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"People are so fucking weird. "
Beomgyu snorts before lifting his head to look at Jisung, who had just barged his way into the break office, flopping himself into the empty chair in front of him.
“Why, what happened this time?”
“Ugh, I don't even know! One of our regulars just flipped her shit because I gave her a cup inside of a cup, like, you know how sometimes our takeaway cups are impossible to separate so I just thought, hey it’ll be fine I’ll just give it to her like this she won’t mind–”
“But she did, I’m guessing,”
“–She totally fucking lost it! Starting shouting how we needed to take it out and only give her one cup; she didn’t need two cups; she didn’t want to carry two cups around, you know, disregarding the fact that technically speaking it was still only one because the cups were inside each other! Just a whole bunch of stupid reasons I still can’t get my head round.”
Beomgyu just laughed, taking in Jisung’s red face and disgruntled expression and reaches across to give him a comforting pat on the arm.
“People are just weird Jisungie, especially when it’s only 7am and they’re cranky without their morning coffee, I never pegged a regular to flip out like that though…”
Jisung just let his head drop to the table with a sad little whine,
“You’re telling me…”
The pair fell into a comfortable silence for a while, but Jisung was still thinking over the morning's interaction, he couldn’t help it, just the thought of how someone he thought he had a good passing relationship with could turn around and be like that , and over something so stupid too. Don’t get him wrong, Jisung loved his job, being a barista was so much fun to him, getting to converse briefly with people going about their days, making their drinks the way they like and all the other mundane stuff that came with his job but he couldn’t help but feel so discontent with everything at the moment and he thinks this morning was the final straw for him.
He needed a change.
Almost as if he could sense the internal turmoil flowing through Jisung, Beomgyu had turned his gaze away from his phone and towards Jisung instead and even though he was just merely looking at him and not prompting him to speak, Jisung couldn’t help his thoughts from exploding out,
“I can’t do this anymore!”
Beomgyu just cocked an amused eyebrow,
“What, this job or just being a barista overall?”
“I don’t know, I just, I love being a barista, I do, but I just feel so stuck here you know?”
Jisung watched as Beomgyu just gave a noncommittal shrug, putting his phone down on the table as he pondered over Jisung’s outburst,
“Mm, I guess I can kinda understand where you’re coming from, you like your job but you just feel bored? Maybe not bored, more like you’re tired of the routine?”
Jisung nodded so hard he thought his head would wobble off, just blinking at Beomgyu as he waited for him to continue, “Well, have you thought about transferring?”
Jisung, pursed his lips, he had actually, but then wouldn’t that just be more of the same shit? Sure there’d be different customers, a different vibe, but he wasn’t sure that would be enough to quell the unrest starting to bubble up in his body. He voiced all of this to Beomgyu who just hummed again in response, tilting his head as if he was remembering something.
“What about the transfer offer that Chan posted?”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean huh, your best friend Chan? The same friend you’ve been whining over missing ever since he left to take over as manager at our space branch?”
“Yes, I know which Chan thanks, I meant, huh what transfer offer?”
Beomgyu just stares at him with an incredulous look before picking his phone back up and tapping on it a few times, eventually sliding it over to Jisung where he could see it was displaying the messaging app they used for workplace communications, the message Beomgyu had highlighted was from Chan, detailing how there was an availability for a barista to join his team on the biggest international space hub their solar system had to offer, that the company wanted to offer the opportunity to their current staff across the various branches on Earth before opening it spacewide. Jisung could only offer Beomgyu a sheepish look, sliding his phone back– but not before forwarding Chan’s message to his own phone, being too lazy to have to find it himself later.
“Dude, you know I have that group chat muted…”
Beomgyu just throws his head back in a cackle, locking his phone and reaching for his apron, break coming to a close.
“I thought it was weird you hadn’t mentioned it, I would’ve thought you would’ve been one of the first to apply for it, I guess now I know why,” he paused as he fiddled with the tie of his apron, “anyway, rumours are they haven’t found a suitable barista yet, so you’ve got a pretty good chance I think, and if you think our customers can be weird, I can’t wait to hear any stories you’ll share from up there.”
With that, Beomgyu just throws him an easy wave and heads out the door, back to the bustle of their little store. Jisung only has to think about it for all of about 3 seconds before he’s bringing up his messages with Chan, firing off a text asking whether the position was still open and grinning when the almost instantaneous reply lights up his phone with Chan’s excited confirmation, asking if Jisung was really serious about applying. Apparently there was some testing he would have to go through, just to check he was suitable for the space station lifestyle, but Chan promised that providing he passed, the job was as good as his, as according to him, no one else that had previously applied had been able to get the necessary approval for interplanetary citizenship.
Which is why Jisung was still finding it hard to believe that he did, even as he boarded the ship that was due to launch him into the stratosphere in less than 30 minutes. The tests were pretty normal Jisung thought, just some health checkups to check his body would be able to correctly regulate itself up in the station, then some basic questions about his mental state along with his general background, financials, family status, etc. Once he had brought up that the only person he really cared too much about missing was already up on that station, and his physicals and financials all came back sound, he was pretty much cleared instantly, being given a list of dates he could fly out on in the coming month.
In typical Jisung fashion, he fell asleep the second his head hit the back of the seat, the nerves of the move keeping him awake the night before and so when he woke up to the announcement of their safe landing, he was already wildly disorientated. Luckily for him though, Chan had already booked the day off work the second Jisung had secured a date to launch, citing there was no way he was going to let Jisung loose by himself on the station without at least some kind of brief guidance beforehand. Jisung just knew that was code for Chan had been missing him as much as he had him.
But jeez, the space station was fucking huge .
Jisung couldn’t help but stare around mouth agape, trying the drink in all the different sights and wishing he had about 5 more sets of eyes to do so. There were so many alien races he had seen within just the first minute and he knew that there were countless more that passed through here on the daily, more than he had ever learnt about in his social science classes back in uni. As his eyes were still scanning around, he eventually caught sight of Chan, waving at him from the arrivals desk complete with a cheesy placard welcoming him to his new home. Jisung had always had rather the flair for dramatics and what was this if not a perfect opportunity to get the movie style reunion of his dreams, running down the corridor to fling himself into Chan’s open arms – luckily enough for him, Chan was prepared for these kind of antics – and he laughed brightly as Chan spun him round as a bonus.
“Sung! I can’t believe you’re actually here, oh my god.”
Jisung just snuggled his face into the crook of Chan’s neck before he was slowly lowered back down to the ground, his heart-shaped smile only growing wider as he took in his best friend properly for the first time in about 2 years. Grasping both of Chan’s cheeks in each hand, Jisung stretches up slightly to press a wet smooch on his best friend's forehead, before tangling their arms together, an invitation for Chan to start leading him to his new apartment.
“I have missed you so fucking much Chan you don’t even understand, it’s gonna be so much fun being able to hang out with you again.”
He could see Chan grinning out of the corner of his eye,
“There’s so much cool stuff to show you, I know you’re gonna love it up here Sung.”
The walk to his apartment didn't seem to take that long but Jisung is guessing that has more to do with the fact he spent the majority of the time chatting with Chan, listening to the rundown of all the stuff Chan was excited to show him and about Chan’s boyfriends and how he couldn’t wait for Jisung to meet them finally. It was nice, to be able to have these mundane conversations and knowing they’re no longer a distant dream, that he was actually here and not behind a phone screen on a completely different planet.
Jisung was due to start the day after next at the coffee shop and because of that he spent the majority of the day before his first shift sorting his stuff out and letting Chan drag him out to a restaurant, where Jisung could try some new food and they could have a lengthy catching up. His apartment was nice, way nicer than the one he lived in back on Earth, a glossy monochrome look with huge windows looking out onto the space station, the hustle of the city endlessly entertaining for someone so easily distracted as Jisung, possibly his favourite part of this whole thing though, was the fact the domed ceiling of the space station was also completely made of glass, allowing Jisung to gaze out onto the endless sea of stars he had never got to truly appreciate while living in a huge, smoggy city back on Earth.
Until finally, it was the day of his first shift and to say Jisung was nervous was an understatement.
Chan had spent the first morning running around, alternating between shepherding Jisung around his new store, showing him the ropes – including giving him a thick file filled to the brim with all the safety methods used for handling the weird ingredients the place was stocked with – and introducing him to the staff he was going to be working with now. One of whom was one of Chan’s boyfriends, Felix, who Jisung had originally thought was from Australia much like Chan, his deep voice greeting Jisung with the familiar aussie twang he was so used to hearing from his best friend. As it actually turns out, Felix was Yr’cimim, which meant that he had an unparalleled ability to mimic any sound. Apparently when Felix had first met Chan he was so enamoured by his accent, he had copied it instantly and now simply refuses to change it because, in his own words, ‘it makes us matching!’ .
Once he seemed satisfied that Jisung wasn’t about to cause any kind of catastrophic damage, Chan stopped hovering around him so much, being able to return to the mountain of paperwork that had steadily been growing the past few days he had been babysitting Jisung; instead leaving him in the care of Felix, who had taken an instant liking to Jisung– much to the relief of Chan. Not that he was particularly worried about Felix and Jisung getting along, Felix being sunshine personified meant that there wasn’t really anyone he truly disliked. His other boyfriend was a different story apparently but Jisung was yet to meet him.
So far though, Jisung thinks he had been doing pretty well in his opinion. It had already been a week and he hadn’t spilt any of the molten lava used to make drinks for their Sudaaela customers; he hadn’t accidentally offended someone yet by his inability to think before he speaks and he had even managed to catch the attention of a pretty Viehnar girl who giggled at him and blew him a kiss on her way out after he had complimented her cool outfit.
Of course that meant that something was bound to go to shit soon however.
Now, Jisung was used to morning rushes, or at least he thought he was, but this particular morning had been hell. Apparently there was a big interplanetary conference being held over these next few months and that had meant that the station was flooded with way more visitors than usual, and unlike most other weeks, when they would come just to pass through, like a weird space rest stop, they were staying instead. For someone like Jisung, who had only just started to find his footing, it meant that his stress levels were hitting the roof, so he was eternally grateful when Chan rested a gentle hand on his shoulder as he floundered at the till, and told him to focus on clearing the floor of mugs for the time being instead, getting him out of the high-pressure environment and letting him decompress for a little while.
The problem with this though, is that Jisung is clumsy as fuck. We’re talking tripping over thin air, stumbling like a newborn deer, dropping everything in his hands clumsy. Luckily, that didn’t quite come to pass this time, Jisung tripping before he managed to collect any dishes, but trip he does. He was trying to weave between the long line of waiting customers to get to a table that needed cleaning when he just felt himself going over, flailing slightly before he managed to grab the hand and arm of a customer in the line.
He hears the sharp intake of breath from above him and once he was sure he wasn’t going to topple over, he sprung back up, the thousand apologies behind his teeth dying in his throat when he sees the person he had grabbed a hold of.
Fucking hell.
Jisung actually had to double check he didn’t accidentally knock himself out and this was a vision from his wildest imagination because there was no way the guy in front of him was real. He felt himself freeze, involuntarily squeezing the arm he was still holding tighter, when ink black eyes flickered down to bore into his own, the intensity heighted when Jisung vaguely recognised there wasn’t even the hint of white in sight, his eyes a completely black void. The strangers hand that Jisung wasn’t gripping onto for dear life, fluttered upward, brushing back a section of his long cherry red hair– but that kind of artificial cherry, bright red and sure to rot your teeth and it wasn’t until he caught his pillowy lips moving from the corner of his eye, that he realised he had been zoned out clutching this guy’s arm for a probably unacceptable amount of time.
The stranger tilted his head, the movement making the overhead lights shift across his iridescent skin in such a way that Jisung was enraptured, his eyes trailing across high cheekbones trying to seek out all the different colours blending across his soft skin. A breathy laugh pushed its way past the stranger's lips and the sound of it settled gently in Jisung’s ears, soft and sweet, when Jisung realised he had managed to get himself distracted again , pulled into this guy’s orbit with one mere glance, he tried to shake himself out of it and listen.
“Hello.”
“Uh, hi,” Jisung started dumbly, before his brain functions came scrambling back online, dropping the stranger’s hand in a flash, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to grab you like that, here, uh, let me get you a drink to apologise.”
Now Jisung wasn’t exactly a master at reading facial expressions, especially when this guy's black-holes-for eyes gave him absolutely nothing to work with, save for being insanely captivating, but he could’ve sworn the guy had started pouting. Oh god he hoped he wasn’t going to put in a complaint, sure Chan was the manager so he likes to think he’ll stick up for him but what if he already loses his job just a few weeks after starting? Instead though, the hand that Jisung had just been holding crept a little closer back to his own, fingers twitching just a hair's breadth from Jisung’s. Huh ok, maybe he just liked having his hand held? Jisung tentatively brushed his pinky against the stranger and relaxed when he saw his eyes scrunch up into a shy smile.
He had had weirder requests so far already than an inhumanly beautiful man cautiously wrapping his pinky around Jisung’s and although he tried his best, he still wasn’t fully up to speed on every alien race’s culture so he just shrugged it off as some kind of cultural difference he didn’t know about yet and started leading the guy over to the spare coffee machine they usually kept free for circumstances such as this. He could see the guy trying to peer at his apron and realised he was probably trying to see his name badge… Oh shit that was actually a good point! Jisung hadn’t actually introduced himself properly before taking him by the pinky and whisking him away, god he was really making a shitshow out of this, he really hoped the guy didn’t file a complaint. Instead he flashed the stranger what he liked to think was his most winning smile, the kind that bunched his cheeks up cutely and made his mouth look like a little heart, and through his squinting, completely missed the dusky pink that had very quickly started flushing across the stranger's face.
“I’m Jisung! Sorry for grabbing onto you by the way, I honestly thought that would’ve been the end for me if you hadn't been there to save me.”
The stranger tipped his head again cutely before a satisfied smile curled across his face.
“I saved you?”
“Yeah! I totally would’ve wiped out without you there. What’s your name anyway?”
The stranger blinked slowly, stepping ever so slightly closer into Jisung’s space, almost as if he was going to wrap a protective arm around him, his smile turning content, just the barest hint of smugness that Jisung was definitely too dense to pick up on.
“You can call me Hyunjin, Jisung.”
Hyunjin. Even his name is pretty, how is that even fair?!
“Right, Hyunjin! It’s nice to meet you.”
