Work Text:
Sehun is in the middle of watching his favorite Choi Jiwoo drama for the 20th time when he gets a phone call from Baekhyun. During off hours he usually doesn't pick up calls from anyone at work, but he's cool with Baek. They work at a relatively new dating app company called Love Shot. Sehun had gotten hired last year, and Baekhyun, easily being the friendliest person on the team, made Sehun's transitioning period a breeze.
"Did you read the email they sent us?" Baekhyun immediately questions in lieu of a greeting, but Sehun is used to it.
"Huh? What email?" Sehun asks, unfazed as he munches on his chips.
"Those shitheads are making us go back into the office starting next week," Baekhyun grouses.
"You're lying," Sehun gasps dramatically.
Since the pandemic started two years ago, management reluctantly allowed their whole team to work remotely. At first it was a big adjustment for Sehun since he liked getting out of the house, but before long he grew to enjoy the freedom of working from home. He could stay in his favorite pajamas all day (except for the occasional Zoom meeting, then he'd switch out his shirt to a white button-up while keeping his pajama pants on) while answering calls and emails, among other things like unlimited bathroom breaks. It was a luxury he'd be devastated to have to give up now. Quickly, he checks his email on his tablet to confirm if Baekhyun is pranking him but fuck, he really isn't. "I hate everything!"
Baekhyun laughs. "My reaction too when I first read it. But I know you're at least excited to see my pretty face again."
Sehun rolls his eyes. "You wish. Was that all because I wanna get back to my drama now."
"Sehun you're so cold to me," Baekhyun whines and pretends to fake cry. "Wait I just remembered the other thing I was gonna tell you."
Recognizing the tone of voice Baekhyun uses when he has some juicy office gossip, Sehun finds his curiosity is piqued. "What?"
"Oh so now you wanna keep talking," Baekhyun teases. "So I made a few other phone calls before I got to you and I found out we're getting a new temp worker to replace Minyoung while she's on leave."
"A girl or a guy?"
"That I'm not sure. Guess we'll find out on Monday."
It sucks that they have to be back, but Sehun can't deny that he's also excited to meet their new team member, and seeing his other coworkers again. He's always been a people person, and he hopes whoever the new hire is turns out to be friendly, too.
Sehun wakes up in a panic, having hit the snooze button on his alarm five times before realizing he was seriously going to be late. The anxiety of having to go back to the office again for the first time in months kept him up all night. Well, Sehun had been back a few times here and there for some errands, but other than that he hasn't had to stay at his desk for more than an hour tops. It'll be a struggle getting his head back into the 9-5 grind again.
Sehun gets a taxi and due to some miracle (more like his driver driving so recklessly Sehun fears for his life), manages to get to work with 15 minutes to spare. He decides to use this time wisely and stop by the cafe next door to the office to grab his usual iced Americano. After ordering, Sehun stands next to the pick-up counter to wait for his drink and notices the prettiest guy he's ever seen in his entire life there, also waiting for his drink. His brown hair is long, long enough to tuck behind his ears. It's super cute. He's wearing a mask, but Sehun can already tell the man is a 1000 out of 10 even without one. Sehun is still busy admiring from afar when suddenly the guy catches him staring. The brief eye contact sets Sehun on actual fire, and he panics even more when the guy actually smiles at him. Did he just imagine that? No, it happened. Holy shit. He should smile back... oh wait now he's not even looking anymore, fuck. It's too late, he missed the window of opportunity! The guy probably thinks he's a dick now. Sehun wants to cry.
"Jongin?" The barista calls out, putting an iced latte on the counter.
"Thank you," Jongin, the pretty guy says as he grabs his drink from the counter. He pulls his mask down briefly to take a sip, and yeah, Sehun was totally right. This guy has a cute nose, the prettiest, full lips, and a sharp, sexy jawline. Sehun is practically drooling. On top of that, he even has a dimple in his cheek when he smiles. Can this man be any more perfect? The barista is clearly affected too, judging by the slight blush on her cheeks. Sehun doesn't blame her. For some reason he's blushing, too. Is that a thing, secondhand blushing? Well it is now.
