“It's pretty, don't you think?” Jonghyun hummed out as he glanced at the swirls of color on the canvas in front of him. They were so vivid yet so muted, so bright yet held a certain type of melancholy the way the circles and forms seemed imprisoned on the small space. They would've looked much more free and wild if the artist had used a larger canvas. Jonghyun wondered if the painting was meant to give off a certain sadness since such free forms were so forcefully contained.

“Mhm,” Jinki nodded, observing each crevice and different glide of paint. Art was both a passion of Jonghyun's and his own, so it only seemed natural to go on a date to the art gallery.

They both liked quiet spaces and places with not many people; they weren't fond of loud areas like clubs or bars, so curling up together at home with a good book and coffee or hot chocolate was more than enough to keep them occupied and happy. They weren't boisterous or competitive like their friends, Kibum and Minho, and Jinki and Jonghyun were often amused at how much the other couple could compete for the best gift or best surprise. For Jinki and Jonghyun, it wasn't about what they received from the other, but rather about how they could use it together. Canvases, paint supplies, empty journals, and more were gifts they liked giving, and although it was predictable, it was what they both liked. They were easily overwhelmed, so they didn't like too many grand surprises...not like Kibum who bought a whole house to surprise Minho!

The air around Jinki and Jonghyun was quiet, only a few murmurs being heard as people discussed the paintings and the possible meanings behind them. It would bore most, but the couple found such things very interesting. They were happier being challenged by brain teasers, sudoku, and similar things rather than playing sports or going out to meet new people. Sometimes they wondered why they were so close with Kibum and Minho when the two couples were like fire and ice.

After spending about an hour gazing at the paintings and commenting on them, Jinki and Jonghyun left the art gallery to enter the cool nighttime air. There weren't many people around even here, something that Jinki and Jonghyun liked too.

“I'm not really looking forward to the party...” Jonghyun admitted in a soft voice with a sigh - the city lights smiled at him as they walked along, and there was a sort of dread that clung to his mind whenever he thought about the chatter and music and laughter waiting for him. He wasn't afraid of crowds or conversation by any means, he just preferred not to engage in it and was definitely more on the introverted side.
“We don't have to go if you don't want to,” Jinki reminded him with a smile, “I'm sure Kibum and Minho won't mind us visiting when it's quieter and more peaceful,”
One of Jinki's main priorities was Jonghyun's comfort, so it was often that the elder man would have to find a quieter restaurant or place for them to relax. It wasn't an issue since he also liked the quieter things in life rather than extravagant parties and such. Maybe that's why they were suited so well with one another.

“Hm, I'm not sure. You know how Kibum is. He'd never let us outlive it. Maybe we could go for some coffee before that, though? I feel like I'd be more mentally prepared,” Jonghyun laughed, his one hand finding Jinki's warm one quickly to hold. There was a sort of solace in just this one moment, and Jonghyun smiled as he moved even closer to his boyfriend. He radiated warmth which attracted Jonghyun like a moth to a flame, and he couldn't get enough of it even if he tried.

Jinki nodded, and they drove to a café which had quickly became one of their favorites for their kind service, wonderful cupcakes, and strong but aromatic black coffee that could calm their senses on even the roughest days. The regular customers there like Jinki and Jonghyun were respectful and kept to themselves mostly; this was why the calm atmosphere and great reputation the café had garnered over the years was kept intact for so long. Jonghyun couldn't remember a time when he had to complain about something like another noisy customer making their stay unpleasant, or bad food. Everything was perfect each time he sat down, even now.

“I love stopping by here before work to get some coffee. The aroma always lures me in!” Jinki said as he caught whiff of that familiar coffee scent; strong and one that easily woke him up whenever he felt sleepy on his way to work, but sweet to the tongue when it arrived.
“Ah, you come here by yourself to have some coffee? Is mine not good enough? Do you like this place more without me here, or do you have your eye on one of the waiters or waitresses?” Jonghyun joked, his voice lowering then going into a higher pitch before dipping down again like always when he was in a playful mood.
“Nothing like that!” Jinki laughed and waved one of his tiny hands, “sometimes I find time to stop here, so I do, and you always seem busy writing or composing at home, so I don't want to disturb you by asking you out on a coffee date at 7 AM in the morning,”
Now that his boyfriend mentioned it, Jonghyun did have to admit that he was quite a busy man usually. He was a popular lyricist and even a producer, so although his work hours changed constantly, he still had to spend at least five hours a day working on things requested by others. Jinki didn't have a problem about it - he encouraged Jonghyun to do whatever made him happy - and he always set up small dates for them at home whenever Jonghyun couldn't find the time to leave the house.

