#jh

PROLOGUE

Kim Seokjin was very happy. Having established his own successful business, he deserved more than just a pat on the back. After all, he didn't ask his extremely wealthy father for help. Rather, he did all of it on his own, and he worked very hard. Due to this, Kim Seokjin decided it was best to open another branch of 'Handsome Coffee' for a number of reasons: 1.) to manage the original branch's foot traffic, 2.) to target a new market, and 3.) to earn more money. Because honestly, who doesn't want more money?

Seokjin gathered all his courage, savings, and patience and opened a second branch near several universities. It was a smart move, considering his first branch was in the business district. He also made the decision to place some of his part-time baristas to run shifts at the second location. After all, they were university students themselves, and it was more accessible to them compared to the first branch. After three months, when Handsome Coffee was already stable enough, Seokjin thought it was time to hire a manager. After all, he couldn't manage two Handsome Coffee branches at the same time. So, it was time to hunt for the best candidate.

-

Lee Jihoon wanted to be a music producer; a serious music producer. Don't get him wrong, he loved his job at the TV network. He loved his colleagues, he loved the company's building and amenities, he loved its location, and he loved the work-life balance that it offered. However, after three years of working there, he decided it was time for him to stop. It was clear that he wasn't going anywhere with that career path. He wanted to produce music that would speak to people. Heck, he even dropped out just for his passion. Alas, all he did for three years was create background music for the morning news, the afternoon news, the evening news, the late-night news, and if Jihoon was being extra good at his job (not sure how that's possible because he's simply the best at his job), they'd make him create background music for talk shows or dramas.

With a heavy heart, he typed out his resignation letter.

"Dear sir, I hope this letter finds you in good health…" Jihoon mumbled to himself as he typed. He quickly shook his head and erased it. "That's so Hamilton-coded."

He sighed and stretched his back before typing again. This time, he really locked in.

"I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities that I have been given in this post. I deeply value the insights I have learned, and I expect them to help me in my future endeavors. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude for being a support system in my growth both professionally and personally. I have enjoyed my time as a television composer and I have enjoyed working with you and the rest of the team. Let me know how I can help in making the transition of responsibilities as smooth as possible for everyone involved. Thank you. Best wishes, Lee Jihoon"

Not knowing what to do after sending his resignation via email, Jihoon went out to treat himself at the new coffee shop that just opened.

Upon entering, Jihoon took note of the aroma that enveloped the whole place. It was clear that the design was catered to students. Ergonomic chairs, a loft-style space, a mezzanine with bean bags, high-speed WiFi, small meeting rooms for group projects, and many, many charging areas for gadgets. The area itself was clearly designed for students to collaborate and study. Jihoon thought he was out of place. Though, he figured, there was absolutely nothing to be insecure about because the students in the cafe were minding their own business. Some were there last night, and others just got there.

"I'm probably the only one who isn't a student." He thought to himself. With one more look at the place, he got up to the counter to order for himself.

"Welcome to Handsome Coffee! What can I get for you?" A young man smiled at him. Jihoon thought the man's eyes resembled boba… now, he wants boba, but he couldn't back out now or that'd be awkward.

"Hi, um…" Jihoon squinted his eyes and read the cashier's name, "Jungkook. I, uh, I'll just have an iced Americano. I'll keep it simple today."

The cashier, Jungkook, nodded and punched his order. After paying, Jihoon waited at the hand-off area and saw a small sign that said: "URGENT HIRING: STORE MANAGER AND BARISTAS".

A voice pulled him away from his thoughts, "Are you interested in applying? Everyone's welcome."

Jihoon looked at the person and found a man sliding his iced Americano and looking at him with a small smile on his face.

"I'm Kim Seokjin, by the way. I'm the manager and I own the place. Um, this is actually the second location of Handsome Coffee. I need someone to manage this place while I manage the main branch."

Jihoon smiled and introduced himself. Then, Seokjin walked around the counter and began discussing with Jihoon about the position. Seokjin may not have the usual talents others have (i.e., singing, dancing, etc.), but he can definitely spot potential in people.

Jihoon and Seokjin took a seat nearby and they continued their discussion. Jihoon didn't expect to get stuck in this situation. He didn't know how to get out of it either. Jihoon then realized that he didn't have a job after sending over his resignation letter.

"When a door closes, another one opens." Jihoon thought, as he looked at Seokjin animatedly, talking to him about Handsome Coffee's roots.

"So, are you in?" Seokjin asked, looking at him intently.

Jihoon thought Seokjin was a kind man. A kind, no-nonsense kind of man who's just passionate about his business. He thought it was a good trait to have.

"Fuck it." Jihoon said to himself.

"Yeah, I'm in." Jihoon smiled as he shook hands with Seokjin. After all, how bad could it be?

CHAPTER 1: THE CRUSH THAT STARTED EVERYTHING

Joshua Hong usually kept to himself. After graduating high school in LA, he went to college in Korea. He figured it was time to get in touch with his Korean heritage even more. The move wasn't easy because he was away from his family, but he took the risk anyway. He wanted to start fresh.

The adjustment was difficult at first. After all, he felt more Western than Asian. He learned about proper greetings, how to address people properly, and how to speak with different levels of respect depending on who he's talking to. It was challenging, but he overcame it.

Making friends was kind of difficult for him, though. The guys at his university already had a set of friends. He was nice to people he met, but he didn't have his own circle.

"It's not that deep," he told his mom one night, "I can survive."

"Joshua, you need to put yourself out there. You don't even have a girlfriend!"

"Mom, chill. I'm still young! I just started college. Besides, I still have plenty of time. Right now, I'm focused on my goal in being a registered Child Psychiatrist."

"Aish, but that's so far away. I know you'll get there, but you still have a lot to do. You're only a freshman, after all."

"Mom, I'll be fine. I'll visit soon, okay? I have to go or I'll be late."

Joshua's conversations with his mom consisted of talks about his future. His relationship with his ex-girlfriend wasn't that serious, anyway. They were on and off for about a year and a half. Joshua didn't really see a future with her, but he liked having her around, liked having a girlfriend to spoil, and liked having a person to talk to. His ex-girlfriend felt the same way. The reason why they were on and off was because they weren't sure where they're going.

Joshua's freshman year consisted of walking to university from his dorm, going to the library to do his homework, and getting invited to parties sometimes because everyone likes having a nice guy around, right? Despite that, he still hasn't made any friends.

Joshua genuinely didn't mind, but it was starting to become lonely sometimes. After all, he was only human. Nevertheless, he just focused on his studies, spoke to his friends and family back home, and roamed around Seoul in his free time.

When summer came around, he went back to LA and spent his summer with his friends. A few weeks into his summer vacation, he got notified that he was added in a Facebook group for sophomores in their university. He browsed through it and saw familiar names and faces. Shrugging it off, he placed his phone back in his pocket and carried on as usual.

Being a sophomore psychology major is trickier than being a freshman. Joshua's classes were now held at the other building which is in the opposite direction of his dorm. He didn't have a car in Korea, nor did he have a Korean driver's license… not yet, at least (even though his mom was pestering him to get one already). If he knew about the change, he'd move to a different dorm. Alas, he guessed it wasn't meant for him.

Now, he had to wake up earlier than usual in order to get to class at least 10-20 minutes before the professor came in. Joshua didn't really fancy waking up super early.

-

Today, Joshua was having a really bad day. He snoozed his alarm 3 times, arrived late, got in trouble for being late, and accidentally handed over his reviewer notes in lieu of his homework which he left on top of his desk. After twenty minutes of begging and pleading with the professor to allow him to hand over the real one before grading, he came out with a small smile on his face and his reviewer on his hand.

He checked his watch and realized he was late for a group meeting for his group project in one of his major subjects. His group mates asked for him to meet them at the university's courtyard which was located at the university's other other building.

"This university has way too many buildings…" Joshua huffed to himself as he awkwardly ran around the university. While running, he took out his phone and started texting their group chat.

It was then that he collided with another person, and the collision was hard, to say the least. Papers and books were strewn around them, and Joshua quickly got up to help gather papers. When he looked up, his whole world stopped. In front of him was you. Your hair was effortlessly let down and you looked at him with a small smile.

"Thanks." You said as he handed you your papers and books.

"You too." Joshua softly muttered to you causing you to chuckle a bit. "Oh, um, I mean, you're welcome." His face was beet red. Was it embarrassment? Was it because he was shy? He wasn't sure, and he didn't care.

"Thanks, again. Bye!" You smiled and left. Joshua looked at you as you walked away, almost forgetting he was supposed to meet his group mates at the library.

Since then, Joshua has been seeing you everywhere. It was as if everything's falling into place. Has he ever spoken to you since he bumped into you? No. He definitely didn't want to talk to you after that. Well, he wanted to, but he knows he'd only make a fool out of himself.

Every time he'd see you, his day instantly got better. It's as if you were the missing piece in his lonely life in Korea. He'd often call his mom and best friend from LA just to talk about you.

"What's her name?" His best friend asked.

"I didn't ask, but does it even matter? She's an angel, I swear. Oh! I saw her today and god, she looked amazing. She had a cute skirt on, paired with a long-sleeved shirt and a cute vest. She even had high socks and some loafers on."

"Are you, by any chance at all, talking about season 1 Rachel Berry?"

Joshua made a face, "Dude, no, I swear I'm not. I'd rather have Santana Lopez. She's hot."

"True. Anyway, back to your crush. Just talk to her!" his best friend exclaimed.

"I'll consider it."

"Or just find out where she hangs out the most and hang out there too."

"That sounds stalkerish." Joshua hummed.

"You idiot. Of course, you'd have to talk to her!"

"BIG NO!" Joshua said. Even the thought of talking to you made him panic. He liked you so much, he might explode.

He ended up taking his best friend's advice and began following you around in his free time. Well, "follow you around" is a strong phrase. Joshua preferred to call it "observing you from afar". At least that's what he uses every time he tells his best friend and mom.

He learned a few things about you:

Your favorite color is (Y/F/C).

You only hang out with two guys everyday. One of them, he learned over time, was your twin. (Equally pretty in his opinion. He had to double check if he was a man or a woman because of his features.)

You always hang out at Handsome Coffee with the guys you're always with. Most often, it's the guy who isn't your twin.

Joshua figured you loved Handsome Coffee so much. He'd go there sometimes even when you're not there, just to get a feel of the place. Joshua grew to like the place too. He always changes his orders, so he could try all of their drinks.

Sometimes, when you're there, he'd hear you laugh with the guy you're with. He couldn't help but feel jealous too.

"Joshua, you're being ridiculous." He'd often tell himself as he observed you from afar. He truly felt ridiculous because who was he to get jealous, anyway? You're free to do whatever you want. Besides, you didn't know him at all, and he doubted that you remembered him at all.

On this day, Joshua watched from his seat as you left with the guy. He sighed to himself and swirled his iced mocha around. Just as he's about to leave, he saw a sign on the window that said: "URGENT HIRING: PART-TIME BARISTAS".

Joshua quickly looked for the manager and said, "I would like to apply as a part-time barista. When can I start? I can deliver, I promise! Please hire me."

Jihoon, the branch manager, looked at him like he was crazy.

"Jihoon, be kind to yourself. He's crazy. You don't need another crazy barista." Jihoon thought to himself as he stared at Joshua, who was waiting for his reply. However, Jihoon had promised Seokjin that he'd give part-timers a chance because they're in need too. With a heavy inhale, Jihoon could only nod, making Joshua happier than ever.

CHAPTER 2: JOSHUA FROM LA LIKES THE REGULAR CUSTOMER AND SEUNGKWAN DISCOVERED IT. GIVE HIM A BONUS, JUSEYO. -BOO SEUNGKWAN

"'Hi, what can I get for you?' No, that sounds robotic." Joshua said as he practiced his dialogue to nobody. After all, he got the solo dorm because he didn't want to deal with having a roommate. "'Hey! Ordering something?' That sounds rude."

Today is Joshua's first day at Handsome Coffee. He's pretty excited. Today will be pretty chill because it's the weekend. Their only customers would be outsiders or university students who have Saturday classes. It's Joshua's first-ever job and he's genuinely looking forward to seeing you as his customer… and he's looking forward to working with his co-baristas and gaining new friends.

Upon arriving at the cafe, Joshua was greeted by Jihoon, the branch manager. All hands were on deck that day despite the slow day. Apparently, Kim Seokjin had told Jihoon that weekends should be full of staff in case there's an increase in foot traffic.

-

It's been a month since Joshua joined Handsome Coffee, and he's been loving it so far. He loves being able to make drinks, loves joking around with his workmates, and he loves seeing you whenever he's on shift. He had learned more about his workmates over time. He even created a personal Google Sheet containing his workmates' profiles just so he can remember them and their roles in Handsome Coffee (he's very forgetful).

NAME: LEE JIHOON ROLE: Manager / Shift Supervisor STATUS: Full-time RESPONSIBILITIES: Manages daily operations, schedules staff shifts, handles inventory, trains new employees, reports directly to Kim Seokjin (owner), handles cafe playlist JOSHUA'S NOTES: his energy resembles a single parent of chaotic children NAME: BOO SEUNGKWAN ROLE: Front Counter / Customer Relations STATUS: Full-time RESPONSIBILITIES: Takes orders, handles customer complaints, recommends drinks, maintains cafe vibe JOSHUA'S NOTES: loves tea (the gossip), cheekbones higher than my grades, knows customer gossip, great people skills, graduated college early (so smart) with the course of Communication Arts NAME: KWON SOONYOUNG ROLE: Coffee & Beverage Specialist STATUS: Full-time RESPONSIBILITIES: oversees drink preparation, trains baristas, maintains drink quality, creates seasonal specials (subject to approval by Kim Seokjin and Lee Jihoon) JOSHUA'S NOTES: energetic, tiger obsessed, creative, dances while cleaning, temporarily stopped studying to save up for tuition, sometimes absent to join dance competitions for extra cash, ex-coffee master at Starbucks NAME: WEN JUNHUI ROLE: Pastry Handler / Bakery Support STATUS: Full-time RESPONSIBILITIES: Plates pastries, slices cakes, restocks baked goods, warms food, prepares pastry displays JOSHUA'S NOTES: martial arts guy, graduated early with the course of Hospitality Management (another smart alec), can work under pressure (honestly so amazing) NAME: JEON WONWOO ROLE: Inventory & Logistics Support / Barista / Asst. Manager STATUS: Part-time RESPONSIBILITIES: Tracks ingredients, restocks supplies, manages deliveries, handles maintenance support, helps in drink preparation, acts as manager when Jihoon is on day-off JOSHUA'S NOTES: calm, quiet, reliable, detail-oriented, full-time gamer while being a part-time worker, no one knows if he goes to uni NAME: KIM MINGYU ROLE: Maintenance Support / Cafe Utility / Custodian / Barista STATUS: Part-time RESPONSIBILITIES: Fixes broken chairs, assembles shelves, moves heavy supplies, maintains cafe cleanliness, cleaning floors, sanitizing restrooms, emptying trash, makes drinks during peak hours JOSHUA'S NOTES: don't let his j.d. fool you bc he's clumsy, 4th year high school, handsome :)) NAME: LEE CHAN ROLE: Custodian / Barista / Delivery Boy (weekends) STATUS: Part-time RESPONSIBILITIES: Maintains cafe cleanliness, cleaning floors, sanitizing restrooms, emptying trash, makes drinks during peak hours, washes dishes, handles delivery JOSHUA'S NOTES: fast-moving, energetic like Soonyoung, 2nd year high school student NAME: LEE SEOKMIN ROLE: Barista STATUS: Part-time RESPONSIBILITIES: Prepares ingredients, makes drinks, restocks drink supplies, assigned at the bar (hot and iced beverage) station JOSHUA'S NOTES: loud, funny, good tandem with Seungkwannie, 4th year high school NAME: XU MINGHAO ROLE: Barista / Cafe Design Support STATUS: Part-time RESPONSIBILITIES: Designs chalkboard menus, creates seasonal posters (subject to approval by Kim Seokjin and Lee Jihoon), decorates cafe according to theme, latte art specialist, assigned at the blended beverage station JOSHUA'S NOTES: loves tea (the drink), calm, meditates before shift, sells hand-painted phone cases for extra cash on the side, I owe him ₩300 for the hand-painted phone case I bought from him, 4th year high school NAME: CHWE HANSOL VERNON ROLE: Barista / Social Media Specialist STATUS: Part-time RESPONSIBILITIES: Runs cafe social media, takes photos of drinks, posts promotions, edits reels/videos, assigned at the blended beverage station JOSHUA'S NOTES: fellow American homie :)), weirdo, 4th year high school (accelerated)

Joining the team, Joshua was assigned at the bar along with Seokmin. Soonyoung was proud that Joshua was able to pick things up fast. It didn't take long for him to get the rhythm of the cafe.

