A leg brushes against Jongin’s causing him to still. It’s been the fifth time in the past ten minutes and he is unsure of what to make of it.

He has been in this small Chinese-themed restaurant for twenty minutes in total. He’d entered the restaurant in hopes of finding a quiet place to eat, preferably with fewer people, but he mistakenly ends up in a restaurant that specializes in communal tables, cleverly named No Stranger.

He was ushered into a small table with a man playing with his phone, most likely waiting for his order to come in and that is when the origin of the restaurant’s name hits him. And the fact that he was being told to sit across a stranger and eat, considering the fact that there were plenty of empty tables in the restaurant.

He debated leaving, he really did.

He was ready to just say ‘nope’ and walk out before the waiter could return with a menu.

He was going to – until his stomach pulled in on itself.

It demanded he feed it as soon as possible, and thus he ended up taking a seat despite disliking the situation.

He argued that he has never tried table sharing in a restaurant, and it could be a good story to tell if his friends decided to listen (they never do). So he fought his reluctance, sipped the cup of water the waiter provided him with and read through the menu once it came.

He came here to eat, and eat he must. As uncomfortable as it might be in the beginning, he believed the awkwardness of eating in front of a stranger would dissipate with time.

He ordered some chicken and added rice and a bowl of soup on the side.

The waiter left to put in Jongin’s order and then returned with the other man’s food, the one who had been so immersed in his phone, head angled down the whole time that Jongin could only see the crown of his head. So when he does look up, Jongin almost whistles.

The man was cute.

His face was of strong, defined features but with a soft look that can be seen in youth. His appearance had contrasting characteristics, all sharp jawlines but round, clear eyes. Yet they worked together so well.

He began to see what this table sharing business was all about, as he was clearly reaping the benefits of it. He had been placed with an attractive dining companion, and really, what more could he ask for on an exhausting night?

While he was studying the stranger, the man looked across to make eye contact with Jongin. Jongin was too shocked to try to evade it naturally, so he continued to stare except his eyes widened slightly, surprised.

However, the man stared at him for a moment, then just quickly nodded his head and turned his attention to his food.

Jongin wondered whether that was supposed to be a bow, but he had lost attention from the man.

 

The table they are sharing is small, and with the long legs Jongin possesses and the limited space leg room, there is a lot of fidgeting down on the part of both parties.

 

So it’s very awkward now.

He is eating his chicken, trying not to bite too loudly and constantly reminding himself to chew with his mouth closed.

Their legs have touched one more time, but this time other man’s leg does not move away.

And that’s where Jongin’s dilemma begins.

If Jongin moves by himself, he may seem rude. Though if he keeps still he may come off as creepy.

Unless the guy has intentions.

But that’s just Jongin fantasizing to entertain himself.

So he shifts his weight on his seat reaching to get some chili paste for his soup, strategically cutting of contact.

His legs are free again and his body relaxes. He dumps a spoonful of the paste into his soup, wanting it to be spicy today. Now that he’s free from an uncomfortable position, he wants to enjoy his food.

He stirs it and takes a sip, checking if the soup has cooled down yet-

But instead, his lungs blow up and launch him into a coughing fit. Something painfully spicy rides up to his nose, making his nostrils burn.

The immediate reaction to the chilli is unexpected, so Jongin ends up coughing into his palm but he quickly shields his fit in the insides of his elbow, also trying to deafen the sound.

The lack of customers, and noise makes it harder to cover up his coughing. He doesn’t want anyone to think he’s dying, because that would be more trouble than Jongin wants this fine evening.

There is no use in trying to stop it because it comes back stronger and louder than he wants it to be. So he lets it go, ignoring the fact that he may be disturbing the ambiance but sometimes, it is all right to be slightly selfish sometimes.

Because when you are, sometimes, cute people come to your rescue, Jongin has discovered.

The cute stranger is leaning over the table, holding a handful of napkins and pushing a glass of green tea closer to Jongin, whose glass of water is empty.

