CH 3: CONVERSATION OF THREE

Relief cascades over Hongbin like a waterfall when he sees Hakyeon tending the cashier area again and not Taekwoon. Hakyeon looks up from his hand mirror and waves at the pair.

“Welcome back!” Hakyeon says to Hongbin, who gives him a weak and forced smile. “I see you brought a friend, how nice.”

“Friend my ,” Hongbin mutters under his breath. He turns to Wonshik. “You’re paying.”

“Of course, of course. You’ll thank me for this later, don’t worry!” Wonshik grins, pulling out his wallet. After reading all the rules and acquainting himself with Hakyeon, he pays and links arms with Hongbin, who still has his grumpy face on.

“Chin up!” Wonshik taps Hongbin on the forehead. Hongbin’s frown only grows larger. He pushes Wonshik away.

Hongbin spots Taekwoon immediately upon entering the petting area. Taekwoon is sitting cross-legged near the center of the room, cats circling and fighting for his attention and for the snacks in his hands. There’s a small, but clearly genuine smile on Taekwoon’s face.

Hongbin feels warm and shyly, he trails his gaze away.

“So where is he?” Wonshik asks, his warm breath tickling the side of Hongbin’s neck. Hongbin tenses up, glancing at Wonshik and then away, refusing to say a thing.

“Huh, looks like I’ll have to find out on my own then,” Wonshik hums, heading straight towards the center of the room. Hongbin has an internal meltdown. The paranoid thoughts rise in Hongbin’s head, dominating his last shreds of sanity.

Was it that obvious? Does Wonshik know? Does Taekwoon know? Does everyone know? What does he think of me? Wonshik is going to make me go up to him what am I going to do what if he hates me? I’m going to have to change my name and move to France or something if that’s the case oh god I can’t do this--

No. Hongbin strengthens his resolve, clenching a fist and taking a sharp breath of air. He trails behind Wonshik, tentative.

And it all comes crashing down again when Taekwoon looks up at the two.

“Hi,” Wonshik says, squatting down next to Taekwoon. Hongbin would have laughed if it were not for the jittery feelings all over his body—Wonshik and Taekwoon were practically opposites of each other: Taekwoon’s plainness and calmness clashed with Wonshik’s popping style and electric personality.

Taekwoon gives him a glance at acknowledgement and then looks back to the cats playing beneath them.

To Hongbin, there’s something very attractive about the way Taekwoon observes his surroundings and how Taekwoon handles the cats—with such love and carefulness.

Hongbin doesn’t mind that Taekwoon pays them no attention.

“My name is Wonshik,” Wonshik introduces himself, plopping his bottom right on the floor, next to Taekwoon.

“…Taekwoon,” Taekwoon says after a while, still refusing to look at Wonshik. Taekwoon doesn’t seem too happy to have his peace disturbed. Wonshik looks up at his friend and Hongbin scrunches his nose, giving Wonshik a distasteful look and shaking his head.

Wonshik grabs Hongbin’s hand, pulling him down to the floor. Hongbin stumbles awkwardly down and his cheeks turn pink in embarrassment.

Hongbin imagines all the ways he can kill Wonshik.

Taekwoon looks at Hongbin and Hongbin breaks eye contact immediately on instinct. Taekwoon then hands Hongbin a small bag that’s half full with treats for the cats. Hongbin takes the bag into his hands, thanking Taekwoon in a low, timid voice.

Taekwoon’s action sent Hongbin’s heart soaring. Wonshik nudged Hongbin on the side, grinning. As soon as Hongbin has the treats in his hands, the cats begin crowding around him. A large grin creeps up onto Hongbin’s face, dimples accenting the smile.

Hongbin is extremely delighted, and he finds it hard to stop grinning like a fool.

Taekwoon hugs his knees, staring at Hongbin and Wonshik feed the cats, who had lost interest in Taekwoon. For once, Taekwoon is O.K. with it.

A few minutes pass, and Wonshik speaks up, much to Hongbin’s demise.

“So what’s your favorite type of cat?” Wonshik asks, attempting to make small talk between the three.

“All,” Taekwoon replies simply.

“Ooh, our Hongbin likes all breeds as well,” Wonshik says, nodding. Hongbin stares sharply at his friend, unhappy with the fact that Wonshik had just made up (Hongbin adores Scottish Folds and Manx cats the most). It’s silent again, and Wonshik clears his throat awkwardly.

“So what do you do, besides work here?” Wonshik asks another question.

Hongbin thinks his friend is annoyingly persistent.

“Why does it matter to you?” Taekwoon says gruffly, and Hongbin senses that any walls that they had just melted down had been reestablished. The silence thickens, as Hongbin feels increasingly suffocated.

“Sorry. It’s cool if you don’t want to talk about it. Just wanted to get to know you,” Wonshik finally responds, piercing the heavy atmosphere with his deep voice. He then stands up. “I’m going to grab a drink.”

Hongbin wants to stand up, but there’s a cat on his lap, so he thus is forced to stay behind. His brain immediately enters panic mode when he realizes he has been left alone with Taekwoon.

“S-Sorry…” Hongbin utters out meekly. He doesn’t know why he’s apologizing. Taekwoon is lost in a cloud of thoughts, unresponsive.

Hongbin is fine with the silence. He the fur on the cat on his lap mindlessly as his heart rate begins to slow back to its normal pace (or so he hopes). His mind trails back to the look Wonshik gave him before leaving—apologetic, somewhat stricken.

Hongbin forgives Wonshik, of course.

He always does.

And Hongbin hopes Wonshik wasn’t too affected by Taekwoon’s cold responses. Hongbin knows that Wonshik only has good intentions. He decides that he should clear up a bit of the dim mess left behind.

“Erm… Taekwoon-ssi… I hope Wonshik doesn’t rub you the wrong way…” Hongbin drawls, voice only audible enough so that Taekwoon can hear him. “He genuinely… genuinely… uh, wanted to get to know you! I’m sorry if he seemed a bit rude but I assure you, he’s a great, warm, kind person.”

“No, I’m sorry—“ Taekwoon begins to say after a short sigh.

“No, don’t be,” Hongbin cuts him off quickly. Taekwoon gives him a questioning look, and the tips of Hongbin’s ears turn red. “Er—I mean, you have the right… to… keep any of your personal information to yourself…” Hongbin says, his voice progressively becoming quieter.

Hongbin almost wants to cry from the silence that follows. He has no idea how to continue carrying on a conversation with Taekwoon; oh how hopeless he feels. The only solution he comes up with is to abscond.

“I’m gonna go find Wonshik,” Hongbin announces, his voice a bit tense and awkward. He gently removes a gray cat from his lap and stands up. Taekwoon is looking up at him, his expression unreadable. “It was nice talking to you, Taekwoon-ssi.”

Hongbin isn’t lying.

A/N: how long has it been idk sorry if it was too long lol
i hope you guys liked this chapter! ♥
its a bit longer than the others... working hard haha
it just feels right to end chapters at certain places ya know?
tbh idk what im doing im just going w/ my flow and writing
thank you for reading! :^) love you all!
keep commenting! i love reading your comments they're adorbs ^_^

"wtf u sayin bout me wonshik??"