Chapter Text
At the surface level, Jonghyun’s life doesn’t suck. He has a stable job with a decent salary and an apartment to live in. He works an office job, sitting in front of a computer analyzing company data from nine to five, Monday through Friday. On the weekends he stays in and binge watches anime. It’s been like this ever since he graduated college two years ago and joined the company. He doesn’t have any substantial reason to complain about life. He has a stable salary, a decent place to live, and parents and sisters who love him. He has a set rhythm and routine. His social life is lacking, but one can’t have everything.
In his youth Jonghyun thought his life would be different, but his frivolous childhood aspirations withered away like autumn leaves when he entered college. He chose to take the stable, certainty of a business major and forget the unattainable, ephemeral aspirations in his heart. He gave them up and never looked back. It’s better to be realistic. And for the past two years he has lived in the mundane stability this path has given him, locking memories of his old wishes and dreams deep inside where they will melt away and disappear. Not brave enough to try, he kept trudging down the path he had chosen for himself.
~
“Hey Jonghyun, wanna get lunch?” asks Hwang Minhyun, who works at the desk across from Jonghyun’s.
“Sure,”Jonghyun replies. “It’s about time for lunch break and I’m getting hungry.” Minhyun smiles dazzlingly at him. Since Minhyun joined the company a year ago eating lunch with him has become part of Jonghyun’s routine. Minhyun is calm and collected and never asks probing questions about Jonghyun’s personal life. He’s easy to be around and Jonghyun never feels pressured. Jonghyun is getting up from his desk and turning towards the company break room when Minhyun says something unexpected.
“Let’s go out to a restaurant instead of just eating in the break room today.”
Jonghyun freezes for a moment. Minhyun has never deviated from their pattern before. They go to the break room, eat, talk about safe topics, like their coworkers or the weather, and then go back to work. That’s all they’ve ever done.
“Even though we never use all of it, company policy is an hour and a half lunch break.” Minhyun’s calm, steady voice interrupts Jonghyun’s moment of uncertainty. “It’s not like we’ll be in danger of coming back late, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“R-right.” Jonghyun agrees, seeing no reason to object. “Let’s go.”
Despite working in the same building for three years Jonghyun hasn’t tried any of the nearby restaurants. He prefers to bring his own lunch and not risk accidently ordering something that has tomatoes and offending the cook when he doesn’t finish his food. He also doesn’t like going to crowded restaurants and eating alone amidst the other happily chatting customers. Those aren’t really excuses he can give Minhyun though.
He follows blindly as Minhyun walks towards a small restaurant a block away from their company. When they get inside only a few of the tables are occupied leaving Jonghyun and Minhyun free to take a table in an area where they won’t be awkwardly close to anyone else. Minhyun has clearly been here before and orders almost immediately. Jonghyun stare blankly at the menu. He knows that the waitress and Minhyun will expect him to make a decision, but under pressure the items on the menu blur together before his eyes and he has no idea what to order.
“And what would you like?” the watress asks Jonghyun in a voice full of service industry curtesy.
“Uhh…” Jonghyun continues to stare at the menu, still unsure what to order. He wants to disappear. This is why he never goes to restaurants. What will Minhyun think of him now that he knows Jonghyun doesn’t have the social skills even to do something as simple as order food? He’ll have to eat alone from now on, Minhyun won’t want to talk to him after this…
“I think you’d like that one,” Minhyun’s voice breaks through his thoughts, pointing at an item on the menu. Jonghyun blinks as he feels his heart calm down a little. He mindlessly nods without really looking at what Minhyun is suggesting.
“I’ll have… that one.” He answers awkwardly, still not really looking the waitress in the eye. The waitress walks off and Jonghyun feels himself relax a little now that the interaction is over.
“Don’t worry,” Minhyun assures him. “It doesn’t have tomatoes.”
“How did you…” Jonghyun fumbles for words, dumbstruck by the fact that Minhyun knows this quirk in his eating habits.