“Do you need me to rub your back?” the stranger asks, ready to walk out of his corner over to Jongin. Jongin thinks the guy is ting him but he actually looks serious. Jongin almost laughs, because his mom would rub his back for him when he coughed but it never really helped him. And it’s not going to help him now, but it would be nice to have this guy rubbing his back.

He decides not to exploit someone’s benevolence, though. He shakes his head and waves his bent arm.

He coughs one last time, a lot more throaty than the rest, yet it does the trick.

He waits, surveying his current state and when all seems calm inside him he sighs.

“Are you okay?” The stranger has his eyebrows furrowed in concern, hands splayed on the table. His voice is warm and sweet. Jongin very much likes the sound of it.

Jongin clears his throat. It still burns slightly, feeling irritated. “It’s okay now,” he responds. He sounds scratchy. “I just added too much of the paste.”

The stranger smiles, relaxing.

Jongin very much like the look of that.

“I’ve done the same thing,” he shares. He’s still leaning over, his half-full plates pushed aside to make room for his elbows. “I was so shocked when you started coughing.”

Jongin feels his cheeks heat up. He is glad the abundance of heat doesn’t show on his skin. His index finders pull at each other underneath the table. “It’s spicier than the one I use.” In other restaurants, he added the same amount and usually ended up with a delicious bowl of soup.

The man nods at something on the table. Jongin looks down to see the cup of tea. “Drink up,” the man advises, “it’ll take a while for the coughs to go away completely.”

And as though it were a trigger, with the man’s words, a cough bubbles within Jongin’s chest. It rises and Jongin has his head back inside the bends of his arm.

The stranger chuckles this time.

Jongin is more self-conscious this time. There is someone definitely paying attention to him as his hacks his lungs out. He thinks he shouldn’t keep this up for too long and tries to forcibly stop the fit, but he fails.

When it finally stops on its own, Jongin chugs down the tea, letting the warmth soothe his irritated throat.

“I shouldn’t be laughing when you’re suffering.” The man smiles with only one corner of his mouth lifted, too friendly to be a smirk.

“Don’t worry, I don’t mind.” Jongin rubs his chest. “I would laugh too, if I weren’t, I suppose, suffering.”

The other corner of the man’s mouth raises as well and Jongin gets a full blown smile. The man plays with his one of his chopstick and Jongin arranges napkins around him, preparing for the next hit.

“So,” the man put his sticks down, “since we shared green tea, I suppose it would be appropriate to introduce ourselves now?”

Jongin perks up. He’s been sitting here admiring the man before him and now this same man wants to get to know him. He wonders if in some cultures there is such a thing as friendship tea, because it is ridiculous that sharing tea is the initiator of introductions. Not that Jongin’s complaining.

“Kyungsoo,” the man, Kyungsoo, holds out a hand. Jongin almost gives him his right hand, but he realizes he coughed into it. He offers his left. Kyungsoo looks confused but changes hands too with a soft ‘okay?’

“Jongin,” he introduces himself as he wipes his hands on a napkin. “Not because of you,” he quickly defends because it looks like he is cleaning himself after Kyungsoo touched him. “Germs, not yours, my germs,” he tries to explain.

“Do you want some hand sanitizer?” Kyungsoo offers, unfazed by Jongin’s broken speech.

“You have some on you?” Jongin doesn’t really care all that much, he just didn’t want to touch Kyungsoo with his unsanitary hand because that would be rude. Kyungsoo is willing to share with him so he might as well since it might actually bother him (the man carries hand sanitizer).

“Yea,” Kyungsoo reaches into an inside pocket in his sweater and pulls a small bottle out. “My roommate is a neat freak, a borderline germaphobe, and makes me carry some all the time.” He opens the lid and motions for Jongin to hold his hand out. “I can’t touch any of his stuff without cleansing myself.”

