“What colour do you want, oppa?”

Junhoe looked down at the two little compacts of eye shadow Hanbyul was holding and tried to suppress a grin. “Use them both!” 

“Okay!” 

He was currently at Hanbin’s, “helping” him to babysit his sister for the night. Hanbin’s parents were out for some overnight business trip, and Junhoe had come home with him right after class. Hanbin was making them dinner (really only reheating something his mother had left, but he’d made a big deal over needing to concentrate on it so he didn’t ruin it) leaving Junhoe to entertain Hanbyul. 

When she’d asked him if she could do his makeup, he hadn’t had the heart to refuse her, and now he was sitting on her bed with absurdly red cheeks, about to have blue and purple eyeshadow applied. He was afraid to see what colour lipstick she was going to make him wear. 

Hanbyul hummed to herself as she set about brushing eye shadow over his eyelids, and Junhoe wondered how much of it was getting on his cheeks compared to his eyes? Ah, it was worth it just to keep her happy, he supposed. There were worse ways he could be spending his evening. 

“I’m finished!” Hanbyul said, and Junhoe opened his eyes, making a face while he looked at her that sent her giggling. 

“How does it look?” He asked, fluttering his eyelids at her. 

“Gorgeous!” Came Hanbin’s reply, who was standing in the door to the room. “Byul-ah, you’re getting so good at this!” 

“I made you pretty, oppa!” Hanbyul said to Junhoe, before looking back at her brother. 

“I just came by to tell you dinner’s almost ready,” Hanbin said, before grinning at Junhoe, “and we have guests coming over.” Hanbin didn’t have to clarify who the guests were—Junhoe could tell. 

“Seriously?” Junhoe whined, though he didn’t really mind. Okay maybe he wasn’t excited to have Bobby and Jinhwan see him wearing a face full of badly applied make up, but whatever. He’d promised Hanbyul he’d keep it on for a while, and if either of them had a problem with it they’d have to face her wrath, and not his. 

“Yep! Byul-ah, make sure you give him some pretty lipstick!” Hanbin added before disappearing again. 

“Who is the guest, oppa?” Hanbyul asked Junhoe, back at her desk to pick out some lipstick. 

“Do you remember Bobby and Jinhwan?” Junhoe asked, and Hanbyul nodded. 

“From Hanbin-ie oppa’s boxing day? They’re both coming?” Hanbyul asked, excitement in her voice. 

Junhoe had a sudden thought that would certainly help him out. “Yeah, they probably heard how good you are at doing makeup and wanted to see for themselves!”

Hanbyul picked out a shade and popped back up in front of him. “Do you think they will let me do makeup on their faces?” She asked him, hopeful expression lighting up her eyes. 

Junhoe grinned at her. “I think so! Make sure you ask them nicely, they might be too shy to say yes at first.” Oh, this would be good! He pursed his lips for her then so she could apply the lipstick, not even flinching when she accidentally got some on his chin. No big deal. 

He heard Hanbin talking and knew the other two must have arrived, but Hanbyul was still finishing his lipstick. Seconds later and a gasp at the door had him opening his eyes to see Jinhwan. 

“Who is this pretty girl, and why hasn’t Hanbin ever introduced me?” He asked, grinning at the sight of Junhoe sporting a face full of makeup. 

Hanbyul got a little shy at his appearance, smiling at him but not replying, instead abandoning her lipstick and clinging to Junhoe’s arm. Junhoe patted her on the head and looked up at Jinhwan, a challenging look on his face. One more shot for Jinhwan to slip up and act like a jerk.

“Byul-ah, remember what I told you?” He focused his sight back on Hanbyul, who was looking up at him. “Why don’t you go and ask?”

She smiled and nodded before shyly walking over to Jinhwan. He crouched down in front of her and smiled back. 

“Did you do his makeup all by yourself?” Jinhwan asked her, and she nodded. “You’re so good!” 

Hanbyul smiled and reached out to touch his arm. “Oppa, can I do makeup for you too?” 

