Decaf Coffee

1 - waiting

It was a quiet evening in the city. The moon casting soft lights on the buildings, people were laughing, cars were going by and it seemed that the air was fresh from the rain that poured that day. Petrichor filled the boy's nose as he left the coffee shop he worked in. As he locked up, he thanked the sky for the rain pausing during his walk home. He felt lucky. He shook out his newly dyed blonde, almost light brown hair farther down the road.

It was nights like these where all his thoughts came to him at once. The sidewalks were slippery under his step, but the agility he gained from dancing allowed him to stay upright. His shoulders held the weight of one of the most difficult emotions to feel- love. He was so lost in thought that he didn't realize where his feet where taking him, he almost walked past his destination. Backtracking, he realized he was only a couple buildings too far and walked back. When he arrived at the door of the publishing company, he knew better than to walk in.

The publishing company wasn't a convenience store or a coffee shop that was easy to just approach. You need a purpose to walk in and his best friend, the boy he was madly in love with, already told him to wait outside his work if he was going to visit him. He quickly send the boy a text.

(7:45 p.m.) hey minnie, im outside. dont rush.

(7:46 p.m) hyunjin i told you i dont get off until 8:30, just come in. i dont want you to be cold.

(7:46 p.m.) no its okay, i can wait. i cant go inside remember?

(7:48 p.m) sometimes you're dumb. i tell you to wait outside because there's no waiting room and the ladies are gonna think we're a couple.

(7:48 p.m.) oh

(7:48 p.m.) sorry, i thought i couldn't go in. are they gonna think we're dating if i do?

(7:49 p.m.) they already think we're dating actually, but whatever i dont mind lol just come in

Hyunjin cursed at himself for letting himself smile at the boy's texts. He doesn't mind? Maybe he sees Hyunjin the same way. He shook his head, he needs to stop giving himself hope. Hyunjin knew Seungmin was bisexual, but he always thought he leaned towards girls. Or at least, anyone but Hyunjin. He deserved someone perfect and Hyunjin desperately wanted to be that person for him.

He walked through the company, greeting the workers he already knew well. Everyone knew Hyunjin in the company, they called him "pretty coffee boy". Hyunjin finally peeked his head into Seungmin's office space. It was minimal, but there was still 5 empty to go coffee cups in the trash in the corner. The books on the shelf were out of order, meaning Seungmin looked at one of them today. He had a small blanket tucked onto the shelf and notebooks across his desk as well as papers.

He got up to hug Hyunjin and apologized for the mess, but Hyunjin couldn't stop looking at him. He forgets that Seungmin wears nice clothing to work, but usually changes before he leaves. At least, he makes an effort to change when he's going out with Hyunjin after. Hyunjin couldn't figure out why, he never changed out of his work clothes. Granted that was a simple white shirt, black jeans, and white sneakers, but still. His work made him wear neutral colors, because their aprons are a deep blue. They want everyone to match a certain aesthetic so that they create an atmosphere. Also, everyone in the coffee shop agrees that what Hyunjin wears always look good so when Hyunjin walked in on his first day of work dressed like that- the next day it was uniform.

He gets a little embarrassed. Seungmin wore white sneakers like Hyunjin, but it was paired with belted black slacks and a button-up shirt half tucked in, half let out. And he looked... good, to say the very least. Seungmin caught Hyunjin smiling at him, tilting his head he asks, "Why are you smiling so much?"

Immediate regret coursed through him. You just had to admire him, didn't you? God, Hyunjin. Keep it together, he's gonna get uncomfortable. He pulled out a chair from the corner of the room and sat on it, crossing his legs among themselves. In grade school they called it "criss-cross applesauce", Hyunjin still giggles at the name. "Well, I get to come into my best friend's work and sit with him today, so that's nice." He was lying through his teeth. It was foolish of Hyunjin to think his best friend of 5 years couldn't tell.

"Sure, Hyunjin. That's what it is." Sarcasm dripped from his tone into Hyunjin's ears, making his face flush red with embarrassment. Seungmin begins to work, while Hyunjin looked through his phone quietly. He heard a couple of sighs from the working boy and looked up in question. Seungmin held his head in his hands, then ran them through his hair in frustration. Hyunjin looks away, but asks, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just sad," Seungmin says, but the frustration in his voice tells another part of the story. "I'm trying to find more people in the company to read these novel drafts and I can't. Everyone's already full and I can only read so many, but I don't want to put these in the pile."

"The pile?" Hyunjin was intrigued, leaning forward. He desperately wanted to know more about Seungmin's job, the boy in front of him never found it interesting enough to talk about.

"Yeah, publishing companies all have the pile. It's where all the novels that we can't take on or don't find 'interesting enough' go. I try so hard to never get the novels I'm assigned into the pile. But I just..." Seungmin starts to whisper. "Don't have enough time."

Hyunjin knew that Seungmin cared about his job. He knew it meant a lot to him to read people's novels and help them get published, but he did not know felt such deep care for his clients. His chest felt warm and he knew he was falling even deeper for the boy in front of him.

"Can I say something?" Hyunjin didn't want to overstep; it was not his job, after all.

"You can always say something to me, Hyunjinnie," Seungmin gazed at Hyunjin, something in his eyes that Hyunjin could not quite recognize. He almost missed the sweet name Seungmin called him. He blushed hard, willing the red to wisp away.

"It's really admirable that you try so hard to help all these people. Don't blame yourself for something you cannot control. If you don't have time to get to their novels, don't blame yourself. You tried, and that's all that matters. What you do is enough," Hyunjin said, only soft compassion coming off of his voice. "You're enough."

Seungmin stood up, grabbing Hyunjin's hand. He pulled him up from where he was sitting, Hyunjin felt something grow in the pit of his stomach. He looks at the boy's lips in front of him. To Hyunjin, they were beautiful and perfect. Seungmin saw him looking at his lips and smiled. Hyunjin panicked; he hands him the coffee he had been holding for 30 minutes.

"Here!" He loudly proclaimed. "This is yours. It's decaf because it's late. There's foamed milk and I put only half a packet of sugar in." Hyunjin's coffee shop had clear lids, so they could do latte art. There was a dove out of foam in the coffee now pushed into Seungmin's free hand. Seungmin was still holding onto Hyunjin's hand tightly.

"Did Jeongin make this one?" Seungmin asks, the latte art was really well done and he knows Jeongin practices.

"No...No, I did," Hyunjin scratches his neck, making Seungmin look up in surprise.

"I didn't know you could do that! That's so cool! How come you never did this in my coffees before?" Seungmin's face lit up. Hyunjin melted. He was so weak in the knees for this boy and could never tell him how he felt. It would ruin everything.

"I don't know, I just never thought you'd like it." That was a lie. Hyunjin never wanted to be a minute later to see Seungmin. He practically rushed out of work everyday to wait for him. They carpool home together to their shared apartment. Living in the city was expensive and they had lived with each other before. Roommates for 4 years of college made them realize: they fit well together.

"What? That's crazy! This is so cool. God, you're..." Seungmin looks up at Hyunjin, squeezing his hand. "Very talented." Silence ensued. In that moment, they remembered they were in a very public place with some very nosey coworkers. They unclasped their hands immediately, deciding to grab their backpacks and leave. It was 8:31 anyways