The bell above the door chimed when Minseok steps into the café, announcing his arrival. The smell of brewed coffee that greets him almost immediately feels like home, making him smile at the thought of getting his coffee soon after a long, tired day at work. Kyungsoo looks up with a huge smile when he notices him approaching the counter, going over the touchscreen monitor as if his fingers have memorized his order.

“Have you taken a break, yet?”

Kyungsoo chuckles. “Not yet.”

A wave of overlapping notification sounds starts ringing loudly as his phone is automatically connected with the wi-fi and Minseok fumbles to take out his phone out of his pocket. Most of the time, Minseok forgot that they have a group chat to keep them updated about each other’s daily life although it feels like the purpose has changed and it has become a platform to exchange memes that Minseok finds hard to understand and he has a distinct feeling that most of them are used as a form of complaint against his dad jokes.

Despite all the pictures spam—mostly from Baekhyun, and dirty jokes—credits to Jongdae, Minseok is actually quite fond of them.

It’s a hassle to read everything so he usually skims through the chats and only takes notice of the important messages such as Chanyeol’s blatant flirting towards Baekhyun and how basically everyone in the chatroom noticed except Baekhyun himself. He doesn’t keep his phone back in his pocket without taking a screenshot of Chanyeol’s mental breakdown expressed through a picture of a random woman crying to send them to Baekhyun later.

“Is there something funny, hyung?”

Minseok looks up, Sehun is staring at him with a rare amused glint in his eyes—only then he becomes aware of the noises that come out as Sehun grinds the beans. The young barista goes about to boil the water after he’s done grinding the espresso beans and Minseok becomes instantly captivated by the way Sehun handles everything. He isn’t as swift as Kyungsoo but Sehun sure does know what to do with those machines, and Minseok finds it amazing.

“Where’s Kyungsoo?”

“His shift just ended,” Sehun says when Minseok is almost certain he wasn’t going to answer.

“He exchanged shift with Jongin?”

“I did. He covered half of his shift since he’s taking exams today.” Sehun shrugs then brings a cup of hot americano over to the counter. He presses more button on the screen and the printer starts printing Minseok’s bills.

“Shoot.”

Sehun raises an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”

“I forgot to wish him a good luck.”

“Just do it now that he’s here.”

Minseok startles when he turns his head and Jongin comes in sight, followed by Kyungsoo who’s still in his uniform but no one questions him except Sehun who gives him a confused look although the older guy doesn’t seem to notice.

“Don’t worry. He said he did well,” Kyungsoo says. “I hope it’s true.” He glances at Jongin who flushes, probably both because of what his boyfriend said and his hands that are already reaching out to tie his apron.

“I did really well though! I’ll definitely get an A!” Jongin exclaims.

Minseok laughs. “You better.”

Deciding that he’s been hanging around the counter for too long, Minseok looks around to find an empty seat as he waits for the others. The usual table is full but there’s a table for two near the counter so Minseok walks over to sit and enjoy his americano. Hopefully it’ll be able to hold him up for two hours past his bedtime, he has to finish reading through a manuscript and two articles so he can claim his deserved sleep through the weekend. Minseok was so deep in thought that he only realized Sehun is in the seat across from him, setting a plate of assorted cupcakes next to Minseok’s cup of americano.

Minseok notices that Sehun’s apron is gone, revealing the grey t-shirt that he frequently wears to classes as an undershirt. It’s probably the younger’s favorite, Minseok can’t help but note since they’re neighbours and he’s seen Sehun wearing it more often than not.

“Huh? But Kyungsoo…?”

Sehun frowns, feigning hurt. “Why do you keep asking for Kyungsoo-hyung?”

“You said his shift has ended?”

“I thought so too,” Sehun shrugs. “But he told me he will work full time today.”

Minseok rolls his eyes. “With Jongin.”

Sehun confirms. “With Jongin.”

“And what is this?” Minseok takes a bite of a cupcake with mint icing on top.

“It’s on the house.” Sehun’s own smile grows upon seeing how Minseok’s face lights up at the sweet taste of the cake. “Looks like you need some sugar in your system.”

“Really?” Minseok takes out his phone to inspect himself through the reflection on the screen. Probably not that much sugar, though. “But isn’t it too much?”

“I’ll eat with you, then.” Sehun chuckles then takes a chocolate cupcake.

Sehun’s thoughtfulness takes him by surprise. He’s not particularly close with the younger but he very much appreciates it. He’s actually one of the reasons why he keeps coming back to the café, aside from it being their usual hangout place, Minseok trusts Sehun to make his daily cup of americano. The cupcakes are really amazing, too. Kyungsoo takes all the credits for that. He’s doing a great job applying what he’s learned in university and he thinks it’s time to build his own business soon.

“Junmyeon can’t make it today?”

Minseok looks up from his phone to see Sehun pulling out his to make sure, then hums when he finds the message from Junmyeon in the chatroom. “Guess it’s just the two of us, huh?”

The sun is almost set by the time they finished eating the cupcakes and it was the most cupcakes Minseok has ever eaten in less than two hours. He thinks Sehun really brought a dozen and he’s actually worried about gaining weights and his blood sugar now, but he feels refreshed nevertheless that he can last more than five hours past his bedtime without sleep.

“Do you want to wait for Jongin?”

Sehun has asked Jongin to clean the table and they’ve run out of things to do in the café aside from sitting around and constantly replying to the others except Jongin and Kyungsoo in the group chat. Minseok begins to feel wary of the time as it’s getting late and he needs to get some work done but he doesn’t want to appear like he doesn’t want to spend his time with Sehun. Also, it’s most likely for the younger to wait for Jongin as he knows how close they are and Minseok happens to be there as a company.

“You want to go home?” Sehun looks up from his phone to regard him with a rise of his eyebrow. It must be nice to be that attractive.

Minseok nods and Sehun quickly pockets his phone before standing up to get out of his seat and makes his way towards where Jongin is standing behind the counter, leaving him puzzled. Then the younger comes back with a bag of pastry and grins down at Minseok.

“Let’s go.”

Minseok is confused as he follows Sehun out the door after thanking Kyungsoo and saying goodbye to both him and Jongin. The wind that hits him right after he steps out of the café is chilly and it’s making him crave for another hot cup of coffee. Sehun is walking a few steps ahead and he tries not to trip over his own two feet for trying to catch up with the younger’s big steps. It’s another challenge to avoid bumping into the people walking in the opposite direction and by the time Minseok manages to catch up, he’s out of breath.

“What are you walking so fast for,” Minseok says breathlessly, sneaking a glance towards Sehun’s face and the tall college student looks excited…?

It only takes fifteen minutes to walk from the café to the apartment complex and during that fifteen minutes walk, Minseok was wondering what the hell is happening. Sehun actually walks him to his room and instead of leaving, the younger comes inside with him.

“Uhhh, Sehun?”

What has gotten over him, really?

Minseok is confused but a bit amused seeing Sehun inside his apartment for the first time.

“You can take a quick shower. I will set up the table?”

“What?” Minseok laughs. “Are we having a dinner here?”

Sehun looks at him seriously, saying, “Yes.” He puts the paper bag on the coffee table.

Minseok swallows. It has been ages since the last time he cooked for dinner. He always depends on takeout or delivery, so having a guest over for dinner somehow feels so strange and unnerving. He doesn’t know Sehun is that excited to have dinner in his apartment when there’s nothing special about it. It’s either that or there’s really something happening and he’s the only one who doesn’t know.

“It’s not a prank, is it?” Minseok asks.

Sehun, who has taken a seat on the couch, shakes his head and Minseok can see clearly how his gaze softens upon hearing the caution in his voice. “Of course not, hyung.”

So, Minseok trusts him and goes to take a quick shower and changes into his pajama. When he walks into the living room, Sehun is sitting on the floor, looking out the window but Minseok can’t find where he’s looking.

The taller man quickly closes the window when he notices Minseok's presence, though. Sehun clears his throat and walks over to take a proper seat on the couch and Minseok follows suit. “I have something to tell you.”

Minseok’s heart is pounding in his chest. “What is it?”

“I think Junmyeon-hyung lied about having an overtime.”

“Junmyeon did?” Minseok blinks. “Why?”

“He’s in his room right now.”

Ah. So that was why Sehun was looking out the window a few moments ago. “Did Baekhyun and Chanyeol lie too?”

Sehun looks thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t think they did because they do have to practice for the upcoming finals.”

“How about Jongdae?”

“He did. In fact, he’s with Junmyeon-hyung right now.”

“I’m not surprised,” Minseok comments and Sehun nods in agreement.

“Before you ask me, finals week is over so I’m currently on a break.” Sehun reaches out to open the paper bag to see what Kyungsoo has packed for them. He holds out a croissant to Minseok.

“I wonder why they lied,” Minseok mumbles, taking the croissant.

