Week 2, Challenge 1: the knot comes loose
sekai & past!kaiyeol
pg; 1.3k
sometimes we become afraid to love
-sequel to from flame to dust (but can also be read as a standalone)
-for 24: work on a WIP
Jongin looks up from his Excel document when a hand reaches out to grip the edge of his desk. He doesn't even need to look over at the dark suited figure hovering next to him. He knows this hand, knows these long, tapered fingers and rounded joints.
It's been three years since Sehun entered the company and Jongin has used this time to memorize little pieces of Sehun. The way the bounces on his heels while waiting for the elevator. The way he fiddles with his ID during meetings, dragging his thumb over the ridges of the clear plastic, each motion so slow and deliberate that Jongin finds his eyes following each stroke and wishing they were someplace else. Three years of biting his fingernails and nursing a dumb one sided crush that his friends would ridicule him for.
Yes?" mumbles Jongin. He's not quite daring enough to tear his gaze completely away from his computer screen, so he lets his eyes linger on peripheral of the glowing screen.
"Hyung," starts Sehun, and Jongin can see that he's biting back a smile. "It's the three year anniversary of when I joined the company."
"Oh?" replies Jongin as if he hadn't known the day, as if he hadn't been using Sehun's appearance as the landmark that signaled the decline of his own relationship.
"You should take me out to dinner to celebrate," Sehun says and this time Jongin looks up from the screen, shocked.
"Huh?" Sehun has other friends at the company, closer friends even, and he's not sure why he decided to choose Jongin. Of all people.
Sehun's eyes narrow a bit, but the gaze they shift into is more resigned than angry. "You don't want to?" There's a note of uncertainty that wasn't there before as he tilts his head to the side, looking over with soft eyes, and Jongin panics.
It's not that I don't want to..." Jongin begins, hands scrabbling over the wrist pillow stuffed next to his keyboard, some kind of orthopedic device from back when Chanyeol cared about his health "It's just that-"
He should be leaping at a chance like this falling into his lap: his secret crush wanting to eat dinner with him alone. With him.
But he can't seem to form an appropriate reply or calm the rolling of his stomach.
"It's fine then?" says Sehun and the words are stuck halfway between a question and a statement. He taps his hand on Jongin's desk absent-mindedly as he waits for Jongin's reply, but after a few beats it's clear that Jongin isn't going to say anything.
Sehun's smile is tight across his face. "I guess not," he mutters through clenched teeth, then turns back into the hallway.
Once Sehun is gone Jongin can finally remember how to breath.
Jongin wonders throughout the rest of the day, what would have happened if he had said yes.
Would Sehun's eyes have crinkled into crescents, just like the day they first met?
Maybe if he had said yes, then he would be sitting with Sehun in that new Japanese restaurant he's always wanted to try, chopsticks laden with tempura halfway to his mouth, instead of trekking through he bad part of town trying to find a bar that he hasn't gone to with Chanyeol.
During college days they had stopped at many of the bars in Hongdae at one time or another, so has to pass several streets before he comes across a bar he's never seen before. The sign is an obnoxious neon orange, and Jongin squints up at it hesitantly. "Cheng?" Jongin reads slowly, and the accompanying Chinese characters look out of place amid the flashing lights and the scent of alcohol hanging heavy in the air.
There's raucous laughter from a group of students standing nearby and not for the first time Jongin wonders what he's doing out this late on a weekday dressed in an ill-fitting suit leftover from a different life. He looks down at the worn fabric of his slacks in disgust, tugging on the fraying threads and feeling hopelessly old. What happened to the days when his closet was full of blue jeans and graphic tees?
"It's a good place," a voice says, and Jongin jumps as an arm swings along his shoulders.
He shifts his head to the side to get a good look at his "attacker" and all he sees are laughing eyes and blond hair. He knows at once who it is.
"Sehun," he breaths out and the younger boy's chuckles puff against his neck.
"Never thought I'd see you wandering around Hongdae," Sehun smiles, poking at Jongin's cheek with a finger.
Jongin knows that Sehun probably doesn't mean anything by his playful remark. It's probably only said in jest to loosen him up and make him laugh, but the comment still bites. "Just because you haven't seen me here, doesn't mean I don't come." He mumbles sulkily and Sehun pulls back his hand as if burned.
"You're right, I'm sorry." Sehun frowns slightly before a smile slowly returns to his face.
"Sehun, who's this?" Two men wander up and Sehun steps back from Jongin to let his friends get a closer look. They eye him with casual interest and Jongin shifts uncomfortably under the scrutiny.
"Jongin... hyung." He adds the title as an afterthought, smile tipping his lips, and Jongin wonders if Sehun does it to be insolent or if he thinks that dropping the suffix makes them seem closer.
