Work Text:
Seongmin holds back a yawn. Today, in particular, class has been boring him to near death and all he really wants to do is go home and take a nap.
He blinks a few times to wake himself up, and looks back down at his open textbook. He’s not reading it, since that would probably lull him to sleep even more, so he decides to doodle on the side of the page to keep his brain active. His pen glides over the page, drawing whatever his mind can come up with in the moment.
“Now,” the lecturer suddenly begins, ripping Seongmin away from his own thoughts. He sighs, because he can tell she’s going to say something he won’t like. “It’s very important that you listen to me, because what I’m about to tell you about is going to be worth 40% of your grade and I am not going to repeat myself.”
Seongmin drops his pen down, and focuses his attention on the front of the room. Sure, he‘s bored, but he still does not want to fail.
“I’ve decided to set a group project for you. I’m going to ask you to get into pairs, and you will need to make a presentation about some of your favourite pieces of art from history. You’ll have two weeks to work on it, and at the end of that time you and your partner will have to present it to the class. I’ll give you some time now to get into your pairs.”
While everybody around him gets up and starts moving, Seongmin stays in his seat. He doesn’t have any friends in this class, so there’s nobody for him to immediately go to.
He looks around the room. He spots a tall, black haired boy sitting in the corner. He was also alone, and not getting up to go to anybody else. Seongmin gathers up some courage, and stands up to approach him.
“Hey,” he says, making the boy look up at him. Seongmin gulps. “Um… if you don't have a partner, do you wanna work together?”
“Sure,” the boy says with a shrug. He holds his hand out towards Seongmin. “I’m Minhee by the way.”
“Seongmin,” he replies, shaking Minhee’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
“Do you have your phone on you? I could give you my number and you can just send me a text when you’re free to start working.”
Minhee nods, reaching into his pocket and taking his phone out. He unlocks it and hands it to Seongmin. Seongmin types his number into a new contact, and saves it under ‘Ahn Seongmin’. With a friendly smile, he gives Minhee his phone back.
“There you go.”
“Cool. I’ll text you sometime this week?” Minhee says, and Seongmin gives him a thumbs up before leaving to return to his own desk.
At the weekend, Seongmin is sitting on his bed. His laptop is sitting in front of him, with an anime playing on the screen. Through the sounds blaring through the speakers, he can just about hear his phone going off.
He sees a text, from a number he doesn’t have saved.
Unknown
hey, this is seongmin right? just text me back when you see this
Seongmin scowls. This better not be somebody else trying to hit him up. The amount of texts he receives from thirsty people is way more than he would like. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if it was somebody he thought was hot, but it never is.
He begrudgingly types out a reply.
‘sorry, i have a boyfriend!’
That is a lie, but whoever it is on the other end hopefully won’t be able to tell. They reply again a minute later.
Unknown
okay congratulations. which part of the powerpoint should i do?
Seongmin’s stomach drops.
He forgot about Minhee.
‘SHIT i’m so sorry! i forgot i gave you my number’
His reply doesn’t convey it, but currently he’s wishing the ground would swallow him up. In order to avoid further embarrassment, he saves Minhee’s number to his phone.
Minhee
lmao it’s okay i was just very confused
but… the powerpoint?
After that, neither Minhee nor Seongmin brings up what just happened, and they agree to meet during the week to properly discuss the work and who will do what. Seongmin is slightly nervous about seeing Minhee one on one in case he finds a way to embarrass himself again, but he shakes the thought off.
It should be fine.
Minhee and Seongmin agreed to meet on Tuesday afternoon, the next time both of them were free after they spoke.
So, Seongmin stands outside a campus cafe waiting for Minhee to turn up. He exhales heavily as he sees many other people passing by, but none of them are Minhee. He begins to wonder if he’s gotten stood up, and even though this isn’t a date or anything he still feels somewhat upset about it.
Just as he is starting to give up hope, he spots Minhee jogging towards him. Seongmin can’t help but grin.
“Hey!” Minhee calls out as soon as he is close enough. “Sorry I’m late! My lecturer kept us behind.”
Seongmin chuckles. “Oh? What happened?”
“She spent ages rambling about something unrelated and ran out of time for the actual lecture, but apparently it was too important for us to leave without hearing it after all so she kept us all back.” Minhee says, shaking his head.
“Oof. Annoying.”
“Yeah but… I’m here now!” Minhee grins. “Should we go in?” He points towards the door.
“Oh, yeah!”
“Okay, after you!”
They enter the cafe, Minhee after Seongmin, and find a quiet table in the corner.
“So,” Seongmin starts, taking his laptop out of his bag, “where should we begin?”
