One Afternoon in the Park

Nothing Like a Work Relationship

Tuesday seemed to take forever to arrive, despite it only being a two day wait. Jaebum looked at himself in the mirror, examining the 4th outfit he'd tried on. He didn't want to look like he was trying too hard. This outfit was just an oversized tee and some loose-fitting jeans. He gave the mirror multiple turns, trying to see it from every angle.

A knock on his open door made him snap out of it.

"You look... a little... casual." It was his roommate, Youngjae.

Jaebum was at a loss, he had no idea what kind of outfit to wear. He gave a bit of a hopeless look to Youngjae, who just laughed, entering the room.

"I know you're trying to be all mysterious, but it's pretty obvious you're going on a date." The younger boy walked over to his closet, looking through the clothes, pretending not to notice the discarded outfits that had been strewn on the floor earlier. "I think you just need to find a middle ground. How about something like this?" He pulled out a button-down shirt. "Honestly those jeans are fine. I say just wear a tee under this." He handed the shirt to Jaebum and left the room, leaving Jaebum speechless.

Jaebum took a deep breath before stepping into the mall. He'd been to this mall plenty of times and couldn't believe he hadn't seen Jinyoung at the Cafe Bene before, he knew he would have noticed him if he had.

He wandered down the hall, looking at shops as he went, trying to ease his nerves. Negative thoughts kept coming to his mind, thinking of all the worse case scenarios that could happen in the evening to come. He shook his head when he realized he was standing right outside the coffee shop. Inside he saw a man with brown hair swept a little to the side standing behind the counter, who smiled at Jaebum. He inhaled and walked inside.

The man stepped into a room in the back and he could hear faint chattering. Then emerged Jinyoung, still wearing the brown apron and tie. He'd apparently removed the little hat that was part of their uniform already. Jaebum was a little disappointed about that, thinking how cute he probably looked in it. Jinyoung smiled brightly, and then looked down at his outfit and gave a bit of an embarrassed look.

"I still have to change. Just a couple of minutes alright?" Jaebum nodded as Jinyoung started towards the back again, but stopped before he disappeared, "Oh, Jaebum this is Jackson, Jackson, Jaebum." Jinyoung gestured at both of them before going through the door.

Jackson gave Jaebum a sarcastic looking smile. "It's nice to meet you, Jackson." Jaebum awkwardly said.

The brunette kept his expression, "Likewise... He sure does make friends quickly." Jackson mumbled.

"I'm sorry?" Jaebum stepped forward, thinking he heard him right but wasn't sure.

"Oh nothing. How'd you meet Jinyoung?"

"At the park, we just started making conversation and then ran into each other again."

"..... How romantic. Nothing like a work relationship, I suppose." Jackson rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry... I... is this going to be a problem? I really don't mean to be any trouble and it sounds like maybe you-"

The sound of Jinyoung shutting the door startled both of them and they whipped their heads around.

Jinyoung was now wearing a plain white tee with a blue blazer and khakis. He gave the two of them a confused look when noticing their eyes wide.

"You guys alright?" He asked as he shut the door.

"I mean I'm alright." Jackson lightly glared at Jaebum, who just looked at Jinyoung, almost fearfully.

"Yeah, I'm just fine, I was asking Jackson about the new menu items."

"Ah" Jinyoung chuckled as he walked around the counter. "Have a good rest of your shift Jackson, see ya later." Jaebum followed Jinyoung and looked back one last time at Jackson who narrowed his eyes as he watched the two leave.

When Jaebum looked back he noticed Jinyoung was pretty far in front of him, he jogged a little to catch up with him. "So you like working there?"

"Caffe Bene? Sure! I like my coworkers."

"That Jackson guy seems kind of... intense."

"Oh him? He's just... Yeah I don't really know." Jinyoung lightly laughed through his nose, "He asked me out actually, when we first started working together but I told him I don't date coworkers. Too complicated."

"He did??"

"I mean, I guess I might date a coworker, but that guy just seems a bit too high energy for me, ya know what I mean?"

"Yeah... I think I do."

"Anyways, whatdaya wanna do?" Jinyoung slowed his pace and looked at Jaebum.

"Oh... yeah." Jaebum had completely forgotten that you were supposed to plan what to do on a date... or whatever this was supposed to be.

Jinyoung laughed, covering his mouth with his hand. "That's alright, this was kind of impromptu. You want to go get some ramen? I heard there's this really good place by the Han River."

Jaebum laughed a little bit. "Are you talking about the ramen vending machine at the park?"

"Maaaaybe. Let's go!" Jinyoung teased.