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Kyungsoo comes home to three things—darkening skies, a fat white cat snoozing happily on the porch, and Junmyeon inviting him for dinner the moment he reaches his apartment.
"Dinner?" He repeats, hands paused in the act of unlocking his front door. The invite came out of nowhere, literally—Junmyeon has just stepped out of his apartment to buy milk and butter when Kyungsoo reaches the third floor.
"Dinner," Junmyeon nods, smiling angelically. "I wanted to make up for the smoke alarm incident from before."
"Oh. Are you feeding the entire apartment complex, then?" He asks, partly to tease and partly out of sheer curiosity. "I wasn't the only one who got inconvenienced, you know."
"No, but I am working on making up for everyone," Junmyeon shrugs, undeterred by his jab. "Okay, and maybe I want to show off my newfound cooking skills that now go beyond breakfast food a little. Sue me."
"Uh huh. And the probability of you triggering your smoke alarm again is...?" Kyungsoo teases, earning him a shove on the arm.
"Hey, I just bought a slow cooker, and let me tell you, it's fantastic. And also hard to mess up, so I'd say the chances are very low," Junmyeon says smugly.
"It can still short-circuit, though," He points out, laughing when Junmyeon pouts at him. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Sure, hyung, count me in."
"Great! Saturday's fine with you?" His neighbor—who, now that he mentioned it, is looking mighty fine even in faded grey sweats and flip flops—brightens as he runs a hand through his hair. "Around 7 or something."
"Sounds good. I'll block the date," Kyungsoo flashes him a thumbs up. "See you then, hyung."
"Or, you know, when we bump into each other in the hallway," Junmyeon snorts. "Looking forward to it!" He waves goodbye and disappears down the stairwell, off to get his groceries.
Cute, Kyungsoo smiles to himself as he unlocks his door and throws his satchel onto his futon. Junmyeon is really kind-hearted, making up for what happened almost a month ago. Given, it was really his fault, but he already apologized for it. Dumb reason or not, it was an accident; it could've happened to anyone. Yet Junmyeon is still burdening himself to make it up to everyone who was affected. He briefly wonders how Junmyeon plans to make it up to those who he doesn't even know live in the complex as he makes tea—drive them to class? Clean their apartment? Cook them di—
Wait.
Kyungsoo drops the spoon he was using to stir sugar into his tea as a thought hits him. Junmyeon is making it up to him by cooking him dinner at his apartment. Alone. The latter didn't mention any company, and he didn't ask Kyungsoo to pass the message along. So that means that they'll be eating dinner together, just the two of them.
So is it a date, then?
Okay, whoa, hold up. Just because they're eating together alone doesn't mean that it's a date. Correlation does not warrant an automatic conclusion—the relationship might be too weak. And it is, because he does the exact same thing with other people, yet they're not dates at all. He eats dinner with Baekhyun all the time—as a matter of fact, the music major is about to come over for noodle stir-fry. He loves Baekhyun, really, but no. He eats lunch with Jongin sometimes, and it's not a date either. He grabs meals with his other friends every so often, too. So no, under that premise, it's not a date. Just a simple dinner.
But he did ask him. Dinners with Baekhyun are out of habit—an almost five-year habit, mind—and lunches with Jongin are almost always coincidental. Both are out of convenience. But this one is on purpose—Junmyeon asked him. On a dinner. Explicitly. Sure, coincidental dates also happen, like in movies and books, but they still clear it up that hey dude this was a date lmao. There is still the purpose of going out together. Junmyeon wanted him to eat dinner with him, spend some time with him. So, it's a date?
Okay, but he didn't actually ask him on a date, per se. He asked him to eat dinner with him. It can be a platonic meal together, too, like the ones that he cited before. The intent of this meal is to make up for the Great Smoke Alarm Incident. It's not to get to know him better or spend time with him, usual date purposes. It's a simple dinner with no meaning behind it. So it's not a date, then.
But what if he's just too shy to ask him out directly, that's why he hid the invite for a date under the pretense of making up for inconveniencing him before? Sounds plausible, right? No one really makes it up for things like this—everyone grumbles for a while, some make jokes, and people eventually move on. Maybe he's just using it as an excuse. And didn't he feel bad when Kyungsoo didn't eat dinner with him back then because he was too tired? Maybe it's his way of trying again?