Jinhwan hadn’t been expecting that. He’d been trying to hold in laughter over seeing Junhoe with a ridiculous layer of makeup on (he didn’t want to hurt Hanbyul’s feelings, after all, even if Junhoe looked hilarious) but was he seriously going to subject himself to the same horror? He quickly looked back at Junhoe, who was watching him carefully, waiting for his answer. Apparently he had no choice but to say yes. 

“Of course you can!” 

Hanbyul responded with excitement, while Junhoe sported an amused smirk. It was actually cute, when he thought about it, that Junhoe would let Hanbin’s little sister slather makeup all over his face. Not a lot of guys would be willing to subject themselves to the whims of a four year old girl, and Junhoe hadn’t exactly looked embarrassed to be seen like this. He obviously seemed to care about her a lot. 

Jinhwan stood up and grinned when Hanbyul grabbed his hand and pulled him over to sit on her bed next to Junhoe, and the closer he was the more Jinhwan wanted to laugh. It looked even more ridiculous up close. 

“What colours should I put on you, oppa?” Hanbyul asked, looking at her array of cheap makeup. 

Jinhwan was still looking at Junhoe, still trying not to laugh. “Um, I’m from Jeju Island, so you should make me look like an orange!” He suggested, pleased when Junhoe had to bite back his own laugh. 

Hanbyul hummed out loud while sifting through her things, whining when she couldn’t find anything orange. “I don’t have that colour!” 

“It’s okay, we can make him something else!” Junhoe was quick to reply. “Do you have green?” 

Jinhwan watched as Junhoe knelt beside her, whispering ideas to her, and he couldn’t help but smile. This whole thing was getting cuter by the second! Seeing Junhoe interacting so closely with her just seemed so sweet and soft, and it reminded him of watching Junhoe the previous weekend with Hanbin, giggling over their fighter nicknames. It was nice, getting to see this other side of him. Maybe he was just assuming things that were incorrect, but Junhoe had struck him as the sort that didn’t really like to open up until he felt comfortable. Did this behaviour, playing with Hanbyul in front of him, did it mean that Junhoe trusted him, at least to some degree? He hoped so. 

“Wait, I have to go get something!” Hanbyul ran from the room suddenly, while Junhoe sat back down beside him on the bed. 

“Okay, get it out now while she’s out of the room!” Junhoe said in greeting. 

Jinhwan smiled at him instead of laughing. “I think it’s sweet,” he said, “it’s nice of you to indulge her.” 

Junhoe hadn’t really been expecting that, he’d been expecting Jinhwan to laugh and make fun of him. He was trying to keep his guard up about him, trying not to let Jinhwan off the hook too easily. But every time they hung out, Jinhwan showed better sides of himself, and Junhoe had yet to see the jerk side of him reappear since Hanbin’s boxing tournament. 

“Seriously, a lot of guys wouldn’t sit through makeup, especially not for a kid that’s not even their own sibling. But you always seem really sweet with her, it’s nice.” Jinhwan thought the look of surprise on Junhoe’s face was hilarious given the makeup, and it was a struggle not to laugh. 

“You know, she really likes you,” Junhoe replied, scrambling to change the topic because it just felt weird to hear it come from Jinhwan, “she usually doesn’t warm up to new people so quickly.” 

Jinhwan grinned. “Yeah, Bobby complains that she’s still not that close to him. I think it’s just because he doesn’t know what to do with a sister. You have an older sister, right?” 

Junhoe nodded. Had they talked about their sisters last weekend? Or had Hanbin said something about her? “Yeah, Yejin’s three years older than me.” 

“Ah, my sister’s six years older than me! Practically ancient!” Jinhwan joked. 

“Are you close to her?” Junhoe asked, curious about Jinhwan’s relationship with his family, but not wanting to ask the obvious question of why Jinhwan lived in Seoul while they didn’t. He didn’t really like getting too personal in conversations. 

“We’re very close! After Bobby, my sister is the person I’m closest to. What about you and your sister?” Jinhwan wasn’t exactly keen to keep the topic of conversation on his own family, wanting to try and avoid any potentially troubling questions. 

