How Not to Impress a Host [Chapter 6]
Title: How Not to Impress a Host [Chapter 6]
Pairing(s): Donghae-centric. Donghae/Eunhyuk; side!Han Geng/Heechul and Yesung/Sungmin
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Friendship, a fair bit of Angst
Disclaimer: Contrary to popular belief, no one owns them.
Warning: Mild language and mature themes.
Summary: Donghae knows that ‘getting smitten with a fair-skinned host and bumbling through many attempts of courting said host’ was definitely not part of his job scope as a valet, but he won’t relent in his pursuit; even if it meant going through abject mortification and more.
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5
It wasn’t the return of his dreaded History and Theory of Architecture common test paper that had surprised Donghae the most because he had expected a bare minimum pass in the paper anyway.
No, what surprised him the most was that one of his closest friends on the campus, Taehwan, had gotten together with a girl in their wide circle of friends. If it wasn’t for the fact that Donghae had known the girl, he would have expressed his utmost disbelief at the situation.
Kim Taehwan was a second year Civil Engineering student who, like Donghae, shunned the rambunctious nightlife in favour of studying. Hailing from the countryside, Taehwan, like Donghae, valued his education more than anything in Seoul and hence, it was little wonder they had clicked back during their orientation days.
So it was to Donghae’s complete astonishment that Taehwan had showed up at lunch one day, with Jiyoon nestled snugly into his side. Donghae took one look at Taehwan, then at Jiyoon and then at the couple together. His mouth promptly fell open in shock before it snapped back shut, his lips unconsciously forming a pout.
“What’s going on?” Donghae demanded an explanation, and he was going to get it.
Taehwan turned to look at Jiyoon, whose eyes crinkled affectionately when their gazes met. Donghae said nothing during the couple’s silent exchange as he twirled his metal spoon on his plate almost impatiently.
“I asked Jiyoon out to a coffee house yesterday, and I asked her to be my girlfriend,” Taehwan said.
“And I said yes!” Jiyoon smiled a warm, comely smile which showcased her marked dimples.
Donghae leaned back into his chair and surveyed the pair quietly, his eyes slightly narrowed as he took note of their body language. It was very much of a couple infatuated with each other, with mirroring contented expressions. Slowly, Donghae’s lips quirked into a congratulatory smile.
“I’m glad for the two of you,” Donghae said sincerely, and his smile turned into a wide beam. “I can’t imagine a better person for my good friend, Taehwan.”
Jiyoon bashfully acknowledged the compliment with a coy tilt of her head, while Taehwan smiled appreciatively.
“It’s just that,” Donghae continued. “I thought Taehwan would have let me in onto his plans for asking you to be his girlfriend.” He ended his sentence by clutching the fabric before his chest in mock hurt.
Jiyoon only looked puzzled while Taehwan simply rolled his eyes. Donghae threw his hands up, as if saying “I’m your close friend, so it’s fair of me to think that you really ought to have told me.”
“I wanted to, believe me, Donghae, but you’ve been so busy these past two months,” Taehwan said seriously. “I didn’t want to burden you with this.”
Donghae rubbed the lower half of his face before replying, “You wouldn’t have been a burden at all, Taehwan. Sure, I’m clocking late hours at the restaurant, but I’ll always make time for a friend.”
Almost immediately, Donghae’s hand shot up and rubbed his nose. He was deeply uncomfortable about lying about his working place to his close friend, but he felt that it would get messy if anyone outside of Guilty Pleasures and its clients knew of his true vocation.
Taehwan took no heed of Donghae’s discomposure. “Would it be unreasonable if I asked you to join us on a coffee date sometime? Maybe in the afternoon? It won’t clash with your working hours, I promise.”
“Why would you want me to tag along? Am I a chaperone of some sort? Because the last time I checked, I’m younger than the both of you.” In spite of his jibe at the couple, Donghae was genuinely excited at the prospect of having a nice chat with two friends.
“You could always bring someone along, Donghae,” Jiyoon chipped in. “A decent guy like you should have a swarm interested parties knocking on your door.”
“I don’t know about that.” Donghae shrugged lightly. “The last time I got a proposition from someone, it was a marriage proposal.”
Once again, Jiyoon’s features formed a bemused expression, as if she was uncertain whether Donghae had been telling the truth or not. Donghae leaned forward in his chair and placed his clasped hands on the table.
“It’s a long, somewhat unbelievable story which needs to be told over iced chocolate. Not coffee though, I hate the bitterness.”
Taehwan shot Donghae a knowing look while Jiyoon simply contented with a nod.
“I’ll message you then, Donghae.” Taehwan soon stood up, with Jiyoon following suit. “Jiyoon wants to introduce me to her colleagues at the nearby boutique she works at.”
Taehwan made a face, with his pained expression causing Donghae to burst into laughter. Jiyoon took one look at Taehwan’s face and smacked his shoulder playfully, shaking her head in mild exasperation.
As the couple walked away hand in hand, Donghae slumped back in his chair and played with his cutlery once more. How nice it must be to have someone to spend time with, to share a connection. Donghae searched his brain for people he considered companions and it soon brought him to the staff at Guilty Pleasures. However, no one of them provided him with the intimacy that Taehwan could claim he was sharing with Jiyoon; they were partners, boyfriend and girlfriend. Donghae currently had nothing of the sort. His heart felt a faint twinge; Donghae wanted, no, he needed more.
For the first time in a long while, Donghae felt truly lonely.
-
Donghae’s contemplative mood persisted to his shift at the establishment. Suddenly, he became all too aware of fellow couples after his encounter with Taehwan and Jiyoon. It was as if a spotlight was shining on each couple, and Donghae’s eyes would trail onto one couple before shifting to the next. All this did was to amplify his loneliness, and Donghae didn’t need that. He scurried into the premises and changed into his work clothes in almost record timing, the one in Heechul’s office not included.
Stalking out of the washroom, Donghae kept his head down, his gaze on the floor and his brain an empty yet jumbled mess. He felt his feet move almost automatically, programmed to bring him to his valet stand.
“Donghae!” A familiar voice called out.
