Work Text:
BIG SALE - Up to 50% off!
The sign outside the Melting Rose clothing store makes Hanbin stop in his tracks. He would never say no to discounts, and looking at clothes is a welcome distraction from the assignments waiting for him at home. So instead of leaving the mall, he steps inside the store.
It’s his first time here, so he wanders around a little aimlessly. Many of the clothes are just his style, and the material seems to be of good quality too. Even without the discount, the prices are surprisingly decent. It doesn’t take long for him to find a pair of pants he likes.
When Hanbin turns around, he sees the most beautiful guy he’s ever laid eyes on. Short dark hair accentuates his sharp jawline, and his tight black T-shirt shows off his well-defined muscles. He must work here, because he’s carefully folding some shirts and placing them on one of the shelves, an adorably focused expression on his face, complete with a little pout. Hanbin can’t tear his gaze away as the guy arranges another stack of clothes. Not only is he gorgeous, he’s also incredibly earnest and diligent with his work, and Hanbin can’t get enough.
A middle-aged woman abruptly stomps up to the guy, clearing her throat obnoxiously to get his attention.
He stops folding and stands up straight. “Hello, how may I help you?” His voice is sweet like honey. Hanbin wishes he could listen to it forever.
“Where did the Pompompurin shirts go?” she asks. “Weren’t they right here?” She points at a display currently filled with denim jackets.
“Ah! The Sanrio collaboration ended about two months ago, so they’re not here anymore,” the guy explains.
“What? Don’t you still have them in this shop somewhere?” the woman asks.
The guy shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but they’ve already been taken back to the warehouse.”
“Can’t you go get them?” the woman snaps, raising her voice. “I’m a customer here, you’re supposed to help me!”
“I’m really sorry, but that won’t be possible,” the guy says with a frown. “You can try writing to our customer service if you want to try to make a special request. They might be able to deliver it to you.”
“That’s ridiculous!” the woman exclaims, throwing her hands up in the air. “My daughter wanted one and now I can’t buy it without typing up a stupid email? And it’s not even guaranteed that I can get it? I wanted to buy it today!”
“Yes, I’m sorry, ma’am. Would your daughter be interested in any of our other current designs? Right now we have—”
“No!” she yells, drawing even more attention from other customers. “Shut up, stop trying to advertise your other cheap garbage to me, she wanted that specific shirt and now you’ve ruined my birthday surprise for her!”
The woman storms out of the store.
Instead of grumbling to himself or looking irritated, the guy looks… surprisingly normal. He goes back to folding the shirts, and when another customer asks him about where the washrooms are, he responds just as nicely as he had earlier.
Hanbin knows how hard customer service jobs are, but this guy truly radiates a level of kindness beyond what he normally sees, and it only makes him even more attractive.
After folding all the clothes in the section that people had haphazardly left all over the place, the guy turns and heads to the next row of shelves. Hanbin misses him instantly, but he pushes that feeling away.
After Hanbin has explored every section and tried on a few things he wants to buy, he heads to the cashier. Just before he joins the line of people, his phone buzzes with a notification. It turns out to be a message in his group chat with his friends, Hao and Jiwoong, about performing at an event in the summer, so he busies himself with texting them as he queues up.
Before long, it’s his turn, so Hanbin slides his phone into his pocket and walks over to the cashier. It’s only then that he really looks up and realises that the cashier is none other than the cute guy from earlier, with a sweet little smile on his face. It must be a standard customer service smile, but Hanbin’s heart does a flip anyway. He puts the clothes down on the counter for the guy to scan and tries not to stare.
The guy scans the last item and looks up, meeting Hanbin’s gaze once more. Hanbin’s breath catches in his throat. “Would you like a bag for these?” the guy asks.
Hanbin is well aware that he has a reusable plastic bag inside his bag right now. Hanbin also can’t think straight right now, because he blurts out a “Yes please.” How could he say no to such a beautiful man?
The guy pulls out a light blue paper bag from beneath the counter and places the clothes inside before he taps a button on his screen. “That will be 47,000 won,” he tells Hanbin.
Hanbin takes his wallet out and pulls out the money, hoping his hand isn’t shaking too visibly.
The guy reaches out to accept the cash from Hanbin and his fingers brush against Hanbin’s in the process, making Hanbin’s face heat up even more.
With nimble fingers, the guy counts the notes, and nods gently when he finds that Hanbin gave him the right amount. While the guy is busy pressing buttons to process the payment and print the receipt, Hanbin allows himself the luxury of looking at the guy’s handsome face again. It’s at this point that he realises that he’s got a nametag on, and now he knows that the guy is called Matthew. It’s a cute name, perfect for a cute guy like him.
Once the receipt is printed, Matthew holds it out and Hanbin reaches out to take it, along with the paper bag.
“Thank you for coming!” Matthew says with a bright smile.
“You to—” Hanbin starts to say, but cuts himself off when he realises that Matthew had, in fact, not said “Have a nice day!”
Unfortunately for him, Matthew definitely heard him, because he chuckles. Hanbin wants to throw himself off the building.
Hanbin knows it’s stupid of him to go back to the clothing store in a mere three days. He doesn’t even need to buy anything, he just wants to see the cute guy again. After that day, Hanbin couldn’t get him out of his mind. How meticulous he had been with folding the clothes, his bright smile as he worked the cash register, and of course when Hanbin embarrassed himself right before he fled the store. Hanbin needs a do-over of that first impression. Desperately.
Hanbin slowly walks around the store, pretending to look at the clothes (he doesn’t think anything has changed yet) while keeping an eye out for Matthew.
After a few minutes of failing to spot him, Hanbin remembers that Matthew might be at the cash register again. He takes a peek and, just as he had suspected, finds him standing there. His heart rate accelerates.
Returning to the clothes, Hanbin searches for something to buy. Thankfully, the big sale is still on, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find something.
Hanbin makes a beeline to a table with multiple caps laid out on it. Perfect! He studies their designs carefully, eventually picking one which isn’t too similar to all the caps he already has.
With the cap in hand, he confidently walks over to the cash register. It might be a trick of the light, but the way Matthew’s eyebrows go up ever so slightly deludes Hanbin into thinking that maybe Matthew remembers him.
But Matthew is also incredibly professional, because he doesn’t say anything about how Hanbin had just been here three days ago and just scans the cap. “Would you like a bag?” he asks.
“Yes!” Hanbin rushes to say, even though he knows very well that he could simply wear the cap right away.
Matthew nods and takes a bag out.
He knows Matthew’s just doing his job, but Hanbin can’t help but admire Matthew as he processes the payment. It feels like they’re suspended in time, just the two of them in a bubble of their own where nothing else matters.
