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When Felix told Hyunjin that he should go on a date with his coworker, Hyunjin had said no. He loved his best friend, but in his own relationships, Felix had a bad taste in men and women.
But, Felix had begged and pleaded that Jisung was different from the people he picked for himself. Hyunjin had eventually given up on trying to tell him no, and just said that he would do it.
If it went wrong, he told Felix he would hit him upside the dead and refuse to speak to him for a week. Hyunjin couldn’t deal with any bad meetings or relationships right now.
Felix had given Hyunjin a day of the week he knew he would be free, and here they are now. Jisung was a sweetheart to everyone he met, or so Felix says, and now, Hyunjin is seeing that Felix may be more right than he ever has before.
Honestly, Hyunjin didn't think his best friend had that in him. Jisung, however, seems like the epitome of sunshine. Just the right amount of talkative and a little annoying, except he was cute and kind, and he had pulled out Hyunjin’s bar stool for him too.
No one has ever done something like that for him before. Unless you count Felix, and Hyunjin would rather shoot himself than ever see Felix romantically. Actually, there are probably a lot more things Hyunjin can think of that are worse that he could do if someone ever tried to make him see Felix in that kind of light.
Hyunjin thinks he’s dreaming, because no one has ever really been this nice to him on the first date. Maybe that’s why all of the other relationships he’s been in didn’t last for very long.
The bar closes at two in the morning. Jisung has his bottle of soju in his hand, and he's rambling about some story of him and Felix getting in too much trouble with their boss. To be truthful, Hyunjin isn't paying that much attention to the small details.
Nevertheless, from what Hyunjin is picking up, Jisung is the kind of reckless that should send him running in the opposite direction. Hyunjin doesn’t think he would be able to stand if he tried to get up and run away, though. Jisung is too captivating for Hyunjin to be scared yet.
Maybe running wouldn’t even get him very far, anyway. So it makes more sense to stay on this bar stool until the end of time.
He hopes that the bar never closes, hopes that Jisung is never able to finish his soju just so they could stay together for a little while longer. Hyunjin doesn't think he's ever liked someone as much as he's liking this date with Jisung. It's new to him, and he's not quite sure if he likes it. He likes Jisung, though, so he would be okay staying like this forever.
If he was allowed to stay forever, that is.
Jisung’s eyes were brighter than the stars outside. Hyunjin is sure of that, and he knows it would prove true if he and Jisung were to go outside right now. They would be enough to kill Hyunjin if Jisung looked at Hyunjin in the right way.
Jisung was so lovable on the first date.
If this was an act, Hyunjin is falling for it. Sorry, but maybe not sorry. Hyunjin deserves love too. Jisung can be that love.
"After that, Felix had looked me in the eyes and told me he thought he knew my soulmate." Jisung laughs at the thought. Hyunjin tilts his head, and Jisung's laugh fades and the look on his face forms into a soft smile. "He was talking about you. He told me that would have been something that you would have done if you were given the chance."
Even his laugh was gorgeous. Did Hyunjin need to get to know Jisung more, or was this enough? Was it enough to have a reason to love Jisung in the two hours since they met?
Just his existence alone should be a reason to love him. Hyunjin is pretty sure he saw a spark fly in the air every time Jisung smiled at him. It’s going to be something that haunts him every time Jisung isn’t around.
Hyunjin knew he was smiling. He's also pretty sure his face is red, but he can't prove that. It would save him some embarassment if he believed his face was his usual white as a ghost. "Did he really say that?" Hyunjin doesn't know why he's doubting Jisung. That would be something Felix would do, even if it was true or not. Felix has always just wanted Hyunjin to be happy.
No one has wanted the best for Hyunjin more than Felix does. Not even Hyunjin’s own parents have wanted what’s entirely best for him in the way that Felix does.
That's why they’re best friends, and that's why there is nothing Hyunjin wouldn't do for Felix. Hyunjin would kill someone with his bare hands and bury them in his backyard if Felix ever asked him to. Maybe that says enough about their friendship.
