Check Out; Minho/Key
In which Minho learns about the benefits of shopping as it leads him to a special someone.
Choi Minho couldn't believe there was such a thing called retail therapy. As a person who was searching for the shortest queue in the three storeys high retail store amidst the throngs of other shoppers, he had no clue how people would believe that shopping could actually improve their mood. If you were to ask him to describe his current situation, Minho felt like he was suddenly transported into a battlefield, fighting a war and trying to come out of it unharmed. This, he had only himself to blame for giving in to his mother's request to go shopping on a weekend when summer sales had just begun. His timing was impeccable… all sarcasm intended.
After getting sick of washing the same few basic shirts and his favourite pair of jeans over and over again, Minho’s mother had been nagging for him to get a new wardrobe or at least brand new sets of shirt and jeans since his current ones were either losing shape or fading in colour. Minho always brushed his mother off with the excuse that he was too busy with school and sports, though in actual fact, it was more because he couldn't care less about his choice of outfit (not that he had to care since his good looks were the envy of others). Yet, holidays had arrived and he was at home, more often than not, sleeping in, playing videos games and unable to escape his mother anymore. This explained why he had not much of a choice but to follow his mother obediently to the retail store and shop for new clothes under his mother's watchful eye. Even though he was already a legal adult at the age of 21, he was still his mother’s son.
It didn't take long for Minho to get himself one full, almost overflowing, bag of clothes. The reasons were pretty straightforward. For one, as much as he loved his mother, it was really rather embarrassing to be shopping with her, and two, Minho's style was simple; he only loved basic tops and jeans (maybe on special occasions, chinos). And since he didn't want a repeat of this shopping trip (plus his mum was sponsoring him and being all encouraging since sales were going on), he didn't hold back while shopping for new clothes.
If Minho thought his worries were over when his mother was finally satisfied with what he was buying and told him to go pay up while she did some shopping of her own, he was absolutely wrong. Finding the shortest queue in the entire store so he could escape as soon as possible was frustrating him to no end. Even with over 5 cashiers in operation at each counter, the queues were ridiculous. It didn't help that almost every shopper had a shopping bag as filled as his (trust the store to provide their customers with large shopping bags). Eventually, Minho gave up at the third floor and decided to join the queue there. He would just have to be patient and wait for his turn.
“Next please!”
Minho couldn’t help but smile, heaving a sigh of relief, as it was finally his turn to pay after almost 20 minutes in line. He lugged his bag of clothes to the cashier, lifting it up onto the counter, and was about to greet the cashier politely but was stopped when he looked up to see a pair of dead, hooded eyes staring at him. And as he held the cashier’s gaze, Minho could even see that said cashier’s eyes were slightly bloodshot. It was then he also noticed that the cashier was a guy, most likely around his age, with striking blonde hair, skin so smooth and fair, and perfect Cupid's bow lips which were pursed in what Minho assumed was boredom. It wasn’t just the expression in the blonde’s eyes that struck him, it was his looks as well. And so, Minho lost the ability to speak.
“Is that all?” The cashier’s voice was monotonous, sounding as dreary as he looked.
Still, it was enough to snap Minho out of his daze as he nodded embarrassedly and replied, “Umm yes, thank you.”
Minho’s smile froze and gradually disappeared; somewhat realising that it didn’t seem appropriate to be smiling so brightly at a person who was obviously tired and perhaps annoyed or unhappy. Although it was almost certainly wrong for the cashier to be looking at customers like that, Minho wasn’t one to be that particular. He, like the cashier (most probably, judging by his expression), just wanted to get this over and done with, that is, pay for his items and leave. However, Minho couldn’t continue with his plan to stay silent because he was starting to feel really uncomfortable while the cashier slowly scanned in his items that never seemed to end. It was probably just him but Minho felt like he was being judged for the amount of shopping he did. So before he knew it, the 21 year old cleared his throat and let out an awkward laugh.
“Business must be really good because of the sales huh?”
The cashier paused in his action of trying to scan one of Minho’s basic shirts into the cash register as he glanced at his customer for a moment before continuing with his job and replying, “Yeah, unfortunately.”
Minho raised an eyebrow in question but the blonde didn’t have to see Minho’s reaction to continue with a grumble under his breath.
“So freaking good that I have to come to work in the pathetic state I’m in.”
“Um, I’m sorry?” Minho didn’t know what to say so he tried apologising even though he knew he was going to sound stupid.
