Work Text:
Relief as thick as honey floods Seokmin’s bones as he walks out of the elevator in the basement, the one sort of shotty table down there empty by some miracle. He drops his book bag into one of the chairs before he wheels his laundry basket into the other room, the smell of soap flooding his nose the moment he’s in the threshold. Thankfully there are a plethora of washers and even dryers open, so he avoids the ones that he knows rock and the others that have exploded in recent history, separating his darks and lights into two machines next to each other. His last two pods are tossed into the machines and he sighs at the thought of having to buy more, choosing his settings with care before he’s leaving his hamper on top of them and heading back to that table.
Before he can forget Seokmin sets a timer on his phone, giving himself an hour to get a fair hunk of his assignment done. It’s reasonable and feasible, of course, but it’s also late on a Tuesday night and it isn’t due tomorrow morning, which makes the motivation to do it hard to come by. Still, Seokmin tugs out his laptop and notebooks and gets to work, the sound of the laundry machines his only company.
As time passes a few people come around, the ones that he’s friendly with offering him a soft greeting but the others mostly ignoring him, off to do their own laundry. He doesn’t mind, none of them bothering to stay beyond swapping their loads, instead taking the mini breaks for all that they’re worth. The elevator dings in front of him again and Seokmin looks up out of habit, the man stepping out looking just left of familiar. He’s in baggy sweats and an even baggier hoodie, bags under his eyes speaking volumes that the slump of his shoulders can’t. Seokmin offers him a smile and receives a simple but polite nod back. Pushing the thoughts of the handsome stranger out of his mind, Seokmin turns back to his assignment at hand, humming softly under his breath as he skims the article in front of him.
He doesn’t get very far before there’s a shadow falling on him, and he looks up to meet the handsome stranger’s embarrassed expression.
“I hate to do this,” he grits out, clearly annoyed with himself, “but do you happen to have any soap? I’ll Venmo you for it.” Seokmin pauses, trying to think if he maybe has a stray pod somewhere in his room, but the stranger seemingly takes it the wrong way. Within a moment he’s rambling again, running his hands through his hair and making it stick up in a way that’s endearing, even if it shows off his (unfairly attractive) undercut. “I just, I live in Grey and we only have two fuckin’ machines and one of them is broken and I am on my fuckin’ last resort underwear and I cannot wait any longer man.” Seokmin presses his lips together as he tries to suppress a smile, finally clocking the backpack on the man’s back. Clearly he was planning on camping out here and Seokmin can’t blame him. He was in one of those dreaded laundry situations last year - he wouldn’t wish it on his worst enemy.
Seokmin finally offers the guy a smile and waves at the chair across from him, suppressing a laugh as the man just continues to stare in bewilderment. He’s cute when he’s confused, Seokmin admits, flipping his phone over and fiddling with his cards in their holder.
“Put your shit down,” he finally says, looking back up to see the man blink at him. Finally he gets his cards popped out and he smiles victoriously, plucking his ID from his card holder and holding it out to the guy. “I’m fresh outta soap, dude. Just go get yours and let yourself back in. I’ll watch your shit for you.” The tension in the man’s expression breaks and he looks beyond grateful, which has Seokmin smiling even wider.
“I owe you one,” he says as he puts his bag down but Seokmin waves him off once more.
“Don’t worry about it.” Though he looks like he will, the man doesn’t end up arguing. Instead he drops his bag into the chair and shoots Seokmin one last grateful look before he’s slipping into the staircase. Seokmin shakes his head with his smile firmly on his face before he’s back to focusing on his work in front of him, humming thoughtlessly once more as he skims yet another article.
Seokmin’s finished another question before he’s distracted by the sound of the elevator opening, looking up to meet the man he had just given his ID to smiling sheepishly at him. He digs into one of his pockets before he’s handing Seokmin his card back, his ears cherry red as the blush begins to stain his cheeks.
“Thank you, Seokmin,” he says genuinely, even if his voice is bashful, “you’re a lifesaver.” Seokmin laughs easily, shaking his head before he’s grinning back up at the man.
“I’m happy to help…”
“Jihoon,” the man, Jihoon, is quick to supply, and Seokmin feels his grin grow wider.
