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══════ DAY ONE ══════
It’s not his usual style, is the thing. It’s really not.
But Chenle had been laughing at him, the circle of his friends gathered around the table at the bar laughing along, and something in Jisung’s chest ached and ached and ached until he couldn’t take it anymore, and he stood up and said, “I know how to make someone fall in love with me. In fact, I bet I could do it in ten days or less.”
His chest heaves, looking into the incredulous faces of his very best friends in the world. Jaemin and Chenle look highly amused, Donghyuck a bit bewildered. Mark and Renjun exchange skeptical glances across the table. Even Jeno, who is too sweet to ever tease Jisung the way Jaemin and Chenle have been for the last hour, has a hint of pity in his eyes.
You see, they were all attached. Mark and Renjun, Jaemin and Donghyuck, Chenle and Jeno. It left Jisung as the perpetual seventh-wheel – which didn’t usually bother him, except for the fact that his entire friend group saw Jisung as someone who wouldn’t know romance if it hit him in the face.
They liked to tease, and they never meant anything by it. Usually, it didn’t get under Jisung’s skin. But they’d been out for pre-dinner drinks for a while now, and when the topic turned to Jisung’s love life – or rather, lack thereof – he’d found the barbs he usually brushed off managing to find purchase, burrowing into his chest and making a home there, rotting away at his heart. Something nasty and defensive clawed at him, and now he was here.
Part of him wants to back down, but another part of him wants to double down, knowing full well that his friends will never let this go. Obviously, he’s going to fail – but he doesn’t want to give up the ghost so soon. The latter part of him grows larger as Jaemin looks at him, utterly skeptical, and says, “Oh, really?”
“Yes, really,” Jisung says, gritting his teeth and only slightly wanting to die. Why was he always getting himself into situations?
“So, I could point out someone in this bar right now, and you’d be able to make them fall in love with you in ten days?” Jaemin says, leaning forward, steepling his fingers as a predatory smile grows on his face.
“Yeah,” Jisung says, ignoring the hundreds of mini-Jisungs running around in his brain blaring sirens and screaming RED ALERT! RED ALERT! ABORT MISSION!
“That guy,” Jaemin says, pointing, and Jisung turns to look.
The man Jaemin’s pointed out is sitting at a table across the crowded bar, surrounded by his own group of friends. Even from this far away and despite the low-lighting – he’s stunning. High cheekbones, bright eyes, his hair falling over his forehead in a soft wave. He could be a model.
Jisung groans internally and briefly wonders if it would just be easier to leave the bar and go jump into the nearest river and die of hypothermia. That way he wouldn’t have to embarrass himself trying to talk to someone so obscenely beautiful, and the embarrassment of immediately folding when challenged by his friends wouldn’t last that long. He’d be dead.
Before he’s able to seriously contemplate that option, some insane competitive demon inside of him possesses him. Suddenly he’s saying, “No problem,” picking up his drink off the table and slamming it back, and heading across the bar to buy this complete stranger a drink under the watchful eyes of his best friends in the world, who he hates.
He sits at the bar alone for a moment and indulges the hatred for a second, but it washes away in moments, replaced by exasperated fondness. He casts a glance over his shoulder back at the table to see his friends giving him thumbs ups and finger hearts, silently cheering him on. Jisung rolls his eyes with a sigh and turns back to the bartender.
“Could I order a second round of whatever he’s having, on me?” Jisung asks, pointing out the man Jaemin had picked for him. The bartender nods and before long, she’s walking out from behind the bar to put the drink down on the table across from the man. He looks up, surprised, and he and the bartender exchange a few words. The man’s eyes flicker over to Jisung’s, and when their eyes meet –
It’s electrifying.
Jisung feels heat rising in his cheeks immediately, and he swings his gaze back around to the bar, though he can still feel the heat of the man’s gaze on his back. He stays there, frozen, for a moment, until someone speaks to him, voice honey smooth, and he very nearly jumps out of his skin.
“Hi.”
Jisung turns to look, and the man from across the bar is sinking into the seat beside him, extending a hand for Jisung to shake.
“Hi,” he says, and grabs the man’s hand. His skin is soft.
“Hi,” the man says again after a moment of silence, eyes twinkling.
