the craigslist request; joonhyun; 3/3
3rd JANUARY, SATURDAY, 07.00 P.M., KIM’S APARTMENT
It’s kind of a mess, at the start, with Joonmyun apologizing and then Baekhyun apologizing and then both of them apologizing at once, and then Joonmyun explaining and Baekhyun apologizing again and then Joonmyun apologizing again-- but they manage to sort it out and put it behind them after an hour or so. Then Baekhyun points excitedly to the TV, “Movies?”
Baekhyun, as it turns out, is big on action movies, which is totally cool except Joonmyun had planned on rom com, and now they’re having a slightly heated discussion bordering on full-on argument. Joonmyun’s more of an animanga guy, but hey! Nobody made a rule about him not defending his arbitrary choice of movie to watch on an evening at home!
You come into my house, insult my movie taste, Joonmyun can’t help thinking, laughingly, to himself, and it kind of affects his debate points of why rom com is better. Affects his debate for the worse.
“Rom com isn’t as emotionally compromising,” Joonmyun waves the remote control wildly. “It’s easier to watch! So you can watch more, more often! Prime consumer material!”
Baekhyun chews aggressively on a dorito. “Wrong,” he says, “It’s easier to kick back into action! Pretty people blowing things up? Tell me, who isn’t about that life?” He points a slightly accusatory finger at Joonmyun.
It goes on for a bit like that, a ping pong match of opinions, until Joonmyun just makes a face before shrugging. "We'll just have to agree to disagree, then."
Baekhyun breaks off whatever he was about to start saying and just stares at him with a slightly open mouth, until Joonmyun makes another face. “What's wrong?" he asks, shoulders hunching up, slightly defensive, but Baekhyun just blinks and laughs. Joonmyun curls in a little, against the sofa cushions.
"Wow," Baekhyun blinks again, mouth open but smiling a little. "You're just --" he shakes his head and waves his hand. "You're chill, man.”
It sounds like a compliment, so Joonmyun allows some comforting, expansive feelings to bounce around his ribs.
They end up watching Sesame Street, as a truce, and Joonmyun doesn't remember having laughed at Grover so much in his life.
3rd JANUARY, SATURDAY, 09.23 P.M., KIM’S BATHROOM IN KIM’S APARTMENT, BYUN STARTS NEW CHAT
bbh: i could get used 2 this guy
bbh: he’s rly nice
bbm: so could i. u talk less
bbh: why u gotta be so
bbh: meaaaaan?
bbm: meaaaaan?
bbm: banjo banjo
bbh: blond hair
bbm: farm yard
bbm: OH MAN
bbh: t swiftttt
bbm: good times
3rd JANUARY, SATURDAY, 09.26 P.M., KIM AWAITS BYUN’S RETURN FROM THE BATHROOM
His phone buzzes, and since Baekhyun isn’t exactly here at the moment, it wouldn’t be rude to check his messages.
dok: so, ladies
dok: how doth the sleepover goeth
pcy: u know i rly wanted
pcy: purple nailpolish
jm: i think i like this guy.
dok: oh
pcy: wait
pcy: OH
pcy: OHHH SHIIIIIIT
jm: for real, guys
pcy: WE KNOW
pcy: wait, u kno rite
pcy: soo?
dok: for the last time
dok: i'm *dok*
dok: hiphop father of *dok*2
pcy: yeah, bossman
pcy: we know
pcy: that u like the guy
jm: thanx 4 support
6th JANUARY, TUESDAY, 11.23 P.M., KIM’S CHATROOM
pcy so, like u guys suggested
pcy i asked him abt french
pcy WE HAD A GREAT TIME
pcy im literally, like
pcy blown away by his passion
dok cool!!
dok what did u guys talk about
pcy i dont actually… remember….
pcy but i had a great time, bc he was there
pcy and he had a great time
pcy bc he was talking abt smth he loved
pcy and who doesn’t have a great time when they do that??
pcy i feel happy!!
jm ;u;
jm im glad, bro :3
dok aw man fine
dok i give in let’s all be fuckin gay
dok chanyeol had a good time w his dude
dok and he fuckin deserved it!!!!!
jm internet group hug!!!
pcy awww guys ;//////;
8th JANUARY, THURSDAY, 12.33 P.M., KIM OFFICE (LUNCHROOM)
The impending merger deal kind of slows their personal lives down a bit. Chanyeol and Sehun don’t get to have as many outings as Chanyeol-- and, judging by the explosive way Sehun texts him these days, Sehun-- would like, but once Chanyeol’s done providing as many notes and statistics as he can provide from the R&D department to Sehun, he stays behind to help sift through everything and start on the final report.
There are powerpoint presentations, stacks of paperwork and flip charts to go through, meetings numbering in the double digits that Sehun has to go through all the minutes of, and phone calls to make and cross referencing to do-- Joonmyun’s personally grateful that Chanyeol hangs back to help Sehun. The kid would be going nearly mad otherwise with day in and day out of the same bull and different materials. Joonmyun knows; his elder brother had been in that place some years before. He’d started hallucinating about the world being taken over by raw carrots and eventually had to be tranquilized. A dark few months.
Chanyeol, of course, doesn’t let the work impede him (much) once he and Sehun are way into the overtime hours.
“I gave him literally everything he asked for,” Chanyeol narrates through the third burger in fifteen minutes. “Like, the second before he actually needed it? I had it ready. He called me a wizard and we reached for the same folder once and our hands brushed.”
“That’s really nice, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo says, perfectly serious, staring at his phone and taking a picture of his salad.
Chanyeol grins at him. “Going to put it on Instagram so that health nut you found on Grindr and added on every social network afterwards can see how attractive and like-minded you are?”
Kyungsoo shrugs. “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. But his name isn’t health nut, it’s Hyunsik. Now, please.”
Chanyeol shrugs back. “Sure, dude, continue with your coy maybes as if I don’t know better. Anyway, I kissed him in the romantic hours of pre-dawn, under the light of the desk lamp.”
Joonmyun’s about to congratulate him (and Kyungsoo on his new find), when Chanyeol adds, hastily, “Just the forehead. He was asleep.”
Kyungsoo and Joonmyun frown at the same time. “That’s a little creepy, Chanyeol.”
“I know,” Chanyeol says, glum. “Sorry.”