“The food you pack for yourself never has tomatoes,” Minhyun explains. “And there was that one time you accidentally grabbed Jaehwan’s BLT sandwich instead of your own; you made a face when you bit into it and spit out your bite into the trash.”
Jonghyun scratches the back of his head in embarrassment. “I didn’t think anyone would notice.” He mutters awkwardly.
Minhyun lets out a little giggle. “Don’t worry,” he assures Jonghyun. “I don’t think anybody else did.”
When the food arrives, Jonghyun isn’t disappointed; Minhyun somehow knows his taste. Despite his initial apprehension at breaking out of his routine, he finds doing something different for once kind of nice. Even though the atmosphere is different, Minhyun is still easy to talk to. Their conversation is as pleasant and non-stressful as ever until Minhyun steers the flow of words onto previously uncharted territory.
“I’m going to go see my friend’s dance performance this weekend,” Minhyun says casually. Dance performance. It’s been a long time since Jonghyun thought about dancing. Before college, dancing consumed Jonghyun’s life, not that he was ever very good. It’s been six years since he last set foot in a dance studio. He’s probably forgotten everything.
“You should come with me.” Minhyun continues. Jonghyun feels himself jump a little in alarm. Go to a dance performance with Minhyun. This sort of thing should be easy, he likes Minhyun, and he likes dancing. There isn’t a reason Jonghyun should be hesitating, yet Jonghyun is hesitating. What would it be like, to watch other people on the stage he once loved some much, after years of living his day to day office job without thinking about the past? Jonghyun doesn’t want to face it, he can’t face it-
“It’s okay if you’re busy,” Minhyun tells, gazing at him in concern. “I just thought it would be fun to hang out outside of the office. It’s totally okay if you don’t want to!”
“N-no, it’s not that!” Jonghyun doesn’t want Minhyun to misunderstand him. Minhyun is the closest thing Jonghyun has to a friend. “I… I’ll go!” Jonghyun says before he can stop himself.
“Great!” A smile breaks across Minhyun’s face. “The performance is Saturday night, does that work for you?” Jonghyun nods. “Great! Give me your number and I’ll text you the details later!” Minhyun says handing Jonghyun his phone. Jonghyun punches his number into Minhyun’s contacts, hands shaking. What has he gotten himself into?
If Jonghyun hadn’t been so preoccupied worrying about his former passion abruptly re-entering his life, he might have noticed how Minhyun’s smile never left his face for the rest of the day.
~
Jonghyun spends Saturday as he always does: staying in and watching anime. He can’t seem to focus on the plot of any of the episodes though, his mind keeps straying to his plans for the evening. He becomes so preoccupied he doesn’t even know what he’s watching.
Anxiety isn’t Jonghyun’s only emotion. He’s genuinely happy to be doing something with Minhyun outside of work. It’s been a long time since he’s done anything apart from staying in alone and catching up on sleep and the latest anime during the weekends. He hasn’t had any regular social interaction since college. If he doesn’t mess this up, Minhyun might even want to be his friend and hang out with him outside of work more often. Jonghyun can’t mess this up. He can’t mess this up.
Jonghyun is messing this up. He meets Minhyun in front of the restaurant Minhyun texted him ten minutes later than the time they agreed on because he has trouble finding it. He apologies profusely and Minhyun just smiles and says it’s not an issue. Jonghyun feels underdressed, he thought this would be a casual thing so he just wore a baggy old hoodie. Minhyun, on the other hand, is looking handsome in a crisp button up.
“Should I have dressed nicer?” Jonghyun asks anxiously.
“What your wearing is fine,” Minhyun assures him. “It’s not like it’s a formal event or anything.”
Minhyun lead him to a bar in the nicer part of town, which is evidently where is friends are performing. When Jonghyun reaches for his wallet to pay the entry fee, Minhyun stops him and pays for him. Jonghyun feels guilty for making Minhyun spend money on him. They settle down at a table with a good view of the stage and Minhyun orders them a few drinks to enjoy as they wait for the performance to start. Minhyun pays again and Jonghyun continues to feel guilty.
