special shorty
8200w > xingbaek
baekhyun misspells names like your typical barista. and if he renames people, well, it’s probably time for a new name anyway.
unless they're zhang yixing, of course. this is a name he knows perfectly well.
much thanks to faye for reading this over & nyan for her beta effort, otherwise i’ll be stuck wondering if this was ok for all of eternity. or something like that
★
“Baekhyun, was it you who-”
“Yes,” Baekhyun says calmly before placing a dollop of cream meticulously onto a tiny cup of hot chocolate. The scoop of cream half falls out of the shot glass and starts sliding down the side of it. Baekhyun stares at it for a moment before shrugging and serving it anyway. He tried; it is not his fault he isn’t a talented barista. The process is always more important than the result anyway. Which dead famous person said this?
Joonmyun sighs. “I haven’t even finished my question.”
“Nine out of ten things that require the search for a culprit would default to me,” Baekhyun says nonchalantly.
That is true. “Or Chanyeol,” Joonmyun reasons it out. This is also true.
But Baekhyun tuts to show he’s offended. In his opinion, the difference between Chanyeol and him stretches wayyy more in their IQ scores than centimeters, and Baekhyun could always compensate by wearing Gaga-esque heels while Chanyeol is doomed for eternity.
“Don’t insult me. He would be that tenth thing, where anyone with reasonable levels of intelligence would be able to safely deduce him to be the culprit without question.” Baekyun starts on making a mug of green tea latte for Celiceilia. Seriously, why do Ceciliais exist? This name is so difficult to spell. “Honestly, we are South Koreans, do we even need English names? Does she want to be in soshi too or what?”
“That’s rich, Timothy,” Kyungsoo quips from beside him.
Baekhyun misjudges and adds another scoop of green tea powder into the blender. He flushes hotly. “I was ten, ok, that was way back in elementary school!” Baekhyun protests and violently pours more milk into the mix to balance out the excess matcha powder. “Congratulations, Sheiliclia, your drink just got upgraded,” Baekhyun mutters under his breath. He then adds in a pump of Bailey’s syrup in a stroke of barista genius. Last time he tried this, no one died so it should be fine.
“Uh,” Cecilia says when she takes her drink from Baekhyun. It’s not only a size larger than her order, she also has soshi scrawled messily across the lid of her latte. But Baekhyun smiles sweetly at her and just elaborates, “Upped your drink for free because you look like you should be in soshi, Cice- Sheci- Ce-,” the pronunciation makes Baekhyun falters, but only for a moment, “Cici. Is it alright if I call you this?” he says smoothly; yet another situation he has talked himself out of. Cecilia blushes and leaves happily, mistaking trolling for flirtation.
“Good afternoon, Sir, your order please?” Baekhyun smiles at the next customer, revealing his upper row of teeth and reducing his eyes into slits. He knows he looks cute like this, so why not flaunt it?
The guy over the counter leans over and slides a piece of paper over.
“Ok…” Baekhyun leans back to avoid inhaling strange people’s carbon dioxide and takes the piece of paper. He flips it over and says aloud after a second’s pause. “I’m sorry but we don’t serve 2-6240-9800.” Some girls in the line start sniggering, and a flush makes its way up the dude’s neck. “Perhaps you would like a please-don’t-hit-on-the-barista mocha instead?” Baekhyun smiles pleasantly and even Kyungsoo has to chortle at this.
Joonmyun sighs again. He retreats into the back of the café so he doesn’t need to witness Baekhyun terrorizing his customers. He would have sacked Baekhyun but it’s also truth that Baekhyun’s latte brings all the boys to the yard. Baekhyun said he could teach Joonmyun but he’d have to charge, so Joonmyun had just left it at that.
It’s not unusual for Baekhyun and Kyungsoo to encounter customers who’d hit on them when they’re on shift at Coffee by Shorties (“Oh, Chanyeol? Did you think we were just talking about height?”) so he just shrugs off the incident and attends to the next customer.
Who actually places his forearms on the counter and leers at Baekhyun.
“All right… Kyungsoo…” Baekhyun backs away from the cashier and motions to the little one.
Kyungsoo punches the button of a blender so viciously, everyone in the vicinity jumps. When the violent sounds of ice being crushed into smithereens fill the café, Kyungsoo turns around to glare at the lewd customer with an ominous look on his face. In his hand, he clutches a deadly looking rubber spatula.
“I’m dangerous,” Kyungsoo says in a low voice to no one in particular.
“Yes, you are,” Baekhyun agrees breathlessly.
The lewd customer takes the hint and flees.
He isn’t the last of his kind though, Baekhyun just keeps getting harassed this particular afternoon and he’s ready to throw his apron in when Zhang Yixing strides into the café; or Baekhyun’s heart. Pick one.
Zhang Yixing is a third year student in Baekhyun’s college; he’s in the Faculty of Dance while Baekhyun is in his second year, majoring in Marketing in the opposite block. Yixing is a hotshot in school, everyone knows him. Baekhyun is full of witty comebacks and he’s adorable, sure, but he can never carry off a black wifebeater the way Yixing does; black cotton a snug fit against what Baekhyun is sure must be very tight abs, lean muscled arms with veins running down them. When Yixing engages in dance practice, everyone knows because girls can be found crowding outside the dance studio. Sometimes, Baekhyun would loiter around there on the pretext of passing by on his way to and from his dorm, too. He would tiptoe over the heads of all the girls and boys and sneak peeks at Yixing. That’s all Baekhyun can do, he can only watch from a distance. Yixing is just impossible to get close to, there’re always too many people surrounding him.
When Yixing dances, it’s as if the outside world has ceased to exist, and he pulls everyone into that void with him. Each move is both muscle and fluid, fitting itself to the beat of the music perfectly, making Yixing’s performance a sight to behold. Baekhyun first saw him dance on the talent show his college put up a year ago. He was the emcee back then, just a freshman being sabotaged for the role, but Yixing was already famous in college for being the lead dancer of the dance faculty. For his dance performance, Yixing wore a tight leather jacket and a black snapback, looking way hotter than he had any right to be. Watching Yixing dance was an adrenaline rush in itself, the beat of the song he chose was furious but Yixing matched it with every snap of his limbs. His movements were sharp and crisp but also as smooth as silk.
As his audience, Baekhyun was sure he was just as immersed as Yixing in his performance; he felt like he enjoyed the dance just as much as Yixing had. Baekhyun had no idea he could be so entertained by dance. And amidst the flicking colorful stage lighting and wild beat of the background music, when Yixing suddenly smiled in the middle of his performance, all deep dimples and crinkled eyes, Baekhyun could feel his heart leap before it start slamming in his chest. Despite himself, Baekhyun grinned to himself from where he was hiding at the side of the stage. He didn’t know falling for someone would be so exciting. Back then, Baekhyun also had not know that was the one and only time he would ever get so close to Yixing. If he had, if he had… even if he had known, he would still have done nothing at all.
Unlike his formidable stage presence, Yixing is extremely humble and nice off it. Despite being made lead dancer when he was just in his second year, no one is jealous of him. Instead, his gentle demeanor only attracts people to him and they find his dedication to dance admirable. Baekhyun doesn’t want to think he’s smitten but Yixing is just perfect. When Yixing smiles, Baekhyun can feel his world wash itself out in monochrome and the only spot of color left in his life is that dimpled smile. It is the most wondrous thing Baekhyun has ever seen, even if he’s only watching from a corner.
Because as confident as Baekhyun is, he also knows Zhang Yixing is way out of his league. Baekhyun’s this sarcastic funny cute dude you’d notice in a group of friends but Yixing is a superstar in campus. What’s cuteness compared to that vast amount of hotness? Like, he’s so out of Baekhyun’s league that he doesn’t even visit the café Baekhyun works at. It’s situated just outside campus and operates until midnight, so most students would have crawled in there at least once to grab a life-saving cup of coffee. When he first started his part-time job, Baekhyun had looked forward to the day his and Yixing’s paths would finally cross again. But that day never came.
Until now.
Baekhyun doesn’t look up, though from the periphery of his vision, he can see Yixing making his way to the counter. “Be natural, be natural,” Baekhyun chants to himself. He fusses with the receipts and tries his best to act cool even though his heart is fluttering in his chest and his fingers are shaking a little with anticipation. When Yixing reaches the counter, Baekhyun forces himself to look up. “Hi!” he chimes and winces because he sounds too bright and cheerful. Even Kyungsoo looks over because of Baekhyun’s unusual tone.
Yixing, however, has no idea at all. He just smiles faintly, eyes dropping to the menu taped to the counter just as Baekhyun looks up. Flustered at being so close to Yixing, Baekhyun tucks a lock of hair behind his ear and licks his lips before he begins nibbling them nervously. His eyes keep darting between the menu and the floor. Baekhyun doesn’t even dare look at Yixing. When he realizes he’s holding his breath, Baekyun forces himself to exhale, only to seize up when he finally lifts his eyes up and catches Yixing staring at him. “Um, yeah, uh, what do you want?” The words gush out of his mouth in a surge of panic before he could stop himself. That actually sounds rude and Baekhyun rushes to rectify his mistake, “I mean, please? Your order?”
When he sees Yixing’s eyes drop to his mouth, Baekhyun quickly releases his lower lip, certain that he must have appeared dumb to Yixing. He has been chewing his lips pink and doesn’t realise they look particularly shiny and red now. There’s a long stretch of silence and Baekhyun is worried his first encounter with Yixing is going to turn awkward and he desperately tries to think of something witty to say; he really wants to leave a good impression. This is his second chance, it might also be his last chance. If Baekhyun does this right, they could even end up becoming friends, it’s not too much to hope for, right? If he messes this up though, this might really be the end of all Baekhyun’s hopes. But while he usually is quick to string words up into a joke and magic laughter out of people, his brain chooses to blank out this time. Typical; it’s not a crush if you’re still capable of normal brain function in front of him. And his mouth, his dear smartass mouth is failing him at the moment when he needs it most.
Abruptly, Yixing lifts a hand and Baekhyun blinks a little at his sudden action, but Yixing just starts scratching the back of his head, looking at a loss and Baekhyun bites back a sudden urge to laugh because he looks simply adorable. People shouldn’t be allowed to look this cute when they’re trying to make up their mind about coffee, jeez. “Do you want me to recommend you something?” Baekhyun asks, feeling the tension in him dissipates a little.
“Ah, no, no, nonono,” Yixing quickly refuses Baekhyun and he becomes jumpy again.
“Oh, sorry,” Baekhyun’s eyes flit around nervously after Yixing rejects him and he apologises softly. It’s a small thing but customers usually don’t decline offers of recommendations. And Baekhyun most certainly hadn’t been expecting Yixing to turn him down, it just seems personal somehow. Expectations are tricky to manage.
