Chapter Text
getting a call at 6 o’clock in the morning wasn’t sungchan’s favorite way to wake up and yet here he was. a loud bang echoes through the room as he blindly reaches for his phone on the deep auburn wooden nightstand by his bedside.
sungchan squints at the bright white screen in front of him, lighting up his face in the darkness of the shadows surrounding him. he only makes out a couple letters on the screen before he realizes who it is, cursing in his head as he catches a blurry glimpse at the time in his groggy state.
sungchan is careful not to wake the sleeping brunette girl next to him, not wanting to be yelled at. he carefully tears the covers off his body as holds his phone in his hand. the frigid air engulfs him, immediately causing chills to run through his body like an electric shock. he makes way into his deep walk-in wardrobe, closing the door behind him before flicking the light on. he finally answers on the last ring, clicking the speaker button and searching desperately for a hoodie as his eyes adjusts to the bright lights around him.
“what do you want?” sungchan groans, voice heavy with grogginess, not bothering to hide the annoyance lacing his tone either.
“what? you bastard, im still older than you, you should show some respect! where the hell are you?!” his manager and childhood friend taehyun, yells through the phone, and sungchan would so hang up if that decision didn’t come with really bad consequences.
“im at home, trying to sleep in if it wasn't for you calling me at the ass crack of dawn!” sungchan raises his voice as he runs a hand through his messy hair, eyes closed as he tries to chase sleep he’s so desperately missing right now.
“sungchan, listen to me right now and listen good,” his manager speaks low and calmly, sungchan knows that tone all too well. its the one he always uses right before sungchan has pushed him to his limit and he explodes.
his manager pauses, taking a deep breath before continuing, “ if you don't get your ass down here to the filming site right now, you and me are both gonna be in deep shit!” taehyun whisper shouts into the phone.
filming site? sungchan blacks out, thats not until tomorrow. hes convinced his manager has gone insane.
“hyung, what are you talking about? thats not until friday.” sungchan replies. he hears nothing but silence in return as he takes it off speaker, pressing it to his ear so he can hear better. he can’t believe his sleep is getting ruined all because his manager got the dates wrong.
“today is friday, you bastard! its friday. filming starts today. and i would know because im here, along with everyone else who was ready to begin filming thirty minutes ago but can’t because your stupid ass isn’t here! sungchan so help me i will ki—” sungchan suddenly shoots up from his leaning position pulling his phone away from his ear and checking the day at the top of his phone screen.
fuck.
oh fuck.
fuck, taehyun is right.
sungchan is so fucked.
“oh shit.” sungchan breathes out, eyes wide open and suddenly feeling like hes just had ice cold water dumped over him.
“sungchan get here as—“ sungchan hangs up, suddenly feeling a rush of adrenaline as he scrambles to find clothes to throw on.
“that little fucker.” taehyun says, looking down at his phone in disbelief once he realizes sungchan has hung up on him. he's only two years older but fears sungchan is gonna send him straight into an early death with all the stress he gives him.
“babe! babe! i gotta go!” sungchan says frantically muffled with a toothbrush in his mouth. the bathroom light shines onto his girlfriend who sits up, rubbing her eyes.
“what?” she asks in confusion, not understanding sungchan who has a mouth full of toothpaste.
“messed up filming dates. in a rush. have to go. taehyun is gonna kill me.” he summarizes shortly, button up half on as he walks over giving her a swift kiss to the forehead. before she can even respond, he pulls the other side of his shirt on, snatches his keys off the nightstand and slams the door shut behind him.
sungchan can't believe this is happening. the first day of filming one of TVU’s biggest dramas ever and he's late. of course he's late. sungchan’s luck isn’t all the way run out yet because he's gracefully avoiding traffic as he keeps an eye on the time. he’s five minutes away and thinking of all the embarrassing apologies and excuses he's gonna have to throw out.
sungchan pulls up, tires screeching as he puts the car in park, slippers still on, and buttons haphazardly done. taehyun is standing there waiting for him, car headlights lighting up his figure, arms crossed and looking extremely dissatisfied at the situation. sungchan cowers as he gets out of the car, looking a hot mess.
