Archive of Our Own

It’s awfully hot and stuffy in Chan’s living room, Hyunjin thinks, unclasping the first two buttons of his shirt as he waits for Chan to come back from whatever it is he’s tending to inside the kitchen. He slaps a hand against his forehead and sighs when he feels the moisture come away on his palm. 

The stack of papers innocently laying on top of Chan’s coffee table look menacing, and Hyunjin can’t help but shudder every time his eyes land on them. Who knew bond paper could be so threatening? 

Chan finally exits the kitchen with two cups of unidentifiable liquid on each hand and a third one dangerously balancing on his forearm. 

“Is the third cup for you?” Hyunjin wonders aloud, raising an amused eyebrow at Chan once he flops down on the single chair across the couch Hyunjin is currently sitting on. 

“Oh, this? Nah, it’s for Seungmin actually,” Chan says, like it’s no big deal, and Hyunjin lets out a betrayed gasp because that wasn’t part of their discussion. 

“You said he wasn’t invited!” Hyunjin exclaims, and then he quickly buttons his shirt again for the sake of decency. 

“I lied,” Chan admits with a nonchalant shrug. “People lie all the time, Hyunjin.”

“But we had an agreement!” Hyunjin is probably producing enough sweat to fill the three mugs in front of him. This is outrageous. “You said you invited me only! I’m not ready to act in front of other people yet! What if I suck?”

“It’s just a table read, Hyunjin,” Chan insists calmly before he sighs. “I know I told you otherwise, but I just want to prepare you guys already. The sooner we can start, the better, y’know?” 

“But we had an agreement ,” Hyunjin repeats, making sure to put heavy emphasis on the word just in case Chan is not understanding him properly. “I can quit, you know? Push me over the edge and I will take you down with me, Bang Chan.”

“You don’t mean that, Hyunjin,” Chan says, although Hyunjin can sense the hint of fear in his tone. Hyunjin isn’t actually planning on quitting anyway, but he just wants Chan to suffer a little bit for breaking their arrangement. “I’m sorry for not telling you sooner, okay? But I promise you, Seungmin isn’t experienced in acting either so it’s not like it’s gonna be completely embarrassing for you only.”

“Jesus, fine.” Hyunjin rolls his eyes, and Chan beams gratefully at him. “This Seungmin guy isn’t, like, gonna make fun of me or anything, right?”

Chan shakes his head. “Nah, he’s really chill, I swear you’ll like him.” He takes a quick look at his phone and then stands up. “In fact, he’s already in the lobby.”

Five minutes later, and Hyunjin is sitting across from Seungmin, who honestly looks like he’s dressed for a formal class presentation instead of a casual meeting at his friend’s house. Cute, Hyunjin thinks. He has nice brown eyes and neat hair and good shoulders, like the type of boy one would proudly introduce to their parents. He probably submits his homework on time and has a bedtime of nine-thirty or whatever too, and Hyunjin chuckles inwardly at the thought.

“So, um, here are the scripts,” Chan says, after they’re both done introducing themselves to one another. He hands each of them binded sheets of paper, smiling nervously. “They’re not super final yet, so I guess I’ll just email you guys if there are changes. And oh, I also added brief character profiles. Hopefully it’ll make things easier.”

Seungmin goes ahead and flicks through the pages, humming in thought as he skims through the lines. “I’m playing a music major named Jiho…?” he asks, nodding in interest. “A music major with a massive crush on…”

“Minjun, a dance major,” Hyunjin finishes, one eyebrow raised as he stares suspiciously at Chan. He tries to think of where he’s heard something like this before. “Is it just me, or does this sound weirdly familiar…?”

“I know right?” Seungmin agrees, studying the character profile more intently, and Chan flushes. After he’s done rereading everything, Seungmin puts the script down, mouth wide open in shock. “No way.”

“I can explain!” Chan exclaims, before Hyunjin can catch onto what Seungmin is talking about. “I couldn’t really... think of anything for my submission to the annual film fest and then I realized that Minho’s birthday falls on the same day as the festival, so I thought—”

“Are we reenacting your freshman year love story with Minho !?” Hyunjin screeches once he finally understands what Chan is trying to tell them. He takes a large gulp of water as he reexamines his character profile. “And I’m gonna play Minho?” 

“Well, it’s not exactly a reenactment,” Chan explains weakly, scratching the back of his neck. “I changed a lot of stuff, so technically you’re not really even Minho at all…”

“What did you change then? Besides the names, of course,” Seungmin inquires, in a manner that is calmer than Hyunjin’s.

“The places in the film aren’t going to be the same ones Minho and I went to back then.” Chan bites his lower lip. “And the dialogue is obviously gonna be different too, along with the character backstories. It’s really just loosely inspired by my freshman year experiences with Minho.”

“Oh,” Hyunjin says, nodding in consideration. “Alright.”

And now that the initial shock has worn off, and Hyunjin really thinks about it, it doesn’t sound too bad at all. In fact, he thinks it might even be a little… sweet. Chan has his way with making his art, whether music or other, feel genuine, and Hyunjin is excited to see what the genius can produce this time. It’s one of the reasons why he agreed to act for Chan’s short film in the first place, despite not having any experience; it’d be an honor to be part of something heartfelt and made with passion.

“So are you guys still up for it?” Chan asks hopefully. “I know it seems a little strange, but it won’t be! I swear.”

“I trust you,” Seungmin says with a smile that Hyunjin definitely did not find oddly endearing at all whatsoever.  

“I do too.” Hyunjin reaches over and gives Chan a high five.

“Thank you both, really,” Chan says, relieved. He runs a hand through his curly hair. “I knew I could trust you guys. Although, I have one more thing I’d like to add.”

“Yeah, shoot.” Hyunjin lifts his head to look at Chan, who looks a little nervous for what he’s about to say next. 

“If it’s not too much to ask…” Chan starts. “Can you guys, like, not tell anyone about this, if that’s okay?”

“You mean you want this to be a secret?” Hyunjin asks. He makes eye contact with Seungmin, and they both wear the same confused expression on their faces. 

Chan nods. “I mean, it’s a surprise for Minho after all,” he says. “He only knows I’m making something but not what it’s about. I just don’t want people to find out just yet in case the information reaches him, y’know?”

“Got it.” Seungmin flashes Chan a thumbs up, and Hyunjin does the same.

Secret it is.

_

"So, Jiho, what was it like living in San Francisco?”

“It was pretty normal, actually. I thought I’d miss it there, but I like living here better.”

“Oh, um, any particular reason why?”

“Hmmm… must be the people, I guess.”

_

Chan sits at the table next to Hyunjin’s with a camera in hand and a grilled cheese sandwich clamped between his lips. He chews with his eyebrows furrowed. “No, no, and no,” Chan sighs to himself as he rewatches all their footage taken from an hour ago. “This is, like, ass quality, guys.”

Hyunjin pouts, already aware that he’s going to have to cancel a few of his plans in order to reshoot this particular scene. They’ve been stuck on this for days now, and Hyunjin is starting to think he should demand Chan to pay him for his services. 

No one really knows why Chan wants this scene shot during the afternoon. No one has the guts to question him either. 

“Really?” Hyunjin glances at the sky outside, the orange hues slowly fading and being replaced with a dark blue. “What seems to be the problem, chief?”

“I don’t know either.” Chan shakes his head as he continues to compare footage. “There’s just something very strange with the two of you…” He trails off, rubbing the bottom of his chin. 

Well. Hyunjin doesn’t have an answer to that. “I’m sorry…?”

“Not sure if it’s you or Seungmin, but there’s definitely something weird.” Chan squints hard to analyze each scene. Hyunjin shrugs.

“Hey, I’m back.” There is a warm cheeseburger in Hyunjin’s hands all of a sudden. His fellow actor, Seungmin, slides into the seat across from him with an awkward smile. “I didn’t really know what to get you, so I just ordered the same thing for all three of us.”

“That’s fine. I’ll pay you back later, and thank you.” Hyunjin proceeds to pick out the onions from his burger, and Seungmin watches him with a curious gaze. 

“Oh, you don’t eat onions?” 

“Not really.”

“I see.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah.”

“Yup.”

“Oh my fucking god,” Chan suddenly exclaims, causing Hyunjin to spill his water. He stares at the both of them like he just found the solution to ending climate change. “Problem detected.” 

“Yeah? Tell us.” Hyunjin coughs, trying his very best to soak up the water with a napkin before it seeps into his pants. Seungmin pretends not to see his feeble attempts at doing so, but is failing at hiding his laughter behind his cheeseburger. 

“It’s the both of you. You guys are the problem.” Chan motions for them to come closer so he can show them the ‘evidence’ of their problematic acting before proceeding to go off about how they’re both so stiff and robotic, and how they both lack the right emotions for the scene.

Hyunjin actually cares to listen at first, nodding when needed and making noises of understanding when appropriate. Chan makes good short films like he makes good music. Chan writes amazing scripts and is truly a god at what he does, but Chan also nags too much and Hyunjin’s automatic response to that is to simply let it in one ear and out the other. 

“You lack the right, artistic expression.” Chan points at Seungmin’s face during a paused scene to prove his point, snapping Hyunjin out of his trance. “Look at him! He’s practically asleep!”

Hyunjin opens his mouth to argue that it probably only looks like that because Seungmin was in the middle of blinking, but eventually decides to allow Chan to finish his rant first before he says anything. 

“—And you guys don’t even look like you like each other! This is a date scene! A date ! Do you guys even know what that is!?”

“I’ve been to a few—” Seungmin mumbles to himself.

“And are you guys even friends? Like in real life?” Chan finally ends with that , and Hyunjin finds himself wondering as well. 

Before Chan had asked the both of them to star in his short film, Hyunjin was only familiar with him due to their mutual friends. Seungmin shares classes with Jeongin, used to dorm with Felix, and volunteers at the same community center as Jisung. Hyunjin has seen him around campus and with his friends, but for some reason never got the chance to formally meet him.

Are they friends? Can Hyunjin call someone he started working with a whole week ago his friend? Does Seungmin think of him as a friend? 

“We are,” Seungmin says with hesitance as he looks at Hyunjin. “We’re friends, right?” he mouths to Hyunjin.

“Bullshit,” Chan deadpans. “Then you’d know Hyunjin doesn’t eat onions. That’s, like, basic information a friend would know.”

“Hyunjin likes to keep secrets from me,” Seungmin argues back weakly. “He’s… secretive.”

God. Hyunjin should just end this before it gets out of hand. “What do you want us to do then?” 

Chan scratches his head as he packs his things. “Can you guys, I don’t know, just act like you’ve known each other for years already? We need natural chemistry, so get to know each other for real or something?” He shakes his head at them, very much like a disappointed parent would. “Half of this film is about your relationship as a couple, so you’re actually going to have to be comfortable acting like one. You guys are eventually gonna have to hold hands and stuff. You have to convince everyone that you guys are actually in love, or it won’t sell.”

Hyunjin doesn’t like hearing it that way. Now it’s just weird. From the corner of his eye, he sees that Seungmin actually cringes. His face scrunches and his fingers curl, and Hyunjin feels that way on the inside too. 

“SEE? It’s just holding hands!” Chan yells as he stands up, motioning at Seungmin. “He shouldn’t look like that.” 

“I think that’s just Seungmin’s face,” Hyunjin says. 

“Yes, that’s true.” Seungmin nods in agreement. 

“Whatever, we can’t do another take since it’s too dark already, so I’ll just see you guys in three days,” Chan says with a tired huff and a wave. “We won’t shoot tomorrow or on Thursday and Friday. I actually want you two to figure something out. I am not willing to search for your replacements, I’m too busy for that.” 

When Chan leaves, Seungmin looks at Hyunjin with an unreadable expression. “Unpopular opinion, but he wouldn’t be having this problem if he asked Felix and Changbin to do this instead of us.”

“That’s because they’re actually dating, so it’d be believable if they acted all lovey-dovey.” But that’s also true, Chan wouldn’t be having this problem if he had hired Felix and Changbin instead. Or maybe Hyunjin and Seungmin really are just terrible actors in general. 

“Ugh. Believable. That’s what we have to be.” Seungmin groans, slumping down on his chair, ignoring the fart-like noise produced by the leather seat and his pants rubbing against each other. 

“I think we can do it.” Hyunjin tries to think positively. Seungmin isn’t a hard person to talk to, and he has faith that they can easily fix their on-screen awkwardness every time they interact. He just doesn’t know what to do for the latter half of the film like what Chan had mentioned earlier. 

“We can easily do friend things…” Seungmin says slowly like he’s still trying to process the words in his head as well. “But can we do the, uh, lovey-dovey couple stuff?”

There it is. 

Hyunjin swallows. “We can try?” 

“How.”

“We can practice?” Hyunjin suggests weakly. He prays Seungmin doesn’t deck him or anything like that. 

But Seungmin actually nods, the edges of his mouth curling upwards to form the tiniest of smiles. No fists shown or thrown. “Yeah, okay. We are going to sell this so hard.”

_

Seungmin texts Hyunjin the next day to meet him in front of their campus bookstore. Hyunjin passes by the coffee shop to get them drinks first, buying a hot chocolate for Seungmin because he remembers seeing him drink it once. 

He spots Seungmin reading a book next to the large fountain. “Hey, I got you a drink.”

“No way,” Seungmin says as he hurriedly stuffs his book back inside his bag, scooting over so Hyunjin can sit on the bench as well. “I got you a drink too.”

Hyunjin looks at the empty cup sitting between them on the bench. “Was it this one?”

“Yeah, but I was thirsty so I drank it while waiting,” Seungmin laughs sheepishly.

“Well, good thing I got myself one too.” Hyunjin hands Seungmin his hot chocolate that isn’t so hot anymore and they start walking with no actual destination in mind. “Why’d you ask to meet up anyway?”

“Figured I might as well get to know you more like what Chan said.” Seungmin finishes his drink in three whole gulps before throwing the paper cup into the trash bin. Hyunjin tries not to wince. The drink wasn’t scalding hot, but it was still pretty hot. “Sorry, were you busy or anything?”

“No, not really. I do have a lunch meeting with some friends, but that’s still happening later. Do you wanna come?” Hyunjin wonders if now is a good time to ‘practice’ whatever it is they’re supposed to be practicing. It’s easier said than done, but he cautiously reaches for Seungmin’s hand as they walk anyway. 

“Will they be okay with that?” Seungmin asks, already swinging their hands in the air. He doesn’t seem surprised or repulsed by having Hyunjin’s hand in his, which is a good sign. 

“Of course.” Hyunjin nods. “If not, then I’ll kill them.”

“Oh, wow, look at you.” Seungmin whistles, making Hyunjin chuckle. “Already so sweet to me.”

“Like it?” Hyunjin jokes, and then he tugs Seungmin closer to him when a car drives by. Seungmin sends him a small smile of appreciation. “Anyway, what do you do?”

“Good question. What do I do anyway?” Seungmin stops to think about his answer for a moment. “I tutor kids at the community center on Saturdays and I talk to the people there sometimes too. And you?”

“Nothing as important as that.” Hyunjin should volunteer at the center as well one of these days. Jisung always says it’s a lot of fun making soup for the elderly and playing mahjong with them. Maybe he’ll ask Seungmin to show him around next time. “I just dance and stuff. Nothing exciting. Tell me more about the community center though, it seems like a lot of fun.”

And Seungmin does tell him. In fact, he even goes into detail about the different types of leather on each couch of the community center’s lobby. Seungmin teaches the kids basic math in the morning and then interacts with the elderly at noon. He mentions that the kids usually beg for him to play with them at the park and that they all think he looks like a dinosaur-puppy.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hyunjin asks. Kids are so weird sometimes, he thinks. “Are you like a dinosaur the size of a puppy? Or a puppy the size of a dinosaur? Or like a furry dinosaur? Or a scaly dog?” 

Seungmin shoves him with a laugh. “Fuck you.”

“No, I’m asking serious questions here!” Hyunjin is genuinely confused as to how the kids came up with that strange hybrid comparison because Seungmin looks like, well, Seungmin. “I don’t think these kids have seen your face up close.”

“To be fair, they only reach hip-level.” Seungmin says, shrugging before bursting into laughter again, making Hyunjin smack him with his book bag. 

After stopping by the library to pick up Seungmin’s prints for his class the next day, Hyunjin ultimately decides that it’s time for them to have lunch with his friends. Seungmin is already friends with most of them anyway, so it shouldn’t be weird. The only problem is explaining to them how he and Seungmin know each other. 

When Seungmin opens the door for the both of them, Hyunjin is hit by a sudden wave of confusion. He has a strong feeling that he’s forgetting something very important, but he just doesn’t know what it is he’s forgetting.

