Sunday chaos at Monwenee café

It was a lazy Sunday, the kind that begged for laughter and caffeine.

The four friends had claimed their usual table at Monwenee Café, a cozy little spot owned by Shownu and Kihyun. Everyone called them Showki, the perfect duo who served coffee with love and fought like a married couple when nobody was looking.

The place was famous not just for its pastries, but for the little touches that made it feel like home, like the basket of board games near the counter for kids who came with their parents.

That basket would soon seal Hyungwon's fate.

...°°°...

"Alright, we need something to kill the boredom," Minhyuk declared dramatically, chin resting in his palm like he was about to announce world domination. "What's more thrilling than a game of skill, chance, and pure destiny?"

Hyungwon, already suspicious, leaned back in his chair. "...Nap time?"

"Wrong!" Minhyuk shot finger guns. "Jenga."

The others looked up. Jooheon's grin was wide. Changkyun perked up instantly.

"Yes!" they chorused, already picturing the chaos.

Hyungwon groaned, pulling the hood of his oversized sweatshirt tighter around his face.

"Guys, I don't think..."

"Come on, Hyungwon, you're no fun," Jooheon and Changkyun said at the exact same time, smirking like mischievous twins.

"Traitors," Hyungwon muttered.

"Don't worry," Minhyuk coaxed sweetly, batting his lashes. "It'll be fun. Just a simple game. Oh! And whoever loses gets a punishment."

The sparkle in his eyes should've been a warning siren, but Hyungwon sighed, already defeated.

"Alright, alright."

Kihyun, passing by with a tray of croissants, muttered, "Don't break the table or I'll make you clean it with your sleeves."

Shownu simply placed the Jenga tower on the table with a warm smile. "For kids," he said kindly. "Play nicely."

Thirty minutes later, Hyungwon was sweating like he was taking a college entrance exam. Every move felt like a battle against fate itself. His friends, on the other hand, were thriving, leaning back in their chairs, sipping iced americanos, pretending they were master strategists.

Hyungwon's fingers trembled around the next block. One wrong push and...

Minhyuk made the signal. A subtle nod. Jooheon's lips twitched.

Then-

"Haaachooooo!"

Jooheon's exaggerated sneeze rattled the air. The sound was so sudden, so violent, that poor Hyungwon jolted like a deer in headlights. His elbow bumped the tower.

CRASH.

The blocks scattered across the table in a dramatic clatter. The café echoed with his groan of despair while the other three cheered like they'd just won the Olympics.

"That's not fair!" Hyungwon yelped, glaring at them with wide, betrayed eyes. "I got startled!"

Jooheon doubled over laughing, holding his stomach. Changkyun was clapping like a seal. Minhyuk leaned back smugly, already flipping through his mental dictionary of punishments.

"You..." Hyungwon narrowed his eyes, smacking Jooheon lightly on the shoulder. "That was sabotage."

"Sabotage?" Jooheon wheezed. "That was strategy."

Minhyuk tapped his chin, pretending to ponder. "Now, what kind of punishment befits a tragic loser like you..."

Hyungwon's heart sank. His fate was sealed, and knowing Minhyuk, it wouldn't be pretty.

Tbc 🩷

"Hmmm..." Minhyuk leaned back in his chair, pressing a finger to his chin like a cartoon genius. The light above their table glinted off the round glasses perched on his nose, purely for fashion, of course. He'd never needed them, but he loved the way they made him look like a scheming professor about to announce a master plan.

The other three watched warily. Hyungwon, especially, had the sinking feeling that whatever came next would ruin his life.

Then-ding!

"Eureka!" Minhyuk slapped the table so hard the Jenga blocks jumped. A grin split across his face, sharp and mischievous.

"I've got it!"

His sudden shout startled half the café. Several customers looked over in alarm. One mother actually pulled her toddler closer, as if shielding the child from secondhand chaos.

Changkyun, used to this kind of embarrassment, immediately got up, bowed politely to the staring crowd, and made the universal, he's crazy gesture with his finger to his temple. Then he sat back down, smirking.

Jooheon leaned forward, his eyes glittering with anticipation. "What is it? Tell us."

"There!" Minhyuk stabbed a dramatic finger toward the café door, voice dropping to an ominous whisper. "Whoever walks through that door next... Hyungwon must confess his undying love and ask them to marry him."

Hyungwon's jaw dropped. "No! Absolutely not!" He flailed, his long arms almost knocking over a glass of iced americano. "That's-that's insane!"

Minhyuk's grin only widened. "It's perfect."

"What if-what if it's an old man? Or an old lady?" Hyungwon groaned, tugging at his hoodie strings. "Do you want me to go to jail for giving a senior citizen a heart attack?"

His pout deepened, lips pushing out in a way that could disarm nations. His big eyes glistened with dramatic despair, lashes fluttering as he slumped back in his chair like the tragic hero of a K-drama.

The effect was immediate. All three of his so-called friends went momentarily silent, not from guilt, but because Hyungwon, even when whining, was unfairly beautiful.

Jooheon coughed into his hand to hide the tiny smile tugging at his lips. Changkyun muttered, "Cute," under his breath before pretending to sip his drink. Even Minhyuk felt his heart squeeze, though he quickly shook it off, fanning himself theatrically.

"Aigoo, look at our Wonnie, pouting like a porcelain doll," Minhyuk teased, pressing a hand to his chest. "If I didn't already know you, I'd say you were proposing to me."

Hyungwon smacked the table lightly with both palms. "I'm serious! This is too much!"