“im so—“ sungchan starts, only to be shut down. immediately.
“save it, sungchan. start apologizing like it’s the 1700s and they're thinking about guillotining your ass.” taehyun gives sungchan a once over, not even bothering to fix his appearance before he grabs a hold of sungchan’s shirt, and tosses him towards the wolves.
the wolves being the staff who have been frantic trying to figure out what the hell everyone was gonna do if one of the lead actors didn’t show up for the first day of filming. needless to say, everyone gave a sigh of relief at the sight of sungchan.
“im so sorry! im sorry, everyone!” sungchan shouts loudly, bowing in a sharp 90 degree angle every direction before his arm is pulled by one of the makeup artists he's seen before.
“no time for all that, go sit.” she orders him with a small grin on her face, leading him in the direction towards the trailer, into dressing room. the lights are so bright, sungchan’s eyes are probably red, and there’s a lot of commotion going on. it’s a familiar scene to sungchan, he just wishes he came more prepared because now he’s got a sinking feeling in his gut as he tries to remember his lines for today.
just as he's about to ask for his manager, taehyun shows up and smacks the paper on sungchan’s hand before he slaps it in sungchan’s awaiting hand.
“you better not screw up today, sungchan. we’re already forty five minutes behind schedule, you need to be on your shit today.” taehyun stands behind him, pointing a finger at him through the mirror. sungchan feels like he’s a kid getting scolded.
“i got it.” sungchan replies, nodding his head and trying not to roll his eyes before he starts to read over his lines.
once his hair and makeup are done and he’s sure his lines are down, he goes out to greet his fellow cast mates and staff members. he apologizes once more before his eyes scan over the familiar faces from the table read.
someone is….missing.
someone very important is missing, actually.
song eunseok. second lead and his costar. sungchan is sure of it. he doesn’t ask though, his pride his too high and he doesn’t wanna seem like he cares. he’d never give eunseok the satisfaction of thinking he cares about him.
eunseok and sungchan may have gotten off to a rough start and never recovered. sungchan is cursing himself out even more because now his second impression is just as bad as his first. but it’s eunseok who is the problem, not him. well, at least thats what he thinks.
two months ago, they had their first table read. sungchan had…..gotten the time wrong that day—not the date (like today). once he got there, coffee cup in his hand (not the best look, and in his defense he got it before taehyun called and told him he was late). he noticed that eunseok seemed to be the most upset by the look on his face and his crossed arms.
“im sorry everyone, i completely got the times wrong. director lee, i sincerely apologize as well.” sungchan bows, clasping his hands together in apology.
“it’s okay, mistakes happen. let us just begin.” director lee says with a small smile, sitting at the head of the long white table.
once the table read is over, everyone scatters, saying their goodbyes and eunseok is having a quiet conversation with the director. a moment later, director lee leaves with a pat on sungchan’s shoulder who breathed out a sigh of relief that the director isn’t mad at him. it’s just eunseok and sungchan now. the room is silent and sungchan walks over to the trash can, putting his foot on the lever before dropping his empty coffee cup in.
“so getting coffee was more important than being on time?” sungchan hears from behind him. eunseok’s eyes are darted, eyebrows furrowed, as he runs a hand through his hair, clicking his teeth in annoyance. sungchan can feel the way the tension rises, the temperature becoming cold as he freezes in place.
sungchan is shocked as the words ring through his ears like a loud bell. he breathes out before turning around slowly, facing his accuser.
“what?” sungchan questions as if he didn’t just hear him perfectly fine. his heart starts racing, adrenaline running. he hates confrontation.
“you heard me, didn’t you?” eunseok asks him, an aggressive tone lacing his voice as he takes a step towards sungchan who’s in disbelief.
‘what an asshole’, they both think at the same time.
eunseok’s hair is jet black, two strands falling onto his face perfectly and sungchan hates how handsome this guy is for being such a dick. unfortunately, he knows those two things seem to go hand in hand.
sungchan is tired, his limbs heavy, and he's so ready to go home, yet he's dealing with a prick who he's trying to remind himself that he’ll be working with for the next four to six months.
