Take on me // Take me on (Chapter 6)

[mo_chan_tf]

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x

Junho had managed to stuff a lot of things inside that basket. There was a towel, big enough for them to sit in front of each other as he spread the food and utensils between them. Taecyeon offered to help, but Junho simply ignored him. He couldn’t complain as that gave him the chance to watch Junho’s movements as he took out a pair of glasses that looked like they were for wine but were actually for beer. Taecyeon wondered if Junho was really gonna join him or if he had something else in the thermo bag. He would have to wait though, since Junho was still emptying the basket. There was a large tupperware with three compartments. One of them had two kinds of cheese chopped into neat cubes, another had a mix of fresh berries, and the last one slices of citrus fruit.

“I looked up what would go well with the beer you asked for,” Junho placed two small forks on top of the tupperware, and two folded napkins next to it. “I hope you won’t miss the caviar,” he smirked as he opened the thermo bag, and Taecyeon was surprised there was more food there. Another tupperware, this one smaller, with two slices of cheesecake that looked as delicious as the tiny lemon pie bites on the side.

“Did you prepare all this? Today?”

Junho chuckled softly at the amazement in his voice. “I’d already made the pie and the cake when you called. I figured I’d sell what’s left in the fridge--”

“To me,” Taecyeon interrupted, and Junho only looked at him. “Or, y’know, you could give them for free.”

“You’re already getting your share.” Junho looked a little shy as he took out a bottle of the Duchesse de Bourgogne and then closed the bag. “I’m not that used to baking though. I hope it’s good,” he mumbled, placing the bottle between them.

Taecyeon smiled as he took the bottle and opened it to fill one of the glasses with the ruby red liquid, pouring it slowly so that there would be more foam. He filled it to the brim and looked questioningly at Junho as he indicated the second glass. Junho nodded, gesturing for him to pour just a little, and Taecyeon did so, pouring him a third of the glass.

“I thought you didn’t like drinking,” he teased before he sipped at his own glass, savoring the soft, swift-fruity taste that was still bitter but just enough, a bittersweet balance that left a nice aftertaste. Taecyeon had chosen this one because he thought Junho might like it if he was not used to beer, but Junho just grimaced after trying it.

“I said I don’t drink,” Junho corrected him, squinting at the dark liquid before taking another sip. “It’s not that I don’t like it, I just...” he trailed off, a shrug that probably held something back. “Not bad,” he commented after a third sip, though he still grimaced a little.

Junho was-- adorable. Taecyeon almost said that out loud, but he just looked him in the eye and made sure his dimples were showing as he smiled in response. Junho’s lips turned up almost imperceptibly but Taecyeon didn’t miss it, wouldn’t miss it, not when he was hungry for every change of expression on Junho’s face.

Junho used the small forks to get them each a piece of cheese, and they started to eat. Gorgonzola and roquefort, strawberries and raspberries and cardinal grapes, oranges and pineapples. He had done his search just fine, Taecyeon commented in between bites of food and sips of flanders red ale. Junho thanked him by refilling his glass to the brim while he himself was still on that first one third.

“How is it that someone who doesn’t drink--” Taecyeon looked pointedly at the glass that Junho had just sipped at before he corrected himself, “someone who barely drinks makes such good Irish coffee?”

Junho’s cheeks rose behind the glass, his tight-lipped smile as he put it down only drawing Taecyeon in. He was probably leaning forward without realizing, and the fact that the sweets had been placed closer to Junho only gave him another excuse. He felt Junho’s eyes on him, caught his cheeks coloring slightly while he accepted the slice of cheesecake that Taecyeon gave him. The fact that their fingers brushed was purely accidental, but Taecyeon had to bite back the sudden excitement trying to shape his mouth.

“When I was in college, there was this terrible phase where I’d try to mix everything possible to see if I’d finally be able to join my friends in their terrible habits,” he shook his head as if reprimanding his old self, but there was a twist to his lips that told Taecyeon he had long overcome that. “Well, nothing worked. My friends had a great time as my guinea pigs, though.”

