(i want to) engrave you in my heart
pairing sehun/minseok
rating pg-13
genre romance, fluff(??), humor(??)
length ~4,800w
warning(s) language, luchen, unbetaed, too many conversations
summary in retrospect, sehun really shouldn't have agreed to go as jongin's replacement for that blind date.
A/N written for xiukisses' sexiu valentine's day project! first attempt at writing for this pairing, idk how this turned out tbh. i hope everyone likes it, nevertheless! <3 title from tts' "only u"
"... You're not serious."
"I am, you fucker." Kim Jongin glares at his roommate slash best friend as he burrows deeper into the ever-growing pile of blankets on his bed. "You could even go and get a goddamn thermometer to check if I'm currently dying with the plague, or something."
Oh Sehun scoffs and crosses his arms over his chest. "I know you're sick, dude. What I mean is, I'm not going to that blind date like you're asking - I mean, forcing - me to."
He only raises a perfectly-sculpted brow when Jongin peeks out from under his makeshift fort to make a kicked puppy expression. "You do realize that I'm probably the only person aside from Joonmyun hyung who's immune to that look, right?"
Jongin grunts and kicks at the sheets until he sits up. "And you do realize that by me not going to that blind date, you are potentially helping my mother in her plans of annihilating me. You know how she's been ever since I came out and told her I was gay." Sehun groans. Jongin always uses his 'mommy card' when he can't get what he wants; it isn't his fault that his best friend's such a Mama's Boy.
But alas, he has a soft spot for the dweeb, and Sehun can feel it, can feel himself caving in. "Give me a reason why I should do it."
Jongin scratches at his head. "Because of my mom." When Sehun glares at him, he raises both hands to placate him. "And also because I've talked to the guy on the phone, and he seemed really sweet. It'd be a shame to just leave him hanging like that."
Oh, so now he's a Good Guy. "Since when did you even care about your dates?"
Jongin throws a pillow at him out of sheer frustration. "Just go, you ass. You don't even have to stay; you can just explain to him that I'm currently sick, and ask him if we could take a rain check on that date."
Sehun only grunts and pushes himself off the doorway, wincing when he finally feels the part where the doorjamb was digging into his side.
--
Exactly 45 minutes later, Sehun stands outside a quaint coffee shop, dressed in the most formal clothes he could wear - polo, jeans, and sweater from Jongin; shoes almost from Jongin, but Sehun hates faux leather shoes and opted for his own red sneakers (he barely managed to get away before his best friend tried to attack him and wrench the dreaded shoes off; thank God for sick Jongin).
He checks his watch and looks around (slightly) impatiently. If there's anyone who's late, it's definitely not him. Sehun makes a mental note to remind Jongin that's it's not "tradition to be on time for a blind date", or whatever reminder the other threw at him as he was heading out the front door ("Don't forget to be a gentleman!" "STOP BEING A MOM, JONGIN.").
Sehun's got the basics down (thanks to Jongin; he isn't his mother's son for nothing): greet the other person nicely, make a good impression, talk about anything comfortable - basically just his best friend's mild threat for Sehun to keep his mind-mouth filter in check. That's it. Nothing spectacular. Sehun didn't know that the dating world could be this boring; his Clash of Clans was way better than this.
"... Jongin? Kim Jongin?"
He whips his head around (and almost has the, possibly, worst case of vertigo), and comes face-to-face with possibly the worst (read: best) person ever. "Um, hi?"
"Oh, good." The other person sighs in relief. "I was worried that you'd be one of those types that if I was a bit late, leave within five minutes."
Sehun's brain goes haywire and forgets to correct the person that he's not Jongin, I'm Sehun, his best friend who was somehow coerced into going to this blind date. Jongin is currently dying in my head so please bear with me for a few minutes.
"So, let's get inside? It's slightly cold out here." Sehun only nods, discreetly whipping out his phone to send a haphazardly-formulated KakaoTalk to Jongin. He's so screwed when Sehun gets home.
to: jongout <3
oM GF JNOGNI U DIDNT SAY U WERE GOING 2 C KIM MINSEOK.
--
to: she-hun >:)
dat's the whole point of a blind d8, idiot. who's minseok btw
Sehun almost throws his phone against the window, but looks up and sees Minseok smiling at him from where he's standing in line to order their drinks, and that keeps him in check. He smiles back while typing away furiously (his fingers remember the keyboard well enough for him to not look while texting at times), nodding when Minseok flashes him a thumbs-up, as if to ask, "Are you alright there?"
to: jongout <3
u nvr listen 2 me. kim minseok. macroecon irreg? short dude, prominent adam's, x double eyelids?
to: she-hun >:)
ah. that irreg who's got u whipped?
to: jongout <3
I AM NOT WHIPPED U ASS
to: she-hun >:)
wtvr. so he's the d8? must be ur lucky day. have fun! :o :) ;) XD
Sehun quietly snorts at the influx of emoticons. There are things called emojis, and Jongin isn't exactly using the oldest smartphone model in the entire universe. (It doesn't help that his model is even newer than Sehun's, courtesy of his older sisters. That brat.)
to: jongout <3
istg, if u planned this...
to: she-hun >:)
i didnt ok. but do tell him that he can d8 u instead ;)
to: jongout <3
fuck u
to: she-hun >:)
luv u too dood :*
"So," Sehun startles when Minseok places a steaming cup of americano in front of him, "hi? I'm Minseok, by the way, not that I haven't told you before." The other chuckles and rubs at the back of his neck before extending his hand for - what else? - a handshake.
This is it, Sehun thinks, I should tell him I'm not Jongin. But no, thinking is apparently better than doing, because Sehun's tongue is currently glued to the roof of his mouth, and he can't speak. He wordlessly takes out his own hand and clasps the smaller one into his own, chuckling when Minseok smiles gleefully.
The rest of the date (Sehun tries so hard not to look entirely giddy whenever he thinks of the word) passes by quite smoothly; aside from Minseok referring to him as "Jongin", that is. But Sehun's too into it to even care about that tiny little thing, and long before they both knew it, the glare of the afternoon sun was replaced by orange hues as it slowly starts to set.
They both part with wistful goodbyes around a quarter before 6PM, Minseok promising to keep in touch and thanking Sehun for a very wonderful afternoon. That leaves Sehun with a grin on his face (possibly the biggest he's ever sported his entire life), and he goes home with a slight skip in his step.
