Archive of Our Own

"What's your ideal type?" Zhang Hao asks on a random Wednesday afternoon, flopping down next to Matthew on their couch, who is just beginning to nod off while sitting up.

Matthew startles a laugh as his eyes fly open, clearly not expecting that question, "M-my ideal type? Why?" He asks suspiciously, raising an eyebrow as his eyes sleepily settle on the elder.

Hao purses his lips in a pout, "I was just curious! I know you dated around when you used to live in Canada. Don't you miss it?"

Matthew ponders this, "I mean, not really? I think I'm happy with how my life is right now anyway." He eyes Hao meaningfully before he continues, "I mean, like, none of my relationships ever worked out."

"So you really don't have an ideal type?" Hao presses the issue.

"I don't think so? I mean… I've never really… thought about it? Like if there's a connection and mutual interest or whatever, that's cool, but I don't think any of the people I've dated in the past had anything in common."

"But if you had the chance to date again, would you?"

Matthew shrugs in response, "What the hell, sure."

Hao nods as if he was waiting to hear that answer.

Matthew huffs out a laugh and shakes his head in bewilderment. Hao always asks the most random questions. "Are you happy now?" He asks.

"Eh."

Matthew rolls his eyes playfully, "I mean, like, whatever happens, happens. You know?"

"I guess so."

Satisfied that the conversation is over, Matthew reaches for the remote and flicks to a random channel. "That drama you were enthusing about looking forward to on your live earlier is finally airing tonight. Wanna watch it together?"

"Sure." Hao grabs a pillow and holds it against his chest, pushing up his bulky frames, and prepares to lock in for the rest of the night.

They're mostly silent when watching the show, aside from Hao's occasional commentary and when the lead share a steamy kiss that has Matthew blushing, Hao excitedly squeals and turns to him, "Don't you want a love like that?" His eyes shine.

Matthew clears his throat and coughs, "I mean I guess? I don't really know..."

Hao grins, "I'll help you."

"So then I told him I'm not interested and…"  

Zhang Hao tunes Ricky out and spaces out as he's taking a sip from his matcha latte.

"–ao. Zhang Hao!" Jiwoong's voice brings him out of his thoughts.

"H-huh?" Hao snaps his head up and realizes his friends are giving him strange looks. "Oh, hyung! What's up?" He says, trying to act as though he was paying attention the entire time and not thinking about a million different things at once.

"Are you sure you're okay? You've been spacing out an awful lot today…" Gunwook asks, hesitation painting his features. His friends chime in, clearly in joint agreement.

"Mm, I'm fine." Hao says dismissively, "I was just thinking…"

"Thinking…" Taerae mockingly mimics Hao's voice, never one to let him get away with anything, "About?"

Hao sighs, "Matthew."

"Oh? Your hot roommate?" Gyuvin jumps in, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Shut up! He's a baby, okay?" Hao jumps in defensively.

"A baby," Ricky snorts, "Ge, that's a grown ass man."

Hao pouts but says nothing. He can't help but feel just a little protective over the younger, despite only having a two year age difference between them. 

Jiwoong thankfully doesn't dwell on it and moves the conversation along, "So, what about him?"

Hao groans, "I have to find him a boyfriend."

"You have to find him a boyfriend?" Hanbin teases, "Or did you really just take it upon yourself to play cupid?" His friends know him a bit too well.  

Hao chucks a fry at him and feels a little frustrated when Hanbin plucks it out of thin air and sticks his tongue out at him childishly before chewing on his stolen fry. 

Hao sighs again like the weight of the world is on his shoulders, "Well, I guess it's a bit of both." He bemoans, "He hasn't dated since he permanently moved here from Canada and I'm worried about him! I mean, it's so clear that he's a lot happier when he's dating and he's such a catch! I don't understand why he's not in a happy relationship right now I guess."

Jiwoong hums, "But by your standard, shouldn't you also be dating then? You're always raving about some couple from those BLs you watch and how much you want to be in their shoes, but you're still single."

Hao acts like he's just been shot. "Wow, hyung really hates me, huh." Everyone laughs while Jiwoong just raises an eyebrow.

And then it hits him. He gasps, "Wait, you guys are totally his type!" Unsure choruses of 'I am?' go around the table but Hao ignores them and powers through, "What if you guys were to try and go on one date with Matthew and see what you think?"

Jiwoong shrugs, "Sure, why not." His friends echo similar sentiments with Gyuvin saying, "What's the worst that could happen?"  

Hao leans forward excitedly with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, with one of what he thinks is one of Matthew's most flattering photos pulled up on his phone. He dangles his phone in front of their faces like one would dangle a carrot in front of a horse watching his friends reactions as they suddenly seem more alert, "So, who wants to go first?"

Gunwook raises his hand, "Meeee!"

"Jie," Matthew whines as Hao fusses over him before he leaves their shared apartment.

Hao freezes and feels like he's buffering, flushing slightly, "Oh my god, I told you it's ge!" He squeaks then steps back to admire his handiwork.

Matthew rolls his eyes, "Whatever. Anyway, hyung. Don't you think this is a bit too much?" He says in an exasperated tone, "I'm literally just meeting up with one of your friends, but you're making me feel like I'm going to senior prom or something. Why did you make me wear a suit?"

Hao shakes his head as he notices a rumple in Matthew's suit from his frantic hand movements and rushes over to smoothen down the wrinkle, "Making a good first impression is key! You'll thank me later!" He lectures.

And Matthew is currently eating his words. His jaw almost drops to the floor when his taxi pulls up to what must be the world's most expensive looking restaurant. He wants to text the older to ask if he's sure he has the right address, but it's clearly the right place, the name on the sign identical to the one Hao had sent him over text. 

After paying the kind driver, he gets out of the vehicle on shaky legs as he tries to will his jelly legs to move faster. He's already five minutes late. He feels a little out of place despite being dressed so well, calm jazz music wafting softly through the speakers being the opposite of how he feels right now as he frantically scans the restaurant looking for a person with the description Hao had texted him.

Some servers give him weird looks, but none approaching him, clearly not wanting to attend to him until one politely comes up to him with a smile. Matthew's eyes dart to his name tag: Soobin and feels even more flustered, having to crane his neck to look up at him. "Good evening, sir." He greets with a slight smile. Holy shit, he has dimples. What the fuck. Matthew can feel his knees buckle slightly at how handsome he is. "Can I help you at all? Is there anyone you're looking or waiting for?" He asks gently.

"U-um." Matthew replies unintelligently, "Yes! I’m meeting an um. Friend! A guy about my age, a bit taller than me? Purple hair?"

Soobin nods, "Follow me." He takes off briskly and Matthew is almost running to catch up. He can't help but admire his long legs and wishes he had Soobin's height, but is quickly snapped out of it when he nearly trips and falls. He's soon brought over to a nicely decorated table, crushed rose petals scattered and pretty heart shaped candles and when his eyes land on the purple haired stranger, he nearly faints.

Thankfully Soobin catches him before he keels over and dies, trying not to laugh as he physically helps him into the chair and gives a slight bow before walking away. 

The stranger looks up and gives him a warm smile as he puts his phone away, that almost feels blinding as his pearly whites flash at him. "Hi, it's so good to meet you. I'm Gunwook. Hao hyung told me a lot about you." He sticks out a hand and Matthew stares before realizing he's supposed to shake it, brain feeling like mush as he stiffly shakes it. He can't help but realize how perfectly their hands fit.

"N-nice to meet you too, I'm Matthew." Gunwook nods and they stare at each other for a bit, "Wait, Hao hyung talked about me?"  

Gunwook nods, "Yeah, he talked about how good of a friend you are! He really seems to know a lot about you and care for you a lot."

Matthew smiles and nods, not really knowing what else to say. Thankfully, he doesn't have to wait for long because Soobin comes back with a menu for the two of them before walking away again. Not sure what else to talk about or how else to carry on the conversation, Matthew picks up one of the menus and quickly skims over the menu. 

His eyes nearly reach his forehead when he sees some of the starting prices, but he notices that most of the menu is surprisingly absent of prices. Sweat beads on his eyebrows as he turns ghostly white. It must be extremely evident the way Gunwook whispers to him, "Don't worry, I'll take care of the bill, so just order whatever you want." Matthew relaxes slightly, although he can't help but be curious about just what this guy who looks to be a little younger than him must do to be able to afford a place like this without batting an eyelash.

Matthew looks up with a tight smile and shakily puts the menu down, before letting out an equally shaky exhale as he bravely looks up to see Gunwook giving him a soft smile. Matthew can't help but visibly relax, his presence just feels grounding somehow. 

"So," Gunwook starts, "What kinda qualities do you like that stand out the most to you when it comes to a person?" He gives Matthew an earnest smile and leans in slightly.

Matthew hums, "I guess I like someone who can respect my boundaries, is always looking out for me and knows me well."

Gunwook nods with a knowing smirk, "Oh, I'm sure."

Matthew doesn't get to ask what exactly he means by that because Soobin is back to ask what they'd like to order. Matthew helplessly shrugs at Gunwook who nods and picks the menu back up, reading out and pointing to dishes Matthew wouldn't be able to pronounce even if he tried. 

Soobin nods as he attentively scribbles down the names before scooping up their menus in another hand and briskly walking away. Matthew again can't help but watch him go, completely forgetting about their conversation.

After getting over their initial awkwardness, Matthew finds that Gunwook is surprisingly extremely easy to talk to and banter flows well between them. Their food soon comes and Matthew compliments Gunwook's taste, the food really does look delicious and tastes delicious too. 

He lets out an embarrassingly loud moan to which Gunwook laughs and teases him over, but Matthew can't get mad at him, no matter how cheeky he is. Maybe he should've been a little more miffed considering Gunwook was younger than him and usually being teased by people younger than him would grind his gears a little, but with Gunwook, he genuinely doesn't mind for some reason. 

The night soon comes to an end, quicker than Matthew would've liked and he can't help but feel a light pang considering this is the most fun he's had in a long time outside Zhang Hao, despite them not really hanging out that often even though they were close roommates and someone he considered his best friend.

Gunwook carefully parks his car in front of Matthew's apartment complex before turning off the engine and turning to Matthew with a shy smile, "I had fun tonight," He says eagerly.

"Me too!" Matthew returns the energy just as enthusiastically.

"We should hang out again sometime, hyung. I think you'd be a good friend to have and I've been needing a gym buddy." Gunwook says with a grin. Matthew can't help but feel a little hurt, the word 'friend' feeling more emphasized in his head than how it had been originally said. He thought the date (this was a date, right? ) had been going well, but he didn't want to be forward and ask for that. 

Matthew's smile dims, wavering like a flickering light bulb. "Mmm, let's exchange Kakaotalks."