The conversation comes back to Joonmyun in the next few days, on and off, and he finds himself frowning a little when he's alone at his desk.
He’s lost in the new records the assistant had handed over to him in the morning, reading the same figures over and over again, until Kyungsoo taps him on the shoulder on his way to the bathroom.
Joonmyun starts, then stares at the computer clock, waiting exactly four minutes before getting up to join him. “Oh, good,” Kyungsoo calls from the sinks. “Thought you didn't want to talk.”
Joonmyun opens his hands and gestures. “About?”
Kyungsoo shakes his head. “Your long face. Usually I'd leave you to it, but you've been... perpetual with it, recently.”
“Big words,” Joonmyun picks at his collar and stares at the floor. Kyungsoo shrugs. “Alright, alright. I will leave you to it. Just figure it out fast, okay? We're playing ping pong with Sehun tonight, so you're on my team.”
Joonmyun manages a small smile. “Yeah? Sounds good.”
Kyungsoo bumps his shoulder, friendly, as he walks out.
Joonmyun is left alone in the bathroom, thinking of overtime nights in a cold office and only Baekhyun for company, and handholding and maybe kissing at midnight, over mugs of stale coffee and stained letters of consultations and complaint files.
Joonmyun frowns again. Considering how he almost ditched the guy a month ago, he isn't too excited about labeling the implications of the turns his thoughts are taking. If he does, he’ll end up talking about it, and if he talks about it, he’ll mess it up.
So as he wipes his hand for extra long on the paper towel and slowly makes his way back to his desk, he decides to not say anything, and hope Baekhyun gets it anyway.
20th JANUARY, TUESDAY, 07.34 P.M., WALKING THROUGH A RECREATIONAL PARK
On his next date, he tries to subtly reach over. He ends up being not-so-subtle, though, and misses a few times. After six tries, now a bit mulish, he manages to grip onto Baekhyun's hand. He stares straight ahead, feeling Baekhyun looking at him strangely. "Something up?" Baekhyun asks, at length. Joonmyun flushes, stares at his shoes instead. "Your hand," Joonmyun starts, then stops before his throat cracks on him. "I, uh. It looked lonely?"
He can feel Baekyhun's entire arm shaking against his. "It was," Baekhyun replies, and Joonmyun can hear the laughing smile. "Very lonely. It was about time, if I may say so myself."
Joonmyun flushes harder.
23rd JANUARY, FRIDAY, 11.59 A.M., KIM OFFICE, LUNCHROOM
“So,” Joonmyun breaks the news to them, three days later. “I held Baekhyun's hand three days ago.”
Kyungsoo stops chewing momentarily to give him a look, then swallows.
“You realize how much like a sixth grade girl you sound?”
Joonmyun deflates.
“Hey,” Chanyeol shakes a finger. “People are allowed to be excited over small things, okay. Have a heart.”
Joonmyun undeflates a bit, feeling warm and fuzzy.
Kyungsoo shrugs. “Having one of those heart things is easier said than done,” but the corners of his mouth turn up in acknowledgement, and they finish lunch in a comradely atmosphere. Until the end, that is, when Chanyeol asks something.
“Why do we always have lunch like a Mean Girls clique?”
All three frown. “I guess because we're outcasts,” Kyungsoo concludes, finally. “But that's okay. I like it.”
“Outcasts by association, actually,” Joonmyun nods, remembering. “I was here first, right. Then I trained both of you, and we got bubble tea and dinner together. You guys stuck like… super glue to ceramic.”
“Flies to dung,” Chanyeol corrects with a sigh, stretching. Joonmyun's eyebrows go from third floor to basement.
27th JANUARY, TUESDAY, 10.35 A.M., KIM OFFICE (CONFERENCE ROOM)
They’re all kind of rooting for Sehun, really. He’s been to all the departments for input on the reports and calculations and synopsis, the data reports and small print footnotes. The past few weeks have had Sehun’s trademark bubblegum pink hair, gelled up and wildly run through with his hands, bent at first one desk, then another, talking and asking for files and backup info and database passwords.
So when Sehun stands up to give Minseok the presentation of his life, Joonmyun raises a fist slowly in the air for him, Kyungsoo nods at him, and Chanyeol full on stands on his chair, miming whistling.
Then Minseok clears his throat, everyone cowers into their chairs and Sehun takes a deep breath and starts up his Powerpoint, a huge file of notes in nestled in the crook of his arm. The first slide shows a painting of a rather plump woman in robes, sitting in a field with a baby in her arms. The temperature in the room drops to freezing.
“Oh Sehun,” Minseok calls out, the smallest hint of a question in his tone.
This kind of instance is terrifying, Joonmyun thinks as he starts to sweat. The way he sees it: when someone just says your name while you’re screwing up, but doesn’t really question you, it’s because either they have a lot of trust in you and can’t believe this is happening-- which means you’ll have to break their trust and tell them yes, it is happening, you are actually screwing up royally right now-- or they don’t give a crap about you but you’re in charge and they can’t believe this is happening… which means you’re useless.
Joonmyun can’t figure out which is worse, and he’s ready to bolt forward to help in case Sehun throws up on the fancy conference table or publicly pees in his pants, when Sehun finally realizes the mess he’s in and literally squares his shoulders as he faces the screen.
“The guy who painted this,” Sehun calls out, turning around after a few seconds, “His name was Jacque D'Allons, and he rejected apprenticing students who had talent that surpassed his own. Eventually, although his work was great, he fell into poverty and died in squallor, pretty much forgotten. If he'd taken in the students though, his life might've ended with a lot more grandeur..." Sehun trails off, clearing his throat and starting again. "Still, that is just speculation. i think the point here is, grasp all opportunities, or you could--" he fumbles with the remote and goes onto the next slide. There's another painting waiting, this one instead showing ruins of, Joonmyun guesses, a battlefield. Lone heads and blood and severed limbs everywhere. Next to him, Kyungsoo fiddles uncomfortably with his finance representative placeholder. "End up like that," Sehun mumbles. "We want to end up like that?"
A fragmented chorus of mumbled nos, nahs and nevers greet his question. "Alright!" Sehun nods, voice cracking. He sounds as confident or enthusiastic everyone else around him. Joonmyun thinks they all owe him a week worth of his favorite glazed custard donuts, though. Meandering your way around an office disaster can be pretty tough.
