myfanwy
forever tilted
coquet
/kōˈket/
verb
/kōˈket/
verb
behave flirtatiously
word count; 1,752
character count; 9,699
character count; 9,699
kaivon; first love
attom; stay
attom; stay
.
hushed whispers filled the air in the café, the warm interior greatly contrasted by the large flakes of snow currently falling outside, the white powder on the road turning into a slush from the passing cars. a warm porcelain cup was held in cool hands, the heat seeping into the chilled flesh while coy eyes looked at the figure across the room. behind the counter stood the barista, a warm smile on the boyish face while he took orders. rich laughter broke through the murmurings in the small shop, the man seeming to not care for the quiet atmosphere that the snow created.
jaehwan ducked his head when the man- sanghyuk- glanced over, warm almond eyes meeting his own for but a brief second. if he had glanced back up he would've seen how sanghyuk's gaze softened before returning his attention back to the current customer. the hot coffee burnt his tongue when he took a hurried sip of it, a desperate attempt to calm his nerves. jaehwan didn't know why he was so nervous around the other, the two shared the same friend group and yet when it was just the two of them, he found himself getting flustered.
well, at the moment it wasn't just them, however sanghyuk was the only person he knew in this café.
a glance outside only showed that the snow started to fall even harder, quickly building up on the sidewalk. no one seemed to pay the weather much mind as they walked, the wind swirling the snow into a frenzy. a heavy sigh broke the air in front of him as he took his phone out, scrolling through various apps as he sipped his coffee. occasionally his eyes would wander back to sanghyuk, an odd feeling in his chest as he watched the interactions with different strangers. how was it so easy for him to create small connections with people?
somehow, when it was just the two of them, he seemed to make jaehwan feel like he was the only person who mattered in the world.
another sigh and the phone was set down on the table, his attention once more fixed to gazing outside at the raging storm. it was almost calming to watch the white snow fall despite the wind pushing it around without a care in the world. unnamed people walking down the street in the storm, bundled against the cold and walking quickly despite the threat of slipping on the wet ground. the gentle sound of a coffee cup being set against his table was the only warning he had before a warm voice spoke, effectively interrupting his thoughts.
"anything interesting happening out there?" a chair scraped against the wooden floor as sanghyuk sat down, resting his chin on his hand as he looked not out the window, but at jaehwan. in response, jaehwan could feel a light flush appear on his face, hands wrapping around his own mug before looking back up. the lighting was warm inside instead of the blinding florescent lights most shops used and it only made to make sanghyuk look softer than humans realistically were. the plain white dress shirt the made up the uniform was almost fuzzy around the edges and was a great contrast to his golden skin.
"not really, no." jaehwan gently shook his head, though the movement was timid. he was afraid of making himself look like a fool in front of the other, something odd. he was rarely self conscious, so why the change of heart now? he hadn't really had too much experience with this feeling, especially not with the intensity the younger man seemed to bring. taking care not to scald his tongue like last time, jaehwan took a sip from his own mug before curiously gesturing to the other with an eyebrow raised. it was a silent question that could only be interpreted as: 'why are you here?'.
"ah, it's my break and so i thought i'd keep you company." sanghyuk smiled, quick to answer. though... it was almost too quick, jaehwan thought, and for a moment he felt victorious in the thought that sanghyuk might be nervous as well. it wasn't noticeable nor as obvious as his own trepidation though it was still there, which meant that he could take comfort in that fact. "i'm not bothering you, am i?" he quickly followed, his confidant voice now gone and replaced by a hesitant one, one that almost whispered out the question. jaehwan was sure that if he weren't focused on the current situation he would've missed it.
still, he couldn't help but slap himself for making the other feel discomfort. he had unwittingly placed sanghyuk in a box labelled 'confident' and left it at that, something he didn't dare touch in fear of not being able to live up to any of the expectations. of course it wasn't the right thing to do, however, he was sure his own box would be labelled as 'neurotic mess' by many others. too in his own head to be able to hold a proper conversation. he still had to answer and assuage sanghyuk's moment of insecurity.
