Work Text:
Seojoon was trying very hard not to lose his mind, which was one hell of a task. Ever since he got wrongly accused of starting a fight in a bar with his colleague, he was instructed to go into hiding until the general public had forgotten all about it. He could, of course, make a statement claiming he was innocent, but he had no way of backing his claim and it would be his word against a much more popular and experienced actor. So for now he’d have to stay at this new apartment for an unspecified amount of time with practically nothing to do.
The first day was easy. He slept until 2pm and ate whatever he wanted, finally free of Hyuk’s nagging. He watched the new movie he had been dying to see and even spent some time working on his guitar skills.
The second day felt a bit longer, so he started a thorough clean of the house (even though it was handed to him completely clean) and searched up some easy recipes. He almost attempted to make that dish again, but changed his mind last second.
By the third day he started to speak to himself out loud and by the forth he wondered if his job was worth it at all.
Here he was on his 5th day on house arrest, staring longingly at some kids playing basketball wishing he could join them.
He sighed as he sipped his coffee. He didn’t actually need it anymore, considering how much excess energy he had to burn, but old habits die hard.
He was about to go back and lie down when something caught his eye.
Right there, on the same floor of the building right across his, was a man standing in front of the window. The curtains were drawn, as it was a sunny afternoon. Seojoon could see the guy’s living room. It had a sofa and a clothing hanger. No TV and barely anything unnecessary. A true minimalist.
The guy was looking through the window, holding a fat black cat in his arms like a baby. The cat was swinging his tail as the guy kept talking to him. He lightly flicked the cat on the head, but instead of biting him, the cat rubbed his head on the guy’s hand.
Having finished scolding the cat, the guy petted the cat on the head and turned around to go back into the living room. The cat jumped down to follow him around.
Seojoon felt a bit sorry for himself. Maybe he should have got a pet before being locked up there. Than again, with his fear of loud noises a pet, especially a cat, was not a good idea.
Seojoon decided that he had enough of “window time” and went back to kill some time on his phone.
For the rest of the day he kept looking at the apartment across whenever he passed by the window, hoping to see the duo again.
On the next day, Seojoon caught a glimpse of them again. The man was once again scolding the cat while holding him. He looked like a very serious no-nonsense type which made him look extra cute talking to a cat.
Suddenly, the guy raised his head and looked straight at Seojoon, who didn’t have the time or the quick thinking to pretend to look somewhere else.
For one second they just looked at each other, but then the guy frowned and, without breaking eye-contact, drew the curtains.
Seojoon laughed. He must have looked like a creep. It wasn’t his fault the most exciting thing he could do around there was to people-watch.
He loved their CEO, he really did: he never pushed him into starving himself, paid well and generally let him do whatever as long as he didn’t mess up.
He had to put his phone a few centimeters away from his ear to keep his ears safe from Pilhyun’s yelling. The other guy involved in the scandal had made a public statement putting all the blame on him.
Pilhyun was yelling about how he had warned Seojoon to stay away from him (he actually did, multiple times), about how they were losing share-holder value (something Pilhyun cared deeply about), about how his poor manager had been on his phone this entire day trying to keep Seojoon’s endorsement contracts valid (Seojoon did feel guilty towards poor Homin.).
Seojoon decided to wait until Pilhyun tired himself out to put a word or two in. While he waited, he mindlessly looked out of the window accidentally locking eyes with the cat guy.
The guy was in his usual black attire, with the cat in his arms.
Seojoon just smiled and waved, wondering if the guy knew who he was from the news.
The guy frowned, turned around and left the room.
Seojoon laughed again. The guy was being so dramatic.
“Are you laughing? After all this? Have you completely lost your mind, Kang Seojoon? I swear to God...”
Ah, right, he had to deal with this first.
It was a tough day. A whole week in a small apartment with nothing but his phone to kill time.
He was once again wondering if he should just leave the company and find a job. He wasn’t qualified in anything else, but he was a hard worker and he knew how to charm people. Bet he would make one hell of a wedding host.
Giving up on his hard work of decades was not the desired plan, but he was starting to lose hope. The entire agency was trying to find some evidence to clear up his name, but the other guy’s agency had been faster.
He ruffled his hair in frustration and went to the window to breathe some fresh air.
Luckily the day was breezy and the cold air helped to ease his worries a bit.
He leaned on the windowsill and looked around aimlessly, just to have something to do.
There was the old woman with the comically large dog. There was the pop-corn seller. There were the kids playing.
Everyone’s life was moving forward except his.