Taecyeon laughed at that last bit. “I’m sure you enjoyed that as well.”

“What, you think I was torturing them?” Junho narrowed his eyes as if he were capable of doing just that, but then his features smoothed into something more friendly and he looked to the side as if recalling those times. “The truth is that I can’t drink. I pass out after just one or two glasses, it’s ridiculous.” He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Anyway, that’s how I got my first job as a barista. I studied during the day and made drinks at night during my last two years at college. It was hard, but the tips were good. I got to save a lot of money.”

Taecyeon had just tried a bite of the cheesecake. He wanted to ask more about Junho’s past, he loved to hear him talking, but it seemed like he just had to take another bite before he spoke.

“Salted caramel eggnog,” Junho said around a bashful smile. Taecyeon was beginning to understand that was the way Junho would look when he received a compliment, or when Taecyeon liked something he did or made, such as the cheesecake. It was a lovely sight, so different from his usual cool and assertive demeanor.

“It’s delicious,” Taecyeon didn’t emphasize that on purpose, it just came out. He wasn’t exaggerating. “You should try it too,” he said, indicating Junho’s untouched slice.

Junho simply shrugged and took a small bite. He licked at his own lips and nodded once, either to show that he liked it or that he agreed with Taecyeon. “More beer?” he asked when he saw Taecyeon’s glass was nearly empty again.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?”

Junho’s cheeks went red but he furrowed his brows as if offended. “I’ve been told you can hold your liquor quite well.”

Taecyeon’s chuckle was brief, and he himself filled his glass. The bottle was now empty. “Looks like I’ve been pretty selfish about this bottle.”

Junho shook his head slowly. “I’d have gotten more if I wanted. There’s more in the bag though, if you feel like it.”

Taecyeon nodded, though he didn’t intend to drink that much. One bottle-- Junho had drunk so little of it-- was enough for now. Maybe he would drink more later, depending on how things went. He felt like the night could go on long after they were done with the food, if only they could keep talking. He was having a good time in Junho’s company, and so far it looked like Junho wasn’t disliking it either.

“So, you don’t like drinking just for drinking,” Taecyeon started, recalling the time when Junho made that clear for him, gestures and all. “But there are some things you like... even if they make you sleepy...”

Junho paused to look at him, and Taecyeon could see he was fighting not to roll his eyes again, this time at Taecyeon. He ended up smiling around another bite of cheesecake before he answered, sounding a little detached, “A good wine. Champagne. But I always drink little, and I make sure I’m not driving when I do that.”

“Oh. Don’t we have a problem now?” Taecyeon was not absolutely sure of that, since Junho had indeed drunk so little he could probably still drive anyway.

There was a smirk playing at the corners of Junho’s mouth. “I did say I don’t live here, right.”

“Right...” Taecyeon just went along as he tried to understand what Junho was getting at.

“Ah, you’re making me skip a part of the story. Well, I’ve bought this place.”

“You mean...?”

“The apartment downstairs. And this rooftop. I want to start a business here.”

“Oh,” Taecyeon was surprised and impressed. “Another coffee shop?”

Junho shook his head. “I’ve only had that for a couple of years, we still need to grow before I try to branch out. I bought it from my old manager, but this time I wanna start from scratch, do something different. Like a night restaurant to make use of the view, a rooftop bar or something like that. I’m still thinking about it. I need to move in first.”

“That’s a huge step. Congratulations.” Taecyeon tipped his glass at him before gulping down the remaining of his beer. Junho thanked him, though his nose was slightly scrunched up. Taecyeon chuckled. “You didn’t like the beer that much, huh?”

Junho sighed. “It’s better than most I’ve had, but still not my thing.” He opened the thermo bag and took a bottle of water out of there, drinking straight from it. Taecyeon concealed his amusement by stuffing his face with cheesecake.

“There’s gotta be hundreds of beer brands in the world, I’m sure something will suit your taste. It’s just like books, if you don’t like them it’s because you haven’t found the one for you.”