Sometimes, if his schedule allows him, he'd get a morning shift. Morning shifts are really busy. He'd see familiar faces getting their coffee fix before going to class. It's always so loud. Students taking their online classes in random tables with AirPods on, Seungkwan taking orders, professors and students in line to buy themselves breakfast, the coffee machines in effect, the bell of the door ringing, the low hum of the oven, the fridge opening and slamming shut, and one of them calling out orders quickly. It was chaotic, but still doable. After all, the morning shifts are usually for people who are working in Handsome Coffee full-time. Only about 2-3 part-time workers are there.

Afternoon shifts are chill. It's more relaxed because some students are still in class, and others just finished class. Handsome Coffee would be partly occupied for chilling. Sometimes, joggers around the area also go there for their fix of caffeine. This is where Seungkwan steps away from the counter to spill random customer gossip no one has ever asked for.

"Ha Ji-Young is pregnant and the baby daddy is some guy she met at a club. Listen, I'm all for being free, wild, and y'know… the S word, but at least wrap it up. Don't feed into the breeding kink fantasy because once you're ACTUALLY bred, you might regret it. Anyway, I heard her course is pretty stressful, so good luck, I guess." Seungkwan told Joshua on a random Tuesday.

"Where do you get these things?! And who's Ha Ji-Young??" Joshua asked, earning a smack on the arm from Seungkwan.

"Shh, don't be so loud! She's the one wearing an ugly tracksuit by the window. It's so last year. She's probably wearing it because she peaked last year. Did you know a lot of guys and girls follow her wherever she goes? Now they're all gone. Why? Because she's with child. Pretend you don't know, okay? Let's not make her feel awkward." Seungkwan said as they both looked at the subject in question.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Mingyu asked as he got back from bringing the plates to the backroom for Chan to wash.

"Ha Ji-Young." Seungkwan answered. Mingyu's eyes widened and he whispered, "Jinjja? Is it true that she's pregnant?!"

"Like a pregnancy test, POSITIVE." Seungkwan answered. "I heard her crying on the phone a month ago. She keeps telling everyone that she's bloated, but her body is definitely not bloated. Plus, she's a cheerleader, isn't she? She quit cheerleading."

"Oh my god. It's scary that you know a lot." Joshua shook his head as he wiped down the counter. 'Poor Ha Ji-Young', Joshua thought. 'Not safe from Seungkwan's gossip'.

Evening shifts were ones that Joshua loathes. Just as they finish announcing last call orders, they experience a second wave of peak because by some magical force, EVERYONE within the vicinity wants to order Handsome Coffee. Jihoon is at his wits end at this point. He'd call up Seokjin at random times to ask and report things.

"Seokjin-sajangnim, I'm sorry for calling this late. How do we navigate the advanced app orders again?"

"Sajangnim, I'm sorry for calling now, but it's urgent. The customer didn't like their coffee and they're demanding for a Handsome Coupon. Shall I give it or shall I give something else?"

Once the influx of customers are gone, they're too tired to function. However, they still have to clean. Chan usually doesn't work night shifts unless it's a Saturday, so most of the time, Soonyoung washes the dishes because he's quick with it and he's desperate to go home. Jihoon would close sales, Jun would close the pastry area, Joshua or Seokmin would close the bar, Minghao or Wonwoo would close the blended beverage station, and Mingyu and Seungkwan would clean the customer area. Whoever finishes first would help Mingyu and Seungkwan because the customer area has a mezzanine.

Today is kind of a busy day. The university announced that classes have been cancelled for two days, so all the part-time workers are working full shifts. Jihoon informed this to Kim Seokjin, and as thanks, Seokjin told Jihoon that they'll be getting additional payment. Of course, the part-timers were happy, and the full-timers can now rest.

Seungkwan was feeling under the weather, so Wonwoo is currently behind the counter. At Handsome Coffee, regardless of where you're assigned, you're still required to learn the basics about the other stations. As for Joshua, he's only been there for a month. His cashier training hasn't begun because he's not yet beverage certified.

"Welcome to Handsome Coffee." Wonwoo greeted flatly as customers came in.

"Geez, at least pretend to be happy." Soonyoung nudged him. Wonwoo gave the customers a small, fake smile before taking their orders. Soonyoung stood beside Joshua and said, "Alright, let's see what you've got when you're alone. Seokmin-ah, go support Vernon with the blended beverages. He's swamped and no drinks are coming out on his end."

"Got it, boss." Seokmin saluted and quickly went over to Vernon who was, indeed, struggling with the blended drinks. At some point, the blended blue lemonade spilled, so while Vernon was cleaning it, Seokmin made the pending drinks quickly.

Wonwoo sent over the orders to the bar and Soonyoung looked at the screen before turning to Joshua, "Alright, you can do this. Try and do one drink and then when you're done, do two drinks at the same time."

Joshua nodded and began pulling the espresso shot before grabbing the appropriate cup size and pumping caramel syrup in it. By the time the espresso is done pulling, Soonyoung double checks if the shot is good. Thankfully, it is, and Joshua pours it in the cup. He gives it a little swirl before adding oatmilk (requested by the customer) and ice, topping it off with caramel drizzle and a lid. Joshua found comfort in the routine, memorizing recipes and workflows until they became second nature. Well, almost second nature. He still has a lot to memorize, and it's tricky when he's sort of forgetful.

He can never forget your beautiful smile, though. It's his only motivation to go to work.

"Joshua, mocha," Soonyoung called, sliding an empty cup toward him.

Joshua blinked, snapping out of his thoughts before nodding quickly. "Got it."

He pulled the espresso shot before reaching for the syrup, counting the pumps under his breath like he always did. One of the first things he learned about himself while working here was that he tended to forget things when he got overwhelmed. So he developed small habits—quiet counting, mental checklists, and occasionally double-checking the recipe sheet tucked neatly beneath the counter.

Soonyoung slid him two cups to work on to test his speed in making two drinks at the same time. Joshua did well. All he needed was to make sure the milk he was using was correct and if he pulled decaf (upon customer request).

"You're getting fast," Soonyoung remarked from the hand-off area, arms crossed after handing the drinks to their customers.

Joshua let out a small laugh as he grabbed a towel and cleaned the station, "Just trying to keep up."

"And I'm very proud." Soonyoung smiled happily.

Joshua felt a small sense of relief settle in his chest. Maybe this job wasn’t as terrifying as he thought it would be. Maybe he was finally getting used to it.

The café moved in its usual rhythm— orders being called, drinks sliding across counters, quiet conversations blending into white noise, low hum of the oven, the roar of the blender, the sound of ice being swirled inside the cup. Joshua liked this part of working in Handsome Coffee.

It wasn't peak hours, but the customers were going in and out which annoyed the baristas because they'd always look up every time someone entered and went out due to the door chimes ringing. After five minutes, everything was now calm. No one was leaving and no one was coming in. They all enjoyed the peace.

"Fucking finally! I was getting pissed at the door." Vernon exclaimed as he cleaned the blender.

"Me too, and I don't get angry easily. No wonder Seungkwannie is always annoyed." Seokmin said as he wiped their area clean.

"With or without the door chimes, he's always annoyed." Soonyoung chuckled. "True," said Wonwoo as he cleaned his glasses.

Just then, the door chimes were heard again followed by a hushed "god dammit" from Vernon and a groan from Wonwoo, who was already socially drained.

Joshua was grabbing the caramel sauce to refill it when he looked up out of habit as he heard the door. At first, he didn’t think much of it. Just another customer. Just another order, but then he saw you. You walked in with the same guy you were always with, the guy who isn't your twin, laughing softly at something he said as you approached the counter.

Joshua could've fainted then and there. He turned to Soonyoung and quickly said, "I think dishes need to be washed. You don't need me out here, right? Please let me stay at the back. Please, please, please."

"No, what's wrong with you?" Soonyoung asked. "Stay. You need to polish your skills."

Reluctantly, Joshua faced the espresso machine. He glanced at your direction as you and the guy spoke to Wonwoo about your orders. Then, he just froze. He completely froze. "Oh my god." Joshua muttered under his breath.

The guy you were with was very handsome. He was muscular and he seemed like a nice guy. His shirt was tight on him which made his muscular features more evident.

"Is this what a heart attack feels like?" He thought to himself. There's no way he could compete with someone he assumed was your boyfriend.

He forgot if he was holding anything.

He forgot what he was doing before you came in.

He forgot how to breathe normally.

He forgot where he was because in his mind, it was only you in the cafe.

"Joshua?" Soonyoung's voice snapped him back to reality. Joshua blinked rapidly, realizing he squeezed the caramel sauce too hard, causing it to spill out of the bottle and on his hand.

"Oh shit!" Joshua exclaimed. Just as he was cleaning, he overheard something that made his heart shatter into a million pieces.

"Baby, I dare you to pick something that isn't your usual." The guy said.

"Baby? Baby?!" Joshua thought. "Oh my god, he's her boyfriend?! I'm too late. I'm too late. So fucking stupid of you, Joshu-"

"Joshua! You got two drinks to make, man. C'mon!" Soonyoung clapped his hands in front of Joshua's face.

"Sorry, sorry!" Joshua quickly looked at the screen for your orders and quickly made the drinks: iced salted caramel latte and iced chocolate. Easy, right? To normal Joshua, sure. To a panicked-and-potentially-heartbroken-Joshua, absolutely not.

"Hey, man," A voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Joshua looked up and made eye contact with the guy. "I forgot to tell the cashier… Can you make the salted caramel latte less sweet and less ice?"

"S-Sure!"

"Thanks, man. Oh, and can you make it quick? My girl's in a hurry." The guy smiled sweetly before walking over to the hand-off area where Seokmin is conversing with you about their new strawless lid. Random, but informative.

"Stop!" Soonyoung exclaimed, taking the cups from Joshua's hands. "He asked for salted caramel, less sweet. He didn't ask for diabetes and she ordered the iced chocolate, not chocolate with no milk and no ice. What's wrong with you?"

Soonyoung quickly made the drinks and handed them to Seokmin, to which Seokmin called out, "For Seungcheol?"

The muscular guy you were with walked over to Seokmin as Joshua watched this flawless man grab the drinks and hand one over to you. His jaw hung open.

"Thanks, hon." You smiled at Seungcheol. Joshua didn't know if he wanted to faint because of your pretty smile or if he wanted to die because you called Seungcheol 'hon'. Both of you thanked Seokmin and left the cafe.

Joshua's eye was twitching. He didn't know if he was tired or not. One thing was for sure, though. He was heartbroken.

The next day, Joshua was still heartbroken. To make things worse, he's on the night shift. Jihoon is on day-off, so Wonwoo is at the back, counting the sales from the morning and afternoon shifts. It's 7:00PM, and it's only one hour before closing time when the cafe's foot traffic dies down.

Seungkwan sent bar orders from in-app orders, Joshua and Seokmin made the drinks, Jun was heating the pastries (while pre-closing bit by bit), and Mingyu was washing the dishes in the back. The night was slow, and when the app orders were picked up, the guys had nothing to do. Seungkwan, Joshua, Seokmin, and Jun were now joined by a semi-drenched Mingyu. All five men stood in a circle and began talking about their slowest shift ever. Wonwoo walked out of the back and said, "You can start pre-closing. I know some of you are slow, and I want to go home on time so I can stream." With that, Wonwoo walked back inside.

"I'll get the stuff that we can already put in the back, okay?" Seokmin nudged Joshua as he began getting empty whipped cream canisters, metal dishes with chemical solutions inside for their counter towels, empty pitchers, and more.

"Okay. I'll close half of the bar and blend stations." Joshua said as he walked over to the blended beverage station. There were four blenders, so he turned off two of them and began cleaning the two blenders. Seungkwan helped by replenishing everything needed on all stations. Jun had already (successfully) pre-closed his area, so he was sort of relaxing. Mingyu was at the back washing everything Seokmin brought in and prepping the stuff needed for the morning shift.

Just then, the door chime rang.

"Good evening, welcome to Handsome Coffee!" Seungkwan greeted cheerfully. Joshua looked up and saw you. It was weird because you were alone. No Seungcheol, no twin. Just you. It was a breath of fresh air.

"Hi, I just want the large iced chocolate and a slice of carrot cake, please." You smiled and gave your name and payment. Seungkwan sent over the bar order and Joshua quickly made the drink perfectly. He made sure to add chocolate powder on top. You didn't request any, but it was free, anyway. Unbeknownst to him, Seungkwan was watching with arms crossed.

Jun placed the tray with the carrot cake on the hand-off counter and opened his mouth to call your name out, but Joshua stopped him. "No!" Joshua exclaimed. Jun looked at him weirdly.

"I'll bring it over to her. I mean, uh, she seems busy." Joshua reasoned. Jun shrugged and left the hand-off area without saying anything before joining Mingyu in the back room. Joshua placed the chocolate drink on the tray, walked around the counter, and brought the tray over to where you were sitting.

