Work Text:
"Hey, Jisung-ssi, I discovered something about you recently."
Jisung, who is busy making sure all the department's expenses are properly accounted for, is blissfully unaware of this discovery. That is, until his coworker, Seungmin, wheels his chair over beside him to grab his attention.
"Say, are the rumors true?" Seungmin continues, leaning into Jisung's space.
"What rumors?" Jisung asks, still distracted.
"Mmm, you know," Seungmin grins. "The ones about you being a virgin?"
Startled, Jisung slams his laptop screen shut and stares at him. "I'm sorry, WHAT?"
"Exactly! I sure hope you know what happens when you reach thirty and you're still a virgin."
Seungmin shoots Jisung his signature shit-eating grin. Jisung avoids his gaze, lowering his forehead onto his now closed laptop, and groans. "What? What happens?"
"There's a legend that people who are still virgins when they turn thirty gain magic," Seungmin explains. Jisung hears the smirk in his voice. "And your thirtieth birthday is in a few days."
Jisung groans again. "It doesn't matter," he grumbles onto his laptop. "That's probably just a stupid legend anyway."
Seungmin hums. "We'll see."
Jisung's weekdays usually go by like this: he wakes up early and alone in his apartment to start the work day. He takes a bath, dresses up, and walks to the station. He gets down at his stop, buys food, and walks to his office building. He sees Lee Minho waiting by the elevators, which is more a normal occurrence than not. They take the elevator to the tenth floor without talking past any polite greetings, then separate towards their own desks in the office. Jisung works until 6 PM, times out, and goes back to the station to go back home. He eats dinner alone, prepares for the next day alone, and finally succumbs to sleep in his single bed. His weekdays are repetitive, which aren't too bad, but sometimes he wishes something would change.
His college friend, Bang Chan, celebrates his thirtieth birthday with him. His parents, unfortunately, were visiting Malaysia at the time. Chan and Jisung spend the night before his birthday eating cake and drinking soda, catching up on each other's lives. Jisung asks Chan about his songwriting career, to which Chan tells a story about an experimental song he's currently working on. Chan asks Jisung about his corporate job, and Jisung shares stories about his annoying coworker Seungmin and their department's prince, Lee Minho.
The morning of Jisung's birthday starts normally. He wakes up early, fixes his bed, takes a bath, dresses up, and walks to the station. He gets down at his stop, buys breakfast, and walks to the office building. Waiting at the elevators, he sees Lee Minho. Lee Minho's light brown hair is neatly swept to the sides, leaving a few thin bangs covering his forehead. His suit and tie are immaculately pressed and knotted.
"Good morning, Jisung-ssi," Lee Minho smiles.
"Good morning, Minho-ssi," Jisung returns.
They settle back into silence, as usual. That is, until they enter the elevator to find it more crowded than usual. The two are pushed to the back corner, forced to squeeze their shoulders to all fit inside the elevator. Jisung finds himself squished against Lee Minho, then a voice that sounds exactly like the man's voice starts speaking inside his brain.
'Oh my god oh my god oh my god he's so adorable!' Lee Minho rambles. 'I can't wait to gobble him up.'
If Jisung weren't trapped between him and the wall, he would have run as far away as possible right now. Is Lee Minho a secret cannibal? Who exactly does he want to "gobble up"?!
The stream of thoughts keep coming, each a variation of consuming someone who has cute cheeks, a short stature, and is sporting a bedhead. Internally, Jisung sympathizes with whoever the subject of the thoughts are. Also internally, Jisung panics because since when has he been able to READ MINDS???
Luckily, many people get off on the eighth floor, which allows Jisung to put some space between him and Lee Minho. The interaction never leaves his mind, even as he finishes the work day and goes home.
Since that interaction, Jisung experiments and seeks physical touch with the people he interacts with daily. This includes the street vendor he buys breakfast for every day (who is secretly judging him for always ordering the same thing, but who can blame him? He likes what he likes, okay?) and, funnily enough, Seungmin, who makes it a point to annoy him at least once every day with random comments and stories about his love life.
'Jisung-ssi's reactions are always so funny,' Seungmin thinks as Jisung glares at him for wheeling his chair to Jisung's side again.
"What do you need, Seungmin-ssi?" Jisung sighs.
"Oh, nothing," Seungmin smiles. "I mean, your birthday has already passed. Congrats! How are you holding up with that magic from the legend?"