“shouldn’t you ask questions before accusing someone of something thats not true?” sungchan asks, trying not to let his voice waver. eunseok takes a step closer, clearly trying to intimidate him. they are just a few feet apart now, both not taking their eyes off the other.
“not true?” eunseok snorts, cocking his jaw as he looks off for a moment before his eyes land back on the tall brunette in front of him. “so you didn’t stop for coffee while coming almost an hour late? because i’m pretty sure that’s what happened.” eunseok says, and sungchan can tell he's got this guy rattled, adrenaline clearly heightening.
“you know….i cant stand people like you.” eunseok gives a bitter chuckle, looking off into the distance once more before his eyes catch sungchan’s again.
sungchan smiles before laughing in disbelief, “people like me? you don’t know me.” sungchan states, firmly.
sungchan raises his voice, something he would never do to anyone he’s just met, let alone a coworker. eunseok is getting under his skin, he feels his cheeks heating up, something that happens when he’s angry or overwhelmed. it won’t be long before his ears and cheeks turn an embarrassing shade of red.
“yeah, people like you.” eunseok stabs a finger directly into sungchan’s shoulder. “people who don’t have any respect for anyone’s time. just because you’re the lead doesn’t mean you can treat your coworkers like this.” eunseok says, dark pointed eyes looking directly at sungchan.
sungchan grabs eunseok’s wrist firmly, pulling his hand away from him before eunseok snatches it out of sungchan’s grip.
“oh i get it….thats what this is all about. you're upset you didn't get first lead? that’s what this is?” sungchan fires back, pissed off now that this guy put his hands on him, his voice becomes as shaky as his hands.
“instead of taking it out on me….someone who, quite frankly, doesn’t care. take it up with the producer.” sungchan continues watching as eunseok grows increasingly more upset. sungchan turns around before he changes his mind, stopping in his tracks.
he turns around, facing eunseok again as he needs to get one more thing off his chest.
sungchan gives eunseok a once over before he comes right into the shorter boys space, his lips right next to his ear as their shoulders bump against each other.
“ if you touch me like that again, you’ll regret it. i promise.” sungchan whispers and eunseok feels the taller boy's breath on his neck. sungchan steps away, turning on his heel and walking out of the room, making sure to slam the door behind him as it echos a loud bang.
sungchan is seething as he walks out to the parking lot to his car. there’s no way he can work with a guy like that. he’s dealt with his fair share of assholes but this guy was a real piece of work. and to think sungchan was a fan of his acting. fuck that now, and fuck him.
as he sits in his car, the guilt starts to set in and sungchan fears maybe he was too harsh. he wishes with everything in him that conversation would’ve went better since they have to work with each other for several months and yet, all of that is tarnished. he wants to cry as embarrassing as it sounds. he doesn’t work well with situations like this and he’s quite sensitive whether he’d admit it or not.
eunseok is still upstairs in the building, he cant believe what a prick this guy is. he's almost an hour late and walks in with coffee he stopped for like it was nothing. everything sungchan said was a lie, he thinks to himself. eunseok didn't mind being the second lead. who is sungchan to tell him how he feels?
eunseok refuses to show respect to this guy besides at work. he refuses to let this interfere with his job.
and…..that's how they ended up here.
somehow beyond all the bright lights, cameras, and cold weather, sungchan finds room to focus on one thing.
getting this show over with and moving on.
as sungchan chats up his coworkers (desperately trying to save his image), in the corner of his eye he spots a tall figure walk towards them.
song eunseok.
sungchan thinks the worst part of it all is that their characters are best friends. it’s a show that plays on bromance that they’re filming. it takes advantage of all the hype in boyslove (BL) media there is lately. they seem to be popular these days and both sungchan and eunseok have played in a boyslove (BL) drama previously. they became super well known so both their agencies are using their rising stardom in the industry to make this drama a success.
and it’s been working…well.
they’ve been trending online since this show was announced to be released as well as the cast. eunseok liked the attention, and sungchan pretended not to. he had to stay humble. although, it did make him a bit nervous growing in popularity. the more well known he was, the more problems he seemed to have.
