Chapter Text
Chan does not budge from his comfortable spot on the carpeted floor when he hears Yeonjun enter the house after a while of his absence, the keys rattling in his hands, the noise of a plastic bag breaking the silence he was basking in before.
In his very cosy position, Chan continues reading from his Economics textbook, the woody taste of his pencil prominent in his mouth as he twirls the end of it around his lips.
Yeonjun sits on the sofa, towering over Chan who was sat on the floor, the carpet soft under him.
“Gross, Chan. Get that out of your mouth.”
Finally breaking his eyes away from whatever bullshit was in the book, Chan makes eye contact with his roommate with an unimpressed look on his face.
Not removing the pencil from his mouth, Chan retorts in a mumble, “it's not my fault you don't act normal and end up with a pencil in your mouth when you're focused.”
Yeonjun shakes his head. Bending down, he gets Chan's pencil out of his mouth after a small struggle.
“No! Not everyone has an oral fixation like you.”
Chan just rolls his eyes, responding with a defeated ‘your mom’. Then, shifting his focus, he decides to peek into the fully white shopping bag to see what Yeonjun went out for on a cold Saturday afternoon.
He grows even more curious when Yeonjun’s hands quickly move to close the gap of the bag tightly.
He looks up, an eyebrow raised in silent question.
“Okay. I have a request.”
His tone is pretty serious, so Chan can only suppose its importance.
Looking around, he tries to spot anything in the space that was put of order and needed to be sorted. Or maybe Yeonjun’s going to ask him to wash the singular spoon lying in the sink that he used to eat a spoonful of peanut butter with, or maybe-
“Chan. Listen. It's not what you think.”
The man looks up to his friend, neck a bit craned to make proper eye contact.
If it's not a favour regarding chores, what can it be?
Illegal drugs?
Money laundering?
Sexual favours?
Secret mermaid identity?
Tax evasion?
There's so many paths Chan can think of, and his morality was screaming in anticipation. He's ready to plan a heist, though, so maybe his moral compass was blown up from the get go.
“What?”
Yeonjun sighs. He reaches in the bag, and takes out a canned drink Chan frequently drinks with a burning passion.
Chan’s reluctant to take it. It can be laced, or it can be an empty scam.
Because - his roommate has never ever; and I mean never, given him compensation for a chore or favour or anything. Not even once in the four years they've known each other.
(“Yeonjun, you have to take me to dinner for this,” Chan whines as he massages Yeonjun’s feet. He just came back home from a hike in the middle of the night, waking Chan up with a request.
Chan is kind enough to comply. He whines, mumbles, grunts and rolls his eyes, but both of them know that Chan is up for it. Even if Yeonjun will never pay him back with a reward, it'll always happen. He's chill like that.
“I’m above that.” Yeonjun hoarsely mumbles, half asleep.
"I'm above your mom," he retorts, regretting it immediately when Yeonjun snaps up to grab the shorter and pin him on the sofa. He squeals in surprise, not expecting the surge of energy in his exhausted friend because of his fifth grade humour.
"I'm above you, little bitch," Yeonjun laughs breathlessly next to Chan's ear, a hand pinching his reddening cheeks before laying down again to continue getting his massage.
It's maybe a tiny winy bit hot, but Chan didn't have the guts to admit it. He might've admitted it in his head, but that's it. His manwhore side was not being exposed.)
“Ok. The request seems truly serious if you wish to handle it this way. So. What is it, champ?”
Yeonjun bites his lip. He looks nervous. It's not right.
Yeonjun is confident, he knows what he wants and isn't afraid to say it. To see him nervous is inducing some nerves in Chan.
“Remember when my cousin came to our place for a few hours the day she had proposed to her husband?”
Chan nods.
She holds striking resemblance to Yeonjun, teasing and babying him in every shape or form. She had met Chan a lot, especially because she held such a bond with Yeonjun to have visited him every time she could.
That particular visit, though, she was hyperventilating the entire time, panicked for the entire ordeal, thus getting Chan locked out of Yeonjun's room and him only basking in her loud and terrified voice behind closed doors.
Anyhoo, he still has no clue where this is going.
“And then remember when you were confused as to why she would literally visit her cousin that lives an hour away just to do her makeup?”
Another nod. More confusion and curiosity.
"I thought you were moral support for her... right?"
“Well… yes, but not exactly. It was that... I did the makeup for her.”
