Archive of Our Own ^beta

“It says error.”

Soonyoung blinks at the failing system, a frown on his face as he reads the words again. “I know.”

“System error, in fact,” Chan confirms, leaning over the desk divider to point at the screen. “Big system error.”

“It doesn’t say big, you’re being dramatic.”

“It looks big,” he unhelpfully mutters, shrugging. 

Soonyoung can think of a million smart comebacks for his phrasing, but he bites his tongue, helplessly clicking his mouse again. “It should work.”

“You’re going to have to call-”

“Don’t say it. I’m serious. Sit down, and shut up.” He’s rubbing his temples now, debating just killing himself to avoid actually picking up the phone on his desk, and calling the IT department. He knows Chan is right - he usually is - which is horribly annoying if you’re Soonyoung. “I’m trying to keep my streak going. They haven’t heard from me in a month!”

“Because you were in Japan for two weeks, on vacation, and you were sick the week before you left,” Chan notes, sounding far too pleased about actively keeping track. 

“That’s still almost a month!” He whines. “I want to keep it going! Jun is going to kill me if I call again, and-”

“And, Taehyun left 3 weeks ago, so you’ll make a bad first impression on the new guy, instead,” Chan finishes for him, reminding him. Part of Soonyoung is happy Taehyun’s gone - he kind of hated him from the time he’d spilled an iced coffee over his keyboard, creating a sticky mess that caused spelling errors in his emails, and an endless supply of jokes to snigger over with Chan. But he’s paling at the idea of meeting the new IT guy with a problem this stupid.

Chan’s right, though, again, as he clicks his mouse for nothing to happen. “Have you met him?”

“When he toured the office,” he shrugs. “I don’t have issues like you, though. No files crashing, no coffee spills, no-”

“I get it,” he snaps. He makes a show of reaching towards his phone, Chan smirking as he watches, dropping back into his own seat again. Soonyoung hates him. “Maybe Jun will take pity on me, and decide he doesn’t want me dead.”

“Doubt it,” Chan mutters from behind the divider, the sound of his typing starting back up. 

Soonyoung picks up his phone, gulping down his fear; the light plastic makes his skin itch as he holds it to his ear, taking a deep breath as he dials the 73 that will connect him to the IT department. He leans back in his chair, chewing his thumbnail as he listens to the dial tone, hating himself for fidgeting so much. He shouldn’t be nervous to call his co-workers, he rationalises. But he still feels a pit of shame in his stomach as the phone clicks. 

“Hello?” Jun answers, sounding distracted. He never checks the caller ID, which Soonyoung is endlessly thankful for; he’s pretty sure if Jun saw his name flash up, he’d ignore it entirely. 

“Ah, Jun-ah, how have you be-”

He’s cut off by a loud groan. “No, God, are you kidding me? It’s only Monday! Tell me you’re not having problems already!” 

“Hey, I made it to noon,” he weakly argues, wishing the floor would swallow him up.

“Wonwoo!” The shout isn’t directed at him, he realises, after his eyebrows have already knit together to figure out what the name means. “Pick up line 2 when it rings, please?”

There’s a sound on the other end of the phone, a faint hum of someone acknowledging Jun. Soonyoung waits, because he has to, staring at his horrible ‘system error’ notice. 

“Wonwoo will help you,” Jun informs him. “Be nice to him.”

“I’m always nice!” He argues, but the line is beeping again, his call clearly being placed on hold. 

Soonyoung waits until he hears the tell-tale click of his call being answered a second time, nerves practically boiling over. “Hello?”

“Hi,” he replies.

There’s silence for a few moments until his new co-worker clears his throat. “Did you need help?”

He blushes at nothing, pulling his chair back in. He’s an idiot. “Yes, sorry, right! I was saving some files, and it’s coming up with a system error. And, I know, you’re going to tell me to turn it on and off, but I need these files saved as is . It’s 6 hours of work. I’ll kill myself before I turn this computer off, so you need to fix it.”

“Are you Soonyoung?” Wonwoo’s voice is deep and attractive, his brain uselessly supplies. He’s clearly already made a bad impression, judging by the question. He doesn’t want to know what his co-workers have told the new hire about him in his absence. 

He frowns to himself. “Don’t say it like that. I’m going to throw myself off the office roof if you can’t help. You’re my only option now that Jun has passed me off to you, Wonwoo. Hack into my computer and save me.”

The chuckle on the line lets him relax a bit. “Right, sure. What’s your user number? I’ll log into teamviewer and see what the issue is.”

“750,” he replies. 

“I’ll call you back.”

The line dies before he can say thank you, leaving him watching his mouse move by itself, Wonwoo clearly already in his system. He watches for a moment before he sits up straight again, knocking on the divider. 

Chan’s head pops up when he’s halfway through, clearly only keeping half his attention on the job at hand. It’s a wonder their department even functions. “So, you’ve seen him?”

“He’s hot,” Chan confirms his unanswered question. They know each other too well.

He glances over his computer screen, watching new windows open, random words appearing. Then he looks back at Chan. “How hot?”

“Stupidly. Like, nerdy hot.”

Soonyoung groans at nothing, posture losing itself as he slumps in his chair again. “We can’t have hot people at work, Chan. It’s a distraction. I’m too busy to have sexy people just walking around the office, being all-”

“It must be terrible working beside me all day,” Chan sighs, sounding pleased with himself for his quick wit. Soonyoung levels him with a look before he rolls his eyes. 

Seungcheol, on more than one occasion, has threatened to separate them. He doesn’t like the gossiping that occurs in the marketing department, the distractions they all manage to come up with. But he’s also figured that he and Chan, along with their officemates, are good enough to multi-task their gossiping with their work. Seokmin is at a family wedding this week, though, and Seungkwan has been in the editing suite all day, leaving Chan and Soonyoung to hold down the fort. 

In Soonyoung’s opinion, they’re doing a great job of it, as Chan tosses a pen towards him. “He’s your type. Tall. Glasses.”

“Glasses,” he repeats, shifting in his seat. He likes glasses.

“Stop drooling,” Chan mutters, clicks from his mouse starting up again, attention redirected to his screen. Soonyoung reluctantly looks back at his screen, trying to mentally note what Wonwoo is doing to save his file. Maybe, if he learns all the IT secrets, he can avoid Jun’s judgement for the rest of his life. 

The save button highlights for a moment before the gleeful word ‘saved’ pops up. He’s practically grinning as he leans closer to his screen, analysing the way Wonwoo closes the file, opening his folder to move the mouse around the file to show-off the fact he’s gotten it fixed. 

His phone rings after a moment, startling him from his starstruck gazing. He reaches out, grabbing the receiver. “You should update your computer more. There are about 8 more apps that need to be upgraded, and your filing system is a mess. I think your computer is just lagging because it needs to be cleared up a bit. Do you ever delete your duplicates?”

“Uhm,” he starts, still blankly gazing at his screen, not really seeing it as he thinks over his answer. “Yeah?”

“I can show you tomorrow, if you need me to come down?” He offers, and Soonyoung can’t help but smile. He’s polite; he even sounds like he wouldn’t mind coming down to show Soonyoung how to tidy his digital files - something that sounds horribly mundane to him. Chan says he has glasses. God. 

“That would be helpful,” he admits. “I’m on the second floor.”

“Chan’s office, right?”

He rolls his eyes, glancing at the younger’s desk before answering. “Yeah, Chan’s office.” He ignores the huff of amusement from next to him.

“I’ll drop by tomorrow,” he promises. 

“Thank you for all your help, Wonwoo. You’re a God amongst men! A legend, even.”

There’s another chuckle, a bashful ‘thanks’, and then Wonwoo’s hanging up, the line dropping. 

“What’s his full name?” Soonyoung asks as soon as his phone is back in its holder, grabbing his keyboard. 

“Jeon Wonwoo,” Chan supplies.

Soonyoung opens Google without a second thought, clicking into Instagram on his favourites bar. Sure, he’s not really meant to be on Instagram at work, but he’s typing before he can stop himself, the attractive voice of the stranger on the phone still echoing in his mind. @jww96z pops up in a matter of seconds, Soonyoung tapping the divide again to summon Chan. He drags his chair around, nodding. “That’s him.”

The profile isn’t private, thankfully, and Soonyoung has to hold back a groan as he scrolls down. “Glasses,” he laments, taking in the selection of photographs uploaded. Wonwoo from IT has dark hair, and sharp features; his eyes remind Soonyoung of a cat, and his smile makes something inside of him flip.

Judging by the pictures, he knows Mingyu from accounts, posing together in a coffee shop. He has a picture with Jun, too, the pair of them on a hike. His other photographs are landscapes, a few random cities in between. They’re all very aesthetically pleasing, nothing like the mess of photo dumps Soonyoung uploads whenever his camera roll feels too full. “Hansol says he has a camera in his bag. Big into photography.”

“Is everyone, like, besties with him?”

“No,” Chan argues, shutting down Soonyoung’s mild jealousy before it can really catch fire. He’s getting ahead of himself. “He just already knew Jun and Mingyu, and he went to college with Seungcheol, and he knows-”

“Nepotism,” Soonyoung accepts, clicking into a picture of Wonwoo with a cat. He looks cute, nose scrunched as he grins at the camera.“I get it.”

The mouse moves then, by itself, the cursor gliding across his screen. Soonyoung jumps, letting go of his mouse as it moves again. “What-”

The like button on the post gets clicked without either of them touching the mouse, both of them flinching at the action. “Oh my god, are you being haunted?”

Soonyoung scrambles to hold the mouse again, the like being left on a year old picture filling him with embarrassment before he notices the teamviewer box in the corner of his screen, still active. He stands up without thinking and reaches over his desk to pull the plug from the back of his computer before he falls back into his seat.

“I need to kill myself.” He murmurs, his face already red. 

“Oh my God, could he still see your fucking screen?” Chan gapes, because he’s about five seconds behind on Soonyoung’s internal breakdown, and already sounding thoroughly entertained.

“I need to kill myself, or you need to kill me.”

“Holy shit… That’s hilarious, oh my God. He liked his own picture! Oh, I had no idea he was funny like that,” Chan wheezes, fully laughing now. Dickhead. 

“You need to get me a gun.”

“He’s going to come down here tomorrow and know you were actively stalking his Instagram!” 

Soonyoung’s forehead drops onto the desk with a loud thud, groaning loudly.

“This is amazing. This is the best week of my life!” 

“I need to die!” Soonyoung shouts, wishing to disappear. 

+

The annoying thing about Jeon Wonwoo is that he’s actually more attractive in person, which Soonyoung decides he despises as soon as he sees him. 

He’s tall - like Chan said - and broader than expected. His crisp white button up fits him like it was tailored for him, which it could be, but Soonyoung doubts. He’s simply the kind of guy who can wear anything and look good, his brain supplies, which makes the whole thing even worse.

He does wear glasses, and looks somewhat shy as he enters Soonyoung’s office, hands in his pockets as he offers a small nod towards Chan, who’s had headphones on for an hour, engrossed in music. Soonyoung can still see him mute his computer, though, his desperate attempt to eavesdrop showing how evil he really is. 

“Good afternoon,” Wonwoo greets Soonyoung, clearly not in the mood for formal introductions as he rounds the desk to stand beside Soonyoung. 

“Hi,” he squeaks, before he clears his throat. “I’m Soonyoung,” he follows with, deciding formal introductions are important. If he’s lucky, Wonwoo will take on a new first impression of him – one that doesn’t include cyberstalking. 

“I know,” Wonwoo replies. No luck. “We spoke yesterday on the phone. Remember?”

“Yes! But that was on the phone,” he says, and really, he shouldn’t. He should pretend yesterday never happened to save his dignity. But he has a habit of digging himself into holes, and today is no different.

He’s offered, somewhat accidentally, an opportunity for Wonwoo to confront him. He could make a big thing about it, bring up his creepy search, embarrass him in front of Chan. But Wonwoo holds his hand towards him. “Okay, well, I’m Wonwoo.”

“Lovely to meet you,” he says, remembering his manners as he clasps his hand, shaking it quickly. He retracts his hand trying to banish thoughts about how Wonwoo’s hand swallowed his own. “This is my computer.”

“Do you always point out the obvious?”

He pushes his chair back, making room for Wonwoo, who leans over his desk, capturing his mouse. “No?”

“Could have fooled me.”

He wants to say something smart, but he holds back because Wonwoo is already saving the file he’s been working on, and he’s standing too close for Soonyoung to actually form a coherent thought. 

“Do you ever update anything?” He asks, sounding somewhat exasperated already.

“Jun sometimes comes down to update my computer when he’s bored,” Soonyoung shrugs. “But I was away, and he doesn’t know my password, so it’s been a few weeks, I guess.”

“You get notified.” He points to the side of the screen, where the boxes are begging for attention. “You have 10 here. How can you just ignore them?”

“Very easily.”

Wonwoo lets out a huff that almost sounds amused, and Soonyoung silently takes that as a good sign. “Okay, have you cleared your cache?”

“No.”

“Have you cleared your cookies?”

“No.”

“Do you ever delete anything?”

“No.”

“Jesus,” Wonwoo sighs, but he still sounds more amused than irritated. “Jun really wasn’t lying? You really do just live to make our lives harder?”

“I live to keep you both employed,” he snarks back. “Imagine how boring your day would be if no one was having IT problems.”

Wonwoo twists to look down at him, eyebrows raising before his lips tip up into an amused smirk, shaking his head. “I actually can’t argue with that.”

“Exactly, because I’m right.”

Wonwoo types something before he nods towards the screen. “Do you have a password manager?”

“My brain?” 

“No, like, the system. Do you use it to keep track of the different passwords you have?” Wonwoo clicks an icon of an app, a programme he’s never seen before popping up. If he thinks about it, Jun has probably tried to show him something like this before; but he has no real memory of it. 

Soonyoung squints for a moment before he shakes his head. “I only have one password, I’m fine.”

There’s a pause before Wonwoo straightens up. He has very impressive posture, Soonyoung mentally notes. He adjusts his glasses before he looks at Soonyoung, eyebrows raising. “One password?”

“Mhm,” he hums, trying not to pay attention to the way Wonwoo’s hair perfectly frames his face, fluffy towards the root, dried naturally. Soonyoung has an overwhelming urge to run his fingers through it. The thought makes him squirm in his seat. 

“For everything in the office?”

“For everything ever,” he confirms.

“You have one single password. For everything. Your facebook password is the same as your work email?”

“I’m not fifty,” he mutters, rolling his eyes. “I don’t use Facebook. My Twitter password is the same, though.”

He can tell it’s the wrong thing to say by the way Wonwoo’s nose scrunches. But it’s true; he’s had the same password since he turned 16, all of his social media has followed the same words, his work passwords important enough to fit into the same category. Wonwoo scrutinizes him for a moment. “You’re serious?”

“Always,” he swears. It’s a lie, considering half his time in work is spent joking with Chan, but Wonwoo doesn’t have to know that. Not yet, at least.

He pinches the bridge of his nose, looking fed up with the conversation, almost tired of Soonyoung. But he finds that hard to believe - they’ve barely spent 5 minutes together! It usually takes him at least 10 to break down someone’s patience completely. Maybe Wonwoo has less patience than the others, he considers, staring up at him.

But Wonwoo is scrunching his nose again, leaning back over the desk to take the mouse again. “Okay, well, you need other passwords. It’s not safe to just have one password for everything. You could get hacked.”

He huffs in amusement, leaning back in his chair until he hears the familiar creek of his chair. “No one wants to hack me that badly, trust me.”

“And the company?” He asks.

“Oh, yeah, the marketing department has all the government codes.”

Wonwoo gives him a look, as if he can’t decipher Soonyoung. “You’re on the company system. Anyone who can get into your account, can get into our system, and shut us down. Have you done any of the IT training Jun sends out?”

He blushes, because really, he’s never really considered that. “No…”

“They’re sent for a reason.”

Wonwoo sounds like a teacher, which does terrible things to Soonyoung who can’t help but watch as Wonwoo licks his lip, staring back at the screen. “I’m just busy. They’re very long modules.”

“They’re important,” he assures.

“So is what I’m doing,” he argues.

Wonwoo doesn’t say anything, clicking an update button in silence. The ‘enter password’ button pops up, urging Soonyoung to swing his chair forward, typing as quickly as possible; it’s ridiculous, but a twisted, gay, evil part of his brain hopes Wonwoo will be impressed by his touch-typing.

“I Love Latte 96,” Wonwoo reads, clearly having watched Soonyoung’s typing. He tries not to flush again under the scrutiny. “Is that your family pet?”

“Shut up.” He snips.

“God, you’re going to get the company riddled with cyber attacks with passwords like that,” he scolds. It shouldn’t be that attractive, but he sounds sort of smug, and Soonyoung likes that in men who wear glasses. “You need to change it.”

“No, I don’t,” he hums, clicking the update button for him.

