Of course you have to take responsibility for rear-ending me

(Aloof, ice-cold coffee shop owner top × gentle, straightforward university lecturer bottom)

(The top used to be a soldier. After leaving the military, he opened a coffee shop and settled into an unhurried life. However sexually indifferent he is early on, that's how fiery he gets later-warning: fucking hard enough to break the bed legs. This isn't a clean romance; there'll be plenty of smut, written to my own tastes. The early part is all flirting and push and pull. Just here for a good, good, good time!)

Shan Ye figured he must have forgotten to check his luck before leaving home today.

When his phone rang, he was just pulling up at a red light. He glanced at the screen-Mom-and his heart sank. After waiting a few seconds, he answered anyway.

"Son, son, did you meet that blind date I set you up with last time?" His mother's voice carried remarkably well. "That young man teaches violin, and he's so fair and clean-cut. Isn't he your type?"

Shan Ye propped one hand against the car window and rubbed his temple with the other. "I did."

"And?"

"It fell through."

"It fell through?!" There were two seconds of silence on the other end.

"Shan Ye, oh, Shan Ye, you're hopeless." His mother lambasted him, sounding utterly heartbroken. "You came out ten years ago, and you haven't brought home a single boyfriend. Tell me, what can you do besides teach?"

After another round of scolding, Shan Ye interrupted her. "Mom, this one really wasn't my fault."

"Then whose was it?"

"His."

"What was wrong with him? How wasn't he good enough for you?"

Shan Ye's face was expressionless. "He said he was born in the Year of the Rooster, and I'm a Dog, so we'd never have a moment's peace together."

"Not compatible." Shan Ye's face was full of disdain.

The line went quiet for three seconds before his mother burst into earth-shattering laughter.

"A... a Rooster and a Dog?" She was shaking with laughter. "Never a moment's peace? What a funny boy! Hahaha..."

"...Mom."

"No, son, let me finish laughing first... Oh, I can't, my sides hurt."

Shan Ye: "..."

He was already annoyed. When the light turned green, Shan Ye was about to hang up and focus on driving when a dull crash came from behind.

Bang-

The car shuddered. Someone had hit him.

Shan Ye's body instinctively lurched forward, and the seat belt caught him across the chest.

He glanced in the rearview mirror. A black sedan was pressed right against his rear bumper, so close it looked ready to fuse with his car.

He'd been rear-ended.

And Shan Ye had only just bought this car.

"Mom, I have to go. Someone hit my car." Shan Ye took a deep breath.

"What? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. The car isn't." Shan Ye hung up, muttering, "You managed to rear-end someone on a road this wide? Some driver you are."

He got out and swung the door shut behind him in one crisp movement.

The car behind him was a black sedan, the kind so understated it would disappear in traffic. Shan Ye checked the back of his own car. There was an enormous dent in it.

He looked at the person behind the windshield, who was sitting motionless in the driver's seat.

Still sitting there?

Who hits someone's car and just sits there like that?

He bent down and knocked on the window, already rehearsing what he would say. You rear-ended me on a road this wide. Did you buy your license?

The window slowly lowered past Shan Ye's face. Once he got a clear look at the person inside, every word he had prepared vanished from his mind.

He froze.

A man sat inside, with a short buzz cut, deep-set eyes beneath pronounced brows, a high, straight nose, and lips pressed into a thin line. His skin was tan, and his collarbones were faintly visible.

The man turned to Shan Ye and said, "Sorry." His voice was deep and cool.

The man opened the door, and Shan Ye took a step back.

Shan Ye hadn't frozen because the man was particularly handsome, but because he was so calm after rear-ending someone.

Wasn't that a bit much?

The lines Shan Ye had prepared suddenly came rushing back, but he changed them at the last second. "On a road this wide, how exactly did you manage that?"

He pointed at the road behind them, wide enough for three cars to drive abreast. There was barely anyone around; by all rights, a collision should have been impossible.

The man came to a stop in front of him. He was half a head taller than Shan Ye, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a prominent Adam's apple.

Following his finger, the man glanced at the road behind them, then looked back at Shan Ye. "Sorry. I didn't see you." His voice was deep, rich, and cool.

"...You didn't see a car this big?" Shan Ye frowned.

The man looked perfectly composed, his expression unchanging. "Mm."

That "mm" left Shan Ye speechless.

He blinked. Seriously? That brazen?

Fine. If he hadn't seen it, he hadn't seen it.

Shan Ye glanced at his car, then at the man's face. He still felt the pain of seeing his new car damaged. "Then... how do we handle this?"

The man finally showed a little reaction, lifting his eyelids. "Go through insurance."

Shan Ye: "..." He was about to say something when he noticed a traffic officer approaching from behind.

The officer got out of his vehicle and asked, "What happened?"

Shan Ye glanced at him and smiled. "Nothing serious, just a little collision. We'll handle it ourselves."

The officer nodded. "If you have insurance, you can make a claim, but you can't leave your cars in the middle of the road and hold up traffic."

"Of course. We'll move them right away." Shan Ye looked at the man in front of him and pointed across the road. "See that coffee shop? Let's sit down there and sort out the insurance."

The man looked in the direction he was pointing. "The coffee shop?"

"What, do you have somewhere to be?"

"No. Let's go."

They each got into their cars. Shan Ye drove his now-flattened car toward the coffee shop across the road, stealing glances at his rearview mirror as he turned, afraid the other man might flee the scene.

But he didn't look like that sort of person. He was a little aloof, sure, but he seemed like someone who would take responsibility.

In less than a minute, Shan Ye had parked. He got out and watched the black sedan slowly approach.

He really wasn't in any hurry.

Once the man had parked, Shan Ye headed into the coffee shop first. Though it was near the university where he worked, he had never been here before. Only after stepping inside did he discover how nicely decorated it was. The rich aroma of coffee filled the air.

He glanced around. It looked like a good place to unwind. He could come here more often.

The server looked at Shan Ye. "Welcome. What would you like to drink?"

The wind chimes sounded behind him as the man came in too.

Shan Ye was waiting for him.

The server's brows lifted at the sight of the man, and they smiled. "Morning, boss. You're here so early today."

Boss?

Shan Ye frowned. He glanced behind him, then back at the server. "Who are you talking to?"

The server tipped their chin up. The man behind him, of course.

Shan Ye followed their gaze. "You're the owner?"

The man nodded mildly. "Mm."

He went behind the counter, lifted a curtain to one side, and disappeared through it.

Shan Ye watched the curtain sway, then settle.

What were the odds? He'd picked a random coffee shop, and it turned out to belong to this guy.

Interesting.

A few seconds later, the curtain lifted, and the man emerged wearing a dark gray apron. His long fingers reached behind his back as he unhurriedly tied the straps.

He glanced at Shan Ye, who was still standing in the same spot. "What would you like?"

Shan Ye stared at him, then suddenly smiled. "A latte."

"Will you make it yourself?" he added.