1/1
A Match Made in RivalryDammit, Sehun don’t just stand there, pick up the phone!”
Baekhyun grumbles under his breath about annoying assistants as he walks around his desk and stares at the skyline outside of his expansive window. Never one to stay still for too long, Baekhyun begins pacing the distance between his desk and the expensive, artificial fern plant beside his personal assistant’s desk. With too much on his mind and no better way to deal with it, Baekhyun excuses himself to the bathroom so that he can scream out his anger in peace, while Sehun is still on the phone. However, he doesn’t stay composed for very long. As soon as he exits the bathroom, he sees Sehun standing next to his desk with a blank expression.
“Boss, you need to take a chill pill. The call was just Jonghyun calling to give you his thanks for, ‘working your magic,’” Sehun says, rolling his eyes and makes air quotes. “Why are you so stressed anyway? According to the chart,” Sehun averts his eyes to the large chart on their bulletin board, “you’ve paired everyone who has called in the last month successfully.”
“I know, Sehun, I know,” Baekhyun says, punctuating his sentence with a groan. “Can’t you let your old hyung stress out in peace?”
“Hyung, you’re literally only two years older than me,” Sehun clicks his tongue. “You graduated three years ago. I don’t think that’s very old. But, as you wish.” Sehun huffs and narrows his eyes before turning around to walk away, until Baekhyun grabs his wrist and makes him stay.
“Fine,” Baekhyun melodramatically sighs, “So maybe I was thinking about the job I lost to that imbecile at Kindred Spirits.”
“Baek, that was six months ago,” Sehun says flatly.
“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t still sting! And, I still had to work really hard after that to build clientele! What if he had put me out of business?”
“But he didn’t. End your pity party, and get back to work.”
Baekhyun lightly shoves Sehun’s chest in retaliation, and returns to his desk grumbling, “With the way you’re calling the shots around here, people may start thinking you’re the boss, Sehun.”
-
“Sehun, where’s my coffee?”
Sehun walks the ten feet from his desk to Baekhyun’s with a sigh, saying, “Boss, you’ve been annoyingly high strung the last three days. You own a matchmaking service for crying out loud; just get laid, seriously.”
Baekhyun sneers, but accepts the coffee. “It’s not that easy, Sehun. First, I need to make sure all my clients have pairs-”
“Which they do-”
“And then, is it morally correct to date a client? I mean, really; isn’t that against some code of ethics or something?”
Sehun huffs and sits down behind his own desk. “Now I think you’re making excuses. You need to stop being a little-” Sehun is cut off by the sound of a phone ring, and seeing Baekhyun’s glare, he quickly ends their conversation in favor of answer the phone. “Hello, this is Date's Easy Matchmaking Service, Sehun speaking. How may I help you?"
Sehun's eyes widen dramatically, and he almost whispers, "Of course, I-I'll schedule you in right now. I'm sure you're rather busy, so when is a good time for you?"
"Y-yes," Sehun types something rapidly on the computer. "That will be just fine! See you in a few hours!" Sehun hangs up the phone and walks over to Baekhyun's desk again.
"Get up and get ready, you have an important appointment in two hours."
"What?" Baekhyun screeches. "How could you just make an appointment without confirming with-"
"It's the major popstar Kai."
"I don't give a damn who he- Did you just say Kai? As in dancing machine Kai?"
"The one and only."
"Oh my god, am I even presentable to be in his presence oh god. What do I do, Sehun?" Baekhyun asks as he frantically grabs his satchel and pulls out his make-up bag and mirror.
Sehun snorts and walks away. "Go throw some water on your face, sit down, and realize it doesn't matter if he finds you presentable because you couldn't date him even if you're a perfect match because apparently it's against some code of ethics only you know about."
-
At 1 PM on the dot, the famous pop star Kai arrives at Date’s Easy, and he’s escorted into their “negotiation room” by a secretary. Since he’s such an honored client, Baekhyun orders Sehun to invite him into their shared office to talk over the logistics of why he’s here.
Sehun returns a minute or two later with the popstar in tow, and when they are at a reasonable distance, Baekhyun bows and says, “Hello, Kim-ssi. How are you?”
“Fine,” Kai mumbles quietly and stares at his fingernails.
“What are you here for? Do you have any qualms with love that I can fix?”
Kai sighs and tugs at a piece of hair that won’t stay behind his ear, “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, really. I like to think I’m the cute, shy type that’s easygoing and just wants someone to cuddle with and love. But apparently, every person I’ve dated doesn’t feel quite the same way, and I’m still single and lonely, and it doesn’t help that I don’t know who to trust in dating. You know, some people are after fame or money, or whatever, so that makes it even harder for me.”
“So,” Baekhyun drawls, “you want me to match you with someone who I happen to know is reliable, loves to cuddle, and well, wants love. You may have to be a bit more specific than that, but I can do that.”
Kai looks apprehensive. “How specific?”
Baekhyun laughs, turns to his computer, clicks a few things, and then stands up, saying, “Follow me.” He looks over and sees Sehun’s intrigued expression, “Both of you, I guess.”
Baekhyun leads them back into the negotiation room, which has one wall with separate stations with computers and desks.
“Okay Kai-ssi, if you’ll come over to this computer,” Baekhyun sits at the desk and logs into the computer, loads a webpage, and says, “and, if you’ll finish out this questionnaire, I’ll calculate your results, and call you back when I have a match. Sound good?”
“Yes, thank you so much,” Kai gently smiles before turning his attention to the questionnaire. Baekhyun excuses himself and Sehun, and the two of them leave Kai to finish his survey in favor of chatting alone in their office.
After a few seconds of silence, Baekhyun blurts out, “He’s a lot hotter in person.”
“Hyung, didn’t you just say that you couldn’t-”
Baekhyun huffs and fixes his popped collar, “I never said I wanted to date him; he’s too much of a hopeless romantic for my tastes. But, he is really hot.”
“He really is,” Sehun wistfully sighs.
Twenty minutes later, after Baekhyun and Sehun went to their respective desks and began working on various love algorithms (or that’s what Baekhyun calls his daily matches of 2048 with Sehun), Kai walks out of the negotiation room with a smile.
“I’m finished,” Kai says brightly.
“Okay, great,” Baekhyun stands and beams in his direction. “That’s all we can do for you today, but I’ll look over it, and expect a call from us in the next two to five days.”
“Okay,” Kai sweetly smiles, “thank you so much, and I’ll be looking forward to your call.” As he backs away to the door, he slightly waves and says, “Nice to meet you, Baekhyun-ssi, and you too Sehun-ssi.”
Baekhyun replies with a, “You too!” while Sehun blushes for some reason unknown to Baekhyun.
-
“Okay, let’s see here,” Baekhyun says as they pull up Kai’s answered questionnaire on his computer.
1. You are?
1. Male
2. Female
2. What is your name?
Kim Jongin (Kai)
3. When is your birth date?
MM DD YYYY
01 14 1991
4. What is your current employment status?
1. Unemployed
2. Student
3. Part-time
4. Full-time
5. Retired
6. Self employed
“He called himself ‘self employed,’” Baekhyun snorts.
“What was he supposed to say?” Sehun defends and leans closer over Baekhyun’s shoulder.
Baekhyun pauses for a second, tries to come up with a legitimate response, sighs, and returns his attention to the questionnaire.
5. You are more interested in the:
1. Same-
2. Opposite-
3. Both es
4. Not sure
“He’s gay,” Sehun says, amazed.
“Two seconds of looking at him told me he was gay. How long have you been in this business to still be amazed when people are gay? Better yet, how long have you been in this business to not be able sense when people are gay?” Baekhyun rolls his eyes and scrolls to the next question.
6. How tall are you?
182 cm
7. What is your marital status?
1. Married
2. Separated
3. Divorced
4. Never Married
5. Widowed
8. What do you do for a living?
I’m a pop star?
“‘I’m a pop star?’ Question mark. He’s a keeper right there, might as well write ‘shy’, ‘confused’, and ‘cutely-not-confident’ on my notes page,” Baekhyun says, chuckling under his breath.
9. Does your job take you away a lot for long periods of time?
1. Yes
2. No
3. Maybe (please specify)
I have tours and promotions to do, but I’m willing to take a hiatus or devote my time to something that won’t take up as much time. (maybe acting in a drama or something, I don’t know)
10. How would you describe your physical build?
1. Thin
2. Average
3. Plump
4. Muscular
5. Athletic
6. Voluptuous
7. A few extra pounds
8. Obese
9. Petite
11. What is your education?
1. Some high school
2. High school graduate
3. Some college
4. College graduate
5. Postgraduate
12. Do you smoke? If so, how much?
1. No
2. Social
3. Light
4. Average
5. Heavy
13. What is your religious affiliation? Does your religion have a major impact in your life?
Uh….. Does music count?
“Does music count?” Sehun sniggers.
“He’s proven himself to not be the y dancer Kai we know and love, and he’s only thirteen questions in. What an accomplishment.”
14. Do you drink? If so, how much?
1. No
2. Social (a few times a year)
3. Light (a few times a month)
4. Average (a few times a week)
5. Heavy (a few times a day)
15. Do you have children?
1. Yes
2. No
16. Do you want children?
1. Yes
2. No
3. Maybe (please specify)
In the really distant future, you know? Not when I’m twenty-three, haha.
If yes to number 15, please answer the questions 17-21. If no, skip to number 22.
22. What age range is acceptable for your partner?
min age: 19
max age: 30
“Oooh, look at this cradle-robber!” Baekhyun howls.
“Baek, that’s four years younger than him; that’s not cradle-robbing. Haven’t you been in the business long enough to tell who cradle-robbers are?” Sehun huffs and lightly shoves his shoulder.
Baekhyun removes his focus from the questionnaire, glares at Sehun, then scrolls down to the next question. “Whatever.”
23. What height range is preferable for you partner? (If no preference, leave blank)
24. What physical build would you find preferable? (Select all that apply)
1. Thin
2. Average
3. Plump
4. Muscular
5. Athletic
6. Voluptuous
7. Obese
8. Petite
25. Currently, what color is your hair?
1. Blonde
2. Brown
3. Red
4. Black
5. Other (please specify)
“His hair was more white than blonde,” Sehun notes.
