Chapter Text
(May 2, 2013)
Jisung looked stiff, sitting on the chair in front of the camera. His eyes darted around nervously until they locked with one of the crew members. The man nodded at him.
“Should I begin?” He asked to be sure, unaware that the camera was rolling already. When the man nodded again, he tentatively turned toward the camera & tried to smile. It was awkward. He could feel it in his bones. Not knowing what to do with his hands, he gripped the sides of his chair tightly.
“Hello…” His voice sounded weird. He paused for a second, trying to clear his throat as inaudibly as possible. Then he grinned back at the camera again, “Hello, I’m Han Jisung. 19. And, I am currently in my senior year.”
Then the camera turned slightly to the left, focusing on the person who had been sitting on another chair a few feet away from Jisung. And unlike him, that person didn’t look nervous. He was sitting there with his legs crossed & hands gently resting on top of his knee.
He looked like everything that Jisung wasn’t. And, this was another reason he didn’t like that boy.
“My name is Hwang Hyunjin. 19. Senior year.” Hyunjin introduced himself with confidence. There was a small formal smile on his lips.
Jisung rolled his eyes & decided to focus on the camera. And, found a board with a question written on it.
“Do you know why you are here?”
They needed to answer the question. He pressed his lips in a thin line as if he was thinking about what he should answer. And, after five seconds of silence, he opened his mouth.
“So… I’m being filmed.” He grinned at the camera, which only made him look like more of a fool than he was. Then he heard a sigh from his left. Tentatively, he looked aside & immediately found Hyunjin sitting there with a “Disappointed, but not surprised” expression on his face.
Jisung turned back to the camera, nervously laughing when he realized he kinda worded the answer wrong. He wasn’t the only one who was being filmed. That giant brat beside him was too.
“I mean- we’re being filmed,” He corrected, “for some show.” He knew what show they were being filmed for. But he wasn’t really good with words, especially when he was nervous. He tried to laugh the awkwardness away. But then, he heard-
“Idiot,” Hyunjin muttered loudly enough for him to hear. Actually, he was sure the recorder also caught that.
Jisung narrowed his eyes, throwing an invisible dagger at the boy who only ignored him like he didn’t even exist. No wonder he didn’t like that giant.
But putting his personal disliking toward Hyunjin aside, if he focused on the shooting that he didn’t even want to do in the first place, he was really in a tight place at the moment. If it wasn’t for his parents forcing him to accept the offer, he would never have voluntarily agreed to show his face on the tv. He wasn’t really a fan of attention.
“Have you two met or interacted before this show? Or, this is your first time?”
There was another question on the board. And, this time it was Hyunjin who answered first.
“I think I first saw Han Jisung in the tenth grade,” Hyunjin started. A corner of his pursed lips curled up slightly, as he tried to remember their first meeting.
It was in their library on the sixth floor. Hyunjin had gone to get some books & found the updated list of that month's top readers. It didn’t really settle well with him when he saw the name that was written on top of his name, just beside the number 1.
He had asked the librarian about it. He wanted to know who it was, who read more than him. Because in his previous school, he had always been the one to top the library bookworm list & the exams. The librarian talked about Jisung as if she knew him for a long time now. She told him that Han Jisung was actually his batchmate from another section, who liked to read in his free time.
“I met him in the library…” Hyunjin remembered finding Jisung in a place that didn’t really suit him. Han Jisung was sitting in the furthest corner of the library, surrounded by a heap of books some of which Hyunjin didn’t know about. He felt threatened all of a sudden. He wondered who the squirrel-looking boy was & what if he managed to come first in the next exam breaking Hyunjin’s perfect record.
“Hey,” Hyunjin called over, holding his books close to his chest as he watched the boy finally noticing his presence & look over at him with confusion written all over his face. Even by his face, he really didn’t look like someone who would be serious about studying. But then again….
“I’m Hwang Hyunjin from class 5.” Hyunjin introduced himself first. “What is your rank?” He asked without wasting any second.
“What?”
“Your grade.”
Jisung blinked, clearly thrown off the grid at the sudden question. “...267th,” he replied hesitantly after a few seconds. Not sure where they were going with this conversation.
Hyunjin frowned. Did he hear right?
“...the total number of students here is….?” It couldn’t be, right?
Jisung tilted his head slightly, “There are 267 students.” he informed nonchalantly.
Hyunjin stared at the boy with furrowed eyebrows. Was he serious? But when he realized that Jisung wasn’t lying nor he was pulling a prank on him, Hyunjin felt frustrated.
He felt threatened by this one?!
Hyunjin knew not to waste his time on the 267th-place person & left without any other word, leaving Jisung confusingly staring at his back.
Back then, he thought Han Jisung was a strange kid. Well, he still thought the same, except now he realized that Han Jisung was also an idiot.
Jisung, who had been listening to Hyunjin vaguely describing their first meeting, frowned slightly. It wasn’t right.
“Wait! That was the second time!” He animatedly interrupted the taller boy, who looked at him in visible confusion. Realizing that Hyunjin didn’t even remember their first meeting Jisung felt a twinge of disappointment in his heart. But it was only for a second before he felt normal again & started explaining.
The first time they met was the day when they started high school.
“It was the orientation program. You got the prize, remember? I was in the row beside yours!” Jisung hopefully looked at the older boy, who only frowned more.
Hyunjin didn’t remember seeing him. Truth to be told, Jisung wasn’t really hoping for him to remember. It was he who noticed the taller boy first. Hyunjin won an award for scoring the highest during the entrance exam. He still remembered the principal calling out Hyunjin’s name, & the boy then confidently walked to the podium, accepted the award & bowed ninety degrees to the teachers. Then he walked back to his place with his head high, ignoring the hushed giggles of the girls & boys around him. He was quite popular even though it was his first day in their school. He had the height & the look. But personality? Jisung wasn’t really sure about that.
Jisung listened to the hushed giggles around him. They were talking about the boy who was accepting the award. It was their first day & the boy was already popular. He noticed why when the boy turned & started walking back.
