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Yoonmin was greeted by the cool night air as he and his fellow band members stepped out of their van. The van was an old little thing, having been borrowed by some shady realtor, but it was functional and carried all of their equipment, and for them that was enough.
They had just arrived at Hongdae, a popular busking spot where anyone from aspiring musicians to K-Pop dance cover groups came to perform and hopefully earn the eyes of the shoppers walking by—and perhaps a few tips, too. To be honest, Yoonmin would’ve never thought that his silly band idea he brought up with Leo a year ago—when they were both still college roommates pursuing music composition degrees—would come this far. He wasn’t even serious with the idea, but Leo knew a lot of people, and said people apparently included their future band members.
There was Haneum, who was in the vocal department and had the voice and looks of an angel. There was also Sen, a handsome international student from Japan who came to Korea to study acting. Haneum also happened to be well-versed with the keyboard while Sen was proficient at the bass guitar, and after an impromptu audition at one of their school’s practice rooms, Yoonmin and Leo added them to the team with no hesitation.
A month later came Woojin, a high school student Leo managed to cast while the teenager was busking with only his acoustic guitar, a microphone, and a dream. The younger boy was a bit intimidated from working with a bunch of college students, but the rest of the band made sure to make him feel welcomed, especially Yoonmin.
Yoonmin was considered by the team as the glue of the group, much to his bashfulness. Not only did he naturally assume the role of the vocalist and producer of the band, but he was also the oldest and a natural leader, and had a gift of being able to make anyone hyped up and feel like the most important person in the world. Whether he was cheering up the younger members after a bad day of practice or helping Leo figuring out the lyrics and production of their next song, Yoonmin acted as their team’s guardian angel.
Speaking of Leo, not only was he skilled at the drums, but he also had an innate talent for writing and composing, and he quickly became an essential member of the band. All of the songs they’ve performed so far were written by him, with Yoonmin lending a hand. He acted as the band’s co-leader, making sure that the songs were performed like he envisioned but also being open to feedback and revisions from his fellow members.
Their band—named Star Exploration thanks to Haneum—was nowhere near being famous, but Yoonmin was proud of how much their little group has come. Just like with any project, they started small, signing up for as many gigs as they can in their college and busking in the streets, guitar cases open in case anyone wanted to give them tips. Slowly but surely, their band became a little more well-known with the locals, and after a little under a year since formation, they were invited for their first gig on an actual stage.
The theater was very small and cramped, meant to only fit around fifty people, but to Star Exploration, it was one giant leap for mankind. They never performed for an audience that big; Yoonmin can still clearly remember how much of a nervous wreck he and his members were. Nevertheless, they gave the audience a fun show, and it was successful enough that they kept getting more invites for stage gigs after that.
Despite this, the band still liked to busk every once in a while. It was nice going back to their roots, and sometimes they wanted to get away from stuffy indoor stages and into fresh air.
The members unloaded their equipment—instruments, sound systems, and microphones—and trudged their way to the busking pit. The parking lot was a bit of a walk from the actual busking spots, so it was quite the struggle, but at least they got bystanders giving them curious looks and whispers of “Who are they? Are they here to perform?” along the way.
They were scheduled to perform at 6PM, and it was currently 5:40PM, so they had a good amount of time to set things up. While Yoonmin was untangling the microphone wires, he looked up and saw that there was a Korean BBQ right across from them. As if on cue, his stomach growled in hunger. He knew he shouldn’t have booked a busking schedule right at dinner time, but there were no other time spots available, and busking in Hongdae was already hard enough given the high competition and the difficulty to reserve a spot in the first place.
He turned to his fellow members. “Guys, how does getting Korean BBQ sound after this?”
“Wow, hyung, we haven’t even started performing and you’re already getting hungry?” Leo teased.
“Hyung, I knew you should’ve eaten a snack before this,” Woojin quipped. The younger was prone to worrying about his hyungs, something Yoonmin found absolutely adorable.
“I’ll be fine,” Yoonmin said while ruffling the younger boy’s hair. “I just like planning things in advance, that’s all.”
“Korean BBQ sounds good!” Sen chimed in. Haneum nodded in agreement.
As they continued to set up the equipment, more and more passerby stopped to watch them. Some took a seat around the stage, and Yoonmin could even vaguely hear a few others recognizing them. He smiled to himself. He loved performing with his band because of his love for music, not for fame, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the recognition as well.
