Work Text:
—
It’s safe to say that, of all the people Jisung has in his life, the most important one is probably Changbin. Seo Changbin, hardworking son of the Seo family industry, polite, funny, adorable, fit; the whole package. Changbin likes to say that his best friend is Chan - even more hardworking, moved back from Australia for university then decided to stick around, friendly, warmhearted, funny, has known Changbin for nigh on ten years now - but Jisung knows that isn’t true. After all; Changbin and him do nearly everything together, and isn’t that exactly how best friends are described?
So, Changbin is his best friend and Jisung is definitely Changbin’s best friend as well, which means they’re the most important people in each other’s lives. Jisung honestly sleeps better at night knowing there is someone like that in his life, someone he can depend on, someone he can go to when he feels down, someone he can trust to always have his back. Someone whose back he of course also has in return.
So when Changbin develops an interest in their new neighbour, Jisung is immediately ready to help out. Because that’s what best friends do. They help their friend out when he decides the nerdy guy next door with the braces, the glasses and the overall puppy look is the hottest thing since rice cookers.
Admittedly, their first meeting doesn’t go so well. Jisung’s right behind Changbin when he rushes out the door that morning, late for work as they both are, anxiously waiting at the elevator doors and rushing forward the second they open, only to bump right into someone on the way out with a pile of boxes in his arms. There’s the grunt of collision, Jisung sprawling into Changbin’s broad back when his friend stumbles backwards.
“Hey, watch out!” He calls out, almost at the same time as the stranger does, and then the boxes start wobbling precariously in his hold. Saviour of any difficult moment, Changbin immediately reaches forward, stabilising the boxes, briefly holding them until the stranger’s balance returns and then flashing the young man a quick, apologetic smile.
“I’m so sorry,” he sayd, dipping into a bow. “I’m late for work, but I should have paid better attention. I’m really sorry! Good luck!” With that, Changbin ducks into the elevator, and Jisung follows suit.
“Yeah, dude, I’m sorry, too. Hope everything’s still whole in there! See you!”
With that, the elevator doors are already closing behind them, the stranger’s mouth opening in a sound they don’t hear anymore. It takes about five seconds for them to realise why, because when they look down at their feet, trying to catch their breath from the sudden rush, they see there’s still a couple more boxes in the elevator with them.
“Oh fuck,” Changbin so eloquently states, and it takes one look at his face for Jisung to start laughing. It doesn’t take long before Changbin’s laughing along with him. “Shit, that’s so bad,” he says after a moment. “Better send the elevator back up when we get to the ground floor.” He ruminates for a moment and then grins sheepishly. “Better hope the guy’s gone when I get home.”
“Dude,” Jisung agrees with a roll of his eyes. “If we do come across him we can just apologise again.”
Changbin catches his gaze in the mirror and smiles, straightening his tie a little better and running a hand through his hair to make sure it’s still fine. Not that it ever isn’t fine; Changbin’s hair always falls exactly like it’s supposed to thanks to what Jisung is convinced is a rich people genome passed on through generations. Changbin always snorts when he brings it up, really.
Luckily they make it to work in time, mainly because Changbin drives a nice, sleek, expensive Kia that Jisung’s best friend privileges always allow him to catch a ride in. Because yes, Jisung works at the company Changbin’s parents own, but it’s not as bad as it sounds. It’s not like he’s Changbin’s assistant or something, he’ll leave that job to Minho, who’s much better at keeping a straight face when boring rich people yap on for hours on end. No, Jisung’s just one of the lower guys, slaving away behind a computer in some nondescript cubicle. But as long as there’s no business lunches planned, Changbin always lets Jisung have lunch together with him, and that makes all the boring days worth it.
It’s not always easy: the long days, the same thing every day, the unexpected business meetings Changbin is subject to at all hours of the day and night. But it pays the bills, of course, and whenever Changbin’s out late, Jisung always makes sure there’s some leftover takeout for him to heat up if he wants to eat, and that there’s a light on in the hallway whenever Changbin returns to the apartment. They make it work.
But back to the good part.
It turns out the elevator stranger is not going to remain a stranger for very long, because when they make it home that evening, they meet him in the hallway once again, and Changbin promptly freezes in place at the sight of him, before turning a faint reddish colour from the back of his neck all the way to the tips of his ears.
