Final
Table For One
A/N LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR-
okay I'll drop the ring master act. ^^;; I hope you all had a wonderful New Year and Christmas! I apologize a billion and one times for the lateness of this update but here it is! The final chapter! Yaaay!! Thank you for reading up 'till now~ Your sweet comments are honestly the best ;_; ♥ I'm sorry if there're any grammar/spelling mistakes. I proofread it a few times but it's 1 AM and I'm sure I missed something, and ugh the ending gets a little rushed too, but I hope it satisfies you and please, enjoy~ ^^ On a side note, Yay for slight Banghim! And I'm kind of sort of secretly planning out a Jongup/Zelo/Youngjae side story to this. Is it Jonglo? Is it Younglo? We'll see, hehe. Thank you again, and enjoy the last chater!
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It was more than a few hours later, sun burning through Daehyun's bedroom window and spilling on the two best friends -or whatever their relationship was considered now. Her limbs were still intertwined with his and they were both still deeply asleep considering the tiresome events from the night before.
Only when a loud an obnoxious ringing erupted in the quiet room did the two jolt awake, and she quickly untangled herself from Daehyun as he sat up, apparently not even registering her presence. Still half asleep he looked around through squinted eyes as if he'd never seen his own bedroom before.
"Good mo-" She began quietly, before taking in the bright time on the clock and correcting herself to "afternoon."
Daehyun sleepily swung his head to look at her though it was debatable whether his eyes were actually open since he was squinting so much. The sunlight was too bright for his sleepy state. It was actually really cute, how he sat there all squinty eyed and messy haired and ... sleepy.
In a few moments he fully acknowledged his best friend's appearance and slowly the memories of last night and earlier in the morning crept back to him. He brought his hand to scratch the back of his head -a habit she had gotten used to seeing these days- and then self-consciously tugged his shirt downwards since it had risen up. "Good afternoon."
She smiled up at him a bit shyly, and he couldn't help but worry whether she knew he had harassed her in her sleep. Okay maybe "harassed" was exaggerating. It was just a kiss. And she was sleeping. But wouldn't it still be considered harassment if she didn't want it? And well- did she want it? Did he even want it? Dear god, what was he thinking? What if she pressed charg-
In the few seconds of his mental breakdown he had almost completely forgotten and drowned out the annoying ringing sound, if it weren't for her eyes moving their attention towards the phone on his bedside table.
"Shouldn't you get that?"
Daehyun his dry lips, forgetting about his little mental predicament considering she didn't really seem to know about it to his relief. Finally he turned to the phone, squinting at it.
Call from: Bang Yongguk
He almost immediately tossed it back on the table again, closing his eyes before dropping his head back onto the pillow. He was still tired despite it being 2 in the afternoon.
"At least turn the ringer off if you're going to ignore it." She murmured, eyes shut as well.
Daehyun just grunted, and as if on cue the ringing had stopped to both of their delights.
But before a second could pass to even let the pair decide on falling asleep again, the ringing went off for the second time, just as annoying as the first.
Daehyun kissed his teeth and opened his eyes, a bit flustered when he noticed how close their faces were, and sat up to grab the phone and bring it to his ear with a click.
"What?" He blurted rudely, not really caring that Yongguk was older than him and he should be a bit more respectful. He just wanted to get back to sleep. No, not because he wanted to sleep with her. No, he was just tired. Yes, that's why. It wasn't like he wanted to just lie there with her some more, of course not.
"Woah, woah." The voice at the other end snickered. "Was I interrupting something?"
Daehyun furrowed his eyebrows at the strange voice. The caller ID said Yongguk, but even in his sleepy state Daehyun could tell it wasn't him. It wasn't unfamiliar, but he couldn't pinpoint who it belonged to.
"Who is it?" She asked from beside him, sleep dripping in her voice. The question turned out to be loud enough for the person on the other end to hear as well.
"Oh." The voice piped up, as if he just discovered the scandal of the year. "Were you two still sleeping?" Another snicker resonated from the other end and it was honestly beginning to tick Daehyun off. "It's so late in the afternoon, what could you two have possibly been doing to make you lovebirds sleep for so long, huh?"
Daehyun's face burned up at the implication, knowing that he should just deny it but he suddenly recognized the annoying voice. "Himchan?"
"No, it's your mother." The voice retorted. "Of course it's me, who else could it be?"
"Uh. The owner of the phone you're using right now?" Daehyun snapped back.
"Oh, you're right, I forgot I was using Yongguk's phone." Himchan laughed. Daehyun ignored it.
"Why are you calling?"
"Yongguk's busy working right now, but he said a little lady was waiting for his call so I took the job into my hands."
"Little lady?" Daehyun questioned, looking down at his best friend who only had her eyes peeking out from under the blanket that covered majority of her face. She had heard what Himchan said about "lovebirds" and "What could you two have possibly been doing?" and all the other ually implied accusations. They slept together innocently countless times before, and she knew nothing had happened last night. But then she remembered the kiss. And that was why she covered most of her red-tinted face.
"Yes, the one you slept with last night." Himchan giggled.
