Obvious and Oblivious for everyone 1/3
Title: Obvious and Oblivious
For: everyone
Pairing: Sehun/Xiumin
Rating: R
Length: 12k
Summary: Oh Sehun inadvertently lets someone fall asleep on his shoulders-and it isn't his Joonmyeon hyung. There is minimal drool involved.
The subway is unusually crowded at this time of day, but Sehun doesn’t really mind as long as no one ends up sitting next to him. The amount of glares he’s sent people is endless, and he’s only been in his seat for ten minutes (when he’d first gotten on the subway car, he had to stand next to a pole until those three giggling girls had finally gotten off; he sat in the middle-the seat was still warm, gross-and set his stuff on both the seats besides him).
Sehun eyes a nearby stranger. Oddly, he feels sorry for the dude, sitting uncomfortably between two blatantly flirting people. A thought wiggles into Sehun’s head-he could let the boy have one of his seats-but he shrugs it off, telling himself that it’s fine, the guy can deal.
But then there’s an ahjumma that gets on the subway, and well-Sehun can’t make himself get up. He knows that it’s rude, but it works out because the ahjumma doesn’t even look to him, only holds onto a pole as if she’s used to the subway being so full. Sehun doesn’t really notice, but out of the corner of his eye, the boy sitting between the flirting couple stands up. He offers the ahjumma the seat-the lady’s eyes brighten, immediately complimenting him, and now, the guy is standing. He’s quite short.
Sehun yawns, which makes the boy yawn as well-Sehun only notices because it’s a little cute, the way the boy stretches his arms to cover his mouth. His nose scrunches up nicely. The guy’s eyes are droopy.
The boy makes eye contact with Sehun. He shifts his feet this way and that, awkward, but it’s Sehun who’s the one that feels the most awkward because now Sehun feels obligated to give up his extra seats. His face twists a little bit, eyes shifting this way and that before he gives up.
Semi-irritated, Sehun sighs and takes one bag away and sets it on the other seat. He then makes an attempt to make eye contact with the guy again. The first time is a failure since Sehun doesn’t make much of an attempt, but the second time the boy smiles shyly, making his way towards Sehun’s new seat.
"Um,” the boy mumbles once he’s on the seat. Closer, this boy is kind of cute. He has copper colored hair, and a cute smile. His cheeks look soft. "Thank you for giving up your seat,” the boy smiles. It’s a little dazzling. Sehun can’t really hear him very well over the sound of the subway train.
"Ah, it’s no problem, I guess. It was...nice of you to give up your seat for that ahjumma though.” Sehun has no idea why he’s complimenting him.
"Oh, well,” the boy scratches the back of his head. "Thanks...”
The boy is quiet momentarily; Sehun hopes that he gets off the subway soon because he’d like the seat back.
"So, ah...” Sehun hadn’t expected the boy to speak, especially make small talk. "It’s really busy today, huh?”
"Uh, yeah...”
Sehun’s eyes rake over the entire train before landing on the boy again. The boy’s eyes are still droopy, almost falling shut a few times, and Sehun’s eyebrows scrunch together worryingly. Sehun’s not sure exactly how much he likes the idea of having to sit next to a snoring boy for the rest of the train ride. Sehun squirms awkwardly in his seat as the boy’s eyes start to droop further.
"It’s really hot in here, huh?” The guy mumbles quietly into the direction of Sehun’s shoulder; his voice sounds distant, as if he’s already half asleep..
Sehun tries to sound nonchalant, "Mhmm.”
All is well for a few moments; then, something lands on his shoulder, and Sehun’s eyes shoot wide open. He can feel hair tickling his neck and-
Oh my god, is he on my shoulder?
The question is unnecessary, because from what Sehun can see, he most definitely is. The boy’s chest rises and falls slowly, keeping pace with the boy’s breath, and his mouth his hanging open. Should he wake the guy up? Let him sleep?
The guy is really cute though. Like, really cute. Almost as cute as Joonmyeon hyung. There’s something about this boy that reminds him of his Joonmyeon hyung a lot, actually. The guy seems peaceful, the type that calms Sehun down immediately. His bangs fall onto his forehead and Sehun has half a mind to brush them away. But then drool starts to drip from the boy’s mouth, onto Sehun’s shoulder. Sehun gags a little bit. The liquid stains Sehun’s shirt. Kind of like mucus. The thought grosses him out. He can feel plenty of eyes on him but he decides to ignore them.
The guy sniffles in his sleep, and Sehun glares at the girl sitting across from him, giggling at the way drool is starting to pool on his shoulder. She shuts up when she meets his eyes and Sehun turns his head to look. It’s disgusting, really, but Sehun can’t bring himself to wake the guy up.
