There is someone rummaging through Kyungsoo’s closet. Which is odd, considering he definitely lives alone. He rolls over to get a look at the intruder, and instantly, he’s hit with a wave of nausea that turns the grey hues of his bedroom even fuzzier than they already were.

 

The world keeps spinning even after he’s stopped his body, mid-roll, to groan into the sheets. Kyungsoo is in much more than pain, confused anguish would be a more accurate description. His stomach churns, and whoever is digging through his things still hasn’t stopped -- the sounds all clip in his ear with a super high intensity. It’s too much of a sensory overload for so early in the morning.

 

Kyungsoo tries to distract himself from the pain by feeling the soft texture of the sheets below him. He doesn’t remember his sheets ever feeling quite this nice before, and he applauds himself for choosing the higher thread count all those months ago. Upon further inspection, he realizes his sheets are blue and these sheets are most definitely a nice shade of burgundy.

 

Oh crap.

 

“You’re up,” a voice he assumes belongs to the noisy rummager comes from the corner of the room.

 

Kyungsoo groans again, his throat scratchy and crusted over. No, no, no. There’s no way he went home with some stranger last night, because Chanyeol was the designated driver, and Chanyeol was supposed to look after him. Chanyeol may not be the brightest, but he knows better than to let Kyungsoo out of his sight when Kyungsoo’s had a few too many. Everyone knows how handsy Kyungsoo can get with a few in him.

 

Everything still spins, and Kyungsoo doesn’t know how to make sense of the situation -- can’t make sense of the situation because he can still taste the stale vodka on his tongue and his world is rotating clockwise.

 

After a few moments of gathering himself -- attempting to find his bearings -- Kyungsoo peeks a single eye open to chance a glance at the mystery man. He’s pleased to be greeted with the sight of a bare, firm chest. The man’s handsome face is semi-familiar, as is the dirty-brown bed hair atop his head. As far as drunk hook-ups go, this definitely isn’t the worst he could have done. Not by a long shot.

 

“Good. You’re good. Nice. Hot,” he mumbles out, opening his other eye to ogle the half- man. He’s more than a little impressed with himself for bagging such an attractive guy, because drunk Kyungsoo is kind of a mess. “Who are you?” he asks when their eyes meet.

 

The man’s eyes squint in scrutiny, and Kyungsoo becomes all too aware that he is only in his boxers, laying atop the sheets with the comforter tangled between hs calves. It shouldn’t really matter though, because the man’s probably already seen it all.

 

“Oh Sehun. We work together?” Sehun’s probably speaking clearly, but it’s all a jumbled mess in Kyungsoo’s brain. “Chanyeol asked me to be the designated driver last night after Jongdae forced him into a round of shots.”

 

“I know that designated drivers are supposed to take you home, but I didn’t know they also take you home,” the words spill out. “Not that I’m complaining.” Okay, maybe he’s still a little drunk.

 

“Excuse me?” Sehun’s eyebrows shoot up in what looks to be confusion. Kyungsoo doesn’t have much time to think about it though, because his head is still pounding and his eyes feel too heavy to maintain eye contact. He nuzzles back into the pillow and whimpers in time with his stomach’s churning.

 

“You’re so out of my league,” Kyungsoo grumbles. He’s definitely going to need a bit more time to sleep off the alcohol before he can converse in sentences that aren’t taken from his half-asleep inner-monologue. “I think I’m still a little drunk.”

 

“Okay? I’ll be in the living room whenever you’re done sleeping it off.”

 

Kyungsoo hears the quiet shutting of the bedroom door before he returns to dreamland.

 

 

 

Kyungsoo wakes up again four hours later. Thankfully, he’s no longer drunk this time. Unfortunately, he’s very much in the early throes of a hangover. He can taste it on his tongue -- the distinct flavor of alcohol, bad decisions, and probably a little vomit. He wants nothing more than to curl back up in the sheets and be miserable for the remainder of the day.

 

Nonetheless, when he checks his phone and realizes it’s nearly noon, he knows it’s time to get moving. The burgundy sheets only serve as more motivation when he realizes for the second time this morning that he’s not in his own apartment.

 

As his feet make contact with the cool hardwood floor, he almost trips over a small trash bin placed next to the night stand. He wonders why anyone would put a bin so close to a foot path. He doesn’t remember much about earlier this morning other than how utterly nauseated he had felt, so maybe the bin placement kind of makes sense.

 

Kyungsoo tracks down his pants and shirt while he tries to piece together bits of the evening before. It’d been a normal Friday post-work get together: there had been food, Jongdae providing shots for everyone, Chanyeol making googly eyes at Baekhyun from across the table. He remembers at some point thinking he should have slowed down on the alcohol consumption. His last fully formed memory is of Jongdae approaching him with tequila and a slice of lemon, so Kyungsoo must not have followed his own advice.

 

Wouldn’t be the first time.

 

What Kyungsoo really wants to remember is how he ended up in a stranger's bed, still drunk out of his mind at seven am. He sorts through the vague and fuzzy memory of being passed off into someone’s arms at some point after midnight; the sensation of colliding with a very firm chest, the arms that instantly wrapped around him, and the inexplicable fit of giggles he seemed unable to control.

 

He has even fuzzier memories that feature flashes of a toilet, the guy from this morning shaking his head, and Kyungsoo throwing his body on the bed before kicking off all his clothes and the world going dark.

 

Drunken idiocracy, Kyungsoo can handle. The shame doesn’t really hit him until he remembers bits and pieces of his drunk morning ramblings. He realizes that the man who took him home is none other than Sehun the Intern -- a fact he hadn’t been able to piece together the first time he had woken up. He grimaces when echoes of his still-drunk ramblings run through his brain. He doesn’t remember all of it -- probably for the best -- but he’s pretty sure he said something about Sehun being hot and about them hooking up.

 

Oh God.

 

Taking in his current state in the reflection of the bathroom mirror -- his hair spiking up wildly, face swollen from alcohol -- he knows there’s no way he and Sehun the Intern had slept together, or even fooled around. Which would explain why fuzzy shirtless Sehun the Intern had been so confused this morning while Kyungsoo was running his mouth.

 

Kyungsoo hates to admit it, but when he’s intoxicated, he can reach levels of stupid that he generally only attributes to Chanyeol. On the bright side, he can at least blame his mistake on the alcohol. Chanyeol can only blame himself for thinking metal pots are microwavable.

 

Drawing a heavy breath to calm his nerves, Kyungsoo enters the living room fully dressed. He feels warmth flood his cheeks as he meets eyes with Oh Sehun, who’s casually lounging on his couch. He’s wearing a shirt now, and Kyungsoo almost feels a little disappointed by the fact. He’d been too drunk to get a proper look at him earlier this morning.

 

Kyungsoo intends to thank Sehun for his kindness. He opens his mouth with every intention of apologizing profusely for inconveniencing the intern. Instead, what slips out is, “We didn’t sleep together last night, did we?”

 

He just can’t seem to stop making a fool of himself this morning.

 

Sehun takes the question in stride, though. The corner of his lips tug into an amused smile as he shakes his head, no. “I like to think myself above sleeping with someone who was so drunk they couldn’t remember their own address.”

 

Ouch. Kyungsoo grimaces. “Then why were you shirtless this morning?”

