"One Iced Americano with almond milk please."

"Coming right up." Yeosang moves away from the cashier to make the customers coffee. Hongjoong is beside him, brewing something for another customer, he looks at Yeosang.

"Another one? Any luck?" Hongjoong asks, tilting his head to the side.

"Nope, just the usual." He replies, moving away to hand the man his coffee.

The next customer comes, "An Iced Americano with almond milk please". He nods then goes to make one.

Oh how he hates this fate the universe gave him. Not the part time job, because that's decent, it's that order he despises. The order that only his coffee shop does within a five mile radius, making it one of the most popular drinks they serve.

Iced Americano isn't uncommon at all, it's just the way they have the option of almond milk that attracts so many people. And so many people want that damn order.

That damn order that is engraved on his arm, patiently waiting for the right person to utter those horrific words.

When he first saw those words on his 10th birthday, it became his dream to work at a coffee shop, wanting to find his soulmate as soon as possible.

Despite his reserved demeanour, Yeosang likes to be around people, but not many. Finding his soulmate meant that he'll always have someone, he won't be lonely. Loneliness is a dangerous thing in his eyes, which made him more eager to find his other half.

When he was 18, he got his first job at a café. At first, Yeosang was happy because he'd assumed that this would make finding his soulmate easier, but 2 years and over 500 Americanos later, Yeosang was still single, and not in the mood to mingle anymore.

It makes sense that the first words your soulmate says to you, other people would say it too right? Imagine 'hello' was written on your arm, the possibilities are endless, not everyone gets the odd 'Your fly is down'
Which is way more practical than what Yeosang has.

At first, he'd put in an effort into finding his soulmate so whenever anyone ordered an Iced Americano with almond milk, he'd reply with something strange, as if they'd go 'omg!' then show him their arm with what he just said.

But with all the weird stares every time he tried it, he eventually gave up. Even if he said 'sure', it would be on the other persons arm too so it didn't even matter. Maybe they were both unlucky.

He grew tired of putting his energy into searching for his soulmate, and he also lost his motivation, as he no longer feared loneliness because of his friends at school, and Hongjoong at work, he knows they'll always be there for him, even though their souls weren't magically bound together.

Yeosang is a busy person, when he isn't at work, he is at university, where he'd be busy doing schoolwork. It's a new year and Yeosang has just started his third year of university. Since he is a bit of an introvert, he never really socialised with people that didn't take his same classes.

Hongjoong, who works at the coffee shop with him is a year older, so he doesn't see him in class anyway. But he has Yunho with him in his classes, and Jongho, who is a year younger. He loves hanging out with them because they both were outgoing and fun, just enough for Yeosang, both their energy cancels out Yeosang's immense shy nature so it all works out for them.

Since it was the start of the year, all the clubs were advertising themselves, trying to get new people to join them. Since Yeosang had started studying at university, he had never joined a club, always wanting to have enough time for studying. But, as the years went by, he realised he needed something to help him destress and take his mind off of schoolwork, so joining a club seemed like the appropriate decision.

"Hey do you guys want to join a club this year? We could go together" Yeosang asked Yunho and Jongho.

"YES! Yeosang you can join the dance club! I was part of it last year it was so fun I was planning to join again, Jongho we'll all do it!" Yunho suddenly stood up from where they were sat outside and pulled the others up. Jongho excitedly agrees, saying that the tree of them would look great dancing.

"Woah hang on, dance club? I'm not too sure about that, I was thinking something more low-key like skateboarding or something or like an art club. I do t even know how to dance"

Yunho shook his head. "That's a lie Yeosang and you know it. We've all seen you dance and you're amazing at it bro, come on pleaseeee" Yunho goes onto his knees to beg really loudly, knowing that all the attention he's getting would make Yeosang flustered, thus, forcing him to agree.

"Ok ok just get up, you're so loud jeez, look at all the people looking at us" Yeosang pulls Yunho up and they go to sign up for the dance club. It was only once a week and it didn't clash with his work schedule so it all worked out and he couldn't find a valid excuse to back out, unfortunately.