Sehun doesn’t know why he won’t wake him up. He’s sure that the only one that would be able to get away with this is Joonmyeon hyung, and Joonmyeon hyung is special. The thought is a little frightening, especially while Sehun is still staring at this boy so much, but he is so...pretty. This is not the time or place to be thinking things like that though, so Sehun goes back to glaring at the crowd in the subway.
Sehun tries not to move for the remainder of the ride, which is hard because he starts to get a cramp in his shoulder. Other than that, it is not totally uncomfortable. The only thing uncomfortable about the situation is that this boy is a total stranger, and other strangers are staring and quite possibly laughing. It makes Sehun blush, the pink flush running down his neck, down to his chest. There are a few times when the subway does hit a few bumps, but it only stirs the boy a little bit from his sleep. Sehun hates how he likes the scrunch of the boy's nose after each one, the way it makes his eyes curve slightly, because this is not a cute situation.
The guy only finally wakes up after the fourth harsh bump on the train and Sehun watches the boy for the incredibly cute scrunching of his face, then looks away to the other seat. He pretends to fuss with his belongings, taking out the mounds of wrappers from the drawstring bag. Sehun can still feel the pool of drool on his shoulder; it’s about the size of a coffee stain. He feels the boy startle, jostling his shoulder in the process.
"Oh my god, did I-did I fall asleep on your shoulder?” It’s little more than a shout, but he’s so close to Sehun’s ear that he has to wince from the volume. When the boy moves his head away, Sehun feels a little empty.
"I-Yeah, but it’s fine,” Sehun mumbles, face burning. His hands are still buried in his bag and he is totally uncomfortable.
Sehun can feel the boy’s eyes on him, "Are you sure? I-" the boy stops speaking so abruptly that Sehun has to wonder why. "Oh my god, I drooled on you!”
Sehun finally turns his head to look at the boy. His face is so red, Sehun feels sympathetic for him. "It’s okay, it’s okay!”
(It’s not okay. Sehun has no idea why he’s saying that it is. Sehun hates getting other people’s dirt on him, he hates it even more than his own dirt.)
"No it’s not!” The boy looks up at the stop signal. "I’m getting off in two stops, so at least let me clean your shirt or something!”
"Well-I don’t want to cause you any trouble,” Sehun mumbles again. He really doesn’t, but still, it was not okay. Sehun’s not sure why he’s not causing a fuss. Usually he’d be less...calm.
"No, it’s fine! It’s completely my fault, so please let me at least wash your shirt and give you a new one.” The boy is already patting Se Hun’s wet shoulder, which is gross, as if that would persuade him.
Sehun only says yes because his shirt’s dirty. That’s the only reason.
While walking to his apartment, the guy introduces himself as Kim Minseok.
Sehun tells himself it’s sort of a coincidence when Minseok drags him off the subway car at the stop that he’d meant to get off at. He realizes that they must live close by, whilst Minseok leads him through the awful crowd of kids and the warm type of summer blurring into autumn weather. He knows that he’ll most-likely never see Minseok again after today, but he likes the idea of seeing his house or apartment or wherever he lives. That’s a private thing that only friends let each other have-their address, sort of-but then again, they’re not friends.
Sehun resents that.
They should be friends, Sehun thinks, they would be really compatible! Or at least, Sehun thinks so. He at least tolerates Minseok, and that’s one step in the right direction to friendship! Sehun’s pretty sure that Lu Han will be proud when he tells him this. Lu Han always says that he needs more friends.
Minseok, it turns out, lives very close to Sehun’s apartment complex-it’s actually the next complex over. It’s a nicer place than his, really nice and well furnished. Sehun’s apartment looks like poop compared to his to be honest.
"Do you-Do you want something to drink?” Minseok is already heading towards the kitchen while Sehun awkwardly stands in the doorway.
"Some water, maybe?”
Minseok nods in acknowledgement. "You can sit on the couch,” he mumbles.
Sehun does what he’s told and looks to the window outside. Sehun thinks he can see his apartment from there, right above the coffee house with the annoying, purple neon sign at the corner of the street the window is looking out over.
Minseok comes in with Sehun’s glass of water and a shirt In his hand, "I’m so, so sorry Sehun sshi. I must’ve been extra sleepy today, but that’s absolutely no excuse for falling asleep on you! Especially not...drooling on you...” Minseok’s cheeks flush pink.
Sehun takes a moment to take in what Minseok’s saying; he is distracted by the pink staining the boy’s cheeks. It’s very flattering. "I told you, it’s fine.”
"Well,” Minseok stalls, "I’m still washing your shirt. Here’s another one that you can wear, I think you’re my roommate’s size.”
The shirt is actually a white wifebeater, but Sehun shrugs.He’s about to take off his shirt on the couch when he remembers that Minseok is a stranger-and therefore won’t appreciate seeing a stranger naked (even though Sehun’s pretty proud of his body, he’s worked hard on it you know!).