After doing so, Gunwook opens the car door and gets out before rushing around to open the door for Matthew on his side to which he can't help but giggle at, although he still feels slightly hurt. 

"It was really nice to meet you, hyung. Let's keep in touch, for sure. I'd love to see you more often." Gunwook says before pulling Matthew in for a light hug before quickly releasing him. Matthew nods and they part ways. 

He watches Gunwook drive off before he sighs and trudges over to the elevator. On the way up, he can't help but feel a little sad thinking of the turn of events, but by the time he’s reaching his floor, he tries to school his expression knowing Hao would be nosy and interrogate him about how the date went. Hao could be quite protective over him, and he didn't want him to think his friend was a cause of concern. 

He gets out his key and holds his breath as he turns his key in the door and pushes the door open. He breathes a sigh of relief when Hao isn't just standing by the door and think he's free when suddenly-

"How was the date?" He hears, causing him to scream and nearly jump 20ft in the air. He turns to see Zhang Hao scarily close to him.

"I-it was good," Matthew chokes out and Hao nods, stepping back.

"That's good. You're probably tired. You should go to sleep,"

Matthew feels like he got off surprisingly easy, but he's not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He puts his keys in the bowl by the door and trudges back to his room, flopping down on his bed and just thinking about what had transpired that day.

Matthew is busy studying a few days later, immersed in his textbooks when he hears a knock on his doorframe. He looks over and grins when he sees it's Zhang Hao who's leaning against his doorframe with his arms crossed, looking at him with a fond expression. "Oh, Hao hyung! What's up?" He asks excitedly.

Hao pushes himself off the doorframe and wanders further into his room. "Are you doing anything after this?" He asks, peering over nosily at Matthew's untidy notes scattered all over his desk. He tuts lightly at his messiness but Matthew either doesn't hear or ignores him.

"Nope. Why, what's up?"

"Ta-da!~" Hao pulls an arm from behind his back which holds a strip of token tickets and two movie tickets to see Wicked, "I got you these!" He thrusts them into Matthew's hands.

Matthew smiles, although a little confused. "Thank you? Um. What do I do with these, though?"

"You should call up Gyuvin and go to the local fair with him. And then you can go and see that one movie with him! You've been wanting to go, right? I made sure you'd have plenty of time to spend at both. Plus you can even bond with Gyuvin over the movie! Isn't it the perfect date?" Hao gushes.

Matthew laughs, "Sure, hyung."

"Oh, let me send you Gyuvin's Kakaotalk! Good luck studying and have fun later, okay?"

Matthew gives him a thumbs up and watches Hao skip out of his room. It's not long before his phone buzzes with a text from the older.

After adding Gyuvin as a friend, Matthew spends an embarrassingly long amount of time typing and deleting a message to the younger before he just settles on a simple, 'hi! is this gyuvin? i'm matthew, zhang hao hyung gave me your kkt! hope you don't mind! :)'  

He puts his phone down, planning to go back to studying when his phone vibrates again and he scrambles to pick it back up.

gyubi 🦌: it is :)

gyubi 🦌: hi matthew hyung!!

Matthew can't help the smile that makes its way onto his face as he checks out his profile and scrolls through the slides displayed on his account. He has a lot of cute selfies displayed, as well as clumsily taken pictures of scenery that still have a charming picturesque kind of feeling to them. 

They talk for a little while before Matthew drops that he has 'spare' fair and movie tickets if Gyuvin wants to join him, to which he gets an enthusiastic confirmation. They're still texting back and forth as Matthew gets ready, him being a little slowed down by rushing to his phone every time his phone chimes with a text from Gyuvin, which has him metaphorically giddily kicking his feet, a small smile on his face as he types back a quick reply before putting his phone down and continuing to get ready. 

He spends a little more time on his outfit this time, wanting to make a good first impression and spraying a mix of different colognes on his outfit to make sure he smells fresh all day.

He styles his hair a little differently than he normally would and to complete the outfit decides on his metal rectangular frames. He grabs his trusty messenger bag and slings it over his head and walks over to his massive full length mirror, admiring himself as he smiles. He's interrupted by Hao knocking on his doorframe again, "Do you wanna be late again?" He teases lightly.

"Hyung!" Matthew turns around, immediately embarrassed as he flushes a bright pink, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." Hao replies ominously. He looks over at the clock in his room, "You should probably get going soon."

Matthew checks his watch and curses, "Gotta run! Love you! Don't wait up!" He calls as dashes out, hugging him quickly before running out of their apartment, missing the way the apples of Hao's cheeks are now dusted with a light flush. 

Hao smacks his cheeks which are now heating up, "Get yourself together, he always says that! It doesn't mean anything!"

Unfortunately, Matthew realizes that it's a little too late to go to the fair now, so he makes his way to the movie theatres instead. He buys a massive popcorn for him and Gyuvin to share and a massive cup of mango bubble tea with popping strawberry balls for himself and he sits and waits. And waits... And waits. He's sure an hour or two must've gone by now. He checks the ticket which reads 7 pm and checks his phone which now reads 9 pm. No text from Gyuvin either, weird. He gets a strange sinking feeling that makes his skin crawl as his eyebrows furrow in confusion.

Did Gyuvin not want to go on that date after all and was too nice to say so? He watches as couples walk past, chatting away with their massive cups of popcorn and drinks, parents with their small children who wave at him. He forces a smile on his face and waves back, noticing the pitying looks the parents give him. 

He's never felt this embarrassed in his life, he feels like everyone seems to know he got stood up and wishes he could just hide away, his popcorn looking miserable now that it's still completely full. He takes one piece in his hand and chews, wincing at the taste. 

Now that it's cold, it just doesn't taste good anymore. He's sure this is what broken dreams taste like. Just when he's about to utterly give up and leave, he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket. He sighs and takes it out, thinking it's probably Hao calling to find out how the date went, but to his surprise, it's Gyuvin. He takes a sharp breath in and counts to ten in his head before he picks up, so he doesn't completely blow up on the near stranger.

Forcing a smile onto his face and trying to sound as cheerful as he can, he swipes the call button right and places his phone on his ear. "Oh, Gyuvinie! What's up?" He answers cheerfully.

He hears loud pants before Gyuvin finally speaks, "Matthew hyung! I am so, so, sorry. I just got out of surgery and-"

Matthew sits up straight, "Surgery?" He near yells, "What's going on? Are you okay? What happened?"

"Oh my god, hyung. Not like that! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you. Basically, I work as a surgeon in a general hospital. It was my day off, but I got called at the last minute. It was just supposed to be a quick surgery, but there were some complications so I lost track of time and I thought I'd call you. I really didn't mean for this to happen, I swear. I don't want you to have a bad first impression of me."

Matthew feels his heart soften hearing his genuine sorrow, "Hey, it's okay. Don't worry. Focus on recovering first."

"Can I make it up to you? Like can we meet another day or something? I feel so bad and I was really looking forward to meeting you, tonight. I really didn't mean for this to happen, Again, I am so, so, so, sorry Mashu hyung."

"Yeah, sure. Don't sweat, man."

Gyuvin apologizes profusely a few more times before the call ends and Matthew sighs as he leans back, running a hand through his hair. His phone chimes again before he puts it back in his pocket.

짱하오형🩷: matthewww!!! ~~ how was the date? are you coming home now or staying out? 🥰

Instead of typing out a long winded response, he just presses call instead. Hao picks up almost immediately.

"Matthew! I wasn't expecting you to call so soon! Is everything okay? Is Gyuvinie still there? Was the date good?" Matthew can't help but smile at his hyung's fussing.

"Ah. Gyuvin actually never turned up, haha."

"What?!" Zhang Hao shrieks so loudly that it hurts his ears. He winces as he takes the phone away from his ear, convinced he's gotten the initial shock out of his system. "What do you mean he didn't turn up? He just stood you up without saying anything?! How dare he… That brat! I raised him better than this! I can't believe him! Don't worry, I'll see him tomorrow and give him a piece of my mind. What do you think the best course of punishment should be? Should I hang him from his boxers on a clothing line? Make him carry heavy textbooks on his head for an hour while running on a treadmill? Or-" Matthew can't help the laugh that startles out of him at the sheer ridiculousness of Hao's hypothetical punishments, "You laughed." Hao says with a smile in his voice.

"Yeah. But it's really okay, hyung. You don't have to do any of that. He called, said the hospital called him in for an emergency and just got out of performing surgery, so we rescheduled."

"Shame. I was really looking forward to punishing him," Hao says wistfully, "So where are you now?"

"I'm still at the movie theatre, haha."

"Heol!" He hears some crashing and banging. He's also sure he heard a cat yowl? But maybe he's hallucinating now.

"Hyung! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll be right there. Wait for me, okay?” 

Matthew doesn't have to wait long, surprisingly. He smiles as he sees Zhang Hao run into the movie theatre lobby, looking around frantically for Matthew before he spots him and waves, dashing over. 

Despite the short notice, Hao still looks as good as ever, fake metal frames sitting naturally on his face as he takes off his overhead headphones  putting them around his neck. He then unzips his jersey, placing it on the back of a chair. "Stay here, I'll get everything sorted, okay?" He grabs Matthew's massive bag of popcorn and plucks the movie tickets from his hand, marching over to the counter. 

Matthew smiles and shakes his head in amusement, taking out his phone to scroll and leaving the older man to work his magic. He looks up just as Hao is marching back over triumphantly with two massive popcorn cups and somehow carrying two new drinks for the two of them. 

"Piece of cake!" He says as he dumps everything on the table. "They're no match for me." He says proudly as he falls into the chair opposite Matthew.

"What happened?" Matthew asks to humor him.

"Let's just say... I worked some of my magic," Hao says with a wink tapping his nose with a manicured finger. "There's no reason why you shouldn't be able watch the movie that I paid for you and Gyuvin to see, so we're watching it. Don't worry. I won't let your tickets go to waste." He checks the tickets again, scanning the information before he puts it down to continue, "Thankfully they still had a few more screenings tonight and we have more than enough time to get there, so don't stress."

Matthew smiles earnestly, "Thank you, Hao hyung. You're the best."

Hao flushes a little, "Of course, there's nothing I wouldn't do to make you happy," He says with an awkward cough. Matthew can't help but smile even harder at that, eyes crinkling into crescents. How could he be so cute even now?   

They get into the screening early, Hao seeming to have gotten them the best seats in the house, right at the back and ones that would usually cost considerably more, but Hao tells him they gave it to them complimentary. They get comfortable and it's not long before the adverts start. They talk quietly as movie trailers start and thankfully it’s not long before the actual movie starts. 

Throughout it though, Matthew can't help but study and admire Hao's side profile. Laughing when he laughs and pretending he's just as immersed when Hao hits him a little too hard when he laughs, accidentally spilling some popcorn and asking if Matthew saw the funny scene. Matthew tries to pay a bit more attention to the movie and smiles to himself. Despite the day ending a little roughly, he's glad he has Hao to make it better. He doesn't notice that Hao seems to also be studying him and looking at him because he's now actually invested in the movie.