The bubble bursts when Matthew holds out the receipt for Hanbin. “Thank you for coming!”
Hanbin smiles and takes it. “Thank you,” he says, like he hadn’t practised it a hundred times earlier that day, and leaves the store smoothly.
There, he did it. He didn’t mess up this time.
The rush of adrenaline Hanbin feels makes him think he could run a marathon. He has to keep coming back.
When Hanbin notices a hole in his jacket, he goes to buy a new one from Melting Rose.
When Hanbin can’t find one of his socks, he gets a few new pairs that same afternoon.
Even when he doesn’t have something specific to buy, Hanbin finds himself in the store anyway, often walking away with yet another purchase and a smile from Matthew. He can’t help it; Matthew’s irresistible.
Hanbin also starts scraping out as many of his coins as possible when he pays, extending their time together by another few seconds. Unlike other cashiers he’s encountered, Matthew doesn’t seem to mind it at all and patiently counts them one by one.
There’s no doubt that Hanbin’s fondness for Matthew has been growing, and so has the number of Melting Rose paper bags in his dorm room.
“Why do you have so many of these?” Jiwoong asks one day, nodding at the bags neatly stacked together in a corner of Hanbin’s bookshelf.
“Oh, you know, I just keep forgetting to bring a bag whenever I buy something.” Hanbin shrugs.
“Where is that even from?” Jiwoong asks. “I’ve never seen that bag before.”
“It’s from Melting Rose, have you heard of it?”
Jiwoong shakes his head. “Sounds like the name of a fancy ice cream brand.”
For a moment, Hanbin imagines Matthew working at an ice cream parlour, scooping ice cream with his beautiful arms. He snaps out of it when he realises Jiwoong is still staring at him. “No, it’s a clothing brand,” Hanbin explains.
“Are you a big fan of their stuff or what?” Jiwoong chuckles. “It looks like there are at least six of them.”
There are eight, to be precise. Not that Hanbin’s kept count of the number of times he’s interacted with Matthew or anything. “Well, you never know when having some extra bags could come in handy!” Hanbin laughs nervously. “Which song do you think we should cover next?” he asks.
Jiwoong laughs at Hanbin’s obvious attempt at a change of topic, but goes along with it. “I don’t really have any ideas, do you?”
Hanbin relaxes. His secret is safe for another day.
After Hanbin gets an email about a new collaboration with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (he subscribed to the Melting Rose newsletter, sue him), he books it to the store on the first day. Never mind the fact that it’s his first time hearing about this series, he’s just gotten a new excuse to see Matthew.
He looks through the shirts and hoodies, eventually settling on a pink hoodie. He goes to the fitting room to try it on. The size is just right, and the colour looks good on him too, so he takes it out of the fitting room and scans the entire store for Matthew.
Having failed to find Matthew anywhere, he puts the hoodie down and retreats. He has to save this chance for another visit. He drags his feet to the dance studio, lamenting his lack of morning serotonin.
When he pushes the door open, Hao peers at his empty hands curiously. “Didn’t you say you were buying a shirt or something?”
“Um…” Hanbin racks his brain for an excuse. “I decided I’ll get it next time.”
“You’ve been acting weird lately, always taking longer to show up or disappearing,” Hao says, narrowing his eyes.
“I noticed that too,” Jiwoong adds. “Have you been seeing someone?”
Hanbin shakes his head right away. “Of course not! You guys would be the first to know if I got a boyfriend.”
“What about a situationship? Would you tell us?” Hao asks.
“Uh…” Hanbin pauses. Whatever he’s got going on with Matthew doesn’t even count as a situationship. “Yes?”
“You just hesitated!” Hao exclaims. “This guy is suspicious,” he says to Jiwoong, who nods.
“Nothing’s suspicious!” Hanbin quickly denies. “I’m not seeing anyone. Come on, let’s get started with practice now.”
Hao chuckles, amused. “Right, totally not suspicious.”
Four days later, Hanbin finds enough time to go to the store again, and this time Matthew is back at the cash register. Trying not to smile too hard, Hanbin picks up the hoodie he had chosen last time and goes to pay.
His speed turns out to be a mistake, because Matthew is still attending to a customer while the other cashier next to him is free. Hanbin quickly backtracks, pretending he got a phone call.
As soon as Matthew has finished with the previous customer, Hanbin acts like his phone call just ended and walks up to his counter, placing the hoodie down and pulling his wallet out.
Matthew’s head tilts to the side adorably. “Hello,” he greets.
Hanbin’s chest blooms with warmth. Isn’t this the first time Matthew greeted him? His voice is so cute even when he’s saying something as simple as ‘hello’. “Hi,” Hanbin stammers.
Matthew picks up the hoodie and gasps when he sees the design. “You like Stone Ocean too?”
Hanbin has no idea what a Stone Ocean is. “Oh, um, yeah!”
Matthew’s eyes seem to sparkle when he hears Hanbin’s response. “It’s so good,” he gushes.
Hanbin nods eagerly, praying he looks like he knows what Matthew’s talking about. “Yeah.”
“Do you have a favourite Stand?” Matthew asks as he scans the hoodie.
What in the world is a Stand? Hanbin pauses in fake thoughtfulness. “I think I like them all,” he finally says.
“I get you, there are so many cool ones. Would you like a bag?”
“Yes please.”
“Thought so,” Matthew says, the corner of his mouth going up a little more. It’s terribly attractive, even though it seems he was teasing Hanbin.
Time passes far too quickly, and before long Matthew is printing out another receipt and holding it out for Hanbin to take.
“Thank you for coming!” Matthew seems to be smiling more brightly at him than usual. Hanbin really has to find out what this Stone Ocean thing is and familiarise himself with it before Matthew can catch him off guard with another question.
A few weeks and 190 anime episodes later, Hanbin finally feels confident enough to walk into the mall again. That, and the fact that he’s also gotten through all his exams for the semester, so now he actually has the time to go there without feeling guilty. This time, he has to find a sheer shirt to wear for their upcoming dance cover.
While doing his own online shopping, Hao had come across a shirt he thought was perfect for the cover, saving Hanbin from having to search for something himself. Hao had sent a screenshot over, and to Hanbin’s surprise, the shirt turned out to be from none other than Melting Rose. Wanting to save on delivery costs, Hanbin decided to go to the store and buy it himself. Definitely didn’t have anything to do with a certain handsome guy who works there.
When Hanbin arrives at the store, he makes his way to the button up shirts and looks out for the black shirt in the screenshot Hao had sent him.
But even after ten minutes, the right shirt is nowhere to be found. Hanbin had even tried to look at other parts of the store, in case it got put elsewhere. Did they stop selling it? Does he need to go to another branch?