“Hi,” Jisung says, laughing lightly, slightly embarrassed. “I’m Park Jisung.” In the back of his mind, he’s almost lightheaded with relief now that he’s made it through the introduction without any major incidents.
The gorgeous stranger smiles. “Nice to meet you, Park Jisung. I’m Oh Sion,” he says, and god, Jisung could listen to his voice all day. There’s a bell-like quality to it – something bright and smooth. “Thank you for the drink.”
“My pleasure.” Jisung’s mouth is dry. Over Sion’s shoulder he can see Chenle’s mouth hanging open in pleased surprise the longer Sion remains at the bar beside Jisung, clearly engaging with him in conversation.
“Cute,” Sion says.
“Thanks,” Jisung says, scratching the back of his neck. “It was nothing, really.”
“I wasn’t talking about you sending me a drink, though that was cute too,” Sion says casually, as if commenting on the weather. “I meant… you. Just, in general.” Jisung blinks, and flushes even further. Sion chuckles, pleased, eyes crinkling up at the corners. “Seriously, you’re adorable.”
“Well, thanks… twice?” Jisung says, trying to calm the racing of his heart, head spinning. His cheeks and the tips of his ears are burning.
“Unattached?” Sion asks, eyes curious. Jisung’s own eyes widen in response.
“Yes.” He pouts just slightly. “I wouldn’t have sent you a drink if I had someone else waiting for me at home. That’s just wrong.”
“Cute and loyal,” Sion says, voice warm. “You’re batting two for two, Park Jisung.”
“Great,” Jisung says, breathless. He blinks, remembers that it’s his turn to ask a question. “What about yourself?”
“Same.” Sion smiles at him, leaning onto the bar and resting his chin in his palm, turning his whole body towards Jisung. “I wouldn’t have come over after you sent me a drink if I had someone else waiting for me at home.” His eyes sparkle, flirty, teasing. “That’s just wrong.”
“Loyal and beautiful,” Jisung says, roughly following the script they’ve established. “Two for two.” He carefully tilts his head, scanning Sion up and down, trying his absolute best to show interest. He’s not usually this forward, but between his competitive spirit refusing to let him lose this unintentional bet he’s made with his friends coupled with the way that flirting with Sion is just so, so easy – he finds himself leaning into it. Maybe even enjoying the playful back and forth.
“You know, Park Jisung,” Sion says, leaning back in his chair, scanning Jisung appraisingly. “I’m pretty hungry. I might close out my tab and go to dinner soon. Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” Jisung says, hoping he doesn’t sound too breathless. “Let me just go grab my coat.”
Jisung cannot believe his luck right now. Out of every person in the entire bar, Jaemin pointed at a professional flirter, and now he’s going to get to go out to dinner with a gorgeous man on top of not embarrassing himself in front of his friends.
Sion smiles at him, and gestures for him to go ahead.
Jisung slides out of his chair and hurries over to his friends at their table.
“Oh my god, how’d it go?” Chenle squeals, grabbing Jisung’s arm the second he’s in reach. “He looked super into you!”
Next to him, Jeno nods encouragingly, as Mark, Jaemin, Donghyuck, and Renjun watch on in anticipation. Jisung rolls his eyes and shakes Chenle off his arm, snatching his coat from where he’d draped it over the back of his chair at the beginning of the night.
“Send me a venmo request when you guys close the tab, will you? I’m leaving early,” he says, and relishes the shock and awe on their faces. “I’m going out to dinner with Jaemin’s pick. His name is Oh Sion.”
“What the fuck!” Chenle looks thrilled, practically vibrating in his seat. “Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend? That’s incredible Jisung, oh my god! ”
“Be safe,” Renjun says, perpetual worrier that he is. “He might be pretty, but most serial killers are. It’s how they get you.”
“Woah, dude,” Mark says, laughing. Renjun frowns at him and protests – “Don’t call me dude, we’re literally dating?” – but Mark speaks over him, continuing. “Jisung will be fine. He’s smart, he knows how to keep himself safe.”
“Are we sure about that?” Donghyuck smarms. “In every sense of the word?”
The others around the table gag, Jisung in particular.
“Nasty, Donghyuck,” he says primly, pulling his coat on. “I know how to use protection. I attended sex ed in high school and I’ve had sex before, as you very well know. But it doesn't matter anyways – we’re going out to dinner, not having sex.”