A few days later, Matthew has just started falling asleep after studying hard for an exam when his phone chimes from next to him. Sleepily, he feels around for his phone and grips it bringing it to his face and blinking the sleep out of his eyes, wincing at how bright his screen is and immediately turning the brightness down in settings. He immediately feels more awake when he sees who the text is from.

짱하오형🩷: get up loser, we're going out tonight 🥰

He doesn't even think before he presses the call button on his contact. 

"Oh, Matthew! What's up?" He can already hear the smile in the older’s voice the moment he picks up.

"I got your text," Matthew starts with a sleepy groan, "You woke me up."

"Oh, sorry." Zhang Hao says, not sounding sorry at all.

"What do you mean we're going out tonight? What's happening?" Matthew rolls out of bed, disgruntled and nearly falling onto the hard wooden floor.

"You deserve a break from studying! We should go out to a party or something."

Matthew is now completely awake. A party? Hao is the last person who would ever want to go to a party! Matthew's tried and the guy's as stubborn as a rock. Content to just staying home, wearing his coziest and fluffiest pyjamas, wearing those fake metal frames that he's been kinda obsessed with lately (although they both know he doesn't need glasses), legs crossed butterfly style, holding a big cushion to his chest, wearing that cute Barbie headband Matthew gifted him a few Christmases ago, leaning forward intently to watch whatever BL he's obsessed with binging at the time and refusing to budge from the couch no much Matthew tries to convince him. 

"A party?" Matthew asks suspiciously, "That's unlike you, hyung. How many times have I tried to get you to come to a party with me and you decided your drama was more important than me?" He jokes.

He can already tell the other is rolling his eyes playfully at the accusation on the other end, "I'm not doing this for me, though. I'm doing this for you! I'll just... Be there, I guess."

Matthew hums, "Alright, but I don't trust you."

By the time Hao bursts into his room carrying a bunch of shopping bags and turning them upside down to dump all the new outfits on his bed, still on hangers. He then procures his makeup bag that's almost bursting at the seams with how packed it is, Matthew is now feeling even more suspicious. "…And this is just for you?" He questions, arms folded with a raised brow.

Hao laughs in his face, nearly smacking the life out of him when he hits his back, "You're so funny, Matthew! Of course not, silly! These are all for you."  

Matthew points at himself in shock, "They're for me? What do I need all these outfits for?” He asks in bewilderment. He looks at his bed now covered in clothes. He must have bought about 20~30 outfits in a single day alone. 

"You don't." Hao is already sorting through them expertly and placing different outfits against his body, chucking the ones out that he deems unsuitable for Matthew, "I'm helping you with your fashion sense."

"Huh?" Matthew is shut up by Hao tightening a top around his waist to check the fit of it before he shakes his head and steps back, turning back to the remaining outfits, "What's wrong with my fashion sense?" He accuses, pouting. "People always say I look good!"

Hao shakes his head, "Of course you do, that's non-debatable. Plus you have the face to pull off anything so that certainly helps." He remarks. "Here, try this." He hands Matthew an outfit and turns around to give him the privacy to change, "But I want you to really wow people tonight. You know?" He continues, "We need you to really stand out so people want to approach you."

Matthew sighs as he struggles to get the top over his head to pull down. He wrestles with it a bit before he manages to finally get it down, "But why would people need to approach me? You can turn around now by the way."

Hao whirls around and his eyes widen, "Oh this is the one. And don't you remember the plan?" Ah, so this is what tonight was really about. As expected, Zhang Hao already had ulterior motives.  

They arrive at Jackson Wang's party about two hours later, Matthew feeling a little out of his depth with the outfit Hao got him to wear. A near transparent crop top that shows off his midriff paired with a short distressed denim skirt. But he can admit Hao did his makeup really nicely.

As soon as they get into Jackson's pretty much mansion of a house, Hao is already peering over heads, while Matthew feels a little small and self conscious, feeling like he was a lamb that had accidentally stumbled into a den of wolves with all the eyes he can feel ogling and appraising him. 

"Who are you looking for?" Matthew yells in Hao's ear who startles, almost as if he forgot that he'd quite literally forced Matthew to come to a party with him tonight. This is how Hao probably would've felt if I'd been able to convince him to come to all the parties I've invited him to. He thinks. 

"Oh! Just my friends!" Hao yells back before he points, "They're over there! Let's go!" He says before grabbing two drinks, handing one to Matthew and dragging him forward, shouldering people out of the way with determination. They all move without protest, staring longingly after Hao who seems to be none the wiser.

Matthew feels a bit awkward as everyone turns to look at them but Hao smiles and waves, "Everyone this is my friend, Matthew! Everyone say, Hi Matthew," The people there smile warmly and greet Matthew with enthusiasm, making some of the apprehension and tension leave his body, as he awkwardly sits next to some guy who's already staring at him.

"Let's play some games!" Some guy announces which makes everyone cheer and raise their drinks in agreement.

They play truth or dare for a while until the energy dwindles and Hao mischievously suggests, "Let's play seven minutes in heaven!" This automatically raises the energy again.

Matthew feels his heart beat double time in his chest. He makes to get up, but the guy whose name he still is yet to get pulls him back down and Hao shoots him a meaningful look. Matthew gives him a helpless look and Hao gives him a stern look so he feels like has to stay and endure it. 

Hao gets an empty bottle seemingly from nowhere and places it in the middle, sitting on his calves as he spins it. Matthew hopes and prays that it doesn't land on him and for a few rounds, it doesn't, so he relaxes. He laughs easily at some of the unlucky pairs that get chosen, some clearly 'not being able to stand each other', but are the same people who don't want to be away from each other as soon as the closet opens. They slink away in shame, with the rest of them jeering at them. 

He relaxes even more, thinking luck is clearly on his side, when the bottle unfortunately finally lands on him. He looks into Hao's eyes, panicked while everyone cheers. "I wonder who you're going to get," Hao sings as he spins the bottle again.

Matthew prays with all his might that it lands on someone he knows or wouldn't mind kissing. But his luck has truly run out because it lands on a stoic looking stranger. The crowd cheers while the guy looks as uncomfortable as Matthew feels, or maybe it's just his face. He's not sure.

But one thing he did know was that the guy was a bit older than him and he was so good looking that Matthew felt like he should be charged for even laying eyes on him. 

Hao gestures his head to the closet a smirk on his lips while Matthew shakily gets up. The cheers start to feel like white noise as he and this stranger are forced into a closet together. Before it closes, Hao holds up his phone and shows the timer, "I'm setting it to ten minutes to be generous," He announces which everyone seems to love, "Don't go too crazy, or do. Whatever floats your boat." He says with a wink before closing it and locking the door. 

Matthew shakily exhales and moves back. He jumps when he hears the light flickering on and then the dark room is flooded with light. He breathes out a sigh of relief as he clutches his hands to his chest. He and the stranger (or more so the stranger) just stare at each other for a while.

Matthew isn't able to hold eye contact for too long, the stranger's eyes feeling too intense. So instead, his eyes dart around, taking in their surroundings. It's an awkward ten minutes of silence before the other person breaks it first, with five minutes left on the clock.

"So," The stranger starts with an amused chuckle, "You're Matthew, huh." He says matter-of-factly.

"Y-yeah. I mean," He straightens up, squaring out his shoulders as he defiantly stares the stranger in the face, although he looks a little bit like a duck with the way his lips naturally pout when he talks, "Yes, I am. And you are..?"

The stranger smirks as he folds his arms and leans back, observing Matthew, "I'm Kim Jiwoong." He shakes his head laughing to himself, "Hao really had it all planned out, I've gotta hand it to him."

"You… You know Hao hyung?"

"Of course. And I know all about his little plan to get you a boyfriend." 

Matthew flushes and puts his head in his (tiny) hands, "Oh my god… This is so embarrassing." He whines.

"Why? I think it's quite cute and endearing," He teases, "You're cute, Matthew."

Before Matthew can get a word in, he feels lips on his cheek and is stunned when Jiwoong shoots him a meaningful look, "I could tell you didn't really want to do this," He whispers. Then the door opens and Jiwoong walks out first with a triumphant smile to the sound of cheering, leaving a stunned Matthew to stand and stare after him in amazement. 

"Matthew, don't just stand there!" Hao whines dragging him out and into a quiet corner outside, "So, how was it? Was it steamy and everything you'd hoped for?" He waggles his brows.

"Hyung! Stop! It wasn't like that!" Matthew whines, "Nothing happened."

Hao tilts his head in confusion, "What do you mean 'nothing happened?' You guys were in there for fifteen minutes… The timer literally went off and you guys weren't coming out, so we gave you two an extra five minutes…" He trails off, skeptical.

Matthew scratches the back of his neck and shrugs helplessly, "Seriously. Nothing happened. We literally just talked, I promise. That's it."

Hao points an accusatory finger, "Really? You don't have to lie to me, you know? You can literally just tell me if something happened, I won't be mad. I wanted this to happen for you after all."

"I swear, we really just talked."

"Then why were you so flushed when I opened the door and he left?"

"He just… Kissed my cheek unexpectedly and the door opened. But I swear, we really didn't kiss, at least, not like that." He shudders.

"That was still a kiss, though," Zhang Hao pouts, "I think cheek kisses are more romantic anyway," He announces, taking on a longing far away look.

Matthew is grocery shopping a few days later, trying his best to stick to the list Hao had texted him before he left the house, when he realizes the item he needs is on the highest shelf. At times like this, he really does wish he was taller, cursing his short height and sighing before jumping Elon Musk style to try and grab washing up liquid.

He stops his pathetic attempts when he hears someone stifling their laugh and he whirls around, ready to give them a piece of his mind but freezes when he sees Jiwoong. "J-Jiwoon hyung." He breathes. Jiwoong nods at him in greeting, already smirking before it drops. Matthew furrows his eyebrows in confusion and he notices that he seems to be yelling at him to move. 

He turns slowly and sees items starting to fall and wants to move, but his feet feel like they're super glued to the floor. He winces and braces himself, prepared for the impact, but it never comes.

Matthew blinks his eyes open and realizes he’s lying in Jiwoong's arms. He flushes a deep pink from head to toe. How embarrassing, he thinks.

If this was a drama, he's sure that it would be about now when The Starlight is Falling OST would start up with the signature 'shalalalala', coupled with a falling flower overlay.  

The pair continue to blink at each other for a while, just staring in silence before someone clears their throat. It feels like a record scratches when they turn to look at the intruder, feeling like a pair of deer caught in a car's bright headlights. "Hey, I'm really sorry to interrupt, but can you guys… Pleaseeeee do this somewhere else?" His name tag reads 'Mark Lee'.