They ordered some coffee and a cupcake each.
“What do you think it would be like if we owned our own café?” Jinki wondered aloud, and his boyfriend's eyes widened as he listened before he relaxed with a smile.
“It would be nice...I think. I'd want it to be just like this one. Calm, and relaxing. An oasis people can come to when they want a quiet spot to calm down or to pass by time. Nothing noisy or so busy it overwhelms the other customers,” Jonghyun hummed, tapping his fingertips on the table as he thought about it.

He wouldn't give up his current job, he loved it way too much since he could get his creativity out somehow, but he'd definitely help out a lot at their café too should he need to. Maybe his producing and lyrics would have to take a backseat sometimes since he'd have his hands too full to deal with that 𝑎𝑛𝑑 trying to complete a song. It was hard work coming up with a good rhythm and sometimes lyrics too which were suitable for it!

“Well, what do you say we give it a try?” Jinki asked, “I mean, we'd have to save, of course, and we'd have to find a nice little cozy spot not on the main road,”
He was sure the constant noise of hooters and cars passing by would ruin the atmosphere they'd attempt to create for themselves and future customers.
“You really want to do something like that, Jinki? What about your job at the daycare center?” His boyfriend questioned, his eyes growing large once more. Only this time, they stayed like that out of surprise.

Jinki worked with children with disabilities, both physical and mental, helping them learn at a pace they were comfortable with rather than sending them to a daycare which would force them to learn faster and only half of what they were intended to since they wouldn't be able to keep up with the other children.

“Well, we could get a manager in there, right...?” Jinki asked unsurely. He didn't want to leave his little kids. He'd really gotten attached to them!
“After a few months when business is good, yes. In the start, one of us will have to be there almost constantly just to oversee that everything is going well,” Jonghyun explained, watching leaned back in his seat as their coffee and cupcakes arrived. He added some milk and sugar to the black liquid which quickly turned into a nice light brown color, taking a sip. Jinki, on the other hand, drank the black coffee just like that.
“You're right,” He murmured, a little bothered by this news. He thought about it for such a long time, when he brought it up again, Jonghyun had forgotten they'd spoken about it in the first place.
“But I'm sure we could pull through, right? Something like our own space like that...it just seems like a dream! Don't you think we'd do a good job? Our place could be something as wonderful as this!” Jinki motioned around, “don't you want to try experiencing what that sort of thing would be like?”

There was such an enthusiastic tone under the shyness that usually came from Jinki whenever he was pitching a new idea to Jonghyun, that it was hard for the younger man to say no. He liked the idea, in fact. His boyfriend certainly had wonderful ideas, and a keen eye for interior design. Not only that, they could ask Kibum for ideas. He would definitely know what sort of details to put in the café to make it feel like a home of some sort, although Jonghyun was concerned that their friend would want to put too many bling-bling and shiny things...

“I suppose we could try. There's no harm in that,” Jonghyun finally relented, then smiled when he saw the large grin that stretched out over Jinki's face. Hearing his boyfriend agree to an idea he had so much faith in made him awfully happy, and he couldn't wait to share the news with Kibum and Minho. They wouldn't fit in at the café at all Jinki and Jonghyun were planning, but that didn't matter. They were still best friends.

For the rest of their little coffee-and-cupcake date, Jinki and Jonghyun spent their time talking animatedly about what sort of cupcakes they could serve at their restaurant. What about cakes? Tea? Coffee? They had to serve hot chocolate too!
They chatted about possible ideas for the interior of the café, agreeing on asking for Kibum's help as long as he didn't try to turn the place into a disco ball. Minho could help out too!
...with hanging things up, of course. He was maybe the least creative one out of them all, so he'd shrug off any ideas about interior design, mainly cause he wasn't interested in it.

At around 9 PM, the couple entered Kibum and Minho's new home - the party had raged on for a long time, but it had finally settled when the more energetic guests had left. There were still many loitering around, chatting and laughing, but they liked that more instead of dancing and screaming and drinking until they got drunk. Overall, it was what Jonghyun had been hoping for when they arrived. This was perfect for him and Jinki just to come talk to the other couple for a little bit before going home.

“You made it! I thought I'd have to go see you myself at your own house,” Kibum said as he greeted both of his friends with a hug.
“We were just waiting for everything to calm down before we came. We stopped by that café we really like,” Jonghyun smiled as he hugged back, accepting some champagne from Jinki who brought a glass for himself and his boyfriend.
“I'll never understand why you two like that place so much. It's so boring! You need to go somewhere lively when you're out on the town, get the blood pumping!” Kibum said, and Jonghyun shook his head with an embarrassed laugh, as if other people were silently judging him for not doing just that.
“We went wine-tasting before coming here. You two should join us next time. Kibum really knows his stuff!” Minho grinned as he held his boyfriend around his waist, and for a second or two, they seemed like a married couple in that pose.
𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐽𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑖 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑...? Jonghyun thought to himself.

