10:37
You: Hey

12:21
Jinhwan: Hello

12:35
You: Are you free this evening?

14:09
Jinhwan: Why?

'Why?!! Why the hell would you ask why?!!!'

14:15
You: Maybe we could meet up after your work is done

14:56
Jinhwan: I am sorry. I am busy today. Maybe next time

15:02
You: Ok. Sure. Whenever you are free.

15:47
Jinhwan: I am so sorry

Hanbin sighed as he read the last text message of the day from Jinhwan, running a frustrated hand over his head, ruffling his perfectly styled up hair. This was the third time his invitation was rejected in the last two weeks. He hated it, not just the rejection but the desperation. He had never been the one to show any signs of desperation to the person he was pursuing but Jinhwan was a whole different case. It was undoubtedly frustrating. He huffed, annoyingly dropping the phone on the table.

"You know, maybe he is just not into you", he heard Mino speak.

His tanned friend was seated next to him at the tiny round table holding three seats at their most frequented road side cafe just outside the campus, and had been so sneakily reading the chat exchanged between him and Jinhwan. Hanbin threw him a glare.

"Stop poking his nasty nose into someone else's business", Hanbin hissed

"I feel bad for you ok?", Mino defended himself. "Look at yourself. You look so defeated and your desperation is getting so obvious. You have lose your zing, man"

Hanbin opened his mouth to refute but a voice behind them interrupted him.

"Who lost what?", Bobby casually asked as he took the last chair at the small round table.

"Nothing", Hanbin quickly replied before Mino could even open his mouth. Bobby somehow didn't hear the short reply as he was too busy stuffing the fries into his mouth and reaching for Mino's drink.

"Hey. Get your own", Mino snapped, snatched the drink off Bobby's hand.

"But sharing spreads love", Bobby whined, smiling widely, his two front teeth in full display.

"My ". Mino spat before gulping down his drink.

Bobby shook his head at the lack of his friend's show of affection. He leaned forward, forearms on the table, and whispered, "So who lost what?"

Putting his drink down, Mino pointed at Hanbin. "He lost his zing"

"Zing?", Bobby said, sounding ridiculed. "I thought you guys were talking about someone losing their ity"

" Bobby. Who talks about that anymore? This ain't high school. Besides I only care when I get laid"

"Still it is a better topic than him losing his zing". Both of them turned to Hanbin and he glared at them. "So what happened to you?"

Hanbin opened his mouth to answer but however surprisingly and annoyingly his tanned friend was being too chatty today. "Well he felt in love now he got rejected"

"Hey. Stop exaggerating", Hanbin snapped angrily at his friend.

"What?", Bobby croaked, "felt in love? Dude, you are suppose to be gay, not girls"

"Shut up or I will punch that bunny teeth out of your mouth" Hanbin glared at Bobby, pointing a finger at him.

The empty threat went unheard as Bobby didn't even flinch and instead he preached his chin on the back of his hands and winked at Hanbin. "Who is the lucky guy?"

Hanbin dreaded this. Somehow he did not want Bobby to know. Jinhwan had told him that Bobby and him have known each other since school and that they were quite close. Close enough for Jinhwan to take a day off from work and spend Bobby's birthday with the family but something just didn't rub well with Hanbin. To know that he has been friends with Bobby for almost two years and never hear the latter talk about his 'close' friend just seemed a bit odd. That or either he is overly sensitive about any topic concerning the petite boy.

"That short dude from your party", came Mino's kind interference.

"Who?", Bobby looked sincerely lost at the words

"Jinhwan", Hanbin gave in and answered in a calm voice.

As the name travelled across the table, he saw Bobby's expression change, he no longer held that playful smirk on his face. "You know Jinhwan?"

"I met him at his workplace", Hanbin answered casually, eyeing Bobby, carefully noting the difference in his behaviour. Bobby's eyes drifted off from Hanbin to the road as he lifted his chin off his hand, staring into the distance. Hanbin waited for a response, none came.

"He is in love with that guy", Mino said mockingly, filling in the silence. Hanbin's eyes never left Bobby. "And he got rejected"

"How can I get rejected when I never confessed?", Hanbin clarified, finally turning to the Mino. He was getting tired of hearing the word rejected. "We are just friends"

"Yeah but you want more than just friendship with him", Mino tease, wriggling his eyebrows.

Hanbin deflatedly shook his head, having given up at his friends childish behaviour. Seeing Bobby's head snapped back at them with a small sheepish grin on his face and hearing his two friends start their usual rant at each other, Hanbin's focus shifted to the view behind his friends. He smiled inwardly as he noticed an interesting figure approaching them.

"But you know Mino", Hanbin started, getting his friends' attention back at him.

"You do think Jinhwan is pretty, right?", Hanbin asked loudly. Mino nodded

"Yeah. I will give you that. For a guy he is pretty", Mino answered calmly.

"Who is pretty?", came a stern voice behind Mino. He froze.

Both Hanbin and Bobby looked up, slightly bowing to the new guy who was standing right behind their friend.

"Who is pretty?", the man repeated the question, his voice dabbed with a hint of irritation.

Mino gulped as he slowly turned his head around. There stood a figure who he was afraid to see, an eccentric looking male with sliver hair parted in the middle, his head cocked at the side, arms folded in his chest.

"You babes", Mino replied as sweetly as his husky voice could make, reaching a hand to his arm.

The recipient of the sweet words somehow wasn't happy with answer as he snapped the hand off of him. The tall male shook his head, lips pursed before turning and walking off.

Mino scrambled to his feet. "Taehyun babes", he turned back at Hanbin and glared at him, showing a certain finger, the latter broke into laugh.

Mino didn't stay any longer as he had already grabbed his stuffs before darting off behind his boyfriend, his plea travelling across the cafe as other customers look on.

"That's what you get for messing with me", Hanbin clicked his tongue, turning to Bobby who hadn't reacted much to the recent event, his gaze fixed at the door where his friends disappeared.

"Well then I will be going too", Hanbin stood up, gathering his belongings, flinging his backpack over to his shoulder.

"Hanbin, wait", Bobby finally spoke, standing up as well.

"Yeah?"

"Listen, about Jinhwan...", he started cautiously. Hanbin raised an eyebrow to that and waited for him to continue. "I don't think it is good to pursue him"

"And why would you think that?", asked Hanbin.

"Don't take it as a threat or anything. I am saying this as friend", Bobby soften his voice. "He is not your type. I mean I see the guys that you usually go out with and Jinhwan is different. I care for you and I think pursuing him is not gonna get you anywhere. So I am kinda giving you a heads up right now"

With that Bobby had grabbed his backpack, bade goodbye to Hanbin, accompanied by a couple of pat in the shoulder before darting off quickly. Hanbin stood there confused, holding onto the strap of his bag. Now what was he suppose to make out of that. A caring word from a friend or perhaps twisted words to get him off Jinhwan? No, Bobby wouldn't do that. He was a straightforward person and that's what Hanbin had liked about him. Maybe Bobby is really looking out for him or maybe not. Maybe him and Jinhwan weren't just close but together? But if they are together why the need to hide? A message beep disturbs his train of thoughts. Absently, he checked it. He scoffed at the content of the message. A notice from his mother reminding him about the family dinner tomorrow. Nothing was going right for him these days.

The green light beamed and Hanbin stepped on the accelerator. He briefly recalled the call he had received that very morning. She had told him to pick her up from her office then they would head to the house together. It was her way of making sure that Hanbin would not try to wriggle out of tonight. She will not be putting up with