“Perhaps, but blonde is close enough. In a certain light I’m sure it’s blonde.”
“Always so technical.”
26. What color are your eyes?
1. Brown
2. Green
3. Blue
4. Hazel
5. Other (please specify)
27. What activities do you do for fun?
Well, I obviously like dancing and singing, but I also like to read manhwa, go bowling with my friends, watch after my dogs (I love my dogs ^^), eat, listen to music, go on trips, sleep…. I don’t know…. Is that enough? Am I boring?
“‘Is that enough? Am I boring?’ Oh goodness, he’s going to be a fun one to match; I already see it.”
28. Toilet Paper?
1. Over
2. Under
29. Do you base your life decisions more on feelings or rational thinking?
1. Feelings
2. Rational Thinking
3. Both
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Sehun curves an eyebrow and looks at Baekhyun.
“What? That people who select both need to have more soul searching and are trying to skip that step by jumping head first into a relationship? Yeah?”
“Wow, that’s the best you’ve ever described that.”
“Well,” Baekhyun sighs, “after having to deal with forty year old men in denial of their uality more than once, you start to realize patterns. Am I right?”
Sehun snorts, “Did you just compare the hot, y popstar Kai to that forty year old permanently closeted man you tried to set up on a date last week?”
“.”
30. You are more _______.
1. Introverted
2. Extroverted
31. How clean is your bedroom right now?
1. Messy
2. Neat
Baekhyun and Sehun read through a few more questions, until Sehun makes the remark that they could just use their online matchmaking software. “After all, that was the whole reason you didn’t print out this, Baek.” When they get the results back, Baekhyun slouches into his chair, and Sehun laughs at him. “Oh, you were right. He’s going to be a blast matching with someone.”
“Don’t remind me…” Baekhyun dramatically moans and looks out the expansive window behind his desk, and when he sees a guitar shop, he sparks to life. “I have an idea.”
“What?”
“The old wives’ tale says that ‘opposites attract.’ Hell, it’s not even an old wives’ tale; it’s a true fact in science. I’ll match him with someone who’s nearly the complete opposite!”
Sehun raises his eyebrow. “And who would that be?”
Baekhyun just grins before sliding his chair forward and hurriedly typing on his keyboard.
-
“Kyungsoo, did you answer the phone?” Jongdae asks as he quickly types an email to a not-so-happy customer who really doesn’t want to admit that he’s interested in men. He sighs aloud until he hears Kyungsoo’s reply, “Yeah. I’m on the phone with a client. He wants to know if you’re available for 4:30?”
Jongdae opens his calendar on his computer, and seeing no planned appointments, he says, “Yeah, sure I guess we can get him in today. He should count himself lucky.”
Kyungsoo looks up at him from his desk and covers the phone with his hand so that the client doesn’t hear their conversation. “You should count yourself lucky. It’s the popstar Kai.”
Jongdae doesn’t know why he decided to take a drink right before Kyungsoo tells him that important detail, but nonetheless he regrets that decision as lukewarm coffee flies out of his mouth and onto his keyboard. He sighs again.
“Are you serious? Like, really y Kai?”
“Yes, the one whose thighs you want-”
“Sssh!” Jongdae screeches and reaches for some paper towels. “He may hear you! Don’t want to scare away any business!”
He hears Kyungsoo mumble a few other things, including, “Yes, we’ll see you in a few hours,” before his personal assistant hangs up the phone, rolls over in his chair and glares. “What are you doing just sitting there? This is perhaps the most important job you’ll ever have, and if you it up I’ll never forgive you and I’ll probably quit.”
Jongdae laughs. “You wouldn’t quit even if Samsung offered you a CEO position.”
Kyungsoo fixes a pointed glare on him, and that in itself is enough encouragement for Jongdae to stand, smooth down his button-down and slacks, and say, “What should we do first, my captain?”
-
Jongdae would never admit to watching the main highway visible from his office like a hawk for the next hour and a half; however, the minute he sees a fancy car turn into the parking lot, Jongdae races to his front office, sits beside his receptionist at her desk, and waits for the coming popstar, except that he must have had a false alarm because he waits for more than twenty minutes without the man showing up.
Finally, at 4:35 - and just when Jongdae was preparing to sulk back to his office - the popstar in question walks through the door and approaches his receptionist’s desk, embarrassed smile and all. “Hello, I’m Kai. I believe I spoke on the phone with you earlier?” She looks at him, confused, and then turns her attention to Jongdae who is currently trying to say something logical. Thankfully, Kyungsoo chooses the right time to appear because he walks out of their shared office and says, “Actually, you spoke with me on the phone earlier. I’m Do Kyungsoo,” he looks at the popstar, then to Jongdae, “and this is the matchmaker, Kim Jongdae.”
Kai bows at both of them, and Jongdae says, “Okay, so if you’ll just follow Kyungsoo into the office, we’ll get started.” Jongin simply nods, and Kyungsoo leads the way.
Jongdae motions for them to sit in front of his desk and he asks, “So, I’m just assuming here, but I’d say you’re here because you’re looking for love, yes?”
Kai snorts, “Well, yes, I’m at a matchmaking service, after all.”
“I was just clarifying,” Jongdae laughs. “I get a lot of people looking for friendships, sometimes even a few purely physical relationships, so I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.”
Kai nods quickly. “Well, of course.”
Jongdae flashes him a large grin, then says, “Well, that’s super. Fill out this love questionnaire over there,” he points to the computer against the wall, “and we’ll get back to you within a week with potential matches. Alright?”
Kai nods eagerly, then with Kyungsoo’s assistance, accesses the online questionnaire and quietly answers the questions.
Twenty-five minutes later, Kai leaves with a wave, and Kyungsoo sends Jongdae Kai’s results from the computer he was using.
At first while looking through Kai’s results, Jongdae is incredibly smiley and excited, but the further he looks into them, the more his smile depletes into a steady, expressionless face.
“Why such the long face, boss?” Kyungsoo asks as he hooks his chin on Jongdae’s shoulder and looks at Kai’s questionnaire. Thirty seconds of silence is broken when Kyungsoo laughs and says, “Wow, I was expecting him to be a hard-to-get guy, not a hard-to-match guy. Well, honestly, those two are still hand in hand, but you get what I mean.”
“Yes, I get what you mean, Kyungsoo. That still doesn’t help the fact that the boy, who could be the best thing that’s ever happened to my company, is going to be the most difficult match I’ve ever made.”
Kyungsoo has his thinking expression on, wide eyes and all, until he smirks, “Wait, isn’t he a really good dancer? Wouldn’t he like to date another dancer? That’s a start.”
Jongdae hums, “Kyungsoo, you may have just paved the way for a beautiful relationship.”
-
Three days later, Baekhyun calls Kai/Jongin/whatever he goes by with great news that he matched him with someone so quickly, and he could almost sense the large smile on the younger’s face through the phone. Baekhyun tells him to swing by the office whenever he can, and he supposes Jongin is so excited that he can’t even wait a day because the younger boy it at his office no later than three hours after his phone call.
He enters his office with the same smile Baekhyun sensed through the phone and says, “You really managed to find me a match already?”
“Oh, but of course. I told you I’d call in the next three to five days,” Baekhyun says with a large grin.
Kai cutely bounces up and down on the balls of his feet. “Well, are you going to tell me his name?”
Baekhyun sighs and leans back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, before he laughs and leans forward, scooting his chair closer to his desk. “His name’s Park Chanyeol. He’s 185 cm, a cuddle monster, and he plays guitar, so I think you’ll like him a lot.”
If eyes could portray someone swooning, Baekhyun muses that Jongin’s eyes are certainly trying. “When do we get to go on a date?”
Baekhyun laughs. “Wow, slow down a bit. When are you open for a date? He doesn’t know you're a popstar, but I did tell him that you have a bit of a crazy schedule, so he said that he’s willing to go whenever you’re good.”
Jongin pauses to think; then, he says, “Is tonight too soon?”
Baekhyun deadpans and taps a pen on his desk, “Yes.”
Jongin sighs and perks up suddenly when he asks, “And tomorrow night?”
Baekhyun laughs and says, “I guess that can be done. Do you have a particular time in mind?”
“Well, where does he want to take me?”
Baekhyun tries to hold out on his snark with the boy in front of him when he says, “I’d say that depends on the time you can go.”
Jongin thinks for a few more seconds, and then smiles, “I guess I’m good from 7 to, well, really anytime. I’m busy until around 5 with dance rehearsal, then I’ll need to prepare, so yeah 7 is good.”
“Well, I’ll tell him and help arrange the date; then I’ll call you with the time and place to be tomorrow. Okay?”
Jongin smiles, waves, and when he turns around to leave his office, says, “Thanks so much, by the way. I really appreciate it.”
Baekhyun grins, and pulls out a nail file from his desk to fix a hangnail. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, save the sappiness for your date tomorrow.”
-
Baekhyun certainly wasn’t anticipating Jongin’s presence and ceaseless whining first thing the next morning.
“Baekhyun-ssi! How could you do that to me? I thought you were a matchmaker!” Jongin grouses as Baekhyun unlocks his office and reluctantly allows the other boy to enter.
“I’m assuming your date didn’t go well with Chanyeol then.” Baekhyun sighs, realizing that his and Sehun’s original thoughts were correct: This boy just has to be the most difficult person to match.
Jongin groans, “It wasn’t so bad at first. He was really gentlemanly, sweet and caring. His smile was really charismatic. But, it wasn’t even halfway through our date and he managed to offend me! I mean, I know I have a darker complexion than other people, but damn why did he just have to point it out like an ? And, he never shut up. Seriously. He talked from the minute I met up with him until the minute I said goodbye. Why does he talk so much?”
Baekhyun runs a hand through his hair and yells for Sehun to get him some coffee, because it’s way too early to be dealing with this without caffeine. “Should I add that to your traits then? You don’t want someone who talks a lot? I can do that.”
Jongin nods his head approvingly. “I’d really appreciate that.”
