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“I swear if I hear that song one more time…” Hao muttered through gritted teeth.
“He just went through a breakup, you know how those felt at Gyu’s age don’t you?” Hanbin laid a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder firmly, knowing that he’d take drastic measures to have that Cigarettes After Sex song off for good in their dorm.
Hanbin had been dating Zhang Hao for around two and a half years by now. They were a perfect little couple together, although a bit overbearing, when they became friends with Gyuvin it was pretty clear the two wanted the younger to stick around.
Gyuvin was practically Hao and Hanbin’s baby, taking the boy under their wing and letting him room with them at their dorm, even if he didn’t really appreciate the lovey dovey shenanigans and the awful public displays of affection they shoved down his throat.
“He’s twenty now Hanbinnie, he has responsibilities! I’m gonna talk to him, it’s been like a week and I’m really worried. At least just let me try.” He huffed, feeling the grip on his shoulder loosen.
Hanbin sighed but was just as concerned as Hao was. “Alright, want me to come with you?”
Hao shook his head.
“I got this.”
_____________
After storming down the hall, Hao marched up to Gyuvin’s room, knocking on the door with urgency. He heard a groan from inside, taking a deep breath before thinking about what to say.
“Gyuvin-ah open up, I wanna talk to you.” Hao crossed his arms, only to hear whining from the other end of the door.
“Ugh, my door’s already open…” Gyuvin sighed.
Zhanghao rolled his eyes, twisting the knob and taking a step inside only to be met with an utter shit storm of a room.
Hao was appalled to say the least, he had no idea it could even get that bad.
There was a cluttered mess of garbage and wrappers on the floor, leftover pizza boxes that looked like they could start growing an ecosystem in them, and buckets of trash and crumpled up tissues on his desk along with that stupid Cigarettes After Sex song on repeat on his CD player.
In the very corner of the danger zone, to top it all off, was a shit faced Gyuvin laying slump on his green bean bag in the corner.
“Oh my God! Gyuvin-ah your room is a biohazard!” Hao pinched the bridge of his nose, kicking away the trash blocking his way as he walked up to his CD player to take the disc out.
“Hao hyung can you put that back!? What are you doing!?” Gyuvin sat up in distress.
“Absolutely not. Your room looks like it just got done surviving nuclear warfare, it stinks in here, the floor is sticky, and you’ve been playing this lovesick puppy crap for like a week now. It’s time to get up.” Hao tutted his head in disappointment, already picking up some wrappers and garbage on the floor and tossing it in the trash can.
“I know it’s a mess, I’ll clean it later! I just wanna be left alone, and it’s not the same song I’ve been playing on repeat, I have their whole discography!” Gyuvin ran his hands through his hair, getting up from his seat and collecting his CD’s and other stuff that Hao was rummaging through and organizing on his desk.
“No, we're cleaning this right now, and for the record all their songs sound exactly the same! Hanbin, come down here I’m gonna need some help with this!” Hao called for his boyfriend, hearing him respond with an “Okay!” before hearing his footsteps thud through the hall all the way to Gyuvin’s room.
Hanbin himself also had a hard time trying to process what was going on in his dongsaeng’s room, not exactly sure where to look first.
“Oh my gosh… Gyuvin-ah what the-” Hanbin blinked in shock, taking in the severity of his disastrous hobbit hole of a room before getting a good glance at the brunette and his tired appearance. His eyes had heavy dark circles and his hair was a mess, he wasn’t really sure when the last time he showered was.
There was a cheesy k-drama romance autoplaying on his laptop, currently on its fourth season. Hanbin didn’t even wanna guess how long he’s been binging it while staying dormant in the little cave he’s made for himself if he was already on season four.
“Gyuvin-ah you look terrible… let hyung cook something for you! Me and Hao have been so worried about you lately.” Hanbin said, walking up and patting down some tufts of Gyuvin’s hair that stuck out in spikes.
“Don’t baby him right now, he needs to take a shower and then clean up his room. You probably should fix him something to eat if it’s not too much trouble though Hanbinnie.” Hao cooed, kissing him on the cheek with a smile as Gyuvin tried not to cringe.
“Gross hyung…” He said, sighing as Hao handed him a towel.
