Archive of Our Own

It was getting late, and the cafe, as expected, was empty. Soobin blinked sleepily in the harsh glare of the lights as he leaned against the counter, looking out the window simply for something to do. The clock on the wall read 1:50 am and he had at least five more hours to go. This was going to be a long night.

When Soobin first applied to work at Sugar Rush cafe, he’d thought that the fact that the place was open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, was kind of cool, but he hadn’t known that new employees would be working the graveyard shift. And so that was why he found himself standing in the middle of a quiet cafe on the side of a dead street for the fifth time that week, struggling to stay awake, and watching another episode of Jujutsu Kaisen on his phone to pass the time.

In the day, the cafe was always busy, bustling with customers ranging from uni students from the campus not so far away, from which Soobin also studied, but also locals from the nearby town. The radio played and families came in for cake and coffee, while elderly customers frequented the place for afternoon tea. Soobin had really enjoyed working day shifts, but the night shift was the complete opposite. So far, there had only been a total of four customers who he’d served that entire week on night shift, and he was slowly losing the will to live. Lack of sleep was making his brain foggy, even when watching his favorite anime, and he yawned, pausing the episode before pocketing his phone, wondering whether it would be so bad simply to lie down behind the counter and drift off for a few hours. Surely no one would notice.

But just as Soobin was thinking this, there was a huge CRASH! and suddenly, shattered glass flew at him from the left hand side window. Instinctively, Soobin put his hands up over his head, ducking as he hid behind the counter, crouched down and heart pounding. Thankfully, as he cowered there, he at least had his bearings enough to be almost sure that none of the glass had cut him. However, this relief was short lived, because almost immediately after the reassurance that he wasn’t severely injured, Soobin heard the footsteps of another person, someone who really shouldn’t have been there.

Blood rushed through to Soobin’s ears; he could clearly hear his heart beating out a frantic rhythm as he listened out for the footsteps, which seemed to be coming nearer with every passing second.

The only thing Soobin could think of was to grab his phone out of his pocket, even as it slipped in his sweaty and shaking hands.

He was being robbed. The cafe was being robbed.

This thought whipped round his head as he frantically attempted to navigate his phone, but the panic was really setting in, and all the while, all he could hear was the pounding of his own heart and those foreboding footsteps. From the sounds of it, Soobin could detect only one person, but that didn’t make things any better. For Soobin, one person was way too much.

Soobin took a deep breath, breathing out slowly as he screwed up his eyes, trying to keep his fear under control. He then opened them once more and tapped in the number for emergencies thinking that maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to go unnoticed by the robber for just long enough for the police to get here, but just as Soobin was about to press that call button-

“Ah!” Soobin’s startled yelp came out of him as he looked up from his crouched position, frozen, phone in hand, finger hovering over the call button as he stared up at the figure in front of him who had finally come into view. From this position,they, who ever they were, looked looked like a giant, looming over Soobin in all black:

Black hoodie, black jeans, black shoes, black gloves, and though they didn’t have a full on ski mask covering their face, the stranger’s face was still considerably hidden by a black beanie, which covered all of their hair, and a generic black facemask, so that all Soobin could see were their eyes, dark and intense looking, like a cat’s.

At this point, Soobin couldn’t even tell if the person was male or female, but if he had to hazard a guess, he’d guess male.

The two simply stared at each other for a second, and then the robber noticed the phone in Soobin’s hand, narrowed eyes now darting from Soobin to the phone, then all hell broke loose:

The stranger swept forwards and suddenly Soobin felt himself being hauled up by the collar, and he yelped as he felt the figure scrambled for the phone in his hands, which Soobin tried desperately hard to protect by clutching it to his chest- which was potentially a very stupid move- as he felt harsh hands grab at his arms and hands, attempting to prize the phone out of his grasp.

“Let go! Give me the phone!” the robber yelled, voice slightly muffled behind the mask, but the voice was enough to make fear shoot up Soobin’s spine as he attempted to pull away, holding his phone for dear life as they both grappled for it.

But this was no use. Soobin had long since realized that though his rather impressive height may have given him an advantage over most people, he was an extremely useless fighter. His arms were like spaghetti, and his coordination was nearly always off.

As though to prove this point, Soobin felt the stranger now grab him from behind and forcibly spin his round, so that they were face to face, and all he saw were those eyes, intense and angry, before he was slammed backwards into the cabinet full of sweets against the wall.

Soobin braced himself for the impact, and sure enough, he heard, and felt, the rather sickening crunch as his head hit the hard glass, and he blinked in the pain, the world spinning around making him feel nauseous. Just then Soobin felt his legs give way, and he sank onto the floor helplessly.

And then he felt his phone being prized from his hand, so swiftly that Soobin, still half dazed, had no time to properly react. He simply raised his head to look up, wincing as a horrible pang of pain shot through his head, and watched as the stranger casually pocketed his phone before turning round and walking over to the tills, which he opened and started to empty out into his pockets.

“You can’t...you can’t do that….” Soobin mumbled, feeling pathetic as he watched the robber taking all of the change from the till, pocketing it hastily.

Soobin felt sick, and his head throbbed painfully. He wasn’t even sure if he could stand up, the world was still spinning, there were black spots in his vision, and he was sure that his ears were ringing somewhat. Why him? Why did this have to happen to him? At this rate, he probably wouldn’t even have a job anymore after the manager found out. If they ever found out. What was going to happen to him after this person had finished taking all the money?

Leave him here? Kidnap him? Tie him up and hide him in a basement? The list of horrors were endless, but just as Soobin was getting lost in his own thoughts, the robber simply stood there, stopping what he was doing, hands full of pennies, surveying Soobin as he sat on the cold floor in a heap, leaning against the wall, with sweets scattered around him. Soobin struggled to focus; his vision was a little blurry. He probably had a concussion.

“Are you ok?” the stranger suddenly asked in a surprisingly gentle voice, and Soobin blinked in confusion, brain struggling to catch up. Now that the stranger wasn’t shouting, he could hear the soft nasally tone of his voice through the mask more clearly. And despite everything, Soobin had to admit, it was a pretty voice.

“Why do you care? Just take the money and leave. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” Soobin said, still winching in pain as the back of his head gave a particularly painful throb, and the stranger narrowed his eyes at Soobin, before giving a small, almost indistinguishable shake of his head.

“No, that’s not what I want.” the robber said softly, and then Soobin watched in amazement as
the stranger actually put down the money that had been in his gloved hands and pockets back into the tills. Every last penny.

What was going on? This wasn’t how a robbery was supposed to work.

“I’m sorry. I don’t even know what I'm really doing.” the robber said, and Soobin detected a hint of regret in the voice from behind the mask. He imagined that if he could see the stranger’s face, it would have looked ashamed. And then, to Soobin’s utter shock, the robber walked over towards Soobin, who couldn’t help but flinch slightly, fearful of what the stranger’s motives were.

But the person only extended his hand out, and as Soobin looked into the stranger’s eyes, he was surprised to see instead of the scary intensity he’d seen in them before, this time, he saw a look of concern.

“Here. let me help you up.”

And Soobin suddenly felt himself be hauled up to his feet by this stranger, feeling his head spin for a few moments as he regained his composure.

“Can you walk?” the stranger asked anxiously.

“I- I think so.” Soobin muttered, unsure of what was actually happening right now. Seconds before, he’d been ready to plead for his life like the coward he was, and now, he was allowing himself to be led over to one of the round cafe tables on wobbly but functioning legs.

As soon as he sat down, Soobin buried his face in his hands, screwing up his eyes, wanting to almost whimper as his head throbbed once more. He was so out of it that he barely heard the stranger say “I’ll be back in a minute” before the sound of retreating footsteps. When Soobin opened his eyes and felt the back of his head gingerly, he found that he only had a quick forming lump the size of an egg, but thankfully no bleeding.

He then looked round for the stranger, who was suddenly nowhere to be found. Where had he gone? Was this a trick? Pretending to be nice one minute only to finish Soobin off the next? All of these anxious worst case scenario thoughts whirled round Soobin’s head, but the walk from behind the counter to the table had been draining enough, so he allowed himself to sit there for a few minutes, and he’d almost convinced himself that the robber had simply vanished into the night through the now completely shattered window. But then he heard footsteps and he whipped his head round to see the stranger coming back from behind the counter, holding what looked like an ice pack.

“I found this in the kitchen freezer.” the stranger said by way of explanation, and Soobin eyed him suspiciously as the stranger came towards him. He nearly scraped his chair as far away as he could from the stranger, but resisted the urge to do so when the robber sat down in the chair opposite him, now handing over the ice pack.

Soobin eyed it cautiously, but didn’t take it. He had no reason to trust this person, not after what they’d done, but as he peered into their eyes again, the only defining part of their face that was visible, he couldn’t detect a single trance of malice, only regret in those eyes, so he took the ice pack and tentatively placed it against his head, the cold feeling like heaven on his throbbing skin.

“Thanks.” Soobin managed to say, but the stranger only shook their head.

“No, don’t thank me. It’s my fault you’re hurt in the first place.” he said. Soobin supposed they were right. Yes, it had been their fault, and he wasn’t making excuses, but this person, now that he looked at him, didn’t really seem all that intimidating:

If he disregarded the all black attire, Soobin could see that this person was just a little shorter than himself, with a slim graceful build, and what was more, he looked and sounded around Soobin’s age. He also couldn’t disregard the fact that the stranger had put back the money he’d attempted to steal only moments after he’d taken it, despite the fact that Soobin clearly couldn’t have done anything to stop him taking the change from the cash register. In fact, this person didn’t seem like a criminal at all, just a person who’d done a very stupid thing, and had realized that said stupid thing wasn’t worth it.

And so Soobin just asked the question he had wanted to know from the very start:

“So...why exactly did you decide to rob the cafe?” Soobin asked, gesturing at the broken glass that was still scattered all over the floor, a rock covered in newspaper, which he hadn't noticed before, lying in the middle of the glass shards- the potential weapon that had been used to break the window. The stranger shifted uncomfortably, and his eyes were dowcast, looking at his clasped gloved hands on the table instead of meeting Soobin’s eyes.

“It was a dare. My friends dared me to break into a cafe, and steal some money from the tills. They bet 80,000 won that I wouldn’t be able to go through with it. I bet the same that I would. But I guess they were right, I couldn’t go through with it, because I never even considered what would happen if I bumped into an employee. I guess I panicked.” the man said, and his words seemed sincere and truthful as he looked straight at Soobin, who was starting to think he was beginning to be able to tell this person’s emotions purely from his eyes alone, because now the person seemed ashamed, eyes filled with regret.