"Um,” Minseok’s cheeks are still flushed, if only a shade darker than before. "The bathroom’s over there.”
After Sehun’s changed his shirt, he heads back to the living room where Minseok takes the stained shirt and goes to wash it.
"I am so, so sorry Sehun sshi, I really am. Do you want my number so you can pick up your shirt later? Or do you want to stay and-yeah, stay! I’ll order us takeout, that’s the least I can do.”
"Well, I-"
Minseok turns to look at him. His eyes are so large, almost like Lu Han hyung’s. They also look like Minseok’s about to cry if Sehun declines.
"Um, alright then,” Sehun relents, sagging into the couch a little.
Minseok orders them Chinese food from a place that Sehun really likes and it takes a while for delivery but by the time the food comes, Sehun has figured out a lot about Minseok.
Minseok goes to the same university as Sehun does and is two years older than Sehun. He’s on the soccer team, and has a part-time job at a bookstore. While he talks, Minseok takes sips from his iced tea and fusses with his nails. He kind of looks like a hamster.
As soon as Sehun sets down his lunch tray in the cafeteria, Lu Han’s already started to talk his ears off, something about this stupid seminar he’s taking that’s required for his major. Sehun keeps quiet, nodding occasionally so that Lu Han won’t bug him about not listening again. When it’s Sehun’s turn to update his friend about his life, Sehun struggles at the thought of telling Lu Han about his one-time encounter with Kim Minseok. He tries to be casual, nonchalant.
"…yeah, so, it was kind of weird. We ordered takeout and talked until my shirt was dry.”
"Wait, who is this guy again? A stranger? And he drooled on you?” Lu Han asks, clearly interested. Sehun doesn’t really interact with many people outside of his friend group. Lu Han’s surprised that Sehun hadn’t thrown up on the poor guy. There was one time Lu Han had a cold and whined for Sehun to get him medicine and Sehun just left it on his doorstep, refusing to go inside because of the germs.
"Ah, yeah, his name was Minseok. He was really nice about it though, and we talked a lot while we were eating. He’s really… yeah, really nice…” Sehun trails off.
He doesn’t notice Lu Han’s look of awe until Lu Han slaps him on the shoulder, "Stupid! Minseok, as in, Kim Minseok?”
"Yeah, do you know him?” Sehun asks, rubbing the spot on his shoulder where Lu Han slapped him with a frown.
"Um, duh-he’s the best player on the university soccer team! He’s the reason we won the championship! Man, I had a class with him for English, and he is so laid back. I still hang out with him sometimes.” Though it’s clear that the two boys are friends, Lu Han still has a fanboy-ish look on his face, like that time when he saw DBSK-it’s not an expression that Sehun expects when he mentions cute little Kim Minseok.
"So is he popular around school or something? He’s really… nice. It would be cool to know him better.”
"Of course he is! You guys-" Lu Han stops, "Wait, you want to know him better? Like, be friends?”
Sehun quirks a brow.
Lu Han pauses, "You don’t…do that.”
Sehun’s offended, he really is. "I do too.”
"The last time you tried to be friends with someone was with Joonmyeon. And you know how that went. You were so friendly that you ended up being friend zoned. You suck at being a friend in general, Sehun ah-hey,” Lu Han puts his hands up in defense as Sehun shoots him a glare-"It’s true.”
"No it isn’t! I just thought it would be good to expand my horizons a little.”
"Sure, and you chose a guy that fell asleep on you and drooled on you.” Lu Han’s face is almost impassive as Sehun’s.
"Well-"
Lu Han sits up, "It really is like that time you tried to be friends with Joonmyeon, huh? Only…hm.”
"What?” Sehun asks, befuddled.
"You like him.” Lu Han says it so offhandedly, as if he’s simply asking for a napkin.
"I didn’t say that.”
"You didn’t have to.”
"I-" Sehun sputters for a moment, face flushing red easily. He hates his pale skin. "What! I-Fine. You-"
Lu Han laughs. He is Sehun’s meanest hyung.
"Will you help me then? To become friends with him?” As soon as Sehun’s flush has faded, he widens his eyes. His hands fly up, threatening aegyo.
Lu Han is almost as susceptible to aegyo as Joonmyeon despite how much he denies it.
Life goes on. The semester at the university starts off slow as usual with the mounds of syllabuses stacked on his desk. Sehun looks over them briefly before stuffing them away into a drawer he deems to be only for old schoolwork.
Lu Han gets Sehun to ‘coincidentally’ meet this Kim Minseok again a few weeks later. Lu Han introduces Sehun with flourish, showering him with praising words that make Sehun blush so much that he rubs his face almost raw trying to get it off. Minseok responds kindly, letting Lu Han know that they’ve already met.
