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He was fine.
Jaebum was totally fine and not mentally groaning in despair.
He was fine.
"Dude you ok?" Bambam asked curiously. Ok so maybe his groaning wasn't only mental.
"I'm fine!" Jaebum's reply was rushed, causing both of the other occupants at the booth to give him odd stares before glancing at each other.
"He's upset he didn't get the cute waiter...again." Jinyoung replied to Bambam's silent question before turning back to his food. His tone and overall demeanor suggested indifference but the smirk gave away his amusement in the situation.
"Traitor." Jaebum grumbled, crossing his arms and slouching in his seat.
The three of them were out at a local sushi restaurant for lunch. They had a cheap all you can eat option and good food that was too good for the college students to resist. That was the reason they had been there the past three weekends.
That's the only reason. At least, that’s what Jaebum would say if questioned.
Jinyoung knew the real reason.
Bambam thought it actually had been because of the food. "What?! Hyung you should have said something! I can totally be your wingma--"
"No."
"Why not?!"
"Just last week you were Yugyeom's 'wingman', and you wound up getting a drink thrown at him." Jaebum stated matter of factly.
"Listen, he totally messed that one up on his own! He said the pick up line wro--"
"The week before that he got slapped because he said the pick up like you wanted him to use right." Jinyoung stated sadly while running a hand down his face. "He doesn't even understand half the raunchy things you get him to say."
"Yes he does he just plays dumb!" Bambam argued as Jaebum nodded to show he agreed with the statement.
"Shut up he's like 7." Jinyoung mumbled while picking at his food with his chopsticks. He refused to let their maknae grow up, his motherly nature wouldn't allow him to do so. Yugyeom acted like a bratty kid half the time anyways.
"Ok, sure. But back to the point, Jaebum-hyung which one is it? I swear I can help!" Bambam said as he leaned in closer to his seatmate.
Jaebum reflexively backed up as much as the small space would allow him. "I don't need your he--"
"It's the guy waiting on the booth behind us." Jinyoung added in without even looking up from his food.
"I hate you." The older growled lowly as he laid his head down on the table. Bambam now having a real target would only mean pain and embarrassment for him.
"I just care for your happiness!" Jinyoung lied happily.
"Oh...him?" Bambam stated obnoxiously loud while pointing at the waiter walking by. The boy shot them a confused look but didn't pay them too much attention, choosing to focus more on his work. Jaebum tried his best to act like he didn't know the other two at his table while Jinyoung suppressed his laughter.
Jaebum waited until the waiter was out of sight before moving to strangle his 'friends'.
The rest of their meal went by relatively normal. They talked about their classes and complained about their assignments that they hadn't even started yet. It was around the end of their meal that Bambam decided to start trying to 'help' again.
It was as the waiter, who Bambam had learned was named Youngjae through eavesdropping, was once again walking past their booth that he had decided to speak up again. "Do you want me to trip him?" He whispered loudly to Jaebum.
Jaebum honestly deserved an award for the amount of stupidity he had to deal with sometimes. He waited a whole five seconds for Bambam to take back his statement or show that he was joking. Because of course he was joking right? Even Jinyoung was staring at him seriously, as if expecting an actual answer to the ridiculous question. How was tripping the poor man possibly going to put him at any sort of advantage in winning Youngjae's affection?!
Actually, it would probably work more than the longing glances Jaebum would throw at him that had resulted in absolutely nothing since their first visit.
No, Jaebum was definitely not considering tripping a defenseless waiter while he worked.
Was he?
Jaebum shook himself out of his thoughts. "No", he whispered harshly, "Please tell me how that could benefit me in any sort of way?!"
Bambam's response was to shrug while making a noise that clearly stated he had not thought his plan through. As per usual, at least when it came to these sort of things.
Jinyoung, who had taken to leaning his head on his hand, took that moment to lazily voice his own thoughts. "Well you could rush to help him and be the suave, kind man that helped him in his time off need. Just trip him up a little, not enough to actually make him fall. Just enough to make him drop something so you can help him."
Jaebum didn’t even give the absurd statement an actual reply, instead giving him a look that clearly said exactly how much he thought that idea would work.
It was while the two older men were distracted that Bambam muttered a quiet, "yeah that would totally work," before taking his chance and sticking his leg out a little just as Youngjae was passing by with a few nearly empty cups and plates to take back to the kitchen.
Needless to say, Jinyoung's plan did not pan out exactly as expected.
The waiter yelped as he tried to save everything from falling and shattering on the floor. He was successful, but unfortunately got his front drenched with the remainder of the liquid in the cups that he had let go of in order to save the plates. Youngjae hissed at the cold dampness that now made up the majority of the front of his pants and the ache of his knees coming in contact with the hard floor. Well, at least he hadn't fallen on his ass or totally munched it he thought to himself as noticed people staring. Particularly the three men in the booth he had fallen right in front of. He blushed in embarrassment as he moved to pick up the plastic cups that had fortunately remained intact.
Meanwhile in the booth, Bambam looked like he wasn't sure if he should feel proud or guilty, Jinyoung somehow managed to look horrified, amused, and surprised all at the same time, and Jaebum just wanted to die.
The eldest was still staring in horror when Jinyoung turned to him dramatically. "Well? I mean it can't be taken back now, might as well take your chance?" It was worded as a question, as if he himself was as hesitant as Jaebum felt. It was when Bambam turned to him bashfully and nodded his head in Youngjae's general direction as he noticed the boy starting to getting up.
