out of the spotlight (and into your heart) ii/ii

[xxbbq]

To say that Kris is surprised when he suddenly receives a message from Joonmyun that night is honestly an understatement. He has pretty much conditioned himself not to expect anything - he’s seen how Joonmyun worked all throughout the day during his drama filming and Kris kind of assumed he’d be too tired to even do anything else but drop dead into his bed once he gets home.

Obviously, he can’t be more wrong with his assumption.

From: Joonmyun n_____n
Hey. Are you sleeping?

Peering at his digital clock, Kris realizes with a start that it’s already past eleven. Technically, he should be sleeping at this hour - he’s got an early class to teach tomorrow - but work had gotten him all preoccupied the entire evening, practically robbing him of his sense of time like usual. He’s never been good at keeping track of time when he’s working, anyway.

This, in turn, causes Kris to wonder if Joonmyun’s done with his schedule for today. Maybe he just got back from that dinner affair with the entire cast and their fans?

To: Joonmyun n_____n
Not really. I was just finishing something for
work. How was the fan event…thing?

From: Joonmyun n_____n
Oh. I hope I’m not disturbing you or anything?
And the “fan event” was really nice! ^o^
I think everyone had a great time tonight~

Joonmyun never fails to ask him that question whenever he catches Kris in the middle of work and Kris just feels the constant need to assure him that he’s definitely not every single time (because, let’s face it, no matter how swamped Kris may get with his work, he’ll probably still find the time to reply to every single one of Joonmyun’s messages. But, really, no one needs to know that.) It’s no different this time.

But before he can press the reply button, another message from Joonmyun goes through, and Kris opens it without any kind of expectation in mind.

From: Joonmyun n_____n
It would’ve been nicer if you were there, though.

Kris can feel the heat quickly rising on his cheeks and if anyone, somehow, manages to see him right now, he swears they can easily recognize how flushed he is despite the poor lighting in his room.

He doesn’t quite know what to think. To some, it probably looks like the kind of message good friends send to each other; just a casual comment that can be thrown around without a care because it’s one of those things that really shouldn’t be taken out of context. But, on the other hand, it’s so fucking easy to twist those words and break them apart one by one, convince himself that Joonmyun means them in an entirely different way.

Kris can already feel the beginnings of a headache coming along, an unmistakable proof that he’s thinking too much into it again. He really needs to stop stressing himself over little things like this. After taking a steadying breath, Kris all but wills himself to play it cool with his reply even though he’s still practically a big, complicated mess on the inside.

To: Joonmyun n_____n
Honestly, I was also hoping to get picked but
I obviously don’t have the required luck for such
things. :( Maybe I could try again next time?

From: Joonmyun n_____n
You could! But, well, it’s probably a good thing
that you didn’t get chosen for the event today.

To: Joonmyun n_____n
…What do you mean?

Something heavy settles in his stomach and Kris thinks it’s probably the foreboding feeling of rejection. Did Joonmyun not want him there? Was he only imagining things when Joonmyun looked so happy after seeing him on set?

The frantic rush of questions in his head only stops when his phone vibrates again and Kris takes a second or two longer than usual before he eventually decides to open it.

From: Joonmyun n_____n
I didn’t want to have to share you with the
entire cast. If I’m to be honest right now, I
just really want your company all to myself.

Kris forgets how to breathe and, for a fleeting moment, he wonders if it’s possible to be rendered deaf just by the loud pounding of his heart in his ears. Sure, Kris is used with Joonmyun dropping him a few surprising messages here and there from time to time, but he’s never been this straightforward before. Kris feels like his world just went topsy-turvy and he seriously needs to lie down a bit first so he can take all of this in.

Kris almost drops the phone in his grasp when it vibrates again. He tries to undertake some kind of mental preparation to help him deal with the message he might read next. But with how wound up he is from everything that’s happened so far, Kris realizes, with some kind of trepidation, that nothing’s probably going to work anymore at this point.

From: Joonmyun n_____n
Ah, I’m sorry. I think that was too selfish
of me to say. (つд｀) If you can, please just
forget the existence of my earlier message!

From: Joonmyun n_____n
I’m fully aware that I’m in no position to
tell you all those things. I’m really sorry.

From: Joonmyun n_____n
Can we just pretend that I didn’t say anything?
Please?

It’s fairly easy to go along with Joonmyun’s wishes - sure, they can all go their merry way and forget this conversation ever happened. But, the thing is, it’s not exactly what Kris wants to do. He might be pushing it a little too much if he decides to confront Joonmyun and straighten things out between them but Kris thinks he might as well go with it since Joonmyun has so clearly provided him with an opportunity. And Kris isn’t about to let go of this chance that easily.