Minseok gets into the story of how he drooled on Sehun; it’s much more endearing in his point of view, Sehun thinks.
Things shift a little; it turns out that Sehun and Minseok have the same professor for their English class-a particularly ruthless woman that won’t accept any work without the proper headings and such. Minseok starts joining Sehun during his breaks, and sometimes Lu Han tags along. Mostly, it's just Minseok and Sehun, though.
They get close. Sehun learns that Minseok is majoring in Biology. He also likes to eat and watch movies. They do these things together, and when they aren’t, they text each other mundane things.
Minseok
‹‹ I went to the petstore with lu han today. the hamster looked like you :D
›› haha
›› have you ever had vietnamese food before
‹‹ nope
›› what!!! we should go get some sometime!
‹‹ are you a dog person or a cat person? ^^
>>a cat person
Sehun’s a cat person too.
Joonmyeon calls Sehun the next week. "Hey, I’m having a PS3 party, you coming?”
Sehun’s kind of surprised that he hadn’t known about the party before; Joonmyeon usually tells him these things a week prior, but he guesses that his hyung must have had a rough week or something.
Sehun should really stop calling Joonmyeon his hyung, but it’s hard to stop since he’s been doing so for the longest time. Or, at least, since freshmen orientation when he had met the older man (he’d been the orientation leader, smiling so brightly at the new students). And since then, Sehun’s been harboring a tiny, tiny crush on him, only that Lu Han and Jongdae and Baekhyun and Kris and basically everyone tells him that it’s not very tiny. But as long as his crush never finds out, Sehun considers it tiny.
But it’s completely fine because Sehun has finally accepted the fact that he’ll be forever friend zoned. It was horrible at first because Joonmyeon had only seen Sehun as a friend, no matter how much he flirted and touched the boy’s fingers, shoulders, neck, arms. And it was heartbreaking because no matter how hard he tried, Joonmyeon definitely didn't feel the same way. And-well okay, Sehun's not really completely over Joonmyeon.
He’s one more step away from that though. There’s still Minseok...
Well, kind of. Sehun can’t resent Joonmyeon for everything, though. Kim Joonmyeon the friend is better than Kim Joonmyeon the nothing.
Joonmyeon mentions something about how the usual guys are coming and Yixing is bringing his roommate, which is definitely news to Sehun because their PS3 parties have always included the same six people: Joonmyeon, himself, Baekhyun, Jongdae, Yixing, and Zi Tao.
Sehun can’t bring himself to ask who the newcomer is, partly because he doesn’t care and partly because he’s lazily splayed on Joonmyeon’s couch right now and it’s pretty comfortable. The usual players come tottling in a few at a time, and Sehun doesn’t notice that Yixing’s the only one not there by the time it’s time to play. They’ve put in Dead Space 3.
They’ve been playing for an hour before Yixing and his friend finally enter through the door. Yixing causes somewhat of a racket, not to mention with the excitement of the game, loud enough that the neighbors bang on the walls and Joonmyeon has to go over to apologize in person to them.
Sehun hasn’t been able to take a look at Yixing’s roommate yet, mostly because the guy’s brought snacks and the rest of the guys are on him like pigs, digging through the bag.
Yixing shoots Sehun a smile before dragging his roommate out of the pile of boys, chastising them for not letting him breathe and pulls him to the side.
"Oh! Hi Sehun ah!” the roommate greets and Sehun is confused for a moment. He looks up and well-
Minseok, Yixing’s roommate, sits down on the empty space next to him on the couch; it’s getting a little crowded now, so their hips touch each other, "We’re friends with each other’s friends, huh?”
Sehun can only nod enthusiastically before he notices Yixing’s smile directed at Sehun. "What?”
Yixing immediately looks away as Minseok’s head turns towards him. His answer, "Nothing!” is muffled by his hand. Sehun thinks he might be chuckling a little too.
Minseok hums, oblivious. "You know, I thought about you at work today...”
Sehun sits up, posture straight, "Oh really?” It’s more of a shout, earning the attention from the rest of the guys. Sehun cheeks burn.
This time, Yixing’s chuckle-full-out laugh-isn’t muffled, "Why are you so enthsiastic, it doesn’t match your face.”
"Well no-like, because the other day you mentioned I looked like a hamster and this girl told me the same thing and now I feel like I should eat carrots,” Minseok amends, laughing lightly at his own joke.
Sehun laughs harder and much longer, shocking the room into silence. Joonmyeon can tell it takes a bit of effort, for Sehun to laugh at such a lame joke, and for so long. Between his giggles, he mumbles something akin to "You’re so funny Minseok hyung!”
It takes a few minutes for Sehun to settle down and by then the entire room is staring at him. Sehun pulls at his collar, eyes slipping down, suddenly feeling like the room was one hundred degrees.