Feeling a presence walking over to you, you looked up and quickly moved your things to make space for the tray. Joshua set it down and said, "Um, hi. Enjoy! I, uh, I added extra chocolate powder to your drink."

"Oh, I didn't ask for any, but how much is it?"

"It's free! Don't worry about it." Joshua smiled, and you smiled too. Gosh, he was a goner for your smile.

"Oh, well, thank you! I couldn't focus in my dorm because my stupid twin is on a group call, so I decided to come here and do a bit of homework. I'll be out of your hair in no time, I swear." You told him and he shook his head, "No, no, no! Take your time. I insist. I mean, we insist. We won't kick you out."

Joshua grinned and you thanked him. Both of you were staring at each other. For him, it was absolutely the best thing ever. For you, it was getting awkward.

"Um, is there anything else you'd like to tell me?" You awkwardly asked and Joshua cleared his throat, "Nothing else. Um, enjoy again!"

Joshua quickly walked back to his station, and you carried on doing your homework. Joshua quickly cleaned the stations along with Seokmin and by the time they were done, Joshua leaned over the hand-off area, rested his chin on his palm, and stared at you.

"How can someone look so ethereal?" Joshua thought. To him, you resembled a fairy. Soft features, beautiful hair, and tantalizing eyes.

Seungkwan walked past the bar, wiping his hands on his apron after wetting his hands. He slowed, then stopped. Joshua hadn't moved in at least thirty seconds, hunched over with his chin resting on his palm, and eyes locked in one direction. Curious, Seungkwan followed his line of sight.

Bullseye!

There you were seated near the window, alone, doing your homework, blissfully unaware that Joshua was gawking. You were hunched slightly over your notebook, pen-tapping softly against the page as you worked through a difficult part of your homework. Your drink, three-fourths full, sat away from your papers, untouched for the moment as it condensed.

He knew something was up when Joshua wouldn't let Jun call out your name. Seungkwan blinked once. Then twice. Slowly, very slowly, his head turned back toward Joshua, still unmoving, still leaning against the counter like the world had paused just for him. Joshua had a tiny smile on his face as he watched you, chin resting on his palm, eyes soft, and completely, painfully focused. His gears were turning, then Seungkwan's eyebrows shot up.

"No way!" Seungkwan thought. He quickly glanced at you, then at Joshua, then back at you, and back at Joshua again. He repeated the pattern three times before sucked in a quiet breath, pressing his lips together, to keep whatever noise was threatening to escape.

"Oh. Oh, this is bad. This is very bad. Well, not bad-bad," Seungkwan thought as he looked up at the ceiling before smirking to himself and looking at Joshua again. "But juicy-bad."

Seungkwan felt like he was going through some kind of heavenly change. It's other-worldly, even! Joshua had never mentioned any girl since they met, but this? THIS IS GOLD. Seungkwan felt like he was transforming into Sailor Moon.

The information made his chest feel tight because there was suddenly something juicy inside his brain and absolutely no one to tell. Not yet, at least.

Seungkwan shifted his weight from one foot to another, fingers twitching at his sides. Should he stand still? Should he walk around? Should he pretend to check the app for new orders? He wasn't sure.

He looked around quickly; once toward the counter, once toward the back, once toward the entrance, and once toward the security camera. He made sure no one else had noticed before him because if someone else had noticed first? It'd be absolutely-positively-unacceptable! He's the gossip king in this establishment and it should remain that way. Someone else finding out before him would ruin his image (not really, but he's very dramatic).

This discovery was his alone. This discovery was his baby.

His eyes snapped back to Joshua who was still staring, still blinking slowly, and still quiet. Seungkwan swallowed hard, pressing his hand flat against his chest as if that would calm the sudden rush of energy buzzing under his skin.

"Oh my god," Seungkwan thought, holding back a squeal, "Joshua has a crush. Joshua from LA. Joshua-who-forgets-recipes-when-nervous. Joshua fucking Hong has a big, fat crush on iced chocolate drinker-resident-baby girl regular."

Seungkwan sucked in another quiet breath and immediately turned away before Joshua could catch him looking.

Abort eye contact. Abort mission. DO NOT get caught.

He started walking again, a little too fast, then slowed abruptly, forcing himself to look normal as he passed the counter.

"Be normal, be normal, be normal." Seungkwan quietly chanted to himself. His whole body tensed when Joshua shifted slightly, and Seungkwan nearly jumped out of his skin before pretending to adjust his apron.

"Don't look. Don't look. Don't-" He looked at Joshua again to see if he noticed. Thankfully, he didn't. Joshua was still busy staring, still busy being a goner.

Seungkwan bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from making a sound. This information was too big. This is info overload. His brain can only handle so much info. This was clearly too big to keep to himself. Too dangerous to sit on.

His gaze darted across the cafe. He searched and scanned like how Eliza Schuyler was searching and scanning for answers. He was looking for someone. Not just anyone, oh, no. He needed someone reliable, someone who would understand the gravity of the situation. Someone who-

Seungkwan watched Seokmin enter the production area with whipped cream canisters, ready to be used tomorrow morning. Seokmin neatly put them on the counter before squatting down to check if the fridge is clean.

Seungkwan inhaled sharply through his nose, shoulders tightening as he locked onto his target like a predator spotting prey. He wiped his sweaty palms against his apron, took one steadying breath, then began moving quickly, but careful because this? This was classified information, and he needed to tell someone before he combusted.

Seokmin was still squatting in front of the fridge, humming to himself, as he arranged the items in it. Seungkwan approached him like a thief in the night. He crouched down beside Seokmin so suddenly that Seokmin nearly fell over.

"YA-!" Seokmin was cut-off by Seungkwan's hand covering his mouth. "Shh!" Seungkwan hissed before pulling both of them up and leading them to the pastry area.

He removed his hand from Seokmin's mouth and Seokmin could only blink at him. "Why?" Seokmin could only ask. Seungkwan was acting weirder than usual.

Seungkwan glanced over Seokmin's shoulder and said, "Don't look now."

"…Don't look at what, exactly?" Seokmin asked. By nature, Seokmin wanted to look at whatever it was Seungkwan said not to look at. As his head was about to turn, Seungkwan held his face in place.

"I said, don't look now." Seungkwan said in a low voice.

"You're scaring me." Seokmin whispered. Seungkwan swallowed hard as his hands landed on Seokmin's shoulders. His eyes darted toward Joshua, and then at you. At the same time, you sneezed. Joshua thought it was the cutest thing ever. He quietly chuckled to himself.

Seungkwan looked at Seokmin and breathed, "Joshua…"

Seokmin blinked, "What about him?"

Seungkwan sucked in a quiet breath, his shoulders rising like he was about to deliver breaking news on national television. "Joshua," he whispered, voice trembling with carely-contained excitement, "has a crush."

Seokmin's eyes widened as his entire body froze. "…No." He whispered in disbelief.

Seungkwan nodded aggressively, "Yes."

"No."

"Yes." Seungkwan nodded faster.

Seokmin scrunched his eyebrows and covered his mouth as it hung open, "On who?"

This time, Seungkwan allowed a shit-eating grin to grace his lovely face, "Iced chocolate drinker resident baby girl."

If Seokmin's mouth was open before, it was now on the floor. Sensing that Seokmin was about to react loudly, Seungkwan whispered, "DON'T expose him."

Seokmin nodded frantically and crossed his heart. The two men stared at each other before Seokmin said, "You're lying."

"I'm not lying."

"You're joking, then."

"I'm not joking."

Not able to contain himself any longer, Seokmin turned his head to look at Joshua. "I said don't look!" Seungkwan hissed, but it was too late. Seokmin was now looking at the lovesick idiot that was Joshua Hong. Seokmin looked back at Seungkwan and said, "Oh my god."

"I told you so." Seungkwan said.

"You weren't lying."

"No, I was not."

"You weren't joking."

"No, I was not. When have I ever joked about gossip?" Seungkwan crossed his arms.

"What do we do?" Seokmin asked.

"Absolutely nothing. I'll tell you when I have plans. I'll think about it at home. I didn't graduate college early for nothing, you know." Seungkwan answered.

"Sometimes, I forget that you graduated ahead of us." Seokmin shook his head.

Seungkwan rolled his eyes, "Don't hate me, 'cause you ain't me."

"You deserve a raise for this discovery!" Seokmin said playfully to which Seungkwan agreed.

CHAPTER 3: NO ONE MOURNS THE WICKED? NO. NO ONE MOURNS THE LOVESICK, ESPECIALLY NOT CHOI SEUNGCHEOL

"Yes, the wind blows a little bit colder, and we're all getting older, and the clouds are moving on with every autumn breeze."

The song playing in Choi Seungcheol's headphones was indeed a stark contrast to his appearance. The man was very much aware of how he looks. Tall, fair-skinned, with thick brows, an intimidating stare, pink lips, broad shoulders, and a dorito-like build, and dark-toned, oversized clothes to pair with scary-looking black boots.

Screw everyone, right? He loves Disney. He loves the songs, the movies, and he planned on working very hard to go to Disneyland. It's his dream. To everyone else, it seemed so silly. To him, it was his life's mission to give himself a great life to go to every Disneyland in the world. So, forgive him if he's enjoying Princess Anna's voice to kickstart his Monday.

After all, the song parallels his life. It's a new academic year, and he's now a third year college student taking up BS Business Administration Major in Marketing Management. Humming along to "Some Things Never Change", Seungcheol decided it was best to go to Handsome Coffee to start his day.

The door chimed as he entered, followed by a cheerful greeting from Seungkwan. He was somewhat familiar with the staff at his favorite coffee shop.

"Hi, there!" Seungcheol smiled. "Great weather we're having, right?"

"Absolutely! How's the new academic year treating you so far?" Seungkwan asked politely. He was always blessed with communication skills. Those skills alone granted him a bonus from none other than Kim Seokjin himself.

"Oh, it's been quite stressful. I know I'll rise above it, though." Seungcheol chuckled. "Anyway, I don't want to keep you with my boring anecdotes. I'll just have a large iced Americano with two packs of Stevia."

"Oh? Trying something different, are we?" Seungkwan smiled as he punched Seungcheol's order. Seokmin stared at Seungcheol as he gave money to Seungkwan.

"Joshua's competition is a grade-A hunk! Oh, he's already losing. Poor Joshua." Seokmin thought to himself as he shook his head.

"Do I have something on my face?" A voice pulled Seokmin out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw Seungcheol looking at him.

"Oh, no! Nothing is, uh, on your face. You're just, um, very-" Seokmin panicked, earning a painful nudge from Seungkwan.

"Don't mind him. He just graduated high school. He's now a freshman student here." Seungkwan smiled before eyeing Seokmin.

"Oh! Congratulations! What course are you taking?" Seungcheol asked, now interested in the weird barista.

"Music. Bachelor of Arts in Music." Seokmin answered. "Which means I can sing very well."

"Oh my god, he didn't ask that." Seungkwan muttered under his breath. Who could blame Seokmin? He was nervous.

"But now, there's nowhere to hide, since you pushed my love asiiiide! I'm out of my head, hopelessly devoted to youuuu! Hopelessly devoted to you~" Seokmin sang beautifully. 

Seungkwan gave him a look. Jun clapped and cheered from his post. Jihoon watched from the back room's doorway with arms crossed. Minghao's jaw dropped. Seungcheol was too stunned to speak.

"That was... wow! Best of luck to your endeavours in music." Seungcheol smiled. "I'll, uh, wait for my drink over there. Excuse me." 

Seungcheol walked over to the hand-off area and went on his phone. Seungkwan gave Seokmin a look, "Really?"

"I was nervous!"

"You're just like Joshua. Just be cool! Don't be obvious." Seungkwan hissed before going back to the counter. Seokmin began making his drink and handed it over to Seungcheol who smiled, thanked him, and left.

As soon as he left Handsome Coffee, Seungcheol was greeted by the cool air. He took a sip of his iced Americano and hummed in approval.

"It seems the barista isn't only a talented singer. He's also a talented barista." Seungcheol said to himself.

"Who ya talkin' to?" A voice said next to him, earning a tiny jump from him. He looked to his side, and there stood his best frenemy, Yoon Jeonghan, who had a shit-eating grin after being satisfied in giving Seungcheol a fright.

"Don't do that! Jesus." Seungcheol clutched his chest before walking, with Jeonghan matching his stride.

"Where's my twin?" Jeonghan asked. "She left early."

"How am I supposed to know? I'm not her keeper." Seungcheol said as he changed the song. No hate to Pocahontas, but he just didn't feel like listening to Colors of the Wind because he might cry, and crying in front of the Yoon Jeonghan would be a crime and he intends to be out of Jeonghan Jail forever.

Jeonghan took a peek at his friend's phone and snorted, "Really? 'Part of Your World'?"

"What? It's a classic!" Seungcheol exclaimed. Jeonghan nodded, "I know it is. Talk to me when you've listened to the Encanto soundtrack already."

"You just want to be Isabela Madrigal." Seungcheol eyed Jeonghan suspiciously.

"Absolutely! We both have great hair, both pretty, both soft-spoken, both great dressers, and we're both the older siblings. Convince me that I'm not her, and I'll shave my hair off." Jeonghan smirked to himself as he winked at a group of girls. Seungcheol rolled his eyes and continued walking.

Jeonghan quickly stood in front of him, blocking his way, "Where's my twin?"

"I told you, I don't know!"

"Well, she left early and she usually stays with you if she's not with me. So, where is she? Did you commit murder? I was just joking about wanting to strangle her because she ate my muffin that one time, but I didn't mean it, Choi Seungcheol!"

"Okay, whoa! Do I look like I'm capable of murder?!" Seungcheol shrieked.

Jeonghan eyed him up and down before nodding, "You seem like the type."

"I take offense."

"You should. I'm the best Communication Arts student on this campus, and I intend to use my degree to expose you!" Jeonghan pointed at him.

If Jeonghan didn't look so pretty with his bangs, Seungcheol would've given him an uppercut by now.

"I told you, I didn't see her. And stop overreacting! She probably hung out at a friend's dorm or something."

"I love my twin, but she has no friends. She only has you and me." Jeonghan said, looking at his nails as they began walking again.

Just then, they bump into someone causing Seungcheol to spill coffee all over the unknown victim.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Seungcheol apologized. "Oh, I ruined your shirt. I feel terrible. Wait a second, you look familiar. Do I know you?"

"I don't think so." Joshua panicked. "I have to go!"

"Wait!" Jeonghan stopped him, "I know you. I know you very, very well."

"You do?" Joshua gulped as sweat began to form on his forehead.

"Mhm," Jeonghan nodded with crossed arms. "You were in one of my general subjects last year! John? Joseph? Jobe? James?"

"Geez, name all of the people in the Bible, will you?" Seungcheol huffed.

"He had a biblical name!" Jeonghan exclaimed.

"It's Joshua." Joshua said in a quiet voice. Seungcheol and Jeonghan looked at him. "I'm gonna need you to speak up, hon." Jeonghan said.

