“Hey, what’re you up to?” The line crackles against Hoseok’s ear as he struggles to hear Jin’s voice through the static on the line. The man’s voice sounds muffled, as though he’s answering from a deserted island with no cell reception.

“Eating, why?” Jin’s voice finally comes in clear. 

“So, you love me, right?” He thinks it’s best to remind the older man. 

“Depends on why you’re calling me.” Jin answers directly, and Hoseok scrunches his nose; this is gonna be a hard sell. 

“I’m at the office working on the music for the upcoming Lee nuptials, and well, I could use a little help. Wanna offer your expertise to your favorite dongsaeng?” Hoseok puts a smile in his voice. 

“I’m eating, though.” He hears Jin chewing hard on the line, as though to punctuate his point. 

“What’s more important to you, me or food?” Hoseok regrets the question the moment it leaves his lips. He knows the answer.

“You’ve met me, right?” Jin deadpans. “Clearly the answer is food.”

He can’t help the chuckle; it flows easily, like syrup from a container. In fact, everything flows easily when it comes to Jin and him.. They’ve known each other since the ninth grade, when Hoseok’s family moved from Gwangju to Seoul after his father’s promotion. It’s oddly ironic that they’re as close as they are because Hoseok didn’t like the older man at first glance.

As an adult, Jin is disgustingly handsome, and there are days when Hoseok feels inferior next to him. But as a high school student, where looks and popularity are currency, well, let’s just say Kim Seokjin was loaded. Jin had been his appointed student guide on his first day of school. It took less than two hours for Hoseok to fall, just like every other person in the student body, under Jin’s spell. The boy was charming and endearing, and he was the poster child for speaking one’s mind. However, unlike the rest of the student body, Jin, it seems, found something in Hoseok (to this day Hoseok has no idea what it is, but he likes to think it’s his smile and easy going personality) that made him stick to Hoseok like glue. Three hours after starting a new school, Jung Hoseok became best friends with the most beloved person there. 

“I’m removing you as my favorite hyung and replacing you with the ddeokbokki ajhussi, at least I’ll get rice cakes out of that deal.” 

“Yes, but that’s all you’ll get. Fine, go ahead. You’ll be begging me to take you back.” Jin is unfazed by the threat.

“I’ll take you to your favorite gelato place and buy you that sweet burrito ice cream you like so much,” Hoseok barters.

“Sweet burrito?”

“Yeah, you know, red bean Gelato.” Hoseok snickers as Jin openly gasps on the other end of the line.

“Are you really Korean? Your family must be so disappointed,” Jin counters.

“I can’t help that my palate is refined. So, you in? Yes or no?”

Hoseok doesn’t need help; he’s just bored, and Jin is the best company around. The man’s a walking factory of corny dad jokes and puns that either leave Hoseok cackling like a chicken with a firecracker in its or cringing and hoping that no one else was in earshot. Jin’s just fun to be around, and Hoseok thinks that losing a few dollars on gelato is worth the reward of the man’s presence.

“Make it a large and I’m yours.”

“Done. You’re so easy.” Hoseok chuckles.

“Great. Now, look up.” Jin’s standing at the door with two bento boxes in his hand and a radiant smile on his face, a smile that Hoseok has to remind himself to ignore.

“You tricked me.” Hoseok knows he shouldn’t be surprised. 

“Can I help it that I’m a negotiating genius?” Jin laughs heartily as he walks over to the desk and places the lunch boxes down. 

“It’s a small price to pay. I mean, you even bought me lunch. Hyung,” Hoseok jumps up from the desk and throws his arms around Jin hugging him tightly, “these heart-eyes are for you.” He squeals in the man’s ear and laughs harder when Jin squawks his disapproval. 

“And people call me cheesy. Geesh.” Jin rolls his eyes.

“What people? I want to shake their hands. Ouch.” Hoseok’s rubs his shoulder where Jin pinched him. 

Hoseok clears a space on the desk for them to put the food. He points to a spare chair in the corner, beckoning Jin to pull it over. The meal is just as easy as every other part of their relationship. Hoseok tosses a playlist he’s compiled for the wedding on the table between his and Jin’s lunches. 

“So, what do you think? I thought we’d start with some funk, you know, wild and rowdy to get the party started.” 

“And you thought ‘Super Freak’ would be the best song to lead with?” Jin's brows are arched and his head tilted to the side, and the look he plasters Hoseok with reminds him of the time he asked his third-grade teacher what was and the woman was so shocked she spit her soda halfway across the room. 

“What? ‘Super Freak’ is a great song, and it’ll be a precursor for their nuptial night because I don’t care what anyone says, that bride’s one whip away from being a lion tamer; their wedding night’s gonna be a three-ring circus complete with acrobatics. Someone has to warn the poor groom.” He chuckles when Jin crinkles his nose and rolls his eyes.

“So, what would be the follow-up, you know, just in case he missed the point and thinks the music’s just music?”

