“What time is it Jongin?”

“Half past ten.” Jongin told Luhan, checking his phone before putting away and continuing to poke the leaf of a bonsai tree

“Did you pick something out?” Luhan asked, as they continued walking down the seemingly endless monotony of aisles.

“Was I meant to?” Jongin asked blankly.

“Jongin it’s for Sehun, couldn’t you be a little more supportive of his new apartment?” Luhan tried to explain.

“But I thought we were getting him something.” Jongin told him.

“You mean as a couple?” Luhan's contempt for the prospect was evident by the way his tone slurred at the last word. Couple. It was like audible poison.

“Well it makes sense. We live together, so why don’t we buy Sehun something together for his new house.”

“We don’t live together, I live at your house.” Luhan failed to clarify.

“You pay half the rent and cook for me. You sleep in my bed every night.”

“Only because it would be wrong to stay at yours for free, you won’t cook, you don’t have a spare bed and–”

“You’re making excuses for yourself–”

“Are you going to buy something or not?”

“No.”

“Fine.” As Luhan had his wallet open at the register, Jongin slipped in the appropriate sum to split the expense on Sehun’s house warming present; a tiny Zen garden with a scaled rake inside to draw in the sands. Luhan held it level in his lap, as Jongin drove the truck over to the specified address. It was on the fourth floor of a rather recently refurbished building Luhan had remembered Sehun showing him pictures of a week earlier. On their way up the stairs (as Luhan hated elevators and escalators of any sort) Jongin had taken a step in front and stopped Luhan so he could talk.

“Are you upset with me from what I said in the store?” he asked, Luhan withdrawing a sharp breath before responding.

“Yes.” He admitted sourly. “I shouldn’t be and it’s stupid of me, but I can’t help it.” He stopped in the hallway a few feet behind Jongin, looking down at the small sand garden in his hands, hoping it would provide him the clarity he needed. Nothing came to mind, while Jongin continued to stand there patiently anticipating an answer that wasn't going to come anytime soon. What was it about the word couple and its connotations that sent vehemence and disdain through Luhan's mind? Anyone with a baseline IQ and no substantial head injury would be climbing piles of suitors to jump on the SS Commitment with Kim Jongin (if this had been Homer's Odyssey), but Luhan remained the childishly arrogant child on the playground; the one who usually pulled the hair of the boy he had a crush on, despite how much that doesn't work.

“Okay well, when you’re ready I’ll be waiting.” Jongin said as he moved out the way and let Luhan pass. He was hesitant at first: did he really just escape that conversation by turning catatonic? He didn't think he would be let off so easily, or that Jongin would take this lightly. After a gruellingly silent walk up the next two flight of stairs, the 'two' arrived at the door and found that Sunho, Baekhyun and Chanyeol had beaten them here.

“Hey Sehun!” Luhan chimed, giving the younger a hug and handing him his present. “Happy house warming.”

“Thank you guys! Come on in.” Sehun said holding the door and greeting Jongin as he entered. Luhan greeted everyone who was sitting at the couches first, before looking over the city vista and accepting Sehun’s offer for a glass of water.

“That is one killer view Sehun.” Luhan said staring starkly out at as much of Seoul visible from forty feet in the air. He’d seen some amazing landscapes and vistas in his four years on the road, but this was something entirely different. An entire beach stretching endlessly was something full of tiny life and nature, whilst the scene of a city so large was full of people life and the vibrancy of human nature not seen anywhere else. It felt like a bit of a nostalgia blow for Luhan to be viewing the world in this way again.

“So where is Jongin’s present for Sehun?” Baekhyun poked at Luhan, in a hushed tone to avoid being heard.

“Shut up.” Luhan whispered back.

“Honestly, the two of you…” Baekhyun sighed.

“Baekhyun, not now please.”

“Wow, I thought that was only me who said that.” Chanyeol chimed in, making Luhan nearly spill his glass as he tried not to laugh, Baekhyun not so impressed.

