in which kim namjoon finally asks out the barista he's liked since forever.

kim namjoon sits in the quaint cafe in the early hours of the morning, waiting. he had arrived around 5 AM and after ordering a caramel macchiato and sitting himself in his usual corner of the cafe, he lost track of the time he'd been there.

by now the white cup had been drained of its sweet contents and, perhaps if this were any other regular day, he would have since left, he presently stayed seated.

waiting.

constantly switching every now and then from folding his hands in his lap to tapping his fingers softly against the wooden table.

he would have left but...

today was the day where he decided he would ask you out.

his plan (that he so came up with with the help of hoseok last week) went a little like this:

1. come in at 5 am like always

2. order "the usual" from the pretty barista, (y/n)

3. flirt ("can i get you instead?")

4. finish the drink

5. ask her to dinner at a food truck by the river

he'd done 1, 2, and 4, however step 3 was a little outside his comfort zone...

ok, it was way outside of it. but he'd at least done three out of five! that had to count for something, right?

he looks at you as you hand a customer their drink with a smile.

right?

as that customer left, you catch namjoon's gaze. you throw him a wink before returning to your job. the wink sends shivers down his spine. it was as if you knew of his internal struggle or something...

nope. steps 1, 2, and 4 were just the usual.

he drums his fingers against the tabletop, growing anxious as he watched the seconds tick by on the clock hanging on the wall.

ok, when the clock hits 5:45 and three seconds, i'll do it.

ok... 5:45 and 50 seconds.

whoops, missed it. 5:47, then.

he was stalling.

he groans. audibly.

it catches the attention of the rest of the 5 am crowd: a few businesspeople here for their early coffee before work. it doesn't matter to him that much, though, just as long as you didn't—

well, would you look at that. she's giggling at me.

he buries his hands in his face.

he just couldn't gather the guts to do it!

whenever he looks up at you behind the counter, his stomach flutters with a rush of happiness and adrenaline that was just a little too much for him and he simply cannot just

stand,

walk the ten steps from his seat to the counter,

look at your beautiful smile without wanting to burst into a fit of giggles and barf rainbows,

and ask you out.

a few customers take their leave, and he finally gets over his nerves as they do so and stands.

ok, we're a quarter of the way there!

goodness, this is pathetic. thank goodness no one he knew was here to witness this.

(there were. jungkook and yoongi, to be exact.)

he walks the ten steps to the counter.

you immediately took notice of him, put a stop to your humming as you clean and look up.

you smile.

he wants to dance around the room.

"h-hey!"

he means to sound casual, but it comes out sounding... painful.

he can see you resist the urge to laugh, and the cuteness of it momentarily distracts him.

"hey, joon" you say. the nickname is but another reason for him to be happy: he's known you long enough to get one.

he clears his throat. enough of this nervousness.

he fleetingly thinks about just casually asking you out, a sort of: "hey, i saw this food truck by the river yesterday and all my friends are busy. wanna come?"

but no. you deserve better. you deserve the truth:

"(y/n), i've honestly liked you for a really long time." he can feel his throat go dry. he's usually so good with words, but it's as if he's never spoken before— or at least he feels this way.

"and i want us to get to know each other better and become more than just friends or barista and customer, you know?"

you laugh softly at this and wait for him to continue. he's grateful that you're not saying anything just yet.

"there's this food truck by the river— best. food. i swear. for a long time, i've kept it to myself because it's a special place to me. like this cafe. i figure what better way for you to get to know me than there? so, what do you say? are you free tonight?"

the biggest grin appears on your face at his invitation and before he knows it, you're nodding profusely and reaching over the marble counter to pull him into a hug.

the best hug he's ever had.

"yes! i'd love to!"

he finally exhales.

"awesome," he laughs, wrapping his arms around you as well.

you pull away, a mischievous smile on your face.

"wow, you finally asked! i honestly thought we'd be here all day," you pokes his shoulder.

he frowns slightly.

"wow. really?" he asks with an unimpressed tone.

you laugh. "really! i wish i had a camera to film the look on your face when you were sitting there."

"ok, i take it back. just... the whole thing," he jokes.

"aw, no, come on, joon!"

but he resigns the joking resignation, and later on the date, he will tell you about going to that food truck by he river when he needed time to think. how the very place has comforted him in times of loneliness and exhaustion. how it's a big step for him to be sharing such a place with someone and how he can't think of anyone better to share it with than you.

it's the first date of many, many more to come.