Archive of Our Own

“Our stories are obviously specific to our two lives, but I hope they will illuminate the crucial inflection points in every life, the sudden moments of decision where our paths diverge and our fates are sealed.” - The Other Wes Moore, Wes Moore.

The love story happens in ‘Chapter’, a small bookstore at the side of the city. This is not an ordinary bookstore, because it comes with the facility to read like a library, but cozy like a café, with a pantry at the corner for the customers to brew their own coffee or probably take a slice of pastries provided. The store sells books and drinks on one side, and offers an absolutely free-of-charge zone on the other. A place where comfort lies down like a red carpet, and the public is lured to come in like it is their second home.

The public includes one guy who lived in the neighbourhood. The workers and the regulars there are already so familiar with his presence. His cheerful and friendly demeanor, his sweet and thoughtful acts, and the beautiful, ethereal features on his face as if they were sculpted personally by an angel, are impossible to forget. Similarly today, he enters Chapter and greets people he is familiar with.

He goes to the pantry first. Grabbing a white cup to extract an instant salted caramel latte from the machine as if he is at home while his eyes are eyeing the pastries offered for today. Carrot cake, cream puff, brownies. That third one is a must-have menu, because it is the owner’s signature dish. And it never goes wrong. Minho grabs a piece and happily shoves it in his mouth, impressed at the taste every single time although he has it once every week by now.

He leaves the pantry with a cup of coffee in his left hand. He manages to remind the worker at the counter that he would like to get a full size brownie later before he leaves, just as per usual. He walks past a few book shelves as if he already knows where he is heading to. He knows actually, because he has been aiming to read this one book for so long. He just finished those in his previous checklist, so finally he gets to enjoy the ones he is attracted to a lot after he makes a whole new list.

He stops at the end of a row, but he stays right there as he sees someone standing in the middle of the way, observing two books in his hands with a frown on his face. He stares, wondering if the other is a new customer in Chapter or they never crossed paths all these while because he looks unfamiliar. Slightly taller, his outfits give a skeptical visual of a city boy, if that even makes sense. A brown denim jacket on top of a plain white t-shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. A pair of Timberland boots that matches the shade of his jacket. He is an absolute stranger with a good sense of fashion. The shorter keeps on staring that he doesn’t notice when an employee walks closer to him.

“Excuse me, Minho-ssi” she greets, causing him to flinch as he is caught off guard. The regular customer, Minho, finally looks away from the unfamiliar face to look at the girl by his side as a sign that he gives his attention to her.

“There’s a new brownie flavor on our menu, so our boss asked us to invite you for a taste test. Would you like to try it now?” she asks, very polite and sweet. She is really good at her job. Minho takes his time to respond. He looks back at the other guy as the latter is too focused on eyeing the books to even notice the interaction around him, before he looks at the girl again and nods. He leaves to the bar area, hoping that the stranger will leave the row by the time he is done with the taste test.

Minho comes back to the place after quite some time, just to see the guy in the exact same position, contemplating between the same two books. He cannot help but frown, wondering if he should interfere with whatever is happening to the new guy or should he just grab the book he wants and leave. The book he is looking for has an obvious golden hard cover and its size is bigger than standard books, so it is easy for him to notice that the book is located right in front of the stranger. His left foot takes half a step forward before retreating back in place. It takes him approximately three seconds before he heaves a sigh with his nose and steps forward with his right foot instead. 

“Sorry, may I…” he doesn’t need to finish his words when his voice is enough to make the other guy startle a bit dramatically. Minho’s left hand reaches out towards the shelf, and the stranger instantly realises that he is in his way.

“Oh- oh! I’m sorry” he steps back quickly, a bit clumsy by the way he behaves. Minho whispers a thanks as he grabs the golden-covered novel. He checks the book’s condition for no absolute reason, then he nods to himself as he is now confirmed to read this story starting from today. Just when he is about to leave, his eyes fall on the strangers again and see the familiar sight of him observing the two books in his hands. Minho averts his gaze to see the covers. He has read both of them before. He looks at the stranger again.

“Just in case you didn’t realise, you’ve been staring at the books for 10 minutes now” he says. The taller guy takes ample time to nod and heaves a light sigh through his nose as an answer.

“Well aware, actually” he murmurs.

Minho actually thinks the other guy loses the track of time after staring at the books for so long. Now that he knows how the stranger doesn’t solely zone out towards two random books in the store, he has the urge to continue the conversation. Unconsciously, he takes a step closer.

“Something bothers you about those?” He naturally offers his assistance through the question as if he is a part of the store’s employees. The stranger finally takes his eyes away from the covers to look at the friendly guy. Now that assistance is offered, he might as well utilize the chance.

“No, not at all, actually” he answers first. “It’s just… uhmm… I wanna start reading. And I don’t know where to start”

“Oh?” Minho raises his eyebrows. There is an instant hidden smile on his face after he hears the concern and his gaze shifts into a mischievous intention.

“Oh, is it your first time reading? Are you familiar with the alphabet or should I show you the way to the kids’ area?” He politely uses both of his hands to show the way, and by that time, he already fails to hide his teasing smile. The stranger groans and rolls his eyes, the reaction is enough to make Minho giggle so cheerfully like it is the funniest thing he has heard in a while. The giggle blooms a smile on the other guy’s face but he still spares a glare to play along.

“You’re so funny, I can hear comedians submitting their resignation letters” he responds. Minho giggles a little more at his success in teasing a complete stranger while the latter focuses back on the books.

“Okay, joke aside,” the shorter guy continues after he watches the other person keep on contemplating, and his words are enough to bring him back to the conversation.

“Why reading?” he asks. The stranger looks away as he hums, his gaze loses its focus because his head is constructing a simple way to explain. Then, he just shrugs.

“I don’t really stick to a hobby, really. Tryna find new things to waste my time on, and my mother suggested that I read” a long story short. He still doesn’t learn his lesson by opening a space to get teased by the other. As expected, Minho snickers at the statement before he replies.

“Are you sure she’s not being sarcastic?”

“If that is a sarcasm, it would be the most brilliant one” the stranger matches the freak almost instantly, making Minho laugh again just like the first time. He wishes to continue the conversation, but as he sees the other goes back to observing the books, he just smiles to himself and takes a step back.

“Well, good luck in finding a good book. Since you said you don’t really stick to a hobby, I guess I won’t be seeing you much afterwards, so farewell strangers” Minho retreats, a step by another without turning away from the taller one. The latter rolls his eyes for the nth time and shakes his head, contradicting the smile on his lips.

“What an encouragement, thank you” he replies solemnly, followed by a light chuckle from the other.

“Now don’t disturb me” he adds without looking away from the novels, but somehow he can see the mischievous look of the other guy from the corner of his eyes.

“I won’t”

“I mean it”

“I’m literally walking away!”

The small banter remains shortly before Minho finally leaves the aisle with the golden-covered book in his hand. The huge smiles on their faces remain a little secret they keep to themselves.

}{

It is a routine for Minho to visit Chapter every Monday. That is probably why the regulars and the workers there are all so familiar with him, and he is well aware when there is a new face visiting the shop for the first time. A week later, when he comes to the store around 9:00 in the morning, he does not expect to see the same stranger in the same row, the exact place where they met for the first time. All he wants is to put the book back to its place but the stranger catches his attention again. If it’s not because of the changes of outfits, Minho would have thought the new guy had been standing there the whole week. He is even holding the same two books. It is funny how the situation feels like deja vu, but he really finds it cute too.

“Don’t tell me you still couldn’t make a decision” he approaches and speaks up almost so suddenly that it startles the stranger comically again. The latter snaps his head to see the other giggles, and he heaves a breath of relief when he finds the familiar face.

“Sweet heaven- What even happened to hello?” he nags, adding more giggles from the shorter one. 

“I figured it’s funnier to greet you this way” he answers cheerfully as his tease works again. It is a default reaction for the stranger to roll his eyes to the mischievous demeanor.

“You’re insufferable”

“Seriously, what takes you so long to choose a book?” Minho leads them back to the original topics once he ensures that the stranger is still holding the same two books just as last week. The latter shrugs, having the urge to explain himself.

“I just want to have a good first impression! Who knows if that makes me stick with this hobby longer than the other” the last part almost sounds like a mumble as he stares back at the two novel covers, contemplating for the nth time. It sounds like an unconscious cry for help, Minho notices, since there is a hint of vulnerability at the end of his explanation. It is something he will never understand because obviously he is not in the stranger's shoes, and he feels like it is absolutely a piece of cake to make a decision on which book to read, but doesn’t make him invalidate the other guy’s struggle. 

“You want to settle down with reading as your leisure activity?” Minho double confirms before he makes any decision.

“I want to settle down with a hobby,” the stranger emphasizes. “I don’t know why I find my life so boring”

One's life isn’t supposed to be boring even if they don’t have a hobby. Things always happen around them to make one day special from another. At least that is how Minho sees the world. He looks away for a bit, gaze loses its focus and the brows furrow. He looks back at the other, but his face expresses uncertainty.

“Let’s… make it fun, then” he suggests, and only then does he grin so excitedly because his dilemma has come to an end. The stranger stares at him with a little shift on his gaze and a smile on his face. Perhaps, a look of fascination. Or maybe it comes with a drop of disbelief too.

“You really lived your life whimsically, didn't you?” he expresses his thought, and Minho is quick enough to counter the idea.

“You really shouldn’t ask such a question for a person who lived his life boringly” he wears confidence on his sleeve when he replies, causing the other to chuckle to his defeat.

“Touché. What do you propose?” he surrenders. Minho can never feel giddier than the current. His heart can jump off his ribcage. 

“Well, we’ll choose a book for each other, and in the beginning of the week, we’ll meet again here and give our two cents about it. Or if we’re busy, we can exchange phone numbers and write our reviews” he explains with eagerness. His eyes sparkle with dopamine. He waits for a response, but the longer he stares at the stranger, the more obvious how he is staring at him so amusingly, like his presence is such a fascinating being.

“What?” he blushes, trying to shrug off the eyes that the stranger gives him. Despite having two books in his hands, the latter crosses his arms as their eyes keep locking onto each other. At last, he once again expresses his thoughts, only for Minho to make a disapproving grimace.

“You’re really bad at flirting. Is that how you try to win someone’s heart?” 

“Ew, stranger, barf! Is that how you view someone else’s kindness? By assuming they are being flirty?” Minho gets defensive almost instantly which causes a huge mischievous laugh from the taller guy. It’s ridiculous how they manage to get on each other’s nerves so easily although this is their second encounter.

“I’m just joking, I’m sorry” the stranger wipes the tears at the corner of his eyes that come up from laughing too much, then he finally agrees.

“Alright, so what do I do?”

Their journey in sharing a hobby starts there. Minho explains how each row of bookshelves represent different genres, and sets up a few basic rules, such as ‘there is no such thing as a boring book’ and ‘we have to read the book entirely regardless if we yawn for a hundred times between each chapter’. They split up to choose a book for one another, and unlike the new guy who simply goes by his guts, Minho spends quite some time making a decision. He contemplates between those he has read before and those he never thought to read, and he ends up choosing the latter for a surprise element.

“Text me only if you can’t make it here by Monday, and I’ll do the same” Minho reminds the stranger, as he returns his phone after saving his number in the contact list. 

“Alright…” the other guy agrees, as he steals at glance to his phone screen “Minho”

Minho does the same, checking the new contact in his list just to finally know the stranger’s name. At last, he looks back with a smile on his face.

“See you next Monday, Seungmin”

}{

" ‘But the happiest people are the ones who understand that good things occur when one allows them to.’ And that was that. That was all it took to turn my life on its head.” - Yes Man, Danny Wallace.

Days pass by like a swift wind in the summer. Seungmin finds himself reading more diligently than he expected, in which he ends up opening the pages on his way to work and before going to sleep. It started out embarrassing at first, to flip the page in public when everyone else scrolls through their gadgets. He is even self-conscious when he realises how he has been smiling or gasping in real life when he reads an unexpected scene. But eventually, he learns how to shut the world out, and puts himself in the fictional world of the story he has been reading. From page 2 to page 104, he never imagined himself reading a whole novel within a week.