“I’m sorry that you’re spending money on me.” He tells Minhyun. “I’ll pay you back later, I promise.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Minhyun tells him. “I’m doing it because I want to.”
Jonghyun doesn’t believe him.
Jonghyun hasn’t been to a bar since college, and even then the atmosphere made him feel awkward and uncomfortable. Even though Minhyun, who usually makes him feel calm, is beside him, he feels tense in the dimly lit room, surrounded by people chatting, drinking, and having a good time. The twenty minutes during which they sit waiting for the performance to start feels like twenty hours to Jonghyun. His leg bounce under the table, shaking with nervous energy. When the lights dim and an MC announces that the performance is about to start, Jonghyun feels relieved to having something to focus on apart from his anxiousness.
Minhyun’s friend’s dance crew is impressive. Both group pieces and solo performances are cleanly executed without a single mistake that Jonghyun can see. When a confident, bright-eyed man with black hair takes the stages to perform a solo popping piece, Minhyun leans over to Jonghyun and whispers “That’s my friend Seongwoo” in his ear. Jonghyun is impressed. Watching dancing is more enjoyable than he thought it would be. Thoughts of the past don’t invade his mind when he watches Seongwoo complete a complicated sequence of popping moves. Maybe he can appreciate dance even though he’s left his passion for doing it himself in the past.
When the performance finishes, Minhyun takes Jonghyun to meet his friend and his friend’s dance crew. Jonghyun feels nervous at the idea of meeting new people, but their performance was genuinely impressive and he’d like to tell them so.
“Hi, I’m Kim Jonghyun,” Jonghyun introduces himself to Seongwoo and the rest of the dance crew. “Your performance was really great.”
“Thanks!” Seongwoo tells him. “I’m Ong Seongwoo, not Hong-“
“I’m sure he heard you correctly the first time.” Minhyun interrupts him, half amused, half annoyed. Minhyun pats Seongwoo on the back with a warm smile and congratulates him on his performance.
All the members of Seongwoo’s dance crew introduce themselves to Jonghyun and he greets them, failing to make eye contact with the majority of them. Once all the greetings are done Jonghyun just stands there awkwardly listening to Minhyun chat with his friends, unable to join the conversation due to his lack of social skills. After a few minutes Jonghyun catches Minhyun’s eye and motions that he’s going to the restroom. Jonghyun doesn’t actually need to go, he just wants an excuse to get away from facing his failure at socializing for a few minutes.
Jonghyun sits in the cubicle, head on his arms, eyes squeezed tight shut. With his shoulders covering his ears muffling the sounds of the bar outside, he can almost pretend that he’s back in his quiet apartment, safe, with nothing to worry about. He tries to breathe slowly and deeply, tries to calm his frantic heartbeat. Everything is fine. Everything is fine. Everything is fine. He can’t stay in the bathroom for too long though, or Minhyun might start to wonder. But he’s with his actual friends now, so he’s probably already forgotten that Jonghyun came here with him. He doesn’t need Jonghyun’s company. He probably asked Jonghyun to hang out with him tonight just because he noticed that Jonghyun never talks to anyone and pitied him. Hwang Minhyun would never, in any universe, want to be friends with someone as boring as Jonghyun. Jonghyun should have realized that Minhyun invited him here out of pity and turned him down…
When Jonghyun is a little calmer and feels like he shouldn’t hide in the bathroom any longer he exits the cubicle and starts making his way back to the main stage area. He’s about to exit the hallway leading the from the performance area to the bathroom when he feels someone tap his shoulder.
“Kim Jonghyun?” A voice from a different, long gone time in Jonghyun’s life calls out to him. Jonghyun turns and is faced by a man with sharp features and short brown hair.
“Choi Minki?” Jonghyun says in wonder, staring into the face of his high school class mate. Minki has changed, he no longer sports the eye-catching long blond hair and bold fashion he had in high school. He’s still very well groomed though, if a bit more refined in style. He breaks into a smile as Jonghyun says his name.
“It is you!” Minki exclaims. “It’s been forever! How are you? What do you now?”