Soobin nodded, to show that he understood, before taking the ice pack away from the back of his head and setting it down. His arm had begun to ache from holding it up, but he was glad that now his head had stopped throbbing, and luckily, his vision wasn’t blurring anymore, and he didn’t feel quite so dizzy.

“You did more than panic, you put the money back and decided to help me instead. You’re a lousy robber.” Soobin said, smiling slightly in spite of himself. Yes, this person had been stupid, and careless, and he’d caused damage, but that was all. This person hadn’t acted with the intent to cause harm, there hadn’t been any malicious intent behind his actions, Soobin could see that now. And underneath those fierce looking eyes, and that black facemask, Soobin could see that he was kind, at last kind enough to not leave Soobin there helpless on the floor.

“Yeah, I guess robbery isn’t my forte.” the stranger said, and now Soobin saw his eyes crinkle at the edge, as though he were smiling through his mask. “How’s your head? Does it still hurt?” he then asked, and Soobin shook his head slightly. through hi

“Not as much as before. I think I’ve just got a bit of a bump, but other than that, I should be ok.” Soobin said.

“Well, I should go.” the stranger said abruptly, and Soobin blinked in surprise as he got up, the chair he was sitting on scraping back harshly in the relative quiet.

“Here, you can have this back.” the stranger said, taking out Soobin’s phone from his pocket and placing it on the table next to Soobin’s hand. Soobin stared at it for a second, having almost forgotten that the stranger had taken his phone, before looking back up again. “You can call the police. Press charges against me. Tell them everything you know. I broke a window and attempted to steal money, and gave you a concussion. And for that I’m so, so sorry. I deserve everything that I get.” he said, seriously, voice heavy but Soobin shook his head.

“No. what you’ve done...it was stupid, but it was a mistake. If I say anything, you could be arrested, and fined, maybe even put into prison for a bit. And all because of a dare. I can’t do that.” he said, making up his mind quickly, but wondering when this had turned from being frightened for his life to defending this would be robber against his own guilty conscience.

“You should report this. You’d be an idiot not to.” came the reply, and before Soobin could say another word, the man had walked away, and Soobin also got up, feeling surprisingly panicked.

“Wait!” he shouted, and just as the man reached the door, gloved hand hovering over the handle, he turned round once more to look at Soobin.

“I don’t even know your name.” Soobin said, feeling his face burn a little. He had no idea why this was so important right now.

“Why do you want to know?” came the wary reply.

Soobin shrugged, struggling to express why he wanted to know. It seemed silly in light of all that had gone on, but somehow, he had to know. Maybe it had something to do with the anonymity of the stranger, the fact that he had nothing to go on to identify this person. Maybe it was because Soobin needed a name, a name to put to those eyes, a name to put to this person that had made a mistake, but who had had the courage to admit it so sincerely.

“I don’t know. I just keep calling you ‘robber’ in my head, and it’s weird.” Soobin admitted lamely, because no way was he going to delve into the real reason, but his words coaxed a light laugh from the man anyway.

“You can call me Yeonjun.” the man said.

Yeonjun. So that was his name. No last name, just Yeonjun, but it was enough to satisfy Soobin’s curiosity. For now.

“I’m Soobin.” Soobin said, feeling a little foolish that he hadn’t thought to introduce himself first before asking Yeonjun his own name, but Yeonjun just nodded, a little shyly (Soobin could tell by the way Yeonjun’s eyes didn't quite meet his).

“Well, it was nice to meet you Soobin, but I really should go.” Yeonjun said, tone switching to a more serious one, and Soobin bowed his head awkwardly, because what else was he supposed to do or say to the man that had almost robbed him, and them confessed his wrongdoings all in one night, and was now introducing himself on a first name basis?

But just as Yeonjun turned round and was about to push the door open, Soobin called out once more:

“Those people that made a bet on you robbing the cafe. You said they were your friends?”

Yeonjun froze, and Soobin could see the man’s shoulders tense as he turned back around, more reluctantly this time.

“Yeah, so?”

“They don’t sound like very good friends.” Soobin blurted out, unsure of what had possessed him to voice this outloud. He had thought it, sure, when Yeonjun had first explained what led to him breaking into a cafe at night. The only thing he did know was that Yeonjun was making his say and do a lot of things that he never would have thought he would, and maybe that was a good thing, because some things needed to be said they were bad friends, who clearly didn’t care that much about Yeonjun, because if they did, they never would have suggested such a thing in the first place. “Would you like to trade?”

Yeonjun’s eyes widened, and if Soobin could have seen the man’s face, he was sure that his mouth would have been open in surprise.

“Are you saying you want to be friends?” Yeonjun asked, skeptical.

“I’m saying I’d never make you do something that could ruin your life for a few extra won. You deserve good friends.” Soobin said, saying the words quickly before he could change his mind, but he said them firmly, fully believing what he was saying.

Yeonjun considered this for a moment, and then said, in a sly voice:

“So I deserve someone like you, is that what you mean?”

Soobin’s cheeks flushed red, the heat going right up to his ears. “Th- that’s not what I said.” Soobin stuttered.

“But that is what you meant.” Yeonjun said softly, eyes wide and filled with something close to wonder, gazing at Soobin for a fraction of a second before he finally turned round, pressed down on the door handle and walked out of the cafe, disappearing quickly into the dark night.

Soobin stood there for a moment, knowing that Yeonjun didn’t want to be followed, and then let out a sigh, sitting down once more and picking up the ice pack, but instead of putting it to his head, he simply held it, staring down at the cold pack of ice for a while.

This had to be the craziest night he’d ever had, and it wasn’t even two in the morning yet. But even so, he smiled a little at the memory of those eyes, dark and sparkling as he’d seen a brief smile cross that masked face, that smile evident in those eyes alone as Yeonjun had gazed at him in triumph. Because, yes, that hadn’t been what Soobin had said, but it had been what he’d meant. Yeonjun deserved better people in his life; Soobin just hoped that he qualified as one.

===

Regardless of whether Soobin wanted to protect Yeonjun or not, the police were called. Of course they were, the cafe owner wanted to report it immediately the next morning. A window was broken, there was glass everywhere, and the counter was a mess. But Soobin, again, doing something that he’d never thought he would ever do, decided to lie. Well, not exactly lie, but alter his story, saying that he’d heard the window smash, and seen the rock being thrown, but had left out any mention of the boy who had entered the cafe, insisting to police that he hadn't seen the suspect, that it had been too dark. He’d told half the truth, so maybe that made him only half an idiot.

Soobin hated lying, and no matter how much he’d chosen to forgive and forget, it still made him uneasy. After all, there was a very damaged window, clear evidence of a break in, and when questioned about the very apparent egg sized lump on back of his head, Soobin fumbled through a story about bumping his head in an attempt to shield himself from the broken glass that had sprayed everywhere during the break in, eyes wide and plastering on his most innocent expression, although he wasn’t sure whether the officer that had questioned him had been entirely convinced.

Soobin was still taken to the hospital (his manager had insisted on it) where a nurse examined his head and reassured him that he was fine, that the bruising and swelling would fade within a week, and told him to take it easy for the next few days.

This was perfectly fine under the circumstances, because for the following three days after the incident, the cafe was closed and treated as a crime scene, while the window had been boarded up completely, however, after those three days, the manager had insisted that they open up once more, and the police seemed to have found no leads, so things had gone back to normal, and the following Monday, Soobin was back exactly where he’d started, working the night shift at the cafe, desperately trying not to fall asleep on the job while watching yet another episode of anime.

It was around two thirty in the morning, and so far, no one had come in. He wasn’t surprised, not after the incident had been published in the local newspapers, and the TV news broadcast had mentioned the incident briefly. No wonder no one wanted to come into the cafe that had been recently vandalized.

Soobin leaned against the counter, stifling a yawn with one hand, wondering whether he’d be able to ask his manager for different shifts, although he was almost certain he’d be denied.

This was going to be another boring night.

And then he heard a faint knocking sound coming from the front door, three sharp taps, and Soobin looked up and eyed the door, waiting for someone to come in and for the faint tinkling of the bell, but he heard nothing.

Soobin frowned, setting his phone down on the counter top and walked around the counter and slowly towards the door.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” he called out into the silence, but there was no answer. Soobin eyed the door with suspicion, but through the glass window, all he could see was darkness. Had he imagined the knocking sound after all?

But nevertheless, Soobin took a deep breath before walking straight up to the door and pushing down on the handle and opening the door out into the cool dark night.

For a moment, he really expected someone to pop out from nowhere and startle him, but as Soobin eyed the deserted street, all he heard was the faint sound of cars on the next street over. Maybe it had just been a stupid teenager playing a prank?

And then he looked down, and saw something on the front step: it was a small rectangular package, neatly wrapped in shiny golden paper, tied up with a purple ribbon.

Soobin’s heart started to race. He looked out at the empty street, eyes searching in the darkness for whoever had left the package, but to no avail. And so, he bent down and picked up the package, and that was when he noticed the little tag tied to it. It read:

To: Soobin

Please accept this small gift as an apology
for the mess I caused the other night.

From, YJ

As soon as he’d read the message, Soobin’s head snapped up as he searched the darkness once more, pulse racing frantically, but Yeonjun was nowhere to be found. Soobin took one last look, scouring for the man that had surely been right there outside the cafe door only seconds earlier, before admitting defeat. Even if he had seen Yeonjun, there was no way that Soobin could run after him and leave the cafe unattended. But as Soobin slowly closed the cafe door once more, he was sure he saw a dark figure emerge from a side alley and run round the corner of the street, footsteps retreating into the night.

Once he was inside, Soobin immediately sat down at one of the cafe tables, and, with shaking hands, set the parcel down in front of him. He stared at it for a second, still half in disbelief, and then carefully started unwrapping, pulling the delicate purple ribbon and then the golden wrapping paper until a book fell out. It was a manga, the very first volume of Jujutsu Kaisen, new, in perfect condition. Soobin’s eyes widened as he reverently stroked the glossy cover, turning the volume over and admiring the back, and then carefully flipping through the pages, to admire the artwork. He then turned to the very front page inside, and his heart almost stopped, because right there was the author, Gege Akutami’s signature. Soobin had dreamed of owning the original manga for years, but on a uni student’s budget, that dream had been squashed very quickly, but now, here it was, right in his hands.

Soobin exhaled a deep breath, not sure if he could believe what he was seeing. Yeonjun had got this for him. But how did he know that Soobin liked anime and manga? And this particular manga? Soobin hadn’t said a word about it that other night. It was certainly a mystery, but then again, Yeonjun himself was a mystery, a mystery that Soobin was certainly warming up to.

