Chapter Text
“Is everyone in position?” Yujin asks into the (stolen) walkie-talkie for the third time as he peers into the practice room where Hanbin is dancing, through the small rectangular window, “I’m going to call Hanbin-hyung now.”
“In position, over!” The walkie-talkie crackles with Ricky’s voice.
“Commence operation,” Ollie gives Yujin the go-ahead, and he can almost hear Hao’s sigh at their antics.
But enough of that. Han Yujin, CIA agent extraordinaire, was geared up and ready to commence operation… Brad PITT. He’d come up with the name forty minutes ago, and can already see his bright future as a comedian.
Brad was there for show, but PITT… stood for P01 In The Toilet, an (in his opinion) accurate and concise description of their plan. It had earned him whooping applause from Ricky and Ollie, and a strangled noise from Hao. Whatever.
Pocketing the walkie-talkie, Yujin puts on the brightest smile possible and walks into the room.
“Hanbin-hyung!”
Hanbin turns, brightening, “Yujin-ah! Are you feeling better?”
“I am,” Yujin grins, “Thanks, hyung. The producers asked me to bring you and Hao to level 3 to film some K/G group PR video.”
“I didn’t hear about that,” Hanbin cocks his head, “Maybe I am forgetting things.”
“Let’s go? After I bring you there, I still have to go find Hao-hyung,” Yujin holds the door for him, “Have you seen him, by the way?”
“Uh, I saw him a while ago near hair and makeup,” Hanbin responds, “Might be practising now, though.”
Yujin nods absentmindedly, knowing perfectly well where Hao was. Then something hit him. Why the hell would Hanbin believe that he was to wait in a malfunctioning toilet for Hao? Shooting him a furtive glance, he decided to just push him into the toilet and hold the handle real tight from the outside so he couldn’t come out. The element of surprise should help him, but Hanbin was indeed older and stronger…
When they neared the bathroom, Yujin scanned the area for any of his accomplices, and to his dismay, found none. He did, though, find Lee Seunghwan sitting against the wall outside the toilet, for some reason choosing that location for a nap.
Yujin decided not to judge him for now, though, because he still needed Seunghwan’s help. Kicking Seunghwan hard in the side with the heel of his foot, he hissed, “Seunghwan-hyung!”
“OW, WHAT THE FUC– oh, Yujin! What’s up?”
Hanbin stood behind Yujin, looking politely bemused by the entire situation. He was looking around already, probably starting to suspect why the fuck they were all standing in some deserted corner of the building outside a malfunctioning toilet.
Yujin was running out of time, so he grabbed Seunghwan by the arm and whispered in his ear, “Don’t ask, just help me push him in.”
“Push him– what?” Seunghwan looks up, bleary-eyed, “Ahhhhhhhh, Hanbin.” He says, too loudly.
Hanbin’s starting to backtrack slowly, eyes darting between the two, and Yujin thanks the gods for the fact that Seunghwan does not hesitate when it comes to fun shit they should probably not be doing!
In seconds, they had stuffed Hanbin into the room and were holding on to the handle for dear life.
“Lock it!”
“Got him,” Seunghwan looks up from the doorknob, pushing his fringe out of his eyes, “Now tell me. What the fuck is going on?”
“One sec,” Yujin whips the walkie-talkie out of his pocket, “Guys, literally nobody is going to believe that anything proper is happening in a faulty toilet. I enlisted Seunghwan-hyung’s help to stuff Hanbin-hyung into the toilet, so the two of you at the other side, for fuck’s sake, hold on tight to the doorknob. Don’t lock it, Matthew-hyung still has to be delivered.”
“Kay, we’ll shove him in later using force,” Hao replied, “I’m going to get him now.”
Ollie sighed through the walkie-talkie, “Ah, violence is never the answer. Violence is the question, and the answer is yes .”
–
Seeing Matthew round the corner, Hao quickly straightened, shoving the walkie-talkie behind his back, “Oh, Matthew, I was just going to look for you!”
Matthew eyes him warily, “Don’t tell me we’re going to start talking about my feelings again.”
Hao laughs guiltily, “Ah, no. Team meeting, level 3, we’re all waiting for you.”
“Shit. Did I forget?”