“You’re not having sex yet,” Jaemin singsongs, predatory smile still firmly in place. Jisung rolls his eyes again.
“Goodnight, guys. See you on Friday.”
They chorus a goodbye, and then Jisung is making his way back to the bar to meet Sion, who is just sliding his card back into his wallet, all closed out. He greets Jisung with a smile.
“Ready to go? I know a great spot for hot pot just a few blocks from here, if you like hot pot. If not, I could find something else –?”
“No, no,” Jisung says, waving Sion off with both hands. “Hot pot is great. I really like hot pot. I don’t get to eat it too often.” He walks Sion to the door, pulling it open for him. “After you.”
“What a gentleman,” Sion says, smiling again, laughing to himself. He laughs at everything, Jisung is noticing – it’s nice. His laugh is nice.
They walk out into the cold night together, hands in the pockets of their jackets, arms just barely brushing as they walk side by side, Sion leading them to the place he knows.
It’s a bit of a hole in the wall, the entrance easy to miss because it’s not marked very well. Sion and Jisung settle across from each other at a table in the corner, and spend the next two hours chatting over their food.
Jisung learns that Sion was also born in 2002, just a few months later than him. He finds out that Sion’s favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate, that Sion is from Mokpo rather than Seoul, that Sion likes sweet things and laughs when he’s nervous.
“You’ve been laughing a lot tonight,” Jisung observes. “I hope I haven’t made you uncomfortable,” he worries, eyes wide, and Sion just laughs again.
“You are making me nervous,” Sion says, smiling. “But it’s a good thing, don’t worry.”
They talk for a while longer, and Sion pays for dinner since Jisung paid for his drink earlier. Jisung protests, tips of his ears reddening.
“Dinner is way more expensive than a single drink, I can’t let you do that. Sion, seriously.”
“You can’t stop me,” Sion says, grinning as he hands his card to the waiter. “I guess you’ll just have to make it up to me and pay next time.”
They part after exchanging numbers, and when Jisung falls into bed that night, he can’t help but clutch his phone to his chest and sigh, just a bit. It’s not a swoon, he tells himself. Totally not a swoon.
He opens up his camera app to the selfie Sion took for his contact picture, and tries not to stare. He’s just so ethereally handsome. Jisung sighs again, and can feel his cheeks heat up.
He knows it’s proper date etiquette to wait a few days before texting – but hey, he told Jaemin that he could get a guy to fall for him in ten days. With that kind of time limit, he had to get started, right?
He opens up Sion’s contact information, planning to text him – but Sion must have been thinking the same thing, because Jisung receives a text just as he’s beginning to type out a hello.
hi, jisung! it’s sion!
Sion sends a smiling, blushing emoji. Jisung pretends like his heart doesn’t stutter in his chest. Before he can pull himself together enough to respond, his phone chimes again with another text from Sion.
so… where are you taking me for that second date?
══════ DAYS TWO THROUGH FIVE ══════
Jisung takes Sion to the movies because the night before Sion had mentioned liking them, but never having the time to go. They go out and get fast food after, sharing fries on a bench in the park beside the movie theatre.
The day after that, Sion takes Jisung to an internet café, because while eating their fries in the park, Jisung had mentioned getting back into League of Legends recently. He graciously loses horribly to Jisung for several rounds of League, despite Jisung’s best efforts to help him. Sion makes up for it once they switch to Teamfight Tactics, crushing Jisung easily.
The third day after meeting in the bar, Jisung and Sion go out for coffee, ordering iced americanos and chatting together for several hours. Jisung snaps pictures of their drinks on the table and posts them to his instagram story.
Mark, Donghyuck, Renjun, and Jeno leave heart reactions. Jaemin just sends a smirking emoji in the group chat along with a screenshot of Jisung’s story, and Chenle sends a shocked emoji in response. Jisung sends rolling eyes and middle finger emojis, locks his phone, and puts it face down on the table to return to his date.
The day after that, Sion invites Jisung to play baseball at the park with his friends. Jisung worries about intruding, but Sion promises him that when it comes to baseball, the more is always the merrier – so Jisung goes.
