If I could make you stop and take a look at me [2/3]
“Hello sir, is it just you today?”
“Oh no, party of three, please. The others should be arriving shortly.”
“Under what name?”
“Lu Han.”
Lu Han followed the hostess to a small round table in the back, next to a row of small, high windows. He waited a few paces away while she straightened the sweet white table cloth with little blue trees along the hem and set menus at each of the three seats. Nodding his thanks as she left with a “your server will be right with you”, Lu Han pulled out one of the tan wicker chairs and made himself comfortable before looking over the drink menu. Busy contemplating the wisdom of drinking alcohol during his first meeting with his best friend’s best friend, he failed to notice the rest of his lunch group approaching. He looked up when a shadow fell across his menu and then hopped out of his chair to greet the newcomers.
“Angel Pup!”
Jongin pulled him into a close hug and allowed him to bury his face in the small gap between his work polo and neck. “Hey, Lu Han, how’ve you been?”
“Oh, great, great. I caught a movie yesterday over in the theater, and this morning I was over on the lower promenade pretending to be a coffee connoisseur and trying different blends.”
Kyungsoo watched the two with a soft smile. It was obvious to him that Jongin and this other man- clearly the famed Lu Han- were close and comfortable. It didn’t seem so much that Jongin was any different with Lu Han than he’d been with Kyungsoo throughout middle and high school, but there was a definite air of extreme ease between the two. He only had to wait a few minutes before Jongin was reaching back to grip his wrist and pull him a half step forward.
“Lu Han, this is my best friend, Do Kyungsoo. Soo, meet my best friend, Lu Han.”
The two shook hands and then everyone sat down. Their server, Niel, came by and took everyone’s drink orders and once those were brought the boys settled into easy conversation. Kyungsoo took a sip of his ginger ale before crossing his arms on the table and leaning forward.
“So let’s talk about names.”
Jongin paused, straw clamped between his lips and lemonade halfway to his mouth, to furrow his brow in slight confusion. Lu Han only nodded before setting his orange soda aside to lean on the table as well.
“Well, Lu is my family name. I’m actually just Han, but since its more common to have a two syllable name here in South Korea than just one syllable, I usually go by my full name.”
Kyungsoo ducked his head to the side, a kind of ah, so I see type of gesture and then his lips took a wicked tilt, smirking in mischief.
“I admit that I was wondering about that, but when I asked to talk about names I was more referring to Mr. Angel Pup over here.”
Lu Han clapped in unrestrained delight as Jongin groaned and thunked his forehead down onto the table. Jongin was starting to think maybe introducing the two men had been a shortsightedly poor decision on his part, meanwhile Lu Han and Kyungsoo felt the whole thing smelled of the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
“Oh, Kyungsoo, let me tell you,” Lu Han began as he wiped tears from his eyes, “my Angel Pup has been Angel Pup ever since he was five years old.”
“Oh, no way.”
“Seriously Lu, no way.”
“Shhh, Puppy, you knew this was coming. Anyhow, Kyungsoo- yes way. We were at the playground and I saw him fall off of the slide, right? So I run over, and I’m unzipping the little fanny pack I always carried around trying to get out my emergency bandaids, antiseptic wipes and little gauze packets falling everywhere. When I get to him I kneel in front of him, ready to doctor him up and then be on my way, and he looks up at me with his little thumb in his mouth,”
“Nyahhhhh, Lu Han.”
“Yes, yes! Whining just like that, except he didn’t know my name yet, but he sat there, thumb in mouth making these cute, little, high pitched whines, looking up at me with big glassy eyes.”
Kyungsoo grinned and poked at Jongin’s cheek, laying his own cheek against the table in an attempt to make eye contact with Jongin. “Dude, do you remember all this? You actually did this stuff?”
Jongin lifted his head quickly to narrow his eyes at Kyungsoo. “You sound far too gleeful about all of this. Yes, this all happened, and yes I remember. Of course I remember the first time I met Lu Han, just like I remember the first time I met you or any of the friends who matter to me now.” With that, he put his head back down on the table and Kyungsoo turned back to Lu Han, prompting him to continue with an eager nod of the head.
“So he’s looking at me, and I’m looking at him, and then he pulls his thumb out of his mouth and in the sweetest little whisper says “Mister, my knee stings;” and he points at my overflowing fanny pack and asks “can you fix it?”