“Oh, hi,” his best friend says, stumbling a little over the mere greeting. “I’m so sorry again about this morning. I sent the elevator back up the second I got down, did you get your boxes fine?”
There’s a briefly annoyed expression on the other guy’s face, but then he seems to recompose himself, take a breath and put on a friendly smile. “Hello,” he says politely, dipping into a little bow. “I did get my boxes, yes, thank you for sending the elevator back up.” He glances towards Jisung, then towards the door of their apartment and hums. “Do you live here?”
Changbin nods his head dumble, pointing over to the apartment as well. “In 305 over there. Are you moving in?”
“Ah, yes,” the stranger admits. “I’m Kim Seungmin, I’m moving into the apartment next to you; 304. It’s nice to meet you. I was just about to come introduce myself.”
“Oh,” Changbin says brightly. “Saved you the trouble then.”
Jisung nudges his side, rolling his eyes at his friend’s clear distracted brain and quickly dipping into a bow. “I’m Jisung, this is my idiot friend Changbin. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh, right!” Changbin startles. “I’m Changbin. Seo Changbin. It’s nice to meet you! Sorry again about this morning I had a meeting and I was running late, and… Yeah. Did you manage to move everything in? Do you still need help with something, maybe? I’m always happy to help!”
“Changbin’s great with a screwdriver,” Jisung agrees with a nod. “I’d offer my help as well but I’d be more likely to destroy your things than to properly help, so…” He shrugs as he lets his words trail off, gratified to see Seungmin’s expression shift into a hint of a smile.
“I’m all set,” their new neighbour says with a dismissive little shake of his head, but he’s marginally more friendly now, and Jisung thinks maybe they might become friends in the long run. He’ll let Changbin do most of the talking, though, he’s really not that good with new people. He always tends to overcompensate for the awkwardness in first meetings by saying too much or speaking too loudly. Changbin’s a lot better at it.
Except, it seems, today when faced with braces-glasses boy.
“Oh, alright!” Is Changbin’s sole reply. “Well, see you around then.” And with that eloquent response, Changbin turns away and heads over to their apartment door, fumbling with the code to unlock it.
Jisung rolls his eyes and quickly turns to smile at Seungmin, who’s looking after Changbin with clear surprise. “I’m so sorry about him,” he makes sure to tell their new neighbour. “It’s been a long day at work. See you around, though!”
Shaking his head as if to clear it of whatever thoughts were raging through it, Seungmin nods and smiles briefly. “Yeah,” he says, “see you around.”
—
So, the first meeting wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t horrible either. It takes Jisung all of four days, and Changbin double checking his looks in the mirror every morning, before he realises what’s going on.
“Oh my god!” He says, punching his best friend’s shoulder with extreme amusement. “You think our neighbour is hot! That’s why you were fumbling so hard! Hyung! Don’t worry, you always look great, there’s no need to try and look better for him.”
Changbin sighs, looks at himself once more in the mirror and shakes his head. “Ugh, what am I doing?” He says, before trudging over to the hallway so he can put on his shoes and head to work.
There’s no Seungmin in the hallway again this morning. In fact, they haven’t seen their neighbour since that first meeting, so there’s really no reason for Changbin to think they will, but Jisung’s not going to burst his bubble about this if he can help it.
The work day is no different from usual, and he’s more than happy to step into the elevator when they make it back. As he turns around to watch the doors close, however, he sees the front door to the apartment building open again, and immediately darts forward to press the button that’ll keep the elevator doors open. Changbin glances up in surprise, only to lock gazes with Seungmin, who does a little jog to make it into the elevator on time.
“Thanks,” their neighbour says, slightly out of breath, lugging a pile of books along in his arms, with a bag slung haphazardly over his right shoulder.
“Uh, you’re welcome,” Changbin utters after Jisung urges him to reply with a few intense looks alone and then glances down at the books. He doesn’t say anything, but Seungmin must understand his gaze because he flashes a metal-filled smile.
“I’m a teacher,” he says for way of explanation, and Changbin, who must have been struck by a sudden bout of blindness to miss the books impressive titles, asks: “Oh, like, for kids?”