“I’m happy to help, Jihoon. Now go start your laundry.” It’s Jihoon’s turn to laugh this time as he offers Seokmin a silly salute, walking into the laundry room to get himself sorted. Seokmin has half the mind to wonder why he’s seemingly so fond of the other man already as the rest of his attention is back on his assignment, the end in sight as he scrolls to the bottom of the document. Seeing how few questions he has left to answer before he’s done with his homework before the night before has him giddy, so without much of a problem Seokmin dives back in, fully engrossed in his work.
His eyes flick upwards when movement from his periphery catches his attention, Jihoon offering him a small smile as he finally settles at the table. Seokmin is quick to shoot a smile back before his focus is back on his assignment again, sprinting towards the finish line that’s finally within his sights.
His concentration is broken by the ringing of his phone, the sudden noise making him jump. It made Jihoon jump too, he realizes, and though it’s a little funny, he can’t help but to apologize.
“Sorry,” he says as he starts to stand but Jihoon shames his head easily.
“Don’t be.” They trade smiles before Seokmin goes to change his machines, humming all the while. He sorts out the lower and higher heat clothes too, the whole thing taking longer than he’d care enough to admit. By the time he’s back at the table Jihoon is shooting him an amused look.
“Did the laundry machines make you solve a riddle or something?” Jihoon teases and Seokmin’s overcome with a bark of laughter immediately. They both practically end up in stitches over it even as Seokmin manages a gasp of faux offense.
“I’m sorry sir,” he says in his best overdramatic transatlantic accent, making Jihoon bite his lip in order to suppress his laughter, “but I actually care to sort my clothing appropriately! If that makes me a loon then so be it!” For some reason that makes Jihoon lose it, laughing so hard that he’s practically choking as he curls around his stomach.
“You,” Jihoon wheezes before he’s laughing breathlessly again. “You’re,” he tries and fails again, and Seokmin finally loses his battle with his own laughter, suffocating alongside Jihoon.
It’s a nice way to relieve some of the stress they’re both under, laughing this hard about something so dumb. Seokmin’s beyond grateful for it.
Seokmin’s first dryer alarm goes off at the same time as Jihoon’s washer alarm. They jostle each other lightly as they laugh and walk into the laundry room, splitting up to head to their separate machines while they laugh. The easy comradery they’ve found is unexpected for Seokmin, at least. He’s shy, even if no one ever believes him, and trying to find such a comradery with a stranger is practically unheard of for him. To be able to click so seamlessly with Jihoon has him intrigued and really wanting to know more; the fact that Jihoon is attractive is just icing on the cake.
But because he’s shy, Seokmin figures he’s never really going to do anything about it. Jihoon will be one of those people that dipped in and out of his life that he’ll harp on until he’s blue in the face. That’s life.
“You okay? You look pretty upset.” Seokmin looks up to see Jihoon looking at him with concern, and though it makes something in his chest bloom with curiosity, he still manages to wave Jihoon off.
“Just tired.” Though his gaze narrows as if he doesn’t believe Seokmin’s words, Jihoon just shrugs in response. Quietly they work side by side, Seokmin folding the clothes that are dry and tutting softly at the ones that are damp. At one point he finally catches Jihoon biting back laughter when he’s tutting disapprovingly at a sweatshirt, and when Seokmin theatrically rolls his eyes they both end up bursting out with laughter.
It’s a far better Tuesday night than he’s had in a long while.
He’s still checking his own clothes and sorting through them as Jihoon must finish, the other man moving to lean against the counter behind him as he waits for Seokmin to finish up. With a glance towards him he sees that Jihoon’s on his phone, sure, but the fact that he’s standing there and keeping Seokmin company has that same warm curiosity blooms once more.
Smiling, Seokmin turns back to his laundry, humming to himself as Jihoon rustles behind him. He ignores it, focusing on the specifications of his clothes in front of him. When he’s finally done and turns around, he finds Jihoon with a small pile of clothes in front of him.
“Watcha doin’?” Seokmin asks curiously, making Jihoon jump before he laughs softly, scanning the room and ensuring that they’re alone.
“How long has this pile been here?” The non answer makes him snort, but he shrugs when Jihoon looks at him.
“At least the last three times I’ve done laundry.” Jihoon just hums in response before he shoots Seokmin a mischievous smile.
