alphabet boy.

[✉️ monalisa☀️]: whatever you say, jagi. 

[✉️ monalisa☀️]: i hope you didn’t rush that assignment hmmmm??

[✉️ monalisa☀️]: jokes aside, that can definitely be arranged

[✉️ monalisa☀️]: i’m gonna let you pick the movies. we have animation, horror, and action (?? i think) currently playing in the theaters.

she skipped on her way to the cafe, purposely heading to the one which was a bit far from the store for another excuse to be away longer than she was supposed to. it’s not like she’s trying to run away from doing her job but sort of, maybe she’s just tired of staying in the store and this didn’t happen that often, so there’s no wrong being a little lazy once in a while. 

her eyes were too busy finding the cafe to look at what’s ahead her and that’s when she suddenly bumped onto someone—or something because she could barely see anyone behind this huge thing. “what the hell,” she said under her breath as she stopped in her track, shifting her gaze on this person who later appeared once the canvas was dropped to the ground. she wasn’t sure who’s at fault now, probably it was hers because she wasn’t even looking where she’s going but couldn’t help blaming the male either. if he knew the canvas was way bigger than him, why did he burden himself to carry that on his own? 

w-wait. did he really heard that right? “i can’t possibly ask you to carry this with me.” he blurts out, surprised that the girl would actually offer to help him when he just smacked her on the face with the very item. really, it was in his job description to be the mail boy do errands like this, but to be completely honest it was his first time carrying such a huge piece alone without any help of delivery trucks and such. he suspects that the artist is not ‘popular’ enough for their work to be appreciated properly, but who is he to protest?

but then again, perhaps he could use some assistance. the girl has a point; kyungsoo can already feel the amount of eyes boring holes onto his back. at this rate if he bumps into another person he probably wouldn’t have enough juice left to deal with them. it’s truly fortunate for him to bump onto someone like this girl over here.

“so, did one of those things ring a bell inside your head or something?”, he asks, fluttering his eyelashes at him as he notices the way his face changes, something washing across it baekhyun can’t really place but he sees the way his cheeks start to burn even in the dimmed lights, glowing red and he wonders if it’s embarrassment – did he remember what he used to do to him? maybe, it was something especially humiliating.

and his head tilts to the side again, eyes twinkling with curiosity and interest. “you’re not”, he says, baekhyun is even pass on getting something new to drink for this; it’s not just asking anymore, finding this out is a mission. “what’s your name?”, he continues asking, leaning forwards a bit again to see if there’s a name tag attached to his button-up, but there isn’t.

kyungsoo can literally hear himself whispering “shit” under his breath when a look of recognition passes on baekhyun’s face like a freight train, the sudden lighting up of his features would be a sight to see if the doe-eyed male doesn’t loathe seeing a stuck-up snob getting his way with things. he exhales the breath he didn’t realize he took when his name is finally mentioned……along with another petname he hated so much back in cheongnam. is it really his fault to be born with a small shoulder and tiny stature? if anyone is to blame, it should be both of his parents for inheriting the bad genes to him–or maybe his brother who stole it? who the fuck cares right now.

“why don’t you yell it for the world to hear while you’re at it?” he spits in the end, opting to concentrate on breaking free from the other’s iron grip rather than taunting them. wait. no. bad idea. “please shush down, you’re annoying the other customers.”

chanyeol nods his head softly, still unable to look at the other, feeling guilty. kyungsoo probably thinks that he was only using him for a space to stay. sure he was using him for a space to stay, but that wasn’t the only thing. chanyeol also wanted to rebuild the bridge he burned with the other. he rather liked the short, doe eyes, heart lipped hyung of his. 

but when the other asked him if that was why he disappeared he started to shrink in his seat, lightly scratching at his arm. “no…” he says softly before scowling softly. “well…partly the reason.” he says biting his lip softly. “they sent me to rehab as a final goodbye present…that’s where i was for six months, and these last few weeks i’ve been living in a homeless shelter.”

closing his eyes he takes in a deep breath. he can’t believe he just told the truth to the other. no one else knew what happened to him, well they knew up to the point of the professor sleeping with him and then killing herself…but other than that, chanyeol had just fallen off the grid. “i have a job though,” he says trying to make up for his horribleness, his eyes moving up to look just under the other’s eyes, still unable to make eye contact. “i work as a cashier at the grocery store around the corner…” he says with a small half hearted smile before shifting in his seat. 

that stupid bitch. even in her grave she’s still ruining other people’s dreams

he would’ve asked another question if the kimchi spaghetti in front of their faces isn’t getting cold, so he ruffles the other’s hair (albeit hesitantly–wondering if such a nostalgic gesture is still allowed in their current relationship) and tells him to eat instead. “it’s going to get cold.” he practically orders, pointing the food with his chin. “eat well, don’t leave any remains behind.” while chanyeol eats, maybe it would do good for him to think about their request.

kyungsoo’s mind doesn’t work well with the dirty dishes in his hands because he’s too busy processing chanyeol’s words. ‘a place to stay’…. at one side, kyungsoo is delighted because from all people the other could’ve probably gone to he picked him–chanyeol even said he wanted to make up the lost time by staying there. the little voice in his head says maybe there’s still a chance for them to be something, but his brain says what is there to be wished for if they were never going to be one in the first place?that the other just thought of him as his most trusted hyung that he can always counts on. come on–it is the image kyungsoo has been building so hard, isn’t it?

of course, as a logical being kyungsoo decides to listen to the latter. he experienced how painful it is to fall because of his own expectations before, he’s not going to do the same now.

jisook is not the sentimental type. no, jisook is the farthest thing from the sentimental type. you won’t find her dwelling on something that happened years ago, and she certainly doesn’t spend time reminiscing about the people she used to know while doing some perfectly menial activity like, oh, knitting on the front porch. not only is she decades too young for that, she also does not give a shit. so there’s that.

but when confronted by someone she recognizes by virtue of their youthful and unassuming features, jisook finds herself smiling. this is hilarious. the cheshire grin remains in place as she sits down across from do kyungsoo and crosses her legs. “charmed, i’m sure,” she says. of all the coordinators in seoul, cheongnam’s former goody two shoes has the one working with the opera house on this project—some might call it fate. jisook calls it fun.

she wonders if he recognizes her. she wonders if he knows she recognizes him. maybe not; it has been six years since high school. neither were they friends with the same people: kyungsoo was boring and safe. jisook was too much all at once. it doesn’t seem like much has changed. she runs a critical eye over him before schooling her expression back into a slightly predatory smile. 

“here you go.” another courteous smile while he hands the glass towards the female. kyungsoo began to wonder if his lips can curl into a permanent grin just from facing so many important people in one day. another reason why he preferred to work alone with the art rather than the person enjoying them. jisook’s presence here is not really helping. anyone’s mood would turn sour if they have their highschool enemy in the premise, wouldn’t they? especially if they keep grinning like a little shit they are, makes kyungsoo wishes that he could somehow wipe that grin off of her face.

his grip around the others arm tightens a little, just to make sure he doesn’t run away as a slight smile spreads across his lips. “are you sure?”, he asks again, the way the waiter said those words, said that they’ve never met before makes baekhyun more curious and he thinks he saw that twinkle in his eyes, the one that immediately recognized baekhyun.

and him wanting to get away from him, the guy wanting to flee from his grasp tells him their meeting back in school wasn’t that nice. he’s for sure someone he bullied; but he has to find out who amongst all of the students he tortured he is.

dammit, hopefully it doesn’t bruise tomorrow. for someone as scrawny as him, baekhyun sure have a strong grip. his dainty fingers that look almost feminine wrapped around his arm like a vice. kyungsoo is not even sure if there’s still a part of his skin that’s not tainted with bitemarks, bruises, and god knows what else yifan inflicted on him earlier that week. 

and the worse part is, he’s actually getting excited. as in excited excited. 

@247dks

elijah had been on the edge of losing it for a few days now. the blasts, lost friendships, seeing other people lose things, it had all been too much. and now, after spending way too long editing a main channel video, he needed food. substance. something other than coffee. there was a small bbq place down the street from june’s and he quickly decided that that’s what wanted. of course, as he’s learning lately, nothing can go right for elijah and he’s only just sat down at a table when some guy walks over to him, the apron a clear sign that he works there.

“i’m going to have to ask you to leave-” he says, folding his arms in front of his chest.

“what? Why?” elijah asks in utter disbelief, furrowing his eyebrows.

“i’m afraid you’re making the other customers uncomfortable.”

“what? how am i? i just got here!” elijah gasps, eyes practically bulging out of his head. “you can’t kick me out because i happen to like cock-” he says, a thick laugh leaving his lips.

“sir, i hold the right to refuse service to anyone.” the male argues, standing up a bit taller. “and i’d be happy to call the police-”

so he breaks away from his usual pacifist shell the moment things start to heat up, quick to place himself beside the livid customer. “excuse me? you have no right to say that.“ his gaze is defiant, although it may not show clearly for his rather childish features. the situation struck too close to home, reminding him of his own misery during middleschool when those girls called him a sissy for his small shoulder and not-so masculine features. “maybe you do have the right to refuse, but you also violated his rights to eat in your restaurant without being discriminated for his sexuality.”

@247dks

it’s loud in the bar, the space filled with high-pitched, drunken laughter, people almost shouting to each other in weak attempts to stop what they’re saying from being drowned out, to make their words be heard over the music of the band that’s currently playing on the stage. baekhyun just watches them, sitting alone on his stool with his face cupped into one hand, expression annoyed and bored, eyes searching around for something, anything.

they flicker down to his phone when the screen lights up, buzzes against the wooden table to show him that he’s received a new message and he picks it up, fingers tapping the screen to see the preview of the message – it’s not from whom he expected it to be, actually just one from jongdae but the content of it doesn’t make him any more happy or relieved, just causes his mood to drop more when he cancels their meet up for the sake of fucking his girlfriend and baekhyun carelessly drops his phone back down onto the table, forehead knitting into a frown.

maybe he should just leave, go home or find a party. anything better than sitting here brooding over his best friend being a bitch.

but then there’s a glass pushed into his view, the ice inside clinking quietly and he looks up at the waiter that finally brought the drink he ordered a while ago. biting back a ‘took you long enough’ he just picks the glass up, taking a sip from the golden liquid, not taking his eyes off the waiter for a moment.

he looks familiar, did he see him somewhere before?

“i’m ordering another glass”, he says and then drowns his drink in a few quick gulps, enjoying the slight burn is causes along the inside of his throat. but when the waiter turns to leave, baekhyun still grabs his arm, pulls him back to take another look at his face, invading his personal space as he leans over too close. he’s sure he’s seen this guy somewhere, the squishy looking cheeks and also the small built looking just so awfully familiar to him.

even so, he's not going to give the other the sense of gratification from disturbing him in his workplace (who cares if it's a bar owned by your cousin? he still need to maintain his professionalism). "excuse me?" his tone is almost incredulous when he tried to pry his arm off of the other's latch. "i don't think we've met before." or i would have kicked your ass out of the bar. he mentally tacks on.

and then something unexpected happens…he’s told to get in. 

at first Chanyeol doesn’t move, he stands there awkwardly for a moment, processing what just happened before making a small step into the apartment. he carefully takes off his shoes and he hugs his duffle bag to his chest, not sure of where to put it, or to just hold onto it. he still has a hard time meeting the other’s eyes and he keeps glancing down at the ground. maybe it was the guilt he had for just up and leaving…but then again it was never his choice, so he wasn’t completely to blame was he?

food? Chanyeol’s head moved up just a little bit so that he was now staring at the other’s chest, still unable to move the few more inches up to the other’s eyes. was he really going to feed him? just like that welcome him into his home and give him his food that he paid for? finally the scent of the dinner hit his nose and his mouth started to water as it smelt so good. Chanyeol had been living off of ramen as it was really the only thing he could afford and now…he wanted to eat all of it, whatever the other had made. 

taking his bag with him he makes his way into the kitchen and blushes softly as his stomach makes all these loud noises. he was starving. ramen wasn’t a great satisfier and god this all looked so delicious. swallowing thickly he glances over to the other and shifts a little bit. he doesn’t want to take anything without the other already having a plate made. he didn’t want to be rude or a jerk…Kyungsoo was nice enough to welcome him into his home and feed him. it was torturing waiting if he was going to be honest, but he sat himself down in one of the chairs, playing with his duffle bag. 

this chanyeol... well, he's probably the complete opposite now.

his eyebrows arched. "did they?" he asks almost too casually, eyes still fixated upon the table as he arranges the plates and the utensils. after everything that happened a couple of months ago, truthfully kyungsoo isn't surprised that chanyeol's parents really threw him under the bus. chaebols and politician are pretty much the same despicable creatures. "is that why you hid for the past six months?"

a 'ding' interrupts before he could raise another question. setting the fork and spoon in front of the other he left for the kitchen, returning with a medium-sized pan filled with his signature kimchi spaghetti. kyungsoo is still upset at his underclassman, but that doesn't mean he's going to ignore the other's rumbling stomach. chanyeol looks awfully pale and thin too, causing the doe-eyed male's nurturing instincts to go into overdrive.

@247dks

Typically work was the reason why Taeyong would eat, breathe, and live. Even through the rough days, he’d always find himself still loving his day at work in the end. The pay was good. The responsibilities were actually more fun than most. The coworkers were always fun and interesting. One that he worked particularly close with was Do Kyungsoo, the coordinator. To put things simply, Kyungsoo and Taeyong were the most dynamic duo, coordinator and curator. They worked incredibly closely but that didn’t mean they had a very close personal relationship. The two typically kept things professional since they both loved their jobs so much they were always focused.

For the past two weeks they had been working intensely on a huge project that was going to be a showstopper for the gallery. The exhibition was a piece of art itself in their eyes and they both were incredibly proud of it. Even though Taeyong always liked keeping his persona in the workplace as put-together and sensible as possible. However, he knew that the both of them needed to unwind a little bit and maybe if they got to know each other from a different side, their creative process would get a boost.

What was it that they could do though at such a late time at night? It was practically midnight and all of the fun, innocent places were closed. The only place his mind could come up with was a club or a bar. He figured a club was too rowdy so a bar was the more tame pick. All that he had to make sure to do was to keep his liquor at a stable level. Otherwise, that side of Taeyong would come out and that was the last thing he needed his coworker to witness. Hesitating to ask his coworker, they made their way to the front lobby together. 

so when the curator he worked with closely for the past few weeks asked him to go out drinking that night, kyungsoo froze in the middle of turning the key to lock their office. “...me? you’re talking to me?” he asks dumbly, a look of disbelief almost visible in his features. the other was true about pulling that project off, though, even if he didn’t get a decent night’s sleep for almost a week now. “you want me to go out drinking with you?”

if he had to say anything about lee taeyong, he would probably say that the bloke is by far the most comfortable person he had worked with during his career in edge. he might be younger than him by two or three years, but oddly it wasn’t difficult at all for kyungsoo to see him as an equal work partner instead of a junior. if he wasn’t mistaken, taeyong also attended cheongnam too....  maybe that’s what got him to fall so easily into routine.  

after what feels like hours, kyungsoo finally breaks into a smile, as if dropping his guard on the other. “okay. sure, that sounds fun.” hopefully he doesn’t do anything stupid to ruin whatever professional relationship that they had established in their workplace... kyungsoo would hate to work with someone that’s clearly uncomfortable of him.

he was nothing to him, just a place to go when he burns down and need someone to build him back up. and probably still is.

so instead kyungsoo bit down onto the inner part of his lower lip when he stepped aside to the door, mumbling a “get in” while he cocks his head towards his apartment. his chest starts to hurt at the idea of letting chanyeol back into his life, except he never really quite left, even with the help of his cousin or those people he tried to go out with for the past six months. none of them actually sprout into a genuine feeling like the one he has for this male in front of him.

he’s a fucking ghost. the type who still roams in the earth after death because they still have an unfinished business to tend to while they were alive. in this case chanyeol’s was to ruin the life he had build back after those excruciating six months of reassuring himself that it was his own fault for the wishful thinking to have chanyeol for himself. normal people would start screaming on the top of their lungs by now, cussing and swearing at the other with hurtful words, or at least demand where he had been all this time. but seeing the state chanyeol is in right then, kyungsoo’s heart-shaped lips were locked instantly.

he had always been his weakness.

"i just made dinner.” the walk back to kitchen is rather heavy with him turning his back to the uninvited guest. it’s too painful. the wound was still raw when he pried it open once more. nevertheless a steady tone accompanies his words, contrary to the stinging that began to prick his eyes. "grab a plate and eat. you know where they are, right?"