Archive of Our Own ^beta

Hyunjin woke up with a pounding head. His mouth tasted like something had died in it and his stomach was rebelling his mere existence. He squeezed his eyes a little tighter, wishing himself back into dreamland, but his bladder vehemently protested. Hyunjin wasn’t even entirely convinced he’d survive the short track from his room to the bathroom…

Something made a loud, clanging noise from the vague direction of the kitchen, instantly followed by a splitting pain in Hyunjin’s skull. He turned his head a little, hiding more in his pillow to his roommate Felix’s quiet, muffled voice, possibly an apology to whatever he had accidentally banged together. If Hyunjin weren’t so hungover, he’d find it cute.

And also, he really needed to go to the bathroom. Maybe relieving himself would also make the nausea go down a little…

Hyunjin turned his head to the side once again, peeling his eyes open. His room was dark except from the door slits where light seeped in. His second roommate, Seungmin, was bound to nag him for getting up so late. It was certainly past noon, after all, wasn’t it?  

Hyunjin felt for his phone, finding it after just a few pats against the mattress and instantly blinding himself. He let out a quiet groan while squinting at the brightness, trying to ignore the splitting headache that got worse by the second as he tried to read the time. 1:08 PM. Great. Seungmin was definitely bound to nag him.

His eyes went further down, finding a few messages from his group chat with Felix and Seungmin, but KakaoTalk only let him see the ‘ok’ that Seungmin had given to something Felix had most likely written earlier. The group chat that he had with the other international economic majors also had a few new messages.

And below those was a chat that he did not recognize named ‘Party Cutiez’ where someone called Han Jisung had written, “Did you get home safe, baby? ❤️”

What the actual fuck? Who on earth was Han Jisung? Whom was he calling ‘baby’?

Images flickered through Hyunjin’s mind from the night before: a man with the most adorable, puffed out cheeks that he had ever seen. Another man with a face that Michael Angelo surely would have obsessed over. Bright laughter from the first man. Lips against his own.

Hyunjin groaned, hiding his face in his pillow once again. The fragments hardly made sense, but trying to grasp everything that had happened around them made his head hurt even more. And he still needed to go pee!

Finally, he pushed himself up, blankly staring at his door while he let his stomach settle and the headache dull to a constant throbbing before he attempted to fully get up. He stumbled the few steps to his door, heavily leaning against it as he fought down the bile rising to his throat. God damn it, he wasn’t a teenager experimenting with alcohol for the first time! No matter how certainly he had thrown up the night before, he’d be able to keep the contents of his stomach down this morning! He surely hadn’t gone that far beyond his limit… right?

Hyunjin only breathed against his door for a few seconds until his morning breath started to make him nauseous all over again and he finally pushed himself off the door, willing everything inside his body to stay in its rightful places as he opened the door, squinting against the brightness in the hallway.

“Sleeping beauty is up,” Seungmin announced, his voice way too smug for the state Hyunjin was in, so he ignored the other on his quest to the bathroom.

He was still sitting on the toilet, tiredly brushing his teeth, trying to wake up enough to even think about taking a shower, when a soft knock on the door startled him. “Hey, I prepared some water for you. Can I come in?” Felix’s voice made it through the wooden piece of furniture and Hyunjin made a noise that he hoped resembled confirmation.

It wasn’t like Felix hadn’t already seen him in literally all stages of dress and undress and especially in that moment, Hyunjin couldn’t bring himself to care whether his best friend saw him or not.

The door was opened, making way to a smiling Felix who set a glass of water down at the sink and even went out of his way to grab some painkillers from the cabinet above the sink. “I’m making some brownies. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to save you some until you feel ready for them. Want anything specific for breakfast?” Hyunjin lightly shook his head, the thought alone of food already too much for his stomach. Felix, though, only flashed him another one of his signature sunny smiles. “Alright, don’t drown in the shower,” he said before making his way back out of the bathroom, closing the door behind himself.

Defeated, Hyunjin gathered himself enough to finish his business on the toilet and brushing his teeth, then he took one of the pain killers, downing the full glass of water because he knew that Felix would nag him otherwise, before he finally moved on to the shower. Very slowly, the memories from the night before returned. He had gone out to a club with two others from the queer club at their university. They weren’t super close, but still comfortable enough with each other to go out together from time to time. Often, Felix would join them, but the night before, he had argued that he still had too many assignments left to finish.

The majority of the night had gone as always—that was until one of them had found himself a hook-up partner and the other one hadn’t felt comfortable staying any longer. Hyunjin had just wanted to head to the bathroom before grabbing a taxi together with the one who wanted to head home and then… Then there had been round cheeks and bright laughter and big, interested eyes focused on him. A chipper voice as the other had introduced himself as ‘Jisung’. Right, that cutie was called Jisung. And Hyunjin… Hyunjin had forgotten everything around them.

Another man had joined them not much later, all sharp eyes and sharp features and sharp tongue. Minho, if Hyunjin remembered correctly.

“You have to know that we come as a unit,” Jisung had said, laughter in his voice, but a look in his eyes that had made clear that his interest had been piqued. “But, I mean, if that’s something you’re into…?”

Hyunjin didn’t know if that was something he was into. But drunk him had obviously been much more certain in his judgement because the next thing he knew was that he had kissed Jisung. And then also Minho to make sure that the other wouldn’t be jealous because he was so far out of Hyunjin’s league that he never would have had the courage to ask otherwise. They had danced. Laughed. Touched. Kissed some more. Who of them had decided that it had still been better for Hyunjin to go home on his own? Should Hyunjin be offended that the three of them hadn’t ended the night together? Then again, it was probably for the best that they had gone their separate ways, wasn’t it?

“Did you get home safe, baby? ❤️”

Shit. Hyunjin should probably text the other guy from the queer club and apologize for making him go home alone. And he needed to figure out what to do about that Han Jisung and Minho.

His mind was in even more disarray than before his shower, but he still made his way first to his room to retrieve his phone, then into the open living area, the rich scent of chocolate leading the way. Seungmin sat at the dining table and was working on some assignment or reviewing some notes—when was he not?—while Felix leaned against the counter. The microwave was on, giving a pain-inducing ‘pling’ that made Hyunjin grimace before he gracelessly let himself fall onto the nearest unoccupied chair. Seungmin merely moved his papers a little to the side to give him more space.

“So you’re still alive, huh?”

“Shut up,” Hyunjin groaned, closing his eyes even as the smell of kimchi jjigae hit his nose. His stomach twisted at the mere thought of eating, but there was also no way that he’d refuse the food that Felix had heated up for him. And his body would probably also be grateful for the energy the food provided.

“Here you go,” Felix singsonged and Hyunjin finally opened his eyes again to the sight of a bowl half-filled with kimchi jjigae and a smaller bowl with rice in front of him.

“Thanks,” he muttered, staring down the food as if it would do its job on its own.

“I made sure to give you a smaller portion since you look pretty dead,” Felix added, running a hand through Hyunjin’s hair. Hyunjin easily let his eyes slip close again as he leaned his head back, indulging in Felix continuing his gentle ministrations, not even protesting the other’s assessment. “You shouldn’t drink that much.”

“Sorry,” Hyunjin mumbled. He was usually a little better at sticking to his limits, but something about his encounter from the night before… “Lix, I’m gonna need your advice.”

“What happened?”

“I’ll tell you later, okay?”

“Hey!” Seungmin protested and Felix laughed softly.

“Don’t take it personal, Kim,” Hyunjin replied, finally opening his eyes again. He liked both of his roommates a lot—naturally, he wouldn’t have decided to move out of the dorms and share an apartment with them for their second year at university otherwise—, but certain topics just demanded a finesse and lack of sarcastic comments that he didn’t always trust Seungmin with. Though he was about 99% certain that he wasn’t doing Seungmin justice with that. ‘I almost hooked up with not only one but two handsome guys last night and one of them texted me and I don’t know what to do about that’ was definitely one of those topics, though.

Seungmin merely scoffed in response as he went back to his study materials just as Felix’s hands disappeared from Hyunjin’s hair, only giving Hyunjin’s shoulders another squeeze. “You should eat while it’s warm,” he said before rounding the table and Hyunjin gave in because what else was he supposed to do when it was Felix? He was pretty certain that it was scientifically proven to be impossible to resist Felix.

Not long after he had eaten, Felix lured him outside with the promise of free coffee and the underlying knowledge that they’d have a moment to themselves, which was how Hyunjin found himself at a slightly too public table in a too crowded café for the conversation that he needed to have with his best friend. But well, beggars can’t be choosers, right?

Only after drinking the first sip of his iced americano did he finally speak up, glancing around once more to make sure that no one was paying attention to them. “So, I may have run into two guys last night.”

“Two?” Felix echoed, his eyes widening slightly, but Hyunjin only nodded, staring down at his glass.

“They came as a ‘unit’, as one of them called it.”

“Don’t tell me you…” Felix’s voice went up a bit in excitement, leaning forward, leaving the sentence open probably for Hyunjin to finish.

Hyunjin grimaced, pushing the ice cubes in his glass around with his straw, the soft clinking caused by the motion nearly drowned out by the noise around them. “Don’t tell you I kissed both of them? Yeah, well…” he replied quietly, glancing around once more to make sure that still no one was listening to them.