She squirmed.
"How did you even know I was with her? And you don't need to say it like that." Daehyun hissed, turning his face away from the embarassed girl beside him.
"Yongguk had guessed you two would be together. And oh, I wasn't implying anything. You two just slept." Himchan laughed mischievously. "Right?"
Daehyun hated that teasing .
As if Himchan could read his mind through the phone he laughed one more time before apologizing. "I was kidding, don't worry. Now give the phone to her so I can pass on Yongguk's message."
"You can just tell me." Daehyun stated.
"Yongguk said to tell her, not you. It's part of your little date week plan anyways, and she likes it to be a surprise right?"
"Wait, how do you know about our date week?" Daehyun questioned. How did any of them know about their date week? He understood Jongup and Zelo knowing, and maybe his long forgotten fangirls at her family restaraunt, but he didn't recall telling Yongguk or Himchan.
"She told Yongguk, and then he told me." Himchan replied with a bored tone. "Now can you please give the pho-"
"Why did you tell Yongguk?" Daehyun asked his best friend still lying beside him, ignoring Himchan's protests of "Excuse me! I'm still on the line! Don't just cut me off like that!" echoing loudly against his ear.
She sat up once she remembered that indeed she was waiting for Yongguk to call, and grabbed the phone from Daehyun's hand before he could say anything against it or hold it away from her like he probably would've done. He opened his mouth to tell her to give it back but gave up once she pressed the phone against her ear and began to talk.
"Himchan-oppa?"
Daehyun mentally snarled at the honorific. He was older than her as well, but she never called him "oppa".
Daehyun watched her and listened to her little sounds of understanding and frequent "Oh"s and "Yes"s. If he were smart he would've focused more on what Himchan was saying on the other line considering his phone was loud and Himchan was louder and he would've been able to hear perfectly fine, but he didn't. He was still kind of hung up on that whole "oppa" thing.
"Oh..." She sighed, sounding a little disappointed. Daehyun heard something along the lines of "I know, I'm sorry, but the plans changed suddenly. Would you still like to come though? Yongguk already made your reservations." from Himchan's end.
Daehyun brought his eyes to hers, watching as she nibbled on her lip in consideration. Really cutely if he had to add. He was coming to admit it now, since it would be pretty damn stupid to stay in denial from his feelings after last night. How did he fail to notice how cute she was after all these years?
She let out another sigh and then nodded. "It's fine then! I'm sure it won't bother us."
"So you'll still be coming at the reserved time?" Himchan perked up, relieved that she would follow through with her plan.
"Yes, Yongguk booked us for eight thirty this evening right?"
Daehyun recalled the title following Saturday in their vague date schedule. "Food". He guessed they were going to a restaurant.
"That's what he said, yes." Himchan confirmed. "I'm still so sorry. It's your last date night yet the stupid restaurant had to go make problems."
"It's fine, alot of problems happened this week." She laughed, remembering all the predicaments they found themselves in throughout the week that felt more like a year. She brought him to a shop, fell into a lake, got lost in the woods, almost prevented the boy from ever having children in the future, got knocked out by a skateboard and thoroughly embarassed herself through each and every single one. One last problem to end their date week just seemed to fit. "I think we can handle it."
Himchan's chime-like laugh resonated once again. "Alrighty, I better get back to work. I'll see you guys in a few hours. Don't let Daehyun harass you, he probably did enough of that last night."
Before Daehyun could grab the phone out of his hand and yell "I HEARD THAT, YOU LITTLE-" Himchan had already hung up, cutting off his last laugh.
Himchan fixed his bow tie and smoothed down the black silk vest, making sure he looked presentable before walking out of the employee's restroom (though in a few minutes they'd be on break and he'd find himself in there once again). Spotting Yongguk taking two young ladies' orders, Himchan made his way towards him, slipping the phone into Yongguk's back pocket as he casually walked by. Surprised by the sudden touch on his , Yongguk snapped his head towards the culprit, only to see Himchan's back as he strutted away, checking up on the table he was in charge of.
Yongguk cleared his throat and turned back to the two girls, glad that they didn't seem to make anything out of the situation. They probably didn't even notice Himchan slipping the phone into his pocket. That guy was always good at doing inappropriate things and not getting caught.
The minutes passed and the two were finally back in the restroom for their break. Yongguk sat on the counter, even though it was probably extremely inappropriate to do so in such a high class restaurant like this one, but it was just him and Himchan in there right now so who really cared? SIlently, Himchan fixed his hair in the mirror.
"So they'll still be coming?" Yongguk questioned, voice echoing off the clean white marble walls.
Himchan nodded and smiled somewhat deviously. "They're still following their little plan."
"And getting into your own, I suppose?" Yongguk laughed. He shook his head, recalling Himchan's "genius plan" that he explained the day before. Somehow he had accepted Himchan's offer to help the plan take place, but he still felt a little guilty and unsure. "If either of the two catches on to your plan, I'm not sticking up for you, got that?"