Junho tried not to, but he ended up letting out a quiet laugh. “Please never say that where Chansung can hear you.”

“He’s used to it,” Taecyeon shrugged, wiping at his mouth with the napkin. He looked at the lemon pie bites they hadn’t eaten yet, but he would have to lose face and refuse them in case Junho insisted he ate them now. He was full. “I’m serious about the beer though. I should take you on a beer tour sometime.”

Junho raised a challenging eyebrow at him, his voice full of sarcasm. “In Germany?”

Taecyeon’s smile was an easygoing, charming one. “Why not?”

Junho frowned. “You don’t mean that.”

“Don’t you like traveling? I haven’t been to Germany yet. Have you?”

Junho shook his head slowly, a reddish tinge to his cheeks that Taecyeon was glad he could see, thanks to the city lights around them. He watched as Junho looked aside and twisted his lips down even though it seemed they would have kept up if Junho wasn’t fighting it.

“Speaking of trips, you’ve had the permission to open that present since we got here, and yet...” Taecyeon was delighted to see the way Junho’s eyes lit up, how he immediately reached for the package and placed it carefully on his lap.

“Thank you,” Junho’s voice was low as he said that, his eyes passing over the several drawings of cats that made up the shiny plastic wrap. His fingers pulled at the strings at the back of the ribbon until the knots were undone, and he was just as unhurried about pulling the package off to reveal the present. He gasped softly when he saw the vase of deep emerald green, the sand worked into a glass so dark it looked black in the dark. The vase was square shaped on the top, and it narrowed down to a smaller square that was not visible behind the cats that were shaped on each corner. They were all sitting down, their long tails curling up to the top, but each cat had its own characteristic. One had its teeth bared, another was licking at one of its paws, the third one had its eyes closed and looked like it was smiling, and the last one was exhibiting a smug, shit-eating grin that made Junho laugh out loud. “Where did you get this?”

Taecyeon appreciated the wonderment in his voice, the way his eyes kept going over the details, his fingers running on the smooth surface of the vase. “Jeju.” When Junho glared at him, Taecyeon just tried to look innocent. He knew Junho wanted to know which store, but Taecyeon would like to keep that card up his sleeve for now. “You already knew that.”

“Really.” But Junho sighed and sent a smile Taecyeon’s way. “Thank you. This is really beautiful.”

“See, now you have a place to put all the flowers you want.” Taecyeon felt like Junho might have thrown the vase at him. Probably. If Junho hadn’t just gotten it as a present. Still, Taecyeon was having too much fun teasing him. “You can plant something there, though. That way you can watch it grow while you think of me.”

“God, you’re too much,” Junho shook his head, but the smile was still there, his eyes nearly closed, like crescents. Taecyeon felt just like that cat on the vase, though he hid his own shit-eating grin behind a cough. “I really appreciate this though.” Junho put the vase aside, but he folded the plastic wrap first so that he could place the vase on top of it. “And you don’t even like cats...”

“You don’t like beer, yet you went through all this work. I wanna thank you, too.”

Junho made a dismissive gesture, but he was smiling again. “I’m not sure what Johnny and Wolie will think of all these cats. They might end up destroying any plants I try to grow there while trying to play or kill the competition.”

Taecyeon noticed the way Junho’s voice changed when he talked about his pets, so he just had to try and fix that bit about his supposed dislike for the felines. “I’m not... very comfortable around animals,” he said, and Junho’s attention was on him, his slitted eyes moving in lazy blinks. “I don’t trust them. It’s not just cats, I just feel... I don’t know...”

Junho tilted his head to the side. “Are you afraid of cats?”

Taecyeon sighed, now it was a little late to try and save his dignity. “Maybe...”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Junho sounded teasing, but Taecyeon wasn’t about to confront him about it. “My babies are pretty nice though. They’ll mostly ignore your presence. Johnny might try to get your attention if he gets bored, but Wolie will just keep her distance.”

