Dejun x Joohyuk

@☭ Nam Joohyuk To say that being Joohyuk's mate was the best feeling in the world was probably an understatement. The only reason Dejun couldn't be absolutely sure was because he was not Joohyuk's boyfriend, mate, or...anything really, in name. And yet, they were doing pretty much what any standard couple would do - seeing each other multiple times a week, going out to dinner together, finding each other at work...and Dejun was pretty sure even the most dedicated couples didn't always do everything that he and Joohyuk were doing for each other. Every day that he saw Joohyuk gave him more certainty that the feelings he held towards the alpha were reciprocal, and it was only a matter of someone making the first move.

Since Joohyuk was already acting like a textbook boyfriend, then Dejun would be bold enough to make it official between them. As he was nearing the end of his Friday night shift, Dejun caught Joohyuk stealing glances at him once again. The butterflies in his stomach fluttered once again, and Dejun resolutely decided that tonight was the night that he'd make the first move. He didn't let his masterplan show on his face though, choosing to ignore Joohyuk's glances and make light conversation with the two customers and recommending them some night time drinks in full view of Joohyuk.

@☭ Xiao Dejun For the next few weeks, Joohyuk felt like he was seeing Dejun even more than ever. He visited Common Grounds every morning, spent Wednesday tabling hours with Dejun, and Joohyuk sat in the cafe on Friday evenings waiting for Dejun to finish work. They had settled into a comfortable routine, and Joohyuk liked it—maybe a little too much. As he worked on his report on this Friday evening, Joohyuk couldn't keep his eyes of Dejun as he scurried back and forth behind the bar, smiling and chatting with the unusual influx of customers.

@☭ Nam Joohyuk To Dejun, the scary part of the night wasn't the conversations they were having about psychopaths and criminals in their society, but rather the fact that his time with Joohyuk finally had to come to an end. There as a sense of longing within him to plead with Joohyuk to just stay over, but he knew that would be pushing the alpha too far. "Hng, I guess," he agreed, looking at his apartment building with a pout. Time had passed by too quickly. "Kay...then hyung make sure you still come to get your coffee from me while I'm still here," he said, "And I'll go visit your booth next week too." Dejun promised. Picking up the bag of oranges that he had picked out with Joohyuk, Dejun got out of the car, though he took as long as he could to do so. Once Joohyuk had walked him to the entrance, Dejun gave a sad little wave, "Drive home safely hyung." he bid the older farewell.

@☭ Xiao Dejun Joohyuk made a mental note to bring Dejun pepper spray himself next time. There was a box of pepper spray keychains in the office used for an old promotion, but since everyone had forgotten about it, Joohyuk might as well gift the entire box to Dejun. "Uh- squatter? It's because there's different bylaws in different places for squatters. Sometimes, it's not so easy to remove them, so that's why it's important to have a solid legal agreement if you share rent or living space with someone else." Pulling into the loop of Dejun's apartment block, Joohyuk reached over to unbuckle Dejun's seat belt. "Don't talk about such scary things at this time. You'll have nightmares."

@☭ Nam Joohyuk Joohyuk was so smart! Dejun would use the opportunity to show what he had learned by handpicking the oranges that he would bring to share with the older at his station. Heeding the older's advice, he gave a nod of his head, "I'm going to make sure I order some pepper spray then," he said, "But hyung, the craziest people can be the most normal-looking ones," he reminded the older, "Remember the episode with the squatter? They wouldn't leave the apartment no matter what! What can the police do in a situation like that?" he asked, "How come those policemen didn't evict the guy?"

@☭ Xiao Dejun Joohyuk raised a brow. "There's four oranges, you'll finish them in a week. If you really want, then just buy a new one to bring to me, okay?" When Dejun brought up the documentary that Joohyuk had long finished and almost completely forgotten about, he hurried to search his brain for the answers to Dejun's inevitable questions. "Right, there's a lot, so you have to be careful," Joohyuk said. Dejun was always running around late at night, especially in his school, and ever since the incident that was reported, Joohyuk would be lying if he said he wasn't worried. "Try not to walk alone after dark. If you do, carry pepper spray and a personal alarm."