“We’re really close too,” Junhoe answered curtly, and any further awkward conversation was saved by Hanbyul’s reappearance. 

“I found it!” she squealed on her way into the room, holding a small tub in her hands. Jinhwan watched her in curiosity as she stood in front of him, trying to unscrew the top. When she couldn’t get it she looked at Junhoe, who reached for it immediately and gave her back the open container. 

Jinhwan looked down at it, curious as to what it was. Some sort of green cream? Probably some kind of face mask? Was she going to slather his entire face in it? Was this Junhoe’s doing? He had asked her for green, after all…

Only one way to find out.

“Are you sure we should leave them alone?” Bobby asked, turning to Hanbin once Jinhwan had disappeared from view. 

“They’re not alone, they’re with Hanbyul!” Hanbin answered. 

“Yeah, that’s why I’m worried! I don’t want you winning our bet.” Bobby replied, grinning as Hanbin leaned down to check on the food in the oven. 

“Oh nothing will happen tonight,” Hanbin said, standing up and resetting the timer, “Hanbyul’s putting makeup on Junhoe.” 

“She’s what? He’s letting her?” Bobby was surprised—he wouldn’t have pictured Junhoe submitting himself to that. 

“It happens more often than you think,” Hanbin replied, “mom always gives her old makeup and Byul loves to put it on other people more than herself.” Hanbin pointed at the fridge. “See if you can find me on there!” 

Bobby went over to the collection of pictures on the side of the fridge, immediately spotting Hanbin and his dad both wearing heavy makeup and looking ridiculous. It was endearing, though. “You’re not gonna make her do my makeup, are you?” He jokingly asked. 

“Might get her more comfortable with you?” Hanbin teased, before walking over to stand behind Bobby, sliding his arms around him. 

Bobby put the picture back on the fridge and turned around, checking to make sure no one had come back into the kitchen before cupping Hanbin’s cheeks in his palms and meeting his lips for a kiss. It had been a while since they’d been able to share a proper kiss without interruption, and Bobby was desperate. Hanbin seemed to be pretty desperate too, judging by the eagerness of his response. 

They managed to get in a good five minutes of making out without interruption before the timer dinged on the stove, startling the both of them. Hanbin leaned back in for another quick kiss before pulling away and heading over to check on the food, leaving Bobby to catch his breath where he stood. 

God, they really needed to have a longer time alone together. Kissing Hanbin was so much better than any other guy he’d ever kissed before, but Bobby wanted more than just kissing. Not that they’d even talked about that yet, but that was a conversation they definitely needed to have by themselves anyway. Hence the need for some actual alone time. 

Hanbin deemed the food finished and took it out of the oven and just as Bobby was about to go and plaster himself to Hanbin again they were interrupted. Bobby felt like groaning in frustration, but that quickly abated as soon as he took in the state of his friends. 

Junhoe had a face full of poorly applied makeup, but Jinhwan’s entire face was light green (except for bright pink lips). Bobby couldn’t hold back the laugh, wasn’t sure which one looked more ridiculous. Hanbin faced them with a little more grace, keeping his laughter to himself. 

Jinhwan, for his part, just smiled at them for a moment before speaking. “I’m a pea.” 

Hanbin couldn’t hold it in after the comment, turning away to face the counter, laughing so hard tears came to his eyes. Bobby was in the same boat, and Jinhwan himself had a hard time not breaking down as well. 

Hanbyul excitedly ran to her brother’s side, wrapping her arms around his leg. “Oppa, he wanted to be an orange but I didn’t have orange!” 

Hanbin wiped his eyes before leaning down to pick her up. “Well you did a very good job of making him a pea!” He could barely say it without laughing. 

“Junhoe oppa said he should be a pea because he’s so small!” Hanbyul explained conspiratorially, whispering in Hanbin’s ear. The explanation just made him laugh again. 

“What did she just say?” Jinhwan asked, standing with his hands on his hips and looking at Hanbyul as though she was in trouble. She just laughed and buried her face in Hanbin’s neck. 

