Day Two - Free Shipping & Handling by Neagastar
Livejournal Username: naegastar
Title: Free Shipping & Handling
Word count: 4.6k
Rating: PG
Prompt: 61 - N's guilty pleasure is the home shopping network not because of the products but because of the cute host who is selling them.
Summary: Hakyeon was just looking for background noise when he stumbled across Minseok's distracting smile.
A/N note: Dear prompter, I hope you enjoy this! It was fun to think back to times I've watched home shopping to try to make this a little more realistic. Thanks to A for looking this over.
Hakyeon isn’t entirely sure how he got here, surrounded by cardboard boxes and packing peanuts. He’s thinking of how to best shove them all under the couch when he looks up at the television. The screen is showing brightly colored silicone kitchenware being used in various culinary projects. A gummy smile and sparkling eyes show seemingly sincere amazement at how a loaf of banana bread pops right out of the lime green silicone pan- “imagine the time you’ll save on cleanup!” the host exclaims-and then Hakyeon is reminded of exactly how this all started.
some months earlier…
In undergrad, Hakyeon had been one of those rare people who organized their study time and extracurriculars so meticulously that the concept of all-nighters was completely foreign to him. He had never relied on cups of coffee and energy drinks to help him finish a project, nor had he skipped a morning class to finish a paper that was due in the afternoon.
Now, working on a sixteen page paper for the “Ethics in Journalism” requirement for his broadcasting Master’s, Hakyeon drums his fingers against the keyboard as the television drones on in the background. The news program feels like more of a distraction, taunting him with images of people working in the field he’s studying so hard to be a part of. Briefly turning away from his work, Hakyeon clicks through the channels for suitable background noise to keep him awake at nearly one in the morning.
Skipping past a nature documentary (who would watch an entire program about spiders???) and one of those sad charity infomercials (injured puppies and Sarah McLachlan will only result in him crying all over his computer), he settles on the home shopping channel, where they appear to be selling patio furniture. Hakyeon isn’t really sure who needs to buy patio furniture at this time of night, but figures the program is bright, loud, and uninteresting enough to be the perfect background.
As the young hostess-Hakyeon thinks he hears her introduce herself to anyone just tuning in as “Wendy”-continues to wax poetic about how the patio umbrella is a must have for summer barbecues, he buckles down and adds another three pages to his paper, bringing it to a grand total of twelve. Stretching, he stands to go refill his coffee and realizes that sometime during his writing spree the shopping network had switched to selling some fancy culinary knife set. He takes a sip of his instant cappuccino and nearly chokes when the camera pans to the program’s host.
Apparently, while Hakyeon was busy typing away, Wendy had finished her segment and been replaced by the most attractive man Hakyeon had seen in ages. The host laughs and his smile looks so friendly and honest, gums showing as he makes what was likely a stale joke by the utensil company representative seem like the most hilarious thing ever. Hakyeon is frozen at the way the man’s eyes sparkle as he talks to the camera-to the audience at home-and he rattles off the price and shipping options. Most of the words go in one ear and out the other for Hakyeon until the expert clears his throat and says, “so, Minseok, shall we move on to the next demonstration?”
Hakyeon sits his mug down as he continues to stare at the screen for a few more moments before tearing himself away to resume his work. “Minseok,” he thinks as he reopens his word document. “His name is Minseok.”
***
The next afternoon finds Hakyeon slumped over a corner table in a small café, hands wrapped around a piping hot americano. The sound of chairs being pulled back across wood floors prompts him to sit up slowly, blinking sleep out of his eyes as Wonshik and Taekwoon sit down in front of him.
“I’m guessing you were up late finishing your paper,” Wonshik begins, grinning as he goes to take a bite of his pastry. Hakyeon merely groans in response, breathing in his americano before he takes a long sip and wills the caffeine to make him feel human again.
“It took me til nearly four am but it’s done...emailed my professor a copy and slid a hard copy under his door in a manila envelope as requested.” Hakyeon sighs and drinks more coffee. “Coffee and background noise were the only things keeping me up.”
Taekwoon tilts his head to the side, his cheesecake almost finished. “Background noise? I remember you not being able to study with music when we were roommates.”
“I still can’t, I turned on the TV and put it to a random channel,” Hakyeon replies, punctuating the statement with a yawn.
Wonshik wipes off his face with a napkin, his pastry now a thing of the past as he looks at Hakyeon quizzically. “On regular cable? What in the world was even on at that hour?”
Hakyeon finishes off his coffee before replying, “home shopping...constant chatter but nothing I needed to pay attention to.”
“That’s smart,” Taekwoon adds, “no hope of being distracting either, no one needs the stuff they sell.”
Hakyeon nods as Wonshik agrees with Taekwoon’s statement, chewing on his bottom lip a bit as he remembers the very distracting Minseok and how Hakyeon didn’t really get back to work until the segment on knives had ended and the host was bidding the viewers goodbye and urging them to “stick around with Joy for the Serta mattress show!”
***
He isn’t really aware of how home shopping channels work, but Hakyeon figures if he just leaves the home shopping network on whenever he’s in his apartment he should see Minseok again. At first, Minseok doesn’t show up at all when Hakyeon’s around, leaving Hakyeon to become acquainted with the other hosts. He sees Wendy again a few days later, selling jewelry worth the price of all of Hakyeon’s textbooks combined, and on another day a tall gangly fellow named Chanyeol gets extremely excited during the technology segment he’s in charge of.
It’s only one morning when Hakyeon wakes up to the glorious news that his 9am lecture is cancelled that he mindlessly turns on the TV and is greeted by none other than Minseok selling-Hakyeon blinks the sleep out of his eyes and peers at the screen more carefully-cupcakes, a vast assortment of cupcakes.
Hakyeon hurriedly puts on his glasses and looks more intently at the man on screen. Minseok has on a simple maroon sweater and, from what Hakyeon can see, a very flattering pair of black jeans. His hair is pushed back, leaving nothing to obscure the twinkle of his eyes as he tastes a red velvet cupcake and practically moans around the morsel.