He meets Sion’s friends, and it’s a really interesting experience – in his own friend group, he’s always been the baby, but in Sion’s friend group, Sion is the oldest. It’s obvious how the youngest guys – two good-natured, playful kids Sion introduces as Ryo and Sakuya – look up to him, the same way Jisung and Chenle used to look up to Mark.
He gets along with Riku, who apparently used to play volleyball – a fact that the others bring up anytime he manages to hit the ball with the bat, no matter how loudly Riku argues that the skill doesn’t translate. He laughs with Jaehee, who reminds him oddly of Jeno in some ways – he’s just too nice, seriously. He worries at first that Yushi doesn’t like him, but Sion reassures him that Yushi just takes a moment to warm up to new people – and by the time they’re leaving the park, Yushi is sending small smiles Jisung’s way, congratulating him on a game well played.
Over the course of their dates, Jisung finds himself falling further and further for Sion. He’s a shy person, usually, but being around Sion is comfortable. They talk and laugh together endlessly, and every time Sion smiles his way, Jisung feels his heart flutter, his stomach fill with butterflies. He looks at Sion – next to him at the movie theatre, beside him on a bench at the park, across the table at a coffee shop, swinging a bat by home plate – and can’t quite believe his luck.
Love has always been something of a mystery to Jisung. He knows what it looks like – he sees it in his friends all the time. Mark drives Renjun to all of his doctor’s appointments and buys him coffee on the days when he’s exhausted from his master's program, and Renjun repays him by painting little landscapes of places that Mark loves so that Mark can decorate his boring, grey office at his nine to five.
Jeno let Chenle get a dog despite preferring cats, and now he takes allergy medication every single day so that Daegal can stay. Chenle takes Jeno to cat cafes every month and sends him money to buy himself dinner on his way home from the gym when it’s getting late – a reminder that Chenle is waiting for him at home, and that he wants Jeno to take care of himself.
Donghyuck and Jaemin might snipe endlessly at each other, but Jisung knows that Jaemin cooks for Donghyuck when he’s upset with his job, that Donghyuck goes out of his way to smother Jaemin in attention whenever he’s feeling down. The way they all care for each other – that’s love.
But love is also, in Jisung’s mind, a gamble. A game of risk that everyone plays to win, while trying their best not to lose. Mark’s unrequited crush on Donghyuck in college had almost been devastating. It took the two of them and the larger friend group months to recover. When Jaemin broke up with his college boyfriend, a Chinese exchange student named Yangyang, he had never really been the same. They hadn’t broken up because of a lack of love – just the circumstances – and Yangyang had taken a piece of Jaemin’s heart with him when he went back home.
His friends tease him for being too awkward to date, but the truth is this – Jisung isn’t that worried about being awkward. He’s been awkward his whole life. It’s his natural state. The actual problem was that Jisung has always been too scared to play, out of fear that he might lose.
His parents divorced when Jisung was in college. It had been quite the shock, in all honesty. For Jisung’s entire childhood – his entire life, really – his parents had shaped his definition of love. His mother told him how seriously she took their wedding vows. His father told Jisung how important it was to take care of family. He remembered quiet weekend mornings as his parents played music in the kitchen and danced together, laughter bouncing off the walls and filling their home with light. He remembered his father caring for his mother when she got sick, remembered his mother going out of his way to buy his father flowers for his birthday, for father’s day, sometimes for no reason at all – just because so many men never got flowers, and she wanted to do it for him. When they sat him down and told him they were going their separate ways, Jisung had been shell-shocked.
“It’s nobody’s fault,” they’d assured him. “We just don’t fit anymore. We’ve changed too much.”
They said it with comforting voices, breaking the news to him gently, assuring him he did nothing wrong. Suddenly, his dad was moving out, his mom was making plans to sell the house and move back to her hometown, and Jisung couldn’t understand where it had all gone wrong. How had they been on a winning streak for so long, only to lose it all in the end?
Jisung stood in his childhood home, the rooms completely, eerily empty, helping his mother move boxes into her car, and thought that this is what gamblers meant when they talked about the danger of putting all your cards on the table. When the chips are down, it’s easy to get scared and fold.
But with Sion, Jisung looks at him as he laughs, and wonders.
