Joshua slipped away from Jeonghan and Seungcheol as the two of them started bickering yet again as a guise to subtly flirt with each other, and he headed back off to his room he should have known not to leave in the first place. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t jealous, because there had been a time when he was— who he was jealous of, though, was the thing he never quite figured out in the end—but the longer the two’s “Not Relationship” dragged on, the less in love Joshua became with whichever one he was in love with and the more annoyed he became instead.

“Those two are insufferable at this point,” Joshua muttered in exasperated English while entering his room, a heavy sigh leaving him.

“Who? Cheol-hyung and Jeonghan-hyung?” An unexpected response from none other than the chronic room-hopper Hansol caught Joshua off guard. He jumped and stumbled backwards, clutching onto his chest for dear life. “Oh, sorry. I thought you saw me come in the dorm earlier,” Hansol snorted, but his apology was as genuine as they ever were.

“I did, but I honestly thought you went to Seokmin’s room,” Joshua replied, finally moving away from the door and heading over to his bed. Hansol scooted over to allow Joshua some space for Joshua to fit onto the bed, Joshua flopping down right next to the younger with a groan.

“Yeah, I went to hang with hyung for a bit, but he wanted to take a nap, so I came in here to chill.” Hansol shifted a bit so he was on his side, facing Joshua. “Wanna talk?”

“There’s not much to say other than I’m starting to feel the weight of my single-ness real bad.” Joshua pouted and maybe he even whined a bit. Hansol wouldn’t judge him, and even if the younger was smiling at him, clearly amused, Joshua knew it wouldn’t be followed up with the usual light-hearted jabs at his desperation for a partner. “I need to start hanging out with you kiddos more, because Cheol and Han are paying me dirt,”

“I’m always down to hang, you know that. Besides, it’s fun when it’s just the two of us,” Joshua looked at Hansol directly and the younger’s stare was burning right through him with how warm it was. Hansol usually paid very close attention to people when they talked, which could be quite intense on it’s own, but something was different about the way he was looking at Joshua now. Not to mention the barely subtle shift in the tone of his voice; it landed on that thin line between platonic and not-so-platonic, and it excited and confused Joshua slightly.

“Yeah, it is, huh?” Joshua replied, voice soft and drifting, his mind completely elsewhere now. He and Hansol were laying so close together, now that he thinks about it, and the obvious shift in mood in the room made him flush. “We have tomorrow off, too, right? We should go somewhere, or maybe a few somewheres,”

“Like the Escape Room place?” Hansol offered with a wider smile. Joshua couldn’t tell if it was because he was responding well to the younger’s subtle advances or because he really liked the Escape Room place—Joshua figures it’s both, because it’s Hansol, and it makes him smile as well. “And then we can go to that art museum my mom recommended to me...or that science museum you’ve been wanting to go to! Could we do both?” Hansol’s eyes were starting to sparkle with enthusiasm about their day tomorrow and it made Joshua chuckle.

“We have the whole day tomorrow, I’m sure we can fit in both. And don’t forget dinner,” Joshua suggested.

“Ah, dinner! There’s so many places that I’ve been wanting to try, you know!” As Hansol rambled on excitedly about the restaurants he’s heard about from Junhui and Soonyoung or other friends of his, the mood in the room slowly shifted back into something more casual, something more them; however, Joshua remained a jumbled mess of excitement and confusion inside.

He’s never decided to be into anyone so callously before, but then again, Hansol wasn’t just anyone—Hansol was a long time friend, a very close one at that, and the younger has always been a source of comfort and a little piece of home to him despite their different circumstances. Hansol was someone that Joshua loved and trusted so much already, and the idea of him and Hansol being more than just close friends didn’t sound all that bad.

In fact, when it was time to for Hansol to head back up to his own dorm, he departed from Joshua with a tight hug and a bright smile, which he followed up with a bold-turned-quite shy kiss to the cheek, and the older had the thought that it was starting to sound very much like a great idea after all.