Himchan didn't seem fazed. "Daehyun's too stupid to catch onto anything. And if you go with the plan like I explained," He pointed a slender finger at Yongguk as if to threaten him. "She'll be too focused on you to suspect anything."
Yongguk sighed, but he didn't protest, so Himchan took that he understood. "I still don't see the point though, isn't it better for them to settle things themselves? What if our influence doesn't do anything to their benefit? What if we ruin their last date night?"
Himchan pursed his lips and shook his head. "Don't say that! I'm feeling confident about this one, trust me. We're doing it for their sake! Think of it as a favour for our two friends."
Yongguk's unsure expression remained, so Himchan continued. "Daehyun's never been the type to take initiative. I'm certain after this date week happens, there will have been little to no improvement in their relationship. And we both know how long those two liked eachother without admitting it right? This is the perfect opportunity to finally get these two together! Daehyun just needs a push and that's what we're giving him. He just needs a little kick in his ." Himchan snapped his foot forward lightly as if to emphasize his point.
"What if he kicks your instead?" Yongguk mocked the kick and Himchan laughed.
"It's okay." Himchan smirked, fluttering his eyes up at the elder. "You'd protect me, wouldn't you?"
At exactly eight thirty in the evening like stated, she and Daehyun had found themselves pushing past a line of numerous girls waiting in front of the restaurant.
Daehyun knew about Yongguk's multiple part-time jobs. Yongguk had to make his own money to pay the fees in order to stay in that music school he worked so hard to get into. His parents only agreed to let him take up "such a silly dream" and go to the music school as long as he payed for everything, so Yongguk worked at every place he could snatch a job at (including that store from earlier on like mentioned).
He just didn't know Yongguk had worked here, one of the most high class restaurants in the city. He wondered if he was going to get to see Yongguk in a tuxedo.
"Why are there so many girls here tonight?" Daehyun asked, arm in arm with his best friend as they made their way to the glass doors. He brought up his free hand to tug on his collar and adjust his tie, a bit self conscious as all the girls seemed to be looking at him. It wasn't that familiar and uncomfortable look of "Wow, he's pretty attractive" that Daehyun was so used to, though. They were looking at him in a curious way that made him feel a bit like he shouldn't be here.
"Ah... well..." She replied, clearing , not knowing whether she should say it now or let him figure out himself. Either way he would get mad, so she decided to hide it from him for now, though he was already showing suspiscion. At least he wouldn't be able to create a fuss and run out if they were already seated inside.
Daehyun gave her confused look, but she tugged him to the front door, passing all the girls in line, and moved to the pillar-designed counter.
"We have reservations." She announced to the black haired man from behind the counter whose back was towards them. She gasped when he turned around, immediately followed by a gasp from Daehyun as well.
"Welcome!" Himchan exclaimed, his tone friendly and professional, as if he didn't even know the two. Still, he didn't even bother asking for their names before checking them off a list, grabbing two menus and leading them into the dim-lit restaurant. Daehyun actually didn't know Himchan worked here as well, but he should've guessed from the phone call earlier this afternoon.
The three of them walked past the many waiters -who apparently were all good looking males from what Daehyun could see- bustling about, serving the seated girls. There were chandeliers hanging and yellow twinkly lights you'd expect at Christmas lining the walls. The tables were covered in deep red silk sheets and the seats in the booths were comfortable enough to be sofas.
Daehyun hadn't been in this restaurant that often obviously, since it was pretty upper class and expensive, but he hadn't expected it to be like this. The place was packed with girls and only girls, or at least, all of the customers were. The only men to be seen were those in the tight black pants with white aprons tucked in the front, black bow ties tight on their white collars, sporting shiny black vests and holding silver trays. And Daehyun. The weird looks coming from the seated girls hadn't ceased until Daehyun and her had been seated at an elegant booth around the back.
"Nicest booth of the night." Himchan bowed, removing the golden "Reserved" sign from the table top.
Daehyun chuckled, still not used to seeing one of his closest friends in uniform. It suited him though. He always imagined Himchan as one of those bowtie kind of people. But then again, he knew Himchan was rich, so his image of him was kind of biased. As Himchan placed the menus in front of them, Daehyun looked around while rubbing his palms on his thighs. "There's quite a lot of girls here tonight."
Himchan froze and then smiled, standing up straight and taking out a notepad, clearing his throat.
"I wouldn't be surprised if this were some sort of ladies night or something." Daehyun chuckled, as a joke, but didn't fail to catch her nervous look as she shot her eyes towards Himchan. Daehyun suspisciously looked back and forth between his waiter friend and his best friend who squirmed in her seat before realization hit him. "This... isn't a ladies night... right?"
Daehyun heard about ladies' nights. From the kind that he heard of, a bunch of gorgeous men dressed up like waiters and served their customers all while shamelessly flirting and charming and making their ladies feel like princesses. He shook his head in denial, turning to look at the neighbouring tables. He watched a waiter sit beside a young girl with long red hair which he brushed out of her face with a gentle hand. Then Daehyun turned to see an older, middle-aged lady lifting a spoon to a waiter's face, giggling as he shyly took a taste of whatever she was feeding him. This wasn't normal waiter-like behaviour.