"Time to man up and make the move this time, Kris," the Luhan Voice says. Instead of shushing it like he usually does, Kris just lets it echo inside his head, hoping it can give him all the encouragement he needs for what he’s about to do next.

Taking a deep breath, Kris dials Joonmyun’s number with shaky fingers. He wills himself to keep his resolve, his grip only tightening with each second that passes by. The call finally goes through and it rings once, twice, then-

“I’m really sorry,” is the first thing Joonmyun tells Kris the moment he picks up. Kris isn’t given enough time to marvel over the fact that he’s having a conversation with his favorite actor on the phone right now though because Joonmyun’s still talking and he only ploughs on without any intention of stopping anytime soon, “I didn’t know why I said that. W-well, I actually do but I don’t think I should’ve said it so bluntly like that. I got a little careless with expressing myself-”

“Hey, there’s no reason for you to apologize-”

“-but I hope this won’t cause things to get awkward between us and-”

“-because I feel the same,” Kris suddenly says, surprising both Joonmyun and himself. He’s not entirely sure where that confession came from but Kris supposes it’s always been there, just waiting for the right time to finally reveal itself.

That successfully cuts Joonmyun off from his tirade.

“…What?”

“I want to spend time with you, too,” Kris confesses, voice small and hesitant. He gulps a few times, willing to dislodge the lump now forming in his throat, before he continues, “just with you.”

For a while, none of them speak and Kris, for a second, fears that he might have said something wrong this time. Maybe he shouldn’t have let his mouth run and ruin things even more for both of them.

Before Kris can even start berating himself for being so stupid, he hears a quiet rustle from the other line and it’s enough to let Kris know that Joonmyun didn’t at least hang up on him. A gust of breath soon follows and it sounds like Joonmyun just heaved a relieved sigh right into the receiver of his phone.

“Yeah?” Joonmyun then laughs nervously and Kris can’t help but significantly calm down after hearing that sound. It brings some kind of relief to know that he isn’t the only one getting nervous over this conversation.

Kris just hums in response. He could never really rely on his verbal proficiency at times like this, anyway.

“Do you-um-do you want to…” For a moment, Joonmyun trails off and laughs uneasily again, as though doing so would help him release all the nervous energy flowing through his body. Kris just finds it absolutely adorable. “Do you want to spend time with just me this Friday then?”

There’s a brief moment after that question where Kris feels like all the air just whooshed right out of his lungs and he finds himself unable to utter even a single word. He’s also really tempted to have Joonmyun repeat that question because with how loud his heart was hammering right in his ears during their entire conversation, Kris isn’t completely sure if he had heard Joonmyun correctly.

“…Or maybe it was too soon to ask you that?”

Joonmyun’s question penetrates through his thoughts and it doesn’t take long before he’s hit with the realization that, yes, Joonmyun did ask him to go out on Friday.

“Yes!” Kris responds without thinking. It’s three seconds too long before Kris eventually realizes his mistake and he tries to backpedal as quickly as he can, “I-I mean, no, I think you have the perfect timing. And, yeah, sure, Friday sounds good.”

Friday sounds heavenly but Joonmyun doesn’t need to know that.

“Perfect timing, huh?” Joonmyun laughs. Kris mentally face-palms at himself. He really needs to learn how to open his mouth without embarrassing himself after this conversation.

“I’ll see you on Friday, then,” Joonmyun continues. Kris thinks he can hear the hint of happiness in Joonmyun’s voice but he ends up just forcefully brushing it off, choosing instead to chide his delusional self for thinking into things too much again.

“Goodnight, Kris,” Joonmyun breathes out. Kris manages to wish him a simple goodnight before the line finally goes dead.

Kris brings his phone away from his ear to stare at it for a good minute. He’s still reeling from the fact that this conversation with Joonmyun really happened. Joonmyun wanting to spend time with him isn’t just a part of his imagination anymore. And it’s going to happen on Friday.

Friday. Kris remembers that today’s Tuesday.

He throws himself on his bed and groans, the sound almost drowned out by the pillow covering his face. How in the world is he going to prepare in just two days?

*

Kris doesn’t know what to do.

He’d spent the whole of yesterday trying not to have a mental breakdown in between teaching his classes, occupying himself as much as he could and practically leaving him with no idle time to think about things. Kris thought he was doing a very good job at keeping himself together for the most part of the day. And, really, he was - until Baekhyun suddenly strolled inside the faculty room during break and eyed him keenly, as though he knew that something was bothering Kris and was hell bent on knowing what it was exactly. It was difficult because Baekhyun has always been too perceptive for his own good and Kris had to summon every bit of his willpower to steel his resolve and not crumble in the presence of that Very Calculating Stare.

It was, quite honestly, with some kind of miracle that Kris was able to get through the day just fine.

