what better way to start off the lunar new year than with dim sum and a cute lion dancer
so i came up with this when i was out getting dim sum with my family for the lunar new year and i only finished it now because i was busy and also i didn't want to study lol
also, all the pronunciations of the different foods are in cantonese and the style of lion dance i'm referring to is southern style
if you haven't already guessed it from reading this drabble, i'm chinese lol
this is super late but happy year of the rooster!
well, hope ya'll enjoy this while i study myself to death
words: 3879
side pairing: taoris
 

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Kyungsoo slapped a hand down on the turntable, effectively stopping it so that the bamboo steamer holding shumai was right in front of him. He grinned as he picked up the last dumpling filled with pork and shrimp, completely oblivious to Tao's glare. 

“You like the food?” Yifan yelled over the music and shouting of other people. 

Kyungsoo nodded as he lifted the shumai up to his mouth. “Yeah, it’s pretty good. Hey, what’s that thing you ordered earlier? It was white rectangles, kinda mushy but in a good way, and had like little bits of meat in it?”

Tao choked on his tea, coughing wildly as he pounded his chest. “W-What are you talking about?” He wheezed.

Yifan blinked as he grabbed the pot of tea and leaned forward to pour some into Kyungsoo’s half-empty cup. “Uhh… Oh! I think you’re talking about the lo bak go. It’s a radish cake. My mom makes some pretty bomb lo bak go. You should come over one day to try it.”

“I would love to. Oh, what’s in that cart?” Kyungsoo straightened up to look into the metal cart that was being pushed right by their table.

Yifan turned around and flashed the middle aged woman a smile. “Ayi, what’s there to eat?” He asked in fluent Cantonese.

While Yifan was asking about the dishes, Tao turned to Kyungsoo and smiled. “So, you enjoying your Lunar New Year?”

Kyungsoo spun the turntable so that the pai gwut was right in front of him. “Yeah. It’s pretty different from how Koreans celebrate it. Don’t tell my mom but I think I like the Chinese way more.”

Tao burst out laughing and he patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

“You ready to try some cheong fun? It’s just a rice noodle roll. This one has beef and this one has shrimp,” Yifan explained as the lady set the dishes on the turntable. He then handed the stamp card to her and waited for her to stamp them. 

“Make sure you get enough soy sauce on them. They taste better that way,” Tao said as he immediately reached for the one with beef. 

“Well, you never know how he likes his cheong fun.” Yifan reasoned as he spun the turntable for the shrimp cheong fun.

Kyungsoo snorted and he grabbed the shrimp rice noodle roll. “By the way, why is it so loud and crowded? Yixing told me that it’s usually busy on the weekends but I didn’t realize it would be like this.”

The taller blonde took a sip of the po lei tea and smacked his lips. “It is usually busy on the weekends but since it’s the New Year and the weekend, it’s the only time families can really gather to grab some food together for the holiday. And apparently there’s going to be a performance at twelve but I’m not really sure about what’s going on.”

“Oh, do you think there’s going to be wu shi in here?” Tao asked excitedly as he bounced in his seat.

Kyungsoo’s eyebrows furrowed and he looked at Yifan for an explanation. The elder smirked and he said, “Wu shi is basically lion dance. Koreans do something similar to it too. The sajachum, I think it’s called.”

The younger’s face lit up at the familiar word and he clapped his hands. “Oh, I love the sajachum! I find the costumes lowkey creepy but it’s pretty cool. Wait, so you’re saying that lion dancers will actually come into this crowded restaurant to perform? How does that work?”

Right after Kyungsoo spoke, the sound of cymbals and drums could be heard from the lower level of the mall they were in. Tao squealed and turned to Yifan to say something in rapid fire Chinese. He then turned back to the shorter and grabbed his arm, shaking it wildly. “Oh my gosh, the lions are gonna be coming up! I’m so excited! Oh, do you have like a five on you?”

