UNDERCOVER [Chapter 3]
Title: The Almighty Advice
Word count: 2956
Genre: mystery, romance, angst
Pairing(s): Kyumin, (slight) EunHae
A/N: As usual, big thanks to my beta ten_03 for putting up with my messy updates
***
"Kyu, talk to him."
"What?"
"I said, talk to him."
"But why do I need to suddenly talk to him?"
"To get his number of course."
Kyuhyun choked on his tea, coughing violently and making the neighboring tables' occupants turned around and gave him a weird look. Hyukjae remained oblivious as he continued to devour the remaining Pad Thai of his first plate as if he wasn't aware of his best friend's reaction.
"What do you mean, getting his number?" Kyuhyun spluttered after recovering from his fit and managed to fill his lungs with oxygen, allowing him to breath again.
The older man sighed dramatically and put his fork down, then looked at Kyuhyun with a serious expression. "Cho Kyuhyun, where were you this whole life? It's an unspoken rule of crush at first sight! You get their name, ask their phone number and BAM! Woo them."
Kyuhyun blinked and stared at his hyung as if he'd just grown a second head. "Whoever came up with that stupid rule? I've never even heard of it once in my life!"
"You poor soul," Hyukjae tsked, shaking his head with mock pity. "Clearly you have no experience whatsoever in the wooing field."
"Ah sure, Lee Hyukjae, the mighty Love Doctor." Kyuhyun rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh.
He was getting suspicious if Hyukjae had hit his head somehow. If the guy was weird before, tonight he had been exceptionally weird. How ever he suddenly came up with this nonsense of unspoken rule from the art of seducing an attractive guy. Clearly Hyukjae wasn't in his right mind tonight.
Wait, maybe Hyukjae really did hit his head without him knowing.
"Did you hit your head, Hyuk?" Kyuhyun couldn't help but asked.
His raven haired hyung sniffed, looking offended. "Here I am, wanting to expand your horizon with a few love advice and you think I hit my head?"
"Did I ever ask for your love advice?" Kyuhyun's eyes went skyward in exasperation. "We came here to eat. This is a nameless Thai restaurant, not some nameless love fortune-teller booth."
"Oh come on, Kyu. You know you want his number!"
"Does it ever occur to you that maybe I just want to admire him?"
"But you totally looked at him with that puppy-love look and all--"
"I did not look at him like that!"
"Oh you so did, my dear friend. So why don't you just accept my generous offer of advice for your obvious crush and be done with it?"
"Lee Hyukjae, I swear--"
There was the sound of someone clearing their throat and both young men looked up from their position of nearly headbutting each other's foreheads, hands braced on both sides of their table and butts inches up from their seats, to a blond waiter who so happened to be the subject of their banter, holding up a tray with a plate of Pad Thai steaming hot on it.
"Would you mind keeping it down? You're making the other customers uncomfortable... " Sungmin stated with practiced polite, neutral expression, resisting the urge to frown disapprovingly at the bickering duo as his brows twitched.
Hyukjae and Kyuhyun stared at Sungmin and back at each other before back to Sungmin again. As one they looked to their left to see every pair of eyes set on them, giving them different types of scrutiny, which made them feeling utterly self-conscious of their actions. They retreated back to their respective seats ever so slowly and smoothed their clothes, coughing behind their fists and shrugged the other patrons.
"So, your Pad Thai, Sir?" Sungmin inquired.
"Yes, please." Hyukjae nodded solemnly, pushing away his empty plate - he was eating and bickering at the same time though how Kyuhyun's face wasn't covered with splatters of food was still a mystery - so the waiter could put his next fill.
With a murmur of "enjoy your meal" and a bow, Sungmin left.
"You missed your chance." The older hissed, picking up his fork and started to wolf down his food.
Kyuhyun leaned in with narrowed eyes, looking affronted. "Excuse me? You're the one who was talking nonsense! I didn't even say anything about crush and you're just assuming ahead of yourself! Why were you so persistent on me getting his number anyway?"
Then he scowled when an idea struck him. "Don't tell me you're just using me so you can get his number."
Hyukjae merely raised an eyebrow, shooting a look that said are-you-serious-kid at the Detective. "I only have eyes for a certain stupid Nemo, mind you."