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@☭ Nam Joohyuk Dejun didn't want their night to be over so soon. He thought about asking Joohyuk to help him choose other fruits to share with Hendery, but the alpha had whisked him to the check out line all too soon. Once they were back in the car, Dejun deliberately delayed putting his seat belt on, wanting to just have more time to talk to Joohyuk. "But why not? If you can't come over today, then I'm going to bring these oranges to your tabling session next week!" he said, totally disregarding the possibility of the oranges being overripe by that time, "And we'll peel and eat them together!" The idea sounded lovely to him, so he settled in his seat, happy with that solution. Luckily, he didn't quite recognize this part of the community, which meant that the drive back to his apartment was going to take a while. "Hyung, that new show you were telling me about..."Worst Roommate Ever"? I've already caught up to the newest episode! It's so crazy how many psychos there are out there!" he said, eager to share with Joohyuk about his watch history.

@☭ Xiao Dejun Once Joohyuk checked the next orange Dejun presented to him and approved it, he peeled open a plastic bag to hold the oranges. "Good. And then you do it again." He helped pick out three more for Dejun, then tied the bag together and brought it all up to the front to pay. As much as Joohyuk would love to find some other excuse to keep Dejun around for longer, they had been out for a while, and Dejun had a long day of school already. "I'll take you home now," Joohyuk said, ushering Dejun into the car. "I can't eat your oranges with you, so let me know how it goes."

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@☭ Nam Joohyuk Dejun had been hoping to please Joohyuk on his first attempt, but he had failed to notice the bruise on the bottom! Well, second time had to be better, so he boldly reached out and grabbed another smooth one, which wasn't as heavy as the first one. Deciding that he didn't like it, he put it back down and picked up another one that seemingly met all the requirements, "How about this one hyung?" he asked, eager to impress. Maybe this was the way to win Joohyuk's heart as an omega, and to prove that Dejun was the perfect companion for him!

@☭ Xiao Dejun While hanging out with Dejun in public places seemed fine, Joohyuk almost felt like it would be crossing a line if he entered Dejun’s home, or vice versa. It just seemed so… intimate, and frankly, inappropriate, given their differences. Without responding to Dejun’s request, Joohyuk reached for the orange Dejun handed him, inspecting each face with a quick twist of his wrist. “It’s bruised on the bottom,” he said, flipping it over in his hand to show Dejun. “See? Feel it, it’s soft in that spot. No good, pick another one.”

@☭ Nam Joohyuk Dejun would eat oranges when he was home, since his baba would cut them for him after dinner sometimes, but he never thought to buy a whole orange for himself. It felt like the type of fruit that tasted best when shared. "Hyung can you come eat them with me?" he asked as he reached out for a smooth looking orange near the top of the stack, "We need to do a taste test of the oranges!" he declared. He grinned as he handed over a hefty smooth orange to Joohyuk without checking the bottom of it, "Like this one?" he asked.

@☭ Xiao Dejun “Sure,” Joohyuk said, delighted with the excuse to stay longer. The supermarket was quiet at night, leaving just the two of them in the produce section. “Do you even know how to pick them yourself? Let hyung teach you a thing or two.” The oranges were discounted for the week, so Joohyuk led them over to the bin. “Do you like oranges? When you pick oranges, you have to feel the weight in your hand. Weightier ones mean they’re juicer. They should be firm, and you should check for anything like bruises or mould. Try to pick ones with a smoother surface and not much discolouration. You try.”

@☭ Nam Joohyuk Dejun had overlooked the aspect of coffee freshness, which seemed to give him even more reason for not going home for the entire period that he was supposed to. As much as he missed his parents and wanted to hang out with his brother again, the thought of being too far away from Joohyuk for so long didn't settle well with him. While Joohyuk mulled over which eggs he was going to get, Dejun considered a list of acceptable reasons that he could use to convince his baba to adjust his flight time. Nothing good came to mind...yet. Joohyuk had only mentioned grabbing eggs, but Dejun didn't want to shorten their time together, so he pretended to consider the groceries that he had at home. "Mm...I don't really have fruits at home," he admitted to the older, "Maybe hyung can help me choose some?"

@☭ Xiao Dejun "That doesn't sound like it would keep very long," Joohyuk said, shoving Dejun into the store first to get him out of the wind. "And I don't think it would taste very fresh by day three? Everything would be separated by then." Joohyuk had just gone on a grocery run the night before, so another carton of eggs was going to be pushing it on how quickly he could clear everything out before it went bad. He picked the smallest pack and mingled in the aisle again, finding that they spent to little time in there. It felt like a cozy fever dream that Joohyuk never wanted to wake from. "Anything you need? You have fruits at home?"