Felix gasped. “You did?” Hyunjin nodded. “What else happened?”

“Not much, I swear! We just danced for a while longer and did some drinks and… honestly, my memory is a bit hazy there.” He switched course and started poking at the ice cubes in his glass. “The next thing I really know is that I wake up today with a text from one of them.”

“Oh my god, what did he say? Does he want to meet you again? Wait, the text was positive, right?” Felix fired his questions so fast that Hyunjin didn’t get the chance to answer, but he still found himself nodding at the last one, pulling out his phone from the pocket of his pants. He quickly unlocked it and pulled down the push notifications. His insides grew a little fuzzy when he saw the text with the nickname and the red heart, but he didn’t allow himself to dwell on it before he pushed his phone over to Felix. Felix’s lips immediately puckered a little and his eyes went all big, the perfect puppy eyes, in an obvious attempt not to coo. “That’s such a cute message.”

“Literally all of Jisung is cute,” Hyunjin replied wistfully before he let out a sigh. “I just don’t know what to do now.”

“Well, do you want to text him back?” Felix asked and slid the phone back across the table.

Hyunjin nodded hesitantly, but he didn’t move his hands away from his glass and his straw, staring at the phone as if it was an alien object. “But what if it was just a last night thing? What if they wake up completely sober today and don’t actually want me to message? What if there’s anyone else in the group chat?” Shit, he hadn’t even considered that before! The chat had been named ‘party cutiez’—what if he was only one of many members? What if the message hadn’t actually been directed towards him?

“I’d say you go in there and answer that Jisung guy’s question. And then they can take it from there: either they’ll respond or not,” Felix replied matter-of-factly, drinking some of the hot chocolate that he had gotten himself.

“But what if—”

“Hyunie,” Felix interrupted him gently. “Just go into the chat. You won’t know anything unless you go in there. And if there are other people in the chat, then you can still opt to leave the message on read or leave the chat. But maybe it’s just you and those two, hm?” He paused until Hyunjin nodded reluctantly, having to admit that Felix did make sense. “And then if it’s just the three of you, you answer Jisung’s question and then you finish drinking your iced americano.”

Hyunjin huffed and took a sip from his coffee first, then he followed Felix’s guide. His finger was shaking lightly when he clicked on the notification and that warm fuzziness was back when KakaoTalk opened to a new group chat, Jisung’s message appearing at the top of his screen. The chat only had three participants, but Hyunjin still briefly clicked on the menu, just to be sure. To his relief, the participants listed were his own name, then Han Jisung, and lastly Lee Minho.

His heart immediately beat a little lighter than before and he closed the menu, typing back that he had arrived well the night before. He hesitated briefly, but then decided not to add any emojis or stickers, a little too unsure what would be deemed adequate and what might be overstepping.

Hyunjin decidedly put his phone on the table with the screen down and Felix flashed him a warm smile. Even faster than he had put the phone down, though, Hyunjin picked it up again just a second later, ignoring the quiet sound of confusion that Felix made as he quickly texted his friend from the night before to check that he had made it back safely as well.

He was nearing the end of his iced americano while chatting with Felix when the screen of his phone lit up with a new message. Hyunjin glanced at it, fully expecting to see his friend’s name pop up, but instead he got,

~Party Cutiez~
Han Jisung sent a sticker
Han Jisung sent a sticker
Han Jisung: 🎉🎉🎉❤️❤️❤️

Hyunjin quickly turned his phone around so the screen wasn’t visible anymore, but heat already crawled into his cheeks. Felix across from him looked amused, but he was kind enough not to say anything about it as they both finished their drinks.

When they were back home, Hyunjin fully intended to get into his university work right away, but he still found himself on his phone first, flustered at the heart stickers that Jisung had sent. And even more so at the new message that had been added to the group chat:

~Party Cutiez~

Han Jisung
Do you want to go out for coffee sometime? We’re
usually available on the weekends, weekdays are a
bit trickier

Hyunjin bit his bottom lip, trying to recall his schedule for the upcoming week. After a few seconds, he got up from the kitchen table and went into his room to look through his planner, growing sullen when he realized that he was pretty booked for the entire week.

I can only do Tuesday or Friday afternoon…
Outside of that, next week is pretty full for me 😭

He double-checked, but no matter what, he couldn’t find any other time slots for the next week. Thinking about it… Wasn’t he a complete fool for answering at all? He shouldn’t get anyone’s hopes up. His schedule was already way too full as it was, how was he supposed to squeeze two more people into it?

Well, it was too late for such considerations at this point. Who knew, maybe meeting the other two outside a club would turn out to be super awkward or something, so maybe he was already overthinking something that didn’t have a future anyway.

A little despondent, he locked his phone and made his way back into the living area, sitting down across from Seungmin once more.

Some higher power seemed to be on Hyunjin’s side because on Tuesday afternoon, he found himself in a small café just off Korea University’s campus. Since his classes had ended earlier than Minho’s, he had arrived early to get some more studying done while he waited for the other two. He had let them know when he had arrived and also why he had arrived so early, not wanting them to worry or think strangely of him.

“Isn’t that him?” a voice pulled Hyunjin out of his increasingly more impossible task of focusing on his study material. He looked up, his eyes almost immediately landing on two young men who were looking into his direction; one of them with fluffy, brown hair, a cozy-looking black hoodie, and round glasses, the other with styled black hair, a black T-shirt, and eyes that stared right into Hyunjin. How surreal to see them outside a club. How insane to think that they were real! The softer looking one, Jisung, immediately started smiling and raised one hand to wave at him before weaving his way through the tables.

Hyunjin quickly gathered his belongings, but he was still stowing them away in his bag when the other two arrived and Jisung slid into the seat across from him with a bright smile. “Hey Hyunjin.” His voice was soft as he deposited a pager in front of him on the table. “How are you?” he asked while Minho sat down next to him.

Hyunjin shrugged lightly, pushing his pen and his marker into his bag as well before leaving it on the chair next to himself. “Pretty fine, I’d say? Lots to do for university, but that’s normal. What about you two?” His eyes went back and forth between the two men across from him and he suddenly felt like he was in an interview. How did people normally behave in a situation like this? No, screw that, what normal person even got themselves into a situation like this?

“Not much different from you, I’d say, though it’s school for me, not university,” Jisung replied and Hyunjin’s fingers froze where they had been playing in his lap. School? But Jisung looked like he couldn’t be any younger than Hyunjin, or at least not by much!

“You may want to specify that,” Minho said, his tone amused, but Jisung only looked over at his boyfriend with innocent eyes before realization finally seemed to strike.

“Oh!” he exclaimed and quickly turned towards Hyunjin again, waving his hands in denial. “No, I don’t mean school school! I’m attending a translation school. Tried university, that didn’t work out for me, so I looked for something different and am currently enrolled in a translation school which is kinda similar to university except that it does work for me.”

Oh! Well, that certainly brought things back to an ‘okay’ level that Hyunjin could work with. “What languages are you learning there?”

“I’m translating between English and Korean. Mostly from English to Korean since Korean is my mother tongue, so it’s easier to translate that way, but we practice both ways.”

“You must know English really well then,” Hyunjin replied, in awe. While his major was mainly taught in English, he still found himself struggling with the language frequently. He was grateful every day to have met Felix and have made several other international friends who would help him with English while he helped them with Korean in return.

Jisung shrugged in response while looking down, a bashful smile playing on his lips. “I spent the majority of my childhood and teenage years in the English-speaking community in Malaysia. But enough about me!” he declared as he looked up again, either oblivious or ignorant of the millions of questions that had risen in Hyunjin just from that new information alone, and grinned at Minho. “Hyung, you haven’t said anything yet.”

“Wait, how old is everyone even?” Hyunjin cut in, feeling a little sorry for Minho, but also a bit ashamed that he hadn’t thought to ask that any earlier. “I’m an 00-liner.”

Jisung instantly lit up even more. “Me too! Hyung was born in ’98, so he’ll be your hyung as well.”

Minho nodded in response, the hint of a smile playing on his lips. “I’m a senior at Korea university, I study dance. Today has been rather boring so far, though; just a lot of theory classes.”

“What do you do?” Jisung asked on, looking at Hyunjin once again.

“I’m a sophomore at Hongdae. My major is international economics. All my classes are actually taught in English.”

“And you said I had to be good at English?” Jisung exclaimed with widened eyes. “You have to be excellent at it then!”

Hyunjin shook his head, but before he could reply, the pager between him and Jisung went off. Minho instantly snatched it and got up without giving his boyfriend the chance to react, then he left with Jisung calling ‘thank you!’ after him.

“I’m not that good,” Hyunjin finally replied. “But I make it work with my two best friends.”

“Do they also know English well?”

Hyunjin nodded, flashing Jisung a small smile. “One of them is also an international economics major, the other one is from Australia.”

If it was possible, Jisung’s eyes grew even wider. “No way! My best friend is also from Australia!”

“Eh?” Hyunjin’s eyes widened as well, but Jisung only nodded excitedly.