“Where’s that cranky bastard?” Sunho asked bringing in everyone’s attention.

“Beats me, probably late.” Chanyeol said.

“What should we do while we wait?” Jongin said.

“Sunho bought me Monopoly!” Sehun exclaimed.

“I love Monopoly!” Baekhyun said, and by then it was settled. Everyone gathered around the coffee table where Luhan’s Zen garden gift was moved temporarily and the board was set. Luhan sat between Jongin and Baekhyun, who was of course next to Chanyeol. Sunho sat by Jongin and an empty seat was left between him and Sehun in preparation for cranky bastard's arrival.

It took all of ten minutes for Jongin to go bankrupt and start to sulk with Luhan in his lap. Sunho was beating everyone by about six properties and a billion Won at this point, whilst Sehun was second in terms of finance and Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Luhan were happy to be cruising along. That was, until Baekhyun pulled an unconventional move on the game.

“Seven! Okay, I land next to Chanyeol. We hit it off instantly because I’m so amazing, we get married, and then pool all of our resources!” Baekhyun clapped and Chanyeol gave him a hug and commended him on his genius.

"Gay marriage! So not legal yet." Sunho argued with a pointed finger.

"Oh pish, this game is fictional." Baekhyun retorted flimsily.

“That’s a cheat move, just because you sleep together.” Jongin grumbled.

“Hey, don’t make your problems our problem.” Chanyeol rebutted.

“Can we focus?” Luhan forced sharply between barred teeth.

“Yes, Chanyeol and I get married and put our estates together.”

“That’s a cheat move!” Jongin repeated.

“Well then Chanyeol dies and leaves me all of his properties.” Baekhyun argued. “You did it for Luhan!”

“Why do I have to die?” Chanyeol wondered.

“Okay, I die and you get my estate, but you go and get me a glass of water so I can play.” Baekhyun said holding Chanyeol his glass and blinking cutely.

“I want a divorce.” Chanyeol sighed, getting the obligatory glass of water and leaving Baekhyun to play.

“The art of compromise everyone." Whilst Baekhyun's pearl of wisdom wasn't particularly aimed at the bickering couple, it was hard to not feel that way when you were said bickering couple. Suho arrived not long after that, deciding not to join the game and just watch. He’d bought Sehun a mat and a flat pack shoe stand, for the purpose of stacking shoes by the door before entering. When Sehun went bankrupt, he and Suho spent most of the night assembling it. Sunho still dominated the game, even against the powerhouse of the Park-Byun duo, and Jongin had begun getting bored, starting to skirt light caresses over Luhan’s hips and under his shirt, which were largely ignored by the second party. Dinner was started by Chanyeol, as Baekhyun and Sunho had begun a fierce showdown, and no one had the heart to ask the head chef to cook them dinner while he was off the clock. Baekhyun had been extremely bitter over dinner, as he’d lost to Sunho and Chanyeol had done anything but help cheer him up, telling him rather to get over it (which went down like a lead balloon).

Sehun and Suho had finished the shoe stand by the time dinner was out, but as far as how Jongin was faring in Luhan’s books, he was still in the doghouse. Luhan wasn't going to let it sully the evening, as he engaged Sehun in a vibrantly insightful conversation, learning a lot about the senior who waited tables. Sehun was in his final year at school, and he had a younger brother in elementary school, as well as a younger sister in junior high. His parents let him move out last year, provided he got a stable job and he visit every fortnight, which he did. It wasn’t clear why Sehun had decided to move out, but Luhan didn’t feel like pushing the matter. Sehun liked photography a lot. He studied it at school, and had even won a few competitions with his works, which were all still at his parents house due to the move. Sehun wanted to study some form of media design at university when he’d graduated, and that was the segue Sehun used to focus the conversation on to Luhan.