~

The first day of the club came too quick for Yeosang. He had been hiding in the library, which was probably a bad hiding place as Jongho came up to him, started packing his books and dragged him out of there, towards the dance studio.

He was surprised to see quite a lot of people inside, waiting for the instructor to arrive. They walk to Yunho, who is talking to someone he knows, probably someone who was at the dance class last year with him.

Yunho turns to see Jongho and Yeosang. "Hey guys you made it, well done finding Yeosang, Jongho" he says, giving him a high five and a peck on the cheek.

Yeosang mumbles grumpily about bunking dance club but gets distracted by the person he doesn't recognise.

"Oh this is San, San, this is Yeosang and Jongho. San was my buddy last year at the dance class, along with his other friends, and now since you guys are here, we can all mingle!" Yunho beamed, liking his idea.

"Nice to meet you two" San smiles, his beautiful dimples making an appearance. He was about to say something else but someone else was calling his name from the other side of the room. "I've got to go, my friend Wooyoung is calling me, I hope to see you guys later!" And San leaves with a wave and another flash of those dimples.

"He's kinda cute you know" Jongho says, still looking at San. "Sorry mate, he's taken, by someone way taller that you so don't try pursuing him if you don't want to be stepped on" Yunho says.

Jongho shrugged, "it's a good thing I'm taken too then. Right?" He says wrapping his arms around Yunho's waist and flashing his cute gummy smile the other adored.

Yeosang loudly protests at them, to stop them from continuing their mushiness, but gets distracted by a familiar chill that makes the hair on his neck stand up. This particular feeling is not a good sign, as he always got it when a certain person approaches him.

"Well look whose here at a dance club? Kang Yeosang, I'd never have thought to see your pretty face at a dance class, luck is definitely on my side."

Yeosang turns his head and sees a guy as tall as Yunho, but slightly more built, as he struts over to them, he has a smirk on his face that never fails to make Yeosang uneasy.

"Lee Hyunseo, what are you doing at a dance class, I thought you'd be a more aggressive sport kind of guy" Yunho says, looking him directly in the eyes since they both were very tall, challenging him to say anything else. Yeosang felt uncomfortable and tried to hide behind Yunho's body, lightly gripping his shirt.

The whole school knew that Lee Hyunseo, the tall, notorious 'bad boy' had a thing for Yeosang, always giving him hungry stares up and down and always making dirty jokes at him. It angered him and his friends a lot, but Hyunseo was also really strong so no one had the courage to fight him.

Fortunately, he'd never given them a reason to fight him. Despite making Yeosang immensely uncomfortable, through him verbally announcing how his showers are well spent thinking about him, he had never done anything physical to him or taken actions on his desires.

Except one time. That one time he had groped his ass one day at lunch, with everybody watching.

He had been so mortified and frozen that he didn't even have time to stop Jongho from jumping on him and beating the shit out of him. From that day onwards, Jongho was known as the only one who could throw a punch at Hyunseo, despite him being quite shorter than him, and younger.

Yeosang was grateful for his friends, who stood up for him no matter what, even Hongjoong, who was older than them and never hesitated to scream at Hyunseo whenever he said anything vulgar to Yeosang.

After that incident, Hyunseo had dialled down his verbal abuse slightly, since it startled him that Jongho won a fight against him. Yeosang was also never alone, always with at least one of his friends. Who never hesitated to give the guy a piece of their mind.

Yeosang on the other hand, because of his reserved nature, could never defeat Hyunseo alone, he'd always freeze in fear whenever he was around, which made it obvious that if he was alone, that guy would easily be able to grab him and do what he wanted.

Yeosang hated that he was like this. He wished he could stand up for himself against Hyunseo. He was perfectly fine fighting anyone else, it was just that guy.

That guy who made him paralysed in fear of the thought of what he could do to him. It made him so vulnerable but he couldn't help it. It was just the way he spoke to Yeosang, as if he was a medium rare steak or something, with those horrible eyes that always traveled too low when looking at Yeosang.