 

He knows Sehun is in no way at fault for his drunken comments. Yet, he also knows that waking up to a scantily-clad Sehun lurking the corner of the room would confuse anyone at seven in the morning.

 

“This is my apartment. You demanded the bed, but that hardly means I shouldn’t have access to my own closet.” Sehun crosses his arms over his chest, quirking an eyebrow.

 

“Demanded?” Kyungsoo echoes.

 

Kyungsoo almost appreciates the small chuckle Sehun lets escape -- gentle enough to not add to the pain of his hangover, but warm enough to ease of of the shame in his gut. “You did manage to verbalize that much.”

 

Sounds about right, when Kyungsoo thinks about it.

 

“I’m so sorry,” he finally manages to apologize.

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Sehun shrugs it off, letting a full smile break through. “Do you want some lunch?”

 

“I don’t think I can stomach anything just yet.” Kyungsoo’s stomach grumbles on cue. It’s definitely empty, but not ready for anything aside from water and maybe a slice of toast. Which reminds him, “Did I make too much of a mess last night? I saw the bin.”

 

Sehun chuckles again. “You were very adamant about making it to the toilet before you puked your guts out, thankfully. The trash bin was just a precaution.”

 

Relief floods Kyungsoo’s system, at least he won’t have Sehun’s dry cleaning bill added to his list of regrets.

 

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo says genuinely. Even Chanyeol has trouble handling drunk Kyungsoo, but Sehun the Intern has made it look so easy. “You even conceded the bed to me. You didn’t have to.”

 

“Yes I did,” Sehun corrects quickly. “I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who can be so terrifyingly demanding at the same time that they can’t even stand up straight. Speaking of, now that you’re completely verbal again, I assume you need a ride home?”

 

Taking his bottom lip between his teeth, Kyungsoo nods sheepishly. “Kind of, yeah.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Kyungsoo’s kind of amazed that this guy has taken all of drunk Kyungsoo’s antics in stride, that he hadn’t tried to push Kyungsoo out the front door as soon as he regained consciousness this morning. That he’s offered him lunch and a ride home.

 

He doesn’t know how to begin to return the favor, but he knows he has to try. “Thank you again, for everything. I owe you lunch sometime this week to make up for it.”

 

“It’s no problem, really. But I’ll always accept a free lunch.” Sehun’s lips curl upwards as he grabs his car keys from the coffee table and stands up. Kyungsoo’s only ever really seen Sehun from across the office, and in those instances he’d never realized how tall the intern is.

 

“Okay, let’s see if you can remember your address this time.” Sehun winks before leading Kyungsoo out the front door.

---

Kyungsoo spends the rest of Saturday in his bed, writhing in pain, and most of Sunday hungover from the hangover. By Monday, he’s fully recovered -- at least physically. The shame of Friday night (and Saturday morning) still lingers in the back of his mind, causing him to grimace to himself several times during the drive into work.

 

He’s not quite sure he’s ready to face Oh Sehun again. He does, however, have a bone to pick with Chanyeol.

 

Kyungsoo has to wait until after their weekly department meeting to corner Chanyeol in the small cubicle next to his own. He skips all polite greetings and instantly reaches out to tug roughly on one of Chanyeol’s oversized ears.

 

“Ow!” Chanyeol whines, clearly confused by Kyungsoo’s ambush. Kyungsoo appreciates the pain marring his features for a second before he releases Chanyeol from his grip.

 

“Chanyeol, you were the designated driver last Friday.”

 

It takes Chanyeol a moment, but soon his eyes flash with realization and he smiles up at Kyungsoo.

 

“Yes, and I designated a sober person to drive you home,” Chanyeol defends. Though he says the words with confidence, he also rolls his desk chair further away from Kyungsoo. Presumably to avoid any further assaults to his precious ears.

 

Kyungsoo narrows his eyes. “You sent me home with Sehun the Intern.”

 

“Yes, I did.” Chanyeol shakes his head in confirmation. “Also, we hired him on full time a while back. He’s just Oh Sehun now,” Chanyeol corrects in the next breath.

 

“Really? When?” This is new information to Kyungsoo.

 

“Honestly Kyungsoo.” Chanyeol shakes his head. “You have no idea what happens in this office, do you?”

 

It’s not that he’s completely clueless, Kyungsoo just doesn’t busy himself with the business of others in departments he doesn’t work directly with. Oh Sehun had been an intern in the marketing department, Kyungsoo works in accounting. It’s not his responsibility to keep track of everyone. There’s a reason he doesn’t work in HR, and there’s a reason busybodies like Byun Baekhyun do.

 

“I know that you have a crush on Byun Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo tries to defend himself, remembering the HR manager that Chanyeol has been hopelessly smitten with for months.

 

“I’m dating Baekhyun,” Chanyeol again corrects with another shake of his head. When did that happen? “You’re seriously so out of the loop. It’s almost funny.”

 

“Whatever.” Kyungsoo waves his hands flippantly, “The point is: you were supposed to drive me home Friday night, and instead I woke up, still drunk, in Oh Sehun’s bed.”

 

Chanyeol’s eyes light up as he begins to wiggle his eyebrows -- it’s a horrible habit of his. “Oooh, a little office romance? Never thought you the type, Kyungsoo. Congrats.” There’s a firm pat to his arm, and Kyungsoo scowls.

 

“Not like that, you ert.” Kyungsoo shoves Chanyeol’s hand away. “He had to take me back to his place because I couldn’t remember my address. I made a fool of myself and it’s all your fault.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol says genuinely, and Kyungsoo almost feels bad for tugging his ear a few moments ago. They’re friends, really. And he knows Chanyeol had been trying to do the right thing by sending Kyungsoo home with someone sober. “I think a little bit of it is Jongdae’s fault, too. He was the one who kept refilling your drinks, not me.”

 

“Don’t worry, he’s next on my hit list this morning.”

 

“Go easy on him,” Chanyeol pleads, “He may have offered you the shots, but you’re the one that drank them.”

 

Kyungsoo hates it when Chanyeol is right. So, instead of acknowledging it, he changes the subject. “So, you and Byun Baekhyun? When did that happen?”

 

He watches Chanyeol’s eyes light up as a secretive smile curves on his lips. “Three weeks ago, officially.”

 

“It’s about damn time,” Kyungsoo teases, and it makes Chanyeol blush. “I was about to buy him his own pack of pens just so that he’d run out of excuses to pop by your desk everyday like clockwork to ask you for one.”

 

Truthfully, Kyungsoo’s proud of Chanyeol. He’s observed the two hopelessly flirting in the office for months: borrowing pens, chatting on the office messenger, awkwardly shuffling and making small talk in the coffee room. Generally, Kyungsoo frowns upon office romances, but their getting together has been long overdue.

 

“Pretty sure he would have found another excuse. He likes me a lot, you know,” Chanyeol boasts.

 

Kyungsoo’s lips curve into a genuine smile. “Of course he would.”

 

As much as Kyungsoo picks on Chanyeol, he knows what a good guy Chanyeol is. Afterall, he had been the first person to befriend Kyungsoo two years ago when they started at the company. His overly bright temperament might occasionally drive Kyungsoo up the wall, but it’s also one of the only things that keeps him sane in their busy office. Chanyeol deserves to be happy.

 

If Chanyeol’s success means that Kyungsoo no longer has to endure the second-hand embarrassment of watching Chanyeol tactlessly try to flirt, that’s an added bonus.