“good morning, everyone.” eunseok walks up, hair styled with a side part that undeniably looks great on his dark black hair. eunseok eyes sungchan up and down before he gives him a tight smile, hands in his pockets and cheeks tinted pink from the cold. see, he can play nice.
sungchan debates on saying anything after he hears his coworkers little array of responses. but instead he just stays quiet, ignoring the man and his wandering eyes. he can be cordial but he’s fighting trying to be extra nice even though it’s in his true nature.
his coworkers get taken away by staff for a last minute wardrobe check and it’s left them alone, standing awkwardly. they are filming outside today, it’s on the outskirts of the city that eunseok is pretty familiar with.
the show they’re filming follows retired boxer (sungchan) and rookie police officer (eunseok), best friends who end up getting involved in a crime ring involving drugs. having little help from the justice system, they go off and seek justice themselves, protecting each other and other helpless people around them.
eunseok has a navy blue puffer on that broadens his shoulders up a bit, and plain blue jeans. his white converse are scuffed and its all sungchan’s eyes are glued to as he keeps his gaze trained at the floor or the scenery around them.
“so…did you wanna go ov—“ sungchan lifts his head, about to speak when he's immediately cut off by eunseok who doesn’t even let him finish his sentence.
“hmm,” eunseok makes an over exaggerated thinking face before he shakes his head, ”no, im actually gonna go now.” eunseok says, a wide smile on his face. he gives sungchan a firm pat on the shoulder before walking off.
sungchan thinks his eye twitches but he can’t tell as he squeezes them shut, taking a deep breath.
sungchan turns slowly, watching as eunseok is now laughing it up with one of the staff members. he doesn’t understand how anyone gets along with him.
eunseok quite likes getting under sungchan’s skin. he thinks it’s funny and the reaction he gets in return makes it so worth it. eunseok would like to think of this as a bit of fun, and the longer sungchan plays along the more amusing it is. and plus, the guy deserves it. eunseok didn’t even say anything about him being late today but he's made a mental note in the back of his head to bring it up at least once.
he was starting to think maybe sungchan made a mistake, late one time to a very important meeting. but now? eunseok has figured out exactly what type of person sungchan is. the same exact person he thought he was all along. no surprises.
“alright, get in place everyone, let’s begin!” one of the directors yell.
sungchan is finally face to face with eunseok, a few feet apart and all he feels right now is annoyance. and this guy is supposed to play his best friend? yeah, right! sungchan cant even imagine that. sungchan knows he's a good actor, a great one even because having to pretend to like this guy is like chewing on rocks.
an hour and four retakes later, the first opening scene is done. sungchan has mastered not tensing his whole body up whenever eunseok has to touch him, and he feels a big relief wash over him. eunseok not only makes his blood pressure rise but he makes him nervous. eunseok was quite intimidating to him, something he’d never admit aloud.
“great work guys, keep that up!” the director yells. they take a ten minute break as they get the next scene ready to film. sungchan is so cold he feels his fingers about to break off. he’s wearing a regular white tee with a thin gray cardigan thats not doing much in this weather.
sungchan goes over to one of the tables, looking for a hot pack to keep him warm. he spots taehyun across the parking lot, having a heated conversation on the phone that he's happy he's not on the receiving end of.
“oh sorry, excuse—“ sungchan gets startled as he backs into someone before he realizes it’s eunseok.
“oh. it’s just you.” sungchan says curtly, before he searches the table again for a heating pack to stuff in his pocket.
eunseok snorts from next to him, picking up the heating pack that sungchan has been searching for. as sungchan scans the table he quickly sees it’s the last one left. his coworkers must’ve gotten the same idea and took the rest. and he knows his lovely best friend and manager didn't bother bringing any.
“hey, i was looking for that..” sungchan says, reaching his hand out to grab it but eunseok jerks his hand away, obvious amusement on his face.
