In Dreams (Jayhoon)

Page 7

Heeseung led the employees inside the restaurant, the bell chiming as the door swiftly swung open. The restaurant was surprisingly quiet, with only a few people sitting and chatting with each other. The interior wasn't very luxurious or extravagant, but rather a simple cozy diner with light music swaying in the background.

"Hello! I made a reservation for Heeseung, Lee." Heeseung greeted the lady at the counter who smiled at him, checking for his information. "Yes, your table is table 4," she responded, pointing to a wide table with the number 4 on it. He bowed at her, walking ahead of everyone as they followed behind him.

Others were chatting with each other, Sunghoon and Jay quietly following behind the others. Jay's hands were clutched together, beads of sweat trickling inside his grip. Sunghoon of course, noticed that, and felt a sense of worry.

"Alright! Let's enjoy the dinner!" heeseung cheered, situating himself in the middle; beside two girls. Everyone gathered around, sitting beside their co-workers and chatting, while Sunghoon and Jay awkwardly stumbled through the others, finding a seat right beside each other.

"The workload has been killing me," Heeseung complained, throwing his head back on the seat. "I know, I need to catch up on my sleep," the girl on the left responded, chuckling at the boy. Soon everyone broke into fits of laughter and chatted with each other— Heeseung engaging himself with something, slamming his hands on the table continuously while wheezing over the most random things; typical Heeseung. Jay just sat there, looking at everyone, plastering his ingenuous smile. Meanwhile, Sunghoon sat there with a blank face— zoning out.

It had been over 10-15 minutes since they had arrived, and many were just chatting and waiting for the food to be served. "Yo Jay, how's work been going for you?" Heeseung asked randomly, pulling the boy out of his thoughts. He gulped before responding, aware of all the eyes darting towards him.

"I-it's been good." He answered, keeping it short since the words inside his throat were stuck, unable to form properly. Heeseung smiled at him and nodded, "That's great. I hope this Sunghoon asshole isn't bothering you too much." He added and the said boy threw a resentful glare at him. Jay glanced up at Sunghoon who rolled his eyes at Heeseung. His eyes unintentionally darted to Arin, the girl who liked him, Jay assumed. She was basically gushing over him the entire time. Earlier, he also noticed how she was trying to sit beside him, but the crowd of people pushed her away from Sunghoon.

Their food finally arrived and everyone immediately dug in, the chatter quieting down as everyone ate silently. It wasn't awkward. Some people initiated conversations in the middle, talking and laughing while eating.

Jay was hungry— no, he was starving. He had forgotten to eat in the morning because he thought he was late and rushed out of the house. He finally got to eat something after starving for almost the entire day. He felt his phone vibrate inside his bag, and he pulled it out, checking for any important reminders or dates.

Sunghoon who was sitting right next to him, stopped eating to drink some water, but his gaze landed on Jay's phone screen. He looked at him for a second then looked back down at Jay's screen. He was scrolling through a boy's Instagram?

"Jay-ssi? Why're you scrolling through the phone at this time?" Jay flinched when he heard a soft voice mumble beside his ear. It was Areum. "Oh— sorry, I was checking something." Their voices dissolved within the chatters of others, and nobody really paid attention to them. Except Sunghoon. He watched their little interaction intently.

"It's okay. I'm Areum by the way." She greeted him with a warm smile, gesturing her palms out in front of him. "Ah, it's nice to meet you. I'm Jay." He nervously shook her hand and retracted it right away. "I already know that. Why'd you think I called you by your name, hmm?"

"Oh– I'm sorry, I didn't notice," Jay replied, placing the phone inside his bag again. "No need to apologize, it's alright," Areum said. "So, I know that Heeseung had already asked you this, but I wanted to hear your personal response. How's work going so far? I mean— I know it's probably really stressful getting used to everything and all, but if you want, I'm always here to help."

"Oh– yeah. It's going alright, thank you for asking. It is a little stressful," he added with a chuckle, "but I think I'll be fine." His palms were covered with sweat as he spoke. "Are you nervous, perhaps?" She asked, scooting closer to the taller.

"No– of course not," Jay replied, shifting in his seat. "Okay... I hope I don't make you uncomfortable. It's not my intention," She said, digging in her food. They had a small talk and Sunghoon watched everything from beside him.

_____

"So, Jay-ssi... I was wondering if I could have your number?" Areum muttered, and Sunghoon noticed the blush on the tip of her ears. He accidentally choked on his drink— all eyes falling on him.

"Shit, Sunghoon you good?" Heeseung asked, passing him a napkin. Unfortunately, the napkin wouldn't be much of help since the drink had spilled all over his clothes, leaving a stain. "I'm fine..." he mumbled, eyes darting back to the two, but his eyes fell on Jay's and they both shared a short eye contact.

"S-sir, your shirt is all wet," Jay mumbled, eyes shifting from his shirt to his face. "I know that," Sunghoon replied, standing up discreetly. "I'll be right back," he said, heading to the bathroom. Jay suddenly remembered he had a spare hoodie in his bag that he carried just in case an occurrence similar to Sunghoon happened. He excused himself, following the taller into the bathroom.

"Sir, I have a spare hoodie," Jay said as he stepped into the bathroom, eyes peering at Sunghoon who was drying himself with the paper towels. "I bring it with me... just in case..." he mumbled, voice fading at the end as barely a whisper.

"Oh, really? Thanks." Sunghoon spoke, grabbing the black hoodie from Jay's hand. The other hummed, watching his movements, deciding whether or not he should leave. But to his surprise, Sunghoon unbuttoned his shirt right in front of him, slipping it off his shoulders. Jay gasped audibly, turning around in front of the sink to face away— but his eyes widened when he realized that there was a mirror right in front of him, meaning he could see Sunghoon pull his shirt off. His shoulders were broad, skin as smooth as silk. He looked like a porcelain doll from the back, too perfect. Jay gulped, eyes not shifting away from the view on display.

Sunghoon seemed to have noticed the other, a sly smirk curved on his lips. He pulled the shirt down, changing into the black hoodie. "Are you gonna keep looking?" Sunghoon asked, pulling Jay out of the daze. "You really have no shame," he added.

"It wasn't my intention to look, sorry," Jay muttered embarrassedly as he looked down at his feet. "It's okay," Sunghoon said, walking up to the other. Jay faced him, confused— but his face flushed when he noticed the proximity between the two; Jay's head stopped at Sunghoon's sharp, pointy nose as the older trapped him between his arms, one reaching out to grab the tissue from behind. His body was pressed against the shorter who held his breath in, arms parallel to one another.

"Thanks for the hoodie, Jay-ssi," Sunghoon spoke with his deep voice, pulling back and wiping his hands. He walked out, leaving the younger who stood there, baffled.

Small chapter, sorry. I'll try posting the rest of it sooner if I can. ^^