He even forgets to strangle Jongin when he gets back to their shared apartment. Never mind the catcalls and wriggling eyebrows; Sehun's had a great day, and he's not allowing Jongin to ruin that.
--
Turns out, Jongin isn't going to be the one who's gonna ruin it.
Sehun leaves his room just in time for dinner, and he's met with (more like pulled down to) a solid chest and blubbers of "My boy is all grown up!". Oh, great. Why did he forget to kill Jongin earlier again?
"Jongdae," Sehun grumbles, still muffled by the fabric. "Will you please stop suffocating me?" Said man might be shorter than Sehun by a few inches, but he's packed underneath all those clothes; Jongdae's deceptively slight for a somewhat-buff man.
Thankfully, the older gets the message and promptly lets him go, Sehun immediately adjusting his shirt collar that has somewhat tightened around his neck earlier as he gets pulled into the kitchen. "What are you even doing - YOU LEAVE THAT ALONE." Sehun yanks his Nutella jar from yet another short male, however this one sports light blonde hair that bobs as he tries to pry the jar away from Sehun's hands.
"Is this how he normally treats guests?" Luhan looks over at Jongin, who's perched himself on top of the counter near the sink. Jongin merely shrugs, taking another bite out of his sandwich - Sehun sees brown goop from the sides and glowers at his best friend.
"YOU TRAITOR." Obviously, Jongin didn't care even a (teeny-tiny) bit, rolling his eyes and stuffing the remains of the sandwich into his mouth and chomping it obnoxiously in Sehun's direction, yawning even as Sehun makes to throttle him (to no avail; Jongdae's stronger than he is, and he yanks at Sehun's collar hard enough to make him choke each time he moves forward).
Exactly ten minutes and a calmer Sehun later, Luhan sits down on the chair directly opposite his and props his head on his hands. "So, a date, huh? What made you think of that?"
Sehun promptly burns his tongue as he accidentally sips more coffee than he originally intended. "First," he replies while he tries to recover his taste buds, "it wasn't my date. Second, I'm perfectly happy with my single life."
Both Luhan and Jongdae raise an eyebrow at the last statement, but didn't comment anyway. "But who's the unlucky guy?"
Sehun rolls his eyes. "Kim Minseok." Oh, boy, the self-control he needs to stop himself from smiling just by saying the name.
"Kim Minseok? As in Mechanical Engineering major Kim Minseok?" Both his elders look so surprised that it's Sehun's turn to raise an eyebrow, because how was he supposed to know what Minseok was majoring in? It was all just friendly talk. (Sehun really hopes it was something more.)
"He didn't tell me what he's majoring in, just that we go to the same university." Damnit, Sehun inwardly curses. "How did you know what he's majoring in, anyway?"
"He's part of the uni's chorale," is what Jongdae replies, at the same time Luhan chirps, "He's co-captain of the soccer team."
"Jesus." Now it's Jongin who speaks up. "Does he do everything?" When all three heads whip towards his direction and he spots some wiggling eyebrows, he lets out a long-suffering sigh. "I meant acads and co-curriculars, idiots. Not people. Seriously."
"Well, we'll just have to find out," Jongdae says. Luhan nods.
Sehun glares at them. "'We'? You're technically just intruding here." When Jongdae and Luhan sputter out (obviously) nonsensical excuses as to why Sehun shouldn't kick them out (of course they used the bro code; wait, what bro code?), he stands up and pushes them out of the room. "Now out, the apartment's already cramped enough with me and Jongin in it."
He slams the door to the duo's catcalls and well-wishes for his "new relationship" (and chooses to ignore because they never do well-wishes). Minutes later, Sehun almosts faceplants himself on the kitchen table as he hears obnoxious cries of "Hun and Min, sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G" from the parking lot of their tenement.
He isn't so sure if he committed some kind of atrocity in his past life for him to deserve friends like them.
--
Minseok does keep in touch.
He wakes Sehun up with "good morning" texts every day (Sehun screams his adoration into his pillow because Jongin's still snoring), sends him random messages on KakaoTalk about how his own day was going (Sehun finds his inherent hatred for Trigonometry so goddamn cute), and bombards him with stickers on Line (Sehun doesn't ever regret giving him every single one of his SNS accounts).
Thing is, Minseok's stopped attending their Macroeconomics class.
The first day, Sehun's shrugged it off, thinking that maybe he was down with the cold, or something. One day turned to two, and by the end of the week, he hasn't seen the older one at all. It's grating on his nerves, yet he can't muster up the courage to ask Minseok over the numerous conversation threads they have on his SNS accounts: "Why haven't you been attending class?" or "Are you alright?" or "Did you drop the subject?"
No courage, and the fact that he can't let Minseok know that they're classmates for Macroecon.
His life is so ruined.
--
"My life is so ruined," Sehun wails after he plops himself down on the chair directly in front of Jongin, earning him glares from other students in nearby tables. Sehun apologizes and, "Holy shit, I forgot we were inside the library," he whispers.
Jongin just chuckles. "Let me guess," he puts down his pen and props his head onto one arm, "you bombed your PharChem practicals."
"Yes," Sehun hisses. "And that shouldn't be even considered a quiz. Who gives a practical that's worth a hundred and fifty points!? That's the entire midterm, damn it." He sobs and bangs his head (softly, unless he wants to die early in the hands of his schoolmates) against the table, then stops and looks at Jongin. "Do you think I should shift? Pharmacy to - I don't know - Architecture, maybe?"
"And leave me trying to crawl my way out of this? Nope," Jongin pops the 'p' and eyes Sehun. "Look, you told me you wanted to become a doctor, I did too, so we chose this for pre-med. You're not quitting halfway, dumbass. Plus, we both know that you can't even draw a proper 3D house to save your life." He raises an eyebrow.
Sehun pouts. "You have a point, but I'm sick of this," he gestures to the mountain of books piled around them - he's valiantly trying not to throw a tantrum in the middle of everything.
Jongin rolls his eyes. "Then how the heck are you going to survive med school if you're sick of studying, idiot." He taps Sehun on the forehead with his pen and resumes working, prompting the other to start hitting his own books as well. Minutes later, he asks, "So, how's that thing going on with Minseok, by the way?"