In hindsight, letting Wednesday pass somewhat uneventfully is probably a bad idea because Kris only realizes now that he’s only a day away from spending some alone time with Joonmyun and, well, this roughly translates to, more or less, twenty four hours of trying to get his shit together while thinking of the things he should do tomorrow. The thought itself is making him sick with anxiety and Kris quickly figures that this is just the kind of stuff he can’t deal with alone.

Which is probably the only explanation why he finds himself sitting inside a small restaurant at this time of the evening, sharing a generous serving of ddeokbokki and samgyupsal with four of his closest friends back from college (or, what Kris hopefully dubs now as, his Support Group).

“So, there must be some urgent reason why we’re suddenly having this little reunion today,” Jongdae casually says. He’s sitting just across from Kris, looking too intrigued and excited for Kris’s liking. Normally, Kris would feel glad that someone’s at least enthusiastic to help him out in his time of need, but it is Jongdae and, really, it’s kind of a given fact that Jongdae only exists to make his life more unbearable than it already is (much like Luhan and Baekhyun).

“Yeah. What’s up? Did something happen?” Chanyeol manages to pipe in even with his mouth almost full. Kris tries not to scrunch his face in disgust.

Baekhyun, on the other hand, doesn’t even hesitate to show the repulsion in his face and Chanyeol just directs a what? look when he sees Baekhyun staring at him. Baekhyun just rolls his eyes.

Kris is about to casually slip in a little comment about how Baekhyun still obviously adores Chanyeol despite his silly manners when Baekhyun suddenly turns his attention on him, effectively stopping Kris from saying anything. Kris unconsciously braces himself for whatever Baekhyun’s about to say next. “So, do we finally get to hear the good news that you finally got laid or-”

Everyone promptly chokes at that. Well, aside from Kris (who looks like he’d rather suffer through a thousand burning deaths than be stuck in this situation), Baekhyun (who’s practically glaring at everyone right now for being rudely interrupted) and Jongdae (who is, quite obviously, the only one blatantly enjoying this sudden revelation).

“I didn’t know you were even in a relationship!” Kyungsoo trills. With his endearingly large eyes, he just looks even more shocked than what he’s probably really feeling at the moment.

“But, wow, this is great news, Kris! Do we know who the lucky guy is?”

“Is it someone from our university?”

“N-no, not really,” Kris stammers.

“Oh. Is it someone from your work, then?”

“Uh-”

Just then, Jongdae loudly gasps in his seat, a hand now placed over his mouth, looking as though a very horrible thought just occurred to him. “OH MY GOD DON’T TELL ME YOU DID THOSE ONE NIGHT STAND KIND OF THINGS, KRIS!”

Kris can see the expectant expressions now splayed on his friends’ faces and he briefly wonders if they really considered him as someone who would even do such a thing. Just the idea makes him cringe really and, in turn, it makes him sputter a loud and indignant “NO!” right at Jongdae’s direction.

Jongdae just smirks, crosses his arms over his chest, and then leans back comfortably on his seat. He looks so pleased with himself after eliciting such a reaction from Kris and, wow, Kris has never really felt the urge to punch the living daylights out of Kim Jongdae until now.

“Okay, let’s just cut the chase and get straight to the point!” Baekhyun says, his voice booming with authority. Everyone just shuts up because no one really dares to mess with Baekhyun when he’s like this. “You obviously needed help with something and we really can’t help you if you don’t start telling us what it is.”

Kris just sighs because Baekhyun does have a point. He did ask his friends to come meet him today - and at such short notice even - because he really cannot deal with this Joonmyun Situation alone and this spontaneous meeting would entirely go to waste if he won’t start speaking now.

“Okay…” Kris lets out another resigned sigh. “T-There’s this guy I like and, well, he maybe-sorta, um, kind of asked if we can go out tomorrow?”

“Go out?” Kyungsoo repeats, voice soft and patient, “do you mean as friends or, like, go out as an actual date?”

Kris shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “Well, I’m not really sure…”

The moment that Kyungsoo actually brings it up, Kris can’t help but feel stupid for looking into things too much again. What if Joonmyun did want to go out - but only just as friends? What if this entire thing had just been Kris’s wishful thinking all along? If Joonmyun wanting to spend time with him just turns out to be nothing but a simple invitation to hang out as friends, then all this planning and constant fretting are just really fucking unnecessary.

All of a sudden, Kris doesn’t feel like doing this anymore. Maybe he should just go home and bury himself in his cocoon of blankets or something.

“I don’t really know who this guy is, but I’m sure he’s not dumb enough to miss the chance of getting into your pants,” Baekhyun says flippantly.

Baekhyun’s response is so ridiculous that Kris can’t really help but shake his head and crack a small smile at that. Baekhyun may lack tact sometimes (…well, okay, most of the time) but he sure knows the right words to say to cheer someone up. Kris silently gives Baekhyun A for his effort.