“You really don’t know why?” Sehun asks him. He sounds genuinely surprised.

Minseok shakes his head before taking a bite of the croissant. Hmm. It’s really good.

“Should we just date, hyung?”

Minseok chokes on his croissant.

The tall student springs out of his seat to get him a glass of water. Minseok gratefully takes it then chugs the entire glass down his throat. He takes a deep breath before giving Sehun an incredulous look, his face feels like burning. He doesn’t need a mirror to tell how red it is judging from the way Sehun is watching him with the same amused eyes he saw in the café.

Minseok is actually not entirely clueless about their friends’ attempts to push them together but he lets Sehun tells him about everything he has observed and how he came up with the idea of fake-dating as a prank. Minseok doesn’t know why he feels so self-conscious. Sehun—looking so young with a boyish smile on his face that turns his eyes into crescents, and the laughter that makes his shoulders shake—assures Minseok that the younger doesn’t find the whole thing awkward. Besides, Minseok doesn’t want to keep being on the receiving end of Jongdae’s merciless pranks.

“They aren’t even trying to be subtle anymore.” the taller male shrugs.

Minseok hums in agreement. “Do we look that desperate?”

Sehun bursts out laughing. “Maybe.”

A silence falls over them but it doesn’t last long.

“What do you think, hyung?”

So, naturally, Minseok agrees. After all, it’s just a prank. 

 

---

 

Sehun jolts awake, slowly becoming aware of his surroundings. The clock reads three in the morning and the sun will soon rise. He tries to stretch out his long limbs but his hands hit something soft up there on the couch and when Sehun turns his head, Minseok is peacefully asleep with his head on a stack of manuscripts. Though he said peacefully, it doesn’t look comfortable at all so Sehun moves to replace the stapled papers with a cushion and lie the smaller man down on his side. Minseok curls in immediately into himself and Sehun can’t help the smile blooming on his face.

A really loud beep that comes from Minseok’s laptop on the table startles him, so he quickly gets up to plug in the charger and put the device on sleep mode before another loud beep would wake Minseok up. The older man barely gets enough sleep last night reviewing two articles and reading some past manuscripts of some author and Sehun feels guilty for falling asleep on him first, though he assumes it hasn’t even been an hour yet.

He brings his gaze around the moonlit living room. There’s a makeshift futon on the floor which Minseok pulled out of the deepest part of his closet when Sehun said he’d stay up as a company, but both of them ended up falling asleep nowhere near the futon. He chuckles and crawls over to get the blankets to tuck Minseok in then he goes inside his futon once the smaller man is safely and comfortably tucked in.

His mind is running a mile a minute as he lies awake there, staring at the ceiling that looks familiar with the one of his own. He’s thinking back to when Minseok agreed right away with his idea to prank their friends and the thought brings a smile to his face. He always knows Minseok wouldn’t let him down. The older man has shown his playful side in the group chat and Sehun finds it amazing how he can come up with those puns and dad jokes. It’s going to be a lot of fun once they break the news of them dating and he’d love to see how much their friends will like the prank.

The sound of Minseok’s steady breathing somehow calms his excited heart. Sehun feels his eyes closing and before he can take a look at the clock on the wall once more, sleep knocks him out completely.

Sehun jolts awake for the second time and the sun is already high up in the sky. He looks around and finds no trace of Minseok. The blankets are folded and placed next to his futon, the laptop is gone and replaced by a glass of milk and a plate of pastry leftover. He sits up on the floor and yawns, he really slept well. He notices the stack of manuscript is nowhere to be seen and the cushions are arranged neatly on the couch. A vacuum stands near the coffee table which Sehun is sure wasn’t there before.

It seems like the older man is going somewhere so Sehun makes himself useful by getting up and folding his futon. After making sure that the futon fold looks good enough, he walks over to get the vacuum and starts vacuuming but he stops when he notices the entire place is basically spotless and immaculate without a speck of dust in sight, not even the unnoticeable one. So, Sehun goes to sit on the couch and only sees the small cup of coffee-- which he assumes is Minseok’s-- next to the milk now. Milk for him? Does Minseok think he’s a baby?

He chuckles and drinks the milk anyway.

The clock reads eleven when he hears Minseok’s voice indistinctly from the door. Judging from how he’s talking out loud, it seems like he’s not alone and when the voices get closer, Sehun recognizes the other one as Junmyeon’s. Sehun puts the empty glass on the table to wipe his mouth and gets up from the couch to get to Minseok at the front door, a mischievous smile on his face. On the way, he comes up with a great idea so he removes his shirt and ruffles his hair to make it as if he’s awakened by the noises.

Junmyeon is outside the door, thankfully, so he can’t see him approaching as quietly as possible. Minseok is standing with his back facing him, seemingly unaware of his presence before Sehun slips his hands and settle them on Minseok’s waist. He pulls Minseok closer and he can feel the smaller man tenses when he places his head on Minseok’s shoulder, lips dangerously close to his neck. Sehun tries not to smile at the look on Junmyeon’s face and instead schools his face to appear annoyed.

“What is this? You went without me?”

Sehun smiles when he feels Minseok relax in his arms. “Something came up.”

“Something?”

Minseok’s hand comes up to the side of his face and Sehun leans into the touch. “Yes,” the smaller male says. “It’s the annual maintenance visit. Did you brush your teeth?”

“Mmmm,” Sehun nods. “Your toothbrush is really cute.”

The stricken look on Junmyeon’s face is such a satisfying sight to see and Sehun’s morning is made already. He glances up and stands straight to regard Junmyeon pretending like he only noticed the dark-haired man’s presence now. His arms are still wrapped around Minseok’s waist. If anything, it’s even tighter than before and he makes sure Junmyeon can see it.

“Oh, you’re here, hyung.”

Junmyeon nods slowly, unsurely. “I wish I weren’t, though,” he mumbles but still clear enough for Sehun to hear.

“Do you want to come in and have breakfast with us?” Minseok asks, beating Sehun to it. “Although, brunch seems more suitable.” Sehun nods then places his chin on top of Minseok’s head.

“I think I’m fine,” Junmyeon says with an obviously fake smile. “I don’t want to—uhm disturb you guys.”

“Too bad.” Sehun can hear the pout in Minseok’s voice.

Then Junmyeon excuses himself, saying something about having to sort out his laundry and leaves with, “I should tell Jongdae about this.” said mostly to himself but then again, it’s loud enough for them to hear.

When Junmyeon disappears around the corner, Sehun bursts out laughing.

“That guy never sorts out his laundry, right?” Sehun nods and let go of Minseok. The smaller male then turns around to face him. “Is he okay?”

Minseok steps away and slightly pushes Sehun aside to let himself in before putting his shoes back in the rack. Sehun closes the door behind him and follows the smaller male into the living room. The smaller male is picking up the empty glass of milk and goes to the kitchen to put it in the sink. He’s back in the living room just to pick the vacuum up and store it somewhere in the apartment that Sehun doesn’t know.

“You didn’t really use my toothbrush, did you?”

“No,” Sehun yells his answer, “I should go back to brush my teeth,” he adds when Minseok is back in the living room again. He realizes his torso is bare when Minseok eyes him from head to toe. He starts looking around the living room for his shirt when he found it’s not where he had thrown it earlier near the front door.

“Here.” He hears Minseok’s voice behind him almost in time with the soft material of his shirt landing on his back.

“Thanks.”

Sehun turns around and grins before slipping into his favorite grey t-shirt. He leaves when Minseok assures him that he doesn’t need help carrying those futons back into the closet but Sehun promises to help him with the breakfast or brunch or whatever since they haven’t eaten any proper meal yet. Maybe they could just eat out? He thinks as he punches in his passcode lock numbers. There’s a loud beep before he pushes the automatic door open.

When he steps inside and looks around his apartment, he can’t help but realize how lonely it can get living all by yourself. 

-

“Oh, Minseok hyung!”

It’s been exactly a week since they started dating and everyone’s buying it. Sehun never knew it was actually this easy to prank them and lie through his teeth but it’s too early to feel bad about it. Minseok doesn’t think so although he seems very subtle about it but Sehun wishes the older male would tell him what’s bothering his mind. So far, everything is under control and everyone is taking it exceptionally well.

Sehun looks up just in time with Minseok approaching the counter and without him knowing, there’s a huge smile on his face upon seeing the older male. Baekhyun is complaining about how Minseok is ignoring him to Chanyeol who keeps playing a rhythm game on his phone, causing the blond to pout, threatening to take the phone away.

“Hey,” Sehun greets, altering his attention to Minseok.

The older male gives him a jaded smile back. “Hey.”

Sehun’s fingers automatically move all over the screen to input Minseok’s order. “Do you want-”

“I want mango tea,” Minseok cuts him off, thankfully before the bill is printing.

He presses the cancel button and looks at the older male in concern. “Okay.”