Soon enough, the clock hit six o’clock, and the members got in position. Yoonmin tapped his microphone twice to check that it was working before speaking. “Hello, Hongdae! We’d like to introduce ourselves. We are…”
The rest of the members joined in, “Star Exploration!”
After a brief halt for light applause, Yoonmin continued. “Thank you everyone who decided to stick around. I hope you guys enjoy our performance. The first song we’ll be performing is Seventeen’s ‘Run to you.’” The band liked starting their performances with a cover song to get the audience interested.
Leo started the count with his drumsticks, and Yoonmin started to sing the first notes.
—
The busking performance was a success if Yoonmin said so himself.
More and more people joined the audience as their performance went on and the skies grew darker and chillier, and even more people stuck around briefly from the sidelines to watch. Some people even got out their phones to record, which admittedly did make Yoonmin feel a little self-conscious, but at the same time he’s also pretty sure that most of those people were recording Haneum and Sen. Those two faces were difficult to resist.
They performed a total of twelve songs before calling it a night. Yoonmin grabbed his microphone and said, “Thank you everyone for coming! I hope you all have a good night. This was…”
“Star Exploration! Thank you!” The rest of the group shouted as the audience clapped and cheered.
Yoonmin couldn’t help but smile. It was moments like these that made him love his band even more. He always had a passion for music ever since he was young, and being able to fulfill his lifelong dream of performing music in front of other people was still unbelievable even after a year of doing so. He was thankful for whatever he did in this life and his past ones that let him achieve his dreams with four other amazing people.
It was now 7PM, and the band was busy packing their things before they would have to put them away in their van and walk back to eat dinner at the Korean BBQ restaurant like Yoonmin had suggested. The oldest checked the restaurant on his phone prior to performing and found that they close at 9PM, so they needed to be quick. Two hours may seem like enough time, but with five starving and adrenaline-filled boys, two hours was going to be a bit of a time crunch.
They hauled all of their equipment back into the van, made sure to lock the doors, and headed back. Yoonmin was immediately greeted with the smell of grilled meat and the chatter of customers as he and the other members filed into the restaurant. A nice auntie greeted them at the front before leading them to their designated seats. Despite the crowd, there was luckily a table of five available waiting just for them. Hooray!
The boys quickly made themselves comfortable and picked up their menus. “Yoonmin hyung! Can I get galbi? I’m really really really craving galbi right now,” Sen piped up.
Yoonmin looked down at the menu. It was the most expensive meat there. Yoonmin looked back up. Sen was currently staring at him with his best puppy-dog eyes. He looked pathetic (affectionate).
“Alright, you can have galbi,” he sighed. He was still feeling sentimental about his band, and he always had a weak spot for the younger members.
Sen cheered while the other members continued to choose, eventually settling for less expensive meats, much to Yoonmin’s relief. Yoonmin himself, however, still couldn’t quite decide what to pick. Even though he was the one who suggested that they eat dinner at a Korean BBQ restaurant in the first place, he was still being indecisive. There were just so many choices.
He was so focused on deciding between beef brisket and samgyeopsal that he didn’t notice a figure hovering over him until said figure spoke. “Hello! I’ll be your waiter for tonight. Have you decided what to order?”
Yoonmin jumped a little in his seat and whipped his head around. Standing before him was the prettiest man he has ever seen in his twenty-four years of living. The Beautiful Man™ had long, messy bangs that nearly covered his soft, kind eyes, and an adorable and dorky smile.
He was gorgeous.
Yoonmin couldn’t do anything but gape and admire the Beautiful Man™ while vaguely hearing his fellow members state their orders one by one. He looked down at his apron and noticed a name tag pinned onto it. Hengyu, it read. God, even his name was perfect. Yoonmin rarely felt attracted to people, much less wanted to date them, yet something about Hengyu made him want to drop everything, pick up the waiter bridal-style, and run off to the sunset together.
“And what can I get for you, sir? Or do you need more time deciding?” The Beautiful Man™ Hengyu asked, abruptly pulling Yoonmin out of his thoughts.
He blinked. Crap, he still hasn’t decided what he wanted and now Hengyu and even his own group members were all staring at him, waiting.
“Uh, well, actually, I… was wondering if you had any recommendations?” He stammered.