===

Luckily, Soobin didn’t have to wait long to thank Yeonjun for his surprise gift, because the next night, at two o’clock in the morning (which Soobin was internally dubbing ‘Yeonjun o’clock’, because that was when Yeonjun always seemed to show up) Soobin heard the faint tinkling of the cafe door opening, and he looked up from the manga he had been engrossed in for the past two hours, the exact manga that Yeonjun had given him, to see Yeonjun himself walk through the cafe doors. Suddenly, Soobin’s throat felt a little dry as he struggled to breath. Soobin hadn’t expected to feel so nervous, nor had he fully expected to see Yeonjun again. Half of him had grappled with the idea that maybe he would never see Yeonjun again, that he would simply disappear into a distant memory, never to be found again.

Yeonjun let the door swing shut as he stepped into the Sugar Rush cafe. He looked exactly as he had done the other night, dressed in all black, with most of his face covered by a black face mask. It was as though Yeonjun had decided to deliberately look like a thief- ironically of course. The only difference was that this time he wore black baseball cap, and small tufts of his dark hair poked out from underneath the hat. Regardless, Yeonjun’s eyes were the most defining feature, while the rest of his face was a mystery.

Yeonjun gave Soobin an awkward little wave, and his eyes crinkled at the edges. It was rather endearing.

“Hi.” Soobin squeaked, as Yeonjun came forwards, weaving his way through the tables dotted here and there throughout the cafe, and coming to a standstop a few meters away from the counter, not so close, but close enough.

“Y-you’re here.” Soobin stuttered eloquently, stating the obvious.

“Of course I’m here. Weren’t you the one that basically said I should look for better friends?” Yeonjun asked, a slight teasing note to his voice, and Soobin flushed, remembering what he’d said that night, where he’d basically decided to blurt out the words before he could see reason.

Soobin nodded, and at that, Yeonjun stepped closer, coming right up to the counter.

“I’m taking your advice.” Yeonjun said, and then, more seriously, “ And I wanted to see whether you were ok. Did they take you to the hospital for your head?”

Soobin blinked back in surprise. This was why Yeonjun had come back, just to make sure Soobin was ok? But the worry was genuine, Soobin could tell that much.

“Yes. They checked me over and I’m fine. Not even a concussion.” he said, waving away the concern while Yeonjun nodded, and then asked, a little awkwardly:

“And the police...did you….?”

Yeonjun let the sentence hang in the air, and now Soobin understood the true reason as to why he’d come back. To see whether Soobin had spilled everything that had happened to the police or not. For some reason, though it was a perfectly valid concern, Soobin couldn’t help feeling a stab of hurt. He’d said that he wouldn’t implicate Yeonjun in the break in- hadn’t Yeonjun believed him?

“No. Well, I did talk to the police, but I only mentioned the rock being thrown and the window smashing, nothing else. I didn’t say anything about you at all if that’s what you wanted to know. I said I wouldn’t tell them about you, and I meant it.” he said, and at that, Yeonjun seemed to breathe out a small sigh of relief.

“Thank you, really, I mean it, thank you, so much.” and then he gave Soobin a tentative smile, or what seemed to be a smile, because all he could see were those eyes, crinkling at the edges and for some reason, Soobin couldn't help but smile back, now certain that he’d done the right thing.

They held each other’s gaze for a few moments, and then Yeonjun broke the silence.

“So, you got my gift.” he said, gesturing to the manga clearly laid out on the counter top. Soobin had already read more than half already, evident by the bookmark.

“Yes, thank you, you didn’t need to give me anything, not that I’m not grateful, you have no idea how much I love Jujutsu Kaisen, it’s actually my favorite anime of all time!” Soobin babbled, and then internally cringed, realizing how much of a nerd he sounded. Whenever he spoke about anime, he got a little too enthusiastic, but to his surprise, Yeonjun gave a soft laugh, dragging a table top stool over and sitting down on it, leaning his elbow on the counter, resting his chin in his hand, leaning his whole body forwards.

“I think I get the idea. You’re basically an otaku, right?” Yeonjun said playfully, and Soobin spluttered, mock offended.

“I am not!”

“Sure, sure.” Yeonjun said, eyes sparkling, and if Soobin could have seen the rest of his face, he would have bet that Yeonjun would be biting his lip in delight at how his words had such an effect on Soobin.

“Well, otaku or not, thank you. But you don’t need to feel as though you owe me. You should know I don’t hold a grudge.” Soobin said seriously, and Yeonjun lowered his gaze, almost looking shy for a second at Soobin’s thanks. But then Soobin added, “So, how did you even know that I liked Jujutsu Kaisen?”

Yeonjun shrugged awkwardly, not quite meeting Soobin’s eyes. “Remember when I took your phone? I may have seen that you were watching an anime series,... accidentally of course! I wasn’t prying, but…well, the tab was open and I saw it, so I may have made a mental note of the title and then searched up the manga from there.”

Yeonjun said all of this in a rush, as though it would sound better if he didn’t pause for breath, almost as though he was scared that Soobin would be upset by this, but Soobin remembered the events leading up to Yeonjun crashing into his life very clearly. He hadn’t closed the tab, and it would have been very easy to see that he’d been watching anime. Anyone would have been able to see that.

“Ok.” Soobin said finally, resigning himself to believe Yeonjun.

“Ok?” Yeonjun asked skeptically, and Soobin nodded, surprised to feel his mouth start to curve up into a smile. Apparently, his reaction also surprised Yeonjun.

“Yes. I believe you. Unless you stole the manga, that is, I mean, I can’t even afford even one volume, and they are quite pricey.” Soobin joked, and at this, Yeonjun raised an eyebrow, just visible under his hat.

“What do you think I am, some kind of thief?” Yeonjun asked, the irony of which was certainly not lost on Soobin.

They carried on like that for the rest of the night, talking, teasing each other, and Soobin even made both of them a coffee each. Yeonjun was a fan of iced Americanos, a small piece of information in the grand scheme of things, but Soobin took what he could from a person who was insistent on remaining a mystery. Soobin gave Yeonjun his drink, and Yeonjun awkwardly drank his beverage through a straw from under his mask, being careful not to reveal his face. Soobin almost wanted to ask him why he didn’t remove his mask, but decided to brush it off for the time being. Yeonjun would show his face whenever he felt ready- Soobin just had to be patient.

Soobin ended up dragging a stool over behind the counter so that he could sit directly opposite Yeonjun. It was surprisingly easy to talk to Yeonjun, despite the fact that they’d only had one other previous interaction, and it hadn’t exactly been smooth sailing. That, and Soobin still couldn’t even see Yeonjun’s face. They mostly talked about Soobin, although he had a strong suspicion that Yeonjun was deflecting on purpose. They talked about everything from what Soobin was studying at uni: video game design, which he was even more passionate about than actually playing video games, to Soobin’s hedgehog Odi. Soobin even showed Yeonjun pictures and videos, while Yeonjun cooed at the small spiny creature, making Soobin feel like a proud dad. Soobin even convinced Yeonjun to watch the first episode of Jujutsu Kaisen on his phone, although Yeonjun had admitted that he wasn’t much of an anime fan. He sat through the entire thing while Soobin gushed about each character in detail, and while Yeonjun may have been paying Soobin more attention than the actual anime, Soobin appreciated his effort. By the time Yeonjun left the cafe, it was six in the morning, and the sun was slowly rising. As Soobin waved Yeonjun goodbye, he only hoped that he’d see him again the next night.

And he did. Yeonjun came it again at exactly two o’clock in the morning, face still covered, hair still tucked under a black beanie this time, and still wearing all black, but this time, with a little twist; instead of his usual black hoodie and jeans, he wore a black blazer over a black tank top, and had loose fitting flowy black trousers along with rather flashy looking ankle high black boots. He also seemed to have makeup on, only light eyeshadow and a touch of eyeliner, but the makeup accentuated his piercingly beautiful eyes so much that Soobin gaped when he first saw Yeonjun sweep through the door. It was as though he’d just come from a photo shoot or something. But on closer inspection, Soobin saw that under the makeup and fancy suit, Yeonjun actually looked exhausted. He had dark shadows under his eyes, and he had less of a spring in his step than the night before.

“I’ll make you a drink. Iced Americano, right?” Soobin said, glad that he’d remembered Yeonjun’s favorite drink, and he quickly turned to the ice machine and began filling up a cup for him.

And then suddenly, to Soobin’s shock, Yeonjun was right there next to him behind the counter.

“You can't be around here! What are you doing?” Soobin asked, both shocked and confused, but to his surprise, Yeonjun’s tired eyes lit up as he eyed the coffee machine.

“Learning how to make five star coffee. I watched you last night, and it looked fun! So go on, teach me.” Yeonjun said, now happily grabbing the plastic cup filled with ice cubes from out of Soobin’s grasp while Soobin blinked in amazement. What was going on? Why was this even happening? What was even happening? Had he lost his mind?

“What is up with you? Are you drunk?”

“Soobin.” Yeonjun said, empathetically pausing to put his free hand on Soobin’s shoulder before staring right into his eyes. “I have been up since five this morning, I’ve been shooting videos all day, and right now, nothing would make me happier than learning how to make an iced Americano with you. Please?”

“Uh, ok.” Soobin said, not really processing, but it seemed to do the trick, as Yeonjun released him and practically sprung into action.

“Great. Now what do I do with this?” Yeonjun asked, holding up his cup of ice cubes, and Soobin rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he took the cup from Yeonjun with a pointed look and started to show him what to do next.

Soobin had never quite met a person who actually became more hyped up when tired than when energized. Maybe lack of sleep was making Yeonjun a little loopy, but as Soobin talked over the steps to making a perfect Iced Americano, Yeonjun listened enthusiastically, and practically whirled around the counter. Soon enough, his drink was done. But before Soobin handed Yeonjun his first self made Iced Americano, he suddenly remembered what Yeonjun had said earlier.

“Wait a minute. You said you’ve been shooting videos all day.” Soobin said, and at his words, Yeonjun froze, eyes wide, caught off guard as he realized that he’d maybe revealed a bit too much. But Soobin plowed on regardless. “Are you a professional tik toker?”

At this, Yeonjun’s expression shifted, and then he started laughing.

“No! But if I was, I’d be pretty good.” Yeonjun said between giggles, hand covering his masked mouth as he laughed.

“Well, I don’t know! I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch! Why else would you be making videos in that suit?” Soobin retorted pointing to Yeonjun’s suave outfit, cheeks flushing red as Yeonjun struggled to speak between giggles.

“Are you a model? An actor? A professional stuntman? Give me a clue, come on!” Soobin pleaded, suddenly overcome with curiosity. After all, Yeonjun knew what Soobin did, it was only fair that Yeonjun spilled some secrets.