"Hm?" Sehun looks up from his Pharmacognosy notes at the question, and blushes when he realizes what his best friend just asked. "Oh. Yeah, it's fine. We're fine. Doing great, actually."
"You're stuttering," Jongin chuckles even as he's busy rewriting his notes. "And even if I'm not looking, I'm pretty sure your face is the same color as the curtains of the library right now." Which doesn't help, in Sehun's case; the library's curtains are a hideous shade of burgundy red.
"If you are implying that I am blushing right now, then you are sorely mistaken," came Sehun's indignant reply. Then, too fast for him to even comprehend what was happening, Jongin's whipped out his phone and taken a picture of his face, showing it to him afterwards.
Sehun groans; yep, even the tips of his ears are red.
"Whatever." He pushes the phone away and starts scribbling furiously on his notebook. "I haven't seen him the entire week; he probably dropped Macroecon. BUT," Sehun grins triumphantly, "he's been texting me. So that's something."
"Nice," Jongin comments blandly, eyes again glued to his books. "So, has he asked you out again? Or have you asked him?"
"What?" Sehun sputters. "Why would I?"
The exasperated look Jongin gives him bugs him to no end, so he cocks his head in confusion. "It's common sense to have a second date if you liked the first one, Sehun. Why are you so dense."
"Oh. OH." Sehun's eyes widen and he scrambles for his phone. He almost opens KakaoTalk, but then he asks Jongin, voice smaller than usual and eyes filled with concern, "oh. Should I? I mean, am I supposed to? We're not even dating --"
"You don't have to be dating to ask anyone out on a date, Sehun." Jongin leans over the table and takes Sehun's shoulders into his hands. "Just ask him; it's better than you repeating your last name to me over and over again."
Sehun makes a face and pushes Jongin's hands off. "I'll contact him later," he mumbles, hastily packing up his things and standing to head towards his next class, when the bell rings. "See you later, dude."
"Make sure you call him!" Jongin says, and when Sehun looks back, he sees his best friend's eyes shining with mirth.
Sehun just fondly flips him the bird,
--
Sehun can't concentrate.
He's been reading his Pharmaceutics handouts since 5 in the afternoon, and he's still on page one; never mind the fact that it's already 7 in the evening, he just essentially wasted two good hours meant for studying, and that he has 73 - no, 74 - more pages to go.
Sehun grunts and shifts so that he's lying tummy down on his bed. "I can't do this," he mutters, looking at his phone disdainfully as if it has the ability of actually mocking him and his methods of preserving any scrap of dignity he has left. He picks it up anyway.
to: <3 minseok <3
hey, i was wondering if u wanna hang out soon?
Nah, too straightforward. Sehun deletes it.
to: <3 minseok <3
hey there :) u free during the weekend? let's get coffee. or sumthing.
Beating around the bush, plus I used an emoticon. Ew. Nope. Sehun deletes that one, too.
to: <3 minseok <3
wieudhsjdwefhuirn pls d8 me 4ever senpai <3 <3 <3
Screw it, Sehun thinks. He opens Minseok's KakaoTalk profile and hovers his thumb over the 'Call' button. "This is it," he sighs, and presses said button.
Minseok answers just two rings in. "Hey."
"Um, hi," Sehun goes in for the kill. "So I was wondering, we, um, haven't seen each other for a while." Dear Lord, he's sweating all over and he almost drops the phone. Whatever.
"AreyoufreethisweekendbecauseIkindawannaaskyououtonadate."
A beat passes. Two. By the third, he hears Minseok laugh. "You know, you could have breathed in between words. But yes, okay." He laughs some more, soft chuckles that tickle Sehun's chest and almost make him want to cry in relief. "See you this Saturday, then? Same coffee shop?"
Sehun nods, but remembers that they're talking over the phone (he slaps himself for being so stupid), and replies to the affirmative. He's too giddy that he does silent screams and thrashes about in his bed while biting on his fist to keep himself quiet. When he deems himself calm enough, he says, "So, yeah. Goodnight, then."
He's pretty sure he can hear Minseok smile through the phone. "Goodnight to you too, Jongin."
Beep. Jongin. Beep. Jongin? Beep.
HOLY FUCK, HE THINKS I'M STILL JONGIN.
--
"I have a problem."
Jongdae grunts and proceeds to steal more fries from Sehun's tray; the latter doesn't even bother to swat the hands away from his food. "It's the first time that you confided in us, do you realize that?" Luhan, mouth stuffed full of his cheeseburger, says.
"Yeah, whatever." Sehun dismisses that. "I have a problem. A very big problem."
Jongdae rolls his eyes. "How big is it that you keep on repeating it, anyway?" His eyes widen. "You're not failing your classes, are you?"
"What? No," Sehun mashes a fry into his tiny ketchup container. "Uh, it's about Minseok."
As if they're in some sort of gag show, both Jongdae and Luhan freeze and stop whatever they're doing and give each other knowing grins. "Oooh, love problems."
"He thinks I'm Jongin."
Jongdae sputters on his Coke, Luhan chokes on his burger. "He what!?" They chorus as Sehun slaps their backs to help them.
"Don't make me repeat that," he mutters.
For the first time since they met, Luhan's the one looking at him as if he's just grown another head. "Why in the entire fucking world would he think that you're Jongin?"
Nodding, Jongdae pipes up, "Don't tell me you didn't bother telling Minseok that you were just a friend that his actual," he pushes his face into Sehun's, effectively cramping his space, "date sent to inform him about said date being sick."
"I forgot, okay? He just.. sort of started talking and I lost myself," Sehun flails, one arm almost connecting with Luhan's face. He swears and stuffs a handful of fries into his mouth (he should have upgraded everything to Large, damn it).
"Then tell him."
"What?" Sehun eyes Luhan incredulously. The latter sighs.
"Tell him the truth, Sehunnie." Luhan repeats.
Said boy huffs out a laugh. "I swear, you guys are always out to see if I'm digging up a hole for it to become my grave or something."
Jongdae swallows his burger and points out, "You started digging that hole the minute you refused to tell Minseok who you really are. I say you just continue and see whether you fall into that pit or if you still have a chance of getting out."
Even Luhan stares at the younger. "That was the most profound thing you've ever said in your entire existence, Dae."