That is the fascinating thing about reading. Once one inserts his focus and attention to the alternate universe, the surrounding feels like it stops. Perhaps, just a background that means nothing compares to the written universe. Just a floating space while the fiction is living its life. Minho has been living in this amusing side of the mind for so long now, ever since he came across Chapter. So, compared to the new guy, he has no problem ignoring anyone whenever he is in a public space because his imagination brings him to another world.

It sounds beautiful because it is beautiful. But little did they know that they come across each other’s path way more frequently than they think. Seungmin walks into the train when Minho leaves it. When the sidewalk is full with people walking towards their destination, Seungmin and Minho don't even see one another. It’s quite dangerous for a person to read when they walk because it might lead them to their doom if they trip over a broken tile or they fall into a manhole, but somehow these two lucky beings manage to avoid all misfortune as their minds live in the book’s fictional universe. It's luck that saves them from any danger but it’s quite the opposite when they don’t even see each other like they are so close yet so far.

“Thank you, come again!” The owner of a café shouts enthusiastically towards Seungmin after he ordered a dozen cups of ice Americano for him to pick up at 4:00 in the evening. The customer didn’t even bother to look around, too busy with the book in his hand and only looked up at the owner at the counter when he stated his order. He left with his eyes locked on the pages again, while the café owner continued kneading a dough for his bread. The latter looks around as his hands move expertly, then his eyes fall on the empty container by the coffee machine.

“Oh, blast!” he gasps, attracting the attention of the guy that sits near the bar area. The guy lifts his head up from the book he is reading, observing the owner with concern.

“Chris? What’s wrong?” Minho asks, not to be nosy but rather to be helpful. 

“I just remember I’m out of ground beans” the owner states, worrying about the order Seungmin just made a while ago. Minho heard none of it, unfortunately, because he was too focused on his book to actually know that a dozen iced coffee needs to be done in a few hours.

“Do you need it urgently?” and so he asks. Chris is about to reply a bit sarcastically but realizing how the other might be too distracted with the story to listen to his customer, he just ignores the irritation he gets from the question.

“Kind of? I mean I can start grinding them after putting this in the oven but I don’t know if I can finish the order before 4” he answers. Minho puts his favorite cat-shaped bookmark on the last page he reads before shutting it close and putting it in his brown corduroy sling bag.

“I can help you do one while you do the other” he offers while doing so. His idea makes the owner stop kneading just to show a stop sign using his flour-covered palm.

“Please, Minho. Right now you are my customer before my best friend” he rejects respectfully, trying his best in asserting the situation but to no avail.

“Cut that nonsense, I’m going in” his best friend insists solemnly, giving no space for Chris to give any more excuse as he grabs an extra apron from the staff belonging shelf. “Now which one do you think I can do better? The bread or the beans?”

It’s useless to argue. Chris watches as Minho expertly ties the protection fabric’s straps behind his back while he waits for the owner’s answer. At last, the latter heaves a sigh, giving up although he does feel a bit uncomfortable in requesting a favor.

“You can grind the beans,” he mutters. His best friend smiles in victory as he walks to the grinder to start his assistance. The café owner looks at his dough again. He checks if the loaf pan has been covered with butter. Then, he steals a glance at Minho. He looks back at his dough, kneading once or twice, and discomfort is obvious on his face. Then, he looks at Minho again. He finally heaves a sigh after keeping looking at his best friend back and forth for the third time.

“This is so against my personal ethics” he mumbles to himself, but the bar area is so narrow that Minho can easily hear him despite the loud sound of the coffee bean grinder.

“Chris” Minho calls. Both of them stop moving at the same time to look at each other.

“It’s okay to ask for help” he adds as a reassurance. It hits Chris a bit deeper than he expected but what does he even know. He just looks back at the bean sack to continue his task while he keeps the conversation going.

“I’ll break the country’s law just to help you so keep that personal ethical to yourself because I won’t buy it”

Chris finally feels at ease, a fond smile appears on his face as his dimples introduce themselves to the world before he focuses back on the dough with steadier attention this time.

“That’s really sweet. Is that how you flirt with someone?” the owner teases, only to get a groan from his best friend that startles him at once.

“Seriously? What is up with everyone misinterpreting my kindness as a flirt attempt?” Minho whines with a hint of frustration. But being a good friend he is, Chris doesn’t even bother about the frustration because the context attracts him better.

“This is not the first time, huh?” He states the obvious. When he puts the dough inside the pan, he waits for a response that never comes. He steals a glance at his best friend, wondering if he even heard the question before he comes up with another one.

“Who is it?”

Minho rolls his eyes, refuses to look at his best friend and just focuses on the grounded bean instead.

“Your bread won’t get into the oven anytime soon if you keep talking, Chris”

Thud!

He gets distracted by the familiar sound, and he turns to his side just to see Chris standing in front of the oven. As expected, the sound comes from the oven’s door being slammed close. The owner raises his eyebrows with a smug look on his face, crossing his arms with pride that now he has the upper hand in the conversation.

“Who is it?” he repeats. Minho shakes his head, admitting his defeat when he finally answers the question.

“A new guy in Chapter. He wants to start reading as a hobby and since I love reading, why not give him some encouragement?” he shrugs. The best friend chuckles at how Minho sounds so innocent when he justifies his action, and he walks closer to help anything he can while adding his two cents into the conversation.

“You need to stop giving people mixed signals,” he advises. By that time, Minho has already added the last scoop of beans from the sack into the grinder, so he lifts up the empty bag to leave.

“Chris, I’m not responsible for someone’s lack of common sense. They can implement my kindness as a medium to boost their self-confidence and I could care less” Minho answers with confidence, and he taps the other guy’s shoulder twice before leaving to the store room for more beans. The café owner chuckles again and shakes his head at the response, as he knows really well that he can never win against his best friend. This is not the first time he loses an argument, anyway.

}{

“You read quite fast for a beginner”

“Good gracious-” Seungmin flinches in surprise, and it never fails to make Minho laugh. The taller guy watches as the shorter guy takes a seat in front of him. “You’re never the one for hellos”

“Not to you. Making you startle is my new form of entertainment” Minho announces, and he giggles again when he sees Seungmin roll his eyes.

“Whimsy” he mutters under his breath, hiding the smile that can contradict his annoyance reaction. 

It is finally another Monday, and they get to meet each other again to start their reviews. The store has fewer customers today compared to last week, probably because the school has finally started so the family with kids would rather stay at home than visit a random library-café in the countryside. Chapter offers eclairs, strawberry macarons and the brand new hazelnut dark chocolate brownies today. Minho has some on his plate where he puts in the middle of the table between him and the new guy, just in case the latter would like to have one.

“So, how is it? What is it about?” Minho starts the discussion. For no reason, Seungmin begins to examine the cover of the book in his hand, the one Minho chose for him last week.

“Hmmm… I have no expectations for an action novel, but I did grow attached to it halfway through the plot. I just hope the author makes the police team characters more realistic. The author only focuses on the main character’s awesomeness that the police look like they forgot their jobscope” he gives a genuine answer. Minho scoffs as a response as if he understands that frustration very well.

“Not surprisingly, that happens a lot. Sometimes writers want to show how good the heroes are, they make other characters look dumb” he agrees. Seungmin nods, either because he agrees with the statement or he understands the explanation or perhaps both.

“That’s unfortunate” he comments, most likely to himself by the way he mumbles. He drops the book down to the table as he looks at Minho. 

“What about yours?”

Minho smiles widely, his eyes almost turn into crescents before he lifts up the book next to his face so the cover is on Seungmin’s eye level. Seungmin remembers choosing that one. It has a dark blue, velvety hard cover with golden fonts that spell the title — ‘Beyond The Afterlake’.

“You chose a fantasy novel for me, by the way” Minho introduces and Seungmin nods.

“Figured. The title is kind of giving it away, actually”

“It’s amazing. You should read it. The author actually describes all those fantasy details clearly. Look at this”

As if the excitement takes over his body, Minho wastes no time getting off his seat to take one next to the taller guy. They naturally lean closer to each other as Minho flips through the pages to show all the illustrations drawn between the chapters.

“I made a little research about this book, and it turns out that she even made a collaboration with an artist to draw the realm’s sceneries and the map”

“Oh, wow, that’s actually insane” Seungmin comments. He only sees a few illustrations before his gaze changes from the book to the other guy’s side profile. His eyes stop there while Minho is too enthusiastic to notice.

“Exactly, and check this out, at the end of the book” Minho closes the book and opens it from the back.

“She actually writes a dictionary for all the terms she used in the story. The term’s origin, its meaning, and even a short history of how some of these words were applied in the old times' conversations” the nerd in him is exposed by how excited he sounds. He looks at Seungmin to see if he is looking at the book and the latter has never looked away faster. His eyes fall on the pages almost simultaneously as Minho’s eyes fall on him.

“Impressive. So, judging a book by its cover is good advice after all” he concludes. Minho smiles when Seungmin continues the conversation because that means he is listening, so he happily shuts the book close. 

“I call it beginner's luck. Maybe I was too anxious in trying to give you a first class reading experience, I ended up choosing a bad one” he replies. Both of them look at the action novel, and Seungmin lifts it up just to observe the cover again for no absolute reason.

“I wouldn’t call it a bad one. I still used up my sleeping time to read it” he denies. When he averts his gaze to see Minho, he can see how the latter watches him fascinatingly.

“You’re really good at reassuring people, Lee Seungmin,” Minho confesses.

Seungmin’s stare shifts softer. A hidden smile blooms but even though he tries to hold it in, the corners of his lips curve upwards ever so slightly. He raises his left eyebrow, an interrogative behavior.

“Lee Seungmin?” he repeats. Minho has to blink out his confusion.

“It suits you. Is it not?”

Seungmin cannot hide his smile anymore. He just shakes his head and rests it on his hand on the table as he replies, softer.

“Try again. Find it yourself”

“Park Seungmin?”

He shakes his head again.

“Kwon?”

“Nope”

“Jang”

“Not even close”

“Park?”

“You already said that,” he chuckles. Minho stares at him longer, squinting his eyes slightly as if it makes him more focused than before, trying to read the other person’s mind before he hesitates.

“...Kim?”

If the previous smile is a smile of amusement, this time Seungmin flashes a smile of pride. He finally nods, and the frown on Minho’s face disappears.

“Kim Seungmin?” he repeats, just to be sure. “Kim Seungmin. Hm. I like that name. It feels good when I say it”

The new guy chuckles suddenly, bringing Minho back to reality as he was too busy trying to get his mouth used to saying his name. Minho watches him with confusion, and he waits for Seungmin to explain the laugh. Seungmin raises his head, and leans to the backrest while he crosses his arms.

“You really need to step up your flirting game,” he comments. Minho’s big boba eyes turn into a side eye at a comical timing, totally unamused with the remark.

“You know what? I like it better when I call you a stranger” Minho states before leaving the table to go to the bookshelves. Seungmin chuckles again, then he stands up to follow suit.

}{

Love stories are easy to understand, easier to feel, because it happens anywhere. Although this book called ‘Sugar & Rose’ has the love story Minho had never experienced before, he still ended up blushing and giggling at the adorable scenes. There was a flip in his tummy when the two characters kissed for the first time. He didn’t pay attention to the fact that he was grinning like a fool in public, reading a pink, floral-covered novel among random people.

A heartbreak trope hits too close to home, regardless if one has ever experienced their heart broken or not. The story Seungmin had been reading called ‘I Once Called You Twice’ made him stop his steps halfway on his way to work, and he had to step aside from the sidewalk just to focus on finishing a chapter. He almost shed a tear as he read the fourth quarter of the book, but luckily he was at home at that time, on his bed, or else he made other people worried if he cried in public.