“Yes?” Kyungsoo answered hesitantly.

“He’s not trying to take your money if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s good luck to give the lion a red envelope as it passes by. And to touch the head. Some people do both but I just give it some money and call it a day. The lions kind of creep me out.” Yifan explained through a mouthful of har gow. He dug through his bag and pulled out a few red envelopes, tossing them to Tao and Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo caught the envelope before it touched the soy sauce on his plate. “So just put money in the envelope and then give it to the lion?”

“Yup! When it comes, you just stick it in the mouth and you’ll be set.” Tao bounced as he stuffed a crisp five dollar bill into his own red envelope.

The sound of the drums and cymbals slowly grew louder, signaling the ascent of the lion dance team. It was actually quite funny because the performance the restaurant had prepared just started and some guy dressed in traditional Chinese opera garb was belting notes up on the stage, competing with the growing drum beats.

“Oh, can you get the spring rolls?” Kyungsoo asked as he eyed a cart that was quickly approaching their table.

Yifan turned around and quickly ordered the fried rolls before the lady speeded off.

At that moment, the sound of the drums and cymbals grew deafeningly loud. Kyungsoo and Tao turned around and saw that the lion dancers had officially made their entrance in their restaurant via elevator. All the middle aged men and women around them immediately whipped out their phones, taking photos and videos of the lions to put into their group chats on WeChat.

Tao let out a gasp and he turned to Yifan. “Oh my god, it’s the lions! Okay, if they come here, you need to take a picture of me with them.”

Yifan nodded and waved the comment off as he grabbed the last beef cheong fun. “Yeah, yeah. Oh, Yixing said he would be with the lion dancers but he never said where he was going to be. We should keep an eye out for him.”

“Yixing does lion dancing?” Kyungsoo asked, eyes wide with surprise.

The blonde snorted. “He does a lot of things that we don’t know about. His schedule is so ridiculous that I honestly wonder if he ever gets any sleep.”

“Oh look, they’re coming over here!” Tao exclaimed.

Kyungsoo turned around and saw a white and gold lion making its way around the tables, the eyes blinking and head being lifted up every now and then. He noticed that there were two people underneath the lion costume with one acting as the head and the other acting as the rear. It was quite interesting to see the lion weave around the tables, stopping when people their phones in their face and stuck red envelopes in the mouth.

“Do you guys want anything else? I think you said you wanted the piggy nai wong bao, right Tao?” Yifan said suddenly, forcing the two to turn their attention to him.

“Get two of them! Oh, and the durian puff pastry.”

“Wait, pigs?”

Tao’s face lit up and he rambled excitedly, “I saw these little buns when we came up that looked like pigs and they were so cute and I told Yifan that I wanted them and he said that he was going to order them for me. They’re custard buns, I think.”

“All we have to do is wait for the cart with the buns to come around. Oh yeah, gotta get some char siu bo lo bao too. I think you’ll like them. It’s the right combo of sweet and savory in a little bun.” Yifan explained with a blissful smile on his face.

Kyungsoo shrugged and grabbed his cup of tea. “I’m up for anything that tastes good, really.”

Suddenly, he noticed that a small crowd had started to form near their table and he turned around to see that the lion was just a few feet away from then. Tao gasped and he looked at Yifan with a wide grin. “Remember to take pictures when it comes here!”

Slowly, the lion inched forward as the group of middle aged Chinese ladies around it dispersed, happy that they got to take pictures with it. The family at the table next to them waved the lion over. The mother put a red envelope in her daughter’s hands and told her to give it to the lion. The child looked a bit scared but shoved it into the lion’s wide mouth. The father then took a few pictures of the family and the lion finally turned to Kyungsoo’s table.

Yifan looked up in surprise to see Yixing by the lion’s side instead of under the costume. “Yo Yixing, you’re not the lion this year?”

“Not this year. I’m more of the guide, if you will. Gotta let some of the other kids get their time to shine too, y’know.” Yixing chuckled, hands in his pockets.