Jongdae makes a face and throws a fry at Luhan. "That's because I'm smarter than you think, dumbass. I'm not an Applied Mathematics major if I weren't."
"He actually has a point," Sehun mumbles.
--
Sehun is so screwed.
"Should I buy him flowers? Do I have to give him a gift? Maybe he doesn't like gifts!" He's pacing back and forth in their apartment's living room, still in his pajamas but his eyes are as wide as Jongin's circular mirror in the nearby corridor.
Jongin yawns from where he's sitting on the single couch. "It's only 9 in the morning, Sehun. Give it a rest."
"But we're meeting in - oh, I don't know - 6 hours!" He flops down between Jongdae and Luhan, squeezing them further into the sides of the loveseat. For some reason, the two arrived 30 minutes earlier; Sehun was still fast asleep and they immediately tackled him out of Dreamland while saying "Wakey wakey!" at the top of their (God bless them) lungs.
"I didn't even know what to wear," Sehun groans, and snuggles into Jongdae's much-warmer body. At least Luhan's exuberantly offered to help him with the whole clothes dilemma.
"Remember your first date with him?" Jongdae asks, and Sehun nods. "Just... relive that. You don't have to be prepared or anything." Sehun contemplates, listening. "From the looks of it, Minseok doesn't seem like the type who loves extravagance, anyway."
"Look at the Love Guru talking," Jongin hoots. Jongdae throws the nearest slipper - Luhan's - at him.
"Shut up."
--
Sehun's teeth are chattering, and it's not even that cold.
He's early for their date (again), and he's sitting in the exact same table where they had their first date. This time, though, it isn't a blind date, Sehun muses, and promptly has his stomach churning in a mixture of anxiety and anticipation. He's not even going to complain if Minseok turns up late again.
"Hey there."
Sehun startles and looks up at a breathless Minseok, dressed in (possibly) the cutest sweater ever - white with yellow rubber duckies. Sehun has to stop his urge to coo. "Have you been waiting long?"
"Nah, just got here not too long ago. Here, have a seat," he stands up and pulls out the chair directly in front of his. (Sehun thinks Jongin's way of charming people has finally rubbed off on him.)
Minseok may be surprised, but he does a good job of concealing it. "Thanks," he smiles. "Have you ordered yet?"
This is it, damn it Sehun, stop sticking your tongue to the roof of your mouth, he inwardly chastises himself. "Um, before we do, I - I have to tell you something." He swallows; somehow he's developed an excess of saliva in his mouth.
When he looks at Minseok, he sees an expectant smile.
"I - I'm not who you think I am," Sehun finally breathes out. He sees Minseok cross his arms over his chest and lean back on his seat.
"Pray tell me what you're talking about."
Another deep breath. "I'm... not Jongin. Kim Jongin? The one who you were supposed to go on a blind date with? I'm not him. I'm just his best friend." Thankfully, Minseok looks like he's ready to listen, so Sehun continues. "He actually sent me that day to tell you that he was sick, but then you just... started referring to me as him."
"Then why didn't you correct me?" Minseok's voice was controlled, as well as his features; Sehun isn't sure whether he's mad or not.
"I totally forgot about that. So, um, if you want to punch me or leave, or something, you can do that now." Sehun's not sure whether just a punch would satisfy Minseok, and he inwardly cringes. "I'm just... I'm really, really sorry. Minseok hyung."
Silence. Sehun slowly looks up, expecting no one at the other end, but he's met with Minseok's grinning face - it's as if he wasn't trying to explain himself just a minute ago. "... Hyung?"
"I know, Sehunnie."
Sehun sputters. "What?" He looks at Minseok uncertainly, who has now started guffawing. "How...?"
Minseok wipes at the tears that have gathered in the corners of his eyes. "Let's just say that you weren't the only one keeping secrets."
Sehun still can't believe it. "But how...?"
"You see, Jongin is - well, he's actually my cousin," Minseok explains, smile so wide Sehun almost worries that he might break his own face into half doing so, but he's too busy killing Jongin in his mind. "As for your other friends - Jongdae and Luhan - they were unexpected. So I had to bribe them." Screw that, Sehun's actually going to plan a mass homicide. "Imagine me treating them to their favorite restaurants every day for a whole week. My wallet was practically drained."
"... And you didn't tell me?"
"I could say the same thing to you, Sehunnie." Minseok winks.
"But I was planning to!" Sehun unconsciously pouts. Minseok coos and leans over the table to pinch his cheek; he swats that away and hides so that Minseok doesn't see him blush. "You were in cahoots with them; I was alone."
When he looks up again, Minseok's smiling at him fondly. "You know, this is exactly the reason why I asked Jongin to set me up with you."
"What." There he goes again, being all articulate and eloquent.
Minseok shrugs. "You were just too cute. Everytime I looked back at you and Jongin during Macroecon, it's either you're both busy throwing wads of paper at each other, or you were sleeping. I can't help it." He grins.
"Oh God, you're embarrassing me," Sehun covers his face with the hood of his jacket in shame. "I'm seriously going to kill Jongin, Jongdae, and Luhan for this."
In a minute, he feels Minseok sitting next to him. "But you have a lot to thank them for, don't you think? Jongin even set you up with the 'irreg who's got you whipped'." Sehun turns his head so fast he thinks he almost detached it from his body. "Did I get that right?"
"He told you that!?" Sehun screeches, tightening his hold on his hood.
Minseok shakes his head. "Nope, I was just snooping around Jongin's phone that day and found your conversation." He laughs.
Sehun just makes a sound akin to both a gurgle and a cry of frustration. He's never going to live this down.
--
"Well, how did your date go?" Jongin bombards him with questions the minute he steps into the foyer.
"Fine."
"Just 'fine'? Come on Sehun, you can do better than that." Jongdae pouts. "Tell us some juicy deets."
"He's officially my boyfriend."
Sehun closes the door to his room to the sounds of the Cheshire Cat, Tweedledum, Tweedledee (Jongin, Jongdae, Luhan, respectively) hooting out Minseok's name and singing the dreadful K-I-S-S-I-N-G song (again). Whatever.
(He doesn't end up killing them, but there's something very satisfying seeing them scratching numerous itches on their body the next day.)