There was a bench located by the big window in Chapter. Seungmin and Minho reviewed their readings over there this time. The taller guy had a cup of takeaway vanilla latte in his hand while the shorter one was holding the white cup filled with the instant salted caramel latte. When Minho shared the scenes he found cute in the novel, Seungmin smiled just as wide as him, and when Seungmin talked about the saddest part in the novel he read, Minho even gasped and cupped his mouth in disbelief. Although they planned to just give a simple review, they ended up talking about the book even when they were choosing the next one for each other. 

Minho is not a fan of biographies. So, when Seungmin chose ‘A Snippet Of Kang Bodam; The Hairstylist’ for him that week, he already heaved a sigh of defeat through his nose. Although the idol in the book is surely very inspiring and his story is something you can actually relate to in real life, Minho could not help but feel a little bored. Probably the writing is not entertaining enough, or the genre is simply not his cup of tea.

Horror and thriller are out of Seungmin’s interest. Although he is not so familiar with writing pieces, he knows he will either get totally terrified or absolutely emotionless. Regardless which one he feels, he is pretty sure that he won’t enjoy the book that much. Minho’s pick for him that week, ‘The Ceiling’, made him feel like the second one. He struggled to imagine the suspense and the eerie feelings. It is easier in the form of a film, because the quiet music and the loud sound effect during the jumpscare will be totally helpful to build the tension. But to have the same fear for a piece written in white paper, one needs to have a clear vision of imagination. Unfortunately, that is not Seungmin’s expertise.

The next time they came to Chapter, they already joked around by blaming each other for the bad option they got for one another the moment they met in front of the store. It was not even that bad because they still ended up spending their free time reading them, but the hyperbole in the conversation definitely made things more entertaining. Seungmin held the door open for Minho while ranting about how the horror book was quite disappointing because the author didn’t even bother to describe what the ghost looked like. Minho offered a plate of pastries to Seungmin after they took a seat and he was complaining about how the first ten chapters of the biography was nothing but the daily life of a hairstylist. They ranted and blamed each other every second they got, the bickering made their minds think quick enough to come up with sarcastic remarks as a counterattack, and the other person would always end up laughing at the creativity.

Their routine continued like breathing. They promised not to purposefully choose a boring book for each other because after all, they wanted to make their hobby fun. Minho ended up choosing one of the novels from a crime fiction series for Seungmin. The latter had so much fun reading them, he ended up borrowing the whole series of it during their next meet. Sure, he would prioritize the book Minho chose for him, but he also hoped he would get extra time to read the crime fiction’s continuation.

On the other hand, he picked a science fiction novel for Minho. The book is double the size of an average novel and at first, Minho was a bit worried if he could finish it within a week. Plus, it was a translation from an English piece, so there might be a lot of unfamiliar terms. But Minho finished it on Thursday. The futuristic background story brought him to a whole new experience. He never thought he would be a huge fan of sci-fi but here he is. He talked a lot during their next meet when Seungmin was checking out the entire series of the detective story, he made sure he didn’t miss any tiny detail because he was so mindblown that he wanted Seungmin to feel it too.

Day by day, the time they spend on Monday mornings feels shorter and shorter. They always have to separate before 3 o’clock because of Seungmin’s night shift. The first two weeks, they bid farewell at the spot they sat. The third week onwards, they stopped talking only after Minho sent Seungmin out of the store and they are like three feet away from each other. They even walked as slow as possible so they could talk longer. Even so, their conversation is still about the books and the scenes they found memorable from the plots. 

}{

From : Seungmin-ssi

Can’t meet this week. Need to visit my mom.

Minho got the text on Friday. So, when Monday arrives, he decides to stay at home and do something else. He always came to Chapter every Monday. Who knows what he is thinking when he decides not to go just because he cannot meet Seungmin that day. He spends his time at his rental house, trying new recipes he found on the Internet. He focuses on preparing the ingredients with the right amount when he receives a video call from the new guy. He raises an eyebrow, then he answers the call. He makes his phone stand by leaning it to the metal bowl on his kitchen counter, showing the view of him in his apron and a little part of the counter where unsalted butter and unopened packet of sugar can be seen.

“So, you suddenly forget my existence” Seungmin greets, sounding a little bit irritated. Minho frowns when he steals a glance at the screen. He cannot see Seungmin’s background that much because the latter is holding his phone closer to his face, but it looks like he is walking to who-knows-where.

“I don’t know we are doing this?” Minho hints at his confusion. Seungmin stops moving just to see the screen clearly, and he furrows his eyebrows, just as confused.

“Minho, we did it for weeks. We promise to give the review of our books every Monday”

“First of all, we didn’t promise anything. This is not a commitment. Secondly, I thought you were at your parents’ house” the one in the kitchen explains himself, and he finds himself arranging the ingredients for no reason.

“I am” Seungmin answers shortly.

“Then, why are you calling me?”

“Because I am the person who sticks to the plan. Plus, isn’t that why we exchange our phone numbers? To keep this prom- routine going?” He almost slips up but he fixes himself quickly while continuing walking, causing the view to shake slightly.

“You sure your mom is fine with it?” Minho steals a glance at the call, and when he notices the shaky sight, he focuses back on the preparation.

“She’s not even home. She went to the supermarket since the early morning” Seungmin can be seen lying on something, probably a bed and he shoots himself from above. It will surely hurt if he drops his phone to his face from that height. When Minho gets a space to tease, a smile appears on his lips right away.

“Why are you even at home if you don’t go to the market with your mom? You are supposed to bring the groceries for her” he nags the common sense out of the other guy, and even stops his preparation to properly look at his phone so he won’t miss Seungmin’s reaction. The latter’s face changes into a slight discomfort. He looks away for a bit, wondering if he should answer it honestly or just shrugs it off.

“...She… has her boyfriend to help her with that” he sounds slightly quieter. Minho has never lost his smile faster. He feels a bit guilty for bringing it up but he can’t find himself apologizing.

“Oh” he responds basically, looking away. Seungmin watches as he looks back at him, then looks away again, hesitating. The awkward silence coming from Minho because of him holding himself together makes Seungmin grins like a fool.

“Not only are you whimsy, you are nosy too, Minho,” he comments. The latter widens his eyes, gets panicked right away.

“I didn’t say anything!” He gets defensive. He even puts his hands in the air like he gets arrested by the authorities. Seungmin chuckles softly at the view.

“It’s written all over your face” he states the obvious, but the comment makes Minho put his hands down and roll his eyes.

“And suddenly our Mr Boring is a shaman now?” 

“Body language analyst sounds better, actually” Seungmin rolls over, leaning his phone to his pillow so he doesn’t have to hold it anymore and he supports his upper body with his elbows. A teasy smile blooms on his face again when he sees Minho’s eyes averting their gaze away from the screen and to the screen for a few times. The latter seems to hesitate so obviously, but in the end, his curiosity wins.

“...are you okay with him?” he murmurs his question as a small part of him feels guilty for continuing the conversation. Seungmin’s stare softens and instead of making fun of Minho’s hesitation, he just nods lightly.

“Yeah. As long as my mom is happy, I won’t mind” he answers. But there is something shifted in his eyes, Minho notices. The talker guy looks away for a bit, unconsciously loses his smile the longer they stay quiet.

“But…?” Minho’s voice brings Seungmin back to the video call and he blinks innocently.

“But?” he repeats. Minho is not buying it at all. He knows Seungmin has some more to say.

“Something’s bothering you” he states his point of view. Seungmin looks surprised by the statement, but it is too quick to notice because after that his gaze turns into something more mischievous as he finds a space to tease. 

“Oh, wow, Mr Whimsy is a shaman too, apparently” he reuses the joke. Minho finally gives up with the recipe, and he takes his phone to bring it closer to his face as he takes a seat at his dining table. 

“One doesn’t need to be a shaman to see that eyes lose their sparks, Seungmin. It’s like your invisible puppy ears go droopy and it’s hypothetically obvious” the answer is a bit solemn for a joke. Minho stares, doesn’t say anything and just wait for Seungmin to be ready to answer if he wants to. The other looks away, sighing through his nose.

“I just…” he stops, thinking of a way to make it sound simpler because in his head, it is way more complicated.

“I believe in true love. When she finds someone new after my dad passed away…. it doesn’t sit right with me” he confesses, quieter than how he usually speaks. Minho frowns at the excuse.

“It’s not a sin to fall in love. I think you know that” he reminds, doesn’t have the intention to make it sound like an argument but words already came out of his mouth. Seungmin snaps his gaze back to the screen when he hears that, annoyance is visible on his reaction.

“Yes. I know. And we can’t choose who we fall for. But we can control ourselves from being dishonest or disloyal” he refutes. By the time this argument starts, it seems like they unconsciously shift their gazes from a fond stare to a glare. Minho finds the rebuttal ridiculous.

“Moving on is not disloyalty” he counters with a statement. Seungmin scoffs, as if he has something harsh to say but he stops himself. He looks away, his mouth twitches as it urge to enunciate his original argument. He shakes his head lightly, either as a non-verbal order for himself to stop arguing or it is a body language of disbelief.

“Wha-… Why even bother falling in love if you don’t stay with that person eternally?” instead of an attempt to guilt-trip a different opinion than his, he sounds confused. There is a hint of anger too but it seems like he keeps it inside really well. Minho doesn’t even notice all the little changes because his mind is too occupied with the urge to prove his point.

“Life goes on, Kim Seungmin. I’m pretty sure your dad doesn’t want your mom to stay in their memories forever too when she has a life to keep going” probably he goes too far by mentioning the parents. He has his point right there, but perhaps it is too much. Seungmin glares at him. His jaw clenches slightly more obvious than before. His body seems more tense, too.

“...Tell me this, Minho,” as much as he has his body heats up, his intonation is casual. There is a subtle annoyance in his intonation, he cannot hide no matter how hard he tries. “If we are meant to be together and you leave this world before me, would you want me to stop loving you and love someone else?”

Seungmin cannot see through the video call, but Minho’s hand, the one that doesn’t hold the phone, involuntarily clenches into a fist. His pupils tremble slightly but it doesn’t stop him from glare back at the other. His confidence falters for a second right there, which makes him answer the question with a softer voice, a weaker one.

“...If we are meant to be and I die before you, I want you to be happy and live your life to the fullest. Even if that takes you loving someone else other than me”

And they realise that it has become too personal. A bit too personal. The glares simultaneously disappear and discomfort arises every second they let the awkward silence overrule the ambience. They never talked about something too close to their hearts before. This is probably the very first time they talk about something outside of a book. And somehow it doesn’t turn out great for the first time. Mixed feelings linger in their head, they can’t find themselves looking at each other’s face.

“My… I think my mom is home. I’ll talk to you later” Seungmin retreats first, and unlike the voice he had when they argued, his voice sounds softer now. He presses the ‘end call’ button, bringing Minho back to his homescreen. The silence is more deafening now.

He drops his phone on the dining table and sighs loudly. He brings his palms over his face, covering it as he throws his head back, facing the ceiling. He heaves a heavy sigh again when he puts his hands down. His eyes look anywhere but they are unfocused because his head is too busy replaying whatever happened in their conversation just now.

Suddenly the urge to do anything drops to zero, so he lazily drags himself away from the kitchen area. His hand manages to grab the phone as he leaves. His heavy steps lead him to the stairs and halfway to the second floor, suddenly his phone vibrates to a notification. He stops right there, and he can feel his heart stop when he notices Seungmin’s name pops up in his inbox. He hesitates between opening the chat right away or letting himself calm down first because he doesn’t know the content of the text. At last, he braces himself, and clicks on his phone.

From : Seungmin-ssi

Review book #6

Title : Yangnyeom Chicken’s Second Bite

It hits a bit too close to home hahaha. It’s about the main character struggling to achieve her dream career because of her life status as a daughter of a small Yangnyeom Chicken shop’s owner. It’s really realistic, like reading the life of a close friend. It heals a spot in me somehow and I get to see the actual world in someone else’s pov. I love this one so much. A solid 9 out of 10.

