Minseok liked to think he was a pretty chill person, laid-back for the most part. It was what made him so useful in professional settings—he didn’t a whole lot get in the way of his work, even if something unsuspected was sprung on him. It was practically impossible to catch him off guard and really freak him out, and overall he was just a relaxed person. Not someone who got spooked out too easily, and most definitely not someone who got nervous easily.

            “Sorry, did you wait long?”

            But it he was nervous right now.

            “No, not really,” he replied with a shaky smile as Jongdae took a seat across from him in the booth. They were at a relatively low-end restaurant that was honestly more like a fast food place with fancier tables and booths than a restaurant. It was cozy, though, and the food was pretty good from what Jongdae had told him, so he didn’t mind. “I hope you know that wearing shades inside a room is the least inconspicuous thing you can do.”

            Jongdae groaned as he pulled off the sunglasses, sliding further into the booth to hide himself more as a result. The boy was dressed comfortably, if not a bit shabbily, at least compared to what he probably wore on a day-to-day basis. He wore a simple graphic tee and black joggers, the outfit complimented by a scattered assortment of chains, earrings, and a few wristbands and bracelets. He looked more like a college student than anything, and Minseok couldn’t help but find it cute.

            “A boy’s gotta try,” Jongdae said with a light smile. “Pass me a menu?” Minseok obliged, handing over the laminated paper and nodding when Jongdae muttered out a quick word of thanks. Watching the boy’s eyes skim over the menu, Minseok sat quietly and observed him. Something was different about Jongdae today, and it wasn’t just his clothes. Something about him as a whole just felt… strange. Like it wasn’t him, or at least, wasn’t all of him, was him with something missing.

            “You smell different,” Minseok suddenly blurted out as the realization came onto him. Just a second later, though, he noticed the tension that rose in Jongdae’s shoulders, so he immediately continued. “It’s nice, it’s just… not the same as before?”

            “Probably the suppressants,” Jongdae muttered, still looking a bit tense, but Minseok just looked at him in confusion.

            “Suppressants change your smell?” he asked blankly. Really, if Luhan was around, his friend probably would’ve smacked him by now. Minseok had told himself to do more research into Omega needs products after learning what suppressants were from Luhan, but he never really got around to doing it, and that was biting him in the now. Really, what else did suppressants do? Did that mean Jongdae didn’t wear suppressants the day of the dinner party? Was he—

            “What? No, no, nothing like that,” Jongdae corrected suddenly, setting the menu down as he explained. “Most leading suppressant brands created their products and market them such that they come with additional sprays or pills that alter Omega’s scents as well. How do you not know this?”

            “I’m a bit stupid?” Minseok offered unsurely, relaxing when Jongdae laughed in response.

            “I wouldn’t say stupid… just ignorant.”

            “Hey!”

            Things were easier after that, conversation coming smoothly as their drinks. Minseok was careful to steer clear of any conversations about Jongdae’s Omega-hood or their businesses, and he was thankful that they still had plenty to talk about outside of it. As it turned out, they shared quite a few interests with each other. They both loved nature hikes as an escape from the busy workplace environment, though Jongdae admitted to being more than a bit terrible at the whole ‘hiking’ part of that. Both of them enjoyed cooking, and while neither of them were great fans of big parties or galas, Minseok admitted to often observing the dishes prepared by the event’s caterers as his own inspirations. Jongdae insisted that he had to cook for him at one point, and Minseok teasingly shot back that he’d only do it if Jongdae agreed to make dessert.

            At one point, their food came out, but it didn’t interrupt their exchange at all, only adding a few fillers of ‘wow this is so good,’ and ‘maybe I should’ve asked for it to be spicier’ to their already steady conversations. At one point, they learned that both of them had a great interest in singing, and Minseok chuckled as Jongdae recounted the tale of learning a love song for his elementary school crush, only to be heartbroken when she moved away before he could sing it to her.

            “That’s… certainly something,” he replied in fake-awe, and Jongdae landed a soft punch on his shoulder from across the table.