Upon hearing Jisung say his name, Hyunjin let out a pleased little hum, which quickly turned into a discontent grumbling as Jisung unhooked their pinkies and settled himself behind the bar counter, sending another sunny smile Hyunjin’s way,
“So what kind of drink can I get for you today Hyunjin?”
Hyunjin ponders for a moment, like he had completely forgotten that this was why he was even here in the first place, before stepping up to the counter so close, Jisung could see the fabric of his overshirt crinkling as his stomach pressed against it. He brought his arms up to rest his elbows on the counter, placing his head in one hand while the other fell forward, looking like it was trying to sneak its way back over to intertwine with Jisung’s.
“What is your favourite drink Jisung?”
Jisung just blinked at him for a second, pursing his lips as he thought.
“Hmm, probably a black americano? But if you’re not good with bitter tastes then if you add a little caramel and hazelnut to it, it’s perfect!”
“Then I will have that.”
Jisung looked at him amusedly, seeing how Hyunjin’s face was so serious as he said it, almost as if he was trying very hard to show Jisung that he was interested in trying his favourite drink when he had no reason to really, having only just met Jisung after all.
Still, Jisung wasn’t going to deny him if that’s what he wanted, instead he gave him another bright smile and turned to the machine, feeling Hyunjin’s eyes on him the whole time as he was going through the motions of preparing the drink. Popping the lid securely over the top, Jisung fished around in his apron pocket for his marker, pulling the cap off with his teeth and drawing a cute smiley face on the lid, another little apology for grabbing him out of nowhere.
“Here ya go!” Jisung pushed the cup into Hyunjin’s waiting hands, their fingers brushing again, “Don’t try to drink it straight away though, without milk it’ll be too hot to drink right now.”
Hyunjin nodded, making no moves to remove his fingers from where they were timidly trapping Jisung’s around the cardboard cup. There was a soft smile on his face as he looked at the smiley face Jisung had drawn, and he looked up at Jisung like he was going to ask him something before they were pulled out of this little moment by someone calling his name. Hyunjin pulled a face and started to turn to leave, but not before gently tapping his fingers along Jisung’s and smiling,
“You’ll be here again, yes?”
“Oh, um, yeah? I mean I work here, so yeah– yes, I’ll be here again.”
Hyunjin’s content smile returned, making him look a little like a cat– but a cat that had the potential to be very dangerous if the way his eyes narrowed toward the person calling out for him had anything to say about it. With one more sweet smile towards Jisung he stepped away,
“Goodbye Jisung, I will see you again.”
“Yeah goodbye Hyunjin! It was nice to meet you!”
Huh. Well that was a slightly bizarre and weirdly intense interaction. Jisung shook himself out of the daze he had fallen into, remembering that there was still tables out there that needed clearing and headed back out onto the shop floor, missing the curious look Chan was peering at him with from behind the counter as he took notice of his friend’s scarlet ears as he rushed past towards a table.
Jisung had mostly forgotten about the encounter in his busyness – save from the occasional smile that unwittingly crept to his face whenever his brain vaguely recalled the feeling of when their fingers touched – until a couple of days later when Jisung found himself spacing out one evening. He says evening, technically all time here was ‘evening’ thanks to them– you know being literally in space but the artificial day to night cycle in the station was scarily accurate, being able to trick Jisung’s brain into thinking there really was a distinction up here. He was staring out of the cafe’s windows to where he could also see the roof of the station above, trying to trace far-off constellations with his eyes and getting lost in the vast inky blackness of the sky, so much so that he hadn’t even noticed a customer coming in through the door until there was a gentle chuckle and a soft tap to his forearm.
Jisung jumped, wide eyed and a little startled as he straightened himself up, turning his head to meet with the eyes of whoever had wandered in; breaking out into a wide smile when he saw who it was.
“Hyunjin!”
Hyunjin’s answering smile was soft as it bloomed on his face,
“Hello Jisung, it’s good to see you again.”
Jisung nodded enthusiastically, barely even noticing the way that Hyunjin’s hand had found its way onto the counter to brush against his own for a few moments,
“What can I get for you today? Oh, did you like the americano?”
Hyunjin chuckled a little, eyes gentle despite the lack of any colour and for a split second, Jisung found himself likening them to the starry sky he had been enamoured by just prior before quickly shaking himself free of the comparison.
“Yes I did thank you, and you were right! The caramel and hazelnut added that perfect hint of sweetness.”
Jisung beamed, pleased with himself that he had been able to give a good recommendation to Hyunjin, he then busied himself with preparing the till screen to take Hyunjin’s order, blinking at him in a way that showed he was ready to hear his request,
“Hmm, I suppose you will get to hear my favourite drink now,” Hyunjin mused, “I’d like a lavender matcha latte today please Jisung, and I will take it to stay this time.”
Jisung hummed appreciatively, lavender matcha huh? That was a drink he remembered Chan talking about once in their bi-weekly video calls, apparently he had created the drink to suit a customers taste using some ingredients they already had as they had run out of the stuff he needed to make their usual, he wondered if that customer was Hyunjin– or whether it was just a happy coincidence.
“Can I not tempt you with something sweet too?” Jisung gestured to the cake display and watched as Hyunjin’s eyes followed the path of his hand, turning his gaze back to Jisung with an all too familiar glint in his eye. “You’re about to ask me for my favourite again aren’t you?”
Hyunjin laughed, before smiling a little bashfully,
“Would that be a problem if I did?”
Jisung pretended to think, before shaking his head and grinning, already starting to reach over to plate up a slice of the caramel and chocolate cheesecake he hadn’t been able to stop inhaling since he got here. He plonked it down on the tray next to the saucer for Hyunjin’s drink and finished ringing it through the till,
“Cheesecake,” he started, “is a food directly from the gods, and I have no idea what Lixie puts into this one specifically but I guarantee it’ll blow your mind.”
“It’ll… blow my mind?”
Jisung almost wanted to coo at the cute, confused expression on Hyunjin’s face. The puppyish tilting of his head reminded him of one of his best friends Jeongin, who was still studying back on earth, trying desperately to finish his degree on interplanetary relations so that he could join the rest of their little rabble up here on the station.
“It’s just an expression, a figure of speech? Basically I mean it’s good , like really good.”
“Hm, so good that it blows my mind, I like this expression.”
Jisung laughed again, turning towards the coffee machine to begin preparing Hyunjin’s drink, whisking the soft lilac powder with some hot water and humming along to whatever song was softly playing through the speakers under his breath, feeling Hyunjin’s eyes on him the whole time. It was kind of nice, that Hyunjin had opted for one of the seats at the end of the counter instead of going to sit at a table deeper into the cafe, the emptiness of the room no longer feeling as lonely to Jisung now he had someone sitting close by.
Jisung thought the layout was nice here, a little bit more of a bar-like setup, with high seats dotted down the length of the counter meaning the more friendly types of customer - like Hyunjin - can sit near and chat. After deeming the matcha powder properly mixed, Jisung got to work steaming the milk. It was strange, to have someone watching him so intently while he worked, sure people have done it before– back on earth, but usually with the intent of criticism, for them to pipe up that he had made a drink wrong after he had finished, instead of doing the sensible thing and correcting him as soon as they noticed him picking up the wrong type of milk.
He digresses though.
No, Jisung could tell that Hyunjin was genuinely interested in what he was doing, his eyes following his hands with every minute movement he made. With the milk steamed, Jisung began to pour it over the already prepared powder, swirling it round gently before bringing the spout of the jug close to the rim of the cup, wiggling it in such a way that it began to create a heart pattern, he finished off the main shape of the heart by dragging the flow of the milk through the blob he had created to ‘cut through’ and form the heart shape, before gently dragging another line through the side, finishing it off with a tiny blob which he swiped the tip of the milk thermometer through to create a point. A perfect cupid arrow through a pretty little heart.
He placed the drink down on the saucer with a flourish, preening a little under the attention that Hyunjin gave to it immediately, mouth parting in an O shape as he saw the pattern.
“Oh it looks very pretty, what does this symbol mean?”
Jisung blinked for a second, had Hyunjin never seen a heart before? Surmising that that could be entirely possible, Jisung mentally shrugged.
“Hm? Oh it’s a heart shape!”
“A heart shape? But what does it mean?”
Jisung paused to think for a moment,
“Mm well I guess it means love? It’s also often called a loveheart after all, and the arrow is a cupid’s arrow! Cupid’s are… well they’re little chubby angel dudes that help people fall in love I guess.”
After explaining he meets Hyunjin’s eyes, fascinated by the shifting pinks of colour on his cheeks and he wonders if he might be a bit too warm– Jisung had cranked up the heating this evening after all, the cafe feeling like a walk-in fridge after Chan had finished his shift, the guy never feeling the effects of the cold.
“Love…”
Jisung watches as Hyunjin dips his head so his face is out of view, he stays like that for a few seconds before he looks up again, his cheeks a little darker but his face otherwise neutral,
“Thank you, it’s beautiful.”
Inexplicably this makes Jisung feel a little heat creeping on his own cheeks now, the sincerity of Hyunjin’s comment throwing him a little for a loop considering he was just doing his job,
“Um, thank you! Next time I’ll try and do a different pattern for you, I’ve been practising see–”
As Jisung starts to prattle on about the different kinds of techniques he had been learning, he didn’t notice the way Hyunjin’s eyes had begun to dim a little, eyes blinking a little mournfully at the heart slowly being stretched out as he drank and when he eventually looked back at him, he instead just chalked it up to the fact that maybe Hyunjin was bored. I mean, who would be interested in listening to him ramble on about milk texture for minutes on end anyway, so he quickly changes the subject, gesturing to the as of yet untouched cheesecake on Hyunjin’s tray.
“You should really try a bite of that.”
Hyunjin looked over to the cheesecake, almost like he had forgotten it was there, before picking up the fork next to it and digging it into the soft swirls. He broke off a large chunk and then popped it into his mouth, chewing slowly; his face lighting up like the sun breaking through clouds once the sweetness flooded his tongue. He turned to Jisung, cheeks still bulging as his eyes scrunched up into happy crescents. He swallowed, and went to break another piece off, this time offering the cheesecake-ladened fork to Jisung who takes a few moments to realise what Hyunjin is offering before smiling a little bashfully and gesturing with his hands that he’s fine.
“Oh no that’s ok! You enjoy it Hyunjin, besides-” Jisung pats his stomach, Hyunjin laser-focusing on the movement, “-I have eaten waaaay too much of that already this week.”
Hyunjin purses his lips for a moment before nodding, instead shovelling the offering into his own mouth and humming happily. Jisung was content to watch him as he ate, not wanting to disrupt the peacefulness of the moment but once Hyunjin had finished eating, going back to sip at his drink instead, Jisung couldn’t help but to ask,
“The lavender matcha… Did you just happen to order this from the menu one day?”
Hyunjin peered from over the rim of the cup, his eyebrow cocking in confusion,
“What do you mean?”
Jisung shuffled on his feet a bit,
“Oh, well– it’s just my best friend is the manager here and he mentioned creating this drink for a customer once because he couldn’t make their regular drink so I was just curious if that might’ve been you?”
Hearing this, Hyunjin broke out into a bright smile,
“You are best friends with Chan? This is very good news, Chan is incredibly kind.” Hyunjin paused and returned Jisung’s smile, “Yes, Chan created this drink for me, we Sehta are very fond of floral tastes, so Chan offered to make me this as a replacement for the usual floral-based drink they served since Chan was struggling to acquire the correct ingredients and I loved it so much I asked him if he could make it a permanent offering.”
Jisung mouthed a silent ‘ohhh’ as he listened to Hyunjin’s story– to be honest that sounded like an incredibly Chan thing to do, his innate ability to please people being one of the reasons he excelled so much as a manager. Also it was kinda sweet, how Hyunjin enjoyed it so much he requested it to be a permanent thing and how Chan liked Hyunjin enough to agree, he must be quite the regular customer.
“You must come here pretty regularly then?”
Hyunjin pondered for a moment and then nodded,
“Yes, I think I have been coming here for a few years at this point? It is one of the things I enjoy most about my need to commute here often.”
Jisung smiled at that, the idea of Hyunjin becoming one of his regular customers a very appealing prospect. Jisung loved having regulars, someone he saw often enough to keep up with their lives but also that kind of incredibly low-maintenance where none of the typical ‘friendship’ markers were invovled. It was good for someone with a low to middling social battery such as himself.
“That’s really good to hear, I’ll look forward to you becoming my regular too then?”
Hyunjin laughed brightly before nodding again,
“Of course! I would be honoured to see you every day Jisung.”
Jisung’s face caught fire and before he had any chance to do some damage control– to maybe gently explain to Hyunjin that perhaps his wording may have been a bit too strong for something as simple as meeting the same barista every morning, they were interrupted once again, but this time by a shrill ringing coming from the pocket of Hyunjin’s robe.
He watched as Hyunjin puffed out an irritated sigh at seeing who was interrupting him, a little reminiscent of their first meeting, and he pulled his eyes away from Jisung to glare at the screen of his phone. Jisung watches with a slightly amused smile as Hyunjin presses the decline call button, unceremoniously dumping his phone onto the counter and blinking back up at Jisung sweetly, only to hear his phone begin to vibrate against the wood grain once again.
“It’s ok,” Jisung started, smiling at him, “You can go and take the call, it's fine!”
Hyunjin grumbled under his breath as he burned a hole into the screen.
“It’s not fine. But it seems I have no choice but to leave you for now, this will not just be a simple phone call I fear.”
Jisung just nodded in understanding, patting the top of Hyunjin’s free hand comfortingly, it wasn’t a linking of their fingers, but it seemed to make the tension bleed from Hyunjin’s shoulders all the same. Reluctantly, Hyunjin removed his hand from under Jisung’s and bid him a soft farewell, a gentle promise to see him again soon making Jisung grin, the idea of making a new friend who wasn’t human – and no, Felix didn’t count since he was essentially contractually obliged to befriend Jisung thanks to Chan – being ridiculously exciting. Even if it would probably turn out that Hyunjin was only really interested in Jisung from a coffee shop regular standpoint.
Jisung hadn’t really paid the thought all that mind though. Not when the busy days seemed to be blurring into one at the moment, this conference really made the station even more bustling than it always was– if that was even possible.
Sure there had been the odd occasion over the past week where Jisung’s thoughts had strayed to Hyunjin in passing, wondering when he would next show up to the store, and Felix had mentioned once or twice that Hyunjin had been asking after him, it just so happened that on the days Hyunjin visited Jisung wasn’t there.
Speaking of Felix though, Jisung was about to murder him.