The concern and the negativity fly like the breeze in winter. So swiftly and so light. Minho smiles weakly as the words constructed in the bubble text lifts the heavy weight from his shoulders. He begins typing as he walks upstairs.

To : Seungmin-ssi

Review Book (6)

Title : A Tide That Comes Later Than The Other

: It’s a love story. A tragic one actually. I actually cried on pages 88 until 102 and I even remember the numbers because of how frequent I get back to it after I finished reading it. It’s about a girl who has a phobia with the sea because her girlfriend passed away when they were celebrating their anniversary on a yacht. Her girlfriend was killed, btw, by the ship’s captain. But instead of focusing on that or the revenge, it’s about how the main character struggles to create a life without her significant others. Solid 9 too. I might as well choose a book by its cover from now on. You always chose a good one for me.

Once he presses ‘send’, he throws his phone on his bed and he is about to go to the bathroom, but another vibration makes him turn around so fast. He doesn’t expect a reply. He starts to question if it is actually a notification coming from Seungmin before he goes back to his bed. He sits at the corner, and reaches the smartphone without a second thought. It is a reply from Seungmin after all.

From : Seungmin-ssi

Beginner’s luck still going strong haha

Minho

I’m sorry about just now

I have this tendency to stand on my belief and argue the opposite

It doesn't mean your opinion is wrong

The smile on Minho’s face blooms sweeter this time, and he replies right away.

To : Seungmin-ssi

Nah, I should apologize instead

It’s your mother and it’s your privacy, I shouldn’t be that much of a busybody. 

And I understand your perspective too. I really do.

From : Seungmin-ssi

Reading helps you develop that skill huh?

I should double down too

My small minded head would appreciate that

He chuckles. Who knows since when he lies down on his tummy on the bed, and he rolls over while replying and waiting for a new text.

To : Seungmin-ssi

I’m not saying I agree with that

But if you insist, reading is undeniably a good start

From : Seungmin-ssi

Acknowledgement is not a downgrade. I don’t mind.

Anyway, Minho

Now that we can’t see each other this week, how do we choose the next to read?

To : Seungmin-ssi

Kim Seungmin

You know you can choose your own book to read, right?

I told you this isn’t a promise. We don’t have to stick to it like a commitment

From : Seungmin-ssi

Is it a crime if I say I still want you to choose one for me?

Minho is hugging a pillow at the moment, and when he reads the latest chat, he gasps. Eyes widen in disbelief and he sits right up instantly. He has no idea why the request makes him panic when he has been doing it several times already. His fingers linger around the keyboard for a bit, he bites his lower lips and his brows furrow closer to the middle.

To : Seungmin-ssi

???

Do you mean it?

He taps the phone to his chin a few times as he waits for a response. His eyes are roaming around while his mind is running wild about this whole situation. The soft vibration makes him flinch this time and he never clicked on a chat faster before.

From : Seungmin-ssi

Every single utterance

I have to say, you make the hobby more entertaining than it’s supposed to

“Shoot,” he whispers, throwing the pillow in his embrace. He stares at the text for quite some time, his cheeks hurt from grinning and he takes his time to reply. He blows his sigh softly as an attempt to calm himself from whatever giddy feelings he has at the moment.

To : Seungmin-ssi

Reading is more than just sharing opinions about the writings. 

And reading IS already entertaining

My companion is just the cherry on top

From : Seungmin-ssi

You never know the feeling of having a cherry on your banana split, don’t you?

Minho chuckles.

To : Seungmin-ssi

Not a fan of cherry

From : Seungmin-ssi

Well, let me tell you

It is IMMACULATE

So help me choose a book

To : Seungmin-ssi

I can see your problem now

You have attachment issue

From : Seungmin-ssi

I call it loyalty, thank you

And maybe a little tad of nerd for sticking to a routine way too diligently

To : Seungmin-ssi

Acknowledgement is not a downgrade, you said.

From : Seungmin-ssi

I am acknowledging it. I just define it in different terms

Giggling all by oneself might sound insane. Luckily Minho is alone in his rented house, or people might call an ambulance to take him again by the way he giggles over a text message.

To : Seungmin-ssi

Insufferable 

Fine

I’ll go to Chapter today, pick a book and leave it at the counter

You can pick it up when you come back later

Sounds good?

From : Seungmin-ssi

Perfect

Thanks, Minho

Wait

What about yours?

To : Seungmin-ssi

I can pick one myself

From : Seungmin-ssi

Have I ever mentioned that I don’t like you?

Minho laughs. The lack of emojis on the text makes it funnier.

To : Seungmin-ssi

What?🤣

I have my own reading list too! Let me use this chance to cross it out!

From : Seungmin-ssi

…Why does that sound like my presence is interrupting your routine?

To : Seungmin-ssi

Assumption is self-gaslighting, Kim Seungmin

I will never have enough book to read

Your presence is the cherry on top in my hobby too

From : Seungmin-ssi

You hate cherry

Is that a way of saying you hate me?

He rolls his eyes before he replies.

To : Seungmin-ssi

Kim Seungmin

From : Seungmin-ssi

Assumption is self-gaslighting. Sorry.

To : Seungmin-ssi

I like cherry tomatoes, though.

Maybe you’re the cherry tomato in my salad

From : Seungmin-ssi

Cherry tomato

I like that

I’ll take it

}{

Minho secures this whole week to read the book he has been borrowing for a few months. Yes, it is the golden hard cover novel that he took in front of Seungmin on the first time they met. He is more than happy to spend his days with it, since not only does he already know how good the book is, but he also has been waiting for this day to come.

Other than Chapter, his favorite place to read is obviously his best friend’s café, and somehow the wooden interior and the fresh smell of brewed espresso matches the aesthetic of the plot so much, he ends up reading the novel from the moment the café is opened until at night as Chris locks the front door.

That is on his day off, right after he texted Seungmin on his bed. But the rest of the week, he just reads on his way to work, at work since his jobscope is task-based so there are times where his schedule is less than the other, after work as he heads back home, and even before he goes to sleep. He can’t help it. It is not easy to pull oneself out of the fictional universe, especially when the plot is too intriguing to stop at a random chapter.

Usually he will just lock his eyes to the pages, but one day as he walks to work, he comes across a bakery. Something red catches the corner of his eyes, making his steps halt and he reverses, to see the fake pastries on the display area in front of the glass wall. He looks specifically at a tray of muffin with swirling whipped cream and a cherry on top. The cherry. It’s funny how a sight of a cherry can make him struggle to contain his smile. Only then he continues his journey with his heart blooms a garden of sunflowers.

}{

“Somewhere you made a choice. All followed to this.” - No Country For Old Men, Cormac McCarthy.

“You’ve done reading?”

“Sweet heaven- Minho!”

Monday comes faster than they think. It’s another day of them meeting each other in Chapter, and the excitement feels weirder this time. A good weird, because this will be the first time they meet after almost two weeks. Minho loves the idea of having his own laughter bell the first thing in the morning by startling Seungmin. It will never get old. He will enjoy every single time he does that. Seungmin glares at him sulkily as he takes a seat in front of him, and as per usual, he puts the plate of pastries in the middle of the table. 

“When did you pick it up?” He starts a conversation casually as if he didn’t make Seungmin’s skeleton jump off his skin a minute ago. The latter shakes his head but decides to let it slide.

“Wednesday” he answers, grabbing a piece of mini sausage roll from the plate. Minho raises his eyebrows in surprise when he hears the response.

“And you’ve finished reading it?” he reconfirms, looking so shocked as if it is impossible to do. Seungmin stops his action of feeding himself halfway because he looks at the other in confusion.

“Didn’t you pick a thinner book on purpose?” he interrogates, squinting his eyes. The question makes the surprised look on Minho’s face disappear instantly and he leans to the backrest as he nods.

“I did. I just want to give you encouragement” he teases, showing off his mischievous bunny smile. The other guy rolls his eyes as he shoves the sausage roll in his mouth in one bite. There is a moment of silence between them when Minho goes through his bag while Seungmin is too busy chewing the roll.

“Guess what I read this week,” Minho excitedly requests. He has his left hand in the corduroy bag, waiting for Seungmin’s reaction first.

“What?” the latter asks with full mouth, doesn’t even bother to take a guess. Minho is too excited to request again, so he takes out a book in his bag and slams it on the table. And another one. And another one. And another one. Seungmin chokes the food in his mouth.

“All of them?!” he shrieks right after he manages to swallow everything. Minho giggles cheerfully when he nods. He knows really well the new guy will get so surprised and he loves the reaction so much. Seungmin grabs one to observe while adding a comment to his reaction.

“Did you just look through the pictures?” he asks solemnly. Minho giggles harder at the question, doesn’t even bother to deny because both of them know that it is not true. Minho lets Seungmin examine the covers first before he leans forward.

“All of these are amazing. But I’m excited to tell you about… this one” he grabs the first one that he took out. Seungmin raises his eyebrows but says nothing, while Minho passes the book to him as he explains his reason.

“The main character’s name is Seungmin”

They have a limited time together. So, in order to let Minho talk about the book in detail, Seungmin quickly gives the review of the one he read. Luckily, the book has a simpler plot with fewer chapters, so Seungmin ends his two cents faster than usual. Then, they quickly choose a book for each other to read for the rest of the week, they don’t even look around and just pick what they see first because Minho is getting more excited as time passes by. 

About ten minutes later and the remainder of their time spent together in Chapter, Minho just talks about the story. There is no moment where Seungmin loses his focus, even when he grabs the brownie on the plate or when he observes the cover of the said book. Minho talks nonstop about how the same name makes him imagine Seungmin as the main character of the book, and some funny scenes make them laugh together. Minho is a good story-teller. Sometimes he laughs so much that he hits the table and jumps off his seat, but Seungmin enjoys every second of it regardless.

Time flies faster when good things happen. Minho is too busy talking when the alarm in Seungmin’s phone rings, giving the sign to end the conversation or else he might be late to work. Seungmin groans as he turns off the alarm, while Minho just smiles fondly at the sight. It’s fluttering how Minho is the one who gets excited, but Seungmin is the one who doesn’t want this moment to end.

“Go” Minho commands, swaying his hand to shoo Seungmin away. The latter makes a ‘tch’ sound as he gets up, and he hangs the strap of his bag on his left shoulder.

“You can send a voice message to continue” he suggests, but it leans toward requesting it by the way he says it. Minho shakes his head, instantly declines the idea.

“It’s okay. I just got giddy for no reason, it’s not that important” he answers calmly. He is about to take the empty plate to refill a little more pastry for himself but then he notices that Seungmin doesn’t move. He looks at him, utterly confused to see the other guy glares at him sulkily.

“What?”

“Really? You want to leave me hanging just before the climax?” Seungmin rants. The pout on his lips make his mouth look like a triangle. Minho laughs lightly, but proceeds to arrange the other books in one place so it is easier for him to lift them up later and place them back on the shelf.

“You can read it if you want to know more,” he suggests, just to get an eye roll from the other guy.

“Minho, you can’t do a surgery on a patient and ask them to sew their skin back together”

“Well, I’m no surgeon, so you can keep your metaphor back in your ‘feeling offended’ file and read the story” Minho counters the argument, and he slides the book on the table towards Seungmin. “Come on, now. We are doing this to help you stick to a hobby, aren’t we?”

Seungmin dramatically heaves a sigh, surrendering because he doesn’t have much time left to argue longer. He grabs the book lazily and shoves it in his bag before leaving the seat.

“Fine, you win”

“Work well, Seungmin~”

“I don’t like you!”

}{

Time remains the same every week. Choosing a book to read for one another has become a habit they refuse to let go. There were times where their options were bad, and there were times where they thanked each other for changing the trajectory of their lives by choosing an amazing piece of writing. But there is no time where they get tired of doing this, although it is a routine that has been going over and over again.

