Chapter Text
sunday, july 11th 2088
[ 09:02 ]
now, jae could’ve gotten a double-shot latte directly from his worn-out couch back in his flat, but sungjin had kicked him out of the house with a lecture, saying something about - in his exact words - “always lounging at home; i know we have food delivery but get some sunshine, you’re fucking pale” - thus enter jae, flanked out in an oversized sweater and ripped jeans despite the sunshine gleaming down the skylines of seoul.
as he walks into the shop, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee fills his lungs, lingering in the air of the dimly lit coffeehouse. barely anyone is in the shop; those who are sat at the scrubbed pine tables tap away at their computers or stare out the window - though jae knows better.
the cashier at the counter greets jae courteously with a smile, her eyes hidden behind orange contact lenses.
jae readjusts his gold-rimmed glasses. @idratherbesleepingrn, rania kim, 19 years old, just finished her college exams, working to save up for 2 concerts in november.
@idratherbesleepingrn welcome to coffeebrew! i’ll be taking your order today. just enter your drink :)
with a quick glimpse at the counter, a screen lights up immediately, the choices displayed as icons with their names shown underneath each image. jae doesn’t blink as he taps twice on latte, then clicks the option for double-shot. the price appears in bold numbers at the top: $8.90. with that, jae pulls his wallet out, handing over a ten to the lady.
@idratherbesleepingrn would you like a receipt with this?
@chickenlittle_jae nope
the cashier nods, before calculating the change and handing it to jae.
@idratherbesleepingrn thank you! your drink will be ready in 3mins
she grins, and as jae turns to sit next to the window, he hears the coffee machine behind her whir to life.
ding! 1 new message from sungjean
jae slumps into a seat looking out at seoul, puzzled as to why sungjin is texting him. he blinks twice.
sungjean did you get your coffee?
jaelittle just ordered
sungjean oh
sungjean cos wonpil and dowoon want coffee too
jaelittle tf
jaelittle we have directfood for a reason
sungjean oh
sungjean oh yeah
jaelittle tsk
jaelittle ur so 2050
sungjean shaddup
jae sighs, removing his glasses from his eyes, momentarily stunned for a while. shit, he forgot to turn off the night filter on his spectacles after scrolling through youtube yesterday, no wonder. he rubs his eyes furiously, changes the settings on his glasses before putting them back on.
maybe he should explain why he doesn’t wear contact lenses like the other people currently in the coffeehouse: because his eyes get red and itchy from the lenses, and also. he likes human interaction. ever since the new cultured technology of communication took the world for a revolution, streets were short of people, more went out of employment, less actual, physical talking took place.
the fact that you just needed to blink once, twice, or thrice, look left, right and a few other features to take you through a virtual world has always been viewed as skeptical by the older generations - jae gets it. no talking, just direct messages you saw as pop-up text bubbles on people through your lenses.
like a comic book.
jae, a radio producer for the silent studio segment of his company’s radio station, has always favoured human talking rather than virtual interaction, always. but ever since the younger generations began at this new revolution of communication, he’s been forced into this new technology, too.
ding! 1 new dm from @idratherbesleepingrn
@idratherbesleepinrn your order is ready for pick-up!
jae scrambles to his feet and shuffles over to the pick-up counter, his sneakers squeaking against the marble tiled floor. another person is stood at the counter, and jae almost drops his coffee cup at the sight of him.
he’s gorgeous .
as casually as possible, jae pretends to fix his glasses, instead clicking a tiny button on the rim of his specs to take a quick picture. right at that moment, the boy turns to him, dark eyes staring right at jae, and jae almost screams from surprise.
“h-hey,” jae suddenly blurts out. (he completely forgets about the direct message feature. dang it.)
surprisingly, the stranger grins. “hey,” he answers back, his voice baritone, smiling.
holy shit.
jae stutters over his words, trying to choose the right ones to form a new sentence. he tries once, twice, (“i-i um you look-”) before rushing right out of the door, leaving the stranger and @idratherbesleepingrn in the dust - staring in confusement.