“But, really, this mystery guy must be someone really special to have you all ruffled and nervous like this,” Chanyeol muses out loud. The faraway look on Chanyeol’s face quickly disappears in a blink of an eye and before Kris can even have the time to feel terrified for himself, Chanyeol is already looking at him with wide, excited eyes. Kris suddenly tenses up - this is not good. “We should meet him soon!”

“NO!” Kris all but screams. His response only makes Chanyeol visibly deflate and pout like an overgrown puppy. Baekhyun sends Kris a withering glare before he shifts all his attention to a pouting Chanyeol by his side.

“There, there,” Baekhyun coos soothingly, patting Chanyeol’s shoulder, “give Kris some alone time with his man first, okay?”

Kyungsoo gives them a weird look, but doesn’t really say anything about it. Kris supposes Kyungsoo has seen Baekhyun and Chanyeol like this enough times that words aren’t really necessary in this situation at all. That, or the weirdness is just really too much for him to say anything else.

“Yeah, and if he’s lucky, maybe this ~mystery~ guy can finally pull Kris away from that actor he’s been obsessively crying over for years.” Jongdae says, still perched and looking so goddamn comfortable in his seat.

Kris chokes on his spit and, this time, Kyungsoo throws him with a weird look.

Well, that could actually work if only said mystery guy and his favorite actor aren’t essentially the same person.

In an attempt to cover up his embarrassing reaction (which just totally gave him away), Kris half-heartedly picks up a piece of lettuce and throws it right at Jongdae’s face. To his dismay though, the lettuce just only ends up falling on Jongdae’s lap. Damn. “Why did I even invite you today.”

“Because you secretly still like my company even though I’m a big pain in the ass most of the time.” Jongdae smirks, sounding utterly confident.

“I think the big pain in the ass part is true. Not really sure about Kris secretly liking your company, though,” Chanyeol butts in. Jongdae scowls and promptly kicks him hard under the table.

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo just stare blankly at them while Kris laments over his horrible choice of friends. Sometimes, Kris can’t really help but think that he’d befriended a bunch of children instead of fully grown adults like himself.

“Anyway,” Baekhyun suddenly says, steering his attention away from the two idiots who are, apparently, not yet done with making a fuss under the table, “just don’t embarrass yourself and I’m sure everything will be fine.”

“Yeah. Just be yourself, hyung. That always works,” Kyungsoo helpfully adds.

Kris frowns. That is obviously a lot easier said than done, especially since it’s no secret that Kris’s self is just really a big embarrassment waiting to happen. But, whatever, he supposes he can just try a little harder to stay away from any kind of mortifying situation in Joonmyun’s presence tomorrow.

“Or you could just try and be anyone but yourself. That seems like an even better advice because we all know how awkward and stiff you get on da-ow fuck!” Jongdae howls as he receives three simultaneous kicks to his leg. It’s painfully obvious where those kicks came from and Jongdae’s quick to throw the fiercest glare that he can muster to the three harassers sitting with him at the table (namely Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo).

Kris feels vindictively pleased at seeing Jongdae’s face scrunch up in pain. Serves him right for even opening his mouth, really.

Jongdae then retaliates by childishly flinging leftover pieces of lettuce to his attackers and, with the way things are going right now, it’s quite clear that Kris won’t be getting anything even remotely helpful out of this.

It doesn’t stop him from being thankful for the distraction, though. Oh, well. Maybe he can reconsider getting a new set of friends some other time.

*

Kris glances at his watch. 4:11 PM. He taps his fingers against the edge of the table and tries to ignore the urge to check the time again. From the corner of his eye, Kris sees the girl behind the counter staring at him, probably debating whether or not she should come up to him and try to ask for his order again (she already did the first two times and Kris politely declined for both).

Well, he does feel bad for staying too long without even ordering something, especially since he’s been here for roughly thirty minutes already. But it’s absolutely not because Joonmyun’s running late, really. Kris just couldn’t handle all this waiting at home and eventually decided to step out and hang around in their meeting place for a bit.

They’ve agreed to meet in the afternoon in this little coffee shop just a few blocks away from his apartment because Joonmyun still had schedules he needed to finish in the morning. Kris absolutely didn’t mind because it gave him enough time to pull himself together and eventually go through all of his clothes to pick a decent outfit. In the end, he decided to settle with t-shirt and jeans, not wanting to seem overdressed or exceedingly casual either.

Kris shifts in his seat, fingers still tapping in time with the slow movement of the second hand of the clock. He tries to look all kinds of patient, really, but with nerves constantly eating at him, it’s kind of difficult to keep still and pretend like he’s totally prepared for today. Which he isn’t obviously.

