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“You ready, Choco?” The small dog just barked. Wonjin held onto the leash with his right hand. “I’ll take that as a yes. Come on, let’s go, girl.” He unlocked the front door, letting Choco step outside first, following her after making sure the door was closed behind him. She tried pulling to make Wonjin go faster, but she was so small, she wasn’t strong enough.
As much as he wished she did, Choco didn’t belong to Wonjin, he was just looking after her. It was a favour for Hyeongjun, one of his closest friends, while he was away from home. Although, Wonjin loved Choco’s company so much, he wasn’t sure if Hyeongjun was the one who was doing him a favour. He giggled under his breath at the sight of her little legs moving.
For the first couple days he had her, Wonjin was just taking Choco around his neighborhood, but, today, Hyeongjun told him about a park that a lot of people go to with their dogs, and apparently she liked it, so that’s where they were heading. She seemed to know, too, judging by how excited she was. Wonjin was sure that if this dog could speak, she would definitely just be yelling at him to go faster.
Although, they definitely would’ve arrived a lot sooner if she didn’t stop and sniff everything she came across. It might sound stupid, but Wonjin felt slightly nervous. Like, what if Choco starts barking at someone else’s dog and he couldn’t get her to stop? He wasn’t really sure how she reacted to other dogs, the whole time he’s been looking after her, he’s been trying to avoid putting her in a place with another dog. Hyeongjun didn’t tell him anything about what she was like, but if he was encouraging him to take her to a place that was going to have quite a few dogs and their owners, she can’t be very bad.
The fenced area of the park came into view, and Wonjin found it weird that he’s never been here, it’s pretty hard to ignore. Choco’s tail was going so fast, she looked like some kind of fluffy helicopter.
“You’re excited, huh?” Wonjin let the puppy guide him into the park, and the first thing he noticed was how big it was.
An older looking lady walked adjacent to him, giving him a smile. He shyly bowed his head back, while Choco gave her a little sniff.
“Aw, cute!” She cooed, and kneeled down to give Choco a pat.
“You mean the dog, right?” Wonjin joked, nervously laughing as the lady processed his words. She laughed too, and went on her way.
Looking closer, it was clear that Wonjin definitely wasn’t the only dog walker here. There were so many pups of different shapes and sizes, he was sure this was easily his idea of heaven. Choco seemed interested in a certain flower bush, so Wonjin took her over to it so she could have a look, and decided to just explore the park once she was done. He greeted all of the other dog walkers with a meek wave.
He thought this place was nice, but it wasn’t anything too special, it was just a park. Wonjin didn’t exactly get why it was so popular, or why Hyeongjun urged him to come here with the puppy.
He was ready to just walk back the way he came and go home, but he froze in his tracks at the sight of an extremely cute boy coming his way. He was tall, he had dark hair, and his face was so perfectly sculpted, he made this simple park look like a photoshoot.
Wow, Wonjin thought, I guess God really does have favourites.
The whole ‘dogs look like their owners’ think always made Wonjin laugh. He did think Hyeongjun and Choco did look extremely similar, but he was sure that was intentional. Yet, in a weird way, Wonjin felt like he could see some similarities between this boy and his dog. It was hard to put his finger on, so all he could say was, he was cute, like a puppy.
And, while Wonjin was trying to pinpoint whether it was the dark eyes, or the cute little nose, the boy was getting closer, and the eye contact couldn’t be avoided.
Wonjin felt like his brain had just shut off completely, all he could think about was how badly he wanted to take this unbelievably beautiful human out on a date. His lips curled into a little smile as he walked past, and since Wonjin’s head hadn’t started working properly yet, he just did the same. His dog plodded after him, its small but quick steps being quite a contrast to the huge strides of its owner. Wonjin turned, watching the boy walk away.
This moment felt movie-esque, as if he was just going to stop and turn and look at Wonjin once more. Wonjin’s eyes fell to check on Choco, and the moment was all ruined, when he saw her squatting down. He sighed heavily, and reached into his back pocket to get one of the small black bags he had with him.
Wonjin stared blankly at Hyeongjun’s bedroom ceiling. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, while Hyeongjun was laying flat, with Choco curled up on his chest. Wonjin wasn’t paying attention, but Hyeongjun was still talking his ear off.
