"I can't believe you," Jongho said, feeling betrayed. "I've talked to you for over three years and you never listened but you meet a stranger for ten minutes and suddenly you've become a different person?!"
Yunho shushed his friend frantically, feeling extremely self-conscious because of the echoes Jongho's resonant voice made. Luckily, everyone nearby was too busy getting off work to pay much attention.
"To be fair, he showed me. You just talked," Yunho replied, recalling his eventful morning.
"Okay, now I'm genuinely hurt." Jongho faked a pout, which Yunho ignored.
Yunho bumped Jongho lightly on the shoulder. "You should be glad. You can stop worrying about me, and I can stop feeling bad for making you worry."
Jongho raised an eyebrow, his footsteps louder now that there are fewer people in the hallway. "Actually, I have to keep worrying for a while, in case this is all just temporary and you call me at some ridiculous hour tonight asking for help."
Knowing it was just a joke, Yunho smiled, but it didn't change the fact that there was some truth to Jongho's words.
"It's not easy to change a mindset," Jongho added, gauging Yunho's reactions carefully to avoid hurting his feelings.
"I know," said Yunho with a nod. He agreed because he was aware that the change came abruptly, almost as if he was under a magical spell.
"So what do you plan to do?" Jongho's lightened the mood with a brighter tone as they entered an elevator. "I definitely can't do whatever Mingi did to you, so tell me you're going to keep in contact with him and change for good."
Yunho, who was pressing the 'door close' button, turned around to face Jongho, his face flushed with incredulity. "Wha-I can't just depend on one stranger! We'll probably never meet again!"
Jongho widened his eyes in return. "How is he still a stranger after what you did this morning? Besides, you said he helped you and no one else can do that so far so the least you can do is to become friends with him, right?"
"I don't want to take advantage of him," Yunho mumbled. The elevator doors slid open and they stepped into the lobby.
Exasperated, Jongho stopped and made Yunho turn so they were face to face. "I didn't want to rub it in your face, but you're not admitting the truth. It's obvious that you have feelings for that guy."
The burning sensation on Yunho's cheeks was all too familiar. Too baffled to explain himself, he spun around and continued walking towards the building exit, pretending like he hadn't heard anything.
"I'll take that as a yes!" Jongho shouted behind Yunho, catching up slowly at a languid pace. "Stop running away! I'm not going to make fun of you!" He could barely hold in his giggles as he talked. "I believe in love at first sig-"
He swallowed the rest of that sentence when Yunho stopped suddenly without warning, creating a six-feet tall roadblock at the doorway.
"What's wrong?" he asked as he caught up with Yunho, trying to figure out what was so shocking.
Following Yunho's line of sight, Jongho spotted a man waving in their general direction on the other side of the glass windows that made up the whole front face of the building.
He had never seen the man before, but Yunho's reaction made it too obvious. It was Mingi.
Eventually, Yunho broke out of his trance and went outside to find out what Mingi wanted. Jongho had a grin on his face the whole time.
After short greetings and introductions, Mingi explained that he wanted to eat dinner with them.
"You guys go ahead, I have plans tonight," said Jongho immediately, already waving goodbye to the two soon-to-be lovebirds. On the way to the main road, he flashed Yunho a cheeky grin and got a murderous glare in return.
"We could still go together?" Mingi said nonchalantly as he watched Jongho leave.
Yunho, on the other hand, was trying very hard to avoid eye contact. After switching between the cars on the road, the trees along the street, and the floor, he decided he had to be polite and looked at Mingi.
Staring at Mingi's gentle eyes made Yunho's heart race, a sign that his body had already answered the question for him.
"Sure," he replied, knowing he would have stuttered and embarrassed himself if he had said anything else.
As if already expecting the answer, Mingi nodded calmly and began walking, signaling for Yunho to follow.
They walked the whole way, and as they approached their destination Yunho noticed how familiar the neighborhood was.
"It's right there." Mingi pointed to a restaurant with a long queue snaking from its entrance to the end of the block.
