𝙱𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚁𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚜 || c.ch × k.sw ||

[El.even]

"is he dating chanhee?"

no. right?

"of course not. he said so himself, he was here waiting for his friend. not boyfriend. plus, why would he leave such comments on my streams if he wasn't single?"

"just making sure. because now i call dibs on the tall guy."

sunwoo would hit him if they were almost caught staring. they started walking towards the exit so the two idiots posed as casually as possible.

"hey guys- this is my friend younghoon. he's back from his interview early."

changmin was starstruck, he mentally buffered as sunwoo greeted him and even stuttered when he regained himself. Younghoon noticed.

"so, i guess that means you're leaving now? ah i was looking forward to hanging out with you today." sunwoo scratched the back of his head.

"actually, no! younghoon was told he got the job and wanted to celebrate, so i asked if the two of you could join."

"we'd love to! right changmin?"

"y-yes! but we should probably tell eric and hyunjae so that they know. where would we be going?"

"well, chanhee and i aren't from here. do you guys know of any place?"

sunwoo and changmin looked at each other right after younghoon's questions. they definitely knew a place.

-

changmin lead the three to his car again and they drove off. it wasn't a long drive, but as soon as chanhee saw the outside of the establishment, he demanded (politely) to be taken to the closest department store. everyone was dressed properly, except him.

younghoon of course was wearing his interview-outfit which he transformed to something a little more casual by removing his long sleeve button-up shirt and just wearing the white t-shirt he had underneath with his suit blazer.

sunwoo was wearing a black button up with a thin sweater and changmin more a denim jacket over a plain white-t. they all looked casual while chanhee still looked like he just jumped out of bed.

the department store was a walking distance from the restaurant so they didn't have to drive there, and who else but sunwoo would offer to walk chanhee there? younghoon and changmin stayed behind to reserve a table in the restaurant.

the two headed to the store made small talk as they speedwalked across the street to the establishment. it was growing less and less awkward as they spent more time together, especially now that they were alone.

"are you going to buy a whole new outfit?" the redhead asked as they perused down the aisles.

chanhee nodded, "kind of. i'm not wearing a shirt under the sweater and i want to replace the sweats i'm wearing with some jeans."

"i'm still sad you're removing the sweater. you could just keep it and get jeans."

"i bought this sweater as a joke and it haunts me that it's what i ended up wearing the day we accidentally meet." pulling a basic white shirt from the rack he subconsciously handed it to sunwoo, who took it without hesitating. he ended up apologizing for using him so abruptly but sunwoo waved his apology off after he explained it was just a force of habit. it was nice being useful instead of just standing at his side and following him around.

when he found a nice enough pair of jeans and a zip-up sweater, he also handed them over to sun and they walked to the register together to pay. he walked out wearing the very clothes he picked out and paid for.

sunwoo offered to carry the shopping back that now contained his worn clothes, chanhee didn't complain.

when they reached the stoplight, sunwoo extended his arm and took hold of his hand. before the other could protest, he spoke, "this street is dangerous. it's best if you stayed close to me."

chanhee looked both ways. the light was green for the vehicles, yet not a single car drove by. dangerous, he said, it didn't seem so but chanhee didn't complain.

even after they crossed and were away from all "dangerous" streets, neither of them let go. did chanhee complain? no.

he had complained too much, about this and that. he was tired of being uptight, for now, and just wanted to enjoy something for a change. he usually had standards in life, unofficial rules he went by that just seemed like common sense, yet all of those standards had mysteriously disappeared in a short span of time.

will they return? most likely, but in this moment he didn't care. it wasn't so bad to break his own rules every once in a while. he was safe.

-

"oh, you guys are back already?" said younghoon, mouth full of stew- causing a bit of a spillage because that boy could be dumb sometimes.

"you're disgusting." chanhee took a seat beside him, grabbing the cloth napkin he gently grabbed his face and began wiping away the broth that dripped down his chin. "literally, who taught you manners?"

both changmin and sunwoo smiled through the pain as they watched. each of them wished they had been alone with the other for just a little bit longer, but now that younghoon and chanhee were reunited they felt like they were both knocked down the priority list.

"stop being mean to me and eat, i ordered your favorite."

"thank you, younghoonie~ i'll eat well."

oh to be holding his hand again.

the table was full of food ranging from soups to meats and sides. it would be a pricey check, one that sunwoo would not be able to afford on his own.

they ate and filled themselves up as much as they could, not wanting to waste a single bite. they also chatted a bit here and there but mainly focused on eating. also, sunwoo saw how much chanhee enjoyed talking/bickering with younghoon alone and was afraid to butt into their conversation.

"check, please!" they really tried to eat everything on the table but even the four of them couldn't compete with the amount of food younghoon and changmin ordered.

sunwoo was getting filled with more and more disappointment as they started cleaning up the table themselves, this meant the end of the day was nearing and they'd have to part ways.

as he picked up his utensils, he heard, "sunwoo~"

looking up, he saw the back camera of chanhee's phone. he posed, smiling yet forgetting he had already partially put his mask back on.

"you two look so good!" he showed sunwoo the picture and suddenly he was thankful for the mask. his face was warming up and he ignored the fact that changmin was also in the picture.