over again, before he felt something heavy collide with his chest and a painful slap against his arm. 

“Ow!” Beomgyu pouted, curling up into a ball in his seat. 

“Hear that, Soobin-hyung? Stop seducing Beomgyu-hyung.” An amused voice, sounding a lot like Taehyun, deadpanned. 

Beomgyu frowned and cracked open his eyes again. Dark brown hair filled his vision as the owner’s face scrunched up in laughter. 

“Beomgyu, are you still half-asleep?” Soobin wheezed between laughter. 

“No…” A complete lie to be honest. The barista mumbled, “But the world looks very strange today. Sleep-deprivation really did a number on me.” 

Soobin cracked up even more, completely disappearing from view and sounding very out of breath from laughing so hard. 

“What’s so funny?” Beomgyu pouted at everyone. “I’m being serious. It’s strangely dark in one eye and bright in the other.” 

“Beoms.” Yeonjun bit his lip to hold back a snicker and failed. “Look at what’s on your nose.” 

“Huh? What’s on my nose…?” 

Beomgyu reached up to his eyes. His fingers touched a plastic frame before he grabbed it and took the thing off his face. 

“Oh.” His sunglasses. And one of the lenses had gone missing. 

Well. Beomgyu’s face burst into flames. That explained a lot. 

“Stop laughing!” He yelled, but he couldn’t help joining in the laughter himself.  

Beach proposal plan went like this: 

1. Draw a giant heart in the sand
2. Wait til sunset
3. Yeonjun will get Soobin to walk over to the heart
4. Bam! Proposal. 

Simple enough. Beomgyu thought as he squinted at the smudge letters written on the palm of his hand. But maybe he should’ve used a permanent marker instead of a water-based pen.

Now if only the weather had cooperated.

It’s almost sunset but there’s no sun setting in sight because of the heavy grey, ominous clouds that loomed overhead. Not only that, the hearts and the back-up hearts that Beomgyu drew in the sand got erased by the high, hungrily-lapping tides. But the barista is determined to make this work anyways as he hopped around on the sandy shores with a stick, redrawing the heart around a very confused-looking Soobin.

“Hey, Beomgyu.” Soobin said, looking nervously at the dark looming clouds overhead. “I think it’s about to rain.”

“Gimme a minute.” Beomgyu called.

“Nevermind, it is raining.” Soobin said as a big drop of rain hit him on his cheek. “We should go inside.”

“Almost done…” Beomgyu groaned when the rain blurred parts of the heart in the sand and scrambled back to redraw it.

It was a hopeless game of chase. The rain, growing heavier with each passing second, erased as much as Beomgyu drew, drenching his clothes. And soon the barista couldn’t keep up. The stick dug pointlessly into the ground as wet sand rushed to fill in the gap, like the mark was never made in the first place. The rain dripped from his hair, rolling past the corner of his eye and down his cheek.

“Hey…”

Soobin’s voice made Beomgyu freeze in his tracks. Sweet Soobin with the patience of a saint who was standing in the middle of a rain storm with a slight tremble to his shoulders despite not knowing what the barista was doing. Beomgyu’s heart sank. He bit his lip in frustration. This wasn’t how he wanted it to go.

“I’m sorry.” He said guiltily, eyes downcast. Soobin must be cold. “Let’s go back in.”

Soobin didn’t answer immediately. He must be angry. But then Beomgyu heard a small laugh before a cold splash of water hit his face. The barista spluttered, looking up in surprise.

“I don’t know what you wanted to do, but want to try teaching me how to swim?” Soobin smiled with raindrops gathered in his hair and his eyelashes clumped together.

“Right now? All of a sudden?” Beomgyu blinked. “Hyung, but you’re...”

“Afraid of water?” The baker laughed. “Yea, but we’re already covered in it. Plus, I know you got my back.”

Beomgyu blushed as his heart fluttered in his chest. They’ve been together for so long and he’s heard Soobin say all kinds of cheesy, romantic phrases; copying random lines he’s memorized from k-dramas and movies. But sometimes it’s these little, ordinary words, completely unbeknownst to Soobin, that are the most lethal to Beomgyu’s heart.

“Alright, but…” Beomgyu looked nervously at the open ocean. Dark murky waves lapped hungrily at the shore. Pure white and grey connecting the heavens to the ocean everywhere he looked. “Out there…?”

“Oh god. Fuck no. That looks dangerous.” Soobin grabbed Beomgyu’s hand, tugging him up onto his feet and spun him around. “We’re going to the indoor pool at our hotel.”

The sand clung onto their feet as they waddled back to their hotel. Beomgyu stared blankly at their intertwined hands before breaking into a big smile and giving Soobin’s hand a tight squeeze.

He really loves Soobin.

“So how did it go?” Yeonjun said, leaning back against his car at the gas station they stopped by on the way back the next day.

“Horrible.” Beomgyu grumbled as he popped his head out of the open window before propping his head against his arm. “I can’t teach Soobin how to swim. He is unteachable. I told Soobin that, if he ever falls into the water, just scream as loud as he can. Then try to breathe as much air as he can.”