For: everyone
Pairing: Sehun/Xiumin
Rating: R
Length: 12k
Summary: Oh Sehun inadvertently lets someone fall asleep on his shoulders-and it isn't his Joonmyeon hyung. There is minimal drool involved.
The subway is unusually crowded at this time of day, but Sehun doesn’t really mind as long as no one ends up sitting next to him. The amount of glares he’s sent people is endless, and he’s only been in his seat for ten minutes (when he’d first gotten on the subway car, he had to stand next to a pole until those three giggling girls had finally gotten off; he sat in the middle-the seat was still warm, gross-and set his stuff on both the seats besides him).
Sehun eyes a nearby stranger. Oddly, he feels sorry for the dude, sitting uncomfortably between two blatantly flirting people. A thought wiggles into Sehun’s head-he could let the boy have one of his seats-but he shrugs it off, telling himself that it’s fine, the guy can deal.
But then there’s an ahjumma that gets on the subway, and well-Sehun can’t make himself get up. He knows that it’s rude, but it works out because the ahjumma doesn’t even look to him, only holds onto a pole as if she’s used to the subway being so full. Sehun doesn’t really notice, but out of the corner of his eye, the boy sitting between the flirting couple stands up. He offers the ahjumma the seat-the lady’s eyes brighten, immediately complimenting him, and now, the guy is standing. He’s quite short.
Sehun yawns, which makes the boy yawn as well-Sehun only notices because it’s a little cute, the way the boy stretches his arms to cover his mouth. His nose scrunches up nicely. The guy’s eyes are droopy.
The boy makes eye contact with Sehun. He shifts his feet this way and that, awkward, but it’s Sehun who’s the one that feels the most awkward because now Sehun feels obligated to give up his extra seats. His face twists a little bit, eyes shifting this way and that before he gives up.
Semi-irritated, Sehun sighs and takes one bag away and sets it on the other seat. He then makes an attempt to make eye contact with the guy again. The first time is a failure since Sehun doesn’t make much of an attempt, but the second time the boy smiles shyly, making his way towards Sehun’s new seat.
"Um,” the boy mumbles once he’s on the seat. Closer, this boy is kind of cute. He has copper colored hair, and a cute smile. His cheeks look soft. "Thank you for giving up your seat,” the boy smiles. It’s a little dazzling. Sehun can’t really hear him very well over the sound of the subway train.
"Ah, it’s no problem, I guess. It was...nice of you to give up your seat for that ahjumma though.” Sehun has no idea why he’s complimenting him.
"Oh, well,” the boy scratches the back of his head. "Thanks...”
The boy is quiet momentarily; Sehun hopes that he gets off the subway soon because he’d like the seat back.
"So, ah...” Sehun hadn’t expected the boy to speak, especially make small talk. "It’s really busy today, huh?”
"Uh, yeah...”
Sehun’s eyes rake over the entire train before landing on the boy again. The boy’s eyes are still droopy, almost falling shut a few times, and Sehun’s eyebrows scrunch together worryingly. Sehun’s not sure exactly how much he likes the idea of having to sit next to a snoring boy for the rest of the train ride. Sehun squirms awkwardly in his seat as the boy’s eyes start to droop further.
"It’s really hot in here, huh?” The guy mumbles quietly into the direction of Sehun’s shoulder; his voice sounds distant, as if he’s already half asleep..
Sehun tries to sound nonchalant, "Mhmm.”
All is well for a few moments; then, something lands on his shoulder, and Sehun’s eyes shoot wide open. He can feel hair tickling his neck and-
Oh my god, is he on my shoulder?
The question is unnecessary, because from what Sehun can see, he most definitely is. The boy’s chest rises and falls slowly, keeping pace with the boy’s breath, and his mouth his hanging open. Should he wake the guy up? Let him sleep?
The guy is really cute though. Like, really cute. Almost as cute as Joonmyeon hyung. There’s something about this boy that reminds him of his Joonmyeon hyung a lot, actually. The guy seems peaceful, the type that calms Sehun down immediately. His bangs fall onto his forehead and Sehun has half a mind to brush them away. But then drool starts to drip from the boy’s mouth, onto Sehun’s shoulder. Sehun gags a little bit. The liquid stains Sehun’s shirt. Kind of like mucus. The thought grosses him out. He can feel plenty of eyes on him but he decides to ignore them.
The guy sniffles in his sleep, and Sehun glares at the girl sitting across from him, giggling at the way drool is starting to pool on his shoulder. She shuts up when she meets his eyes and Sehun turns his head to look. It’s disgusting, really, but Sehun can’t bring himself to wake the guy up.