“No, what’s gross right now is you! Go take a long shower! I don’t wanna see you like this anymore Gyu, I know you’re all emo and sad right now or whatever but your hyungs are here to help. I don’t like to see you all upset and living in this trash heap.” Hao said, already pushing the boy towards the bathroom.
“Okay okay! I’ll go take a shower… quit pushing me!” Hao closed the door on him, leaving Gyuvin in the bathroom to clean himself up as the other two had their work cut out for them helping him tidy up.
________________
Gyuvin took his sweet time in the shower, letting the warm water and the steam run over him as his mind was clouded thinking about his breakup. He’d only been dating the guy for a couple months but it was his first real relationship, so inevitably it took a huge toll on him when they had decided to cut things off.
It was a mutual decision of course, but it didn’t make it hurt any less, and the stress of university work piling up on him on top of that as the week went by certainly didn’t help either.
He wasn’t motivated to do anything anymore, but he knew he couldn’t just let Hao and Hanbin worry for him forever. Eventually, he was gonna have to get over it and start attending lectures again before the university considered making him withdraw from all his courses. He was actually sort of glad Hao had forced him to get a grip, he needed it.
Still, it didn’t do much to ease the empty feeling he had inside. As cliche as it sounded, not having anyone to hold or talk with after finally getting used to it for so long as a routine was pretty difficult.
There were a lot of regrets lingering there, Gyuvin pondering what he could’ve done differently as a partner to change the way they fell out, but he just found himself spiraling deeper into territory he didn’t want to reach.
He figured it was better to just scrub the hurt away. He was never gonna feel better if he let it eat at him everyday, it felt good to have the hot water clear his mind, even for just a little while. He was young after all, there’s no point in lingering on something that makes you feel fucked over.
When Gyuvin got out of the shower, he stepped into his room to find Hanbin and Hao quietly conversing about something in front of his laptop, quiet chuckles exchanged between them as he dried his hair with a towel.
“Uh, you guys are still in my room..? I can clean the rest up, sorry for leaving it like this.” He said, the two turning around with big smiles on their faces.
“No worries, taking a shower felt nice right?” Hanbin said, looking over at Hao. Gyuvin could immediately tell something was up.
“What were you guys doing on my laptop..?” Gyuvin asked, hanging his towel up behind his door frame.
The two looked at each other briefly, snickering as they composed themselves before speaking.
“Sooo, don’t get mad but I set you up on a blind date.” Hao smiled brightly with pearly teeth.
If Gyuvin could hit Hao in the back of the head with all his might without any major consequences it would have happened already.
“What!? Hao hyung- I just got out of a relationship! Why would I wanna go on a date with anyone right now? Especially if I don’t know what he looks like!” Gyuvin’s lips parted in disbelief, wondering if the two of them had gone crazy in the half hour he was gone.
“Well, what better way to get over your ex than meeting someone else right?” Hao gleamed, insistent on Gyuvin going out with a good friend of his.
“Come on Gyu, he’s a really good friend of mine! You’ll like him, I think..?” He added, his phone going off with a notification buzz as he rushed to respond to it.
“Is that the guy? Tell him I’m not interested! Hyung, I'm serious!” Gyuvin pulled on his sleeve, Hao chuckling and turning his body away from the younger, keeping his phone out of his view.
It was a failed attempt to pry anything out of Hao’s mischief, so he looked to Hanbin instead.
“Hanbin hyung don’t tell me you’re in on this too!? I’m not going!” He flailed his arms in a gesture, starting to get a little frustrated.
“I’m not! This is all Hao’s idea.” Hanbin raised his hands in surrender.
Hao looked over his shoulder and shot him an intense glare. “Oh, so you want to sleep on the couch tonight, that’s what I’m hearing?”
Hanbin was stuck frozen, blinking rapidly as he looked down at the floor.
“‘Noooo! Baby…” He sighed in defeat, turning to Gyuvin in an attempt to make him reconsider.
“Gyuvin-ah, we’re not gonna force you to do anything you don’t want, but you’ve been cooped up in the dorm for a week and missed all your lectures. It’s not healthy to just keep yourself locked up in your room with all your emotions. Why don’t you go out on this one date? Even if it doesn’t work out, maybe you’ll still have a good time and make a new friend! Just go outside for a day and enjoy yourself, yeah? Who knows, maybe it’ll go really well and you’ll really like him!” Hanbin smiled, giving a comforting pat to the younger’s arm.
