submission 4 (part a)
Title: Of Love, Cubicles, and Other Things
Pairings: Hanchul, Kyumi, Kihae, Shimin
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Word count: 12,043
“What the hell is his problem, he won’t stop looking at me,” Kyuhyun muttered under his breath.
Han Geng straightened in his seat and looked over to the cubicle the next row over on the right, and sure enough, Zhou Mi was peering in what he probably thought was a subtle way in Kyuhyun’s general direction. The co-op student had just started two days ago, and was somehow already driving the normally less-easily-provoked Kyuhyun up the wall without actually doing anything concrete. Han Geng and Sungmin both found it horribly entertaining.
“I think he has a crush on you or something,” he said under his breath, not bothering hide his grin at Kyuhyun’s horrified expression.
Beside them, Sungmin rubbed his hands together. “Oh my god, that’s so cute. It would be like those office romances they have in those dramas.”
“It’s not cute, it’s creepy,” Kyuhyun hissed. “Seriously, what’s wrong with him.”
“No really, I think Han Geng’s right,” Sungmin continued, ignoring Kyuhyun’s complaints. “Someone look right at him and see how he reacts!”
Han Geng, trying to hold in laughter, deliberately looked up and met Zhou Mi’s eyes. As soon as the co-op student realized that he’d be caught, he immediately gave a nervous smile, obviously trying to act as if he’d only been looking in their direction by chance, before bending back down over his computer. Seconds later, the clicking of fingers on keys once again became audible.
Before Sungmin could go on about Zhou Mi being a nice person, really, and that he and Kyuhyun would really make a cute couple, Ryeowook stuck his head out from the other side of the room. “Sungmin-hyung, I think Heechul-sshi’s coming in!”
Immediately, there was a flurry of movement. Han Geng rolled his chair back two meters to where his desk was, and looking up, he saw that Sungmin had done the same - except he’d climbed over the desk to get back to his cubicle across from them. Kyuhyun’s eyes were diligently glued to his computer monitor.
A few seconds later, voices and the clicking of heels could be heard from around the corner. Kim Heechul came into sight, red hair and ripped jeans a stark contrast to the rest of their work clothing (well, most of them anyway - Sungmin was wearing his pink top, because he’d insisted that the normal black tie on white dress shirt was too boring). He looked illegally good, as usual; the first time Han Geng had seen him, he'd actually wondered if Heechul was a model or something. (He'd wondered for exactly five seconds before Heechul had opened his mouth and scarred Han Geng for life, but damn it, he still looked good.)
Choi Siwon hovered a little nervously at Heechul's side, looking as if he didn’t quite know what was going on. “Heechul-sshi,” he said uncertainly. “We’re glad to see you down here again, but is there anything in particularly you’re looking for?”
“God Siwon, I told you to stop calling me that - just because we’re in public doesn’t mean you have permission to make me sound old,” Heechul said, a frown on his face. “And I’m coming down on behalf of my father to check on his employees - I can do that, can’t I?”
“But hyung,” Siwon protested, giving up on formalities. “You just came down here yesterday! And the day before that. And four times the week before that.”
“Yah, is that any way to talk to your hyung? You’re making me feel unwelcome,” Heechul snapped in response. “You’re so annoying - why did my father even appoint you as the manager? I should fire you or something.” He rolled his eyes and sighed in an exaggerated fashion before turning to the closest person, who, unfortunately, happened to be Han Geng. “And you, go and get me a coffee!”
“Hyung!” Siwon said.
Han Geng hovered uncertainly for a second before Sungmin chimed in with a I want one too and Donghae exclaimed from across the room that he wanted an extra large chocolate mocha with whipped cream. Kyuhyun also gave him an expectant look, and seeing the helpless nod Siwon gave him, Han Geng gave an internal sigh and grabbed his wallet, wondering how he was going to carry everyone's drinks and still manage to navigate through the halls.
Help came from an unexpected source as Zhou Mi suddenly stood up and offered to go with him. Waiting for the elevator to come, he turned to the younger man, not really having had a chance to talk to him outside of greetings until now. "You're from Seoul University, right?"
"I'm actually an international student from Wuhan - but yes, on co-op from Seoul University."
Han Geng grinned. "I figured you were Chinese," he said, switching over to Mandarin and internally smiling at the surprised look shot his way. "How are you finding work here?"
Zhou Mi gave him a tentative smile. "It's been... good. A little overwhelming, I guess."
From experience, Han Geng knew that that was probably the understatement of the year. The first day he'd started, it had been fairly traumatic, to say the least. Heechul had stormed in halfway through the day and more or less put him through a Spanish Inquisition, and generally speaking, people who didn't get a lot of practice didn't know how to deal with Heechul. Thankfully, he'd had Sungmin and Kyuhyun, both whom he'd known from university (they'd been the ones who'd convinced him to apply for the job, in fact) to help him out. "It's a bit hard to adjust at first, but you get used to it quickly," he said with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. This was actually kind of a lie, because he still didn't know what to make of Heechul or half the people he worked with, but didn't think saying so would help. "I only started myself a few months ago, actually."
The elevator came right about then, and it turned out that it was already jam-packed with people. Han Geng found himself pushed into a corner with Zhou Mi on the other side, and rest of the way to the café involved cutting through all the people milling around the lobby. As a result, he didn't get a chance to actually broach the topic of Kyuhyun - something he'd been meaning to do since the start of the conversation - but he would do it soon, Han Geng promised himself.
When they came back with him carting one of the gigantic cardboard cup-holders the first-floor café used for deliveries and Zhou Mi opening the doors, Han Geng found Heechul settled in his seat, feet propped up on the desk. Not sure as to how he was supposed to react (and he most definitely didn't notice Heechul's jeans-encased legs or how good his profile looked from the side, not at all), Han Geng passed out everyone else’s requests before gingerly placing Heechul’s coffee on the table and taking a sip of his own latte.
Heechul lifted the cup and took a careful sip of his drink before wrinkling his brows in revulsion. “God, where did you buy this - it’s disgusting. Here, you have it,” he exclaimed, stuffing the cup into Han Geng’s left hand and grabbing the latte out of his right to take a drink from.
A cough came from Siwon’s general direction while Sungmin snickered under his breath. Han Geng stared dumbly at his now latte-less hand for about thirty seconds before Kyuhyun kicked him under the table. Automatically sipping at his newly-acquired coffee in an attempt to occupy his hands, some part of Han Geng’s brain noted that Heechul had fitted his lips over the exact place he himself had drunk from, although deliberately or not, he didn’t know.
He stood there, chairless, for another five minutes while everyone else went back to "working" before deciding that it would probably be a good idea to bring over that stool from the other side of the room. Right as he made his way back with the chair though, Heechul stood up, having polished off Han Geng's latte. Looking around the room irritably at all the bent heads, he rolled his eyes. "By the way, you can all stop pretending you're working now - you're not fooling anyone."
Kyuhyun smirked and leaned back in his seat, while Sungmin immediately grinned and scrambled back over the table to their side of the cubicles, settling himself down on Kyuhyun's desk. Behind them, Siwon choked a little at the blatant display. Han Geng didn't know why Siwon was surprised anymore - while he himself had always thought there was a line to be drawn between not working and actually admitting it, he'd quickly learned that Sungmin and Kyuhyun had no such reservations.
Heechul snorted. "God, I should just fire you all."
He'd also learned that Heechul made this threat at least three times a week, but never actually followed through with it. Sungmin and Kyuhyun were some of the best tech support people the company had around (when they actually chose to work, that is), and Heechul knew as well as any of them did that firing them would be a horrible idea.