“so? finders keepers.” eunseok says, childishly as he keeps it out of the taller boys reach. the puffer swallows him whole and sungchan knows he has to be much warmer than he is. there’s no way he can be that cruel.
“finders keepers? what are you, 6? give it.” sungchan makes an attempt to reach for it again but eunseok is quicker than that, pulling away again. the look on sungchan’s face is so priceless he can’t help but to crack a smirk.
“you know normally when someone wants something they use manners. but, i don’t think you know what those are. do you?” eunseok taunts him, about to walk off when sungchan stops him.
his cheeks, nose, and ears are all flushed pink now, and he's freezing cold. he can’t believe he’s about to do this but he’s got no choice. he’d rather put his pride aside than freeze to death.
“wait!” sungchan shouts out, closing his eyes shut and sighing out before opening them and turning towards eunseok.
“please. can i have it?” sungchan says, sincerely, using those sparkling puppy dog eyes that nobody can say no to. eunseok looks shocked at the softness he exhibits but quickly fixes his face.
definitely a manipulation tactic, eunseok thinks.
“yeah, on one condition.” eunseok takes it out of his pocket, playing with it as he tosses it in the air and sungchan is already regretting this.
“what? you can’t be serious.” sungchan crosses his arms, trying to keep himself warm as eunseok walks towards him, his shoes giving him an inch, making him the same height as sungchan today.
“oh but i am.” eunseok says, stopping a few feet in front of him. there’s a smug look on his face.
“what is it?” sungchan says, defeated already.
“you start showing up on time. i know you're a big hotshot now and don’t care about anyone else’s time but your own. but some of us actually care about not wasting peoples time. you know?” eunseok asks, and sungchan stays quiet, looking off. he can’t be bothered to argue right now.
“you,” sungchan starts, pressing a finger directly into eunseok’s shoulder, “don’t know me.” sungchan finishes, snatching the hot pack out of eunseok’s hand and walking off. if this was a cartoon, eunseok swore he would’ve seen steam coming out of his ears.
-
it’s nearing the end of filming today now, and sungchan looks at his phone and sees it’s already 6pm. he feels exhausted, but even more so because dealing with eunseok has been draining him more than filming.
“well everyone, great great work today! let’s wrap it up. see you all 6am sharp tomorrow!” the last sentence, the director points a finger directly at sungchan who becomes sheepish, embarrassed as he rubs the back of his neck and looks off into the distance.
“6am sharp.” taehyun comes up to him, ruffling his hair softly to which sungchan swats his hand away like a fly. “set an alarm and answer when i call.” he finishes with a point of his finger in sungchan’s face.
his other hand giving sungchan a few papers which are all the lines he’s reading off tomorrow. color coded. nice.
“wanna get dinner?” eunseok overhears taehyun ask sungchan. eunseok is pretty sure it’s his manager yet he looks so young. and eunseok honestly thinks if taehyun could definitely have a career change into modeling if he wanted to. he knows a pretty face when he sees one and unfortunately he does in fact see why sungchan is so popular these days.
“no. im gonna head home, tomorrow though?” sungchan declines, he knows his girlfriend is working late tonight doing a variety show and staying at her own place so he’s probably just gonna get takeout and pass out on the couch.
“lame!” taehyun makes an L with his fingers on his forehead. “alright, tomorrow then.” taehyun says, firmly flicking him on his forehead before walking off, sticking his tongue out. sungchan absolutely cannot believe how he hasn’t changed a day since they met.
“ow! you—“ sungchan hisses out, a pout to his lips as he rubs his forehead.
“wanna grab dinner?” eunseok asks, nonchalantly even though they both know he just heard sungchan’s response to his manager.
“what? no.” sungchan groans, extremely confused as he continues rubbing at his forehead a few more times trying to make the throbbing go away.
“why not?” eunseok asks if it’s not obvious. the nice coworker part of sungchan wants to say yes. he loves connecting with the people he’s gonna be working with, building a relationship, letting the fans see they work well together through pictures and videos.
the holding a grudge part of sungchan has already said no and walked off. eunseok is confusing to him. he didn’t even know why he was asking but maybe just maybe hes had a change of heart. no, that definitely isn’t it, sungchan thinks.