Or maybe he's just reading too much into this matter. Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar. A dinner invite is just a dinner invite. No frills, no hidden meanings, no implications. Literally just the sharing of food between two people. He's taking something mundane extremely out of context, and twisting it to something else.
Or maybe he's just missing the point entirely again like before, and is dismissing the fact that Junmyeon is asking him out on a dinner date. Subtly, to hide his feelings from being exposed and quite possibly being rejected.
Kyungsoo groans and buries his face in his hands. When did things get so complicated from a simple (or not so simple) dinner invite?
"Why the long face?" Baekhyun asks him over dinner. They end up skipping the homemade noodle stir fry because Kyungsoo ran out of shrimp, and Baekhyun was too lazy to pass by the market to buy some after class. Instead of healthy glass noodles and shrimp, they're now sharing a huge takeout container of chow mien and honey chicken tenders. "Something bothering you?"
Kyungsoo sighs softly and fishes for a piece of char shiu in Baekhyun's noodles. "Baekhyun, how do you know if someone asked you out on a date?" He asks, poking through the brown pile listlessly.
"Hmm?" The music major hums around a mouthful of chicken, pushing his plate closer towards Kyungsoo. He never liked char shiu anyway. "Well, usually they say it outright. 'Hey, go on a date with me?' Or sometimes they just imply it. Depends, though. Why? Did someone ask you out? Do I have to beat up someone already?"
"Baekhyun," Kyungsoo warns, finally extracting the piece of meat he was looking for and stuffing it inside his mouth.
"I'm kidding. Sort of," Baekhyun grins at him as he reaches for his can of beer, because unlike Kyungsoo, who is nursing his second mug of tea, he has no qualms of drinking on a Monday. "So?"
"I don't know," He trails off uncertainly. "Junmyeon hyung asked me to have dinner with him earlier."
Baekhyun chokes on his beer, coughing violently. "He what?" He splutters, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"He asked me to have dinner with him. Saturday, around 7," Kyungsoo sighs, spearing another chicken tender moodily. "Said he's going to make up for the smoke alarm thing."
To his surprise, Baekhyun relaxes, reaching for a tissue and dabbing his hand dry. "Oh. That," He says dismissively. "He invited me too. And Jongin, I think?"
Well. There goes all his meticulous analyses. So they're not going to be alone, and the invitation wasn't exclusive either. It's definitely not a date. "Oh." He says, aiming for flat but coming off as disappointed. Baekhyun, of course, notices and a sly grin creeps up his face.
"Oh? Were you expecting it to be just the two of you?" The latter asks, waggling his eyebrows. "Disappointed now, are we?"
"Shut up, Baekhyun," Kyungsoo replies, not even bothering to grace him with a proper reply. So what if it's not a date? It's cool. He's cool. They're cool. It's not as if he was expecting it to be one. He was right all along—it was just a simple dinner, after all. No subtext, no hidden meanings, no subtle motives.
(So why is something akin to disappointment churning in his gut, flooding his heart with sadness? Why is he moping with a tub of ice cream long after Baekhyun has left, rewatching cheesy romcoms? Why is he sad about something he knew all along?)
Saturday comes by in a blur—a rainy, homework-filled, tiring blur, that is. Kyungsoo barely remembers when he last cooked his own dinner, or dressed in anything other than a hoodie and most probably dirty jeans, or even slept for more than an hour this week. It's just one of those weeks where everything gets piled up after weeks of doing nothing. It's just one of those weeks that zaps all energy and motivation out of even the sunniest person, and when he finally went home yesterday, Kyungsoo couldn't think of anything else other than how blissful it feels to lie down and not to stress about anything at eight in the morning.
Which is why only when he finally wakes up on a gloomy Saturday morning—almost noon, but hey, technically it's still morning—did he realize that today is the day of his not date with Junmyeon. And he has not prepared for it, nor has he panicked enough about it because yes, he has to panic up to a certain extent before he could feel at least a bit okay about something. In this case, the Not Date, so that warrants a lot of panicking.
(Also, yes, he dubbed it as The Not Date in his head. Maybe he's a little bitter about it after all. So sue him.)