Raising his head, Donghae found Hyukjae approaching him. Clad in a loose blue and red patterned pullover and fitting jeans, Hyukjae had one hand clutching onto his backpack and the other waving cheerfully at Donghae; it was apparent that he had arrived directly from school. However, Hyukjae paused and let his hand fall to his side when he noticed Donghae’s withdrawn expression.
“Is anything the matter, Donghae?” Hyukjae questioned softly, standing in front of Donghae, whose eyes were still vacant.
“...Do you have time to talk?” Donghae mumbled, his hands picking at the cloth of the pant pockets.
“Of course. Inside the locker room?”
-
Donghae waited patiently on a neighbouring bench while Hyukjae slipped into his standard set of work clothes: a navy-coloured dress shirt, suspenders and a pair of fitted slacks. As Hyukjae buttoned the cuffs of his sleeves carefully, Donghae watched quietly. Hyukjae didn’t seem to mind as he preoccupied himself with both straps of his suspenders, slipping his fingers underneath and running them along the length as he ensured the trimness of his work outfit. His locker door was left open, and Donghae sneaked a glance in its direction, when Hyukjae was busy with adjusting his sleeves for the second time.
The contents of the locker were in impeccable order, just as Donghae had expected. A uniform cover was hanging from the overhead pole, and placed next to it was a freshly laundered spare dress shirt, cream-coloured. Several toiletries could be observed on the shelf installed above the horizontal metal pole. They seem to be arranged in ascending order of height rather than frequency of usage, for the tall bottle of talcum powder was placed on the far right while the small stick of deodorant was arranged at the opposite end.
The click signifying that Hyukjae had shut his locker door broke Donghae’s gaze with the locker and snapped him back into attention. Deciding to forgo the adorning of his mask in the mean time, Hyukjae sat next to Donghae on the bench, waiting for the latter to initiate their conversation.
“Hyukjae...” Donghae started.
“Hmmm?” Hyukjae had leaned forward, watching Donghae with kind, expectant eyes.
“Are you in a relationship right now?”
Upon fully registering Donghae’s question, Hyukjae’s head snapped up in complete surprise. He had braced himself for a truly miserable account from Donghae but this? This definitely hadn’t crossed his mind at all.
After a full ten seconds of silence, Donghae finally realised that his question had gone unanswered.
“It’s a simple question, Hyukjae. Yes or no?”
“I don’t see why it would be of your concern, Donghae,” Hyukjae stammered, his gaze suddenly focused on the almost inconspicuous stitching on the underside of his pants. “And I don’t see what my relationship status has to do with your current mood-”
“I was wondering,” Donghae interjected, his soft voice sounding especially distant.
“After seeing a close male school friend get together with a female friend, I was wondering how nice it would be to be in an intimate relationship, to spend time together as a couple.”
“Don’t you think so too, Hyukjae? It isn’t wrong of me to feel so lonely after seeing two mutual friends enjoying their time together as a couple, right?” Donghae turned to face Hyukjae, his earnest eyes boring into the latter’s. “Thinking about it, doesn’t it make you wish to be in a relationship as well?”
Hyukjae had been listening intently to Donghae’s every word, and at his most recent question, his pale, spindly fingers stopped picking at the seams abruptly.
“I do agree with you. But...why the question again?” Hyukjae then swallowed a large gasp of air.
“I was just curious,” Donghae said simply. “I mean, I couldn’t be the only one who felt that way, right?
Hyukjae’s eyes, which were oddly bright, narrowed and the glint in his eyes dimmed instantaneously.
“I see...” Hyukjae finally mustered, though he was unable to hide the light disappointment in his tone. It seemed as if Donghae hadn’t picked up on it, for the younger man continued to survey Hyukjae’s face, his eyes unwavering.
Breaking their gazes immediately with a quick turn of his head, Hyukjae’s eyes then casted around their surroundings anxiously, as he attempted to veer the topic into safer waters, or at least into one that wasn’t...misleading.
“If I were in your place, I would have been thinking more about how awkward I would be whenever I was with the couple, you know? Considering how it comprises of one of your close male friends and one of your common female friends.”
Donghae’s body responded faster than his mouth. He shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he hadn’t found it significant, that it was so insignificant to the point that the matter hadn’t even crossed his mind.
“I don’t find it a big deal, to be honest. We’re all still friends, the only difference being that they’re now a couple. Now that I think of it, their relationship was inevitable; they had always given each other similar vibes, but I suppose they were too scared to act on them.”
“Not for me,” Hyukjae disagreed, crossing his arms about his chest. “Such a relationship is very tricky; it can tread a very delicate line sometimes. What if they quarrel and they expect you to take sides?”
“Yes, it can be tricky,” Donghae conceded. “But my role could be the objective third person, can’t it? Seeing as I’m friends with both of them, I have access to both of their stories. I’ll be very fair.”
“In theory, it seems easy, but in practice, it may not adhere to your thinking, Donghae.”
“Putting myself in Taehwan’s shoes, I think I can understand why had taken so long to act on his feelings. Pursuing a relationship with another within a group of friends is tricky, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“Are you?” Hyukjae’s tone had suddenly taken such a silent, almost dangerous tone. “So you would act on your feelings towards the other person, willing to risk the friendship to take that tentative step forward? Never mind that the other person possibly may not possess feelings of the same intensity towards you?”
“That’s right,” Donghae affirmed, though his eyes didn’t correspond with his tone, expressing his lack of full conviction. “I mean, to think that the person feels the exact same way, with the same level of feelings...That’s expecting too much, isn’t it? So yeah, I would still risk it.”
“I see. That’s funny.”
Donghae almost mistook Hyukjae’s out-of-place statement for a sneer, but the other man showed no signs of aggression in his body language.
Rubbing the back of his neck jerkily, pulling at the strands at the nape, it was now Donghae’s turn to look around their surroundings wildly, as he thought up of something else to talk about.
“Why are you so against the idea of two mutual friends getting together anyway?”
“I never said that I was against it!” Hyukjae immediately spoke up, his back straightening unconsciously. “I was just voicing my concerns over how awkward one would feel around them and the future implications the relationship would bring.”
“But I’m perfectly fine around them,” Donghae countered. “Plus, you don’t see me acting all weird around Heechul-hyung and Hankyung-hyung, do you?”