When he turned his attention back to his best friend to snap at her for bringing him to a god forsaken ladies night, he almost yelped at the sight of Yongguk sitting across from him as well. With his arm around her shoulders. Where the did he even come from?!
She looked up at Daehyun, face red from how close Yongguk was, and eyes apologetic.
Yongguk smiled. "She made reservations earlier this week, and it was supposed to be a normal Saturday night until the restaurant owners suddenly decided to try out a Host Night for once."
So that was the "problem" Himchan was talking about on the phone earlier.
Daehyun still sat there lost for words, unable to choose which feeling he was leaning more towards: confusion out of what the was happening and where the he was, or anger because what the hell, his supposed-to-be-girlfriend brought him to a ing "Host" night.
"What the hell is a 'Host night' anyways?!" Daehyun snapped.
Himchan chuckled from his place at the tableside where he hadn't moved from. "Exactly what it sounds like. The waiters tonight are more like hosts. Our job is not only to serve, but to give everything the ladies -or gentlemen ahem- want. With the exception of sharing personal information such as phone numbers, email addresses, house addresses or ual favours." Himchan listed as if reading from a manual, smirking at the last point. Daehyun dropped his jaw.
"And we are your hosts... er... waiters tonight." Yongguk beamed, arm purposely yet casually sliding from her shoulder to her waist instead, making her shiver. Daehyun honestly would've liked to stand up and punch those pretty gums out of his mouth.
Himchan's amused smirk went unnoticed in the dim light.
He doesn't know how it happened, but an hour and a half later, Daehyun was babbling and stumbling on words as Himchan sat beside him, nodding like he understood what his drunk friend was saying.
After pretty much shoving his meal down his throat half an hour ago in attempt to get out of there as fast as possible, Daehyun had pleaded to his best friend to high tail out of the place.
"Daehyun," Yongguk shook his head in disapproval, sitting down beside her once again, to both of their discomfort. The two "hosts" only left for a short period of time to let Daehyun and her eat, but now they were back. "Can't you see the lady is eating?" He turned his attention to her and slowly brought his hand to her thigh where Daehyun couldn't see, but Daehyun could guess, and hell it ticked him off. "Take your time, darling."
She nodded rapidly, staring down at her food and only her food, unable to look up at Yongguk due to her embarassment and definitely not wanting to look up at Daehyun who she knew would be angry beyond belief right now.
As Yongguk and her chatted quietly from their side, Himchan slid in beside Daehyun who didn't bother hiding his angry glare at Yongguk. He was still pissed that she had dragged him to this restaurant though it wasn't fully her fault, and he was even more pissed that Yongguk was ruining what was supposed to be a memorable last date. Their last date. Again, he cringed at the thought.
"If anyone's stare could physically kill, I wouldn't be surprised if Yongguk dropped dead right now." Himchan laughed, bringing Daehyun out of his thoughts and prying his eyes off the two in front of him.
Before Daehyun could say anything in return, Himchan brought a can to the younger's face, making him back up a bit. Daehyun eyed the can before taking it in his hand.
"What is it?" There was no name or label or brand on the can. It was just coloured deep red, matching the table cloths, with a silver border around the rim.
"It's a special drink our restaurant has." Himchan smiled, encouraging him to drink it. Daehyun didn't budge though.
"I didn't order it." Daehyun passed it back, but Himchan shook his head.
"It's on the house, as an apology for Yongguk's rude ing."
Daehyun looked at the two in front of him. They seemed so caught up in their own little world. He hated it. Not only because Yongguk was flirting with her, but mostly because of the simple fact that it was Yongguk. He probably wouldn't have been any better off with any other random host flirting with her, but Daehyun and Yongguk were close. He trusted Yongguk and he honestly didn't think he would do anything like that, whether it was his job or not. Like really, was the arm around the shoulder thing really necessary? Was that part of this stupid restaurant's little rule book? He felt betrayed. He felt pissed.
Daehyun snarled before bringing the opened can to his lips, chugging the foreign-tasting drink down his throat. Himchan smiled. Just as he predicted. He quickly erased his smile as Daehyun turned to look at Himchan, who suddenly looked a little blurry through his eyes.
"Wh...what exactly... was that drink?" Daehyun slurred, examining the can. "It.. tas...ted..."
"Good, right?" Himchan perked up, shoving another can from god knows where into the tipsy boy's hand. "Just drink a bit more."
Daehyun's eyes were starting to flutter, everything looking a bit hazy, but he couldn't deny that he felt a little... pleased. It wasn't an "at ease" sort of feeling, but it felt... good. He never felt it before. He took the can from Himchan, the alcohol starting to work at his brain, stopping him from asking anymore questions. Himchan would never have told him it was alcohol anyways.
And that's how they ended up like this.
Himchan's focus went back and forth from the drunk Busan boy downing his fifth can of the night to Yongguk who would secretly shoot glances towards Himchan as he subtly flirted with Daehyun's girl friend best friend whatever she was.