“I’m okay,” Jonghyun answers, taken aback by Minki’s excitement. “Just working a boring office job, paying my bills, living life.”
Minki raises his eyebrows at Jonghyun. “I’m surprised I didn’t see you on the stage. I remember watching your performances back in school, you were amazing! I thought you’d become a professional dancer for sure!”
“I was only decent at learning choreography from other people, I was never any good at free styling or making my own choreography.” Jonghyun replies, fighting to keep his voice from shaking, hoping that Mink won’t press the subject further.
“So? No one’s perfect, you were still probably the best in the dance club.” Minki presses. “You’re still dancing on the side at least right?”
“Er…” Jonghyun hesitates before spitting out the truth. “I don’t dance anymore.”
“I never thought I’d meet a Kim Jonghyun that doesn’t dance.” Minki says shaking his head a little. Jonghyun forces himself to keep smiling. “I need to find my friend I came here with, but give me your number, we should catch up sometime!”
Not wanting to argue, Jonghyun wordlessly adds his phone number into Minki’s phone. After Minki snatches his phone back and disappears into the crowd, Jonghyun continues standing frozen at the end of the bathroom hall way. I never thought I’d meet a Kim Jonghyun that doesn’t dance. Minki’s words echo in his head. Jonghyun doesn’t go back and find Minhyun. He takes a taxi back to his apartment and buries himself in his bedcovers for the rest of the weekend.
~
On Sunday Minhyun texts Jonghyun and apologizes for losing him at the bar on Saturday night. Jonghyun texts back telling him it was fine, and not to worry about it. One Monday Jonghyun can’t bring himself to leave the safety of his apartment so he calls in sick to work. His interaction with Minki keeps replaying itself in his mind.
I can’t imagine a Kim Jonghyun that doesn’t dance.
I thought you’d become a professional dancer.
Jonghyun had dreamed of becoming a professional dancer back when he was still young and idealistic. Dance was his everything back then. His high school self would never have imagined living the life he lives today. His high school self was selfish, thinking only of his own enjoyment when he envisioned his future. His mother’s words ring in his head.
“It’s hard to make it as a professional dancer, Jonghyun. I’ll always support you whatever you do, but if you decide to follow that path you need to be prepared for what will come if you don’t succeed. You might end up working two jobs on the side just to support yourself chasing that dream. No matter how hard you work at it and how determined you are, there’s no guarantee of success.”
Jonghyun, whose parents have always given him everything he could need, supported him and his sisters in every way, couldn’t bear to ask them for more. Raising a third child has been hard enough on them, and Jonghyun couldn’t let himself fail and end up living off his parents because he was unable make enough money and support himself like an adult. He didn’t want to become anymore of a financial burden to his family than he already was, so he chose the safe options and went to college, leaving dancing behind and not looking back. His parents still had to help him pay tuition for college, and Jonghyun felt guilty even though he knew they were relatively financially stable. He doesn’t deserve their support. Jonghyun remembers the feel of the wind in his hair and stared up into the sky from the roof of his family’s apartment building, contemplating life the day before he left for college. If only he wasn’t such a coward.
~
Jonghyun’s ringtone interrupts the silence of his apartment around noon. He jumps in surprise and fumbles for his phone and picks up without looking at who it is.
“Hello?”
“Jonghyun? It’s Minhyun, are you okay? The boss said you called in sick.” Minhyun’s worried voice emulates through Jonghyun’s cellphone
“I’ll be fine,” Jonghyun tells him, trying to change his voice to sound sick.
“Are you sure?” Minhyung asks. “I’m sad that I don’t have anyone to eat lunch with today. Do you want me to bring you some medicine after work? Is there anything you need?”
“N-no,” Jonghyun says quickly, panicking and afraid Minhyun will catch him in his lie. “I’m fine, Minhyun. Really.”
“If you say so.” Minhyun says, not sounding convinced. “You’ll be back tomorrow, right?”
“Of course.” Jonghyun assures him, resigning himself to leaving the safety of his apartment the next day. “You don’t need to worry about me. Go eat lunch.”