He looked at the cat guy’s window. The scene that greeted him was a bit different.
The guy was on the floor, next to him - a crate. He seemed to be reaching for something under the sofa. The cat suddenly ran out from the other end of the sofa and jumped on the cat tree. The guy noticed the escape and wiggled around to stand up, but the fluffy rug under him slipped and he had to wave around his arms to not fall. The cat used the additional time he had to hide behind the curtain.
The guy, finally standing firm on his feet, went to check the cat tree. He started to look around for him everywhere: behind the sofa, under it, in the other room, inside the cat tree with no success.
He was inspecting the cat tree again when he suddenly looked ahead - right at Seojoon, who had been entirely too amused by the show in front of him.
The guy rolled his eyes as if saying “you again?”. Seojoon just smiled and waved. The guy frowned and shook his head, but before he could leave or draw the curtains, Seojoon pointed towards the right side of the window.
The guy tilted his head a bit in confusion, but caught up in a few seconds and reached for the curtain.
The cat tried to escape again, but the guy managed to catch him in time.
The guy stood there for a second, clearly reprimanding the cat for misbehaving, but then turned towards Seojoon and nodded quickly.
As he hurried to put the cat in the crate and go to whatever appointment he was definitely late for, Seojoon wondered how such a small nod could make him so happy.
The next day the cat had the cone of shame on his head (no wonder he tried his best to hide the day before).
The guy only appeared later in the evening, probably coming home from work.
He was giving the cat a treat. He looked up to catch Seojoon staring, but instead of his usual annoyed look or departure, he gave him a small nod and rushed out of the view.
Seojoon was flabbergasted. Was that a thank you? That guy was way too cute.
“Am I not speaking Korean? Yes, you can get back to work! In fact, you have to be here in half an hour.”
Seojoon would kiss Pilhyun if he could.
An anonymous source had leaked the video which clearly showed Seojoon sitting in the corner while a fight between 2 drunk actors took place. His name was finally cleared.
He immediately went to change his clothes and on the way out threw one last look at the window across, thanking them for providing some company.
The next few weeks had been busy. Whenever he wasn’t giving yet another all-tell interview, he was filming a drama or a TV show. He barely had any time to sleep at all, but he finally felt like he could breathe again.
A small part of him did wonder what the cat and his cute owner were up to.
Okay, if he bought black coffee it’d help him keep his eyes open for 2 more hours, on the other hand he was craving something sweet and carbonated, so maybe a coffee-cola?
He was staring at the drinks lost in thought, when a quiet voice said: “Excuse me”.
He automatically turned towards the voice and froze seeing a familiar face.
“Oh, it’s you!”
The cat guy had his usual scowl on.
“May I pass?”
Seojoon stepped back and bowed slightly.
“Yes, of course. Anything for a dear neighbor.”
The guy didn’t say anything and passed him by.
The guy went straight to the canned food section.
Seojoon thought only for a second before following him.
“Let me get something for your cat.”
The man flatly replied:
“I can afford feeding him. There is no need.”
“I’ve seen your apartment. I know you can. I just want to thank you.”
The guy stared at him, not bothering to ask the question.
“I had to stay at home for some time and I was going crazy with boredom. Watching your cat through the window made me less lonely. So let me thank him. Judging from his size, he won’t mind extra food.”
“So you aren’t even going to pretend you were watching us by accident?”
“Why should I? You’ve caught me red handed. Plus, you were looking back, too.”
He had trouble reading the guy’s expression.
He stayed silent for a few seconds as if deciding how to answer. Seojoon decided not to waste time and picked the most expensive can he could find.
“Don’t buy that. It’s overpriced.”
“I can afford it.”
“Happy for you, but I don’t want Mittens to get used to it.”
Seojoon didn’t bother to stop his laugh.
“Mittens? Really?”
The guy blushed faintly.
“My friend’s kid named him.”
“I’m glad it’s a cat and not a dog. Just imagining you looking your usual scowly no-nonsense self clad in all black yelling in a park “Mittens, come to daddy!””
The guy smiled but immediately tried to hide it.
“Is that a smile I see? You shouldn’t hide it. Makes you look even more handsome.”
The guy’s smile fell and he turned around to leave.
Seojoon followed him.
“Hey, don’t go to the checkout without me!”
“You don’t need to buy Mittens anything.”
“I know, I just want to. Are you too proud to take one can of tuna home to your cat?”
The guy visibly sighed, turned around and looked at Seojoon. Seojoon stared back. The guy nodded his head towards the checkout. Seojoon happily skipped to pay.