"Cross your heart and hope to die?"
"Cross my heart and hope to die." Hyukjae lifted an hand and made a cross mark over his heart with the other. "What is it with you and Adam Levine?"
Kyuhyun just shrugged "he's got a nice song" and grabbed his glass of tea, leaning back into his chair as he sipped the sweet refreshment. "You haven't answered my question."
"Which is...?"
"About you being so persistent."
"I just want you to be happy." The older commented offhandedly, not looking up from his food. "Even if it means pairing you up with some random attractive guy and letting you get a one-off to relieve your stress, then so be it."
Kyuhyun sighed, running a hand through his curly locks. "Hyuk, you damn well know that doesn't even close to my definition of happiness." The older man had every weird method thinkable to show how much he cared for Kyuhyun, but the younger was touched nonetheless.
"I know." Hyukjae nodded. "But, Kyu, it's about time for you to have someone taking care of you aside from me. Not that I'm complaining, but you need someone to yourself. Get a girlfriend, or a boyfriend." He continued, waving his chopsticks in front of his friend.
"Go on a date, spend some time out of the small world shaped in four-cornered room you call office. That will keep your mind off your work for a while and help you relax. I'm not telling you to immediately settle down with one person, but at least try to get one. You're a workaholic- don't try and deny it, dammit!- and you need someone to hold your horses. I'm not always going to be here, you know." He finished, his eyes distant with an air of distinct odd solemnity as twirled his noodle around.
Kyuhyun was silent, unsure whether he should be surprised that suddenly Hyukjae was going down all wise on him or he should take a moment to think over his hyung's works. He had to admit from the moment he had graduated, every minute he breathed was spent solely on his work. Either on cases, paperwork, meetings, forwarded case-solving, being tossed from one bureau to another... Those days when there was nothing he wanted more than to fall into a deep sleep and never wake up to face another boring routine. Or to have someone to care for him when he's tired, to cheer him up when he's depressed over a stubborn case that wouldn't be solved no matter how long he had been forcing his brain to think. The thinking part was always painful.
Brainy wheez he might be, but at the end of the day, Cho Kyuhyun was just a healthy young man who needed a better escape outlet aside from going out with his one and only best friend.
Such a lonely soul.
But then there was something about how the last part was said. Of course he knew Hyukjae wouldn't always be at his beck and call; that man also had another life outside Kyuhyun's office. Then why there was a distant dread in his stomach from those words?
Brushing it off as another product of his overactive imagination and worries, he focused back to the matter at hand.
"I think I get what you're saying." The brunette sighed, putting down his drink and alternating between petting his hair and racking his neat curls until it morphed into a mess of unkempt hair.
"I don't think so." Hyukjae shook his head, a bit of noodle dangling from his lips swayed with the movement. "If you do, you wouldn't be making a bird's nest on your head."
The Detective's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline at the absurdity of the statement until he notice how his hand had been running up and down in his hair. With a quick sweep and a few pats, he managed to re-tame his curls. It wouldn't do to have such an irresistible face with a hobo-style hair on top of his head.
"Don't chew your noodles halfway and let them dangle outside your mouth. It's disgusting." He sneered, throwing a handkerchief square at the older's face.
"Shut up. You do not tell me how I eat, brat." Hyukjae slurped his noodles noisily before dabbing at his mouth with the handkerchief.
"So, do you get what I meant or not?" He dug into his plate and shove another forkful of noodles, smearing grease all over his lips again. The purpose of the existence of handkerchief wasted within seconds.
"I do." Kyuhyun nodded, folding his arms on the table as he leaned forward. "You want me to date, not to obsess over my work, find another way to relieve my stress, be happy, and not to have you babysit me all the time?"
His hyung snapped his fingers in confirmation, nodding over his food. "That's right! Especially the babysit part."
"Don't tell me after all those beautifully-weaved, flattering, words of wisdom you just wanted out of your babysitting duty?" Kyuhyun arched an eyebrow.
"Of course. Who do you think I am, your mother?" The older scoffed, flipping his hand at his friend and finally the last straw of noodle was settled in his stomach. "Wow, that's good." He muttered to himself while patting his tummy with a satisfied sigh.
"You're so paying for your own food." The younger ignored the insinuation and proceeded to glare at Hyukjae's plates.