"It's, um, Joshua. My name's Joshua." Joshua said.

"How is that a biblical name?"

"Ahh, yes. The church boy from LA! I remember you now."

Seungcheol and Jeonghan said at the same time. They looked at each other and chuckled lightly.

"Please don't hurt me." Joshua said in a hushed voice.

"Hurt you? I'm too delicate to hurt anyone." Jeonghan scoffed. "Worry about him." Jeonghan cocked his head to the side.

"Me?! What's wrong with me? I couldn't hurt a fly." Seungcheol whined.

Jeonghan snickered, "Tell that to your outfit."

Seungcheol looked down at his clothes and groaned. If things were different, Joshua would've chuckled, but this was his reality now. He can't possibly chuckle, nope. Not when he's in front of his crush's boyfriend. His crush's muscular boyfriend. He can't compete with that.

"Anyway, Josh, may I call you Josh? Sorry about your outfit. I'll make it up to you when I see you again." Seungcheol said.

"No worries!" Joshua began to walk away, but stopped himself. He turned around and said, "For the record, Joshua's a biblical name because Joshua was Moses' aide. He's very loyal, and when Moses died, he took over. So, um, yeah... just thought you should know since, uh, you asked how 'Joshua' is a biblical name. Anyway, bye!"

The two men watched as Joshua walked away with confusion written all over their faces. "That guy is so awkward." Jeonghan shook his head. "He should relax."

"HANDSOME COFFEE!" Seungcheol grinned as Jeonghan eyed him weirdly. "He's a barista from Handsome Coffee! That's where I know him." Jeonghan rolled his eyes, crossed his arms, and began walking with Seungcheol trailing beside him. 

Joshua felt like he made a fool out of himself in front of your extremely hot boyfriend. He shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked a pebble in frustration. Now he felt like a complete loser. Just as he was wallowing in his sadness, you breezed right past him k-drama style. Everything was in slow motion for him. He paused and watched you run to Seungcheol and Jeonghan.

"Hey, wait up!" You said, loud enough for Seungcheol and Jeonghan to hear. They turned their heads and stopped walking when they saw you.

"Oh, finally! Your twin was about to kill me!" Seungcheol said, resting one hand on his hip.

"Where HAVE you been?! I've been looking all over for you! I've been through the mud and the muck, high and low, through the jungle, in the Amazon rainforest, and in mom and dad's attic just looking for you!" Jeonghan huffed and stomped one leg.

"Such a drama queen." You sighed and ruffled your twin's hair when you finally caught up to them, not noticing Joshua's stare. You know who did notice? Choi Seungcheol.

Seungcheol looked at the bright-eyed Joshua who was too busy staring at you. He was too busy giving Joshua a look, not knowing you and Jeonghan started walking away.

"Cheol, you coming?" Jeonghan called out. Seungcheol glanced at him and nodded, "Yeah!"

"Oh, Joshua likes her, and he likes her A LOT." Seungcheol thought to himself.

-

Choi Seungcheol was very bored. He was physically in class, but he was bored. He stared at the professor with a bored expression. He rested chin on his palm as his mind began to wander on Joshua or 'Joshua the church boy from LA' as Jeonghan calls him.

Based on what he saw, it was clear to him that Joshua liked you. Now that he really thought about it, he'd always notice Joshua doing the extra mile for you, but you didn't notice.

"Oh, this is a lot of whipped cream, but I absolutely love it!" You grinned as Joshua handed you the iced chocolate drink. "I even added, uh, extra chocolate powder." Joshua said nervously as he wiped his hands on his apron. "How much will I pay for the additionals?" Seungcheol asked, pulling out his wallet. "Um, no! No charge at all. It's totally free. It's fine. You're fine, so, so fine. I MEAN NOT IN A 'YOU'RE SO HOT' KIND OF WAY. Not that you AREN'T hot, but, um, anyway, enjoy." Joshua quickly ran to the back room. "Well, that was weird." You chuckled and sipped your drink. "Let's go, hon."

If Seungcheol was right about his guess, Joshua has probably liked you for a long time now. Judging by his overall, quick scan on Joshua, he was able to conclude that he's a genuine guy. He's a guy he could trust if he or Jeonghan aren't around to help you. Besides, he thought you two would look cute together.

He quickly grabbed his pen and opened the back of his notebook to start writing his crazy idea.

CHOI SEUNGCHEOL'S PLANS: 1. Make Joshua jealous 2. Say and do things to make Joshua spiral 3. DON'T TELL HANNIE 4. Confront Joshua 5. Be Joshua's wingman

"Poor guy probably thinks Y/N and I are dating." Seungcheol chuckled to himself. To Seungcheol, this was very interesting. The last interesting thing that happened in his life was when his ex-girlfriend totally picked a fight with you on a random Saturday at the mall. Jeonghan was with you at that time and both boys didn't know what to do, but stared. It wasn't until you yelled, "Help me!" that they sprung into action. Seungcheol broke up with the girl then and there because no one treats his baby girl like that. Okay, that was cringey, but you're his and Jeonghan's baby.

You were born minutes after Jeonghan, and you had a few complications which actually made you a bit weaker than other kids, but you were fine. Seeing Joshua made Seungcheol believe that he could look after you.

Seungcheol tapped the end of his pen against the paper, lips slowly curling into a grin as he glanced back at his list, eyes scanning the messy bullet points he had scribbled in the back of his notebook.

CHOI SEUNGCHEOL'S PLANS: 1. Make Joshua jealous 2. Say and do things to make Joshua spiral 3. DON'T TELL HANNIE 4. Confront Joshua 5. Be Joshua's wingman

He underlined Number 1 twice. Not because he was evil. Not because he wanted to make Joshua miserable, but because Joshua's reactions were HILARIOUS. And honestly, harmless fun never hurt anybody. Right?

A slow grin spread across his face as he leaned back in his chair, completely ignoring whatever lecture his professor was rambling about. All he had to do was act a little closer to you than usual. Maybe sit beside you more, sling an arm around your shoulders, call you something ridiculous like "baby" just to see Joshua short-circuit in real time. To make things more in his favor, cute nicknames are normal in your friendship and it's yours and Jeonghan's habit to call everyone "hon".

Seungcheol pressed his lips together to stop himself from laughing out loud. Yeah, this was going to be fun. Very fun. While he's busy doing the first thing on his list, he'd observe Joshua at the same time. After all, a good strategist studied his subjects very well.

For this study, Joshua was his subject and his subject isn't subtle at all. Over the course of his short time observing how Joshua acted around you, plus the k-drama-like gaze he saw yesterday, Seungcheol realized that Joshua was a goner. A lovesick idiot whose eyes followed you like a lost puppy, whose hands trembled whenever he handed over your drink, whose ears would turn pink every time you'd speak to him.

Seungcheol leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his palm again. His boredom? Gone. It was now replaced with something far more interesting—anticipation. After all, tomorrow's a new day and he already knew exactly where you three would be; Handsome Coffee.

And tomorrow, the experiment will begin.

CHAPTER 4: SEUNGCHEOL CALLS THE SHOTS, JOSHUA SCREWS UP THE SHOTS, AND HANNIE NEEDS A SHOT OF SUGAR BEFORE HE COLLAPSES

"Welcome to Handsome Coffee!" Seokmin greeted cheerfully with a wave.

"Ugh, I regret this already." Seungkwan moped. Jun took a (well-deserved) vacation leave and went back to China for a while, so Seungkwan manned the pastry area today and left the cashier operations to the next best option to take his place (sometimes): Lee Seokmin.

Seungkwan crossed his arms as he watched Seokmin take orders like a pro. Was he jealous? No. He was hired way before Seokmin, anyway. Was he upset? No, he's a professional through and through.

Okay, maybe he was a teeny tiny bit jealous. Interacting with customers is his favorite part of the job. How the hell can he interact with anyone from the pastry section? All he can do all day is fix the display, bake, and reheat. It was boring! No offense to Jun, of course. I'm sure he had fun doing all this pastry stuff.

Seungkwan just found it... a little bit unfair. Mingyu got to interact with customers when he bussed tables. Soonyoung got to talk to customers for a bit while making drinks along with Joshua. Vernon got to speak to them at hand-off. He wanted that too, but Seokmin wasn't trained for baking yet. Besides, Jun submitted his name to Jihoon prior to leaving.

"Damn you, Wen Junhui." Seungkwan thought. "I don't mean it. Please bring me back tangerines."

Just as Seungkwan sighed for the nth time that day, he turned to the door. It seemed to never close as customers always filed in. He didn't know Kim Seokjin that well, and they only met a handful of times when he came to visit, but Seungkwan was sure that with all the money their branch was earning, Kim Seokjin could open a third branch somewhere.

The line was pretty long, so everyone was busy. Except for Seungkwan. No one really ordered pastries when it's peak and if they did, Seungkwan did his job quickly. After all, it was easy to reheat pastries. He folded his arms on top of the pastry case and rested his chin on top of his hands. Just then, the girl of Joshua's dreams entered with two guys. Seungkwan's eyes widened and he turned to Seokmin, who was busy taking customers' orders back to back. He turned to you, then at Seokmin, back at you, then at Joshua (who was doing his best getting orders out quickly with Soonyoung getting quicker and quicker in making drinks which was pretty intimidating), then back at Seokmin, and then back at you.

He gulped and put his hands on the sides of his head, tugging his hair a little bit. Minghao left the back room while putting his apron on to join the production area. His shift just started. He quickly supported Vernon in his area because he was on his own which meant Minghao got to do hand-off duty too.

"Another person to be jealous of." Seungkwan thought, but it's not about his jealousy right now. It's about Joshua and his crush which means his groundbreaking discovery can now be seen in real time. But how can he get Seokmin's attention? 

Seungkwan thought real hard about it. Then his thinking got cut short because Seokmin sent over several pastry orders.

"Ah, shit." Seungkwan muttered under his breath. He read through the pastry orders quickly and prepared them in fast movements.

“Wow, look at Kwannie go! Think you can do it as quickly as him, Josh? Try it. Don’t let the orders swallow you whole.” Soonyoung said to Joshua as he dumped half-made drinks by his side. The drinks were almost complete, they just needed ice.

Seungkwan paid them no mind. He was DESPERATE to get these orders out quickly. Of course, he had to make sure everything was complete before placing it on the hand-off area. After all, he didn’t want to keep going back and forth for every request. When he was done, he looked up and saw that your little group was nearing the counter.

Seungkwan looked at Seokmin with daggers. He needed Seokmin to look ASAP. Pretending to get paper towels from the cabinet under the counter, Seungkwan cleared his throat loudly. When Seungkwan looked up to see that Seokmin was still busy talking, he had to pull out the big guns a.k.a pretending to mentor Seokmin while on the counter.

Seungkwan quickly stood up and smiled at the customer. He glanced at Seokmin’s screen and ‘tsked’, causing Seokmin to stop talking to look at him.

“Double check before you send the order. We both know Soonyoung will get mad if he makes the wrong drink.” Seungkwan said tauntingly, knowing that Seokmin gets nervous easily. As Seokmin was double checking, Seungkwan leaned over and whispered in his ear while pretending to point at the screen.

“Iced-chocolate-drinker-resident-baby-girl is back with the two guys and they’re almost near.” He whispered quickly. Luckily, Seokmin was able to get it as he looked up and saw your group laughing about something. He turned to Seungkwan in a panicked state because if Joshua freezes in front of Soonyoung AGAIN, it’ll be bad for his barista career.

Then, Seokmin slowly smiled. Once he was done with his current transaction, he turned to Joshua, who was taking a breather, and smiled the “I-know-something-you-don’t” smile which weirded Joshua out when they made eye contact, but shrugged it off.

Seungkwan slapped Seokmin’s arm and shook his head, “Don’t! Don’t look at him. Just focus.”

After transacting another customer, it was finally your turn.

“Standing around made me very tired. I’ll go find us a seat. You know what I want, right?” Jeonghan said with crossed arms before he left to find a seat on the ground floor. He hated the mezzanine.

You and Seungcheol approached the counter with bright smiles. Seungkwan’s eyes were wide, Seokmin bit his lip from laughing, and Seungcheol was waiting for this moment. “Baby, what’s Hannie’s usual again?” Seungcheol asked, making sure to emphasize ‘baby’.

Hearing the familiar voice, Joshua quickly looked up and froze. His girl, you, were standing right there with him. Seungcheol, through his peripheral vision, noticed Joshua’s spiral.

“Bingo.” Seungcheol thought to himself as he smiled at Seokmin. For extra measure to make Joshua spiral, he put his arm around you and pulled you close. Seeing this, Joshua went stiff.

“Hannie mentioned he didn’t want an iced Americano today, said he needed sugar in his system.” You said in a hushed voice as you looked up at him. Seungcheol looked at you and nodded, “Okay, so what’ll he get?”

“The iced blended strawberry lemonade.” You answered with a cute smile. Seungkwan and Seokmin watched the whole thing and they had to admit, you guys were kinda cute. But they were rooting for their no.1 LA boy.

“Okay, tell the nice cashier what you and Hannie are getting.” Seungcheol said as he pushed some hair out of your face. Joshua wanted the ground to swallow him whole. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. He was just… frozen. He was the standing guy emoji.

Seokmin punched your orders as you turned to Seungcheol, “What’re you getting, hon?”

“I’m getting the sea salt latte for a change. Make it large and make it less sweet.” Seungcheol smiled at Seokmin. Recognizing him, Seungcheol asked, “Hey, how’s music coming along?”

Joshua looked at Seokmin whose eyes were wide, “Um…”

“You know each other?” You furrowed your brows.

“Not really.” Seungcheol chuckled. “He sang for everyone at the cafe yesterday. Rad voice.”

“T-Thanks!” Seokmin said nervously. Seungcheol paid for the drinks and slid his hand from your arm to your lower back to guide you to the hand-off area.

Joshua was a mess at this point. He knew that Soonyoung was frustrated at him and he knew he’d get an earful later. He kept dropping things, spilling the milk, and would forget how many times he pumped the syrup.

Just as he spilled the milk again, Soonyoung sighed, “Just throw away the whole milk, will you?”

“Sorry, sorry!” Joshua said as he quickly wiped down the counter. Of course, Seungcheol saw everything and because he’s a menace, Seungcheol smirked to himself and said, “Hey! Joshua, right?”

Joshua nearly dropped the whole drink. Thank god he was able to compose himself before putting it on the hand-off area. “Yes. Yup, that’s me. Hi!” Joshua rambled.

“Are you okay? You look… nervous. Did something happen?” Seungcheol asked with the best look of concern on his face. He knew Joshua wasn’t fine at all.

“I’m okay!” Joshua exclaimed as he handed Seungcheol a tray of their drinks.

“Baby, go ahead and get your drink. I’ll get mine and Hannie’s.” Seungcheol said sweetly. You smiled at him and got your drink from the tray Joshua was holding. Both men watched as you took a sip of your drink and hummed in approval.

