I had half a mind to make this into a …then I decided I’m an awkward potato and I can’t really write for the life of me so now we’re stuck here with this awkwardly written fic with generally no content but awkwardness. finished but not quite, sort of frustrating tbvh.

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Doojoon impatiently taps his foot on the floor as he checks his watch for the time. 

Half past nine.

He mentally curses as he makes his way inside the small space of the elevator. Because he’s late again, of course, the universe always makes sure he’s late for any appointment. He sighs, already imagining the furious face of his team’s coach barking his usual punishment for him whenever he’s late— a hundred lap around the field.

The vibration on his back pocket signal’s the arrival of Kikwang’s text, the usual reminder that he’s late and he’s dead, “The coach is red with anger, get your in here before he gets a heart attack!”

And in between sending his usual lie of “be there in five, I’m entering the parking lot now” came an unfamiliar distraction. A loud cry of “Wait, hold the elevator!” came echoing from half-way across the hallway. Dark brown hair is sprinting towards him and the elevator.

Doojoon hurriedly sticks an arm and a leg between the closing elevator doors to get them to bounce back open. The man makes it in in mere seconds. The door starts closing again, Doojoon finally sends his reply to Kikwang.

Barking ensues.

Doojoon is surprised, of course, because he failed to notice the carrier with the dog attached to the front of the mass of dark brown hair earlier.

“Quiet, Yanggaeng-ah, we wouldn’t want to irritate the nice man” scolds the stranger between heavy breaths, quickly followed by a quiet mumble of “thanks” and a small nod. Doojoon responds with his own nod and an equally quiet mumble of “No problem” followed by the quiet noise of the elevator passing each floor.  

The silence, however, was quickly broken by an ominous thud. The elevator halts abruptly making the two of them stumble and almost fall down. The lights flicker on and off before being replaced by the red-blood glow of the emergency one.

Doojoon freezes then groans loudly. Of course, the universe always makes sure he’s late for any appointment. “Damn it” he swears, startling the mass of brown hair an arm’s length away from him.

Ignoring the now-resumed barking of the dog, he stalks over towards the rows of buttons on the wall and starts fervently hitting the one that reads ‘In case of emergency’.

“Come on” he mutters under his breath. And a crackly voice is heard after his fifth hit, “What seems to be the problem?”

“The elevator’s stuck” he replies immediately.

“Alright sir, we’ll have someone down there to get you out as soon as possible” there was a quiet beep and the voice was gone.

“How soon is ‘as soon as possible’?” asks the mass of dark brown hair, startling Doojoon a little who, given the circumstance, forgot he wasn’t alone inside the tiny space of the elevator. “It won’t take a day will it?”

 “I don’t know” Doojoon answers “but it better not take all day. My coach will kill me if I don’t show up to practice today”.

Frustrated, he fishes his phone out of his back-pocket, deciding that it’s better to tell Kikwang the truth. He hopes it’ll lessen his coach’s brutality towards him later.  Assuming he’ll be able to come out of the elevator alive and un-harmed, of course.  He sends a quick text and moves to sit on the floor.

“Me too,” he hears the other say, also moving to sit on the floor “the director will kill me if I don’t show up for rehearsal in twenty minutes”.  A great sigh escaped the other’s lips before letting his dog out of his carrier and sitting him beside him.

“Just our luck to have the universe play one of its nasty little joke on us today, then” says Doojoon, extending a hand out to the stranger. “Yoon Doojoon” came his introduction. Might as well get acquainted if they’re going to be stuck together inside the elevator indefinitely.

“Yoseob” says the other, accepting his handshake. Then they both turned awkwardly quiet.  

Doojoon, not wanting to be stressed out by the overly dramatic and exaggerated reply Kikwang’s sure to send him, turns his phone off before hiding it back in his pocket. And breaks the silence by clearing his throat. “What’s his name?” he asks, pertaining to the dog.

“Yanggaeng”, Yoseob’s quick and short answer.

“I see” says Doojoon, “You said you have a director? Forgive me for asking but are you a celebrity or something?”

Yoseob laughs slightly at that. “Oh no, I’m too awkward and weird looking to be a celebrity”.  

Hearing that, Doojoon turns to look at Yoseob’s face for the first time since getting stuck in the elevator.

Button nose and chubby cheeks.

“You’re cute” he says, though he hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “I..I mean” he stutters then added quickly, “If you’re weird looking then everyone looks like a squid…if that even makes sense”

Yoseob laughs aloud at that. And Yanggaeng, probably sensing his stupidity, barks thrice before burying his head in Yoseob’s side.

Doojoon feels his face heat with embarrassment. Struggling to keep a straight face he says, “Sorry, since you mentioned a director I immediately thought you were a celebrity, I don’t really watch T.V”. He clears his throat again, ”So..what are you then?”

“I act in musicals” says Yoseob, a soft smile on his lips.

Doojoon blinks once or five. “You act in musicals? How is that different from being a celebrity?” he asks accusingly, feeling he’s been fooled.

“Well” says Yoseob, in a matter of factly voice, “I only star in small productions and nobody really knows me. To be a celebrity, you have to be recognized by people on the streets"

"Technically,” a pause and a knowing smile “between us two, you’re the celebrity”

Doojoon laughs at that, “I only play soccer, how does that make me a celebrity?”