Hwang Hyunjin was tall & lean, with a small face. His skin tone was just a shade or two lighter than Jisung’s. Eyes small, almost siren-like. Lips full & pink. A hint of sharp jawlines somewhat hidden behind the baby fat he still had. His black hair was longer than the typical length. It was parted in the middle, bangs shyly touching the top of his ears.
Unlike Jisung, Hyunjin’s uniform was perfect. Everything, starting from the tie to his pant was crisply ironed. The tie had a best knot Jisung had ever seen. The old fashioned shoes that the boy managed to rock, was shining perfectly. Mostly, Jisung was in awe how a person could look this good on that weird khaki check-printed pants. Because eighty to ninety percent population of this school, including him, looked like a clown in those pants.
Jisung couldn’t look away, not even when the boy once again stood beside him. Hyunjin might’ve noticed & slightly turned his head to look back at him. When their eyes met for the first time, Jisung tried to smile, just as a friendly act since they were in the same year. But Hyunjin only frowned at him, before raising an eyebrow in question.
“The hell are you looking at?”
Jisung’s smile disappeared in a second as he concluded one thing.
Hwang Hyunjin was quite ill-tempered.
“I never really thought I’d meet with him again. I didn’t really have a reason. Besides, I was busy preparing for my senior year.” Hyunjin said, to which Jisung nodded affirming that he also thought the same. “But then, Mr. Cho told me about the show. He asked me to consider joining since it won’t really come between my study.”
That would be the third time Hyunjin saw Jisung. Standing in the next cubicle, he looked like a five years old as some other teacher lectured him about something Hyunjin didn’t really care about. He remembered giving a weird look at the younger because he’d rather die than get humiliated like that in front of fifty other people. Jisung was the exact opposite of him.
“I didn’t want to do it at first,”
I still don’t want to do it- Jisung wanted to say. But chose not to. “I don’t really like getting attention.” He confessed. It already happened a few times that he tried to make excuses just to get away from the camera focus. And, because of that Hyunjin had unnecessarily called him out more than once. Which might or might not have caused them to get into arguments.
Also because he found Hwang Hyunjin weird. Almost like a bot with the incapability of understanding human emotions.
“One week of the shooting had already passed. What do you think about each other at the moment? Did anything change?”
Just by reading the question, Hyunjin was instantly reminded of the tiring time he had to pass with the other boy. The only thing he accepted the offer for was the money he was promised to get paid. In the beginning, he thought it was a good chance. But then, Han Jisung was transferred to his class, and Hyunjin realized how bothersome it was.
Han Jisung couldn’t sit straight for a single second. He’d always be making some big or small noise; whether by unnecessarily moving things on his desk or by his muffled laughs while reading comic books hiding behind the textbooks. It annoyed him. To see such a lack of concentration or intention to study. On top of that, Han Jisung was childish & clumsy as hell. The boy managed to ruin his new shirt with sausage that suddenly flew over at him & painted his pristine white shirt with a big orange stain.
“Insufferable. That he is.” Hyunjin answered, pointedly ignoring the glare Jisung sent his way.
On the other hand, Jisung wasn’t any better than Hyunjin either. He didn’t like the seriousness Hyunjin had all the time. The bo would have a constant frown sitting on his forehead. He also didn’t like how many complaints the older boy had. The boy could’ve just let him be! But no! Hyunjin had to nag him all the time. Sometimes bossing him around. The thing he hated most was the fact that Hyunjin only thought about himself. Jisung would be taking naps in between classes, but Hyunjin, Jisung didn’t know how, had a bucket of questions that he’d ask every five minutes into the lecture. With the teachers' constant attention on them, he couldn’t even sleep properly for the last few days! Then was the sausage incident. He was simply a mistake & a slip of sausage (?), & he even apologized for it. But the older boy was a freaking sociopath! Hyunjin grabbed the ketchup & squirted it on his shirt as revenge! Even after Jisung had already apologized for the sausage slip!
One week into shooting, he realized Hwang Hyunjin was more irritating than he initially thought.
“Irritating. More than I thought.” He answered, narrowing his eyes at the boy when he rolled his eyes.
"Things that you like"
“I like writing! Like poems & small scenarios!” Jisung grinned, excited to share about his hobby. He always carried his notebook with him even if he often forgot to bring his textbooks. He then looked at the older boy in anticipation. He never really saw the boy do anything besides studying & annoying the hell out of him.
Hyunjin pursed his lips as he tried to think, unaware of the eyes on him. He tried to think about what he liked doing. But all he could remember was studying his whole life. He never really tried anything else. He never had a chance to. Not that he minded. He was quite satisfied with how his life was going on.
“I guess… I like studying…” He answered finally.
Jisung frowned a little. He wondered if really didn’t have a life outside the books & school.
"Things that you hate"
“Hwang Hyunjin.” Jisung smiled at the camera before stealing a glance at the boy beside him. Hyunjin was blankly looking at him. But he could tell that he was getting on the boy’s nerves. “It’s a boy I know from somewhere.” his smile widened a little more.
Hyunjin felt his eyebrows twitch in irritation. “I hate pathetic people.” He started without even looking away. He didn’t need to take a name to realize who he was talking about.
But Jisung, being the idiot he was, wondered who the older boy was talking about. He shrugged off & looked back at the camera, “I hate selfish people who-”
“I hate people who cause trouble for others. Most of the time they are irresponsible too.” Hyunjin interjected.
“Being harsh,” Jisung started again, “Some people don’t really think before they say anything. They don’t think at all.” And, he didn’t like it.
Hyunjin snorted loudly, hands now folded over his chest. “Look who’s talking. He doesn’t even think at all.” He rolled his eyes, before focusing on the camera. “Well, he might’ve lost his brain somewhere & now doesn’t have one to think about anything.”
Jisung straightened up on the chair immediately, looking scandalized. “Wait- you’re talking about me?!” he pointed at himself in disbelief.
Hyunjin looked back at the other, “Well, you seemed to talk about me as well.”
Jisung spluttered & turned his whole body toward Hyunjin. “Are you kidding right now?”
Hyunjin raised an eyebrow, “No. Unlike you, I know how to be serious.”