“Something wrong?” Seungmin asks, and Hyunjin shakes his head.

He easily spots his friends due to how loud they are and walks over to their table with Seungmin trailing behind him, not realizing that their hands are still intertwined with one another. 

“Wow, you’re early for once,” Jisung remarks as he pulls out the seat next to him. “And you’re with Seungmin?”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Hyunjin replies smartly. He looks down and finally registers that his left hand is still grasping Seungmin’s. 

Ah. So that’s what he was forgetting.

At this point, every single one of them at the table is staring at Hyunjin and Seungmin and their hands that are laced together. Definitely too late for him to let go and pretend like nothing happened. Hyunjin doesn’t even know if it’s his hand that’s sweating or if it’s Seungmin’s, but it’s really gross anyway. 

“What’s with the hand holding?” Changbin questions suspiciously, eyes narrowed as he sips his water. 

“Yeah!” Jeongin pipes in, pouting. “You guys didn’t tell me you knew each other. How did you two meet?”

Startled, Hyunjin bites down on his tongue before he mentions anything related to Chan’s film, sneaking a glance at Seungmin instead, who is also looking right back at him with a panicked expression. They should’ve thought about this before entering the restaurant. Dumb mistake.

“I… We…” Seungmin opens and closes his mouth as he struggles to come up with an answer. Hyunjin now realizes that it’s definitely Seungmin’s hand that’s sweating. 

“No, wait! I wanna guess!” Jisung suddenly sits upright, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Anyone from a mile away can see that the gears in his head are turning at turbo speed with the way he mumbles as he thinks to himself. He pauses, points at Hyunjin and Seungmin, and then slams his hands down on the table. “YOU GUYS ARE DATING!”

Seungmin whips his head to the side so quickly Hyunjin actually hears his neck crack. Now, it’s Hyunjin’s gears that are turning at turbo speed. His brain is overheating. Nothing good ever comes out of Hyunjin when he’s put on the spot, which is why he doesn’t even realize what he’s telling Seungmin until he’s said it already. 

“Should we tell them we are?” His mind travels back to Chan’s words from yesterday. Something about convincing everyone that they’re in love or whatever. With that on their shoulders and the fact that they’re supposed to be keeping Chan’s film a secret, Hyunjin’s mind goes through mental gymnastics. “If we can convince them, then—”

But Seungmin easily gets the point. He doesn’t even need to hear the rest of what Hyunjin has to say before he understands. “Yeah, we’re dating,” he tells everyone flatly, even showing off their intertwined hands to prove his statement. “So what?”

The entire table is stunned to silence, and Hyunjin, too, is quite shocked. He wasn’t expecting Seungmin to take him seriously. In fact, he wasn’t even expecting anything at all. But they look like they aren’t about to question them any further, so he relaxes his tensed shoulders a bit and flashes his biggest smile. 

“Yeah, guys.” Hyunjin nods slowly, eventually coming to the conclusion that if they can pull this off, then they can keep Chan’s secret safe while simultaneously rubbing it into his face that they aren’t the worst actors after all. “He’s my boyfriend.”

_

“I’ll take the heat for it,” Hyunjin tells Seungmin the day after their lunch meeting with Jisung, Changbin, and Jeongin. “If it fails, I’ll take the blame for it and say I forced you to do this with me.”

After pondering over it for quite some time, Hyunjin now feels bad for dragging Seungmin into something they hadn’t properly discussed and agreed on. Admittedly, this would only have happened because of Chan and the fact that he didn’t want them to tell anyone about his film, but it is technically Hyunjin’s fault for making the suggestion that he and Seungmin should act like they are dating instead of just coming up with an easier, much simpler lie like, “hey, we bumped into each other on campus and realized we shared the same friends!”

Hyunjin is very much aware and sorry about the hole he dug them into.

“Aw, don’t apologize. We’re both in this together.” So far, Seungmin hasn’t said anything against the events of yesterday, but Hyunjin still wants to make sure he’s okay with it. “It was a tense situation, and we were under a lot of pressure. Besides, I was the one who said it out loud anyway, not you.”

“But still, I—”

“Think about it this way,” Seungmin explains, interrupting Hyunjin before he can ramble any further on how this might backfire on them. “Just pretend like we’re taking our characters, Jiho and Minjun, outside of the script and camera. Like… real-life application, if you want it in math terms.”

“Real-life application,” Hyunjin echoes, considering it.

Seungmin, it seems, has his own agenda. That, or he just doesn’t give a shit. He’s so chill that it’s weirdly suspicious, and Hyunjin knows for a fact that any other person wouldn’t go through this much trouble just for a film they aren’t even being paid to do. Hyunjin wants to ask why he doesn’t seem to be bothered by anything, but decides to save it for next time.

“I’ll ask you one more time anyway,” Hyunjin says seriously, just to be really certain. “Are you sure about this?”

Seungmin’s grin is devious with a tiny hint of something Hyunjin can’t quite place. “Very.”

_

“Are the flowers okay? I hope you’re not allergic to them. Ah, dang, I should’ve asked you about it.”

“Jiho, chill. I’m not allergic to anything, as far as I’m aware. Also, these are beautiful. Thank you, I love flowers.” 

“That’s a relief. Oh, and I’ll make sure to always get some for you then, Minjun.”

_

“Your room is so… empty.”

Seungmin’s reaction to Hyunjin’s bedroom is a mixture of bewilderment and awe. They’re here to review some of their lines and to maybe watch a movie on Hyunjin’s laptop if they finish early. They would normally choose to practice on the bench next to the fountain on campus because it’s not crowded there, but it’s currently too hot outside for them to handle. 

Hyunjin’s dorm is the next best thing there is to peace and quiet, since Seungmin’s roommate has his friends over for a group project. 

“It won’t be soon.” Hyunjin is getting into designing rooms these days. After helping his mom redecorate their den over break, Hyunjin has been lurking on Pinterest for new ideas on how his space should look. “The new desk I ordered online is just sitting in my kitchen. I’m gonna set it up once I have time.”

Seungmin nods in fascination, eyes taking in all four corners of the bedroom. He pauses to think for a moment. “Can I help you with it?” 

Hyunjin blinks in surprise. He didn't think Seungmin would be interested. “You want to? I mean… we can do it now if you’re up for it,” he suggests, smiling when Seungmin nods eagerly. “We can set it up in the living room.”

Sad to say, Hyunjin’s excitement for his new table gradually fades away the more he watches the mess unfold on his living room floor. It turns out that building a table is a lot harder than Hyunjin expected it to be. No matter how many times he and Seungmin read the manual, they just can't seem to figure out how the parts are supposed to connect to each other. 

“I think we’re missing an important piece here.” Seungmin studies each section of the manual with his eyebrows scrunched. He picks up one of the legs. “And I’m pretty sure this one is definitely shorter than the rest.” 

“This can’t be happening.” The shipping had cost even more than the actual table. Hyunjin remembers because he had to consult Jisung before buying it. “I won’t allow it.”

Seungmin looks at him with what seems to be pity in his eyes, witnesses as Hyunjin crumples to the ground with his knees pressed against his chest. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he says comfortingly. “We can still build it though. It’s just gonna be really wobbly.”

“It was too good to be true,” Hyunjin sniffs. “I’ll just insert a folded piece of paper under the shorter leg later. I’m not in the mood to build it anymore.”

Nodding, Seungmin helps Hyunjin put the rest of the unused pieces back inside the box. “I know what can make you feel better.” Seungmin nudges Hyunjin with his elbow. “We can get some frozen yogurt. I know a good place.”

Hyunjin smiles at this. His friends aren’t as nice as Seungmin is. In fact, they’d probably just laugh at Hyunjin’s shit table and then raid his fridge for leftovers. “I love froyo,” he says with a sigh, feeling significantly better already.

The walk to the frozen yogurt shop takes ten minutes on foot, but it takes them at least half an hour to arrive because Seungmin keeps trying to chase birds. They enter the store and are immediately greeted by a wide array of flavors. Hyunjin likes to keep his froyo order simple, only topping it off with crushed pistachios and a few rainbow sprinkles, while Seungmin puts a spoonful of everything in his. 

“I’m so worried for your teeth.” Hyunjin can hear the crunch of the walnuts, cookie bits, sprinkles, cereal, and M&M'S as Seungmin practically inhales his frozen yogurt. “How do you live like this?”

“I live for the thrill.” Seungmin shrugs. “I’m not a boring frozen yogurt consumer.”

“I bet you also bite your ice cream,” Hyunjin says accusingly. 

“There’s no shame in biting ice cream,” Seungmin scoffs. “It’s fun.”

“I can’t be friends with you anymore.”

“I’m telling Chan you said that.” Seungmin hums as he tauntingly wags his spoon at Hyunjin’s face. “He’ll fire you for sure, Minjun ,” he warns, using the name of Hyunjin’s role as a joke.

Hyunjin steals a chunk of brownie from Seungmin’s bowl in response, and Seungmin retaliates by taking a large scoop of Hyunjin’s yogurt. They bicker about superior flavours and laugh at each other’s ‘shitty’ opinions, and Hyunjin is filled with so much joy that he forgets all about the broken table he has sitting at home.

_

“This might sound weird to you, but I think you have, like, the prettiest smile ever.”

“Ever? Isn’t that a bit too far, Minjun?”

“No, not to me. It’s just so pleasing to look at. I hope I can make you smile like that all the time.”

_

They see each other much more often now. 

After shooting the date scene, Chan mentions how impressed he is by how big of a difference their change in chemistry was from their first time filming to now. Because of this, they are able to shoot two more scenes for the film before ending early, leaving them with no choice but to just have dinner together. 

Dinner together on Saturday leads to lunch on Sunday, which leads to donuts on Tuesday and Mexican food on Thursday night. They go out and try new restaurants every time they see each other, and Hyunjin learns that Seungmin loves eggs once he notices that every dish he orders always has some kind of egg in it. When they go out to eat Japanese food, Seungmin dares Hyunjin to eat as much sushi as he possibly can, and when Hyunjin gets a stomach ache the next day, Seungmin goes over to his place with medicine and soup. 

Hyunjin’s out more than usual, but he’s happier than usual too. 

“Gross. Sickening. Absolutely disgusting.” Felix shakes his head at Hyunjin as he reads their text messages over Hyunjin’s shoulder. He puts down his video game controller and leans against his bed. “Changbin told me you guys are a thing now and I couldn’t believe it at first.” 

“You say that as if you and Changbin aren’t the grossest couple I’ve ever met.” Seungmin sends Hyunjin a wall of heart emojis after Hyunjin promises to pay for their milk tea and frozen yogurt the next time they get some, and Felix makes a series of strange noises to express his disgust. “Compared to the both of you, we’re just a three out of ten on the gross scale.”

“Okay, and?” Felix sticks his tongue out immaturely, picking out the lint from his carpet. “How did you two meet in the first place? And how come you guys didn’t tell anyone?”

Hyunjin gulps but answers anyway. They’ve rehearsed this already, and their meet-up story is supposedly ‘cute’ like what Seungmin says, but it just sounds embarrassing and cliche to Hyunjin. 

“We met at the grocery store, actually.” Hyunjin acts like he’s recalling a fond memory by speaking with a smile, but joke’s on Felix, the memory doesn’t even exist. “My paper bag tore and all my groceries fell out and he helped me pick them up. He asked me why I had so many fruits and I told him I wanted to use them on my new blender, then he said he knew someone named Jisung and that he’s seen me with him a couple of times before, and then he offered to help me carry my groceries to my car.”

Felix coos, then covers it up with a cough once he realizes what he had just done. “And then?” 

“And then I saw him the next day ‘cause we were both waiting in line for coffee before class, so we started talking and yeah.” Hyunjin ends it there because he forgot how the story is supposed to go after that. “That’s basically how it happened.”

“And you didn’t bother telling us?” Felix picks up a cushion from the ground and angrily smacks Hyunjin with it. “How long has it even been?” 

“We were busy and we weren’t sure if we were even going to work out, so we didn’t tell anyone at first.” Hyunjin is convinced he’s the greatest actor he knows. He deserves an Oscar award for being able to keep up with this act. Chan should be proud of him. “It’s only been a month, chill.”

Felix looks at him suspiciously, then pouts. “Still,” he whines, picking his controller back up and starting a new game. “Would’ve been nice to know.”

They go for a few more rounds of Mario Kart until someone knocks on the door. Seungmin enters with ice cream from the convenience store downstairs. He immediately takes a seat next to Hyunjin on the floor, passing him a spoon.

“What the hell? How did you get in?” Felix squawks as he pauses his game again, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. “I didn’t even invite you?”

“I used to live here, duh. I still have the keys to this apartment.” Seungmin shrugs, opening his tub of ice cream for him and Hyunjin to share. “I got you a chocolate popsicle, though.”

“Really?” Felix makes grabby hands until Hyunjin hands him the treat. “I thought I lost it.” 

“It was with me the entire time, dude. You never asked for it back, so I kept it,” Seungmin says as he rubs his head from the brain freeze. He dangles the spare keys in front of Felix’s face. “I can break into your apartment anytime I want.”

“Who’s to say he hasn’t broken in already,” Hyunjin adds pointedly.

“You should check for missing food in your fridge from time to time.” Seungmin winks. “Your mom makes really good kimchi.”

“You can take anything but my mom’s kimchi and the ice pops in the freezer,” Felix pleads before he pauses and whispers to himself. “Fuck. I shouldn’t have mentioned the ice pops.”

“Boohoo.” Seungmin fake cries and then he continues eating. 

Felix stares at the both of them sharing the tub of ice cream. Hyunjin makes a show of holding Seungmin’s hand, fingers interlocked and all. “Ugh. Now that Seungmin’s here, Hyunjin’s gonna be all yucky and stuff. Maybe I should ask Changbin to come home as soon as he finishes work.”

Hyunjin fake gags. “If Changbin comes, Seungmin and I will leave.”

“Don’t care. I already texted him.” Felix smiles at his phone, probably at something Changbin said. Hyunjin hopes he doesn’t look like that whenever he texts Seungmin. Or should he look like that whenever he texts Seungmin? Whatever. “He said he’ll bring us dinner, so you guys have to stay.”

Hyunjin looks over at Seungmin to give him a look . They were planning on going out to watch a movie later, but they’ll just have to postpone that. Besides, if they’re getting free food, then why bother leaving?

They all play again after finishing their ice cream, and Hyunjin loses all ten rounds against Felix and Seungmin. Seungmin is surprisingly good at games and he’s competitive too. He watches as Felix loses his mind after seeing his second place ranking on the screen. 

“This game sucks,” Felix huffs, glaring at Seungmin with all his might. The youngest of the three simply grins evilly. Now bored, Felix takes the opportunity to interrogate Hyunjin and Seungmin’s relationship. “Where was your first date?” 

“Starbucks.” They say at the same time, relief immediately flooding Hyunjin. For a split second, he was about to say Krispy Kreme, but he remembered just in time. Thank god. 

“Boring. What’s Seungmin’s usual order?” Felix directs his next question at Hyunjin, and Hyunjin easily answers this time. 

“He doesn’t have one.” Hyunjin is actually sure about his answer because they’ve had this discussion before. “He just likes anything with chocolate.”

“And Hyunjin just likes anything cold that isn’t too sweet,” Seungmin says, before Felix can even ask him. “Do you know Changbin’s usual—”

“Cold brew. Easy.” Felix interrupts with a smug smile. 

“I heard my name.” Changbin opens the door, suddenly making his surprise appearance in Felix’s bedroom, Chinese takeout in one hand. Felix immediately runs up to greet him with a hug. “Hi, Felix.”

“Hey,” Felix says sweetly.

Hyunjin’s stomach churns at the sight in front of him. He didn’t come over to witness this disgusting public display of affection. He coughs loudly to butt in on their moment. “We’re here too, Changbin.”

“I’m aware.” Changbin barely spares them a glance before returning his attention to Felix, even pressing a light kiss to his nose. “How was your day, Felix?”

“Notice how he doesn’t address us? He’s totally doing this on purpose,” Seungmin whispers next to Hyunjin as he continues to expose his eyes to whatever is happening in front of them. “I feel like I’m watching the cheesiest romcom right now.”

Hyunjin nods in agreement. “I get the romance, but why the comedy?”

“Because I laugh every time I look at Changbin.”

That’s… understandable. Hyunjin actually has to stand and physically break Changbin and Felix apart to get their attention. If he watches them for any longer, he’ll actually pass out and die right then and there. “Hello? Can we please eat? Please?” 

