"Baekhyun, the food will get cold, if you keep looking out the window," Dr. Song warned.

"Baekhyun?"

Dr. Song's gentle touch on his shoulder brought Kyungsoo back to earth. It had been weeks since he became "Byun Baekhyun." Still, he couldn't get used to that name.

"You look pale. Are you in pain again?" The doctor asked.

"No, my leg is fine. I'm just a little tired." Kyungsoo replied. Lately, he couldn't sleep. Yet, it was not the pain that kept him awake. It was Jongin's incomprehensible behavior that made him ponder. He thought he had seen Jongin's gentleness for a moment. However, it seemed he was wrong. Jongin's concern, even if it lasted briefly, was perhaps just Kyungsoo's imagination. Since Kyungsoo's injury, Jongin was barely home. He went to work when Kyungsoo was still asleep and came home when Kyungsoo already went to bed. Even the weekend was no exception.

"How did you sleep recently? I can give you something to fall asleep." Dr. Song suggested.

"No, thank you." Dr. Song has been taking care of him since the accident at Jongin's request. She was a nice person with great humor. Kyungsoo liked spending time with her. But she wasn't Jongin. Kyungsoo noticed how Jongin was avoiding him. He just didn't understand why the gang leader would do that.

Jongin had been looking blankly at the statistics on his monitor for almost half an hour. Lately, his concentration declined sharply, and he worked just half as productive as usual, though he stayed in the office much longer. The dream last week was still bothering him. Such a dream ... about a man ... that scared him. Kyungsoo scared him. Since then he tried his best to avoid the other man. Out of sight, out of mind, right? But it didn't seem to work. The more distraction Jongin tried to get, the more often Kyungsoo appears on his mind.

And so, the phone call Jongin got a few minutes ago only exacerbates the unpleasant pressure in Jongin's lungs, making it difficult for him to breathe. Dr. Song called to tell him that she must leave earlier today. That wouldn't bother him if it didn't mean he had to take care of Kyungsoo for the rest of the day.

Reluctantly Jongin drove home right after work. As soon as he opened the front door, he noticed the delicious scent of freshly cooked food. This gave Jongin an unusual and indescribable feeling. Not that he never ate self-cooked foods, but the foods were never cooked in this house. The expensive kitchen, which had hardly any blemish, wasn't in perfect condition, because it was treated with care, but because it was never used. This kitchen - even if it was fully functional - was nothing more than a showcase piece, like those samples at IKEA. That was ... until today.

"Welcome home, I hope you are hungry," Kyungsoo greeted with a smile.

"What's this?"

"Usually you don't get to come home so early, so I thought I'd cook something for us."

Jongin looked at the food. One glance and he could tell how much efforts Kyungsoo had put into this. Even the table was set.

"You prepared this?"

"I know I can't compare myself with your personal chef, but I thought you might like some home-made foods. What I mean is that the cooking of a five-star chef might make you feel like you're dinging out every day ... So maybe you want a change? "

Jongin didn't even try hard to notice Kyungsoo's awkwardness. He could close his eyes and miss all the hand gestures that Kyungsoo was making, he could still tell how nervous the other one was. Spreading and recognizing fear was his daily business after all.

"Why were you cooking instead of resting?"

"Dr. Song said a bit of exercise would be good. And it didn't take long to cook anyway." Kyungsoo answered.

"Oh," Kyungsoo replied, mouth wide open as something came to his mind. "Did you eat already?"

Kyungsoo said, lowering his head. Jongin tried not to laugh. Kyungsoo was wearing the same expression of disappointment as a child who got to go to the supermarket but couldn't get any sweets. Jongin's eyes moved to Kyungsoo's injured leg. Then, he pulled the chair off the table like a gentleman on the first date.

"Sit down. Let's eat," said Jongin and a broad smile appeared on Kyungsoo's face.

How could he refuse the food that an injured person prepared for him? In addition, Kyungsoo was hurt because of him.

Kyungsoo tensed, waiting for Jongin's reaction as the tall man tried the first bite.

"Do you like it?"

Jongin was unaware of how to answer this question. Compliments were never his strength. But that was not the reason. He was speechless. An unaccustomed feeling of happiness overwhelmed his body as fuzzy memories were awakened in his memory. The last time he expected home-cooked food was when his parents were still living together. And that was a long time ago.

"So bad?" Kyungsoo asked impatiently.

Jongin shook his head and confessed. "No, it's very good."

That was a weight off Kyungsoo's mind. The following dinner was quiet and relaxed. Jongin wasn't talkative. It was mainly Kyungsoo who talked the whole time to avoid the awkward silence. And he succeeded. Jongin was even interested in his stories.

Even though he didn't say a word, Jongin was relieved as well. He enjoyed Kyungsoo's company while hours ago, only thinking of spending time with Kyungsoo could cause him a stomach ache.

"Leave the dishes. It's late already. Tomorrow someone will come and take care of them." Jongin said as Kyungsoo started cleaning up.

"What? Leave the leftover overnight? This is going to be a mess. We can't do that," Kyungsoo answered and picked up the plate again. Just then he felt Jongin's grip on his wrist.

"I told you to let it be." Jongin raised his voice, being a creature of habit.

"It won't take long." Kyungsoo pulled his arm, trying to free himself... unsuccessfully. Since Jongin didn't let go, expecting Kyungsoo to back off. Yet, Kyungsoo determined glances showed him the opposite.

Jongin sighed after a short thought and suggested.

"Ok, I'll clean up and you'll go to sleep."

How did he get himself into someone so stubborn? Someone who was unaware or stupid enough not to be afraid of him.

"Let me help you. I'm not tired anyway." Kyungsoo insisted, so Jongin could only give in.

"All right," said Jongin, finally releasing Kyungsoo's wrist.

...

"Jongin"

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow, can we have dinner together again?" Kyungsoo ventured to ask after a moment of silence.

"I have a lot of work to do tomorrow. I'd come home very late. "

"Is there nothing you can do? I don't like to eat alone. "

"Alone? Dr. Song is taking care of you, isn't she? "

"Yes, yes. She is very nice but eating with her ... is like eating with my teacher."

Jongin laughed at Kyungsoo's comparison.

"She is indeed very serious." He replied.

"Exactly," Kyungsoo called loudly in approval.

"So? Will you come home earlier?" Kyungsoo took his chance when Jongin was still in a good mood.

"I can't," sighed Jongin.

"Then... will you at least let Suho hyung come back? I like to eat with him."

"Suho is taking care of a few things for me right now. He has no time." Jongin refused without thinking twice.

"Still, he got to eat something, too."

"Why does it have to be Suho?"

"It doesn't have to be Suho Hyung. He's just my only friend here. Otherwise, I only know Woobin, your brother. "

"You want to have dinner with Woobin?" Jongin asked angrily.

"No," Kyungsoo exclaimed. "I want to eat with you, but it seems like you don't want to."

"It's not that I don't want to." Jongin wanted to say but he fell silent.

Kyungsoo waited for a reply. Yet Jongin couldn't bring himself to answer.

"I'm going to bed," Kyungsoo added, leaving Jongin behind.

Jongin took the last sip of his wine and finally gave up.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do tomorrow. I promise nothing though."

As if on cue, a smile appeared on Kyungsoo's face. A smile which he wouldn't show Jongin.

The next day, Jongin came home punctually, where warm and home-cooked foods were already waiting for him. The two young men spent another day together ... and then another ... and another, until dinning together became routine for both. No matter how often Jongin denied that this "ordinary life" pleased him, the truth was he looked forward home time every day. Was it because of the foods or because of Kyungsoo, who knew?

Before Jongin used to work longer, have the food delivered to the office and then walk through bars and clubs. That used to be his everyday schedule. However, now he had more fun ​​spending the evening at home. Jongin even began to talk about the day. More than that, it has become a habit to watch TV together after dinner. At first, they only watched sports because of Jongin. Yet, at some point, they started to watch Kyungsoo's favorite shows.

Tonight was no exception. The two spent the evening relaxing on the couch and it was Kyungsoo's turn to choose the program. It was an evening like any other ... with a tiny abnormity. Kyungsoo fell asleep in the middle of the movie. Jongin had already noticed something unusual at dinner. Kyungsoo looked pale and had barely eaten. The smaller one was absent from their conversation, which was very unusual for Kyungsoo because even Jongin had noticed what a great listener Kyungsoo was. Maybe Kyungsoo was even too good for Jongin's taste since it kind of scared him how carefully Kyungsoo listened to everything he said. Kyungsoo took note of every trifle and didn't forget anything, no matter how insignificant a detail seemed to be.

The moment Jongin tuned off the movie and covered the smaller boy with a blanket, his phone vibrated. He looked at the display.

"I'm free tonight. Same hotel? "

Within a second Jongin recognized the unsaved number.

_______________________

Are this chapter and its fluff too cliche? What do you think?
Please leave a comment and an upvote. *sending hugs*

PS: The lovely poster is also made by . Thank you again, dear.