(Sehun reminds himself to thank Minseok for the itching powder.)
rating pg-13
genre romance, fluff(??), humor(??)
length ~4,800w
warning(s) language, luchen, unbetaed, too many conversations
summary in retrospect, sehun really shouldn't have agreed to go as jongin's replacement for that blind date.
A/N written for xiukisses' sexiu valentine's day project! first attempt at writing for this pairing, idk how this turned out tbh. i hope everyone likes it, nevertheless! <3 title from tts' "only u"
"... You're not serious."
"I am, you fucker." Kim Jongin glares at his roommate slash best friend as he burrows deeper into the ever-growing pile of blankets on his bed. "You could even go and get a goddamn thermometer to check if I'm currently dying with the plague, or something."
Oh Sehun scoffs and crosses his arms over his chest. "I know you're sick, dude. What I mean is, I'm not going to that blind date like you're asking - I mean, forcing - me to."
He only raises a perfectly-sculpted brow when Jongin peeks out from under his makeshift fort to make a kicked puppy expression. "You do realize that I'm probably the only person aside from Joonmyun hyung who's immune to that look, right?"
Jongin grunts and kicks at the sheets until he sits up. "And you do realize that by me not going to that blind date, you are potentially helping my mother in her plans of annihilating me. You know how she's been ever since I came out and told her I was gay." Sehun groans. Jongin always uses his 'mommy card' when he can't get what he wants; it isn't his fault that his best friend's such a Mama's Boy.
But alas, he has a soft spot for the dweeb, and Sehun can feel it, can feel himself caving in. "Give me a reason why I should do it."
Jongin scratches at his head. "Because of my mom." When Sehun glares at him, he raises both hands to placate him. "And also because I've talked to the guy on the phone, and he seemed really sweet. It'd be a shame to just leave him hanging like that."
Oh, so now he's a Good Guy. "Since when did you even care about your dates?"
Jongin throws a pillow at him out of sheer frustration. "Just go, you ass. You don't even have to stay; you can just explain to him that I'm currently sick, and ask him if we could take a rain check on that date."
Sehun only grunts and pushes himself off the doorway, wincing when he finally feels the part where the doorjamb was digging into his side.
--
Exactly 45 minutes later, Sehun stands outside a quaint coffee shop, dressed in the most formal clothes he could wear - polo, jeans, and sweater from Jongin; shoes almost from Jongin, but Sehun hates faux leather shoes and opted for his own red sneakers (he barely managed to get away before his best friend tried to attack him and wrench the dreaded shoes off; thank God for sick Jongin).
He checks his watch and looks around (slightly) impatiently. If there's anyone who's late, it's definitely not him. Sehun makes a mental note to remind Jongin that's it's not "tradition to be on time for a blind date", or whatever reminder the other threw at him as he was heading out the front door ("Don't forget to be a gentleman!" "STOP BEING A MOM, JONGIN.").
Sehun's got the basics down (thanks to Jongin; he isn't his mother's son for nothing): greet the other person nicely, make a good impression, talk about anything comfortable - basically just his best friend's mild threat for Sehun to keep his mind-mouth filter in check. That's it. Nothing spectacular. Sehun didn't know that the dating world could be this boring; his Clash of Clans was way better than this.
"... Jongin? Kim Jongin?"
He whips his head around (and almost has the, possibly, worst case of vertigo), and comes face-to-face with possibly the worst (read: best) person ever. "Um, hi?"
"Oh, good." The other person sighs in relief. "I was worried that you'd be one of those types that if I was a bit late, leave within five minutes."
Sehun's brain goes haywire and forgets to correct the person that he's not Jongin, I'm Sehun, his best friend who was somehow coerced into going to this blind date. Jongin is currently dying in my head so please bear with me for a few minutes.
"So, let's get inside? It's slightly cold out here." Sehun only nods, discreetly whipping out his phone to send a haphazardly-formulated KakaoTalk to Jongin. He's so screwed when Sehun gets home.
to: jongout <3
oM GF JNOGNI U DIDNT SAY U WERE GOING 2 C KIM MINSEOK.
--
to: she-hun >:)
dat's the whole point of a blind d8, idiot. who's minseok btw
Sehun almost throws his phone against the window, but looks up and sees Minseok smiling at him from where he's standing in line to order their drinks, and that keeps him in check. He smiles back while typing away furiously (his fingers remember the keyboard well enough for him to not look while texting at times), nodding when Minseok flashes him a thumbs-up, as if to ask, "Are you alright there?"
to: jongout <3
u nvr listen 2 me. kim minseok. macroecon irreg? short dude, prominent adam's, x double eyelids?
to: she-hun >:)
ah. that irreg who's got u whipped?
to: jongout <3
I AM NOT WHIPPED U ASS
to: she-hun >:)
wtvr. so he's the d8? must be ur lucky day. have fun! :o :) ;) XD
Sehun quietly snorts at the influx of emoticons. There are things called emojis, and Jongin isn't exactly using the oldest smartphone model in the entire universe. (It doesn't help that his model is even newer than Sehun's, courtesy of his older sisters. That brat.)
to: jongout <3
istg, if u planned this...
to: she-hun >:)
i didnt ok. but do tell him that he can d8 u instead ;)
to: jongout <3
fuck u
to: she-hun >:)
luv u too dood :*
"So," Sehun startles when Minseok places a steaming cup of americano in front of him, "hi? I'm Minseok, by the way, not that I haven't told you before." The other chuckles and rubs at the back of his neck before extending his hand for - what else? - a handshake.
This is it, Sehun thinks, I should tell him I'm not Jongin. But no, thinking is apparently better than doing, because Sehun's tongue is currently glued to the roof of his mouth, and he can't speak. He wordlessly takes out his own hand and clasps the smaller one into his own, chuckling when Minseok smiles gleefully.
The rest of the date (Sehun tries so hard not to look entirely giddy whenever he thinks of the word) passes by quite smoothly; aside from Minseok referring to him as "Jongin", that is. But Sehun's too into it to even care about that tiny little thing, and long before they both knew it, the glare of the afternoon sun was replaced by orange hues as it slowly starts to set.
They both part with wistful goodbyes around a quarter before 6PM, Minseok promising to keep in touch and thanking Sehun for a very wonderful afternoon. That leaves Sehun with a grin on his face (possibly the biggest he's ever sported his entire life), and he goes home with a slight skip in his step.
