Work Text:
Now that his Seungcheol hyung seldom stayed in their apartment because of his new love affair in the name of Wonwoo, Seokmin had the whole house for himself and the musical was nearing its end. He can't imagine being jobless and lonely in his apartment for the next few months until he gets cast for something again.
But that one night when Soonyoung chose him out of everyone else in the friend group kind of changed everything.
"Seokmin-ah" Soonyoung was buttering him up, it was very obvious. "Go home with me, won't you? Seungcheol hyung is not home anyways"
"I can't fuck around tonight Soonyoungie, it's a weekend show tomorrow, and- you know, it's a work day tomorrow." Seokmin tried his best to decline with a smile even though something coiling in his guts was definitely saying otherwise.
"Soonyoungie, leave him alone" Jihoon spoke for him instead. "Go home with Minghao, or dude, I don't know, go to your usual pub and find that girl"
"Nah, I want dick tonight" Soonyoung pouted. "Guess I'm not getting it"
"You're not" Chan shut him up.
The new restaurant that was chosen by Chan wasn't that bad after all. Seokmin filled his stomach with so much Chinese cuisine but the fact that the "we're hiring" board right next to the counter only made him think about money and the general struggles of living in a capitalistic world.
He took a picture of the board and noted down the number attached to it, working in a Chinese restaurant didn't seem so bad after all.
Seokmin tried to distract himself from his very personal issues by listening to the nonsense Seungkwan was saying, some duck peeing on Hansol's favorite hoodie until he felt a cold hand on his shoulder.
"Show me your phone" It was a guy, a guy with sheep-like hair and it was kind of hilarious.
"What?"
"You just took a picture of me" he said, if only his voice was a little deep like Wonwoo's, Seokmin would've felt how stern it was.
"I did not?"
"Excuse me, what do you mean?" Jihoon, being the aunt bird when mama bird Seungcheol is not there, stepped in. The sheep man just sighed.
"Check your friend's phone, he literally just took a photo of me. And he had the flash on" he pointed accusingly and Seokmin was offended even though he shouldn't feel offended.
"Wow, how much of a god complex do you have to think random people would just take pictures of you? I took a picture of the hiring board there." Seokmin felt himself overreacting, it's okay though, he's a theatre kid after all.
The guy looked back and saw the hiring board. There was a moment of silence before he turned back to Seokmin and smiled.
"Sorry, but if at all I'm there in the picture can you crop it out or something, if it's-"
"Oh my god, I'm not gonna post it and defame you or something" Seokmin snickered while Jihoon took Seokmin's phone and found the picture. It had no sheep guy in it.
"You're not in the picture" Jihoon declared and the sheep guy, leaned in close to see Seokmin's phone screen in a way of making sure that he was definitely not there. Seokmin couldn't help but sigh.
"Cute" he smiled again. "What's your name?" he turned to Seokmin now, still leaning in a little.
"You're going to report me or call the police now?" Seungkwan hissed from the other corner of the table, Seokmin knew his entire friend group just expected him to shut up at that point but something about the sheep guy's smile only riled Seokmin up.
"No" he paused and looked around "Just doing my best to cover up the embarrassment by getting a cute guy's number"
Seokmin felt Mingyu spank Jihoon's thighs in excitement, oh no, Seokmin was going to get teased heavily. Well, he's going to get teased whether or not he responds to the sheep guy. So why not just let another annoyingly cute guy know his name?
"Lee Seokmin, I'm an actor"
"oh like a celeb one?"
"a theatre one"
"hah, you definitely resemble that" he smirked, the audacity. "I'm Yoon Jeonghan. My mom runs this restaurant"
"Okay mama boy, now leave us alone"
"Not before you give me your number, or at least call us when you want the job. I'll definitely put a word in for you" Jeonghan signaled the hiring board again, making Seokmin sigh.
"Leave" Seokmin deadpanned, it's the I-know-I'm-attractive-as-hell attitude that made Seokmin's ass itch. Jeonghan who clearly saw that just raised his hands defensively and walked away, but again, he's a pretty bitch who knows he's pretty so he walked like five feet and turned back to wink at Seokmin.