But, “No!” Yixing says, a bit too loudly and Baekhyun stares at him with wide eyes. Yixing seems a little strange, which is new to Baekhyun because he hasn’t heard this about him from the campus grapevine.
“Uh, I mean, I already know what I want,” Yixing says, pursing his lips so his dimples are out in full force and Baekhyun watches with astonishment as a deep flush creeps up Yixing’s neck, turning the tops of his ears red. “I’ll, I’ll have…” he stutters and the last of his words are mumbled and they end up getting swallowed up by the background noise of the café, so unconsciously, Baekhyun bends forward to try to hear him.
“What?” Baekhyun asks innocently, just as Yixing looks up and they’re suddenly much too close. Baekhyun freezes again at the intimacy and he forgets to breathe entirely. Yixing’s breath is very warm on his cheeks and it feels so ticklish, Baekhyun has to resist the wild urge to giggle.
Good grief, this boy is driving Baekhyun mad.
Baekhyun blinks again at Yixing, who also blinks back at him. This is the first time they’ve really looked at each other and for a second, Baekhyun is afraid Yixing could hear his loud heartbeat. It is now a roar in Baekhyun’s ears and he can’t hear anything else. He is so full of anticipation that he feels like he’s ready to combust anytime now.
The girl waiting in line behind Yixing clucks her tongue impatiently and begins tapping her foot. “Now kiss!” the tumblr addict hisses under her breath and resists the urge to bang their heads together.
Alas, life is not a meme.
Yixing ducks his head, and he suddenly starts chuckling, showing off his dimples again and Baekhyun reels back immediately from the impact of that smile; his stomach is quivering so badly, it’s starting to feel like a cramp. When Yixing looks up, he’s grinning and although it’s that same smile Baekhyun has always admired from the distance in the past; it’s the first time he’s seeing it so upclose and oh man, Baekhyun feels so shy but he also wants to reciprocate. So he curls his lips as well, but has to bend his head because he simply couldn’t make himself look into Yixing’s eyes. He’s afraid his heart might really burst.
“I said I’ll have today’s special,” Yixing says, still smiling; he sounds very certain now.
But Baekhyun furrows his brows at this. “What’s the day’s special?” Deep in his drawer, Joonmyun keeps a list of really good reasons why Baekhyun is never employee of the month; this is reason number nine.
At this, the smile slips off Yixing’s face and his mouth parts into a small ‘o’. “Um…” he mutters, looking lost again.
Baekhyun rushes to placate Yixing, “It’s ok, I’ll ask, no problem.” For some reason though, Yixing appears horrified by this but Baekhyun has already turned to Kyungsoo, “Kyungsoo, what’s the day’s special?”
“Some too-sweet stuff,” Kyungsoo mutters while he rinses his favorite rubber spatula meticulously and carefully places it to dry on the rack, ignoring the rest of the mugs in the sink. Kyungsoo is never employee of the month, too.
Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “That’s like the whole menu,” he says rather insolently. Then he pauses. Did Yixing see him roll his eyes? Oh god, he must have looked so stupid. So Baekhyun straightens himself and clears his throat to appear like he’s taking his job very seriously. He is a serious barista. He doesn’t add unknown ingredients into the beverages he makes just for the thrill of it.
“Cotton candy chewy chocolate brownie with cranberry sauce latte!” Jongmyun hollers from the back and Baekhyun feels the urge to apologize to Yixing. Sorry if you get diabetes from this, he almost blurts out.
“Small, medium, large?” Baekhyun swivels back to Yixing and asks, not quite succeeding in keeping the hopefulness out of his tone, as if he were asking Yixing out on a date. He didn’t mean to sound so breathless and unintentionally flirty but it’s really hard to control any part of himself right now.
But Yixing just opens and closes his mouth without uttering a word. “It’s not…” then, “Small,” he sighs, looking very small himself when his shoulders slump. A corner of Yixing’s lips scrunches up as if he’s displeased.
Baekhyun’s brows droop with disappointment at his reactions. He feels like his tiny, tiny advances have all been shot down by Yixing. He picks up his marker and worries his lower lip again as a new challenge poses itself. If he doesn’t ask for Yixing’s name, it would be as if he were revealing his interest in Yixing, like he has been keeping tabs on him, which he has been doing, like, who hasn’t? It’s Zhang Yixing. But no, Baekhyun would keel over from mortification if Yixing knew about his crush on him. He doesn’t want to end up being just one of Yixing’s many admirers.
So Baekhyun tightens his grip on the marker and asks, “Your name?”
“Oh,” Yixing says, sounding a little surprised, then his tone turns sheepish as he says, “Yixing, Zhang Yixing.” He smiles somewhat apologetically to Baekhyun, hand scratching the back of his head again.
Baekhyun realizes what Yixing’s reaction means. Probably expects me to know his name, probably doesn’t even need to introduce himself in school anymore, he thinks, feeling as if something heavy is pressing on his stomach, making him queasy. Baekhyun feels embarrassed for pretending not to know Yixing’s name, as if he’s trying to be special or something. This isn’t how he envisioned their first encounter at all. Baekhyun was supposed to be his usual witty funny self in front of Yixing - one of the most popular guys in school - not the current bumbling fool he is presently. Baekhyun is just another face in school, he doesn’t know why he’s trying so hard now. His cheeks suddenly feel hot and Baekhyun wants to quickly finish up this order so he can disappear from Yixing’s sight. He writes yixing on a lid and slides it across to Kyungsoo.
“Kyungsoo, order,” Baekhyun pushes the small dish that contains the receipt and Yixing’s change across the counter to him and gestures to Kyungsoo to start preparing Yixing’s drink.
“Um…” Baekhyun hears Yixing says but he doesn’t acknowledge him. It’s not like Yixing is seeking his attention anyway. He’s probably just nudging a friend or something.
“Next, please,” Baekhyun says, not looking up. He waits for Yixing to move away but it seems to take a long time before his shadow finally stops falling onto Baekhyun. Relieved, Baekhyun resumes taking orders but that horrible tight feeling in his chest just doesn’t seem to go away.
“Do you always flirt with your customers?” The girl next in line asks snidely, annoyed at having to wait so long before she’s served.
“Not if they look like you,” Baekhyun deadpans. His snark is clearly back.
★
Chanyeol is skilled at latte art and is capable of drawing a really realistic looking Baekhyun on froth. He's lucky his smiles are so wide and pretty because that's also the only thing he can draw. He's a jack of no trades, master of Baekhyun's face. Every patron gets Byun Baekhyun floating on their coffee, even if all they ever wanted is just a fucking basic leaf.
("Why not Kyungsoo?" Joonmyun asks him one day.
"Too much eye white, what a waste of milk that would be!" Chanyeol answers earnestly, "I only need two dots for Baekhyun’s."
And this is why Chanyeol is always employee of the month.)
It's the barista form of plastic surgery, Baekhyun figures. Even coffee has to look pretty now, what would Park Bom’s mom say? he wonders, one finger running unconsciously across his rather small eyes. Baekhyun suddenly feels like the last man standing.
“You sure you haven’t had plastic surgery before?” Kyungsoo side eyes Baekhyun.
Baekhyun huffs, “You call this after surgery?” he points to his face as if to, well, make a point. Then he pauses. He just insulted himself really badly, didn’t he?
And later that night, it's his own face he finds drawn on the café's little notice board when he goes outside to collect it back from its place beside the front door and close up. A speech bubble is placed strategically beside his mouth with the word ME!!! trapped in it. It's true that Baekhyun now feels very trapped indeed.
Because right above the drawing of him are the words:
Today's Special!
★
Here’s the alternate beginning to this story:
“Baekhyun, was it you who-”
“Yes,” Baekhyun says calmly before placing a dollop of cream meticulously onto a tiny cup of hot chocolate. The scoop of cream half falls out of the shot glass and starts sliding down the side of it. Baekhyun stares at it for a moment before shrugging and serving it anyway. He tried; it is not his fault he isn’t a talented barista. The process is always more important than the result anyway. Which dead famous person said this?
Joonmyun sighs. “I haven’t even finished my question.”
“Nine out of ten things that require the search for a culprit would default to me,” Baekhyun says nonchalantly.
That is true. “Or Chanyeol,” Joonmyun reasons it out. This is also true.
But Baekhyun tuts to show he’s offended. In his opinion, the difference between Chanyeol and him stretches wayyy more in their IQ scores than centimeters, and Baekhyun could always compensate by wearing Gaga-esque heels while Chanyeol is doomed for eternity.
“Don’t insult me. He would be that tenth thing, where anyone with reasonable levels of intelligence-,” Baekhyun stops here then. Because ‘Joonmyun’ and ‘reasonable levels of intelligence’… these two concepts don’t seem to really gel. “Why don’t you finish your question?” Baekhyun suggests.
Joonmyun pulls a face at Baekhyun, exhibiting the true definition of unattractiveness and saying, “Was it you who made yourself Today’s Special?”
“Was I what? YAH! PARK CHANYEOL!" Baekhyun yells across the café, proving that he has very reasonable levels of intelligence.
Utterly unconcerned with his friend’s wrath, Chanyeol beams widely and pushes a cup of latte across the counter to a customer. “Today’s special,” he says to her.
On the surface of her coffee, Baekhyun is smiling very happily.
★
Baekhyun is shaking very badly, his legs feel like jelly, his heart leaping so frantically in his chest that for a second, he frets about an impending heart attack. He’s terrified and for good reason; Baekhyun is going to go up and talk to Zhang Yixing. Yup, can someone with a heart just run him over with a jeep already. Or an elephant. Anything big. Not picky.
Theatrics aside, Baekhyun is worried he’s going to screw it up again. Although, really, Zhang Yixing ordered him yesterday, didn’t he? Christ, this sounds so wrong it can only be right. So Baekhyun’s pretty sure he stands a chance- some chance- 20% of a chance- a slim chance- did yesterday really happen? Oh God, it was all an illusion, wasn’t it? Baekhyun thinks horrifically, his confidence plummeting by the second. He’s pretty sure he dreamed Yixing into life. The key words are jumbled up in Baekhyun’s mind. Yixing. Baekhyun. Special. Order. He struggles to form coherent sentences with them.
Yixing ordered Baekhyun. Baekhyun was ordered by Yixing. Yesterday, Yixing ordered Today’s Special which was really Baekhyun. Baekhyun is special to Yixing because he ordered him yesterday. Hmm, that last one.
