Joonmyun hears a muffled scream from down the hall of his office and he smiles to himself, counting down in his head from ten. He makes it to seven before there's a light knock on his heavy wooden door. He looks up from where he's typing on his computer behind his far too large desk that he's more than fond of. His eyes meet a young woman's; she looks beyond stressed, and Joonmyun understands. He's been there, done that all before.

"Dr. Kim," the young woman, who Joonmyun knows professionally as Nurse Kim, personally as Kim Taeyeon, nearly whimpers. "I'm sorry for bothering, I know you're busy and you have a meeting soon, and I'm pretty sure you asked Nurse Choi to not let anyone bother you—"

"Taeyeon, it's fine. Do you need help with something?" Joonmyun smiles, and he sees her relax as she steps further into his office.

"The child in room four won't stop screaming, and I've tried everything. I don't know what to do."

Joonmyun nods and stands up from him chair as he closes his laptop. He places his stethoscope around his neck and rolls up the sleeves to his button up as he follows Nurse Kim down the hall to the exam room.

"I'm really sorry for bothering you, I know you're busy and you're not exactly on duty right now," Nurse Kim sighs, but Joonmyun waves her off and assures her that it's okay before he steps into the room.

A small boy, no older than five, sits perched on the patient table, his legs swinging and shoes clanging heavily against the metal. He hiccups another weak sob and scrubs at his eyes, avoiding looking at Joonmyun at all.

"I'm Dr. Kim," Joonmyun smiles and bows to who he assumes to be the child's mother. She looks even more distraught than the boy does, but she bows back and thanks him all the same. "And who are you, young man?"

Joonmyun crouches down in front of the boy, who has his lower lip stuck out. His face is a mess with snot and tears, his cheeks flushed, and Joonmyun can tell he must be running a temperature.

"Where's Dr. Wu?" the boy mumbles, and wipes his nose on the back of his hand. Joonmyun reaches back to the counter behind him to grab a Kleenex box. He holds it out for the boy to grab a tissue. He doesn't take one, so Joonmyun pulls out a tissue for him and sets the box on the table next to the boy.

"Dr. Wu has today off, unfortunately," Joonmyun smiles gently up at the boy, whose eyes start to well up with tears. Highly sensitive from being sick; nothing Joonmyun hasn't dealt with before. "I know, I miss him, too."

The boy scrubs at his eyes again and pulls out a tissue from the box to messily wipe his face. A few hot tears roll down the boy's cheeks as he sniffles, or tries to, with his stuffy nose.

"Is it okay if I sit in a chair?" Joonmyun asks him, and he nods after a moment. Joonmyun pulls the desk chair that's tucked in under the counter that holds the computer out in front of the patient table and tucks his foot under him as he sits down, facing the sick boy. "Did you know that Dr. Wu is my best friend?"

The boy looks up from his lap with wide eyes and shakes his head. He looks over Joonmyun, sizing him up, probably trying to figure out if his doctor could actually be Joonmyun's friend at all.

"I have a picture of us from when we were in school, do you want to see?"

"Yes, please," the boy nods and watches quietly as Joonmyun pulls his wallet free from his pocket and pulls the picture of him and Yifan from med school out to show the boy. He hands the picture to the child and points to Yifan first.

"See, there's Dr. Wu, he used to have blond hair," Joonmyun smiles at the boy's sound of awe. "And there's me. I had a pretty bad haircut, didn't I?"

"Mommy, look! It really is Dr. Wu!" He shows the picture to his mother who nods and smiles at him. "Your hair did look kinda funny."

Joonmyun laughs, covering his mouth and nodding in agreement.

"Can I know your name now?" Joonmyun asks, with a smile on his lips and the boy sits up a little straighter when he gives the picture back to Joonmyun.

"I'm Taeilie," the boy named Taeil nods once, and smiles, the tears all dried up now.

"Well, Taeilie, you can call me Joonmyun."

"Wah, so cool Dr. Myunnie," Taeil giggles and grabs another tissue to wipe his nose with.

"Now that we're comfortable, we need to find out what's wrong so we can make you feel better. Is that okay?"

The boy nods, but watches Joonmyun carefully as he takes the stethoscope from around his neck and puts the earbuds in his ears.

"Do you know what this is, Taeilie?" Joonmyun holds out the end of the stethoscope for the boy to touch.

"Yes. It's a stethoscope, but Dr. Wu taught me what it's called in Chinese. I can't remember though... Do you know?" Taeil looks up at him with raised eyebrows and Joonmyun shakes his head slightly.

"No, I don't know much Chinese, but if you remember will you tell me?" Joonmyun places the end of the stethoscope on the boy's back as he nods in promise. "Okay, now breathe in deep like this, and then out slowly."

Taeil follows his instructions diligently, and Joonmyun high fives him when he's done listening to the boy's lungs.

Joonmyun goes through the standard check up slowly, making sure Taeil is comfortable with every piece of medical equipment before Joonmyun uses it. He was more reluctant when Joonmyun looked in his ears, but Joonmyun found out it was because his ears hurt from an ear infection.

"Well, buddy, it looks like you have a pretty icky cold and an ear infection. That's why you feel so bad right now," Joonmyun helps the boy hop down from the patient table and hands him new tongue compression sticks and a sticker from the cupboard. "You're going to have to take some medicine and get lots of rest, okay? Do what your mom asks and you'll be better in no time."

"Okay, Dr. Myunnie! Thank you for helping me feel better!" Taeil smiles up at Joonmyun and bows a whole ninety degrees, which Joonmyun returns. He crouches down again and gives Taeil another high five before handing over a signed prescription to his mother.

"Take care," Joonmyun smiles as he opens the door for Taeil and his mother and points them in the direction of the reception desk.

Joonmyun washes his hands at the nurses' station just outside of the exam rooms, and Taeyeon comes up to stand next to him, eyes comically wide.

"How did you do that? I couldn't get the kid to stop screaming the whole time I was in there! I thought his mom was gonna rip her hair out!"

Joonmyun laughs and shakes his head as he dries off his hands. "It takes practice. You'll get there too, Nurse Kim."

"You're the best pediatrician in all of Seoul, I doubt I'll ever be up to your level. Plus, I'm just a nurse."

"Hush, I'm not," Joonmyun flushes at the compliment and ignores the heart eyes he gets from his nurses as he walks by. "You're not turning to flattery now, are you, Taeyeon?"

"Dr. Kim, I'm offended that you'd think that!" They settle back into his office for a quick lunch, just like every other day. "You know, Joonmyun, all the nurses think that we're dating, or having an affair."

Joonmyun looks up from his laptop, sandwich hanging out of his mouth and eyebrows raised. "Mh? Really?"

"They're all a bunch of jealous gossips," Taeyeon rolls her eyes and Joonmyun laughs. "They all whisper about how I only have my job because I'm sleeping with the boss."