"So," Sehun says, uncertainly, as Minseok raises an eyebrow amusedly and tilts his head. "I'll just... get on with it, then." He hurries back to the laptop, opens a presentation on the desktop as quickly as possible, and straightens up with a shaky smile when it stands up.
Everyone had been able to see the folder named HUMMINGBIRDS ARE THE CUTEST BIRDS EVER in the ten seconds it had taken for the new Powerpoint to show up on the screen.
Apart from the minor problem at the beginning, everything goes smoothly. Joonmyun gets an email to call through with the consultant team.
"So," Kyungsoo says later, as the three of them ride the elevator to the ground floor, heading home.
Chanyeol nods, not really listening. Something that sounds like Coldplay's Paradise is blasting tinnily out of his earphones. Joonmyun bops his head to whatever he can hear. Kyungsoo frowns at them both. "So," he says. "This merger contract is the real deal, huh?"
Chanyeol pops an earphone out. Joonmyun nods.
The elevator gives a ding and they walk out to the parking lot. The weather's slightly warmer than usual today, but still cold enough for them to stuff their hands in their pockets and hunch their shoulders against the wind. Ordinarily, they'd stay a bit and talk, but now that Kyungsoo's mentioned the contract, the air's a bit too serious for that.
"There'll be downsizing. We all know that." Surprisingly, Chanyeol's the one to break the silence. "And I don't know want to carry on this train of thought, because, frankly, I find it pretty scary. So just. Let's make it through the phase without getting fired, alright?"
There's a small, stunned silence at the outburst, but then Kyungsoo laughs quietly. "Chill," he says, "We've got this." And though Joonmyun feels much less confident, he makes them put their hands in for an impromptu cheer. "To Mean Girls?" he suggests, then hastily adds, "Just joking! Haha. Of course," when Kyungsoo balks, offended.
"To staying in one piece, pun intended," Chanyeol tries.
"Weeaboo," Kyungsoo criticizes. "To Swedish House Mafia."
"No no," Joonmyun frowns. "Just. To surviving shit."
"Hey, alright!"
1st FEBRUARY, SUNDAY, 08.26 P.M., KIM APARTMENT, BATHROOM, KIM SITS ON TOILET
pcy i dont want to say this
pcy but soo is tellin me to
pcy so ummmmm
pcy any figurines u want this month?
jm unfriended muted blocked reported
2nd FEBRUARY, MONDAY, 09.30 A.M., BYUN OFFICE (CONFERENCE ROOM)
The meetings are really boring, and Joonmyun knows better, knows he should be paying attention and actually caring about what's going on, but he has this really weird habit of thinking of Baekhyun when he's at them. Which is not professional behavior, not in the least. Not at all. No.
Still, at the third meeting, when the chief executive of the other company, someone tall and hot and pretty smoking-- Huang Zitao, steps up with lazy confidence and a slanted accent, Joonmyun finds himself sitting up and actually having an excuse to think of Baekhyun-- apparently Baekhyun had helped put together the reports, and once Zitao stutters and misses a page, goes off on a tangent and makes up a reason to blame someone else for it. Still, his digression has Minseok drawing his brows together and asking a few questions, and Joonmyun takes down minutes and frowns himself. Baekhyun had mentioned some stress going on at work, but Joonmyun hadn't guessed that his company would be merging with the one Joonmyun worked at.
Joonmyun's hand stills, pen hovering over the paper. What if they ended up working at the same offi-- "What are you doing," the secretary hisses, and Joonmyun's startled into taking minutes again. He still can't get the picture of Baekhyun in that pressed suit, from the conference months ago, sitting at the table and taking part in the meeting, out of his head. Not just unprofessional, but bordering on delusional. Or desperate. Weren't those two things related, anyway?
"I'll have to call in the consultants," Minseok cricks his neck as they walk out the building, towards the waiting limousine. "Joonmyun, have the tall one who did the reports cross check Huang's reports. They seem to be bringing in good profits, but they're still just a year old. Those stats are a bit too good for a start-up."
"Right, sir."
When they get back, he relays the message over to Sehun, who pales and swivels his chair irritatedly back to his computer. "What's wrong with the stupid intern? He should be pitching in and earning his experience, too."
"Intern's in IT," Joonmyun says, gently, but Sehun's already typing away and either can't hear him or is ignoring him. Joonmyun walks back to his own desk. Chanyeol leans over the partition to glare daggers.
Ah, the fickle changes a man makes in his loyalties for love. Graciously, Joonmyun lets it slide.
13th FEBRUARY, FRIDAY, 11.34 P.M., BYUN’S APARTMENT, BYUN KITCHEN
The last two years, Baekhyun has spent his night-before-Valentine’s either swagaliciously dougieing in a club, or furiously jacking off to porn in bed.
This year, Baekhyun is an emotional mess, locked up in the kitchen and ravenously eating everything in the fridge. Right now he has a plateful of cucumber pickles topped with peanut butter, and it tastes fucking awful.
His brain feels in overdrive, and the last thing he needs, he’s telling himself firmly, is tequila. That is like, the last thing he needs. For real. His hand continues to reach for the bottle in the bottom shelf, however, and soon he’s gotten some in his system.
His brain feels in overdrive, and the last thing he needs, he slurs aloud to himself, is a phone to contact people (especially Joonmyun) with. The last thing. For existential crisis real. His left hand comes up to slap his right hand away, but his right hand is a shining knight in armor, and continues against all odds and pathetic, drunk obstacles.
Baekhyun seizes the phone, and for a second he scares himself because he’s yelling “YEAHHHH!” and “NEVERRRR!” at apparently the same time, and that’s not very sane behavior. Neither is it humanly possible to utter two words simultaneously, a surprisingly sober and observant part of his mind points out. He’s probably so far gone that it seems that way, but really it isn’t.
Thus consoled, he takes selcas, likes all of Jongdae’s selfies on Instagram, and follows a bunch of nudists on Twitter.
Then he Drunk Texts Joonmyun.
Then he passes out.