Taecyeon thought about that. He was not totally unwilling to try it, but he knew there was a difference between cats behaving around their owners and then around strangers. It was the same for all pets, probably. It was not like people were much different, changing their behavior according to who got close to them and how they felt about those people, consciously or not. “Are you inviting me over to your house?” he ended up asking, instead of everything else he could have said about cats and such.

Junho seemed to see that for what it was though, since he just chuckled at him. “Maybe...” It sounded like he was trying to imitate the way Taecyeon had answered his question about fear of cats. Taecyeon snorted, and Junho joined him with a soft laugh. “It’s too soon. But if we’re really doing this...” he gestured as if looking for the right words.

Taecyeon decided to push him a little. “I do want to keep seeing you.”

Junho took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he looked down for a while. Taecyeon waited, his eyes going from the hands clutching the tupperware that Junho was putting away to his forearms, up to the muscles that moved under the light fabric as Junho organized everything. Junho seemed to be collecting his thoughts as well, the furrow to his brows softening bit by bit until he looked at Taecyeon with a clear expression. “I want that, too.”

x

After putting everything away in Junho’s car, they decided to take a walk around the park near the building. It was not a big park, but there were many trees lining up the stony path that circled around an area with benches, flowers and plants. The light posts led their way as they went from one corner to another, talking about things they saw on the way or just keeping to themselves. Taecyeon found he didn’t mind the silence, as long as he got to look sideways at Junho and notice this flicker of a smile on his face.

“We do have a problem...” Junho slowed down until Taecyeon caught on and stopped next to him. “How are you going home?”

Taecyeon didn’t really see that as a problem, though. “I can get a taxi.”

“But I picked you up. I should take you back home,” Junho’s response was matter-of-factly, he didn’t sound like he wanted to argue about this. “I did not think this through when I decided to try the beer.”

Taecyeon couldn’t help the smile on his face. “You don’t have to be so perfect all the time,” he said, and hoped Junho would know what he was referring to. But of course he did.

“You don’t get to use my words against me like this.” His retort was so quick, his voice so flat Taecyeon heard himself sniggering before he could stop himself. But Junho just looked at him as if no such exchange had occurred. “I guess we could have Minjun hyung come and get you instead.”

“Are you trying to punish me?”

Junho inclined his head at the question. “What would I be punishing you for?”

Taecyeon felt his cheeks warming up and he didn’t even know why. Maybe it was the way Junho said that. Maybe it was the implication. Maybe it was just the way Junho was looking at him, with a light that came from within him, something that Taecyeon felt could burn inside of him too. “For being such a jerk when we first met,” he heard himself say, and his voice sounded strangely distant while his eyes bore Junho’s piercing stare.

There was a nod, a curve to the mouth, but Junho’s gaze never wavered. “You’re not so bad... I did have fun giving you a hard time though, Techyeon.”

“It seems you’re still having fun with that.” Taecyeon chose not to complain about the nickname. It probably wouldn’t make Junho stop anyway.

Junho took out his phone and unlocked the screen while he asked, “So, should I call Minjun hyung to prove that you’re right?”

Taecyeon covered his face with his hands to muffle a mocking cry of agony that earned him a laugh from Junho. “Please, don’t.” He lowered his hands just so he could take in Junho’s devious smirk slowly turning into an amused smile that settled there.

“So dramatic...” he sighed and asked if Taecyeon had any taxi numbers on his phone, because he himself didn’t. Taecyeon called the one he always did when his clients asked for a taxi home. Junho took slow steps forward, his eyes passing over the green scenery around them while Taecyeon looked at his profile, now from a distance. “We should head back,” Junho said as he turned around to face Taecyeon, who just nodded and moved to fall into step with him.

Their walk back to the building was a quiet one, but this time Taecyeon didn’t feel as comfortable as when they were in the park. Maybe it was the fact that the night was ending and he didn’t really want to say goodbye yet, and he failed to come up with something to say that wouldn’t sound dull.

“Thanks for dinner,” he let out when they stopped in front of the building. Junho’s smile was fleeting, but the welcoming look on his face made Taecyeon grin longer at him. “Are you sure you’ll sleep well up there? Do you even have a bed?” Although Junho’s nod could be reassuring, Taecyeon went on. “How about your cats? Won’t they miss you tonight?”