Luckily his dumbness makes Seungmin laugh, because Jisung’s mentally dropping his face in his hands and despairing for his friend’s love life if this is how he speaks to people he likes.
“No, like, I teach behavioural analytics to undergraduate students,” Seungmin corrects, and Changbin’s eyes flick up to his face, widening in surprise.
“Oh,” he says, like a dumb man, and Jisung despairs even more. “That’s… Impressive.”
Seungmin smirks at that, and it’s the second time Jisung thinks they could be friends. Their eyes meet past Changbin’s frame, and Jisung makes sure to smile apologetically at his neighbour. “It is,” Seungmin agrees to Changbin’s words then. “Thank you for noticing.”
“You’re welcome,” Changbin blurts out, and Jisung is infinitely glad they are saved by the elevator reaching their floor to prevent him from having to stand through any more of this awkwardness. Where is all of Changbin’s usual charm? His suave way of talking? He can reel in a million business partners but he can’t impress one (debatably) hot guy?
As they all step out of the elevator, Changbin’s clearly thinking of what to say, and Jisung quickly steers Changbin towards their apartment so he doesn’t have to witness any more of his bumbling. “See you!” He calls out to Seungmin, waving a hand, and then quickly pushing his friend inside.
He waits long enough for the door to fall closed behind them before whirling around to face his friend. “Changbin,” he says, reaching out to shake his best friend’s arm a little. “Binnie. Changbinnie. Binniebinnie. The Binster. Really? Really really? That is how you flirt? Oh, wow! We have so much to work on!” He shakes his head in complete disbelief, and then looks down at the bag Changbin’s still holding in his hand. “Ugh, alright! First things first, go ask Seungmin if he wants to come over for dinner. You ordered way too much food anyway, as usual! Off you go.”
He turns Changbin around again to urge him to follow his advice, but luckily Changbin sees the merits of it, because he opens the door and trudges right back out. Polite enough not to look like the third wheel, he waits inside of their hallway rather than going along.
After some silence, eventually he hears the other door open and then Changbin’s voice. “Hey, um,” his friend says. “I, uh, ordered way too much for dinner. My eyes are always bigger than my stomach. Would you like to– Have some? It’s Chinese.”
Whatever look Seungmin is levelling Changbin with, Jisung is certain it’s a scathing one, because what kind of opening line is that? But luckily Changbin must be using either his charming or his adorable smile after all, because Seungmin sounds friendly enough when he replies. “Sure. I was just thinking I didn’t feel like cooking. Chinese is great. Let me just grab my phone.”
Looking around himself, Jisung quickly grabs the first coat he can see off its hanger and wraps himself up in it. He’s still wearing his shoes, so it’s easy to simply walk right back out of the apartment.
“Change of plans,” he calls to Changbin. “I’m meeting Minho for dinner! See you tonight!” He waves at the panicked expression on his best friend’s face, grins and then darts through the door to take the stairs down.
—
When he makes it back home that night, Changbin’s on the phone. He hangs the coat back where he got it from and sticks his feet into a pair of slippers, trudging into the room. The evening was hardly as interesting for him as it must have been for Changbin, so he’s more than a little interested in what his friend has to say.
“Ugh, Chan!” Changbin whines, which is like music to his ears because it means he doesn’t even have to wait for Changbin to be finished calling before he gets the details. “He’s so… composed! It’s so attractive!” Changbin whines and Jisung can hear Chan laughing on the other side of the line.
“Hey Chan!” He calls into the receiver, before wrapping his arms around Changbin’s shoulders, cuddling up against his best friend’s back. He puts his chin on Changbin’s shoulder, resting his ear near the phone so he can hopefully catch most of the conversation as well.
“I have literally never heard you so smitten with anyone before, Bin,” Chan’s saying, laughter clearly audible in his voice. “Now I’m curious to see what this guy looks like!”
"Nothing special!” Jisung huffs out, but he’s grinning. “He’s got braces and glasses and he looks like a cartoon puppy. Changbin’s just a big simp!”
