[bap] piece of cake
Title: Piece of Cake
Pairing: Daehyun/Jongup
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 6.2k
Summary: Daehyun and Jongup work at a dessert cafe.
A/N: For twiggyrocks2815 for thebrowniebunch! I wanted to fill your first prompt, but I haven’t actually watched any of those animes ;A; So I went with the desserts prompt instead… but somehow there ended up not being nearly enough sweets in this orz ;; Regardless, I hope you like it!!
“One coffee milk tea, one strawberry banana smoothie, and one grape slush, please.”
Daehyun glances up from inputting the order to give his best friend a judgmental look. “You do realize that our grape flavor tastes like medicine, right?”
Youngjae shrugs and pulls his wallet out of his back pocket. “I offered to buy Junhong a bubble tea since I was coming to get one for myself anyway, and Himchan hyung demanded that I buy him one too. So I figured I’d get him a flavor I know he hates.”
“So you’re going to waste three thousand won on a drink that’s going to be spat back into your face?” Daehyun asks incredulously. “Isn’t that like cutting off your head to spite your arm?”
“I’m pretty sure that’s not how the saying goes,” Youngjae says, glancing up from his wallet to give Daehyun a concerned look.
“Whatever, close enough.” Daehyun waves a hand dismissively and finishes punching in the order. “So one coffee milk, one strawberry banana, and one cough syrup slush? That’ll be ten thousand won.”
Youngjae snorts at Daehyun’s word choice as he hands over his card, and Daehyun grins. If his manager had been there, she would have smacked Daehyun for speaking poorly of one of their products. But this afternoon the only people on shift are Daehyun and his coworker Jongup, who is occupied at the other end of the counter helping some high school girls pick out a slice of cake. There are no other customers in line on Daehyun’s side of the store either, so he’s free to be as snarky as he wants.
As he turns away to start making the drinks, Daehyun glances over towards the cake display case. Jongup is leaning over the glass top to point out a particular slice of cake while the girls giggle and sneak surreptitious looks at his purple hair. Jongup is relatively new, a university sophomore hired to help with the beginning-of-the-school-year rush. Daehyun had actually met him a couple of times before Jongup started working at the dessert cafe, though, through some friends in common. “Some friends” meaning primarily Himchan, who had practically bullied Daehyun into putting in some good words for Jongup during the hiring process.
Daehyun is so distracted watching the other conversation that he accidentally spills milk all over the counter. Behind him Youngjae snorts. Daehyun turns his body so that he can flip Youngjae off without the other customers seeing, then grabs a clean rag from the bucket by the sink and starts to wipe up the mess. Daehyun concentrates on the job at hand, sopping up milk while idly listening to Jongup’s conversation. One of the girls inquires about the mango berry cake, and Jongup lets out a regretful sigh.
“I actually haven’t tried that one yet,” Jongup says. “Let me get my coworker. He’s tried everything on the menu.” The way Jongup says it is full of awe, although Daehyun figures it probably isn’t something to be proud of. It is true, though.
The dessert cafe where Daehyun and Jongup work is divided into two sections - one half of the counter is dedicated solely to bubble tea and other drinks, and the other is primarily taken up by a display case full of cupcakes and slices of cake. The menu offers everything from pat bingsoo to parfait, and during his three years of working at the dessert cafe Daehyun has at some point tried every single item on it. In fact, the desserts were the main reason he had gotten a job here to start with. He’d been coming in so often to eat that Jieun, the assistant manager, had suggested that he just apply for a job.
“What’s up?” Daehyun asks in response to Jongup’s request to come to the cake counter for a second. He dumps his soggy cloth in the sink and walks over to Jongup. Youngjae’s drinks can wait for the moment. Over by the drink register Youngjae voices a protest, which Daehyun ignores in favor of resting his elbows on the counter while he discusses the merits of mango berry cake versus chocolate mango mousse. Eventually the girls decide on the mousse, and Daehyun heads back over to the half-made smoothies while Jongup rings up the cake. Daehyun gets the smoothies blending and is shaking the coffee milk with ice to chill it when Jongup comes over. Jongup picks up the cloth Daehyun had dumped in the sink, wringing it out.
“You’re so cool hyung,” Jongup says while he rinses the cloth. He turns and smiles widely at Daehyun. “You know so much about all the menu items.”
“Nah, I’m not that cool,” Daehyun says quickly. He can feel warmth creeping up his neck and wills the blush away. “That’s just what happens when you’ve worked here for a while.”
“I still think it’s pretty cool,” Jongup replies with another warm smile. Daehyun is certain that he’s now losing the battle against his blush.
“I can guarantee you that Daehyun is definitely not even remotely cool,” Youngjae cuts in. He props his elbows on the counter and shoots Daehyun a look. “Now hurry up and finish my drinks before Junhong starts sending me ‘SOS save me from Himchan hyung’ texts.”
“Shut up, I don’t like you,” Daehyun declares. He pours out the smoothies and runs them through the sealer machine while Jongup laughs. After the last drink is sealed, Daehyun puts them into a tray and shoves it at Youngjae. “Here. Get out of my store, you sorry excuse for a friend.”
Youngjae grabs the tray, taking in Daehyun’s flush and giving him a thoughtful look. Daehyun shifts uncomfortably under his gaze, and he expects Youngjae to shoot off another comeback. Instead, Youngjae just shrugs and says, “All right. See you later.” He waves to Jongup and shoots Daehyun another look before heading out the door. Daehyun frowns as the door jangles shut behind him.
--
Daehyun is busy cleaning up from the post-dinner rush when his manager catches him off-guard with a question.
“What do you think of Jongup?”
Daehyun blinks dumbly at Hana for a second. She’s busy cashing out, and when Daehyun doesn’t reply immediately she glances up from the stack of 1000 won bills she’s thumbing through to raise an eyebrow.
“He’s a sweet kid, I like him,” Daehyun says with a shrug. “Why?”
Hana hums and leans over to write something on the bank deposit slip before replying. “I just wanted to make sure you’re getting along, since I’m putting you guys on weekend closing shifts together for the rest of the semester.”
Daehyun stares at her in slack-jawed disbelief before bursting out in protest. “No way!” he practically yells. “Weekend closing is the worst! I do actually have a social life, you know.”
“No you don’t,” Hana replies calmly. “And I’m only doing this because you’re one of our most senior employees. You and Jongup are both reliable, so I know that you’ll do a good job. I’m just wary after the time Sunhwa forgot to set the alarm.”
Daehyun proceeds to complain, following Hana around as she deposits the money into their safe and gets ready to clock out. He doesn’t stop until he feels someone rest their chin on his shoulder and wrap an arm around his waist.
“What’s going on?” Jongup asks as he shifts to lean more weight onto Daehyun. It’s a friendly gesture - something Jongup would, and does, do to any of his friends - but it makes Daehyun’s breath catch in his chest. To mask this, Daehyun launches into another tirade.
“Jonguppie,” Daehyun whines as he ducks out of Jongup’s hold and turns to tug at his shirt. Jongup is still in his street clothes, work shirt presumably shoved into the backpack he has slung over one shoulder. Despite the quickly cooling temperatures of late September, Jongup is only wearing a light sweater. It looks really good on him, and Daehyun hides the way his heart rate speeds up by pointing accusingly at Hana. “Hana noona says that we have to close every weekend for the rest of the semester. Every. Weekend.” Daehyun stares at Jongup plaintively in an attempt convey the severity of the injustice.
Jongup, however, just shrugs and slides his backpack off his shoulder. He smiles serenely as he unzips the bag and pulls out his uniform shirt. “I don’t know,” he says, “it doesn’t sound so bad to me. I don’t really mind closing.”
Daehyun groans dramatically and Hana laughs before ushering Jongup towards the back room to change. When she turns around, she gives Daehyun a searching look that has him shifting uncomfortably and fighting off a blush. “So, no problems with closing?” she asks. “You guys will be fine working together?”
“Yeah,” Daehyun says. He swallows and tries to put on his best resigned expression. “No problems.”