14th FEBRUARY, SATURDAY, 02.36 A.M., KIM‘S APARTMENT, KIM’S BATHROOM
A super late night slash early morning shower hadn’t exactly been on Joonmyun’s agenda, but here he is, in his tub, blasting Excuse Me Miss by SHINee on his phone (a safe distance away from all water) at half past two. But then the song pauses, he hears a WhatsApp notification, and he groans before slipping and sliding his way dangerously out the tub and to the phone. He dries his hands on the towel next to it before checking the notifications.
Baekhyun's been sending him messages. Drunk ones, by the looks of it.
bbh ✿✿✿✿❀❀❀❀❀✿✿✿✿ (｡♥‿♥｡)
bbh i understandfd if u dont want to replyy andad there's no pressure
bhh if u dont want to reply!! im okay with sdddthat!! but i wanted tow say this!!
bbh happy valentine's!!!!!! ♡ ♡ ♡ (*｀▽´)_旦
bbh thatw’s an emoji rendition of a glaaaass of soju
bbh tequila tequilaaaaaaa
bbh ohhh mamacitaaaaaaa
Joonmyun bites his lip, trying not to grin. What is it with this guy?
jm you gross sap (｀・ω・´)”
jm soju and tequila aren’t valentine’s material at all
jm but i’ll take u up on it later
Then, as an afterthought, he adds,
jm happy valentine’s baekie ❤
14th FEBRUARY, SATURDAY, 07.23 A.M., BYUN APARTMENT, BYUN KITCHEN
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG.
“Apocalypse,” Baekhyun whispers to himself, left side of his mouth frozen to the cold floor.
BANG BANG BANG SHUDDER.
“BAEKHYUN! GET THE HELL OUT! I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE!”
Right, not the apocalypse. Just Jongdae, hammering on the door. Why can’t he leave Baekhyun alone? What does someone have to do around here to-- okay, he should quit with the thinking. Thinking hurts.
He opens his eyes to blinding, reflective surfaces of white.
“Baekhyun, I swear to Buddha--” BANG BANG.
This is not his bedroom. Is Baekhyun in the hospital? No, Baekhyun can’t be in the hospital. Hospitals don’t have fridges, do they? Big girls don’t cry, do they? Fergie, are you there? Are you listening?
“Baekhyun,” Jongdae growls, and Baekhyun speaks up.
“Where am I?”
Silence.
Then, “You’re in the kitchen. The kitchen, man, did you get wasted?”
Baekhyun maneuvers himself into a sitting position, looking plaintively around. “I don’t know,” he says, finally. “I feel sad.”
“Baekhyun,” Jongdae groans, against the door. “Don’t start right now. Open the door, and I’ll give you a hug, or something. Don’t just sit there. I’m starving.”
“I’m sad,” Baekhyun insists, peevishly. “You just want me to open so you can eat lunch.”
“Breakfast,” Jongdae corrects.
“Whatever! Breakfast! You’re still just using me! You don’t really want to hug!”
There’s a slow squeaking sound, followed by a little thud. Probably Jongdae sliding down the door on the other side and landing on his ass.
Baekhyun sniffs.
Then he catches sight of his phone. Then he checks his phone. Then he sees his messages. Then he sees Joonmyun’s Messages. Then he gets up blankly, stepping over his plate of cucumber pickles covered in peanut butter, opens the door for Jongdae, and washes his face.
Then he reads the messages again. Then he gives a small yelp. Then he takes Panadol for his headache and makes pancakes for a very surprised Jongdae.
“You okay?” Jongdae ventures, through a mouthful of syrupy pancake. “I mean, not that I mind this behavior. I really appreciate this! I was just, you know, wonderi--”
Baekhyun bends down to Jongdae’s ear and whispers, “He said happy Valentine’s.”
“Ah,” Jongdae swallows. “That. That makes sense. Clearly.”
17th FEBRUARY, TUESDAY, 04.36 P.M., A PARTICULARLY RUNDOWN ZOO (BECAUSE BYUN HAS BAD TASTE)
“Really can’t believe you drove me to a zoo,” Joonmyun says, again, and Baekhyun just grins to himself.
“Please. There’s nothing wrong with visiting a zoo. Kids do it all the time!”
“Right, exactly! Children! Do you look like a ten year old? Do I?”
Baekhyun shrugs, “I like to think we’ve-- oh, look, there are the monkeys. Let’s look at the monkeys.” And he loops his arm easily through Joonmyun’s and marches him off. Just in time, too, because a class of fourth graders arrives just as they start moving, and they’re flooded around the waists with eight year olds in no time. Joonmyun looks vaguely uncomfortable, Baekhyun smiles down at them all. Nasty little buggers.
“Like I was saying,” Baekhyun calls over the noise, “I like to think we’ve retained our youthful looks in these trying times.”
“Trying times my dick,” Joonmyun calls back, and although Baekhyun tells him to keep it down because there are children here now, he’s secretly impressed that Joonmyun’d curse in front of them.
Gradually, the kids move on to the lions and the elephants and what-not, and the two grown-ass men in a zoo for kids stand alone in front of the monkey area. Joonmyun looks interested in a little baby monkey despite his earlier protests.
“When I first laid eyes on you,” Baekhyun starts, tone a bit rich with flair and pomp, promising swoon worthy dialogue to come.
“When you first laid eyes on me,” Joonmyun repeats, unimpressed by said flair and pomp that promised bull, “We were both piss drunk. So shut it.”
Baekhyun quiets, chastised. Then, “Are you mad about the zoo?”
“Nah,” Joonmyun shrugs. “The monkeys are cute.”
“The merger talk going on at work?” Baekhyun knows about the situation from Joonmyun’s phone calls.
“Hmm,” Joonmyun toes the glass that separates them from the monkeys. “Ever think about how we might have actually had really interesting, intoxicated copulation that time we got our coats swapped?” He’s evading it, and Baekhyun lets it slide for now.
“I almost didn’t put the ad up,” Baekhyun admits, “I was too busy thinking about all the possibilities… the positions… the perky nipples…”
Joonmyun snorts. “All the perky nipples? What’d you expect, five nipples? Eight?”
“You get too caught up in the grammatical order of sentences,” Baekhyun complains. “Just go with the flow.”
“Sure,” Joonmyun grins, then gets an earnest look on his face. “Honestly though, I’m glad you did put the ad up.”
“Me, too.” Then, “What a romantic conversation we are having here.”
“Totally romantic,” Joonmyun agrees. He points at an overly excited monkey that’s waving at them. “See, even he agrees.”