"Do you say anything to them? Do you want me to?" Joonmyun frowns and looks at his colleague-slash-friend. She waves him off and takes a bite of her soup.

"That would only make it worse. Plus, you know I can handle myself."

"The most capable of such."

"That reminds me, have you gone on any dates? Found anyone special yet?" Taeyeon takes a drink out of her water bottle and looks at Joonmyun expectantly. Though, he has nothing to give.

"I'm too busy to date, you know this. And I see... people."

"Staring at Minho's from across the room doesn't count."

Joonmyun coughs into his hands and he can feel his cheeks heat up at Taeyeon's comment.

"Stop, I don't do that to my nurses," Joonmyun whines and wipes his mouth nervously.

"No, but you do that to your friend, when we go out for drinks," Taeyeon raises her eyebrows at him and Joonmyun turns away, flustered. "I don't think he minds, but Kibum might."

Joonmyun slumps down in his chair and hides his face behind his hands. Okay, his crush is a little ridiculous, and even more so because he knows that Minho is engaged. But he's definitely getting over it, he hasn't thought about Minho like that in like, three weeks. Which is progress, okay?

"Why do you do this to me, Taeyeon? What did I ever do to suffer through this kind of embarrassment?"

"You did it to yourself, I'm just here to remind you of it. It's my second job," Taeyeon laughs and Joonmyun takes a grumpy bite of his sandwich. He really did do this all to himself.

"Why'd you bring it up this time, you're not trying to set me up on another blind date, are you?"

Taeyeon's silence sends worry through Joonmyun's veins.

"Well... Now that you bring it up..." Taeyeon trails off, chewing on the rubber tip of her water bottle, looking pointedly at her mostly empty container of soup.

"No, absolutely not," Joonmyun deadpans, setting what's left of his food back on the parchment paper it was wrapped in from the deli. "The last one was an absolute disaster!"

"It wasn't that bad," Taeyeon argues and Joonmyun crosses his arms across his chest.

"Taeyeon, you had to pick me up from his house at midnight because he wanted me to dress up in an animal suit."

"Maybe... Maybe you shouldn't kink shame," is all Taeyeon can come up with as an argument, but she deflates under Joonmyun's stare. "Okay, fine, maybe it was a little bit of a mess. But to be fair I didn't know him all that well either!"

"And that's supposed to comfort me how?" Joonmyun cleans up his mess and wraps the rest of his sandwich back up to put into his personal mini fridge in his office.

"Well, because I know this guy, and he's really nice, and I think you'll really like him," Taeyeon smiles at Joonmyun who looks back at her, unconvinced. She sighs and stands up grabbing her container to take it to the break room until her shift is over. "Fine, if you wanna pass up this golden opportunity, then be my guest, but don't come complain to me when you're feeling lonely and desperate."

Joonmyun groans, loud enough to make her stop at his door and turn back to look at him with raised eyebrows. "Okay, fine. Fine! But if this turns out to be anything like the last time, I'm revoking our friendship and never speaking to you again. I do not need another encounter with a furry."

"A what?" Taeyeon laughs behind her hand and Joonmyun glares at her.

"I looked it up, okay. It scared the out of me so I wanted to know what you got me into. There's like, a whole community. Very... frightening."

"He's not a furry, I promise Dr. Kim," Taeyeon smiles at him and Joonmyun rolls his eyes. "I'll give you his number after my shift. But for now, I need to deal with sick children and gossipy nurses."

"Go, go. I'll see you tomorrow, I have meetings the rest of the afternoon," Joonmyun bids farewell to Taeyeon, and cleans up the rest of the mess on his desk, before throwing on his coat and packing away his laptop to drive to the meeting with the hospital on the other side of town.

He turns up the volume in his car when he hooks his phone to his stereo and shuffles Red Velvet's discography. He nods his head to the songs and sings along as he weaves his way through afternoon traffic.

Joonmyun can only hope he can trust Taeyeon's judgment with this date. He sort of swore off dating after the Furry Fiasco™. Don't get him wrong, though. Chanyeol was a really sweet guy. Nice teeth and a bright laugh. A good taste in music and he knew how to hold a conversation.

Joonmyun found his love for animals endearing and it even made his heart hurt a little when Chanyeol said he was allergic to house pets. What he wasn't expecting was for Chanyeol to channel that love for animals in another direction. Joonmyun tried to hold back his mild fear when he feigned a stomach ache and locked himself in the man's bathroom and texted Taeyeon an SOS, 911 emergency with a plethora of siren emojis after Chanyeol had pulled out a full blown suit of purple and blue fur from his closet.

Joonmyun had nearly ran out of Chanyeol's apartment faking food poisoning and almost felt bad for lying to Chanyeol like that, but quickly forgot all about it when he saw the head of what looked like a giant purple fox costume on the couch. Needless to say, Joonmyun didn't keep in contact with Chanyeol, at all.

This time will be different, Joonmyun tells himself. He knows Taeyeon would never do that to him intentionally. So he'll trust her once more before he swears off dating all together. He has kids to tend to after all, in all their vomit and runny nosed glory. Kids are a lot easier to deal with than adults, anyway. They never beat around the bush. Always so honest, and they actually laugh at his jokes.

Joonmyun finds a parking spot in the ramp at the hospital and sits through hours of meetings, listening to his superiors about things to watch for around this time of year and how to pin point signs of malnourishment or anything out of the ordinary. He admits this is one of the more boring parts of his job, but at the end of the day, Joonmyun doesn't mind being told the same things every few months as long as he gets to help children in whatever way possible.

 

*

 

Two weeks later, Joonmyun finds himself sitting in a booth, alone, at a BBQ place waiting for his blind date Taeyeon had set him up with. Or, as he named them, possibly his last date ever, and not in the romantic sort of way. In the I've Given Up All Hope sort of way. Joonmyun is fully prepared to adopt a dog or two, he's even picked out several from shelters near his home that seem like would be a good fit in his doctor life schedule.

Joonmyun turns over the slowly cooking pork belly on the grill in the middle of his table as he glances at his watch for the umpteenth time. He appreciates timeliness, and the guy is fifteen minutes late already, so it's grinding his gears a bit. He is grateful for the closed off seating, though, so he doesn't get pitiful glances from other customers because quite frankly, he feels a little bit stood up.

"Are.. Are you Kim Joonmyun?" A voice asks off to his side making Joonmyun startle a little. He looks over to see a man with messy black hair and paint on his cheek. The flannel that hangs a little too big off his shoulders also has paint on it and what looks like glitter, but Joonmyun chooses to ignore that. He won't be judgmental. He thinks the guy must be a painter for the city and something fell on his car.