“Maybe,” Hao shrugged, “It’s fine, just come along. It’s about Min’s parts… he’s upset that he doesn’t have enough parts, and we can’t exactly have the meeting in our practice room since the K group kids are there.”
As the duo nears the end of the level 3 corridor, Matthew starts looking around more, “Why did you pick such a strange area for the meeting? Couldn’t there be a nearer place?”
Hao doesn’t hear him, looking for Ricky and Ollie, who were supposed to be stationed outside this door. Of course. He knew he couldn’t trust them with even the simplest of tasks.
Upon further inspection, he noticed Yujin gesturing at him from behind a wall, Seunghwan positioned behind his shoulder. Ah , Hao said to himself, we’re at the wrong entrance .
He gave Yujin a firm nod, and the two rushed out from behind the wall, grabbed Matthew, and hauled him into the toilet. Hao did not partake in any of the violent acts described above, but he did see Seunghwan give Matthew a well-timed, well-intentioned shove right into Hanbin’s arms before he fled with Yujin, locking the door behind them.
“Hello?” Ricky sounded a little confused, “Is there anything wrong? There’s nobody here.”
“About that,” Hao sighed, “I brought Matthew to the wrong entrance, but he’s been delivered successfully nonetheless. Y’all just make sure they try not to escape via that door.”
“What now?” Seunghwan asked, “Yujin filled me in earlier. Is there anything else we’ve got to do?”
“ Now ,” Hao sits down, back firmly against the closed door, “We wait.”
“In any case, I’m glad the two biggest piners in Boys Planet have finally been forced to sit down and talk it out. I’m going to get sick if I have to see them whine at each other like lovesick puppies again,” Seunghwan rolled his eyes.
“Me too,” Yujin added glumly, “I hate being single.”
“Yujin, you are a baby .”
Seunghwan, on the other hand, remains silent, but looks sceptical at Yujin’s statement.
–
“Matthew?”
“Oh! Um, I’m sorry, uh,” Matthew disentangles himself from Hanbin’s arms as quickly as he can, pretending the lingering heat of Hanbin’s hands on his waist wasn’t affecting him in the least, “Sorry… I was spacing out.”
Hanbin nods. Matthew looks away, letting silence take over. It’s not like he can tell Hanbin he was spacing out because the feel of Hanbin’s hands gripping his waist made him want to throw his hands around Hanbin’s neck and kiss him.
No. Stop. Seok Matthew, why are you thinking like this? You don’t like him. And he’s avoiding you.
Shaking his head to clear it, Matthew walks quickly over to one of the doors, banging on it, “Let us out! Hao-hyung! This isn’t funny!”
Yujin’s voice replies, “No! You two talk it out!”
Vaguely, he hears someone ask why there were banging noises coming from inside the empty toilet. Hao fabricates an excuse about a haunted toilet, which doesn’t sound very convincing no matter how you look at it, but Matthew had bigger problems.
He was stuck. In a toilet. With his best friend who didn't want to talk to him, and a closet full of janitor supplies.
Hanbin looks significantly more calm than Matthew feels, probably because he’d been stuck in the toilet for slightly longer. He takes his seat on the closed cover of a toilet bowl, then overturns a blue bucket, gesturing at Matthew to sit down facing him.
Hanbin-hyung has nice hands , Matthew thought immediately, then slapped himself mentally. What am I thinking?
It’s not like Matthew hadn’t noticed these things before, but those thoughts had never been so… heavy. Hanbin had always been the handsome, talented best friend, and his observations about Hanbin were just that: observations. But the events of the day (and the Yuehua kids, and Hanbin himself’s actions) suggested something different.
Awkwardly balancing himself on the bucket, he angles his head so Hanbin and him can talk more comfortably in their current environment.
“I think we should talk,” Hanbin says, in a voice so low Matthew almost can’t hear him.
“You’re shaking,” Matthew lets out a puff of air forcefully, “What’s the matter?”
“Look, about this morning… this… morning…” Hanbin’s shaking so hard he can barely talk now, hands gripping the empty toilet paper roll so hard his knuckles are whitening. Matthew fights the urge to reach over and grab his hands to stop them from shaking, something he’d always done back when they were training together. It helped ease Hanbin’s anxiety.