Kyungsoo squealed and covered his huge smile, cheeks rounded so much that they betrayed the grin behind his hands. Jongin wriggled in his seat and turned his face away from the other two, hoping they wouldn’t notice him smiling along. He didn’t want to encourage their storytelling or teasing, but he was happy to see the two getting along so well. Lu Han collapsed back into a slouch and threw his left hand up over his heart.
“I’m telling you, Kyungsoo, right there at the foot of the slide I fell totally in love and adopted the sweet little boy with the puppy eyes into my heart as my very own little brother, and I haven’t let him go ever since. He was just so precious and kind, and didn’t make fun of my accented Korean like the kids my age at school did. My own personal angelic puppy, and he hasn’t changed a bit in all the years we’ve known each other.”
Jongin could feel the fond gaze leveled at the back of his head by both Kyungsoo and Lu Han, and refused to sit up until they stopped looking at him all soppily. After that the atmosphere eased up and the three men continued to talk, eat, and laugh. More embarrassing stories were shared, and by the end of the hour Kyungsoo and Lu Han had traded phone numbers for when the cruise ended.
+
Jongin made his way down to his bedroom alone that evening. Kyungsoo had left him by the casino, claiming that Tao and Baekhyun were inside waiting to meet up with him. He’d invited Jongin to join them, but after the long day all he wanted was to go back to his bunker and relax, maybe read a book. He stopped by Chanyeol’s room, checking for any relevant announcements posted outside his door. Nothing pertained to him or his team, so he entered his room and gathered his things for a quick shower.
As he was rinsing the shampoo out of his hair and the last of the suds off his body he heard the door to the room open. Thinking that maybe Kyungsoo had returned after all, Jongin got out and reached for his towel. Finally dry, he noticed with a frown that he’d forgotten his pajamas on his bed and brought in an extra hand towel instead. Shrugging, he wrapped the towel around his waist and used the hand towel to scrub the excess water from his hair. He stepped out of the bathroom, ready to ask Kyungsoo what he was doing back so early, and came face to back with a man who was far too broad and too tall to be Kyungsoo.
“Hello, Sehun.”
Sehun returned the greeting without looking up from where he was digging through his suitcase. When he finally pulled out whatever it was he was digging for (Jongin thought it looked like shower gel) he looked over at Jongin. Jongin prepared himself for the leer he was sure was coming, but all he got was a soft smile and crinkled eyes. His surprise must have shown on his face because Sehun stood up with a chuckle and a shake of his head, and extended his arms to ask for a hug. Confused but curious, Jongin moved into the embrace, only remembering how naked he was underneath the towel when Sehun’s arms closed around him, hands splayed across his back.
“You seem a bit put off. Why are you confused; did you think I was gonna make a move on you?”
“Just a little bit, yeah.” Jongin shifted hesitantly, slowly lifting his arms from where they hung by his hips to grasp the sides of Sehun’s shirt in his fists. Sehun pulled the hug tighter and buried his nose in the hair at the crown of Jongin’s hair for a moment before leaning back to look into his face.
“Well, there’s no need for that. We have to live together; it’d get really unbearable really fast if I reacted like I was being seduced every time you showed a bit of skin. This is your room too. You should be able to lie in your bed in any state of dress you’d like without worrying about me.” Sehun let him go and moved to finish collecting his own toiletries while Jongin tried to convince himself he’d shivered because it was suddenly colder without Sehun’s body heat, not because he lamented the loss of strong arms supporting him. Sehun stood in the doorway between the bathroom and the bunker and looked at Jongin.
“I am attracted to you, Jongin, but I promise, you could drop your drawers in front of me and I wouldn’t bite. Unless, of course, you asked me to.” And then the door was shut, Jongin left to wonder if he’d really seen that wicked gleam in Sehun’s eye or if he’d imagined it there out of his own desire. He moved to dress himself mechanically, considering how obvious it would be that he was trying to get off if he took another shower as soon as Sehun got out. Dull hissing started up as water rushed through the pipes in the walls and then Sehun’s voice filled the room, the lyrics to Jason Derulo’s Talk Dirty floating through the shut bathroom door. Jongin choked back the little giggle that tried to force its way out, but did nothing to hide the smile that crawled across his face at Sehun’s saxophone impersonation. He glanced over at the clock and decided that even if Kyungsoo didn’t come back soon he and Sehun would be just fine without him.