And that stupid mouth that says horrible things like 'Why are you always so quiet Kang Yeosang? I want to hear you scream my name nice and loud' along with a smug grin and a chuckle that made Yeosang's insides tremble.

Just like now, when Hyunseo breaks his stare off with Yunho and makes eye contact with Yeosang, biting his bottom lip hungrily.

"Get lost Hyunseo" Yunho says impatiently.

Yeosang has no shame in completely hiding behind Yunho, burying his face against his back as wrapping his arms around his waist.

That action may have made Hyunseo irritated as he huffs and moves away from them, going to talk to someone else. He is used to Yeosang rejecting him, knowing that any sort of contact with him would definitely be forced. It doesn't stop his fantasies for Yeosang though.

Hyunseo becomes hungrier every time he sees Yeosang, wanting to run his tongue over his sharp jawline and bite his perfect lips. His smaller figure makes him just want to hold him against the wall and make him whimper.

Yeosang is a craving he cant satisfy, he had an extreme case of 'you want what you can't have'.

When Hyunseo is out of sight, Yeosang lets out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. 

"Thank you, Yunho" He turns Yunho around and buries his face against his chest, pulling him into a tight hug. Yunho places a chaste kiss on the crown of his head and makes Yeosang look up at him. "Hey, don't worry, you're not alone, we'll always be there when that asshole decides to show up, he won't do anything to you, I'll make sure of it." He cups his face and squishes it lightly, making the other giggle.

Just then, the instructor finally arrives and shouts a loud hello to get everyone's attention.

"Welcome to dance class everyone! It's nice to see familiar faces and also some new faces!" He cheers and claps, making everyone else clap too. "Since this class is only once a week, let's get straight into it, I need some volunteers,

wait, I want to meet the new people so I'll choose instead" Yeosang's heart dropped as the instructor scanned the class thoughtfully. He needs to get out of his sight.

He tries hiding behind Yunho but his sudden movements bring his attention to him.

"You! In the purple t-shirt" he motions for Yeosang to come to the front and everyone is staring at him, he can't back out of this so he accepts his fate and walks to the instructor.

"Good. Now I need an old member. Ah, Wooyoung! Come over". A guy with black hair, who he assumes is Wooyoung walks to the front. His manner just oozes confidence, which honestly makes Yeosang quite jealous.

"Newbie, what's your name?" The instructor is even louder now that Yeosang is standing next to him.

"Kang Yeosang"

"Yeosang meet Wooyoung, Wooyoung meet Yeosang" he gestures to both of them, and they nod at each other.

"You two will be having a freestyle dance off, I've seen how great Wooyoung can dance but let's see if you can, Mr. Yeosang and we'll let the audience decide."

Yeosang is way too nervous to dance in front of everyone, even though there were only like 20 people, it was 20 people too many for him. But it's too late as the instructor moves to the computer to put on a song for Wooyoung to start with.

As soon as the music starts, Wooyoung moves with precise accuracy and flows with the rhythm perfectly, Yeosang is already really impressed. Also, his facial expressions are on point, his dance being a little bit sexy, making the crowd cheer loudly and when the music stops, there is a large applause and Wooyoung bows.

All eyes are on Yeosang next, making him even more nervous. Jongho and Yunho are in the crowd giving him the thumbs up, mouthing words of encouragement.

The music that starts is much more fast paced that Wooyoung's, so he had to go for a totally different style, focussing more on footwork. The song, 'Oh Nanana' fitted perfectly with Yeosang's footwork, which seemed to have impressed everyone, getting loud cheers, and as the musics got more upbeat and faster, he added some arm movements to compliment it, which earned him louder cheers.

He forgot how much he liked to dance, and how refreshed it made him feel. Maybe it was a good idea of Yunho's to force him there.

Once the music stops, everyone is clapping and cheering louder than Yeosang has ever heard, there are even some whistles, courtesy of Jongho. Hyunseo is also looking at him with a smirk and Yeosang immediately breaks the accidental eye contact he made with him.