Jongin grabs extra tissues from the counter before heading to the exit, which Sehun laments about because you don't get to see a guy that hot every day. But he can't be too sad, as it's also his opportunity to check out his cute little ass as he walks away. His brown pants are slightly baggy on him but it suits him somehow, drawing more attention to his long legs. He has some insane model proportions.
"Sehun? Your usual," the barista calls out, drawing Sehun out of his thoughts.
"Thanks Miyoung, have a great day!"
On his way back to the office with his coffee in tow, Sehun is shocked to find the Jongin guy entering his office building. Is he hallucinating? Oh my god, he isn't-- the guy noticed him coming and is even holding the door open for him, despite the fact that Sehun is more than 15 steps away. Sehun starts jogging to the door, almost splashing coffee onto his shirt in his panic not to keep him waiting.
"Thanks," Sehun mumbles shyly, avoiding eye contact. He can feel Jongin's gaze on him, and it's prickling his skin.
There's what Sehun interprets as awkward silence while they wait for the elevator, so to fill the void he blurts out, "I swear I'm not following you, I work here." Of all things to say... Sehun, for the love of god why? he berates himself. He swears he's not this awkward. Alright he kind of is but he feels more comfortable talking after he gets to know someone. He's an introvert that likes people, okay?
"I figured," Jongin replies with a chuckle. "I do, too."
"You do?" The gears grind in Sehun's head and he thinks, there's no way...
"I'm Jongin, the new temp clerk at Love Shot. I'll be here over the summer."
"Hi Jongin, I'm Sehun. Nice to meet you," Sehun defaults to his usual polite customer service voice, while inside he's screaming. He's a professional like that.
A few more people crowd into the elevator, and when they get to their floor, Sehun leads him to their supervisor's office to get all his paperwork in order on his first day.
"I see you met the new guy already," Baekhyun comments as Sehun takes his seat across from him.
"Shh!" Sehun hisses. "He's gonna think we're talking about him."
"So what, it's not like we're saying anything bad," Baekhyun shrugs, then shuts up as he examines Sehun's annoyed facial expression. "Oh... I get it now," he concludes, winking. "You wanna tap that ass."
Sehun wants to strangle him, but then their supervisor stops by their table, with none other than Jongin right beside him. He really hopes neither of them heard Baekhyun's loud ass voice.
"Welcome back! Glad to see you both here on time and ready to work," their supervisor says.
"Glad to be back," Sehun replies with a smile.
"Me too," Baekhyun chimes in.
"Now that's what I like to hear. Baekhyun and Sehun, this is Jongin who will be filling in for Miyoung over the summer. I'd appreciate if you guys made him feel welcome and help him out with any questions he might have."
"Sure thing," Sehun replies.
"Great. Now I'll leave you guys to it. I'll check back at noon to see how things are going."
"Thanks for having me," Jongin says politely as he gets situated in the vacant area next to Sehun. "I'll try not to bother you guys too much."
"No worries, Sehun loves being bothered," Baekhyun assures him, grinning from ear to ear.
Jongin quickly glances at Sehun and chuckles, leaving Sehun completely mortified. Why does Baekhyun have to speak?
The rest of the day goes well, despite the circumstances. Baekhyun keeps leaving their work station to run random errands throughout the office, conveniently leaving him alone to chat with Jongin. At first Sehun gets nervous and defaults to making small talk about the weather, but strangely enough the conversation flows so naturally from there, and never once does Jongin make him feel awkward. Before long Sehun feels himself coming out of his shell, feeling much more comfortable saying whatever was on his mind. It's nice finding out little details about Jongin in return. Like the fact that he has a niece and nephew, and that one of his hobbies is collecting legos. But they go way past that, their conversation even wandering to deeper philosophical topics like the meaning of happiness. Sehun definitely hasn't discussed these sort of things with anyone else at work... at least not drunk.