As if knowing what Han Geng had been thinking, Sungmin smirked and flashed a peace sign in their general direction.
“Hyung, please,” Siwon said, to Heechul or Sungmin, Han Geng didn’t know - but Sungmin shook his head and grinned before going back to his side of the cubicles again (walking this time) while Heechul gave a long suffering sigh. Han Geng still found it horribly amusing that Siwon was their manager and yet younger than most of the employees on his floor. And of course Siwon, being Siwon, was too mindful of the hyung-dongsaeng relationship to really make any of the people under him do anything. In the end, it resulted in a lot of cajoling and pleading on his part while people (like Sungmin) thought it was adorable and did their jobs so that Siwon wouldn’t get in trouble with upper management more than anything else.
It was an odd sort of arrangement, but it worked out, Han Geng supposed.
~
conversation between lee sungmin and cho kyuhyun.
kim kibum has been added to the conversation.
kim kibum says (9:25AM): what.
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:25AM): aksjfksa siwon is so cute
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:25AM): and that shirt he was wearing
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:25AM): it looks so good on him
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:26AM): how long do you think he works out for every week?
kim kibum says (9:27AM): I’m trying to work here, hyung
kim kibum says (9:27AM): and wtf, it's the same-styled dress shirt he wears every day
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says(9:28AM): don't try to talk to him when he's like this, it's hopeless
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:28AM): :D :D :D
kim kibum says (9:28AM): if he's so hot, why haven't you gotten into his pants yet?
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (9:29AM): it's taking you longer than usual hyung
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:29AM): ... are you two calling me a slut
kim kibum says (9:29AM): yes
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says(9:29AM): I am not going to dignify that with a response
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:30AM): I'm so hurt, you guys
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:30AM): ... okay fine, so I pretended to get drunk last week and asked him to take me back to my apartment
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:30AM): which he did
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:31AM): but he just tucked me into bed. not even any groping ):
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says(9:31AM): ...
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:31AM): he took off my shoes though!
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:32AM): ... he's so sweet :D
kim kibum says (9:33AM): I give up.
kim kibum has left this conversation.
cho kyuhyun has left this conversation.
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:33AM): ):!
~
"Yah," Heechul said the next day, settling himself onto Han Geng's table and nearly knocking over the potted green plant Sungmin had placed there on Han Geng’s first day. "Where's my latte?"
"What?"
"My latte, you were supposed to have it ready."
"What?" Han Geng asked, feeling increasingly like a broken record. "Um. Okay, I'll go buy it now." Standing up, he shot Siwon a desperate sort of look, because really, Siwon was the only one who had enough authority and sanity to do something, except, he realized with some despair, Siwon was actually looking at him desperately, as if Han Geng could actually do anything other than listen to Heechul.
Zhou Mi gave him a sympathetic look from across the room as Han Geng walked out.
"What took you so long?" Heechul complained when he finally made his way back up, and Han Geng found the drink snatched out of his hand before he could even reply.
“You’re going to end up fat if you keep eating that much sugar,” Sungmin cut in, leering a little.
Instead of the vehement negation Han Geng would have expected, Heechul barely batted an eyelash. “Good thing I can work off the calories with you later,” he shot back with a smirk and a wink, tone equally suggestive.
Han Geng choked, and tried but failed to hide his coughing, while Siwon gave the ceiling a scandalized look. Kyuhyun didn’t even look up from his typing.
Han Geng figured that eventually, he was going to have to get used to this. That was what he kept telling himself, anyway.
~
"I'll be going now," Heechul announced to the room at large half an hour later, having polished off his drink, then waved his hand airily in Han Geng's face. Han Geng blinked at the perfectly manicured hand for a few seconds before Heechul raised an eyebrow at him and looked at him like he was stupid.
"What?" Han Geng asked a little indignantly, fairly certain that it wasn't him being stupid but just Heechul being confusing. He remained happily deluded until Sungmin rolled his eyes and leaned over to elbow him less-than-subtly in the side. "Ow! What are you doing?"
"He wants you to help him off the table."
"What? Oh."
Heechul gave a long-suffering sigh, and Han Geng, still not quite sure why Heechul needed Han Geng's help when he could easily get off himself, grabbed the offered hand uncertainly. The redhead pulled him forward so that he was close enough before using Han Geng's other shoulder as a crutch and hopping off the desk. Heechul had nice legs, Han Geng's brain unconsciously noted as the redhead sauntered towards the exit. Really nice legs.
Behind him, Sungmin smirked.
~
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (2:52PM): my god did you see the way han geng was looking at heechul
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (2:52PM): please, you'd have to be blind not to notice
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (2:53PM): it's so cute okay ;O;
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (2:54PM): hyung. stop that T___T
~
"So," Sungmin said, settling himself down on Han Geng's table with a look on his face that Han Geng had learned to be wary of over the years.
"So?"
"Heechul's pretty good-looking, don't you think?"
That was the last thing Han Geng had been expecting to be asked (because as far as things went, he'd kept his staring to a minimum - damn Sungmin and his sharp eyes) and his first impulse was to answer honestly. Fortunately, he managed to stop himself from the impulsive what kind of question is that, of course on the tip of his tongue. "I guess," he said with a shrug, trying to seem nonchalant.
Apparently, he'd failed, because Kyuhyun just rolled his eyes in exasperation at him. "Give it up, hyung - you suck at lying."
"What, no," Han Geng said, hoping his desperation wasn't leaking through, because Sungmin was determined enough when he wanted to be, and admitting to a hint of anything (not that there was anything to admit to) was just asking for trouble, because Sungmin didn't stop pushing until some form of blatant groping/making out/etc occurred. "Stop making things up! I'm the hyung, you're supposed to listen to me! Why are you both like this?"
Sungmin flashed him a victory sign.
~
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (3:42PM): oh han geng has it so bad
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (3:43PM): I think it's time we had a betting pool soon
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (3:43PM): <3~
~
lee donghae has signed in.
conversation between lee donghae and kim kibum.
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(3:52PM): HI KIBUMMIE~
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(3:53PM): DID YOU MISS ME
kim kibum says (3:53PM): go away donghae, I’m trying to work
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(3:53PM): ):
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(3:53PM): THAT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAID LAST NIGHT
kim kibum says (3:53PM): …
kim kibum says (3:54PM): donghae, we’re at work
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(3:54PM): >:
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(3:54PM): OKAY FINE, I’LL CALL YOU LATER THEN
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(3:55PM): ^__^ BYE KIBUMMIE, I LOVE YOU!
lee donghae has left this conversation.
kim kibum says (3:56PM): :">
~
conversation between lee sungmin and cho kyuhyun.
kim kibum and zhou mi have been added to the conversation.
choi siwon and kim ryeowook have been added to the conversation.
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (1:35PM):
so right, 25000 won per bet, winner takes all. han geng and heechul, how long before they sleep together?
jesus loves you forever! says (1:35PM):
hyung!
ryeowook says (1:36PM):
):
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (1:36PM):
at the rate theyr're going? a month.
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (1:36PM):
you're on. I say two weeks.
kim kibum says (1:37PM):
put me down for three weeks
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (1:37PM):
come on siwonnie, loosen up a little. it's all in good fun.
jesus loves you forever! says (1:38PM):
but, I'm the manager! I should stop this!
kim kibum says (1:39PM):
I'm adding donghae he just got on
lee donghae has been added to the conversation
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(1:39PM):
ooo, are we betting, what are we betting on?