"Oh come on! After all the Americano, the sandwiches, and my words of wisdom you just wouldn't treat your hyung a plate or two?" Hyukjae gasped, placing a hand over his heart, his eyes wide in mock hurt. "I can't believe I'm wasting my love and energy over an ungrateful nasty piece of workaholic like you!"
"You say 'workaholic' once more and I'm going to burn all your strawberry milk supplies."
Hyukjae went slack-jawed as his face paled visibly. "You wouldn't." He whispered.
"Watch me." Kyuhyun smirked. Sometimes it was fun to threaten his friend over that particular subject what with Hyukjae's love and obsession for strawberry flavor. He still couldn't understand what was so special about the pink colored liquid. It was too sweet according to his standard but if he could exploit it to his own advantage, he wasn't about to question its validity.
The older of the two cleared his throat as he tried to come up with an attempt to come up with a change of topic.
"So, where were we again? Oh right, you got my point. Tell me, Mr. Genius, do you want to do something about it?" He arched a suggestive eyebrow, shooting his friend a challenging look when he caught a glance of the blond waiter nearing their table from the corner of his eyes. He folded his arms on the table and waited as he watched Kyuhun's mind turned.
"Oh, before you kill yourself from too much thinking, you might want to take into account that it's nearing Christmas. Like, there are one thousand and one reasons to ask someone out on Christmas. You know, the Christmas shopping, the mistletoe, the romantic dinners, the lights, the atmosphere, the Christmas wishes, the gifts..." The older trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows playfully all the while as he put up a finger after each point he made, hoping his detective of a friend would pick up the hint for much needed excuse if one planned to not make a fool out of himself in front of his newfound crush.
But thinking how such an awkward species Kyuhyun could be, his friend would have to worry more about the upcoming long, rocky road he was about to sign himself into rather than how he was going to hand the invitation out.
Instead of asking for the next step, the brunette just had to ask the unexpected. "How can you expect me to ask him out because it's Christmas? I mean, surely he got friends and family to spend the holiday with. If it was me, I'd rather spend the Christmas with people I know rather with some stranger I met at the place I work." He offered, his expression troubled.
Hyukjae rolled his eyes but had to inwardly admit that Kyuhyun got a point. But he wasn't Hyukjae if ordinary excuse like 'family and friends' interfered with his plans. "Duh. It's obvious, isn't it? You're young, you're gorgeous, you have the typical cutie baby face and all that rot. Surely only an idiot would refuse your invitation."
"The way you say it somehow makes me seem pathetic..." Kyuhyun scrunched his nose, unsure of how he should feel about his hyung showering compliments of his looks like that. It's unnerving and a bit nauseating if he was honest.
"You are pathetic." Hyukjae gave him a firm nod.
"Gee, thanks, hyung. That makes me feel all better." The younger dropped his head to the table, wondering all over again which god he had pissed off in his past life until he was fated to befriend an insufferable creature gone by the name Lee Hyukjae. "I hate you." He mumbled against the cloth-covered surface.
"Love you, too, Kyutie Pooh."
A violent shudder shook Kyuhyun's body as he fought the urge to really bolt for the exit, bills and gorgeous waiter be damned. "That, is the most disgusting thing I've ever heard you say to me."
"Oh, believe me, that's only one of the names I've got." Hyukjae's grin grew widened in perfect Chesire impersonation, teeth and all. "Hae like them and since practice makes perfect, I've invented some of my own! Wanna hear them?"
"No, oh God, please. I wish to keep my ears on, thank you very much." He moaned in agony, hands flailing to clamp down on his ears in hope to never hear those wicked names. He was still too young with lots of dreams and things to do for a death wish, dammit!
Sniggering at Kyuhyun who was mumbling incoherent words under his breath in a desperate attempt to block out his hearing, Hyukjae decided to give mercy.
"Okay, okay. Don't such a drama queen." He patted the other's hand so Kyuhyun could take notice he was done teasing. "Back to business."
Kyuhyun lowered his hands, breathing out a relieved sigh. Thank God he got to save his innocent ears. "Where were we?" He asked, since all the distraction had successfully chased away all his sense of awareness. It was actually a bit surprising they'd lost track of their own conversation twice. Kyuhyun, the more sensible of the two, would usually keep them on track but anything could happen with Hyukjae; that much he had learnt.
