Chapter Text
"Have I been gaining weight?"
"Kinda."
"Heol..."
"I told you to stop drinking. You will end up just like those uncles and their big bellies."
"But I don't drink."
Jungsu texted his closest friend, Seungmin first thing in the morning. He had already woken up several minutes ago, but found himself in the kitchen, distracted by the sudden urge to bake chocolate muffins for breakfast. Not that he knew how to bake, but he would probably follow some random recipe on the internet.
Putting that thought aside and moving towards the bathroom, he suddenly paused in front of one of the large mirrors in his apartment's hallway. Wait.... He stood there for quite a long time, staring at himself in the mirror, not sure if he should make a big deal out of it or just forget it just like that. Of course, he choose to be dramatic about it to Seungmin.
"Liar. I know you go to clubs as a pastime," Jungsu's phone vibrated as Seungmin's text appeared on the screen.
"No? I stopped doing that months ago," Jungsu typed back quickly, seemingly worry has gotten to him.
"Dude, stop worrying about it. It's probably the cookies I brought you yesterday."
"You didn't even let me touch them... You ate them all by yourself."
"Fine. Wanna meet up? I'll buy you coffee," Seungmin's suggestion had Jungsu in a dilemma. He was not in the mood for outings right now, but seeing his precious best friend again would maybe make him feel better.
And so, they agreed to meet up at a café near Jungsu's place. The sun was blinding earlier that day, so the atmosphere was warm during the afternoon. Seungmin was there, already seated close to the large window, scrolling on his phone, probably bored while waiting for Jungsu to arrive.
He looked up as his friend entered the café, putting a warm smile on his face, while greeting him. Jungsu sat across him on the table, no smile on his face. No time for that, "Seungmin, you idiot. This is your fault."
"First of all, hi. Second, I ordered you latte. And third, how is it my fault?" Seungmin looked genuinely offended. How the hell was that his fault?
"Just wanted to say that."
They went on and on about their day so far, or random gossip they'd heard from other friends. The latte and americano in front of them disappearing little by little. Jungsu totally forgot about his 'problem' for now, just like he wanted. But not for long.
"So... Why so obsessed with your looks? Last time I checked, you didn't give a fuck," Seungmin suddenly breaks the silence after their intense gossip session. Curiosity getting the best of him as he stirred his americano with a straw, the ice in it making a characteristic sound.
Jungsu remained quiet for a while, and Seungmin took that as an opportunity to tease him better. He reached out and poked Jungsu’s stomach before the other could even react, "Aw, you got a belly now. How cute," he said in a high pitched tone, as if talking to a baby.
"What the hell? It's not cute," Jungsu tried to escape the younger's pokes, almost knocking down his coffee in the process, "Stop it, dumbass. It hurts."
The dumbass sighed, muttering a small fine but a faint smile was still plastered on his face. Teasing his older friend was always the best decision, especially when the latter is moody like this, "Seriously, though, don't worry about it. The worst case would be you being pregnant."
That caught Jungsu off guard, like, really off guard. Pregnant? Me? What kind of bullshit is this? He stared at Seungmin for a few seconds, still trying to recover from his words, "Are you crazy? I can't be pregnant. I'm a man, for goodness' sake."
"A gay one."
"What does that have to do with anything? I'm not pregnant," his voice rose slightly, causing people nearby to look their way. Jungsu’s cheeks turned red at the realization that there could be people listening to their conversation right now, "Anyway, I'm not talking about this with you right now."
Seungmin glanced around the café, as if sensing people's stares as well. He sighed, once again, and lowered his voice, "I'm telling you, it's possible for men to get pregnant. They just haven't tried sticking it up their ass."
"Yeah, no. I'm leaving," Jungsu suddenly stood up, making sure to thank the other for the coffee before stepping out of the café, into fresh air that could get his mind off whatever nonsense Seungmin was trying to talk about.
Later that evening, Jungsu occupied himself with baking. Finally making the chocolate muffins he was craving this morning, following a random recipe on the internet. Normally, he would already be in bed, getting his beauty sleep, but now his mind is keeping him up while it keeps drifting back to his earlier conversation with his best friend. Damn it, he had tried so hard not to believe Seungmin's words but they were getting to him. He was starting to believe things he would consider stupid a few hours ago.
His phone screen lit up all of a sudden. He picked his phone up, but rolled his eyes when Seungmin's name popped up. Why is this idiot calling me?
"What do you want?"
"Did you get it?" Seungmin's voice sounded like a whisper, as if telling the world's most dangerous secret.
"Get what?"
"The pregnancy test, idiot. What else?" there we go again. Jungsu would have definitely hang up on him if the topic did not concern him to an extent.
"Of course not. I'm not pregnant. I'm a guy, a dude. Get over it."
"I'll get you one," he was about to hit the red button on his phone screen when Seungmin's voice was heard again, "Come on, do it for the fun of it."
Jungsu was about to reply, probably curse at the younger, but didn't get the chance to do so, as the latter just giggled and hang up first, leaving him staring at the blank screen of his phone.
It did not take long for him to snap out of it, though. The apartment where Jungsu lives was now filled with the smell of something burned. That something being his precious chocolate muffins. He gasped dramatically, rushing to turn off the oven. Thankfully, the muffins turned out to be edible.