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (1:39PM):
oh please hyung, you know this is going to happen no matter what you say.
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (1:39PM):
bets on han geng and heechul hyung, donghae
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(1:40PM):
oh okay! :3 three weeks!
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (1:40PM):
okay, how about you wookie
ryeowook says (1:41PM):
um, a month an half?
jesus loves you forever! says (1:41PM):
>:
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (1:41PM):
don't worry siwonnie, you can blame it all on me if anything happens. it'll be fine, I promise.
jesus loves you forever! says (1:43PM):
... ):
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (1:43PM):
;___________; please, for me? I'll treat you to dinner if you do?
jesus loves you forever! says (1:44PM):
...three months? :x
kim kibum says (1:44PM):
wow, you're just wasting your money hyung
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (1:44PM):
yay ^___^v! is tomorrow night good, siwon?
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (1:45PM):
my god, hyung, keep it in your pants, please
~
to: leedonghae@sm.com
from: management@sm.com
Mr. Lee,
Mr. Kim Kibum has requested your presence in his office this afternoon to discuss some problems with your latest assignment. Please arrive promptly after the lunch hour.
Good day,
Management
~
to: kimkibum@sm.com
from: leedonghae@sm.com
OOOO AM I GETTING ~PUNISHED~
~
kim kibum says (4:24PM): I swear he’s trying to drive me insane.
cinderella says (4:24PM): do you mean insane as in out-of-my-mind insane, or I-want-to-jump-him-at-the-water-cooler insane?
kim kibum says (4:25PM): fuck you, hyung
~
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:15AM): hyung! :3
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:15AM): have dinner with me tomorrow night, okay?
cinderella says (11:16AM): wtf, did you message the wrong person
cinderella says (11:16AM): who do you think I am, siwon?
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:16AM): ):
cinderella says (11:17AM): … okay, what do you want
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:17AM): >: can’t a dongsaeng have dinner with his hyung without wanting anything?
cinderella says (11:17AM): not when it’s you, no
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:17AM): ;________;
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:18AM): please? I’ll take you to that new italian place you wanted to go to.
cinderella says (11:19AM): … fine, whatever. >:/ I’ll be there at seven you’d better not be late
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:19AM): yay! ^____^v
~
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:23AM): hyung! I’m going to treat you to dinner tomorrow night because I’m an awesome dongsaeng and we’re going to meet at that new italian place at 7, and you’re going to not be late.
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:24AM): okay?
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:24AM): okay! :3
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:24AM): yay~
lee sungmin has logged off.
han geng says (11:28AM): …
~
lee sungmin: your status is set to appear offline.
lee sungmin has added cho kyuhyun to the conversation.
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:29AM): mission accomplished, I am the best!
~
“Okay, what are you doing here?”
“Heechul?” Han Geng blinked at the red-haired man for a second. “I’m waiting for Sungmin - what are you doing here?”
“Sungmin?” Heechul cursed under his breath. “My god, they’re all such idiots, what do they think they’re doing.”
Han Geng wondered if he could get any more confused. “Um. Heechul? What are you talking about?”
“Shut up, we’re having dinner,” Heechul commanded, and proceeded to drag him towards one of the tables in the back.
“But I’m supposed to eat with Sungmin -”
“Oh my god, are you stupid.” Heechul stopped to glare at him. “He was the one who invited me to dinner too. And I come here and find you here instead. Do you get it now?”
“Oh,” Han Geng said intelligently.
He followed Heechul awkwardly to the two-people table and settled himself gingerly into a chair. A waitress came by and handed them a menu, teapot in hand as she quickly filled up their empty glasses and told them to call her any time they were ready. Heechul still had a semi-dangerous look about him, and Han Geng contemplated just staying quiet before deciding that the silence was even worse. He cleared his throat loudly.
Heechul raised an eyebrow at him.
“Um. You look nice.”
“I’m not a girl, you don’t need to flatter me.”
“But you do!” Han Geng said before he could stop himself, and then froze. “I mean. That is. I like your shirt. Um. It looks nice on you. And your hair.” Right, brilliant move there, Han Geng. Can you get more obvious.
“Of course I look good, stop being redundant. Also, has anyone ever told you that your Korean really really sucks?” The redhead tossed his hair back. “Now hurry up and order for me, I want their house special risotto.”
If it had been with anyone else, dinner would have been unbearably awkward - especially considering the way it had started out - but Heechul seemed to have no capacity for embarrassment. Han Geng wasn’t exactly an expert when it came to Italian cuisine, and so ended up ordering spaghetti with grated cheese. Heechul rolled his eyes and called him predictable, except when the food actually came, the redhead spent most of his time stealing noodles off Han Geng’s plate and ignoring his risotto. Han Geng intelligently decided that it was better for his safety if he didn’t point this out.
After the meal found Heechul staring forlornly at the dessert menu. “All this is going to make me fat,” he said, glaring down at the photos of ice cream platters and chocolate cake.
Han Geng doesn’t know why he does it, but some unexpected impulse makes him speak up. “Um. We can share, if you want?”
“Share?” Heechul looked at him carefully for a minute before nodding decisively, apparently satisfied. “Okay, I want tiramisu.”
Han Geng wasn’t a big fan of sweet things, but their order turned out to be surprisingly delicious. He resolutely ignored the voice in the back of head (the one that sounded oddly like a smug Sungmin) telling him that it had less to do with what he was eating and more about whom he was eating it with.
~
“Who paid?”
“We split the bill.”
“~*~Ooooo~*~,” Sungmin said loudly.
“What,” Han Geng said through clenched teeth.
“Proof that he likes you,” Kyuhyun said with a smirk, not looking up from the computer game he was playing. “Heechul hyung never offers to pay.”
“But that’s because I wasn’t the one who invited him, it was Sungmin! He was just being polite or something.”
“Did you just use Heechul and polite in the same sentence.”
Han Geng resisted the urge to scream.
~
to: leesungmin@sm.com
from: zhoumi@sm.com
cc: hangeng@sm.com
advice, you said? you've come to the right person. :3 :3 :3 ohoho.
so first thing first, you have to be forward
kyuhyun likes forward men, you know.
also, you wouldn't know since you haven't worked here for that long
but from my experience, the best place to ambush people in a cubicle office
would be at the water cooler.
and you should do it as soon as possible, since that guy from the third floor has been eyeing kyuhyun for a while.
kyumi hwaiting!
<3 sungmin
also, take care of our kyuhyunnie, okay? or else han geng and I might have to hurt you. we both know martial arts, fyi. :)
~
conversation between lee sungmin and han geng.
han geng says (2:36PM): I'll pay you 30000 won if that "guy from the third floor" actually exists
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (2:37PM): kekeke~
~
“Oh my god, look look, he’s getting up!”
His arm was slowly losing any feeling thanks to Sungmin’s grip, but Han Geng momentarily ignored it in favour of watching Zhou Mi shuffle up to the water cooler after Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun, in the middle of refilling his mug, had his back towards them.
The co-op student cleared his throat awkwardly.
Kyuhyun whirled around a questioning look on his face, and nearly dropped his mug when he saw who it was.
“Um,” Zhou Mi said.
“What the hell, why are you sneaking up on people at the water cooler,” Kyuhyun snapped, clearly trying to seem unaffected, and Han Geng watched in fascination at the way Kyuhyun’s cheeks slowly turned a dull red.
