Work Text:
Seungcheol sat behind his desk, checking his watch quickly to see that it was time for his lunch break. He paged his secretary, Seokmin, to say that he’d be stepping out to the cafe across the street. He was constantly exhausted from his job, but Seokmin’s ever-cheery disposition always put a smile on his face.
Seungcheol stood, making sure that his wallet was tucked into his pocket before making his way into the elevator. He knew that if he really didn’t want to, he didn’t have to pay for his drink and sandwich at the cafe, but he would feel bad not paying. Seungcheol didn’t know for the life of him why the barista at the cafe was always so nice to him, but he really appreciated the sweet notes left on his coffee cups each day. And he kept forgetting to put the barista’s phone number into his phone. It was written on the side of the cup down at the bottom at first, though since the first few times the numbers had migrated to the lid and had gotten big enough to take up the entire cup. Jeonghan, that was the barista’s name, was always telling Seungcheol that he had memes to send him. He did want to see them, he just kept forgetting to put Jeonghan’s number in.
He typed in a contact name for Jeonghan in the elevator, swearing to himself that today he would remember. He would, he would remember, he had to. He needed memes.
He passed a group of older women in the lobby, flashing them a smile and a nod as he walked past. They had been living in his building for almost fifty years, he’d only taken the complex over from his dad for the last ten.
He passed the receptionist, Jihoon, on the way out, sighing softly as he saw the teeny man slumped over onto the desk before him, eyes shut in a deep sleep. He walked over, gently shaking Jihoon’s shoulders, eyes widening when one of Jihoon’s hands went instinctively to hit Seungcheol below the belt. Luckily, Seungcheol caught it before it did any damage.
“Jihoon, I told you, stop sleeping on the job!”
“But I’m tired.” Jihoon glared at Seungcheol, head already beginning to slump forwards to meet the table top.
“And I’ve also told you, that you wouldn’t be so tired every day if you went to sleep at a decent time and didn’t spend six hours watching dumb videos before bed.”
“Well that’s what I’m doing, and you can’t stop me.”
“I can stop paying you.”
Jihoon groaned, finally lifting his head up to glare once more at Seungcheol, “Fine. I’ll stay awake. But I’d hate to be the next person who comes up here asking for something from me.”
Just then, a cheery voice rang out through the lobby, “Hi Jihoon! Hi Seungcheol! Jihoon, I wanted to ask you something!”
Jihoon’s eyes blew wide open, a soft whisper of, ‘Soonyoung’ slipping past his lips before he was sat bolt upright, blinking rapidly to keep his eyes open. Jihoon greeted Soonyoung with a soft smile, tiny dimples popping out on his cheeks as he did so.
Seungcheol smiled, bidding goodbye to the two of them before starting off again towards the cafe. Jeonghan saw him coming from across the street, shoving Wonwoo, one of the other baristas, out from behind the counter. He took Wonwoo’s place, thanking the younger man for (unwillingly) giving up his position. Wonwoo said nothing, though a soft smile crept onto his face at how smitten his co-worker was.
The little bell above the door dinged as Seungcheol stepped inside the cafe, the sound making Jeonghan’s heart race and butterflies erupt in his tummy. He already had the cup ready, his number written in large, block, sharpie letters on the lid. He had begun writing them on the base of the cup, but he had never gotten a text from Seungcheol and so he started moving them to more obvious spots, and making them bigger. If Seungcheol didn’t notice them there, then Jeonghan wouldn’t know what to do.
Seungcheol met eyes with Jeonghan, smiling cheerily at the man and waving. Jeonghan waved back, leaning forwards with his elbows on the counter in front of him.
“Hi Seungcheol! Your usual?”
“Yes please! Thank you Jeonghan.” Seungcheol smiled, grabbing his wallet and pulling out a ten dollar bill.
