Step Into My World (and see)

5. Nice to meet you

HAPPY DIWALI TO ALL INDIAN AND NON-INDIAN READERS!! 

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Taehyung frowned and turned around to check if there was someone else that Jeongguk was talking about.

Wasn't he the one who Jeongguk just looked at? Then why was he saying 'your ex is he-'

He froze in his tracks, understanding what Jeongguk meant. He remembered Seojoon mentioning owning a cafe along with his other friends.

It made sense. The five of them used to call themselves the 'Wooga Squad' in their University days. How had he managed to overlook the cafe's name?

He braced himself to meet Seojoon. Thinking about him wasn't that hard anymore. He had moved on. The thought of their breakup didn't hurt him anymore. Sure, it did bring up a lot of horrible memories that he would rather forget, but those memories did not affect him anymore. His life wasn't that pathetic anymore. He wasn't that pathetic anymore. 

Before he could dive further into his thoughts, he noticed his old friends walk towards him excitedly from the corner of his eyes. Excitement and nostalgia rushed through him as he turned to his side to greet them.

"He-"

"Sunghwan-ah, oh my god, it's been so long!!" Before Taehyung could even complete his sentence, he was engulfed in a group hug by all of them.

"You rude bastard, we missed you so much. Why the fuck did you not give us your new number before changing it? You could have at least noted our numbers down before changing the old number!!" Hyungsik scolded while Wooshik nodded along with him angrily.

Jeongguk silently handed the cake in his hand to the customer that he was supposed to give it to and slipped into the kitchen to continue his work.

He still had twenty-three and a half minutes until his shift ended after all, and it would be a crime to leave earlier despite having a special guest and fewer customers.

None of them seemed to remember his presence, getting busy catching up with each other. He didn't even realize that his eyebrows had slowly knotted together in confusion.

According to his knowledge, people were supposed to be awkward around their ex-boyfriends or girlfriends. They were supposed to have awkward silences and weird, short conversations.

So he didn't understand why or how Taehyung and Seojoon were behaving like long-lost friends despite being ex-boyfriends. And he needed to know. He needed to know right away.

He couldn't even recall when his feet brought him close to the group, but before he could even realize it, he was out there, poking his index fingers into Taehyung and Seojoon's shoulders simultaneously.

The whole group's attention turned to him at that and he immediately looked down, not wanting that to happen.

"Oh, by the way, this is Ggukie, our cafe's official baby, but I'm guessing you already know him?" Seojoon smirked at Taehyung, wrapping an arm around Jeongguk's shoulder and pulling him into the circle.

"Of course, of course. Hello, Jeongguk, I'm Kim Taehyung. Nice to meet you," Taehyung said, extending a hand for Jeongguk to shake.

"I know you," Jeongguk mumbled with his eyes still down on his shoes. He forgot all about his previous confusion.

He bit his lower lip down harshly to stop a small whine from escaping his lips at the attention that he was receiving. He had gotten better at controlling his emotions and impulses over the years, but things never got easier. Attention still overwhelmed him.