"I believe you were getting on how to ask the guy out."
"Right. How do I ask him out?" Kyuhyun unconsciously bit his lip as he pondered his options.
Hyukjae grabbed his glass and took a large gulp to prevent himself from firing another teasing retort about Kyu's painfully obvious greenness. He glanced down and saw his dongsaeng was unconsciously fiddling with tip of the table cloth. It was so tempting to just make some embarrassing comments on Kyuhyun's predicament, forever single for 25 years but Hyuk relented when the image of cartons of strawberry milk burning next to an evil Kyuhyun. "You could just snatch his hand when he passed by us and ask him out. As simple as that." He finally suggested, blowing at his fringe.
The Detective looked at him dubiously. "You serious?"
"It worked fine with Hae." The older shrugged.
Right. But Donghae was a total exception for every rule established on earth. What could work with Donghae didn't mean it would work on normal people and how could you ask someone out with a very flippant approach like that? He was sure there was another sweeter method that had something to do with flowers and little coaxing gifts, candles, nice cards here and there...
Oh, wait. Those were from the sappy dramas he had watched in the privacy of his room where his companion was only the ever-faithful tissue box.
Just when the waiter was about to pass their table, Kyuhyun's hand shot up before his mind could catch up with his body and snatched the blond's sleeve, making the waiter staggered back in surprise. They stared at each other for a while, Hyukjae sat back to watch the event unfold before his eyes.
"Yes?" Sungmin eyed his sleeve before peering at the brunette with a skeptical look on his face.
Kyuhyun stared at those round almond eyes, making up his mind because if he wanted to live up to Hyukjae's advice, there was no turning back. After all, he was way overdue to get a date. He inwardly prayed Hyuk's method would really work and be bold this once. After all, the worse he could get was a mortifying rejection then he could just strut away and throw his hyung to the darkest corner where sunshine wouldn't even reach his scrawny body. Oh yes, that sounded like a plan.
With a tentative tug on the waiter's buttoned sleeve, he steeled his resolve.
"Are you free this Saturday?"
Word count: 2956
Genre: mystery, romance, angst
Pairing(s): Kyumin, (slight) EunHae
A/N: As usual, big thanks to my beta ten_03 for putting up with my messy updates
***
"Kyu, talk to him."
"What?"
"I said, talk to him."
"But why do I need to suddenly talk to him?"
"To get his number of course."
Kyuhyun choked on his tea, coughing violently and making the neighboring tables' occupants turned around and gave him a weird look. Hyukjae remained oblivious as he continued to devour the remaining Pad Thai of his first plate as if he wasn't aware of his best friend's reaction.
"What do you mean, getting his number?" Kyuhyun spluttered after recovering from his fit and managed to fill his lungs with oxygen, allowing him to breath again.
The older man sighed dramatically and put his fork down, then looked at Kyuhyun with a serious expression. "Cho Kyuhyun, where were you this whole life? It's an unspoken rule of crush at first sight! You get their name, ask their phone number and BAM! Woo them."
Kyuhyun blinked and stared at his hyung as if he'd just grown a second head. "Whoever came up with that stupid rule? I've never even heard of it once in my life!"
"You poor soul," Hyukjae tsked, shaking his head with mock pity. "Clearly you have no experience whatsoever in the wooing field."
"Ah sure, Lee Hyukjae, the mighty Love Doctor." Kyuhyun rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh.
He was getting suspicious if Hyukjae had hit his head somehow. If the guy was weird before, tonight he had been exceptionally weird. How ever he suddenly came up with this nonsense of unspoken rule from the art of seducing an attractive guy. Clearly Hyukjae wasn't in his right mind tonight.
Wait, maybe Hyukjae really did hit his head without him knowing.
"Did you hit your head, Hyuk?" Kyuhyun couldn't help but asked.
His raven haired hyung sniffed, looking offended. "Here I am, wanting to expand your horizon with a few love advice and you think I hit my head?"
"Did I ever ask for your love advice?" Kyuhyun's eyes went skyward in exasperation. "We came here to eat. This is a nameless Thai restaurant, not some nameless love fortune-teller booth."