Jisung nods, his eyes crinkling. "He did." Hyunjin doesn't know why he's surprised. Like, he genuinely doesn’t get it. It’s like his mind is trying to work overtime and overriding all of the things he already knows. "He said a lot about you, actually. He said how kind of a person you were. I think he told me things I wasn't really supposed to know, but..."
That was Felix for you. "Of course he spilled my secrets." Hyunjin could never be mad at Felix, or any mention of Felix, actually. He loved his best friend far too much to be irritated with him. Ever. Maybe he'll love Jisung the same way, or even more, sometime down the road. He hopes so, because letting Jisung go after this would be impossible.
Somewhere in the back of Hyunjin’s mind was the thought of kissing Jisung outside in the middle of a thunderstorm. It’s something Hyunjin has done once, and he got sick for three weeks afterward.
Jisung would be worth it, though.
Hyunjin thinks that Jisung would probably always be worth it.
Before Hyunjin and Felix became friends, Hyunjin would see Felix sitting off to the side in the library. Hyunjin wanted to become Felix’s friend so much that he couldn’t stop thinking about him.
It was a miracle when Hyunjin finally got the courage to approach him. Only for Felix to giggle at him and said he’s been waiting three months for Hyunjin to finally talk to him. It was embarrassing, but it was the fastest Hyunjin had ever grown close with someone.
He’ll probably never get that close with someone that fast ever again, but it’s worth a shot if it means he gets Jisung.
Hyunjin taps his phone screen to check the time. Midnight. He really, really hopes that this date never ends. "Do you know what time it is?" Jisung questions him, and Hyunjin reports back that it just hit midnight five minutes ago. Jisung goes to open his mouth again when a song comes on that makes Jisung pause. Just like heaven.
"Show me how you do it, and I promise you, I promise that I'll run away with you." Felix never told Hyunjin that Jisung could sing. Especially not as well as he's currently singing. Jisung doesn't miss a single word.
In the past, Hyunjin never really understood the song. But looking at Jisung now, Hyunjin thinks he understands why they were written. Jisung was right in front of him, just close enough for Hyunjin to reach out and touch him to see if he was real.
He’s close enough that Hyunjin is praying Jisung doesn’t think Hyunjin is insane for looking at him the way he probably is. Are there stars in his eyes? Hyunjin doesn’t know. Would things be better off if he didn’t have the answer to that question? Maybe. “Do you like that song?” Hyunjin asks the obvious question when the song is over.
A shy smile is given to Hyunjin’s question. “Yeah. My brother listened to it a lot a few years ago, so I ended up becoming obsessed with it.” Jisung has a hand on his chin. “Our parents were annoyed with how much we played it, because we never listened to anything else. I don’t feel that bad for them.”
Hyunjin rolls his eyes. “That sounds like something you would do.”
Jisung can only laugh at him, because what Hyunjin said was true and they both know it. Hyunjin has gotten to know a lot about Jisung in the few hours they’ve spent with each other. He’s probably a really bad idea, but who is Hyunjin to care?
Hyunjin is devastated when the bar closes and the two of them have to go home. At least they leave each other with a promise to meet sometime soon for a second date.
“I’ll see you another time.” Jisung beams at Hyunjin, reaching out to brush a strand of his hair behind his ear. Hyunjin thinks he’s going to throw up at the small touch, but he doesn’t. At least that’s something he can say. Hyunjin goes back home to Felix and hugs him as tight as possible for setting the two of them up.
If only Felix could pick a guy like Jisung for himself. Hyunjin can hope. He does want his best friend to be happy, after all.
Two days later, Hyunjin happens to find himself bored at three in the morning yet again. He’s going to fix his sleep schedule eventually, he just… Yeah. He has no excuses for himself. He hasn’t had any excuses for his mess of a sleep schedule for weeks.
