Archive of Our Own

1 (one).

"Do you think I'd be a good wing man?" Seungmin asks his roommate, pacing back and forth in the dorm as he thinks over a plan. He taps his chin, then wipes his hands on his trousers. Minho is lying on his bed, eyes laser focused on his phone.

"Dunno," he replies, gaze still glued to his phone. Seungmin stops pacing and sighs, pointedly. Minho sighs too, tears away his eyes from the screen and looks over his shoulder. "Why? You wanna be my wing man?"

"No. You're doing fine by yourself, flirting with Jisung. I don't want to be in between that," Seungmin replies, pulling a sour face. Minho giggles, as if he's happy with the answer. Minho has been very obviously flirting with Jisung for quite a while, and Seungmin keeps wondering if it's a bit they're doing while already together—to annoy the rest of them—or if Jisung is too oblivious to notice that Minho is serious.

"I'm gonna be a wing man for Hyunjin," Seungmin clarifies, now that Minho is still listening. The man snorts, as if it's funny. Minho's phone buzzes, and he's quick to check whatever message popped up. It's probably Jisung again, judging by the extremely loud giggle that follows.

"Keep talking, I'll pretend to listen," Minho says, vaguely waving a hand at Seungmin, eyes glued to his phone screen as he types out a concerningly long message. Seungmin sighs. He doesn't think he wants Minho's advice anyway.

His ambitions to become the best wing man there is started at lunch, one of the first days after winter break. Hyunjin was staring at Felix across from him, who was laughing at something stupid Changbin said, squeezing his biceps and swooning over him and all. He was sighing, longing, as if he wished Felix would notice him. And he kept his eyes on them the entire time. This wasn't the first time this has happened. Hyunjin has been staring at Felix with something in his gaze for a while now.

Seungmin personally doesn't get why someone would not want to notice and admire Hyunjin, but he's sure that he can convince Felix of how lovely Hyunjin is. He'll be a great wing man, but he doesn't want to be too obvious about it, either. It should feel natural. "I'm going to help Hyunjin get together with Felix, but… Where should I start?"

"Talk to him," Minho answers absentmindedly. So he is listening, after all? Seungmin thinks about it. Talking is a good first step. Their friend group is not that new anymore, they've been hanging consistently for a bit over a year, and most of them have known each other longer than that, but it could be good to ask what Felix thinks of Hyunjin.

"I will!" Seungmin decides, clenching his fists. He grabs his phone and opens his chat with Felix. He doesn't even bother to sit down, that's how determined he is. He's going to knock this wing manning out of the park.

The best way to start each master plan is to start off simple.

김승민
Hi Felix
Hyunjin is so beautiful and kind, don't you think?

이필릭스
Hell yeah

First win. Seungmin's chest swells with pride and newfound confidence. He grins to himself and continues typing.

김승민
What else do you think of him?
He's so passionate and smart, too, right?
A bit of a fool but in a cute way

이필릭스
Exactly!
You're so right, Seungminnie
He's a great dancer, too
Good with words
Romantic

Ha! Seungmin thinks to himself. I knew Felix wasn't stupid. He totally likes Hyunjin back. He thinks he's romantic, even! It would take a blind fool to not see that Hyunjin is a romantic, sentimental and lovely guy, but still, Felix saying it outright is enough for Seungmin to see it as a good sign.

김승민
You should totally tell him
What you think of him
I think he'd love it

이필릭스
Of course!
Why tho
Is he feeling insecure lately?

김승민
No nothing like that
I just think it would be nice for him to hear!

이필릭스
How sweet of you Seungminnie :3
I'll call him immediately <3

"Ha!" Seungmin exclaims to himself, his heart pounding in pride. He did it. He's going to be a great wing man for Hyunjin. Hyunjin will be so happy and thankful for him, and Seungmin will gladly accept any praise from his beloved friend. "Ha! Ha!"

"Are you okay?" Minho looks over his shoulder with narrowed eyes, still lying on his bed, phone screen lit up with what's likely his chat with Jisung. Seungmin keeps smiling, because now he's thinking of all of Hyunjin's positive qualities and of how handsome he is, and of the beautiful smile he'll have when Felix tells him what he thinks of him.

"Yes. Very okay. More than okay, even," Seungmin answers with a deep, satisfied, sigh. Minho squints at him for another second before shrugging to himself and going back to look at his phone. Seungmin keeps gloating to himself for a while, thoughts already running to think of the next step in his wing man master plan.

He's barely gotten to first base as of now, but he's already feeling himself. He's pretty damn sure he's going to knock this wing manning out of the park.

2 (two).

The next day, Seungmin immediately searches out Hyunjin before class. He isn't sure if it's his imagination or not, but Hyunjin looks a little brighter than he did last week. Seungmin grins to himself as he approaches his friend.

"You look chipper today, Hyunjin-ah," he says, bumping their shoulders together. Hyunjin's smile scrunches up his eyes when the man looks at Seungmin, his cheeks bunch up like dumpling dough, and Seungmin thinks to himself how he's sure that anyone would fall for him if they'd see this.

"You look happy, too. Is it because of me? In my case, I was just thinking about how Felix called me yesterday," Hyunjin says, his smile growing a bit bashful. Seungmin's heart jumps in excitement. "He told me you encouraged him to compliment me."

"Oh pssht, well, it was nothing," he says, playing casual as he waves Hyunjin off. Hyunjin scoffs softly as he adjusts his backpack, eyes flicking to the ground before meeting Seungmin's gaze again.

"Don't say that. It was very nice of you," he retorts, ruffling Seungmin's hair. Seungmin grins to himself, proud to receive Hyunjin's gratitude like this.

"You should tell Felix how much you appreciate it, too," he adds, fixing his hair before patting Hyunjin's back to encourage him. Hyunjin easily assures him that he did thank Felix last night, but Seungmin thinks that he shouldn't be so shy about it and he can thank Felix properly. Face to face, and all.

Hyunjin doesn't seem too eager about it, so perhaps Seungmin will have to put some more effort into this. He is determined to be the best wing man there is, after all. For Hyunjin. Hyunjin who likes romance, so Seungmin decides to think about something romantic he could try to arrange.

