Oddly enough, he remembered when they first came in. It was shortly after the new semester began; it tended to get quite busy during that time. Yongseung had came to pay him a visit and briefly talked about his classes and professors. As he rambled, though, that's when he spotted them.

To everyone else, they were simply another customer of the cafe. They took a silent look around the place; the ends of their lips curled into a comforted smile. They then turned to chat with their friend as they got in line. Their eyes scanned the menu above before the two of them eventually made eye contact. He tried to give them a polite smile, but they were quick to pull away and awkwardly shuffled behind their friend. 

It actually became a sort of routine for them. The stranger would arrive then anxiously scan for him. If he was at the register, they would wait until someone else took over before scurrying over to place their order. Or sometimes they'd place their order online to avoid him altogether. He always found this behavior confusing. They had never shared a word, not even a syllable, to each other, so why the fear?

He initially tried not to let it bother him. After all, why should he care so much? It's not like he was curious about them or whatever... It's certainly also not because he found them to be awfully cute, especially when they turn red and duck their head. 

No, absolutely not.

A bit over a month had passed since their initial arrival. By this point, he had began to give up on learning the reason behind it all. His coworkers theorized that they may simply find him intimidating. "I mean, look at you," Hoyoung explained once, "you're a ridiculously handsome guy who keeps a neutral expression most of the time." Gyehyeon saw some truth behind his words, but surely that can't be it? 

He let out a long exhale through his nose as he recalled the conversation. Hoyoung was currently out of town for a wedding, making him work at the register. It was a slow day and they were approaching the last hour of the night. He heard the bell jingle and tiredly muttered out his greeting without glancing up. All he was thinking about was the nice platter of fruit and cheese waiting for him back at the apartment. 

Gyehyeon hid a yawn behind a hand and tiredly rubbed his eye. "How may I help y-" He paused mid-rub when the familiar stranger stood in front of him. "Oh," he offered a polite smile, "you're here later than usual. I was starting to wonder where you went..." 

The stranger rubbed their hands down their jacket before shoving them into their pockets. "Ha, that's... wait, you were wondering?" Their voice became quiet. Their ears began to burn red. It only made Gyehyeon's smile grow. "Mhm." he answered, "You usually come by in the afternoon. I'm assuming after your classes?"

"Oh! Okay, yeah, that's right." Their eyes kept averting their gaze. "I... was finishing up a project. I just turned it in, actually, so I came to get a little treat, y'know?"

He was mildly surprised at their slightly talkative nature. Or maybe it was stemming from their anxiety. He kept his smile. "That's a good idea. You deserve to treat yourself every once in a while." Fingers gently pressed on the screen in front of him as he placed their usual order. "Here, does everything look correct on your screen?"

They glanced down to theirs and blinked, eyes growing slightly in surprise. "Y...Yeah! Actually, that's... exactly what I was gonna order." They finally peer up at him, eyes locked. "How did you know?"

It was his ears' turn to burn red. He shyly turned his head away and rubbed his neck. "Well, you come here a lot, and it's part of my job... Is there... anything else?"

He thought he caught a brief smile from them. "Can you add one chocolate donut and one strawberry?" They add. He silently nodded and included the treats in the order. "Okay, you're all set. Um... what's your name?"

"(y/n). It's (y/n)." They lock eyes once again, but it only lasted for a few seconds before the two of them broke away and hid their blush. "I'll call you when your order's ready," Gyehyeon muttered. (y/n) gave them a shy smile then grabbed a seat nearby. He took the chance to turn away and take some deep breaths. It was hard to suppress the big grin that wanted to spread. Calm yourself, Gyehyeon... 

He decided to focus on preparing their order. But even then, his mind kept wandering. He stole a few glances towards (y/n); they were scrolling on their phone, but there was a subtle smile and blush on their face. It's so cute...

He felt relieved that they didn't seem to hate him. And they seemed so sweet. He still wondered why they never came to talk to him before. He hummed to himself then finished the order. "(y/n)?" he called out to them and placed it on the counter for pick up.

They came up to grab it, muttering a quiet "thank you". They began to return to their seat, and Gyehyeon noticed the time. "Oh, we're closing in about 10 minutes, just so you know." He quickly informed them. They paused in their steps and he watched them take a deep breath before turning on their heel. 

"Are you doing anything after this? I...I know it's late, but..." Their gaze slowly lowered to the ground. They shook their head frantically. "Y...Y'know what, never-mind. Forget I asked--"

"No, I'm not doing anything." Gyehyeon softly chuckled. "I will need a ride home though." He took a look around. "Although, I'm not sure about where we can go this late at night."

"I... was thinking the roof of the parking garage?" They anxiously tapped their foot. "Enjoy some late-night coffee and donuts."