No matter how he structures his sentences, this thought just sounds like a joke. But Baekhyun just has to find out why Yixing did that. And if he’s hoping for anything more, well, he’s just keeping the faith like Cassiopeia.
Baekhyun is wandering outside Yixing's dance studio along with the usual crowd of girls and he's so embarrassed to be there. It's just that this is the first time he has ever taken the step to get closer to Yixing. Fuck being cool, screw nonchalance, he's finally, finally, admitting to everyone that Yixing has gotten under his skin just as much as any one of his fangirls. Who’s checking though? Yixing just makes Baekhyun so self-conscious.
Baekhyun doesn't even know what to do. Or rather, he knows what to do but the mere thought of going up to Yixing and casually going ‘Sup?’ makes him want to curl up like an earthworm under attack and wiggle all his segments in anguish forever.
He tiptoes outside the circle of people gathered outside the door and catches a glimpse of Yixing. Then Yixing moves and he shifts out of Baekhyun’s sight, so he steps deeper into the crowd. A tall girl shifts backwards and starts blocking his view. Baekhyun is pretty sure he had a better view at Super Show 6 when he was stuck in the middle of the mosh pit and Chanyeol was standing right in front of him. Fuck this shit, I can’t do this anymore! Baekhyun thinks, even as he continues to jostle with a girl for the best view of Yixing .
Yixing is dressed in a simple V neck top and loose black pants, demonstrating a move to a fellow dance mate. Just the mere sight of Yixing makes Baekhyun’s heartbeat speed up and fills him with amazing feel-good vibes and tingly- wow I’m gross, he cuts himself short and reflects inwardly. Baekhyun’s so infatuated he has managed to disgust even his own self; pass that trophy along now, Joonmyun, you’re no longer Most Embarrassing.
But the sight of Yixing still makes Baekhyun smile stupidly. Maybe it's ok, he doesn't need to get any closer. This distance is good. Baekhyun is perfectly happy where he is. He doesn't need a hand to hold, doesn't need a hug when he's happy or sad, doesn't need Yixing to even know who he is.
But his smile fades away to a lonesome look.
Maybe he needs every single of those things after all. Maybe he really wants Yixing.
Yixing is now reaching over to grab his bag and suddenly, his eyes widen with what seems to be surprise when he turns over and looks straight into Baekyun's eyes.
He looks straight into Baekhyu- oh, shit shit shit
It’s all right, Baekhyun calms himself down. Yixing is just glancing at the crowd outside the door, he would never notice Baekhyun. But why is Yixing walking over? And why is his eyes still locked onto Baekhyun’s?
The crowd parts for Yixing like he’s freaking Moses or something, and Baekhyun could only gape at Yixing, who has just stopped abruptly in front of him, giving him that strange confused look again before he lifts a hand and scratches that seemingly perpetual itch at the back of his head. When he peers up and opens his mouth, Baekhyun thinks unwittingly, ‘oh, he’s going to call me.’
Then a terrible thought sinks in; ‘oh, he going to call me Today’s Special in front of half the school.’, because there’s just no way Yixing would actually know Baekhyun’s name.
Seriously, Baekhyun doesn’t think his mom had given birth to him just so he could go through such terrible trials and tribulations.
“Hi, Baekhyun,” Yixing sounds strangely short on breath.
“Hi Baekhyun?” Baekhyun repeats after Yixing.
“What?” Yixing asks, looking confused but also amused, and then he just looks embarrassed.
“You know my name?” Baekhyun chokes out, before he realizes he sounds really stupid. It’s just, Yixing knows his name?
Yixing smiles in reply, blotches of red appearing on his face. “Doesn’t everyone?” he asks, rubbing his nose awkwardly and shifting his duffel bag from one shoulder to another.
What, Baekhyun thinks in utter confusion, but Yixing is speaking again. “Um, you’re on your way back to your dorm, right?”
“I am?” Baekhyun says dumbly because firstly, what in the world is going on, and secondly, he can’t possibly go, ‘uh, no, I came here to ambush you’.
Thankfully, Yixing doesn’t take his reply as a question. “Great! Well, me too. I live just two blocks away from you, I know you don’t know this (Oh, I so do, Baekhyun thinks.), haha, but anyway! Do you, uh, do you,” Yixing ceases his adorable rambling and scratches his head again before he sucks in a deep breath, cute smile morphing into a determined look, “doyouwanttowalkbackwithme?” he asks in a rush and bites his lower lip while he waits for Baekhyun’s answer.
Baekhyun wants to put a finger under Yixing’s nose because he thinks Mr. Popular is holding his breath while he waits for Baekhyun’s answer and he just wants to make sure.
Sanity finally saunters over after a long break, so Baekhyun manages to nod frantically and gushes, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” And then, “Sure.” Just in case, yeahx3 isn’t enough to convey his over-willingness to walk alongside Yixing.
At this, Yixing suddenly holds his fist up and he stops just as abruptly, sneaking a look at Baekhyun to check if he saw that, and then blushing when he realizes Baekhyun did see him.
Baekhyun thinks Yixing has just restrained himself from doing a fist pump when he said yes to his invitation, which yeah, cute to death, but can someone please tell him what the hell is going on? Yixing knows his name. Yixing knows Baekhyun passes by his dance studio on the way back to his dorm. Yixing knows where his dorm is. Yixing asked if he could walk Baekhyun back to his dorm.
All of a sudden, ‘Yixing ordered Baekhyun’ doesn’t seem like such an incredulous thought anymore. Not compared to what just happened.
★
The first half of the walk back is spent in awkward silence until they pass through a narrow aisle that serves as a shortcut to the dorm and a couple of guys from the drama club are going through it as well, carrying some large props with them. To give them way, Yixing and Baekhyun have to press themselves to the wall and that’s how Baekhyun ends up with his side snug against Yixing’s, heat seeping through thin clothes onto skin.
“Ok, I’m really, really, sorry,” gasps Baekhyun. He had no intention to take advantage of his namshin, he swears. Some drama dude who’s wearing a Saturn costume shoves Baekhyun with the ring of his planet outfit (what play is this?) and um, thanks drama dude? Because Baekhyun’s cheek is now pressed against Yixing’s chest. It should be disgusting, really, because Yixing has just finished dance practice but when Baekhyun sniffs, all he can catch is a whiff of softener and it reminds him of green hills, blue skies and he just sniffed at Yixing’s chest, didn’t he?
Whatever, shit happens, just give him five years to get over this.
“Oh, no, it’s all right,” Yixing says hastily, quickly moving away when the drama club clears the aisle.
“Yeah,” Baekhyun replies breathlessly, just as someone bumps into him and sends him into Yixing’s embrace again.
“Sorry,” Loki apologizes, getting out of character, before he starts running to catch up with the rest of the galaxy and Avengers; the last of them carrying a sign that reads, ‘Superheroes & Supernovas: A Dissection That Will Blow Your Midgardian Mind’.
“Are you all right?” Yixing asks with concern when he spots Baekhyun’s pink face
"Wow, ok, accidental second base or what," Baekhyun jerks back and blurts out the first thing on his mind with exaggerated cheer, trying to laugh this off when he spots the red seeping onto Yixing's cheek at his words. Uh, what did his big fat mouth just say? Baekhyun is so mortified by himself, he cups his hands and starts breathing heavily into them.
"Yeah," Yixing agrees with a wholly flustered look on his face, looking around wildly as if he doesn’t know how the hell he ended up here, strolling beside Baekhyun, "yeah."
Baekhyun ceases silent screaming to stare at him. He doesn’t think Yixing even knows he has just agreed to getting to second base with Baekhyun. He has no idea if he's more embarrassing than Yixing or if it's the other way round now.
"So!" Yixing suddenly shouts and Baekhyun jumps in fright. "Oh, sorry," Yixing whispers, bowing a little and looking contrite.
Yixing is definitely more embarrassing than him, Baekhyun decides.
"This is the first time I’ve seen you at dance practice," Yixing scratches his head while he says this, finally resuming a normal volume, “you usually just pass by the studio without stopping.” They're nearing Baekhyun's block, walking through the carpark that is right in front of it and Baekhyun doesn’t know if it's his mind playing tricks on him, but were they walking so slowly just now? Baekhyun knows he's deliberately slowing down his pace because he doesn’t want this to end too soon, but what's Yixing's excuse?
"Well, since you never did get the Today's Special you ordered," Baekhyun teases, determined to resume his usual witty self, although how that is redeeming, Kyungsoo has no idea either. Yixing laughs, the sound loud and carefree, making Baekhyun realise once again what the hell his mouth just spouted. He really wants to pull his sneaker off his foot right now and stuff it into his mouth so he can like, shut up forever, maybe? But with his words, all pretenses are suddenly dropped and yeah, yesterday really did happen. Yixing had entered the cafe Baekhyun's working in and ordered him.
Yixing uses the back of his hand to shield his mouth as he lowers his head and grins shyly, eyes a little downcast and fuck, that's cute, Baekhyun thinks. "I thought yesterday was," Yixing pauses to give a small laugh, "I thought that was your way of rejecting me," he confesses, lifting his eyes to peek at Baekhyun for his reaction. He smiles bashfully, dimples popping out and it's too much for Baekhyun, he yanks his eyes away because his heart's beating too fast and the jitters are hitting him hard all over again. “But I saw you today at practice and this was the first time you ever showed up so I just, I just had to,” he grimaces and breaks off here, shrugging to no one in particular.
"You know, I'm going to sound like a creep for saying this," Yixing sneaks another peek at Baekhyun and the special shorty almost trips over his own feet. Oh man, don't look at me, not with that look on your face, he wants to beg Yixing.
"But I've been noticing you for some time. A long time," Yixing smiles uncertainly at Baekhyun, unsure of how he would take this news, But all Baekhyun could do is to stare stupidly at Yixing, astounded by what he's hearing. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Yixing finally lets it out. "A year, actually," he admits ruefully, “when you were still a freshman.”
"What, why," Baekhyun blinks dumbly.
Yixing starts rubbing the lobe of his ear with his index finger and thumb, looking very self-conscious as he answers Baekhyun, “Well, um, you’re hilarious! You’ve hosted so many events at school, the Chuseok concert, the gag concert, the show during Christmas, I can’t name them all, you know better than me,” he protests halfheartedly; although he has pretty much listed all the shows Baekhyun has done. “You really have a way with words unlike me. And you’re terribly funny,” Yixing’s lips curl when he says this, but it looks like he’s smiling more to himself as he reminisces, rather than at Baekhyun, “I’ve always wanted to talk to you, but you’re always surrounded by so many people. Everyone wants to talk to you,” the smile on Yixing’s face turns wistful, “you’re very well liked.”