--
It’s easy to fall into a routine. Daehyun comes into the store at 7:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday, and works with whoever is on for the late afternoon shift until Jongup comes in to relieve them at nine. Daehyun and Jongup handle the late night crowd together, staying open until 2 a.m. to accommodate the university district’s nightlife. Their shift usually consists of rushes and lulls, which means that in the downtime Daehyun often finds himself spacing out watching Jongup clean - and this, this is what he’d been worried about.
Not liking working with Jongup isn’t Daehyun’s problem. In fact, his problem is somewhat the opposite: he likes working with Jongup more than he probably should. In fact, he likes Jongup more than he probably should. This problem is one that started developing the first time Himchan had brought Jongup along to a group movie night, and Daehyun had been unable to tear his eyes away from Jongup’s bright smile.
Working with Jongup, seeing the warm smile he gives every customer and the way he scrunches his nose while adding the toppings to honey toast, flushes all of Daehyun’s “get over my crush quickly” plans right down the drain. Having a crush on his friend’s friend is one thing, but having a crush on his coworker is another. The last thing Daehyun wants is for Jongup to feel uncomfortable at his job. Thankfully Jongup doesn’t seem to notice Daehyun’s staring, simply smiling back whenever he catches Daehyun looking.
“I’m going to put my music on, okay hyung?” Jongup says as he leans around the doorway to the back room. He hasn’t styled his hair today, and it’s flopping into his eyes.
“Sure, go ahead,” Daehyun says. Jongup disappears into the back, and Daehyun absentmindedly pulls his phone out of his pocket and unlocks it. He’s never told Jongup that he usually prefers to have his own music playing, but that he always lets Jongup put on his playlist of mostly American R&B and rap because the way Jongup dances along to it while mopping is adorable. Instead, Daehyun says that he prefers to have his phone free so he can text during the breaks between customers.
A Chris Brown song starts playing through the store’s speakers and the corners of Daehyun’s mouth quirk into a smile as he types out a text to Youngjae.
--
November brings rapidly dropping temperatures and the first snow. It’s 10 p.m., still a bit too early for the night crowd, and Daehyun is refilling the bubble tea flavor syrups while Jongup prepares coffee for a couple wrapped up in matching scarves. Daehyun has never been one for couple gear, but he can’t fight the pang of jealousy that arises when the guy casually drapes an arm around the girl’s shoulders.
Jongup is just finishing up the drinks when the door swings open, the bells attached to it jingling loudly. Daehyun looks up from his cleaning and is about to call out a standard greeting when he realizes who it is.
“Oh,” Daehyun says, putting as much disgust into his expression as possible. “It’s you.”
“Yes, it’s me,” Himchan replies as he sweeps up to the counter, Yongguk a few steps behind him. The snowflakes dusting their hair and jackets melt quickly once exposed to the cafe’s heating. “And you should speak more respectfully to your hyung.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Daehyun replies. Jongup laughs and hands two coffee cups carefully wrapped in heat-protecting sleeves over to the couple before turning to face Yongguk and Himchan.
“What are you doing here, hyung?” Jongup asks Himchan as he steps up to the register.
“Just wanted to stop by to say hi and get a drink,” Himchan says with a grin. He leans over the counter to ruffle Jongup’s hair. “I’d like a hot chocolate with an added shot of espresso.”
Daehyun sets down the jug of mango syrup he’s holding to turn and give Himchan an incredulous look. “So basically you want a mocha?”
“No,” Himchan says, narrowing his eyes at Daehyun. “I want a hot chocolate with espresso added. There’s a difference.”
“Or you could just get a mocha, which tastes the exact same and also costs less than making a custom drink,” Daehyun shoots back. Jongup watches the exchange with a faint confused smile, and Yongguk just sighs.
“No, it doesn’t taste the same. Jonguppie, make hyung a delicious drink, okay?” Himchan says. Jongup nods and starts inputting the order.
“Don’t give him your employee discount,” Daehyun tells Jongup. “If he’s too dumb to save himself money, he doesn’t deserve a discount.”
“Hey!” Himchan complains while Yongguk snorts and then quickly changes the action into a cough when Himchan turns to glare at him. Daehyun just grins cheekily and goes back to refilling the syrup.
“Do you want anything, hyung?” Jongup asks Yongguk once he finishes up Himchan’s transaction. Before Yongguk can reply, Himchan cuts in.
“No, Yongguk hates sweets. The only thing he would want from this shop is Jieun ssi’s phone number.”
Yongguk chokes and tries to protest, but Himchan ignores him and starts chatting with Jongup about work and school. Daehyun mostly tunes them out to focus on his cleaning. He’s running a bit behind schedule, and he wants to leave quickly tonight so that he can get back to his apartment and run the laundry he’s been postponing for the past week. He only starts paying attention to the conversation again when his name is mentioned.
“You like working here, right?” Himchan asks Jongup. Himchan’s drink is finished now and he’s holding it in both hands, resting his elbows on the counter. “Daehyun isn’t bullying you or anything?”
“No! Daehyun hyung is great,” Jongup hastily replies. Daehyun is sure that at least one person is probably looking his way, but he pointedly keeps his back turned and twists the cap off of a bottle of lychee flavored syrup. “He’s really kind,” Jongup elaborates after his initial outburst. “And helps me out a lot. And he knows so much! I really like working with him.”
“Wow,” Himchan calls out towards Daehyun’s back. “So I really am the only person you’re mean to?”
“You love me,” Daehyun shoots back without bothering to look. Yongguk snorts again and presumably gets an elbow in the stomach, judging by the oof he lets out immediately after. Daehyun figures the conversation will end there, but to his surprise Jongup continues.
“Sometimes Daehyun hyung helps me with my bio homework, too,” Jongup says. He sounds excited, like a kid eagerly telling his parents a story. Daehyun can feel a blush starting to creep up his neck. He does try to help Jongup with his homework during down times. “We talk a lot, so it’s never boring. Oh, and one time he even sang for me! Did you know that he sings really well?”
Daehyun starts, nearly dropping the bottle he’s holding. Himchan’s curious “he does?” sounds distant through the blood suddenly pounding in Daehyun’s ears. Daehyun turns slowly, hands shaking and eyes wide, and finds Yongguk staring at him with raised eyebrows. For a second Daehyun thinks Yongguk is going to say something, but he must notice Daehyun’s terrified expression and take pity on him, because instead he leans over and tells Himchan that they should probably get back to the studio.
Himchan and Jongup wrap up the conversation and head out, but Daehyun barely even notices. He clutches the bottle of lychee syrup, trying to calm his nerves and regulate his breathing before Jongup notices anything is wrong. The plastic ring around the top cuts into his fingers, but Daehyun barely even feels it. The pain is worth it if it means that Jongup doesn’t realize that he had just unintentionally laid bare something that Daehyun prefers to keep hidden in a dark corner of his own mind.
--
The truth is, Daehyun loves to sing, but he never sings in front of other people.
He used to, back in high school, and up until the end of his freshman year at university. Then a cracked note, a failed audition for the music department, and a professor telling him that ‘maybe singing just isn’t really your thing’ had stripped away any confidence he’d had and left him with a fear of audiences. Daehyun still sings when he’s by himself - in the shower, or cooking dinner - but as soon as he thinks anyone might hear he clams up.
Very few people know about his singing. Youngjae, who has been Daehyun’s best friend since middle school, knows. As does Yongguk, who Daehyun had befriended in his freshman year. But these days Daehyun won’t sing for anyone, no matter how many time Yongguk gently prods him to feature on his mixtape tracks.
Singing for Jongup had been an accident. They had been closing up on a slow Saturday night, the shop completely free of customers. Daehyun was wiping down the front of the cake display case, absorbed in his work while Jongup ran loads through the dishwasher in the back. A song Daehyun knew came on Jongup’s playlist, and without really thinking about it Daehyun started to sing along.
Forgetting himself and singing in public is something Daehyun hadn’t done since his failed audition. In hindsight the only explanation he could think of was that he felt comfortable enough around Jongup to relax and forget his surroundings. That, in and of itself, raised far too many questions that Daehyun did not particularly want to dwell on.