“No to all of them! You’re not even close! Look, just give me that, I need caffeine!” Yeonjun said, finally grabbing his drink out of Soobin’s hands and taking a satisfied sip from under his mask as Soobin huffed, half amused, half frustrated. Yeonjun was a sealed vault, and it was clear that Soobin was not going to be privy to any such information without excessive prying.

Yeonjun hummed in appreciation as he took another sip of his drink, purposely avoiding eye contact, but Soobin wasn’t going to give up that easily.

“Please, just tell me something! Just one hint!”

Yeonjun shook his head as he set his drink down on the counter.

“Nope! Now, show me how to make a hot chocolate bomb, you like those, right?”

And Soobin couldn’t get another word in edgeways as Yeonjun hastily grabbed a cup and started rummaging in the plastic tubs for chocolate and marshmallows and who knew what else, all the while firing questions at Soobin about which machine he was supposed to operate first. And Soobin, knowing when to admit defeat, at least for the time being, complied, partly because he actually did really like hot chocolate bombs (a rather fancy upgraded version of hot chocolate that involved a whole chocolate ball filled with marshmallows and cream topped with rich hot chocolate and decorated with whipped cream, marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles- a chocoholic’s dream beverage all wrapped into one), and also more because it was rather entertaining to watch Yeonjun, now hyped up with caffeine, operate a hot chocolate dispenser with extreme gusto before Soobin even opened his mouth to explain how to operate the machine.

“You don’t even know how to work that thing do you?” Soobin asked, now coming over and folding his arms as he watched Yeonjun fiddle with the buttons of the machine, struggling to operate it.

“Nope! To be honest, I never really thought this part through!” Yeonjun admitted, as he struggled to turn a switch that would run the hot chocolate in the cup he was holding.

“Other way.” Soobin said patiently, and Yeonjun promptly turned the switch in the opposite direction as the hot chocolate finally flowed.

And then there was a sharp hissing sound as suddenly, the machine puffed out an excess amount of cream, which frothered out over the sides of the cup and spilled over like lava, while Soobin gaped and Yeonjun shrieked, leaping out the way and slopping half the cup of hot chocolate onto the counter. But before Soobin could do anything else, the machine gave a rattle and then stopped, leaving the remaining contents of the cup to sadly drip over the sides of the counter and onto the floor.

Soobin raised an eyebrow at Yeonjun in a way that he hoped communicated the very well deserved ‘I told you so’.

“Oops.” came the muffled voice from behind the mask, and though Soobin couldn't be sure, he almost saw what looked like a slight flush in the part of Yeonjun’s face that he could see. “Maybe barista work is not my forte.” Yeonjun added sheepishly as he offered Soobin the half spilt cup of hot chocolate, and Soobin, amused, took it and set it on the counter.

“But luckily for you, barista work is my forte.” Soobin said, teasing Yeonjun slightly as he came over and gently put his hands on Yeonjun’s shoulders, moving him aside gently so that he could reach the sink, grabbed a nearby cloth and wiped up the mess on the counter in one sweep. He then got a new cup from the cupboard and placed it under the machine, opened up the plastic tub on the counter and grabbed a fresh chocolate marshmallow ball which he put into the cup.

“Now watch and learn.” Soobin said as he expertly pushed all the correct buttons, watching the chocolate fill up just to the brim. He then pressed another button, and an even amount of cream squirted on top of the chocolate drink, which thankfully didn’t spill over. Soobin then opened the overhead cupboard and grabbed a packet of marshmallows, sprinkling a few onto the frothy mound. As he worked, he was very much aware of Yeonjun watching him; it made Soobin slightly self conscious, but he was proud that Yeonjun was so captivated. Soobin finished it off by replacing the standard chocolate sprinkles with shimmering edible gold glitter over the mound of cream and placing two plastic straws, one pink and one blue into the drink before holding it out to Yeonjun proudly, who had watched in quiet fascination all this time.

“And that is how you make a perfect hot chocolate bomb.” Soobin said, practically beaming as Yeonjun’s eyes widened. “Try it.” Soobin now added, a little shyly as he handed the cup over to Yeonjun.

Yeonjun’s eyes practically lit up as he sipped from the pink straw, and he hummed appreciatively. They ended up sharing the hot chocolate, sitting either side of the counter facing each other as they had the night before. Yeonjun also encouraged Soobin to try his Iced Americano, which made Soobin cringe. It was far too bitter for his liking, and Soobin shuddered at the taste, while Yeonjun only laughed. Soobin vowed that he’d stick to sweet drinks from no one only. It only became awkward when Soobin, possibly due to a random spurt in confidence, reached for the blue straw in the hot chocolate at the same time as Yeonjun went for the pink straw, and Soobin found himself face to face with Yeonjun over the counter, far too close, noses almost touching. And Soobin did what he always did in awkward situations: he laughed. Or more accurately, he snorted, and a puff of cream flew onto Yeonjun’s face, right below his right eye, causing Yeonjun to flinch back in shock.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Soobin exclaimed, completely flustered.

“No, no, it’s fine!” Yeonjun reassured him, as Soobin flapped his hands in embarrassment and struggled to think of what to do.

“Here let me-”

“No I’ve got it-”

“Just let me get a tissue, I’ll get it.” Soobin said amidst both of their awkward fumbling, and he rushed to the cupboard over the sink and grabbed a paper towel, whirled back around, ears burning, face flushed, as, without really thinking about it, he leaned over the counter as Yeonjun let him and gently wiped the spot of whipped cream off of his face.

And then he stopped.

They were so close, closer than before when they’d been sharing the hot chocolate, and he could feel the intensity of Yeonjun’s gaze on him, those dark eyes piercing. But what made him stop, was that when he wiped the exact spot under Yeonjun’s right eye, it revealed a small dark mole that he’d never noticed before. Soobin took a sharp intake of breath.
“What?” Yeonjun asked softly, a slight crease just visible between his eyebrows.

“You’ve got a mole under your right eye.” Soobin whispered, stating the obvious.

“I know I have. It is my face.” Yeonjun said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Soobin’s ears burned. “It’s pretty.”

“I know that too.”

Soobin huffed, very tempted to roll his eyes at Yeonjun’s very apparent confidence, but didn’t.

“Well, I think you deserve to be told that it’s pretty. And don’t say ‘I know’.” Soobin said, and surprisingly, Yeonjun didn’t. Instead, he whispered a soft ‘thank you’, before leaning away and averting his eyes, as though Soobin’s gaze was too much for him to handle. It was probably for the best, because Soobin was feeling rather self conscious himself. Whatever had possessed him to do that had passed, and he was back to fumbling, shy Soobin once more.

Luckily, Yeonjun seemed to quickly recover from such situations, because he broke the silence by saying:

“Haven’t you got a radio here? It’s too quiet!” he said, and in seconds, he brought out his phone.

Sugar Rush actually did have a radio, a very old one at that, because the store manager liked ‘vintage’ things, which generally just meant ‘very old and very used’. Soobin had only seen it once, and that time, it had played for a total of twenty minutes before dying completely. After that, they’d replaced it with an automatic in-built sound system that pumped out cheerful music for customers on a daily basis, but during the night, that sound system was off, mostly to save money, and also because hardly any customers were around to appreciate the music anyway.

Soobin watched as Yeonjun started searching through a playlist, and then an upbeat track started to play from his phone at full blast. It took Soobin seconds to realize that the song that was playing was Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal, which was ironic considering the circumstances.

Yeonjun set his phone on the counter and then leapt from his stool and started to shove chairs and tables from the center of the cafe out to the sides, making a miniature dance floor of sorts while Soobin rushed out from behind the counter and yelled a half hearted “Hey, you can’t move all the tables! We have a layout we have to adhere to!”, which made no difference whatsoever. Soobin internally cursed at the thought of what his manager would say if he saw the state of the place before he was distracted, and he stood there, shocked, as Yeonjun now began to dance.
For the first few seconds, Soobin only rolled his eyes and continued sipping his drink, feeling that if Yeonjun was going to dance in the middle of the night in a deserted cafe to Smooth Criminal, then so be it. After all, there was no one else here to watch, or tell Soobin that he was being an unprofessional employee for allowing such a thing, but then Soobin payed proper attention, and setting his cup of half empty hot chocolate down on the counter and properly stared:

There was regular dancing, the kind of dancing that inexperienced people did when on a night out with their friends, just moving to the beat, and then there was professional dancing, the way hip hop artists or ballet dancers danced, the type of dancing that took years to perfect, but in all of Soobin’s life, he’d never seen dancing quite like this: this was more than dancing, this was art. Yeonjun danced like he’d been born to do just that. His movements were so fluid, so graceful and strong and powerful, they captivated Soobin like nothing else had. And though he was obviously freestyling, Soobin would have believed that the dance was real choreography to the song, the movements fit so well, and what was more, he looked happy. So happy, dancing as though it wouldn’t matter if a crowd of millions or a single viewer watched him, it wouldn’t have made a difference, he would dance just the same. Yeonjun’s dark eyes shone as he spun round and swayed his hips in time to the music, and when Yeonjun’s eyes finally turned and met Soobin’s, he could almost imagine the confident smirk that was surely hiding behind that mask. A smirk that would have clearly said: “I know you’re looking at me, I know you can’t take your eyes off me, and I want to keep it that way”.

Soobin felt his face burning red, not sure what was happening as his heart seemed to beat just that bit faster, and then Yeonjun was beckoning Soobin with his hands to come and dance with him.

“No! No! I don't dance! I can’t dance!” Soobin said, shaking his head and waving his hands in front of him in panic at what Yeonjun was asking. Soobin had learnt very quickly from a young age that he was terrible at coordinating his long legs and noodle arms in a way that resembled any sort of proper dance, and to do such a thing in front of someone who was clearly so talented would be mortifying.

“Come on! Come and dance with me!” Yeonjun said once more, but Soobin shook his head, feeling incredibly shy.

“No really, you don’t want to see me dance. I’m terrible.” Soobin admitted, hoping that would dissuade Yeonjun, but to no avail.

“Come on! Dance with me Soobin! Please?” Yeonjun practically pleaded, coming closer and holding his hands out to Soobin, eyes insistent, and maybe it was those eyes, so dark and fierce but shining so brightly, that finally made Soobin break his resolve and step forwards to place his hands into Yeonjun’s slightly smaller ones. Yeonjun let out a cheer of happiness as the song started on the second chorus as he dragged Soobin into the middle of the cafe, squeezing his hands tightly.

At first, Soobin felt awkward, just like he always did when dancing, not really sure how he was even supposed to move, but after a few moments of fumbling, Soobin felt his anxiety fall away as he watched Yeonjun swaying his hips and winking at Soobin, completely at ease. The wink made Soobin turn pink, but seeing Yeonjun so carefree, it made Soobin loosen up. There really was no right way to dance, and even if he looked completely silly, who cared? There was no audience to watch. Soon, Soobin completely let go of his shyness, not caring if he looked silly as he just danced, with Yeonjun, both giggling together as the song played on.