_______________
[ 09:24 ]
the instance jae arrives home - he ignores all notifs from sungjin as to why he’s run past the kitchen like a triathlete, and hurriedly turns down all invites from wonpil and dowoon to come join them in the living room and play league of legends - he rushes into his bedroom in a blur, flops himself down across his bed and opens his photo gallery.
the stranger is drop-dead gorgeous, and jae has to recheck that he isn’t some celebrity, because god . his hair matches his eyes - a dark colour; since when was dark brown so captivating? - which glimmer brightly. high cheekbones, warm smile, pretty dimples… shit, jae’s a sucker for dimples. broad shoulders, framed by a short-sleeved shirt wrapped perfectly around biceps, and full hips.
wow. wow .
jae glances left for his background information (maybe he can send him a text? maybe) when he realises with a rather dull throb that the stranger’s profile is kept private, only revealing his username: @foxeye
he frowns, taking note of the lock icon over the direct message option. sighing deeply, he takes his glasses off and rubs his eyes. i should’ve just continued where we left off then , jae thinks, regret filling his heart.
as he wears his glasses back on, his lens lights up. ding! 1 new message from fantastic four
fantastic four
sleep pill jaehyungie~ come join us for lol !!
sleep pill its no fun without you :’)
dowin yeah hyung come join us
dowin ignore my contact name :)))
evil papa you 2 just want to beat jaehyung
sleep pill no
dowin no
jae grins.
jaelittle pshh nah
jaelittle feelin out of it today :)
sleep pill nuu TT what happened hyung
evil papa did something happen
evil papa @ coffeebrews
evil papa ?
evil papa i mean you ran past me jn
sleep pill ooOOOH
dowin sneaky
jaelittle yo
jaelittle it ain’t like that
dowin isnt that what you say
dowin like whenever you lie
sleep pill yeah
sleep pill like that time rmb u were dating joshie
jaelittle don’t you dARE
dowin oh yeAH
jaelittle bring it up
sleep pill and when we saw u 2 tgt
sleep pill you said it aint like that too
dowin and then two days later
dowin we saw yall on the couch
dowin omg im still scarred
sleep pill nasty
evil papa kids
evil papa wonpil dont say that
evil papa dowoon dont even THINK about then
evil papa youre still a child
jaelittle i beg to differ
jaelittle they’re of legal age y’know sungjin
evil papa under my roof they arent
jaelittle anywaaaaays
jaelittle nothing happened
evil papa so explain to me
evil papa why did you leave your latte in kitchen
evil papa it’s getting cold
jaelittle fUCK
evil papa AH HAH
evil papa meeting @ the kitchen now
evil papa + 5 bucks in the swear jar pls
_______________
[ 09:54 ]
“so,” sungjin claps his hands together, closing his eyes for five seconds to deactivate his lenses, before opening them and grinning at the other three. “this is a code j meeting this morning-”
“-why did y’all label me as code j ?” jae groans, exasperated. he’s certainly not looking forward to having to relay his latest (failed) human interaction with a stranger in a public area.
from opposite the table, wonpil and dowoon yawn simultaneously, before turning to face each other. “jinx! jinx!” “you owe me a-” “-sprite!” dowoon finishes proudly, chest puffing up like a proud little rooster. jae has to refrain himself from rolling his eyes at his younger friends.
beside jae, sungjin sighs softly. “you know why we’re here: our daily morning interaction, starting with figuring out what jae encountered this morning,” sungjin announces all too cheerfully, like a commentator at a winning football match, his eyes shining - or maybe it’s his dark grey contact lenses.
“it’s seriously nothing, man-”
“-really?” wonpil counters, a smirk forming its way across his boxy face. “then explain this.” with that, he winks at the screen, framed on the kitchen wall behind jae and sungjin. the screen comes to life, and a video plays.
“wait-” jae glares at wonpil. “you hijacked my glasses? you little shi-”“-technically,” dowoon interrupts, his voice cracking slightly. “we’ve all got access to each other’s lenses, if you’ve forgotten.”