"Oh come on, Kyu. You know you want his number!"
"Does it ever occur to you that maybe I just want to admire him?"
"But you totally looked at him with that puppy-love look and all--"
"I did not look at him like that!"
"Oh you so did, my dear friend. So why don't you just accept my generous offer of advice for your obvious crush and be done with it?"
"Lee Hyukjae, I swear--"
There was the sound of someone clearing their throat and both young men looked up from their position of nearly headbutting each other's foreheads, hands braced on both sides of their table and butts inches up from their seats, to a blond waiter who so happened to be the subject of their banter, holding up a tray with a plate of Pad Thai steaming hot on it.
"Would you mind keeping it down? You're making the other customers uncomfortable... " Sungmin stated with practiced polite, neutral expression, resisting the urge to frown disapprovingly at the bickering duo as his brows twitched.
Hyukjae and Kyuhyun stared at Sungmin and back at each other before back to Sungmin again. As one they looked to their left to see every pair of eyes set on them, giving them different types of scrutiny, which made them feeling utterly self-conscious of their actions. They retreated back to their respective seats ever so slowly and smoothed their clothes, coughing behind their fists and shrugged the other patrons.
"So, your Pad Thai, Sir?" Sungmin inquired.
"Yes, please." Hyukjae nodded solemnly, pushing away his empty plate - he was eating and bickering at the same time though how Kyuhyun's face wasn't covered with splatters of food was still a mystery - so the waiter could put his next fill.
With a murmur of "enjoy your meal" and a bow, Sungmin left.
"You missed your chance." The older hissed, picking up his fork and started to wolf down his food.
Kyuhyun leaned in with narrowed eyes, looking affronted. "Excuse me? You're the one who was talking nonsense! I didn't even say anything about crush and you're just assuming ahead of yourself! Why were you so persistent on me getting his number anyway?"
Then he scowled when an idea struck him. "Don't tell me you're just using me so you can get his number."
Hyukjae merely raised an eyebrow, shooting a look that said are-you-serious-kid at the Detective. "I only have eyes for a certain stupid Nemo, mind you."
"Cross your heart and hope to die?"
"Cross my heart and hope to die." Hyukjae lifted an hand and made a cross mark over his heart with the other. "What is it with you and Adam Levine?"
Kyuhyun just shrugged "he's got a nice song" and grabbed his glass of tea, leaning back into his chair as he sipped the sweet refreshment. "You haven't answered my question."
"Which is...?"
"About you being so persistent."
"I just want you to be happy." The older commented offhandedly, not looking up from his food. "Even if it means pairing you up with some random attractive guy and letting you get a one-off to relieve your stress, then so be it."
Kyuhyun sighed, running a hand through his curly locks. "Hyuk, you damn well know that doesn't even close to my definition of happiness." The older man had every weird method thinkable to show how much he cared for Kyuhyun, but the younger was touched nonetheless.
"I know." Hyukjae nodded. "But, Kyu, it's about time for you to have someone taking care of you aside from me. Not that I'm complaining, but you need someone to yourself. Get a girlfriend, or a boyfriend." He continued, waving his chopsticks in front of his friend.
"Go on a date, spend some time out of the small world shaped in four-cornered room you call office. That will keep your mind off your work for a while and help you relax. I'm not telling you to immediately settle down with one person, but at least try to get one. You're a workaholic- don't try and deny it, dammit!- and you need someone to hold your horses. I'm not always going to be here, you know." He finished, his eyes distant with an air of distinct odd solemnity as twirled his noodle around.
Kyuhyun was silent, unsure whether he should be surprised that suddenly Hyukjae was going down all wise on him or he should take a moment to think over his hyung's works. He had to admit from the moment he had graduated, every minute he breathed was spent solely on his work. Either on cases, paperwork, meetings, forwarded case-solving, being tossed from one bureau to another... Those days when there was nothing he wanted more than to fall into a deep sleep and never wake up to face another boring routine. Or to have someone to care for him when he's tired, to cheer him up when he's depressed over a stubborn case that wouldn't be solved no matter how long he had been forcing his brain to think. The thinking part was always painful.
Brainy wheez he might be, but at the end of the day, Cho Kyuhyun was just a healthy young man who needed a better escape outlet aside from going out with his one and only best friend.