The lion blinked at Yixing before turning to look at Tao. The boy happily clapped and then put his red envelope in the mouth. “Yifan, pictures!”

As Yifan fumbled for his phone, Kyungsoo grinned at Yixing and decided to hand over his red envelope too. When the mouth of the lion opened, he found himself staring at the most handsome man he had seen. His skin was golden, hair tousled and slightly matted against his forehead, his eyes were bright, and his lips were sinfully plump. He felt himself getting lost in the man’s eyes and when he noticed the man’s lips moving, he snapped out of his daze.

“I’m sorry?”

The man chuckled, sending shivers down Kyungsoo’s spine. “I said I think I should close my mouth because I’m sure Tao doesn’t want to see my face in the picture.”

How the man knew Tao was beyond him but he could care less because god damn his voice was like . 

Kyungsoo blinked and then hurriedly shove his hand down the lion’s mouth. The man took the red envelope with a smile and then closed the mouth so that Tao could finally get his pictures.

“See you guys around.” Yixing waved as he guided the lion towards other tables. The lion’s mouth opened again and the man inside gave Kyungsoo a sweet smile before following after Yixing.

Once the lion left, Yifan called over one of the ladies pushing a cart and was able to get the pig nai wong bao and char siu bo lo bao. He pushed the steamers towards Tao and watched softly as the younger gushed over how cute they were.

“Oh, I sent the pics to you on WeChat,” Yifan said as he swiped a bun for himself.

Tao grinned and Kyungsoo grabbed a custard bun. “Oh my god, this is so cute.”

“I know right! I feel so bad for eating them. Oh well.” Tao took a giant bite from the bun and hummed. 

The three soon finished their meal, asked for the check and then paid. As they stood on the escalator, Kyungsoo patted his stomach with a satisfied grin. “That was really good. I think I need to come back again soon.”

“Let us know when you wanna go yum cha and we’ll all come again.” Yifan smiled.

When they stepped off the escalator, they noticed the lion dance team off to the side, taking a small break as some went to the bathroom or to grab a quick drink or bite of food. Yixing spotted the trio and waved them over. 

“You guys have some good food?” The man smiled.

Yifan and Tao looked at Kyungsoo, who in return let out a moan. “I feel like my stomach is going to explode. It was so good. Especially those buns that were sweet but had meat on the inside. Oh, the fish balls were really good too.”

“Did you like the performance as well?”

“It was so cool! I see why Tao gets excited over it.”

Tao’s face flushed and he buried his face in Yifan’s shoulder. Yixing laughed and then was distracted when someone caught his eye. “Oh Jongin, come here!”

Kyungsoo turned around to see who he was calling and it turned out to be the hot guy from before. Now that he finally got to see him under normal lighting, he realized that he was even hotter. He was tall too. Perfect for hugging, he thought.

Jongin smiled as he patted Tao on the back. “Hey man, it’s been a while.”

“Yeah, it has been. What are you doing with them? Were you a lion?” Tao asked.

Yifan snorted and pointed at the white and gold costume by their feet. “He was the lion you took pictures with and gave money too.”

“Really? Then give me my money back,” Tao joked.

Jongin burst out laughing, a sound that was music to Kyungsoo’s ear, and he softly punched Tao’s shoulder. He noticed Kyungsoo standing shyly by Yixing’s side, head down to hide his flushing cheeks. 

“I don’t believe we’ve properly met. I’m Jongin.” He introduced himself, hand stuck out and a bright smile on his face.

Kyungsoo sheepishly looked up and slipped his hand into his. “Kyungsoo,” he whispered.

Jongin leaned forward, eyebrows furrowed and a slight frown on his face. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you.”

“His name is Do Kyungsoo and he’s Korean too!” Yixing stepped in, a cheeky smile on his face. “You guys should totally talk more because he’s always with Yifan and Tao and I think he needs some more Korean friends because he clearly has enough Chinese friends.”