Hanbin checks the image again, scratching the back of his head as he wonders whether he should ask someone.
“Do you need any help?” a voice suddenly asks.
Hanbin whips around and sees Matthew standing right next to him. His hair looks extra fluffy today, and Hanbin wishes he could reach out and touch it.
Trying his best to ignore the thumping of his heart, Hanbin clears his throat. “Oh, yes actually. I’m looking for this shirt,” Hanbin says, showing Matthew his phone.
Matthew hums. “I know we have it somewhere. But it’s almost sold out here, so it might be hidden amongst some of the other shirts.” He checks each hanger on one of the racks in the corner. “Ah, here!” He pulls out a shirt. “Is this the one you want?”
Hanbin stares at it and then at his phone. Looks about right. “Yes, I think so!”
Hearing that, Matthew grins. “It seems like it’s the last one here, so if you need another size, you might need to visit another branch or order it on our website.”
Hanbin smiles gratefully. “Got it, thank you!”
“No problem!” Matthew smiles and disappears down another aisle.
Hanbin takes the shirt to the fitting room to try it on. To his relief, the size is just right for him. Looking at the mirror, Hanbin can also tell that the shirt is… very see-through. Hanbin swallows. Did Hao know this when he saw it?
Once he’s done checking that the shirt is in mint condition, Hanbin takes it to go pay.
Surprisingly, Matthew is there again. Wasn’t he walking around just a few minutes ago? They must swap roles pretty fast here. He smiles at Hanbin, which gets Hanbin’s heart doing somersaults. “I’m guessing it fits?” Matthew asks.
“Yeah, really well,” Hanbin replies. He can’t help but feel a little giddy over the fact that Matthew had asked him about the shirt. “Thank you so much for helping me find it.”
“I’m happy I could help! Would you like a bag for it?” Matthew asks.
“Yes please,” Hanbin quickly says, even though he knows he’s got his reusable plastic bag folded up in his bag as usual.
“Alright.” Matthew takes out a paper bag, opening it so he can swiftly put the shirt in once he’s scanned it.
After Matthew tells him the final amount, he waits patiently as Hanbin digs through his wallet for the right notes, then counts them and processes the payment.
“Thank you for coming, it was nice seeing you again,” Matthew beams, handing Hanbin the receipt.
It was nice seeing you again?? Did Hanbin hear that right? He feels like he’s going to grow a pair of wings and fly. “Oh yes, you too,” Hanbin replies, trying to contain himself before his feet really do lift off the floor.
Did… did Matthew want to see him? This thought follows Hanbin as he makes his way to the dance studio.
“You look like you saw a ghost,” Hao remarks within twenty seconds of Hanbin stepping into the room. “What happened? Did your situationship reject you?”
“What? No!” Hanbin splutters. “I told you it’s nothing like that.”
“Sure,” Hao deadpans, clearly unwilling to believe Hanbin. “So did you get the shirt?”
“Yeah!” Hanbin pulls it out of the bag for Hao and Jiwoong to see.
Hao nods in approval. “Nice, so now that we have everything, are we filming next week?”
“Next week sounds good,” Hanbin says.
“Works for me,” Jiwoong chimes in. “Where are we going to film it?”
“What about that park with the huge fountain?” Hao suggests. “There are lots of open spaces there.”
Hanbin knows which one he’s talking about right away. It’s very close to the mall Melting Rose is in. “I think that would be perfect,” he says. With luck, after they’re done filming he can drop by the store again.
“Jiwoong hyung?” Hao asks.
Jiwoong shrugs. “I don’t mind.”
Hanbin tries not to smile, knowing it would only earn him another round of interrogations.
After getting changed in the park bathroom, Hanbin puts on the choker that Hao had bought and lets Hao do his makeup.
“Guys,” Jiwoong starts, making both Hao and Hanbin turn to look at him. “I forgot to bring a belt, and these pants are a bit looser than I expected,” he says, tugging at his pants. “It’s not going to look very good when I tuck this shirt in.”
Hao frowns. “I didn’t bring a spare belt. Did you?” he asks Hanbin, who shakes his head. “I’m not sure we can wait an hour for you to go home. Gyuvin’s going to get here any minute now.”
“Well, what about I go buy one instead? Aren’t there loads of clothing stores there?” Jiwoong asks, gesturing at the mall.
Hanbin realises that he quite literally jumps at any chance to go to Melting Rose, because he’s on his feet in a second. “I can go.”
Jiwoong blinks. “Are you sure? It’s my fault for not bringing a belt.”
“Yeah, it’s fine, I know my way around this mall. Hao still needs to do your hair and makeup anyway.”
“Alright,” Jiwoong says, taking Hanbin’s seat on the bench, “don’t take too long.”
“I won’t.” Hanbin slips his jacket off and walks into the mall, heading straight to his favourite store.
It’s a Sunday too, which means Matthew is most likely there.
While he would normally have spent a little longer loitering around to see where Matthew is, he knows he can’t keep Hao and Jiwoong waiting for too long today, so this time Hanbin goes straight to the belts section, grabs a black leather belt and heads for the cashier. As luck would have it, that’s exactly where Matthew is stationed, and there’s no one in line.
“Hi,” Hanbin says as he walks up to Matthew and puts the belt down.
Matthew blinks. “Oh, hi! I almost didn’t recognise you with the makeup and your hair styled like this,” he says. “And you’re wearing the shirt you bought last time! What’s the occasion?”
Hanbin can’t help the sense of pride that fills him. So Matthew remembers! “I’m about to film a dance cover,” Hanbin explains. “My friend forgot to bring a belt, so I’m buying this for him.”
“Oh, really?” Hanbin notices Matthew’s gaze start to trail downwards to Hanbin’s chest and stiffens. Right, he had completely forgotten that this shirt is practically see-through after trying it on last time. Maybe he should’ve gone to the gym before this. He didn’t think he would end up wearing this in front of Matthew, after all. He swallows, trying to keep still. “What kind of dance cover is it?” Matthew asks.
“Do you know NCT?”
Matthew lights up. “I do! I love their music.”
Hanbin can’t believe his luck. The man of his dreams has been ticking every single box, even the NCTzen one. “Me too! We’re covering Perfume by their subunit Dojaejung.”
“That’s so cool. Are you doing it for fun or for, like, a competition or something?”
“Just for fun,” Hanbin says.
“You should show me a video sometime. I love dancing too.”
“Sure,” Hanbin nods, “I’m in a bit of a rush today, but I’ll show you next time!”
“Oh! Sorry if I’m holding you up.”
“No, no, you’re not,” Hanbin hurriedly reassures him, distraught at the thought of Matthew potentially feeling bad about something. “I just can’t stay long.”