And Joonmyun looks so cute, just then, all puffed up in his winter coat with the furry collar and his gloved hands and his oversized beanie, nose pink and eyes ridiculously bright-- and he’d actually held Baekhyun’s hand last time, and then he’d called him ‘baekie’ on the 14th which has to mean something, and all this worrying makes him feel like a schoolgirl-- Baekhyun can’t help himself.
He leans over and presses their lips together, just the slightest bit. Joonmyun’s lips are soft and taste of apple chapstick, as usual, his nose cold against Baekhyun’s cheek. Baekhyun holds it for a beat, smiling into it when Joonmyun’s hands come up to pull on his jacket’s lapels and get him closer, before stepping back abruptly.
Baekhyun’s wearing his shit-eating grin when Joonmyun’s eyes fly open, first lost, then irritated. “Come back here!” he orders. “At once!” He makes to step close to Baekhyun, but Baekhyun takes another step back, laughing outright at Joonmyun’s frustration. He lets Joonmyun kiss him again for a few seconds before pulling back a second time. “Not in public,” he whispers, their noses bumping.
Joonmyun sags against him, head falling on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “‘Kay,” he says, hushed.
They stand there, for a bit, just like that. In the middle of a second rate zoo with the monkeys a few feet away and all the school kids yammering in the distance in front of the horses, and nobody else in sight.
Screw it if someone says he has bad taste (he has a feeling Kyungsoo would say that), but Baekhyun thinks this is kind of romantic.
20th FEBRUARY, FRIDAY, 10.14 A.M., KIM OFFICE
The consultant team is, for what it's worth, pretty hot. Chanyeol actually jogs up to one of them with a grin on his face and gives the guy a one-armed hug. "Jihoon!" he whisper-yells, and the head consultant turns back with a disapproving look on his face.
"Hyung," the other guy whisper-yells back, before joining the others and heading to Minseok's office. Chanyeol just waves goofily until Jihoon disappears behind the door.
Subject: pray who is good cousin Jihoon
i'm not usually this nosy, but until minseok gives me shit to do after he's done with the meeting, i'm pretty jobless. so who is this guy.
Chanyeol goes, "Aaaah," out loud, and Joonmyun gets a reply a minute later.
Subject: class mate RE: pray who is good cousin Jihoon
he's an old classmate!!! used to be best friends. auditioned at jyp with raps and no dance. didn't get in tho.....
Forty eight seconds later.
Subject: RE: class mate RE: pray who is good cousin Jihoon
and pls boss u don't need to cover up the flaws in ur personality. u've been this nosy since day one.
Joonmyun takes offense and doesn't send him another email ever again for the rest of the day.
(He does send him a text afterwards, though, saying, Let's hear rapper Chanyeol one day. I'm sure you're good!!!)
22nd FEBRUARY, SUNDAY, 03.56 A.M., A PHONE CALL
"You know," Joonmyun calls Baekhyun at four in the morning. "Kyungsoo said something about work, about the merger thing going on? I feel really bad about that, like, what if I get fired? Where am I going to go? I mean, definitely not back home, that shit was surreal and I don't mean that in a good way. And, honestly," Joonmyun pauses to catch his breath, "I couldn't bring myself to stay over at Kyungsoo and Chanyeol's, because that's plain embarrassing. I'm the eldest, I should be that safe haven bedrock metaphor for everyone-- even you! You're younger than me, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Baekhyun croaks. "Just by a year though--"
"Don't," Joonmyun grouses, running a hand through his hair. "There's no such thing as just a year! I'm an octegenarian compared to you guys, and, really, what if we all get fired together? And this company's buying yours, I found out in one of the meetings, what if you guys downsize and you get fired too? What--"
"Joon," Baekhyun starts, then coughs and apologizes. "Sorry about that. But, really, Joonmyun. Listen to me."
Joonmyun lowers his head, leaning against the phone. "Yeah?" he says, voice small.
"Okay. Let's back up. First, I know you're not gonna believe me or feel better about this, but you have to hear this anyway. Nobody's going to get first."
"You know that's not true!"
"I said you wouldn't believe it. But okay, I'll fix that. Nobody important will get fired, okay? You and your friends, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, the crimefighting duo, and Sehun, the crimefighting tall guy's soulmate, you're all going to be totally fine. What's there to ask more from you guys? Hardworking, you show results, you’re all prime employees!"
Joonmyun stays silent, wills himself to accept it, but it's difficult.
"Right," Baekhyun says, voice clearing up now that he's more awake. "Point one, down. Point two, in case all this firing happens-- which it won't-- your friends will help, okay? You have to ease off on this age versus responsibilities versus expectations thing. It's fine. We're fine, you're fine. Friends are a mutual relationship, alright? It's great that you'll be there for them-- and, surprise, they'll be there for you too!"
Joonmyun knows he should be listening, truly and properly, to what Baekhyun is saying, and he is. He really is, but the fierce support in Baekhyun's talking is doing him wonders as it is, loosening the tension in his shoulders. He curls up in his blanket, staring at the wall opposite as he listens.
"...And in the case we all get fired, probabilities of which are close to impossible, we can go to my bro's place, where we will be stuffed in one guest room and have to put up with his wild bunny sex inn the room upstairs with a new girl each week. But that's way better than living on the streets, right?"
"Sounds comforting," Joonmyun mumbles. "Our future is bright."
"Shining bright," Baekhyun replies, sounding very serious.
"Shine bright like a diamond," Joonmyun offers, and Baekhyun lets out a whoop.
"Can that be our song?"
"Huh?" Joonmyun's having a hard time concentrating, now. He's so close to just falling asleep.
"Our song! Can it be Diamonds."
"Sure," Joonmyun yawns. "Rihanna. Moonshine and molly."
Baekhyun laughs quietly. "Falling asleep there, Joonybun?"
"Can't believe you called me that, Baekiepie."
"Myunnymuffin."
"Hyunnypoo."
They're both laughing now, and Joonmyun says, "Baekhyun?"
"Yeah?"
Joonmyun loves how he can hear the smile in Baekhyun's voice.
"Thanks."
"Hey," Baekhyun says, gently. "Nothing to thank me about."