“Oh! Did you hear about Seongmin and Taeyoung?” Wonjin only heard the tone of Hyeongjun’s voice, so he knew he had just been asked a question, but he didn’t bother answering.
Hyeongjun tried to sit up, but that was hard to do when you have a sleeping dog on your torso. Well, physically it would be easy, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“Wonjin, are you listening to me?”
“Hm?” Hyeongjun reached over to pat Wonjin’s back.
“Hey!” Wonjin jumped, and his attention was finally on Hyeongjun.
“What?” Hyeongjun scoffed.
“You haven’t even been listening! I’ve been gone for a week, and you don’t even want to talk to me!” Wonjin rubbed the back of his neck, and sighed.
“Sorry. Bad friend, I know.” Hyeongjun waved for Wonjin to come lie beside him. Wonjin pouted as he swung his legs up and positioned his head on the soft pillow. His hands rested on his stomach.
“It’s okay. You’ve just been all weird and thoughtful today.” Hyeongjun lifted his arm, and he poked Wonjin gently in the temple. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Wonjin hit his hand away.
“It’s nothing.”
Hyeongjun let out a heavy breath, the noise and the movement of his chest waking Choco up in the process. She jumped up and walked away, unimpressed.
“Come on! We’ve been friends for years, I know when something, or someone, is on your mind.” Wonjin rolled his eyes.
“Fine. I give in.” Hyeongjun clapped his hands, sitting up now that he was able to. Wonjin stayed as he was, Hyeongjun’s bed was comfy.
“Yes! Okay, spill!”
“I saw... Probably the cutest guy I’ve ever seen when I was at the park with Choco the other day.” Hyeongjun squealed, and Wonjin flinched away from the noise.
“Tell me about him!” He took a second to respond, because just thinking about that boy was enough to take the words out of his mouth.
“He was tall. Like, really tall. He had brown hair, and, he was just so, so handsome. Like, he could’ve been a model. Oh, and, he had a little white dog.” Hyeongjun couldn’t stop himself from laughing slightly at the thought of his friend having a little crush.
“Wow! Did you talk to him?”
“Uh, no. He smiled at me though. He had a really cute smile.” Choco wandered back into the room, just sitting down by the door.
“You’re in deep, huh?”
“N-No! I hardly know anything about him!”
Hyeongjun wasn’t having it. He could pretty much read Wonjin like a book.
“Ah, okay. So we’re going to act like you weren’t just ignoring me while you imagined going on a coffee date with this kid, are we?” Wonjin pulled the pillow from underneath him and used it to hit Hyeongjun.
“Be quiet!” He put his head back down, although now he was just lying on the mattress, and clutched the pillow in his arms. “Okay, maybe I’m whipped for a guy I’ve only ever seen once! So what?” Hyeongjun licked his lips.
“I’m glad you admit it. Well, why don’t you look for him?” Wonjin’s jaw fell open.
“That’s creepy, Hyeongjun!”
“No, I don’t mean anything like that, I just-“ Hyeongjun paused, softly pinching the bridge of his nose. “I just meant, why don’t you take Choco back to the park one day, and see if he’s there?” Wonjin’s mouth fell open.
“Oh... That’s good! Then, maybe I could talk to him!”
“Right!”
Wonjin felt good, the best he’s been all day, but all of the joy left his body with just one thought.
“Oh, no, Hyeongjun. Hyeongjun, what if he’s straight? What do I do then?”
“I don’t-“
“God, he probably is!” Wonjin hid his face in the pillow he was holding. He whined, but the pillow muffled it. “Hyeongjun...” Hyeongjun ripped the pillow away from him and threw it out of the room. Wonjin froze, eyes wide with surprise.
“Look! Even if he is, it’s not the end of the world! Just apologise and walk away!”
Hyeongjun pointed toward the small brown dog, who was now chewing on the pillow that Hyeongjun chucked. “Why don’t you take her out again the same time you did last week?” Wonjin just nodded.
“Okay.”
Wonjin was here again, at the park, with Choco. She seemed to be confused, because her owner was home, but Wonjin was taking her out instead. She wasn’t complaining, but it was mostly because she couldn’t.