They look at each other and part quickly, Jiwoong helping Matthew to stand up and who quietly thanks him. "Thank you," Mark says, starting to put things back. He talks into his walkie talkie, "Hey, yeah I need a clean up on aisle six?" He gives them a look which makes them put their tails between their legs. The pair are still standing there watching the guy so he turns, "Can I... Help you guys?" He holds up washing up liquid that surprisingly hasn't burst from the pile of other things that had fallen on top of it. "Do either of y'all need one of these?"

Matthew flushes and steps forward, "Yeah, thanks man. I was trying to reach it but it was a little too high." Mark nods, already looking tired as he hands over the washing up liquid. He probably doesn't get paid enough to deal with this.

Matthew thanks him again, apologizing profusely as he bows before picking up his shopping basket and marching away, willing his blush to go away. He realizes Jiwoong is following him. 

"I'm so embarrassed, holy shit." Matthew exclaims as soon as they're out of earshot.

"It's okay, I'm sure he's seen worse," Jiwoong quips, putting his hands up in surrender when Matthew shoots him a dirty look.

"That doesn't make it any better!" Matthew hisses.

"Anyway, before all of… That happened, I was gonna say it's funny seeing you here." He ruffles Matthew's hair good-naturedly, pouting when the shorter shakes him off, "It's good to see you again, Matthew."

Matthew sighs, "Yeah, likewise Jiwoon hyung," He looks down at his feet as he mutters, "I just wish it wasn't under such humiliating circumstances."

Jiwoong hears him but pretends he didn’t to preserve the younger's sense of pride and dignity, "So, how are you doing?"

Matthew groans internally. He's never quite liked small talk but he forces a smile on his face and nods, "Mmm, I'm doing good. What about hyung?"

Jiwoong nods, "The same. Sooo, you been on any hot dates since the party?"

Matthew groans after he picks something else up from his shopping list and dumps it into his basket, "You're so embarrassing! No wonder why you get along with Hao hyung so well."

"I'm just curious!"

Matthew hums in response, "I mean, I met with Gyuvinie a few days ago. He owed me after kinda like flaking on our date, but after it ended, we decided we work better as friends." He skims the shelves for another item on Hao's shopping list and dumps it into his basket.

Jiwoong nods in sage understanding. Matthew puts the basket down, tired of carrying it and takes a swig from his water bottle, nearly spitting it all out when the older asks, "So is Zhang Hao next, then?"

Matthew's eyes widen, nearly choking as he swallows the water before he speaks. His eyes water as he coughs, doubling over as he clutches at his knees. Jiwoong smacks his back until he stops coughing. "Hyung! You gotta get better at your timing!" He says as he straightens up.

To his credit, Jiwoong at least manages to look a little remorseful and sheepish. He apologizes with a meek bow of his head, "And what do you mean is Hao hyung next? " He squawks.

"Well I mean, we're all meant to be going on dates with you, right? I thought that included Zhang Hao."

Matthew tries for a smile, "I don't think he was ever in the cards, haha."

"Oh wow."

"What?"

"You like him, don't you?"

"Who? Gyuvin? "

"No, Zhang Hao."

"Of course I like Hao hyung, he's my best friend and my roommate. And he's always looks out for me! What's not to like?"

"That's cute, but I mean you like, like him."

Oh.   

Matthew freezes. Holy shit, I like Zhang Hao hyung. He thinks. Was I the last person to find out?    

Jiwoong seems to see his conflicting thought process in real time and claps his shoulder sympathetically. "It's ok, bud. It happens to the best of us. If it makes you feel any better, I'm still waiting for Taerae to make a move." He smiles brightly before walking away, cooly waving backwards at Matthew as he calls out, "It was nice seeing you again, Matthew."

Matthew is still coming to terms with the devastating news that he might actually have a crush on his roommate, that when Hao's talking his ear off, he just distractedly agrees to everything the older says.

"So you're happy to go speed dating, right?"

"Yeah. Wait, huh?"

Zhang Hao shakes his head with a giggle, "I knew you weren't paying attention." He takes on a more serious tone as his playful smile drops, "What's up? Is something wrong? You can tell me anything. You know that, right?"

Matthew smiles, "Yeah, of course hyung. I know that. And there's really nothing wrong. I'm just... Tired, I guess."

Hao nods in understanding before his mischievous grin reappears, "Which is whyyy you going speed dating is the perfect distraction!"

"It… It is?" Matthew gives the older a weird look.

"There are so many people at those, there’s no way you'll come out of there without some kind of interest in someone!" He claps decisively, already getting up and darting into his room again, running back into the sitting room with even more clothes than the last time he dolled Matthew up.

"I just don't know…" Matthew voices, doubt creeping into his tone, "Do you really think this is a good idea? I mean, what if there's no one there that I end up interested in?"

Hao clicks his tongue disapprovingly at him, "Nonsense! You're a total catch and a good-looking guy, too! You'll definitely find someone, trust me." He pushes an outfit into Matthew's arms, "Plus you already agreed. No take backsies. Now go and try these on!"

Matthew gives him one last unsure look before going into his room to change.

On the car ride on the way to the big restaurant that's hosting the speed dating event, Hao seems extremely cheerful about the whole affair, a little too cheerful in fact. He's busy humming along and singing to whatever song is playing on the radio, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He excitedly talks Matthew's ear off who stares at him in bewilderment from the passenger seat. 

You'd think that Zhang Hao was the one going through this whole ordeal, the way he's practically bouncing off the car doors.

He's more energetic than Matthew has ever seen him, not even angry incompetent drivers being able to shake his good mood. Whereas normally, he would usually have pretty bad fits of road rage, ranting things such as 'Did these people just get their driving licenses today? They need to learn how to drive again! Don't piss me off.' and 'Oh my god. Shut it down, Shut it down! Get off the bloody road!' (Matthew is starting to think he's watching way too much of Gordon Ramsay.) Today though, he offers those same people a dazzling smile that leaves them stunned as he blows them a kiss. 

When they arrive, Hao rushes ahead to use the bathroom which leaves Matthew to psych himself up before he finally pushes the huge double doors that house his impending doom and walks in. He's surprised at the turn out.

He scans the room to see all the tables are almost filled up and hopes that maybe he'll see someone he knows, but no one sticks out like a sore thumb. So with resignation, he trudges to the front desk to see a teenager who clearly has no business being in a place like this. When the guy looks up from his screen he realizes, "Han Yujin? Is that you?"

The teenager looks at him strangely before realizing, "Oh, hyung! It's nice to see you again after so many years," He smiles and comes out to give Matthew an awkward sideways hug, "What are you doing here?" He asks when he pulls away.

"What am I doing here? I should be asking you the same thing, bud! I know that it's been quite a few years since I tutored you in English, but are you even old enough to work here?"

Yujin rolls his eyes, "I'm practically an adult anyway. I'm gonna be eighteen in just a few months. And I don't. I'm just here to host this for my hyung."

"Your hyung is here? Why can't he host it himself?" He feels like he should give this older brother of Yujin's (who he’s unfortunately never met) a piece of his mind when he sees him.

Yujin points and Matthew's gaze follows the direction of it. Now that he notices him, he guesses he can see some kind of resemblance. And his pink hair does make him stand out. "He’s sitting over there," He says proudly, chuffing out his chest.

He must sense he's being talked about because he stops awkwardly conversing with whoever he's talking to and looks over at them, smiling and waving frantically at Yujin who groans. "Hyung is so embarrassing." He whines, "Don't tell him I said that if you get to meet him." He threatens, leveling Matthew with a stern look and glowering at him.

Matthew feels himself shrinking a little like a kicked puppy. He nods timidly.

"But anyway, hyung is usually the one who hosts these, but he's been single for so long that it's kinda embarrassing. I mean he's practically pushing thirty!" He tuts and shakes his head. But he lights up again, his metaphorical tail wagging. Matthew thinks it's endearing. He clearly holds his (cute) older brother in high regard.

"So, I said that since the annual speed dating event was coming up pretty soon, he should be the one participating this time and he agreed! But since he didn't have anyone to host and I've seen enough of these to know how they go, he was fine with me taking over this time."

Matthew nods and that's when Zhang Hao emerges from the bathroom, "Hi Matthew," He greets with a smile before noticing he has company, "Oh? Who's this?" He smiles at Yujin, naturally pitching his voice higher like he does whenever he's talking to a little kid or some kind of animal like a dog or a cat. Yujin subtly rolls his eyes at the tone shift.

"Oh! This is Yujin! I used to tutor him in English outside of school for a few years. I haven't seen him in so long... He's really grown."

"You guys are so embarrassing! I'm not a little kid!" Yujin stomps his feet petulantly, pouting. The pair coo at him endearingly while Hao ruffles his hair, laughing when Yujin bats his hands away, looking like an angry cat that had been disturbed from its nap.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say little man," Hao placates. He ignores Yujin's indignant scoff of 'I'm literally taller than you!' to face Matthew again with a dazzling smile. "Are you ready?"

Matthew gives a dazed smile in response, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Hao levels him with a stern look as he places his hands on his shoulder, unaware of Yujin watching their exchange amusedly, getting popcorn from seemingly nowhere to eat as he watches them with eagle eyes. "If you need to tap out or you're not having fun anymore, I'll be right here, okay?" Matthew nods. "Okay, good. Now, have fun! I'll be right over here!"

He pushes Matthew to go who stumbles and blushes, turning around to give Hao a withering looks. Hao just blows him a kiss in response that flusters him even more.

He begrudgingly trudges over to an empty seat, thankful that the table is empty and he doesn't have to do any kind of awkward small talk. A few more people arrive before the event finally starts. Yujin announces the rules and then things finally begin.

Matthew is just thinking about the trajectory of his life, wondering how he got to this point, when someone plonks himself in front of him with a grin, "Hey, man. Good to see a cutie like you here." He says with a flirtatious raise of his eyebrow. Matthew startles before realizing he's Canadian.

"Oh! Good to… Meet you too, man."

The stranger's eyes widen, "Woah, no way! You're Canadian too?"

"Yeah, I am!"

"Nice! I'm from Toronto by the way, what about you? I'm Yoon Keeho by the way, but my English name is Stephen."

"Yooo… What? No way! I've been to Toronto so many times! I’m from Vancouver! My Korean name is Seok Woohyun, but everyone just calls me by my English name Matthew!"

"Nice, nice. So, Matthew. What brings you to Korea?"

"Oh I um, actually moved here permanently about like… Two years ago? I was like always going back between like Canada and Korea and then sometimes The States since I have family there, but I don't know. Just something about Seoul, man." Matthew says with a wistful look, "It was just calling to me, so I ended up just staying here in the end. Made it a lot easier too since most of my family lives here anyway, plus my parents. So I can see them pretty often. My noona likes Canada more, so she stayed there instead, but she still comes home pretty often and she's like never missed anything I've done. What about you?"