“They’re used to being alone,” Junho shrugged, his lips tugging up insistently. “I’m not sure how worried you’d really be about them, but you don’t need to.”

“It’s more about you,” Taecyeon admitted. Even though Junho rolled his eyes, the smile remained.

“I’ll be fine...” he bit into his mouth and shook his head before he added, sounding like he couldn’t believe the silliness going on, “You can check up on me tomorrow if you want.”

“Oh, I’ll make sure to do that.” Taecyeon spotted the taxi coming their way and heaved a sigh. “Thanks again. I’ll see you tomorrow...?” he hadn’t meant to make it into a question, and Junho probably noticed that.

“Yeah.” Junho paused, gazing at Taecyeon with what looked like a smile of contentment on his face. He looked even more handsome at that moment, and Taecyeon-- “Goodnight, Taecyeon.”

“Goodnight, babe.”

--Taecyeon only heard his own words when he was already on the way home. The taxi driver was a quiet one, and that only made it harder for him to ignore the sinking sensation that he had accidentally ruined the night with that one slip. He couldn’t recall the look on Junho’s face when he said that, maybe because he was already getting in the taxi when that happened. The only thing that stuck with him was the mental picture that had prompted the thought, and how much like a babe Junho had looked when he had smiled at him like that.

x

Despite his knack for sleeping easily and anywhere no matter what happened, Taecyeon barely got any shut-eye that night. He woke up much earlier than usual, long before his alarm clock rung, and he trashed and turned in bed until he forced himself to get up and take a cold shower. He had to stop overthinking about that one word but all he could think of was how he would look at Junho next time they saw each other.

The thing was, he liked it. He liked the way it sounded, and if he could be honest about it, he thought it suited Junho. He would love to keep calling him that, but it was certainly too soon. He had no idea how Junho felt about it but his mind kept going back and forth; Junho might not even care at all and maybe he had thought he misheard it and he would forget it and Taecyeon was making himself nervous for nothing.

His plan had been to go to the coffee shop first, but dread had coiled around his stomach and he ended up focusing on business that Monday morning. He met with Wooyoung to go over the final version of the cards for the promo that would be launched the following Friday night. Customers would fill them with the song they were voting on to be added to the Okcastra playlists, besides some personal info so that they could be contacted in case they were one of the winners. The general prize was a 50% discount at the karaoke bar, but a few lucky people would get an extra prize: a two-days-and-one-night tour around Jeju Island, including hotel expenses and such. Minjun had convinced Taecyeon that if somebody from Jeju won and didn’t want that special prize, they could give it as a present to someone else.

The card that Wooyoung had designed was of a white background with dark emerald writing, the Okcastra name and logo on top. The logo itself had been drawn by Taecyeon a long time ago, long before he even launched the business. It was a green cat of simple sketches, a mic in one of its paws, a somewhat sarcastic look on his face. Drawing cats in spite of his lack of fondness for them was what had given him his ironic nickname, Okcat.

“Looks great,” Taecyeon gave back the sample card to Wooyoung. He told him how many cards to get printed for each branch; the assigned managers would get them from graphic companies in their own areas.

“You, on the other hand, look like shit today,” Wooyoung said, his tone devoid of any humor. “I thought you had a date last night?”

“How do you even--” Taecyeon interrupted himself. “How does Minjun find out about these things?”

Wooyoung smiled. Taecyeon hoped it was at the mention of his boyfriend’s name and not at his boss’ distress. “He’s using his brain, unlike some.”

Taecyeon should probably be offended, but he decided to take the words for what they were. It was unlike Wooyoung to give any advice, even a veiled one like that, but sometimes Minjun seemed to influence him in more ways than either of them realized. “How do you feel about going for an early lunch?”

Wooyoung stared straight at him. “I feel that it’s not my company you want today, boss.”

Taecyeon sighed. Wooyoung was right again.

x

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