“Thank you.” Minseok says with a smile that looks a little brighter but still tired regardless.

“My shift is almost over. Do you want to wait for me here?”

Minseok nods and steps aside to lean against the empty waiting counter. Sehun then quickly goes to make Minseok’s order when Jongin comes to take over the cashier. He brings the iced cup of mango tea to the counter where the older male is waiting then he makes a dash to the stuff room to untie and properly keep the apron in his locker. He doesn’t forget to greet Kyungsoo before he exits through the back door with phone and keys in hand. It’s going to be the first time for the eight of them to hang out together in weeks and Sehun feels more excited than nervous.

It has become a habit for Sehun to carry everything heavy for Minseok since they went grocery shopping last Sunday. The smaller male naturally slides his backpack off his shoulders when Sehun gestures at it. The backpack itself, albeit not bigger than Minseok in size, looks quite heavy and the smaller male always carries his laptop with him to work, so it makes Sehun worried about his back. Minseok has told him that it’s not a problem and asked him to stop treating him like he’s a senior citizen.

When they get to the table, Junmyeon is already seated on one of the chairs, shaking his head to Chanyeol’s question about his phone’s whereabouts meanwhile Baekhyun is snickering next to him. The blond then looks up, his face lit up upon seeing him and Minseok who decide to take a seat on the two empty chairs beside Baekhyun. Junmyeon nods at the two of them, no longer avoiding his eyes like last Tuesday when he came in to Minseok yelling at Sehun for being so rough, which of course, also a prank. He closed the door so fast and came back when Minseok had gone back to his apartment to borrow Sehun’s frying pan because he lost it somewhere in the kitchen.

“Mango tea? What did Sehun do to you, hyung?” Baekhyun gasps.

“Shut up. He doesn’t even like mango tea,” Minseok deadpans.

Baekhyun throws his head back and laughs. “Oh my god,” the blond says, wiping a single tear from the corner of his eye. “You guys really are a thing.”

“You don’t have to date him to know Sehun likes chocolate bubble tea, Baekhyun,” the eye-roll in Minseok’s tone is very audible.

Sehun sees how Baekhyun goes quiet and smirks. That’s my boyfriend, he thinks but then realizes what he’s thinking then mentally shakes his head but the silly thoughts keep coming as if he has no control over them.

“You two are gross!”

Baekhyun’s loud voice pulls him out of his reverie. He turns his head to the side only to find the blond sniffing him—the white shirt he’s wearing, to be exact. He looks at Baekhyun curiously then turns to Minseok who shrugs. No one is bothered by the fact that Baekhyun likes to sniff him, not even Chanyeol.

“What’s going on?” Chanyeol asks, curious of the fuss. He seems to have found where Baekhyun hid his phone and decided to put it away for the sake of quality time. Now, even Junmyeon’s attention is on them too.

“These two use the same fabric softener!” Baekhyun exclaims.

“Actually, we share it.” Sehun feels the need to correct him.

Junmyeon chokes.

“Must be nice living in the same neighbourhood.” Chanyeol’s roaring laughter is heard across the room and Sehun can’t stand the urge to facepalm. Baekhyun does it first and actually goes to whack the back of his boyfriend’s head. When the taller guy pouts, Baekhyun reaches out to gently rub the back of his head.

“How exactly is sharing a fabric softener gross?” Minseok raises a questioning eyebrow at Baekhyun.

“Maybe, he meant how in love you two are that it’s gross,” Junmyeon quips in in a small voice. The dark-haired male almost appears traumatized but he recovers quickly.

Sehun only realizes how close he’s scooted his chair to Minseok when he puts his arms around the smaller male’s shoulders. He then turns his head to smile at Minseok and gently pokes the older male’s arm when he doesn’t smile back. It looks fake at first but the smile that Minseok gives him next is so blinding and for a second, Sehun believes that they’re really dating, that they’re really in love.

“Cut it, you two.”

Minseok looks away to greet Jongdae who just arrived. Sehun turns to greet the brunet as well and returns his high-five. Jongdae then takes a seat next to Junmyeon, giving a kiss to his cheek once he’s seated. Sehun looks around the table, at Chanyeol who makes gagging noise at the constant exposure to PDAs, at Baekhyun who’s busy waving Kyungsoo and Jongin over and then lastly at Minseok who’s quick to be engaged in a seemingly important conversation about work with Junmyeon and Jongdae.

-

The crowd cheers when Jongin slides across the concrete in one fluid movement, lifting his body as if he weights a feather and then the cheers get louder and crazier when the dancer does some ballet turns that Sehun doesn’t remember the name of. He’s pushed to the side by a rowdy group of high school girls which makes him wonder why they’re still around at this hour. He frowns when the girls shout Jongin’s name and looks up to see the smirk on his best friend’s face. Damn Jongin and his fangirls.

Kyungsoo is standing far in the middle of the crowd with a camera, recording Jongin’s performance. Minseok is standing next to Kyungsoo, cheering for Jongin with his small hand gestures instead of his voice like the rest of the crowd but the smile is so wide on the older male’s face. He looks like a proud mother, Sehun thinks as he parts the crowd to get to where Minseok is standing. He chuckles when Minseok jumps in surprise upon his appearance.

“Did you go somewhere?” Minseok brings his gaze around the crowd, probably trying to look where Sehun is coming from.

Sehun shakes his head and pouts. “I was pushed back so far by Jongin’s crazy fangirls.”

He sees Kyungsoo giving him a side-glance but doesn’t say anything and goes back to focus on his recording. The sound of Minseok’s laughter reaches his ears, clear and loud as if they’re not in the middle of a loud, applauding crowd. Sehun finds himself staring, even after Minseok has stopped laughing and the applauds get louder because Jongin has finished his performance. Is there something wrong with him?

“Let’s go,” he hears Kyungsoo say and only then, he looks away.

Minseok and Kyungsoo are ahead of him, walking slowly through the crowd towards a cafe right across the street. Sehun gives the group of high school girls one last look before speed walking to catch up with the two older males. Jongin is rejoicing all the cheers and applauds he is getting and obviously deserves and it’s amazing how his best friend can stand the ear-deafening screeching noises that his fangirls are making right now.

“That was amazing, Jongin!” Minseok exclaims and Sehun turns his head to see Jongin approaching their table. It’s hidden from prying eyes and of course, his crazy fangirls.

“Thanks, hyung,” the dancer beams as he flops down onto the empty seat next to Kyungsoo.

The street performance marks the end of finals week and Jongin is going to be free and welcoming the winter break though his marks have yet to be revealed but it’s been such an accomplishing week for Jongin. Sehun nods in acknowledgement when he meets his best friend’s eyes but then a mischievous smile splits across his face.

“Well, shouldn’t we celebrate?” 

Jongin pretends he didn’t hear him. This bastard.

Kyungsoo looks up from the camera, “Too bad the others didn’t make it.”

Chanyeol and Baekhyun have practice for finals. Being in an art performing major sure is tough. Junmyeon had an overtime and Jongdae, being a good (dramatic) boyfriend that he is, can’t leave Junmyeon alone while he’s having fun with friends. Sehun sent a sticker of a character rolling her eyes to the group chat after Jongdae told them exactly that. The group chat is as alive as ever with Chanyeol and Baekhyun continuously spamming Jongin with congratulatory messages and a bunch of matching set of puppy stickers (now who’s gross?)

It’s Sehun’s turn to ask to the group chat but everyone somehow still has the same answer (You and Minseok hyung!)

Minseok looks up from his phone at the same time he turns to look at the smaller male. Sehun can’t help but smile when he sees the smile blooming on Minseok’s face and then they easily break into a fit of laughter. Ah, it feels nice, Sehun thinks. Somehow Sehun’s heart feels at ease to be able to laugh with the older male like this without having to worried about being awkward because they’re in this together.

Thirty minutes later, they’re leaving the café to head to a street food stall that serves alcohol after making sure that the recording is good enough for Jongin to submitㅡwhich the dancer doesn’t even doubt that it'll turn out goodㅡbut Kyungsoo insisted for him to watch the whole thing to make sure. Minseok watched the recording together and gave comments about how good Jongin was every five seconds which made Sehun quipped in with his own statement of how he’s also pretty good at dancing.

It’s true, though. He just doesn’t have time to practice.

“Yes, it’s true,” Jongin agrees then smirks, “But I’m still better than him.”

Sehun throws a paper cup at his best friend who’s doubling over with laughter. He’s embarrassed for some reason when he shouldn’t be, really. Minseok has probably heard about how he accidentally left the zip of his jeans open throughout the entire lecture, or how he accidentally leaked his browser history in front of the class during a presentationㅡand there’s nothing more embarrassing than those two that happened to him. But maybe he feels his pride hurt more than embarrassment.

“I’d love to see Sehun dance.”