And despite all the talking, they manage to get their work done, too. Sehun finds Jongin is a quick learner, easily accomplishing the tasks assigned to him with minimal corrections needed. It's seriously hot. Is it weird that Jongin's work ethic turns him on?
A month later, Jongin fits right in with the rest of the office. He gets along with everybody, although he remains somewhat of an enigma. Sehun can't quite put his finger on it but it feels like despite his friendliness, Jongin mostly prefers to keep to himself. Unfortunately their supervisor moved Jongin to the other side of the office so he could focus on refiling the backlog of paper documents, so he no longer sits with Sehun and Baekhyun. But Jongin doesn't act like a stranger, still going all the way over to Sehun's desk when he has questions he doesn't want to bother their supervisor with. It gives Sehun hope that Jongin doesn't hate him.
"Why don't you ask him out for drinks already?" Baekhyun asks Sehun after catching him staring wistfully at Jongin from afar.
"A lot of reasons," Sehun says, not liking this topic whenever Baekhyun brings it up. Which is frequently.
"Name one. And think this through."
"Well, first of all he's straight," Sehun replies in an instant. "There's no point in pursuing this any further so let me thirst after him in peace."
Baekhyun gives him a weird look. "Damn for a gay guy your gaydar is way off. You should be ashamed of yourself."
Sehun glares at him. "Excuse me? You're saying yours is better?"
"Well duh. I'm straight but that makes me better at telling if other guys are really straight or not," Baekhyun says while nodding his head.
"That logic though..."
Their conversation is cut short once they notice Jongin is headed towards their table. Baekhyun easily switches gears, asking Sehun loudly if he has any suggestions for what he should post on the company Twitter account for promo. Jongin doesn't suspect a thing, handing Sehun a folder with a smile that gets his heart pounding. And makes his pants a little tighter.
"Stop staring at his ass," Baekhyun scolds as he's typing away at his computer.
"Shut up."
On Thursday of that week, Sehun expects to get off on time because he gets his shit finished by 4:30, but naturally the exact opposite happens. His supervisor comes over at 4:45 and announces that everyone in the office needs to work overtime tonight. Apparently they're behind schedule for the next update, which of course was not mentioned at their last meeting. It would've been nice to have known in advance.
Baekhyun tentatively raises his hand. "But boss, hypothetically speaking, what if we have dinner plans?"
"They're canceled."
Baekhyun lays his head on the desk, which makes everyone laugh.
Sehun would be more upset about overtime, but the silver lining is he gets more time to ogle at Jongin... respectfully. It's hard not to stare, not when Jongin looks that good. Even doing the most mundane tasks he looks incredibly sexy or cute. Or both. His duality is insanely attractive.
They all end up staying until 9pm, and on the way out Sehun finds himself standing right next to Jongin and their other coworker Minseok in the elevator. Everyone crowds in because they don't want to wait for the next one, so Sehun gets pressed all up against the side of Jongin's body. It's the most physical contact they've ever had, so he can't help but focus on their points of contact.
Jongin and Minseok are talking about some football game, and Sehun feels kind of awkward because he doesn't know shit about football and can't contribute anything to the conversation. Baekhyun is squished to the wall at the other end of the elevator, but he makes eye contact with Sehun like he knows exactly what he's thinking. They proceed to silently communicate solely by covert facial expressions. His gaydar isn't fucked, okay? Straight guys are always into sports. Wait now they're talking about the gym! Jongin is asking about any gyms near their office. So he's a gym bro, too. Sehun is taking notes. The math is mathing. Baekhyun gives him a look like this isn't definitive proof. What does he know?
At the lobby everyone rushes out the door saying quick goodbyes and "see you Mondays". Jongin fist bumps a couple of the guys, but with Sehun he just gives him a wave because he's standing too far.
"Did you notice that?" Baekhyun asks him while they walk over to the employee parking lot.