Beomgyu would much rather dive into the water to save Soobin than continue trying to teach him how to swim.

“What? You tried to teach Soobinie how to swim?” Yeonjun asked.

“Yea, it’s like he has no affinity with water. The water hates him as much as he hates water. What were you guys up to?”

"I was watching the maknae duo play Animal Crossing. Kai convinced Taehyun to help plant a giant field of flowers and it took hours— wait, no, we’re getting off topic.” Yeonjun frowned. “How did the propos—”

A loud shush. Beomgyu’s eyes darted to the convenience store where the others were currently stocking up on snacks.

“Wow, deja vu. I feel like this happened just the other day.” The older deadpanned.

“You’re imagining it.”

“Are you going to answer my question?”

“I already answered it.”

A heavy sigh. “Five. Four. Three...”

“It didn’t go well.” Beomgyu sunk back into his seat to avoid Yeonjun’s eyes. He scrolled aimlessly through Tiktok on his phone. “It started pouring so I taught Soobin how to swim in the hotel pool instead.”

A loud thunk of the metal gas pump being placed back followed by the sounds of plastic and two locking clicks of the gas tank cap came from outside as Yeonjun finished up fueling the car. Then he stuck his arm into the car through the open window and ruffled Beomgyu’s hair reassuringly. "There’ll be other chances. What are you planning to do nex—?”

“That’s it!” Beomgyu exclaimed suddenly.

“...What is it?” Yeonjun said cautiously as he followed Beomgyu’s line of sight to the looping video playing on his phone screen. “Oh no. Don’t tell me…”

Beomgyu smirked and held his phone uncomfortably close to the older’s face, tapping the phone screen with his pointer finger. “Hyung. Let’s go busking.”

But little did Beomgyu know, Soobin was also preparing his own special proposal plan.

Soobin never thought the emergency first-aid training class he took on a whim could come in handy when he’s trying to propose to the love of his life. But here he is, conducting the heimlich maneuver with sweaty-ass hands and very visible panic as Beomgyu choked on the ring Soobin was supposed to propose with.

This whole thing started on Monday with Kai’s innocent idea:

“Hyung,” Kai had said in the middle of an intense co-op cooking game with Soobin. “How about—oh my god. The oven is on fire! Pass me the fire extinguisher—how about proposing to Beomgyu-hyung with your bread?”

“Left it on the floor. Fuck! I died.” Soobin smashed the buttons on his controller. “What do you mean with my bread?”

“Like baking your ring into bread or something and when he bites—I need flour—bites into the bread, he’ll find the ring. And bam. Proposal.”

“Sounds like a bad idea. What if Beomgyu chokes?”

“Beomgyu-hyung takes such small bites, I doubt he’d take a bite big enough to eat the ring whole.” Kai laughed. “He’ll be fine.”

Beomgyu was not fine.

Soobin managed to dislodge the chunk of bread and ring from Beomgyu’s windpipe after a few tries but the brunette was still wheezing, collapsed on the floor.

“W-what did you bake into that bread…? A rock…?” Beomgyu said between coughs.

“Why the fuck did you try to inhale the entire pineapple bun whole?” Soobin yelped still high on adrenaline, thumping Beomgyu’s back.

“You told me to take large bites last time!”

“No! I mean, yes, I did. But that was then. And this is now!” Soobin gently patted Beomgyu’s back with worried eyes. “Are you ok, Beomgyu? Should we go to the hospital?”

A few more coughs. Beomgyu opened his mouth with furrowed brows as if he was about to throw back more cutting retorts, but the words seemed to die in his throat after meeting Soobin’s eyes. His eyes softened immediately.

“No, I’m okay. A little traumatized but otherwise, I’m just peachy.” Beomgyu smiled reassuringly up at Soobin, giving the baker’s hand a gentle squeeze. “So don’t worry, hyung…” 

He didn’t finish his sentence but the words hung loudly in the air through Beomgyu’s actions: Don’t cry.

Soobin blinked. At some point unshed tears had gathered in his eyes. At the sight of Beomgyu’s smile, he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Thank god. His hands trembled at the thought of losing Beomgyu.

“Okay.” He said, letting a teardrop escape from his eyes before weakly returning Beomgyu’s smile.

Beomgyu is ok.

“I’m sorry, hyung. Is Beomgyu-hyung ok?” Kai’s voice rang out from the phone speaker.

“He’s fine, just tired.” Soobin sighed as he sunk into their living room couch. After making sure Beomgyu was ok, he called to update Kai on the situation. “It’s not your fault.”

“But I was the one who gave you the idea…”

“And he is the one who went through with it.” Taehyun cut in on the conversation through the speakers. “Soobin-hyung, rings are a choking hazard.”

“I know! I fucking know… I just dislodged a ring from Beomgyu’s throat?” Soobin crinkled up his nose in disgust at the thought of the clump of thrown up bread and metal ring that he has yet to clean. “...Maybe I should get a new ring.”

