"Me falling in love with you was unavoidable. I needed you like the desert needs rain."
✱
Shin Hoseok, a highschool drop out, has three jobs to pay for his life.
Chae Hyungwon is a socially awkward and shy kid with family issues.
No one could have k...
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Hoseok took Kihyun's car, knowing that his friend would be too drunk to drive anyway.
Happily humming along to one of the songs on the radio, Hoseok arrived at the 24h store Hyungwon had told him. The unexpected meet up had left Hoseok with new energy, his tiredness forgotten.
He parked the car in front of the store, getting out and immediately spotted Hyungwon. He was wearing a big coat, that reached his calves and a white scarf. His hands shoved into his pockets and he shivered from the cold.
"You could've gone inside pabo! You'll freeze to death!"
Hyungwon's eyes shot up and met Hoseok's, who was now approaching him with long strides.
"H-hello to you too", the kid mumbled, making Hoseok click his tongue.
"How long have you been waiting? It didn't even take me ten minutes to come here!"
They entered the convenience store, meeting a wall of warm air.
"I was already on my way here when you texted me", Hyungwon replied and Hoseok was thankful for the missing screams of children in the background or he wouldn't have been able to understand him.
The two didn't say a word, they just grabbed some Ramen and sat down at the windows.
Hoseok could see how awkward Hyungwon was and didn't force him to talk, which seemed to work because suddenly the boy began talking quietly.
"I like coming here at night. It's peaceful and the Ramen is my favorite." He broke his chopsticks in two and began eating. Hyungwon's cheeks were red but Hoseok couldn't tell whether it was from the cold or from the awkward atmosphere they were in.
"Oh, so I guess you and your friends meet here often?", Hoseok took a bite himself, humming in delight at the rich and spicy flavor.
That made his company freeze. Hyungwon got even redder, confirming that the slight redness from before was thanks to the cold and looked at the floor.
"I- I don't have friends."
Hoseok blinked. How in the world could he have no friends? To a social and talkative person like Hoseok it was unimaginable. He tried not to show the shy kid how surprised he was at his words and just nodded.
"This Ramen is amazing", he said instead, pointing his chopsticks at the steaming cup.
A small smile played at Hyungwon's lips as he took the next bite.
Hoseok's thoughts kept going to the fact that this boy claimed to have no friends. They talked for an hour and Hoseok learned that Hyungwon came from a rich family, his parents leading a business company. They left him alone for most of the time, being overseas a lot.
The awkwardness disappeared, leaving them in a comfortable silence.
"So, after this-", Hoseok took a look at his watch, "hour of small talk, tell me why you don't have friends. You are a nice guy."
"Everyone says I'm too shy. People usually don't talk to me first and I would never go over to someone."
Hoseok nodded. That didn't convince him fully but he let it slide to prevent the atmosphere from turning awkward again.
"You decided to wake me this morning tho."
"I wanted to talk to you for long now. You seemed like a nice person to have as a friend."
Now it was Hoseok's turn to blush.
"How about-", the ringing of Hoseok's phone interrupted his attempt at asking Hyungwon to be friends.
"That's Kihyun. Sorry", he mouthed and held the phone to his ear. Immediately loud music and shouts filled his eardrums.
"Wonho you little bitch, why did you leave me here", Kihyun's high pitched voice came through the phone, clearly drunk. He tend to speak like a chick from some american movie when he drank and Hoseok found that rather amusing.
"I'll be right back Kihyunnie. Stay where you are, I'll drive you home."
"You better hurry."
Hyungwon had turned his eyes back on the floor again, biting his lip.
"I'm sorry, I have to go! I'm supposed to drive some really drunk people home right now", Hoseok grabbed his stuff, putting on his jacket.
"Kihyunnie? You said his name when I woke you this morning", Hyungwon asked quietly, mimicking the nickname Hoseok had used. He seemed to be back to his awkward self.
"That's my best friend and roommate. I'll text you!", with that he ran out of the store, not catching the smile on Hyungwon's lips.
_______
It took him a lot of persuasion, a few curse words and a cold glass of water to put Kihyun into his bed.
Usually the two would stumble home drunk together and Hoseok asked himself how they managed to stay alive during those nights.
Tiredness overwhelmed him and he fell into his bed, still wearing his street clothes.
Unknowingly his phone vibrated one last time for this night. On the lit screen appeared a new message.
From Hyungwon - 2:21 am: ______ I really like you hyung. can we be friends?