He was just about to take a sip of his americano, the first blissful mouthful of coffee this entire nightmare of a day, when Felix came bouncing into the break room scaring the shit out of him.
“Jisungie!”
“Argh! Holy shit Felix are you trying to kill me?!”
Felix just grinned, rounding the side of the table and pulling a bewildered Jisung out of his seat.
“Huh– Why are you dragging me out, what’s going on?”
Before exiting the room, Felix turned to Jisung, fluffing his hair and trying his hardest to smooth out the stubborn wrinkles in his t-shirt, clicking his tongue in annoyance when it refused to fully flatten down. After a quick once over though, he seemed satisfied enough and he dropped his hand from Jisung’s and put an unusual amount of distance between them.
“Your lover is here to see you, he wants to take you to lunch.”
Jisung just gaped at him.
“My who?”
Felix just smirked a little but gave absolutely nothing away, instead just opening the door and ushering Jisung out of it with the care of someone who was absolutely not trying to touch him. Jisung shuffled out of the doorway while also trying to twist his body back towards Felix, 2 seconds away from reaching out to shake some answers out of him, when he bumped into something and wobbled. A familiar looking hand gripped his forearm and steadied him instantly, Jisung flicking his head upwards to be met with Hyunjin’s catlike smile. Hyunjin immediately pulled Jisung in closer and away from Felix, who was just watching the exchange with the kind of mischievous expression of someone who knows way more than he is letting on.
Hyunjin’s chest was warm against Jisung’s back, and the hand that was steadying him loosened its grip a little, instead spinning Jisung around gently so that they were facing each other. He let go once Jisung had been turned around – and was blinking up at Hyunjin confusedly – but he made no attempts to move out of Jisung’s space. Not that Jisung particularly minded, the crisp floral scent surrounding Hyunjin making him want to breathe in deeply.
“Hello again Jisung.”
Hyunjin’s voice was like warm honey in Jisung’s ears– before it got replaced by the smooth AI voice of his in-ear translator and Jisung fought with all his might to stop the pink flush he could feel rising from spreading across his face like wildfire. He liked to think he was successful but he could still see Felix’s grinning face from the corner of his eyes and begrudgingly accepted his fate.
“Hi! Hyunjin! What brings you back here?”
Jisung cringed inwardly at the question, especially because it caused Hyunjin to frown, cocking his head slightly like he didn’t fully understand Jisung’s question.
“I came to see you,” he paused, like this was the most obvious thing in the world, “I want to take you to lunch, Felix said you were free.”
At this, Jisung turned slightly to narrow his eyes at Felix, who still stood there smiling like an idiot.
“Oh! Well yeah I’m free, I was just about to start my lunch break actually–”
Jisung had barely finished speaking before Hyunjin was entwining their pinkies together, gently – but not insistently – tugging Jisung towards the cafe door,
“Excellent, then we can go and get lunch together then, yes?”
“You really want to go get lunch with me?”
Hyunjin looked at him confusedly again, before his face lit up in a gentle smile, his free hand hovering slightly like he wanted to brush back the stray strands of Jisung’s hair before dropping back down and fiddling with the hem of his robe sleeve. The only sign that he was as nervous and out of his depth as Jisung– which went completely unnoticed by Jisung himself of course.
“I wanted to see you again, and I thought you might be hungry.”
Jisung couldn’t help but to laugh a little at that, that Hyunjin’s first thought upon wanting to see Jisung again, was that he might be hungry. I mean, he was right, Jisung was starving, looking forward to trying some food from the Yr’cimim place that Felix recommended to him but if Hyunjin wanted to take him to lunch who was Jisung to say no, it would definitely beat sitting alone in the staff room, and although they hadn’t really met other than in the cafe, Hyunjin was someone that Jisung couldn’t help but feel drawn to, wanting to get to know him better. So he just beamed up at him, nodding his head enthusiastically,
“Sounds good to me! Lead the way then Hyunjin!”
Hyunjin’s soft answering smile made Jisung’s cheeks feel a little warm, but they were on the move before he could really pay any mind to it, Hyunjin expertly weaving his way through the people in the coffee shop and even then through the winding streets of the space station, until they came to a beautiful restaurant, overlooking one of the artificial lakes. The building was adorned with flowers, spilling out over every available space, sparkling crystals and gems embedded into the walls, Jisung’s eyes raked over it in a stunned silence, before looking back towards Hyunjin nervously.
Hyunjin was already watching Jisung closely, tilting his head in what looked a little like a mixture of confusion and sadness,
“Do you not like it?”
Jisung shook his head vehemently, catching the slight upset in Hyunjin’s voice,
“What? No! No it’s– It’s beautiful! I just… I don't think this is probably a place I can afford to eat at Hyunjin…”
At hearing that Jisung found the building beautiful, Hyunjin seemed like he was almost preening, before the rest of Jisung’s sentence caught up with him and he scoffed,
“You do not have to worry about money when you are with me Jisung, I will take care of everything.”
This time Jisung’s cheeks were really set aflame, does he not realise how that sounds?! Jisung started sputtering,
“Huh– Wait Hyunjin– You can’t just pay for everything?! We barely even know each other, not even some of my friends would be so willing to pay for a meal this expensive.”
Hyunjin frowned a little, before lifting their joint pinkies up into eye line, turning to Jisung and softly murmuring,
“Are we not friends?”
Jisung’s breath caught in his throat at the expression on Hyunjin's face, he looked oddly vulnerable, like if Jisung said no, it would crush him. The light reflecting off the water behind them making his iridescent skin look like a mirage, a trick of the mind that something so beautiful could exist in this universe. Jisung swallowed thickly, if he wasn’t careful, he could find himself falling for him embarrassingly quickly, never being that good at regulating his emotions, too much of a romantic despite knowing it could never blossom with someone like Hyunjin.
His answer was released in just a soft a breath as Hyunjin’s,
“Yeah, of course we’re friends.”
It seemed strange to Jisung, that he would readily admit to someone he had barely met that they were friends, when he was the first to admit that meeting new people was hard for him, but there was something about that moment, charged with electricity, that made him unable to answer anything but. Plus, the way it instantly softened Hyunjin's features, made him smile his gentle smile again, was all worth it. Now Jisung just had to be careful that he didn’t start to take Hyunjin’s kindness, his eagerness to make a new friend, in ways in which he shouldn’t.
If Jisung thought the outside of the restaurant looked extravagant then he definitely wasn’t prepared for what was on the inside, it wasn't anything like those fancy 5 star restaurants back on earth, with that kind of overbearing grandeur that set Jisung's teeth on edge. Instead it was more…comfortable, opulent but still somehow cosy, the overflow of exotic flowers and glittering gemstones negated by the openness of the seating. Charming round tables, made of various wood sit low to the ground, surrounded by plump velvet cushions and throws, everything was alive with vibrant colour and rich smells.
Hyunjin ushered Jisung in, hand hovering just at the small of his back, like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to touch, a server leaping to attention at the front counter when he saw them. He greeted them with a deep bow, somewhere between what he was used to in Korea, that familiar steady 90 degree angle and a type of curtsy, his arm crossed across his chest to cover his heart. He heard Hyunjin try to subtly clear his throat next to him, but the meaning of the gesture was ultimately lost on Jisung, maybe he should be greeting in the same way? Before he could begin to copy however, the server had already sprang back upwards, looking at the two of them with unnerving amount of intensity, his eyes – which Jisung was curious to note, looked much like regular ‘human’ eyes, unlike Hyunjin’s – flicking between where their pinkies were joined, to Hyunjin’s face and back to Jisung.
“Your High-”
Hyunjin interrupted whatever he was about to say with a loud cough, Jisung couldn’t see the look that Hyunjin was wearing, his face schooling into his usual peaceful smile when Jisung blinked up at him, but the way the poor servers face paled made Jisung think that Hyunjin was not impressed with whatever he was about to say.
“Ah– Um, yes… Allow me to show you to a table, sirs. ”
Hyunjin inclined his head gratefully, and turned to Jisung with a soft smile,
“This way Jisung, I won’t keep you waiting much longer.”
Jisung just nodded, following along head swivelling constantly, trying to drink in all the unfamiliar sights, the server lead them to a cosy little nook partially obscured by gossamer sheets; Hyunjin gestured for Jisung to sit first, pointing out the plumper of the two fat velvet cushions, Jisung flopped down, crossing his legs immediately as Hyunjin took the seat next to him, the server making a surprised little squeak that he tried to cover with a cough, Hyunjin turned to look at Jisung before smiling again,
“Shall I order for the both of us? Or would you like to look at the menu, I will translate for you if you want.”
Jisung glanced at the menu, the pretty symbols of Hyunjin’s language enticing but completely alien to him, he would love nothing more than to sit and have Hyunjin translate the whole thing for him but he was somewhat conscious that he only had around an hour or so left of his lunch break,
“No you can order for us, I trust your judgement!”
Hyunjin nodded at him happily, before turning back to the server and rattling off the names of some dishes, the server bowed again before turning away from them, letting the sheer curtain fully drop behind him as he left. Hyunjin seemed to sigh a little at this, almost as if he was frustrated with the fact the curtain was there at all, the other tables all noticeably without but Jisung didn’t like to question, instead trying to strike up a different conversation,
“Your language looks very pretty, is it complicated to learn?”
Hyunjin turned the menu towards Jisung with a pleased smile, pointing out some of the words to him,
“This would be similar to your human equivalent of fish, it’s a very high quality delicacy in Ta–” He pointed to another word in the same line of text, “–and this one is a kind of flower native to our home, beautiful as well as nutritious! They are often paired together.”
Jisung looked on, fascinated as Hyunjin explained, wishing that he could understand properly but also just satisfied with whatever new little experiences he was gaining through Hyunjin. He was snapped out of his quiet concentration by another question directed at him,
“What human language do you speak? There are multiple, right?”
“Mm, well I speak Korean mainly, that’s where I was born but I also know English because my family travelled around a lot so.”
At the mention of English Hyunjin perked up, leaning a little closer into Jisung’s space as he began to take out the translator device sat in his ear, he gestured for Jisung to do the same and then waited for him as he fiddled with it, setting it on the table next to Hyunjin’s. He blinked at him a little, not quite sure where he was going with this until Hyunjin opened his mouth and spoke to him again, this time without the AI voice in his ear translating everything in real time,
“Hello Jisung, it’s nice to meet you.”
Jisung’s jaw dropped. His words were a little accented, but being able to hear how his voice sounded naturally was making Jisung’s head spin a little, his voice was soft and mellow, worming its way into Jisung’s mind. He was broken out of his momentary trance by gentle laughter and Jisung caught sight of himself in the reflection of one of the many gems set into the walls and promptly snapped his mouth closed.
“Wow– Um, hi? Wow, I wasn't expecting that… You know English?”
“Yes, my… job requires me to know a variety of different languages, so English was the one I chose from your Earth. I'm also quite pleased you know it as well so we can communicate properly for now.”
Jisung hid a smile behind his hand, even without the translator it seemed like Hyunjin was still endlessly formal.
“So does this mean that whenever we meet now we can stop using translators?”
This time is was Hyunjin’s turn to look shocked, which Jisung found amusing to say the least,
“I would like that very much, Jisung,” he paused for a second, “and this means you are hoping to see me again, yes?”
Jisung wanted to coo and pinch his cheeks but he felt that would be wildly inappropriate towards someone he hadn’t established those boundaries with, he couldn’t help thinking about it though, the strange shyness that had washed over Hyunjin as he asked was ridiculously endearing to Jisung for some reason.
“Of course! We’re friends now aren’t we?”
Jisung’s smile was full of mirth as he echoed their sentiments from earlier and the resulting way it made Hyunjin’s whole demeanour soften was completely worth it.
“Yes of course, friends…”
They chatted a little more, about why Jisung moved to the space station; how he was finding it here; other small bits of conversation, Hyunjin getting more animated as the conversation moved forward, Jisung unable to hide his smile as he watched the way Hyunjin would talk with his hands. Until eventually Jisung was hit with the smell of something delicious, the curtain around their table being parted as a group of waiters ducked through, arms ladened with all manner of colourful dishes.
Jisung dreaded to think of the cost and was about to protest against Hyunjin and his promises to pay when his stomach spoke for him. Flushing red, Jisung tried to hide his face by turning away but Hyunjin just laughed delightedly instead, clapping his hands together once in sheer excitement as he pushed a plate towards Jisung. His eyes seemed to be shining under the soft lighting of the restaurant, almost as if this was an important moment to him– that Jisung was about to try his home's traditional food and Jisung could no longer deny that he wasn’t starving so he bit back his worries about payment for now and tentatively pulled the plate closer towards him.
Hyunjin seemed content to wait until Jisung had started eating before choosing something for himself and the intent way he was looking at Jisung was making him slightly nervous, he was not a graceful eater and he didn’t want to embarrass himself by dropping food all over his t-shirt with Hyunjin watching. As if he could sense that Jisung was holding him back for some reason, Hyunjin just smiled softly and pushed some cutlery towards him, urging him gently to dig in and Jisung found himself unable to deny his enthusiasm any longer, grabbing his fork and stabbing into the fish.
The smell that wafted upwards was divine and Jisung found his mouth watering even before stuffing the food in but when he did, he couldn’t help his eyes slipping close as a pleased groan sounded from around the fork. The taste was impossible to describe, a perfect mixture between sweet and sour with a distinct floral note cutting through and Jisung immediately dug his fork back in for a second bite.
“Is it good?”
Jisung just nodded his head at Hyunjin frantically, cheeks bulging with food, lips forming a natural pout as he chewed.
“It’s amazing! I’ve never tasted anything like it before, oh my god.”
Hyunjin smiled so wide Jisung could almost count all of his perfect teeth.
“That’s good, I’m really glad you like it,” he paused for a second, looking across the table before picking up another dish, “Here, try this one too, it’s one of my favourites.”
This was kind of like rice, if rice was multicoloured and shiny, and it had been tossed with some more variations of flowers making a riot of different colours explode in the bowl. Jisung half expected the grains to be hard, like little beads of glass or plastic but when he spooned his first mouthful they practically melted onto his tongue, a heady mixture of flowers and spices flooding his taste buds. Jisung had never tasted anything quite like it– the flavour profiles sounding like something that shouldn’t work on paper, the heavy focus on floral tastes something that Jisung had never really considered to be enjoyable until tasting these dishes. The way they had been prepared, with the added spices and herbs complimented the florals in a way Jisung had never expected.