clearing his throat and settling his mouth into a grim line, jaehwan tried to muster as serious a tone as he could without going too far. "you are." he gestured to the empty table in front of him. "i had so much work to do here and now i can't." the corners of sanghyuk's mouth twitched upwards into the barest hint of a smile before his expression fell blank, gravely nodding along. a hum of understanding was the only sound he made for a moment before an exaggerated motion of lifting the cup slowly to his lips before taking a sip, somehow setting it down on the table that rang of finality.
"i see, i see." sanghyuk murmured thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin, his head barely making any movement as he nodded. "how shall i ever make up for this egregious error?" with the flowery use of vocabulary jaehwan found that he couldn't maintain a straight face and a snort of laughter broke the facade. it was truly embarrassing in how quickly sanghyuk could make jaehwan laugh, how easily he could bring a flush to his face. perhaps it made him seem like he had a terrible sense of humour seeing as how easy it was to make him laugh, yet he never got that feeling from the younger.
in fact, it looked like he was happy someone was laughing at his jokes. maybe, just maybe, the younger was insecure in certain aspects of his life. jaehwan couldn't fathom why, seeing as how he seemingly had everything going for him. it only proved that he shouldn't judge based off of first appearances. humming lightly, jaehwan tilted his head slightly and thought, wondering if he should continue the jest or if he should be serious about what he wanted, though the mere thought of that made his heart pound harder in his chest.
as if sensing his trepidation, sanghyuk was the first to break the silence that had fallen upon them. "if you frown any harder you'll get permanent wrinkles." his voice was light, he was still joking, though the undercurrent of concern was there. if he were to look closely, jaehwan would see anxiety building on sanghyuk's face, a small frown hanging on the corner of his lips. to ease any worry that either of them felt, jaehwan made a show of rubbing his forehead with great concern.
"i promised my mum i wouldn't get wrinkles before i was seventy, so she would kill me." a lame joke to try to break the icy atmosphere currently building and, to his credit, sanghyuk did chuckle at it. there was a brief pause in the warming atmosphere when sanghyuk looked at the clock, a frown fulling forming on his lips. there was an apologetic look on his face when he turned back to jaehwan. who in turn could feel his heart being gripped with the icy hand of anxiety.
"looks like my break is up, and minhee would kill me if i was late." he sounded dismayed, like it was killing him to leave, though jaehwan smiled through it. a thin hand waved him off, pushing at the surprisingly solid shoulder of the younger man.
"it's alright, you need to make money, i understand." swallowing thickly around his words, jaehwan continued. "we can always have another conversation later." inwardly he felt awful, knowing that meetings like these were rare, and his own hesitation made each interaction awkward. an uncomfortable silence would loom over them and perhaps it was due to unspoken feelings, though it could also be due to the fear of saying the wrong thing. so when the other stood up to go back to work, jaehwan was surprised when he lingered for a moment. he had been prepared to leave when the other did.
with his eyes on the floor sanghyuk posed a question. "my shift ends in an hour, do you want to walk home with me?" the words were quieter, so much so that he almost missed them. blinking, he knew he should answer quickly before the silence served as an answer. jaehwan found that the words would get caught in his throat, so he nodded with a small smile. and with the silent answer, he could see sanghyuk's shoulders sag with relief, the tension holding them melting away. "thanks, i'll see you then." his smile was bright as he walked away and back to the counter, falling into easy rhythm with his coworkers.
the hour passed quickly and by the end jaehwan's coffee was gone, the glances he sent sanghyuk's way now noticed and returned with a smile. a flush sat high on his cheeks for minutes afterward, though part of him felt elated with that feeling. despite the small conversation it seemed like a weight had been lifted off the both of them, perhaps it had been broken with the question posed by sanghyuk earlier, the invitation to develop their friendship into something more acting as the first step. by the time the younger had finished his shift and rejoined jaehwan, the snow storm outside had calmed into a gentle flow that greeted them as they stepped outside, the delicate flakes of ice landing on their face as they walked. the conversation came easily and there was more laughter, the awkward moment in the café long behind them.