With a jolt, he kicks off his covers and scrambles to his closet, trying to find the perfect outfit. Something not shabby, but also something not over the top. Date clothes. Except that it's not a date, so... Not Date clothes? What do people wear on Not Dates, anyway? And why is he giving this thing yet too much thought again? With a frustrated sigh, Kyungsoo pulls out his only clean pair of jeans and throws it onto the futon before diving back to find something washed, not wrinkled, and slightly presentable but not too presentable. Green hoodie—too casual. A plain white polo and a cardigan—too formal. He finally resurfaces with an olive green jacket and a plain white shirt and calls it a victory, mostly too tired to look for anything else.
Mood significantly better, he pads to the kitchen and goes to make brunch as he dials up Jongin, mostly to ask him about his outfit and to invite him over to eat. The younger answers on the fourth ring, but he doesn't really mind as he tucks his phone between his cheek and shoulder. "Hey, Jongin, I'm making omelets. Want to come over?" He says, opening his fridge and taking out the ingredients that he needs (which so happens to be the only food he has). Bacon, eggs, cheese, frozen vegetables. The good stuff.
"I'd love to, hyung, but I can barely move right now," Jongin answers, and he sounds awful. Like a clogged nose and sore throat awful.
"Are you sick?" Kyungsoo frowns. "Do you want me to cook you soup or something?"
"S'fine, just the flu," Jongin mumbles. "And my sister's over, so she's looking after me."
"That's good to hear," He says, a little placated at the news that a more responsible adult is looking after the younger. Still, even though he can hear the faint clanging of pots in the background and soft humming, he can't help but fret over the younger. "Are you sure I can't do anything to help? I can skip today's dinner, I'm sure Junmyeon hyung will understand—"
"No, no, please don't bail on hyung," Jongin protests weakly. "I already feel bad about missing the entire thing. He's been preparing a lot for it, you know? I don't want him to feel bad."
"I—yeah, okay, fine," Kyungsoo sighs. "Get well soon, alright? I'll try to drop by tomorrow with some fruit."
"Get me oranges, please," Jongin murmurs sleepily, sniffling. "Meds kicking in. M'gonna take a nap. Bye bye, hyung."
"Sleep tight, Jongin," He says, ending the call so his dongsaeng can get some rest. Alright, one company down. But there's still Baekhyun, so it's still not a date. The thought both comforts and disappoints Kyungsoo, and he ignores both of the feelings as he makes his omelets.
But perhaps fate has different plans for him, because when he exits the shower at around six in the evening—after lounging in bed and trying not to panic while watching old Disney shows for five whole hours—his phone is flooded with panicked texts from Baekhyun.
From: Baekhyun
[5:58] GUESS WHO HAS A SURPRISE ORAL QUIZ FOR PHILO
[5:58] SPOILER ALERT: IT'S FUCKING ME
[5:58] CAME IN TO THIS CLASS READY TO TAKE A NAP AS USUAL
[5:58] AND MY PROF GOES "OK ORAL QUIZ"
[5:58] ON A SATURDAY???!!?!?!!??!!??!
Kyungsoo frowns as he towels his hair dry, squinting at his phone. Doesn't Baekhyun's Philosophy class end at six? He lets the towel rest on top of his head as he types out a reply.
To: Baekhyun
[6:02] Doesn't your class end like, right now?
From: Baekhyun
[6:03] nah man it's until seven my prof just usually dismisses us early
[6:03] NOT TONIGHT THO THAT'S FOR SURE
[6:03] WE'VE GOT FIFTY KIDS IN THIS LECTURE I'LL BE HERE ALL NIGHT
[6:03] GETTING TURNT ON ONTOLOGY AND SHIT I DON'T KNOW
To: Baekhyun
[6:05] Are you joking right now? Is this some sort of ploy to get me and Junmyeon hyung together?
From: Baekhyun
[6:05] I WISH I WAS FUCKING JOKING TOO
[6:05] BUT SADLY MY LIFE IS ALREADY A BIG JOKE
[6:06] Attachment: 3 Photos
Baekhyun has sent him a set of photos: one photo of the board, where it clearly says "Philo104 Oral Quiz" in big, blocky letters; one photo of a slip of paper of what looks like the order by which students answer (he's forty-one); and one photo of himself, looking ready to both kill and burst into tears. So he does have an exam—not that he doubted his friend's spazzy texts one bit. (Okay, maybe a little.)