There is something poetic about looking forward to the future together. There is something romantic about waiting to see each other again. There is something beautiful about sharing the piece of their readings in a small bookstore by the countryside. They get excited when the book is bad because they know they will laugh at one another’s misery. They get excited when the book is amazing because they want to talk about it all day long. It is the excitement that lingers and never fades that makes everything about their encounters so worth looking forward to. 

Autumn passes by, and now it’s winter. They meet each other from a pair of thin clothes because of the heat of early fall to the thickest coat they can find in their closet because of the freezing winter breeze. From a cup of instant 3-in-1 salted caramel latte, now Minho falls in love with the taste of freshly brewed espresso inside a takeaway cup of hazelnut latte after Seungmin bought for him once. From searching for a book, row by row, now Seungmin remembers all the shelves' distribution at the back of his head. 

Chris’s café gets a heavier foot-traffic in winter since people are seeking for warm pastries and drinks to start the day. So, every Monday, after Seungmin leaves to start his shift, Minho will go to the café, put on an apron like he was hired by his own best friend. Chris used to decline the assistance, but now he just lets Minho do whatever he wants.

There will be less crowd after lunch, and only then Minho will take a seat at his favorite spot to read the book Seungmin chose for him. Chris cannot help but notice how glowing Minho has been for these past months. It looks like Minho’s world gets so much better these days, and there is nothing a man wants more than seeing his best friend being happy.

There will be a time where Seungmin wonders if he can manage to finish the book before next Monday. Having a permanent night shift, sometimes his sleeping schedule goes all over the place and there are times where he spends his days at his mother’s house, handling family matters and house’s cleaning duty. But somehow he still manages to read until the end, every single book. As if the world gives him an extra hour for him to spend on his hobby. He never falls asleep when he is reading because of tiredness or lack of rest. He enjoys every second of his reading time.

His mother notices it too. He used to do so much just to settle for a hobby but nothing works, but now whenever she sees him sit on the swing at the front yard, reading page by page as if he is in his own world, she feels so glad and relieved. Her son looks so happy with his life these days, and she wouldn’t ask for more.

}{

“I know that somehow, every step I took since the moment I could walk was a step towards finding you.” - Message in a Bottle, Nicholas Sparks.

Minho walks into Chapter, quickly puts his finger on his lips as he looks at the employees. They hold themselves from greeting him and chuckles fondly at how excited Minho looks at the moment. He only has one goal. The same one he thrives to achieve every Monday morning. As expected, Seungmin is sitting at his usual spot, facing away from the entrance. Minho walks slowly, and as he gets closer to startle the other guy,

“Good morning, Minho” Seungmin greets without looking away from the book he is currently reading. The mischievous one startles, then he groans as his plan fails. Last week was almost the same. He managed to ‘boo!’ the taller guy but the latter didn’t startle anymore. And today, he manages to greet him first before Minho gets to surprise him.

“I miss it when you were naive” Minho mutters in annoyance. On the table, there is already a plate of pastry because Seungmin insisted on taking it for them since a few weeks ago because he always arrives first. The no-longer-new guy chuckles softly as he puts his bookmark on the last page he reads.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Then, I shall pretend to be surprised to make you feel better the next time we meet.” He sounds so gentle but it sounds so sarcastic. Minho squints his eyes at the other guy, judging quietly.

“I thought we'd talked about this” he hints, but he receives a shrug.

“I didn’t assume. I propose” Seungmin corrects the situation. The shorter one leans to the backrest of his seat, crossing his arms.

“And I reject that, respectfully. I’ll just find another way to surprise you” he says with confidence. Seungmin watches the smug look on his face, and somehow his eyes still look as fond as usual. He decides to say nothing further, and focuses on their main agenda.

“Should we talk about our books now?” he suggests while he takes out three books out of his bag. “Because I have a few to talk about”

Minho gasps, immediately drops his arms and stops leaning to look at the novels better.

“You read three?!” he shrieks. Seungmin nods with a proud look on his face, while Minho solemnly offers his hand to him for a handshake.

“Hello, nice to meet you, but can I talk to Kim Seungmin?”

Seungmin laughs and slaps the hand away from his view. Minho laughs just right after that, and he manages to tease a bit more before they both calm down.

“I’m so happy for you. Really. That’s amazing. When did you even find time to read? I thought you can’t do it during your shift?” Minho speaks sweeter this time, totally stops the playful banter to genuinely praise the progress. Seungmin nods as a response, leaning to the backrest.

“You’re right, I can’t. But I can do it at any other time of the day. And to be honest, I think I’m addicted to it too. My screentime reduces a massive amount and now I can even find myself reading while having my lunch” he explains. The intonation shows how he is actually just as impressed as Minho. The latter feels his cheeks hurt from smiling so wide but it doesn’t make him stop any time now.

“You’re officially a professional reader. I’ll take a bit of the credit for being a part of the journey” he nods to himself. Proud is an understatement. Seungmin chuckles fondly at the comment.

“Minho, please. I owe you all the credit. Seriously, I never stick to a hobby this long” he confesses. Minho raises his left eyebrow, and doesn't buy it even one bit. Seungmin gets a bit offended by the reaction.

“I doubt that,” Minho adds.

“I mean it!” Seungmin scoffs. “I tried drawing but I don’t have the hands for it and I never get satisfied with the outcome. I tried baking, crafting, coding, gardening, nothing really worked for more than two months”

That attracts Minho’s attention. He rolls his eyes toward the ceiling as if he can imagine a calculator above his head, and he gasps when he finally gets the answer.

“We’ve done this for five months now” he states in disbelief.

“Almost six” Seungmin nods. The shorter guy stuns in his place, looking at the taller one as if he can’t believe he managed to help him settle down for a hobby. He feels conceited but humbleness shuts it down quickly. He instantly puts his unamused expression on as he rests his chin on the palm of his hand lazily.

“You’ll enjoy other hobbies if you have a companion too” he argues solemnly. Seungmin copies his reaction up to his position, now they are having a staring contest with their faces getting closer to each other.

“You’re my Mr Whimsy. I won’t replace that nickname with Mr Humble so spare that behavior for someone else and take the credit” he demands. Minho tries to contain his smile but he fails, and he knows for sure that blush appears pink on his cheeks although he makes an attempt to stay nonchalant. 

“You’re good at giving compliments,” he surrenders. 

“I’m not giving compliments. I’m stating facts” Seungmin argues and sticks out his tongue playfully as a celebration of his victory. Minho squints his eyes, tries to be intimidating.

“Take the credit too, Kim Seungmin. I don’t want to be the only one blushing here”

Seungmin giggles. He is the one that stops leaning closer to the other guy first when he sits properly. When Minho thinks he will acknowledge the praise and blush just like he does, Seungmin points at him politely with full palm open, a body language to give the stage to Minho.

“How’s the book I picked for you?” He changes the topic. Minho clicks his tongue, annoyed, but he accepts his defeat once again by starting their main conversation.

They have a pattern on what book to choose for each other by now. So, for the past few weeks, the reading time has been amazing. Including today as they talk about what they read, they pinpoint every single detail that left them impressed. Sometimes when the plot gets too similar with the previous book they have read, they create their own lores and multiverse just to make the conversation more entertaining.

“To be honest, I think Professor Caleb from ‘Criminal Steps’ would love Hwiyeong from this ‘Loophole: A Killer’s Space To Escape’ because her attention on the tiny details are so well-written” Minho starts a theory right after he puts down his cup of hot lemon americano that Seungmin bought for him. Seungmin hums in approval, almost sounds like a cow while he points his finger to the shorter guy, like he tries to say ‘exactly’ but his mouth is full of brownie.

“Actually” Seungmin swallows first to speak properly. “I think the authors are somehow related. I don’t know, but the share the same last name-”

His words get interrupted by the sound of his alarm, but along with it, there is an unfamiliar sound. He watches as Minho turns off his alarm simultaneously with him. Seungmin stares in disbelief. Minho tries to act all normal but once he sees the other guy looks at him with such an expression, he gives his polite teethy smile.

“Don’t tell me you did what I think you did” Seungmin raises his left eyebrow. Minho shrugs innocently, like it is not a big deal to do so.

“Last week, you didn’t notice your phone was shut off and you almost missed your shift. I can’t let that happen the second time” he explains while watching Seungmin get off from his seat to leave. Seungmin rolls his eyes as a joke.

“Savior. Life changer. You rewrote my fate” he claps his hands together like he worships Minho, all done sarcastically. The latter acts like he is about to throw a book to Seungmin’s face which makes the taller one chuckle.

“I can no longer hide the repugnance that I feel at the existence of yours. So, get out of here before I actually smack this book on your head” Minho threatens, sounds scary but the fond smile on his lips softens the whole situation. Seungmin laughs at the words before finally walking away. Only a few steps, then he stops. He hesitates if he should turn around or not, but at last, he sticks to his original plan.

“Minho” he calls softly, facing the other guy again. Minho just stands up with the empty plate on his hand, but he says nothing as he waits for Seungmin to keep going. Seungmin holds his bag strap tightly, pursing his lips into a straight line.

“I’ll be taking my day off next Monday” finally he states the context of the conversation. Minho blinks twice, totally confused on what to do with that information but then he connects the dots. Usually, Seungmin will take his day off if he needs to go back to his hometown.

“Oh, you’ll be at your mother’s?” Minho reconfirms. Seungmin looks away. His fingers are fidgeting the bag straps. His mouth feels dry.

“I’ll be here.” He still holds himself together to say what he has been trying to say. There is no turning back. This shouldn’t be that hard. So, he adds an invitation shortly after that.

“Do you want to… spend the whole day here? Probably read the first few chapters of the next books or just talk? Anything?”

Minho’s heart is thumping like a basketball hitting the court. Loud and fast. He knows blush tints on his cheeks by the way he feels his face hot. He is not shy by the invitation, he just gets so excited. He never thought this day would come. At last he nods slowly, trying not to act so enthusiastic over the idea but his huge smile proves otherwise.

“Yeah sure. That sounds amazing” he agrees cheerfully. Seungmin smiles just as bright as him. They have a matching blush colour on their faces as they bid farewell and the night shift guy leaves the bookstore with light steps and a lighter heart.

}{

Minho is too occupied with the book in his hands that he doesn’t notice it when his best friend takes a seat next to him on the couch of their rented house. Chris heaves a sigh of relief, already feels so much better after coming back from checking the stock take in the store of his café. 

“Finally, I get to rest” he sounds so glad, it actually pulls Minho back to reality after stuck in the fictional universe. The latter spares a glance at the other one as he tries to start a conversation.

“How’s the stock go-” Minho makes a double take. First, he just tried to look at his best friend, but now his eyes fall on his attire instead. Chris is wearing a brown denim jacket. The piece causing a huge grin on Minho’s face, and Chris is so confused on why Minho is eyeing his body.

“What is it?” He asks, a little nervous for no reason. Minho looks happy with what he is seeing but then he just shakes his head lightly.

“Nothing. The jacket looks amazing on you” he praises before focusing back on his book. Chris furrows his brows and curves his lips into a snicker, watching his best friend so amusedly before he turns around to face the latter.

“Is there anything good happened?” he tries to guess. Minho looks back at him with a frown on his face, a judgy expression but it is nowhere near convincing.

“No. The book makes me feel happy so I might as well spreading it to someone that doesn’t read” he comes up with an excuse so seamlessly. 

“Ha. Ha. Extremely funny” Chris replies halfheartedly while rolling his eyes to the back of his head. Minho giggles at the reaction and without taking his eyes away from the page, he mumbles to himself.

“Yup. You can even hear the comedians submitting their resignation letters” he says as a blush takes over his cheeks.

}{

“Mom, I’m really really glad you plant cherry tomatoes at the backyard. I mean, this is spectacular!” Seungmin worships the little cherry on his hand, eyeing it with heart eyes like it is the best creation to ever exist in this planet. His mother chuckles. She is actually confused with his behavior but it also entertaining to see him acting that way.

