🔸️ℂ𝕠𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕖🔸️

♡

Choi San. He was the most beautiful person Wooyoung had ever seen. San has all big, shiny doe eyes and cute smiles with adorable dimples. He was small and lithe, a skinny kid with a starry gaze and a dreamy voice, and Wooyoung was hooked the moment he laid eyes on him. There was something about San, something magnetic. It just drew Wooyoung in and swallowed him up like a hungry beast. He was totally and completely encapsulated by San, absolutely mesmerized and hypnotized by the young beauty.

It started in the small cafe just off their university's campus. Wooyoung worked there part time, coming in whenever he wasn't at class just to make a few extra bucks. He was behind the counter, wrapping up with a different customer, when San walked in. The bell above the door alerted Wooyoung, and he looked up to greet the newcomer, only to find himself at a loss for words the moment he saw him.

Then San turned those eyes to him and blinked curiously, and Wooyoung swore he saw the universe there, swimming and swirling that wide-eyed gaze. He wanted to drown in that universe, in San's universe, in those dark eyes.

"Hi," Wooyoung finally managed to breath out when the raven-haired boy approached the counter. He tried to catch San's gaze again, but the smaller man was looking up at the menu now, pink lips pressed together in a thoughtful line.

It took a few long moments before San finally spoke up, saying in a soft voice, "I'd like a...hot chocolate. With whipped cream, please."

"Here?" Wooyoung asked quietly, lowering his normally loud voice to match San's delicate tone. When the boy gave him an odd look, Wooyoung cleared his throat and reworded his question, maintaining his careful voice, "I mean, for here or to go?"

It was then that he caught his first glimpse of that breathtaking smile. San's lips curled up at the corners politely as he replied, "Here."

San was quiet and soft, like a gentle Spring rain. The kind that brews all day before falling at the peak of noon, just sprinkling over the green grass and colorful flowers, leaving little more than a fresh feeling and some droplets in its wake. He was light, like a puff of breath on a cold Winter day. A sort of cloud that lingers for just a moment before floating and disappearing into the gray sky.

And even still, he was warm as well. At least, he made Wooyoung feel warm. Every time he came to the cafe, he ordered the same thing and sat at the same table beside the window and read the same book. He kept to himself, but Wooyoung couldn't help staring. Every time his gaze wandered to the young boy by the window, Wooyoung felt like a careful fire was lapping at the inside of his stomach. A fire that couldn't burn him even if it tried, much too gentle just by nature.

Every now and then, San would lift his gaze to meet Wooyoung's, and he would blink those big eyes, bat those long eyelashes, then smile and steal another breath from Wooyoung's lungs. He would've stolen his heart as well, but he didn't have to. Wooyoung already had it on a silver platter, ready to offer it as soon as the moment arose.

Unfortunately, it seemed like he'd never get the chance. San was quiet and distant, almost too much so. He never spoke more words than he had to, and Wooyoung could never choke out anything more than "for here or to go?" around the butterflies that fluttered in his throat. Neither of them were budging, and it stayed like that for weeks, nothing more between them than mere exchanged glances across the store.

Every time Wooyoung worked, he could count on San coming in at the same time - always around 1:30PM - until one day.

San just didn't show up. He didn't come in, he didn't walk by, or anything. There was just no sign of him.

Wooyoung felt sad, and then he felt silly. He stood there, rubbing one of the small white teacups gently with a rag, and beat himself up over it. He'd never spoken to San, so he had no right to be all downtrodden about him not showing up. It wasn't like San had ever made a promise to him or anything, so why did he feel like a promise had been broken? Like a bond had been shattered or a red thread cut between them? Why did it hurt him, not getting to see San for one day?

5:56PM, the bell rang above the door.

Wooyoung lifted his eyes, prepared to tell the person off, to shoo them away because "we're closing in four minutes, I can't serve you anything," but the flame in his belly sparked to life and suddenly burnt the words to ash.

San ignored the shocked look on Wooyoung's face, immediately going to his usual table beside the window and sitting down. Then he dropped his face into his hands and trembled, and Wooyoung could feel the pain radiating off his tiny, shaky body even from his spot behind the counter.

"Hey," Wooyoung called softly as he walked from behind the counter and slowly approached the table. San didn't look up, didn't react even in the slightest, so Wooyoung stepped up and, after a moment of hesitation, to the seat across from him. He stared at the table, then lifted his gaze to the dim scene out the window, then finally looked at the boy crying across the table. There was an emptiness around his right pinky, a spot where Wooyoung swore he'd seen a silver ring before.

And suddenly it made sense. Heartbreak. A promise had been broken, but it hadn't been between him and San.

There was silence between them for a long time, save for the little sobs and whimpers San let out every now and then, but it was far from awkward. It was understanding and almost comforting. The sort of quiet that came when looking at the stars or while dreaming. A silence to sink into and wrap up in.

Wooyoung eased into the silence carefully, trying not to break it. Enough things had been broken that day. "Can I...I mean, would you like some hot chocolate?"

His words seemed to catch San's attention. There was a pause, and then San lowered his hands from his face and met Wooyoung's gaze, nodding with a cute little sniffle. His eyes were red and puffy - he'd been crying for a while - and his cheeks were wet with tears. Wooyoung didn't even consider stopping himself when he reached across the table and wiped a stripe of tears away with his thumb, offering a little smile.

"With whipped cream?" he asked softly.

San stared at him before breaking into a small smile and huffing out a laugh, "Y-Yes, with whipped cream."