As it was, Daehyun continued absentmindedly singing along as he ran a cloth over the glass in rhythmic circles, only stopping when he heard a sharp gasp. Daehyun immediately stopped singing and jerked his head up in a fair imitation of a deer caught in the headlights, only to find Jongup staring back at him with his arms full of blenders and his jaw hanging open slightly.
“I didn’t know you sang, hyung,” Jongup said, eyes wide, as he shifted his grip on the blenders to keep from dropping them on his foot.
“I don’t really,” Daehyun replied nervously. “I mean, I’m not very good.”
“But you sounded really good just then,” Jongup said. He tilted his head in confusion and Daehyun would have been caught up on how cute that was if he hadn’t felt like a bucket of ice water had just been dumped over his head.
“No, I don’t-” Daehyun started, wringing the rag in his hands. “My voice cracks a lot and I always go sharp on the high notes, and my singing lacks depth. I’m really only just average at best.” He was doing that thing he does whenever he gets nervous, where he rambles even more than usual, but thankfully Jongup cut him off before he managed to say something embarrassing.
“I have no idea what half of that even means,” Jongup said with a small laugh as he returned the blenders to their correct place on the counter. “But I do know that what I just heard definitely wasn’t just average.”
Daehyun could have spent an hour explaining every flaw in his singing, but somehow Jongup managed to calmly take control of the conversation and convince Daehyun to sing some more. Daehyun sang until the door had swung open to let in a group of tipsy university students, and then immediately clamped his mouth shut.
Daehyun had been jittery for the rest of the shift, high on nerves and excitement. He had sung, and Jongup had said it was good. Jongup had liked it. It was a strange mixture of emotions that made him feel at once as if he was flying and like he was about to puke. To compensate, Daehyun chattered away about anything he could think of. When Jongup laughingly commented on it, Daehyun had blamed it on the coffee he’d had at the beginning of his shift. In reality, it had everything to do with Jongup and nothing to do with caffeine.
--
As soon as Youngjae opens the door to Daehyun toes off his shoes and makes a beeline for Youngjae’s small living room area. He immediately face plants into the couch while Youngjae rolls his eyes and goes to grab a water bottle out of the fridge. “Are finals really stressing you out that much?” Youngjae asks as he pulls open the fridge door.
Instead of replying, Daehyun mumbles incoherently into the couch. The fake leather is cold and smooth against his cheek. Not the most welcome sensation after coming in from temperatures far below freezing, but Daehyun is too lazy to sit up. Or move at all, for that matter.
Youngjae tosses his water bottle over the back of the couch and it lands between Daehyun’s shoulder blades. The cold immediately seeps through Daehyun’s sweatshirt and he whines, squirming until the bottle rolls off and wedges between his shoulder and the back of the couch. Youngjae tries to move Daehyun’s legs so there is enough room to sit down, but Daehyun resists. Eventually Youngjae just grabs Daehyun’s ankles and hauls them off the couch, effectively rolling Daehyun onto the floor.
Daehyun lets out an oof as he hits the hardwood and sits up enough to give Youngjae a betrayed look. Youngjae ignores him and sits down. He grabs the water bottle off the cushions and twists the cap open to take a drink.
“You are an awful friend,” Daehyun declares, flopping back down onto the floor.
“You only even have one final left,” Youngjae says. “Why are you freaking out so much?”
“It’s a hard final, okay,” Daehyun says with a glare. He finally sits up and slowly hauls himself back up onto the couch, slouching next to Youngjae.
“It’s for your elective class, right?” Youngjae asks, and when Daehyun hums a confirmation he turns to look at Daehyun. “The same class you kept saying you could pass it in your sleep?”
Daehyun slumps down farther, determinedly not making eye contact. When he’d texted Youngjae and said that he was coming over for an impromptu stress relief Smash Brothers marathon, he hadn’t been expecting an interrogation. If he’d known what he was in for, he would have just stayed at his own apartment and marathoned crappy romance dramas.
“This isn’t about your final at all, is it?” Youngjae asks, and suddenly Daehyun wishes he was back on the floor. Melted into it, preferably. “This is about your crush on Jongup.”
“I don’t have a crush on Jongup,” Daehyun hurriedly denies. “He’s just my friend. And coworker. That’s weird why would you even-”
“You sang for him,” Youngjae interrupts, and just like that Daehyun deflates. All the excuses and explanations he’d prepared die on his lips. “Yongguk hyung told me,” Youngjae explains softly. He’s uncharacteristically serious, the snark and playful banter that usually defines their friendship temporarily put aside. “He asked me to talk to you about it, because he didn’t think you’d open up to him.”
“Yeah. I’m- yeah,” Daehyun says. He smacks Youngjae in the ribs for laughing at his inarticulateness. “I guess I just feel safe around Jongup? Like, I feel like I could mess something up big time and he’d just smile at me and say something like ‘It’s okay, just try again’ and I don’t know. I trust him a lot.” Daehyun grabs Youngjae’s water bottle and takes a drink, suddenly desperately needing something for his dry mouth. Daehyun is a social person, he has lots of friends and even more friendly acquaintances, but there are very few people he’s willing to fully give his trust to.
“Wow,” Youngjae says and Daehyun stares at the water bottle now in his hands. He picks at the label for a second before taking another drink, just for good measure.
“And then there’s the problem of how stupidly attractive he is,” Daehyun continues. Since he’s already started with the story of his embarrassing crush, why not go all the way? “With his dumb biceps and that dumb mole on his nose and his dumb purple hair.” The water bottle starts to crumple under the pressure with which Daehyun is gripping it, and Youngjae quickly takes it from his grasp before he can spill water all over the couch. “The other day some girl was hitting on him, telling him how handsome he was and obviously trying to get his number, and he just smiled at her and said, ‘But my coworker Daehyun is so much more handsome.’ He’s gorgeous and he doesn’t even realize it.” Daehyun groans in frustration and runs his hands over his face.
“Wow,” Youngjae says again. “You’ve got it pretty bad.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Daehyun replies sharply. “See, this is why I wanted to come over and use Zelda to beat your Ice Climbers to a pulp.”
“Have you talked to him about this?” Youngjae asks. Daehyun shakes his head.
“No, I don’t want to make things weird. I mean, I’m his coworker. Even if I say something, and then he feels uncomfortable around me, we still have to work together. I don’t want to make him feel like I’m forcing anything on him. I’m his coworker first, and his hyung second.”
“That may be true,” Youngjae says slowly. “But I think that lately at least he sees you more as his hyung than his coworker.” Daehyun gives him an incredulous look, and Youngjae shrugs. “The other day, I was studying with Junhong in the library. And you know Junhong and Jongup are pretty close, so Jongup up ended up stopping by to look over notes with Junhong. And the entire time he kept talking about you. Telling stories from work, pointing out concepts you had helped him study. Junhong even threatened to stab him with a pencil if he mentioned your name one more time.”
Daehyun is staring at Youngjae now, mouth hanging open. Youngjae laughs and reaches over to shut it none too gently. Daehyun glares at him, and Youngjae just laughs more. “What I’m saying,” Youngjae says, “is that you should really talk to him. Like you said before, Jongup isn’t the type to hate you for something like this. You’re just making things more complicated than they need to be. Bottling it all up isn’t healthy.”
“I’ll think about it,” Daehyun finally concedes. He’s still not sure how he feels about this entire situation, but it does seem like some of the weight has lifted off his shoulders. Maybe he’ll try talking to Jongup. Maybe. “Now how about that Smash Brothers tournament?”
--
It’s 11:30 p.m. on a Friday and Daehyun is tired.
“I must be getting old,” Daehyun whines as he slumps into a chair at the table closest to the cake counter. “I’m exhausted.”
Jongup assures Daehyun that he isn’t that old as he continues cleaning up the last remnants of the disaster zone that had been created during an unexpected evening rush half an hour before. Finals have just ended and students are out in force to celebrate, regardless of the snow swirling down outside. The current lull is a welcome break, and Daehyun isn’t sure if he’s ever been more thankful for the quiet of a temporarily empty store.
“I think I need some sugar before I pass out,” Daehyun groans, rubbing his temples. “Can you bring me a slice of strawberry cake? The pound cake one, not the mousse.”