Like Himchan expected, she was too focused and flustered by Yongguk's unusual and unending flirting to notice her best friend getting more drunk by the minute right across the table. But it wasn't like she didn't try and look up to check on how Daehyun was dealing. She knew he was pissed and she'd have to spend alot of time apologizing once the date was over. But everytime she even just flickered her eyes in Daehyun's general direction, Yongguk would find a way to block the view, either by tilting her head towards him or bringing her attention to something else or placing a glass infront of her face. It was suspicious, but she was polite and passed it off as Yongguk just doing his job as a host. He was a hardworker, so she respected it and let him do what he had to do, even if it was a bit uncomfortable and excessive.
Secretly, Himchan found Yongguk's foot under the table, tapping it lightly so that he'd look up and catch his eye. Once he got Yongguk's attention, he nodded, and Yongguk took the signal.
"Hey, Dae- oh!" Yongguk exclaimed, looking up at Daehyun, pretending to sound surprised.
"Daehyun!" She gasped, sitting up straight with wide eyes when she saw how drunk her best friend was.
"What?" He mumbled, hiccuping, glaring at her through slits. "You're done eating your heart out with Yongguk, you... cheat..er..?"
Himchan mocked surprise as well, unconsciously pushing the remaining cans of the alcoholic drink further underneath the seat he and Daehyun were sitting on using the back of his heel. Daehyun would've never noticed them, and Himchan had set them there a long time before they arrived anyways. All according to his plan. "Oh... oh dear... Daehyun, are you drunk?"
Daehyun looked at Himchan, incredulous. "A-Am I??"
Yongguk had to hide a laugh.
"Himchan, what did he drink?!" The worried girl exclaimed, sliding past Yongguk to get to the side Daehyun was on. Himchan stood up to go swap seats with her, sitting next to Yongguk instead as she slid in beside Daehyun. He swatted her hands away when she brought them near his face.
Himchan held the can up. "It's our restaurant's special drink!"
Yongguk took the can and examined it, though he already knew what it was. He was just acting along. "Himchan!" He groaned with all the acting he could muster. "You idiot! These are the alcoholic versions! Did you forget that since it was ladies' night we specially put alcohol into them?!"
Himchan face palmed as if he felt horrible, but was really just trying to hide his laughter. He at acting. Too bad Daehyun was too drunk to catch it though, and she didn't know Himchan enough to know he was acting. "He drank so much of it too!"
Yongguk counted the empty cans (more as a mental note for future reference so he knew how much it took for Daehyun to get drunk). "Oh god, I am so sorry!"
She widened her eyes, turning her attention to Daehyun who just glared at her. From what he could understand, he was somehow drunk. But he didn't really care right now. Drunk or not, he was pissed.
"Daehy-"
"Shut up!" He waved her off before turning to Himchan, requesting another can. She took the can away from Himchan before Daehyun could take it.
"No! No more drinking, we're going home!"
"Oh, you mean Yongguk and you? Going to his home?" He scoffed, glaring at her again before looking at Yongguk.
"That's not what I meant! I meant "we" as in you and I are going home!"
"Why though? Why go with me if you could go with him, huh?" Daehyun kissed his teeth. "Little ing pretty boy over there."
Yongguk looked a bit shocked. Maybe he did take his flirting a little too far.
"Wh-What?!" She exclaimed, apologizing to Yongguk on behalf of the drunk one. "Yongguk was just doing his job as a host! Did you... actually get jealous?"
Daehyun began laughing obnoxiously loud, getting some attention from the neighbouring tables. Himchan stood up to bow and apologize on behalf of him, but Daehyun couldn't give less of a .
"Jealous?!" He jabbed his finger at Yongguk. "Jealous?! J-Jeal...ous... of HIM?!" He laughed again.
"Daehyun we should really go." She pleaded, tugging on his dress shirt's sleeve. He pulled away.
"Oh, so when I plead, you're too busy eating with that pretty boy to leave, and now you're pleading and expect me to go? NO!" He all but yelled.
Himchan bit his lip, hiding his smile as he walked over to Daehyun's side and pulled him to his feet.
"Daehyun, she's right, you two should go now."
Daehyun glared at Himchan this time, but Himchan didn't even flinch.
"There's a limo outside waiting to take you both home, don't worry, it's payed for." Himchan explained, beckoning Yongguk and her to stand up. They did as they were ordered, and Himchan began leading Daehyun to the door. She was left at the table with Yongguk as she took her purse and opened it, about to take out her wallet before Yongguk put his hand on hers. She looked up at him questioningly.
"It's fine. We'll pay for it." Yongguk insisted despite her multiple protests. "Take it like an apology for this mess."
He brought her to the front door and sure enough, there was a limo waiting outside with a drunk and angry Daehyun already seated in the back.
"I'm really sorry it had to happen like this." Yongguk apologized sincerely, referring to both Daehyun being drunk and the secret plan he and Himchan had successfully pulled off without getting caught. She nodded, not making much of the apology as she went to join Daehyun in the limo, waving her goodbyes before they drove away. Himchan and Yongguk simply watched until they were out of sight. Himchan let out a relieved sigh. Mission complete.