“You have got to try these cupcakes everyone. Irene brought us some amazing recipes, from old favorites like her signature red velvet to a few new flavors perfect for autumn-I think I spied sweet potato on the list??” Minseok continues to engage the supposedly present television audience throughout his conversation with Irene, Hakyeon staring until his stomach rumbles, reminding him that he needs to eat.
A bowl of cereal in one hand and a glass of orange juice in the other, Hakyeon plops down on the couch just as Minseok gestures to a large monitor on set and says something about consulting user reviews. He notes as Minseok pulls up a facebook page on the touch screen and begins reading comments aloud.
“Kim-ssi in Mokpo says she orders a set of cupcakes every time Irene’s on the show, and she’s super excited for her “Autumn Assortment” to come in so she can try the new flavors!” Minseok reads first, leaving time for Irene to give a short statement of appreciation before moving onto the next comment. “Do-ssi from right here in Seoul says the red velvet cupcakes were the first gift his boyfriend gave him, and now he’s going to return the favor with a set for their two year anniversary-how sweet!”
Hakyeon chomps on his Lucky Charms, noting how Minseok had no adverse reaction to Do-ssi having a boyfriend and wondering if Minseok himself was interested in men. “Like it matters,” Hakyeon muttered to himself between bites, “he’s just a handsome guy on TV, no need to get attached or even start thinking about those ‘what ifs.’”
His self-reprimands don’t stop him from liking the network’s facebook page, however, and placing an order for some of those red velvet and autumn cupcakes.
***
Two weeks later, Wonshik, Hongbin, and Sanghyuk are all studying at Hakyeon’s place, as they often do when Sanghyuk is having “last year of undergrad” struggles and when Wonshik and Hongbin need to study with others around to keep them focused on their work and not each other.
Curled up in his beat-up recliner with a reading, the sound of his doorbell jerks Hakyeon back into the moment. Padding across the floor to answer the door, he’s mildly surprised when a delivery man hands over a decent sized package and has him sign for it, only remembering what it could be when the shipping label reads “Korea Home Shopping - from our hearts to your door!”
“Whoooa, what’s in the box hyung?” Sanghyuk asked, rising from his spot on the couch to see what Hakyeon was carrying. Hakyeon plopped the box down on the kitchen counter, Sanghyuk peering over his shoulder. Hakyeon tries in vain to hide the label, but his younger friend is too quick-Sanghyuk letting out a guffaw at the text.
“Home shopping? Hyung I know we joke about you being our group’s honorary mom but really?” Sanghyuk laughs as he ambles back to the couch and the rest of the group.
Wonshik peers over the couch towards the kitchen. “Home shopping? Wasn’t that just your paper-writing background noise?”
Hakyeon sighs as he cuts open the box, carefully removing copious amounts of packing peanuts to reveal two bakery boxes, each filled with twelve rather delicious looking cupcakes. “It was-is just background, but I left it on that channel one night and when I woke up it was still on,” Hakyeon lies smoothly, toting one of the boxes into the living room. “But if you’re too good for home shopping goods I suppose I can eat these cupcakes by myself…”
Quickly popping up and reaching for a cupcake, Hongbin grins at Hakyeon. “I had nothing to say about your purchase and fully-endorse your new home shopping habit-especially if it means cupcakes!”
Hakyeon tries to protest that it isn’t a habit, but he’s drowned out by his three friends’ laughter and ruckus as they scramble to claim as many of the cupcakes as they can.
Stealthily grabbing one for himself (he paid for them after all) he assures himself that the cupcake purchase was just a one-time thing.
***
The home shopping Facebook page is a dangerous thing. Hakyeon’s intention is to minimize his viewing of the channel, only turning it on while working to see if he can get a glance of Minseok and his charming smile. He’s found that the man’s presence has become less distracting and more rewarding, encouraging even as he plugs away on his various assignments.
Fate, however, throws a wrench in his plans when he’s scrolling down his news feed and a post catches his eye:
This evening’s show schedule! 7-8:50pm Skincare Special hosted by Baekhyun, 9-11:50pm Home Fitness For All hosted by Minseok! And stay tuned at midnight for the Daily Deal!
Taking a moment to recover from the revelation that they post the show schedule, Hakyeon quietly makes a note to rush home after his evening lecture ends around 8:30, silently thanking every deity he can think of that he doesn’t have any prior engagements.
Nine o’clock that night finds Hakyeon snuggled in front of his television, mindlessly reading over some lecture notes before the program starts. It’s only when he hears Minseok’s voice greeting all the “viewers at home” that he looks up and is met by a sight that causes his jaw to drop. In hindsight, he realizes he should have expected this considering tonight’s show is about fitness equipment, but for some reason he hadn’t imagined that Minseok would be wearing anything other than his typical jeans or slacks with a sensible sweater.
Instead, Minseok is clad in spandex bike shorts and a shirt made of similar material. Clearly the host is no stranger to fitness, the shorts and lack of substantial sleeves showing off muscular thighs and biceps. The shirt is also close-fitting enough for Hakyeon to just make out the hint of abs, and quite frankly he isn’t sure what to do with this new information.
As Hakyeon comes back to his senses, he notices that the program has already moved into the “demo” portion. Minseok is sitting on the chair portion of an exercise machine that looks like some sort of frightening spider throne, arms pulling at resistance bands with seemingly little effort. His biceps curl and when Hakyeon tears his eyes away from the host’s arms (those arms) to see a single bead of sweat trail down a flawless jawline he scrambles for water. The next 2 hours, he realizes, are going to be very trying.
***
Hakyeon thanks his lucky stars that the gym equipment had been far too expensive to be a temptation. He prefers dance, or a nice jog in the park, to working out in a gym or at home anyway, but Minseok had looked so good and really made people believe that you could get a body like his with that machine (at the low price of 240000KRW)!