"Yes? Is there something I can help you with?" Joonmyun frowns a little, ready to stand up and inspect the inevitable damage done to his newly cleaned car.

A smile breaks out on the man's face, and he sighs heavily as he sits down across from Joonmyun and takes a plate for himself, poking at the grilling meat at the center of the table. Apparently not the painter Joonmyun had thought him to be. "Thank God. I accidentally sat down at someone else's table and almost started eating the food! His wife came back from the restroom and started hitting me with her purse." The guy laughs and Joonmyun watches as he shuffles around the side dishes to make more room for himself at the table.

"Um..." Joonmyun stares dumbly, barely able to keep up with the man across him. He's a bit... hyper, to say the least.

"Anyway, that taught me to ask before I sit. I think I really shocked that guy. He was kinda attractive, but I could tell there was something off there. Turns out it was that he was married. You're not married are you? Because I'm not into that whole infidelity secret gay relationship thing."

He stops talking finally to look at Joonmyun with chopsticks in the corner of his mouth, chewing on them gently.

"No, um, no, I'm not married," Joonmyun shakes his head and the man smiles brightly at that, going back to the food in front of him. He finds the noodles that arrived shortly before he found Joonmyun and takes a big portion, piling them into his bowl before serving himself some rice.

"That's good. I've dealt with that before, but not intentionally. I didn't know he was married or anything. He was really rich though, I didn't care about that either, just saying. He bought me all kinds of stuff and he was a really sweet lover. All gentle and caring, you know? Anyway, sorry that's probably not something you want to hear on your first date with someone," the man rambles on between mouthfuls of food, Joonmyun's cheeks heat up at the man's direction of conversation, but he's not able to get a single word in, and he can't stop staring at the swipe of blue paint on his cheek. Joonmyun touches his own cheek absentmindedly as the man plows through the conversation.

"I'm Byun Baekhyun, by the way. I'm not sure if Taeyeon told you my name. I mean, she probably did, but maybe you forgot. That's okay." Baekhyun makes a face at the bowl of sliced cucumber and pushes it away from his side of the table and replaces it with cooked onions. "Sorry I'm late, by the way. I got lost on my way here. That doesn't usually happen but I'm not used to coming to this part of Seoul. It's really nice, and you look really nice, by the way."

"Oh, thank you. I feel a bit overdressed, actually," Joonmyun mutters, picking at his black slacks. He didn't have much time to change after he got off work, so he just took off his blazer and kept his dress pants and white button down shirt.

"No, you look great," Baekhyun smiles at him, the paint on his cheek wrinkling over his skin, and Joonmyun wonders how he hasn't noticed it yet. "This is really good, too. You cooked the meat perfectly, I can never get it right. My kids are going to be so excited when I tell them I met someone who can cook."

Joonmyun chokes on his water and spills some of it down the front of his shirt. He curses under his breath as he grabs a napkin that Baekhyun offers and pats away the water that dripped on his pants. Hopefully it'll be dried before he makes his inevitable escape.

"Kids? You have children?" Joonmyun asks, a little worried. As much as he loves healing sick kids every day, he's not so sure if he's ready to see someone who has children of their own. That seems like too big of a leap and it makes Joonmyun anxious in his seat.

"Sure do! Twelve of them! Well they're not mine, technically. I'm a preschool teacher, you see. I just call them my kids. Sometimes I feel like I'm their actual dad, some of them even call me dad secretly. It's really cute. But I don't think I'm ready to have children just yet. I'm still young, you know? I've got a whole life to live before I have a baby to watch. And plus, some of those kids are a handful and I don't think I can handle them for more than a few hours a day."

Joonmyun relaxes as soon as the words are out of Baekhyun's mouth, and he finds himself laughing at the man's rambling each time he starts talking. "Yeah, I feel you there. Kids are a lot to handle sometimes."

"Oh, do you have kids?" Baekhyun raises his eyebrows at Joonmyun and pops a piece of pork belly into his mouth, he doesn't seem nearly as worried about it as Joonmyun was a few seconds ago.

"No kids for me," Joonmyun smiles and shakes his head. "I'm a pediatrician."

Baekhyun's mouth forms a little 'o' shape and his eyes widen just minutely. Joonmyun admits it's a little bit cute.

"Oh, a children's doctor. That's cool. So you must be really good with kids, right? Or at least I hope you are, my pediatrician when I was little was a little scary." He stops momentarily, considering. "You keep staring at... not my eyes; do I have something on my face or are you bad at making eye contact?" Baekhyun tilts his head a little and Joonmyun is caught off guard by his bluntness.

"You have um, you have paint on your face," Joonmyun points to his own cheek to show Baekhyun where it is on his face, and Baekhyun laughs before his thumb and scrubbing it on his cheek, erasing the blue paint.

"I thought I got it all off, we did finger painting today and I think I got into it more than the kids did," Baekhyun smiles wide and boxy and Joonmyun is a little bit hooked. "Thank you for telling me. I must've looked ridiculous with paint on my face this whole time. I know I still have it on my clothes, but my face is another story. Just a little bit more embarrassing."

"You don't seem that embarrassed about it," Joonmyun takes a bite of his noodles and tries not to copy Baekhyun's contagious laughter.

"I guess you're right, I'm not." Baekhyun shrugs and dives back into his food, staying the most quiet he's been since he sat down across from Joonmyun earlier.

Joonmyun takes comfort in the quiet and eats his food silently. As much as Baekhyun talks he can't seem to find anything that would stand out and make Joonmyun run for the hills. He's not bad company either, but Joonmyun won't know the bad things until he asks, or experiences it first hand.

"Can I ask you a weird question?" Joonmyun pipes up as he wipes his mouth and Baekhyun hums as he nods, mouth full of food, motioning for Joonmyun to ask.

"You don't... like dress up in a giant animal costume secretly, do you?"

Joonmyun can't decipher the look Baekhyun is giving him but he waits for the man across from him to finish chewing and swallow his food. The longer he waits, though, the more nervous Joonmyun gets of the answer.

"I can't say I do... Why? Do you dress up in animal costumes secretly?" Baekhyun raises an eyebrow at Joonmyun who immediately shakes his head and waves his hands in front of him, dismissing the idea.

"No, no. I just had a bad experience with a guy, and I just... Needed to ask just in case," Joonmyun chuckles nervously, feeling a little embarrassed that he brought it up. He can feel the heat creep up on the back of his neck.

"What if I said I did? But only on the weekends," Baekhyun says casually and Joonmyun looks up with wide eyes to find a mischievous smirk on Baekhyun's face. He grumbles at Baekhyun's loud laughter.

"Seriously, it was a bad experience," Joonmyun whines a little and takes a drink of his nearly empty water. Baekhyun doesn't seem half bad, but that doesn't mean he's not hiding something gross, or weird, or scary.