“It’s so good.” You raved.

“But you always get this drink!” Seungcheol laughed, causing you to laugh too. Oh, Joshua wanted to die right then and there. He didn’t know if he was jealous of Seungcheol or happy that you liked how he made your drink.

“Yah, hurry up!” Jeonghan called from the table nearby with his legs crossed and hands resting on the table.

“Well, that’s our cue.” You said before looking back at Joshua with a smile, “Thanks again!”

“Thanks, Josh. See ya around.” Seungcheol smirked before walking towards Jeonghan with you.

Joshua, out of habit, watched you and Seungcheol leave. Obviously, Seungcheol knew that Joshua was watching. To add another layer of harmless fun, Seungcheol held the tray with one hand and placed his other hand on your lower back to guide you through the cafe. Joshua noticed. He always did.

Joshua gulped and looked down to continue working because if he didn’t, he knew Soonyoung would have his head. His chest felt tight, his hands were trembling, sweat was forming on his forehead, and he forgot how to make the sea salt foam caramel latte. Soonyoung would kill him for real now.

“Pull s-shot,” Joshua muttered to himself as he shakily pulled the espresso shots, “Four pumps of caramel syrup.” Joshua pumped four times then stopped, “Or was it five? Shit.”

The espresso shots were done. Joshua quickly poured it into the cup. Then he added milk and ice. As he grabbed the lid, Soonyoung stopped him, “Yah, what drink is that?”

“S-Sea salt f-foam caramel latte.” Joshua stuttered. Soonyoung nodded, “And where exactly is the sea salt foam?”

Joshua looked at the drink he was holding and said, “Shit. Um…” He grabbed a clean spoon and scooped some of the ice out of the cup. Soonyoung shook his head and continued working. Joshua quickly placed the drink on the counter before bending down to get the whipping cream from the fridge. He placed the whipping cream down in a hurry causing the drink he made to spill.

“Oh my god, Joshua! Focus!” Soonyoung said. He was frustrated. Joshua felt so bad.

There were no customers in line now, so all the pressure was in production now. Seokmin and Seungkwan looked at each other while everyone was busy. They bit their lips from laughing. They both understood that Joshua was currently spiraling and it was hilarious because he was usually so put together. It’s just funny because all it took was you to turn him into a nervous wreck. 

You and Seungcheol finally joined an annoyed Jeonghan. “Yah, I was waiting for a long time! How hard is it to order? Jesus.” Jeonghan complained.

Seungcheol set the tray down and Jeonghan quickly grabbed his drink. You and Seungcheol watched as he took a sip and he made a face. “What’s wrong?” You asked softly with a hint of amusement. Your twin really was something.

“It lacks sweetness. I might die over here with no sugar in my body!” Jeonghan sighed exasperatedly.

“You can raise your sugar if you eat a lot of rice.” Seungcheol suggested.

“That’s different. I want SUGAR as in, like, something sweet.” Jeonghan sighed. “This drink is sweet, but not sweet enough.”

“Do you want to make it sweeter?” You asked him. Just then, Seungcheol had a bright idea to make Joshua spiral even more.

“I don’t want to be a burden to the baristas-”

“It’s fine. Adding sugar is free. Who knows? They might remake it too.” Seungcheol suggested, earning an impressed nod from Jeonghan.

“Alright. I’ll ask them.” Jeonghan said as he started to get up. “No, you can sit. Let Y/Nie ask.” Seungcheol said.

“Why me?” You pouted.

“Yeah, why her? It’s my drink.” Jeonghan said, crossing his arms. Seungcheol turned to you and said, “Because, baby, you’re the youngest in this table.”

“We were all born the same year, and Hannie and I have the same birthday.” You frowned.

“I’m older by, like, five minutes. That counts. Run along, Y/Nie. I’ll buy you dinner tonight.” Jeonghan said as he handed his drink to you.

Just as Joshua thought he could breathe, you walk right up to him at the hand-off area. His breath hitched once more and he swore he was about to cry. He was so overwhelmed.

“Hi, there! It’s me again.” You chuckled lightly.

“God, thanks for blessing my eyesight.” Joshua thought. “Hi! Is, um, what happened?” Joshua asked. “Wow. Real smooth, Shua. Real smooth. What a stupid question.” Joshua mentally facepalmed.

“I’m so sorry about this, but Hannie over there wasn’t satisfied with his drink. He said it wasn’t sweet enough. Is there something you could do…” You read his nametag, “...Joshua?”

His brain, figuratively, exploded. His heart was beating very fast. He could basically hear his classmate, Changbin, screaming, “LISTEN TO MY HEARTEU BEATEU!~” Joshua could hear fireworks. Joshua could get lost in your eyes and he wouldn’t mind. In fact, he’d burn the maps just to remain lost in your eyes.

“Um, hello?” You waved a hand in front of him and he snapped out of it. “Sorry! Um, yeah, I-I can fix it.” Joshua said.

You had doubts, though. The man didn’t look fine at all. He was sweaty, pale, and he looked like he was about to faint. “Um, I don’t doubt your skills, Joshua. I’m sure you’re a good barista, but is there anyone else available to make the drink? You look… sick. No offense.”

“None taken.” Joshua said, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “Um… what drink is it?”

“Uh, blended strawberry lemonade.” You smiled.

“Okay.” Joshua said as he grabbed the drink from you and asked Vernon to remake the drink while pointing at you. Vernon looked over and waved at you.

“Do you know her?” Joshua panicked. 

“No.” Vernon snorted. “I’ll remake the drink. Go entertain her.”

Joshua got out of his hair and walked back to you. “Vernon’s making the drink… again. I hope, um, it’ll be enough for uh-”

“Hannie.”

“Yeah, him.”

You both stared at each other awkwardly, so you just looked around, admiring the design of the place. Joshua just looked at you, but he didn’t want to be creepy, so he looked for something to do.

Seungcheol usually paid attention, but he was getting on Jeonghan’s nerves because he kept looking over at yours and Joshua’s direction. Jeonghan let it slide at first, but he was starting to be suspicious. “Is Cheollie in love with Y/Nie?” Jeonghan thought. “Oh, hell no. Not on my watch.”

“So she’s totally being mean and I said- Cheollie, are you even listening?” Jeonghan raised a brow at him. Seungcheol quickly looked at him and nodded.

Jeonghan squinted, “I’m not dumb. Why do you keep looking over there?”

Seungcheol froze for half a second, but he instantly brushed it off with a shrug, “Nothing interesting.”

“Nothing interesting?” Jeonghan’s brows were now raised and he scoffed, “I don’t believe you because if it really wasn’t interesting, you’d only look once. You, my friend, have been looking over your shoulder for a few times now. I’m surprised you haven’t broken your neck.”

Seungcheol’s cheeks turned pink. He was caught, but he won’t let himself falter. “Maybe something interesting happened, no?” Seungcheol said.

“Yeah, you’re not slick and I’ll find out.” Jeonghan smirked lightly. “I always find out, Choi Seungcheol.”

You and Joshua remained in silence. “Thanks again for making my drink. It was good.” You said with a tight-lipped smile.

“No problem. I had fun making it.” Joshua replied. “Geez, Vernon. How long does it take to make the fucking drink?” Joshua thought.

Vernon joined Joshua at the hand-off area, “Here you go. Sorry it took so long.” He left as quickly as he came. You reached for the drink and thanked Joshua, “Thanks again and give my thanks to the guy who remade Hannie’s drink.”

“Okay.” Joshua said in a small voice as he watched you walk away. Unbeknownst to him, Seungkwan and Seokmin were internally freaking out. Soonyoung looked at both of them and shook his head, “Why is everyone so weird today?” He muttered under his breath.

You walked back to the table with Jeonghan’s drink. Jeonghan looked like an excited puppy when he saw the remade drink. It looked even prettier than the previous one. Jeonghan immediately grabbed it from you, took a sip, and his face brightened instantly.

He let out a dramatic sigh, “Finally! Sugar!”

Seungcheol watched you sit, but his eyes quickly darted to Joshua across the cafe. As usual, Joshua was watching again before he went back to work even though he was barely functioning. His movements were slower, his eyes were unfocused, his demeanor was quiet, and he sent occasional glances toward your table. Being a senior barista, Soonyoung noticed Joshua’s behavior and he was tired of it.

Soonyoung put his hands on his hips and gave Joshua a tired look as he knocked over the salted caramel syrup. “Shua, what’s wrong with you today? Just tell me if you’re tired. We can send you home. It’s fine, really.” Soonyoung sighed. He’d rather send Joshua home than have him around and create a mess. Wonwoo and Jihoon were starting to wonder about the amount of supplies they were losing. Soonyoung didn’t tell them it was because of Joshua’s accidents, of course.

You, Seungcheol, and Jeonghan fell into conversation about random stuff as usual. Being the guy that he is, Jeonghan took out his mini fan and turned it on. Just as he sat comfortably, he glanced at Seungcheol who was busy looking between you and the barista at the counter. It was subtle, but not too subtle. Jeonghan narrowed his eyes and began observing the barista Seungcheol was looking at. That’s when he noticed the barista staring at you with love in his eyes. Jeonghan looked at you and then back at the barista. He raised his brows in realization, “The barista likes Y/Nie!”

Jeonghan smirked to himself before he paid attention to your funny anecdote. Meanwhile, Seungcheol let out a satisfied sigh. He knew he got Joshua. He came to a conclusion that Joshua, the barista from Handsome Coffee and the guy from university, is lovesick. “The subject is a confirmed lovesick.” Seungcheol thought to himself. He was pleased that he was able to knock down three steps in one day.

After three hours, your drinks are long gone. Jeonghan stretched dramatically and said, “I’m sick of this place. Let’s go before I end up not coming here anymore.”

“Yeah, let’s go. My butt hurts from sitting.” You chuckled. The three of you stood up and grabbed your things. Seungcheol noticed Joshua staring at you again as he carried your bag for you. Their eyes met for a brief moment and Joshua immediately looked away. Needless to say, Seungcheol was very entertained.

As the three of you were walking, you turned and bid goodbye to the staff. “Bye, guys! Bye, Joshua!” You smiled and waved. Your action gained attention from Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Seokmin, and Seungkwan.

Joshua grinned too wide and bright. He smiled and waved too, “See you soon!”

Seungcheol playfully smirked and put an arm around you, “See you again, Josh.”

Joshua wanted to crash out when he saw that. Like, of course a girl like you would have a boyfriend like that. Seungkwan and Seokmin were holding each other, with one hand on their mouths as they stood by the pastry case, watching it all unfold. 

“Oh my god, oh my god. Did you see that?” Seungkwan hissed. Seokmin nodded, “I did! Joshua faltered. I felt him falter.”

Joshua watched as you walked away with Seungcheol’s arm around you with Jeonghan eyeing him up and down before following. Seungcheol was very pleased. He wasn’t allergic to love. It’s quite the opposite, actually. He loved love. He just isn’t a fan of grown men acting like a lovesick fool instead of confronting their true feelings towards a woman they like.

No one mourned the lovesick. Especially not Choi Seungcheol.

Joshua stood frozen behind the counter, still staring at the door long after you left. The espresso machine hissed beside him, snapping him back to reality. He exhaled shakily. “Tomorrow,” he told himself. He’d do better tomorrow.

CHAPTER 5: SO THIS IS LOVE

Yoon Jeonghan. The campus pretty boy. He knew it, you knew it, Seungcheol it, and everyone else knew it. Girls and boys always double-take when they look at him. It’s both a blessing and a curse. He likes the attention, but sometimes he wants to be left alone. However, it was difficult for a communication arts major like himself to be alone. He’s constantly surrounded by people. It made him envy you. You’re taking up BS Nutrition and Dietetics. He’s happy that you’re happy in your studies, but he envies the peace you have. He loved you—his little sister, even if you were his twin.

Jeonghan is meticulous about appearances. Every morning, he plans both of your outfits. It had to be coordinated, of course. Being twins meant looking like twins, and in his mind, it made it easier to keep track of you. It was only natural. Sometimes, Jeonghan would feel things that you were feeling. That’s why he took extra care of you and he made sure you two never played roughly. He also didn’t want you to experience heartbreak. So, he’d squish every guy’s moves on you. Most of the time, he’d thank the Lord for making you super oblivious to romance. “You’re lucky to have me as a twin”, he’d often say.

Today, on Jeonghan’s free day, he had a mission. He’d straight up confront Joshua alone. Jeonghan is very direct. He doesn’t beat around the bush and he wants to observe Joshua. Seungcheol seemed to be teasing the guy by being extra sweet with his sister and Jeonghan felt the need to check it out. On his first scan of Joshua, he almost approved because Joshua didn’t seem like the type of guy to break your heart. Seungcheol might tease, but Jeonghan would be the judge.

Jeonghan decided to pay him a visit at Handsome Coffee. He entered your room to check if you were still sleeping and when he saw you still knocked out, he smiled to himself before going through your closet. He was wearing pink, so you should wear pink as well. He picked out the perfect pink outfit and laid it on your bed before leaving the room. With one last look in the mirror and a swipe of lip balm, Jeonghan grabbed his tote bag and left.

-

“Got me spinning like a ballerina, feelin’ gangsta every time I see ya”, Jeonghan sang softly to himself as he walked towards the infamous cafe. He pushed the door open and was immediately hit with the familiar aroma of roasted beans hitting him like a warm hug. He scanned the cafe and smiled when he saw Joshua. He instantly fell in line.

Joshua’s working the counter today because neither Wonwoo nor Seungkwan were available to work. Wonwoo was out of the country and Seungkwan was sick. Today, he’s being monitored by Jihoon and Jun. Soonyoung wasn’t at work either because he had a dance competition to attend to. Chan was working the bar today and Minghao was working the blended beverage station.

Jihoon was overseeing Joshua’s communication and math skills. So far, he wasn’t disappointed. Joshua was doing so well, until Jeonghan was in front of him. There was no sign of you, but he panicked. Joshua’s hand shook and Jihoon watched as sweat started to form on Joshua’s forehead.

“Are you feeling hot, Joshua?” Jihoon asked, concerned.

“Um, no.” Joshua gulped. “I’m good.”

He turned to a smirking Jeonghan who had his arms crossed. “Hello, Joshua. I know you know who I am.” Jeonghan said confidently.

“Hi, Jeonghan.” Joshua greeted with a shaky voice.

Jeonghan sighed in satisfaction, “I’ll have my new favorite drink, please. The blended strawberry lemonade. Make sure it has enough sugar.”

Joshua quickly punched his order and Jeonghan paid by card. He looked at Joshua as the receipt was printing and asked, “What time is your lunch break?”

“Um…” Joshua stammered, “In a while.”

“Good. I’ll be waiting, Joshua.” He said slyly and walked away to pick up his drink at the hand-off area. When he grabbed his drink, he sat at a table nearby and waited for Joshua’s lunch break. As he waited, Jeonghan pulled out his iPad and watched a drama starring Byeon Woo-Seok.