The look on Zhou Mi’s face vaguely resembled a kicked puppy. “Sorry! I um. Was wondering, um. I’m really sorry.”
There was awkward silence for a minute before Kyuhyun relented grudgingly. “It’s okay, whatever. Did you need something?”
Zhou Mi brightened a little at the perfect opportunity and plowed forward. “I um! Was wondering if you had time for dinner or anything this weekend, actually.” He paused a little, hands fidgeting with the hem of his dress shirt, and Han Geng tried to ignore the way Sungmin was cooing about how cute they were in his ear.
Kyuhyun stared.
Zhou Mi visibly deflated. “Um, I mean. It’s okay if you don’t have time or anything, it doesn’t have to be on the weekend - I mean, maybe you already have plans or something - and it doesn’t have to be dinner, if you don’t want. Coffee is okay too, I like coffee - or tea, whatever you like -” He stopped, flustered. “I mean. Never mind, just forget I said anything. I’ll just. Go now, yeah.”
“What, what does he think he’s doing,” Sungmin hissed. “My god, Kyuhyun is so stupid, I’m going to yell at him so hard for this later -”
“Wait,” Kyuhyun said, reaching out to grab Zhou Mi’s arm before he could walk away. “Wait, you just surprised me. Um. Saturday evening would be good, actually.”
“Really?” Zhou Mi looked a little disbelieving.
“That’s what I said, isn’t it?”
“I. Where do you want to go?” Zhou Mi suddenly grinned, his smiling looking almost too big for his face. “There’s a nice Chinese place close to here, I don’t know if you like Chinese food or not, but -”
“Chinese is fine,” Kyuhyun said, cutting him off before Zhou Mi could start rambling again. “Just give me a call an hour beforehand, I’ll email you my number.” He nodded in the direction of the cubicles. “We should get back to work before Heechul or Siwon comes along.”
Zhou Mi stuttered for a bit before nodding and turning back to his desk. Han Geng caught his eye and gave him a thumbs up, while Zhou Mi turned even pinker.
Kyuhyun walked over to their side of the cubicles and narrowed his eyes at the sight of Sungmin and Han Geng looking innocently at him. “Were you guys eavesdropping just now?”
“Kyuhyunnie, how can you say that!” Sungmin clapped a hand to his heart dramatically. “We’re just concerned hyungs looking out for your well being - we can’t have Zhou Mi taking advantage of you, after all.”
“Concerned hyungs, my foot,” Kyuhyun muttered.
Sungmin ignored him and proceeded to do a quiet victory dance, not paying any attention to the fact that the entire office (Zhou Mi included) could see him and were probably wondering what he was doing. “It’s so cute, our Kyuhyunnie has a date!”
“Shut up, it’s not a date, I just agreed to dinner.”
“Right, you’re meeting on a weekend at a fancy restaurant for dinner and it’s not a date.”
Kyuhyun opened his mouth, then slammed it back shut. Sungmin cheered loudly.
“Would you guys keep it down?” Kibum asked, suddenly striding out of his office. “People are trying to work here.”
“And by work, you mean grope Donghae when you think no one’s looking,” Sungmin said with a grin.
Kibum growled under his breath about firing them all before turning back around. The office door slamming loudly after him.
Sungmin sighed dramatically. “Everyone’s going on dates, Han Geng! I feel so old!” He threw himself into his chair, arms stretched out behind his head.
~
The next week or so passed fairly uneventfully, with the usual routine of Sungmin teasing Kyuhyun and the latter’s sharp rebuttals. Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi’s dinner had apparently gone well - as far as they’d heard from Zhou Mi, at any rate; Kyuhyun was keeping his mouth tightly shut, although he turned an odd shade of red whenever Zhou Mi was mentioned. And so of course, Sungmin gladly brought up the subject at every available opportunity. This worked out in Han Geng’s favour, really, because if Sungmin was teasing Kyuhyun, it meant he was too busy to give Han Geng any grief regarding Heechul. Which he really really didn’t need right now, given his state of mind.
Sometime over the last few days, he’d started dreaming. They were the uncomfortable, awkward sort of dreams, ones where he woke up drenched in sweat with Heechul's name lying on the tip of his tongue. Considering that Han Geng had never been particularly good at hiding his thoughts in the first place, this only served to make ignoring Sungmin’s occasional innuendos that much harder.
He also realized at some point that he was finding it increasingly difficult to meet Heechul's eyes when the other man showed up. If it had been anyone else, Han Geng doubted they would have noticed (even if Kyuhyun tells him it's so easy to read him, Han Geng likes to think he isn't completely obvious), but it was pretty much impossible to keep anything from Heechul.
And so he found himself cornered during the lunch hour one afternoon, conveniently on the one day when everyone but Zhou Mi, Ryeowook, and the receptionist had left early to try out the new restaurant that had opened up around the corner. Siwon had tried to stay too, claiming that as the manager, he should set a good example and work until the lunch break actually began, but Kibum had snorted and Sungmin would have none of that. Normally, Han Geng would have gone with the group of them, but he'd been finding it harder to concentrate on his work lately and had opt to stay a little longer and finish up some old paperwork.
Of course Heechul, with his brilliant timing, had chosen that moment to show up. Wasting no time, the redhead had made a beeline for Han Geng, eyes narrowed. With no one running inteference (not that Sungmin was exactly helpful when he was around - quite the opposite, in fact - but it was better than this), Han Geng turned desperate eyes to Ryeowook -
- who shrugged his shoulders and looked helplessly back at him. Han Geng exhaled loudly before turning to Heechul. "Hi," he started awkwardly, his eyes making circles along the lincoleum floor.
"Don't give me any of that. You've been avoiding me. Why."
Han Geng opened his mouth, denial at the tip of his tongue while Heechul's eyes narrowed even further, as if predicting Han Geng's response - when help came in the form of a tall smiling blur from the other side of the room.
"Hyung!" Zhou Mi said, smile so wide Han Geng would have wondered if it hurt if he hadn't been so busy applauding Zhou Mi's excellent sense of timing. "It's so good to see you! What are you doing here? We were just leaving - do you want to go for lunch with us?"
The frown didn't leave Heechul's face but he paused in the face of the barrage of questions. "Only if you're paying," he said finally, still watching Zhou Mi carefully as if trying to determine if the other man had purposefully interrupted them or not. Zhou Mi just smiled in wider, chattering on about the dokbokki place he'd been wanting to try out.
Han Geng breathed a sigh of relief, the matter apparently over, except when Han Geng's grabbing his jacket, Zhou Mi suddenly turned to him.
“Ge, you like him, don’t you?” he asked in Mandarin, lips curving, and Han Geng nearly choked on his own tongue.
“No, what, what are you talking about,” he managed to sputter out, internally cursing Sungmin for his meddling. “I don’t like Heechul, of course not - don’t listen to Sungmin and Kyuhyun, they don’t know what they’re talking about.”
“I heard my name there.” Heechul called out. “Don't think I can't hear you just because I'm not next to you. What did you just say? I bet you called me ugly or something, didn’t you?”
“What, no!” Han Geng said a little desperately. “No, Heechul, Zhou Mi was just.”
“Just what?” Heechul looked at him carefully.
“I was just telling him how much I liked your hair!” Zhou Mi cut in, the smile on his face surprisingly natural, and Han Geng held his breath, waiting to see Heechul’s reaction.
Heechul looked at them for a long moment before suddenly tossing his head back with a smirk. “You know what, I think we’re going to keep you,” he told Zhou Mi, his smile very wide and all teeth.