Minhee hums, pressing a knuckle to his chin. Seongmin guesses he does that when he’s trying to think. It’s endearing in a way.
“Maybe we could start with, like, a theme for the presentation?”
Seongmin nods. “That’s good! I’m an artist so… I like things to be pretty.”
“Makes sense.” Minhee says, amused.
Opening Powerpoint, Seongmin takes a look through the built in designs. When one catches his eye, he turns the screen towards Minhee. “What do you think of this one?”
“Pretty. It’ll fit the presentation too.”
Seongmin smiles. “Cool. I’ll go with this one then.”
“So, how are we gonna split the work?” Minhee asks, looking towards Seongmin.
“Hm… I do one slide, you do the next? Of course, we’ll have to make sure it’s coherent when.”
Minhee chuckles. “Yeah, that’ll work. So, can you share this document with me?”
This is the first time Seongmin has seen Minhee’s face close up, and he can’t help but notice the freckles scattered over his cheeks. He quickly looks away, and clears his throat. “Sure. I’ll, like… email it to you.”
“Awesome.”
From then on, they continue to chat casually and discuss the exact subject of their presentation, and even make a start on it. They agree to work on their slides when they have the time, and to let the other know when it’s done so they can do the next.
When they part ways, they agree to meet again soon and say they’ll see each other in class. Seongmin isn’t sure why, but he can’t seem to peel his eyes away from Minhee as he walks off.
When it turned out their next class together after that actually got cancelled, due to some unforeseen circumstances, Minhee and Seongmin took the time to use the campus library instead, to finish the presentation and make sure it was finished and up to scratch.
Now, they stand in front of their peers, about to present it in front of them. Seongmin’s hands are sweating, but he looks to his side and sees Minhee, sitting behind the computer. He mouths ‘we can do it’, just as the lecturer tells them to take it away.
Luckily, the presentation goes well, and Seongmin feels a massive weight off his back once it’s over.
“Well done, you two.” The lecturer says, with a smile. “Everybody, give them a round of applause.”
All of the other students clap for Minhee and Seongmin, as they move away from the front of the room to their seats. They sit next to each other.
“Ugh, being applauded is kinda awkward.” Seongmin comments.
Minhee holds back a laugh. “I thought it was just me. But hey, we did well. You did well.”
“Thanks… You did well too.” Seongmin replies.
Minhee raises an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yeah! Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect since we only teamed up because we had no friends to work with. So, it's a relief you performed well.”
“I’m… gonna take that as a compliment.” Minhee chuckles.
“Yeah, it was meant to be one. I swear.”
They both laugh, causing some others around them to look their way.
“Well, I hope you can at least consider me a friend now?” Minhee says, quieter than normal. Seongmin wonders if he was shy about saying that.
Seongmin smiles. “I do.”
They chat for the rest of the class, not paying very much attention to anybody else’s presentation. When class is over, they continue talking as they leave together. Seongmin stops outside of the room.
“Ah, I’d love to keep talking but I’m supposed to be meeting my friends.” Seongmin says, gesturing behind him.
“That’s okay! Can we… talk more next time?” Minhee asks.
“Sure! I’ll see you around!”
They give each other a wave, as they walk different ways down the hall. Ahead of him, Seongmin sees the friends he was just going to meet, Wonjin and Hyeongjun, walking towards him.
“Hey! We were just coming to find you.” Wonjin exclaims.
It’s hard to ignore the mischievous glint in Hyeongjun’s eye. “Who were you just talking to?” He asks.
Seongmin shrugs, as they all start to walk the way Wonjin and Hyeongjun had just come from. “My friend from class. We were doing the presentation together.”
Wonjin and Hyeongjun share a look, something they often do. Seongmin always assumes it’s a couple's way of silent communication.
“Your friend… I see.” Wonjin says a moment later.
Seongmin rolls his eyes. “What are you guys insinuating?”
Hyeongjun shakes his head. “Nothing! Nothing at all! Why do you always think we’re up to something?”
“Because you almost always are. I’ve told you, I can handle my own relationships just fine.” Seongmin deadpans.
As soon as he says that, he remembers that his friendship with Minhee basically started out with a lie. He mentally facepalms.
“Okay! Sheesh, why do you have to be so fiesty?” Hyeongjun says, raising a hand defensively.
“Don’t act like you’re not as bad, if not worse than me sometimes.” Seongmin bites back.
Wonjin sighs. “Okay, we get it, you’re both very angry people. Now, can we decide what to have for lunch?”
After the day of the presentation, Minhee and Seongmin started to get more friendly. Talking more, over text and in person, sitting together in class and even often getting lunch afterwards.