“Huh?” Baekhyun says, because is this an alternate universe where he’s actually popular? Because all right, fine,it’s plain fact and truth that he’s adorable and awesome, but Baekhyun really doesn’t think he’s so humble that he wouldn’t notice his popularity. Then again, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo do keep him so fucking grounded - like chained to the ground, fallen-angel-with-broken-wings kind of grounded - so maybe Yixing might be kind of right. People do always turn to him for a good laugh like he’s a joke machine or something.
Baekhyun pauses in his tracks to look quizzically at Yixing, “Why did it take you so long to talk to me then?” he asks, head tilted to one side. All his awkwardness has fled in the face of this astounding discovery.
Somehow, this question seems even more difficult for Yixing to answer. He stops walking as well, stuffing his hands into his pants and shuffling his foot around for a while before his shoulders sag and he doesn’t lift his head, just look to Baekhyun from behind his bangs, “I… I was waiting for the perfect opportunity. Yesterday seemed like one,” he cringes when the memory revisits, “I thought this was it, this was the perfect opportunity to talk to you. I could play it off as a joke, be funny or something, I don’t really know what I was thinking. I wanted to make an impression, I guess. I mean, I didn’t want to bomb it, I didn’t want to, well, you know. Then before I knew it, a year just passed. Times flies?” Yixing ends his ramble with a weakly uttered question and scratches the back of his head again. He sniffs and rubs his nose with the back of his hand. Then he scratches behind his ears.
“Are you very itchy?” Baekhyun suddenly asks; then a large grin breaks out on his face, turning his eyes into slits.
Yixing laughs out loud when he realizes Baekhyun is teasing him again. “No, I’m… I’m very nervous,” he bites his lips, a quiver in his stomach that he recognizes as an exhilarating mix of excitement and anticipation. “You make me very nervous,” Yixing admits, “I don’t know what to say to impress you and I really, really want to do that,” he says, giving Baekhyun a hopeful look.
Baekhyun just continues smiling at Yixing. “Your name is Yixing,” he says out of nowhere, although there’s a also a curious look on his face. Baekhyun looks whimsical.
“Yeah, I told you that yesterday,” Yixing says, a bit bewildered that Baekhyun has brought this up. He scratches his neck before he catches Baekhyun’s grin and laughs again. “I wanted to talk to you more actually,” he smiles, a nice pink dusting his cheeks, “but it seemed like a bad time for you.” Then a look of alarm appears on his face as he recalls Baekhyun asking for his name, “Oh God, I’m so sorry, you don’t even know who I am! And I’ve asked if I could walk you home-” Yixing stop here, closing his eyes and smacking a hand on his forehead. “Classic idol-fan situation, I feel like I know you so well already,” he opens his eyes, giving Baekhyun a bemused smile, “Why did you even say yes? I hope I didn’t make you agree to something you didn’t want to do.”
Baekhyun is confused. “I thought you expected me to know you. You sounded surprise when I asked for your name?”
Yixing ducks his head and blushes. “No? I was just, flustered? I was introducing myself to you for the first time, and I, yeah,” he ends weakly.
But the smile disappears from Baekhyun’s face as he remembers how fake he had been yesterday. He’s not as smooth as he thinks he is, unlike Yixing who’s so genuine and could so easily confess his thoughts and feelings. Yixing, who doesn’t try to pretend he doesn’t know Baekhyun’s name. All of Baekhyun’s pretenses have brought him nowhere and he suddenly feels embarrassed for trying to be cool. He’s embarrassed when his mouth begins shooting off like how he usually does; but when he clams up, he wishes he could resume his normal sarcastic self. Why is he making life so difficult for himself?
“I’m not as cool as you think I am,” Baekhyun stops here, unsure how to phrase his thoughts, “Your name is Yixing,” he says, continuing what he has been meaning to say, “I knew this even before yesterday, I’ve,” he exhales heavily and whispers, “I’ve always known who you were. You never have to impress me, I don’t think I could be impressed any further.” He tries to jest, “You have to learn contentment, you know. Sky. Limit.”
But Yixing would have none of that. Instead of being offended or even puzzled at Baekhyun’s confession, Yixing just takes a hasty step forward before he catches himself and steps back again. He opens and closes his mouth, blinking a few times before asking softly and uncertainly, “Do you, I mean, do you also…?”
They have reached Baekhyun’s dorm. The afternoon sun is high up in the sky and Baekhyun has to squint to even make out Yixing’s face in the bright light. He looks very fidgety, not like a namshin at all. Baekhyun thinks he likes Yixing better like this; he likes himself better like this, too. His mouth has always been so much smarter than him; he’s not suited to be this shy boy, he doesn’t want to shut up forever, not when Yixing thinks it’s his virtue.
“You know, I usually am very reserved and shy, really, I swear” Baekhyun says, although there’s a bold, smug look on his face, a smile flirting with the ends of his lips, and it makes Yixing bursts out laughing. Man, he makes Yixing laugh so much. Baekhyun grins mischievously at his response, “but because you’re equally special, I’m going to invite you up for a cup of…” Baekhyun pauses here, because he sure as hell doesn’t have coffee in his dorm, “…soju?” he finishes his question, pulling his mouth into a bizarre shape to show that he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about too, since it’s like 2pm in the afternoon and no one should be getting high at this hour. “It’s Today’s Special,” Baekhyun sings enticingly. Then he lowers his eyes in what he thinks might be a coquettish look and Yixing smiles at him, dimples deep at the sides of his mouth as he, goddamnit, he flirts right back. Another thing about Yixing that Baekhyun didn’t get from the grapevine; he’s so playful.
“But I want yesterday’s,” Yixing pouts.
Baekhyun pretends to think it over. Then he gives an exaggerated sigh as if he’s doing Yixing this major favor and it’s hard doing business thesedays with customers like him.
“All right, I’ll do a one for one, but just this once,” he wags a warning finger in Yixing’s face.
“Don’t be stingy,” Yixing cajoles. He even tries to look disgruntled but it’s getting rather difficult not to smile now, so he purses his lips but that just makes his dimples more pronounced.
“You’re not even a regular,” Baekhyun retorts before he realizes how daring that sounds. He flicks a gaze up at Yixing, holding his breath and nibbling his lower lip, not knowing how inviting he looks right now.
“Oh, you want me to be a regular?” Yixing asks with mock surprise, eyes round with astonishment, like that isn’t exactly just what he wants. Stupid flirt.
“I’m just asking if you would like to join the queue, darling,” Baekhyun sings with equal amount of nonchalance, giving Yixing a withering look. But fuck, he loses and laughs first.
Yixing is a gracious winner, so he takes a step back. “Well, if you always keep the day’s special,” he says with a hopeful grin, “I wouldn’t mind the wait.”
Baekhyun follows right after Yixing. “I guess I could let you cut the queue,” he says reluctantly with an indifferent shrug. But the small grin on his face and the way he puffs his cheeks out suggest that he’s just being mischievous.
“Thank you so much,” Yixing says gratefully, grabbing the sides of his pants and dropping into a deep curtsy, "wouldn't have known what to do otherwise."
Baekhyun is ever so gracious. “Yes, you should be grateful.”
★
Although Today’s Special at Coffee by Shorties changes everyday, Yixing does become a regular. But he no longer hogs the queue just to flirt with the barista since he’s hogging Baekhyun all the time outside of his working hours anyway. He just stands to the side and monitors the number of people hitting on his boyfriend.
“I’m sorry to report a decline,” he tells Baekhyun regretfully.
“Hmm, I guess since you’re always standing beside me like a watchdog?” Baekhyun reasons thoughtfully.
Yixing ignores that fact. “It’s because you’re no longer a freshman. There’s now fresher meat.” As if to prove his point, Yixing stops to say hi to Sehun who has just entered the café.
“Sorry, hyung, I have an interview later,” Sehun says apologetically to Yixing, “I just need to inhale this before I go for it.” Then he scampers off to his table with a steaming mug of coffee, pouring it down his throat as if he were a fire swallower. He would have poured it into his ears if that would allow faster absorption.
“Well, for your information, the demand is dropping only because I’m refusing to supply,” Baekhyun crosses his arms and says in a superior tone.
“Yeah, what was it that you’re now refusing to supply?” Yixing smiles and asks.
Baekhyun deliberately adds another squirt of thick white cream to the drink in his hand, licking his thumb suggestively when some cream gets onto it.
“You are a supplier of bad sexual innuendos?” Yixing attempts to guess.
“Oh, they’re bad?” Baekhyun widens his eyes and says innocently, “But you really get off on them so easily. Is it your stamina or is it early ejacu-” And Yixing doesn’t do PDA, really, but Baekhyun just needs to be kissed into submission sometimes. It’s all his smartass mouth’s fault.
Molly the tumblr addict whoops from where she sits in the café.
Chanyeol makes a small change as well, he begins drawing Kyungsoo on his lattes and the café’s monthly milk consumption goes up by a gallon, because does Kyungsoo have fanboys or what? This costs Chanyeol his place as Employee of the Month, so Joonmyun eventually scraps this monthly award since no one deserves it except himself anyway.
As for Kyungsoo, he finally gets a budget dedicated to rubber spatulas.
Speaking of regulars, the café has been gaining new ones from the office building that just opened a month ago opposite the university. And Baekhyun has become fast friends with Lu Han, a financial controller who frequents the café every day.
“You’re in luck,” Baekhyun says, “Today’s special is your favorite.”
“I’ll check my horoscope if I want to know my luck, all right,” Lu Han says dryly.
Baekhyun fishes the newspaper over from the rack and flips through it. “Aries, right?” he peruses the horoscope section before guffawing, “Take your dog for a walk, even if you don’t have on e,” he recites mockingly.
“But the closest thing I have to a puppy is you,” Lu Han coos, laughing loudly when Baekhyun tries to swat him with the newspaper but fails, “and I’m a day shy. I’m a Taurus.” He grabs his coffee and leaves before Baekhyun could attempt to hit him with the papers again.
Hot on his heels is Sehun who has managed to absorb two mugs of coffee through sheer diffusion; although the caffeine just seems to make him even more nervous for his internship interview. “Hey, Sehun,” Baekhyun calls out to him before he walks out, waving the newspaper in his hands, “want to check your interview luck?”
“Uh,” Sehun hesitates. He has never held much belief for stuff like this, but oh, why not? He would really appreciate some luck today. “Yeah, sure. Thanks, hyung,” he says.
“What’s your horoscope?” Baekhyun asks as he hands the papers over to Sehun.
“Aries,” Sehun replies.