~
part two
Pairings: Hanchul, Kyumi, Kihae, Shimin
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Word count: 12,043
“What the hell is his problem, he won’t stop looking at me,” Kyuhyun muttered under his breath.
Han Geng straightened in his seat and looked over to the cubicle the next row over on the right, and sure enough, Zhou Mi was peering in what he probably thought was a subtle way in Kyuhyun’s general direction. The co-op student had just started two days ago, and was somehow already driving the normally less-easily-provoked Kyuhyun up the wall without actually doing anything concrete. Han Geng and Sungmin both found it horribly entertaining.
“I think he has a crush on you or something,” he said under his breath, not bothering hide his grin at Kyuhyun’s horrified expression.
Beside them, Sungmin rubbed his hands together. “Oh my god, that’s so cute. It would be like those office romances they have in those dramas.”
“It’s not cute, it’s creepy,” Kyuhyun hissed. “Seriously, what’s wrong with him.”
“No really, I think Han Geng’s right,” Sungmin continued, ignoring Kyuhyun’s complaints. “Someone look right at him and see how he reacts!”
Han Geng, trying to hold in laughter, deliberately looked up and met Zhou Mi’s eyes. As soon as the co-op student realized that he’d be caught, he immediately gave a nervous smile, obviously trying to act as if he’d only been looking in their direction by chance, before bending back down over his computer. Seconds later, the clicking of fingers on keys once again became audible.
Before Sungmin could go on about Zhou Mi being a nice person, really, and that he and Kyuhyun would really make a cute couple, Ryeowook stuck his head out from the other side of the room. “Sungmin-hyung, I think Heechul-sshi’s coming in!”
Immediately, there was a flurry of movement. Han Geng rolled his chair back two meters to where his desk was, and looking up, he saw that Sungmin had done the same - except he’d climbed over the desk to get back to his cubicle across from them. Kyuhyun’s eyes were diligently glued to his computer monitor.
A few seconds later, voices and the clicking of heels could be heard from around the corner. Kim Heechul came into sight, red hair and ripped jeans a stark contrast to the rest of their work clothing (well, most of them anyway - Sungmin was wearing his pink top, because he’d insisted that the normal black tie on white dress shirt was too boring). He looked illegally good, as usual; the first time Han Geng had seen him, he'd actually wondered if Heechul was a model or something. (He'd wondered for exactly five seconds before Heechul had opened his mouth and scarred Han Geng for life, but damn it, he still looked good.)
Choi Siwon hovered a little nervously at Heechul's side, looking as if he didn’t quite know what was going on. “Heechul-sshi,” he said uncertainly. “We’re glad to see you down here again, but is there anything in particularly you’re looking for?”
“God Siwon, I told you to stop calling me that - just because we’re in public doesn’t mean you have permission to make me sound old,” Heechul said, a frown on his face. “And I’m coming down on behalf of my father to check on his employees - I can do that, can’t I?”
“But hyung,” Siwon protested, giving up on formalities. “You just came down here yesterday! And the day before that. And four times the week before that.”
“Yah, is that any way to talk to your hyung? You’re making me feel unwelcome,” Heechul snapped in response. “You’re so annoying - why did my father even appoint you as the manager? I should fire you or something.” He rolled his eyes and sighed in an exaggerated fashion before turning to the closest person, who, unfortunately, happened to be Han Geng. “And you, go and get me a coffee!”
“Hyung!” Siwon said.
Han Geng hovered uncertainly for a second before Sungmin chimed in with a I want one too and Donghae exclaimed from across the room that he wanted an extra large chocolate mocha with whipped cream. Kyuhyun also gave him an expectant look, and seeing the helpless nod Siwon gave him, Han Geng gave an internal sigh and grabbed his wallet, wondering how he was going to carry everyone's drinks and still manage to navigate through the halls.
Help came from an unexpected source as Zhou Mi suddenly stood up and offered to go with him. Waiting for the elevator to come, he turned to the younger man, not really having had a chance to talk to him outside of greetings until now. "You're from Seoul University, right?"
"I'm actually an international student from Wuhan - but yes, on co-op from Seoul University."
Han Geng grinned. "I figured you were Chinese," he said, switching over to Mandarin and internally smiling at the surprised look shot his way. "How are you finding work here?"
Zhou Mi gave him a tentative smile. "It's been... good. A little overwhelming, I guess."
From experience, Han Geng knew that that was probably the understatement of the year. The first day he'd started, it had been fairly traumatic, to say the least. Heechul had stormed in halfway through the day and more or less put him through a Spanish Inquisition, and generally speaking, people who didn't get a lot of practice didn't know how to deal with Heechul. Thankfully, he'd had Sungmin and Kyuhyun, both whom he'd known from university (they'd been the ones who'd convinced him to apply for the job, in fact) to help him out. "It's a bit hard to adjust at first, but you get used to it quickly," he said with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. This was actually kind of a lie, because he still didn't know what to make of Heechul or half the people he worked with, but didn't think saying so would help. "I only started myself a few months ago, actually."
The elevator came right about then, and it turned out that it was already jam-packed with people. Han Geng found himself pushed into a corner with Zhou Mi on the other side, and rest of the way to the café involved cutting through all the people milling around the lobby. As a result, he didn't get a chance to actually broach the topic of Kyuhyun - something he'd been meaning to do since the start of the conversation - but he would do it soon, Han Geng promised himself.
When they came back with him carting one of the gigantic cardboard cup-holders the first-floor café used for deliveries and Zhou Mi opening the doors, Han Geng found Heechul settled in his seat, feet propped up on the desk. Not sure as to how he was supposed to react (and he most definitely didn't notice Heechul's jeans-encased legs or how good his profile looked from the side, not at all), Han Geng passed out everyone else’s requests before gingerly placing Heechul’s coffee on the table and taking a sip of his own latte.
Heechul lifted the cup and took a careful sip of his drink before wrinkling his brows in revulsion. “God, where did you buy this - it’s disgusting. Here, you have it,” he exclaimed, stuffing the cup into Han Geng’s left hand and grabbing the latte out of his right to take a drink from.
A cough came from Siwon’s general direction while Sungmin snickered under his breath. Han Geng stared dumbly at his now latte-less hand for about thirty seconds before Kyuhyun kicked him under the table. Automatically sipping at his newly-acquired coffee in an attempt to occupy his hands, some part of Han Geng’s brain noted that Heechul had fitted his lips over the exact place he himself had drunk from, although deliberately or not, he didn’t know.
He stood there, chairless, for another five minutes while everyone else went back to "working" before deciding that it would probably be a good idea to bring over that stool from the other side of the room. Right as he made his way back with the chair though, Heechul stood up, having polished off Han Geng's latte. Looking around the room irritably at all the bent heads, he rolled his eyes. "By the way, you can all stop pretending you're working now - you're not fooling anyone."
Kyuhyun smirked and leaned back in his seat, while Sungmin immediately grinned and scrambled back over the table to their side of the cubicles, settling himself down on Kyuhyun's desk. Behind them, Siwon choked a little at the blatant display. Han Geng didn't know why Siwon was surprised anymore - while he himself had always thought there was a line to be drawn between not working and actually admitting it, he'd quickly learned that Sungmin and Kyuhyun had no such reservations.
Heechul snorted. "God, I should just fire you all."
He'd also learned that Heechul made this threat at least three times a week, but never actually followed through with it. Sungmin and Kyuhyun were some of the best tech support people the company had around (when they actually chose to work, that is), and Heechul knew as well as any of them did that firing them would be a horrible idea.