Gyuvin always appreciated Hanbin for looking out for him. He appreciated Hao too of course, they were his hyung’s after all, but it always reassured him to hear Hanbin’s voice of reason make his thoughts ever so clearer.
He considered it seriously, weighing all the pros and cons. Hanbin was right in a sense, even if he didn’t enjoy it, the dude was a complete stranger to him so it didn’t really matter. Hao had mentioned that they were good friends and that he was a nice guy, so he guessed he should have a little faith in that.
“I’m not saying yes, but I’ll think about it…”
Hao squealed and clapped his hands in excitement. “Perfect! You guys are gonna meet at the diner that’s two blocks from campus tomorrow. 1:00 PM sharp! Don’t forget!” Hao sung, happily parading himself out of Gyuvin’s room with much attention to his phone screen.
“What!? Hao hyung!! I didn’t say yes!” Gyuvin screeched, a whole list of complaints warming up in his throat but coming to a halt noticing Hao had already disappeared from his room.
He turned to Hanbin with a groan, the other softly chuckling at him before slumping onto his shoulder.
“Hanbin hyung! Can’t you control your menace of a boyfriend?? This has to be illegal somewhere!”
“I think you’ll be just fine Gyu, you really don’t have to go if you don’t wanna.”
_______________
The hours passed by quicker than Gyuvin anticipated.
As much as he complained about it initially, he was here at the diner.
He spent all night preparing himself for how this blind date could go, and now he was a tight bundle of nerves just waiting to snap and fall apart. He was sitting at a booth inside, anxiously looking at his phone and scrolling over the same five instagram posts every 15 seconds.
It got so bad that he had his notes app pulled up on his phone, writing possible conversation starters and things they could talk about in case it got awkward or stale. All he knew about him was that his name was Ricky. It intrigued him because it was a foreign name, but at least that also added to another conversation starter he could use.
Gyuvin and his mystery date messaged briefly over text since Hao handed him his SNS. He arranged it so that they’d change their info temporarily, swapping their profile pictures with cute little cartoon animals, that way it would be a total blind date for the both of them. No cheating.
Gyuvin was regretting all his decisions taking Hao up on his offer for the blind date. He wasn’t sure what sparked him to go for it, but he didn’t have much to lose anymore either, he didn’t really think he cared how this date went to be honest.
Doom suddenly loomed over him as a notification from Ricky caught his attention.
Ricky
Sorry I’m running a little late, I promise I’ll be there really soon!
1:05 PM
Me
No worries, text me when you get here :3
1:06 PM
Now Gyuvin felt his adrenaline kicking in. Ricky had just said he would be there soon, and he lowkey hoped that he would take his sweet time.
______________
A couple minutes passed by on the clock, Gyuvin’s eyes trained on the door to keep an eye on everyone that was coming in.
Only a few old ladies and parents with their kids had walked in, so nothing particularly interesting yet.
It was when Gyuvin got bored of people watching when a tall blonde dude walked into the diner, his jaw almost falling off entirely when he laid eyes on him.
Oh my God his face card is lethal.
Was the first and only thing Gyuvin could think of when he walked in. He actually didn’t assume him to be Ricky since he didn’t look foreign, so he sighed wondering if he should text again for an update on his location, but he was way too entranced looking at the absolute beauty in front of him.
He felt bad since he was literally waiting for a date, but the guy he was looking at now was incredibly beautiful, he had to be some sort of model off duty or something like that since everything he was wearing seemed to be from a designer brand.
The guy looked lost, scanning the restaurant looking for something before typing away on his phone.
Gyuvin felt his own phone buzz in his pocket, pulling it up to get another text from Ricky.
Ricky
Hey, I made it! Where are you sitting?
1:13 PM
Gyuvin blinked a couple times on his phone, putting two and two together as he clawed underneath the table with his nails from the realization.
The fine ass dude by the door that he was gawking at was his date. That blonde dude he was just getting in a tizzy about was the famous Ricky.
Gyuvin wanted nothing more than to vanish and scream.
It wasn’t that he had the lowest expectations for this date, but he certainly wasn’t prepared to go on one with someone who rivaled Korea’s Miss Universe. He felt like he was looking at the main lead from a shoujo manga right out of the page. It was a little too real for him, he couldn’t even grasp the fact that Hao had a friend that attractive.