“They’re not missing it then, are they?” Seokmin laughs and shrugs back, peeking at Jihoon’s grabs and checking out the pile for himself. He scores a sweatshirt that he’s been eyeing for a while and watches Jihoon slip his new finds into his dirty laundry bag, the over the top wink sending Seokmin over the edge once again. Seokmin can’t even fight his grin as he tucks his own find in his laundry hamper.
They end up at the table once more, keeping each other company in that same quiet way as acquaintances sharing a study room in the packed library do. Fewer and fewer students appear to deal with their laundry as Seokmin finishes everything on his to-do list, Jihoon working away with a singular headphone in one of his ears, what must be a lecture of some sort playing in front of him.
Admittedly, Jihoon’s cute when he’s like this. The lights from his screen dancing across his smooth pale skin, which seriously Seokmin needs to ask him what his skincare routine is because his skin is nothing short of beautiful, his brows slightly pinched in concentration as he spins his pen around in his hands. He looks back towards his paper and scribbles down some notes, showcasing the strong line of his jaw and forcing Seokmin to recognize that he has a very cute nose. His lips are petal pink, no, quartz, even with the flickering lights on them, and the realization that he’s debating shades of pink to describe Jihoon’s lips hits him like a brick.
Not only is he checking Jihoon out in the weirdest most art school-y kind of way, a literature major aiming for a word count, a teenager’s first introduction to love and sonnets, but he’s admiring him like he’s a painting in the MET.
Sometimes, it surprises even him how gay he can be.
Beyond amused with himself and honestly a touch embarrassed, Seokmin shakes his head and shifts his attention back onto his planner.
Unbeknownst to him, Jihoon’s looking at him with an amused smile. Seokmin isn’t as slick as he likes to think, but Jihoon decides he’d rather not call him on it, not yet. After all, he’s shy at his very core. Basking in Seokmin’s not so subtle gaze is enough for him, at least for now.
It’s inevitable, the passage of time. It’s the same sort of quiet inevitables that fill their lives - due dates coming and going, new assignments taking the place of the old, hair growing longer but never trimmed until break. These inevitabilities come and go in quiet waves and hushed whispers, bank accounts playing a sorry game of limbo, dining halls filled with health violations, night before cramming, breakdowns at one’s lowest and demanding answers from the Universe, needing to know if what they’re going through is worth it.
It’s inevitable for their time to lapse, Seokmin knows, for suds to be created and rinsed away, clothes tumbled and heated until they’re dry, for their cycles to end and their laundry be confirmed, officially, as finished.
“So,” Jihoon starts softly, his laundry carefully folded with a nimbleness and care he didn’t offer his clothes when he put them in the machines.
“So,” Seokmin parrots, glad to see that it earns him another smile. It’s an easy one, the same way everything seems to be with Jihoon.
“I wanted to say thank you again.” His voice is soft, almost drowned out by the sounds of the last few washers churning behind Seokmin, adding to the soft ambience of the fabric softener air.
“I’m glad I could help. Seriously,” Seokmin adds when Jihoon doesn’t seem to believe him. The addition makes Jihoon shake his head, but his smile remains soft and private in a way that Seokmin cherishes. “But,” he starts suddenly, an idea popping through his head in a way that has his smile widening, “do you want my number? So that way you can text me whenever you need to do laundry,” he rushes to add when he feels his cheeks burn at the implication of his words. Jihoon laughs at him, softly, of course, the way that the late night and warm and suffocatingly fragranced air demands, shaking his head before he’s smiling back up at Seokmin. He digs his phone out of his pocket and taps around, handing Seokmin the phone soon after. Seokmin bobbles the device and feels his cheeks flush even more, especially as Jihoon laughs softly, typing in his number as fast as his fingers allow and sending a message immediately after.
The fond smile that grows on Jihoon’s face partnered with his ears burning red is enough to make Seokmin’s heart fumble in its steady beats, even despite how Jihoon huffs and shakes his head.
“Thanks, Seokmin.” Seokmin shrugs, stuffing his hands in his pockets and kicking at the floor.
“Any time.”
🧺
Seokmin’s doom scrolling and ignoring the growing urgency that the pressing deadlines demand when a message notification snags his attention. He squints at the unknown number for a few minutes before he taps the notification, pulled to a new message thread. The fact that he starts to smile as he reads the message is simply his business, thank you very much.
