Donghae likes to be by himself. He doesn’t like open spaces; every time he’s in one he feels nauseous. He closes the door and locks it at night when sleeping. Perhaps Donghae just wants to feel safe, or maybe he’s just a tad bit too ordinary.

Maybe, he thinks, it’s a mix of both.

But really, when there’s so much creativity in the world, is being ordinary really ‘ordinary’?

Donghae likes to dwell on the past. He thinks about all his mistakes and when he’s been depressed, and he seems to hold onto those memories a little too much to the point where it dances on the fine line between healthy and unhealthy.

All of this changes when he meets Hyukjae.

Hyukjae, who is not ordinary in the slightest. His sharp jaw and gummy smile sets him apart from his peers, and what had gotten Donghae’s interest right from the beginning.

They meet because of a mutual friend who had thought that perhaps they might make good friends. Donghae had brought his art book and pencils because his friend, Kyuhyun, said they were going to be out drawing from real life. This had Donghae immediately off his feet and ready to go.

He knew if he were to say that he would be introducing Donghae to someone new, the latter would decline in a heartbeat. Of course he was lying, but it all ended well.

Donghae walks quickly to where he and Kyuhyun are supposed to meet for their art trip. Usually, Donghae is very punctual, and he arrives early as usual. To his surprise, Kyuhyun, who is usually late, is even earlier than he is, and he wears a bright grin on his face. Donghae takes note of the unusual behavior.

“Let’s go get a seat,” says Kyuhyun. “I’m hungry. How about we go to that fancy Chinese place?”

Donghae raises his eyebrow. “We’re not really going on an art trip, are we?” Donghae asks- but it’s almost a statement. Kyuhyun laughs and drags Donghae along by the wrist.

They get there quickly seeing as it’s eleven in the morning, when people are already sitting in their office cubicles and typing away. Kyuhyun says “reservation for three, Mr. Cho,” and they nod and smile and lead the two.

Donghae eyes Kyuhyun suspiciously once they’ve seated in a rather enclosed booth at the back, far from everyone else. The atmosphere is simple, dark and mysterious. Donghae finds it perhaps a bit thrilling.

“You had reservations?” Donghae asks immediately once the server had placed three menus down on the table. Kyuhyun is about to open his mouth to speak, but Donghae has a lot more things he’s curious about. “For three? You planned this? Who am I meeting?”

“Relax, Donghae,” says Kyuhyun coolly, watching the waiter come back and place three glasses filled with water. There are small clear bits of lemon floating around, and Donghae smiles for the first time that day. “You’re just meeting one of my old friends from college. I think you guys would be good friends, and face it, you need some-” Donghae scoffs at this “and you wouldn’t have accepted to go if I said you were going to meet someone!”

“Yeah, that’s because I don’t want to meet someone!” Donghae retorts in a hushed whisper. Kyuhyun is about to respond when he’s interrupted again, but this time by the sound of someone clearing their throat- and it’s not Donghae.

“Hello,” says the male. His voice is husky, as if he’s just taken a smoke or something of the sort. Donghae doesn’t think that’s the case though; this person seems almost like an angel. He has dark brown hair that frames his angular jawline, and Donghae thinks about how fun that would be to draw and shade in with pencil. “I’m Hyukjae.”

Kyuhyun moves over from his booth so that Hyukjae can slide in, which he does with a brief smile. A flash of teeth and gums, and then it’s closed by plump lips turned upwards in politeness. Donghae almost feels his plain heart skip a beat; as if there had been a splash of colour on a white wall.

Kyuhyun looks over at Donghae, who doesn’t dare look at Hyukjae- just in case.

“Hi,” says Donghae timidly. His voice had come out a bit quieter than he’d expected. He clears his throat. “I’m Donghae.”

Donghae peers up through his eyelashes at Hyukjae, who offers a brilliant closed-lip smile, which is not exactly what Donghae is looking for. He wants the brief flash of gums and teeth that has his heart racing, and makes it his goal to make Hyukjae smile like that at least once more, just so he can observe it- or at least, that’s what Donghae is telling himself.

They all pick up the menus at around the same time, and while Kyuhyun and Hyukjae busy themselves with the menu, Donghae finds himself covering his face with the menu, only allowing his eyes to peek over at Hyukjae, watching the latter’s brows furrow and teeth that nibble slightly on his lower lip in concentration. And then he looks up.

They catch each other’s gaze. Hyukjae looks slightly puzzled, and Donghae asks himself ‘why not?’ before sending Hyukjae a small smile, and he brings his fingers up and wiggles them in a pathetic wave. Almost immediately, Hyukjae returns it with a smile that show teeth and gums, and his eyes crinkle and Donghae feels his face flush all the shades of red before he looks back down at the menu.

He can’t find himself to read anything, honestly. His mind is too busy with the image of Hyukjae smiling. Honestly, Donghae’s never been so quick to fancy something, much less the smile of someone he just met.

“I’ll have a barbeque pork rice,” says Kyuhyun. Donghae hasn’t even noticed the waiter’s arrival. He wraps his fingers around his glass of water, raising it to his mouth and lifting off his pinky subconsciously, taking a small, experimental sip of the water, which has a slight lemony flavour.

Hyukjae hums a bit before pointing at a picture and asking, “Could I have this?” followed by the nod of the waiter, who turns to Donghae.

Donghae orders in Chinese, which startles Hyukjae slightly. The waiter looks relieved, and says a thanks in Chinese to Donghae and that he’ll return shortly with their meals.

“Donghae,” Hyukjae starts. Donghae feels the corners of his lips turn upwards upon hearing his name being called from those lips. “You speak Chinese?”

“Uhm, yeah,” Donghae replies. He realises that perhaps he’s being a bit antisocial, so he continues. “I lived in China for a few years. Do you speak any other languages?”

Donghae feels Kyuhyun’s pleased gaze when Donghae is so obviously trying to keep the conversation going. Hyukjae smiles slightly before answering.

“No, I just know Korean,” he laughs, and Donghae laughs along although he does not find any humour in it; he just finds Hyukjae’s laugh charming and contagious. “I’ve never really been out of the country.”

“That’s a pity,” Donghae continues. “I should take you to China and show you my favourite places.”

There’s the smiles again, but for longer. Perhaps a few seconds before Hyukjae replies, “I’d really love that.”

Donghae smiles back, shyness only gone by a fraction before he leans back slightly, wincing when he hits something hard. He turns around and pulls his bag to the side, seeing his art book peer out. He glances nervously at Hyukjae, who is currently making some joke that Kyuhyun happens to find absolutely hilarious, because he’s wheezing and Hyukjae just laughs, and punches him lightly on the arm.

Donghae pulls out his art book, flipping to a blank page before bringing his knee up (per