An hour passed and Joshua was finally on lunch break. Joshua left the back room and immediately ordered his food. Thinking Jeonghan already left, he was able to let out a sigh of relief. He was very wrong, though.

“Oh, Joshua!”

He heard the sticky, sweet voice of Jeonghan. Joshua grabbed his tray and turned to look at the twin of the girl of his dreams. They say the devil wears Prada, but the devil actually wears pink.

“Yoo-hoo, come here!” Jeonghan called from his seat with a grin on his face. Joshua reluctantly placed the tray down and sat across from Jeonghan.

“Joshua, take a deep breath. You look like a puppy about to be scolded—cute, but also a little pathetic.” Jeonghan smirked.

Jeonghan took his iPad away and crossed his legs and leaned back, “Hello again, old classmate.”

“Hi-”

“I didn’t come here for small talk.” Jeonghan began. “We need to talk,” he said, the words firm, no nonsense.

Joshua blinked. “Uh… about what?”

Jeonghan leaned in slightly, lowering his voice but keeping his gaze unwavering. “About you. And your crush on Y/N.”

“Wait, what?” Joshua panicked. Jeonghan loved the panic in Joshua’s eyes.

“Yeah,” Jeonghan said, tilting his head, “I know about your silly crush and Seungcheol knows about it too. He’s teasing you. I see everything.”

“Her boyfriend’s teasing me?” Joshua asked, immediately feeling bad about himself. He was never a target for bullying before. He definitely didn’t expect to be bullied in college, of all places.

“What?” Jeonghan asked sharply. “What boyfriend?!”

“You know! The guy you’re always with. The one who accidentally poured coffee on me!” Joshua exclaimed. Jeonghan’s face turned from fierce to relief. Then, he laughed. Like, really laughed, earning looks from other tables.

“That’s not her boyfriend. In fact, she’s never had one.” Jeonghan said.

“Never had one? Impossible!” Joshua exclaimed. “She’s too pretty to be single!”

Jeonghan made a face, “I’m single and pretty too. It’s very possible.”

“Right.” Joshua said sheepishly.

“Anyway, I only know you as a classmate. I need to know what kind of guy you are. Because, Joshua, I will find out if you’re the type to hurt her. And trust me, I won't hold back.”

Joshua opened his mouth, then closed it, caught between fear and admiration. “Listen, Jeonghan, I… I like her. I’ve liked her for years now. And I’d never—”

“Stop right there,” Jeonghan interrupted, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. “I don’t want promises yet. I want to see it. How you treat her, how you make her laugh, how you respect her space… Do you understand?”

Joshua nodded quickly. “Yes. I do. I’ll… I’ll show you.”

Jeonghan leaned back, arms crossed, giving a subtle nod of approval. “Good. That’s what I needed to hear. And just so you know…” He paused, letting the words sink in. “…if you ever hurt her, I’ll personally make sure you regret it because I’ll let Cheollie beat you up.”

Joshua chuckled nervously. “Noted. I get it.”

Jeonghan smiled sweetly, “Alright. You now have my permission to court her. Absolutely no extreme activities, okay? She’s weak. No rollercoasters either. She gets tired easily.”

“You’re giving permission that quick?” Joshua was taken aback. He didn’t expect to go this far, actually.

“Yes,” Jeonghan nodded. “Besides, seeing Cheollie act all sweet and shit towards Y/Nie is getting boring. I’ll tell him to stop now. You and Y/N talk here often, no?”

“Well, only small talk.” Joshua said shyly.

“That’s a start. I’ll let you hang out with us now and neither Cheol nor Y/N can say no because I’m the unspoken leader of the friend group.” Jeonghan grinned. “Everything I say in the group is the law.”

“I can see that.” Joshua nodded.

Jeonghan stood up, smoothing his outfit. “Alright. That’s enough. Do you have my number? You know what, don’t answer that.” Jeonghan quickly reached out his hand and Joshua quickly unlocked his phone before giving it to him. Jeonghan quickly added his number, took a selfie, sent a text to himself, and handed it back to Joshua.

“There, I just blessed your phone. I’ll text you her schedule everyday. That girl just listens to me, anyway. I’m basically her manager.” Jeonghan said.

“Is she an idol or something?” Joshua chuckled.

“She could be if she wanted to, but none of you deserve her.” Jeonghan smiled. “Anyway, don’t be a stranger! Send me your schedule too and we can work on a group hangout. I’ll add you in the gc”

With that, he winked and walked out, leaving Joshua both tense and oddly reassured, knowing he’d passed the final boss, at least for now.

-

“Y/Nie, why aren’t you wearing the clothes I laid out for you?” Jeonghan whined. “How can we coordinate now? I told Cheol and our new friend to coordinate too!”

You rolled your eyes, “It’s just today, Hannie. I always wear what you tell me to wear. I just wanted to try my own style today.”

Jeonghan stared at you and sighed, “Fine. You’re lucky you’re my favorite person ever. Anyway, I’m off to pick-up our new friend. You and Cheol will take the bus to the city, yes?”

“Yes.” You nodded.

“Good. Cheol will have the payments covered. We’ll meet you at the mall, okay?” Jeonghan asked.

“Okay. Who’s the new friend, anyway?” You asked sweetly. You were always soft-spoken. It’s one of the things Jeonghan and Cheol loved about you.

“You’ll see him later, dearest. For now, I’ll pick him up. Behave, okay? Listen to Cheol, he’s older. He’ll be here soon.” Jeonghan waved you goodbye and left.

Jeonghan quickly got in his car and made sure everything was set before driving over to Joshua’s dorm. Yours and Jeonghan’s dorm was a bit far from Joshua’s. By walking, it would take fifteen to twenty minutes. By car, it only takes five minutes.

Jeonghan leaned back in the driver’s seat as he parked and put the car on hazard. He quickly shot a text to Joshua. Not even a minute later, Joshua approached the car. Joshua fumbled with the passenger door, trying to look casual.

“Alright, Joshua,” Jeonghan began, voice smooth but commanding, “here’s the rundown. Today is your first official hangout with us. I need you to know Y/N’s schedule so you don’t screw it up.”

Jeonghan reached for his iPad, unlocked it, and handed it to Joshua. Joshua blinked, clutching his water bottle a little tighter than necessary. “Uh… okay. So, this is her everyday schedule?”

“Yes,” Jeonghan said, tilting his head, clearly amused. “Don’t worry, I won’t make you memorize every little detail—just the major points. First, breakfast at 9. Then music scrolling. Then her mid-morning smoothie— it’s a non-negotiable,” Jeonghan said seriously. “Miss that, and she becomes dramatic.”

Joshua nodded, “Got it.”

“I’ll share that file with you, don’t worry. I’ll also send you a schedule on when you can go on dates without clashing with Cheol time, Hannie time, family time, solo time, and friend group time.” Jeonghan said as he began driving.

“That’s a lot.” Joshua said.

“Welcome to the club.” Jeonghan snorted. “Back to the schedule. She likes to wander around the campus for a bit. Then her class schedule starts from there. Today, don’t get distracted. I need you to note how she interacts with the group, how she laughs, her… quirks. This is all vital intel.”

Joshua’s eyes widened. “Intel?”

Jeonghan waved a hand dismissively. “Details, Joshua. You need details. And remember, do not embarrass her. Do not embarrass yourself. And definitely do not argue with Seungcheol. He is her chaos twin, and trust me, he may look friendly, but he is not to be challenged. He’s also protective. Don’t mind the cute nicknames he calls her and don’t mind her calling him ‘hon’. It’s a Yoon thing. If you get jealous of Cheol, you have no place in our group.”

“Got it.” Joshua swallowed nervously. He took a sip of his water.

“And finally,” Jeonghan said, smiling in that infuriatingly charming way, “you just have to have fun. Observe, respect, laugh, and keep up. If you can do all that, I approve. Fail, and you’ll have me to answer to.”

Joshua nodded frantically, trying to act calm while internally panicking.

“Alright, enough briefing. Let’s go meet the others. I’ve already warned Cheollie that you’re coming, so behave.” Jeonghan winked.

Joshua nodded frantically, trying to act calm while internally wondering if dating you came with an orientation manual. If it did, he’d read it the same way he read The Bible; every day, morning and night.

Seungcheol wasn’t looking forward to this hangout, but his heart melted when he saw that you were excited. On the bus ride, he couldn’t help but feel your excitement radiating throughout the whole trip to the mall.

“Your style is different today, Y/Nie.” Seungcheol commented.

“Is- is it bad?” You asked nervously. Seungcheol turned to you and smiled, “Never. You look great. I’m surprised Hannie let you wear it.”

You smiled sheepishly, “I told him that it’s only for today. I love coordinating with Hannie, but it gets too much sometimes. I just wanted to try something new today.”

“Well, I love it. I also adore how you were able to stand your ground. That’s amazing, baby.” Seungcheol smiled sweetly and gave you a gentle head pat.

When you arrived at the mall, you instantly let Jeonghan know. You and Seungcheol were waiting by the fountain when Jeonghan texted back saying that he was looking for a parking spot.

Joshua didn’t realize they were at the mall until Jeonghan parked and turned off the engine. People passed by to go to the entrance and Joshua watched as he tried to calm himself down. He adjusted his shirt for the nth time, glancing at his reflection in the side mirror.

“Relax,” Jeonghan stifled a laugh, stepping out of the car. “This isn’t a job interview, Joshie.”

“It feels like it.” Joshua gulped as he stepped out of the car, still gripping his water bottle.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous! It’s far from it.” Jeonghan locked the car with a sweet, menacing grin. “This is worse.”

He walked ahead, not even checking if Joshua was following. By natural response, Joshua rushed to follow him, not wanting to be left behind.

“They’re already inside, waiting by the fountain.” Jeonghan said casually as they rode the escalator from the basement to the ground floor. Of course, Jeonghan isn’t Jeonghan without telling a little lie. “Cheollie insisted on arriving early. He said something about ‘needing to scope you out’.” Jeonghan lied, but Joshua didn’t need to know that. “Save it for the best man's speech.” Jeonghan thought to himself.

Joshua choked on his own spit. “Scope me out?! What does that even mean?” Joshua was frantic.

Jeonghan glanced over his shoulder with a tiny smirk on his pretty face, “Don’t worry. You’ll live. Probably.”

Joshua followed closely behind Jeonghan as they stepped off the escalator, his grip tightening around his water bottle like it was a lifeline. Jeonghan walked confidently in every stride while he felt like he looked stupid. Today, Jeonghan looked like he stepped out of a magazine. Meanwhile, he was sweating his balls off.

And then, he saw you. You took his breath away. His world went in slow motion again. He didn’t know how and why you managed to make him feel this way. He didn’t mind, though.

You were standing beside Seungcheol near the fountain, sunlight bouncing off the water behind you. You looked relaxed, chatting softly, completely unaware of the emotional battlefield Joshua felt like he was walking into.

Joshua stood there, frozen. Jeonghan smiled at you from a distance, “There they are!” He said brightly, striding forward like he owned the mall. It was weird, but even if you were separated for a short time, Jeonghan missed you.

Seungcheol noticed them first. His eyes immediately landed on Joshua and narrowed. Joshua felt eyes on him and saw Seungcheol glaring. Joshua felt his soul leave his body. You followed Seungcheol’s gaze and blinked when you saw Jeonghan approaching with Joshua just… standing. Jeonghan turned and saw Joshua, basically frozen, and rolled his eyes, “Yah, you can’t get to know her if you’re standing there!”

“Sorry!” Joshua awkwardly jogged to catch up.

Your brows furrowed slightly. “Hannie? Is that-”

“Surprise!” Jeonghan sang. “This is our new friend, Joshua. We all know Joshua, don’t we?”

Joshua bowed slightly out of instinct. “H-Hi.” He stammered.

Seungcheol didn’t smile, nod, and blink. He just stared. Hard. Joshua swallowed nervously.

“Hi, Joshua!” You smiled, tilting your head. “It’s nice to see you outside of Handsome Coffee. You must be our new friend. I’m glad Hannie made friends with you!”

Joshua blushed.

“It turns out, he was my former classmate.” Jeonghan said casually. “He’s our current victim now.”

Joshua grew even more nervous. Seungcheol finally spoke, “Hey, Josh. Glad to see you.” Seungcheol’s voice was calm, but something about it made Joshua uneasy.

Then, there was silence. Seungcheol stood up straighter, circled around Joshua, and looked at him up and down. Scanning. Judging. Evaluating.

Jeonghan crossed his arms (a new habit of his) and rolled his eyes dramatically, “Oh my god, stop it.” He groaned. Seungcheol ignored him as he stood in front of Joshua after circling around like a vulture.

“Cheollie?” You said sweetly. “What’s wrong? Joshua’s nice. You know him too!”

Seungcheol folded. He loved and hated that ability of yours. Jeonghan slapped Seungcheol’s arm and snapped, “Yah, stop it! Calm down, and last time I checked, I’m her twin, not you. Relax.”

You blinked. Joshua blinked. Seungcheol blinked. The fountain behind you splashed quietly in the background to ease the tension. You were confused at Seungcheol’s behavior. He had never been like that before. He was always so nice to Joshua at the cafe.

Seungcheol sighed through his nose, slow and controlled. Then, he muttered, “I am relaxed.”

“You look like you’re about to interrogate him under bright lights. BE NICE.” Jeonghan shot back and widened his eyes for effect. Joshua mentally agreed, strongly. You stepped forward slightly, peeking around Seungcheol. Your eyes landed on Joshua; soft, curious, and gentle. Joshua forgot how to breathe.

“Sorry about him, Joshua.” You said quietly with a pout.

Joshua blinked rapidly. “I-It’s okay.”

It’s absolutely not okay, but it was worth it because you smiled at him. “Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.” Joshua thought.

“Thanks for making my drink extra special. I know it’s you putting the extras I never asked for. I really enjoy them!” You said sweetly.

Jeonghan smirked.

“See?” Jeonghan said smugly. “She likes him already. So, move out of the way, Choi. He’s alright and whatever I say, goes, remember?”

Joshua internally screamed. Jeonghan lightly pushed Seungcheol out of the way and began walking with their arms locked together, “Keep up, guys!” Jeonghan called out to the two of you.

 You and Joshua walked side by side, trailing behind Jeonghan and Seungcheol. Joshua gripped his water bottle tighter and sweat formed on his forehead.

Say something, idiot! Joshua told himself.

“Um, I love your outfit. It’s- it’s different from whatever you’ve worn before.” Joshua said shyly.

You turned to him with an excited grin, “Really? I dressed myself up! Hannie usually coordinates what we wear so he can easily find me, but he finally let me style myself. It’s only for today, though. I wouldn’t want to upset Hannie. I know he likes styling for the two of us. Besides, he’s more of a fashionista than I am.” You chuckled lightly.