Yeonjun attempted to spin Soobin around, which was messy in itself considering that Soobin had such long arms. Instead of a clean twirl, both their arms and hands became entangled, which for some reason made Soobin laugh at how stupid they both must look, and as they finally untangled their arms Soobin turned to face Yeonjun abruptly, their chests bumping into each other, making Soobin gasp.

Only then did he grasp that their arms were wound around each other’s waists, that they were so close, merely inches away from each other, faces almost touching, out of breath from dancing as the song slowly died down.

They looked at each other for a second, and Soobin had never seen eyes so bright and happy staring back at him. What little skin he could see of Yeonjun’s face was flushed from exertion; Soobin only wished he could have seen Yeonjun’s whole face. It made something leap in his stomach, and though he was out of breath, he managed to ask, a thought coming to him in that moment:

“Did you plan this? Dancing with me?” he asked, curious now as he felt his face flushing even more, not from exertion, but with shyness. Was it too much to assume that this had all been planned?

“So what if it was? I just wanted to spend time with you, and also show you something that I really enjoy. I guess you could say that dancing is my first love.” Yeonjun said, and Soobin could have sworn that at that moment, a faint pink flush had appeared on what little skin he could see of Yeonjun’s face. It was the first time that Yeonjun had revealed something really personal about himself and it made him smile back.

“Thank you for telling me. Well, more showing me, but I really enjoyed it.” Soobin said, really meaning every word, while Yeonjun’s eyes crinkled at the edges in a smile.

“So you’re a dancer then. You must be a professional. Even just now, freestyling,...it was beautiful.” Soobin said, genuinely gushing, making Yeonjun look down and away shyly, before peering back up at Soobin.

“Maybe.” he whispered. “Or maybe, I just dance for fun, who knows?” Yeonjun added, teasing, and Soobin couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated as well as intrigued. He knew next to nothing about Yeonjun. Yeonjun, this half stranger, half friend but also half, whatever this was, this person who he was holding so tightly, who he barely knew, but also felt as though had been in his life for far longer than a few days.

“Please? Can’t you tell me anything about who you are? Not even what you do?” Soobin asked desperately, but Yeonjun only released one hand from around Soobin’s waist and shook his finger at him, shaking his head as he did so in a teasing manner, but also in a way that made Soobin know that he wasn’t going to budge on this one. Not yet, anyhow.

“Nope. I want to remain a mystery for just a little bit longer. At least, for now.” Yeonjun said, and Soobin had to be content with that.

===

One the first week passed, and then the second, and then the third. Each time Soobin was in for a night shift, Yeonjun would be there, without fail. He never revealed his face, but he was content to take off his black gloves at least after the first week, and then occasionally let a tuft of hair appear if he was feeling generous. Other than that, he stuck with his usual black clothes, looking every bit the thief Soobin had thought he was the first time they’d met.

Their nights consisted of never ending talk, mostly about Soobin if Yeonjun got his way, which he normally did, laughter, and Soobin giving Yeonjun occasional barista lessons, because no matter how many times Soobin insisted that it really wasn’t anything too special, Yeonjun was fascinated when he watched Soobin swirling frothy cream into a heart, or whenever he tossed the shaker and poured iced coffee into a glass, insisting that he wanted to be able to do the same. To be fair to him, Yeonjun was trying- he had actually perfected the hot chocolate bomb since that first failed attempt, which did make Soobin proud. However, a good portion of their time was spent with Soobin playing twenty questions regarding Yeonjun’s personal life and interests, and due to this, despite Yeonjun insisting that he wasn’t going to give out any personal details, Soobin had inadvertently coaxed out quite a lot of information already.

Through his constant questions Soobin had learnt the following, which he’d started listing on a spare napkin one night as Yeonjun had revealed little snippets of himself:

1. Yeonjun is taking a dance major at university
2. Yeonjun likes mint chocolate ice cream (eww!)
3. Yeonjun likes watching things on Netflix- eg. Hellbound and Zootopia (How are those things in the same sentence????)
4. Yeonjun is an only child
5. Yeonjun’s birthday is the 13th September 1999, making him my hyung, but should be, under no circumstances, considered ‘old’
6. Yeonjun grew up in the district of Bundang-du in Seongnam
7. Yeonjun is not a picky eater and especially loves ramen
8. Yeonjun likes playing with lego
9. Yeonjun has a driver’s license, but is afraid of driving in Seoul during the afternoon rush hour

With every piece of information that Soobin uncovered, he became eager to know more. He could spend an eternity with Yeonjun, learning every single little detail about him, and Soobin was sure that he’d never become bored. Such as right now, where Soobin was almost 100% sure that he was onto something.

“You must go to the same university as me. It’s the only one in Seoul, and the one in Ansan is hours away.”

“Potentially.” Yeonjun shrugged, acting nonchalant as he picked up his Iced Americano and took a measured sip before setting his drink down and giving Soobin a mischievous wink.

Soobin groaned, leaning back in his chair and rolling his eyes in exasperation. Getting a straight answer out of Yeonjun was like drawing blood out of a stone- practically impossible.

They were yet again alone at two in the morning in the Sugar Rush cafe, this time sitting at a table instead of the counter. Soobin had his napkin in front of him, pen in hand, ready to note down another fact about Yeonjun that he could add to his, admittedly very scarce, collection. The list was a documentation of sorts, so that Soobin wouldn’t forget a single thing about the man sitting across from him. Every detail was precious, in the same way that every moment with Yeonjun was precious. He didn’t want to waste a single second.

“You know what, I’ll take that as a ‘yes’ then.” Soobin said determinedly, while Yeonjun gave him another shrug.

“Do you live on campus?” Soobin asked, before Yeonjun could get a word in edgeways.

“Nope.” came the easy response, and Soobin narrowed his eyes. Yes or no answers were a rarity.

“Ok, now we’re getting somewhere.” Soobin said, still slightly suspicious, but leaning forwards in excitement anyway. Sometimes, he really did feel like he was playing detective, and Yeonjun humored him, but maybe tonight, Yeonjun would actually be more forthcoming.

“Not necessarily. Me not living on campus doesn’t prove or disprove whether I go to Seoul university either. So the way I see it, you’re back to square one.” came Yeonjun triumphant response, leaving Soobin stumped.

Soobin almost slumped back into his seat, defeated, when Yeonjun laughed softly, the laughter coming out muffled from behind his mask, before Yeonjun also leaned forwards, hands clasped together, as he looked at Soobin with those shining eyes of his, alight with glee.

“Good try though. Why don’t we pretend that I do attend Seoul university, and you ask me another question, just for the fun of it?”

Soobin considered. At times like this, it was so easy to become frustrated and give up.

“Go on, Detective Choi, humor me.” Yeonjun said softly.

On second thought, it was also so very, very easy to give in, and do exactly what Yeonjun wanted him to. Especially when he flirted like this, something that he’d been doing more frequently over the last week. And so Soobin gave in.

“Have we met on campus?”

“I’d like to think that if we’d met on campus, you’d remember me.” Yeonjun quipped back in a satisfied tone, and though Soobin agreed- after all, there was no one quite like Choi Yeonjun- it wasn’t an answer to his question.

“No come, tell me, have we or haven’t we met before?” Soobin pressed.

“In what context? Because if you’re referring to before today, then yes, we have met, many times before, in this cafe.”

“Urgh, you’re impossible!” Soobin said, frustrated, throwing up his hands as Yeonjun let out a delighted giggle, knowing full well that he’d won, but not before Soobin had leaned forwards and reached for Yeonjun’s clasped hands, still on the table between them, and caught them in his own, making Yeonjun’s laughter stop short abruptly.

“Have we met before? On campus?” Soobin asked empathetically, hardly realizing that he was grasping Yeonjun’s hands in his to stop him squirming away and avoiding the question.

“Maybe.” Yeonjun replied quietly, and then added, “But if we’d met before, I would have remembered you.” he said, and then he ducked his head, looking down at their held hands in front of them, and Soobin suddenly noticed that he was, in fact, grasping Yeonjun’s hands still in his.

“Sorry.” Soobin blurted, now feeling embarrassed as basically lunging across the table to grab Yeonjun’s hands just seconds earlier, but when he tried to let go of Yeonjun’s hands, Yeonjun clung on, refusing to part hands.

“Why? This feels right.” he said, referring to their interlocked hands, and though Soobin’s cheeks were pink, he had to admit that he felt the same.

“So…you like holding hands?”

“With you. Just with you.” Yeonjun said softly, giving Soobin a crinkled eye smile, that though was half hidden, was absolutely beautiful to see, and Soobin smiled gently back.

And that was when Soobin realized that he was falling. It had happened so gradually over the past few weeks, so slowly, like falling asleep, and then all at once, like a sugar rush that went to your head in a matter of seconds, that Soobin hadn’t had time to notice it until it was there, right in front of him, the evidence so clear for both of them to see: he was falling for Yeonjun, this man that he’d known for only three weeks. This man who was practically a stranger, but felt as though he’d known for years. This man that kept himself hidden, and then revealed precious details of himself, as though each piece was a fragment of his own soul that he was giving to Soobin, piece by piece to keep.

Soobin was falling for Yeonjun, and yet he’d never even seen his face.

===

“I’m perfectly capable of walking myself to a bus stop, you know. You didn’t have to walk me.”

“I know, but I wanted to.” Soobin replied as they stopped at the bus stop that was barely fifty feet down street from the Sugar Rush cafe in the dim glow of a nearby street light.

It was 4:30 am, and pretty soon, the sky would be lightening as morning slowly crept up on them once more. Yeonjun had been staying later and later at the cafe these past few days, which made Soobin happier than he would have dared admit. Besides, he’d only had a single customer come in over the past week, a tired looking student that had wandered in at around 3 am, possibly taking a break from an all nighter, and searching desperately for coffee. Yeonjun had hidden behind the counter out of sight as Soobin had served the tired girl her coffee, and once she was gone, Yeonjun popped his head back up and they’d both started laughing. If it weren’t for Yeonjun, Soobin’s nights would have been extremely boring.

Yeonjun staying so late meant that pretty soon, he started leaving just as the first bus came past the stop at the end of the street, and he’d started opting for the bus rather than cycling back home as he usually did (that was, incidentally, another thing Soobin had learnt about Yeonjun: he’s been hiding his bike in the bushes by the vintage clothing store up the road each time he came to the cafe all this time). But this was the first time Soobin had actually walked Yeonjun to the bus stop. Cafe rules still applied: never leave the place unattended during opening hours. The trouble was, Yeonjun was making Soobin break an awful lot of rules these days.