When Soobin thought of the number of zeros that were on the price tag, he decided against it. He’ll clean the ring up later.

“What are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know.” Soobin hummed, looking at the bags of coffee beans and cups scattered on their kitchen counter. “I’ll think of something.”

(“Kai, prepare your wallet. There’s no way Soobin will propose first.” Yeonjun said.

“Sorry, Kai. I’m with Yeonjun-hyung on this one.” Taehyun chimed in.

“Poor Soobin-hyung. Looks like I’m the only one on his side.” Kai pouted. “But I really think he’ll pull through in the end.”)

Beomgyu watched the chaos ensue in front of him as thunder rumbled, lightning ripped through the dark clouds, and raindrops fell from the sky. Maybe Beomgyu is the one hated by water—and the weather—instead of Soobin.

He could’ve sworn the weather forecast said it’d be sunny all day today. Okay. There was a ten percent chance of rain that Beomgyu pointedly ignored but that small of a percentage usually meant that rain is nonexistent.

It had started out well. Beomgyu had dragged Soobin out from the bustling cafe after grabbing his guitar case that he left behind the counter, ignoring the baker’s complaints: “We have customers waiting and a business to run!” 

The barista settled on a wooden stool behind a mic stand with a speaker near the chair legs, set-up courtesy of Yeonjun. Strumming lightly with a practiced ease to chords he memorized after weeks after weeks of preparation, Beomgyu sang into the mic. His soft, deep voice rang clearly through the streets as curious onlookers stopped in their tracks to watch.

Soobin had gasped in surprise and smiled, eyes twinkling as he listened along, bopping his head lightly to the rhyme. When Beomgyu reached the last note, the crowd bursted in an exuberant round of applause. As the claps and cheers faded out into nothing but background noise, all Beomgyu could see was Soobin, standing in the front and clapping with one of the brightest smiles he’s ever seen. Beomgyu’s heart thumped rapidly, threatening to jump out of his chest. This is the time. Now all Beomgyu has to do is go for it. 

Everything up to this point had gone well.

But now Beomgyu was soaking wet for the second time after two months with a water-logged guitar in his hand. The crowds have long since dissipated with the sudden downpour. Yeonjun screamed as he ran to save his speaker from the onslaught of water. Kai screeched as he ran for cover. Taehyun had already long disappeared from sight, peeking out from the cafe windows.

And Soobin stood in the middle of the rain with him for the second time. Maybe Beomgyu should’ve listened to Yeonjun when the older suggested to perform indoors in his cafe, but the barista had insisted on changing it up from their workplace. In hindsight, settling for the outside of S&B because of their busy schedules doesn’t make much of a difference. 

Beomgyu mumbled to himself. “I fucked up.”

“I fucked up.” Soobin said as he buried his head in his hands, sitting on the old couch in Kai apartment. 

The baker got into a big argument with Beomgyu. Arguments happen so often between the two, but this one was different. It was their worst argument in ages, not with the usual lighthearted teasing with mutual smiles on their faces but with cutting words and venomous glares. Soobin doesn’t know what started it all. Maybe Soobin’s patience has worn thin from built up stress and anxiety. Maybe it’s because of Soobin’s bad habit of bottling up emotions, until the bottle is cracking and threatening to explode, and it just so happened to explode then. 

But what he does know is the heavy regret clawing at his throat the minute the knife-like words he swore to never say left his lips. The hurt expression on Beomgyu’s face; the slight tremble of his lips as if he was holding back tears; and his back as he ran out the front door, leaving Soobin with a gaping hole in his heart.

“You fucked up, hyung.” Kai gave Soobin one of those disappointed looks that made Soobin felt ten-times guiltier. Being the understanding and kind person that he usually is, Kai rarely gets disappointed with Soobin, so Soobin knows he’s messed up when even Kai is disappointed in him. “Just apologize to him, hyung.” 

“I can’t.” Soobin groaned. “Stop giving me that look. It’s not that I don’t want to. Beomgyu disappeared. And do you have any idea how the past week has been for me? I can’t make coffee for my life and S&B is a coffee shop. I’ve been giving weak-ass excuses for why we’re only serving steamed milk when there’s so many coffee items on our menu and I can’t bake and make drinks at the same time. The ovens decide to stop working now and the espresso machine isn’t cooperating. I—”

“Whoa,” Kai patted Soobin’s shoulder comfortingly. “Breath, hyung. It’s ok. Take a deep breath.”

Soobin inhaled and exhaled shakily. 

“Good.” Kai smiled after seeing that Soobin had visibly calmed down. “If I understand correctly, Beomgyu hasn’t been helping with the cafe?” 

Soobin nodded miserably. “He ran away from home after our fight a week ago.” 

“He what.” 

“He ran away from home.”

“Ran away, that’s a good way of putting it.” Kai giggled but quickly clamped his mouth shut when Soobin shot him a miserable pout. “I’m sorry. It’s just… that seems like something Beomgyu-hyung would do. Have you tried calling or texting him?”

