“Do I scare you?” the blonde asked innocently, pursing his dark pink lips to display his interest.

Baekho leaned back in his seat, drawing in a deep breath while he prepared to tackle the difficult question laid in front of him.  

What about Ren didn’t scare Baekho exactly?

Something about the boy terrified him to no extent, causing him to continually watch him with far more distrust then he showed towards anyone else. As if at any moment, the innocent, petite blonde sitting across from him would dive across the table and snatch his existence in the blink of an eye.

He was beginning to genuinely fear that Ren would chew him up and spit him out at this point, the evident hunger in his eyes becoming somewhat overbearing. He’d seen that look in Ren’s eyes before and the squeamish feeling that filled his senses in response still aded after so many experiences with that same intense stare. Why had he agreed to this exactly?

“No,” he stated nonchalantly, deciding not to allow his obvious discomfort affect his tone, “If you did, do you think I would have actually came?”

“If I scarred you,” Ren countered, leaning across the cold table with an unreadable expression, “would you have been brave enough to say actually say ‘no?’”

“If you’re suggesting I was bullied into this date, then you’re dead wrong,” Baekho was lying at this point to cover his fright, “you could never intimidate me that much.”

Yes he could, he did, and that was why he was sitting across from the boy now, contemplating every way which one of the people in the dim lit restaurant could serve as a witness if Ren did something out of line.

Baekho lowered his eyes to the menu, deciding that maybe his false words would sink in as true if he pretended he simply didn’t care. Maybe by replicating the expression he saw Ren have so many times, the boy would confuse his fear for confidence and back off. But curiosity was eating him alive and finally he broke his resolve to peak up at the blonde.

To his surprise, the look that spread across Ren’s face was … relief? No, no there was no way that was right, Baekho knew that immediately; there was no way that his expression was radiating relief. Maybe this was a mask to hide more sinister intentions or maybe Ren simply had very bizarre reactions to things, but relief simply wouldn’t make sense.

He looked back up, risking another glance and saw that Ren was nervously eying him from behind his own menu and for an instant their stares caught one another.

Wait … wait this couldn’t be right.

Was that Ren … acting shy?

Choi Ren didn’t act relieved and he didn’t act shy that was for damn sure. Baekho had begrudgingly known him for two years now and in that time, not once did he notice the blonde’s expression mirror either of those descriptions.

Rebellious, Angry, Lustful, Angsty, Depressed, Conflicted, Devious, Emotionless … these were descriptions for Choi Ren, the mysterious boy who seemed fixated on making him uncomfortable.

Not once did he ever appear even slightly relieved by anything and describing the blonde with the word shy would seem like a heresy.

Choi Ren was one of those troubled kids no one would ever be able to save and Baekho knew that from the moment he met him. He was different –  to a point where it looked like he was trying much too hard – with his bleached blonde hair and his eyeliner, long bangs hiding his dark eyes from those around him.

He would have believed Ren lacked an eye completely and used the bangs to compensate if he hadn’t felt that intense glare penetrating him every time they had ever shared a class together. If he had to pin point one thing about the mysterious teen which frightened him most, it would be that stare that always seemed fixed on Baekho.

The bigger male didn’t ask for it considering how vehemently he had avoided even coming into contact with the other and yet consistently, it seemed to always be there, burning holes into his person. He had tried everything to be rid of the sensation and yet here he was, sitting across from the boy himself who was tormenting him.

Maybe it wasn’t fear that pressured him into agreeing to this, but a need to be rid of Ren by confronting him in some cliché setting and this was just his subconscious setting things into motion without his permission.

“I …,” Ren interrupted his fumbling thought, his voice taking on a new nature while he twiddled his thumbs in a childish manner, “I’m really happy you said that; I’ve been scarred since you agreed to this that this was completely ingenuine. I was worried that this was all some joke.”

“A Joke ..?”

“Yeah, a joke and you were going to make fun of me when we got here, or maybe you had planned to meet me here and then beat me up because I asked you out on a date and we’re … you know ….,”

“Hmmmm,”

“And then it dawned on me that maybe you said yes because you were scarred to say no,” Ren finally looked up from staring at his hands, a look of hurt in his eyes.

For just a moment, Baekho contemplated the idea that maybe Ren was far different from what he thought.

Vulnerable even.

But only for a moment.

“It’s not like I could have said no,” Baekho responded, watching the blonde’s expression closely and when he registered hurt reentering his features, he continued, “I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to go on a date the infamous Choi Ren.”

He liked how he closed that. He neither complimented, nor offended, the blonde, just left him with a neutral response that left no one the wiser.

