Chapter Text
it had been about two weeks since keeho got to korea now, and he was finally settling into his life there. he had a couple friends now, spent most of his time at lunch with two of them, even making plans outside of that.
there was just one person he wanted to get closer with, jiung.
sure, they were good friends, but they never talked unless they were in class, plus, keeho was too nervous to just ask him for his phone number. he thought maybe it was a lost cause, and that he and jiung wouldn’t end up close in that way, until jiung asked him something that could change things.
“hey, do you wanna eat lunch with me?”
“you want me to eat lunch with you?”
“uhm, yea? and my other friends if that’s okay. I think you guys will get along. only if you want to, though, I wouldn't want to take you away from your other friends.”
“no! I mean… I would love to. my friends can eat without me, they wont mind anyways.”
he didn’t waste time, pulling out his phone to text soul and jongseob, letting them know he wouldn’t be meeting them for lunch today, saying he could explain next time they see each other. thankfully, they didn’t pry.
“okay, I texted them, they're cool with it.”
“okay. my friends are gonna pick up food, we can eat on campus.”
“sounds good.”
they finished the rest of their class, which basically consisted of music theory sheets and technical stuff. could be worse.
keeho was still unfamiliar with parts of the campus, especially as jiung led him to one of the far sides of the campus, enclosed with trees and some run down tables. it was almost pretty. the way jiung looked at peace, with the wind blowing through his hair in the natural light was even prettier.
jiung sat down at one of the wooden tables, slumping his bag in front of him and stretching his arms.
stop staring. sit down. sit down like any normal person would.
keeho took a deep breath before sitting down next to the other in an effort to get his eyes off him.
“is this where you guys always eat? It's pretty.”
jiung seemed to take in his surroundings before responding, “yeah, it's peaceful and there’s usually not many people around here anyways.”
“so you like nature?”
“you could say that. my friends don’t care as much where we eat, this spot is just special, you know?”
before keeho could respond, jiung’s phone lit up with a notification from taeyang.
T: dude sorry
T: the restaurant was super busy and were stuck in traffic
T: hope you don’t mind some alone time with your friend, might be a while
jiung seemed to get flustered by the last message, quickly responding saying something along the lines of ‘all good, see you soon.’ then closing his phone.
keeho gave him a questioning look, before asking
“was that your friend?”
“oh, yeah. they said they would be running kind of late…so it’s just us for now.”
jiung didn’t really understand why he felt so nervous, i mean besides the fact that he was more of an introvert than most people expect. but this was different, he’s known keeho for over a week now, and he has no problem being around him for class, even when he caught keeho’s gaze on him, almost like a predator stalking its prey.
the same gaze he felt on him, right now. the same gaze he couldnt help but meet with his own, causing keeho to quickly break eye contact, making them fall into a deathly awkward silence, both of their faces dusted pink.
keeho, per usual, was the first to speak, desperate to break the silence, and soon enough jiung’s friends, the same ones jongseob had mentioned.
“here, sorry if it's cold, I swear it's never that busy.”
they all grabbed their food and sat down as they began to eat. keeho could feel eyes on him before taeyang spoke.
“ji, want to introduce us?”
“oh yeah. taeyang and intak, this is keeho, keeho, these are my friends: taeyang and intak. taeyang’s a third year like us and intak’s a second year.”
keeho waved at the pair sitting across from them, “it’s nice to meet you guys, my friend was actually talking about you, taeyang.”
“sounds like they’re a fan.” taeyang joked.
“well, you know kim jongseob right? he’s in the same group as you”
“oh the bassist right? he seems nice.”
“he’s super cool, maybe I can introduce you guys sometime.”
“sure, that would be cool.”
the rest of lunch went smooth, good even. he felt like he got along well with jiung’s friends. which would definitely be helpful.
although, it didn’t seem like he would need to be close with his friends to win him over.
⊹ ࣪ ˖ ໒꒱
[1007_human has accepted your follow request.]
[1007_human has requested to follow you.]
took him long enough.
keeho obviously accepted the request, quickly typing a message to him.
K: hey jiungiee
K: why'd it take you so long to accept :(
J: hi keeho
J: how did you even find my account lol
J: I barely use this app sorry
and he wasn’t lying, he only had a handful of posts, his last post being over a few months ago.
K: I have my ways
J: whatever that means…
J: anyways whyd you follow me
K: cause we’re friends?
K: butttt
K: i was wondering if you would want to hang out
K: like just us, outside of school?
K: you can say no
J: hm, okay
J: where?
K: really? omg
K: you can choose
J: we can go to a shopping district?
we’ll have to take the bus though, I don’t have a car and i’m assuming you don’t either.
K: sounds good, does sunday afternoon work?
K: I’m so excited jiung
K: this is gonna be so much fun
K: you totally have to show me all the best shops, okay??
J: yea I’m free, and I can try lol
J: its kinda cute how excited you are
[jiung unsent a message]
K: it’s what?
J: nevermind.
keeho knew jiung knew he saw it, but he didn’t mention it again. they agreed to meet at the bus stop near jiung’s place, jiung sent him the address and wished him a goodnight.
⊹ ࣪ ˖ ໒꒱
keeho made sure he set an alarm, a little earlier than he normally would. he had to look good today. it was almost 1pm, a good two hours before he would be meeting jiung as he rolled himself out of his bed, taking a quick shower before picking an outfit.
it wasn’t drastically different than his typical style or outfits—a white band tee and a pair of dark wash jeans, accessorized with a couple necklaces and rings, and a silver studded belt around his waist. he discarded the idea of a jacket or a hat due to the heat, instead grabbing a pair of framed glasses.
he took a couple selfies of himself and began walking to the bus stop.
the bus ride wasn’t long, only about half an hour. it gave them time to catch up, keeho occasionally pulling up videos to show to the other. jiung explained that he made a basic itinerary for the day, listing several clothing stores, a cafe, and…a restaurant?
