Work Text:
Something about his work station terribly infuriates Jihoon. It’s this small cubicle, the inside of it made up of cheap velvet to pin stuff, with barely any space to keep things other than his laptop, mouse and some files. What else could he keep, one may ask. Well, it’s complicated.
Few weeks earlier, he was assigned this excruciatingly long project and told to finish it within a deadline of merely two weeks. So, like the perfectionist he is, Jihoon worked day and night, running on three hours of sleep. Food included copious amount of caffeine, soggy cafeteria sandwiches and cup noodles.
When Mingyu heard about it (apparently not from him but sneaky Seokmin), Jihoon typed away on his laptop whilst hearing an earful from him. Mingyu usually is very considerate and would have stopped talking knowing Jihoon had work but he kept nagging and nagging until he was tired.
“Just how important is it for you? You know the quote right—no health, no wealth?”, he had said.
“Yeah, I know but Ms. Shin has specifically chosen me for this project. I can’t let her down like that.”, Jihoon said in return.
Ignoring all that was said, Mingyu asked, “Do you drink enough water? That much caffeine is not good. Do hydrate yourself with actual water, eh?”
When he heard a simple mumbled ‘I should drink more’, Mingyu cut off the call immediately. Frowning, Jihoon stared at his phone for long and shook his head. His ego took the best of him and he didn’t call Mingyu again. Why is he mad at such a trivial matter?
At night, before going to sleep, he said ‘fuck it’ wishing Mingyu a good night. He got a heart emoji in return.
The next day, as he typed away on his laptop rather furiously, the peon came with a package and left it on top of his files without a word. On top of the brown package, it said for Uji (Lee Jihoon). Jihoon knew this was from one of his friends and blushed in embarrassment thinking the peon might have seen the nickname.
Without further ado, he opened the package, ready to be surprised with some pink underwear packing shit Jeonghan pulled on him last year, only to be met with a cat?
A kitty with a sign that said ‘Stay hydrated’.
Oh Mingyu…
At that moment, Jihoon felt such adoration for Mingyu, he wanted to tackle him in bed and pepper him with a thousand kisses. Mind you, this was a big and serious thought because Jihoon never tackles people in bed.
Unfortunately, though, Mingyu had gone to visit his grandma, so Jihoon could do nothing but spam him with GIFs of kitties kissing and hugging. Mingyu replied with puppies dancing with a board that said ‘Take care.’
So here is Jihoon, taking that kitty with him to office religiously everyday (even if the project is done) and not finding any space for it other than the top of the files. He nearly dropped the porcelain figurine on the floor whilst taking out a file the other day but he needs to keep the kitty on his desk somehow.
No matter how much he hates his cubicle for being so petite, he is still in a good mood today because Mingyu is coming back. It’s been two weeks since they last saw each other and Jihoon is losing his mind.
“Ji? Wanna go for drinks tonight?”, says Soonyoung from his own cubicle.
“Nah, you enjoy. I am busy tonight.”, Jihoon replies.
Soonyoung lets out a rather high-pitched laugh and Jihoon makes a face at him.
“Oh forgot, lover boy is returning, huh?”, Soonyoung says thinking he achieved something there.
“Yeah…”, Jihoon replies as he packs his stuff, blushing slightly but he doesn’t look at Soonyoung so as to not provide him the satisfaction of teasing.
. . .
First thing he notices as he enters his apartment is how good it smells. The whole apartment is filled with the scent of freshly prepared food and Jihoon’s mouth immediately waters. He is standing there at the doorway with his mouth opened as if someone will just feed him there and it takes him a few minutes to ask the important question. Who the hell is in his kitchen?
A burglar entering his apartment and joyfully cooking as if he has all time in the world seems kind of funny to him so he smacks his head at that.
Mingyu, perhaps…?
Mingyu!
He practically trips on his feet as he runs to the kitchen and almost falls again as he takes in everything.
Mingyu is standing in the middle of the kitchen, wide eyed as he stares as Jihoon, with a spatula in his hand as defense. He is wearing a black beanie and...is that an oversized baby pink sweater?
Mingyu looks so funny, dumb and cute in his outfit and stance, Jihoon completely loses it and actually jumps. You see, this again must be very serious of a feeling because he never just jumps on anyone.
Mingyu catches him and suddenly Jihoon is hugging the life out of him. Mingyu laughs out loud. “Well, hello there~”. He gets a mumbled ‘I missed you so much’ against his chest. “I missed you too. So much.”, Mingyu says, smiling against his hair.
After what feels like an hour, they separate and share a gentle little kiss. “How is grandma?”, Jihoon asks as he helps Mingyu cut vegetables.
“She is doing a lot better now. I made sure to help her do her exercises and now I think she has the grip of it.”
“That’s great. I am happy for her.”
“Hmmm. You see this sweater? She knit it for me. She said she has been working on it for months now. Isn’t it lovely?”, Mingyu asks, twirling from left to right, showing the sweater properly.
He looks so soft and cuddly like a teddy bear; Jihoon wants nothing more than to roll him in a blanket and bite him.
“Did you drink enough water?”, Mingyu continues without a reply (He definitely got that from the way Jihoon has been staring).
“Oh yes, t-thank you for the kitty. It reminded me every day.”, he says rubbing the back of his neck. “Anything for you Uji~~”, Mingyu says scrunching his nose and bringing it together with Jihoon’s. It’s a habit of him and one so affectionate, Jihoon forgets to breath every time.
“I love you”, Jihoon breathes.
“I love you, too”, Mingyu giggles and it’s the best sound in the world.