Jisung freezes. Does Seungmin somehow know he can read minds now? Or is he just being his annoying self again? Just in case, Jisung decides to keep the magic a secret.
"What magic?" he smiles, though it's a little strained.
Seungmin is about to say something, but is called away by another coworker of theirs. Jisung watches him leave and sighs in relief. He really does not want to deal with Seungmin right now, especially because the magic ended up being a real thing.
The night before, he attempted to search online forums for more information about the so-called "legend." He only found a few account of it on Reddit, but no more. It seems not many people experienced it, or the people who had experienced it did not want to reveal that they were still virgins when they turned thirty years old. Jisung himself considers himself one of these people.
Now, as Jisung leaves his desk to eat his lunch, he thinks back to his latest interaction with Lee Minho. Since the day they got stuck in the elevator together, Jisung made efforts to either get to the office before or after Lee Minho arrives. He doesn't want to know whatever other weird thoughts are going through his coworker's head.
It's strange to think of how different Lee Minho presents himself compared to how wild his thoughts run. Lee Minho, for lack of better words, is the idol of their department. He has received many recognitions and awards because of how well he does his work, is active in meetings, presentations, and seminars; and is clearly physically fit and absolutely, drop dead gorgeous. Jisung believes the man's jaw can actually cut through skin. Either that, or his nose will. The point is, Lee Minho is the hottest person in the office, and everyone knows it, including one Han Jisung.
This is exactly the reason Jisung nearly jumps out of his skin when Lee Minho randomly decides to peer at his laptop screen. To be fair, Jisung has no idea how long he's been working on this particular Excel sheet. Seungmin passed off the task to him before he left, citing preparations for his upcoming birthday as the reason why he couldn't finish looking over the data. Jisung, annoyed, asked Seungmin why he couldn't just finish it himself, since his birthday is still in a few days anyway. Seungmin remains silent, but when he hands Jisung the physical data, Jisung hears the real reason anyway.
'My boyfriend is visiting for the week to celebrate my birthday with me,' Seungmin's thoughts say. 'He's not home that often. It would be nice to spend time with him again.'
At that, Jisung relents. Despite not being in a relationship himself, he understands the desire to spend time with his loved ones. He accepts the task and immediately gets to work double checking the physical papers and the data in the Excel sheet. This brings him to this very moment: where he startles at Lee Minho's face nearly touching his as his coworker scans the laptop's display.
"Whoa what the—" Jisung sputters, feet rapidly pushing his wheeled chair away from Lee Minho, who is looking at him with his signature smirk on his face. Damn it, why does he have to be so hot? "Uh, hi! Minho-ssi, do you need something? I was-- I was just working on the data for stationary sales from the past few months! Hehe…"
Jisung cringes. Never has he made a fool of himself more than he's doing in that moment. Lee Minho's smile only grows larger.
"I know, Jisung-ssi, I've been watching you work for a while," he says casually, as if he did not just admit to watching his coworker work for no reason at all. "It's been three hours since office hours ended. I think it would be best that you go home and work on the rest of the data tomorrow instead."
Jisung flushes, glancing at the office's walls that were, indeed, showing the darkness of the night sky. He glances over to the other tables of the office, only to find the rest of the lights turned off. He and Lee Minho are the only ones left in the room.
"O-oh, I see!" Jisung smiles, embarrassed. "I also think that's a good idea, Minho-ssi. Here, let me just—"
Jisung cuts himself off, saving the changes in the Excel sheet and turning his laptop off. He arranges the papers in a folder, tidies up the rest of his things, and fixes his bag. Finally, he stands from his desk, already feeling the tired ache of his muscles from sitting too long.
"Let's walk together," Lee Minho tells him. Jisung has no energy left to argue.
They fall into step with each other until they reach the station. Jisung, thinking Lee Minho also takes the train back home, lets this happen. It isn't until they reach the station that they see the sign that says the train station is currently being repaired because of an electrical error. Dumbstruck, Jisung stares at the sign, mentally wondering if he has enough money to afford a taxi all the way back home.
"Well, that sucks," Lee Minho says into the silence. "Do you need somewhere to stay? I have space in my apartment."
Jisung freezes. Staying with the Lee Minho for the night? That's insane!
"I- I couldn't possibly—" Jisung stammers.
Lee Minho chuckles. "It's no problem. I live nearby, so we won't have to pay that much for a taxi, if that's what you're worried about."