“for god’s sake,” jae mutters irately under his breath, trying his best to cower under his thick sweatshirt as the video plays: it’s from jae’s point of view, glancing at the pick-up counter, taking up the coffee cup… and glimpsing at said stranger.
“ oh ,” the three of them say in unison, awed by the stranger’s presence.
from beside jae, sungjin murmurs, “who is that ?”
“he looks really pretty, hyung,” dowoon remarks, who receives a jab in the ribs from wonpil. wincing, the youngest glances over at his boyfriend. “you too, pirrie,” he adds, guilty.
the video shows the exact moment when his glasses snapshot the picture, and the pair of them burst into peals of laughter; sungjin forces a stoned expression on his face but can’t seem to shove away the grin breaking across his face. he eventually chuckles, and the background of laughter from the two younger boys reverberates throughout the kitchen.
“wow,” wonpil gasps out in between subsiding laughter. “y-you even took a picture of him.”
“creep,” dowoon adds.
“stalker,” wonpil giggles.
“now, now,” sungjin clicks his tongue, but it’s evident that he’s rather amused about the situation too. a mortified jae glimpses away, red hot blood rising to fill his cheeks. “we shouldn’t, um, make fun of hyung,” he finishes. “we should… um, support jae in his pursuit for this stranger instead.”
jae wants to strangle sungjin.
“i don’t even know his name,” jae blurts out.
the trio of them stare at jae, baffled.
“his profile is private?” sungjin questions.
“can you direct message him?” wonpil quizzes.
“do you have any idea who he is?”
jae wrings his hands together nervously. “yes, no, and definitely no,” he replies, before swivelling around in his chair once, twice, thrice. “i mean, yeah, he’s gorgeous and everything, but i don’t even know his name! how am i supposed to contact him?” jae sulks.
a thoughtful expression etches itself over sungjin’s face. “maybe… maybe he actually cut off from virtual communication?”
jae frowns, his eyebrows furrowing.
the other clears his throat. “i mean, if you block direct messaging, that means he has to physically talk, right? i barely know anyone who entirely blocks off direct communication, especially when it comes to ordering food at restaurants and whatnot, hm?”
silence envelopes the kitchen as the others process sungjin’s words. dowoon is the first to speak up. “y’know, sungjin hyung, you’ve got a point there.”
wonpil’s eyes light up. “jaehyung, maybe you can try and go back there tomorrow again? maybe he goes there for coffee every day, like you do, but you order via directfood, right?”
jae groans. “and risk getting embarrassed again?”
“you want to know the stranger’s name,” sungjin counters, his eyebrow raised, “you’ve got to take risks for it.”
_______________
[ 17:36 ]
like so, sungjin insists for jae to do grocery shopping today - it’s his turn this week - hence jae puts his earphones on as he strolls into qq grocer, the mid-afternoon sun still shining strongly, filtering through the glass windows of the grocer. he takes up a basket and hums along to the song playing as he scans the list sungjin’s given him.
eggs . obviously, because wonpil and dowoon ransacked the egg carton last week making (and failing) steamed egg. jae glimpses at the shelves along the aisles until he stumbles upon several stacks of egg cartons. he scans the information via his glasses (expiry year: 2090) and picks up a carton, placing it gently in the basket.
as jae continues, making his way through the list, he doesn’t notice the stranger attempting to grab the cereal box high up in the shelves until he glances up, almost bowling him over in the process.
“oh,” jae starts, surprised, before looking up at the cereal box: froot loops. he takes his earphones off. with ease, he stretches his arm up, and, being a bit taller with longer limbs, jae manages to retrieve the box and is about to hand it to the stranger when realisation dawns upon him.
“o- oh ,” jae stutters, startled. it’s @foxeye.
@foxeye turns to face him, grinning. his eyes gleam, merry, and jae notices with a skip of the heart that this stranger really lives up to his username, his eyes pointed and sharp, but with a sort of warmth to them, too. “thanks,” he says, his voice steady and joyous, and smooth. jae wants to turn his audio recorder on, but instead gets flustered when the stranger reaches down and takes up jae’s basket.