“That’s beside the point!” Hyukjae’s voice had long lost its dangerous edge, and now, his tone was teetering on frustration.
“No, it isn’t. Heechul-hyung and Hankyung-hyung are definitely together, no matter how much they downplay their relationship in the club, and none of us act awkward around each other.”
Hyukjae brought up his left hand, which had been resting on the bench, and pinched his nose bridge. “That’s not what- You know, you actually lost the point that I was trying to put across a long time ago.”
“We’re not going anywhere with this, are we?” Donghae sighed.
“You’re right,” Hyukjae said shortly. It was the first time they had agreed with each other since their little conflict had started four minutes ago.
Donghae stood up, garnering a confused expression from Hyukjae, who was still seated.
“We should ask Heechul-hyung about this. About this whole ‘two mutual friends hooking up’ matter.”
Hyukjae shook his head wearily but he stood up as well. “You’re not letting go of this, are you?”
Donghae led the way out of the locker room, not once checking to see if Hyukjae was indeed following him.
“I’m not,” Donghae admitted childishly. “I just think we should hear from a person with that experience.”
-
Donghae and Hyukjae bumped into Youngwoon along the way, who looked bemused at the sight of them determinedly trudging along the hallway leading to Heechul’s office.
“What on earth are the two of you up to?” Youngwoon asked. “From the looks on both of your faces, you look as if you’re on a great journey to seek enlightenment or something.”
Donghae shook his head while Hyukjae remained silent.
“We just want to ask Heechul-hyung’s opinion about something.”
“You were the one who thought of it, not me,” Hyukjae corrected him easily. “I’m merely tagging along.”
Youngwoon frowned at Hyukjae’s tone. “Well, I’m on my way to Heechul-hyung’s office so I guess I’ll be tagging along as well. I’ve been looking around for either Heechul-hyung or Hankyung-hyung for the past five minutes. The new shipments for the replacement cocktail and shot glasses have just arrived and I need help in moving them.”
“Heechul-hyung? Whatever do you need him for?” Donghae wondered aloud. “Hankyung-hyung always says that he never carries his own weight, even at their apartment.”
Youngwoon simply snorted in amusement while Hyukjae let slip a giggle.
“Of course I’m not looking for Heechul-hyung just to ask him to help me carry the crates; I’m not that stupid,” Youngwoon said. “Hankyung-hyung left his phone at the bar counter so I’m going to ask Heechul-hyung if he had sent Hankyung-hyung on any errands.”
Hyukjae noiselessly nodded in understanding while Donghae’s lips merely formed an ‘o’ shape.
“Youngwoon-hyung,” Hyukjae finally said, his voice having lost its peculiar tone. “Why didn’t you ask Sungmin-hyung to help you?”
“I couldn’t find him either. That guy’s probably in the alley, feeding those stray cats again.”
-
It wasn’t in any of the trio’s heads to have knocked before entering Heechul’s office. It wasn’t standard procedure and it wasn’t like Heechul had ever locked his office door before.
So it was to Youngwoon’s, Hyukjae’s and Donghae’s most unpleasant surprise to walk in onto Heechul-hyung and Han Geng behind Heechul’s desk.
With Heechul draped all over Han Geng’s lap. With Han Geng’s lips attached to Heechul’s clavicle.
“What the heck?” Out of the five very bewildered occupants of Heechul’s office, Youngwoon was the first to speak.
Han Geng, who had his hands wrapped around Heechul’s waist, withdrew from Heechul almost immediately after a split second delay. He quietly eyed the trio standing before him and Heechul before lowering his gaze, clearly mortified at being caught.
Heechul, on the other hand, stared at them coolly, defiantly, with his wide, alert eyes flickering on each of their tensed forms. He remained seated, arms resting on the sides of his chair.
“We can’t even have a quickie in my office without getting interrupted,” Heechul sighed melodramatically, bringing up a hand to nonchalantly adjust his collar, which was tugged aside earlier to provide Han Geng access to the pale skin it had been covering.
“Heechul!” Han Geng immediately admonished the seated man; his statement had brought about a coughing fit in two of the three persons standing before them. “We were not doing anything of the sort!”
“Oh yeah?” Heechul shot back, turning his hard gaze to the nervous Chinese man standing almost meekly next to his chair. “Then what were we doing, Hankyung? Don’t tell me that you didn’t want more-”
“Hankyung-hyung! The new shipments for the replacement cocktail and shot glasses have just arrived and I really need help in moving them!” Youngwoon blurted out. He definitely did not want to stay in Heechul’s office any longer; he found no delight in the prospect of learning about the couple’s dalliances in greater detail.
Looking all too relieved, Han Geng quickly latched onto Youngwoon’s request. “I will gladly render my assistance.”
Moving at a speed Donghae didn’t think was possible in humans, Han Geng and Youngwoon immediately hightailed out of the room, leaving him and Hyukjae behind to face Heechul, who simply scoffed at the pair’s actions.
“Well, what is it that you want?” Heechul asked bluntly, but his tone was not unkind.
Donghae turned to look at Hyukjae, who motioned towards Heechul with small nods of his head, encouraging Donghae to ask his question.
“Hyukjae and I were involved in a slight conflict earlier...” Donghae’s straightforward admission caused Heechul to raise his eyebrows curiously.
“You worded it too strongly.” Hyukjae shot Donghae a reproachful look. “I would say that it’s more of a disagreement.”
“Well, whatever it is that’s going on between the two of you,” Heechul raised his voice, drawing the pair’s attention away from each other and back to him. “You obviously came here for my help.”
The pair nodded.
Heechul leaned forward in his chair, resting both his elbows on the desk as he started to survey the pair more intently. “And what’s the problem?”
Once the pair had finished explaining the situation to Heechul, the older man said nothing for a moment. Then, he leaned back into his chair and sniggered.
“So this is what the fight’s about? I was expecting something much more serious, to be honest.”
When neither Hyukjae nor Donghae had responded, Heechul stood up and started to walk to the large cupboard at the corner of the office. Midway through his journey, he stopped in his tracks abruptly and turned around to face the pair.