Kris has all but accepted the fact that no amount of preparation or encouraging self pep talk can really help him get through today. Not when he’s about to spend the remaining of his day with his favorite actor.

Just the thought makes him queasy and Kris feels so sick with anxiety that he might actually throw up and probably ruin this - date, hang out, thing, whatever - before it even starts-

The jingle of the chimes by the front entrance stops another thought from forming inside his head and he looks up just in time to see someone stepping inside the coffee shop and heading straight to his table. Kris stops breathing for a second.

It all feels like a movie, really. Time seems to slow down around him and Kris sees Joonmyun’s every infinitesimal movement as he takes the few steps needed to reach Kris’s table. Everything is ridiculously in slow motion but Kris thinks if there’s a fast-forward button somewhere, he wouldn’t really consider pressing it at all because he kind of really likes staring at Joonmyun like this.

It isn’t long before things eventually return to normal and, with a start, Kris realizes Joonmyun’s currently standing before him in all his flawless glory. He’s wearing a simple shirt and jeans, paired with big sunglasses that almost swallow his little face and a cap perched on his head. Even with all his obvious attempts to disguise himself, Kris still wants to curl into himself and disappear because it literally looks like Joonmyun has stepped out of the runaway just to grace Kris with his presence.

Kris feels like crying a bucket of manly tears because, goddamn, he still can’t figure out what epic deed he’s done in his past life to deserve the precious time of Kim Joonmyun.

“Hi,” Joonmyun says, smiling. He’s so close that Kris can practically smell his perfume and feel his warmth (wait, that last part is probably just his delusional self talking again). “I hope you weren’t waiting for too long?”

It’s only five seconds later when Kris realizes Joonmyun’s talking to him and he inwardly scrambles to come up with an appropriate response, “No-no, I wasn’t, don’t worry.”

Kris berates himself for being so damn eloquent - it’s pretty pathetic how he already needs to wrestle the words out from his throat just a few seconds into their meeting. And it doesn’t really help that Joonmyun’s smile is so distracting and even more blinding up close that Kris needs to resist the urge to close his eyes just so he can’t risk looking even more idiotic than he probably already does.

“Should we get going?” Joonmyun asks. It’s only with undivided attention to Joonmyun’s words that Kris is able to answer with a nod of his head.

Wordlessly, Kris gets up from his seat and promptly follows Joonmyun out of the coffee shop. Now that they’re walking side by side, Kris can’t help but notice their significant height difference. Joonmyun’s really like this adorable, tiny thing that never stops smiling and Kris feels the overwhelming itch to just keep him by his side all the time.

He, however, does his best to try and not think about Perfect Kissing Height. Christ, anything but perfect kissing height, please.

His train of thought is thankfully interrupted when Joonmyun suddenly slows his steps down before stopping altogether in front of a sleek, black car. The realization that this is Joonmyun’s car sinks in pretty quickly and Kris gives himself a moment to flail over the fact that he’s about to ride Joonmyun’s car with Joonmyun as his driver before forcefully squashing that thought altogether. Kris can’t even begin to imagine how many fangirls and fanboys alike would kill to be in his place. Well, probably all 634,134 of them.

It doesn’t take long before they’re both settled inside and Joonmyun’s smoothly driving down the roads of Seoul. In all honesty, Kris had expected the pure silence now drifting between them, the awkward atmosphere they’re currently enveloped in. Because, really, how can he not? He’s not a natural conversationalist like Luhan or Baekhyun, nor is he as funny as Chanyeol or as vocal as most of his friends. Kris knows he’s not any of those but it doesn’t stop him from wanting to be one nonetheless.

The atmosphere is almost stifling and Kris nearly jumps out of his skin when Joonmyun suddenly breaks the tense silence with a question.

“Do you have any particular places that you want to go to today?”

As though sensing Kris’s uneasiness, Joonmyun tries to lighten up the mood and laughs. It’s even more beautiful than the one Kris heard over the phone a few nights ago and, if possible, he just wants to bottle it up and save it forever. “I’m sorry. Do I make you nervous?”

Kris wants to say yes, but he holds his tongue and answers instead, “Just, uh, a little bit.”

“If it makes you feel any better, you-ah-you make me nervous, too.” Joonmyun follows that little confession with a nervous laugh and Kris catches himself really starting to grow fond over Joonmyun’s little habit.

There’s something about Joonmyun’s words that has Kris releasing a sigh of relief. It should feel ridiculous that Kris is all but acknowledging the idea that someone as ordinary as him can make a famous actor like Kim Joonmyun nervous but, oddly enough, Kris only feels stupidly giddy the more he thinks about it.

“If you want we could, um, watch a movie?” Joonmyun suddenly asks, sounding so unsure of his own suggestion.