Keeho nods, "That's cool, that's cool. And honestly? I'm actually hoping to be a Kpop idol, the same with my younger brother, so we came here to chase the dream I guess and-"

The timer goes off and Keeho pouts, "Oh man, I was really enjoying talking to you, dude. Us Canadians, we gotta stick together. I hope we can see each other again." He says with a wink before he walks off leaving Matthew flustered.

It feels like eternity until someone else comes to sit in front of him. He feels a little familiar, but he's not sure why until the guy laughs in his face. "El em ay yo." Matthew's eyebrows nearly touch his forehead. Did this guy just… LMAO in real life? Who was this guy? "No way you're here, my life is an actual joke."

"I'm sorry, but... Have we met before?"

The stranger gives him a look, "Dude, I know it's been like a week or whatever, but I'm surprised you don't recognize me. But then again, you must've been too wrapped up in your little boyfriend to remember me." He scoffs.

Boyfriend? He suddenly remembers the grocery store and how Jiwoong rescued him from being buried by all the items that fell from the shelf that had him feeling like he was in a kdrama. The worker at the store that had interrupted him, the name tag: Mar something... "Mark?" 

Mark laughs, "Oh. So you do remember. What happened to him anyway? Does he even know you're here?"

Matthew scratches his neck, "He-he's um... not my boyfriend, though?"

Mark straightens up immediately, "Oh, my bad, man. I shouldn't have assumed. And I'm really sorry for how I acted. I've just been having a tough time lately, haha. And the guy I spoke to before you was a real tool. I swear I really didn't mean to take it out on you. This is just one major misunderstanding. Can we get a do over?"

Matthew smiles, "Yeah. 'Course you can, man. Don't even worry about it. Sorry we ended up starting on the wrong foot. I'm Matthew Seok from Vancouver, nice to meet you." He sticks out his hand and Mark shakes it.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Mark Lee from Toronto."

"Dang… Good to meet another Canadian today."

"Yo, there's more of us?" He says excitedly.

"Yeah! The guy before you was Canadian too! He said his name was Keeho and he was from Toronto too."

Mark nods in approval. "Niceee, nice. So like, why speed dating?"

Matthew grins and leans in teasingly, "I could ask you the same. Surprised you could even make it here with how busy your schedule is."

"Duuude, shut up!" He laughs squeakily, hitting Matthew's arm, "And I dunno. It wasn't really in the cards for me, but turns out my roommate and unfortunately my best friend Donghyuck signed me up without thinking to ask me."

Matthew sucks in his teeth and winces, "Yikes, I feel you on that one."

"Yeah, we fought about it because you know how it is. Like, I've always got so much on my plate with work and everything. I do a few part-time jobs, so I'm always like hella busy, I just like, never even thought about dating. And like, Donghyuck always complains about me working too much, but he can be just as bad! Um, but anyways, I was gonna cancel or whatever, but he said something about being in with the chance of winning a voucher that lets you eat for free at this restaurant he really likes that serves Kimchi Jjiggae? And claimed that he really did do it with my best interests at heart, because apparently I look like I 'got the life sucked out of me' every time I come home." He rolls his eyes, "So I was like fineeee, I'll go. I couldn't be too mad at him, I guess. So I tried to come here and be like open-minded, but I've been talking to the worst people, so I feel like I’m at my wits end, I guess."

"I feel you, I feel you."

"Oh, you were also kinda like forced here too, right?"

Matthew sighs, "Yeah," He turns around and Hao locks eyes with him, waving excitedly and gives him two thumbs up mouthing, 'Are you having fun?' Matthew nods and gives one thumbs up in response before turning back to Mark. "That's him. Also my best friend and roommate, although he didn't tell me about any gift vouchers, though. He's been trying to set me up with his friends because he said I 'always looked so much happier' when I was dating someone and said I must miss it. So that's how I ended up going on dates with his university friends."

"Oh wow. How's that been working out for you?"

"Eh, it's been whatever I guess. I've just been going along with it because what do I have to lose, you know? He was so excited at the prospect of matchmaking and finding me someone that I didn't wanna rain on his parade, you get me?"

"I gotchu, I gotchu."

"Yeah so actually, that guy who you caught me with in the store that day? He was actually one of my hyung's friends that he'd set me up with."

"Oh, word? That's craaaaazy, haha. So like, he just happened to be there at the right time to save you?"

"I know, right? It was such a crazy coincidence."

"Daaang... I really felt like I was intruding on a kdrama or something, haha."

"Stoppp... Because why did it actually feel like that?"

"But like… That guy did seem to like you, though."

Before Matthew is able to say otherwise, the bell goes off. Mark grimaces, "Dang, just when we were really starting to get into it, huh."

"Yeah, I know it's speed dating, but it really does feel too short."

"Right, right," Mark finally gets up, "Anyway, it was really nice talking to you. Sorry again and I'll see you around."

The next time he looks up, he's surprised to see a tall guy who also looks familiar for some reason, followed by a guy with blazing red hair pulling up a chair from an empty table to sit opposite him.

"Hello?" Matthew asks, confused.

"Hi! I don't know if you remember me but I'm Soobin! Um, I think you were on a blind date at the restaurant I work at with that purple haired guy?"

Matthew remembers now, and how embarrassed he felt at basically being friendzoned at the end of that date. "Ah, Soobin! It's nice to meet you! Who's um... Your friend?"

"Oh I’m Yeonjun Choi, but my English name is Daniel. I'm Soobin's boyfriend, haha. You're super cute, by the way."

Matthew looks between the two of them confused. His head reeling with the new information he's forced to cram in it. "Thank you? I'm sorry but like, what is happening right now? I'm mad confused, sorry."

"Oh, don't worry about it, sweetheart," Yeonjun winks, leaving Matthew feeling even more flustered and it shows on his face. He looks over at Soobin feeling like he should be apologizing. How was he ok with his boyfriend blatantly flirting with someone less than five feet away from him?  

"We've actually been thinking of opening our relationship as of lately, if you catch my drift. So it's actually perfect that you showed up today! Soobinie has been talking my ear off about you since that day, so imagine how excited I was to finally meet the guy my beloved boyfriend was raving about?" He says with a wide smile, turning to Soobin with an endeared smile as he strokes his hand. Soobin returns the stare lovingly, looking equally as smitten. Matthew feels a little like he's intruding at this point.    

"Oh um, thank you? I'm flattered, haha." This seems to snap the pair out of their bubble, now looking at him like they want to eat him. Before any of them can start talking again, the bell dings.

The pair look genuinely sad while Matthew is secretly relieved, their energy a little too intense for him, but he still plays up his disappointment, "Ah darn… I wish we had more time to talk."

Soobin suddenly has his hands in a deathly strong grip, eyes shining as he smiles showing off his dimples, "We've met twice now, so I believe that if it's meant to be, we'll definitely meet again."

"Easy Soobin, easy." Yeonjun tuts. "Sorry about him, he gets excited easily." He gently pries Soobin's hands off Matthew's, "Soobin, let go. You're gonna scare the poor guy off. But honestly no pressure, hopefully we'll see you around. It was nice meeting you, man." Yeonjun says with a cool nod.

It's only then that Matthew notices Yeonjun has an eyebrow piercing. He's unfortunately a sucker for those. And dimples, which Soobin happens to have.

The couple leave and Matthew feels like he needs a bit of a break at this point. Thankfully, Yujin seems to think so too and conveniently calls for a five minute break. Matthew gets up to stretch his legs, making his way over to Hao whose face looks like he just ate a lemon, face as white as a ghost, his bushy brows pinched together tightly.

"Hyung! What's up? Are you hurt anywhere? Are you unwell?"

Zhang Hao looks at him, startled. "Wha- is it over already? And I'm fine, sorry."

"Oh, they just called for a five minute break, haha. I was just about to go and use the bathroom, but noticed you looked a little off."

Hao smiles tightly, squeezing his matcha cup a little too hard causing it to crinkle, "Oh, I see haha."

Matthew's eyes widen, "Are you really okay? We can go home if you want."

"Yes!" He realizes what he's said when Matthew gives him a strange look, "I- I mean no? You should finish what you started! A few of my friends are here too, so you should definitely meet them." He says through gritted teeth, clenching his fists by his side and shaking slightly.

"Hyung, are you really sure? You look like you're about to faint. Maybe we should go to a hospital…"

"Matthew, don't worry about me. I'm fine, I promise. Now go to the bathroom before you have an accident." He commands, glowering at him. Matthew puts his hands up in surrender and runs off, still feeling a little strange about Hao's uncharacteristic behavior, but whatever. He’ll probably question him later (that’s if he even remembers).

He meets a few more Canadians surprisingly, some guy called Kevin who matches his energy really well, a guy called Jacob who's a little more meek and shy, but he's still pretty likeable. Some girl called Somi, another called Wendy who feels more like he's sitting with his noona, than a potential partner. It weirds him out a little. Another guy called Young-hyun who he gets along well with, but feels more like a hyung he would be confiding in for advice than someone he'd potentially date. 

He didn't know there would be so many Americans and Canadians there, so he feels a little less like the odd one out considering they don't mind him switching to Konglish randomly. Like this one guy called Johnny. Matthew would constantly switch to Konglish, an apology on his tongue, but Johnny would tell him it's nothing to worry about and matching his energy well, coming up with the funniest kind of Konglish combos. 

He even meets a girl called Julie who once again doesn't feel like anyone he'd date, but she makes him laugh and definitely feels like a good friend to have around. Time really goes by and he’s mostly having fun. 

Unfortunately, he does run into a few assholes which reminds him of how Mark said he'd dealt with the same, but he brushes it off trying not to let it bring his mood down, unaware at how Hao is stood in the corner watching everything, eyes twitching as he taps his foot in annoyance. 

Seeing how Matthew is flitting from person to person (despite it being the purpose of the event) and seeing how people are a little too touchy and flirting for his liking is ticking him off. He can feel himself getting a migraine and desperately wants to intervene and tell Matthew that yes, actually he would like to go home! But since he was the one who literally pushed Matthew into doing this, he doesn't want to be the selfish asshole that stood in the way of his best friend genuinely finding someone that he likes and wants to date. 

"Yo is that… Matthew?"

Matthew looks up and his eyes light up in recognition, "Holy shit!" He gets up as the person nearly knocks him over in a bone-crushing hug.

"Jaeyun! This is so crazy, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same! I saw you a few times earlier and I was like… Is that Matthew? And then I was like nahhh, can't be! But here you are! What a crazy coincidence!"