“how about i help you, jae?” he asks, his lips turning upwards, and for a second jae’s surprised as to how he knows his name, then internally smacks his head. of course, he keeps his profile public and open to everyone to slide into his dms.
jae offers a small smile. “thanks, but i think i’ve got it covered,” jae replies courteously, before reaching out to take up the basket. as his fingers curl around the handle, @foxeye doesn’t move; instead he nods, and - jae swears he sees him smirk - wraps a hand over jae’s.
jae can’t breathe.
@foxeye rubs a thumb over jae’s knuckles, slowly, once, twice. heat crashes in multiple waves over jae as they meet gazes again. “you play guitar or something, jae?” the stranger asks.
what?
“uh,” jae fumbles with the basket handle as the stranger releases his grip on it. “y-yeah?
@foxeye cocks his head a little, as if seeing jae for the first time, before shrugging, taking up his cereal box. “your hand’s a tell-tale sign,” he replies, and then offers one last grin. “anyways, i’ll see you around, mr park.” with that, @foxeye struts off, leaving jae flustered, sheepish and absolutely baffled in the cereal aisle of the grocery store.
later on, as jae makes his way back home, he almost crushes the eggs in agony upon realising that he missed his chance. again. goddammit.
_______________
[ 20:42 ]
fantastic four
pirrie jae why r u sulking in ur room
pirrie oml
pirrie did you ???!!!!
evil papa did he what
woonie oh em gee
woonie did you see @foxeye ????
evil papa did you?
jaelittle nice couple names guys
jaelittle (pukes)
jaelittle and no…….
jaelittle okay maybe
pirrie i knew it!
woonie ooh~
woonie do we have a name now?
jaelittle um
evil papa i bet you chickened out
evil papa geddit geddit
evil papa ‘chickened out’
evil papa cos youre like
jaelittle i get it
jaelittle you can stop the dad jokes, sungjin
pirrie HAHAHAHAHAHA
woonie hyung why didnt u ask for his name :0
jaelittle what was i supposed to do???
jaelittle he was reaching for froot loops
jaelittle he couldn’t so i helped
jaelittle i diDN’T KNOW IT WAS HIM OK
jaelittle :’(
woonie then what did he say???
pirrie then what did he say?
pirrie JINX JINX JINX [sent 21:44:09]
woonie JINX JINX JINX [sent 21:44:11]
pirrie HAH
pirrie YOU OWE ME A COKE
evil papa ew coke
jaelittle uh
jaelittle he was like thanks
jaelittle tHEN HE OFFERED
jaelittle TO CARRY MY BASKET
jaelittle THEN I SAID NO
jaelittle THEN
pirrie WHAT R U DOIN OMG
pirrie JUST ACCEPT HIS LOVE
jaelittle THEN I TOOK THE BASKET
jaelittle THEN HE
evil papa [caps lock malfunction?]
evil papa [caps lock malfunction]
evil papa THEN???
woonie jae wyd
pirrie jaehyungie did u die
evil papa NO
evil papa I HEAR HIM
evil papa SQUEALING FROM THE BEDROOM
evil papa HOW DO I TURN THIS CAPS LOCK THING OFF
evil papa [exit caps lock malfunction]
evil papa oh
woonie oh
pirrie oh
pirrie JINX AGAIN HAHAHA
woonie dangit
jaelittle sorry went to the toilet
jaelittle oh
evil papa ;;)))))
jaelittle :’) oops
jaelittle um
pirrie STOP UMMING JUST SAYIT
jaelittle he put his hand over mine
jaelittle then he just
jaelittle rubbed his hand over mine
pirrie woah
pirrie 0 - 1000
woonie lmAO
evil papa rubbing his hand what
jaelittle i don’t know wjdbjewid
jaelittle he was like
jaelittle “you play guitar or smtg”
pirrie oh my
woonie sexy
evil papa DOWOONIE
woonie what
evil papa youre a baby
woonie i’m fucking 23
evil papa that’s $10 in the swear jar, dowoon
pirrie SCREW THE JAR
pirrie WHAT DID YOU SAY
pirrie @ jae
jaelittle I SAID YEAH
jaelittle THEN HE WENT
jaelittle “your hand’s a tell-tale sign”
evil papa is it just me
evil papa or does that sound super creepy
woonie sounds weird
woonie but eh he’s hot so
jaelittle ;-;
pirrie jae
pirrie dont you have silent studio tonight
jaelittle yeah
pirrie it’s past nine
jaelittle so
jaelittle oh
jaelittle OH SHITSHITSHIT
jaelittle GOTTA FLY BYE
evil papa put the money in the swear jar on ur way out
woonie what r we even gonna do with the swear jar
evil papa saving up (?)
