unfiltered.

briefly, he wonders what it’s like to find someone you can spend so much time with—but doesn’t he have someone like that? no, that’s different, because their relationship can’t be compared to seungwoo and wooseok, who are literally dating and probably do a lot of couple things that hyunjae can’t wrap his head around. he’s never one to be able to handle cheese well.

he can, however, happily add cheese to the pasta he’s about to serve. hearing the much anticipated ding, he quickly opens the microwave and takes out his masterpiece of the day. “tada, what do you think? great, isn’t it? i know. plated it special for you. you’re welcome.” typical of him, to hype himself up despite knowing that when he’s granted a genuine compliment he wouldn’t know how to take it. but that’s besides the point.

raising an eyebrow, he looks at wooseok questioningly. “don’t tell me the secret ingredient is poison this time?” he’s joking, obviously, wooseok wouldn’t do that to him, but hyunjae can’t say the same for the rest of the student body. “what, corn syrup? apricot? i heard that’s healthy. oh my god, quinoa?” he listing things from the top of his head, but he doubts he’ll get the right ingredient.

placing a spoon and fork on either side of the plate and an extra spoon for the muffin he’s about to try out, he says, “whatever it is, i’m sure it’s edible.”

     he laughs, when hyunjae rambles on about the plate of food without a break, without giving him a chance to actually thank him or anything and wooseok can’t help but always feel amused around the younger. there’s just something about the other’s general demeanor that amuses him greatly but he can’t quite put his finger on it, if he’s honest. either way, he’s never going to turn down free food—even if this was from a trade rather than it actually being free. 

     he prefers it that way anyway. 

     “it does look good though,” he says after, even though hyunjae’s already finished complimenting himself and probably doesn’t need any actual input from him. it’s just nice to compliment other people, especially if it’s a sincere one. also, he’s just stating the truth anyway.  

     rolling his eyes at the accusation, wooseok feigns injury to his heart, clutching at his chest dramatically with a soft, wounded gasp. “would i, kim wooseok, poison you who’s so kindly made me a meal?” he asks, trying to sound as offended as humanly possible before he drops the act immediately. “i don’t hate you enough to waste money on poison to kill you so.” he shrugs, shaking his head and indicating the baked goods. “sadly just regular muffins. with a slight tweak~” 

ahri hums softly. “a pity then.” she says playfully. of course that ahri would never want seungwoo to feel so bored that he ended up chewing on the rug to entertain himself, besides she’s sure that he’d find something else to do from it being just napping all day to even making ahri and everyone who took upon themselves to look after the grad student go crazy because he’d be doing anything but resting his knee like he should. but it’s still no less amusing imagining him acting like a big misbehaving puppy, because honestly? that’s how seungwoo seems sometimes, especially when ahri comes back from the retreat to find out that he has messes up his knee again with something like aerial ropes course doesn’t sound like something that could go horribly wrong at all. 

just remembering it is already making ahri’s level of stress rise and that’s why she distracts herself with her sweet beverage. 

“oh, i’ve seen him when i went to take care of seungwoo, but i admit i was a little too occupied looking after the big puppy to pay attention to the tiny one.” besides when she greeted the puppy on the door, but not like ahri had much of a mind back then to pay too much attention to the little thing, not when she had a baby in the shape of a grown up man to scold and look after. 

she accepts the phone and goes through the pictures of uyu, not helping neither how her expression softens with the cuteness of the puppy, nor the coo that automatically leaves her lips. “aw, he’s so cute. cuter than i remember.” now that she has the mind to actually notice the little thing, it’s indeed one of the cutest things that ahri has ever seen. it almost makes her sad, how cute he is and it shows with how she’s frowning at the phone. she does agree with wooseok, she’s so ready to lay down her own life for this puppy, give him her whole fortune if she has to. actually, she’s already thinking about all the presents she’s going to buy for him. after all, she’s his aunt, isn’t she? 

(oh well, ahri is now because she self proclaimed herself so.)

ahri completely ignores the pictures that don’t have uyu in them, although there are some of them especially of seungwoo that makes her pause because for all the claim that wooseok makes about not being a cheesy person, his phone gallery proves exactly the opposite. she puts that as a post it on the back of her brain to tease him about it later. “i think uyu is very dangerous,” is her final solemn conclusion when she’s done, taking the time with one that she thinks is the cutest and there she goes “aw”ing again before turning back the phone to its owner. “i’m ready to buy the world for him in this short period of time that i’ve known him.” 

“oh.” ahri doesn’t know a lot about puppies besides basic things like them being cute and needing water and food to survive. but wooseok’s opinion does make sense to her, remembers how it’s very very itchy for anyone that is going through teething so maybe indeed buying him a toy he can chew on instead of the carpet might do the trick and it’s probably more comfortable for the puppy than getting, even if briefly, an awful taste on his mouth for something he’s only doing because he’s uncomfortable. “i’m sure it’ll work.” she smiles softly and then takes a sip of her coffee. “uyu is a good puppy after all, isn’t he?”

     the comparison that ahri makes of seungwoo to a big puppy is one that amuses him greatly to no end—because it’s n accurate one and one that he’s thought about often. there had been one time, when seungwoo had been napping and wooseok had been zoning out whilst tidying up where he had spent almost thirty minutes trying to think of what type of dog his boyfriend would be if he was one. 

     there had been a number of options, starting from golden retrievers going to jindos and even shiba inus. there had been a lot of different thoughts that had come into play as he tried to figure out what type of type he thought seungwoo would be. it took a week or so actually, before he had accidentally stumbled across a video on youtube of a samoyed dog that was taking care of a baby puppy. he honestly couldn’t remember the breed that the puppy was, but he also couldn’t help but think that the samoyed’s smile looked almost exactly like his boyfriends. 

     (of course he couldn’t not consider the type of dog that snoopy was—as his boyfriend had the nickname and exact image of said famous dog—and while beagle had been pretty high up on the list, the samoyed video had trumped every type he had thought of originally. the resemblance was uncanny.) 

     ahri’s comments pull him from the thoughts of his boyfriend as a dog and wooseok can’t help but grin at her, fully understanding. 

     “he’s irresistible, i know,” he laughs, not particularly caring (too much) that she’s currently just reely going through his phone. there might be too many cute photos of seungwoo on there, but he personally doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with liking how his boyfriend looked. 

     accepting his phone back and locking the screen, he places it face down on the table before he takes another sip of his coffee with a soft sigh following afterwards. “uyu is going to be the most spoiled child ever,” he says, letting out a long-suffering sigh as if burdened by this knowledge. “between you and seungwoo, i’ll have to start holding back some of his treats!” 

     perhaps it’s the fact that both of them are equally as afraid of being hurt and hurting each other that gives seungwoo the courage to do things he usually wouldn’t dare to do. maybe it’s why the words wanted to burst their way out of his chest before he had even really had a chance to think about it. and maybe, just maybe, he doesn’t really mind, taking these risks and jumps with wooseok. 

     because as scared as he is to lose the other, the feeling that comes when his gamble (or mistake) is rewarded is something quite unlike any other feeling he’s ever felt. 

     “okay, okay, i don’t get a veto,” he says playfully, knowing that the other doesn’t mean it, but it’s fun to play along anyways. he rests his cheek in his hand, tilting his head as he stares down at the puppy that they’re going to adopt as soon as they can. 

     “som…” he murmurs quietly. he can’t help but smile at the ideas that his boyfriend is throwing out. cotton ball. cotton candy. he chuckles softly to himself before he hums at the last suggestion. “uyu…?” he repeats and he tests out all three names, reaching out to tickle the white pomeranian under its chin, and the little puppy barks curiously at the strange sounds. “i think he likes uyu,” he jokes.

     he rolls eyes at the other’s words, but doesn’t give in to responding with something snarky despite how much he wants to. he thinks that seungwoo doesn’t deserve the brunt of most of the mean things that go trough his brain, honestly, and wooseok finds himself trying to filter out a lot of the things that he would usually say without thinking around his boyfriend. not that he thinks that seungwoo couldn’t take the unnecessary snark, but more that he didn’t think he should have to. 

     “uyu?” he echoes when the puppy barks, and it swivels its head around to glance at him when he says it too, a small smile appearing on his lips. “i think he likes it,” he agrees, gently ruffling the puppy’s fur and cooing softly. 

     honestly, he hadn’t expected a reaction from the puppy itself so this was more than he could’ve asked for. he leans down to press a soft kiss to the puppy’s snout, giggling to himself when he gets licked—a kiss in puppy form—and his eyes curve into crescents. 

     “we have plenty of opportunities in the future,” he says confidently at his boyfriend’s response, his lips curving up at the corners. he knows that wooseok must not have felt offended by his response, and he’s relieved. the difference in wealth is another obstacle for seungwoo to navigate, seungwoo, who isn’t sure what he’s doing with himself 90% of the time. it’s a wonder to him that he hasn’t somehow blown up their relationship yet. 

     “take your time,” he replies easily, squeezing the other’s hand with a smile. he loves his boyfriend as he is, and he wouldn’t have the other any other way, not at all. “i’m looking forward to trips with you.” 

     he chuckles at the other’s disgusted reaction, knowing that the other isn’t entirely serious, which is enough for him. “sorry, can’t help it — that’s who you’re stuck with,” he singsongs with a soft smile as he kisses the other’s lips with a short peck after they sit down on the blanket he’d brought. “i love you, seok,” he murmurs in a barely audible voice, sincere.

     he makes a soft sound in response to the squeeze to his hand, knowing that seungwoo meant for it to be more of a reassuring gesture than anything else. he’s still a bit unsure of everything, but the one thing that he is sure of is seungwoo. so he trusts the older’s judgement, honestly, and he just squeezes back in a silent agreement. 

     they would get through this. together. 

     the gentle peck to his lips—despite his initial reaction saying that the date was gross—does reassure him a bit, that his boyfriend knows him well enough by now to know that he’s not entirely serious when he reacts to things like this. 

     if anything, maybe there’s still a part of him that’s a hopeless romantic and wishes to be swept off his feet by his shining knight in armor. maybe there’s a small part of him that believes that seungwoo is that knight. cheesy things might make him outwardly cringe and react, but he’s not entirely sure about whether he’s just conditioned himself to hate them or not, for fear of wanting more. something like that. his commitment issues run deeper than he had originally thought they did, apparently. 

     “i love you too,” wooseok replies softly, settling down on the blanket and he makes a soft sound as he watches seungwoo unpack the food, wondering if he would ever be able to overcome something that had been so deeply embedded into his personality since he was thirteen.  

     watching as seungwoo pulls out the food he had prepared, wooseok swallows quietly and settles back slightly, knowing that his boyfriend would probably not want him to help. he can feel a fond smile pulling at the corners of his lips as he watches the other. 

     yeah, he thinks to himself, watching as seungwoo glances up and makes eye contact, a smile spreading on the older’s lips when he realizes wooseok’s been watching him. for seungwoo? he could overcome anything.

“the only– ONLY seungwoo hyung?? you mean you don’t even respect me?? i mean sure i understand because it’s seungwoo hyung and he’s pretty hecken respectful. man’s pretty much a god on earth at this point and i know im no han seungwoo but not even a little for me?” way to go wooseok, you got chan on a tangent. the older male kept making noises of disbelief as he spoke, hands moving left and right and in all sort of ways.

the laugh from wooseok does make him slow down a little in his ranting. for chan it’s rather rare to get any emotion out of wooseok aside from teasing or general bland disinterest. if they hadn’t grown up together he would probably end up thinking the worst. but they did grow up together, and he knows wooseok.

“okay okay, have a laugh at your hyungs expense.” he crosses his arms over his chest, and though he tries he can’t keep the smile off his lips. he’s not hurt–not really, to lose to seungwoo hyung is almost an honor. and he’s sure that chan does have some respect for him. at least he would hope so. he’s not a bad hyung is he? no he couldn’t possible be.

     he blinks at his cousin once the other starts going off on a random tangent and he honestly can’t help but laugh as he listens to all the words spewing out of the older male. it’s not that easy to make him laugh, especially when it’s out in public like this—since it’s been drilled into him since his first year here that showing any signs of emotion can be perceived as weakness to those around him—but sometimes chan is just so funny that he can’t help himself. 

     of course, he’s just as quick to recover and school his expression but it doesn’t change the fact that for a short moment, he had been laughing freely. 

     odd, but not out of character. not really. 

seeing wooseok’s message pop up on his screen, he can’t help but smile. at least he knows he can still bribe wooseok with his cooking, which can mean two things: the older truly does appreciate and genuine likes hyunjae’s cooking, which hyunjae takes great pride in. secondly, maybe hyunjae managed to not make someone dislike him by being himself, a rare occurrence that he thinks comes once every blue moon. he’ll take whatever he can get, he’s grateful for this though.

not that he could ever say that out loud.

he starts plating the pasta a little better, make it as presentable as possible. it was already good enough before, but since he’s getting muffins in return, it’s only fair that his pasta remains in good condition. he pops it into the microwave, waiting for wooseok to arrive.

“you arrived faster than i thought you would. were you actually in your dorm room for once?” wooseok did say ten, but sometimes ten can mean ten plus five. he perks up when he spots wooseok’s muffins. “what did you put in them this time, hm?” he’s always interested in what mix the older decided on each time.

“you’re gonna have to wait for your payment,” he says, pointing to the microwave. “just one more minute.” 

     he’s not really rushing or anything, mostly just wanting to be quick so hyunjae wouldn’t be waiting too long considering their exchange was with perishable goods. he’s amused though, when the other male looks somewhat surprised that he had made it pretty quickly, compared to usual. 

     which is a fair assumption, honestly. as of late, he’s spent more time at seungwoo’s apartment than at his own dorm so far. 

     it’s not his fault that uyu is at seungwoo’s apartment, considering he’s not allowed to have a pet in his own dorm. or maybe he would’ve adopted a pet earlier. 

     either way, he’s made it in record time comparatively to before. 

     “yeah,” wooseok responds shortly, not thinking he needed to explain himself or anything since they both know why he’s been spending a lot of time with seungwoo. there’s a grin that appears on his lips when the muffins are mentioned though, because he knows that hyunjae, of all people, will definitely appreciate that he changes the ingredients around. 

     he’s kind of terrified at how much they’re committing to in this moment but at the same time, utterly ecstatic. just two weeks ago, they’d been talking about meeting each other’s parents, and they haven’t even gone down to daejeon or busan yet. and here they are, about to adopt a puppy. these are so many milestones that seungwoo had never been able to reach before, and he finds himself equally afraid and excited. 

     but it gives him hope. hope that maybe, just maybe, wooseok will actually be the one that he can build a lasting relationship with. maybe wooseok won’t leave him. maybe seungwoo will actually learn to see himself the way other people do. it’s not a guarantee, but it’s a hope. 

     “do i get the veto?” he teases gently, his eyes softening and he doesn’t mind if his boyfriend chooses their puppy’s name. he can sense that there’s more to it — he almost thinks that it’s wooseok’s way of contributing to their puppy, since he can’t pay for the adoption fee. it’s his way of showing that they’re both committed, by naming the puppy. 

     “what are you thinking, seokie?” he asks curiously, wondering if the other already has a name in mind. 

     there’s a lot of things that could go wrong with this. 

     he has a lot of fears, and commitment is one of them if he’s honest, but he and seungwoo have talked through a lot of them and discussed everything that was needed to be talked about in that case. he’s still afraid, and he’s still tentative about everything that’s coming but he also knows that with seungwoo, he wants to take all these challenges head on. 

     also his mom really wants to meet seungwoo, so there’s that too. 

     “yeah, if you have a better idea,” wooseok jokes, turning to shoot a playful glare at his boyfriend at even suggesting it but he knows he wouldn’t be opposed. he has a few names that are running through his mind, because he’s been thinking about getting a white puppy in the future. just wanting to be prepared if he ever came across a large sum of money. or something.

     he nods in response, smiling down at the younger male. “daejeon first sounds like a plan,” he murmurs easily, not minding that at all. “i’ve only been once or twice, and i barely remember anything at all,” he laughs. “we usually went overseas for vacations,” he explains, his tone slightly apologetic because he doesn’t want to come off as though he’s bragging or rubbing it into the other. “so i’m looking forward to what you’ll show me.” 

     “busan, we can plan when you’re done making your study schedule,” he teases with an amused quirk to his lips. “my parents aren’t exactly busy right now, what with all of us out of the house.” grades are incredibly important to wooseok, and seungwoo respects that — after all, it’s not like his own schedule isn’t also packed to the brim. sometimes, seungwoo wonders where they both find the time to sleep. 

     he winces slightly at the other’s amused statement. “i know, i know… but this whole festival is cheesy, seokie. that’s kind of the point!” 

     “i don’t think i’ve ever left korea,” he comments thoughtfully, trying to think if he had even gone to jeju island before, and he’s pretty sure that he hasn’t. “i don’t think i’ve even been on an airplane,” he adds after a moment, mostly just carrying on the conversation. if this had been anyone else that he was talking to, he would’ve been much more snide, since seungwoo’s comment could be taken as bragging if it had been said in a different tone. 

     but this is seungwoo. and wooseok knows his boyfriend would never do that to him. 

     he rolls his eyes, though he knows that it’s true. his studies come before everything else, and he’s going to need to make his usual study schedule to make sure that he’s staying on track this semester so he can graduate with a perfect GPA. he has one class that he needs to retake, though he does know that the professor likes him so he’s sure it won’t be a problem. “i’ll let you know once i figure it out.” 

complaining about seungwoo is always refreshing, ahri admits, especially with someone who gets all that she’s complaining about because they go through the same thing. and it isn’t like they’re trying to be mean or talking bad about seungwoo behind his back (sort of), but everything comes out from a place of caring and concern, since the grad student can actually be quite the child about somethings, especially when it’s about his own health and making sure that he’s respecting his own limits so he needs both ahri and wooseok (and as many people as there can be if ahri has to be honest) to look after him and get him to respect those limits even if it means tying him up to a bed and nagging his ear off about how irresponsible he is and how if he wants to be treated as a grown up man, then he should act like a grown up man. 

don’t get her wrong, she loves seungwoo and that’s why she cares and stresses so much in the first place and no matter how much she complains and nags about him, she’d still do it all over again if it means taking care of seungwoo, if it means she’s helping him to live well. but oh well, it doesn’t hurt that wooseok also promised the bonus of showing her the cute pictures of their new puppy in exchange of her listening to him nag about his boyfriend (especially when ahri has some nagging of her own so she isn’t quite sure she’s the only one doing the listening). ahri has always had the softest spot for small and cute animals, but she knows herself enough that she doesn’t have enough skill to look after said small and cute animals, so she usually needs to resign herself with cute videos and pictures to fill her quote of cuteness — or go to hang out with seungjun or subin might do the trick as well. 

ahri takes a sip of her own vanilla macchiato and huffs amused with wooseok words, hearing very attentively to any and each story that he has about this new puppy. ahri hasn’t met him yet but she already loves him, has no doubt that she’ll spoil the puppy rotten if she isn’t stopped. “well, i wouldn’t be surprised if seungwoo does start chewing on the rug depending on how bored he’ll get from spending so much time laying down.” after all, seungwoo did hurt himself and now he’s stuck to his bed for a long while if ahri has anything to do with it and she chuckles softly with the image of a bored seungwoo chewing on the rug in a last attempt to entertain himself considering how neither wooseok nor ahri will let try to get too adventurous around the house, at least for now.

“i’ve heard that maybe putting something that tastes bad on the rug might work to make him stop.” she suggests, remembers hearing something about it from some tv program that had this part about puppies. but again, she has never had a puppy that she had to look after herself so she never really had to deal with that and therefore doesn’t know how useful that advice might be. “but then i never had a puppy for myself like that so i don’t know if it really works.” she shrugs.

     he laughs at the image of his boyfriend chewing on the rug out of boredom. it’s an amusing one, of course, and he shakes his head knowing that it was one that unfortunately (fortunately?) would never ever actually come true. uyu is enough distraction for both of them that he’s sure even with subin over, the puppy is doing a good job in keeping seungwoo’s attention occupied and therefore off the idea of perhaps gnawing on the rug. 

     the thought is still a funny one though. 

     “i don’t think hyung will succumb too boredom that easily,” he points out with a laugh, knowing that ahri was just joking about seungwoo going crazy and starting to gnaw on their rug. 

     instead of responding yet, wooseok takes another sip of his coffee before he sets it down. “wait, has hyung shown you pictures of uyu yet?” he asks, pulling out his phone and unlocking it, opening it to his photos folder. it’s been taken over entirely by their puppy at this point, because honestly? the puppy was practically his whole life now, and he’s been spending more and more time with him, not wanting to miss a single second without uyu. it’s a bit weird to be away from home now, though he knows that seungwoo (and subin) will take good care of the puppy while he’s gone. it’s still weird though. 

     he slides his phone over, because he has nothing to hide nor does he have anything incriminating on his phone aside from maybe too many pictures of food, uyu and seungwoo. “literally, he’s so cute. i would literally lay down my life for this puppy?” he laughs, shaking his head and picking up his coffee to take another sip. 

come to think of it, maybe hyunjae should venture out of his comfort zone and make more acquaintances, at least those he could give his meals to. someone else in the club who would be able to give him critique. the idea of having to talk to someone new wasn’t very appealing though, he didn’t want to have to try to make himself fit in with someone new just for the sake of having a back-up taste tester. there’s a limit to how many people he wanted in his life.

since wooseok was in the cooking club for relatively the same reasons, and the other made good muffins that he claimed was healthy, hyunjae decided it wouldn’t be too bad to engage in equivalent exchange. wooseok wasn’t taxing to handle either, so that was a bonus. he didn’t mind wooseok’s company, he wasn’t sure how it was on the other end, but hyunjae wasn’t going to ask.

(  ✉  )     outgoing   →   wooseok  !

sent: i mean, i can just give it to some random stranger sent: because i’ve been left alone here by someone ever since sent: but i see you made muffins sent: we can trade. looks like i have cravings sent: in the cooking club’s kitchen, as usual

he didn’t really mean to take a jab at wooseok’s relationship. if the other was happy, then that’s all that matters. still, as a resident single, he feels like he has some right to tease a little.

     considering the fact that his boyfriend is actually a great cook, he wouldn’t be the first admit that he missed hyunjae’s cooking. honestly, he would probably say there wasn’t anything to miss if he was asked, considering the younger’s prickly attitude towards most things in life but at the same time, it’s refreshing to talk to someone like that. he knows the other wouldn’t hold back on criticism, and it’s always good to have someone like that in your life. especially when you were trying new recipes and trying to make them healthy. it’s not the cooking that he misses but more of how hyunjae is.

     he enjoys their banters. 

‘  𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐓𝐎  :  안현재  ’   ••• sent :  be there in 10  ••• sent :  keep it warm for me :) 

     with those messages sent, he leaves his dorm—having actually been staying there for once instead of at his boyfriend’s apartment—and heads down to the cooking club’s room to meet the other male. making sure he had the muffins he had baked the day before in his bag, he peeks inside to see if hyunjae was still there. 

     his smile turns thankful when wooseok assures bin that he hadn’t offended the other or gave him a reason to dislike him. a part of him does hope they could get along if not in general–wooseok doesn’t seem like someone bin wouldn’t like even if he is a bit hard to approach at first–then at least for seungwoo since it was likely their paths could cross more often because of the older. also this meeting was a bit awkward to begin with so he really didn’t want to make it even worse and they left on a bad note.

     "if there is a next time, at least we’ll have this meeting to look back on and laugh?” he adds on in an amused tone, chuckling along with the other, happy that this entire situation had turned out much better than he had assumed it would.

     bin then notices that wooseok seems to have finished eating, or is very close to, which meant they’d probably part ways soon. he considers leaving first since he had already eaten everything in his bowl and maybe the male did want some alone time after all but then he remembers the table manners that were taught–trained–into him and he stops himself. instead, he looks down at wooseok’s bowl then back up at the other, waiting for some sort of sign to tell him what to do next, so he tries to be conversational in the mean time. “i think i should ask now for good measure,” he starts while grinning good-naturedly, “but now that you’ve ate more, was this place as good as i talked it up to be or do i need to re-evaluate my taste?”

     he sighs and as much as he hadn’t wanted to really interact with anyone whilst trying out this new restaurant, the experience wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. bin wouldn’t be his first choice of company, nor would he be second or third or even fourth. he probably would never have even come up as an option in wooseok’s list, but their meal together wasn’t a bad one. 

     it had been decently enjoyable, if he let himself admit it. 

     their table is silent as he quietly finishes eating the rest of his udon, and he thinks to himself that he’s really enjoyed it. it’s exactly what he expected and the broth was better than he had thought it would be, if he’s fully honest. he was definitely going to come back and probably bring seungwoo along so that his boyfriend could try the food. it was good. 

     “mm?” he makes a sound when bin speaks, showing that he was listening before he laughs slightly, covering his mouth with his hand. he finishes the last bite he needed to eat, sipping at one last spoonful of soup before he dabs at his lips with a napkin to get rid of any remnants of soup that might be on his lips. “i definitely think it’s as good as you hyped it up to be,” he says, acting like he was begrudgingly admitting to this, though there’s a small smile on his lips that shows he’s teasing. 

a chuckle leaves the older at wooseoks words.

it’s a comfort when the younger teases like this. normally chan isn’t the best at reading people, he’s rather dense when it comes to that aspect. like most things though there are some exceptions to chan’s over all denseness. one of those being his cousin. see, he knows most of wooseok’s quirks merely because they’ve been around each other since a very young age. in fact chan has photos of when wooseok was but a baby–they’re in his wallet along side baby sejeong photos–and though there isn’t much of a difference in their ages, chan still feels he need to look out for his cousin.

“i’m horrible, wanting to treat my baby cousin to some dinner. the worst hyung.” he says dramatically, clutching his chest and letting out a sigh. though he is only playing–he knows if wooseok was really put out he probably wouldn’t haven given in as easily.

     “the absolute worst,” he agrees easily, not about to dispute that even though he doesn’t actually think that. and because he knows chan and he knows he doesn’t mind the teasing, he can’t help but add: “the only hyung i respect is seungwoo hyung.” 

     a laugh leaves him afterwards though, because he couldn’t help it. he enjoys eating with people usually, even though he doesn’t mind eating alone and sometimes will actively go and eat on his own. but if there’s someone that he cares about and that someone wants to eat with them, wooseok will always happily go with them even if he doesn’t act like he’s happy to see them when they approach. 

     his heart is pounding madly and he’s still terrified that wooseok is going to decide, in that moment, that this is where the line needs to be drawn, that he’s going to reconsider his initially calm response and decide that seungwoo is way too committed. he knows the younger doesn’t want to commit too heavily, too quickly, and this is both of those, wrapped into one. but wooseok’s hand folding around his is a form of reassurance, and he’s sure that the younger had also meant it that way, glancing up at his boyfriend gratefully. 

     “i meant it,” he reassures the other, biting on his lower lip, still feeling like that one question had been a proposal of the biggest kind. not only is it agreeing to commitment in the long term, it’s also taking on responsibility for a living being that will be jointly in their care. a puppy they’ll both grow to love and will be a problem if they break up. 

     seungwoo already knows that he’ll be the one to give their puppy up if they break up. he wouldn’t be able to hurt wooseok that way. 

     “money isn’t an issue,” he reminds the other gently, his heart rate having finally slowed down at the other’s words. wooseok wouldn’t make the decision lightly, so seungwoo doesn’t think the younger will be running away from him anytime soon. “the adoption fee is nothing, so let’s just focus on raising him together.” 

      ours. he likes the sound of that. “ours.” he confirms with a small smile. 

     he’s still a bit surprised that his boyfriend had sprung something like that on him out of nowhere, but he also somewhat understands. he’s been sitting here trying to figure out how he could justify spending all of his savings on a puppy of all things, and he just shakes his head slightly. there’s something about this relationship with seungwoo that makes him want to try harder. he’s really not sure what it is, since he’s never felt this way with any of his ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends. 

     it both thrills and terrifies him. 

     but it’s also what makes him feel like this time, everything will work out. also, maybe it’s because he’s getting older and he’s stopped looking at relationships as something temporary that he can just get rid of when he starts getting scared, as he inevitably will. he has commitment issues, and he’s told seungwoo so the other knows. 

     and this? this is probably the highest level of commitment his boyfriend could’ve slapped onto him aside from getting down on one knee and holding out a ring in a box. but ... but. he wants to try. wants to get a puppy with the older and it scares him that he’s actually this committed to staying with seungwoo but he can’t stop thinking that it’s not exactly a bad thing to want.