Wonwoo turns, half-sitting on his desk, half-leaning against it as Soonyoung rolls his chair back to its pushed out position. Wonwoo crosses his arms, once again looking like a teacher. Soonyoung does his best not to squirm, again. “You should do letters and numbers that spell something you remember. Like a sentence… Think I L L 96 & I L S S 0 I F F.”

Soonyoung blinks, eyebrows raising. 

Wonwoo looks terribly pleased with himself as he elaborates. “I Love Latte 96, and I love stalking strangers on instagram for fun.”

He wants to die. There’s no other option for him, he’s pretty sure. He can hear the snort from Chan beside him, doing a terrible job of pretending not to listen to their conversation. But the younger doesn't actually say anything, and although Wonwoo’s amused eyes glance at his direction, neither of them acknowledge him in words. 

“Right,” is all he can muster, looking away from Wonwoo to stare at the blue windows update screen. The 3% stares back at him, taunting him. “Well, this is updating! So, you can probably go back upstairs. Thanks for the help!”

Wonwoo laughs this time, a sound that Soonyoung, despite himself, could get used to. “I should probably stick around. I’ll need to check it’s in working order when it actually updates.”

“What if someone else needs help?” He asks, crossing his arms. “Joshua from accounts is always having problems too, y’know? He forgets his password like once a week. You have to look out for him.”

“Well, Jun’s probably all over that,” he shrugs. “I’m fine here.”

Soonyoung glares at him for a moment before he picks his phone up, realising he can simply ignore Wonwoo. He knows it’s childish, but scrolling Twitter feels easier than sitting in uncomfortable silence with him. 

But Wonwoo’s annoying, and speaking again. “I like dogs.”

Soonyoung doesn’t look up. “Right.”

“Is Latte a dog?”

Soonyoung glances up from his phone, realising Wonwoo is attempting to make conversation with him. “Yes.”

“Wow,” Wonwoo nods, sounding amazed by nothing. “Love dogs.”

He takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself as he watches the way Wonwoo smiles at him placidly. “Do you want to see a picture?”

“Oh, I’d love to! Dogs are great.”

He’s speaking in a somewhat stilted way, as if he’s trying to be friendly, and still trying to tease Soonyoung. But he can’t help but play into it, opening his camera roll to hold his phone out to Wonwoo. “Oh, they’re adorable."

“She’s a delight. Very friendly,” he bites out, locking his phone again. 34% displays on his screen, time crawling by at a pace he doesn’t even think snails manage to move at. “She lives with my parents, though.”

“Ah,” Wonwoo hums. “Do you see them often?”

Soonyoung is good at conversation with his co-workers. He wants that on record, if ever asked. He’s great, in fact. He can listen to Hansol drone on about his cactus, and he’s great at pretending to care about Minghao’s extensive pen collection when asked. He knows how to talk to people, okay?

But he feels stiff staring at Wonwoo, his entire body tense as he nods. None of his other co-workers have seen him stalk them in real time,he supposes. “Yeah, I try to see them at least once a month. Sometimes more.”

“That’s nice,” Wonwoo agrees, smiling warmly this time. He’s sweet, Soonyoung bitterly thinks. He’s going to die because of it. Soon, he thinks, it’s in his future, creeping up. 

“Yes,” he nods, and makes a point to not ask anything back. If he asks something back, he rationalises, something terrible will happen to him. 

He has friends at work - friends he loves, and cherishes his time with. But he’s made it three years without having a work crush. He likes going out for drinks with Seungkwan and Seokmin, and likes showing Chan his tinder matches when they’re having a slow day; but his private life - his sex life - is something he’s managed to keep away from the office at all costs. 

But Wonwoo, with his ridiculously good hair, his warm smile, and his stupidly broad shoulders… Well, he could really fuck things up for Soonyoung.

So he says nothing, blankly staring at the monitor until his update reaches 50%. 

“I’m going to the bathroom,” he announces, pushing himself out of his desk chair with a huff. Wonwoo opens his mouth to say something, but Soonyoung flees before he can actually get the words out, the office door shutting behind him. 

Really, he should have thought of a smarter excuse, but he ends up in the bathroom regardless, leaning against the wall by the mirror as he stares at empty stalls, his arms crossed. He could call Seungkwan, beg him to come into the office, abandon his post to diffuse the insanity between him and Wonwoo. He’s well aware Chan will be no help. 

But Seungkwan wouldn’t help either, he’s sure. He lives for drama. Even if Soonyoung explained the situation, Seungkwan would be trying to set them up before his computer finished its update. And then, where would he be?

He takes a deep breath before he exits the bathroom, trying to get his head straight for his return to the office. But then he spots Jihoon, arms full of papers, gaze set on something that Soonyoung has no interest in. His hands immediately fly out to grab onto his shoulder, tugging him into the empty bathroom.

“What the fuck?” He yelps as Soonyoung closes the door, hand staying in place as he leans closer to tower over Jihoon. “I’m on my way to see Cheol, you can’t just kidnap me!”

“It’s an emergency! I absolutely can!” He whines. 

“You can’t!”

“The hot IT guy saw me stalking his instagram yesterday, and now he’s at my desk.”

Jihoon is still for a moment before he doubles over in laughter, the sound startling Soonyoung. He’s practically gasping for air by the time he looks at Soonyoung again. “Are you serious? How did this even happen?”

“Teamviewer,” he groans, letting go of Jihoon to cover his red cheeks with his hands. “I want to kill myself.”

“Don’t say things like that to me in the office, Soon-ah, I’m HR, I legally have to report it as a threat of life,” he informs, for the millionth time. Then he’s looking amused again. “Oh my God, stalking him on instagram, though! He could report you to me!”

“Are you kidding me?” He almost shouts before remembering they’re in a restroom at work. He really doesn’t need to get a noise complaint the same week Wonwoo inevitably reports him to HR for being a creep. “This is the worst week of my fucking life! This is it for me! I’ll come to Cheol’s office with you - I’ll hand in my resignation!”

Jihoon ensures all of his papers are in one hand before he reaches forward to steady Soonyoung by the shoulder, a deathly tight grip squeezing him. “You need to be serious.”

“I am!” 

“Wonwoo’s chill when you get to know him. He’s probably not taking it as seriously as you are.”

“He’s at my desk as we speak! He’s tormenting me! He even referenced me stalking him! He’s evil, sick!” He insists. 

Jihoon, reluctantly, is one of Soonyoung’s closest friends. Despite their differing personalities they’ve managed to keep up a solid relationship for almost a decade, the pair of them accidentally applying to the same company at the same time simply ending up a happy coincidence, forcing them to see each other even more than usual. 

But, right now, Soonyoung doesn’t think he can continue their friendship, due to the way he starts laughing again. “This is too good! I can’t believe you were stalking someone on company time, when they could see it, and you’re complaining that they’re teasing you over it! Do you hear how crazy you sound?”

“Shut up!” He hisses. “I’m going to die.”

“Spending everyday with Seungkwan has made you more dramatic,” he decides, glancing at his papers again. “I really do need to see Cheol. Can you just take a breath, and be normal for a few minutes? I really don’t want to listen to complaints about you. It’ll be awkward.”

Soonyoung rubs his hand over his face again, groaning until he sighs loudly. “Okay, yes, fine. I’ll be normal.”

“Great!” Jihoon pushes him out of the way to open the bathroom door again. They leave together, Jihoon giving him an overly enthusiastic thumbs up that Soonyoung pointedly ignores. 

Wonwoo and Chan are chatting when he returns, which he despises even more than Jihoon’s attempt at talking sense. Wonwoo hasn’t moved, arms still crossed as he leans against Soonyoung’s desk as if he belongs there. But Chan’s chair is rolled out and he’s leaning back as he nods at something the elder says, his arms crossed too. 

Soonyoung looks between them before dropping into his previously abandoned seat, pulling it closer to his desk. His computer has finished updating, the desktop waiting for him when he returns. He’s not sure what to do, what else Wonwoo wants to check. But Wonwoo isn’t even looking at him, still talking to Chan. “I think they are… But I’m not sure, I mean, they talk amongst themselves a lot, and I’m not great at Chinese.”

“Minghao’s got a computer science degree, though,” Chan informs him, nodding as Wonwoo raises his eyebrows in interest. Soonyoung realises, belatedly, that Chan is roping Wonwoo into his ongoing conspiracy that Jun and Mingaho are secretly engaged in a long-term relationship. They wouldn’t be the first in the company, but they’re both quiet and private, and no one can really tell what’s happening with them; that’s why Chan takes it upon himself to theorise on the matter whenever he’s having a slow day. “Whatever computer issues he has, he can solve himself and yet… He’s always in the IT office. That’s suspicious, right?”

“That’s very true,” Wonwoo agrees, nodding thoughtfully. “But maybe they’re just friends. Sometimes it’s nice to speak to someone from home.”

Chan’s eyebrows raise, an argument already forming. He’s too stubborn to let his theory die out due to Wonwoo’s common sense. “We don’t need logic here, hyung, we need gossip. You’re in the office all day, everyday, so you’re our new inside source! Taehyun was-”

“A dickhead,” Soonyoung finishes for him, ignoring the way Wonwoo glances at him. 

Chan clicks his fingers, pointing at Soonyoung as he nods. “Exactly. A dickhead who didn’t gossip. Or speak!”

“So, he was shy?” Wonwoo concludes. 

“No, he spoke, he just didn’t like us,” Soonyoung supplies. 

“He called Soonyoung a stupid idiot for dropping coffee once. Very rude man,” Chan dismisses. 

Soonyoung could have gone without Wonwoo knowing the old IT guy wanted him dead, but he shrugs when Wonwoo looks at him again, a silent question of ‘what can you do’ passing over his face. “The condensation made it slip. I wasn’t just purposefully pouring coffee all over my desk.”

“He acted like you were, though,” Chan continues, on a roll. “He was awful, honestly. Very unhelpful. But you seem lovely, Wonwoo! I’m sure you’d never call Soonyoung rude names, or give out to him for simple, human mistakes!” 

Wonwoo’s eyes widen slightly, and Soonyoung’s cheeks flush a bit. But the taller raises his hands in defense, warding them off. “I’d be in no place to judge! I spilled ramen over my PC the other week. Took 3 days to take everything apart, clean it all, and then put it back together. It happens.”

“See?” Chan nods approvingly, slapping his thighs as he gets up. “You’re a saint compared to the last guy. Therefore, you’ll be the one to crack the Jun and Minghao case, so we can all sleep peacefully!” 

Soonyoung watches Chan round his desk and disappear out the door, leaving Soonyoung alone with Wonwoo for the first time. He glances to the side, trying his best not to make it obvious. Wonwoo is looking at him, though, analysing the way he’s sitting, scrutinizing everything about him. It makes Soonyoung feel a bit dizzy. “So, is there anything else you need me to do, or is the computer all fixed up?”

“Fixed,” Wonwoo accepts. “You really should change your passwords, though.”

“Right, I’ll-”

“I’ll come back! Does Friday work? I know Chan’s out Friday, but I’m sure you can spare me a few minutes to go over this, right?” Wonwoo tilts his head, and, for a moment, he reminds Soonyoung of a cat. It makes something inside of him flip. 

“Friday?”

“Yeah,” Wonwoo nods, pushing himself to stand up. “Gives you a few days to think of some passwords that don’t revolve around your adorable dog.”

He swallows before he nods. “Right, yeah, Friday works.”

“Great.”

“Great,” he repeats. 

Wonwoo flashes him a small smile, and then he’s leaving, strides out the door with the same confidence he came in with, leaving Soonyoung to overthink the tone of voice he used inquiring about Friday.

+

Seungkwan shakes his coffee cup, the ice clicking together as he attempts to keep Soonyoung’s focus on him. He does it a lot when he’s trying to make a point, which irritates Chan to no end. But Chan is laughing and nodding, “I’m serious!” 

“He was so flirting!” Seungkwan confirms, because it’s Wednesday, and he’s finally freed himself from the editing suite to take up residence at his desk, and of course, Chan had been quick to catch him up on Soonyoung’s terribly embarrassing life story. “So flirting! He’s dropping by on Friday , when Chan is off , and I’m at the dentist ! He wants you alone!” 

“Yeah, to kill me,” he replies, boredly scrolling his excel file. He’s sure he has actual work to be doing, but Chan and Seungkwan have been gossiping since he took his jacket off, and he got sucked into it. His excel file is completely blank.

“He was flirting,” Chan insists. 

“He was basically bullying me! In the workplace! He was embarrassing me, and now you guys are too! This is just cruel.”

“What did Jihoon-hyung say?” Seungkwan enquiries, because of course he knows Soonyoung spoke to Jihoon about it. 

“He told me to grow up,” he mumbles, avoiding eye-contact.

“And he’s right!” Chan nods. He takes the whole thing far more seriously than he should. 

He pinches the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. “Even if he was flirting, which he wasn’t! I don’t date at work! I work at work!” 

Seungkwan snorts, rolling his eyes. “You just haven’t wanted to fuck any of your co-workers before! That’s different from actually keeping your work life separate.”

“Just because you and Hansol got freaky at the staff Christmas party doesn’t mean the rest of us have to,” he snipes. 

Seungkwan shakes his cup again instead of replying. Soonyoung glares at it. “You’re snappy today because you haven’t been fucked in months, and now that someone’s basically offering, you’re turning your nose up at it!” 

“He thinks I’m a freak, Kwan-ah! He saw me stalking his instagram, and he wants me to change my passwords! He wasn’t offering to bend me over the desk and rail me.”

“You wish he was,” Chan mutters. 

Soonyoung launches the pen closest to him at Chan’s head, ignoring the yelp that comes from him as it hits the side of his head. “This is not a conversation for the office! We’re at work! I’ll have to go to HR about this, and that will land you both in trouble!” 

“Jihoon thinks you’d be nicer if you got fucked, too,” Seungkwan wistfully mutters, taking a small sip of his drink before he finally puts it down. “I’m just saying, if you make a joke about it on Friday you can break the ice and he won’t think you’re a gay disaster who camps out on people’s social media.”

“He doesn’t even know I’m gay,” Soonyoung denies. 

“Well, he met you, so I can assure you he does,” he snipes back. Soonyoung grabs another pen, but Seungkwan jumps, and it gives him enough satisfaction to not actually throw the tool. 

“You’re putting too much pressure on this,” Chan concludes, because he’s actually moving towards his computer, clearly signalling that he’s going to start actually doing his job at some point. “Just flirt a bit, go for dinner, sleep around. He’s hot, you’re hot. It’s easy. You’re just making this whole thing complicated.”

He whines, because he’s feeling like an annoying child, irritated by how straightforward his coworkers are seeing it all. It’s more complicated, he wants to say. It’s terrible, he wants to explain. He might have to kill himself, he wants to threaten. But Chan’s typing, and Seungkwan’s sipping his drink again, and he really wants the conversation to end. So, he shrugs. “Whatever.”

They both glance at him, but neither says anything else. He pulls his chair closer to the desk, and keeps his head down for a few hours.

+

He makes it through Thursday with minimal mention of Wonwoo. Chan does, off-handedly, wink and suggest he enjoy his alone time in the office; and Seungkwan does squeeze his shoulder, muttering about how he should showcase his assets if given the chance. But other than that, there’s no real Wonwoo related discussion, which he’s thankful for. 

But that doesn’t calm him down for Friday; in fact, it makes things worse. He spends 20 minutes longer than usual to get ready, changing his t-shirt 8 times before he settles on a plain white shirt that he started with, spending a further five minutes tucking and untucking it from his jeans until he finally gives up. 

The empty office unnerves him for the first hour of work, but he manages to focus on his job for a while. He fills the silence of the large space with music, Youtube open in another tab to keep him sane as he clicks through the system, trying to remember why he likes his job. He expects Wonwoo to show up in the morning, his schedule clear enough that he wishes he would just for something to do. But then lunch rolls around, and he’s still alone, stabbing his side-portion of kimchi, impatience wearing him down as he prickles with irritation. He knows, inevitably, he’ll embarrass himself when he sees Wonwoo again, but he also believes he’d rather get it over with and out of the way. 

He spends twenty minutes after lunch in Jihoon’s office, arms crossed as he keeps residency on the couch in the corner. “It’s lonely.”

“I work in this office all day alone, and I’m fine,” Jihoon shrugs, not looking away from his computer screen. He’s much better at keeping his focus on the task at hand than Soonyoung, he suspects. 

He kicks his feet onto the edge of the couch, waving a hand. “You’re a loner by nature.”

“And you’re an attention whore,” Jihoon quips. Soonyoung spends a few moments reconsidering their friendship, wondering why he ever introduced himself to Jihoon in the first place. But then Jihoon looks over his shoulder, raising his eyebrows. “Wonwoo’s nice, Soon-ah. Just go back to your office, be nice when he arrives, apologise for stalking him and stop hiding in here.”

“I’m not hiding,” he denies, because he really isn’t. “I was just bored by myself.”

“I have to finish this report!” 

“Is someone in trouble?” He excitedly asks, sitting up straight again. Jihoon never actually divulges information, bound by privacy rules, and a general dislike for gossip. It doesn’t stop Soonyoung from asking every time, though. 