He thinks that with him, he might have hit the jackpot.
══════ DAY SIX ══════
Friday rolls around, and Jisung has plans to go out to karaoke with his own friends. He asks if Sion likes karaoke, and when he responds with a rather enthusiastic yes, Jisung invites Sion to come with. He met Sion’s friends, so it seems only fair that he return the favor, as much as the concept of Sion meeting Jaemin, Donghyuck, and Chenle terrifies him.
The night starts out great – Jisung only has to text the group chat seven times reminding them to be normal. Sion is nervous at first, but Mark invites him to sit between him and Renjun while Donghyuck plies him with drinks. Jaemin plays ballad after ballad after ballad, forcing the mic into Sion’s hands and applauding enthusiastically every time Sion sings.
Jisung is smiling, watching Sion sing a ballad with Donghyuck, when Chenle leans over and says into his ear, “He’s really great, Jisung. Seriously.”
Jisung glows, letting a pleased smile slip over his face. “I know, right?” Chenle grimaces.
“Okay, gross. Keep all your sappy, lovesick energy to yourself.”
“No,” Jisung huffs, crossing his arms. “I put up with you and Jeno during your honeymoon stage, you can deal with me literally just agreeing with you that Sion is great. I didn’t even say anything nasty, you drama queen.” Chenle rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything else, because Jisung is absolutely right about how obnoxious he and Jeno were when they first got together.
Seriously, Jisung needs eye bleach.
In any case, Sion warms up quickly, laughing along with the lively conversation and getting to know each of Jisung’s friends. When he excuses himself to the bathroom, there’s a moment of silence as the door clicks shut behind him, and then Jisung’s friends are launching themselves at him, cheering and hugging him.
“Oh my god, please stop,” Jisung says weakly after a few minutes of supportive babbling, but Mark just hugs him tighter around the waist. Donghyuck’s got him in a headlock and is rubbing his knuckles into the top of Jisung’s head, no doubt messing up his hair. The others have returned to the couch – Chenle is now slow clapping, Jaemin is leaning back in his seat and grinning like the cat that got the cream, and Jeno and Renjun’s faces are adorned with quietly pleased smiles.
“He’s awesome, Jisung,” Mark says, voice uncomfortably sincere. “He’s super nice, and I can tell he likes you a lot. We’re just happy for you, dude.”
“Thanks,” Jisung says, flushing red as he struggles to extricate his arms from Mark’s in order to pat him awkwardly on the back.
“Yeah! Go Jisung!” Donghyuck says, finally releasing him and flopping down onto the couch beside Jaemin, who pulls him into his side. Jisung sees Jaemin’s wicked grin soften for a moment as he looks down at Donghyuck, before looking back up at Jisung and pasting it back on, even more predatory than before.
“You know Jisung, I didn’t think you had it in you,” Jaemin says, shaking his head fondly. “I would never have thought you could get a random guy I picked out for you in a bar to date you for real. But you know what, I concede. You win the bet.”
“Oh.”
Jisung whirls around and sees Sion standing in the doorway, face horribly blank. He must have just come back into the room, but none of them had heard the door open, thanks to the loud music playing over the speakers.
It’s beyond obvious that he heard everything Jaemin said, and he’s drawn the obvious conclusion – that this was all just a bet to Jisung, some kind of inside joke with his friends – though that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
“Sion,” Jisung begins, desperate – but Sion is already grabbing his coat from the couch.
“Thank you all for welcoming me,” Sion says, perfectly polite, though Jisung can hear the strain in his voice, the half-concealed hurt. “I had a lot of fun, but I have to go. I promised my friends I’d meet them for dinner.”
“Sion, wait, please –” Jisung reaches out for Sion’s sleeve, but he just gently pulls his arm away until the fabric is slipping through Jisung’s fingers, refusing to meet Jisung’s eyes.
“Sion, please don’t blame Jisung for my thoughtless words,” Jaemin interjects, all of his teasing demeanor gone, replaced with sincere worry and regret. “I assure you, it isn’t what you think. ”
Sion swallows, and forces a smile. “I’m sure.” He bows respectfully, and moves towards the door. “Like I said. Thank you for having me.”
