(Daehyun's Perspective)

Currently, Daehyun was curled up in the corner of his best friend's couch. “Hey, um... Zelo?”

Zelo paraded back to the couch from the kitchen area, a sandwich in each hand as he plopped down on the couch. “What's up, hyung?” he wondered, extending one of sandwiches to Daehyun. Zelo waved it until he took it, then proceeded to take one of the largest bites Daehyun had ever seen. He had to have taken at least half of it out with that one bite...

“I'm... curious about something,” Daehyun started. He nibbled into the sandwich and waited for some sort of auditory response. All he got was Zelo crossing his legs and raising a brow before taking a much less dramatic bite from his sandwich. He'd take the brow raise as an indication to continue. “When you think of me, do you feel... warm?”

He paused mid chew and scrunched his brows together. “...What?”

“Like, whenever you think about me, do you get this warm feeling in your chest and your shoulders and your head and your face?” Daehyun elaborated. He surveyed his friends' reaction as best he could while maintaining focus on the sandwich in my hands.

His brows simply furrowed together more as he confusedly stared, slowly chewing as gears turned in his head. “Yeah, I'm not picking up what you're putting down, hyung,” Zelo admitted after at least a minute of thought and another bite of his meal.

“I don't know how else to describe it, Zelo. Other than this... warmth.” That strange warm feeling he'd had since the beginning of the week was an enigma. He'd hoped his friend could offer an explanation or something, but Daehyun just didn't know how to put it into words. He frowned at his sandwich as he struggled to think of a different way to describe it. “Like... like a friendship warmth?”

“Uh... I don't feel warm when I think about anybody, hyung.” Zelo shrugged as he took another large chomp from his sandwich. “Except for the chicken , but that's a burning rage and definitely not whatever the it is you're talking about.”

“You don't feel warm towards your friends?” Daehyun hid his disappointment by taking another bite. He knew better than to think Zelo didn't consider him a friend. After all, he'd gone into all the reasons why he still considered Daehyun his best friend after three years of no contact. If he didn't feel this friendship warmth, then that meant it had to be something else.

Daehyun couldn't help but think this kind of sensation was familiar, though...

“I... don't think friendship has anything to do with it, Daehyun,” Zelo theorized. “I've got a handful of friends, and I don't feel warm towards any of them.” After shoving the last bite of his meal into his mouth, he heaved himself from the couch and back towards the kitchen. “Do you feel warm when you think about me?” He called from the fridge.

“I...” With a pause, Daehyun thought it over while nibbling more of my sandwich. From their time as kids fumbling around with makeup to now, it was all just memories with nothing attached. There wasn't an accompanying warmth that went along with the thoughts of Zelo telling him he was pretty and that pastels looked good on him. “No?” he squeaked out before immediately tacking on to make sure he didn't offend Zelo, “But I mean, you are my friend so, um...”

His best friend actually, but that was beside the point.

He shoved the rest of lunch into his mouth as Zelo flung himself back onto the couch, this time with two bottles of water. He extended one Daehyun's way like he'd done with the sandwich. “So a friendship warmth that you don't feel for your friend...?” He commented as Daehyun took the water from him. “I think this is something else, Daehyun. What is it?”

“I... don't know? That's why I asked you, Zelo. You're good with people, so I thought that maybe... you'd know?”

“I wouldn't consider myself decent with people,” Zelo snorted. “But this seems like it falls into the emotions category of things, and that 's foreign to me.” He shook his head to himself before rolling his head to look Daehyun's way. “You wouldn't be asking me about this if you weren't feeling it. What's the context, hyung?”

A strong desire for friendship was what Daehyun had written off the warmth that came from thoughts of Youngjae as. If it was something else like Zelo thought, he was hesitant to unearth what it actually was... But he'd brought it up in hopes of figuring it out, so withholding information wouldn't be helpful. “So I feel... warm when I think about Youngjae,” he admitted quietly, fiddling with the water bottle in his hands.

“You... feel warm when you think about Jae hyung.”

From his peripherals, Daehyun saw Zelo squint his eyes in scrutinization. Under that type of gaze, Daehyun began to fumble with his words, “Y-yeah, it's- I thought it was a friend thing but if you don't feel it towards me, your best friend, then it's not- It has to be something different.”

Zelo only continued to stare, and Daehyun ended up hugging his knees to his chest and hiding his reddening face from his best friend.