★
everything was fine & dandy until i recalled take your dog had baekhyun too... life’s too short to care about accuracy, ig
cecilia, i hope you never get to read this
baekhyun misspells names like your typical barista. and if he renames people, well, it’s probably time for a new name anyway.
unless they're zhang yixing, of course. this is a name he knows perfectly well.
much thanks to faye for reading this over & nyan for her beta effort, otherwise i’ll be stuck wondering if this was ok for all of eternity. or something like that
★
“Baekhyun, was it you who-”
“Yes,” Baekhyun says calmly before placing a dollop of cream meticulously onto a tiny cup of hot chocolate. The scoop of cream half falls out of the shot glass and starts sliding down the side of it. Baekhyun stares at it for a moment before shrugging and serving it anyway. He tried; it is not his fault he isn’t a talented barista. The process is always more important than the result anyway. Which dead famous person said this?
Joonmyun sighs. “I haven’t even finished my question.”
“Nine out of ten things that require the search for a culprit would default to me,” Baekhyun says nonchalantly.
That is true. “Or Chanyeol,” Joonmyun reasons it out. This is also true.
But Baekhyun tuts to show he’s offended. In his opinion, the difference between Chanyeol and him stretches wayyy more in their IQ scores than centimeters, and Baekhyun could always compensate by wearing Gaga-esque heels while Chanyeol is doomed for eternity.
“Don’t insult me. He would be that tenth thing, where anyone with reasonable levels of intelligence would be able to safely deduce him to be the culprit without question.” Baekyun starts on making a mug of green tea latte for Celiceilia. Seriously, why do Ceciliais exist? This name is so difficult to spell. “Honestly, we are South Koreans, do we even need English names? Does she want to be in soshi too or what?”
“That’s rich, Timothy,” Kyungsoo quips from beside him.
Baekhyun misjudges and adds another scoop of green tea powder into the blender. He flushes hotly. “I was ten, ok, that was way back in elementary school!” Baekhyun protests and violently pours more milk into the mix to balance out the excess matcha powder. “Congratulations, Sheiliclia, your drink just got upgraded,” Baekhyun mutters under his breath. He then adds in a pump of Bailey’s syrup in a stroke of barista genius. Last time he tried this, no one died so it should be fine.
“Uh,” Cecilia says when she takes her drink from Baekhyun. It’s not only a size larger than her order, she also has soshi scrawled messily across the lid of her latte. But Baekhyun smiles sweetly at her and just elaborates, “Upped your drink for free because you look like you should be in soshi, Cice- Sheci- Ce-,” the pronunciation makes Baekhyun falters, but only for a moment, “Cici. Is it alright if I call you this?” he says smoothly; yet another situation he has talked himself out of. Cecilia blushes and leaves happily, mistaking trolling for flirtation.
“Good afternoon, Sir, your order please?” Baekhyun smiles at the next customer, revealing his upper row of teeth and reducing his eyes into slits. He knows he looks cute like this, so why not flaunt it?
The guy over the counter leans over and slides a piece of paper over.
“Ok…” Baekhyun leans back to avoid inhaling strange people’s carbon dioxide and takes the piece of paper. He flips it over and says aloud after a second’s pause. “I’m sorry but we don’t serve 2-6240-9800.” Some girls in the line start sniggering, and a flush makes its way up the dude’s neck. “Perhaps you would like a please-don’t-hit-on-the-barista mocha instead?” Baekhyun smiles pleasantly and even Kyungsoo has to chortle at this.
Joonmyun sighs again. He retreats into the back of the café so he doesn’t need to witness Baekhyun terrorizing his customers. He would have sacked Baekhyun but it’s also truth that Baekhyun’s latte brings all the boys to the yard. Baekhyun said he could teach Joonmyun but he’d have to charge, so Joonmyun had just left it at that.
It’s not unusual for Baekhyun and Kyungsoo to encounter customers who’d hit on them when they’re on shift at Coffee by Shorties (“Oh, Chanyeol? Did you think we were just talking about height?”) so he just shrugs off the incident and attends to the next customer.
Who actually places his forearms on the counter and leers at Baekhyun.
“All right… Kyungsoo…” Baekhyun backs away from the cashier and motions to the little one.
Kyungsoo punches the button of a blender so viciously, everyone in the vicinity jumps. When the violent sounds of ice being crushed into smithereens fill the café, Kyungsoo turns around to glare at the lewd customer with an ominous look on his face. In his hand, he clutches a deadly looking rubber spatula.
“I’m dangerous,” Kyungsoo says in a low voice to no one in particular.
“Yes, you are,” Baekhyun agrees breathlessly.
The lewd customer takes the hint and flees.
He isn’t the last of his kind though, Baekhyun just keeps getting harassed this particular afternoon and he’s ready to throw his apron in when Zhang Yixing strides into the café; or Baekhyun’s heart. Pick one.
Zhang Yixing is a third year student in Baekhyun’s college; he’s in the Faculty of Dance while Baekhyun is in his second year, majoring in Marketing in the opposite block. Yixing is a hotshot in school, everyone knows him. Baekhyun is full of witty comebacks and he’s adorable, sure, but he can never carry off a black wifebeater the way Yixing does; black cotton a snug fit against what Baekhyun is sure must be very tight abs, lean muscled arms with veins running down them. When Yixing engages in dance practice, everyone knows because girls can be found crowding outside the dance studio. Sometimes, Baekhyun would loiter around there on the pretext of passing by on his way to and from his dorm, too. He would tiptoe over the heads of all the girls and boys and sneak peeks at Yixing. That’s all Baekhyun can do, he can only watch from a distance. Yixing is just impossible to get close to, there’re always too many people surrounding him.
When Yixing dances, it’s as if the outside world has ceased to exist, and he pulls everyone into that void with him. Each move is both muscle and fluid, fitting itself to the beat of the music perfectly, making Yixing’s performance a sight to behold. Baekhyun first saw him dance on the talent show his college put up a year ago. He was the emcee back then, just a freshman being sabotaged for the role, but Yixing was already famous in college for being the lead dancer of the dance faculty. For his dance performance, Yixing wore a tight leather jacket and a black snapback, looking way hotter than he had any right to be. Watching Yixing dance was an adrenaline rush in itself, the beat of the song he chose was furious but Yixing matched it with every snap of his limbs. His movements were sharp and crisp but also as smooth as silk.
As his audience, Baekhyun was sure he was just as immersed as Yixing in his performance; he felt like he enjoyed the dance just as much as Yixing had. Baekhyun had no idea he could be so entertained by dance. And amidst the flicking colorful stage lighting and wild beat of the background music, when Yixing suddenly smiled in the middle of his performance, all deep dimples and crinkled eyes, Baekhyun could feel his heart leap before it start slamming in his chest. Despite himself, Baekhyun grinned to himself from where he was hiding at the side of the stage. He didn’t know falling for someone would be so exciting. Back then, Baekhyun also had not know that was the one and only time he would ever get so close to Yixing. If he had, if he had… even if he had known, he would still have done nothing at all.
Unlike his formidable stage presence, Yixing is extremely humble and nice off it. Despite being made lead dancer when he was just in his second year, no one is jealous of him. Instead, his gentle demeanor only attracts people to him and they find his dedication to dance admirable. Baekhyun doesn’t want to think he’s smitten but Yixing is just perfect. When Yixing smiles, Baekhyun can feel his world wash itself out in monochrome and the only spot of color left in his life is that dimpled smile. It is the most wondrous thing Baekhyun has ever seen, even if he’s only watching from a corner.
Because as confident as Baekhyun is, he also knows Zhang Yixing is way out of his league. Baekhyun’s this sarcastic funny cute dude you’d notice in a group of friends but Yixing is a superstar in campus. What’s cuteness compared to that vast amount of hotness? Like, he’s so out of Baekhyun’s league that he doesn’t even visit the café Baekhyun works at. It’s situated just outside campus and operates until midnight, so most students would have crawled in there at least once to grab a life-saving cup of coffee. When he first started his part-time job, Baekhyun had looked forward to the day his and Yixing’s paths would finally cross again. But that day never came.
Until now.
Baekhyun doesn’t look up, though from the periphery of his vision, he can see Yixing making his way to the counter. “Be natural, be natural,” Baekhyun chants to himself. He fusses with the receipts and tries his best to act cool even though his heart is fluttering in his chest and his fingers are shaking a little with anticipation. When Yixing reaches the counter, Baekhyun forces himself to look up. “Hi!” he chimes and winces because he sounds too bright and cheerful. Even Kyungsoo looks over because of Baekhyun’s unusual tone.
Yixing, however, has no idea at all. He just smiles faintly, eyes dropping to the menu taped to the counter just as Baekhyun looks up. Flustered at being so close to Yixing, Baekhyun tucks a lock of hair behind his ear and licks his lips before he begins nibbling them nervously. His eyes keep darting between the menu and the floor. Baekhyun doesn’t even dare look at Yixing. When he realizes he’s holding his breath, Baekyun forces himself to exhale, only to seize up when he finally lifts his eyes up and catches Yixing staring at him. “Um, yeah, uh, what do you want?” The words gush out of his mouth in a surge of panic before he could stop himself. That actually sounds rude and Baekhyun rushes to rectify his mistake, “I mean, please? Your order?”
When he sees Yixing’s eyes drop to his mouth, Baekhyun quickly releases his lower lip, certain that he must have appeared dumb to Yixing. He has been chewing his lips pink and doesn’t realise they look particularly shiny and red now. There’s a long stretch of silence and Baekhyun is worried his first encounter with Yixing is going to turn awkward and he desperately tries to think of something witty to say; he really wants to leave a good impression. This is his second chance, it might also be his last chance. If Baekhyun does this right, they could even end up becoming friends, it’s not too much to hope for, right? If he messes this up though, this might really be the end of all Baekhyun’s hopes. But while he usually is quick to string words up into a joke and magic laughter out of people, his brain chooses to blank out this time. Typical; it’s not a crush if you’re still capable of normal brain function in front of him. And his mouth, his dear smartass mouth is failing him at the moment when he needs it most.
Abruptly, Yixing lifts a hand and Baekhyun blinks a little at his sudden action, but Yixing just starts scratching the back of his head, looking at a loss and Baekhyun bites back a sudden urge to laugh because he looks simply adorable. People shouldn’t be allowed to look this cute when they’re trying to make up their mind about coffee, jeez. “Do you want me to recommend you something?” Baekhyun asks, feeling the tension in him dissipates a little.
“Ah, no, no, nonono,” Yixing quickly refuses Baekhyun and he becomes jumpy again.
“Oh, sorry,” Baekhyun’s eyes flit around nervously after Yixing rejects him and he apologises softly. It’s a small thing but customers usually don’t decline offers of recommendations. And Baekhyun most certainly hadn’t been expecting Yixing to turn him down, it just seems personal somehow. Expectations are tricky to manage.