“He’s really handsome!” Changbin contradicts him, pouting a little ahead of himself. “He’s got this sort of floppy mop of hair but it’s super charming. And when he smiles and you can see his braces, it’s honestly… It’s so cute, hyung! I’m just– He’s got really broad shoulders, too, and a very nice body, which I know because he spilled sauce on his shirt and he immediately took it off to go clean it over the sink.”
“Dude!” Chan exclaims, just as Jisung himself starts shaking Changbin’s shoulders a little in his excitement.
“He was flirting with you so hard, Changbin!” He calls out, equally as excited as Chan sounds. Changbin isn’t fairing much better, grinning widely.
“Right!?” He says. “It’s not just me, right? That’s not something you just do in front of people you only met twice, is it?”
“Not unless you want those people to ogle you!” Jisung immediately provides, clapping his hands so excitedly that he no longer hears what Chan says on the other side of the line.
“Ugh,” is what Changbin replies to it, though, very eloquently. “He’s so hot. I want him to hold me in his arms so I can lean against those broad shoulders and maybe run my hands up that nice body of his.”
Jisung doesn’t even need to be close to the phone to hear Chan’s laughter, and he’s chuckling himself as well. “Oh my god. Tell him he just needs to ask the neighbour out, Chan!” He calls towards the phone, in hopes that Chan will listen to him. “He never listens to me when I tell him stuff like this, he keeps chickening out!”
Changbin groans, putting a hand over his face. “Ugh, I know, okay?” He says, catching Jisung’s eye briefly before he hides away again. “It’s just so daunting!”
“Dude! You talk to possible business partners all the time. You arrange billion won deals. Hell, you even look Minho straight in the eye and tell him what to do on a daily basis, and asking a guy out on a date is what you call daunting?” Honestly, sometimes Jisung really doesn’t understand his best friend.
“I know, I know!” Changbin counters, sighing deeply as he rubs his face. “I’ll do it, okay? Just maybe tomorrow. Or Friday. I can ask him out for a drink then. I finish work early and I’m sure he doesn’t have to teach on the weekend either.”
“As long as you don’t chicken out,” Jisung says. “It’d be a waste to let an opportunity like this pass you by. This guy’s exactly your type and he seems funny too.”
Changbin just sighs deeply once again. “I know,” he agrees, before lifting his head to look towards the clock. “Hey, Chan, I’m gonna hang up now. It’s late and I’ve got an early start tomorrow. I don’t wanna be late again. We still on for drinks this Sunday? Alright, I’ll see you then. Good night. Tell Hyunjin I said hi.”
Jisung immediately brightens at the mention of Hyunjin, who used to be his roommate before Changbin moved in. He prides himself on being the reason the two of them - Chan and Hyunjin - got together as well. He’s a real matchmaker, come to think of it. If he puts himself to making sure Changbin and Seungmin get together too, he has no doubt he’ll manage. No one’s ever had a better wingman than him, after all!
“What a day,” Changbin sighs as he pushes himself up from the couch. “I’m beat.” He runs a hand through his hair as he walks over to his bedroom door, glancing back only briefly towards the room.
“Goodnight, Binnie,” Jisung calls after him, and smiles warmly at the halfhearted wave he gets in return, Changbin already thinking about sleep so hard he’s barely awake anymore.
Jisung decides to stay up a little longer, more than happy to think up a proper plan on how to get his best friend and their neighbour together.
—
Surprisingly Changbin pulls through and asks Seungmin out for a drink on Friday. Courtesy of being on their way back to the apartment after work, Jisung gets to witness the whole thing from front row seats. Seungmin once again opens his door after Changbin rings the bell, and this time Jisung gets to see their neighbour's expression shift into a surprised smile at the sight of them.
"Hey," Changbin says. "I was wondering if you were free tonight; and if you were, whether you maybe wanted to grab a drink with me? We could also just have it at home if you don't like going out out." Jisung is proud of his best friend's ability to string three entire sentences together in front of the hot man with broad shoulders, and so he's already grinning even as Seungmin has yet to respond.
"Sure," is luckily what their neighbour says. "Sounds nice. Though staying home for it sounds even better, honestly. Should I come over to yours?"
Changbin glances at him, so Jisung shrugs his shoulders and nods, after which his friend nods at Seungmin as well. "Yeah, sure. I also still need to eat, if you want to order something together?"