Chan’s jaw drops for a second as he processes the information, before his expression is replaced by furrowed eyebrows and a confused look.
He remembers how ethereal Yeonjun's cousin looked that day. Deep blue eyeshadow, candy pink lips - she looked perfect with the way it matched her so flawlessly. Like she just got her makeup professionally done.
And that... was Yeonjun's work?
“Damn. Okay. A couple of queries if you don't mind. Firstly, how did you learn that? Secondly, how did I never know about this about you? And finally, what does this have to do with me?”
Yeonjun stares inside the shopping bag now, also allowing Chan access to look in. Brand new, very expensive makeup sits glowing in the plastic, making both of their wallets scream in pain; one's out of pity, the other's out of emptiness.
“To answer your questions: my cousin was a smart teen because she employed her younger cousin to do her makeup every day for five years while she talked to her friends, which has taught me everything I know about this. You never knew about this because I can’t do makeup on myself for shit and so I don’t really do anything about makeup unless it involves another person. And, well, how you’re involved, is because I miss makeup so fucking much and I need a face to do it on.”
Pause.
Yeonjun’s heart beats quickly.
The long stretch of silence gives him enough time to make him assume the reaction he will face, of course, in a very pessimistic manner, too.
It might be:(a) getting laughed at, (b) Chan moving out, (c) Chan finding him disgusting, (d) Chan getting into some stupid gender roles crap, or (e) all of the above. The possibilities were truly limitless.
Except that he forgot to include any positive possibility, too. Optimism was not his forte, after all.
“So... my face as practice?”
Oh. So it’s (f) none of the above. Maybe.
Yeonjun remains still, not knowing what he's supposed to say. This might not exactly confirm whether he's in the clear.
He closes his eyes, ready to hear words that'd puncture a new asshole into him.
“Well, if yes, then, I volunteer! No manipulation tactic needed! I've never done makeup on myself, and I'm curious to see how you do it on me, anyway.”
Aw, shucks, there he goes. Yeonjun should just pack a bindle with his belongings and dramatically leave the home, blowing his nose in a handkerchief, might as well-
Pause.
“Wait, you're up for it?”
Chan tilts his head to the side curiously, a nervous smile on his lips.
“Uh, am I not supposed to be? Is this a test? Did I fail?”
“What? No? I'm, uh…” Yeonjun trails off.
"Oh dummy. Just do what you gotta. I'm all yours."
I'm all yours???
Is that supposed to sound flirty? Why does it sound flirty? Why is Chan so oblivious with his flirty words?
"You just..."
Yeonjun can only shake his head to forget his uncommon flustered thoughts, (usually, he flirts harder) thus drawing his face close to inspect his friend's face.
The sudden proximity makes Chan's breath hitch, wanting to draw back to keep himself composed, but fingers snake around his chin, keeping him in place, eyes looking intently at his every faltering move.
“...I just what?” Chan whispers, nervous with the strict gaze he's under.
“Nevermind. I'm excited to do this. Just a moment,” Yeonjun pats Chan's cheek gently before running off in a swift move, presumably to his room.
Meanwhile, Chan can merely hover his hand under the ghost of his roommate's touch. He feels blood rushing to his face over the thought of having to stay close like that with Yeonjun for a long time.
He can't process what his feelings are over this situation at that moment, because Yeonjun runs back into the living room as quick as he had gone, a giant, baby blue bag jiggling in his hand.
He settles back onto his previous spot on the sofa.
“Sit up.” Yeonjun pats the spot next to him on the cushion, Chan sighing as he follows.
“I'm just doing this because you finally gave in and treated me with something after years. You better treat me every time you decide to wreak havoc on my face, okay?”
His younger friend just shushes his rambling self with no regard, taking out brushes and other makeup products Chan couldn't name.
“Okay, so, close your eyes and remain relaxed. You better not talk,” Yeonjun demands, as he's reading the expiry date of one of the foundations he's holding.
“Tsk, so demanding for someone who was so nervous to ask anything about this before.”
Despite the comment, Chan still closes his eyes anyways, eyelids free to paint on, lips slightly agape, face fully on display as Chan had brushed all his hair away from his face.
He looked ethereal. Even without anything done yet, he looked stunning.
This is going to be fun.
-
OK. So.