Luhan told him how he’d graduated from high school four years ago, and the day after receiving his diploma, he packed what little belongings he owned, said farewell to the small hell-mouth of a town he’d been living in, and had never returned to since. A week after he’d left, his parents moved back to China, and his contact with them had become somewhat infrequent. He told Sehun of the places he’d visited, some of them he’d known from his photography and some of them he told Sehun he’d take to sometime. Sehun had asked why Luhan hadn’t thought of college, to which Luhan responded by giving his rather dull opinion on returning to school again.

“I’d hate the be stuck in a rut of assignments and crappy teachers again. It’s just not how I like to learn. Besides, what would I study?”

“I don’t know, what are you good at?”

“Believe it or not I know my way pretty well around most combustion engines.” Luhan smiled proudly. “But if I became a mechanic, I would beat myself to death with my own tools within a week.”

“I’m sure you know more things than engines.” Sehun said, before being cut off by Baekhyun and Chanyeol declaring their leave. Everyone said their goodbyes and decided the hour was too late to keep Sehun up any longer, all agreeing that they had work tomorrow and much sleep to catch up on.

"Thank you for an amazing night Sehun, I hope you like the present.” Luhan said, hugging him goodbye.

“I love it, thank you both for it!” Sehun said, forcing Luhan to look behind him and up at Jongin, who spoke up first.

“Well, it’s not really from us–”

“We’re happy you like it.” Luhan said, taking Jongin’s hand behind his back and smiling.

“See you on Tuesday then.” Sehun said to Luhan.

“See ya.” Jongin said.

“Bye!” Everyone waved, as the majority descended down the elevator whilst Jongin took Luhan down the stairs.

“So it’s a couple gift now?” Jongin asked seriously.

“Can't take it back now.” Luhan said. No regrets? He wasn’t sure. Only time would tell if this would be the best or worst mistake he'd  ever made. Right now, he was just happy to retreat to Jongin's place for a much needed shower and rest.

“Jongin…” Luhan groaned, only to reach for the other side of the bed to find it empty. Huh? That’s weird… Luhan had to hold his own chest for warmth now, as he walked down the stairs to an empty flat. Where’s Jongin? Deciding that he would probably be home soon from wherever he was, he pulled Jongin’s coat off the hanger (as it was on top of Luhan’s) and started breakfast. He was getting awful adept at cooking these days, and in no time at all, he was setting a pile of flapjacks under a cozy of tissue paper, as he’d seen the mail man come and decided to collect it. Not caring that he was in his boxers, a shirt and a coat, he moseyed over to the box and pulled out this fortnight's bills and some assorted mail. He set the bills in their appropriate spot by the key bowl, and leafed through the rest of the envelopes, one in particular catching his eye. It was addressed to Jongin and it was from the Korea National University of Arts. A university? Jongin had a right to his own privacy, but Luhan felt deep down that this would impact himself sufficiently enough to warrant some prying. Desperately trying to distract himself with anything that didn't involve proximity to the door, he set himself the task of vigorously cleaning the kitchen, even the surfaces that were already pristine. He left Jongin some pancakes under the syrup-stained tissue cozy, which he had no issue with eating cold after he'd returned home, entirely too sweaty for someone who had been outside in this weather.

“Went for a run.” He explained, clearing him of all charges.

“Oh.” Luhan said blankly, feeling a bit cheated by such an answer.

“Is everything okay?” Jongin asked. “You could have saved some more for me you know, I’m starving!” Jongin said as he opened the fridge.

“The mail came today.” Luhan said. 

“Yeah, I saw the bills. I’ll leave the money in the key bowl when I get paid next week.” He opened a bottle of water and started to sip on it slowly, the sweat glinting off of the side of his neck like a vein of diamonds in the side of a mountain.

“There was one for you here.” Luhan held it between his fingers as he faced Jongin from his seat.

“Who’s it from?” he asked, still too fixated on his water.

“The Korea National University Arts department.” Jongin’s water was now all over the kitchen and dripping down his tracksuit jacket, since he couldn’t cover his mouth fast enough, before the shock of Luhan's candor forced the water from his mouth and the air from his lungs.