Today is no different, with them sitting beside each other in the cafeteria. Seongmin takes a sip from his drink.
Minhee is talking about some game he’s been playing, and Seongmin doesn’t entirely understand but he’s listening anyway. Or, he’s listening until something else catches his attention.
“Oh, god.” he says under his breath.
“What? What’s wrong?” Minhee asks, forgetting what he was just rambling about.
Seongmin points at the boy approaching the table. “He’s coming over here.”
Minhee looks. “Who?”
“I don’t know his name, but he’s in a few of my classes. I really don’t wanna talk to hi— Oh, hey! How are you?” Seongmin’s demeanour completely changes in an instant, much to Minhee’s amusement.
“Hi Seongmin, sorry to bother you, but um… I’ve been meaning to ask you for some time now if you would be interested in, maybe, going out with me sometime? You know, I always look forward to seeing you in class and you’ve always been really helpful to me so… I thought I’d give it a shot.” The boy says, avoiding Seongmin’s gaze.
Seongmin was going to just let this guy down easy, but then he remembers Minhee is with him so he has no choice but to double up on his lie.
“Oh, I’m really sorry but, um, I have a boyfriend.” Seongmin smiles sympathetically.
The boy’s eyes blow wide. He looks towards Minhee. “Oh, is... is this your boyfriend?”
Seongmin freezes. He looks at Minhee, who is also frozen, and starts rapidly shaking his head. “Oh, no! No, no, no. He’s… we’re not…”
Minhee doesn’t speak, only staring blankly at the guy, unmoving.
“Oh, guess I misunderstood… Anyway, sorry to bother you, Seongmin. Um, see you around.” He says, walking away.
Part of Seongmin feels bad, but the other parts of him don’t care because people regularly bother him and he hates it. He clears his throat. “Sorry, Minhee. That must have been pretty awkward for you.”
“No, it’s okay.” Minhee says, still slightly bewildered. “Does that happen often?”
Seongmin huffs. “More often than I would like.”
Minhee softly chuckles. “I bet your boyfriend isn’t too happy about it either, huh?”
“Oh… He’s, uh, gotten used to it.”
On the inside, Seongmin can feel this lie eating away at him. He wants to come clean, but he doesn’t know how to do it in a way that won’t make him sound weird.
Minhee doesn’t speak again, instead going back to eating the rest of his lunch while there’s still time. Seongmin’s brain starts to wander.
He can’t help but think about if Minhee was his boyfriend. The idea doesn’t sound too bad to him. Minhee is nice, funny, tall and handsome, even though he can get on Seongmin’s nerves occasionally.
If only he didn’t think I already had a boyfriend, Seongmin says to himself. Although, I guess that’s my fault.
Lunchtime comes to an end, and Minhee expresses that he should probably get to class quickly because he was late last time.
“Wait, Minhee.” Seongmin calls, getting his attention again before he can leave.
“Yeah?” There’s a hint of concern in Minhee’s eyes.
“Um… There’s an exhibition this weekend that I really wanna go to, but my friends are busy and I don’t wanna go alone, so I was wondering if you would maybe wanna come with me?”
Minhee smiles, and it gives Seongmin a funny feeling in his stomach. Has his smile always been this pretty?
“I’d love to come with you.” Minhee replies. “Can you text me the details?”
Seongmin nods. “For sure.”
“Great. I’ll see you then.”
“Alright. See you.” Seongmin says, waving as Minhee walks off.
Seongmin shakes his head, in the hopes that his sudden influx of thoughts about Minhee will disappear, and starts walking to his next class.
Seongmin stares down at his phone. A text pops up from Minhee.
Minhee
i’m around the corner!
Seongmin grins. He told Minhee to just meet him at the exhibition hall and he can’t lie, he’s been looking forward to seeing him.
About a minute passes, and Seongmin sees a tall figure approaching. At last, it’s Minhee. Seongmin waves, and Minhee waves back.
“Hey!” Minhee calls.
“Hi!” Seongmin replies. “We should hurry up and go inside before it gets too crowded.”
Minhee nods, following Seongmin into the hall.
“So, you said this is an exhibition of… the creators of a manga you like?”
“That’s right!” Seongmin says excitedly.
It means a lot to him that Minhee is showing an actual interest in this, but he would never say it out loud. Some things are best left unsaid.
The decorations and the artwork are far more exciting than Seongmin had imagined. Minhee must have noticed the wonder in his eyes.
“It’s cool here, huh?”
“Extremely. I feel like a little kid right now.”
Minhee chuckles. “You look like one too.”
“Hey!” Seongmin hits Minhee in the arm. “It’s not my fault I’m short.”