 

“So, tell me about your not-so-romantic evening with Oh Sehun,” Chanyeol prompts with the stupid grin still on his face, “Did you puke in his car? him while slur-singing your favorite Yoo Yeong-jin song?”

 

Kyungsoo can only groan remembering that Chanyeol’s seen him at his worst a few too many times.

---

Kyungsoo scrolls through the office messenger contact list and is happy to see that Oh Sehun is logged in at his desk. It’s taken him three days, but he has every intention of following through with his promise of lunch. Really, it’s the least he can do.

 

Do K.: Hello, Sehun. Are you free for lunch today?

 

Oh S.: And here I was thinking you’d forgotten about your promise.

 

Kyungsoo laughs to himself as he re-reads the message. He’d never taken Sehun for the snarky type, but it’s a pleasant surprise.

 

Do K.: Didn’t forget. Just took me a few days. So, are you free?

 

Oh S.: I can be.

 

Do K.: Good, meet me in the lobby at 12. Do you prefer Mexican or Italian?

 

Oh S.: Surprise me ^^

 

Kyungsoo closes the chat, smiling to himself. Gone is the nervousness he had expected to feel, and instead he’s a little excited for his lunch date with no-longer-an-intern Sehun.

 

 

 

 

Sehun beats him to the lobby at noon. Kyungsoo spots him leaning against the wall by the exit, scrolling through something on his phone instead of observing the passersby. He looks good, Kyungsoo thinks, with the way his dress shirt is snug against his broad shoulders and tucked professionally into his khakis. Kyungsoo can’t help but beat himself up a little bit for having such a poor quality recollection of what Sehun looks like without a shirt on.

 

Sehun looks up just as Kyungsoo is about to holler to get his attention, and gives Kyungsoo a warm smile.

 

“You look much more human than the last time I saw you,” Sehun comments while he scans Kyungsoo up and down.

 

“Can we not talk about that?” Kyungsoo doesn’t mean to blush, really. A huge part of him wants to prove to Sehun that he is neither a drunken idiot nor a hungover zombie most of the time. He has a steady job, productive hobbies, and a Netflix queue that any film buff would be proud to screen; Sehun had just met him at a very unfortunate moment in his life, that’s all.

 

“Consider it forgotten,” Sehun says with a nod. “Now, where are you taking me?”

 

“I thought you wanted a surprise?” Kyungsoo teases back, a little in awe of how easily the banter comes with Sehun.

 

Kyungsoo leads them around the corner towards his favorite Taco house. It’s not one of the fancy Mexican places -- more authentic, less pretentious -- and that’s what he likes most about it. It’s also dirt cheap, and if Kyungsoo’s wallet is happy, then he’s happy.

 

“Damn,” Sehun sighs forlornly as he reads the sign above the door, “I was really hoping you’d choose Italian.”

 

Kyungsoo would be offended by the comment if not for the coy smile forming on Sehun’s lips that lets him know the other is just trying to rile him up.

 

“You’re a brat,” Kyungsoo teases as he pushes Sehun through the front door.

 

 

“So,” Sehun begins mid-chew, “How goes the accounting department?”

 

“Same as always.” Kyungsoo shrugs, knowing full well there’s nothing actually exciting about accounting. He’s not going to pretend there is. “Chanyeol’s dating Byun Baekhyun now. That’s really the only news.”

 

“Haven’t they been going out for like three weeks?” Sehun asks.

 

Kyungsoo nods ands wonders how everyone had managed to know this little fact before him. His cubicle is right next to Chanyeol’s, for goodness sake.

 

“How’s the promotion to full time going?” Kyungsoo asks to distract from the fact that he is so out of the office loop.

 

Sehun purses his lips, and Kyungsoo notices the bit of cilantro stuck to them. “It’s nice. The pay is good. I’m just happy I survived the internship, to be honest. Thankful that the company wanted to hire me.”

 

“If they hired you, then I’m sure you deserved it. Congratulations, by the way.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Kyungsoo understands the relief Sehun feels. He had been an intern once himself. He’ll never forget the stress of providing almost free labor for the company executives without any sense of job security. Even if the pay was minimal, the work had been grueling. He and Chanyeol had been the only two interns who were hired full-time from their pool. Their celebration that weekend had been the first of many forgotten nights spent in the company of Luhan and Jongdae. Which reminds him...

 

“I know we agreed not to talk about it, but I do have to clarify something about Friday night before we never mention it again,” Kyungsoo prompts, waiting for Sehun to meet his eyes.

 

Hearing the change in Kyungsoo’s tone, Sehun sets down his taco. He looks up at Kyungsoo with a gaze so intent that it’s a little unnerving. Kyungsoo decides to focus on the piece of cilantro still stuck to Sehun’s lips as he squirms in his seat, trying to figure out the best way to formulate his question.

 

“Did I… try to make a pass at you?” Kyungsoo finally manages to mumble out. It might be awkward to bring up, but Kyungsoo knows he needs to get this off his chest if he ever hopes to fully recover.

 

Sehun obviously hears him, because he immediately breaks out in laughter. Granted, they’ve only interacted a few times, but Kyungsoo swears he’s never seen Sehun laugh so freely -- his hand coming up to cover the force of his smile. Kyungsoo would be a little mesmerized if he weren’t dying of mortification.

 

He obviously did something otherwise Sehun could just put his mind at ease.

 

When Sehun finally sobers a bit, he meets eyes with Kyungsoo once again. His tongue finally reaches out to clean the cilantro off his lip before another small laugh bubbles out and he shakes his head.

 

“You were barely coherent enough to unbuckle your seatbelt. I highly doubt you could have tried to make a pass at me even if you’d wanted to.” Kyungsoo feels a little relieved, even if Sehun is laughing at his expense. “Though, you did drool on me when I was walking you to the car. That was a bit gross.”

 

Drooling, Kyungsoo can forgive. He remembers the feeling of being pressed against Sehun’s chest as the man tried to lead him to his car, a little drool was probably inevitable as he had tried to mumble drunken ramblings into the fabric of Sehun’s button-up.

 

“But I didn’t get too handsy or anything?” Kyungsoo clarifies. He still hasn’t lived down the time he got a little too enthusiastic about winning a game of darts and ended up squeezing Jongdae’s during their victory hug.

 

“No.” Sehun shakes his head firmly, his lips tugged in an almost fond smile. “Aside from the commandeering of my bed, you were a real gentleman.”

 

“Good.”

 

With that behind them, it’s easy to fall into step with Sehun. Kyungsoo laughs along with Sehun’s tales of Luhan’s micromanaging, and Minseok’s plot to cover Baekhyun’s entire office in post-its in revenge for Baekhyun’s eating of his leftovers out of the fridge last month. The marketing department sounds a lot more lively than the accounting department, where Joonmyun’s daily spilling of his coffee on his shirt and Chanyeol’s office romance are Kyungsoo’s main source of office entertainment.

 

Their taco trays are long empty by the time Kyungsoo glances at his phone and realizes they only have five minutes to make it back to the office before the lunch hour ends.

 

 

 

“So, next time we go to lunch, we’ll try Italian?” Sehun’s still slightly out of breath from their jog back to the office, and it’s endearing.

 

Kyungsoo agrees with a quick smile before the elevator doors open and they’re both darting back to their respective cubicles.

 

Next time really doesn’t sound too bad.