Jongin thinks about his roommate, Taemin. The older barely even makes his bed in the morning. “If I’m going sleep on it and mess it up again, what is the point of me making it?” he always argues. And he eats off his desk when there are no clean plates. “The more germs you have, the better your antibodies can fight off other harmful germs,” is another one of his arguments. Having the exact opposite roommate must be just as hard.

“Thanks,” Jongin rubs his hands together.

“No problem. If you ever need some sanitizer, just come and find me, Jongin-sshi,” Kyungsoo jokes.

It’s a lot less awkward now, this whole sharing tabled thing. The idea of eating with some stranger across was an uncomfortable, though, but now that they’ve begun talking, Jongin can see the potential of an entertaining night.

Jongin is very glad he decided to stay because the food is great, and now, so is the company.

 

“So, I put in on my lips.” Kyungsoo looks at him wide-eyed as Jongin scratches his ear. The older covers his mouth. They’ve discovered that Jongin was one year younger than Kyungsoo from their previous conversation. Kyungsoo is twenty-six whereas Jongin’s twenty-five.

They’ve gone from introductions to sharing roommate stories, to talking about their occupations, where Kyungsoo was revealed to be an agent for a publishing firm and Jongin a bookkeeper at a bank. They’ve explored their interests, Jongin preferring books and Kyungsoo movies and where they found that they both enjoy a wide variety of music and that Jongin really likes dancing.

Now, somehow they’ve come to a point in the night where they reveal embarrassing childhood memories to a virtual stranger. Well, Jongin does, at least.

Kyungsoo, who had been trying to control his expression, is now laughing, head ducking. He stops when he sees Jongin trying hard not to pout. He composes himself, with a few loose giggles escaping.

“Laugh all you want,” Jongin frowns. He knows it’s an entertaining story, for the listener though, never for him.

“It’s kind of funny,” Kyungsoo teases. “So, what did you do after then?”

And Jongin has to remind himself to not be too embarrasse, because he was a kid and kids do stupid things all the time. Kyungsoo doesn’t seem the type to judge, is just out here for a good time. But if he does, it’s not like they’re ever going to meet each other again. So Jongin puffs his cheeks.

“I cried,” he admits.

Jongin closes his eyes in exasperation as he hears deep chuckles from Kyungsoo. It is an expected reaction and that’s not what Jongin’s unhappy with. When these memories come up, as they do for everyone, he always wonders what he was thinking when he was doing what he was doing. It’s a frustrating thing, reliving those unfortunate moments.

“It’s so funny imagining that,” Kyungsoo speaks between laughing. “You crying with nail polish drying on your mouth.” It’s nice feeling, Jongin thinks though, making others laugh. “Did you family find out?”

Jongin nods. “My mom came home from work and helped me scrape it off. The nail polish remover was too harsh for my seven-year old lips.” He had cried harder then.

Kyungsoo looks at him, beaming and looking years younger. Jongin is constantly reminded that he is having dinner, and dinner conversations, with a very attractive man. A man that looks good in every angle, with every expression.

“That was a good one,” he compliments as though this were a challenge. “I actually have a similar story.”

“Nail polish?”

“Yea, nail polish.” Kyungsoo pauses. “I think I was around the age you were, around seven. I actually used to be scared of it.” He shares so comfortably that Jongin feels like they have been friends forever. “I think it was the smell? It’s was really strong. So whenever my mom had it on, I wouldn’t let her touch me.”

“And if she did?” Jongin is grinning, trying to imagine a younger and chubbier Kyungsoo running away from his mother’s painted nails.

Kyungsoo smirks. “I cried.”

This time they are both laughing. Jongin is louder while Kyungsoo laugh is more breath.

They calm down to a sigh, cheeks strained and lips stretched.

The lighting of the restaurant is dull, yet there is a single lightbulb above their table. Light spills over Kyungsoo’s form and Jongin’s heart squeezes at the sight, just happy to be a witness.