Me
Hi! I’m in the corner down by the entrance, I’m wearing a blue denim jacket! I’m waving 2 u!
Ricky caught glimpse of the boy waving his hand down the hall, smiling and waving back as he approached him.
Gyuvin’s stomach was doing flips as he approached, he felt severely underdressed and thought that Ricky was ridiculously far out of his league, he couldn’t help but think that he’d be disappointed seeing how he looked in person.
Gyuvin knew he was a handsome guy and that he had his charms, but with Ricky he felt like he was looking at a supermodel, there was just no comparison.
Ricky wore a tan Versace sweater tucked into some black slacks, some sleek black loafers to match, and a tan handbag that had clear indication from the logo that it was from Louis Vuitton. His fingers had many rings on them, matching with his dangling earrings and glimmering necklace.
Gyuvin caught glance of something on his neck, squinting to see that he had a tattoo there.
Oh fuck me he’s too hot. Oh no he’s really really hot… I’m doomed. Hao hyung I hate you!
“Hi! You're really handsome!!” Gyuvin immediately shot up, an awkward toothy grin on his face as he mentally facepalmed at his forward greeting.
Are you actually serious right now!? Why the hell is that the first thing you come up with to say to the finest man on the planet?? Oh my gosh I’m totally gonna bomb this date aren’t I? This is humiliating…
Ricky used a hand to cover his mouth, laughing a bit as he set his stuff down at the booth.
“Thank you, Gyuvin right? It’s nice to finally meet you.” He beamed, taking a seat across from him as he got comfortable.
“Yes! Gyuvin! That’s me.” He said, making a mental note to hold it together and stop acting like a dork.
It was really difficult though when Ricky was up close and personal with him now, unable to gaze away from his pretty lashes and perfectly styled hair, the way his collar bones peek out from his sweater in jutting angles, his sharp nose bridge and gorgeously pink lips. It was safe to say Gyuvin was whipped as fuck and he hadn’t even known the boy for more than a couple seconds.
“How old did you say you were? I think Hao hyung mentioned it but I forgot.” Ricky said, breaking his intense focus on his features.
“I just turned twenty like last week! You’re my age right?”
“Yes! Happy belated birthday by the way, did you do anything special?”
“Not really, I spent the day hanging out with Hao hyung and Hanbin hyung though! We went to a carnival and boardwalk kinda situation, there was a beach and lots of good food!”
“Ah, sounds really fun, might have to take me there some time! Hao hyung got you a nice cake I hope.” They chuckled.
“So, how’d you and Hao hyung meet?” Ricky added, perching his chin on the backs of his hands in interest.
“Oh that’s right! I forgot you guys are good friends. I met him at uni because he’s dating my senior! I dorm with both of them.”
“You're his roommate? No shit… He never told me he roomed!”
“Really? I’m surprised he hasn’t mentioned me or Hanbin hyung before. How’d you meet him? You’re also Chinese right? I was wondering where the name Ricky came from.”
The conversation sparked naturally, Gyuvin didn’t even need to look at his notes or improvise anything on the spot to keep the banter up cause they were both naturally yappers.
Gyuvin caught note on a couple of Ricky’s mannerisms, picking up and noticing a lot of details about him under short notice. The way they talked felt like they had been good friends who were catching up after a while, the dynamic was looking really solid, and it didn’t seem like Ricky was disappointed at the initial icebreaker stage at all.
The relief that settled in allowed him to be more confident, laughing and telling stories as they ate their food and got to really know each other, it seemed they had more in common than they thought. Despite his looks, Ricky was actually sort of shy and endearing, making it easier and easier for Gyuvin to get in touch with his personality too.
“Hey, when you finish up your sandwich do you want to go to this art museum? I don’t know if you’re into that sorta thing so we don’t have to go, but I wanted to see this art exhibit they’re having this month.” Ricky said, showing the other pictures of the museum on his phone.
“Oh, are you really into art? I’ve never really been a museum person but I think I would be down to go!”
“I am! It’s actually what I major in. Well- I major in philosophy of art but I like to paint in my free time when I’m not too busy with classes.”
“Wait- You paint!? Can I see some of your artwork?” Gyuvin perked up excitedly.