Yeonjun hadn’t anticipated how much fun he was going to have. Doing makeup on a new face is always an awesome challenge.
This is something very out of what he ordinarily tries.
He has done makeup on many faces, his cousin’s friends, his mother, even his parents' next door neighbour, but Chan’s face is something different. It's a first time experience.
It’s a bit magical doing this.
Chan’s face is not one he is familiar with for his craft. His lips are full, the shape for his eyes slanted and his face sharp. His cheekbones and jawline was very prominent. His face was bold.
Chan's face was naturally meant to make a strong statement. He is admittedly very pretty.
Yeonjun’s cousin had a rounder face, as did his mom, and his neighbour had a very long bony face, so Chan was something of a newer challenge. He loved doing makeup on those women, too, of course, but Yeonjun was ready to expand his pallette.
This is him expanding his pallette right now.
Which brings him to another new revelation. Chan is also the first man Yeonjun has ever done makeup on.
Of course, he’s tried makeup on his own face, but he ended up looking like a clown anyway, so that doesn’t count. Even if it does, that's still just on his own self. He hasn't done makeup on another man. Ever. Until now, at least.
He knew his other friends would vibe with his passion for the craft of makeup, but decline to become the next protégé, so Chan was Yeonjun's best bet. And by golly, did he come through.
Chan is the most obedient he’s ever been over the years. He's usually a funny little bratty gremlin. Not now though.
His eyes are shut, his face muscles are unstrained, he’s pliantly letting Yeonjun softly move around his face for new angles. He's perfect for this.
Yeonjun remains close to his face, talking in a low voice about nothing in particular to keep the younger one a tad bit entertained, but also because his babbling distracts him from thinking about how close he is to Chan’s face.
No wannabe podcaster thinks about the possibilities of escalation with their silent best friend.
Slowly but surely though, an hour and a half passed in blissful nonsense. Chan enjoys getting pampered with soft brushes, and Yeonjun takes his sweet time getting small details perfect.
Drawing back to admire his work, Yeonjun can’t help but proudly smile.
He's happy to have done this.
Chan's eyeshadow contrasts. His right eye is a baby pink, white stars glittered all over, and white eyeliner making his eyes look bold. His left eye is the same look but with a sky blue.
Pink and blue stars are drawn across his cheeks and nose.
His glossy, pink lips shine even in the lightest of lights, and his eyelashes are longer from the mascara.
When Chan flutters his eyes open, it’s like the world stops.
He lights up the room. Yeonjun remains hypnotised.
The look is nothing natural seeming, but it captures Chan's face perfectly.
Cliche, for sure, but it’s the truth. Yeonjun is mesmerised. Has been for a long time, but especially at that moment. He can't help but get lost in the look.
His slightly parted lips, half lidded eyes, makeup that draws more attention to his beauty, it’s only Yeonjun’s slowly dwindling willpower that stops him from dropping a long worded confession of admiration to the guy in front of him.
But not now. Maybe not ever. So Yeonjun keeps his lips sealed.
“You done?” asks Chan, voice soft from the whisper.
After the affirmative nod of his head, Chan draws back, their combined bubble dividing to form personal ones again.
Chan dashes towards the nearest mirror, that happens to be the giant mirror at the house entrance/exit (Chan and Yeonjun both loved admiring their handsome selves in a mirror right before leaving the house), and Yeonjun keeps sitting there at the same spot, dazed, facing no one, a makeup brush still in hand.
He's trying to process his feelings. He's trying to suppress his feelings. He hates that he's horrible with it today.
A loud hoot and whistle finally snaps him out of it, and he arises, still kinda out of it, arranging his scattered products somewhat before making his way to where Chan was.
“Yeonjun, holy damn? I was not expecting to look this good. Is this how people who wear makeup feel? I’ve been missing out!”
Chan rambles, the bright hallway light combined with his loud voice making Yeonjun’s head pound.
“Thanks a lot for this, Channie. I’ve been wanting to reload for a while.”
“Dude, are you kidding me?? This is the best I’ve ever looked in my life, and it’s only a lazy Saturday.”
Chan continues analysing his face with close proximity, leaning on the shoe rack to slowly scan every square inch of his complexion.
“Yeonjun, this has the potential to go fuckin’ social media famous. And you told me your skills are rusty? Why don’t you start a makeup page or something?”
Immediately scandalised by the idea, Yeonjun protests.