Jisung was left speechless as he tried to find a better comeback. But unfortunately, Hyunjin was right on this matter. Jisung wasn’t really serious about anything. He always felt like it was a waste of energy.
Jisung turned to look at the PD, who was standing beside the cameraman. “See? It’s always like this!” he pointed at Hyunjin childishly. “I don’t even remember why you guys are filming this!” he complained.
“It’s a program where the top student helps the worst student to get better, isn’t it?” Hyunjin also looked at the PD, who was almost on the verge of losing his cool. “But have you seen him? The only thing that gets better is his ability to whine & complain.” Han Jisung was easy to rile up.
Jisung frowned, shooting another glare at Hyunjin who looked very much composed unlike him. “Please… Is this some kind of test? To see how long I can tolerate this…” he gestured at Hyunjin, “... an irritating person with no social skill?! Isn’t that some kind of mental torture!”
Hyunjin tucked a few pieces of bangs behind his ears before, leaning back on the chair. “Best student who is actually the class president, or the worst student who hides at the furthest corner of the class everyday… who do you think is the most anti-social?” he looked at the crew for an answer, & smirked when a few actually looked at Jisung’s direction.
Frustrated, Jisung looked up to the PD again, who was now looking away from them for his own mental peace. “People like her..” he once again pointed at Hyunjin, “when they enter a society they tire out the people around them! It becomes exhausting!”
Hyunjin now turned bodily toward the other, “At least I get to participate. But you? With no brain in that thick skull of yours, you wouldn’t really know much about it, would you?” He answered back, ready to argue if Jisung really wanted one.
Jisung opened his mouth wanting to say something when someone from the crew cleared their throat to get their attention. Both of them looked back at the filming crew & found them preparing the board for another question.
With deep breaths, they both decided to settle back on their chair properly.
"What do you think you’ll be like in ten years?"
Hyunjin blinked, raising his shoulder up as he tried to think.
Jisung was the same. He bit his lips as he tried to picture himself in ten years. He could see the same old him, maybe a little taller & muscular (?). “In ten years… I’ll be 29!” he smiled at the camera, happy with the thought of growing a little taller by then.
Hyunjin looked up, “I’ll be successful,” he answered confidently. “I’ll be good at doing whatever I’d be doing.” He was ambitious. He wanted to grow up fast & reach the top with his hard work. He wanted to take the burden away from his grandmother’s shoulder & give her a life that she could enjoy. “I’d be a busy person.” Making sure they’d have a better & happy life.
Hearing the older boy, Jisung’s lips formed a small ‘o’ as he realized that the question was actually about his career. “I hope I’d still be writing. And, living a peaceful life without any burden.” He never really liked being ambitious. He was more of a person who’d go with the flow. “I hope I’ll lead a quiet life, away from the crowd & constant judging eyes. Worries weren’t good for his mental health after all. “But-”
“There’s another thing I’m sure about,” Hyunjin interjected. But this time Jisung didn’t stop talking. They both ended up saying the same thing at the same time.
“I hope I don’t see him again after ten years.”
“I don’t wanna see his annoying face again.”
And that’s how everything started.
Present time (January 4, 2023)
Never in his life had Hyunjin thought he’d be looked down upon like that. Nor had he ever dreamed that he’d be called pathetic on his face. Well, Mr. Lee hadn’t directly said that. But the man did take his name & the word ‘pathetic’ in the same sentence.
“Mr. Hwang, You’re not that pathetic to bluff, are you?”
It had been five days since the meeting with Mr. Lee. It was a mess. Firstly, they were called earlier than their scheduled meeting time. Then he was continuously interrupted during the presentation. Mr. Lee was one of those jerks who crushed people’s confidence brutally & act like he was above all. But Hyunjin wasn’t just the one to give up. Mr. Lee might have scratched, no- created a gaping hole in his ego, but in the end, he did give into Hyunjin’s persuasion.
But the problem was, Hyunjin actually might or might not have bluffed with confidence to get the deal. He promised to get a famous faceless writer & singer to collab with them for the project. When the truth was he didn’t even know who the said the man was & where he lived. And now, it’s getting heavy on his shoulder.
“Have you found anything yet?” He asked his subordinates, who looked back at him guiltily.
“This artist is very secretive, Mr. Hwang. We still haven’t managed to find out his schedule or any other information.” Yerim informed with a small scowl on her face & the other two nodded along.
Hyunjin let out a heavy sigh as he leaned back on the chair, closing his eyes. He could feel the worried gazes of the juniors on him. They weren’t really worried about him. They were worried that he’d burst anytime soon & they’d be his victim. They were quite scared of him.
They had a reason to be. Hyunjin was known to be very strict when it came to working.
He opened his eyes after a minute, & found the juniors scurrying back to their work. He was really having a hard time not snapping at them.
“We don’t have time. We only have three more days before the site visit,” His eyes scanned the room. “I want his address as soon as possible. I don’t care how. Is that clear?” He asked in an authoritative voice.
The juniors vigorously nodded their head & hurried back to their laptop with ten times more urgency than earlier. While Hyunjin started working on the slides. He had to think of a backup plan as soon as possible. He had to think of some other artist who could replace their initial choice if he couldn’t get the latter on the board of this deal.
But, who?
He wasn’t sure.
It felt weirdly good to be sprawled out on the grass, letting the winter sun bath him with its golden glow & heating up his cold skin with a gentle warmth. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the fresh air fill up his lungs. A smile easily bloomed on his lips as he lay there, listening to the rustle of the leaves & birds chirping on the branches. Jisung loved this.
He always knew his life would be peaceful, surrounded by the people he loved & cared for. He always dreamed of this kind of life. With little to no burden, free from responsibility, having his mother’s special kimchi soup every weekend & doing the things he wanted to. Jisung was happy like this.
“When are you gonna stop running away from chores?”
Jisung cracked an eye open when a shadow cast over him all of a sudden. His smile turned to a grin as he found Changbin looming over him, staring down at him with a skeptical look.
“Never…?” He laughed when Changbin only shook his head at the answer & murmur something like ‘ Should’ve known’. He patted on the ground beside him, silently inviting the older man to sit. With another glance at his face, Changbin settled down with a small grunt.
