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It was the usual Thursday afternoon. Seokmin was finished with his Intro to Philosophy class as he kept thinking about how everything he once knew seemed to be disproved by Descartes, walking to his room to grab his laundry basket.
The laundromat wasn’t too far away, only a two minute walk, one minute if he ran at the gym more, from his dorm. First Thursday of the month meant laundry time for him. Seokmin was usually the only one there, with the occasional elder neighbor who started humming folk songs while folding their whites.
Today was different though.
He was taken back as he saw someone sitting on the folding table, looking onto the washers as they spun. A bit annoyed, Seokmin timidly walked up, seeing that the stranger was staring at the Seokmin’s usual spot. He coughed as the blond one upon the table turned to him.
“Uh–” Seokmin spoke as he motioned for the stranger to move over. There was an awkward silence as he watched him move and sat his basket onto the table.
He felt the gaze of the stranger, a similar gaze to the machines he was watching. “You have a lot of clothes,” the stranger spoke.
Seokmin was debating whether to ignore him or not as he separated by colour, but sighed and gave in, not wanting to be rude. “It’s a month’s worth.”
“That’s still a lot for a month.”
“I change clothes a lot.”
“Why?”
He shrugged as he finished separating. He noticed that his whites pile was the laragest, his colours, and darks following right after. “Not sure.”
Seokmin went to the washing machine and loaded it with his whites, fumbling in his pockets for coins and hisses, forgetting these weren’t the pants with the coins.
“The soup can,” the stranger said aloud. Seokmin turned around, seeing the other dangle his legs on the table and point to an unlabeled soup can right near the entrance. “This old couple dropped a few coins in there a while ago. Probably for people like you.”
A bit annoyed, the brunette walked over and, surprisingly, found the exact amoun the needed for the washers and dryers today. He inserted them as the wash cycle started, he leaned against the table, elbows leaning back, as he looked back at the other boy who seemed intrigued by the machines.
“Soonyoung, by the way,” he introduced himself.
“Seokmin,” he replied back.
“I’m surprised to see you around here,” he said, reaching into his cargo shorts pocket, his hands fidgeting around. “I’ve never seen you before.”
“I usually come here on Thursdays. First ones of the month.” Seeing the stranger pull out a box of cigarettes was a bit of a turn off, not that there was a turn on to begin with. “You smoke?”
Soonyoung looked up and grinned while shaking his head, he opened the box and tilted it, his hand at the end as it caught M&M’s. He put back the green and brown ones, only keeping the red and blue in hand as he lifted them to his mouth.
Seokmin couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, snickering while covering his lips with his hand. “Why?”
“Why what?” he asked with a full mouth. Motioning to the box in his hand, Soonyoung swallowed the chocolates before answering. “Convenience.”
“Are the packets not?”
“Not when you take your roommates.”
“So you put them in one of those boxes?”
The blond snickered and nodded. “Never suspects a thing.” The two laughed, Seokmin jumping onto the table to sit next to his new acquaintance. The laughter died down before Soonyoung talked again. “Like my feelings for him..”
It was unexpected, but Soonyoung vented his unrequited love for his close friend out to this stranger he just happened to meet coincidentally at a laundromat. And Seokmin didn’t mind. The two bonded. Soon, they started sharing other stories.
“Why are you even here?” Seokmin asked.
Soonyoung grinned and pointed to the machines wall in front of them. “I watch these.”
“Are they that entertaining?”
“They are when you don’t have cable.. or wifi…”
“How do you live?”
He ruffles his hair before adjusting the headband on his forehead. “Not really sure, but I’ve come this far, it’s gotta mean something,” he snickered, a bit empty-hearted. Before anything, Soonyoung gave his new friend a wide smile, his eyes forming crescents that glistened. “Helps keep past the time.”
Their legs dangled before Seokmin jumped off and loaded his whites in the dryer above, loading his colours and darks in the other two washers, pulling the coins from his pocket courtesy of of the soup can.
“Do you really enjoy watching these?”
“The spinning is calming,” Soonyoung explained, shrugging in uncertainty. “I guess it’s a hypnosis sort of deal, hm?”
Looking straight forward, Seokmin tried to understand his perspective, which he did, seeing that he was lost in his thoughts for a good few minutes before Soonyoung snapped him back into reality. “That was very hypnotizing.”
“The spinning?”
“I guess.”
“See? Hypnosis. I’m pretty sure I can bring people in here and make them do dirty work for me,” Soonyoung chuckled lightly.
“Like what?”
“My laundry.” The two laughed, Soonyoung scooting closer and wrapping his arm around Seokmin’s shoulder. They may have just met, but it felt as if they a mutual, close bond.
It wasn’t long before all of Seokmin’s loads were done in the dryers and he began to fold his shirts. Soonyoung even offered, folding his pants and pairing his socks. They continued talking.
“I don’t think this one has a pair,” Soonyoung frowned.
Seokmin looked over and frowned. “I’m sure I put the partner in the wash with it.”
“I didn’t find anything that looked like this one.”
“Damn machine probably ate it again.”
Soonyoung pouted. “I’ll buy you another pair.”
“Oh, you don’t have to,” Seokmin coughed as he placed the neatly folded shirt onto his pile in the basket. “It’s just one sock.”
“But what is one sock without the other?”
“Are you trying to be philisophical with socks?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugs. “Is that possible.”
“It probably is.”
“Then let’s go with that.” They both snickered as their mouths continued running and their hands continued working, filling the basket with Seokmin’s last month’s clothes.
Seokmin took the basket, full of newly washed and dried clothes, and rested it on his stomach as he carried it. “You should come over some time.”
“Why?”
“Because we have cable and wifi,” he snickered.
Soonyoung beamed. “I wouldn’t mind that at all.”
“If you get bored,” Seokmin giggled, “we can always come back and watch the cycles. But you can pay this time.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he smiled.