“why would i want to have dinner with you? im an asshole, remember?” sungchan reminds him as he starts to walk to the parking lot, taking his keys out of his pocket.
“i never called you that but….if the shoe fits.” eunseok mumbles the last part, hands in his puffer as he follows sungchan to the parking lot.
“no. now stop following me.” sungchan tries to wave him off but the footsteps still don’t stop and just as he reaches his car, unlocking it, he stops in his tracks.
“wait….where is your car?” sungchan speaks slowly, as he takes in the empty lot.
“i came with my manager.” eunseok shrugs, looking around, fake casual. sungchan can spot a rouse from a mile away. he’s definitely up to something.
“okay….where is your manager's car?” sungchan questions him.
eunseok walks over to the passenger side of sungchan’s car. it’s definitely a new model and it’s this nice pearl color. eunseok likes it.
“i told him we were having dinner together, so he left.” eunseok shrugs, he opens sungchan’s car door, inviting himself in and sungchan scoffs out loud in disbelief. he looks around, shaking his head because someone has got to be seeing this shit.
“hey, i never said you could get in my car. are you crazy?” sungchan says as he opens the car door, leaning down and getting in the drivers seat.
“no, but i am hungry. i know this good spot, i’ll put it in maps.” eunseok ignores sungchan’s outburst, finger reaching for the maps button on gps once sungchan starts the car.
“no. don’t touch anything in here. call your manager and get out of my car. im not having dinner with you.” sungchan says, grabbing eunseok’s hand and shoving it against his chest.
“hey, shouldn't you be a bit nicer considering, i mean i don’t know.” eunseok trails off, paying fake attention to his nails. “you were super late this morning and held everyone back. i mean, i had to cancel my dinner plans because of you.” eunseok lies smoothly at the end, he can tell he’s successfully gotten to sungchan the way he wanted to once he watches his face soften.
sungchan sighs, looking away before his eyes catch eunseok’s again. eunseok knows almost instantly that he’s successfully guilt gripped him.
“i really am sorry about that.” sungchan apologizes, hating how easy it is for someone to get him to fold.
“fine. okay. put it in.” sungchan puts his seatbelt on as eunseok claps his hand together excitedly before putting his on as well.
sungchan turns the heater on and eunseok starts taking in the view of sungchan’s car, even checking out the backseat as he starts driving. the first thing eunseok noticed is the smell of perfume, he doesn’t know if sungchan prefers sweeter cologne scents but it definitely smells like a woman’s perfume. some sort of vanilla and flower scent. he adjusts the seat further back so his legs have more room and makes himself comfortable.
“you're nosy.” sungchan says, glancing at eunseok before returning his eyes back to the road.
“not nosy. i’d like to say….curious.” eunseok shuffles in his seat once they’re nearby to the place.
sungchan puts the car in park and turns towards eunseok who is already smiling at him.
“what?” sungchan questions him, raising an eyebrow. eunseok’s hair falls in front of his eyes and it reminds him of the same way his girlfriends does, as he refrains from moving it like he does with her.
“you know, i still don't like you very much but this is a good start.” eunseok says bluntly, still smiling. sungchan almost flinches at how bold he is.
“um….sure.” sungchan replies, confused as he gets out of the car, locking it after eunseok steps out.
“what is this place?” sungchan asks as he takes in the view. it’s a small place, the entrance is a whole bunch of bulbed fairy lights and it reminds sungchan of a place he's seen in a movie or two.
“dont worry about it, you’ll love it.” eunseok pats sungchan on his shoulder like he did earlier as he leads the way.
sungchan is confident in himself. he’d like to think of himself as someone who wasnt that insecure about how he looked, what he said, what he did. but the moment he met eunseok everything he ever thought of himself was being questioned. even though they both are past rookie status, crawling their way into stardom, sungchan never would’ve called out his costar for being late just once or twice. sungchan doesn’t think he has the guts for that, and he doesn't enjoy hostile confrontation.
although he isn’t fond of eunseok, he admires his need to stick up for himself no matter who it is. sungchan has no doubt been walked all over, threatened, and even harassed. it comes with the job, he tells himself. it keeps him up at night, all the times he’s been in a bad situation he couldn't get out of. he had to do what he had to do in order to not be blackballed, and it's not his best moments, being talked down to by higher ups and yet he got through it.
as they walk in, the door dings and he sees an older woman at the front, a smile immediately lighting up her face as her eyes catch the two.
