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"Hey!" says a voice and Jeongin turns to see Chan waving at him. "Fancy seeing you here!"
Jeongin wants to roll his eyes but his lips betray him and he is smiling. "At the place where we are supposed to do a table read for our next episode?"
Chan laughs and wraps an arm around his shoulders once he gets close enough. "I discovered so many things on twitter yesterday," he says. His eyes glint a little, suggesting a round of embarrassment for Jeongin soon. "You're gonna love it."
"Not again," groans Jeongin. "If you show me more shipping videos of us two, I swear to god- "
"What? You like them."
"No, I don't."
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don't!"
Chan laughs and drops the childish argument even though they both know Chan is right. While Jeongin never seeks out to watch those videos himself, he is certainly amused whenever Chan shows them to him.
Amused and pleased but Chan will never know the second one.
"This one is not one of those by the way," says Chan, once they sit down on their chairs to get ready for the reading.
"What do you mean?"
"You will see."
Jeongin frowns but then the reading starts and they are all immersed in the script. One of the best parts of the table reads are the main plot of the episode because every single time, without fail, the scriptwriters come up with some absolutely inane but addictive plotlines which make you howl with laughter and also question what the fuck just happened.
Case in point, an episode which centred around Jeongin's, Chan's and Changbin's characters (but mainly Jeongin's) where he had to play a mafia boss. The episode was aptly titled Maknae On Top, and to this day fans still speculate whether it was supposed to be a dream sequence or alternate universe. Considering the lengths and limits the show has gone to, both are equally probable and even the actors themselves don't know.
(He still gets messages on his official social media sometimes, from fans asking hello wtf was that episode, that Jeongin really has no reply to.)
All in all it proves to be another greatly successful table read and then Chan gets ready to annoy Jeongin if the smile on his face as he settles beside Jeongin is any indication.
"Now," says Chan, taking out his phone and opening twitter. Jeongin groans but it's half hearted. He is honestly excited to see what Chan will bring up. "Time for the real show."
"I'm sure our director and scriptwriters will be very disappointed to hear you call this the real show right after a table read."
Then Jeongin goes quiet as Chan shows him the first video he has saved in his bookmarks.
It is a video of Jeongin himself to the tune of Baby Shark, English version. It's an edit of him looking generally smiley and cute. Jeongin groans for real now. Of course Chan would jump at the opportunity to baby him with a fucking twitter edit.
But then it undergoes a weird change. With growing horror Jeongin realises what it is.
It is that remix of Baby Shark he has heard a few times before. The one which suggests something decidedly not cute will show up.
Sure enough, the video in front of him flickers a couple of times, in beat with the music, and then entirely different clips of him fill the screen.
There are a few random pictures he himself posted on instagram, in which he was admittedly trying to thirst trap a bit. There are random clips of him taken from their show, most of them being the mafia boss episode where he had worn leather pants and a shirt with frankly more buttons undone than done.
Once the thing finishes, Jeongin looks up at Chan who looks so damn gleeful that Jeongin is at a loss about what to say.
"Hyung-"
"Oh wait, there are more."
There are more?
Apparently yes, because Chan shoves more thirsty edits right in front of his eyes and Jeongin feels his ears heat up to a concerning temperature.
"Why are you doing this?" Jeongin whines although he knows why. Chan wants to embarrass him for good. Since Jeongin has grown sort of resistant to all the babying, this is the new route he has taken.
Even though most of the clips used are the same five or six, Jeongin still gets increasingly flustered with every edit. Songs with English lyrics so filthy that he doesn't need to fully master the language to understand them, songs with addictive and sultry beats, etc., etc.
"So..." says Chan at long last. "Liked it?"
Jeongin didn't dislike them but he would have rather watched them in privacy so no one was around to see his flaming ears.
"Loved it," says Jeongin. "You are so sadistic, I hate you."
"Nah, you love me," says Chan. "And since you liked the edits so much, I will send you these from time to time."
"Why didn't you do that in the first place then? Why force me to watch it with you?"
"How would I have gotten to see this beautiful blush then?"
Chan's tone is just flirty enough to make Jeongin prone to delusions. He shakes them off though and stands up with a "Shut up."
"No," says Chan simply. He grabs Jeongin's arm and tugs him down to his seat again, making a surprised yelp escape Jeongin's lips.
"Hey!"
And then, as expected, Chan engulfs him in some sort of chokehold he calls a hug. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed, you know?"
Trust Chan to show him videos of Jeongin in which he is supposed to be hot and then proceed to cuddle with him and call him cute. Jeongin wants to break free from his grasp but Chan is strong as fuck and Jeongin is... well Jeongin is weaker for Chan than he lets him know outwardly.
"And you're so annoying," says Jeongin. "Get off, dude!"
"No."
"The hell?"
Chan smiles, apparently satisfied now. He lets go of Jeongin and stands up. "It's just that you get all red and you turn your head a bit away every time you are embarrassed. If I'm particularly lucky, I get to see you fan your face with your hands adorably or tug your ears. You can't expect me to be resistant to all that, you know?"
Jesus, Chan certainly makes it seem like he is the one with the hopeless crush and not Jeongin.
"Please shut up," Jeongin half begs as he gets out of his chair.
"Make me," says Chan in English, the two words crisp but casual. Jeongin doesn't know why he pauses.
Maybe it's the undercurrent of challenge in his tone that makes Jeongin turn back to look at him. Or maybe it's the sudden realisation that maybe, just maybe, his feelings may not be as one-sided as he has been believing them to be.
Whatever it is, he surprises himself and Chan both by leaning in close and saying, "Bet I could make you blush exactly the way you made me blush if I really try to 'make' you shut up."
Now, why the fuck would he say something like that?
For confirmation, his mind supplies. To watch as Chan's eyes give away just the tiniest bit of panic before it's covered by the signature friendliness and mirth. To notice the extremely subtle, but in Jeongin's hyperactive mind: glaringly obvious, way in which Chan shifts toward him, as if in anticipation.
So he kisses Chan.
He doesn't let himself think too much. Just to be safe though, he doesn't kiss for long and he doesn't deepen the kiss. Just leans in slightly and pecks Chan's lips and then pulls back to watch as-
To watch as Chan turns the brightest shade of red imaginable and a strange look in his eyes, equal parts nervous and satisfied.
He guesses there are several things to thank to give him this opportunity, not least of them being the thirsty edits their fans have been so generous to make for them.
(Jeongin ends up exacting proper revenge by showing Chan's his hot edits weeks later as they are both cuddling on Chan's couch- not as friends or co-workers, but as something more.)