They arrived at the Korean barbecue restaurant and all 6 of them sat down on the floor at the long table. Seungmin and Hyunjin sat next to each other and Minho sat in front of them. "Wow, it's been a minute since all of us could come out together right?" Felix said after everyone got settled.
"Yeah it feels like ages since Minho left his building. It must have been a shock to your system when you had to put on real clothes to come out tonight. Are you feeling light headed with all this fresh air?" Seungmin asked, teasing mercilessly.
"It's a bit overwhelming and my shoes are very uncomfortable. Thank you for your concern." Minho replied sarcastically.
Seungmin smirked and Hyunjin looked at the both of them in shock and thought to himself 'I thought they were friends... What's with this atmosphere?'
"You are one to talk, Seungmin. I feel like we haven't seen you around in months, but I think I understand now that you must have been distracted." Chan said looking at Hyunjin up and down real quick.
"Hey he's been around Channie, you are the one that has been so wrapped up in your boyfriend lately." Changbin said.
Felix shot him a look and Changbin looked confused. "Ex boyfriend..." Chan said sadly.
"Oh shit, uh sorry Channie, I forgot..." Changbin said with a painfully awkward expression.
Felix patted Chan's back to comfort him before looking at Seungmin to change the subject. "Uh yeah, I have been busy lately. This is my friend Hyunjin, he works with me at the museum and we have been spending a lot of time working on my upcoming debut exhibit." Seungmin said.
"That's right, what was the theme again?" Minho asked.
"Love." Hyunjin replied.
"Interesting, the two of you spending so much time together... researching the topic of love." Minho said with a smirk.
"It's not all that interesting, we mostly just sit in the dusty old archive room flipping through catalog books." Hyunjin replied.
"Hmm, and it's just you two alone, in this dark, secluded archive room?" Minho asked with a sly smile.
"Not everything is like your BL manhwas Minho, some of us have real work to do." Seungmin said furrowing his brows angrily towards him. Minho sat back, satisfied at successfully teasing Seungmin.
"Yeah, it's nothing like that. Seungmin and I are just friends." Hyunjin said quickly.
Ouch. Even though he knew that was the truth, hearing it come out of Hyunjin's mouth did not feel great. Seungmin picked up his bottle of soju and began chugging it.
"Whoa! I guess we are getting Party Animal Seungmin tonight!" Felix said excitedly, lifting his drink.
"Hey you should slow down Seungmin, you know you don't hold your liquor well." Chan said with concerned eyes as he watched Seungmin.
"Chill out Chan, you aren't bartending right now. You don't get to decide when to cut him off. Drunk Seungmin is the most tolerable of Seungmins. Let's go!" Minho said as he began chugging his own drink.
All of them drank except Chan, surprisingly the bartender hated drinking alcohol. In fact the only real reason Chan got into bartending at all was to counsel and help those that came to the bar needing a shoulder to cry on. Their friend group always said it was his way of giving free therapy.
Hyunjin drank but not too much, he had let Seungmin see too many embarrassing sides of him already. He looked over to the brunette beside him, with his rosy cheeks and wide grin. He really looked in his element, joking and laughing with his friends. It was a fun side of Seungmin that was very different from his usual more serious demeanor.
Hyunjin liked getting to know all the sides of Seungmin, he continued to stare at him as he wondered if there were even more sides to him. Would Seungmin let him see all those parts, the good, the bad and the ugly? That's all he wanted as he looked at him. He found himself longing to know everything about him.
Minho narrowed his eyes at Hyunjin across the table as he noticed him staring at Seungmin. "Hey Seungmin, let's do a drinking contest." Minho said with a mischievous grin.
"You're on!" Seungmin yelled, unable to turn down a challenge against Minho.
They decided to go shot for shot until someone tapped out. Minho had a high alcohol tolerance and Seungmin most certainly did not. After seeing that Seungmin was good and drunk, Minho did something he didn't often do. He tapped out early and let Seungmin win.
Everyone called cabs and were waiting outside for their rides when Seungmin's legs started to feel like jelly. He almost collapsed to the ground before Minho caught him. He leaned in to whisper in his ear "Now I let you win for a reason, kiss him while you still have the liquid courage and confidence coursing through your veins."
"What?" Seungmin asked him.
"He wants it too, trust me." Minho said as he propped Seungmin up against the outside wall of the restaurant and left to get into his cab with Felix and Changbin.
Chan's cab came next and left only Seungmin and Hyunjin outside of the restaurant waiting. Seungmin looked at the back of Hyunjin's head as he continued to lean against the wall. Could Minho be right? Did Hyunjin want to kiss him? Their cab arrived and Hyunjin helped Seungmin get in before climbing into the back seat beside him.
They got dropped off in front of their building and Hyunjin acted as a crutch for Seungmin as they made their way up the stairs to their apartment.
Seungmin was heavy and Hyunjin was only able to make it to the couch, feeling like he was about to collapse. As he tried to set Seungmin down gently he fell with him, laying half way on top of him.
Seungmin wrapped his arms around Hyunjin's waist and pulled him tight against his body as he drunkenly said "Mmm, I don't think you and I have ever hugged like this before. It's nice."
No they definitely hadn't. Hyunjin's eyes widened and he gulped nervously as Seungmin began running his fingers through his hair. Hyunjin laid there, cheek pressed against his chest, hearing his heartbeat as Seungmin continued to brush his hands gently through his hair.