“oh my eunseok, it's been too long!” she squeals out, emerging from behind the counter and embracing the dark haired boy in her arms who mumbles out an apology into her shoulder. sungchan looks around, its small and well lit. there’s a few older couples sitting scattered around the place, chatting quietly. there’s various paintings on the wall and sungchan catches sight of eunseok’s name on a few awards that are hung up nicely on the wall.
“and who’s this handsome young man you’ve brought with you?” she smiles widely, the light wrinkles creasing under her tired eyes. she pulls away from eunseok, hands still on both side arms as she takes in the sight of sungchan. sungchan shies away, cowering sheepishly but due to his height it isn’t quite helping. she seems to be about in her 50s, she has a slim figure, and her pony tail hair has gray highlights from aging.
“auntie, this is sungchan. my coworker.” eunseok says, glancing at sungchan who bows sweetly, offering a timid smile. eunseok didn’t really take him for the shy type considering he was so shameless when showing up late to work.
“its nice to meet you sungchan, hope to see you often.” she gives him a warm rub on his arm before she waves her hand, “come. sit, sit.” she beckons them, leading them to an empty booth in the corner by a medium sized window.
once seated, sungchan sits, looking around once again.
“you being followed or something? why do you look so paranoid?” eunseok snorts as he puts a menu in front of sungchan on the sleek wooden table.
“i just don't wanna get recognized, its been a long day.” sungchan tells him, honestly. he didnt bother to overshare, but sungchan has dealt with a stalker in the past, he cant help the anxiety that he carries with him anymore.
“nobody cares who we are here. most of the people here don’t even own tv’s.” eunseok tells him, gesturing around to all the older customers in the restaurant.
“how did you find out about this place?” sungchan asks, as he scans over the menu, not quite sure what to get.
the woman comes over just before eunseok speaks, handing them two glasses of ice water.
“soju, please. none for the driver though.” eunseok says with a smile, winking at sungchan who rolls his eyes.
“ill take the usual.” eunseok says, as he notices sungchan still eyeing the menu with a cute pout of his lip, eyebrows furrowed.
“ill just have what he’s having, please.” sungchan says in defeat, putting the menu back into its place.
“alright, boys. coming right up.” she gives a smile, her mix of black and gray hair standing out under the light.
“i use to live with her a few years back.” eunseok responds to sungchan’s previous question before taking a sip of water.
“why did you invite me out to dinner?” sungchan questions him, eyeing eunseok who remains unphased by his burning question.
“i still dont like you very much, you haven’t really given me a reason to like you. i think your rude for showing up late, twice. and holding everyone up. i hold grudges but, i also quite like being the bigger person.” eunseok smirks behind his glass of water as he takes another sip.
“i dont want to get to know you or be your friend, you know that, right?” sungchan questions him, leaning forward to make sure eunseok really understands him. eunseok leans back against his seat, cockily smirking with his hands in his puffer.
“dont be ridiculous, everyone wants to be my friend.” eunseok takes one hand out of his pocket, carding his fingers through his dark hair. “but, when did i ever say thats what i wanted?”
“why else would you try to be so nice?” sungchan asks, confused.
“try to be nice?” eunseok snorts, a small laugh erupting. “i know it might be hard to understand. but some of us normal and kind people don't have to try to be nice. it comes naturally.” eunseok replies smugly, with that shit eating grin on his face.
“and plus, im being a good coworker. i cant work with someone everyday for the next few months when there’s hostility. whats so wrong with getting to know each other? and its not like you were my first option so don't get all flattered.” eunseok says, absolutely loving the annoyed look on sungchan’s face.