“I know, I’m just messing with you.” Minhee says, gently nudging Seongmin back.
As his eyes dart around, Seongmin can’t ignore the amount of couples around. He hopes his fluster won’t show on his face.
“Do you want to take some pictures?” Minhee asks.
Seongmin nods enthusiastically. “Oh, absolutely!”
Minhee grins, as Seongmin runs over to one of the art covered walls. He shoves his phone into Minhee’s hand.
“Make me look good!” Seongmin exclaims.
Minhee laughs. “Of course.”
Seongmin poses, a simple peace sign, and looks at the camera. Minhee crouches slightly, to get a better angle. Seongmin sees him press the button on the screen a few times.
“Did you get it?” He asks.
Minhee nods, walking over to him with the hand holding the phone outstretched. “I hope it’s up to your standards.”
Seongmin takes his phone to review the picture. “It looks good! You did well.”
Minhee smiles proudly.
“Do you want me to take one of you now?” Seongmin asks.
Minhee thinks for a moment, before nodding his head. “Sure, that would be cool.”
Minhee goes over to the same wall Seongmin was standing in front of, after putting his phone in the younger’s hand. He doesn’t do an extravagant pose, just opting to put his hands in his pockets and smile.
“Do I look good?” Minhee asks, after Seongmin takes a few pictures.
Seongmin hums. “Hm… I guess so.” He jokes.
Minhee chuckles, as he walks back over. “Oh, shut up!”
Seongmin laughs too, stealing a secret glance at Minhee’s smile.
“Excuse me…” A voice says from behind them. “If you would like, I could take a picture of both of you together?”
They look at each other.
“Uh, yeah sure! Thank you!” Seongmin says, handing his phone to the kind stranger.
Seongmin and Minhee walk to the same wall once more, standing side by side and grinning.
Once the photo is taken, Seongmin walks back over to retrieve his phone. “Thank you so much!”
The stranger smiles. “No problem. You two look cute together, by the way.”
Seongmin freezes. He can see in the corner of his eye that Minhee has tensed up too.
“I, uh— Thank you, but we’re not dating or anything. He’s— We’re just friends. That’s all.” Seongmin rambles, following up his words with a nervous laugh.
“Alright. I just meant you suit each other, whether you’re dating or not.” They say, before wandering off, still smiling.
Minhee clears his throat. “Why do people keep thinking I’m your boyfriend?”
“I… don’t know.” Seongmin croaks, attempting to ignore the way his heart is beating. “Um… should we look around some more?”
“Yeah, sure…”
Putting the awkward encounter at the back of their minds, they continue to walk around the exhibit and take in the different art. Seongmin gushes about different characters, and Minhee listens even though he doesn’t know them.
However, wandering gets tiring after a while, so they duck into the little café set up inside the event. They get a couple snacks and Seongmin orders a drink. The drink comes with two straws, which leads to another instance of blabbing that they aren’t dating and then asking each other why everybody seems to think they are. Seongmin’s heart speeds up once more.
When they decide to go back to looking around, Seongmin opts to go to the bathroom first (the drink went straight through him) and Minhee says he’ll wait for him outside.
Seongmin fixes his hair after washing his hands, and he realises then that he really cares about his appearance in front of Minhee. He normally isn’t that bothered about how he looks for his friends. He’s shown up to hang out with Wonjin and Hyeongjun in his pyjamas more times than he can count. He clears his throat.
Walking out to reunite with him, Seongmin sees somebody else talking to Minhee. He seems to laugh at something they say. Seongmin’s mouth goes dry. In his head he’s screaming, screaming at them to leave him alone since he’s the one that is here with Minhee, not them. They wave at him and walk off, and Minhee turns and notices Seongmin standing there.
“Oh, there you are! Sorry, I was just giving that person some directions. You ready to walk around some more?”
Seongmin licks his lips. “Oh, y-yeah. Let’s go.”
As they start to walk again, Minhee chats about something but Seongmin isn’t taking it in. Instead his mind is stuck on why he felt so annoyed about seeing somebody else talking to Minhee so closely. He tries to shake it off but it doesn’t work. It sticks in his head for the rest of the day.
When they’ve seen everything and spent enough time milling about, Minhee and Seongmin decide to call it a day.
“How will you get home?” Minhee asks.
“Ah, I’m just gonna walk. I don’t live too far from here.”
“Do you want me to walk you?”
“No, it’s okay. Thank you though. How are you getting home?”
“I’ll get the train. I could walk too but I think I’ve done enough of that today.” Minhee chuckles.
Seongmin doesn’t know how to feel about the fact that Minhee was so willing to walk him home, even though he’s tired himself.
“That’s fair. Thanks for hanging out with me today anyway.”