“Okay, that’s a relief.” Matthew scans the belt. “Would you like a bag?” he asks.
“Yes please.”
Nodding, Matthew takes a bag out and puts the belt inside.
The rest of the process is routine now, but this time, Matthew says, “Good luck with the cover!”
Hanbin flushes. “Thank you.”
He hopes he isn’t too red in the face as he heads out of the mall to find Hao and Jiwoong. Hao is watching something on his phone while Jiwoong is practising his moves on the side.
Hao furrows his brows when he sees Hanbin walking up to them. “Why did you get a bag for a single belt?”
“Oh, you know, just in case we need to put stuff in it later,” Hanbin lies.
Hearing the conversation, Jiwoong turns around, spots the bag and scoffs. “Another one? He’s got like six of those in his room,” he tells Hao.
“What, their quality is very good!” Hanbin protests. He’s not lying this time, the Melting Rose bags really are nice. So nice that he can’t bring himself to use them.
Hanbin is saved from further questioning when Gyuvin shows up, his big camera in tow.
Filming goes smoothly, but Hanbin feels more tense than he usually does, knowing that every take could be a video he’ll be showing to Matthew in the near future. He monitors each one carefully, watching out for anything that looks off.
When they decide their thirteenth video is the perfect one to post, Hanbin feels his muscles relax. It probably won’t get any better than this.
“You’re extra concerned about this one,” Jiwoong remarks. “We normally don’t film for a cover this many times.”
Hanbin chuckles. “It’s because it’s an NCT song, you know, and it’s one of Jaehyun’s songs too, so I really want it to be perfect.” He turns to Gyuvin. “When do you think you’ll be done editing?”
Gyuvin hums. “The day after tomorrow, maybe? I’ve got some stuff going on tomorrow.”
“That sounds good, thanks,” Hanbin says, making a mental note of this so he can plan his next trip to Melting Rose.
“By the way,” Gyuvin says, “you guys signed up for the event that’s happening in a few weeks, right? Have you started getting ready for that yet?”
“What event?” Hanbin asks.
“The one I texted you about last time, remember?” Hao asks.
And then it dawns on Hanbin. It’s the one they’d been texting about on the day he first saw Matthew. It completely slipped his mind because he was too flustered after embarrassing himself and didn’t add it to his calendar. “I may have forgotten about it…” he murmurs.
“It’s okay, you still have time!” Gyuvin says.
“Yeah,” Hanbin says, “let’s start working on that the next time we meet, I’m exhausted.”
“You were the one who wanted to film so many takes,” Gyuvin chuckles.
“It’s the perfectionist in him,” Jiwoong says.
Hanbin nods, deciding to go along with it. He’d rather let them think that than tell them the truth.
It’s almost as if he and Matthew made an unspoken agreement to keep meeting at Melting Rose. At least, that’s what it feels like to Hanbin.
Even from a distance, Hanbin can see Matthew fixing the clothes on a mannequin. He lights up when he sees Hanbin enter the store, and goes to whisper something in the ear of a colleague before he bounds over to Hanbin like an excited puppy. “Hey,” Matthew says. Forget the rose in the brand name, Hanbin’s heart is what’s really melting here.
“Hi,” Hanbin says, his voice coming out a little strained.
“Did you finish filming the cover last time?”
“Yeah, we did.”
“That’s great!”
“Do you… want to see?” Hanbin asks.
“Of course I do! I asked my manager if I could go on break just so I could watch it.” Matthew grins.
Hanbin flushes. “It’s nothing impressive.”
“That’s fine, I know you still worked hard.” Matthew gestures to the entrance of the store. “How about we watch it outside?”
“Sure.”
Matthew leans against the wall a short distance away from the store as Hanbin pulls out his phone. He inhales sharply as he finds the video, turning the volume up. “Here it is,” he says, holding it out so they can watch it together.
Hanbin holds his breath as it starts to play, stealing glances at Matthew every few seconds to check for his reaction. Matthew seems to be too focused to even notice Hanbin looking at him, his lips forming a pout just like when he’s diligently folding clothes.
As soon as the video ends, Matthew turns to gawk at Hanbin. “You said this is nothing impressive? Are you serious? I think you’re better than most of the dancers I’ve met.”
Hanbin can feel how warm his cheeks are. “Ah, I’m really not that good,” he says, waving a hand.
“But your moves are so sharp. I’ll be shocked if this doesn’t get a lot of attention.”
Hanbin smiles, a little pleased to hear so many compliments from Matthew. “We’ll see, there are loads of other great covers out there. You said you dance too, right? Do you go to classes anywhere?”
“I did, but not recently because I picked up more shifts here.”
“Ah, are you only working here part-time?”
“Yeah, I’m also a uni student.”
“Me too! Which school do you go to?”
As they keep talking, Hanbin also learns that Matthew is a year younger than him and grew up in Canada, where he started dancing because of his sister. They continue talking about dance classes they’ve attended and Matthew shows him a video someone helped him take during one of them. His moves are so smooth that they leave Hanbin in awe.
After a while, Matthew checks the time on his watch and frowns. “It’s almost the end of my break, I have to go back now,” he says. “Did you come to check out the new pants?”
“Oh, yeah!” Hanbin quickly agrees. That had been his excuse to visit the store today, after all. “I saw the email about them the other day.”
“Oh, you subscribed?” Matthew chuckles. “You’re a really loyal customer. Maybe I’ll see you inside then?”
Hanbin nods right away. “Yeah, of course!” It would be pathetic if he just left, because then it would be obvious that the only reason he went to the store today was to see Matthew. Though at this point, Matthew might already know.
Walking back into the store, Hanbin finds his way to the area where the new pants were placed. They come in a lot of colours, so he spends a while deliberating which to buy. He ends up bringing three pairs to the fitting room.
After he tries them all on and settles on the darkest pair, he takes it to the cashier. As usual, Matthew is there, smiling as Hanbin approaches him.
Hanbin places the pants down. “I decided to get these,” he says.
“Good choice, I like this colour a lot too,” Matthew says with a nod, picking the pants up so he can scan them. “Would you like a bag?” he asks.
Hanbin smiles. “Yes please.”
“Here’s your receipt,” Matthew says, holding it out to Hanbin.
When Hanbin takes it from him, a certain number catches his eye. “Hey, isn’t this a lucky number?” He points at the time on the receipt. 3:33pm.
Matthew leans forward to take a look. “Oh, that’s cool!”
“Maybe it means something good will happen today,” Hanbin chuckles.
Matthew tilts his head to the side, a smile tugging at his lips. “I think it already has, because I got to talk to you.”