To: Baekhyun
[6:07] That blows, man.
[6:07] So I take it that you can't make it to dinner?
From: Baekhyun
[6:08] I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I'LL EVEN BE ALIVE AFTERWARDS?!?!?!!?
[6:08] I DON'T KNOW SHIT KYUNGSOO I'M SCREWED
[6:08] THOROUGHLY FUCKED I RECKON
[6:08] RIP IN PIECES BYUN BAEKHYUN AND HIS GPA
To: Baekhyun
[6:10] I'm screwed, too! Jongin couldn't go. I'll be all alone with hyung
From: Baekhyun
[6:11] HOLY HELL IT'S STARTING
[6:11] also u can do it man up
[6:11] ALRIGHT WHO THE HELL IS ANAXIMEDES
[6:11] THIS PROFESSOR IS MAKING SHIT UP
To: Baekhyun
[6:12] He's a pre-Socratic thinker, says the world is mostly made of air. Baekhyun please
[6:12] Also: man up??????
From: Baekhyun
[6:13] I DON'T LISTEN TO LECTURES OKAY I JUST DO MY MUSIC THEORY HOMEWORK AND NAP
[6:13] TF IS ANAXIMEDES I ONLY KNOW ARISTOTLE
[6:13] also: ya u can do it it's just a dinner no biggie
To: Baekhyun
[6:14] No biggie???? I'll be alone???? With Junmyeon hyung?????? Who I have an embarrassingly huge crush on?????????
From: Baekhyun
[6:15] lol soo dont stress about it too much it's just a dinner!!!!
[6:15] make small talk eat the free food try not to stare at him too much s'cool
[6:15] u can do it!!!!!!!
To: Baekhyun
[6:16] I don't stare.
From: Baekhyun
[6:16] psh yeah sure and i'm not panicking
[6:16] WHERE IS ARISTOTLE BORN???? DO I LOOK LIKE I CARE
To: Baekhyun
[6:18] I'm rolling my eyes at you right now. Take deep breaths. Also, good luck.
From: Baekhyun
[6:19] tyvm i'll try not to fuck up
[6:19] badly
[6:19] go get the guy!!!!!
[6:19] use protection alright
To: Baekhyun
[6:20] OH MY GOD BAEKHYUN STOP
From: Baekhyun
[6:20] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Kyungsoo lets out a frustrated groan and throws himself face-first onto his bed. Jongin couldn't go. Baekhyun couldn't go. So unless Junmyeon invited someone else, they'll be all alone, eating dinner together with the soft pattering of rain as background music. But it's still not a date.
He is so screwed.
For someone whose guests bailed out on him, Junmyeon is looking extremely chipper. "Hey, you made it!" He beams as Kyungsoo knocks on his door. At 7:03, mind, because he didn't want to be an eager beaver. Even if he did just live next door. "Come in, come in."
"Yeah, I'm the only one free out of the three of us," Kyungsoo says as he discreetly looks around. A table placement for two, Junmyeon's messy shoe pile in the corner, and no pillows surprisingly out of place in the still cluttered futon. Guess they are alone. But it's still not a date. Get a grip, Kyungsoo.
"So I've heard. Jongin called me earlier today and I can barely understand him, and then Baekhyun flooded my phone with panicked, apologetic texts and fake-crying selfies," Junmyeon snorts as he pads to the kitchen. "I was half-expecting you to bail on me too, actually."
"That was the plan," He jokes, grin widening when Junmyeon mimes throwing the ladle he was holding at him. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. So what are we having tonight?"
"Some kind of Spanish-inspired beef stew," Junmyeon shrugs as he reaches over to take out two bowls from the cupboard. "I don't know the name, but it's my sister-in-law's recipe. Beef and tomatoes and potatoes and carrots, some herbs, a bit of cheese. My mom loves it."
"I'll trust your mom's judgment, then," Kyungsoo hums. "Anything I can do to help?"
"You can look something to drink in the fridge. The water's in the fancy glass bottles," Junmyeon says. "I'm just heating up the food."
