Work Text:
Namgyu’s head tilts up as he hears the doorbell to the shop ring.
A man with messy purple hair walks into the coffee shop, a stack of posters clutched in his arms. He walks up to the counter, giving Nam-gyu a better look at his face.
His lips look slightly pouty, and he has small moles scattered near his blue-tinted eyes. Namgyu had never seen eyes like that before.
He’s snapped out of his observations by the man gently tapping his hand.
“Dude, did you hear me?”
Namgyu blinks. He usually doesn’t pay this much attention to people, but something about this guy is different. He’s not the kind of person you’d see everyday.
“What?- sorry, can you say that again?”
The man laughs softly, before repeating what Namgyu hadn’t heard.
“I asked if I could put some posters up? I’m doing a couple little shows around here, ‘wanna get a bigger audience.”
“Sure dude, you a singer of some kind?” Nam-gyu replies, this guy doesn’t really seem like the type.
“Mhm.” The man responds, moving over to the board to put his posters up.
There’s a silence between the two, it’s late in the day so there aren’t many customers.
Namgyu speaks up. “I’d have to talk to my manager, but you could maybe perform here sometime? We get a pretty good amount of people on the weekends.”
The man’s eyes light up. “Really??”
Namgyu laughs softly, seeing how excited he is. “Yeah, totally.” He says, grinning.
“Thanks dude!!” The man walks out, his posters up on the board.
Namgyu laughs, that guy was definitely something.
“fuck, I forgot to ask his name.” Namgyu realizes.
Oh well, he’ll ask if he comes back.
***
Subong flops down onto his couch as soon as he arrives home, his cat, Kuro, padding over towards him.
He pulls her close to him, burying his face in her fur, groaning in exhaustion.
He thinks back to the boy he met at the coffee shop that day.
He was really pretty. He had shoulder length black hair, pieces of it falling out from behind his ears, his face littered with freckles, a slightly lighter shade of his dark, almost black eyes. He feels his face heating up at just the thought of him.
Damn.
He couldn’t really remember the name he had seen on his nametag, was it… Nam-su? Maybe?
All Subong knows is that he really needs to go back to that shop. Hopefully he’d be able to perform there someday.
He unpauses the music that he’d been playing on and off in his headphones that day, R U Mine? By Arctic Monkeys starts playing.
He sighs, leaning back on the pillow as Kuro curls up on his chest. He can’t seem to get that black-haired guy out of his head.
He decides he’ll go back to the coffee shop the next day, and then quickly drifts off to sleep.
***
The sun shines through the slits in Subong’s blinds, waking him from his deep sleep.
He rubs his eyes tiredly. “How long did I sleep..?” He thinks to himself, pulling out his phone.
The time says 9:46 am. Damn.
He pulls himself up off the couch to go get ready. He has a boy's number to get, after all.
He changes into a different outfit, a baggy Big Thief t-shirt, and cargo pants.
He puts on some rings and combs through his hair with his hands, meticulously studying his appearance. Without bothering to eat anything, he grabs his keys and hooks them onto his belt, before heading out the door.
***
As he approaches the shop’s door, Subong pops some mints in his mouth, checking his appearance one more time with his phone camera before going into the coffee shop.
It’s busier than yesterday, but Subong doesn’t pay attention to that, his eyes going straight to the man standing behind the counter.
And there he is, looking as gorgeous as ever.
Subong suddenly feels a pang of anxiousness, his hands shaking slightly. The black-haired man— Namgyu, Subong saw on his nametag— waved at him.
“Didn’t realize you’d be back this soon” he says with a grin.
oh my god.
Subong’s face heats up at Namgyu’s smile.
“I mean-uh- it’s close to my apartment so i figured-why not?” He says, stumbling over his words as he continues to stand awkwardly in the doorway.
“Well, you gonna order?” Namgyu replies, moving his hand in a “come here” signal.
“Oh-yeah uh- sorry.” Subong stammers, walking up to the counter. “Can i get a…” Subong trails off. fuck. He definitely didn’t think about what he even wanted to order.
His eyes scan over the menu quickly, picking the first thing his eyes land on.
“A- caramel latte. Medium.” He says, getting cash out of his pocket.
Namgyu smiles warmly. “On it. And uh-don’t worry about paying me. It’s on the house.”
He saunters away to the back of the shop, leaving Subong standing there, dumbfounded and blushing.
