Minseok met Jongdae on the 16th February 2013. His friends had been begging Minseok to come out with them for days; in the beginning the tried to make it for Valentines Day so the group could drink away their woes of being single for another goddamn year. Minseok, though, was quick to refuse; it was bad enough he was still single, he didn't need to go out drinking for the night to remind him of said loneliness. 

He should have remembered that he was friends with some of the most stubborn people on the planet

Two days after declining, a phone call from Chanyeol had Minseok jumping about and muttering insults to his friends 
"We'll be around in five. You're coming out with us tonight whether you like it or not".

Minseok's attempts to get out of going were futile. Exactly five minutes, and maybe fifteen seconds, after Chanyeol had placed the call he was being dragged out of his house and down to a nightclub full of drunk, sweaty and quite frankly horribly dressed men cramped into a small space. 

"Oh come on Minseok, you need to live your life instead of nagging about everything all the time" Sehun shouted over the music as he was dragged towards the dancefloor. Minseok completely ignored him and fought through the crowds straight to the bar.

"I'll just have a shot" he shouted over to the bartender  
"Actually make that two" and Minseok downed them as quickly as they were made. 

"Drink any quicker than that and you'll be drunk before you know it" came a voice next to him as Minseok turned to see a guy, scratch that a very good looking guy, looking over with his ow drink in hand, eyebrow raised 
"Trust me, if you had friends like mine you would be doing this" Minseok replied, ordering his next round of drinks. 

Briefly looking out on the floor, it looked as though his friends were having a better time than him; Chanyeol chatting up a guy in the corner, Sehun grinding on in between two other men and Minseok didn't even want to know on where Kyungsoo had ended up. 

"I'm pretty sure your friends aren't that bad if you're still hanging out with them" the guy said causing Minseok to laugh 
"Yes I hang around with them but seriously if you knew what they were like, even you would seriously reconsider your choice of words" he replied as the guy shrugged his shoulders, took a swig of his drink and inched ever so closer to Minseok. 

"Enlighten me then" 

Minseok leaves that night with a number scribbled onto his hand and the image of a certain someone named Kim Jongdae smiling and eyes glistening etched into his mind.

Setting up a date is the easiest part. Actually managing to get through the date proved to be the most difficult part; 

On their first date, Jongdae forgets his wallet and it's up to Minseok to pay, albeit for the slightly cheaper, meal

On their second date they spend the evening in A&E what with Minseok pushing a pull door and walking straight into it, he spends the next few days applying ice packs to his swollen, bruised and luckily not broken nose

On their third date the restaurant the two of them had anticipated on going to had closed down!

By their fourth date the two of them had opted on take away whilst watching a movie at Minseok's house. Admist the eating, chatter and film watching, the two of them had shared their first kiss. There may have been a collision of noses and nerves getting the best of them, but for Minseok the moment was perfect enough for him. Often around his friends would he be seen day dreaming and reminiscing about the day, a constant rewind of what was the past whilst look for their future. 

Minseok and Jongdae lived for the future. Time seem to fly by when the two were together. One minute they talked about going away together, almost two weeks later and Jongdae surprises Minseok with a trip to Jeju. Another minute they're talking about their future and then it's coming up to their one year anniversary. Minseok's present to Jongdae is the offer of aving him move into the place.

The two were prone to surprising one another; from spontaneous trips to a pair of shoes that were being eyed up on the shop display for a number of weeks. Tonight was no different with Minseok setting up a candlelit dinner with Jongdae's favorite meal on offer. However in the positive aspects of life, one must be prepared to face disappointment.

from: Jongdae 
to: Minseok 

Sorry babe, I'm working overtime to get the deadlines met -_- 
Eat without me and I'll eat when I come home x 

Minseok spends the remainder of the night sat alone in the living room with Jongdae's meal in the fridge and candlewax littering the table.

"Where are you going?" Sehun asked, watching Minseok stand up and walk away 
"My phone is ringing" was his reply, leaving Sehun there to frown and watch him. He didn't hear Minseok's phone ring.

"God if I spend another minute here I think I'm going to die of boredom" is the first thing Jongdae says, making Minseok laugh 
"Well if it makes you feel any worse whilst you're there dying of boredome, I'm out enjoying a very nice lunch with Sehun" he replies, laughing again when Jongdae whines and calls him a horrible person for putting him through this torture.

Minseok uses his dreams to escape reality. In his dreams, he can craft a world which is perfect to him, re-live the memories he wants to re-live and doesn't have to face the reality the awaits him when he wakes up. 

In his dreams he doesn't have to worry about Jongdae hardly being home, that he's hardly there most mornings when Minseok wakes up and is instead hugging a pillow. In his dreams everything is perfect, Jongdae is there with him and he doesn't have to suspect that something is going on. 

"What are these?" Jongdae asks one evening, holding up a bottle of pills found next to the bed 
"I've been having trouble sleeping lately, having nightmares and stuff, so the doctor gave me them to help me sleep easier. They're nothing bad, I promise!" Minseok replies and takes the pills back, setting them back in their original place. 

"How come you never told me you were on them?" 

Of course. The first thing Minseok would have done was to tell Jongdae he was on the pills the minute he was prescribed to them. How could he have forgotten to tell him? 

"How come you're hardly ever home and when I ask you, you never seem to give me an answer?". Jongdae doesn't even bother to answer the question and walks towards the wardrobe to fish out something to sleep in. 

Kyungsoo takes a peek into Minseok's room to see what is going on. A minute or so ago he could have sworn he heard Minseok speaking to someone. Upon looking in, only Minseok is there humming to himself, looking through the wardrobe and draping himself in one of Jongdae's many jumpers before climbing into bed and watching television. 

Maybe it was the television that Kyungsoo heard, or maybe he was on the phone speaking to someone. Kyungsoo decides to not press on and leaves Minseok to it for the rest of the night.

from: Jongdae 
to: Minseok

Don't wait up for me, I'll be late again

A million scenario's flash through Minseok's mind. For a number of weeks now Jongdae has been late coming home. What if Jongdae was becoming tired of him and was only working overtime to avoid Minseok? What if... what if Jongdae was having an affair? 

No

That was ridiculous of Minseok to think that! Jongdae loved Minseok just as much as Minseok loved him. The two had been dating for over a year and a half now. If Jongdae was getting tired of him, then he would have broken the relationship off months ago instead of putting Minseok through any sort of pain. 

The date is the 16th September 2014, a year and seven months to the day that Minseok had first met Jongdae. Before going to bed, Minseok makes a mental note to get out at some point and buy Jongdae a present for his upcoming birthday. 

Minseok likes to dream. For in dreams, he can create a world entirely different to that of the world he was having to face. That night he dreamnt of the first time he and Jongdae went on holiday together, all thoughts of Jongdae potentially leaving him wiped from his mind. 

This was turning out to be the best nights sleep he had in a while. It was understandable that he didn't particularly like being woken up a few minutes after midnight to someone ringing him...