“No no, it’s okay. On me today.” Jeonghan pulled various bills out of his apron, tips from customers here and there that he hadn’t yet put away in his wallet yet. Seungcheol shook his head, pushing the ten across the counter but Jeonghan ignored it, putting his own money into the cash register and completing the transaction. Seungcheol thanked Jeonghan, though keeping the ten dollar bill in his pocket so that he remembered to slip it to Wonwoo on the way out to give to Jeonghan.
Jeonghan had already made Seungcheol’s drink, pouring it into the cup and sliding a cardboard sleeve over the cup. He saw Seungcheol waiting at the pick-up counter for the drink but Jeonghan hopped over the bar, grinning at Seungcheol and walking towards the older man’s usual table. The two sat down, few words being exchanged as Seungcheol pulled out his phone.
Jeonghan’s heart began to race as he was able to see Seungcheol open his contacts app, pressing the plus button and adding the numbers from the top of the cup. Finally. Jeonghan wasn’t supposed to have his phone out during his shift, but he decided that as soon as Seungcheol left, he’d send the memes that he’d been waiting to send for months. He just didn’t want to see Seungcheol’s face as he read them, just in case.
Jeonghan felt a buzz in his pocket and he pulled out his phone, pretending to be surprised when he saw the text that he’d received.
Unknown:
Thanks again for covering my order :)
Jeonghan let out a breathy laugh, looking up at Seungcheol over his phone to see the older man’s beautiful smile. He typed a quick response, pressing send and watching as Seungcheol grinned at his phone screen.
Jeonghan:
;)
Seungcheol locked his phone, turning his attention back to Jeonghan and asking how his day had gone so far. Jeonghan barely contained a stutter as he responded, relaying that a middle aged white lady had come in and demanded that they remake her coffee even though she’d already drank all of it. Seungcheol chuckled, covering his mouth with his hand to hide his little grin. Jeonghan’s chest swelled with adoration at the sight but he wished that Seungcheol would uncover his face, his grins were always so adorable.
The pair talked for almost an hour before Seungcheol’s phone dinged, a calendar event popping up on the screen.
Meeting - 10 Minutes
Seungcheol let out a soft gasp, abruptly standing and looking apologetically at Jeonghan.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t see the time, I have to go. I have a meeting that I need to get to and I can’t be late. Thank you again for paying for my coffee, and don’t forget to send me those memes! You promised!”
Jeonghan’s smile dimmed as Seungcheol dashed out of the coffee shop, nearly toppling over in his haste to get out of the chair. He wished that the man that he liked wasn’t so damn busy. But, at least Jeonghan finally had Seungcheol’s number.
Jeonghan watched Seungcheol sprint down the street, sighing and standing up from the cozy chair that he had been stationed in. He straightened his apron, going to put his phone back in his pocket before deciding to just do it. He was just going to send Seungcheol those memes now, what was the point in delaying the inevitable?
Jeonghan had them saved in a special folder, labeled ‘I suck’. He carefully selected all six of them, holding his breath before pressing the send button. He immediately panicked, though tried calmly putting his phone in his apron pocket with shaking hands.
Wonwoo noticed his friend’s flushed cheeks and unsteady hands but said nothing, only catching the cup that Jeonghan had dropped before it hit the floor. Jeonghan cursed himself for sending them when he knew Seungcheol wouldn’t respond, because then he’d have to wait in agony for as long as Seungcheol’s meeting took.
Seungcheol vaguely registered the buzz that he felt in his pocket as he sprinted into the building, but he didn’t have time to check it so he dismissed it. Just as he rushed towards the elevators the doors closed on a cabin full of people and Seungcheol muttered under his breath, curses mingling with words that he would later be ashamed to have said. He dashed towards the stairs, checking his watch to see that he had five minutes left before the meeting started.
The stairwell of the first floor led to the basement before it led back up, and Seungcheol was positively fuming when he finally got to the bottom of the stairs to then have to go all the way back up again. He passed one of the utility closets, feet pounding into the concrete as he raced through the hallway but a sneeze from behind the door made him pause. Seungcheol willed himself to keep going, this meeting was really important and maybe he just misheard a machine’s whirring as a sneeze, so just keep going. But, after the sneeze there was the unmistakable sound of someone blowing their nose, and Seungcheol sighed as he shot a quick text to Seokmin.