Hyunjin felt so at peace in that position. The warmth of Seungmin's body under him, but he knew it wasn't a good idea. There was a reason they didn't hug or hold each other like this.
Hyunjin couldn't casually cuddle with Seungmin like Felix did because his feelings for Seungmin were not like Felix's. He lifted his head to look at Seungmin and his breath caught in his throat as he saw how close their faces were.
Seungmin brought one of his hands to Hyunjin's cheek, tracing a finger from his jaw to his lips. With heavy eyelids, he gently touched his finger to Hyunjin's plump pout and said quietly "You know, I think you are pretty too."
He felt himself growing sleepier and sleepier. He looked at Hyunjin's face, felt his soft lip against his finger and thought 'Liquid courage my ass. My inhibitions may be down but my fear is stronger than ever. Looking at him like this, I don't want to lose him. There's no way this beautiful person could have feelings for me... He's perfect and I'm broken, belonging to the island of misfit toys. I can't bring myself to kiss these lips even though I so desperately want to. I'm a coward, I just wish he would do it.'
Hyunjin's breath became shallow as Seungmin's finger remained on his lip. 'Fuck. I want to kiss him so bad. Lean down and press my lips to his. Kiss him while he's half asleep. Before he wakes up tomorrow and hates me for taking advantage of him in this state... but I can't. I'd rather stay like this forever than ever hurt him.'
Hyunjin then just laid his head back down to Seungmin's chest and held him closer. 'I will just have to be content to hold him like this while I can.' Hyunjin thought as he scooted further on to the couch, comfortably fitting into Seungmin's embrace.
Seungmin rested his head against the top of Hyunjin's head and felt an unusual heaviness in his heart. Albeit a strange feeling, it was actually a comforting weight, like a hug inside his chest. He fell asleep as this new feeling wrapped around him, suffocating him in the best way.
The next morning Seungmin woke up first to find them intertwined on the couch. He remembered everything from the night before and chuckled to himself lightly as he thought of what he said as he touched Hyunjin's lips. 'He was probably so confused since he didn't remember saying that to me when he showed up on my doorstep drunk that one night.'
He looked down at Hyunjin's angelic sleeping face and leaned down to kiss the top of his head lightly. 'I will pretend I'm still asleep so we can lay like this a little longer.' Seungmin thought as he laid his head back down and closed his eyes.
But Hyunjin had the same idea and was awake and already pretending. His cheeks flushed and he tried to contain his smile after feeling Seungmin kiss the top of his head. He nuzzled his face into Seungmin's chest, feeling so happy in his warm embrace.
But they couldn't stay like that forever and eventually woke up and went about their lazy Sunday morning. They both showered and then sat on the couch to watch their kdrama together.
They hadn't watched it together again since that one night. As they sat on the couch together, Hyunjin blushed thinking about all that went down that night and tried his best not to look at Seungmin's hands. He laughed a little to himself, still not believing that he got so horny from just a pair of hands.
Monday they had work and were both in the archive room researching the last bit of art pieces they needed to get for the exhibit. Hyunjin was standing by one of the book shelves and looking for a specific reference book.
He hadn't heard Seungmin come up behind him and turned around to say he couldn't find it just to be met with Seungmin's face very close to his.
The archive room really was a dimly lit place, quiet and tucked away just like Minho had joked. A perfect place to hook up if someone wanted to, and Hyunjin definitely wanted to.
He watched as Seungmin moved closer to him. Gasped as he reached past his head to rest his hand on the shelf behind him.
Seungmin looked at Hyunjin's face so close in front of him and his heart began to beat faster. He thought about what Minho had said about that room too and gulped as he brought his face closer to Hyunjin's, asking quietly in basically a whisper "Were you able to find it?"
Hyunjin stepped back towards the shelf, cowering in front of Seungmin. He was so nervous and his mind was racing but he wasn't the only one.
Seungmin looked down at Hyunjin's body and thought about grabbing his waist, pushing him against the shelf. For a split second imagined their hips pressed into each other as he licked and kissed his beautiful neck, marking it with a string of hickeys.
'Whoa.' Seungmin thought as he stepped away from Hyunjin quickly. 'What the hell was that?...'
He grabbed the book from above Hyunjin's head and said "Found it." He quickly walked away, sitting down and scooting under the table so Hyunjin wouldn't see the semi forming in his pants.
Little did he know that Hyunjin was leaning against the shelf taking deep breaths to calm himself down too.
Seungmin sat there staring at the open book but not seeing anything on the page as his mind spiraled. It wasn't just a fluke. He was feeling sexual attraction to Hyunjin again. But why? Why now? Why him?
Sure Hyunjin was otherworldly handsome but Seungmin had met plenty of beautiful people. Hell, his entire friend group could all be models. So it wasn't that.
What was it that made Hyunjin different from anyone he had romantic feelings for in the past? He had never even felt sexually attracted to people he tried to date before.
He looked over at Hyunjin as he walked over to the table. Hyunjin smiled nervously with his adorable eye smile as he sat down across the table.
'Of course.' Seungmin thought as he looked at him across the table. 'It's different with Hyunjin because Hyunjin is different... I think it's because... I am in love with him.'