“You think I haven’t tried?” Soobin snapped. “I don’t know where he went. More than the cafe and our argument, I’m worried that he might’ve gotten into trouble somewhere. He’s never gone this long without giving me a call, a text, something!” He slumped forward and buried his face into his hands. “I’m so worried I’m going crazy.” 

“Hyung...” Kai frowned in concern. “Have you checked with Yeonjun-hyung? Or Taehyun?”

“They both said they don’t know anything.”

“Did you ask them in person?”

“No… it was over the phone. I can’t step away from the cafe with Beomgyu not here…” Soobin’s voice cracked a bit at the end, but Kai didn’t comment on it. 

“Try checking with them again.” Kai hummed contemplatively before adding. “In person.” 

If it was the usual Soobin, the baker would’ve noticed that Kai definitely knew more than he lets on by this point. But the current Soobin was so sleep-deprived, his mind so completely occupied with thoughts of the barista, that he didn’t process half of the things Kai had said, let alone catch on to what Kai was insinuating. 

Soobin stood up so fast he banged his knee against the coffee table, clambered to the exit while almost tripping over thrice, and said “Ok. I’ll go right now.” 

“Huh?” Kai spluttered in confusion before standing up himself, hand reaching out for Soobin but the baker was too fast. “Wait! Hyung, it’s the middle of the—!”

And then Soobin was gone. 

“—night…” Kai said to the closed door and collapsed back into his seat with a sigh. “Oh god. I hope they work things out.” 

The white sheets felt cold against Beomgyu’s skin. He should really go to sleep, but the unfamiliar room and small twin bed that still felt way too big without the warm, comforting presence by his side that he’s gotten used to having over the years. He tossed and turned as the blankets rustled around him.

The night felt so cold and empty without Soobin by his side. 

In the heat of the moment, Beomgyu had run away. His feet hit the hard concrete sidewalks, carrying him far away from the cafe. He doesn’t know how long he wandered around the city, but he ended up on the steps to Yeonjun and Taehyun’s apartment before knocking hesitantly on the door. 

Taehyun had opened the door, took one look at Beomgyu’s face, and without asking anything opened the door wider to let him inside. 

“Yeonjun-hyung isn’t home. You can take my room and stay however long you need.” He said as he wrapped soft blankets around Beomgyu’s shoulders. “But promise me you’ll talk to Soobin-hyung when you’re ready.” 

Beomgyu proceeded to bawl his eyes out. His repeated ‘thank you’s sounded completely incoherent from his loud sobbing as Taehyun comfortingly patted his back. Beomgyu gave free reign to his tear ducts once again when Yeonjun had rushed in through the door, having ended his dance class early after getting Taehyun’s text about Beomgyu, and immediately wrapped the younger in a big hug. As a result, Beomgyu cried out all the emotions in his system and felt much better. The barista groaned in embarrassment at the memories, but his heart felt warm. 

He has really good friends. 

Sometimes Beomgyu really wished he had an off switch for his emotions. Back at the cafe, he wanted to be as logical as Taehyun and face Soobin head on. Calmly talk past the argument, little by little, and reconcile. But Beomgyu couldn’t do that. He knew he would let his emotions get the best of him if he stayed any longer. He’d say something worse, something he can’t take back. So he did what he thought was second-best at the time: he ran away. 

Even now, he’s still being swayed by his emotions. He meant to go back home the day after. But Beomgyu hesitated. One day turned into two. Then two into a week. Now he’s not angry anymore.

He just misses Soobin.

Beomgyu knew Soobin didn’t mean what he said. The second those hurtful words left his mouth Soobin looked more hurt than Beomgyu himself as if the world was shattering before his eyes. 

“Stupid.” The barista snorted and couldn’t stop the tiny smile from appearing on his face. “What are you doing getting hurt by something you said yourself?” 

And Beomgyu knew exactly why Soobin reacted the way he did. The words the baker said were the same as the ones Beomgyu’s toxic ex-friends always liked to say to Beomgyu. The barista couldn’t disagree with them back then. Because underneath all the toxicity and venom, they were right at the core. At least, the Beomgyu back then thought they were right.

Beomgyu will never be good enough. He’ll always be alone. 

Those same words were the ones that pushed Beomgyu into a dark, dark tunnel with no light at the end and made him feel so small and helpless. But Soobin was there for Beomgyu.

“Even if you think they’re right, that doesn’t excuse them for acting like rude ass bastards. And I personally think they’re dead wrong.” Soobin had said between gritted teeth, one of the few times Beomgyu has seen Soobin really angry. “They have no fucking right to be that way to you.” 

He was always there and he still is. That’s why Beomgyu was sure Soobin didn’t mean what he said.

If someone asked Beomgyu how he met Soobin, he’d dramatically describe the baker as “the one who reached out a hand, saved me from drowning and breathed life back into me.” 

Ok. Maybe it’s a little exaggerated. But Beomgyu meant every word of it. 