Seeing how Minseok looks genuinely interested makes Sehun starts considering the idea of actually coming to practice again but it’s winter break soon and the club activities are usually put to a halt so he needs to find a studio that opens a lesson during the winter break. It’s really been a long while and Sehun doesn’t know if he can fit two hours of practice into his already packed schedules especially when the new semester starts.

“If you ask him, he won’t refuse, hyung.”

Sehun nods in agreement at what Jongin has just said. “But you can’t ask me to dance right here and then,” he turns to Minseok with a playful grin. “How about a kiss? I’ll surely grant it now if you-”

“How about you learn to shut up?” Jongin snaps.

Kyungsoo hides his smile behind the paper cup before drinking the soju in one shot.

There’s a faint flush on Minseok’s cheeks, either from what he said or because of the alcohol but that’s now what important right now because the smaller male returns his gaze with so much excitement that he starts to suspect the possibility of him being drunk.

“Then kiss me?” Minseok giggles.

Sehun is only aware of the paper cup crushed in his hand after Minseok turns back to Jongin and Kyungsoo to ask them to fill his own empty paper cup. He can’t bring himself to look away. There’s this tiny part of Sehun that hopes it’s a part of the prank because he doesn’t know how to react otherwise although he knows that it’s a joke. Minseok’s ears are red and his cheeks are flushed, so he’s most likely drunk (it’s even better?) but then a mild realization sets the alarms inside his head blaring—

He will really do anything Minseok asks of him.

 

---

 

The end of his last relationship dated back to when Minseok was in his third year of college. It was fun—thrilling, but both lost interest too quickly, using senior year as an excuse to avoid the promises they had made together back in highschool. They meant nothing more than empty promises to Minseok and he knows that it had always been since the beginning. As cliché as it sounds, Minseok didn’t get to lose his ity beforeㅡhe was busy, busier than he had ever been in his life. It was bound to happen, neither of them could help it that they were in their senior year.

Minseok just doesn’t expect that it’s going to happen again with Sehun.

In the past, it was him who lost interest first and ended up leaving. He doesn’t know if he’ll ever be ready to get dumped the way he did his ex years ago. With Sehun, It’s not even real. It’s a prank so it’s fake and that doesn’t make Minseok have the right to compare it to how things work in real relationships. But it doesn’t stop Minseok from having his blood boiling over the fact that Sehun apparently has been ignoring him. For what, he doesn’t know but he’ll find out soon, he thinks as he takes a deep breath and presses the bell at Sehun’s apartment door.

Minseok stares blankly at the dark wooden door that looks identical to his own, wondering how he ends up like this—confused and angry because of a kid, no matter how good he is at making coffee. There is something wrong because he doesn’t usually treat Minseok like this. Not that he expects to be treated in some way but at least he has the right to know why, in order to solve whatever it is they’re having now. It infuriates Minseok even more that Sehun doesn’t want to address the problem and acts like he’s doing everything but ignoring Minseok, so their friends obviously have no damn idea about it.

“Minseok hyung?”

Minseok is back to his senses when a voice comes out of the intercom.

“Jongin?” he stares at the intercom in disbelief as if it’s the poor device’s fault that Jongin’s voice is the one that comes out instead of Sehun’s. “Where’s Sehun?”

“Get in first,” Jongin suggests.

The door is unlocked with a cheerful beep, contrary to how Minseok is feeling right now. It opens slowly to reveal Jongin with a surprisingly confused look on his face, not fear, like he has expected. It seems like the kid has been there for quite some time, judging by the wrinkles in his tee and the fact that he’s wearing a plain white tee itself when it’s really cold outside. Minseok rushes inside, not bothering to wait for Jongin to close the door. He takes a seat on the couch and crosses his arms over his chest. He doesn’t care if he looks like a kid (the irony) sulking.

“Should I call him?”

Minseok glares at Jongin. “Of course. He doesn’t pick up my calls.”

“Okay,” Jongin stutters.

The boy then proceeds to take his phone and makes a call to Sehun. He picks up on the first ring, Minseok angrily notes. Jongin glances at Minseok before whispering into the receiver. Then, before Minseok can register anything, Jongin ends the call.

“He’s in the studio.” Jongin’s eyes soften when he turns his head towards him to tell him the new piece of information he’s just received from his best friend.

“Studio? What studio?”

“You didn’t know? He’s taking a dance lesson.”

It’s new to Minseok.

“No? Sehun didn’t say anything about taking a dance lesson.”

-

Jongin puts a cup of coffee on the table, contemplating to join him but when Minseok looks up, the dancer is gone to the staff room and re-appears a few moments later apron less, revealing the perfect proportion of his body. He then takes a seat in the chair across from Minseok and that’s when he notices that the cafe is pretty much empty, save for one customer at the counter, buying a takeaway box of pastry.

There’s a troubled look on Jongin’s face as he gives Minseok a long, contemplating look. It has something to do with Sehun and it’s been making Jongin uneasy. He’s been making Jongin uneasy.

“Hyung, I-” A pause. Jongin takes a deep breath. “Are you okay?”

Minseok sighs ruefully, feeling as though the question confirms that he's been feeling the opposite. “I’m fine, Jongin.”

Minseok has been in the company of the younger man enough to notice when there’s something Jongin is hiding from him. He can’t lie, at least not to his face. And Jongin knows that Minseok knows so he’s sitting in front of him, rubbing the back of his neck like the apron strap left a strange tight feeling to his neck.

“Have you still not heard from Sehun?”

“Nothing,” Minseok tries to answer casually.

He has decided to stop caring and mind his own business, mostly because he has works to do and it has to be finished before the Christmas party and the company dinner. He’s never been so happy to be doing load of works and it’s beginning to freak him out a little. He even thinks of going to Author Park’s house himself and free Yixing of the work.

“Would you mind if I ask?”

Minseok shakes his head and gives him a soft smile when Jongin looks tense.

“Is it real?”

“You know damn well it’s not, Jongin."

It stuns Jongin into a silence. He doesn’t look surprised, probably even anticipated it but the expression on his face tells Minseok that it’s so much worse to hear it from him. What inside Jongin’s mind is beyond him and Minseok doesn’t want to find out.

“I’m sorry.”

Minseok raises a brow. “Why would you?”

“You’ve caught feelings."

The statement is pretty much like a sting to his chest. It’s true but it’s not quite like that. It’s the gruesome feelings that he can’t explain, choking him, heavy in his heart. Their friendship.

“You don’t tell anyone about this, Jongin.”

Jongin’s eyes are gleaming with tears. “But-”

“We’ll end it as cleanly as we started it.”

And it’s what he’s decided over the course of the weeks of going to work, café, lunch and dinner alone with only the company of their friends in the group chat and occasionally, Yixing. If there’s one thing that he’s surely learned, it’s not to be dependent.

-

As much as Minseok tries not to appear like a whiny and needy boyfriend, he can’t. He's even more concerned and angry at the fact that it’s not a part of the prank.

Minseok has no choice but to let work occupying his mind most of the time in the upcoming weeks that he thinks he won't have the time to be sad over trivial things such as relationships, especially a fake one. Minseok stops texting Sehun altogether, thinking that way the younger man can't possibly let him down if they don't interact. He has work to do and he's not going to risk his career.

“This week?”

“Yeah,” Yixing says coming in with a stack of paper.

“What is that?” Minseok eyes it in horror.

“From the manhwa department.”

“Why do you have that?”

“Kris needs some help.”

Minseok stares at his co-worker in disbelief. “He knows you’re no longer in the manhwa department, right?”

“Of course,” the dimpled man sighs as he places the stack on his table then sits on his chair with a flop. “But he also knows I used to work in the manhwa department.”

“You already have enough work as it is.” Minseok rolls his eyes then turns back to his report.

“I need to help a friend in need.”

Minseok pauses to look back at Yixing. “Then can you please help me?”

It looks like a switch has been flipped inside Yixing’s head. The man pays attention to him like the stack of paper on the table doesn’t exist.

Minseok hesitates for a moment, “You know author Park?”

Yixing nods, “Everyone knows him. Why?”

Minseok finds himself hesitating even more, “Well, I have to give him the manuscript for revision but…”

“But?”

“Look, he’s been making me uncomfortable.” Minseok tries his best to sport a kicked-puppy look.

It might be just his imagination but Yixing looks tense. “I’ll deliver it to him.”

Author Park is a middle-aged man who is obviously very great with his words. He wrote three best-selling novels and is in the process of making another novel. Everyone has their expectations set high for his next book but no one knows what happened to him. The novel he’s currently working on seems off and it’s not just Minseok who feels that way. The peer review doesn’t look good and things aren’t looking up, the manuscript has more flaws than strength. It’s strange how the style seems different, too but it’s there, the old Author Park.