Yunho recognized the name of the restaurant immediately, remembering now that Jongho lived nearby and was a regular here.
Mingi and Yunho were given a table instantly thanks to Mingi's reservation. As they sat down across each other, Yunho straightened his back stiffly, partly because he was nervous, and partly because he felt like he needed to look formal and serious.
The restaurant was small and crowded, tables placed strategically to utilize the whole space effectively, with just enough space between each of them for waiters to walk past. Different shades of red made up the interior design, including the stained glass window and the small LED lights placed along the line where the ceiling met the walls.
It was still light out, but the translucent glass blocked most of them and whatever sun rays shone through were tainted with an uncanny red.
"I hope you can eat spicy food," said Mingi. He had to speak loudly to be heard over the other customers, and at one point he leaned his body sideways to make space for the waiter, who filled their cups with water and took their orders.
Beginning to wonder whether Mingi had an ulterior motive by calling him to dinner, Yunho answered with a brief "yes" and changed the topic swiftly.
"Why do you want to eat dinner with me?" Yunho fiddled with the napkin on his lap as he spoke.
Mingi took a sip of water before replying, "Because the best way to make a friend is to treat them to a meal."
Yunho could tell that Mingi had carefully formed that answer and that he was probably not telling the whole truth, but he still laughed. It was funny how he thought this was an actual date instead of a casual friendly gathering.
He played along, and at the same time, reminded himself that he had to take this relationship one step at a time if he wanted things to go smoothly. "Well, you've made yourself a new friend."
They chuckled at that playful remark just as a waiter approached their table with a tray of food in his hand.
Yunho shifted his chair to make space, but the leg of the chair caught the waiter's foot and the poor man lost balance, sending two bowls of stew straight onto the red carpet.
Some soup landed inevitably onto Yunho's shoulder, staining his light blue sweater in a spicy red color.
Mingi jumped to his feet in alert, a cup of ice water in his hands. The waiter apologized profusely as he picked up the ceramic bowls and cleaned up the mess on the table.
Yunho ignored all of it - the water and the waiter's apologies and the mild burning sensation on his right shoulder - and stood up to help wipe the table with his napkin. He took a handful of tissues and handed them to the waiter, pointing at his dirtied shoes.
"I'm okay," Yunho said, interrupting the man before he could say another "sorry". "I can just wash my clothes. You should clean yourself up too."
The waiter stretched out his hand reluctantly, but before he could touch the tissues, a deafening shout startled him and he was dragged away by an angry manager.
Yunho watched them go, feeling sorry for the young man who was bound to get an earful just because of an accident.
Then he remembered Mingi. "You didn't get sou-hey, what are you doing?" He turned back to the table to see Mingi with his phone held up.
He reached out to cover the camera, a futile attempt since the damage was already done.
"I took a video," said Mingi cheerfully.
Scrunching his face in confusion, Yunho sat down. "You're not posting it on social media, right?"
"No." Mingi replayed the video and showed Yunho. "It's to show you your true self."
Yunho frowned, trying to decide whether this was a prank.
"Not a lot of people would help the waiter like you did," Mingi continued. "You didn't even care about your sweater."
"He tripped on my chair."
Mingi chuckled at Yunho's obliviousness. "That's not the point. Can't you see you're a caring person? One day you'll realize the good traits you have and that what people think about you won't change who you are."
Yunho blinked, too taken aback to answer.
Smiling, Mingi pulled a few pieces of tissue from the tissue box and stuffed them into Yunho's hands. "At least try to clean your sweater."
The tissue rested in Yunho's relaxed palm. He stared into Mingi's sincere eyes and wondered what was so different about them that Mingi could see himself the exact same way he once saw himself whenever he stood in front of a mirror.
"Thanks," he finally said.
Another waiter arrived with two new bowls of steaming stew a few minutes later. The thrilling aroma of chili wafted up their noses.
Yunho and Mingi took their first bite as the sun began to set outside, turning the restaurant a deeper shade of red.
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As I proofread this chapter I realize how cute I made Yunho 🙈 Things are going well for the two of them 🥺❤️