#51 Surprise Neighbor
Title: Surprise Neighbor
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,000
Summary: Luhan despises the new neighbor and his pack of “wild dogs” until…
Warning/s: None.
Luhan sits at his desk, head cradled between his hands, glaring at the plans on the computer screen. His crankiness is fifty percent work stress and fifty percent the silence of his phone. The cutie from the coffee shop had left him his number. Luhan didn’t even wait a full twenty minutes to dial and set up a date, but the call went straight to voicemail. Luhan left a message, of course. Yet five days had passed, and he still hadn’t heard a word from Jongin.
Jongin. The image of bronzed skin, dark eyes, and a blindingly genuine smile was burned behind Luhan’s eyelids. He’d woken up early every single day and gone to Minseok’s Coffee Shop just to see if he’d run into Jongin again, yet no such luck. He was starting to feel as if he’d imagined the whole thing, but the coffee cup with the message and number sitting on his kitchen counter said otherwise.
Luhan sighs. Perhaps his days of dating were well and truly over. He just needed to accept it and continue on with his quiet life as an amusement park designer. Yeah. Weird job, but fun. Or at least it’s fun when his plans are going well. He glances at the mess on the screen and groans. A full redesign means another three months of work.
The desk shakes when Bubbles, his grey cat, jumps onto it and meows. He comes closer and presses his face against Luhan’s, purring like crazy. It’s not often Bubbles showers him with affection.
“Thanks, buddy. I needed that.”
Bubbles pets his owner for a few more minutes, before scrambling off.
Resting his cheek on the cool desk’s surface, Luhan sighs. He’s going to need a full day of relaxation to cleanse his mental palate and be able to work on this redesign. Maybe he can convince Jongdae to do another game night, even if they just had one two days ago.
A loud howl makes Luhan jump and hit his knee on the underside of the desk. The howl is accompanied by loud barks and hellish yips that drill into his eardrums. His neighbor’s dogs. Three wild mutts with curly hair and an obsession with yipping and barking at anything that moves, be it plants dancing with the wind or his cat taunting them. Luhan checks the window and since there’s no breeze whatsoever outside, he assumes his cat is playing with the little beasties again.
There’s a thump, the sound of something crashing, his cat yowls, and then heavy growling. Luhan dashes to his balcony and sees the neighbor’s own balcony door is open a slit. Crap.
“Hey! Is someone there? Hello!” As always, his neighbor isn’t home. Great.
Luhan thinks about it for a second, and then he’s climbing onto the balcony’s rail and jumping onto his neighbor’s. He spies Bubbles licking his paws near the coffee table. “Bubbles! Here kitty.”
Bubbles meows and prances away.
Luhan curses, slides the glass door open and steps inside. His heart drops to somewhere around his feet when he recognizes the tall, shirtless figure that comes out of the nearest room. “J-Jongin?”
“Oh!” Jongin rubs his sleepy eyes, and smiles. “Luhan?”
“Y-You’re my neighbor?” When the kid had said he lived in the El Dorado building, it never crossed Luhan’s mind that Jongin could be the guy who moved in next door. The neighbor he absolutely hated because of his pack of wild dogs.
“It seems so!” Jongin chuckles.
Luhan’s brain is melting. He’s having trouble focusing on Jongin’s face and not the miles of tanned skin on full display. “Bubbles.”
Jongin tilts his head. “Huh?”
“My cat came inside your apartment and I think your dogs are eating him,” Luhan blurts.
“His name is Bubbles? I’ve been calling him Mr. Grey.” Jongin shakes his head.
A stampede of fur emerges from behind Jongin. The three toy poodles chase Bubbles around the living room before settling down. The puppies are not eating his dog, they’re…playing with him. It’s the strangest thing Luhan’s ever seen.
Jongin stands beside him. “They’re all good friends. I sometimes let the balcony door open, because otherwise these three will start barking until I let their friend in.”
They watch the puppies and the cat play around, sniffing and pawing at each other for a moment. It’s unreal. Even more so, the fact that Jongin, the guy he hasn’t stopped thinking about, lives right next-door.
Jongin breaks the silence. “Sorry about this.”
“Oh, don’t be,” Luhan says. “Bubbles is a bundle of evil wrapped in a soft and squishy grey coat. I should be the one apologizing.”
“Ah, no. I didn’t mean-” Jongin clears his throat. “I meant about not calling back.”
Luhan swallows. “Oh…It’s fine.”
“I just…I have a really tight schedule with dancing, practices, teaching, and when I’m not doing one of those, I’m sleeping,” he says softly. “I sleep a lot. To recharge energy. It doesn’t leave me much time for dating. I don’t even remember the last time I dated.”
“Okay.” Luhan looks down at his bare feet. “I understand.”
“But hey, I’m awake now and you’re here,” Jongin says. “I can make coffee and we could chat.”
“No, that’s okay. I don’t want to take away your sleep time.” Luhan steps back, ready to bolt out the door. He doesn’t want to make Jongin feel obligated to do anything.
However, Jongin grabs his hand and his fingers are warm against Luhan’s. He might self-combust. “Stay,” he says, eyes wide and honest. “Please? You’re not bothering me. At all.”
“You said you’re busy with dancing and sleeping,” Luhan says.
“True. But I want to try this.” Jongin steps closer. Too close. “Can we try this?”
Luhan stares into Jongin’s deep, brown eyes. They both lead busy lives, but maybe its time for a change, time to take a chance. “I take my coffee strong, a bit of milk and no sugar.”
