Chapter 86

It had been 45 minutes since arriving to the restaurant and he was still sitting alone. Seunghyun glanced at his phone, hoping to see a message or a missed call, and his shoulders slumped even more than they already were in defeat.

“Sir, are you sure you don’t want anything to eat while you wait?”

The pity in the waitresses voice was irritating but Seunghyun couldn't find it in his heart to snap at the girl. She was simply doing her job and he would have felt pity too had it been someone else who waiting 45 minutes for a date who would probably never come.

Seunghyun looked up the the girl and sent her a small smile. She was pretty, black hair, blue eyes. Her skin was pale and she was the tallest worker in the room. “I’ll keep waiting, thank you.”

He’d wait another 15 minutes before getting up and leaving the room. The constant stares of bystanders were finally starting to get to him. Seunghyun vowed to never wait this long for a date, he obviously wasn’t important enough.

The 15 minutes passed quickly and the waitress had stopped at his table to insist he order something. He wasn’t going to eat though, his appetite was gone as he realized he’d probably end the night as a single man. This was the third time his boyfriend had stood him up in the last 2 weeks. Was he not appealing to the man anymore?

As he was beginning to gather his things, and unfamiliar form sat at his table across from him. “Sorry I’m late, babe, traffic was crazy.” He turned to face the waitress. “We’ll have a bottle of your finest wine. We’re going to need a minute to decide on what we want to eat.”

The strangers smile was blinding as he sent the waitress away, a small blush on her face. The smile dropped slightly as the man turns to look at Seunghyun, his voice was quiet as he spoke. “Just go with it, okay? Who ever stood you up is an idiot.”

In any other situation Seunghyun would have gotten up to leave in embarrassment. He kept his eyes on the other as he felt the spectators gazes slowly leaving his table. He was no longer the loser who was being stood up. Jiyong was saving him from the most embarrassing night of his life forced him to stay seated. It was sweet, and he would play along.

“It was my boyfriend.” He wasn’t sure why he volunteered the information but it came out before he could stop it. There was something about the other that beckoned for his trust.

“Well then, your boyfriend is an idiot then. I’m Jiyong and I’ll be your date for the evening.”

“Seunghyun.”

Jiyong’s smile was cute, he decided. The man looked too young to be his age and Seunghyun wondered what caused him to help a stranger out. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask but Seunghyun was never forward with strangers. He was too shy to initiate conversations. His boyfriend hated that about him.

His eyes remained glued on Jiyong as the other looked through the menu. It seemed as though the other had never been to this restaurant before as he kept going back and forth between two items. Seunghyun bit his lip as his stomach lowly growled in his stomach. It was one of the classiest resturants in Seoul so he knew what he wanted when he set the reservation. If they weren’t ready to order by the time the waitress came back he wouldn't know what to do. “I suggest The Feast. The beef sirloin is the best here.”

Jiyong glanced up at him in appreciation before closing the menu and meeting him in the eyes. Seunghyun took the time to observe the other as the other was doing to him. Jiyongs blond hair was brushed back and styled in a professional manner and his suit was ironed to perfection. His smile was small and his eyes were the lightest shade of brown, for a Korean. If Seunghyun had to choose one word to sum up the other, it would be cute.

“So, Seunghyun, what do you do for a living?”

He seemed interested, as he leaned up in his chair. Seunghyun forced himself to relax his shoulders as the man came closer. He started to panic internally at the question, what if Jiyong thought he was boring? His boyfriend never asked him about his work life because Seunghyuns career choice bored those who listened to it. Seunghyun didn’t want to bore the other. “I’m, uh, I’m the publisher for High-Cut Magazine.”

Interest sparked in Jiyong’s eyes and Seunghyun didn’t know what to think of it. He loved his job and had worked his off to reach his position, but he didn’t think it was that interesting.

“So, you’re basically the boss of the one the most popular magazines in Korea?”

Seunghyun felt a blush forming at the others description of his job title. When it was put like that then it really was something to be proud of. “Yeah, I guess you could put it like that.”

“But you can’t be over the age of 30, how old are you?”

Seunghyun held back his answer as the waitress stepped up to their table. She skillfully popped open the bottle of wine and poured them each a glass before setting the bottle down between them. Seunghyun raised the glass to taste the red liquid and his taste buds exploded. Red wine had always been his favorite.

Jiyong chuckled at him before turning to the waitress and placing their orders. Seunghyun would have ordered for himself but Jiyong took complete control as he did for the wine and Seunghyun simply followed along. He liked everything on the menu so anything would be fine.

The waitress sent a smile his way before walking away and Seunghyuns eyes reconnected with brown ones. “So, back to you. How old are you?”

“27”

Jiyong whistled in surprise. Seunghyun bit his lip in reaction. Was Jiyong surprised that he was so young because he looked older? His boyfriend had always told him that he looked too old to only be 27. His boyfriend had a knack for making him feel like about himself. It was why he was still with him. His boyfriend may be but at least he was with him.