---

“So, a little birdie told me you took Sehun out to lunch yesterday,” Chanyeol says over the divider between their cubicles as Kyungsoo takes his seat the next morning. “Are you sure there’s not an office romance blooming?”

 

“Stop with the suggestive eyebrows, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo warns. “I was just thanking him for looking after me Friday night. You know, because someone forgot he was supposed to drive me home.”

 

The remark seems to roll off Chanyeol, whose smile only widens. “That reminds me, we’re grabbing drinks this Friday after work. You’re coming, and I’m making no promises to drive you home because I’m going home with Baekhyun.”

 

“Not a problem, because I won’t be drinking.” Kyungsoo says firmly. His body can only take so much in a week.

 

“Maybe that’s for the best. You should invite Sehun though, just in case.” Chanyeol winks.

 

“Don’t test me Park Chanyeol, or I will tell Baekhyun that it was you who broke the toilet in the women's restroom last January.”

 

“I had to go. And did you know they have better soap in the women’s room? The liquid kind, not that crappy bar stuff we get.”

 

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, Chanyeol can be so shameless. “Or maybe I’ll tell him that it was you who stuffed all of Joonmyun’s office supplies into condoms last April fools.”

 

“You wouldn’t dare.” Chanyeol gapes.

 

Kyungsoo gives a noncommittal shrug before ducking back down into his cubicle. He’ll let Chanyeol sweat for the rest of the afternoon; guilty Chanyeol is always an entertaining sight.

 

The idea of inviting Sehun along Friday doesn’t sound too bad, though. He’ll message him after his lunch break.

 

 

--

 

 

 

Friday night drinks at the bar down the street from their office is always a great way to unwind with kindred spirits. His workload has been rather light the past few weeks, but Kyungsoo appreciates untucking his shirt and chatting with his co-workers about things that don’t involve finances, invoices, or monthly projections, all the same.

 

Even if he’s unwinding, Kyungsoo very much meant what he had said to Chanyeol about not drinking this week. He’s old enough to not want to lose another weekend to a hangover. He’s also smart enough to know that sitting by Luhan and Jongdae is a sure-fire way to destroy that plan early on, so he takes a seat at the far end of the table.

 

Sehun arrives with Kim Jongin a little after the first round. He’s changed out of his work clothes, Kyungsoo notes as he takes in the sight of Sehun in jeans and a sweater. He looks more boyish than usual, and it’s a good look for him. Sehun spots the group and immediately moves to sit in the empty seat next to Kyungsoo, who welcomes him with a nod.

 

Kyungsoo pretends to miss the exaggerated wink Chanyeol shoots him from across the table.

 

“Not drinking tonight?” Sehun’s eyes fall to the half-empty bottle of tonic water next to Kyungsoo’s glass after he’s settled in his seat.

 

Kyungsoo raises a brow. “Do you want to see a repeat of last time?”

 

“Well that depends…” Sehun says, pursing his lips in thought. “What are the chances of you trying to make a pass at me this time?”

 

Kyungsoo chokes on the sip he’s taking. If he didn’t know better, he would think Sehun is flirting with him. But that wouldn’t make sense, because Sehun has most definitely seen him puking his guts out, and no one is attractive when vomiting.

 

“Trust me, you do not want me to make a drunken pass at you. Jongdae is still scarred from last time.”

 

“So you’re an aggressive drunk?” Sehun takes a sip of his drink.

 

“More like a very y drunk,” Kyungsoo corrects quickly. He shouldn’t be sharing this with Sehun, it won’t exactly help plead his case of normalcy. “It’s not pretty, nor is it in any way seductive.”

 

“Sounds pretty charming to me.” Sehun manages to wink at Kyungsoo before he breaks out in hearty laughter.

 

Kyungsoo doesn’t have time to respond -- not that he could with the way Sehun is almost smirking at him -- before Jongdae is bouncing over, a tray of shots in his hand.

 

“Welcome, Sehun,” Jongdae greets with his usual grin -- the one that is more mischievous than friendly. The smile is accompanied by the tray being pushed in Sehun’s direction. “Shot?”

 

Sehun throws a quick look to Kyungsoo before shaking his head. “No thanks. I think I’m going to join Kyungsoo on the sober team tonight. Plus...” He pulls his keys from his pocket. “... I’m driving.”

 

“You’re no fun.” Jongdae pouts only for a moment before the glint in his eyes returns. “Guess Jongin will have to drink in your place.”

 

As Jongdae saunters away, Sehun shakes his head. “Is he always so…?”

 

“Drunkenly devious? Yes. I’m convinced he only does it because he can’t win at darts unless his opponent is faced.” Kyungsoo’s been out with Jongdae enough times to know his tactics. It’s always fun to witness, even more fun to be his drunken buddy for the evening. But, Kyungsoo’s body does not appreciate Jongdae’s convivial nature. Can’t appreciate it -- if last weekend serves as any indication.

 

Sehun nods in understanding. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

 

 

 

Kyungsoo and Sehun stick together in their ‘sober corner’ -- as Jongdae titles it -- for most of the evening. For fun, they wager on which office couple will start making out first. Kyungsoo wishes he had bet on Luhan and Jongin when he has to order the next round of soda and tonic water.

 

When it comes time for a game of darts, Kyungsoo isn’t the least surprised that Chanyeol chooses Sehun as his partner; Baekhyun has fallen into Jongdae’s shot trap, and Chanyeol knows that Kyungsoo can’t aim to save his life.

 

For being such a clumsy guy in his daily life, Chanyeol is remarkably skilled at darts with a few beers in him. Kyungsoo’s not sure if that’s because Chanyeol actually possesses some hidden coordination, or because he’s just competitive enough to make his long arms and height work to his advantage. Whatever it may be, Chanyeol and Sehun are absolutely crushing Jongin and Luhan in their current game.

 

Sehun’s not too bad, either. Maybe it’s a height thing.

 

Kyungsoo sits on the sidelines, trying to focus his eyes on the scoreboard and not the way Sehun’s sweater rides up each time he lifts his arms for the the toss. It’s strange, because he’s not even drinking and his mind still ventures towards dangerous territory in the proximity of his not-real-one-night-stand. That one hazy glance of shirtless Sehun seems to have had quite the effect on him, and he tries to shake the image from his mind.

 

Chanyeol, thankfully, is always an entertaining distraction. Especially when he goes from hitting the bullseye one moment, to pricking his finger on a dart the next. And maybe Kyungsoo’s a bit of a sadist, but Chanyeol’s pained face is rather hilarious.

 

Kyungsoo continues laughing to himself until he catches sight of Baekhyun stumbling towards him. Baekhyun definitely hasn’t been going easy this evening, if the his swaying steps are any indication. He seats himself -- or more accurately stumbles into the seat -- beside Kyungsoo, eyes trained on the game. Kyungsoo takes in the fond curve of Baekhyun’s lips as he watches Chanyeol heckle Jongin.

 

“This sounds a bit odd to say, but I’m so glad you turned Chanyeol down last year,” Baekhyun half-slurs, eyes still focused on Chanyeol.

 

“What?” Kyungsoo chokes on his drink for the second time this evening.

 

Baekhyun nods to himself, apparently unconcerned with Kyungsoo’s coughing. “Chanyeol had such a thing for you. It was a little sad to see him so put out, but I think it worked out for the best.”