He voiced all of this to Hyunjin – after he had finished shovelling his face with every new dish he had pushed in front of him – while Hyunjin was finally tucking into some food of his own, seemingly only being satisfied after Jisung had tried every single dish before even allowing himself to begin and received a blinding eye smile in response. Hyunjin’s eyes crinkled at the edges with the force of it and once he had swallowed the bite of food he was currently chewing on he flashed Jisung his teeth too.
“I’m very glad you enjoyed it Jisung, which one was your favourite?”
Jisung paused for a second as he thought it over, everything was exactly to his tastes but he thinks there was one stand out,
“The rice dish?” he furrowed his eyebrows slightly, “Wait, was it even rice? Whatever it was though it was so good, I never want to stop eating it.”
Hyunjin laughed, leaning back on his cushion slightly, seemingly already full.
“Hm I guess rice is your most similar human equivalent, but you can just think of it as a grain native to Ta, it’s very versatile and we use it in many dishes. Served like that though has always been a favourite.”
Jissung nodded,
“Yeah I can see why! Huh maybe that’s why I enjoyed it so much? Gave me that taste of home even though the flavours were all different.”
At Hyunjin’s confused expression Jisung laughed a little,
“Rice is a staple food for Koreans, we eat it with pretty much everything and like you said about your, uh, grain, it has loads of different uses. I don’t know, maybe it just reminds me a little of home?”
Hyunjin smiled softly,
“Well I’m glad that it could be such a dish to you, I will have to bring it to you more often.”
Jisung snorted but his face flushed just slightly anyway,
“I’m definitely not one to turn down free food but you don’t have to go to that trouble for me Hyunjin.”
Hyunjin shook his head, eyes still soft but flickering with something else as well,
“It wouldn’t be a trouble at all.”
Jisung wanted to protest again but he was learning that Hyunjin wasn’t one change his mind once it was set on something,
“Mm ok then, but don’t bring it for me too often I have to watch this figure ya know.” Jisung jokes.
He watches as Hyunjin’s mouth sets into a disapproving frown and his eyebrows furrow in thought,
“If you enjoy it so much though then surely you shouldn’t be limiting yourself just because of how it would change your body,” Hyunjin pauses a little, “You would look good no matter what Jisung.”
Jisung eyes widen for a fraction before he bursts out laughing, giggling even harder when he sees the look of confusion on Hyunjin’s face.
“Thanks Hyunjin, that’s exactly the kind of friend I need in my life, one who understands the importance of a good meal.”
Jisung punctuates this with a pat to his stomach, where it had slightly distended due to the insane amount of food he had shovelled in there over the past hour and the action makes Hyunjin smile at him again. Unfortunately though, Jisung was well aware that they needed to be drawing this meal to a close, his break no doubt very close to being over and while he was sure that Chan wouldn’t mind if he was a few minutes late back, he didn’t want to be pushing his luck.
As if sensing Jisung’s next words, Hyunjin rises from his cushion with such grace it almost makes Jisung jealous, knowing that when he attempts it, he’ll be scrambling upwards like a little fat quokka. Sparing him from his fate though, Hyunjin offers Jisung a hand– which he gratefully takes, and the two head back towards the waiter who springs to attention when he sees them coming, getting even more flustered when he sees their still-linked hands.
It’s only when he begins speaking, that Jisung realises he never put his translator back into his ear and starts patting down his pockets frantically looking for it. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots them both in Hyunjin’s free hand and he makes a reach for it, wanting to understand the conversation unfolding in front of him but Hyunjin smoothly moves his hand away from where Jisung was close to snagging it with his fingers. He’s wearing an apologetic smile and mouths a gentle ‘just one moment’ to him before turning his gaze back to the waiter.
Now, Jisung obviously can’t speak Sehta, but it doesn’t take a genius to recognize that Hyunjin’s voice tone had changed across the course of his conversation with the waiter, the grip he had on Jisung’s hand getting a little tighter. Jisung wasn’t sure why there seemed to be an issue– the guy seemed perfectly polite before, even excessively so, but clearly something had changed as they spoke.
Eventually though, the waiter bowed his head, and then gave Hyunjin and Jisung the same bow as before, hand trembling slightly as he reached for the shiny card that Hyunjin had pulled out from his pocket. Jisung’s tried not to look at the total flashing up on the screen of the card reader but well, he just couldn’t help himself. He wishes he didn’t though when he sees the amount of zeroes attached to the first few numbers.
Is Hyunjin insane?!
He wants to protest but Hyunjin receives his card back from the waiter with a slight incline of his head and then he’s whisking Jisung out of the door and back towards the direction of the cafe.
“Are you really sure it’s ok for you to pay for that meal Hyunjin? It looked kinda expensive…”
Hyunjin turned to look at him,
“Hm? Oh of course it’s fine, it really wasn’t a lot.”
Jisung was sceptical, he wasn’t a mathematician and he didn’t know the exchange rate of every planet's currency but he was sure that it can’t have been such a big difference, it had to have been expensive. But, there was nothing he could do about it now, Hyunjin having already paid and they’re almost back at the cafe too so it wasn’t like Jisung could run back and beg the waiter to refund some of it and let his wallet take some of the hit– he wasn’t even sure he could find it again without Hyunjin’s help. So he just accepted it, thinking that if this friendship keeps blossoming between the two, then he will have some other time to pay him back for it.
When they come to a stop in front of the cafe doors, Hyunjin seems reluctant to let go of Jisung’s hand, prising his fingers away slowly until only their pinkies are hooked once more. His voice is so soft as he speaks,
“Well, I guess this is all the time we can share today.”
Jisung bites his lip,
“Yeah… Thank you Hyunjin, I really had fun today! I’ll see you again soon?”
A small hopeful smile bloomed on Hyunjin’s face and Jisung was surprised by the tenderness of it, the only friend treating him so gently before being Chan and Jisung just attributed that to the immense length of time the two of them had been together.
“Of course, it was my pleasure Jisung.” Hyunjin finally let his pinky slip from Jisung’s, folding Jisung’s translator into his palm in its stead, “I shall definitely visit you again as soon as my schedule allows.”
Jisung smiled up at him, unable to stop the excitement that comes with making a new friend from bubbling up inside of him, spreading warmth across his chest.
“Great! Then I’ll see you next time, Hyunjin.”
Hyunjin smiled as he stepped backwards, motioning for Jisung to head inside first,
“Until next time Jisung.”
Jisung kept grinning all the way back into the staff room.
After their pleasant little afternoon at the restaurant, Jisung was beginning to feel good about his new found friendship with Hyunjin. Actually being pretty proud of the fact that everything was turning out to be completely normal and not embarrassing in the slightest – despite the almost disaster of their first meeting – and revelling in the knowledge that for once in his life, he had made a friend who didn't think that he had completely lost his marbles— and all on his own too.
Which meant of course, that the next time that they met, Jisung was ass-to-eyeline and shaking it to Shakira. As for the how and why of this incident, Jisung is going to place the entirety of the blame on Chan. So sure, Chan isn’t actually on shift today and sure it was technically Jisung who broke the grinder, but Chan should know by now not to leave Jisung on his own in the vicinity of volatile electrical equipment.
(Jisung had broken the coffee grinder. Again.)
Luckily this time, Jisung had a reasonable enough idea of how to fix the problem, having worked as a barista for long enough now to hear that the main issue this time was that the blades had jammed with coffee, and so after flipping the sign on the door to ‘closed’ and switching the grinder off at the mains, Jisung clambered up onto the counter.
In retrospect, he really should’ve just locked the door rather than flipping the sign but it was mid-morning, typically their quietest period outside of the late evening and Jisung just honestly wasn’t thinking about it, mind racing through possible fixes for the broken machine instead. So after situating himself on the countertop, he did what any self respecting barista/‘maintenance man’ would do after closing; put on his own playlist and cranked up the volume.
After taking apart the necessary sections, Jisung kneeled over so he could peer into the mechanisms properly, and found it jam-packed with old coffee grind– as expected. Blindly patting along the side for a long-handled spoon and some kind of dish (he managed to snag a coffee cup from the top of the coffee machine somehow), he sets to work digging out the grind in the hopes that that would fix his problem and he wouldn’t need to call maintenance after all.
Eventually he just couldn’t help himself, the methodical spooning making his brain turn off and unfocus, instead letting his body feel the music. Shakira was belting out that her hips don’t lie and honestly, what a mood– Jisung could feel his own hips getting into it, shaking his ass in perfect time as he hummed along to the words, hands still busy unclogging the machine until he heard the sound of a highly amused voice clear his throat.
Spinning round, Jisung takes back every thought he had ever had about being normal in front of Hyunjin because this was possibly the most mortifying situation of his life. Well, maybe an exaggeration, Jisung was a walking disaster most days soooo…
“Good afternoon Jisung”
Hyunjin was the closest he’d ever been to a full on grin, eyes crinkling with the force of trying to keep his lips from showcasing all of his teeth and Jisung wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
“G-good afternoon Hyunjin…”
Hyunjin broke eye contact for a moment before reaching to remove his translator, tilting his head afterwards as a suggestion for Jisung to do the same– which he did, fingers brushing past the flaming heat of his cheeks as he reached for it, pocketing it in his pants once removing.
“I came to see about getting a matcha to go before my next meeting but I can see now you’re a little… preoccupied.”
He looked over where Jisung was still kneeling on the countertop, hiding his laughter once more as the music kept blaring in the background. Fumbling for his phone he turns down the volume, and then bites his lip, eyes darting around nervously as he tries to figure out how to save this situation. Wait, lavender matcha doesn’t need coffee…
“Oh! I can– I can still make you a matcha? It’s just uh, the coffee grinder that’s broken so…”
“Then a matcha would be lovely, thank you.”
Jisung lets out a breath and smiles, this is fine, he can save this situation. Except, he’s concentrating so hard on not embarrassing himself further that on his way to putting his hand down to steady himself for the hop off the counter, he completely misses it. His hand goes flying down towards the ground and his body follows along with it, sending him hurtling over the edge and smacking his head on the side as he lands with a heavy thump on the floor. He curls up into a little ball on the floor after the impact, not from the pain– even though it did hurt, but from the sheer mortification of having basically thrown himself off the countertop in front of Hyunjin.
He hears a shocked gasp and then suddenly Hyunjin’s boots are thudding onto the ground near him, he had clearly vaulted the front counter and if Jisung wasn’t currently trying to get his knees to swallow him then he’d be fucking impressed. As it happened, he was still trying to pretend this wasn’t currently happening, even as Hyunjin had now started to gently try and prise his hands from where he had them in a vice grip around his shins.
Hyunjin eventually managed to make Jisung unfurl and almost immediately he’s leaning up into Jisung’s space, so close that Jisung can see exactly how long his eyelashes are.
Pretty .
Gently, Hyunjin’s hands cup Jisung’s cheeks, turning his face this way and that so he can inspect if there’s any damage; his thumb brushes gently across a bump on Jisung’s cheek and he winces, causing Hyunjin’s eyelashes to flutter open and closed with worry. All Jisung can think about is that, as they blink, it looks like a butterfly has made its home on the soft multi-coloured petals that is Hyunjin’s skin.
He thinks that Hyunjin might be trying to talk to him but honestly, his mind is full of fuzzy static, most likely from almost splitting his head open on the side but also, he thinks it might be because Hyunjin is so close and he looks like that . Jisung had been trying not to let his mind wander into how much he finds Hyunjin attractive, knowing from first look that he was completely out of his league and instead tried to channel those thoughts into just the simple admiration of a friend– much like he had a ‘crush’ on Chan back in college when they had to be tutored by the older students.
With his head completely muddled though, there was none of Jisung’s usual mental defence mechanisms, instead his brain running rampant with thoughts of how Hyunjin looked like a beautiful piece of stained glass as the sun hit him or, how his eyes – which admittedly threw Jisung for a loop the first time he saw them – looked exactly like the vast galaxy he had been enamoured with since being a young boy.
Eventually though, he forces himself to focus in on Hyunjin’s words,
“... Jisung?… Jisung?… Jisung are you ok?”
Slowly the words filtered back into his brain and he turned a sheepish gaze onto Hyunjin, trying again to hide his face behind his knees but being stopped by Hyunjin’s gentle hands still fussing over him.
“I’m…fine…”
Hyunjin looked at him worriedly,
“You don’t sound fine Jisung.”
Jisung just sighed and looked at Hyunjin meekly, cheeks flaming as his mind still tried to process and compartmentalise the past 15 minutes, his voice was small as he answered, bordering on whining,
“I’m just embarrassed…”
Hyunjin frowned,
“Embarrassed about what?”
Jisung blinked at Hyunjin, is he joking? Is he trying to make Jisung feel better about the fact he’s the most cringeworthy individual on this space station currently? Hyunjin’s face was completely serious though and it made Jisung feel a spark of something in his chest.
“Well, I mean, you walked in on me…shaking my ass…”
Hyunjin’s eyes went wide but then he covered his mouth as he giggled– he fucking giggled . Jisung ignored the sudden somersault his heart had under taken and probed him for some answers with his gaze,
“I thought it was cute, you’re very endearing when you’re having fun Jisung.”
Jisung’s mouth dropped open and he gaped at Hyunjin. He thought that was cute?! Good lord above, Sehta’s must not have the same concept of embarrassment as humans because Jisung can’t believe his ears right now, this absolute god of a man thought that Jisung’s terrible dance rendition of hips don’t lie and then subsequently nose diving off the counter top was endearing .
Still, he couldn’t help the shy smile twitching up the corner of his lips, unfurling himself from his ball of embarrassment-protection. He hauled himself up onto his feet again, Hyunjin jumping up almost immediately afterwards and gently touching the top of Jisung’s arm– as if he was worried he would topple over again. He directs his smile towards Hyunjin and feels the tight ball of nerves in his chest relax a little when Hyunjin smiles back, Jisung releases a small sigh– Hyunjin is treating this completely normally so Jisung should too; not let his embarrassment swallow him whole like it usually does.
He claps his hands together once, in an attempt to remove his lingering dread and heads over towards the coffee machine,
“Well!” he pauses, turning back to look at Hyunjin slightly, “A lavender matcha you wanted?”
Hyunjin smiles at him softly,
“If you feel well enough to do so, Jisung.”
Jisung shook his head slightly and barked a short, semi-fake laugh, hands already reaching for the ingredients needed,
“Don’t be ridiculous, if I was rendered incapable every time I bumped my head on something I’d never be able to get anything done.”