"Well don't worry, I'm not that guy."

Joonmyun smiles and nods, grateful for at least that.

"Do you want to get dessert somewhere?" Joonmyun asks after all of the food is gone and the meal is paid for. Baekhyun stretches on his side of the booth, his feet bumping into Joonmyun's. He's asking on a whim, not entirely certain why he's doing it himself, but he's had a good night and he's not entirely sure he wants it to end just yet.

"Mmm, what time is it?" Baekhyun asks and rubs his belly gently, like Joonmyun's seen so many parents rub their sick child's back.

"Um. Oh wow, it's already ten," Joonmyun says, surprised and double checks the time just to make sure.

"We've been here for that long?" Baekhyun yawns and doesn't bother to cover his mouth. "I'd love to, but I have children to watch tomorrow morning. I'll take your number though? We can get ice cream some other time?"

Baekhyun sounds hopeful and it takes everything in Joonmyun to not sound desperate for another chance at seeing the other man.

"Yeah, sure. That would be great," Joonmyun smiles and recites off his number to Baekhyun who types it into his phone. They both stand up after a few minutes, deciding to head home, and Joonmyun follows Baekhyun out the front door of the restaurant. They walk slowly to where Joonmyun parked his car down the street, bumping shoulders and brushing hands on accident.

"Is your car around here, too?" Joonmyun asks as he unlocks his door and Baekhyun smiles, shaking his head a little.

"Nah, I don't have a car. I walk or take the bus places. It's cheaper and better for the environment anyway," Baekhyun says and he rocks back on his heels, staring at Joonmyun intently. It makes Joonmyun squirm a little bit, in a good way.

"Oh, do you want a ride? The buses don't run this late, I don't think."

"You don't have to, it's fine. I can walk," Baekhyun smiles and shakes his head, but Joonmyun doesn't know how far he has to walk, and he's not about to let Baekhyun spend the rest of the night walking home when he could be sleeping.

"It's late and I insist. Really, get in and I'll take you home." Joonmyun goes to the other side of his car and opens the door for Baekhyun.

"You're not some kind of murderer, right?" Baekhyun glances at Joonmyun as he climbs into the passenger seat and it makes Joonmyun laugh.

"No, I'm not, I'm too weak-hearted for that," Joonmyun says as he climbs into the drivers seat and pulls onto the street. "What's your address?"

Baekhyun types it into the car's GPS before running his hands (very pretty hands if Joonmyun may add) over the leather interior of his car.

"This is a really nice car," Baekhyun mumbles distractedly and looks back at the barely used back seat. There's food wrappers littering the floor that Joonmyun forgot to pick up when he had his car washed. "Oh, is this your vice? You're messy?"

Baekhyun picks up an empty fast food cup and chuckles before setting it back down on the floor in the back.

"Is that your deciding factor?" Joonmyun raises his eyebrows and Baekhyun settles back into his seat.

"For what? If I want to bang you or want something more than a one night stand?"

"Not quite the direction I was pointing towards," Joonmyun flushes and Baekhyun laughs. "But I guess that's one way to put it."

"Not a deciding factor, no. But it's good to know. Also I'm not really looking for a one night stand. Just to let you know," Baekhyun shrugs, looking out the window and slows to a stop at a red light.

"Me either."

It's quiet for a while in the car, save for the radio playing softly in the background. Joonmyun decided to take his Red Velvet CD out, just in case his date wasn't a fan of girl groups. Joonmyun can't say he thinks that's true about Baekhyun.

"I'm glad Taeyeon set this up," Baekhyun says and looks over at Joonmyun.

"I am too, I had a lot of fun with you tonight."

"People usually say I talk too much, and that's the end of it. I only do that when I'm nervous. I guess it's sort of like a comfort thing. I just keep talking and talking and don't ever stop to catch a breath in case I say something stupid, it's easier to avoid awkward conversations that way. I'm doing it right now, I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm feeling nervous again," Baekhyun laughs nervously and sits on his hands, and Joonmyun finds it cute.

"I don't mind," is all Joonmyun says as he pulls off the road to park in front of an apartment building. "Is this you?"

"Yeah, it is. Thank you for tonight. I'll text you after I get out of the shower, and hopefully I won't have paint on my face for our next date." Baekhyun inhales deeply to keep himself from rambling more and Joonmyun laughs quietly as he puts the car in park.

"Thank you as well, Baekhyun-ssi. I'll look forward to seeing you without paint on your cheek." Joonmyun unlocks the car doors and Baekhyun climbs out carefully.

"Goodnight, hyung, drive safe," he says as he leans down and looks into Joonmyun's car. It's the first time the whole night Baekhyun has ever hinted at him being younger than Joonmyun, or even speaking informally at all.

"Goodnight, Baekhyun."

Baekhyun waves to him before going up the front steps of his apartment building and keying in his building code and disappearing inside. Tonight went far better than Joonmyun could've ever expected. He would've never expected to have a second date planned going into it. Joonmyun pulls back onto the road and drives to his own apartment building. He might just have to thank Taeyeon for this one.

 

*

 

"So?" Taeyeon appears next to him, twirling a pen between her fingers as Joonmyun fills out paperwork at the reception desk. He startles a bit and lets out a huff once he realizes it's only her.

"So, what?" Joonmyun gathers his papers and goes to the back of the office, finding refuge before parents bring in their sick children once the office opens in a few minutes. He unlocks the door to his office and flicks on the lights, Taeyeon trailing not far behind.

"Don't play dumb, Joonmyun," she sighs and sits down as he shrugs off his coat to hang on the back of his chair. Rolling out his chair, he plops down and retrieves his laptop from his brief case and sets up for the rest of the day, maybe only partially ignoring Taeyeon's incessant staring.

"I'm not playing dumb, you're the one who came up to me with a one word question."

"Joonmyun, how was the date," Taeyeon practically whines and it makes Joonmyun raise his eyebrows at her.

"It was fine. Don't you have daily prep to be doing?"

Joonmyun hears her grumble as she stands up and all but stomps out of his office. He chuckles and types in the password to his computer on his desk, then the password to his laptop.

"You're telling me at lunch," Taeyeon says as she wags her finger at him, halfway out the door.

"What if there's nothing to tell?"

"Oh, I hardly doubt that, Dr. Kim."

The door closes behind her and Joonmyun barely gets to sit five more minutes before he's being paged by this nurse or that one to different exam rooms, calming different kids and helping with tricky diagnoses. He feels like he doesn't have time to stop and breathe. Joonmyun powers through his lunch break, and when he passes Taeyeon in the hallway she seems just as equally busy as he is. Fridays are always the worst.

"Chanhyuk, look here for me, okay?" Joonmyun whispers as he holds out his first finger. The small boy's swollen eye has trouble following his finger that he moves back and forth through the air. He frowns a bit and stands up straight looking at the list of symptoms the nurse wrote down in the file.

