February 14, 2021
"Ricky! Get back here, you over-sized kitten!" Hao called out in his angry mom voice.
Ricky turned around to see his friends, the Yuehuaz, running across the street to him. Ricky hadn't even noticed that the others were here too or that they were calling out to him. He had other, more important things on his mind. Like the essay that was due in 3 days. Or that he hadn't cleaned his room yet. Or that he had exactly 7 minutes to meet his boyfriend or he'd go searching for Ricky. Definitely more important things.
"Oh, you guys are here too?" Ricky asked, pretending not to be in a rush.
Gyuvin put a hand on Ricky's shoulder, "Yep. We came here to forget about Valentine's Day and go on a shopping spree. Wanna come with us?" The younger's excitement was barely contained.
Ricky, trying to think fast on his feet, replied, "Sorry, but I have to meet up with my sister. I'm taking her to see her boyfriend in a restaurant and I need to go now. Sorry. Maybe next time?" Ricky then ran off to 'go pick his sister up.'
They all felt like something was suspicious but didn't want to push it. So as they saw Ricky turn the corner and out of sight, Hao spoke up. "That kid will never learn to manage his time."
Ricky had run for five minutes before giving up. He hadn't really known the directions in the first place, but he figured it couldn't be that hard, right? Wrong. The mall he entered was huge, and he was unfamiliar with it. He couldn't just walk forever. So he sat down on a bench and called his boyfriend. "Hey, Gunwookie?"
"Yes, Ricky? What's wrong? Why aren't you here yet?" Gunwook's very innocent voice sounded like a breath of fresh air to Ricky right now, who was panting and tired.
"Well, I was on my way when my friends ran into me, so I made up a story that I needed to get my sister to her boyfriend and sprinted off. I'm in the mall right now but have no idea where that cafe is."
Gunwook's laughing was heard over the phone. "Alright. I'll come get you. What store are you near?"
Ricky, slightly embarrassed, responded, "I'm next to Sephora. Come quickly, please. I'm getting weird looks from people entering and exiting the store."
Another laugh was heard from Gunwook. "Alright, I'll be there in a few minutes. Just stay still and don't move. Okay?"
"Okay."
"I love you, Ricky."
"I love you too, Gunwookie."
And with that, the call ended. Ricky waited there for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, but who was counting? When he saw Gunwook's face in the crowd, he lit up immediately.
"Gunwookie!" Ricky exclaimed, grabbing the attention of the younger.
Gunwook ran over to Ricky immediately. "Ricky! Thank God I found you. I didn't want to break the news to your family that I lost you at a mall."
Ricky smiled and hugged Gunwook. "So, where is this cafe you spoke of? And why was it so hard to find? I spent four minutes running around here like a headless chicken!"
Gunwook laughed and took Ricky's hand. They went up to the third floor and to the back. It was a small store, smaller than the other places there, and, surprisingly, was mostly empty. The two walked into the cafe. The inside was as homely as the outside. Bright pink walls with yellow accents just felt calming.
The two sat down at a table in front. A waiter walked over to them, "Hello! I am Lee Jeonghyeon, and I will be your waiter for today. Here is a menu. Just call me over whenever you're ready to order something."
"Of course." Gunwook responded friendly. "So, what looks good on the menu, Lovelicky?"
Ricky smiled at the nickname, "Well, personally, the strawberry smoothie looks really good. And the strawberry cheesecake. You take a look and find out what you want." Ricky handed the menu over to the younger.
"Hmm. I think I'll take a pineapple smoothie. And a croissant."
Gunwook then wave Jeonghyeon over.
"So, what would you two like to order?" Jeonghyeon said with a smile at the end.
"I'll take a pineapple smoothie and a croissant." Gunwook then waited for Ricky to place his order.
Ricky never really liked talking in public too much, and ordering food wasn't too common for him. "Umm, I'll have a strawberry smoothie and a strawberry cheesecake, please."
Jeonghyeon wrote their order down and said, "Alright. I'll have that out for you shortly."
Gunwook and Ricky started talking about their other plans for the day. They would go shopping, go out for dinner, go back to Ricky's place, and chill. Then Ricky got a call.
"Hello, Hao-hyung?"
"Ricky! Are you done with your sister? Do you want to come with us now? We're going to a cafe in the mall. Yujin says it's called Berry Cafe. We decided to try it. Are you in?"
Ricky's eyes widened. He looked over at Gunwook with a look that screamed 'I'm fucked.' Gunwook, unable to contain his laughter, burst out laughing. Ricky, still trying to salvage this situation, said, "I... um...... Lied?"
Hao, in his angry mom voice, yelled at Ricky, "You lied? What do you mean you lied?"
"My sister didn't need me. I'm with my friend right now. I just didn't want to tell you. Sorry Hao-hyung."
With a deep sigh and a shake of the head, Hao responded, "It's okay. We're almost at the cafe anyways. It's fine." And hung up.
"Fuck." Ricky exclaimed, slamming his head against the table. Gunwook bursts out laughing, unable to stop.
The older of the two picks his head up and rubs his forehead. "Well, Hao-hyung's coming to this cafe and doesn't know about you. Goddammit."
Jeonghyeon, walking over to the table, says, "Here is your order. If you need anything else, just let me know. And I hope that your friends don't see you. I mean, you are in a corner and it might be harder to see you. I wish you the best of luck." And then he walked away.
