"Fine you wanna look? Look!" Kino half shouts, standing to face the other with his arms outstretched as if he was inviting the stare. "Here you wanna touch too?" He starts approaching Wooseok and grabs the others hand.
"What the fuck are you doing...
Eating food with Kino wasn't as awkward as you'd think. Sure there were silences but neither one of them cared enough about the other to consider the moment awkward.
They just ate, sometimes commented about some of the other people on the tables close by, sometimes they talked about the presentation. Kino even asked about Wooseok's job and he replied, no snide remarks, no snapping. Such growth from them both.
But the truth was Wooseok was feeling so down. He didn't have the energy to fight and to argue. He had his reasons for this. And so he just 'was'. No anger. No point. Not right now anyway.
"I'm just gonna buy some alcohol, hang on" Wooseok tells him once they're on their way back to the bus stop. The store was right there and he knew that tonight he might want to enjoy a drink or two so he bought a few cans of beer as well as a few bottles of soju.
Kino waited outside the store the whole time, not seeing a point of going inside too, just to do no talking. He shoves his hands in his pockets, exhales, and nods to himself. At least he has a second alone to think.
He felt nothing. He felt no emotions towards Wooseok. No feelings. No heart beating fast. He felt fine. So his theory of 'I guess it only happens when he looks at me like he's about to pounce' was right. And in a way that made him feel so happy and relieved. He couldn't imagine liking Wooseok when he knew his feelings would never be reciprocated.
He could imagine the pain, the heartbreak. He's heard stories of horrid heart breaks. Of course he'd have to grow to have A LOT of feelings for Wooseok anyway, in the first place, in order to feel heart broken by him. But he was just glad that he didn't even have to go there.
"Earth to Kino"
"Huh?"
"You've been zoning out. Ready? The bus comes soon"
"Yeah I'm ready"
Wooseok rolls his eyes slowly and starts leading the way to the bus stop. The sky was darker than when they first left the house but he knew they still had time before his dad got home.
Wooseok looks at the bus schedule on the wall of the bus stop, whilst Kino sits down on the bench.
"4 minutes" he tells him.
Kino sniffles a little from the colder air, and nods. "Alright. 4 minutes"
Wooseok's eyes flicker over to the brunette. "You cold?"
He had his hands stuffed in his pockets to shield them from the cold, and his nose was red too but he wasn't aware of that fact. He turns a little to look to Wooseok, meeting his eyes and just blinking heavily.
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"Just a little". There's some form of a gentle, kind smile on Kino's face when he tells Wooseok this. "I didn't plan on going outside to be honest. Hence no jacket. But I'm fine"
And in that moment for some reason Wooseok can't help but smile. Maybe it's the red nose that Kino isn't aware of, maybe it's the stupid purple hat, or just the annoying kindness that he knows isn't fake, that's radiating from him.
So Wooseok looks down at the ground, purses his lips to hide the smile "Don't worry, only gotta wait four minutes" he says.
"What's funny?"
"Nothing at all"
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
They finish the work with Kino sitting on the ground on the other side of the coffee table so that he could see Wooseok on the couch, with his laptop on top of the table. His fingers were tapping away on the keyboard for the final touches.
"And then you talk about the three kingdoms, and that's it. The end!" Kino announces at last, this was a lot of work they've done together. They most they've done to date actually.
Wooseok had been drinking his beers the whole time Kino worked and spoke to him. Of course as time went on he started to feel somewhat tipsy.
"Sweet. Sounds good. We're gonna smash it tomorrow" he says to himself, squeezing his hand into a fist and pumping the air as if he was giving himself a pep talk.
Kino chuckles and closes the laptop at last. When it's cleared from the desk he rests his arm on top, and then his chin is rested on his arm. Some rest at last.
"It's gonna be so freaking good, I'm telling you" Wooseok tells Kino now, looking at him with a completely serious look. "Like the other groups can fucking throw in the, what's the saying? Ah I don't know, the towel? Whatever, cos we're gonna fucking smash it" he points at Kino as if he was telling him to agree.
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Instead Kino looks at him with a grin, finding his speech absolutely hilarious. He doesn't say anything, and instead just looks towards the table instead.
Wooseok can't help but chuckle, but he doesn't look away from Kino. Instead he watches him, and it's almost careful. Like analysing. Maybe the alcohol in his body was making him see him a little differently, but he didn't hate him in this moment. He wasn't looking at him with annoyance or frustration.
It might have something to do with the way Kino's smile looked.
"Let's celebrate" he suddenly announces.
"Meaning?"
"Soju shots, come on". Already Wooseok is up on his feet to bring over the glasses as well as the bottles of soju he had brought earlier.
"Ah no, come on. We have to be on it tomorrow if we wanna present it well". He doesn't know how much of a good idea drinking right now would be.
"Oh come on. Live a little Kino. It's fine. Just a few won't kill you".
And so he agrees. Because in reality yeah, he could loosen up a tiny bit.
They start off slow. One here. Another one there. Until they've had a few more and Kino starts to feel a little tipsy too. Comfortable maybe. Warm. Not drunk. Nowhere near that yet.
Whereas Wooseok's topping up of Soju meant that his tipsiness became a little more heavy. Not drunk. But definitely way more loud, and confident if he had been completely sober.
Maybe they needed this, to make up for the crazy amount of fighting and anger they had had, as well as to reward themselves for the work they've done. Well mostly Kino, but ya know.
Wooseok also drank to escape his thoughts and pain. Kino didn't know this though. He would find out about some of it tonight. He just didn't know it yet.
