Chapter Text
there’s magic in the air. it’s not obvious, and it’s only there when one is searching for it, but there’s something buzzing, a hum on earth that seems to cause unexplainable circumstances.
jeongguk’s known for his entire life that he’s had a bit of magic in him. when it’s most present, the usual strength he has is the power to make windchimes sing, or perhaps a door to shut abruptly.
something unnoticeable.
something he’s been able to hide.
he knows it to be deeply tied to his emotions, and it’s made him resent the gift he’s been given. a clumsy or otherwise unlucky label has thankfully not been slapped onto jeongguk so far, as his magic usually only comes in the form of a minor inconvenience, but now…
it starts on sunday.
he's at a catch-up dinner with his old co-worker, now close friend, jimin and it’s a bit hard to not think of the fact that jimin looks like a walking angel tonight. he’s effortlessly pretty for such a simple dinner, and jeongguk doesn't know if he can even comprehend all the ways to spell self-conscious. he wills himself to focus on the conversation.
jimin sips some water. “you remember jeesoo-ssi, yeah?”
“unfortunately…” she was the one who kept asking very strange and invasive questions about jimin’s sexuality during working hours, trying to get him to pry open. jeongguk remembers this so vividly because it’s when jimin started confiding in him and opening up, and they both found comfort in being queer together. it’s…also when jeongguk started realizing his tiny crush on jimin was getting increasingly hard to avoid. it got easier when jeongguk switched jobs so they didn’t have to see each other as much, but it was still an active presence.
he snaps back into the conversation. “so, what about her?”
“she announced her pregnancy, which, obviously congratulations, but then afterwards she gave me such a nasty look that made my blood boil so much, oh my god.” he takes a bite of rice. “she walked up to me and started asking me about my plans to settle down and have a wife and kids, and it was all ‘oh jimin-ssi, you… will have a wife, right?’ and i have no idea what kind of response she wanted from me, but you don’t understand jeonggukie, i wanted to tell her to fuck off so badly, i had to restrain myself and answer as normally as possible, fuck.”
jeongguk nods in sympathy. he can picture the exchange clearly and it makes him grimace. “well, you’ll be free from her during maternity leave.”
“that’s all i could hope for.” he takes a slice of beef. “at least you’re a good date.”
jeongguk bangs his knee under the table, and he feels a prickle in his veins. the salt shaker falls over in response. date?
“wha- ji-” he hears a giggle.
it’s coming from jimin. “oh, baby got flustered?” he says the pet name with such ease. “you’re so easy to tease, jeonggukie, all red now.”
what a cruel world he lives in. “ah, hyung…” he whines, rubbing his sore knee. it’s not hard to guess jeongguk has a little bit of an infatuation with jimin, and jimin loves to play around a bit in response. it’s never been too much of a serious thing, because he knows it’s not just jeongguk who’s slightly obsessed with him, it’s half the world. they haven’t really talked about it, ever, and the most jeongguk’s reacted is the first time when all of his pens magically rolled under the table. he still hasn’t completely gotten used to it.
jimin calls the waiter to order some soju.
jeongguk knows it might be a bad idea on a sunday night, but it’s easy to comply around the other. they’ve obviously gone drinking together after work before, but it was much easier with the distraction of more co-workers. they haven’t really had a drink since then. he’s not sure how it will go. his tolerance isn’t good, and his abilities might go a little haywire.
it’s fine, though. he can handle it. he’s done it all these years with them both in the company, right?
one shot.
“it’s so easy to get lonely without you in the office, jeongguk-ah.”
two shots.
“hyung, i’m not gonna rate your ass.”
three shots.
“are you going on any dates lately, baby?” there’s that ease again. it’s not as teasing as before, it has some weight to it this time, and oh, jeongguk really likes that. he wants to be called that more, beyond the regular teasing, and he knows he’s felt helplessly enamored before but this time it’s jimin, and they’re both a bit tipsy, and things feel more soft than usual.
“i just work, hyung.” he doesn’t feel the need to mention his penchant for crushes even at his new job. it’s not his fault he’s surrounded by beautiful men. he downs some more soju. either his vision is hazy or there’s a lot of dust coming from the ceiling.
“ah, you’re too pretty to be wasting away at your job.” jimin leans in. jeongguk knows his magic is slipping away from him, everything’s starting to shake. close, closer, jeongguk can feel that his neck’s all hot, and he’s staring at jimin’s lips, his eyes, his-
his hand sits on top of jeongguk’s.
jeongguk hears the sound of a crash from his right side.
fuck.
he looks, and the chandelier has just fallen onto the table next to them, with a couple having stood up in horror. time seems to freeze for a moment—like shock has overcome everyone—until there are screams and a command to evacuate. he looks back at jimin, whose eyes are as big as saucers. the hand on of his turns into a tight grip as jeongguk’s led to leave. everything is still fuzzy and he’s a bit out of it. he hasn’t had his magic react this strongly for a long, long, time, and it makes him more nervous than he’s willing to admit.
when he’s hit with the cold wind on his face, it seems to sober jeongguk up a bit more.
“oh my god, can you believe that just happened? what the fuck is wrong with that place?”
it’s not the place.
“yeah, maybe the…building isn’t maintained well…” he’s lying. that’s not it.
“god, felt like i was in a movie,” jimin starts to laugh now, probably at how absurd the situation is to him. if jeongguk didn’t know any better, he’d laugh too, but all he can manage is a half-hearted chuckle. “that’s gonna be my big-time office story.”
jeongguk opens his mouth to speak, when-
“hello, my name is park minhyuk from the dai-”
and jimin immediately cuts him off. “no reporters, sorry.” jeongguk doesn’t even realize jimin’s still holding his hand until he’s yanked away by him once again to avoid the reporter. it makes his ears red and the static in his body calls out to him. control yourself, he thinks.
they walk for a bit. “eventful night, yeah?”
“hm?” jeongguk looks at jimin. “yeah…guess we’re too powerful wherever we go,” he adds in.
“we’d be unstoppable together, don’t you think?”
before jeongguk can even think about the question, jimin’s phone beeps. he sighs and gets it out of his pocket, looking a bit solemnly at jeongguk.
“think that’s my ride.” jeongguk vaguely remembers jimin talking about when he had to leave, with work in the morning and whatnot, but it was sometime after they already started drinking. he nods as jimin lets go of his hand, nonchalantly almost.
“it was nice to catch up,” he says, “even with…the ending of the night.” jimin smiles in response.
“text me when you’re home, yeah?” they’ve never done that before.
“yeah.” and yet it feels right.
jimin presses his lips to jeongguk’s cheeks, and without another word, while jeongguk’s still processing, he’s gone.
things may have gotten a little complicated.