snow ; changki ◯ ON HOLD

8

"Oh, wow."

Frankly, Jooheon was at a loss of what to expect when Hyungwon randomly asked him out for food; initially he thought they would end up in one of the hole-in-the-wall, late night ramen places scattered around the campus area, but he let part of that idea fade as he led him to a car that could probably cover his tuition and pay for his apartment in one go.

"What's wrong? Do you want to stay near campus? We can do that." Hyungwon started to ramble, already undoing his seatbelt.

"No! I mean, I was just saying that your car was nice!" He cut him off. "We can go wherever you want."

"Oh," he breathed, smiling. "thanks. It was a gift from my parents - that just sounded really pretentious didn't it?"

"A little."

Hyungwon laughed, pulling out of the parking spot. "I appreciate your bluntness, it's refreshing. Anyway, what do you feel like eating?"

"Hmm? I don't know. I was going grab some sushi after I finished getting a book but, we can go wherever." He grinned, and Hyungwon once again couldn't help but mirror him.

"Sure."

It seemed like tonight was a night of surprises, as Hyungwon pulled over by one of the top sushi restaurants in Seoul, handing his keys to the valet and skipping the queue that stretched around the building. Jooheon blinked, following closely behind him. "How come you got to skip the queue?"

"I come here quite often with my family, so the staff knows me," they reached a table hidden behind a set of doors, soft mood music in the background. "I was fancying seafood so I'll probably go for that, but get whatever you want, their menu is huge. And, it's on me."

"What, n-"

"You can cover the next time we go out," Hyungwon said smoothly, Jooheon's face immediately setting alight. He also blushed furiously, but nonchalantly lifted the menu to cover his face.

On the other side of the table, Jooheon smiled.  "I'm glad there will be a second time."

"Me too, I like hanging out with you. You're sweet."

"Thanks," He mumbled, seconds away from imploding. "but I know exactly where to take you next time; this place near my parents' house - nothing as fancy as this but trust me, they make the best udon you will ever eat, and their bulgogi is so - what?"

He was pulled out from his ramble by Hyungwon's soft laughter. "Nothing, it's cute how excited you get about good food. But sure, I can't wait to go. Are your parents in Seoul?"

"No, they live in Incheon, but it's okay, it's so worth the trip - I can drive us there. What about you?"

"My parents are literally everywhere at once. Last time I spoke to them, my Dad was in Dubai and my Mom in Russia," he said with a gentle smile. "they travel a lot because of work so I can't see them very often, which is why my siblings are in boarding schools and stuff."

"Oh, that must be intense. I would lose my mind; so you live alone too?"

"Just me and the maids, usually, but I can ask them to leave if I want to." He responded.

"Well, I'm rarely at home, and if I am I'm either asleep or doing work but regardless, if you get fed up you can come chill in my house. I live with Changkyun but he's always busy too so when I'm home it's quite lonely. You can sit around like a pretty house cat or something while I get on with stuff."

Hyungwon grinned. "I'd love that, actually."

Their food arrived soon after, conversation flowing easily between the two as they tucked into their meals. The initial anxiety that Jooheon felt disappeared within minutes, growing more and more comfortable with Hyungwon's presence, who always kept him laughing.
All was great, until his phone buzzed with a message from Changkyun.