Jinki and him had been dating for nearly three years now, and they hadn't discussed marriage that much. It wasn't something they were ultimately thinking about every day, and most of the time, they just wanted to enjoy one another's presence rather than discuss something that was only a piece of paper and a gold ring at the end of the day. What was so different compared to now? A ring? Jonghyun didn't care about that, and Jinki didn't see much of a point in marriage. After all, it was just a certificate they were awarded for getting married. He could print that paper out from the internet if he wanted to! Why should he have to worry about marriage if their loyalty and love was just as much as any other married couple's?

Kibum and Minho, on the other hand, made it clear from the start that if the other didn't see marriage in their future, then they shouldn't even attempt to pursue a relationship. They had agreed that they were in this for the long run, and they didn't want to waste their time.
“I'm starting to get old!” Kibum said when he was only around twenty nine years old, “I'll need an old man by my side too,”
Even though he complained about his age, he didn't look anything like it. Most would say he was in his mid-twenties, if not younger.
Still, Minho agreed that they could be together until they decided to get married...should they work out that long.
Right now though, it seemed like they were well on their way to reaching the point of marriage.

“Jinki and I have decided to open a new café, similar to the one we just visited,” Jonghyun announced; even if Kibum didn't like Jinki and Jonghyun's favorite spot, he was bound to like the café his friends opened. Just because they were his friends, he'd have a different outlook on it.
“Really? Hey, that's great! I'm happy for you guys. This is sort of like you two getting married, don't you think? You'll always be tied to each other now,” Minho said. He knew the other couple's stance on marriage, so this made him think they were really getting official in a marriage type of way. Why else would they want to start a business venture together that would always be in their hearts? Jinki and Jonghyun were so sentimental, even if they somehow didn't work out one day, they'd always think about their little café they agreed to open together.
“Speaking of marriage, when are you going to propose?” Kibum asked, playing with his champagne glass. It was a genuine question and it took Minho by surprise.
“Me? Why do I have to do it...?”
“What do you mean ‘why do I have to do it’? It's only the most romantic thing you could do for me!”
“Yeah, but I took you wine-tasting, and I think that's pretty romantic, so it's your turn,”
“I bought you a house!”
“Well, yeah, but...”

Jonghyun sighed with a little laugh as he watched the couple begin to argue. It was such a trivial matter, and yet they were both getting so worked up about it.

“You just don't want to marry me,” Kibum concluded, his face immediately turning into a sulky expression.
“It's not like that, baby! Come on, now. You know I've wanted to marry you for a long time,” Minho said in a soothing voice, but his boyfriend had already turned his back on him.
“I just couldn't find the time to think out a great proposal, and you know I only aim for the best when it comes to you,” Minho explained. It was true, but Jonghyun always thought it was more for Minho's own pride rather than Kibum's happiness.
“Then maybe you should find some time to think of one!” Kibum hissed, making Minho sigh out of defeat. And just like that, the elder man had gotten his way like he usually did with Minho.

“Where's Taemin?” Jonghyun wondered out loud, and Kibum and Minho returned to their normal selves again; as long as the younger one followed through with an amazing proposal, everything would be good for a while until Kibum wanted Minho to do something else.
“He said he wanted to stay home,” Kibum nodded, and then sighed, “on Valentine's Day, all alone!”
“Wasn't he dating Jongin?” Jinki perked up after a while of silence from his side, simply admiring the new house and shaking his head at Kibum and Minho for their little argument.
“Yes, but they broke up or something like that. Either way, Taemin just wants to stay home and sulk right now, which-” Kibum said, and Jonghyun thought his friend would say he understands, but he shocked Jonghyun once again with his unpredictable nature, “isn't okay! We have to go see him and give him a slap for missing the party!”
Kibum didn't mean this literally. Well, sort of, but he wanted to go see Taemin to make sure he was okay for the most part. He had always had a soft spot for Taemin, and what others would get scolded for, Kibum would mostly brush off or ignore if it came from the youngest of the group.
“They broke up? Aw, I really liked them together, and I'm sure Taemin did too,” Jinki said, saddened at the thought of his friend getting broken up with so near to (or on?) Valentine's Day.

After a few more chugs of champagne, Kibum directed everyone outside to the car - which Jinki drove considering Minho and Kibum were in no state to drive from the alcohol - and they set off to Taemin's apartment.