“Well, I only have what I submitted for my portfolio when I considered an arts school, but it was too far from home.” Ricky said, flipping through his phone gallery and showing him some of the pieces he had done.
It was actually a shame that Ricky didn’t end up going to art school because he was really talented, Gyuvin was at a loss for words.
Super tall, extremely handsome, sweet but also shy, and an accomplished artist? He just keeps getting sexier. How is that any fair!? What about me!! And he takes philosophy? Talk about smart and handsome, and here I am, I literally cut classes for a week cause of my stupid ex! Ugh, Hao hyung was right, I really need to get my shit together…
“You never tried for an art school around here? You would have definitely gotten in! Your artwork’s gorgeous, I could never draw anything like that…. We should totally go to that museum then! It would be cool to see you in your element.” He smiled.
Ricky chuckled at his enthusiasm, finding it endearing. “Thanks but, are you sure you won’t find it boring? We could do something else?”
“No, no, not at all! I’d be happy to go, for real!”
_______________
Seventy dollars!? I’m gonna pass out…
Gyuvin caught glimpse of the ticket prices when they were already in line at the museum, a horde of people behind them as he tried to think of anything that justified the price being that high. He wasn’t even sure if he had enough in his balance to cover his own ticket since he hadn’t been paid yet let alone Ricky’s. He was afraid to open his balance to check.
“Uh- wow these tickets are pretty pricey, what kind of art do they have in here? Is this a famous spot or something?” Gyuvin chuckled nervously.
“They change the art exhibits here monthly and they’re always amazing, none of that stupid modern art stuff where they just put up a blank canvas with a black line and call it art. You’ll find it really cool! I hope…” He chuckled, the two moving up in line.
When they got to the front, Gyuvin took his wallet out with dread, sighing as he knew he wanted to pay for him and Ricky’s tickets to the museum and stepping in front to use his card.
“Wait! It’s okay-” He stopped him, showing the security guard in front something on his phone before allowing them to pass.
“Huh? Wait, how come we didn’t pay? Are you secretly a mafia or something…”
Ricky laughed at the claim and shook his head. “No! Not a mafia, I actually have a friend who works here and he gave me free tickets in advance, probably should’ve mentioned that at the diner.” He said.
Gyuvin was relieved that he didn’t have to blow $140 bucks on an art museum, but he was even more giddy at the thought that Ricky got them tickets for their date with him in mind.
“Were you already planning to take me before we met up?” He asked with a giggle.
“Mhm, even if you said no I would have probably gone again next month with the other ticket.”
“Wow, so you really come here often then huh?”
“I do! It’s a nice walkthrough experience if you have the extra time. Come, let’s go look around at the new exhibits, it’s not only paintings in here, there’s loads of crazy stuff to look at if you know which showcases to visit.”
The two of them went up and down the floors of the museum together, admiring and commenting on all the cool art exhibits they had to offer. Some were really detailed renaissance paintings from different time periods, and others were complex statues or moving images of sorts that had an underlying deeper message to convey.
Gyuvin never really found any of this stuff interesting prior to this, and to be honest he couldn’t understand the meaning behind most of the pieces, especially the outlandish experimental ones, but it made him happy to see Ricky talk so passionately about everything they saw.
He did admit that a lot of them were really cool to look at or were a fun experience, like the fallout shelter exhibit that simulated a zombie apocalypse, or the video game room where they could interact with all the art inside.
“How long do you think it takes to build these giant rooms for the exhibits? Wait- how do they even bring them in here?”
Ricky laughed at the boy’s cuteness, poking his cheek to bother him. “You ask too many questions. They probably build them inside the museum or something, I dunno.” He shrugged.
“Well, I think your art should be in here someday, yours is way better than a lot of the pieces I saw down on the second floor! Did you see the display that was just a paint splatter on a man’s face?? If anything they should be begging you to showcase your art here.” Gyuvin said, catching glimpse of a small flush creeping up on Ricky’s cheeks.
Ricky liking praise was something he would’ve never guessed to have on his bingo card, but he definitely kept it in mind for the future.
The blonde flashed him a smile with a little laugh, sweeping his hair back with one hand. “You’re cute.”
Gyuvin almost short circuited.
It wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard before, especially when Hanbin and Hao babied him back at the dorms, but hearing it from Ricky made him feel on top of the world.