“She said green really suits you,” Hanbin answered, grinning when Jinhwan blew him a kiss. 

“Okay enough talk about the little pea,” Junhoe cut in, “don’t I look fabulous?” 

Hanbin briefly looked at him but had to turn away. Junhoe’s face after Jinhwan’s exclamation about being a pea was just too much for him to handle. 

“You’re stunning!” Bobby answered instead, “just breathtaking!” 

“Thank you,” Junhoe replied, “it’s hard work looking this good.” 

They took seats around the table while Hanbin served dinner. Bobby and Jinhwan had eaten already, and when Hanbin sat down with Hanbyul, Jinhwan offered his help so Hanbin could eat in peace. 

“Byul-ah, come and sit with me!” He motioned for her to join him, and to Hanbin’s surprise she did, slipping down from his lap and beelining for Jinhwan’s chair. He passed over her plate, curious eyes on his sister. She was still slowly warming up to Bobby, but she’d taken to Jinhwan drastically quick. It was cute, and he was grateful for the opportunity to not have to worry about making sure she ate. It’s not that Hanbyul was a fussy eater, but she was easily distracted at meal times. 

Once dinner was done they congregated in the living room, where Hanbin had the brilliant idea of having Junhoe and Jinhwan reenact a fairy tale out of Hanbyul’s book—The Princess and The Pea. There were protests at first (mostly from Jinhwan, whose green face mask had started hardening over dinner and was pulling tightly at his skin, but they wouldn’t let him wash it off yet) but Hanbyul’s teary pleading had done them in. 

Hanbin narrated the story and in the end Junhoe sat down on Jinhwan, who whined and complained about being crushed. Hanbyul loved it, though (as did Hanbin and Bobby, who recorded the good parts on his phone) and only when they finished the impromptu play were they allowed to go and wash their faces. 

As Jinhwan washed the hardened mask off his face he looked at Junhoe, who was carefully wiping the eye shadow off. 

“So, not to be suggestive about what you do in your spare time, but you seem pretty used to wearing makeup!” Jinhwan teased. 

Junhoe grinned and reached for a fresh makeup wipe. “Did your sister not practice makeup on you when you were younger?” Junhoe asked. 

“All the time!” Jinhwan answered, reaching for a wipe to take the lipstick off. 

“Sometimes Yejin still does.” Junhoe replied, and as soon as he said it he felt like biting his tongue off. Why was he sharing that?? 

“Really? That’s cute!” Jinhwan replied, reaching for a towel to dry his face now that his lips were clean. Okay, doing it as a kid was one thing, and letting Hanbyul do it now was another, but Junhoe still let his older adult sister put makeup on him?! Jinhwan thought that was especially cute. 

Junhoe blushed as he continued taking off the makeup. Ugh, why did I tell him that?! “Yeah, just for, like, complicated things she wants to practice? It’s not like I like it or anything!” So embarrassing. He was sure Jinhwan would over it constantly! 

Jinhwan just smiled and didn’t reply. When he finished drying his face he looked in the mirror. He didn’t look any different, and he was curious what the mask had been for? He touched his cheek and gasped out loud. His skin was so soft. He’d heard all the same commercials about skin softening creams, but had figured they were bull advertisements. But he could actually feel the difference! 

“Okay you have to touch my face! This stuff made my skin super soft, it’s crazy!” Jinhwan exclaimed, reaching for Junhoe’s arm. Junhoe almost pulled away, but in the end he wound up with his fingers touching Jinhwan’s cheek. 

“Yeah hyung, uh very soft.” Junhoe wasn’t sure why Jinhwan cared about how soft his skin was. Sure, it was nice, but it was also weird, touching Jinhwan’s face. Ah, there was that stupid little heart shaped mole! The one Junhoe had originally wanted to grind his elbow into. 