Now it was Hengyu’s time to blink. “Recommendations?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m just having a hard time deciding, I guess…” Yoonmin’s cheeks flared up.
To his surprise, Hengyu let out a small laugh, a laugh that sounded like music to Yoonmin’s ears. “No yeah, I get that, there’s just so many options, isn’t there?” He smiled. “But if I were you, I’d go with the samgyeopsal.” The waiter leaned forward to point at the menu item, and upon doing so, his and Yoonmin’s shoulders briefly touched. It was a touch as light as a feather, yet it set Yoonmin’s heart racing like a hummingbird.
“That sounds good, I’ll take the samgyeopsal then,” Yoonmin managed to say even though his heart felt like it could burst at any minute.
Hengyu stood back up and smiled. “Perfect, we’ll have your food out in a bit,” he said as he collected everyone’s menus and walked back to the kitchen.
There was a moment of collective silence before Yoonmin’s fellow members burst out laughing.
“Hyung, what the hell was that?” Leo wheezed out, hunching over the table in laughter.
“Seriously, hyung, I’ve never seen you that nervous before,” Haneum giggled.
“Who knew a cute waiter was all it would take for Yoonmin hyung to fall apart!” Sen piped in.
Yoonmin glared at his fellow members, cheeks still burning. “Stop teasing or else I’ll make everyone pay their own check.”
That got everyone to shut up real quick. Other than Yoonmin, who graduated a few months ago and had a big boy job, everyone else was a broke college student.
Woojin nudged the oldest at the side. “But hyungggg, think about it: of course it was fun seeing you all flustered, but that waiter also made you happy, didn’t he?”
Yoonmin pondered. Hengyu did make him stop functioning like a normal human being, but in a good way, weirdly enough.
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” he replied while taking a sip from his drink.
Woojin’s face lit up. “That means you’re gonna ask him out, right?”
Yoonmin nearly choked on his water. “Woojin! You know I can’t do that!”
“Why not?” Woojin asked, genuinely confused.
“Yeah, hyung, why not? What’s stopping you?” Haneum chimed in.
The oldest sighed. “Guys, I just met the guy, don’t you think it’s way too soon?”
Haneum tilted his head, thinking. “I mean, yeah, but when will be the next time you’ll see him again? Probably not for a long time, if ever, right? It might be too soon, but I think it’d be worse if you didn’t go for it when you have the chance presented in front of you and you regret it for the rest of your life.”
Leo joined in. “Yeah, hyung, if the waiter makes you that happy, then I think you should go for it before it’s too late.”
Yoonmin froze. As much as he hated admitting it, Haneum and Leo did make a good point. Hongdae was far from where he and the other members lived, and they only visited the neighborhood to busk, and even that was difficult to do. This might be his only chance.
He ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe. I’ll think about it during dinner. Can we talk about something else now, please?”
Luckily for him, it wasn’t difficult for the group to get distracted and change the subject. They’ve known each other for over a year, Yoonmin and Leo even more than that, but it seemed like they still learned something new about each other every time they got together to hang out like this.
As Sen was telling a dramatic story about how he almost choked on a piece of samgyeopsal as a kid, their food arrived, and with their food’s arrival came Hengyu, who somehow managed to balance all five of their trays on his two arms. Seriously, how do waiters even do that?
“Here you go,” Hengyu said while placing their trays of meat next to the grill at the center of the table. “Would you guys like me to start up the grill?”
The answer should’ve been no. This was far from the group’s first time eating at a BBQ restaurant, and Yoonmin has become an expert at grilling meat if he said so himself.
Yet, for whatever reason, Yoonmin ended up saying, “Yes.”
His fellow members stared at him in confusion, but one glare from their leader made them shut their mouths.
“Oh, is this your first time grilling meat?” Hengyu asked.
Yoonmin nodded. “Yeah, we’re not sure how to work this thing,” he lied while pointing to the grill. He even added a little pout on his lips, something he wouldn’t have dared thought of doing until now. It was the Hengyu effect.
“I see, well I can teach you!” Hengyu smiled as he started the grill up. “First, let’s wait for the grill to heat up first.”
As they waited for the flames to come to life, Haneum leaned over to Leo and whispered something Yoonmin couldn’t catch over the sound of the grill… and his racing heart. Whatever Haneum said, it got a snicker from Leo before the older boy turned around and said, “Hengyu-ssi, do you know the band Star Exploration?”