“Yeah. Movie sounds nice,” Kris agrees. In reality though, Kris never really saw the appeal of paying a few won just to watch something on a gigantic screen (he preferred having movie marathons at home instead). But, whatever, he’s not about to let this opportunity slip through his fingers. No way in hell.

The short trip to the nearest cinema is punctuated with a few, occasional talks here and there, most of which are just short, pointless conversations initiated by Joonmyun to keep the awkward silence from smothering them both. Kris can’t help but feel truly grateful - just the idea that Joonmyun is trying hard enough for the both of them is more than enough to make his heart swell.

Thankfully, the cinema’s a little less crowded today unlike usual. It’s a good thing that they’re doing this on a school day, Kris thinks. More for Joonmyun’s sake than his, really. The nagging thought that someone may actually recognize Joonmyun despite his ridiculous disguise never goes away though, just always lingering in the recesses of his mind and reminding him why this is a bad idea in the first place. Kris isn’t given enough time to dwell on it for long though, because Joonmyun’s already tugging him forward to get their tickets and all Kris can think about is how fucking nice it is to have Joonmyun’s fingers wrapped around his wrist.

“Two tickets, please,” Kris hears Joonmyun say. Earlier, he gave Joonmyun the liberty of picking what they should watch today and it was probably for the best because, looking at the list of movies up for showing right now, Kris doesn’t have a single clue on what’s good and what isn’t.

There’s a fleeting moment where the young girl behind the ticket counter just shamelessly stares at Joonmyun, as though she faintly recognizes the man in the weird outfit but can’t exactly pinpoint where she’d seen him, and Kris feels his heart briefly stop beating. It feels like an eternity just passed before the girl finally hands over their tickets and there’s this weird, screechy noise that slips right out of Kris’s lips when Joonmyun reaches inside his wallet to pay for both of them.

“You didn’t have to pay for my ticket, you know,” Kris tells him a moment later. He tries not to pout and sound like a whiny child in the process because he’s an adult man, for god’s sake. “How much is it? I can pay you ri-”

“Hey,” Joonmyun interrupts, “You don’t have to. I wanted to pay for your ticket, okay? Can’t you just let me off the hook this time?”

Joonmyun couples that request with an almost pleading smile and, goddamn it, Kris just doesn’t have the heart to say no to that. Joonmyun can definitely get his way every time even with the tiniest upward quirk of his lips and Kris thinks he’s never felt so doomed and pathetically helpless in his life until now, really.

“Okay, but at least let me buy snacks for the both of us.” He really can’t have Joonmyun pay for the tickets and the food. That’s just very…unmanly.

“Fine with me,” Joonmyun easily agrees. They head over to the snack counter and Kris almost buys every imaginable food available, if not for Joonmyun’s sudden protest. Still, Kris makes sure they have enough food to last them all throughout the movie (and maybe even after).

Once inside the cinema, they take a moment to let their eyes adjust to the darkness. Joonmyun, much to Kris’ surprise, is even clumsier than he is in the dark and Kris makes it to a point to remember how to breathe properly every time Joonmyun practically trips on air molecules and holds on to his elbow to right himself.

Kris shouldn’t find Joonmyun’s clumsiness adorable, but he does and this is kind of the point where he just starts helplessly wailing inside his head because, literally, every single thing that Joonmyun does now makes him fall a little harder and that is bad.

They stumble to their seats like little ungainly kids, Joonmyun embarrassedly giggling for tripping over his own feet for the nth time and Kris just snickering in amusement. They settle down with their elbows almost touching, a huge bucket of popcorn now resting on Kris’s lap. There’s only a few minutes left before the movie actually starts and Kris tries to keep still and stop his mind from wandering elsewhere.

“Thank you for coming with me to see this movie today,” Joonmyun whispers into his ear. Joonmyun’s voice sends a jolt down his spine and Kris tries not to visibly shiver in his seat. Kris can only nod - there’s a 98% chance that he’s only going to stutter a nervous reply if he so much as opens his mouth and Kris just doesn’t want to risk letting Joonmyun know how such a petty thing can affect him so much.

The opening scene finally begins and, as much as Kris hopes for the movie to grab his interest, it just doesn’t really work that much in his favor. His attempts to ignore every minute shift of Joonmyun’s body in his seat, every quiet laugh he lets out at some point, every sharp intake of breath he makes, are obviously pointless because Joonmyun already has his full attention even when he’s not consciously trying to get it.

Kris isn’t really surprised with that realization, though. With the way Joonmyun quickly wormed his way into his life, not just as the famed actor Kris had spent so many years admiring from afar, but also as a friend, as a confidant, and maybe as something more, Kris supposes this is bound to happen sooner rather than later.