He was mistaken, though. Thinking he would get to enjoy them. That never happened. Seungmin had made himself welcome into his apartment. And at that point, he was regretting his life choices. Giving Seungmin the pass code was quite a bad idea.
"I brought the goods," the younger announced, placing the plastic bag he was holding on the counter, "You'd better take the test now. I didn't come all the way here for nothing."
Jungsu hesitated for a while, but eventually reached into the bag, pulling out what he thought was the pregnancy test. He couldn't believe he was even considering taking this. He'd taken many tests like this before but all of them where for illnesses. A pregnancy test? That's tough.
"Go on. Don't just look at it."
"Is this like a prank or something? You're gonna laugh at me, aren't you."
Jungsu wanted to refuse but the other was already dragging him towards the bathroom. "Come on, dude, I'm not joking. This is completely serious," he, then, got shoved inside, the door closing shut behind him. Not before getting to see that mischievous smile on the younger's face, though. Surely, he was getting pranked right now.
He was in the bathroom for quite a while, doubting his whole existence. Seungmin had knocked on the door several times already, asking questions, such as:
'You there?'
'Everything okay?'
'Did you fall into the toilet or something?'
Silence. Then the door opened. Jungsu stepped out of the bathroom, holding the pregnancy test in his hand and looking fairly done with this situation at all. His friend, who was formerly pressed against the door, eavesdropping, looked at the older expectingly. At that, Jungsu sighed and handed him the test, "It doesn't say anything."
"That's because you have to wait, idiot."
"How do you know?"
"Oh. I've seen it on TikTok," Seungmin moved towards his friend's living room, plopping down onto the couch without asking for permission. Pissing Jungsu off was his job, anyway.
"You're gonna get my couch dirty," Jungsu sat beside him, as they waited for the results to show on the test. He couldn't help but feel anxious about it all, and the younger was not making it any easier by getting on the nerves of fastidious Jungsu.
"Hey, so... Let's say you are pregnant. Who even is the father?" Seungmin broke the comfortable silence between the two, earning a side glance by the older who was now munching on his half-burned muffins, "And since when do you take it from behind?"
Jungsu almost choked on them muffins, "Can you shut up, please?" he shot him another side glance, this time even more intense, but sighed as he moved towards the kitchen to grab a glass of water, "Haven't done that in ages."
"So you have??" the younger whirled around to face him with a grin on his face.
Jungsu's cheeks turned red, suddenly feeling embarrassed, but he tried to act indifferent, "If I remember correctly."
"How can you not— Forget it. How long ago was 'ages'?"
"Why are you asking me that?" he filled the glass with tap water. Even if he usually prefers bottled water as it is 'healthier', he suddenly did not care at all. More focused on escaping this conversation, rather than surviving.
"So that I know how far along you are."
Pffttt He choked, again, but on his water, this time. He didn't have time to reply, though. He watched as Seungmin grabbed the pregnancy test from where he'd left it discarded on the table, and went completely silent. Was it trepidation? Or was it anticipation? He didn't really know what that sharp pang in his chest meant.
He watched intently as his best friend held the test in his hands. The younger's smile faded for a second before appearing again on his face, this time bigger. He turned to face Jungsu again.
"What is it?"
"Come here," Seungmin patted the empty space beside him on the couch, still wearing that silly smile on his silly face. Jungsu hesitated, but as always, he ended up doing what he was told. He sat next to him on the couch, leg bouncing up and down nervously, as he ran his fingers through his dark hair.
His friend, who was still holding the test like some kind of important award, shifted next to him, hiding said test behind his back. "Guess."
"What do you mean guess? Just give it to me," Jungsu reached out, taking the pregnancy test from the other's hands, hugging the man in the process, but that isn't important right now. The latter just giggled and watched for his friend's reaction.
Jungsu's face went blank as he saw the results on it, "Seungmin. Is this rigged?"
"No, Jungsu. You're actually pregnant."
And before anyone could react, he yeeted the poor test across the living room, where it landed on top of a potted plant placed in a corner.
"The hell I'm not," Jungsu was in deep denial of what really was happening, because, yeah, how is that even possible.
"Hey, can you just stop acting like a child, and accept it? It doesn't matter if it's weird, you're already weird yourself. Just focus on finding the father, okay?" Seungmin tried to comfort his best friend, but was clearly bad at it. Usually, it was Jungsu comforting him, so now it felt a bit awkward.
"No," Jungsu stood up again, this time pacing around the room, hands on hips and a serious expression on, without any particular motive, "I'll go buy another one tomorrow morning. I'll even get two. I'm not trusting you and your pranks this time."
"I bought it from the store before coming here. You think I'd do such thing?" Seungmin stood up from the couch as well. What's going on? Was he actually quarreling with his best friend right now? "Fine. You can do whatever you want, I know this is weird for you. Just know that if you want anything, I'm here for you."
With that, Seungmin grabbed his things from the table, walking towards the front door, but not before glancing back to see if the other would reply or even acknowledge his words. When he saw nothing, he finally turned to door and walked out without saying anything else.