“Just call him already.” There’s audible annoyance in Daesung’s voice. Kang Daesung has been Seunghyun’s best friend since they were children. They were practically family—they definitely fought like family—and Daesung has had to endure weeks on end of Seunghyun’s mindless babbling over the one and only Kwon Jiyong. Seunghyun almost pities his friend. If he could stop talking about Jiyong, stop thinking about Jiyong every damned second things might be a little easier for the both of them.

“You know I can’t do that,” Seunghyun scowls, narrowing his eyes.  Daesung scoffs lightly.

“Why? Because you’re a little boy stuck in the junior high school phase? Come on, he gave you his number and you didn’t even have to ask him for it. Obviously he wants you to call him.”

“Were you not listening to a word I just said?” Seunghyun drags his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I can’t call him because I saw him yesterday. With someone else. And when I went over to talk to him, I asked how he was doing, at he glances over at the dude he’s with, looks back at me, has a smug smile on his stupid face, and says ‘good.’”

Daesung steals some of the food from Seunghyun’s plate and chews slowly before responding. “So you’re not going to call, or pursue a relationship with this dude that you obviously like, just because he was having fun with someone else yesterday.” He shakes his head and punches Seunghyun’s arm. “You really are an idiot,” he says, and Seunghyun can tell he’s only half joking.

“No, don’t you get it? If he was doing good¸ that must mean he and that dude are hooking up,” Seunghyun explains.

“Well, prior to this whole Jiyong mess and the eruption of you prepubescent boy insecurities, I felt pretty good when we would hang out, and I know we haven’t been hooking up,” Daesung sighs. “He could just have friends, you know.”

“No, but it was the way he said good,” Seunghyun says, squinting a little, and replaying the interaction in his mind. “It was like… he wanted to be vague on purpose. Like he wasn’t telling me something so that he could spare my feelings.”

“Or maybe he was just worried you’d overanalyze the situation if he said anything different,” Daesung sips loudly from his straw. “Looks like his plan backfired. I haven’t seen you overreact like this since Chaerin in the second grade,” Daesung laughs a little at the memory. “You don’t need to psych yourself out, just look at the facts,” Daesung holds out his hand and puts up a finger. “One, he invited you to see him perform.” Another finger pops up. “He took care of you when you were wasted, which is not a fun task, believe me.” A third finger. “He slept in your bed right next to you.” A fourth finger. “He made you breakfast.” Fifth. “He left you his number before you even thought to ask for it.” Satisfied, Daesung puts his hand down and flicks his hair out of his eyes. “I can tell you that’s not really how first dates really work out for people. You’ve really got something here, and if you’re too stupid to see it, maybe you don’t deserve it.” Daesung holds eye contact with Seunghyun for a few minutes. He’d perhaps come off a little harsh sounding, but Senghyun knew he only meant the best. In fact, there was a reason Seunghyun had invited Daesung to lunch to discuss the situation in the first place. If there was one person who was somehow able to remain constantly level-headed, it was Daesung. And Seunghyun trusted him more than anyone in the whole world.

“I guess you’re right,” Seunghyun sighs. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s incredibly nervous and he can feel the panic bubbling up in his chest at the thought of calling Jiyong. What would he say? ‘Sorry for taking so long to call you, I thought you were having with someone other than me?’ Not that Jiyong owed Seunghyun any physical gratification. But that’s also not to say Seunghyun hadn’t thought about it once or twice. He starts to open his mouth to ask Daesung for advice once more, when he notices Daesung is on the phone.

His stomach drops as he realizes it’s his phone.

He trusts Daesung, but not that much. He hurriedly reaches across the table in an attempt to snatch the phone from Daesung and save himself from any impending embarrassment, but Daesung is far too good at the game of “keep away” to lose easily. By the time Seunghyun gets his phone, the damage is done.

“Is this Jiyong?” Daesung asks, his voice overly happy sounding. He easily swats Seunghyun’s hands away. “Hi, I’m Seunghyun’s friend. He really likes you—”

Seunghyun has wrestled the phone from Daesung’s grasp, but it’s only a moment too late. He puts the phone to his ear, dreading the awkward conversation about to ensue, and flashes Daesung a sarcastic smile and a middle finger, to which Daesung only laughs in response before turning back to his food.

“Uh, sorry about that,” Seunghyun says slowly. “My friend’s a little drunk,” he lies, earning a soft ‘boo’ and a thumbs down from Daesung.

“Is that true?” Jiyong’s voice comes from the other line. It’s soft, but deep sounding. And it’s a sound that Seunghyun has missed.