@☭ Nam Joohyuk "No you shouldn't go there," Dejun insisted, already finding thousands of reasons in his mind to hate on Rainforest Cafe, or whatever the name of the gosh darn competition was. He didn't need another barista who didn't know how to stay in their own lane for fall in love with Joohyuk in the mornings too. "Maybe I'm not gonna go home that long," he said, getting out of the car as Joohyuk parked next to the grocery store. He shivered as the cold nighttime wind slapped him in the face, "I'll pre-make your coffee! Then you can keep it in the fridge and drink one a day until I come back!" Dejun suggested, his eyes lighting up from his own genius. "That'll save you time /and/ money hyung!"

@☭ Xiao Dejun “How would I know? I just like how smooth it is. It’s thicker than the one your cafe uses, and it’s got a subtle sweetness to it. I don’t know what espresso ratio they use, but it’s pretty good. It’s a bit pricier than Common Grounds, but I dunno, it’s worth it sometimes.” It was funny to see how riled up Dejun was getting, as if he owned Common Grounds itself. He was fiercely loyal to it, but he didn’t know Joohyuk would follow where Dejun went, not the coffee was. They arrived at the part, and Joohyuk parked in the closest spot to minimize the distance of their walk. “I’m not going to forget your coffee. I’ll just visit you when you come back.”

@☭ Nam Joohyuk It wasn't that Dejun felt any kind of special type of loyalty towards Common Grounds or anything, but knowing that their competition had some type of edge on them made him naturally curious. "What brand do they use?" he demanded from Joohyuk, though he quickly remembered that Joohyuk was but a customer in this entire situation. Dejun would have to do some sleuthing on the down low on his next day off. If Joohyuk liked that brand of oatmilk, then Dejun would make sure to have a secret stash for the older on his days. "But what if they don't use the same coffee to milk ratio that I make for you?" Dejun tried to reason with Joohyuk, pursing his lips and crossing his arms, "They're going to corrupt your tastebuds and when I come back, you won't remember my coffee!"

@☭ Xiao Dejun "Yeah, no one else can make the coffee like you can, remember? You're the one who told me that." Slowing down for yet another green light that Joohyuk managed to stall for until it turned red, Joohyuk added, "But since you're going to be gone, is there a point in going to that cafe anymore? You know, Raintree Cafe down the street actually has much creamier oat milk, so I might visit them while you're away." Of course, Raintree Cafe didn't have Dejun, so as soon as Dejun was back, Joohyuk would just bounce right back to Common Grounds. He only enjoyed teasing Dejun for now.

@☭ Nam Joohyuk Even though they were only on an errand run to grab some eggs, Dejun's feelings could be equated to the time when he was going on some highly anticipated roadtrip. As they made their way down the narrow streets, Dejun thrummed his fingers against the passenger arm rest and hummed a tune to himself, letting Joohyuk navigate the road in peace. When presented with a question from the alpha, he was almost too quick to answer, "Of course I will!" In the dark light, it was hard to tell, but his cheeks had flushed red because Joohyuk had asked him so boldly, "Will you miss me hyung? You're not going to betray me by going to another coffee shop are you?" he asked.

@☭ Xiao Dejun “Of course, it’s not like I get the summers off,” Joohyuk said, although he knew for sure he wouldn’t be visiting the cafe as frequently as he was now when Dejun was away. He would consider exchanging socials with Dejun then. Pulling into the lot of the station, Joohyuk parked in the designated bay and got out first to grab Dejun’s bag from the back. They transferred to Joohyuk’s car and were back on the road in no time, headed toward a farther grocery store than necessary. Joohyuk was definitely banking on the hope that Dejun didn’t know the streets well enough to complain. “When you go home, you’ll miss me, right?”

@☭ Nam Joohyuk "Well, you're on duty, so it makes sense if you have to drive your police car home for the night!" Dejun tried to reason, though he realized that meant Joohyuk wouldn't have a ride home if he only used one police car that didn't belong to him. He settled back in his seat as they cruised through the night streets, which were still surprisingly packed full of cars. Dejun was thankful that Joohyuk was the type of good conversationalist that knew how to fill silence between them. He even wondered if there was some ulterior motive behind Joohyuk's question, perhaps to find out if they would be seeing each other during Dejun's break. "Mm, I might go home for a few weeks, but I'm going to stay here to practice my Korean," he told Joohyuk, "Hyung, you're still going to come to the coffee shop in the summer right?"