Unfortunately, Minseok’s next several shows are for far more affordable products. It starts with a small coffee maker, which Hakyeon rationalizes is a reasonable purchase considering he runs on caffeine and his old coffee pot has been on the fritz. After receiving his package-thankfully when he was home alone-and enjoying his first cup of fresh brew, he decides to post a nice comment on the Facebook page. He finds the designated post asking for comments on any shows viewers have enjoyed in the past month, and drafts up a quick blurb.
Love my new Sir Coffee 3000! Sipping on a perfect Americano now-thanks to Minseok for sharing just how great this machine is.
Before he can second-guess if mentioning Minseok is creepy or fine he presses enter, sending the comment into cyberspace and not expecting anything to come of it. That is, until, he gets a notification a day later from Minseok’s professional profile. The home shopping host had replied to Hakyeon’s comment, leaving a short “thanks! Glad to give a Sir Coffee 3000 a good home.” Never before had Hakyeon been more grateful for his profile picture being a gorgeous shot from his last dance recital of undergrad and not one of the dumb drunk selfies he usually takes with Wonshik.
After being noticed (noticed!!!!) by Minseok, Hakyeon can’t help but submit to the urge to buy more Korea Home Shopping goods and leave comments. He doesn’t always mention Minseok by name, but all of the products are from his shows and Hakyeon holds onto the slim hope that the man notices.
Between a foot spa, a set of hand weights, aromatherapy candles (promptly sent to his mother as a birthday gift), some fancy dry shampoo that ends up not working so great, and a closet organizer, Hakyeon gets two more replies and a like from Minseok.
***
One evening, Hakyeon is flitting between making pasta in the kitchen and watching Minseok do another show for Irene’s cupcakes when he hears the words “...if you don’t believe me and Irene, stay tuned and we’ll be taking testimonial calls from customers so you can hear for yourself how people just like you have enjoyed her sweet treats!”
“I must be crazy,” he thinks as he picks up his phone, dialing the number blinking obnoxiously on the screen. “I doubt I’ll even get through.” He’s hits call, ceases to breathe until rings turn into a busy signal and he can hang up.
“That was silly,” he says aloud to an empty apartment, watching as Minseok takes a call from a Hyojin-ssi, who always buys the cupcakes to share with her friends. Hakyeon listens to how sincere Minseok is with his reactions and follow-up questions, really making it seem like he’s chatting with an old friend about their favorite cupcakes. “One more try...couldn’t hurt though…”
The phone rings, and rings, and Hakyeon is wondering if something’s wrong because the busy signal should have kicked in by now when “Hi! I’m Sunny and I’m an operator here at Korea Home Shopping. You’re next up to have your call on air! What’s your name?”
Hakyeon breathes out a barely audible “Hakyeon...oh my god” that Sunny still manages to pick up on as she responds “yeah, we get that a lot. Anyway, ground rules: nothing inappropriate as we’re a family friendly program! Don’t bash the product...you do actually like the cupcakes right?”
He squeaks out a “yes” before she continues “good! Well then just give your honest praise of the product and maybe a nice story related to your last Irene’s Cupcake purchase, people eat that up. Ha! Eat that up...and we’re talking about cupcakes….anywayyyyyy you’re on in twenty seconds, listen for the beep and then words from our host!” She clicks off and Hakyeon is left with the sound of elevator music in his ear and the thundering beating of his heart.
As promised, twenty seconds later Hakyeon hears a beep and is being greeted by Minseok himself.
“So our next caller is Hakyeon, hello Hakyeon!” Minseok says cheerfully, looking into the camera, at the audience, and right into Hakyeon’s soul.
“I---hi Minseok...hi Irene,” Hakyeon manages to murmur, recalling how most of the callers greet the host and the seller.
“Thank you so much for being a fan of my company’s products,” Irene says, her calm, graceful manner helping Hakyeon focus a bit.
“Truthfully, I only just discovered them during your autumn show...I ordered your special seasonal flavors…” he trails off.
“Weren’t they amazing!!! Tell me, what was your favorite?” Minseok asks and Hakyeon momentarily forgets to breathe. He apparently paused too long because Minseok’s asking “Hakyeon-ssi?” when he snaps out of it.
“I really liked the caramel apple one...and the toffee pumpkin was really nice. I shared a box with friends for a study session but, to be honest, I hid another box away for myself.” Hakyeon chuckles nervously, hoping that’s a decent anecdote.
“I absolutely loved the toffee pumpkin, great choices-really all of the flavors are amazing,” Minseok finishes before wrapping up the call with “well, thank you Hakyeon-ssi! I hope you keep supporting Irene’s Cupcakes and Korea Home Shopping!”
Hakyeon manages to murmur a goodbye as Minseok and Irene wish him farewell in chorus and the line goes dead.
He stares down at his phone, the “end call” screen faded to make way for his home screen as mentally replays the sound of Minseok saying his name over and over.
***
Three months after the beginning of his shopping spree, Hakyeon finds himself sitting in his living room, surrounded by Wonshik, Sanghyuk, and his neighbor/acquaintance Jaehwan. The three men are looking at him with rather intense concern, causing Hakyeon to feel, quite frankly, uncomfortable.
“Okay...someone explain to me what’s going on here,” Hakyeon demands, lips pursed into a thin line as he glares at the others.
“It’s….we’re just…” Wonshik begins, struggling to get the right words out when Sanghyuk blurts out “IT’S AN INTERVENTION,” before clapping his hands over his mouth.
Hakyeon hears Wonshik mutter “I thought we agreed to ease him into the conversation, oh my god,” before the other man pastes on a nervous smile and looks at him.
“Wonshik…explain.” Hakyeon says, tone even and expression bordering on ‘disappointed parent.’
Wonshik clears his throat, looking around the room before settling on a part of the wall just behind Hakyeon’s left ear. “It’s...like Sanghyuk said. We’re worried about your recent habit, hyung…” he trails off, leaving Hakyeon room to speak while he gathers his thoughts.
“Habit? I mean I know I got a little wasted when we went out for drinks to celebrate In Guk hyung’s promotion but that was a one time thing-besides, he paid for bottle service, when were we gonna experience that again, am I right??”