“Yeah,” Seunghyun laughs nervously. “I mean, I know it’s kind of early in the day, but we met up at a bar for lunch and things got kind of out of hand.”

Jiyong laughs. “No, I was asking if what he said was true. They say alcohol is the only thing that can make an honest man out of a liar.”

“Oh,” Seunghyun says, feeling his cheeks grow red. He’s grateful Jiyong can’t see him now. A small laugh from Daesung reminds him that someone else can.

“So, you like me,” Jiyong says, casually.

“I mean, yeah,” Seunghyun says, clearing his throat. He wants to scream and kick himself and start the whole conversation over. Nothing screams ’16 year old boy’ louder than his horrible flirting tactics. “Yeah, of course I like you. You’re really good at music and you came over to take care of me that one night. You’re a great friend.”

Daesung slams his forehead into the table.

“Oh,”Jiyong says. “I thought your friend meant… something else. So you don’t like me,” he puts special emphasis on that word, making their conversation sound more increasingly like an exchange between junior high students, rather than adults.

“Um,” Seunghyun is getting more flustered by the second. He knows exactly what he wants to say—he works with words for a living, dammit—but he can’t find the right words to say it.

“Because I think I like you,” Jiyong says, noticing Seunghyun’s panicking state. That sentence is the sweetest, most relieving thing he’s heard all month.

“No, I- um, I like you too,” he says, trying to make up for his slack. “I mean, I think I do.” His heart is pounding and he’s resisting the urge to just hang up the phone. “I think we need to get to know each other better and stuff,” he says, lamely attempting to sound mature.

“Hmm,” Jiyong sighs. “I’ve actually been stuck on these lyrics for a while. Maybe I could come to your place tonight for some dinner, some inspiration, and some company?” he asks.

“Tonight?” Seunghyun asks, taken aback.

“I understand it’s sudden,”Jiyong says quickly. “It doesn’t have to be tonight, it can be whenever—”

“No,” Seunghyun says a little too quickly. “Tonight’s fine, I’m just… well, I’m a cook,” he mumbles the last part of his sentence.

“I’ve got you covered,”Jiyong says, and Seunghyun can hear the smile in his voice over the phone. His heart has flown up into his throat. “I’ll see you at six-ish?” he asks.

“Six-ish is great,” Seunghyun replies. He bids Jiyong a quick goodbye before hanging up the phone. Daesung has finally lifted his head from the table, a small smile on his face.

“See, I told you that you had nothing to worry about,” he grins. “Who’s your best friend in the world?”

“Oh, shut up,” Seunghyun scoffs, but he smiles all the same.

“So what are you two doing tonight?” Daesung asks, leaning in and wagging his eyes up and down. “Are you going out on a hot date?”

“We’re just meeting up at my place for dinner,” Seunghyun shrugs. “We’re going to talk about things.”

“So if I ask him about dinner tomorrow, is he going to say things were good?” Daesung asks, laughing at his own insinuation.

“Wha- God, no!” Seunghyun exclaims, giving him a shove. “Who’s acting like the 16 year old now, huh?” he asks, but Daesung is still busy laughing.

Truth be told, Seunghyun has a million thoughts and a million emotions running through his body. For one, he’s excited to be able to see Jiyong again. Not to mention the fact that he’s still startled and reeling from the sudden confession of sorts. He’s also nervous and worried. What if things don’t go the way he plans? What if he messes up? He hasn’t dated someone for a few years now, and he obviously needs to brush up on some areas. Then again, he shouldn’t get ahead of himself. No one has said anything about him and Jiyong dating, and for all he knows that might not be what ends up happening. He can’t set himself up in anticipation for something that might not even happen. But guessing is too exhausting at the moment. He’s just going to accept whatever may come his way, be it in his favor or otherwise. 

______

(A/N: Yay I'm not late this week! Uh, I guess there's not much to say except for the fact that the ball is finally rolling with this story! Thank you so much for all of your support and your comments! *3* Also, wowowow Crooked?!?! Everyone has seen it and listened to it and given it lots of love, yes? It really couldn't have come out at a more perfect time (plus I think it fits the dynamic of this story really well, if I may say so myself ^^) It's inspired a one-shot in this au, and its in Ji's pov, but I'm going to save it until later, as it's rather spoiler-y. But it will be out at some point and I'll let you know if you're interested.
Oh, also, before I forget: I wasn't really intending to put in this fic, but now I feel like that's kind of the direction it's flowing, and I wanted to know your opinions: yes to the , or no? (I must warn you, I'm not very good at ...) Anyways, that's all from me. See you next update!)