"Oh, perfect. I haven't eaten yet either," Seungmin agrees. "Are you up for black bean noodles?" At Changbin and Jisung's swift nodding, their neighbour breaks into a smile. "Awesome. Give me like ten minutes? I'll be right over."
"Sounds good," Changbin agrees, then walks over to Jisung so they can enter their apartment together. The second the door closes behind them, his best friend blanches. "Fuck," he says, staring into their apartment. "I need to clean!"
Jisung breaks out into loud laughter while Changbin haphazardly kicks off his shoes, steps into slippers and then promptly starts to clear away the many pairs of shoes just lying around.
Not wanting to be too big of an ass, Jisung puts himself in motion in order to go and help out a little, clearing away some of the mess he made himself and ending up with lighting a scented candle to set the right mood for his friend. He steals his own portion of food from the bag and then heads for his room.
"I'll be in my room," he calls out, not waiting for Changbin's affirming noise before he slips inside.
—
Getting to know Seungmin is easy. Their neighbour is kind, friendly, good with words and even better at joking around. Changbin's often busy, but Jisung isn't, so it's only natural for Seungmin and him to spend their evenings together more often. He even sometimes helps his new friend with grading tests if the pile is particularly big that night.
So they get to know each other a lot better, to the point where Jisung thinks he can safely say he's better friends with Seungmin than Changbin is. Which means he gets to listen to their neighbour talk about his interests, the frustrations that come with teaching a bunch of college-aged students, the passion he has for his area of expertise, and not the least of all: his absolutely raging crush on a certain Seo Changbin.
It's absolutely entertaining to listen to Seungmin gush about his best friend, especially since he knows Changbin and can laugh about the differences in their neighbour's perception and his best friend's actual personality. He, of course, promised not to spill a single word to Changbin before Seungmin started telling him these things, and he's kept his word from the very beginning, which means he’s now getting all the inside knowledge.
"What the fuck," Seungmin exclaims one day when they're sitting together on his couch, his face buried in his hands. "He's so hot. We've been out maybe three times because he's so busy, and I love how he takes his time and how much of a gentleman he is, but wow… I wish he'd just grab me and kiss me already."
Jisung can't help it, he cackles loudly, throwing his head back in delight and amusement both. "Wow, Kim Seungmin, stop thirsting after your neighbour," he teases, to which Seungmin makes a face.
"Shut up, I know I'm desperate, but have you seen him? I never thought I'd ever say this but I simultaneously want him to lift me off my feet or to let me make him fall apart entirely. It's really bad!"
He can only laugh more at the words coming from the usually so composed professor, reaching out to rub Seungmin's arm supportively. "Hey, all you need to do is just ask, though," he says encouragingly. "But also, for behavioural analysis sake, which one do you want him to do more?"
Seungmin's next look could level a house, but he sighs deeply right after, glancing towards the door as if he can imagine Changbin walking through it already.
"Ugh, I don't know," Seungmin sighs out next. "Right now I'd really love it if he lifted me off my feet, but every time he gets all nervous and shy when I flirt with him I just want to kiss him until he's all dishevelled." He lifts a hand to rub his face briefly and admits with a wry smile: "Every time I see him in that goddamn suit, I just want to ruin it, it's horrible. What have I become?"
Really, Jisung might just be the worst friend in the world sometimes because all he can do is laugh even more, breathless with his joy as he gasps for air and slaps the armrest of the couch.
"Don't laugh!" Seungmin protests affronted, so he tries his very best to subdue his laughter and sit up properly.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He scrambles to make up for his admittedly rather shitty reaction. "Look, you just think he's hot, kind to boot and you want to kiss him, that's totally okay! People get like that sometimes! I'm sure he won't make you wait too long and will kiss you soon enough. And if not, you can always just grab him, kiss him and completely rock his socks! Ruin that perfect suit he's wearing, or whatever you fantasise about!"
Seungmin makes a face of disgust, but it's quickly followed by a huffed laugh. He's beautiful in a way, Jisung thinks, even with his braces and his glasses, and his frustratedly ruffled hair. Despite his constant teasing and his sarcastic comments, there's a gentleness to him that Jisung thinks would go really well with Changbin's tendency to be easily hurt by rude people.