“I didn't know you are so much of a fan for cherry tomatoes” she admits. Seungmin doesn’t even bother to look at his mother, because he is still staring at the little red fruit with a smile on his face.

“Me either” he mumbles softly, mostly to himself, before finally feeding himself the tomato after eyeing it for a while. The explosion inside his mouth when he takes a bite makes him dance lightly out of happiness, focusing on his novel again. They are at the dining table, where the mother is sorting out all the vegetables and fruits that they picked at the backyard just now before Seungmin decided to take a bowl of cherry tomatoes all for himself.

“Is your addiction to that comes from the whimsy boy?” His mother guesses while removing the outside leaves of her little cabbage. Seungmin looks at her, his eyes are sparkling with hearts and stars but he shakes his head.

“No. I just love cherry tomatoes. It’s perfect like a cherry on top of a banana split, but make it a salad instead” he explains. While it makes absolute sense in his head, it sounds completely ridiculous for his mother. The old lady just laughs at the nonsense and shakes her head while her son going back to his reading.

}{

It’s pretty cold outside since it is the middle of winter but the weather is not that bad. Minho walks fast so he can enjoy the warmth in Chapter, but then his steps stop when he sees the familiar tall figure, standing in front of the entrance. Mischievous idea appears again, the one that never leaves whenever Monday morning arrives and Seungmin arrives first before he does. So, he approaches as slow as possible.

“It’s closed” Seungmin states, flinching the shorter guy even before he can make a surprise. Minho groans as his plan fails.

“How do you even-” he almost walks towards the door to get inside but only then, Seungmin’s words get inside his head. He looks at the entrance in surprise, and from the glass section at the middle top of the door, he can see the store’s lights are off.

“It’s closed?” he repeats, because he cannot believe it. He tries to pull the door handle but to no avail. “But Chapter never closed before”

“That’s because I didn’t apply for my day off on Monday, apparently” Seungmin’s answer makes Minho look at him right away, and as expected, even from his side profile, it is obvious that he is upset. 

“Out of any day…” he mumbles to himself. He is a man that plans and sticks to the routine. So, it must be frustrating that his plan to stay in Chapter this whole day has to change to another idea now. Minho’s eyes avert away when he suddenly finds a way to solve the situation, then he quickly takes out his phone from his sling bag.

“Felix didn’t tell me anything about this” Minho ensures his voice is a bit lighter to lift the mood and the other guy looks at him right away. Felix. That sounds familiar, Seungmin thinks.

“You know the owner?” he asks when he finally remembers that he has read that name on the certificates behind the store counter before. Minho scrolls through his contact list and nods.

“Yeah, he's been here a few times before, and we talked. I think I still have his phone number”

Seungmin watches as Minho calls a contact number and puts the phone on speaker for both of them to hear. The waiting time takes about 6 rings because the call connects.

“Hi, Minho. How can I help you?” Felix greets sweetly, like they have been close friends for so long when the truth is that they only talked to each other several times.

“Felix, I’m sorry. I know you’re busy. But I’m in front of Chapter right now and it’s close. Is there something wrong?” Minho asks, checking the door one last time just to be sure that he doesn’t imagine things.

“Minho, are you being serious?” Felix bewildered. Minho and Seungmin instantly look at each other after they heard that because why would they not be serious? Seungmin even tries to pull the door handle again but as expected, it’s locked.

“I… am?” Minho hesitates, starting to wonder if the workers told him anything last week but he recalls none. Felix giggles at the other side of the line.

“Wow, you love reading, yet you don’t even bother to read the poster we attached next to the entrance?” 

Two of them immediately snap their heads to look at any poster located nearby. Their eyes fall on an A3-sized laminated poster, and they quickly scan the information.

‘Book Fest Charity Day

Venue : Ganghwa Seaside Resort (Open space)’

“...oh”

Seungmin and Minho simultaneously feel so embarrassed for making this situation such a big deal. They freeze at their places for a few seconds, but when they finally look at each other, bright giggles burst through their mouths. From a little shy giggle to finally laughing with their whole body after reality hits them right in their heads. Blush takes over their faces from the embarrassment and from laughing too hard, and they even cover their faces when Felix starts to tease them through the phone.

When they finally get to calm down and end the call, Seungmin spends a little more time reading the poster while Minho keeps his phone inside his bag.

“Should we go?” Minho suggests, eyes sparkle with excitement. Seungmin looks at him and his gaze falls on the glittering bobas. The eagerness on Minho's expression makes him chuckle softly as he finally nods.

The event is just 10 minutes away so they spend their time walking there while talking about the recent books they read. Minho even walks backward so he can face Seungmin and Seungmin will be the one who holds his shoulder and moves him away if he almost hits anything on the sidewalk.

The location is now filled with small booths that offer drinks, dessert, handmade souvenirs and crafts, and there is an area with picnic mats on the ground here and there, a place for the customers to take a rest or eat. Nearby the seating area, there are a few small shelves full of books for anyone to borrow. First thing first once they arrive, they get fascinated by bubble performance at the entrance where hundreds of bubbles float in the air, attracting more people to come over.

They visit stall by stall, making sure not to miss anything because everything looks interesting. They spend a little longer on the souvenir stall where they try to put on different handmade bracelets and see if they look good on them. At last, they just get a keychain that they choose for each other, and they help one another attach the metal ring to the zip on their bag. Minho chooses a crochet Pochacco wearing a green cat suit for Seungmin, while Seungmin chooses a crochet Snoopy hugging a huge pudding with a cherry on top.

“We’ll take two vanilla muffins, one with the cherry and one without the cherry. Thank you”

Speaking of cherries, that is literally what Seungmin ordered for both of them after they agreed to get a little snack. Minho looks at him with a huge smile on his face but he doesn’t notice the stare. Then, Minho looks away, a pale pink blush appears hot on his ears. He blames the season. It’s winter. His ears are always red.

Then, they walk to the shelves of books, continuing their routine again after enjoying the whole event. They have limited options compared to any other days, so it takes a shorter time for them to pick one for each other. They find an empty picnic mat where they can sit, but Minho lies down instead, stretching like a cat. 

“Wow~ this feels so nice” he heaves a relieved sigh, and has his eyes closed as if he wants to fall asleep. 

About five seconds later, he opens his eyes again, checking on Seungmin and his stare falls on his side profile. Seungmin has already opened his new book to read, and he is too focused to notice the heart-eyed stare from Minho. Minho’s blinks are slower than usual, who knows what the science behind it is. His heart beats steadily, or perhaps a bit faster but in the most comfortable way because it releases the right amount of warmth, especially to his face. A small smile blooms at the corner of his mouth the longer he looks at him. It’s like the sight for sore eyes.

Seungmin is already gone inside the fictional alternate universe that he pays no mind to whatever happens around him. The only thing that brings him back to reality is when he feels a soft pressure on his back. Minho is leaning his back on his. And it’s warm. Seungmin freezes for a second. His heart skips a beat, he hopes it doesn’t pound too loud that Minho can feel it through their touch. He turns his head around but the limit makes him unable to see Minho. Is Minho sleeping? Is he comfortable leaning on his back? Finally he smiles softly with blush tints on his cheeks, and he continues reading. He wishes his back is comfortable enough for Minho to lean for as long as he wants.

The world feels quiet except the calming sound of birds chirping and the leaves brushing against each other when the wind blows. Seungmin and Minho are in their own world, appreciating the beautiful writings in the novels that they read. They never think that leaning against each other can feel this comfortable. They stay right there even when there is a family and a couple next to them start to leave the area.

Unfortunately, Seungmin can no longer focus on the book after five minutes. He reads a paragraph, but his head is thinking about something else so he looks away. When he tries to shrug it off, he reads the same paragraph again. But nothing goes inside his mind because he is too occupied with other thoughts. He sighs softly, then decides to mark the last page he reads and shuts the book close.

“It shouldn’t be like this,” he says suddenly, startling Minho. The latter stops leaning on his back to twist his body and face him. 

“What is?” Minho asks, clueless. When he sees Seungmin turn around, he follows suit and now they are sitting with crossed legs, facing each other.

“Give me your book” Seungmin demands. Minho questions none. He just put his bookmark before passing it to Seungmin. The taller guy puts their books at the side before he finally cares to explain.

“I don’t really get my day off on Monday. We shouldn’t spend our time like this.” It sounds like a rant, too. Minho chuckles softly, almost unable to believe the explanation.

“Just in case you forgot, you were the one who suggested we read a few chapters” he says as he crosses his arms. Seungmin imitates him instantly.

“In my defense, I didn’t know we were going to a fest” he argues and sticks out his tongue playfully. Minho chuckles again while shaking his head, and he puts his hands down.

“Then, what do you want to do? Playing catch ball?” he teases. Seungmin unfolds his arms as well, and naturally, he finds himself holding both of Minho’s hands.

“I actually have the equipment at home for that.” Seungmin leads the conversation smoothly and Minho rolls his eyes.

“Of course, you do. Let me guess. You tried to do it as a hobby and it failed?”

“Good guess. But no. In fact, that was my hobby when I was in middle school”

“So, you did have a hobby growing up. And here I thought ‘boring’ is your middle name since you were a baby.” Minho teases again, while unconsciously twiddling with Seungmin’s rings. “What happened?”

What actually happened might ruin the good time they are having right now. Seungmin doesn’t want to make the situation awkward or upsetting if he talks about how he has a permanent effect from an injury that happened when he got into an accident. The same accident that cost his father’s life, too. It will be too heavy to talk about, and this current time is too beautiful to ruin. Who knows when they will get a chance to spend time at a fest in winter like this again.

“Grew out of it.” So he answers simply. Maybe someday in the future, they will have a deep talk and he can talk about it then. “Getting lazier to step outside for physical activities”

Minho stares at him for a few seconds, then he smiles gladly.

“That’s good,” he murmurs. Seungmin has to raise his eyebrows at the comment.

“Good? So, you prefer me to be Mr Boring?”

“Accusation is relationship-suicide. I said it’s good because we are here now” Minho defends himself right away, holding Seungmin’s hands a little tighter as he continues.

“I’ll never get to meet you if you never stopped playing catch ball”

The words are warmth and comforting. There is a hint of reassurance too. They end up staring at each other for a while, shy smiles appear on their faces before Seungmin breaks eye contact and nods.

“It’s a good thing after all. I’m sorry” 

“You should.” They sound more casual now, less romantic, and they let go of each other’s hands. Minho crosses his arms again, probably that is his go-to position whenever he wants to feel bigger than Seungmin so that it is easier to tease him.

“But now I know my Mr Boring is not actually boring. Just lack of creativity to come up with a new hobby,” he comments. Seungmin chuckles softly.

“Am I Mr Lacking now?”

“Hmm…no. I like the initial better”

“Mr L? I kinda like that too” Seungmin solemnly cracks a joke that makes Minho burst out laughing and he laughs right after that.

“Oh, now you are Mr Kim Simpleton because that is absolutely silly!” Minho pushes his shoulder lightly like he is asking Seungmin to go away with his silly joke.

“If that’s the case, then-” Seungmin almost makes another joke but he stops abruptly, staring at Minho with his brows furrowed slightly together.

“...huh.” He tilts his head. It sounds like he is fascinated and confused at the same time. Minho has stopped laughing, and he looks at Seungmin in confusion.

“What?” he asks, unfolding his arms in the meantime. Seungmin tries to remember correctly first before he answers.

“I’ve known you longer than what it takes to ferment a mellow miso, yet I still have no idea what your last name is,” he confesses. All the probabilities in Minho’s head that appear after seeing Seungmin’s stare instantly disappear once he hears the actual situation.

“Oh, it’s Lee,” he admits without a thought. He watches Seungmin’s expression change from confused to mischievous, and he can already half-guess what is going on in his head. 

“Don’t you dare mention the actor” Minho glares playfully. It is a tease that has been going on between him and his family and friends ever since a famous actor shares the same name as him. Most likely, Seungmin is about to tease him the same way but to his surprise, Seungmin shakes his head.