“It’s the updated HR terms regarding overtime,” he explains. “It’s very boring. Very important. Go back to your desk.”

He pouts a bit, but he reluctantly stands up. “I’ll text you,” he informs. “If I’m still alive by 5:30.”

“Oh, how exciting for me,” he mutters back. 

Soonyoung pats him on the shoulder before he leaves, closing the door behind him. His office is still empty when he returns, his chair cold as he sinks back into it, rubbing a tired hand over his face. He re-awakens his computer and stares at the screen, impatient as he waits for Wonwoo.

It’s early evening by the time his office door opens, the clock on his wall informing him that there are only 10 minutes left of the working day. He tries not to glare as he looks towards Wonwoo, eyebrows raising. 

Wonwoo looks good again, white button up tucked into his black trousers, showing off his small waist. He’s in a jacket, though, denim hanging over his shoulder as he waves a hand, stepping into the office. “Hello.”

“Hi,” he replies, blinking before he finally tears his eyes away from his tall frame. “It’s almost clock-out time.”

“Well, I wanted to give you ample time to come up with new passwords,” Wonwoo shrugs, the door falling shut behind him as he makes his way inside. “Did you?”

Soonyoung swallows. He’s been so consumed with the idea of seeing Wonwoo again, he hasn’t managed to consider coming up with any real password ideas. He ignores Wonwoo as he approaches his desk, ignoring the way he takes up perch on the corner of Soonyoung’s desk again, denim jacket fitting him snugly as he crosses his arms. “Yes?” He lies. 

“So you didn’t,” Wonwoo nods. “We’ll have to think of some.”

“I’ll think this weekend-” He starts, but Wonwoo speaks over him. 

“Do you wanna get dinner?”

Soonyoung jumps slightly, the idea startling him. “What?”

Wonwoo appears mildly amused as he shrugs with one shoulder. “We can brainstorm some ideas over ramen, if you want? There’s a great place, like, ten minutes away. We could go now, unless you have other plans.”

There are a million excuses springing to his mind, but his mouth is moving faster than his brain, and he nods before he can stop himself. “I’m free, yeah, no plans.”

Wonwoo smiles, eyes almost disappearing as he nods. “Great, let’s go.”

“Are you leaving early? Isn’t it, like, your second week?”

Wonwoo shrugs again, standing up to brush invisible dust from his trousers. “It’s six minutes, Soonyoung. Let’s go.”

He tugs his jacket on, hastily shutting down his computer as he scrambles to get up. He should cancel, he thinks, as he pockets his phone. He should say he just remembered there’s something else on, he thinks, as he pushes his chair in behind himself. But Wonwoo holds the door open for him, and he finds himself stepping out of his office alongside him, his brain failing to come up with real or valid reasons to say no to him. 

He silently thanks whatever God exists that they don’t bump into any of their co-workers on the way out of the building. His department is bad for gossip, but he’s sure that Joshua and Jeonghan would have a field day seeing them together, creating wild fantasies about them to share with the rest of the office. 

He swallows as much anxiety as possible as he follows Wonwoo down the street, keeping his head down to ensure he doesn’t embarrass himself by tripping over his feet. It feels like something he should watch out for. 

The silence between them should feel uncomfortable, but Wonwoo appears happy enough to walk ahead, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to ensure that Soonyoung’s keeping his steady pace. He has longer legs, which is stupidly attractive to Soonyoung, but mildly inconvenient as he walks quickly, nodding towards a small restaurant across the street. “That’s the place.”

“Bit early for dinner,” Soonyoung mutters, because he’s a problem-maker, and he’s annoying, and he’s terrible, and he’s-

“We can get a starter to space it out for you,” Wonwoo supplies, looking both ways before he crosses the road, leaving Soonyoung a bit surprised at the ease he appears to take in working to accommodate Soonyoung’s irritating nature. He waits a moment before he hurries to follow across the road. 

Wonwoo appears to be familiar with the waitress who greets them at the door, leading them through the restaurant, past a few busy tables full of people enjoying their Friday nights. Wonwoo orders them soju before he’s even dropped into his side of the booth, holding up two fingers to signal for glasses. The waitress nods, leaving without a word as Soonyoung takes his place. 

“They have good gyoza starters,” Wonwoo comments, holding a menu towards him. He blinks as he takes it, opening it quickly. It gives him a chance to avoid Wonwoo’s studious gaze, his own eyes taking in the options available to him. “The vegetable one is great. Are you vegetarian?”

“No,” he replies, still staring at the page. He thinks, momentarily, that there are too many options available to them, but he nods towards the page anyway. “The pork one sounds nice.”

The restaurant feels homey, with earthy tones supplied by the green plants by the bar, and the warm wood of the booths, creating a forest-like atmosphere. The lighting is low, and it makes Wonwoo look soft as he stares across the table. Soonyoung wishes their soju would hurry up so he’d have something else to fidget with to avoid the man across the table, and the way his glasses are slipping down his nose. 

The waitress hears his silent prayers, delivering the bottle to their table, along with two glasses. “I’ll give you more time to decide on food,” she offers, disappearing to another table to take an order. 

Wonwoo reaches forward, beginning the task of serving their drinks for them. “My brother used to work here,” he explains. “He moved home last year, but the food is still good.”

“Where’s home?” He asks, still glancing over his options. 

“Changwon,” he answers, smiling shortly. He pushes a glass towards Soonyoung, keeping the other for himself. “I came to Seoul for university, though. Felt right to stick around afterwards.”

Soonyoung flips his menu shut, pushing it to the side, his decision made. “What did you do before coming to us?”

“I was doing IT for one of the banks,” he shrugs. “It was very boring. Bankers are much more miserable than publishers.”

Soonyoung nods, understanding. “Yeah, I worked for an office supply company for a few months. It was very…” he hesitates for a moment before shrugging. “Straight.”

A laugh startles out of Wonwoo, his eyes shining as he nods. “Yeah, I get exactly what you mean.”

The waitress returns, notepad in hand, pen moving rapidly across the page as she takes their gyoza orders as starters, and their ramen orders for their mains. She offers them a bright smile before she leaves again, flicking her hair over her shoulder. Soonyoung watches her go before Wonwoo steals his attention back. “The office is very gay.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s like a pride parade in there,” he agrees, after knocking back his drink. “Everyone’s dating, or wants to date. It’s like a bad reality tv show.”

“I think it’s nice. Hansol was in the office with Minghao the other day. He was bragging about how he and Seungkwan were going to the cinema after work. It’s sweet.”

Soonyoung considers agreeing, considers adding his own anecdote about Seungkwan and Hansol, and their sickeningly sweet romance. But instead he leans forwards, crossing his arms to get better leverage, desperately trying to show Wonwoo how serious he feels on the topic. “Minghao was in your office? To see Jun?”

“Are you just here to gossip?” Wonwoo questions, seemingly amusesed as he tops up Soonyoung’s glass.

He shrugs back, nodding his thanks as he picks up his drink. “Well, I’m certainly not just here to discuss passwords.” He clinks his glass against Wonwoo’s before he has a chance to overthink it, ignoring the burn of his cheeks as he knocks his soju back, avoiding the way the other stares at him. Wonwoo looks like he wants to say something, but Soonyoung isn’t giving him the chance. Instead, his mouth is taking on a life of its own again, words coming out before he gets the chance to filter them. “I wasn’t stalking you, by the way.”

He looks momentarily surprised, shocked that Soonyoung’s decided to be so direct about it; but begrudgingly, Jihoon is right, he should get it out of the way sooner rather than later. It might save him a HR report.

He clears his throat, putting his empty glass down. “I mean, you were. I saw you.”

“Only because you were spying on me.”

Wonwoo laughs again, the sound twisting something in Soonyoung’s gut. “Doing my job, you mean?”

“You finished your job! You were lingering like a creep,” he argues, although there’s no real heat to his words.  

Wonwoo is still laughing as he shrugs. “I went to the bathroom after I fixed your issue, came back, and my face was on screen. Apologies for assuming you were stalking me when you were clearly stalking me.”

“Your account is public,” Soonyoung decides on pointing out. “You clearly don’t care who’s looking for you, anyway, Mr IT security.”

“So is yours,” Wonwoo quips.

Soonyoung opens his mouth, but the waitress is back, plates of gyoza in hand. They both thank her, bowing their heads before she’s whisked away again with a new task. Wonwoo is smirking as he picks up his chopsticks. “So, you looked at mine?”

“Well, you liked my photo,” Wonwoo shrugs, as if Soonyoung should know. He wants to scream. Of course, he’d unplugged his computer before he could undo Wonwoo’s action, leaving a notification on the man's phone. He should have seen that coming, he’s sure. But he didn’t, so he’s left owlishly blinking, watching Wonwoo pick up food with precision that Soonyoung doubts he’s steady enough to copy in his current state. His hands will probably start shaking if he picks up his chopsticks. 

Instead, he refills his own glass, taking a large gulp as Wonwoo chews. He swipes a drop from his lip, glaring when he catches the other watching. “You liked your photo, creep!”

“Relax with the mean names,” Wonwoo calmly replies, nodding to the plate in front of him. “Eat up before they go cold.”

He wants to grumble, complain about being bossed around. But he follows the instruction, picking up his chopsticks, digging in as requested, hand miraculously not shaking.

He swallows his first bite, nodding in contentment. “They’re good.”

“They’re great,” Wonwoo corrects, and he sounds too wise to be discussing cheap gyoza. 

They’re silent for another moment, too busy eating to continue their teasing small-talk. Soonyoung watches him, however. He still makes it through his bites, ensuring not to drip soy sauce on the smooth tabletop; but he watches the way Wonwoo appears to savour each bite, nodding as he uses a napkin to swipe the corners of his mouth. He accepts the drink he pours from him when he finishes, clinking their glasses again before the waitress collects their empty plates. The whole situation feels familiar. 

“Okay,” Soonyoung says, after the silence starts to feel too consuming. “I’m sorry for stalking you.”

Wonwoo’s lips quirk up into a smile as he nods. “I accept your apology. I’ll retract my HR claim.”

Soonyoung’s eyes widen until the other laughs, shaking his head. “Don’t joke about that, Jihoon already told me off!”

“You voluntarily told the HR guy that you stalked me?” He enquires. 

“He’s my best friend, of course I did,” he says. 

“He is?”

Soonyoung nods quickly. “For years. College and such.”

The other raises an eyebrow at the vague description. But Soonyoung already feels over-exposed. He doesn’t need to offer up any more information than needed. 

Wonwoo doesn’t seem to mind, though. The waitress places bowls of ramen before them, fresh chopsticks replacing the old, smiling as she leaves. He’s speaking again as Soonyoung stares into the bowl. “I actually went to college with Seungcheol. Football team.”

He pauses, noodle halfway to his mouth, taking in the glasses that are slipping down Wonwoo’s nose again. “Football team? You were on a football team?”

An image floats through his mind; Wonwoo out of breath, sweaty, lifting a jersey up to clean his glasses, exposed skin, a smirk, a-

“I was the photographer for the college newspaper. I just used to show up to games to photograph the wins,” he explains.

Soonyoung feels momentarily cheated, but he nods, finally taking his bite. “I didn’t know Seungcheol was a football fan.”

“He was before his injury.”

“Ah, let me guess, he could have gone pro if he hadn’t torn his acl,” Soonyoung teases, the overused excuse from many failed romantic prospects springing to mind. 

Wonwoo isn’t in on the joke when he replies a simple, “Well, yeah.”

He feels stupid. And, he regrets saying it, sounding snarky. But Seungcheol isn’t here, and Wonwoo still doesn’t appear to realise he meant it mockingly. He nods back, letting silence envelop them as he pokes into the ramen. 

Wonwoo allows for the silence until he barks out a startled laugh, making Soonyoung jump. “Oh, you were being sarcastic! I saw that on tiktok, once, okay! You’re funnier than Hansol said!”

He blinks. “Hansol said I was funny?”

“Yeah.”

He tucks that information away before he nods, trying not to blush. He hates how he feels nervous around him, a shy side of him threatening to poke out; it’s a stark contrast to how he had acted on the phone days before, but that was prior to the embarrassment; Soonyoung is pretty sure he’ll mark the start of the downfall of his adult life on the calendar with an Instagram icon beside it 

He keeps his eyes down as he eats, trying to put himself back into a normal mood. He swallows another mouthful, nodding his thanks as Wonwoo tops his glass up, placing the empty soju bottle on the side of the table. He signals for the waitress to bring them another bottle without asking. 

“Do you have any weekend plans?” Wonwoo asks, pushing his almost-empty bowl to the side. 

Soonyoung swallows his mouthful and nods slowly. “I’m going to my parents tomorrow for lunch with my sister.”

“Ah, you’ll see your little dog,” Wonwoo muses. 

“You really like dogs,” he points out, unable to stop himself. 

Wonwoo flushes for a moment before he shakes his head. “They’re fine. I’m more of a cat person. I only mentioned liking dogs because I saw her on your Instagram.”

Soonyoung can’t really name the feeling that bubbles inside of him as he laughs, shaking his head. “You learned my dog's name from stalking me on instagram… Jeon Wonwoo, you no longer have a leg to stand on! That’s way worse than what I did!”

“It’s not worse!” He denies, watching Soonyoung move his bowl to the side, too. “I was just curious.”

“Why were you curious?” He prods, and almost cringes at how smug he sounds, as if he already knows Wonwoo’s answer. 

But Wonwoo doesn’t appear to mind him asking, shrugging. “You were funny on the phone. And your voice was nice. And, clearly, you were interested enough in me to look me up; I had to return the favour."

The waitress is back, a fresh bottle of soju in her hand, a tray in the other. She loads up their empty dishes before leaving them again. Soonyoung partially wants her to stay, if only for the fact he doesn’t want the question to be proposed to him. 

But Wonwoo is somewhat knowable now that they’ve spent a meal together. Soonyoung can predict the question before he even begins to lean forward. “And, you? Why were you looking me up on company time?”

He could lie. But there’s alcohol in his blood, and Wonwoo looks stupidly attractive in the warm lights of the restaurant. “Chan said you had glasses, and your voice was hot.”

“You like glasses?” Wonwoo asks, not sounding at all shocked about the comment regarding his voice. 

“On some people,” he coyly replies. 

The other raises an eyebrow, urging him on. “On me?”

He considers a lie, but he’s nodding before he can think of one. “Yeah.”

Wonwoo looks pleased with his answer, cracking the fresh bottle open for them. He momentarily thinks about the early alarm he’ll have for the morning, the lunch he’ll have to have a steady head for. But he still accepts the drink from Wonwoo, knocking it back with him. 

The clear table gives them both room to lean their arms, both hunching forwards, as if drawn together, somehow, their glasses full again. “I’ll keep it in mind,” Wonwoo finally says, tilting his head to the side. 

“You will?” He asks and wonders what that means. 

He clearly understands that Soonyoung isn’t following, however, resting his chin on his fist as he smirks. “Yeah, I’ll throw my contacts out as soon as I get home.”

Soonyoung laughs, the idea startling him. This is flirting, he realises. It’s outright, and clear, from the way Wonwoo is playfully grinning at his laughter, the way his eyes stay on his face, pleased with himself for making him laugh. 

He wants to flirt back, come up with something quippy and smart that will make Wonwoo laugh until his eyes crinkle shut, and his head throws itself back. But then he comes to his senses, reminding himself that Wonwoo is his co-worker; this isn’t a date, they’re not even friends. 

He checks his watch, swallowing. “It’s getting late.”

“It’s 7:30,” Wonwoo replies, as if he can hear Soonyoung’s excuses before he finishes making them; as if he sees Soonyoung as a challenge, as well as something more, something he’s unable to put his finger on. 

He swallows the final mouthful of his drink, ignoring the fact there’s still a half-empty bottle waiting for him to continue. “It’s been a long week. I’m very tired.”

Wonwoo opens his mouth before closing it again, nodding shortly. “Okay, then.”

“Okay,” he replies. 

He’s ruined it, he momentarily thinks. The bubble of warmth that was previously enveloping them is gone now, replaced with discomfort as Soonyoung shifts in his seat, mentally calculating how much his half of the bill will end up being. But Wonwoo is quick, pulling his wallet out to drop cash on the table, standing up. “I’ll walk you home.”

“What?”

Wonwoo raises his eyebrows, brushing a crumb from his shirt as he nods towards the door. “I said I’ll walk you home.”

Soonyoung’s still sitting down as he blinks up at him. “You don’t even know where I live… Unless you’re doing a lot more stalking than you previously mentioned?”

Wonwoo appears amused again before he shakes his head. “C’mon.”

It’s cooler outside than before, and he has a million arguments in his mind for why it’s a bad idea for Wonwoo to walk him to his apartment building. But Wonwoo is keeping his strides short so they can walk together, side-by-side. 