He promises he’ll get onto it someday, but unfortunately that day is not today. Hyunjin has things he would like to do. One of them including stalking Jisung’s instagram.
Felix had given Hyunjin Jisung’s instagram before they went on a date so Hyunjin could make sure he was meeting up with the correct person. During their date, Jisung had given Hyunjin his other social media. Why would Hyunjin be given social media if he wasn’t allowed to do a little bit of looking?
So, Hyunjin decided he knew what he could do today. He could go to bed, but where’s the fun in that? He went to his most recent following on instagram and clicked on Jisung’s profile, and then to the most recent post.
One of them was a picture of him in a car with the light hitting just the right way. Jisung had really pretty eyes if Hyunjin did say so himself. The next picture was taken in a mirror, a video of him singing a song that was playing in public, a picture taken from the camera of a computer, even more mirror pictures and videos of him singing. A video of him playing with a cat and a picture of a protein bar.
Jisung was so gentle with the cat he was playing with. Okay. So Jisung is better than Hyunjin already assumed he was.
Jisung was the kind of person Hyunjin could see himself wanting to be with, and if he was honest, it scared him a little bit. First of all, how did Felix ever find someone like Jisung with his track record? Second of all, Hyunjin also has never had good experience in the dating field. But Jisung was perfect, and there was nothing Hyunjin could do except want him.
Ugh. Men are stupid, why does Hyunjin even have to like them?
If you put Jisung into the equation, though… Oh, sweet little Han Jisung. Hyunjin knows he shouldn’t just trust someone he just met, but Jisung is different. Hyunjin can be on guard when it comes to the rest of the world’s population and not Jisung! Is that okay?
It should be okay. It’s Hyunjin’s life after all.
On the second date, Hyunjin thinks he’s going to throw up. Jisung pulls out his chair in the restaurant they’ve chosen to eat at just like he did at the bar. It does unspeakable things to Hyunjin’s composure.
“You are so pretty.” Hyunjin groans when he falls into his seat, looking at the menu for a moment before picking it up to figure out what he wants to eat today. “I’m scared that I might have made you up, you know?”
Jisung laughs at him, rolling his eyes with the fondest expression on his face. It’s the same fond expression Hyunjin has seen on all of his close friends and family members faces when he says something they think is really stupid.
“Really?” Jisung asks with a finger on his chin. “I’m paranoid that I made you up. Or that Felix made you up.”
That wasn’t what Hyunjin was expecting to hear today. It makes him feel immediately better about the way he feels, though. Hyunjin smiles at Jisung and tries to pretend how he doesn’t want to kiss Jisung in this moment. “You’re paranoid you made me up? I could say the same about you. You’re just so… perfect.”
Jisung shakes his head. “I could also say the same about you. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who wants to listen to me talk as much as you do. Or someone who gets me in the same way that you do.”
It’s so unreal to Hyunjin that Jisung could feel the same way he does. Hyunjin has to take a minute to breathe before he says anything too sappy, or anything that would embarrass himself on the second date. He knows that he likes Jisung already.
Not liking Jisung is hard. Hyunjin thinks he liked Jisung within the first fifteen minutes of them meeting.
“Do you mean that?” Hyunjin asks instead of whatever his mind wanted to let slip out of his mouth a moment ago.
Jisung nods. “I promise that I do.”
Hyunjin decides that this is something he can believe, and he really likes it.
At the end of their dinner, Jisung helps Hyunjin out of his chair. They’re splitting the bill because neither of them have the kind of money to pay for both of them right now, but it’s okay with them and that’s all that really matters.
“Do you want me to walk you home?” Jisung questions him as he pushes Hyunjin’s chair in.
Hyunjin looks up at him, fingers still trying to put his wallet back into his bag. “Only if you promise that we can walk really slowly. I have a bunch of questions I want to know.”
Jisung can only smile. “I promise. And I have chewing gum.”
Felix really can pick the good guys.