The cinema is obviously the worst place for self-reflections like this because it’s already more than halfway into the movie and Kris is still not sure what it is about. He doesn’t even know what’s happening anymore - wait, where did those robots even fucking come from? - because Joonmyun just sitting so close to him like this is enough of a distraction and his heart feels like it’s going to fall out any second with the way it’s thumping so hard right now. From the corner of his eye, he sees Joonmyun watching the movie so intensely that Kris kind of feels bad that he’s not doing the same.

He’s secretly watching Joonmyun, though. And, in Kris’s mind, Joonmyun is way more interesting than any movie can be. (“Totally whipped,” the Luhan Voice inside his head teases again. It’s quite alarming that Kris doesn’t even do anything to silence it now.)

The movie eventually ends with Kris still clueless over what it was all about. He’s already trying to come with ways on how he can intelligently answer once Joonmyun starts asking him questions about it when Joonmyun suddenly turns to him and asks-

“Did you enjoy watching the movie?”

“Yeah,” Kris replies too quickly. Okay, probably a little too quick to cover up that obvious lie but Kris hopes it’ll convince Joonmyun somehow. It doesn’t look like it did though, because Joonmyun just looks at him weirdly and there’s that expression of evident amusement splayed on his face that has Kris feeling scared for his blatantly lying self for a second.

“I see,” Joonmyun then says. Kris is pretty sure there’s an entire galaxy of meanings behind those two words but he decides not to dwell on it too much. “Let’s have dinner? There’s this little restaurant that I want to bring you to.”

Maybe Kris did save the entire Milky Way in his past life because, wow, this is just too much luck in one day. Honestly, Kris already feels contented with this simple movie night with Joonmyun. But, apparently, the day isn’t just going to end with that and, really, who is he to say no, right?

They end up at this hole-in-the-wall kind of restaurant that’s located, if Kris remembers correctly, just a corner away from Joonmyun’s last drama filming location. He’s heard about this small establishment a few times from his friends, but never really had the time to visit and see for himself what was so praise-worthy about the place. Kris is glad to have the opportunity to check it out now though, and to spend his first dining experience here with Joonmyun just makes it that extra special.

“Oh! It’s you!” The old lady behind the counter exclaims as soon as Joonmyun comes up to make their order. Kris tries not to look too surprised at the fact that she was able to recognize Joonmyun despite his outfit. “It’s been so long since you last came here! Have you been busy these past few weeks?”

“Ah, yes,” Joonmyun answers with a sheepish smile. “I couldn’t even remember the last time I ate here. I really missed eating your food, Mrs. Lee.”

Mrs. Lee just reaches over and pats Joonmyun’s shoulder. “You should come here more often then! And bring Yixing along with you, too! My, I haven’t seen that boy for so long!”

Yixing is Joonmyun’s manager and, judging from the casual way she addresses the two of them in this conversation, Kris can only assume that they’ve been frequenting this place habitually before.

As though only noticing Kris’s presence now, Mrs. Lee shifts her gaze away from Joonmyun’s face and regards the person standing beside him. “Oh! You brought a friend?”

“Yeah, this is Kris. He’s a-um…”

“Someone special?” Mrs. Lee finishes, a knowing smirk on her face. There’s a certain glint in her eyes when she looks at Joonmyun now, like she knows something that Kris doesn’t, and it brings a mixed feeling of confusion and frustration bubbling in his veins.

“Ah-yeah…something like that.” Joonmyun timidly admits. Even with the poor lighting inside the small restaurant, Kris can still distinguish the blush rising on the apple of Joonmyun’s cheeks. Kris would’ve inwardly cooed at the cuteness that is Kim Joonmyun, if only he wasn’t shocked out of his wits from hearing that last statement.

“I’ll cook something special for the both of you tonight then! Go and sit down. I’ll have the food ready for you lovebirds in a while!”

Thankfully, Kris quickly stops himself from choking on his own saliva after hearing that because did she seriously just call them lovebirds?

“I’m really sorry about that. Mrs. Lee tends to talk a….little too much sometimes,” Joonmyun blurts out as soon as they reach their table. He’s still a little flushed and it’s quite hard to miss the embarrassed smile now lighting up his face.

Kris forces himself to speak, if only to stop Joonmyun from apologizing for something he didn’t do. “You don’t need to apologize, really. I’m sure Mrs. Lee didn’t mean anything malicious with that. I must say, it was a really…interesting first meeting, though.”

“Yeah, you could-ah-say that.” Joonmyun nervously laughs.

Waiting for the food to arrive is a bit of an awkward and silent affair, mostly because 1) Kris is still shit at starting up conversations (that probably won’t change anytime soon) and; 2) his mind is still reeling from the fact that Joonmyun just introduced him as someone special to Mrs. Lee. It’s ridiculous because he’s obviously not some schoolgirl experiencing her very first date with her crush but he still feels like one nonetheless and that sounds even more ridiculous now that he thinks about it.