"Damn, you had the chance" Soonyoung whined next to him.
"You can still go ask that guy whose job is his mom running a restaurant for some dick, Soonyoung hyung"
"Oh my god, calm down hyung. Here." Chan shoved a glass of mojito with a little too much ice in his hands. And Seokmin hated it once he gulped everything down.
Yoon Jeonghan. Fuck, he hates him for no reason.
Yoon Jeonghan. Fuck, he was friends with Wonwoo.
"Hello, cute guy, what can I do for you?" His sheep hair was better and flatter making his facial structure stand out a little better and Seokmin could not stand it.
"What are you doing in Wonwoo hyung’s home?" He already cursed Seungcheol a million times because being his housemate comes with picking him up when he's going through a hangover in his boyfriend's home.
"Oh, Wonwoo is my boyfriend." Jeonghan smiled cheekily. "Does that make you jealous?"
"No, that makes me want to skin Wonwoo like a chicken because he's dating my best hyung" Seokmin yelled.
"Oh my god, can you not, Jeonghan?" Wonwoo appeared behind him, hair all tousled and crusty eyes. "Come in, Seokmin. Cheol is sleeping, I'll wake him up"
Seokmin's shoulder collided with Jeonghan who dramatically convulsed at the hit, and Seokmin couldn't help but scoff at that. Wonwoo excused himself once again to go to his bedroom where Seungcheol was snoring and made Seokmin sit on their couch. Jeonghan hastily joined him.
"I knew you did not take a photo of me that day" Jeonghan started. And surprise! Seokmin wasn't even surprised that Jeonghan did something like that.
"You just wanted attention so badly, didn't you?" Seokmin scoffed again because Jeonghan is like a walking I-know-I'm-pretty allergy and Seokmin was very allergic and no amount of sarcasm could boil it down to nothing.
"Attention from a cute guy like you, sure." Jeonghan winked at him. Seokmin hates that he looks annoyingly pretty when doing that.
"Please stop flirting with me, I have a job to attend to"
"I work too, you know?" and now, it's worse, because Jeonghan was Pouting.
"Sure, your job is your mom runs a restaurant-"
"My mom runs a restaurant where I'm a part-time cashier. I'm a Ph.D. student who'll soon get a doctorate. I can invite you to my thesis defense to prove it" Jeonghan talked with a pout, which only annoyed Seokmin more.
"Dude, stop being so weird. You barely know me, you can't just invite me to your thesis defense. Moreover, what would a guy like you work on? Rat's ass or something?"
"Very close, I work on climate change"
and before Seokmin could retort back, a groggy sound he would never expect a man to emit came from the bedroom and it was of course, Seungcheol was standing at the doorway, rubbing his eyes until he lost his eyesight.
"Seokmin-ah"
"Hyung" Seokmin got up from the couch because the proximity with Jeonghan was alone pissing him off. "Let's go home, I got your glasses and hangover medicine"
Seungcheol grunted and put his arms around Seokmin who had no trouble holding his hyung and carrying half of his weight until they reached the doorframe, where Jeonghan surprisingly decided to help them.
"Where's Wonwoo?" he asked Jeonghan.
"Wonwoo burnt the breakfast he was trying to cook so he's trying his best to not let the fire alarm blare" Jeonghan grinned. Seokmin cannot believe Seungcheol is loving and living with a man who literally sets his kitchen on fire at least once every fifteen days.
"Men, Ugh."
"You're a gay man, Seokmin" Jeonghan announced, again, unceremoniously as they entered the elevator with an obviously old man.
"I never told you I'm gay" Seokmin had to gasp so loud. "Wow, did you just assume my sexuality?"
"You're literally a theatre kid"
"So? I can't be bisexual?"
"Something tells me your dick falls off when you're next to a woman"
The old man clicked his tongue and glared at Jeonghan, Seokmin, and his poor hangover-ed hyung. Jeonghan bowed and muttered sorry. Seokmin's nervous system screeched in embarrassment.