***
As Namgyu gets to the back of the shop and grabs a cup, his coworker, Se-mi appears behind him.
“Who was that guy?”
Namgyu jumps, whipping his head around.
“What the FUCK, Se-mi, where did you come from-“
She laughs. “Been here the whole time, dipshit. Now answer my question. Who’s that guy you were flirting with?”
Namgyu stammers, nearly spilling the drink he was filling up.
“What-?! I wasn’t flirting with him, he’s just someone i had met before, the guy that was gonna perform here, I told you about him yesterday.”
He says, trying to keep calm. The truth was, he had been secretly hoping that guy would come back, he hadn’t been able to get his mind off him for the rest of his shift yesterday. He wasn’t like all the other random people he’d seen working here. Something about him had captivated Namgyu, not letting him think about anything else.
“You sure?” Se-mi teases. “I’ve never seen you act like that towards a customer before.”
“Shut the hell up.” Namgyu responds, putting a lid on the drink.
“For the record, I think he likes you. He was blushing like crazy.”
Namgyu doesn’t reply, but before walking back to the counter, he stops and grabs a marker, scribbling his number on the cup, with a small heart next to it. Before he could hesitate, he walks out to the counter, handing the drink to the purple-haired man, who hadn’t moved an inch from when Namgyu left.
The man snaps his head up, taking the cup with shaky hands.
Their hands brush together for a second. Namgyu instantly pulls his hand back, causing the man to nearly drop the cup. Namgyu laughs softly.
“Sorry-“
The purple-haired man cracks a small smile, Namgyu notices that he has a dimple on the left side of his face.
Fuck. That’s cute.
“It’s okay.” The man replies, turning towards the door.
“Wait-“ Namgyu says impulsively.
The man turns, his eyebrows raised, drink half to his mouth. “Hm?”
“I- uh- didn’t get your name.”
The man stays silent for a second before responding.
“Choi Subong.”
***
Subong looks down at his cup, held with shaky hands as he walks out of the shop, a stupid-looking smile forming on his face.
He notices some writing on the backside of the cup. He turns it around to look at it, what he sees only makes him grin further.
A phone number written on the cup, with a small heart scribbled next to it.
Holy shit.
Subong is convinced he’s dreaming. You’re telling him the most gorgeous stranger he’d ever seen gave him his number without even asking?!
Subong walks back to his apartment, overwhelmed with excitement. He slams the door open, making Kuro jump.
He laughs, setting his cup down and walking over to her. “Sorry, girl.” He says, stroking under her chin, still grinning stupidly.
He lies down on the couch, Kuro following him over and curling up next to him. He brings the now-empty coffee cup with him, taking out his phone and opening up the messages app.
He types in Namgyu’s number, contemplating what to say. He thinks it over for a while, eventually deciding on, “Hey, it’s Subong.” Not too formal, but polite enough. He hesitates slightly before forcing himself to click send.
He’s surprised at how quick Namgyu responds, seeing his phone light up with a notification only a few minutes later.
“Hey :)”
“U ever get news on when i can come prform?”
“Yeah actually. If ur up to it, you can come tn, we stay open late on weekends.”
“Will u be there?”
“Yep.”
“K. I’ll be there around 5 if that’s good”
“Alr <3”
Subong damn near throws his phone.
HOLY FUCK.
He grins ear to ear, his thoughts like a verbal keysmash. He jumps up from the couch in excitement, startling Kuro again.
The next few hours pass by too slowly. Mostly made up of Subong sitting around, meticulously tuning his guitar, picking what songs to sing, and more sitting around.
After what feels like weeks, the clock hits 4:30, almost time to head out. Subong walks to the bathroom, splashing water on his face and combing his hand through his hair. He walks out of the door, guitar case in hand.
He eventually reaches the coffee shop, taking a deep breath before walking in.
Namgyu waves to him as soon as he walks in, walking out from behind the counter and to Subong.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” They sit in awkward silence for a second, neither knowing what to say, before Subong speaks again.
“There’s quite a few people here, for how late in the day it is.”
Namgyu smiles. “Yeah, regulars come here late on weekends, we usually have events going on then.”
“Guess I’m the event tonight.” Thanos thinks to himself.
“How long you gonna be here?” Namgyu asks, walking back behind the counter.
“Uh, I’ve got enough songs set up for like .. 20 ish minutes?” Subong answers, trying to stay calm.