Wonjin’s clammy hands were making it hard to keep a proper grip on her leash. He was scared, even though he had no idea if this guy was going to be around or not. Hyeongjun told Wonjin to wait a while, in case he does show up, so he had just been walking aimlessly around.
He decided to take a break and sit down on some grass, and while he told himself it was because he didn’t want Choco to get too tired, in reality, it was just for him. He crossed his legs, and the dog just plonked down beside him.
“Aw, Choco...” He scratched behind her ear, making her need to itch it herself. He giggled, and watched her closely, forgetting momentarily that he was at the park for a reason.
Choco paused, and stared at something in the distance. He looked where she was looking. He saw a small white dog running their way.
“Vanilla! Come back!” Wonjin stood up, and brushed his pants for any excess grass. He held Choco’s leash tightly. The white dog jumped up at Wonjin’s leg. He patted it on the head. “Holy shit, I am so sorry.” Wonjin shook his head.
“No, it’s okay, I-“ He looked up, and realised who he was talking to.
It was the boy. He had a concerned look on his face.
“He doesn’t usually run off like that. I hope he didn’t scare your dog.” He bent over and reattached the leash to the dog’s harness.
“No, like I said, it’s okay. It’s not your fault.”
The boy smiled, just as prettily as Wonjin remembered.
“Didn’t I see you last week?” Wonjin pretended like he had to really think about it.
“I don’t know, did you? I don’t really remember.” Wonjin was a terrible liar, so it was obvious that he did remember, but just wanted to act cool.
“I’m pretty sure. After all, it’s hard to forget someone as cute as you.” Wonjin could feel his cheeks starting to warm up.
“Are you being serious?” The boy fixed his hair slightly.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” He moved the slightest bit closer. “You know, I was going to say something to you that day, but I got too nervous.” Wonjin couldn’t grasp the concept of making someone as beautiful as he was nervous.
“That makes two of us, then.”
Neither of them noticed that the two dogs were currently sniffing and playing around with each other.
“Well, we’re talking now. So, please, would you be so kind as to tell me your name?” Wonjin looked down at the ground for a second.
“Okay, I’ll end the suspense.” He held out his hand. “The name’s Wonjin.” The boy grabbed Wonjin’s hand, and shook it.
“Nice to officially meet you. I’m Minhee.” Minhee. That’s cute. Wonjin wasn’t going to say it out loud, but he thought Minhee’s hands were pretty soft.
“I’m assuming your dog’s name is Vanilla, if I’m not mistaken?” He looked at the white dog, who was now standing right by Minhee’s feet.
“Yep. He’s my dude. Isn’t that right?” Vanilla yapped in reply, and Minhee nodded in satisfaction. “Who’s the little lady?”
“Oh, this is Choco. She’s technically not my dog but... She seems to like me, sometimes.” Minhee let out a small laugh.
“Choco and Vanilla, huh? That’s funny.”
It may just be because he kind of has feelings for him, but Wonjin thought Minhee’s laugh was the sweetest sound ever.
“Yeah, it is.” Minhee put his hand in the pocket of his jacket.
“So, if she’s not yours, who does she belong to?”
“My best friend. He‘s been out of town so I was looking after her. He’s back now, though.” Minhee tilted his head to the side.
“If he’s back, why are you walking her?” Wonjin lightly kicked the ground.
“Because... I wanted to see if you’d be here again.” Minhee bit his bottom lip.
“Really?” Wonjin scrunched up his nose.
“Yeah.” Minhee exhaled.
“Wow. Well, how about this...” His hand was already in his pocket, so he just shuffled it around a bit and pulled out his phone. “Can I have your number?” Wonjin smiled calmly, even though in his head, he was screaming.
“Sure.” Minhee unlocked the device, and held it out towards Wonjin. Wonjin opened the contacts, typed in his number, and saved himself as ‘Wonjin 💞🥺👨❤️💋👨’. Minhee took it back, and whistled.
“Wow. Three emojis?” Wonjin shrugged.
“You can get rid of them if you want.” Minhee shook his head.
“Lay off, I’m keeping them.” Wonjin chuckled, and Minhee shoved his phone back into his pocket. “So, should I call you tonight?”
“Please do.” Wonjin winked, and he swore he saw Minhee’s cheeks go a very light shade of pink. Minhee quickly avoided his gaze.