“I met him when I started university. Music production was my major then and, like, I’m still super passionate about that and all, but studying it just didn’t work for me. Anyway, he was a senior when I started and kinda taking care of the freshmen in case we had any questions and somehow he and I became friends. He was also Minho-hyung’s roommate at the time! That was before Channie-hyung moved out and I moved into Minho-hyung’s apartment because I couldn’t keep on living in the dorms.” His eyes were sparkling as he talked about his friend and a small smile pulled Hyunjin’s lips up, equally endeared and amused about Jisung bouncing off his own thoughts at unparalleled speed.

Minho returned with a tray in his hands, putting it down on the table. He placed one of the two iced americanos in front of Jisung while keeping the other one. Lastly, he put a plate with a piece of cheesecake in the middle of the table, rearranging the forks until there was one hilt pointing towards each of them.

Hyunjin looked up at him in surprise at that gesture. “Me too?”

Minho nodded, motioning towards the cake with a nonchalant gesture while Jisung had already scooped up some of it, happily humming around it. “Thank you, hyung!” he said around his cake, before motioning towards Hyunjin. “What about your best friend from Australia?”

Hyunjin had just picked up his fork but then halted in his movements as he looked up, finding Jisung’s expectant eyes on him. “I met Lix during a tandem program at university. He came here for his degree and wasn’t very confident in his Korean at the time, so he signed up for that program, while I signed up to practice English more.”

“It’s cool that you two can help each other like that,” Jisung said before putting another big forkful of cheesecake into his mouth.

Hyunjin smiled at the sight before he turned towards Minho, not wanting the other to feel left out. “I’m also on our university’s dance team; Lix and I both are, actually.”

“Oh?” Minho’s eyes seemed to sharpen at that and Hyunjin was quick to nod. He had loved dancing ever since he had been a child, even dreamed of auditioning for entertainments. His parents, though, had of course had other plans for him and forbade him to dance because it was a ‘gay’ thing to do and they feared that their ‘straight’ son would be ‘mistaken’ as being gay. Well… They had come around eventually, but it had taken quite a while for them to not just accept their son’s sexuality but also understand that his love for dancing had nothing to do with him not being straight.

“That means that all of us are active in the artistic field,” Jisung cheered.

Hyunjin’s smile deepened, both in fondness and because he shared Jisung’s excitement. It was always easiest and the most enjoyable to talk to others who were familiar with and passionate about the artistic field.

“So you’re still producing?” Hyunjin asked on as he took his first forkful of cheesecake.

Jisung nodded fervently, hurrying with the cheesecake in his mouth until he swallowed. “Yes! I’m doing that together with Channie-hyung and Changbin-hyung.” Minho also finally ate some cheesecake, his eyes trained on Jisung with a small, fond smile on his lips. “The three of us also upload our stuff.”

“Oh?”

“Yes! If things go well, I’ll show you someday?”

“He literally didn’t show me their stuff for about a year,” Minho threw in and a weight lifted off Hyunjin’s shoulders that he hadn’t even realized had been there in the first place. But it was good to know that Jisung not wanting to share where and under what name he uploaded his things had less to do with Hyunjin and more with the fact that he was probably shy about them. If Hyunjin were to take a wild guess, he’d bet that he’d find a lot of personal songs from all three men.

“I’d love to hear your songs whenever you’re comfortable with that,” Hyunjin settled for and Jisung immediately beamed at him.

“Cool! Can I also see you dance sometime then?” he asked right away before putting more cheesecake into his mouth.

Hyunjin looked down, immediately flustered at the mere of idea of Jisung—and Minho!—seeing him dance. Really dance. “Sure?” The university clubs always held performances at the end of each semester, though the one in winter was usually bigger than the one in summer. If things went well, he could certainly invite the other two to one of those?

“Maybe for a performance?” Minho asked as if he had read Hyunjin’s mind. “Hongdae also does them, don’t they?”

Hyunjin was quick to nod, flashing the other a small smile. “That sound good. Can I also come to KU’s performances then?”

Minho nodded, a smirk playing on his lips as he sat a little straighter. “Of course.”

“Hyung is an amazing dancer!” Jisung cut in immediately, puffing out his chest a little in pride. “You’ll see. And I’m sure that you are amazing, too, and I can’t wait to see you dance on stage!”

Heat rose to Hyunjin’s cheeks and he quickly looked down, but he couldn’t help a small smile, endeared by Jisung immediately cheering for both of them.

When Hyunjin got home that evening, he was a little dazed. The afternoon had been… a lot. But in a good way. The entire apartment smelled wonderfully of food and Seungmin’s and Felix’s animated voices came from the kitchen area, arguing about whether they had added the right amount of chili powder. Having years of experience, Hyunjin mentally prepared himself for having to order take-out as he made his way into the kitchen.

“I’m telling you, if you were to just try a spoonful—” Seungmin said just as Hyunjin entered the kitchen, but Felix immediately interrupted him, bringing Hyunjin back to reality a little faster than he appreciated.

“If you’re so sure that it wasn’t too much, why don’t you try it first?”

“You literally told me to put a spoonful of chili powder in there!”

“‘A spoonful’ doesn’t mean that you’re supposed to pile up a full mountain on the spoon! Oh, hi Hyunjin.” When their eyes met, Felix smiled brightly before he turned back to Seungmin who merely nodded towards Hyunjin in acknowledgement.

“Well, your instructions were unclear.”

“They totally were not!”

“It also wasn’t a ‘mountain’.”

“It definitely was!”

Hyunjin sighed and resigned himself to his fate. He joined the other two at the stove, briefly looked around until he was able to locate the teaspoon that Seungmin had to have used for his measurements. Silence fell over the room as Hyunjin dipped the small spoon into the stew, stirred it a little to make sure that everything was mixed well and there weren’t any remainders of some powder or spice on the spoon, then he lifted a spoonful of the stew to his mouth and blew over it, acutely aware of the other two watching him closely. After blowing over the contents of his spoon a few more times, Hyunjin carefully tried the stew, keeping it his mouth for a few seconds to properly evaluate the taste, half-prepared for his untimely demise.

It was indeed a little spicy, but Hyunjin was pretty certain, that it was still within the limits the three of them could handle.

Finally, he turned to the other two who had been watching him expectantly. With a grin, in Seungmin’s case, likely already anticipating Hyunjin’s verdict. “I think we’ll be fine. But we should probably finish the stew today. And have rice and milk ready.”

“Ha! I told you it’ll be fine,” Seungmin immediately gloated while Felix rolled his eyes.

“Let me,” he said, taking the spoon from Hyunjin’s hand and taste-testing the stew himself, taking his time before he eventually pouted. Seungmin laughed manically while Hyunjin cooed, cupping his best friend’s cheeks and making cute noises until Felix was unable to hold back his giggles.

It was hours after dinner, when Hyunjin had already gotten ready for bed, that he finally managed to check his phone in peace. He had already seen more notifications from the group chat with Jisung and Minho, but considering how incredibly aware Seungmin could be, he hadn’t dared to check the group chat yet. Guilt was lightly gnawing at his insides for keeping something like this from his childhood friend, from the one who had always known him the best, but… he just wasn’t ready. Wasn’t ready to hear what Seungmin had to say.

Flopping down on his stomach on his bed, Hyunjin briefly glanced towards the door to make sure that it was closed before he finally unlocked his phone, excitement bubbling in his veins like champagne.

~Party Cutiez~

Han Jisung
I’m really happy that we could meet today!
I had a lot of fun!
I hope you arrived home safe~~~

Hyunjin rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips and he quickly typed back.

I arrived safe, don’t worry
Also somehow didn’t get poisoned by my roommates
though they tried

The messages were marked as read by one person almost immediately, followed by a gasping emoji.

Han Jisung
How did they attempt to kill you!?

None of us can eat spicy
Still, one of them dumped a lot of chili powder into the
food

Han Jisung
Oh, hyung would have loved that!
Hyung likes spicy food
I can’t eat it either
So hyung doesn’t eat spicy either because he loves me 😍

Lee Minho
Han Jisung, put that phone down. We’re watching a movie.

Hyunjin chuckled, about to tease Jisung for being on his phone to text—or maybe Minho for telling Jisung to stop texting via texting while probably sitting right next to him—when a knock on the door distracted him. He looked up to Felix’s voice saying, “It’s me, can I come in?”

“Of course,” Hyunjin replied, glancing at his phone once more to find it lighting up with Jisung begging Hyunjin to be on his side, but he didn’t get the chance to respond before his door was opened and closed, Felix almost sneaking into the room.

After one more glance at the door as if to ensure that it really was closed, Felix made his way to the bed and got comfortable on it, lying on his side. “So?”

Hyunjin huffed, wondering if he really should have pulled Felix into all of this—there was no way that Felix would allow him to have any secrets about this. “It was fun,” Hyunjin replied quietly, thinking back to the café date.

“Fun?”

Hyunjin nodded. “Minho dances as well,” he revealed, smiling at both the memory and the way that Felix’s face lit up at the mere mention of dance.

