san walked into his apartment and threw himself on the couch with a sigh. seonghwa turned the tv off and looked at his friend from the other end of the couch.

"long day?" seonghwa asked and san growled.

"you don't even want to know," san answered simply.

"then i won't ask," seonghwa laughed. san took his suit jacket off and rubbed his eyes in frustration.

"is jongho home yet? we should get something for dinner tonight. maybe we can see if yunho and mingi are free?" san suggested and seonghwa nodded his head in agreement.

"jongho should be home any minute, i can text yunho and see if they're free," seonghwa said as he took his phone out of his pocket.

seonghwa
hey yunho! are you and mingi free tonight? the guys and i were thinking of grabbing a bite to eat. care to join?

seonghwa turned his phone off and looked up as the front door opened.

"jongho!" he called out as the younger walked through the door, throwing himself on the couch as san had, "how was your day?"

"you don't even want to know," jongho answered, causing seonghwa and san to laugh at loud.

"you two are seriously the same person," seonghwa said as he shook his head. he felt his phone ping and he opened it up, revealing a message from his neighbor.

yunho
yes we're free! we both just finished up work. want to meet at seven?

"yunho and mingi are free for dinner tonight. where do you want to go?" seonghwa asked.

"something local please. i have an exam at eight a.m. tomorrow," jongho asked and the two older boys agreed.

"how about la mercerie?" seonghwa suggested, earning grins from his friends.

seonghwa
seven is perfect! we were thinking la mercerie. sounds good to you?

yunho
yes perfect! okay, we'll knock on your door once we're ready

seonghwa
perfect. see you then!

—-

the five boys sat at a table and began glancing over the menu.

"i need a glass of wine after the day i had," san said.

"touché," mingi chuckled.

"how about we get a bottle?" jongho suggested, the group all nodding in agreement.

san glanced over to the front of the restaurant, his eyes widening at the sight.

"seonghwa, look who just walked in," san pointed discreetly at the dark haired man who entered the restaurant.

"it's wooyoung, the guy who works at the bakery!" seonghwa replied. he looked at the boy intensely in hopes to see hongjoong with him, but much to his dismay, he was only with the cashier, yeosang.

"who is that?" yunho asked curiously.

"not to sound juvenile, but i have a huge crush on the guy who works in the bakery next to our apartment. he just walked in, but don't make it obvious," san said to the group.

all the boys but mingi acted discreetly, the brown haired boy whipping his head around to see wooyoung in the front.

"mingi, he said don't make it obvious!" yunho lightly hit his fiancé in the arm, mingi grabbing onto it as if the action hurt worse than it actually did.

"sorry! i can be a bit of an airhead sometimes," mingi sheepishly apologized, the whole group bursting into laughter.

"don't worry, mingi. he didn't even notice. he's so hot though, like wow. i want to talk to him every time i go in the shop, but i'm nervous to do so," san admitted as he looked down into his lap.

"well honestly, what's the worst that can happen if you go up to him and ask if he wants a drink?" yunho asked, winking at san.

"eh i don't know... i'm intimidated by him," san responded.

"i'll go up with you if you want, we can tag team. i've always thought the cashier was kind of cute anyway," jongho suggested and san raised his eyebrow.

"might not be a bad idea," san replied.

while the boys were chatting, seonghwa could not help but wonder about hongjoong.

was he not close to the other employees at the bakery? did they ever hang out after their shifts ended, maybe go for drinks or late-night food? and in a city as big and buzzing as this one, what did hongjoong do with his nights? did he walk home alone, slip into quiet corners of the city that no one else noticed?

"okay, you're all right. fuck it. i'm going in," san said as he stood up from the table, leaving jongho in the dust.

"wait up asshole!" jongho quickly shot up and followed behind his brother.

sorry for the late update and short chapter, i legit forgot it was wednesday today LOL. i promise chapters will get longer soon!

-vic