Jisung thinks about it some more. Is it worth it? Is it really worth—
Lee Minho hands him a pair of pajamas. Jisung stares at the nondescript blue fabric, mind blanking. "What is this…?" he asks.
"It's pajamas," Lee Minho replies. "You can wear this for tonight. I fear that a polo and slacks aren't the most comfortable to sleep in."
Jisung, mind still blank, reaches out to accept the clothes. His fingers brush against Lee Minho's, and he's treated to a montage of thoughts of himself wearing the pajamas with a wide smile on his face. Jisung reels back, mentally repeating what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck as he clutches the pajamas in his hands. Lee Minho's thoughts are accompanied with a litany of thoughts of how cute he is. Jisung realizes, at that moment, that Lee Minho's thoughts in the elevator and his thoughts now are all about him. Han Jisung was the one who was short, had cute cheeks, and sported a bedhead in the elevator before work. Han Jisung was the one Lee Minho was having fantasies about wearing the older man's clothes.
To his credit, Lee Minho only smiles in confusion, then says, "You can take a bath first. The bathroom is just down the hall. There's a spare towel hanging on the rack for when you need it. Just call me if you need anything, okay?"
"Okay," Jisung nods minutely. He shuffles towards the bathroom, silently closing the door behind him. He spends at least ten minutes going over the thoughts in Lee Minho's head, wondering how long the other has been thinking of him that way.
Later on, when Jisung's futon is rolled out, and Lee Minho has retreated to his room, Jisung is left to once again contemplate on what (the actual fuck) is happening to him. Eventually, he decides to lie down and close his eyes just in case that helps him sleep better.
He feels himself at the brink of sleep when he hearts footsteps heading towards him. He tenses as he feels Lee Minho's warmth behind him. He feels a hand grab the blanket from near his feet and oh, he forgot to put the blanket on. Lee Minho drags the blanket on top of Jisung's form. His fingers graze Jisung's body, sending his thoughts to Jisung once more.
'He looks so peaceful in his sleep,' Minho's thoughts say. 'I wouldn't mind falling asleep beside this man for the rest of my life.'
Safe to say, Jisung does not get any sleep that night. Little does he know, in the apartment's only bedroom, Lee Minho stays up all night as well.
Jisung wakes up to the smell of eggs and rice on the stove. He slowly sits up, getting a glimpse of Lee Minho working in front of the stove, because of course Lee Minho knows how to cook. He gets up, apologizes for the hassle of having him sleep over, which Lee Minho waves off. They eat breakfast together that morning, and Jisung could confidently say that Lee Minho's cooking is the best breakfast he's had in a while.
"I can cook breakfast for you every day if you'd like," Lee Minho says with an easy smile. Jisung turns red and decides not to reply.
Since then, they have gotten closer. Whenever Jisung has to spend the night in the office doing a task given to him, Lee Minho drags a chair beside his desk and offers to work on the task together so he can get home earlier. They also tend to eat lunch together now, because their breaks sync and they both generally like the same food. There isn't a day that passes wherein Jisung and Lee Minho do not interact at least thrice a day, first at the elevator where they meet, then during lunch time, and then when Jisung inevitably gets another task that he has to finish the exact same day, because he doesn't like the backlog he gets when he doesn't do that.
Every single time they interact, however, Jisung avoids any physical contact with the man. The few accidental touches that happen are only because they're reaching for the same thing, or when Lee Minho is handing files to him that help with the data encoding. Usually, these thoughts are variation of how cute he is, how chewable his hair is, how Lee Minho wants to chomp at his cheeks because of how apple-like they are, especially when Jisung blushes red at the thoughts. Jisung, over time, gets used to these thoughts and no longer puts in the effort to avoid physical touches with Lee Minho, which Lee Minho definitely appreciates, if the thought of 'omg he's letting me touch his shoulder again! omg omg omg,' is any sort of indication.
There is a night, however, when Lee Minho's thoughts change from how cute he is to what the man wants to do when they get into a romantic relationship together. Throughout the span of elevator trips, lunches together, and parallel play (when Jisung can handle the workload he is given for the day, but Lee Minho still wants to stay by his side as he works on his own tasks), Lee Minho's thoughts are filled with cafe dates, aquarium dates, walks around the parks and the river, cycling dates, and all sorts of other activities he wants to do with Jisung.