Soobin wasn’t like the typical fairytale prince on a white horse. And Beomgyu wasn’t the typical damsel in distress, no matter how much he painted himself to be. Soobin stood in the dark tunnel with Beomgyu, cheering him on and supporting him by his side as Beomgyu fought his way out. And on the days when everything felt too heavy to carry, he’d hold Beomgyu’s hand and never let go. 

That’s the type of prince Soobin was. 

Beomgyu always needed someone to encourage him and improve with him. That someone was Soobin. He wasn’t the type to grab Beomgyu’s wrist and force him to go the same way. Beomgyu wants to laugh, talk all day and night, and share every moment with Soobin. 

His prince, enemy, best friend, and the love of his life.

Beomgyu really misses Soobin. 

But he missed his timing. When should he go back?

“There’s never good timing with you two.” Yeonjun had said.

Yeonjun’s right. There’s no better time than the present. He has to go back now. 

Beomgyu ripped off the covers and slammed the bedroom door open, waking up Taehyun who was sleeping on the living room couch—he had insisted that Beomgyu take his room while he took the couch; bless his soul. 

“Beomgyu-hyung?” He rubbed his eyes sleepily, watching Beomgyu shove his feet into his shoes haphazardly, before taking a look at the clock on the wall. “Where are you going? It’s 3 AM.” 

“Soobin!” was all Beomgyu had said before he reached out for the metal door knob. 

But before Beomgyu could swing the door open all the way, the doorbell rang and then the voice Beomgyu missed so much came from the other side of the door, “Shit. Fuck. Didn’t mean to do that. I forgot it’s the middle of the night…Should I come back later? Ahh.. but I already rang the doorbell.” 

Beomgyu could recognize that voice from anywhere. 

“Soobin-hyung…?” He said, half in disbelief and half in anticipation, and fully opened the door. 

What is Soobin doing here at 3am in the morning right when Beomgyu wants to desperately see him? 

Soobin’s eyes widened in surprise, mouth slightly opened as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. The only thing separating the two of them was the outer glass door. Beomyu’s heart soared as he drank in the sight. It really was Soobin. He only hasn’t seen him in a week but it felt like forever. 

But Beomgyu’s heart sank at the visible dark circles under Soobin’s eyes, messy hair, and disheveled clothes. Soobin looked exhausted. Did he lose weight? 

“Shit.” Beomgyu did this to Soobin. 

“Beomgyu…” Soobin started, eyes sparkling, and reached for the handle to the glass door. “I’m sorry about what I said. I know that no matter how many times I apologize it’d never be enough. It won’t excuse how much I hurt you. But can we talk—”

Beomgyu panicked. He has no excuse for locking the glass door right then other than the fact that he panicked. It was too sudden. 

Yes. He missed Soobin so much he was willing to run across the city in the middle of the night to see him. But he didn’t expect Soobin to actually materialize in front of him so suddenly. Beomgyu thought he had all the time during the walk to S&B to sort through his thoughts and plan out exactly what he wanted to say. But now that Soobin is in front of him, his mind went completely blank. 

Soobin’s mouth fell open. “Did you just lock the door?” 

“Uh.” Beomgyu blinked owlishly. “You can’t get in…?

“You can’t get out either!” Soobin said, expression hurt, and stepped back about to turn and leave. “If you don't want to talk, just say so. I’ll give you space.”

“No!” Beomgyu shouted way too loudly for 3 am in the morning in his desperation for Soobin to stay then lowered his voice. “No, I’m sorry. I panicked. I do want to talk. Please don’t go. Let me just…” He fiddled with the door lock but it wouldn’t budge. “Huh? It’s not moving.”

“Our lock is broken.” Yeonjun said, catching the couple’s attention, as he stood leaning against his bedroom door frame with his arms crossed and an irritated expression on his face.

Oops. When did Yeonjun get here? Beomgyu probably woke him up with all the noises he made earlier and the yelling just now.

“It gets stuck when you lock it.” Taehyun explained as he put down his phone, finishing up a call. “Just left a voicemail for the repair person. So unfortunately, until the technician arrives in…I’d say at least 6 hours, maybe more, when they open for the day and come by, we’re stuck in here.” He pointed to the three inside before pointing at the baker. “And Soobin-hyung’s stuck out there.” 

What.

“What.” Beomgyu said.

“You heard Taehyun.” Yeonjun sighed, ruffling his bangs. “Soobin, go home for now.”

Beomgyu felt like the protagonist of a bad romantic tragedy. The love of his life was standing right there, separated from him by one door. And Beomgyu’s not about to let a stupid door from stopping him from making up with Soobin.

“Soobin-hyung.” Beomgyu said. “Can you step back?”

“Beomgyu-hyung…?” Taehyun stood up in alarm.

“Oh no. Beomgyu. Don’t you dare do something stupid!” Yeonjun said as he reached out for Beomgyu.

But it was too late. Beomgyu threw all his weight against the old door and the lock gave out. But so did the door hinge. A scary loud clunk rang in Beomgyu’s ears as he squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the pain from hitting the ground. 