The little bell rang, signalling another customer. Or, in this case, six customers. Ricky tries desperately to hide himself behind Gunwook's broad stature, but doesn't succeed as Yujin sees him. But, instead of ratting him out, Yujin just puts a finger to his lips, signalling to be quiet. "Hey, guys, we should sit over there." Yujin says, pointing to the other side of the cafe, out of view of Ricky and Gunwook.
The group sits over there, and Ricky breathes out a sigh of relief. He picks himself up and sits straight. "I don't understand why you just don't tell them about me. They probably already know that you're gay, so it wouldn't be that bad."
Ricky sighed. "You don't want to know. Seungeon got a girlfriend 3 months ago and told us. Hao went into full mom mode, Gyuvin started running around while screaming, Yujin and Ollie were chanting something about getting a sister in law, and Yunseo ate his chips. That's why I don't want to tell them."
Gunwook laughed and took a bite of his croissant. The taller started drinking his smoothie, surprised at how good it was. "This place is definitely getting 5 stars. Good food, good waiters, and speedy." Gunwook commented. Ricky nodded his head as he saw another waiter walking up to the Yuehuaz table.
Ricky called Jeonghyeon over, "Do you know who that other waiter is?"
Jeonghyeon laughed a little bit. "Yeah. That's Wumuti. He's from China and started a month ago. Why do you ask?"
Ricky just shook his head. "No reason. He's just my friends' waiter. I want to make sure he's good."
"Well, he is pretty good at this job. Apparently, he used to work in a cafe in China, too. That's probably why he's so good."
Ricky nodded his head. "Probably."
Jeonghyeon walked away to go to another table. As Ricky was somewhat distracted, Yujin walked over to the table. "Hey, Ricky-hyung, can I sit down with you guys?"
Ricky surprised, responded with a quick nod of the head. Yujin sat down next to Ricky. "Why are you here, Yujinie?" Ricky asked.
"I told the others I had to go to the bathroom. So, I don't have much time. I just wanted to say that you owe me for today."
Gunwook laughed slightly at the youngest's actions. "So, you're Yujin, right?" Yujin nodded. "I'm Gunwook, Ricky's boyfriend."
You could've sworn that Yujin's jaw dropped in slow motion. "Boyfriend? For how long?"
Ricky, shy and embarrassed, responded, "5 months. Please don't tell."
Yujin, clearing his throat, replied, "Of course I won't. If you clean my room tomorrow."
"Fine, you little devil." Ricky said after a sigh. Yujin and Ricky lived together with Ricky's older sister, Xiaoting, and Ricky's younger sister, Yinhuan.
Yujin smiled at Ricky before running off back to the Yuehuaz. "I think this date is going perfectly." Gunwook said, sarcasm laced into his voice.
Ricky laughed at the joke and slapped Gunwook on the shoulder, resulting in Gunwook laughing back. The two laughs died down as they began eating again.
"Ah, shit, not again." Ricky said, looking at his phone.
"What is it?" Asked a very confused Gunwook.
Ricky sighed and picked up the phone. "What do you want, Hao-hyung?"
Gunwook had to hold in a laugh. "Ricky! I know you're busy right now, but will you be free tonight? Us Yuehuaz were going to do a movie night at Seungeon's."
Ricky looked up at Gunwook. Stuttering a bit, he reluctantly replied, "I'll come if I can bring a friend." The younger's eyes widened at this, though he quickly turned into a smirk.
"Okay, I guess. Just make sure to stop by the store to get some snacks. And I don't mean the cheap ones. You have the money, start buying the expensive ones!" Hao's voice rang out through Ricky's ears.
"Yeah, sure, Hao-hyung. I'll buy all of the snacks for you guys. Don't worry about it."
"Great! I have to go now. We're getting ready to leave the cafe soon, and then we're going shopping again. Get to Seungeon's around 7, 'kay?"
"Got it, Hao-hyung. See you later."
"See you later too. And don't be late or we'll take all of the blankets!" And with that, Hao hung up.
Ricky looked back at Gunwook, whose eyes looked as if they were staring right into the older's soul. "They'll be leaving soon. We're having a movie night at 7, you're coming with."
Gunwook smiled at the taller, "No problem. Maybe I can thank Yujin for not ratting us out to your friends."
"I mean, sure he didn't rat us out, but now I have to clean his room. His room is basically filled with clothes. It's going to take so long to clean it, and it'll be messed up within 24 hours."
"That's just how it works, Lovelicky." Gunwook said, finishing his croissant.
Ricky pouted and took a bite of his cheesecake.The younger looked as the blonde's friends left the cafe.
"Why does it always have to be me?" Ricky said, groaning as he got up. After paying, the two walked out.
The older looked around the mall, trying to memorize the layout and the stores he wanted to go to. "Let's go to Gucci first. Then we can hit Louis Vuitton, Sephora, and whatever else looks interesting."
And so the blonde went on his shopping spree, buying anything he could get his kitten paws on. Gunwook dragged behind, trying to convince the older to slow down. With every couple items Ricky got, Gunwook always ended up carrying more and more bags.
"Goddamn it, Ricky!" The younger looked around the mall, looking for the older.
"Surprise, Gunwookie!" Ricky said, holding up a giant teddy bear. "It reminded me of you, so it's yours now."
Gunwook couldn't stop the smile on his lips as they walked to Ricky's house (Well, it was technically a mansion). They talked and talked and talked.
"Shen Quanrui!"
"SHIT!" Hao's angry mom face appeared behind the two.
"Is this who you've been out with all of today? What's so special about this friend that you ditched us!?"
Ricky looked down in embarrassment. "Umm, well. . . he's. . . umm. . ."
"We're dating."
"WHAT!?"