“Hankyung and I...” Heechul said plainly, his tone indicating that he was about to start on a rather long story. “There are reasons as to why we hide our relationship here, but I don’t want to bother you with the boring details.”
“However, we do it not because we don’t want others to feel awkward around us. Most of us have known each other for so long, and even the two of you-“ Heechul acknowledged Hyukjae and Donghae with two quick waves of his left hand. “-We’ve grown so close that hiding our relationship just so that our colleagues won’t feel uncomfortable around us is pretty silly, don’t you think? I mean, we’re two grown men, not a pair of acne-prone teenagers, so we do know how to behave.”
“I’m not saying that I’m dismissing Hyukjae’s point entirely. It’s precisely because we’re adults that we know to keep our intimate relationship out of our work life. I’m totally not calling your friends a ‘pair of acne-prone teenagers’, Donghae, but it’s an entirely different setting back in school. It’s much more informal.”
Donghae awkwardly stopped pawing his foot at a certain spot on the office’s parquet floor. “The atmosphere at the club...sometimes, it doesn’t feel like a workplace.”
Heechul smiled for the first time in their encounter, causing Donghae to immediately go back to poking his foot at the same spot.
“It’s what Joo-nim and I have always aimed for. I’m glad to hear that we’ve accomplished it.”
Heechul strolled back to his desk and perched himself on the edge, crossing his legs neatly.
“Do you have any other questions? I think your shifts are about to start soon,” Heechul asked, as he picked up a digital clock placed on the middle of his desk and crinkled his nose at the numbers presented.
“I’ll be on my way then, Heechul-hyung.” Giving a curt nod in Heechul’s direction, Hyukjae’s gaze lingered momentarily on Donghae’s still form before he walked out of the office.
“And what are you waiting for? Orders? A demand for an impromptu demonstration?” Heechul questioned. A mischievous smirk flitted across Heechul’s features, before settling into a playful grin.
Donghae’s eyes were glazed over again, an indication that he was deep in thought.
If even the threat of forcing him to perform a lap dance hadn’t prodded Donghae into immediate protest, then whatever that was clouding Donghae’s thoughts ought to be highly important, Heechul assumed.
“Hey. What’s on your mind, kid?” Heechul asked gently, tilting his head to the side, surveying Donghae’s thoughtful expression from a new angle.
This question finally garnered a response from Donghae; he looked up and wore a truly contrite expression, not unlike the one Donghae made when he had apologised to Heechul almost two months ago.
“It is wrong to want to know about the origins of your relationship with Hankyung-hyung?”
Donghae had asked it in the most innocent tone that Heechul managed to find the willpower to suppress his snort of disbelief.
“Why do you want to know?” Heechul’s bluntness resurfaced once again. “There’s nothing interesting about the two of us.”
“But I know so little about the two of you...Is it wrong to want to know more?”
Heechul let out a loud sigh, a little too loud for it to be completely natural. Donghae could really be quietly relentless when he wanted to be.
“Hankyung’s a terribly old-fashioned man. He didn’t wait for me to make the first move; no, he practically sneaked in his interest in me so subtly that I couldn’t even respond right away. I couldn’t even give a direct reply. And that stupid bugger said that as long I didn’t give him a direct reply, he wouldn’t stop courting me. He actually used the word ‘courting’! That just reinforces how old-fashioned the idiot is.”
Heechul hadn’t noticed that his grin had unconsciously morphed into an entirely vulnerable expression, one of unrepressed affection. A smile. The corners of Heechul’s lips were quirked ever so slightly that had Donghae been standing even two meters further away, his eyes would have definitely not picked it up.
It was this subtlety that made Heechul’s action all the more sincere in Donghae’s eyes. He couldn’t help but smile as well. The magic of the moment soon dissipated, however.
“So if you had assumed that he wooed me through a barrage of alcoholic drinks and sweet nothings, you have another think coming.”
“What?” Donghae expressed his confusion at the unfamiliar phrase.
“To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960,” Heechul clarified eagerly. “Back when I was pursuing my degree in Business Management at Hongik University, I was in Drama club and once, I played Miss Maudie Atkinson, a middle-aged spinster who could quote bible verses by heart. The person in charge of casting probably did it out of spite, just to get a kick out of seeing me spouting anything with religious connections.”
Heechul was about to elaborate further when there was a polite knock on the door. Youngwoon emerged two seconds later, peering uncertainly from behind the door. Only after he had affirmed that no funny business was going on in the enclosed room did Youngwoon step inside.
“What is this time, Youngwoon?” Heechul asked cheekily, drawing much pleasure in watching Youngwoon shift about awkwardly, unwilling to give Heechul even more satisfaction by showing the older man his flustered expression.
“Our shift’s about to start soon, so I need to bring Donghae to his stand...” Youngwoon muttered.
Heechul opened his hands in an exaggerated gesture, his palms upturned. “I’m not stopping you.”
“Then I’ll take my leave now,” Donghae said hastily, taking Youngwoon’s faint cough as a cue of the older man’s unease. “Thank you for the talk, Heechul-hyung!”
“Anytime,” Heechul answered simply.
-
Youngwoon and Donghae exchanged little words during their walk from the office to the club’s entrance. Donghae’s gaze was passively directed to the front, and Youngwoon knew from experience that any words he threw in Donghae’s way would turn into senseless babbles. He let the younger man be, watching Donghae periodically from the corner of his eyes.
Donghae couldn’t help but feel that he had left Heechul’s office with about the same amount of knowledge he had possessed before he had entered it. He wasn’t sure if it was purely unintentional, but Heechul had skimmed through the topic, touching briefly on several details, leaving his question mostly unanswered.
In fact, his time alone with Heechul brought about more questions than answers in Donghae’s mind. And he had a strong feeling that he wouldn’t be able to gather anymore information from Heechul in the meantime.
Which leaves me with Hankyung-hyung...
-
A/N: This chapter turned into two, and then three chapters, and I don't even know anymore... Chapters 6, 7 and 8, the events all take place on the same day, so yep, I apologise for the confusion.