Jongup complies, sliding into the seat across from Daehyun and placing the plate down carefully on the table. Daehyun gleefully grabs the fork and digs in, humming happily as he shovels a large bite into his mouth.
“Here, you have some too,” Daehyun says, scooping up another slice and holding the fork out towards Jongup. Jongup laughs, but leans forward and accepts the bite. He licks some stray whipped cream away from the corner of his mouth, and Daehyun tries not to stare.
“Where do you get your energy from, anyway?” Daehyun asks as he takes another bite. “You’re always so cheerful, even during closing shifts.”
Jongup just shrugs. He leans forward to prop his chin up on one hand. “The city is just so alive at night,” he says, waving his free hand vaguely. “And I love that, so I just kind of feed off of the energy.”
“I wish I could do that,” Daehyun says ruefully, eyeing his cake. “But I guess until I learn how I’ll just have to feed off sugar and caffeine instead.” This startles a laugh out of Jongup, who makes a comment about how Daehyun is always so witty that makes Daehyun blush.
They chat for a while until a customer arrives, and Jongup goes back behind the counter to serve them. Daehyun finishes up his cake and takes the plate and fork to the back room, rinsing them off. The dishwasher is already full so he runs it, deciding to wait around for it to finish so he can load his plate. Out front Jongup finishes boxing up some cupcakes for the customer, who leaves with the door jingling shut behind them. Once they’re gone Jongup comes into the back room, leaning against one of the counters.
“I’m actually going to meet up with some friends after I get off,” Jongup says with the same calm smile he always has. “We’re going to head to a noraebang and sing for a bit. Celebrate the end of exams, and all that.”
“Yeah?” Daehyun says, eyes trained on the dishwasher. It rumbles and releases a wave of steam from the side where it doesn’t quite seal properly.
“Yeah. Do you wanna come?” Jongup shifts his weight and brings up a hand to rub at the back of his neck. “I mean, I think it would be fun? Junhong will be there.”
Daehyun grabs the edge of the counter, knuckles turning white. Despite Youngjae’s encouragement he hadn’t really wanted to bring this topic up. Now Daehyun has a choice - a decision that will determine the extent to which he lets Jongup into his life. No matter what he chooses to say, Daehyun knows that his next words will directly alter the nature of their relationship. Silence stretches on for almost a minute, blood pounding in Daehyun’s ears as he tries to think of how to respond. Next to him there’s a rustle as Jongup shifts his weight, and Daehyun finally takes a deep breath and forces himself to speak.
“I actually don’t usually sing in front of other people,” Daehyun finally manages to say. “Or ever, really.”
Jongup lets out a surprised, “Oh?” followed closely by another, more emphatic, “Oh.” Daehyun swallows, staring at the counter and trying not to think too hard about what he’d just admitted. His nervous tendency to ramble is completely gone, replaced instead by uneasy silence. For once, Daehyun thinks he would actually prefer to be spewing out embarrassing stories. He stares determinedly at the way his knuckles wrap around the counter edge.
“Hyung,” Jongup says softly. Daehyun makes himself to look over and meet Jongup’s eyes. Jongup’s gaze is intense, and he opens his mouth to say something else, except just then the door jangles and a group of customers come in. Daehyun jumps at the opportunity and rushes past Jongup out to the front to take their orders. The entire time he’s preparing the drinks Daehyun can feel Jongup’s eyes on his back.
As soon as the customers leave Daehyun heads back to the dishwasher, leaving Jongup to clean up the blenders. He knows he’s trying to run away from something important, and it makes the cake he’d just eaten sit heavy in his stomach. Daehyun unloads the dishwasher with careful focus, removing each dish and inspecting it for cleanliness before stacking it on the counter.
After a few minutes Jongup enters the back room, footsteps loud against the laminate floor, and Daehyun immediately tenses up. “Hyung,” Jongup says, reaching out to place a hand on Daehyun’s elbow. Daehyun allows Jongup to turn him around so they’re facing each other. Jongup’s eyes are sharp and there’s a determined set to his jaw, and Daehyun swallows. But whatever Daehyun is expecting, it certainly isn’t the next thing out of Jongup’s mouth.
“Hyung, can I kiss you?”
Daehyun stares dumbly at Jongup, not sure if he’d just heard correctly. “What?” he asks, voice cracking on the upward intonation.
“I really like you,” Jongup says, clearly unaware of the way he’d just caused Daehyun’s mind to kick into overdrive. “I have for a while. And I just- I really want to kiss you right now.”
“But we’re still working!” Daehyun blurts out. It’s not really what he means to say, but it’s the only thing his brain can handle at the moment. Jongup blinks at him before breaking into a fit of giggles.
“Out of everything, that’s what you’re worried about?” Jongup asks, still laughing, and Daehyun bristles.
“It’s a legitimate concern, okay. What if customers came in-”
Jongup leans forward and cuts him off by kissing him softly. Jongup’s lips are warm and dry, chapped from the subzero temperatures, and they feel nice against Daehyun’s. Daehyun leans into the kiss, bringing up a hand to rest on Jongup’s shoulder. Jongup breaks away and laughs sheepishly, a light blush coloring his cheeks.
“Thank you for singing,” Jongup says. Daehyun curls his fingers into the fabric of Jongup’s shirt and leans in for another kiss.
--
“So how do you feel about the inventory shift on Sunday afternoons?” Hana asks as she dumps ice into a blender and pops the lid on.
“I don’t mind them,” Daehyun replies, giving her a suspicious look. “Why?”
“Good, because I’m going to assign you and Jongup to the inventory shift for all of spring semester.”
Daehyun’s wail of despair is drowned out by the whir of the blender, but that doesn’t stop him from following Hana over to the cake counter and staring at her pathetically. “But that’s so much work. And responsibility! Do you really want to give me that much responsibility?”
“Well,” Hana says with a pointed look, “as I’ve mentioned before, you are one of our most senior employees.”
Daehyun continues coming up with excuses, rambling about how biology majors aren’t necessarily any good with math or organization until he feels a pair of arms wrap around his waist.
“What’s wrong?” Jongup asks, resting his chin on Daehyun’s shoulder. This time instead of making Daehyun’s stomach flutter with apprehension the gesture has Daehyun breaking into a smile.
“I’m giving you guys the Sunday inventory shift,” Hana says, quirking an eyebrow. “The student recreation center assigned Hyosung a yoga class to teach on Sundays, so she can’t take it anymore. Besides, you guys can help the delivery man lug the crates in.” She pauses and gives them both a pointed once over. “Well, at least you can, Jongup. Maybe Daehyun should just stay in the store and count the bottles of syrup.”
“Hey!” Daehyun protests while Jongup laughs and buries his face into the crook of Daehyun’s neck. Jongup’s breath is warm and it tickles slightly, but it’s enough of a distraction to take the edge off of Daehyun’s annoyance.
Hana goes out to wipe down the tables and Jongup slips into the back room to put on his work shirt. Daehyun follows Jongup into the back a few seconds later under the pretense of getting red bean to restock the mini-fridge under the drink counter. Jongup already has his uniform pulled on, and is using the reflection from the stainless steel fridge door to fix his hair. Daehyun laughs as he brushes past Jongup to open the fridge and pull out a jug of cooked red bean. Instead of heading back out to the front, though, he leans back against the sink. Jongup reaches over and grabs Daehyun’s free hand, loosely lacing their fingers together.
“So I was thinking,” Jongup says before Daehyun even has a chance to ask about his day - not like they hadn’t been sending Kakaotalk messages full of emoticons to each other since morning. “Do you want to go to noraebang after we’re both off? Just us, or you could invite other people if you want.”
Daehyun’s heart pounds and he feels a little faint, but Jongup’s hand is warm and steady in his own, and somehow that makes everything just seem a little bit more possible.
“Yeah,” Daehyun says, a smile spreading across his face to match Jongup’s grin. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
+A huuuge thank you to trinketries for betaing, handholding, and just generally putting up with me while I cried all over this ;A; ♥
+In case anyone is wondering! Pat bingsoo is delicious shaved ice (specifically with red bean!), honey toast is basically a chunk of toasted bread with the center cut out and filled with yummy things like ice cream and fruit, and noraebang is the Korean word for karaoke c:
Pairing: Daehyun/Jongup
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 6.2k
Summary: Daehyun and Jongup work at a dessert cafe.