"Alright," He replies, moving to the fridge. It's surprisingly well-stocked, both in terms of drinks and food—albeit most of them frozen, ready-to-eat dinners. He digs behind takeout containers and finds cans of his favorite drink. "Sparkling apple juice good for you?"
"Yeah, sounds great," The latter nods as the slow cooker beeps. "Take a seat, I'll serve the food in a while."
Kyungsoo makes a sound of agreement and moves to get two cans from the back of the fridge—
—and the power suddenly goes out.
He jerks in surprise, hitting his head on the roof of the fridge in the process. "Fucking ow," He mutters, slowly straightening up and placing an ice cold can on top of his head to alleviate the sting as he closes the fridge's door.
"Are you okay?" Junmyeon says from somewhere to his left, and he feels a soft, gentle hand hold the can in place and another wrap loosely around his wrist. "Does it hurt?"
"Just a little. What happened? Why is the power out?" Kyungsoo asks, letting himself be led towards the table and sitting gingerly on the dining chair. Thunder continues to rumble violently outside as rain harshly pounds on the windows.
"I'm not sure, but probably because of this freak storm. The entire building's out," Junmyeon sighs. "Stay here, alright? I'll just get my phone and look for candles and matches."
"I can't really go anywhere," Kyungsoo says flatly, and Junmyeon chuckles before shuffling away. Sighing, he keeps the can in place as he drums his fingers on the table, wondering why is this happening to him. A freak storm, a throbbing head, a power outage, and a not date with his crush, all on one night. He also discovers two things: one, his phone is on the verge of dying—20%, because of Baekhyun's frantic texting—and two, he forgot his glasses at home. So that's why he can barely see in the dark. Fantastic. He spends the next few minutes fidgeting in the dark, fighting off the urge to turn on his phone's flashlight to conserve his battery, lest the power outage lasts more than a few hours.
"Hey," Junmyeon says, padding back to the kitchen with an armful of what Kyungsoo hopes to be candles. "I'm not entirely sure why, but the only candles that I could find are tea lights and scented candles. I hope you don't mind?"
"I don't," Kyungsoo replies as the elder lights a fat white one with a match and places it in the middle of the table. The dining room is flooded with a dim, orange light—not enough to illuminate the whole room, but enough that Kyungsoo can see Junmyeon moving to light up what looks like the entire pack of little tea lights and dropping them in little bowls filled with water. Soon enough, the dining room is filled with warm light, shadows that seem to dance to the tune of the rain falling outside, and the scent of vanilla and lavender.
It's the perfect set-up for a date—except that it isn't.
"Good thing I reheated the food long before you arrived," Junmyeon says as he places a bowl of still steaming hot stew and rice in front of him. "I hope you like it."
"Smells great," Kyungsoo nods. "I'd say it also looks great, but I couldn't really see."
"Ha, ha," Junmyeon rolls his eyes playfully as he takes a seat in front of him. "To be fair, I didn't plate it as fancily as I would if the lights are on."
"Good to know I saved you from the trouble," He quips, earning him a snort. "Seriously, though, thanks hyung. You really didn't have to."
"I wanted to," The elder says. "I really felt bad about inconveniencing everyone, so I'm trying my best to make it up to people. Starting with you and this dinner, since you did cook for me afterwards."
"And I told you before, it was nothing," Kyungsoo replies, taking a tentative bite of the stew. The beef is tender, the soup hearty with the right blend of spices and flavors, the cheese cutting through the sharp tomato tang, and the potatoes and carrots soft without being too mushy. It's rich and comforting, like a warm hug on a rainy day, or a thick blanket and a cup of hot chocolate in the middle of winter. It reminds him of home, of home-cooked food and afternoons at his grandmother's home in the province. "This is really good, hyung!"
"Really? I'm glad you like it, then," Junmyeon beams, and somehow it's brighter than the two candles slowly burning in between them. "My sister-in-law would be proud. She says I'm good with everything about kids except feeding them. And that veggie sticks and cut-up fruit don't count."
"You feed kids veggie sticks?" Kyungsoo raises a brow as he slurps on the soup. "How do you do it?"