Joshua thought you were the sweetest girl ever. He fell more in love with you. The next two minutes were filled with comfortable silence. Jeonghan led you to the food court. Joshua’s stomach dropped. “Of course,” Joshua thought, “Public eating. Judgment. Evaluation. Humiliation. Wonderful.”

Jeonghan led them to a table near his favorite pizza place. He let go of Seungcheol’s arm and quickly sat down, clearly already tired. You sat next to Jeonghan. Just as Joshua sat across from you, Seungcheol turned to him and asked, “Can you carry trays?”

Joshua blinked.”Who does he think he is, asking me a fuck-ass question-”

“Yes…?” Joshua answered, confusedly.

“Good,” Seungcheol said flatly. Joshua didn’t know if that was approval or a threat. Seungcheol walked towards Jeonghan’s favorite pizza place and fell in line. Jeonghan looked at Joshua with a proud smile, “Congratulations on surviving the first fifteen minutes.”

“Joshie, would you please tell Cheollie that I want A&W today. It pairs well with the pizza.” You asked politely.

“Joshie?!” Oh, you’ll be the death of Joshua.

“Sure!” Joshua smiled.

“Joshua, are you coming?” Seungcheol called from the counter. Joshua looked at you and Jeonghan before leaving.

“He’s adorable.” You chuckled lightly, earning an amused look from Jeonghan.

“Yeah?” Jeonghan smiled sweetly and you nodded happily. “I think so too. I can give you his number if you want?”

“Hm…” You thought before nodding, “Alrighty!”

Jeonghan passed you Joshua’s number, which you saved with a contact name that you’d easily remember: josh handsome coffee.

The food court was packed by the time Joshua and Seungcheol got the food. Seungcheol turned to Joshua and said, “If you want to get the girl, carry the tray. We don’t let her carry stuff.”

Joshua quickly got the tray, but it was heavier than expected. Heavier than expected. Way heavier. “Why is it so heavy?” Joshua thought, but he didn’t falter in front of Seungcheol. He had his pride to protect now.

Seungcheol walked ahead and sat at the table, across from you.  His arms were crossed, eyes sharp. Joshua took a deep breath and walked towards the table with the heavy tray. Steady. Careful. Focused. 

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps. Someone bumped into him. Joshua’s heart stopped when the tray tilted dangerously. Your A&W wobbled. Time slowed. Joshua skillfully lunged slightly forward to stabilize it, gripping the tray harder. The shake steadied. No spill, no disaster.

He carefully placed the tray on the table. Success.

You smiled at him. “Thank you,” you said gently.

Joshua’s heart fluttered. That smile of yours was worth the mini-panic. Seungcheol nodded once, barely noticeable, but Jeonghan saw it and smirked.

Test no.1: PASSED.

-

After eating, Jeonghan dragged everyone toward the fashion hall of the mall. Clothing stores ranged from affordable to nepo-baby goods.

“Shopping time!” Jeonghan declared happily. Your parents gave you and Jeonghan money regularly for clothing allowance. It wasn’t a lot, but it was still a large sum. Plus, Jeonghan made a lot of money by selling both of your clothes, ones that he felt weren’t needed anymore, online. The money he earned from there was split into three: extra clothing allowance, his allowance, and your allowance. You were surprised that Jeonghan even had customers because he never sold your clothes cheaply despite it being pre-loved.

Upon hearing the declaration, Seungcheol sighed. Joshua panicked once more, but when he turned to look at your excited expression, he’ll admit, he was willing to buy you a shit ton of clothes.

Jeonghan entered his favorite store and greeted the sales associates. They already knew each other by name considering he was a regular customer. The associates knew you too because you’d always model for Jeonghan.

Jeonghan shoved random clothes into your arms. “Try this, and this, and this.”

You nodded obediently and went to the fitting room. The three men waited for you outside and sat on what is known as “the boyfriend couch”. After a while, you walked out wearing a soft, pastel outfit.

Joshua froze. He thought you were beautiful. Extremely beautiful.

“Does it look okay?” You asked shyly. You weren’t confident in this particular dress despite it looking cute. Jeonghan praised you as usual and Seungcheol complimented you. However, those comments didn’t matter. You wanted Joshua’s opinion because he was new in your group, a pair of fresh eyes. You looked at him and the other two men looked at him expectantly. Joshua didn’t pay them any mind because he was in his own little world when he looked at you.

“It looks beautiful on you.” Joshua nodded with a happy grin on his face.

You and Jeonghan ended up buying more clothes than usual. Joshua held all the shopping bags. Then, Jeonghan kept handing him more and more shopping bags. “How many outfits do they need?” Joshua asked himself as you all walked to the escalator that led to the parking lot.

Joshua didn’t complain, though. How could he? The clothes you bought made you happy. That was enough for him. Seungcheol walked beside him while you and Jeonghan walked ahead, arms linked together.

Seungcheol walked quietly, waiting for Joshua to mess up. Though, he never did. “You’re not tired?” He asked Joshua.

“A little,” Joshua admitted. “But it’s fine. She’s happy, isn’t she? If the bags I’m carrying are her source of happiness, then who am I to complain?”

Seungcheol hummed quietly. Not impressed, not disappointed. He was simply observing. You didn’t hear the conversation, but Jeonghan did and he grinned like a menace.

Test no. 2: PASSED.

-

After putting the bags in the trunk of Jeonghan’s car, the four of you made your way to the top floor where the arcade is located. The arcade was loud. Bright lights adorned the place and sounds of the game machines rang nonstop. You clapped your hands softly. Joshua saw this and if he were a snowman, he’d have melted already simply by your cuteness.

As Seungcheol and Jeonghan were deciding on which one to play, you stared at the claw machine nearby. You turned to Joshua and said, “I’m always unlucky with these things.”

“Really?” Joshua asked and you nodded.

“All I’ve ever wanted was one of those cute bunnies.” You sighed sadly.

“My princess is sad? Not on my watch.” Joshua had a determined look on his face. He was a man on a mission. “Wait here.” He told you, and you being you, you listened.

Joshua walked up to the counter and bought a lot of coins. Jeonghand and Seungcheol saw him and quickly walked up to him.

“What’re those for?” Jeonghan asked.

“I’ll win her something.” Joshua muttered.

“Ooh! I’ll watch.” Jeonghan said giddily. Seungcheol nodded. Joshua went back to you and quickly inserted one coin in the slot and the machine came to life. You, Jeonghan, and Seungcheol watched as Joshua carefully maneuvered the claw through the joystick. All four of you inhaled sharply when the claw grabbed a beige bunny. You all watched as the claw lifted the bunny up, drew itself back, and successfully made it through the slot.

All four of you cheered. Victory!

“You did it!” You gasped softly as you clapped gently.

Joshua picked up the bunny from the slot and happily handed it to you. “For you,” he said proudly.

You smiled. “Thank you,” you said quietly, hugging your new plush bunny to your chest. Seungcheol watched closely then looked away. Jeonghan nudged him and when Seungcheol looked at him, Jeonghan wiggled his eyebrows.

Test no. 3: PASSED.

-

Later, while walking through the mall, you slowed slightly. Your steps became smaller, slower. Joshua noticed first. “You okay?” he asked softly.

You nodded, “Just a little tired.”

Before Seungcheol could react, Joshua stepped in front of you and crouched down. “Hop on, Y/Nie.” he said.

You blinked and asked, “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. I don’t want you to walk around tired. Hop on.” Joshua said sweetly. You carefully hopped on Joshua’s back and he held your thighs carefully (and respectfully). You wrapped your arms around his neck and got comfy.

“Thanks, Joshie.” You said softly.

“Anytime, Y/Nie. I’ll be your personal carriage.” Joshua chuckled lightly causing you to laugh.

Seungcheol saw the whole exchange and froze. That wasn’t planned. That wasn’t forced. That wasn’t even part of the test. That was pure instinct. Jeonghan saw it too and smirked.

(Unexpected) Test no. 4: PASSED.

-

Everyone was quiet in the car ride back to the university. Jeonghan drove to Joshua’s dorm first because you, Jeonghan, and Seungcheol lived in the same dorm building. When Jeonghan pulled up in front of Joshua’s dorm building, he turned to look at him, “Thanks for hanging out with us, Shua!”

“Thanks for inviting me.” Joshua said politely. As he got ready to leave the car, you grabbed his wrist and his heart stopped for a second. He turned to look at you and you had the cutest, sleepy look on your face.

“Thanks for the bunny and the piggyback ride.” You said softly.

His eyes softened, “It’s no problem, Y/N. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”

“I’m very, very happy.” You said sleepily with a soft smile on your face.

“Good.” Joshua grinned. He said one last goodbye to everyone before exiting the car. You fell asleep when he left. Jeonghan drove slower. He always did that whenever you’re asleep in the car.

“Today went great, no?” Jeonghan said. “What do you think? Is our baby girl all grown up now?”

Seungcheol leaned his head on the window and said, “Perhaps. I guess I’m just not ready for another man to be in our circle and I definitely didn’t prepare for a moment like this. I thought we had more years, Hannie.”

“Well, it was bound to happen.” Jeonghan quickly glanced at Seungcheol before looking back at the road, the dorm building coming into view. “I’m just glad that it’s Joshua. My feelings are light towards him. It’s a good thing. Mom and dad would love him.”

“True, but I’ll still keep an eye on him.” Seungcheol said.

Jeonghan chuckled, “Of course. I’ll keep an eye on him too.”

Later that night, Joshua received a text from you and he instantly replied.

Joshua went to bed that night with a smile on his face.

Just as you were about to put your phone away, Jeonghan opened your door and said, "Hon, it's time to sleep."

"I know. I was about to put my phone away." You said softly. Jeonghan fully entered your room and you felt the bed dip as he sat down and played with your hair.

"Are you happy? Did you have fun today?" Jeonghan asked.

You nodded, "I had so much fun. Thanks for inviting Joshua, Hannie. That was very nice of you."

"It's no problem." Jeonghan said. "Do you like Joshua?"

"Hm... well, he's nice and he's cute when he panics." You said, earning a chuckle from Jeonghan. "I also like his face."

"Alright, that's enough." Jeonghan said. "Get some sleep, Y/N."

"Stay?" You yawned.

"Always." Jeonghan smiled and played with your hair until you fell asleep. When he was sure that you were asleep, Jeonghan took out his phone and sent a quick text to Joshua before falling asleep next to you, too lazy to go to his room.

CHAPTER 6: JOSHUA FROM LA FINALLY GOT THE GIRL WITH THE HELP OF SEUNGKWAN. GIVE HIM A BONUS, JUSEYO. -BOO SEUNGKWAN

Time passed faster than anyone expected. What started as awkward group hangouts slowly turned into routine. Joshua seamlessly fit into your group without even trying so hard and he felt himself become more comfortable and confident.

Mall trips became movie nights. Movie nights turned into casual dinners. Sometimes it was arcade runs, sometimes just walking around the mall aimlessly while Jeonghan complained about boredom and Seungcheol pretended he didn’t enjoy any of it.

Joshua was there for all of it.

At first, Seungcheol watched him like a hawk—sharp eyes always tracking his every move. Jeonghan, ever the more relaxed one, preferred to observe quietly, pretending not to care while noticing everything. Weeks passed, then months and somewhere along the way, Joshua stopped feeling like a guest. He became part of the routine, part of the group; part of your life.

Eventually, Jeonghan would hit him up with hangout messages according to the curated schedule Jeonghan lovingly put together based on his masterlist of each of your schedules.

“I know you’re not working today. Come hangout with us. That’s an order, not a request :)” 

“Today is a friend group hangout! We’re going to the beach. Cheol is driving and you’ll stay in the passenger seat. Y/Nie and I will stay in the back because we’re too pretty to give Cheollie directions :p”

“I know you’re staying in a solo dorm, so we’re moving the hangout at your place. Our dorm is a mess and Cheol’s dorm is too cramped for four people. We’re bringing the food and drinks in return. See ya!”

Jeonghan didn’t want to admit that his baby sister (younger twin) was growing up. Alas, he had no choice but to see it all unfold in front of him. He noticed that you had taken a liking to Joshua. So, he had to do what he had to do—meddle.

Jeonghan started letting you go out with Joshua alone. He genuinely didn’t want to because he wasn’t ready to be separated from you. He wasn’t ready for the possibility of you having a boyfriend. This time, it was Seungcheol telling him to calm down.

So, Jeonghan made the decision of finally letting you go out with Joshua on your own. Not directly, of course. He didn’t want you to feel abandoned. He never said the words out loud. Instead, it came in the form of suspiciously timed excuses.

“Ah… I’d love to go,” Jeonghan sighed dramatically, checking his phone. “But I have plans today.”

You blinked. Jeonghan never had plans that came before you. Plus, he had a perfectly curated schedule that aligned with everyone. All of you had access to that Google Sheet file.

“Plans?”

Jeonghan hated seeing you so down, but he had to push it down. “Very important plans,” he nodded seriously. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

Jeonghan would only give you at least two hours with Joshua before joining you after his “plans”. You looked across the room and asked sweetly, “Cheollie?”

Across the room, Seungcheol would keep his gaze on his phone to avoid looking at your puppy eyes because he knew if he looked, he’d give in.

“Same,” he muttered. “Busy.”

You didn’t question it, but Joshua did. Because somehow, their schedules only became “busy” whenever he’d ask you to hang out.

Which was exactly how you ended up standing in front of Handsome Coffee on a quiet afternoon. The familiar bell above the door chimed as you stepped inside. The warm scent of coffee beans filled the air, mixed with the low hum of conversations and soft music playing in the background.

Behind the counter, Joshua stood frozen. Mid-wipe, rag still in hand, eyes wide because you were standing in front of him with a sweet smile on your face.

“Hi, Joshie!” You greeted.

“H-Hi! What’re you doing here? According to the Google Sheet, it’s a free day.” Joshua said. He’s very thankful for Jeonghan’s skill of organization. It helped his forgetfulness.

“Yeah. I asked everyone to hang out here, but they all said no again.” You sighed. “I know you’re out early today, so I’ll just wait for you.”

“You sure? I still have three hours.” Joshua said as he looked at the clock. You nodded, “Yes. I have my iPad to keep me company. Maybe we can go to the mall after?”

“I’ll go wherever you want, baby.” Joshua said without thinking. Then, he froze again. 

“Baby?” You said, tilting your head.

“Um, sorry! I just- Cheol and Hannie call you that, so I-”

“It’s okay! I like it. I like your speaking voice too. It’s very soft. I’ll sit over there, okay? See ya in a bit, Joshie!” You smiled before walking toward your usual table.

Seungkwan watched the whole scene unfold with his arms crossed. He noticed everything, of course he did. Before, he noticed how Joshua checked the door every few minutes, how he fixed his hair whenever the bell chimed, how he suddenly forgot basic human functions whenever your name was mentioned. It was embarrassing. Extremely embarrassing.