The silence isn’t fully uncomfortable, but there is an air to it that makes Soonyoung gulp as he leads the way, nodding down another street for them to wander down. The chill in the air has him envying Wonwoo’s jacket, Soonyoung mentally noting to brush his coat off from the back of his wardrobe soon. 

He’s trying to remember where it is when Wonwoo speaks up again, breaking their silent spell. “So, you don’t date anyone from work, I assume?”

He almost trips, his foot giving out as he kicks into it. But Wonwoo catches him, strong hands grabbing his waist before he can take a dive. He feels unsteady on his feet as he redirects himself, squirming out of the others grip. “What?”

“That’s why you’re leaving, right? Jun said you don’t mix business and pleasure, but I didn’t realise how serious he was.”

Soonyoung feels even more off-kilter when it’s explained to him like that. “You spoke to Jun about me?”

Wonwoo shrugs, clearly not uncomfortable with their discussion. “Well, he figured I was interested.”

“You’re interested?” He asks, although he really doesn't need to.

“You’re not stupid, Soon-ah,” he quips, looking mildly amused. “I’m your type. Chan told me. He even told you! And, you’re my type.”

“I am?”

He probably sounds stupid, but he’s still slightly tipsy from his evening drinks, and standing on a street in the cold isn’t making him feel much better. “Of course you are.”

He doesn’t know what to do with the information because Wonwoo’s right. They’re co-workers, his brain whispers again, reminding him. It’s all well and good for Seungkwan to meet the love of his life at the office, but that’s a very niche case. There’s one thing about the ex-IT guy hating you for being annoying, but there’s an entirely other thing about him hating you over a breakup.

“I don’t date at work,” he acknowledges, watching as Wonwoo nods. 

“We could be friends, though, right? We could do this again, and I won’t flirt, and we can be friends?” He doesn’t sound desperate, but he’s saying it in a way that has Soonyoung leaning forward, unable to stop his nodding. 

“Of course,” he agrees. 

“Okay, good.” He nudges his shoulder, hands slipping into the pockets of his trousers as he starts walking again. “C’mon, I’m still walking you home.”

+

Jihoon pinches the bridge of his nose, huffing loudly from his spot at the kitchen counter. “You’re very irritating, Soonyoung.”

Soonyoung lets out an even louder huff, smacking the counter from the opposite side, just missing his coffee by an inch. “You’re not meant to say that! You’re the head of HR!”

“There’s only one person in HR. I’m just HR,” he points out. 

“It’s a bad idea! You know it’s a bad idea, I know it’s a bad idea! This whole thing is fucked!” 

He’s been here for an hour, standing in Jihoon’s kitchen in his pyjamas, ignoring the fact that it’s nearing 1 in the morning, ignoring the fact they both have to be up at 7 for work. That’s what the coffee is for, he reasons; but Jihoon’s got a mug of tea, and looks sort of fed up. 

“What if it doesn’t end up badly, hm?” Jihoon reasons, tapping the side of his mug. “You’re overthinking this whole thing, aren’t you?”

“He’s only been in the office, like, a week!” 

“A month, actually.”

It’s not entirely unusual for Soonyoung to show up like this. He has the spare key to Jihoon’s apartment, and he’s well aware that the shorter is a night owl, usually not sleeping till late most nights. But still, he hasn’t come over with a crisis like this in some time. Jihoon looked rather surprised to see him when he opened the door. 

But he still let him in, let him explain his entire Friday interaction with Wonwoo in detail. He still listened to his rants about the unfairness of it all, the ridiculousness of his predicament, the discomfort that had plagued him as Wonwoo offered a small smile and a clipped ‘goodbye’ when they reached his apartment building. 

“There’s too much that can go wrong,” he insists, sounding whiny. His parents, when asking about how work has been going for him, almost looked as if they regretted it when he stumbled through a ‘fine, yeah, good, fine, all normal, and good, and fine’, his sister stifling her laugh beside him.

“It’s not illegal to date your co-worker,” Jihoon reminds him, picking up his mug. The tea is definitely cold by now, but he still manages a sip. “I mean, it’s not great. If you get too serious, you have to fill out a HR relationship acknowledgement form. But it’s not like it’s a big deal! Seungcheol’s our boss , and he’s dating at work.”

“How come you don’t date at work then, hm?” He asks, eyebrows flicking up. 

There’s a moment of silence before Jihoon shrugs. “I’m working on it.”

That gives Soonyoung a moment to catch up, eyebrows raising as he points a finger. “You’re working on it? Working? Working on screwing someone at work?”

“Don’t be vulgar,” he mutters, already looking like he’s regretting mentioning it at all. 

“You want to date someone we work with? Someone I know? You’re working on dating them?” He’s known him a ridiculously long time, long enough to know that ‘working on it’ means something much more serious than it sounds. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you have a work crush.”

“Shut up,” he bites back, but he’s not annoyed. “You’re not socialising outside of work enough to justify finding someone to settle down with outside of the office walls. I think this could be good for you! You need to-”

“Do not say I need to get fucked,” Soonyoung threatens, shaking his head. He hates when Seungkwan is right about things even more than Chan. 

“You do, though. You’re pent up, and you’re insufferable. You’re in my kitchen at one in the morning on a Monday!” He hisses. “I’m tired, Soonie. I need to sleep, and I need to go to work in the morning, and so do you! If you were getting fucked regularly, you’d already be asleep, because you’d be too exhausted to ride across town to bother me!” 

Soonyoung pouts but Jihoon is already getting up, dropping his empty mug by the sink. “Go home. Go in tomorrow with a clear head, and reconsider. You don’t have to marry the guy, but if he likes you, a few dates won’t hurt.” 

+

He ignores the fact that Chan is staring at him. Seokmin is too, and Seungkwan. But he’s typing his Teams password into his computer, trying to keep his head down as Wonwoo stands next to him, leaning against the desk, arms crossed as usual. He’s ignoring everyone with as much purpose as he can muster.

“You should put a number of significance. Not 96. Something else,” Wonwoo reminds. 

He’s resetting passwords, as promised, Wonwoo beside him to ensure he actually follows through on changing them. “Got it,” he mumbles, jabbing the number 1. He’s sure he’ll remember it, considering it’s the first option. 

“Did you see Latte?” He asks, glancing down at him.

“Yep,” he nods, clicking confirm. “I bought her a little coat.”

“How cute,” Wonwoo compliments. Soonyoung ignores the looks exchanged between his friends silently thankful that Wonwoo is facing away from them. “Rained a lot this weekend, so it's good to keep her wrapped up warm.”

“Yep,” he nods again. 

He’s being unfair, he figures. He really shouldn’t be so snippy. But Wonwoo looks bemused by the whole thing, looking towards him with a small smile. There’s something simmering between them that he can’t quite figure out, something that makes him feel like squirming in his chair.

“Are you settling in well, hyung?” Seungkwan enquires from his desk, grinning brightly as the older turns to look at him. He’s already managed to fill Seokmin in on Soonyoung’s stalking. He didn’t mention it in front of him, but Soonyoung can tell he knows – judging by the way he keeps trying to stifle a laugh when he looks their way.

“Yeah, it’s good,” he nods. “Everyone here is a lot of fun.”

“Not everyone,” Seokmin denies. “Seungkwan was only telling me this morning that Jisoo’s miserable.”

Seungkwan raises his eyebrows as he looks towards him. “That’s because you were away for a week. He was moping. He’s not usually miserable.”

“He was miserable without me?” Seokmin grins, face shining like the sun. “That’s great.”

“You’re basking in your situationship’s misery. You’re a sick, sick man,” Chan comments. 

“That’s not a real word, I told you that before,” he corrects. “Plus, it’s not a situationship. It’s, like, exclusive. We’re basically dating.”

“Just ask him to be your boyfriend, then,” Soonyoung begs, because this conversation has been happening for almost 4 months, and there never appears to be an end in sight. “It’s not like he’ll say no.”

“I didn’t know you guys were a thing! Is everyone in the office dating someone else in the office?” Wonwoo asks. 

“Well, I’m dating Hansol. And Seokmin is dating Jisoo, but differently, I guess,” Seungkwan lists, ignoring the glare Seokmin sends his way. “Seungcheol’s dating Jeonghan… Mingyu is pining for Jihoon, but I don’t think Jihoon knows that, yet. Oh, and Minghao and Jun are definitely doing something, but we can’t figure out what yet. Chan’s dating outside of the office, and Soonyoung’s a snob, so he won’t-”

“I’m not a snob,” he interrupts, trying not to let his cheeks heat up. 

“It’s smart to not date in the office,” Wonwoo agrees, almost making Soonyoung jump. “I’ve never done it.” He wants to argue that he, at least, tries to do it. But Wonwoo isn’t looking at him; he’s even ignoring the way Chan is staring over Soonyoung’s head to look at him. He appears completely neutral on the idea.

“What’s wrong with it?” Seungkwan asks, already offended.

But Wonwoo waves a hand, calming the argument before it can even start. “Nothing’s wrong with it,” he starts. “It could be distracting, though.”

“Or fun,” Chan offers, looking at Soonyoung with a bright smile. He ignores him. 

“I guess,” Wonwoo shrugs. “Would be hard to focus, though. It’s important not to have distractions in the workplace.”

“What if you meet the love of your life here?” 

Soonyoung wants to laugh. Seungkwan said the same thing to Seokmin when he denied wanting to date at work, too; the smile on Seokmin’s face tells Soonyoung he recognises that. 

Wonwoo shrugs. “I could make exceptions, I suppose, if I thought it would go well. But it’s embarrassing, right? Imagine getting rejected, and then you have to see them at work the next week! It’d be terrible. I don’t think I’d survive it.”

Soonyoung twists in his chair, looking up at him. He tries not to glare, but the amused look on Wonwoo’s face when he makes eye-contact, makes it quite hard not to. He thinks of a million comebacks, but none of them can be used in front of his co-workers without alerting them to his Friday activities, and he really doesn’t think he can stand the teasing. 

He looks back at his computer, reluctantly, as Seokmin starts talking again. “It’s not that bad. My cousin broke up with her co-worker a month ago, and she said it’s fine. She had an awkward two days, but then she ended up being fine with it.”

“Yeah, hyung, just because Soonyoung is miserable doesn’t mean you have to agree with him,” Chan encourages. “Never close yourself off to new life experiences.”

“You sound like a bad greeting card,” Soonyoung comments. He’s sure there are more passwords to change, but Wonwoo isn’t making any moves to do anything on his computer, and he doesn’t mind doing nothing for a few moments. 

“Do you have any friends outside of work?” Seungkwan asks, staring at Wonwoo with interest. Wonwoo opens his mouth to answer, but Seungkwan is talking again, waving a hand as he leans forward. “I’m just asking because Soonyoungie doesn’t. And he won’t do dating apps like Channie. And, he won’t date here, so his options are limited with a capital L. It’s sad, really. He’s very moody because he isn’t getting any, and it’s bringing the office energy down.”

“Do you not have work to do? A boyfriend to bother?” Soonyoung bitterly replies. 

Wonwoo’s shoulders shake as he tries to hold back his laugh. Seungkwan dismisses Soonyoung with another wave of his hand. “I’m doing you a favour! I’m being a wingman!” 

“I don’t need a wingman!” He snips. 

“Your lack of a love life says otherwise,” he retorts, and Soonyoung really wishes he had more editing to be done this week. 

“If I needed help, I’d ask,” he huffs back. Seungkwan levels him with a look but then he shrugs in a way that tells Soonyoung he’s done talking about it. Seokmin and Chan both look away, pretending to work as the bubble bursts. 

“Have you changed your website password?” Wonwoo asks, dragging his attention back. He doesn’t look amused anymore; in fact, he looks sort of concerned, eyebrows knitting together as he looks down at him, head tilting. He has no reason to be concerned, however; as irritating as Seungkwan’s pestering can be, Soonyoung knows he means well. 

“Not yet,” he answers. He’s trying to think of something when Seungkwan pushes himself away from the desk, Seokmin following suit. Hansol’s at the office door, waving his boyfriend over, Jisoo behind him. “Is it lunch already?”

Wonwoo checks his watch as Chan gets up, following his friends out. “Yeah, it’s already one.”

“Huh,” Soonyoung sounds, glancing up at him. 

“C’mon, we can grab lunch together.”

He wants to say no, but he can’t help nodding, getting up slowly. He had promised Wonwoo they could hang out again – they’re friends now, he supposes. 

He still has to try to stop himself from drooling as he watches Wonwoo roll the sleeves of his button-up over his elbows as he holds the door open for him with his foot. 

The convenience store bell rings as they walk inside, the cool air hitting them both with a blast. The usual lunchtime crew are in, but there’s no one from their office pottering around, which Soonyoung is once again thankful for. They end up beside each other at the counter in the customer sit-in area, Soonyoung’s legs dangling from the stool. 

“Have you really never dated at work?” Soonyoung asks, still chewing through a mouthful of his sandwich. Wonwoo looks over at him with eyebrows raised, a small smile on his face. 

“No, I haven’t. I told you, bankers are very straight,” he recalls gently, picking up his own sandwich. “Why?”

“I’m just asking,” he shrugs. Wonwoo eyes him for a moment before he takes a bite, looking back out the window in front of them. Soonyoung watches the way he chews with his mouth closed, the way he adjusts his glasses when they threaten to fall off his face, the way he glances at Soonyoung, catching him staring. “Did you want Friday to be a date?”

Wonwoo swallows quickly before sputtering a laugh. “Are we talking about this again?”

“I’m just wondering!” He argues. “I’m making small-talk over lunch with you!” 

“Oh, right,” he muses, not quite believing him if the smug smile on his face is anything to go on. Soonyoung takes another bite, avoiding his eyes. “I was testing the waters. If you wanted it to be a date, it could have been one, but you don’t date at work.”

“I don’t,” Soonyoung nods quickly. 

“So, it wasn’t a date,” he shrugs, picking up his coffee to take a long sip. 

“Right.”

“Right.”

Soonyoung swallows again, looking towards Wonwoo. “You barely know me, y’know? You probably wouldn’t want it to be a date if you did know me, like, properly.”

Wonwoo twists on his stool, leaning one elbow on the counter as he takes Soonyoung in. “Soonyoung, that’s how dates work. You get to know each other.”

“Right,” he repeats, nodding. “But, I just mean, I’m not good at dating. Not just people from work, just anyone, really.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself,” Wonwoo replies, patting Soonyoung on the thigh. It’s a friendly gesture, if anything. “I thought you were great.”

“I was awkward, and made stupid jokes about Cheol’s injury, and then left early,” he points out. 

“Well, it wasn’t a date, so that doesn’t matter.”

“Right,” he nods again, looking at the counter.

If he thinks about it, his last relationship wasn’t one filled with dates; not really. His ex would come over, occasionally bringing food, and they’d have sex. They’d eat afterwards, exchanging small-talk that meant nothing, and then he’d leave. Soonyoung hadn’t even realised they were in a relationship until he’d jokingly mentioned Seungkwan wanting to meet his ‘mystery friend’. 

“I’m your boyfriend,” he’d said, sounding haughty about it. But a month later, he’d told Soonyoung it wasn’t working, and they shouldn’t carry on, and being ‘friends’ had been fun; so, he still wasn’t entirely sure where they stood with that. 

Since then, he’s just done hookups. He doesn’t talk about it in the office, but he sees people, occasionally sleeps around. Actual dating is hard. He always feels uncomfortable under scrutiny, nervous about what he’ll say, whether he’ll sound stupid or not. 

The tap on his thigh brings him back from his thoughts, his gaze traveling back to Wonwoo. “Do you want to go on a date?”

“I don’t date at work,” he replies, holding his eye. 

“Right,” Wonwoo nods. “I could quit.”

“What?” He squeaks, almost falling out of his seat. 

“What?” He repeats. “I think we’d be good together. You’re funny, and attractive. I’m funny, and attractive, and I have these glasses you like so much! If work is the only thing stopping you, I’ll quit.”

He knows Wonwoo is teasing him, but he’s so good at dry humour that he almost sounds serious. “You’re not funny.”

“I kind of am,” he shrugs. “You’re just stubborn.”

“Shut up,” he snipes. “What if I reject you now, and we have to go back to the office together? It’ll be awkward, like you said!” 

“It won’t be that awkward considering I know the only reason you’re saying no is because of the office,” he offers, picking up his cup for another sip. “You like me, or you wouldn’t have come for dinner Friday, or lunch today, so I’m not going to go home broken-hearted later if you say no to a date, because I know that secretly you’re dying to say yes.”

“We can’t date,” he replies, taking Wonwoo’s hand from his knee to drop it back into his own lap.

“If I ask again tomorrow, will you reconsider?” 

Soonyoung laughs, shaking his head. “Are you desperate?”

“For you? I’m getting there,” he shrugs, winking. He looks ridiculous. His business casual clothing doesn’t really suit his teasing nature. But Soonyoung’s cheeks heat nonetheless. 

“You are funny,” he finally admits, rolling his eyes at the gleeful grin he shoots him. “C’mon, we’d better get back.”