Was Matthew trying to flirt with him? Hanbin’s heart does a flip. “I think so too!” he quickly says.
Before either of them can say anything else, a colleague calls for Matthew, pulling him away from the cash register. Even still, the abrupt end to their conversation doesn’t stop Hanbin from swinging the bag as he walks out of the store, smiling to himself. Matthew thought their conversation was something good, and that’s more than enough for him.
With their performance coming up, Hanbin finds himself locked in the dance studio with Jiwoong and Hao more often than not. On top of their late start to preparing, they’d spent ages deciding on which songs to perform, leaving them with less time to practise. When Jiwoong has to leave early one day, Hanbin snatches the opportunity to go to Melting Rose instead of continuing to go over the songs with Hao.
The moment he steps inside, he sees Matthew standing on his tiptoes, trying to grab something off the top of a shelf. Hanbin’s by his side in a second. “Do you need any help?” he asks.
Matthew looks at him and once again, Hanbin is instantly entranced by his beautiful features up close. “Oh, thank you,” Matthew says, moving aside.
Hanbin reaches up to grab what turns out to be a cap. “Here you go,” he says, passing it to Matthew.
Matthew gives him a grateful nod. “Thank you.”
“What was it doing up there?”
“Long story short, some kids were running around and throwing things across the store like frisbees just now,” Matthew chuckles. “Sorry you had to do my job for me.” He flashes Hanbin a sheepish smile.
Hanbin has to take a moment to process this new smile and almost forgets that Matthew had just said something to him. “Don’t be sorry! It’s my pleasure to help! That sounds kind of annoying.”
“It’s alright, maybe they were really rowdy because they just had some tests or something. Everyone’s got their days. At least they didn’t break anything.”
Matthew’s sweet way of seeing things makes Hanbin’s heart soar. This guy is an angel.
“Also,” Matthew mumbles, “I realised I never asked for your name.”
Hanbin feels his heart skip a beat. Matthew wants to know his name? “Oh! I’m Hanbin.”
“Hanbin,” Matthew repeats, completely oblivious to the things it does to Hanbin's chest. “I’m Matthew. Ah, but you probably already know that,” he adds, looking down at his nametag.
Hanbin tries not to smile too hard. “Yeah.”
“It’s good to see you again, Hanbin-ssi.” Matthew smiles warmly.
“It’s good to see you too,” Hanbin says, feeling a little dazed. “Oh, you can just call me hyung.”
“Okay,” Matthew says. “Hanbin hyung it is.”
Hanbin’s heart flutters. Not only is Matthew’s pronunciation of his name just so adorable, the way he says ‘hyung’ sounds more like ‘hyong’, giving Hanbin a shot of instant serotonin. It should be impossible for someone to be this endearing.
Right when Hanbin opens his mouth again to tell Matthew about how the dance practices had kept him busy, someone else suddenly walks up to them and says, “Excuse me, do you know where I can find the new Seoul themed collection?”
“Oh, yes! Right this way.” Matthew flashes Hanbin an apologetic smile as he brings the other customer to the right section.
Knowing he can’t just awkwardly stand there, Hanbin decides to take a stroll around the store. He heads over to look at the different shirts available. It's been a while, so there are some new items that he hasn't seen before. A row of flannel shirts catches his eye, so Hanbin stops to sift through them.
Eventually, Hanbin is left with two options. Trying them on didn’t help either, they both look good. He holds them side by side, wondering if he should just get two this time.
“Do you need any help?” a voice says.
Hanbin looks to his left and sees Matthew standing next to him. It brings a smile to Hanbin’s lips right away. “Yes, actually.” He turns to show the shirts to Matthew. “I can’t choose which one to get.”
“Hmm…” Matthew pouts adorably as he studies the two shirts. “I think this one suits you better,” he says after a while, pointing at the yellow and black one. “You look great in any colour, but I think yellow looks extra good on you.”
Oh. Oh. He’s definitely flirting with him. Hanbin can’t help the grin that breaks out on his face. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” Matthew says with a smile. “I actually bought this one myself.”
“Really?” The thought of getting the same shirt as Matthew makes Hanbin’s heart burst.
“Yeah, I got it on the day they started selling.”
Hanbin doesn’t need any more convincing. “Okay, I’ll go pay for this now.”
Matthew nods. “Sure.” To Hanbin’s surprise, instead of sending him off to the cashier who’s already there, Matthew walks him to an unmanned cash register. Hanbin needs a moment to remember to put the flannel down.
Picking it up, Matthew scans it and presses buttons as usual. “Would you like a bag?”
“Yes please,” Hanbin says automatically. At this point, it’s painfully obvious that this exchange is just a formality.
Matthew pulls a paper bag out, folding the flannel shirt and placing it inside. He accepts the cash from Hanbin and taps buttons on the screen as usual. All the while, Hanbin tries to figure out how best to ask Matthew out, but his mind is too scrambled to come up with something. There’s also a part of his brain that’s reminding him that Matthew could just be flirting with him for fun.
“Here’s the receipt,” Matthew says, snapping Hanbin out of his daze. “Thank you for coming!”
Hanbin takes it, but instead of leaving, he finds himself frozen in place, his pounding heart making it difficult to think.
Matthew blinks. “Hm? Is something wrong with the receipt?”
“Uh, no,” Hanbin says, shaking his head. “Just spaced out a bit, sorry. I danced for a long time today so I must be out of it.”
“Remember to get some rest too, okay?” Matthew says, pouting.
Matthew’s reaction shoots another arrow through Hanbin’s heart. He’s just so cute and caring. “A-ah, yes, I’m heading back to my dorm now. Thank you.”
Hanbin leaves the store feeling a little defeated. How is he supposed to ask Matthew out? Matthew is leagues above him.
With the preparations for their performance coming along well, Hanbin decides to reward himself with another trip to Melting Rose. He’d paid the store a few more visits since the time when he bought the flannel, but each time he had failed to ask Matthew out. The words seem to be on the tip of his tongue now, but he can’t bring himself to say them, he always ends up tongue-tied.
Hanbin can see Matthew folding clothes again. It blows his mind every time how quickly and neatly he folds them. He lingers behind another shelf, hesitating to walk up to Matthew.
“Oh, so that’s why you get all those bags,” a voice says from behind Hanbin.
Hanbin jumps and whips around. “Hao hyung!” he whispers. “He’s going to hear you if you speak so loudly,” he scolds. “And what do you mean by that?”
Hao can’t hold back a giggle. “You’re like an open book, dude. So easy to read. You’re into him so you keep coming here and asking for a bag when you buy something so you can stare at him for another few seconds. Tell me I’m wrong, I dare you.”