The cashier finally spared Minho a look and a wry smile. “Don’t be, your shopping contributes to the measly salary I earn.”
Minho could only return a smile so awkward that the cashier himself felt apologetic enough to stop work after he had folded and placed yet another one of Minho’s items into the large paper bag.
“Sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?” The cashier asked sincerely.
Minho instantly shook his head and adjusted his facial expression to a more natural one, “No, not at all, don't worry.”
The cashier let out a sigh while resuming his job, “It’s just… I’m sick and I’m getting all cranky because I feel like a wreck.”
“You should get some rest… maybe close the counter after you’re done with me?” Minho suggested helpfully.
“Maybe…” The cashier answered in a mumble, neither sounding hopeful nor convinced, as he finally scanned the last item in Minho’s basket and bagged in all the clothes. “That’s 129000 won in total, Sir. Cash or credit?”
“Credit.” Minho replied while he took out his wallet and pulled out his credit card, noting in his mind to get the money back from his mother later, “Thanks.”
“Your welcome.” The cashier said almost mechanically as he received Minho’s card and swiped it in the machine, but Minho could tell the blonde’s mood was just that little bit better. “Sign here please.”
The cashier turned the receipt towards Minho and passed the pen to him. He watched attentively as Minho signed, all ready to keep one copy for the store and give the other to his customer, which was what he did eventually when Minho was done.
“Thank you for shopping with us, we hope to see you again soon.” The cashier said while pushing the bag towards Minho.
Minho nodded, stuffing the receipt into his large paper bag before he carried it off the counter and shot a friendly smile to the cashier, “Thanks, and take care. I, umm, hope you get well soon.”
“I hope so too.” The cashier answered, finally breaking into a smile that made his tired eyes crinkle in what Minho felt made him look cute before it disappeared in a flash, as the blonde looked away and turned his attention back to the queue. “Next please!”
With that, Minho knew it was his cue to leave. But suddenly, he found himself reluctant to leave the store, so much so that he had to force himself not to look back and to walk away even with heavy footsteps. Perhaps it was his kind nature that made him worry about the condition of the cashier (how could a person who was sick still work when he/she should be resting?), or maybe it was because, without him even realising it, his heart had been captivated by that one particular cashier…
Either way, Minho knew leaving just like that would not do. Indeed, he had to come back again soon. And when he did see the cashier again, Minho told himself that by hook or by crook, he had to at least walk away with the blonde’s name.
*
Never underestimate a determined Choi Minho.
It hadn’t even been an hour since Minho was testing his patience while queuing for the cashier but he was back in the very same queue again. Talk about coming back again soon. This time round, Minho felt more embarrassed than anything considering he was back in the queue with his mother's shopping. It made him highly conscious of the surroundings, hoping he wouldn’t get judged by others just because he had a bag full of women’s clothing, but for the blonde cashier, Minho felt it was worth the embarrassment.
Earlier, Minho had met up with his mother after he had left the cashier. Upon realising that she still wasn’t done with her shopping even though she already had more than enough items in her shopping bag, it struck the 21 year old that this was his chance to meet the cashier again. But he had to have a plan. He couldn’t simply just walk straight up to the cashier and declare that he was interested in him and wanted to get to know him better. No. Choi Minho never fights a losing battle. And so, Minho told his mother not to pay without him as he left the store in the next moment to get the weapons he needed to help him win the war. Upon returning from the drugstore just down the street, Minho instantly offered to help his mother queue up at the cashier and persuaded her to wait for him at the nearby café since they had been shopping for over 2 hours. His mother, who had seen the length of the queues, happily agreed to what she thought was her son being filial but was actually more of Minho’s scheme to get her away while he created an opportunity to approach the cashier once more.
The wait was much shorter for Minho this time round though. So much shorter that Minho had to let three people pass him before he finally heard “Next please!” in the voice he wanted. It was awkward getting a few weird looks from others in the queue but when he saw the look of recognition in the cashier’s eyes and the amused smile appearing on his face, Minho couldn’t care less.
“Oh hi, are the sales that good?” The cashier asked as he greeted with a nod.
Minho returned a nod and signalled to the shopping bag that he placed on the counter, “All these belong to my mum though.”
“Ah, I see.” The cashier smiled as he began scanning in the items, “So you’re here shopping with your mum.”