In these forty minutes, they’ve gone from strangers to learning to much about each other tonight that they could have been childhood friends. Jongin is greedy and wants to know more and share so much more.

He knows he’s infatuated, with this man who looks good and is just inside and outside – good. Amazing, beautiful, sincere and comfortable. He’s known it since the man offered to help him.

Jongin gets attached too easily.

“This was fun,” Kyungsoo comments, hands crossed on the table. Jongin breaks out of his thoughts and discovers that they are both done their food and realizes that they should both get on their ways. He feels a little disappointed though, like when back in high school when his friends had to part at the end of lunch in the middle of their conversations. He feels like their night deserves to be longer.

He smiles anyway because it is good enough that they were able to meet each other tonight. “It was.” The company was great.

“I guess we should probably pay and be on our way right? It’s getting late and we both have work tomorrow morning.” Kyungsoo’s begins to mumble as he starts rambling. Jongin hopes for a second that he is hesitant to leave as well.

“Not really all that enthusiastic about going to work, though,” Jongin groans. Kyungsoo cracks a smile.

A waiter passes their table to see that they have finished and brings their separate bills. If this were western society, Jongin would’ve left a tip for the wonderful fate that played out tonight. However, Just a polite ‘thank you’ suffices in Korea.

They get up, chairs scraping on the floor. Jongin winces at the noise.

Jongin walks closely behind Kyungsoo as they exit the restaurant. They stand outside, turning to face each other.

The area is a lot quieter. Jongin knows that if he were to walk a couple of blocks down, he would enter the night markets. The silence and the patchy lighting makes the atmosphere eerie, but he also feels comfortable. It’s a strange feeling.

“I was great meeting you tonight,” Kyungsoo is the first to speak. His voice is soft but it echo’s in Jongin’s mind. “I entered on a whim and ended up with great food and great company.” He is shuffling on his feet. And now that they are both standing, Jongin notices the height difference. He’s half a head taller than the older, and he finds that unbearably cute and perfect.

“Me too,” Jongin stuffs his hands in his jean pockets. “Maybe we’ll meet each other here again?”

With this, Kyungsoo has a smile playing on his mouth but he looks bashful. “Or we could meet sooner?” he offers.

Jongin’s hands curl in his pocket and he holds a sigh of relief.

“I mean,” Kyungsoo continues, “my group of companions get too rowdy for me sometimes. It’d be nice to have some friends I can be diplomatic with.”

Jongin is stuck on the word ‘friend’.

It sounds more permanent when said out loud.   

“It’s cool if you don’t want to be friends, though. We can be something else. Like, food buddies? Where we go try out weird restaurants. Or convenience buddies, or when our friends are being overbearing and we need some normalcy, or we could be…” Kyungsoo trails off. Jongin has yet to reply.

Jongin pulls out his phone. “So, just put your number in then, my something-buddy.” Without hesitation, Kyungsoo takes the unlocked phone. “I could use a getaway from my roommate. Being with you is like a vacation.”

When his phone is returned, he sends the newly added contact, Kyungsoo-nim, a text message.

“So, we’ll see each other soon? To complain more about our roommates?” Kyungsoo looks up at him.

“If that’s the theme of out meeting, we’ll be meeting very soon.” Jongin is jittery. He feels his tongue dry and it’s getting harder to control his words. He has to speak slowly so he is coherent. His grip on his phone loosens so he has to put it back in his jean pockets.

“But casual meetings with casual themes are more my thing, you know?” Kyungsoo kicks at the ground. “Like coffee stores or even movie dates.”

Jongin’s mind focuses on the word “dates”. He wants to say that he’s happy as long as they can meet, that doesn’t send the right vibes. “As longs as it’s not an angsty film, I’m cool with movies.” They’ve discussed Jongin’s tendency to fall asleep though melodramas.

“There’s the new avengers movie? I wanted to watch it.”

“You want to watch it with me?”

“Yea, why not?” He pauses. “Wait, you don’t like action. Shoot.” Kyungsoo rubs his chin trying to think of something else.