Yifan and Tao looked mildly offended while Jongin laughed. “I’d be happy to be friends with Kyungsoo. That is if he’s okay with it.”

“I’m more than okay with it!” Kyungsoo shouted suddenly. He cleared his throat and said in a deeper voice, “I-I mean, yeah, that’s cool."

The members of the lion dance troupe all looked at the shorter and his face grew hot. Tao nudged Yifan and whispered, “Soo’s usually not like this. I bet you ten that it’s because of Jongin.”

“There’s no point of betting because it’s definitely Jongin. Stop trying to swindle money from me. I already bought you that watch you wanted for Christmas.” Yifan scowled. 

Tao pouted and turned back to Kyungsoo. “Hey, I gotta use the bathroom so wait for me?”

“Oh, me too,” Yifan said, already heading towards the bathrooms.

The couple left Kyungsoo alone with Yixing and Jongin and he stood there awkwardly. He looked at Jongin and then at Yixing, sending a ‘help me’ look. The Chinese man smirked and then slapped Jongin on the back. “Hey, I’m going down to Gong Cha to grab a drink. You want anything?”

“Oh sweet. Just a regular pearl milk tea with 70% sugar and less ice.”

“It’s weird how you memorized all the percentages but whatever. Soo, do you want anything?”

Kyungsoo gaped, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Yixing gave him a look and backed away slowly. “So no drink? Okay. I’ll be back in like ten if anyone asks where I am.”

Jongin saluted him and then turned to Kyungsoo as Yixing went down to the food court. “So Kyungsoo, how do you know Tao, Yifan, and Yixing?”

“School,” he dumbly answered, still in shock over his beauty and the fact that it was just the two of them. Not really the two of them since the rest of the lion dance group was still there but just the two of them.

Luckily, Jongin was kind enough to keep the conversation going. “Really? How come I’ve never seen you on campus?”

Kyungsoo blinked in surprise. “Wait, what? You go to school with us too?”

The boy chuckled as he stuck his hands in the pockets of his sweats and leaned back a bit. “Yup,” he answered, popping the ‘p’ loudly.

“Wow, what a small world. And I’m usually in the living room napping or in the library either working or studying.”

Jongin grimaced a little when Kyungsoo mentioned studying. “Oh geez, that’s not a good sign. Are you a science major or something difficult that requires you to study every single day?”

Kyungsoo snorted, “Yeah, I’m actually a bio major on a pre-med track.”

Jongin pretended to wipe a stray tear from his eye and then patted the elder on the shoulder. “I pray that you’ll be able to make it out alive. Wait, but how did you meet Yifan and Tao?”

“I met them back in freshmen year during the activities fair. I think they were manning the Chinese Student Association table while Yixing and Luhan went to get food and no one was brave enough to walk over because they were too scared but I was interested and went to talk to them. The rest is history, really.” Kyungsoo shrugged.

The dancer laughed and he shook his head. “Of course they would scare everyone away. Did they at least have any good freebies?”

“Just some white rabbit candy. But they gave me a cute keychain that was a miniature bowl of rice.”

“Oh nice. Did you join the CSA?”

“Yeah and sometimes I regret it because they’re honestly the craziest people I know but they also some of the closest friends I have. You?”

Jongin pointed at himself in confusion. “Me?”

Kyungsoo stuck his hands in his pockets and nodded. “Yeah, you. You’re not part of CSA? I thought you were since you were doing the whole lion dancing thing.”

The boy chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. “I can see why you think that but I actually owed Yixing a favor. At first, he just asked me to fill in for someone during their practice but then when that person actually dropped out because they were too busy with classes, he asked me if I wanted to officially join them and I said yeah because why not? And it was pretty fun too.”

“That’s pretty cool. I have two left feet so I can’t dance to save my life.”

Jongin laughed and said, “Well, I believe anyone can dance. With just a little guidance and confidence, I’m sure you’ll be ruling the dance floor in no time.”