“Good bye, Jonghyun. See you tomorrow! Get well soon!”
“Bye.” Jonghyun says quietly before hanging up.
~
Minhyun greets Jonghyun with a megawatt smile when Jonghyun comes into work and settles himself at his desk the next day. The cloud of Jonghyun’s weekend funk seems to melt away before the warmth in Minhyun’s eyes. He feels light and all of the projects he’s responsible for seem to go quicker and more smoothly that day. He keeps catching Minhyun’s eye throughout the day, practically every time he looks up from his computer screen. They spend lunch break together, as usual, and Jonghyun listens to Minhyun chatter about his friends and what happened at the bar after Jonghyun left.
“And then Woojin randomly decided to practice judo-flipping on Jihoon and the staff thought they were actually fighting and made us leave.” Minhyun tells Jonghyun animatedly. “I hope they don’t stop inviting the dance crew to perform there because of it,” Minhyun continues. “Although, if I was them I would have kicked them out a long time ago for the way Seongwoo and Daniel get when they drink after performances.”
“How do they get?” Jonghyun asks.
“They can’t keep their hands off each other.” Minhyun explains. “It’s a whole new level of PDA, even time I witness it I want to wash my eyes out.”
Jonghyun giggles. He’s starting to wish that he had stayed at the bar with Minhyun instead of running home after his interaction with Minki. Minhyun’s friends seem like nice people. He would probably have just been an outsider in their midst though, unable to really be part of their fun… Maybe it’s better that he left early, Minhyun probably wouldn’t have had as much fun if he had to worry about Jonghyun.
“I’m going to check out a new café that opened up near my place with Seongwoo and Daniel this weekend,” Minhyun says. “You should come with us!”
Jonghyun freezes. Why is Minhyun inviting him to hang out outside of work when he was so boring to be around the last time? He doesn’t understand. Why does Minhyun have to make so much effort to be nice to him?
“I promise Seongwoo and Daniel won’t get weird,” Minhyun assures him, seemingly assuming that Jonghyun’s hesitation is because of that. “There won’t be any alcohol in the equation so there isn’t any chance of that.” When Jonghyun is still unresponsive, Minhyun changes tact. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” Minhyun tells him. “I just though last weekend was fun, so maybe we could… hang out more?”
“O-okay,” Jonghyun answers, not sure how to read the situation. “I’ll come.”
~
On Thursday night, Jonghyun’s phone buzzes and he sees that he has a message notification. Assuming it’s an update from Minhyun about their plans for the weekend, he quickly opens it.
Hey, Jonghyun. It’s Minki.
Are you free Saturday? If you have time let’s catch up.
Jonghyun should have expected Minki to reach out to him like he said he was going to. He’s genuinely appreciative that Minki is going out of his way to try to hang out with him, but to Jonghyun Minki belongs to a part of his life that he’s locked away deep in his soul and doesn’t want to revisit. He doesn’t need another reminder of what his life used to be compared to what it is now. He does save Minki’s number in his phone though. Maybe someday he’ll be ready to open that door again and accept what he’s become. He texts Minki back:
Sorry, have plans this weekend.
Maybe another time.
Jonghyun lays back on his bed and gazes at the ceiling for a moment before closing his eyes. It’s easy for him to pretend he’s in a different time and place when he closes his eyes. He can travel back to a day in high school when he lay sprawled out like this after a tiring dance practice. He can go back to the day he decided to go to a college renowned for their business program, without a single art related major. He had laid on his bed for a long time that day too, before he finally went up to the roof… It’s no good for him to be thinking about past failure now though.
Jonghyun switched off his bedside lamp and tries to fall asleep.
~
The new café near Minhyun’s apartment has a cozy, home-like atmosphere. Inside there are comfy couches and arm chairs, there’s also a porch with a few tables for outdoor seating, one of which is occupied by a ginger cat. Upon arriving they spend a good five minutes waiting for Daniel to finish petting the cat before Seongwoo urges Minhyun and Jonghyun to go in, order and find seating while he waits for Daniel. Jonghyun is opening his mouth to say that they don’t mind waiting, but Minhyun grabs his arm lightly and ushers him inside before the words can escape his lips.