There's a slight pause, as they hear each other's breathing, and Joonmyun feels like he should say, I love you, wants to say no, I have to thank you for so much, but he opts for, "Well, let's go to sleep now," and Baekhyun chuckles and bids him goodnight.
28th FEBRUARY, SATURDAY, 09.23 P.M., MOVING TOWARDS A PARKING LOT (UNBEKNOWNST TO BYUN)
“Have you noticed something,” Baekhyun looks out the window. The sky overhead is just the dimmest shades of purple, stars beginning to glimmer like so many twinkling lights.
“Yeah?” Joonmyun says, steering the car to the left.
“We never actually club anymore,” Baekhyun turns to laugh at him. “Like, never.”
“How do you know I don’t club. Did we have some kind of mutual agreement?” Joonmyun challenges, smiling serenely back, and Baekhyun freezes at that.
“Well, I, um, I didn’t think you-- I’m sorry that I--”
But Joonmyun’s laughing mischievously and Baekhyun realizes he was just pulling his leg. “Hey,” he says, “That was kind of mean.”
“I’m sorry,” Joonmyun says, still laughing but trying to stop. “I just wanted to see the look on your face.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Baekhyun grouses. “Why are we… parked in a parking lot?”
Joonmyun just unlocks the doors and slides out of his seat. Baekhyun remains sitting, confused, until Joonmyun reaches his side of the car and opens the door for him.
“Dude,” Baekhyun says, scrambling out, “What’re we doing.”
“We’re going to be sitting on the tin roofs,” Joonmyun blows into his hands, cheerfully, rubbing them together.
“The tin roofs,” Baekhyun repeats. “The eaves? These flimsy things over the cars that keep them dry during rain?”
“The very ones,” Joonmyun says, and starts climbing his car.
“Dude!” Baekhyun yells. “Dude, what the fuck?”
“Come on! I used to do this all the time in high school!”
“What,” Baekhyun says, despairing, “Climb parking lot roofs?”
“It’s fun,” Joonmyun calls out, swinging himself onto the roof. He rolls right to the center, and Baekhyun watches apprehensively as the structure wavers a little, before keeping still. “If you move,” Baekhyun shouts, “The whole thing will fall! I’m calling the ambulance!”
“Jesus, Buddha and Yehova,” Joonmyun snorts, voice carrying in the empty space. “Look, I’ll walk the entire length and show you.”
Anxiously, Baekhyun looks on as Joonmyun actually walks the length of the roof, then walk diagonal, then jump in the center. “Joonmyun!”
“Relax!” Joonmyun laughs, breathlessly. “See? It’s all safe! Come up!”
The next few minutes are a mess of Baekhyun arguing that he’s actually a hundred kilos and if he steps on it then they’ll both die, and Joonmyun saying he’s lying, and Baekhyun maintaining that he isn’t, and Joonmyun saying he’s lying, and Baekhyun adamantly saying he isn’t, and Joonmyun finally asking him to climb on another one and Baekhyun asking why, and Joonmyun saying he’ll find out soon enough, and Baekhyun insisting on why and Joonmyun saying fine, Baekhyun won’t ever find out if he doesn’t try, and Baekhyun saying fine, and Joonmyun saying fine back, and Baekhyun finally giving in.
“This,” Baekhyun whispers, “Is terrifying.”
“What did you say?” Joonmyun yells, waving happily from his tin roof. He’s lying on his stomach, snug in his huge windbreaker. Baekhyun wishes he was wearing something thicker, himself.
“I SAID,” Baekhyun shouts, “THIS IS TERRIFYING.”
“DON’T LOOK DOWN,” Joonmyun cups his hands around his mouth. “LOOK AT THE STARS.”
And when Baekhyun does look at the stars, he realizes what they came for. The added height of the roof doesn’t do much to the whole star visibility thing, but it makes him feel fragile and higher up anyway, closer to being alone with the sky. Curiously enough, when he lies back (tentative, still terrified) and breathes it all in, he feels close to Joonmyun too, even though they’re on their separate roofs and two whole yards away.
“That’s the Big Dipper,” Joonmyun says, and his voice echoes a little when it reaches Baekhyun, but he hears it well enough anyway.
“No it’s not,” Baekhyun says. “You’re making it up to impress me.”
“That’s true,” Joonmyun admits, and they laugh themselves silly, delirious on alone-together-separate-stars-above-and-shining. Whatever that is. But Baekhyun loves it. Baekhyun loves…
1st MARCH, SUNDAY, 07.32 A.M., KIM CHAT ROOM
Kim Joonmyun (jm)
Status: if anyone asks me what my lucky item is i will end you
2nd MARCH, MONDAY, 12.13 P.M., BYUN’S APARTMENT
“Baekhyun, you’re the light of my life and I appreciate everything you’ve ever done for me, ever ever ever.”
Baekhyun looks at his housemate over the top of his laptop screen. “What d’you want, Jongdae.”
Jongdae doesn’t even have the decency to look abashed. He just takes another step inside the room, hands twisting a little nervously. “A favor.”
“Clearly, Jongdae, otherwise you wouldn’t be uttering such blasphemies of everlasting love. Lu Han would be throwing up right now.”
“This is actually about Lu Han,” Jongdae swallows.
Baekhyun puts his laptop away, interested. “Have you been having wet dreams about him, then.”
“Could you just,” Jongdae gestures to the door, “Make yourself scarce tomorrow? I want to invite him over.”
“Wow,” Baekhyun lets out an astonished sound. “Smooth. Make myself scarce? How about I pose like a sculpture in your room and tape you two having sex?”
Jongdae pales. “I’m really just going to ask him out after a nice, homemade dinner--”
“I’ll put salt in the sugar jar,” Baekhyun assures him.
“--And if he says yes, I’ll drive him home and kiss his cheek, and if he says no, I will drive him home and pat his shoulder,” Jongdae completes, glaring.
Baekhyun leans back, enjoying this. “Well,” he says. “You have it all planned out, don’t you?”
“Baekhyun.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll go, I’ll go. I’ll beg in the streets and ask for shelter, since that’s what my backstabbing best friend has driven me to.”
“Suck my dick,” Jongdae rolls his eyes.
Baekhyun whistles. “It isn’t me you really want, Jongdae. You have to think that request, really think it--”
“Baekhyun!” Jongdae storms out.
Baekhyun relents, picking up his phone.
