Bangchan x Seungmin: "You're My Calm in the Chaos" ✧
It was a quiet evening at 143 Café. The usual laughter from Han, Felix, and Hyunjin had dimmed to a soft background hum. The café was closing, fairy lights dimmed, the scent of roasted beans lingering in the air. Seungmin was wiping tables, earbuds in, lost in thought.
Bangchan, behind the counter, glanced up from the register. His manager side was calm, but his eyes lingered on Seungmin longer than usual.
"Hey," Bangchan called softly, breaking the stillness. "You don't have to clean that one. I can do it."Seungmin didn't even look up. "You always say that, and then you end up doing everything. Sit down, hyung."
Bangchan chuckled under his breath. "Since when do you order your boss around?"
"Since you let me," Seungmin replied, finally looking up — that familiar, unreadable expression on his face.
There was something about Seungmin that always grounded Bangchan. Maybe it was his calmness, the way nothing seemed to shake him. Even when the café was full and chaos reigned, Seungmin was like the eye of the storm — silent, focused, Bangchan ask "coffee " with two mugs in his hand
"Black?" Seungmin said, sitting opposite him at the back table.
They sat quietly for a while, steam rising between them. The hum of the refrigerator was the only sound.
"You work too much," Seungmin said, not looking up.
Bangchan smiled softly. "That's rich coming from you. You literally fainted last month from exhaustion."
"That was stress," Seungmin deadpanned. "Not exhaustion."
Bangchan leaned forward. "You really think I didn't notice? You barely eat during shifts. You act like you don't care, but you do. You just don't show it."
Seungmin looked at him, eyes sharp yet soft. "You shouldn't look at people that closely, hyung. You'll end up worrying too much."
"I already do," Bangchan murmured. "Especially about you."
That made Seungmin pause. His usual calm cracked just a little, replaced by surprise.
"…Why?"
Bangchan hesitated, running a hand through his hair. "Because you remind me of myself. Always pretending you're fine. Always putting walls up. You say you don't care, but I see the way you stay late just to finish everything perfectly. The way you listen even when no one's talking to you."
He met Seungmin's gaze — steady, warm, unflinching. "You don't have to hide around me."
For a moment, Seungmin didn't say anything. Then, in a rare display of emotion, he smiled — small, genuine, and shy.
"You're too nice, hyung. It's annoying."
Bangchan laughed, a soft, low sound that made Seungmin's chest flutter. "And you're too blunt. It's charming."
"Charming?" Seungmin raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're not just tired?"
"Maybe. Or maybe I just like you."
Silence. Then — a tiny flicker of red on Seungmin's cheeks.
"Hyung…" he started, voice quieter now. "You can't just say that out of nowhere."
"Then when should I?" Bangchan leaned forward, chin resting on his palm. "When you're ignoring me again? When you're pretending you don't care?"
Seungmin sighed, looking away — but the corner of his mouth curved up. "You're impossible."
Bangchan grinned. "But you like me anyway."
Seungmin didn't answer. Instead, he stood, finished his coffee, and walked around the table — stopping right beside Bangchan.
"Hyung..thank you"
He left Bangchan blinking at his empty mug, stunned into silence.
A Week Later
The café was busy again, Changbin trying to flirt with Hyunjin shamelessly, Felix laughing, and Han tripping over trays. Bangchan watched from the counter, the usual calm smile on his face.
Seungmin walked past him with a tray of lattes. "Stop staring," he said quietly, not even turning his head.
Bangchan grinned. "Caught me again."
Seungmin paused just long enough to say, "You're lucky I like it."
Bangchan's smile softened, eyes following him with quiet admiration.
And for the first time in a long while, both of them felt at peace — not because life was easy, but because they'd found their calm in each other.
Love bloomed quietly at 143 Café — between spilled coffee, tired smiles, and late-night confessions.
Where Han and Minho laughed in the corner, Hyunjin and Felix bickered with hidden affection, Changbin and Jeongin's teasing never stopped…
And Bangchan and Seungmin?
They simply existed together — steady, warm, and real.
Because sometimes, love doesn't need noise.
It just needs someone who stays.