            “Oh come on, you have to have some sort of dumb crush story,” Jongdae shot back, and Minseok thought about it for a moment.

            “Well…” he started as he thought, and Jongdae leaned in interestedly. Minseok tried to recall any story like that, but he couldn’t think of much. He supposed there was that one time he met Luhan and thought he was a girl for the whole time they were flirting with each other. Minseok opened his mouth, about to retell the tale, before cutting himself off preemptively. He… he only found out after he and Luhan were in bed together, didn’t he? Yeah, scratch that. “Nope, nothing I can think of.”

            Jongdae huffed at that, actually crossing his arms together indignantly as his lips pushed out into a slight pout.

             “That’s not fair!” Minseok shrugged and drank from his glass of water, about to just pull an ‘it happens’ line out and switch the topic, but Jongdae continued before he could. “If that’s how it is, then I’m just gonna have to change that myself, aren’t I?”

            Eyes widening, Minseok looked up from his drink to see Jongdae looking straight him, but… differently, this time. He wasn’t pouting and acting childish like before. No, with Jongdae like this—eyebrows raised, eyes slightly narrowed, bottom lip trapped under pearly white front teeth— he looked anything but childish. He wasn’t whining or grouching like earlier, but instead, he was pushing Minseok. Testing his waters with fake calm. Peeking his toe out from behind the comfort line just enough to take the risk, but also enough to retreat if needed.

            Minseok wanted to retreat, but he couldn’t control himself.

            “Is that a challenge, Mr. Kim?” he drawled slightly, fingers come up to dance across the wood of their table playfully, and Jongdae’s slight gulp at the action and words didn’t go unnoticed by him.

            “Maybe it is,” Jongdae replied a little shakily, his hands coming up to lie upon the table as though casually. Minseok knew better, though.

            “Well then,” he started, and God only knew where he was getting all this confidence from. Instincts, maybe? Or maybe Luhan’s greasiness was just rubbing off on him—he’d never know. “I look forward to it then.”

            Minseok wondered if getting out his phone to take a picture of Jongdae’s flustered face would be considered inappropriate.

            He didn’t have much time to consider it, though, because suddenly Jongdae’s expression was morphing into something different entirely. First, a look of confusion and just that, but soon, it grew to be much more. Soon, fear, disgust, annoyance, and more were filling his face, and Minseok found that struck his heart in ways he didn’t know how to explain. What could be making Jongdae look like that? Jongdae should only ever be smiling, happy and silly and playful as always, like he had no care in the world. What was it that was taking that fun-loving Jongdae away? Minseok immediately didn’t like it, whatever it was.

            “Duck your head a little,” the younger boy eventually said, sliding closer towards the edge of the booth as thought about ready to make a break for it.

            “What’s wrong?” Minseok asked softly, complying with the demand nonetheless. Jongdae sighed as he explained.

            “Some of my dad’s people are here, since I’m… well, let’s just say, I’m not technically supposed to be here,” he finished lamely, and Minseok’s eyes widened. Thinking back to the bodyguards from the other day, Jongin and Sehun, he realized it made more sense than he was willing to admit. But still, even if Jongdae was who he was, wasn’t all this a bit overkill? He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t get the chance to ask as Jongdae spoke up again. “Look, I gotta go up to the register and pay, but you head out first and I’ll meet you outside?”

            “What are you talking about? I already paid for both of us,” Minseok said blankly, and it seemed like Jongdae forgot the whole hiding-and-escaping plan then and there as he raised his head and his voice.

            “Wait, what? Why?!” Minseok shrugged once more, eyebrows furrowing together in confusion.

            “Why wouldn’t I?” It wasn’t polite to answer a question with a question, he knew that, but he didn’t really see the big issue with it all.    

            “I’m not someone to be taken care of and looked after, you know?” Jongdae spat, and oh god suddenly everything was becoming so much clearer.

            “Wait, that’s n—”

            “Young Master,” a gruff voice was cutting in, and Minseok looked behind him to see dull-looking middle-aged men dressed formally staring down at them.