His latest novel was published three years ago and Minseok read it along with the two older ones. Being able to meet the Author was a pleasure but Minseok doesn’t like the way the old man looks at him. It’s still making him uncomfortable, even now. He even personally asked Minseok to come to his house to retrieve the manuscript several times but nothing happened, thankfully. Nobody knows until he decides to tell Yixing about it.

“Let’s just hope he won’t be able to make it to the Christmas party this week.” Yixing leans back in his chair, looking serious.

“So, you were talking about the Christmas party?”

“Yeah.” Yixing then pulls something out of his drawer and tosses them to Minseok’s table.

Two invitation cards. Wait- Two?

“Everyone got two,” Yixing says holding up the red invitation card when Minseok turns to him.

“How cruel can the universe be?” Minseok mourns.

“Do you have a fight with that kid or something?”

Yixing knows about Sehun but the man doesn’t know about the prank. Minseok didn’t get to tell him. He didn’t need to tell Yixing the truth because it would make no difference.

“I don’t know.” Minseok leans back in his chair just like Yixing did a few moment ago.

“Ask him to go with you,” Yixing tells him softly. “Take this as the chance to kiss and make up.”

Minseok’s heart skips a beat. He must be flushing red to the tip of his ears but he tries to stay calm. As expected, it still feels weird talking about Sehun with someone else. “Well,” he whispers, glancing at his phone on the table. “I don’t know.” Minseok shakes off the thoughts about Sehun and turns to Yixing. “How about you?”

Minseok always likes it when Yixing smiles, showing his dimple. Then, the man laughs but there’s a hint of bitterness in his voice when he says,

“I have no luck with love, this year too.”

-

It’s getting really cold and Minseok is wondering when the first snow will fall. Will it be when he’s together with Sehun? It would be nice if it-

“Oh? First snow!”

Minseok rises his gaze to see Yixing looking out the window excitedly. It reminds him of the kids around his neighbourhood back in Guri. It brings a smile to his face and surprisingly, he feels more excited than disappointed. The moment is too precious to miss so he captures it with his camera. Minseok’s finger, however, halts when he realizes he’s sending the pictures to Sehun. He closes the application and locks his phone, letting the pictures be sent without expecting any response from his boyfriend in return. 

“What’s wrong? You don’t look so good.” Yixing gives him a side-glance, noticing the slight change in his mood.

Minseok shakes his head. “I need caffeine.”

Yixing chuckles. “We’re almost there.”

“His shift has ended?” Minseok asks the barista across the counter.

Kyungsoo nods quietly.

Minseok looks at the clock on his phone and counts the date. Sehun should be on the second shift but Kyungsoo told him the younger man exchanged without notice and just left before he could ask him. What could be so important that he left in such a haste?

He leaves the counter with a quiet ‘thanks’ to Kyungsoo and goes back to the table where Yixing is waiting. He sits and takes a sip of his coffee in silence, finding that he isn’t enjoying it at all.

-

“You’re here early.”

The side-glance doesn’t go unnoticed. That’s the only reaction he got from Kyungsoo so far in the presence of Yixing. Minseok doesn’t need to tell Kyungsoo his order and the owl-eyed male turns to Yixing beside him with a warm smile, which, Minseok is thankful for. “What would you like to get—”

“Yixing.” the dimpled man quickly catches up.

Kyungsoo muses. “Yixing?”

“One hot cappuccino, please.” says Yixing then goes to get them a table.

It’s when he’s completely out of earshot that Kyungsoo turns to look at him with a questioning look. He seems unusually curious.

“A co-worker.”

Yixing is, in fact, more than a co-worker. He's a close friend, a really helpful one at that. He sacrifices his day off to give Minseok a ride to Gyeongju where Author Park lives to give him the manuscript and the Christmas party invitation. He’s decided to come along despite asking for Yixing’s help to deliver it.

It takes a four-hours ride to get to the author’s house. The change of scenery feels nice and refreshing. There’s almost no sky-high building, only vast land of green, now white because of the snow. Minseok re-does the scarf around his neck as he begins walking to the front door of a house with scraped white paint. He knows it’s not the author’s main house and that he’s only here to get himself some tranquility in order to produce a more decent writing.

Minseok looks behind his back at Yixing inside the car once more before knocking on the wooden door, clutching the manila envelope in his hands as he waits for the author to open the door. He’s just going to hand it to him then excuses himself but apparently the middle-aged man doesn’t plan to let Minseok go that quickly. The warm air that gushes out when the man opens the door doesn’t make Minseok want to stay longer, neither does his invitation for tea.

"So, how’s it?” comes the author’s soft voice. “Have you considered my offer yet?” There’s a smile on the author’s face.

Minseok bites down on his lower lip nervously. “No, I haven’t,” he chooses to be honest.

 

He can see author Park’s face changes; the smile disappears as if it was never there. Minseok feels a spark of fear down his spine when the man reaches out to clutch the scarf around his neck. It’s the first time Minseok’s seen him this angry and he knows then what he’s gotten himself into. Of course, he would ask for Minseok’s loyalty.

“Is everything okay here?”

Minseok opens his eyes to find Yixing standing next to him with an innocent smile directed at author Park who clears his throat, releasing his grip on Minseok’s scarf. He stumbles a few steps backwards but Yixing reaches out to put his hand on his back so he doesn’t fall off to the ground. Minseok looks up at Yixing with a grateful nod before straightening himself.

“Yixing, you came?

“It’s been a long time, author Park.”

Minseok watches the two men hug. He tugs at Yixing’s shirt.

“Ah,” Yixing acts as if he just remembers something. “We have to go. The director wants us back as soon as possible,” he smiles, all dimple.

Author Park nods then laughs. “Of course,” then he turns to Minseok with a smile but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Then, we’ll take our leave.” Minseok says quietly.

He turns around without waiting for the man’s response and starts walking towards the car and gets inside. Yixing seems to feel more obliged to exchange friendly goodbyes to the author, he waits the excruciating moment out and heaves a sigh of relief when Yixing is finally done.

“He said thanks.” Yixing tells him once he’s inside the car.

Minseok puts his face in his palms. “I doubt he’d be thanking me if he knew what’s inside.”

-

It’s dark by the time they arrive at the city. Yixing insists to take him home and Minseok doesn’t have a room to argue with his friend when it comes to this matter anyway. Sehun is probably still doing his best to avoid him so he feels like it would be a waste of time to go to the café to see if he’s working the second shift. He’s exhausted from the car ride and it’s not worth getting stressful over—at least that’s what his rational tells him (his heart says otherwise).

“Do you want to stay for dinner?” Minseok asks, closing the car door.

“Sure.”

He leads the way to the apartment building as Yixing follows closely behind. Minseok finds it difficult to relax and unwind even when he knows author Park is far away from where he lives now but he tries to forget the fear he felt at that moment. It’s still not too late for dinner but strangely, he finds himself exhausted but not starving like he thought he would be after four hours of car ride but he thinks he won’t resist a cup of hot coffee. When Minseok is finally aware of his surrounding, Yixing is looking at him with a soft smile on his face.

“You’ve been awfully quiet.”

Minseok stutters. “There’s a lot in my mind.”

“Don’t tell me it’s about work.”

It’s not but Minseok nods and grins when Yixing rolls his eyes.

Before the dimpled male can say anything about it, the elevator dings to a stop. Minseok steps outside as soon as the metal doors slide open with Yixing close behind him. There’s rarely ever a person who chooses to hang out in the hallways so the man slumped in the middle of the hallway alerts not only him but also Yixing who keeps a watchful gaze at the slumped figure. They have to go through that man to get to Minseok’s door and as they approach him, Minseok feels familiar with the figure.

“Minseok-”

He stops just in front of the man, Sehun.

“Do you know him? Is he your friend?” Yixing asks, stopping next to him.

Sehun looks pale, even paler than usual. His clothes are in a disorientated state but it doesn’t seem like he’s been outside for a long time, fortunately. Minseok nods then he crouches down slightly so he can take Sehun’s reached out hand. It’s freezing, Minseok thinks urgently and like a switch has been flipped, he starts panicking. He pulls Sehun up into a sitting position and let him lean against the wall then Minseok puts the back of his hand on the younger male’s forehead. It’s burning, Minseok’s mind supplies uselessly.

“Yixing, can you help me get him inside?”

“Of course,” Yixing says and begins quietly hoisting Sehun up.

Minseok walks over to the other side and put Sehun’s arm over his shoulder.

They get inside safely and Minseok doesn’t have time to dread the fact that he still has Sehun’s passcodes memorized. Yixing doesn’t ask any more question, he just smiles at Minseok and says, “I can get a takeaway. Do you think I can’t feed myself?”

Minseok’s heart squeezes. “Of course, you can.”

That earns him a laughter and a ruffle on his hair.

“Thank you for today, Yixing,” Minseok says as he opens the front door for Yixing. He watches him step out of the door and waves his hand. “See you at the party.”