“No problem. I had fun. We should do it again.”
Seongmin grins. “I agree.”
“Oh! Wait! Before I forget…” Minhee begins, digging into his pocket. “I have something for you. I bought it while you were in the bathroom.”
“Oh?”
Minhee presents a keychain, of one of the characters Seongmin expressed he likes the most. Seongmin gasps.
“I hope you like it.” Minhee says, shyly.
“I love it, thank you.” Seongmin gently takes the keychain into his own hand. He holds it as if it’s a precious jewel.
“Anyway, uh,” Minhee coughs, “you better go before it starts getting dark.”
“Ah, right!” Seongmin laughs. “Thanks again, Minhee. I’ll see you later.” He waves.
“Bye! Uh— Text me when you get home!” Minhee calls out.
“I will!” Seongmin responds, already walking down the path.
Once Minhee is out of view, Seongmin beams to himself.
He cares about me.
“You know, I’m surprised that you’re even sitting with us right now,” Wonjin jabs.
“What are you talking about?” Seongmin asks, lifting his head up from his bowl of noodles.
“It’s like we don’t exist to you anymore! You never hang out with us these days!” Hyeongjun exclaims.
Luckily, the restaurant they’re sitting in is fairly empty, so there aren't many people around to hear Hyeongjun’s outburst. Seongmin has had to deal with the embarrassment of his friends being loud in public places many more times than he would have liked.
Seongmin shrugs. “I’ve been busy. You know how packed my schedule can get.”
“Not busy enough to see the movie we’ve been raving about for months with somebody else, apparently.” Hyeongjun says, turning his nose up at Seongmin’s excuse.
“Can you blame me? Last time we saw a movie together, I couldn’t concentrate because you two were making out the entire time. You can go see it yourselves.”
“It wasn’t the entire time, only the boring parts.” Wonjin interjects.
Seongmin rolls his eyes. The whole movie was nothing but boring parts, but he isn’t arguing further.
“I’m allowed to have other friends, you know.”
“We know, it’s just weird not seeing you as much. Like, we went to this place last week, and we just kept thinking about you the whole time. You would have really liked it.” Hyeongjun says, sincerity in his tone. It was quite the contrast from how he sounded before.
Seongmin pouts. “I know, I’m sorry. We can go together next time.”
“You promise you’ll make time for us?”
“I promise.”
“Who did you even see the movie with anyway?” Wonjin questions.
Seongmin pauses. “Just a friend.”
Wonjin furrows his eyebrows. Hyeongjun gasps, grabbing onto his boyfriend’s arm.
“Wait.. Is this the same friend you eat lunch with all the time? The one you did that presentation with? That tall hot guy from your art history class?!”
Seongmin groans. As much as he hates it, Wonjin and Hyeongjun have always been able to see through him. He can’t lie to them about anything. “His name is Minhee.” He deadpans.
Hyeongjun grins. “So you agree he’s hot?”
It’s obvious Wonjin isn’t too happy about his boyfriend using ‘hot’ to describe somebody other than him. And yet, he doesn’t deny it.
“I mean… yeah, he’s attractive. Anyone can see that.” Seongmin says, nonchalant. He hopes his cheeks aren’t burning.
“So… why are you spending so much time with your super attractive friend all of a sudden?”
“Isn’t it obvious, Jjunie? They’ve got to be dating and he’s just not telling us because we ‘meddle too much’ or whatever.” Wonjin states. Seongmin almost chokes on air.
“What? No we’re not! What makes you say that?” Seongmin defends himself.
Once again, Wonjin and Hyeongjun share a look. The couples look.
“Well, for one… you’re getting extremely defensive right now.” Wonjin says, eyebrow raised.
“That- that doesn’t mean anything.” Seongmin huffs. “We’re not dating, okay? You guys do meddle, but you know that I would still tell you if I was seeing anyone.”
“Okay.” Wonjin chuckles. “But you like him, right?”
Seongmin doesn’t answer right away. Mostly because he doesn’t know how.
He hasn’t really given much thought to his feelings towards Minhee. He sometimes finds it hard to differentiate how he feels about people; figuring out if he just really likes their friendship or if he actually wants to date them can be difficult. But Minhee is nice and handsome. He’s sure there are at least some kind of feelings there.
“I… I don’t know. Maybe? I think?” Seongmin says, exhaling. “I can never tell.”
Hyeongjun leans closer to Seongmin across the table. “Look at it this way. Can you imagine yourself kissing him?”
“Hyeongjun!” Seongmin whisper-yells.
“What? I’m just asking!”