"We're co-workers," Jongin adds quickly.
Once again Sehun's expression sours. "Yes. Co-workers," and this time his smile is flat.
Finally Sehun's friends introduce themselves. The first one, small boned and delicate, reveals himself to be called Baekhyun and the slightly taller one with curved lips and high cheekbones introduces himself as Jongdae. Classmates, they admit when Jongin prys a bit. Oh wait, we mean former classmates, Baekhyun adds as he shakes his head with a chuckle.
"So are you going out to celebrate Sehun's 3rd year?" Sehun's previous invitation rests hot on his chest, and he hopes that Sehun can't see the way Jongin's fingers tremble slightly when he says Sehun's name.
Baekhyun is quick to smile. "Well, we..."
"Just ran into each other by accident." Sehun cuts in as he shifts to stand in front of his friends. He's much taller than the other two, but the height of his shoulder doesn't quite block out Baekhyun's surprised expression and Jongdae's amused one.
"Yes, by accident." Jongin hears Jongdae say, before his eyes are drawn into Sehun just like they always are.
"Join me?" Sehun whispers and it's the kind of whisper that sounds more like a promise than an invitation.
"Maybe I will," says Jongin.
And it feels like it's something he should have said a long time ago.
Jongin spins his stool, rocking from side to side as he grips the counter top. It's his first date (if the kissy faces that Baekyun and Chen made as Sehun pushed them away were anything to go by) since he and Chanyeol split up, and there's anxiety coiling within him, pulling him back and forth on the small swiveling stool.
"Want something to eat with your beer?" Sehun asks from behind the menu, and Jongin leans over to get a look at what they have.
"What do they have?" The print stretching over the menu is criminally small, and Jongin squints at the characters.
Sehun sighs, "Loads of stuff." He hums as he scans the menu. "Chinese food, Japanese, Korean... mostly Chinese though."
"Do you have any recommendations?"
Sehun's brow scrunches and Jongin remembers the days back when Sehun was an intern and his brow creased as he looked over data and spreadsheets.
"I like the chicken feet?" He says at last, and Jongin follows Sehun's finger to where the item is located on the menu.
"I've never tried chicken feet before."
Sehun's finger moves away and he looks further down the page. "We can get something else if you-"
"No." Jongin smiles. "I want to try it."
a/n: maybe a WIP?? it was supposed to be a smut fic but then no sex happened... oops
pg; 1.3k
sometimes we become afraid to love
-sequel to from flame to dust (but can also be read as a standalone)
-for 24: work on a WIP
Jongin looks up from his Excel document when a hand reaches out to grip the edge of his desk. He doesn't even need to look over at the dark suited figure hovering next to him. He knows this hand, knows these long, tapered fingers and rounded joints.
It's been three years since Sehun entered the company and Jongin has used this time to memorize little pieces of Sehun. The way the bounces on his heels while waiting for the elevator. The way he fiddles with his ID during meetings, dragging his thumb over the ridges of the clear plastic, each motion so slow and deliberate that Jongin finds his eyes following each stroke and wishing they were someplace else. Three years of biting his fingernails and nursing a dumb one sided crush that his friends would ridicule him for.
Yes?" mumbles Jongin. He's not quite daring enough to tear his gaze completely away from his computer screen, so he lets his eyes linger on peripheral of the glowing screen.
"Hyung," starts Sehun, and Jongin can see that he's biting back a smile. "It's the three year anniversary of when I joined the company."
"Oh?" replies Jongin as if he hadn't known the day, as if he hadn't been using Sehun's appearance as the landmark that signaled the decline of his own relationship.
"You should take me out to dinner to celebrate," Sehun says and this time Jongin looks up from the screen, shocked.
"Huh?" Sehun has other friends at the company, closer friends even, and he's not sure why he decided to choose Jongin. Of all people.
Sehun's eyes narrow a bit, but the gaze they shift into is more resigned than angry. "You don't want to?" There's a note of uncertainty that wasn't there before as he tilts his head to the side, looking over with soft eyes, and Jongin panics.
It's not that I don't want to..." Jongin begins, hands scrabbling over the wrist pillow stuffed next to his keyboard, some kind of orthopedic device from back when Chanyeol cared about his health "It's just that-"
He should be leaping at a chance like this falling into his lap: his secret crush wanting to eat dinner with him alone. With him.
But he can't seem to form an appropriate reply or calm the rolling of his stomach.
"It's fine then?" says Sehun and the words are stuck halfway between a question and a statement. He taps his hand on Jongin's desk absent-mindedly as he waits for Jongin's reply, but after a few beats it's clear that Jongin isn't going to say anything.