A/N: For twiggyrocks2815 for thebrowniebunch! I wanted to fill your first prompt, but I haven’t actually watched any of those animes ;A; So I went with the desserts prompt instead… but somehow there ended up not being nearly enough sweets in this orz ;; Regardless, I hope you like it!!
“One coffee milk tea, one strawberry banana smoothie, and one grape slush, please.”
Daehyun glances up from inputting the order to give his best friend a judgmental look. “You do realize that our grape flavor tastes like medicine, right?”
Youngjae shrugs and pulls his wallet out of his back pocket. “I offered to buy Junhong a bubble tea since I was coming to get one for myself anyway, and Himchan hyung demanded that I buy him one too. So I figured I’d get him a flavor I know he hates.”
“So you’re going to waste three thousand won on a drink that’s going to be spat back into your face?” Daehyun asks incredulously. “Isn’t that like cutting off your head to spite your arm?”
“I’m pretty sure that’s not how the saying goes,” Youngjae says, glancing up from his wallet to give Daehyun a concerned look.
“Whatever, close enough.” Daehyun waves a hand dismissively and finishes punching in the order. “So one coffee milk, one strawberry banana, and one cough syrup slush? That’ll be ten thousand won.”
Youngjae snorts at Daehyun’s word choice as he hands over his card, and Daehyun grins. If his manager had been there, she would have smacked Daehyun for speaking poorly of one of their products. But this afternoon the only people on shift are Daehyun and his coworker Jongup, who is occupied at the other end of the counter helping some high school girls pick out a slice of cake. There are no other customers in line on Daehyun’s side of the store either, so he’s free to be as snarky as he wants.
As he turns away to start making the drinks, Daehyun glances over towards the cake display case. Jongup is leaning over the glass top to point out a particular slice of cake while the girls giggle and sneak surreptitious looks at his purple hair. Jongup is relatively new, a university sophomore hired to help with the beginning-of-the-school-year rush. Daehyun had actually met him a couple of times before Jongup started working at the dessert cafe, though, through some friends in common. “Some friends” meaning primarily Himchan, who had practically bullied Daehyun into putting in some good words for Jongup during the hiring process.
Daehyun is so distracted watching the other conversation that he accidentally spills milk all over the counter. Behind him Youngjae snorts. Daehyun turns his body so that he can flip Youngjae off without the other customers seeing, then grabs a clean rag from the bucket by the sink and starts to wipe up the mess. Daehyun concentrates on the job at hand, sopping up milk while idly listening to Jongup’s conversation. One of the girls inquires about the mango berry cake, and Jongup lets out a regretful sigh.
“I actually haven’t tried that one yet,” Jongup says. “Let me get my coworker. He’s tried everything on the menu.” The way Jongup says it is full of awe, although Daehyun figures it probably isn’t something to be proud of. It is true, though.
The dessert cafe where Daehyun and Jongup work is divided into two sections - one half of the counter is dedicated solely to bubble tea and other drinks, and the other is primarily taken up by a display case full of cupcakes and slices of cake. The menu offers everything from pat bingsoo to parfait, and during his three years of working at the dessert cafe Daehyun has at some point tried every single item on it. In fact, the desserts were the main reason he had gotten a job here to start with. He’d been coming in so often to eat that Jieun, the assistant manager, had suggested that he just apply for a job.
“What’s up?” Daehyun asks in response to Jongup’s request to come to the cake counter for a second. He dumps his soggy cloth in the sink and walks over to Jongup. Youngjae’s drinks can wait for the moment. Over by the drink register Youngjae voices a protest, which Daehyun ignores in favor of resting his elbows on the counter while he discusses the merits of mango berry cake versus chocolate mango mousse. Eventually the girls decide on the mousse, and Daehyun heads back over to the half-made smoothies while Jongup rings up the cake. Daehyun gets the smoothies blending and is shaking the coffee milk with ice to chill it when Jongup comes over. Jongup picks up the cloth Daehyun had dumped in the sink, wringing it out.
“You’re so cool hyung,” Jongup says while he rinses the cloth. He turns and smiles widely at Daehyun. “You know so much about all the menu items.”
“Nah, I’m not that cool,” Daehyun says quickly. He can feel warmth creeping up his neck and wills the blush away. “That’s just what happens when you’ve worked here for a while.”
“I still think it’s pretty cool,” Jongup replies with another warm smile. Daehyun is certain that he’s now losing the battle against his blush.
“I can guarantee you that Daehyun is definitely not even remotely cool,” Youngjae cuts in. He props his elbows on the counter and shoots Daehyun a look. “Now hurry up and finish my drinks before Junhong starts sending me ‘SOS save me from Himchan hyung’ texts.”
“Shut up, I don’t like you,” Daehyun declares. He pours out the smoothies and runs them through the sealer machine while Jongup laughs. After the last drink is sealed, Daehyun puts them into a tray and shoves it at Youngjae. “Here. Get out of my store, you sorry excuse for a friend.”
Youngjae grabs the tray, taking in Daehyun’s flush and giving him a thoughtful look. Daehyun shifts uncomfortably under his gaze, and he expects Youngjae to shoot off another comeback. Instead, Youngjae just shrugs and says, “All right. See you later.” He waves to Jongup and shoots Daehyun another look before heading out the door. Daehyun frowns as the door jangles shut behind him.
--
Daehyun is busy cleaning up from the post-dinner rush when his manager catches him off-guard with a question.
“What do you think of Jongup?”
Daehyun blinks dumbly at Hana for a second. She’s busy cashing out, and when Daehyun doesn’t reply immediately she glances up from the stack of 1000 won bills she’s thumbing through to raise an eyebrow.
“He’s a sweet kid, I like him,” Daehyun says with a shrug. “Why?”
Hana hums and leans over to write something on the bank deposit slip before replying. “I just wanted to make sure you’re getting along, since I’m putting you guys on weekend closing shifts together for the rest of the semester.”
Daehyun stares at her in slack-jawed disbelief before bursting out in protest. “No way!” he practically yells. “Weekend closing is the worst! I do actually have a social life, you know.”
“No you don’t,” Hana replies calmly. “And I’m only doing this because you’re one of our most senior employees. You and Jongup are both reliable, so I know that you’ll do a good job. I’m just wary after the time Sunhwa forgot to set the alarm.”
Daehyun proceeds to complain, following Hana around as she deposits the money into their safe and gets ready to clock out. He doesn’t stop until he feels someone rest their chin on his shoulder and wrap an arm around his waist.
“What’s going on?” Jongup asks as he shifts to lean more weight onto Daehyun. It’s a friendly gesture - something Jongup would, and does, do to any of his friends - but it makes Daehyun’s breath catch in his chest. To mask this, Daehyun launches into another tirade.
“Jonguppie,” Daehyun whines as he ducks out of Jongup’s hold and turns to tug at his shirt. Jongup is still in his street clothes, work shirt presumably shoved into the backpack he has slung over one shoulder. Despite the quickly cooling temperatures of late September, Jongup is only wearing a light sweater. It looks really good on him, and Daehyun hides the way his heart rate speeds up by pointing accusingly at Hana. “Hana noona says that we have to close every weekend for the rest of the semester. Every. Weekend.” Daehyun stares at Jongup plaintively in an attempt convey the severity of the injustice.
Jongup, however, just shrugs and slides his backpack off his shoulder. He smiles serenely as he unzips the bag and pulls out his uniform shirt. “I don’t know,” he says, “it doesn’t sound so bad to me. I don’t really mind closing.”
Daehyun groans dramatically and Hana laughs before ushering Jongup towards the back room to change. When she turns around, she gives Daehyun a searching look that has him shifting uncomfortably and fighting off a blush. “So, no problems with closing?” she asks. “You guys will be fine working together?”
“Yeah,” Daehyun says. He swallows and tries to put on his best resigned expression. “No problems.”
