Take-away flirting

Kibum hates life and life hates Kibum.

It's so simple so Kibum is a little surprised he hasn't figured it out before now. Everything just simply and Kibum wants nothing more than to never step outside his apartment again.

As if it's not enough that his best friend Jonghyun is making fun of him for getting his rejected severely when he tried to ask out Minho (Kibum should've know long before he even asked), his professor has decided to torture them with test upon test and another test and Kibum is sick and tired of studying and never really getting the grades he deserves. Maybe it's his own fault for studying something as ridiculous as Social Welfare but whatever it is, it has Kibum sitting in his bed, blankets drawn around him and nothing but annoyed, small sighs coming from him.

Kibum knows that he should work at the café downtown but he doesn't really feel like it, so he has called in sick. In all honesty, drowing in self-pity is almost as bad, if not worse, than being sick.

Someone rings his doorbell and Kibum groans in frustrations and puts his phone down beside him, before he climbs out from his blankets and gets up to open the door. Jonghyun is on the other side, wearing a wide smile and when he takes in Kibum's pajamas-clad appearance he tilts his head.

"Are you sick?" he asks and Kibum ignores him in favor of lazily trudging back to his bed and climbing back under his covers. If only Jonghyun wasn't so god damn positive (what philosophy major is even positive?) he might have been able to stand him, but he's so not in the mood for hearing another 'did you see Minho's shocked face when you asked him out, it was hilarious' so he focuses his attention back onto his phone screen.

There's nothing happening on the internet or maybe it's because Kibum has been surfing legitimately all day, updating every 5 minute to see if anyone had posted anything new.

Jonghyun plops down on the bed beside him.

"Yo man, are you seriously okay?"

Kibum groans and lays down, only to turn his back to Jonghyun.

"Okay, I get it. How about I order something for us? Pizza? You want pizza? And coke?"

When Kibum doesn't answer but just continues his relentless updating on his apps, Jonghyun utters a chipper 'cool' before he leaves the bedroom. Kibum doesn't get out of bed until their food arrives. Jonghyun has been lounging in his living room, a little tired of the non-responsive best friend he has, but Jonghyun knows when something is up and when not to disturb. Which is probably why he also has bought a bottle of soju.

Kibum slumps into his couch when Jonghyun takes the food from the delivery guy, his voice sounding sweet and melodic. Well, the delivery guy's, not Jonghyun's. Kibum cranes his neck but never really gets to see the man - and it frankly doesn't matter anymore when Jonghyun places everything on the coffee table and Kibum is overwhelmed with his hunger. Yup, this is not bad at all.

When Kibum wakes up the next day, he kind of thinks he doesn't hate life all that much anymore. Until he checks his email, finds that his pleas for extension has been denied and now is stuck with a large essay for tomorrow. Great. He pulls the blanket over his head and goes to sleep again.

When he wakes up 2 hours later, he still hasn't done anything productive but today doesn't really feel productive anyway. He doesn't even want to cook. And so he decides fairly easily that today he is going to do nothing but check the internet every 5 minutes, maybe text Nicole and ask her if she can please fix his essay for him. Or maybe at least 50 % of it. Maybe 75 %.

Kibum lies in bed and ignores Jonghyun's texts because he doesn't really want to admit that he's doing nothing today either. When his stomach growls and Kibum finally succumbs to hunger, he trudges into the kitchen only to realize that the only thing he owns are butter, juice, some onions and a little bit of chocolate. Not very appetizing if he has to be honest. So he easily decides that okay, if it can't be any different, he's just going to buy take-away again. He's not going to get fat because of it anyway, this is just a little slump and he'll get over it soon enough.

Jonghyun's order from yesterday is still there when Kibum pulls up his laptop and finds the 'order-take-away-on-the-internet' website. It's a genius invention. The pizzeria from yesterday made great pizza so Kibum isn't really hesitating when he orders from the same place.

He has forgotten what he has ordered when it rings on his door 20 minutes later. He has also forgotten he's dressed in his pajamas, his face hasn't been cleansed for the last two days if not more and he genuinely looks like he just got out of bed. But then again, this is his home and it's just a pizza delivery guy.

It's not just a pizza delivery guy. Or well, it is, but the man on the other side of his door is a lot more than Kibum had expected. He's tall, well sort of, has beautiful skin, his dark hair is fluffy and Kibum almost wants to run a hand through just to make sure it's as soft as it looks. He's dressed in the obvious uniform and in his hands are a pizza and a coke.

But the most striking thing about the man on the other side is his wide smile and his crinkling brown eyes and Kibum almost feels like he's drowning. He reaches out a hand to receive his order and when the man leaves with a wide smile and a "have a nice evening!" Kibum becomes painfully aware of how he's looking and it's not good. He groans and greets the other a nice evening as well before he slams his front door shut with his left foot as he balances his food into the apartment. Classic Kibum.