Minho spluttered, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down at the floor, and scolded himself in his mind for sounding like a mother's boy. That probably wouldn’t leave such a good impression on someone he was interested in dating…
“Hey, it’s fine.” The cashier said upon noticing the embarrassment of his customer, “To be honest, I shop with my mother all the time too.”
“I don’t-” Minho stopped short, cutting himself off before he said the wrong thing, and decided it was better just to smile, albeit awkwardly.
The cashier gave an understanding look to Minho and placed his full concentration back on his job. Minho used the time to compose himself, taking in deep breaths and encouraging himself in his mind to garner enough courage so he could finally execute his plan. All this time, the cashier had been so engrossed with ensuring each item was correctly scanned into the system and nicely folded to be bagged away. It was only when a white plastic bag appeared on his counter that the blonde looked up, his eyes first on the plastic bag before travelling to stare at his customer in confusion.
“What's this?”
With all attention on him, Minho took in a deep breath and cleared his throat, “Just Panadol, mineral water and a vitamin C drink. I hope you'll have a speedy recovery-”
Interrupting his customer, the cashier peeked into the plastic bag and quickly said, “Oh you didn't have to-”
Minho didn’t hear the cashier though because he was fully concentrated on getting his point across. And he did just that, continuing just after he swallowed in between his sentence.
“So you could go out with me for coffee... or something.” Minho added as an afterthought, just in case the cashier didn’t like coffee.
Said cashier paused in his action and simply stared at the suddenly nervous customer in front of him.
“Coffee?” The cashier repeated and raised an eyebrow in question, “Or something?”
Minho gulped and tried his best to appear as casual as can be. “Yeah, well, as long as you don't mind me asking you out.”
“You don't even know my name.”
“Ah right. I was hoping you would tell me your name too...” Minho had his fingers crossed.
The cashier looked at Minho for a moment that felt like a thousand years to Minho before he finally parted his lips and broke his silence.
“Kibum.”
“Sorry?”
“My name.”
“Right.” Minho laughed embarrassedly, watching as the cashier who he now knew was named Kibum resume his job, “Kibum. Well, hi. Umm, nice to meet you, I'm-”
“Minho.” Kibum finished his sentence for him and when he glanced towards Minho and noticed the surprise on his face, the blonde cashier explained, “Your credit card.”
Just like that, Minho couldn't stop himself from smiling because it was a good sign that Kibum had paid attention to him… or more like his name and his credit card details because it may or may not have been his job to do so, but whatever, Minho was still happy.
“Are you paying by credit again then?”
Minho nodded and as he passed his credit card once again to Kibum, he couldn’t help but confess, “I know I shouldn't be saying this but I'm really glad you were forced to come to work.”
“Should I be glad that you're out shopping with your mother then?” Kibum replied with a straight face but was secretly amused as he placed the printed receipt and a pen in front of Minho to sign.
A blush crept onto Minho’s face as he kept his head bowed and chose to remain silent while signing and passing the receipt back to the cashier. That was a good idea though because it meant that he didn’t have to face further embarrassment. If Minho had looked up, he would have seen the smirk on Kibum’s face.
“Thank you for shopping with us...” Kibum said as he took the copy of Minho's receipt and scribbled something down fast on the back before he pushed the receipt towards his customer again, “And I hope to hear from you soon.”
Puzzled with Kibum's choice of words, Minho stared at the receipt that suddenly reappeared in his view and there, in the same ink he used to sign his name, was a string of numbers that made him feel like jumping up and punching the air in victory.
“You will.” Minho finally looked up and straight into Kibum’s eyes earnestly, “You definitely will, Kibum.”
Kibum smiled and pushed the shopping bag towards Minho, “Pretend you didn’t hear this but don’t shop anymore, save some money for our date. And just so you know, coffee is good.”
Minho hid a chuckle behind his hand and nodded before he brought the bag off the counter with one hand and used the other to securely hold the receipt, waving a goodbye, “Thanks.”
With that, Minho took his leave with the brightest smile on his face, absolutely pleased with the way things went. How could he not be? He had Kibum’s name, his number and a date that was certainly in the works. And as if things could only get better, Minho slowed his footsteps when he heard a conversation that involved him as he walked away…
“Key, you never give out your real name to customers who hit on you before! Why the exception?”
Minho didn't dare look back to see Kibum's reaction but what he heard had given him all the confidence he needed for the unavoidable first date.
“He's cute.”
How’s that for a first impression? Minho was most definitely off to a good start.
Choi Minho couldn't believe there was such a thing called retail therapy. As a person who was searching for the shortest queue in the three storeys high retail store amidst the throngs of other shoppers, he had no clue how people would believe that shopping could actually improve their mood. If you were to ask him to describe his current situation, Minho felt like he was suddenly transported into a battlefield, fighting a war and trying to come out of it unharmed. This, he had only himself to blame for giving in to his mother's request to go shopping on a weekend when summer sales had just begun. His timing was impeccable… all sarcasm intended.
After getting sick of washing the same few basic shirts and his favourite pair of jeans over and over again, Minho’s mother had been nagging for him to get a new wardrobe or at least brand new sets of shirt and jeans since his current ones were either losing shape or fading in colour. Minho always brushed his mother off with the excuse that he was too busy with school and sports, though in actual fact, it was more because he couldn't care less about his choice of outfit (not that he had to care since his good looks were the envy of others). Yet, holidays had arrived and he was at home, more often than not, sleeping in, playing videos games and unable to escape his mother anymore. This explained why he had not much of a choice but to follow his mother obediently to the retail store and shop for new clothes under his mother's watchful eye. Even though he was already a legal adult at the age of 21, he was still his mother’s son.
It didn't take long for Minho to get himself one full, almost overflowing, bag of clothes. The reasons were pretty straightforward. For one, as much as he loved his mother, it was really rather embarrassing to be shopping with her, and two, Minho's style was simple; he only loved basic tops and jeans (maybe on special occasions, chinos). And since he didn't want a repeat of this shopping trip (plus his mum was sponsoring him and being all encouraging since sales were going on), he didn't hold back while shopping for new clothes.
If Minho thought his worries were over when his mother was finally satisfied with what he was buying and told him to go pay up while she did some shopping of her own, he was absolutely wrong. Finding the shortest queue in the entire store so he could escape as soon as possible was frustrating him to no end. Even with over 5 cashiers in operation at each counter, the queues were ridiculous. It didn't help that almost every shopper had a shopping bag as filled as his (trust the store to provide their customers with large shopping bags). Eventually, Minho gave up at the third floor and decided to join the queue there. He would just have to be patient and wait for his turn.
“Next please!”
Minho couldn’t help but smile, heaving a sigh of relief, as it was finally his turn to pay after almost 20 minutes in line. He lugged his bag of clothes to the cashier, lifting it up onto the counter, and was about to greet the cashier politely but was stopped when he looked up to see a pair of dead, hooded eyes staring at him. And as he held the cashier’s gaze, Minho could even see that said cashier’s eyes were slightly bloodshot. It was then he also noticed that the cashier was a guy, most likely around his age, with striking blonde hair, skin so smooth and fair, and perfect Cupid's bow lips which were pursed in what Minho assumed was boredom. It wasn’t just the expression in the blonde’s eyes that struck him, it was his looks as well. And so, Minho lost the ability to speak.
“Is that all?” The cashier’s voice was monotonous, sounding as dreary as he looked.
Still, it was enough to snap Minho out of his daze as he nodded embarrassedly and replied, “Umm yes, thank you.”
Minho’s smile froze and gradually disappeared; somewhat realising that it didn’t seem appropriate to be smiling so brightly at a person who was obviously tired and perhaps annoyed or unhappy. Although it was almost certainly wrong for the cashier to be looking at customers like that, Minho wasn’t one to be that particular. He, like the cashier (most probably, judging by his expression), just wanted to get this over and done with, that is, pay for his items and leave. However, Minho couldn’t continue with his plan to stay silent because he was starting to feel really uncomfortable while the cashier slowly scanned in his items that never seemed to end. It was probably just him but Minho felt like he was being judged for the amount of shopping he did. So before he knew it, the 21 year old cleared his throat and let out an awkward laugh.
“Business must be really good because of the sales huh?”
The cashier paused in his action of trying to scan one of Minho’s basic shirts into the cash register as he glanced at his customer for a moment before continuing with his job and replying, “Yeah, unfortunately.”
Minho raised an eyebrow in question but the blonde didn’t have to see Minho’s reaction to continue with a grumble under his breath.
“So freaking good that I have to come to work in the pathetic state I’m in.”
“Um, I’m sorry?” Minho didn’t know what to say so he tried apologising even though he knew he was going to sound stupid.
The cashier finally spared Minho a look and a wry smile. “Don’t be, your shopping contributes to the measly salary I earn.”
Minho could only return a smile so awkward that the cashier himself felt apologetic enough to stop work after he had folded and placed yet another one of Minho’s items into the large paper bag.
“Sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?” The cashier asked sincerely.
Minho instantly shook his head and adjusted his facial expression to a more natural one, “No, not at all, don't worry.”
The cashier let out a sigh while resuming his job, “It’s just… I’m sick and I’m getting all cranky because I feel like a wreck.”
“You should get some rest… maybe close the counter after you’re done with me?” Minho suggested helpfully.
“Maybe…” The cashier answered in a mumble, neither sounding hopeful nor convinced, as he finally scanned the last item in Minho’s basket and bagged in all the clothes. “That’s 129000 won in total, Sir. Cash or credit?”
“Credit.” Minho replied while he took out his wallet and pulled out his credit card, noting in his mind to get the money back from his mother later, “Thanks.”
“Your welcome.” The cashier said almost mechanically as he received Minho’s card and swiped it in the machine, but Minho could tell the blonde’s mood was just that little bit better. “Sign here please.”
The cashier turned the receipt towards Minho and passed the pen to him. He watched attentively as Minho signed, all ready to keep one copy for the store and give the other to his customer, which was what he did eventually when Minho was done.
“Thank you for shopping with us, we hope to see you again soon.” The cashier said while pushing the bag towards Minho.
Minho nodded, stuffing the receipt into his large paper bag before he carried it off the counter and shot a friendly smile to the cashier, “Thanks, and take care. I, umm, hope you get well soon.”
“I hope so too.” The cashier answered, finally breaking into a smile that made his tired eyes crinkle in what Minho felt made him look cute before it disappeared in a flash, as the blonde looked away and turned his attention back to the queue. “Next please!”
With that, Minho knew it was his cue to leave. But suddenly, he found himself reluctant to leave the store, so much so that he had to force himself not to look back and to walk away even with heavy footsteps. Perhaps it was his kind nature that made him worry about the condition of the cashier (how could a person who was sick still work when he/she should be resting?), or maybe it was because, without him even realising it, his heart had been captivated by that one particular cashier…
Either way, Minho knew leaving just like that would not do. Indeed, he had to come back again soon. And when he did see the cashier again, Minho told himself that by hook or by crook, he had to at least walk away with the blonde’s name.
*
Never underestimate a determined Choi Minho.
It hadn’t even been an hour since Minho was testing his patience while queuing for the cashier but he was back in the very same queue again. Talk about coming back again soon. This time round, Minho felt more embarrassed than anything considering he was back in the queue with his mother's shopping. It made him highly conscious of the surroundings, hoping he wouldn’t get judged by others just because he had a bag full of women’s clothing, but for the blonde cashier, Minho felt it was worth the embarrassment.
Earlier, Minho had met up with his mother after he had left the cashier. Upon realising that she still wasn’t done with her shopping even though she already had more than enough items in her shopping bag, it struck the 21 year old that this was his chance to meet the cashier again. But he had to have a plan. He couldn’t simply just walk straight up to the cashier and declare that he was interested in him and wanted to get to know him better. No. Choi Minho never fights a losing battle. And so, Minho told his mother not to pay without him as he left the store in the next moment to get the weapons he needed to help him win the war. Upon returning from the drugstore just down the street, Minho instantly offered to help his mother queue up at the cashier and persuaded her to wait for him at the nearby café since they had been shopping for over 2 hours. His mother, who had seen the length of the queues, happily agreed to what she thought was her son being filial but was actually more of Minho’s scheme to get her away while he created an opportunity to approach the cashier once more.
The wait was much shorter for Minho this time round though. So much shorter that Minho had to let three people pass him before he finally heard “Next please!” in the voice he wanted. It was awkward getting a few weird looks from others in the queue but when he saw the look of recognition in the cashier’s eyes and the amused smile appearing on his face, Minho couldn’t care less.
“Oh hi, are the sales that good?” The cashier asked as he greeted with a nod.
Minho returned a nod and signalled to the shopping bag that he placed on the counter, “All these belong to my mum though.”
“Ah, I see.” The cashier smiled as he began scanning in the items, “So you’re here shopping with your mum.”
Minho spluttered, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down at the floor, and scolded himself in his mind for sounding like a mother's boy. That probably wouldn’t leave such a good impression on someone he was interested in dating…
“Hey, it’s fine.” The cashier said upon noticing the embarrassment of his customer, “To be honest, I shop with my mother all the time too.”
“I don’t-” Minho stopped short, cutting himself off before he said the wrong thing, and decided it was better just to smile, albeit awkwardly.
The cashier gave an understanding look to Minho and placed his full concentration back on his job. Minho used the time to compose himself, taking in deep breaths and encouraging himself in his mind to garner enough courage so he could finally execute his plan. All this time, the cashier had been so engrossed with ensuring each item was correctly scanned into the system and nicely folded to be bagged away. It was only when a white plastic bag appeared on his counter that the blonde looked up, his eyes first on the plastic bag before travelling to stare at his customer in confusion.
“What's this?”
With all attention on him, Minho took in a deep breath and cleared his throat, “Just Panadol, mineral water and a vitamin C drink. I hope you'll have a speedy recovery-”
Interrupting his customer, the cashier peeked into the plastic bag and quickly said, “Oh you didn't have to-”
Minho didn’t hear the cashier though because he was fully concentrated on getting his point across. And he did just that, continuing just after he swallowed in between his sentence.
“So you could go out with me for coffee... or something.” Minho added as an afterthought, just in case the cashier didn’t like coffee.
Said cashier paused in his action and simply stared at the suddenly nervous customer in front of him.
“Coffee?” The cashier repeated and raised an eyebrow in question, “Or something?”
Minho gulped and tried his best to appear as casual as can be. “Yeah, well, as long as you don't mind me asking you out.”
“You don't even know my name.”
“Ah right. I was hoping you would tell me your name too...” Minho had his fingers crossed.
The cashier looked at Minho for a moment that felt like a thousand years to Minho before he finally parted his lips and broke his silence.
“Kibum.”
“Sorry?”
“My name.”
“Right.” Minho laughed embarrassedly, watching as the cashier who he now knew was named Kibum resume his job, “Kibum. Well, hi. Umm, nice to meet you, I'm-”
“Minho.” Kibum finished his sentence for him and when he glanced towards Minho and noticed the surprise on his face, the blonde cashier explained, “Your credit card.”
Just like that, Minho couldn't stop himself from smiling because it was a good sign that Kibum had paid attention to him… or more like his name and his credit card details because it may or may not have been his job to do so, but whatever, Minho was still happy.
“Are you paying by credit again then?”
Minho nodded and as he passed his credit card once again to Kibum, he couldn’t help but confess, “I know I shouldn't be saying this but I'm really glad you were forced to come to work.”
“Should I be glad that you're out shopping with your mother then?” Kibum replied with a straight face but was secretly amused as he placed the printed receipt and a pen in front of Minho to sign.
A blush crept onto Minho’s face as he kept his head bowed and chose to remain silent while signing and passing the receipt back to the cashier. That was a good idea though because it meant that he didn’t have to face further embarrassment. If Minho had looked up, he would have seen the smirk on Kibum’s face.
“Thank you for shopping with us...” Kibum said as he took the copy of Minho's receipt and scribbled something down fast on the back before he pushed the receipt towards his customer again, “And I hope to hear from you soon.”
Puzzled with Kibum's choice of words, Minho stared at the receipt that suddenly reappeared in his view and there, in the same ink he used to sign his name, was a string of numbers that made him feel like jumping up and punching the air in victory.
“You will.” Minho finally looked up and straight into Kibum’s eyes earnestly, “You definitely will, Kibum.”
Kibum smiled and pushed the shopping bag towards Minho, “Pretend you didn’t hear this but don’t shop anymore, save some money for our date. And just so you know, coffee is good.”
Minho hid a chuckle behind his hand and nodded before he brought the bag off the counter with one hand and used the other to securely hold the receipt, waving a goodbye, “Thanks.”
With that, Minho took his leave with the brightest smile on his face, absolutely pleased with the way things went. How could he not be? He had Kibum’s name, his number and a date that was certainly in the works. And as if things could only get better, Minho slowed his footsteps when he heard a conversation that involved him as he walked away…
“Key, you never give out your real name to customers who hit on you before! Why the exception?”
Minho didn't dare look back to see Kibum's reaction but what he heard had given him all the confidence he needed for the unavoidable first date.
“He's cute.”
How’s that for a first impression? Minho was most definitely off to a good start.