Chapter Text
You moved out right at the age of 18 years in a small space tucked away in the bustling city of Seoul.
Your new apartment was somewhat small but it fit nearly everything, you had a new job at a cafe/bookstore which made better money than working in a cold, colourless building, you stopped reaching out to your emotionally unstable parents and old childhood 'friends' that switched up on you, even when you did so much for them.
That was that was nearly 4 years ago, you've changed a lot.
You're 22 now and studying forensic psychology and your job at the cafe is really just a side hustle for money and getting drinks and new books every now and then, and you love it.
Ever since you moved in, your co-worker, Beomgyu was always by your side to help you, always taking your shifts when your sick or when you just want to risk it, slipping in your favourite drinks and literature when you felt down, helping you stack books from the highest shelf and letting you rest for an extra hour on your breaks.
You hated how caring he was, you hated how you noticed his moles on his face, the way his hair gets in the way when he's making drinks and reading books, you hated everything that he does for you because you love him that much. You hate his kindness and how he cares.
Deep down, you do the act of 'just being friends' and nothing else, but you know that he feels the same way, you just know. To others, he's just a tall, handsome man who's known for being a gentleman and for his good looks, but to you he's the smug guy who always hints that he wants a kiss in the storage rooms, who always does little things like praise you to just to get a reaction and darting eyes at other guys who dare trying to talk to you.
You play it off safe saying that it's just him being all childish and annoying but even his friends see the angst, teasing and mockery between the two of you. During shifts and during dinner dates with his friends and basically just any time you're with him, everyone around you can see it all.
One night, your indecisive feelings change to confusion to certainty.
You're on a closing shift alone, it's already hitting 9:00 and it's pouring rain outside. The tiredness in your eyes are showing, slowly drifting away as you make yourself a drink to stay up and clean just once more so you don't get a complaint that it's messy from another co-worker.
You jolt awake, the classic ding from the door opens and Beomgyu walks in with his wet umbrella, he sees you and suddenly his face turns concerned. He walks over, shaking the droplets from his umbrella to the floor as he wraps is back up in place, he wipes his hands on his sweater as he cups your face gently, his hands cold yet warming up on your jaw.
"Gyu, I just mopped the floors.." you groan as you melt in his arms, the tiredness has quickly washed over you and you don't even realise that your head in resting between his neck and chin. He chuckles softly and runs his fingers into your hair, unraveling the messy bun and your long hair slowly flowing down into his hands.
"Don't worry, it's water and it'll dry quickly." he reassured you in that deep voice of his. You pull out of his neck to look at him, he tilts his head and smirks softly. He tilts your head up with his thumb so that you can clearly look at him, realisation quickly hits you hard. You pull away in embarrassment, cheeks all flushed pink and your ears turn hot.
Beomgyu doesn't care, he just looks at you for a while. You try to fix your composure and try find the words on what to say. He just walks right past you into the staff room, going through the lockers, looking for your bag, keys and phone. He sees your hoodie on the chair and grabs it in his arms. You just stand outside the room, still a bit pink and sipping your coffee.
He walks out with your stuff, throwing your hoodie in your arms and signalling you to put it on, he holds your bag for you and stuffs your keys and phone, all the items jingle inside. He laughs at you for a quick second and fixes your hair up, tucking strands behind your red, burning ears.
"You're so stupid you forgot to drive your car." he chuckles as he sees your facial expression change from embarrassment to annoyance.
"I didn't know it was gonna start pouring rain!" you eye him down, slowly and sharp. A slight pang hits him in the chest.
"Alright alright" he chuckles.
"Wanna come over my place then?" he looks at you with those pleasing, soft brown eyes that make you look away but take another glance since his eyes are just so beautiful to look at, you scoff and turn away to look outside from the glass door.
You nod your head, you don't want to go home and just do nothing on the weekend but scroll on your phone and clean your apartment like a 'housewife'. He gently rubs your chin with his thumb and you both walk out, you flick off the lights and quickly double check your reflection in the glass windows outside, putting your hair back into a messy bun and fixing your bangs up and swooping then on the side and slip your hoodie on.
Before you know it, Beomgyu is already in his car doing the same thing, spraying a bit of cologne and ruffling his hair back so you can see his thick brows and big brown eyes in the mirror. He huffs out of frustration but he doesn't want to rush you. You turn around from the windows and slip inside his car, you take your phone out to check yourself on the camera one last time.
"Took you long enough." he chuckles softly as he drives off from the cafe.
"Sorry, I always look like a mess after closing shifts." you check your hair once again, seeing if it looks good enough.
"It's ok, you should always do a closing shift with someone." he looks at you every now and then, stealing glances when he can. You grunt softly, you look back at him with an annoyed look on your face.
"I can never do closing shifts with anyone or else I'll get sidetracked doing something else." he hums softly, he can sense your weariness and you can hear his understanding in his voice.
It gets silent, just the sound of driving, soft jazz music playing in the car and him humming along to the tunes. You both arrive to his apartment, he opens your car door and grabs your stuff for you. You can physically feel yourself breaking down as you walk up the stairs to his apartment, legs weak and arms tender.
He follows along behind, just incase you make the wrong step and trip a little, and you did, just a little stumble and he caught you by your waist. Reassuring you with sweet, soft words coming from his mouth.
"You ok? You look so tired." you look up at him, nodding your head softly. You allow yourself to slowly get your stance back, still and steadily walking just a few steps before you both reach to the his apartment. You see the warm lights on from the window and a tall shadow walking inside, his roommate, Soobin, came back from work early.
He walks in front of you, rummaging through his pockets for his keys and opens the door.
"Ladies first." he hovers over you as he gestures to come inside.