Unknown Number
Hey it’s Jihoon
Do you have any plans on doing laundry nay time soon?
Seokmin laughs softly as he shakes his head, editing Jihoon’s contact immediately and biting his lip to suppress his smile like he’s suffering from some sort of school girl crush.
hey! :D not rlly tbh but i’ll let u in
You sure?
I don’t wanna inconvenience you or anything
This time Seokmin allows his lips to curl into a small and private smile in a way that he knows it has no right to. At least his roommate isn’t home, he thinks, rolling onto his back so he doesn’t do something as silly as kick his feet when Jihoon does the bare minimum.
He’s weak for cute, polite guys. So what.
Mingyu’s into tech bros. Sure, he’ll be richer than them all in the end, but come on.
Tech bros.
do you plan on camping out here?
i need to work but i can’t manage to in my dorm
Sure, I’ve got some stuff I can do
sick
lmk when you head over andd ill meet u in the lobby
Thank you again Seokmin
dont worry abt it 😊
Seokmin lets his phone fall to his chest as he lets out a sigh, splaying his limbs out and closing his eyes. Though he feels a little foolish, he’s not about to burst his own buble. He can do that later.
After a few more moments of just laying there Seokmin clambers off of his bed, gathering the shit he needs to study. Laptop, charger, notebooks, pencil case, all stuffed into his backpack. He snags a bag of chips before he slips his keys from the hook next to his door, locking the door before he makes his way to the lobby. It’s almost perfect, arriving just in time to watch Jihoon approach the door to the lobby from the courtyard. Seokmin waves before he can think more about it, Jihoon offering him a small and shy one in return. And because his mother raised him right, Seokmin is holding the door for Jihoon to come in by the time Jihoon’s there.
“Thanks.” Jihoon keeps his voice soft, and they trade soft smiles. Together they make their way to the elevators, Seokmin swiping his ID and calling an elevator. The one that he took down opens again, and still quiet he and Jihoon ride down to the basement. No one is at the table, thankfully, and Jihoon drops his bag in a chair before he’s off to the laundry room. Seokmin flops into his own seat with a sigh, digging out his laptop and notebooks and trying to force himself into the mindset of getting something done.
When Jihoon settles across from him, it’s like something in him knows it’s time to settle down. And even though Jihoon pulls out what Seokmin can only guess is a MIDI keyboard, his curiosity doesn’t eat away at him. It’s like something in him knows that Jihoon will tell him everything he wants to know when he eventually takes a break.
That thought, along with the comforting smile that Jihoon shoots him, is enough to keep him going.
Despite how one may say that Seokmin is enamored by Jihoon, he does manage to focus on his work. His essay is slowly defeated by his flying fingertips and the few things he needs to do for a group project easily done and packed away. Somehow his attention doesn’t even sway when Jihoon stands up to swap his load from the washer to the dryer, nor when he later gets up to get something from the vending machine. He’s only really brought back into the present when a can slides in front of him, and when he looks up Jihoon’s offering him a soft smile.
“Keep your energy up,” he says as he gestures to the can, looking back at his laptop with his ears burning red. Seokmin can’t bite back his grin, his waning energy immediately refilled and spirits lifted.
Suddenly, Seokmin remembers the bag of chips in his bag and he pulls them out, opening them and leaving them in the middle of the table. Though Jihoon’s looking at him in curiosity, Seokmin can still see the undercurrent of fondness there that makes his heart sigh.
“You shouldn’t work without any snacks,” Seokmin teases, a smile growing on his lips as he watches Jihoon’s ears turn red.
“Thanks, Seokmin.”
Seokmin’s smile turns into a grin. Sheepish Jihoon is cuter than sin, that’s for damn sure.
Seokmin groans loudly, dropping his head onto the table and not caring what germs may lie there. His eyes ache and his head has begun to hurt, but his assignments are finally, completely done. He could cry if he could manage the energy to.
“You good?” The question is soft and tentative and so clearly worried that it tugs at some soft spot in Seokmin’s heart. Somehow he manages to look up a tiny bit, a smile coming easier to him than he expected it to when he sees the clear concern on Jihoon’s features.
“I fuckin’ finished,” he says before he’s dropping his head down onto the table once more.
“Yeah?” Jihoon is still speaking softly, but now it sounds somewhat proud. Seokmin appreciates it beyond words.
“Somehow, yeah.”
“Congratulations, Seokmin.”
For some reason, Jihoon’s words just make everything feel so much sweeter.
🧺
It becomes a sort of habit really, to meet up in the laundry room and do work.
Seokmin gets far more done than he has in recent history, and Jihoon helps to ease the pain of his assignments.
They’re not always in the table adjacent to the laundry room. Sometimes they’re in study rooms in other parts of the building, and sometimes they end up in the dining hall. They’ve even stumbled on each other in the library, and Seokmin can’t say that he minds.
He likes being friends with Jihoon. Likes seeing him around too.
🧺
“Can I sit here?” Seokmin looks up to find Jihoon smiling at him, hovering over the chair across from Seokmin.
“Of course,” Seokmin is quick to respond, shuffling his things out of the way and taking a quick glance around to see how insanely full the Union is now. He doesn’t know how he didn’t notice, but before he can think about it for too long his attention is stolen by something sliding towards him.
A pastry bag sits demurely in front of him, and Seokmin starts to feel his cheeks heat.
“For me?” He asks needlessly. Jihoon snorts in response, waving a hand at Seokmin as he pulls out his laptop.
“Of course.”
If Seokmin has to hide his smile as he goes back to his work, no one will ever know. No one except Jihoon, but that’s beside the point.
🧺
Jihoon doesn’t even seem to mind Seokmin’s questionable habit of sending everyone he knows countless memes. If anything he finds them funny, responding after every one and even encouraging Seokmin to send more.
Sometimes he even sends his own memes back, and those days Seokmin feels light enough to float.
His friends call him dramatic, but who can blame him. It’s not often that Seokmin meets someone like Jihoon. So what if he’s excited about it.
🧺
It’s the Friday after a week of hell when Seokmin’s phone randomly begins to ring. The night is decently young, sure, but Seokmin’s had such a shitty ass week that even the thought of going out had him physically recoiling. He smacks around on his bed, feeling around for his phone with as little effort as possible. It’s probably just a drunk Seungkwan asking him where he is and why he didn’t come out and crying about how he misses him.
Seokmin answers the ringing phone without even looking at the caller ID.
“Seungkwan, I’m not coming out,” Seokmin says immediately, but he freezes when he hears a laugh crackle over the line. He pulls the phone off his ear to check who it is, flushing down to his toes when he realizes it’s Jihoon. Seokmin groans as he puts the call on speaker, letting his phone flop onto his chest and scrubbing at his face.
“Sorry, sorry, I just figured you were Seungkwan.” Jihoon laughs again, the sound soft and sweet and more than welcome on tonight of all nights. They’re quiet for a few moments before Jihoon finally speaks up, his voice sheepish and a touch annoyed.
“So, you’re not going out tonight?”
“Nah, shit week,” Seokmin says easily, even more intrigued when Jihoon sighs in what seems like relief. “What’s up?”
“I know it’s a Friday and I’m so sorry,” he says quickly, almost stumbling over his words, “but my roommate spilled beer, like, all over my comforter and probably my sheets too. I just,” he sighs heavily and Seokmin knows that he’s running his hand through his hair, “will you let me in your building? I can’t sleep in these tonight.”
Seokmin’s heart pangs out of sympathy. But then he thinks about it for a few minutes, and he can’t help but to sit up and shuffle out of bed.
“Do you want help?” Even though Jihoon remains quiet on the other side of the line, Seokmin makes sure he’s not in his overly stained sweatpants and that there aren’t any crumbs on his shirt. A quick look out his window tells him that rain seems to be coming, so he grabs a sweatshirt while he’s at it before he’s stuffing his feet into his shoes and grabbing his keys.
“Really?” Jihoon eventually asks, and Seokmin just hums softly as he locks his door.
“Of course. Come and let me in.”
“Okay,” Jihoon says shyly, and though Seokmin smiles at the sound, he doesn’t let himself really think about it.
“See you soon, Jihoonie.”
“See you, Seok.”
With that they hang up and Seokmin makes the short trek to the elevator, laughing with a group of drunk students before they end up going separate ways in the lobby. The clouds are definitely looming as he walks across the courtyard towards Jihoon’s building, the foreboding and dark sky promising heavy rain and soon. He can only pray that they’re inside before the downpour starts.
When Seokmin finally makes it to Jihoon’s building, he finds Jihoon already there and waiting at the door. It makes something in Seokmin’s heart warm, especially since Jihoon didn’t really have to come down and let him in — with it being a Friday night and all, there are plenty of groups of students trickling out the door to go to parties and bars and all that jazz.
“Sorry to bother you,” Jihoon says instantly, not even letting Seokmin get fully inside the door before he apologizes. Seokmin shrugs, taking a page out of Vernon’s book and hoping he looks as nonplussed as he feels. If anything, he’s happy that Jihoon called him. Sure he didn’t want to go out, but that doesn’t mean he wanted to be alone.
“Don’t worry about it. Seriously,” he adds when Jihoon doesn’t seem to believe him, but it doesn’t seem to do much to sway him. Seokmin figures it might be worth it just to be vulnerable. “Just because I don’t really want to party tonight doesn’t mean I don’t want company. I’m actually kinda glad you called.”
Jihoon’s returning smile is soft and hopeful, and there’s something about it that Seokmin finds even more endearing than he likely should. They don’t talk much on their way to Jihoon’s room, the slow and janky elevator eventually depositing them on the eighth floor.
“My roommate should have left already,” Jihoon starts as he leads Seokmin down a hallway, “but if he’s still there just expect him to be a lot.”
“Okay?” Seokmin says, sure that his uncertainty comes shining through. The second that he sees the name plaques on the door however, everything makes sense.
“Is your roommate Kwon Soonyoung?” Jihoon’s eyebrows raise immediately as he looks at Seokmin with an intense amount of confusion.
“Yeah?” Seokmin just laughs as he shakes his head.
“I just, I know Soonyoung. I get it.” Jihoon smiles at him this time, shaking his head and saying something under his breath before he lets Seokmin in.
The room is sans Soonyoung when Seokmin walks in, which despite how much he loves his friend, he’s sort of grateful for. It’s a lot easier to look around and take in the space without him there. The difference between the sides of the room make it beyond easy to tell whose side is whose - Soonyoung’s chaotic and tiger themed and practically fully covered with art or sticky notes or random papers tacked to the walls; there’s even a tiger tapestry hung up under his lofted bed, with a tiger print chair tucked underneath. Jihoon’s side however is still sort of chaotic, but it’s a lot less in your face about it even with the Justin Beiber poster on the wall. Plus, he has LEDs under his lifted bed that makes his whole side of the room glow purple, his dresser looking almost eerie in the light.
“Soonyoung’s a menace, so he sits on my bed sometimes cuz it’s easier to get on than his,” Jihoon explains, rolling his eyes. “Especially when his chair,” he gestures to the tiger print monstrosity covered in what looks like laundry, “is predisposed. He’s an idiot though, so now there’s beer on my bed, and the washers downstairs are full.” Jihoon huffs once more before he turns to Seokmin, clearly tired of his supposed best friend. Seokmin can’t help but to smile.
“Lemme help you strip the bed then and we’ll get them going over at mine.” Jihoon’s responding smile is soft and sweet and Seokmin feels so happy he could fly.
Together they chat as they strip Jihoon’s bed, the beer stain going all the way down to the plastic mat their school likes to call a mattress.
“It’s a good thing I forgot to put my mattress pad on when I made the bed,” Jihoon grumbles and Seokmin has to laugh at that thought. Though Jihoon shoots him a sour expression, Seokmin can see the humor underneath.
They manage to gather all of Jihoon’s bedding rather easily, but as they walk across the courtyard the sky opens up and tries to drench them both. Luckily, they’re close enough to the awning that they only end up damp, but Seokmin still can’t help but to laugh as they run together in the rain.
It’s sweet in ways he doesn’t care to dig into.
“Laundry room first?” Seokmin asks, and Jihoon nods at him easily, pushing his wet bangs out of his eyes and forcing Seokmin to avert his eyes for reasons he doesn’t care to think about.
Seeing as it’s a Friday night, the laundry room is mostly empty. There are a few machines going, probably belonging to either people like Jihoon or other students who aren’t going out and knew it would be emptier now than ever. Seokmin acts like Jihoon’s shadow as the older man manages to get his comforter in one machine and his sheets and blankets in the other, both of the machines set to heavy duty and even doused with scent beads.
“I stole them from Soonyoung,” Jihoon explains without Seokmin having to ask, offering him a smile as he turns to look at him. “I told him I deserve them since he got beer on my bed.”
“It’s only fair,” Seokmin teases right back, not able to hide his smile when Jihoon bumps into him. They smile at each other for a few moments before Seokmin remembers their current circumstances, that and the rain. “Do you wanna watch a movie or something? I have an adapter, so I can project onto the TVs in the lounges here.” Jihoon hums appreciatively.
“The lounges here are ridiculously nice,” Jihoon says as they both walk to the elevator, staying close the entire time. Seokmin does his best not to read into it, he really does, but it’s really hard when Jihoon looks at him like that.
It’s in the elevator that Seokmin finally realizes how cold he is, physically at least, and he glances at Jihoon with what he’s sure is an apologetic expression. His guilt only grows worse when he sees the other man try and hide a shiver.
“Do you wanna borrow a sweatshirt or something?” Jihoon turns to look at him with what he’s sure is supposed to be a confused expression, but another shiver tears through Jihoon before he can pretend otherwise. Seokmin touches his shoulder gently and frowns immediately. “You’re soaked, dude. C’mon,” Seokmin says, letting his hand slide down Jihoon’s arm before he leads Jihoon to his room, his hand loosely around Jihoon’s wrist. Jihoon doesn’t shake him off but instead allows Seokmin to drag him along, and there’s something about that that makes Seokmin’s chest warm.
Seokmin gets Jihoon back to his dorm in one piece and he lets him look around as he tries not to overthink which hoodie to hand him. It’s almost impossible though, and Seokmin can’t help but to wonder which of his hoodies is most comfortable and which ones are cleanest. Eventually he manages to get a grip on himself, pulling out a too big white hoodie for himself and one that’s still a little too big but closer to his size black hoodie for Jihoon. When he turns around to hand it to the other man though, he finds Jihoon studying his side of his room. It’s nothing really to write home about, in Seokin’s opinion, just a few paintings from his sister, pictures of his family here and there and random school memorabilia he had gotten for free.
For some reason, the decor seems to be making Jihoon smile.
“Here,” Seokmin says, handing Jihoon the slightly smaller sweatshirt. “You can borrow this until you’re not at risk of freezing your ass off.” Jihoon snorts before his smile widens, nodding his head at Seokmin as he takes the offered hoodie. Seokmin returns his smile before he discards his own wet sweatshirt and hangs it up, debating whether or not to change his sort of damp t-shirt. Jihoon seems to have no qualms whatsoever because the next time Seokmin chances a glance his way, he finds Jihoon already shirtless and unknowingly giving Seokmin a free show. That is until Seokmin catches Jihoon’s wink and goes bright red - maybe not so unwittingly at all.
Seokmin decides to strip his own shirt, not looking at Jihoon as he tugs on his hoodie and doing his best to ignore the fact that he knows Jihoon looked lest he wants his brain to short circuit. Instead of talking about any of that, Seokmin just grabs his computer and his cords, turning to Jihoon with what he’s sure is still a blush high on his cheeks and a smile.
“To the lounge?” Jihoon smiles lazily at him, his blinks long and slow.
“Lead the way.”
They end up in the main lounge on Seokmin’s floor, What’s Your Number? playing on the big screen. Sure, they start the movie on opposite sides of the couch, but somewhere between all of their laughs they end up practically pressed up against each other, jostling on another every time they laugh. Seokmin’s not sure he would trade this moment for the world.
But all good things must come to an end, and Jihoon’s laundry alarm goes off towards the end of the movie. Strangely enough, the other man doesn’t seem to move, and Seokmin just looks at him in confusion, making Jihoon laugh.
“It’s not like the laundry room is full,” Jihoon says with a shrug, pressing even more into Seokmin. “It’ll be there at the end of this movie either way.” Seokmin can’t help but to smile to himself.
Eventually the movie draws to a close and Seokmin really doesn’t want to move, but Jihoon stands before he can voice anything. Seokmin groans as he stands, confused when Jihoon places a hand on his chest.
“You don’t have to come with me,” Jihoon starts but Seokmin shakes his head.
“Of course I do,” Seokmin mumbles, rubbing at his face with one hand as he moves to grab his laptop, suddenly tired. “Just lemme grab this, I don’t wanna leave it here.” Seokmin tries to gather his things a little clumsily, but before he can drop anything, there’s a hand that rests gently over one of his own. When he turns to look, Jihoon’s smiling at him.
“Then let me help.” Seokmin doesn’t bother to try and fight him, instead sharing another, smaller and far more intimate smile with Jihoon as they head back to Seokmin’s dorm. They drop their things and Seokmin locks the door before they make their way to the elevators, bumping into each other and sharing smiles the entire time.
Despite his exhaustion and his earlier desire for a quiet night, Seokmin has to admit that the air feels sort of electric between them. There’s something about them, this moment, this night even, that has Seokmin’s hair standing, his heart beating hard and his chest glowing. He feels like clouds in a storm right before the lightning arcs and thunder echoes across the ground.
Seokmin helps Jihoon change his laundry from the washer to the dryer, helping him inspect his bedding to ensure that there’s no beer stain left behind. The bedding is split into as many dryers as Jihoon can in a desperate attempt to get everything dry. Seokmin just watches him do it, leaning against the washers and smiling as if he’s one of those leading men from an early aughts romcom. The thought has him laughing a little to himself, and when Jihoon makes a frustrated noise before he turns to Seokmin and theatrically rolls his eyes, he feels even softer than before. He hadn’t thought that possible.
Back upstairs they find their lounge filled by freshmen that just stare at them as they walk by. Jihoon and Seokmin trade glances that say the exact same thing before they end up laughing with each other, stumbling down the hall to Seokmin’s dorm.
“We can just watch it here,” Jihoon says easily, a little breathless from all the laughing. Seokmin can only blink at him.
“Yeah?” Jihoon just hums back at him, kicking off his shoes before he positions himself to jump up on Seokmin’s bed. He stops there though, raising an eyebrow at Seokmin.
“Do you care if I hop up in this?” He takes a hand off of Seokmin’s bed to gesture to his hoodie and pants, and Seokmin feels his heart stick in his throat. There’s something about Jihoon in his sweatshirt, swaddled under the fabric despite what Seokmin knows is underneath that fabric. He has to take a few deep breaths in order to get himself under control.
“Go ahead.” Seokmin grabs his laptop as Jihoon makes himself comfortable, and in a split second decision Seokmin turns off the overhead lights. They’re left in the light of his laptop and a few street lamps outside before Seokmin turns on the fairy lights over his desk.
With the vibes set and wonderful, Seokmin plops his laptop onto Jihoon’s stomach and crawls in next to him.
The romcom on his laptop, the sounds of the pouring rain outside, the low and warm glow from the fairy lights, Jihoon - all of it leaves Seokmin feeling so light that it’s as if he’s an air balloon that forwent its sand bags. And when Jihoon curls against his side even more, well, Seokmin feels himself float off.
It’s easy to fly when you know there’s someone there who’ll catch you if you fall. With the way that Jihoon keeps looking at him, Seokmin knows he’ll never hit the ground.
“Hey,” Jihoon whispers, looking up at Seokmin from where his head is resting on the younger man’s chest. Seokmin just hums in response, glancing at him for only a moment before his eyes are back on the screen. “Hey, dummy,” Jihoon scolds softly, shaking his head this time.
“Yeah?” Seokmin asks, finally tearing his eyes away from the screen and looking at the adorable blushing Jihoon that’s staring back at him.
“You should go out with me.” Seokmin bites his bottom lip to try and hide a smile, deciding to play coy.
“And why’s that?” Jihoon barks out a laugh, smacking at Seokmin’s flank.
“‘Cuz people take their boyfriends out,” Jihoon rebuttals, and Seokmin can no longer bite back his grin. He still tries to play it a little cheeky, but he knows that Jihoon can see through him immediately. If he’s honest, he’s not sure he’d want it any other way.
“Oh really?”
“Just shut up and kiss me, asshole.”
Now who is he to say no to something like that? Especially to his new boyfriend?
Even the word makes him giddy, and without another thought Seokmin kisses Jihoon for all that he's worth. It's everything he's ever wanted and then some, and Seokmin can't wait to see just where this goes.