Seokmin, please let our guests know that I’ll be a bit late to our meeting, I’ve had something rather unexpected come up that needs to be taken care of.
He saw a text from Jeonghan on the screen, debating whether or not he should read it before he opened the door.
He needed the power of memes to get him through the day.
He opened the messages.
He was expecting dumb vine references from Jeonghan. It was Jeonghan. That was a given. However, he was not expecting dumb heartfelt vine references from Jeonghan. And that’s what he got.
"Country boy, I love you."
"Get out me car and get in me heart."
"When I first saw you, I almost dropped my croissant."
"I'm sorry, I've mcfallen in love with you."
To be completely honest, Seungcheol didn’t know what to say. The ‘Country boy I love you’ girl made him want to puke, but at the same time his heart was practically glowing because Jeonghan had mcfallen in love with him. His fingers typed and hit send before he knew what he was doing, but rereading the text that he sent he knew he had done the right thing.
Hey, I think you’re really cool, I like you a lot, maybe we could hang out or something?
The response was almost immediate, and although Seungcheol was fairly certain he already had plans with Jihoon to binge watch netflix crime documentaries, his schedule was now cleared, as far as he was concerned.
How about tonight at six?
Seungcheol bit his lip to contain his grin as he shot back, Sounds perfect.
He had almost forgotten about the person that was definitely in that supply closet, but another sneeze brought him back to his senses. He put his phone away, straightening his suit before twisting the knob and opening the door.
He peered inside, seeing a dimly lit room that barely had enough space to fit inside lying down. Seungcheol had never been in this specific room before, there were too many in the building that he didn’t know about. But from the various cleaning products piled in one corner of the room, Seungcheol could gather that this definitely had been a janitor's closet.
He still couldn’t see the source of the sneeze, but as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the small space, he saw a tall figure trying desperately to hide behind a makeshift bed.
“What are you doing here? Who are you? How long have you been-”
“Please don’t kick me out!”
Seungcheol stood in the doorway of the closet, squinting to see the person’s face, while still blocking the exit.
“I have to kick you out, you’re trespassing, Just come outside now, or I’ll have to call the police to remove you.”
Seungcheol heard a sigh and backed away from the doorway, eyes widening and head tilting upwards slightly as a tall, lanky figure stepped out of the room. He was disheveled and his hair was sprinkled with a thin layer of dust, probably from having to hide so quickly.
The man looked exhausted, thick dark circles under his eyes. He had a small backpack lying in the corner of the closet, and it couldn’t have contained more than two sets of clothes. Seungcheol was concerned.
The man grabbed his stuff as he stepped out of the room, standing in front of Seungcheol with his head down. Seungcheol shut the door, turning back to see the man rubbing the back of his neck. He looked like he was about to cry.
Seungcheol sighed, “Who are you?”
“My name is Kim Mingyu. Please don’t call the police on me.”
Seungcheol brought a hand up to his head, massaging his temples and thinking about what the hell he was supposed to do now. This man was obviously trespassing, but he looked so tired. Seungcheol could spare the rent money that a customer would have paid, at least for a few weeks, right? Until the man could get back on his feet?
“I’m not going to call the police on you, unless you give me a reason to.” Was the response that Seungcheol came up with, though he realized that trespassing was a very valid reason to call the police.
“Why were you sleeping in there?”
Mingyu looked down even further until Seungcheol couldn’t even see his face anymore, his slightly unruly hair blocking his view, “I lost my job, and then I couldn’t pay rent for my apartment. I was gonna come and see if I could get a job here, then rent a room when I had enough money, but the receptionist was sleeping and I just slipped by, I swear I was gonna get out soon, I wasn’t just gonna stay without paying.”
After a moment of deliberation Seungcheol answered, “Listen, I’m gonna take pity on you, and I’m not gonna make you leave. You can stay, you can have one of the rooms upstairs, but, you have to work. I’m not letting you stay for free.”