As if knowing what Han Geng had been thinking, Sungmin smirked and flashed a peace sign in their general direction.
“Hyung, please,” Siwon said, to Heechul or Sungmin, Han Geng didn’t know - but Sungmin shook his head and grinned before going back to his side of the cubicles again (walking this time) while Heechul gave a long suffering sigh. Han Geng still found it horribly amusing that Siwon was their manager and yet younger than most of the employees on his floor. And of course Siwon, being Siwon, was too mindful of the hyung-dongsaeng relationship to really make any of the people under him do anything. In the end, it resulted in a lot of cajoling and pleading on his part while people (like Sungmin) thought it was adorable and did their jobs so that Siwon wouldn’t get in trouble with upper management more than anything else.
It was an odd sort of arrangement, but it worked out, Han Geng supposed.
~
conversation between lee sungmin and cho kyuhyun.
kim kibum has been added to the conversation.
kim kibum says (9:25AM): what.
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:25AM): aksjfksa siwon is so cute
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:25AM): and that shirt he was wearing
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:25AM): it looks so good on him
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:26AM): how long do you think he works out for every week?
kim kibum says (9:27AM): I’m trying to work here, hyung
kim kibum says (9:27AM): and wtf, it's the same-styled dress shirt he wears every day
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says(9:28AM): don't try to talk to him when he's like this, it's hopeless
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:28AM): :D :D :D
kim kibum says (9:28AM): if he's so hot, why haven't you gotten into his pants yet?
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (9:29AM): it's taking you longer than usual hyung
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:29AM): ... are you two calling me a slut
kim kibum says (9:29AM): yes
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says(9:29AM): I am not going to dignify that with a response
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:30AM): I'm so hurt, you guys
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:30AM): ... okay fine, so I pretended to get drunk last week and asked him to take me back to my apartment
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:30AM): which he did
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:31AM): but he just tucked me into bed. not even any groping ):
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says(9:31AM): ...
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:31AM): he took off my shoes though!
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:32AM): ... he's so sweet :D
kim kibum says (9:33AM): I give up.
kim kibum has left this conversation.
cho kyuhyun has left this conversation.
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (9:33AM): ):!
~
"Yah," Heechul said the next day, settling himself onto Han Geng's table and nearly knocking over the potted green plant Sungmin had placed there on Han Geng’s first day. "Where's my latte?"
"What?"
"My latte, you were supposed to have it ready."
"What?" Han Geng asked, feeling increasingly like a broken record. "Um. Okay, I'll go buy it now." Standing up, he shot Siwon a desperate sort of look, because really, Siwon was the only one who had enough authority and sanity to do something, except, he realized with some despair, Siwon was actually looking at him desperately, as if Han Geng could actually do anything other than listen to Heechul.
Zhou Mi gave him a sympathetic look from across the room as Han Geng walked out.
"What took you so long?" Heechul complained when he finally made his way back up, and Han Geng found the drink snatched out of his hand before he could even reply.
“You’re going to end up fat if you keep eating that much sugar,” Sungmin cut in, leering a little.
Instead of the vehement negation Han Geng would have expected, Heechul barely batted an eyelash. “Good thing I can work off the calories with you later,” he shot back with a smirk and a wink, tone equally suggestive.
Han Geng choked, and tried but failed to hide his coughing, while Siwon gave the ceiling a scandalized look. Kyuhyun didn’t even look up from his typing.
Han Geng figured that eventually, he was going to have to get used to this. That was what he kept telling himself, anyway.
~
"I'll be going now," Heechul announced to the room at large half an hour later, having polished off his drink, then waved his hand airily in Han Geng's face. Han Geng blinked at the perfectly manicured hand for a few seconds before Heechul raised an eyebrow at him and looked at him like he was stupid.
"What?" Han Geng asked a little indignantly, fairly certain that it wasn't him being stupid but just Heechul being confusing. He remained happily deluded until Sungmin rolled his eyes and leaned over to elbow him less-than-subtly in the side. "Ow! What are you doing?"
"He wants you to help him off the table."
"What? Oh."
Heechul gave a long-suffering sigh, and Han Geng, still not quite sure why Heechul needed Han Geng's help when he could easily get off himself, grabbed the offered hand uncertainly. The redhead pulled him forward so that he was close enough before using Han Geng's other shoulder as a crutch and hopping off the desk. Heechul had nice legs, Han Geng's brain unconsciously noted as the redhead sauntered towards the exit. Really nice legs.
Behind him, Sungmin smirked.
~
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (2:52PM): my god did you see the way han geng was looking at heechul
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (2:52PM): please, you'd have to be blind not to notice
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (2:53PM): it's so cute okay ;O;
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (2:54PM): hyung. stop that T___T
~
"So," Sungmin said, settling himself down on Han Geng's table with a look on his face that Han Geng had learned to be wary of over the years.
"So?"
"Heechul's pretty good-looking, don't you think?"
That was the last thing Han Geng had been expecting to be asked (because as far as things went, he'd kept his staring to a minimum - damn Sungmin and his sharp eyes) and his first impulse was to answer honestly. Fortunately, he managed to stop himself from the impulsive what kind of question is that, of course on the tip of his tongue. "I guess," he said with a shrug, trying to seem nonchalant.
Apparently, he'd failed, because Kyuhyun just rolled his eyes in exasperation at him. "Give it up, hyung - you suck at lying."
"What, no," Han Geng said, hoping his desperation wasn't leaking through, because Sungmin was determined enough when he wanted to be, and admitting to a hint of anything (not that there was anything to admit to) was just asking for trouble, because Sungmin didn't stop pushing until some form of blatant groping/making out/etc occurred. "Stop making things up! I'm the hyung, you're supposed to listen to me! Why are you both like this?"
Sungmin flashed him a victory sign.
~
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (3:42PM): oh han geng has it so bad
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (3:43PM): I think it's time we had a betting pool soon
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (3:43PM): <3~
~
lee donghae has signed in.
conversation between lee donghae and kim kibum.
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(3:52PM): HI KIBUMMIE~
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(3:53PM): DID YOU MISS ME
kim kibum says (3:53PM): go away donghae, I’m trying to work
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(3:53PM): ):
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(3:53PM): THAT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAID LAST NIGHT
kim kibum says (3:53PM): …
kim kibum says (3:54PM): donghae, we’re at work
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(3:54PM): >:
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(3:54PM): OKAY FINE, I’LL CALL YOU LATER THEN
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(3:55PM): ^__^ BYE KIBUMMIE, I LOVE YOU!
lee donghae has left this conversation.
kim kibum says (3:56PM): :">
~
conversation between lee sungmin and cho kyuhyun.
kim kibum and zhou mi have been added to the conversation.
choi siwon and kim ryeowook have been added to the conversation.
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (1:35PM):
so right, 25000 won per bet, winner takes all. han geng and heechul, how long before they sleep together?
jesus loves you forever! says (1:35PM):
hyung!
ryeowook says (1:36PM):
):
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (1:36PM):
at the rate theyr're going? a month.
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (1:36PM):
you're on. I say two weeks.
kim kibum says (1:37PM):
put me down for three weeks
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (1:37PM):
come on siwonnie, loosen up a little. it's all in good fun.
jesus loves you forever! says (1:38PM):
but, I'm the manager! I should stop this!
kim kibum says (1:39PM):
I'm adding donghae he just got on
lee donghae has been added to the conversation
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(1:39PM):
ooo, are we betting, what are we betting on?