“Where is Chan hyung?” he asked, lazily picking up the dead grass in front of him one by one.
“Doing what he does best,” Jisung replied, closing his eyes once again & hands now folded under his head. “Had been locked inside his studio for hours now. Found some inspiration last night.” He snorted remembering the way Chan’s face had lit up in the middle of slurping down his ramed & then he ran off to his studio leaving Jisung to stare at his empty chair dumbly.
“Should I expect another song in a few days?” Changbin stole a glance at the younger, who nodded in answer.
“A day max,” Jisung replied.
Changbin looked around the park. The place was quite empty at this hour of the day. No wonder Jisung was sprawled here like this. The younger one never really liked the crowd or chaos.
“What about you?” he looked back at Jisung, who peeled his eyes open at the question.
“What about me?” Jisung raised an eyebrow.
“When are you gonna tell your family what you do?” Changbin asked, turning his body slightly to face the other. “Y’know your mom had called me a few times asking if you make enough money to live by yourself. What did you tell her?”
Jisung pushed himself up before crossing his legs. “She knows I do writing & stuff.” he scratched his head, looking confused. “I earn enough. I told her.”
Changbin rolled his eyes at that. “They most probably think you’re one of those writers whose books don’t get sold.” he deadpanned, remembering Mrs. Han telling him about googling Jisung’s name & how nothing came up. Which only made her think that her one & only son was struggling.
The statement had Jisung look at his friend with an offended frown. “Ya! I don’t write books! I write songs!”
“And, how much do you sell one for?” Changbin asked curiously.
Jisung held up his pointer finger, asking Changbin to wait as he fished out his phone from the hoodie’s pocket. After tapping on the screen furiously for a minute, he showed Changbin the screen. It was a mail from an entertainment company that recently bought one of his songs. It had the amount they paid for that song, which had Changbin’s jaw fall open in surprise.
“I sold one this week,” Jisung added, tapping open another mail & showed it to Changbin. It was from the same entertainment company Chan was signed into. “I kinda have more than enough in account because of this.”
Changbin frowned. He took the phone from Jisung’s hand & brought it closer to read the mail properly. As his eyes followed the lines, his mouth parted in both, surprise & shock.
“You-” he looked up at Jisung who was busy ripping out the grass barbarically, unaware of the shock he gave the older man. “You’re the faceless artist under JYP?!”
Jisung nodded, & looked at his friend in question. “What? You didn’t know?” he asked dumbly, causing Changbin’s eyes to twitch.
“You brat!” He slapped the younger’s arm furiously, making the latter yelp out in pain & scurry back with a big frown & pout on his face.
“What’s wrong with you?!” Han screeched.
“What’s wrong with me?!” Changbin leaned forward & again slapped what he could reach of the younger. “When did you tell me that you got signed into JYP?! Your dumbass even released a mini album?! When were you planning to tell me?!”
Jisung blanked, blinking fast at Changbin as he realized that he indeed hadn’t told anyone except Chan about it. Chan only knew because he was the one who passed a demo of Jisung’s to the company a year & a half ago, a month after Changbin’s enlistment.
Right. Changbin was in the military.
“You were in the military that time!” He tried to reason even though they met a couple of times when Changbin had a day or two vacations & came to meet his parents. He just simply forgot to mention it to his friend.
When he realized that he really had no way out, he grinned at the older male, then scurried off the ground & ran as fast as he could ignoring the booming voice of his furious friend.
Well, in his peaceful life, a little chaos from his friend was acceptable. Especially when he was the whole reason behind it.
“You’ve been ignoring my calls.” Jeongin shot a deadpan look as soon as Hyunjin walked inside the cafe.
Hyunjin gave a tired look at his friend before pulling a chair to the counter & plopped down on it. “I was busy.” he reasoned, hand already reaching out to the lemonade that Jeongin had placed on the counter with a sour look on his face.
“Busy enough to cancel your date for the fourth time in a row?” Jeongin raised a questing brow at the older, which had Hyunjin give a side-eye.
“I told you, I was busy. You know about the project I’m struggling with.” He said, taking a long sip of the lemonade, & let out a content sigh as the flavor burst in his mouth.
“He was supposed to meet you in your company building, hyung. Like you had to meet him during your lunch hour, spend a half an hour in your own company cafeteria. Yet you bailed on him.” Jeongin said in an accusing tone as he walked back to the fridge & grabbing a big portion of cheesecake that he had been saving for Hyunjin.
“Yes. But I did inform him earlier that I wouldn’t be able to.” A small smile curled up on his lips as he watched Jeongin placing the cake on the counter. He immediately reached for a fork. “Besides, he should learn to take a hint.” He murmured before taking a small bite.
Jeongin let out a defeated sigh as he untied the apron from his waist. “He should have. But he must really like you for asking me to arrange another date.” he started folding the apron.
Hyunjin, on the other hand, looked up at the younger with wide surprised eyes. “He asked for another date?” He was having a hard time believing it.
Jeongin nodded before walking around the counter & pulling another chair beside Hyunjin to sit. “Yep. And, this time you’ll have to go.”
Hyunjin let out a sigh. “Innie, you know I’m not really interested in dating right now.”
“Or. you’re just still not over someone else.” Jeongon glanced at the older, watching his hand slightly tighten around the spoon. Instantly, he felt bad for bringing up the past. But it had to be done. He didn’t like the lifestyle Hyunjin was leading.
Alone. Drowning himself in work.
“Just give him a chance, Hyung.” He reached out for the older’s hand & held them gently. “Just go on the date & see how things go from there. You don’t have to date him right away just because you met him once. Besides, he seemed really interested in you. Otherwise, why would he ask for a second date?” he smiled when Hyunjin looked over him, & after a few seconds of silence, the older man let out a small defeated sigh & nodded.
Jeongin was right. Why else the man would ask for a date for the fifth time?
The date was fixed for the next evening, in a restaurant 10 minutes away from his workplace. As he walked inside the restaurant, the bell attached to the front door chimed softly. Hyunjin craned his neck, looking around to find an empty table. A waitress then walked to him asking if he needed any assistance & lead him to the furthest corner of the restaurant.
