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Seokjin sighed as he closed his phone, dazed expression on his face as he made his way to the comforting beige couch a few feet away. Plump cushions broke his fall as his limp body spread out over the pale brown, eyes watering in frustration.
This was the fourth time that Namjoon had consecutively called to cancel their plans. He had looked forward to going out with his boyfriend all day, but he should’ve known that the younger man would pull something like this. Another night by himself, it seemed. He had not gone on a proper date with Namjoon in weeks, and he was angry that he actually kept track when it was obvious that his blonde haired lover didn’t.
He let his eyes wander from the ceiling to the window stationed right beside the television. He had watched the news earlier, the reporter going on and on about rain storms. Contradictory to what the man was raving about, the sky was relatively cloudless, and he could see the sun about to set, the warm, golden circle descending to the horizon.
In a split-second decision, he was on his feet again, hand sliding his phone into his back pocket.
He wouldn’t let Namjoon spoil his mood. He refused to.
He decided to get dinner at the restaurant situated on a corner a few blocks from his apartment. After ordering his usual, he slouched back into his seat and sighed, letting his mind wander to what exactly he could do by himself.
-Nothing-
He didn’t feel like going to a club, the movies that were playing now held no interest, he had previously done all his grocery shopping yesterday, and he didn’t even have the pride to show up to a karaoke bar without anyone to follow him in.
This was useless, and he was so pathetic, not even coming up with one thing that he could do without his lover.
Seokjin’s food was set in front of him and he nodded absentmindedly, the hostess still glancing at him with a worried expression on her face before returning to the kitchen. He brought a red pepper to his lips and ignored the fire, scorching heat sliding down his throat. His taste buds were almost numb after downing a few more, hands grazing the table toward his chopsticks. They fit into his hand and he scooped up a piece of chicken, brought it to his mouth, and swallowed after chewing it at least a dozen times in both sides of his mouth.
He guessed eating out by himself wasn’t such a good idea either.
Not waiting for his hostess to come back, he slapped some bills on the table, more than enough to pay for the meal, and exited the restaurant. He started walking south before he could even realize it and ended up at a bar that Namjoon had taken him to when they first met. He didn’t want to go in, but soon enough, his eyes were glancing over familiar bar stools and the many knickknacks that the owner had collected over the years.
The walls were painted a dark brown, the interior a mix of reds, silvers, and blacks, shabby tables scattered throughout the entire bar. It was by no means a popular hotspot, but ever since Namjoon had taken him here, it had settled into a small corner of his heart.
He took another step in, door closing behind him, but before Seokjin could make his way over to the bar his gaze was caught by a mop of dark brown strands to his right.
Was that- Namjoon?
The hair color was different, but it was definitely his lover. He had his back turned to the door, but you can’t have sex countless times and not be familiar with the back of your lover’s head. It just doesn’t work.
He tried to take a deep breath in but found the air stuck in his throat. He watched as Namjoon turned slightly, showing his straight nose and the full lips he could never get enough of. His heart clenched when those perfect lips came in contact with another’s.
The man that was sitting next to Namjoon was of average build, with short strands of coffee brown, a few strands in the front dyed dark green. They were dressed in casual attire, and their bodies were sitting very close, close enough for Seokjin to immediately tell that this was no friend outing, putting the kiss that they shared to the side.
He stood rooted in his spot for a few counts of eight before burning rage tore through his body like wild fire. How dare Namjoon do this to him-
His feet moved on their own, stomping over to the couple, currently caught up in another lock of lips. He uncoiled the fist he had made on the way over and grasped Namjoon’s shoulder, forcefully turning him to face Seokjin’s furious, heartbroken gaze.
“The fuck-“ Namjoon started, but the words died on his lips as Seokjin came into his line of vision.
“My words exactly, Joonie;” He spat out, putting extra emphasis on the once loving nickname, “What the fuck- who the fuck is this?!”
The man blinked up at him before glancing at -his- boyfriend, no, his ex-boyfriend.
“Jin, baby, if you’ll let me explain-“
“You don’t have to! I’ve seen it with my own eyes! I can’t believe you would-“ He cut himself off with no intention of carrying on this conversation. There was nowhere for it to go, so why waste his breath?
His jaw clenched and he stepped away, hand moving from Namjoon’s shoulder to its original place by his side. He shook his head before his companion could open his mouth.
“Goodbye, Namjoon.”