-

There’s a lump in his throat when he sees Sehun sitting on the couch in the living room, his figure slouched wearily like he hasn’t seen bed in days but can’t seem to close his eyes and sleep. Minseok sighs, walking over to make Sehun lay down on his back.

“Where’s your first aid box?”

A hand stops him before he can do so much as taking a step forward. Minseok looks down at his wrist.

“Your friend?”

He gives Sehun a long, disbelieving look then goes to sit on the floor, facing Sehun who’s laying on his side on the couch now.

“Why don’t you tell me where you have been all this time first?” he didn’t intend to make it sound so spiteful but Minseok doesn’t care at the moment.

“Alright, I’m sorry, hyung.” Sehun smiles jadedly then Minseok later realizes he’s still holding his wrist.

“I don’t need an apology, Sehun,” he can feel the caress of Sehun’s thumb on his wrist and then his palm is warm, Sehun is holding his hand.

“I signed up for a dance class,” he begins, still with closed eyes, thinking he can feel Minseok’s presence better if he closes his eyes. “But they like me so they made me work as an instructor assistant,” Sehun opens his eyes and their eyes meet. “I became so busy…”

“In the matter of weeks?” Minseok frowns. “Are you sure you weren’t just avoiding me?”

Sehun coughs out a nervous laugh. “I’m sorry for that too.”

“At least try to deny it,” Minseok mumbles and looks away.

For a long moment, they let silence coming over them. Minseok starts noticing small things like how Sehun’s hoodies are draped all over the place. The younger male still doesn’t let go of his hand. He almost thought Sehun is falling asleep on him if it weren’t for the thumb continuously rubbing small circles over the back of Minseok’s hand. It’s getting warmer inside Minseok’s chest and he hates himself for enjoying the moment a little bit too much like Sehun didn’t just admit he was avoiding him. Minseok snaps out of it then withdraws his hand.

“If you don’t—”

“I still want to do this.” Sehun slowly opens his eyes. It’s harder now to look away when they’re on the same level and Sehun is looking at him straight in the eyes.

Minseok narrows his eyes, “Are you sure?”

“We can’t let them know yet.”

Oh, right, this is a prank.

“Okay.” Minseok says unsurely.

“So, who’s the dimpled guy?”

Rolling his eyes, Minseok gets up from his position on the floor to stalk off towards the door and leaves Sehun alone in his misery.

-

Minseok looks down at the two red cards in his hands and then at the dark wooden door in front of him. It’s really cold and Minseok wants nothing more than getting under his blanket instead of standing around in front of some kid’s apartment. His mind keeps flashing back to when he left Sehun off last night, alone and with a running fever.

He didn’t die, did he?

“Why? Did you guys have a fight or something?” Junmyeon is leaning against the wall behind him, when Minseok turns around. He notices a plastic bag in his hand and thinks it must be for Sehun. “You’ve been suspiciously quiet,” Junmyeon added.

 

“I… haven’t been able to check the group chat.”

Junmyeon pushes himself off the wall to approach him, ing the plastic bag towards him. “Porridge.”

Minseok peeks inside the bag, “How did you know?”

“He told us in the group chat last night that you left him off to die.”

“I’m going to kill him.”

What else did he tell everyone last night? Minseok was too exhausted to catch up but maybe, he just doesn’t want to see Sehun’s response to the picture of snow that he sent him. It pricks his curiosity but he never expected anything at all so why does he feel disappointed to find that Sehun didn’t even bother to reply and left him on read?

“Oh, Minseok hyung is here.” Jongin looks so happy to see him while Kyungsoo just gives him a little wave of his hand. Minseok feels himself smiling too and goes over to put the porridge on the table.

Junmyeon is already on his way to get a spoon in the kitchen. Looks like he doesn’t even have to worry.

“Now, get going.” Sehun appears from his bedroom, still in the same tracksuit from last night and Minseok immediately feels guilty about leaving him alone. The color is back to his face, although he still looks a bit pale but he doesn’t look like he’s dying which is a relief.

“Is this how you show your gratefulness?” Jongin frowns but stands up to collect his stuff anyway.

Kyungsoo looks at him and Sehun interchangeably, “Can’t wait to have some private time?”

“What are you talking about? Junmyeon is here.”

That only earns him a heart-shaped smile and Minseok is always so soft for that smile.

“You said you have to open up for the day.”

Minseok only watches as Sehun makes to shoo Jongin away and the other pretends to kick his . They look so young, Minseok feels so old when there are only four years apart.

“Thank you for taking care of Sehun,” Minseok says, and Kyungsoo puts a hand on his shoulder before nodding, then he goes to where Jongin and Sehun are still bickering about something insignificant.

It’s silent when the three of them are gone out the door and Minseok doesn’t know what to do.

“Make sure he takes his medicine.” Junmyeon puts a glass of water, a spoon and acetaminophen on the table.

Minseok watches silently, feeling so useless.

“I have to go,” then Junmyeon tells him seriously, “Whatever the problem is, I know you guys can sort it out.”

With that, Junmyeon leaves.

- 

Sometimes Minseok finds himself wondering if in the end, they will never find out that it’s a prank and everything will be back to normal if they just keep pretending until the end and act like it was real and they’re going to tell them that the break-up was real too. Will he ever be able to do it? He feels like it’s too late to call everything off and it’s not like there’s a deal in the first place. He doesn’t know how long it will last and it’s killing him because he seems to have no control over it at all.

Minseok is too distracted to hear the front door opening and closing.

“What’s that?”

And Sehun apparently saw him pocketing the invitation cards.

“Nothing,” Minseok shakes his head. “Eat your breakfast.”

Please let it go

It’s a bad idea to think he should ask Sehun to go with him, Minseok thinks as he prepares the porridge. He can feel Sehun’s eyes on him the entire time but it’s weird how he stays quiet. The air is tense and Minseok finds himself anxiously anticipating Sehun’s anger.

“Do you want to be here?”

Minseok looks up, he realizes he’s been fiddling with his fingers so hard that they turn red.

“You look like you don’t want to be here.”

“It’s not like that!”

Sehun puts the spoon down. “Look, hyung, I’m not holding you back.”

“That’s not what you said last night, Sehun.” Minseok couldn’t stop himself.

“I won’t do something you don’t like,” the words come out so weak and quiet like he means it. Sehun means every word he said, Minseok knows it’s true.

“It is something I don’t like.”

When he looks at Sehun who’s looking at him with an unreadable expression, Minseok suddenly remembers what Yixing said. I have no luck with love, this year too.

“Really? Why did you only tell me now?”

Really. Why? It’s the first time Minseok has ran out of things to say. The answer is something that he can’t tell to Sehun. Will telling him change anything? Minseok won’t probably see the younger male again after this.

“Because I’m—”

The doorbell rings and then there’s a voice coming from the intercom, a very cute and pretty voice of a girl.

“Sehun, it’s me!”

 

---

 

“Sehun, it’s me!”

Great, Sehun thinks.

The sudden movement he makes to stand up reminds him that he’s not in a great condition. The fever may have gone down a little bit but the dizziness is still there. It was already embarrassing enough to collapse in the hallway, he had to appear weak in front of Minseok and the dimpled guy. Sehun makes a mental note to at least make an effort to get inside first before collapsing next time he gets sick.

From the corner of his eyes, he sees Minseok getting ready to leave. “Are you leaving? Already?”

Sehun’s heart gives a squeeze when Minseok smiles at him. “You said you’re not holding me back.”

Then it breaks.

“Oh…” Sehun feels his head clearing.

“Also,” Minseok pushes him down to sit on the couch. “Finish your breakfast. I’ll get the door on my way out.”

“Thanks, hyung.” Sehun mumbles quietly, finding it hard to look meet Minseok’s eyes.

“Take care, Sehun.”

This feels like a goodbye.

There are noises at the door but Sehun can only make some of them out.

“Yes, Sehun is inside.”

And he finds that, Minseok had sound so distant even if he was sitting close to him just a few moments ago.

“What is this? Are you well?”

The girl looking around the apartment is Jiyeon. She’s the owner of the studio and also a good friend of the instructor, Youngjae. Sehun has made a really good friends of her but to think she came alone without Youngjae makes it a bit awkward.

“Were you not expecting my visit?” she asks laughingly then comes over when Sehun nods towards the seat available in the room which is on the sofa, next to him.

She takes a seat.

“I’m sorry my apartment is really messy.” Sehun puts a spoonful of porridge inside his mouth and tastes nothing.

“Here, take this.” Jiyeon makes a space on the table to put a paper bag. “Samgyetang and a herbal drink.”

Sehun bows his head and accepts it gratefully.

“Youngjae insisted on giving you the herbal drink.”

“But why isn’t he coming with you?”

“He has a class. It’s the last one before Christmas break.”

He really gets sick at such a wrong time.