Jisung witnesses how loving Minho truly can be through these fantasies. All he wanted to do was to give Jisung the love he deserves, which squeezes at Jisung's heart. He rewatches Minho's thoughts in his head before he sleeps, and sometimes, he finds himself wishing for these things to come true as well.
It takes a while for him to recognize these thoughts inside his head, but when he notices them, he doesn't stop noticing them. He starts wishing for these dates to come true. He starts thinking of their lunches together as lunch dates, especially when Minho shares a bit of his food because Jisung wants to taste more of his cooking. He starts enjoying their parallel play moments a lot. It's nice to have help in his work, but he likes it better when Minho is working on his own thing so he can watch how seriously Minho takes his work. He also discovers, at one point, that Minho is farsighted and needs reading glasses to do his work, especially if it involved the multiple papers of accounting data. Jisung definitely enjoys getting to oggle at Minho wearing glasses (he's so hot he's so hot kill me now why is he so HOT—). It gives him even more energy to finish the task.
It's been a couple of months and Jisung has comfortably adapted to being by Minho's side. He cannot remember what his life had been like before Minho invited him to his apartment for the first time. He doesn't even know when Lee Minho became only Minho hyung in hsi eyes. Unfortunately, he still has to consider very important questions: what does he do now? Does he like Minho the same way Minho likes him? Can he really see a future with the two of them together?
It takes a while for Jisung to find the answers, but when he does, he discovers the answer is a strong, resounding, yes.
"I can't do this anymore. I like you, Han Jisung. I just wanted you to know."
The words ring in Jisung's ear long after Minho has said them. He remained standing in the sidewalk, starstruck, as Minho confessed his romantic feelings to him, and he DIDN'T SAY THE WORDS BACK. WHY WHY WHY.
Jisung resolves to confront Minho during the next work day, but he isn't there. He finds out through Seungmin that Minho is in Osaka for a business trip. He slumps in front of his desk, not unlike how he looked like when Seungmin first told him about the mind reading magic. He spends a couple of minutes sulking into his laptop until Seungmin pulls him up and tells him to get himself together.
"I'm serious, Jisung," he says. "Get water or coffee and food from the breakroom. I'll take care of your workload for now."
"Thanks," Jisung whispers as he shuffles to the break room. There, he sulks even more, before pouring himself an Americano from the coffee machine. He spends the entire week of Minho's business trip pouring himself a coffee during lunch time, sulking about how he hasn't seen the other in a long time, especially right after Minho confessed his feelings to him, and because he never got to say he returns these feelings because he was frozen in place.
That Friday, which is when Minho is schedule to return from his flight, Jisung finds that he couldn't wait anymore. He takes a taxi to the airport and waits for Minho there. Eventually, he sees Minho searching for his luggage and runs towards him.
"Hyung!" he shouts.
Startled, Minho glances up and sees him on the other end of the conveyor belt for the luggages. "Jisung-ah?" he exclaims. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the office?"
Jisung doesn't answer that. Instead, he runs towards Minho and places both hands on the other's shoulders. "Hyung! Minho hyung, I like you too! I like you too, but I couldn't say it last week because you took me by surprise and I was so shocked that you liked me in that way and I didn't notice how much time passed by and you thought I was rejecting you but I wasn't! I just couldn't get my tongue to move! I'm so sorry for making you think I didn't like you back! I wanted to tell you earlier this week but they told me you were on a business trip and—"
"Whoa, breathe, Jisung-ah, breathe," Minho placates him, holding onto his hands and lowering it from his shoulders. He has a wide smile on his face, eyes crinkled at the corners. "Can you say that again, but slower?"
"Um," Jisung blinks. "I'm so sorry for freezing in place and making you think I rejected you because I'm a stupid idiot who got surprised when my crush told me he liked me?"
Minho laughs. It's a full body laugh that shakes even Jisung through their connected hands. "Han Jisung," Minho grins. "Have I ever told you how cute you are?"
Jisung shakes his head energetically. Technically, he has heard Minho say it, but never out loud. Case in point, another ramble of 'you're so cute you're so cute you're so cute' is echoing inside Minho's brain again at that moment. "No hyung," he says. "I don't think you have."
Minho's grin settles into a smirk. "How about you give me the chance to tell you that over and over for the rest of our lives?"
Jisung smiles as well. "I'd like that a lot, hyung."
Jisung finds the magic gone a few days after that. It's all right, however, because he doesn't need it anymore. He has everything he wants in the form of one Lee Minho, who loves him as much as Jisung loves him back.