“Cu- Cute?” Before he could make sure he actually said that, Ricky was already heading towards the stairs to the last showcase on the top floor. Gyuvin was quick to follow behind him when Ricky gestured him to hurry, seeing a bunch of other people also headed upstairs.
“I think this part only shows every 30 minutes so we better not miss it.” He said, taking Gyuvin’s wrist in his hand as he hurried up onto the fourth floor to catch up with the small assembly forming.
All Gyuvin could focus on at that given moment was Ricky’s hand on his wrist, wanting to interlock his hands with his own and feel the warmth from the other’s fingertips as well as a bunch of other intrusive gay thoughts that plagued his gay little head.
There was a big chrome planet statue in the middle of the circle of people, some kind of bizarre looking projector plastered at the very top of it.
An announcer voice gave some sort of information about the piece before it began, Gyuvin unable to register anything he was saying since he was too busy wondering if he should just take the jump and clasp Ricky’s hand in his since they were already limb to limb.
“Oh look, it’s starting!” Ricky pointed up, a light from the projector starting to beam as all heads turned to the ceiling. There was a dome on the ceiling of this floor, the projector showing a galaxy of falling stars and swirls similar to a milky way as the rest of the lights on the floor dimmed out, making it pitch black.
The only illumination now was the array of blue and purple stars that twinkled above them like an observatory, and the announcer talked about different planets, meteors, and stars that zoomed across the dome’s display.
There were lots of sounds of awe, mostly from young kids and their parents excitedly asking how cool they thought it was to see. Ricky was completely focused on the lights, Gyuvin taking account of all his delicate features under the dim lighting, even the precious mole under his eye.
He took a sharp breath, looking up momentarily at the black hole that appeared on the dome, a blazing neon orange and purple hue swirling above everyone in a circular motion like a halo.
His hand found its way to Ricky’s, his fingers slowly but surely latching on one by one until they fit together hand in hand.
Gyuvin shut his eyes, already expecting him to pull back and ask what was up with him, but instead he felt Ricky squeeze his hand softly.
His eyes fluttered back open in confusion, turning to face Ricky who was now staring right back at him, unable to read his blank expression.
Ricky squeezed the other’s hand again, caressing the back of it with his thumb while the colors danced on their faces.
Nothing was exchanged between them, expressionless almost as if they were in trance with one another as the sea of stars came to an end with a big applause from the crowd.
The noise caused the two of them to jerk back out of their hypnosis, looking around as the lights turned back on and people started to head to the elevators and staircase to exit the museum.
Their hands separated, unable to ignore the crowd of people pushing past them.
“Think it’s time to get outta here…” Ricky uttered under his breath, looking around and avoiding Gyuvin’s eyes momentarily.
Gyuvin blinked, becoming aware of his surroundings and nodding, wondering if he had made it awkward.
It was his biggest fear, doing something wrong after doing so well. For some reason, the thoughtless gaze they shared under the lights made him forget about it for once. It was like Hanbin said, if things went south it wasn’t the end of the world.
Gyuvin peered over the staircase briefly, eyelids fluttering as he took a sharp breath.
“Hold my hand while we go?”
___________________
Ricky and Gyuvin were intertwined at the fingertips again, walking past the new line that had formed outside of the museum.
“That was really cool! I’m actually glad you brought me, I know I said I wouldn’t have been bored but I was honestly kind of prepared to be. You proved me wrong though, it was a fun experience for sure.” Gyuvin said, skipping ahead of the blonde a little and turning to face him with a smile.
“Really? You’re not just saying that to spare my feelings?” He asked, smiling as their arms swung in sync.
“No, I'm not just saying that. Even if it was boring it would’ve still been fun to hang out with you.” He said, unable to hide the honesty laced in his voice.
“By the way, you walk like you suffer from chronic arthritis, do you need a chiropractor?” Gyuvin said, Ricky looking at him in offense.
“Hey! It’s just cause I’m tall! I’m not even old, but Hao hyung sure is. Isn’t he twenty four? Why’s he still in uni?” Ricky laughed, nudging the other’s side.
“I’m tall and lanky too but you don’t see me walking like I broke a hip. Also that’s soooo true! And he acts like a mom too, does he do that when you hang out with him?”