"It hurts," the boy whimpers and clenches his fists in his lap so he doesn't touch his eye. Joonmyun nods and tilts Chanhyuk's head back by his chin to shine a light into the boy's eye.

"It looks like you have a stye, buddy," Joonmyun concludes and lets the child's chin go to step back and write into the file. The boy starts to whimper, and Joonmyun kneels down in front of him to take his hand and smile up at him. "Hey, it's okay. There's no need to cry, you know why?"

Chanhyuk shakes his head and wipes the tears off his cheeks, staring intently at Joonmyun.

"You get to wear a cool pirate eye patch," Joonmyun smiles and reaches into his lab coat to pull out one of the temporary ones he'd grabbed before he walked into the exam room. "See? You put it on your eye like this."

Joonmyun hooks the two elastic strings behind his ears and adjusts the patch over his left eye, flashing a 'V' sign at the small boy who giggles a little.

"You can find some pretty cool looking ones at the pharmacy, too. Some have dinosaurs and puppies on them."

"Are there ones with ballerinas? Or flowers," Chanhyuk asks, voice full of wonder, and it makes Joonmyun laugh softly and nod.

"Of course there are." He helps the boy off the table hand hands him a sticker and helps him put on the other temporary eye patch until they get medicated ones at the pharmacy. "Now all you have to do is wear the super cool eye patch and be the most well-behaved pirate and do as your parents ask and your eye will be better in no time!"

"Aye aye captain," the boy giggles and immediately sticks the sticker to his shirt. "Come on daddy, we need to go find more pirate things at the store!"

"Have a good day Lee-ssi, drive safe. And get better soon, Chanhyukkie!" Joonmyun bows to the pair as they leave the office with their prescription write up and Joonmyun finds his way back to his office for the first time all day.

"My feet are killing me," Joonmyun groans to himself as he sinks into his chair and toes off his shoes to massage the bottoms of his feet. There's a small knock on his door and he sighs softly to himself before telling them they can come in.

"Hey, Joon," Yifan peeks his head in and Joonmyun reaches down to pull his shoes back on and get ready to go help again. "No, no. There's no need, everyone is all done for today. It's already seven."

Yifan slips in and closes the door behind him, taking his spot across the desk from Joonmyun. "Yifan, it's been such a long day, I think I'm dead."

"I know what you mean, I had two kids almost throw up on me today."

Joonmyun laughs and logs back into his computer to fill out his paperwork for today before he can actually go home. "Oh, the joy of being a doctor."

"You love it, and so do I," Yifan says with a smile and shakes his head. "I don't think anyone had time for lunch today, and it's Friday, so. Do you wanna go out with us for some drinks?"

"Who's us?"

"Me, Nurses Choi and Lee, Taeyeon, Minho," Yifan hums, trying to think of other names. "Maybe some others."

"I don't know, Yifan," Joonmyun scratches the back of his neck and looks up at his friend who has an expectant look on his face. "Don't give me that look."

"I'm not giving you any look at all, you just never go out anymore," Yifan sighs and slumps back in his chair.

"I do go out, I went out last night."

"Oh? With who," Yifan his head to the side and crosses his arms against his chest, challenging. "Your mom doesn't count."

"Shut up, I had a date."

"Hm, interesting."

"What?" Joonmyun squints at him and Yifan just shrugs. There's another knock on his door and Taeyeon peeks her head inside with a tired smile.

"Hey guys, you're having a secret meeting without me? Rude." She closes the door behind her and takes the seat next to Yifan. She leans her head back and closes her eyes, looking far more exhausted than Joonmyun or Yifan. "Don't let me stop your conversation, continue, please."

"Did you know Joon had a date last night?" Yifan asks her, still sounding skeptical.

"Sure did. I set it up," Taeyeon confirms and that piques Yifan's interest.

"No way," Yifan turns to Joonmyun with wide eyes and Joonmyun has half the mind to push them both out of his office. He turns back to his computer and goes back to filing out his paperwork. The sooner he's done, the sooner he can go home and get some rest. "How was it?"

"It was fine," Joonmyun says, feigning distraction. He hears Yifan grumble something about kissing and telling and it makes Joonmyun roll his eyes. There was no kiss, so there is nothing to tell. Baekhyun had even forgot to text him last night so he's not sure if it even went as well as he thought.

Yifan stares at him while he finishes his work, trying to get something out of Joonmyun when there's nothing to share, and he's almost certain Taeyeon fell asleep. When he stretches and stands up, he groans, jostling Taeyeon from her half slumber and he laughs.

"Alright, time to go home," he shoos them out, ignoring Yifan's begging to go out. "I'm too tired and it seems like you both are, too. Give Taeyeon a ride home so she doesn't get in a crash and then you go home yourself."

"Next weekend," Yifan says and Joonmyun makes an noncommittal noise before shutting off his lights and locking his office door. He follows his friends out to the back parking lot and waves goodbye to them as they both drive off in Yifan's car, hopefully to go home.

 

*

 

Joonmyun tosses his keys onto the counter in his kitchen and shuffles around his cupboard for something to eat. He sighs to himself as he pushes bag after bag of chip aside and curses himself for never having any real food to eat. He moves to search his fridge for anything of substance when his phone buzzes in his pocket. Joonmyun lets the fridge door swing such as he fishes it from his pocket. An unknown number flashes across the screen as his phone continues to vibrate angrily in his hand.

"Hello?" Joonmyun frowns as he balances the phone between his shoulder and ear and goes back to raiding his fridge.

"Hi, Joonmyun-hyung?" a voice says from the other end. Joonmyun frowns and pulls his phone away from his ear to look at the number. He still has no idea who it could be.

"Yes? Who's this?" Joonmyun finally finds at least a serving and a half of jjajjangmyeon and fights the urge to cheer out loud. He takes it from the fridge and sets it on the counter as he kicks the door shut.

"Oh, right. It's Baekhyun? I forgot to text you yesterday, sorry about that. I was just super tired and fell asleep in my towel on my bed. I really spaced it out. I didn't mean to leave you hanging. I'm sure you were probably tired too, from all your doctoring and stuff that day, and then dealing with me. Yeah, anyway, hi?" Baekhyun speaks too fast as Joonmyun uncovers his food and slides it in his microwave to heat up. He finds himself smiling as Baekhyun rambles on and on. He watches the bowl of food spin around as Baekhyun finally takes a breather.

"Hi, Baekhyun. And you don't need to apologize, it's okay, really," Joonmyun smiles and spins his chopsticks around on the counter, waiting for his food. His hip leaning into the hard surface is almost uncomfortable.