Apart from a few busy looking students leaning over their laptops in concentration, the café is pretty much empty. After ordering drinks from the spacey-looking barista, they settle themselves on a couch by a table in the corner.
“I like it here,” Jonghyun tells Minhyun. “The atmosphere is relaxing.”
“Yeah?” Minhyun replies, looking at Jonghyun with a smile and a look in his eyes that Jonghyun can’t decipher. “My apartment is a block away, so maybe you could hang out with me more as an excuse to come here.”
Jonghyun giggles, unsure of how to reply. Is Minhyun flirting with him? He must be reading this wrong.
“Maybe.” Jonghyun replies.
By the time Seongwoo and Daniel join them Jonghyun and Minhyun’s drinks have already arrived. The couple plot themselves down across from Jonghyun and Minhyun and then, after a moment of deliberation Daniel gets up to order their drinks. As soon as he’s gone, Seongwoo sighs in exasperation.
“The only reason Daniel agreed to leave the cat was because a bug flew by and scared him.” Seongwoo explains. “Once he sees a cat there’s no controlling him.”
Even though Seongwoo seems frustrated with his boyfriend on the surface, Jonghyun catches the affection behind the scolding. Jonghyun smiles to himself as he listens Seongwoo continue his tirade.
“…Last year I took him to a cat café for his birthday and we lost our reservation at the restaurant I booked for dinner because Daniel wouldn’t leave until the café made us go because it was time for it to close! I mean, it was his birthday so I didn’t really mind because that’s what he wanted, but still!” Seongwoo continues to go on about Daniel’s excessive passion for felines. Jonghyun is glad that so far he’s been able to just listen to Seongwoo talk without having to actually contribute to the conversation. It’s easy to listen to Seongwoo and this way he doesn’t have to bore Seongwoo and Minhyun with his lackluster conversation skills. Unfortunately, it doesn’t remain that way.
“So Jonghyun,” Seongwoo says suddenly. Jonghyun lurches and quickly swallows the sip of coffee he just took. “I barely got to talk to you last weekend. Tell me about yourself, I want to get to know Minhyun’s cr-” Seongwoo pauses in response to a sharp look from Minhyun. “Co-worker.” He finishes.
“I’m nothing special.” Jonghyun tells him. “Just an average boring office worker.”
“You’re definitely above average,” Minhyun cuts in. “Don’t sell yourself short, you’re the most diligent person in our department!” Jonghyun’s ears feel uncomfortably warm.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure you can’t be more boring than Minhyun.” Seongwoo assures him. Minhyun looks slightly offended. “What do you do outside of work though? Any hobbies?”
“N-not really.” Jonghyun answers nervously. “Just stay home and watch movies and stuff.”
“What kind of movies?” Seongwoo asks him. Jonghyun hesitates, not wanting to admit that by movies he means anime. Seongwoo, evidently, takes his hesitation to mean something else. “Adult movies?” He asks, wiggling his eyebrows at Jonghyun.
“N-no!” Jonghyun replies strongly. “…I like watching anime.” He admits, seeing no way out of it. Seongwoo bursts out laughing.
“Calm, collected, professional office worker Kim Jonghyun is actually a huge nerd!” Seongwoo exclaims once he manages to stop laughing. “No wonder my dork friend likes you so much,” Seongwoo continues. Minhyun clenches a napkin in his hand, staring at Seongwoo with an expression that makes Jonghyun think he’s going to shove it into Seongwoo’s mouth. “Minhyun’s made me watch transformers with me five times! He’s doesn’t exactly have sophisticated taste!”
Minhyun is about to open his mouth to rebuke Seongwoo in some way when Seongwoo and Daniel’s drinks arrive. Jonghyun watches as Minhyun blinks in confusing.
“How come your drinks arrived, but Daniel never came back from ordering?” Minhyun asks.