He raised a curious brow. "Huh, I never would've thought of that. Yeah... that sounds just fine," his warm smile returned. "Don't let your coffee get too cold though." He nodded to their drink. 

"Oh! Right, thank you, I'll just... wait here then," They awkwardly returned to their seat and took a few sips of their drink. 

Gyehyeon let out another chuckle and turned their focus to their closing duties. Luckily, it didn't take long. He finally shut off a light and stepped out from behind the bar. (y/n) rose from their seat. "Ready?" they asked.

"Mhm, and..." he shook a small bag, "I grabbed us more donuts." 

That shy smile returned and they led the way outside. It was a bit awkward being in their car. After all, this is the first conversation they've shared, but he felt like he's learned so much about them from simply observing. He leaned his head back against the headrest, fighting back another yawn. It didn't help that (y/n) was playing gentle music on the radio.

"Oh, sorry, is my music putting you to sleep?" They turn it down some but stopped when he shook his head. "A little, but don't apologize. I like it. It's soothing." He had so many questions he wanted to ask them, but his exhaustion was starting to get the better of him.

He hadn't realized he fell asleep until he felt the car slow to a stop. He blinked then slowly sat up, rubbing at his eyes. "Did I fall asleep...?" he mumbled. 

"Yeah," they giggled softly. "Come on, some fresh air might wake you up." They exit the car and moved to open the trunk door, then climbing inside. He quietly followed suit and the two of them pulled out their donuts to now eat their late night snack. He... hadn't experienced this before. He's the type to stay at home once it got late. But he had to admit, this was serene in its own right. 

And he was fully comfortable in this silence. On the other hand, it looked as if (y/n) had something to say. He smiled gently at them, "Something on your mind?"

They nervously swallowed a piece of donut. "Well..." A sigh, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry if I ever acted weird around you. You're just so..." They began to lose their voice and ducked their head. His heart softened at the sight. "I'm so... what?" Yet, he felt the urge to tease. The heat slowly crawled up their neck. 

"... Pretty..." they whispered. "Like, ridiculously pretty. Ugh, I hope that didn't sound weird!" They take a nervous bite of the donut. He retained his smile and shook his head. "No, not weird at all. But thank you." He stared down at his own donut as he collected his thoughts. "... Actually, I thought you hated me for whatever reason."

They groaned in response. "See, that's the exact opposite of what I wanted. So, I'm really sorry-"

"It's okay," he tilted his head at them. "Really. I'm just glad we got it cleared up." He shifted closer to them, and he felt their fingers twitch as they made contact. "Does this mean you'll stop running away from me?" he asked softly.

The red reached their ears. "I'll... try."

"Hmph," he laughed lightly, "that's better than nothing." A yawn suddenly came out. "Ooh, sorry."

(y/n) seemed to want to use this as a chance to escape. "It is getting late." They quickly comment, "You looked like you had a long shift." 

He couldn't even argue and only gave a nod. He silently made his way back to the passenger seat, gave them his address, and promptly lulled himself to sleep.

When he awoke for the second time, they made it outside his apartment. He rubbed his eyes then grabbed his bag. "Mmm, thanks for driving me, (y/n). I'll... see you at the usual time on Monday?"

(y/n) gave a sheepish nod. "Yeah. Usual time. Good night, Gyehyeon."

The walk to his bed was a bit of a blur, honestly. All he remembered was unlocking the door then beelining it to the soft mattress. Not even a whisper of a dream occurred as he quickly fell asleep. 

When he awoke the next morning, he'll be honest, it felt like he was in a haze. As if last night was the dream. He shook his messy hair and groggily got up to get ready for the day. It didn't take him long to enter the kitchen, where he was pleasantly surprised to see Hoyoung. 

"Good morning," his friend chirped. "Well, afternoon, actually."

"Afternoon??" Gyehyeon furrowed his brow. His head whipped around to check the time. "I slept in until 2??"

"Yeah. I know you don't work weekends, so I let you sleep." He was finishing cooking up some lunch. "Oh, I was cleaning up a bit and was gonna throw this bag away, but there was a phone number on it. Dunno if it was important to you."

"A phone number??" Gyehyeon eyed the small bag on the counter. The same one he used for his donuts. He quietly picked it up and, sure enough, there was a number scribbled onto it. So, last night wasn't a dream after all...

"What, finally found out about that one strange customer of yours?" Hoyoung softly snorted. 

"Mhm," the other nodded. "They drove me home last night. Really nice..."

"Well?" Hoyoung rose a brow. "What're you waiting for? Give them a call, lover boy."

His face flushed at his comment. "It... It's not like that--"

"Okay... whatever you say!" He brushed past him to set up the table. Gyehyeon glanced down at the number again. For someone so shy, this was quite the bold move -

Next time, he'll think of something bolder.