“are we getting dinner together?” keeho asked.
“well, yea? I figured if we came all the way here we should at least make the most of it. do you not want to? we can always change stuff.”
“no!” keeho exclaimed, completely forgetting that they were in public.
jiung raised an eyebrow at keeho, silently urging him to be quiet.
“sorry, I mean no, of course I want to get dinner with you…”
“good. it’s on me.”
“really? it’s almost like you’re taking me on a date.”
jiung ignored him, rolling his eyes a bit as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, looking up directions on his phone. he tried to hide the grin that was slowly creeping onto his face before talking again.
“we can get off at the next stop, there’s a few stores I think we should check out there.”
keeho agreed, pretending not to notice the pink on the others face.
jiung led them away from the main shops, to a smaller,more run down street, if it were night it might have seemed sketchy. they walked past a few shops before jiung stopped in front of one, a thrift store, definitely an underground spot.
jiung opened the door, prompting a ring inside the store. they both offered greetings to the shopkeepers before keeho made his way over to a rack of t-shirts. jiung joined him as he sorted through the tops, picking a couple to try on.
as he continued looking around the store, he realized jiungs lack of interest—or how he was pretty much just following him.
“aren’t you going to look around, jiung?” keeho questioned.
“ah.. most of this just isn’t really my style”
“its a thrift store, surely you can find something. plus, why did you bring me to a store you wouldn’t shop at?”
“I thought you would like it…”
“hm?”
“you said to show you all the best places, this place seemed your style so…”
keeho pulled jiung closer with his free arm, ruffling his hair between his fingers. “awee…jiung, were you trying to impress me?”
jiung scoffed, pushing the other off him. “shut up.”
keeho played along, “fine, but lets atleast find you something to try on too, ‘kay?”
they kept browsing for a little bit, keeho finding a couple things to try on, seeing jiung eye a jacket, specifically a black leather jacket, it would definitely be a little baggy on him, but keeho would die to see him in that.
“just try it on, staring at it isnt doing you any good.”
“I don’t know…”
“ugh.” keeho grabbed the jacket off the rack, pulling jiung by the wrist to the back of the store where the fittings rooms were located.
“was that really necessary?” jiung complained.
“yes? you’re literally the most stubborn person like, ever.”
“am not.”
“am too, now try it on.”
he complied, trying on the jacket as keeho slipped into the fitting room to try on his own items. when he came back out, he was met with the sight of jiung, actually wearing the jacket. and he was right, it looked good on him, it matched with his dark hair, almost making him look like a rockstar. keeho didn’t even notice he was staring until jiung spoke again.
“should I get it?” he asked.
“yeah, it looks really good on you.”
jiung didn’t respond immediately, readjusting the jacket, “you’re just saying that.”
“I mean it, it makes you look hot.”
keeho pulled his phone out, taking a few selfies of the two of them. jiung shot him a glance once he put his phone away.
“what? you need to post more anyways.”
⊹ ࣪ ˖ ໒꒱
jiung ended up buying the jacket.
they continued to walk the streets, occasionally stopping when a storefront caught their eye, or when they arrived at one of the shops jiung had scribbled down for their day out. they stopped at a cafe, getting drinks and taking a much needed break from walking.
after their day out, the headed to dinner. a nice looking hot pot place, you can’t really go wrong with hot pot.
the host greeted them, “hello! just two?”
“yep”
“okay, theres a short wait, about ten minutes if you dont mind waiting.”
“we’ll wait”
the two took a seat on a bench at the front of the restaurant as they waited, keeho draping an arm over jiung’s shoulders.
jiung didn’t move away from it.
“are you sure you wanna pay for dinner? I don't want it to be too expensive for you.” keeho asked,
“I don't mind, I said I would. just don’t order too much.”
“wow. you take me to hot pot and tell me not to order too much? who does that?” keeho joked.
“you’re the one who said you didn’t want it to be too expensive for me, aren’t you?”
“yeah yeah, but don’t worry, I’m very reasonable.”
jiung raised an eyebrow at the other, “you are?”
their laughter faded into silence, the sounds of the very public space making keeho feel more aware of his arm being wrapped around the other he retracted his arm, opting to pull out his phone and pretend to check it. jiung seemed a bit confused, but thankfully their name got called soon enough, breaking the awkwardness around them as they were shown to their table.
dinner was good, delicious even. after a long day of shopping it was a nice change of pace, to just enjoy each other's presence over a meal, chatting between bites of their food. they even ordered some wine, just enough to get them a little tipsy. they weren’t that irresponsible.
by the time they were done with their meal and on the way to the bus stop, the sun was already setting, the streets covered in a pinkish glow from the sunset. jiung took a photo, and keeho just watched him, the sunset was nothing compared to his friend's beauty.
it wasnt long before he found the other drifting asleep, his head resting on keehos shoulder. keeho forced himself awake, making sure to watch for their stop.
once it was their stop, keeho shook the other awake, “jiung, its our stop, we have to get off.”
“ugh.. keeho..”
“cmon, im walking you home.” keeho said, pretty much dragging the other with his free hand until they were off the bus.
“it’s too far, can I just stay at your place? I’m tired.”
“oh, yeah, that's fine, let's go.”
it was pretty dark out, mostly lit by the streetlights. it was a short walk to keeho’s apartment, and he quickly unlocked the door as they got there.
“sorry if it’s a mess, I wasn't expecting company.”
“I don’t mind.” he said, walking into the apartment. if anything, he was too tired to mind any mess.
keeho set their bags down onto the counter, “if you want my bed I can sleep on the couch, or you can take the couch.”
“you know we can just share the bed, right?
oh.