Funny how things worked out. He was touching it now, but he no longer had the desire to elbow Jinhwan in the face. Which was good! Better to have a friend than an enemy, he supposed. He felt calmer these days, now that the mere thought of Jinhwan didn’t make him seethe with anger. He didn’t like being upset over things, and he’d been especially miserable being at odds with Hanbin. He’d even had an easier time dealing with Donghyuk’s constant presence this past week. Karaoke had been a huge help. 

He finally dropped his hand from Jinhwan’s face, but stared at him for a moment as Jinhwan leaned in closer to the mirror to study his skin. Junhoe still couldn’t believe how friendly they’d become after their start. He had a lot of acquaintances, people he was friendly with and enjoyed being around. But there weren’t many people he would really consider a friend. Hanbin, obviously, and even though Yunhyeong was only supposed to be his tutor, Junhoe actually thought of him as a friend as well. Donghyuk was certainlybecoming a friend (whether Junhoe wanted him to or not, which was just Donghyuk’s personality) and now he wondered… Would he soon consider Jinhwan a proper friend? It kind of seemed that way, strangely enough. 

Once they finished in the bathroom they rejoined the others only to hear that it was bedtime for Hanbyul. After bidding her a goodnight (and kissing her cheek--even Bobby got to participate) Hanbin took her to bed, returning a short while later once she was sleeping, dropping back onto the couch next to Bobby, who immediately put an arm around his shoulders. Jinhwan sat on Hanbin’s other side, while Junhoe occupied a chair across from them. 

Bobby was in the middle of discussing the upcoming playoff games for their high school basketball league. 

“I can’t believe they changed the first round to Thursday, this year!” Bobby complained after reading a text message from his coach. “I hate weekday games, I always have too much energy to get to sleep.” 

“Wait, this Thursday?” Jinhwan asked, voice rising. 

“Yeah, why?” Bobby looked at his best friend, his brain raking over itself trying to figure out what might be getting him upset. 

“You’re supposed to go to the concert with me on Thursday!” Jinhwan said, frowning at Bobby. Had he really forgotten already? 

“Oh ! I forgot about that,” Bobby winced, “I can’t skip the game though.” 

Jinhwan knew there was no point in arguing because Bobby was right--he couldn’t skip the game. But that wasn’t going to stop him from complaining anyway. 

“My mom bought that fourth ticket for you to come with us!” What was he going to do now? His mom was expecting Bobby to come. 

“I’m sorry! It’s not like I asked them to change the game, it’s always been on Friday.” Bobby felt bad, but what was he supposed to do? He captained his team, he couldn’t leave them in the first round. 

Jinhwan dropped his head back against the couch, annoyed mostly because there was nothing he could do about it. “Ugh, mom’s gonna be pissed!” 

“What’s the concert?” Hanbin asked, curious about the complaints. 

“It’s the London Chamber Orchestra,” Jinhwan explained, pausing to glare at Bobby, who’d chuckled. 

“Sorry!” Bobby replied. “I mean, it’s nice but it just sounds so nerdy--” 

“Shut up!” Jinhwan yelled at him, annoyed with his interruption. 

“Are they really coming here from London?” Hanbin asked. 

Jinhwan felt slightly mollified by Hanbin’s appreciative question. “Yeah, they tour a lot globally, I’ve seen them three times before. But this time is special because my favourite trumpeter is coming.” 

“Mmm, Alison Balsom!” Bobby said in an overly sweet voice. “Jinan’s dream wife!” 

“Shut up!” Jinhwan yelled again, tempted to get up so he could kick Bobby. 

“Want me to knock him out?” Hanbin offered with a grin, and again Jinhwan felt a little grateful to him. 

“Nah, might ruin your romance. I’ve been beating Bobby up for years, I’ll knock him around when we go home later.” 

Hanbin grinned and suddenly an excited look came over his face. “So, you need a date for the concert then, right?” 

“Yeah, you wanna come?” Jinhwan offered, and honestly he’d probably have a better time with Hanbin, who seemed to at least have a more open interest than Bobby did. Sometimes Bobby only came with him to things out of politeness, and not because he actually wanted to go. 

