“Would you like something to drink?” Donghae asked. 

The skinny man fiddled with the corner of his pyjama shirt. “Um….”

“Coffee?”

“…yeah, coffee’s fine. Thank you.” Hyukjae cringed inwardly. Oh, why did he have to be so awkward? 

Donghae smiled and turned back to his kitchen counter. People often scolded him for being a bit too trusting sometimes. ‘Don’t let random strangers into your house’, were his adopted brother’s words. Yet here he was, making coffee at seven thirty-eight in the morning for some guy who had nearly broken his front door with his bare knuckles. A very haphazard and somewhat suspicious looking guy who was wearing pyjamas. He glanced at the slouched figure sitting on his couch. He probably wasn’t very dangerous, Donghae reasoned. I mean, what kind of criminal would walk up to strangers’ houses in pyjamas? 

Hyukjae, who had been pleasantly surprised when the his handsome neighbour invited him in, sat quietly on the couch, wiggling his toes between the soft shag of the carpet. What kind of psycho lets random guys into their house without asking any questions? He thought. He looked around the spacious apartment, admiring how each piece of furniture was placed carefully around the room. From the little trinkets on the mahogany shelf, to the flower vase and books on the coffee table, everything seemed like it was taken out of some minimalist magazine. Even the colours were carefully chosen, he noted, with the various shades of blue, grey, and white giving the room a relaxed, aesthetically pleasing feel. He looked at the shirtless man in the kitchen and willed himself not to sigh out loud. Could he get any more perfect? 

“So,” Donghae said, walking over and handing him a mug full of coffee. “What brings you to my humble abode at this time in the morning?” 

Hyukjae laughed awkwardly and stirred his coffee, suddenly finding the milk swirls in his mug very captivating.  “About that….well, I live in the apartment below you, you know.”

Donghae paused mid-sip, looking up from his fish patterned mug. “You do? Wow, I never knew! I haven’t seen you around at all.”  

“You don’t say.…Anyway, I’ve come on behalf of my beloved roommate, who has been making complaints due to your incessant, uh, I mean, continuous music-playing and stomping for the past few weeks.” Hyukjae was very fortunate to have such an understanding roommate.

Donghae looked at him with genuine concern in his eyes. “Oh my gosh, I had no idea! I’m so so sorry. My brother always said that I danced too much for my own good. I’m really sorry,” he apologised again. Hyukjae swooned internally. This man was an angel.

“Oh, it’s okay,” he said. “He just asked me to ask you to tone it down a bit, if you can.”

Donghae nodded. “Is your roommate downstairs? I want to formally apologise to him.”

His request caught Hyukjae off guard. He hadn’t anticipated this at all. Sungmin was horrible at playing along. And their apartment was a mess; there was no way he could let Donghae see their dump of a home. “Uhm….he’s probably really busy at the moment. He has to get ready for work.”

“On a Saturday?” Donghae questioned.

“Um, he’s covering for a friend,” came the lame response.

“Ah, well….you can just call me over when he’s in, okay? I feel really bad. Was I that loud?”

“You bet-I mean, it wasn’t that bad.” Hyukjae had sudden flashbacks to his flashing ceiling lights and falling debris. “Just slightly irritating.”

The two soon fell into an awkward silence, sipping their coffee every few moments or so as they listened to the muted morning traffic outside. 

“Well,” Hyukjae said, standing up and brushing his pyjama pants. He was afraid of prolonging his stay, just in case he managed to ruin his already awkward first impression for his incredibly handsome neighbor. “This has been a splendid first meeting, Donghae. Thank you for your coffee and your kind understanding.” He set the empty cup on the coffee table. Donghae stood up as well, taking both cups and carrying them to the sink.

“No problem, Hyukjae. We should talk again sometime.” He said it so casually, as if they were good friends that hadn’t met each other in years.

Hyukjae nearly fainted. “Sure,” he managed to say.

Donghae opened the front door for him. “Sorry for greeting you in such a state,” he said, gesturing to his half- self. 

“Trust me, you have nothing to be sorry about.” The words were out of his mouth before he even registered them.

Donghae blinked. 

“Uhh….because I’m in an even worse state than you,” he added hurriedly. Nice save, Hyuk.

There was another awkward pause. “Bye,” they said at the same time. Hyukjae disappeared into the stairwell before he did anything awkward again, and Donghae stared after him, an amused smile gracing his handsome features. Hyukjae ran down the stairs, each step echoing loudly. Scurrying past their other neighbours, he flung his shared apartment door open, sliding out of his slippers and collapsing onto the beanbag by the window. Sungmin was on the couch, reading the newspaper. 