Such a lonely soul.
But then there was something about how the last part was said. Of course he knew Hyukjae wouldn't always be at his beck and call; that man also had another life outside Kyuhyun's office. Then why there was a distant dread in his stomach from those words?
Brushing it off as another product of his overactive imagination and worries, he focused back to the matter at hand.
"I think I get what you're saying." The brunette sighed, putting down his drink and alternating between petting his hair and racking his neat curls until it morphed into a mess of unkempt hair.
"I don't think so." Hyukjae shook his head, a bit of noodle dangling from his lips swayed with the movement. "If you do, you wouldn't be making a bird's nest on your head."
The Detective's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline at the absurdity of the statement until he notice how his hand had been running up and down in his hair. With a quick sweep and a few pats, he managed to re-tame his curls. It wouldn't do to have such an irresistible face with a hobo-style hair on top of his head.
"Don't chew your noodles halfway and let them dangle outside your mouth. It's disgusting." He sneered, throwing a handkerchief square at the older's face.
"Shut up. You do not tell me how I eat, brat." Hyukjae slurped his noodles noisily before dabbing at his mouth with the handkerchief.
"So, do you get what I meant or not?" He dug into his plate and shove another forkful of noodles, smearing grease all over his lips again. The purpose of the existence of handkerchief wasted within seconds.
"I do." Kyuhyun nodded, folding his arms on the table as he leaned forward. "You want me to date, not to obsess over my work, find another way to relieve my stress, be happy, and not to have you babysit me all the time?"
His hyung snapped his fingers in confirmation, nodding over his food. "That's right! Especially the babysit part."
"Don't tell me after all those beautifully-weaved, flattering, words of wisdom you just wanted out of your babysitting duty?" Kyuhyun arched an eyebrow.
"Of course. Who do you think I am, your mother?" The older scoffed, flipping his hand at his friend and finally the last straw of noodle was settled in his stomach. "Wow, that's good." He muttered to himself while patting his tummy with a satisfied sigh.
"You're so paying for your own food." The younger ignored the insinuation and proceeded to glare at Hyukjae's plates.
"Oh come on! After all the Americano, the sandwiches, and my words of wisdom you just wouldn't treat your hyung a plate or two?" Hyukjae gasped, placing a hand over his heart, his eyes wide in mock hurt. "I can't believe I'm wasting my love and energy over an ungrateful nasty piece of workaholic like you!"
"You say 'workaholic' once more and I'm going to burn all your strawberry milk supplies."
Hyukjae went slack-jawed as his face paled visibly. "You wouldn't." He whispered.
"Watch me." Kyuhyun smirked. Sometimes it was fun to threaten his friend over that particular subject what with Hyukjae's love and obsession for strawberry flavor. He still couldn't understand what was so special about the pink colored liquid. It was too sweet according to his standard but if he could exploit it to his own advantage, he wasn't about to question its validity.
The older of the two cleared his throat as he tried to come up with an attempt to come up with a change of topic.
"So, where were we again? Oh right, you got my point. Tell me, Mr. Genius, do you want to do something about it?" He arched a suggestive eyebrow, shooting his friend a challenging look when he caught a glance of the blond waiter nearing their table from the corner of his eyes. He folded his arms on the table and waited as he watched Kyuhun's mind turned.
"Oh, before you kill yourself from too much thinking, you might want to take into account that it's nearing Christmas. Like, there are one thousand and one reasons to ask someone out on Christmas. You know, the Christmas shopping, the mistletoe, the romantic dinners, the lights, the atmosphere, the Christmas wishes, the gifts..." The older trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows playfully all the while as he put up a finger after each point he made, hoping his detective of a friend would pick up the hint for much needed excuse if one planned to not make a fool out of himself in front of his newfound crush.
But thinking how such an awkward species Kyuhyun could be, his friend would have to worry more about the upcoming long, rocky road he was about to sign himself into rather than how he was going to hand the invitation out.
Instead of asking for the next step, the brunette just had to ask the unexpected. "How can you expect me to ask him out because it's Christmas? I mean, surely he got friends and family to spend the holiday with. If it was me, I'd rather spend the Christmas with people I know rather with some stranger I met at the place I work." He offered, his expression troubled.