“You called me Lee Seungmin when we just knew each other. You said it suits me,” he states with an obvious sign of mischievousness in his intonation. Minho panics, he can feel his face blush in reddish warmth so he quickly defends himself.

“Are you a foreigner? Marriage doesn’t work that way here, silly. If anything, the only reason you have my last name is because you are my brother. Would you like that?” he nags right away, and his last question makes Seungmin gasp in horror.

“Oh, I despise that idea so much. Please don’t think something so horrific like that ever again”

“That’s what I thought”

When Minho thinks he won the bicker, suddenly realization hits both of them at the same time. They are looking away from each other and they freeze in place. The more the situation replays in their heads, the faster their faces get covered with blush. And the longer they stay silent, the more panic they get, so Seungmin quickly tries to do damage control.

“I— I just LOVE being an only child.” He exaggerates his excuse but luckily Minho is on the same page as him so Minho nods eagerly to agree.

“Exactly! That’s what I actually thought. Siblings sucks” 

“Precisely. Brothers? Eww barf! I will never want that”

“Ever!”

“Yeah”

They can’t find themselves looking at each other again. Embarrassment becomes too much to handle. They feel hot all over, and they have the urge to run away. Probably has a mental breakdown behind each other’s back. Minho tries to find a way to change the topic, so he quickly comes up with an idea.

“D… Do you want a muffin?” he looks at Seungmin, hopefully the other guy understands his intention when he asks that question. Seungmin blinks, mind too dumb to connect the dots.

“Again?” he mumbles. Minho quickly looks away. His idea doesn’t work.

“Nope, nevermind.” He cancels. Eyes roaming around to find another way to escape and he literally gasps when he sees Felix at the nearby stall.

“Oh, Felix is here. I should greet him”

He quickly gets up, slides in his shoes and leaves as fast as possible. Seungmin watches him leave, and he follows his trail until he sees Minho cheerfully talk to the bookstore owner. 

The conversation makes Minho feel so much better so he is no longer blushing over whatever happened just now. So, when Seungmin appears on his side and introduces himself to Felix, Minho looks at him right away. He doesn’t blush anymore either. Gladly, they get to put the embarrassing situation in the past. It doesn’t make them feel awkward as another topic comes up and they just focus on the present, even after they separated from the owner.

}{

“Perhaps we were meant to meet.” - Gravity’s Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon.

They get bolder as time goes by. Although their conversations are still mainly about the books and the hobby, they start to text each other more frequently than before. There was one time where Minho coincidentally chose a book for Seungmin where the main character’s name is Minho. So, anything funny that the character Minho did in the book, Seungmin would take a photo and send it to Minho as a material to tease and make fun of. 

There was one of those weeks where Minho offered to buy them coffee, and he actually bought it from Chris. But later they found out that Seungmin has always been buying his drinks there. Since Chris’s café only uses plain takeaway cups, Minho never knew the coffees they had before all come from his best friend’s place. Only then they knew how frequently they crossed paths with each other but they were never bothered to look around. That day, they ended up talking about books for about an hour before they talked about the café until their alarms rang.

“This might sound offensive,-”

“I don’t like how you start the conversation, Kim Seungmin”

“-but I’ve been wondering about this for so long”

Both of them are separated by a book shelf, since Seungmin is looking for a book in the crime fiction row while Minho is observing the spines of classical fiction novels in the row next to it. Minho heaves a loud sigh, just to make sure Seungmin hears it. He doesn’t even know how that dramatic action makes Seungmin smile so widely.

“Go ahead” Minho surrenders, as he grabs one burgundy hard cover book from the shelf.

“Do you have a job?” Seungmin asks while he puts a book back to its place.

“Of course. I’m an ornamental horticulturist” Minho answers expertly, comparing two novels in the meantime.

“You can just admit you’re unemployed instead of creating things up” Seungmin teases followed by a chuckle. 

“Now that’s offensive.” Lies. Minho guilt-trips for fun but then he adds.

“I do topiaries with bushes and sometimes flowers for decorations and small gifts. Not those in the garden, though. And our shop closed on Monday, since usually it’s less of a foot-traffic on the start of the week” 

“And you spend your day off in Chapter?” Seungmin appears in the same row as Minho with a novel in his hand. The one he has already decided for Minho to read.

“Well, my family lived too far for me to go every Monday-”

“-With me,” Seungmin interrupts, stating the obvious, just in case Minho still doesn’t notice the situation at this point. Minho stops moving for a moment, blushing runs through his ears. He looks at Seungmin but gets too embarrassed to do so, so he looks away again.

“Now that you put it that way…” he mumbles and clears his throat shortly after to get himself together.

“What about you? Do you work every night?” he skips a part of the conversation, while he takes a little step back to see the highest row on the shelf.

“Mostly. Unless there’s an event going on where they drink performative spiced daiquiri all day long, which I don’t recommend.” Seungmin explains about his job as a mixologist with a little joke that makes Minho chuckles. “My day off changes every week”

“I see” Minho responds half-heartedly, because he is trying to reach a book in the highest row on the shelf but even tip-toeing doesn’t help. Seungmin watches the situation first before he decides to lend help.

“I got you”

Minho screams when Seungmin suddenly lifts him up by hugging his hips and pushes upwards, and he immediately bursts into laughter because he doesn’t expect Seungmin to help him that way. Seungmin asks him to hurry before they both collapse, it is an obvious joke because he has a very stable pose so Minho laughs harder. Then, he purposely takes his time, contemplating on which book to take and he speaks his wonder out loud so Seungmin knows that he intentionally makes things longer than it is supposed to.

Seungmin pinches his thigh lightly to make him hurry but although it is light, the pressure is enough to make Minho yelp in panic and quickly apologize. They are giggling over Minho’s yelping sound as he finally chooses a book and Seungmin puts him down. Minho turns around so that they can laugh together, but little did they notice, they are so close to each other. Closer than they have even been before.

There is a bookshelf behind Minho so his space is limited. The laughters fade away as they make eye contact, their breaths are still a little heavy from laughing too much a minute ago. Chapter is supposed to be noisy, but now all they can hear is their own breaths, overlapping with one another. 

Seungmin’s gaze flickers between Minho’s eyes and lips, Minho notices it so clearly because he also does the same. Like a magnet attracts a metal, the space between them is getting smaller and smaller. There is hesitation. There is worry. Their eyes are scanning for every little sign of discomfort from each other but they are on the same page. Minho swallows the lump in his throat when he starts to feel the presence of Seungmin’s face so close to his. 

Their alarms ring out loud.

They flinch aggressively and create a huge space between each other at once. Heads are blank. Hearts are pumping like crazy. Faces are red. Seungmin clears his throat to break the awkward silence, then he hands over the book in his hand to Minho. Minho has to blink a few times to get himself together and process the whole situation. Only then he understands the act and quickly exchanges books with Seungmin. They can’t even look at each other’s face.

“Uhm… Bye” Seungmin mumbles, hesitants.

“Bye” Minho whispers. From the corner of his eyes, he sees Seungmin quickly leave the row, leaving him alone right there. He doesn’t know when he holds his breath, but finally he gets to exhale shakily, expressing his nervousness through it. His left hand reaches his chest with a hope that his heart doesn’t stop beating because he feels like he almost died. He sighs again when he remembers the whole situation.

}{

That was crazy. 

Whenever Minho thinks about what happened in Chapter a few days ago, he smiles to himself. Even when he is trimming a bonsai at the workshop in his workplace, he blushes like a fool in love. Perhaps he is. It’s not like he cares, anyway.

“I’m striking oil!” His manager, Hyunjin, walks into the workshop with dancing steps like he is celebrating a fortune. Minho smiles at the view before focusing on the plant again.

“Big order?” he guesses, but apparently it’s not the only reason Hyunjin is enjoying the jackpot.

“And~ he is an extremely breathtaking being too” the manager adds while his hand actively takes out a few catalogues from the shelf. “Unfortunately, he’s ordering for wedding purposes”

“Ah~ You’re striking a hit or miss, apparently” Minho teases, and he looks forward to look at Hyunjin’s reaction. The latter gives a sassy side-eye as he hugs the catalogues to his chest. Minho chuckles at the reaction.

“Enough praying upon my misfortune and help me bring that box out, will you? The deliveryman will arrive in about 15 minutes.” Hyunjin commands, pointing out at the delivery box right next to the station Minho uses to trim the decoration plant. Minho wipes his hands on the apron real quick, and grabs the box to leave the area together with Hyunjin.

“By all means~” he obeys, walking behind the manager so the latter can hold the door for him as he steps out of the workshop.

Minho puts down the box near the collecting corner and before he walks back to the backside of the store, he decides to steal a glance to the customer at the waiting area, to see how breathtaking he could be until his manager does a celebration dance. He gasps, freezing at his spot when he sees the very very familiar figure on the sofa. The customer also notices him, so he gets off the seat right away with a smile on his face.

“Seungmin?” Minho cannot believe his eyes. Seungmin chuckles softly, feeling so giddy to see Minho at his workplace. 

“I know you would be here” he murmurs, almost as if he is talking to himself. Then, he looks at Hyunjin who is really confused with the situation.

“Can I speak to Minho for a moment, if you don’t mind?” Seungmin requests. Hyunjin looks at the customer and his workmate one after another, and his mind connects the dots right away. He gasps softly, but by then Minho already spares a glare at him, a threat to not make a fuss about it.

“Certainly!” Hyunjin agrees with a fake laugh that hides his true intention, then he walks to the workshop area to give a space for the two. He manages to wink teasingly at Minho, and Minho just clenches his jaw to hold himself from attacking his manager. Once Hyunjin disappears to the other side of the door, Minho clears his throat as a signal to make himself calm again.

“So. Is this why you asked about my job previously? So you can hunt me down to my career lane?” Minho walks closer to the customer, crossing his arms. Seungmin knows that defense mechanism at this point. The habit of crossing arms when he teases so he can physically look bigger. Seungmin chuckles, fondly.

“Hunt you down sounds like a lot. It’s a coincidence that I actually need to find decorations and souvenirs. Your career lane is just my inspiration to make a decision,” he answers with honesty and it brings curiosity in Minho’s head.

“For what, actually?” Minho furrows his brows, because usually they will get custom orders for awards, weddings, or gifts. So, what occasion makes Seungmin come here? Seungmin’s smile fades slightly before he answers.

“My mother is getting married next month,” he admits. “I’m helping her preparing things”

Minho’s smile fades as well as he tries to read the possible discomfort from Seungmin’s expression. He puts his hands down when concern and worries increase in his head.

“I thought you are upset about it,”

“Initially,” Seungmin nods.

“But then, someone told me something about life must go on and my dad would love to see my mom happy,” he adds, followed by the sweetest smile Minho has ever seen. It is fluttering, the topiarist cannot help but to smile just as wide and the worries that linger in his mind disappear instantly. He is back to crossing his arms when he is sure that the situation gets better.

“That someone must be a genius,” Minho brags, causing a small laughter to escape Seungmin’s lips.

“You have no idea. He’s brilliant,” Seungmin acknowledges. Minho blushes slightly but he doesn’t want to make a fool out of himself in front of the customer so he just looks away as his head tries to calm himself down. 

“Minho.” 

After about ten seconds of heart-fluttering silence, Seungmin speaks up to get Minho’s attention again. The shorter guy looks at him while unfolding his arms, but he says nothing and just waits until Seungmin speaks up first. Seungmin opens his mouth, then he closes it again. His eyes look away for a moment, then look at Minho again. 

“Do you want… I mean,... Would you like to come to my mom’s wedding?” He sputters, then immediately looks away because he is too nervous to see Minho’s reaction. Minho has no idea why Seungmin gets too nervous for a question so simple, so he chuckles lightly.

“Yeah, I would love to,” he agrees right away, and Seungmin stares at him immediately with wide eyes like he refuses to believe what he just heard.

“Really?”

“Of course. What makes you think I will reject the idea?” Minho giggles. Seungmin realises that he just made a fool out of himself, so he blushes as he tries to explain his true feelings.