"With my irresistible charm," Junmyeon waggles his eyebrows at him, smiling goofily, and Kyungsoo couldn't help but laugh as the elder regales stories about holidays with his nephews spent watching Mickey Mouse Club reruns while munching on celery sticks and whatever dips they could find because he's the "cool" hyung. The night goes on with them exchanging stories about anything and everything, from Kyungsoo's childhood martial arts classes and Junmyeon's dog Byeol, to the book Kyungsoo read last week for class and the weirdest things Junmyeon had to do for their lab classes, to whether Doctor Who is really just Star Wars fanfiction (Kyungsoo doesn't really care, he likes Sherlock better) and if Hermione should've ended up with Draco rather than Ron (Junmyeon is Team Ron all the way), to ice cream flavors and smoothie combinations. When they finish dinner—Kyungsoo went for seconds, it's that good—Junmyeon brings out a tub of his favorite movie popcorn ice cream and tells him about the new tenants on the fifth floor that just moved in last week as they eat bowl after bowl, cold weather be damned.
"They make me feel old," Junmyeon frowns as he licks his spoon sadly. "Someone was younger than Jongin. I feel so ancient."
"You're not that old, hyung," Kyungsoo snorts as he scrapes his bowl clean, his spoon clinking softly against the ceramic bowl.
"These kids probably don't know Pokemon," Junmyeon says gloomily, and that moves their conversation to their favorite Pokemon—Kyungsoo couldn't really pick, while Junmyeon absolutely adores Bulbasaur—and their freshman year experiences as they wash dishes side-by-side. Junmyeon tells him about the first time he attends a college party and almost fell asleep out of boredom as he soaps up their dirty plates, and Kyungsoo replies with the time during freshman week where someone followed him all over campus just to invite him to a succulent club as he rinses the dishes and lets them dry on a rack.
Eating Spanish food and ice cream in the dark, talking about the most random of things at the most random of times, and washing dishes by hand with only dying tea lights and scented candles to illuminate the room—it's not Kyungsoo's ideal way of spending his Saturday, but he doesn't mind. It's been an enjoyable night, blackout and freak storm aside.
And, of course, the fact that it's not a date. Even if it really, really feels like one.
When they finish washing the dishes and storing their leftovers, Junmyeon insists on walking him back to his apartment. "I noticed you don't have your glasses on. You might trip," He insists, one hand wrapped around his wrist and the other clutching a vanilla scented candle. His phone also died earlier, the battery drained because he showed Kyungsoo one too many photos and videos of his nephews and dog. Kyungsoo's died somewhere between his first and second helping, because smartphones suck like that. "Are you sure you'll be fine on your own?"
"Yeah, my apartment's not as messy as yours," Kyungsoo jokes, earning him a nudge on the ribs. "It's true, though! Your apartment is still messy, hyung."
"Hey, I tried cleaning up. It's hard," Junmyeon complains as they slowly make their way out of his apartment and into the pitch-black hallway. "Old habits die hard, you know?"
"Tell me about it," Kyungsoo replies, thinking of the way he fidgets with his fingers whenever he's nervous, or the way he couldn't sleep with too much light on, or the way his stomach flops happily whenever Junmyeon is around. Like now. He hopes the latter doesn't feel his erratic pulse, although that's near impossible, what with Junmyeon's gentle but tight grip on his wrist.
Somehow, they made it back in front of his apartment door—Junmyeon insisted on walking slowly, too paranoid about tripping and all that while holding a dying candle. He's not that blind, Kyungsoo argues, but the elder is not taking any chances. "So this is me," Kyungsoo says, rooting around his pockets for his keys. "Thanks again for dinner, hyung."
"The pleasure is all mine," Junmyeon replies, the candlelight making his smile softer, gentler. "I had a really great time."
"Me too. The food was really impressive," He continues awkwardly, partly because he's having difficulty finding his keys, and partly because he's not quite ready to lose the warmth of Junmyeon's fingers on his arm just yet.
"I'm glad you liked it," Junmyeon's smile widens, and after a nervous beat, he slowly moves closer, and Kyungsoo's heart threatens to jump out of his chest as the space between them disappears little by little, and—
—the lights go back on.
The two jerk apart, Junmyeon dropping his hold on Kyungsoo's wrist in surprise as they both squint at the sudden light. "Um," The latter stammers, face flushing, "I should—I should go. Just wanted to make sure you don't—but the lights—you can—I mean—I should go back."