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (1:39PM):
oh please hyung, you know this is going to happen no matter what you say.
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (1:39PM):
bets on han geng and heechul hyung, donghae
BIG FISH LITTLE FISH says(1:40PM):
oh okay! :3 three weeks!
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (1:40PM):
okay, how about you wookie
ryeowook says (1:41PM):
um, a month an half?
jesus loves you forever! says (1:41PM):
>:
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (1:41PM):
don't worry siwonnie, you can blame it all on me if anything happens. it'll be fine, I promise.
jesus loves you forever! says (1:43PM):
... ):
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (1:43PM):
;___________; please, for me? I'll treat you to dinner if you do?
jesus loves you forever! says (1:44PM):
...three months? :x
kim kibum says (1:44PM):
wow, you're just wasting your money hyung
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (1:44PM):
yay ^___^v! is tomorrow night good, siwon?
kyuhyun wants to play starcraft says (1:45PM):
my god, hyung, keep it in your pants, please
~
to: leedonghae@sm.com
from: management@sm.com
Mr. Lee,
Mr. Kim Kibum has requested your presence in his office this afternoon to discuss some problems with your latest assignment. Please arrive promptly after the lunch hour.
Good day,
Management
~
to: kimkibum@sm.com
from: leedonghae@sm.com
OOOO AM I GETTING ~PUNISHED~
~
kim kibum says (4:24PM): I swear he’s trying to drive me insane.
cinderella says (4:24PM): do you mean insane as in out-of-my-mind insane, or I-want-to-jump-him-at-the-water-cooler insane?
kim kibum says (4:25PM): fuck you, hyung
~
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:15AM): hyung! :3
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:15AM): have dinner with me tomorrow night, okay?
cinderella says (11:16AM): wtf, did you message the wrong person
cinderella says (11:16AM): who do you think I am, siwon?
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:16AM): ):
cinderella says (11:17AM): … okay, what do you want
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:17AM): >: can’t a dongsaeng have dinner with his hyung without wanting anything?
cinderella says (11:17AM): not when it’s you, no
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:17AM): ;________;
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:18AM): please? I’ll take you to that new italian place you wanted to go to.
cinderella says (11:19AM): … fine, whatever. >:/ I’ll be there at seven you’d better not be late
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:19AM): yay! ^____^v
~
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:23AM): hyung! I’m going to treat you to dinner tomorrow night because I’m an awesome dongsaeng and we’re going to meet at that new italian place at 7, and you’re going to not be late.
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:24AM): okay?
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:24AM): okay! :3
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:24AM): yay~
lee sungmin has logged off.
han geng says (11:28AM): …
~
lee sungmin: your status is set to appear offline.
lee sungmin has added cho kyuhyun to the conversation.
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (11:29AM): mission accomplished, I am the best!
~
“Okay, what are you doing here?”
“Heechul?” Han Geng blinked at the red-haired man for a second. “I’m waiting for Sungmin - what are you doing here?”
“Sungmin?” Heechul cursed under his breath. “My god, they’re all such idiots, what do they think they’re doing.”
Han Geng wondered if he could get any more confused. “Um. Heechul? What are you talking about?”
“Shut up, we’re having dinner,” Heechul commanded, and proceeded to drag him towards one of the tables in the back.
“But I’m supposed to eat with Sungmin -”
“Oh my god, are you stupid.” Heechul stopped to glare at him. “He was the one who invited me to dinner too. And I come here and find you here instead. Do you get it now?”
“Oh,” Han Geng said intelligently.
He followed Heechul awkwardly to the two-people table and settled himself gingerly into a chair. A waitress came by and handed them a menu, teapot in hand as she quickly filled up their empty glasses and told them to call her any time they were ready. Heechul still had a semi-dangerous look about him, and Han Geng contemplated just staying quiet before deciding that the silence was even worse. He cleared his throat loudly.
Heechul raised an eyebrow at him.
“Um. You look nice.”
“I’m not a girl, you don’t need to flatter me.”
“But you do!” Han Geng said before he could stop himself, and then froze. “I mean. That is. I like your shirt. Um. It looks nice on you. And your hair.” Right, brilliant move there, Han Geng. Can you get more obvious.
“Of course I look good, stop being redundant. Also, has anyone ever told you that your Korean really really sucks?” The redhead tossed his hair back. “Now hurry up and order for me, I want their house special risotto.”
If it had been with anyone else, dinner would have been unbearably awkward - especially considering the way it had started out - but Heechul seemed to have no capacity for embarrassment. Han Geng wasn’t exactly an expert when it came to Italian cuisine, and so ended up ordering spaghetti with grated cheese. Heechul rolled his eyes and called him predictable, except when the food actually came, the redhead spent most of his time stealing noodles off Han Geng’s plate and ignoring his risotto. Han Geng intelligently decided that it was better for his safety if he didn’t point this out.
After the meal found Heechul staring forlornly at the dessert menu. “All this is going to make me fat,” he said, glaring down at the photos of ice cream platters and chocolate cake.
Han Geng doesn’t know why he does it, but some unexpected impulse makes him speak up. “Um. We can share, if you want?”
“Share?” Heechul looked at him carefully for a minute before nodding decisively, apparently satisfied. “Okay, I want tiramisu.”
Han Geng wasn’t a big fan of sweet things, but their order turned out to be surprisingly delicious. He resolutely ignored the voice in the back of head (the one that sounded oddly like a smug Sungmin) telling him that it had less to do with what he was eating and more about whom he was eating it with.
~
“Who paid?”
“We split the bill.”
“~*~Ooooo~*~,” Sungmin said loudly.
“What,” Han Geng said through clenched teeth.
“Proof that he likes you,” Kyuhyun said with a smirk, not looking up from the computer game he was playing. “Heechul hyung never offers to pay.”
“But that’s because I wasn’t the one who invited him, it was Sungmin! He was just being polite or something.”
“Did you just use Heechul and polite in the same sentence.”
Han Geng resisted the urge to scream.
~
to: leesungmin@sm.com
from: zhoumi@sm.com
cc: hangeng@sm.com
advice, you said? you've come to the right person. :3 :3 :3 ohoho.
so first thing first, you have to be forward
kyuhyun likes forward men, you know.
also, you wouldn't know since you haven't worked here for that long
but from my experience, the best place to ambush people in a cubicle office
would be at the water cooler.
and you should do it as soon as possible, since that guy from the third floor has been eyeing kyuhyun for a while.
kyumi hwaiting!
<3 sungmin
also, take care of our kyuhyunnie, okay? or else han geng and I might have to hurt you. we both know martial arts, fyi. :)
~
conversation between lee sungmin and han geng.
han geng says (2:36PM): I'll pay you 30000 won if that "guy from the third floor" actually exists
sungmin hwaiting! :333 says (2:37PM): kekeke~
~
“Oh my god, look look, he’s getting up!”
His arm was slowly losing any feeling thanks to Sungmin’s grip, but Han Geng momentarily ignored it in favour of watching Zhou Mi shuffle up to the water cooler after Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun, in the middle of refilling his mug, had his back towards them.
The co-op student cleared his throat awkwardly.
Kyuhyun whirled around a questioning look on his face, and nearly dropped his mug when he saw who it was.
“Um,” Zhou Mi said.
“What the hell, why are you sneaking up on people at the water cooler,” Kyuhyun snapped, clearly trying to seem unaffected, and Han Geng watched in fascination at the way Kyuhyun’s cheeks slowly turned a dull red.