Jaehwan laughs in the corner at the memory of Wonshik and Hongbin dragging Hakyeon up to the apartment after that and enlisting his help to unlock the door since ‘hyung refuses to let either of us retrieve his keys from his back pocket and possibly cop a feel.’ “They’re not talking about your drinking-drunk you is a rare, hilarious treasure,” he says, tone bright.
Hakyeon tilts his head to one side, once again confused as to why they’re in his house hosting a pow-wow. “Then...what?”
“Hyung…” Sanghyuk starts, “how many cardboard boxes are there flattened under your sofa?”
“And do you know how many times I’ve heard the delivery guy knock on your door? In the past month alone?” Jaehwan adds.
“You need to stop the home shopping...it hasn’t messed up your finances yet, to my knowledge, but what happens when you can’t pay your bills because you’re buying a blender? You won’t even be able to use it with no power!!” Wonshik blurts out, already getting extremely emotional at the thought of Hakyeon making himself penniless.
Blinking, Hakyeon looks at each of his friends, realizing how serious they are about this intervention. “Is it...is it that bad?”
“A little bit, hyung...we’re not saying you should never use it again but maybe dial it back a bit?” Sanghyuk answers, smiling softly.
“Get out a little more-you’ve been turning into a homebody since you started expecting more deliveries and then I feel bad having my boyfriend over because we can’t be loud with you on the other side of the wall…” Jaehwan trails off, clearing his throat when he realizes everyone in the room is looking at him with somewhat judgmental eyes. “I mean...I’m concerned for your social life. Yes.”
Sanghyuk slowly erupts with laughter at Jaehwan’s ulterior motives, Hakyeon and Wonshik soon following until Jaehwan himself joins in. Hakyeon looks around at his friends, grateful for their concern. “Thanks, you guys,” he calls out when their laughter begins to die down a bit.
After everyone turns to look at him Hakyeon continues, “I may have gotten a bit...carried away with the home shopping...to be honest I’ve only been watching because one of the hosts is really hot.” He laughs a bit after his confession, nervously awaiting their response.
Wonshik breaks the silence first. “That explains why you watch it but...why buy the stuff? Hosts don’t...deliver the goods right?”
Hakyeon feels his face turning red as he prepares to admit the rest. “Well...if you leave product reviews on facebook they’ll respond...and you can call the show too…”
Sanghyuk guffaws, tears welling up in his eyes with joy. “Hyung, why didn’t you just lie about having the products??? You could leave comments and call for free.”
“But that’s...that’s dishonest!” Hakyeon exclaims. “Besides, I’ve actually bought some pretty useful stuff-and you all weren’t complaining about all the nice snacks and food that’s been around at our study sessions!!!”
Sanghyuk and Wonshik look down sheepishly at that, while Jaehwan just looks a bit put out that he apparently has missed out on gourmet goods. “Anyway,” Hakyeon continues, “I’ll stop buying home shopping goods and I’ll cut down on watching the shows so I can spend more time with you guys!” He swings an arm around Sanghyuk’s shoulder, grinning, and only lightly punches the younger when he murmurs “maybe this intervention was a bad idea.”
***
Hakyeon charges into the lobby of the SBC building, rummaging through his new briefcase to find the ID badge he needs to get to the employee elevators. It’s been six months since his “intervention” and aside from a few more cupcake orders (at his friends’ insistence, the hypocrites) he hadn’t made any more orders from Korea Home Shopping. He still watches every now and then, but he’s been busy-working towards the last semester of his Master’s program and securing his internship at SBC, his first day of which is about to start badly because he’s running late.
He finally finds the badge, in his haste practically flinging it from his bag. He groans as it clatters on the ground and scurries over to pick it up, surprised to find his fingers touching a stranger’s hand over the hard plastic. Looking up he has to bite his lip to stop from gasping aloud as he realizes the stranger isn’t exactly a stranger at all, but Minseok.
They both stand, Hakyeon clutching his badge and doing his best to steady his suddenly increased heart rate. “Thank you M--, thank you,” he stutters out, bowing while internally cursing himself for almost using the other man’s name, giving away his secret.
“You’re welcome,” Minseok replies brightly. “Looks like you’re new to SBC...first day?”
Hakyeon’s eyes widen in surprise. “How’d you know? Is it that obvious???” he blurts out, causing Minseok to let out a brief chuckle.
“Blue ID badge-standard issue for newbies. Also you’re clambering through the lobby like being on time is the most important thing ever, when I can guarantee you your superiors will probably be ten minutes late anyway,” he explains. “Besides...I’d remember seeing such a handsome face around the station.”
Hakyeon’s pretty sure his face is obviously flushed; even though he literally towers over Minseok, the man’s confidence makes Hakyeon feel like a kid talking to his first crush. It’s only when he registers Minseok’s words about timeliness that he starts, “Oh! I really will be late, I should--hurry--but th-thank you!”
“If anyone gives you trouble tell them you got lost and Minseok from Home Shopping held you up chatting while giving directions. Guaranteed, get-out-of-jail-free card,” he ends with a wink and a wave, watching as the other man bows and takes a few steps away before turning abruptly and shouting “I’m Cha Hakyeon, thank you!” before continuing on his way.
In his haste, Hakyeon doesn’t see Minseok head over to the studio elevators, meeting up with Baekhyun, one of the other home shopping hosts. He’s way too far away to hear Baekhyun tease Minseok, “that guy looks familiar...isn’t he the one on Facebook? You kept looking forward to his comments in particular,” and he’s already in his own elevator, leading to the meeting room for interns when Minseok replies to Baekhyun, “Sure is-and just my luck, he’s even cuter in person~”
Hakyeon’s unaware of how his run-in with Minseok will change things as he shuffles into a room filled with four other nervous looking individuals, blue ID badges secure around their necks (and thankfully no superiors in sight). As he sinks into one of the few remaining empty chairs, however, he has a feeling his time at SBC will be interesting-he can’t wait.
