Seungmin could not stop smiling after the day that he had just had. And even though classes weren't the highlight (they never are), Bangchan had earned Seungmin's enthusiasm.
And for once, Seungmin could'nt care any less.
'I'm home' he said, closing a wooden door behind him and taking his shoes off before leaving them right beside entrance.
A photo (preserved perfectly in a golden frame of Seungmin when he was a mere baby), sat upon a small table next to the entrance, a beautiful circular mirror complementing it graciously in addition. The tiles on the floor were a pearl white and guessing from the way they shined, Seungmin guessed his mother had cleaned once more today.
No one responded back while Seungmin began to walk down the hallway in silence, not a single word said from his mouth.
'Mum...dad?' he asked, peaking around the corner of a small walk in pantry.
'Are any of you home right now?'
But it was then that Seungmin walked to the back of the kitchen that he saw a lady, one hand on her hip and the other holding a green hose with water spitting right out of it. And it was obvious from this angle, that it was none other than his beautiful mother, Minji.
'Hey mum' he said, opening the back door and making the lady turn around in surprise.
'Oh my, Seungmin. You're home already? Why did I not hear you before?' she asked, water still splashing in the same spot as before.
'Maybe because you were outside and the front door is located in the house?' Seungmin said, making the lady laugh and turn the hose off in response.
'Well then, why don't you go ahead tell me how your day went? I'll get dinner ready' she said, ushering the boy inside and leaving the hose on the floor without care, small droplets of water still pouring from the hose's head that anyone could see without needing to be up close.
╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
'So I made a new friend today' Seungmin said in between bites of kimbap as his mother sat across from him, a bowl of Caesar salad right out in front of her.
'Is that so?' she replied, mixing the salad around before taking a bite into a piece of chicken and egg.
'Let's hear it then'
'Well, his name is Bangchan. Oh and get this! He isn't from Korea actually, he's from Australia, Sydney I think...oh and he's really cool and happy. He really brightens up the mood whenever he steps in the room, sorta like those people who are just being them without a care. I wish I had his confidence' he replied, eating another piece of kimbap.
Something in that comment made his mother grow silent and her eyes look down in a way Seungmin could not explain. Her face was a lot less enthusiastic, and he could tell just from the way she chewed, that Seungmin had already snapped a nerve.
She's always like this.
Seungmin knows that.
Sometimes some things are best said away from her because if she does not end up liking it, you won't have an easy way out next time.
Seungmin knew that.
He just could'nt put his finger on what he had done wrong, sadly.
'...Is he...nice to you?' she asked, finally looking at Seungmin.
'He doesn't swear or say mean things to you, right?'
'Well no, if he did, then I wouldn't of mentioned him-'
'Aussie kids...they don't have any boundaries when it comes to respect for others. This is why we raised you here, Seungmin, so that way, you can stay on this island, and they can stay on theirs' she replied, eating a slice of red tomato.
'You'd be surprised mum, he's really caring...and fine...'
'Fine? Fine is not a word a normal man should use to describe another man, it is just not normal, Seungmin. He is only good looking towards the girls, not the boys, so get that thought out of your head. I am very disappointed in you for saying that you know?' she commented, shaking her head.
'We were not born to raise a queer-'
'Mum, it was just one word' Seungmin said back, raising his voice.
Another nerve snapped once more.
'Can I even talk to you about anything now? Bangchan and I are just freinds. We are just friends'
'Do not talk to me like that again boy or you're getting grounded, alright?' she snapped back, still holding back the way she yells all the time.
'And if I hear or see that you are boy crushing on him, my my Seungmin, you will not see him again. Now go and clean your plate. I want an early night from you after that talk' she added, making Seungmin getting up off the floor and suppressing the urge to yell back in response.
What did he expect though? After all, his parents have never been a huge fan of Seungmin making friends because all they care about are grades and him getting accepted into a prestigious university just like his current high school. And while lost in thought (while scrubbing his dish), did Seungmin's phone receive a notification. Perking up and looking over to the right did his phone turn on, a white bar now present on the screen.
The contact named "Bangchan".
'Hey mum, can I call um...Han right now? I want to know if he's attending school next week' he asked, putting the dish down and drying his hands on a red cloth.
'Sure, just make sure that plate is cleaned well' she responded, turning the TV onto a dating, reality TV show and a lady in a nice beach dress.
'Okay, I'll be right back' he said, taking the phone and dashing to his room, locking his door in addition.
'𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚍?' the message said, making Seungmin open the app and reply back.
Thank goodness Bangchan had messaged him at the right time. If it never happened, who knows if Seungmin would of been able to scrub that plate any longer.
'𝙸 𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚜...𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢 𝚖𝚞𝚖 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚐𝚘. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚘 𝚒𝚍𝚔 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗' he responded, watching the three dots next to Bangchan's profile picture move.
'𝙾𝚑 𝚘𝚔...𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚘? 𝙸𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚖𝚎? 𝚆𝚘𝚊, 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 :𝟹'
Shit. Seungmin did not want that typed.
'𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚢𝚙𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝, 𝚒𝚝 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊...𝚒𝚍𝚔...'
'𝙲𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚝? 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚑, 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙸𝚍𝚌 𝚝𝚑𝚘, 𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚂𝚎𝚞𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚑𝚎𝚑𝚎𝚑𝚎 :>'
'𝙸'𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚝...'
'𝙼𝚖𝚖𝚖, 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢'
He really knows how to get away with things.
'𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚟𝚘 𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚏𝚏'
Arvo?
'𝚆𝚝𝚑 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚟𝚘?' Seungmin replied with a puzzled expression on his face.
'𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝙰𝚞𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚎 𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 "𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚘𝚘𝚗". 𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝙸 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎'
'𝙶𝚘 𝚊𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍, 𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚒𝚏 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚘. 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠'
'𝚔𝚔'
It was then Seungmin opened his bedroom door and looked out into the hallway to see his mother packing her hand bag and sliding a pair of sunglasses on her face, that made him want to stop texting.
'I'm going down to the main street for a small party, Seungmin, and I probably won't be back until nine. Your father won't be home until ten though (his shifts are long, as you know) but is that ok with you?' she asked out loud, not knowing that Seungmin was watching from his door.
'Um...sure mum. Have a good time' he replied, making the lady smile happily.
'You too, see you soon' she added before slipping on a pair of black shoes, opening the front door and closing it behind her, leaving the whole house wrapped in dead silence.
Back at nine? That gives Seungmin a whopping four hours to do what he wants until she arrives back home, and until he has to get into bed. But four hours at home is never fun alone, and Seungmin knows that. Suddenly, a notification from Bangchan popped up on his phone, sending a ping through his ears and an idea lit in his head.
Maybe he didn't have to spend the whole night by himself. Maybe, Bangchan would want to join him.
Responding to this thought, Seungmin opened the "messages" app and completely ignored Bangchan's message he had just sent ("im so bored istg...") before typing his own, and at haste pace.
One small tap on the blue button, and Seungmin would get what he wants.
'I have a bad feeling about this...' Seungmin thought, his finger hovering over the button in silence.
'But then again...no, it will be fine. This will be fine '
Tap.
'𝚆𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚎? 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚞𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚢 𝚛𝚗' he had typed, Seungmin trying to not over think it.
The three dots next to Bangchan's profile picture moved (him with a small wolf plushie) before a message popped up on Seungmin's screen, a smile appearing across his face in response.
'𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚑, 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚞𝚛 𝚊𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒'𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚙 :)'
╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
Wait. Now all Seungmin had to do was wait. Wait until that boy with blue eyes turns up at his door and comes in to keep him company. That's all Seungmin has to do.
But at this moment in time, seconds felt more like minutes than normal and it made Seungmin feel queasy in a way. His heart beat went slightly up as well, making him question if this was even a good idea in the first place. And him being slumped upside down in the most uncomfortable posture on his new, stiff couch doesn't make him feel any better, too.
Maybe it was best if he kept his mind off Bangchan's arrival.
No, no he can't do that. It just doesn't seem right at all.
At this point, Seungmin doesn't know what to do with himself. "Asap..." as soon as possible...ok cool, Bangchan will be here soon. And when he is here, Seungmin doesn't need to worry. Bangchan will keep him busy. Until nine...until nine...until nine he will-
'Ding dong' went the front door bell of his house, making Seungmin fall off his couch and struggle to get up in scare.
'Asap...he really meant that? ' Seungmin thought, rubbing his arm in slight pain from the tumble and walking down the corridor to open the door for him.
Don't panic don't panic don't panic don't panic...don't...panic.
...Shit-
'Hey Seung!' Bangchan said, his hands behind his back and a black jumper hugging his chest warmly, a ray of afternoon sunlight lighting his face up.
'Shit shit shit, what the heck do I say? '
'I um, I thought you might want a drink so I brought some wine' he added, holding three bottles of wine out front for Seungmin to take, which took him a little while to process.
'Mate, your house is so big-'
'I'm sorry Bangchan, but I don't drink wine' Seungmin said, putting the green bottles at the table next to the front door inside.
'Not yet, anyway '
'Oh, I know. I just thought your parents might want some. It's quite nice of them to let me come over actually-'
'They don't know about this'
'...Oh'
'Yeah...um, come inside?' Seungmin asked, opening the door even further for Bangchan to get through, even though it was not necessary in the first place.
His eyes were still that same, beautiful blue, but his out of school clothes were definitely something else. Apart from the black hoodie which Seungmin had seen on him when they first met, the acid washed baggy jeans complemented his style on a whole other level. And with his black converse and his black phone case...Seungmin could tell he liked that colour a lot.
Closing the door behind Bangchan, Seungmin wondered over to the kitchen, turned on the kettle and got two mugs out.
'Want a drink?' he asked, as Bangchan slowly made his way down the hallway (his eyes fixated on all the beautiful paintings hung on the walls).
'Sure' he said, taking a seat at the dining table and looking around the house, still completely amazed by Seungmin's home.
'I'll have a Jasmine tea, they're my favourite type of drink right now'