--
It’s easy to fall into a routine. Daehyun comes into the store at 7:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday, and works with whoever is on for the late afternoon shift until Jongup comes in to relieve them at nine. Daehyun and Jongup handle the late night crowd together, staying open until 2 a.m. to accommodate the university district’s nightlife. Their shift usually consists of rushes and lulls, which means that in the downtime Daehyun often finds himself spacing out watching Jongup clean - and this, this is what he’d been worried about.
Not liking working with Jongup isn’t Daehyun’s problem. In fact, his problem is somewhat the opposite: he likes working with Jongup more than he probably should. In fact, he likes Jongup more than he probably should. This problem is one that started developing the first time Himchan had brought Jongup along to a group movie night, and Daehyun had been unable to tear his eyes away from Jongup’s bright smile.
Working with Jongup, seeing the warm smile he gives every customer and the way he scrunches his nose while adding the toppings to honey toast, flushes all of Daehyun’s “get over my crush quickly” plans right down the drain. Having a crush on his friend’s friend is one thing, but having a crush on his coworker is another. The last thing Daehyun wants is for Jongup to feel uncomfortable at his job. Thankfully Jongup doesn’t seem to notice Daehyun’s staring, simply smiling back whenever he catches Daehyun looking.
“I’m going to put my music on, okay hyung?” Jongup says as he leans around the doorway to the back room. He hasn’t styled his hair today, and it’s flopping into his eyes.
“Sure, go ahead,” Daehyun says. Jongup disappears into the back, and Daehyun absentmindedly pulls his phone out of his pocket and unlocks it. He’s never told Jongup that he usually prefers to have his own music playing, but that he always lets Jongup put on his playlist of mostly American R&B and rap because the way Jongup dances along to it while mopping is adorable. Instead, Daehyun says that he prefers to have his phone free so he can text during the breaks between customers.
A Chris Brown song starts playing through the store’s speakers and the corners of Daehyun’s mouth quirk into a smile as he types out a text to Youngjae.
--
November brings rapidly dropping temperatures and the first snow. It’s 10 p.m., still a bit too early for the night crowd, and Daehyun is refilling the bubble tea flavor syrups while Jongup prepares coffee for a couple wrapped up in matching scarves. Daehyun has never been one for couple gear, but he can’t fight the pang of jealousy that arises when the guy casually drapes an arm around the girl’s shoulders.
Jongup is just finishing up the drinks when the door swings open, the bells attached to it jingling loudly. Daehyun looks up from his cleaning and is about to call out a standard greeting when he realizes who it is.
“Oh,” Daehyun says, putting as much disgust into his expression as possible. “It’s you.”
“Yes, it’s me,” Himchan replies as he sweeps up to the counter, Yongguk a few steps behind him. The snowflakes dusting their hair and jackets melt quickly once exposed to the cafe’s heating. “And you should speak more respectfully to your hyung.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Daehyun replies. Jongup laughs and hands two coffee cups carefully wrapped in heat-protecting sleeves over to the couple before turning to face Yongguk and Himchan.
“What are you doing here, hyung?” Jongup asks Himchan as he steps up to the register.
“Just wanted to stop by to say hi and get a drink,” Himchan says with a grin. He leans over the counter to ruffle Jongup’s hair. “I’d like a hot chocolate with an added shot of espresso.”
Daehyun sets down the jug of mango syrup he’s holding to turn and give Himchan an incredulous look. “So basically you want a mocha?”
“No,” Himchan says, narrowing his eyes at Daehyun. “I want a hot chocolate with espresso added. There’s a difference.”
“Or you could just get a mocha, which tastes the exact same and also costs less than making a custom drink,” Daehyun shoots back. Jongup watches the exchange with a faint confused smile, and Yongguk just sighs.
“No, it doesn’t taste the same. Jonguppie, make hyung a delicious drink, okay?” Himchan says. Jongup nods and starts inputting the order.
“Don’t give him your employee discount,” Daehyun tells Jongup. “If he’s too dumb to save himself money, he doesn’t deserve a discount.”
“Hey!” Himchan complains while Yongguk snorts and then quickly changes the action into a cough when Himchan turns to glare at him. Daehyun just grins cheekily and goes back to refilling the syrup.
“Do you want anything, hyung?” Jongup asks Yongguk once he finishes up Himchan’s transaction. Before Yongguk can reply, Himchan cuts in.
“No, Yongguk hates sweets. The only thing he would want from this shop is Jieun ssi’s phone number.”
Yongguk chokes and tries to protest, but Himchan ignores him and starts chatting with Jongup about work and school. Daehyun mostly tunes them out to focus on his cleaning. He’s running a bit behind schedule, and he wants to leave quickly tonight so that he can get back to his apartment and run the laundry he’s been postponing for the past week. He only starts paying attention to the conversation again when his name is mentioned.
“You like working here, right?” Himchan asks Jongup. Himchan’s drink is finished now and he’s holding it in both hands, resting his elbows on the counter. “Daehyun isn’t bullying you or anything?”
“No! Daehyun hyung is great,” Jongup hastily replies. Daehyun is sure that at least one person is probably looking his way, but he pointedly keeps his back turned and twists the cap off of a bottle of lychee flavored syrup. “He’s really kind,” Jongup elaborates after his initial outburst. “And helps me out a lot. And he knows so much! I really like working with him.”
“Wow,” Himchan calls out towards Daehyun’s back. “So I really am the only person you’re mean to?”
“You love me,” Daehyun shoots back without bothering to look. Yongguk snorts again and presumably gets an elbow in the stomach, judging by the oof he lets out immediately after. Daehyun figures the conversation will end there, but to his surprise Jongup continues.
“Sometimes Daehyun hyung helps me with my bio homework, too,” Jongup says. He sounds excited, like a kid eagerly telling his parents a story. Daehyun can feel a blush starting to creep up his neck. He does try to help Jongup with his homework during down times. “We talk a lot, so it’s never boring. Oh, and one time he even sang for me! Did you know that he sings really well?”
Daehyun starts, nearly dropping the bottle he’s holding. Himchan’s curious “he does?” sounds distant through the blood suddenly pounding in Daehyun’s ears. Daehyun turns slowly, hands shaking and eyes wide, and finds Yongguk staring at him with raised eyebrows. For a second Daehyun thinks Yongguk is going to say something, but he must notice Daehyun’s terrified expression and take pity on him, because instead he leans over and tells Himchan that they should probably get back to the studio.
Himchan and Jongup wrap up the conversation and head out, but Daehyun barely even notices. He clutches the bottle of lychee syrup, trying to calm his nerves and regulate his breathing before Jongup notices anything is wrong. The plastic ring around the top cuts into his fingers, but Daehyun barely even feels it. The pain is worth it if it means that Jongup doesn’t realize that he had just unintentionally laid bare something that Daehyun prefers to keep hidden in a dark corner of his own mind.
--
The truth is, Daehyun loves to sing, but he never sings in front of other people.
He used to, back in high school, and up until the end of his freshman year at university. Then a cracked note, a failed audition for the music department, and a professor telling him that ‘maybe singing just isn’t really your thing’ had stripped away any confidence he’d had and left him with a fear of audiences. Daehyun still sings when he’s by himself - in the shower, or cooking dinner - but as soon as he thinks anyone might hear he clams up.
Very few people know about his singing. Youngjae, who has been Daehyun’s best friend since middle school, knows. As does Yongguk, who Daehyun had befriended in his freshman year. But these days Daehyun won’t sing for anyone, no matter how many time Yongguk gently prods him to feature on his mixtape tracks.
Singing for Jongup had been an accident. They had been closing up on a slow Saturday night, the shop completely free of customers. Daehyun was wiping down the front of the cake display case, absorbed in his work while Jongup ran loads through the dishwasher in the back. A song Daehyun knew came on Jongup’s playlist, and without really thinking about it Daehyun started to sing along.
Forgetting himself and singing in public is something Daehyun hadn’t done since his failed audition. In hindsight the only explanation he could think of was that he felt comfortable enough around Jongup to relax and forget his surroundings. That, in and of itself, raised far too many questions that Daehyun did not particularly want to dwell on.
As it was, Daehyun continued absentmindedly singing along as he ran a cloth over the glass in rhythmic circles, only stopping when he heard a sharp gasp. Daehyun immediately stopped singing and jerked his head up in a fair imitation of a deer caught in the headlights, only to find Jongup staring back at him with his arms full of blenders and his jaw hanging open slightly.