Jongin begins to rant again about his date with Chanyeol, and as Baekhyun would much rather not listen to his whining, he averts his attention to his surroundings, to the organized files on Sehun’s desk, to Sehun himself when he brings him his coffee with a blank expression, and finally to the popstar who’s dressed in his dance attire. An idea pops in Baekhyun’s mind, causing him to grin excitedly. Jongin, not sure why Baekhyun’s grinning, looks at him strangely and continues to complain about Chanyeol.
He was already only halfway listening to Jongin’s grumbles, but now he’s really not listening in favor of texting an old friend to see what he’s doing tonight, and if they can meet up. He doesn’t even realize when Jongin leaves his desk for Sehun’s, and he doesn’t care because he just received a text telling him to go to their local coffeeshop later tonight, and he’s thinking he’s on a roll with this Jongin matchmaking deal.
-
At 6:30, Jongdae waves goodbye to Kyungsoo and dashes down to his friend Minseok’s coffee shop, Espresso Yourself, conveniently beside the equally cheesy En-Thai-Sing Thai restaurant owned by his friend BamBam. When he arrives at ten till 7 and sees an indie guitarist in the middle of his set list, he grins and orders some coffee while watching him.
At around 7:20, the guitarist finishes his performance and bows an almost ridiculous amount of times. Jongdae takes this as his opportunity to greet his good friend with, “Yixing, that last song was cute! Is it new?” Upon seeing Yixing’s grin and protruding dimple, Jongdae laughs and ushers the other to the table where he was sitting earlier.
“So, Yixing-ah, I have a question for you. Are you dating anyone right now?”
Yixing, staring intensely at his coffee cup, falls out of stupor. “Wait, huh? What did you ask, Jongie?”
Jongdae laughs and reaches over the table to lightly slap Yixing on the head, “I asked you if you’re dating anyone.”
Yixing narrows his eyes in confusion, “Is this your way of asking me out, because Jongdae I never like to turn anyone down, but you’re-”
“It’s for my matchmaking service, you dweeb. He’s pretty hot, has a great body, assumingly because he’s a dancer,” Jongdae looks over at the other man and sees that he’s captivated at that detail. “Yes, he’s a really great dancer. I think you guys would work out well.”
Yixing ponders what he said for a few moments before he grins and nods his head. “Okay, I’m down for that. When will our date be?”
“If you’ll come by my office-” Jongdae is interrupted by a really loud screech, and he looks around the quaint coffee shop until he finds the culprit: the incredibly angry owner of the rival matchmaking service, Date’s Easy.
“You!” Baekhyun growls and stomps over to Jongdae’s table. “You! What are you doing here?”
Jongdae smirks and takes a sip of his coffee. “Well, you see Yixing and I go way back-”
“No, I mean, how did you know that I was going to ask Yixing if he’s single?“ Baekhyun snarls.
“Not you too Baek! I already had to turn down Jongdae-”
“Not for me, Yixing!” Baekhyun dramatically sighs. “No, I was looking to match you with someone, but it appears that Jongdae, being the he is, managed to swoop you in with his deceitful ways.”
“Oh, yes, I most certainly have,” Jongdae smirks. “And, that’s not the only person. Did you know that I’m currently matching a famous popstar?”
Jongdae was expecting Baekhyun’s face to look like a fish out of water, so he’s a little angry when he sees the other man respond smugly, “Yeah, well, so am I. I bet who I’m working with is way hotter and way more famous than who you’re working with.”
“Is that so?” Jongdae sneers when Baekhyun grabs another chair and sits down beside Yixing. “I happen to be working with the famous popstar and dancer, Kai.”
Now Baekhyun really does look like a fish out of water, and Jongdae is incredibly happy about that for all of five seconds until Baekhyun responds, “You liar! I’m working with Kai.”
“Wait, what? How can you be working with Kai if…. If I’m working with him?”
Baekhyun groans. “That little… He’s so ing desperate he employed both of us. Bless his soul if he somehow still ends up alone.”
“Oh, but he won’t, because I’m his matchmaker.” Jongdae grins.
Baekhyun doesn’t even have enough energy to properly address Jongdae’s attack. “Yeah, whatever. Just wait. You’ll see how working with him is.”
“Maybe he’s just that way with you,” Jongdae laughs, stands, and then says to Yixing, “Stop by my office tomorrow, and we’ll talk about your date. Oh, and if Baek here tries to set you up on a date with someone, completely ignore him. I’ll you later Xingxing.” Jongdae looks at Baekhyun and guffaws at his angry expression. “See you later, Baekkie.”
Baekhyun growls and tries to retort, but Jongdae has already left by the time he comes up with a decent response.
-
Jongdae walks into his office three days later to see Jongin waiting for him beside an obviously resigned Kyungsoo.
“Jongdae-ssi, it’s your office building yet you’re not the first one here?” Jongin whines.
Jongdae looks over at Kyungsoo and seeing the other one roll his eyes and pretend to choke himself, Jongdae knows the other man needs to start his breathing exercises before he loses it on their valuable client.
“Why are you here so early, Jongin-ssi?” Jongdae asks as he sits down at his desk and Kyungsoo leaves to get him a cup of coffee and his breakfast.
“Because I needed to tell you about my date and the mornings are the best time for me to do it. I usually have a more flexible schedule in the mornings.”
“I see,” Jongdae drawls. “So, what did you need to tell me?”
“That the date was a disaster,” Jongin grouses.
“Oh? How so?”
“Well, it wasn’t exactly him that was too bad… Okay, maybe it was. But, I liked that he was a dancer because obviously I love to dance, and maybe I was even hoping for doing something with him later that night-”
“Don’t talk about Yixing like that; he’s so innocent and sweet!” Jongdae whines.
“Oh,” Jongin dramatically pauses, “I could tell. But like, he was always lost in his own world! I’m pretty sure if you were to call him right now, he couldn’t even tell you my name.”
“That’s partially because he wouldn’t be awake at this hour,” Jongdae defends.
“Whatever the reason, he was sweet, really cute, well mannered, and a dancer, but I’m afraid that we just won’t work.”
“I see,” Jongdae drones. “So, now I’m assuming you want me to look for someone else.”
“Yes!” Jongin smiles.
Jongdae haphazardly says, “Yeah, I’ll get on that,” just in time for Kyungsoo to walk through the door with a steaming cup of coffee and a doughnut. Jongdae feels his mouth watering and he’d much rather be eating that doughnut than listening to this popstar whine about his failed date.
Seeing Jongdae’s scary personal assistant, Jongin excuses himself with a smile and leaves the office, and Jongdae, mouth full with doughnut, yells, “I’ll call you when I get a match!”
When they hear the door close, they both sigh and Jongdae says, “Dammit, that little was right.”
“Who Jongin-ssi?” Kyungsoo, too focused on rearranging various files on his desk, doesn’t even look over at Jongdae. “What could he be right about?”
“No,” Jongdae dismisses, “Baekhyun, the owner of Date’s Easy. Turns out number two, aka Jongin, hired both of us, and Baekhyun had already matched him with someone and it apparently went askew, just like this date. I saw him in the coffee shop when I went to see Yixing.”
“Ah,” Kyungsoo laughs, “just your luck that the best job you’ve gotten in the last few months just happens to be the shared with your rival.”
“Yes, how great,” Jongdae sneers. “I honestly have no idea who to match this boy with. The matches the software’s giving me I already know won’t be worth the time and effort to set up on a date with him, because I just sense that he’ll reject them anyway.”
“To be honest, he’s probably going to reject at least the first two or three candidates.”
“Stop being logical and help me come up with someone, Kyungie!” Jongdae whines.
“Fine, you big baby. How about…. I know! My RA in college! I don’t know anyone who’s more loving and considerate, and Jongin seems like he needs to be taken care of and shown some love.”
“If this guy is so ‘loving and considerate,’ why haven’t you dated him?” Jongdae teases and waggles his eyebrows.
Kyungsoo blushes and ices his expression. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll send him a text and see if he’s willing to meet up with you, and then I’ll let you know when and where.”
“Wow, you still have his number. Impressive.”
“Whatever ; you’ll thank me later.”
-
Jongdae’s confused as to why Kyungsoo’s former RA wants to meet in the university’s library because he imagines that he graduated at least four years ago, but Kyungsoo did say he was a very intelligent, bookish type, and maybe this is his hangout of some sort. Somehow, Jongdae knows he’s going to look back at this moment when Jongin’s date inevitably fails and realize that he should have stopped when he knew this guy’s preferred hangout was the library. At the university.
However, not discouraged, Jongdae walks into the front entrance of the library and pulls out his phone for a picture of the guy he’s looking for. Jongdae sees that he’s rather pale, short, and, if his clothes have anything to say about him, well mannered. Jongdae climbs the stairs to the second floor and nearly drops his phone in surprise.
Right in front of his eyes is Kyungsoo’s former RA, Kim Joonmyun, but right beside him is the span of Satan, little number one, Byun Baekhyun. Jongdae stomps forward, and with his lips in a tight smile, grits, “Baekhyun, what a pleasure to see you here.”
Jongdae could sense and feel his smirk before he saw it. “Oh yes, quite the pleasure Jongie. Tell me, what are you doing here?”
Disregarding Joonmyun’s confused look, Jongdae sneers, “Why do you think I’m here? Tell me, why are you here?”
“Hmm, you really want to know?” Baekhyun croons. “My classmate and friend from uni, Joonmyun here, suffered through a sad breakup maybe two months ago, and as the good friend I am, I never wanted to set him up with someone until he felt the utmost comfortable, which just so happens to be now, at a time where he may be the luckiest guy in town to go on a date with our mutual hunk. Am I right, Jongdae?”
“I can’t ing believe you,” Jongdae yells and slams his hands on the table the other two are sitting around.
“Now Jongdae,” Baekhyun shushes, “we mustn't make a scene in the library. I’d hate for you to be kicked out while it’s raining-”
“, it’s sunny as-”
“On your parade,” Baekhyun smirks and gives Jongdae a once-over.
“You know what? Whatever. We both know how the boy is; I’ll honestly be shocked if he doesn’t end up whining in your office sometime within the week.”
“Don’t scare Joonmyun away with false claims; since you’re a matchmaker, isn’t it your job to make sure people are happily in love, albeit, this time not from your hands?” With every successive statement, Baekhyun’s smirk continues to grow.
