like i need u ━ yeonbin. ×

23 - are we just friends?

soobin was quiet for a few moments. "...i don't really know."

yeonjun didn't understand why this annoyed him. to be fair, they weren't really... anything. nothing labeled, anyways. but a small part of him, a part he tried his best to silence and push down, worried that history seemed to be repeating itself.

"look, i'll see you when i get back," soobin offered in a placating tone. "junie, don't be mad... i'm just meeting my parents. and you know i'd bring you along if you wanted, but i don't want to force you into anything. you said-"

"yeah, i know what i said," yeonjun sighed. he plopped down onto the surface on his bed and grabbed a pillow to rest his upper body on. "how'd you come and find me yesterday?"

"oh... your friends asked me to pick you up. you're a cute drunk, you know?"

attention diverted, yeonjun began to wonder how he'd acted yesterday around soobin. he'd probably said something embarrassing, hadn't he?

"...how so?"

as soobin spoke, yeonjun could nearly hear the wide grin spanning his face, "well, let's see... you said i was very handsome... you didn't recognize me very much... and when i called you kitten you said 'meow'."

yeonjun could feel how much his face was burning. "oh my god... oh jesus-"

"hey, it was cute," soobin insisted, "don't get all embarrassed now."

"hearing how i acted and this killer headache i've got are convincing me more and more to never drink again," yeonjun groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"good. wait 'til you're the correct age to even take a sip of it again," soobin chastised. "be sure to stay hydrated today and eat at least a bowl of cereal before taking any medicine, ok? i'll have someone send you the key for your stuff... let's see, is that it?"

yeonjun rolled his eyes. "you sound like a dad. i can take care of myself..."

"sure you can, baby. now, be a good boy and get your rest. i'll have a more serious talk with you when i get back."

and with that, the call ended. yeonjun was confused. seriously, how had he found the way soobin was talking hot?

that was definitely something to file away and work through later.

for the moment, he was bored. maybe he could make good on his new friend's promise to hang out?

yeonjun rolled over onto his back and sighed as the energy seemed to drain from his body. being social was hard. he decided to take a well-earned break for a few moments, while his head rested, and his eyes started to close...

a few moments later, yeonjun snapped his eyes open. the front door was being opened. parents.

yeonjun swiftly walked over to the door of his room and closed it, twisting the lock into place. he'd definitely have to deal with his parents soon, but not now.

he jumped back into bed and scrolled through his contacts, looking for a certain name. what had he saved seungmin as?

oh. "suengiim". geez. drunk yeonjun was a horrible speller.

he quickly clicked on the contact before he could begin to second-guess himself.

when seungmin picked up, there was a slurry of echoed screeching and chaotic voices overlapping each other, but no greeting.

"mong?" yeonjun cringed at the loud noises on his friend's end of the line. "can you hea-"

"ju!" seungmin laughed charismatically. "you need something?"

"are you... busy?" he began to regret calling seungmin up; it was obvious he was preoccupied.

"hm... no. i've got loads of time."

as laughter sounded in the background, yeonjun seriously doubted seungmin was actually telling the truth.

"because, i was wondering if you'd want to hang out for a bit," yeonjun's voice began to shake, and his throat felt tight.

seungmin hummed, "uh, i didn't quite catch what you said? but, hey, we should really hang out!"

yeonjun used his free hand to twist the ends of the necklace in his fingertips, straining to hear his friend's voice. "where are you?"

"at the airport," seungmin laughed goofily. "i've actually got to go somewhere for a bit... ugh, duty calls."

'duty calls'? yeonjun asked, "what do you mean? you're traveling? for... a job?"

"oh, yeah. sound fun? wait, did i ever tell you what i do?"

"i don't think so...?"

seungmin sighed dramatically. "are you gonna be as weird about it as my ex was? ugh... i'm a bit of an accessory for rich people."

"an accessory. for rich people?" yeonjun questioned incredulously, "like a rent-a-boyfriend type thing?"

"oh, yeah. exactly like that," seungmin said cheerily. "it's ludicrous, babe. say, would you want in?"

"i don't know if i could do that."

"it's nothing, really," seungmin advocated, then cursed. "ok, i really do have to go now. i think i've tested this guy too far."

yeonjun began, "you're with one right no-?"

but he was interrupted by the sound of an eerily familiar voice on the end, crackling through the white noise of the airport, "you've got to be kidding!"

seungmin's voice sounded far away, and annoyed. "alright, alright, i hung up already! it was just-"

and his voice cut off.

yeonjun stared at the screen of his darkened phone, in shock. his mind scrambled to understand the conversation he'd just had.

it felt like a million tiny yeonjuns were running screaming around his brain, while fires ran amok and chaos ensued.

he didn't know how long he sat there, trying to rationalize. but by the time he came to some sort of organized thought, the sun had already set and the sky was a rapidly-darkening blue.

first things first. seungmin had a job that sounded like it was right out of a movie, and he seemed to offer yeonjun an opportunity to do the same.

second. he was at an airport, where someone had interrupted his call with yeonjun.

third... that voice sounded an awful lot like soobin.