jaehwan ducked his head when the man- sanghyuk- glanced over, warm almond eyes meeting his own for but a brief second. if he had glanced back up he would've seen how sanghyuk's gaze softened before returning his attention back to the current customer. the hot coffee burnt his tongue when he took a hurried sip of it, a desperate attempt to calm his nerves. jaehwan didn't know why he was so nervous around the other, the two shared the same friend group and yet when it was just the two of them, he found himself getting flustered.
well, at the moment it wasn't just them, however sanghyuk was the only person he knew in this café.
a glance outside only showed that the snow started to fall even harder, quickly building up on the sidewalk. no one seemed to pay the weather much mind as they walked, the wind swirling the snow into a frenzy. a heavy sigh broke the air in front of him as he took his phone out, scrolling through various apps as he sipped his coffee. occasionally his eyes would wander back to sanghyuk, an odd feeling in his chest as he watched the interactions with different strangers. how was it so easy for him to create small connections with people?
somehow, when it was just the two of them, he seemed to make jaehwan feel like he was the only person who mattered in the world.
another sigh and the phone was set down on the table, his attention once more fixed to gazing outside at the raging storm. it was almost calming to watch the white snow fall despite the wind pushing it around without a care in the world. unnamed people walking down the street in the storm, bundled against the cold and walking quickly despite the threat of slipping on the wet ground. the gentle sound of a coffee cup being set against his table was the only warning he had before a warm voice spoke, effectively interrupting his thoughts.
"anything interesting happening out there?" a chair scraped against the wooden floor as sanghyuk sat down, resting his chin on his hand as he looked not out the window, but at jaehwan. in response, jaehwan could feel a light flush appear on his face, hands wrapping around his own mug before looking back up. the lighting was warm inside instead of the blinding florescent lights most shops used and it only made to make sanghyuk look softer than humans realistically were. the plain white dress shirt the made up the uniform was almost fuzzy around the edges and was a great contrast to his golden skin.
"not really, no." jaehwan gently shook his head, though the movement was timid. he was afraid of making himself look like a fool in front of the other, something odd. he was rarely self conscious, so why the change of heart now? he hadn't really had too much experience with this feeling, especially not with the intensity the younger man seemed to bring. taking care not to scald his tongue like last time, jaehwan took a sip from his own mug before curiously gesturing to the other with an eyebrow raised. it was a silent question that could only be interpreted as: 'why are you here?'.
"ah, it's my break and so i thought i'd keep you company." sanghyuk smiled, quick to answer. though... it was almost too quick, jaehwan thought, and for a moment he felt victorious in the thought that sanghyuk might be nervous as well. it wasn't noticeable nor as obvious as his own trepidation though it was still there, which meant that he could take comfort in that fact. "i'm not bothering you, am i?" he quickly followed, his confidant voice now gone and replaced by a hesitant one, one that almost whispered out the question. jaehwan was sure that if he weren't focused on the current situation he would've missed it.
still, he couldn't help but slap himself for making the other feel discomfort. he had unwittingly placed sanghyuk in a box labelled 'confident' and left it at that, something he didn't dare touch in fear of not being able to live up to any of the expectations. of course it wasn't the right thing to do, however, he was sure his own box would be labelled as 'neurotic mess' by many others. too in his own head to be able to hold a proper conversation. he still had to answer and assuage sanghyuk's moment of insecurity.
clearing his throat and settling his mouth into a grim line, jaehwan tried to muster as serious a tone as he could without going too far. "you are." he gestured to the empty table in front of him. "i had so much work to do here and now i can't." the corners of sanghyuk's mouth twitched upwards into the barest hint of a smile before his expression fell blank, gravely nodding along. a hum of understanding was the only sound he made for a moment before an exaggerated motion of lifting the cup slowly to his lips before taking a sip, somehow setting it down on the table that rang of finality.