Maybe he should think more like a drama director—the two main characters obviously feel something for one another, but what will be the kick in the butt that will make them realize their feelings and confess? He needs to make something happen, while still making Hyunjin and Felix feel like it's all natural—like it's all fate.

He thinks about it for a while, and devises a plan during lunch time. Grinning to himself, he prepares himself to cause a romantic and drama like moment between Felix and Hyunjin—a moment Hyunjin will sigh and wax poetic about, smiling as he recollects the romance of it.

"Hehe," Seungmin chuckles to himself. Chan looks at him with a puzzled expression, but Seungmin softly assures him that he's just thinking about a funny video he saw this morning. He's lying, but he doesn't think Chan can see through him.

Once lunch is over, it's go time. Seungmin makes sure that he's next to Hyunjin, which is quite easy and natural for him, so no one should suspect anything. Then, step two is a little harder, but not too difficult to pull off.

He makes sure that he and Hyunjin are walking only a step behind Felix, who is walking next to Changbin right now, by pulling Hyunjin along with him. Step three is the hardest, and it's all about timing. He smiles, hands clasped behind his back as he calls out, "Lix-yah!"

Then, when Felix turns around to hear what Seungmin has to say (which is nothing), Seungmin sticks out his foot to the side, tripping Hyunjin right into his arms.

Except, that doesn't quite happen. Hyunjin does trip. And Felix does try to catch him, but he fails miserably, and Seungmin already sees doom befall right before his eyes. Felix loses his balance and topples over with Hyunjin vaguely in his arms. Somehow, Seo Changbin catches both of them before they crash onto the floor.

"Woah! Look out!" Changbin exclaims, stumbling but managing to keep the three of them steady in the end. Seungmin is seething. That stupid strong man is the bane of Seungmin's existence.

Felix is giggling and Hyunjin is laughing his beautiful giggly laugh. Okay. Maybe Seungmin has succeeded somewhat anyway, because although Changbin interfered, this does create a somewhat romantic moment.

"Thanks Binnie hyung. You're so strong~" Felix says in a cheesy voice, squeezing Changbin's biceps once again. Hyunjin sighs in exasperating, probably because Felix is not giving him attention. Felix then turns to Hyunjin and asks if he's all right, his small hand touching Hyunjin's cheek.

Something stirs inside Seungmin. It must be relief, because he did it—he created a vaguely drama like moment between Hyunjin and Felix. But it's not enough, because too soon, the two go back to their usual business and separate again. The giggling doesn't linger.

Seungmin asks Hyunjin if he is okay, too, just in case. The last thing he'd want to do is hurt him while being his wing man. A good wing man doesn't hurt their friends! "Yeah, I'm okay. I almost ate concrete and brought Felix with me, though. That would have been embarrassing."

"Nah, you're fine," Seungmin assures him. Even if it wouldn't have been Seungmin's fault that he tripped, Hyunjin could never look embarrassing. He'd look foolish and clumsy, sure, but he would also look cute. Either way, Seungmin needs to amp up the romance next time. He needs to give them a real reason to take that first step.

Back to the drawing board.

3 (three).

Seungmin is not well versed in romance. That's Hyunjin's forte. He cannot ask him for help, however, that would be cheating and it would be a strike at his honor. He needs to do this himself, to be a good wing man and friend! To be an honorable person, too.

He re-watches a couple of dramas to gather inspiration for his next step, but there's not a lot of moments he can cause as a third party, like the tripping and catching each other moment. He just needs to get more creative with it.

Or maybe he can ask someone else for tips—someone who has been flirting for a longer time. It hurts his pride, takes a stab at his honor, but he needs to do this for Hyunjin. And for Felix. As long as he doesn't ask them for help, he'll still have pride.

"Minho hyung?" Seungmin begins, patiently waiting for his roommate to tear away his gaze from his phone. He repeats himself before Minho finally speaks.

"One second. If you want me to listen, I need to finish typing," he says, holding up one finger. Seungmin chuckles. He doesn't understand how Minho can keep on texting Jisung. All day. They're probably talking about anime. Or cats. Or scary movies. Or god knows what.

"Okay. I've finished. What would you like to say, Seungmin-ah?" Minho puts his phone down and looks at him with his eyebrows raised and a polite, cat-like grin on his face. Seungmin takes a deep breath, mentally preparing himself to ask Minho for advice.

"You've been flirting with Jisungie for a while, right?" Seungmin begins, tapping his finger against his thigh as he thinks about how to bring this in a way that will get him a satisfying answer from Minho. Minho hums in response.

"For too long, in my opinion, but it's okay. I can be patient," he says with a shrug, sitting up on his bed. "Makes it more worthwhile, anyway."

"Fair point. What I wanted to ask is if you have any tips on how to… create a romantic moment, I suppose," Seungmin continues, watching how Minho searches his bag for a container with what looks like fresh convenience store kimbap. Minho sticks a piece in his mouth and starts eating.

"You mean for Hyunjin? Because he is the world's greatest sap?" he asks, mouth full of rice. At least he has the decency to hold his hand in front of it while speaking. Seungmin is surprised that Minho remembers his plan to be Hyunjin's wing man, but he knows that Minho cares deeply for his friends, even if he shows it in unconventional ways. He should have more faith in the man.

"Yes," Seungmin admits. He needs to know what kind of moment he can set up as a third party meddler and as a wing man. He doesn't pay much attention to Minho's flirting, but Jisung has mentioned that he finds Minho quite romantic when gushing about him to Seungmin and Hyunjin. "Jisungie likes that kind of thing, too right? How do you… How do you make use of that?"

"Oh for Jisungie that's pretty easy. He always has crumbs of cheesecake or pieces of rice or sauce on his lips when he's eating, so if I really want to lay it on thick, I just help him wipe it off with my thumb and all. A little eye contact, a little smirk, and he's blushing for sure," Minho tells him with a chuckle, after swallowing his food. His ears are red as he retells his moves, betraying that he isn't as unaffected as he pretends to be, but Seungmin guesses that it shows that he's genuine, and not just playing around.

"I'm not one for grand gestures, so don't come to me for that. It's in the little things. The touches. Pulling him closer when he's about to bump into someone or something. Bringing him food. That kind of gestures," Minho continues, his voice growing softer, eyes crinkling as he smiles to himself. Seungmin thinks about it, getting a bit shy imagining those things between him and Hyunjin—Felix and Hyunjin.