Hanbin sucks in a breath. Hao is right, of course he is. “Why are you here?” he asks, averting his gaze. His face is burning and he has no doubt that Hao can see it.
“Can a guy not follow his friend into a store because he wants to know what he’s up to?”
“You’re stalking me?”
Hao raises an eyebrow. “Says you.”
Hanbin sighs. “You got me there.”
“Are you just going to hide here and watch him?”
“He’s busy, I don’t want to bother him.” Even without looking at him, Hanbin can feel the weight of Hao’s judgement.
“Well, since we’re here, why don’t you show me around?”
Hanbin almost feels like a tour guide at a zoo as he takes Hao to each section of the Melting Rose store. Hao checks out various different items, oohing and aahing at many of them. Hanbin feels a little proud that Hao approves of the range of options here.
Leading Hao past a row of mannequins, Hanbin gestures at some denim jackets. “They recently moved these over here,” he explains. “They’ve had them for a few months.”
Hao looks through the designs. “These are nice,” he says with a nod. He pulls out one of the grey ones, eyeing it for a moment before he tries it on. Walking over to a mirror, he checks out his reflection. “I like this one. What do you think?”
Hanbin nods. “It suits you.”
Taking the jacket off, Hao drapes it over his arm. “I think I’ll get this. It’ll look great with some of my clothes. Have we seen everything already?”
“Almost. There are some other jackets over on the other side.”
After Hao’s done taking a look at all the clothes in the store, Hanbin leads the way to the cashier.
“You really know this place like the back of your hand, huh,” Hao quips. “You might as well work here.”
Hanbin laughs. “I don’t think I have enough time to handle a job.”
“Yeah, because you’re too busy coming here to ogle your crush.”
Hanbin wishes Hao would stop being right about everything.
“Oh, it’s him,” Hao mumbles. Hanbin’s head snaps up.
Just as Hao said, Matthew is at the cash register again, smiling as he hands a neatly folded shirt and a receipt to a customer.
As the customer leaves the store, Hanbin and Hao walk up to Matthew. While Hao places his jacket down, Hanbin meekly stands next to him. “Hi,” Hanbin murmurs, unable to ignore the fact that he’s not alone with Matthew today.
“Hi,” Matthew replies. When his gaze shifts to Hao, his eyes widen. “Oh! You’re the one in the video!”
Hao blinks. “What video?”
“Hanbin hyung’s Perfume cover!”
“Ohh, yeah, that’s me.”
“You guys were so good,” Matthew says. “Do you dance together a lot?”
“Yeah, all the time.”
Matthew scans the jacket. “Would you like a bag?” His gaze darts between Hao and Hanbin. He’s not the tallest of guys, but his presence seems even smaller today.
“Yes please,” Hanbin quickly says.
“Alright.” Matthew grabs a paper bag and folds the jacket before putting it inside.
“My boyfriend’s going to love this jacket,” Hao suddenly says.
“When d—” Hanbin’s sentence gets cut off by Hao stepping on his foot, forcing him to clench his jaw shut to not let out a yelp of pain.
Fortunately, Matthew doesn’t seem to notice. “Oh, is it a surprise?” he asks.
“Yeah, his birthday’s coming up,” Hao beams.
“I’m sure he will love it! This jacket has been selling really well.” Matthew flashes a smile.
Hao takes his card out to pay for the jacket and glances at Hanbin before he says, “We’re actually performing at an event next week, do you want to come watch?”
Matthew lights up when he hears this. “I’d love to!” When the receipt prints, he grabs a pen and flips the receipt over, scrawling some numbers on it. “Here’s my number, you can text me the details. I’ll be there.”
“Great,” Hao says, taking the receipt and the paper bag, “I’ll send them to you later.”
The moment they exit the store, Hanbin stops walking and whips around. “What was that about?”
“What do you mean?” Hao asks, feigning innocence.
“Since when did you get a boyfriend? Wasn’t that jacket for yourself?”
“Oh, it is for me,” Hao says with a smile.
That answer only makes Hanbin frown even more. “Then why did you lie about buying the jacket for a boyfriend who doesn’t even exist?”
“Ouch, you didn’t have to rub it in like that,” Hao says, rubbing his chest in false pain. “Well, do you think he seems a little different today?”
“Well, yeah, but that’s probably because you were there.”
“Exactly!” Hao exclaims, raising a finger. He’s definitely in teacher mode. “It was my first time meeting him, but I’m not blind, Hanbin. He was so smiley until he saw me next to you. I had to make sure he knew that we’re not dating and I’m not into you without straight up saying it, and the jacket was the first thing I thought of.”
“He… thought we were dating?” Hanbin asks, mortified.
“No!” Hao smacks a hand to his forehead. “Well, I don’t know if it crossed his mind, but I just had to clarify before he could misunderstand. You know, like in every romance story ever,” he deadpans, rolling his eyes.
Hanbin chuckles. “Thanks.”
“Now it’s your turn to explain yourself. How come you showed our Perfume cover to him?”
“That day when I bought the belt for Jiwoong hyung, I told him what we were doing and he asked to see a video of me dancing so I showed it to him another time.”
“So you two are that close already? And he even knows your name and calls you hyung! From the way you were acting earlier I thought you’d barely even talked to him!”
“Ah, well that was kind of our first proper conversation,” Hanbin mumbles. “He took a break to watch the video and then we chatted about dancing and stuff until he had to go back. It turns out he dances too,” he smiles as he recalls their conversation. “He showed me a video too.”
Hao stares at Hanbin for a moment. “And you still haven’t asked him out?” he asks.
Hanbin stares back at him. “What do you mean by that?”
Hao pinches the bridge of his nose. “What I’m trying to say is, I think he’s got to be at least a little interested in you. He wouldn’t want to see you dancing and let you see him dancing too if he wasn’t. Why haven’t you asked him out?”
“I’m trying, but I keep chickening out… I’m just not sure if I really have a chance or not.”
“Well I’m telling you, I think you do. Do you think taking a break to talk to you is part of customer service?”
If all of the things Matthew has done are just part of customer service, then Hanbin’s definitely a very happy customer. But Hao is right, things like Matthew asking to see a video of him dancing, showing him a video in return, and spending his break talking to Hanbin are definitely not part of the job description. “Probably not,” Hanbin mumbles, feeling oddly like a child being scolded by one of his parents.
Hao heaves a sigh. “You’re lucky I invited him to watch us perform. You fools would probably take a century to get together without my help.”
“Right, thanks,” Hanbin murmurs. “So… are you going to give me his number?”
“No, you can ask him for it yourself when you talk to him after we blow him away with our performances.”
“Fine,” Hanbin sighs. “But please don’t send him anything weird,” he pleads.
