Chapter I: What Do You Mean?
Stranger in the MirrorMinjun glared at the two giants standing in front of his apartment door. He knew it was Nichkhun and Taecyeon from the hair and clothes. Of course, Taecyeon had also texted Minjun to let him know he was coming. "You're pushing your luck. I should slam this door in your face."
"Junnie, I am so sorry. I really didn't know he was gonna stand you up like that."
"Standing me up would've been better. " Minjun hissed. "He didn't stand me up. He ing walked out of the cafe in the middle of our date and made me pay the bill. Yeah, he was totally the 'perfect' guy. Thanks so much for that winner."
"Junnie-" Nichkhun spoke softly.
"Neither of you gets it." Minjun interrupted, speaking quickly, his Daegu accent thickening his speech. "It's not gonna work. Whatever plan you concoct, whatever poor bastard you trick into going on a date with me, it won't work. I'm done playing the game, alright. No more dates, no more bachelors. Just. Let. Me. Be."
He ended the conversation then by shutting the door in their faces. Rude, maybe. But Minjun didn't have the emotional energy to say much more than that to them right now. He dragged himself to his couch and flopped there, ready to simply stop existing for a few hours.
His doctor said it was a sign of depression. But Minjun didn't think his doctor really knew what he was talking about. It wasn't like Minjun wanted to stop existing forever, he just wanted to pop out of the world for a while and rest. And then when he was done he would come back and go about his life as usual. Everyone had moments like that, right?
He closed his eyes shutting out the rest of that thought as he shut out the sights and sounds of his apartment. At some point he fell asleep. The world was so much easier to deal with when he was asleep.
When he woke up it was to the sound of his cell going off. Minjun pulled it out of his back pocket, groggily noting that he had been asleep for hours, it was nearly two in the morning.
The caller ID said it was Taecyeon, Minjun toyed with the idea of ignoring the call, but in the end he decided it was probably best to pick up. "'Lo?"
"Is this Kim Minjun?"
"Yes it is. And this is...?"
"Lee Junho. I have a Mr. Ok Taecyeon here, you were the last number called. There's a small issue..."
Minjun was sitting up now. "Is he alright? What happened?"
"Oh no!" The voice on the other side of the phone - Lee Junho - sounded a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. He's just really drunk, and I wanted to make sure that someone would help get him home safely."
"Oh-" Minjun let out a sigh of relief. "I'll come and get him. What's the address?"
Junho rattled off the address cheerfully. "The bar's closing soon actually. But don't worry, if you're late, I can let you in."
Minjun mumbled something in response, not sure how to deal with the man on the phone. He'd almost given him a heart attack. If anything had happened to Taec- Minjun might be pissed at him at the moment, but he would never want to face a world without his best friend. Even if said best friend was a giant (both literally and figuratively) .
The drive to the bar was mercifully short and uneventful. Sure enough by the time that Minjun arrived at the bar the lights were on and somone was wiping down the counter. Minjun walked up to the door, knocking on it lightly.
A few moments later the man who had been behind the bar opened the door up. "Kim Minjun, I presume?" The young man certainly seemed just as cheerful in person as he was over the phone. "I'm sorry for waking you up. I feel a lot better knowing that a friend is seeing him home."
Minjun smiled, he couldn't really tell if Junho was smiling too or not, but it kind of looked like it. "I wanted thank you for calling me actually. I would hate to make you try and drag his giant to a cab. And I feel better taking him home too."
The thought of Junho trying to drag Taecyeon into a cab was almost comical. It wasn't that Junho was delicate or breakable. The other male seemed strong enough, he had large hands and broad shoulders, but he was definitely a lot shorter than Taecyeon and more compact. He would've had a lot of trouble trying to stuff a passed out Taecyeon into a cab.
Junho chuckled in agreement, directing Minjun over at one of the small tables scattered throughout the bar where Taec was sprawled out apparently sleeping soundly.
Minjun walked over and poked the giant in the arm. Taecyeon only continued snoring so Minjun slapped him across the back, maybe a little harder than was completely necessary, but it roused Taec slightly. He spoke loudly, shaking the younger as he did. "Come on. I can't get you to the car if you're a bunch of deadweight."
"You're mean. Mean Minjunnie." Taecyeon slurred at him.
"Yes, I know I'm awful. Get up. You can sleep when we get back to my apartment." Minjun grabbed Taecyeon's arm and put it over his shoulders. He stumbled groaning as most of Taecyeon's weight fell on him.
They only made it a few steps before Junho intervened, the young bartender pulled Taec's other arm around his shoulders, helping to balance the two. Between the two of them, they managed to get Taecyeon into the passenger seat of Minjun's car.
Junho let out a heavy breath, and wiped his forehead. And Minjun leaned against his car, catching his breath.
It was Junho who finally spoke up. "I hope you'll come around sometime when the bar's open. I'll give you a round on the house." Minjun couldn't decode the expression on Junho's face. His voice gave nothing away either.
He shook his head slightly. "No need. I'm not really a bar person, sorry. But thank you again."
He also missed the expression of disappointment that crossed the bartender's face. The one thing he didn't miss the forlorn sound in Junho's voice when he said simply. "Oh."
Thoroughly confused and incredibly exhausted Minjun simply climbed into his car and drove home. He wished he could put the bartender named Junho out of his head. But he couldn't. And he had the sinking feeling that he had just missed a key part of that exchange.
a/n:
And so Junho arrives on the scene.
I don't know why I made Taec the drunk one. He's amusing when he's drunk though (anyone else remember that My Ear's Candy stage?).
Anyway, comment please! I love hearing your feedback. I know I tend not to respond mostly cause I'm awkward and shy and don't know how to respond, but your comments are always very appreciated.
I'm so sorry! Weather here has been crappy and life has been busy. Expect the next chapter by 7/13 at the latest.
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