“Whoa, you’re successful for someone so young.”

It wasn’t expected, to be completely honest. Seunghyun was quickly learning that Jiyong was full of surprises. His reactions never followed what he thought they would be. Seunghyun found himself becoming more interested in his unexpected date. He smiled.

“What about you, what do you do?”

Jiyong stared with a blank face and Seunghyun wondered what he did to cause such reaction. Was he not supposed to ask the other questions about his life? Had he done something to mess things up? What was wrong with him?

“Sorry but, you should smile more. It’s really attractive.”

His smile was attractive? Seunghyuns heart throbbed at the compliment and butterflies fluttered in his stomach. How was Jiyong able to throw compliments at people he didn’t really know so easily. “I… thank you.”

They sat in silence while Jiyong stared and Seunghyun fought to cool his blush. The butterflies were running rampant in the process.

“I’m a fashion designer for Blindness.” He shrugged as though it was no big deal and leaned back in his seat. “Some people say it’s a fruitless job since it’s not my own brand but I have time to start my own once I get used to the ropes. Plus, it pays well and I love what I do.”

“I don’t think it’s fruitless though. Nothing that makes you happy can be fruitless.”

Jiyong stared before giving a small smile of appreciation. It was interesting how both men had careers in the arts. Sure, Seunghyun wasn’t writing as much as he used to but every now and then he was able to get an article out there. Jiyong seemed to be happy designing clothes. He had to be artistic to be a designer for the growing brand. Seunghyun learned something new.

“I’m 26, in case you were wondering.”

Seunghyun nearly choked on his drink. Jiyong was 26 but he looked no where near the age. He looked as though he was in his early 20’s, not the mid. His coughing subsided at the laughter of the other man. His reactions seemed to amuse Jiyong a lot.

“You look nowhere near your age.”

“I get that a lot.”

“You’re food, gentlemen.” The waitress broke their atmosphere as the server placed their meals in front of them. Seunghyun could feel himself drooling at the small of the food in front of him. He had never been so hungry in his life.

Moving to grab a fork and knife to cut his stake, he froze as the knife made contact. Could he eat his whole meal or would he have to take some for tomorrow? Had he eaten a lot today? He was conscious about his intake of food. He used to be heavier than he was now and his boyfriend wasn’t a fan of that look. Seunghyun wasn’t a fan of being called fatty again.

“Eat up, I’m not paying for you to have leftovers. You’re too skinny to be eating only half of your mean.”

Sunghyung bit back a smile. Jiyong really was a god-send. Wait, paying for the meal? “No, you don’t have to pay-”

“I am though. I told you, I’ll be your date for the evening. Let me show you how you’re supposed to be treated on a date since your boyfriend obviously doesn’t know how.”

It took a while for the words to register before the blush returned full force. It was true, what Jiyong was saying. He didn’t know what a real date felt like. He had been with his boyfriend for 3 years and he had never been treated like Jiyong was treating him now, with interest, with respect. When he had first gotten with Minjun he had been at his lowest with self esteem. He was constantly berated for his weight. After losing the weight he was always made fun of for, Minjun started to find other things to make fun of him for. He made Seunghyun feel as though no one would ever be interested in him and he should be happy that someone like Minjun was willing be be his boyfriend.

Jiyong was proving him wrong. It could be wishful thinking, but Seunghyun was beginning to think that Jiyong was actually interested in him.  

It was then he realized that, although he loved Minjun, he wasn’t actually in love. They were together out of habit. It had become a toxic relationship on Seunghyuns end and he realized that he no longer had to put up with broken hearts and hurt feelings. He could be without Minjun and should be with someone who made him happy.

“Thank you.” Seunghyun sent him a sad smile before taking his first bite. He was filling pitiful again. “I think… I think I’m going to break up with him.”

He kept his eyes glued to his plate, nervous of Jiyongs reaction. His heart was thumping so loudly that he head it in his own ears. He couldn’t believe that he was finally willing to leave the man he had dated for 3 years.

“You should, and I'm not just saying that because i'm interested. Since he had the gall to stand you up how he feels about you isn’t important, you are. You’re feelings are important too.”

Seunghyun bit his lip before sticking another piece of food into his mouth.

“So, did you grow up in Seoul?”

He chuckled at the change of topic before answering the question. His smile returned full force as the conversation continued through the night. Random facts and childhood memories were shared and Seunghyun found himself not wanting to night to end.

When the two finally left the restaurant because it was close to closing time, Seunghyun found himself wanting to spend more time with Jiyong. He felt as though he was in a dream that he never wanted to wake up to. He didn’t want to go back to reality, or to his boyfriend's house to have a blowup argument when they broke up.

“He’s my best friend, I can’t believe you know him and we haven’t met before now.”

They had a lot in common and their circles ran vividly together. It was weird that they were meeting for the first time when most of their friends were mutuals. Jiyongs laughter died down as they stared at the passing cars.