“I’ll go find him.” Seongwoo says, nonplussed, and gets up to look for his boyfriend.
“He comes on a little strong.” Minhyun tells Jonghyun once Seongwoo is out of earshot. “I’m sorry if he said anything that made you uncomfortable. The part about- ”
“It’s fine.” Jonghyun assures Minhyun. “I’m not uncomfortable or anything. He’s a funny person.”
Minhyun smiles, evidently reassured. “Just don’t let him hear you say that.” Minhyun tells him. “He compliments himself enough already.”
“Note taken.” Jonghyun says laughing.
It turns out that Daniel discovered another cat sleeping next to the register and has been petting it the entire time. Seongwoo tells them to leave first as they’ve already finished their drinks and if they wait for Daniel they’ll be there all day.
“Do you, uh, want to come over to my place?” Minhyun shyly asks Jonghyun as they exit the café. “I have some anime DVDs we could watch if you want.”
“Alright.” Jonghyun agrees without hesitation. If he went home he’d just end up watching anime by himself anyway. He’s not going to pass up an opportunity to spend more time with Minhyun.
~
Minhyun’s apartment is modest, neat and impeccably clean. It’s a standard one bedroom apartment very similar to Jonghyun’s own, but by the power of Minhyun’s housekeeping abilities it feels a lot nicer than Jonghyun’s. Jonghyun settles himself on Minhyun’s sofa and watches awkwardly as Minhyun looks through his DVDs, setting aside the anime ones.
“What do you want to watch?” Minhyun asks, laying the DVDs out in front of Jonghyun. Jonghyun thinks for a minute before responding.
“Hmmm… Maybe Pokemon? I’m in the mood to see something classic” Jonghyun decides. Minhyun smiles and nods, putting the other DVDs back on the shelf.
“Do you want popcorn or anything before we start watching?” Minhyun asks.
“I don’t want to trouble you.” Jonghyun tells him.
“It’s not troubling me, I’d be eating it too,” Minhyun tells him.
“Okay then,” Jonghyun says with an awkward giggle. “I’d like popcorn.”
Minhyun disappears to the kitchen for a few minutes, leaving Jonghyun to sit waiting in the living room as he prepares the popcorn. Jonghyun takes the time to glance around Minhyun’s living room. He doesn’t dare move around and touch anything for fear that he could mess up the perfect organization of the room. Apart from the couch by the TV that Jonghyun is currently sitting at, there’s a table and chair in the far corner which is presumably where Minhyun usually eats. There are a few photos on the walls, some of which show Minhyun with Seongwoo and his other friends. On the coffee table there is an action figure of Optimus Prime which makes Jonghyun smile, remembering Seongwoo’s earlier remark. When Minhyun comes back, Jonghyun hastily stops looking around, not wanting to seem creepy. Minhyun puts a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table, starts the DVD and sits down beside Jonghyun.
It’s different watching Anime with someone by his side. At first, Jonghyun is hyper-aware of Minhyun, but he finds himself calming down after a few minutes. He likes listening to Minhyun’s occasional comment on the show ever so often, and he even finds himself pointing out things to Minhyun that he thinks Minhyun will find interesting.
“It looks like you.” Minhyun says as a trainer brings out wartortle. Jonghyun looks at him quizzically.
“Does he?” Jonghyun squints at the TV, trying to see the resemblance.
“Not the trainer, silly,” Minhyun clarifies. “The wartortle.”
“What?” Jonghyun says, even more confused.
“You have the same smile,” Minhyun explains. He starts to reach up towards Jonghyun’s lips but quickly thinks better of it and draws his hand back. Jonghyun hums and reaches for more popcorn.
A few minutes later, when the popcorn bowl is empty and Jonghyun’s hand rests unoccupied by his side, he feels Minhyun’s fingers hesitantly brush his before gently in closing his hand. Vaguely surprised, he glances up at Minhyun.
“Is this… okay?” Minhyun asks him with unsureness in his eyes. Jonghyun doesn’t trust himself with words, so he just blinks and nods. Minhyun clutches his hand tighter.