Those are not really things he could force to happen, unfortunately. Perhaps only the food thing. Yeah. He could be subtle about that. "Okay. I can work with that."

"Good luck, lover boy. Now I'll get back to my cat videos," Minho says, shoving another piece of kimbap into his mouth before grabbing his phone again. Seungmin sighs and shakes his head to himself.

Soon enough, he's thinking through his next steps, getting excited at the prospect of creating a beautiful, swoon-worthy, romantic and drama like moment for Hyunjin again.

It'll be harder to execute this plan than the last one, which is why Seungmin decides to do research as much as he can beforehand. He spends the day before execution studying and closely examining how Hyunjin eats—he keeps a close eye on the way his lips move, if he leaves any crumbs, rice, or sauce behind, how his tongue peeks out to clean anything around those gorgeous lips of his, and whether or not Felix ever watches Hyunjin eat.

He doesn't. Not really. He looks at Hyunjin when the man speaks, of course, and occasionally he calls Hyunjin cute, and he laughs brightly when Hyunjin cracks a joke (as he should!) but he's not staring. Nor lingering. He doesn't seem to be yearning, either. Unfortunately.

That means Seungmin should be ready in the case that Felix doesn't notice there being any food stuck on Hyunjin's lips. It's okay, he can just kick his shins under the table. The harder part is going to be making sure that there will be food stuck on Hyunjin's lips in the first place.

When it's time for action the next day, Seungmin offers to help Hyunjin with adding some sauce to his rice bowl for lunch. He makes sure to be quite generous with it to increase the chances of naturally occurring sauce on his lips.

Hyunjin is very clean while eating—perhaps due to Seungmin's continuous nagging at him to be cleaner over the years, he realizes now—so Seungmin has to take matters into his own hands. First, he takes away all of the napkins in Hyunjin's vicinity, and he uses them all on his own hands.

"Seungmin-ah! I was gonna use that," Jisung says with a pout, as Seungmin reaches over Hyunjin to grab his napkin. There's rice and sauce on his lips, dammit. Minho immediately offers to help him, of course. Jeongin groans about the public display of affection right in front of his face, but Minho ignores him as he slaps away Jisung's hand from his face and instead uses his own fingers to wipe Jisung's cheek and lips.

Felix is watching and laughing. Good. Now the idea is planted inside his mind. If only Hyunjin would eat a little less neatly! Seungmin sighs and subtly elbows Hyunjin in the side as he's about to take a bit of food. Hyunjin winces and almost chokes on his food.

Shit! Bad idea to jostle the man. He doesn't want him to choke or have a coughing fit.

"Hey, Hyunjin-ah," Seungmin whispers, getting desperate. Hyunjin makes a noise in the back of his throat, turning his head to face Seungmin. "Leave some sauce on your lips."

"Huh? Did you say leave some sauce on your lips? Why would I do that?" Hyunjin asks him with a puzzled look. Seungmin huffs, already changing his mind again. He needs this to be natural! And he wants Hyunjin not to notice him pulling some strings here and there.

"Never mind," he quickly says. There's another idea popping into his mind right then. A less than ideal one, but he'll do it. For Hyunjin.

Seungmin sticks his finger into his food, cringing a little as he does it but he quickly mans up and pulls through. Then he taps Hyunjin on the shoulder with his free hand, quickly raising the dirtied hand, ready to poke his cheek. Hyunjin turns his face, as expected, gasping when Seungmin's finger lands right near his lips.

"Ack! Seungmin-ah! What are you doing, you rascal?" he complains with a fake exasperated sigh. He purses his lips and gives Seungmin a pointed look. "Do you need attention?"

"No. I need less attention. Don't pay attention to me," Seungmin retorts. He really needs Hyunjin to completely ignore him right now, and he needs Felix to look at Hyunjin before Hyunjin wipes off the food himself. It's not going well, because Hyunjin is still squinting at him and Felix isn't looking for long enough to see or say anything about Hyunjin's lips. Fool!

Seungmin subtly kicks Felix's shin under the table. Felix yells and everyone looks at him now. It causes Hyunjin to be distracted enough to forget about Seungmin and his finger poking him, but it does not help Felix notice the sauce on Hyunjin's cheek.

'Look at Hyunjin's cheek,' Seungmin mouths at him, subtly gesturing with his thumb what he should do. Felix squints, but after Seungmin has quickly and subtly gestured it about four times, Felix's eyes light up and he gets it. Hyunjin doesn't seem to have seen his less than subtle motioning, which is a relief, but Chan and Jeongin are looking at him with confused frowns on their faces.

"Hyunjin-ah! You have something on your face. Lemme help you with that," Felix announces, standing up and reaching out for Hyunjin. Seungmin almost feels his soul leave his body in relief. Being a wing man is hard. And stressful.

Felix swiftly swipes a thumb along Hyunjin's cheek to clean up the sauce. Hyunjin is caught off guard by the gesture, proven by the way his eyes widen and his cheeks become a little rosy. Perfect. Felix sits back down, a catlike grin on his face as Hyunjin gapes at him. The only thing Felix has to do is stick his thumb in his mouth.

"Lix-yah! What are you doing?" Changbin asks with a laugh—once again sabotaging Seungmin's plans, because now Felix looks at Changbin while sticking his thumb between his lips, instead of deeply gazing Hyunjin in the eyes.

One day, Seungmin is going to kill that short buff and friendly son of a bitch. It doesn't help that Changbin stares right back at him and Felix starts giggling and sticking out his tongue at him in a way that gets Jeongin slapping the man's shoulder.

Almost a perfect success, but Seungmin still feel like he needs more.

"Stop this madness!" their youngest friend complains, continuing to weakly slap Felix. He then clears his throat. "I have an announcement to make, so stop flirting, all right?"

"Fine, fine. Anything for our maknae," Minho says, cooing at Jeongin, who narrows his eyes at the former.

"I'm having my birthday party this weekend. You are all invited. You don't have to bring a present, but you can all work together to buy me a Switch, all right? Just a suggestion. I won't accept kisses as a present," Jeongin announces, a small grin on his face. At least he's practical and Seungmin won't have to think about a gift. Surely Changbin can chip in a bit more and they'll be able to afford a secondhand console.