“Alright. You can get set up over there,” Namgyu points to a corner near the counter. “And let me know if you need anything. I’m sure you’ll do great.” He flashes a smile before walking into the back of the shop.
With those words, Subong’s nerves are wiped away.
***
Namgyu walks back over and leans over the counter, watching Subong get set up.
He observes how his hands work, setting up sheet music and tuning his guitar, like he’s done this thousands of times before. Namgyu notices he has his nails painted, each finger a different color.
“Gonna leave me to work alone??”
Namgyu jumps as he hears Se-mi’s voice behind him.
“Christ, Se-mi, could you stop doing that? And we don’t have anything to do right now, mind your business.”
Se-mi laughs. “So you’re just staring at this guy? Kinda weird, dude.”
“Shut up.”
Namgyu eventually goes to the back, getting himself and Se-mi some drinks.
They usually hate weekends, seeing as they have to work later, but Subong being there makes Namgyu mind it less. He couldn’t say the same for Se-mi, though, but she’ll probably leave early anyways.
He hands Se-mi her drink before walking over to the counter, propping his head up on his hand as Su-bong starts playing.
His voice is gorgeous. Calm and low, not much like how he speaks, which is a lot rougher.
Namgyu watches his hands flit over the neck of the guitar, the chords looking like they're second nature to him. Namgyu continues watching him throughout his time playing there, admiring how he grins ear to ear whenever the people in the shop applaud.
His eyes dart around the audience, seeing some people he recognizes, and some he doesn’t. College students getting work done, a young friend group leaning against each other in a booth, couples on dates, some singular people, mostly regulars, here for the show.
Before Namgyu knows it, the audience applauds one last time, and Thanos is packing up his things.
***
Subong smiles ear to ear as he packs up his guitar. Today had been the best day he’s had in a long while.
Getting to perform for an audience, Namgyu, he’s never felt this amazing in years.
He feels a tap on his shoulder as he finishes clasping closed his guitar case.
He turns around, seeing Namgyu standing behind him, smiling warmly. “You did amazing. You’ve got some serious talent, man.”
Subong blushes bright red, suddenly regaining his inability to think or speak.
“uh-thanks. Oh- and thanks for letting me perform here-!”
Namgyu laughs softly. “Yeah, no problem.”
Subong stands up. “Uh- are you still gonna be staying here for a bit..?”
Namgyu nods. “Yeah, Se-mi left early, so it’s just gonna be me.”
“..Would you mind if I stayed here for a bit-?” Subong asks tentatively. “Just to- y’know, keep you company since I noticed your coworker left already…”
Namgyu stammers. “Uh- yeah- that’s fine, if you wanna..”
“Okay…uh- great.” There’s a tight silence between the two as Namgyu leads him to the back of the shop, Subong sitting on a stool they’ve kept in there as Namgyu cleans up for the day.
Eventually the silence breaks, the two chatting about whatever they can think of, just to talk to the other.
They talk about Subong's music, customers at the shop, past jobs, friends, highschool.
After Namgyu finishes cleaning, they both sit on the floor, not much space between the two of them, not small enough for them to not notice. As customers leave, Subong brings up a question he’d been meaning to ask for a while.
“Hey Namgyu?” He asks softly.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Uh would you wanna- um.. go out with me sometime, like-on a date?” Subong forces the words out of his mouth, feeling his face rapidly heating up.
Namgyu smiles gently. “Yeah. Yeah id- id love to.” Subong nods, not able to hide the giddy smile on his face.
Before he can say anything else, Namgyu places his hand gently on Subong's chin, turning his face towards himself, a very small distance between their faces.
“Can I…?”
Subong responds by closing the distance between them, their lips meeting gently, the kiss unsure at first, as if both of them don’t know what to do. Eventually they melt into each other, Subong's hands finding their way into Namgyu’s hair, Namgyu’s hands gently cupping the other man’s face.
When they pull away, their faces are both bright red. Subong laughs softly, Namgyu joining in.
“God that- uh- fuck- um… thanks..?” Subong mutters, not capable of forming words.
This only makes Namgyu laugh harder, his whole face lighting up with a grin.
God, that was the most gorgeous thing Subong has ever seen.
That night, he walks out of the coffee shop not having lost that grin, holding hands with Namgyu until they have to go different ways.
Subong can’t believe this is actually his life. But hey, he sure as hell isn’t complaining.