"Ugh, fine!" Seungmin decides, giving in quite easily even as he pushes himself up from the couch. "Let's watch a movie together. I'm grabbing a snack, get yourself something too."
He's more than happy to oblige, darting into the kitchen alongside his friend and immediately climbing on the counter so he can have better access to the top shelf snacks which are without a doubt the most delicious. Apparently Seungmin's best friend put them there on purpose just to spite him, but Jisung doesn't let that stop him at all.
"What movie are we watching?" He asks as he jumps down the counter again with some of the artisanal cookies clutched against his chest like a treasure. "Can we watch the one with the penguins?"
—
It's funny how similarly his best friend and their neighbour operate. Whenever he hangs out with either of them, it turns into an almost carbon copy of the time spent with the other. They whine about each other occasionally, daydream about each other even more, keep meticulous track of their plans and obligations to make sure they don't miss a single deadline, and they're both equally decided to ignore Jisung's good advice.
So he really can't be blamed when he eventually gets tired of all their pining while simultaneously doing nothing about it. Which is why the next time they unavoidably converge at the elevator, he 'accidentally' stumbles into Seungmin's back and sends him stumbling forward, right into Changbin's waiting arms.
"Uh," Seungmin mumbles, putting his hands on Changbin's arms to push himself a bit more upright.
"You alright?" Changbin asks him a little worried, but Seungmin's quick to nod his head to reassure him.
"Yeah, yeah fine, sorry about that. I must have two left feet."
They smile at each other, then let go quickly as if it's an unspoken rule that they're not allowed to touch each other. When they each take a different corner of the elevator to stand in, Jisung feels like yelling. Does he have to do everything himself?
He waits until they're up on their own floor again, with the elevator closed once more, and then nudges Changbin's side, motioning furiously at their neighbour's back. Luckily his best friend seems to get the hint.
"Hey Seungmin?"
As expected, their friend turns around quicker than breathing, though he somehow manages to make even that look like it was a very deliberate action.
"Yes?"
"I have a free afternoon this Saturday. I was wondering if you'd like to join me for lunch?"
Jisung watches interest flash over Seungmin's features before he schools them again, though the nod of his head is more enthusiastic than usual. "I'd love to. What time?"
"How about one?" Changbin suggests. "I have a thing at eight in the evening only, so we can take a couple of hours if you'd like."
Seungmin's smile is wide and warm when he nods his acceptance. "Alright. I'll jot it down on my calendar. I'll see you then."
Seungmin keeps looking at them a moment longer before turning around to continue on to his apartment.
"Oh my god, Bin!" Jisung hisses, glancing after their neighbour before glaring at his best friend. "Go kiss him already! How many more kissless dates are you going to put him through?!"
He pushes his friend towards their neighbour, refusing to take another no for an answer. Once Changbin's in motion, though, Jisung gets first row seats as his best friend walks over to Seungmin with great determination.
"Seungmin," he says again, and their neighbour looks up in surprise, clearly not having suspected it.
Yet he clearly suspected even less how Changbin would not stop at the appropriate distance but instead crowds him up against his apartment door, taking Seungmin's face in his hands and pulling him down into a kiss.
Seungmin's eyes widen in surprise a fraction at first, but the second their lips properly touch, he melts into it almost immediately, all of the tension leaving him with a sigh of relief. They trade kisses for a few long seconds before Changbin leans in closer and coaxes Seungmin's lips to part so he can deepen the kiss.
Jisung comes back to himself with a start when he stumbles and hits his elbow on the door pad of their apartment, making it beep as it activates. He curses himself for his clumsiness silently, but the damage is done as Changbin pulls away in surprise, then glancing back at him before looking at Seungmin once more.
"Oh my god," he gasps in shock, immediately letting go of Seungmin's face. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me!" He stares up at Seungmin, mortified, and Jisung groans on the inside, quickly glancing down at the keypad as if he's busy typing in his code. "Are you okay?" He hears Changbin ask.
"I'm fine. It's fine." Seungmin's reply comes a little breathless and it's followed by a brief bout of silence. Jisung chances a look at his friends only to see they're still staring at each other, eyes not so subtly straying to each other's lips.