 

“When did I turn Chanyeol down?”

 

Kyungsoo is not being intentionally obtuse. He honestly has no recollection of Chanyeol asking him out at any point during their two year friendship. Lord knows he would have let the man down gently, but he doesn’t even recall doing that. He and Chanyeol have always been friends, nothing more. Heck, the guy told him about his bowel movements the first week they met each other. That’s not exactly something you share with someone you are trying to woo.

 

Baekhyun is far too drunk to catch on to Kyungsoo’s confusion, though. Instead, he continues to nod to himself.

 

“You’re right.” Baekhyun purses his lips. “It’s best to put it behind us.”

 

Their conversation is cut short by the eruption of Chanyeol’s victory cheers. Baekhyun’s fond smile widens, and almost immediately Chanyeol is beckoning him over for a victory hug.

 

“Wait Baek--”

 

But it’s too late, Baekhyun is already making his way around the table to plop himself into Chanyeol’s lap. Despite his confused thoughts, Kyungsoo looks on with something akin to admiration. It’s cute how Chanyeol and Baekhyun fall into each other; how the whole world seems to disappear for both of them for a moment as they smile at one another and Baekhyun pinches Chanyeol’s cheek.

 

Maybe office romances aren’t so bad, after all.

 

 

It’s a couple hours -- and a very drunk Jongdae and Baekhyun -- later when everyone is packing up to leave. Chanyeol has already phoned a taxi for himself and Baekhyun, and Jongdae is halfway to securing himself a ride home with Luhan and Jongin.

 

Kyungsoo’s battling his jacket sleeve when Sehun approaches him.

 

“Do you need a ride home, hyung?” He twirls his keys on his finger as he peers down at Kyungsoo. It’s the first time Sehun has called him ‘hyung’ and something odd flutters in Kyungsoo’s chest. He likes the sound of it a little too much.

 

Sehun misreads Kyungsoo’s shock and instead reaches out to help him with his sleeve.

 

“Thanks,” Kyungsoo says quietly, not sure why he’s suddenly so nervous. “And no, I drove myself tonight. So, I’m good.”

 

“Okay.” Sehun looks oddly disappointed at the statement, his lips only pulling into a cordial smile instead of one that reaches his eyes.

 

Feeling the need to compensate for Sehun’s disappointment, Kyungsoo offers, “But, you can walk me to my car?”

 

It’s so formal and conventional, and Kyungsoo doesn't understand why he feels the need to offer. But, the full smile that Sehun gives him seems well worth the confusion.

 

“Okay, hyung.”

---

Another Monday, another mission for Kyungsoo to track down Chanyeol and grill him. It’s easily done since they work next to each other, but that doesn’t make it any less awkward given the topic he needs to bring up.

 

“When did you ask me out?” Kyungsoo tries to ask as casually as possible -- which isn’t exactly easy, giving the disbelief he feels -- as they’re returning to their desks after the department meeting. “Not that I’m asking because I’m interested in you or anything,” he feels the need to clarify.

 

Chanyeol freezes in place. His ears instantly turn red as his eyes grow comically wide. “You talked to Baekhyun, didn’t you?” Chanyeol turns his attention to the paperwork in his hands. “And, uh, last year.”

 

“Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo clicks his tongue at Chanyeol’s vagueness. “I seriously have no recollection of this so you’re going to have to be more specific.”

 

“Last September, after one of the usual group happy hours. I walked you to your car...” Chanyeol scratches the back of his neck nervously before his voice drops to a whisper, “I asked you if you wanted to play Battleship with me.”

 

Did Chanyeol mishear Kyungsoo’s question, or is he intentionally trying to distract Kyungsoo with irrelevant details? Or have Chanyeol’s tactics of diversion resorted to questions about board game invites he had turned down?

 

“And?” Kyungsoo pushes.

Chanyeol rolls his eyes. “Everyone knows that’s code for hooking up, Kyungsoo.”

 

“No, they don’t.” Well, Kyungsoo doesn’t, that’s for sure.

 

“Watch,” Chanyeol says, turning over his shoulder with a new wave of confidence and zeroing in on the first person passing by, which happens to be Kim Jongin. “Hey Jongin?”

 

“Yeah?” Jongin looks up from his phone curiously.

 

“Do you want to play Battleship with me this Friday?”

 

Jongin’s features instantly scrunch into a grimace. “You’re disgusting, Park Chanyeol.” And with that, he speed walks away from Chanyeol’s overly bright smile.

 

Chanyeol should not look so proud to be rejected, and yet he immediately beams down at Kyungsoo once Jongin is gone.

 

“See?”

 

Once again, Chanyeol has proven Kyungsoo’s obliviousness.

 

“How did I not know you had a thing for me?” Kyungsoo muses more to himself than Chanyeol.

 

Luckily, Chanyeol laughs his usual good natured laugh. “Like I told you, you’re so out of the loop sometimes.”

 

“Well, sorry...” Kyungsoo shuffles in place, deciding to watch his feet and not Chanyeol’s teasing grin. “... You know, if I hurt your feelings or anything.”

 

Chanyeol shrugs. “Don’t worry about it. It’s in the past. Plus, we wouldn’t have worked out anyway. I could never date someone who sings Justin Bieber at karaoke.”

 

“That was one time. And I was very drunk,” Kyungsoo defends seriously -- though his smile betrays him halfway through.

 

“See, you say that. But I seem to remember you had every word memorized…”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kyungsoo plays dumb. But he knows it’s no use because Chanyeol is already grinning knowingly and chuckling to himself at the memory. Kyungsoo wonders how Chanyeol has managed to witness every embarrassing episode of his life in the two years they’ve worked together...

 

“Speaking of things we’re not talking about, a little birdie saw Oh Sehun walking you to your car last Friday.” At this Chanyeol bats his eyelashes. “How chivalrous.”

 

“What did I tell you about the wiggly eyebrows Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo moves to grab a hold of Chanyeol’s ear, but his friend is quicker. He dives out of Kyungsoo’s reach and down the hallway. “And tell your ‘little birdie’ to mind his own business!”

 

“Maybe you could serenade him with ‘Boyfriend’ next time you take him out to one of your not-a-date lunches,” Chanyeol hollers over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner.

 

 

 

Later that afternoon, the quiet tapping of fingers against keyboards is disrupted by the stomping down the corridor of none other than Byun Baekhyun. Kyungsoo looks up first when the sound begins, and even he is a little terrified by the sternness of Baekhyun’s face. He’s also very curious as to what the box Baekhyun is holding contains….

 

Kyungsoo doesn’t have to wait long to figure it out, because as soon as Chanyeol utters his usual “Hey Baek,” with that sweet tone he only uses for his boyfriend, Baekhyun turns the box upside down and dozens of ballpoint pens fall into Chanyeol’s lap.

 

Chanyeol looks about as confused as Kyungsoo feels as he watches his friend gape up at Baekhyun.

 

“What’s this?” Chanyeol finally manages to verbalize as Baekhyun scowls down at him.

 

“This,” Baekhyun begins, “is every pen I’ve ever borrowed from you.” Well, at least Chanyeol finally has all his pens back.

 

“Uh, is something wrong?” Chanyeol asks hesitantly, pushing a few stray pens from his lap.

 

Baekhyun huffs in annoyance before a quick flash of hurt crosses his eyes. “I can’t believe you, Park Chanyeol. I thought you were serious about us.”