A small smile grew on Kyungsoo’s face and he lowered his face to hide his blooming cheeks. “Thanks.”

“Hey, we’re back. Did we miss anything?” Yifan asked, patting his hands on his jeans.

Kyungsoo and Jongin looked at each other and shared a secretive grin. “Nothing much,” the dancer said.

Yifan gave them weird looks before Tao bounded over and grabbed the elder’s arm. “You ready to go? I still have to get back home to help my mom clean the house for our dinner party tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. You ready to go, Soo?”

Kyungsoo looked at the two before turning around to look at Jongin, wondering if he should ask for his number. But before he had the chance to do so, Tao was already tugging at his collar and whining about how his mom would kick his if he was one minute late. He gave the boy an awkward smile and waved. “Guess I’ll see you ‘round campus?”

“Sounds like a deal. If anything, you can always ask Yifan or Yixing for my number.” Jongin grinned.

The couple threw a few catcalls in their direction and Kyungsoo’s face flushed. “Yeah. See you next time.”

“See ya."

 

 

 

EPILOGUE

 

Kyungsoo woke with a jolt when his peaceful piano instrumentals were suddenly replaced by the annoyingly cheerful tune of his alarm. He let out a soft groan as he turned off his alarm and ran a hand over his weary face. He took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled, his eyes focusing on his surroundings.

Right, I have class in ten minutes, he thought to himself as he checked the time on his phone. It was sad that he had to set an alarm for a quick half hour nap but if he didn’t, he would've slept through the rest of his classes for the day.

The boy sat up and took out his headphones, the sound of muffled chattering quickly entering his ears. As he gathered his belongings, he felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned around.

His eyes widened and he sat up straight. “Jongin, hey, how are you?”

Jongin gave him a boyish grin and readjusted his bag that hung haphazardly on one shoulder. “I’ve been good. Just finished a class here. Did you take a nap?”

“You can tell?"

“I mean, the sweater print on your cheek and the cowlick is a dead giveaway.”

“Wait, what?”

Kyungsoo opened the camera on his phone and let out a groan when he saw a few subtle marks pressed on his cheek and a tuft of hair sticking up on the side of his head. He heard snickering and he turned back to Jongin only to find him stifling his laughter.

The elder grumbled as he tried to smooth down his hair and Jongin said, “Hey, what time do you finish class today?”

Kyungsoo looked up in surprise and blinked. “Um, today’s Tuesday right?”

“Yep.”

“I finish at 3:45. Why, what’s up?”

“Just wanted to know if you wanted to go on a date with me afterwards.”

Kyungsoo stared at him in disbelief and said dumbly, “What?”

Jongin laughed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Do you want to go on a date with me? It’s not gonna be anything too fancy, y’know, since I’m a broke college student and all that. I was thinking about checking out that new cafe across the street from the parking lot, if that’s cool with you.”

Still taken aback by the boy’s sudden proposal, Kyungsoo could only stare at him. Jongin chuckled and then pulled out a sheet of scrap paper and a pen from his bag. He hastily scribbled on it and then handed it to the boy. “Well, let me know if you’re up for that date. I have class in a few minutes so I’m gonna dip first. See you later.”

Kyungsoo watched the boy leave the building in a daze before snapping back to reality and realizing that he had class soon too. He jumped up from his seat and watched as a piece of paper fluttered to the ground. He picked it up and opened it to find a series of numbers along with Jongin’s name and a crude drawing of a bear with a little speech bubble that read, “Text me!”

The boy folded up the paper and stuffed it into his back pocket as he bit back a smile and ran off to class. During his lecture, he pulled out his phone and sent Jongin a text.

 

To Jongin:
this is kyungsoo
and yes i’ll go on a date with you

 

Not too long after sending his text, his phone buzzed and he opened it, a smile growing on his face as he read the message.

 

From Jongin:
pick you up after class?