“I wish!” Hanbin answered, and truly he did. He’d gone to a few shows of Seoul’s orchestra with his parents. “I have a game too, though, so I can’t. But I know someone who’s not busy on Thursday.” Hanbin directed his gaze at Junhoe, who hadn’t been paying that much attention to the conversation while he was busy texting on his phone. 

“What about Thursday?” Junhoe asked, looking up from his phone. 

“Jinhwan hyung needs a date for a concert, and we’re busy!” Hanbin answered. 

Junhoe’s face went unexpectedly red. “Uh, I don’t know, what’s the concert?” 

“It’s classical music,” Jinhwan explained, “an orchestra from London.” 

“Oh, uh, I don’t know? I might be busy?” Was Hanbin seriously trying to get him to go out somewhere alone with Jinhwan?? As friendly as they were getting these days, Junhoe wasn’t sure if they were really ready to hang out by themselves. 

“No you’re not, because I’m busy and you’re not doing what I’m doing and you have no other friends! Jinhwan’s mom already bought the ticket, all you have to do is wear a nice outfit and go.” Hanbin was determined to get Junhoe to accompany Jinhwan. It was the perfect opportunity for them to get closer! Okay so maybe not perfect, because Jinhwan’s mom would be there, but he felt certain they’d come out of it with a closer connection. 

“If you don’t want to go, that’s okay, I know it’s not for everyone.” Jinhwan felt a little weird about bringing Junhoe. He and Junhoe had an easy co-existence now when they hung out as a group, but he thought that things would probably get awkward if they were alone, because he felt like Junhoe was only just starting to open up to him. It wouldn’t be like it was at the basketball game, where they had other people to distract them or the safety of having their friends in the same space. This would be Junhoe meeting hismother. He’d be comfortable bringing Hanbin, because he wasn’t the ball of awkward tension that Junhoe could be. 

“I didn’t say that, I just might be busy, I need to check.” Junhoe looked  at Hanbin then, who was shaking his head in disappointment. “I like classical music, okay!” 

“Bull!” Hanbin replied, grinning widely. “Name one composer!” 

Junhoe knew some composers, okay, he wasn’t ignorant! He just couldn’t remember any of the names at the moment? They were all foreign, and foreign names were hard! 

“Not even one?” Bobby asked, amused at the situation. 

“I know some! I just can’t think of them right now!” Junhoe replied, face red in embarrassment. Man,  Hanbin! 

“I can’t believe you, this is so pathetic!” Hanbin crowed with joy, laughing at his best friend. 

“ both of you, honestly!” Junhoe whined. He hated it when people made him look stupid! 

“Really, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” Jinhwan cut in, actually feeling a little bad for him. Man, Hanbin really teased Junhoe hard sometimes. Jinhwan did the same thing to Bobby, so he couldn’t really say anything. But still. 

“I do want to, though!” Junhoe replied, confusing himself in the heat of the moment. Did he actually want to go? Had he just cornered himself into this? 

“I don’t know Junhoe, I don’t think you’re enlightened enough to appreciate classical music.” Hanbin knew he had to be careful—he wanted Junhoe to go with Jinhwan, thought they needed something like this to really develop the friendship. There was a very fine line he could walk when he wanted to bully Junhoe into doing something, an easy way to goad him into agreeing when he didn’t really want to. Hanbin wanted to make sure he didn’t cross it. 

“I am so!” Junhoe was so annoyed he lashed out, trying to kick Hanbin from across the gap in between them. But Hanbin moved his leg and instead Junhoe just kicked the couch, cursing loudly. 

Jinhwan couldn’t help but laugh at the situation, looking between Junhoe and Hanbin and Bobby, before finally settling his sights back on Junhoe, who was rubbing his foot. “Alright, quit yelling! You can come.” Jinhwan couldn’t help but smile at Junhoe, because his sulking, grumbling face was actually pretty cute? 

Hanbin looked at Bobby, smiling slyly at him. Operation: Hook Up The Best Friends was off to a stellar start, and if Hanbin had his way, Bobby would be taking him out for a nice dinner very soon.