I'm still rather bogged down with assignments so I really don't know how I managed to type chapters 6 and 7 lol. @___@ Hence, chapter 8 will take quite a while...I apologize. orz
Comments are appreciated! (:
Pairing(s): Donghae-centric. Donghae/Eunhyuk; side!Han Geng/Heechul and Yesung/Sungmin
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Friendship, a fair bit of Angst
Disclaimer: Contrary to popular belief, no one owns them.
Warning: Mild language and mature themes.
Summary: Donghae knows that ‘getting smitten with a fair-skinned host and bumbling through many attempts of courting said host’ was definitely not part of his job scope as a valet, but he won’t relent in his pursuit; even if it meant going through abject mortification and more.
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5
It wasn’t the return of his dreaded History and Theory of Architecture common test paper that had surprised Donghae the most because he had expected a bare minimum pass in the paper anyway.
No, what surprised him the most was that one of his closest friends on the campus, Taehwan, had gotten together with a girl in their wide circle of friends. If it wasn’t for the fact that Donghae had known the girl, he would have expressed his utmost disbelief at the situation.
Kim Taehwan was a second year Civil Engineering student who, like Donghae, shunned the rambunctious nightlife in favour of studying. Hailing from the countryside, Taehwan, like Donghae, valued his education more than anything in Seoul and hence, it was little wonder they had clicked back during their orientation days.
So it was to Donghae’s complete astonishment that Taehwan had showed up at lunch one day, with Jiyoon nestled snugly into his side. Donghae took one look at Taehwan, then at Jiyoon and then at the couple together. His mouth promptly fell open in shock before it snapped back shut, his lips unconsciously forming a pout.
“What’s going on?” Donghae demanded an explanation, and he was going to get it.
Taehwan turned to look at Jiyoon, whose eyes crinkled affectionately when their gazes met. Donghae said nothing during the couple’s silent exchange as he twirled his metal spoon on his plate almost impatiently.
“I asked Jiyoon out to a coffee house yesterday, and I asked her to be my girlfriend,” Taehwan said.
“And I said yes!” Jiyoon smiled a warm, comely smile which showcased her marked dimples.
Donghae leaned back into his chair and surveyed the pair quietly, his eyes slightly narrowed as he took note of their body language. It was very much of a couple infatuated with each other, with mirroring contented expressions. Slowly, Donghae’s lips quirked into a congratulatory smile.
“I’m glad for the two of you,” Donghae said sincerely, and his smile turned into a wide beam. “I can’t imagine a better person for my good friend, Taehwan.”
Jiyoon bashfully acknowledged the compliment with a coy tilt of her head, while Taehwan smiled appreciatively.
“It’s just that,” Donghae continued. “I thought Taehwan would have let me in onto his plans for asking you to be his girlfriend.” He ended his sentence by clutching the fabric before his chest in mock hurt.
Jiyoon only looked puzzled while Taehwan simply rolled his eyes. Donghae threw his hands up, as if saying “I’m your close friend, so it’s fair of me to think that you really ought to have told me.”
“I wanted to, believe me, Donghae, but you’ve been so busy these past two months,” Taehwan said seriously. “I didn’t want to burden you with this.”
Donghae rubbed the lower half of his face before replying, “You wouldn’t have been a burden at all, Taehwan. Sure, I’m clocking late hours at the restaurant, but I’ll always make time for a friend.”
Almost immediately, Donghae’s hand shot up and rubbed his nose. He was deeply uncomfortable about lying about his working place to his close friend, but he felt that it would get messy if anyone outside of Guilty Pleasures and its clients knew of his true vocation.
Taehwan took no heed of Donghae’s discomposure. “Would it be unreasonable if I asked you to join us on a coffee date sometime? Maybe in the afternoon? It won’t clash with your working hours, I promise.”
“Why would you want me to tag along? Am I a chaperone of some sort? Because the last time I checked, I’m younger than the both of you.” In spite of his jibe at the couple, Donghae was genuinely excited at the prospect of having a nice chat with two friends.
“You could always bring someone along, Donghae,” Jiyoon chipped in. “A decent guy like you should have a swarm interested parties knocking on your door.”
“I don’t know about that.” Donghae shrugged lightly. “The last time I got a proposition from someone, it was a marriage proposal.”
Once again, Jiyoon’s features formed a bemused expression, as if she was uncertain whether Donghae had been telling the truth or not. Donghae leaned forward in his chair and placed his clasped hands on the table.
“It’s a long, somewhat unbelievable story which needs to be told over iced chocolate. Not coffee though, I hate the bitterness.”
Taehwan shot Donghae a knowing look while Jiyoon simply contented with a nod.
“I’ll message you then, Donghae.” Taehwan soon stood up, with Jiyoon following suit. “Jiyoon wants to introduce me to her colleagues at the nearby boutique she works at.”
Taehwan made a face, with his pained expression causing Donghae to burst into laughter. Jiyoon took one look at Taehwan’s face and smacked his shoulder playfully, shaking her head in mild exasperation.
As the couple walked away hand in hand, Donghae slumped back in his chair and played with his cutlery once more. How nice it must be to have someone to spend time with, to share a connection. Donghae searched his brain for people he considered companions and it soon brought him to the staff at Guilty Pleasures. However, no one of them provided him with the intimacy that Taehwan could claim he was sharing with Jiyoon; they were partners, boyfriend and girlfriend. Donghae currently had nothing of the sort. His heart felt a faint twinge; Donghae wanted, no, he needed more.
For the first time in a long while, Donghae felt truly lonely.
-
Donghae’s contemplative mood persisted to his shift at the establishment. Suddenly, he became all too aware of fellow couples after his encounter with Taehwan and Jiyoon. It was as if a spotlight was shining on each couple, and Donghae’s eyes would trail onto one couple before shifting to the next. All this did was to amplify his loneliness, and Donghae didn’t need that. He scurried into the premises and changed into his work clothes in almost record timing, the one in Heechul’s office not included.
Stalking out of the washroom, Donghae kept his head down, his gaze on the floor and his brain an empty yet jumbled mess. He felt his feet move almost automatically, programmed to bring him to his valet stand.
“Donghae!” A familiar voice called out.