It took two whole, awfully long weeks before they managed to meet up again. Despite the struggle with finding a day and a time, none of them had even suggested that Hyunjin could also meet up with just one of them, even though that likely would have made things easier. When the thought had crossed Hyunjin’s mind, it had felt wrong on every imaginable level, so he hadn’t entertained the thought any further.

Minho had sent the location in their group chat for a barbecue place that Jisung had mentioned the two of them went to frequently and who was Hyunjin to argue with them? Even if the place was basically across town for him?

Seungmin was luckily out for his barista job when Hyunjin had to get ready, so he could safely steal a very unhelpful Felix to help him find a good outfit. It was just a dinner—but it was a dinner date! Well, they hadn't labelled it a date, but... anyway.

By the end of the process, Hyunjin still wasn’t fully satisfied with his styling, but he had had to rush out of the apartment to avoid running late. He was rewarded by arriving ten minutes too early, which was good but also really didn’t help his nerves. He absolutely should have used that time to perfect his hair! One of the strands just refused to fall in the way that he wanted it to and it was driving him insane.

Using the dark window of an abandoned store, Hyunjin tried to fix his hair, pulling a bit of hair out of his ponytail only to frown because now there was too much! Disgruntled, he undid the whole ponytail, trying to even out the two strands in the front better this time around, but it seemed like they just refused to listen. The right side was too thin. Then too thick. Then the left was too thick. Then both were too thick! But in an attempt to collect just a few tiny strands, his grip on his ponytail failed him and he was right back to square minus one.

He should just cut it all off. He loved his long hair, but styling it was such a hassle!

Taking a deep breath and pushing down his frustration, Hyunjin tried all over again. He could usually pull this off in his sleep! He never thought about this particular hairstyle. A few strands would just naturally fall into his face, even if he pulled them into the ponytail at first. Why couldn't they look just as pretty when he needed them to look pretty? Why couldn’t his hair just—

“Trying to impress someone?” a lazy voice asked from way too close and Hyunjin flinched, fire shooting through him and leaving an embarrassed flush. He quickly looked over to where Minho was leaning against the wall of the abandoned shop, looking way too smug to have only just arrived.

“How… how long..?”

Minho’s smirk deepened, appearing almost predatory. Was he just as cocky in bed? Hyunjin could almost imagine it. Could remember the certainty with which Minho had kissed him back at the club, could imagine how Minho would have likely taken over control if the kiss had lasted any longer. Could almost taste the sharp smirk on his—

“My eyes are up here, darling,” Minho teased and Hyunjin’s eyes snapped up before he quickly looked away because he could not have just been caught staring at Minho’s lips. Could the ground maybe open up for him and swallow him whole?

“I… ugh…” What had he been doing again before Minho showed up?

Minho didn’t allow him to catch his long-departed train of thought, grabbing his wrist instead and pulling him along. “Let’s go. Jisung’s teacher likes to draw out his lessons. If we wait for Jisung to get here, we won’t get a seat.”

Hyunjin made some kind of aborted noise that he himself wasn’t even sure what it was supposed to express. Agreement? Protest? Surprise? Overwhelm?

Minho merely squeezed his wrist briefly before he let go. The air around them was warm, but suddenly, Hyunjin’s wrist felt cold. Couldn’t Minho have held on a little longer?

Luckily, Minho took the lead inside, getting them a table in a corner at the back wall. “Jisung likes to sit somewhere hidden. If he can’t have that, he at least doesn’t want to be right at the door,” he shared as he took a seat on the bench and Hyunjin helplessly sat down on a chair across from him.

He hadn’t gotten even a second to sort his thoughts before a waitress was already standing at their table. “Are you expecting anyone else?”

“Yes, one more person will join us,” Minho replied and the waitress nodded, scurrying off again.

Right, it probably looked like Minho and Hyunjin were possibly taking away space from bigger groups, didn’t it? Wouldn’t it have been better then to wait for Jisung before they entered?

“What do you want to eat?” Minho asked, either blissfully unaware of Hyunjin’s racing thoughts or ignoring them. Either way, Hyunjin finally got an excuse to turn around to take a look at the big menu that had been hung up on one of the side walls. He convened briefly with Minho about what they should order, then Minho placed the order for all three of them. “You said you had a class before this?” Minho asked once their order was completed and Hyunjin nodded, grabbing the cups and the water bottle to provide something to drink for all of them.

“I had statistics as well as law and economics today. And macroeconomics,” Hyunjin replied with a grimace. “Please don’t ask me why they decided to torture us with all of those in one day.”

“At least this way they won’t ruin too many of your weekdays,” Minho argued and Hyunjin huffed, handing the first cup over to Minho with both hands.

“Nice try, but you’re not the one sitting in those torture rooms,” he argued while placing the second cup next to Minho. Jisung would surely want to sit next to his boyfriend, wouldn’t he? They had also sat on the same side when they had met at the café.

“And you have no choice to opt out of this degree?”

“Not if I want my parents to pay for it and with all due respect, I’m already working on the side. If I can avoid taking on a loan as well, I’ll gladly do that.” Hyunjin sighed softly as he finished pouring his own glass and put the bottle back to the side. “And hey, at least I managed to meet one of my best friends that way and am studying together with my other best friend.”

“You’re right, moral support is important.”

“You clearly haven’t met Kim Seungmin. If you think he provides moral support, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

The statement was half right and half wrong—Seungmin wouldn’t provide moral support in the way anyone expected, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t provide any at all. He’d just do it his way.

Hyunjin leaned back in his chair, nearly scoffing when he saw the spark in Minho’s eyes. “That look tells me that you’d like him.”

“I mean, I haven’t met him,” Minho pointed out, but he didn’t necessarily sound like he’d be opposed to changing that fact. Hyunjin had a feeling that those two together had the potential to be very bad for his sanity.

“Oh, speaking of meeting people…” Hyunjin perked up, then frowned. “Wait, I think I should ask this when Jisung is here, too…”

“You want to know how we met?” Minho guessed and Hyunjin hummed. “You’d definitely get a more flowery story from Jisung.” Hyunjin lightly shook his head, already kind of having expected such an answer. “But the short version is that the friend I’d been living with at the time, Chan-hyung, brought him along at one point and we kinda hit it off.”

“So you two also haven’t known each other for all that long?” Hyunjin asked in surprise. With the way especially Jisung was behaving and how Minho had mentioned the previous time that it had taken over a year for Jisung to show Minho any of his songs, Hyunjin would have assumed that the two had known each other for longer than, well, about one and a half years. Also considering that they were living together.

Minho chuckled softly. “That kid had the audacity to glare at me as if I had offended him when we first met and proclaim me his soulmate two weeks later.”

Hyunjin snorted, somehow perfectly able to imagine that; Jisung did seem like someone who could change his opinion rather quickly. “Why was he glaring at you like that?”

“Apparently, he was offended because I was too handsome,” Minho replied with a smirk, his chin raised just so in pride.

“That’s valid,” Hyunjin said. Minho’s face blanked and he did a few fast blinks at Hyunjin as if he genuinely hadn’t expected Hyunjin to agree. Giddiness spread through Hyunjin at the sight because it was so cute!

Before he could do something as silly as blurt that out, though, a new voice suddenly joined them, “Hey you two, sorry for being late! How did you break Minho-hyung?” Jisung easily slid into the seat next to Hyunjin, blowing a kiss to his boyfriend who looked at him in utter betrayal. Hyunjin also stared at Jisung, a little dumbfounded to find the other next to himself, even more so when Jisung just turned to him with those big, innocent eyes. “What?”

“Excuse me?” Minho asked. “Your boyfriend is literally right here?”

“Yup! But I don’t need to woo you anymore. I do, however, need to woo Hyunjinnie,” Jisung replied and hugged Hyunjin’s arm to himself.

Hyunjin’s brain short-circuited at the nickname, at Jisung so blatantly stating his mission, and the physical contact. It was all a bit much.

Across from them, Minho giggled. “Look who’s broken now.”

“It’s not my fault!” Jisung immediately defended himself, but he didn’t let go Hyunjin, not even moving when the waitress from earlier brought out their food.

“M-hm?” Minho made, clearly not believing Jisung while he started to heat up the pan between them once the waitress had left. “How were your classes?”

“Not fair, you guys need to fill me in first! I asked first!”

“Alright, Hyunjinnie had annoying classes with way too much math, he apparently has a best friend whom I’d get along with well, and then he asked how you and I met and I told him that it was hyung who introduced us and Hyunjinnie got surprised that we’ve known each other for less than two years," Minho summarized while putting the first round of meat onto the pan.

"Wait, how was your day,” Hyunjin cut in, realizing way too late that Minho hadn’t shared anything about his own day.

Jisung giggled, letting go of Hyunjin to grab his water, plate, and chopsticks from the other side of the table. “It was good,” Minho answered. “I had a nutrition class first, then worked out for a bit, and finally got to work on a project with my group mates for my hip hop class.”

“The project that’s due in two weeks?” Jisung asked and Minho hummed. “My day was okay. We went over our homework and it seems like all of us struggled a lot with that text. I think Mr. Kwon took pleasure in seeing us struggle like that.” His expression turned a little sour before he brightened again. “But our next text looks like it’ll be easier and now I’m having dinner with my boyfriend and my could-be-boyfriend.” He winked at Hyunjin whose cheeks immediately turned hot. How was Jisung just saying things like that? And what did Hyunjin have to do to get even a crumb of that confidence?