"Alright, alright," Minhyuk said, pretending to think again. Then his grin turned sly. "How about this, you confess, you ask them to marry you, and then..." He snapped his fingers.

"You run. No explanations, no apologies. Just bolt out of here like your life depends on it."

Hyungwon stared at him, horrified.

"That's not a punishment, that's social suicide."

"Exactly." Minhyuk's glasses slipped a little down his nose as he smirked. "Where's the fun without risk?"

Jooheon and Changkyun both burst into laughter, clapping their hands like an audience at a comedy show.

"Come on, Hyungwon," Jooheon urged, nudging him with his elbow. "Think of it as... performance art."

"Yeah," Changkyun added, already fishing his phone out of his pocket. "I'll even film it. For... memories." His grin suggested blackmail material.

Hyungwon groaned again, burying his face in his hands. He stayed like that for a long beat, long legs folded awkwardly under the small café table, every bone in his body screaming don't do it.

But when he peeked out from between his fingers, Minhyuk was still grinning, Jooheon was still nudging, and Changkyun was already opening his camera app.

Hyungwon knew then... there was no escape.

"Fine," he muttered, glaring half-heartedly at them all. "But if I die of embarrassment, I'm haunting this café forever."

"Deal," Minhyuk said, eyes sparkling like he'd just won the lottery.

And so the stage was set. All that was left was to wait for fate, or misfortune to walk through the café door.

Tbc ✨

A few minutes passed in tense silence, broken only by the clinking of cups and the low hum of chatter around the café. Hyungwon sat stiffly in his chair, tugging at the strings of his hoodie, while his three friends watched the café door like hawks awaiting prey.

Then it happened.

Ding.

The bell above the door chimed, and everyone's heads turned.

It wasn't an old grandpa. It wasn't a tired ajumma.

It was a man, bulky, broad-shouldered, handsome enough to make half the café go quiet. Maybe early thirties, dressed in a sharp black suit that screamed money and authority. His presence was magnetic, commanding the space even though he was just walking in.

Hyungwon's jaw almost hit the table.

"Oh no," he whispered.

"Oh yes," Minhyuk hissed, grinning like a mad scientist. He signaled with both hands like a traffic officer. Go. Now. Go.

The man, Shin Hoseok, though none of them knew it yet, had a phone pressed to his ear. His brows were furrowed, voice low and firm, clearly caught in an exhausting conversation.

"Mom, please... not this again," Hoseok muttered.

"I told you, I don't have time for blind dates. I'm working day and night, I can't just...Dad, not you too. I'm not avoiding marriage, I'm just... busy. No, I don't hate the idea, I just..."

Hyungwon swallowed hard. His knees felt weak. But his friends were already chanting under their breath like devils on his shoulders.

"Do it... do it... hwaiting!"

Hyungwon wanted to kill them all.

Still, he stood up, legs wobbly as a newborn deer. He shuffled toward the tall man, face burning red, words tumbling in his throat.

"U-urm... s-sir..." His voice cracked.

"I... I urmmm..."

But Hoseok barely glanced at him, assuming the stranger just wanted to pass by. He shifted slightly, politely giving Hyungwon space, before focusing back on his call.

Hyungwon froze, awkwardly hovering beside him like a malfunctioning robot. His eyes darted back to the table. Minhyuk and the others were gesturing wildly, pumping fists, thumbs up, go go go!

Mortified beyond reason, Hyungwon acted on pure impulse.

In a flash, he reached out, snatched the man's phone right out of his hand and pressed it to his ear.

"WHO IS THIS?!" he blurted, voice higher than usual. The entire café turned to look. "I'm his girlfriend! And we're getting married soon, so stop pressuring him already!"

The other end of the line went silent for two beats. Then a shriek of joy nearly burst the speaker.

"Really?! Finally! My son is getting married?!" A woman's voice, trembling with happiness.

"What's your name, dear? Do you like kimchi jjigae? Oh, his father needs to hear this..."

Hyungwon's blood ran cold. Oh my god oh my god oh my god.

Before he could react further, he turned to the man himself. The man was staring at him, utterly dumbfounded, but also... mesmerized. Like the sight in front of him had stolen the air from his lungs. He'd never seen anyone so beautiful, not in meetings, not at galas, not anywhere, except maybe his mother.

Panicked, Hyungwon blurted, "Sir-will you marry me??"

The café gasped. Someone dropped their spoon. Minhyuk choked on his own spit.

And then...

"...Yes," the man said.

Time stopped.

Hyungwon's eyes widened in horror. He said WHAT?!

He thrust the phone back into the man's hand, bowed frantically, words spilling out in a rush. "I-I-I'm so sorry!!" And then, true to the punishment, he ran for his life.

Chairs scraped as he darted out the door, long legs carrying him down the street like a track star.

Back at the table, his three traitorous friends sat frozen for half a second.

"...Did that guy just say yes?" Jooheon finally asked, eyes wide.

"...He said yes," Changkyun confirmed, already replaying the footage he'd caught on his phone.

Minhyuk slammed the table, wheezing. "This is the best day of my life!"

Meanwhile, Hoseok was still standing in the middle of the café, phone pressed loosely to his ear, heart racing. His mother was squealing on the line, his father shouting congratulations, but all he could hear was his own voice echoing in his head.

Yes.

He had said yes.

And now, staring at the café door Hyungwon had bolted through, Hoseok realized one thing.

He wasn't about to let the most beautiful disaster he'd ever met get away that easily.

So, tucking his phone into his pocket, Shin Hoseok, the CEO everyone feared in the boardroom, took off running after the boy who'd just turned his entire life upside down.

Tbc ✨