But, “No!” Yixing says, a bit too loudly and Baekhyun stares at him with wide eyes. Yixing seems a little strange, which is new to Baekhyun because he hasn’t heard this about him from the campus grapevine.
“Uh, I mean, I already know what I want,” Yixing says, pursing his lips so his dimples are out in full force and Baekhyun watches with astonishment as a deep flush creeps up Yixing’s neck, turning the tops of his ears red. “I’ll, I’ll have…” he stutters and the last of his words are mumbled and they end up getting swallowed up by the background noise of the café, so unconsciously, Baekhyun bends forward to try to hear him.
“What?” Baekhyun asks innocently, just as Yixing looks up and they’re suddenly much too close. Baekhyun freezes again at the intimacy and he forgets to breathe entirely. Yixing’s breath is very warm on his cheeks and it feels so ticklish, Baekhyun has to resist the wild urge to giggle.
Good grief, this boy is driving Baekhyun mad.
Baekhyun blinks again at Yixing, who also blinks back at him. This is the first time they’ve really looked at each other and for a second, Baekhyun is afraid Yixing could hear his loud heartbeat. It is now a roar in Baekhyun’s ears and he can’t hear anything else. He is so full of anticipation that he feels like he’s ready to combust anytime now.
The girl waiting in line behind Yixing clucks her tongue impatiently and begins tapping her foot. “Now kiss!” the tumblr addict hisses under her breath and resists the urge to bang their heads together.
Alas, life is not a meme.
Yixing ducks his head, and he suddenly starts chuckling, showing off his dimples again and Baekhyun reels back immediately from the impact of that smile; his stomach is quivering so badly, it’s starting to feel like a cramp. When Yixing looks up, he’s grinning and although it’s that same smile Baekhyun has always admired from the distance in the past; it’s the first time he’s seeing it so upclose and oh man, Baekhyun feels so shy but he also wants to reciprocate. So he curls his lips as well, but has to bend his head because he simply couldn’t make himself look into Yixing’s eyes. He’s afraid his heart might really burst.
“I said I’ll have today’s special,” Yixing says, still smiling; he sounds very certain now.
But Baekhyun furrows his brows at this. “What’s the day’s special?” Deep in his drawer, Joonmyun keeps a list of really good reasons why Baekhyun is never employee of the month; this is reason number nine.
At this, the smile slips off Yixing’s face and his mouth parts into a small ‘o’. “Um…” he mutters, looking lost again.
Baekhyun rushes to placate Yixing, “It’s ok, I’ll ask, no problem.” For some reason though, Yixing appears horrified by this but Baekhyun has already turned to Kyungsoo, “Kyungsoo, what’s the day’s special?”
“Some too-sweet stuff,” Kyungsoo mutters while he rinses his favorite rubber spatula meticulously and carefully places it to dry on the rack, ignoring the rest of the mugs in the sink. Kyungsoo is never employee of the month, too.
Baekhyun rolls his eyes. “That’s like the whole menu,” he says rather insolently. Then he pauses. Did Yixing see him roll his eyes? Oh god, he must have looked so stupid. So Baekhyun straightens himself and clears his throat to appear like he’s taking his job very seriously. He is a serious barista. He doesn’t add unknown ingredients into the beverages he makes just for the thrill of it.
“Cotton candy chewy chocolate brownie with cranberry sauce latte!” Jongmyun hollers from the back and Baekhyun feels the urge to apologize to Yixing. Sorry if you get diabetes from this, he almost blurts out.
“Small, medium, large?” Baekhyun swivels back to Yixing and asks, not quite succeeding in keeping the hopefulness out of his tone, as if he were asking Yixing out on a date. He didn’t mean to sound so breathless and unintentionally flirty but it’s really hard to control any part of himself right now.
But Yixing just opens and closes his mouth without uttering a word. “It’s not…” then, “Small,” he sighs, looking very small himself when his shoulders slump. A corner of Yixing’s lips scrunches up as if he’s displeased.
Baekhyun’s brows droop with disappointment at his reactions. He feels like his tiny, tiny advances have all been shot down by Yixing. He picks up his marker and worries his lower lip again as a new challenge poses itself. If he doesn’t ask for Yixing’s name, it would be as if he were revealing his interest in Yixing, like he has been keeping tabs on him, which he has been doing, like, who hasn’t? It’s Zhang Yixing. But no, Baekhyun would keel over from mortification if Yixing knew about his crush on him. He doesn’t want to end up being just one of Yixing’s many admirers.
So Baekhyun tightens his grip on the marker and asks, “Your name?”
“Oh,” Yixing says, sounding a little surprised, then his tone turns sheepish as he says, “Yixing, Zhang Yixing.” He smiles somewhat apologetically to Baekhyun, hand scratching the back of his head again.
Baekhyun realizes what Yixing’s reaction means. Probably expects me to know his name, probably doesn’t even need to introduce himself in school anymore, he thinks, feeling as if something heavy is pressing on his stomach, making him queasy. Baekhyun feels embarrassed for pretending not to know Yixing’s name, as if he’s trying to be special or something. This isn’t how he envisioned their first encounter at all. Baekhyun was supposed to be his usual witty funny self in front of Yixing - one of the most popular guys in school - not the current bumbling fool he is presently. Baekhyun is just another face in school, he doesn’t know why he’s trying so hard now. His cheeks suddenly feel hot and Baekhyun wants to quickly finish up this order so he can disappear from Yixing’s sight. He writes yixing on a lid and slides it across to Kyungsoo.
“Kyungsoo, order,” Baekhyun pushes the small dish that contains the receipt and Yixing’s change across the counter to him and gestures to Kyungsoo to start preparing Yixing’s drink.
“Um…” Baekhyun hears Yixing says but he doesn’t acknowledge him. It’s not like Yixing is seeking his attention anyway. He’s probably just nudging a friend or something.
“Next, please,” Baekhyun says, not looking up. He waits for Yixing to move away but it seems to take a long time before his shadow finally stops falling onto Baekhyun. Relieved, Baekhyun resumes taking orders but that horrible tight feeling in his chest just doesn’t seem to go away.
“Do you always flirt with your customers?” The girl next in line asks snidely, annoyed at having to wait so long before she’s served.
“Not if they look like you,” Baekhyun deadpans. His snark is clearly back.
★
Chanyeol is skilled at latte art and is capable of drawing a really realistic looking Baekhyun on froth. He's lucky his smiles are so wide and pretty because that's also the only thing he can draw. He's a jack of no trades, master of Baekhyun's face. Every patron gets Byun Baekhyun floating on their coffee, even if all they ever wanted is just a fucking basic leaf.
("Why not Kyungsoo?" Joonmyun asks him one day.
"Too much eye white, what a waste of milk that would be!" Chanyeol answers earnestly, "I only need two dots for Baekhyun’s."
And this is why Chanyeol is always employee of the month.)
It's the barista form of plastic surgery, Baekhyun figures. Even coffee has to look pretty now, what would Park Bom’s mom say? he wonders, one finger running unconsciously across his rather small eyes. Baekhyun suddenly feels like the last man standing.
“You sure you haven’t had plastic surgery before?” Kyungsoo side eyes Baekhyun.
Baekhyun huffs, “You call this after surgery?” he points to his face as if to, well, make a point. Then he pauses. He just insulted himself really badly, didn’t he?
And later that night, it's his own face he finds drawn on the café's little notice board when he goes outside to collect it back from its place beside the front door and close up. A speech bubble is placed strategically beside his mouth with the word ME!!! trapped in it. It's true that Baekhyun now feels very trapped indeed.
Because right above the drawing of him are the words:
Today's Special!
★
Here’s the alternate beginning to this story:
“Baekhyun, was it you who-”
“Yes,” Baekhyun says calmly before placing a dollop of cream meticulously onto a tiny cup of hot chocolate. The scoop of cream half falls out of the shot glass and starts sliding down the side of it. Baekhyun stares at it for a moment before shrugging and serving it anyway. He tried; it is not his fault he isn’t a talented barista. The process is always more important than the result anyway. Which dead famous person said this?
Joonmyun sighs. “I haven’t even finished my question.”
“Nine out of ten things that require the search for a culprit would default to me,” Baekhyun says nonchalantly.
That is true. “Or Chanyeol,” Joonmyun reasons it out. This is also true.
But Baekhyun tuts to show he’s offended. In his opinion, the difference between Chanyeol and him stretches wayyy more in their IQ scores than centimeters, and Baekhyun could always compensate by wearing Gaga-esque heels while Chanyeol is doomed for eternity.
“Don’t insult me. He would be that tenth thing, where anyone with reasonable levels of intelligence-,” Baekhyun stops here then. Because ‘Joonmyun’ and ‘reasonable levels of intelligence’… these two concepts don’t seem to really gel. “Why don’t you finish your question?” Baekhyun suggests.
Joonmyun pulls a face at Baekhyun, exhibiting the true definition of unattractiveness and saying, “Was it you who made yourself Today’s Special?”
“Was I what? YAH! PARK CHANYEOL!" Baekhyun yells across the café, proving that he has very reasonable levels of intelligence.
Utterly unconcerned with his friend’s wrath, Chanyeol beams widely and pushes a cup of latte across the counter to a customer. “Today’s special,” he says to her.
On the surface of her coffee, Baekhyun is smiling very happily.
★
Baekhyun is shaking very badly, his legs feel like jelly, his heart leaping so frantically in his chest that for a second, he frets about an impending heart attack. He’s terrified and for good reason; Baekhyun is going to go up and talk to Zhang Yixing. Yup, can someone with a heart just run him over with a jeep already. Or an elephant. Anything big. Not picky.
Theatrics aside, Baekhyun is worried he’s going to screw it up again. Although, really, Zhang Yixing ordered him yesterday, didn’t he? Christ, this sounds so wrong it can only be right. So Baekhyun’s pretty sure he stands a chance- some chance- 20% of a chance- a slim chance- did yesterday really happen? Oh God, it was all an illusion, wasn’t it? Baekhyun thinks horrifically, his confidence plummeting by the second. He’s pretty sure he dreamed Yixing into life. The key words are jumbled up in Baekhyun’s mind. Yixing. Baekhyun. Special. Order. He struggles to form coherent sentences with them.
Yixing ordered Baekhyun. Baekhyun was ordered by Yixing. Yesterday, Yixing ordered Today’s Special which was really Baekhyun. Baekhyun is special to Yixing because he ordered him yesterday. Hmm, that last one.