 

“I am! Baekhyun wha--”

 

But Chanyeol’s question is cut short by another shout of “Park Chanyeol!” from the entry to their floor. All eyes turn to the newcomer.

 

It’s Luhan, and if possible, he looks even more angry than Baekhyun.

 

“How dare you hit on my boyfriend,” Luhan says sternly, taking up the space next to Baekhyun to wave an accusatory finger at Chanyeol.

 

Poor Chanyeol looks so, so confused as his eyes shift between Baekhyun and Luhan. “What? When did I --”

 

“You know Jongin and I are together,” A sharp jab to Chanyeol’s chest., “And you still thought that sleazy line would work on him? Really Chanyeol?”

 

“What are you, oh.” Realization seems to dawn on Chanyeol at the exact same moment it does for Kyungsoo. “Oh my God, there’s been a misunderstanding.”

 

“I’d sure hope so.” Luhan crosses his arms, still giving Chanyeol his best death stare. “Were you actually asking Jongin to play board games with you?”

 

The air is too tense for Kyungsoo to pretend like he’s busy with the files on his computer. As much as he wants to help Chanyeol out, he’s a little too afraid of the ire in both Luhan and Baekhyun’s eyes. He figures this might be best left to Chanyeol to explain, preferably from a distance where he won’t catch whatever reference Chanyeol makes to his ignorance of contemporary slang.

 

So, he slides out his desk chair as discreetly as possible while Chanyeol attempts to formulate a coherent sentence.

 

Apparently though, the little scene has already drawn it’s own mini crowd -- Joonmyun popping his head out of his office and Soojung and Amber whispering together in the corner. This kind of scene is exactly the reason he avoids office hook-ups and gossip.

 

“Why is everyone in this office dating?” Kyungsoo asks himself as he claims sanctuary near the water cooler.

 

“A group of reasonably attractive single people, all seeing each other in an office for forty hours a week. Seems kind of inevitable, really.” A familiar voice chimes in from over his shoulder.

 

He turns be greeted by the smirking face of Oh Sehun, who’s also watching the scene with amusement from a safe distance.

 

“Please don’t tell me you’re dating Zhang Yixing from payroll or something,” Kyungsoo half-jokes, shifting his eyes to Chanyeol and his very emphatic arm waving.

 

“Nope,” Sehun says the word with extra emphasis -- his eyes zeroed in on Kyungsoo in a strange way -- and it makes Kyungsoo’s stomach do funny things. “Very much single.”

 

“Hmm. That’s kind of a shame though,” Kyungsoo says before he can stop himself, “You have such soft sheets.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Okay, hyung.” Sehun laughs before tilting his chin in Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s direction. “Think they’ll be okay?”

 

“Oh, yeah. They’re crazy about each other. It was just a misunderstanding. Unfortunately, it was a misunderstanding that brought out Luhan’s crazy as well.”

 

Sehun chuckles and shakes his head. “Oh, you’ve never seen real Luhan crazy. One time, Minseok changed the language on his computer to Japanese just for kicks. I honestly thought Minseok was going to meet his end at the hands of Luhan and his electric stapler when he found out.”

 

The image is enough to make Kyungsoo laugh outright. Now that he’s seen Luhan’s crazy face, it’s all too easy to imagine that same expression on his face as he wields office supplies like weapons. Sehun, too, is still laughing -- his eyes scrunched shut as his smile lights up his face. He has such an innocent, almost childish laugh, that Kyungsoo gets caught up in the melody for a moment before his attention turns back to the lovers’ quarrel.

 

He’s relieved to find Baekhyun now propped in Chanyeol’s lap, running his fingers through his hair as Chanyeol continues to spill apologies. Well that was resolved quickly.

 

“Kind of cute, isn’t it?” Sehun observes as Baekhyun places a quick kiss to Chanyeol’s lips.

 

“Yeah, it is,” Kyungsoo acknowledges. He wonders when the last time was that he looked as smitten as Chanyeol is when Baekhyun pulls away. “Wanna wager on how long it will be before Joonmyun has a conniption and shoos Baekhyun away citing ‘office indecency’?”

 

“You’re on.”

---

Following his initial ‘thank you’ meal, lunch with Sehun has become a semi regular thing over the past three weeks. Kyungsoo chalks it up to the fact that they have the same schedule and a compatible taste for cheap food. It only helps that Sehun always comes prepared with stories of the latest antics in the marketing department, and doesn’t bat an eyelash when Kyungsoo accidentally spills his water down the front of his shirt from laughing.

 

Today though, instead of his usual smile and ‘hey hyung,’ Sehun barely manages a nod as he approaches Kyungsoo in the lobby. Upon further inspection, Kyungsoo can see how frazzled the man is -- his hair slightly disheveled, stress showing in the dark circles that have formed under his eyes, the pen marks on his hands and cheek.

 

“Long day?” he asks delicately.

 

Sehun grimaces, and releases a heavy sigh. “You don’t even want to know, hyung.”

 

But Kyungsoo does, he realizes. He wants to know what makes Sehun tick the same way he wants to know what aftershave he uses. Maybe he just wants to know Sehun a little better all around.

 

“You still up for lunch?” Kyungsoo really hopes Sehun doesn’t say no, because he’s had bad days before, too. He knows the best thing to do is take a moment away from the office, to breathe a bit and not think about the unfinished business on your desk.

 

He also hopes Sehun is still interested in lunch because a small part of him wants to be the one to help Sehun feel better.

 

“Of course I am, hyung.” Sehun smiles, and it’s genuine. Both the statement and Sehun’s brightened countenance make Kyungsoo release a small sigh of relief.

 

“Good, because I saw a noodle house down the road that looks promising.”

 

Sehun opens the lobby door, motioning for Kyungsoo to continue ahead. “Then, by all means, lead the way.”

 

 

Kyungsoo doesn’t want to push Sehun, but also wants to know what has him so worn down. He can only come up with anecdotal stories for so long before he sets down his chopsticks to get Sehun’s attention.

 

“So, tell me about what’s got you so stressed out.”

 

Sehun purses his lips for a moment, setting down his chopsticks in favor of rubbing his hands together. It must be one of his nervous tics.

 

“You know I only got hired on a few months ago, right?”

 

“Right.”

 

“Well, Luhan’s given me my first big project. And I’m really excited, but I’m also going a little crazy trying to make sure it’s perfect,” Sehun confesses in a rush.

 

“Because you want to prove yourself?” Kyungsoo had been there once -- freshly hired and feeling the need to show Joonmyun that he was capable. It’s only natural to feel that way, after all.

 

“Exactly. I dunno, I just don’t want Luhan to be disappointed in me. Or Minseok. They both mentored me back when I was an intern...” Sehun is always one for snarky remarks, or over-confident innuendo. Kyungsoo doesn’t think he’s ever seen him look so vulnerable. And while he wishes that Sehun weren’t so stressed, he also feels a tiny bit proud that Sehun trusts Kyungsoo enough to open up to him like this. “I just… don’t want to let them down, you know?”

 

“I know,” Kyungsoo tries to smile reassuringly. He reaches across the table to squeeze Sehun’s hand, surprising both of them -- though neither makes a move to retreat. “And I’m sure you’ll do great. You might just need to take a step back and recalibrate to stop yourself from tugging your hair out.”