“Whatever Baekhyun. I’m done here. Nice to meet you Joonmyun.”
Jongdae’s nearly completely down the stairs when he hears Baekhyun shout, “Do I not get a ‘nice seeing you, Baekhyun’?” Jongdae can still feel his smirk even once he’s left the library.
-
Four days later sees Jongin back in Baekhyun’s office at 9 AM sharp, much to Baekhyun’s not-so-silent dismay. Baekhyun is still trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes when he sees the other man’s frowning face, and he mentally groans as leads them into his office.
“So, I take it you and Joonmyun are no good,” Baekhyun says expressionlessly when Jongin plops down in the chair in front of his desk.
Jongin sighs, “No, of course not. I’m hopeless.”
Silence fills the air as Baekhyun waits for Sehun to bring him his daily cup of caffeine, until Jongin clears his throat. “Isn’t this the time when you say, ‘No, you’re not hopeless Jongin-ssi. We’ll find you someone’?”
“‘No, you’re not hopeless Jongin-ssi. We’ll find you someone,’” Baekhyun sarcastically scoffs. “Well, aren’t you going to tell what went wrong with this date so I can choose better next time?”
“Right,” Jongin begins, and Baekhyun’s attention span is already waning. “He really is a sweet, kind, and considerate guy, and he paid for everything, not even giving me any time to get my wallet out to pay! He seemed really loving and comforting.”
“But?” Baekhyun asks as he stares at him fingernails, analyzing for any misshapen nails.
“But, I’m not looking for a mother! He was watching after me so much, making sure I didn’t step out into the street too early, or that I didn’t drop something, or that I didn’t….”
By this point, Baekhyun is dozing off, until a loud ring alerts him and, as Sehun’s still out of the office, he decides to answer it himself.
“Hello?” Baekhyun says sleepily.
“Yes, is this Byun Baekhyun? I’m calling on behalf of Kindr-”
“Dammit Kyungsoo give me the phone,” Baekhyun hears a voice in the background, then some rustling, until the voice previously in the background says, “Hey, Baekhyun. It’s me Jongdae.”
Baekhyun sneers, but realizing that Jongdae can’t see him, he huffs into the phone, “What? Are you here to brag about how you knew their date wasn’t going to work?”
“Normally, yes. But, I was actually calling because…. Um…. Well….”
“He’s calling because he’d like to meet you at the local bistro-” Baekhyun hears the man who called him in the first place shout in the background.
“Oh my god, I’m the one talking on the phone, Kyungsoo! But, yeah he’s right. You wanna meet, maybe get brunch or something? Talk about a few things.”
In any other circumstance, Baekhyun would happily tell Jongdae to go to hell, but seeing as Jongin is still complaining about Joonmyun and he’s really not up for listening to this boy’s whining bull, he sighs, “Sure, that’s fine. Where? What time?”
“Meet me at the bistro three blocks from Espresso Yourself? Is now too early?”
Baekhyun laughs and looks at Jongin who is still complaining, “No actually now would be a great time. I’ll be there in the next thirty to forty five minutes.”
“Okay. See you.”
Baekhyun returns his attention to Jongin, and a few seconds later, Sehun walks into the room, and upon seeing Jongin in front of Baekhyun’s desk, he improves his posture and strides to his boss’s desk with a coffee mug in hand. Sehun’s sudden arrival prompts Baekhyun to leave, now that someone else is here to somewhat pay attention to the whiny popstar.
“Where are you going?” Sehun and Jongin miraculously say at the same time. Baekhyun side glances them weirdly and grabs his coat from the back of his chair.
“I’m going to meet with someone. I’ll be back a little after lunch at the latest, Sehun.”
“Is it a potential date?” Jongin perks up.
Baekhyun guffaws, “I assure you Jongin-ssi, this has to be the last person you’d want to date.”
“So, Chanyeol?”
Baekhyun mentally facepalms and walks out the door, yelling, “No, way worse!”
-
Thirty something minutes later, Baekhyun walks into the bistro and sees Jongdae waiting, drumming his fingers on the table. Normally, Baekhyun would grin at his lunch partner (because it’s really not a date) before walking over to the table to join him, but this is Jongdae, and he’s not worthy of his grins.
Baekhyun slides into the chair across from Jongdae and lays his jacket on the back of his chair, “Hello.”
“Hey,” Jongdae says, staring intently at his mug.
“So, have you ordered?”
“Hmm? No, I waited for you.”
Baekhyun sneers before grinning widely. “Is that so? You’re so considerate.”
“What can I say? I’m the definition of considerate.” Jongdae smirks.
“So, what’s good here? Me and my assistant usually go to the one near our office.”
“Well,” Jongdae scans the menu before looking at Baekhyun, “I’m going to get puttanesca à trois, but I suggest their asparagus soup.”
“Aw, but what if I don’t like it?”
“You’ll order something else?”
Baekhyun pouts and, while staring at the menu, mumbles, “Fine. I’ll take your word. But, if my food is gross, I’m eating yours.”
Jongdae laughs vibrantly, prompting a laugh from Baekhyun as well. “Whatever you say,” Jongdae acquiesces.
After the waitress arrives and writes down Baekhyun’s drink order along with their food orders, Baekhyun unravels and re-ravels the napkin holding his cutlery, asking, “So, why did you ask me out?”
“Hey, don’t word it like that! I was just, I wanted to talk about how ing difficult it is working with Jongin. Kyungsoo’s gotten tired of my ing, and I guessed your assistant was tired of yours as well. This kid, I swear.”
“God,” Baekhyun moans, “I don’t understand what’s so wrong with everyone so far! I set him up with a guy who was like the direct opposite of him, because opposites attract you know-”
“Why did you think that bull works in matchmaking-”
“And well, that obviously didn’t work out well. But, with all due respect to Jongin, I don’t doubt the guy I set him up with somehow offended him. He’s never had a way with words. How did his date with Yixing go wrong?”
Jongdae huffs, “For him to come in my office early as and complain from the moment he opened his mouth until he left, I don’t really know why it didn’t work out. Something about him being lost in his own world, and well, it’s all blurry after that.”
“Ah I see,” Baekhyun responds with a lifted eyebrow, not really seeing at all.
“He said he liked that Yixing was sweet, and cute and a dancer, but I don’t know, I think the kid is so used to the single life he doesn’t know how to handle dating someone,“ Jongdae heaves another sigh. “What happened with Joonmyun?”
The waitress returns with Baekhyun’s water and he smiles at her before adding a straw and turning his attention back to Jongdae. “You think him complaining about Yixing was bad? Him whining about Joonmyun today was enough for me to agree to lunch with you.”
“For him to be just one year younger than my personal assistant, he’s really annoying.”
“He’s the same age as my assistant and, well, Sehun’s still annoying, but he’s not as annoying,” Baekhyun sighs. “From the bit that I remember, which isn’t much because I didn’t feel the need to pay attention, he said that Joonmyun was too motherly-”
“From the way Kyungsoo described him, I believe that-”
Baekhyun stirs his straw in his drink aimlessly. “Oh yes, I’m not denying Joonmyun’s motherly ways, but I thought that’s what Jongin wanted, someone to take care of him, you know?” Baekhyun raises his eyes heavenwards, pleading for someone to take pity on him. ”Why is this so hard?”
Jongdae nods his head in agreement, “You’re telling me.” He plays with his cutlery for a few seconds until he mumbles, “Hey, Baekhyun-ah?”
Baekhyun looks up from his drink to see Jongdae is avoiding his eyes. “Yeah, Jongdae?”
Jongdae sighs and finally looks at him. “Look, how about we call a truce? Like, obviously neither of us is getting very far with the kid, and he’s really stressful, and I know I have other clients who deserve my attention, and I’m sure you do too-”
“Jongdae, why are you rambling?”
Jongdae runs a hand through his hair and laughs lightly, “ if I know. So, what do you say? Truce?” Jongdae holds up his white napkin and brandishes it like a flag.
“God, you’re such a loser,” Baekhyun laughs, waving his napkin as well. “Yeah, whatever. Truce.”
“So yeah, that’s great,” Jongdae stutters. “Nice weather we’re having?”
“I already knew you were lame. I didn’t know you were this lame.”
“I’m not lame!” Jongdae defends. “I just- how would you start a casual conversation with the guy who is your competition in the corporate world?”
“Simple: like this. Tell me, Jongdae, do you come here often?” Baekhyun smirks.
Jongdae snorts and almost inhales his coffee as he takes a sip. “Okay, so, that’s not what I had in mind. Are you sure you’re a matchmaker if those are the lines you’re giving to your clients?”
“Are you sure you’re a matchmaker if you can’t hold an easy conversation with someone of the same age?”
“Whatever. So, Baekhyun, outside of work and all, what do you like to do?” Jongdae mumbles into his coffee mug, though Baekhyun still understands.
“Uh, well when I was in college, I always hung out with my friends, but now that we’ve all grown and entered the adult world, I don’t get to as much.” Baekhyun frowns and stirs his straw again, “I don’t know; I like checking out the indie music around here because of Yixing and my friend Chanyeol. I go to the theater. I still hang out with friends and get way too wasted for a man my age…. Wow…. It kinda feels like we’re on an awkward first date.” Baekhyun nervously chuckles.
“What, with your awful pickup line earlier?“ Jongdae huffs.
“No, with your bland questions. What about you? What do you do?” Baekhyun shoots back.
“Lots of stuff! Like, I bike and skateboard; sometimes I try to play basketball but ultimately fail due to taller friends. Um, I like to go wine tasting every now and again…. Sometimes I even enjoy talking about pretentious literature with my clients and former professors as if I’ve actually read it myself instead of the online summary.”
“Wow,” Baekhyun says, genuinely impressed, “you live quite a life.”
“What can I say? I’m the-”
“Save it.” Baekhyun rolls his eyes.
The waitress returns with their orders, and as soon as Baekhyun takes a spoonful of his soup, Jongdae asks, “How is it?”
“You look like a puppy who’s waiting for a treat,” Baekhyun guffaws, “it’s alright, I guess.”