"Oh, okay. Well I just thought I'd call you. Hopefully you're not busy, I don't really know your working hours and it's only eight in the evening so you could very well be at wherever you work still. Wow, sorry I didn't mean to interrupt, you're probably doing something important. My day usually gets done at one in the afternoon, just to let you know. I don't know why you'd need to know that but, yeah," Baekhyun laughs softly, but it more sounds like a pained groan. "I don't really like talking on the phone, and no one else likes talking to me on the phone."

His microwave finally beeps and Joonmyun pulls the noodles out and mixes them around, trying to avoid touching the hot sides of the dish for too long.

"Is this all you called me for? To ramble in my ear?" Joonmyun asks teasingly and takes his food into his living room. He sits down on his couch and turns on his TV, volume all the way down.

Baekhyun doesn't say anything and Joonmyun thinks he may have hung up. He frowns and checks to make sure he's still there, and yeah, the time is still ticking slowly up on his screen.

"Baekhyun?"

"I should stop bugging you, I'm sorry. That whole second date thing was probably just to be polite. I look like an idiot right now, don't I? Yeah so, I'll go. Thanks again for the food."

"Wait, Baekhyun, I was joking. About the rambling thing," Joonmyun flounders to keep him from hanging up the call. Wow, Joonmyun feels like a grade-A piece of . "I don't mind, really. It's kind of... cute. Actually."

"It's annoying," Baekhyun says, sounding a bit exasperated and Joonmyun takes a bite of his food, making a sound of disagreement.

"To each their own. Anyway, don't hang up. Why'd you actually call?" Joonmyun pokes at his noodles with his fork and stares at the muted TV waiting for Baekhyun's answer.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go out for drinks?"

Joonmyun sets his chopsticks down and chews on his top lip, biting away the chapped skin. He should say no, really. He told Yifan and Taeyeon that he didn't want to already, and blew them off for probably the billionth time in the past month.

"That sounds nice. To make up for our dessert we didn't get to have last time." Joonmyun stands up from the couch and hurries back to his bedroom, not bothering to turn off the TV. He thinks he hears a sigh of relief from the other end of the line, but he chooses not to comment on it. “When do you want to meet? And where, too.”

“Well, I'm ready like, right now? Is ten minutes good for you?” Joonmyun freezes in front of his closet with wide eyes at Baekhyun's words. That's not nearly enough time to find something remotely appropriate to wear. Is this a second date? What do you even wear on a second date? Should he go casual, formal? “And I was thinking maybe we could meet somewhere in the middle of where we live, so neither of us have to go too far.”

“Uh, yeah. That all sounds good. Um, wait. I could pick you up?” Joonmyun puts his phone on speaker and sets it on top of his dresser as he rifles through his closet for something decent, and honestly, it's not going too well. But he figures he can buy himself a little bit of time if he picks Baekhyun up. Although, he probably shouldn't drive if they go drinking. There's too much to think about and not enough time. Joonmyun doesn't do well with spur of the moment things.

“Oh, hyung, you don't need to do that, really,” Baekhyun's voice is a little static-y and Joonmyun almost doesn't catch what he says. “Ah, it is a little cold outside... But I don't want you to think I'm going to rely on you to pick me up all the time.”

Joonmyun chuckles softly but he doesn't think Baekhyun heard him, probably for the best. “I don't mind, Baekhyun.”

“You're sure?”

“I'm sure.”

“Okay, so I'll see you soon?” Baekhyun sounds hopeful and Joonmyun finds it hard to not smile at it.

“Yes. Text me your address, I need to get ready and I'll be on my way.”

When Baekhyun hangs up, Joonmyun's phone buzzes not soon after and he groans into a pea coat hanging from his hands. Dates are stressful, and right now, he wants to be neck deep in a bubble bath with a glass of wine. That's really how he's feeling. He holds out the coat in front of him to look it over. It's not too flashy, simple and gray. It'll suffice, he supposes. He pairs it with a dark plaid button up. Joonmyun stands in front of his mirror for probably far too long trying to decide how much he wants his shirt tucked in.

His phone buzzes again with another text from Baekhyun asking if he's actually coming. He huffs softly at himself and replies with a 'yes I promise, I'm just having issues.' It's not a lie.

Joonmyun pulls on his dark washed jeans and rolls the ankles and finds a pair of black shoes from his closet. He hopes he isn't dressed too dark; he thinks Baekhyun might like it.

“God, a second date? What the hell?” Joonmyun sounds a little hysterical to his own ears as he pulls his door closed behind him and locks it. In his defense, he hasn't had a second date in... He doesn't even know how long. He makes it down to where his car is parked in the building's parking garage and pushes away the thoughts of his bad dating experiences as he sends off a quick text to Baekhyun telling him that he's leaving right now and he'll be there shortly. Baekhyun replies immediately with an 'okay!' and a happy face. It's cute.

He decides to leave his Red Velvet CD in this time. Partially because it calms his nerves, mostly because he thinks Baekhyun will enjoy it.

It doesn't take as long to get to Baekhyun's address as Joonmyun thought it would, but unfortunately he doesn't even get to go inside and knock on Baekhyun's apartment door because the younger is waiting outside for him.

"Were you waiting outside the whole time? Aren't you cold?" Joonmyun asks, frowning a little bit as Baekhyun climbs into the passenger seat. He shakes his head with a smile, but his teeth are chattering. There's no paint on his cheek this time, though.

"No I'm not cold, I'm fine." Baekhyun sits on his hands again, but Joonmyun knows it's not because he's nervous this time. "Oh, you should probably just park here. If we're drinking, you can't drive anyway."

"You're right, but you should warm up a bit before you go back in the cold and walk around." Joonmyun turns up the heat and Baekhyun doesn't argue, so Joonmyun assumes that he wasn't so wrong about Baekhyun being cold.

"Do you sit in silence like this a lot?" Baekhyun asks as he leans forward to peer at the random receipts littered below his feet. Joonmyun thinks he catches a brief smile. "I don't know how to be so quiet. It's a little nerve wracking, you know?"

"Silence is nice sometimes," Joonmyun shrugs as he repositions himself so he's facing towards Baekhyun more and his back is leaning against his car door.

"I think it makes me more anxious. You don't get that ringing in your ear when it's too quiet? It drives me crazy."

"I just ignore it, I guess."

Baekhyun hums and leans towards the radio, his fingers hovering over the button and knobs. "I can't even sleep when it's too quiet, I have to have something making noise all the time."

He finally finds the button he wants and presses play. The CD player sets the CD and 'Dumb Dumb' starts playing quietly.

"Hmm, not bad. Your car is new, but you have a CD player in it. Did you downgrade?" Baekhyun looks over to Joonmyun with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, I like CDs," Joonmyun laughs softly, he's not sure why he's embarrassed by that.

"Are you one of those snobs who thinks music sounds better this way?"