Now, he noticed the new Joshua. He was more confident now and walked with his head held high. His style got better now too. He was laughing more, smiling more, and relaxing more. He was happy to see Joshua thrive, but he was sick of him pining. So, he took matters into his own hands.

By the time Joshua’s lunch break arrived, the two of you were seated at a small table near the window. A sandwich sat between you. Half-eaten. Mostly because Joshua forgot how chewing worked whenever you smiled at him.

“That’s so embarrassing!” You laughed.

“I know, right?” Joshua laughed. “I never went back to that place because the embarrassment eats me up alive every time.”

“Oh my gosh,” your face was red from laughing. “I need to calm down. I’ll go to the restroom for a bit, okay?”

“Sure. Take your time, Y/Nie.” Joshua smiled as you stood up and went to the restroom.

Seungkwan passed by your table, pretending to wipe a perfectly clean surface. He leaned close to Joshua, very close, and whispered, “Ask her out.”

Joshua looked at him, “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

“I am working. I’m working on helping you to get the girl of your dreams because I’m so sick of seeing you lovesick. Now, ask her out.”

“What?”

“Did I stutter? Ask. Her. Out.” Seungkwan said through gritted teeth.

Joshua panicked internally, externally, and spiritually. “I can’t.” Joshua whispered.

Seungkwan clicked his tongue and said, “If you don’t ask her out right the fuck now, I’ll tell Mingyu to ask her out because I know for a fact that Mingyu flirts with her every time she comes here alone.”

“Mingyu’s doing what?!”

“ASK. HER. OUT.” Seungkwan said before going back to the counter.

Joshua inhaled slowly as he glanced at Mingyu collecting the dirty dishes from tables. His hands felt warm and slightly shaky when you came back from the restroom.

“I’m back.” You smiled cutely.

Joshua looked into your eyes as you sat comfortably across from him. He’s a goner. He’s totally in love with you now and there’s no way in hell he’d let you slip away from him. There’s no way he’d let Mingyu ask you out.

“Y/Nie…”

You blinked softly. “Yeah?”

He swallowed hard. His palms were now sweaty. “Would you…”

Then a pause. You looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

“...like to go out with me? Like, as a date?” Joshua looked at you nervously. Silence fell between you. Joshua’s heart pounded wildly. It was loud enough to drown out the entire cafe.

You looked at Joshua with the softest look on your pretty face. Time slowed down as you stared at him. Joshua felt defeated. Your lack of response made him think he didn’t have any chance.

“On second thought, it’s okay if you don’t want to.” Joshua said, looking down.

You gave him a small smile, “I’d love to go out with you, Joshua.”

Joshua froze. His head shot up quickly to look at you with a surprised expression. Did you just say yes to him? He stared at you like you had just spoken another language.

“You… would?” Joshua asked, just to confirm, of course.

You chuckled lightly at his expression and nodded, smiling wider. “Yes, I would, Joshie.”

Oxygen in his lungs? Gone.

Thoughts? Gone.

Brain? Disconnected?

What is air? 

What’s his name?

Who am I?

He’s probably going to faint.

Meanwhile, across the cafe, Joshua’s coworkers were watching. Seungkwan and Seokmin were watching intently, Jihoon had his arms crossed, Minghao was watching with Jun from the pastry area, and Mingyu watched while holding a tub of clean dishes.

“Why are we watching again?” Jihoon asked. “I have stuff to do.”

“Aish, sajangnim, calm down. You have plenty of time.” Seungkwan replied. “Right now, we’re watching Joshua ask his crush out on a date.”

“His crush?” Minghao asked. “I didn’t know he liked iced-chocolate-drinker-resident-baby-girl.”

“Well, he does and Seungkwan discovered it first!” Seokmin said proudly. “Then he told me first.”

“He was painfully obvious, anyway. Soonyoung was annoyed at him messing up the drinks, but I kept seeing him stare.” Jun chuckled.

“Can’t blame him. She’s so pretty.” Mingyu swooned.

“Stop that.” Seungkwan gave him the side-eye. “She looks better with Joshua. You look like a playboy.”

“Ouch.” Mingyu pouted.

Joshua just stared at you. You let out a small laugh at his stunned expression. You leaned in close, rested your elbow on the table, and rested your chin on your palm. “Joshua?”

He snapped back to reality, “Yes!” He said way too loud, earning looks from most people in the cafe. Joshua shrank slightly in his seat.

“Sorry,” he whispered, bowing to people he made eye contact with before turning to you. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by someone calling his name loudly.

“JOSHUA!” A loud voice echoed from behind the counter. He looked over and saw his coworkers staring at him with Seungkwan standing, hands on his hips and eyes narrowed.

“Your break ended two minutes ago.” Seungkwan said with a sassy look on his face.

“What?”

“You heard me. Don’t make me repeat it.” Seungkwan said. “It’s Mingyu’s turn to have his lunch break and he’s whiney.”

Joshua looked at you, then at Seungkwan, and then back at you. He internally screamed.

“It’s okay,” you said gently. “You should go back to work. The sooner you go back to work, the sooner we can go on a date.”

“What?”

“Well, it’s only you and me today. And I did say that I’ll wait for your shift to end. We can go on our first date after.” You smiled sweetly.

Joshua nodded and quickly stood up, almost knocking his chair back. He caught it and placed it back and looked at you. He’s still processing the fact that you actually said yes.

“I’ll see you later.” Joshua said, trying to act cool about it. You nodded with a smile on your face. The same smile that made his brain malfunction. He smiled and walked back to the back room. He quickly put his apron on and joined his workmates behind the counter.

Seungkwa grabbed him by the sleeve. “What did she say?” Seungkwan demanded. He wants the full tea. The others looked at him expectantly. Joshua took a deep breath and said, “She said yes.”

Seungkwan gasped dramatically, “FINALLY.”

Joshua covered his face, slightly embarrassed, but smiling. You watched quietly from your table, hands folded neatly on the table with your iPad in front of you. Your heart was beating fast too. Because now, you had a date with Joshua. You took out your phone and sent a text to Jeonghan to update him.

“Joshua,” Seungkwan whispered sharply. Joshua turned to look at him.

“You just made the same latte twice. You’re lucky Soonyoung’s coming in later.” Seungkwan hissed from the counter.

“Oh.” Joshua blinked slowly. Pause, then, “She said yes.”

Seungkwan sighed. “You really are a goner. You’ve said that four times already.”

Joshua didn’t respond this time. He just let out a small breath of laughter, still smiling as he turned back to his work. Across the cafe, you looked up from your phone for a moment and caught his eye. Joshua straightened instantly, like he had been caught doing something illegal.

You smiled at him.

And for the first time since he saw you, Joshua didn’t feel so nervous anymore. He smiled back before looking away. He was sure he finally found the one person he could proudly introduce to his mom.

EPILOGUE

You to Jeonghan (during the date)

Cheol and Hannie (after picking you and Joshua up)

Seungkwan to Joshua (days after)

Joshua to Mingyu (after Seungkwan’s text)

You to Joshua (a month or so later)

A/N: AAAAAHHH IT'S FINALLY HERE! hope u guys liked it :> pls give me feedback so i can improve!

jack gets up to store his leftovers in the fridge, deciding to do what luke suggested, and go see whats going on next door. he slides on his sneakers, grabbing his keys and walking out of the door without a word.

the door to the neighbors apartment is open and he frowns, knocking on the open door. his heart pounds as he waits for a response, looking at all the empty boxes that are scattered across the apartment. the sound of rushing feet coming down the hallway catches his attention, and he looks to the left.

there she is, a girl in shorts and a tshirt, looking messy but somehow, still beautiful. shes breathing a little heavy, but walks over with a smile. "can i help you?" she asks, her voice kind and welcoming.

he stays in awed silent for so long that she raises her eyebrows, waving her hand infront of his face. he snaps out of it eventually, "oh uh, im jack. i live next door."

she smiles softly, her eyes warm with a hint of amusement as she sticks out her hand and tells him her name. "im just moving in. sorry for all the clatter, some of this stuff is not as easy to put up as they make it look on youtube..." she laughs akwardly.

"no, its alright. uh...do you need any help?" jack asks, his voice shaky.

"oh, no no. i couldnt bother you." she waves her hands dismissively, "im sure youre busy with something."

"no!" jack answers, almost too quickly. "ah, sorry. i mean, no, im not busy at all. unless you just don't want help?"

"well, i guess if youre not busy..." she steps aside, gesturing for him to come inside. "i was just in my bedroom trying to put together this bedframe. its decently easy, so if you want to start putting together my dresser, that would be such a big help."

he follows her to her bedroom, looking around the messy apartment. "yeah, i can do that. also, my brother isn't busy so if you want an extra set of hands, i can make him help us."

"actually...that would probably be great. i have an entertainment center in my living room that also needs to be put together." she smiles, sitting back down on the floor.

jack pulls out his phone to text luke, telling him to come over. in the meantime, he sits down on the floor and opens up the box of parts for the dresser. he hears the sound of footsteps a few minutes later, then lukes voice calling out his name.

he walks into the bedroom after a little direction, stopping in his tracks when he sees our new neighbor. "uh, hey. im luke." he says, shoving his hands in his pockets, "my brother said you needed my help?"

she nods, getting up and leading him back to the living room, the sound of laughter fills the hallway as she walks back a few minutes later. she sits back down, picking up the instruction manual for the bedframe shes almost done with.

jack tries to focus on the dresser, but his eyes cant help but wander over to her often. he breaks the silence, "so, where are you from?" his voice fills the quiet room.

"a small town in georgia, atlanta area. got a job here, so i kinda had to move..." she answers, screwing in some screws to the frame. "long drive, but i think it'll be worth it."

"what kind of job?" his tone is full of interest, "are you in college?

she laughs softly, "im in online school. but i got a job as a sports photographer for a hockey team. the...devils? i don't know much about hockey so this will surely be interesting."

jacks heart skips a beat at the mention of his team, his head lifting to look at her. "the new jersey devils? the nhl team?" he asks, voice full of disbelief.

"yeah, you a fan? maybe you can tell me about them. i was gonna start researching tonight but maybe you can tell me all i need to know!" she smiles, looking back up at jack. she stands, walking over and sitting down beside him. "i finished the bedframe. need some help with this?"

"yeah, sure." he scoots the instruction manual towards her. "well, the devils are...an interesting team. they've got an amazing captain, his name is nico. they also great goaltending and coaching." he begins, wondering how to tell her he plays for them. "when do you start?"

"taking photos? well, tomorrow after i meet the team. the coach said they have a practice tomorrow morning so i can start then." she says, picking up some boards.

tomorrow? oh, he's done for. it's not like jack can keep his job a secret forever. he sits in silence as they work together on the dresser, trying to calm his racing nerves. her voice cuts through the silence, "what kind of job do you have?' she asks curiosly. if she told him her job, why can't she know his?

jack swears he stopped breathing, looking over at her. she's completely oblivious, screwing some boards together. "i uh...i play hockey." jack answers, hoping she wont dig any deeper.

except she does. her eyes widen and her head lifts to look at him, "really? who for?" she asks excitedly.

jack swallows, "the devils..." he answers, hoping she won't put two and two together. and yet again, she does.

a smile graces her face, "are you serious? why didn't you say anything sooner?" she shifts to sit facing his direction more, turning her attention to him. "i would've found out eventually, you know."

jack laughs awkwardly, also turning to face her. "well, i didn't know if you'd believe me." he smiles.

"why wouldn't i believe you?" she tilts her head in question, "well, i guess its common sense to not believe everything someone says, especially if you've first met them."

jack laughs a little more casually, visibly relaxing at how casual she is about all this. "well, luke plays for the devils too." he says, pulling out his phone and showing her some pictures.

"wow!" her eyes widen in excitement, "that's a lot of players. its hard to tell who is who because of the helmets, though. is that one you?" she asks, pointing to a player. jack nods, smiling.

"if you want, i can give you a basic rundown of all my teammates?" jack suggests, beginning to point out players and tell her about them after she nods. he gives her a basic rundown of positions and rules, then about different teams.

the furniture sits for a while, still in pieces. luke walks in on them talking, but doesn't say anything. he watches them discuss hockey, noticing how comfortable jack seems with her. he stays quiet, amused at how easily they get along.

-

time passes by and soon days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months. jack and y/n haven't stopped talking once, always having something to discuss.

whether it be hockey, basketball, golf, food, work, whatever they can think of, they talk about. the words flow easily out of their mouths, and their actions are the same.

they hug, hold hands and even hold each other sometimes when the other has a rough day. nothing seemed any different, just the fact that they've both been holding back on their feelings.

jack knew from the moment y/n walked up to the open door and smiled at him. the way her eyes glistened and her cheeks chubbed from how happy she seemed to have the opportunity to make a new friend. her personality beamed with joy and pure, untamed rowdiness, like something he could definitely get along easily with.

y/n knew from the moment she walked up to the open door to she jack standing there awkwardly, his words coming out in stutters but his eyes full of kindness and warmth. the kind of warmth she had a deep longing for, the kind only one person sees.

neither of them knew it, but the flame lit right then and there, the flame of a candle untouched and left unopened. when it burns, it's unmanageable, filling the air with the scent of long awaited love.

and it stayed that way for months.

until luke had to open his stupid mouth.

jack was sent into a spiral, overthinking every action and word exchanged between the two of them.

every time she held his hand, was that a sign?

all the cuddles and late night conversations, was that a sign?

all the times they had comforted each other, was that a sign?

was it all a sign?

indeed it was.

jacks knuckles hit the wood of her apartment door, his heart beating and his mind racing with thoughts of what could possibly be happening. he's interrupted by the door swinging open, and the sweet sound of her voice.

"jack? it's 2:34 in the morning...what's the matter?" she asks, her eyes sleep ridden as she stands there awkwardly in her favorite pajamas. theres a line on her cheek from the pillow, must've been sleeping hard.

he pushes past her and into her apartment, turning around to look at her. "i don't know why i'm here. all i know is that i need you in my life. in more ways than just friends. i didn't even realize it until luke said something to me earlier, and i know it's early but y/n, i love you."

"jack, it's too late for this-" she begins, only to be cut off.

"no, it's not. because i haven't slept. and i know you were sleeping, but i need you to know this. every moment with you is one i won't ever forget. you're amazing. everything you do inspires me to be a better person and you are the person i want by side. i want to be with you, and i want to spend the rest of my life with you."

jacks words hang in the air, silent and tense. she takes a step forward, eyes wide and any traces of sleepiness gone. her words are soft,

"i love you too, jack." she says, having felt a little spark at the beginning, but having pushed it down in fear he didn't feel the same.

and the dam of jacks eyes breaks loose, tears flowing down his cheeks like they never have before. the weight of finding the one missing piece of the puzzle finally found, the complicated jigsaw puzzle of his life completed. he takes another step forward, wrapping his arms around her and holding onto her like his life depends on it.