Title: Free Shipping & Handling
Word count: 4.6k
Rating: PG
Prompt: 61 - N's guilty pleasure is the home shopping network not because of the products but because of the cute host who is selling them.
Summary: Hakyeon was just looking for background noise when he stumbled across Minseok's distracting smile.
A/N note: Dear prompter, I hope you enjoy this! It was fun to think back to times I've watched home shopping to try to make this a little more realistic. Thanks to A for looking this over.
Hakyeon isn’t entirely sure how he got here, surrounded by cardboard boxes and packing peanuts. He’s thinking of how to best shove them all under the couch when he looks up at the television. The screen is showing brightly colored silicone kitchenware being used in various culinary projects. A gummy smile and sparkling eyes show seemingly sincere amazement at how a loaf of banana bread pops right out of the lime green silicone pan- “imagine the time you’ll save on cleanup!” the host exclaims-and then Hakyeon is reminded of exactly how this all started.
some months earlier…
In undergrad, Hakyeon had been one of those rare people who organized their study time and extracurriculars so meticulously that the concept of all-nighters was completely foreign to him. He had never relied on cups of coffee and energy drinks to help him finish a project, nor had he skipped a morning class to finish a paper that was due in the afternoon.
Now, working on a sixteen page paper for the “Ethics in Journalism” requirement for his broadcasting Master’s, Hakyeon drums his fingers against the keyboard as the television drones on in the background. The news program feels like more of a distraction, taunting him with images of people working in the field he’s studying so hard to be a part of. Briefly turning away from his work, Hakyeon clicks through the channels for suitable background noise to keep him awake at nearly one in the morning.
Skipping past a nature documentary (who would watch an entire program about spiders???) and one of those sad charity infomercials (injured puppies and Sarah McLachlan will only result in him crying all over his computer), he settles on the home shopping channel, where they appear to be selling patio furniture. Hakyeon isn’t really sure who needs to buy patio furniture at this time of night, but figures the program is bright, loud, and uninteresting enough to be the perfect background.
As the young hostess-Hakyeon thinks he hears her introduce herself to anyone just tuning in as “Wendy”-continues to wax poetic about how the patio umbrella is a must have for summer barbecues, he buckles down and adds another three pages to his paper, bringing it to a grand total of twelve. Stretching, he stands to go refill his coffee and realizes that sometime during his writing spree the shopping network had switched to selling some fancy culinary knife set. He takes a sip of his instant cappuccino and nearly chokes when the camera pans to the program’s host.
Apparently, while Hakyeon was busy typing away, Wendy had finished her segment and been replaced by the most attractive man Hakyeon had seen in ages. The host laughs and his smile looks so friendly and honest, gums showing as he makes what was likely a stale joke by the utensil company representative seem like the most hilarious thing ever. Hakyeon is frozen at the way the man’s eyes sparkle as he talks to the camera-to the audience at home-and he rattles off the price and shipping options. Most of the words go in one ear and out the other for Hakyeon until the expert clears his throat and says, “so, Minseok, shall we move on to the next demonstration?”
Hakyeon sits his mug down as he continues to stare at the screen for a few more moments before tearing himself away to resume his work. “Minseok,” he thinks as he reopens his word document. “His name is Minseok.”
***
The next afternoon finds Hakyeon slumped over a corner table in a small café, hands wrapped around a piping hot americano. The sound of chairs being pulled back across wood floors prompts him to sit up slowly, blinking sleep out of his eyes as Wonshik and Taekwoon sit down in front of him.
“I’m guessing you were up late finishing your paper,” Wonshik begins, grinning as he goes to take a bite of his pastry. Hakyeon merely groans in response, breathing in his americano before he takes a long sip and wills the caffeine to make him feel human again.
“It took me til nearly four am but it’s done...emailed my professor a copy and slid a hard copy under his door in a manila envelope as requested.” Hakyeon sighs and drinks more coffee. “Coffee and background noise were the only things keeping me up.”
Taekwoon tilts his head to the side, his cheesecake almost finished. “Background noise? I remember you not being able to study with music when we were roommates.”
“I still can’t, I turned on the TV and put it to a random channel,” Hakyeon replies, punctuating the statement with a yawn.
Wonshik wipes off his face with a napkin, his pastry now a thing of the past as he looks at Hakyeon quizzically. “On regular cable? What in the world was even on at that hour?”
Hakyeon finishes off his coffee before replying, “home shopping...constant chatter but nothing I needed to pay attention to.”
“That’s smart,” Taekwoon adds, “no hope of being distracting either, no one needs the stuff they sell.”
Hakyeon nods as Wonshik agrees with Taekwoon’s statement, chewing on his bottom lip a bit as he remembers the very distracting Minseok and how Hakyeon didn’t really get back to work until the segment on knives had ended and the host was bidding the viewers goodbye and urging them to “stick around with Joy for the Serta mattress show!”
***
He isn’t really aware of how home shopping channels work, but Hakyeon figures if he just leaves the home shopping network on whenever he’s in his apartment he should see Minseok again. At first, Minseok doesn’t show up at all when Hakyeon’s around, leaving Hakyeon to become acquainted with the other hosts. He sees Wendy again a few days later, selling jewelry worth the price of all of Hakyeon’s textbooks combined, and on another day a tall gangly fellow named Chanyeol gets extremely excited during the technology segment he’s in charge of.
It’s only one morning when Hakyeon wakes up to the glorious news that his 9am lecture is cancelled that he mindlessly turns on the TV and is greeted by none other than Minseok selling-Hakyeon blinks the sleep out of his eyes and peers at the screen more carefully-cupcakes, a vast assortment of cupcakes.
Hakyeon hurriedly puts on his glasses and looks more intently at the man on screen. Minseok has on a simple maroon sweater and, from what Hakyeon can see, a very flattering pair of black jeans. His hair is pushed back, leaving nothing to obscure the twinkle of his eyes as he tastes a red velvet cupcake and practically moans around the morsel.