“Oh definitely. He loves to nag.”
The two laughed while walking side by side, Gyuvin still trying to decipher what happened back at the museum before they left, wondering if it would go further.
“What do you wanna do now? I still have an hour before I have to head back to study.” Ricky asked.
“Dunno, I didn’t really have anything planned when Hao hyung set us up on this date.”
Gyuvin hummed, looking around thinking of what else to do to show Ricky a good time before they had to part.
“You like sweets right? There’s this really cute cafe and it’s all pink and Sanrio themed! They also have claw machines if you wanna try and play for plushies? Or does that sound lame…?”
Ricky chuckled, the cuteness aggression spiking in him whenever Gyuvin spoke.
“What? No, that sounds super fun! I didn’t know there was a place like that around here, how far is it?”
“Only like twelve minutes from my campus! We gotta head back over there though, I’m sure it’ll be quicker if we take the bus.”
“Then, to the Sanrio! And quick.” They snickered, cutting their way through the busy streets to the bus stop.
________________
The cafe was everything Ricky could’ve imagined it would be and more.
The walls were a hot pink, heavily decorated with artwork of Rilakkuma and other cute mascots with lots of heart decals and flowers. The borders were frilly and white, all the seats and tables in the establishment matching the pink color and adorned with Sanrio paraphernalia.
As they stepped in, bright pulsing rainbow lights grabbed their attention, the claw machines lit up and in use with a couple people already trying to win some plushies.
“Soooo, news flash but I’m like super good at winning these claw machine games, I bet I could snag anything.” Gyuvin said, letting Ricky eye whatever machine he wanted to try.
“Wow, big shoes to fill. How about that one?” The blonde pointed at a machine with some familiar Sanrio characters.
Gyuvin squinted, seeing a couple try for the machine and getting their hopes up before grouching about their loss when the claw didn’t do its job.
“Easy. Let’s get some tokens first. I’ll bag us all the goods.” Gyuvin chirped, bearing an excited grin.
_____________
The whole time spent at the cafe was a mixup of wins and losses from both of them. In the end though, Gyuvin did end up having something to show for his big talk from earlier with a total of eight plushies.
Ricky was only able to win a lucky two miniature sized ones and a Shin-chan keychain but he was still pretty satisfied.
“I told you but you didn’t believe me.” Gyuvin had a proud smirk on his face, the two now enjoying some strawberry parfaits per Ricky’s request for something with loads of the sweet fruit.
Gyuvin got his with matcha for a little twist, offering some to Ricky to try for himself.
He expected him to dig his own spoon into his parfait cup, but nothing could have prepared him for Ricky offering a spoonful of his parfait first.
With his spoon.
“Try mine first.” He said, holding his other hand out under the spoon to catch anything that dripped as Gyuvin had an internal panic.
He leaned over, taking the spoonful and trying to play it off as cool, offering his collision of strawberry and matcha ice cream next as the two spoon fed each other ice cream.
Oh my gosh we just fed each other ice cream… Is anyone else in the cafe seeing this? Seeing this super gay stunt!? Hold it together Kim Gyuvin. Or don’t… It’s Ricky after all.
“I never doubted you y’know. About winning the plushies I mean. It was just cute to see you so eager to win everything.” He smiled, spooning a syrupy strawberry into his mouth with glee.
“Well, I won them for you.” Gyuvin said, taking his big bag of plushies and scooting them over towards Ricky.
“What? No, they’re yours, keep them! Two is enough for me.” Ricky shook his head, shunning the offer with his hand and asking him to take them back.
“I’m not a fan of plushies! They’re gonna go to waste so you should take them. I even got the ones you wanted! I’m not taking no for an answer.”
He crossed his arms, leaning back in his seat and almost tipping over, making Ricky stay on alert for him.
_____________
Ricky soon learned that arguing with Gyuvin led to nowhere, so now he had a sack of stuffed animals to take home with him after paying for their dessert.
“I had a lotta fun today. If Hao hyung did me one favor it was setting up this date.” Gyuvin’s eyes smiled along with his teeth, walking with Ricky to his train station.
Ricky chuckled, the two talking about meeting up again for a bunch of other future activities and keeping in touch, now coming to a full stop when they came face to face with the subway station’s staircase.
“I should be thanking you, especially for all these plushies.” He said, pulling the other in for a hug. “I also had a lot of fun today Gyu.”