Jongdae looks at Baekhyun blankly as he takes a bite of his noodle dish. “You just don’t want to admit that I’m right, as always; that soup is fantastic.”
“Whatever,” Baekhyun averts his eyes to the empty table beside him so that he doesn’t have to see Jongdae’s smug face. “You were clearly wrong about Yixing and Jongin working out.”
“So? Every date you’ve set for our resident hopeless romantic has ended in failure,” Jongdae smirks. “Besides, I thought we were done talking about him. We made a truce, remember?”
Baekhyun eats another spoonful and jeers, “Probably the smartest thing you’ve ever done.”
“Nah,” Jongdae shakes his head, eyes crinkling in near laughter, “it’s about number fifteen on my list of smartest things I’ve ever done…. For this week, anyway.”
Baekhyun’s sneer transforms into a cackle. “Why did I agree to this again?”
“I don’t know; why did you?”
“I was asking-“ Baekhyun stops talking when he hears Jongdae’s phone ring, and with a sigh, Jongdae turns away and answers it.
“Yes, Kyungsoo?”
Baekhyun doesn’t hear what the other’s assistant says, but judging by Jongdae’s widened eyes and raised eyebrows, it must be something surprising.
“Okay, I’ll be back in the office soon,” Jongdae mumbles, ends the phone call, and looks at Baekhyun apologetically.
“I’m sorry to cut this short, but Kyungsoo needs me at the office. This has been,” Jongdae pauses, seemingly collecting his thoughts, “nice. It’s been nice, Baekhyun.”
“Yeah, okay. How are you going to ask me out-“
“Don’t word it like-“
“Make me waste my time, and then you’re going to leave first.” Baekhyun clicks his tongue in faux disapproval.
“What do you want from me? For me to invite you to another,” Jongdae swallows dramatically, “lunch get-together?”
Baekhyun awkwardly chuckles and looks away from Jongdae. “Sure, fine, if you want to. But you’re paying next time.”
“Whatever you say,” Jongdae jokes good-naturedly and grabs the waitress’s attention for the check. He pulls out a debit card from his wallet and hands the check and his card back to her with a smile. When she returns a few minutes later with Jongdae’s card and receipt, Jongdae stuffs the receipt and his card into his wallet, stands, and removes his jacket from his chair. “I’ll see you next time, Baekhyun.” Jongdae winks and walks away.
“Next time,” Baekhyun mutters and eats his soup alone. Fifteen minutes later, when he finally finishes his soup and asks the waitress for his check, she looks at him confusedly and says that his date paid for both their meals before he left. Too bothered with the idea that he’s now indebted to Jongdae of all people, Baekhyun doesn’t bother to correct her about him being his date.
-
“What was so important that you interrupted me on my early lunch?” Jongdae asks as he storms into his office, only to see the main cause of his recent anxiety sitting in front of his desk.
“Hello, Jongdae-ssi,” Jongin brightly smiles, and Jongdae tries his hardest to discreetly sigh as he walks into his office and sits behind his desk.
“What are you doing here today, Jongin-ssi? Don’t you have dance practice? Or free time better spent sleeping?” Jongdae looks at the other boy with an equally beaming smile, conveniently leaving, “and not bugging me,” out of the conversation.
“I stopped by because I wanted to see if you have any new matches for me?” Jongin’s eyes resemble a lost puppy’s.
“No, not yet. Listen, actually I was-“
“Before you say anything,” Jongin interrupts, “I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you doing this for me-“
Jongdae lightheartedly scoffs, “Well, you are paying me for this.”
“I know,” Jongin whines, “but you’ve been trying hard to find me someone, and I understand that I may not be the easiest to match-“
Even Kyungsoo, quietly composed as always, snorts from his desk where he’s reorganizing some clients’ portfolios.
“But, I’m grateful. Thank you, Jongdae-ssi.” Jongin finishes with a saccharine smile.
Jongdae raises his eyebrows and smiles, “You’re welcome Jongin-ssi. I’ll keep looking, and I’ll call you when I find someone, okay?”
“Okay!” Jongin grins and leaves the office soon after that, and as soon as Jongdae hears the door gently close, he lets out an audible breath and turns to Kyungsoo and sees the other man delicately arranging clients and their successful matches on their bulletin board.
“So, now I’ll probably look like the biggest ,” Jongdae offhandedly says, looking away from Kyungsoo and putting his attention on a lose thread in his shirt.
“More than you already do?” Kyungsoo gibes, measuring the distance between one photograph and another.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jongdae playfully snarls. “I may or may not have suggested a truce with Baekhyun.”
“You’re on an amicable first name basis now? How was your date?”
“You’re more concerned with my not-a-date with Baekhyun than with the fact that I made a truce with him?” Jongdae grouses.
“Why did you make a truce with him?” Kyungsoo stares at him expressionlessly.
“At the time it sounded like a good idea… We were both annoyed with Jongin, and I don’t know, we just did.”
“Well, at least now you can use that to your advantage,” Kyungsoo evilly grins, “because Baekhyun won’t suspect you of anything, so count this as a freebie, and make sure it counts.”
“How do you change from cute and innocent to scary and evil so quickly?” Jongdae wonders aloud.
“After working here for years, anything is possible,” Kyungsoo mutters.
-
Baekhyun returns to the office with a spring in his walk and a grin on his face until the smirking face of his personal assistant confronts him as he strides through the doors.
“So, how was your date?” Sehun snidely asks as soon as Baekhyun sits down behind his desk.
“It wasn’t a date!” Baekhyun growls as he aimlessly scrolls through his Instagram feed.
“Hyung, yes it was.”
“No it wasn’t! All we did was talk about Jongin, and maybe a few other things, but that’s it.” When he sees Sehun’s unconvinced stare, he adds, “I’m serious!”
Sehun flicks a piece of lint off his shirt and uninterestedly questions, “Then why were you so excited when you entered the office?”
“Because I was excited to be away from Jongdae!” Baekhyun yells.
Sehun’s pointed glare makes Baekhyun whisper, “Fine, so maybe it wasn’t that bad, but it really wasn’t a date.”
“Really?” Sehun raises his eyebrows as he types something; Baekhyun wants to believe Sehun raised his eyebrows at the computer screen, not at him.
“Yes, really.” Baekhyun mocks.
“Talking about only Jongin and a ‘few other things’ doesn’t take two hours.”
“Why are you questioning me?” Baekhyun whines, “Okay, so maybe while we were there we made a truce.”
“A truce?” Sehun turns his attention to Baekhyun and, his blank stare nearly bores into Baekhyun’s mind.
“Yes, a truce. We’re taking a break from Jongin, to focus on other clients,” Baekhyun says confidently.
“Yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts,” Sehun mutters.
“What? I won’t break the truce! And, I don’t know, Jongdae’s not that bad of a guy. He won’t break it either.”
Sehun rolls his eyes and rests his head in his hands, elbows on his desk, so that he can continue to stare at his boss. “And what has he done that convinces you of that?”
“Well, h-he…” Baekhyun stutters and turns away from Sehun’s intense gaze.
Sudden realization crosses over Sehun’s face, and he laughs loudly before freezing his expression. “He paid for your food didn't he?”
Baekhyun remains silent, making Sehun snicker, until Baekhyun finally defends himself. “Well, yeah, but it’s not a big-“
“It was a date,” Sehun says with a tone of finality and returns his attention to his computer, and just like with the waitress who said his get together with Jongdae was a date, Baekhyun doesn’t attempt to clarify.
-
After arranging and then rearranging their clients and matches on their bulletin board, organizing more files for Jongdae, taking a necessary fifteen minute coffee break away from his boss, and returning only to see Jongdae stressing and pulling at his hair, Kyungsoo sighs and sits down in one of the chairs in front of Jongdae’s desk. “What has you stressed now?”
“What do you think?” Jongdae groans as he runs a hand through his hair, trying to fix it from where he was pulling it earlier.
“If you’re worried about matching Jongin, why don’t you see if any of your other friends are single?” Kyungsoo nonchalantly asks as he places his hands on his perfectly starched pants.
“Like who?” Jongdae turns forward completely, full attention on his assistant.
Kyungsoo presses his lips together in thought. “Who was that guy who burst into the office a few months ago demanding that you go out for a night of ‘Chinese drinking’?”
“You mean Luhan?” Jongdae claps his hands with laughter. “Why do you think Luhan is a good choice?”
Kyungsoo moves his stare disdainfully from Jongdae to an old coffee mug on his boss’s desk. “I don’t know; they’re both pretty. At this rate, finding a person who has similar interests as Jongin doesn’t seem like it’s going to work.”
Jongdae chuckles, “Baekhyun already tried the, ‘opposites attract’ thing, and obviously, it didn’t work.”
“I’m not saying you should deliberately match him with someone who is the exact opposite of him,” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “I’m just saying that you shouldn’t focus on a major thing they have in common, like dancing in Yixing’s case. And besides, what do you have to lose at this point?”
Jongdae sighs dejectedly, picks up a pen, and taps in aimlessly on his desk until Kyungsoo snatches it with a stern gaze.
“I guess I’ll send him a text and see if he’s free,” Jongdae mutters.
-
“Jongdae-ah, what made you invite me to a night out for drinking? Last time we did this was six months ago and you swore that you’d never do it again,” Luhan lifts an eyebrow and his lips curve upward as he takes a sip of his beer.
“What can I say,” Jongdae averts his attention to a dramatic scene across the bar where some woman is pouring her drink on another guy, “I’ve missed the pleasurable sight of you wasted.”
“I knew there was a catch!”
“No actually,” Jongdae looks over at Luhan to see the other man staring at their bartender before looking back at him, “I wanted to set you up on a date.”
“Why?” Luhan narrows his eyes and puts down his beer. “Who is it?”
Jongdae waves a dismissive hand, “Never mind who it is. Just know that he’s hot and dances really well.”
Luhan gasps dramatically and holds a hand to his chest. “Am I that shallow that you assume I want to know whether this date is hot or not?”
“Yes,” Jongdae deadpans.
Luhan rolls his eyes and takes another sip of his beer. “Sure, I guess I’ll do it.”