Yoonmin blinked at his group member. What on Earth was Leo planning?
Hengyu tilted his head. “I’m afraid not. Why do you ask?”
Leo grinned. “That’s the name of our band.”
The waiter looked at their table in surprise. “Oh! You guys are in a band?” He asked, intrigued.
“Yep,” Leo nodded. “It’s all thanks to Yoonmin hyung over here!” He said while pointing at their leader, who was now blushing profusely.
Hengyu turned slightly to face him. “Oh wow, so it was your idea?”
Yoonmin shyly rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess you could say that, but I wouldn’t say I deserve all the credit here. My group members are also equally important.”
“Nah, hyung, don’t sell yourself short,” Sen chimed in. “If it wasn’t for your idea, we wouldn’t be here right now.”
Yoonmin ducked his head. His face was burning—and it wasn’t just from the flames that were growing stronger under the grill. His members were hyping him up, and he has a pretty good idea as to why.
Hengyu smiled brightly at him. “You know, I like to sing too. I think it’s really amazing how you started a band. That takes a lot of dedication and courage.”
Yoonmin stared back with wide eyes. Hengyu was looking at him so fondly with so much admiration, and his words were so sincere… if he didn’t already think the waiter was a perfect man sent from heaven, he definitely did by now.
Hengyu turned his attention back towards the grill; by now, the flames dancing underneath have grown stronger. “Now that the grill has heated up, you guys can just put the meat like this.” He demonstrated, picking up a piece of samgyeopsal with tongs and placing it on top of the grill. The meat sizzled upon contact.
“Then, you wait until the meat turns brown before flipping it to the other side, like this,” he said as he used the tongs to pick up the piece of meat again and flip it over. “Simple, right?”
Yoonmin nodded. “Yeah, I get it now. You’re a good teacher.”
Hengyu looked at him, smiling. “Thanks. Let me know if you guys need anything else. Enjoy your food.”
As the waiter was about to walk away, Yoonmin suddenly called out to him. “Hengyu-ssi!”
Hengyu turned around. “Yes?”
“I hope I can hear you sing one day,” he confessed before he could stop himself.
Hengyu froze, and maybe it was the restaurant’s lighting tricking him, but Yoonmin swore that Hengyu’s cheeks turned red.
The waiter gave Yoonmin a bashful smile before replying. “Thank you. I hope I can hear you sing too, Yoonmin-ssi,” he shyly said before walking away.
Yoonmin sighed, his face involuntarily giving him a goofy grin. He turned and was faced with his fellow band members trying their hardest to hold in their laughter.
—
The rest of the dinner was spent with Yoonmin spending more time staring at Hengyu working from the distance and daydreaming about the waiter and less time actually eating his food.
“Yah, hyung, I thought you were hungry before the performance, why aren’t you eating?” Leo nagged.
“Leave him be, hyung,” Woojin said. “Clearly Yoonmin hyung is full from Hengyu-ssi.”
Yoonmin glared at them. “I can hear you, you know.”
Leo just laughed at him before continuing. “But seriously, hyung, we’re all done eating while you barely ate anything,” he said, pointing to the members’ empty plates sans Yoonmin’s, whose plate was still mostly full.
“It’s fine. The restaurant is closing soon anyway, let’s just go,” he said while pulling out his phone to check the time. 8:45PM. All of the other people have already left, leaving the band and the staff the only ones in the restaurant.
As if on cue, Hengyu walked over to their table. “Can I take these away from you?” He asked, gesturing at their empty plates. His eyes paused at Yoonmin’s mostly-full plate.
“Yoonmin-ssi, are you not done eating?” He asked.
Yoonmin shook his head. “It’s fine, I know you guys will close soon. We’ll pay the bill right now and be on our way.”
Hengyu frowned in concern. “No no, you should eat more, Yoonmin-ssi. It’s fine if you stay here a little longer. I can close up once you’re done.”
Before they could argue more, Leo chimed in. “Hengyu-ssi is right, hyung. It’ll be a waste if you don't finish your food,” he said. “Here, how about this: the rest of us will head back to the van while you eat; we’ll stop the van right by the restaurant, and you can just head out and join us when you’re done.”
“Hengyu-ssi can keep you company!” Woojin piped in. Yoonmin’s face heated up in embarrassment.
“I’d be okay with that,” Hengyu said.