The look on Zhou Mi’s face vaguely resembled a kicked puppy. “Sorry! I um. Was wondering, um. I’m really sorry.”
There was awkward silence for a minute before Kyuhyun relented grudgingly. “It’s okay, whatever. Did you need something?”
Zhou Mi brightened a little at the perfect opportunity and plowed forward. “I um! Was wondering if you had time for dinner or anything this weekend, actually.” He paused a little, hands fidgeting with the hem of his dress shirt, and Han Geng tried to ignore the way Sungmin was cooing about how cute they were in his ear.
Kyuhyun stared.
Zhou Mi visibly deflated. “Um, I mean. It’s okay if you don’t have time or anything, it doesn’t have to be on the weekend - I mean, maybe you already have plans or something - and it doesn’t have to be dinner, if you don’t want. Coffee is okay too, I like coffee - or tea, whatever you like -” He stopped, flustered. “I mean. Never mind, just forget I said anything. I’ll just. Go now, yeah.”
“What, what does he think he’s doing,” Sungmin hissed. “My god, Kyuhyun is so stupid, I’m going to yell at him so hard for this later -”
“Wait,” Kyuhyun said, reaching out to grab Zhou Mi’s arm before he could walk away. “Wait, you just surprised me. Um. Saturday evening would be good, actually.”
“Really?” Zhou Mi looked a little disbelieving.
“That’s what I said, isn’t it?”
“I. Where do you want to go?” Zhou Mi suddenly grinned, his smiling looking almost too big for his face. “There’s a nice Chinese place close to here, I don’t know if you like Chinese food or not, but -”
“Chinese is fine,” Kyuhyun said, cutting him off before Zhou Mi could start rambling again. “Just give me a call an hour beforehand, I’ll email you my number.” He nodded in the direction of the cubicles. “We should get back to work before Heechul or Siwon comes along.”
Zhou Mi stuttered for a bit before nodding and turning back to his desk. Han Geng caught his eye and gave him a thumbs up, while Zhou Mi turned even pinker.
Kyuhyun walked over to their side of the cubicles and narrowed his eyes at the sight of Sungmin and Han Geng looking innocently at him. “Were you guys eavesdropping just now?”
“Kyuhyunnie, how can you say that!” Sungmin clapped a hand to his heart dramatically. “We’re just concerned hyungs looking out for your well being - we can’t have Zhou Mi taking advantage of you, after all.”
“Concerned hyungs, my foot,” Kyuhyun muttered.
Sungmin ignored him and proceeded to do a quiet victory dance, not paying any attention to the fact that the entire office (Zhou Mi included) could see him and were probably wondering what he was doing. “It’s so cute, our Kyuhyunnie has a date!”
“Shut up, it’s not a date, I just agreed to dinner.”
“Right, you’re meeting on a weekend at a fancy restaurant for dinner and it’s not a date.”
Kyuhyun opened his mouth, then slammed it back shut. Sungmin cheered loudly.
“Would you guys keep it down?” Kibum asked, suddenly striding out of his office. “People are trying to work here.”
“And by work, you mean grope Donghae when you think no one’s looking,” Sungmin said with a grin.
Kibum growled under his breath about firing them all before turning back around. The office door slamming loudly after him.
Sungmin sighed dramatically. “Everyone’s going on dates, Han Geng! I feel so old!” He threw himself into his chair, arms stretched out behind his head.
~
The next week or so passed fairly uneventfully, with the usual routine of Sungmin teasing Kyuhyun and the latter’s sharp rebuttals. Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi’s dinner had apparently gone well - as far as they’d heard from Zhou Mi, at any rate; Kyuhyun was keeping his mouth tightly shut, although he turned an odd shade of red whenever Zhou Mi was mentioned. And so of course, Sungmin gladly brought up the subject at every available opportunity. This worked out in Han Geng’s favour, really, because if Sungmin was teasing Kyuhyun, it meant he was too busy to give Han Geng any grief regarding Heechul. Which he really really didn’t need right now, given his state of mind.
Sometime over the last few days, he’d started dreaming. They were the uncomfortable, awkward sort of dreams, ones where he woke up drenched in sweat with Heechul's name lying on the tip of his tongue. Considering that Han Geng had never been particularly good at hiding his thoughts in the first place, this only served to make ignoring Sungmin’s occasional innuendos that much harder.
He also realized at some point that he was finding it increasingly difficult to meet Heechul's eyes when the other man showed up. If it had been anyone else, Han Geng doubted they would have noticed (even if Kyuhyun tells him it's so easy to read him, Han Geng likes to think he isn't completely obvious), but it was pretty much impossible to keep anything from Heechul.
And so he found himself cornered during the lunch hour one afternoon, conveniently on the one day when everyone but Zhou Mi, Ryeowook, and the receptionist had left early to try out the new restaurant that had opened up around the corner. Siwon had tried to stay too, claiming that as the manager, he should set a good example and work until the lunch break actually began, but Kibum had snorted and Sungmin would have none of that. Normally, Han Geng would have gone with the group of them, but he'd been finding it harder to concentrate on his work lately and had opt to stay a little longer and finish up some old paperwork.
Of course Heechul, with his brilliant timing, had chosen that moment to show up. Wasting no time, the redhead had made a beeline for Han Geng, eyes narrowed. With no one running inteference (not that Sungmin was exactly helpful when he was around - quite the opposite, in fact - but it was better than this), Han Geng turned desperate eyes to Ryeowook -
- who shrugged his shoulders and looked helplessly back at him. Han Geng exhaled loudly before turning to Heechul. "Hi," he started awkwardly, his eyes making circles along the lincoleum floor.
"Don't give me any of that. You've been avoiding me. Why."
Han Geng opened his mouth, denial at the tip of his tongue while Heechul's eyes narrowed even further, as if predicting Han Geng's response - when help came in the form of a tall smiling blur from the other side of the room.
"Hyung!" Zhou Mi said, smile so wide Han Geng would have wondered if it hurt if he hadn't been so busy applauding Zhou Mi's excellent sense of timing. "It's so good to see you! What are you doing here? We were just leaving - do you want to go for lunch with us?"
The frown didn't leave Heechul's face but he paused in the face of the barrage of questions. "Only if you're paying," he said finally, still watching Zhou Mi carefully as if trying to determine if the other man had purposefully interrupted them or not. Zhou Mi just smiled in wider, chattering on about the dokbokki place he'd been wanting to try out.
Han Geng breathed a sigh of relief, the matter apparently over, except when Han Geng's grabbing his jacket, Zhou Mi suddenly turned to him.
“Ge, you like him, don’t you?” he asked in Mandarin, lips curving, and Han Geng nearly choked on his own tongue.
“No, what, what are you talking about,” he managed to sputter out, internally cursing Sungmin for his meddling. “I don’t like Heechul, of course not - don’t listen to Sungmin and Kyuhyun, they don’t know what they’re talking about.”
“I heard my name there.” Heechul called out. “Don't think I can't hear you just because I'm not next to you. What did you just say? I bet you called me ugly or something, didn’t you?”
“What, no!” Han Geng said a little desperately. “No, Heechul, Zhou Mi was just.”
“Just what?” Heechul looked at him carefully.
“I was just telling him how much I liked your hair!” Zhou Mi cut in, the smile on his face surprisingly natural, and Han Geng held his breath, waiting to see Heechul’s reaction.
Heechul looked at them for a long moment before suddenly tossing his head back with a smirk. “You know what, I think we’re going to keep you,” he told Zhou Mi, his smile very wide and all teeth.
~
part two