“Hey, Joonmyun? Yeah, it’s me. Yeah, I’m fine, what about you? That’s good! That’s good… listen, can I come over tomorrow? Ha, nothing serious! Just my housemate, he, a, err… has this project. Wants to be alone. He can be pretty demanding. Umm, maybe a few hours? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, okay. Thanks, man. Yeah. Take care.”
Jongdae peeks in from the doorway. “Well?”
Baekhyun sighs. “All clear.”
“Catch!” Jongdae throws him a Twix bar as thanks.
3rd MARCH, TUESDAY, 06.17 P.M., KIM’S APARTMENT (KIM’S LIVING ROOM)
Joonmyun's on the sofa, reading. Baekhyun’s playing a loud game on his phone, lying spread eagled on the carpet. He keeps sending Joonmyun furtive looks before clearing his throat a few times and speaking up. "I didn't pin you for Greek philosophy."
Joonmyun glances up from his book, "What about me doesn't seem to fit in with Greek philosophy?"
Baekhyun shakes his head, waving his legs in the air. "I don't know. Socrates and Plato and all... they seem to be really into logic. Were they ever in any relationships? Did they know what feelings even were?"
Joonmyun snorts, "There are so many things wrong with that argument, it doesn't even count as an argument."
Baekhyun raises his brows, eyes straying down to Joonmyun's mouth before looking back up again. "Okay, tell you what. You give me a kiss to chastise me for each point I got wrong, and then explain it right to me." He's already worming his way between Joonmyun's legs without waiting for an answer, grin crooked as he looks up at Joonmyun.
"That'll take forever," Joonmyun complains, but his feet are already crossing at the ankles over Baekhyun's back, his knees hooked over Baekhyun's shoulders. Baekhyun tilts his head and bats his lashes. "Please?" And Joonmyun's gone at that, flipping his book over to lean down and cup Baekhyun's face in his hands.
1st APRIL, WEDNESDAY, 11.34 A.M., KIM OFFICE, KIM CUBICLE
Nobody really grows up. Joonmyun’s learned this epiphany over and over, and each time hits harder than the last. This year’s April Fools is one of the times. Kyungsoo sits on a cleverly hidden fart balloon, Chanyeol takes a drink of water only to find out that it’s vodka, and Joonmyun gets a mountain of post-its in two distinct handwritings, all proclaiming, korea’s next top lucky item with various drawings underneath the proclamation (a tampon, a monkey, a lone sock, and so forth).
“Guys,” Joonmyun announces, “I am no longer going to be taking monthly lucky items.”
“You’ll be taking the weekly ones, then?” Kyungsoo hides a smile behind his hand.
“No,” Joonmyun explains, patiently, “I’ll be taking none at all.”
“Any moment now,” Chanyeol guesses, “He’ll be saying ‘April Fools’.”
Joonmyun gives up.
10th APRIL, FRIDAY, 12.01 P.M., KIM OFFICE, LUNCHROOM
"Bossman," Chanyeol says, once, during lunch.
It's Kyungsoo's turn to get their trays for them, and the queue is getting long.
"Hmmm," Joonmyun leans back in his chair to stretch.
"How do you and Baekhyun even date, really? You guys are so... lowkey. I bet nobody at work except us knows."
"That's because I'm friends with nobody else at work except you guys," Joonmyun explains, drily.
"Ah," Chanyeol says, then asks again. "So how do you guys date? You tell us all the time and I still don't get it."
Joonmyun sits back up, a little surprised by Chanyeol's insistence. "Well, okay, I guess... it's steady? There's no label, but that's mainly because I don't want one. Yet. I think. And I mean, there's the whole, you know, been together for six months thing. It's steady. We don't really rush? To see each other all the time?”
Chanyeol nods.
"Don't think we really did, at the beginning, either. It's just always been comfortable. And I mean, except for when I screwed up at the end of last year, our communication's been pretty good! And sometimes..." Joonmyun colors and stops talking, shaking his head when Chanyeol presses. Sometimes we send each other dick pics and it's pretty cool, remains unsaid. "It's just nice," he provides, instead.
"Huh," Chanyeol says. He probably feels there more room for a satisfactory answer.
So Joonmyun adds, “And his April Fool’s prank was decidedly gentle. I got a Baskin Robbin’s tub that was full of salty frozen yogurt instead of vanilla ice cream.”
Kyungsoo comes back just then. "Hola senors," he says, tonelessly. "All the pizza finished. I got us corned beef sandwiches instead."
18th APRIL, SATURDAY, 06.12 P.M., THE SIDEKICKS’ APARTMENT, BEDROOM
Sehun’s week late birthday party is coming up (he hadn’t told anyone until Chanyeol had asked him, on Thursday), and Chanyeol’s coerced Joonmyun into coming and helping him shop slash wrap slash oversee the proceedings.
Kyungsoo’s better at all that than Joonmyun is, but Kyungsoo has better things to do: namely, rewatch Revolutionary Girl Utena, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Hunter x Hunter and-- most important of them all-- Prince of Tennis. It’s a kind of legendary joke that Kyungsoo stayed stony faced through a non-anaesthetic surgery on his busted forehead (ten stitches) at age seven, but gives in to furiously controlled tears due to anime at twenty three.
Anyway, back to Chanyeol fussing over Sehun. “I’m thinking of putting together a mixtape for him, too,” he’s saying. “You know, when he made that mistake at the presentation, he told me later that the d’Allons guy didn’t actually exist. He made him up!”
Joonmyun’s eyebrows go into his hairline. He thought the guy at least existed, but apparently Sehun just worked really well under pressure.
“He’s a genius, basically. And I have this whole playlist of songs that make me think of him? I might put in a few of those in the tape.”
“Sounds great,” Joonmyun raises his legs in the air, squinting and trying to reach the ceiling.
“Stop it,” Kyungsoo frowns from behind his laptop. “It’s distracting.”
Joonmyun lifts his ass on his arms and tries harder. “Chanyeol,” Joonmyun says, voice straining under his effort. “Do you have any songs that make you think of me?”
Chanyeol blanches, mouth agape. Joonmyun collapses back on the bed. “You know,” he groans, rolling over to rub his own back. “Because we’re good friends, right?” He turns his neck to look at Chanyeol anxiously when there’s silence for a while.