Hyunjin looked at him in alarm before his tense shoulders relaxed when he caught onto Jisung’s teasing smile, he was mostly joking of course, I mean, he did bump into stuff way too much, more often than he would like but he had never really had any lasting injuries due to his clumsiness– thank the stars.
As he started mixing the powder for the matcha, he felt a presence behind him, and turned his head just slightly to the left to see Hyunjin peering over his shoulder. His face got a little warmer at the closeness in which their faces were but he turned his eyes back towards the job at hand and began to slow down his steps,
“With matcha powder, you have to mix it pretty well,” he started explaining to Hyunjin, trying not to let his voice waver when he feels a puff of warm air against the shell of his ear, “You use a special whisk like this one, and you whisk it until it goes this kinda consistency–”
He lifted the whisk a little so he could demonstrate how the liquid dripped from it and heard a hum of acknowledgement from behind. He placed the cup down in front of the coffee machine and moved towards the milk steamer, pouring the correct amount into the jug and bringing it up to the steam wand. Hyunjin was standing so close behind Jisung now and he could feel his curiosity rolling off him in waves.
“You wanna have the steam arm at this kind of an angle and you need to hear this kind of sound–” Jisung turned on the steam wand so a faint hissing sound started as the milk began to heat, “–Keep it like that for a few seconds, so the milk swirls and get increased in size a little, then push it fully under the milk. Try to keep it swirling as much as you can, that means the milk will be nice and mixed.”
It was sort of cute Jisung thought, how attentive Hyunjin was being towards this little impromptu demonstration, sharp black eyes taking in all the minute details of what Jisung was doing. With the milk properly steamed, Jisung flicked off the steam arm and pulled the jug from under it, wiping it with a wet cloth to remove the milk dripping down onto the countertop. He glanced back at Hyunjin again and saw he was still paying the utmost attention and Jisung couldn’t help the small amused smile that unconsciously bloomed on his face.
“Ok this is the most difficult part I guess, but it took me years of practice to be able to make patterns and doing it in takeaway cups is notorious for being more difficult, so you can’t hold it against me if I fail ok?”
Hyunjin chuckled and it made Jisung smile again in return, he was mostly joking– not in that it was difficult for first timers or that it took him years to learn, that was definitely true, but it was highly unlikely that he would fail now, even despite Hyunjin watching him so intently. He began pouring, trying his best to explain what he was doing as he was doing it but to Jisung, it was practically instinctual now, his explanation only really making sense to him.
“So basically what you need to do is start high? And like, gently swirl around the milk so it mixes with the matcha – or coffee if that’s what you’re making – and then once the cup is about half-full, get close to the rim with the spout of the jug and wiggle, you wanna kind of make the milk bounce from one side of the spout to the other? Then once you have that basic blob shape, bring it up high again and cut through the middle of it and voila!”
Jisung finished with a flourish and then shows the cup to Hyunjin, where immediately a soft, satisfied smile curls up his lips,
“It’s a loveheart…”
Jisung blinked a little,
“Oh, yeah…” Somehow, the thought of telling Hyunjin that a loveheart was just the easiest first pattern to learn made him a little sad, so he promptly removed that thought from his mind, “You remembered?”
Hyunjin nodded, eyes soft as he looked at it,
“Of course, it means love.”
Jisung’s brain buffered, his voice pitching higher as he replied,
“Um, yeah.”
He reached across to where the cup lids are so he could take a second to shake his brain loose of this ridiculous heart-eyed fog that was suddenly clouding him. Taking a deep breath, Jisung reminded himself that this was only friendly, a knock to his skull shouldn’t be causing him to give up his principles– Hyunjin was out. of. his. league.
Priorities re-sorted, Jisung pulls back and goes to snap the lid across the cup, missing Hyunjin’s mournful gaze as the heart gets covered.
“Um, well, I’m sorry you had to watch me nosedive off the counter but at least I could still make you your matcha!”
Jisung’s laugh was nervous, especially as Hyunjin seemed to remember that Jisung had cracked his head against the counter and moved into his space again, peering at the spot where a bruise was sure to form and reaching to press his fingers into it ever so gently. Jisung almost flinched at the contact– and not because of the pain.
“Are you sure you’re ok Jisung? I can cancel my meeting if you require aid.”
Jisung started spluttering, why would he cancel his entire meeting just because Jisung is an idiot?! He waved his hands frantically,
“No no no, I’m fine honestly, totally fine, you definitely don’t need to cancel something as important as a meeting just for me, please.”
Hyunjin frowned a little before nodding, wrapping his hand around the takeaway cup and stepping back from Jisung slightly, but not before pulling out a phone from his pocket and holding it out towards Jisung.
“I realise I probably should’ve extended this courtesy to you sooner Jisung, but I would like to be able to speak with you even if I can’t be present here at the cafe.”
Jisung blinked and then a grin split his face, taking Hyunjin’s phone into his hand and inputting his number, sending off a quick text so that he would have Hyunjin’s too before placing it back in his waiting palm.
“So now I can text you with all my memes right?”
Hyunjin’s eyebrows furrowed,
“What is a meeem?”
Jisung’s eyes scrunched in a laugh, Hyunjin’s pronounciation being too cute for him not to explode in joy.
“Nope, it’s better if I don’t explain it! You’ll have to just wait and find out,” he nodded his head with a satisfied smile, “Anyway come on shoo!”
Jokingly he tried to shoo Hyunjin away with his hands, before laughing again at Hyunjin’s frown. Instead he took his pinky in his and slowly led him towards the door,
“You have that meeting to get to now right? You can’t just stick around here and miss it.”
The smile that had bloomed when Jisung took his pinky very quickly dropped back into a deep frown,
“I still have some time, they wouldn’t begin without me anyway.”
Jisung snorted,
“Just because they wouldn’t doesn’t mean that you should make them wait, you can just text me when you’re done?”
Jisung smiled a little shyly, not wanting to make it seem like this was a big deal but still being unable to fight off the beginnings of a butterfly flight in his stomach as he suggested it. He was just being a good friend, nothing more. Hyunjin’s face relaxed into a pleased expression, nodding his head at Jisung’s words and hooking his finger ever so slightly tighter around Jisung’s before letting it go, hand on the door handle.
“You are right, it would be somewhat unprofessional of me, I will go now Jisung–” he fixed him with a firm look as he continued his sentence, “–but you will text me earlier if you start to feel unwell.”
His tone left no room for argument and it had Jisung’s insides twisting again briefly. He covered it up with a sunny smile and a nod of his own,
“Of course! Good luck at your meeting Hyunjin, I’ll text you when you’re free.”
Hyunjin gave him one last once over and a smile, before he was saying goodbye and stepping out through the door. Once he was gone Jisung huffed out the breath he wasn’t even aware he was holding, legs wobbling a little as they carried him back over to where he was still attempting to fix that damn grinder. Jisung could feel himself starting to slip into dangerous territory, and forcibly reminded both his brain and his heart that they couldn’t keep going around and just falling in love with the first person who is remotely kind to him. Hyunjin was just being a good friend and that’s all there was to it.
However, he could still allow himself to admit that he was just so cute later that very evening when Jisung sent him his very first meme and Hyunjin immediately called him to explain it.
It had been nearly a week since that disastrous meeting and although they had been texting back and forth; even calling occasionally, Hyunjin had been too busy to come back to the cafe. Jisung was torn between seeing this as a good thing – in the hopes that less face to face time would help to quell Jisung’s rapidly growing feelings (which wasn’t really working but he digresses) – or disappointed that he had to make do with the occasional artistically shot photo in order to see what Hyunjin had been up to.
Felix said he was moping.
Well, as far as Jisung was concerned Felix was a liar , he wasn’t moping he just missed spending time with someone who, no matter what embarrassing shenanigan Jisung managed to get himself into, they took it in their stride. There was definitely no underlying meaning to it at all, thank you very much.
Still, Felix said he was moping and all but dragged him out to third-wheel on a date with his other boyfriend– the one Jisung hadn’t met yet. Why Jisung had to come along with him he had no idea but the promise of free food and the prospect of meeting the mysterious third man in Chan’s life (Jisung was still first in his mind,he guesses Felix is second) was too tempting to give up. He still gave the pretence of a protest though.
“Don’t pull that face Jisungie, we’re treating you because you’re so sad!”
Jisung’s face contorted even more, this time, in disbelief
“What the fuck do you mean I’m so sad, I’m literally living my normal life right now.”
Felix steered Jisung down a side street by the power of their linked arms.
“You’re sad because you’re missing Hyunjin obviously.”
“Why are you punctuating that as a statement? Can you see into my brain? Is this another one of your freaky Yr’cimim powers?”
Felix just hummed,
“You’re deflecting Jisungie, it’s ok to admit you miss him.”
Jisung was about to aim a punch at Felix’s shoulder when all of a sudden Felix took off, forgetting he was still linked with Jisung and therefore dragging him along for the ride too.
“Minho!”
Felix let go of Jisung’s arm so he could fling himself into the body of this ‘Minho’ and Jisung stumbled from the speed in which he had been pulled along and subsequently released. Jisung flinches when a cold hand grabs his arm to steady him and he looks up to thank his saviour and is met with a pair of terrifying slitted pupils. Now don’t get him wrong, Jisung loves snakes and reptiles; he thinks they’re cool as fuck, but not when the eyes of one are staring deep into your soul with indetermined intent.
They stare at each other for a fraction before Felix is pushing his head next to the guys, brushing up against his cheek like a cat and Jisung watches as the guy melts in real time.
“Minho, this is Jisungie!”
Minho mouths a silent ‘ah’ and nods to no one in particular, holding out an ice-cold hand towards Jisung.
“Chan has told me a lot about you,” Jisung tries not to wince when they clasp palms, “Yongbokkie too.”
“Yongbokkie?”
Felix flushes next to Minho,
“Yongbok is my other name, Minho likes to use it.”
“Ohhhh I see! It suits you.”
Minho smirks,
“See? I told you so,”
When Jisung raises his eyebrow Minho goes on to explain,
“Oh Yongbokkie didn’t think his name suited him all that much, his opinion is changing little by little though.”
Jisung mmed in understanding and smiled at the pair, especially the way Felix was trying to entwine his fingers with Minho’s so tightly he could barely see who’s fingers were whose. The walk to the restaurant was pleasant, Jisung learning everything he could about Minho – Minho Lee, Es’ni, was dating Felix before Felix became enamoured with Chan and he decided to help Felix ensnare him only to fall for him as well – when he was hit with the most out of pocket statement from someone he had only just met.
“So you’re the guy that’s dating Hyunjinnie right?”
Jisung whipped round to gawk at him,
“I’m sorry?”
“Hyunjinnie? Tall, red hair, freaky green eyes?” at Jisung’s continued staring he barrelled on, “You know the Sehta pr-”
Whatever he was about to say was cut off by an elbow to the ribs from Felix. They had some kind of conversation with only their eyebrows before Minho was laughing, disbelief and intense amusement spreading across his surprisingly delicate features. Jisung wasn’t focusing on what he almost said though, he was entirely focused in on one particular detail.
“He doesn’t have green eyes?”
Minho looked at him, silent laughter dancing in his gaze,
“He doesn’t? Ah I must’ve been mistaken then, but you are his boyfriend no?”
“No!”
Minho just shrugged, blase but in a way that Jisung knew wasn’t remotely casual.
“Guess I was mistaken about that too then.”
Jisung’s thoughts were running a mile a minute but before he could question Minho any further, ask him why he had come to that insane conclusion, they had already arrived at the restaurant– effectively killing any of Jisung’s thoughts that weren’t about food. Dinner was a pleasant affair, Minho was completely and disgustingly smitten with Felix but his sense of humour matched with Jisung’s perfectly so he already felt the fast bonds of friendship binding them, and he came to understand how the three of them came to be even with the absence of Chan, their personalities balancing each other out insanely well.
The topic of Hyunjin was never brought up again so Jisung had completely forgotten all about Minho and his weird assumptions as they were leaving the restaurant, bellies full and giggling, until running into the last person Jisung had expected to see just wandering around in the space station.
Well Hyunjin wasn’t exactly wandering, he was surrounded by what looked like some important figures, deep in conversation with each other– so much so, that Jisung hadn’t actually even noticed him until Minho called out for him. Hyunjin turned to them just as Jisung looked up confusedly and Jisung almost thought he saw a flash of green in his eyes but when their gaze connected Hyunjin’s eyes were unmistakably pure black, not a single ounce of colour to be found– nor even the whites of his eyes.
His face bloomed into a bright smile, eyes crinkling adorably as he changed course and immediately started heading towards them, flustering the people he was with as they startled after him. Jisung managed a quick–
“I told you his eyes weren’t green.”
–under his breath to Minho before he started to panic ever so slightly at the thought of interacting with Hyunjin in front of two of his friends who were convinced he was dating him. Before he had time to really worry about anything though, Hyunjin was stood in front of him, pretty words spilling out of his lips that Jisung had absolutely no idea what they meant, Hyunjin’s head tilted a little in confusion and Jisung smiled widely at the visual,
“Hi Hyunjin,” Jisung pointed to his ear, “I don’t have my translator right now, what did you say?”
Hyunjin’s mouth dropped open into a little ‘o’ before he was smiling again, this time, his smooth but slightly accented voice nestling in Jisung’s ears.
“Oh my apologies, I was just wondering what you were doing all the way out here?”
Jisung could feel the way that Felix and Minho were hyper-focusing into their conversation, watching in rapt attention at the way Jisung was fiddling with his rings and how the back of his neck was flushing red under the steady gaze of Hyunjin. So he decided to shift some of the focus to them.
“Oh! Well I was just out for lunch with my friends,”
Hyunjin turned to Felix, nodding his head politely as he waved. Minho’s eyes however were alight with mischief, stepping closer to Jisung and swinging his arm across his shoulders, resting against him casually, Felix let out a shocked gasp – for reasons that Jisung didn’t really understand – and Hyunjin’s eyes seemed to narrow just slightly but Jisung wasn’t sure whether that was just because of the bright, artificial daylight streaming down from above.
“Hi Hyunjinnie, long time no see!”
“Minho,” Hyunjin gave him a curt nod, his fingers flexing just slightly, “I see you’re well.”
“Mm I’ve had a lovely day meeting Jisungie, I can see why my Channie and Yongbokkie are so fond of him.”