“Fine,” Changbin grumbles, finally handing the takeout bags for Hyunjin to prepare. “But only because you asked nicely.”

Dinner with Felix and Changbin doesn’t stop them from being gross, however. Hyunjin will never forgive them for making his eyes go through this. Felix feeds Changbin another dumpling in the span of two minutes. Hyunjin’s left eye twitches. 

“Oh, stop being such a baby,” Felix laughs when he notices Hyunjin’s distressed state. “As if you don’t do the same thing to Seungmin.”

“I don’t,” Hyunjin snaps, but then realizes that he shouldn’t have, because the whole point of this thing they’re committing to is to be as horrendously in love as possible. “I mean… he can feed himself.”

Felix tsks. “You suck.”

“Yeah!” Changbin hollers, shaking his head in disappointment. 

“Yeah,” Seungmin also says. 

Hyunjin turns to him, betrayed. “Hey! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“I don’t know anymore, Hyunjin… Maybe I wanna be fed sometimes.” Seungmin sniffs sadly, wiping a fake tear from his eye. 

“Then ask?” Hyunjin is being ganged up on. This is bullying. Seungmin can forget about his milk tea and froyo tomorrow. 

Seungmin smiles innocently, but Hyunjin knows him well enough to see the devilish glint in his eyes. Pointing at the piece of pork on Hyunjin’s plate, he winks. “Feed me?”

Sighing internally, Hyunjin picks up his chopsticks with shaking fingers. He doesn’t know why he feels weird doing this. As if he hasn’t held Seungmin’s hand before. “Fine.”

He takes the piece of pork and inches the chopsticks closer to Seungmin’s mouth, and just when it’s about a centimeter away, he accidentally drops the piece right on Seungmin’s lap. Oh, for fuck’s sake, he’s really bad at this. 

“Um, never do that again.” Seungmin stares at his lap with a horrified expression. “Never do anything again.”

And Hyunjin actually has to agree with him on this one.

On the taxi ride home, Hyunjin asks Seungmin a question that he’s been itching to ask. “Why’d you move out of Felix’s place? You never told me.”

“Hm?” Seungmin looks up from his phone, turning it off and putting it in his pocket. “I moved in with my cousin after he graduated from high school since he had nobody to split rent with. Changbin moved in after anyway, so Felix wasn’t alone.”

“Oh, okay.” Hyunjin nods.

“Also, I kinda had a crush on Felix, but yeah.”

“You—you what now,” Hyunjin sputters, the new information hitting him like a truck. He did not see that coming. 

Seungmin hides his face behind his hands, chuckling as he lets out an embarrassed sigh, and Hyunjin thinks he looks adorable like this. Tiny, despite their almost similar height. “You cannot tell anyone. I’ll break all your fingers if you do.”

Instinctively, Hyunjin shoves his hands inside his pockets where they’re safe from Seungmin’s reach. “So you never told Felix about it?”

“God, no.” Seungmin shudders at the thought. The taxi makes a swift left turn, resulting in Hyunjin’s head bumping the window. “Jisung will tease me forever, and I can’t have that.”

“What does Jisung have to do with this?” Hyunjin snorts. 

“If Felix finds out, he’ll tell Changbin, and Changbin will tell Jisung. Duh.” Seungmin says it like he’s stating the most obvious thing in the world. “But anyway, I don’t plan on ever telling Felix. Or maybe I will, but only on my deathbed.”

“Is it because you still like him?” Hyunjin whispers cautiously, not knowing how to approach this subject in case it’s a sensitive topic. If Seungmin likes Felix until now, then he’s really good at pretending he doesn’t.

“Ewww,” Seungmin cringes, dragging out the word for as long as he can manage, seeming absolutely disgusted. “It only lasted a month, and it was only because he dyed his hair orange and I found it really cute.

“So it wasn’t serious?” Hyunjin asks, strangely relieved. The taxi makes another swift turn, making Seungmin hit his head against the window this time. 

“Oh, man, not at all.” Seungmin shrugs nonchalantly. “We’re just bros. Plus, he has Changbin and they’re good together, as much as I hate saying that out loud.”

“Cool.” Hyunjin nods in understanding. “It’s just a bit surprising. I didn’t think Felix was your type.”

Seungmin looks at him with curiosity in his eyes. “Well? What do you think is my type? ‘Cause even I don’t know.”

Hyunjin stares back. “Dunno either,” he admits, scratching his head. “Tall-ish? Handsome? Can dance?”

“Felix is all of those.”

“Okay, you’re kinda right except for the tall-ish part.” Hyunjin pretends like he has to think a little bit harder. “Likes photography? Has a pet dog? Eats sushi almost every week?”

“Now you’re just saying facts about yourself.” Seungmin threatens to punch him but doesn’t actually pull through with it. He leans back against Hyunjin’s shoulder comfortably, not budging when Hyunjin jokingly attempts to push his head off. “But you’re not wrong though.”

Hyunjin tenses up for a brief moment before letting out an awkward chuckle. Seungmin is so funny sometimes, Hyunjin thinks. He places his head on top of Seungmin’s for the rest of the ride. 

What a funny guy. 

_

“Is this okay?”

“You don’t need to ask me for permission every time you want to hold my hand, y’know?”

“I know, but I just like knowing I’m allowed to do stuff like this.”

“That actually sounded so gross. Please shut up.”

_

Hyunjin is busy practicing his lines when his mom calls him. 

“Hi, ma,” Hyunjin greets, like the wonderful son he is. “Have you eaten lunch already?”

“No, not yet,” his mom answers. “Have you?”

“I will later.” Hyunjin checks the time. Seungmin should be coming over soon with tacos. “So, why’d you call?”

Hyunjin’s mom scoffs, and he can already imagine the scowl on her face. “To check up on my son? Is that so bad?”

“You only call me if there’s something important, ma.” Hyunjin knows his mom too well. The last time she called, she complained that her iPhone kept shutting down on her. “Is there something you need?”

She laughs sheepishly. “Ah, well, you see,” she starts, “your cousin’s wedding is coming up soon, and we just wanted to tell you that it would be really nice if you could bring that Seungmin boy over.”

Seungmin?

Wait a damn minute. 

Hyunjin stops pacing around in his living room, eyes widening to the size of saucers. “Huh? What do you mean we ? Who’s getting married? And how do you know about Seungmin?”

“Hyunjin! Your cousin from Incheon is getting married next month? Seriously, ah, you’re so forgetful. I even emailed you the invitation two weeks ago,” Hyunjin’s mom scolds.

“Mom, you know I don’t check my emails!” Hyunjin whines, immediately running to open the door when he hears the bell ring. Seungmin opens his mouth to say hello, but closes it once he realizes Hyunjin’s in the middle of a phone call. “And don’t change the subject! How do you know about him? How many of you know?”

Hyunjin’s mom tsks. “That’s not important—”

“Mom,” Hyunjin whines again, ignoring Seungmin’s silent laughter from across the room. “Tell me, please?”

“Stop whining, you’re not a child anymore,” his mom says, annoyance seeping in her tone. “I bumped into Mrs. Han in the salon and we went grocery shopping together. She said she heard from Mrs. Lee that you were seeing her son’s former roommate, and that Mrs. Park saw the both of you getting donuts on her way to the pilates studio.”

Hyunjin groans. He should have known. Felix tells his mom everything, but it’s not like it’s entirely his fault anyway, so Hyunjin can’t really be mad about it. 

“Stop gossiping. All. Of. You.” Hyunjin curses everyone involved in the chain of gossip. Can they all find something else to talk about that doesn’t involve other people’s personal affairs? He finally takes a seat next to Seungmin on the couch. “Who else knows?”

“Well, you barely tell me anything about what’s happening in your life anymore,” his mom explains. “And I didn’t tell everyone, okay? Just your dad and your aunts. That’s it.”

“That’s because you tell everyone about my business.” Hyunjin knows that by ‘aunts’ his mom means the entire neighborhood and their dogs too. He wants to slam his head against the wall. Repeatedly. “No more gossiping from now on, I’m begging you.”

“Fine, fine.” Hyunjin just feels it in his entire body and soul that his mom is rolling her eyes right now. “Whatever, just bring that Seungmin boy to the wedding, okay? We all want to meet him.”

Hyunjin secretly glances at Seungmin, watches as he tries to devour his taco without making any crunching noises. “Mom, it’s my cousin’s wedding. Focus on that.”

His mom laughs. “He’s been with that girl for six years.” Her voice goes soft all of a sudden. “You’re like the baby of the family, Hyunjin. We’re all just happy you have someone.”

His mom hangs up after reminding him to check his emails daily in case she sends him something important again. She reminds him not to skip any meals and to sleep early, and Hyunjin sighs once he puts the phone down. Seungmin finally stops trying to eat silently. 

“You looked stressed,” Seungmin says observantly, handing Hyunjin his warm taco. “What was that all about?” 

Hyunjin attempts to fix his expression into a calmer, more collected one so as to not scare Seungmin too badly when he tells him about the invitation to his cousin’s wedding. He can’t look his friend in the eye without feeling embarrassed that their little, fake relationship has spread far and fast. 

Hyunjin is seriously mortified. How does he tell his colleague/friend that his entire family actually thinks they’re together? 

“Seungmin, look, um...” Hyunjin tries to find the right words to explain their current situation, but it’s hard when Seungmin’s gazing at him like a lost puppy, completing the look with a head tilt and shining eyes. 

Seungmin puts his food down on the table, straightening his back. “Are you breaking up with me?” 

Hyunjin chokes. “What? No! That’s not what I wanted to talk about, but I mean... if you want me to?”

Seungmin visibly relaxes. “No, I don’t,” he says stiffly, waving off the topic with a hand. “What were you gonna say?”

Coughing, Hyunjin looks at everything but Seungmin. “My cousin is getting married.” He lowers his voice. “You’re invited to come with me. As my date. My entire family wants to meet you. As in, they think we’re actually together.”

“That’s it?” Seungmin cocks his head to the other side, one eyebrow raised. He looks like he’s about to laugh again. “Sure, I’ll go with you.”

Hyunjin blinks multiple times. This was not how he expected it to go. But then again, Seungmin always surprises him with how unpredictable he is. “Are you angry? Because I let it go this far?”

Seungmin shakes his head. “Kind of expected it to happen already. Besides, that’s not in your control, so I can’t be mad at you for it.”

“How are you always so... calm about stuff?” Hyunjin asks after a while, just because he’s never seen Seungmin lose his shit over anything. 

“I don’t know.” Seungmin just flashes him a smile that makes Hyunjin’s chest feel all kinds of funny. “But you have to stop getting so worked up about everything.”

“Hey! I don’t!” Hyunjin says defensively, until he realizes that this is what Seungmin is talking about. He softens his voice. “I’ll try.” 

“Good.” Seungmin pats him on the head like he would to a dog and then goes back to eating. “You should eat quickly, Hyunjin. We’re still going to the movies later.”

Right, Hyunjin thinks, sighing inwardly. 

_

Felix begs all of them to come to his place, because he’s going through a new phase in life wherein he tries to recreate dishes on Pinterest without actually looking at the list of ingredients or directions, and because Changbin is visiting his parents at his hometown so he’s lonely. They’re currently sitting in Felix’s living room as they wait for him to come out of the kitchen with something hopefully edible.

“I’m scared,” Jisung whispers, more to himself than to anyone in the room. 

“I trust him.” Jeongin has a heart too pure for this world sometimes, and it scares Hyunjin sometimes that Jeongin might end up getting scouted into a cult one day. “He hasn’t fucked up yet.”

“ Yet, ” Seungmin counters. “But also, I’m really hungry right now so I’m willing to eat anything Felix serves us.”

“I’m still scared,” Jisung repeats. They all give him matching worried smiles.

After ten minutes of watching Jeongin and Jisung have the world’s most intense staring contest, Felix comes out of the kitchen wearing a ridiculous Kiss The Cook apron, holding a plate of honey garlic chicken and fried rice. 

It’s not bad at all, Hyunjin thinks. It’s way better than anything he’s ever cooked up at home and that says a lot because Hyunjin actually follows the directions. Felix could make a career out of this if he really wanted to. 

“I can’t believe you did that,” Jisung moans as he eats his third serving of rice. 

“Did what? What did I do?” Felix wipes his mouth with a napkin, slightly alarmed. “Is the chicken undercooked? Did I just give you salmonella?”

“I can’t believe you just cooked us the best meal of my entire life."

“Oh,” Felix says, deflating. “Thanks.”

“Hey.” Ignoring the others, Seungmin glances at Hyunjin and reaches forward. “You have a grain of rice on your cheek.” He picks the grain off then eats it.

“Wow. Love is so real.” Jeongin rests his chin on the palm of his hand, and it takes a lot of willpower for Hyunjin not to gauge Seungmin’s reaction to the statement. “I wish I had someone.”

“You have me.” Jisung playfully bats his lashes at their youngest friend, causing Jeongin to screech at an inhuman pitch.

Jisung suggests they watch Clueless after dinner. Jeongin takes up all the couch space by stretching his legs out until there’s no more room for anyone to squeeze into, and they just let him because he’s Jeongin. Jisung shares a beanbag with Felix while Hyunjin and Seungmin sit on the floor. 

The windows are open for the wind to come in, the night breeze making the room a bit chilly. Hyunjin isn’t too bothered by it at first, but he eventually starts blowing on his fingers to warm them up. 

“Are you cold?” Seungmin asks, voice barely above a whisper. Hyunjin nods, and Seungmin quickly takes off his jacket and drapes it over their legs like a thin blanket. He rests his hand on top of Hyunjin’s too. “Is that better?”

“Y-yeah,” Hyunjin gulps, his face warming up rapidly. “Thanks.” 

“No problem.”

As the end credits roll, Seungmin quickly stands up, announcing that he’s going to make a quick stop at the convenience store to buy more snacks and drinks for the next movie. Before Hyunjin can ask if he could come along, Felix and Jisung beat him to it, picking up their wallets and exiting the apartment with Seungmin as they make a mental list of things to purchase.

“You’re pouting like he’s not coming back,” Jeongin comments dryly, eyes glued to his phone as he scrolls through his Instagram feed. “Whipped.” 

“Am not,” Hyunjin grumbles. He climbs up the couch to curl up next to Jeongin, knowing how the younger boy reacts to being cuddled. 

“Get away from me!” Jeongin squirms around until he’s tired, eventually giving into Hyunjin’s embrace. “Oh, look, it’s Seungmin’s post.”

Hyunjin limits his comment to one syllable. “Cute.” It’s a picture of Seungmin at a cafe, posing with his coffee and homework. His eyes are focused on his textbook and his bangs are a little messier than usual, as if he had run his fingers through them a couple of times. Hyunjin tries not to stare at the picture for too long. He can just look at it later in the safety and privacy of his own home.

“You guys don’t really have any pictures together.” Jeongin observes, scrolling through Seungmin’s Instagram feed. “Not that you have to post pictures of each other or anything, but isn’t that what couples usually do?” 

“Oh,” Hyunjin says dumbly. “I didn’t know that.”

Jeongin mumbles something under his breath that sounds a lot like ‘dumbass’ before going through Felix’s account. “See? Look.” He scrolls through at least eight pictures of Changbin all posted within a week. 

“Well, Seungmin and I are just, um, pretty private people.”

“That’s cool too, I guess. I was just wondering anyway.” Jeongin shrugs and leaves it at that. 

Later on, when everyone else is snoring away on their sleeping bags in the living room, and Hyunjin is lazily watching Seungmin munch on an apple he found in the corner of the refrigerator, he realizes how the lighting in Felix’s kitchen would make for a wonderful picture of Seungmin.

“Hold that pose,” Hyunjin tells Seungmin, pulling out his phone from his pocket. 

Seungmin makes a confused noise as he chews, but he complies anyway. “Are you going to take a picture?” 

“Yeah,” Hyunjin already has the perfect angle, but he puts his phone down to ask for permission first. “Is that okay?”

“It is… But why…?” 

“No reason...” Hyunjin says. He’s about to click on the camera app again before Seungmin clears his throat and looks at Hyunjin expectantly, one eyebrow raised and all. “...other than the fact that you look really nice right now.”

“Oh.” Seungmin coughs and looks down at his apple, and the telltale sign that he’s flustered appears on his cheeks in a lovely shade of pink. Hyunjin makes sure to capture several photos of that to keep for himself. “Must be the lighting,” he comments, and Hyunjin bites his tongue down in order not to blurt out that he thinks Seungmin looks nice all the time.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Hyunjin says in agreement.