“You have got to try these cupcakes everyone. Irene brought us some amazing recipes, from old favorites like her signature red velvet to a few new flavors perfect for autumn-I think I spied sweet potato on the list??” Minseok continues to engage the supposedly present television audience throughout his conversation with Irene, Hakyeon staring until his stomach rumbles, reminding him that he needs to eat.
A bowl of cereal in one hand and a glass of orange juice in the other, Hakyeon plops down on the couch just as Minseok gestures to a large monitor on set and says something about consulting user reviews. He notes as Minseok pulls up a facebook page on the touch screen and begins reading comments aloud.
“Kim-ssi in Mokpo says she orders a set of cupcakes every time Irene’s on the show, and she’s super excited for her “Autumn Assortment” to come in so she can try the new flavors!” Minseok reads first, leaving time for Irene to give a short statement of appreciation before moving onto the next comment. “Do-ssi from right here in Seoul says the red velvet cupcakes were the first gift his boyfriend gave him, and now he’s going to return the favor with a set for their two year anniversary-how sweet!”
Hakyeon chomps on his Lucky Charms, noting how Minseok had no adverse reaction to Do-ssi having a boyfriend and wondering if Minseok himself was interested in men. “Like it matters,” Hakyeon muttered to himself between bites, “he’s just a handsome guy on TV, no need to get attached or even start thinking about those ‘what ifs.’”
His self-reprimands don’t stop him from liking the network’s facebook page, however, and placing an order for some of those red velvet and autumn cupcakes.
***
Two weeks later, Wonshik, Hongbin, and Sanghyuk are all studying at Hakyeon’s place, as they often do when Sanghyuk is having “last year of undergrad” struggles and when Wonshik and Hongbin need to study with others around to keep them focused on their work and not each other.
Curled up in his beat-up recliner with a reading, the sound of his doorbell jerks Hakyeon back into the moment. Padding across the floor to answer the door, he’s mildly surprised when a delivery man hands over a decent sized package and has him sign for it, only remembering what it could be when the shipping label reads “Korea Home Shopping - from our hearts to your door!”
“Whoooa, what’s in the box hyung?” Sanghyuk asked, rising from his spot on the couch to see what Hakyeon was carrying. Hakyeon plopped the box down on the kitchen counter, Sanghyuk peering over his shoulder. Hakyeon tries in vain to hide the label, but his younger friend is too quick-Sanghyuk letting out a guffaw at the text.
“Home shopping? Hyung I know we joke about you being our group’s honorary mom but really?” Sanghyuk laughs as he ambles back to the couch and the rest of the group.
Wonshik peers over the couch towards the kitchen. “Home shopping? Wasn’t that just your paper-writing background noise?”
Hakyeon sighs as he cuts open the box, carefully removing copious amounts of packing peanuts to reveal two bakery boxes, each filled with twelve rather delicious looking cupcakes. “It was-is just background, but I left it on that channel one night and when I woke up it was still on,” Hakyeon lies smoothly, toting one of the boxes into the living room. “But if you’re too good for home shopping goods I suppose I can eat these cupcakes by myself…”
Quickly popping up and reaching for a cupcake, Hongbin grins at Hakyeon. “I had nothing to say about your purchase and fully-endorse your new home shopping habit-especially if it means cupcakes!”
Hakyeon tries to protest that it isn’t a habit, but he’s drowned out by his three friends’ laughter and ruckus as they scramble to claim as many of the cupcakes as they can.
Stealthily grabbing one for himself (he paid for them after all) he assures himself that the cupcake purchase was just a one-time thing.
***
The home shopping Facebook page is a dangerous thing. Hakyeon’s intention is to minimize his viewing of the channel, only turning it on while working to see if he can get a glance of Minseok and his charming smile. He’s found that the man’s presence has become less distracting and more rewarding, encouraging even as he plugs away on his various assignments.
Fate, however, throws a wrench in his plans when he’s scrolling down his news feed and a post catches his eye:
This evening’s show schedule! 7-8:50pm Skincare Special hosted by Baekhyun, 9-11:50pm Home Fitness For All hosted by Minseok! And stay tuned at midnight for the Daily Deal!
Taking a moment to recover from the revelation that they post the show schedule, Hakyeon quietly makes a note to rush home after his evening lecture ends around 8:30, silently thanking every deity he can think of that he doesn’t have any prior engagements.
Nine o’clock that night finds Hakyeon snuggled in front of his television, mindlessly reading over some lecture notes before the program starts. It’s only when he hears Minseok’s voice greeting all the “viewers at home” that he looks up and is met by a sight that causes his jaw to drop. In hindsight, he realizes he should have expected this considering tonight’s show is about fitness equipment, but for some reason he hadn’t imagined that Minseok would be wearing anything other than his typical jeans or slacks with a sensible sweater.
Instead, Minseok is clad in spandex bike shorts and a shirt made of similar material. Clearly the host is no stranger to fitness, the shorts and lack of substantial sleeves showing off muscular thighs and biceps. The shirt is also close-fitting enough for Hakyeon to just make out the hint of abs, and quite frankly he isn’t sure what to do with this new information.
As Hakyeon comes back to his senses, he notices that the program has already moved into the “demo” portion. Minseok is sitting on the chair portion of an exercise machine that looks like some sort of frightening spider throne, arms pulling at resistance bands with seemingly little effort. His biceps curl and when Hakyeon tears his eyes away from the host’s arms (those arms) to see a single bead of sweat trail down a flawless jawline he scrambles for water. The next 2 hours, he realizes, are going to be very trying.
***
Hakyeon thanks his lucky stars that the gym equipment had been far too expensive to be a temptation. He prefers dance, or a nice jog in the park, to working out in a gym or at home anyway, but Minseok had looked so good and really made people believe that you could get a body like his with that machine (at the low price of 240000KRW)!