At the casual mention of Minho’s partners, the tension that had inexplicably risen peters out ever so slightly, but Hyunjin’s shoulders are still rigid as he eyes where Minho’s arm still lies across Jisung. Minho smirks slightly as Hyunjin fixes him with a steely gaze before he takes another look at Jisung and his naive confusion and then holds out his pinky towards him, Jisung notices it and, with a barely-there blush, he steps from under Minho’s arm and links his own pinky with Hyunjin’s, so focused on looking at them hooked together, he misses the intense wave of relief that washes over Hyunjin and the barely concealed laugh threatening to burst out of Minho.
By now, the men that had been present with Hyunjin as he was walking, had deemed it the right time to butt in, faces stormy as they eyed Jisung’s close proximity, it was subtle, but it almost felt as if Hyunjin stepped a little closer to Jisung, so he was sort of body-blocking him from the view of the men. The one closest to Hyunjin started talking, looking at Jisung and back at Hyunjin; his voice sounded nothing like the floaty, almost floral lilt of whenever Hyunjin spoke to Jisung without his translator and judging by the way his grip on Jisung’s finger tightened marginally, it can’t have been anything good.
Hyunjin said something in return and the change in his voice was drastic, he sounded icy– like he was daring these men to try and talk back to him, radiating this unspoken aura of power as he met their gaze head on. The man in the front only got angrier, but it was almost as if he was trying to regulate it, like if it wasn’t Hyunjin he was speaking to, he would be exploding with his fury. He was definitely unhappy with something and it didn’t become clear to Jisung until he pointed to their linked fingers, Hyunjin’s lips morphing into a sneer as he did so.
Jisung didn’t like the fact that Hyunjin could be getting yelled at for just holding his pinky and despite his initial thoughts that this must be a normal action for Hyunjin’s species, the way this guy was pointing at their hands made him feel like he was doing something wrong. Jisung tried to pull his hand back, not wanting to cause any more trouble than he seemingly already was but this only served to incite Hyunjin’s rage at the man in front of him, shifting his hand so he was no longer just looping his pinky around Jisung’s but instead holding his hand properly.
This did the trick, silencing the man completely as he sputtered and steadily got redder, the blood rushing to his face making him look startlingly like a ruby under harsh light as the colour rippled beneath his iridescent skin. The other men behind him started muttering between themselves and Hyunjin silenced them too with a quick, sharp sentence, whatever he was saying clearly leaving no room for further argument.
Feeling the way that everyone was looking at him made him want to turn and flee, but Hyunjin’s hand was a steady warmth in his and he couldn’t bear the thought that something terrible might’ve happened because Hyunjin was protecting him. Tugging on his hand a little, Jisung prompted Hyunjin to look down at him, his gaze softening instantaneously when he looked at Jisung.
“Is everything ok?”
Hyunjin hummed gently,
“Of course it is, there’s just been a little misunderstanding but everything is sorted now,” he looked at the men sharply, as if daring them to disagree, “I just needed to remind them of a few things that’s all.”
Jisung wasn’t so sure, his lips falling into a natural pout as he fidgeted, god he really hoped he hadn’t done something wrong and Hyunjin took the blame…
He was snapped out of his spiralling though by a soft laugh, Hyunjin squeezing his hand and prompting him to look up again,
“Really Jisung, everything is ok, please don’t look at me like that you are too… adorable?”
At the questioning way Hyunjin said ‘adorable’ Jisung couldn’t help but break into a smile, like all of his negative feelings had been swept away with just one instance of comfort from Hyunjin.
“You think I’m adorable?”
Hyunjin went scarlet, his blush rippling across his cheeks like the most dazzling piece of rose-quartz, nothing like the horrible, angry ruby of the man he was with.
“I– Well, when you–”
Jisung threw back his head and laughed, he decided to put Hyunjin out of his misery though,
“Don’t worry I was only teasing, Channie calls me adorable all the time, it’s normal between human friends Hyunjinnie.”
Hyunjin’s smile faltered ever so slightly before it softens out again, voice delicate as he replied,
“Ah I see, then you really are adorable Jisungie.”
Jisung flushed against his will, even though he knew that Hyunjin was only being friendly, it still made his heart leap in his chest to hear those words fall from his lips. He thought he heard a deep sigh from Minho behind him but honestly he wasn’t sure what his problem would be so he refrained from turning around to question him, Hyunjin did seem to throw a displeased look over Jisung’s shoulders though which made him smile to himself.
As much as he hated to admit it though, seeing Hyunjin again did make Jisung realise how he missed him, and no he hadn’t been moping but he did feel his mood pick up now that he was here with him, just something about his presence was comforting to Jisung.
Hyunjin looked like he wanted to say something, a certain nervousness to his gaze as he looked down at where their palms were still pressed together and Jisung gave him a little squeeze, hoping that that would give Hyunjin the confidence he needed to say what was on his mind. Hyunjin looked up at him, a little startled that Jisung had jolted him out of his thoughts but he was still smiling his soft smile nonetheless,
"I was wondering Jisung…" Jisung hmmed to show he was paying attention, "would you like to accompany me to a meal later on this week?"
"A meal? You mean like, go out to a restaurant?"
Hyunjin nodded,
"Yes, my stretch of meetings are finally coming to a close and it would be nice to spend an evening with you before I return home."
Jisung jolted a little, before he goes home? Jisung hadn't even stopped to think that was a possibility, too wrapped up in everything that Hyunjin and his friendship brought to remember that he was merely here for work– the months that Hyunjin had been around letting him get entirely too comfortable with the thoughts of him always being there.
Almost as if sensing his impending wave of sadness, Hyunjin squeezed Jisung's hand and stepped a fraction closer, voice dipping into something low and soothing,
"Don't worry Jisungie, we will still keep in touch even after I have left and I can come and visit you from time to time too."
Jisung took a deep breath, feeling calmed immediately just from hearing Hyunjin's casual reassurances.
"Yeah, yeah of course– sorry. Um I'd love to have an evening with you! Chan has been off station for a few months so I can't really request a holiday day but if you let me know when you're free I can swap a shift."
At this, Felix came bounding up behind him, scaring the shit out of him as he agreed cheerfully,
"Yeah I can cover Jisungie's shift no problems! You two should definitely spend some time together."
It almost looked like Felix winked at Hyunjin and judging by his rapid blinking and slowly pinkening cheeks, Jisung was inclined to believe he wasn't seeing things after all. He turned round to glare at Felix and shoo him off, not wanting him to make this into something that it's not just because of his weird little obsession that the two of them were dating, friends hold hands all the time! Felix himself is like a fucking limpet most days and sure just because sometimes Jisung daydreams a little bit about what it would be like to hold Hyunjin’s hand romantically , it doesn’t mean he's actually deluding himself into thinking that that will happen.
Felix steps back with a shit-eating grin and Jisung makes a mental note to tamper with his coffee in revenge before turning back towards Hyunjin who, now he's got over his initial embarrassment at Felix's absurd suggestion, is looking at the exchange between the two in complete amusement. He smiles at Jisung warmly and his eyes crinkle in that way which makes Jisung's traitorous heart speed up and Jisung finds his gaze skittering away as his face warms.
"So that is a yes then?" Hyunjin teases.
"Yeah– Yes! Yes I would love to go out with you sometime. T-to eat! To go out with you to eat. Together. With food."
He hears Minho mutter something under his breath which sounds suspiciously like ' smooth ' and he honestly wishes that the ground would open up and swallow him right there. Hyunjin just smiles even wider though, giving Jisung's hand one last squeeze before letting go and stepping back,
"Good, I shall text you with the details then," he paused, a sad puppy expression taking over his face, "I have to go now though, I have another meeting to get to, I'm sorry."
Jisung waved his hands frantically,
"No no please go! I will text you later anyway?"
"I would like that greatly," Hyunjin smiled.
Jisung smiled back at him, unable to help himself mirroring Hyunjin’s expression. Behind him he could still see the stormy faces of the men he was with and he felt a childish sense of satisfaction rush through him when Hyunjin finally waved goodbye and turned back to them, a sharp, commanding sentence passing through his lips as the men fell back into step behind him, seemingly unable to argue back to whatever Hyunjin had just said– the victorious feeling almost making him want to stick out his tongue at their retreating backs.
Now was the worst part about all of this though, sheepishly turning back around to the smug cat expressions of his two friends and could almost taste the ‘are you sure you’re not boyfriends?’ lingering in the air. Nipping it in the bud before it could be spoken though, Jisung raised his hand in a throat-slitting gesture and hissed–
“Not. A. Word.”
–ignoring how that only made their grins grow wider. Felix shrugged, fake nonchalance dripping across his features as he linked his arm back with Jisung’s, tugging Minho along in with his other hand,
“I wasn’t going to say anything Jisungie.”
Jisung scoffed in disbelief but accepted Felix’s arm anyway, being unable to resist him for too long, his deadly cute charm winning over him every time and the three of them slowly made their way back to Jisung’s apartment where all mentions of Hyunjin were forgotten in the presence of the small collection of random alien snacks and alcohol Jisung had been hoarding.
The day of the ‘not-date’ (which he had taken to calling it thanks to Felix’s renewed vigour in insisting that they were dating), came a lot quicker than Jisung had hoped. Not because he didn’t want to spend that time with Hyunjin but because it reminded him of the looming deadline that came with it, that sometime shortly after Hyunjin would be leaving to go home and Jisung wasn’t sure when he would be able to see him again in person.
Hyunjin had reassured him multiple times since that meeting in the street that he would continue to keep in touch with Jisung, they had each others numbers and they could even video call if texting wasn’t enough but still there was something crawling underneath Jisung’s skin at the thought of not being able to hold his hand again. Minho called him a drama queen and Felix just looked a little sad before questioning why Jisung hasn’t just confessed to him them if that’s how he feels but how could Jisung explain that someone like Hyunjin was wildly out of his league, that hearing Hyunjin reject him would be infinitely worse than his somewhat successful attempts at telling himself he was only feeling platonic affections towards him.
So instead he had just laughed it off and told Felix he would never give him the satisfaction, a joke to cover the true tangled web of feelings he felt inside. Not that that was currently stopping Felix from ripping through his wardrobe like a tornado as he tried to find Jisung the perfect date (“it’s not a date Felix” “if you say so Jisungie”) outfit, with a bored Minho sat on the floor next to Jisung’s bed, upturning his nose at all of his clothes.
Eventually though he made a noise of satisfaction, head perking up at a shirt in Felix’s hand that he was about to toss aside and Jisung immediately disregarded it, trying to reach over to take it from Felix’s hand but it was too late he was already holding it out in front of himself to give it a once over and then he looked at Minho and they both grinned.
“Absolutely not. Felix, I can't wear this to go to dinner with Hyunjin, are you insane?”
Felix wasn’t taking no for an answer though, already crowding Jisung as he reached for the shirt he was currently wearing, hands grabbing forwards even as Jisung tried to pull away, eventually catching his tiny fingers around the hem and tugging it off as Jisung struggled. Jisung stood bare chested, arms crossing over his abdomen as Felix shook the shirt in front of him, mischievous grin splitting his face,
“Come on Jisung it’s just a shirt, you said it yourself it’s not a date so why would it matter what you wear?”
Jisung raised an eyebrow at him,
“Exactly, why would it matter if I just wore what I was wearing now then?”
Minho jumped in then, voice droll as he looked up from his phone,
“Just because you’ve convinced yourself it’s not a date, doesn’t mean we’re going to let you leave the house looking like you’ve put in zero effort.”
Jisung looked at him affronted,
“There was nothing wrong with what I was wearing! Hyunjin has seen me dressed like that all the time!”
“And that’s exactly my point Han Jisung, do you really want to spend what may be your last time meeting with him looking as casual as you always do? In a fancy restaurant?”
“Nobody said it was gonna be a fancy restaurant,” Jisung mumbled
Minho laughed,
“It’s Hyunjin, of course it’s going to be a fancy restaurant, especially if it’s you he’s taking with him.”
“You make it sound like I’m someone special to him,” Jisung scoffed.
Minho just stared at him for a few seconds, deadpan, before shaking his head in disbelief.
“You’ve got to be kidding me… Nevermind, get the shirt on Han Jisung, this is your last warning.”
Jisung snatched the shirt from Felix’s waiting hand and grumbled as he pulled it over his head, slipping his arm through the sleeve and fastening the buckles around his neck and chest. The air conditioning of his apartment was a little chill on his one bare arm and the strip of skin visible between his cargo pants and the hem of the shirt and it made his abs tense a little before his body got used to the warmth of his arms clutching at himself being missing.
Felix’s expression was gleeful as he gave him a once over, bringing over a pair of his chunky boots and helping him tuck the ends of his pants in them, stepping back to admire his handiwork and turning to Minho where they shared another one of those conversations with only their eyes. Jisung felt a little self conscious dressing like this to meet Hyunjin, sure on any normal day he would love how this combo accentuated his waist and arm but going to spend time with Hyunjin like this? What if it was just a little too much?
Almost as if sensing his inner turmoil, the two devils he called his friends turned to him, smiles soft and placating, Felix’s voice soothing him as he spoke,
“Look Jisung, if you really don’t want to wear this we won’t make you,” Felix gently turned Jisung so he was facing his mirror, “but look at you! Even if this isn’t a date it’s not a bad thing to want to look nice for a meeting with a friend no?”
Jisung studied himself in the mirror and found himself unable to argue. The outfit did look good and Felix (and Minho as much as he hated to admit it) was right, he wanted Hyunjin to see him at his best before he left, even though he knew that it wasn’t like that, there was still some little part of Jisung that wanted Hyunjin to see him in a more desirable light despite being perfectly happy to just stay as his friend.
Steeling his nerves he gave himself a determined look, turning back to Felix and Minho and noting their smiles,
“Yeah… You’re right, I should put some effort into this meeting, I think Hyunjin will like it,” Jisung said while giving one last spin to the mirror.
“Oh he’ll definitely like it,” Minho muttered.
Felix elbowed him in the ribs.
The drive to the restaurant was pretty uneventful, Minho offering to drop him off on his way to drop Felix at work, and the two of them were suspiciously quiet on the ‘date’ front, instead just wishing him a good meeting and a ‘tell Hyunjin we said hello’ as he exited the hovercar. Shrugging it off as maybe he had finally gotten through to them, Jisung made his way into the restaurant and well shit. They weren’t joking when they said that Hyunjin was going to choose somewhere fancy, this place looked like something from a movie.
He scanned around trying to find Hyunjin, before one of the waiters seemingly took pity on him,
“Can I help you sir?”
“Oh uh, hi, I’m supposed to be meeting a friend here?”
