Work Text:
Like a damn cliché, Felix meets him at a coffee shop.
It’s a bit hipster. At the end of the street, hidden in plain sight behind well-placed foliage. Abstract paintings on whitewashed brick walls and potted plants on sleek countertops. There's a room tucked in the back, with roughly-finished wooden tables and plush, comfy chairs, and a bookshelf teetering with thick leather volumes that no one's touched since the day they were placed there for aesthetic purposes.
Felix's riding on an art scholarship at the local college, but he still has a belly to fill and rent to pay, so he works here, serving teenage girls their overpriced coffee in environment-friendly cups with paper straws.
He shouldn't complain, though. The tips are pretty decent, because Felix's all sunshine with his dyed blond hair, winged eyeliner, and freckles that have made him an expert on contouring.
Except right now there's no one around to tip him or keep him company. Technically, Minho should be the one working the night shift, but the dude has a date tonight (he won't say with who exactly, but Hyunjin's working out the details), so Felix has to cover his sorry ass. All by himself.
At least he gets to pump up the music. His co-workers have shitty taste in music - Minho doesn't even know who 3racha is, as if they're not the most talented and hottest rap group of the era, and for some goddamn reason, Hyunjin actually likes country music - but they're not around to judge him, thank god. No one is.
3racha's Matryoshka plays as he sweeps the floor and pretends the broom is a mic. He knows the lyrics by heart, of course.
Felix twirls and sashays, bopping his head as J.ONE's charismatic voice rides the beat, then fans himself when CB97 takes over, before finally, when he's wiping down the counters, the love of his life blesses him with his iconic:
"Maaatryoshka."
Fuck him sideways. Felix melts on the spot, draping his arms over the counter, and squeals. Loudly.
Don't get him wrong, Felix loves all of 3racha (who doesn't?), but there's something about SPEARB that gets his heart racing like a hyperactive fangirl loaded with so many emotions and feelings. Ah, the beauty of unrequited love for a superstar.
It's just - Felix is so caught up with SPEARB’s sexy and raspy voice that he doesn't notice there's someone else in the room until said person clears their throat.
Felix freezes in mid motion. SPEARB’s rap fades away in the background. The only reason he can pull himself together (barely) is that he's experienced an insane amount of embarrassing moments from working in customer service and all - so really, this is just another moment to add to the list, and he'd laugh about it later with his roommates and co-workers.
But first, he has to get through this.
His hands shake when he turns down the volume on his phone. Then he hurries behind the counter. He doesn’t make eye contact with the stranger, opting to stare down at a brown stain on the counter. He’d have to wipe that up later.
"Sorry about that," he says. Then brightly, as if it's a regular day in the life of barista Felix Lee, "Hi! What can I get for you today?"
Silence.
So much awkward silence.
Even more silence.
This is killing him.
Felix, one trembling second at a time, drags his eyes up.
Okay, maybe he should’ve noticed that anyone wearing a ball cap and sunglasses at eleven o’clock at night probably has a good reason for it - but he's too busy freaking out to really care.
Because, hello?
It's dead quiet, and he's all alone with some shady ass guy in a dark hoodie and ripped jeans. He's even wearing a mask with a white skull design to cover his face. A silver cross earring dangles from his ear and black tattoos snake up his neck. Talk about sketchy (and bad boy material, but hush). Great. Fucking great. Felix's going to die tonight, and it's all Minho’s fault for ditching him.
"Uh, hey," says Mr Dark and Brooding and totally-not-Felix’s-type. The guy has a deep, raspy voice, kinda like SPEARB, and it’s frankly mind-blowing. “Black coffee without sugar, please.”
“That sounds disgusting,” Felix says good-naturedly, without thinking. He slaps his palm over his mouth a second later, eyes flickering back down in embarrassment. “Sorry, pretend I never said that. Black coffee coming right up.”
Mr Dark and Brooding shrugs easily. “I don’t mind the taste. It keeps me awake.”
Felix doesn’t ask why he needs to stay awake at, again, eleven o’clock at night. It’s his job to mind his own business, and he’s learnt his lesson after his encounter with that one guy who just wouldn’t shut up.
When he brews the coffee (or more like, the coffee machine does its work), Mr Dark and Brooding lingers by the cookies and desserts, frowning. His eyebrows are the only features of his face that Felix can see. They’re very nice eyebrows though, strong and drawn straight.
“Need any help?” Felix asks.
“My friends always say I look like I could kill someone when I’m actually a cinnamon roll...or something.” He scratches the back of his head, and if it wasn’t for his monotone voice, Felix thinks he would be embarrassed. Still. Who says that kind of thing?
Bad boys with a soft heart, that’s who. And no, Felix isn’t smitten already.
“So you want a cinnamon roll?” Felix prods gently.
“Yeah. I’ve never had one before.”
“What, really?” At Bad Boy’s small nod, Felix feels his heart melt even more. “Tell you what, I’d give you a box of cinnamon rolls for the price of one. You can share it with your friends too, if you want.”
“Oh no, really, you don’t have to -” He looks like he’s squinting at Felix’s name tag, but Felix can’t be a hundred percent sure what’s really going on underneath those shades. “- Felix, is it?”
“Yup!” he affirms with a smile. He knows his name tag is well-worn and hard to read; he’s customized it with corgi stickers and rainbow glitter. “And it’s totally a-okay, dude!” Shit, did he just dude-zone the potentially hot bad boy? “We’re closing up soon, anyway, so it’s chill, dude.”
Oh, he just called him dude again.
“Dude?” Bad Boy repeats, and he outright laughs. Felix can’t see his face properly, but he’s willing to bet that Bad Boy’s smile is adorable, because his laughter is so soft.
“Sorry, I call hot guys ‘dude’ when I get nervous,” Felix blurts out, then winces. He can’t even see the other’s face and he’s already calling him hot.
“Me too, dude,” says Bad Boy.
Felix pauses, taken aback. He opens his mouth, then closes it. Feeling his ears flush pink, he packs up the remaining cinnamon rolls of the day and makes sure to coat them with a good deal of glaze too - Bad Boy seems like the type to have a sweet tooth, to match his surprisingly sweet personality.
Not that Felix knows him well enough yet. Just an impression he gets.
“Name?” Felix asks when the coffee’s ready and Bad Boy pays with cold hard cash - no credit card or name.
“Binnie,” says Bad Boy, after a lengthy pause.
Again, it’s Felix’s job not to ask. SPEARB’s nickname might be Binnie (short for Changbin) and the guy might be a fan, but Felix knows there’s a higher chance that Binnie is actually the guy’s name. He doesn’t want to offend him. So, without a word, he writes Binnie in sharpie on a big corgi sticker. He debates for a second, then draws a little heart beside it. He sticks it to the side of the cup.
“Cute name,” Felix can’t help but add when he passes him his coffee.
Binnie arches an eyebrow. Felix’s heart flutters, a little bit.
Their fingers brush, then linger, and Felix briefly wonders what the hell he’s doing when he gives the stranger his signature sunny smile. He gets a cocky tilt of the head in return, and Felix feels his lips dry. He licks them.
Is he very subtly flirting with the bad boy? Yes, he decides, yes he is. Minho would be having a fit if he were here. But he isn’t. Because he’s on a date. So screw that asshole.
“Thanks for the cinnamon rolls, Felix,” Binnie says, and the words sound genuine. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“No problem,” Felix squeaks out.
Binnie leaves him a big tip before grabbing the box of pastries and heading out. Felix lets his eyes wander down his retreating back, admiring his well-toned legs and - dare he say - nice ass. He’s a lot like Changbin - on the short side too, Felix notices. The world is full of coincidences.
Binnie tilts his head back when his hand pushes the entrance door open. “Bye.”
One simple word of farewell, and then he’s gone. Felix knows he still has a ton of boring stuff to do, like scrubbing down the rest of the tables, erasing the chalkboard and writing next day’s specials, counting cash and sorting out tips…
But he’s too caught up with the fact that he didn’t get to snag the bad boy’s number. Hyunjin would be so disappointed in him right now.
If it wasn’t so late at night, and if Felix wasn’t so damn tired or flustered, perhaps he would’ve noticed that this so-called bad boy is SPEARB, his celebrity crush and the nation’s hottest rap star (along with two others), and also, the love of his fucking life.
Then again, they do say love makes one blind.
A week later, Felix shows up late to work, hair frazzled and tucked under a beanie, with no makeup to cover up his prominent eye bags.
“Oh Felix,” says his manager, Woojin, in the kind of tone typically reserved for speaking to tragically injured puppies.
“Don’t,” Felix warns as he ties back his apron.
Woojin, bless his soul, shuts his mouth. His gaze softens, and he pats his back. “You can take the day off too, if you want.”
“No thanks,” Felix quips back, because he needs all the money he can get to buy enough cups of ramen and red bull to power through the upcoming finals week.
Minho’s already working behind the register, and his lips quirk up when Felix falls into place beside him. “You look like shit.”
"You too, hon," Felix retorts. It's a weak comeback, he knows, because despite everyone being overloaded with schoolwork - Hyunjin had called in “sick,” and Felix was nearly tempted to do the same - Minho still manages to look fucking flawless, with his hair swept back and a healthy glow on his cheeks.
The things love does to you.
(“Who’s he dating again?”
Hyunjin shrugs. “All I got is the name Jisung.”
“Jisung? As in, J.ONE from 3racha?” Felix can’t keep the awe from pouring into his voice.
“Sure. And I’m dating Bang fucking Chan.”
“You never know.” Felix pouts.
The look Hyunjin spares him is indulgent at best. “Highly unlikely. Besides, Jisung’s a common enough name.”
And that’s that.)
“Hello, is there anybody in there? I said, ten pinkity drinkities, please,” a high-pitched voice cuts in his daydreaming, and Minho elbows him in the stomach on his way to prepare another drink.
Felix blinks down at the girl. She stares back, impatient.
“A what?” he says bluntly.
“A pinkity drinkity. Pink drink, whatever you call it.” She flips her hair and taps a well-manicured nail against the counter. Felix wishes he had her nails. “Hello? Did you space out again? Can I get ten pink drinks or what?” Her personality? Not so much.
Felix inhales through his nose, then exhales out his mouth, and forces a smile. He clears his mind of any thoughts and lets his muscles go on autopilot. “Right. Ten pink drinks coming right up.”
He makes it through rush hour through sheer willpower alone. Working as a barista has made him an expert at dealing with obnoxiously loud teenage girls. Felix’s learnt to zone out, serving drink after drink with a fixed smile and glazed eyes. He'd much rather be home right now; he has that painting he needs to finish and a photography portfolio to put together.
“Black coffee, no sugar, please. And a cinnamon roll.”
The familiar voice jolts him like a missed step. It’s Binnie, in all his bad boy glory. Tennis boy ball cap, sunglasses, earrings - you get the gist. His mask is out of sight though, so Felix can see the corners of his lips curve into a lazy smirk.
Dangerous, a little sharp on the edges, but so hot.
"Oh, it's Binnie, right?" Felix says lamely. His voice cracks a little, and he clears his throat.
"Yeah, glad you remember." Binnie clasps his fingers together and leans against the counter so that their noses nearly touch. Felix forces himself to stand still. If Woojin saw this, he’d probably deck the guy and kick him out for inappropriate behaviour. Personally, Felix doesn’t mind.
"Right," he breathes out. "I'm gonna go, like, get your order."
His hands flutter nervously, and Binnie grabs his wrist. His grip is loose; Felix could easily break free if he wanted to. He doesn't.
“You have your phone with you?” Binnie asks.
"Yeah. Do you need it?"
"I do."
Ignoring the growing line behind Binnie - most of them head straight to Minho with an impatient scowl - Felix fishes around in his jeans pocket and pulls out his phone. He doesn’t question Binnie’s motives, too busy focusing on the fingers wrapped around his other wrist, metal rings cold against his skin.
“Thanks,” Binnie says, plucking the phone out of his free hand.
“Wait,” Felix starts, the words dying out of his throat.
SPEARB’s face lights up on his lockscreen. It’s one of his old selcas that he’s posted on instagram: brushed down bangs, a black beanie and a small smile. Felix loves that photo, reveres it on a daily basis, but he almost wishes he’d changed it back to his bnha fanart. Less likely to get judged.
Binnie snorts at the picture.
“It’s not what it looks like,” Felix blurts out.
“This your boyfriend?” Binnie says, amused. Felix feels the life trickle out of him. Binnie’s totally messing with him but it’s too late to back down now.
“That’s a celebrity, not my boyfriend. Not that I don’t want him to be my boyfriend but -” Felix huffs in frustration. He’s digging a bigger hole for himself. “- It’s highly unlikely I’ll ever even meet him.”
Binnie hums thoughtfully, “What’s this guy’s name?”
Felix pretends it doesn’t offend him that Binnie doesn’t recognize 3racha’s faces on the spot.
“His stage name is SPEARB, but his real name is Seo Changbin.” After a second thought, he adds: “I just like his rap, a lot. He has good flow.”
“And you think he’s hot?”
“Well, duh. Objectively, of course. I mean, his personality is cute too. But like I said, I don’t think I’ll ever date him cuz I’m not delusional.” He flounders, thinking out loud. “Besides, you’re hot too. Not like that matters unless you’re interested. Which you’re probably not.”
There’s a beat of silence in the coffee shop, as if everyone was listening in on their conversation. Minho snickers as he brews a cup of coffee and Felix can hear Woojin’s deep, full-blown laughter resonating from the back. He’d cover his eyes in shame, but Binnie’s still holding his wrist.
“Okay?” Binnie drawls, slowly.
Felix sighs. “I’m a mess, I know. Please pretend that never happened.”
He gently pulls away from Binnie, presses his thumb against his phone to unlock it, then backs away, embarrassment flooding over him. His face feels warm.
“Imma...go get your order now.”
He avoids Bonnie’s gaze when he hands him his drink and cinnamon roll. Binnie pays with cash and slides his phone over. Felix wonders what he used it for - he hadn’t called anybody.
Binnie then says, “You’re cute. Text me,” and he smiles a dreamy smile that makes Felix’s knees go weak.
“M’kay,” Felix says quietly, with a dazed look on his face.
A few girls seem gobsmacked at Binnie’s mere presence. Binnie tips his cap towards them, eliciting a whirl of giggles in response. Some of them have their phones out, filming him, and Felix thinks that’s a bit over the top, if not rude. He watches as Binnie saunters out with a final little wave - and a smirk directed at Felix, like they now share a dirty little secret between them.
Felix doesn’t know what just happened, but that’s okay. Maybe he hadn’t fucked up as badly as he thought, or maybe Binnie liked him despite the fact.
His heart flips and flops a little.
The next person in line is Jeongin, one of the few regulars that Felix doesn’t mind. The kid’s still in high school, and he likes coming here after his classes are over to complain, then ask for some help from whoever’s free.
He’s a sweet kid though, and Felix likes him. He clucks his tongue in greeting. “Hey, Jeonginnie.”
“Hey, hyung,” Jeongin smiles back. Then he leans over, his glasses slipping down his nose as he whispers. “Is it just me, or was that dude totally SPEARB from freaking 3racha.”
“Um?”
Jeongin sends a furtive glance around the shop. “I know you were probably sworn to secrecy or whatever, so blink twice if that was SPEARB.”
Felix blinks twice, by accident. “You mean Binnie?”
Then it finally - fucking finally - clicks. The disguise. The familiar voice. Fuck, the tattoos were a dead giveaway, let alone the sudden crowd of teenage girls and, now that he looks out, a scatter of cameras flashing through the front window.
And his name. Binnie aka Changbin’s nickname.
With his heart thundering against his chest, Felix finally checks his phone, fresh with a new contact number and the name “Seo Changbin” with a red heart emoji beside it on top. His heart stutters to a stop.
“I’m so fucking stupid,” he groans, plopping his head into his arms.
“There, there,” Jeongin says, finally understanding. “You’re not stupid. It’s not like SPEARB’s your celebrity crush and you have him as your lockscreen and basically fawn over him every day. Didn’t you used to write self-insert fanfiction about him -”
“I wasn’t writing fanfiction," Felix grumbles. "I was writing what I'd say if I ever met him."
Jeongin sniffs delicately. “Well, that didn’t work out so well, did it? All this time, and you didn’t even recognize him. But again, don’t beat yourself up, hyung. It’s not like everyone, even me who couldn’t see his face, recognized him or anything. Definitely not.”
Felix lifts his head up. “You’re not helping.”
“Wasn’t trying to, hyung.”
Felix takes it back. He doesn’t like Jeongin all that much, snarky little brat. See if he’d ever help him with his physics homework ever again (never mind the fact the entire subject confuses the heck out of him).
Minho says, “What’s the big deal about this guy, anyway? Is he some sort of a celebrity?”
Felix looks at him in disbelief. Then he shakes his head - even if Minho's miraculously dating J.ONE, he wouldn’t realise it. If anything, Minho’s just as oblivious as Felix, and that’s saying a lot.
“A celebrity, yeah,” Jeongin replies in his stead. “The one Felix has a big fat crush on since forever, remember?”
Which reminds him, “I’m such a fake fan, aren’t I?”
“Kinda,” Jeongin agrees, at the same time Minho hums a “yeah.” Felix flips them off, and Woojin politely tells them to shut the fuck up and get their asses back to work.
Someone - Woojin, Minho or even Jeongin, Felix doesn’t know - but someone told his roommates about the whole “surprise! Binnie is actually SPEARB” fiasco before he could. Hyunjin had taken the day off to study for his finals, but that doesn’t stop him and Seungmin from latching onto Felix the moment he steps into the room.
“So, we heard that you met SPEARB,” Hyunjin giggles on his left, and Felix feels a headache brewing behind his temple.
“But you, of all people, didn’t recognize him,” Seungmin finishes, wrapped around his right leg.
Felix shakes them off with a scowl, and they roll onto the carpet, clutching their stomachs in fits of laughter. He glares down at them. It’s not that funny. Or at all even.
“Yeah, I know, I’m stupid.” He rolls his eyes, toeing off his shoes and chucking his bag onto the couch. He rolls up his sleeves and checks the fridge for leftovers. There’s a plate of noodles and a fried egg. It has Seungmin’s doing written all over it, and he’d say thank you if he weren’t so annoyed at him.
He microwaves the food in silence - falls back into a chair and heaves a sigh. “I messed up big time.”
Sensing that something’s off, his roommates share a look and trudge over. Seungmin takes a seat beside him, while Hyunjin leans against the back of his chair. Felix frowns at the box of tissues shoved in front of his face. He’s not crying, for god’s sake.
He takes a tissue, anyway.
“Hey,” Seungmin says softly. “At least you got his number.”
“It’s probably fake,” Felix bites back. “Like me. I’m a fucking fake fan who couldn’t even recognize his celebrity crush. He probably thinks I wanted attention, or worse, that I’m a huge dumbass.”
Seungmin coos, “Don’t say that, man.”
“You’re a dumbass, but you’re our dumbass,” says Hyunjin. “And maybe SPEARB’s too, in the future.”
“Besides, do you really think SPEARB’s the kind of person to give a fake number like that? Kinda mean, isn’t it?” says Seungmin. “It’s probably real, and if it isn’t, then you shouldn’t stan an asshole like that anyway.”
The microwave finishes heating up his food with a beep, and Seungmin takes it out, sliding the plate in front of him. The smell of fried noodles makes Felix’s stomach growl - he hadn’t realized how hungry he was. Hyunjin hands him a fork with a smirk.
“Eat up and text him after dinner.”
His roommates are annoying, but Felix kinda loves them.
[felix: hey!! this is Felix from the coffee shop.. so. u probably think I’m really fucking stupid.]
[changbin: I’m guessing you really didn’t recognize me?]
[felix: Yeah.. I didn’t realize who u were till someone mentioned it after u left. I know. I’m stupid.]
[changbin: you’re not stupid.]
[felix: really.]
[changbin: okay maybe a little.]
Felix stares at his bright phone screen, jaw falling open. He did not just say that. Maybe Changbin doesn’t actually believe he didn’t recognize him and that he’s a desperate fan, or something. His fears are immediately assuaged, because his phone vibrates again with a new message from Changbin, adding on to his previous text. Felix’s getting more of a playful tone rather than a pissed one.
And that’s how he ends up curled in bed, burrowed under his blankets as he texts Changbin (Seo Fucking Changbin!!) at the crack of dawn, talking about a whole lot of nothing, including personal life, music tastes - all while skirting around the fact that Changbin is Felix’s celebrity crush.
(Felix has a feeling Changbin won’t hesitate to bring it up later, when they get to know each other better.)
Hyunjin and Seungmin leave him alone, but not before popping their heads into his room one last time to check that he’s okay.
He’s more than okay.
Finally, when Felix’s eyes are heavy with sleep, after he’s managed to drop his phone on his face a couple of times and his thumbs start cracking from overuse, Changbin texts:
[changbin: I gotta sleep. Practice tomorrow. U wanna get lunch some time this weekend?]
Felix’s suddenly wide awake, adrenaline coursing through his veins.
[felix: Yeah sure. I don’t have work this Saturday so I’m free whenever.]
[changbin: cool. Text me your address and I’ll be there at 12]
And that’s how Felix Lee, a poor college student working as a barista at a hipster coffee shop, barely scraping by with tips from teenage girls, has finals coming up along with two annoying roommates to deal with, ends up dating a-list celebrity, SPEARB.
Yeah, it’s a fanboy’s dream come true. But if anything, it’s not SPEARB that Felix’s excited to get to know. It’s Seo Changbin.