Raising his head, Donghae found Hyukjae approaching him. Clad in a loose blue and red patterned pullover and fitting jeans, Hyukjae had one hand clutching onto his backpack and the other waving cheerfully at Donghae; it was apparent that he had arrived directly from school. However, Hyukjae paused and let his hand fall to his side when he noticed Donghae’s withdrawn expression.
“Is anything the matter, Donghae?” Hyukjae questioned softly, standing in front of Donghae, whose eyes were still vacant.
“...Do you have time to talk?” Donghae mumbled, his hands picking at the cloth of the pant pockets.
“Of course. Inside the locker room?”
-
Donghae waited patiently on a neighbouring bench while Hyukjae slipped into his standard set of work clothes: a navy-coloured dress shirt, suspenders and a pair of fitted slacks. As Hyukjae buttoned the cuffs of his sleeves carefully, Donghae watched quietly. Hyukjae didn’t seem to mind as he preoccupied himself with both straps of his suspenders, slipping his fingers underneath and running them along the length as he ensured the trimness of his work outfit. His locker door was left open, and Donghae sneaked a glance in its direction, when Hyukjae was busy with adjusting his sleeves for the second time.
The contents of the locker were in impeccable order, just as Donghae had expected. A uniform cover was hanging from the overhead pole, and placed next to it was a freshly laundered spare dress shirt, cream-coloured. Several toiletries could be observed on the shelf installed above the horizontal metal pole. They seem to be arranged in ascending order of height rather than frequency of usage, for the tall bottle of talcum powder was placed on the far right while the small stick of deodorant was arranged at the opposite end.
The click signifying that Hyukjae had shut his locker door broke Donghae’s gaze with the locker and snapped him back into attention. Deciding to forgo the adorning of his mask in the mean time, Hyukjae sat next to Donghae on the bench, waiting for the latter to initiate their conversation.
“Hyukjae...” Donghae started.
“Hmmm?” Hyukjae had leaned forward, watching Donghae with kind, expectant eyes.
“Are you in a relationship right now?”
Upon fully registering Donghae’s question, Hyukjae’s head snapped up in complete surprise. He had braced himself for a truly miserable account from Donghae but this? This definitely hadn’t crossed his mind at all.
After a full ten seconds of silence, Donghae finally realised that his question had gone unanswered.
“It’s a simple question, Hyukjae. Yes or no?”
“I don’t see why it would be of your concern, Donghae,” Hyukjae stammered, his gaze suddenly focused on the almost inconspicuous stitching on the underside of his pants. “And I don’t see what my relationship status has to do with your current mood-”
“I was wondering,” Donghae interjected, his soft voice sounding especially distant.
“After seeing a close male school friend get together with a female friend, I was wondering how nice it would be to be in an intimate relationship, to spend time together as a couple.”
“Don’t you think so too, Hyukjae? It isn’t wrong of me to feel so lonely after seeing two mutual friends enjoying their time together as a couple, right?” Donghae turned to face Hyukjae, his earnest eyes boring into the latter’s. “Thinking about it, doesn’t it make you wish to be in a relationship as well?”
Hyukjae had been listening intently to Donghae’s every word, and at his most recent question, his pale, spindly fingers stopped picking at the seams abruptly.
“I do agree with you. But...why the question again?” Hyukjae then swallowed a large gasp of air.
“I was just curious,” Donghae said simply. “I mean, I couldn’t be the only one who felt that way, right?
Hyukjae’s eyes, which were oddly bright, narrowed and the glint in his eyes dimmed instantaneously.
“I see...” Hyukjae finally mustered, though he was unable to hide the light disappointment in his tone. It seemed as if Donghae hadn’t picked up on it, for the younger man continued to survey Hyukjae’s face, his eyes unwavering.
Breaking their gazes immediately with a quick turn of his head, Hyukjae’s eyes then casted around their surroundings anxiously, as he attempted to veer the topic into safer waters, or at least into one that wasn’t...misleading.
“If I were in your place, I would have been thinking more about how awkward I would be whenever I was with the couple, you know? Considering how it comprises of one of your close male friends and one of your common female friends.”
Donghae’s body responded faster than his mouth. He shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he hadn’t found it significant, that it was so insignificant to the point that the matter hadn’t even crossed his mind.
“I don’t find it a big deal, to be honest. We’re all still friends, the only difference being that they’re now a couple. Now that I think of it, their relationship was inevitable; they had always given each other similar vibes, but I suppose they were too scared to act on them.”
“Not for me,” Hyukjae disagreed, crossing his arms about his chest. “Such a relationship is very tricky; it can tread a very delicate line sometimes. What if they quarrel and they expect you to take sides?”
“Yes, it can be tricky,” Donghae conceded. “But my role could be the objective third person, can’t it? Seeing as I’m friends with both of them, I have access to both of their stories. I’ll be very fair.”
“In theory, it seems easy, but in practice, it may not adhere to your thinking, Donghae.”
“Putting myself in Taehwan’s shoes, I think I can understand why had taken so long to act on his feelings. Pursuing a relationship with another within a group of friends is tricky, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“Are you?” Hyukjae’s tone had suddenly taken such a silent, almost dangerous tone. “So you would act on your feelings towards the other person, willing to risk the friendship to take that tentative step forward? Never mind that the other person possibly may not possess feelings of the same intensity towards you?”
“That’s right,” Donghae affirmed, though his eyes didn’t correspond with his tone, expressing his lack of full conviction. “I mean, to think that the person feels the exact same way, with the same level of feelings...That’s expecting too much, isn’t it? So yeah, I would still risk it.”
“I see. That’s funny.”
Donghae almost mistook Hyukjae’s out-of-place statement for a sneer, but the other man showed no signs of aggression in his body language.
Rubbing the back of his neck jerkily, pulling at the strands at the nape, it was now Donghae’s turn to look around their surroundings wildly, as he thought up of something else to talk about.
“Why are you so against the idea of two mutual friends getting together anyway?”
“I never said that I was against it!” Hyukjae immediately spoke up, his back straightening unconsciously. “I was just voicing my concerns over how awkward one would feel around them and the future implications the relationship would bring.”
“But I’m perfectly fine around them,” Donghae countered. “Plus, you don’t see me acting all weird around Heechul-hyung and Hankyung-hyung, do you?”