Unfortunately, Minseok’s next several shows are for far more affordable products. It starts with a small coffee maker, which Hakyeon rationalizes is a reasonable purchase considering he runs on caffeine and his old coffee pot has been on the fritz. After receiving his package-thankfully when he was home alone-and enjoying his first cup of fresh brew, he decides to post a nice comment on the Facebook page. He finds the designated post asking for comments on any shows viewers have enjoyed in the past month, and drafts up a quick blurb.
Love my new Sir Coffee 3000! Sipping on a perfect Americano now-thanks to Minseok for sharing just how great this machine is.
Before he can second-guess if mentioning Minseok is creepy or fine he presses enter, sending the comment into cyberspace and not expecting anything to come of it. That is, until, he gets a notification a day later from Minseok’s professional profile. The home shopping host had replied to Hakyeon’s comment, leaving a short “thanks! Glad to give a Sir Coffee 3000 a good home.” Never before had Hakyeon been more grateful for his profile picture being a gorgeous shot from his last dance recital of undergrad and not one of the dumb drunk selfies he usually takes with Wonshik.
After being noticed (noticed!!!!) by Minseok, Hakyeon can’t help but submit to the urge to buy more Korea Home Shopping goods and leave comments. He doesn’t always mention Minseok by name, but all of the products are from his shows and Hakyeon holds onto the slim hope that the man notices.
Between a foot spa, a set of hand weights, aromatherapy candles (promptly sent to his mother as a birthday gift), some fancy dry shampoo that ends up not working so great, and a closet organizer, Hakyeon gets two more replies and a like from Minseok.
***
One evening, Hakyeon is flitting between making pasta in the kitchen and watching Minseok do another show for Irene’s cupcakes when he hears the words “...if you don’t believe me and Irene, stay tuned and we’ll be taking testimonial calls from customers so you can hear for yourself how people just like you have enjoyed her sweet treats!”
“I must be crazy,” he thinks as he picks up his phone, dialing the number blinking obnoxiously on the screen. “I doubt I’ll even get through.” He’s hits call, ceases to breathe until rings turn into a busy signal and he can hang up.
“That was silly,” he says aloud to an empty apartment, watching as Minseok takes a call from a Hyojin-ssi, who always buys the cupcakes to share with her friends. Hakyeon listens to how sincere Minseok is with his reactions and follow-up questions, really making it seem like he’s chatting with an old friend about their favorite cupcakes. “One more try...couldn’t hurt though…”
The phone rings, and rings, and Hakyeon is wondering if something’s wrong because the busy signal should have kicked in by now when “Hi! I’m Sunny and I’m an operator here at Korea Home Shopping. You’re next up to have your call on air! What’s your name?”
Hakyeon breathes out a barely audible “Hakyeon...oh my god” that Sunny still manages to pick up on as she responds “yeah, we get that a lot. Anyway, ground rules: nothing inappropriate as we’re a family friendly program! Don’t bash the product...you do actually like the cupcakes right?”
He squeaks out a “yes” before she continues “good! Well then just give your honest praise of the product and maybe a nice story related to your last Irene’s Cupcake purchase, people eat that up. Ha! Eat that up...and we’re talking about cupcakes….anywayyyyyy you’re on in twenty seconds, listen for the beep and then words from our host!” She clicks off and Hakyeon is left with the sound of elevator music in his ear and the thundering beating of his heart.
As promised, twenty seconds later Hakyeon hears a beep and is being greeted by Minseok himself.
“So our next caller is Hakyeon, hello Hakyeon!” Minseok says cheerfully, looking into the camera, at the audience, and right into Hakyeon’s soul.
“I---hi Minseok...hi Irene,” Hakyeon manages to murmur, recalling how most of the callers greet the host and the seller.
“Thank you so much for being a fan of my company’s products,” Irene says, her calm, graceful manner helping Hakyeon focus a bit.
“Truthfully, I only just discovered them during your autumn show...I ordered your special seasonal flavors…” he trails off.
“Weren’t they amazing!!! Tell me, what was your favorite?” Minseok asks and Hakyeon momentarily forgets to breathe. He apparently paused too long because Minseok’s asking “Hakyeon-ssi?” when he snaps out of it.
“I really liked the caramel apple one...and the toffee pumpkin was really nice. I shared a box with friends for a study session but, to be honest, I hid another box away for myself.” Hakyeon chuckles nervously, hoping that’s a decent anecdote.
“I absolutely loved the toffee pumpkin, great choices-really all of the flavors are amazing,” Minseok finishes before wrapping up the call with “well, thank you Hakyeon-ssi! I hope you keep supporting Irene’s Cupcakes and Korea Home Shopping!”
Hakyeon manages to murmur a goodbye as Minseok and Irene wish him farewell in chorus and the line goes dead.
He stares down at his phone, the “end call” screen faded to make way for his home screen as mentally replays the sound of Minseok saying his name over and over.
***
Three months after the beginning of his shopping spree, Hakyeon finds himself sitting in his living room, surrounded by Wonshik, Sanghyuk, and his neighbor/acquaintance Jaehwan. The three men are looking at him with rather intense concern, causing Hakyeon to feel, quite frankly, uncomfortable.
“Okay...someone explain to me what’s going on here,” Hakyeon demands, lips pursed into a thin line as he glares at the others.
“It’s….we’re just…” Wonshik begins, struggling to get the right words out when Sanghyuk blurts out “IT’S AN INTERVENTION,” before clapping his hands over his mouth.
Hakyeon hears Wonshik mutter “I thought we agreed to ease him into the conversation, oh my god,” before the other man pastes on a nervous smile and looks at him.
“Wonshik…explain.” Hakyeon says, tone even and expression bordering on ‘disappointed parent.’
Wonshik clears his throat, looking around the room before settling on a part of the wall just behind Hakyeon’s left ear. “It’s...like Sanghyuk said. We’re worried about your recent habit, hyung…” he trails off, leaving Hakyeon room to speak while he gathers his thoughts.
“Habit? I mean I know I got a little wasted when we went out for drinks to celebrate In Guk hyung’s promotion but that was a one time thing-besides, he paid for bottle service, when were we gonna experience that again, am I right??”