“I take it that your little encounter with our neighbour didn’t quite go as planned?” Hyukjae could feel his mocking tone. Damn that guy. He knew him too well.

That was the beauty of their relationship. The two met in middle school, back when Sungmin was the popular guy that was loved by the girls because he was cute, respected by the guys because of his talent in martial arts and singing, and adored by the teachers because of his flawless grades. Hyukjae, on the other hand, was an even more awkward and stick-like boy who only got recognition because of his spectacular dancing skills. Their friendship was an unlikely one, but an unwavering and well-balanced one nonetheless. Hyukjae always had Sungmin to rely on, and vice versa.

“What gave it away?” he asked miserably, burying his face into the soft fabric.

Sungmin lowered his newspaper to look at the sprawled figure on the floor. “I dunno, really. Maybe the fact that you didn’t come back here with your fists pumping in the air and gloating about how badly you destroyed our poor neighbour and made him cry.” 

“So,” he said smugly, sliding onto the beanbag beside his friend. “Tell me all the details.” 

And so Hyukjae proceeded to spill the beans, including every little detail about the colour of his window curtains and how great Donghae’s looked in his pajama pants.  When Hyukjae was done recounting the best fifteen minutes in his life, Sungmin merely laughed. Hyukjae hit him with a pillow. “Why are you laughing, you little prick?”

“Oh it’s nothing, Hyukkie. You’re just too cute.” He leaned forward and pinched his friend’s cheeks. “But, I am curious. You have to introduce me to this Lee Donghae sometime, okay?”

Hyukjae promised his best friend that he would find some time in the next week. And he really, really, did want to talk to Donghae again. The only problem was, he was just really shy. Which resulted in a number of various incidents.

As he was taking the mail back to their apartment on Monday, he spotted Donghae around the corner, which resulted in a panicked anchovy and a nice, purple and blue bruise on his right shin. On Tuesday, as he was exiting the building, he farted. Donghae happened to hear him, and Hyukjae pulled his hoodie so far over his head in an attempt to hide, which caused him to miss a step and trip. Wednesday groceries were no exception, either. He had a mini heart attack after spotting him two aisles down, which ended with a watermelon on his foot.

Hyukjae had managed to avoid his handsome neighbour for the whole Thursday. Sungmin was busy working a night shift, so Hyukjae had so graciously decided take their two weeks worth of dirty clothes to the laundromat. He sat back in the weathered chair and leaned back, letting his mind wander to the sounds of the whirrs and bubbles. Eventually, he found himself wondering about Dongahe again. Are they the same age? What was his favorite color? Did he have siblings? Were they younger or older? What were his hobbies? Did he have a girlfriend? 

With those looks, he probably has one, Hyukaje thought despairingly. His thoughts were interrupted as the washing machine whirred to a stop. Glancing at the clock, he suddenly realised that he had been sitting for almost an hour already.

He got up, humming as he took the finished laundry out of the big washing machine and folded it neatly into his basket. Just as he thought he was done, he spotted a stray sock at the very back of the machine. He bent down, reaching so far back that half of his torso was inside.

“Hey, Hyukjae.”

Hyukjae jumped, hitting his head on the ceiling of the washing machine. Donghae watched in amusement as the skinny man slowly withdrew himself, rubbing the sore spot on his head. He was cute, no doubt about it. 

A strangely mixed expression of horror and delight painted Hyukjae’s face, and Donghae didn’t know what to make of it. Was he happy to see him or not?

“I haven’t seen you all week.” It was more of a question than a statement, really.

Hyukjae rubbed his shoulder. “Oh…I’ve just been super busy. I was planning to call you tonight, actually.” Hyukjae decided that he really needed to rid himself of his not-so-useful ability to blatantly lie. It’s going to really bite him in the one day. It was only hours after, when he was lying on his bed, that he realised that Donghae had implied that he waited- no, wanted to see him again.

Donghae’s eyes lit up. “That’s great! Actually, I was also planning to invite you and your roommate to my place for dinner.”  

“Ah….Sungmin’s working a night shift, so he can’t make it.” 

Donghae didn’t seem fazed. “Tomorrow?”

Hyukjae hesitated. But then again, was he really going to pass up this opportunity to eat dinner with him? Sungmin will be there. Everything will be fine, his brain assured him.

“Sure,” he said finally.

Donghae extended his little finger. “Promise?”

Hyukjae smiled at his childishness, and wrapped his own finger around it.

“Promise.”

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A/N: I’m so sorry to all of you guys who waited on this chapter. I was really busy in December with exams and the holidays, and January just flew by so fast. I also hit a writer’s block somewhere in between. I sincerely apologise. *bows deeply*