"They sound better on vinyls." Joonmyun looks at Baekhyun, and the younger seems like he's ready to make Joonmyun's life miserable.

"Joonmyun-hyung," Baekhyun says taking a deep breath. "You're so damn old."

"I'm not old!"

"You're old. Let's go grandpa, the night isn't getting any younger. Just like you." Baekhyun snickers to himself as he climbs out of the car and Joonmyun grumbles and climbs out of his car and looks over the top to glare at Baekhyun.

"I'm not old, Baekhyun," Joonmyun huffs and Baekhyun smiles at him, his eyes turning to little crescents and Joonmyun heart leaps a giant step right into his stomach.

"Come on, there's no time for arguing," is all Baekhyun says as he walks away from Joonmyun's car towards the shining neon lights of Hongdae. Joonmyun locks his car and jogs to catch up to Baekhyun who's smiling to himself as he looks up towards the sky.

"You're going to run into someone if you don't watch where you're going."

"You can't even see the stars," Baekhyun sighs softly and shrugs. As they near a crowded street, the neon lights catch in Baekhyun's eyes and in his hair, turning it from black to purple and blue. His skin looks like stained glass, almost, from where Joonmyun is and his hands itch at his sides to reach out and touch.

"Joonmyun?"

"What?" Joonmyun startles and blinks, looking at anything but Baekhyun.

"Do you have any preference to where we go?" Baekhyun slows next to him staring into the front windows of a slightly crowded bar. His forefinger taps against his bottom lip once, twice, before he shakes his head and continues walking.

"No, not really. I don't come to Hongdae that often," Joonmyun shakes his head and follows Baekhyun's lead, barely paying attention to their surroundings at all.

"I'm not in the mood to go clubbing tonight, and I think you're too old to get in, so that's out of the question," Baekhyun looks at Joonmyun with a glint in his eye and Joonmyun rolls his eyes.

"That's not a thing. You're really too much, Baekhyun."

"You wanna test that out?"

"Um, no," Joonmyun says dumbly and Baekhyun laughs. It's loud, louder than the noise of the tourists and the muffled songs playing from nearly every building. It's almost annoying, but Joonmyun can't get himself to care.

"Maybe we can get you a senior discount here," Baekhyun says as he points to the bar next to them. "I hear they have great prices."

"Byun Baekhyun, I swear to God," Joonmyun whines and turns to face Baekhyun. Something familiar catches his eye in the window and he squints, looking past Baekhyun into the bar.

"Your eyesight is terrible, obvious sign of old age."

Suddenly, Joonmyun stops.

Joonmyun sees Yifan sitting at a table, not far from the window he and Baekhyun are standing in front of, in direct line of sight. He's not supposed to be out, but Yifan's not supposed to be out either. Joonmyun knows he can't control his friends, but he wishes that Yifan would've heeded his advice, just this once. For his own sake, of course.

Yifan peers, squints at Joonmyun and hopefully doesn't recognize his far too familiar face. His friend's face scrunches up as he leans forward and gets the attention of the other people he's with to point to where Joonmyun stands, who's practically petrified as his date continues to try and get his attention.

Baekhyun is probably, most definitely, saying something to Joonmyun, but the looming over-180-cm monster is looking in their direction currently, and Joonmyun can't really seem to make his active listening skills work. He can only rationalize that his flight or fight instincts are kicking in, and he's ready to bolt.

" my ," Joonmyun whispers as he watches Yifan stand up from his table, making his intentions of going towards the door very clear. The older frowns at Joonmyun one last time, obviously still not quite recognizing him in the dark. Joonmyun takes it as the perfect time to escape.

"Uh, I usually save that for the third date," Baekhyun laughs and Joonmyun doesn't even have time to roll his eyes. He'll think about that later, but now he needs to run away, and he's not about to leave Baekhyun behind. He grabs Baekhyun by his hand and pulls him away from the window, running towards the crowds of people. "Hey! Where are we going?"

Joonmyun ignores Baekhyun and leads them across the street down a different road, lined with more clubs and less open bars like the one Yifan was in. Honestly, he really has no idea where they're going, and Baekhyun won't shut up, but he's not stopping them either, so Joonmyun just keeps running. It's the only rational thing he can think of at the moment.

"Did you see your ex?" Baekhyun yells, out of breath and reasonably confused. Joonmyun is worried to look back at him to see Yifan running after them, so he keeps his eyes forward and his grip tight on Baekhyun's hand.

Joonmyun half-laughs, half-wheezes, shaking his head as they weave through the crowds of college students, earning complaints. "No, just my best friend."

"Then why are we running?" Baekhyun yells again over the music coming from an open door. Joonmyun spots a convenience store across the street from them. He tugs Baekhyun along with him, towards his new safe haven. Their footsteps are heavy as they slow to a stop in front of the store and Baekhyun leans down, one hand on his knee and the other gripping his side.

"Because," Joonmyun clasps his hands behind his head to open his lungs, as he gasps for air between words, "I told him I didn't want to go out tonight."

"You ditched them for me?"

"I guess?"

Baekhyun stares at Joonmyun for a second before walking into the store, leaving Joonmyun gasping for breath and heart pounding in his ears. He's just grateful that Yifan didn't run after them.

Joonmyun follows him inside, the bell jingling above his head as he walks through the door. He has to tiptoe over the aisles to see where Baekhyun went to, he finds him standing in front of the alcohol. Joonmyun can't blame him, and they did come out to drink, so it's reasonable enough.

"Beer, soju, wine?" Baekhyun asks as Joonmyun walks up beside him, he glances over to Joonmyun then back at the cooled alcohol in front of them.

"Wine is an option?"

"You probably get drunk off a half a glass of wine."

"That's not true." Joonmyun frowns and opens the cooler door to grab a six pack of beer. "I could drink this by myself and be fine."

"Do you want to find out?" Baekhyun smirks at him and Joonmyun shakes his head and flushes, he doesn't even know why he wants to impress Baekhyun. This second date has already been kind of a mess, and he shouldn't feel the need to impress anyone. But he does, he really wants to impress Baekhyun for some God forsaken reason.

Baekhyun pulls three bottles of soju from the cooler as well and nudges Joonmyun towards the counter so they can pay. Baekhyun pulls out money from his pocket before Joonmyun can even set down the six pack and he frowns a little.

"Baekhyun, I can pay." Joonmyun doesn't know all that much about a teacher's salary, but he knows enough about his own. He doesn't want Baekhyun to waste his money on beer that Joonmyun would be more than happy to pay for.

"So can I," Baekhyun replies and glances over at Joonmyun, almost like a challenge. Joonmyun nods silently and pockets his wallet.

"Hey Baek," the cashier smiles tiredly across from them and it makes Joonmyun raise his eyebrows.