“Your reservation is that way,” The waitress pointed with a smile. With a polite thanks, he excused her & walk to the empty table. He pulled out a chair to sit. But before he could do that, his eyes fell on the table behind him.
There was a man sitting on the table with his back to Hyunjin, scrolling through his phone idly. Now that he was standing there, he wasn’t sure which table the waitress actually pointed at. He looked around, hoping to find the waitress. But to no avail.
As he looked back at the man in hesitation. He wondered what if it was his date who somehow managed to arrive earlier than him. He fished out his phone from his pants pocket & opened the gallery to find the photo of his date that Jeongin had sent him weeks ago, when he had agreed to go on a date for the first time but ended up postponing, or more like ditching, because of his work. Because he didn’t even remember what his date looked like.
When he finally found the photo, he took a good look at the smiling face & straightened his back as if he was about to walk into a war. With cautious steps he walked to the table, clutching the phone tightly & eyes never leaving the back of the man. And then-
“Mr. Lee?” He called, voice unsure.
The man looked up at him & Hyunjin blanked out. It wasn’t his date. But he was a Lee. The jerk one, who was the reason behind Hyunjin’s sleepless nights for the last couple of days.
Minho was idly scrolling through social media as he waited for his order. The day was quite a busy one. The opening of a new mall was definitely draining his energy. There was a lot to do with the opening date approaching slowly. But there was one rule that he always followed. Leaving all the worries & thoughts about work back in his office. He liked having a little but enough time for himself to relax & prepare his mind for the next day. Which was why he drove to this restaurant as soon as he was out of his office. He wanted to have a fine meal & some red wine, watch the stars & think nothing in particular.
So, when he suddenly heard someone calling him, he was quite surprised. He tore his gaze away from the window & looked up only to find a familiar face looking down at him with wide surprised eyes.
Hwang Hyunjin, the project leader of the inauguration program of the city mall. Also, his partner for the time being. When he came to this restaurant, he had momentarily forgotten that this place was close to the CS group. He came here because one of his old friends had recommended the place to him.
He was about to greet the man when he noticed the shirt that the man was wearing. Minho blinked at the white shirt before looking down at his own. Hyunjin also noticed & looked down at his shirt, then at the pumpkin-colored shirt that the other was wearing.
They were wearing the same shirt.
“Well… This is awkward.” Minho murmured while looking up at the PR officer, who was still looking at him with surprise evident in his eyes. Most probably thinking what was Minho doing in a place that was almost an hour away from his office & how the hell had they ended up wearing the same shirt? Well, the last one was a mystery to Minho as well.
“What are you doing here?” Hyunjin asked, with a little tilt of the head, “alone?” he added, noticing the empty table & no sign of a companion.
Minho blinked. “What does it look like, Mr. Hwang?” he asked with a straight face. Voice unwelcoming as always.
Hyunjin struggled to find proper words like always. It was hard to hold a normal & proper conversation with Lee Minho because of his irritating personality. So, instead of replying anything, he pressed his lips in a formal smile & slightly bowed at the man before taking his leave, not wanting to drag the matter anymore. He was already quite stressed with the unwanted date he had, he didn’t need Lee Jerk Minho adding more stress to it.
Just as he took his sit at his table the bell chimed once again, alerting the arrival of another customer. Hyunjin was busy typing on his phone, text-yelling at his subordinates to find the address of the faceless artist by the next morning. He was supposed to meet with Lee Minho in the evening in the mall, & give him a brief of the project plans. They didn’t really have much time.
“Hwang Hyunjin-sshi?”
Hyunjin looked up from his phone. His date was here. Hastily placing his phone down on the table, he stood up to greet the man.
“Lee Jeno-sshi…?” he was tensed for some reason.
The man smiled at him, “Yes, please sit.” He politely gestured at the seat. Only when Hyunjin was properly settled on his seat, he sat down on the opposite.
It was awkward. No- Hyunjin was awkward. Because he had intentionally & unintentionally canceled their dates four times before. And, the man still insisted to meet. Not to mention he was very polite. Hyunjin felt slightly bad for not handling the situation better.
“So…” Jeno started, “you finally came.” there was a small hint of a smile on his face.
Hyunjin tried to smile apologetically, “I’m sorry for the last time. I’ve been quite busy recently.” He didn’t lie. He was busy.
Jeno’s smiled again, shaking his head slightly. “It’s alright.”
Hyunjin pressed his lips together & nodded, before hesitantly reaching for the menu. Because one thing he had learned from Jeongin was that food was the solution to almost everything. “Should… should we order something at first?” he suggested.
Jeno glanced at the menu before looking up at Hyunjin with the same smile. “Actually… I wanted to say something first.”
Blinking, Hyunjin pushed back the menu & straightened his back. “Yeah, sure.” He looked at the man in anticipation.
“I wanted to see you, even though I was stood up four times,” Jeno said, looking nowhere near upset. But Hyunjin felt like he should apologize again. Four times wasn’t really less.
“Ah… I’m really sor-”
“That’s why I asked your friend for another date. I wanted to check something,” Jeno interjected, causing Hyunjin to look at the man in visible confusion.
“The first two times you couldn’t come because of your work. It was acceptable.”
“Well, I was-”
“Then the third one… it was on a weekend. Yet you canceled saying you had work." Jeno chuckled, "What is it, Mr. Hwang? You do all the work in the company alone?"
Hyunjin clenched his hands under the table at the sarcastic question. But he didn't say anything. He kept quiet & listened to what the man wanted to say.
"The fourth one. Yesterday we were supposed to meet at your company building during lunch hour. For only half an hour. But-" Jeno leaned back on the chair, "you couldn't come two floors down." He smiled at Hyunjin, eyes curling into half moons.
"Either you are very busy to lead a normal life like us, or you're just good at making lame excuses."
Hyunjin's eyes twitched in irritation. This man was here to taunt him. Nothing else.
"I wanted to see if you're worth the time I was wasting. But looking at you now-" Jeno chuckled, "You're not. You're quite pathetic I must say."
Hyunjin clenched his jaws. Oh! Hated the word. He hated the man more.