"For sure!" They sit and catch up since they've not seen each other in a good while. Today has been full of surprises for sure. He never thought one of his best buds from his university Psychology class of all places would turn up here, he's again definitely never someone he would consider dating, but he's happy to see him nonetheless. When the bell goes off, he feels a little sad to see him go, but Jaeyun promises he'll text him so they can catch up soon.

His table isn't empty again for long when the most beautiful person he's ever seen gracefully sits down in front of him. They look like a natural blonde, long locks tied up prettily in two pigtails, comically large glasses sitting on their face. So many freckles on their face that remind him of pretty stars dotted in a midnight sky and their outfit is so cool too.

Matthew is stunned into silence. The person looks up at him first with a shy smile that makes their eyes crinkle and gosh, even their teeth are perfect. What shocks him though is how low their voice is when they say, "Hiya, I'm Felix."

Matthew nods, gobsmacked.

"Uh, are you gonna introduce yourself too or?"

"Y-yeah." Matthew snaps out of it, "Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry. Um, I'm Matthew. It's um, nice to meet you. You're just so pretty, sorry."

Felix giggles at that, "Dude, you're so cute, haha. I'm flattered."

Finally, he comes face to face with the man of the hour. Yujin's hyung. He smiles nervously as he sits down, running his hand through his hair and looking around nervously. It’s actually kinda cute how hamster-like it is that it's physically hurting  Matthew. "Hi, I-I'm Hanbin it's nice to meet you." He says with a shy smile, holding out a shaky hand for Matthew to shake.

Matthew laughs as he shakes it, "It's nice to meet you too Hambin." Hanbin melts immediately, "So I finally get to meet Yujinie's older brother," He teases lightly.

Hanbin lights up at the mention of his younger brother, "Yes! That's him! I mean Hanbin's me! I mean-" He covers his face embarrassed as Matthew giggles at his flounders, "Ah, this is so embarrassing. I am so sorry. I'm usually a bit more collected than this, I swear."

"It's okay! There's no need to apologize, seriously."

"So I'm guessing you were the 'best English teacher' he ever had. He would always rave about someone that seems similar to you, but unfortunately I was always busy working so we always seemed to miss each other. It's nice to finally meet you after all this time, even though it's late."

"Likewise. Oh I forgot to say! I like your hair! The pink really suits you!"

Hanbin touches his hair with a gasp, as if he'd forgotten he had even dyed it, "Oh, really? Thank you, thank you so much." He places a hand to his chest, face taking on a touched look as he smiles. Matthew feels his heart clench when he realizes Hanbin has whisker-like dimples. 

"Of course!"

"I actually… Lost a bet with Hao hyung, so I ended up having to dye it pink."

"Hao? As in Zhang Hao hyung? You know him?"

Hanbin pouts, "Unfortunately," He jokes.

Matthew shakes his head, "Wow… Small world, huh. So, what do you do if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh! Of course not! I recently graduated from university and I'm a kindergarten teacher now! I also teach dance at a studio I co-own with my friend Park Jisung! He's an incredible dancer! Maybe you've seen him a few times, some of his dance videos have gotten pretty viral lately. What about you?"

"That's super cool, woah! You're so cool Hambin!" Hanbin flushes at the praise, "And for now I'm just studying at university! Thankfully I'm in my final year of studying Psychology, so I'm just holding on until then."

"I see, I see. So what do you plan to do after you graduate?"

"I'm not sure yet, maybe I'll go backpacking somewhere or travel to a tropical island. I haven't really thought that far ahead yet."

"Understandable. Oh by the way, what year were you born in?"

"2002! You?"

"2001! So it's just a year between us then! You should try calling me hyung then."

"Okay Hambin hyung." He beams.

Unfortunately, the timer goes off meaning they have to unwillingly part, but he thinks that even if he wasn't to date Hanbin, he feels like he'd be a really good friend to have. Maybe even best friend level, an irreplaceable and unforgettable friend. 

After meeting a few more people; a guy called Myung Jaehyun, a guy called Ricky (who also knows Zhang Hao), another guy called Woongki who was a same age friend, someone else called Wooyoung who is also a dancer, Keita, someone who he bonded with right away and also short like him which they could laugh about, as well as Maki and Karina, at long last, the longest day of his life in the 22 years he's been alive is finally over. 

He makes his way over to Hao who's stony faced. He only nods as acknowledgment, walking out of the restaurant briskly and beelining to his car, meaning Matthew has to break out into a run to catch up with him.

You can cut the tension in the car with a knife. Hao's face is set in an almost angry expression, him gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles are white. He hasn't breathed a word to him since the event ended. And Matthew, hating how silent it is, racks his brain for anything to talk about. 

"Soooo… I met a few interesting people tonight."

Matthew swears he sees one of the veins in Hao’s forehead throb and his eye twitch involuntarily. "Hey, I'm sorry but I have a really bad migraine and would really appreciate it if you didn't talk to me right now." Hao bites back. Matthew doesn't say another word, sinking into the passenger seat, scared that if he so much as breathes wrong, Hao would open the door and toss him out into open traffic Tom & Jerry style. 

When Hao pulls up to their apartment complex, he turns the engine off without a word. Once again, he's the first one out, power walking up the stairs and leaving Matthew to stare after him bewildered. He snaps out of it after a while, by that time, Hao is long gone. Just as he's getting into the apartment, Hao slams his bedroom door shut. Matthew knocks on his door, "Dude, what's up with you? You're acting weird." No reply. Matthew sighs and walks away, retreating to his own room.

He closes his door gently, (unlike the older) and plugs his headphones into his gaming PC as he boots it up, resigning to play video games to destress for a few hours. 

Matthew calls with some friends and loses himself in it for a while before he realizes the time and tells his friends he has to go. As a peace offering, he decides to order some of Hao's favorite Chinese dishes as well as some Japanese food for himself since he'd been craving it lately. He moves to the sitting room and turns the TV on, using the remote to keep it at a low level so he won't miss the doorbell. 

When the person comes, Matthew thanks them by name (Yeji) and tips her ₩10 extra for having to come so late at night. She smiles and thanks him kindly with a bow before leaving. Matthew rifles through the plastic carrier bag and takes out Hao's food. He knocks on the door again, "Ordered some take-out from your favorite place," Again no reply. He sighs, "I'm leaving it outside your door, so don't let it get cold." He takes his own food and takes it to his room once again, closing the door as quietly as he can before he sits at his desk. He can faintly hear Hao's door open before it closes again and his phone soon chimes with a text: 

짱하오형🩷: thanks.

And that's the last he hears from Zhang Hao for a good few days. His door is permanently kept shut which annoys Matthew, but he's been talking to Ricky a lot lately, who ended up inviting him out to some event. When Matthew had asked how to dress, the younger was vague about it, the only hint he gave was 'dress nicely'. So Matthew tries to do just that, assuming he’s safe from Hao's weird energy when his door opens. Matthew freezes. Hao grumbles under his breath and then he looks up to see Matthew. "Where are you going." He asks flatly.

Matthew scoffs, "Oh, so now you're talking to me."

Hao ignores his snide remark and looks him up and down with suspicion. "Are you going on a date?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Matthew folds his arms, "What does it matter to you anyway? This is what you wanted, hyung."

Hao ignores his question again, "Who are you going with?"

"Ricky."

"Ricky?! Oh, Absolutely not."

"Are you serious?" At Hao's defiant glare he throws his hands up in irritation, "You were the one who wanted to set me up with your own friends in case you forgot. I don't know why you're making such a big deal of it now! Can I go, mom?" 

Hao just stares at him.

"For fuck's sake. I'm so fucking tired of this!" Matthew explodes. Hao reels back as if he'd been slapped, eyes wide as saucers. "I have tried so damn hard to respect your space and not say anything about your weird ass energy, but you won't even tell me what's wrong! What's the point of you being my best friend and saying I can tell you anything if it doesn't work both ways? You've been so damn distant and moody all the time! What the hell is going on? Either spit it out or get over it on your own. But I'm tired of your games. You've been a shit friend and I get you have your own stuff going on, but that doesn't mean you get to take it out on me. Now if you have nothing to say, Ricky is waiting for me." He heads for the door when Hao mumbles something.

Matthew groans and whirls back around, walking back to Hao. "What."

"I said I’m jealous, okay? Fuck!" Zhang screams.

"What do you mean you're jealous?" Matthew's phone chimes with a text.

love리키🍓🐈: yo matthew i'm nearly there. where you at? 

And then his phone rings. Ricky is calling him.

"Don't go." Hao says quietly.

"You're kidding. You can't just keep me at your every beck and call. I already made a promise and I always keep them." Matthew replies coldly, "If you really wanna talk about this, then let's do it when I get back." Hao nods frantically. "Fine. You better not go back on your word or I'm going back to Canada, I'm so serious. You were the main reason I stayed, but you knew that already."

And with that, Matthew throws open the front door and slams it behind him leaving Hao to slide defeatedly to the floor placing his head in his hands which feels even heavier today. How did he fuck up this badly?    

As soon as the cold, chilly air hits Matthew's face, he feels himself cooling down considerably although his heart hasn't stopped fluttering like a hummingbird since he's still running on the adrenaline he had confronting Hao. He still couldn't believe that he all of this was simply because he was jealous.

Matthew thanks the taxi driver who drops him off in front of a big building and sighs when he gets out of the car, feeling a little disoriented. He looks around and Ricky is nowhere to be found, so he pulls his phone out of his pocket.

It seems that Ricky has the same idea because his name flashes on the screen, "Hey, man. Where you at? I'm in front of some big building and-"

"Turn around," Matthew hears, the voice sounding a little closer than he expected. When he turns, time seems to slow down and his breath catches in his throat. He quickly snaps himself out of it. Dude, you're not being a good bro right now. He smiles and waves awkwardly. Ricky returns it with a lopsided grin of his own, taking his time to walk over, long trench coat making him look like he just stepped off a fashion runway.

"Hey Matthew, good to see you again," Ricky greets, pulling him into a bro hug. 

"Yeah, same with you, man." They stare at each other for a while before Ricky seems to remember where they are.

"Oh! Right, we should head inside," He gestures his head towards the intimidatingly large glass building that Matthew had been standing directly in front of five seconds prior.

"Oh, yeah. Lead the way."

So they walk up the incredibly steep stairs, Ricky charitably holding up the rotating doors for the shorter so they can get in together. Elevator like music plays and the doors feel like they've been rotating forever, so Matthew looks around. 

"I know that this isn't exactly your scene," Ricky starts lowly which causes Matthew to look back at him, "But I thought that I'd take you to something I'm actually interested in, unlike everyone else who was just trying to impress you. This is a limited art exhibition and I'm really into art, so. I thought maybe you'd like it." He sounds shyer now than he did just mere moments ago.

Matthew feels oddly touched at that, "Oh, don't even worry about it, man." He replies enthusiastically, "I'm sure I'll enjoy it. I'm not like, too knowledgeable when it comes to these things, but you'll make it fun, right?" He asks with a twinkle in his eye.

