II
Like Milk and Sugar
Two hours flew by, and Jongdae had quickly realized that his first impression of Lu Han had been dead wrong. Rather than the quiet, shy pretty boy Jongdae had first taken him for, the other was a witty, sarcastic young man full of his own opinions and ideas. Between the occasional customer, the two had spent the evening debating points ranging from fast food restaurants to politics, all while learning bits and pieces about the other.
"Where are you from?" Jongdae asked curiously during a lull in the conversation.
"Beijing," Lu Han replies, taking a sip of his third cup of hot chocolate. "I moved to Seoul after I earned my Master's in Literature."
"Literature?" Jongdae questioned dubiously. Lu Han didn't seem very... bookish.
"Got a problem with it?" Lu Han jabbed playfully. "But yeah. I'm actually working on a novel right now." His tone changed, softer and lighter. All of a sudden, he seemed a million miles away, like he was thinking up plots and characters, settings and conflicts. When he noticed Jongdae studying him, he quickly broke out of his stupor. "Maybe you can read it sometime," he suggested.
"I'd like that," Jongdae said immediately, straightening up. He cleared his throat. "I mean, yeah, sure. That'd be cool."
Lu Han laughed openly, showing off his pearly whites. The two of them fell back into playful banter. Seeing them, any passerby would assume that they had known each other for years, rather than just a few short hours.
After another hour or so, Jongdae glanced out the window, only to be taken by surprise. Night had already fallen, and the outside was shrouded in darkness. Lu Han followed his gaze and let out a yelp of shock. "I'm so sorry! Oh my gosh, it's probably way past closing time for you, and I probably held you up," he rambled frantically. "I'm so, so sor-"
"It's fine," Jongdae chuckled, waving away the other man's apologies good-naturedly. "I wanted to stay with you. But we should probably both get going." Jongdae stood up and stretched, legs slightly wobbly from sitting for so long.
A sly grin crossed Lu Han's face. "You wanted to stay with me? Oh, Jongdae-ssi, have you already fallen in love in me? I can't blame you, I know I have ravishingly good looks." He leaned over the able and batted his eyes at Jongdae exaggeratedly.
Jongdae struggled to control the blush spreading across his cheeks. "Get your head out of the gutter," he chided, pushing Lu Han's head back.
Lu Han pouted, pushing his lower lip out. "Don't treat your hyung like that! Anyway, I wouldn't blame you for being in love with me. I'm totally a package deal. I've got everything: looks, brains-" Lu Han cut himself off when he noticed Jongdae wasn't listening. He followed the latter over to the glass door and gasped out loud.
"We're snowed in," Jongdae said grimly. In the hours they had spent with each other, they hadn't noticed the snow piling up higher and higher. Judging by how it piled against the door, it reached up to mid-thigh. As Jongdae dialed a number on his cell phone, Lu Han pushed against the glass, but his efforts were in vain- the door refused to budge. "We're stuck here for the night," Jongdae said after his call. Noticing the dismayed look on the other man's face, he punched Lu Han lightly. "C'mon, I'm a great sleepover buddy. I don't kick or snore or anything!"
At that, Lu Han cracked a smile. "I guess we'll see about that." He glanced around the cafe. "So do you have any blankets?"
still a bit short, but longer than before! i apologize for my sorry attempt at a cliffhanger btw. i'm feeling kinda iffy about this chapter but idek. constructive criticism is always appreciated!
happy first day of summer everybody! c:
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