“I’m sorry.”

Jiyeon looks surprised. “Hey, who would have predicted that you’ll get sick?”

“You’re right,” Sehun says with a smile. “Not only because of that, I’m quitting.”

“I know.”

It’s Sehun’s turn to be surprised.

“I was wondering why you signed up for a class when you’re already so good.”

He doesn’t remember the last time he took dancing seriously, everything he did with Jongin back in highschool was just for fun. They used to fool around a lot because they think they were born with natural talents. While it might be true, Sehun never really found a reason to dance…until recently.

“Tell Youngjae hyung I said thanks.”

“What the heck? Are you saying goodbye?”

Goodbye. This one doesn’t feel like one to him, though.

Sehun only laughs.

“You can come back anytime.”

“Thanks, nuna.”

- 

It was a short visit. Jiyeon excused herself even before Sehun got to offer something to drink. It was as if she saw how troubled he is and it makes Sehun feel bad to chase her away like that.

“Who’s the guy leaving your apartment just now? He’s really pretty!”

Jiyeon looked like she just remembered about it and decided to ask, innocently enough.

“My boyfriend,” Sehun answered with a grin.

Jiyeon stumbled into her shoes, flushing to the tip of her ears. “Did I interrupt something?”

Sehun shook his head, amused. “No, you didn’t.”

He closes his eyes as the warm water hits his back and tilts his head to let it soak his hair. He might still have the fever but he doesn’t like the sticky feeling of hours without shower. The water might be too hot for him too but Sehun doesn’t do anything about it, he’ll be cold once he steps out of the shower anyway.

Why did he say that? Why did he tell Jiyeon that Minseok is his boyfriend? Was it because he wanted to choose the fastest way to escape? Minseok wouldn’t appreciate it at all if he found out. Should he go and apologize before it happens?

Sehun snorts out a laugh and pulls the hoodie over his head.

He’s going out.

-

“Wait, why are you here?”

He’s stunned into silence by Minseok’s appearance. The smaller male is wearing grey three-piece suit and it’s the first time Sehun has seen him in formal attire. Minseok has his hair down, the fringe makes him look younger than his age (when did it get so long?). Sehun’s gaze moves to Minseok’s lips and gulps, an inappropriate thought crossing his mind. Before he can do anything, though, he applauds himself for getting a hold of his desire and looks away from those lips.

“Can I come in first?”

“No.”

Sehun barges into the apartment despite Minseok’s loud protests.

“What do you want?”

He tries to shake off the feeling of familiarity of being in Minseok’s apartment but he doesn’t even bother to deny that he missed the comfort Minseok’s apartment gives him.

“Are you going somewhere?” he can’t help but let out a chuckle when he sees the vacuum at the corner of the room.

“Yes, and it’s none of your business,” says Minseok, sounding flustered.

“Did you want me to go with you?” Sehun decides to take a seat even when Minseok hasn’t given him the permission to. It’s amusing to see the expression on the older male’s face. “That’s why you came over this morning?” he pushes again, seriously this time.

When Minseok doesn’t answer, Sehun heaves a sigh.

“I’ll go with you.”

Minseok opens his mouth but closes it again and Sehun smiles. He uses the chance to grab Minseok’s hand and pull him along out the door, to his own apartment.

“Let me get dressed.”

“But why should I-” Minseok sputters.

“In case you decide to leave me again.”

But before they even reach Sehun’s door, his vision darkens, halting their steps. He can feel Minseok soft movement to his side and then a gentle hand on his back. There’s a cold little palm on his forehead before Sehun can turn away. He looks down and reaches out to lean against the wall, everything around him is spinning.

“Do you really think you can drive in this condition?”

“No,” Sehun pants. He starts breaking into cold sweats. “But I want-”

“You idiot,” that shuts him up.

Sehun doesn’t look up to hide his smile. He wants to listen to what Minseok has to say next.

“It’s your own fault. What’s so important about a dance lesson anyway,” Minseok mumbles the last part and Sehun can’t help the chuckle rumbling in his chest.

“What’s so funny? Let’s get you back to-”

“Your room,” Sehun straightens himself up. “Since it’s closer to walk to your room, hyung.”

He watches as Minseok turns around and walks ahead, mouthing, “Big idiot.”

 

---

 

Chanyeol and Jongdae are arguing on the group chat about using Junmyeon’s place for the new year party. Jongdae doesn’t seem to agree because they’ve always gathered at Junmyeon’s place for nearly any occasion except Chuseok. He decides to close the group chat and get on to the browser. Frowning down at his screen, Minseok scrolls past an ad that directs him to an article about 10 Signs that Your Relationship is Declining. He just wants to look up for Christmas gift ideas peacefully but with these annoying ads and suggestions about relationship popping up out of nowhere, Minseok can’t have it.

A declining relationship? Minseok isn’t even in one right now.

“Ever think about how your FBI agent just wants to comfort you?”

Minseok is hoping Kris wasn’t serious but the look on his face is as serious as ever. He never got to know what kind of person Kris is but he thinks he doesn’t want to find out. He gives off an unapproachable aura whenever he sees him around the editorial floor and the tall guy only ever greets Yixing anyway. He’s heard a thing or two about him and one of them says Kris is a pretty weird guy but Minseok doesn’t know he’s this weird and quite eccentric.

Kris adjusts the animal prints scarf around his neck, continue sipping on Yixing’s hot cocoa.

Minseok just stares.

“Is it here?” Yixing asks from the driver seat.

It’s either Yixing is immune to his friend’s oddness or he failed to hear what Kris has just said to him. But Minseok pays it no mind as he leans forward to tell Yixing that it’s the right hotel.

The party went by uneventfully, mostly because Minseok’s mind was somewhere else the entire time. Other than having to endure being together with Yixing and Kris, there was nothing else that happened until author Park was spotted in the crowd and the director had to call him over to join the conversation. He was so relieved that the director didn’t leave them alone and Yixing was there too, as quick-witted as ever.

In the end, author Park didn’t say or do anything that made Minseok uncomfortable though he still feels that way nonetheless. The man thanked him and the director and decided to take an indefinite hiatus from writing since his last manuscript got rejected. During the dinner between the editors, though, the director was present just to tell Minseok that he knows everything about author Park’s best-selling novels. Somehow, he found out the truth about Minseok being the original writer of the novels.

Was it Yixing? He never said anything to Yixing, as far as he remembers. It was just between him and author Park. Minseok wondered why he had to feel bad about everything but he feels relieved at the same time that he’ll possibly never see the author again in the future.

He has a stable career as an editor in a big publishing company now.

“Are you going to quit?” Kris looks at him over his shot glass.

Minseok laughs. “Impossible. Why do you think I chose this career?”

“How’s the manhwa department?”

They’re the only one left on the table with some of Minseok’s co-workers who also don’t bring someone with them. The director has excused himself and half of the department has gone back to have a date with their partners. Minseok tips back another shot as he tries to listen to Kris telling something about a female co-worker who’s a fan of BL manhwa but it’s futile. It’s almost midnight and Sehun is still in his apartment (probably?) and Minseok kinda wants to see him. He rummages his pocket to open a notification which turns out to be a newly posted online article about a relationship yet again.

“FBI agent, huh?”

-

The walk back into the apartment building is cold, making him want more alcohol in his system. A wave of fatigue washes over him so he leans against the metallic wall of the elevator. It’s so tiring to just think but he can’t get his mind off things.

Minseok didn’t hear the beep of his automatic door when he opened it. He puts his shoes back in the rack and pads over the heated floor quietly into the living room to find Sehun sleeping on his couch, his breathing relaxed. What is this constricting feeling in his chest?

“Hyung?”

Ah.

Minseok jolts and hurriedly goes to hang his coat. “How are you feeling?” he says. He doesn’t notice that Sehun has gotten up from the couch to flip the lights on.

“Better,” a voice so close behind him says.

Minseok turns around. “Really? That’s good,” he tries to sound casual.

“What?” Minseok says nervously when Sehun keeps staring at him without a word.

“I just got to see you again properly after weeks.”

Minseok feels a little tipsy but not drunk enough to miss the longing in Sehun’s eyes. The alcohol never makes him drunk enough to pass out and sometimes he wishes he wasn’t such a good drinker.

“Let’s see if your fever has gone down!”

Sehun grabs Minseok’s hand to put it on his forehead. “I’ve had plenty of rest.”

“That doesn’t mean you won’t pass out again.”

“Do you want to see me dance?” suddenly.

Minseok flushes and Sehun must have noticed it.

“Or do you want something else instead?”

It’s not hard to imagine Sehun’s mischievous grin as he runs towards his bedroom to take a bath and change into more comfortable clothes. He lets the warm water soak his hair and after a while, wondering why it doesn’t wash his thoughts down the drain.

 

At last, Minseok can feel his muscles relaxed and he’s totally sobered up now.