Ricky smiles softly, "Of course." And then, the rotating doors finally let them out into the art gallery. Ricky walks briskly to the front desk, leaving Matthew to scramble after him. When he gets there, Ricky is picking up their reserved tickets which come with audio guides and they take the elevator to the basement, which is where their tour starts from.

Matthew is about to put the earphones that come with the audio guide in his ears when Ricky stops him with a hesitant hand, "It's ok, I can tell you everything you're curious about, instead." And so he does. Matthew watches him talk with rapt attention, Ricky's awkwardness fading away now that he's in his element. 

And he can admit, listening to him talk was way more interesting than a person droning in his ears for the next three hours. Ricky truly does look like he belongs there, as he takes Matthew from display to display, he just exudes confidence, naturally commanding attention (and he does.)

Matthew's having so much fun, he almost doesn't want the day to end, not wanting to have to go back home to he and Zhang Hao's shared apartment to deal with his weird energy. 

But sadly, Ricky's impromptu tour soon comes to an end and Matthew gives him light applause which makes Ricky flush and shyly tell him to stop. But when he does, Ricky tells him to continue which makes Matthew laugh. 

They soon end up at the art gallery's bar and Matthew perks up even more. "Dang, rough day?" Ricky asks teasingly as Matthew orders three shots at once from the handsome bartender with cool looking tattoos on his forearms that peek out of his rolled up sleeves, ears littered with more piercings that he can count, a ring through his lip and an eyebrow piercing that gives him a rebellious looking vibe.

When he smiles at him though, all reservations he has about him dissipate in an instant. He catches his name tag before he turns around and walks over to make his drink: Jungkook. He almost forgets that Ricky had asked him a question and snaps out of his haze.

Matthew sighs, tapping his fingers on the smooth wood before he turns to face Ricky, dejection clear on his face, "I mean, I guess you could say that. I fought with Hao hyung."

Ricky's gasps as his eyes widen in surprise as he leans in ready to gossip, "No! Why? What happened?"

Just then, Jungkook places the shot glasses in front of them, "It's on the house," He eyes Matthew pitifully, "You look like you need it." Matthew drinks all three the moment he finishes, causing Ricky and Jungkook to look at each other in amazement before Matthew asks for something stronger. 

He's already a bit loose-lipped at this point, so he spills everything to Ricky, who's just content to sip a glass of sparkling water, wanting to be the sober one between the two, interjecting with gasps or 'oh that’s not-'s at the right moments.

Time seems to escape them and Ricky notices that Matthew's phone is vibrating against the table. The older is too distracted whining about how much he can't stand Hao right now and how he's going to give him a piece of his mind when he gets home, so Ricky tells him he'll be right back, asking Jungkook to please look after him, who agrees with a small nod.

He picks up Matthew's phone and goes to somewhere quieter. He finally swipes right to pick up and places the phone to his ear, not breathing a single word.

"Matthew! What took you so long to pick up? I was worried sick about you. You should've been home two hours ago! So I thought to check your location and… Why can I see that you're at a bar?!" 

"Good evening, Hao-ge." Ricky cuts in, curtly.

"Ricky?! What the hell, why do you have his phone? Where's Matthew?"

Ricky smirks, "I think you should come and see for yourself, he asked for you."

"He what? What do you mean? Hey, explain-" Ricky cuts the phone off. It immediately starts ringing with a call from Hao again and he rolls his eyes, powering it off and pocketing Matthew's phone.

Meanwhile at home, Hao runs a hand through his hair, stressed. He trusts Ricky, yes, but he can't help but think of the worst possible scenarios, anxiously pacing back and forth in his room. He looks at the time and says fuck it, grabbing a jacket and making sure to grab his keys before he dashes out of the apartment.

Ricky rolls his shoulders back, a new plan in motion as he strides back to the bar, giggling when he can see an awkward looking Jungkook patting Matthew's back as he cries and hiccups, no doubt still torn up about Hao. When Jungkook sees Ricky, he looks relieved, handing him over to him and saying he's going to take a break. Poor guy. Ricky thinks. 

"Where- hic- did you go?" Matthew asks sleepily, hiccups interrupting his every word.

"I just needed to go to the bathroom, sorry."

"Jungkook hyung is kinda cute, but he's mad awkward," He says with a pout. 

"Right, right." Ricky looks around distractedly and when he spots a frazzled Hao entering, he smirks. It's showtime. 

Matthew tries to follow his gaze, "What are you looking at?" He whines but hiccups again, flustered when Ricky turns his attention back to him with a single finger.

"Do you trust me?" He asks seriously.

"Um, I just met you today, but I guess? Woah, what are you doing?" His eyes cross as Ricky's face is now mere inches away from his own.

"Zhang Hao's here." At that, Matthew looks more sober than he's been all night. He's about to interrupt when Ricky continues, "We're going to pretend to kiss to make him jealous, okay?" Matthew nods, dazed and his eyes flutter shut, Ricky coming close enough for it to look like they're kissing from an angle.

He smirks even harder when he sees Hao spot them and his expression turns thunderously murderous. Ricky when I catch you, when I catch you Shen Ricky, you are so dead! His sharp eyes seem to be saying. 

Hao marches over and Ricky pulls away, eyes half lidded as Matthew's eyes slowly open.

"Shen Ricky, I can't believe you. I swear you're dead meat when I next see you." Hao seethes, giving Ricky a look that could kill as he grabs Matthew's arm with an iron grip who protests and whines that it hurts, "We're leaving, Matthew. Watch your back, Ricky. I'm seriously going to kill you." He picks Matthew up in a bridal carry, shooting daggers at Ricky who stares back amused and carries him out.

Hao struggles to unlock the door since he has an armful of Matthew, who has thankfully settled down, eyes shut and his breathing evened out, so he feels like a bit of a deadweight, but he manages to unlock the door.

He gently lays Matthew on their couch, who whines at the loss of warmth in his sleep, but Hao shushes him, smoothing out the crease in his brow before looking around to find some kind of blanket to cover the younger with.

He spots one thrown haphazardly on their coat rack, so he carefully places it over Matthew, tucking him in before rushing to the kitchen to get Matthew a glass of water and some painkillers since he keeps whining about his head killing him.

He gently wakes Matthew up, getting him to drink some water and take painkillers which he does, but extremely reluctantly, grumbling with every sip.

Hao is the first one up in the morning, barely able to sleep as he was tossing and turning all night, mind replaying Matthew and Ricky kissing at that bar last night and his dreams turning into nightmares. Ricky stealing Matthew from him, looking devilish while doing so and Matthew, so tired of him that he stops talking to him, moving in with Ricky. 

He's even reluctantly at their wedding and it's just when the priest (who looks a lot like Taerae) tells them that they can kiss that he wakes up with a start, drenched in cold sweat and a sick sense of dread overcoming him.

He feels slightly better after brushing his teeth, taking a shower, and deciding to make breakfast as a peace offering. Matthew always liked pancakes, so he tries to make cute ones in the shape of Blastoise since he remembers him always saying that was his favorite pokémon. He's not sure how great of a job he did after he compares the pancakes with the picture of the pokémon that comes up, but he tries his best.  

He hears Matthew groan lightly and sees him slowly getting up from the couch in the corner of his eye, no doubt the smell of pancakes being what woke him up. 

He quietly whines that his head is still killing him before he sees another strip of painkillers and a fresh glass of water, so he takes them both before rubbing his eyes and walking in the direction of his bedroom.

Zhang Hao faintly hears the sound of the shower from his room, so he focuses on plating the food after he places the done pancakes on a plate and setting the table, making sure the cutlery is placed neatly on the side of their plates with a few napkins at the ready too. After he's satisfied with his handiwork, he makes his way back to sit down and is just about to dig in when Matthew comes out, still looking half asleep, but a lot better than he did last night. He greets him curtly, thanking him for the food and the painkillers before he sits opposite him. They eat in silence, nothing but the sound of their cutlery scraping on china to entertain them. 

When they finish, Hao collects their plates without a word, placing them delicately in the sink before he pulls on his rubber gloves and starts washing up the dishes that had been piling in the sink. He can feel Matthew's piercing eyes on his back, almost searing and burning with how intense his stare is. But he doesn't say anything, so Hao pretends he doesn't notice it and like he's not extremely self conscious and hyper aware of every move he makes.

But since Matthew doesn't say anything, he doesn't say anything either. When he finishes and turns the tap off, Matthew still hasn't said anything, so he’s about to awkwardly shuffle to his room when Matthew finally breaks the silence, "We need to talk," He says seriously, stopping Hao in his tracks. Hao's shoulders deflate in defeat and he nods, sitting at the edge of their couch and Matthew sitting opposite him. Matthew looks at him, eyes boring into head, daring him to speak first.

Hao clears his throat, "So, it seems like your date with Ricky went well last night. I guess a congratulations is in order. So what, he's like your boyfriend now?"

"What are you even talking about right now?" Matthew looks at him as though he's grown two heads.

Hao furrows his brows in confusion, "Ricky called me yesterday when you were drunk off your ass after your date and I literally saw you guys kiss?"

Matthew laughs, almost hysterical and Hao frowns harder, feeling indignation rise up at the feeling of being laughed at. He feels like there's some joke he's missing out on and he's starting to get a little ticked off now. "What's so funny?" He snaps.

Matthew stops laughing and stares at him as if he's stupid, "We never kissed." He deadpans.

Hao scoffs, "Yeah, right. I literally saw you guys. Are you gonna try and convince me that I dreamt it up?" He feels sick now remembering it all too vividly and his terrible nightmares the night before.

"It was fake."

Hao hates the glimmer of hope that thrums through him at those words, trying to tamp it down. He needs to be level-headed and rational, "I-I don't think I quite understand what you're saying."

Matthew inhales before taking the plunge and saying what's been on his heart these past few weeks, "At first, I was just going along with you matchmaking me with your friends because you genuinely wanted me to be happy with someone. I didn't want to burst your bubble when you were so excited to do this for me. But to be honest, I never even really wanted to date again until I met you. But I thought I had no chance with you, so I should move on. It was only a silly little crush after all. But the more dates I went in and the more time that passed, I started to realize that it just… Didn't feel right. Something was missing. And everyone seemed to know I liked you anyway, so it was even more embarrassing…" Matthew flushes, looking away as he trails off, feeling extremely shy now that he was spilling his true feelings all over their coffee table.

Zhang Hao couldn't believe what he was hearing right now, heart roaring in his ears. This felt like a dream, "You… Like me?" He whispers, scared to ruin the moment as his eyes start to fill up with tears.

Matthew scratches the back of his neck, "I think I've always liked you, in ways that have never completely been platonic. It's embarrassing that it took me going on so many dates in such a short space of time to realize it, but we're here now."

