Jinki wasn’t sure what he was doing, hiding inside of the bathroom stall.

(Later, when he sat down and actually thought about it, he was probably panicking.)

He just broke up with his boyfriend last week and it hadn’t been as pretty as he’d been telling everyone. The last thing he expected was for his ex to show up at the art gallery exhibit today, least of all with a woman hanging off his arm (Jinki swore right then and there to never again attempt to woo a straight man).

It was quite an obvious show that he was trying to rub in Jinki’s face that he wasn’t gay, knowing full well that Jinki would be at the exhibit that day―they’d discussed it during pillow talk just before their falling out―and in a state of perpetual shock, Jinki darted into the bathroom and straight into one of the stalls to find a moment peace. Unfortunately for him, all Jinki could really think about was the blood rushing in his ears. It would suffice to say that he had been caught off-guard; Jinki wasn’t sure if he was angry or even upset about this turn of events, and, head in hands, he rubbed his face and tried to calm down.

While leaning against the door, he finally noticed the phone number scrawled on the wall just above the toilet paper rolls:

need advice?
call Jonghyun
01N 0906 7758
 

Jinki laughed incredulously, wondering what kind of would write their actual cell phone number inside a public bathroom. But, as his heart continued to thud painfully and a montage of all the great times Jinki had experienced with his ex-boyfriend kept on repeating in his head, he decided that he could very well use a distraction. Pulling out his cell phone, Jinki carefully dialed in the number, uncertainty making his fingers tremble just the slightest bit as the dial tone rang smoothly in his ear.

Once. Twice. Thr―“Hello?”

Jinki yelped at the sound of the voice, quickly squeaking out a reply. “H-Hello!”

“Who is this?” the voice asked, and Jinki suddenly feels stupid for actually calling the number—for all he knew, this could very well be a prank someone has played on this Jonghyun.

“I—” Jinki clears his throat, “A-Are you Jonghyun-sshi? You left a… I, um, called about the advice?” His face is slowly turning red even though there really isn’t any reason for him to be embarrassed; it wasn’t like this stranger knew who he was.

There is a momentary pause in which Jinki is almost ninety-nine percent sure Jonghyun has hung up, before there is a gasp of surprise on the other line. “Ah! Yes, I’m Jonghyun. What can I do for you…?”

“J-Jinki.”

“Jinki-sshi! What can I help you with? There must be a reason for you to be hiding out in a bathroom stall when you could be out enjoying the gallery.”

Jinki contemplates for a few moments if he really is about to ask a complete stranger for advice over the phone in the stall of a bathroom, all because their number was scrawled on the wall. But for some reason, he really likes the sound of Jonghyun’s voice; it was charming and attentive, a voice he felt he could trust.

“Well, my exhibit is up today, and my ex-boyfriend decided to show up with a girl attached to his hip. I just feel stupid because we dated for so long before I realized he thought our relationship was disgusting,” he confessed. Jinki paused for a second, waiting for the customary ‘oh, you’re gay?’ question to pop up, but it never did.

“Wow, your ex is a royal -wipe to show up at the gallery, with someone else, no less,” Jonghyun comments instead, and Jinki laughs.

“Yep, the only useful thing about him was his―” he stops quickly, cheeks burning because he almost said ‘’ to a stranger over the phone; he was getting a little too comfortable with this Jonghyun person, and it hadn’t even been ten minutes.

When Jinki hears Jonghyun laughing over the phone, his embarrassment doubles. “I know just the thing to help you out,” the other says, “I want you to follow my instructions carefully…”

“Okay.” Jinki doesn’t even consider not listening, nodding even though Jonghyun can’t see him. Later that day, he realizes that maybe he shouldn’t have so blindly followed a stranger’s orders, but for now the thought doesn’t even cross his mind.

“First, I want you to go outside of the bathroom,” Jonghyun tells him, and Jinki, only slightly hesitant, does as he says. He peers out from behind the bathroom door to check if his ex was anywhere in sight―he wasn’t―and carefully takes a step out.

“And now?”

“Now, walk straight over to the painting right in front of you, the one with no people around it.”

Jinki, scanning the area, finally notices a rather large painting a few meters in front of him, and just like Jonghyun had said, there was not a single person viewing it at the moment and he quickly walks over to it. He’s only a few steps away from the painting and is about to ask what to do next, when a voice he’s been dreading to hear calls out his name:

“Jinki! It’s been so long!”

Cringing, Jinki turns around to see his ex with that girl draped over his side, like she was an accessory, and there is a smug smile on his face as if he’d won a contest or something as he approaches him. At the sight, Jinki reevaluates his life choices once again―first of all, he should never have let this guy’s go anywhere near his , and second, asking a stranger for advice over the phone and actually listening to it was a totally bull idea.

He’s about to respond with something extremely pathetic and stupid, his cellphone still pressed against his ear, when suddenly there is a hand on his shoulder that’s turning him around. Eyes wide, Jinki loses the ability to breathe at the sight of a handsome face only a few centimeters away from his own. The stranger is smiling bright enough that his eyes glitter and, completely hypnotized, Jinki isn’t sure which way is up or down when their lips meet in an indulgent kiss. Jinki thinks he feels teeth grazing his lower lip and a tongue darting inside quickly to meet his before the stranger pulls away―which is, admittedly, much to Jinki’s disappointment―, cheerful grin still on his face as his hand slides deliberately down Jinki’s side and wraps snugly around his waist.

“So here you are, Jinki!” the handsome man says, and Jinki loses the ability to speak when he hears the way his name sounds in this man’s sweet voice. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, babe.”

Jaw dropping slightly, Jinki remains speechless, mouth opening and closing in an attempt to make sense of the jumbled mess that is his brain when he finally notices the cellphone in the stranger’s hand, a familiar number across the top of the screen. “J-Jonghyun?!”

His smile only widens. “I told you I’d help, didn’t I?” he whispers against Jinki’s ear, and a shiver runs up his spine.

Jinki is more than a hundred percent sure that when he lets Jonghyun take him out for a drink after the exhibit, it’s no longer just about the help.

~fin.