Jongsuk gulped heavily. Did this man just confess to him? He felt the heat in his cheeks and didn’t really know what to reply. It was the first time in his entire life that someone had actually confessed his love to him. Of course, he had been in relationships before, but he was usually the one asking girls out. However, these relationships never lasted that long. He felt like something was missing all the time. And now he stood in front of this tall man and was flustered.

Woobin regretted what he said immediately. How could he say something like that to a guy? He had made a mistake. He quickly added an explanation. “What I mean is, I like you as a fan…so…”

Jongsuk wasn’t sure if he should feel relieved or disappointed. Either way he wouldn’t have minded it. “I know, I know, don’t worry.” Woobin observed him quietly. He was asking himself if the boy usually tended to follow strangers obediently and open up to them immediately. He shook his head slightly while brooding over it. Suddenly Jongsuk reached out to ruffle his hair once again.

“I’m happy to have a fan like you. Maybe we can watch a movie together some time…special fan service.” He winked.

Idiot. Obviously trusting people too easily. I’m sure you will be killed. And what’s with that aegyo face? I’m a man. Woobin said to himself in his head. “I don’t want to.” He replied rather cold.

“Oh…ok.” Jongsuk was slightly taken aback.

“Don’t get me wrong…I just hate being in a crowd of people.”

Somehow the younger one felt relieved. Though he didn’t really know this stranger, he seemed to be a nice guy and didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of him anymore. Furthermore, he wanted to get to know him better. Maybe they could become friends. He was rather lonely lately since his best friend was currently studying abroad.

“You can come to my place if you want. We could watch a movie together at home, too.”

Woobin really couldn’t understand how careless this guy was. However, he had to stay as close as possible to this fool.

“Okay, I will come over tonight.”

“Alright.” Jongsuk smiled brightly. “Oh, we haven’t introduced each other properly yet. My name is Lee Jongsuk.” He held out his hand. Woobin hesitated but then shook his hand. “Kim Woobin.”

This man has a lot of charisma…Jongsuk admitted to himself, blushing again because of his own thoughts and avoiding his gaze. He shyly pulled away his hand slowly just to scratch the back of his head afterwards.

“Ah, I almost forgot, I have to tell you where I live. Just give me your-“

“I will wait at the restaurant for you at 9PM. Come and fetch me.” Woobin smirked slightly.

Jongsuk was dumbfounded for a second, pouted as a reply. “Alright, alright. I have to go now. See you later Woobin-ah~”

He waved and hurried away, still flustered. Woobin followed him secretly. That boy was really clumsy as hell. He dropped his keys another time, but luckily noticed it right away. At the store he dropped his money as he tried to pay, making everyone laugh. He didn’t know why, but he felt weird once again.

The time passed fast as Jongsuk ran home and tried to tidy up as fast as possible. His home was a total mess and he didn’t want to feel embarrassed once again. After eating a sandwich hastily, Jongsuk fixed his hair and searched for the latest movies he got on DVD. Woobin stared into space as he waited for Jongsuk to leave the house. He couldn’t go far away, nor stay close to him. It still was absurd. Some time passed. Jongsuk ran out of his house, being late. He didn’t want to make Woobin wait so he hurried and nearly tripped and fell down. The taller one sighed and followed him, not noticing that he actually had a little smile on his face.  Jongsuk was out of breath when he finally arrived at the restaurant. He looked around and spotted Woobin right behind him, almost jumped out of his skin.

“Aish, don’t frighten me like that!”

“I didn’t do anything.” Woobin stated innocently and shrugged.

The young man hissed and laughed afterwards. “I know, I know. Let’s go, it’s cold tonight.”

He rubbed his hands, patted the serious one’s shoulder and headed home. Woobin followed him closely. They went inside, slipped off their shoes and the lights.

“I’m sorry…though I’ve tidied up, it’s still messy.” Jongsuk scratched the back of his head feeling embarrassed again.

“I don’t mind it.” Woobin said and sat down on the sofa, looking around a little.

“Give me your coat, I will hang it up.”

I’ve never taken off my coat…am I allowed to do that? The gatherer asked himself. He wasn’t really sure if he should do it or not. There was no such rule, because there was no reason to take off your clothes as a gatherer anyway. He hesitantly took it off and gave it to the bright one. Jongsuk took off his jacket, too and hang coat and jacket up. He quietly sat down beside Woobin and wiped of the sweat on his palms on his jeans. He suddenly became nervous.