+
Kyungsoo sat by a slot machine, unaffected by the noise of vacationers losing all their money and enjoying every minute of it, watching Baekhyun fumble to put his money into the token machine. Tao stepped up behind him and boxed him in, reaching around the much smaller body to smooth the bill against the corner if the machine and try to feed it in again. If it had been Sehun and Baekhyun, Kyungsoo would have been positive that Baekhyun was faking a struggle on purpose just to close the space between the two; as a matter of fact, Baekhyun would probably fake needing help only to get it together just as Sehun came to hold him and slip away. The two always seemed to dance around each other in a cat-and-mouse game that was more a pleasant habit than any real desire to tease.
The only reason Kyungsoo noted the difference is because when Sehun and Baekhyun played, he could laugh and egg them on, almost a participant himself. Tao and Baekhyun together, however, made him feel like a third wheel. He was awkward and uncomfortable, not sure that what he was witnessing was meant to be shared outside the two people involved. He hummed to himself and looked around for a possible escape. Partly because he didn’t like to be left out, but mostly because he wanted Tao and Baekhyun to get together quickly. Sehun had had a string of short, easy relationships after he and Baekhyun broke up, but Baekhyun hadn’t really dated anyone else. Kyungsoo always felt Baekhyun was a romantic type, only getting into relationships he thought would last, and had broken up with Sehun to avoid the younger man’s pity. It was good to see him with someone he liked.
Kyungsoo spotted Junmyeon walk past the door to the casino and jumped up to follow after him. Leaving Baekhyun and Tao with a “off to see Junmyeon, don’t wait up”, he jogged out of the dark space and into the hall after his friend.
“Hey, Junmyeon wait a minute!”
Junmyeon turned towards him, bags under his eyes but a smile on his face. “Hey, Soo, how’s it goin?”
“It’s been fine. I haven’t really been able to talk to you in a couple of days; how’s work going for you?”
“Tiring, but good.” Junmyeon scrubbed a hand over his eyes and then raked it through his hair, before turning and heading for the stairs. He motioned Kyungsoo to follow with a wave of his hand, and led him up topside. The two men made their way over to the railing to look out at the stars reflecting in the water before he continued. “I’ve been having fun, making friends. Jongdae is almost as terrible as you are; he drives Eunji and especially Yifan up the wall. If Yixing wasn’t there I don’t think Yifan would ever be calm. I try to stay out of Tao and Baekhyun’s way. It’s been cute watching them dance around each other.”
“Yeah, I understand. I was supposed to spend the evening with them in the casino, but they looked so sweet together I just left when I saw you.”
Junmyeon nodded his understanding before turning to Kyungsoo with a wild looking grin.
“So, speaking of potential couples. How’s reuniting with Jongin? You haven’t seen him since high school, right?”
“Hey, now, Jongin and I aren’t like that.” He shoved at his friend with his shoulder, incredulous laughter getting lost in the sound of the ocean.
“Yeah, sure.”
“No really. We’re just friends. Maybe once, back when we first met, we might have been able to date but we’re too comfortable now. It’d be like dating my younger brother.”
“Understanda- ahh! Oh, excuse me.”
Kyungsoo watched Junmyeon fight to excuse himself properly through his yawn with a fond smirk, and then thumped him on the back a few times. “Hey, why don’t you go to sleep. You clearly need to.”
Junmyeon detached himself from the rail with a nod.
“You coming with?”
“Nah, I’m gonna stay up here for a little while.”
“Alright. Go to sleep sometime tonight, though, please.”
“Yes, Mom~.”
Kyungsoo dodged the tired swipe Junmyeon made at him and then returned to looking out across the water. He’d only been alone for about fifteen minutes when he felt another body settle beside him.
“Hi, Kyungsoo. You like beer?”
“Hey, Lu Han. Yeah sure, I’ll take one.”
Kyungsoo opened the proffered can and took a swig before turning to face Lu Han full on.
“So, what’s up?”
“I just came to say hi. And, ya know, thank you.”
“Thank me?”
Lu Han ran the pad of his finger around the rim of his beer can, slowly and careful, mindful of sharp spots. Sensing that the conversation was getting serious, Kyungsoo stood up straight and leaned forward to hear him continue in a lower voice.