He disappears through the door, vanishing from sight, and Jisung collapses back onto the couch, burying his face in his hands. He hears his friends gathering around him, rubbing his back and murmuring soft words of comfort, Jaemin apologizing over and over again, but he tunes it all out.
All he could think about was himself, the chips all down, with a hand full of aces, still somehow managing to lose.
══════ DAYS SEVEN AND EIGHT ══════
Jisung texts Sion that night, asking for a chance to meet up and explain, if Sion will allow it. If not, he completely understands, and apologizes. After that, he closes their text message thread and promises himself that he’ll respect Sion’s space and not text him anymore. It’s up to Sion if he wants to see him again or not.
That doesn’t stop Jisung from checking his texts constantly, though.
Every time his phone buzzes, he practically launches himself across the room to pick it up and check if the message is from Sion, and every time he’s disappointed. More often than not, it’s the group chat, or one of his friends messaging separately to check in on him. Jaemin has apologized no less than twenty-five times and counting, the guilt clearly eating him alive despite Jisung telling him over and over again that it isn’t his fault.
Almost two full days pass with no word from Sion, and Jisung is starting to give up hope. On his bedside table, his phone dings.
He flips it over, not really expecting anything after two days of radio silence, to see Sion’s name on his home screen. Jisung sits up straight and unlocks his phone, cautious hope beginning to bleed into his chest.
hi, jisung. sorry for taking so long to respond. Sion sends a sheepish emoji before continuing. i think i just needed a second. i really like you, but i was pretty hurt by what your friend implied. i’m more than willing to hear you out. should we get lunch tomorrow?
Jisung heaves a sigh of relief, clutching his chest. He texts back.
don’t be sorry for feeling hurt. what you overheard sounds awful out of context. Jisung adds a reassuring hug emoji before continuing, to illustrate his point. lunch sounds great. you can pick the place, i’ll pay. whatever you want.
Jisung hesitates, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth, as his finger hovers over the keyboard, uncertain. But he makes the decision to tap, adding a heart at the end of his message before he sends it.
Sion replies with his own heart and an address, and Jisung smiles.
see you there!
══════ DAY NINE ══════
They meet at a café that Sion wants to try, one with nice reviews, and sit down across from each other with a cup of hot chocolate each and a plate of sweet treats to share on the table between them.
Sion listens patiently as Jisung explains everything – explains that he has always been the odd man out in his friend group, the outrageous claim he’d made at the bar that night. He explains that despite calling it a bet, there had never been any money or other prizes on the line – just his own pride. Explains that in all honesty, he had stopped thinking about the bet by the time the night was over, that he’s just lucky to have met Sion.
“I didn’t go out with you to prove a point,” Jisung says sincerely. “I went out with you because you’re beautiful and kind and laugh so easily. I really like you, and I want to see where this goes.”
“I see,” Sion says neutrally, as he snaps a cookie in half. He bites into it and grimaces, looking down at it. “Sorry, this is weirdly dry.” He hands the other half to Jisung to try, and when Jisung eats it, he tries not to wince. It feels like his mouth is full of dust.
“I see what you mean,” Jisung says, clearing his throat. He takes a sip of his hot chocolate, only to find that it’s gone cold in the time since he’s been talking. Damn. "I don't know if this place deserved all those five star reviews.”
“I'm afraid you're right,” Sion says, a tiny furrow between his brows. He continues, “But back to what I was saying. Honestly, Jisung, I’d half forgiven you already,” Sion says, a gentle smile on his face. “I was hurt by what Jaemin said because I thought it meant that what we had was just a joke to you. It made me feel like I was the only one invested in this,” he says, gesturing between the two of them.
“No, it isn’t just you,” Jisung says, shaking his head frantically.
“Good,” Sion says, smile widening, the tips of his ears flushed pink as he dips his head shyly. “I already care for you a lot, so I’m glad you feel the same.”
“I do,” Jisung assures him. “Seriously. In fact, I have a gift for you.”
“Oh, really?” Sion blinks, surprised, pausing with his mug halfway to his lips. He lowers it, tilting his head to the side. “What is it?”
“Well, I figured even if you didn’t forgive me I could give them to you as a parting gift,” Jisung rambles, reaching into his pockets. “When we weren’t talking, I was missing you a lot and thinking about where we could go on our next date, and I sort of… well. I impulse bought these.”