Hyukjae rolled his eyes but had to inwardly admit that Kyuhyun got a point. But he wasn't Hyukjae if ordinary excuse like 'family and friends' interfered with his plans. "Duh. It's obvious, isn't it? You're young, you're gorgeous, you have the typical cutie baby face and all that rot. Surely only an idiot would refuse your invitation."
"The way you say it somehow makes me seem pathetic..." Kyuhyun scrunched his nose, unsure of how he should feel about his hyung showering compliments of his looks like that. It's unnerving and a bit nauseating if he was honest.
"You are pathetic." Hyukjae gave him a firm nod.
"Gee, thanks, hyung. That makes me feel all better." The younger dropped his head to the table, wondering all over again which god he had pissed off in his past life until he was fated to befriend an insufferable creature gone by the name Lee Hyukjae. "I hate you." He mumbled against the cloth-covered surface.
"Love you, too, Kyutie Pooh."
A violent shudder shook Kyuhyun's body as he fought the urge to really bolt for the exit, bills and gorgeous waiter be damned. "That, is the most disgusting thing I've ever heard you say to me."
"Oh, believe me, that's only one of the names I've got." Hyukjae's grin grew widened in perfect Chesire impersonation, teeth and all. "Hae like them and since practice makes perfect, I've invented some of my own! Wanna hear them?"
"No, oh God, please. I wish to keep my ears on, thank you very much." He moaned in agony, hands flailing to clamp down on his ears in hope to never hear those wicked names. He was still too young with lots of dreams and things to do for a death wish, dammit!
Sniggering at Kyuhyun who was mumbling incoherent words under his breath in a desperate attempt to block out his hearing, Hyukjae decided to give mercy.
"Okay, okay. Don't such a drama queen." He patted the other's hand so Kyuhyun could take notice he was done teasing. "Back to business."
Kyuhyun lowered his hands, breathing out a relieved sigh. Thank God he got to save his innocent ears. "Where were we?" He asked, since all the distraction had successfully chased away all his sense of awareness. It was actually a bit surprising they'd lost track of their own conversation twice. Kyuhyun, the more sensible of the two, would usually keep them on track but anything could happen with Hyukjae; that much he had learnt.
"I believe you were getting on how to ask the guy out."
"Right. How do I ask him out?" Kyuhyun unconsciously bit his lip as he pondered his options.
Hyukjae grabbed his glass and took a large gulp to prevent himself from firing another teasing retort about Kyu's painfully obvious greenness. He glanced down and saw his dongsaeng was unconsciously fiddling with tip of the table cloth. It was so tempting to just make some embarrassing comments on Kyuhyun's predicament, forever single for 25 years but Hyuk relented when the image of cartons of strawberry milk burning next to an evil Kyuhyun. "You could just snatch his hand when he passed by us and ask him out. As simple as that." He finally suggested, blowing at his fringe.
The Detective looked at him dubiously. "You serious?"
"It worked fine with Hae." The older shrugged.
Right. But Donghae was a total exception for every rule established on earth. What could work with Donghae didn't mean it would work on normal people and how could you ask someone out with a very flippant approach like that? He was sure there was another sweeter method that had something to do with flowers and little coaxing gifts, candles, nice cards here and there...
Oh, wait. Those were from the sappy dramas he had watched in the privacy of his room where his companion was only the ever-faithful tissue box.
Just when the waiter was about to pass their table, Kyuhyun's hand shot up before his mind could catch up with his body and snatched the blond's sleeve, making the waiter staggered back in surprise. They stared at each other for a while, Hyukjae sat back to watch the event unfold before his eyes.
"Yes?" Sungmin eyed his sleeve before peering at the brunette with a skeptical look on his face.
Kyuhyun stared at those round almond eyes, making up his mind because if he wanted to live up to Hyukjae's advice, there was no turning back. After all, he was way overdue to get a date. He inwardly prayed Hyuk's method would really work and be bold this once. After all, the worse he could get was a mortifying rejection then he could just strut away and throw his hyung to the darkest corner where sunshine wouldn't even reach his scrawny body. Oh yes, that sounded like a plan.
With a tentative tug on the waiter's buttoned sleeve, he steeled his resolve.
"Are you free this Saturday?"