Sehun doesn’t know why he won’t wake him up. He’s sure that the only one that would be able to get away with this is Joonmyeon hyung, and Joonmyeon hyung is special. The thought is a little frightening, especially while Sehun is still staring at this boy so much, but he is so...pretty. This is not the time or place to be thinking things like that though, so Sehun goes back to glaring at the crowd in the subway.
Sehun tries not to move for the remainder of the ride, which is hard because he starts to get a cramp in his shoulder. Other than that, it is not totally uncomfortable. The only thing uncomfortable about the situation is that this boy is a total stranger, and other strangers are staring and quite possibly laughing. It makes Sehun blush, the pink flush running down his neck, down to his chest. There are a few times when the subway does hit a few bumps, but it only stirs the boy a little bit from his sleep. Sehun hates how he likes the scrunch of the boy's nose after each one, the way it makes his eyes curve slightly, because this is not a cute situation.
The guy only finally wakes up after the fourth harsh bump on the train and Sehun watches the boy for the incredibly cute scrunching of his face, then looks away to the other seat. He pretends to fuss with his belongings, taking out the mounds of wrappers from the drawstring bag. Sehun can still feel the pool of drool on his shoulder; it’s about the size of a coffee stain. He feels the boy startle, jostling his shoulder in the process.
"Oh my god, did I-did I fall asleep on your shoulder?” It’s little more than a shout, but he’s so close to Sehun’s ear that he has to wince from the volume. When the boy moves his head away, Sehun feels a little empty.
"I-Yeah, but it’s fine,” Sehun mumbles, face burning. His hands are still buried in his bag and he is totally uncomfortable.
Sehun can feel the boy’s eyes on him, "Are you sure? I-" the boy stops speaking so abruptly that Sehun has to wonder why. "Oh my god, I drooled on you!”
Sehun finally turns his head to look at the boy. His face is so red, Sehun feels sympathetic for him. "It’s okay, it’s okay!”
(It’s not okay. Sehun has no idea why he’s saying that it is. Sehun hates getting other people’s dirt on him, he hates it even more than his own dirt.)
"No it’s not!” The boy looks up at the stop signal. "I’m getting off in two stops, so at least let me clean your shirt or something!”
"Well-I don’t want to cause you any trouble,” Sehun mumbles again. He really doesn’t, but still, it was not okay. Sehun’s not sure why he’s not causing a fuss. Usually he’d be less...calm.
"No, it’s fine! It’s completely my fault, so please let me at least wash your shirt and give you a new one.” The boy is already patting Se Hun’s wet shoulder, which is gross, as if that would persuade him.
Sehun only says yes because his shirt’s dirty. That’s the only reason.
While walking to his apartment, the guy introduces himself as Kim Minseok.
Sehun tells himself it’s sort of a coincidence when Minseok drags him off the subway car at the stop that he’d meant to get off at. He realizes that they must live close by, whilst Minseok leads him through the awful crowd of kids and the warm type of summer blurring into autumn weather. He knows that he’ll most-likely never see Minseok again after today, but he likes the idea of seeing his house or apartment or wherever he lives. That’s a private thing that only friends let each other have-their address, sort of-but then again, they’re not friends.
Sehun resents that.
They should be friends, Sehun thinks, they would be really compatible! Or at least, Sehun thinks so. He at least tolerates Minseok, and that’s one step in the right direction to friendship! Sehun’s pretty sure that Lu Han will be proud when he tells him this. Lu Han always says that he needs more friends.
Minseok, it turns out, lives very close to Sehun’s apartment complex-it’s actually the next complex over. It’s a nicer place than his, really nice and well furnished. Sehun’s apartment looks like poop compared to his to be honest.
"Do you-Do you want something to drink?” Minseok is already heading towards the kitchen while Sehun awkwardly stands in the doorway.
"Some water, maybe?”
Minseok nods in acknowledgement. "You can sit on the couch,” he mumbles.
Sehun does what he’s told and looks to the window outside. Sehun thinks he can see his apartment from there, right above the coffee house with the annoying, purple neon sign at the corner of the street the window is looking out over.
Minseok comes in with Sehun’s glass of water and a shirt In his hand, "I’m so, so sorry Sehun sshi. I must’ve been extra sleepy today, but that’s absolutely no excuse for falling asleep on you! Especially not...drooling on you...” Minseok’s cheeks flush pink.
Sehun takes a moment to take in what Minseok’s saying; he is distracted by the pink staining the boy’s cheeks. It’s very flattering. "I told you, it’s fine.”
"Well,” Minseok stalls, "I’m still washing your shirt. Here’s another one that you can wear, I think you’re my roommate’s size.”
The shirt is actually a white wifebeater, but Sehun shrugs.He’s about to take off his shirt on the couch when he remembers that Minseok is a stranger-and therefore won’t appreciate seeing a stranger naked (even though Sehun’s pretty proud of his body, he’s worked hard on it you know!).