No matter how he structures his sentences, this thought just sounds like a joke. But Baekhyun just has to find out why Yixing did that. And if he’s hoping for anything more, well, he’s just keeping the faith like Cassiopeia.
Baekhyun is wandering outside Yixing's dance studio along with the usual crowd of girls and he's so embarrassed to be there. It's just that this is the first time he has ever taken the step to get closer to Yixing. Fuck being cool, screw nonchalance, he's finally, finally, admitting to everyone that Yixing has gotten under his skin just as much as any one of his fangirls. Who’s checking though? Yixing just makes Baekhyun so self-conscious.
Baekhyun doesn't even know what to do. Or rather, he knows what to do but the mere thought of going up to Yixing and casually going ‘Sup?’ makes him want to curl up like an earthworm under attack and wiggle all his segments in anguish forever.
He tiptoes outside the circle of people gathered outside the door and catches a glimpse of Yixing. Then Yixing moves and he shifts out of Baekhyun’s sight, so he steps deeper into the crowd. A tall girl shifts backwards and starts blocking his view. Baekhyun is pretty sure he had a better view at Super Show 6 when he was stuck in the middle of the mosh pit and Chanyeol was standing right in front of him. Fuck this shit, I can’t do this anymore! Baekhyun thinks, even as he continues to jostle with a girl for the best view of Yixing .
Yixing is dressed in a simple V neck top and loose black pants, demonstrating a move to a fellow dance mate. Just the mere sight of Yixing makes Baekhyun’s heartbeat speed up and fills him with amazing feel-good vibes and tingly- wow I’m gross, he cuts himself short and reflects inwardly. Baekhyun’s so infatuated he has managed to disgust even his own self; pass that trophy along now, Joonmyun, you’re no longer Most Embarrassing.
But the sight of Yixing still makes Baekhyun smile stupidly. Maybe it's ok, he doesn't need to get any closer. This distance is good. Baekhyun is perfectly happy where he is. He doesn't need a hand to hold, doesn't need a hug when he's happy or sad, doesn't need Yixing to even know who he is.
But his smile fades away to a lonesome look.
Maybe he needs every single of those things after all. Maybe he really wants Yixing.
Yixing is now reaching over to grab his bag and suddenly, his eyes widen with what seems to be surprise when he turns over and looks straight into Baekyun's eyes.
He looks straight into Baekhyu- oh, shit shit shit
It’s all right, Baekhyun calms himself down. Yixing is just glancing at the crowd outside the door, he would never notice Baekhyun. But why is Yixing walking over? And why is his eyes still locked onto Baekhyun’s?
The crowd parts for Yixing like he’s freaking Moses or something, and Baekhyun could only gape at Yixing, who has just stopped abruptly in front of him, giving him that strange confused look again before he lifts a hand and scratches that seemingly perpetual itch at the back of his head. When he peers up and opens his mouth, Baekhyun thinks unwittingly, ‘oh, he’s going to call me.’
Then a terrible thought sinks in; ‘oh, he going to call me Today’s Special in front of half the school.’, because there’s just no way Yixing would actually know Baekhyun’s name.
Seriously, Baekhyun doesn’t think his mom had given birth to him just so he could go through such terrible trials and tribulations.
“Hi, Baekhyun,” Yixing sounds strangely short on breath.
“Hi Baekhyun?” Baekhyun repeats after Yixing.
“What?” Yixing asks, looking confused but also amused, and then he just looks embarrassed.
“You know my name?” Baekhyun chokes out, before he realizes he sounds really stupid. It’s just, Yixing knows his name?
Yixing smiles in reply, blotches of red appearing on his face. “Doesn’t everyone?” he asks, rubbing his nose awkwardly and shifting his duffel bag from one shoulder to another.
What, Baekhyun thinks in utter confusion, but Yixing is speaking again. “Um, you’re on your way back to your dorm, right?”
“I am?” Baekhyun says dumbly because firstly, what in the world is going on, and secondly, he can’t possibly go, ‘uh, no, I came here to ambush you’.
Thankfully, Yixing doesn’t take his reply as a question. “Great! Well, me too. I live just two blocks away from you, I know you don’t know this (Oh, I so do, Baekhyun thinks.), haha, but anyway! Do you, uh, do you,” Yixing ceases his adorable rambling and scratches his head again before he sucks in a deep breath, cute smile morphing into a determined look, “doyouwanttowalkbackwithme?” he asks in a rush and bites his lower lip while he waits for Baekhyun’s answer.
Baekhyun wants to put a finger under Yixing’s nose because he thinks Mr. Popular is holding his breath while he waits for Baekhyun’s answer and he just wants to make sure.
Sanity finally saunters over after a long break, so Baekhyun manages to nod frantically and gushes, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” And then, “Sure.” Just in case, yeahx3 isn’t enough to convey his over-willingness to walk alongside Yixing.
At this, Yixing suddenly holds his fist up and he stops just as abruptly, sneaking a look at Baekhyun to check if he saw that, and then blushing when he realizes Baekhyun did see him.
Baekhyun thinks Yixing has just restrained himself from doing a fist pump when he said yes to his invitation, which yeah, cute to death, but can someone please tell him what the hell is going on? Yixing knows his name. Yixing knows Baekhyun passes by his dance studio on the way back to his dorm. Yixing knows where his dorm is. Yixing asked if he could walk Baekhyun back to his dorm.
All of a sudden, ‘Yixing ordered Baekhyun’ doesn’t seem like such an incredulous thought anymore. Not compared to what just happened.
★
The first half of the walk back is spent in awkward silence until they pass through a narrow aisle that serves as a shortcut to the dorm and a couple of guys from the drama club are going through it as well, carrying some large props with them. To give them way, Yixing and Baekhyun have to press themselves to the wall and that’s how Baekhyun ends up with his side snug against Yixing’s, heat seeping through thin clothes onto skin.
“Ok, I’m really, really, sorry,” gasps Baekhyun. He had no intention to take advantage of his namshin, he swears. Some drama dude who’s wearing a Saturn costume shoves Baekhyun with the ring of his planet outfit (what play is this?) and um, thanks drama dude? Because Baekhyun’s cheek is now pressed against Yixing’s chest. It should be disgusting, really, because Yixing has just finished dance practice but when Baekhyun sniffs, all he can catch is a whiff of softener and it reminds him of green hills, blue skies and he just sniffed at Yixing’s chest, didn’t he?
Whatever, shit happens, just give him five years to get over this.
“Oh, no, it’s all right,” Yixing says hastily, quickly moving away when the drama club clears the aisle.
“Yeah,” Baekhyun replies breathlessly, just as someone bumps into him and sends him into Yixing’s embrace again.
“Sorry,” Loki apologizes, getting out of character, before he starts running to catch up with the rest of the galaxy and Avengers; the last of them carrying a sign that reads, ‘Superheroes & Supernovas: A Dissection That Will Blow Your Midgardian Mind’.
“Are you all right?” Yixing asks with concern when he spots Baekhyun’s pink face
"Wow, ok, accidental second base or what," Baekhyun jerks back and blurts out the first thing on his mind with exaggerated cheer, trying to laugh this off when he spots the red seeping onto Yixing's cheek at his words. Uh, what did his big fat mouth just say? Baekhyun is so mortified by himself, he cups his hands and starts breathing heavily into them.
"Yeah," Yixing agrees with a wholly flustered look on his face, looking around wildly as if he doesn’t know how the hell he ended up here, strolling beside Baekhyun, "yeah."
Baekhyun ceases silent screaming to stare at him. He doesn’t think Yixing even knows he has just agreed to getting to second base with Baekhyun. He has no idea if he's more embarrassing than Yixing or if it's the other way round now.
"So!" Yixing suddenly shouts and Baekhyun jumps in fright. "Oh, sorry," Yixing whispers, bowing a little and looking contrite.
Yixing is definitely more embarrassing than him, Baekhyun decides.
"This is the first time I’ve seen you at dance practice," Yixing scratches his head while he says this, finally resuming a normal volume, “you usually just pass by the studio without stopping.” They're nearing Baekhyun's block, walking through the carpark that is right in front of it and Baekhyun doesn’t know if it's his mind playing tricks on him, but were they walking so slowly just now? Baekhyun knows he's deliberately slowing down his pace because he doesn’t want this to end too soon, but what's Yixing's excuse?
"Well, since you never did get the Today's Special you ordered," Baekhyun teases, determined to resume his usual witty self, although how that is redeeming, Kyungsoo has no idea either. Yixing laughs, the sound loud and carefree, making Baekhyun realise once again what the hell his mouth just spouted. He really wants to pull his sneaker off his foot right now and stuff it into his mouth so he can like, shut up forever, maybe? But with his words, all pretenses are suddenly dropped and yeah, yesterday really did happen. Yixing had entered the cafe Baekhyun's working in and ordered him.
Yixing uses the back of his hand to shield his mouth as he lowers his head and grins shyly, eyes a little downcast and fuck, that's cute, Baekhyun thinks. "I thought yesterday was," Yixing pauses to give a small laugh, "I thought that was your way of rejecting me," he confesses, lifting his eyes to peek at Baekhyun for his reaction. He smiles bashfully, dimples popping out and it's too much for Baekhyun, he yanks his eyes away because his heart's beating too fast and the jitters are hitting him hard all over again. “But I saw you today at practice and this was the first time you ever showed up so I just, I just had to,” he grimaces and breaks off here, shrugging to no one in particular.
"You know, I'm going to sound like a creep for saying this," Yixing sneaks another peek at Baekhyun and the special shorty almost trips over his own feet. Oh man, don't look at me, not with that look on your face, he wants to beg Yixing.
"But I've been noticing you for some time. A long time," Yixing smiles uncertainly at Baekhyun, unsure of how he would take this news, But all Baekhyun could do is to stare stupidly at Yixing, astounded by what he's hearing. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Yixing finally lets it out. "A year, actually," he admits ruefully, “when you were still a freshman.”
"What, why," Baekhyun blinks dumbly.
Yixing starts rubbing the lobe of his ear with his index finger and thumb, looking very self-conscious as he answers Baekhyun, “Well, um, you’re hilarious! You’ve hosted so many events at school, the Chuseok concert, the gag concert, the show during Christmas, I can’t name them all, you know better than me,” he protests halfheartedly; although he has pretty much listed all the shows Baekhyun has done. “You really have a way with words unlike me. And you’re terribly funny,” Yixing’s lips curl when he says this, but it looks like he’s smiling more to himself as he reminisces, rather than at Baekhyun, “I’ve always wanted to talk to you, but you’re always surrounded by so many people. Everyone wants to talk to you,” the smile on Yixing’s face turns wistful, “you’re very well liked.”