Jaehwan laughs in the corner at the memory of Wonshik and Hongbin dragging Hakyeon up to the apartment after that and enlisting his help to unlock the door since ‘hyung refuses to let either of us retrieve his keys from his back pocket and possibly cop a feel.’ “They’re not talking about your drinking-drunk you is a rare, hilarious treasure,” he says, tone bright.
Hakyeon tilts his head to one side, once again confused as to why they’re in his house hosting a pow-wow. “Then...what?”
“Hyung…” Sanghyuk starts, “how many cardboard boxes are there flattened under your sofa?”
“And do you know how many times I’ve heard the delivery guy knock on your door? In the past month alone?” Jaehwan adds.
“You need to stop the home shopping...it hasn’t messed up your finances yet, to my knowledge, but what happens when you can’t pay your bills because you’re buying a blender? You won’t even be able to use it with no power!!” Wonshik blurts out, already getting extremely emotional at the thought of Hakyeon making himself penniless.
Blinking, Hakyeon looks at each of his friends, realizing how serious they are about this intervention. “Is it...is it that bad?”
“A little bit, hyung...we’re not saying you should never use it again but maybe dial it back a bit?” Sanghyuk answers, smiling softly.
“Get out a little more-you’ve been turning into a homebody since you started expecting more deliveries and then I feel bad having my boyfriend over because we can’t be loud with you on the other side of the wall…” Jaehwan trails off, clearing his throat when he realizes everyone in the room is looking at him with somewhat judgmental eyes. “I mean...I’m concerned for your social life. Yes.”
Sanghyuk slowly erupts with laughter at Jaehwan’s ulterior motives, Hakyeon and Wonshik soon following until Jaehwan himself joins in. Hakyeon looks around at his friends, grateful for their concern. “Thanks, you guys,” he calls out when their laughter begins to die down a bit.
After everyone turns to look at him Hakyeon continues, “I may have gotten a bit...carried away with the home shopping...to be honest I’ve only been watching because one of the hosts is really hot.” He laughs a bit after his confession, nervously awaiting their response.
Wonshik breaks the silence first. “That explains why you watch it but...why buy the stuff? Hosts don’t...deliver the goods right?”
Hakyeon feels his face turning red as he prepares to admit the rest. “Well...if you leave product reviews on facebook they’ll respond...and you can call the show too…”
Sanghyuk guffaws, tears welling up in his eyes with joy. “Hyung, why didn’t you just lie about having the products??? You could leave comments and call for free.”
“But that’s...that’s dishonest!” Hakyeon exclaims. “Besides, I’ve actually bought some pretty useful stuff-and you all weren’t complaining about all the nice snacks and food that’s been around at our study sessions!!!”
Sanghyuk and Wonshik look down sheepishly at that, while Jaehwan just looks a bit put out that he apparently has missed out on gourmet goods. “Anyway,” Hakyeon continues, “I’ll stop buying home shopping goods and I’ll cut down on watching the shows so I can spend more time with you guys!” He swings an arm around Sanghyuk’s shoulder, grinning, and only lightly punches the younger when he murmurs “maybe this intervention was a bad idea.”
***
Hakyeon charges into the lobby of the SBC building, rummaging through his new briefcase to find the ID badge he needs to get to the employee elevators. It’s been six months since his “intervention” and aside from a few more cupcake orders (at his friends’ insistence, the hypocrites) he hadn’t made any more orders from Korea Home Shopping. He still watches every now and then, but he’s been busy-working towards the last semester of his Master’s program and securing his internship at SBC, his first day of which is about to start badly because he’s running late.
He finally finds the badge, in his haste practically flinging it from his bag. He groans as it clatters on the ground and scurries over to pick it up, surprised to find his fingers touching a stranger’s hand over the hard plastic. Looking up he has to bite his lip to stop from gasping aloud as he realizes the stranger isn’t exactly a stranger at all, but Minseok.
They both stand, Hakyeon clutching his badge and doing his best to steady his suddenly increased heart rate. “Thank you M--, thank you,” he stutters out, bowing while internally cursing himself for almost using the other man’s name, giving away his secret.
“You’re welcome,” Minseok replies brightly. “Looks like you’re new to SBC...first day?”
Hakyeon’s eyes widen in surprise. “How’d you know? Is it that obvious???” he blurts out, causing Minseok to let out a brief chuckle.
“Blue ID badge-standard issue for newbies. Also you’re clambering through the lobby like being on time is the most important thing ever, when I can guarantee you your superiors will probably be ten minutes late anyway,” he explains. “Besides...I’d remember seeing such a handsome face around the station.”
Hakyeon’s pretty sure his face is obviously flushed; even though he literally towers over Minseok, the man’s confidence makes Hakyeon feel like a kid talking to his first crush. It’s only when he registers Minseok’s words about timeliness that he starts, “Oh! I really will be late, I should--hurry--but th-thank you!”
“If anyone gives you trouble tell them you got lost and Minseok from Home Shopping held you up chatting while giving directions. Guaranteed, get-out-of-jail-free card,” he ends with a wink and a wave, watching as the other man bows and takes a few steps away before turning abruptly and shouting “I’m Cha Hakyeon, thank you!” before continuing on his way.
In his haste, Hakyeon doesn’t see Minseok head over to the studio elevators, meeting up with Baekhyun, one of the other home shopping hosts. He’s way too far away to hear Baekhyun tease Minseok, “that guy looks familiar...isn’t he the one on Facebook? You kept looking forward to his comments in particular,” and he’s already in his own elevator, leading to the meeting room for interns when Minseok replies to Baekhyun, “Sure is-and just my luck, he’s even cuter in person~”
Hakyeon’s unaware of how his run-in with Minseok will change things as he shuffles into a room filled with four other nervous looking individuals, blue ID badges secure around their necks (and thankfully no superiors in sight). As he sinks into one of the few remaining empty chairs, however, he has a feeling his time at SBC will be interesting-he can’t wait.