"Notice what?"
"How Jongin only called you by name." Baekhyun wiggles his eyebrows. "Bye, Sehun~!" he repeats in a poor impression of Jongin that makes Sehun laugh.
"That literally doesn't mean anything... he was probably just trying to get my attention," Sehun shrugs.
"Exactly."
"No I meant because I was standing far from him!"
Baekhyun shakes his head and sighs.
The following Friday, management surprises their team with an all expenses paid dinner after work in celebration of the successful release of their new app interface.
Due to some stroke of luck Sehun finds himself seated next to Jongin at the end of the table, and they quietly chat with each other throughout their meal. It's comfortable talking to Jongin, as if they've known each other for years and not a little over a month. Due to Baekhyun's doing everyone on their side of the table starts talking about significant others, or rather lack thereof-- including Jongin, who to Sehun's surprise (and delight) voluntarily admits he isn't seeing anyone at the moment.
"Kinda ironic how we work for a dating app and we're all single right now," Baekhyun says while laughing. He winks at Sehun from across the table, which thankfully Jongin doesn't notice because he's busy eating.
"It's because we work so much," Sehun grouses. "There's no time to meet people when we're always working overtime."
When their main entrees arrive the supervisor orders their first round of shots, which quickly turns into two, then three.
"Do you drink a lot?" Sehun asks after noticing Jongin's less-than-stellar reaction while everyone else quickly downs their shots.
"Honestly, no," Jongin says, making a face as he swallows the last of it. The restaurant got super loud after another large group walked in, so Jongin leans in closer to Sehun when he speaks so he can talk into his ear. "Only when I have to."
"Oh no," Sehun says worriedly, trying to ignore how Jongin's lips softly brushed against the sensitive part of his ear. There's a more pressing matter at hand. It might seem weird since Jongin is so mature and responsible at work, but it's all the more reason he feels Jongin is someone who needs to be taken care of. He's the type who constantly burdens himself without even realizing his own needs.
By the fourth round Sehun can tell Jongin is pretty much at his limit, but he doesn't want to say anything because he's the newest hire. As stealthily as possible, Sehun takes Jongin's shot for him, and by the fifth round he gets up and announces to his supervisor that it's getting late and he's ready to leave. His supervisor gives him flack for it, but a few other of his coworkers rally behind him to say they're getting tired, too. By popular vote, they officially call it a night.
Sehun helps Jongin get up, noting how his eyes are glazed and that his gait is unsteady. Sehun keeps his hand lightly around Jongin's waist so he doesn't fall as they make their way out of the restaurant, and he sucks in his breath when Jongin leans in closer to rest his body weight on him.
"Lets share a cab, okay Jongin?" Sehun suggests. "I don't think you can get home on your own right now, I'm worried..."
"Okay..." Jongin mumbles in agreement, and he's coherent enough to give Sehun his address. He's not too far, only about 15 minutes by taxi.
When they arrive at Jongin's building Sehun walks him in, making sure he's able to enter his key code and enter his apartment. While Jongin takes off his shoes, Sehun gets him a glass of water in the kitchen.
"Drink this," he urges.
Jongin nods, taking small sips of water.
"All of it," Sehun laughs, smiling, and Jongin reluctantly obeys, drinking the entire glass.
"Good."
After Sehun puts the glass down on the table, there's a distinctly charged atmosphere as Jongin stares at him. Before Sehun can speak, Jongin cups his face and tries to kiss him.
"Wait," Sehun says, pulling back before their lips connect. "It's not that I don't want to," he rushes to assure him because Jongin is pouting and it's the cutest thing he's ever seen. "But you're drunk right now, and I don't want you to do something you might regret in the morning."
"But I won't," Jongin practically whines, reaching for Sehun's hand to pull him close. "I've been wanting this."
Sehun smiles, looking down at where their fingers are intertwined and he squeezes his hand. "Then if you still feel the same way tomorrow, call me," he says, writing down his number on a notepad on top of Jongin's coffee table.