“Alright, cool. I guess I’ll see you later?” He took a few steps back.
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Bye, Wonjin.” Minhee blew a kiss, and Wonjin laughed.
“Bye.” Wonjin waved, and let out a sigh once Minhee and Vanilla started walking away. “That went well, huh, Choc?” Choco shook, which Wonjin took as her saying no, so he just ignored it and looked back at Minhee’s shrinking figure.
And, this time, he did turn back around.
Wonjin stood outside of the local ice cream parlour. Minhee suggested they should go for the ice cream, because they met because of Choco and Vanilla, and Wonjin thought that was a cute idea. But, the longer he waited for Minhee to show, the more worried he got. He straightened his shirt, and looked down at the phone in his hand.
“How do I look?” Hyeongjun cleared his throat on the other line.
“I don’t know, Wonjin, I can’t see you.” Wonjin grumbled angrily. “Calm down! I’m sure you look great.”
“That’s not good enough! I have to look fucking amazing!” Hyeongjun gasped loudly.
“Woah, don’t take out on me!”
Wonjin leaned against the wall of the building he was in front of.
“You’re right, sorry. I’m just really nervous.” He looked around, watching people pass.
“That’s okay. It’s your first time going out with him. The way you’re feeling is normal.“
Wonjin stood up straight when he saw someone towering over everyone else. He rubbed his eyes, and sure enough, it was Minhee.
“Oh my god, Hyeongjun, I see him. I’m sorry, I gotta go, I love you, bye.” He got his words out extremely quickly, and hung up the phone. He managed to calm himself down a tad before Minhee was in front of him. “Hey!”
Wonjin very boldly opened his arms for a hug, and Minhee accepted it with no hesitation. It was only now, while he had his arms wrapped around Minhee’s neck, that he realised how short he was in comparison. Minhee had to be, what, six foot? He made Wonjin feel small, that’s for sure.
“Hi. It’s nice to see you.” Minhee smelled very strongly of cologne. Wonjin found it endearing, even though it burned his nostrils.
“You too! You look great.” Minhee looked down at his outfit. A simple black shirt and navy jeans, but he made it look like a runway outfit.
“Ah, thanks... You do too!” Wonjin was wearing something pretty opposite, with a light button up, with a white long sleeved shirt underneath, and ripped light blue jeans.
“Thank you.”
Minhee gestured to the door.
“Should we go in?” Wonjin nodded. He went to go open it, but Minhee beat him to it. “After you.” Wonjin stepped inside, and Minhee followed.
“Thank you. How polite.” A puff of air came out of Minhee’s nose.
“Yeah. Enjoy it while it lasts.” Wonjin clicked his fingers.
“Got it.”
The pastel aesthetic of this particular ice cream place was very easy on the eyes, and Wonjin enjoyed it. Minhee immediately strolled over to the display of flavours.
“What are you gonna get? I would guess, but, you’re actually surprisingly hard to read.” Wonjin walked to Minhee side to take a look. He thoroughly examined everything on offer, and ended up pointing towards the flavour that caught his eye the most
“This one. Very Berry.” He almost had to stop himself from drooling, this was right up his alley. Minhee raised an eyebrow.
“Ah, you’re a fruity guy, huh?” Wonjin mimicked punching Minhee in the shoulder.
“Okay, don’t. But, what about you?” Minhee momentarily puffed up his cheeks.
“Well, I’m kinda boring, so I’m usually a vanilla boy.” Wonjin didn’t know what to do now that he knew Minhee had named his dog after his favourite ice cream flavour.
“Ah, okay. I don’t think you’re boring, vanilla is quite literally the mother of all flavours.” Minhee snickered.
“You can go sit down, you know, I’m gonna pay.” Wonjin’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Fuck yeah! No arguments, go sit.” Wonjin threw up his hands.
“Yes, sir.” He sat down at a booth, leaning back into the plush material.
He looked over to the counter, and held back a laugh at the view of the very tall Minhee standing alongside a little girl. She wasn’t even the height of his legs, and she seemed to be amazed at him. And to be honest, Wonjin couldn’t blame her. Minhee looked down at her, and gave her a little wave, before walking right up to the counter.