Sehun's smile is tight across his face. "I guess not," he mutters through clenched teeth, then turns back into the hallway.
Once Sehun is gone Jongin can finally remember how to breath.
Jongin wonders throughout the rest of the day, what would have happened if he had said yes.
Would Sehun's eyes have crinkled into crescents, just like the day they first met?
Maybe if he had said yes, then he would be sitting with Sehun in that new Japanese restaurant he's always wanted to try, chopsticks laden with tempura halfway to his mouth, instead of trekking through he bad part of town trying to find a bar that he hasn't gone to with Chanyeol.
During college days they had stopped at many of the bars in Hongdae at one time or another, so has to pass several streets before he comes across a bar he's never seen before. The sign is an obnoxious neon orange, and Jongin squints up at it hesitantly. "Cheng?" Jongin reads slowly, and the accompanying Chinese characters look out of place amid the flashing lights and the scent of alcohol hanging heavy in the air.
There's raucous laughter from a group of students standing nearby and not for the first time Jongin wonders what he's doing out this late on a weekday dressed in an ill-fitting suit leftover from a different life. He looks down at the worn fabric of his slacks in disgust, tugging on the fraying threads and feeling hopelessly old. What happened to the days when his closet was full of blue jeans and graphic tees?
"It's a good place," a voice says, and Jongin jumps as an arm swings along his shoulders.
He shifts his head to the side to get a good look at his "attacker" and all he sees are laughing eyes and blond hair. He knows at once who it is.
"Sehun," he breaths out and the younger boy's chuckles puff against his neck.
"Never thought I'd see you wandering around Hongdae," Sehun smiles, poking at Jongin's cheek with a finger.
Jongin knows that Sehun probably doesn't mean anything by his playful remark. It's probably only said in jest to loosen him up and make him laugh, but the comment still bites. "Just because you haven't seen me here, doesn't mean I don't come." He mumbles sulkily and Sehun pulls back his hand as if burned.
"You're right, I'm sorry." Sehun frowns slightly before a smile slowly returns to his face.
"Sehun, who's this?" Two men wander up and Sehun steps back from Jongin to let his friends get a closer look. They eye him with casual interest and Jongin shifts uncomfortably under the scrutiny.
"Jongin... hyung." He adds the title as an afterthought, smile tipping his lips, and Jongin wonders if Sehun does it to be insolent or if he thinks that dropping the suffix makes them seem closer.
"We're co-workers," Jongin adds quickly.
Once again Sehun's expression sours. "Yes. Co-workers," and this time his smile is flat.
Finally Sehun's friends introduce themselves. The first one, small boned and delicate, reveals himself to be called Baekhyun and the slightly taller one with curved lips and high cheekbones introduces himself as Jongdae. Classmates, they admit when Jongin prys a bit. Oh wait, we mean former classmates, Baekhyun adds as he shakes his head with a chuckle.
"So are you going out to celebrate Sehun's 3rd year?" Sehun's previous invitation rests hot on his chest, and he hopes that Sehun can't see the way Jongin's fingers tremble slightly when he says Sehun's name.
Baekhyun is quick to smile. "Well, we..."
"Just ran into each other by accident." Sehun cuts in as he shifts to stand in front of his friends. He's much taller than the other two, but the height of his shoulder doesn't quite block out Baekhyun's surprised expression and Jongdae's amused one.
"Yes, by accident." Jongin hears Jongdae say, before his eyes are drawn into Sehun just like they always are.
"Join me?" Sehun whispers and it's the kind of whisper that sounds more like a promise than an invitation.
"Maybe I will," says Jongin.
And it feels like it's something he should have said a long time ago.
Jongin spins his stool, rocking from side to side as he grips the counter top. It's his first date (if the kissy faces that Baekyun and Chen made as Sehun pushed them away were anything to go by) since he and Chanyeol split up, and there's anxiety coiling within him, pulling him back and forth on the small swiveling stool.
"Want something to eat with your beer?" Sehun asks from behind the menu, and Jongin leans over to get a look at what they have.
"What do they have?" The print stretching over the menu is criminally small, and Jongin squints at the characters.
Sehun sighs, "Loads of stuff." He hums as he scans the menu. "Chinese food, Japanese, Korean... mostly Chinese though."
"Do you have any recommendations?"
Sehun's brow scrunches and Jongin remembers the days back when Sehun was an intern and his brow creased as he looked over data and spreadsheets.
"I like the chicken feet?" He says at last, and Jongin follows Sehun's finger to where the item is located on the menu.
"I've never tried chicken feet before."
Sehun's finger moves away and he looks further down the page. "We can get something else if you-"
"No." Jongin smiles. "I want to try it."
a/n: maybe a WIP?? it was supposed to be a smut fic but then no sex happened... oops