“Chan, I’m a random university student that just happens to have been unwillingly forced by his cousin to do makeup as a kid. Therefore, I’m not doing any public social media shit. You also know how weird those places could be.”
Turning around, Chan nods in agreement. Social media is definitely weird. He continues to ponder, though.
Yeonjun swallows a laugh when he sees Chan in all his glory. Despite having his face all glammed up, his hair is all over the place. His shorts are bordering on being boxers, and long sleeved shirt is almost hanging off one shoulder, displaying his collarbones clear as day.
He's not the most presentable. But he's still cute.
Oh my god, simp. What is up with you today? Get your act together.
Chan's face brightens after a moment of silence.
“But then, what if you don’t have to post yourself? What if I act as the model, but you take the credit beneath an alias? I can pursue photography and editing with this, too! No?”
Yeonjun grits his teeth. He’d like to have makeup up as a hobby again, but the other concerning thing is that he doesn’t want Chan to be the face of a social media (aka the internet’s Florida) account. God knows what will happen then.
But then again, Chan is an adult. So is he. They can handle the good and weird, right?
Face scrunched deep in thought, the other takes his silence as a rejection.
“My goodness, you look like you're ready to pop off on me, I guess it’s a no then.”
Chan does end up taking a lot of selfies, though, but Yeonjun can tell they’re all in good fun. That’s because Yeonjun’s phone (and he bets all their friends' phones too) gets spammed with obnoxious amounts of images of Chan. Yeonjun's phone is so close to overflowing, he seriously considers getting some storage device for his phone.
But maybe delete some of the photos? Nah. In his head, they’re memories, after all. Even if the said 'memory' is just Chan flirtingly gazing into the camera, collarbones shining, lips prettily parted, eyes-
Yeonjun. You horndog. That's your best friend. Get it together.
Soon enough, the minutes melt into hours, and the two have a meetup they needed to attend.
Unfortunately, this meant Chan having to remove the makeup. The man simply did not have the clothes to match the look.
Is Chan sad? More than Yeonjun. But, duty calls.
And if that duty is to be socially gratified, so be it.
Chan makes it out of the washroom soon, rubbing his wet face aggressively with a towel.
Throwing the damp towel on Yeonjun's feet, Chan settles himself next to him, barefaced and red.
Pulling his phone away from his eyes, Yeonjun throws a disgusted look at his friend for his actions.
"You ready to go? Also, wash the towel before you use it on your face again, you're gross."
"Yeah, whatever," Chan says, grabbing the towel and throwing it over his shoulder.
"Hey, don't blame me when you get feet-face later."
Chan just hums, mind lost somewhere else.
Chan would usually retort to something like this, so his friend grows curious about what could be on his mind.
"Chan? You good?"
The other one hums again. Then he sighs, breath shaky.
"It's still on my mind."
"What is?"
Chan grows serious, making Yeonjun sit up straight, crossing his legs. Chan faces him, but his fingers fiddle with the end of the towel. His eyes refuse to meet his. He's nervous. Much like Yeonjun was during the afternoon.
"I really think your skills deserve to shine. And I know you've got extreme talent. You know your stuff, man. I seriously want you to consider opening an Instagram account or something."
Yeonjun sighs.
"Just let it go, Chan. I don't really want you to face the Instagram weirdos and the gender role police, y'know."
"Don't worry about that. It is not like we're gonna blow up anyways. We gotta give it a try. Think about it. You give your passion a chance, and I give my passion a chance, too."
Yeonjun bites his lip.
"I don't know."
Chan shimmies closer, holding Yeonjun's hand, lips shaped into a small pout.
"Please."
Yeonjun sighs. Chan's puppy eyes is something he should have grown immune to. But he seriously hasn't. He can't.
He doesn't know why he's resisting so much. Chan is right. It's not like they're going to become an overnight sensation. Plus, he then gets to pursue makeup any time and anywhere, and Chan can practice taking and editing pictures.
"I'll think about it."
Chan throws his hands up, screaming a cheer as he bounces in excitement.
"Oh, thank you, thank you. That's good enough for now. Let's discuss this later. For now, we need to go meet Soobin and Seungkwan-hyung. Who knows what they'll do if we're late."
Agreeing hastily, Yeonjun lets himself get pulled up, brain too fuzzy to process shit. He does not know what he'll get into, but he doesn't know is he's excited about it.