“You give interviews on TV and people recognize you on the streets, don’t they?”

Doojoon nods his head thoughtfully at that, Yoseob did got a point but then another thought came to him “How’d you know that?”

Yoseob laughs again. “Like I said” he says “You give interviews on TV, and people recognize you on the streets. You’re captain of the national soccer team, who wouldn’t know who you are in this soccer-crazed country?”

Yoseob’s got a point, he thinks then shakes his head. In a tone of disbelief he asks, “You knew who I was all along?”

Yoseob casually shrugs.  “I wasn’t sure at first” he says “I only saw you from my sister’s calendar you know. But you introduced yourself, then was sure.”

“Calendar?” Doojoon asks in disbelief. Yoseob nods and is polite enough to remind him of that one calendar his team agreed to feature their torsos in back in 2013.

Doojoon merely exclaims a quiet “ah, that calendar” as a response, then grimaces. He always thought of that calendar shoot as one of his life’s biggest mistakes.

Yoseob, amused at Doojoon’s reaction, decides it’ll be nice to tease their country’s beloved soccer player. “Your torso currently haunts the living room of my sister’s apartment, you know. It’s been a few years but she still keeps it hanged there. She really likes you a lot” he says, beaming. “Oh If I had known I’d be stuck in an elevator with you I would’ve brought that calendar with me so I can ask you to sign it. My sister would’ve loved your signature beside your torso hanging in her living room.”

“Shut up” Doojoon tells him, "I hate you" without any conviction. He was too distracted by the dimple that appeared beside the other’s widely smiling lips to ever mean anything at the moment. Because that’s a really cute dimple, he thinks then changes his mind a millisecond after. It wasn’t just the dimple.

“That’s a very attractive smile” Doojoon says, once again voicing his thoughts out without intending to.  

And hearing that, of course, made the smile and the dimple vanish from Yoseob’s face. “What?” he says amidst his now turning red cheeks.

“N-nothing” says Doojoon, “I d-didn’t say anything”. An awkward clearing of the throat.

There is disappointment as Yoseob says an awkward “oh”.

With the intention of changing the subject, Doojoon opens his mouth and asks “W-which production are you staging right now? I actually have a friend who’s a musical director fo--”

“Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella”

“Yeah that one” Doojoon says, “how’d you know?”

“I meant I’m acting in that production” clarifies Yoseob.  Doojoon looks at him, bewildered.

“I’m playing the role of Christopher Rupert Windermere Vladimir Carl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman Gregory James” continues Yoseob, looking at the floor. He was now petting Yanggaeng beside him, “Also known as the Prince”.

Doojoon couldn’t believe it. Not only was that a really long name but Yoseob is working with Junhyung. An unbelievably small coincidence in this perfectly big world. Or maybe, he thinks, it wasn’t a coincidence. 

“Do you believe in destiny?” he asks Yoseob suddenly.

Yoseob shakes his head, no. “I believe you’re about to make a big silly speech on destiny”

Doojoon laughs at that. “You’re probably right” he says, “it’s just that…well, it’s an awfully big world, you know. And somehow we’re stuck here inside this elevator together, and you just happen to be working with one of my best friends. That’s an awful lot of small coincidences for one day, don’t you think?”

Yoseob merely nods at that, still petting Yanggaeng at his side.

“You probably think I’m ridiculous, don’t you?” Doojoon says staring at him.

Yoseob shakes his head, no. “I was thinking you have a point” a pause, “and that my sister would be disappointed. She thinks it’s her destiny to be your lawfully wedded wife someday, you know, but now you’re here implying it’s probably destiny that we’re stuck here together…and, I just find that ridiculously funny, don’t you think so?” he finishes and starts laughing uncontrollably.

Yanggaeng looks up at his owner, as if thinking Yoseob’s gone mad, and starts barking.

Doojoon starts smiling. He was happy to see the smile and the dimples back on the other’s face. "I like it when you laugh and smile, you know" he says "You should smile often"

“I” he says, looking at anywhere inside the elevator but Yoseob, “I think you have a very attractive smile"

He hears Yoseob mumble a quiet "thanks..you have nice thighs". An embarassed clearing of throat. "M-my sister" Yoseob stutters, in a louder and quicker tone this time, "s-she always mentions your thighs"

Doojoon turns to him just in time to see his reddening cheeks before he burries them in his hands. "R-really? Tell her thanks, I guess" he says.

There is a quiet pause before Doojoon spoke again.

"Tell your sister" he began, "Yoon Doojoon thinks her brother is really cute and that he'd like to talk to him again about 'life and ridiculous destiny' over dinner and a movie"

Yoseob immediately stops hiding his face in his hands. "What do y--"

But his question is interrupted by a series of bang from outside, the immediate return of the elevator lights and the sound of the elevator ascending once more. A cheery voice from the little speaker announces the elevator has been fixed.

“Finally” Doojoon says cheerily.

“W-what? N-no, you..what?” says Yoseob confusedly, trying to convince himself he’s heard incorrectly. But soon the elevator comes to a stop followed by the sound of the metal doors opening.

Doojoon steps outside happily, waves goodbye at Yoseob and makes a run for the building exit. For he was late for his practice and his coach will murder him to tiny little pieces. He makes a mental note to visit Junhyung and ask a certain musical actor out on a date later.  

--

mentally stabbing myself with a fork.