Hao rolls his eyes. “That should be the least of your worries. You should be running to practise so you can impress him with your amazing dancing.”
“You’re right.”
“I always am,” Hao says, smirking.
Today’s event isn’t a competition, but Hanbin finds his palms sweatier than usual as they run through the rehearsal. He imagines Matthew sitting in the audience, watching him. What kind of expression will he have? Will he enjoy the performances? Will he even show up?
“He told me he’s on his way,” Hao says when Hanbin asks him the last question. He claps a hand on Hanbin’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, he’ll love the performances.”
Hanbin nods, but it still doesn’t ease his worries much. He keeps practising backstage, both the choreographies and what he’s going to say to Matthew afterwards.
Eventually, people start entering the venue. Hanbin wonders if Matthew is amongst them, but he doesn’t dare take a peek.
There’s not much time left, so they get changed into their outfits.
“I brought the belt you helped me buy last time,” Jiwoong says with a chuckle. “No need for you to run to that store again today.”
“He doesn’t need an excuse to go there today anyway,” Hao says. “His precious Matthew is going to be in the audience.”
Jiwoong laughs. “That’s true.” After Hao had caught Hanbin at Melting Rose, he’d filled Jiwoong in about what had happened, so now both of them tease Hanbin about it. But Hanbin doesn’t mind, as much as they make fun of him, they’re still more supportive than anything, even changing which songs to perform with the goal of wooing Matthew in mind.
They help each other out with styling their hair and applying some makeup, and before long, the event begins. They can hear an emcee giving an introduction and then inviting the first performer onto the stage. A group of acapella singers walk on stage and begin to sing.
When the second performer, an acrobatics team, takes the stage, Hanbin, Hao and Jiwoong brush up their makeup and check on their outfits one last time. They’re up next, after all.
“Next up, let’s welcome H2J!” the emcee announces. “They are a three member dance team from Dong-ah Institute of Media and Arts, and they excel in covering a variety of Kpop songs as well as creating their own original choreographies!”
Giving one another a final nod, they walk onto stage and get into position.
Their first song is IT’s You by Yeosang, San, and Wooyoung. When they were brainstorming songs to perform for the event, Gyuvin had gotten on his knees and begged them to cover it, refusing to get up until they agreed. None of them could say no to his puppy eyes and pout. In any case, it was the least they could do since Gyuvin always has their back with filming.
When the song begins, Hanbin looks up, and he can see loads of people in the audience, almost filling up the venue. He recognises some of them as his friends or schoolmates or people he’s danced with. Just like they always do whenever the three of them are performing somewhere, a bunch of them are holding signs to cheer them on or tease them (or both), saying things like “H2J is the best”, “I love you Zhang Hao”, and “Jiwoong hyung, why did you invite all these people to our date?” It’s hard to miss Gyuvin right in the middle, waving a huge banner with all three of their faces on it and big text calling them “The GOAT”.
Hanbin scans the crowd for Matthew. He finally finds him standing on the far side of the room, wearing what appears to be the same flannel as the one Hanbin had bought over a black T-shirt and holding a sign. When he reads the words on the sign, Hanbin almost chokes.
In large black letters, it says “Marry me, Hanbin”.
Hanbin doesn’t have time to process it, he has to focus on dancing or he won't be in sync with Hao and Jiwoong. Not to mention, it’s supposed to be more of a sensual song, and his facial expressions are definitely not going to match the vibe if he keeps thinking about that sign.
Thankfully, he manages to get through the song smoothly, and the venue fills with loud cheers. Hanbin can see Matthew joining the others waving their signs excitedly.
Hanbin barely gets to catch his breath as an original piece of music, composed by Hao, plays. He takes centre stage, leading a tutting choreography he had created. It’s not very long, because they had to make sure it fit within their allotted time, but the crowd roars with cheers and applause.
As soon as it ends, he gets ready for the second song to start. Next up is BSS’s Fighting. The energetic beats get Hanbin’s blood pumping. Hanbin reminds himself how Hao told him to think of this song as a way of cheering him on for what he has to do later. Whenever he’s facing either Jiwoong or Hao’s direction, they smile at him, giving him strength. Smiling comes easily whenever he’s with them, just like when he sees Matthew. The audience is singing along too, making the atmosphere even more lively.
Finally, the third song, EXO-CBX’s Blooming Day, begins. This is the most important of the three. Hanbin casts aside all other thoughts as he immerses himself in the music. Hao, the Kpop professor himself, had specially insisted on changing their third song one last time to this one, calling it a foolproof tool that will help Hanbin.
Moving into the middle of the stage, Hanbin inhales sharply as the song builds up to its chorus and finds Matthew in the audience again. They lock eyes just as Hanbin mouths the first line of the chorus.
”So baby, can I be your boyfriend, can I?”
The big smile that appears on Matthew’s face gives Hanbin a flurry of butterflies.
Hanbin breaks eye contact when his part ends and he has to move away from the centre, but the feeling of exhilaration only gets stronger.
After the song draws to a close, Hanbin, Hao, and Jiwoong bow and the crowd erupts into applause, many cheering.
The trio leave the stage and Hanbin turns to the others with a smile. “That was great,” he says, reaching for a towel to wipe his sweat. He doesn’t think he’s danced this hard in a while.
Jiwoong puts a hand on each of their shoulders. “Good job, both of you.”
“You too, hyung,” Hao says, passing them both bottles of water.
“We can take it easy now,” Jiwoong chuckles.
“I told you everyone would love it,” Hao says. “Matthew seemed to love it too. He was grinning like crazy the whole time, you know? It looked like he was only watching you. Did you make eye contact with him?”
“Only during Blooming Day,” Hanbin says. “I couldn’t bear to look at him before that. Did you see his sign?”
Hao bursts out laughing. “Oh yeah, I saw that. Very bold of him.”
“Which one?” Jiwoong asks. “The one asking you to marry him?”
Hanbin nods slightly, feeling his cheeks warm again. “Did you tell him we were going to perform Blooming Day?” he asks Hao.
“No, I didn’t tell him a single thing.”
“So he just came up with that on his own?” Hanbin asks, brows furrowed.
Hao shrugs. “Ask him that, not me.”
They sit back and relax until the other performances are done, after which they return to the stage with all the other performers to take a picture.
When the event is officially over, Hao gives Hanbin a nod that seems to say “Go look for him” and Jiwoong gives him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. Hanbin quickly gets changed out of his outfit, packs up his stuff and heads into the audience, looking for Matthew.
On the way, he bumps into Gyuvin. “Hanbin hyung!” Gyuvin exclaims, throwing his arms around Hanbin. “That was the best performance ever! I knew you guys could pull it off.”