"Just fucking kiss already!" He calls out, exasperated, and either they've finally realised how smart and wise he is and are taking his advice, or the forces of nature have come together to bring his friends together as well, because rather than give him scathing looks, they lean in and reconnect their lips.
Once again Jisung gets front row seats to the whole thing, Seungmin exhaling against Changbin's lips with more of that relief from before. He brings up his hands then, putting them on Changbin's chest first, fingers curling around the lapels of his suit, before they move up into Changbin's hair, running through it with great relish.
Then, as they kiss more, Changbin once again crowding Seungmin up against the door, though more gently than he had before, Seungmin's hands slide back down to his chest, tugging his tie loose and unbuttoning a few buttons. He moves his hands into the piece of clothing then, running them over Changbin's bare chest.
It's the sound of the elevator getting back in motion that has Jisung looking away and over to it briefly, while Seungmin pulls away for air. It's their neighbour's turn to look mortified, a blush rising high up on his cheekbones as he stares down at the mess he's made of Changbin's clothes.
"I- I apologise," Seungmin stutters, belatedly taking his hands off Changbin's chest. "I- That wasn't-"
Changbin's gaze clings to Seungmin's features, a look in his eyes that has Jisung grinning when he spots it. Victory is in his grasp at last.
"I don't mind," his best friend says with a rather gravelly voice. Seungmin's eyes visibly widen at the sound. There's a brief pause and then their neighbour asks: "Do you want to, uh, maybe come inside?"
Jisung grins as Changbin nods, and turns away towards his own apartment. They won't need him for the next part, he thinks. He hopes.
—
"Tell me again how you, workaholic and grade A level idiot, got yourself a boyfriend before me," Minho demands from Changbin over lunch a week later. "And why is it someone who looks like a dog? I knew you were trouble the second you told me about that cat allergy."
Jisung snorts while eating his lunch, grinning widely as he looks at Changbin and waits for his reply with great expectation. Changbin, in turn, rolls his eyes at Minho's complaining.
"Hyung, it's because you're so mean!" He pouts, before sighing deeply. "Honestly, I don't know what came over me. It's like something else took over and made me kiss him. Just like that! In the hallway! I mean, I wanted to, but I would never! I was so mortified! But then he kissed me back, and then we went to his apartment."
"Ew, stop talking," Minho deadpans. "I don't need to learn what dogs' mating dance look like."
Changbin flushes, swatting at Minho's arm. "It wasn't like that, we just talked!" He exclaims, brightly flushed. With that same bashful expression he turns back to his lunch and then mutters: "Saturday, though…"
Minho yells in disgust while Jisung cackles in delight, long having been brought up to speed with Saturday's events, at the same time as Chan had been. Changbin grins as well, triumphant, eating another few mouthfuls of his own lunch.
"I'm really starting to believe Hyunjin, though," Changbin hums and Minho frowns deeply.
"If you're starting to believe Hwang Hyunjin, things are really bad and I most definitely don't want to know," he states matter-of-factly, giving Changbin another look. "What did he say this time? I hope you're not going to try anything with a carrot."
"A carro- Hyung, what on earth? No! About the apartment!" At this point, Changbin's ears are on fire and Minho is grinning wickedly. "No weird stuff! Jin just said that he thought a lucky spirit lived in his apartment because he got out and chased his dreams while he lived there and he reached all of them. I'm starting to think he might be right. I've gotten several consecutive wins at the company and a hot, sexy boyfriend since I moved in there. Also, whenever I work extremely late, even though I swear I turned it off, the hallway light is always on."
Jisung grins easily, bumping his shoulder against his best friend's. "You're welcome," he says lightly. "And thanks for finally noticing. It's not like we haven't been living together for almost two years now or anything."
Minho rolls his eyes, Changbin huffs out a short laugh. "I'm almost sad the penthouse is going to be finished next month and I'll have to move out. What if I lose the lucky streak?"
"Well you can't fuck up what you've already achieved so far," Minho wisely declares, "so just try and get as much done as possible before your move, then." The man takes a sip of his drink before flashing a grin at Changbin. "And maybe leave a present for your lucky spirit. Also, my mother's friend has a son who's a bit down on his luck, let him move in once you're gone, he could use some of that luck you've got haunting you."