“I know you didn’t befriend Jongin for my benefit. You didn’t even know me. But. Even though he and I are close, I wasn’t able to be physically present in his life for a long time. Just- there were a few months when I first moved away; he’d call me during a thunderstorm or after he failed a test, and I could hear him trying not to cry, and he’d ask me to just talk to him. I did the best I could to comfort him with only my voice, but imagining him sitting alone in his bed cradling his phone to hear me…”
Lu Han trailed off, before snapping up like his spine had been replaced with a rod to look Kyungsoo directly in the eye. He set one hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder and squeezed kindly.
“I’m so glad he met you in middle school. I’m glad there was someone who could hug and cuddle him. Thank you, Kyungsoo, for caring for Jongin.”
Kyungsoo smiled and nodded his understanding, and threw an arm around Lu Han’s shoulders in a half hug.
“It was my pleasure. Taking care of the young ones is my specialty, don’tcha know?”
“Right, right, of course. Tell me about your other young one, the big one. Jongin says he’s older than your other boy.” Lu Han laughed along, allowing Kyungsoo to steer the topic into something brighter.
“Yeah, Sehun is younger than Jongin. Not by more than a few months though. He and Jongin are really similar; both are silly, passionate, kind, sunny people. I think they both have a mild manga obsession and I know they both dance. It’s interesting how two people so alike can interact with the world so differently.”
Noticing Lu Han’s confusion, Kyungsoo continued on, “Sehun’s always dated a lot, short happy relationships that never really went anywhere but the bedroom and yet still ended with Sehun and his ex as friends. Every single person he’s gone out with has left him with only good things to say, and they never mind the break up. Meanwhile, Jongin hasn’t dated ever and shuffles uncomfortably at the thought of some poor soul walking up to him with a serious confession.”
“True, true, Puppy seems like he wants romance deep down, but he’s awkwardly skeptical of anyone who approaches him. It’s gonna take a special someone to have him considering a relationship.”
“And what about you Lu Han? Any special someones in your life?”
Lu Han paused and looked at Kyungsoo with a flush in his face creeping down to his neck and a happy grin.
“Oh. Oh, Kyungsoo. Come, friend. Walk with me. Talk with me. Let me tell you about Kim Minseok.”
+
Tao stood outside the cafeteria and waited for Jongin to finish giving Baekhyun extra instructions on how to organize the afternoon bingo contest. He smiled when Baekhyun finally stepped out, and gave the smaller man a quick squeeze on the bicep. The men turned and made their way to theater to run the morning’s movie and help pass out snacks.
“You ready to do great?”
“I would love to do great but I’m not sure I’m ready.”
“Ah, you’ll be fine. Team Leader Kim wouldn’t assign you this if he didn’t think you were ready to handle it.”
“I know, I know. But still, we’ve only been at sea for five days. Couldn’t he have waited until next week to make me try this?”
“It’s only a two week cruise Byunbaek. Wouldn’t you rather have your first try with vacationers you’re already kinda familiar with, rather than brand new people you don’t know?”
“I suppose,” Baekhyun sighed, and leaned into Tao’s arm as they walked down the stairs to the lower promenade deck. “Oh! Wait. Did you bring the scoop for the popcorn from the cafeteria?”
“Ah, no, I forgot it but I thought Team Leader Kim would have given it to you since you were still in there. Do you want me to go get it?”
“Nah, you’re better at setting up the projector than I am anyway. Go ahead, I’ll run and get it.”
Baekhyun turned and hustled back down the hall, up the stairs, and across the deck to the cafeteria the workers used. He slipped into the kitchen, grabbed the scoop from the To Be Put Away clean dishes rack and spun on his heel to head back to the theater again. He paused at the doorway between the kitchen and the seating area though at the sound of low voices, one of them awfully familiar. Peeking his head out slowly he saw Team Leader Kim jump as fingers poked his sides, halfheartedly swatting the hands away as he giggled. Baekhyun bit his lip in amusement at the cute sight, and then the hands reached out again and grasped the team leader’s waist, pulling him out of Baekhyun’s line of sight.
“Stop, you have to go up to the bigger kitchen and cook for lunch.” Team Leader Kim whispered quickly, not sounding very much like he actually wanted whoever it was to stop.
“I know, but I’d rather stay here with you. Don’t you want me to stay with you?”
Baekhyun stepped back quickly, luckily not knocking anything over to give his presence away. That voice- that was Sehun’s voice. When had he made a move on Jongin? Baekhyun contemplated the development, and found he was strangely unbothered. Normally he felt highly nosy about Sehun’s new dates, but this time he only hoped Jongin was as enamored of Sehun after they broke up as everyone else so that everyone’s friendships could remain unstrained.