“Want something to eat or drink?”

“No, thanks.”

Silence.

“Okay so…which movie do you wanna watch? I have a lot of action movies, but also comedy and- “

“I don’t mind, you pick one.”

Jongsuk hissed, ruffling Woobin’s hair. “Yah, don’t make this so awkward. I’m trying my best to be a good host.”

“Why do you keep doing this?” Woobin asked, actually being curious.

“What?” the younger one knitted his brows a little.

“Touching my hair.”

“Ah…I don’t know you. Is it annoying you? I’m sor-“

“No, it’s alright…I was just curious.” Though he wouldn’t admit it, he this feeling.

A smile appeared on the boy’s face. He stood up and chose a random movie. He wasn’t really planning to watch it anyway. Instead, he wanted to get to know him a little more. Jongsuk sat down again, a little closer to Woobin this time.

“So…how old are you actually? Are you older than me?” he asked, tried to start a proper conversation. But that question startled Woobin for a second, because he didn’t know. He should have thought about these things before, but he forgot that humans tend to ask such things.

“How old are you?”

“I’m 22.”

“Then we are actually the same age.”

“Really? Then let’s continue talking casually. I hate honorifics.”

“Alright.”

Jongsuk bit his lip for a second, asking the next question. “And what do you do for a living?”

Another lie that had to be told. “I’m not working yet. My parents pay everything.”

“Really? I’d be bored with no work to do.”

Annoying. Exhausting. Woobin thought. Why did his target ask these questions? Why did he have to deal with such a situation? He didn’t like it. It just made him feel like a person that never really existed. Jongsuk seemed to notice that he didn’t really liked to be asked questions, so he decided not to ask him anymore. Maybe he would tell him on his own if they got a closer.

“So…you are a singer?” Woobin asked this time to avoid being questioned again.

“Well…I’d like to be one, but I’m not that good yet…I just sing at the small restaurant for four nights a week. They are really nice, offering me meals, too. Still…I have to learn a lot.”

He sounds serious about this. The gatherer thought. “Why do you wanna be a singer?”

Jongsuk expression changed. The bright smile turned into a rather sad one. “My dad was singer and my mum was his pianist. They both died in an accident years ago. I want to keep them alive through the music they loved…I’m not as talented as them though and usually fail at auditions.” He laughed at himself.

This guy really opened up to me quickly. Guess he really is careless…So his parents died already. He’s still young, it must’ve been hard for him. “I think you are doing well. Just believe in yourself a little more.” Woobin said, staring into space.

Dumbfounded, the young man looked at the man beside him. Though his appearance was sometimes cold, he was actually really nice and cute. He felt a little better after hearing these simple words.

“Thank you” he replied.

Woobin slightly smiled, hesitantly ruffling the younger one’s hair, quickly pulling away his hand afterwards. Jongsuk laughed quietly at this cute action and started to watch the movie with a smile on his face, while the gatherer was lost in his thoughts, pretending to watch the movie, too. He didn’t want to get involved any further with this guy. If he got, he would somehow change this man’s life. However, there was no other way to take care of him and it was not like he hated him either. But he wasn’t used to it anymore. He felt weird talking to someone, he felt weird being seen by someone, he felt weird having to listen to someone’s feelings. His job was hard enough without all of this…but still he didn’t hate it.

Time flew. Woobin didn’t really get to see much of the movie, since he had been lost in his thoughts most of the time. But what he knew was that the stories in movies were not even a little realistic. A gun couldn’t even take half of the bullets the guys shot. Unrealistically many people died at once. He shook his head, not understanding why human found things like that fun to watch. Suddenly the gatherer felt some weight on his shoulder. He glanced to the side. The boy had fallen asleep, unintentionally leaning against Woobin’s shoulder. He felt Jongsuk’s breath on his skin, giving him shivers. The warmth of the boy’s body spread to his and he couldn’t bring himself to wake him up or shove him away. To be able to feel someone again, he never thought that this could happen. And now he sat there with this sleeping man, even feeling his warmth and breath. He bit his lip slightly and looked the other way.  This boy made everything worse. After all this time Woobin slowly began to feel alive... but he was not. 



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though i want them together right away, i want to take it slow and "realistic" :) hope you don't mind that!  thanks for the nice comments that makes me smile all the time! :D