“What about the cafe?” Yeonjun asked, almost as though he knew what Soobin was thinking, which, knowing Yeonjun, he probably could. Soobin had an expressive face that was definitely not covered by a mask, unlike Yeonjun.

“I’ve locked it up and put the ‘do not disturb’ sign up on the door. Besides, it’s only once, and the bus will come soon anyway. I’ll be back before anyone can miss me.” Soobin said, trying to convince himself as much as Yeonjun. Besides, Soobin had wanted to, and it wasn’t as if there were hordes of customers waiting for him.

“Well, this was very…gentlemanly of you.” Yeonjun said, and suddenly, he shifted closer to Soobin and grasped his hand, squeezing his hand in his as he gave Soobin a little wink, or, what Soobin had learnt was Yeonjun’s version of a wink, which looked very much like a frantic blink. It was cute nonetheless, and made Soobin blush furiously. He was glad for the dim lighting, as his face would have resembled something of a tomato.

“I try.” Soobin said, shrugging in what he hoped was a casual way as his insides turned to mush.

“You’re too good to me, Choi Soobin.” Yeonjun said softly as he reached up with his free hand to gently brush away Soobin’s dark hair from his forehead, making Soobin hum at the gentle touch, especially when Yeonjun’s hand lingered on his cheek before dropping down to his side once more.

But just as Soobin opened his mouth to dispute what Yeonjun had said, the soft rumble of a bus pulling up at the stop made them both jump and look round just as the vehicle pulled to a stop, the lights from the inside of the bus flooding the immediate area as the doors hissed open and an elderly woman hobbled slowly out.

Soobin turned back to Yeonjun, their previous moment disrupted, but not forgotten as he asked, as he always did when they had to part ways:

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Always.” Yeonjun replied as Soobin gently brought the hood of Yeonjun’s jumper up to cover his head. Not that it was exactly cold out, but still.

And then Yeonjun did something that he’d never done before; he suddenly enveloped Soobin in a hug, clinging onto the back of Soobin’s shirt tightly and burying his face into Soobin’s shoulder. Soobin let out a small gasp of surprise, shocked at the feel of Yeonjun’s body pressed tightly to his, but then he moved his frozen arms to wrap around Yeonjun, chin resting on top of Yeonjun’s head and squeezing his eyes shut as he breathed out a sigh. He had to admit, Yeonjun gave good hugs.

“What’s gotten into you?” Soobin whispered into the top of Yeonjun’s head. Not that he didn’t like the hug, but Yeonjun wasn’t usually like this. Infuriatingly confident? Yes. Flirty? Yes. But genuinely affectionate like this? Never. Until now.

“I just…I like you. I like you lots.” Came Yeonjun’s muffled voice, and before Soobin had time to respond, Yeonjun had let go, and avoided his gaze completely as he now turned round and got onto the bus, quickly paid for his ticket and then sat down in a window seat and turned to the window to face Soobin, who stood there outside, mouth slightly open as he struggled for words, not that Yeonjun would be able to hear him from inside the bus.

The bus doors slammed shut, and as the engine rumbled to life, Soobin, still struggling to comprehend what had just happened, and what exactly the context of those two sentences really meant, saw Yeonjun looking out of the window with a look in his eyes that had Soobin confused. It was almost as though he were anxious, as though he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to hear Soobin’s reply to what he’d said for fear of an answer that he didn’t like.

But just as the bus started to slowly pull away, Soobin raised his hand in a wave, and without thinking, he mouthed the words ‘I like you too’. And perhaps Yeonjun could tell exactly what he was saying, because he waved back, eyes shining now as the bus properly pulled away, out of the stop, down the road and around the corner.

Soobin didn’t stop waving until Yeonjun was out of sight.

===

The very next night, instead of standing at the counter watching anime as he usually did, Soobin was busily preparing for Yeonjun’s arrival:

He’d started with stacking the tables and chairs and pushing them to the side the way Yeonjun had done that one night when they’d both danced together, except this time, it wasn’t just a few chairs and tables- it was all of them, so that the cafe floor was completely clear. When he was done, Soobin placed his old LED disco ball light onto the counter and turned it on, then rushed to behind the counter to switch off all the lights, which would have plunged the entire cafe into darkness, except that the disco ball lights lit up the walls and ceiling with pink and blue and green and yellow dancing lights. Soobin then got out his phone and went to his playlist, searching for the right song. When he’d found it, he left the phone screen on and set his phone on the counter, ready for when Yeonjun came as his heart started to beat at an unnaturally fast pace, and his hands began to sweat a little as he checked that he had, in fact, stopped on the right song, feeling a little paranoid now as the seconds ticked past.

He chanced a glance at the clock on the wall, which read 2:28 am. Yeonjun would be here any minute now. Soobin just hoped that he’d like what he saw when he arrived.

But Soobin didn’t need to wait much longer, because as expected, at 2:30 am on the dot, Soobin heard the familiar jingle of the door opening, and he set the phone down on the counter and looked up to see Yeonjun walking through the door, and, instead of coming right over to Soobin as he usually did, he stopped short just in front of the door as it closed behind him, gazing with wide eyes at the pretty disco lights that danced across every surface.

“Soobin, what is this?” Yeonjun asked in bewilderment as he really took in his surroundings, noticing all the stacked tables and chairs shoved to the side that had taken Soobin a good half hour, to the disco ball on the counter.

“It’s for you.” Soobin said, trying to smile in a casual way, but his mouth was dry with nerves so his voice came out a little cracked as came over to Yeonjun and gently took both of Yeonjun’s hands in his, trying to ignore the way his own face flushed as he pushed himself to be brave.

“Me?” Yeonjun asked, skeptical, a small crease appearing between his eyebrows, eyes disbelieving, but Yeonjun went with Soobin willingly, allowing Soobin to lead him towards the middle of the empty cafe.

“Yes, you. I know how much you love to dance, so I wanted to dance with you again, but this time, I wanted it to be special.” Soobin said, all in a rush, before he could second guess himself, and his chest flooded with warmth as he watched Yeonjun’s eyes crinkle in a very obvious smile.

And yes, that was all true, but this dance was also him leading up to what he really wanted to say. What he’d wanted to say, properly, to Yeonjun the night before.

But then Yeonjun’s smile (or what Soobin could see of it) disappeared, and Soobin’s heart almost stopped until Yeonjun asked:

“So, if we’re dancing, where’s the music?”

And Soobin immediately flushed beetroot red as he mumbled something incomprehensible before letting go of Yeonjun’s hands and rushing over to the counter where he’d left his phone, bowing his head so that Yeonjun couldn’t see his red face as, with shaky fingers, he pressed ‘play’ on his phone, and just then, music started to play, the opening lines of the song sweeping through the cafe:

“Looking from a window above, it’s like a
Story of love
Can you hear me…”

Although when Soobin turned back round to face Yeonjun, he saw that Yeonjun was gazing fondly at him, his eyes shining once more.

“Why are you so nervous?” Yeonjun asked, as now Soobin was the one being tugged by the hands back into the middle of the cafe floor.

Soobin half shrugged, half grimaced, and Yeonjun let out a small laugh, which made the corners of Soobin’s mouth tug upwards too.

“Stop being nervous. Just dance with me, Soobin.” Yeonjun said, and then he pulled Soobin closer. Soobin’s hands automatically found Yeonjun’s waist, while Yeonjun’s hands found Soobin’s shoulders. At first, it was awkward, not in the same way that their first dance, all those weeks ago had been, but awkward in the way that they were so close to each other. But after a few moments, Soobin felt himself relaxing, not exactly dancing, as it was a slower song this time, but more swaying in time to the beat.

“All I needed was the love you gave
All I needed for another day…”

The reflection of the multicolored disco lights were reflected in Yeonjun’s dark eyes, like mini rainbow galaxies in a dark night sky, and Soobin thought then, as they turned slowly on the spot to the music, that he’d never seen a pair of eyes more beautiful than Yeonjun’s. He just wished that he could see the rest of Yeonjun’s face too.

Yeonjun ended up resting his head on Soobin’s shoulder, shifting closer, sighing contentedly, and Soobin couldn’t help but smile to himself as he placed his chin on the top of Yeonjun’s head. He felt as though he could have held Yeonjun like this forever, and he would die a happy man, with Yeonjun in his arms.

But all too soon, the song came to an end, and they pulled apart slightly, just so that they could see each other’s faces; their arms were still wrapped around each other tightly. Yeonjun was the one who broke the silence.

“Thank you for this. This-” Yeonjun now gestured at their surroundings, at the dancing disco lights and the makeshift stage, “-doesn’t happen to me often. Or, at all, actually, so thank you.” he said softly, eyes just a little too bright, making Soobin’s breath catch in his throat.

“Well it should. You deserve it.” Soobin insisted, making what little of Yeonjun’s face that he could see flush pink, but he didn’t look away.

“The song that was playing just now, what was it called?”

“Only You. It was sung by a pop duo called Yazoo. It's quite an old English song, but I’ve always loved the lyrics; it’s one of my favorites. That’s why I wanted you to listen to it too.” Soobin explained softly. He was so close to saying what he’d been planning since the other night, so very close. There was a reason why he’d chosen this song, and he was half dying to say it, but also terrified at the same time.

“It’s beautiful. I’m glad you shared it with me.” Yeonjun whispered, as Soobin’s heart started to beat faster. The confession was on the tip of his tongue. But saying it was far more difficult than he’d anticipated, especially when they were so close like this; Soobin had nowhere to hide.

The multi coloured disco lights were still dancing in Yeonjun’s dark eyes like little galaxies, making them sparkle even brighter. If eyes were windows into the soul, then Yeonjun’s soul was by far the most beautiful. This person, this beautiful person shrouded in mystery, was all Soobin had ever wanted, was all he ever longed for.

“It’s how I feel about you.” Soobin said, voice barely a whisper, and as he said those words, he watched as Yeonjun’s eyes widened, and then crinkled into a smile, glistening just a little too brightly.

Soobin then raised his hand up to Yeonjun’s face, and caught the single tear that fell down his cheek, wiping it away with the back of his thumb.

“You shouldn’t.” Yeonjun whispered, giving Soobin the most intimately small shake of his head before continuing, “You shouldn’t feel that way about me. I don’t deserve it.”

But Soobin now cupped Yeonjun’s face in the hand he’d used to wipe his tears away, making sure that Yeonjun was meeting his eyes as he said:

“Yes you do. I don’t know much about what’s happened to you in the past, or what’s gone on to make you feel as though you’re not worthy, but I’m telling you that it’s not true. You deserve the best, Choi Yeonjun, the very best, and…I know I’m not anything spectacular, not by any means, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t try. So please, will you let me try?”