Wonwoo hums before he nods, getting up. Soonyoung does his best not to stare as he fixes his sleeves again, smoothing his white shirt. “We could get lunch again tomorrow, if you wanted.”

“What, so you can list more reasons we should date?” He asks, getting up. 

“I can make a powerpoint,” he offers, smiling. 

“Idiot.”

+

Seungkwan’s couch is uncomfortable; there’s pillows digging into his back as he sits up again, trying to fluff them out a bit. Soonyoung moves his legs for Seungkwan to throw himself down beside him, passing the popcorn towards him. He accepts it, the smell making his mouth water. He should have had dinner before he came over.

“Chan says you have a crush on him,” Seungkwan starts, because their movie night has been sidetracked by Chan’s loudmouth, without the younger one even needing to attend. “It’s sweet.”

“I don’t have a crush on him,” he denies, speaking through his mouthful of popcorn.

“Jihoon-hyung told Hansol you have a crush on him,” Seungkwan shrugs, taking the bowl back. 

“Jihoon is a lying asshole,” he mutters. He forgets, sometimes, that they’re friendly too. They’re both quiet, their offices close by one another, friendship built on a shared interest in music. Soonyoung once found it nice, but now he wants Jihoon to never speak to Hansol again, due to the younger’s big mouth ruining his movie night. 

Seungkwan makes a noise of dismissal. “He’s hot. I don’t know why you wouldn’t have a crush on him.”

“Are you gonna put on a film?” The Netflix home screen is still illuminating the living room, reminding Soonyoung that there’ll probably be a long-winded debate about what to watch, their popcorn inevitably not surviving the discussion. 

“You know, I was in denial about Hansol,” Seungkwan nods, chewing through another mouthful. “I mean, it’s awkward because we’re at work. And, he’s quiet, y’know? Nerdy, like Wonwoo. So, really, I never let myself think of it as a crush, because that would be ridiculous. But it was, obviously. And, when I saw him staring at the Christmas party, I knew he probably liked me, and look how it went! I mean, maybe if you just ask Wonwoo if he likes you, you’ll be able to-”

“I know he likes me,” Soonyoung dismisses, staring at the small film options on screen. Seungkwan is easy to talk to, even if he can be over-enthusiastic at times. That’s why Soonyoung says it, ignoring the gasp from beside him. 

He taps him on the shoulder, forcing him to look at him. “Elaborate.”

“We went to dinner, and he was flirting. And, we got lunch on Monday, and he said we should date,” he shrugs, as if it hasn’t been eating him up all week, haunting his every thought. 

Seungkwan looks practically gleeful, smacking his arm in excitement. “This is amazing! This is amazing, oh my God, you could have a boyfriend!” 

“No, I couldn’t,” he rolls his eyes. 

“Oh, my God, your dating at work thing is ridiculous! Wonwoo’s hot ! Seriously hot! And he’s in IT. If you break up and you have a computer issue, just call Jun! It’s not like he’ll be in our office 24/7! In fact, Chan said the only reason he’s ever been in our office is because of you!”

He’s snappy with his words, almost unhappy at the fact he has to spell it out for Soonyoung like this. “Can we just watch the movie?”

Seungkwan stares at him before sighing loudly, grabbing the remote. Their weekly movie-nights often go a lot smoother than this.

They end up watching a cheesy Netflix original, the subtitles on the end of the screen not really holding Soonyoung’s attention. Mentally, for the millionth time this week, he’s making pro’s and con’s lists, running over the reasons why he has to reject Wonwoo again. 

He knows, deep down, that his real reason is how scary the prospect of a relationship like this is. Wonwoo feels more adult and serious in comparison to anyone else he’s seen, despite his teasing nature. He doesn’t feel like someone who’ll half-ass a relationship, skipping on details that mean something to Soonyoug. In fact, the bubble of warmth that brews inside of him anytime he’s around him, hints towards the fact that Soonyoung could be just as serious about him, given the chance. 

But a break-up at work wouldn’t just be awkward; it could be soul destroying. He’s sure Seungcheol would give him gay-emotional leave, if he really needed it. The idea isn’t one that appeals much to him, though. Seeing someone you used to be in love with on a, somewhat, daily basis, is sort of his worst nightmare. 

“You know I just want you to be happy, right?” Seungkwan asks as the credits roll. “I know it’s scary, and horrible, and could go terribly. But if it doesn’t… I mean, hyung, this could be great for you. He could be great for you.”

He nods reluctantly, gazing at the empty bowl on the coffee table. “There’s just so much that can go wrong,” he mumbles. 

Seungkwan scooches closer to him, leaning his head on his shoulder. “I know, but there’s so much that can go right. Just think about it.”

“I will,” he agrees. 

“And, if you don’t come to Jeonghan’s birthday drinks on Saturday, he told me to kill you,” he whispers.

“I’ll consider,” he murmurs.

“Good.”

+

The bar, for a Saturday night, is surprisingly quiet. There are a few people milling around, but their group is the biggest, with an entire booth occupied, along with a smaller table dragged over. Most of them aren’t sitting down, however; they’re leaning by the end of the bar closest to the table, some standing with drinks in hand near the booth.

Soonyoung is squished between Seokmin and Seungkwan, the middle of the booth feeling the best place for him to stare at Wonwoo by the bar. He’s talking to Seungcheol and Mingyu, the pair laughing at something Wonwoo says, nodding in acknowledgement as Hansol approaches, Jisoo in tow. The group all laugh at something else, and Soonyoung glares. 

“I hate him,” Seokmin says, slumping into his shoulder. He’s drunk, along with Seungkwan; they’ve been here for hours, and the shots they were daring each other to do have finally caught up with them. Soonyoung feels sober in comparison, his three whiskeys not doing much for him considering how slowly he’s been drinking them. 

“You don’t hate him, Seokminnie! You love him! It’s sweet! Adorable, even,” Seungkwan coos, leaning over Soonyoung to pat his arm. 

Seokmin keeps glaring at the bar, scowling as he takes in Jisoo. “He just looks so good, it’s evil. You know, he’s only been over three times this week? Three… I mean, we’re in a drought! I’m in hell!” 

“You need to take him home tonight,” Seungkwan nods, patting him again. “Take him home, and have your way with him, and tell him you love him, and you can get married!” 

“He never wants to sleep with me when I’m drunk,” he pouts. “He’s evil!”

“I don’t know if he’s evil for not taking advantage of you,” Soonyoung comments. His friends both sit up to glare at him, his answer clearly a wrong one. “If either of you were sober, you’d know I’m right.”

“You’re like the Grinch of sex,” Seungkwan snaps, leaning away from him to grab his drink. He’s on his 4th cocktail of the night, something pink that Hansol ordered for him, kissing his cheek upon depositing it on the table. “You don’t want anyone else to get any because you’re not getting any!” 

“That’s not true,” he rolls his eyes. 

“If you just let Wonwoo-” 

“Shut up,” he hisses. 

Seungkwan is the one rolling his eyes this time, taking another sip of his drink. “You really need to get laid.”

“We’re not discussing this again!” He snaps. 

Seokmin offers him a sympathetic pat on the back before he begins stroking Soonyoung’s hair. “Ah, Soonie… My lovely friend… My precious cat…”

“You’re a freak.”

“For you,” Seokmin shrugs, smacking a kiss onto his cheek. He wants to push him away, complain a bit more, but he can’t help but laugh, shaking his head, Seungkwan and Seokmin both joining him until their other co-workers are looking over at them in confusion, wondering what’s so funny. 

They clink their glasses together when they’ve calmed down, Soonyoung draining the last mouthful of his drink. He pats Seokmin on the arm until he gets the memo, scooting out of the booth to let him pass. He could get them drinks at the bar, but they have boyfriends and almost-boyfriends for that, so he moves around the group of his friends standing by the bar, catching the bartender's attention, ordering himself a new drink. 

“I didn’t peg you for a whiskey drinker,” Wonwoo comments, surprising Soonyoung by appearing beside him. He doesn’t jump, luckily, because that would be embarrassing. “I thought you’d be having cocktails with the others.” 

“Sometimes I indulge,” he shrugs, attempting to sound somewhat coy. The look on the other's face tells him whatever he was going for isn’t really working. He shrugs again, leaning on the bar. “They’re drunk. Annoying and drunk.”

Wonwoo glances towards them, watching as Seokmin prods Seungkwan’s forehead before they laugh again, whatever words exchanged are clearly very funny to them both. “I see.”

“They did shots. They’ll leave in about 20 minutes. Hansol will make some excuse about being tired so  Seungkwan gives in before he gets messy, and agrees to go home, and Jisoo will say they should share a taxi and take Seokmin with him."

Wonwoo tilts his head, looking back at him with a bemused expression. “Are you, like, studying your friends?”

“They’re creatures of habit,” he shrugs. “Even before Jisoo and Seokmin were hooking up, he’d always make sure he got home safe.”

“And you?” He asks. 

“Me?"

“Who makes sure you get home safe?” He questions, head tilting again. 

“Well, I’m not drunk,” he replies. “I can get home safely by myself.”

Wonwoo looks like he wants to reply but the bartender is back, sliding his drink towards Soonyoung, accepting the card he’s handed. Soonyoung purposely avoids Wonwoo’s gaze, keeps his eyes on the bartender who swipes his card before handing it back to him with a smile. 

He’s fiddling with his wallet when he feels the hand on his shoulder, making him jump. He twists to see Jeonghan, bright smile almost blinding him. “Ah, Soonie, I’m so glad you came tonight!” He’s wrapped in a hug before he can stop it, letting Jeonghan squeeze him until he pulls away, picking up his drink, keeping his other arm around his shoulder. “And you got me a drink! So thoughtful!” 

“That’s not-” He starts, but Jeonghan flashes him a bigger grin before he knocks back a mouthful, turning his attention to Wonwoo.

“And, Wonwoo! I’m so glad you could make it!” He praises. “ And , you met Soonyoung! How many times have I told you over the years that you’d love him?”

Wonwoo catches his eye, momentarily amused before he nods along with his friend. “A lot.”

“A lot of times,” Jeonghan repeats, clearly enjoying himself. “Really, I was devastated when you ended up back home the week of my birthday last year. I thought it would have been the perfect opportunity to introduce you both!”

Soonyoung looks between them for a moment. There’s clearly a lot of unspoken words between them, the knowing look exchanged forcing Soonyoung out of the loop. He wants to clear his throat, squirm, and escape. 

But Jeonghan pulls him closer, squeezing him before releasing him entirely. “Thank you for coming, Soonyoungie, really, I appreciate it so much! You too, Wonwoo! You get home safe!” 

“Are you kicking us out?” Soonyoung asks, after Jeonghan gives his shoulder a light shove, nodding over his shoulder to the door. 

He shrugs, innocently. “I’m leaving! And, I assume Seokminnie and Seungkwan are, too, with their beaus. You might as well head out before you get stuck with their cocktail bill.” 

And, yeah, technically he’s right. He pays each of his drinks as he gets them, but his friends have a habit of keeping a tab, leaving the last man standing footing the bill. 

Wonwoo looks at him, eyebrows raising, a silent question; and he knows, deep down, that he should say no. He should call a taxi, or ask Chan how he’s getting home, and join him. But he ends up nodding, instead. 

“Great party,” he muses to Jeonghan, who winks back at him, squeezing Wonwoo’s arm on his way past, not bothering to verbalise his goodbye’s before he’s snaking his arm around Seungcheol’s waist, whispering something in his ear by the bar.

“C’mon, I’ll walk you,” Wonwoo offers, nodding towards the door.

“You just want a chance to get your way with me,” he muses, borrowing words from Seungkwan, 

Wonwoo chuckles, his large hand on the small of Soonyoung’s back as he urges him forward. “I thought that was obvious.”

Soonyoung’s laughing by the time he makes it to the street, Wonwoo’s touch warm on his spine as the door slips shut behind them. 

It’s drizzling, a few small drops of rain splattering the pavement as they walk down the street, their steps in time with each other. “Did Jeonghan mean that? Has he been telling you about me?”

Wonwoo laughs again. He isn’t drunk; Soonyoung knows, because he watched him nurse three beers all evening, taking small sips, too busy chatting to have anything else. But he seems at ease as he shrugs. “Yeah, he might have suggested an introduction between us.”

“He didn’t say anything to me,” he murmurs, looking at his shoes. 

“No, well, at first he was just mentioning it because he thought we’d be friends. He said your humour was similar to mine, and, well, I was seeing someone at the time, anyway, so… Jeonghan just likes when people he likes like each other, if that makes sense. He did it in college, too. It’s how I met Mingyu.”

“Ah,” he nods, glancing at his shoes to ensure he doesn’t slip. “He still didn’t mention you to me.”

Wonwoo laughs again. “Well, I’ll tell him next time that he should’ve.”

Soonyoung nudges into him to direct him down a different street, trying to remember his route home from the bar. Wonwoo lets himself be led. 

“You really don’t have to walk me home,” he decides, nudging Wonwoo down another road. 

“I don’t mind,” he offers. “It’ll bring me peace of mind to know you got home safe.”

“Aren’t you charming,” he mutters, grimacing at the sky as rain starts to fall at a quicker pace. His jacket doesn’t do much to keep him warm, but he still pulls it tighter around himself. 

By the time his street is in his line of vision, he can hear rumbles of thunder in the distance, the rain splatting against the pavement in heavy drops. Their pace has quickened, too, but neither of them run for it, despite his building being across the road. 

He debates it, as they cross the road. But looking at the way Wonwoo’s black hair flattens in wet strands against his forehead has him nodding up at his apartment block. “Do you wanna come in?”

Wonwoo looks momentarily surprised, but he ends up nodding, following Soonyoung through the front door. 

The elevator ride up to his floor feels painful. Soonyoung ignores their reflection in the mirrors, running a hand through his damp hair, trying not to cringe. The ping alerting them that they’re on his floor feels like a gunshot in the silence, but Soonyoung swallows his nerves, stepping out. 

It takes a moment for him to fish his key out of his pocket, but Wonwoo patiently leans against his doorframe, watching as he finally gets it into the lock, twisting it. 

He silently thanks past-him for tidying his apartment, toeing his shoes off by the door and nodding as he notes the fact everything appears in order. His front door closes with a click, Wonwoo carefully shutting it before he follows Soonyoung’s lead, taking his shoes off, too. 

“Did you… Eat?” He asks, grappling for something to say as Wonwoo follows him into his kitchen after hanging their jackets up. 

His t-shirt is damp, but so is Wonwoo’s, and he can’t help staring at the way it sticks to his torso. “No,” Wonwoo answers after a moment. 

“Do you… Want anything to eat?” He asks, hesitant. 

Maybe he’s crazy, but the energy in the room feels charged. And, maybe he’s delusional, but Wonwoo licks his lips before he answers, and Soonyoung is pretty sure he’s staring at the way his own t-shirt is sticking to his stomach. “Yeah.”

“Right,” he nods, swallowing. There’s a few feet between them, but it feels like miles as he gestures towards his fridge. “I probably have… Food..”

“Soonyoung,” Wonwoo breathes, and he’s pretty sure his knees shake at the mention of his name. “I’m not hungry for that.” It’s cheesy. In fact, if it was anyone else, Soonyoung might be cringing. But Wonwoo, with damp hair, and a slightly bemused look on his face has Soonyoung’s stomach flipping, and his eyes widening.

He shouldn’t. He knows he shouldn’t, and he knows it’s a bad idea, and there will probably be terrible consequences. But he’s crossing his small kitchen before he can stop himself. His arms are wrapping around Wonwoo’s neck before he can keep overthinking it. And, Wonwoo is kissing him before there’s a chance to weigh another pros and cons list in his head. 

His lips are slightly chapped, but the pressure feels good as Soonyoung pushes closer to him, attempting to tug his neck down to his height. Wonwoo’s hands find a home on his hips, fingertips digging into his sides. 

He’s thought about it a lot in the past two weeks; probably an unhealthy amount. He’s found himself losing concentration in the middle of meetings, found himself spacing out entirely when reading excel files, found himself imagining a thousand different things when he’s in bed at night. 

It’s better than he could have ever dreamt, however. When Wonwoo licks into his mouth, he almost moans out loud, his fingers threading through his hair to tug it. Wonwoo actually does moan, quietly, the sound sending a shiver down Soonyoung’s spine. He needs to hear it again. 

He pulls back with reluctance, because his heart feels like it’s beating too quickly, and his skin feels too prickly. But he stays close, their mouths still centimetres away from each other. He takes in the flush of Wonwoo’s cheeks, the pink sheen on his lips, and he attempts to steady himself, nodding towards the hall. “I have a bedroom.”

There’s a flicker of amusement before Wonwoo nods. “It’s probably best to get out of these damp clothes.”

“You’re kind of cringey,” Soonyoung blurts before diving back in to kiss him again, slipping his tongue into his mouth to muffle the noise of complaint from Wonwoo. 

Wonwoo is the one to pull away this time. “It seems to be working.”

“Shut up,” Soonyoung snipes, stepping away. He grabs Wonwoo’s wrist, though, tugging him out of the room. 

He’s silently thankful, again, when he discovers his room is tidier than he expected, too. Wonwoo isn’t really taking in their surroundings, though. He’s crowding Soonyoung’s space, his fingers deftly tipping Soonyoung’s chin up to meet his lips again. It would be embarrassing to have dragged Wonwoo back to his room after a moment of kissing in his kitchen, but Soonyoung feels he might burst if he waits any longer to get his hands on him.

It’s easy to melt against Wonwoo, lean into his space, twist fingers in the damp t-shirt he’s wearing. He’s only vaguely aware of what’s around him, but he does his best to guide Wonwoo towards his bed without having to break their kiss. There’s a quiet grunt when the back of his knees hit the bed, Wonwoo falling back, hands letting go of Soonyoung completely. He mourns the loss for a moment, but standing by the edge of his bed, looking down at Wonwoo, feels almost as good. 

“This is such a bad idea,” he mumbles, reaching to click the lamp beside his bed. Wonwoo raises his head, opening his mouth to say something, illuminated by the low lighting. But Soonyoung moves quickly, taking a place on Wonwoo’s lap before diving down to kiss him again, shifting the thought out of his head. 

He feels sort of delirious as Wonwoo bites down on his lip, unable to stop the whine that springs from the back of his throat. It should be more compromising, but Wonwoo groans quietly, and repeats the action, searching for another embarrassing noise from Soonyoung; it works. 

Wonwoo’s fingers end up under his t-shirt, somehow, his warm touch leaving goosebumps in their wake, causing Soonyoung to squirm in his lap. “Soon-ah,” Wonwoo moans into his mouth, the movement clearly affecting him. 

He pulls away to look down at him again, biting the inside of his cheek as he moves his hips again, watching the way Wonwoo’s eye’s screw shut, mouth falling open as he moans again. His entire body feels flush, the rain from outside working with his own sweat to overheat him further; Wonwoo’s large hands aren’t helping, but he’s not one to complain in situations like this, as he experimentally rocks his hips again. 

“Soon,” he mumbles. “Stop teasing.”

When Wonwoo opens his eyes again, his pupils are blown out. He’s looking at Soonyoung like he might devour him, and Soonyoung secretly hopes he will. He stops moving, keeping his gaze on him. He really is stupidly attractive, he thinks, fingers moving on their own to push a strand of hair away from Wonwoo’s forehead. 

Wonwoo flips them over, startling a squeak out of Soonyoung as his back hits his mattress. He feels like he’s gasping for Wonwoo’s touch, straining to meet his mouth, kiss him again, touch him for another moment. He could probably do this all night, although he selfishly wants more, his fingers trailing beneath Wonwoo’s shirt this time. His skin feels feverish, but sturdy under his fingertips. He impatiently tugs at the hem of his shirt, pulling away to whisper a breathless, “off,” that has Wonwoo complying.  

“You’re evil,” Soonyoung groans, screwing his eyes shut as he throws his head back. “Are you seriously hiding that under a white fucking button-up everyday?” 

Wonwoo huffs in amusement, glancing down at himself. “Well, I heard that walking around shirtless in the workplace is against HR rules.”

Soonyoung opens his eyes again, leaning up on an elbow to reach his other arm out to trail his fingers down his torso. “I’ll kill everyone in the HR department if it means I get to see this again.”

It’s meant to be a joke, but he sounds so serious as he says it that Wonwoo’s eyes widen slightly, as do his own. The words are out there, though, a desire for more hanging between them. So he swallows, sitting up to pull his own t-shirt over his head. 

“Yeah,” Wonwoo breathes, taking him in. “Those HR rules really need changing.” And then he’s kissing him again, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth until Soonyoung is shivering again, moaning as Wonwoo pulls away to start kissing down his neck. 

He almost cries out when he feels Wonwoo’s teeth scraping against his collarbones, his name falling from his lips with a broken cry as he feels himself strain against his jeans. Wonwoo’s careful fingers are teasing the button of his jeans, however, his kisses slowing to wait for some sort of answer from Soonyoung. “Please,” is all he can think to mumble, looking down at Wonwoo’s hand with hooded eyes. 

He’s out of his jeans in record time, and if he wasn’t embarrassingly leaking pre-cum against his boxers, he might compliment the speed that Wonwoo works at. But he figures that would ruin the mood, so he swallows his compliments for later, and tries to ignore the way Wonwoo stares down at him. 

“C’mon, you too,” he finally, impatiently, huffs. 

Wonwoo stands up to shed his trousers, his grey boxers sporting a similar damp patch to Soonyoungs, making him feel better. He leans up on his elbows to stare for a few moments, wondering why it took him a full two weeks to give into this. 

“Do you have-“

Soonyoung doesn’t let him finish, scrambling up his bed to lean over to his bedside drawers, tugging the second one open to dig out lube and a condom. He’s probably moving too quickly, probably appearing too desperate; but he’s hard, and Wonwoo is still looking like he could eat him so he can’t find it in himself to slow his movements one bit. He can’t lose this moment. 

Wonwoo kneels on the bed again, carefully easing Soonyoung’s boxers down until his cock springs free, a moment of silent relief washing over him. “So pretty, Soonyoung-ah,” Wonwoo mumbles, taking the lube from the bedside table where he’d left it. 

He feels a flush spread over his body, but Wonwoo appears to mean it. He keeps his eyes on him as he warms the lube between his fingers, still looking hungry, and fascinated by the way Soonyoung stares at him. 

He uses his other hand to gently move Soonyoung’s ankle, attempting to make himself more space between his legs. “You okay?” He checks. 

“I’d be better if you actually touched me,” Soonyoung pants, because it’s been too long; in fact it feels like it’s been forever since someone actually filled him up. He worries, for a moment, that he won’t last. But he feels the careful prod of Wonwoo’s long fingers by his rim, and the thought dies, desire replacing his concerns.

“Just tell me if you need to stop,” he requests, finally sliding his finger in. It earns a gasp from Soonyoung, his hips bucking to meet nothing, desperate for friction. He nods, nonetheless.

He’s sure he needs to relax, but his body feels tense as Wonwoo’s finger teases in and out. He lets himself breathe until the stretch is familiar enough for him to nod again, silently requesting more. 

He moans quietly when Wonwoo enters a second finger, looking at Soonyoung until he’s writhing, encouraging him to keep going. The gentle stretch of him scissoring him open makes him feel like squirming around, but he manages to stay in one place, panting little by little. It takes a minute, but when he finally feels comfortable enough, he nods again. “More,” he begs, and Wonwoo once again obliges. 

There’s a moment for adjustment, a moment for him to breathe, and then Wonwoo is crooking his three fingers inside of him, forcing a loud whimper from his lips. “Wonwoo,” he groans, back arching as he repeats the action. “Stop, stop, I’ll cum if you keep doing that- stop.”

“Isn’t that the point?” Wonwoo teases, hitting the spot again. Soonyoung whines, face flushing at the noise. 

“No! The condoms aren’t out for decoration,” he snaps, because he’s leaking pre-cum onto his abdomen, and he can feel his back sticking to his bedsheets with sweat. It should be disgusting, yet he can’t really find it in himself to care. His hair is probably matted to his forehead, but he doesn’t have the strength to bother adjusting it. 

Wonwoo chuckles, and Soonyoung decides he hates him. He’s cocky, and horrible, and takes pleasure in the way Soonyoung groans as he throws his head back, the final crook of his fingers almost making him see white. “Sorry,” he finally says, and retracts his fingers entirely. That, too, earns a whine from Soonyoung, as he clenches around nothing. 

He stands up again, his chest slightly red from the blush that started on his cheeks when they first kissed in the kitchen. Soonyoung thinks it suits him, although he doesn’t speak; instead, he watches, mouth open in awe, as Wonwoo finally tugs off his own boxers. 

He can feel saliva collecting in his mouth, and he wonders if he’s ever wanted to blow someone as badly in his entire life. But he’s splayed open on his bed, stretched open; and, not to sound cocky, but Wonwoo won’t last if he gets his mouth on him. Soonyoung would make sure of that. 

It shouldn't be so attractive to watch him roll a condom on, and yet, he almost moans at the way Wonwoo handles himself, careful and quick to ensure lube is coating every inch. 

“How do you want me?” He asks, his voice sounding slightly strained. Wonwoo looks up, eyebrows raising behind his glasses. 

“Whatever you find most comfortable,” he offers, making his way back to the bed. “Although, I like you like this.”

He kneels back on the bed, carefully, nudging his way back between Soonyoung’s legs. “You do?” He asks, anticipation destroying any chance of rational thought. 

“Yeah,” Wonwoo nods, lining himself up. Soonyoung almost jumps at the shy touch of his head at his entrance. “I want to see you when you cum.”

He doesn’t expect it, which is why he almost moans, but the sound is practically punched out of him when he feels the first stretch of Wonwoo entering him. It doesn’t matter how much preparation Wonwoo gave him; he’s bigger than Soonyoung thought. His eyes screw shut with the burn, the slow push giving him time to adjust, wincing. They both moan when Wonwoo finally bottoms out, Soonyoung blinking as tears prick the side of his eyes. 

“Are you okay?” Wonwoo asks, voice sounding deeper than usual. 

“Yeah, just… Wait a second,” Soonyoung requests, attempting to breathe through the stretch. Wonwoo nods quickly, watching carefully until Soonyoung finally nods. “Okay, move.”

Wonwoo is good at directions, slowly easing himself out before thrusting back in. Soonyoung’s pretty sure he’s never felt so full in his life, but he moans again, back arching off the bed as Wonwoo keeps a careful grip on his thighs, angling himself better. 

“Fuck, Soon-ah, you’re so tight,” he groans, sounding amazed by the whole process. “So tight, so good- you’re so good for me, Soonyoung.”

He moans at the praise, nodding. “You- you’re so big,” he manages, trying not to roll his eyes at the way Wonwoo smirks. “Shut up.”

He thrusts in again, hitting his prostate in a way that makes Soonyoung mewl loudly. “I didn’t say anything,” he chuckles. 

“Stop talking,” he whines, arching against his mattress again. 

“You don’t want me to tell you how good you feel?” Wonwoo murmurs, pausing his hips to kiss Soonyoung’s neck. “You don’t want me to tell you how much I want this?”

“Wonwoo,” he breathes. “I want to cum.”

Wonwoo leans back, picking up a lazy pace again. “Can’t you multitask?”

“Wonwoo,” he warningly groans. He hates how composed he appears in the act. Soonyoung feels overwhelmed, and desperate; Wonwoo appears almost amused by the display. 

The taller adjusts his glasses, which is stupidly attractive to Soonyoung for God knows what reason, and finally starts moving with a purpose. He can feel heat rising inside of him, can feel moans falling from his lips without actually hearing them. He’s sure that the grip Wonwoo has on his hips will leave marks, but he finds himself craving more, a desire to be marked burning inside of him.

“Wonwoo,” he breathes, writhing under him. “Touch me- Wonwoo, please, just-“ 

His words are cut off by a gasp when Wonwoo finally wraps his fingers around his cock, the sensitivity causing him to buck his hips up, unable to control himself. “Good?” Wonwoo teasingly questions, his thumb swiping over the slit, collecting pre-cum to spread evenly over his head. 

“Hmmm,” he sounds, because he can’t really find the words to describe just how good it all feels. 

“You’re so worked up,” Wonwoo huffs, angling his hips in order to hit his prostate again, earning another gasp. “Are you gonna cum, Soonyoung?”

He nods, frantically, everything feeling too much. He wants it to last forever, but he feels like he's on fire, and his heart feels like it's beating out of his chest. He’s teetering on the edge of an orgasm that he’s sure might ruin his life; but he craves it so badly, he can’t help but raise his hand, gripping Wonwoo’s arm. “Make me cum, Wonwoo-yah. I need it,” he whines, voice a higher pitch than usual.

Wonwoo swears under his breath, his hips snapping against him as his hand picks up, jerking him off until Soonyoung’s entire body is tensing, cum painting his stomach as he moans loudly. It’s embarrassingly fast, but Wonwoo  doesn’t take his eyes off him.

“Fuck, Soonyoung,” Wonwoo groans as Soonyoung clenches around him in the aftershocks, the sensation forcing him to gasp before he’s cumming, too, moaning Soonyoung’s name again before he pulls out, collapsing beside him. 

He feels boneless and fucked out as he catches his breath, staring up at his ceiling. Wonwoo is the first one to move, pushing himself up until he’s standing again. “Bathroom?” He asks, voice sort of hoarse. 

He points towards the door, his limbs feeling heavy. “The door on the left,” he mumbles. 

Wonwoo nods, disappearing. Soonyoung can see the light from the bathroom reflecting against the hall floor, the quiet sounds of a running tap filling the silence of his breathlessness. 

And, then Wonwoo is back, a damp cloth in his hand, boxers back on; Soonyoung hadn’t even seen him grab them, but his brain is still foggy. 

“Here,” Wonwoo mumbles, before wiping down his stomach, careful and gentle in his movements. “You okay?”

“I’m okay,” he nods. Wonwoo stares at him for a moment before he nods, wandering out of the room again. 

Soonyoung reluctantly gets up, locating his boxers. It takes a moment of wincing before he gets them back on, his skin still sticky with sweat; but he’s too tired to shower, too tired to contemplate standing for longer than two minutes. He needs to sleep, and freak out tomorrow, in peace.

He wanders over to his wardrobe, pulling open the doors carefully. “Here,” he says when Wonwoo comes back, the bathroom light off again. Wonwoo looks at the t-shirt, eyebrows raised. “You can’t sleep in a damp t-shirt. You’ll get cold.”

It’s not a question, yet Wonwoo still looks confused. “You want me to stay?”

Soonyoung blinks, regretting his question. He probably shouldn't considering Wonwoo’s been begging to take him out all week. But maybe he’s read this wrong, maybe he’s gone about it incorrectly. “You don’t have to.”

“No, I want to!” Wonwoo rushes to say, looking bashful for a moment. He seems practically shy compared to the Wonwoo who took him to dinner to flirt, and the Wonwoo who just teased him till he was practically a begging mess. It’s horribly endearing. 

“Well… Do you want a t-shirt, then?” 

Wonwoo nods quickly, almost stumbling forward to accept the shirt, tugging it over his head. Soonyoung usually buys his clothes slightly oversized, but the shirt still looks a bit small on Wonwoo. 

He pulls his own on, yawning quietly. “I need to lie down,” he confesses, slightly embarrassed by how tired he feels after one quick fuck. He’s getting old. “But if you need water, or actual food, you can help yourself to anything.”

He flops onto his bed by the last word. He hears a noise of acknowledgement from Wonwoo, followed by his footsteps disappearing from the room. 

He’s probably not being hospitable, but he’s exhausted as he fixes his pillows, curling against the wall to leave space for Wonwoo. He closes his eyes, wondering if he can fall asleep before Wonwoo gets back. 

But Wonwoo reappears within a few moments, two glasses of water in his hands. He kicks the door closed behind him, appearing by Soonyoung’s bedside, holding a glass towards him. “Drink up before you sleep,” he orders.

“I’m not 6,” Soonyoung mutters, but he sits up, accepting the glass. “Thanks.”

Wonwoo takes a few long gulps of his water before placing the glass on the bedside table, sitting down in the space Soonyoung left for him. 

He ends up draining his glass, thirstier than he realised, handing his empty glass to Wonwoo. He watches with interest as Wonwoo pulls his glasses off, running a hand through his hair. Soonyoung hazily stares for a moment before scoffing. “You’re so annoying.”

Wonwoo looks over at him, eyebrows raising. “What did I do now?”

“You’re just stupidly attractive,” he huffs, adjusting his pillow again before throwing himself against it. 

Wonwoo laughs, shaking his head as he clicks off the lamp by the bed. He adjusts his own pillow, shimmying down the bed to lie down. “You know that you’re stupidly attractive, too, right?”

Soonyoung squints through the dark, shaking his head. “Shut up.”

“I’m serious,” he insists.

He feels Wonwoo’s hand on his cheek, a gentle touch before he kisses him again. There’s no urgency anymore, no desperation to touch; they’ve done it now, they know what it’s like to come undone under each other’s touch, meaning now it just feels comforting.

He kisses back, melting into his touch, a quiet noise of satisfaction seeping out of him before Wonwoo pulls away, pecking him again before he cards his fingers through Soonyoung’s hair. “Go to sleep, Sonnyoung, you’re tired.”

He blinks, his eyes feeling heavy as he nods, letting his head drop to Wonwoo’s shoulder. He hears a huff before arms envelop him, manoeuvring him until hems laying on Wonwoo’s chest, much more comfortable. 

“Thank you,” he breathes, closing his eyes. 

Wonwoo doesn’t reply, his fingers trailing down Soonyoung’s arm, back and forth until he falls asleep. 

+

He feels stiff when he wakes up, his bed empty. The sunlight filtering through his window feels blindingly bright, but he blinks his way through it, letting his eyes adjust as he yawns. 

The sinking feeling that’s threatening to settle in his stomach dispels itself when he notices Wonwoo’s jeans are still on his bedroom floor. He takes a deep breath before he gets up, feeling hesitant as he makes his way out of his room.

Wonwoo is fiddling with his coffee machine when he gets to his kitchen, his broad back causing Soonyoung to pause. He feels unsure of himself as he clears his throat, but he’s buying time; he has no idea what to say to Wonwoo. 

He turns, glancing over his shoulder with raised eyebrows, his glasses slipping down his nose. “Oh, you’re up.”

“What are you doing?” He asks, despite it being obvious. 

“Trying to figure out how to make coffee,” Wonwoo offers, turning back to the machine. “Is this thing broken, or?”

Soonyoung’s brain finally springs into action, forcing himself to move towards the counter. “No, you just need to-“ he cuts himself off, pulling open the bottom tray to trash the compact coffee cubes. “The light doesn’t work to say it’s full.”

“Ah,” Wonwoo hums, watching as Soonyoung returns and slots it back into the machine. He’s already managed to find a mug, and there’s milk on the counter beside the machine. “I was going to make you some, sorry. It’s just you, well, last night, you said to get whatever, and I’m quite coffee dependent. But, I guess, I don’t know how you take yours, so-“

“Wonwoo,” he interrupts. “Take a breath.”

“Right,” he nods, colouring slightly. 

Soonyoung jabs the button on the machine, ignoring the whir of the beans grinding as he makes his way to his fridge. “Did you eat?”

“No, I was waiting for you.”

He swallows, hesitating by the door of the fridge before he looks back at Wonwoo. He blushes when he realises Wonwoo is already looking at him. “We still can’t date,” he blurts, mouth hanging open as he finishes his sentence. 

Wonwoo’s eyebrows raise, mouth opening and closing once before he nods slowly. “Okay.”

“I mean, last night was great! And, we should do it again! But I can’t, like, be your boyfriend, or anything.”

“Okay,” Wonwoo repeats.  

“I’m just saying, so we’re clear. I mean, I’m not kicking you out! And, we’re friends, right?” 

“Right,” Wonwoo nods. 

Soonyoung squints, eyebrows knitting together as he attempts to read the other’s expression. He’s unreadable, however, expression somewhat neutral. “Right,” he repeats. 

“Do you have sugar?” Wonwoo asks

“Is that- Are we okay?” He asks, hesitating.

“Yeah,” Wonwoo nods. “Sugar?”

He expects more; in fact, he craves more. He feels deflated as he pulls the small jar of sugar from his shelf, handing it over. He feels needy, desperate for reassurance that they really are fine, that everything really is okay, that maybe they can do this again. But Wonwoo is pulling open the drawer Soonyoung points towards, removing a spoon, seemingly at peace to make his coffee in silence. 

Part of him wants to take it all back. He wants to backtrack, insure Wonwoo had a good night; in fact, a bigger part of him wants to rewind entirely, never taking Wonwoo home, never going to lunch with him, or dinner, or even asking for IT help those weeks ago. 

But he can’t change anything, he supposes, opening the fridge. There’s nothing that can be done now, he thinks, pulling out a carton of eggs. He’s dug himself into an impossibly deep hole, he realises, turning back to Wonwoo. “Do you want fried or scrambled?”

He cooks in silence, Wonwoo disappearing for a few minutes before arriving back fully dressed, his t-shirt from the night before replacing Soonyoung’s. He ignores the fact he feels underdressed, his oversized t-shirt barely covering the top of his thighs where his boxers end, but he’s dishing up their scrambled eggs, and toast, too busy to run to his room to change; and, it’s not like he has plans for his Sunday. 

“Thanks,” Wonwoo hums, smiling as he accepts his plate as he takes a seat on the opposite side of the counter to him. Soonyoung watches him take his first bites, nodding. “This is great.”

“Do you hate me now?” He asks, eyebrows raising, a sick feeling in his stomach. 

Wonwoo looks surprised by the question. “What?”

“Do you hate me because I said we’re not gonna date? Because, honestly, it’s not that I don’t want to! I mean, I do! You’re great. You might be perfect, even, I mean, you have a stable job! And, you’re ridiculously attractive. And, you’re great in bed, I mean, fantastic, really… And, you’re funny sometimes, and you-”

His blathering is cut off by Wonwoo’s loud laugh, his head shaking as he places his cutlery down. “Can you take a breath?”

Soonyoung flushes, his mouth working quicker than his brain. He feels like he’s revealed too much, but he also trusts Wonwoo more than most people; his laugh isn’t malicious, just startled. “Sorry,” he mumbles. 

“Look, it’s fine, we’re not dating,” Wonwoo finally says, still smiling.

“Right,” Soonyoung nods, releasing a breath.

“Yet,” Wonwoo continues.

Soonyoung’s eyebrows raise again, his head shaking, “No, no, not at all! As long as we share office space, we’re not dating! It’ll get messy, and we’ll have too many people in common, and-”

“Okay, we’re not dating,” he nods. 

“Stop saying it like that!” He whines. Wonwoo takes another bite of his breakfast, still looking amused by the whole situation. “I’m serious!”

Wonwoo tilts his head. “Do you want to have sex again?”

“What, now?” Soonyoung gasps. 

“No,” he replies, rolling his eyes. “I just meant in general. Can you see yourself sleeping with me again?”

“Hopefully,” he bashfully retorts. 

“Right,” Wonwoo nods. “And, we’ll hang out again at some point. Lunch, maybe dinner, right?”

“Right.”

“Yeah,” Wonwoo nods, pointing his fork. “We’ll end up dating.”

“You’re being an asshole!” He huffs. 

Wonwoo laughs, shaking his head. “No, I’m not! I like you, you like me. You want to have sex again, you want to get dinner! I’m no genius, Soonyoung, but that sounds like dating.”

He doesn't like being wrong, but he stubbornly pushes away from his counter to retrieve his coffee. “Fine, we won’t sleep together again.”

“Ha, okay,” Wonwoo nods. 

“I’m serious,” Soonyoung shrugs, turning back to face him, mustering his most serious expression. “We’re not doing this again. We’ll be friendly co-workers. We can get lunch.”

“But no sleeping together,” Wonwoo finishes for him, nodding. “Okay.”

“Why are you saying it like that?” Soonyoung whines. He realises he sounds childish, but Wonwoo makes him feel slightly insane, and his teasing tone isn’t doing anything to help that. 

“If that’s what you want, we’ll do it,” he shrugs, taking another bite. 

“Well, it is what I want,” he nods. 

Wonwoo nods back, and continues eating, silence stretching between them. 

Soonyoung watches on, unable to take his eyes off him. It feels somewhat domestic to have Wonwoo in his kitchen, to have him eating breakfast with him, even if it just includes Soonyoung staring at him after a stiff conversation. He belatedly pushes the thought out of his head. 

“Thanks for the food, and last night,” Wonwoo finally says, standing up. He holds a hand towards Soonyoung, over the counter. Soonyoung blinks at him, looking down at his hand before he meets his eye again. He feels like an idiot shaking his hand, but he reluctantly does so, earning a quick, amused grin from Wonwoo. “I’ll see you tomorrow, pal!”

Soonyoung opens and closes his mouth, but Wonwoo lets go of his hand, beaming brighter before he makes his way to the front door. Soonyoung rounds his counter to watch him slip his shoes on, pulling his jacket on. “Bye,” Wonwoo calls, the door snapping shut behind him.

Soonyoung blinks again, staring at the empty space until the minutes catch up with them. “What the fuck?” He mumbles to himself, dragging his hands down his face. 

+

He doesn’t tell Jihoon about it. In fact, he doesn’t tell anyone. He spends his Sunday cleaning his kitchen, reorganising his cabinets, and clearing the spice rack. Then he rearranges his bookshelf, cleans his room, and changes his sheets. He does everything in his power to distract himself for the day, his itching fingers staying far away from his phone. 

And, when he makes it to bed that evening, he manages to close his eyes. It’s a mistake, of course; there are images of Wonwoo leaning over him playing behind his eyelids, the pressure of Wonwoo’s fingers still ghosting over his skin. He tosses and turns until sleep finally comes for him as his clock nears two. 

“You look like shit,” Chan helpfully informs him when he gets to work. Soonyoung ignores him, planting his iced americano on the coaster by his post-it notes. “Seriously, are you okay? Did you sleep?”

“Yes,” he lies, pulling his chair closer to his desk. His computer takes a few moments before the log-in screen pops up. 

“You look like you didn’t.”

“Great, thank you.”

He waits for another comment to come, but Chan clearly realises he’s done with conversation for the time being. Seokmin and Seungkwan arrive together, already chatting, barely noticing as Soonyoung pops his earphones in, keeping his head down. It’s not unusual to be antisocial in the office. If one of them isn't up for talking, the others usually get the memo fairly quickly; he’s silently thankful for it as he scrolls through his emails.

He ends up giving in before lunch, however, fishing his earphones from his ears to attempt to catch up with whatever Seungkwan is giggling about. He’s too nosey for his own good. 

Chan’s chair is empty, his computer idle. Part of him almost asks where he’s gone, but Seokmin spots the fact he’s listening, and points a finger. “Did you see it?”

And, he’s dragged into conversation, then. Soonyoung does his best to keep up, his mind still sluggish from lack of sleep as he nods along to the description of the nature documentary Seokmin spent his Sunday engrossed in. 

“It sounds boring,” Seungkwan comments. “I mean, I’m sure it’s meant to be interesting, and I get it’s important. But watching eight hours of content about the life of a cactus… You need a life.”

“I have a life,” Seokmin insists, his mouse clicking a few times before he leans back in his chair, grinning. “Jisoo watched with me.”

“Do you know how much of a loser you have to be to watch a cactus documentary when there’s a beautiful man in your house?” He asks. 

“It was good background noise,” Seokmin offers to Seungkwan, winking towards Soonyoung. He rolls his eyes, but he still has to stifle a quiet laugh. “I highly recommend it.”

“God, no. I do actually date a loser,” Seungkwan laments. “That’d backfire for me entirely.”

He wonders what Wonwoo would do if he invited him over to watch a plant documentary. It feels ridiculous to contemplate, a flush threatening to creep up his neck. But he swallows it down, looking back at his computer. He has to stop thinking about Wonwoo, especially at work. He needs all thoughts of the man banished from his mind, gone entirely. 

“Ah, you found him!” Seungkwan exclaims, and when Soonyoung looks up he spots Wonwoo – because of course! Chan is ushering him towards his desk, rambling a complaint about the slowness of his chrome, and Wonwoo is doing his best to wave back at Seungkwan and Seokmin, returning their greetings as he listens to Chan.

Soonyoung, bravely, keeps his gaze on his computer. He idly wonders if he keeps his head down, and ignores his existence, if Wonwoo will ignore him too. 

But Wonwoo is evil.

“Good morning, Soonyoung-ah!” 

He wants to scream, or flee. Instead, he bravely spins his chair to the side, looking up at Wonwoo who stands by Chan’s monitor, and flashes a smile. “Good morning, Wonwoo.”

Wonwoo considers him for a moment before turning back to Chan. “Did you clear the cookie options? They can cause it to lag, and then crash. It’s annoying to remember, but-”

Soonyoung stops listening, turning back to his computer to glare at it. He feels petulant, and prickly. He doesn’t want Wonwoo to bring it up, not in front of everyone - but he still feels put out by the dismissal that he senses. 

“Soonie?” Seungkwan’s voice cuts through his inner spiral, forcing him to look up from his screen. “Did you hear me?”

“Hm?” He urges, trying to resist the urge to rub his tired eyes. 

“I said, are you getting lunch with us?” He’s lost track of time, eyes darting towards the digital display in the corner of his screen. “We were gonna go-”

“Yes,” he quickly nods, practically jumping up. He wants to be away from Wonwoo, away from thoughts of Wonwoo. He wants-

“Wonwoo, will you come too?” Seokmin asks, smiling widely. 

Wonwoo smiles back, nodding his head. “That sounds good, yeah.”

Soonyoung hates him. He despises him. He despises himself more, but still, Wonwoo is pretty high up his list of people to hate as they make their way out of the office, Seungkwan and Seokmin a pace in front of them, Chan trailing behind them. Wonwoo bumps Soonyoung’s shoulder when they reach the street, eyebrows raising as he shoots him a sidelong glance. 

“Did you have a good Sunday, Soonyoung-ah?” He asks, tilting his head. 

“It was fine,” he replies, maturely. “How was yours?”

“Oh, it was fine, yeah,” Wonwoo nods, looking away. He walks with his hands in his trouser pockets, his posture perfect. He looks taller than usual like this, sleeves of his white shirt rolled up again. Soonyoung idly wonders if he ever has his sleeves at their normal length, wonders if he just has them rolled up to drive Soonyoung crazy. 

He looks away before he can do something embarrassing. 

“You look nice today.”

Soonyoung’s neck almost snaps with the speed he turns his head, face immediately heating over the small comment. “What?”

Wonwoo flashes him a small smile, and then he’s picking up his pace a little bit, slipping into the space beside Chan, muttering something to him that forces a laugh out of him, Seungkwan and Seokmin looking back to join in the conversation. Soonyoung takes a deep breath before taking his next step, mentally preparing himself for a long lunch.

+

“Stop doing that.”

He’s made it through the whole week. He’s reminding himself that, as he stares at his computer screen, the loading symbol taunting him. He’s made it through the whole week, and been nothing but civil to Wonwoo, ignoring all his ridiculous comments. 

The lunch had been uneventful, Wonwoo barely paying attention to him again, conversing with their friends instead. Soonyoung did his best to keep up with conversation, but had been silently jumping for joy when they made it back to the office, and he could escape to his earphones again as Wonwoo fixed whatever issue Chan was having. 

He saw him three more times over the week, each time Wonwoo leaning towards him to mutter something about how good he looked. Soonyoung didn’t get a chance to reply to him on any of the occasions, but he was silently thankful for that; he had no idea what he’d say. It was easier to simply avoid him. 

But now, as the clock on the wall nears the end of the day, Wonwoo is leaning against his desk with his arms crossed, watching him.

“I’m not doing anything,” he calmly replies. 

“I asked Jun to come,” he mutters, typing his password for what feels like the millionth time. 

“Mhm.”

Soonyoung hates him. “You’re staring at me. I can feel you staring. Just stop doing it, and I can-” he cuts himself off. It’s embarrassing to admit he accidentally typed his password wrong twice due to the feeling of Wonwoo’s gaze on his cheek. 

“Jun was busy. Minghao and him were going to go to dinner, so I told him I’d handle this for you, and he could leave. I’m just being a good friend,” he explains, sounding entirely uncaring about it. 

Soonyoung doesn’t even have the energy to comment on the concept of Jun and Minghao leaving together for dinner. Instead, he methodically types again, feeling silently gleeful when it lets him back in. “Right, here. Can you see?” He points to the way the screen bounces. “It’s not meant to do that.”

Wonwoo finally turns to look at the screen. “Yeah, wow, it’s not.”

Soonyoung huffs. “Yeah, thank you, mister IT expert.”

“Get out of the way,” Wonwoo says, pushing himself away from the desk. Soonyoung abandons his chair, letting the other slip into it. He steals the spot Wonwoo used to be in, crossing his arms, mimicking his old pose. 

The office is empty, his co-workers scrambling to leave as soon as the clock hit 5:30. Soonyoung had wanted to join them, but five minutes before, when he attempted to upload the file Seungcheol requested, the programme began bouncing on his screen, glitching in a way that made it impossible to simply upload the file. 

Now, the clock on the wall is ticking closer to 5:40. Being alone with Wonwoo for the first time all week is making his skin itch. He seems annoyed, his tone clipped, and his eyes focused as he works on Soonyoung’s computer. Soonyoung taps his elbow as he waits, watching his movements. Maybe he does hate him. Maybe Wonwoo is sick of him, and his messy feelings. 

“Now you’re the one staring,” Wonwoo points out, not lifting his gaze. 

Soonyoung swallows, diverting his eyes.

“You need this to go to Cheol?” He asks, typing something.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, done,” he mutters, hitting the enter button with a nod. “Do you need anything else, or can I update and shut down?”

“No, I’m done. I’m sorry you had to stay late.”

His screen turns blue as Wonwoo hits the update button, getting up. He squints down at Soonyoung once he’s at his full height, making Soonyoung feel small again as he looks up to meet his eye. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

“Busy week,” he lies. It’s been a slow week. Everyday has felt like a drag, his lunch breaks feeling even longer. He spent an entire evening in Jihoon’s, managing to keep his mouth shut about his one-night stand, managing to shut down the topic of Wonwoo at every turn. It didn’t stop Jihoon from making a few off-hand comments about how Soonyoung should take a leap of faith, let himself find happiness. Soonyoung had left with a frown on his face, and spent his night tossing and turning in bed again. 

“Let’s get dinner.”

“I have plans,” he lies. 

Wonwoo laughs. The sound is familiar but somewhat shocking to Soonyoung. “No, you don’t. You just want to avoid me a little longer.”

“You’re self-obsessed,” he decides. “I have a life outside of the office, I have interests other than you!” 

“Ah,” Wonwoo nods, somewhat smugly. “So, I’m an interest of yours?”

He rolls his eyes, shaking his head. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” he corrects. “You don’t wanna sleep together because you want to be friends, and now we’re not even friends.”

“We are friends!” He argues, sounding petulant. 

Wonwoo chuckles this time. “Okay, sure.”

“Don’t say it like that,” he huffs, his arms tightening around himself. “You’re being annoying about this. You’re making it into a whole thing! We’re not being friends, because you keep saying I look good, and you keep staring, and you keep-”

“I keep thinking about fucking you again,” Wonwoo finishes for him. Soonyoung blinks, the air feeling like it’s been sucked out of him. 

He does the only rational thing he can think of; he slaps him on the shoulder, as hard as he can, ignoring the way Wonwoo laughs loudly, not even appearing shocked by the action. “Jeon Wonwoo! We’re at work!” 

“Work ended 15 minutes ago,” he shrugs, not appearing ashamed of his comment at all. 

“We’re still in the office!” He points out, doing his best not to sound scandalised. He feels sort of scandalised, though. He’s blushing, and his stomach is twisting, and he’s sure he looks like an idiot as he thinks through a million different things. 

Wonwoo is shrugging like he doesn’t care, though. “We could be at dinner, if you accept my invitation.”

He’s cocky, and horrible, and Soonyoung hates him as he begins reaching towards his crisp white shirt to twist his fingers into it, tugging him forward until Wonwoo is kissing him. His other hand ends up in Wonwoo’s hair, pulling him closer, mouth opening to let him in as the taller’s hands find his waist, keeping him leaned against his desk. 

“Soon-ah,” Wonwoo breathes against his jaw, pulling away slowly. “Get dinner with me.”

“No,” he stubbornly bites back. “That would be a date. We’re not dating. We can’t-”

“Fine,” Wonwoo mutters, stepping away entirely. Soonyoung mourns the loss of his touch, eyebrows raising. “Well, have a good weekend, and-”

Soonyoung drags his hands down his face, groaning loudly until Wonwoo stops speaking, meeting him with an unimpressed glance. “Stop doing that.”

“I’m not doing anything!” He denies, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re the one making this difficult.”

“Because it is difficult!” He snaps, his arms waving in exasperation. “This is hell! We slept together once and it’s all I’ve been able to think about! And, you’re in my office all the time! It’s making my life hell!” 

Wonwoo looks frustrated as he readjusts his glasses, dropping his arms to his side. “There’s an easy solution to that, Soonyoung. I know you have some fear, but an office relationship really isn’t as difficult as you’re making it seem!” 

“It’s distracting!” He insists. “I have a job to do here.”

“So, do I! So does everyone else! This isn’t, like, a unique situation!” Wonwoo looks like he’s grasping at straws, weakly raising an arm to gesture towards Soonyoung. “We can’t go around in a circle like this. If we break up, we break up, but I don’t understand why you won’t just give me a chance!” 

Soonyoung opens and closes his mouth, eyebrows raising. There’s fear bubbling in his chest, but Wonwoo looks so horrifically earnest that he’s nodding slowly, grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair. “Okay. We’ll get dinner.”

His reply appears to knock Wonwoo off his kilter, momentarily, eye’s widening. But he recovers quickly, nodding back, grabbing his jacket from where he’d abandoned it on Chan’s chair. “Right, what do you want to eat?”

“Takeaway,” he suggests, walking ahead to get out the door first.

They end up in a pizza place around the corner, leaning against the counter as they wait for the large cheese pizza they order. Wonwoo looks at Soonyoung every few moments, as if he’s concerned he’ll bolt given the chance; Soonyoung pretends not to notice, chewing the inside of his cheek. “Do you live closeby?” He asks, breaking the bubble of silence they’re trapped in. 

Wonwoo nods slowly. “10 minutes walk.”

Soonyoung nods, and accepts the pizza box that’s slid across the counter to him. 

Wonwoo leads the way when they get outside, slightly more confident in his movements, familiar to Soonyoung. He does his best not to dwell on his decision, quietly shuffling beside the taller until they reach his building. 

Wonwoo’s apartment is spacious, and tidier than his. He has small potted plants, and two bookshelves in his living room that are practically overflowing. The space feels sort of cold, the white walls making Soonyoung feel a bit daunted. But he does his best to hold himself together as he drops the pizza box on the kitchen counter, spinning around to meet Wonwoo’s eye. “You make it sound like you like me.”

He’s clearly surprised by the topic being brought up again, the cooling pizza abandoned as Soonyoung steps forward, pushing Wonwoo’s jacket over his shoulders. “I do like you,” Wonwoo murmurs, pilant under his touch, letting Soonyoung begin to unbutton his shirt. “I really like you.”

“You barely know me,” Soonyoung recalls, his age-old argument popping up again. 

“And you barely know me, but you like me,” he points out. He cups Soonyoung’s cheek, thumb swiping under his eye, distracting him from his task. “I know you like me.” 

He feels vulnerable under the touch, his throat practically closing up as he nods slowly, reluctantly. “Yeah,” he breathes, because he does. That’s what’s even scarier about this whole thing. 

He’s not one for casual. He can do it, if needs be, but he knows that he gets overly attached. He knows, somewhere inside of him, that Wonwoo will get tired of him eventually. His habits will annoy him, his chattering will grow irritating, his restlessness will get tiresome. He’ll end up falling, no one there to catch him. 

But Wonwoo’s warm touch is bringing him back to himself, holding him steady as he nudges his face up to meet his eye again. “Soonyoung,” he whispers. “You don’t have to act so scared of this.”

“But it’s scary,” he almost whines, a flush spreading across his cheeks. “It’s terrifying.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Wonwoo promises. “We can go slow. We don’t have to tell anyone. We can just-”

“I could really fall in love with you.”

He regrets saying it as soon as he closes his mouth. It’s too raw, too honest. But Wonwoo is chuckling, his other hand reaching to cup Soonyoung’s other cheek. “That’s kind of the whole point, Soonyoung-ah.”

“Yeah, but-”

“Stop overthinking this,” he requests. “Give this a chance. Give us a chance.”

It feels slightly ridiculous. It feels like they’re teetering on the edge of something a lot more meaningful than an agreement to try. But Soonyoung nods, head still between Wonwoo’s hands. He nods, and he watches the way Wonwoo smiles, face lighting up before he leans forward to kiss him. 

There’s no rush this time. The soft push of Wonwoo’s lips against his own feels nothing but comforting. It’s easy to tug him forward by the shirt, easy to open his mouth to invite Wonwoo in, easy to let himself get backed towards the counter. 

It’s easy to let himself go. 

+

Wonwoo’s apartment is cold at 2 in the morning. The bed is warm, sure, but Soonyoung’s in the kitchen, Wonwoo’s white button-up from work hanging over his shoulder, his boxers exposing his pale legs to the cold. He’s ignoring the chill as he chews through his slice of pizza. 

The pizza is cold too, but it still tastes good after sitting on the counter for hours; well, maybe not good, but Soonyoung is too hungry to care, idly scrolling through his phone as he takes another bite. 

It takes six rings, but Jihoon answers eventually, groggy voice sounding entirely put-out to be woken up. “It’s almost 3am, Soonyoung. Are you dying?”

”I need one of those forms,” Soonyoung requests, swallowing his mouthful. 

“What?” 

“One of those ‘I’m romantically involved with a co-worker’ forms,” he explains. “I need one. It’s very important.” 

There’s a loud groan from the line. “Are you seriously calling under the guise of business to brag about having sex with Wonwoo at three in the morning?”

“It’s only 2:34.”

“Soonyoung!” 

“You should be happy for me! I took your advice!” He argues, taking another bite. He should have put socks on, he thinks, the cold tiles causing him to shift from foot to foot. “This is cause for celebration.”

“Not at three am!” 

“2:35,” he snipes back. 

“Hyung, who is it?” 

The voice in the background is familiar enough that Soonyoung’s ears perk up, but the line isn’t clear enough for him to really make out who’s speaking. “Jihoonie, who was that?” 

Jihoon groans at his teasing tone of voice. “We’re not doing this at three am.” Soonyoung is about to pipe up, but Jihoon is hissing his words. “Do not correct me on the time again.”

“Fine, I’ll be in your office on Monday. Print some forms out,” he requests.

“Goodnight,” Jihoon mutters, hanging up before he can reply. 

He finishes his slice of pizza, scrolling through his phone as he chews, the chill of the kitchen still creeping up his bare legs. He’s closing the pizza box when Wonwoo appears from the hallway, bleary eyes blinking into the light of the kitchen. “Are you okay?”

Soonyoung looks up, unable to help the smile that creeps over his face. They only went to sleep an hour ago, and yet Wonwoo’s hair reminds him of a bird's nest. “I’m okay. Just hungry.”

“Do you want me to make you something? I have ramen in the cupboard, or…” He trails off, padding towards the kitchen. Soonyoung tries not to watch, although it’s hard when he’s just in his boxers. “I think I can make kimbap.”

“I had a slice of pizza.” He nods towards the box that Wonwoo squints at, his lack of glasses not really helping him. Soonyoung abandons the kitchen counter to wrap his arms around his warm torso, pressing a kiss on the column of Wonwoo’s neck. “You’re so warm.”

“Is that my shirt?” He asks, arms settling around Soonyoung’s shoulders. He could live here, he idly thinks, tucking his head against Wonwoo’s shoulder. “You feel cold. Come back to bed.”

“Well, if you insist,” he mumbles, pushing Wonwoo back, refusing to let him go. Wonwoo will get irritated by his clinginess eventually, but for tonight he thinks he can let himself have it. Wonwoo doesn’t appear to mind, keeping his hands on Soonyoung as they shuffle back to bed. 

Wonwoo falls back on his bed with a soft noise, setting his glasses back on his nose to look up at Soonyoung. He stares for a long time, seconds ticking by as the older hesitates beside the bed, fingers curling around the hem of the shirt that lands by his thighs. “You’re unbelievable,” Wonwoo finally manages, reaching a hand out to tug Soonyoung towards the bed. He’s not stupid – he easily straddles Wonwoo’s waist, hands planting on his chest as he looks down. “You know that, right? You’re gorgeous.”

“Are you just horny because I’m in your clothes?” He asks, shifting forward slightly. He feels momentarily glorious as he watches Wonwoo’s eyelids flicker. 

“No,” he protests, although his fingers are trailing up Soonyoung’s bare thighs. “You look good in all clothes. Even better in none.”

He has to bite back a laugh, shaking his head when he sees how smug Wonwoo looks. “You’re a loser.”

“You like it,” he shrugs. Soonyoung rolls his eyes, but he still dips down to kiss Wonwoo’s jaw, trying not to jump when the fingers on his thighs tighten their grip. 

There’s colour on Wonwoo’s cheeks when he sits up again, a hooded look in his eye that has Soonyoung shifting. “Can I blow you?”

All the smugness drops off Wonwoo’s face. In fact, he makes a shocked squawking noise that Soonyoung would find unattractive if anyone else did it; Wonwoo is different, though. He can’t help the giddy bubble of excitement that courses through him when the younger nods.

It’s easy to swing his leg back over his frame, shuffling down the bed to get a better position. He ends up between Wonwoo’s thighs, mouth water watering with anticipation as he watches him start to harden up. 

It’s slightly intimidating to pull down his boxers. Soonyoung’s good at blowjobs— that’s not his issue. His issue is that Wonwoo’s watching him; he’s turned on, clearly, but there’s something more than that. 

Soonyoung ignores it as he spits on his hand before taking hold of Wonwoo’s cock. Wonwoo makes a sound that Soonyoung hasn’t heard before, but he files it away for later, smirking up at him. 

Wonwoo swears when Soonyoung finally gets his mouth on him, hands pushing his hips down to keep him from bucking up. He probably shouldn’t be as excited as he is considering they were only fucking a few hours ago— but in his defense, he’s been thinking about blowing Wonwoo since he first took his boxers off a week ago, his imagination running wild before bed a few times. 

“Soon-ah.”

Wonwoo sounds wrecked already, fingers twisting in Soonyoung’s hair to try and pull him closer. Soonyoung isn’t one to argue, bobbing his head further until Wonwoo’s cock hits the back of his throat. He ignores the pricks of tears in his eyes, staring up at Wonwoo as he whines louder. 

He’s swearing again as Soonyoung gags around him, more tears threatening to fall. He loves it, though. He moans around Wonwoo’s cock until the other is throwing his head back, moaning louder. “Jesus Christ.”

He wants Wonwoo to come down his throat, maybe moan his name again, maybe swear some more. He wants anything Wonwoo will give him, really, his own cock hard in his boxers as he gags again, attempting to swallow him down. He grinds his hips against the duvet, desperately searching for his own release, any type of friction. He ends up moaning again, the grip in his hair tightening again. 

Wonwoo curses his name, the sound almost pornographic, Soonyoung’s dick twitching in his boxers as he grinds against the mattress again. “Soonyoung,” he breathes, tugging his hair, almost pulling him off entirely. Soonyoung ignores his attempts, squeezing his hip as he doubles down his efforts, hollowing his cheeks until Wonwoo finally spills into his mouth, explanation caught between real words and wounded moan. 

Soonyoung swallows with a blink, letting Wonwoo go with a pop, thumb swiping the corners of his lips as Wonwoo regains his senses, watching him with wide eyes. “You’re insane,” Wonwoo informs him before he’s tugging him up the bed, back into his lap. There are warm hands slipping under his borrowed shirt, pressing into his torso as Wonwoo kisses him, tongue slipping into his mouth. Soonyoung wonders if Wonwoo can taste himself, the thought making him shiver as he strains against his boxers. 

But one of the warm hands from his torso is slipping into his underwear, pulling him free. He doesn't pull away to watch Wonwoo stroke him— no, he’s pretty sure he’ll need to be surgically removed from his lips, in fact. He hooks his arms around Wonwoo’s neck. He needs him close, he’s chasing every touch he can get as Wonwoo’s thumb swipes over the slit of his cock, forcing a whine out of Soonyoung’s mouth. It doesn’t fully escape his lips; it gets muffled into Wonwoo’s tongue. 

He wants to swear, the pressure in his stomach building quickly. He does his best not to squirm but he feels antsy, his skin on fire. Soonyoung’s jaw goes slack a moment later, his orgasm washing over him with a shake. Wonwoo guides him through it, lips pressing against his jaw, and then his neck, gentler every time. 

Soonyoung feels a little dazed as Wonwoo wipes his hand on the white shirt. It’s disgusting– but then he’s undoing the two buttons holding it together, sliding it off Soonyoung’s shoulder. 

“That’ll stain,” Soonyoung protests, voice sounding embarrassingly wrecked. 

Wonwoo kisses the corner of his mouth as he drops the ruined shirt on the bedroom floor. “Doesn’t matter.”

He wants to argue– the shirt looks expensive- or maybe Wonwoo just makes it look expensive. But Wonwoo’s kissing him again, easing him down the bed until he’s lying beside him.

He’s sleepy all of a sudden, the activity catching up with him as he burrows into the pillow. When Wonwoo faces him again his glasses are gone, his eyes meeting Soonyoung’s in the darkness. 

“I get what you mean, you know?” Wonwoo quietly says, almost whispering. 

“About what?” 

“I could really fall in love with you, too,” he confesses. 

Soonyoung’s stomach flips, and his heartbeat picks up. But he rolls his eyes, slapping a hand against Wonwoo’s chest. “You’re so cheesy, Wonwoo-yah. It was just a blowjob.”

Wonwoo laughs, pulling Soonyoung into his chest. “I’m not saying it because of that. I’m saying it because of you … You’re incredible.”

He glows under the praise, kissing Wonwoo’s collarbone as he nuzzles into his chest further. It’s easy to fall asleep like that. 

+

He’s pretty sure he is in love with him a month later, eyes following Wonwoo as he types something into the little box on his computer screen that has been saying error for four hours. Scratch that – he knows he loves him. “That should do it,” Wonwoo mumbles, finger hitting the enter key. 

“I love you,” Soonyoung is quick to reply. 

Wonwoo looks back at him with a soft smile. “I love you, too.”

“You two are disgusting, oh my God, we’re trying to do our jobs !” Chan groans beside them, head in his hands. 

Soonyoung throws a pen in his direction without looking, too busy beaming at Wonwoo. “If you apologise, Wonwoo will tell you everything he knows about Jun and Minghao.”

“You two are adorable,” he bites out. He still sounds irritated, but he’s happy for them. Soonyoung can tell, because everyone is happy for them. Everyone is happy for him. “My sincerest apologies.”

“They seem close,” is all Wonwoo offers. 

Soonyoung is laughing by the time Chan’s head hits the desk with a frustrated grunt.