“Infamous?” the blonde said quietly, tasting the word thoroughly.

“Yeah, we all talk about you,” Baekho blurted out, his confidence getting the better of him, “I didn’t mean that how it came out ….”

“No, I get it,” Ren said, a smile tinting the corner of his lips in a forced fashion, “I can scare people off really easily; I swear I don’t mean too … it’s just …,”

“You’re intense to be near Choi Ren,” Baekho took the initiative, deciding that he had the upper hand finally, “You barely ever smile. You constantly look unhappy and you make people really uncomfortable because you have this flamboyant appearance, but a gothic personality and I can’t make sense of it and neither can anyone else.”

, his confidence was really starting to screw him over now; that wasn’t helpful, that was plain mean and Baekho should have known that. He swore this was his subconscious, not him … he was never this forward about his feelings and opinions about someone.

What was wrong with him, did Ren seriously make him this nervous?

“Oh,” was all the blonde said, his earlier nature with the more playful side to him all but disappearing completely.

“Ren,” Baekho started, deciding to be as honest as possible right now before another slip of the tongue made more mistakes, “you’re just very different and honestly I don’t get you … for years now I thought you hated me and all of the sudden you invite me on this date and I’m not sure if you like me or you brought me here to destroy me in private. And the only reason I’m sharing all of this now is because I’m worried that I’ve completely misread you and I feel like a complete idiot because I can’t shut my mouth and I’m spilling all of these myths about you that you keep debunking and-,”

“Call me Minki,”

“What?”

“That’s the first reason you don’t know anything about me …. Because you call me the wrong name. You keep calling me that awful nickname when my actual name is Minki and I haven’t wanted to ever seem rude and correct you but it seems like now is as good a time as any.”

Baekho was stunned and took a minute to really digest what had just happened; not only had he just found out he was calling the boy the wrong name … but he was pretty sure the boy just confessed to either being nice or shy, either of which he had no idea Ren was capable of.

, Minki, he meant Minki, he had no idea Minki was capable of.

Minki.

Minki was such a different name from Ren. Choi Ren. Choi Minki. They were entirely different flavors of name really and they seemed to transform the blonde seated across from him.

Choi Ren was the hard- who barely spoke which added to his intimidating attitude.

Choi Minki was different though; something about him was far more vulnerable, timid, and shy making him all the more interesting.

“Second,” the blonde continued, still not looking Baekho in the eye, “the reason my personality and my image don’t seem to match is because you and your friends have never taken a minute to actually try to get to know me. Maybe I’m not as obnoxious as some of the clothes I wear, but plenty of your friends aren’t as stupid as the things they adorn themselves with.”

Wow, Minki also had some definite bite.

“Third,” he continued, Baekho not daring to interrupt, “I’ve spent two years longingly staring at you, thinking for some reason you’d get the message that you should ask me on a date finally because I’ve had a massive crush on you since I transferred. And after that long I thought that maybe taking the initiative I would make things easier and instead here I am, insulted by some dumb jock that for some very weird reason is scarred of me when he barely even knows me.”

Finally, the blonde stood up from his chair, his blonde locks tumbling out of their ordered state to cover his face again, hiding his expression from Baekho.

For a moment, Baekho was simply going to sit there and ponder this new found information, allowing himself too really analyze all this new found information. He’d harbored this fear for Ren and in the intimidating boys place, he found a vulnerable blonde named Minki who had put up with a surprising amount of judgment and not once lashed out because of it till now. In place of his fear, he was discovering attraction that he’d never expected and it brought him back to reality were the blonde was about to walk away. He couldn’t just let this happen, he couldn’t allow his chance to get to know Minki slip away as easily as it had come.

“Wait,” the bigger teen ordered, failing to grip the blonde’s hand while he stormed away, “Wait … look … I’m sorry, I’m an . Can we … can we try this again?”

“Baekho, what are you trying to say?”

“Minki … wanna go on a date with me?”

The blonde released a small giggle, pink blush staining his cheeks while he took a tentative step back to the other.

“Fine … but next time … don’t it up; I’m already kind of scarred of you.”

Baekho chuckled while watching Minki walk away, finding a new admiration for the boy while he left the scene of the atrocious date. The fear from before that he felt slowly transformed into a primitive form of desire and he could feel himself staring uncomfortably at the blonde who was still making his exit.

He came into this afraid of Ren. He was leaving this with Minki afraid of him.

And oddly, the boy had become the apple of his eye.

~~

A/N: Crappy Nu’est drabble that came to me while listening to Marina and the Diamonds. Sorry if it’s not very good. Haha