Jeonghan is right, Seokmin is a theatre kid. So, Seokmin felt the urge to say "I literally have an older sister who taught me enough decency and I'm pansexual" once they got out of the elevator.
And when he did, Jeonghan just nodded and congratulated him.
Despite how annoying Jeonghan is, he annoyingly helped him put Seungcheol in Jihoon's car that Seokmin borrowed just to pick up and drop Seungcheol, who had enough coherence in the ear-to-brain department, and thanked Jeonghan.
"So, am I getting your number or not?" Jeonghan had his hands in his pocket, such an annoying stance.
"No"
"C’mon, I can talk to you about rat's ass"
"Not about climate change?"
"Whatever you like, pretty boy" Jeonghan's hand reached out to pat his hair but stopped midway and Seokmin was clueless as to what to do.
But he likes to be dramatic, so he coughed. Jeonghan took his hand away and coughed back.
"Give me your phone. I can offer you some bad attention when you need it" Seokmin knows how to play a push-and-pull game, and he definitely wanted to play one with a pretty guy.
"I'd definitely call you to my thesis defense and kiss you once I get my doctorate"
"You won't let me join your restaurant before that? No kissing in your mom's restaurant as she watches us from the CCTV?" Seokmin raised his eyebrows at him as he punched his number in Jeonghan’s phone.
“Oh, I would make out with you for hours in the small cashier cubicle I have” Jeonghan bit his lips. “Fuck”
“Okay, don’t get a boner. Bye.” Seokmin hit his elbow slightly before getting back to Jihoon’s car. Jeonghan stood there with a pretty smile until Seokmin drove off.
Fuck, Seokmin likes Yoon Jeonghan.
Unknown Number
hey cutie
Rats have the structure of internal and external sphincters similar to humans. It is known that, unlike human mucous anal glands, rats have the simplest type of sebaceous glands involving the anal canal and located mainly in the submucosal region.
Seokie Minnie
wow okay
Jeonghan
googled it for you <3
am i good at flirting?
Seokie Minnie
no
Jeonghan
hold up
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, mainly caused by human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels
Seokie Minnie
👍
Jeonghan
:(
my day was good
Seokie Minnie
didn’t ask
Jeonghan
how was your day
Seokie Minnie
except for the usual 2 pm yearning that i won’t be performing on the same stage for some time from tomorrow onwards, which made me cry, it was alright. i had tteokbokki
Jeonghan
oh are you closing up your musical tomorrow?
Seokie Minnie
yeah
Jeonghan
would you like some company at 2 pm tomorrow @ your theatre?
Seokie Minnie
istg if you come here and tell me some shit about rat’s ass
Jeonghan
i’ll come there and talk to you about how badly i wanna kiss the protagonist of the musical i’ll watch tomorrow
Seokie Minnie
that’s worse, but not something i can’t tolerate
hey how did you guess i’m the protagonist
Jeonghan
you’re very protagonist Seokminnie
own up to it
Seokmin had to bite down the smile creeping up his face and also the slight heat on his skin.
And, out of everyone in his life, Seokmin develops a crush on the Yoon Jeonghan.
Seokmin spotted a beret badly placed on a head that belonged to Jeonghan first.
“Hey cutie” Jeonghan smiled at him and Seokmin totally did not expect Jeonghan to bring a bouquet with him.
“You should stop calling me cutie” Seokmin said a little too loud so whoever on the crew was eavesdropping would not get the wrong idea and out him to Jihoon who’d then insist on calling Jeonghan to the actual after-party with drinks.
“What should I call a cute guy then?”
“Seokmin” he replied. And Mingyu is as clumsy as ever, with his tall shoulders bumping into Jeonghan’s back, making him stumble on his foot and fall onto Seokmin who had no choice except to hold his waist to balance the fall.
“Hey, sorry” Mingyu replied, bowing a little to Jeonghan who replied with “It’s okay, Seokmin”
“What?” Mingyu’s eyes shot up a little.
“Seokmin told me to call cute guys as Seokmin-” Seokmin shut his mouth with his bare hands and pulled him away from saying any more nonsense to Mingyu, directing him to the green room.