“Do you live alone?”
Seojoon mentally kicked himself for such a forward question.
“Don’t you know already?” said the man exiting the store.
“I do, but if I said it like a statement, you’d find me creepy,” replied Seojoon following him.
“I already find you creepy.”
“Hyung, quick, we are reshooting in 15 minutes!” yelled Homin from the parked car.
“Coming!”
He turned towards the guy to say goodbye or maybe ask for a number, but the guy had already walked a few steps back.
He nodded and rushed to the opposite direction.
On Monday he finally had a day off. He had a nice breakfast at 2pm and went to the window almost automatically.
He saw the cat laying on a hammock stuck on the window. Since when did he have one?
The cat looked all too pleased sleeping under the warm afternoon sun. Seojoon stared at the ball of black fur wishing he could run his fingers through it.
Later in the evening, he looked through the window again, this time hoping to see the man.
Sometime later the man appeared. He saw Seojoon and nodded in greeting. Seojoon nodded back.
A few moments later, the guy returned to the window in his usual black attire with something in his hands. It was the tuna can.
He locked eyes with Seojoon again and just as quickly looked down. He opened the can and put it on the cat house. The cat happily jumped down and ate the whole thing in seconds.
Seojoon felt warm all over: the guy had waited for two whole days to open the can just o Seojoon could see the cat enjoy his food. The gesture was silly and so thoughtful he couldn’t help being charmed by it.
The guy lifted the now empty can and showed it to Seojoon, pointing to the cat and then giving it a thumbs up. Seojoon laughed and bowed dramatically.
The guy smiled shyly and as if catching himself on it, quickly turned around and left the room.
Seojoon couldn’t remember the last time he felt so compelled to kiss someone.
“Oh, Seojoonie, exactly who I was looking for!” almost shouted a tipsy Pilhyun.
Seojoon let his CEO drag him towards the bar where he noticed a somewhat familiar silhouette.
“Remember telling me how you would kiss whoever saved your ass? Well, it’s this guy right here!” Pilhyun blubbered gesticulating dramatically towards the bartender.
Seojoon just stared at the cat guy who didn’t look surprised, just mildly irritated.
The two remained silent as Pilhyun went on.
“He is such a nice guy! And so humble too! Refused the money I offered for the footage. Said he just wanted to do the right thing. Who even refuses 150.000 won?”
Tipsy Pilhyun reached over the bar to put his hand on the guy’s shoulder.
“You are such a good guy, Jiwoo. You’re parents would be so proud of you!”
Pilhyun tried to hug him, but the guy pushed him back, still maintaining eye-contact with Seojoon.
Seojoon seemed to come to his senses when Pilhyun leaned on him for support.
He quickly helped his CEO find a seat near the bar and asked for a glass of water.
The guy, Jiwoo, calmly put a full glass in front of Pilhyun.
“Guess I should thank you. Saved me from unemployment. Where did you get it?”
“I work at that place part time. I found a copy of the footage a few days ago by accident. I just forwarded it to Pilhyun.” he explained calmly.
“By accident, huh? Then, I really have to thank you. Not everyone would have bothered to help a neighbor out.”
“It isn’t a big deal, no need for that.”
“Too proud for gratitude too?”
Jiwoo lowered his head to hide his smile.
“How do you know Pilhyun?”
“Family friend.”
Seojoon just hummed. He wasn’t used to being at a loss for words. It wasn’t often when he liked someone this much while knowing practically nothing about them.
“Can I get a pina colada?” he asked just to have something to say.
Jiwoo smirked and raised an eyebrow, before turning to grab the liqueur.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you laughing at my order? Can’t a guy have a sweet tooth?” asked Seojoon intrigued.
Jiwoo didn’t reply, but the smirk remained on his face.
Seojoon sat on a bar stool and silently watched him work. There was something magnetic about his moves: so precise, so calculated, so fluid. He could watch Jiwoo mix drinks forever.
Before he could register how unsubtle his staring was, the drink was ready.
“Oh, this is delicious! The best I’ve ever had!”
Jiwoo rolled his eyes, but there was a satisfied smirk on his face. He tried to hide it too.
“You are so shy. It’s very cute.”
Before he could gauge Jiwoo’s reaction, Pilhyun suddenly appeared right next to him.
“Do you know each other?”
“No.”
“Yes.”
The opposing answers had Pilhyun eyeing the two.
“No worries. I’m an ally! I had classmates that were... You know. Good guys. Moved abroad to get married last month.”