“So I guess I should explain that letter of acceptance, huh?” Jongin said, from the dogbox of the chair furthest from Luhan’s spot on the couch.

“That might be a good start, yes.” Luhan wasn't necessarily angry, but he couldn't deny the sliver of betrayal he felt creep inside when he read the return address on Jongin's acceptance letter.

“Look, I didn’t even think I would get accepted," Jongin began, feeling like he had to explain himself, despite the lack of ties Luhan insisted on keeping between them all this time. "I just went for the audition to try out and see how good I was.”

“Good at what?” Luhan asked, now facing Jongin giving the younger a little bit more hope in the situation.

“Dance.” Jongin admitted.

“You’re a dancer?” Luhan asked, trying not to shift any closer to Jongin as he felt his resentment slowly weather away.

“Yeah, it’s something I’ve always done, but recently I’ve stopped.” Jongin fiddled with his thumbs, as he felt a little guilty toward himself for not continuing with it as of late. For something that he'd once needed more than life itself, his neglect of regular practice was completely out of character for someone who knew Jongin well.

“That isn’t, because of me is it?” Luhan said, now moving to the closest seat on the couch there was to Jongin’s chair.

“Honestly?” Jongin thought it over, before shaking his head. “I don’t know. There was that one letter from JYP that I tore up, but–”

“You tore up an acceptance letter from JYP?!” Luhan nearly shrieked. “FOR ME?!”

“N–no…” Jongin stuttered.

“Oh my god I have ruined your life, someone kill me now.” Luhan said, as he buried his face in his hands. He was suddenly being coaxed out of his state by Jongin, who was rubbing comfort into has back and pushing down his hands to look at his face.

“That’s not it at all Luhan.” He said, voice breaking mid-sentence.

“Oh god if you cry then I am going to as well…” Luhan said just as his eyes started to sting.

“I promise not to cry.” Jongin said sniffing and blinking a few times. “I auditioned when I asked Chanyeol and Baekhyun to take you home.” Jongin explained, shedding light on his ominous behaviour that day. “I tore up the JYP letter because I knew that it would eventually lead me into some kind of Pop group arrangement, and I have no desire to travel.” Luhan snorted at the comment.

“Really?”

“Well, I would like to travel but not like that.” He clarified. “I took a chance on you, and look where we are now. We bought a couples present for Sehun, and I can wake up to you every morning and smell the soap in your hair.” Jongin said as he ran a hand across one of the wayward bits of hair in Luhan’s bed hair. “You clean that bar too much.” They both laughed.

“It’s a dirty bar.” Luhan defended passively.

“The point is, I didn’t want to give up on my chance for a life with you and the bar, just so I could be famous and tour the world.”

“Well then what do you want to do? You can’t stay at the bar for your whole life and hold onto me. You need to be proactive about your dancing Jongin, I’ll be damned if I come between you and your passion.”

“You’re too cute.” Jongin said pulling Luhan onto his lap. He sat with his back on the couch and Luhan resting his back on Jongin’s raised legs, feeling comfortable enough, without the stressful they'd been strung up in these last few days.

“I think you should take the place at K-ARTS.” Luhan said. K-ARTS was the colloquial term for the Korea National University of Arts; that he’d known even before coming to Seoul.

“What about paying for it?”

“Well I could take most of your shifts at the bar while you are studying, and if I get promoted to manager then I’ll earn some extra cash as well.”

“That’s not entirely fair on you. What do you want Lu?” Luhan smiled and pressed a finger to Jongin’s lips.

“One step at a time Jong. Now come on, let’s get ready for work and tell everyone the good news!”

“But today’s your day off isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but Suho asked me to come in today; something about something, you know how garbled he can get when he loses focus.”

A/N: I'm sorry for trolling you with what feels like another filler chapter, I don't know what's gotten into me at the moment :p Hope you loved this chapter, and I just want to say thank you guys so much! All the extra comments have really been wonderful. Also, comment, up-vote, subscribe; it's up to you ♡ But know that it means a lot, it really does.

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