It was now or never.
Jaebum shoved Bambam out of the booth, the other landing with an undignified squawk. Jaebum slid over him out of the booth. He almost started to feel guilty before remembering that Bambam deserved it, and rushed over towards Youngjae.
How does one apologize for having their friend trip you so that you can try to flirt with them?
"I'm so sorry! Here let me help you!" Jaebum started. He moved to grab the two cups that had landed nearby and helped the other up. The waiter seemed startled and confused by the stranger that had suddenly rushed to help him.
"Oh no! It's okay sir, please sit down, I'm sorry I disrupted your meal." Youngje rushed the sentence out as he reached to grab the cups out of Jaebum's hands.
Everyone else had begun to ignore the two and return to their meals, so Jaebum took this chance while he had it to try and start a conversation with the other. He held the cups away from him a little in order to keep him there a little longer. "Don’t apologize, really. If my friend here," Jaebum accented his statement by roughly smacking Bambam on the arm as he crawled back into his seat, "had been sitting properly you wouldn't have tripped. Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No, I'm fine. This isn't the first time I've gotten on my knees." Youngjae chuckled.
Then he gasped and slapped his hand over his mouth as the other man cleared his throat, unsure what to make of the joke. He hadn't meant to make such a crude joke, it just slipped! The waiter's face heated up in a scarlet blush as he struggled to backtrack on his words. "I-I just mean! Um, to like clean and...stuff." He ducked his head down in embarrassment as he wrung his hands. God, this guy was going to think he was a freak. And he was so attractive too! Youngjae curled in more on himself as he heard the other two occupants of the booth snort before the handsome stranger turned to glare at them, effectively silencing them once more.
"Uhh, okay. So w--"
"Youngjae are you okay? Jackson told me he saw you fall." A man with red hair, who Jaebum assumed was the manager by his nicer attire, asked concernedly.
"H-huh? Oh, um, yeah I'm fine hyung. I-I didn't break any dishes this time."
"Don't worry about that, I just wanted to make sure you were fine. You're all wet, go ahead and go home for the day. Your shift was almost over anyways." The man then turned to Jaebum and noticed him still holding the cups, looking him up and down before giving a small huff of laughter. "I can take those from you sir, thank you for helping him." He took the cups and moved to walk towards the kitchen, passing Jaebum's friends to move closer to Youngjae and whispering something in his ear before rushing away as Youngjae playfully smacked him.
"Thanks Mark-hyung!" Youngjae added quickly as a small appreciative smile crept onto his face. He blushed when he realized that the other man was still standing in front of him, seeming unsure of himself. "Ah! I'm Youngjae by the way, thank you for helping me...?"
Jaebum stumbled for that one second long enough to make things awkward before realizing he was being asked a question. "Oh! I'm Jaebum."
Youngjae smiled and gave a quick bow. "Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it!"
Jaebum swore he had never seen someone embody sunshine as vividly as the man in front of him did. He was sure he was staring, because Youngjae giggled before moving to leave. He said goodbye and thanked him again as he began walking away. Jaebum turned towards his friends, who both wore expressions filled with disappointment at the failed plan. Jaebum shrugged and was about to sit back down when he noticed Youngjae hesitate before turning back around and marching towards him determinedly.
Youngjae made no eye contact and was so concentrated on staring at the floor that he nearly bumped into Jaebum while walking back over to him. He didn't even know where he was going with this. "So uh...my shift is over."
Jaebum blinked slowly, just as unsure of where this was going. "...Yeah?"
He heard Bambam scoff quietly in the background before the sound of a smack.
"So, uh. I was wondering if maybe..." Youngjae's face was red as he struggled to get his words out. God he should not have let Mark's words get to him. This guy obviously wasn't interested. "Ah...you know what? Nevermind. Sorry..."
Youngjae started to walk away again and Jaebum stood rooted to the spot before another resounding smack could be heard.
"Jinyoung what the hell?!" Jaebum rubbed the back of his head as he questioned his friend.
"Are you kidding me? He was just about to ask you out you idiot! Hurry up and stop him before he gets away!" Jinyoung sounded way to upset about this, and Jaebum was just about to question it before Bambam spoke up.
"He just wants you to get with him cause he thinks that Mark guy was hot." He piped in from his seat.
"Bambam! Now isn't the time, can't you see that I'm trying to get Jaebum-hyung a boyfriend! Seriously though he's about to walk out the door..." Jiyoung trailed off.
Jaebum snapped his head around to see that Youngjae was indeed leaving before quickly jogging to follow him out the door. He bowed slightly at the two occupants attending the front before pushing out the door.
"Hey...those guys haven't payed yet and they look like they're going to leave." Jackson whispered to his manager at the front desk quietly.
"Don't worry. They'll be back, trust me. That one's going to ask out Youngjae." Mark replied coyly.
"What?! How do you know!"
"I just do."
"Since when are you ok with customers flirting with our precious otter?" Jackson asked suspiciously.
"...this guy seemed nice." It wasn't a lie, but the blush adorning the elder's face hinted at something else as well.
"Liar! I saw you saunter away to the kitchen like the floor was your personal runway earlier. You like his friend."
"I just care for Youngjae's happiness."
And Mark truly did. That didn't mean he couldn't look out for himself while he was at it. It was a good thing too, seeing as how it led to both him and Youngjae scoring dates.