Then again, it had been Hyunjin who had taken the initiative to kiss both of them. Admittedly, while he had been drunk, but still… In hindsight, though… what the hell had his drunk mind been thinking?

“Sounds like a good turn of events,” Minho replied with a smirk and Hyunjin was glad that he was already sitting because he was getting a little weak in the knees. A feeling that didn’t get better when Minho nodded towards Hyunjin’s plate and Jisung snitched it up with nimble fingers, holding it out for Minho to put the first pieces of pork belly onto it before Jisung held out his own plate as well.

“Thank you for cooking, hyung,” he said with a bright smile that Minho merely acknowledged with a nod as he put meat onto his own plate before putting a new batch of meat onto the pan.

“So you two come to this restaurant often?” Hyunjin asked, remembering that Minho had mentioned something along those lines earlier.

Jisung nodded, his cheeks full with food, so it was Minho who answered for them, “Yes, we do. It’s close to Jisung’s school and not too far from where we live, so it’s convenient for us.”

“You live nearby?”

“When Chan-hyung and I were looking for a place so that I could bring my cats to Seoul, we had specifically looked for a please near Korea University. It just so happened that it would be closer to the translation school than our university, but it’s still in a really good location for Jisung and me.”

Hyunjin sighed softly at that. “I wish I could have my family dog nearby. But I think my parents would stage an intervention if I tried to leave with him.”

“Oh, my mom also wasn’t happy when I told her that I’d take the babies with me. But then I reminded her that they are my babies and she had to admit defeat.”

“You’re gonna love them,” Jisung added. “They’re a bit shy with strangers, but I’m sure they’ll warm up to you quickly.”

Hyunjin nodded, making a mental note to get some allergy medication so that he’d be able to visit Minho and Jisung peacefully. His allergy wasn’t severe, but he’d still rather not risk anything.

“They have to,” Minho said, narrowing his eyes on Hyunjin. “I only date people who get approved by my cats.”

Hyunjin gulped and looked over at Jisung who looked too solemn for Minho to have joked. “I’ll do my best?” he offered, unsure if that was the correct response, but Jisung gave him a sunny smile before he took a lettuce leaf and started nibbling on it.

If Hyunjin kissing a beautiful stranger, finding out that he had boyfriend, kissing that boyfriend as well, and then waking up to find that they wanted to get to know him hadn’t been strange enough already, Jisung apparently eating his samgyeopsal separately would be it. It was possibly the strangest thing Hyunjin had ever seen, but he was stupidly endeared by the small bites.

“Do you have siblings?” he asked because that could only be solo child behavior.

“Only my furry brothers,” Minho replied.

“I do, I have an older brother,” Jisung hit him right out of left field.

Hyunjin could only stare at him in confusion for a few seconds before he blurted out, “How are you eating that slowly when you have an older brother?”

Jisung merely stared back at him with a dumbfounded expression for a moment before he burst out laughing. And oh, what a beautiful sound that was!

“Trust me, if he has to, he can eat much faster,” Minho replied. “He’s just learned that the only ones he’ll have to defend his food against now are my little pigs.”

Minho sure seemed to have a lot of words to describe his cats. Hyunjin somehow found that endearing as well.

“Also, lettuce has never been the most contested food in the house,” Jisung added. “Do you have siblings?”

Hyunjin shook his head. “No. Only my best friends, though they kind of feel like brothers.” He smiled at the thought of what kind of expression Seungmin would make should he ever hear Hyunjin call them ‘basically brothers’. He would most certainly disapprove of that title, at least outwardly.

“Chosen family is still family,” Jisung replied as he leaned forward. “Are those done yet?”

“Do they look done to you?” Minho deadpanned, but he did check the meat and put a few pieces onto Jisung’s plate.

Their dynamic looked so incredibly easy. They clearly knew each other incredibly well. Would Hyunjin truly be able to fit into that?

Minho held up the tongs with more meat, motioning towards Hyunjin who reacted with a slight delay, holding up his plate for Minho to put more meat onto it. And maybe this was a drastic change of topic, maybe they were in public, but… “How will we do this?”

“Huh?” Jisung made, looking up from where he had just put some sauce onto his meat.

“Samgyeopsal?” Minho asked, sound just as confused.

Hyunjin couldn’t help his smile as he shook his head, looking up. “No, I mean… This. Us. How… how does this work?”

“Well, how do you want it to work?” Jisung asked back, his voice still a little confused.

“I mean, the two of you surely have a lot of routines and all that. And this kind of… situation isn’t exactly common?” Hyunjin tried to elaborate his question, but by the looks of it, Jisung still didn’t seem to see the problem.

Minho turned back to the food, getting himself the next round of meat before he put new pieces onto the pan. “Jisung and I have also had our own routines before we met and moved in together. Chan-hyung and I had our routines before hyung moved out. I’m sure you and your friends have had your routines before the three of you moved in together and now you have new routines.”

Hyunjin hummed, not having expected such a pragmatic response. At the same time, he was a little surprised at how easy it sounded, how normal.

“We just make whatever rules work for us and go with that, I’d say,” Jisung added. “Every relationship is different. You don’t just fall into despair when someone new joins a friend group; we’ll just treat this the same way. We figure out what works for us, talk about it along the way, adjust whatever needs to be adjusted… Just like you would do in any other relationship. We just have one more conversation partner.” He shrugged and put a spoonful of rice with some meat on top into his mouth.

Minho glanced over the table and chuckled. “What? Expected something else?”

Hyunjin nodded thoughtfully. “I think I expected things to be more… complicated?”

“You literally came up to us and kissed us,” Jisung pointed out and heat instantly rose to Hyunjin’s cheeks at the reminder. “If we start easy and straight-forward, I think we can keep going that way.”

“Though of course we can also make it complicated, if you prefer that,” Minho added and wiggled his eyebrows.

Hyunjin made a show of rolling his eyes, but he couldn’t hide his fond smile as he wrapped a portion of rice and meat in his lettuce leaf. “I’m fine doing it easy,” he replied, his smile deepening when Jisung bumped their knees together. They were right. Just because ‘three’ was unconventional for a relationship and sounded more complicated, it didn’t have to be that way.

One hour. That was all Hyunjin had granted himself after coming home. Because if he waited any longer, Felix would be back from his class and this was a conversation that he needed to have with Seungmin alone. And it was a conversation that he needed to have with Seungmin soon, so what better time than the present? Sure, maybe they were technically sitting at their dining table to do a work sheet for one of their classes, but really, Seungmin surely needed a break, didn’t he?

“Seungmin?” Hyunjin asked, his eyes trained on his laptop screen, but he was watching his best friend in his periphery.

“M-hm?” Seungmin made, not looking up from his own laptop.

“Would you think me crazy if I started dating two guys?” Said out loud, it suddenly became real. They hadn’t even really talked about dating yet, hadn’t quite used that word, but… but that was what they were doing, wasn’t it?

Hyunjin’s heart was racing with sudden nerves because what if Seungmin would draw the line at this? Just because Seungmin wasn’t quite as normal as he tended to seem at first glance didn’t mean that he’d just go along with polyamory.

A beat of silence answered him and Seungmin raised his head, his eyes narrowing on Hyunjin for a moment before he turned back to his laptop. “No, not at all,” he replied, his tone casual. “Your schedule still had a few empty slots, it’s about time that you start filling them as well lest you run any danger of getting enough sleep or time for yourself.”

Hyunjin could hear sarcasm in Seungmin’s flat tone, could logically understand that he was just teasing, so he hadn’t expected the stabbing pain in his chest. He knew this was Seungmin’s normal way of speaking, and yet… He could only manage a hum, confused by the feeling of rejection that had no actual business being there. Seungmin would have outright said that he disapproved if he did. And still…

Across from him, Seungmin sighed and closed his laptop. “That came out wrong, didn’t it?”

“No, I know you didn’t mean it in a… bad way,” Hyunjin replied, but even to his own ears, his voice was a little off.

Seungmin was quiet for a moment, then he leaned forward and pushed Hyunjin’s laptop close as well. “I’m making us tea and then you tell me about them. Got it?”

Hyunjin looked up, but Seungmin was already standing and getting busy. “You want to hear about them?”

“You’ve been keeping this from me for weeks, haven’t you?” Seungmin asked back, his tone still as casual as always, but Hyunjin still winced.

“I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t say that to get an apology,” Seungmin replied and Hyunjin could hear the eye roll in his voice. “This must be important to you. You must have a lot to talk about by now. So I’m saying that our assignment can wait and you’re filling me in first.”

“I don’t have all that much to talk about, I promise,” Hyunjin hurried to say, scrambling off his chair to join his best friend at the kitchen counter, pouting when Seungmin threw him an unimpressed look. “I swear I only saw them twice! Well, technically three times, but I was really drunk that first time and don’t even remember much, to be honest.”

Seungmin’s eyes narrowed on him once again. “Did they do anything to you?”