“It’s not like that,” quickly added Jiwoo.
“Hey, hey, no need to get defensive,” said Pilhyun raising his arms, “I’ll leave you two to talk.”
He grabbed the new intern passing by and started to talk his ear off about being a good ally.
“Pilhyun is very open minded. He has to be, with a bisexual wife and all.”
Jiwoo gave him a look, but didn’t reply.
Seojoon wondered if it was the assumption that had killed the mood. Jiwoo seemed to be flirting back. Seojoon was 95% sure of that, so what made him go back to his shell? Did he want to keep it low-key?
They kept a somewhat awkward silence until Seojoon impulsively ordered another pina colada.
“You’ll get drunk.”
“I have good tolerance. And even if I do, I know a guy who lives nearby and can take me home safe.”
“Who says I would?”
“I know you would.”
“You know nothing about me. I could be dangerous.”
“I’ve seen you with your cat. If you are trying to scare me, it’s too late for that.”
Jiwoo had nothing to reply.
“Would you?”
“What?”
“Take me home if I asked?”
Jiwoo’s entire body visibly froze. Seojoon could practically hear his cogs turning.
They stared at each other in silence until the sound of breaking glass rang through the entire room. Someone had knocked down the champaign tower.
Seojoon had only a second to thank his luck for the distraction (the last thing he wanted was the general public discussing his mental health now) before he started to hyperventilate. Definitely not a hot thing to do in front of the guy you wanted to take home to.
He could only hear his own wheezing: mind too preoccupied for anything else.
Suddenly he felt two strong arms on his biceps and tried hard to concentrate on them.
A few heavy seconds passed until his vision cleared and his heartbeat started to slow down.
He found Jiwoo standing in front of him, his body shielding Seojoon’s from the public view.
How was that guy even hotter up close?
He tried to laugh it off, but it sounded fake even to his ears.
“Well, that was just lame. You’d think drunk people would have the sense to stay away from fragile things.”
Jiwoo didn’t reply, just stared at him with clear worry written all over his face.
“Ah, Jiwoo-ah (can I call you that?), don’t look so gloomy. This happens from time to time. I’m used to it.”
For whatever reason, this made Jiwoo look even more gloomy.
“Follow me,” he said, turning around and not looking back as he exited the room.
Seojoon followed close.
They weren’t the only people outside. A group of 4 was smocking on the other end of the alley.
Seojoon just stared at Jiwoo waiting for explanation.
“You need fresh air.”
Seojoon smiled.
“Your aloof act will never work if you keep being so sweet.”
“It’s not an act.”
“Sure, if you say so.”
Jiwoo rolled his eyes. Seojoon smiled brighter.
“I started working as an actor when I was 8. I had an accident and nearly died, so whenever I hear a loud noise I have a panic attack.”
He had no idea why he was being so honest. It’s not a topic he had ever discussed with his friends.
Jiwoo looked a bit lost, seemingly trying to come up with a reply.
“Just wanted to share. You don’t have to reply.”
Jiwoo’s presence and even his silence were very comforting. He was starting to get used to them.
“This is so nice!”
As he said this, he went to stand right next to Jiwoo, their shoulders almost touching.
Jiwoo looked startled for a second, as if he was contemplating running away, but something changed in his eyes and he remained in his place.
Taking that as permission, Seojoon took his phone out and handed it to Jiwoo.
“Give me your phone number. Let’s go on a date soon.”
Jiwoo stared at the phone, not moving a muscle.
“I will drop it and then you’d have to comfort me again. Is that what you want?”
Jiwoo finally looked up, but still didn’t move his hands.
Seojoon’s smile dropped. He lowered his hand, suddenly feeling insecure.
“Sorry, it came out wrong. You don’t have to do anything. I sounded like an asshole, sorry. I’d love to go on a date with you. If you want to.”
Jiwoo looked away and sighed. Seojoon was about to turn around and go get drunk, before Jiwoo raised his hand, silently asking for the phone.
Seojoon almost jumped with joy.
Jiwoo handed the phone back in silence.
“Are you always this quiet?”
“Does that bother you?”
“Not at all. Love a mysterious man! Although the man I date end up being rather loud.”
Jiwoo gave him a look and turned around to leave.
Seojoon laughed and followed him.
“Sorry, I just really enjoy teasing you. Our date is still on, right?” he asked bumping shoulders with Jiwoo.
“No,” replied Jiwoo, walking quicker.
Seojoon laughed again, walking just as quickly.
“Come on, Jiwoo-ah!”
“No.”