Seongmin shakes his head. Just thinking about being that close to Minhee makes him feel extremely shy, so he pushes it out of his mind. “I’m not answering that.”
“That sounds like a yes.” Hyeongjun comments, taking a sip from his drink.
Seongmin looks towards Wonjin. He has a teasing smile on his face. Of course he’s enjoying this, Seongmin thinks. He rolls his eyes. “You two are ridiculous.”
“But you love us.” Wonjin responds.
“Whatever you say.” Seongmin grumbles. He would never admit it to them, but Wonjin and Hyeongjun are right.
Maybe he does like Minhee. Which, unfortunately, means he’ll have to come clean.
“Oh, hey, I’ve… been meaning to talk to you, actually.” Seongmin begins, even though he isn’t entirely sure what he’s going to say next.
Minhee momentarily stops filling up his water bottle to look at Seongmin. (In hindsight, Seongmin isn’t sure why he chose to try having this conversation at a water cooler.) “Oh yeah? What’s up?”
Seongmin sighs. “I… I haven’t been entirely honest with you.”
Minhee doesn’t speak, only nodding his head ever so slightly so Seongmin knows to continue.
“My boyfriend, um… he— he doesn’t—” Seongmin trails off. He really isn’t sure where to go with this. “He…”
“Hm?” Minhee says, bending slightly and leaning closer to Seongmin. “What was that? I couldn’t quite hear you.”
Seongmin stiffens up. He hopes Minhee can’t hear how fast his heart is beating. It’s crazy to him how Minhee manages to make something so simple, so attractive.
“He, well… It’s kind of hard to explain…” Seongmin anxiously laughs. The way Minhee’s eyes are practically boring into him isn’t helping his nerves. He knows what he wants to say, but his brain and his mouth don’t seem to be cooperating. He exhales. “You know what, it doesn’t really matter. I’m sorry to bother you. We should probably just get to class.”
“But– Okay. If you’re sure.” Minhee replies, following Seongmin into the classroom.
The entire class, Seongmin keeps noticing Minhee looking at him. There’s always a hint of concern in his eyes. Seongmin’s blabbering about his ‘boyfriend’ probably set off alarm bells in his head. Seongmin knows he should probably try again with explaining so Minhee doesn’t worry too much.
The second class is over, and Seongmin gets up to leave, Minhee rushes to his side.
“Seongmin, is everything alright? Your boyfriend isn’t… you aren’t having issues with him, are you?” Minhee asks, once they get outside.
Seongmin clears his throat. Now’s the time. “No, everything’s fine. Um, the thing is… my boyfriend?”
“Yeah…”
“He kinda, sorta isn’t even real?”
It’s hard for Seongmin to describe Minhee’s facial expression; confusion is the best he can come up with. Bewilderment, even. “Woah, what? Really?”
He knows he should be relieved to finally get that lie off his chest, but instead Seongmin is regretting his words. He can’t help but worry in case Minhee now thinks he’s crazy.
“I’m so sorry, but it was all just a big misunderstanding. When you first texted me, I thought you were somebody trying to hit on me, so… I just came up with that to get you to leave me alone. Well, not you but the person I thought you were. If that makes sense? But now we’ve gotten closer and I’ve had to carry on with this lie because I haven’t had the chance to tell you until now and also I was afraid of sounding insane, even though I’m pretty sure I do sound insane right now, so… I’m just going to stop talking.”
Once he stops speaking, Seongmin sighs and closes his eyes. If Minhee didn’t think he was crazy before, he definitely does now.
“Okay… I think I get it?” Minhee says, as if he almost doesn’t believe it himself. “I don’t think you’re insane, Seongmin.”
Seongmin’s eyes widen. “You’re not upset?”
Minhee chuckles. “No. I’m just glad you’re being honest. I was really worried that your fake boyfriend was giving you a hard time. I was getting ready to give him a piece of my mind.”
Seongmin laughs. “Oh my god, you’re ridiculous. Were you going to fight him?”
“Maybe not fight, but I’d definitely argue.”
“Wow.”
Hearing Minhee lightheartedly joke with him is what finally makes Seongmin feel at ease. He told the truth and Minhee didn’t immediately run away from him, which is all he was hoping for.
Also, as a bonus, Minhee now knows he’s single.
Seongmin sits with his hand on his chin. He huffs.
Minhee looks at him amusedly. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t be bothered to study for our exam.” Seongmin grumbles. “I’ve had so many other things to get done, having that to worry about on top of everything else is the final straw. I’m out of motivation.”
Minhee hums. “I have an idea. What if I help you get motivated?”
Seongmin raises an eyebrow. “And how will you do that?”
“We could make a bet?”
“What kind of bet?”