Seokjin turned and left the bar, his body immediately encased in the rain that the weatherman had warned everyone about earlier.
He was thankful his body had caught a cold from being in the wet and freezing last night. When he woke up, his head felt like it was a time bomb ready to explode and his nose had never been more stopped up. He flipped open his phone and called in sick; at least happy about the few days he could escape work to rebuild his defenses, from both his cold and his breakup.
At around ten his phone started to continuously ring and Seokjin did not even have to guess about who was calling him. He forced his body out of bed and went around the apartment, collecting little odd things here and there that didn’t belong to him, things that Namjoon had left over.
He found an empty shoebox and deposited the now useless items, a watch, a coffee cup, notes, and pictures, everything that had ever meant something that had been shared between them was thrown into the old cardboard.
Seokjin walked to his door as he finally answered his cell phone.
“Your stuff is outside. If you don’t come to get it before tomorrow, I’m throwing it away.” He said simply, not giving Namjoon a chance to speak as he pressed the red button to end the call. He opened his door and ignored the sudden urge to throw it off the balcony, instead setting it gently to the right of his doorway before retreating back inside, making sure to lock the door behind him.
He slept all day, plugs in his ears in order to ignore the constant knocking on his door that he was sure would happen when Namjoon came to get his stuff.
It was seven-thirty when he woke up and eight before he found the strength to get out of bed. He tip-toed over to the door, cracked it open to check if the box was gone; he let out a sigh when he saw that it was indeed not his to worry about anymore.
His stomach rumbled and he made his way to the kitchen and prepared himself a bowl of tomato soup before retreating to the living room, hand grasping onto the remote as he sat down.
He soon finished eating and after that, fell asleep right there on the couch.
A few days later and his body feels alright again, so at eight in the morning he’s on his way to work. His desk has been piled with documents he has to review and he tells his secretary not to disturb him unless it was an emergency.
On his lunch break he wrote out a list of things to get at the store while chomping down on some leftovers from last night’s dinner. Being at home had made depleting his pantry a whole lot easier.
A few hours later and Seokjin was finally able to leave, most of his missed work being completed.
He parked in the lot of a local supermarket and grabbed a cart once he was inside. He skimmed trough aisles and picked up random things, mentally crossing them off his list. He was almost done, standing in front of the pasta section when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
He turned and frowned, meeting eyes with the man that had been with Namjoon the other night.
“What do you want? Come to rub it in?” The words left his mouth before he could stop them, and he didn’t miss the flash of hurt in the other man’s gaze.
“Actually, no, I wasn’t going to and it hurts me that you would think that. I honestly didn’t know that Namjoon already had a boyfriend. Would you go out with someone who already had someone else?” Without giving Seokjin a chance to say anything, he carried on. “Anyway, I’m really glad that I got a chance to see you again, Seokjin-ssi. I wanted to officially apologize for the misunderstanding and I was hoping that maybe you could join me for dinner. My treat.”
He stared at the younger man, displeasure gradually leaving his body.
“Sure, I guess.” Again, he could not halt the phrase from spewing out of his betraying mouth, but the look in the other man’s eyes told him that it was the right thing to say.
“Great, are you free around seven?” At Seokjin’s nod, the man continued. “Alright, there’s a really good restaurant just down the street called the Silver Spoon, don’t be late, okay?”
The shorter Korean made to turn around, but Seokjin grabbed his arm. “You never told me your name-“
The man grinned, wide boxy smile showing off his perfect teeth.. “I’m sorry; I suppose I should’ve said that first. I’m Kim Taehyung.”
“I would say mine, but it seems you already know.” He joked back, and the two parted on lighter terms.
After Seokjin put up all of his groceries, he let his mind wander as he rested on his L-shaped couch. He had been thinking about the encounter in the market and about the incident four days ago.
Taehyung really hadn’t done anything wrong. He was just an innocent bystander that happened to play right into Namjoon’s trap, just as he had.
After coming to this conclusion, Seokjin decided that he didn’t need to think of Taehyung as the enemy. He should be thankful that they were out at that particular bar and he had been able to see what a cheat Namjoon had been.
Which left him to wonder, how long had the younger man been deceiving him? He shook his head and turned on his phone, seeing the many times that Namjoon texted him or left him a message.
He mentally added changing his number to his list of things to do that weekend.
