Lonely Kitten

47

Minho, Hyunjin and Felix had recently dressed up nicely and shot the dance cover they've been working on. With the release of 3racha's new album mere days away, the three rappers had been the first to see it and while Jisung was over the moon, admiring Minho's moves, Changbin had been in a sour mood ever since. Felix had tried to talk to the older but to no avail. Changbin wouldn't tell any of them why he was so upset and no matter how much space they gave him, his mood didn't improve. It was now the day of the album release and with all the work completed, the friends had decided to hang out and check social media for their fans' reactions. Since Chan's apartment was the largest, they agreed to meet there again. The Aussie had a small balcony and with the weather being sunny though not too warm, they wanted to have a barbecue. It didn't matter that they had to eat inside, as long as the grill fit onto the balcony, they'd be fine.

Minho and Felix went to shop for meat together, being the carnivores of the group, the others trusted them to make a good choice. Hyunjin planned on preparing vegetable skewers and with his mate busy, Jisung volunteered to help him. He barely knew the older personally and wanted to change that. The duo visited a market together and Jisung offered his apartment as their workplace. They'd meet up with the others at Chan's apartment around lunchtime. It was awkward at first, the rapper too introverted to start the conversation himself but luckily, Hyunjin managed to break the ice and the younger soon realized how easy it was to talk to the other. Jisung had known about the dancer being a drama queen from their hangouts but talking to him in private, he realized that his hyung's thoughts were so much deeper than one would expect from how easy it was to make him laugh. They had talked a bit about Jisung's relation ship with Minho and Hyunjin was surprised to learn that it was the rapper's first relationship.

He eventually admitted how frequently he himself had dated and though Jisung barely dared to ask, he really wanted to know why it never lasted. As they stood beside each other, poking skewers into the sliced vegetables, the rapper jumped over his shadow and hummed: "You dated quite a few people but, correct me if I'm wrong, you're not with anyone right now. How come?" - "Um, I guess I dated for different reasons than you and Minho", Hyunjin muttered, slightly surprised that Jisung had decided to dig deeper. His hands shook a bit and he failed to put the next piece of vegetable onto the skewer. "You and Minho date because you like each other, that much is obvious by the way you act around each other. For me it was more asking someone out that I found remotely attractive, simply because it was good for reputation at school. If I had never been in a relationship, people would start talking and I didn't want that. Plus, it was nice to have someone around, though it didn't matter all that much who it was", Hyunjin breathed, placing the skewer into the box.

They were quiet for some time, Jisung not knowing if he had pushed too for but eventually, the older continued: "I mainly dated girls because as I said appearances but honestly, the more I think about it, I think I'm more attracted to boys. It was nice being with my exes while it lasted but at least one of them is creepy. She cheated on me and when I found out and broke up with her, she made up some rumors. For some time most of the school gossip was about me for all the wrong reasons." He couldn't continue as tears started to pool in his eyes and Jisung could hear how close his voice had gotten to breaking. Placing the skewer, he had just finished into the box, the rapper wiped his hands on a towel and hugged Hyunjin.

Though the dancer was surprised by the sudden skinship, he melted into the touch. He was glad that Jisung didn't criticize him for his dating habits, especially because he had changed since they had become friends. Now that Hyunjin had gotten closer with Minho and Felix and also had 3racha to spend time with, he didn't feel so lonely anymore and was perfectly fine with being single, as long as there weren't any odd rumors. It was also reassuring to see both of his closest friends in a same-sex relationship, so he didn't have to feel insecure about himself liking the same gender. "If it's about having someone around, I know we work a lot but, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one gladly willing to hang out. Yeah, it's not the same but you should know that you have us, yeah?", Jisung hummed, pulling away. Hyunjin gave a teary nod before wiping his eyes and smiling at the rapper. While he excused himself to the bathroom to wash his face, Jisung finished the last few skewers and closed the box, only waiting for the dancer, so they'd be ready to leave.

When Hyunjin emerged from the bathroom, Jisung could tell he had applied a thin layer of concealer and maybe some lipgloss? He didn't know much about makeup but if he thought back, it wasn't the first time he saw the older wear it. Though he wasn't sure if it was his place to ask, he wondered: "You sometimes wear makeup and you also did Felix' makeup when we hung out, right? What's it like?" - "Yeah, I did Felix' makeup", Hyunjin admitted surprised, "I don't know, I guess it sometimes makes me feel more confident. People are usually pretty rude when I put some on, so I don't do it often and never much anyway, but I like to feel pretty." - "Do you mean, you'd like to wear more if it wasn't for people telling you not to?", Jisung frowned and the older gave a shy nod. "Well, it's only us six this afternoon, so if you want to wear more than that...", the rapper muttered, "Felix doesn't mind and I know that Minho, Chan and Changbin wouldn't mind either, not that they'd really have a say if it makes you feel pretty."

"You mean, I could put on more? Like now? I have some stuff with me. Could I, if it doesn't make us late, ...", Hyunjin rambled, stunned by Jisung's acceptance. Glancing at the clock, the rapper realized that they still had some time to spare and nodded at the older, who happily ran over to his bag and pulled out a small cosmetics bag. Now it was Jisung's turn to grow shy and he fiddled with his fingers, mumbling: "Can I- Can I watch how you put it on? I don't know anything about makeup but I'm curious." - "Sure", Hyunjin laughed, opening his cosmetics bag and quickly explaining what, the individual items were. He kept explaining as he applied them and Jisung watched, stunned. It seemed that despite Hyunjin never wearing much, he actually knew a lot more than he put to use and the rapper had to admit, it looked amazing. The older noticed his look and offered: "Do you want me to put some on you too?" Jisung's eyes widened. He hadn't meant to stare like that.

Though the rapper was worried how Minho might react, he was also curious what it would feel like to wear makeup and how he'd look, so he nodded shy. Hyunjin seemed delighted to be able to share his hobby with someone and gladly put some makeup on Jisung too, though he didn't go overboard as he didn't want to spook the younger by completely altering his appearance. When he was done, the rapper couldn't stop admiring himself in the small pocket mirror Hyunjin had handed him. It was a bit strange as he had never seen himself that way but he kind of liked it. "Don't worry, if Minho doesn't like it, I'll give him a piece of my mind", the dancer laughed, packing up. They were almost ready to go, when Jisung stopped him, pleading: "Let's take a selfie together first."

They took a few selfies with both of their phones, before grabbing their bags and the food they had prepared and heading out. None of them had checked their social media accounts yet because they had wanted to do that once they were all gathered to enjoy the reactions together but to be honest, Jisung was more nervous about Minho's reaction to his new look. He hoped they older would like it and even if he didn't, Hyunjin's sparkling eyes had been worth it. The dancer was excited about not having to hide his hobby like some kind of guilty pleasure and Jisung's curiosity gave him the opportunity to talk about it as well as to show someone the whole experience and he had to admit, he was proud of how the rapper's look had turned out.