But he hit something warm and felt strong arms circling around his waist as he fell through the chilly night air. Beomgyu slowly opened his eyes. Soobin had caught him, cushioning Beomgyu’s fall but fell back onto his butt with the barista in his lap. 

“Ow.” Soobin said with his signature bunny smile and crinkled eyes, laughter twinkling in the air like melodic bells. “That was dangerous, Beomgyu. Don’t do that again.” 

God. Beomgyu really misses Soobin. 

He grabbed Soobin’s face. How long has he been standing outside for his cheeks to feel this cold to the touch? 

“I love you. So much.” Beomgyu breathed, breath coming out in tiny white wisps as his eyes flitted down to Soobin’s soft lips. 

He heard Soobin’s breath hitch before he closed in the distance. He kissed Soobin like the older was a breath of fresh air after holding his breath underwater for far too long, like Soobin was a drink of water after being parched in the hot summer sun. Desperately. Longingly. Lovingly. Fondly. 

One kiss. Two kisses. 

“I love you too.” Soobin whispered between kisses. 

Then the kisses got more heated. Soobin’s hands had found their way into Beomgyu’s hair and around his waist, tugging him impossibly closer, flushed against Soobin’s chest. He drank in and swallowed all of the little noises Beomgyu was making and slowly dragged his hand up Beomgyu’s shirt as the younger shuddered. 

Yeonjun cleared his throat and the two jumped apart, chest heaving. 

“I’m glad you two made up.” He said as he and Taehyun picked up the front glass door that was still hanging to the frame by the bottom hinge. “But if you’re going to fuck, please do it at home instead of our front steps.” 

“Sorry.” They said simultaneously. 

Soobin grinned apologetically. “We’ll pay for the door.” 

Soobin can’t stop smiling. 

The baker’s been in such a good mood these past few days. And apparently it shows because he started trending briefly on social media as the handsome baker from S&B. Kai had sent him various tweets with captions ranging from “the S&B baker’s smile is so deadly to my heart i can’t get enough” to “handsome baker’s smile is such a serotonin boost i stop by S&B everyday” with various pictures of him attached. His popularity skyrocketed so much that there were a few customers that came in specifically to look for him. 

“To be honest, I’m kinda jealous. But I can’t blame them.” Beomgyu had said after sending off one of the aforementioned customers with a smile of his own. “Happy is a good look on you, hyung. You’re really handsome when you smile.” 

Soobin can’t stop smiling because Beomgyu is home. 

That night when they came back home, they talked through everything until the sun was up. Their relationship was stronger than ever but they ended up both oversleeping so late that day that they decided to just close the cafe and spend the day marathoning movies and lazing around the house. 

Perks of being owners of your own cafe. 

The bathroom door swung open with a loud bang, jolting Soobin out of his thoughts and making him drop his toothbrush onto the floor with a loud clack. Beomgyu appeared in the doorway with messy, espresso-brown hair. 

“Beomgyu! I’m using the restroom here.” Soobin complained. 

“What’s wrong with me coming in? You’re only brushing your teeth.” Beomgyu yawned before taking the sink next to Soobin’s. “Close the door next time if you don’t want me to come in.”

“The door was closed.”

“Then, lock the door next time.” The barista mumbled, still half-asleep. He tried squeezing toothpaste onto his toothbrush with half-opened eyes, and completely missed. The toothpaste dropped sadly onto the white sink counter. 

Beomgyu blinked before scooping the toothpaste off the table top with his toothbrush and started brushing his teeth.

Soobin scrunched up his nose in disgust. “Gross. Just get new toothpaste if you dropped it.” 

“Three second rule.” Beomgyu said with a mouthful of white bubbles. 

Lighthearted bickering and teasing. Everything was business as usual and it made Soobin so incredibly happy. After going a week without Beomgyu, Soobin realized just how much these little everyday ordinary moments mean to him. He’s been waiting for the perfect moment to propose. But maybe it’s always been the perfect moment. 

Because every moment he spends with Beomgyu is perfect in it’s own way and Soobin wouldn’t want it any other way. 

“Alright, Beomgyu.” Soobin said before he ruffled Beomgyu’s hair fondly. “I’ll wait for you downstairs.”  

Beomgyu noticed that Soobin can’t stop smiling recently. Even when the barista was up to his usual antics to annoy the baker, Soobin would simply smile and ruffle Beomgyu’s hair affectionately instead of his usual snappy remarks and retorts.

The barista watched as Soobin’s lips curled up in a gentle smile as his large hand patted the espresso-brown haired’s head affectionately before the baker headed downstairs. 

Beomgyu looked into the mirror and found himself mirroring Soobin’s expression. He laughed with the toothbrush still hanging from his mouth. 

Soobin has been smiling so much that Beomgyu can’t help smiling too. It makes him happy to see Soobin so happy. Things are back to normal after the end of Beomgyu's escapade. After freshening up, Beomgyu made his way down the creaky staircase with a bounce to his step.  

Soobin was already in the kitchen, taking out the freshly baked bread from the ovens and organizing them neatly in the display case. 