At that moment, Yeonjun looked at Soobin with fresh tears in his eyes, and for a second, Soobin thought that maybe he’d gone a bit too far. But then, in a small, but clear voice, Yeonjun simply said:

“Yes.”

And Soobin breathed out a sigh of relief as he now, without really thinking about it, almost automatically, took the hand that was cupping Yeonjun’s face and slowly and gently found the strap that hooked Yeonjun’s mask behind his ear. His fingers gently tugged at the fabric, to just pull the mask away, to finally see, after all these weeks, Yeonjun’s face, and he almost did, he was so close, he’d half unhooked the mask from behind Yeonjun’s ear, and then-

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

Soobin gasped as Yeonjun jerked away almost violently, half turning away from Soobin as his hands came up to his face and hastily securing his mask back in place before Soobin could see anything at all.

“Why did you do that?” Yeonjun demanded as Soobin struggled to get his bearings, still shocked speechless from Yeonjun’s sudden outburst. Yeonjun’s eyes were as fierce as the first night they’d met, fire burning behind his dark glare, and Soobin automatically took a step back, holding his hands up in the air in surrender.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, ok? I didn’t mean to upset you!” Soobin said quickly, heart thumping out of panic. He felt as though the ground had been tugged out from under his feet, and now he was flailing.

“You’re sorry? I thought I told you that I didn’t want you to know who I was! I thought you understood that!” Yeonjun spat, voice rising into almost a shout as he took another few steps back.

“I do!”

“Really? Are you sure?” Yeonjun asked sarcastically, folding his arms across his chest in a defensive stance, eyes narrowed in anger.

“Yes!” Soobin pleaded, desperate as he felt tears spring to his eyes. He was already regretting his actions, why had he been so stupid? “I do understand. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that, I promise I won’t again, hyung please!”

“No.”

It was one small word, spoken almost softly, but it was enough to stop Soobin from speaking.

“No, you don’t get it.” Yeonjun said, voice ice cold, but Soobin could still see the disco lights in his too bright eyes, detected the slightest wobble in his voice as he spoke, and he so wanted to go over there and comfort Yeonjun, to hold him and wipe his tears away and tell him that it was ok if Yeonjun never took his mask off, that it wouldn’t make a difference to how Soobin felt about him at all. Instead, Soobin just said:

“Then explain it to me. Why won’t you take your mask off? What are you afraid of?”

Yeonjun considered this for a moment, eyes wary, and Soobin nearly thought that he wouldn’t get an answer, but then-

“What if you don’t like what you see?”

That single sentence floored Soobin, and he stood there, mouth slightly open in shock. Out of all the possible reasons, this was not what Soobin would have thought of. Previously, Soobin had wondered why, of course he had, how could he not? But he’d brought Yeonjun’s secretiveness around his identity to simply wanting to remain mysterious, or to tease Soobin- never in a million years would Soobin have thought that Yeonjun was insecure about what Soobin would think of his looks.

“That’s ridiculous.” Soobin blurted out, and immediately, Yeonjun’s eyes darkened, making Soobin wince.

“Maybe to you.” Yeonjun muttered bitterly, voice harsh. “But not to me. That first night, when I tried to rob the cafe, I never expected to meet you. And I thought you’d just be another random employee, but I was wrong. You were kind, and sweet, and understanding, and you forgave me for what I did. And I couldn’t just leave it at that. I had to come back to see you. I liked you more than I ever thought I would, but I was scared.

The first time we met, you never even saw my face, and then next time I came to the cafe, I decided to wear my mask again, just as a joke. But then it became a habit, and each time I went to see you, I thought ‘maybe this time I’ll go without that mask’, but I never could. I became anxious; you’d see me with a mask for so long, I started worrying about your expectations, about how you’d imagine me in your head without a mask on. I was so scared that when I finally revealed my face to you, that you wouldn’t like what you saw. And I couldn’t have that. I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

Soobin gaped in astonishment as Yeonjun finished speaking. His brain was having a hard time processing all of this, mostly because it was so difficult trying to piece together the very angry, hurt and insecure man in front of him to his picture of Yeonjun in his head, which was anything but insecure. Maybe Yeonjun was right, maybe Soobin did have unfair expectations.

“I’m sorry.” Soobin said again, because what else was there to say? What could he possibly say to make this ok? Maybe the damage had already been done from the moment Soobin had decided for Yeonjun that now was the time to reveal his face.

“But you could never disappoint me. Never.” Soobin added, and at this, Yeonjun turned his face to the side, blinking rapidly as fresh tears formed in his eyes as he turned back to face Soobin, angrily wiping away his own tears.

“Don’t. You don’t know that.” Yeonjun said, shaking his head. “This was a mistake. All of it. I shouldn’t have come back after that first night. I should have just disappeared.”
“I’m glad you came back though.” Soobin said, taking a small step forwards, and though Yeonjun glared at him, he didn’t do much else.

“Well I’m not.” Yeonjun said harshly, and with that, he turned towards the door, and in a sudden moment of panic, Soobin rushed forwards, desperate for Yeonjun to stay, to work it out, because how could it have gone so badly in such a short time?

‘Hyung please-” Soobin said, reaching out mere feet away from Yeonjun, but at this, Yeonjun put his hands up, flinching away.

“Don’t touch me!” Yeonjun said fiercely, in a voice that Soobin had never heard him use before, and Soobin immediately backed up, both terrified that if he didn’t do something, he’d never see Yeonjun again, but also terrified to come any closer, lest he make Yeonjun even angrier.

Yeonjun reached the door, and Soobin did nothing to stop him, didn’t speak, didn’t try to tug him back or reason with him. Instead, he watched as Yeonjun’s hand found the handle, and he felt a sharp stab through his chest as Yeonjun swung the door open, and the breeze of the cool night air rushed in.

But just as Soobin thought that Yeonjun would simply step out without taking a second to look back, he did just that, pausing for a moment to glance over at Soobin, and he could see, so clearly, the hurt, the betrayal, the anger and, most glaringly obvious, the guilt in those eyes.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you wanted me to be. Goodbye Soobin.”

With that, Yeonjun stepped out into the dark night, letting the door swing shut behind him. And Soobin stood there, in the middle of the now deserted cafe, under the lights of the disco ball, a faint reminder of the happy moment they’d spent together merely half an hour ago, but now seemed like a distant memory as he gazed, shellshocked and unseeing, at his surroundings, feeling more heartbroken, lost and confused than he’d ever felt before.

===

A week passed, and then two weeks, and then three, and then, before he knew it, a whole month had passed, and still Yeonjun hadn’t come back. After that night when things had gone so disastrously wrong, Soobin had still held onto hope that Yeonjun would come back, that he’d be able to apologize again for being so impatient and stupid, but it was starting to look as though that would never happen, that Yeonjun had disappeared into the darkness, never to be found again. The idea of that thought weighed heavily on Soobin; every time the door to the cafe opened, his heart would race, and he would look up expectantly, hoping every time that it would be Yeonjun to walk through those doors, but it never was, and each time, his heart would plummet, and that horrible ache in his chest would settle once more. After a while, Soobin simply stopped hoping, stopped looking. Like it or not, he had to go on.

But in that month, a lot had changed. The cafe’s window had been repaired, and the police had given an update for the owner, saying that they still had no leads, and that without any witnesses, it was unlikely that the culprit would be caught. The investigation had practically been dropped. Soobin heard the manager talking to the owner one evening about it all, and he’d felt a small twinge of bitter satisfaction that at least he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t find Yeonjun- the man was a law unto himself, and for that, Soobin was grateful, because still, after everything, Soobin had never wanted Yeonjun to get caught, and it looked as though his wish had been granted.

Soobin had also asked his manager to switch to day shifts during times he wasn’t at the university, and, surprisingly, his wish had been granted. However, this probably wasn’t due to his manager’s generosity, and more to do with the fact that magement had deemed keeping that cafe open 24/7 wasn’t very profitable, so they were scrapping night shift, effective as soon as next month. This information had come as a relief; Soobin didn’t think he could handle working even a single night shift anymore, it would have been far too painful, the atmosphere alone would have reminded him too much of Yeonjun, and would have given him too much hope.

And Soobin was trying, trying so hard to simply come to accept that what was done was done, that Choi Yeonjun would just be a rather significant blip in his life, nothing more, nothing less. It was almost working. Almost.

And so, a whole month since he’d last seen Yeonjun, Soobin found himself working at the Sugar Rush cafe in the late afternoon rush on what was quickly becoming a regular Tuesday for him, but this time, in broad daylight. The sunlight streamed in through the windows as he stood behind the counter serving hoards of customers, from students that had come from Seoul university less than a mile away, to local families and sticky-fingered toddlers that demanded the biggest scoop of ice cream. Today, the cafe was bustling with life.

It had been a busy afternoon, and though Soobin had enjoyed it, he was relieved to look at his watch and see that he had less than ten minutes of his shift left. Content with this thought, he began to top up the coffee filter absentmindedly, not paying particular attention to anything, when suddenly, he heard the jingle of the doorbell ring behind him, signaling that yet another customer had come in. And though Soobin had made it a forceful habit to deliberately not look up as customers came in ever since Yeonjun had disappeared from his life, for some reason, this time, he couldn’t help it; he turned around, setting the coffee filter down as he watched a man walk into the cafe, letting the door swing shut behind him.

And Soobin couldn’t help but stare, heart in his throat, as the man sauntered forwards, weaving effortlessly through the crowd of tables towards the counter.

This man was tall, only a few centimeters shorter than Soobin himself. He wore a white vest under an unbuttoned plaid shirt in every color of the rainbow, blue denim shorts and a pair of red and white converse. His hair was raven black, grown out just enough that, were he to try, Soobin was sure that the man could have tied his hair into the smallest ponytail. He had five delicate silver hoops in his ears, and wore a pair of dark sunglasses that covered the majority of his face. He wore a black Gucci bag slung casually over his shoulder, and, even from where Soobin was standing, he saw that the man’s bag was filled with a laptop and what appeared to be textbooks, making him look like the world’s richest and most well dressed university student that had ever set foot into the cafe.

And what was more, he looked familiar. It was the way he moved, in that graceful, elegant way, that made Soobin’s heart start to race, and despite not wanting too dare hope, hope he did, as the man reached the counter, leaned forwards, and lowered his sunglasses, just enough for their eyes to meet, and when they did, Soobin let out a gasp that would have been audible had the cafe not been so noisy.

It was him. Soobin would have recognised those eyes anywhere.