He even forgets to strangle Jongin when he gets back to their shared apartment. Never mind the catcalls and wriggling eyebrows; Sehun's had a great day, and he's not allowing Jongin to ruin that.
--
Turns out, Jongin isn't going to be the one who's gonna ruin it.
Sehun leaves his room just in time for dinner, and he's met with (more like pulled down to) a solid chest and blubbers of "My boy is all grown up!". Oh, great. Why did he forget to kill Jongin earlier again?
"Jongdae," Sehun grumbles, still muffled by the fabric. "Will you please stop suffocating me?" Said man might be shorter than Sehun by a few inches, but he's packed underneath all those clothes; Jongdae's deceptively slight for a somewhat-buff man.
Thankfully, the older gets the message and promptly lets him go, Sehun immediately adjusting his shirt collar that has somewhat tightened around his neck earlier as he gets pulled into the kitchen. "What are you even doing - YOU LEAVE THAT ALONE." Sehun yanks his Nutella jar from yet another short male, however this one sports light blonde hair that bobs as he tries to pry the jar away from Sehun's hands.
"Is this how he normally treats guests?" Luhan looks over at Jongin, who's perched himself on top of the counter near the sink. Jongin merely shrugs, taking another bite out of his sandwich - Sehun sees brown goop from the sides and glowers at his best friend.
"YOU TRAITOR." Obviously, Jongin didn't care even a (teeny-tiny) bit, rolling his eyes and stuffing the remains of the sandwich into his mouth and chomping it obnoxiously in Sehun's direction, yawning even as Sehun makes to throttle him (to no avail; Jongdae's stronger than he is, and he yanks at Sehun's collar hard enough to make him choke each time he moves forward).
Exactly ten minutes and a calmer Sehun later, Luhan sits down on the chair directly opposite his and props his head on his hands. "So, a date, huh? What made you think of that?"
Sehun promptly burns his tongue as he accidentally sips more coffee than he originally intended. "First," he replies while he tries to recover his taste buds, "it wasn't my date. Second, I'm perfectly happy with my single life."
Both Luhan and Jongdae raise an eyebrow at the last statement, but didn't comment anyway. "But who's the unlucky guy?"
Sehun rolls his eyes. "Kim Minseok." Oh, boy, the self-control he needs to stop himself from smiling just by saying the name.
"Kim Minseok? As in Mechanical Engineering major Kim Minseok?" Both his elders look so surprised that it's Sehun's turn to raise an eyebrow, because how was he supposed to know what Minseok was majoring in? It was all just friendly talk. (Sehun really hopes it was something more.)
"He didn't tell me what he's majoring in, just that we go to the same university." Damnit, Sehun inwardly curses. "How did you know what he's majoring in, anyway?"
"He's part of the uni's chorale," is what Jongdae replies, at the same time Luhan chirps, "He's co-captain of the soccer team."
"Jesus." Now it's Jongin who speaks up. "Does he do everything?" When all three heads whip towards his direction and he spots some wiggling eyebrows, he lets out a long-suffering sigh. "I meant acads and co-curriculars, idiots. Not people. Seriously."
"Well, we'll just have to find out," Jongdae says. Luhan nods.
Sehun glares at them. "'We'? You're technically just intruding here." When Jongdae and Luhan sputter out (obviously) nonsensical excuses as to why Sehun shouldn't kick them out (of course they used the bro code; wait, what bro code?), he stands up and pushes them out of the room. "Now out, the apartment's already cramped enough with me and Jongin in it."
He slams the door to the duo's catcalls and well-wishes for his "new relationship" (and chooses to ignore because they never do well-wishes). Minutes later, Sehun almosts faceplants himself on the kitchen table as he hears obnoxious cries of "Hun and Min, sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G" from the parking lot of their tenement.
He isn't so sure if he committed some kind of atrocity in his past life for him to deserve friends like them.
--
Minseok does keep in touch.
He wakes Sehun up with "good morning" texts every day (Sehun screams his adoration into his pillow because Jongin's still snoring), sends him random messages on KakaoTalk about how his own day was going (Sehun finds his inherent hatred for Trigonometry so goddamn cute), and bombards him with stickers on Line (Sehun doesn't ever regret giving him every single one of his SNS accounts).
Thing is, Minseok's stopped attending their Macroeconomics class.
The first day, Sehun's shrugged it off, thinking that maybe he was down with the cold, or something. One day turned to two, and by the end of the week, he hasn't seen the older one at all. It's grating on his nerves, yet he can't muster up the courage to ask Minseok over the numerous conversation threads they have on his SNS accounts: "Why haven't you been attending class?" or "Are you alright?" or "Did you drop the subject?"
No courage, and the fact that he can't let Minseok know that they're classmates for Macroecon.
His life is so ruined.
--
"My life is so ruined," Sehun wails after he plops himself down on the chair directly in front of Jongin, earning him glares from other students in nearby tables. Sehun apologizes and, "Holy shit, I forgot we were inside the library," he whispers.
Jongin just chuckles. "Let me guess," he puts down his pen and props his head onto one arm, "you bombed your PharChem practicals."
"Yes," Sehun hisses. "And that shouldn't be even considered a quiz. Who gives a practical that's worth a hundred and fifty points!? That's the entire midterm, damn it." He sobs and bangs his head (softly, unless he wants to die early in the hands of his schoolmates) against the table, then stops and looks at Jongin. "Do you think I should shift? Pharmacy to - I don't know - Architecture, maybe?"
"And leave me trying to crawl my way out of this? Nope," Jongin pops the 'p' and eyes Sehun. "Look, you told me you wanted to become a doctor, I did too, so we chose this for pre-med. You're not quitting halfway, dumbass. Plus, we both know that you can't even draw a proper 3D house to save your life." He raises an eyebrow.
Sehun pouts. "You have a point, but I'm sick of this," he gestures to the mountain of books piled around them - he's valiantly trying not to throw a tantrum in the middle of everything.
Jongin rolls his eyes. "Then how the heck are you going to survive med school if you're sick of studying, idiot." He taps Sehun on the forehead with his pen and resumes working, prompting the other to start hitting his own books as well. Minutes later, he asks, "So, how's that thing going on with Minseok, by the way?"