The waiter looked sceptical, the twitch of his eyebrow would’ve gone unnoticed if Jisung wasn’t nervous as hell and looking at everything in intense detail. This guy didn’t think Jisung should be here.
“A friend… Do they have a reservation? Maybe a name would help me point you in the right direction.”
Jisung bit back the snarky reply waiting on his tongue and just smiled politely instead,
“His name is Hyunjin.”
The waiter suppressed another expression in the name of professionalism,
“There’s only one Hyunjin here tonight and he is… of very high status.”
Jisung could hear the underlying condescension in his tone and he straightened himself upwards, he still wasn’t entirely sure what it was that Hyunjin did for his job, not wanting to pry into information Hyunjin seemed reluctant to share but he had a hunch it was something of ‘high status’.
“That’ll be him then! Can you take me to him?”
The waiter seemed hesitant, but eventually conceded, probably deciding that if Jisung was just trying it on to get close to Hyunjin despite not actually knowing him, then things would be revealed once he took him over and could then call security.
“Follow me sir.”
Jisung fell into step behind him as he headed in the direction of the bar area, where, now that Jisung had gotten into the restaurant proper, he could see the proud line of Hyunjin’s back sat in one of the high stools, red hair pinned back prettily in a half ponytail. The waiter gently called out to him, almost reverential and when he turned towards him, Jisung’s breath caught in his throat. He looked gorgeous. Familiar black eyes crinkled up at him in greeting and he heard a slight hitch in the waiters breath as he looked between Hyunjin and Jisung but Jisung couldn’t care less about being misunderstood by some random dude when Hyunjin was making his way towards him, gossamer robe billowing over a tight, matte leather jumpsuit.
Jisung had to physically shake his head to stop his mind from wandering into very non-platonic thoughts, instead smiling up at Hyunjin and linking their pinkies when he got close enough.
“Jisungie! You look…” Hyunjin paused as he drank in Jisung’s outfit, cheeks flushing slightly as his eyes skitter over his exposed skin, “ incredible .”
Jisung flushed at Hyunjin’s words, smiling shyly as he offered up his own praises,
“You too Hyunjinnie, you’re beautiful.”
Hyunjin made a sound a little like a balloon deflating, going even pinker.
“A-ah um, yes, thank you.”
Hyunjin flicked his eyes over to the waiter still hovering, who snapped to attention under his gaze.
“Your table will be ready in just a moment sirs, if you would like to follow me through to the dining area.”
Hyunjin nodded at him and then started to gently lead Jisung over, pulling his seat out for him when they reached their table. Jisung said his thanks and looked around wide-eyed, they were sat on a little balcony outside surrounded by flowers and it made Jisung smile, remembering what Hyunjin had said once about how flowers were a big part of Sehta culture. Hyunjin sat opposite and smiled, the artificial dusk glinting off the dove grey of his robe and making the sheer fabric look like starlight,
“It is a set menu they serve here Jisungie, I hope that is ok with you? It’s a lovely mixture of foods from different planets but they all blend together seamlessly, it’s rather amazing how they've managed such a thing.”
Hyunjin’s eyes were sparkling as he talked about the food and it made Jisung want to coo at him, he was so cute and animated whenever he talked about something that excited him.
“Ohh I definitely don’t mind! Any opportunity to try new food is good to me.”
Hyunjin smiled at him,
“Good, I’m really glad.”
They chatted a little more, Jisung asking how Hyunjin’s meetings were going– to which he pulled a face,
“They’re going fine I guess, just incredibly boring now that everything is winding down, just a lot of pencil pushing basically.”
Jisung laughed at his expression,
“Sounds like a looot of fun,” he teased, laughing even more when it caused Hyunjin to pout at him.
The food arrived shortly after and they wasted no time digging in, Jisung marvelling at all the different dishes, excitedly pointing out when he recognised one of them to be Sehta, Hyunjin’s smile blinding at Jisung’s enthusiasm. After dinner however, neither of them seemed particularly inclined to leave, both of them lingering at the table even after their dishes had been cleared and the bill settled – with Hyunjin winning the ensuing war between who’s card gets placed on the waiting bill – so Jisung tentatively suggested they head back to the bar instead. Hyunjin agreed almost immediately, linking his pinky with Jisung’s and leading them both back through the restaurant, getting them situated in a more secluded corner along the counter and hailing down the waiter to make them two, what Jisung could only assume, Sehta style cocktails.
They were a gorgeous shimmering purple and tasted of lavender when Jisung sipped at it, his trepid expression melting into a pleased smile when the flavour hit his tongue, turning to Hyunjin to gush about how much he likes it. Hyunjin seemed a little distracted– he had all night now that Jisung thinks about it, and although he returns Jisung’s happiness with a wide smile of his own, his gaze seems to be aimed at… the side of Jisung’s head? Feeling a tad self conscious, Jisung runs his hands through his hair under the guise of restyling it, hoping that if Hyunjin really was looking at something clinging to his hair that this would dislodge it. Instead though, Hyunjin lets out a small, barely audible squeak and shifts in his seat slightly. He blinks once or twice before staring at Jisung again,
“Your hair underneath… It-it’s blue?”
Realisation dawns on Jisung then, since moving to the space station however many months ago he hadn’t found the time to cut his hair properly into his usual undercut style, which in turn meant that Hyunjin had probably never seen his blue hair before.
“Ah. That. Yeah you can thank my dumbass best friend for that,” Jisung laughed, Hyunjin tilting his head in confusion, “My best friend back on Earth, Seungmin, was a genetic science major and was obsessed with trying to figure out ways to alter genetics way after people had been born instead of in advance, he figured that an easy way to test his theories was to start with small modifications, like hair colour, eye colour, that kind of thing, anyway I volunteered to be his little guinea pig–”
“Guinea pig?”
“Oh it’s a popular saying, it means like, his tester?”
Hyunjin nodded in understanding, gesturing for Jisung to continue,
“Yeah so I volunteered right? Because Seungmin is freakishly smart and I trusted him to know what he was doing, and also because I really wanted natural blue hair but that’s besides the point, anyway so he prepares his little scientist potion and loads it up into a syringe and he says that it should change my whole head of hair to electric blue and it would grow that way completely naturally, no need to keep bleaching and dying my hair, which, sounded like a godsend .”
Jisung paused to take a sip of his drink, then swept up one half of his hair that was covering the undercut, noticing that another weird shudder wracked through Hyunjin frame.
“So he injects me around here,” he points to a spot half way down his head, “and tells me to wait a few minutes. Except nothing’s happening, so he gets me to lift my hair again and notices that it has only changed the hair downwards of where he stabbed me, he tried mixing some more of the solution but it didn’t work again even when stuck the needle higher up but to be honest with you, I think that hypothesis interested his nerd brain more than if he had gotten it to work out right first time.”
Jisung laughed at the memory, Seungmin’s face etched into his mind during that whole long afternoon of him working his sciency magic. Hyunjin, however was fascinated,
“So you’re saying that the blue grows like that naturally?”
Jisung nodded,
“Yep,” he popped his lips on the ‘p’, “Seungmin eventually figured out where he had gone wrong and offered to fix it up but I was already attached to the undercut style ya know? He’s some hotshot science guy at one of the galaxy’s leading genetics labs now, he and his boyfriend Changbin make quite the formidable team.”
“That’s,” Hyunjin breathed out an awed sigh, “That’s really incredible.”
Jisung beamed,
“Yeah, I’m really proud of him, even if he’s still a pain in my ass lightyears away.”
Jisung reaches for his drink again, and catches Hyunjin tracking his arm out of the corner of his eye, feeling bolstered by the little alcohol in his system he flexes it a little as he grabs his drink and watches as Hyunjin fidgets in his seat again, face steadily getting pinker under the atmospheric lighting of the bar.
“Are you feeling ok Hyunjin? You look a bit flushed.”
Hyunjin startled, snapping out of his daze at Jisung’s words and the way he was seemingly out of it made him slightly worried. He raised his hand to rest the back of it against Hyunjin’s forehead, checking his temperature and frowning when he feels the heat radiating off of him. Hyunjin flinches back as if burnt and stammers his way through a not so convincing explanation,
“I- I’m not sure… I will be back in a minute. I just need to go to the bathroom.”
Jisung watches as he slips from the bar stool onto unsteady feet and frowns a little, is he feeling sick? That would explain the discomfort and him getting overly warm… He decides to wait for Hyunjin to return and suggest they finish their drinks and call it a night, only it takes him way too long to return. Feeling his worries increase he gets up and follows him to the bathroom– but not before paying for their drinks, the small victory he feels at finally being able to pay for something washed away by his worries that Hyunjin may have fallen ill.
With this being a fancy restaurant, all of the bathrooms are individual ones, luckily for Jisung though, only the one was occupied. Tentatively knocking on the door, he sees the shadow of someone move through the frosted glass.
“Hyunjin? Is that you?”
His words are shaky as he replies,
“Yeah, I’m sorry J-Jisung, I will be out in just a– just a moment.”
Unconvinced, Jisung hovered around outside, and when he hears faint whimpers coming from behind the door he flutters around outside it frantically.
“Hyunjin? Are you feeling sick? Let me take you home please.”
There’s a few moments pause before the lock clicks and Hyunjin pulls open the door, flushed pink across his whole body and taking shaky steps. Jisung panics and immediately goes to wrap his arm around Hyunjin to help steady him, feeling him weaken at the knees slightly more before gaining a little strength now he could rest some of his weight on Jisung.
“I’m so sorry Jisungie, I’ve never felt quite like this before, it’s n-not something I was expecting.”
“Hey don’t worry about it please, I already covered for our drinks, so please, let me see you home safely.”
Hyunjin frowned at the mention that Jisung had footed their bill but he couldn’t find himself able to argue at this moment, instead just nodding at Jisung and starting to head towards the door of the restaurant. Once outside, Jisung hoped the fresh air would help take some of the colour from Hyunjin’s face but he only seemed to get warmer, his body so hot underneath Jisung’s palm even despite his thick clothing.
Jisung flagged down a nearby taxi, and helped Hyunjin duck into the back seat, all but sprinting around to situate himself next to him on the other side. Once he had given the driver the address of Hyunjin’s hotel, he turned to study Hyunjin again and frowned again at seeing his rapidly quickening breaths. Gently he took Hyunjin’s hand in his, smoothing his thumb across the back of his hand in a gesture of comfort. Hyunjin smiled at him weakly, his eyelashes fluttering as he tried to hold Jisung’s gaze.
“Don’t worry Hyunjin, you’ll be home soon.”
“I’m sorry for ruining our night Jisung.”
Jisung shook his head softly,
“Don’t be ridiculous, I had the best time with you, I always do. I just want to make sure you get home safely to rest.”
Hyunjin smiled at him again, eyes slipping closed as he breathed in shakily, skin still radiating heat where Jisung was touching. When the taxi pulls up at Hyunjin’s hotel, Jisung is around the side of the hovercar in a flash, opening the door and gently manoeuvring Hyunjin out onto the street, when he stumbles, Jisung is gripping his waist in a instance, Hyunjin letting out a small moan. God he must be in some kind of pain, Jisung was trying to keep a lid on his panic while also fighting off his wildly inconvenient thoughts of how pretty that sound was paired with the gorgeous full body, rose quartz blush rippling across Hyunjin’s skin. Jesus christ now was not the time to be thinking of Hyunjin in such a way, he’s ill!
When it seemed unlikely that Hyunjin could stand on his own, leaning so heavily into Jisung’s side, he made probably one of the most rash decisions involving Hyunjin he's ever had, sweeping him up into a princess hold so that he could easily carry him up to his suite. Hyunjin squeaked in his hold, letting out another shaky breath as his body settled in Jisung’s arms, seemingly unable to help himself, he folded even closer to Jisung, pressing his nose into his neck and trembled slightly. His breath was hot where it ghosted across Jisung’s skin and he willed himself to focus , the guilt of having these kinds of thoughts while Hyunjin was squirming with sickness in his arms threatening to overwhelm him.
Once Jisung had managed to get the number of the suite from Hyunjin – number, hah, it was only the fucking penthouse – he started on his way up there; studiosly ignoring all the scandalised looks of the people in the lobby, Hyunjin pressing his face even further into Jisung’s neck with a quiet moan. Safely in the elevator and away from prying eyes, Jisung tilted down to look at Hyunjin, seeing the way he was curled into Jisung’s chest and neck sparking something intensely protective in him.
“Jinnie, how are you feeling?”
If possible, Hyunjin flushed even deeper at the new nickname,
“J-jinnie? Ahh,” he paused to suck in a wavering breath, “I feel weird Jisungie, I’ve…I’ve never felt this sensation before…”
“Can you describe it to me? Maybe I can help you?”
Hyunjin shook his head, the action causing his nose to brush against Jisung’s neck softly.
“N-no, I can’t. I’m sorry.”
He almost sounded embarrassed and it made Jisung want to rush to comfort him.
“Hey it’s ok, just get some rest and maybe you’ll feel better in the morning, you don’t need to worry about it ok?”
Hyunjin pressed closer to Jisung, murmuring his thanks and it made Jisung’s heart swell, tightening his arms around Hyunjin that little bit more. The elevator stopped then, opening the doors to a beautiful ornate door and Hyunjin whined a little when Jisung went to place him back on his feet, swaying unsteadily before gripping the door handle, and turning to face Jisung. When he blinked up at him through heavy lashes, Jisung felt a surge run through him, every synapse in his brain firing at once and screaming at him to kiss him. Shaking his head clear he smiled at Hyunjin warmly,
“You can go inside now Hyunjin don’t worry, do you have someone with you who can take care of you?”
Hyunjin nodded slowly,
“It will be fine Jisungie, thank you for taking such good care of me.”
Jisung tried to deny it, waving his hand like it was no big deal but Hyunjin captured one his hands and clutched onto it, eyes shining with sincerity even with the hazy film glossing over them,
“I’m serious. You always take such good care of me. My Jisungie.”
Jisung flushed scarlet.
My Jisungie? My?
Finally, the building bubbles of affection from the whole night exploded, he surged forward without really thinking and pressed his lips against the dusky pink of his cheek, feeling the heat underneath his lips and hearing Hyunjin's shocked gasp. Hyunjin’s fingers squeezed Jisung’s hands tighter and when he pulled back he had the cutest expression, cheeks aflame; mouth parted; stars dancing in his eyes.
“O-oh, I’m sorry I don’t know why I did that…”
Hyunjin just smiled so wide it crinkled his eyes into barely visible slits, happiness radiating off him. He blinked his eyes open again and then raised Jisung’s hands to his lips, pressing plump lips against his knuckles reverently.