“I didn’t know you sang, hyung,” Jongup said, eyes wide, as he shifted his grip on the blenders to keep from dropping them on his foot.
“I don’t really,” Daehyun replied nervously. “I mean, I’m not very good.”
“But you sounded really good just then,” Jongup said. He tilted his head in confusion and Daehyun would have been caught up on how cute that was if he hadn’t felt like a bucket of ice water had just been dumped over his head.
“No, I don’t-” Daehyun started, wringing the rag in his hands. “My voice cracks a lot and I always go sharp on the high notes, and my singing lacks depth. I’m really only just average at best.” He was doing that thing he does whenever he gets nervous, where he rambles even more than usual, but thankfully Jongup cut him off before he managed to say something embarrassing.
“I have no idea what half of that even means,” Jongup said with a small laugh as he returned the blenders to their correct place on the counter. “But I do know that what I just heard definitely wasn’t just average.”
Daehyun could have spent an hour explaining every flaw in his singing, but somehow Jongup managed to calmly take control of the conversation and convince Daehyun to sing some more. Daehyun sang until the door had swung open to let in a group of tipsy university students, and then immediately clamped his mouth shut.
Daehyun had been jittery for the rest of the shift, high on nerves and excitement. He had sung, and Jongup had said it was good. Jongup had liked it. It was a strange mixture of emotions that made him feel at once as if he was flying and like he was about to puke. To compensate, Daehyun chattered away about anything he could think of. When Jongup laughingly commented on it, Daehyun had blamed it on the coffee he’d had at the beginning of his shift. In reality, it had everything to do with Jongup and nothing to do with caffeine.
--
As soon as Youngjae opens the door to Daehyun toes off his shoes and makes a beeline for Youngjae’s small living room area. He immediately face plants into the couch while Youngjae rolls his eyes and goes to grab a water bottle out of the fridge. “Are finals really stressing you out that much?” Youngjae asks as he pulls open the fridge door.
Instead of replying, Daehyun mumbles incoherently into the couch. The fake leather is cold and smooth against his cheek. Not the most welcome sensation after coming in from temperatures far below freezing, but Daehyun is too lazy to sit up. Or move at all, for that matter.
Youngjae tosses his water bottle over the back of the couch and it lands between Daehyun’s shoulder blades. The cold immediately seeps through Daehyun’s sweatshirt and he whines, squirming until the bottle rolls off and wedges between his shoulder and the back of the couch. Youngjae tries to move Daehyun’s legs so there is enough room to sit down, but Daehyun resists. Eventually Youngjae just grabs Daehyun’s ankles and hauls them off the couch, effectively rolling Daehyun onto the floor.
Daehyun lets out an oof as he hits the hardwood and sits up enough to give Youngjae a betrayed look. Youngjae ignores him and sits down. He grabs the water bottle off the cushions and twists the cap open to take a drink.
“You are an awful friend,” Daehyun declares, flopping back down onto the floor.
“You only even have one final left,” Youngjae says. “Why are you freaking out so much?”
“It’s a hard final, okay,” Daehyun says with a glare. He finally sits up and slowly hauls himself back up onto the couch, slouching next to Youngjae.
“It’s for your elective class, right?” Youngjae asks, and when Daehyun hums a confirmation he turns to look at Daehyun. “The same class you kept saying you could pass it in your sleep?”
Daehyun slumps down farther, determinedly not making eye contact. When he’d texted Youngjae and said that he was coming over for an impromptu stress relief Smash Brothers marathon, he hadn’t been expecting an interrogation. If he’d known what he was in for, he would have just stayed at his own apartment and marathoned crappy romance dramas.
“This isn’t about your final at all, is it?” Youngjae asks, and suddenly Daehyun wishes he was back on the floor. Melted into it, preferably. “This is about your crush on Jongup.”
“I don’t have a crush on Jongup,” Daehyun hurriedly denies. “He’s just my friend. And coworker. That’s weird why would you even-”
“You sang for him,” Youngjae interrupts, and just like that Daehyun deflates. All the excuses and explanations he’d prepared die on his lips. “Yongguk hyung told me,” Youngjae explains softly. He’s uncharacteristically serious, the snark and playful banter that usually defines their friendship temporarily put aside. “He asked me to talk to you about it, because he didn’t think you’d open up to him.”
“Yeah. I’m- yeah,” Daehyun says. He smacks Youngjae in the ribs for laughing at his inarticulateness. “I guess I just feel safe around Jongup? Like, I feel like I could mess something up big time and he’d just smile at me and say something like ‘It’s okay, just try again’ and I don’t know. I trust him a lot.” Daehyun grabs Youngjae’s water bottle and takes a drink, suddenly desperately needing something for his dry mouth. Daehyun is a social person, he has lots of friends and even more friendly acquaintances, but there are very few people he’s willing to fully give his trust to.
“Wow,” Youngjae says and Daehyun stares at the water bottle now in his hands. He picks at the label for a second before taking another drink, just for good measure.
“And then there’s the problem of how stupidly attractive he is,” Daehyun continues. Since he’s already started with the story of his embarrassing crush, why not go all the way? “With his dumb biceps and that dumb mole on his nose and his dumb purple hair.” The water bottle starts to crumple under the pressure with which Daehyun is gripping it, and Youngjae quickly takes it from his grasp before he can spill water all over the couch. “The other day some girl was hitting on him, telling him how handsome he was and obviously trying to get his number, and he just smiled at her and said, ‘But my coworker Daehyun is so much more handsome.’ He’s gorgeous and he doesn’t even realize it.” Daehyun groans in frustration and runs his hands over his face.
“Wow,” Youngjae says again. “You’ve got it pretty bad.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Daehyun replies sharply. “See, this is why I wanted to come over and use Zelda to beat your Ice Climbers to a pulp.”
“Have you talked to him about this?” Youngjae asks. Daehyun shakes his head.
“No, I don’t want to make things weird. I mean, I’m his coworker. Even if I say something, and then he feels uncomfortable around me, we still have to work together. I don’t want to make him feel like I’m forcing anything on him. I’m his coworker first, and his hyung second.”
“That may be true,” Youngjae says slowly. “But I think that lately at least he sees you more as his hyung than his coworker.” Daehyun gives him an incredulous look, and Youngjae shrugs. “The other day, I was studying with Junhong in the library. And you know Junhong and Jongup are pretty close, so Jongup up ended up stopping by to look over notes with Junhong. And the entire time he kept talking about you. Telling stories from work, pointing out concepts you had helped him study. Junhong even threatened to stab him with a pencil if he mentioned your name one more time.”
Daehyun is staring at Youngjae now, mouth hanging open. Youngjae laughs and reaches over to shut it none too gently. Daehyun glares at him, and Youngjae just laughs more. “What I’m saying,” Youngjae says, “is that you should really talk to him. Like you said before, Jongup isn’t the type to hate you for something like this. You’re just making things more complicated than they need to be. Bottling it all up isn’t healthy.”
“I’ll think about it,” Daehyun finally concedes. He’s still not sure how he feels about this entire situation, but it does seem like some of the weight has lifted off his shoulders. Maybe he’ll try talking to Jongup. Maybe. “Now how about that Smash Brothers tournament?”
--
It’s 11:30 p.m. on a Friday and Daehyun is tired.
“I must be getting old,” Daehyun whines as he slumps into a chair at the table closest to the cake counter. “I’m exhausted.”
Jongup assures Daehyun that he isn’t that old as he continues cleaning up the last remnants of the disaster zone that had been created during an unexpected evening rush half an hour before. Finals have just ended and students are out in force to celebrate, regardless of the snow swirling down outside. The current lull is a welcome break, and Daehyun isn’t sure if he’s ever been more thankful for the quiet of a temporarily empty store.
“I think I need some sugar before I pass out,” Daehyun groans, rubbing his temples. “Can you bring me a slice of strawberry cake? The pound cake one, not the mousse.”
