hoseok walked towards the small cafe, his scarf hanging loosely around his neck. a small puff of breath appeared in front of him and he smiled to himself. hoseok loved the cold weather, loved being able to see that he was alive, loved being able to feel alive. when the cold pulled the blood up to hoseok's cheeks and tainted his entire body a soft pink, hoseok never felt more alive.
the paper in his pocket wrinkled against his hand, and hoseok picked up his pace a little. it was thursday night, which meant there was a poetry slam going on at the little cafe down the street called the odditorium. hoseok loved the name, plays on words were kind of his thing, and the entire place was cozy. on top of those two facts there was yoongi, the cute barista with bright pink hair.
that was another reason hoseok loved the cold, yoongi would always bundle up in big sweaters and chunky scarves. last week he had been wearing thick rimmed glasses, and he looked so adorable that hoseok wanted to melt.
hoseok had been trying for months to get yoongi to notice him, or to at least notice him as more than hoseokie, his cute little dongsaeng. hoseok had written more poetry for yoongi in the past few weeks than he had in his whole life, and hoseok didn't even like poetry. but for yoongi, the words seemed to pour out of him like rain out of a cloud in the middle of a thunderstorm.
hoseok pushed the door of the cafe open and hummed along to the jingle of the bell above the door. he looked towards the front of the shop where a boy was reading off his paper, hands clenching the poem so tightly hoseok thought his fingers might involuntarily rip through it.
hoseok felt a small tug on his scarf and turned around to see yoongi smiling up at him, a cup in his hand. "hey, hoseokie," yoongi said quietly, handing the cup over to hoseok.
"hi." hoseok whispered back. the two moved to a table where yoongi's things were already laying and sat down, their chairs practically on top of each other. hoseok's leg brushed against yoongi's and he stiffened slightly, but yoongi didn't seem bothered by the contact. in fact, if hoseok squinted, he may have been able to see that yoongi leaned his shoulder into him.
as the boy finished with his poem the whole cafe snapped, the odd few clapping loudly and earning glares from the regulars. the owner of the shop jumped up onto the small platform situated near the bay windows and leant forward into the microphone.
"thank you, jimin, that was our last reader for the night unless anyone else decides to step up." hoseok pushed his chair out slowly and walked towards the platform with his head down. the shop owner smiled at him and touched his shoulder as he moved to sit back down. hoseok grabbed onto the microphone with one hand and held onto his poem with the other. he looked up once, right into yoongi's eyes before quickly looking back down at the paper.
"t-this isn't really a poem, i'd classify it more as word vomit, a result of a four am trip to a cafe, where i met someone who made my heart stop and my brain reel with so much force i thought it was going to fly right out of my head. i wrote this that same night, sitting at that back table," hoseok pointed a finger to where yoongi was sitting. "and i think i used fourteen napkins with rushed words, swollen with dopamine and the idea of love at first sight. so, here goes."
"here i sit, staring at a man i've only just met, watching as he lazily rolls a pen between his lips. he glances up every few minutes, at the clock, out the window, to the tv playing the early morning news. i've never believed in the idea of love at first sight, but there's something about this man that intrigues me. maybe it's his small stature, yet big presence. perhaps it's the ridiculous color of his hair. either way, the draw is there, and it's pulling me in like a bug to a zapper. hopefully this doesn't end with me dead, and him buzzing with joy and excitement."
hoseok coughed a little, just to try and fill the dead air. he felt a bit awkward, he hadn't read the poem back before he'd brought it, and now he was embarrassed at how freely he'd spoken about yoongi even though he'd never had a proper conversation with him.
"i am wondering, as i sit here and write letter after letter, what he's doing behind the counter. he looks focused, oh so focused on whatever he's writing down. his eyebrows are crinkled together and his tongue pokes out of his lips, and i am really struggling to hold back the urge to ask him what he's doing." hoseok stopped and looked up again, looked at yoongi, who was blushing dark crimson and had the beginnings of a smile on his face. hoseok dropped his paper.
"there's more, of course, because i wrote until nearly six in the morning, but there's so much more i could say without a sheet of paper. except, i don't think i will, because there so much more i could say by just acting, and not stand in up here like an idiot trying to be inconspicuous and–" hoseok stepped off the platform and walked briskly towards yoongi, who had started standing up at the beginning of hoseok's unscripted ramble.
hoseok walked until he was toe to two with yoongi and grabbed his face, leaving a short, chaste kiss on his lips. yoongi laughed and smiled widely at him before pushing his hands into hoseok's hair and pulling him down to meet his lips again.
hoseok smiled again yoongi's mouth as the audience erupted into applause, even the regulars letting out a few unfitting whoops and hollers. the shop owners voice rang out suddenly, and hoseok pulled away from yoongi to look at him.
"i told you, yoongi! i told you he was interested in you and what do you say? 'nooo, jin hyung don't be silly', well look at that! you'll learn to listen to me!" jin was pulled away from the microphone by two of his friends, still yelling about how he was right and how people should stop doubting him.
"so, care for an espresso?" yoongi asked, pulling hoseok towards the door. "i've got this really cool machine back at my place and a brand new can of whipped cream sitting lonely on my refrigerator shelf."
hoseok opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a loud wolf-whistle from a group of guys sitting in the back of the cafe. yoongi pulled him out the door before he could question it.