“Here, now we are equal.”
Now it was Jisung’s turn to be a stuttering, gasping mess.
“Y-yeah. Um, well, goodnight Hyunjin, please rest well and I will check in with you tomorrow.”
Hyunjin let go of Jisung’s hand reluctantly and pressed down on the door handle,
“Goodnight Jisung, thank you again, I will call you tomorrow.”
With a shy wave on both of their parts, Hyunjin disappeared behind the penthouse door as the elevator opened behind Jisung, ready to take him back down.
It had been a little under a week since then, Hyunjin overcoming his illness in the night and then being swept back up into a whirlwind of final meetings– Jisung himself being worked more than usual thanks to Chan finally coming back to the space station after his (forced) few months break back to earth. Today in fact, was the day Jisung was going to meet with him before he started back at work tomorrow, already half-way on his trek to the little house he shared with Felix and Minho, what he wasn’t expecting though, was for him to explode as soon as Jisung entered his living room.
Felix had been the one to open the door and the look on his face when he saw Jisung was already kind of… off , but Jisung paid it no mind, maybe he was just a bit out of sorts because Chan was finally home after all that time. When he reached the living room though, to a rage-filled shout of–
“Han Jisung!!”
–he realised there might be a bit more to it. This definitely wasn’t the welcome he was expecting and Jisung was frantically racing through all of the things he had done in his absence to try and pinpoint where exactly he had fucked up this time but he came, surprisingly, short.
“Um, welcome home Channie?”
He opened his arms out as an offering for a hug and flinched when Chan’s voice just pitched up a decibel instead, arms dropping back down to his sides limply as he blinked up at him sadly.
“Welcome home? Welcome home?! Jisung, how is it that despite me only being gone for 2 months! That you have managed a fuck up of this proportion?!”
Now Jisung was really confused, what exactly had he fucked up? His confusion must’ve shown on his face because Chan only seemed to flare up more.
“Don’t give me that look! Why is the first thing I’m hearing upon getting back is that you’ve been trying to fuck the Sehta prince?! And you’re not even being subtle about it either! In public Jisung? Seriously?!”
Jisung froze. There was no way that this wasn’t some kind of joke, what the fuck was Chan talking about?
“I’m trying to what the who?!”
They both blinked at each other for second before Chan deflated marginally,
“Oh my god you have no idea do you?”
“No idea about what Chan? Literally none of what you said makes any fucking sense to me, the only Sehta I know is Hyunjin and he…” realisation hit Jisung like a truck, “Oh my god the only Sehta I know is Hyunjin. Is he… Is he the fucking prince?!”
As if sensing Jisung’s oncoming panic attack Chan softened his stance a little, his eyebrows were still knitted in a deep frown, his anger still not completely dissipated but not wanting to send Jisung spiralling further, realising that whatever he thought was happening, Jisung actually seemed to have no idea.
“Ok breathe Jisung, you really didn’t know Hyunjin was the prince?,” Chan watched as Jisung shook his head quickly, “Right. Ok. And I’m guessing you also have no idea about Sehta biology then either?”
“Sehta biology?”
Chan dragged his hands down his face,
“Fucking hell.”
Jisung blinked at him, still not understanding what the fuck was going on and waiting for him to explain what exactly it was he thought Jisung had been doing while he was gone.
“You didn’t even think to do a google search or something? Actually nevermind, Sehta’s… They have a unique biology, they’re incredibly sensitive to touch, I don’t know the full ins and outs of it but basically they try not to touch anyone once they reach a certain age because the feeling is so overwhelming to them.”
Jisung blanched, thinking about all the times he had touched Hyunjin, thinking it was a comforting thing to him.
“Is it like… a,” his voice dropped to a whisper, “a sexual thing?”
Chan winced,
“No not exactly, that is definitely an aspect of it I think, all of their emotions are heightened through touch so I imagine it’s the same for lust and after they’re no longer children the only times a Sehta will touch someone else is their lover but it’s not inherently sexual no.”
Jisung swallowed thickly, ‘the only time a Sehta will touch someone else is their lover’ , oh he’s really fucked it now.
“So you understand where I’m going with this, don't you Jisung?” Jisung nodded dazedly, as Chan continued, “You’ve been spotted all around the station touching Hyunjin freely but without being his official lover, it’s put you in a really difficult position here, like, you know what this looks like right?”
“Yeah… It looks like I’m only trying to fuck him doesn’t it…”
Chan nodded, before Jisung could launch into his explanation though, Minho piped up boredly from the side. Jisung hadn’t even realised he was here.
“Yeah but it’s not just that though, his eyes change around him Channie.”
This time Chan rounds to Minho,
“You! Don’t think I’ve forgiven you and Felix yet for allowing this to get as far as it has!” He paused, “What do you mean his eyes change around Hannie though?”
Minho sighed, fixing Chan with a steady gaze,
“His eyes. They go black when he looks at Jisung.”
Chan promptly sits down.
Looking from Chan’s stressed face to Minho’s smug one, Jisung can’t take the suspense any longer,
“What does that mean though? His eyes have always been black whenever I’ve seen him, even from the very first day we met,” he turned to look at Minho, “You said something similar to me once, you told me his eyes were green.”
Chan let out a long suffering sigh,
“His eyes are green Hannie,” he held up a hand before Jisung could start to protest, “Sehta’s eyes have the ability to change to completely black, but only when they are with the love of their life.”
Now it was Jisung’s turn to sit down.
“That– that can’t be right. There’s no way he’s considered me the love of his life from our very first meeting. That’s insane!”
Minho just rolled his eyes,
“It’s Hyunjin, he’s stupidly romantic and naive enough for this to be a possibility.”
Jisung fixed Minho with a look,
“You talk about him like you know him.”
“I do know him, I’m Es’ni royalty.”
Jisung gaped at him, turning his head to also gape at Chan who was decidingly ignoring his eyes in favour of turning into a cherry tomato.
“Anybody else want to admit that they're alien royalty?!” Jisung whipped his head around to Felix who just laughed but didn’t confirm nor deny anything.
“So yes. I do know Hyunjinnie, I know exactly how dumb he is and how he’s been self-sabotaging because failed to realise you’re even dumber and have been trying to suppress your feelings for him for months now.”
Jisung pouted at how quickly Minho had seen through him.
“Look, I thought he was out of my league before but finding out he’s a prince? What chance do I have now?”
Minho glared at him in disbelief.
“I literally just told you he has been in love with you from the start, to the point where his eyes have done their freaky Sehta soulmate shit and he’s been disregarding all Sehta rules and regulations to run around holding hands with you like a love sick teenager and you’re still insisting he’s out of your league?”
Jisung bit his lip,
“Yeeees?”
Minho actually growled.
“I give up! Channie, sort out your stupid friend by yourself. I don't want his stupidity to become contagious.”
This time it was Chan fixing him with a look,
“Ok, so, I know I was annoyed to begin with, but hearing all of this ,” he gestured in the direction of where Minho was curled into his armchair, “I think maybe this is all one big misunderstanding and that you should go and talk to Hyunjin about it.”
“He better be quick, his ship leaves to go back to Ta in around an hour.” Minho mumbled under his breath.
Jisung shoots up like he had just been hit with an electric current.
“He’s leaving?!”
Minho actually looks somewhat surprised at this outburst,
“What he didn’t tell you?”
“No!”
Minho let out a sigh, a mumble of what sounds like ‘that idiot’ passing through his lips before pulling himself out of his chair, groaning like an old man as his bones creaked,
“Get in the car Han Jisung.”
He didn’t even give Jisung a chance to argue before he was turning to pull up Chan and Felix as well, herding them all to the front door like an perpetually annoyed sheepdog. Once they were all suitably squished into Minho’s tiny hovercar, he floored it, driving in such a way that Jisung was sure they were going to get pulled over– if they didn’t die first that is. Minho called it princely privileges, but Jisung didn’t think he would care all that much even if he wasn’t.
The one speed Minho couldn’t control though, was that of the neighbouring traffic, and he sat white knuckled at the steering wheel cursing under his breath all while Chan patted a placating hand on his thigh in an attempt to stop him from ramming into the line of cars in front. Quicker than they probably should’ve been – considering the distance to the docks from Chan’s house – they were pulling into park near where a huge glittering ship was docked, people going to and fro from the loading bay to the ship with big heavy boxes.
Immediately they all spilled out of the car, and started to scramble their way through all the people milling around, people Jisung now recognised to be Sehta’s. They managed to fight their way through the crowd, Jisung panting having run the entire way from the car to the boarding plank when he spotted a familiar shock of ruby red scrutinising a box of stuff before nodding and waving it onto the ship. It looked like that might’ve been the last box, as after clearing it for travel, Hyunjin began to make his way onto the boarding plank and Jisung felt panic rise in his throat.
“Hyunjin!”
He watched as Hyunjin’s head immediately whipped round, searching for the direction where Jisung’s voice had come from. When their eyes locked, he watches as Hyunjin cycles through a whole wave of emotions, happiness; shock; guilt. Even from this distance though, Jisung can see his eyes, pure black– just like always. He starts sprinting. Pushing his way through the final throng of people, throwing out sorries in his wake, he races up the boarding platform until he’s right in front of Hyunjin. Throwing all caution to the wind he does what he now knows is the unthinkable, grabbing Hyunjin’s hands and delighting in the hitched breath and pink cheeks it draws out from him.
“You weren’t going to tell me you were leaving?”
Hyunjin’s guilty look returns,
“I’m sorry Jisungie, it… it was too difficult for me to bear,” he squeezed Jisung’s hands, “how could I say goodbye to you civilly…”
Jisung laughed, high and bright,
“I don’t want you to say goodbye to me civilly, I mean, ideally I don’t want you to say goodbye to me at all but I understand you have to go back,” Jisung’s smile turned teasing, “but civilly… well what we’re already doing is far from civil isn’t it? My prince.”
Hyunjin gasped, hands involuntarily grasping Jisung’s tighter.
“You… you know? How did you… how long exactly…”
Jisung’s smile turned soft– apologetic.
“I only just found out today, about it all, the prince thing; the touching; your eyes,” at this Hyunjin looked away shyly, “Chan finally came back home and chewed me out heavily before he realised that I had no idea what he was talking about.”
Hyunjin looked sheepishly at him,
“You’re not… mad at me?”
Jisung shook his head vehemently,
“Why would I be mad at you?”
“For keeping everything a secret to you,” Hyunjin shrugged.
“Well to be honest Hyunjin, that’s also on me for not bothering to research some on Sehta’s once I realised I knew nothing about them.”
Hyunjin giggled a little,
“That’s ok Jisungie, there’s a lot I don’t know about Humans either.”
They stood there for a few moments, hands and eyes locked as they drank in each other before Jisung laughed softly, Hyunjin’s eyes dripping with affection when he heard.
“So Hyunjin, now even though I’ve been told that according to your biology you… like me, I need to hear it from you properly, do you… is it all true? With your eyes?”
Hyunjin chuckled,
“It’s a lot more than just like Jisung, but yes, what you have heard about my eyes is true, I consider you as my greatest love.”
Jisung let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding, smile dazzling at his gazed up at Hyunjin.
“Me too. Like you I mean. Probably love you actually but I’ve only had about an hour to process that you like me too so everything is a bit. Jumbled.”
Hyunjin’s gaze was so fond as he looked at Jisung and how Jisung had ever managed to convince himself he was the only one catching feelings he’ll never know, finally paying attention to how Hyunjin’s eyes were sweet as honey whenever he looked at Jisung. They were interrupted by a member of the crew shouting for all remaining passengers to board, and Hyunjin scowled. Laughing at his cuteness, Jisung untangled one of his hands from Hyunjin’s to cup his cheek gently, thumb smoothing across the skin there, Hyunjin leaning into the touch like a cat.
Sadly he pulled away, pressing his hand back into Jisung’s and blushing once more.
“Unfortunately I can’t take you with me just yet, there’s a process I have to follow before I can introduce my mate to the palace and there’s so many other things to prepare too but– why are you smiling like that?”
“Nothing, it’s just, you’re saying we’re boyfriends now right?”
Hyunjin huffed out a sigh, attempting to sound annoyed but instead just pure fondness sounded through.
“It’s a little more serious than just boyfriends Jisungie but yes, we’re together as lovers.”
Jisung flushed, more serious than boyfriends? Did this mean they were fiances? Hyunjin laughed and Jisung realised he had said that outloud.
“Yes, I at least, have the view to marry you and make you my life partner, but I understand things don’t work as quickly for Humans correct?”
Jisung grinned up at him cheekily,
“It might not work as quickly for some Humans but I could think of nothing better than spending my life with you Jinnie.”
Jisung delighted in the colour that flushed across Hyunjin’s cheeks as he said that, his shy smile so adorable it activated Jisung’s cuteness aggression and he couldn't help one last little tease on Hyunjin’s behalf,
“Besides, I’ve always wanted to be a princess.”
That startled a laugh from Hyunjin, soft eyes crinkling as he brought one of Jisung’s hands to his lips, brushing them against his knuckles before letting go of his hands.
“Well then my princess, I will be back for you soon. In the meantime we will keep in touch like we do normally, it will be even more difficult for me to be away from you now but I will take comfort in the fact that next time we meet, it will be for me to take you home.”
Jisung blushed but smiled all the same,
“I look forward to that day then Hyunjin, safe travels.”
Hyunjin smiled and nodded, starting his ascent up the boarding plank as Jisung watched him leave, the moment bittersweet almost, that they finally admitted their feelings but now Hyunjin had to leave. Hyunjin stopped just before he boarded though, gazing back down at Jisung and Jisung blew him a kiss, watching as Hyunjin threw his head back to laugh and then returned with his own. Finally he entered the ship, the door closing behind him and Jisung made his way back down to where his friends were waiting for him, Minho was the first to speak,
“Well that was grossly romantic, you owe me a meal for making me watch all of that.”
Felix smacked him on the arm,
“Don’t say that! It was so sweet Jisungie it made me cry!”
Minho pulled a face but wiped away a stray tear clinging to Felix’s lashes all the same. Chan just smiled at Jisung, pulling him into a hug and murmuring lowly,
“I’m proud of you. Even though you are a colossal dumbass.”
Jisung returned his squeeze and then turned around in his arms to watch as Hyunjin’s ship pulled out of the dock as Minho and Felix bickered in the background. Yeah, he thought to himself, he would wait for Hyunjin forever if he had to.