“Soobin-hyung! Good morning.” 

The baker perked up at his call before laughing. “You said good morning to me earlier already.” 

“Well, good morning again.” Beomgyu pouted. “Say it back?” 

“Good morning, Beomgyu.” Soobin grinned and Beomgyu nodded in satisfaction before going to start his preparations for the day ahead. 

Well, maybe not everything is back to normal. Because Soobin’s espresso skills were certainly not normal. He improved.

After taking a sip, Beomgyu gaped at the cup in his hands.

“Incredible,” He muttered. “It tastes like espresso… Why does it taste like espresso?” 

“Because it is espresso!” Soobin laughed, hitting Beomgyu’s arm. 

“But where’s the Choi-Soobin-signature-watery taste? The coffee grinds?”

“What did you expect when you left me to man the cafe alone for a whole week? I had to learn how to make espresso to make most of the things on the menu.” Soobin placed a plate of bread in front of Beomgyu before taking one of the bread for himself. 

“Wow,” Beomgyu said as he dipped the bread in the coffee before taking a bite, humming happily at the taste. “If I had known that’s what it took for you to learn how to make coffee, I would’ve ran away from home earlier.” 

Soobin didn’t reply immediately. Then he said slowly. “I don’t think I’d like that. This place doesn’t feel like home without you.” 

Beomgyu’s eyes widened in surprise at the raw honesty in Soobin’s voice. He turned towards Soobin. “Hyung?” 

The raven-haired baker had his eyebrows slightly furrowed and a small pout on his lips that Beomgyu wanted to kiss away. Then he sighed and laughed shakily, “It’s just you. But, honestly, I’m pretty nervous right now.”

“Nervous?” Beomgyu blinked. “About what…?” 

Before Beomgyu’s thoughts could spiral into the potential negative connotations of that sentence and what ifs, Soobin had pulled out a velvety box and dropped down on one knee. 

“Choi Beomgyu. Will you marry me?” 

What. 

Beomgyu gasped, mind blank and heart beating so fast it could burst. Soobin flipped open the box. A beautiful ring sparkled in the cushions in the box. How long has Soobin been planning this? Soobin beat him to the punch and proposed before Beomgyu could. 

So Beomgyu being Beomgyu, he said the first thing that popped into his mind with his lack of brain to mouth filter at that moment. 

“No…” Way. 

Soobin’s expression fell almost immediately and Beomgyu panicked, knowing he fucked up. 

“Wait! No—” Beomgyu flinched when Soobin’s expression fell even more and started giving him those sad puppy eyes. “I mean not no…”

But it was too late. The damage was done. 

“Oh.” Soobin closed the box, still wobbling on one knee as if he couldn’t stand up from the shock. “I’m sorry. I guess it’s too early.” 

“Ahhh.” Beomgyu ruffled his hair as he screamed in frustration. “That’s not what I meant. Wait here!” 

He then flew up the stairs, flung open the door to their shared bedroom, dug through his ‘secret drawer,’ and jumped back down the stairs with a box in his hand at neck-breaking speed. Soobin was still on his knee for some reason and stared dazedly at Beomgyu as the barista dropped down on his own knee so fast it’ll probably bruise later.

“Choi Soobin! Marry me!” Beomgyu yelled, loud enough to echo in the wide cafe. 

An awkward silence fell between the two for a few seconds before Soobin bursted out in bright laughter, falling against Beomgyu as the latter joined in with laughter of his own. 

“Beomgyu, only you would reply to a proposal with one of your own.” Soobin said, wiping a tear from his eye. The two sat down on the floor of the cafe, face to face. 

“So what do you say?” Beomgyu grinned.  

“I asked first.” 

“Is this not a good enough answer?” Beomgyu rolled his eyes and shook the box in his hands. 

“Not good enough. Yes or yes, Choi Beomgyu?” 

“Is that even a choice?” Beomgyu laughed. “Of course, yes. And you?”

Soobin smiled brightly as his eyes disappeared into pretty crescents. Happiness really is a good look on Soobin and Beomgyu wants to spend the rest of days making Soobin happy.

“Yes. Always yes.” 

(“Did you really not see this coming?” Beomgyu asked as he slipped the ring onto Soobin’s finger, which thankfully fit very nicely since Beomgyu never properly got Soobin’s ring size. Bless the store clerk who had to guess Soobin’s ring size from Beomgyu’s descriptions of how it felt when they held hands. “The sudden beach trip? The busking? Those were all failed proposals plans. I thought you’d catch on by now.” 

“I really had no idea.” Soobin said. “I thought those were just your usual impromptu ideas or something.” 

“Wow, you’d make an awful detective. Thank god you’re a baker in this life.” 

“Well. Even if I was a detective in another life,” Soobin laughed as he laced their fingers together, the rings sparkling on their ring fingers under the cafe lights. “I would still want to spend my life with you.”)

Beomgyu wanted to revoke Yeonjun’s best bro status when the older spat out his soju in the barista’s face when Soobin and Beomgyu invited the others for KBBQ to announce the engagement.