He texted Namjoon, telling him to stop all communication and to leave him alone, before shutting it off once more and tossing it onto the small table in front of the couch. He sprawled out and watched television until around six thirty, taking the weatherman seriously when he warned the city about more rain heading their way.
Seokjin turned off the TV, and changed his clothes to something more natural than what he wore to the office, trading tailored slacks and a button-down for dark fitted jeans, a navy blue tank top, black jacket and matching boots.
He grabbed an umbrella on the way out the door.
Taehyung had already gotten them a table when he arrived ten minutes early, and he was seated right away.
The smaller man smiled and gestured toward the menu, both of them eventually deciding they wanted the same thing. They talked about useless, everyday things, anything to fill the silence around them, until their food and drinks were set on the table.
They ate in relatively comfortable silence, and when they were done, Taehyung decided it alright to bring up Namjoon.
“I left him right after he explained to me who you were. I couldn’t believe that he would do something like that, to you, I mean. He told me you were together and I was so outraged to be played like that, so I can’t even imagine how you must have felt. I’m really sorry.”
They shared eye contact before Seokjin grabbed Taehyung’s hand that was lying on the table.
“It’s okay, you didn’t do anything wrong. He fooled both of us, and it still hurts, but I’ll get over it.”
And just like that, the invisible boundary that separated the two was severed, and they chatted like friends that had not seen each other in years.
When it was about eight, the subject of exchanging numbers was brought up, but Seokjin explained that he would be changing his number soon and he didn’t want Taehyung to have his old one.
“Because of him, right? You don’t have to change the number, Seokjin, just block his. I already did.” At the older man’s puzzled expression, Taehyung laughed and offered to show him how. He reached into his pocket before remembering he left it at home.
“How about you give me your number and I’ll fix it for you the next time we get together?”
Seokjin liked the sound of that.
A few months passed and Seokjin was feeling better than he ever had with Namjoon. Taehyung had fixed his phone and it was becoming easier to forget all about his ex-lover. How could he think about Namjoon when Taehyung filled his thoughts now?
He didn’t think that Taehyung would become such an important aspect of his life, but he just crept in on his own, and gradually took over. Seokjin found himself daydreaming at work, wondering what the younger man was doing, and what they could be doing later, together. They had gone clubbing, somehow the movies that came out now caught his interest, Seokjin had taken Taehyung to his favorite restaurant numerous times and Friday night had become the routine time for karaoke.
The first time Seokjin had heard the other man sing was beyond describable. When he asked why Taehyung had not tried to become a singer, why he did not share his beautiful, raspy voice with the world, the younger man had laughed and replied that he wanted to be normal, he had no desire to be rich and famous.
They had both laughed, then, talked ill about a few celebrities that had been on the news and continued to sing together until their throats were sore.
It was now a Wednesday, in October, and he had plans to meet Taehyung at the café on the corner by his work for lunch.
He told his secretary where he was going and to take all of his phone calls before leaving the building and walking down the street, mind already made up about what he wanted to eat.
Taehyung was already seated, sipping ginseng tea, when Seokjin greeted him and slid into the booth across from him.
“How’s everything at work?” Taehyung asked, smile curved on his lips.
“It’s good, I told you about my boss leaving right? I might get to take his place.” He smiled back and Taehyung voiced his happy opinion before the waiter came and took their orders.
The food arrived and they ate quickly, only having about forty-five minutes for lunch. Seokjin paid the bill, much to the disapproval of his companion, and they excited the small building, the older man walking Taehyung to his car parked not too far away.
He was about to turn away when the younger Korean caught his wrist, making him face him once again. He was surprised, however, as Taehyung leaned forward slightly, giving him an ample amount of time to turn away.
Seokjin didn’t, and Taehyung’s lips met his in a soft kiss, hand sliding up his arm to cup his cheek softly. A few seconds later they parted and Taehyung stepped back after getting no response.
“I’m sorry; it’s too soon, isn’t it-?” He was cut off by Seokjin’s finger on his lips, shushing him.
“Don’t be; I was thinking about it too. It’s okay, if we stay like this.” He tugged Taehyung into his arms, smile gracing his features as he felt the younger man burrow his head into the crook of his neck and whisper his reply.
“That would be great, Seokjin.”
Unknowingly, something deeper than friendship had blossomed in their hearts and Seokjin decided that if he ever saw Namjoon again, he would have to thank him, even if he still hated him.
As hurtful as it had seemed before, he had done them both a favor.
A favor they intended to take full advantage of.