"i see, i see." sanghyuk murmured thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin, his head barely making any movement as he nodded. "how shall i ever make up for this egregious error?" with the flowery use of vocabulary jaehwan found that he couldn't maintain a straight face and a snort of laughter broke the facade. it was truly embarrassing in how quickly sanghyuk could make jaehwan laugh, how easily he could bring a flush to his face. perhaps it made him seem like he had a terrible sense of humour seeing as how easy it was to make him laugh, yet he never got that feeling from the younger.
in fact, it looked like he was happy someone was laughing at his jokes. maybe, just maybe, the younger was insecure in certain aspects of his life. jaehwan couldn't fathom why, seeing as how he seemingly had everything going for him. it only proved that he shouldn't judge based off of first appearances. humming lightly, jaehwan tilted his head slightly and thought, wondering if he should continue the jest or if he should be serious about what he wanted, though the mere thought of that made his heart pound harder in his chest.
as if sensing his trepidation, sanghyuk was the first to break the silence that had fallen upon them. "if you frown any harder you'll get permanent wrinkles." his voice was light, he was still joking, though the undercurrent of concern was there. if he were to look closely, jaehwan would see anxiety building on sanghyuk's face, a small frown hanging on the corner of his lips. to ease any worry that either of them felt, jaehwan made a show of rubbing his forehead with great concern.
"i promised my mum i wouldn't get wrinkles before i was seventy, so she would kill me." a lame joke to try to break the icy atmosphere currently building and, to his credit, sanghyuk did chuckle at it. there was a brief pause in the warming atmosphere when sanghyuk looked at the clock, a frown fulling forming on his lips. there was an apologetic look on his face when he turned back to jaehwan. who in turn could feel his heart being gripped with the icy hand of anxiety.
"looks like my break is up, and minhee would kill me if i was late." he sounded dismayed, like it was killing him to leave, though jaehwan smiled through it. a thin hand waved him off, pushing at the surprisingly solid shoulder of the younger man.
"it's alright, you need to make money, i understand." swallowing thickly around his words, jaehwan continued. "we can always have another conversation later." inwardly he felt awful, knowing that meetings like these were rare, and his own hesitation made each interaction awkward. an uncomfortable silence would loom over them and perhaps it was due to unspoken feelings, though it could also be due to the fear of saying the wrong thing. so when the other stood up to go back to work, jaehwan was surprised when he lingered for a moment. he had been prepared to leave when the other did.
with his eyes on the floor sanghyuk posed a question. "my shift ends in an hour, do you want to walk home with me?" the words were quieter, so much so that he almost missed them. blinking, he knew he should answer quickly before the silence served as an answer. jaehwan found that the words would get caught in his throat, so he nodded with a small smile. and with the silent answer, he could see sanghyuk's shoulders sag with relief, the tension holding them melting away. "thanks, i'll see you then." his smile was bright as he walked away and back to the counter, falling into easy rhythm with his coworkers.
the hour passed quickly and by the end jaehwan's coffee was gone, the glances he sent sanghyuk's way now noticed and returned with a smile. a flush sat high on his cheeks for minutes afterward, though part of him felt elated with that feeling. despite the small conversation it seemed like a weight had been lifted off the both of them, perhaps it had been broken with the question posed by sanghyuk earlier, the invitation to develop their friendship into something more acting as the first step. by the time the younger had finished his shift and rejoined jaehwan, the snow storm outside had calmed into a gentle flow that greeted them as they stepped outside, the delicate flakes of ice landing on their face as they walked. the conversation came easily and there was more laughter, the awkward moment in the café long behind them.
.
many flirtatious encounters are considered awkward by many, so here's my take on it.