At this the man’s head shot up and his eyes widened, and he surged forwards to tug Seungcheol into a hug.
“Thank you so much! Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me! I swear I’ll work hard!”
Seungcheol pushed the man off of him after a moment, smiling somewhat painfully as he realized his next point, “I can’t just move you into a room. Paying rent or not, you have to go through the process of filling out the proper forms. You can… You can stay in my room until tomorrow, we can rush the process.”
Mingyu nodded, thanking Seungcheol once again as the man set off towards the entrance. Mingyu followed closely behind, bag in hand as Seungcheol took the elevator all the way up to the top floor. He forgot all about his meeting, not registering the buzz of his phone in his pocket as Seokmin asking him where he was or how much longer he was going to be.
Seungcheol used his key card to unlock his room, pushing the door open and revealing one of the suites. Mingyu’s jaw dropped and he hesitated to step through the doorway, for fear of contaminating the room. Seungcheol chuckled, ushering Mingyu inside and shutting the door behind him. He got a blanket from the closet, laying it out over the couch and making as best a bed he could for Mingyu.
Seungcheol saw his basket of medicines laying on the counter, over the counter meds for when he was sick last and turned to Mingyu.
“Hey, are you feeling okay? You were sneezing a lot down there, and you look pretty pale.”
Mingyu sniffled, only proving Seungcheol’s point further and shaking his head.
“No, I think I’m getting sick. But it’s okay, don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine.”
Seungcheol sighed, shaking his head as well, “No, it’s alright, I want you to get better as soon as possible. I’ll pick up some soup or something, I dunno.”
“Oh. Thank you.” Mingyu was somewhat surprised at this near stranger’s concern for him, though appreciating it all the same.
Mingyu got to unpacking what little he had, setting out an outfit for the next day while Seungcheol checked his phone. Seungcheol’s eyes went wide as he realized that the meeting was still in progress, swearing loudly and making Mingyu jump slightly.
“Mingyu, I have a meeting to get to, like right now, I’ll be back in an hour or two! Just don’t destroy the room, but I’ll come back with soup!” Seungcheol was already halfway out the door as he finished his sentence, shutting it before Mingyu could bid him goodbye and dashing down the hallway towards his office. He shot Jeonghan a quick text, heart sinking as he did so.
Hey, one of my friends came down with something, and I have to take care of them. Can we push our date to tomorrow night instead?
He hoped Jeonghan didn’t think he was blowing him off.
He didn’t have time to look at the response that he’d gotten so he shoved his phone in his pocket, finally stopping, somewhat breathless before his office door. He straightened his suit, adjusting his tie before taking a deep breath and opening the door.
He was glad that he wasn’t still holding his phone, or he would have dropped it and it would have shattered.
He couldn’t quite make out the other person’s face, presumably the CEO of the company that he was meeting with, but he definitely recognized Seokmin’s profile, lip-locked with the other man. The sound of the door opening made them jolt and pull apart, both of their faces lighting up bright red.
“Seungcheol! I didn’t know if you were even coming!” Seokmin stood, having been sitting on the couch directly across from the CEO of the other company. Seungcheol was still frozen, trying to comprehend the situation but before he could speak, Seokmin ducked out and left Seungcheol with the speechless CEO.
“Seungcheol, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean for you to… well…” The man couldn’t even look Seungcheol in the eyes when he spoke, too mortified.
:It’s.. I think it’s fine. You’re Jisoo, am I correct?”
The man nodded, glad that they’d moved on from the awkward subject. They got through their meeting fairly quickly, stuttering and blushing as they tried forgetting the situation only minutes prior.
Seungcheol sent Jisoo on his way out again in just under thirty minutes, having agreed to meet another time, as he was so late and because the time had been filled the way it had been. Hopefully, next time they met, it wouldn’t be so awkward.
Seungcheol directed Jisoo to the front exit, secretly hoping that Seokmin was somewhere down there, he didn’t want the mortification to happen for nothing.
