This Friend | Yeonbin

13

Soobin P.O.V.

There’s a knock on the door.

Oh man.

I’m so not ready for this.

I’ve changed my outfit maybe ten times. So now my bed is covered in clothes, although everywhere else is clean. I even lit a sandalwood candle to try to make sure my room smells nice.

The outfit I ended up settling for is a You Me at Six band shirt I got from when I saw them live, skinny black jeans, and my Vans.

I think I look good.

I’m not totally confident in my decision to wear a band tee, but I know from trying on almost all my clothes I’m not going to be totally confident in any of them.

And I’m out of time. I scoop up all rejected choices and throw them into the closet and shut the door.

Presto, instant clean room.

I jog down to the foyer. Earlier, I scanned the house to make sure there are no obvious signs on display of who Taehyun and Dad are.

I had to hide a few photos in my room, like one from Taehyuns high school graduation, a few of Mum, and one with my grandparents. I triple-checked and am sure I did a good job.

Eddie is jumping up and down, pressing his paws against the door, and I can see a male figure outside. I grab on to Eddie’s collar and open the door.

“Hey, hey,” says Yeonjuns.

Even under the harsh porch light, he looks fantastic. I’ve never seen him wear casual clothes, but they suit him really well. He’s wearing a dark red T-shirt and navy skinny jeans, along with cool Nikes that were probably really expensive. They look kind of extra.

“Hey,” I say. “Thanks for coming.”

“No, thanks for having me.”

Eddie is going wild, like he wants to lick him to death.

I mean, I get that.

He crouches and starts petting Eddie. “Who’s a good boy?”

Eddie sits proudly and lets Yeonjun rub his chest.

“He likes you,” I say. “He’s normally way more skittish with new people.”

“Really? That’s, like, the highest compliment possible. I love dogs.”

“Me too.”

Yeonjun stands. Oh man, Eddie really does like him. He’s nudging at his legs, wanting more attention. But now he is looking at me.

What’s the proper greeting for something like this?

I go for a handshake, and he ignores it, going for a hug instead. And he’s a great hugger. He’s so firm, and yet we kind of sink into each other.

It’s perfect.

“Should I take my shoes off?” he asks as we break apart.

“Nah, it’s fine.”

“Cool.”

We walk inside.

“Anyway,” I say. “Um, are you hungry?”

He shoves his hands into his pockets. “I am, yeah. Is that all right? I could’ve eaten before, but I thought-”

“Yeah, dude, ’course. I was thinking we could order pizza or something. There’s this New York–style place down the road that does honestly the best pizza I’ve ever had.”