“You don’t have to constrict my breathing for calling another man cute, stop being so jealous” Jeonghan whined once Seokmin let him go.
“I’m not jealous, what the fuck”
Jeonghan grinned. “Seokminnie, look me in the eye and tell me you don’t have a crush on me?”
Seokmin actually looked into his eyes, “I don’t” A beat later, “fuck, I do.”
“The fuck, you do?” Jeonghan gasped dramatically, and Seokmin doesn’t know if it was Jeonghan copying Seokmin or Seokmin who simply started imitating Jeonghan because of the crush.
“I think, I think I do” Seokmin confessed, the words sitting a little uncomfortably in his mouth because Jeonghan’s face had no more playful grin and glinting eyes.
“That’s nice” Jeonghan said, which did not help in the slightest. “I- um, I don’t know what to say”
“Will you let me work in your mom’s restaurant?” Seokmin did not want to lose the opportunity of a job that gave him time with Jeonghan, even if Jeonghan completely detested him after the confession. “I need a job, desperately”
“Of course, you can literally start tomorrow” Jeonghan nodded enthusiastically. “I already told my mom I found the right one for the job after our first meeting. You’re free to call me stupid.”
Seokmin couldn’t help but smile. “You’re stupid” and why would he miss the opportunity to call Jeonghan stupid? “But yeah, thanks”
“Don’t mention it” Jeonghan stood up once someone came into the green room to call Seokmin. “I’ll go sit with the audience and try not to think about kissing you in my cubicle”
“You sure don’t like me back? Do I pretend like we’re in a slow burn and wait for a response from you? I can’t kiss you while waiting” Seokmin had to yell a little because Jeonghan kept walking away from him as he spoke. But again, Jeonghan is a pretty bitch who knows he’s pretty so he stood at the door to the green room and yelled,
“If it’s not obvious that I like you so much that I don’t care about getting caught by my mom, I have failed in flirting, and that’ll be the first thing I’ve failed in in my whole life” Jeonghan still had the cocky smile on. “Don’t fail me, Seokminnie? Yeah?”
Seokmin simply shook his head as he watched Jeonghan disappear behind the door.
Two days after the musical's last show, which ended with so many tears from Jihoon and Mingyu (also so many bottles of soju which pained Chan's wallet a little too much), Seokmin was at the entrance to Jeonghan's mom's restaurant, thinking of what to say to how Seokmin forgot about Jeonghan in the mesh of Jihoon and Mingyu's emotions.
The cashier's cubicle was empty, and Seokmin stood there staring at the cubicle until the figure of Jeonghan appeared there.
"Wow, a cute guy who completely ignored me after I told him I like him so much" Jeonghan's voice was unamused.
"I'm sorry, my brain got lost in so much melancholy after the show that I couldn't leave my crewmates"
Jeonghan nodded, he looked a little sad. "I kissed my pillow that night, thinking it was you"
"Oh-" Seokmin felt the need to hit himself on the head so hard for forgetting about Jeonghan, because, fuck, Seokmin would've really appreciated a kiss from Jeonghan after the musical.
"It's okay" Jeonghan smiled back. "Now that you're here, I can maybe think less about kissing my pillow isn't it?"
"If you're still into your mom watching us kiss through the CCTV" Seokmin muttered, moving a little closer to the cubicle and the way Jeonghan's lips quirked up to a smirk was very instantaneous.
"You're not getting it that easily though, pretty boy" Jeonghan is also evil. "Go meet my mom in the kitchen, introduce yourself as the guy Yoon Jeonghan recommended for the waiter job. She'll ask you some questions and please don't lie to any of those. We can talk about kissing once you get your uniform with our restaurant logo on it"
"Okay…" Seokmin was a little confused, but confusion isn't new when you know enough about Jeonghan. He simply moved away a little so he can go get the job he needed more than he needed Jeonghan.
"I'm coming with you" Jeonghan jumped out of the cubicle, scaring Seokmin a little with how wide his grin was and how pathetic the whole scenario is.
"Okay?" Seokmin walked in front, trying to figure out the way to the kitchen. Thanks to his memory, he did remember where the kitchen was even though he visited the restaurant almost three weeks ago.