“Really?” Jongdae’s expression brightens, and he finally takes a sip of his beer.
“Might as well,” Luhan mumbles, lips around the bottle. “When is it?”
“I’ll arrange it with him, and I’ll let you know?”
“Fine. But in return, you can’t refuse the next five times I ask you out for drinks.” Luhan smirks and completely ignores Jongdae’s groans.
-
“Boss, how long has it been since you’ve looked for a match for Jongin-ssi?” Sehun asks as he fills the printer with more paper.
“A week. Never been happier,” Baekhyun shrugs his shoulders and doesn’t look up from his phone to see Sehun’s vexed expression.
“A week? All because of a truce with some guy that you supposedly despised less than a month ago?” Sehun snorts and walks back to his desk.
With Baekhyun not providing a response, Sehun continues, “I seriously doubt he kept the truce as long as you. I really suggest finding Jongin-ssi another match.”
“And who exactly do you suggest?” Baekhyun snaps and finally looks at his assistant.
Ignoring Baekhyun’s tone, Sehun says, “My friend Luhan has been single for a while. I think he’d be willing to date Jongin-ssi."
“Will you call him then?” Baekhyun rubs his temples and sighs.
“We can call him,” Sehun walks over to Baekhyun’s desk, calls Luhan, and puts his phone on speakerphone. After five rings, Luhan finally picks up. “What do you want Sehun?”
“Good morning to you too.” Sehun scoffs. “Actually, I was wondering if you’d like to go on a date?”
“With you?” Sehun can imagine Luhan’s sneer through the phone.
“No!” Sehun squawks and looks at Baekhyun for permission to say their client’s name. “No, with the pop star Kai.”
The other end is silent for at least twenty seconds, leading Baekhyun to believe Sehun’s friend either fell asleep or hung up. “Are you serious?”
“Quite the catch isn’t he?” Sehun wistfully laughs. “You should count yourself lucky to have a friend like me with awesome connections.”
Luhan huffs, “Yeah, right. Look, I just went on a date with the . I’d rather not do it again.”
Baekhyun speaks up for the first time, when he squeaks, “What?”
“Sehun, who was that?”
Sehun rolls his eyes at Baekhyun. “That was my boss. Ignore him. When did you go on a date with him?”
“Last night.” Luhan moans.
Baekhyun regains the ability to speak and asks, “Did someone set you up with him?”
“Yeah, my of a friend Jongdae.”
Baekhyun pushes Sehun and his phone away from his desk and yanks his office phone off the jack. As he brutally punches the phone number of Kindred Spirits into the keypad, he hears Sehun finish the phone call with, “It’s a long story. Sorry for waking you up so early.” Sehun pauses and then his face contours into disgust, “No, you can’t date my roommate! See you later, hyung.”
After a few rings, someone answers Baekhyun’s call by saying, “Hello, thank you for calling Kindred Spirits. This is Kyungsoo sp-“
“Put Jongdae on the phone.” Baekhyun growls.
Baekhyun hears some shuffling on the other line, and he avoids Sehun’s fixed gaze when he snarls, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“What are you talking about?” Jongdae mumbles.
“What do you mean ‘what are you talking about?’” Baekhyun mocks and pulls at his hair. “You said we had a truce!”
“How’d you find out?” Jongdae replies monotonously.
“My assistant is a friend of the guy you set him up with.”
“Well, for what it counts I’m paying for my mistakes now.”
“Oh. Is that so?” Baekhyun sneers and looks at Sehun while rolling his eyes.
“Yes because Jongin showed up first thing this morning and complained about the date, and he actually just left my office for the bathroom after I took your call.”
“Aw, boo-hoo,” Bekhyun scoffs and refreshes his Instagram feed.
“Not to mention Luhan, his date you know-“
“Yes I know who Luhan is,” Baekhyun snaps.
“If you’d let me finish, seriously,” Jongdae groans. “As I was saying, Luhan made me drink with him last night after their date because apparently it was that awful, and now I’m suffering from a hangover, and I’ve had to listen to Jongin’s whining for the past hour, or at least that’s how long it has felt.”
“And I care because…” Baekhyun drones.
“I’m about to make Jongin finish his story with Kyungsoo because my hangover can’t handle this, and now I want to know if you’d accompany me for some tea in hopes that my hangover will be over and Jongin will be gone by the time I get back.”
Baekhyun smirks and guffaws; he can almost sense Jongdae cowering in pain at the loudness of his laugh. “I’d just yell at you and make it worse.”
“Can’t be much worse than Jongin,” Jongdae heaves a sigh.
“Fine. Meet me at HonestTEA in half an hour.” Baekhyun hangs up before he hears a response, grabs his phone, and somewhat inspects his outfit before standing and saying in Sehun’s direction, “I’m going out for tea with him. I’ll be back sometime.”
-
Baekhyun arrives first and orders an Acai blueberry green tea; after receiving his drink and grabbing a few sugar packets, he walks to a table close to the window, but not directly within the sunlight because he’s sure Jongdae’s hangover induced migraine would only worsen with bright light.
A few minutes later, the other man strolls into the teashop with a pair of sunglasses shielding his eyes. When he takes them off, he instantly cringes at the fluorescent lights in the shop, and he looks around hurriedly until he sees Baekhyun and he strides over to his table.
“You look like ,” Baekhyun comments as he stirs another sugar packet into his tea.
“Thanks. I feel like it too,” Jongdae mutters and slides into the chair across from Baekhyun.
“Are you going to order something?”
Jongdae stares at Baekhyun’s cup and sighs, “Yeah, eventually. When I take the effort to stand.”
“God, you’re hopeless,” Baekhyun grumbles as he stands and walks over to the counter. He reads the menu over and over, and when he finally decides on the type of tea, he takes out his debit card and pays for Jongdae, who is currently slouching over their table miserably. When he grabs the cup handed to him, he decides against sugar and walks over to Jongdae. He gently places the cup in front of Jongdae and mumbles, “You’re welcome.”
Jongdae sniffs it and groans. “What is it?”
Baekhyun sits down and stirs his tea aimlessly. “Chamomile citrus. You don’t want anything caffeinated, and anything with fruit juice in it is supposedly good.” When he sees Jongdae’s surprised gaze, he huffs, “I said last time that I’ve been wasted way too often for someone my age, so of course I’ve had far too many hangovers. After maybe the twentieth time, I finally learned what helps.”
“Thanks, Baek. I really appreciate it,” Jongdae whispers as he takes his first sip.
“Yeah, whatever. What went wrong with their date last night?”
Jongdae lays his head in his hands. “Why do you want to know?”
Baekhyun simply arches an eyebrow, and Jongdae closes his eyes for a few seconds before mumbling, “According to Jongin, Luhan nearly attacked him after he said his eyes were pretty, but Luhan swears that Jongin said he was pretty, not his eyes.”
“What does being called pretty have to do with anything?” Baekhyun sets his cup down and glances at Jongdae’s pale face.
“Could you not make so much noise?” Jongdae whines. Baekhyun glares but attempts to be quieter when he stirs his tea again.
“Luhan doesn’t like being called pretty, for some reason. If you saw him, you’d think he’s pretty, because he is. I don’t know why it bothers him so much,” Jongdae takes another sip and sighs contently.
“Surely that can’t be all that went wrong.”
“Well, between the drinking from last night and the hangover from this morning, I don’t remember much,” Jongdae shifts in his seat and laughs before cringing. “I’m honestly surprised they didn’t work out. They’re both so whiny; it would be a perfect match.”
Baekhyun simply hums and looks at Jongdae again and sees that some color has returned to his face, causing him to awkwardly meet eyes with Jongdae, the latter smirking before lifting his cup to his lips, eyes still locked with Baekhyun’s.
After Jongdae gently sets his cup down, still looking at Baekhyun, he asks, “So, what now?”
“What do you mean?”
Jongdae whispers, “Hold on a second,” before frantically searching around the table and in his pockets for something, and when he pulls his phone out of his right pocket, he smiles brightly, until he looks at the screen and pouts.
“Is there something wrong?” Baekhyun narrows his eyes and leans forward.
“Yeah,” Jongdae frowns, “something’s wrong with my phone.”
“Oh yeah?” Baekhyun raises an eyebrow and drinks from his cup. “What’s wrong with it?”
“It’s just that… Your number isn’t in it.” Jongdae smirks and looks from his phone to Baekhyun, who nearly spits his tea in shock.
“Wh-what?” Baekhyun sputters.
“Remember last time? You said the corny pickup line to me, and this time I thought I’d return the favor.”
“But I didn’t mean it! Besides, that’s probably why all your dates have failed so far.” Baekhyun scoffs.
“Oh, and yours have done any better?” Jongdae smugly smiles and shifts forward to lean his head in his hands. “Besides, you still haven’t given me your number.”
Baekhyun looks out the window to avoid Jongdae’s gaze. “Why do you even want it?”
“What if I need your help? To get Luhan to agree to the date, I made a promise that I’d go drinking the next five times he asks me. What if that’s the whole rest of the week?” Jongdae groans and rubs his thumb and index fingers over his tired eyes.
“Then I’ll have an advantage at finding a date for Jongin because you’ll be too hung-over to do anything productive.”
“Wow, thanks Baek,” Jongdae squinches his face in disapproval.
“How do I know you won’t write my number on a bathroom stall or give it one of your clients as a joke?” Baekhyun crosses his arms and stares at Jongdae.
“You can trust me!”
“Yes,” Baekhyun sardonically says, “I certainly can trust the guy who broke a truce in less than a week. Yep, he’s trustful.”
“…. Okay, maybe you’re right. But, for what it counts, it was my assistant’s idea, not mine!”
“Oh really?” Baekhyun drawls, distractedly tapping his fingers on the table.
“It is! So, does that mean I get your number?”
Baekhyun presses his lips, pretending to be in deep thought, before sighing, “I guess. But no drunk dialing at 4 AM.”
Jongdae clacks his spoon into his cup before flinching at the noise. “Please, I have standards,” Jongdae slides his phone across the table. “Go ahead and add your number.”
“Why your phone?
“So I can text you?”
Baekhyun holds the phone in his hand and glances from his phone to Jongdae back to his phone. “Why don’t you add your number in my phone?”