He ducked back into his apartment, seeing Mingyu sitting on the couch, texting someone.
“Oh! Hi, I was just about to shower, is that okay with you?”
Seungcheol nodded, shedding his suit jacket and heading to his bedroom to lay down for a bit. He shot a quick text to Seokmin, telling him that he hoped Jisoo had passed him in the lobby.
He heard the shower turn on, and also one of the shampoo bottles fall, chuckling softly to himself and letting his eyes close. His head was beginning to hurt from the day’s chaotic turn of events so he let himself drift off, his phone discarded on the bed beside him.
--
Jeonghan told Wonwoo to wait in the parking lot, store-bought soup in hand as he jogged up the stairs to where he knew Seungcheol’s apartment was. The man had talked about how he lived on the top floor before, had taken pictures of the skyline to show to Jeonghan when the latter had mentioned that he was fond of sunsets. And he knew the room number, because Seungcheol’s assistant Seokmin had grinned when Jeonghan had stepped in the lobby, spouting, ‘room 803!’
Jeonghan, being the kind person that he was, had decided to bring Seungcheol’s sick friend soup. He figured it would boost his boyfriend points with Seungcheol. If the point count was going yet. You never knew.
Jeonghan got to Seungcheol’s door, knocking softly on the wood just in case Seungcheol’s friend was sleeping. He got no response, so he knocked a bit louder, hearing footsteps approach and making sure that he looked okay. He did. He always looked great.
The door swung open, but it was definitely not Seungcheol that opened the door, instead a very tall, very shirtless man, actually fully naked save for a towel wrapped around his waist.
He gave Jeonghan a smile, raising his eyebrows in question, “Who are you?”
Jeonghan was unable to say anything, shame and betrayal making their way onto his face as he took in the situation. The man even had a splatter of something white on his cheek, how shameless was Seungcheol?
Seungcheol, who’d been awakened by the second round of knocks, made his way out into the main area, a sleepy grin sliding onto his face as he saw Jeonghan standing there. Jeonghan was barely able to see past the stranger in the doorway but he caught a glimpse of Seungcheol standing there, disheveled, with messy hair and wrinkled clothes.
“Really Seungcheol? Really?” Jeonghan’s voice nearly cracked but he held it together, tears swimming in his eyes as Seungcheol quickly realized what this must look like to Jeonghan.
“Wait, Jeonghan, no, this isn’t what it looks like, I swear, I found him earlier, down in the basement, and then-”
“You expect me to believe that? He has cum on his face still! I can’t believe you, and I even brought your ‘friend’ soup. Well, take it, I don’t want it. Enjoy it together, goodbye.” Jeonghan shoved the soup into Mingyu’s hands, ignoring Seungcheol when the man yelled after him to wait. Seungcheol slipped past Mingyu in the doorway, chasing after Jeonghan who quickened his pace into the elevator and tried to get the doors to close before Seungcheol could reach him.
Mingyu stared after them for a moment, leaving the door open just a tiny bit so that Seungcheol could get inside again, hopefully this time with the other man, Seungcheol had called him Jeonghan? Mingyu frowned, remembering that Jeonghan had mentioned something on his face, checking in the bathroom mirror to see a smear of conditioner on his cheek.
He swore softly, wiping it off with a towel and grabbing a pair of jeans, sliding them on as fast as he could. He tore after Seungcheol, once again leaving the door cracked open slightly. He watched Seungcheol disappear into the elevator just as the doors closed and sighed, bolting for the stairs, not minding that he was still currently shirtless. He made it down the flights of stairs much slower than he’d hoped, seeing Seungcheol knocking on the car window that Mingyu presumed Jeonghan was in. Mingyu jogged over, bending over and heaving slightly with the exertion of having just run down seven flights of stairs. Seungcheol was directly beside the window where Jeonghan was sitting but Mingyu was standing closer to the front of the car, giving him a view of the driver. Jeonghan could be heard screaming at the man in the driver’s seat to, ‘Make our getaway’, but the driver’s eyes were focused solely on Mingyu’s face, (and a little lower than his face as well).