"Will you accept kisses as a free offering?" Jisung tries anyway. Jeongin stubbornly says no, much to everyone's displeasure.

Then, it hits Seungmin. A birthday party. They're all invited. Parties are great for wing manning. For one, Hyunjin and Felix love dancing, so he could try and make them dance together. There's probably also other things he could do, perhaps involving a drink or two.

Maybe he can watch some more dramas for inspiration. He needs to go big or go home.

4 (four).

Seungmin isn't sure if he can go big. He hasn't been able to gather much inspiration from dramas. They're too unrealistic, unfortunately, and the protagonists just fall together by fate, instead of a wing man, in most cases. Seungmin isn't sure how to work with that.

So instead he decides to take things step by step and influence what he can. He asks Hyunjin to meet up so they can get ready for Jeongin's birthday party together. This way, he can plant the idea of romance inside Hyunjin's head beforehand, and he can make sure that Hyunjin will look stunning and that he'll absolutely blow Felix's socks off.

Hyunjin always looks stunning, so that's quite easy peezy lemon squeezy and all that, but Seungmin is sure he can convince his friend to look especially beautiful tonight. Felix won't have a choice other than to fall in love with him.

"You always look great in red, Hyunjin-ah. Can I help you brush your hair?" Seungmin tells him as he's changing into his nice clothes together with Hyunjin. He's going for a button-up with semi-casual slacks, not much different from his daily getup, but a little nicer and a bit more put together.

Hyunjin, on the other hand, is going for something more fashionable. A deep red shirt with the top button popped open and a couple of necklaces, and dark jeans with a belt. He has painted his nails, too, and told Seungmin he's planning to tie up his hair.

"Brush my hair? You want to help me brush my hair?" Hyunjin asks him with a chuckle. He grabs his hairbrush and hands it to Seungmin, looking at him with that fond smile of his—usually reserved for when Seungmin is fooling around. "What has gotten into you?"

"I know I'm not good at fashion like you, or Jeonginnie or Felix, but I can help you look good for them. I just feel like there's romance in the air tonight," Seungmin answers with a shrug. Hyunjin's eyes widen ever so slightly, and his cheeks color pink. He turns around and sits in front of Seungmin, staring out into the room.

"You do?" he asks, voice soft. Seungmin's heart makes a twirl at the hope lining Hyunjin's gentle voice. His stomach flips, and he's filled with the need to make Hyunjin happy. He really needs to pull this off and hear this voice again.

"Yeah," he admits, feeling a bit bashful all of a sudden. He focuses on brushing Hyunjin's hair instead, heart pounding. He really needs to pull through tonight—he hopes he can make something happen that will convince Felix that Hyunjin is the one for him, and that he needs to say it.

A silence blankets him and Hyunjin, and it makes Seungmin worry that Hyunjin will notice his heart beating oh so loudly. "There you go. I'd offer to help you tie your hair, but I don't think that would be a good idea," Seungmin says, his voice coming out low and a bit hoarse, so he adds a chuckle. "I'll go brush my own hair instead."

"Thanks, Seungmin-ah," Hyunjin tells him sweetly, ruffling his hair now that he still can. Seungmin pulls a fake exasperated expression before turning towards the mirror. Hyunjin is next to him as he ties half of his hair up. Seungmin can't help but sneak a look at him.

Hyunjin is concentrated, his tongue peeking out between his lips. Seungmin's heart speeds up. In… excitement. Determination. He genuinely thinks that it would take a madman not to fall for Hyunjin when he looks like this.

Seungmin can barely focus on his own hair because of Hyunjin, but then again, he doesn't have to look stunning, like Hyunjin. So, when Hyunjin finishes, he tells him exactly what he thinks. "You look wonderful," he blurts.

Hyunjin's face lights up like a baseball stadium at night. "Thanks, Minnie! You look dapper, too," he says, always happy to return the compliment. "Let's go to Jeongin's place now. He got his brother's apartment for the night, right?"

"Yeah, it's ten minutes by bus," Seungmin replies, moving to grab his and Hyunjin's coats. Hyunjin hurries after him, but he stops to grab something on the way. It looks like a mint or something. Seungmin grins to himself. Romance is in the air tonight. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yep, all ready," Hyunjin assures him, a coy smile on his lips. Hyunjin crosses their arms as they exit the dorms and make their way to the bus stop. Seungmin feels a bit shy about it, but Hyunjin probably can't hide his excitement for tonight.

In the bus, Hyunjin sits plastered to Seungmin's side, even while they talk to Minho, Changbin, and Jisung. Felix and Chan are already at the apartment. They arrived early to help Jeongin with drinks and food. Changbin brought their gift—a secondhand Switch, yes, from Changbin's cousin, who already bought a second, better one.

Minho looks more dressed up than usually, but that isn't hard, considering he's in a blank tee, slippers and sweatpants whenever he can. Changbin looks more put together than his regular muscle tee or hoodie, too, and Jisung always puts in an effort for special occasions, and is overdressed more often than underdressed. He hopes that Felix looks nice, too, but considering how much he has been dabbling in makeup and fashion, he'll probably do so.

When they arrive, his suspicions are confirmed. Felix looks like he spend quite some time on his appearance, much to Seungmin's relief. Hyunjin and Jisung immediately compliment him on his looks, and a moment later, Changbin also approaches his and tells Felix something that makes him giggle. Felix mumbles something back with a smirk, and it gets Changbin all flushed when they gather to congratulate Jeongin.

Cake, presents, drinks and some chatting later, Seungmin hasn't managed to get Hyunjin and Felix to do something romantic, yet. So, when the conversations dies down a little, Seungmin decides to fuck it. Go big or go home. It's time to go big.

"You know what? Why don't we play spin the bottle? That could be fun, right?" he suggests with a smirk, looking around the room. He quickly adds, "Since Jeongin never wants to kiss us normally."

Jeongin frowns at him, but after a while, he sighs. "You know what? Why the heck not? It could be entertaining," he says, earning himself some cheers from the others. "I'm a year older, a year wiser, a year more tolerant, a year more fun."

"And a year more loving to your friends!" Hyunjin exclaims happily. Jisung agrees loudly, his face already a tad flushed after one mixed drink. Chan downs his bottle of soju and stands up, announcing that he'll clean the glass before using it for the game.

"The birthday boy can decide the rules, but make it fun, all right?" Felix says, patting Jeongin's back. Jeongin purses his lips in thought.

"Kiss on the lips default—if you wanna chicken out or kiss somewhere else you gotta drink. Only a sip is fine, I don't want to clean up your vomit," he says, shaking his head. He then excuses himself to grab them some more snacks to eat while playing, too.

Seungmin is glad for that. He doesn't think he can be a good wing man or cheater while drunk, so that wouldn't be a great idea. When everyone is back and ready, Felix offers to start off the game by spinning the bottle. That means it's go time for Seungmin.

Felix gives the soju bottle a firm spin, and it rolls over towards Seungmin. Perfect. When the bottle starts slowing down, Seungmin keeps a close eye on it, and when the time is right, he gives it a tap to make it point towards Hyunjin.

"Hey! Seungmin-ah! You touched it," Felix says with a laugh, grabbing at the bottle. Seungmin innocently raises his eyebrows, pretending to be unaware of any touching. "In baseball terms, that's a foul ball. Now I gotta spin it again."

Seungmin inhales sharply. "You don't have to! It was an accident," he assures him, but the group doesn't seem to believe him. "Come on. Why would I cheat on spin the bottle when it's Felix's turn?"

"For chaos, like always," Jeongin retorts, and he makes a frustratingly good point. Changbin calls for a re-roll and Minho, who would a hundred percent cheat in this game as well, also tells Felix to go again, since he touched the bottle, too.

Seungmin sighs, and Felix spins again, keeping a close eye on Seungmin throughout. He can't get away with another attempt at cheating, so he'll just have to hope that fate is on his side.

Fate is indifferent. The bottle points at Jeongin, which is honestly the second best option, after Hyunjin. "Yes! A kiss for the birthday boy! Come here!" Felix yells, thrusting his fist up in the air as he cheers. Jeongin groans, but not as loud as he would if it were anyone else.

Felix is always considerate, after all. He crawls over towards the birthday boy and holds the man's chin. Jeongin pulls a slightly reluctant face, but Felix only presses a very brief and soft kiss on his lips. Jeongin's eyebrows twitch but he doesn't even gag afterwards, so it seems he didn't mind it that much.

"I'm so jealous! Oh my god," Jisung complains, and Changbin and Hyunjin voice the same sentiment. Seungmin is relieved that he kept it quite short and sweet, so it's clear that Hyunjin is jealous of Felix for getting to give Jeongin, their precious lovely maknae, a kiss, and that he's not too upset about Jeongin getting a kiss from Felix.

"Don't worry, guys, the night is long. Minho hyung, your turn," Felix says as he sits back. Minho smiles, shrugs, and grabs the bottle. He haphazardly spins it, waits two seconds just to be polite, before leaning forward and shamelessly stopping the bottle so that it points at Jisung.

"Awesome! Come here, Jisung-ah," Minho exclaims, and before anyone can even think of protesting, Minho is pouncing Jisung, who gasps in surprise and falls backwards. Minho seems to at least start off slow to give Jisung some time to process, but he doesn't waste much time before he's deepening the kiss and properly making out with Jisung.

"Jesus Christ," Jeongin says. "Oh my god. As expected of these two," Hyunjin adds with an exasperated sigh. Felix starts cheering for them and Changbin joins in. "Yeah, let's go!" Chan just laughs and Seungmin keeps quiet, a little annoyed that Minho was allowed to cheat.

After about a minute, Jeongin sighs and stands up to forcibly pull the two apart. "Enough! This is not seven minutes in heaven. No exhibitionism please," he chides, grabbing Minho's shirt and pulling him off of Jisung. Minho grins victoriously, both him and Jisung flushed down to their necks.

"Uh. Woah," Jisung mutters. He chuckles awkwardly, runs a hand through his already messed up hair and pats his fiery red cheeks. "Sorry for the interruption."

"It will probably happen again." Minho keeps his hand on Jisung's thigh. Seungmin sneaks a look at Hyunjin and Felix next to him, and sees that they're way too far apart. He snuggles closer to Hyunjin, subtly pushing him against Felix's side, too. Hyunjin doesn't seem to notice a thing.

It's Jisung's turn, but soon after Jisung spins, Minho grabs the bottle again and makes it point toward him before jumping onto Jisung to kiss him. A mix of groaning, clapping, cheering, and complaining erupts in the group, but this time, Jisung stays upright while Minho kisses him and they keep it relatively brief.

"There, brief enough for you impatient fools?" Minho asks them, his ears burning but his expression satisfied. Jisung is smiling to himself as well, leaning into Minho's space.

"You'll have enough time to suck face later, when we're not in the room with you, preferably," Jeongin says, waving them off with a sheepish expression. "Let's move on. Changbin hyung, your turn."

Changbin spins the bottle and it lands on Seungmin. Seungmin sighs deeply, and Hyunjin laughs next to him. Of course fate is against him like this, but he doesn't want to drink, so he complains loudly. "Noooo, why me?!" he wails.

"As if I am happy about this. Hyunjin and Jeongin are right next to you!" Changbin complains. They reluctantly kiss for about half a second, noses scrunched up, and Seungmin feels like brushing his teeth afterwards.

Then it's Chan's turn, and the bottle points at Changbin. They're both shy about it, but Chan pulls through and briefly kisses Changbin's lips. "Sorry 'bout that, Lix-yah," Chan says with a chuckle, afterwards. He might have bumped into Felix while crawling over to Changbin or something. Seungmin wasn't watching.

"Don't worry, he's mine~" Felix responds, winking at Chan. Seungmin doesn't get it, but oh well, it's probably Felix flirting with everyone again. "Jeongin-ah! Your turn!"

Jeongin spins the bottle, and it lands on Minho. Jeongin pulls a sour face while Minho sticks out his lips. "No way in hell. Not after he put his tongue into Jisung hyung's mouth. I'd rather drink," he says, which earns him some complaints, but they let it slide, begrudgingly.

Then, it's Seungmin's turn. He spins, and it lands on Jisung, which is a shame, because he'd rather not have Minho's rage turned against him. They are roommates, and Minho is quite possessive of Jisung. So he complains loudly while giving Jisung the slightest of pecks on his lips.

"Ah, Seungmin-ah… That was barely anything!" Jisung says with a pout. Seungmin flicks his eyes to the side, meeting Minho's dark gaze.

"It was enough." Seungmin and Minho speak simultaneously, making Jisung, Hyunjin, and Changbin laugh.

"Sit down Seungmin-ah, before Minho hyung starts hitting," Hyunjin tells him with a giggle, tugging at Seungmin's sleeve. Seungmin sits down with a huff, taking a deep breath to gather himself again for Hyunjin's turn. Hopefully everyone has forgotten about the cheating by now and they'll let him do as he pleases.

Hyunjin spins the bottle and Seungmin reaches for it as it slows down, but Changbin lets out a noise and all but dives across Jeongin and Chan's laps to grab Seungmin's hand and stop him from touching the bottle. "No! No more cheating! No more!" he exclaims. "Why are you trying to cheat on someone else's turn anyway, you chaotic dog!"

"I'm not trying to cheat!" Seungmin retorts, trying to tear himself free from Changbin's grip, but Changbin is too strong for him. Chan is laughing in his ears and Jeongin is being dramatic about something.

"Changbin hyung! Let go of him, he needs to kiss!" Jisung calls out through giggles. Seungmin's eyes widen. He needs to kiss? Again?! He sits up and Changbin lets go of him, finally. The bottle is clearly pointing towards him.

"Did he cheat? Felix! Did he cheat?!" Changbin asks, but Felix assures him that he kept a close eye on the bottle and no one touched it. Not even Changbin, accidentally, not even Chan's big toe. Changbin groans and sits back on his spot. "He got what he wanted anyway. Great."

Seungmin is still staring at the bottle, his mind racing, thinking about how to twist this into his favor. He needs to kiss Hyunjin, but he wants Felix and Hyunjin to kiss. Perhaps he can still convince them to do so, later. But he needs to actually be convincing.

"Okay. Let's do this," Seungmin says, looking at a red faced Hyunjin and willing his heart to calm down. Hyunjin is looking at him with with something shining in his eyes that makes Seungmin's heart go completely crazy. He can't afford to go crazy right now, so he grabs Hyunjin's cheeks and pulls him into a kiss.

Their teeth clack with the force of it. Great going, Kim Seungmin. He softens and kisses Hyunjin properly. Hyunjin places his hands on Seungmin's waist, making Seungmin's stomach flip and flop around like a fish on land.

The cheers and yelling of their friends is only a buzz in the background compared to the sound of his heart pounding in his ears. He gets lost in the feeling, foolish foolish man, and he lets Hyunjin deepen the kiss, tongue slipping between his lips.

Holy fucking fucking fucks and shit.

Seungmin is losing his entire mind, fingers twitching as they hold Hyunjin's warm cheeks. He forgets all about his plan and his wing man strategy flies right out of the window. All he can think about is Hyunjin's lips on his own.

He has not even an inch of a clue of how long they've kissed, but he's pretty sure that they only part when they're both out of breath. Hyunjin's lashes flutter as he opens his eyes, and Seungmin has to tear his gaze away from him before he falls into them and gets lost again.

"You go, Hyunjin!" "Let's fucking go! That was insane!" "I expected as much from Minho hyung and Jisungie, maybe from Changbin and Felix, but not you two!" "Gross as fuck but congratulations." Their friends all talk through one another as Seungmin catches his breath and tries to land back onto the ground safely, after having drifted off into space.

Too bad Hyunjin has a crush on Felix and not on him because damn that felt good.

"Guys," Seungmin begins, making eye contact with Felix and sending him a pointed look. "Hyunjin is such a good kisser. Genuinely and for real."

Felix's eyes widen, and he smiles. "Hell yeah, Seungmin-ah! Good for you!" He holds out his hand for a high five, and Seungmin returns it. Felix also gives Hyunjin a high five, and he even wiggles his eyebrows at the man. Did Seungmin actually succeed in convincing Felix that he's missing out?

They end up trying to play another round, but it falls into chaos before anything interesting can really happen, and so Felix and Hyunjin never get their bottle spin induced kissing, unfortunately. Not even when Chan puts on music and everyone starts dancing do Hyunjin or Felix approach each other out of their own volition.

Seungmin tries to arrange something, since Hyunjin keeps to his side, but Felix is mingling with too many people to create a romantic and somewhat private moment. The night ends with everyone helping Jeongin clean up, and them all crashing in various spots on and around the couch. Another day, another half success.

5 (five).

Seungmin is desperate at this point. Not only because he can't stop thinking about kissing Hyunjin's stupid lips, but also because none of his plans are working out the way he expects them to.

How oblivious can two people be? Why does it seem like Hyunjin and Felix both want this, but they're not taking that first god damn step? He feels like he's succeeding his wing man plans, but they're not taking off into something concrete for Hyunjin and Felix.

So, he decides to force them a little more. He invites each of them to a café and tells them to dress a little nicely. Then, he'll think of an excuse he can't join them and leave. He won't do it too much in advance, because otherwise he risks Hyunjin or Felix chickening out and cancelling, too.

He has told Felix that Hyunjin is coming, and Hyunjin knows that Felix is coming, too. Hyunjin asked him why he was planning this, and Seungmin simply told him he felt like hanging out with them and that he shouldn't worry about it.

It's go time.

Seungmin arrives fashionably but uncharacteristically late at the café (seven minutes after the agreed time), pretending to be in a hurry and all, to make his last-minute-cancellation more believable, but as soon as he steps inside the café and spots the right table, his throat goes dry.

Seo Changbin. What is he doing here?!

That man is really testing Seungmin's patience. Why does he need to sabotage everything Seungmin is trying? He even looks pretty nice—he's wearing jeans for god's sake! But why? And for whom?

"The fuck," Seungmin says, looking at Changbin with a frown on his face. Changbin, Felix, and Hyunjin burst out in laughter for some reason, but Seungmin is not laughing. He grabs Changbin by the arm and pulls him up, forcing him off his chair and to a quieter part of the café.

"Woah. What?" Changbin stops laughing and sputters while Seungmin drags him away. "What's going on? What are you doing?"

"You need to leave. This wasn't an open invitation," Seungmin hisses, making sure that Hyunjin and Felix can't hear them. Changbin frowns in confusion. Seungmin sighs, does he really need to spell it out for him? "I'm going to leave, too. Understand?"

"Uhm. Not really… Are you planning a surprise?" Changbin mutters, gaze searching Seungmin's expression. "Lixie didn't mention anything like that. Unless you want to plan something right now? I didn't prepare anything sweet! I thought we were just going to have a good time!"

Seungmin sighs. This is useless. He doesn't want to explain everything to Changbin, because he knows Changbin will spill it to Felix if he doesn't think of a good excuse to convince Changbin to keep his wing manning a secret.

And it would definitely be suspicious if Changbin suddenly has to go somewhere, now. Seungmin has no choice but to accept his fate and go about the day as normal. He'll have to improvise and try to make Hyunjin and Felix feel like it's a date after all.

"Okay. Nevermind. I just… I wanted to make it special, for them. Let's buy them some food and a drink, at least," Seungmin says, waving Changbin off before motioning for him to come along to the counter. Changbin's eyes widen slightly and he hurries after Seungmin.

"Good idea," he agrees. "You wanna split or are you going to let me pay?"

"Let's split," Seungmin says. He wants to have some pride left as a wing man. He can't let Changbin take all the credit. Seungmin orders a fruit pastry for Hyunjin and some fancy coffee, and he lets Changbin order something for Felix, since he seems to know exactly what he likes.

"Here you go, it's on us," Seungmin tells them with a smile, putting everything down and gloating when Felix and Hyunjin look at them with wide and grateful eyes, and it reminds Seungmin of how Hyunjin looks at a pretty art piece he found.

Seungmin sits down next to Hyunjin, his heart pounding. Now that they're happy, it's time for the next step. "Okay, now selfie time, let's gather around," he says, motioning for everyone to shuffle closer to each other. He moves his chair right against Hyunjin's one, so that he has to press close to Felix.

Seungmin takes a couple of pictures, highlighting Hyunjin and Felix so that they'll have good memories. After taking a picture or twenty, Seungmin stays put with his chair so that Hyunjin and Felix stay as close to each other as possible.

It doesn't do much, since Changbin and Seungmin are still there, so they still don't have that privacy that Seungmin planned they would have, but it's still a fun time. Even when Seungmin excuses himself to go to the bathroom and somehow convinces Changbin to go with him and manages to keep him there while he washes his hands for five minutes, he returns to Hyunjin and Felix chatting friendly, but not much more than that.

They're barely even sharing their food, and there's nothing Seungmin can do about it without risking making things weird or having to admit that he's trying to get Hyunjin and Felix together.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you so much for organizing this double date, Seungmin-ah! It's lovely," Felix tells him with a bright smile. Seungmin almost spits out his coffee.

"D-Double date?" he stammers, looking at Changbin with a sour expression. Changbin and him? Nah. Nah, not when Hyunjin exists. "Me and Changbin? Hell no."

Changbin complains and hits Seungmin's arm while Felix bursts out in laughter. "Oh my god, Seungmin-ah. You're so funny."

"What?" Seungmin is completely lost on what Felix is thinking right now. He looks at Hyunjin, who shows a mix of amusement and something akin to disappointment, judging by the halfhearted smile on his face, that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm not trying to be funny. I'm seriously not."

"Changbin and Felix are boyfriends, Seungmin-ah," Hyunjin tells him, a hand touching his own.

World stop.

"Excuse me?" Seungmin's eyes bulge out of his skull as he looks between the three others. Sure, Changbin and Felix have been quite chummy and flirty for a long time, but Felix is flirty with everyone, right? Always grabbing muscles and such? "Since when?"

"Almost a year! I— I thought you knew? We told him, didn't we, Changbin baby?" Felix gestures between him and Changbin. He looks at Changbin, grabs his arm and squeezes it. "We can kiss if you think we're playing you. You know what? Fuck it, I'm going to kiss him anyway."

Changbin laughs but Felix shuts him up as he grabs his chin and kisses him. It's quite the deep kiss, definitely enough to convince Seungmin if he'd ever think that Hyunjin would lie to him. Hyunjin is a bad liar, anyway.

"Okay. Okay! I— I get it. I just— Fuck. How didn't I realize?" Seungmin runs a hand through his hair, his heart sinking as he thinks about how stupid he's been, trying to get Hyunjin and Felix to confess to each other when Felix is already in a relationship.

"You're kind of oblivious, no offense, Seungmin-ah," Changbin points out with a sheepish look. Seungmin gasps, definitely offended despite Changbin's plea for him to not be offended.

"He's right, I'm sorry," Felix adds, reaching over the table to pat Seungmin's hand. "I think we were quite obvious about being together, if I'm honest."

"I know about Minho and Jisung! I'm not oblivious," Seungmin retorts.

"Everyone and their grandmother knows about them," Changbin says, giving Seungmin a pointed look. "Plus, you room with Minho hyung. You'd be blind, oblivious and stupid if you wouldn't know about his feelings for Jisung."

"And you two have been flirting for ages and ages. How could I have known that you have made it official?" Seungmin shakes his head, unwilling to accept that he's so oblivious. Although, even Hyunjin knew about it, and he's pretty oblivious, too. He takes a deep breath. Today is not about him, he reminds himself. "Nevermind. I— I'm sorry for misunderstanding. And…"

Seungmin sighs deeply. He looks at Hyunjin, and feels his skin heat up in shame. He's been an absolute fool. A god damn fool! "Can I get a moment with Hyunjin?"

"Yeah, of course. We'll wait outside," Felix assures them immediately. He takes Changbin's hand and leads the older outside with him. Seungmin takes that moment to gather the courage to apologize to Hyunjin for being so incredibly dumb.

"I'm sorry, Hyunjin-ah. I hope I didn't give you any false hope…" Seungmin begins. Hyunjin is looking at him with an unreadable expression, but his lips are trembling, giving away that he's holding back something. "You're probably really disappointed right now. But I can still kill Changbin hyung for you, if you'd like me to?"

Hyunjin barks out a laugh, caught off guard by Seungmin's offer. "What? That would be hilarious, but why would you kill Changbin hyung for me?" Hyunjin asks him, still giggling. And Seungmin is the oblivious one?!

"So that you and Lixie can be together!" Seungmin exclaims, blurting the words out just like that. Hyunjin's eyes grow bigger than the full moon on a cloudless night.

"What?! Why?" Surely Hyunjin isn't this stupid.

"Because you like him. Why else? It's not all chaos and nonsense with me," Seungmin explains, gesturing at Hyunjin for him to hurry up and understand already. Hyunjin gapes at him as if he's speaking a whole other language—as if he's Minho doing a stupid bit with Jisung.

"I do not??" Hyunjin sputters, blinking rapidly. Seungmin feels like surely he's being gaslit into thinking he's a stupid fool right now. How was he wrong about that too? "When—? Why would you think that?"

"You were sighing and looking all longingly at Felix! Staring at him! Saying he's so pretty and that he's got everything?" Seungmin gestures around wildly. Surely he didn't dream this. Hyunjin opens his mouth to protest, but then he seems to recognize what Seungmin is talking about, and he snaps his mouth shut.

"I— Okay. Okay, I know what you mean. I just— I was jealous. Not yearning," Hyunjin tells him, raising one finger to correct Seungmin. "I was jealous of Felix, not crushing on him."

"Oh. Oh, should I kill Felix, then?" Seungmin looks over his shoulder at the person in question. He'd rather not kill Felix, if he can help it, but if Hyunjin asks him to, he will consider it.

Hyunjin laughs again. "No! Don't kill him, you fool! I'm not jealous of him because he's in a relationship with Changbin. Or rather—I'm not in love with Changbin, either. That's not it."

"What then? You're beautiful. And you're passionate. And you're an amazing dancer and artist. And you're so kind. What could you possibly be jealous of?" Seungmin is really at a loss. He thought he understood Hyunjin, and that he was helping him.

"Because he's finally in a relationship with the man he's been pining after for years. And I'm still stuck crushing for someone who just doesn't get it," Hyunjin says, sighing deeply, yet there's something fond about his voice. Seungmin's stomach churns a little.

"Who are you crushing for, then?" Seungmin asks, unsure if he'd actually like to hear the answer. He feels foolish enough already as it is.

"It's you, you dummy!! Jesus!" Hyunjin says, half exasperated, half fond.

World stop.

"Me?!" Seungmin almost yells. He groans and hides his face behind his hands. "Fuck! Me? Holy shit. Oh my fucking god I can just lie down and let the ground take me. This is the most embarrassing day of my god damn life!"

"Hey!" Hyunjin grabs his shoulder and shakes him. "Stop being dramatic. That's my job. You're supposed to be the cool-headed dandy man."

"But I'm so ashamed right now. I really—I thought you liked Felix and I was trying to set you two up," Seungmin complains. "I was trying to be the best wing man there is, when instead I should have been romancing you!"

"Don't be ashamed. It's… It's really sweet that you were trying to help me. But… Let me get this straight… You were trying to set me up with Felix by kissing me?" Hyunjin asks him with a chuckle, his hand now caressing Seungmin's back. It's a soothing gesture to Seungmin's painful mood.

"Well. That wasn't my initial plan," he mutters. "I was trying to get you and Lix to kiss, but then I thought, you know, might as well kiss you and tell him that you are a great kisser—which you are, by the way—and hope that he gets the hint that he's missing out."

"Don't you think you're missing out by not kissing me right now?" Hyunjin asks him in a whisper, as if he's somehow still unsure whether or not Seungmin likes him back. Seungmin would lay down his life for him. Hell, he just suggested to kill the angel Lee Felix for him.

"Fuck don't embarrass me more, Hwang Hyunjin," Seungmin says as he straightens himself and turns to face his friend. He grabs Hyunjin's cheeks and pulls him a little closer. He looks him in the eyes, and suddenly, he sees just what Hyunjin meant.

Hyunjin's gaze on him—How could he have missed this?—It's so full of love and fondness. And longing. Seungmin really believes that Hyunjin wants him as much as is true the other way around. He just needed to stop being an idiot and look.

"Okay. I'll kiss you now. Please forgive me for being the biggest fool on Earth," Seungmin whispers. Hyunjin giggles, but Seungmin can't find the patience to wait for him to finish. He tilts his head and connects their lips.

Hyunjin melts into him with a sigh, just like he did on Jeongin's birthday party. Seungmin's whole body warms up. The kiss feels like coming home, like he can finally see clearly after having seen through blurred glasses for months.

He has been missing out, for sure, but he feels like it's okay, like Hyunjin will welcome him with open arms and let him make up for the lost time.

"I'll forgive you for being an oblivious idiot, if you'll be my boyfriend. How does that sound?" Hyunjin whispers against his lips as he parts from Seungmin and rests his forehead against Seungmin's. Seungmin hums absentmindedly, getting a little lost in Hyunjin's deep dark eyes.

"Sounds perfect." He doesn't waste a second before kissing him again. Hyunjin makes a noise in his throat, hands flying to Seungmin's waist, but he gladly reciprocates. He doesn't deepen it like he did that night at Jeongin's birthday party, but Seungmin is relieved he doesn't. He thinks he'd explode if he did, after all.

"Okay, okay. Enough kissing, now. It's fucking cold as balls outside," Changbin says, interrupting their making out—making up for lost time. "Have you two finally gotten your heads outta your asses and confessed?"

"Yeah, yeah. We did, don't rub it in," Seungmin retorts, waving Changbin off. "I'll accept the term double date, now. For you two, and me and Hyunjin."

"Yippee! Congrats, guys," Felix cheers and wraps his arms around the two of them, hugging them. "I guess this misunderstanding was good for something, right? I think it's pretty romantic that Seungmin was so motivated to be a wing man for us."

"You heard everything?" Seungmin asks and Felix just keeps grinning. Maybe he should rethink his decision not to kill these two, but then Hyunjin looks at him and kisses his cheek, assuring him that he thinks it's romantic too, and everything bad melts away from the world again.

"We're both fools. That's why we fit together so well~ I appreciate that you'd give up your own happiness to get me with my crush, Seungmin-ah," Hyunjin tells him and Seungmin all but melts into a mushy pile. Perhaps all of this was good for something, after all.

He didn't succeed in getting Hyunjin and Felix together, but he did succeed in getting Hyunjin and himself together with their crushes, so that's definitely a win win. He couldn't have imagined a better outcome, actually.

First win. Ha ha.

End.