The Routine
Title: The Routine
Fandom: B1A4
Pairing: Jinyoung/Sandeul
Rating: G
Word Count: 963
Summary: Junghwan isn't that unobservant.
For this drabble challenge.
::Order, 963 words::
There’s a quiet hole-in-the-wall coffee shop a few blocks from Jinyoung’s school.
The air inside always smells like breakfast muffins and the thermostat is always set at the perfect temperature. All the furniture is made from dark, polished wood. There’s never much of a line but there are only half a dozen tables and a few seats at the counter next to the register. The coffee is great and the baked goods are freshly made.
It’s a place for Jinyoung, and he loves it.
But he rarely goes there.
Instead he goes to the one just across the street, with a line that often goes out the door.
It’s always packed no matter what time of day it is, and sometimes it’s even hard to get through the crowd of people to buy anything. Its uncomfortable chairs and sharp-cornered tables are filled with giggly teenagers who take the tops off of their drinks to sip at the foam while they make droll conversation that Jinyoung can’t stand even to overhear. The pictures on the wall are simply swirls on canvas, but fortunately the dim glow radiating from the tacky light fixtures makes them hard to see anyway.
It’s a place for art majors and yoga pants and acoustic guitars and Chai tea, and he hates it.
But he goes anyway, from five until closing on week days, for the kid who works there, the kid who always shows up just in time to take that seat two rows down in Physical Chemistry III, the kid who gives their professor a high-five and takes notes with a fluorescent orange pen.
It’s unlikely that Junghwan knows his name, or that they even go to the same school, but Jinyoung still appreciates it, that smile, that eye contact and that short yet satisfying exchange of words when he reaches the front to order. Eventually he doesn’t even have to finish his sentence, because Junghwan already knows what he plans to say, the same thing every time.
Every time.
So the day that someone else, someone not Junghwan, is handing him his receipt and change, Jinyoung’s worried, settled yet unsettled in the tiny corner table.
And he hardly notices when someone comes up, someone wearing a shirt too bright a color and a strangely familiar pair of dark wash jeans.
“Can I sit here?”
Then, hey, there’s that huge grin, those long bangs, those white teeth.
“Y-yeah… Of course, sure.”
So Lee Junghwan takes the seat across from him, putting a foot up on his knee and leaning far over the table, so that Jinyoung has to keep his spine pressed up against the back of the chair to keep their usual distance.
“So you came, then? You’re awfully predictable.”
“Excuse me?”
“I had a day off today. Are you surprised?”
He was staring up at Jinyoung with wide eyes, his elbows on the table and both of his hands up to the sides of his face.
Jinyoung didn’t answer, a little confused, a little suspicious, a little dazed, so Junghwan continued. “You must be wondering why I’m back here, then, if I have a day off? Well that’s easy, since I wanted to see if you came. It was an experiment, but I already knew what the results were before.” He shrugged, and laughed, tiny crinkles appearing around his eyes. Jinyoung takes another sip of his drink, feeling like a school girl on her first date.
Junghwan watches him with interest.
“You know, you can learn a lot just by knowing what kind of drink a person likes.”
Jinyoung looks up. “Like what?”
“Nothing too deep, but I do know that you’re a thoughtful person because you always order black coffee.”
Jinyoung’s face heats up, but then he raises an eyebrow. “What does that have to do with how thoughtful I am?”
“A lot of the times you’re here, it’s during a busy time. Black coffee is the probably the easiest thing to make, and you don’t even drink it black; whenever you get it you go over to the counter and you add your own cream and sugar.”
“Maybe I’m just particular about how I like my coffee.”
“You’re right, maybe you’re just finicky… but I’m sorry to say that I don’t really buy into that.”
And the way he says it, the way he’s staring, keeps Jinyoung silent after that, though he keeps pulling at his sleeves and drinking and looking everywhere except at Junghwan until he finds something to say.
“Why did you want to see if I came today?”
“Again, you’re really predictable. I was wondering when you’d ask that. And the answer is: Because we talk every day, but I really don’t know anything about you. Besides how thoughtful you are, of course.”
Jinyoung blinked.
“Are you saying that you’d like to know?”
Then a pause, for here, it was Junghwan’s turn to fidget, to drum his fingers on the table and open his mouth even though nothing would come out, but Jinyoung is genuinely curious, even a little surprised by the current direction of their conversation, so he waits patiently for a response.
He never gets one, though, so he offers an escape for Junghwan, with his silver tongue turned lead.
“How about we get coffee, right now? I wouldn’t mind another one.”
Junghwan finds his words again, though he still looks confused. “What, here? No offense, but even though I work at this-”
Then Jinyoung cuts him off, smirking. “No, not here, of course not here. I know this place, it’s a few blocks from the school…”
And after a while the the two of them depart, virtually unnoticed, the sound of the streets slipping inside for just a bit before they finally close the door behind them.
--
A/N: Phew! That was a long one, not sure if it classifies as a drabble, but I'm a rulebender kekeke. I was spending too much time contemplating whether or not to join b1a4ss's secret santa exchange for this year OTL so this happened. Thank you for reading!