"She didn't even question why a limo took them home. Or how the driver even knew Daehyun's address." Yongguk scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Your plan went exactly the way you said it would."
Himchan's smile was full of pride at the praise. "Of course. Did you have any doubt that it wouldn't?"
"Does Daehyun even know you're the restaurant owner's son?"
"Nope. I'm pretty sure he knew I was rich, but we never talked about my family or parents." Himchan shrugged, smiling. That was how he got this whole Host Night to happen in the first place. Yongguk shook his head in disbelief once again.
"You realize when Daehyun figures it out, you're gonna get it."
"Hm, I don't think so." Himchan disagreed with a smile on his face. "I'm pretty sure my plan is gonna get them right where they have to be." He brought his hand to Yongguk's back, leading him back into the restaurant. "And when he realizes that I did it for his own good, he'll be thanking me."
Yongguk just smiled at his boyfriend. "How can someone so stupid be so clever?"
Himchan responded with a pinch to Yongguk's .
The limo came to a stop infront of Daehyun's house. The entire ride was filled with Daehyun babbling under his breath more than anything, and everytime she tried to ask him how he was or anything came out of in general, he'd spit something along the lines of "Shut up, Yongguk's girlfriend." So after a few attempts she gave up and stayed silent, letting Daehyun's drunk babbling continue.
The driver came to her side of the door, opening it for her to slip out. Daehyun found it stupid to wait to be escorted so he opened his own door and walked out himself before slamming it shut. She bowed to the driver and apologized for Daehyun's impolite behavior. The driver tipped his hat and went back to the front seat to drive off.
She turned around to see Daehyun's front door already wide open, the said boy already gone inside the house, away from her sight.
As she made her way up the empty parking spot, she noted that his parents weren't home considering their car wasn't there. It was a good thing, considering they'd probably get in because Daehyun was drunk. But it was also a bad thing because Daehyun was drunk and they were both alone at his house and she didn't know what to do to help him.
With a nervous sigh she entered the house and locked the door behind her, taking off her shoes and heading towards the stairs. Slowly and reluctantly she made her way up, knowing that she was going to have to deal with an angry and drunk Daehyun and preparing herself for the worst. She already felt horrible about the fail of what was supposed to be a great last date, and she knew she shouldn't have brought him to the restaurant since Himchan had already warned her, but she didn't think it'd get this out of hand. She didn't think Yongguk and Himchan would be their hosts. She didn't think he'd get jealous. She didn't think he'd get drunk. She felt genuinely horrible and at fault, and she hoped he would be able to understand that.
When she reached his shut bedroom door only to find out it was locked, she frowned.
"Daehyun..." She called, wiggling the handle only to have it freeze in her hand. He was holding it on the other side.
"Don't talk to me."
"Daehyun, please open the door." She sighed, as if she were dealing with a little kid.
"Why don't you get Yongguk do it for you?" He hissed. "His arms are probably strong enough. You would know, since he held onto you the entire damn night."
"You still haven't let that go?"
"Oh I'm sure you haven't let him go."
"Daehyun, you realize Yongguk had to do it as his job as a host, right?" She argued, getting a little annoyed. Daehyun's jealousy was cute at first, but now it was getting down right stupid.
"Yeah well you seemed to enjoy it." He scoffed. He pretty much forgot they weren't actually boyfriend and girlfriend. But he was drunk, he didn't know any better.
"Daehyun." She attempted to wiggle the door knob again, to no avail. She was getting frustrated. After the long car ride to his house, he still wasn't letting the whole Yongguk thing go. She didn't even like Yongguk! He was doing his job as a host! "Daehyun, open the door."
"No."
"Daehyun, stop this! Open the damn door!"
"Why don't you go to Yongguk's house instead?"
She let go of the handle with an exhausted and irritated sigh before stepping away from the door.
"Is that what you want?" She asked angrily through clenched teeth. "Fine then! I'll go to Yongguk's in-"
She hadn't even finished her sentence before the door was swung open with a bang. Daehyun had angrily grabbed her shoulder and dragged her into the room. He kicked the door shut and locked it in a swift movement. Terrified, she watched as the scene played out in front of her, staying frozen to her spot when Daehyun stood right in front of her, so close their chests were almost touching. He had already taken off his tie, and his shirt was ed a few buttons from the top. He was sweating. His eyes looked furious.
Before she could say anything; she was falling backwards onto his bed, without even getting enough time to process that he had pushed her. With horrified eyes she watched as he climbed over her, caging her under him with his knees on either side of her thighs and his hands placed firmly beside her face.
His face hovered directly on top of hers, so all she could see were his angry eyes. He looked scary. Really scary. He smelled like alcohol too.
She gulped at the thought of all the things that could happen right now. This was the first time she's ever seen Daehyun drunk, and to make matters worse he was angry too. She didn't know what he was like when he was drunk. She didn't know any of his habits. They had never gotten drunk before. She didn't know what to expect. No one was home and she was locked in his room and they were on his bed and for all she knew he could beat her up or something even worse that she didn't even want to consider.