He sets it on the coffee table, grabs his phone and is about to send Jonghyun a message of self-pity when he realizes that the other will never let him live it down and decides against it. Now is not the right time to be mocked even more. He eats his pizza and almost forgets the handsome delivery guy.

Kibum is set on a mission that involves self-pity, no classes, no work and no clothes when he wakes up the next morning, groans and decides against doing anything. Jonghyun calls him and tells him to it up and Kibum snarls at him and tells him to get on with his own business and stay out of Kibum's.

That is how he ends up face to face with the handsome delivery guy once again in the late afternoon because Kibum, once again, has forgotten and taken the easy way to get some food. This time he hasn't ordered pizza. It doesn't really matter, though, when he's very aware of his dark blue pajamas and his no-longer bed hair because, although he didn't want to get dressed, he also didn't really want to look like a slob like yesterday. And maybe it's just a bad excuse but he feels his world brighten just a little when the man smiles and wishes him a good evening.

"You too," Kibum whispers after him.

Kibum is ridiculously aware that he buys too much fast food when he orders from the same pizzeria again the next day. He's also painfully aware of the kind-of-angry reminder email his professor sent out, telling him that he hadn't received Kibum's essay yet.

But as he climbs out of his blanket, which he has now planted on the couch instead of in his bed, and goes into the bathroom to comb his hair and brush his teeth, he only thinks of the delivery guy that is soon to be standing outside of his door with a wide smile, sparkling eyes and soft hair (Kibum hasn't touched it, but he's positive it's as soft as it looks!) and he's going to be aware that he's starting to look better and better. Maybe the delivery guy will notice as well.

He doesn't. Kibum is actually dressed, but his too-big shirt and his sweatpants are not really what even Jonghyun would have called "real clothes" so Kibum guesses it's all for nothing. He goes back to drowning in self-pity when he realizes that he no longer orders for the food but for the delivery guy. This is stupid.

Jonghyun comes over the next day to check on Kibum and when he sees the other he raises an eyebrow.

"You're dressed," he says and Kibum eyes his jeans and his t-shirt. It's not much but it's most certainly better. He even shaved today. If Kibum has to be honest, he almost feels like a functioning human again. Jonghyun whistles and chuckles when Kibum sends him a glare. The blankets are still laying on the couch and Jonghyun settles under them.

"I already ordered food," Kibum tells him as he crawls under the blankets as well, making sure not to ruin his hair too much despite it not being really styled. Jonghyun raises an eyebrow but says nothing. When the door bell rings and indicates that there's someone on the other side, Jonghyun jumps up with a happy 'I'll get it' and Kibum panics, scrambles out of the blankets and runs after Jonghyun who have already opened the door.

Kibum reaches Jonghyun's side in a flash when he eyes the delivery guy and sends him a shy smile. He tugs a little on his finger ring and bites his lower lip and Jonghyun eyes him incredulously before he greets the other a nice evening and shuts the door.

"You're having a crush on the delivery guy," he states and Kibum widens his eyes in panic.

"No, I ..." he begins but Jonghyun interrupts with his boisterous laughter.

"You're having a ing crush on the delivery guy!" he says through laughter while he enters the apartment again and flops down on the couch. Kibum pouts but follows him anyway, almost like a puppy that has given up. "I can't believe you! Is that why you dressed? It's so not like you to be dressed on a Saturday."

His laughter continues and Kibum just hides his slight pink cheeks in the blanket. Jonghyun.

Kibum's bank account isn't happy about his crush. In fact, it's very unhappy and Kibum has to check daily to make sure he doesn't make a mistake when he buys more food. Always food. If it wasn't for his miraculously high metabolism he would probably have been 50 kg. heavier by now. He's probably not that healthy.

But when he buys pizza on the next Saturday, after a week of what he thinks is flirting (the delivery guy seems a little dense sometimes but Kibum hopes his dressing up and small smiles and delicate brushes of skin has left at least some kind of hint) and opens the door, he's disappointed to see a small girl on the other side of his door with his order.

"Where's the handsome guy?" he asks, completely unaware of his obvious praise of the other man. The girl seems unfazed.

"Here's your order sir," she says and Kibum just sighs and reaches out to take it. Maybe the other got tired of his endless flirting and always seeing Kibum's ugly face. This is almost the beginning of a new 2 week down until he opens the pizza box and sees a little note written on the inside. Call me followed by a telephone number and a name. Kibum blinks.

Maybe he's a little too scared to call but when he texts Hey, I ... uh... your number was on my pizza box. and he gets an Oh yes! I know. (; back he thinks that maybe the other man is not all that dense and maybe the money he paid for great, unhealthy food wasn't all that wasted.

author's notes

This drabble is based on a true story. Except it ends a little better than my flirting experience with the pizza delivery guy. 
I feel Kibum on so many levels in this drabble, however, and I really hope you can relate as well. This is my ultimate college experience. Really.