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Minho used to always ask Hyunjin what he liked about Seo Changbin. (Something that Minho always regretted asking because Hyunjin would proceed to shower Changbin with praises about how endearing his clumsiness was, or how cute he was whenever he made dumb decisions.)
Minho didn’t understand; of course he didn’t.
Hyunjin also didn’t understand what Minho saw in Chan, but the reason was his. Everyone fell in love differently, anyway.
Still, there were moments between the smiles and laughter with Changbin that always made Hyunjin question why he did like Changbin.
But it was those moments of clumsiness — those moments of utter foolishness — that made Hyunjin fall for him.
And maybe he needed that foolish decision — Changbin’s decision to give him a magic mug, despite not knowing what it was, or what it said — that finally solidified Hyunjin’s love for Changbin, and pushed him to confess.
It started at a very early hour in the morning, just before Hyunjin had to open up the bakery. Changbin strolled in from the back door looking very sleepy, and Hyunjin wondered if he forgot that their apartment was on the second floor and not the first.
But when he sat in front of the counter, ordering the strongest coffee they had, Hyunjin knew Changbin was there for him.
“I’m not going to give you coffee,” Hyunjin said.
Changbin whined. “Why not?”
“Because you need sleep, Bin,” Hyunjin said, raising Changbin’s head up as he wiped underneath the counter, making sure it was clean, before placing Changbin’s head back. “Not another sugar boost,” he added, making Changbin pout but successfully shutting him up.
“Do you have any other drinks then? To help me sleep?” Changbin asked.
Hyunjin looked at the menu before turning back to Changbin.
“How about hot chocolate?”
Changbin nodded, like an eager puppy. Hyunjin smiled, hoping his face didn’t betray any clues of how in love he was with this man, before walking towards the backroom to mix Changbin his drink.
“You know we’re not even open yet,” Jeongin, one of Hyunjin’s part-timers, commented. “Are you going to let him pay?”
Hyunjin stared at him as if that wasn’t a question he should be asking, anyway.
Jeongin sighed. “Of course,” he muttered. “If I was the boss and had a crush on a customer, I wouldn’t let him pay either.”
“But you do have a crush on a customer,” Hyunjin teased.
Jeongin’s face turned red. Flustered, he walked out of the door — almost walking into one of the drawers.
Hyunjin laughed, grabbing a mug from the shelf and started making Changbin his drink.
When Hyunjin walked back out a few minutes later, Changbin was already sleeping. He took an empty mug from the shelf and placed it in front of Changbin before waking him up.
Surprised, Changbin jumped, swinging his hands everywhere. That caused him to knock over the empty mug in front of him, making it roll down the counter and eventually crashing on the ground. The noise of ceramic breaking successfully woke Changbin up.
“I knew that would happen,” Hyunjin said, before placing the actual hot coffee in front of him. Despite that, Changbin looked very guilty at breaking the mug.
“I’m so sorry about that,” he said, jumping off from his chair and started picking up the pieces of the mug only for Hyunjin to swat his hand away. He scooped up the broken pieces of the mug with a thick rag, making sure to get all the pieces before settling the rag on the counter.
“You could’ve hurt yourself,” Hyunjin scolded.
“But I didn’t,” Changbin argued.
“Because I stopped you before you could,” Hyunjin answered.
Changbin grimaced. “That’s true,” he said, making Hyunjin laugh.
He grabbed the mug of Changbin’s hot chocolate and pushed him towards the stairs. “Go and take that at the apartment,” he said. “We’ll be opening soon and we can’t have you sleeping here.”
“So many students sleep here when they’re studying,” Changbin pointed out.
“And you’re not a student,” Hyunjin argued, pushing Changbin further until he managed to climb a few steps. “Now, go. I won’t leave here until I see you enter the apartment.”
Changbin teased him by sending him a flying kiss before running towards their apartment before Hyunjin could say anything. Hyunjin bit the inside of his cheeks to keep him from smiling.
Jeongin was at the bottom of the steps looking at the two of them as he vacuumed where the mug broke, just in case there were little pieces Hyunjin hadn’t picked up. Hyunjin also noticed the rag already folded neatly on the counter, which meant that Jeongin had already thrown the broken pieces out.
He shook his head as Hyunjin descended the stairs, whispering about how hopeless Hyunjin was.
When Changbin woke up after his long nap in the morning, he immediately messaged the group chat.
‘Is there any place I can buy a plain black mug? Preferably a big one? And ceramic?’
He hit send, waiting for a reply.
His phone pinged a few minutes later, just as he walked towards the kitchen to wash the mug Hyunjin used for the hot choco. He stared at the phone, watching the messages come in.
Jisung: Isn’t that the mug at the bakery? Can’t you just get one from there?
Chan: He probably broke on and is looking to replace it.
Changbin rolled his eyes, wondering if it was really that easy to read him. He finished washing the dishes and wiped his hand before replying.
You: OK! In my defense, I didn’t know the mug was there when I knocked it over.’