Hoseok smiles. He was hoping Jin would ask this question. 

“Well, I thought of that. So, just in case he’s immune to subtlety, I’m gonna break out James Brown, ‘Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Machine.’” When Jin snorts and a kernel of corn goes flying out of his mouth, Hoseok thinks inviting Jin to keep him company is the best idea he’s had all year. Okay, second best; the your-wife’s-a-freak playlist is definitely number one.

“That’s very benevolent of you,” Jin says while scooping a spoonful of rice into his mouth. 

“Thank you. Also, this is delicious, hyung. I had forgotten about food.” Hoseok takes a bite of his meal, savoring the flavors on his tongue.

They eat quietly, for the most part, talking only when a thought pops into their minds. Jin comments on the floral arrangements he has in mind for the food table, and Hoseok talks briefly about the dance lessons with the couple. Moments of silence are neither uncomfortable nor awkward. In fact, in many ways Hoseok relishes the silence, finding peace in the knowledge that with Jin he doesn’t need words to communicate. Often times all it takes is a look or a smile to know what the other is thinking. 

From his vantage point across the desk, with his head slightly bent over his lunch, Hoseok watches through his lashes as Jin eats. The older man’s a lover of food, not a glutton in any way, but just a person who likes to savor and enjoy various flavors and tastes. Hoseok’s obsession with watching his friend eat started a while back, and if pushed he wouldn’t be able to give the exact moment it happened. He just knows the gleam of joy in Jin’s eyes when he finds something delicious or the sigh of content when a meal is everything the man wants, makes Hoseok feel like he’s privy to a secret, one he doesn’t ever want to share.

“You’re staring,” Jin says suddenly, and it snaps Hoseok out of his revery. “Do I have something on my face?”

“Nah, I just like watching you eat.” Wait. What? Backtrack, Hoseok, backtrack. “Reminds me of a hungry Llama.” He ducks in time to miss Jin's arms swinging in his direction. 

“Brat, I bring you lunch and keep you company, and this is the thanks I get?” 

“What? Llamas are lovely, and they like to spit.” 

“You do know that’s not spitting, right? They’re actually throwing up, and eww, now I don’t want to eat anymore.” Jin pushes his half-eaten meal to the center of the desk. 

“Well, on that note, tell me what you think about this arrangement for the father-daughter dance. So, I heard this song while at that bookstore in Gangnam, the one Namjoon likes to frequent.” Hoseok walks over to the cd player and hits play.

“Oh, wow that is pretty, what’s it called?”

“’Butterfly Kisses.’”

“I like it; it’s sweet. You know what else is sweet? Gelato. How much longer?” Hoseok chuckles. 

“Wow, hyung, isn’t my presence enough of a reward for you?” Hoseok winks at the older man.

“Uhm, no.” Jin deadpans.

“Oh, my heart.” Hoseok holds his chest, a dramatically pained expression on his face.

“You know what will make you feel better?” He looks up when Jin drops a hand on his shoulder. “Red Bean gelato.”

“Fine, fine, I guess it’s only fair that I buy dessert since you bought lunch. Let me just pack up my things and then we can go.” He grabs the folder with all his playlist and lighting ideas, putting it in his backpack before putting his arms through the straps. “Alright, let’s go.”

Jin smiles, and they walk to the door. Hoseok picks up his snapback from the table in the foyer before turning off the light and shutting the door behind them. The night is cool and crisp, and he’s glad he had thought to wear a light jacket. They chat about their day, and Jin tells him about the ice sculpture he booked for the wedding and asks him what he thinks about the menu. A stray thought flashes through Hoseok’s mind, a feeling really…as Jin talks about wedding plans and such and for  a second, a minute moment,  it stops being about people they barely know. It all feels domestic, like they’re planning for themselves and not for strangers who’re paying them to do it. The thought doesn’t linger, and Hoseok doesn’t dwell on the feeling because that’s just the way it is with Jin. Things are easy, and sometimes his thoughts wander. 

The door dings as they enter the ice cream shop, and Jin claps his hands and jumps about in glee. Hoseok chuckles, shaking his head at the older man’s childish antics. 

“Welcome, how can I help you?” the ahjumma behind the counter asks, and Hoseok thinks the woman’s smile is warm.

“I’ll have a large red bean gelato. What about you, Hope?” Jin turns to face him.

For a brief moment, he’s stunned, silenced by Jin’s innocently shining eyes and thousand-watt smile. He shrugs off the feeling like he always does; they’re friends and guys, and neither of those lines needs to be crossed. 

“I think the green tea. I have it on good authority that not only is it tasty but good for you.” Hoseok smiles at the woman as he pays for their order. ‘So, you wanna sit and eat it, or walk?” 

“Mmm, it’s nice out. I vote for walking.”  Jin’s already shoving a spoonful of red bean ice cream in his mouth.

“Thank you,” Hoseok says to the server as she hands him his orde