“Avengers are pretty cool,” Jongin admits. “I mean, I used to keep up with the comics because one of my hyungs was really into them.” He shrugs. “And Captain America is kind of easy on the eye.” Jongin wouldn’t mind watching that for two hours.

“Is he better than me?” Kyungsoo asks, blinking innocently.

Jongin splutters. “Pshh.” He doesn’t know what to say to that. “No one beats Chris Evans,” he lies even though Kyungsoo has got him beat.

“It’s because he’s taller isn’t it?” Kyungsoo crosses his arm.

Jongin snickers because being whiny is his job. And he’s good too. “Drink some milk, hyung.” Jongin pats his head only for his arm to get swatted away.

“So, movies are a go?” Kyungsoo brushes Jongin’s touch from his head.

Jongin gives him a thumbs up. “Just call me when you want to meet up.”

“Okay, I’ll call you then.”

They stand there, Kyungsoo looking at his shoes while Jongin looks at his ducked head. Jongin wonders what Kyungsoo is thinking and if he should be the one to walk away first.

“I guess I should get going now,” Jongin forces it out of him. He doesn’t want to leave yet, not really. “Since we have jobs and stuff.”

“Yea, we should leave.” Kyungsoo sends him a tight-lip smile, dimples forming in his cheeks. “It was fun tonight,” he repeats.

“It was.”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo looks behind him and then turns his attention back to Jongin. “I’ll call you later. Get home safely.”

It always a nice feeling when people worry about you, even if it might just be courtesy. “You too. Don’t forget about out date.”

Kyungsoo starts walking away. “I won’t. Bye.” He waves once. Jongin returns it with multiple.

“See you later.”

Kyungsoo sends him a two-finger salute and turns away. Jongin waves at his back and then stuffs his hands in his pockets, pulling out his earphones.

He turns the opposite way too since there was no point in staring after the older. They’ll meet again, he keeps reassuring himself. They’ve only known each other for two hours, he should get attached. He shouldn’t feel disappointed that it’ll be a while before they meet again, that the older might even forget about him. Jongin won’t though.

He can feel sleep weighing down his eyelids.

He should just focus on getting home and getting some sleep.

Jongin untangles the wires and plugs the earphones into his ear and puts them on. He tries to walk to the beat of Do I Wanna Know by Arctic Monkeys as he walks through the deserted streets.

He is at the chorus when something tugs him from behind. He ignores it.

Until it happens again and he hears a voice through his music.

Jongin stops and turns around while removing the earbuds to find Kyungsoo standing before him, shoulder and chest moving in sync with his breathing.

“What happened?” Jongin is confused and his mind can only think that something is wrong.

Kyungsoo shakes his head. “Nothing really,” but then, “well something, but it was more internal.”

Jongin raises his eyebrow. “Are you okay?”

“Yea I am, but not really.”

Kyungsoo stares at him with determination. Jongin wants him to stop being so cryptic.

“I want to give this a shot,” Kyungsoo says more to himself then to Jongin.

“Wha-”

“You’re cute,” Kyungsoo cuts. “Really cute. And I was hoping,” his squared shoulders begin to lose their confidence, “you found me cute too?”

Jongin stares. There is nothing else he can do. He’s at a loss for words and is unsure of how he should feel.

“Just attractive would be fine too, in any way.” Kyungsoo has been holding onto Jongin’s wrist, but neither of them noticed. They do now, and they both look at where they are connected.

Kyungsoo drops his hold and wrings his own wrist. “I wanted to ask you out. On a date, like a real one.”

Jongin points at himself. “Me?” His voice embarrassingly cracks.

“Yea,” Kyungsoo chuckles, but it sounds forced. “I just had a really good time, and I really like you and want to get to know you better.”

Again, “Me?” It feels like a dream because this never happens to Jongin. “You like me?”