Daehyun held the cold water bottle against the back of his neck as his heart started to flutter with his speculations. Grabbing the mental fragments, he tried to fit the pieces together. Warmth at Youngjae's complimenting words, giddiness at his appreciative gestures being received with a bright smile, effortlessly being dragged out of his head with a confidence that seemed second nature to Youngjae...

Then it hit. Why it was so familiar. It'd been many years since Daehyun had felt like this.

Those next moments were a blur. One moment, he was pulling his knees even closer to the point where it was uncomfortable. The next, he'd shot up and began pacing rapidly in front of the couch, giving into the inner temptation to scratch at his cheeks as his nerves escalated to skyscraper heights.

'Oh no, no no NO. I can't- I can't feel this way again, no!'

“Hyung, are you okay?” Zelo frantically wondered as he flailed off the couch and stopped Daehyun in his tracks by grabbing his shoulders and shaking him in place a bit.

The jostling did some good, enough to bring him back to reality and stop scratching at his cheeks. He gestured his hands aimlessly in front of him, not currently sure what to do with the twitching in his fingertips that yearned to scratch. It ended up looking like he was a cat kneading the air. “I just- I um, yeah, I'm fine? I just... I figured it out. That's all...”

Zelo's grasp on Daehyun's shoulders remained strong as he moved his head to try and catch Daehyun's eyes, which he wouldn't let him do. “...Hyung? What do you mean you figured it out? What do you think it is?”

“I think... I might like Youngjae.”

It didn't immediately click for Zelo. “Jae hyung is really nice, I like him too! I'm glad you two get along,” he beamed, flashing a bright smile. He pulled back and happily clasped his hands in front of him.

“That's... not what I mean,” Daehyun sighed with a shake of his head, voice small. “I mean like... The dangerous kind of like.”

“Oh.” At first, he was confused. He surveyed Daehyun with scrunched brows and pursed lips. As the words sunk in, his eyes widened and eyebrows raised. “Oh! Oh, hyung, you mean...” He gulped and fiddled with his fingers.

Daehyun weakly nodded, twiddling his fingers as he stared intensely at them. “I- that's- It's just- I don't know if- I can't- What if he's-”

Zelo grabbed his shoulders again, much gentler this time, but it stilled Daehyun's false starts. “Jae hyung isn't the chicken , Daehyun. Just because she was bad to you doesn't mean other people will be.”

Daehyun swallowed down the forming lump in his throat and nodded his understanding, even though the words did little to reassure the panic his brain was in. However, it was Zelo saying these words. At no point had Zelo ever tried to lead him astray, and Daehyun doubted he'd start now...

But the anxiety and fear that was mixed in with the heavy way his heart pounded at realizing what he was feeling had him feeling dizzy, so he slowly took a seat back on the couch and gently sipped at his water.

“Are you going to tell him about this?” Zelo asked quietly as he also settled back onto the couch.

Daehyun shook his head. “I-I can't. He's going on a date tomorrow, and well... it'd be rude of me to bring it up since it's... unwarranted.”

If he were being completely honest, he wouldn't even if Youngjae wasn't going on a blind date. Daehyun would much rather coast down friendship lane rather than chance rejection avenue and make things awkward with a maybe friend he'd managed to make.

That and he wasn't too sure how he liked having feelings like this again.

--

Daehyun hadn't been able to get his thoughts cleared before work the next day, and his work flow suffered because of it. Putting up with customers while coming to terms with his feelings for Youngjae wasn't an ideal form of multitasking. For the first time since he started working at Shortstub's, he couldn't wait until he got home. He needed a place with minimal distractions to go over things. While his apartment wasn't an ideal quiet place either, it was better than Shortstub's.

His only free time was during his lunch break. Over his free meal, he tossed ideas in his head. All hypothetical of course, since Youngjae was going on a date today.

Accepting that he was feeling like this was a step forward. It'd almost been seven months since... that day. And Daehyun did want to move past that at some point. Part of him thought that if he'd been able to get out sooner, maybe the process of moving on could've happened sooner, too. Maybe then he wouldn't be so scared of what others would consider happy thoughts.

Or maybe things would've been worse, thrown into the deep end from the start. 'Would I have called Zelo if I'd been kicked out at the end of June?' Daehyun doubted it. The thought of even talking to Zelo had been shoved so far into the back of his mind thanks to his years spent with Sunhwa...