She didn't even realize her eyes were shut tight until something was pressed against one of her eyelids. He was kissing her. Kissing her eyelids. And then he moved to her forehead, and then down to her nose, and then to her cheeks, and she only knew he was crying because of the wet trail of tears she could feel accompaning the dry kisses.
He moved his lips to her own finally, but only came near, not kissing her. He bit his own lip and pushed himself up again, so that his face was hovering hers. This time his tears were noticeable as they dropped on her cheeks. He didn't look angry anymore. He looked frustrated and... hurt.
"Daehyun..." She began, confused and flustered and still a little scared, but worried as his tears continued to spill. "Why... why are you..."
"I'm sorry." He sputtered, dropping his forehead to touch her own. "I'm sorry! It's just... Yongguk... and I was pissed and our last date and I got drunk and it wasn't supposed to be like this and I wanted this to be memorable and I honestly didn't want this week to end and now it's ending like this and everything's ruined and- and...." Daehyun pushed himself up again, so that he could see her face through teary eyes. "I like you!" He bursted out. "Ok?! I like you. I... I actually... like you and I don't know how and I didn't mean it and I lost the bet and I broke the promise and , I LIKE YOU. I just. I like... I like you. I'm sorry. I like you." Suddenly feeling pathetic, he dropped his face beside her own, onto the pillow. He didn't mean to just blow up like that. His body dropped onto hers in defeat, pushing her further into the bed. She didn't even bother moving.
He said it.
It wasn't the confession she was expecting, and to be honest she wasn't really expecting a confession at all had it not been for the kiss she pretended to sleep through the night before. Although she was still a bit shaken up and shocked by everything he said, she couldn't help but smile. Wide and bright and happier than she had ever smiled before. She lifted her arms over Daehyun's neck, wrapping them around and hugging him closer to her.
"Don't apologize. I like you too."
But the alcohol had reached it's limit and Daehyun had fallen asleep before he could hear.
"Darling," Her mother peeped from beside the table she was wiping. "Where's Daehyun? I haven't seen him in days."
She froze at the name before shrugging nonchalantly as if it wasn't a big deal. After their last date, they woke up in an awkward manner. She was happy at first, but the look on Daehyun's face was the complete opposite. She didn't understand. She thought things were good. He confessed to her the night before, didn't he? But he didn't bring it up, and soon she awkwardly made an excuse to go home. The last time she saw him was when she turned around to awkwardly wave goodbye before he shut the door to his house. She ran home and slipped into her room, while he ran up the stairs to his own. They hadn't seen eachother since.
He hadn't come by their restaurant like he usually did and she hadn't stopped by his house. It's been twelve days. Not like she was counting or anything.
His words rang in her head every day they were apart. Although she heard it directly from him and she knew it wasn't a dream, she couldn't help but feel doubt. He was drunk. Maybe he was lying. But why did he kiss me the night before that? Was he drunk that night too?
She felt her heart tug and ache as she thought back to all the dates. She definitely began to feel something for Daehyun, and she wouldn't deny it. Most of the dates failed according to her plans, but even so she had found this new sort of attraction for her best-friend-made-boyfriend. Well, now the date week was over so it was back to just "best friend". Were they even still friends though?
As she wondered whether she should even refer to him as a best friend anymore, she felt the tears well up behind her eyes. She lifted the back of her hand to incospisciously wipe them away, but her mother still caught on and dropped the subject. Her mom knew about their whole date week and guessed it didn't end so well. She looked at her daughter with sad eyes for a moment before leaving her without another word.
She continued to scrub, trying not to cry. What happens now? Were they no longer friends? Did Daehyun not mean what he said? Would he never talk to her again? Would they be awkward for the rest of their lives? Did the years and years of their friendship end now? Was she going to be the unlucky loser who was left to deal with unrequited feelings?
The light was beginning to turn an orangey red, which signalled that the day was coming to an end and their restaurant was going to close soon. She sat at an empty table like she usually did around this time since there were only one or two customers left, about to leave.
The bell of their door let out a small ring, announcing that someone had entered.
"Sorry, we're just about to-" She heard her mother say from the front door. She curiously stood up when her mother didn't finish the sentence. A second later her eyes widened as she watched Daehyun walk towards her table, taking the seat in front of her own.
He didn't even look at her. He just took the menu and started to look through.
As awkward as it was, she suddenly felt so relieved. He was here. He came back. She didn't know what it meant, but at least he came back.
She looked around to see no one else was left in the restaurant, the sign in front of the door flipped to the "Sorry, we're closed" side, and her mom seemed to have disappeared as well.
He cleared his throat as if to ease the awkward air, but honestly it did the opposite.
After a while, she finally spoke. "I'll go place your order..."
"I didn't even tell you what I wanted."
She looked at him with a strange face, sitting down in front of him. "What's the point, you order the same thing everyday anyways." Or at least, he used to.
When he didn't say anything to object, she stood up to tell the chef, but he had grabbed her wrist and looked up at her with shy eyes, as if he were unsure. Confused, she sat down again.