Jongup complies, sliding into the seat across from Daehyun and placing the plate down carefully on the table. Daehyun gleefully grabs the fork and digs in, humming happily as he shovels a large bite into his mouth.
“Here, you have some too,” Daehyun says, scooping up another slice and holding the fork out towards Jongup. Jongup laughs, but leans forward and accepts the bite. He licks some stray whipped cream away from the corner of his mouth, and Daehyun tries not to stare.
“Where do you get your energy from, anyway?” Daehyun asks as he takes another bite. “You’re always so cheerful, even during closing shifts.”
Jongup just shrugs. He leans forward to prop his chin up on one hand. “The city is just so alive at night,” he says, waving his free hand vaguely. “And I love that, so I just kind of feed off of the energy.”
“I wish I could do that,” Daehyun says ruefully, eyeing his cake. “But I guess until I learn how I’ll just have to feed off sugar and caffeine instead.” This startles a laugh out of Jongup, who makes a comment about how Daehyun is always so witty that makes Daehyun blush.
They chat for a while until a customer arrives, and Jongup goes back behind the counter to serve them. Daehyun finishes up his cake and takes the plate and fork to the back room, rinsing them off. The dishwasher is already full so he runs it, deciding to wait around for it to finish so he can load his plate. Out front Jongup finishes boxing up some cupcakes for the customer, who leaves with the door jingling shut behind them. Once they’re gone Jongup comes into the back room, leaning against one of the counters.
“I’m actually going to meet up with some friends after I get off,” Jongup says with the same calm smile he always has. “We’re going to head to a noraebang and sing for a bit. Celebrate the end of exams, and all that.”
“Yeah?” Daehyun says, eyes trained on the dishwasher. It rumbles and releases a wave of steam from the side where it doesn’t quite seal properly.
“Yeah. Do you wanna come?” Jongup shifts his weight and brings up a hand to rub at the back of his neck. “I mean, I think it would be fun? Junhong will be there.”
Daehyun grabs the edge of the counter, knuckles turning white. Despite Youngjae’s encouragement he hadn’t really wanted to bring this topic up. Now Daehyun has a choice - a decision that will determine the extent to which he lets Jongup into his life. No matter what he chooses to say, Daehyun knows that his next words will directly alter the nature of their relationship. Silence stretches on for almost a minute, blood pounding in Daehyun’s ears as he tries to think of how to respond. Next to him there’s a rustle as Jongup shifts his weight, and Daehyun finally takes a deep breath and forces himself to speak.
“I actually don’t usually sing in front of other people,” Daehyun finally manages to say. “Or ever, really.”
Jongup lets out a surprised, “Oh?” followed closely by another, more emphatic, “Oh.” Daehyun swallows, staring at the counter and trying not to think too hard about what he’d just admitted. His nervous tendency to ramble is completely gone, replaced instead by uneasy silence. For once, Daehyun thinks he would actually prefer to be spewing out embarrassing stories. He stares determinedly at the way his knuckles wrap around the counter edge.
“Hyung,” Jongup says softly. Daehyun makes himself to look over and meet Jongup’s eyes. Jongup’s gaze is intense, and he opens his mouth to say something else, except just then the door jangles and a group of customers come in. Daehyun jumps at the opportunity and rushes past Jongup out to the front to take their orders. The entire time he’s preparing the drinks Daehyun can feel Jongup’s eyes on his back.
As soon as the customers leave Daehyun heads back to the dishwasher, leaving Jongup to clean up the blenders. He knows he’s trying to run away from something important, and it makes the cake he’d just eaten sit heavy in his stomach. Daehyun unloads the dishwasher with careful focus, removing each dish and inspecting it for cleanliness before stacking it on the counter.
After a few minutes Jongup enters the back room, footsteps loud against the laminate floor, and Daehyun immediately tenses up. “Hyung,” Jongup says, reaching out to place a hand on Daehyun’s elbow. Daehyun allows Jongup to turn him around so they’re facing each other. Jongup’s eyes are sharp and there’s a determined set to his jaw, and Daehyun swallows. But whatever Daehyun is expecting, it certainly isn’t the next thing out of Jongup’s mouth.
“Hyung, can I kiss you?”
Daehyun stares dumbly at Jongup, not sure if he’d just heard correctly. “What?” he asks, voice cracking on the upward intonation.
“I really like you,” Jongup says, clearly unaware of the way he’d just caused Daehyun’s mind to kick into overdrive. “I have for a while. And I just- I really want to kiss you right now.”
“But we’re still working!” Daehyun blurts out. It’s not really what he means to say, but it’s the only thing his brain can handle at the moment. Jongup blinks at him before breaking into a fit of giggles.
“Out of everything, that’s what you’re worried about?” Jongup asks, still laughing, and Daehyun bristles.
“It’s a legitimate concern, okay. What if customers came in-”
Jongup leans forward and cuts him off by kissing him softly. Jongup’s lips are warm and dry, chapped from the subzero temperatures, and they feel nice against Daehyun’s. Daehyun leans into the kiss, bringing up a hand to rest on Jongup’s shoulder. Jongup breaks away and laughs sheepishly, a light blush coloring his cheeks.
“Thank you for singing,” Jongup says. Daehyun curls his fingers into the fabric of Jongup’s shirt and leans in for another kiss.
--
“So how do you feel about the inventory shift on Sunday afternoons?” Hana asks as she dumps ice into a blender and pops the lid on.
“I don’t mind them,” Daehyun replies, giving her a suspicious look. “Why?”
“Good, because I’m going to assign you and Jongup to the inventory shift for all of spring semester.”
Daehyun’s wail of despair is drowned out by the whir of the blender, but that doesn’t stop him from following Hana over to the cake counter and staring at her pathetically. “But that’s so much work. And responsibility! Do you really want to give me that much responsibility?”
“Well,” Hana says with a pointed look, “as I’ve mentioned before, you are one of our most senior employees.”
Daehyun continues coming up with excuses, rambling about how biology majors aren’t necessarily any good with math or organization until he feels a pair of arms wrap around his waist.
“What’s wrong?” Jongup asks, resting his chin on Daehyun’s shoulder. This time instead of making Daehyun’s stomach flutter with apprehension the gesture has Daehyun breaking into a smile.
“I’m giving you guys the Sunday inventory shift,” Hana says, quirking an eyebrow. “The student recreation center assigned Hyosung a yoga class to teach on Sundays, so she can’t take it anymore. Besides, you guys can help the delivery man lug the crates in.” She pauses and gives them both a pointed once over. “Well, at least you can, Jongup. Maybe Daehyun should just stay in the store and count the bottles of syrup.”
“Hey!” Daehyun protests while Jongup laughs and buries his face into the crook of Daehyun’s neck. Jongup’s breath is warm and it tickles slightly, but it’s enough of a distraction to take the edge off of Daehyun’s annoyance.
Hana goes out to wipe down the tables and Jongup slips into the back room to put on his work shirt. Daehyun follows Jongup into the back a few seconds later under the pretense of getting red bean to restock the mini-fridge under the drink counter. Jongup already has his uniform pulled on, and is using the reflection from the stainless steel fridge door to fix his hair. Daehyun laughs as he brushes past Jongup to open the fridge and pull out a jug of cooked red bean. Instead of heading back out to the front, though, he leans back against the sink. Jongup reaches over and grabs Daehyun’s free hand, loosely lacing their fingers together.
“So I was thinking,” Jongup says before Daehyun even has a chance to ask about his day - not like they hadn’t been sending Kakaotalk messages full of emoticons to each other since morning. “Do you want to go to noraebang after we’re both off? Just us, or you could invite other people if you want.”
Daehyun’s heart pounds and he feels a little faint, but Jongup’s hand is warm and steady in his own, and somehow that makes everything just seem a little bit more possible.
“Yeah,” Daehyun says, a smile spreading across his face to match Jongup’s grin. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
+A huuuge thank you to trinketries for betaing, handholding, and just generally putting up with me while I cried all over this ;A; ♥
+In case anyone is wondering! Pat bingsoo is delicious shaved ice (specifically with red bean!), honey toast is basically a chunk of toasted bread with the center cut out and filled with yummy things like ice cream and fruit, and noraebang is the Korean word for karaoke c:
