Chapter Text
The smell of fresh, sweet pastries welcomed In-ho as he stepped into the Steam Bean cafe situated just a short walk from the police station where he worked. It had opened fairly recently, though he was always reluctant to try new things, putting this place down as just another one of the many coffee shops in the area. It was only at lunchtime, when he had 10 minutes to spare, that he tried it and was converted. The food was delicious and freshly made, the atmosphere cosy, and the coffee was top quality, with baristas trained to be fast without skimping on technique. One particular barista caught his attention, and looking at his friendly face that served the customer in front of him, In-ho’s stomach flipped.
“Good morning, Sir. What can I get you today?” Gi-hun chirped, acting far too professional.
In-ho smiled back at him, the world focusing in on this one moment, like Gi-hun’s face was lit from within.
“Oh, just my usual…and a kiss” He said, leaning closer, but the barista was faster.
He pulled In-ho’s shirt, and their lips crashed together. In-ho moaned as the man pulled at his head, needy noises coming out of them both. In-ho circled the desk, and no one batted an eyelid at him carrying Gi-hun to the back room.
“I missed you” He said, picking Gi-hun up and plonking him on the now-empty kitchen side. Still, no one stopped them, and they continued in perfect motion in the front. In-ho would’ve questioned it, but he was far too lost in the feel of Gi-hun’s torso, grabbing and kissing at whatever he could.
“It’s only been 10 hours” Gi-hun said as he jumped down from the counter and started unbuttoning In-ho’s shirt.
Seemingly within seconds, their jackets were off and shirts half open, with their slack pulled down to the upper thighs, just enough to spring out what really mattered, what they really needed. In-ho bent him over the counter and lined himself up, the early morning baking staff now gone.
Gi-hun smiled up at him, his eyes wide and daring.
“Please, In-ho - ah…ah!” Gi-hun grunted as In-ho pushed halfway. He settled there for a moment, half to let Gi-hun adjust, half to not explore already. As the cafe continued its routine, skin slapped in the back room. In-ho looked down, watching the perky cheeks that he would admire as Gi-hun fixed his drinks bounce off him, perfectly round and his. In-ho’s pace was ruthless now, raw and all-consuming.
“Yes…yes…yes…yes” Gi-hun cried, pushing back in time with the impacts.
The officer gasped against his back, and he stroked Gi-hun as rhythmically as he could, wanting to hear those sounds he’d imagined so many times.
“Fuck, you’re so tight”
“In-ho…”
“Say it again. Fuck, say it again”
“In-ho…feels - uh - so good” Gi-hun’s voice bobbed at the impact, clenching around him.
“Uh…uh, fuck, Gi-hun, I’m…I’m going to…”
Dae-ho started banging the porta filter against the side, the sharp noise going straight to In-ho’s head. The noise was far too loud for such a quiet cafe. It happened again and again, with no one saying anything. The noise got louder and louder until it broke through the seam, tearing the beautiful colours and abstract feelings at the edges until it became nothing, and faded into a more measurable sound: the front door. In-ho shot up in bed gasping. It was another dream. The door banged again.
Knock
Knock
Knock
He got up, looking for his slippers only to realise how rock hard he was, leaking through his pajama shorts.
“Fuck” The officer muttered, and threw on his dressing gown.
It wasn’t worth the interruption - just a package to sign for a new tap he needed to install. He threw the parcel on the kitchen table and turned on the coffee machine to grind the beans. It took considerable effort to turn it on and not listen to the voice telling him to go to the coffee shop. Slumping back to his room, he fixed his bed and brushed his teeth, still incredibly hard to the point where it ached. Everything ached in the morning, not just because he was getting older, but because ever since he’d discovered that cafe - that barista - a light had been switched on inside him that he couldn’t turn off. The brightness usually came from that sweet, handsome smile, from the man that asked about his day because he genuinely wanted to know. What you saw was what you got when it came to Gi-hun, it seemed, and what In-ho saw he liked very very much. Deciding it was better to face the music, he leant back on the bed, and put his hands down his boxers. Closing his eyes, he tried to go back to that scene or any other scene from dreams he’d had prior - both the explicit and the soft flashbacks he had that were moulded from his usual interactions with Gi-hun. The more he tried, the more it faded with his sudden alertness.
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Gi-hun wasn’t serving when he walked past that morning or afternoon, nor did he seem to be the past days after that - not that In-ho was looking. Work was fine, routine, if a little dull at the moment and, try as he might, he mind wandered to the cafe. Sometimes he’d have one too many puffs of his vape by the smoking area near the station in the hopes that Gi-hun would be there, given that he’d seen him there before. It wasn’t until Thursday that, after a visit to a nearby bank to gather data on a case his team were working on, he spotted Gi-hun on his walk back. The officer felt his stomach drop, and his mouth went dry. Gi-hun smiled beautifully at customers, as he always did. A part of In-ho felt jealous that others got to see him like this too, but he knew it was ridiculous to feel that way. The fact that he was feeling anything at all made him question his sanity and everything he knew before. In the beginning, he realised something had changed when another barista served him instead of Gi-hun, and he had to pretend everything was fine and not walk around the cafe asking where the man was, shouting from the rooftops until he found him.
In-ho slowed his steps as he passed the street, not making any more attempts to look in the cafe window. If the barista spotted him and waved him inside - as he had done before - he wouldn’t say no, but he wasn’t going to just go in. Then again, he thought, he hadn’t been there in a while - perhaps Gi-hun would be wondering where his semi-regular customer was. He shook his head and picked up the pace. Of course, Gi-hun wasn’t thinking that; he was just doing his job. In-ho just couldn’t help but feel tongue-tied whenever he was around him. It was only when he’d got back to his desk that he properly breathed.
When Friday came, he parked his car and took the long route to work again. He did need to get his steps in, after all. It wasn’t quite the crack of dawn, but it was before most of the customers came in for their coffee fix, and he had a feeling who’d be there. The dream he’d had earlier in the week was so powerful that it lingered into every thought; he could almost feel it, could almost smell the shampoo of Gi-hun’s hair. It was too much; he had to see him, then he’d go, then he’d be content. The coffee was good, and he was supporting a local business if he bought his drink there. That was that decided, and he turned the corner.
Meanwhile, Gi-hun cleaned around the tables at the spots that had been missed from the night before. Despite being a new establishment, they desperately needed more staff. The sheer amount of popularity the place got was overwhelming for the owner, who was still figuring out how many people to hire. Luckily, some more graduates applied and started a few weeks ago, freeing up space for Gi-hun to do more inventory or other team leader duties that he’d so proudly been promoted to. The title of promotion was a stretch, he knew, but he wore the title of Acting Team Leader with pride. However, everyone worked together well to take turns in helping the cafe out in its early stages, and now that the hype of new experiences and freebies had died down, they were able to understand who was responsible for what. It’s just that with his age and more work experience, the younger people in work naturally went to him for help.
“Ji-yeong, did you close last night?” He asked, pointing to a dirty table.
She looked up from her phone and popped her chewing gum before putting on the best innocent face she could.
“Sorry boss, I got distracted”
“It’s that boy who came in here on Monday, isn’t it?” Gi-hun asked, only slightly curious about the gossip.
“Maybe” She tapped her nose secretly.
“This is terrible. I’m going to have to write you up for not fulfilling your duties” Gi-hun tutted mockingly.
“What about your boy?” She smirked
“Is that how you talk to your seniors?” Gi-hun laughed incredulously, then clasped his hands together, the broom and cleaning duties now forgotten.
“And he’s not my boy…for the hundredth time”
“Aaaah, but you knew who I was talking about” Ji-yeong gave him a curious side-eye, not letting this go. In fact, she hadn’t let this go since the first time the police officer had walked into the cafe in a rush asking for an espresso and a croissant. Gi-hun had rambled on about the history of the croissant to the stone- faced man, getting more red in the face as the stranger stared at him, and Ji-yeong had teased him for the entire shift, and the shift after that and the shift after that.
All he could think about was how he was going to survive seeing him again if the sheer thought of the man in uniform made his knees weak, so he didn’t answer.
“Don’t worry boss, your secret’s safe with me” She said, ignoring the fact that half of the team had also teased him about it and scattered like hens as soon as In-ho entered to give Gi-hun the space to talk to him.
As Gi-hun counted the inventory and aligned the chairs, his eyes followed movement outside before he’d even realised it. Perhaps it was the broad shoulders or how he walked - it might’ve been the swoop of his hair or the way he adjusted his jacket before he entered. All Gi-hun knew was that the officer was about to walk into the cafe and he still hadn’t checked his hair in the bathroom. He wasn’t normally this early and in the haze to run behind the counter, Gi-hun tripped on an awkward chair angle and stumbled forward. Just catching himself in time, the first thing In-ho saw was the barista just about holding himself up as he caught himself on the shelf.
“Oh, are you okay?” He asked, walking over to him. Gi-hun practically flinched and jumped a mile when he thought In-ho was about to touch him and help him up.
“- Yes. Yes. Ahahaa. I’m..yeah I’m great. How are you?” He smiled and already felt how red his cheeks were.
In-ho looked Gi-hun up and down as he straightened his back and patted his apron.
“Work is normal” Was all In-ho said as the barista went behind the counter and shot a look to his colleague, who took one look at In-ho and hid behind the kitchen counter. In-ho swallowed nervously as Gi-hun kept his back to him, already pressing the coffee.
“The usual?” Gi-hun asked, looking behind him, to which In-ho nodded.
It went uncomfortably silent except for the whirr of the coffee grinding and Gi-hun making himself busy. Normally, the barista made idle chit-chat but today, for some reason, he was keeping to himself. In-ho wondered if he was having personal issues, and what those were; if he had a family, a partner. He found his head tilting to the side as he admired the slim curves of the man’s body, then coughed and tried to blink the thoughts away, looking out the window. Words, he thought. Say words.
Ji-yeong bit her nails as she hid, and would’ve thought she was deaf if it wasn’t for the occasional tap of an espresso cup on the side.
“Say something to him” She muttered.
A moment later, Gi-hun turned around whilst the machine did its thing and typed at the screen for payment, briefly looking at In-ho.
“Ready whenever you are” He said politely, and turned the card machine around.
Ji-yeong held her palms to her eyes, wanting to spontaneously combust.
Gi-hun gave a small nod as the payment was accepted, then somehow found courage to look the handsome man in the face. In-ho held on firmly to his bag like it gave him emotional support and thought of the worst thing to say.
“You’re not busy” He managed to look into Gi-hun's eyes and wiped his sweaty hands in his pockets.
That lovely smile smiled back, though it was reserved.
“Yes, we’ve only just opened” Gi-hun said and turned back to mix the drink.
In-ho checked his smart watch and felt like a fool. They had literally just opened.
“Ah, sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?” Gi-hun asked, his big eyes searching the officer’s gaze for meaning.
“Well, I wouldn’t want to bother you so early” In-ho accept the cup with both hands, taking solace in its warmth.
“You’re not bothering me. At all…” Gi-hun said softly, playing with his hands.
They stayed like that a moment, neither completely sure what was happening, both convinced what they thought was happening was a figment of their imagination.
In-ho pursed his lips.
“Good” He nodded, and that was the end of that.
Gi-hun put up both thumbs, though he wasn’t sure what compelled him to do that.
“Yep. Have a good day, now” He said, watching In-ho nod again and make his way to the door.
Ji-yeong groaned into her hands. This type of conversation had gone on too long. If she left them to their own devices, both Gi-hun and her would be retired by the time someone made a move. It didn’t even need to be that deep, she thought. They could just hang out as friends and see where things go, people did it all the time. Deciding she’d heard enough, she popped out from behind the kitchen and walked towards them, re-cleaning the tables that she should’ve cleaned last night.
“Boss, can I have Valentine’s Day off, please? It’s 12 days away so there’s plenty of notice.”
Gi-hun looked between her and In-ho as he was about to leave. The thought that he might not see him again for who knows how long was a hard pill to swallow. He couldn’t deny that he looked forward to the possibility of seeing him every day and frequently looked out the window or went to the other smoking corner to catch a glimpse, though he knew he probably wouldn't be able to get a few words out if he saw him, let alone have a full-on conversation.
“How about we discuss it later, yeah?” He said with a smile.
“Oh sure, I just thought I’d ask now since you obviously won’t be busy that day” She said with an evil smile masked by a pretty face.
Gi-hun glared at her and he felt the officer look at him. In-ho almost squished his to-go cup, but managed to mask the inner turmoil and glee at hearing this information that Gi-hun was single - now it was just a case of finding out if he liked men, liked him specifically, and if he wanted to go out sometime. The sheer thought was foreign to the officer. He didn’t date - this wasn’t him. In fact, he had no idea how he would even go about asking that. Had it changed since he was younger?
The officer hovered there for a moment, unsure if he should stick around to hear the rest or go back to the safety of his desk. He decided on the latter, though not before shooting Gi-hun a daring smile that truly showed how happy he was at that news. The man looked so sweet standing there with his waved hair and he said goodbye again, before shutting the door. In the fresh air, he reeled at the thought of asking the barista out, though with every step of pavement he took, he thought of all the ways Gi-hun would say no, or all the likelihoods that he would just freeze up again. For now, he thought, he could take a steady breath and think about when he’d next need a caffeine fix - and that was looking like pretty soon.