“I was trying to read whether you liked me too, but I got a lot of mixed readings so I bailed in the end.” Jongin wants to tell the elder that Jongin barely got any signs of interest from the elder, and that Jongin had been painfully obvious all evening.

“I guess I was too hesitant, but I’m going to get this over with.” Kyungsoo does the mumbling thing again when he begins to ramble.

This is his time, Jongin tells himself. He has no idea how this all happened, but he knows that attraction is, now, mutual between the two and he’s sure not letting of this chance.

“Hyung,” he starts. Kyungsoo looks up, not seeming as confident as he was before. “You at reading people.”

Kyungsoo opens his mouth, but Jongin holds up his hand.

“You are clearly oblivious.” Kyungsoo’s face falls but that’s not the reaction Jongin wanted. “It’s a good thing you’re cute.” Jongin adds. “But if we’re going to make this work, I call being the cuter one.” He can’t contain his smile.

Kyungsoo takes a second to process what he said but when the lightbulb turns on, Kyungsoo’s grinning.

Jongin has never tried dating someone he just met. He doesn’t even have that much dating experience. Their confession is abrupt and unexpected. There is no security for their relationship nor do they have any idea what it’s going to be like. But Jongin believes they have time to think about it. It’s only been two hours anyway, there is a lot more to learn and a lot of time to do so, time to do everything else too.

Right now, just knowing that Kyungsoo is within reach is good enough for him.

“I think we can work something out,” Kyungsoo is referring to Jongin’s condition but it seems to agree with Jongin’s thoughts.

And it’s a good way to see this. They can work something out. It must be a good sign though, that everything worked out for Jongin that night.

“We can discuss it during our movie date?” Jongin offers.

“No no,” Kyungsoo shoots down the idea immediately, completely breaking the romantic atmosphere they had built, “no talking during movies.” Jongin scoffs because of course he would be strict about his movies.

“We can discuss during the after-movie-date dinner date,” Kyungsoo says. He looks smug.

And Jongin has nothing to complain about.

 

They part ways, promising to text each other once they get home and Kyungsoo reminding Jongin he’ll call with movie details. It’s too early to share a kiss or hug or even hold hands. It seems prudish, but they have time to do everything so Jongin doesn’t worry.

 

When Jongin gets home, it’s 9:30 pm.

 He walks straight to his bedroom after taking his shoes off and throws himself onto his bed. He pulls out his phone out to scroll through his contacts.

To the newly added number, he sends a text saying ‘I’m home’. He muses for a second and then sends a moon emoticon with a ‘good night’.

The response is immediate.

 

Kyungsoo-nim:

I’m just got home too.

Good night.

 

Taemin walks past right at this moment to catch Jongin smiling at his screen. Without Jongin noticing, he creeps into the room and then flops onto the bed, making Jongin’s body jump off the mattress. He leans over to get a glimpse of the phone screen.

Jongin quickly turns it off and hides it under his stomach as he rolls over.

“What’cha got there?” Taemin is being unnecessarily nosy.

“Knock before you enter Taemin,” Jongin whines. Jongin kicks Taemin off the bed.

“Who are you talking to? Did you get a boo? Who, when, where?” Taemin spitfires, rubbing his elbow.

Jongin pushes his face away from the foot of his bed with his foot.

Taemin screams behind the sole of his feet while Jongin stuffs his phones under his pillow. “None of your damn business.”

Taemin loses the game of pushing and lands on his . “Ahhh, your foot stinks, wear some socks man.” Taemin wipes his face. “Ahh, my eyes, they’re burning.”

Taemin runs out to the washroom. Jongin hears the tap turn on. He’s pretty sure that his roommate is exaggerating but at least he’s out of his room.

Jongin takes precaution and locks his door before Taemin returns and then settles in his bed. He stares at the ceiling with giddy butterflies in his abdominal cavity.

He raises his arm, straight and curls his hand into a fist.

“Score.”

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

Ah, too long to be a flash-fiction.

So cheesy tho.

Thanks for reading.

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