Mingyu took the chance that was given to him, walking around to the driver’s side door and motioning for the man to roll down his window. He did so, wide eyes never leaving Mingyu’s face.
“Jeonghan, I’m not sleeping with Seungcheol. I just met him today. I was just in the shower, I had conditioner on my cheek. Seungcheol was late to his meeting, and was tired, so he laid down. That’s why he looks so disheveled.” At this Seungcheol straightened up, hands coming up to smooth his hair down and readjust his suit.
Jeonghan turned to face him with a glare, “Then why did Seungcheol lie about how he met you? And about his friend being sick, he told me he couldn’t go out tonight because his friend was sick, but then you open the door like that.” Jeonghan gestured to Mingyu’s bare chest but he didn’t have to, the driver of the car was already staring.
“I know it sounds crazy, but he really did find me in the basement. I lost my job a little while ago and got kicked out because I couldn’t pay my rent, so I came here to get a job, but ended up just sneaking in and sleeping in one of the supply closets. He heard me sneeze when he passed the door of my room. And he let me stay while he’s getting me an apartment here, I really am sick. I haven’t eaten fresh food in weeks and breathe in dust constantly.”
Jeonghan’s suspicious glare had faded slightly but not altogether, though he turned to the window that Seungcheol was currently bent over at and rolled it down. Seungcheol’s face lit up in a smile instantly, stuttering out apology after apology for what the scene must have looked like.
Mingyu bit back a smile seeing the couple work things out, leaning slightly in the open window of the car. He met the driver’s eyes, grinning at the man and holding out a hand for him to shake.
“I’m Mingyu, who are you?”
“I’m Wonwoo. It’s nice to meet you, Mingyu.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
--
“See, if it wasn’t for me, you two wouldn’t be together today.” Seokmin proudly stated, looking pointedly at Mingyu and Wonwoo.
“I don’t think that’s quite how it works, but okay.” Jihoon snorted, his hand held firmly in Soonyoung’s, both resting on the table. Seungcheol thanked Jeonghan with a smile as the man came back with more drinks, afterwards finally sitting down and resting his head on Seungcheol’s shoulder. Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Soonyoung, Jihoon, Seokmin, Jisoo, Mingyu, and Wonwoo were all out on a double, well, quadruple date, sitting comfortably on the cozy couches and chairs in the cafe where Jeonghan and Wonwoo worked. One month later and Mingyu was working full time at the apartment complex, and Seungcheol didn’t know anything for sure, but he certainly saw Wonwoo sneaking out of Mingyu’s room at five in the morning more often than not. He couldn’t complain, though, Jeonghan was practically living in his apartment now, most of their clothes in one communal pile that they chose from each day.
Soonyoung had been visiting Jihoon more in the evenings, sometimes cooking for the man and making sure that he got enough sleep. Again, Seungcheol didn’t know anything for sure, but he was fairly certain that Soonyoung stayed the night over at Jihoon’s quite often, and he had definitely caught them kissing more than once. They were one of those couples that never really admitted that they were together, just transitioned to life as a couple without saying anything.
And ever since their meeting, Seokmin and Jisoo had been going out to meet each other frequently, each lovesick and giddy around the other. Just that day Seokmin had given Jisoo a personalized bracelet that he’d weaved himself. Seungcheol was fairly certain that it had come from a teen girl’s jewelry kit. Definitely would be labeled as a friendship bracelet at any summer camp. But Jisoo wore the bracelet proudly, bright pink and yellow clashing only slightly with his suit and tie. Seokmin had a matching one.
Seungcheol wrapped his arm around Jeonghan’s shoulder, feeling a wave of content and happiness wash over him as he sat there with his friends. He took a sip of his drink, snorting when Jihoon’s phone was passed around with a meme displayed on the screen, and cleared his mind of all other responsibilities, letting himself enjoy quality time with his friends, with his boyfriend, with his family.