Hongbin froze, eyes wide and unblinking as the two men in suits stared back at him from the entrance to the room. Yes, he definitely wasn’t supposed to be there. And he most definitely wasn’t perfect. But no matter what his brain was screaming to the rest of his body, he couldn’t seem to move. Suddenly he’d become statue Hongbin, motionless and mute and desperate for a way to disappear out of this awkward situation. A minor sort of panic crept up his spine as the one who spoke inched closer, the peculiar smile not leaving his face. What had he walked into and how could he escape?

The man was getting closer, his eager eyes were unblinking and the smile kept getting scarier to Hongbin. It was also somewhat familiar but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it in the face of panic. “Oooooo,” the man made a soft cooing noise and peered around at Hongbin’s face from all angles. “He is perfect!” He reiterated and turned back to his co-hort for a moment with the same bright grin before eyeing Hongbin again.

“Manager Hakyeon,” the other man spoke quietly, eyes staring mostly at the floor rather than the other. “Manager Hakyeon,” he repeated trying to draw the tan skinned man’s attention away from the statue of a living being. “He doesn’t work for us. That’s not our photographer…” The floor felt like it was dropping out from below Hongbin. This was absolutely one of the worst ideas he’d ever had, and that included the time he’d convinced Ravi to blow school off and go waste their money at the arcade.

Say something, Hongbin, was all he could think. It needed to be cleared up, no he wasn’t their photographer, yes he was very sorry, yes he will go, sorry again to disturb you. Or something like that, but no words came out. The man staring at him still, Hakyeon, merely shrugged with a nonchalant, “Oh.” But it didn’t seem to deter him at all from continuing his inspection. “But you are a photographer aren’t you?”

It took a few moments of the man just staring at him to realize that he’d been addressing him with that question. “Ahhhhh…” That wasn’t exactly what he wanted to say. “I didn’t mean to mislead you.” Neither was that. “But uh, yes?” It seemed really wrong to try and promote himself at the moment when they’d thought he was already an employee, but he didn’t want to lie either.

“I’ll take a look then,” Hakyeon scooped up Hongbin’s portfolio before he could protest. Why was everything going so quickly? He could do nothing but flounder there as the other man cracked open his selection of photographs and began leafing through the pages making appreciative noises.

“Who are you?” The other man in the room asked, looking almost as much as a fish out of water as Hongbin did. Maybe that was just the affect of being in the same room as this ‘Manager’ Hakyeon. However he seemed decidedly less pleased to find Hongbin snooping around in rooms where he probably wasn’t meant to be, and it made Hongbin want to shrink back and hide once more.

“Lee Hongbin,” he answered and gave a small bow, finally able to command his joints to move more than a few centimetres. “I apologize for being here. I tried to come get an application for the holiday photographer position but I think the service assistant was confused. I was directed here. I’m sorry again.” He forced himself to look earnestly into their eyes, well one pair at least. The one who’d inspected him was too busy looking through his portfolio; it suddenly made him feel very self-conscious. “I’ll go.” Hongbin added, hanging his head, but when he held out his hand Hakyeon made no motion to give his book of photos back.

Instead, Hakyeon started wandering in circles, still with the book in hand. “Oh, these aren’t bad.” For just a moment he glanced up and gave Hongbin another pleased grin before turning a few more pages. “You’re pretty good, Hongbinnie.” The informality made Hongbin nearly tip over. He didn’t know this man at all, but Hakyeon didn’t seem to pay much notice he only continued to ‘hmmm’ and ‘ooooo’ from time to time.

“Manager Hakyeon,” the other man started, “I told you he doesn’t work for us, he’s not one of this store’s photographers.” And by that point, Hongbin was pretty sure he’d never get the chance to be either. Why did he do this?

In an instant Hakyeon’s mood changed from faintly amused and pleased to razor sharp, giving the department store representative a fierce look. “And why does that matter? Eh? Just look,” He turned the book with a flourish to display a picture of Ravi looking out of their apartment window at sunset. The red glow of light breaking through the still glittering towering buildings cast Ravi’s form in only silhouette. “Atmosphere. This is what we need.” Hongbin could feel his ears turning red from the compliments. “Plus, look at him, he’s very handsome.” And that made his head jerk up, a confused look on his face. Why would that matter? “He’ll look very good when the documentary cameras come through. Ah, everyone should look handsome on set.” Hakyeon nodded along with himself as if agreeing to everything he said.

“But I’ve already told…” the store rep started but was cut off just with a wave of Hakyeon’s hand.

“It doesn’t matter, he’s not here, and Hongbinnie is.” Hakyeon put back on his wide smile and returned his attention to Hongbin. “You’re here for a job right? A photography job?” The younger man could only nod. “Ah what good luck then. I’m Cha Hakyeon by the way, I’m the manager of the Victory Theatre.” A light came on in Hongbin’s mind, the Victory Theatre, the new Leo musical, which meant he must have been the man from the morning program. Something like a tickle started in the back of his throat. “The grumpy one over there is Byun Kwangsung the general manager of this department store.”

“Manager Hakyeon, since we are already sponsoring this production it only makes sense that we should use one of our own photographers,” the store manager fumed.

“Hongbinnie said he came here to pick up an application, that’s close enough. You want this musical to succeed as much as I do, Kwangsung-ssi. This is an excellent choice.” Hakyeon spoke like the matter was done with. “Hongbinnie,” he turned back to Hongbin, “a new musical is opening in my theatre soon and we were scheduled to do a new promotional photo shoot but our hired photographer had an accident and can’t do it anymore. It’s very short notice but you are looking for work aren’t you?”

Internally Hongbin was back on panic mode. A photoshoot? For the musical? Would Leo be there? His eyes were still popped wide, and he tried to nod, tried to form some words. “When?” No, that wasn’t right, he should have asked for other things, Ravi’s voice saying ‘Find something that pays a lot’ rang in his head. “I mean, do you have more details?”

“Ah,” Hakyeon pulled a face that said he was embarrassed, “it’s tomorrow actually at 5:00 at the theatre. I would re-schedule for you if we could but the videographer will be coming as well. I can have your contract brought so you can read it before we start.” Though Hongbin thought that the way he said it sounded as if he assumed already he’d be participating. “You can make it can’t you?”

For some reason Hongbin found himself nodding. What could it hurt? It was better than no job at all, and he had the distinct feeling like he wouldn’t be getting hired by the department store. Maybe he could look into those theatre tickets too while he was there. “Aigoo, I knew I could count on you Hongbinnie. I will see you there tomorrow at 5:00 sharp.” For  brief moment Hakyeon’s eyes dragged up and down Hongbin’s form. “Wear something nice. You’ll be on camera too after all. Ah, so handome, I’m so lucky.” It was like he was speaking to himself by the end of it. “Come on, Kwangsung-ssi, we have a meeting to get to. Hongbinnie, I’ll see you tomorrow.” And like the passing of a spring storm, he was gone in a blink.

Seconds passed, maybe minutes. Who could tell the passing of time after being inside the eye of the storm? If he let himself, Hongbin could have pretended that none of that happened. His camera bag and portfolio were exactly where he’d left them. Had that really just happened to him? A bit dazed, Hongbin dug his hand phone out of his pack and started a text to Ravi.

Think I got a job. ^v^ Should I grab anything on the way home?

The response came almost instantaneously the chime on his phone dinging cheerfully; he could always trust Ravi for quick response.

Congratulations my Bin-ah!~ Just come home, I’m cooking dinner.

Hongbin grinned down at his phone excited for dinner. Ravi didn’t cook often but he made a really good kimchi jjigae. The message tone on his phone beeped again and he jumped slightly. Silly thing.

Also pick up snacks for dessert we may have run out… >>;

Ravi grinned down at his phone with a dumb look on his face. He could only picture the way Hongbin would react to that. First there would be a shouting at inanimate objects, then a few moments of flustered silence and finally he’d elect to not respond or stoop to that level. So, it didn’t surprise him at all when there came no reply, the same way he knew that Hongbin would still show up with snacks in tow.

There wasn’t much prep left to do for dinner. Their dining room table (aka the coffee table in front of the couch) was already set with paper towels, chop sticks, and banchan. The jjigae was still on the stove top and the beats were flowing from his slightly blown out speaker and hand phone. The one advantage to having their space to himself for a time was that he could groove around the apartment without tripping over someone else’s foot.

Even in a half apron with the image of some anime character on it he was rocking the flow. Gliding his way around the kitchen, pulling mismatched bowls and cups from the cupboard, he was completely in the groove. And a good thing that was since he’d been called out. Apparently his win over a rival the previous night had tweaked the guys nose a bit, and when he’d got home from work a new text had told him that he better be at the Waste Pipe, one of the stages they used, the next night because he wanted a re-match. It was only his third time getting picked specifically and he had already got a few more texts from the crew he jammed with telling him to take the guy down.

The stew still had another few minutes before it’d be ready so he dished up some rice and brought the bowls and cups to the table. He kicked back onto the couch and picked up his battered notebook that he kept his lyrics in. The thing was an ugly sight, it’d been stuffed into so many backpacks over the years, but what was inside was what mattered. It was more than just his rhymes, it was a part of him, a little sliver that he cut out and placed inside each time he poured his mind into it.

The latest page had scratched in and scratched out words all over it. To someone who wasn’t familiar with his process it probably looked like a mess but it was pure art to Ravi and he could slot together the pieces to see the beautiful whole. He nibbled on the blunt end of his pen before he set to work letting loose the unfettered feelings in his head. The ink spread across the page, his writing adjusted to the space he had, growing cramped and small when he neared a margin only to equal out again on the next line. When the song changed he just kept with it. Maybe he’d hobble together a remaster mix and really blow them all away. Or hell, maybe he’d just write his own music.

The sound of the stove alarm shrilling startled Ravi and pulled him out of his own little world. It never ceased to surprise him to look down at the page and see that nearly all of it had been filled while he was keyed into his own mind. Setting the book down he body rolled his way over to the kitchen and shut off the alarm. A quick dip with a spoon and a slightly scalded tongue later and he was proud to say that his masterpiece was finished.

As if on cue, the door scanner chimed it’s unlocking and Hongbin pushed it open, a convenience store sack hanging off his arm. “I’m home,” he announced and slipped off his shoes as Ravi used the pot holders to carry the boiling stew to the table. “Oh, smells good in here!”

“Right on time, Hongbinnie, have a seat, I’m starved.” Ravi didn’t bother getting up after leaning down to set the pot. His roommate scrambled over to the table and kneeled down on his side shrugging out of his jacket and folding it neatly to set down. Ravi stifled a snort, it was disgusting, how organized and well kept Hongbin could be, even in their own space where they were by all logic supposed to be messy young boys. “Let’s eat!” Food would distract him.

“Thank you for the food.” Hongbin said with a huge grin before diving in for the jjigae. “How did you know I wanted this?”

“I know you better than you know yourself,” Ravi laughed and scooped up more that, “and it’s the one thing I reliably know how to make, you know that.” They shared a giggle over that but his roommate assured him that he had many more culinary talents than that. Not that any were coming to mind. “Mmm, tell me about this job you got!” He’d almost forgotten in the joy of eating to ask.

Hongbin’s face lit up and Ravi could see right off that he was excited. It was the most precious look, how his eyes would grow wide and his dimples would pop out. “You know that musical? The one I was talking about this morning with the actor I like?” Ravi nodded and gesture for his friend to continue with his chopsticks. “The manager of the theatre it’s showing in is hiring me to take some promotional shots for the show tomorrow afternoon.” His roommate was all but bouncing in excitement. “The whole… ‘interview’ was a complete mess. It really happened by accident I think because I wasn’t even supposed to be there. It just happened that I was a photographer in the right room when they needed one.”

His friend looked a little deterred at that but Ravi went ahead to interject, “Accident or fate? You can never tell, Bin-ah.” While his Hongbin considered that, Ravi took another spoonful of the stew. He was pretty damn good at this. “So is he going to be there?” Hongbin only raised a quizzical brow at him. “Your actor you like, is going to be there tomorrow? Maybe this is fate too,” Ravi laughed but nodded like he was serious.

“I’m not sure. Since he liked my cityscapes he probably just wants me to take pictures of the theatre itself but who knows maybe I’ll get lucky.” Hongbin giggled and tried to shake ridiculous scenarios of meeting Jung Leo out of his head. “I wouldn't even know what to do if I had the chance to talk to him. Probably sputter something about being a fan and then try to hide behind the nearest rock,” he admitted with grin. There was absolutely no way he’d be able to look Leo in the face let alone try and take his picture. The man was far too handsome for that.

Ravi couldn’t help but chuckle since he could totally picture his friend doing just as he described, though where he’d find a rock big enough to hide behind in a theatre was a mystery. “That’s still a pretty cool job though even if it’s just theatre shots, it’ll look really good on your work history!” Ravi held up his glass to clink against Hongbin’s. “Cheers, man, you deserve it! And it sounds like the kind of gig that pays well too.” He added an exaggerated aegyo face to make his friend dissolve into giggles. “What’d you bring us for snacks?” Ravi had priorities after all.

It took a few moments for his friend to calm down from his giggles before he could reach into the sack he brought in. “Since we missed it last month,” he whipped out a cute rectangular box, “Happy late Pepero day, Wonsikie!”

Then it was Ravi’s turn to fall over with laughter. It was such a dumb tradition they had, after years and years they still tended to give each other boxes of the candy coated sticks. This had been the first year they’d missed it since middle school. “But we’re already tall and thin!” Ravi pointed out between laughs, he hardly even noticed when the box doffed off the top his head. Hongbin must have thrown it to him… at him… whichever.

But then he got an idea. “Hongbinnie come here.” He gestured to the spot next to him. Dutifully his roommate got up from his seat on the floor across from him to sit near him. Ravi ripped into the box of chocolate treats and grabbed one of the sticks. Placing the bare end of the stick between his teeth, he pursed his lips around it. Hongbin would get the message.

And oh he did. Hongbin eyed the chocolate end of the stick like it was a snake that might bite him. “Are you serious, Wonsikie? We’re not kids anymore.” He knew exactly what Ravi wanted him to do, Ravi was obviously testing him, checking to see if he’d flinch or chicken out. “Fine, you asked for this though.” Hongbin leaned forward to delicately bite down on the free end of the pepero stick. Slowly he started nibbling more of the stick bringing his lips closer to Ravi’s; at about the halfway mark he shut his eyes tight and slowed down considerably.

Ravi watched through half lidded eyes as Hongbin’s face got closer. His friend had a look of pure concentration going on and his eyes were shut tight. As someone who’d played the game more than once with him, Ravi knew he was close to calling it off and breaking the snack so he took action. Gradually he bit more at his end, pushing his own mouth closer to Hongbin’s just centimetres apart and at that moment he thought to blow caution to the wind.

Ever so gently Ravi closed the distance between their lips until they were pressed lightly against each other. He waited, waited for Hongbin to jerk back, to yell at him for taking the joke too far, to storm off but he didn’t. They just sat there for a few moments, lips bumped up against one another awkwardly and he couldn’t tell if he was imagining it or not but it felt like Hongbin leaned forward ever so slightly and moved his lips against Ravi’s. But then he felt the cookie stick crumble where Hongbin bit it and the illusion was lost anyhow.

“You thought I was going to flinch didn’t you?” Hongbin asked, his words were teasing but his voice was less so, sounding a little shaky. “I think I’m going to go to bed, I’ll clean up the dishes in the morning so don’t worry about them.” And before Ravi could ask what just happened or try and gauge more of Hongbin’s tone, the younger man stood and strode into the bedroom. The door shifted shut behind him with a swoosh that sounded louder in Ravi’s ears than normal.

What had he just done? He asked himself that while sitting dumbfounded on the floor. A hand raised up to touch his lips and he could feel the tips of his ears start to burn a little. It wasn’t even a real kiss, he tried to tell himself. More like pushing two milk cartons to stand side by side, but then he couldn’t forget that brief moment where Hongbin’s lips moved against his. He did think he was going to flinch, Hongbin had always flinched in the past. That’s why the game was so… indulgent to play.

Hongbin with his handsome face, his perfect skin and straight nose, and pink lips. With the hard cut jawline and strong neck. The same Hongbin he’d grew a crush on since he’d hit puberty and realized what an attractive person he was. Matched with their tight friendship and Ravi had spent too many weeks in highschool thinking about the thing they’d just done. But Hongbin had always flinched before it got that far, and that was for the best, Ravi would tell himself. By both of their track records, they were better friends than they were boyfriends so far.

It wasn’t a kiss, Ravi scolded himself, it was just Hongbin trying to prove himself this time around, that was all. Well it, he’d won, Ravi decided and just threw his head back to lean against the couch. His lyric notebook slid to bump against his head. An excellent idea, he had a lot to get off his chest and mind at the moment.