Jongin’s eyes crinkle into crescents. “Coming right up.”
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,000
Summary: Luhan despises the new neighbor and his pack of “wild dogs” until…
Warning/s: None.
Luhan sits at his desk, head cradled between his hands, glaring at the plans on the computer screen. His crankiness is fifty percent work stress and fifty percent the silence of his phone. The cutie from the coffee shop had left him his number. Luhan didn’t even wait a full twenty minutes to dial and set up a date, but the call went straight to voicemail. Luhan left a message, of course. Yet five days had passed, and he still hadn’t heard a word from Jongin.
Jongin. The image of bronzed skin, dark eyes, and a blindingly genuine smile was burned behind Luhan’s eyelids. He’d woken up early every single day and gone to Minseok’s Coffee Shop just to see if he’d run into Jongin again, yet no such luck. He was starting to feel as if he’d imagined the whole thing, but the coffee cup with the message and number sitting on his kitchen counter said otherwise.
Luhan sighs. Perhaps his days of dating were well and truly over. He just needed to accept it and continue on with his quiet life as an amusement park designer. Yeah. Weird job, but fun. Or at least it’s fun when his plans are going well. He glances at the mess on the screen and groans. A full redesign means another three months of work.
The desk shakes when Bubbles, his grey cat, jumps onto it and meows. He comes closer and presses his face against Luhan’s, purring like crazy. It’s not often Bubbles showers him with affection.
“Thanks, buddy. I needed that.”
Bubbles pets his owner for a few more minutes, before scrambling off.
Resting his cheek on the cool desk’s surface, Luhan sighs. He’s going to need a full day of relaxation to cleanse his mental palate and be able to work on this redesign. Maybe he can convince Jongdae to do another game night, even if they just had one two days ago.
A loud howl makes Luhan jump and hit his knee on the underside of the desk. The howl is accompanied by loud barks and hellish yips that drill into his eardrums. His neighbor’s dogs. Three wild mutts with curly hair and an obsession with yipping and barking at anything that moves, be it plants dancing with the wind or his cat taunting them. Luhan checks the window and since there’s no breeze whatsoever outside, he assumes his cat is playing with the little beasties again.
There’s a thump, the sound of something crashing, his cat yowls, and then heavy growling. Luhan dashes to his balcony and sees the neighbor’s own balcony door is open a slit. Crap.
“Hey! Is someone there? Hello!” As always, his neighbor isn’t home. Great.
Luhan thinks about it for a second, and then he’s climbing onto the balcony’s rail and jumping onto his neighbor’s. He spies Bubbles licking his paws near the coffee table. “Bubbles! Here kitty.”
Bubbles meows and prances away.
Luhan curses, slides the glass door open and steps inside. His heart drops to somewhere around his feet when he recognizes the tall, shirtless figure that comes out of the nearest room. “J-Jongin?”
“Oh!” Jongin rubs his sleepy eyes, and smiles. “Luhan?”
“Y-You’re my neighbor?” When the kid had said he lived in the El Dorado building, it never crossed Luhan’s mind that Jongin could be the guy who moved in next door. The neighbor he absolutely hated because of his pack of wild dogs.
“It seems so!” Jongin chuckles.
Luhan’s brain is melting. He’s having trouble focusing on Jongin’s face and not the miles of tanned skin on full display. “Bubbles.”
Jongin tilts his head. “Huh?”
“My cat came inside your apartment and I think your dogs are eating him,” Luhan blurts.
“His name is Bubbles? I’ve been calling him Mr. Grey.” Jongin shakes his head.
A stampede of fur emerges from behind Jongin. The three toy poodles chase Bubbles around the living room before settling down. The puppies are not eating his dog, they’re…playing with him. It’s the strangest thing Luhan’s ever seen.
Jongin stands beside him. “They’re all good friends. I sometimes let the balcony door open, because otherwise these three will start barking until I let their friend in.”
They watch the puppies and the cat play around, sniffing and pawing at each other for a moment. It’s unreal. Even more so, the fact that Jongin, the guy he hasn’t stopped thinking about, lives right next-door.
Jongin breaks the silence. “Sorry about this.”
“Oh, don’t be,” Luhan says. “Bubbles is a bundle of evil wrapped in a soft and squishy grey coat. I should be the one apologizing.”
“Ah, no. I didn’t mean-” Jongin clears his throat. “I meant about not calling back.”
Luhan swallows. “Oh…It’s fine.”
“I just…I have a really tight schedule with dancing, practices, teaching, and when I’m not doing one of those, I’m sleeping,” he says softly. “I sleep a lot. To recharge energy. It doesn’t leave me much time for dating. I don’t even remember the last time I dated.”
“Okay.” Luhan looks down at his bare feet. “I understand.”
“But hey, I’m awake now and you’re here,” Jongin says. “I can make coffee and we could chat.”
“No, that’s okay. I don’t want to take away your sleep time.” Luhan steps back, ready to bolt out the door. He doesn’t want to make Jongin feel obligated to do anything.
However, Jongin grabs his hand and his fingers are warm against Luhan’s. He might self-combust. “Stay,” he says, eyes wide and honest. “Please? You’re not bothering me. At all.”
“You said you’re busy with dancing and sleeping,” Luhan says.
“True. But I want to try this.” Jongin steps closer. Too close. “Can we try this?”
Luhan stares into Jongin’s deep, brown eyes. They both lead busy lives, but maybe its time for a change, time to take a chance. “I take my coffee strong, a bit of milk and no sugar.”
Jongin’s eyes crinkle into crescents. “Coming right up.”