Changbin chuckles, but Jisung perks up immediately. "A new roommate?" He asks, already excited, leaning closer to Minho to get the latest hot gossip. "What's his name?"
—
It takes only three more months, many, many romantic dinner dates and Jisung being exiled to his room more times than he can count to escape his friend's loving noises before the penthouse is eventually finished.
Changbin moving out becomes a big thing, not only Seungmin deciding to help, but of course Chan too, which means Hyunjin as well, and even Minho shows up, though he's there mostly because he brings along his mother's friend's son who's checking out the apartment to maybe move into.
"I always wondered," Seungmin says when they're all taking a tour of the place while it's halfway empty. "What's that door lead to?"
Jisung beams proudly as he looks at his room, tucking his hands into his pockets and beaming at the door.
"Oh," Changbin says. "It's a second bedroom. It can be used as a bedroom or an office or whatever. I was going to make it an office, but honestly when I finally manage to get home, I really don't want to know there's a whole room dedicated to work waiting for me, so it's just got some of my paperwork in there, some of my fitness stuff."
"It's very useful," Jisung agrees, lifting his shirt to show off the abs he's developed since Changbin moved in. Mutual exercise really helps blow off some steam.
"A guest room would be nice," Minho's mother's friend's son says, and really, Jisung's upset no one introduced them yet because he looks adorable and funny and kind, and clearly they should be friends already! "Then my friend can maybe come visit once."
Minho's face does something uncharacteristic as it shifts into an expression that is both fond and warm while he reaches out a hand to ruffle the younger man's hair, who makes a face like he bit a lemon and pulls out of reach.
"I take it that means you're willing to rent it, then, Jeongin-ssi?" Changbin chimes, and Jisung's grin doubles in size, delighted.
"Oh, how amazing! We're going to have the best time together! I'm Jisung, it's so nice to meet you!" He beams, wrapping his arms around Jeongin's shoulders, who luckily seems to have no issue with his affections.
"I'm sure you'll like it here," Changbin continues, while Jeongin looks around the room again. "If there's any of the furniture you'd like to keep, just let me know. I don't really need anything so it can stay here."
Jeongin's eyes widen, Jisung breaks out into another grin. "That's my best friend!" He chimes. "Always ready to help out!" He looks at Jeongin, who seems uncertain, and quickly nudges the boy's side, to urge him to speak.
"Oh, that'd be great, actually. How much do you want for all of it?" Jeongin says, before looking extremely baffled by what just came out of his own mouth.
"Oh don't worry about it, I would've just given it away anyway. You can keep it all, then! That significantly lessens our workload today, actually." Changbin huffs out a smile, while Jeongin flushes a brief red. Seungmin, in turn, wraps his arms around Changbin's middle and leans in to kiss his cheek with great fondness.
"Sometimes you're so rich it's disgusting," he says, though his right hand is already gently moving up and down Changbin's chest. "I love you so much, though."
Changbin, in true Changbin fashion, flushes a bashful maroon, ducking his head as he turns to his boyfriend and mutters something inaudible, smacking Seungmin's (broad, as his best friend has emphasised plenty times over) shoulder. "I love you too," he then begrudgingly admits, quickly kissing Seungmin's cheek and then pushing him into motion.
"Let's clear out my stuff then," he declares loudly. "And if we have time over, we can already bring most of yours in, too, Jeongin-ssi?"
Wide-eyed but clearly excited, the youngest in the group nods his assent. "Sounds good."
Jisung beams a wide grin at all of them, and happily keeps his arms wrapped around Jeongin's shoulders. "Awesome! Let's go!" He declares, nudging his new roommate into motion.
—
It’s safe to say that, of all the people Jisung has in his life, the most important one is probably Jeongin. Yang Jeongin, kindhearted kindergarten teacher with his heart in the right place but two very obvious left feet, who is easy to bring to laughter, easy to tease and always full of positive warmth, who enjoys playing video games in his free time and stays up way too late to be healthy.
Jeongin likes to say that his best friend is Felix - a guy he knows online that he’s been gaming together with since they were both still in high school - but Jisung knows that isn’t true.
After all, best friends do everything together, right?