@☭ Xiao Dejun “Did you think I get to keep this?” Joohyuk laughed, waving his hand in front of the passenger vent to check for warm air. The station was no so far from where they were now, so rather than rush like he usually did, Joohyuk took his time, even slowing down for red lights rather than try to beat them when they were yellow. It wasn’t that he wanted Dejun that way, like a creep, he told himself. He just enjoyed Dejun’s company, similar to how he enjoyed Jisoo’s, or any of his friends’. Age was just a number when it came to friendships. “The school year is almost over. Are you going back home for the summer?”

@☭ Nam Joohyuk Joohyuk so kindly (but firmly) refused Dejun's request once more, leaving the younger yearning more so than discouraged to eventually get his hands on the coveted phone number. Dejun huffed at Joohyuk dramatically (though not seriously) and shrugged, "But that was by surprise-" He twiddled his thumbs until Joohyuk changed the topic on his own accord, perking up at yet another opportunity to stay longer together. "Yes! I wanna go with you!" he eagerly agreed, leaving no room for misinterpretation here. "Hyung, you're going to bring this back and take your own car?" he asked, "The one from last time?" Dejun asked, the thought of having multiple rides by Joohyuk making his heart skip a beat unexpectedly.

@☭ Xiao Dejun Joohyuk supposed what Dejun was saying held some truth—they had known each other for so long now, without having an abnormal relationship, that having each other’s phone number was not something anyone would bat an eye at. The thing is, Joohyuk just found Dejun’s persistence hilariously cute. He always had some sort of excuse, too, to go with it, no matter the situation. Joohyuk laughed, taking his phone back from Dejun. “You found me with no problem today without my number, didn’t you?” Since Dejun had no errands, Joohyuk was going to have to come up with one himself. “I have to return the car to the station and pick up some eggs. Do you want to come along for the ride?”

@☭ Nam Joohyuk Dejun was well-fed and pampered under Joohyuk's watch, so he made sure to express his gratitude on their way outside, "Thank you for dinner hyung!" he grinned, "That was so yummy!" The air at night was getting cooler again, though it wasn't to the point of seeing white smoke in front of their faces with each breath. That didn't stop Joohyuk from rushing them into the car and turning on the heater again. Dejun stared at Joohyuk with a foolish grin on his face when the older reached over and pulled the seatbelt over his chest, securing him in place. "Mm, no. Do you have somewhere you need to be hyung?" Dejun asked, wanting to extend their time together by any means possible. "I'll run errands with you~It's more enjoyable if you don't have to do those things alone." He leaned over the center console, reaching for Joohyuk's phone boldly, "Hyunggg, now that we know each other to this point, can't we exchange phone numbers yet?" Dejun asked, batting his eyelashes, "At least so I can find you when you're tabling!"

@☭ Xiao Dejun "Mm... sure," Joohyuk said. He had given his advice, but he had no place in Dejun's life to keep pushing and nagging him like he was his mother—Dejun's own mother probably didn't even nag like that. Once he paid, they were back out in the car. Although they ate later, Joohyuk couldn't help but feel like it was still rather early. He watched Dejun settle in, then he leaned over to pull Dejun's seatbelt over his chest. "Do you have anywhere to be?" he couldn't help but ask. "Any more errands to run for your roommate?"

@☭ Nam Joohyuk And now there was yet another thing to add onto the list of Joohyuk's qualities - he could cook for himself! His mama had always said that his baba was a rare alpha, almost a one-of-a-kind, and that finding someone as ideal as his baba was pretty darn hard, but here Joohyuk was, like a winning lottery ticket right before Dejun's eyes. And because his baba had always done the cooking at home, Dejun never had to think of something like meal prepping. Besides, that's what convenience store and meal delivery services were for right? "Mm, not really. I don't really have time to meal prep anyways, between my part-time job, classes, the dance competition, and just having time for my friends," Dejun casually explained. "I'm getting by though hyung!" he reassured Joohyuk, flashing the older a very convincing smile.

@☭ Xiao Dejun “Of course I have lunch. I usually bring something to work.” Packaging the boxes in a bag neatly, Joohyuk pushed it toward before pressing the call button on the table again for the bill. He raised a brow when Dejun admitted to, essentially, eating like crap. He didn’t think the meals in the canteen were made with health and nutrition in mind, and TikTok didn’t seem like a very good source of recipes. “Yeah… you can? Ramyeon isn’t that good for you thought… don’t you know how to do things like meal prepping?”