“About how I– I called you hot,” Hanbin’s voice is soft and shaky. It’s cute, but Matthew feels as if he’s going to start shaking himself. Whatever Hanbin’s about to say next, Matthew can’t decide if he wants to hear it; if he’s going to like it.
“Yeah,” he whispers back, for lack of something to say, “I remember that.”
“I meant it,” Hanbin shakes his head violently, as if trying to forget something, “Matthew, I really meant it. You’re a great person. I think… I think I…”
Matthew can’t help himself anymore. He reaches over, clasps Hanbin’s hands in his, and instinctively starts rubbing him with his thumb, “Hey, calm down, it’s– it’s going to be fine. Take your time, okay?”
Hanbin’s gaze trails down to their intertwined hands, and Matthew feels his face reddening. He should let go, he knows, but he doesn’t want to. So he tightens his grip, “I… let’s just stay like this for a little while, Hanbin-hyung. I don’t want to let go.”
The elder takes a deep breath, as if his throat is constricted. When he speaks again, Matthew is terrified he’s going to cry, “You can’t do that.”
“Do what?” Matthew’s distracted again, this time by how pretty Hanbin was, even if his lower lip was trembling and he’s still shaking. Even if the backdrop is a toilet and Matthew’s sitting on a bucket that could give out any time.
Snap out of it .
“This,” Hanbin looks down at their hands, “Stop being so sweet.”
“But we’re… best friends,” Matthew returns, hurt, “You can’t just tell me to stop being nice to you. Just like how you can’t just start avoiding me out of nowhere.”
Something seems to break in Hanbin, and his next words are forceful, “Because I thought you hated me! I thought you didn’t like me back, and you’d never want to be friends again, and you hated the thought of people seeing us together! Matthew, if you don’t like me that way, you can’t keep doing this– this– you keep holding my hand, and kissing me on the cheek, and coming to find me for meals, and supporting me every step of the way –”
Hanbin pauses to take a breath, calming down, “And I like you, Seok Matthew, I like you more than a friend should. So if you don’t like me back, stop leading me on.”
Matthew’s mind goes blank.
At some point, he’d also let go of Hanbin’s hands, letting his own rest limply at his sides. The world blurs, all except the boy breathing heavily in front of him, recovering from his little emotional outburst earlier.
He didn’t believe it when the Yuehua kids had told him Hanbin liked him.
He didn’t believe it when the Yuehua kids had told him he liked Hanbin either.
But now Hanbin was tired of hiding, of stealing glances at each other, or pretending not to like him. Sung Hanbin had told him, in no uncertain terms, that he liked him.
Sung Hanbin. Liked him, Seok Matthew.
Matthew wanted to scream.
All that comes out of his mouth is a whispered, “All you said was that I was hot.”
Hanbin ignores him, face flaming.
Ah. Maybe Hanbin wasn’t ready to continue this conversation. Good, because neither was Matthew.
He has such pretty eyes .
This time, Matthew doesn’t tell himself to snap out of it. Yes, he’ll admit—him and Hanbin had always been closer than regular friends, a little more touchy and with a little less boundaries. And yes, Hanbin was his favourite person in the world to spend time with, and he looked forward to the pockets of time they had together.
But that didn’t mean anything; at least, not until he gave it actual thought.
Perhaps Hao and the Yuehua kids had a point. Would Matthew be adverse to the idea of a relationship with Hanbin? He doubts so. Would Matthew be adverse to the idea of people seeing them together? As long as it doesn’t affect his chances of debuting, Matthew doubts so too.
Would Matthew… be adverse to the idea of kissing Hanbin?
No , he decides , I won’t hate it. In fact, I’d like that very much .
Seok Matthew had always been a go-getter. He did things with a goal in mind, and rarely failed to achieve them. He had also never been someone who denied themselves little pleasures in life—after all, what’s life without bits of happiness?
He was, also, clumsy.
As he gets up, he nearly trips over the bucket, but it doesn’t stop him from taking a few wobbly steps toward Hanbin. His hands find the sides of Hanbin’s face (which was still extremely hot, both literally and metaphorically), and slowly turns Hanbin to look at him.
“Hanbin-hyung,” Matthew breathed gently, “I’m going to kiss you.”