The instructor moves away from the computer and walks up to the front to hold Yeosang's hand up high, saying "We have a winner!"  Making everyone clap louder. Yeosang and Wooyoung bow at each other then walk off to their original places.

When he walks to Yunho, Jongho links arms with him. "Well done hyung! I didn't know you could dance so coolly like that wow". Yeosang thinks it's not such a big deal, he just moved his foot a bit, and honestly thought Wooyoung did better. Yunho pats his back, saying that he was impressed, making Yeosang feel good about himself.

He looks to the other side of the room to see Wooyoung looking at him with a smile. He smiles back and  Wooyoung looks away, quick enough for Yeosang not to notice the slight blush blooming in his cheeks.

Once their session is over, Yeosang, Yunho and Jongho make their ways home since it was the end of their school day. And since he had work tomorrow, he wanted to get a good nights sleep.

~

Yeosang is wiping the tables with Hongjoong before the cafe opens. "Yunho told me you guys joined a dance class? The quiet shy Kang Yeosang in a dance class, and winning a dance battle?" Hongjoong lightly prods Yeosang, pinching his cheeks, earning a chuckle from him.

Hongjoong is happy that Yeosang now has something to keep his mind off of everything, he knows he likes to dance. They've been friends since they were little, so he and Yeosang always danced together randomly. Especially nowadays, Yeosang has a lot on his mind and likes to overwork himself to keep his mind off of things.

When the shop opens, they both work at the till, making coffees. Customers come in a lot as it's a busy day since it's a Saturday.

Yeosang serves a customer and when they leave, he recognises the next one. He can't put a name to the face but he recognises him as one of Yunho's friend from the dance class, he is with someone else but he doesn't recognise the other. He is greeted with that dimpled smile he remembers from that day.

"Hey! Yeosang right? I'm San, from the dance class, this is Mingi, also at the class". Yeosang rememberers now, he also recalls seeing Mingi there too. The two of them are holding hands.

Yeosang says hello and takes their order. "It's cool to see you work here Yeosang, I should come here more often. But I've never been here before, what would you recommend?"

"Our most popular drink would be the Iced Americano with almond milk" Yeosang says, unconsciously glancing at his arm. San smiles brightly at him, "Then we'll get two of them please".

Yeosang nods and goes to make the coffee, and when he's done, he serves it to the two, who take a seat at a table. Hongjoong walks to him, "who are they, it seems like you now them?"

"Ah, they're just from my dance class, I've never actually spoken to them before". Yeosang says. They seem friendly so he wouldn't mind becoming friends with them.

When he goes round the cafe to clean the tables, San calls him over. "Thanks for the Americano, Yeosang, I've never had anything like it before. I'll definitely be a regular here from now on"

"Come as often as you like San, you too Mingi, bring all your friends" Yeosang says and waves at them as they head out.

"Hey we should tell Wooyoung to come here too, I know he'd love this". Yeosang heard Mingi say to San, as they leave.

Wooyoung. Yeosang has only seen him once in his life, and for a short time as well, but he keeps appearing in his thoughts, whenever Yeosang's mind wandered off, he would always end up thinking of him. Granted, he was very good looking which is why his face was stuck in his head.  But it was also the 'aura' he felt when he was near him for only a short time. He felt as if he was with someone like Yunho, a close friend, even though he'd never spoken to him before.

It was strange that Yeosang has taken an interest in Wooyoung, he's never done that before, usually, people approach him first and want to be friends. But this time, Yeosang suddenly has the urge to meet up with him, maybe because he has nice friends, so he wants to know Wooyoung too. Yes, that could be it. Yeosang nods to himself and continues working.

~

It is Monday and Yeosang is half awake, waking to school, since he barely got any sleep the night before, trying to finish some last minute homework he had forgotten to do. He could barely see where he was going, feeling like he could drop onto the floor and fall asleep at any time.

"Hyung! Hey wait up". He recognised the voice as Jongho's, so he didn't bother looking back as it took too much energy. Once the younger caught up with him, they walked together since their classes were near each other's.