“Huh?” Baekhyun says, because is this an alternate universe where he’s actually popular? Because all right, fine,it’s plain fact and truth that he’s adorable and awesome, but Baekhyun really doesn’t think he’s so humble that he wouldn’t notice his popularity. Then again, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo do keep him so fucking grounded - like chained to the ground, fallen-angel-with-broken-wings kind of grounded - so maybe Yixing might be kind of right. People do always turn to him for a good laugh like he’s a joke machine or something.
Baekhyun pauses in his tracks to look quizzically at Yixing, “Why did it take you so long to talk to me then?” he asks, head tilted to one side. All his awkwardness has fled in the face of this astounding discovery.
Somehow, this question seems even more difficult for Yixing to answer. He stops walking as well, stuffing his hands into his pants and shuffling his foot around for a while before his shoulders sag and he doesn’t lift his head, just look to Baekhyun from behind his bangs, “I… I was waiting for the perfect opportunity. Yesterday seemed like one,” he cringes when the memory revisits, “I thought this was it, this was the perfect opportunity to talk to you. I could play it off as a joke, be funny or something, I don’t really know what I was thinking. I wanted to make an impression, I guess. I mean, I didn’t want to bomb it, I didn’t want to, well, you know. Then before I knew it, a year just passed. Times flies?” Yixing ends his ramble with a weakly uttered question and scratches the back of his head again. He sniffs and rubs his nose with the back of his hand. Then he scratches behind his ears.
“Are you very itchy?” Baekhyun suddenly asks; then a large grin breaks out on his face, turning his eyes into slits.
Yixing laughs out loud when he realizes Baekhyun is teasing him again. “No, I’m… I’m very nervous,” he bites his lips, a quiver in his stomach that he recognizes as an exhilarating mix of excitement and anticipation. “You make me very nervous,” Yixing admits, “I don’t know what to say to impress you and I really, really want to do that,” he says, giving Baekhyun a hopeful look.
Baekhyun just continues smiling at Yixing. “Your name is Yixing,” he says out of nowhere, although there’s a also a curious look on his face. Baekhyun looks whimsical.
“Yeah, I told you that yesterday,” Yixing says, a bit bewildered that Baekhyun has brought this up. He scratches his neck before he catches Baekhyun’s grin and laughs again. “I wanted to talk to you more actually,” he smiles, a nice pink dusting his cheeks, “but it seemed like a bad time for you.” Then a look of alarm appears on his face as he recalls Baekhyun asking for his name, “Oh God, I’m so sorry, you don’t even know who I am! And I’ve asked if I could walk you home-” Yixing stop here, closing his eyes and smacking a hand on his forehead. “Classic idol-fan situation, I feel like I know you so well already,” he opens his eyes, giving Baekhyun a bemused smile, “Why did you even say yes? I hope I didn’t make you agree to something you didn’t want to do.”
Baekhyun is confused. “I thought you expected me to know you. You sounded surprise when I asked for your name?”
Yixing ducks his head and blushes. “No? I was just, flustered? I was introducing myself to you for the first time, and I, yeah,” he ends weakly.
But the smile disappears from Baekhyun’s face as he remembers how fake he had been yesterday. He’s not as smooth as he thinks he is, unlike Yixing who’s so genuine and could so easily confess his thoughts and feelings. Yixing, who doesn’t try to pretend he doesn’t know Baekhyun’s name. All of Baekhyun’s pretenses have brought him nowhere and he suddenly feels embarrassed for trying to be cool. He’s embarrassed when his mouth begins shooting off like how he usually does; but when he clams up, he wishes he could resume his normal sarcastic self. Why is he making life so difficult for himself?
“I’m not as cool as you think I am,” Baekhyun stops here, unsure how to phrase his thoughts, “Your name is Yixing,” he says, continuing what he has been meaning to say, “I knew this even before yesterday, I’ve,” he exhales heavily and whispers, “I’ve always known who you were. You never have to impress me, I don’t think I could be impressed any further.” He tries to jest, “You have to learn contentment, you know. Sky. Limit.”
But Yixing would have none of that. Instead of being offended or even puzzled at Baekhyun’s confession, Yixing just takes a hasty step forward before he catches himself and steps back again. He opens and closes his mouth, blinking a few times before asking softly and uncertainly, “Do you, I mean, do you also…?”
They have reached Baekhyun’s dorm. The afternoon sun is high up in the sky and Baekhyun has to squint to even make out Yixing’s face in the bright light. He looks very fidgety, not like a namshin at all. Baekhyun thinks he likes Yixing better like this; he likes himself better like this, too. His mouth has always been so much smarter than him; he’s not suited to be this shy boy, he doesn’t want to shut up forever, not when Yixing thinks it’s his virtue.
“You know, I usually am very reserved and shy, really, I swear” Baekhyun says, although there’s a bold, smug look on his face, a smile flirting with the ends of his lips, and it makes Yixing bursts out laughing. Man, he makes Yixing laugh so much. Baekhyun grins mischievously at his response, “but because you’re equally special, I’m going to invite you up for a cup of…” Baekhyun pauses here, because he sure as hell doesn’t have coffee in his dorm, “…soju?” he finishes his question, pulling his mouth into a bizarre shape to show that he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about too, since it’s like 2pm in the afternoon and no one should be getting high at this hour. “It’s Today’s Special,” Baekhyun sings enticingly. Then he lowers his eyes in what he thinks might be a coquettish look and Yixing smiles at him, dimples deep at the sides of his mouth as he, goddamnit, he flirts right back. Another thing about Yixing that Baekhyun didn’t get from the grapevine; he’s so playful.
“But I want yesterday’s,” Yixing pouts.
Baekhyun pretends to think it over. Then he gives an exaggerated sigh as if he’s doing Yixing this major favor and it’s hard doing business thesedays with customers like him.
“All right, I’ll do a one for one, but just this once,” he wags a warning finger in Yixing’s face.
“Don’t be stingy,” Yixing cajoles. He even tries to look disgruntled but it’s getting rather difficult not to smile now, so he purses his lips but that just makes his dimples more pronounced.
“You’re not even a regular,” Baekhyun retorts before he realizes how daring that sounds. He flicks a gaze up at Yixing, holding his breath and nibbling his lower lip, not knowing how inviting he looks right now.
“Oh, you want me to be a regular?” Yixing asks with mock surprise, eyes round with astonishment, like that isn’t exactly just what he wants. Stupid flirt.
“I’m just asking if you would like to join the queue, darling,” Baekhyun sings with equal amount of nonchalance, giving Yixing a withering look. But fuck, he loses and laughs first.
Yixing is a gracious winner, so he takes a step back. “Well, if you always keep the day’s special,” he says with a hopeful grin, “I wouldn’t mind the wait.”
Baekhyun follows right after Yixing. “I guess I could let you cut the queue,” he says reluctantly with an indifferent shrug. But the small grin on his face and the way he puffs his cheeks out suggest that he’s just being mischievous.
“Thank you so much,” Yixing says gratefully, grabbing the sides of his pants and dropping into a deep curtsy, "wouldn't have known what to do otherwise."
Baekhyun is ever so gracious. “Yes, you should be grateful.”
★
Although Today’s Special at Coffee by Shorties changes everyday, Yixing does become a regular. But he no longer hogs the queue just to flirt with the barista since he’s hogging Baekhyun all the time outside of his working hours anyway. He just stands to the side and monitors the number of people hitting on his boyfriend.
“I’m sorry to report a decline,” he tells Baekhyun regretfully.
“Hmm, I guess since you’re always standing beside me like a watchdog?” Baekhyun reasons thoughtfully.
Yixing ignores that fact. “It’s because you’re no longer a freshman. There’s now fresher meat.” As if to prove his point, Yixing stops to say hi to Sehun who has just entered the café.
“Sorry, hyung, I have an interview later,” Sehun says apologetically to Yixing, “I just need to inhale this before I go for it.” Then he scampers off to his table with a steaming mug of coffee, pouring it down his throat as if he were a fire swallower. He would have poured it into his ears if that would allow faster absorption.
“Well, for your information, the demand is dropping only because I’m refusing to supply,” Baekhyun crosses his arms and says in a superior tone.
“Yeah, what was it that you’re now refusing to supply?” Yixing smiles and asks.
Baekhyun deliberately adds another squirt of thick white cream to the drink in his hand, licking his thumb suggestively when some cream gets onto it.
“You are a supplier of bad sexual innuendos?” Yixing attempts to guess.
“Oh, they’re bad?” Baekhyun widens his eyes and says innocently, “But you really get off on them so easily. Is it your stamina or is it early ejacu-” And Yixing doesn’t do PDA, really, but Baekhyun just needs to be kissed into submission sometimes. It’s all his smartass mouth’s fault.
Molly the tumblr addict whoops from where she sits in the café.
Chanyeol makes a small change as well, he begins drawing Kyungsoo on his lattes and the café’s monthly milk consumption goes up by a gallon, because does Kyungsoo have fanboys or what? This costs Chanyeol his place as Employee of the Month, so Joonmyun eventually scraps this monthly award since no one deserves it except himself anyway.
As for Kyungsoo, he finally gets a budget dedicated to rubber spatulas.
Speaking of regulars, the café has been gaining new ones from the office building that just opened a month ago opposite the university. And Baekhyun has become fast friends with Lu Han, a financial controller who frequents the café every day.
“You’re in luck,” Baekhyun says, “Today’s special is your favorite.”
“I’ll check my horoscope if I want to know my luck, all right,” Lu Han says dryly.
Baekhyun fishes the newspaper over from the rack and flips through it. “Aries, right?” he peruses the horoscope section before guffawing, “Take your dog for a walk, even if you don’t have on e,” he recites mockingly.
“But the closest thing I have to a puppy is you,” Lu Han coos, laughing loudly when Baekhyun tries to swat him with the newspaper but fails, “and I’m a day shy. I’m a Taurus.” He grabs his coffee and leaves before Baekhyun could attempt to hit him with the papers again.
Hot on his heels is Sehun who has managed to absorb two mugs of coffee through sheer diffusion; although the caffeine just seems to make him even more nervous for his internship interview. “Hey, Sehun,” Baekhyun calls out to him before he walks out, waving the newspaper in his hands, “want to check your interview luck?”
“Uh,” Sehun hesitates. He has never held much belief for stuff like this, but oh, why not? He would really appreciate some luck today. “Yeah, sure. Thanks, hyung,” he says.
“What’s your horoscope?” Baekhyun asks as he hands the papers over to Sehun.
“Aries,” Sehun replies.
★
everything was fine & dandy until i recalled take your dog had baekhyun too... life’s too short to care about accuracy, ig
cecilia, i hope you never get to read this