"Hm?" Sehun looks up from his Pharmacognosy notes at the question, and blushes when he realizes what his best friend just asked. "Oh. Yeah, it's fine. We're fine. Doing great, actually."
"You're stuttering," Jongin chuckles even as he's busy rewriting his notes. "And even if I'm not looking, I'm pretty sure your face is the same color as the curtains of the library right now." Which doesn't help, in Sehun's case; the library's curtains are a hideous shade of burgundy red.
"If you are implying that I am blushing right now, then you are sorely mistaken," came Sehun's indignant reply. Then, too fast for him to even comprehend what was happening, Jongin's whipped out his phone and taken a picture of his face, showing it to him afterwards.
Sehun groans; yep, even the tips of his ears are red.
"Whatever." He pushes the phone away and starts scribbling furiously on his notebook. "I haven't seen him the entire week; he probably dropped Macroecon. BUT," Sehun grins triumphantly, "he's been texting me. So that's something."
"Nice," Jongin comments blandly, eyes again glued to his books. "So, has he asked you out again? Or have you asked him?"
"What?" Sehun sputters. "Why would I?"
The exasperated look Jongin gives him bugs him to no end, so he cocks his head in confusion. "It's common sense to have a second date if you liked the first one, Sehun. Why are you so dense."
"Oh. OH." Sehun's eyes widen and he scrambles for his phone. He almost opens KakaoTalk, but then he asks Jongin, voice smaller than usual and eyes filled with concern, "oh. Should I? I mean, am I supposed to? We're not even dating --"
"You don't have to be dating to ask anyone out on a date, Sehun." Jongin leans over the table and takes Sehun's shoulders into his hands. "Just ask him; it's better than you repeating your last name to me over and over again."
Sehun makes a face and pushes Jongin's hands off. "I'll contact him later," he mumbles, hastily packing up his things and standing to head towards his next class, when the bell rings. "See you later, dude."
"Make sure you call him!" Jongin says, and when Sehun looks back, he sees his best friend's eyes shining with mirth.
Sehun just fondly flips him the bird,
--
Sehun can't concentrate.
He's been reading his Pharmaceutics handouts since 5 in the afternoon, and he's still on page one; never mind the fact that it's already 7 in the evening, he just essentially wasted two good hours meant for studying, and that he has 73 - no, 74 - more pages to go.
Sehun grunts and shifts so that he's lying tummy down on his bed. "I can't do this," he mutters, looking at his phone disdainfully as if it has the ability of actually mocking him and his methods of preserving any scrap of dignity he has left. He picks it up anyway.
to: <3 minseok <3
hey, i was wondering if u wanna hang out soon?
Nah, too straightforward. Sehun deletes it.
to: <3 minseok <3
hey there :) u free during the weekend? let's get coffee. or sumthing.
Beating around the bush, plus I used an emoticon. Ew. Nope. Sehun deletes that one, too.
to: <3 minseok <3
wieudhsjdwefhuirn pls d8 me 4ever senpai <3 <3 <3
Screw it, Sehun thinks. He opens Minseok's KakaoTalk profile and hovers his thumb over the 'Call' button. "This is it," he sighs, and presses said button.
Minseok answers just two rings in. "Hey."
"Um, hi," Sehun goes in for the kill. "So I was wondering, we, um, haven't seen each other for a while." Dear Lord, he's sweating all over and he almost drops the phone. Whatever.
"AreyoufreethisweekendbecauseIkindawannaaskyououtonadate."
A beat passes. Two. By the third, he hears Minseok laugh. "You know, you could have breathed in between words. But yes, okay." He laughs some more, soft chuckles that tickle Sehun's chest and almost make him want to cry in relief. "See you this Saturday, then? Same coffee shop?"
Sehun nods, but remembers that they're talking over the phone (he slaps himself for being so stupid), and replies to the affirmative. He's too giddy that he does silent screams and thrashes about in his bed while biting on his fist to keep himself quiet. When he deems himself calm enough, he says, "So, yeah. Goodnight, then."
He's pretty sure he can hear Minseok smile through the phone. "Goodnight to you too, Jongin."
Beep. Jongin. Beep. Jongin? Beep.
HOLY FUCK, HE THINKS I'M STILL JONGIN.
--
"I have a problem."
Jongdae grunts and proceeds to steal more fries from Sehun's tray; the latter doesn't even bother to swat the hands away from his food. "It's the first time that you confided in us, do you realize that?" Luhan, mouth stuffed full of his cheeseburger, says.
"Yeah, whatever." Sehun dismisses that. "I have a problem. A very big problem."
Jongdae rolls his eyes. "How big is it that you keep on repeating it, anyway?" His eyes widen. "You're not failing your classes, are you?"
"What? No," Sehun mashes a fry into his tiny ketchup container. "Uh, it's about Minseok."
As if they're in some sort of gag show, both Jongdae and Luhan freeze and stop whatever they're doing and give each other knowing grins. "Oooh, love problems."
"He thinks I'm Jongin."
Jongdae sputters on his Coke, Luhan chokes on his burger. "He what!?" They chorus as Sehun slaps their backs to help them.
"Don't make me repeat that," he mutters.
For the first time since they met, Luhan's the one looking at him as if he's just grown another head. "Why in the entire fucking world would he think that you're Jongin?"
Nodding, Jongdae pipes up, "Don't tell me you didn't bother telling Minseok that you were just a friend that his actual," he pushes his face into Sehun's, effectively cramping his space, "date sent to inform him about said date being sick."
"I forgot, okay? He just.. sort of started talking and I lost myself," Sehun flails, one arm almost connecting with Luhan's face. He swears and stuffs a handful of fries into his mouth (he should have upgraded everything to Large, damn it).
"Then tell him."
"What?" Sehun eyes Luhan incredulously. The latter sighs.
"Tell him the truth, Sehunnie." Luhan repeats.
Said boy huffs out a laugh. "I swear, you guys are always out to see if I'm digging up a hole for it to become my grave or something."
Jongdae swallows his burger and points out, "You started digging that hole the minute you refused to tell Minseok who you really are. I say you just continue and see whether you fall into that pit or if you still have a chance of getting out."
Even Luhan stares at the younger. "That was the most profound thing you've ever said in your entire existence, Dae."