The silence drifting between them is slowly becoming a bit unbearable and Kris is really just about to lose his mind. So when Mrs. Lee finally arrives with a tray chockfull of different dishes and a rather enthusiastic reminder to “eat to your heart’s content lovebirds!”, Kris feels a wave of relief quickly wash over him.

“You know, I haven’t really asked you what your favorite food is.” Kris just quirks a brow at Joonymun’s unexpected question. Joonmyun huffs. “What? I’m really curious!”

Kris can’t help but laugh at Joonymun’s cute reaction before he finally answers, naming a few dishes he’d first tasted when he arrived here in Korea as his favorites. The easy conversation starts from there and Kris can barely believe that this is actually happening right now. For some reason, it’s like all his reluctance to talk just flies right out of the window at this time of the night and he’s starting to relax and really enjoy himself.

Their seemingly never-ending conversation continues all the way through their whole drive to Kris’s apartment and it ends up being the polar opposite of their trip this afternoon. Kris doesn’t remember ever being this talkative - well, aside from those times that he’s in the company of his friends - but it feels nice to actually converse with Joonmyun like this, like he’s got so much words and stories to share to someone he really enjoys being with.

He’s having the greatest time of his life right now and Kris silently hopes for this night to never end.

It eventually does, though - it isn’t too long before Kris finds himself standing in his apartment’s doorway, Joonmyun just standing a few feet away from him, that beautiful smile painted on his face again. The moon shining brightly above just makes everything a little more romantic and Kris tries not let wayward thoughts of a first kiss consume him completely.

“Thank you for today,” Kris finally tells him. “It was really nice. Um, spending time with you, that is.”

“I’m glad I had this opportunity. I’m sure the entire cast would have loved your company as well but…sucks for them.” Joonmyun ends that with a smug grin and Kris doesn’t even hesitate to roll his eyes at that.

Neither of them seems to want to move for a moment and Kris isn’t entirely sure if he’s supposed to do or say something at this point. Just then, he sees Joonmyun opening his mouth, poised to say something, only to have it close again. This continues on for a few more times but, by the end, Joonmyun just gives up and minutely shakes his head.

Kris feels a pang of disappointment for some reason.

“Anyway, I better go,” Joonmyun says. Kris tries not to hear that tinge of regret (for what, he’s not really sure) in his voice. “Goodnight, Kris. Sleep well.”

“Yeah. You too.”

When the front door clicks shut, Kris heads straight to his room and proceeds to throw himself on the bed, all but ready to roll around in giddiness and frustration (just a little bit!). His phone suddenly vibrating inside his pants pocket only stops him from doing so.

From: Joonmyun n_____n
I had a really lovely time tonight!
I hope we can do it again soon. ^^

Kris’s eyebrows scrunch up in confusion. It hasn’t even been five minutes since Joonmyun dropped him off to his apartment. Did he even leave? Before Kris can even pull up a blank message for his own reply, his phone beeps again.

From: Joonmyun n_____n
Actually, I have two tickets to this
soccer game next week. Maybe you
can watch it with me? >//<

Kris silently laughs after reading Joonmyun’s last message. Is this what he’s been trying to ask Kris all along? Joonmyun has always been the more straightforward between them so it’s rather rare to see him shy and hesitant like this. But, in all honesty, Kris thinks he really likes seeing this side of Joonmyun now. He actually likes it a whole fucking lot.

To: Joonmyun n_____n
Sure. It’s a date, then. :)

It’s probably the most clichéd thing Kris has ever said to someone, but he really can’t give a single damn at this point. Because, right now, Kris is just too happy to even feel disgusted with himself. His phone beeps once again and, as if on cue, the most besotted smile he’s ever had in a while now tugs at his lips.

From: Joonmyun n_____n
I’m already looking forward to it. ♥

(The next morning sees Luhan barging through his front door again and it really would have felt a lot like déjà vu if only Luhan wasn’t looking like a raging bull out to get his target, nostrils practically flaring as he angrily stomps his way to Kris’s bedroom.

“WU YIFAN, YOU FUCKING OWE ME DETAILS!!”)

one | two

notes:
- oh man, it’s finally dooooone! this fic only happened because I wanted to write krisho date and I told daeseol about it. instead of stopping me, he actually urged me to write it out and…yeah. I swear I don’t have a goddamn idea how it turned out to be this……big mess iM SORRY :<
- huge, huge thanks to everyone who read this through for me. especially to B and I for holding my hand throughout the entire fic. and to tlist for enduring my constant whining about this!
- if you, by some miracle, were able to finish this 15k mess, congratulations! :D here, have a shiny gold star~