-^* Are we clear? *^- | Haobin

*^- 2 -^*

NEW MESSAGE FROM JIWOONGIE HYUNG

I smiled.
"Yeah I think so. Everyone seems nice."
My smile faded thinking back on Zhang Hao and his mysterious presence.
"I was thinking of watching a new show, should we start one together?"

Our conversation trailed off into random things and our evening drew on. We ate takeout in the living room whilst watching a new show and Matthew complained about his work for a while. Eventually I thought I should get some chores done, so I collected our dirty washing and headed down the street to a laundromat near our apartment. It wasn't the same one as by the studio, no cats or upstairs boss. We'd been using this laundromat since moving in as we didn't have enough money to buy our own washing machine. It was a pretty nice one anyway, always quiet and played movies on a small tv in the corner of the room. I set my basket on the top of the machine whilst I shovelled Matthew's washing in first. I slotted his coins in and moved to the next machine along to deposit my own dirty clothes.
I sat down on the benches in the middle of the two rows of machines as I stared at the clothes swishing around in the water. An American movie played quietly on the TV, the lights of cars and busses glared past the window and I sniffed myself to check I smelled okay. I was wearing my pyjama bottoms with a baggy hoodie.
As I lost myself in my thoughts, the small bell on the door jingled as it opened. The bell rattled and a cold breeze flew over me, goosebumps prickling under my clothes.
I looked over to see a very familiar face striding in with a basket on his hip. He wore pink bunny patterned pyjama bottoms and a white puffer jacket with his hair clipped out of his face. I held back my laughter with every force within me and watched him carefully as he hadn't yet noticed me.
He began stuffing his clothes into a machine. A ringtone pierced the quietness of the room, it was a snippet of the song "you calling my name" by Got7. He sighed, pulling his phone out of his pocket to answer the call.
"Mm, what's up?" He asked, seeming exasperated. I let my ears listen as I half heartedly focused on my washing which continued to flop around in the washing machine.
"Yeah it got cancelled, why?"
I took a short glance at the TV, a show I liked when I was younger was playing. It was an animation about a clumsy panda. I let my eyes wander on the TV for a while.
"How am I supposed to play if I don't have a violin? Think a bit more hyung." He groaned. I turned my head and peered at him again. His big eyes met me with surprise. His mouth gaped slightly and he shoved the rest of his clothes in before grasping his phone with both hands.
"Hyung I'll call you later I need to do my laundry," he muttered quickly, hanging up the phone and staring at me once more.
"A-ah, Hanbin right? Oh my- uh I-" he stumbled over his words as he looked down at his clothes.
"Do you live around here?"
I smiled at his flustered state.
"Yeah, just up the hill," I replied.
"Ah...I don't live around here- I'm just- visiting friends and stuff..."
I nodded and took another glance at his clothes. This was the boy that had shoved past me on first introduction, refused to tour me around and tried to seduce me in some kind of way when I was leaving. Now, he wore pink pyjamas in a laundromat with his hair in clips, face scrunched up with overwhelming embarrassment.
He glanced at me, seeming flustered with himself and bit his lip. As he seemingly went to speak, my phone rang.
I slid it out of my pocket and held it to my ear, not bothering to look at the contact.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Hyung I'm just checking everything's alright, you've been gone a while."
"Yeah I'm okay Mashu. I should be back soon the laundry's almost done now."
"Okay hyung, I'll get to bed then."
"Goodnight!"
"Night."
I looked back over to Zhang Hao, his cheeks still blushed as he turned to check his own laundry.
He quietly closed the machine door with a click and pulled a packet of gummies out of his coat pocket. I kept my eye on him, enjoying the lingering awkwardness of him in the moment.
"So...whose house are you visiting?" I asked out of curiosity. He looked up at me seemingly flustered again as he swallowed a gummy.
"Just a uh- friend of mine."
"Nice."
"Who was on the phone?" He inquired back.
"Just a friend."
"Ah."
How mysterious.
The awkward air seemed to thicken with our unsureness. It was almost laughable, the Zhang Hao who had flirted earlier, that confidently sexy man, where was he now? Now he pouted his cherry lips as he slid little heart gummy's between them and stood with his feet slightly pointed inward, his other hand scratching his head.
Before the silence could get any more awkward, another person jingled through the door of the laundromat. Hao sighed with some sort of dread or frustration. I smiled cheerfully to myself and glanced over to the new stranger with us.
"Woah woah what's happening here?"
Stood at the door in a baggy hoodie, grey sweats and sliders over his white socks was Jiwoong. His hood was up, hair messy and eyebags slightly dark.
"Hyung- what are you doing here?" Hao suddenly asked before I could say anything myself.
"I thought I'd go to the convenience store and we could walk back together. Hanbin- what are you doing here?" Jiwoong asked as he stared at me with evident surprise.
I myself shared the surprise, but it came out of me with a wide smile.
"Oh hi hyung, I live just up the street from here."
"Woah really?! Us too!"
I glanced over to Hao, my smile remaining.
"Do you?" I asked teasingly as he stood with increasing redness on his ears.
"Mmm, me and Hao actually share a house around the corner. We'll probably see you around here more often then!" Jiwoong smiled as he sat beside me, glancing at Hao innocently. Hao nodded half heartedly with his embarrassment seeping through in his expression.
"Do you take the bus to work then?"
"Mm!"
"Ahhh~ we get a cab most days but it's a bit more expensive."
As Jiwoong nattered on, I felt those eyes on me, the same as how it had felt earlier that day in the staff room at work.
"So you and Hao live together?" I asked suddenly, unsure myself why.
Jiwoong glanced at Hao and smiled.
"Yeah we started living together not long after he started working at the studio, back then I was struggling to make rent so it was good having someone else helping me out. Our place isn't very big so we share a room. We're thinking of getting a bigger place at some point."
I nodded as I listened, noticing my laundry finishing its cycle in the machine.
"I also have a roommate, it is a big help," I chuckled, beginning to open the machine to shovel Matthew's wet laundry back into the basket.
"You should come over sometime, we could get drinks and hang out!" Jiwoong suggested.
I glanced over to the quiet Hao who stared at me with a glimmer of something in his eye that I couldn't quite define. Almost hopeful.
"I'll think on it, thank you for the offer." I smiled to Jiwoong as I finished pulling the washing out of the machine.
"I should be going now, my roommate will be wondering where I am..." I quickly spoke as I began to leave the laundromat, taking a Quick Look back to Hao again.
"Bye Hanbin, see you at work tomorrow~" Jiwoong smiled.
"Bye bye!"
I escaped the awkward atmosphere quickly, feeling a wave of relief as the cold air of the outside hit my face like icey water.
The passing car headlights lit up the side of my face and the chill began to get to me as I walked. I sped up my pace and jogged up the hill with my washing in hand.
I couldn't stop thinking about the flustered look on Hao's face. His demeanour was so different and there was so much I wanted to know about him. Maybe one day I should go and join them for drinks at their house...