Seungmin rests his elbows on top of the kitchen island, cheeks pressing against the palms of his hands. Across from him, Hyunjin snaps a couple more photos until he’s satisfied. His Instagram followers are going to witness these pictures tomorrow. Maybe Hyunjin should thank Jeongin for inspiring him. 

“Not fair that you get to take all these pictures of me,” Seungmin says after approving the pictures Hyunjin is planning to post. He pulls his own phone out. “Come to think of it, we don’t even have a picture together, other than the ones Chan has of us for documentation purposes.”

“Um,” Hyunjin says smartly. “We can take one right now, if you want.” 

“Awesome,” Seungmin says, then pats the empty seat next to him for Hyunjin to sit on. “The semi-darkness of this room is really selling it. Photographers all around the world would kill to be here right now.”

“Here? Like in Felix and Changbin’s kitchen?”

“Hell yeah.”

They take a lot of silly selfies with the filters on Seungmin’s phone, muffling their laughter in order not to wake their friends up, and Seungmin ends up with way more blackmail worthy pictures than instagrammable ones. Hyunjin likes them all so much that he sends most of them to himself. He even makes a folder just for his and Seungmin’s selfies.

“Wow, your battery is at five percent,” Hyunjin points out. “I didn’t realize we spent at least thirty minutes using dog filters.”

“I love dog filters,” Seungmin sighs, poking his tongue out for another picture. He looks at it for five seconds, only to delete it right after. “They’re everything to me.”

“I can clearly see that,” Hyunjin says while trying to hold back a yawn. 

“Sleepy?” Seungmin asks, also trying to stifle a yawn of his own.

“Maybe,” Hyunjin replies, checking his phone. “Can’t believe it’s almost three in the morning.”

“You’re telling me we’ve been sitting here for three hours now?” Seungmin swiftly checks his own watch, gasping when it confirms Hyunjin’s statement. “Well, shit. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.”

Hyunjin props his chin up on the palm of his hand. “You’re having fun?” he asks teasingly, but also because he’s genuinely curious. 

“Oh, yeah,” Seungmin responds, stretching his back. “Loads.” 

“You sound sarcastic.”

“I’m being serious!” Seungmin swats Hyunjin’s shoulder. He lowers his eyebrows and forms a thin line with his mouth. “See? This is my serious face.”

Hyunjin rolls his eyes. “Impressive.”

“Of course it is,” Seungmin says, then picks out one of the more simpler filters on the app he’s using. “Anyway, let’s take one last good picture for my feed. If you get to post pictures of me, then I should post pictures of you too.”

“Alright, boss.” Hyunjin inches closer in order to fit the frame. 

He opts for putting one arm around Seungmin’s shoulder and then doing a peace sign because it’s his go-to pose for anything, while Seungmin simply flashes a smile. They take one picture, and then they take a couple more because they’re both not satisfied with the outcome. And for the last photo, Seungmin presses a light peck on Hyunjin’s cheek, pulling away before Hyunjin can fully process anything. 

What.

WHAT.

“W-what…” Hyunjin trails off, hand coming up to press against his cheek. It’s growing increasingly warm. He waits for an explanation, but Seungmin doesn’t give him one.

“Look!” Seungmin shoves his phone to Hyunjin’s face instead, the exact moment where Seungmin kisses Hyunjin’s cheek captured perfectly. “We’re so cute.”

The heat throughout Hyunjin’s entire body seems like it’s not going away anytime soon. Admittedly, it is a cute picture; Hyunjin’s mouth is in a little ‘o’ shape, while Seungmin looks like he’s about to laugh.

Hyunjin stares blankly at the photo until Seungmin’s phone shuts off by itself, and even way after that, when they’ve both finally decided to join the rest of their friends in the living room to sleep, Hyunjin still sees the image in his mind as if it’s burned into the back of his eyelids.

And he secretly hopes it stays there forever, permanent like a tattoo that only he can have.

_

They meet up a week later for their next scene. 

Hyunjin’s character is supposed to teach Seungmin’s character how to bike or something equally cheesy like that, and Chan thinks it’s a brilliant idea because Seungmin doesn’t actually know how to ride one. 

“Perfect.” Chan praises his mind for coming up with such an ‘amazing’ scene, and Seungmin snickers at him. “It’s gonna be authentic.”

The sun beats down on them as they attempt to balance Seungmin on the bike. Hyunjin makes sure Seungmin’s helmet is secured properly on his head and that he’s wearing his elbow and knee pads as well, while Chan looks for a grassy area to shoot in, just so Seungmin has somewhere soft to land on in case he falls. 

There’s minimal talking for this scene as it’s only supposed to be part of some montage. After this scene, they still have to shoot in a bowling alley, then a laundromat, and Chan has some more places in mind, but they’re still waiting to see if it’ll turn out nicely. 

“You guys can talk about whatever. Just make sure it looks like you’re laughing,” Chan instructs, getting ready to hit the record button. “I’ll be playing music over this scene anyway.”

Hyunjin puts one hand on the handle and another on the saddle as Seungmin tries to find his balance. “Easy, easy.” Hyunjin isn’t a good biker either, but he knows enough. “Don’t look at your feet. Just look straight ahead.”

“Okay, expert,” Seungmin giggles. Like he actually fucking giggles. “You look so funny when you’re all concentrated and focused.”

Pouting, Hyunjin shakes the bike but not enough to make Seungmin fall. “Focus. I’m trying to teach you, loser.”

“Wow. Witty comeback.”

Hyunjin frees his hands from the handle and saddle. “Fine. Learn by yourself.”

“No! Wait,” Seungmin cries out, reaching out to grasp the front of Hyunjin’s shirt in order to keep his balance. “Don’t let me fall.”

“I won’t.” Hyunjin would never. He places his hands back on the bike, tightening his grip. “Just keep your eyes ahead, Jiho ,” he says, using Seungmin’s character’s name instead to get into the role more.

It takes time for them to get it right. Chan complains that the lighting is all wrong again and that they have to look even more in love with each other, and Hyunjin is worried because he’s running out of jokes to tell Seungmin in order to get him to laugh. 

How exactly are they supposed to look in love with each other? Hyunjin ponders on it while Seungmin drinks his water. 

“Maybe we have to look like we’re always on the verge of kissing but not really, you know?” Seungmin answers after Hyunjin asks him. “I’m guessing it’s all in the eyes.”

“All in the eyes,” Hyunjin repeats. Makes sense. “About to kiss but not really. I got it, I think.” 

They do the take again, and Hyunjin makes sure to pay extra attention to how his character interacts with Seungmin’s. He takes longer glances and focuses on Seungmin’s features like he’s about to write a five-thousand word essay on how delicate they are, and it’s true. It’s only now that Hyunjin realizes how long and dark Seungmin’s eyelashes are, and how his nose seems to be at the perfect angle.

Hyunjin allows his gaze to linger on Seungmin’s lips too, but it’s all just for the sake of the role he’s playing, of course.

“Hey, I think the last take wasn’t so bad.” Chan plays the scene for them. It’s taken from the time Hyunjin screamed when a bird flew too close to his head and Seungmin laughed so hard he started crying. Hyunjin thinks it looks good. It looks real . “Not bad, right?

They look convincing enough. 

“Yeah, it’s great actually.” Seungmin takes off his helmet and puts it down on some random bench. His hair is sticking against his forehead from sweat, and Hyunjin fights the urge to fix it into place for him. “Can we take a break now?”

Turning off his camera, Chan nods. “I’ll get my wallet from my car. You guys can wait here or whatever.”

Once Chan leaves, Seungmin gets back on the bike. “I’m gonna try this without your help,” he says, face determined. “I think I actually got the hang of it.”

Hyunjin, for some reason, wants to disagree. “No, don’t.” Seungmin raises an eyebrow at him, confused. “I mean, at least wear your helmet first.” He picks it up from the bench and hands it to Seungmin. 

“Right.” Seungmin pats the helmet once it’s secured on his head. “Thanks for reminding me, mom.”

He bikes slowly, just like Hyunjin advised him to do. Still, Hyunjin can’t help but worry that Seungmin might fall over and hurt himself. The grass is slippery from when it rained last night, and there are a lot of humps on the soil. 

A dog approaches Hyunjin and he bends down to pet it. In a span of five seconds, another biker speeds past Seungmin, knocking him straight to the ground. Hard. Hyunjin’s running before his mind can even register what’s happening. 

“Watch where you’re going, asshole!” He’s mumbling curses as he watches the other biker leave in a rush, an unusual kind of rage making his entire body heat up. Hyunjin hurries to Seungmin, pushing away the bike that’s resting uncomfortably on his legs. “Holy fuck, are you okay?”

Seungmin’s laugh is pained as he attempts to sit up. “Hyunjin, I’m fine,” he says reassuringly. He places his hand on top of Hyunjin’s, patting it. “I think I just bruised my shoulder.”

But Hyunjin is still seething, still fumbling to check if there’s any other part of Seungmin that’s hurt. He shouldn’t have allowed this to happen. “Don’t laugh, Seungmin. This is serious. What if you hurt your head? What if you broke something?”

“I didn’t, though.” Seungmin frowns, huffing as he taps his helmet. “Thanks for your concern, but I’m really fine.”

“You could’ve gotten seriously injured,” Hyunjin points out, voice growing softer. He realizes now that he’s just making the situation worse by scolding Seungmin. “Also, you scraped your hand.”

“I know.” Seungmin winces as he stands up. “I’ll clean it at home.”

Hyunjin sighs, noticing Seungmin’s change in tone and demeanor. “I’m sorry.” Hyunjin admits his sudden anger is out of character. He loses his calm a lot, but he never gets this heated which is weird, even to him. “I didn’t mean to yell at you. I was just really scared.” 

Rubbing the sore part of his shoulder, Seungmin shakes his head. “No, I get it. You were just worried, that’s all.”

Hyunjin picks up the fallen bike. “Are you sure you’re okay though?” He asks one more time, just to be certain Seungmin doesn’t need urgent care or anything.

Seungmin holds on to the other side of the handlebars with the hand that isn’t scraped, and they start walking back to Chan’s car with the bike between them. The sun is beginning to set. Seungmin doesn’t give him a straight answer, but his grin assures Hyunjin that he is. 

_

“I thought you said you knew how to bowl? What the hell is all this then?”

“I only said I knew how, I never said I was good at it.”

“Wow, and to think that you talked big earlier for someone who can’t even hit more than three pins.”

“I made you laugh though, didn’t I?”

_

“Well, I’m gonna get going now, guys,” Chan says as he puts his camera back into its bag. “I still have to make the score for the opening scene, so I’ll head out first. Are you guys gonna stay? I can give you both a ride.”

Hyunjin glances at Seungmin, who is already looking at him with mischief in his eyes. They both stare at the scoreboard hanging above their heads, and there’s no doubt that they’re thinking the same thing.

“I still have a bet to win against this one.” Seungmin points a finger at Hyunjin’s direction with a smug smile. “Thank you for the offer though, Chan, and take care.”

“Text us once you get home,” Hyunjin adds, picking up a pink bowling ball that’s just the right weight for him. “Thanks for today, Chan. See you on…?” 

“Saturday,” Chan replies, dimples on full display. He bids them his final farewells before leaving his two hired actors in the bowling alley.

Seungmin’s eyes follow Chan’s retreating figure, and Hyunjin tries not to stare too much at the way Seungmin’s eyelashes curl lightly at the tips. 

“Loser buys dinner?” Seungmin suggests, and Hyunjin quickly snaps out of his trance, pretending to put his focus on the scoreboard.

“So you’re buying us dinner?” Hyunjin teases. Seungmin sticks his tongue out and rolls the ball down the lane. He hits all ten pins, and he does it so coolly that Hyunjin’s heart skips a beat.

“ You’re buying us dinner.”

_

He misses Seungmin. 

He hasn’t seen him in a while because Seungmin is busy for the whole week. He has an important group presentation to focus on and is apparently going to end up failing the class if he doesn’t get at least an A for it. Hyunjin doesn’t believe him though, because he knows Seungmin hasn’t failed a single subject since the second grade. Seungmin is smart. He’s hardworking and he’s passionate about things he puts his heart into. 

Still, he finds himself checking his phone every five minutes just in case Seungmin texts, then curses himself when he realizes that Seungmin isn’t going to. Because he’s busy. Very busy. Why can’t Hyunjin get that through his head?

Fine. Hyunjin misses him a little too much. 

Is this normal behaviour? He’s genuinely afraid to find out. He would ask Google, but that’s too pathetic already, even for someone like Hyunjin. 

“I got us drinks.” Jisung opens his fridge, revealing numerous cans and bottles of alcohol. “Lots of it.”

“Good.” Hyunjin reaches for the beer immediately, feeling the coolness of the can against the palm of his hand. He opens it and drinks it all in a matter of seconds. “Give me another one.”

Jisung passes him another but warns him not to drink it too quickly first. “Dude, chill. We have all night.”

“Don’t care.” Hyunjin has no plans on taking it easy tonight. He’ll regret this in the morning, yes, but right now he just doesn’t give a fuck. “I haven’t done this in a while.”

Shrugging, Jisung opens his own can of beer. He takes a pack of chips from his cupboard and tears the bag with his teeth like some animal. “Whatever you say, man. Just don’t whine about it tomorrow.” 

“Are the others coming?” Hyunjin wishes all his friends (Seungmin) were here with him tonight, because he’s feeling incredibly lonely for some reason. He downs his beer again. 

“No, they’re all busy.” Jisung scrolls through Facebook, squinting. “Wait, Felix is online. Let’s bother him.”

“Give him a call,” Hyunjin suggests, then reaches for another can. “I bet he’s just playing games.”

Jisung nods and props his phone up against their bowl of chips. Felix answers after the fourth ring, face pixelated and hair still wet from his shower. “What.”

“What’s up,” Jisung greets. “How are you?”

“Um.” Felix stares at the both of them weirdly as he dries his hair with his towel. “I think I lost my laptop charger somewhere around campus, but other than that I’m fine.”

“Why aren’t you here anyway?” Jisung asks, pouting. “Hyunjin is sad because he misses you.”

Even through the shitty 240 pixel quality of the call, Hyunjin can still see Felix’s glare. “No he doesn’t,” he says with a shake of his head. “He probably misses someone else. Cough Seungmin cough.”

“Did you just say cough? Instead of actually coughing?” Jisung and Felix then start to bicker like children, while Hyunjin shudders at how perceptive Felix can be sometimes. Hyunjin didn’t think he was that obvious about it. 

“Oh my god, Hyunjin.” Phone Felix rolls his eyes, cutting off whatever Jisung had to say. “Stop pouting. If you miss him so much then do something about it.”

“But that’s the thing,” Hyunjin whines, dragging out the syllables of each word. God, he’s so annoying it’s ridiculous. “I don’t wanna bother him cause he’s busy right now.”

Jisung looks at him, disgusted. “Is that why you’re acting like this?” he questions accusingly, pointing a finger at Hyunjin. “I didn’t invite you over just so you can whine about Seungmin. I thought you were here because you love me.”

“Dude, I do love you. And I’m not even whining about—okay, you know what? Fine.” Hyunjin will shut up about Seungmin. He will not even think about Seungmin anymore tonight. No more. “Feel free to lock me in the bathroom if I mention his name again.”

“Deal.”

And Hyunjin actually tries to stay true to his word. He’s just not the type to say something and not do it. Contrary to popular belief, he knows how to take things seriously. While Jisung and Felix continue to argue over the phone, Hyunjin sits there in silence and drinks his beer in peace as he focuses his attention on other, more relevant things.

He has to shop for groceries tomorrow, fold his laundry, finish his statistics homework, check his emails, pick up his rubber shoes from the dance studio, buy a wedding gift for his cousin—

[ 9:22 PM ]

egg destroyer: Guess who finally finished his part in the group report! :D

Hyunjin’s resolve crumbles. He only lasted for a solid twenty minutes and thirty three seconds, but that’s okay. He replies to Seungmin without any ounce of hesitation and instantly feels like his life is restored. 

Jisung is still in the middle of arguing with Felix about the proper pronunciation of the word ‘algae’ when Seungmin sends Hyunjin a selfie of him posing next to his potted plant. Hyunjin’s entire system malfunctions and his brain’s instant response is to slam his head against the table. 

“That’s my table,” Jisung says, instead of expressing concern over the sudden change in his friend’s state of mind. “My parents literally just bought me that.”

“What’s your problem this time?” Felix asks, slightly amused. He brings his mouth closer to his mic as he eats his cereal. “Also, does this sound like ASMR to you?” 

Hyunjin ignores the latter part of Felix’s question. Hyunjin swears he really was going to keep his word, but if Felix is asking… “He.”

“He?”