“wait.” sungchan pauses, “what do you mean i wasn’t your first option?” sungchan asks, eyebrows furrowed in genuine perplexity.
“i was gonna go with one of the other guys or girls but they were too tired so they cancelled. so unfortunately, i got stuck with you.” eunseok shrugs.
“wow, how nice of you to choose me as your last option.” sungchan says sarcastically.
“actually you should be flattered you were even the last option.” eunseok tells him just as the food comes out.
sungchan checks his phone, messaging his girlfriend back that he was having dinner with his coworker. his girlfriend, dahyun, tells him to have fun for her while she’s stuck at work, and that she’ll talk to him tomorrow.
“you know, its rude to be on your phone when out with someone. am i boring you?” eunseok scolds him before blowing on the hot steam coming off his food. eunseok sounds like his girlfriend right now, sungchan cant help but to think thats definitely something she would say.
“yes.” sungchan replies, short. eunseok cracks a smile at that.
once they're all done with bickering, small talk, and their food, they both are ready to end the night just nearing 8pm.
“ill pay.” sungchan offers, as he pulls out his wallet from his back pocket.
“cool, cause i didnt bring my wallet.” eunseok says casually as he stands up, dusting imaginary dust off his pants before he notices a pair of eyes on him. sungchan is standing up now too, sweatered arms crossed.
“what?” eunseok asks innocently before he takes one more sip of his drink.
“nothing.” sungchan sighs before shaking his head, scoffing in amusement. he doesn’t think he's ever met anyone quite like eunseok.
once sungchan pays, they get back into the car as sungchan rubs at his arms, rushing the heat to turn on.
“hey, you kind of look like rudolph.” eunseok snickers a bit as he puts his seatbelt on, pointing a finger an inch away from sungchan’s nose thats cherry red.
“shut up and put your address in so i can drop you home already.” sungchan says blankly, pulling his sun visor down to look at his face. he wouldn’t admit it, but eunseok was right. he did in fact look like rudolph.
“fine.” eunseok rolls his eyes, typing his address into maps before sinking into his seat and looking out the window as they drive away.
“wait a minute, thats not right.” sungchan says as he glances at the maps again. “you must’ve accidentally clicked my address.” sungchan says, looking at it more closely once they hit a red light.
“no i didnt.” eunseok boldly swats sungchan’s hand off his own car as he looks at it again. “its right. thats where i live.” eunseok says, leaning back in his seat to get comfortable again.
“what?!” sungchan slams on the brakes so hard, eunseok jerks forward in the passenger seat, hand on the dashboard for leverage as sungchan pulls off and hastily parks on the side of the vacant street.
“oh, what the fuck.” eunseok groans out in shock, looking at sungchan with wide eyes. “are you trying to kill us?” sungchan looks like he's going through a midlife crisis as he runs his hands over his face like a madman, groaning.
“this is a joke, right? you’re just joking?” sungchan’s hair is a mess now and he’s seriously contemplating everything right now. eunseok remains wide eyed as he slowly takes his seatbelt off once sungchan starts to laugh a little in pure disbelief. eunseok’s starting to think this guy really is crazy.
“um…” eunseok says, nervously as reaches for the doorhandle. “actually, i think im going to walk home.” eunseok tries to open it but sungchan locks it from his end. eunseok starts pulling on it in a weak escape attempt, whispering curse words to himself.
“there’s no way im living in the same apartment building with someone as insufferable as you.” sungchan turns to him, the red traffic lights cascading over their faces.
“hey, rude!” eunseok fake gasps, hand over his mouth.
“i just moved in last week, and what’s the big deal? we haven’t even ran into each other or anything before. it’ll be like im not even there.” eunseok reassures sungchan who looks disheveled.
sungchan doesn’t believe this. he thinks the universe is out to get him as he drives off towards his (and eunseok’s) shared apartment building.
the night ends with them going their separate ways onto different floors after sharing the elevator. eunseok cant help but to laugh on his way out as he sees sungchan’s face scrunched up in annoyance.
sungchan goes to sleep that night with thoughts of breaking his lease.