"Um,” Minseok’s cheeks are still flushed, if only a shade darker than before. "The bathroom’s over there.”
After Sehun’s changed his shirt, he heads back to the living room where Minseok takes the stained shirt and goes to wash it.
"I am so, so sorry Sehun sshi, I really am. Do you want my number so you can pick up your shirt later? Or do you want to stay and-yeah, stay! I’ll order us takeout, that’s the least I can do.”
"Well, I-"
Minseok turns to look at him. His eyes are so large, almost like Lu Han hyung’s. They also look like Minseok’s about to cry if Sehun declines.
"Um, alright then,” Sehun relents, sagging into the couch a little.
Minseok orders them Chinese food from a place that Sehun really likes and it takes a while for delivery but by the time the food comes, Sehun has figured out a lot about Minseok.
Minseok goes to the same university as Sehun does and is two years older than Sehun. He’s on the soccer team, and has a part-time job at a bookstore. While he talks, Minseok takes sips from his iced tea and fusses with his nails. He kind of looks like a hamster.
As soon as Sehun sets down his lunch tray in the cafeteria, Lu Han’s already started to talk his ears off, something about this stupid seminar he’s taking that’s required for his major. Sehun keeps quiet, nodding occasionally so that Lu Han won’t bug him about not listening again. When it’s Sehun’s turn to update his friend about his life, Sehun struggles at the thought of telling Lu Han about his one-time encounter with Kim Minseok. He tries to be casual, nonchalant.
"…yeah, so, it was kind of weird. We ordered takeout and talked until my shirt was dry.”
"Wait, who is this guy again? A stranger? And he drooled on you?” Lu Han asks, clearly interested. Sehun doesn’t really interact with many people outside of his friend group. Lu Han’s surprised that Sehun hadn’t thrown up on the poor guy. There was one time Lu Han had a cold and whined for Sehun to get him medicine and Sehun just left it on his doorstep, refusing to go inside because of the germs.
"Ah, yeah, his name was Minseok. He was really nice about it though, and we talked a lot while we were eating. He’s really… yeah, really nice…” Sehun trails off.
He doesn’t notice Lu Han’s look of awe until Lu Han slaps him on the shoulder, "Stupid! Minseok, as in, Kim Minseok?”
"Yeah, do you know him?” Sehun asks, rubbing the spot on his shoulder where Lu Han slapped him with a frown.
"Um, duh-he’s the best player on the university soccer team! He’s the reason we won the championship! Man, I had a class with him for English, and he is so laid back. I still hang out with him sometimes.” Though it’s clear that the two boys are friends, Lu Han still has a fanboy-ish look on his face, like that time when he saw DBSK-it’s not an expression that Sehun expects when he mentions cute little Kim Minseok.
"So is he popular around school or something? He’s really… nice. It would be cool to know him better.”
"Of course he is! You guys-" Lu Han stops, "Wait, you want to know him better? Like, be friends?”
Sehun quirks a brow.
Lu Han pauses, "You don’t…do that.”
Sehun’s offended, he really is. "I do too.”
"The last time you tried to be friends with someone was with Joonmyeon. And you know how that went. You were so friendly that you ended up being friend zoned. You suck at being a friend in general, Sehun ah-hey,” Lu Han puts his hands up in defense as Sehun shoots him a glare-"It’s true.”
"No it isn’t! I just thought it would be good to expand my horizons a little.”
"Sure, and you chose a guy that fell asleep on you and drooled on you.” Lu Han’s face is almost impassive as Sehun’s.
"Well-"
Lu Han sits up, "It really is like that time you tried to be friends with Joonmyeon, huh? Only…hm.”
"What?” Sehun asks, befuddled.
"You like him.” Lu Han says it so offhandedly, as if he’s simply asking for a napkin.
"I didn’t say that.”
"You didn’t have to.”
"I-" Sehun sputters for a moment, face flushing red easily. He hates his pale skin. "What! I-Fine. You-"
Lu Han laughs. He is Sehun’s meanest hyung.
"Will you help me then? To become friends with him?” As soon as Sehun’s flush has faded, he widens his eyes. His hands fly up, threatening aegyo.
Lu Han is almost as susceptible to aegyo as Joonmyeon despite how much he denies it.
Life goes on. The semester at the university starts off slow as usual with the mounds of syllabuses stacked on his desk. Sehun looks over them briefly before stuffing them away into a drawer he deems to be only for old schoolwork.
Lu Han gets Sehun to ‘coincidentally’ meet this Kim Minseok again a few weeks later. Lu Han introduces Sehun with flourish, showering him with praising words that make Sehun blush so much that he rubs his face almost raw trying to get it off. Minseok responds kindly, letting Lu Han know that they’ve already met.