“I was just going to add your number and then send a text so you had my number.”
“Or,” Baekhyun increases the volume of his words, smirking when Jongdae winces, “you could add your number, and maybe I’ll send you a text.”
“Fine, whatever,” Jongdae rubs his temples and holds his hand out for Baekhyun’s phone. After he hands the phone back (Baekhyun notices that Jongdae entered his contact name as, “The smartest, most handsome person you know”), Baekhyun sends a simple text: loser. He hears the faint chime from Jongdae’s phone and sees the other man rolls his eyes before hiding his smile behind one of his hands, making Baekhyun grin as well.
Silence fills the air again, and to distract himself, Baekhyun stares at his hands in his lap, and he just realizes that he missed a button when putting it on this morning. Soon enough, Jongdae realizes the awkward silence and decides to enlighten Baekhyun with his dramatic tale of drinking with Luhan, and in turn, Baekhyun shares his drinking stories from college (even some of the most embarrassing ones that he will not tell Sehun, or Joonmyun, or anyone other than Chanyeol – who was there when they happened). When Baekhyun checks his phone after he feels it vibrate in his pocket, he realizes that more two and a half hours have passed with him and Jongdae talking about the most miscellaneous things (now, they’re arguing over who would win a fight: Thor or Superman), and he sees he has a text from Sehun wondering if he has had lunch yet. Deciding that two hours is far too long to spend in Kim Jongdae’s presence, Baekhyun slides out of his chair and looks at Jongdae who watches him with a surprised gaze as he stands. “My assistant texted me. I should get going.” All too quickly, Baekhyun throws away his cup and sugar packets and leaves the teashop with his perfected stride.
Less than a minute later, Baekhyun sends a text to the smartest, most handsome person he knows: I hope your hangover is better.
-
Sehun is sifting through the business’s mail when Baekhyun enters their office at a quarter till 1 with a plastic bag full of Chinese takeout in his hand.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you Sehun? I bought lunch.” Baekhyun lifts the takeout and walks over to the table where Sehun is sorting mail.
“You know,” Sehun says without removing his eyes from the variously sized envelopes, “I didn’t send that text as a passive-aggressive way for you to buy me lunch. I sent it as a passive-aggressive way for you to buy him lunch.”
“Why would I want to do that?”
Sehun looks asquint at Baekhyun and shakes his head before returning to his work. “Hyung, you spent nearly three hours with the guy, and you’re not nearly as angry as you were when you left.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? And besides, the first thirty minutes to an hour had to deal with curing his hangover.”
Sehun derisively chuckles, “That’s supposed to make it better? That you’re willing to take care of him in his time of need?”
“Whatever. Stop meddling in my affairs. Let’s eat. I’m starving.”
-
Another week passes by without Baekhyun finding a match for Jongin, and though he had to deal with Sehun’s cold eyes everyday that constantly reminded him to try to find someone for Jongin, Baekhyun thinks the week has been even more peaceful than the week of his and Jongdae’s truce.
Ironically, Baekhyun realizes that he has seen Jongdae more often than his client, Jongin; from their time at the teashop, to the present day a week later, Baekhyun was with Jongdae four times, due to when Jongdae invited him out for another lunch get-together (because it still was not a date), and when he tried to pressure him into going out for drinks with him and Luhan (Baekhyun said no), but later he called and asked if Baekhyun would pick him up from the bar because he didn’t know where Luhan went (and being the good person he is, Baekhyun went after him, but he cursed the whole time about how that was the job of his personal assistant, not his acquaintance), and when he paid Baekhyun back for his troubles by letting him chose the restaurant for their dinner get-together the next day, and when they both agreed to attend Yixing’s open mic night at the coffee shop.
But now that he hasn’t matched Jongin with someone in two weeks, Sehun’s eyes aren’t cold anymore; they’re also judging him and following his every move, silently telling him to get a move on this matching business before they lose a valuable customer.
Baekhyun spins in his chair towards Sehun and asks, “Do you have any ideal matches for Jongin?”
Sehun, currently emailing a previous client, shakes his head. “No, I haven’t. Isn’t that your job?”
Baekhyun tugs at the stained cuff of his sleeve and ignores Sehun’s sass. “Do you think your roommate would be a good match for Jongin?”
Sehun snorts, “No, he’s too orderly for Jongin’s antics. Besides, Luhan has been showing up unannounced at my place for the last week trying to get his phone number because apparently he met him at a bar, so I really doubt he’d even want to date Jongin by this point.”
“So did Luhan get his number? Have they gone out on a date?”
“Yeah, he got it. I don’t know about the date part, but Luhan is really persistent,” Sehun shrugs.
Baekhyun squeezes his eyes in concentration. “Okay…. Wait, what about that guy who is friends with Jonghyun… He was in your dance class when we were in college!”
Sehun raises his eyebrows, “Taemin?”
“Yeah, him.” Baekhyun claps his hands excitedly. “Think he’d date Jongin?”
“I didn’t know Taemin that well, but I can see if he wants to go on a date with him. Honestly, I feel like he will somehow be one of your better matches,” Sehun nods his head in agreement.
“I’m so glad I got the Sehun stamp of approval.” Baekhyun sarcastically says before rolling himself back to his desk. ”Finish what you’re doing; then, call Taemin.”
-
Baekhyun thinks he should probably be used to Jongin’s early appearances after his dates, but seeing as it’s 9 AM, he hasn’t had his coffee, and he didn’t have to deal with Jongin and his whining for nearly two whole weeks, he isn’t prepared for the onslaught of complaining from Jongin as they enter his office and sit down in their usual place at Baekhyun’s desk.
“Do you know who Lee Taemin is?” Jongin stares at him with wide eyes.
“Sort of? Sehun went to school with him, and apparently he’s a choreographer these days-“
“Exactly,” Jongin interrupts. “He’s my choreographer. He’s my best friend!”
“Oh,” Baekhyun says as he opens Alpaca Evolution 2 on his phone. “So I’m assuming you didn’t have the ‘fall in love with your best friend’ experience?”
“No, Taemin is literally the worst,” Jongin crinkles his nose. “I mean, he’s been my best friend for years, but he’s still an , you know. Like this one time…”
Baekhyun hums every few seconds when he assumes Jongin is making a dramatic pause and looking for his input; he has absolutely no idea what Jongin is talking about now because he’s so focused on this one time-consuming level. He feels his phone vibrate with a new message, and when he opens it, he sees it’s from Jongdae.
Received 9:25 AM
What are you doing rn?
Noticing that Jongin is still complaining about something Taemin did three years ago, Baekhyun sends a text back.
Sent 9:26 AM
Listening to Jongin whine. You?
Received 9:26 AM
Trying to avoid my assistant’s judging eyes. Want to meet up and avoid responsibilities together?
Baekhyun nods his head at Jongin and interjects another, “Yep, uh-huh, I get you,” into his story before sending Jongdae another text.
Sent 9:28 AM
What do you have in mind?
Received 9:30 AM
I need some more button downs, and since you told me you were a reigning prince of fashion, I thought I’d accept your advice
Baekhyun chuckles aloud, and Jongin narrows his eyes and grits, “That wasn’t funny! Taemin publicly embarrassed me! He didn’t even….”
Sent 9:31 AM
Im always up for a challenge, I guess. What time?
Received 9:32 AM
Well, I was thinking right now
Baekhyun responds with an, “okay,” and Jongdae tell him where they would meet up, all while Jongin is still complaining about his date with his best friend.
“…. And then, can you believe he made me pay for my meal?” Jongin pouts, and Baekhyun can’t help but to chuckle.
“Why are you laughing now? Is that how he will treat all of his future dates? No wonder he’s been single forever.”
“It’s funny,” Baekhyun guffaws and claps his hands; then, he suddenly stops and stares at Jongin mundanely. “You didn’t like that Joonmyun was too motherly, yet you also don’t like that Taemin didn’t pay for your dinner.”
Jongin looks at him blankly. “But, that’s completely different. I know Taemin, and I’ve paid for his food many times, so he could have at least been gentlemanly enough to return the favor.” Jongin averts his gaze to Sehun who has been quietly typing at his desk. “Right, Sehun-ssi?”
Baekhyun hums and stands up, “Tell you what, Sehun is such a better listener than me. Why don’t you finish telling this story to Sehun?”
Baekhyun can’t read Sehun’s expression, and since he doesn’t see inherent anger, he assumes he won’t be in trouble with his assistant when he gets back from his-not-a-date with Jongdae.
He flattens the faint wrinkles in his button-down and walks to the door. “I’ll be back sometime.”
-
Four days after his shopping spree with Baekhyun, Jongdae is twirling a piece of hair through his fingers and looks at his assistant who is bringing him his daily cup of coffee with a dull expression. “So, I may have found someone for Jongin.”
Kyungsoo sits at his desk and takes a sip from his water bottle. “Oh really?”
“Yeah, during one of our many drunken adventures, Luhan helped me.”
Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow and laughs while drinking his water, causing him to cough and widen his eyes in surprise. “Luhan?”
Jongdae hums and sweeps his bangs across his forehead. “Yeah. Although Luhan has moved onto another guy, he told me that he has a friend who would be a perfect match for Jongin, and at this point, I’m even willing to trust Luhan, and that’s saying something.”
Kyungsoo slowly nods his head and keeps the same dull expression when looking at his boss. “Did you call his friend?”
“Yeah, I called him last night. I’ll just forward his info to Jongin and then we’ll see how that goes.”
-
“Don’t take it offensively, Sehun, but I’m really tired of seeing your y face,” Baekhyun mumbles into his arm as he’s currently laying his head on his desk.
“My apologizes,” Sehun scoffs and scans some papers Baekhyun handed to him a few minutes earlier.
“I don’t even want to be here today,” Baekhyun moans and holds his forehead in his hands. “Why am I here?”
“I don’t know; why are you here?” Sehun looks over at Baekhyun impassively.
“It was a rhetorical question, Sehun,” Baekhyun says under his breath.
Sehun stops what he’s doing and sits in one of the chairs in front of Baekhyun’s desk. “Well, mine wasn’t. Go hang out with Jongdae or something. Just, get out of the office; I’ll watch after everything while you’re gone if you just admit that it’s a date.”