"So, it might seem petty… but yeah. I'll be taking my leave now, Hyunjin-sshi." Jeno pushed back his chair slightly & stood up, buttoning his suit.
"I hope you find a good man in the future. Though it might be quite tough with that personality of yours." After throwing the last insult Jeno turned back, ready to leave.
"Do you think you're any better, Jeno-sshi?"
Jeno paused & slowly turned back. "Excuse me?" He raised an eyebrow.
Hyunjin leaned back in the chair, crossing his hands over his chest as he stared up at the man with an unwavering gaze.
"I might be pathetic for not being interested in a date. Especially with you. But-" he tilted his head slightly, "Aren't you more pathetic by asking the same person on dates who ditched you again & again? You seem like you've no other important things in your life."
Jeno's gaze hardened. He was about to say something but Hyunjin waved his hand at him dismissively.
"Not only pathetic but childish enough to call me out for the fifth time just to throw some insults." Hyunjin smiled at the fuming man.
"If you think those little insults of yours would hurt my ego,” Well his ego was severely hurt, but Jeno didn’t need to know that. “Then you're more pathetic than I think you are, Jeno-sshi." He loved the way Jeno's smile had vanished into thin air. He was gonna have a good time telling Jeongin about it.
"Anyway, good night. Hope you find your sleep tonight & some actual work to do tomorrow. Because without obsessing over me…” Hyunjin smiled up, “You’ll be jobless, won’t you?" He waved at the man in tiny, before grabbing his phone & getting up. Leaving Jeno still at the table, he strode to the table behind him & stopped in front of the man who was now sipping on his red wine.
Minho looked up, a little surprised, blinking at the man before him. He wasn’t sure why Hyunjin was standing in front of him again, that too just after arguing with his date.
“Seems like you’re eating alone.” Hyunjin said, ignoring the blazing glare he was receiving from behind, “Mind if I sit with you?”
He leaned back slightly, “Wouldn’t that be awkward since,” he glanced down at Hyunjin’s shirt, “-we’re both wearing the same shirt.”
“Actually, it’s more awkward if we sit alone at different tables wearing the same shirt. Let me join you for dinner.” He was already pulling out the chair on the opposite as he spoke. “I’ll pay my own bill.”
Minho only watched with pursed lips & raised eyebrows. Every possible scenario that went through his mind just a minute ago, was nowhere near them. He took another sip of his wine as he watched the younger man looking through the menu & raising a hand to call a waiter.
Soon a waitress came to their table, looking slightly confused at Hyunjin. Hyunjin ignored that & ordered in a confident tone.
As soon as the waitress left he looked at Minho, suddenly looking tired & visibly frustrated. “Did you… hear everything?” he asked, voice a little low & embarrassed.
Minho figured that the date had finally left. “No.” He lied with a straight face. But it was hard not to remember the exchange the man had with his date a while ago. & It was harder not to laugh at Hyunjin’s face.
Hyunjin let out an embarrassed & dejected sigh as he watched the man in front of him struggling to keep his face straight. It was subtle, but he could notice the little curls at the corner of the older man’s lips. “You say that, but your struggle to hide your smile says another story.”
Minho coughed in his hand, trying harder to stop himself. “I could hear everything.” He corrected himself as he straightened up in his chair.
Hyunjin heaved out another tired sigh & noted that he had been sighing a lot in the last few days. “Please pretend to forget what you just heard.” he requested. Minho was practically his partner & also somewhat of a boss until the project was done. It was embarrassing as hell that Minho witnessed such a personal event of his.
Minho nodded. He gently placed the glass back on the table & looked up at Hyunjin in curiosity. “Which one?”
Hyunjin looked confused. “I’m sorry?”
“Which one do you want me to forget? The date you had? Or, how were you rejected? Or, maybe how you rejected the man who rejected you?” Minho blinked at Hyunjin, amusement swirling inside as he watched Hyunjin visibly holding himself back from saying something he might regret.
“All of them.” Hyunjin pressed his lips in a thin line, “If possible.”
Minho nodded, relaxing back against the chair. “Will try my best then.”
Hyunjin nodded back, “Thanks.”
Minho was done with his dinner long ago. Yet he was sitting in the restaurant, lazily sipping on his wine from time to time & watching the PR officer silently getting drunk on his cheap soju. He had to admit that the man was quite interesting. He wasn’t really timid or hesitant unlike Minho thought him to be when they met the first time.
Maybe it was all him. He knew that he often come as a strict person. He also knew that his words were anything but gentle & encouraging most of the time. He could also be very impatient sometimes. But that was just because he always looked for people to match his caliber. In his line of work, experience mattered, but so did confidence.
When he first met the PR officer, he seemed quite pathetic with the way he was handling things like a machine. He walked like a soulless person. As if the world was too heavy on his shoulders. He talked as if he had no other choice. He was nowhere near the energetic & competitive partner Minho was looking for. But there was one thing that he realized by the end of their meeting that day.
Despite looking like a soulless person with all the troubles on his shoulder, Hwang Hyunjin was very determined to get what he went for. His ideas were brilliant. He proved that he could be very competitive when he needed to be. And, today he proved that he wasn’t one to let people walk over him. Just because he looked timid, he wasn’t really one.
No wonder he had boldly interjected when Minho was complaining about how basic was their presentation.
“Mr. Lee,” Hyunjin slightly raised his hand stopping Minho from talking. “Didn’t you say that you’d listen to the end?” there was a small formal smile on his face that almost looked forced & borderline frustrated. “I’d really appreciate if you let me finish first instead of cutting me off at every slide. Thank you.”
An amused smile curled up on Minho’s lips as he wondered what was going on inside the PR officer’s head at the moment.
“Are you going to keep being such a bore?”
Surprised, Minho raised an eyebrow at the other who was now leaning on the table with his face resting on his hand. He looked drunk. Maybe that was why he was brave calling Minho a bore.
“I never really considered myself boring though.” Minho placed the empty glass on the table and replied with a shrug.
The PR officer gave him a side-eye. He disagreed with the statement.
“Do you often drink alone?” Hyunjin changed the topic, eyes lazily blinking at the empty wine glass.