'It's just my luck, though...' Daehyun lamented. He was so foreign to happier things that once he recognized his feelings for what they were, it was too late. At least he could still be Youngjae's friend. As time passed, maybe the inner burn that accompanied anything to do with Youngjae would simmer down.

Zelo suggested he open up to Youngjae about his feelings. He theorized that Youngjae had to feel some kind of way if he was putting such effort into getting to know Daehyun, and the only real way to know would be to speak up.

While it was certainly an option, it wasn't an option Daehyun planned on taking. Even with Youngjae going on a date taken out of the picture, Daehyun figured Youngjae would speak up if he was interested. He didn't hold his words back, and he spoke them with such confidence. 'If he felt anything for me, then he'd definitely say so.'

As Daehyun clocked out that afternoon a little after five, he told Hyosung he'd see her tomorrow before donning his winter gear and heading out into the cold evening with his hands shoved in his pockets. What he didn't expect to see was Youngjae, also in winter gear, a bit to the side of the door, rocking on his feet a bit as he pouted at his phone.

'Keep going, he's clearly here for his date...' But there was something in the way Youngjae's lips downturned at his phone screen that had Daehyun going up to him anyway.

“Youngjae?”

The sudden presence clearly caught him off guard, but he spoke before Daehyun had the chance to apologize for scaring him. “Daehyun, hi! Did you just get off work?”

“Um, yeah. I did.” Daehyun heard something a bit negative in Youngjae's tone, something he was trying to mask. 'Is it because I bothered him? Or is it something else?' “Aren't you going on a date?”

“Oh, uh. Yeah. I am. We're supposed to meet up here,” Youngjae informed, disappointment creeping into his response. His eyes went back to his phone for a moment, flashing the screen on and frowning before clicking it off again.

'I should just wish him well on his date and be on my way. This isn't my business to get involved in...' But it was saddening to see the way Youngjae's shoulders sagged. 'Maybe the date is the problem?' “When are you supposed to meet?”

His lips pressed into a thin line as he looked at his phone again. “...Four.”

“Youngjae, that was an hour ago. H-have you heard from him?”

He let out a deep exhale and shook his head. “I messaged him, but there was no response. I also messaged my friend about it, and she said she'd try and reach him. No response on that end either,” he explained. “Blind dates are such a hassle...”

“You should at least wait inside, Youngjae,” he suggested.

“I'll be fine. I'll wait here until I get a response,” he declined, checking his phone once more.

The fact that he would possibly wait out in the cold for hours for someone who didn't seem like they were worth the time had a pang of hurt surge through Daehyun. 'He deserves better than that...' “But it's- Youngjae, it's cold out here? You could uh, get sick again? Or even freeze? You should go inside where it's warm and um, maybe get you a table?”

Youngjae looked up at him softly, his response quiet as he looked back at his phone screen. “I can't do that... Then people will know. Me sitting alone at a table would be pretty pathetic.” So he was aware that his date probably wasn't coming and just wouldn't accept it unless he got confirmation?

The plans Daehyun had made to mull over his feelings in solitude dissipated. It was much more important to make sure Youngjae didn't end up waiting for hours in the cold alone. “I'll sit with you,” he offered nervously.

“What?” Youngjae blinked rapidly in disbelief.

“I'll sit with you so you won't look like you're alone,” he elaborated quickly. “When your date finally gets here, I'll leave. That is, if you'd like?” When Youngjae raised a brow, Daehyun backpedaled slightly and tried again. “I mean, I'll definitely leave when your date gets here, but I'll keep you company until then if you'd like is um, what I meant?”

As Youngjae glanced back at his phone screen, his lips tugged up slightly with that brow still raised. “Are you sure you're okay with that?” he wondered, bringing his attention back to Daehyun after typing up something on his phone.

“Yeah, I am. So long as you are, that is. If you're not, that's fine and uh, don't feel like you have to? It was just a suggestion... Because I don't want you to be cold and alone out here?” Daehyun's fingers twitched around in his jacket pockets as he bit down on his bottom lip lightly.

Then Youngjae flashed that bright, dimpled smile that had been stuck in Daehyun's mind and made his heart do somersaults. “I appreciate it, Daehyun. Thank you!” He slipped his phone into his jacket pocket and made his way towards the door. “Shall we go in then?” He wondered, smile not faltering as he looked back over his shoulder at Daehyun.

“Right.” Inwardly, Daehyun was glad that the temperatures were so low. Otherwise, Youngjae might've been able to tell that the way his cheeks reddened wasn't actually due to the cold weather.