“Seungmin.” 

“For fuck’s sake.” Jisung throws his hands in the air in frustration. “That’s it. I’m throwing you out.” 

“No, but wait. Listen.” Hyunjin places a finger on Jisung’s lips to keep him from interjecting. They’re warm and moist. Gross. “You guys don’t understand.”

“Understand what.” Jisung rolls his eyes, and his question makes Hyunjin blank out.

And really, what is there to understand? The fact that Seungmin makes Hyunjin so happy his chest feels like exploding into a million bits and pieces? That Hyunjin would rather go bankrupt from buying Seungmin iced coffees every week? That Hyunjin misses Seungmin even when he's right next to him? Or that Hyunjin isn’t even sure if he’s acting anymore when his character in Chan’s film tells Seungmin’s that he likes him more than words can explain? 

When Hyunjin comes to his senses, he feels a single tear roll down his cheek. “That I like him. A lot .” It’s embarrassing enough that he’s crying out of the blue, but it’s even worse because he’s crying over Seungmin of all people. 

“You’re supposed to.” Jisung just doesn’t get it. He never will. No one ever will. “He is your boyfriend after all.”

There goes that fucking word. Boyfriend . Hah. Hyunjin has to laugh.

“No, you really don’t understand.” Hyunjin should stop drinking now. He should just stop saying words in general. He’s only looking dumber and dumber as time goes by, and it's only nine-fucking-thirty in the evening. “It’s not that simple,” Hyunjin mumbles to himself, eyes slowly widening as the realization hits him. 

It’s not that simple. 

_

“This is scary.”

“What? The movie? I mean, I guess Thanos is a pretty scary fella, but I actually found Ultron scarier, to be honest.”

“Wait, what? I wasn’t talking about the movie.”

_

Three nights after Hyunjin’s Epiphany of the Century, he receives an email from Chan regarding the finalized script for the ending of his film (consequently, the ending of Minjun and Jiho ). Hyunjin swallows the lump in his throat. It takes him five minutes to decide if he actually wants to read it, fingers hovering above his mouse as he worries his bottom lip.

 He calls Seungmin instead of opening the email.

“Hey, what’s up?” Seungmin’s smooth voice greets him after the second ring. 

“Nothing much.” Hyunjin leans back against his headboard. “Did you get Chan’s email?”

Seungmin hums in response. “Mhm, but I think I’ll just read it tomorrow before class.” 

“Oh. Okay,” Hyunjin says. He tries to come up with something else to say, but Seungmin beats him to it. 

“Is there something bothering you?” Seungmin asks, worry laced in his tone. “You sound kinda sad.”

“I’m fine.” Hyunjin clears his throat. He throws in a fake chuckle to prove his statement. “Just thinking about the film, that’s all.”

“Me too, actually.” It sounds like Seungmin is watching an animal documentary from what Hyunjin can hear in the background. He hates how he finds it endearing. “Seems like it was just yesterday when Chan asked me to take the role.”

Hyunjin’s mind immediately wanders back to the day Chan told him about it. He remembers Chan chasing him down the park, begging Hyunjin to play the lead role because he’s the only friend Chan has who would embody the role so well. 

Hyunjin tries to imagine what it’d be like if he hadn’t accepted. Would he meet Seungmin in some other way? He tries to imagine knowing Seungmin only as Jeongin’s classmate in statistics and philosophy, as Felix’s ex-roommate, as the guy Jisung does volunteer work with at the community center. 

The lump in his throat feels like it’s growing bigger and bigger. 

“You know, you never really told me why you accepted the role.” Hyunjin had told him his reason before, but Seungmin never did. “I’m curious.”

“I don’t even remember, actually. I think I just said yes because I wanted to.” Seungmin turns the volume of his TV down until Hyunjin can’t hear the narrator talk about endangered sea turtles anymore. “Unlike you, I didn’t owe Chan for buying me concert tickets.”

Hyunjin laughs but it sounds hollow to his ears. Then, after a moment of silence, he asks Seungmin a question he’s afraid to hear the answer to. “How do you feel—” He ignores the way his palms sweat. “—knowing that it’s ending soon?”

Seungmin pauses to think. “I’m quite proud of myself for not quitting halfway,” he admits. “I’m satisfied with the way things are turning out. Besides, now I know I hate acting. It's pretty draining, no offense to my character, Jiho."

“Yeah, that’s true,” Hyunjin says in a small voice, chest suddenly feeling heavier as time continues to pass. And for the first time ever, he doesn’t feel like having a conversation with Seungmin right now. “It really is, um, tiring and stuff.”

“Hyunjin, are you sure you’re okay?” 

Knowing Seungmin is worried about him is enough to make pathetic tears form in Hyunjin’s eyes. He blinks them away. “I’m a hundred percent sure,” he lies. “The movie I’m watching on HBO is just, like, super sad, but I’m really fine.”

“Okay.” Seungmin doesn’t sound convinced but he lets the topic drop anyway because he’s always been polite like that. “So, uh, this documentary is getting pretty boring. I should go check out HBO too.”

Hyunjin feels his soul escape his body. He doesn’t know what the fuck is on HBO because his TV isn’t even turned on. He scrambles for the remote and prays the movie playing actually is sad, so that he doesn’t have to explain himself any further if it turns out that the movie he’s being sad over is Aquaman or something equally questionable.

“Awww, you’re watching Notting Hill ?” Seungmin gasps at the same time Hyunjin releases a sigh of relief at the sight of the TV screen playing something Hyunjin has actually seen before. 

“Mhm. This is my favorite scene in the movie.”

Seungmin makes a noise of agreement. “It’s mine too,” he says enthusiastically. “I’ll hang up on you now, okay? I don’t want to be a distraction to you when Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant need your full attention.” 

And even if Hyunjin isn’t in the mood to talk to Seungmin right now, he still feels the need to clarify. “You’re not a distraction,” he says, then in a much softer voice, “You never are.”

There is silence. Seungmin sniffles. “Sorry, what was that? I didn’t quite catch the last part.” 

Hyunjin shakes his head, letting out a soft chuckle. “I think I should be the one hanging up on you. You’re more invested in this movie than I am.”

“Oops.” Seungmin laughs sheepishly. “Bye, Hyunjin.”

“Bye, Seungmin.”

Seungmin immediately hangs up after saying good night, and Hyunjin turns off his TV. He normally would be down to watch one of his favorite romance movies of all time, but he has no energy to watch people sort out their love life problems while he’s still trying to figure out his own. 

He didn’t think he’d be this sad about Chan’s film ending, but then again, he also didn’t think he’d be this attached to Seungmin. Hearing Seungmin’s opinion on acting isn’t helping Hyunjin’s case either. Seungmin hates acting. He thinks it’s tiring and draining. Hyunjin briefly wonders if it’s because he has something to do with it.

Once everything is officially over, then Seungmin would have no real reason to keep seeing Hyunjin anymore, because they never really were friends in the first place. Sure, they’re close now, but Hyunjin still can’t help but think that what if Seungmin is only his friend now for the sake of the film and once it’s done, they’ll go back to being strangers. 

Hyunjin really wouldn’t know what to do with himself if that ever happens. The more rational side of him is aware that Seungmin isn’t that kind of person anyway, and that the bond they’ve built is real, but the irrational part of Hyunjin still fears that maybe Seungmin’s acting also extends to their friendship.

Either way, the sadness Hyunjin is feeling now is somewhat deserved. Fake dating Seungmin is obviously going to have its consequences. Hyunjin just didn’t think it would leave him with so much more to lose than he initially thought. 

_

The panic Hyunjin feels when he realizes that he’s going to be late to his cousin’s wedding is like nothing he’s ever felt before. 

Seungmin is outside his door, probably irritating everyone with how loud he’s knocking. Hyunjin rushes to let him in as he buttons up his polo while attempting to brush his teeth at the same time. He stops at the door, toothbrush dangling from his open mouth.

“Why aren’t you dressed?” Hyunjin tunes out the way Seungmin nags at him for not being prepared yet. Instead, he ogles at Seungmin’s forehead because his hair is styled differently today, far from his usual bangs-combed-down look. “Well? Are you going to let me in or are we just going to stare at each other?”

“Fuck, right.” Hyunjin ushers Seungmin in and then quickly runs back to his bathroom, locks the door, and splashes water on his face for good measure.

This is not good for Hyunjin. Not at all. After coming to the conclusion that he may be feeling a little something more than just platonic for Seungmin eight nights ago, seeing him dressed like that is not helping his case. 

“Hyunjin, we’re gonna be late and I don’t think your family will like me very much if that happens,” Seungmin reminds him from outside his bathroom, obviously trying to sound as nice as possible. “I really don’t know what you’re doing in there, but please hurry the fuck up.”

“Just a second.” Hyunjin grips the edges of the sink until his knuckles turn white. He tries to give himself a pep talk. He can do this. Totally. He can look Seungmin in the eye and not be reminded of his feelings. Or, he can just avoid Seungmin’s gaze for the entire night. That can work too. 

“Look at yourself.” Seungmin shakes his head at Hyunjin’s disheveled appearance when he exits the bathroom, taking the hairbrush on Hyunjin’s desk and handing it to him. He tugs Hyunjin by the necktie loosely hanging around his neck until they’re almost chest to chest. “A mess .”

Hyunjin stares at Seungmin’s concentrated expression as the younger boy attempts a half-windsor. He has his tongue poking out and his eyebrows scrunched, eyes unblinking. Their close proximity makes Hyunjin want to hold him and pull him even closer. He tries to fight the blush that he knows is about to appear on his face.

The silence is making everything worse, Hyunjin notes. Seungmin is taking too long with the stupid tie, and it’s agonizing Hyunjin to the point of him wanting to jump out of his bedroom window. Seungmin inhales deeply, unknots the tie, and flips it the other way around to start over,  and Hyunjin realizes that Seungmin has been using the wrong side this whole time.

“I like your shoes.” Hyunjin will say literally anything to make the silence go away. “Very shiny.” 

“Borrowed them from my dad.” Seungmin finishes at last, and Hyunjin finally lets go of the breath he’s been holding in. “Ready?”

Grabbing his cousin’s wedding present from his drawer, he nods. “Let’s go.”

Unfortunately, they don’t make it in time to see Hyunjin’s cousin kiss the bride and so they head straight to the expensive, five star hotel’s massive ballroom where the couple’s reception is being held. Seungmin whines that they missed the best part of every wedding ever, but Hyunjin is too busy keeping an eye out for his mom to bother with a reply. 

He spots her by the bar, already waiting for her drink with his aunts. “Before you meet my mom, I just want you to know that she lacks a filter sometimes, so if she offends you in any way, shape, or form—” 

“Calm yourself.” Seungmin’s hand somehow finds its way to Hyunjin’s own, and it’s already like a natural instinct for his fingers to curl around Seungmin’s slightly shorter ones. It’s almost despicable how Hyunjin finds himself longing for a little more. “I think she already saw us. Or not. Sorry, I don’t really know what your mom looks like.”

Hyunjin hears his mom before he sees her. His stomach is in knots but he forces a smile anyway. “Mom, this is Seungmin—”

“Nice to finally meet you.” His mom reaches forward to hug Seungmin tightly. She releases him from her tight embrace after a solid ten seconds. “I’ve been looking forward to this day.”

Seungmin’s smile is polite, his cheeks tinted with pink. “Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Hwang.”

They move somewhere more comfortable. Hyunjin’s mom blabbers nonstop about Hyunjin’s adventures when he was younger, and Seungmin looks like he’s having such a good time hearing about his childhood fuckups that Hyunjin doesn’t interrupt his mom no matter how embarrassing and personal her stories get. 

“I remember coming home from work one day to Hyunjin freeing his father’s pet bird in our living room,” his mom recalls fondly, swirling a tall glass of red wine in her hand. 

As his mom continues telling her stories, Hyunjin pays attention to Seungmin’s reaction the entire time, not wanting to miss the way Seungmin’s eyes light up in amusement, or the way his hand comes up to cover his mouth when he laughs. He has this way of leaving Hyunjin a little breathless with even just a simple smile that it makes Hyunjin struggle to focus on anything else.

“Hey, Hyunjin?” Seungmin says gently, snapping Hyunjin out of his thoughts. “I’m just gonna answer this phone call outside real quick, okay?”

“Yeah, go ahead.” Hyunjin nods, and Seungmin walks off to the nearest exit. 

Hyunjin’s mom watches Seungmin leave before she focuses her attention on her son. “He’s a nice boy,” she says, taking a sip from her glass of wine. “Sweet, polite, and very adorable.” 

“Cool.” Hyunjin chuckles awkwardly, not knowing how else to respond. What is he supposed to say? Thanks, I know?  

“I like him, Hyunjin,” his mom continues. “I’m sure your other relatives will, too.” 

“I’ll be sure to tell him later,” Hyunjin says. Seungmin would be really delighted to hear that.

While waiting for Seungmin to come back from his call, Hyunjin converses with his other relatives and tries to politely dodge each question regarding his studies and future career. He’s been doing a good job so far, until the double doors to the venue swing open and he is once again breathless at the sight of Seungmin, as if they had not spent the past few hours with each other. 

“So, Hyunjin,” one of his ‘aunts’ says, and if Hyunjin’s being honest, he swears he has never seen this woman before. “What exactly is it that you want in the future? Cause all of your cousins already have their plans and—”

“Seungmin,” Hyunjin blurts out, and his aunt raises her brows at him in confusion. He backtracks. “Wait no, that’s not my answer—I just—”

“Hey, sorry I took so long,” Seungmin says, walking up to Hyunjin and his relative. “Oh, hi! Nice to meet you. I’m Seungmin.” He extends a hand, to which Hyunjin’s aunt takes.

Hyunjin’s aunt’s mouth falls open in surprise. She looks at Hyunjin with an impressed smile, and Hyunjin is still trying to explain that he didn’t mean to answer her question in the way she’s thinking of. 

“Well.” His aunt winks, and Hyunjin is officially ruined. She pats his shoulder before turning to leave. “Good luck with that.”

Seungmin smiles and waves at her until she’s out of their sight. “What was that all about?” he asks as they make their way back to their table. “You looked like you were on the verge of collapsing.”

“Really?” Hyunjin asks, although he already knows. “I was trying to remember her name. So many aunts, too little time to recall which one is which.”

“Very funny.” Seungmin snorts. And then he shrugs, saying, “Actually, you’ve been acting strange all night. Is there something wrong?”

“No?” Hyunjin answers, but it comes out like a question instead. He squirms in his seat, unable to come up with a valid excuse. “I think I’m just—”

He is, however, miraculously saved by the event’s DJ breaking the reception’s soft ambient piano music, announcing to the guests that it’s time for the ‘real’ party to get started. The sigh of relief Hyunjin releases goes unnoticed by Seungmin, who is now distracted by the sudden change in the ballroom’s atmosphere.

“It’s time for the dance!” Hyunjin’s mom urges Seungmin to get up and join all the other couples on the dancefloor, ignoring Hyunjin’s protests and Seungmin’s polite decline. 

“Go dance with dad if you want.” Hyunjin shoos his mom away but she doesn’t budge. Well, Hyunjin is not going to back down either. “We’re fine here.”

“But you have to dance,” his mom says, exasperated. She motions to everyone on the dance floor. “Look, even grandma is dancing, and you know how much she hates people.”

“I really don’t—”

“I don’t wanna dance either but your mom clearly isn’t going to stop asking,” Seungmin whispers, their previous conversation already forgotten. “We can stay for one song then go back after. How does that sound?”

And Hyunjin learns that he can never say no to Seungmin when he finds himself on the dancefloor, doing the one thing he wanted to avoid doing for the entirety of his cousin’s wedding. The whole ordeal reminds Hyunjin of his junior prom because of how awkwardly he’s swaying to the music, and it leaves a bad taste in Hyunjin’s mouth. 

Some obscure indie song plays, and the only comfort Hyunjin feels in this entire situation is knowing that the DJ didn’t decide to use an overplayed Ed Sheeran song or A Thousand Years as his cousin’s first dance with his wife. 

“So, um,” Seungmin starts, moving closer to whisper in Hyunjin’s ear. “Your family is nice.” 

“Really?” Hyunjin murmurs. “My mom didn't freak you out?”

“She's… friendly. I like her” 

Hyunjin beams, glancing back at his mom for a brief moment. There is a funny feeling in his stomach, akin to the feeling of swooping down from the highest point of a rollercoaster except far less violent and vomit-inducing. “She likes you too.”

“How do you know?” Seungmin questions, clearly trying to hold back a smile. 