“Team Leader Kim, you smell really good, you know?” Sehun teased.
“It’s your soap, doofus.”
“I know. I like it a lot; I like that you smell like me.”
“Stop, stop nosing at my neck; that tickles! Sehun! What if someone comes in?”
“Is there a rule against this? I didn’t see one in the handbook, and anyhow, you’re not my boss anymore. Eunji is, so it wouldn’t matter.”
“You’re so determined today, what’s with you? Not- uh- not that I, ya know, dislike it or anything. But…”
“This morning, I saw you. You accidentally put on my polo before realizing and switching to yours, but. You look so good in my clothes; they’re so big on you. I wanted to grab you and kiss you then, but then Kyungsoo came out of the shower-”
“Now hold on, even if Kyungsoo had stayed in the bathroom do you think I would have let you kiss me?”
Baekhyun listened to the two men flirt without irritation, and wondered what was different this time. Tao’s smiling face came to mind unbidden, and Baekhyun blushed. So that’s why he didn’t care. As soon as he heard Jongin and Sehun slip away he rushed out of the kitchen and headed for the theater. Now that he knew how he felt for sure, he wanted to tell Tao immediately.
He got back to the theater just as people started drifting in for the feature. The projector was already set up, and he and Tao worked side by side in silence, only speaking to greet the patrons looking for seats. Together, they finished seating and serving everyone in ten minutes. Baekhyun introduced the movie to the crowd, some foreign action flick with subtitles, and then cut the lights as Tao hit play. He walked carefully over to the back of the theater and grabbed Tao’s wrist to pull him along until they were in the back corner.
“Hey, what’s up?”
Baekhyun shivered at the breath ghosting over his ear as Tao whispered and stood on tip toe to answer him.
“I really like you Tao. Date me?”
He enjoyed the slow flush crawling up Tao’s cheeks and tangled his fingers with Tao’s, waiting for an answer.
“Well, yes, Baekhyun, yes. But- what brought this on all of a sudden?”
Checking that everyone was focused on the movie and that no one looked like they’d need anything soon, Baekhyun pulled Tao further out into the hall where they could talk easier.
“Tao, I knew you were important to me, but I didn’t realize just how important until a few minutes ago.”
“What are you talking about Baekhyun?”
“See, Sehun dates around a lot. Like, a lot a lot. He only ever had one serious relationship, and that was with me a couple years ago. It only lasted a few months but after we broke up I was still always really curious who he was with. But just now, upstairs, I saw him with Jongin. And I didn’t care! I didn’t care at all, and when I tried to ask myself why my thoughts had changed all of a sudden, all I could think of was you.”
“You… you used to date Sehun?”
“Wait, don’t be like that. Used to, yes, but I’m not now. And it’s been such a long time. The point is, even if we weren’t together he was always really important to me. I never really thought I’d find someone more important than him; equally as important, maybe, but never more important. But you, Tao. You’re more important. You’re so special to me, and I don’t ever want to lose that, so I’m staking my claim on you now. Okay, boyfriend?”
Tao only answered by pulling Baekhyun into a tight hug. When he finally let go, Baekhyun turned to head inside, expecting Tao to follow. Noticing his new boyfriend wasn’t behind him he stopped and turned back.
“Tao? You coming?”
“Wait, just- you said Sehun dates a lot?”
“Well, yeah?”
“And he’s with Team Leader Kim now?”
Understanding clicked in Baekhyun’s mind and he moved to hold Tao’s hand.
“Look. Sehun’s a good kid. He just doesn’t do long term things, that’s all. Even if they’re flirting now, Sehun won’t ask Jongin out until he’s sure Jongin’s okay with it being a quick fling, and if Jongin doesn’t like that then Sehun will back off. Don’t worry about your friend, ok?”
Tao still didn’t look convinced, but he let Baekhyun pull him back into the darkened theater anyway, wary of being scolded if caught away from their post.