Yoonmin whipped his head around to face him. “Are you sure? What about closing? What about the rest of the staff? I don’t want to take up your time.”
Hengyu gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s fine, my aunt is actually the owner of this restaurant. See? She’s over there.” He turned and pointed to an auntie standing by the cash register, counting the money inside. Yoonmin recognized her as the one who greeted the group when they came here. Hengyu’s aunt looked up, smiled, and waved before giving her nephew a thumbs up.
Hengyu quickly turned back around. “Anyway…” the waiter continued. “It’s fine if you stay here. I don’t mind, my aunt doesn’t mind, and clearly your friends don’t mind.”
“And…” Hengyu leaned over to Yoonmin’s ear. “I’d like to keep you company, if you’d let me,” he whispered quietly enough so that no one else could hear him.
Yoonmin couldn’t do anything but gape at him. He’d like to what?
“Perfect! We’ll see you again soon, hyung!” Sen exclaimed as the members gathered their coats and quickly filed out of the restaurant. The door clicked shut, and now it was just Hengyu, Yoonmin, and his food.
The waiter pulled up a chair next to him and sat down. Yoonmin tried his best to chew and swallow his food like a normal person, but it was difficult when he could see Hengyu staring and smiling at him in his peripheral vision.
“I meant it when I said that I’d love to hear you sing someday, by the way,” Hengyu said, breaking the silence.
Yoonmin made sure to swallow before speaking, lest he choked on his samgyeopsal like Sen apparently did as a kid. “Well, you could always go see our band perform. We do busking events and stage gigs at least a couple times every month, and we have an Instagram page if you want to follow our schedule.”
Hengyu hummed. “That sounds nice. I’ll make sure to check it out.”
They sat in silence after that, Yoonmin’s heart still racing from Hengyu’s proximity. His thoughts raced as well. Why was Hengyu even staying with him? Normally, restaurant staff would kick their customers out for lingering past closing time, yet this waiter he just met is sitting next to him and watching him eat and making small talk.
Could it be…?
No, it’s too good to be true. It couldn’t be.
…Could it?
With a sudden burst of courage, Yoonmin turned to face Hengyu. “Actually…” he started. “I can fulfill your wish sooner. With a concert. Privately. Just the two of us.”
Hengyu blinked at him. “You mean…?”
Yoonmin gulped. It was now or never. “Hengyu-ssi, I’d love to spend more time with you. Just the two of us, like this. No work, no customers, no group members trying to play cupid.” Hengyu laughed softly at this.
Yoonmin continued. “Would you… possibly like to go on a date with me?” He ducked his head down and held his breath, anticipating rejection, or perhaps awkwardness.
To his surprise, Hengyu shyly smiled and gently cupped the older’s chin, lifting his head back up to look at him. “I’d love to, Yoonmin-ssi,” he whispered.
The older gaped at him. “Wait, really?” He said in disbelief.
Hengyu giggled. “Of course, silly. I don’t normally treat my customers like how I treat you, you know.”
Yoonmin couldn’t help but break into a goofy grin. “Ah, cool, well, we should exchange numbers then, shouldn’t we?”
Hengyu nodded. “Yes, yes we should,” he replied, getting his phone out from his pocket.
After they exchanged numbers and Yoonmin finished his meal while the two of them stared fondly at each other with heart eyes, it was finally time for both of them to leave.
While Hengyu was washing the dishes, Yoonmin started to stack up the chairs. “Let me help you close,” he offered. Hengyu’s heart couldn’t help but flutter at the older’s kindness.
With the two’s combined efforts, Hengyu managed to close up the restaurant quicker than usual. They gathered their coats and headed outside. As Hengyu locked up the doors, Yoonmin could see the band’s van from a short distance away. If he squinted, he could also see his members not-so-subtly watching the new couple.
“Is that your van?” Hengyu asked.
Yoonmin nodded before turning to face the waiter. “I guess I should be going now.”
Hengyu gave him a small smile before gently taking Yoonmin’s hand in his. “I’ll text you later tonight,” he promised.
Yoonmin smiled back, squeezing Hengyu’s hand once. “I’ll be waiting,” he said. “Good night, Hengyu.”
Hengyu blushed. “Good night, Yoonmin hyung,” he replied, letting go of their hands.
With one last smile, Yoonmin turned and walked towards the van. His face was flushed both from the cold and from a certain Beautiful Man™.