Jongin nods, still pouting all innocently like he doesn't know much it's affecting Sehun. But as convincing as Jongin is, Sehun knows it's better for them both to wait. For all he knows, it's the alcohol making Jongin act confused, or he may not remember anything in the morning, which would make things awkward to navigate between them.
"Have a good night, Jongin" Sehun says sincerely, lifting a hand to tuck a loose strand of Jongin's pretty long hair behind his ear before stepping out of his apartment.
By the time Sehun gets home it's almost 3 in the morning, but strangely enough he doesn't feel tired at all. He washes up and gets ready for bed, but he stays up another hour staring at his ceiling while thinking about Jongin, hoping he's feeling alright and doesn't get sick from all the alcohol. Now he knows for sure he's down bad, because it isn't only about physical attraction anymore.
The next morning, Sehun wakes up to his phone ringing. His head is pounding and he's wondering who the hell is calling him this early on a Saturday, but then the events of last night come rushing back to him. He almost falls off his bed in a rush to pick up his phone, which was stuck somewhere underneath his covers. It's an unknown number, and he hopes it's who he thinks it is.
"Hello, is this Sehun?" Jongin's familiar voice asks, and suddenly Sehun is fully awake.
"Jongin? Yeah, yeah it's me."
"Hey, so about last night..."
Sehun's heart sinks so fast he feels like he's going to be sick, so he sits on the floor his his back against the edge of the bed to hear the rest of it. "Do you remember it?"
"Yeah. I uh, distinctly remember trying to kiss you... and you rejected me," Jongin says with an obvious pout in his voice.
"Hey, it wasn't like that! I mean, I wanted to kiss you, I swear. But you were really drunk..." Sehun explains.
"I know, I'm kidding," Jongin says, amused. "To me, the fact that you waited was really..."
"Really what?"
"Really fucking hot," Jongin laughs. "It makes me want you even more," he continues, his voice going all seductive. "So if you aren't busy today... did you wanna come over?"
Although he already woke up with morning wood, Sehun feels himself get even harder hearing Jongin acting like this over the phone.
"I'll be there in an hour," Sehun promises, jumping up with renewed energy to grab clean towels so he can shower. "I'll bring you breakfast, okay? And your usual iced latte."
"Okay," Jongin says sweetly, and Sehun can hear the smile in his voice. "Don't keep me waiting."
Sehun is smiling long after their phone call ends. Just a couple of weeks ago he had been dreading going back to work in person, but it all worked out in the end-- he got to meet Jongin who made work exciting for him again. And maybe for the first time in a while, he wouldn't be single.
"I knew it, I fucking knew it!!!" Baekhyun celebrates when he catches Sehun about to peck Jongin on the lips. They were hiding in the corner behind the vending machine at work thinking they were being stealthy, but Sehun should've known better especially with Baekhyun in the office.
"Okay, alright, you were right," Sehun admits.
"Byun Baekhyun!" Their supervisor calls out from the main room, causing Baekhyun to wince.
"Uh, I'll be back. Have fun making out," Baekhyun says while giving them a thumbs before leaving the two of them alone again.
"What was that all about?" Jongin asks curiously. "Right about what?"
"So uh, I kind of thought you were straight for the longest time, but Baekhyun was telling me I was wrong and that I definitely had a chance with you," Sehun reluctantly admits.
"Well, for the record, I'm not straight but I'm not gay, either... I'm bi, and demisexual. That just means I need to feel an emotional connection to someone before I'm attracted to them," Jongin explains.
"Oh, so you're emotionally attracted to me, huh?" Sehun says, grinning as he pulls Jongin in closer by his waist. "Does that mean you want to be in a relationship with me?"
"I do," Jongin says, squeezing Sehun's hand while biting his lip. "But aren't you worried about HR?"
"Fuck HR," Sehun says, cupping Jongin's face to kiss him senseless.