Minseok gets into the story of how he drooled on Sehun; it’s much more endearing in his point of view, Sehun thinks.
Things shift a little; it turns out that Sehun and Minseok have the same professor for their English class-a particularly ruthless woman that won’t accept any work without the proper headings and such. Minseok starts joining Sehun during his breaks, and sometimes Lu Han tags along. Mostly, it's just Minseok and Sehun, though.
They get close. Sehun learns that Minseok is majoring in Biology. He also likes to eat and watch movies. They do these things together, and when they aren’t, they text each other mundane things.
Minseok
‹‹ I went to the petstore with lu han today. the hamster looked like you :D
›› haha
›› have you ever had vietnamese food before
‹‹ nope
›› what!!! we should go get some sometime!
‹‹ are you a dog person or a cat person? ^^
>>a cat person
Sehun’s a cat person too.
Joonmyeon calls Sehun the next week. "Hey, I’m having a PS3 party, you coming?”
Sehun’s kind of surprised that he hadn’t known about the party before; Joonmyeon usually tells him these things a week prior, but he guesses that his hyung must have had a rough week or something.
Sehun should really stop calling Joonmyeon his hyung, but it’s hard to stop since he’s been doing so for the longest time. Or, at least, since freshmen orientation when he had met the older man (he’d been the orientation leader, smiling so brightly at the new students). And since then, Sehun’s been harboring a tiny, tiny crush on him, only that Lu Han and Jongdae and Baekhyun and Kris and basically everyone tells him that it’s not very tiny. But as long as his crush never finds out, Sehun considers it tiny.
But it’s completely fine because Sehun has finally accepted the fact that he’ll be forever friend zoned. It was horrible at first because Joonmyeon had only seen Sehun as a friend, no matter how much he flirted and touched the boy’s fingers, shoulders, neck, arms. And it was heartbreaking because no matter how hard he tried, Joonmyeon definitely didn't feel the same way. And-well okay, Sehun's not really completely over Joonmyeon.
He’s one more step away from that though. There’s still Minseok...
Well, kind of. Sehun can’t resent Joonmyeon for everything, though. Kim Joonmyeon the friend is better than Kim Joonmyeon the nothing.
Joonmyeon mentions something about how the usual guys are coming and Yixing is bringing his roommate, which is definitely news to Sehun because their PS3 parties have always included the same six people: Joonmyeon, himself, Baekhyun, Jongdae, Yixing, and Zi Tao.
Sehun can’t bring himself to ask who the newcomer is, partly because he doesn’t care and partly because he’s lazily splayed on Joonmyeon’s couch right now and it’s pretty comfortable. The usual players come tottling in a few at a time, and Sehun doesn’t notice that Yixing’s the only one not there by the time it’s time to play. They’ve put in Dead Space 3.
They’ve been playing for an hour before Yixing and his friend finally enter through the door. Yixing causes somewhat of a racket, not to mention with the excitement of the game, loud enough that the neighbors bang on the walls and Joonmyeon has to go over to apologize in person to them.
Sehun hasn’t been able to take a look at Yixing’s roommate yet, mostly because the guy’s brought snacks and the rest of the guys are on him like pigs, digging through the bag.
Yixing shoots Sehun a smile before dragging his roommate out of the pile of boys, chastising them for not letting him breathe and pulls him to the side.
"Oh! Hi Sehun ah!” the roommate greets and Sehun is confused for a moment. He looks up and well-
Minseok, Yixing’s roommate, sits down on the empty space next to him on the couch; it’s getting a little crowded now, so their hips touch each other, "We’re friends with each other’s friends, huh?”
Sehun can only nod enthusiastically before he notices Yixing’s smile directed at Sehun. "What?”
Yixing immediately looks away as Minseok’s head turns towards him. His answer, "Nothing!” is muffled by his hand. Sehun thinks he might be chuckling a little too.
Minseok hums, oblivious. "You know, I thought about you at work today...”
Sehun sits up, posture straight, "Oh really?” It’s more of a shout, earning the attention from the rest of the guys. Sehun cheeks burn.
This time, Yixing’s chuckle-full-out laugh-isn’t muffled, "Why are you so enthsiastic, it doesn’t match your face.”
"Well no-like, because the other day you mentioned I looked like a hamster and this girl told me the same thing and now I feel like I should eat carrots,” Minseok amends, laughing lightly at his own joke.
Sehun laughs harder and much longer, shocking the room into silence. Joonmyeon can tell it takes a bit of effort, for Sehun to laugh at such a lame joke, and for so long. Between his giggles, he mumbles something akin to "You’re so funny Minseok hyung!”
It takes a few minutes for Sehun to settle down and by then the entire room is staring at him. Sehun pulls at his collar, eyes slipping down, suddenly feeling like the room was one hundred degrees.