 

Kyungsoo playfully grimaces at the messy mop of hair on Sehun’s head. He wants to reach out and fix it, but Sehun beats him to it.

 

“That noticeable, huh?” Sehun laughs in self deprecation as he tucks the few stray hairs back into place.

 

“If the hair didn’t give it away, the pen marks on your cheek would have,” Kyungsoo teases.

 

Sehun’s hand immediately flies up to feel at his cheek.

 

“Oh my god,” he groans, ducking his head down in shame before gazing back up a Kyungsoo through his lashes. “I’m a mess, aren’t I?”

 

“Yeah, a little.” Kyungsoo giggles, watching Sehun try, in vain, to rub the ink off his cheek. His eyes are drawn to the way Sehun’s brows furrow in concentration while his nostrils flare ever so slightly. It shouldn’t be attractive, but it is. “But it’s okay, it’s kind of cute.”

 

Kyungsoo should be mortified by the words, but the embarrassed smile Sehun gives him is all too distracting.

 

 

 

They return to the office a half hour later, stomachs full and Sehun looking much more human than before. Pride bubbles in Kyungsoo’s chest knowing that he had helped a little bit, and he’s relieved to see Sehun smiling at him thankfully during their ride up in the elevator.

 

It’s when Sehun turns to go to his department that Kyungsoo realizes pride isn’t the only feeling welling inside of him. Sehun, and the image of his as he walks away, make an entirely different sentiment build inside of Kyungsoo.

 

He likes Sehun’s laugh, and the way he can say such flirtatious things so casually. He likes the way Sehun has seen him at his messiest and doesn’t hold it against him. He likes eating lunch with Sehun and watching the way his eyebrows are so expressive while he tells stories that make Kyungsoo curl over with laughter.

 

But most of all, he likes Sehun. Just Sehun.

 

 

 

“So…” Chanyeol sing songs as Kyungsoo settles himself back in his cubicle.

 

“Go ahead,” Kyungsoo groans, knowing what’s coming, “what did your little birdie tell you this time?”

 

“My little birdie didn’t have to tell me anything,” Chanyeol gloats. “You’ve got ‘I have a crush on Oh Sehun’ written all over your face.”

 

“Crap crap crap.” Kyungsoo pouts. If Chanyeol -- Captain Oblivious to feelings -- can see it, then everyone else probably can, too.

 

“If you need help, I know a great pick up line.”

---

Over the course of the next week, Kyungsoo remembers why office crushes are horrible. He swears he sees Sehun more often than usual, and each time all he can manage is an awkward wave and a comment about the weather. He turns down two of Sehun’s invitations to lunch in an attempt to give him time to talk himself out of an office romance.

 

It’s no use though, because each time Sehun passes by his cubicle with his confident smile and the routine “hey, hyung,” Kyungsoo’s heart goes a little haywire.

 

 

 

Byun Baekhyun holds both the titles of HR Manager and Office Busybody for a reason. Given his current ties to Chanyeol, it’s almost inevitable that Kyungsoo is ambushed during his mid morning coffee break on Wednesday.

 

“So, a big birdie told me you have a little office crush?” Baekhyun asks over Kyungsoo’s shoulder as he’s stirring his instant coffee. Kyungsoo is caught off guard not only by the question, but the the sickeningly sweet tone Baekhyun uses, causing his coffee to splatter all over the counter.

 

“What?” He stutters out. His suspicion as to who Chanyeol’s informant has proven to be correct.

 

Baekhyun takes no notice of the mess Kyungsoo has made. Instead, he leans his back against the counter to smile wryly at Kyungsoo.

 

“Oh Sehun. Not bad. Not bad at all. ” He must have picked up the eyebrow wiggle from Chanyeol.

 

“Oh my God.” Kyungsoo wants no part in this conversation. He grabs a tissue from the dispenser and tries to wipe up the mess and quickly as possible. Baekhyun continues to nod along to himself as if he doesn’t see Kyungsoo trying to fasten the lid on his termos and escape.

 

“As manager of Human Relations, I do have to warn you about the potential consequences of intra-office dating, though.” Baekhyun holds up an authoritative finger that Kyungsoo immediately scowls at. “You know the company highly discourages it. You’re going to have to be discreet.”

 

Kyungsoo gapes for a moment. “You cannot be serious, right now. You had your tongue down Chanyeol’s throat two weeks ago inside his cubicle!”

 

“I know. I had to reprimand myself for that.” Baekhyun purses his lips forlornly. Kyungsoo almost feels a little bad for him.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be,” Baekhyun suddenly perks up, “I actually let Chanyeol do some of the reprimanding, and let me tell you--”

 

Kyungsoo’s hands fly to cover his ears, which is a little difficult considering he’s still holding his termos. “Baekhyun. I do not want to know about that.”

 

Baekhyun pouts and his head in a way that makes Kyungsoo think that Baekhyun has no idea that his life is not exactly normal water cooler conversation. How he’s managed to work his way up to the top of the HR department is truly a mystery.

 

“All I’m saying is, who knew? That man is full of surprises.” While Baekhyun appears elated by that fact, Kyungsoo grimaces.

 

“Byun Baekhyun. Stop talking. Now.”

 

“Okay, okay,” Baekhyun relents with a small-- but devious -- smile that tells Kyungsoo that he knows what he’s been doing all along, and is shameless about it. “All I’m saying is: discretion is the name of the game.”

 

“Discretion. Right.” Kyungsoo nods his head in agreement, hoping it will bring this conversation to a quick conclusion without any further mentions of Baekhyun’s private life.

 

“Good. Glad we have an understanding. Now, go get your man!”

 

Kyungsoo wishes Baekhyun’s encouragements came without a very enthusiastic slap to his as he exits the break room.

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol, like his boyfriend, has taken to giving Kyungsoo little pep talks at every opportunity. Kyungsoo has a sneaking suspicion Chanyeol does it more because he enjoys watching Kyungsoo flush with embarrassment than because he actually has any useful insights to share.

 

He’s also pretty sure Chanyeol and Jongdae have some kind of bet going…. Which explains why they call the group together for another happy hour on Friday -- and why Jongdae is the one who invites Sehun along.

 

Joonmyun also appears to have been invited. He wanders into the bar behind Sehun looking like he’s half expecting a prank to be pulled on him at any moment. This explains why Kyungsoo had spotted Jongdae skipping out of his supervisor’s office this morning. Jongdae’s probably gotten bored with the usual crowd and needs a new companion for debauchery -- new target, more like. Joonmyun is the perfect candidate, Kyungsoo supposes: overly agreeable, horrible taste in sweaters, a pressing need to please, dad jokes that are only funny with alcohol in your system, a penchant for following the rules.

 

He’s always been a little curious about how Joonmyun lets loose, and he’ll have to keep an eye on him throughout the evening. Especially if Jongdae is already welcoming him with a pat on the back with one hand, and a shot in the other -- wry smile in place all the while. This could be a truly beautiful mess; one that might give him some leverage over Joonmyun for the next time he dozes off in their weekly department meeting.

 

He can only occupy his mind with thoughts of Joonmyun for so long though, because following his initial round of greetings, Sehun zeroes in on Kyungsoo with a warm smile and begins to make his way over. Kyungsoo reminds himself to act normal as Sehun approaches his end of the table. It’s just Sehun, after all: a co-worker, his occasional lunch companion. There’s no reason for Kyungsoo to act strange.