"Hyung do you want to jam out with me after school today? I get so bored and Yunho hyung never goes out to play with me." Jongho gives Yeosang puppy eyes, which always works on him, since he loves babying the younger. But today he had to decline unfortunately.

"Sorry Jongho, I have to go in for work today, I have to fill in for someone else just for today and I'm getting paid extra." Yeosang ruffles his hair and Jongho pouts, mumbling something about Yeosang being money hungry. But before Yeosang can threaten him, Jongho quickly runs in the other direction to his class, and he chuckles to himself, entering his class.

After lessons, Yeosang goes to the library for a bit to study before heading to work. He looks for a specific book which is proving to be quite difficult. He's not tall enough to check the tall shelves so he walks around the huge library, hoping to find it within the hidden shelves at the back.

He makes a turn into a bookshelf and stumbles upon a couple making out, rather passionately that is. The two probably heard Yeosang's embarrassed squeak as they pulled apart to face him, looks of horror on each of their faces. The red tint in his cheeks deepen as he realises that it was San and Mingi, their faces going red as they recognise Yeosang.

"Ah, hi Yeosang, I'm sorry you had to see that". Mingi says, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh, no I'm sorry for... interrupting you?" Yeosang doesn't know if he should apologise for that but he wants to say something to break the awkward silence. San laughs loudly, grabbing Mingi's hand.

"It's good you found us before Wooyoung did, we get caught by him too often and he always tells us off" San pouts. "It's not my fault he's lonely without a soulmate, he doesn't need to ruin other people's enjoyment just because he's bitter". He says, shaking his head.

They sit on the floor of the library and talk for a bit, Yeosang doesn't mind since he could get to know his new friends better.

"Do you have a soulmate?" Mingi asks, he is sitting against a bookshelf with San in front of him against his chest. They look comfortable and content, and Yeosang sighs.

"Not yet, still looking though". He thinks about how he'd love to have someone that loves him, but also love aswell.

"Really? I thought Yunho was your soulmate all this time since you're always hanging out with him." San says.

"No, his soulmate is Jongho" he replies, earning wide eyes from the couple.

"I would never have guessed they're soulmates, they just seem like friends!" San says.

"They've been soulmates since they were extremely young, so they're over the 'honeymoon phase' or whatever. They just act like an old married couple, even I sometimes forget that they're together." Yeosang shrugs. He couple do actually show a lot of affection towards each other, even if it might seem like they don't. And when they do, he can't help but feel like the third wheel.

Yeosang unconsciously sighs loudly, regretting it as soon as the the couple in front of him look up, sensing his height obvious display of loneliness.

"This is the age where most people find their soulmates, I hope you find yours soon, I'm rooting for you!" San gives Yeosang a double thumbs up along with his lovely dimpled smile.

"Wooyoung doesn't have a soulmate too. Don't worry, you're not the only one our age that hasn't found theirs yet. I wonder when he'll find his". Yeosang's stomach twists for a strange reason hearing Wooyoung's name. He shamelessly realised that he couldn't help but eagerly wait for the next dance class to see Wooyoung again, and maybe even pluck up the courage to speak to him.

~

Yeosang is working again, his head hurting from his sleep deprived night and his lessons piling on assignments after assignments. Let's just say Yeosang wasn't in his right mind to work now. It was his responsibility to not come in even if he's feeling this way but he was stubborn and liked to uninterrupted overwhelm himself with work.

It's around 3pm when it starts to get really busy and with them short on staff, Yeosang had to take orders and wait tables, Hongjoong doesn't even work today so Yeosang feels really exhausted, not being able to chat to his hyung. He'd communicate with his other 'colleagues' but he's not very good at socialising alone.

Yeosang is on the brink of collapsing but he has only half an hour left in his shift so he endures these last minutes.

He is at the till when Wooyoung walks up to him with a smile.

"One Iced Americano with almond milk please."

~~Haha I'm going to stop it here for suspense ;)
How is it so far ?👉🏼👈🏼