Minhee takes a moment to think. “How about… whichever one of us gets a higher score on the exam can get whatever they want from the other?”
Seongmin nods. Whatever he wants? That’s hard to turn down. It’s not every day you get that kind of offer. “I like that.”
Minhee grins. “Good. You better get studying then, or I might get you to buy me dinner for the month.” He jokes.
“Psht. You wish.” Seongmin scoffs. He’s not sure where this sudden confidence came from. Although, it seems as if Minhee is pretty confident in himself also.
“I guess you’re motivated?” Minhee laughs.
“Of course. There’s no way I’m gonna lose.” Seongmin warns, lip turning up into a smirk. He actually isn’t sure what he would ask from Minhee, but he just wants to win for his pride.
“So, are we on?” Minhee asks, holding out his hand.
Seongmin grabs his hand and shakes it. He tries not to panic about holding hands with Minhee. “We’re on.”
“Well,” Minhee turns his body towards Seongmin, “may the best man win.”
The best man. That’ll be me, obviously, Seongmin thinks.
When he’s home later that day, Seongmin immediately opens his textbook and his computer. It’s honestly hard for him to believe that he’s managing to study after all. It was smart of Minhee to think of the bet. He must not want Seongmin to fail.
Unsurprisingly, thinking of Minhee makes him smile. He looks forward to seeing him again, as always. It’s a little bit embarrassing that it took him so long to realise he has feelings for Minhee, he thinks. He’s pretty sure he liked him from the beginning.
When he’s finished with studying, Seongmin flops down onto his bed. He texts Minhee to tell him he’s been studying, and Minhee replies saying he’s doing a good job. Seongmin has to force himself not to have a meltdown over that.
They continue to chat throughout the evening, and every time he sees Minhee’s name pop up on his screen, he feels butterflies in his stomach. It’s almost funny how the little things have begun to get to him.
He can’t deny it anymore. He’s down bad.
And he will be winning this bet.
The café is quiet, contrary to the beating of Seongmin’s heart. He sits alongside Minhee, both anticipating the results of their exam. Or more importantly, who will win the bet.
“What time is it?”
Seongmin turns on his phone screen to check the time. “It’s 12:00. Moment of truth.”
Minhee digs into his pocket for his phone too. “Good luck, Seongmin.” He says, smiling slightly, before they log into the website and look at their scores.
“You too.” Seongmin responds. He almost can’t bring himself to look at the screen. His breathing gets heavier, as he waits for the page to load.
92/100.
“Holy shit.” Seongmin whispers. “I did way better than I thought.”
Minhee laughs. “What did you get?”
“You tell me yours first.”
“No, I asked first.”
Seongmin shakes his head. “How about we show each other at the same time?”
Minhee rolls his eyes jokingly. “Fine.”
The pair count to three, and turn their screens to each other.
Minhee got 90/100. Seongmin beat him.
“Woah, nice job, Seongie. Guess you win.” Minhee says, patting Seongmin on the shoulder.
Seongmin chuckles nervously. He wants to scream right now. “…Seongie?”
“Yeah. It’s a nickname I just thought of. Do you not like it?” Minhee asks, looking worried.
“No, no! I— I like it.” Seongmin reassures, cheeks burning red.
“Good. Um, so, winner. What do you want me to do for you?”
Seongmin thinks for a moment, but nothing comes to his head. “I’m not too sure. Honestly, I just wanted to win to keep my self esteem intact.”
Minhee laughs. “That’s… understandable. My ego is pretty bruised right now.”
Seongmin tilts his head to the side. “What would you have asked for if you won?”
Minhee clears his throat. “I’m not sure if I can really say. I mean, I lost, so…”
Seongmin shakes his head. “But I’m curious! You can still tell me even if I don’t have to do it.”
Minhee pauses, looking away from him. Seongmin can practically see his inner conflict. “I, um… I was gonna ask you… if, maybe, you would go out with me. On a date.”
Seongmin blinks. Is he dreaming? He has to be. This can’t be real. He discreetly pinches himself on the leg, and… Oh. It’s real.
“Are you serious?” He manages to squeak out. There’s ringing in his ears, his heart is probably going fast enough for it to be dangerous, and he’s sure his face could be likened to a tomato right about now.
“Yeah. Sorry, was that too forward?” Minhee scratches his neck. He’s squirming in his seat, probably because he can’t tell how Seongmin is feeling.
Seongmin grabs Minhee’s arm; a bold move from somebody who will absolutely be screaming into his pillow when he’s home. “Minhee… of course I would go out with you.”
Minhee’s eyes widen. His face is red too, which is cute to Seongmin. “Really?”