Jongdae makes a face and throws a fry at Luhan. "That's because I'm smarter than you think, dumbass. I'm not an Applied Mathematics major if I weren't."
"He actually has a point," Sehun mumbles.
--
Sehun is so screwed.
"Should I buy him flowers? Do I have to give him a gift? Maybe he doesn't like gifts!" He's pacing back and forth in their apartment's living room, still in his pajamas but his eyes are as wide as Jongin's circular mirror in the nearby corridor.
Jongin yawns from where he's sitting on the single couch. "It's only 9 in the morning, Sehun. Give it a rest."
"But we're meeting in - oh, I don't know - 6 hours!" He flops down between Jongdae and Luhan, squeezing them further into the sides of the loveseat. For some reason, the two arrived 30 minutes earlier; Sehun was still fast asleep and they immediately tackled him out of Dreamland while saying "Wakey wakey!" at the top of their (God bless them) lungs.
"I didn't even know what to wear," Sehun groans, and snuggles into Jongdae's much-warmer body. At least Luhan's exuberantly offered to help him with the whole clothes dilemma.
"Remember your first date with him?" Jongdae asks, and Sehun nods. "Just... relive that. You don't have to be prepared or anything." Sehun contemplates, listening. "From the looks of it, Minseok doesn't seem like the type who loves extravagance, anyway."
"Look at the Love Guru talking," Jongin hoots. Jongdae throws the nearest slipper - Luhan's - at him.
"Shut up."
--
Sehun's teeth are chattering, and it's not even that cold.
He's early for their date (again), and he's sitting in the exact same table where they had their first date. This time, though, it isn't a blind date, Sehun muses, and promptly has his stomach churning in a mixture of anxiety and anticipation. He's not even going to complain if Minseok turns up late again.
"Hey there."
Sehun startles and looks up at a breathless Minseok, dressed in (possibly) the cutest sweater ever - white with yellow rubber duckies. Sehun has to stop his urge to coo. "Have you been waiting long?"
"Nah, just got here not too long ago. Here, have a seat," he stands up and pulls out the chair directly in front of his. (Sehun thinks Jongin's way of charming people has finally rubbed off on him.)
Minseok may be surprised, but he does a good job of concealing it. "Thanks," he smiles. "Have you ordered yet?"
This is it, damn it Sehun, stop sticking your tongue to the roof of your mouth, he inwardly chastises himself. "Um, before we do, I - I have to tell you something." He swallows; somehow he's developed an excess of saliva in his mouth.
When he looks at Minseok, he sees an expectant smile.
"I - I'm not who you think I am," Sehun finally breathes out. He sees Minseok cross his arms over his chest and lean back on his seat.
"Pray tell me what you're talking about."
Another deep breath. "I'm... not Jongin. Kim Jongin? The one who you were supposed to go on a blind date with? I'm not him. I'm just his best friend." Thankfully, Minseok looks like he's ready to listen, so Sehun continues. "He actually sent me that day to tell you that he was sick, but then you just... started referring to me as him."
"Then why didn't you correct me?" Minseok's voice was controlled, as well as his features; Sehun isn't sure whether he's mad or not.
"I totally forgot about that. So, um, if you want to punch me or leave, or something, you can do that now." Sehun's not sure whether just a punch would satisfy Minseok, and he inwardly cringes. "I'm just... I'm really, really sorry. Minseok hyung."
Silence. Sehun slowly looks up, expecting no one at the other end, but he's met with Minseok's grinning face - it's as if he wasn't trying to explain himself just a minute ago. "... Hyung?"
"I know, Sehunnie."
Sehun sputters. "What?" He looks at Minseok uncertainly, who has now started guffawing. "How...?"
Minseok wipes at the tears that have gathered in the corners of his eyes. "Let's just say that you weren't the only one keeping secrets."
Sehun still can't believe it. "But how...?"
"You see, Jongin is - well, he's actually my cousin," Minseok explains, smile so wide Sehun almost worries that he might break his own face into half doing so, but he's too busy killing Jongin in his mind. "As for your other friends - Jongdae and Luhan - they were unexpected. So I had to bribe them." Screw that, Sehun's actually going to plan a mass homicide. "Imagine me treating them to their favorite restaurants every day for a whole week. My wallet was practically drained."
"... And you didn't tell me?"
"I could say the same thing to you, Sehunnie." Minseok winks.
"But I was planning to!" Sehun unconsciously pouts. Minseok coos and leans over the table to pinch his cheek; he swats that away and hides so that Minseok doesn't see him blush. "You were in cahoots with them; I was alone."
When he looks up again, Minseok's smiling at him fondly. "You know, this is exactly the reason why I asked Jongin to set me up with you."
"What." There he goes again, being all articulate and eloquent.
Minseok shrugs. "You were just too cute. Everytime I looked back at you and Jongin during Macroecon, it's either you're both busy throwing wads of paper at each other, or you were sleeping. I can't help it." He grins.
"Oh God, you're embarrassing me," Sehun covers his face with the hood of his jacket in shame. "I'm seriously going to kill Jongin, Jongdae, and Luhan for this."
In a minute, he feels Minseok sitting next to him. "But you have a lot to thank them for, don't you think? Jongin even set you up with the 'irreg who's got you whipped'." Sehun turns his head so fast he thinks he almost detached it from his body. "Did I get that right?"
"He told you that!?" Sehun screeches, tightening his hold on his hood.
Minseok shakes his head. "Nope, I was just snooping around Jongin's phone that day and found your conversation." He laughs.
Sehun just makes a sound akin to both a gurgle and a cry of frustration. He's never going to live this down.
--
"Well, how did your date go?" Jongin bombards him with questions the minute he steps into the foyer.
"Fine."
"Just 'fine'? Come on Sehun, you can do better than that." Jongdae pouts. "Tell us some juicy deets."
"He's officially my boyfriend."
Sehun closes the door to his room to the sounds of the Cheshire Cat, Tweedledum, Tweedledee (Jongin, Jongdae, Luhan, respectively) hooting out Minseok's name and singing the dreadful K-I-S-S-I-N-G song (again). Whatever.
(He doesn't end up killing them, but there's something very satisfying seeing them scratching numerous itches on their body the next day.)
(Sehun reminds himself to thank Minseok for the itching powder.)