"Yeah," Kyungsoo says, blinking confusedly. What just happened? "Uh, thanks again, hyung. For dinner and walking me back."
"No problem. Um. Good night, I guess," Junmyeon says nervously, scurrying back to his apartment and shutting the door with a loud thunk. Huh.
Kyungsoo finally unlocks his apartment and makes a beeline to plug in his phone, wincing at the loud, incessant pings indicating an influx of unread messages. He first opens Jongin's, and immediately wishes he didn't.
From: Jongin
[8:00] is hyung mad at me for missing dinner ; n ;
[8:00] but then again u're there so he probably doesn't mind ㅋㅋㅋ
[8:01] did u enjoy ur date? :3
Sighing, he collapses on his bed and lazily types out a reply:
To: Jongin
[9:30] He's not mad at you, Jongin. And it wasn't a date. Hope you're feeling better.
And with the calm over and dealt with, time for the storm. With a sigh, he opens Baekhyun's multitude of texts, all of them varying in panic levels:
From: Baekhyun
[7:20] HELLO UPDATE WE'RE STILL AT #21 PLS TWENTY MORE SOULS TO BE SACRIFICED BEFORE MINE
[7:21] anw how's ur date going
[7:21] hope u're doing gr8!!!!! get the man dks!!!!!!
[7:34] #26 now. heard there was a blackout. damn man that sucks
[7:34] OH CANDLELIT DINNER THO V ROMANTIC
[7:34] guess hyung's got game after all ㅋ
[7:41] WHEN WILL THIS END
[7:41] and when will u reply
[7:42] bros b4 hoes fam r u having too much fun w/o me
[7:42] r u choosing jm hyung over me???
[7:42] ok nvm dont answer that
[8:00] WE'RE AT #39 HOLY SMOKES I DON'T THINK I CAN DO THIS
[8:00] i'm guessing ur phone died
[8:00] or u died bc of feels
[8:14] I LIIIIIIIVE
[8:14] how's the date tho
[8:15] my classmates and i r grabbing chicken and beer after to celebrate
[8:15] (read: mourn)
[9:01] THE STREETS ARE FLOODED I CAN'T GO HOME
[9:01] not that i am just yet lol
[9:02] i kept trying to call hyung but his phone is dead too...
[9:01] damn wtf are you two doing!?!?!?!
To: Baekhyun
[9:37] Both our phones died. The lights just came on. Where are you?
From: Baekhyun
[9:38] HELLO
[9:38] still at the pub drinking my sadness away
[9:38] how was the date? ;) ;) ;)
To: Baekhyun
[9:40] It wasn't a date, Baekhyun.
From: Baekhyun
[9:41] i'm not gonna bother texting u an explanation
[9:41] just know that it is
To: Baekhyun
[9:42] You're incorrigible.
From: Baekhyun
[9:43] thank u
Kyungsoo sighs and throws his phone onto his bed, moving to brush his teeth and change out of his Not Date clothes. Baekhyun and Jongin are being silly. It wasn't a date, even if Junmyeon invited him over and cooked for him, even if they shared a candlelit dinner and talked about each other's lives, even if he walked him home and made sure he got back safely. It wasn't a date, even if they were alone and Junmyeon's laughs were brighter than usual and Kyungsoo came home knowing the elder more than ever. It wasn't a date, period. It was a fun, completely platonic dinner with a good friend. Nothing more. His mother taught him not to covet and to be content with what he receives. He gets a completely platonic night out with his neighbor. He's happy with that. Who needs dates, anyway?
When he comes back from the bathroom, teeth clean and jeans traded for Superman pajamas and an old grey shirt, a single text is waiting for him:
From: Junmyeon
[9:58] Thanks again for coming over. I had fun :-) we should do that again some time. Sleep well, Kyungsoo! :-)
And just like that, with a simple message and cute smiley faces with cute little noses, Kyungsoo's resolve crumbles, and he concedes—okay, maybe it was sort of a date, and okay, maybe he does want a next time, and okay, maybe it wasn't as platonic as he makes himself believe it to be, and okay, fine, he's a happy puddle of lovestruck goo right now. Whatever. He can be a little selfish sometimes. (Sorry, Mom.)