Sion’s eyes widen as Jisung pulls out two tickets to tomorrow’s Kia Tigers playoff game against the LG Twins in Seoul.
“Oh my god, Jisung!” Sion gasps, putting his mug back down onto the table and grabbing the tickets to examine them, in disbelief. “Tickets to the Tigers game? They’re my favorite team!”
“I know,” Jisung says, leaning back in his seat, pleased. “You mentioned it the day we went to play baseball. You also mentioned that you haven’t ever been to a game.”
“Yeah, because the tickets are expensive!” Sion says. His eyes widen suddenly, and he fixes Jisung with a firm look. “Park Jisung. Tell me you didn’t spend a ton of money on these tickets.”
“I didn’t!” Jisung promises, raising his hands in surrender. “Chenle works for the Korean Basketball League, and he knows a guy over at the Korean Baseball League, who helped him get some tickets for us for cheap. It was a great deal, seriously.”
“Okay, good,” Sion says, clearly relieved. A smile begins to spread across his face. “I can’t believe we’re going to the game tomorrow. What the hell, Park Jisung. You’re going to ruin me for other people forever.”
“Well,” Jisung says, flushing. “Maybe that’s the plan.”
Sion stares at him from across the table for a moment, and huffs out a laugh.
“God. You’re something else, you know that?” His voice is filled with fond wonder as he stands, pulling Jisung out of his seat and into a hug. “Thank you.”
Jisung feels his heart flutter like a bird in a birdcage, desperate to fly directly into Sion’s open arms. He tucks his head into Sion’s shoulder, hugging him tight.
“Of course.”
══════ DAY TEN ══════
Jisung has never attended a baseball game before, but luckily he has Sion, who, despite also never having attended a baseball game before, has been preparing for this day his entire life.
Sion arrives at Jisung’s apartment several hours early and shoves a jersey Jisung’s way, insisting he change into it. They get ready together, and Sion babbles excitedly the whole time about his favorite players, how cute the team’s mascot is, what their chances are of winning the championship this year. Jisung, in all honesty, doesn’t know enough about baseball – he used to be a fan, but he’d stopped sometime in college. Still, he listens intently to Sion, and tries his best to absorb as much of what he’s saying as possible.
They head to the stadium, armed with cheering sticks and bedecked in merchandise, Sion practically vibrating in excitement at Jisung’s side. They find their seats – they have a pretty decent view, up and to the right of home plate – and proceed to spend several hours cheering when the Tigers score, booing when the other team stops them, screaming in excitement as the game gets more and more intense with each subsequent inning.
Sometime during the eighth inning, Jisung is busy staring fondly at Sion, ignoring the game entirely, when Sion looks over at him, eyes bright, and laughs, pointing at the jumbotron. “Look!”
Jisung snaps out of it, staring at the screen, and sees the two of them on the big screen, flushed and laughing and looking so happy together. There, on the bottom of the screen, plain as day, are five-foot-high bright pink letters that read KISS CAM, surrounded by love hearts.
Jisung blushes to the roots of his hair, and Sion laughs harder. “Oh my god, you’re adorable.”
“No, you,” Jisung mumbles, hiding his face in his hands.
Sion coos, and pulls Jisung’s hands away from his face, reaching a hand up to cup his cheek. “Are you okay with this?”
“More than okay,” Jisung says, and Sion smiles, leans forward, and kisses him.
The crowd erupts around them as Jisung melts into the kiss, heart warm, smile fixed permanently on his face.
His first time trying to date, and he ended up with Sion. Despite his fear, Jisung had played, trying his best not to lose – but he could have never predicted Sion, with his laughter and his kindness and his beauty. Talk about a win.
“How’d I end up with you?” Jisung whispers when they part, quietly pleased. Sion grins, smile widening until Jisung can see all his perfect, white teeth.
“Beginner’s luck?”
Jisung laughs, and laughs, and laughs.
“Just the luck of the draw, huh?”
“Yep,” Sion says. “You played all your cards just right.”
“I hit the jackpot,” Jisung breathes, and pulls him closer. Sion is radiant like this, light with enthusiasm and overflowing with joy and Jisung watches him, all smiles, and thinks, I hope we can be together for a long time.