“She told me while you were outside. She thinks you’re really sweet and cute.” Hyunjin makes sure to pay attention to their feet as they sway slowly. “You have my mom’s seal of approval. Congrats.”

“Ah.” Seungmin looks down, bashful. “I was really worried since we were, you know, late.”

“She doesn’t care about that kind of stuff, I promise,” Hyunjin reassures. 

Seungmin sighs in relief. “Good to know, ‘cause my parents are the total opposite. They’re really uptight about stuff like that, especially my mom.”

“Well, thank god I don’t have to meet them, then,” Hyunjin says.

“One day,” Seungmin mumbles, and Hyunjin doesn’t know what he means by that.

They're both looking beyond each other’s shoulders, finding it too embarrassing to actually gaze into each other’s faces because they aren’t talking anymore. Hyunjin holds onto Seungmin’s waist, grip gentle but still firm enough for it to be felt. 

From an outsider’s point of view, they probably look like some cute, cheesy couple with the way they’re giggling and whispering to each other, but Hyunjin is aware of the truth.

And the truth is that they're far from it. 

Hyunjin sneaks a glance at Seungmin’s face while the latter marvels at the decor of the ballroom. He tries to imagine what it would actually be like to dance with Seungmin for real—to hold him like this and not have to worry about anything else.

Because Seungmin is plenty of things. He’s intelligent, witty, and musically talented. He is Felix’s ex-roommate, Jeongin’s classmate in statistics and philosophy, and Jisung’s volunteering companion. Seungmin is Hyunjin’s coworker and his friend. But most importantly, Seungmin is not Hyunjin’s boyfriend. 

When the next song comes on, a more upbeat pop track that doesn't require Hyunjin to hold onto Seungmin anymore, the crippling weight of Hyunjin’s reality reminds him that it’s time for him to let go now.

And he does have to let go, in both the physical sense and the figurative, goodbye-Seungmin-I-have-a-huge-crush-on-you-but-this-has-to-stop-for-the-sake-of-my-sanity sense, although the latter is going to hurt big time. 

“I’m gonna go.” Hyunjin pulls away abruptly, missing the way Seungmin frowns as soon as they part ways. “To the dessert table. For ice cream.”

Hyunjin doesn't actually go to the dessert table. Instead, he makes a beeline to the bathroom and locks himself inside the last stall, burying his head in his palms as the truth continues to sink its claws in, dragging itself to the deepest pits of Hyunjin’s core like there are a thousand stones weighing it down.

Seungmin now knows his family, his family now knows Seungmin, and they're all floating in a web of lies that will only continue to expand further. And as much as Hyunjin wants for it all to be real, he knows it isn't. Because at the end of the day, they're just acting and this—all of this —is just pretend.

Because at the end of the day, they’re just acting as Minjun and Jiho. 

At the end of the day, there is no Hyunjin and Seungmin; there's only Hyunjin, and there’s only Seungmin. 

_

“Is it over for us? Are we done?”

“Yeah.”

_

The bell attached to the main entrance of their favorite frozen yogurt store softly sways when Seungmin enters. Hyunjin can’t bring himself to look up from his hands that are resting on the table—the table that’s practically theirs at this point. 

“Sorry for the wait,” Seungmin says as soon as he takes a seat in front of Hyunjin. “I had to drop by my place to pick up my hoodie. It’s getting colder these days, don’t you think so?”

Hyunjin barely nods. “Yeah, it is,” he says, voice quiet. 

Seungmin doesn’t seem to notice Hyunjin’s serious expression as he goes through his bag to get his wallet. “Have you ordered anything yet?” Hyunjin shakes his head. “I’ll go get us our usual then.”

“Wait. I’m not—I’m not hungry,” Hyunjin says, lightly holding Seungmin’s wrist to stop him from leaving. He quickly lets go after that, as if scorched. Hyunjin lifts his head to meet Seungmin’s worried gaze and looks him in the eyes for the first time since he got here.

He’s starting to hate how Seungmin looks at him like that—glancing at Hyunjin with his honest and deep, brown eyes, like Hyunjin’s something worth giving his undivided attention to. And perhaps it’s even one of the main reasons behind his downfall; Seungmin’s gaze that sets Hyunjin’s heart into overdrive when he looks at Hyunjin like they’re the only people left in the world.

This time, however, it only amplifies the guilt he feels for what he’s about to do next, making it sit heavy in his throat, as if he swallowed a boulder or something equally massive in size.

“You’re doing it again,” Seungmin says, after a minute of silence. He seems to be debating on something in his head, Hyunjin notices, but he continues before Hyunjin can say anything else. “Maybe I’m just overthinking things, I don’t know, but you’ve been acting so weird around me lately. During the reception I thought you were just feeling overwhelmed by your whole family being there, but even after that you—you stopped texting me as much. It’s starting to worry me, Hyunjin. Did I do something wrong?”

“Seungmin, I—” Hyunjin closes his eyes, unable to stomach the sincerity in Seungmin’s gaze.

“You can tell me anything, you know that right?” Seungmin interjects softly, almost like he’s whispering. 

“I know.” And then Hyunjin finally, finally, finally breaks . “I think I need time away from you. Seungmin, I don’t think—I don’t think I can keep doing this anymore.”

“Time away?” Seungmin pauses. “Keep doing what?” he asks, but Hyunjin can already see the realization start to creep into his mind. 

“Pretend,” Hyunjin manages to say, overcome with a variety of indescribable emotions. He keeps going before he loses the courage to. God knows just how weak he is when it comes to Seungmin. “I know we were only supposed to act for Chan’s film, but then I made the stupid mistake of suggesting that we pretend to date in front of our friends, and you went along with it, and I just—it just felt too real sometimes, you know? We barely knew each other and then all of a sudden we’re holding hands everywhere, and going on dates, and I—I even introduced you to my entire family, and it just felt too real.”

The world around them is too bright and loud. There are cars zooming outside and people laughing and bubblegum pop music playing in the background, and Hyunjin feels like his entire universe is being torn apart by an earthquake that only he knows about. 

He has no choice but to force himself to continue, knowing that he’s the sole reason behind the disaster befalling him at the moment. 

“And it felt so nice too, Seungmin, I think that’s the worst thing,” Hyunjin admits, breathing out slowly through his nose. “We were doing all of those things as ‘lovers,’ and I wanted so badly for it to be real. Actually liking you wasn’t in the plan, but I do, and it hurts because I know you were just doing all of that to play a part.”

“I know it’s my fault and I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean for it to end this way.” Hyunjin gives Seungmin a tearful smile. “But I just can’t keep pretending with you anymore.”

Hyunjin leaves the store, and the bell gently rings when he closes the doors behind him.

_

“Dude, are you okay? You kinda just… stopped playing.” 

When Hyunjin looks up at the screen, Baby Peach’s vehicle is just on standby in the middle of the road. The eighth place ranking quickly turns into ninth as Waluigi passes her.  

“Shit. Sorry.” Hyunjin looks back at his console to pick up where he had left off, but Felix pauses the game.

“Yeah,” Jisung says, cautious. “Are you okay?”

Hyunjin attempts to smile but it comes off as a grimace. He takes one look at Jisung and Felix’s concerned faces and decides not to hide the truth from his friends, or at least part of the truth. He releases a long sigh. “Not really.”

“Is it because of physics?” Jisung asks. Felix shoots him a glare. 

“Not this time,” Hyunjin says forlornly, although he would like to go back to a time where passing his physics class was his only problem. 

“Is it Seungmin?” Felix places a small, comforting hand on Hyunjin’s knee, patting it softly. “Are you guys having problems or something?”

Problems , Hyunjin thinks bitterly. “I guess you can say that.”

Jisung nods in understanding. “No wonder,” he mumbles to himself.

“No wonder what .” Hyunjin sinks further into the floor, laying his head on top of Felix’s firm thigh. He appreciates the way Felix gently strokes his hair. 

“I saw your Spotify activity.” Jisung crawls next to Hyunjin and holds his hand. “You were listening to How to Save a Life by The Fray for four hours straight last night.”

“No wonder,” Felix repeats. His hand stops stroking Hyunjin’s hair. “I have a playlist filled with Coldplay if you get tired of listening to that song.”

“Or you can always put Chasing Cars on repeat.” Jisung dodges the pillow that Hyunjin throws at him. “As an alternative.”

“What was Seungmin listening to?” Hyunjin asks.

“Oh, you know, the usual.” Jisung shrugs. “Day6.”

“That’s—that’s good.” That must mean Seungmin’s fine, right? 

Hyunjin hopes he is. 

_

[ 2:44 AM ]

hyunjin: hey chan, i don’t think i’m gonna make it to the shoot later @ 10

channie: Dw it’s fine, man. I can always resched, just gotta tell seungmin first lol. But are u sick or something? Whats up?

hyunjin: woke up with a slight fever today but it’s fine! i think i just need some rest

channie: Aw I’m sorry man, that sucks. Take a few days off, yeah? We can resume next week if u want :) I’ll come over tomorrow with some soup!

_

There is a certain feeling of emptiness when Seungmin isn’t around. 

Perhaps it’s simply because Hyunjin had gotten so used to always having Seungmin with him that Hyunjin doesn’t know what to do without his company, but the feeling swallows him whole nonetheless. And it’s strange, because Hyunjin has always been alone even before he met Seungmin, so he doesn’t understand why there’s a difference when he’s just bringing things back to the way they used to be.

Hyunjin shoves a pillow over his head and screams out his frustrations until his throat is raw.

_

After Hyunjin spends three shameful hours scrolling on TikTok, his phone rings.

“Oh, ‘sup, Hyunjin,” Changbin casually says. Hyunjin can hear the booming of a bass heavy track playing in the background. He assumes Changbin must be at work or something. “Are you doing anything right now?”

“No, just resting. Why? What’s up?” Hyunjin asks. The older boy has never been the type to call, always settling for texting or meeting up in person, so it’s a surprise to Hyunjin to suddenly be hearing from him like this. 

“Shit, you must be really sick, huh? Your voice sounds nasty right now, no offense,” Changbin comments playfully before he clears his throat. “Nothing serious, man, but Chan just asked me to check up on you ‘cause he can’t do it at the moment since he’s in the recording booth.”

“I felt worse yesterday,” Hyunjin lies. “Did Chan want anything?”

“Nah, he was just wondering if you’re still meeting up with him next week? He didn’t tell me what it was about, but apparently you guys had something scheduled so…” Changbin trails off.

“Right, yeah.” Hyunjin nods before realizing that Changbin can’t see him. “I’ll make sure to let him know as soon as I get better. Thanks.”

“Alright, I’ll let you get back to resting now. Oh, and make sure you drink something warm for your throat, dude,” Changbin kindly advises and then hangs up.

Hyunjin puts his phone down next to him on his bed and curls up next to his pillow with a deep sigh, knowing fully well that he can’t keep avoiding Seungmin forever. He reminds himself that they only have a few more days of filming left anyway, and maybe even less if Hyunjin puts in a little more extra effort so that they won’t have to keep reshooting certain scenes. 

Just for a while longer, Hyunjin thinks. He’ll give it his best and then slowly go back to how he was before everything happened.

_

“I’m sorry, I like you.”

_

Seungmin doesn’t say anything to Hyunjin when they meet up for their next shoot, doesn’t spare him a glance until the camera starts rolling. 

Chan doesn’t comment on their lack of interaction when the camera isn’t pointed at them either, though he does pull Hyunjin aside during one of their breaks and asks if he’s still sick, to which Hyunjin lies and says that he still is. 

They act from the morning until noon, carpool with Chan to their next filming site, and act there again until late into the evening, and Hyunjin is somewhat pleased with himself. He hasn’t messed up a single line, hasn’t been called out by Chan for his deficiencies as an untrained actor, hasn’t broken down at the sight of Seungmin.

Hyunjin has to hold Seungmin’s hand, and it feels wrong. Their characters, Minjun and Jiho, hold hands as they walk through the city’s streets together, and it looks good on camera, and Hyunjin’s stomach churns when Chan tells them they both did a good job today. 

“I’m really happy, you guys.” Chan is practically squealing in joy as he drives them back to their respective homes. Seungmin, who is sitting in the passenger’s seat, claps his hands for their director. “It’s all coming together really nicely. We only have a few scenes left to do, and I think we can accomplish all of it on Friday.”

In the backseat with all of Chan’s filming supplies, Hyunjin nods blankly. 

The car stops in front of the 7/11 next to Seungmin’s place, and Seungmin unbuckles his seatbelt as he continues to ask Chan about how the film’s score is coming together. They’re both saying something about ‘homey vibes’ and acoustic guitar as the main instrument of choice, while Hyunjin recalls that Seungmin once offered to play a Day6 song on the guitar for him.

“Can’t wait to hear what you produce for the end credits. I bet it’s going to be amazing,” Seungmin says to Chan as he picks up his bag and opens the car door. “Night. See you on Friday.”

Seungmin leaves, and they watch him run up the stairs to his building. Hyunjin finally feels like he can breathe a little. 

“Okay, yeah, I wasn’t planning on saying anything but what was that ?” 

Well, there it is.

And honestly? Hyunjin had it coming from the very first second he walked into their first filming location without saying a word to Seungmin, but for the sake of what little pride he has left in him, he says, “Huh? What do you mean?”

Chan squints suspiciously at him through the rear view mirror before he turns around to do it face to face. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, Hyunjin.”

“Seriously, I don’t—”

“You guys haven’t spoken to each other at all today,” Chan says, quirking a brow at Hyunjin. “No laughing during takes, no inside jokes, no mentions of where you guys are having dinner at, nothing. I don’t mean to pry, and you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I’m just worried for the both of you. I’m asking not because you guys are acting for me, but because you guys are my friends.”

“We’re fine, Chan,” Hyunjin says, but the crack in his voice gives it away. 

“I don’t think so.” Chan releases a long sigh, like the kind Hyunjin’s kindergarten teachers used to do whenever he’d come back to class covered in mud. “You’re clearly... not okay. Come, sit here with me.” Chan pats the passenger’s seat next to him.

Hyunjin does an awkward crawl to sit there, and the seat is surprisingly still warm from Seungmin’s body heat. Hyunjin remembers calling Seungmin a human furnace once, during the time they went over to Felix and Changbin’s apartment for a movie marathon. The memory brings a bitter smile to his face.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Chan asks, drumming his fingers on Hyunjin’s knee for comfort. “If you don’t, then we can just sit here for a while and listen to music until you feel better.”

Hyunjin lets out a short laugh. “Here? In front of Seungmin’s residential building?”

“Okay, maybe not here.” Chan laughs as well. “Let’s go somewhere else, yeah?”

So he drives them to the park between campus and Hyunjin’s apartment, the same park they used to film the bike scene. Hyunjin is once again hit by a wave of memories that cause his entire chest to ache, and he briefly thinks about how most of the places around him now have all sorts of Seungmin related memories attached to them, wonders if he’ll ever be able to go to these places without feeling like dying.

They exit the car and sit on the hood, and there is a nice view of the city from afar. Hyunjin likes the fresh air, loves how it feels like it’s just him and Chan around, although he’s sure there are probably teens making out and smoking weed somewhere deeper into the trees and shrubbery. 

“So?” Chan gently prompts. “What’s up?”

And then Hyunjin breaks. For the second time.

He tells Chan about his first proper conversation with Seungmin at the diner after Chan had called them out on their terrible onscreen chemistry, how they met up the day after that for the sake of getting their shit together, how they were cornered and forced to lie on the spot to protect the secrecy of Chan’s film. 

He tells Chan all about their lunch meetings and dinners together, rambles on and on about Seungmin’s concerning obsession with fried eggs, and how he used to prefer ice cream over frozen yogurt but now knows the entire menu of the frozen yogurt place by heart.

And Hyunjin cries too. He cries a lot, in fact. His eyes are wet with tears as he narrates the events of his cousin’s wedding day, and by the time he’s done with his retelling of his last conversation with Seungmin at their favorite table of their favorite shop, his eyes are swollen and his nose is runny. 

Chan listens to him without an ounce of judgement and doesn't stop Hyunjin when he strays off topic to talk about Seungmin’s fluffy hair and impeccable dental hygiene. He doesn’t scold him either when Hyunjin starts cursing his lungs out towards the vast open space in front of them, only offers Hyunjin a bottle of water from his car with a warm smile. 

Hyunjin assumes it’s really late by the time he’s finished talking. He probably ate up about two hours of Chan’s (very!) precious time, but the weight on his shoulders feel much lighter than they did for the first time in weeks. It feels freeing to tell someone the truth for once, especially after all the lying and pretending he had been doing for the past few months, and Hyunjin can finally have a bit of his sanity back, even though he’s still in so much pain.