“No!” Hyunjin quickly shook his head, nervous giggles bubbling out of him. “Well… It was kinda the other way around?”

Seungmin merely stared at him blankly until the water boiler went off, then he turned away to fill their cups. “You better spill every single detail or I am going to leave my wet laundry on your bed.”

Hyunjin gasped. “You wouldn’t!” Seungmin really wouldn’t. He’d hate the musty smell that his clothes would adopt. But the mischievous smirk Hyunjin got in response was worth giving him the benefit of the doubt and it eased the part of Hyunjin that had still been tense.

And so, he found himself on their sofa together with Seungmin, filling Seungmin in on everything that had happened since he had first met Jisung and Minho. Felix came back at some point and made himself tea as well, joining them on the sofa to hear about Hyunjin’s latest date with the other two.

Two days later, Hyunjin once again found himself on the subway to go all the way across the city. This time, though, he sadly wasn’t on the way to meet Minho and Jisung. Felix had stumbled upon a café on Instagram and insisted that they check it out, so, naturally, Hyunjin was checking it out with Felix.

They didn’t have to walk far from the subway station to the café, the white, modern front greeting them after just a few steps. Western music was playing in the background, a welcome change from the K-Pop that was usually blasting everywhere. White and light brown were the dominating colors inside the café. They walked past the counter for the time being, past white tables and raffia chairs, until Felix pointed them to small tables in the very back, a long bench lining the wall with small throw pillows strewn across it. Hyunjin loved the vibe.

After picking one of the tables in the very back and leaving their bags there, Felix immediately made his way back to the counter, one hand curled around Hyunjin’s wrist, as if there were any danger that Hyunjin wouldn’t follow. They weaved their way through the tables and other patrons until they arrived at the cake display. Beside them, a young woman was placing her order and a couple was in line behind her, sporting a couple look while the woman was hugging her boyfriend’s arm. How easy life had to be when you didn’t have to worry about what society thought about your relationship or whom you were dating, whom you loved.

“Hyunie!” Hyunjin turned back to his best friend, finding the other looking at the cake display with starry eyes. “I think I’ll take the carrot cake. People recommended it a lot online. What do you want?”

Hyunjin hummed as his eyes roamed over the displayed cakes until they landed on one in particular. “I haven’t had a red velvet cake in ages.”

“Then we’ll take a carrot cake and a red velvet cake?” Felix asked and Hyunjin looked back at him, already knowing what words were about to leave his best friend’s lips when he saw the other’s big eyes. “To share?”

“Anything for you.”

Felix immediately beamed at him. “Thank you!”

Hyunjin lightly rolled his eyes. “It’ll still be my treat.” He had decided on that because Felix had kept his secret so well for the past few weeks. Felix deserved a treat.

In very Korean fashion, though, Felix of course argued, “What? Noo! Mom sent me money just for this and I am the one making you come here! It totally has to be me who pays for this!”

“Nu-uh.” Hyunjin shook his head even when Felix hugged his arm, tugging on it with the cutest puppy eyes in the world. “This is going to be my treat because you’re an angel.”

“But that wouldn’t be fair on you! You’ve been working so hard, it totally should be my treat today,” Felix continued whining, still hugging Hyunjin’s arm and not seeming to realize that this meant that Hyunjin would have an easier time grabbing his wallet and handing over his card since he still had one free arm, unlike Felix.

The couple in front of them left and Hyunjin looked across the counter for the first time since they had arrived. His eyes met sharp, feline ones that briefly went back and forth between him and Felix before boring into Hyunjin’s, piercing in their intensity. And not in a good way. Hyunjin’s eyes widened, stunned silent at the sheer impossibility of the situation. And at the realization what kind of impression they seemed to be giving off.

A light tug on his arm made Hyunjin blink quickly, and he finally looked away, needing a moment to gather his wits. “Hyunie?” Felix’s voice was softer than before. A lot more confused, too.

Hyunjin briefly glanced at him before looking across the counter once more, finding Minho’s expression schooled and his eyes on the cash register’s screen. Hyunjin cleared his throat once, twice, before he finally trusted his voice enough to speak. “Lix, this is Minho,” he finally said, the words coming out a little tight, a little breathless.

Felix’s eyes immediately widened, the spark returning to them. “You’re Minho?” he asked, turning towards the man in front of them, excitement making his voice a little higher than it normally was. Minho had also looked up, his eyes once again on Hyunjin, but they were softer than before, clearly recognizing the name. “I’m Felix, Hyunjin’s best friend. It’s so cool to meet you! I didn’t know you work here.”

Hyunjin nodded in confirmation, his heart fluttering when the last bit of hardness seeped from Minho’s face and he finally properly turned towards Felix with a small smile. “Nice to meet you. What can I get you two?”

“An iced americano, a hot chocolate, one piece of the carrot cake, and one of the red velvet cake,” Felix immediately rattled down their order.

“Would you like whipped cream with your hot chocolate?” Minho asked as his fingers flew over the touch screen.

“Yes, please, I’d love some whipped cream,” Felix replied, sound a bit like a child who had been let loose in a candy store. Minho nodded and shortly after, Hyunjin paid and they were sent on their way with a pager. “I can’t believe I got to meet your Minho,” Felix whisper-squealed as they made their way back to their table.

Hyunjin huffed lightly, but he couldn’t stop smiling. “Me neither.”

“I also can’t believe that you weren’t lying when you described him as the most handsome man alive!”

Hyunjin chuckled, looking down as his cheeks heated up. “But he might become my man,” he replied quietly, grateful that they arrived back at their table and he could get busy with getting his university stuff out of his backpack. “Well, mine and Jisung’s.”

“Now I want to meet Jisung as well,” Felix mused, sliding into his chair, then he giggled. “I gotta tell Seungmin about this! He’ll be furious to hear that I not only heard about them first but also met Minho first.”

“He wasn’t angry that I told you first,” Hyunjin argued, but Felix merely made a dismissive gesture with one hand, already taking out and unlocking his phone with the other.

“But he will be when he finds out that I met one of them.”

“I didn’t even know that he works here.”

“That’s beside the point.”

Hyunjin huffed, watching for a moment as Felix typed away on his phone. Eventually, though, Hyunjin glanced around the currently fairly empty café and decided that they could surely pull another one of the small tables closer and use it to spread out a little more. There was also suddenly a 99% chance that Seungmin would show up within the hour, so they’d need more space anyway.

Hyunjin’s prediction turned out to be right. The hour wasn’t quite up yet when someone approached their table and Hyunjin looked up to find Seungmin coming up to them, dropping his backpack on the empty chair next to Felix. “Which one is it?” he asked in lieu of a ‘hello’.

Before Hyunjin had the chance to respond, Felix was already up, excitedly tugging Seungmin back towards the counter. And Hyunjin couldn’t even spy on them since a huge plant had been set up in the middle of the seating area, blocking the view to the counter. Something that until just now he had been grateful for because it meant that he was less distracted by the possibility of seeing Minho. The thought that he didn’t know what Felix and Seungmin were doing was a lot more unsettling, though.

He nevertheless remained seated, figuring that it would seem weird for him to go with the other two, but his assignment lay forgotten in front of him as he waited. Finally, the other two returned from the counter and Seungmin’s smirk was enough for Hyunjin’s heart to be at ease right away.

“He really doesn’t look too bad,” Seungmin commented as he sat down. “No wonder you wouldn’t have had the guts to approach him.”

Hyunjin kicked Seungmin’s shin in retaliation, sticking his tongue out at his best friend when he yelped.

A comfortable silence settled over them afterwards as all three of them got to work on their assignments and Hyunjin was once again glad that they sat so hidden from the counter. It was already bad enough that Seungmin had joined them just to get a glimpse of Minho, but at least Seungmin and Felix couldn’t be obnoxious about Minho like this. Felix had also ordered them another round of drinks when he had gone up front with Seungmin, so really, Hyunjin couldn’t complain.

Hyunjin was on his third coffee—this one had come with a note scribbled on a napkin that read ‘If you order one more, I’m making it decaf. This is a threat.’ that had Seungmin laughing for a solid minute—and only one more sighting of Minho when the other had wiped down some tables nearby when their peace was interrupted.

Hyunjin didn’t even know what it was that made him look up. Maybe it was a sixth sense, maybe just intuition. But when he looked up from his assignment, it was to see Jisung round the huge plant, his eyes landing on their small group almost right away. A shy smile appeared on his lips and he gave a small wave, his hands hidden in sweater paws, his steps slowing.

Hyunjin could only stare at him for a moment before he managed to overcome his stupor, waving back. What the hell were the odds?

Then again, the odds had probably been just as high as Seungmin showing up after Hyunjin and Felix had realized that Minho was working in this café…

“Hi,” Jisung said when he was close enough, making Seungmin and Felix look up as well.

“Hey,” Hyunjin greeted him with a smile, much better in control of the situation this time since he wasn’t quite as shocked as he had been earlier.

“Umm… Can I… If you don’t mind? I mean, just if you’re not too busy?” Jisung motioned towards the spot next to Hyunjin.

“I was saving this seat for someone cute,” Hyunjin replied, acting like he really had to think about Jisung’s question. As if on command, Jisung’s cheeks turned rosy, making him even more adorable.