“Yes, stupid! I’ve liked you since we met, basically.” Seongmin gently hits Minhee’s shoulder.
“Oh… same, actually. But, obviously—”
“—You thought I had a boyfriend.”
“Exactly. So, I felt almost guilty to be crushing on you? I don’t know.” Minhee shrugs. “It sounds kinda silly when I say it out loud.”
“No, I understand. It’s not silly.” Seongmin scoffs. “If I was just honest with you from the beginning we maybe could have already been going out by now.”
“Yeah.” Minhee chuckles. “So… where should we go?”
“On our date?” Seongmin asks, and Minhee nods. “Hm, have you ever been to that restaurant on the corner of this street?”
“I haven’t.”
Seongmin gasps. “Oh my god, we have to go. It’s amazing.”
“Okay then, let’s go there.”
“Ooh, and there’s also a cute dessert place not far away, so maybe we could go there after. For, well… dessert, obviously.”
Minhee raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure you can eat that much?”
“Oh, absolutely.”
Minhee nods, smiling. “Okay. That works for me.”
Seongmin looks up into Minhee’s eyes. He could almost fall into them. ‘Fond’ is written all over Minhee’s face. Seongmin still partly can’t believe this is happening, but he’s not complaining.
“So, shall I pick you up? 6pm Saturday? I’ll pay. You are still the winner between us, after all.” Minhee suggests, voice soft.
Seongmin bites his bottom lip. “That sounds good.”
“Great. It’s a date.”
“It’s a date.”
From then on, it’s hard for Minhee and Seongmin to go back to having lunch normally like they had originally planned. Instead, it’s full of giggles and stolen glances at each other. Safe to say, they leave the café a lot happier than when they arrived.
“Are you gonna let me walk you home this time?” Minhee teases.
Seongmin sighs, teasing back. “I suppose I can let you.”
Minhee holds out his hand. Seongmin pretends to hesitate, before grabbing onto it. Holding Minhee’s hand, for real this time, feels better than Seongmin could have thought.
Minhee squeezes Seongmin’s hand. “Your hands are soft.” He comments, as they start to walk.
“And yours are warm.” Seongmin replies. “It’s nice. It feels safe.”
Minhee hums. “You’re cute.”
“Stop!” Seongmin whines. “God, when we started that project together I never would have thought we’d end up here.”
“Right? I like it though. I guess it was fate.” Minhee muses.
Fate. Seongmin giggles, almost like a schoolgirl. “I guess so.”
They go silent, until Seongmin groans suddenly.
“What? What’s wrong?” Minhee says, panicked.
“I just realised my friends were right all along. They’re never gonna let me forget about it. I think they knew I liked you even before I did.” Seongmin snorts.
Minhee juts out his bottom lip. “Well, in this case, I’m glad they were right.”
“Me too but… they’re gonna be so annoying about it.” Seongmin grumbles. “I know you haven’t met them yet but believe me, they’re annoying about everything. At least they can’t shove their relationship in my face anymore.”
“Maybe we could plan a double date?”
“You’re already planning other dates?” Seongmin laughs. “We haven’t even had our first one yet.”
“Hm… I was kinda thinking today could have been our first date.” Minhee suggests. “What do you think?”
Seongmin nods. “Yeah. I like that.”
“Good. So yes, I am planning other dates and I think we should have a double date with your friends.” Minhee states.
“Are you sure you want to put yourself through that?”
Minhee chuckles. “Come on, they can’t really be that bad.”
Seongmin shrugs. “I guess we’ll see.”
The rest of the walk is comfortably quiet, with only a few little comments and conversations here and there.
For the first time probably ever, Seongmin is disappointed to reach his front door.
“Alright… here we are.” He sighs.
Minhee frowns. “I miss you already.”
“Since when did you get so greasy?” Seongmin quips.
“Since I found out you like me. Now I won’t stop.” Minhee pokes back.
“Hmph. You’re lucky I like you so much.”
Minhee beams innocently. Seongmin feels his heart wanting to melt.
“Will you let me know when you get home?” Seongmin asks, reaching for the door handle.
“Of course. Go, get yourself inside. It’s cold today.” Minhee gestures to the door.
“Okay.” Seongmin smiles. “See you Saturday?”
Minhee nods. “Can’t wait.”
Minhee seems to think for a second, before lurching forward to softly press his lips to Seongmin’s cheek. Seongmin feels the spot where Minhee’s lips touched start to tingle.
They say their goodbyes, and Seongmin slips inside of his house.
Once he’s sure Minhee won’t be able to see or hear him, Seongmin flaps his arms around and squeals as loud as he can without getting in trouble with his neighbours.
Saturday can’t come quick enough.