"R-Remember... a few weeks ago? Before our date week? When you suggested I should try something new?" He asked, and she nodded, remembering clearly.
"Well, I think I'm ready to try something new." He nodded, more to himself than anyone else. She smiled awkwardly. So he... came to the restaurant because he wanted to try out a different dish.
"Oh, that's good. Take your time looking then."
"I already know what I want though." He gulped, avoiding eye contact. The heat radiated off his cheeks. "I've... been interested in it for a while now." He brought his hand to scratch the back of his neck. His heart was going to jump out of his mouth.
She blinked a couple of times. "What would that be?"
Without looking at her, he dropped the menu and reached across the table; hesitantly taking both of her hands in his, as if they were made of glass. Surprised, she looked up at him as he slowly mustered all of his will power to look up at her too, finally locking eyes.
"Y-You." He stuttered. "I want you."
They stared at eachother for a long time, as if searching for the answer with their eyes. Strangely, they both knew that the feelings were mutual, even without it being said. The realization rushed into her, devouring every part of her body, running speedily through her veins, coming at a throbbing stop at her heart.
"I wasn't lying that night. I... I do like you. I realized it. I can't believe I didn't realize it earlier."
She bit her lip, being confessed to for the second time. She swore she could barely hear him considering how loud her heart was beating.
"I wasn't lying either. I like you too." She exclaimed happily, yet still a little shy.
He cocked his head, his turn to blink and look confused. "What? You... What do you mean? When did you ever tell me you liked me?"
She gawked at him, before remembering that yeah, he fell asleep pretty quick that night. He probably didn't hear her.
"I... I said it right after you did. But I guess you knocked out before you could hear it." She shrugged, blushing.
Suddenly he knocked his forehead to the table and let out a groan. She gasped, asking if he was alright but he just shook his head.
"So the past twelve days of worrying and wondering if I ruined our friendship and that you didn't like me back was for nothing?!" He groaned again when he realized he said it out loud. He didn't mean to. Another wave of relief crashed down on the girl and she locked their fingers together.
"Wait, so... you avoided me for the past twelve days because you thought I didn't like you back?"
"It's not my fault... I didn't hear you say that you did.... I was worried you didn't..." Daehyun lifted his head to look up at her. His face was red and so was hers and they both couldn't help but laugh. "You... like me too?"
She gulped her shyness down, and nodded a little more confidently this time, beaming up at him. "I do. I really do."
Daehyun felt his face turn a bright red as he smiled back. That was all he needed to hear.
They immediately pulled their hands away from eachother when her mother suddenly appeared, a serving of Daehyun's usual order in her hands and a big smile on her face. Daehyun looked away in embarassment.
She opened to explain, but her mother just let out a little "Sh." waving as she placed the dish on the table and left the two alone again. She was going to go tell her husband that after how many years, their predictions of the two finally came true.
"Does this mean we're together now?" She questioned after a long silence. Daehyun took her hands in his once again and squeezed them. He was going to get used to this.
"Well I did just confess my disgusting love for you, what else could it mean?" He scoffed, brightening up the mood.
She laughed a little at the thought. Daehyun was actually her boyfriend now. Not just a best friend. Or a best-friend-made-boy-friend-for-a-week. He was her boyfriend. After all these years.
"So i guess we're gonna have another date week?" She joked, and this time he laughed too.
He picked up the fork and shovelled some food into his mouth. "I'm thinking more of date years to be honest." He replied, both of them blushing a little more. She joked about how cheesy he was being and he couldn't help but feel a little grossed out at himself too. "But I get to choose what we're doing this time."
"Excuse me!" She exhaled, a fake angry expression on her face. "I thought I clearly taught you to make sure you made your girlfriend happy!! You can't just go deciding what to do! You have to listen to what she says!" She teaches, like she did during their first date. Suddenly the mood is relieved of all awkwardness and it's as if nothing ever happened, except even better now that they were actually together.
He chuckled, recalling the first date as well. "Then what would make you happy right now, darling?"
She blushed at the pet name and thought about it for a while, until her stomach grumbled, responding for her. She let go of his hands to clutch her stomach protectively.
Daehyun chuckled and shook his head. "How about we make this a table for two then?" He smiled, bringing a fork full of food to . She recalled that day long ago, at this exact same table, doing the exact same thing when she first convinced him into doing this whole date week. He may not have enjoyed the idea at first, but looking back at it now, he was so glad he accepted her offer. He wouldn't have given up that date week for anything else. He was finally with her. And she was finally with him. She smiled and let him feed her before swallowing and nodding.
She leaned forward and he met her half way, finally having their sort-of kind-of first kiss. Well at least this one was official. Maybe sometime in the future she'll tell him she was awake that night he kissed her. She couldn't wait to see his face. She couldn't wait to see what this future had planned for the both of them, now that they were together. They were finally together. Finally. She savoured the sweet kiss and smiled again as he pulled away from her lips.
"A table for two sounds good."
/ End
UWAAAAH~~ it's over !! Maybe. Unless I take up that sidestory idea hehe. I hope you enjoyed!~
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