Minho nodded before shifting into a more comfortable position. “Sometimes after work. I like to have a relaxing time to myself after work.”
Hyunjin again gave him a side-eye. But this time he didn’t try to hide it.
“You’re really something,” Hyunjin murmured, frowning at Minho who only tilted his head as he waited for him to continue. “You literally kick away other people’s relaxation out their mind, & then spend time drinking & relaxing alone.” Hyunjin clicked his tongue in irritation.
“And, my teammates say that you & I are alike.” he rolled his eyes before taking another sip of his soju.
“I doubt that.” Minho commented, “It’s only our shirts that are alike.”
Hyunjin gave him a nod while looking down at his empty glass. “I was startled at first. But the more I looked at you, the more I realized that I’m more human than you are." He paused for a second, "You are more pathetic than I am, Mr. Lee. So, don’t go around calling people pathetic.”
Minho pressed his lips to conceal his amusement. Seemed like someone really wasn’t fond of a particular word. No wonder he had gone off on his jerkass date when the man called him pathetic. “Mr. Hwang, are you drunk? Or, are you pretending to be drunk just to throw insults at me?” He asked, even though he already had an idea.
Hyunjin shook his head in denial. “I don’t get drunk.” He slurred, “My tolerance increased with time.”
Minho couldn’t hold back the chuckle anymore. The PR officer was very much drunk.
“We look like a couple wearing the same shirts" Hyunjin changed the topic again, causing Minho to look down at his shirt for the nth time that evening. They both grimaced at the thought. Especially Minho. "Have you ever worn a couple t-shirt before?” he looked up at the older man curiously.
“Not really. It feels weird & awkward just thinking about it.” He visibly cringed at the idea of planning & wearing matching tees with someone else. They’d look like kindergarten kids wearing school dresses. “Wouldn’t it look pathetic?” He intentionally used the word again, just to tease the drunk man.
But instead of getting riled up again, a small nostalgic smile curled up on Hyunjin’s face. “I used to hate pathetic stuff like that too.”
“Used to”
Minho didn’t fail to notice the small slip. “I’m guessing you did that stuff at one point in your life.” He stated as he poured himself a little more of the red wine, curious of the answer.
Hyunjin nodded before looking out the window; memories playing like a reel in his mind. “I did. But at that moment, I didn’t feel pathetic.” He felt childish & happy, unlike now.
He grew up earlier than he wanted to.
Jisung opened his eyes with a start at the first drop of rain falling on his face. Cursing aloud, he scrambled up on his feet & started gathering his belongings. By the time he ran inside the house the shoulder & the back of his hoody were wet, dripping on the marble floor as he scurried inside shivering like a crow.
“That’s why I asked you to stay inside, idiot.”
Before he could say anything, he was pushed onto the couch & a towel dropped on his head.
“How’d I know it was gonna rain?” Jisung whined, placing the things in his hand beside him.
Chan shook his head as he started drying up the younger’s hair with gentle hands. They weren’t that wet, but the problem was- Jisung was prone to catch the flu. “Maybe check the weather forecast before sprawling on any flat surface you find outside.” He moved away, satisfied with Jisung’s hair. “& you might want to change your clothes.”
Jisung’s face scrunched up when he realized that there was a big wet spot on the couch behind him. He hastily got up on his feet & pulled off his hoody in a single tug. “You should’ve told me earlier!” he complained, making Chan shake his head again as he walked inside the open kitchen space.
Jisung dropped the hoody on the laundry basket before walking up to his room. Soon he came back, tugging in a loose pale green shirt as he walked down the wooden stairs. “Did you finish the song?” Jisung asked loudly, unable to stay quiet.
Chan hummed from the kitchen as he grabbed a few spices from the cupboard & dropped them on the kettle. “Almost done. Just need to fix a few things before I send it to the company.” He opened the jar of sugar & dropped one cube on each cup. “What about you though?” he glanced up, noticing Jisung’s small frame walking into the dining space from the peripheral.
“What about me?” Jisung grumbled, pulling a chair & dropping down on it ceremoniously. He was still sulky about the rain. He didn’t like the rain. It only brought bad memories.
“Felix texted me earlier. Around 4 pm. But I checked them just a while ago.” He turned off the kettle & started pouring the tea carefully. “He said he couldn’t get a hold of you.”
Jisung grunted again, before putting his head down on the table like a kid. “I was busy.” he lied.
Chan stole a glance at the younger, already knowing it was nothing but a lie. But he decided not to call him out. Instead, he let out a small hum as if he believed Jisung’s excuse. “Maybe give him a call, or a text soon. Before he can come looking for you here.” Chan carefully balanced both cups on his hands as he walked out of the kitchen. He placed one in front of Jisung, who had a big frown plastered to his forehead.
“He has been asking me to write him a song,” Jisung said, still with his head on the table & eyes now on the steaming cup of tea.
Chan took a gentle sip from his cup & immediately hummed in contentment. “Then write him one.”
“I don’t like writing on request,” Jisung confessed. “I only write on my wish. It’s hard to write tailor-made ones.”
Chan nodded, even though Jisung couldn’t see him. He kinda knew this already. He had been with Jisung for a long time now. He knew Jisung only wrote what he felt. His songs & short stories were about the world & people in his eyes. No wonder Jisung was avoiding Felix. It was quite hard to say no to Felix.
“Why don’t you give him an old one?” Chan suggested. “You have got a lot of unpublished ones rotting in your diaries.”
Jisung looked up at the older man with an offended frown. “For free? Not a chance! Besides-” He looked down, slowly curling his fingers around the mug, “I didn’t write them for him.”
Chan stared at the younger in silence, watching him blow on the hot tea before taking a small sip. He felt slightly sad, maybe a little worried as well. Six years, & Jisung was still stuck to where he was back then. But if he talked with Changbin now, he’d say debatable. It was true that Jisung wasn’t devastated anymore. But the incident cut deep inside his heart, & Chan wasn’t sure if that was gonna heal ever.
“Fine. But you have to tell him, Sung. Felix would understand.”