"Hey, Jongin."

"Just this tonight?" The cashier named Jongin scans their alcohol and Baekhyun nods, handing over the crumpled up bills. "Be safe."

"Will do," Baekhyun smiles and takes his change, motioning for Joonmyun to grab the paper bag with their drinks. He bows to Jongin quickly and hurries to catch up to Baekhyun who's walking out of the store without him.

"You know, Joonmyun, I can take care of myself," Baekhyun says as he continues to walk down the sidewalk away from the glowing club lights. Joonmyun stuffs his hands in his pockets and walks next to Baekhyun, and maybe offering to pay was a bad idea. Assuming wasn't polite, Joonmyun knows.

"I didn't think you couldn't. I just—I'm sorry if I offended you, it wasn't my intention."

"I know it wasn't, I just don't want you to think you're going to pay my way on every date we go on," Baekhyun looks over at Joonmyun, the cold making his cheeks rosy and his ears red. There's a look in his eye that screams determination while still seeming soft. Like he's been independent since the day he was born, and Joonmyun doesn't doubt that one bit. Joonmyun can tell that Baekhyun doesn't want or need to be taken care of. He's okay with that.

"You want to go on more dates?"

Baekhyun chuckles and shakes his head, but it's fond and Joonmyun feels it in his toes. "Yes, despite you making me run like some kind of maniac, I still would like to go on more dates with you."

Joonmyun feels heat creep up his cheeks, as a smile blooms across his face. "Me too."

"Come on then, we have to have this one first," Baekhyun smiles as he takes the paper bag from Joonmyun and pulls out a bottle of soju for himself. Baekhyun uncaps it with the hem of his shirt after giving the bag back to Joonmyun.

Joonmyun can barely make out his facial features now; the streetlights are too far apart to make a source of good light. He squints to see if Baekhyun is grinning like he is, but he can't make out anything. Joonmyun thinks, hopes, that Baekhyun is feeling content like he is right now.

As the pass below a streetlight, Baekhyun hands Joonmyun the bottle of soju that he had opened and motions for him to take a drink. Joonmyun looks between the bottle and Baekhyun, his doctor brain telling him that it's unsanitary.

"Really? Just take a drink."

"You could get me sick," Joonmyun argues lightly, not really expecting himself to hold up the facade.

"It's no different than kissing." Baekhyun shrugs and Joonmyun nearly trips over his feet. His heart shoots to his throat and the telling heat is back in his cheeks. It's all so ridiculous, he's an adult. He shouldn't blush like a kid with a crush, but that's exactly what he is. A dumb kid with a dumb crush.

"But we haven't."

Baekhyun sighs and takes the soju bottle back for himself, "Okay, since you're being weird about sharing a bottle, drink one of your beers." He points his bottle to the bag in Joonmyun's arms before taking a long pull from the bottle.

"Right, yeah okay," Joonmyun chuckles, a little embarrassed, and grabs a bottle from the bag. "Are we going to be walking the whole time?"

"Are your old people's legs tired?"

Joonmyun glares at Baekhyun as he twists the cap off his beer and tosses it into the bag. Baekhyun winks at him with a laugh that can’t be called anything but ornery and holds his hands up in surrender, shaking his head.

"No, we’re actually here," he says as he points to a poorly lit playground.

"We're drinking on a playground? I think that this is at least three types of illegal."

"Joonmyun, it's fine. I do it all the time," Baekhyun sighs and leads them to the swing set near the back of the play area.

"Do you take all of your dates here?"

"No."

"Should I be flattered?" Joonmyun raises his eyebrows as he takes a seat on the swing in the middle. There's a small light coming from their left from an old lamp, and it's just enough to illuminate Baekhyun's features. Baekhyun shrugs as he sits down and takes another sip of his soju.

"I suppose, I usually come here alone."

Joonmyun hums and pushes his feet off the ground to start swinging slowly, one hand gripping the chain and the other his beer bottle. Figuring out Baekhyun is hard; he rambles when he's nervous, but now he's giving short answers and Joonmyun doesn't know what to make of it. He doesn't want to be boring, and though they both work with kids, Joonmyun doesn't do as much playing as Baekhyun does. Being a doctor can be boring, he hardly thinks being a preschool teacher would be.

"Tell me stories about your kids," Baekhyun says, pulling Joonmyun from his thoughts. "I mean, if you want. I just think you'd have pretty funny stories about kids puking on you, or something." He shrugs and looks up to the sky as he sways on the swing lazily.

Joonmyun hums as he searches his mind for a mildly entertaining story, but he has nothing. Sure he has dozens of stories about kids puking on him, but he hardly thinks how that would be funny.

"I don't really have anything. I guess they just puke, it gets on my shoes mostly, their parents get embarrassed, and that's about it." Joonmyun looks over at Baekhyun, who's still looking up at the sky. He looks too, in case he's missing something. It doesn't seem like he is.

"There's still no stars."

"We're still in the city."

Baekhyun sighs a little and gets off his swing. Joonmyun watches him walk in front of where he's swaying slowly and just as Joonmyun thinks he's going go collide with Baekhyun, he grabs the chains and brings the swing to a halt. Their faces are close and Joonmyun can feel Baekhyun's breath on his skin, it smells like soju a little and Joonmyun makes himself not scrunch his nose up. His breath probably smells like beer, which is no better.

Baekhyun stares at him for a long time, Joonmyun thinks it's been minutes when it's probably only been seconds. Just as he goes to open his mouth to say something, Baekhyun finally speaks up.

"Park Joonmyun," he starts and Joonmyun makes a face, that's definitely not right. He snorts and he swears he can feel the heat radiating off Baekhyun's face.

"Kim."

"You never told me, so I had to make an educated guess."

"By using one of the most common surnames?" Joonmyun tilts his head to the side, a smirk playing on his lips. Baekhyun shrugs, mirroring Joonmyun's smirk.

"Kim Joonmyun."

"Byun Baekhyun."

Baekhyun laughs softly and his eyes sparkle, just a little, in the dim lights. It's a bit mesmerizing.

"I think I'm going to like you very, very much."

Joonmyun feels a little light headed at Baekhyun's words. Like he's floating above his body and watching the scene fold out.

"You don't already?" Joonmyun questions, because false confidence is the only way he can get past the lump in his throat.

"Maybe just a little bit," Baekhyun says, eyes smiling and Joonmyun mirrors him. It's easy to.

"Yeah, me too."

Baekhyun leans forward then and presses his lips against Joonmyun's. They're chapped because of the cold, but he can't get himself to care. It's soft and gentle, nothing like Baekhyun's seemingly demanding personality, but Joonmyun thinks it's fitting.

"Are you still nervous?" Joonmyun asks when Baekhyun pulls away and the latter smiles again, warm and content.

"Unbelievably."