pirrie but it’s our money (?)
pirrie is jae gone alr
pirrie i heard the door slam
evil papa yeah
evil papa oh
evil papa OH MY GOKDJWI
woonie HYUNG YOU LEFT
woonie YOUR WORK TAG BEHIND
woonie ITS ON THE KITCHEN TABLE
pirrie gg
_______________
[ 21:18 ]
jae is so so so goddamn fucked.
“shit, i swear i-” jae almost groans aloud at the memory of him plonking his work tag on the kitchen counter before reaching into the fridge to cook for dinner an hour or so ago. without his work tag, he can’t gain access into the building, unless by some miracle that one of his co-workers strolls along. stupid , jae thinks, because it’s only him and jimin in the studio tonight-
he checks his feed again, and sighs as he stares at his tweet.
tune in to silent studio at 9:30pm KST! will be answering live tweets as per usual
how will listeners react tuning into actual silence?
“interesting,” a familiar voice wavers from behind jae, and jae swivels around, almost knocking heads against @foxeye. may i thank the three sisters of fate who have wound my fate of tonight like so-
“h-hey!” jae forces himself to plaster a wide grin across his face despite being close to internally melting down due to both the fact that he’s standing right here looking absolutely stunning in a work shirt and slacks, and due to the fact that he was supposed to clock in ten minutes ago. “um, nice to see you! again!”
the stranger arches an eyebrow before lifting his work tag to the scanner. the door swivels open, and @foxeye grins, stretching out an arm. jae realises how unmistakably close they are when he leans in and says into his ear, “after you.”
jae blushes harder than he ever has in his 25 years of living.
“you work here?” he asks incredulously as they step into the building, making their way down the hallway.
“well,” the stranger shrugs. “today’s my first day. and now, i guess, my first night,” he chuckles, and jae has to steady himself from swooning. wow. “i just got transferred here; i was previously based in daegu but they moved me to seoul. i work under business management here.”
“oh,” jae breathes, taking all this information in. “well, um, that’s great! welcome to the team.”
@foxeye smiles wider, his dimples more prominent now. (kill me now.) “thanks. anyways, shouldn’t you get going? silent studio starts in,” he pauses to glimpse at his watch, “six minutes.”
“oh,” jae says again, blinking. once, twice. “ oh , oh god, i need to get going, shit.” he looks at the stranger one last time. “i-i’ll see you around!” he finishes frantically. he barely waits for @foxeye’s response as jae practically sprints down the hallway, up the stairs- screw the lift, it takes a decade to get to the seventh floor - pants his way to clock in before crashing into the studio to face a rather infuriated jimin.
jimin crosses her arms. “jae? really? last week you were ten minutes late, you’ve got three minutes before silent studio starts up.”
breathing heavily, jae rests his hands on his knees, exposed by his ripped jeans. sweat beads dotted on his forehead begin to slide down his face. “sorry. forgot. left my work tag behind.”
at this declaration, jimin arches an eyebrow. “so who exactly let you into the building?
“um,” jae clears his throat. “someone under business management. new noob.”
“huh,” jimin responds, before shaking her head slightly as if dismissing the topic ,and jutting her chin out in the direction of a stack of papers on the metal counter. “your script, as per usual. get some water, we don’t want a panting dog on set and rolling in the next one and a half minutes.”
sighing deeply, jae takes up the script, the letters on them almost foreign as his mind fills only with @foxeye, and @foxeye only. three meet-ups already, still haven’t got his name.
god knows when jae will work up the courage; possibly, never.