He was beautiful. There were no other words to describe Yeonjun. All those weeks of speculating to himself, of curiosity, could not have measured in comparison to the man that Soobin saw in front of him now: Yeonjun’s black hair, no longer hidden under a hat, fell artfully into into his eyes and gently framed his face, emphasizing the rest of his features. His sharp, angled jawline, those pretty plump lips, that slowly curved into a smile as he saw the recognition in Soobin’s face, the way Yeonjun’s cheeks became rounder, softer, they way his eyes crinkled at the edges as he now fully removed his sunglasses and tucked them into his bag, revealing his face for the very first time.

And Soobin had all but forgotten how to breathe, struggled to form a proper sentence as he said finally:

“You- it’s you- you came back!” Soobin stuttered, feeling the blush creep up his cheeks, as he gazed in awe at Yeonjun, searching those dark eyes for answers. Why didn’t you come back to resolve our fight? What can I do to make it better? Why did you come back now? Why now?

Soobin had all but given up hope, and now here Yeonjun was, right in front of him. He could finally say all the things he’d wanted to say, and maybe, just maybe, there was still hope. It was a thought that made Soobin’s heart tug with longing.

“How could I not? I guess I’m no longer afraid.” Yeonjun said softly, now properly leaning against the counter, the way he had done many times before, so close that Soobin could reach out and brush his hair away from his face and all Soobin wanted to do was cry out in happiness. But then he remembered.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, what I did, it was stupid, I shouldn’t have-” Soobin began, struggling to explain, but Yeonjun simply shook his head and held his hand up for Soobin to stop, and he did, caught off guard buy the fact that Yeonjun’s smile hadn’t faltered.

“I know. I know you’re sorry. The reason I got so upset wasn't really about you.” Yeonjun said, which made Soobin frown, confused.

“Well, it was, but it was also about me overthinking things.” Yeonjun conceded, looking thoughtful, but Soobin was still confused. He’d gotten an inkling that this was somehow the case that last night, but Yeonjun would probably have to go into a lot more detail for him to fully understand. That was, if Yeonjun was willing. Soobin had come to learn that there was no point pushing Yeonjun into spilling information. He was well aware of that fact by now.

“But I know that it was a mistake, and I do forgive you, of course I do. Curiosity isn’t a crime, unlike robbing a cafe.” Yeonjun said conspiratorially, giving Soobin one of his little winks from across the counter, and Soobin couldn’t help but giggle at that as relief washed through him. So there was hope after all.

“And I’m sorry too, for disappearing the way I did. That wasn’t fair on you either.” Yeonjun added in a more serious tone, but Soobin shook his head, and reached across the counter to take one of Yeonjun’s hands in his.

“That’s ok. I was trying to get you to reveal more about yourself that you were ready for, you had a right to be upset.” Soobin said, hoping Yeonjun knew that whatever had happened before, it didn’t matter. Maybe in hindsight, they both should have acted differently, but what was important was what happened now, to make it right once more.

“So…we’re ok?” Yeonjun asked a little hesitantly.

“We’re more than ok.” Soobin said, smiling softly and giving Yeonjun’s hand a squeeze, making Yeonjun, for the very first time since he’d walked into the cafe, flush a pretty pink, cheeks dusted rosy as he smiled back, shyly, for the very first time.

And though Soobin would have liked nothing more than to have stayed there, talking to Yeonjun, he was now well aware of the fact that there was a small queue waiting to be served standing right behind Yeonjun, and he immediately straightened up from leaning across the counter to reluctantly get back to work.

“So, um, what can I get you? To order. Obviously.” Soobin clarified, feeling a little awkward, and Yeonjun’s eyes widened, seeming to also realize exactly where they were, and that unlike during night shifts, where the cafe was deserted, in the day, they had an audience of rather impatient customers to contend with.

“You.” Yeonjun answered without hesitation, biting his lip playfully, obviously not bothered by the line behind him, making Soobin flush, pleased.

“I mean to drink.” Soobin squeaked.

“I know what you meant. I’ll have an Iced Americano, to go please.” Yeonjun said smugly, and Soobin immediately felt his stomach drop as he heard the words ‘to go’. So Yeonjun wasn’t planning on staying after all?

But then Yeonjun added:

“I was thinking, if you’re nearly done, we could take a walk by the park together, and I could…maybe tell you a few things that I really should have told you about myself from the start. That is, if you still want to listen?” Yeonjun said as he dug in his pockets and retrieved his credit card, which distracted Soobin from Yeonjun’s initial question enough to focus on waving away Yeonjun’s payment, despite the protests he received.

“No, you get this one for free.” Soobin said firmly as Yeonjun finally pocketed his card reluctantly, and Soobin quickly made Yeonjun’s order, and in seconds slid his order across the counter towards Yeonjun, who was still looking at Soobin expectantly.

“What?” Soobin asked, confused, wondering if he’d missed something.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Yeonjun said, and then Soobin remembered, heart starting to drum in his ears as his face heated up as he realized what Yeonjun was asking.

“Yes! Yes, of course I want to listen! You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you to tell me about you and your mysterious life!” Soobin blurted, unable to control his excitement as Yeonjun beamed.

“Just give me five minutes, and I’ll be with you, ok?” Soobin said, to which Yeonjun nodded just as enthusiastically, taking his Iced Americano and drifting over to a free table nearby, as the next customer stepped forwards, and Soobin put on his most professional smile, unable to contain his own happiness.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Yeonjun sipped at his drink, watching him with a look of such adoration that Soobin was surprised that no one else could tell how absolutely ecstatic he was feeling as he got to work, serving the long line of customers, counting down the seconds that he would get to spend with Yeonjun after.

Five minutes came and went in a heartbeat, Soobin was so thrilled that time seemed to fly, and when five o’clock came, he tossed down his apron and practically skipped out from behind the counter, happy to be free as Yeonjun got up from his table and followed Soobin outside.

They walked round the park at a leisurely pace once, and then twice, and then three times, barely aware of their surroundings, of the late afternoon sunlight streaming down on them, of the families lazing around in the park, of the cyclists and runners as they sped past them, of dog owners playing fetch in the park, of children laughing in excitement. All of it was irrelevant to Soobin, the only thing that mattered was the fact that Yeonjun was here, with him again. It was still rather new, the idea of seeing Yeonjun in anything but his black thief getup was foreign to Soobin, and he smiled fondly at Yeonjun’s rainbow plaid button down shirt flapping slightly in the faint breeze. It was as though Yeonjun had finally decided to reveal his true self after years in the dark. Yeonjun was even more vibrant and beautiful than his colorful clothing, and it suited him.

As they walked, Yeonun began talking without so much as a single prompt from Soobin. He just began to talk, and from the moment the first word left his lips, Soobin was captivated:

Yeonjun had not had the best upbringing, not by a long shot. His parents were poor, constantly fighting, and oftentimes forgot that Yeonjun even existed. Yeonjun told Soobin about all those times when they’d fight in the kitchen, and as a child, Yeonjun would simply stare into the little fish tank they kept in the living room, trying to desperately distract himself, cover his ears and drown out the noise. How, as a kid, he’d play video games and turn the sound right up to muffle the shouts. How he’d end up with tears streaming down his face as the little video game characters on the screen blurred in his vision.

Yeonjun told Soobin about how, when he’d started secondary school, his parents had sold the house, and moved into a caravan because they simply didn’t have the money. How his dad had tried to make him quit school because, in his words said to him once that he shouldn’t bother with an education because he was ‘going to fail anyway, so better not waste your time’. Yeonjun had refused, and that was the first time his father had hit him. That had also been the first time that Yeonjun’s mother had turned a blind eye, and pretended not to see.

Yeonjun told Soobin about how, not long after that incident, he’d tried to run away. He’d stolen a broken down old gray car and had robbed an ATM machine, desperate to get as far away from his parents as he could. He hadn’t gotten far. He’d been arrested for theft, but had gotten off on a lighter charge, and was made to do community service for six months. Yeonjun said that he hadn’t minded too much, because while he’d been charged, the police had also looked into his home life, not liking what they saw, and had sent him to live with his aunt in Seoul.

From there, things had gone up. His aunt was a saint. With her, Yeonjun had finished high school with good grades that he’d probably never have been capable of had he still been living with the constant stress and anxiety of his parents. His aunt had also encouraged Yeonjun to pursue his love of dance, helped him enroll at Seoul university, given him the love that his parents never had, and for the most part, Yeonjun had been happy. That was, until he’d fallen in with the wrong crowd a few months ago, the very same crowd that had encouraged him to rob the Sugar Rush cafe.

“..and you know what happened from there.” Yeonjun finished, tossing his now empty container into a nearby trash can as Soobin squeezed his hand in what he hoped was a comforting manner. Soobin wasn’t sure at what point they’d started holding hands, but now, he never wanted to let go.

Yeonjun looked at Soobin, biting his lip a little anxiously, and Soobin gave him a reassuring smile while also still processing the information he’s just been given. He’d wanted to know, and now he did, and now, it made so much sense. It provided so much context to Yeonjun’s behavior- Soobin just wished he’d known sooner.

“Thank you for telling me. It was brave of you.” Soobin said softly, giving Yeonjun a little nidge with his shoulder, coaxing a smile in return.

“You deserve to know.” Yeonjun replied. “You know, I never did go back to those people that tried to make me rob that cafe. Even after I disappeared on you. You were right, I do deserve better.”

“You deserve the world.” Soobin said, making Yeonjun flush, but Soobin tugged Yeonjun to a stop, turning to face him properly and placing both of his hands on Yeonjun’s shoulders to get his attention. “Really. After everything you’ve been through, you deserve all the good things in this world.”

“Does that include you?” Yeonjun whispered, dark eyes wide and shiny, as though there could be a possibility of any other answer other than the obvious.

“What do you think?” Soobin asked as he placed his right hand under Yeonjun’s chin to tilt his face up, not caring that they were in a public place, that they were practically wrapped in each other’s arms in broad daylight. It was a bold move for Soobin, but he had come to learn that Yeonjun was worth taking risks for.

“Yes.” Yeonjun said, and then Yeonjun’s mouth curved and his eyes crinkled into a smile as he whispered “yes, yes, yes…” as he closed the small distance between them, flinging his arms around Soobin’s neck as their lips met.

Soobin squeaked in surprise, but his left hand quickly found Yeonjun’s waist, and his right settled itself into Yeonjun’s soft hair as their lips met. And it was sweet, and it was bright and bold and as colorful as Soobin’s love for Yeonjun, no longer hidden behind a mask or the darkness of a cold night, but out in the open, no secrets, no mysteries, no guessing games, just certainty that this was going to last, that no longer could Soobin be afraid that Yeonjun was going to disappear into the night once more.

And as their lips met, once, twice, three times, they were broken by the soft whispers of Soobin’s answering ‘yes’. Yes to his acceptance, yes to his love, and yes to Yeonjun, a thief who’s only crime was to steal Soobin’s heart.