Chanyeol’s grinning, cheeks pink. “Aww, boss,” he says, “Come ‘ere, give me a hug.”
Kyungsoo pinches the bridge of his nose.
19th APRIL, SUNDAY, 10.15 A.M., LOTTE WORLD (BECAUSE BYUN’S TASTE IS LIKE WINE, IT GETS BETTER WITH TIME)
They do survive the great Employee Harvest, as Baekhyun tells Joonmyun his desk mate, Eunji, calls it. Kyungsoo prefers The Reaping, and will add 'Soul Reaping' to explain it, if he's asked. Chanyeol's named it Quality Control. "I'm research and development," he'd burped, after lunch. "The status quo and quality are how I breathe. Nothing too harsh about it to me now." Which doesn't explain it fully, but they let it pass. Sehun's just grateful Minseok didn't fire him the second that dumbass painting showed up on screen.
“Told you so,” Baekhyun tells him, when they arrive at the theme park, and Joonmyun just quietly loops an arm through his.
“You did. Ice cream?”
“First thing,” Baekhyun asks, disbelieving, but quickly gives in. “I mean, yeah, sure, of course.”
Whipped, he thinks to himself, a tad miserably.
After ice cream-- Baekhyun’s strawberry, Joonmyun opting for coffee-- they decide to go to the ferris wheel. The line’s not to long, and Kyungsoo updates Joonmyun on Chanyeol’s Sehun adventure. “Baekhyun,” Joonmyun grins, tugging his sleeve. “Sehun’s apparently in love with Chanyeol’s mixtape and thinks he wraps divinely. I’ll have you know that I wrapped that shit.”
“Well, good on you,” Baekhyun elbows him, about to say something cheesy, but a kid comes up with cotton candy and steals his moment.
“Cotton candy, sirs?” he asks, bored, and Joonmyun buys three on the spot.
“We can share the last one on the ride,” he explains, handing over two to him. Baekhyun’s got the pink one.
“You gave me the pink one,” Baekhyun says. Joonmyun’s eyes just twinkle over his own white cloud. Baekhyun’s about to elaborate on how pink his is and how not-pink Joonmyun’s is, but he is again interrupted, this time by the ferris guy. “Please stick out your hand,” the guy tells them, bored, “And we’ll check your rides band.”
Finally in the ferris wheel, Baekhyun turns to face Joonmyun again. “I don’t like pink,” he says. “Why’d you have to give me pink.”
“Well,” Joonmyun says, taking a big bite of his white cloud and keeping his mouth open. “Cah ah geh ih,” he says, and Baekhyun pales.
“That’s not attractive, Joonmyun,” he whispers, and Joonmyun nearly chokes with laughter.
“Cah ah geh ih,” he insists.
“Are you literally saying, ‘come and get it’? For real? Joonmyun?”
When they reach the top, though, Baekhyun gives in and actually leans in to kiss him. It’s cotton-y, but also very sweet. “What you think,” Joonmyun says, contentedly looking out.
“I think I’d rather do it again, minus the candy,” Baekhyun decides, which is exactly what happens afterwards.
"YOU KNOW, IN FRANCE," Baekhyun offers, later, in the rollercoaster, "THEY SAY WILD PARTIES FIND EVERYBODY IN THE NEXT COUNTRY."
If Joonmyun wasn't upside down with his stomach in his mouth and his arms hanging down, he'd be raising his eyebrows. Life flashes before him in an upsettingly speedy blur of bluebrownblue.
"REALLY," he screams, tears trickling down his hair. Then they flip back right side up and climb up another peak.
"No shit. Urban legends, Mister, ah, Kim." His tone is strangely flirtatious.
"Why are you flirting when we’re both this close to vomiting?" Joonmyun says, plainly, before they're yanked down and yelling again. Joonmyun isn't sure how to breathe anymore. This isn’t the kind of romantic breathlessness he'd pictured himself having.
"MOTHER. MOTHER OF JESUS. MOTHER OF CHRIST. BUDDHA," someone's shrieking from behind, and Joonmyun screams, "I NEED RELIGION," in agreement. Baekhyun's just laughing hysterically, bony elbow poking him in the cheek as he flails. It's painful. Everything is painful.
As the their car slows down at the end of the ride, Baekhyun's hand creeps up onto his lap. Joonmyun jabs him in the ribs.
"Come on," Baekhyun mumbles, tired. His chin's hooked over Joonmyun's shoulder as he follows him around. They've been walking in circles as Joonmyun wiggles and Baekhyun obstinately hangs on.
"Please," Baekhyun takes a hold of his wrists. "Boyfriends?"
Joonmyun's shoulders sag, and he grins so wide his cheek brushes Baekhyun's. "I guess."
“Hey,” Baekhyun nudges him with his chin, “No kiss?”
“Seriously?” Joonmyun laughs, and turns around to face him.
23rd APRIL, THURSDAY, 06.35 p.m., THE BYUN CHAT ROOM (SPORTING THE SHINY NEW ADDITION, KIM JOONMYUN)
bbh club y/y
jm you've got to be SHITTING me
kjd oi is this the new bf
dok aye so it is
jm wait
jm kyungsoo????????????????
kAi what up everybody
kAi taemin here
dok aye so it is
kAi my word of the day is
lh ok...........
lh wat now yo
kAi TURNT
jm WAIT!!!!!!!!!!
jm ????????????
1. In case anybody was wondering, this is octagon.
2. People I owe my soul to: H and M for cheering me on and believing in me! F and S for the movie points ;u; C, E, L for the gold gold gold office pointers. Ph for emotional support!
3. I actually had Gwanghamun planned ages before Kyu’s album (I DID ACTUAL RESTAURANT RESEARCH for Seoul, ok). [Insert Jongdae’s selca with the album]
4. Cloak and Dagger is in fact a real drarry fanfic series!! And that drama Joonmyun was watching is also real!! But idk anything about it except the title sorry
5. TY TY TY TY so so so much Hyemi, beautiful recipient who is a beautiful human who has graced me to become my beautiful friend, I had the biggest blast writing this. I mean it was stressful and tiring at times (and which exchange fic submission isn’t!!) but overall I just had so much fun and I’m really thankful to you for that. I haven’t had actual FUN while writing something before EVER. You’re great. I hope you liked it... ;~;