It was time to say good bye and Seunghyun didn’t know what to say. Thank you didn’t seem to be enough after taking 3 hours of the others time. “I had fun, thank you for showing me what a date should be like. I haven’t been this happy in a while.”

He could feel Jiyongs gaze as he spoke. He lowered his gaze to the ground and took a deep breath. He was about to do something he had never done before.

Jiyong, apparently, beat him to doing something different as he felt a soft pair of lips caressing his own. It was hesitant, something he had not seen on the other once during their date, and soft, and Seunghyun loved every second of it.

His eyes searched the others for the reason behind the peck and his breath caught in his throat.

“Sorry, I just really wanted to do that.”

“I, umm,” Seunghyun cleared his throat and fidgeted under the others gaze. “I’m going to break up with my boyfriend tonight. I, uhh, I think we should exchange numbers so we can do this again.”

Jiyong smirked in amusement and Seunghyun felt his cheeks burn. His blush seemed to have a permanent home tonight. “I mean that date, not the kiss. Umm, not that it wasn’t nice but this is technically cheating since-”

“I get it. I’ll give you my number and we can go out to lunch tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow is-”

“A perfect time since it’s Sunday, we both have off, and I don’t want to wait a week before I can see you again.”

It was worth it, being stood up. The embarrassment he faced earlier that night had been worth it since he was a bit to meet Jiyong. He passed his number to Jiyong and watched as the number was saved to his phone. He frowned as Jiyong finally stepped away from him and Seunghyun wanted to grab hold of his hand and keep him with him.

“Call me later tonight, I’ll stay up late. You can talk to me about all of your troubles. We can fall asleep talking on the phone.” Jiyong was giddy as Seunghyun nodded his head and watched as the other turned to walk away. He watched as the other reached his car and turned to wave his goodbye. Seunghyun returned the gesture before turning to walk to his own car.

###

When he reached his boyfriend's house he was determined to take control of his situation. He would be direct and frank about things. Using his key to let himself in, the last thing he expected was to find his boyfriend, sleeping on the couch with an equally woman draped over him. The smell of alcohol was strong and Seunghyun nearly gagged. As quietly as possible, he reached Minjun’s side and gently shook the other awake.

It took a while for Minjun wake up but the surprise on his face was worth it. Seunghyun beckoned for the other to follow him into the kitchen and he grabbed himself a bottle of water from the fridge. We waited at the kitchen table as the other finally made his way into the room. Sorrow and shame was flowing from his pores and Seunghyun found himself not caring. Had he still not been on cloud nine from Jiyong he probably would have flipped at Minjun having full with the woman still sleeping on the couch.

He wondered idly how long it had been going on.

“Hyun, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be, I had a date tonight with a really great guy.”

Minjun froze as Seunghyun took another sip of his drink. “You went on a date?”

"Well, it wasn’t planned. He just sat at the table after I waited for you for an hour. You could have at least told me you weren’t going to show up to our anniversary dinner.”

The other looked down in shame. Once again, Seunghyun didn’t care. The other had put him through so many emotional turmoils that he was tired. He was tired of it all.

“How long have you been seeing her? I’m assuming that she’s not just a fling since you were probably with her every time you stood me up. She looks comfortable.”

“I-”

“Actually, don’t answer that. I can’t taking knowing the answer.”

The pair sat in silence as Seunghyun got his thoughts together. The grip on his bottle tightened at the thought of the affair that must have been going on for a while. He was pissed that the other stood him up on their anniversary to have an affair with some woman. Seunghyun wouldn’t lash out though. He wouldn’t give Minjun the pleasure only to feel better about his decision to cheat. Seunghyun would remain void.

“You’re not mad?”
 

“I don’t care anymore. I think we both know this relationship was doomed. You have been a terrible boyfriend and I’m ashamed that I’m just now realizing it. I’ve finally figured out that I can do so much better than you.”

Seunghyun watched the words register on the others face. He stood from his seat and threw his bottle in the trash before sitting back down.

“Are you leaving me?”

“Yes. I’ve found someone else, someone who actually cares for me. I had a wonderful time tonight because of him. He filled your position perfectly.”

Seunghyun stood from his seat again and began buttoning up his peacoat. He place his key on the table and turned to walk out of the kitchen. He stopped at the door and he could see the other stirring in the living room. He hoped he treated the woman better than he was treated.

“Everything that I gave to you, you can keep it. I would offer to bring back what you’ve given me but since you never gave me anything it’s not a problem.”

He turned to walk out of the house, never looking back as Minjun followed him out, begging for some type of forgiveness about the way Minjun had treated him, forgiveness he would never receive.

Seunghyun was washing his hands clean of the situation. His heart would not break though he loved the man he had left, and he would move on with his life as though the era of Minjun never happened.

It would be okay though, he had a call to make.

So.. this happened. Still stuck on chapter 90, by the way.. Suggestions would be great..