It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.
And so he did.
Hanbin gasps quietly, a sound of both shock and disbelief, and returns the kiss. First hesitantly, then more confidently, until Matthew can no longer breathe.
Ah. So this is what first kisses felt like. Not the fireworks in movies, but the drab grey walls of an isolated corner of a janitor’s supply closet slash bathroom.
But regardless. Right person, right time, right place.
Matthew is so glad he decided to come on Boys Planet.
They break apart, and Matthew smiles, ducking his head.
“No, don’t,” Hanbin still looks as if he can’t believe what’s happening, “Look at me, Matthew. So… so you do like me?”
Really, Matthew thinks Hanbin may be stupid. If he didn’t like Hanbin, would he be initiating kisses? He thinks not. That might ruin the moment if he said it out loud, though.
“Yeah,” he says, slowly, “I think I do.”
By way of response, Hanbin kisses him again.
Matthew can’t get enough of taking in Hanbin again, not only as a best friend, but as more . The last piece of the puzzle had clicked into place, and as Matthew wrapped his arms around Hanbin again, he couldn't think of anything else he’d rather be doing.
“Hanbin-hyung, let’s debut together.”
“We will, Matthew. We’ll debut together, and then we’ll promote together, and we’ll be the best couple the entertainment industry has ever seen.”
Matthew wants to kiss Hanbin again, but to his great chagrin, someone’s banging on the door of the bathroom.
It’s Hao, “Guys, I really hope you’ve talked things out and kissed and made up or whatever, but you really need to come out. I am sick and tired of explaining to everyone who passes by why I’m sitting with Yujin and Seunghwan in a row outside a random door that’s peeling grey paint like a fucking homeless man!”
Matthew gives Hanbin an apologetic look, then makes to leave.
Hanbin stops him, “Wait.”
At Matthew’s quizzical expression, Hanbin slips his hand into Matthew’s, “Better now.”
Matthew bites his tongue, trying to keep his smile from splitting his face. This Hanbin, he could get used to.
“Hyungs, you better come out before Hao-hyung explodes,” Yujin calls from outside, “Gunwook-hyung just asked why he looked so depressed. Come out quick!”
“We’re coming!” “I’m gay!”
The door slams open.
“I know you’re fucking gay! And I know you’ve been sucking each other’s faces off for the past twenty fucking minutes, so get the fuck out and Seok Matthew, you better actually come along with me to practice and stop looking like some lovesick teenage girl! Stop staring off into space during practice!” Hao glares at Matthew, then rounds on Hanbin, “And you ! If I have to retake another PR video because you’re busy thinking about Matthew , I will castrate you.”
Hanbin throws his hands up without letting go of Matthew, “Woah, hyung, there’s no need to be so violent.”
Yujin looks at their joined hands with gritted teeth, “I hate seeing my friends happy.”
The walkie-talkie in Hao’s hand crackles, but it’s Ricky’s voice that comes out of it, “Have they gotten together?”
“Yeah,” Matthew responds in the general direction of Hao’s hand, “We have!”
“ABOUT FUCKING TIME,” Ollie roars on the other side.
“Congratulations,” Seunghwan smiles at them pleasantly (Matthew doesn’t recall him having been in on this, but since he was ½ of the people who had stuffed him into Hanbin’s arms, he supposes Seunghwan must’ve been a last-minute addition).
Hao pushes Matthew in the direction of the practice rooms, “Time to go. You’ll have more time later.” Muttering to himself now, he continued, “Can’t believe I brought these two blockheads together single-handedly . What am I, a god?”
“Maybe you are,” Matthew responds, “Thanks, Hao-hyung.”
“Ugh,” Hao rolls his eyes.
“Matthew, I’ll see you later!” Hanbin calls out from behind him, and Matthew feels another dizzying wave of happiness, “See you!”
“The two of you are disgusting and I am already regretting this,” Hao pokes Matthew’s shoulder harder than is strictly necessary, but Matthew’s too happy to care, “I can’t believe now I’ll have to live with Sung Hanbin entering our dorms whenever he wants to.”
“You orchestrated this yourself,” Matthew laughs lightly.
Hao sighs, smiling, “Yeah, I guess I did.”