Hao's heart plummets back down to his chest, flapping wildly like a bird trying to escape its cage. It beats so loudly now, that he's scared it might break free from his ribcage, shattering all over their table. "I… I really can't believe it," He says in wonder. "I guess I've always liked you too, not just in a platonic way. I didn't know why the idea of you going out with anyone else made me feel so angry and sick to my stomach until I thought you kissed Ricky and I just… Saw red, I don't know. I always want to look after you, be the one you depend on. And I know I had no right to act the way I did, but I just couldn't help it. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be such a dick and take it out on you. I can't lose you, please don't go back to Canada. I didn't know I could be jealous like that." He's practically on his knees now, hands in a praying-like motion begging for forgiveness. 

Matthew rolls his eyes playfully, "Don't worry, I didn't mean half of what I said. I was just angry. I'm not moving back to Canada, I promise. And I forgive you, don't worry."

Hao breathes out a sigh of relief.

"Sooo... What happens now?" Matthew asks, trying to make it seem playful and not serious, although he needs to know.

He's anxious about where they stand now that he's poured out his heart. What if Hao doesn't want to date him because they're roommates?

What if they end up in some weird kinda situationship where they end up skirting around each other forever, never going beyond that?

Maybe he should have never confessed, he's already feeling extremely anxious, wishing he could take it back.

But that's the thing about words, once you put them out there, you can't take them back. If only he could turn back time to about ten seconds ago and omit the confession part.

"Well," Hao breathes out shakily, voice naturally stopping Matthew from spiralling, "I'd like us to be boyfriends." Then he realizes it sounds a bit too forward, so he decides he should give Matthew an out in case they're not on the same page, "But only if you want to be." He tacks on nervously, twiddling his thumbs to give himself something to do.

To his relief, Matthew lights up like a Christmas tree, happiness shining on his face as his eyes twinkle like stars in the night sky, "Well, boyfriend. What do you say we go on a real date?" He waggles his eyebrows with a laugh.

Hao smiles back, already feeling ten pounds lighter knowing that Matthew feels the same way, He pretends to think about it with a hum. "Well, I think that can be arranged," He says with a smirk.

Which is how they end up at an ice rink a week later just a day after Christmas, bundled up warmly as they awkwardly toddle on the ice, holding hands the entire time. 

"I think I'm gonna fall!" Matthew squeaks, panicking the moment they step onto the ice.

"No you're not,” Hao yells back, wishing he had a hand free to flick his forehead, but he's holding onto the edge despite his display of bravado, "Because I've got you. I won't let you fall."

"Hyunggg!" Matthew whines, "You're so cheesy!"

"I have to practice my drama lines somewhere!" Hao protests, "You're gonna get the full kdrama experience as long as we're dating." Hao scoffs, pulling Matthew along gently who still looks unsure, but tries to focus his attention on the older instead.

"It's only our first day of officially dating and you're already planning on breaking up with me?" Matthew gasps.

"You're so dramatic! You know that's not what I meant!" Hao narrows his eyes. They're about to start squabbling on the ice when someone calls Matthew's name.

They look over to see Mark, also holding hands with some guy that Matthew can't make out. They wait for them to skate over. 

"Mark! Fancy seeing you here!" Matthew exclaims.

Mark chuckles, "It's nice to see you too, man. And this must be the famous best friend, " He teases.

"Dude! Shut up!" Matthew hits him lightly. Hao looks between them in confusion, "Oh, hyung. This is Mark. And I'm guessing." He looks over at their joined hands, "This is that best friend you told me about?"

Mark flushes. Now it's his turn to be embarrassed. "Way to put me on the spot, man." He mutters. He turns to the stranger, "Donghyuck, this is Matthew. Matthew this is Donghyuck… My… Boyfriend." He says the word shyly, looking away.

Hao coos, "You guys are so cute together!" The other couple thank him shyly.

"Ah! This is Zhang Hao, my boyfriend." Matthew beams, proudly pulling Hao closer who flushes. 

Mark smiles knowingly, "Yeah, I kinda got the feeling." He turns to address Hao, "It's nice to finally meet you, I've heard a lot about you!" Hao pales. "Only good things, though. Don't worry." Hao relaxes.

"Oh and it's nice to finally meet you, Donghyuck! Mark also had a lot of good things to say about you," Matthew addresses Donghyuck with a wink who blushes tomato red.

Just then, the four feel a light pressure on their faces, way too light to be raindrops. They look up and realize that it's snowing. The rest of the people skating with them seem to come to the same realization, shouting their excitement.

"Wow," Hao breathes out, "It's the first snow!"

"So romantic…" Donghyuck says dreamily.

The four of them end up skating for a little while longer before they part ways. There's still some time left on Matthew and Hao's date, so they sit at a cute and cozy café, admiring the snow that falls heavier from their window seats, hands cupped around their mugs of hot chocolate to warm them up. Matthew turns away first, still looking at Hao. 

He's always looking at Hao, smiling fondly as watching how full of child-like joy and wonder the older is, watching everything from the window. Matthew feels this sense of peace wash over him. Being with him feels as easy as breathing and he's so glad that the both of them gave the idea of dating each other a chance.

He sneakily takes his phone out, snapping a candid picture of Zhang Hao and just admiring how pretty he looks. Hao turns just as Matthew's putting his phone away. Before he can speak, the bell chimes and a gush of cold air rushes in.

"Yo, is that Matthew?" Someone yells, the voice sounding familiar. The pair turn to see Gyuvin followed by a sheepish looking Gunwook who looks like he'd rather be anywhere but here. 

"Oh, Gyuvin!" Matthew greets, feeling a little awkward as the pair approach their table, "Funny seeing you here! Gunwook, too." He gives him a tight smile. Gunwook waves awkwardly for a beat too long so his hand is frozen and suspended in the air before he realizes and puts it down, flushing and playing it off by rubbing at the back of his neck.

Gyuvin beams, not seeming to know they're on a date despite Gunwook tugging on his sleeve, no doubt trying to warn him and slides in next to them, forcing them to be almost squished into the window. Hao smiles but Matthew knows him long enough to know this is his customer service smile and that he's getting a little pissed off. Gunwook gives up and timidly slides in to sit with them too.

"I'm so happy to see you again! Merry Christmas by the way! Oh, this looks good!" He steals a cookie from Matthew's plate taking a big bite,  whose wide smile sharpens around the edges, feeling his eye twitch. 

Gunwook tugs on his sleeve, "Gyu, I think we're interrupting them," He whispers, looking between the couple anxiously.

Gyuvin frowns looking at the pair who are giving him almost manic smiles, trying to fill the room with negative energy so that he would leave. It doesn't work to Hao's disappointment. He's still there and hasn't exploded "Oh, you guys' energy is waayy off. It's Christmas! Lighten up! Where's your Christmas spirit?" Gyuvin reaches for a gingerbread man cookie from Hao's plate and yelps when the older smacks his hand away.

"Gyuvin," Hao starts with gritted teeth, "You know I love you, dearly. But we're kinda busy. As in, me and Matthew are on a date." He says the words with emphasis.

Gyuvin's eyes widen the size of saucers, "What!?" He exclaims so loudly that half the people look at them giving them dirty looks. He covers his mouth and bows awkwardly, apologizing for inconveniencing everyone before he turns back to the couple with a new determined laser focus, leaning back conspiratorially, "Since when? You guys never told me!" He sounds gutted and Matthew feels a little bad.

"I mean, it's not exactly like they owe you," Gunwook jumps in, trailing off when Gyuvin shoots him a betrayed look.

"Wookie! Whose side are you on?" He cries.

"No one's! I'm just saying.."

Gyuvin shakes his head, "Anyway, congratulations you two! I'm expecting invites when you get married," He says when the two take a sip of their hot chocolate at the same time causing them to nearly spit it out all over him as they burst into a coughing fit.

"Dude!" Matthew cries the moment he stops coughing, "We just started dating! Slow your roll, buddy."

Gyuvin puts his hands up in surrender, "My bad, my bad…" Then he seems to remember, "Oh, now that you mention it, I'm also dating!"

Matthew and Hao look at each other and then back at him, sceptically. "Really?" Hao asks.

"Well yes!" Gyuvin wraps his arm around Gunwook's waist pulling him to his side. The younger blushes profusely, "Today is me and Gunwookie's first day!" He says proudly.

Zhang Hao and Matthew congratulate them at the same time that Gunwook jumps in: "And maybe our last," He mutters, causing Hao and Matthew to start laughing.

"What did he say?" Gyuvin asks, unfortunately missing his quip. The pair don't answer him. It wasn't that funny, but his delivery has them near rolling on the floor, "Tell me!" He whines. Eventually, he gives up since no one's answering him and he smiles mischievously while looking at Matthew and Hao, "I have an idea."

They stop laughing to look at him.

"What's your idea?" Matthew asks with curiosity.

"Matthew!" Hao reprimands, "Don't enable him!" He spits.

Matthew gives him an apologetic pout, looking like a kicked puppy.

"Gross," Gyuvin says to himself. Then loudly he says, "You guys should kiss." He looks quite chuffed with himself.

You can hear a pin drop with how silent it suddenly is.

"...Oh. You were serious." Zhang Hao's smile quickly turns into a frown.

"Why do you sound so disappointed? I mean, you guys are a couple now, it's not like I'm asking something that strange of you." He turns to Gunwook, "Tell 'em, babe."

"I mean… He's not wrong…" Gunwook says nervously, losing his steam when he sees how Matthew and Zhang Hao are looking at him.

"I can't believe this!" Hao looks up to the heavens, as if asking for strength. Because why is he actually considering their crazy idea right now? 

"I mean, unless you guys are too chicken," Gyuvin adds nonchantly. 

Hao feels his eye twitch like a fire has been lit under his ass. No way is Gyuvin challenging him right now.. He'll show him! He never loses! Never backs down. 

He turns to Matthew who is already looking at him, already looking a bit out of it, but sees his eyes flicker to his plush lips. Realizing he's been caught, Matthew blushes, snapping his eyes back to Hao's and looking a bit sheepish.

Hao smirks at that, he can't believe he ever missed how obvious the younger could be. Hao lightly cups Matthew's face, looking piercingly at him communicating that he can tap out if he wants, but Matthew looks just as eager as he feels so he leans in, ignoring the delighted screams from Gyuvin. That freak. He thinks, rolling his eyes.

He leans in and Matthew meets him halfway, both of their eyes naturally fluttering shut as their lips finally meet. Hao swears he hears wedding bells as they kiss for what feels like eternity and he can't help but feel relieved at how right this feels.

It took them a long time, but he's happy they got to this point. He'd always wanted to feel what the characters in his dramas felt like with someone, he just never thought he could have it with Matthew until now.