“That’s beside the point!” Hyukjae’s voice had long lost its dangerous edge, and now, his tone was teetering on frustration.
“No, it isn’t. Heechul-hyung and Hankyung-hyung are definitely together, no matter how much they downplay their relationship in the club, and none of us act awkward around each other.”
Hyukjae brought up his left hand, which had been resting on the bench, and pinched his nose bridge. “That’s not what- You know, you actually lost the point that I was trying to put across a long time ago.”
“We’re not going anywhere with this, are we?” Donghae sighed.
“You’re right,” Hyukjae said shortly. It was the first time they had agreed with each other since their little conflict had started four minutes ago.
Donghae stood up, garnering a confused expression from Hyukjae, who was still seated.
“We should ask Heechul-hyung about this. About this whole ‘two mutual friends hooking up’ matter.”
Hyukjae shook his head wearily but he stood up as well. “You’re not letting go of this, are you?”
Donghae led the way out of the locker room, not once checking to see if Hyukjae was indeed following him.
“I’m not,” Donghae admitted childishly. “I just think we should hear from a person with that experience.”
-
Donghae and Hyukjae bumped into Youngwoon along the way, who looked bemused at the sight of them determinedly trudging along the hallway leading to Heechul’s office.
“What on earth are the two of you up to?” Youngwoon asked. “From the looks on both of your faces, you look as if you’re on a great journey to seek enlightenment or something.”
Donghae shook his head while Hyukjae remained silent.
“We just want to ask Heechul-hyung’s opinion about something.”
“You were the one who thought of it, not me,” Hyukjae corrected him easily. “I’m merely tagging along.”
Youngwoon frowned at Hyukjae’s tone. “Well, I’m on my way to Heechul-hyung’s office so I guess I’ll be tagging along as well. I’ve been looking around for either Heechul-hyung or Hankyung-hyung for the past five minutes. The new shipments for the replacement cocktail and shot glasses have just arrived and I need help in moving them.”
“Heechul-hyung? Whatever do you need him for?” Donghae wondered aloud. “Hankyung-hyung always says that he never carries his own weight, even at their apartment.”
Youngwoon simply snorted in amusement while Hyukjae let slip a giggle.
“Of course I’m not looking for Heechul-hyung just to ask him to help me carry the crates; I’m not that stupid,” Youngwoon said. “Hankyung-hyung left his phone at the bar counter so I’m going to ask Heechul-hyung if he had sent Hankyung-hyung on any errands.”
Hyukjae noiselessly nodded in understanding while Donghae’s lips merely formed an ‘o’ shape.
“Youngwoon-hyung,” Hyukjae finally said, his voice having lost its peculiar tone. “Why didn’t you ask Sungmin-hyung to help you?”
“I couldn’t find him either. That guy’s probably in the alley, feeding those stray cats again.”
-
It wasn’t in any of the trio’s heads to have knocked before entering Heechul’s office. It wasn’t standard procedure and it wasn’t like Heechul had ever locked his office door before.
So it was to Youngwoon’s, Hyukjae’s and Donghae’s most unpleasant surprise to walk in onto Heechul-hyung and Han Geng behind Heechul’s desk.
With Heechul draped all over Han Geng’s lap. With Han Geng’s lips attached to Heechul’s clavicle.
“What the heck?” Out of the five very bewildered occupants of Heechul’s office, Youngwoon was the first to speak.
Han Geng, who had his hands wrapped around Heechul’s waist, withdrew from Heechul almost immediately after a split second delay. He quietly eyed the trio standing before him and Heechul before lowering his gaze, clearly mortified at being caught.
Heechul, on the other hand, stared at them coolly, defiantly, with his wide, alert eyes flickering on each of their tensed forms. He remained seated, arms resting on the sides of his chair.
“We can’t even have a quickie in my office without getting interrupted,” Heechul sighed melodramatically, bringing up a hand to nonchalantly adjust his collar, which was tugged aside earlier to provide Han Geng access to the pale skin it had been covering.
“Heechul!” Han Geng immediately admonished the seated man; his statement had brought about a coughing fit in two of the three persons standing before them. “We were not doing anything of the sort!”
“Oh yeah?” Heechul shot back, turning his hard gaze to the nervous Chinese man standing almost meekly next to his chair. “Then what were we doing, Hankyung? Don’t tell me that you didn’t want more-”
“Hankyung-hyung! The new shipments for the replacement cocktail and shot glasses have just arrived and I really need help in moving them!” Youngwoon blurted out. He definitely did not want to stay in Heechul’s office any longer; he found no delight in the prospect of learning about the couple’s dalliances in greater detail.
Looking all too relieved, Han Geng quickly latched onto Youngwoon’s request. “I will gladly render my assistance.”
Moving at a speed Donghae didn’t think was possible in humans, Han Geng and Youngwoon immediately hightailed out of the room, leaving him and Hyukjae behind to face Heechul, who simply scoffed at the pair’s actions.
“Well, what is it that you want?” Heechul asked bluntly, but his tone was not unkind.
Donghae turned to look at Hyukjae, who motioned towards Heechul with small nods of his head, encouraging Donghae to ask his question.
“Hyukjae and I were involved in a slight conflict earlier...” Donghae’s straightforward admission caused Heechul to raise his eyebrows curiously.
“You worded it too strongly.” Hyukjae shot Donghae a reproachful look. “I would say that it’s more of a disagreement.”
“Well, whatever it is that’s going on between the two of you,” Heechul raised his voice, drawing the pair’s attention away from each other and back to him. “You obviously came here for my help.”
The pair nodded.
Heechul leaned forward in his chair, resting both his elbows on the desk as he started to survey the pair more intently. “And what’s the problem?”
Once the pair had finished explaining the situation to Heechul, the older man said nothing for a moment. Then, he leaned back into his chair and sniggered.
“So this is what the fight’s about? I was expecting something much more serious, to be honest.”
When neither Hyukjae nor Donghae had responded, Heechul stood up and started to walk to the large cupboard at the corner of the office. Midway through his journey, he stopped in his tracks abruptly and turned around to face the pair.