“Can I say something?” Chan asks.

“Yeah,” Hyunjin says. “Of course you can.”

“Well, um, before Minho and I got together, I was kind of just like you.” Chan’s eyes glitter with such fondness, that Hyunjin assumes he’s thinking of Minho at the moment. It’s sweet. “I used to drive myself mad about every single thing, like if you’d ask Changbin, he’d probably agree that I was off my rocker during Minho and I’s first months of getting to know each other.”

The image of a not-so well put together Chan makes Hyunjin giggle a bit. “That’s hard to imagine.”

Chan scrunches his nose. “Yeah, it’s embarrassing to look back on now that I think about it,” he says, dimples making an appearance as he smiles. “I used to cry to Changbin all the time at the recording studio and freak out whenever I’d say something wrong, and I never thought he’d ever like me back.”

“And now you’re making a film for him,” Hyunjin says, heart warming at the thought.

“And now I’m making a film for him,” Chan repeats, cheeks rosy.

“How did you do it?” Hyunjin asks. “How did you stop, y’know, scrutinizing every single thing?”

“Well, I came to my senses after Minho and I got together,” Chan says, embarrassed. “I realized it after I asked him about that time I accidentally told him I loved him after calling him on the way home from our third date, and he said he just found it silly that time, while I stayed up all night that day pacing around the block.”

“God, you’re an idiot.” Hyunjin slaps Chan on the arm as he laughs at the tale. “That’s gold . You should’ve added that in the script.”

“Hey!” Chan whines, rubbing the abused spot on his bicep. “That ‘I love you’ thing is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me, and you’re the only one who knows the full story.”

Chan frowns pitifully, and Hyunjin bursts into laughter because he looks silly, and then Chan snickers at the sound of Hyunjin’s obnoxious witch cackle. Once calm, the two of them start laughing again when their eyes meet and it goes on and on for five minutes straight until they’re both out of breath and sore in the ribs. 

“I think you’re overthinking this too much, or wait, no,” Chan says, once they’ve both calmed down for real. He pauses in thought before shaking his head. “I think you’re overthinking the wrong things.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Maybe instead of analyzing the things you said and did whenever you were with Seungmin, you should start thinking about all the things he did for you instead,” Chan explains. 

Hyunjin turns to the side. “But we—but we were just pretending. It was all fake.”

“The whole time?” Chan questions, disbelieving. “Outside the camera? Away from other people? Your friends and family? I don’t think so, Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin gulps at that as his memories with Seungmin come rushing in. And then there is a fresh wave of guilt that comes over him as he realizes something gravely important, far more important than Hyunjin’s stupid crush and his pathetic fear of rejection. “You’re right.” 

Chan drives Hyunjin home, and it’s comfortably silent in the car. Hyunjin stares out the window and reflects on the things that Chan had asked him to do, although it’s still hard for him to understand why Chan had asked him to do so. Releasing his deepest emotions to someone did help clear his mind, however, and if there’s one thing he’s sure of after having a lengthy conversation with Chan, it’s that he owes Seungmin another apology, one that he hopes isn’t overdue.

“Thank you for everything. I really needed this.” Hyunjin leans over the car’s center console to give his friend a hug, which Chan eagerly accepts with a hearty chuckle. “And I’m sorry too, for taking three hours off of your schedule and for skipping filming days last week.”

“Anytime, Hyunjin, you can come to me anytime,” Chan says, ruffling Hyunjin’s hair before he puts a hand under his chin, looking like he’s deeply considering something. “As for missing the filming days…”

“I’m also sorry I lied about being sick,” Hyunjin says, sheepish.

“Don’t worry about that, I get it.” Chan chews on his inner cheek. “Just make it up to me on Friday and give your all on our last filming day, okay?”

“Of course.” Hyunjin quickly nods. He has no problem with that.

“Also,” Chan adds as an afterthought. “Make it up to Seungmin too, yeah? He actually came to the shoot an hour before you did and looked like he hadn’t slept in days.”

Hyunjin has no problem with that either. “I will. I promise.”

_

[ 1:58 AM ]

hwang jiniret: hey seungmin

hwang jiniret: i know it’s pretty late and that it isn’t right that i’m texting you like this after what had happened that day when i should be telling you this in person

hwang jiniret: but i just want to tell you that i am so sorry for saying and doing all of that, for not even considering how you could’ve felt during that time. 

hwang jiniret: you have always been so kind and warm to me, seungmin, and although i do have feelings for you, our friendship has always been the most important thing. 

hwang jiniret: i like you, but i value you and our friendship more. that has always been the realest thing for me. i’m really sorry for hurting you and i want to make it up to you if you’ll let me, but i’ll also understand if this is the end. 

[ read at 8:26 AM ]

_

Hyunjin isn’t super religious, but he does say a little prayer on the way to the park (now the second worst place in the world after the frozen yogurt shop) and asks the gods above for a bit of courage to get him through the day. 

Compared to how he was earlier in the week, he thinks that he’s more prepared this time. Prepared for what exactly, he doesn’t know, but it’s far better than constantly feeling like his body is about to collapse from heartache. If there’s one thing he’s certain about though, it’s that he’s slowly crawling his way out of depression and making his way onto the fifth and final stage of grief, which is acceptance.

Currently, he and Seungmin are sitting together on the old, creaky swing sets of the park as they read through their lines. Chan is a few feet away from them, adjusting the camera’s settings for the scene and the angle of his position for filming. 

It’s a little sad to think about how this is their last day of shooting for the film, but Hyunjin is more excited by the fact that it means he gets to see Chan work his magic in putting the film together. He hasn’t actually seen any of the things they had filmed together, only a few seconds from some of the clips for the sake of monitoring, but he knows it’ll turn out well. He’s not quite sure about the acting part of it all, but he’s sure it’ll be amazing in all the other aspects.

Once the sun begins to set and golden hour is upon them, Chan claps his hands and asks them to leave their scripts behind.  

Hyunjin shakes off the rest of his unimportant thoughts and focuses on the task at hand, which is to have his character hold Seungmin’s character’s hand. Deep breaths, Hyunjin reminds himself. 

“Um,” he says, clearing his throat. Seungmin turns his head towards his direction, and Hyunjin points at his hand. “May I?”

His stomach bubbles in nervousness, mouth going dry in anticipation. Seungmin looks him in the eyes and smiles at him, real and pure.

Chan gets the camera rolling. 

The entirety of the swing set scene is only meant to last thirty seconds at most with only three lines exchanged between their characters, but Hyunjin feels like it’s been going on for hours. It’s difficult to focus on getting his lines right when he’s trying not to think too much about the meaning behind Seungmin’s smile, but he gets it done anyway. Like the self-proclaimed seasoned actor he’s slowly turning into.

“Minjun,” Seungmin recites, embodying the right emotion needed for this particular scene in the film. “My head hurts.”

“Do you wanna lay down a bit at my place?” Hyunjin says, hoping that his words don’t come off as too choppy. “Take a nap for a while or something?” That didn’t sound as bad as the first take. 

Seungmin is supposed to gaze into his soul for this, and he does it so well that it leaves Hyunjin a bit shaken to the core. For the nth time since they had begun filming, he reminds himself that this is all an act. Hyunjin is Minjun, and Seungmin is Jiho, and it’ll be this way until Chan’s last ‘cut.’ 

“Just for a while,” Seungmin affirms. 

Hold. Five, four, three, two, one. “And cut!” Chan yells out. “That was perfect, guys.”

Hyunjin gently pulls his hand away from Seungmin’s and wipes off the sweat on his temples. Chan reviews the footage, seemingly satisfied. They all pack up and head to their last filming location. 

One of Chan’s university buddies had given them the permission to use his apartment unit as their set under the conditions that they keep it clean and tidy, which won’t be a problem since  all they really need for the final scene is a bedroom anyway. 

They strip off the guy’s sheets and pillowcases and replace it with Chan’s real ones for hygienic purposes, and spend a good twenty minutes putting the props up for a more believable looking set. Chan pastes on band posters on the walls, while Seungmin dumps a pile of textbooks and notebooks on the study desk. Hyunjin, on the other hand, brings out a few of his framed photos from his own place and artfully positions them on the nightstand.

It takes time for them to set up proper lighting without moving too much of the furniture around and even more time for Chan to settle on the perfect warmth of the light for a cozy-looking ambience. 

“Is this good enough?” Chan asks Seungmin. “Actually, nevermind, I can just fix it in post-production. We’re all good to go, guys.” 

Hyunjin curses. He was hoping to have just a few more minutes to compose himself, but Chan has always been a man of promptness and timeliness. Hyunjin is stuck between a rock and a hard place, torn between wanting to get this whole thing over with or delaying his final moments as Minjun for as long as possible. 

The last scene, or as they all like to call it, the ‘Bed Scene’ is undoubtedly the highlight of the entire film. This means two things: one, Hyunjin and Seungmin have to pour their all into this, and by all, Chan wants mind, heart, body, and soul. And two, it is called ‘Bed Scene’ for a reason. 

Nothing sexual by any means, but it still means lying down together, and Hyunjin is on the verge of losing his last, precious marble. 

They had been pretty touchy with one another, before the frozen yogurt shop incident, at least. Hyunjin had been on the giving and receiving ends of hugs from Seungmin and vice versa, they held hands plenty of times, leaned against each other’s shoulders on car rides home and movie viewing sessions. Technically, lying down together isn’t anything out of what they’re already used to—hell, it says on the script that they don’t even need to be touching each other, but Hyunjin is still frightened by the intimacy of it all; he’s terrified to an extra degree because things are still awkward between them.

He should know by now, after many sessions of self-reflection and that talk with Chan, to stop overthinking things, to separate fiction from reality, and he’s getting better at it, but god, he’s not so much of a seasoned actor after all. 

For the sake of not having to waste too much time and energy and space on Chan’s memory card, they rehearse the lines and blockings for the part they have before the actual bed scene. Seungmin has always excelled in memorization, easily remembering the details in the small movements he has to make, while Hyunjin messes up a few times on getting the timing on point. He blames it on his nerves. Chan probably understands why.

Seungmin smiles at him again as they turn their phones off and leave them outside the bedroom. Chan calls them inside, gives them his final instructions like a nagging parent, to which he and Seungmin both groan at, and then they start filming again. 

“ACTION!”

“You can have my bed,” Hyunjin says, positioned to lean against the bedroom’s door frame. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

“Cut!” Chan yells, abrupt. “Can you say that again, but softer this time?”

Perhaps it is Hyunjin’s subconsciousness that is causing him to mess up, since it takes him four times to repeat that single line until Chan is fully satisfied. He’s either too stiff or too quiet, but he gets it right on the fifth time, so they move on. 

“Wait,” Seungmin calls out. Hyunjin does a perfect half-turn as practiced. “Don’t go, I need you to wake me up in thirty minutes so I don’t overstay.”

“But I have nothing to do here...”

“Go do your homework or something.”

“I don’t have homework, Jiho.”

“Just stay ,” Seungmin pleads, sitting down on the bed. Hyunjin’s heart skips a beat or three. 

“Um, alright.” Hyunjin moves into the frame of the other camera set up on a tripod in another area of the room. He pulls out the swivel chair that’s hidden under the study desk. “I can just… sit here or something.”

Seungmin flops onto the bed with a groan. “Seriously?” He asks. Hyunjin notes in the back of his mind that Seungmin’s acting has improved by a tremendous amount. “Don’t do that, it’s kinda creepy.”

“Well, I have nowhere else to sit in this room, unless you want me on the floor?” Hyunjin carefully pushes the chair back, so as not to mess with the audio, and the awkward chuckle his character is supposed to let out comes out naturally, because Hyunjin knows what's about to come.

From the corner of Hyunjin’s eye, he sees Chan focusing the camera on Seungmin’s contemplative expression. “You can join me here,” Seungmin gently suggests, patting a hand on the mattress. “There’s enough space for the both of us.”

The tinge of red that appears on the tips of Hyunjin’s ears are very much natural too. He wonders if it’ll show up on camera. Maybe the audience would praise Chan’s attention to detail if they take notice of it, and Hyunjin can laugh to himself that it was real. 

“CUT!” Chan adjusts the collar of his shirt, fanning himself with it. “Okay, wow, that was fucking flawless. Seungmin, I think you were born to do this.”

“Really?” Seungmin asks, staying still on the bed for the sake of not having a continuity error. “I actually tripped on the rug before I sat here though.”

“I don’t think it was that obvious,” Chan says, rewinding the footage. “Yeah, you’re fine, and good job too, Hyunjin. Let’s continue.”

There are two cameras pointed at Hyunjin’s direction this time as he slowly takes off his oversized denim jacket and throws it aside. The mere act of undressing a single piece of clothing isn’t supposed to make him this lightheaded, but with Seungmin watching, it’s practically inevitable for him to react this way. 

Hyunjin crawls into bed, and Seungmin moves to the right until his back hits the wall. He pulls a blanket over them in one fluid motion and the thick fabric falls perfectly, covering half of their bodies. Hyunjin lies flat on his back while Seungmin adjusts himself so that his entire body is parallel to Hyunjin’s.

Chan cuts the scene again, brings out a stepping stool in order for him to take an elevated shot of the both of them lying down. “Hyunjin? Can you move your head a little more to the right? A little more… Okay, a bit more… Great.” Chan hums, pleased. “Rolling in three, two, and one. Action!”

Well, here goes nothing, Hyunjin thinks, before bringing himself to focus on acting out his final sequence. 

“Wake me up in thirty minutes, Minjun,” Seungmin reminds, eyelids on the verge of fluttering shut. He nuzzles closer to the pillow, yawning. “Don’t forget.” 

Hyunjin holds back from yawning too, lazily nodding as he stares straight at the ceiling. “Go to sleep.”

Seungmin’s character is meant to doze off quickly, and as instructed in the script, Hyunjin is supposed to shift to his left side in order to quietly admire his sleeping companion’s features in a super non-creepy way, so Hyunjin does as told. Looking at Seungmin now, Hyunjin wonders if he had fallen asleep for real. 

The gap between them is quite small. Although they're not touching, they’re almost nose to nose; Hyunjin can feel the soft puffs of air coming from Seungmin and he’s sure Seungmin can feel his every exhale too. 

Hyunjin’s hand creeps up from where it is hidden under the blankets and he draws a small heart on the pillow they’re both sharing, tracing the shape right between his face and Seungmin’s. When Hyunjin asked Chan what the meaning of that particular action meant during their break earlier, Chan had only replied with a bashful grin. Hyunjin assumes it’s only something Minho would understand when he sees it on the day of the film festival, and Hyunjin thinks the secrecy of the action makes acting it out even better, so he doesn’t pry.

The scene is supposed to stretch out for a while after that, but Hyunjin knows it’s not meant to last this long. He guesses that maybe Chan is letting it simmer for just a bit more since the atmosphere is just like the one he had always imagined it to be. He doesn’t know any other reason as to why Chan isn’t cutting.

Breathing slowly in an attempt to control the heavy pounding of his silly, cardiovascular organ, Hyunjin’s eyes take in every inch of Seungmin’s delicate features. From his fanned out eyelashes, to the faint moles littering his skin, to the natural rosiness of his cheeks, everything about him looks beautiful. Hyunjin wouldn’t mind if the world freezes right here and now if it means admiring him like this forever.

His fingers twitch. Hyunjin hopes Chan doesn’t mind if goes off script to brush Seungmin’s bangs out of his forehead. The action causes Seungmin’s nose to scrunch up a bit, and Hyunjin’s lips quirk upward at that, tempted to go even further. 

Hyunjin moves forward, just a fraction of an inch, really. And then he does something without thinking, something else that isn’t included in the script that he hopes Chan will forgive him for. 

He lands a small kiss right in the center of Seungmin’s forehead. Hyunjin closes his eyes to go to sleep. 

“Cut,” Chan says, the most satisfied of smiles on his face. “I don’t think we need to redo that.”

“Great.” Seungmin pulls the blanket over his shoulders, seemingly about to take an actual nap. 

Chan sets down his camera and gives Hyunjin a look that he can’t decipher. Chan winks inconspicuously, clears his throat, and announces that he’s going to go outside to upload the clips into his computer. “I’ll be outside if you need me,” he says before exiting the bedroom and shutting the door. 

Hyunjin makes a move to leave the bed too, but Seungmin stops him with a hand clinging onto the sleeve of his hoodie. He gulps when Seungmin’s eyes eventually open, brown eyes staring straight into his. 

“What was that ?” Seungmin asks. Surprisingly enough, he doesn’t sound upset or anything. Just plain curious. “And I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.”