Fandom: B1A4
Pairing: Jinyoung/Sandeul
Rating: G
Word Count: 963
Summary: Junghwan isn't that unobservant.
For this drabble challenge.
::Order, 963 words::
There’s a quiet hole-in-the-wall coffee shop a few blocks from Jinyoung’s school.
The air inside always smells like breakfast muffins and the thermostat is always set at the perfect temperature. All the furniture is made from dark, polished wood. There’s never much of a line but there are only half a dozen tables and a few seats at the counter next to the register. The coffee is great and the baked goods are freshly made.
It’s a place for Jinyoung, and he loves it.
But he rarely goes there.
Instead he goes to the one just across the street, with a line that often goes out the door.
It’s always packed no matter what time of day it is, and sometimes it’s even hard to get through the crowd of people to buy anything. Its uncomfortable chairs and sharp-cornered tables are filled with giggly teenagers who take the tops off of their drinks to sip at the foam while they make droll conversation that Jinyoung can’t stand even to overhear. The pictures on the wall are simply swirls on canvas, but fortunately the dim glow radiating from the tacky light fixtures makes them hard to see anyway.
It’s a place for art majors and yoga pants and acoustic guitars and Chai tea, and he hates it.
But he goes anyway, from five until closing on week days, for the kid who works there, the kid who always shows up just in time to take that seat two rows down in Physical Chemistry III, the kid who gives their professor a high-five and takes notes with a fluorescent orange pen.
It’s unlikely that Junghwan knows his name, or that they even go to the same school, but Jinyoung still appreciates it, that smile, that eye contact and that short yet satisfying exchange of words when he reaches the front to order. Eventually he doesn’t even have to finish his sentence, because Junghwan already knows what he plans to say, the same thing every time.
Every time.
So the day that someone else, someone not Junghwan, is handing him his receipt and change, Jinyoung’s worried, settled yet unsettled in the tiny corner table.
And he hardly notices when someone comes up, someone wearing a shirt too bright a color and a strangely familiar pair of dark wash jeans.
“Can I sit here?”
Then, hey, there’s that huge grin, those long bangs, those white teeth.
“Y-yeah… Of course, sure.”
So Lee Junghwan takes the seat across from him, putting a foot up on his knee and leaning far over the table, so that Jinyoung has to keep his spine pressed up against the back of the chair to keep their usual distance.
“So you came, then? You’re awfully predictable.”
“Excuse me?”
“I had a day off today. Are you surprised?”
He was staring up at Jinyoung with wide eyes, his elbows on the table and both of his hands up to the sides of his face.
Jinyoung didn’t answer, a little confused, a little suspicious, a little dazed, so Junghwan continued. “You must be wondering why I’m back here, then, if I have a day off? Well that’s easy, since I wanted to see if you came. It was an experiment, but I already knew what the results were before.” He shrugged, and laughed, tiny crinkles appearing around his eyes. Jinyoung takes another sip of his drink, feeling like a school girl on her first date.
Junghwan watches him with interest.
“You know, you can learn a lot just by knowing what kind of drink a person likes.”
Jinyoung looks up. “Like what?”
“Nothing too deep, but I do know that you’re a thoughtful person because you always order black coffee.”
Jinyoung’s face heats up, but then he raises an eyebrow. “What does that have to do with how thoughtful I am?”
“A lot of the times you’re here, it’s during a busy time. Black coffee is the probably the easiest thing to make, and you don’t even drink it black; whenever you get it you go over to the counter and you add your own cream and sugar.”
“Maybe I’m just particular about how I like my coffee.”
“You’re right, maybe you’re just finicky… but I’m sorry to say that I don’t really buy into that.”
And the way he says it, the way he’s staring, keeps Jinyoung silent after that, though he keeps pulling at his sleeves and drinking and looking everywhere except at Junghwan until he finds something to say.
“Why did you want to see if I came today?”
“Again, you’re really predictable. I was wondering when you’d ask that. And the answer is: Because we talk every day, but I really don’t know anything about you. Besides how thoughtful you are, of course.”
Jinyoung blinked.
“Are you saying that you’d like to know?”
Then a pause, for here, it was Junghwan’s turn to fidget, to drum his fingers on the table and open his mouth even though nothing would come out, but Jinyoung is genuinely curious, even a little surprised by the current direction of their conversation, so he waits patiently for a response.
He never gets one, though, so he offers an escape for Junghwan, with his silver tongue turned lead.
“How about we get coffee, right now? I wouldn’t mind another one.”
Junghwan finds his words again, though he still looks confused. “What, here? No offense, but even though I work at this-”
Then Jinyoung cuts him off, smirking. “No, not here, of course not here. I know this place, it’s a few blocks from the school…”
And after a while the the two of them depart, virtually unnoticed, the sound of the streets slipping inside for just a bit before they finally close the door behind them.
--
A/N: Phew! That was a long one, not sure if it classifies as a drabble, but I'm a rulebender kekeke. I was spending too much time contemplating whether or not to join b1a4ss's secret santa exchange for this year OTL so this happened. Thank you for reading!