Gyuvin patted his back, still unsure whether Ricky was actually interested in him or was just trying to be a good friend and a respectful date.
Even so, he was happy he decided to go out, taking in the clean scent of his cologne one last time before pulling away from his embrace.
“Be safe getting home! Text me when you get there!” Gyuvin beamed, quick to wave Ricky off so he could gush over how well his date went, but then he felt hands pull his arms back, shifting his body back around.
Ricky kept Gyuvin turned around, not saying a word but Gyuvin quickly caught on to why he came back.
Does he really want me to? I don’t wanna stand here and look like an idiot, just go for it Gyuvin!
The boy gave a super quick peck to Ricky’s cheek, the blonde blinking rapidly and touching his face as if he were in disbelief before bursting into laughter.
Shit.
Wha- Why are you laughing?! I’m sorry, did I read you all wrong…?” Gyuvin looked down at his shoes, embarrassed that he gave into the voices in his head.
Ricky took a step forward, Gyuvin glancing up at him now with confusion, unsure whether he screwed things up or not.
He felt Ricky’s hands go back to the same spots on his arms again, right before planting a gentle peck right on Gyuvin’s lips in a soft kiss before pulling away.
“Bye Gyuvin. I’ll make sure to text you when I get home.” He said, Gyu now dumbfounded while watching the boy head down the stairs in a rush to catch his upcoming train.
Did he just?- Holy shit I’m fucking awesome. Ricky just kissed me!
Gyuvin pumped a fist in the air when it all settled in, wishing he had a megaphone so that he could brag to everyone in radius of him that Ricky gave him a smooch.
_____________
When Gyuvin got home from his successful outing, Hao and Hanbin were in the middle of having an early takeout dinner before realizing their baby had come back.
“Gyuvin-ah! You’re back! How was it? You don’t look like you're upset!” Hanbin was first to prod for answers, Hao right behind him as he crossed a leg over the other.
“Tell us all the details, I wanna know everything!” Hao said,Gyuvin already feeling overwhelmed with the questions.
“You guys are so nosy! Why do you have to know everything?” He questioned.
“Because I set you up with him, duh!” Hao fluttered his eyelids as if the answer wasn’t obvious.
“Well? Did you guys kiss or what?” He raised a brow.
“Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows.” He shrugged, heading over to his room but even Hanbin stopped him.
“Come onnnn, you can tell us what you guys did after being gone for like four hours! Where’d you two hangout?” Hanbin asked, Hao leaning back in his seat with a puzzled look.
“Yeah… now that you mention it, what did you guys do for four hours because I only recommended the diner?” Hao asked, narrowing his eyes at the youngest.
Hao covered his mouth with his hand, trying to be dramatic.
“Did you two…?”
Gyuvin’s eyes widened, his mouth parting in shock and immediately shutting Hao down on his assumptions.
“What the- Hyung- No! Of course we didn’t!” Gyuvin’s face flushed, the heat rising in his cheeks as he gritted his teeth, bringing a hand to his face with a huff.
“Just making sure…. No need to get all defensive Gyuvin-ah, I don’t care if you did, just want to make sure you guys are being safe.”
“Hanbin hyung! Can’t you tape his mouth with duct tape!?” He said, pointing to Hao with frenzy which sent the both of them into laughter.
“Oh my gosh, I’m just gonna go change.” Gyuvin groaned, heading to his room.
“I’m sure you are, since your clothes know all about your sinful behavior!” Hao yelled, Hanbin’s wheezing and laughter filling the room along with the sound of their claps.
I really need to reconsider getting new roommates…
_______________
Me
Hey, I made it home!
Lovelicky <3🍓
Good! I made it home too, thank u again for today and the plushies, I’m making room for them on my bed lol! I hope next time we hang out I can give you a proper kiss👨❤️💋👨
Me
I’d love toooooo, send me a pic of your room when ur done! also wld luv for u to please kiss me again!! 😣
Lovelicky <3🍓
will do cutie~
have to study now but let hao hyung know I said hi
Me
he just told me we need to stop sexting😒
he’s so annoying sometimes
Lovelicky <3🍓
LOL, i’ll hit him for u don’t worry.
goodnight gyuuu 😗
Me
night rickyyy <333