Hyunjin bites his lower lip, tries not to freak out that Seungmin is speaking to him out of his own volition and not because they’re required to. “Can’t a guy do some improv around here?” Hyunjin jokes weakly, and Seungmin frowns at him. Wrong move. 

He stares blankly at Hyunjin, and the rapid beating of Hyunjin’s heart comes back. And fuck, it was stupid of him to think something like that was acceptable to do in the first place.

“It just—it just felt like something Minjun would do,” Hyunjin says, ashamed. “Just for show.”

Seungmin blinks. “Oh.” He shifts so that he’s also laying on his back, and now they’re both facing up at the ceiling. “Okay.”

“I’m—” Hyunjin opens his mouth to apologize for acting out of line, but Seungmin inhales sharply, cutting him off. 

“And what would Hyunjin do?” Seungmin asks. Hyunjin is puzzled by the vague question.

“Huh?”

Seungmin lets out a frustrated sigh, one that Hyunjin is sorry to be the cause for. He turns again to his right side, and Hyunjin adjusts to his left so they’re seeing each other eye to eye. The frown on Seungmin’s face disappears in an instant.

“What,” Seungmin enunciates. “Would you do?”

The answer clicks in after a few embarrassing seconds. Hyunjin prays that he’s reading this right, otherwise his entire life will be over.

“I’d kiss you,” Hyunjin admits softly. “And—and it'd be for real.”

Hyunjin feels Seungmin’s hand move from the pillow to his face, and it rests at the space between his cheek and jawline, warming his skin as Seungmin’s thumb moves in gentle motions. He settles for putting his own hand at the nape of Seungmin’s neck.

Moving slowly, Hyunjin’s gaze trails down to Seungmin’s mouth until their noses are touching and he has no choice but to look deeply into Seungmin’s eyes once again. Hyunjin tilts his head, Seungmin tilts it to the opposite direction. He counts down from five in his head.

Their lips finally meet in the middle.

(Seungmin tastes a bit like toothpaste, a lot more like mint chocolate frozen yogurt.)

_

Unlike in the romance movies that he and Jisung love watching together whenever they’re done getting their asses kicked by finals and whatnot, one kiss doesn’t magically fix things. With this being said, Hyunjin isn’t sure if getting kissed back by Seungmin means he’s already forgiven.

And no, he’s not overthinking it this time, it’s really just that Seungmin hasn’t replied to his texts nor has he said anything else but ‘goodnight’ to Hyunjin after their last shoot, four days ago. Which is totally okay, Hyunjin supposes, he’ll give Seungmin time and space if he needs it. 

He’ll also ask for forgiveness again if that’s what Seungmin wants. 

Which brings him to his present problem. 

[ 1:25 PM ]

let’s groove tonight: ayo i think i see him outside lol

let’s groove tonight: i’ll talk to him for a bit until u text me right? Was that the plan i forgot

hyunjinnie: yeah that’s the plan . just… idk distract him for a bit then i’ll text you and then you can fuck off and go annoy changbin at work or whatever it is that u do in ur spare time

let’s groove tonight: oh yeah bro that;s EXACTLY what i do in my free time. You wanna know what else i do hyunjin?

hyunjinnie: i do your mom in my free time felix

let’s groove tonight: What if i tell seungmin you just said that

let’s groove tonight: remind me WHY im doing this for you again

hyunjinnie: he knows and he dgaf

hyunjinnie: because i decorated your apartment at 4 in the morning for ur boyfriend’s surprise party :)

hyunjinnie: ok im almost ready can you stop texting me and go distract him now

Hyunjin clutches the paper bag he’s holding against his chest, hiding behind one of the pillars in campus as he watches Felix engage in a conversation with Seungmin near the outdoor fountain. He fixes the collar of his shirt, reapplies lip balm for the third time, and makes sure his shoelaces are tied in a double knot. He also makes sure to tear a hole at the bottom of his paper bag that he covers with one hand.

He shoots Felix another text, the one that’s supposed to be his cue to leave. From a short distance, he sees his blonde friend open the message. Felix quickly leaves after that, waves goodbye to Seungmin, and starts walking to Hyunjin’s direction. 

“Thanks,” Hyunjin says, rushed. He steps out from behind the pillar. “Tell Changbin I said hi.”

“Will do.” Felix nods at Hyunjin, jogging backwards as he gives Hyunjin a thumbs up before turning a corner. “Tell your mom I said hi.”  

Seungmin is still standing at the place where Felix left him, going through his backpack. He’s distracted so he doesn’t notice how Hyunjin is slowly approaching him. Perfect. Just perfect. Once Seungmin zips up his bag and starts walking to his next destination, Hyunjin picks up his pace a little and—

The timing is just right.

Their shoulders bump into each other, earning a gasp from Seungmin when he stumbles a little. Hyunjin weakens his hold on his paper bag from the grocery store and releases the hand that’s supporting the weight of the items inside. The hole he ripped under it tears completely and a few fruits spill out.

Seungmin gasps again when he realizes that it’s Hyunjin he bumped into, eyes growing wider at the number of fresh produce on the ground. An avocado rolls next to his sneaker, and then a mango. 

“Hyunjin?” Seungmin says in disbelief, still staring at the mess below him. “Your fruits, they—huh? Wait, I am so lost right now.”

“Oh no,” Hyunjin says, halfheartedly dragging out the ‘o.’ “My poor fruits.”

Seungmin shakes his head, fighting off a laugh that Hyunjin senses is about to come. He bends down to pick each individual fruit up (two mangoes, an unripe avocado, and a banana) and puts them inside his backpack because Hyunjin’s paper bag is clearly destroyed.

“What’s with all the fruits?” Seungmin asks, dusting his hands off. Hyunjin tries not to smile at him too widely, absolutely fucking enamored. 

“They’re for my new blender,” Hyunjin says. He does not have a new blender, but he hopes Seungmin understands what he’s trying to reference. 

And Seungmin gets it. Of course he does. 

_

Hyunjin meets Chan again, three weeks after their final shoot, at the campus’ auditorium for the screening of the student film fest’s entries.

The dude looks exhausted, curly hair looking fried from his excessive use of bleach, dark bags under his eyes, and a plain black shirt that looks like it hasn’t been washed since the start of the month. 

“Hey, genius Bang.” Hyunjin still pulls him in for a hug, despite Chan warning him that he smells like stale bread. “Can’t wait to see your masterpiece on the big screen.”

Chan nods, always as humble as ever. “I did my best to give you guys justice.”

Hyunjin snorts. He looks at all the students lining up for seats and spots Seungmin with all of their friends. “Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? This is for Minho after all.”

Speaking of Minho, the dance major is already sitting down with a bucket of popcorn on his lap. Chan’s expression goes soft at the mere sight of him devouring the snack before any of the films even begin. 

“Yeah, it is,” Chan says, fond. “He still thinks I made a horror movie with Jisung and Changbin in it.”

“Well, he’s going to be in for a big surprise once he realizes that there are no ghosts dressed in sleeping gowns,” Hyunjin replies with a chuckle. “Do you think he’s gonna like it?”

“I’m hoping he does.” Chan shrugs, toying with the pendant of his necklace. “And if he doesn’t, well, at least I know I still did something right.” He motions over to where Seungmin is, and Hyunjin feels himself go red.

“I’m a hundred percent sure he loves whatever you create.” Hyunjin and Chan start making their way to their own seats. “This one won’t be any different.”

Minho stands up from his chair as soon as Chan walks over to him, putting down his food and wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. Chan squeezes him back with so much love and affection that even Hyunjin feels it from where he’s at. 

He goes to the other part of the auditorium where everyone else is, sits next to Seungmin, and their hands automatically interlock. Jisung, with his cheeks stuffed with marshmallows and an assortment of candies, excitedly positions himself on the vacant chair on Hyunjin’s right side.

The lights in the venue darken, and the committee in charge of the event announces that the first film is about to begin. 

“Do you know what Chan’s film is about?” Jisung whispers as the opening of the first movie plays out on screen. “He still doesn’t wanna tell us anything even though we’ve been bothering him for so long.”

“If you guys don’t know, then what makes you think I do?” Hyunjin whispers back. After months of keeping Chan’s secret, Hyunjin is not about to spoil it right before the actual reveal. “I guess we’ll just find out once we see it.”

Overhearing the conversation, Seungmin muffles his laugh next to Hyunjin. “I’m kind of scared actually,” he says, bringing his face close to Hyunjin’s ear for the others not to hear. “Like, what if our acting is straight up horrible and our friends laugh at us? Do we just move to a new country after that?”

Hyunjin glances at their friends, all engaged in the film that’s showing. He shudders. “I think Chan has standards,” Hyunjin reasons out weakly, although he’s also unsure of himself. “But I don’t think I’ll be able to stand seeing myself act. I’m really just here to support Chan.”

“Me too,” Seungmin agrees, biting his bottom lip. He tightens his grip on Hyunjin’s hand. “But hey, at least we can share our pain together.”

Seven entries and an intermission number later, Chan’s film is introduced as the last one for the day. The emcee addresses Chan as Director Bang, and everyone who knows him starts hooting and cheering for the famous campus genius. 

The opening scene is of Hyunjin’s side profile shot from outside the glass window of the diner they filmed in. Next to him, Jisung drops his pack of peanut M&M’S in shock. 

“Holy crap, that’s you on screen, dude!” Jisung exclaims, earning a sharp elbow to his rib by Jeongin. He lowers his voice to a whisper that is still heard by Felix, who glares at him from two seats away. “We are going to have an awfully long conversation after this.”

The twenty-five minute long film exceeds Hyunjin’s expectations—Hyunjin is very glad that Chan’s editing and scoring can make him look past the flaws in his acting skills, although he’s not sure what others would say about it. Each scene is put together seamlessly, to the point that Hyunjin’s mouth hangs open every time he notices the minor details Chan had put into the camera angles, lighting, and cuts. 

Seungmin’s acting is praiseworthy too, though Hyunjin has a hard time focusing on the screen whenever it’s a scene he’s also in. Even from the very beginning, when they were just testing the waters with their table reads, Hyunjin could already tell that Seungmin had potential, and he’s beyond proud to see it from a viewer’s perspective.

Another amusing thing worth noting, in Hyunjin’s opinion, is that he can see a big difference in himself as he acted out the earlier scenes versus the more recent ones. Seeing how his manner of delivering lines and his actions slightly improving is already a given, yes, but the funniest thing by far is witnessing the progression of how dumb and lovestruck he looks whenever he’s (Minjun) with Seungmin (Jiho) on screen. 

It’s through Chan’s film that Hyunjin sees how the fine line between real life and on-screen has always been a bit blurry for him, that maybe he has always been a little smitten with Seungmin, even from the very beginning. 

“I think Jisung is crying with Felix in the bathroom,” Jeongin says to Hyunjin as soon as the students in the venue start to leave. “I’ll only say it to your face once, but that was beautiful stuff you did there, Hyunjin.”

“It wasn’t even a sad story...?” Hyunjin quirks a brow. He also pinches Jeongin’s soft, doughy cheeks like he usually does. “Thank you, I’ll keep that in my heart folder with the three other compliments you’ve given me in our four years of friendship.”

Jeongin sticks his tongue out at the mention of the heart folder. “Those two are hopeless romantics, though Jisung is still in denial about it.”

Speaking of the devil, Jisung exits the bathroom with Felix in tow. Both of them have runny noses and watery eyes, and Jeongin points at them, howling in laughter. 

“You didn’t tell me you had superb acting skills, bro.” Jisung wipes his face with a tissue. “That thing you did at the end killed me.”

“Completely obliterated,” Felix agrees, nodding as Changbin pats him on the back. “I’d pay to see it again.”

Hyunjin’s ears heat up at all the compliments. Seungmin holds him with an arm wrapped around his waist. “Stop,” he pleads, flustered. “Chan worked his magic and I just did… whatever I could.”

“I still think it’s so awesome though,” Felix gushes. “That you guys got together and then starred in a cutesy romantic film.”

“Made by Bang Chan,” Jisung adds. He turns around and waves at Minho, asking him to come over and join them.

Hyunjin glances at Seungmin, who leans into his ear and whispers, “Quite the opposite, actually.” Hyunjin gives him a knowing smile. “They got the order of events wrong.”

_

A few notable things happen after the film screening:

Minho posts an entire thread on Twitter about how proud he is of Chan that he updates daily. There are about twenty tweets in the thread that are just pictures of them together and keyboard smashes, and then twenty other tweets explaining in full detail how in love he is with his boyfriend, and then the final three tweets demanding that Chan gets nominated for an Academy Award or else there will be hell to pay. 

Hyunjin’s friends, surprisingly, do not tease him as much as he had initially expected them to. Although Jisung does quote Minjun’s lines in their group chat often, Hyunjin is more thankful than annoyed. That just means that maybe his performance wasn’t too bad after all. 

Seungmin declares to the world (the vast open space of the park) that he is officially Hyunjin’s boyfriend.

(And Hyunjin’s mind is blown. He still can’t believe it.)

“Did you know I ran after you when you left?” Seungmin asks, putting his phone inside his pocket. “You left so quickly that I didn’t have enough time to process, so I went after you. Did you fucking sprint away or something?”

They stand together at the frozen yogurt shop again for the first time since Hyunjin’s tearful confession. Seungmin had admitted to him earlier that he would go here after classes to wait and see if Hyunjin would come by, and Hyunjin… Well, he couldn’t even bear the thought of froyo after the incident.

“I didn’t.” Hyunjin laughs sheepishly. He feels the tips of his ears go hot from embarrassment. “I literally just hid in the barber shop’s bathroom next door and prayed you wouldn’t find me there.” 

“That’s evil,” Seungmin says, pushing the doors open. The bell attached to the entrance tinkles as they step inside, the sound familiar and welcoming. “You just had a one-sided conversation with me and left.”

“I’m sorry,” Hyunjin apologizes for the hundredth time. Seungmin nudges him as if to say that he’s not actually upset. 

“Pay for the yogurt and you’re forgiven.” Seungmin winks. 

“Don’t I always?” Hyunjin teasingly grumbles, approaching the counter to give their orders. As always, Seungmin puts a spoonful of each topping available in his cup before they make their way to their usual table.

“If only you had given me a chance to respond, I would’ve told you that I felt the same way,” Seungmin innocently says, mixing his ingredients together to create a colorful mess of candies and nuts. “But it’s okay that you didn’t. I like you regardless.”

Hyunjin kicks Seungmin’s leg under the table. His face muscles hurt from smiling ear to ear, and he is so, so, so in love.

“And I like you too, Seungmin.”

_

+1

“Hey, Seungmin, random question but, are you interested in acting?”

Seungmin looks up from his computer to find his friend, Chan, standing right next to him with a lunch tray in his hands. He rubs his palms over his eyes, utterly confused by the oddness of the situation. 

“Um, it depends...?” Seungmin replies unsurely, pulling out the chair to his right side for Chan to sit down on. “I mean, I don’t really think about it. Why?”

Chan scratches the back of his neck. “Well, you see, um,” he stammers, like he doesn’t know how to phrase his words the right way. “I’m planning to produce a short film for the upcoming film festival and I’m on the hunt for actors.”

“Oh,” Seungmin says, eyes widening. It sounds a little sketchy, but he won’t lie and say he isn’t intrigued. “What’s it about?”

“Just… a drama… with a splash of romance. I’m not really done with the script yet.” Chan waves a hand around, vague. “Are you interested?”

Seungmin quirks a brow at him. He’s sort of interested; he doesn’t have much to do with his time these days anyway, but with the way Chan’s selling it, he’s thinking that maybe he might need more convincing. 

“Can you tell me additional information? Like, I don’t know,” Seungmin hums, pondering. “Who else is gonna be in it?”

Chan blinks. He turns around and scans the cafeteria, then points a finger at someone sitting on the other side of the room. “Do you see that guy over there?” He asks. Seungmin squints hard to see who Chan is talking about. “The one sitting next to Jisung? Not sure if you know him, but—”

It’s Hwang Hyunjin.

The one and only.

He looks at Chan and then glances at Hwang Hyunjin’s direction again and sees the boy throwing his head back in laughter, the sun’s rays through the window next to him hitting his skin just right, making it look like he’s glowing. 

Chan coughs loudly to get his attention back, smirking once it dawns on him who Seungmin is staring at. Seungmin looks away immediately. “So… are you interested, or…?”

Seungmin downs his glass of water like a shot of tequila, heart racing at the mere sight of him from a distance. There are a million thoughts flashing through his brain at the moment, all contradicting one another. There are multiple warning signs too, but he ignores those. 

“Yeah, I’m interested.”