“I don’t know… It just seemed like we were two people drawn to the same hobby, nothing more personal than that”

Minho has never lost a smile that fast, it is almost comedy. He looks at Seungmin in disbelief, hoping that the customer is just joking but he genuinely looks nervous. This can’t be serious. How oblivious can a person be? They literally dropped so many hints to each other for weeks now, and Seungmin still thinks that they are two friends sharing the same hobby? Minho wants to sit on a massage chair to calm himself.

“Seriously? You think so?” He asks solemnly. Seungmin nods. It’s obvious that he has no idea how he makes Minho frustrated by his oblivion. The shorter guy heaves a sigh through his nose, calming himself down, then finally, he smiles again. It’s alright. It’s fair to feel that way. All these time, they have been talking about books and only books anyways.

“Well… maybe we can change your mind, starting from your mother’s wedding” Minho proposes. The idea suits Seungmin's liking so much that he begins to smile again, blushing simultaneously.

“Is this your kindness or your flirting attempt?” he teases. Minho rolls his eyes, causing the other to chuckle.

“Kindness. A hundred percent.” Lies. Seungmin giggles as he hears the answer, then a fond smile lingers on his face as he stares at Minho. He heaves a soft sigh.

}{

The next few weeks, they can’t meet at Chapter because Seungmin has to go back and forth to his mother’s house for the wedding preparation. So, they ended up video calling every Monday, and they tried to read digital books in the meantime by sending the links to each other. They dislike it a lot. They would choose to read a book a thousand times before settling for a digital one but now they don’t really have much of a choice. They still insisted on exchanging stories every Monday anyway, so their video calls consisted of their reviews followed by their rant about how they miss the bookstore a lot. Yes, although Minho used to visit Chapter every Monday, somehow now he won’t visit it if Seungmin is not around and just spends his time at Chris’s cafe. So, it has been a few weeks since they last shared a plate of Felix’s brownies.

“I think this one is quite similar to the one I’ve read before,” Seungmin explains as he scrolls down the story on his laptop. He has his phone leaning to his water bottle next to the laptop, so Minho can see him clicking on the mousepad.

“‘The Horizon’?” Minho guesses based on Seungmin’s explanation about the plot.

“‘The Horizon’, yes. I think the huge difference is how the author solves the climax, but other than that, the structure is pretty similar. But this one, on the other hand…” Seungmin takes his phone to flip the camera and shows Minho the cover of another digital book. They are now on a streak to read two to three books a week, depending on the word count, but it is surely more than one now. Minho chuckles when he sees the familiar book cover on the laptop’s screen.

“I knew it. You’re so easy to read, Kim Seungmin,” he teases while Seungmin flips the camera again. The latter then rolls his eyes as a reaction.

“God forbid a guy being a hopeless romantic” he mumbles, placing the phone at the previous spot again. He can see that Minho is lying stomach flat on the bed, and Minho’s swinging legs are even visible on the screen.

“Let me guess. Fall in love at first sight, their lives get better after knowing each other, and probably there is a scene where they dance in the rain together,” Minho half-heartedly shows his interest in the love story and it makes Seungmin raise his eyebrows.

“Wow. You just remind me again that my Mr Whimsy is a shaman”

“One does not need to be a shaman to know a cliché love story”

“Like ours?”

“Silent” Minho shuts him up immediately before the flirting gets worse. Seungmin wants to laugh but he purses his lips obediently, holding himself from speaking only for a short while.

“Then how do I tell you that your guess is wrong?” he adds annoyance in the tease. Minho glares at him, totally ragebaited by the simple question.

“You are an absolute vexatious being. Have I ever told you that?” he announces, causing Seungmin to laugh menacingly in victory. Minho threatens to end the call and that is enough to make the taller guy apologize right away, ending the teasing session just at that.

“Well, actually the story is about a second chance” Seungmin leads them back to the conversation, and Minho looks surprised with that explanation.

“And you love it? Hello, am I speaking to Kim Seungmin?” Minho waves at the camera dramatically and Seungmin chuckles at his action.

“You changed me, Minho. I don’t see love the same way anymore” he confesses calmly. Minho stuns, glares at Seungmin’s softened expression in an attempt to look like it doesn’t affect him. But the uncontainable smile and the blush on his cheeks say otherwise. It’s embarrassing how now everything sounds like a flirt. He just has to be playful to distract himself from blushing at Seungmin’s words.

“The service costs you 2.3 million won, thank you”

“Can I pay with my facecard?”

“Declined”

“Excuse me?”

And Minho giggles cheerfully, totally entertained by Seungmin’s offended reaction. Seungmin shakes his head, a soft chuckle escapes from his mouth.

}{

It is not an exaggeration when people say that love changes the way we view the world. Things do look more beautiful than before, or maybe we start to give more attention to things we never paid a mind to before.

So, when Minho arrives at the wedding hall, Seungmin is starstruck by the view. They have been meeting each other every week for months now, wearing a suit doesn’t change much of how Minho looks. He is still as breathtaking as ever but who knows? Probably Seungmin already has his love glasses on, so even a black suit looks amazing on Minho. His mind starts to imagine a future too far from the present, and that makes his heart-flutter go worse. He cannot stare at him every chance he gets.

Since Seungmin is the important person of the ceremony, they don’t get to attach to each other’s hips for long. Seungmin just thanks Minho for coming, inviting him to take a seat and the remaining of the time, Minho figures the area himself. The wedding turns out amazing. Seungmin’s mother and stepfather look at each other with hearts in their eyes. It’s beautiful how love can still bloom so bright between people at all ages.

For the first time ever, Minho gets to hear Seungmin sing. Sure, he got to hear the taller guy humming a melody or mumbling a lyric to himself when they were choosing a book for each other at Chapter. But today, he hears a full song from him, and beautiful is an understatement to describe Seungmin’s voice. Minho watches him from his seat, his smile is so wide his cheeks hurt. The feelings of pride and excitement overlapping that he can feel it coming out of his chest. Probably, or perhaps, there is a feeling called love too.

“Why don’t you consider singing as a hobby?” Minho asks when they finally get a time to spend together after the ceremony. They are in the garden in front of the wedding hall, both holding a glass of drink that Seungmin brought for them. 

“I consider singing as a part of my habit rather than a leisure activity” he answers after sipping his drink.

“Fair enough,” Minho shrugs. Seungmin observes the other guy, waiting for further words that never come. 

“Where does that idea even come from?” he tries to give a hint, encouraging the shorter guy to keep talking. Minho understands it right away, and he crosses his arms teasingly.

“Acknowledgement is not a downgrade. You want me to compliment your voice” he states the obvious.

“Is there a problem?”

“No” Minho answers as he takes a step forward, closer to the other guy. 

“You sound amazing,” he admits, but Seungmin raises his eyebrows.

“And…?” 

“And it doesn’t make you any less of an annoyance” Minho adds while rolling his eyes and taking a step back again. Seungmin giggles at the reaction, enjoying the tease a little too much. He notices that the ambience is light and comforting at the moment, so he seizes the chance to start a new topic.

“Do you like watching movies?” he asks out of nowhere, and Minho gets confused for a second. He nods, hesitant. 

“Yeah. That is one of my hobbies, why?”

Seungmin raises his left eyebrow.

“One of?” he repeats. Minho imitates his expression to match the mood.

“You really think your Mr Whimsy can settle down on reading and call it a day?” He questions Seungmin’s mind, adding the rationale to make him think again.

“Touché. But I won’t ask about your other hobbies. Let’s spare the topic for the future us." Seungmin ends it right there, because he doesn’t want to drag the conversation too far from his initial intention. Minho quiets, it takes a split second for him to realise that he still doesn’t have an answer to a question.

“Then, what about movies are you trying to bring up?” Minho asks, curiosity wins. 

Seungmin smiles fondly at the question, and he takes his time to get his phone in his pocket and searches for something. Minho waits patiently only for a few seconds but then he goes to stand next to Seungmin so he can see the screen as well.

Seungmin moves his hand a bit to the middle between them so that Minho can see it clearly. He is opening a cinema website, where a list of movies appear on the screen and Seungmin clicks on one to see the details. Minho reads it through, then he gasps in surprise that he has to reread the title again.

“Beyond the Afterlake? Isn’t that-”

“The very first book I chose for you. It has the live action coming up by the end of this month” Seungmin interrupts, confirming the idea that Minho finds it hard to believe. Minho gasps again, more excited this time, and he quickly snatches the phone away from the taller guy to read more details on the screen. Seungmin smiles fondly at the sight, and he lets Minho scroll through the website first. Minho chuckles in disbelief, his eyes sparkle in excitement that he forgets about Seungmin for a while.

“Do you want to…” Seungmin’s voice brings him back to reality. He looks up to see his face, and he sees how nervous Seungmin looks.

“Do you think we should go together?” he invites, sounds a little vulnerable, blush tinted on his face. Minho blushes just as bright while he grins so wide out of excitement.

“Are you asking me out on a date?” he teases just to make Seungmin more embarrassed.

“Well, you said we can start from my mother’s wedding?” he shrugs, doesn’t have that much of embarrassment on his face before he adds.

“But not a date, unfortunately”

Minho loses his smile again, clicking his tongue in annoyance. Ruining the mood must be Seungmin’s hidden talent or something. 

“So, you hate me” he finalized, but that makes Seungmin chuckle lightly.

“Assumption is self-gaslighting” he responds as he turns to face the other guy, ready to explain his point of view.

“We spent more than half a year-”

“Ten months, two weeks, to be exact” Minho interrupts but Seungmin doesn’t stop there.

“-talking about fictional people and their stories and we barely talk about each other” he starts.

“What I’m saying is, I want to know you more, and I want you to know more of me too”

The confession sounds genuine and a little too fond. Minho watches the soft expression on Seungmin’s face, the one that surely will make him blush and giggle like a fool in love. But, he shouldn’t, because that will be embarrassing, so he needs to apply his coping mechanism.

“Alright” he surrenders. Seungmin watches in confusion as he takes a step back, and fixes his proportion as if he is given the stage to speak. With pride, he speaks up.

“I have no criminal record. I never went to jail. At least not yet. My dad loves the idea of me falling in love so he will definitely love you. Sometimes I let my intrusive thoughts win but nothing beyond threatening to burn someone alive in an air fryer so far”

Seungmin is flabbergasted. He has to blink thrice, swallowing and processing the information through every corner of his brain. Minho looks so innocent saying them too and once he finally gets a grasp of the confession, he bursts out laughter. Minho laughs as well right after that,a bit embarrassed at his silliness as he takes a step forward, closer to the other.

“I meant something like your favorite colour, but I think those information are just as crucial” Seungmin admits and by that time, Minho is already standing so close to him. The little laugh that lingers fade into the sound of their own heartbeats, pounding in synchrony. It’s just like back then, in the classical fiction row in Chapter all over again. Minho leans forward this time, but unfortunately, Seungmin retreats as he feels guilty about the situation.

“I’m sorry. I said I want to take it slow yet here I am trying to kiss you-”

“Silent” Minho interrupts right away, resting his arms on Seungmin’s shoulders and intertwining his fingers at Seungmin’s nape. Seungmin’s guilt vanishes at instance.

“You bored me” Minho complains.

“I’m your Mr Boring for a reason” Seungmin shrugs. Now that Minho can no longer see the dilemma and the guilt in Seungmin’s eyes, he can step forward with confidence.

“You can take it as slow as you want, but back in my hometown, kissing friends is absolutely normal. Now, come here you” he creates a quick excuse. Seungmin has to laugh at it first before they finally kiss each other, with pink blush tinted on their cheeks and a smile on their lips as they attached.

“I didn’t fall in love with you. I walked into love with you, with my eyes wide open, choosing to take every step along the way. I do believe in fate and destiny, but I also believe we are only fated to do the things that we’d choose anyway. And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you.” - The Chaos Of Stars, Kiersten White.

The End.