“It’s nothing, we just tried our best,” Hanbin says. “It’s all thanks to you, really.”
Under other circumstances, Hanbin would’ve continued to chat with Gyuvin, but from the corner of his eye, he catches sight of Matthew lingering at the back near the exit.
“Sorry Gyuvin, I have to go now. I’ll catch you later, okay?”
Gyuvin looks surprised but lets him go. “See you!”
Giving Gyuvin a final nod, Hanbin slips past some other people and hurries over to where he had seen Matthew. Thankfully, he’s still there. “Matthew-ssi!” Hanbin calls out.
Matthew looks up and breaks into a smile. “Hey.”
“Thank you so much for coming to watch.”
“You were amazing! The other performances were awesome too, thank you guys for inviting me. The tutting was so cool, did you choreograph that yourself?”
“Yeah, I did,” Hanbin smiles.
“I loved it! It seems like everyone knows you, the whole audience was cheering for you and your friends, I saw their signs when I arrived so I quickly made one too,” Matthew says with a chuckle.
Hanbin laughs with him, the butterflies returning as he thinks about what Matthew had written on his sign. “Thanks for your support. They’re my friends and schoolmates, they love to tease us.” He pauses, swallowing. “Are you going to head home now?”
Matthew nods. “Yeah, I’m going to take the bus. How about you? Are you waiting for your friends?”
“No, I’m good to go now.”
“Oh, are you sure?”
“Yeah, they always take a while to leave. Um, I actually wanted to talk to you, so how about we walk to the bus stop together?”
“Sure,” Matthew says with a smile.
They head out of the venue together and Hanbin feels his heart rate accelerate again. It’s dark outside now, but Matthew still looks as bright as ever. Hanbin clears his throat and wipes his palms on his pants. “So, um…”
With how expectantly Matthew is looking at him, Hanbin has to calm his racing heart.
“We’ve kinda known each other for a few months now, but ever since I first saw you, I thought you were really handsome and also so good at your job. And when I got to talk to you, I felt that even more. I knew it must be really weird for me to keep visiting the store but I just couldn’t help it. You’re so nice and attentive, and every time I see you, I feel warm inside. But I didn’t know for sure whether you felt the same, so I kept hesitating. Luckily Hao hyung stepped in last time and said you should come see us perform, and I did my best preparing these songs wanting to impress you and then ask you out. I know this wasn’t a competition but… did I win your heart today?” Hanbin holds his breath as he waits for Matthew to respond.
Matthew beams. “You already did a long time ago.”
Hanbin stops walking for a second. “I did?”
“Yeah. I was actually starting to wonder if you were ever going to ask me out or if you were waiting for me to do it,” Matthew chuckles, putting his hands in his pockets. “Do you remember how I said I didn’t join any dance classes recently because I picked up more shifts?”
“Yeah,” Hanbin nods.
“I did that because I wanted to see you. And I always tried to make sure to be at the cash register after seeing you so I could get a chance to talk to you, even if it was for just one minute.”
Hanbin’s mouth falls open. “I thought it was just a coincidence.”
Matthew laughs. “Well, in the beginning it was. After that it was all me. My coworkers caught on really quickly and keep making fun of me, you know? But it’s worth it for you.” He grins. “From the first time we met, I thought you were so nice and cute, so I was really happy when you came back a few days later, and the more I learnt about you, the cooler I thought you were…”
Matthew takes a deep breath.
“So I think it goes without saying that I really like you too, and my answer to your question earlier on stage is definitely a yes.”
Hearing the first part brings a smile so wide to Hanbin’s face that he almost misses the rest of what Matthew says.
“My question?”
“When you were dancing to Blooming Day, you looked right at me when you mouthed the ‘can I be your boyfriend’ line, didn’t you?”
“Oh!” To say Hanbin is elated would be an understatement. They’re boyfriends now. Boyfriends. He must have a stupidly large grin on his face now. “Yeah, I was. I’m glad it worked. Hao hyung said we should cover that song specifically because of that.”
Matthew laughs when he hears that. “He seems like a really smart guy.”
“Oh, he is, he clocked my crush on you right away. It was so embarrassing. You know how he said he was getting that jacket as a gift for his boyfriend? That was a lie, he only said that so you wouldn’t think he might be into me.”
“I can’t wait to hear more about you from him then,” Matthew grins. He points at a bus stop just up ahead. “I’m catching a bus here. How about you?”
“I’m going to take the subway, but I’ll wait with you.”
“You don’t have to!” Matthew says. “It’ll probably arrive any minute now. You should get some rest, you must be tired.”
“Actually, I think I’m more excited than tired right now,” Hanbin says, trying to shake the excess energy out of his hands.
Matthew smiles. “Me too.” He reaches out and puts his hand on Hanbin’s. “Is this okay?” he asks.
“Yeah,” Hanbin mumbles, taking Matthew’s other hand.
“I can’t believe this is real,” Matthew says. “It feels like a dream.”
“If it is, then I hope I never wake up,” Hanbin replies, earning another chuckle from Matthew.
Hanbin can’t think of what else to say, but he’s content with simply swinging their arms from side to side and smiling at each other for a while. It’s already everything to him. It seems Matthew feels the same, because his grin is even wider than before.
“Oh, that’s my bus,” Matthew says, breaking the silence between them.
Hanbin instantly feels a little dismayed, and he frowns for the first time that night. “Ah, that was too fast.”
Matthew giggles. “It’s okay, we’ll see each other again soon. I had a great time today.”
“Me too,” Hanbin says. “Best day of my life, probably.” They laugh together, and Hanbin finds that he loves it when they do that.
The bus comes to a stop in front of them and a bunch of other people start piling in.
“Can I kiss you?” Matthew asks softly.
The thought of kissing Matthew makes Hanbin’s breath catch in his throat. Unable to form words, he nods instead.
Matthew leans in and gently presses a chaste kiss to Hanbin’s lips. When he pulls away, there’s a bright smile on his face.
“You worked hard today, Hanbin hyung, have a good rest,” Matthew says. “See you soon.”
“Thanks, see you,” Hanbin says, too dazed to say anything else.
Matthew gives Hanbin’s hands one last squeeze before he lets go and boards the bus. They wave at each other as the doors close and the bus drives off into the night.
Hanbin watches it disappear before he starts heading to the subway station. He can barely take a few steps before his excitement takes over and he starts jumping up and down and punching the air. He did it! He finally managed to ask Matthew out!
Humming Blooming Day to himself, Hanbin walks with a spring in his step. He’s all caught up in his joy, feeling like the king of the world, when it hits him. He forgot to ask Matthew for his number.
Well, good thing he’s a seasoned Melting Rose customer.