Sehun is sitting on the couch, scrolling on his phone when Minseok goes out of his room. The younger looks up upon noticing the soft sound of his footsteps. “It’s been decided.”

Minseok looks at him questioningly.

“The new year party,” Sehun scoots over to give Minseok a space to sit beside him on the couch. “We’re going to have the new year party here,” says Sehun.

“Hey, how come you just decided it among yourselves?”

“You wouldn’t disagree, right?”

Well, that’s true too. But Minseok doesn’t say anything.

The thoughts still linger in Minseok’s mind. Why are they talking so casually? It’s not like they have made up even though Sehun apologized. Or it’s just him who feels this way?

“I quit and I’m probably not going back to be an assistant.”

It’s the first time Minseok properly looking at Sehun’s face. He’s smiling.

“The girl-”

“My instructor’s girlfriend.”

Oh.

“Is it because of me?” Minseok asks before he can stop himself.

“How should I put it…” Sehun looks thoughtful for a moment. “Yes? But it’s not a bad thing, isn’t it? I realized that quitting is also not a bad thing.”

Minseok finds it that he can’t say anything.

“I don’t know when I started to want to do things because of you.”

At Minseok’s silence, Sehun gets up from the couch. It takes a while for Minseok to realize that Sehun is dancing. Even without music, Minseok can see how precise his moves are. It surprises him how he’s so captivated by the slow yet sharp movements. The way Sehun’s tall and lean figure moves has something grand to it yet at the same time, it doesn’t look arrogant.

It’s very different from Jongin.

“Ow!”

Minseok sees the younger clutch his head after a spin and sinks to the floor. He has no time to be worried because Sehun looks up with a smile. “It’s nothing,” says the younger male, lifting himself off the floor to go back to his seat on the couch.

Minseok’s heart is beating so fast. Too fast.

A realization down on him. He has always wanted to see Sehun dance.

“Don’t tell Jongin but I still think he’s better than me.”

“I won’t tell…” Minseok trails off.

Sehun wipes the sweat trickling down his temples. “I feel so relieved that now you’ve seen me dance, hyung.”

“Sehun, why did you do this?”

Huh? Since when are there tears in Minseok’s eyes?

Minseok finds himself asking despite knowing the answer.

There’s a warm hand cupping the side of his face. A thumb caressing his cheek after wiping a stray tear away. Sehun is looking down at him with the gentlest gaze Minseok’s ever seen him use to look at anyone. He’s overwhelmed by the emotions that come with it.

“Hyung, let’s end it here.”

 

 

- 

“Why do I have to carry these too?”

The streetlights are beautiful and it’s been snowing less so people are out celebrating new year with their beloved ones. As for him, Minseok just can’t wait to sit and drink his beer or maybe spend the night snuggled up in bed. But it’s not going to happen when their friends are coming over and some of them probably planning of getting drunk and sleeping over.

“You’re too noisy, Baekhyun,” Minseok presses the button to his apartment floor. “You were the one asking to go with me.”

Baekhyun puffs his cheeks, they’re red from the frostbites.

Minseok is glad that he doesn’t say anything back until they’re at the door. He puts down the groceries bags in his hand to announce his arrival through the intercom. It doesn’t take long before the door is opened by Yixing. The dimpled man laughs when he sees the amount of beer that Minseok bought and Minseok still thinks they’re not enough.

“Let me help with-”

“Oh, hyung, you come in and take a seat.”

Sehun appears suddenly to snatch the groceries bags from Yixing’s hand which confuses the poor guy for a few seconds. Minseok gives Yixing a sympathetic smile before following Sehun inside to prepare for the snacks. Chanyeol comes with the rest of the groceries a few moments later.

“Who’s going to finish two dozen of beer?” the tall brunet sounds out of breath. The look on his face immediately changes, telling him that he’s not amused when Minseok and Sehun point at each other in reply.

“Geez, bring them out. We’re going to start the movie,” the brunet says to Sehun before going back to the living room. They have set it up so that the nine of them can fit comfortably there and just like that, they decide to spend three hours before the countdown watching Infinity War (Chanyeol’s suggestion). Minseok can’t believe they all agreed.

Minseok is opening his fourth can of beer when the movie ends. He blinks and looks around, it’s quiet. Baekhyun and Yixing have fallen asleep on the carpeted floor. Junmyeon and Jongdae are silently enjoying each other’s presence while Kyungsoo is making sure Jongin doesn’t wake up from the smallest movement of his shoulder. Chanyeol is solely awake for the after credits. Minseok turns to Sehun who’s quietly sipping his beer.

“We’re going out,” says Jongdae which startles Minseok.

The guy gives him a suggestive smile. He must’ve caught him staring at Sehun.

“Do you want to go?” he hears Sehun ask.

Minseok shakes his head in reply.

“Then I’m not going either.” Sehun says to Jongdae.

“Oooookay,” Jongdae muses, taking Junmyeon with him out of the living room before the guy can even put on his coat. “Let’s leave these boring people.” he says loudly.

Chanyeol decides to tag along with the pair because he wants to try the street food. Kyungsoo looks a bit tired because he still had work on the 31^st which reminds him that Sehun worked the second shift too. He notices Kyungsoo has been trying to stifle a yawn.

“You and Jongin can sleep in my room if you want, Kyungsoo.”

“Thanks,” says Kyungsoo then he turns to wake Jongin up softly.

Minseok doesn’t get to find out if they really move to sleep in his room because Sehun asks him to go outside to the balcony. Seeing how Sehun is only wearing a shirt, Minseok goes to get his hoodie before joining the younger male outside. They just sit in a comfortable silent while occasionally sipping the beer for a few minutes. It’s cold but Minseok likes the warmth Sehun’s presence is bringing him.

“It’s really cold,” Sehun whines, putting on his hoodie.

Minseok rolls his eyes. “Obviously.”

“Do you want to go back inside?”

“No, I like it here.”

“I’ve been wondering,” says Sehun softly, “Do you know that dimpled guy has been into you for a while now?”

They’re sitting on a small bench, facing each other now. The city is not yet asleep below them but Minseok can’t hear anything over the hammering of his own heart in his ears. He thinks he doesn’t need any more beer now because the warmth in his chest spreads right all over his body. It might be the alcohol too but who knows.

“Yixing?” Minseok glares but then he looks away.

Sehun gasps dramatically. “I can’t believe you didn’t know, hyung.”

“I didn’t even think of getting into a relationship at that time.”

Sehun hums. “How about now?”

Minseok scoots closer towards Sehun.

“Do you need to ask?”

There are butterflies in Minseok’s stomach and it’s definitely not the alcohol when Sehun’s lips are suddenly on his. It’s so sudden that Minseok doesn’t have enough time to register until Sehun pulls away, looking so proud like he has accomplished something. Minseok is at loss of words at how his gaze holds so much love and to think that it’s directed at him.

“Are you jealous of Yixing?” Minseok holds Sehun’s gaze.

“You chose me.”

“Yes,” Minseok replies calmly.

Minseok reaches out to put his palm over Sehun’s chest. He wants to know if Sehun’s heart is beating as hard as his own right at the moment. He wants to know if it’s not just a dream, a pretend. But the hand that grabs his own is determined, warm against cold one. Has Sehun always been this warm? Minseok closes his eyes when Sehun leans down, closer until there’s only Sehun’s scent that fills his head and it starts making him feel dizzy.

He forgets about the cold when Sehun gently pulls him closer and he feels himself losing even deeper in the kiss. Minseok loops his arms around Sehun’s neck, their chest flush but the overwhelming desire to be impossibly closer tugs them closer towards each other. And in the middle of it, the small part in Minseok’s conscious mind tells him going through disappointment at the beginning doesn’t necessarily mean everything have gone wrong.

If anything, he never regretted his decision.

“Minseok hyung, where- wow, okay!”

They pull away slowly and Sehun is the first one to turn his head towards Jongin in the doorway, seemingly annoyed but he doesn’t say anything.

“Do you need anything?” Minseok asks like a good host he is.

Jongin shakes his head, going back inside only when Sehun threatens him with a glare.

“Jongin told me everything.” the younger male says when Jongin has disappeared inside.

It's about him catching feelings. Minseok’s face feels hot.

Sehun explained everything to him that day, the day they ended the prank, about how he was avoiding Minseok because he felt ashamed that he had to drag Minseok into the mess. He also didn’t think he would actually fall for Minseok at some point, that he wouldn’t mind dating Minseok for real. He didn’t believe it at first but Sehun managed to convince him and even though there’s still the tiniest bit of doubt in his heart, Minseok chooses to ignore it.

It was no one’s fault, Minseok learned.

He managed to save their friendship while also developing a romantic relationship with the least unexpected person even though he was sure their friends saw it coming and now that everything is fine, Minseok thinks they don’t need to know about the prank.