+
Jongin walked up the stairs, behind Sehun, their hands clasped together as Sehun led him along. Since they’d woken up that morning, if the two of them were anywhere near each other Sehun had been touching him somewhere. The constant pressure on his wrist, or hip, or lower back, or shoulder had been nice, even if Kyungsoo had teased them both relentlessly. Now, as they headed up to the upper deck for lunch, Jongin tried to remind himself that they weren’t quite a couple yet. Friends could hold hands; holding hands was a perfectly friendly thing to do. No matter how many times he repeated that in his mind though, his heart couldn’t help but clench whenever Sehun looked back over his shoulder and squeezed Jongin’s fingers kindly. They reached topside in silence and ran into Chanyeol, Lu Han, and Tao. Jongin called out a greeting to his friends, smile full and bright, only hesitating a bit when both Lu Han and Tao’s gaze zeroed in on his hand wrapped in Sehun’s. He was about to ask what was wrong when Chanyeol beat him to speaking.
“Hey, guys! Off to lunch?”
Sehun nodded and replied, but Jongin didn’t hear anything he said, still lost in his mind wondering what could be bothering two of the happiest people he knew. A tug on his wrist and then he was spinning to his left, Sehun’s free hand coming up to cup his cheek as they faced each other.
“Sorry, I’ve gotta go with Supervisor Park. Things in the kitchen need handling and Team Leader Jung wants all cooks.”
“Oh, no that’s fine. Go ahead, work comes first.”
Sehun headed back down the stairs towards the kitchen, and Chanyeol clapped Jongin once on the shoulder.
“Sorry about stealing your lunch date, man. Eat with Lu Han and Tao, okay? I don’t want you sitting all alone because of me.”
Jongin waved him off with a smile, and then Chanyeol was gone, following Sehun down below. Two pairs of hands gripped either of his arms and bodily moved Jongin into the restaurant. Once seated with drinks, the atmosphere got even more agitated. After watching Tao nudge Lu Han and Lu Han nudge him back for the fifth time, Jongin broke the silence with an exasperated sigh.
“Since when have either of you not told me exactly what you had to say and played around an issue like this?”
It seemed like his permission to speak freely was all that was needed because as soon as the words died on his lips Lu Han was leaning forward to grasp his arm.
“Angel Pup, I know I’ve been bugging you about finding love, but I don’t want you to settle with a playboy just for my sake, ok? Be with someone only if you really really, I mean really like them.”
“Wait, what?”
“Team Leader. You, you know about Sehun’s dating history right?”
Jongin eyed them both warily before answering. “I don’t know all the details, but from his stories it seems like he’s dated a lot of people before. Why?”
Tao sat forward, “And you know that none of those relationships lasted more than a few weeks, right?”
“Really, I don’t see the problem here, guys. Not every dating relationship is going to last four years with multiple vacations and rainbows all the time. So he’s dumped a few people, been dumped a few times-”
“No, Puppy. He doesn’t get dumped.” Lu Han shifted in his seat and looked to Tao for reassurance. The other man nodded and so Lu Han plowed on. “Sehun will probably tell you this himself at some point but, he doesn’t do long term relationships. Like, at all. Kyungsoo mentioned it to me and Baekhyun told Tao.”
“What kind of people gossip about their friend’s dating habits?”
“Puppy, please. You know Kyungsoo better than that. We were discussing the similarities and differences between you and Sehun.” Jongin nodded while looking at Tao to avoid Lu Han’s baleful gaze.
“And, uh, Baek told me as part of his confession. He used to date Sehun, and he said Sehun seemed to have found another new crush,” Tao glanced up at Jongin and then away, a starry glaze taking over his eyes, “and that normally that bothered Baekhyun, but this time it didn’t. Because, well, because of me. He said I was more important.” It was clear Tao was trying to keep a straight face for Jongin’s sake, but the thought of Baekhyun was making that difficult. Lu Han and Jongin both congratulated him quietly and then Lu Han focused on Jongin again.
“Look Puppy, Sehun isn’t a bad kid. And I don’t think he wants to hurt you. He’ll probably tell you he doesn’t do serious relationships and ask if you’re ok with that before he asks you out. I’m just worried you won’t get the warning before you actually fall for him. I know how much romance actually means to you, even if you never show it.”
The group quieted as Jongin considered this new information. “Guys, I appreciate your concern. And thank you, for wanting to be honest and upfront with me. But, I think… I think I’m gonna be fine, even if Sehun doesn’t love me. Even if it’s just a game,” Jongin sat up straighter, the jut of his chin defiant, “who says I’m not just playing around too?” And with that he got up and left the restaurant, dropping a tip on the table without ever ordering any food.
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