For the most part, things were pleasant despite the situation. Daehyun successfully convinced Youngjae to get something to drink while he waited, and they chatted amicably. It was while Youngjae was trying to figure out how much longer he should wait before writing the date off as a lost cause that he finally got a phone call.

He glanced at the ringing device in his hand. “It'd be rude to answer the phone at the table, and even more rude to leave you alone at the table to answer it. She can just message me.”

Youngjae made a move to silence it, but Daehyun interjected, “It's um- it's okay if you answer it here. I-I don't mind. You've been waiting to hear back so um, you should answer it. Don't let my presence stop you...”

“Thanks...” He flashed an apologetic look before answering the phone. “Hey Jieun, did he actually respond to you? Yeah... Uh huh... You've got to be kidding me. Why couldn't he have messaged me?”

Daehyun awkwardly sipped at his water and listened in on the call reluctantly. He felt a bit bad that he was technically eavesdropping on private business...

Youngjae's eyes narrowed to slits before he gasped and shot them completely open. “I'm too- what the hell? Well excuse me for wanting to know if he was showing up so I didn't end up waiting in the cold for hours,” he grumbled.

The tone of his voice made Daehyun squirm in his seat, and he made the move to hide behind the menu. He scrutinized it heavily in an attempt to not eavesdrop further, but he couldn't just tune out his hearing.

Youngjae's voice was softer when he next spoke. “Song Jieun, I appreciate the gesture, but I'm never letting you try and set me up on a date again... You better!” Then he chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, I know... No, I'm not mad at you... Coffee on Tuesday? Yeah, I can do that. Talk to you later.”

After he hung up, Daehyun put the menu down and hesitantly asked, “So... what happened? I-if you want to talk about it, that is. If not, then that's- It's fine if you don't want to?”

“How about I tell you over dinner? My treat since you've gone out of your way to keep me company for so long,” Youngjae suggested with a grin so wide that those dimples formed and his eyes smiled alongside his lips. Daehyun didn't want to deny the hopeful glint in Youngjae's eyes, so he nodded his agreement and put thought into what he'd order.

He decided on soup, and Youngjae ordered steak, using the words as raw as it can legally be served to describe how done he wanted it. While they waited, Youngjae explained what his friend Jieun had told him.

Apparently, the date had settled down to take a nap after lunch and didn't wake up until after four. When he saw the amount of messages he had from Youngjae, he determined him too clingy and blocked his number, not even bothering to tell Youngjae to forget about it.

Daehyun wasn't sure how asking if the date was still on could be considered clingy, and neither was Youngjae. He determined that it was this man's loss, he doesn't know what he's missing out on in not giving Youngjae the chance! That sort of confidence had Daehyun's breath catching in his throat and his heart beating frantically, but not in the way that his anxiety caused.

Conversation died down once food arrived, and while Daehyun gently sipped at his soup, Youngjae tore into his steak with the ferocity of a lion on the hunt. Despite keeping his eyes on Daehyun throughout the evening, Youngjae darted his eyes away right before he'd take a bite, like how Daehyun usually did to avoid getting in trouble for looking at others when he didn't have the permission.

Youngjae fronted the bill, even though Daehyun told him it'd be cheaper if he did it because of his employee discount. Soon after, they left the restaurant and walked out into the cold winter air.

Daehyun pulled his coat tighter around him as they came to a stop where they'd met earlier. It'd definitely gotten colder out since the sun had set a little while ago. “Um, did you drive here? Or did you walk?” he asked, shoving his twitching fingers into his coat pockets.

“I walked since it was so close.” Youngjae's breath fogged the air as he blew into his hands and rubbed them together to warm them up.

“Then... do you um... Would you like to walk back together?”

“I'd like that!” he agreed happily. “Shall we be off then?”

Daehyun couldn't help the grin on his lips when he glanced up from his feet to see the way Youngjae was smiling with every bit of his face. Knowing that he was the cause of that made Daehyun feel like he was melting despite the cold temperatures.

As they walked side by side out the Shortstub's plaza, Youngjae glanced over and lightly nudged Daehyun's shoulder with his own. “Thanks, Daehyun. You're one of the good ones.”

'Maybe having feelings like this again isn't so bad.'

--

A/N:

I'm aiming for once a week on story updates. Here's hoping I'll be able to write other chapters easier than this one. I keep on getting distracted by the things I want to happen rather than where I'm at in the story now. Bad habit, need to knock it.