            “Alright, new plan,” Jongdae stage-whispered to Minseok as he stared the men straight in the eye. “…Run.”

            With that, Jongdae was sprinting out of the restaurant, and after a couple seconds of shock, Minseok was following. The men were closer to him, though, so he had to slide past them with an agility he could only thank his childhood soccer practices for giving him. The two were shouting after them, but thankfully didn’t pursue them for long once they turned corners at the end of the block. Jongdae kept running though, not stopping until they reached a crowded square area by the Cheonggyecheon.

            “H-hey,” Minseok started hesitantly as he walked over to where Jongdae had settled, leaned up against a wall with his arms shoved into his pockets and shoulders tensed.

            “I’ll pay you back, and we can go our separate ways,” Jongdae said coldly, and something in Minseok’s stomach dropped.

            “Why?” he asked quietly, stepping closer despite his better judgement. Jongdae did nothing to stop him, probably not wanting to make another scene, but kept his eyes firmly on the ground.

            “I’m too much trouble to deal with, and we probably aren’t compatible anyway. I just thought… I don’t know, I just wasn’t thinking I guess—”

            “Jongdae,” Minseok cut him off, and the mentioned boy froze, though probably not because of the lack of honorifics. “I’m sorry about the paying thing, I really am.”

            “It’s not that big a dea—”

            “It is.” Minseok remained firm, moving closer to Jongdae to place a strong hand on his shoulder, not missing the slight flinch the younger boy had to the movement, as though he wasn’t sure if he wanted to move towards it or away from it. “It’s a big deal to you, which means it’s most definitely important. I’m the one who went ahead and did something without considering how you’d feel, without considering how you may dislike it. I will work to better myself as a person and won’t ever devalue you for who you are, so please don’t say things like we’re incompatible. We both know it’s not true.”

            “But… you’ll have to deal with those guys and others—”

            “And maybe that’ll be enough cardio to replace some of my daily cardio,” he interrupted cheekily, but Jongdae didn’t seem to appreciate it that much. Sighing, Minseok leaned forward until he was practically all that was in Jongdae’s line of vision before speaking up again. “I don’t mind, okay? I figured it would be something like this when I first texted you, and yet, here we are. So don’t think so much about it.”

            “…You’re really sentimental, you know that?” Jongdae muttered finally, his voice barely audible amidst the thrumming chattering around them, but Minseok heard him just fine and smiled at the words.

            “Would you consider me even worse if I said that the real reason I paid for you was because I didn’t know how else to impress someone who has everything?” There was that embarrassed face again, except this time Jongdae was looking away bashfully, fingers twitching as though wanting to cover his expression. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

            But suddenly Jongdae was closer than ever before, his hands hesitatingly coming up to bunch at the bottom of Minseok’s shirt in a way that was probably too intimate for a first date, but neither of them cared. Slowly, just as reluctant as his hands, Jongdae’s head rose so their eyes could meet, and immediately, Minseok was seeing a completely different side of the boy. There was no bemusement or coldness in his gaze, no snark or sass on the tip of his tongue. Instead, the Jongdae before him was timid, child-like not in a whiny way, but in a worried way, as though he was scared that anything he did would get him in trouble,

            Minseok found this side of Jongdae adorable, too.

            “Can we… can we have a do-over?”

            “No, but we can have a second date.”

            After all, why would he wanted to replace such a beautiful experience? 

I KNOW ITS TECHNICALLY THE 22ND IN KOREA BUT ITS STILL 9PM IN THE US SO IT #HAPPYCHENDAY @MY BABY BOY
sorry that this chapter is shorter than usual ;a; im just getting back to school so ive been rly busy and havent had the chance to write much at all but i still wanted to post something for jongdae's birthday so here's this <3 (can we all talk about how goddamn infatuated minseok is with jongdae irl tho like 'i cleared out my whole schedule for this' and 'where chen goes, xiumin goes, where xiumin goes, chen goes' like we get it youre gay youre married chill) 

ok thats it for now bye guys <3