And there he spotted Jeonghan's mom, hands on her hips, checking the ingredients and discussing something with the chefs.
"Eomma" Jeonghan called, while swiftly putting his hand over Seokmin's shoulders. Seokmin eyed him in shock.
"He's my boyfriend"
"Wha-" and before Seokmin could say anything, Jeonghan shushed him. "I like him and he likes me back"
"Oh my god" she clapped her hands to her mouth. "Honey, is it true? Is my son not lying about you actually like him?"
"Uh no, no, yes." Seokmin facepalmed himself for stuttering. "No sorry, I do like him and he likes me back, yes."
"Oh my god" she gasped again. "Jeonghanie, I- no. What's your name honey?"
"Lee Seokmin, I've worked in a Thai restaurant before and-"
"Ah it's fine, you're hired." She grinned, the same kind of grin Jeonghan has, the annoying one. "Just don't worry. Jeonghan told me about your musical and everything, I only wanted to hire someone my son liked as he doesn't like people easily. You must have a charm don't you?"
"Maybe" Seokmin was simply confused, why is Jeonghan and everything about him so confusing? why does it feel like he's on stage in some alternate universe where he doesn't have to worry about his life when he's with Jeonghan? Is that why he likes Jeonghan?
Does that even matter when he's very obviously and uncontrollably crushing on Jeonghan?
"Jeonghan-ah, help him get the uniform. Take it lightly on the first day, we can discuss pay and other stuff later. Pretty sure you need some time to recover, you look petrified" She tapped his shoulders a little. Seokmin didn't even realize he had his hands in a tight fist until he unclenched them.
"Thank you, eomeonim" he barely finished his sentence before Jeonghan pulled him out of the kitchen and took him to some back room where they had uniforms and other workers' stuff.
"I'm sorry if all that happened a little too fast" Jeonghan held his hands up apologetically. But Seokmin didn't feel wronged at all and in fact, he always liked guys who had a good relationship with their mother even though Jeonghan totally did not seem like one. But there was a question burning in his tongue.
"Did you mean it when you called me your boyfriend?"
Jeonghan paused, suddenly eyes looking right into Seokmin, both of them were a little out of breath. But Jeonghan looked like he was going to puke.
"I- Did I- oh, fuck me. I overdid it, didn't I? I should've asked you and-"
"Jeonghan" Seokmin interrupted his rambling, moving a little closer to him, which made Jeonghan slowly lose his breath again for the second time. "Call me your boyfriend"
"You're my boyfriend" Jeonghan almost rapped, his eyes darting down to look at the floor. A minute pause as Seokmin let the word sink into his blood. "Am I yours?" his voice was tiny, nothing, unlike the Jeonghan he knew.
"Jeonghan, you're my boyfriend"
"Oh, fuck" Jeonghan giggled now, his eyes got the playful glint back, and his annoying grin was back on his face. He looked like he was jumping on his tiptoes even though he wasn't.
"Okay, anyway, get me my uniform" Seokmin said, once he realized Jeonghan was having a little too much fun giggling to himself at work time. Also because, Seokmin wanted Jeonghan's mom to know he can be a good waiter just like how good of a boyfriend he is.
"No kissing before that?" Jeonghan was Pouting, and his annoyingly pretty boyfriend was Pouting at him.
"You're something" Seokmin snickered when Jeonghan pulled him to a kiss, a kiss that was long overdue (two days).
"We're supposed to be working-" Seokmin managed to mutter when Jeonghan pulled away only to kiss him on his cheek and then on his nose.
"Ah, fuck work." Jeonghan placed a final kiss on his lips. "My mom would kill me but this is the only place without a CCTV"
"We can come back here later, and you've got your kiss. You don't deserve so much kissing time for literally sending me information about rat's ass in the name of flirting" Seokmin flicked his forehead earning another Pout. Oh god, Jeonghan is his boyfriend, and fuck, it's Jeonghan out of everyone.
"Whatever you say, cutie" Jeonghan smiled at him before finally reaching out to the uniforms and picking one for Seokmin.