Wonjin decided to quickly check his phone, and the only thing he saw was a text from Hyeongjun, which read ‘don’t fuck anything up, and call me once you’re home.’ It was a perfect mix of caring and insulting; it was very Hyeongjun.
Footsteps approached, and a glass bowl was placed in front of Wonjin. Minhee slipped into the seat across from Wonjin, and grinned at him.
“There you go!” Wonjin picked up the spoon.
“Thank you.” Minhee watched fondly as Wonjin ate his first spoonful, and his eyes lit up at the flavour. He ate some of his own, but it wasn’t anything new.
“Good?” Wonjin nodded frantically.
“Yes, very.” Minhee let out a low chuckle.
“Cute.” He mumbled, and Wonjin didn’t seem to hear him. And he wasn’t sure if he was happy about that, or not.
Judging by the way Wonjin was just still looking at his bowl, he definitely didn’t hear.
“You better let me pay you back one day.” Minhee shook his head.
“Just being with you is enough for me.” Wonjin grimaced.
“Ew. Cheesy,” Minhee huffed.
“You don’t like cheesy?” Wonjin poked his tongue in his cheek.
“I do. But only when things are good cheesy.” Minhee crossed his arms.
“Okay, noted.” He looked at Wonjin’s ice cream. “Can I try some?” Wonjin scooped some up, and held it out towards Minhee. Minhee put the spoon in his mouth, and hummed at the flavour.
“What do you think?” He considered for a second.
“I think it suits you.” Wonjin couldn’t tell whether that was a compliment or not. He just laughed.
“Is that good?”
“Of course. It’s sweet, like you.”
“Oh my god...” If Wonjin could get through this date without dying over how cute Minhee was, it would be a miracle.
After talking, joking, and eating ice cream for a couple hours, Minhee offered to walk Wonjin home. Gentlemanly, for sure, but it did take a lot of convincing, because Wonjin felt bad for making Minhee go too much out of his way.
“Ah, shit.” Wonjin came to a standstill outside of his front door. “I’ve never been this sad to be home before.” Minhee stood across from him, clicking his tongue.
“Yeah, I’m bummed too.” Wonjin held out his hands, and Minhee grabbed onto both of them.
“I had so much fun. I mean it.” Minhee gently squeezed Wonjin’s hands.
“So did I. I hope it’s not too soon, but I really like you, Wonjin.” Wonjin pulled a face that could only be compared to the pouty emoji with the wide eyes.
“No, I like you too.” Minhee sighed with relief.
“Oh, man, I was scared for a second.” Wonjin chuckled, inching closer to the taller male.
“You’d better let me treat you next time we go out.” Neither of them even had to confirm, they both knew there would be a next time.
Minhee squinted, looking directly at Wonjin’s face.
“Hey, are your cheeks red?” Wonjin shook his head. He certainly didn’t feel warm.
“I don’t think so?” Minhee frowned, and then leaned in to gently kiss Wonjin’s forehead.
“Now they are.”
“Ah- Okay, that’s good. You’re good.” Minhee wasn’t wrong, Wonjin was definitely blushing now. Minhee wasn’t, but his heart felt warm.
“Thanks. But, I should, uh, probably let you get inside, huh?” Wonjin hesitantly let go of Minhee’s hands.
“I guess.” This time, Minhee opened his arms for the hug, and obviously, Wonjin accepted.
“Hopefully, I can kiss you for real next time.” Minhee whispered right into Wonjin’s ear, and Wonjin playfully pushed him.
“I guess we’ll have to see.” Wonjin turned, and pushed the door open. Luckily, it wasn’t, so he didn’t have to awkwardly stand there while unlocking it. “Bye, Minhee.” Minhee had already walked to the end of the front yard. He waved.
“Bye.”
Wonjin disappeared back into the house, and the first thing he did was reach for his phone. He clicked Hyeongjun’s contact, and pressed the call button.
“Come on, pick up...” After a mere few seconds, the ringing stopped. “Hel-“ He heard a scream right in his ear.
“Oh my god, did you just get home?” Wonjin threw himself onto the couch.
“Yes!”
“Fuck, tell me everything!” Wonjin smiled, moving his free hand to touch the spot on his forehead where Minhee’s lips were.
“Okay, so...”