“Flirting is forbidden at this table,” Seungmin deadpanned, but when Hyunjin turned towards him, he had a mischievous spark in his eyes.

“Well, lucky for me that I’m sitting at a different table than you,” he shot back before he looked up at Jisung once again, patting the spot next to himself.

Across from him, Felix started to lightly bounce in his chair. “This is the best day of my life,” he muttered under his breath, his mood not even dimming when Seungmin snorted.

Jisung slid onto the bench next to Hyunjin slightly awkwardly while Hyunjin turned towards his close friends. “I don’t think I even need to say this anymore, but please meet Jisung.  Jisung, these are Felix and Seungmin,” he introduced them all, motioning towards his two friends respectively.

“It’s so great to meet you,” Felix replied excitedly.

“I’m guessing it’s not a coincidence that you came here today?” Seungmin asked, his tone nonchalant.

Hyunjin rolled his eyes, deciding to save Jisung before he could misunderstand that statement. “As if it wasn’t completely on purpose that you decided ‘on a whim’ to join Lix and me here.”

Felix giggled at the call-out while Seungmin looked utterly unimpressed. “Well, I’m really happy that you decided to join us,” Felix said, flashing Jisung a blinding smile that seemed to finally have Jisung relax a little. “Did you come here right after your classes?” Felix went on and Hyunjin collected his worksheets, figuring that he wasn’t going to get anything else done for university.

Jisung nodded, glancing at Hyunjin before he said, “Yes. Hyung will be off soon. I pick him up from work every now and then when our schedules allow it.”

“It must be so nice to have a boyfriend who works at a café,” Felix mused.

“New requirement unlocked for your future boyfriend,” Seungmin commented as he finished putting away his own assignments, apparently also having decided that university stuff could wait until later.

“Okay, but, like, just think about!” Felix replied, turning towards Seungmin. “You might have a chance at free stuff! Your boyfriend is probably going to smell really good when he comes home, you have another excuse to go to cafés, you might hear about what new things might be introduced soon and might have a better chance at trying those things early, you get all the tea about bad customers without actually having to interact with them…”

Hyunjin snorted. “How much have you thought about this?”

“Plenty,” Felix replied, never losing his sunny smile. “Working at a café was one of the things I thought I might do when applying for student jobs. But then I thought that rude customers might not believe me if I pulled the foreigner card, so I decided against it.”

“Oh yeah, my hyung has the same problem,” Jisung chimed in.

“Your hyung from Australia?” Felix asked, his eyes shining and Jisung nodded, glancing at Hyunjin once again before he started into stories of his own.

Conversation flowed much easier than Hyunjin had feared. Then again, Felix was present, and Hyunjin was fairly certain that it was nearly impossible for the mood to become awkward when Felix was around. It didn’t take long for Minho to join their group, seeming just as hesitant at first, but Jisung and Felix were quick to invite him to sit down and Hyunjin sent him a bright smile.

Their next scheduled date—Jisung had literally called it a date!!! Hyunjin still wasn’t over that—was on Sunday. Minho had an early shift at the café, but they had invited Hyunjin over for lunch anyway. Because apparently, “since we met your brothers, you now have to meet hyung’s brothers”. Or such was Jisung’s logic, anyway. Minho had merely added that it was about time for Hyunjin to go through his cats’ vibe check, which made it sound a lot scarier.

Hyunjin spent a good part of Saturday morning reading up on flowers that were non-toxic for cats and eventually bought a bouquet of pink roses and purple asters, telling the florist to please be careful about the cats when she added greens to the flowers. He also got some over the counter allergy pills, taking one of them on Sunday morning before he left for Jisung and Minho’s place. As the cherry on top, he had also gotten cat treats. A bit of bribery surely couldn’t hurt, after all.

His heart was beating fast during the entire way, which felt a little silly because it wasn’t their first meeting. But it was their first time meeting at one of their homes, making it all the more special. It was also the first time that it had been explicitly labeled a date. Hyunjin had done his best to dress up for the occasion, at the same time trying to keep it somewhat casual because he was ‘just’ going to their apartment. He didn’t have to look good enough for a high-class restaurant. And he was bound to have cat fur on whatever he wore. The white T-shirt and blue jeans that he had eventually picked felt way too casual, but his fancier idea had gotten overthrown when Felix had reminded him that two of Minho’s cats had white fur. (Of course the third one hard dark fur. Gotta be sure to have visible cat fur on all of your clothes, after all.)

Hyunjin was almost at the right subway station when his phone lit up with a new text.

~Party Cutiez~

Lee Minho
Colleague is running late
Will be home 30 minutes late

Hyunjin had barely opened the chat when Jisung had already sent a crying emoji, followed by

Han Jisung
Wait!!!
This means I get some 1:1 with Hyunjinnie!!!

Hyunjin snorted at Jisung’s excitement and sent back an emoji that wiggled its eyebrows, locking his phone and jumping up from his seat when he realized that the doors were already opening for his stop. He only realized the fault in his logic a moment later when he stood on the platform and had to unlock his phone again to look up the directions.

Once he knew where he needed to go, Hyunjin opened the group chat again, barely biting back his laughter when he saw that Jisung had sent a meme of a man putting on high fishnet stockings, followed by,

Han Jisung
That would be me except I can’t get up

Next up came a picture of one of the two orange tabbies curled up on his lap. Hyunjin wished he could tell whether it was Soonie or Doongie, but he was not yet familiar enough with the two to be able to tell, especially because all he could see was orange fur.

I better learn teleportation then
Wouldn’t want to disturb the beauty sleep

Minho reacted with a thumbs-up while Jisung sent a sticker of a tiger threateningly holding a knife with the text ‘you better keep your promise or...’

Hyunjin switched back to the navigation app, already feeling guilty that he was about to disturb the cat’s beauty sleep. He hoped that the treats would mean that he’d be quickly forgiven.

It didn’t take much longer until he arrived, ringing the doorbell to Minho and Jisung’s apartment. Several seconds passed and Hyunjin already feared that he’d have to disturb the cats by ringing the doorbell again when Jisung’s voice came through the intercom, “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me, Hyunjin.”

“Come on up, we’re on the third floor,” Jisung replied brightly and just a moment later, the door was buzzed open.

Hyunjin simply took the elevator up, not wanting to be out of breath when he arrived at the apartment. When he arrived upstairs, he briefly looked left and right, finding Jisung already peeking out of one door to his right.

“You’re gonna want to hurry a bit because I’m fighting off three cats right now,” Jisung greeted him before his eyes seemed to properly take Hyunjin in. “Did you bring us flowers?”

“Maybe,” Hyunjin replied, walking over to him and watching as Jisung carefully shuffled back. Dori still almost escaped as Hyunjin tried to step over the threshold.

Once the door was safely closed, both of them breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, Hyunjin held out the flower bouquet that Jisung accepted with an adorable pout, gently running his fingers along the petals. “This is so sweet of you.”

“I did tell the florist that the bouquet has to be non-toxic for cats, so it should also be safe for them,” Hyunjin added while he took off his shoes.

Jisung looked up at him, his eyes looking even bigger with the glasses that he was wearing. “Hyung is going to want to kiss you silly for this. Hell, I want to kiss you silly for this. This is so sweet.”

Heat immediately rose to Hyunjin’s cheeks at the thought of getting to kiss them again. But should they wait for all three of them to be present? Or would it be better to go one by one, in a time like this when it was just two of them? “It was the least I could do,” he responded to the one thing that was easy to respond to.

A loud ‘meow’ interrupted the moment and Minho looked down to find one of the orange tabbies staring up at them, rubbing himself against Jisung’s leg. Jisung laughed in response, bending down to pet the cat. “It seems like Doongie is offended that you haven’t greeted him yet.”

Hyunjin smiled and crouched down, holding his hand out to Doongie who took a sniff but didn’t seem fully convinced just yet. “I brought some snacks for them. Was that okay?”

Jisung hummed. “Which ones did you bring?” he asked, so Hyunjin pulled the small box out of his denim jacket. “Oh, good choice! If you want to conquer hyung’s heart, wait with those until hyung is back.”

“No bribing the cats just yet?”

“I mean, you can. But they’re only allowed one bribe per day, so you either do that now or later, your choice.” Jisung shrugged nonchalantly.

Hyunjin pouted, but Jisung strategically turned away, so Hyunjin rose to his feet. “Sorry, Doongie-yah. It sounds like you’ll have to wait for a bit longer.”

As if he had understood it, Doongie raised his nose in the air and turned away, looking thoroughly offended by the delay. Hyunjin felt even worse, but wooing Minho did seem like a good option.

After Hyunjin left his jacket on a hook, Jisung led them into the open living space where he first got a big glass for the flowers, explaining that they still didn’t have a vase and this was their typical stand-in, then he led Hyunjin further to the sofa.

“Does it happen often that hyung has to work late?” Hyunjin asked as they settled, curiously eyeing the orange tabby that was resting on a big cat tree, eyes closely following the humans. That had to be Soonie.

“Not really, no, they’re pretty good with the times that they schedule and hyung’s colleagues are usually really reliable.”