 

“Busy week, hyung?”

 

But Sehun smells really nice -- as always -- and his shirt today is a little tighter than usual. He smiles at Kyungsoo like he’s missed him and it’s not fair.

 

“Uh, yeah. Quarterly reports.”

 

Sehun nods in solidarity before calling over the server and ordering himself a beer. Kyungsoo decides one won’t hurt -- it could help calm his nerves -- and orders one on Baekhyun’s tab (partially in revenge for the buttslap, partially because Chanyeol’s doing the wiggly eyebrow thing from the other end of the table).

 

Kyungsoo attempts to dispel his own awkward energy by asking Sehun about his week. Sehun smiles so brightly while he excitedly tells Kyungsoo of Luhan’s praises on his first solo project, and Kyungsoo’s heart swells a little with warmth. He really does like Sehun’s smile, and the slight lisp that breaks through when he gets too excited about something.

 

All is well until Sehun’s face drops a little and he tells Kyungsoo, “But I missed going to lunch with you.”

 

Now would be a perfect opportunity for Kyungsoo to suggest a dinner to make up for it, he opens his mouth ready to do just that... but Jongdae -- of course -- chooses the same exact moment to bounce over to their end of the table and tug Sehun out of his chair.

 

“You’re my darts partner this week, and I’m claiming you before Chanyeol does.”

 

Sehun shrugs as he is pulled, very unceremoniously, away from their table by Jongdae. The night is still young, Kyungsoo’ll have another chance to ask. That fact, however, doesn’t stop Chanyeol from shaking his head in disappointment and clicking his tongue at Kyungsoo.

 

 

From there, the evening does not go quite as planned. But somehow it goes exactly how Kyungsoo should have seen it going. He doesn’t get another chance alone with Sehun, because one darts round turns into another, and another. Jongdae’s doing it on purpose, Kyungsoo can tell by each of the cute winks he’s thrown after a game.

 

It’s a relatively tame evening, on all accounts, and Kyungsoo appreciates that much. Yet, somehow, Kyungsoo ends up babysitting a very drunk Joonmyun and Baekhyun about two hours in. Both are quite chatty with a few drinks in them, and he can’t wait to bring up Joonmyun’s Star Wars obsession at a later date.

 

Before he knows it, it’s nearing midnight and the group is beginning to disperse. Kyungsoo squints his eyes suspiciously as Jongdae waltzes up to hoist Joonmyun out of his seat. His eyes then widen in horror when Jongdae whispers something in his ear that makes Joonmyun giggle. Well, he certainly hadn’t seen that coming.

 

Their office has officially become a dating agency that operates under the guise of the Tech company.

 

Sehun lingers on the periphery, waiting for the rest of the group to file out ahead of him and Kyungsoo. The gesture makes Kyungsoo’s stomach flutter with something silly, because he can tell Sehun is waiting for him.

 

Kyungsoo knows tonight is his chance -- a fact Chanyeol has been reminding him of all afternoon. It shouldn’t be difficult to ask Sehun out, they go out for lunch together frequently enough. All he has to do is propose an after-hours lunch date. Which would technically be a dinner date. And while there shouldn’t be a huge difference between the two terms, there is, because dinner would be a real date... and there’s no guarantee Sehun will agree.

 

“Walk me to my car?” Kyungsoo shuffles his weight nervously.

 

One side of Sehun’s mouth pulls into a gentle smile. “Okay, hyung.”

 

Kyungsoo likes to think himself a confident enough man. Asking someone out, however, is uncomfortable territory. The kind that makes his palms sweat while his eyes look anywhere but at Sehun, who’s silently walking next to him.

 

He doesn’t manage to verbalize much of anything during the walk to his car, and all too soon, he’s leaning against his driver’s side door, taking his sweet time pulling his keys from his pocket.

 

“So, here we are…” Sehun’s voice trails off as he steps closer to Kyungsoo. His hands are shoved in his pockets, and he looks nearly as nervous as Kyungsoo feels. There’s clearly something in the air between them, and it has Kyungsoo biting his lip, trying to think of the right words to say to keep Sehun closer for a moment longer.

 

Instead, all that comes out is a simple, “Thanks for walking me to my car.” He instantly grimaces.

 

“It’s no problem, hyung. I’m actually parked right next to you.” Sehun nods his head towards the car behind him. Kyungsoo realizes he has absolutely no memory of what Sehun’s car looks like, even if he had been a passenger in it.

 

Silence hangs between them for a few breaths before Sehun purses his lips and begins to turn away from Kyungsoo. His goodbye is halfway out of his mouth before Kyungsoo interrupts him.

 

“Hey Sehun, do you maybe want to…” Kyungsoo trails off once Sehun’s attention turns back to him. Sehun’s gaze is so focused, so intent as Kyungsoo’s mouth opens and closes a few times.

 

“Do I want to what, hyung?” Sehun asks, barely above a whisper. Kyungsoo’s glad he isn’t too tipsy to miss the flash of anticipation in Sehun’s eyes.

 

But alas, Sehun is kind of distracting with the scent of his cologne and the way he’s looking down at Kyungsoo so attentively, so sweetly. Kyungsoo’s brain short circuits.

 

“...Play Battleship... with me... this weekend?” Apparently, his brain’s malfunctioning has resulted in Chanyeol’s awful pick up lines taking over his tongue.

 

He watches Sehun’s brows scrunch in confusion -- and maybe a little disenchantment -- as he takes a step away from Kyungsoo. “Uh. I don’t really like board games. Sorry.”

 

Kyungsoo shakes his head at himself, wishing he could rewind and have Sehun back in his personal bubble. There’s a very good chance Sehun is rejecting him; yet, there’s also the possibility Sehun is as clueless as he had been when Chanyeol had asked him the same question.

 

He has to make sure.

 

“It’s, uh, code,” Kyungsoo almost whispers, like it’s a classified secret and not an invitation into his pants.

 

“For what?” Sehun raises an incredulous brow.

 

Kyungsoo’s mouth opens and closes a few times. Chanyeol didn’t exactly go into details of what ‘playing Battleship’ entails, but Kyungsoo has a pretty good idea. He isn’t quite forward enough to elaborate, though.

 

“I don’t really know exactly… Chanyeol said --”

 

“Are you trying to ask me out?” Sehun cuts him off, a disbelieving smile on his lips but a warm flush on his cheeks.

 

“Yes.” Though caught off guard by Sehun’s sudden remark, Kyungsoo nods his head resolutely. “I’m doing a crap job at it, but yes.”

 

A full smile fills Sehun’s face as he rolls his eyes at Kyungsoo. A small exhale of relief comes out in the form of a chuckle. “See, that, I can agree to.”

 

“Yeah?” Kyungsoo is suddenly filled with hope.

 

“So, tomorrow, say seven pm, let’s play Battleship at the new galbi restaurant in my neighborhood?”

 

“I don’t think that’s what the express--”

 

“Hyung?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Just agree to go on a date with me,” Sehun crowds a little closer, his most charming smile on his face. Really, how could Kyungsoo say no?

 

“I’d love to,” Kyungsoo says firmly.

 

Sehun wiggles his eyebrows, and Kyungsoo never has thought he’d want to kiss someone who does that.

 

“Who knows…” Sehun whispers, leaning in a little closer, “Maybe this time I’ll actually sink your Battleship.”