Baekhyun fully sits up and yawns, “And why would I-“ but upon seeing Sehun’s blank, unimpressed gaze, Baekhyun sighs and mutters, “I’ll see what he’s doing.”
Taking out his phone and staring at it for twenty seconds, Baekhyun huffs and calls Jongdae’s cell phone. The phone rings two times until he hears Jongdae’s slightly annoyed voice answer the phone. “Hello?”
Baekhyun frowns at Jongdae’s tone. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” Jongdae grumbles, “just Jongin. You know how it is.”
“Yeah. Are you busy? I’m bored and I need some fresh air, and I was wondering if you’d like to go on a picnic with me,” Baekhyun aimlessly plays with the charm on his phone while waiting for Jongdae’s response and avoiding Sehun’s smug grin.
He hears some ruffling in the background including the faint mumbles between Jongdae and his personal assistant until Jongdae says, “That sounds good. Right now?”
Baekhyun looks at the clock on his desk and says, “Yeah. I’ll get kimbap or something if you’ll get drinks and dessert?”
“Okay. Meet you in thirty minutes at the park near the bistro we went to a few weeks ago?”
Baekhyun agrees to the plans and vaguely notices that Jongdae already ended the phone call because he’s too busy looking at himself in his handheld mirror, and fixing the side part in his hair, and touching up the light BB cream he put on his face this morning. Sehun still has his smug grin as he watches his boss, and Baekhyun doesn’t notice that the other is staring until he looks up at Sehun and narrows his eyes. “What?”
Sehun looks from Baekhyun’s various beauty supplies scattered on his desk and back up to Baekhyun with a smirk. “You know, this is the first time you’ve ever asked him out and not the other way around.”
Baekhyun rolls his eyes, checks himself in his mirror one more time, and stands. “Shut up and get back to work. You’ll have to lock up today because I more than likely won’t be back today.”
-
Baekhyun realizes as he walks through the entrance of the park that he didn’t pick up a blanket or a tablecloth for them to sit on, but when he finds Jongdae a minute later sitting near a tree with a weaved basket on top of a checkered tablecloth in front of him, he smiles brightly and sits down across from him. “I’m glad that you remembered to bring a tablecloth because I obviously didn’t.”
Jongdae scoots forward so that he’s actually sitting on the tablecloth and not on the grass. “Somehow I expected you to forget. I even brought this basket to make the experience even more exciting.”
Hearing Jongdae’s fake enthusiasm makes Baekhyun cackle. “Don’t pretend like you don’t want to have a picnic with me in the middle of the day.”
One side of Jongdae’s lips curls upward when he says, “Why else would I be here.”
Baekhyun unpacks the kimbap and places the packages in Jongdae’s basket. “So, why did you sound so annoyed on the phone earlier?”
Jongdae rolls his eyes and gently smiles at Baekhyun. “Jongin had another failed date, not that that’s much of a surprise.”
“Yeah, really,” Baekhyun laughs. “We can finish talking about that in a bit; let’s eat first.”
Jongdae unpacks Baekhyun’s supplies along with his own and looks at Baekhyun and beams. “You bought chamchi kimbap even though you hate it?”
“Yeah,” Baekhyun dismisses with a hand as he picks up the kimchi kimbap for himself. “Don’t you like it?”
Jongdae nods, “How did you know?”
Baekhyun shrugs his shoulders and pops a roll into his mouth. After chewing, he says, “You mentioned it when we went shopping and ate in the food court. I don’t know why we talked about kimbap when we were drinking bubble tea, but we did.”
Jongdae eats a roll and passes Baekhyun a can of Coke. “So, what were you doing before you called me?”
“Being bored out of my mind.”
“So you called me to solve that?” Jongdae smirks.
Refusing to give Jongdae full credit, Baekhyun turns his head to look at the grass and mutters, “Yeah, I guess.”
Jongdae’s face contours with laughter, and Baekhyun doesn’t know when his laugh went from annoying to endearing. “You’re precious.”
Baekhyun looks at Jongdae’s smug expression and huffs. “Whatever. Tell me more about Jongin.”
Jongdae’s nose crinkles in disgust, and he takes a sip of his soda before saying, “Luhan, the courteous friend he is, told me about one of his Chinese friends who he thought would be a good match for Jongin. To absolutely no one’s surprise, he was wrong.”
After seeing Baekhyun nod his head and chuckle, Jongdae continues, “Apparently Luhan’s friend is a wushu master, but he also has a, ‘delicate side’ according to Luhan. Jongin says his delicacy was in the form of screaming when a ladybug landed on his finger, but then he nearly attacked Jongin in an effort to get it off.”
Baekhyun humorlessly laughs, “What’s up with him nearly getting attacked on your part? I swear, he is impossible to match.”
Jongdae opens a package of pepero sticks and offers one to Baekhyun. “Seriously. I’m running out of ideas.”
“Me too,” Baekhyun says as he shifts so that he’s lying on his stomach with his legs in the air.
Jongdae looks at him strangely for a few seconds before coping his actions. “Did you have any plans for after we finish this picnic?”
“For just myself or for both of us?”
Jongdae plays with the corner of the tablecloth and answers, “Both.”
Baekhyun smiles and twirls a strand of hair between his fingers. “No, I hadn’t really thought that far ahead.”
Jongdae stays quiet for a few seconds and munches on another pepero stick; finally, he looks up at Baekhyun and grins, “I may not be a photographer, but I can picture us on a real date after this.”
Baekhyun guffaws and rolls sideways slightly in laughter before reaching across the tablecloth to punch Jongdae’s shoulder gently. “You’re such a los-“ Baekhyun cuts himself off when he sees Jongdae’s serious eyes staring at him.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Baekhyun sits up again and doesn’t look away from Jongdae.
Jongdae sighs under his breath and sits up as well; he remains silent for a moment, seemingly collecting his thoughts, and articulately says, “I meant what I said; I want to date you, and Kyungsoo has been pushing me to ask you out for the past week and a half.”
“I- wow.” Baekhyun finishes lamely, still looking at Jongdae. He doesn’t notice the other’s shoulders slouching because he is thinking back to all of his and Jongdae’s “not-a-date” get-togethers, and in retrospect, Baekhyun realizes that those actually may have been dates, and also, Sehun actually may have been right about them all along.
After a few more seconds of silence, Baekhyun sweetly smiles, “Well, what did you have in mind?” Jongdae looks up from his lap with the largest beam Baekhyun thinks he’s ever seen.
“We haven’t gone to the theater before, if you’re up for that. Or, is the fair in town? Better yet, we could spend some time in town, and when we’re hungry again, we could get some street food. Or maybe-“
Baekhyun rolls his eyes at Jongdae’s constant rambling and moves over to sit by him, and he lays his head on Jongdae’s shoulder. “Or, we could just relax here and decide on what we want to later.”
Jongdae looks down at Baekhyun’s head on his shoulder and grins while he wraps an arm around Baekhyun’s waist, “Whatever works for you, I guess.”
Baekhyun removes his head from Jongdae’s shoulder and looks at him with an amused expression, “Why is it that before you would always put up a fight with me and bicker, but now you just agree quickly with whatever I say.”
Jongdae raises an eyebrow and simpers, “Do you want me to bicker with you?”
“Well, I mean, it’s amusing, and it’s nice to know someone almost as witty as me-“
Jongdae sputters and flicks his eyes from Baekhyun’s lips to his eyes. “Yeah, right-“
“It’s only true-“
“What’s only true?”
Baekhyun pokes his nose and laughs. “How much I want to kiss you right now.”
Jongdae snickers and looks at him, unimpressed. “You can’t be serious.”
Baekhyun pulls back from Jongdae slightly, only for Jongdae to tighten his arm around Baekhyun’s waist. “Yeah, I was being serious.”
“Good, because I thought I was the only one.”
Baekhyun leans in close enough to bask in Jongdae’s cologne, but he decides to stare into Jongdae’s eyes with his ever-present smirk while lightly puffing on Jongdae’s lips instead of moving the four centimeters needed to properly kiss him. Jongdae, completely frustrated, grabs the back of Baekhyun’s neck and pulls him in closer, making their lips finally touch. Despite his initial franticness, Jongdae tenderly slides his lips against Baekhyun’s, and he runs his fingers through the baby hairs right above Baekhyun’s nape. Baekhyun sighs in content and places a hand on Jongdae’s cheek, softly rubbing his prominent cheekbones.
Just as they break apart and lean their foreheads together to catch their breath, Baekhyun’s phone beeps from beside his forgotten soda. Baekhyun sheepishly grins and turns to grab it; as soon as he unlocks his phone, his eyes widen considerably, and Jongdae thinks he looks like a fish out of water with his dramatically opened mouth.
“Did something bad happen?” Jongdae asks as he taps his fingers on Baekhyun’s thigh.
Baekhyun stares at his phone for a few seconds before bemusedly saying, “I just got a picture from Sehun… “
“And?”
“And he’s with our local hopeless romantic Kai…” Baekhyun slowly says, still slightly confused, “and, they’re kissing…”
Jongdae’s eyebrows raise, and he looks over Baekhyun’s shoulder to see a blurry, self-taken picture of their mutual client and the man, who Jongdae assumes is Baekhyun’s assistant, kissing.
After the initial shock settles in, Baekhyun turns to Jongdae and smugly snickers, “You know what this means? In the end, my business still one!”
Jongdae scowls and looks utterly annoyed. “What are you going on about now?”
“Don’t play stupid! He’s dating my personal assistant!”
Jongdae exasperatedly sighs and pokes Baekhyun in the shoulder. “You didn’t set them up!”
Baekhyun childishly sticks his tongue out and laughs. “Still counts. You’re just a sore-”
Jongdae playfully rolls his eyes and leans forward for another kiss, effectively shutting Baekhyun up, who tosses his phone to the side and leaves the message without a response, wholeheartedly preferring to run a hand up Jongdae’s muscular arms.
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can you guys believe i didn't have end game chankai? i'm still shocked tbh. i'm pretty much convinced there are only like 2 people who ship them harder than i do.
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