Jisung pressed his lips in a thin line, clearly showing he didn’t like the idea. But still, he nodded, because he knew that was what he should do. They were under the same company. Jisung couldn’t just avoid Felix forever. Besides, Felix did nothing to get avoided like this.
Happy with the situation, Chan smiled at the younger. If Jisung said he’d talk with Felix, then he would. Chan knew it.
“Also, about that offer of the collab. Did you take it?” He asked, changing the subject.
Jisung shook his head. “I’m not really interested. They’re gonna do a public reveal.”
Chan sighed. “You’ve been in the industry for three years now, Sung. You have a youtube channel with millions of followers, not to mention that you’ve become more popular after the release of your mini album. Sooner or later, you’ll have to be in the limelight. Your fans would want to see your face.” This offer was really big. Jisung could get more popular, maybe one of the biggest soloists of kpop one day. Only if he didn’t sabotage himself.
“Why do they need to see my face?” Jisung grumbled, “My voice is pretty enough.”
“Obviously it is. But people also want to know who’s behind that voice.” Chan reasoned. “Besides, imagine how surprised people are gonna get when they’ll realize that it is you, the lazy Han from that high school documentary.” he grinned when Jisung whine loudly, protesting. “Imagine how much your story gonna inspire so many others.”
Jisung quirked an eyebrow in question, “How?”
Chan smiled, “You proved that you didn’t need to be a top student to make your dreams come true. Do you know how many people give up because they are told otherwise?”
Jisung knew. He had seen a few of his friends. He had seen his neighbors. It was his great luck that his parents were supportive of whatever he decided for his life. They were rightfully worried about him, but they made sure not to stop Jisung from living his dream. Living the peaceful life that he had always wanted.
“...I’ll think about it.” He mumbled a minute later, causing the older man’s lips to stretch out in a big proud grin. Jisung shot back a small genuine smile of his own. He was gonna think about it. But the first thing first. He grabbed his phone & finally texted Felix back.
To: Lee Felix
Sorry, I've been a little busy
Let's meet tomorrow on the fourth-floor studio
He was gonna formally reject Felix's request. & He hoped the idol would understand.
Hyunjin fished out his phone from his pants pocket. He opened the mail that he received earlier this morning & checked the address again. Once he was sure that he came to the right place, he pocketed back his phone & walked to the front door; eyes casually looking around the small modern duplex house. When he was given the faceless idol’s address, he expected the man to live in some condo or, at least in some posh area seeing his recent success in the industry. But never in his life, he expected the artist to live in the same neighborhood. But yes, in a fancy modern duplex house.
He stopped near the door & with one deep breath he rang the bell. As he waited, he looked around again. He noticed the small garden on his left & a good range of gardening tools lying on the cemented bench in the corner. Whoever lived in this place looked quite dedicated to the greens of nature.
Hyunjin could imagine a man, in his mid twenty, spending his time writing & gardening, living a happy & enjoying his peaceful life. Unlike him; working & working until he passed out from exhaustion. It wasn’t really bad. He liked working. But the problem was, unlike he thought before he wasn’t really enjoying this life of his.
His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a sound. He looked at the front when he realized that someone was opening the door. He immediately put on a formal smile, wanting to make a good first impression.
But then the door opened & a familiar face peeked out from the gap; rubbing the sleep off his eyes tiredly.
The smile on the PR officer’s face fell immediately as he realized who it was.
Han Jisung. The 267th rank. The idiot he never thought of seeing again.
Jisung groaned out loud when the bell went off, ruining his much-needed beauty sleep. He groggily called out to Chan, hoping the older man would check the door. But after a few seconds of pin-drop silence, he remembered that the older man did tell him about leaving for the studio at the dawn.
With a loud whine, he forced his sleepy figure out of the bed & walked downstair while mentally cursing at whoever was knocking on his door at 9 of the morning. With a big yawn & he slightly twisted his upper body slightly, stretching & relaxing the muscles as he walked to the door. With a frown settled on his forehead, he reached for the knob & twisted it open.
“Yes?” he asked while trying to rub the sleep away from his eyes.
But he didn’t get a reply. Frowning more, he forced his eyes to adjust to the daylight. And, once he did, his frown melted into pure shock.
It was Hwang Hyunjin. The top student. Also, the demon on whom Jisung promised to sprinkle salt & holy water if they ever crossed paths again. He was standing just a few steps away from him with his infamous frown.
“You-”
Jisung slammed the door shut in Hyunjin’s face & ran to his room at the speed of light. He hastily opened the bedside drawer & grabbed the small transparent bottle of holy water that Changbin got him earlier this year. Then he ran down to the kitchen to grab the salt.
It was finally his chance. He wasn’t gonna fucking miss it for anything!
Hyunjin blinked, lips apart as he was interrupted. That brat didn’t even listen to him & slammed the door in his face. But more than that, he was shocked that Jisung lived here.
Jisung was the faceless idol?
Now that Hyunjin knew, he could identify the similarities between the faceless idol J.one’s lyrics type & Jisung’s writings from earlier. No wonder they seemed familiar to him.
Then it dawned upon him that he was here to talk with J.one or Jisung to sign the deal of the new mall project. The fuck was he gonna do? Jisung literally stared at him for three seconds before yeeting off.
He made it clear that he didn’t wanna see Hyunjin.
Or, maybe not?
The door opened again, but this time with a force that had Hyunjin step back immediately. Then came out Jisung, wearing his night dress &, with salt & water (?) in his hands. He still looked childish.
Hyunjin knew he had to talk with Jisung, for the sake of his project. So, he bit down the comment that was dancing on the tip of his tongue & inhaled, forcing himself to relax back to his professional state.
“Are you J.one?” He asked straight, hoping the other would say no.
But Jisung only stared back at him with a frown & determined gaze. Which was quite unsettling at the moment.
“What?” he looked at the shorter man wearily.
Jisung shot a tiny glare at Hyunjin in reply before throwing a fistful of salt, & then immediately sprinkling the holy water on the taller. His lips pulled up in a satisfied smirk as he watched Hyunjin gasp at the sudden attack; mouth open wide in shock as water ran down his face & melting the salt on his shirt.
Mission accomplished!