“That’s good. At the restaurant where I work, it’s always a bit of a 50/50 whether one of my colleagues will show up in time or not.” Hyunjin grimaced lightly. The young woman in question had close ties to the manager of their branch of the chain restaurant, so everyone else always had to pick up her slack and they always got scolded for it, too, while she was untouchable. All of them hated her, but none of them could say anything about it.

“Ugh, that sucks.” Jisung scrunched his nose cutely. “Now I feel even more lucky that my parents pay for me.”

“Oh, my parents support me as well. But they still said that it would be good if I could gain some work experience along the way. I guess growing used to nepotism is just part of it.”

“I’m not looking forward to entering the job market,” Jisung replied and Doongie meowed as if in agreement as he jumped onto the sofa, only to proceed to ignore both humans and get comfortable on the backrest. “I know, Doongie-yah, you also wouldn’t want hyung and I to be gone from the apartment even more. Believe me, I don’t want that either.”

“It really is unfair that you would have cats and then you can’t even be home all day,” Hyunjin agreed and Jisung nodded solemnly.

“I petition to be able to work from home. Like, come on, I can totally translate stuff at home. And I’d definitely be more motivated with a cat in my lap than with a colleague typing furiously next to me.”

“You could also get play breaks when you just need to not think for a minute.”

“Exactly! No draining small talk at the coffee machine either. Only high-quality conversations with the best conversation partners.”

“Also no cue at the coffee machine or the microwave.”

“Or having to go out to eat at a place where there’s even more people.”

Hyunjin couldn’t help himself anymore, laughter bursting out of him, and Jisung followed right after him. “Gee, how did we even meet at a club?”

“Well, Minho-hyung likes to go every now and then and of course I will come along in case beautiful men decide that they want to kiss my boyfriend,” Jisung replied, his eyes still twinkling with laughter.

Hyunjin shifted around a little until he was facing Jisung a little better, almost surprised to find none of the embarrassment that he had expected with this topic. “I don’t think you quite worked in your own favor,” he said, endeared when Jisung tilted his head questioningly. “I would have never had the confidence to approach Minho-hyung. But you looked cute and a lot more approachable. If I had seen hyung before I approached you, I would have been way too intimidated.”

Jisung’s eyes lit up and he sat a little straighter. “Really?” When Hyunjin nodded, Jisung wiggled a little, excitement coming off him. “Oh, I have to tell hyung about that! People tend to approach him.”

“Eh? No way!”

Jisung, though, nodded. “Oh yes, they’re all over hyung! And, like, don’t get me wrong, I totally get it, hyung is very pretty.”

“I also get that, but how can they be all over hyung and not you? You’re so cute and when you laughed? How could anyone not fall for you like that?” Hyunjin asked, genuinely flabbergasted. How could only Minho be getting all the attention? Or was everyone who was interested in Jisung simply scared off by Minho and too afraid to chat Jisung up? That seemed a lot more plausible to him.

“So you’re saying you’re falling for me?” Jisung asked and leaned in and Hyunjin instantly blushed, yet he couldn’t look away. Not even when the air between them became more charged, when Jisung leaned in just a little further, his eyes briefly dipping down before coming back up.

A quiet beeping noise came from the entrance area and Doongie immediately jumped off the sofa, making his way to the front door with happy ‘meows’, yet Jisung didn’t lean away. “What about hyung?” Hyunjin whispered.

“Trust me, hyung will enjoy the sight,” Jisung mumbled back.

“Hi Doongie-yah,” Minho’s soft voice came from the entrance area.

Hyunjin’s heart was racing in his chest. This felt forbidden. But it also felt so incredibly right when he started to lean in as well, when one of Jisung’s hands came to rest on the side of his neck.

When their lips met just as Minho called out, “I’m back!”

Jisung tightened his grip for a moment, as if he was prepared for Hyunjin to lean away. Instead, Hyunjin rested one of his hands on Jisung’s thigh, pressing a little more into the kiss, excitement thrumming through him. Because it was only a matter of seconds before quiet steps came closer. Came to an abrupt halt.

The silence almost had Hyunjin’s heart bursting, but he trusted that Jisung knew what he was doing. Mourned the contact when Jisung did eventually break the kiss.

Hyunjin opened his eyes just a moment before Jisung did, the look in Jisung’s eyes so incredibly soft and fond that Hyunjin wanted to do nothing but dive in once more. Wanted nothing but to forever bathe in the affection that overcame him.

Jisung’s eyes went further and a mischievous smirk tucked at his lips. “Enjoying the view, hyung?”

Hyunjin finally tore his eyes away from Jisung and his heart skipped a beat when they landed on Minho. Minho who had merely been staring at them, his mouth slightly open. Minho who needed a few fast blinks before he seemed to fully return to reality, his gaze darkening almost instantly, the same sharp, deadly beauty about him that had already stolen Hyunjin’s breath at the club.

Minho smirked, his movements smooth like a predator’s when he approached the sofa, eyes fixed on Hyunjin. “Does he kiss as good when he’s sober as he does when he’s drunk?” Minho asked, his voice almost a purr.

Hyunjin swallowed harshly, barely registering Jisung leaning away, Jisung’s voice almost far away when he said, “Even better, I think.”

Minho hummed and came to a stand in front of the sofa, leaning down lightly until he was almost eye to eye with Hyunjin. Hyunjin wanted to reach out, wanted to pull Minho closer, but the look in Minho’s eyes kept him frozen in the moment, as if he needed permission to move. If the cocky eyebrow raise from Minho was anything to go by, he knew exactly what kind of effect he had on Hyunjin.

“I can’t believe that you kissed Jisung-ah first twice now.” He lightly tilted his head, his voice calm yet so controlled that Hyunjin found himself ready to do anything for Minho—beg, hand over whatever control he had thought he might have, do the first move, wait.

“Do something about it then,” he whispered, the words having been meant as a challenge yet sounding more like a plea.

Minho’s eyes became even darker than before and Hyunjin’s eyes dipped down to the ever-present smirk that he wanted, no, needed to taste. Needed to taste the confidence on Minho’s lips. Needed to feel their shape and memorize it for all eternity.

“So bossy,” Minho mumbled and Hyunjin’s eyes flew up, yet he didn’t get the chance to reply before Minho caught his lips in a kiss. Minho’s lips moved with purpose, giving Hyunjin exactly what he had wanted, leaving him needing more—more of the faint taste of coffee that still clung to them, more of the dominance that Minho asserted, more of the butterflies that performed wild loops in Hyunjin’s stomach.

When Minho leaned away, it was only by a breath, still so close that Hyunjin’s heart wanted to jump out of his chest so that they could reestablish the connection.

“You’re right, he does kiss better when he’s sober,” Minho said and Hyunjin’s eyes flew open just as Minho leaned away, once again smirking. “He’s more pliant, too.”

Hyunjin’s jaw dropped to the floor, but Minho merely turned away as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn’t just tilted Hyunjin’s world off its axis and proceeded to give it a good shove to make sure that it wouldn’t be able to return to its previous position. Next to him, Jisung giggled, leaning closer until he bumped their shoulders.

“Are you two gonna help me with lunch?” Minho asked, already in the kitchen where he seemed to have lost his focus, curiously eyeing the flowers instead.

Jisung got up, holding his hands out for Hyunjin who let himself get pulled up, his mind still reeling from what had just happened. “Didn’t Hyunjinnie bring us pretty flowers?” Jisung asked as he pulled Hyunjin along, coming to a stand next to Minho. “He also made sure that everything would be non-toxic to cats.”

Minho glanced over at Hyunjin, the look in his eyes much softer and fonder than it had been previously. “Good,” he said and it somehow sounded like Hyunjin had simultaneously fulfilled the minimum requirements and conquered Minho’s heart. Hyunjin wanted more of it.

“Hyunjinnie also got treats for SoonDoongDori,” Jisung went on and the task of making lunch seemed immediately forgotten as Minho perked up.

“Oh?”

Hyunjin quickly nodded and pulled his hand back from Jisung’s. “I’ll get them,” he announced and quickly went to his jacket, pulling the package out. As if the three cats had sensed that it was treat time, all three of them were on Hyunjin within seconds, making it almost impossible for Hyunjin to get all the way back into the kitchen.

Jisung was laughing at his situation while Minho’s gaze softened even further when his eyes landed on the package. He abandoned the kitchen altogether and instead helped Hyunjin get one of the small tubes out of the package, sitting down cross-legged with Hyunjin and helping him fend off the cats so all three of them got to eat the treat. Hyunjin acted like he didn’t hear the shutter sound as Jisung took pictures, but his cheeks still felt warmer and he couldn’t stop smiling as he tried to defend Soonie’s right to the treat against Dori, Doongie unhappily meowing in Minho’s arms until it was his turn.

Afterwards, Minho gave Hyunjin and Jisung some minor tasks as they made kimchi jjigae. They were laughing, sharing stories, and maybe a kiss or two or ten. Always Jisung first, of course. If for nothing else, then because Hyunjin quickly learned to love the desire in Minho’s eyes, loved the duality of Jisung’s sweetness and Minho’s dominance. Loved that he somehow fit right in with them.