“So,” Beomgyu said, grumpily wiping off his face with his napkin. “I’m taking that as a ‘No. You don’t want to be my best man at my wedding.’”

“Don’t worry, hyung. Yeonjun-hyung’s just in shock.” Kai giggled before making grabby motions at Yeonjun and Taehyun with his hands and cackled. “Now fork it over losers!” 

“What is this about?” Soobin asked around a mouth full of bulgogi with wide, curious eyes. 

“We made a bet on who would propose first. And Yeonjun and I obviously chose the wrong person to believe in.” Taehyun grumbled, sending Kai a number with many zeroes. 

Beomgyu gaped at the number. “The fuck? I proposed immediately after!” 

“Doesn’t matter! What matters is who proposed first. I knew Soobin-hyung would pull through. Right, my favorite Soobinie-hyung?” Kai said cutely with a grin. “They didn’t think you had it in you to propose first. Taehyun even switched sides after hearing about the bread fiasco!”

“Is that right? My little Hueningie was the only one who believed in me.” Soobin cooed as he piled all the rest of the cooked meat onto Kai’s plate. “Eat more.” 

“The bread…fiasco?” Beomgyu slammed down the meat-cooking tongs in realization. “Oh my fucking god. The thing I choked on was the ring? I thought it was a rock.”

“Everyone knew you two were trying to propose to each other but you two yourselves.” Yeonjun piped in, finally got over the shock and graciously forked over the money to Kai from his wallet. “All the cafe regulars knew.”

Soobin snorted. “See. You had no idea I was proposing either.”

“But my plans were grander. The beach trip and song performance took a lot of time to put together!” 

“So were my plans!” Soobin protested. “My last attempt was more memorable.” 

“Because I almost—” 

“Alright, you guys.” Yeonjun clapped, breaking up the bickering. “So when’s the wedding?” 

Soobin and Beomgyu looked at each other before smiling. 

“No idea.” 

(“I heard from Beomgyu-hyung that you learned how to make espresso when he was staying over at Yeonjun-hyung and Taehyun’s place.” Kai said to Soobin after they left the KBBQ restaurant, waiting for the others to finish ordering ice cream at the store nearby. “I thought you said you only served steam milk the entire week he was gone.” 

“Yea. I really only served steam milk that entire week.” 

“Huh? Then…” 

“Don’t tell Beomgyu. I secretly practiced every morning for months so I could surprise him by making the coffee he loves. It’s the proposal idea I came up with in the end.” 

“Oh my god. You’re whipped for him, hyung.” Kai laughed. “Why don’t you want to tell Beomgyu-hyung though? He’d be really happy if he heard this.” 

“...Because it’s embarrassing.” Soobin blushed. “Also, I wasted a lot of his good coffee. He’d probably get mad first.” 

“He probably definitely would.”)

Soobin hates waking up in the morning. But he loves waking up next to his fiance, he thought as he turned to his side. 

However, the space next to him was empty. The sheets were cold as if there hadn't been anyone there for a while. Soobin sat up in alarm. 

Where did Beomgyu go? 

The barista always woke up after Soobin or around the same time. Never earlier. 

The baker frantically rushed downstairs as his slippers clapped loudly against each step, but he couldn’t care less. The familiar aroma of coffee hit his nose. 

Soobin heaved a sigh in relief at the sight of Beomgyu in the kitchen. With a wild nest of bed hair, the barista banished Soobin’s wooden rolling pin next to his head like a weapon, ready to strike at any given moment. 

“What are you doing?” Soobin asked, very amused. 

Beomgyu jumped before he looked over with frazzled, bloodshot eyes. “Fly.” 

“Fly?” 

“There’s a fly in the cafe that dares to land on my expensive coffee beans. That fly can have the other coffee beans and your bread, anything! Just not the expensive coffee beans!” Beomgyu rambled, eyes darting around. 

“What happened to not wanting to hurt even a fly?” Soobin said as he leaned slightly against the wall, watching Beomgyu’s antics with a fond smile.  

“That changes today. I got those express-shipped here for you for our anniversary and I can’t have anything affecting the taste before you have it. Fuck. It was supposed to be a surprise before you woke up but I wasted so much time on this fucking fly and now you’re up. Fly. Needs. To. Pay.” Beomgyu frowned, narrowing his eyes threatening but in Soobin’s eyes, it was nothing short of cute. He suddenly locked eyes with something above Soobin’s head and screeched. “Don’t move!”

“What?” was the last word Soobin managed to get in before Beomgyu pounced on him with wild eyes. 

Is this what it’s like to see death flash before your eyes, Soobin thought, watching Beomgyu lift the rolling pin high above his head in slow motion, the engagement ring on his finger sparkling in the light, before bringing it down onto Soobin’s head with one swift movement. 

The last thought Soobin had before getting bonked in the head with his own wooden rolling pin is that: mornings really are not quite the same without Beomgyu.

And he still wouldn’t have it any other way.