𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘 𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒

𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌.

𝙝𝙮𝙪𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙭//𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨

"and would you like that in a cup or in a cone?" hyunjin asked his client, before scooping the mango sorbet into the wafer cone. he blew his long strands of hair out of his face before handing the sweet treat to the girl in front of him, "that'll be 3.50 dollars."

apart from that girl and her friends he'd served previously, the shop was empty. hyunjin rested his head in his hands, huffing at the thought of having to spend the rest of his summer working. serving the same old ice cream to the same old cliché tourists (it's ridiculously easy to spot them, just look for dollar store flip flops, brightly coloured summer shirts, plastic sunglasses, and severe sunburns). occasionally, a ten year old would order the—cursed neon pink and blue—bubblegum flavour, and hyunjin would discreetly give the kid his famous "judging" look.

although those kids sincerely worried hyunjin (these ipad kids are the people who are the future of our world? might as well let global warming take us out after all), they were the least of his concerns towards troublesome clients: from your local karens to obsessive fangirls from his school—which was pretty weird, considering that he'd made it quite clear that he was openly gay and therefore not interested in women—, hyunjin had seen it all, and it was only his first week.

nevertheless, hyunjin needed to keep his job if he wanted to be able to afford an apartment with his sister, so he could finally move out from his cousin's. after their parents had found out about their sexualities, yeji being a proud omnisexual, they'd panicked and refused to accept them. as soon as they'd started with the "it's just a phase" or "you're just confused" arguments, the pair of them had moved out the same day. 

at the sound of the door opening, hyunjin's head popped up from behind the counter, pulling his hair into his signature half up half down style, framing his face and bringing attention to his cat-like eyes. 

after mindlessly ogling at his favourite boy group ships, hyunjin had begun to foolishly believe in soulmates, whether it's a friend or a partner, yet unfortunately, he hadn't found that special connection with anyone, and it sometimes felt like that kind of wishful thinking would bring him nothing but tears at the thought of his lasting loneliness. 

"hi, welcome to levanter, what can i get for you today," the words came out of his mouth automatically, but when he paused for an answer, that's when his brain registered who he was addressing this time.

another friend group was patiently waiting in front of the counter, but hyunjin's eyes were immediately drawn to a specific individual: he was wearing a large sweatshirt that slightly overlapped onto a pleated skirt, and had blonde hair brighter than the moon. the boy fiddled with his sleeves and nervously looked over to his friends, waiting for them to decide their orders. 

something clicked inside of hyunjin, a feeling somewhat similar to déjà vu but not quite the same: as if he's always expected this particular stranger to waltz into his life and change it forever. 

"i'll have one scoop of stracciatella in a cone with a chocolate flake," his friend said with a smile, and the blonde piped up in turn, "i'll have the same, thanks."

hyunjin skilfully scooped the ice creams out of the tub and handed them over, his hand brushing the cute one's by accident.

"can i get two scoops, one vanilla, the other chocolate, in a cone," the third one asked, eliciting mutters such as "ha basic" from his friends.

"hey, you can't go wrong with a classic," he defended himself valiantly.

"i'll have honeycomb, in a cone, with hot fudge on top," the one that looked like a squirrel said cheerfully. 

"that'll be 15 dollars total." 

the one who'd ordered first handed him the money, and hyunjin crumpled the receipt and chucked it in the bin. 

new customers were now queuing up behind them, so he didn't even have time to attempt small talk with the sweet blonde one. 

before long, hyunjin had served the chattering customers and was leaning against the wall, bored out of his mind. he spotted the friend group from earlier approaching the counter, the one who had payed—he seriously radiated puppy vibes—dragging the blonde along. 

"hi, my friend felix," he pointed to his friend who was hiding behind his back and looking down at his doc martens, frilly socks peeking out, "thinks you're really cute."

the one who's cheeks screamed squirrel pulled the blonde out from behind and shoved him up to the counter. 

"um y-yeah," he fidgeted with his fingers, briefly meeting his eyes, "i was wondering if i could get your number?"

"of course," hyunjin grinned, grabbing a napkin and scribbling his phone number onto it, handing it to felix, "call me anytime, i'd love to get to know you!"

"thank you," he blushed profusely before scampering back to his friends, clutching the napkin in his little hands.