Jisung: LOL
Chan: I’ll be going to a furniture shop tomorrow to buy Minho a new bed frame
Jisung: I’m not going to ask why, but can I join? I might find something to buy.
You: Can you buy a mug at a furniture shop?
Chan: Yeah, there’s one at a bookstore. I feel like you’ll find one at a furniture shop?
You: Ok then! Count me in.
Turns out there were mugs at a furniture shop, but they weren’t the ones Changbin was looking for.
There were small and circular ones, soup mugs that Changbin knew Hyunjin liked but that wasn’t what he needed. There were pink ones, white ones, black ones but all had different writings on it competing on who’s the best person in the world — your mother, your father or any one of your siblings.
But there weren’t black plain ceramic mugs.
“Let’s go around the mall after this so we can find mugs,” Chan said. “I’m going to have the bed frame shipped to Minho’s anyway.”
Changbin nodded, though feeling a little guilty because he knew Chan would be working after that, yet was still willing to walk with him.
Just as they were walking towards the check-out counters, Jisung shouted from an aisle saying he found mugs.
Changbin, feeling excited that they didn’t have to waste time at other stores, rushed towards where Jisung was.
“ Magic mugs,” Changbin read, grabbing the first black ceramic mug on the shelf. “What does that mean?” He tried to read the label, but it was in another language, so he didn’t understand what any of it said.
Jisung shrugged. “Maybe it’s the brand?”
Changbin nodded, but took the mug with him and brought it to Chan, feeling particularly happy that he was finally able to buy a mug.
Changbin looked around the house for a red ribbon and tied it around the handle of the mug before bringing it to Hyunjin.
“What’s this?” Hyunjin asked.
“It’s me taking responsibility for the mug I broke,” Changbin said.
“You really didn’t have to,” Hyunjin whispered.
Changbin smiled, shrugging.
“He’s right,” Jeongin called from the other end of the counter. “Our mugs are customized and bulk made at a factory so, you really didn’t have to .”
Hyunjin glared at Jeongin, making the younger raise his hands in surrender, positioning himself as far away from the two of them as possible.
“I’ll use it well,” Hyunjin said, putting the mug underneath the counter.
The problem arose when Jeongin had accidentally used the mug for one of the orders. It was easy to mistake it as one of the mugs, because it did look similar. The only way to identify if it’s different was the label at the bottom.
Jeongin was serving a regular at the bakery — Kim Seungmin — and also his long-time crush that he didn’t know how to talk to. He ordered cream puffs and chamomile tea. The thing about their teas was that they served it in a teapot.
Jeongin was placing Seungmin’s order of cream puffs on the table, making sure he was giving Seungmin enough space to place his notebooks in, while Seungmin poured himself the tea.
He didn’t see it.
Jeongin only realized something was “wrong” when Seungmin gasped. When Jeongin turned to see where Seungmin’s wide eyes were looking, he found himself gasping as well.
What was once a black mug was now an ombre colored mug — black on the top and green at the bottom. He watched as the black color completely faded into green, with the words “Will you marry me?” appearing in bold black letters.
Jeongin choked.
“Is this an event?” Seungmin asked, staring at Jeongin genuinely curious.
Jeongin couldn’t answer, finding his mind short-circuiting at the fact that he accidentally proposed to his crush who probably doesn’t even know his name.
“I think there’s been a mistake,” Jeongin managed to mutter.
“Oh,” Seungmin said, a smirk forming on his lips, “So you weren’t trying to propose to me?”
Jeongin swallowed the big lump in his throat before saying, “I’ll call the manager.”
Hyunjin had easily been able to understand what was going on when he looked at the label of the mug, finding out that this was the mug Changbin bought for him.
If it was any other person, they would probably be annoyed.
But this was Changbin, and Hyunjin just found it absolutely hilarious — though he managed to keep his professionalism especially since Jeongin seemed spooked. He just told Seungmin that there was a mix-up of mugs, and that he’ll get a new one for him.
After resolving that, he brought the mug back to the apartment and immediately called Minho and Felix, telling them about the situation.
Minho laughed for a straight minute, giving neither Hyunjin nor Felix an opportunity to talk.
Once he was done, Felix piped up immediately, saying, “Is it bad if I tell you that Jisung was actually the one who picked that out for him?”
That made Minho laugh again.
“You can’t laugh, Minho,” Hyunjin argued. “Chan was there, and he didn’t say anything about it?”
Apparently, Minho did laugh, saying, “Gosh, they’re idiots.”
They all sighed contently, because those are their idiots.
“Anyway,” Minho started. “Are you sure Changbin doesn’t know anything about it?”
“I’m not sure. It doesn’t seem like he does?” Hyunjin answered.
“I just asked Jisung and apparently the details on the box were in another language, so none of them understood what it really was,” Felix said, after being silent for a minute.
“Well then, that’s great,” Minho said. “You can use that to confess to Changbin?”
“A “will-you-marry-me” mug?” Hyunjin asked.
“It’s like, “I like you too much already to want to marry you tomorrow”!” Minho explained.
On Felix's line, they heard him cheer excitedly. “That’s the best opportunity, Jin. No. Better than best—” he stopped talking but continued to hum as if trying to think out loud. “ It’s a golden opportunity.”
“I don’t know, guys,” Hyunjin said. “What if he was just being an idiot and really didn’t know what he was buying?”
Minho sighed. “He’s always an idiot, but that’s what you love about him,” he said. “The thing is Hyunjin, as loud as Changbin can be, he’s not going to be the first one to propose. Now you have the perfect opportunity. Go use it.”
Things were always easier said than done. In this scenario, that was Hyunjin’s confession.
Minho and Felix managed to pressure and convince him to confess to Changbin using Changbin’s own gift. It was so funny to even think about.
The thing was, Hyunjin didn’t exactly know how exactly he’d confess.
“You could just do what Jeongin did to his crush,” Felix commented. Hyunjin heard someone groan in the background. “First of all, I wasn’t confessing—” Jeongin said, only to be interrupted by Felix saying, “But didn’t you get a date?” ( “That’s not the point.” ; “But if you’re pointing out that confessing through this mug works, then it is the point.”)
Jeongin sighed, muttering something that Hyunjin couldn’t hear from the other side of the call.
“All I’m saying is,” Felix started. “You already have the tool, you just have to use it.”
“Then how am I going to use it?”
“I don’t know, Hyunjin. How do people use mugs?”
Hyunjin turned off the call before Felix could continue to insult him before messaging Changbin if he wanted to eat together for dinner.
Changbin was excited.
Why wouldn’t he be? It was a dinner date with Hyunjin. Sure, he didn’t really say that it was a date. Hyunjin just said dinner.
And he knew he always ate dinners with Hyunjin because they did live together.
Whatever.
This was a date, if Changbin thought so.
He dressed up warmly because it was getting cold outside and even sprayed himself with his expensive cologne he only used for special occasions.
But when he got out of the room, he stopped, seeing Hyunjin setting up the dining room.
“Are you going somewhere?” Hyunjin asked, seeing Changbin dressed up. Hyunjin was still wearing the clothes he had worn earlier, the coffee stain he got earlier still staining the hem of his shirt.
“Oh, we’re eating here,” Changbin said, removing his sweater, suddenly feeling hot. He tried to school his expressions and tried to show he wasn’t disappointed.
Dates could be spent at home, right?
At their small dining room.
With pizza.
And coffee.
At least, the view outside of the window was nice.
Changbin sighed silently, waiting for Hyunjin to sit down. He placed two mugs in the middle of the table and started pouring coffee in his mug before moving to Changbin’s mug.
It started slowly, and Changbin almost missed it if he wasn’t looking.
But he saw the black slowly lighten, from gray to dark green, then eventually green. The color changed from bottom to top.
The words “Will you marry me?” in fancy handwriting appeared, making Changbin jump, even more confused.
He blinked his eyes multiple times, mouth hanging open as he stared at the mug. He looked at Hyunjin, then at the mug, then at Hyunjin again, repeating the process until he finally had the courage to ask, “Wh-what is this?” he asked.
Hyunjin shrugged.
“You tell me,” he said, grabbing his own mug. “You’re the one that gave me the mug.”
“Wait,” Changbin said, suddenly feeling foolish. He couldn’t believe he managed to mess up again. He stared at Hyunjin who didn’t look fazed — didn’t look disappointed — at all about all of this, so Changbin thought he still had a chance.
He could save this, and their friendship.
“I didn’t mean this,” he started explaining, only for Hyunjin to interrupt with a, “You didn’t want to marry me?”
He pouted — looking so adorable doing it — that Changbin almost melted on his seat.
“I mean I do… No… I meant…. What—”
Changbin was so confused.
Hyunjin kept pouting, as if he didn’t like what Changbin’s answer was. Panicking, he looked around trying to find something to distract them, but after finding nothing, he sighed and stood in front of Hyunjin, removing one of his rings from his finger.
“Fine,” he announced. “Hwang Hyunjin, will you marry me?” He knelt down on one knee, stretching the ring that would probably not fit Hyunjin’s finger out to Hyunjin.
“Oh?” Hyunjin asked, wide-eyed. Sure, he wanted to confess and all that but he didn’t expect Changbin to propose marriage to him.
“I mean, if you want to?” Changbin added, sheepishly. He was ready to stand back up, especially since Hyunjin didn’t seem like he was going to answer, but Hyunjin dragged him back down, kneeling in front of him.
“Ok,” Hyunjin started. “I’ll marry you.”
“Wait, what?”
“I mean, I really thought you’d ask me to date first,but we could get married now,” Hyunjin explained. “We’ve already skipped moving in together, anyway.”
Changbin grinned. “We could do that too,” he said, smiling widely.
Hyunjin smiled widely, grabbing the ring Changbin gave and placed it on his finger.
“Gosh, why do I like you?” He said, looking at Changbin — his whole world — before leaning in for a kiss.