“Hankyung and I...” Heechul said plainly, his tone indicating that he was about to start on a rather long story. “There are reasons as to why we hide our relationship here, but I don’t want to bother you with the boring details.”
“However, we do it not because we don’t want others to feel awkward around us. Most of us have known each other for so long, and even the two of you-“ Heechul acknowledged Hyukjae and Donghae with two quick waves of his left hand. “-We’ve grown so close that hiding our relationship just so that our colleagues won’t feel uncomfortable around us is pretty silly, don’t you think? I mean, we’re two grown men, not a pair of acne-prone teenagers, so we do know how to behave.”
“I’m not saying that I’m dismissing Hyukjae’s point entirely. It’s precisely because we’re adults that we know to keep our intimate relationship out of our work life. I’m totally not calling your friends a ‘pair of acne-prone teenagers’, Donghae, but it’s an entirely different setting back in school. It’s much more informal.”
Donghae awkwardly stopped pawing his foot at a certain spot on the office’s parquet floor. “The atmosphere at the club...sometimes, it doesn’t feel like a workplace.”
Heechul smiled for the first time in their encounter, causing Donghae to immediately go back to poking his foot at the same spot.
“It’s what Joo-nim and I have always aimed for. I’m glad to hear that we’ve accomplished it.”
Heechul strolled back to his desk and perched himself on the edge, crossing his legs neatly.
“Do you have any other questions? I think your shifts are about to start soon,” Heechul asked, as he picked up a digital clock placed on the middle of his desk and crinkled his nose at the numbers presented.
“I’ll be on my way then, Heechul-hyung.” Giving a curt nod in Heechul’s direction, Hyukjae’s gaze lingered momentarily on Donghae’s still form before he walked out of the office.
“And what are you waiting for? Orders? A demand for an impromptu demonstration?” Heechul questioned. A mischievous smirk flitted across Heechul’s features, before settling into a playful grin.
Donghae’s eyes were glazed over again, an indication that he was deep in thought.
If even the threat of forcing him to perform a lap dance hadn’t prodded Donghae into immediate protest, then whatever that was clouding Donghae’s thoughts ought to be highly important, Heechul assumed.
“Hey. What’s on your mind, kid?” Heechul asked gently, tilting his head to the side, surveying Donghae’s thoughtful expression from a new angle.
This question finally garnered a response from Donghae; he looked up and wore a truly contrite expression, not unlike the one Donghae made when he had apologised to Heechul almost two months ago.
“It is wrong to want to know about the origins of your relationship with Hankyung-hyung?”
Donghae had asked it in the most innocent tone that Heechul managed to find the willpower to suppress his snort of disbelief.
“Why do you want to know?” Heechul’s bluntness resurfaced once again. “There’s nothing interesting about the two of us.”
“But I know so little about the two of you...Is it wrong to want to know more?”
Heechul let out a loud sigh, a little too loud for it to be completely natural. Donghae could really be quietly relentless when he wanted to be.
“Hankyung’s a terribly old-fashioned man. He didn’t wait for me to make the first move; no, he practically sneaked in his interest in me so subtly that I couldn’t even respond right away. I couldn’t even give a direct reply. And that stupid bugger said that as long I didn’t give him a direct reply, he wouldn’t stop courting me. He actually used the word ‘courting’! That just reinforces how old-fashioned the idiot is.”
Heechul hadn’t noticed that his grin had unconsciously morphed into an entirely vulnerable expression, one of unrepressed affection. A smile. The corners of Heechul’s lips were quirked ever so slightly that had Donghae been standing even two meters further away, his eyes would have definitely not picked it up.
It was this subtlety that made Heechul’s action all the more sincere in Donghae’s eyes. He couldn’t help but smile as well. The magic of the moment soon dissipated, however.
“So if you had assumed that he wooed me through a barrage of alcoholic drinks and sweet nothings, you have another think coming.”
“What?” Donghae expressed his confusion at the unfamiliar phrase.
“To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960,” Heechul clarified eagerly. “Back when I was pursuing my degree in Business Management at Hongik University, I was in Drama club and once, I played Miss Maudie Atkinson, a middle-aged spinster who could quote bible verses by heart. The person in charge of casting probably did it out of spite, just to get a kick out of seeing me spouting anything with religious connections.”
Heechul was about to elaborate further when there was a polite knock on the door. Youngwoon emerged two seconds later, peering uncertainly from behind the door. Only after he had affirmed that no funny business was going on in the enclosed room did Youngwoon step inside.
“What is this time, Youngwoon?” Heechul asked cheekily, drawing much pleasure in watching Youngwoon shift about awkwardly, unwilling to give Heechul even more satisfaction by showing the older man his flustered expression.
“Our shift’s about to start soon, so I need to bring Donghae to his stand...” Youngwoon muttered.
Heechul opened his hands in an exaggerated gesture, his palms upturned. “I’m not stopping you.”
“Then I’ll take my leave now,” Donghae said hastily, taking Youngwoon’s faint cough as a cue of the older man’s unease. “Thank you for the talk, Heechul-hyung!”
“Anytime,” Heechul answered simply.
-
Youngwoon and Donghae exchanged little words during their walk from the office to the club’s entrance. Donghae’s gaze was passively directed to the front, and Youngwoon knew from experience that any words he threw in Donghae’s way would turn into senseless babbles. He let the younger man be, watching Donghae periodically from the corner of his eyes.
Donghae couldn’t help but feel that he had left Heechul’s office with about the same amount of knowledge he had possessed before he had entered it. He wasn’t sure if it was purely unintentional, but Heechul had skimmed through the topic, touching briefly on several details, leaving his question mostly unanswered.
In fact, his time alone with Heechul brought about more questions than answers in Donghae’s mind. And he had a strong feeling that he wouldn’t be able to gather anymore information from Heechul in the meantime.
Which leaves me with Hankyung-hyung...
-
A/N: This chapter turned into two, and then three chapters, and I don't even know anymore... Chapters 6, 7 and 8, the events all take place on the same day, so yep, I apologise for the confusion.
I'm still rather bogged down with assignments so I really don't know how I managed to type chapters 6 and 7 lol. @___@ Hence, chapter 8 will take quite a while...I apologize. orz
Comments are appreciated! (: