after office hours : sung hanbin
pairing â sung hanbin x f!reader
content â fluff, hanbin is an idiot and down bad, matt and taerae there just for the plot, it also takes hanbin 5.7K words to confess because heâs dumb, random ass 8turn minho feature (omg i hated writing that bby like this đ), this is very long!
syn â hanbin never thought heâd fall for his colleague.
workplace romance hasnât been hanbinâs thing.
however, that is not to say he is immune to the flirty charms of some of his female colleagues. one-night stands are about as far as he goes in the name of commitment, though the intimacy still eludes him. he doesnât care much about relationships and romance. he doesnât have a soft spot for his colleagues either.
he thinks his life is complicated enough as it is. he doesnât need to worry about someone elseâs emotional baggage.
so what if he is twenty-five and his mother is going absolutely nuts trying to convince him to settle down? he is happy where he is. with his glasses perched on and a bowl of instant noodles, the only thing he has been consuming aside from black coffee for months, he is content.
that is why he doesnât bat an eye when he is introduced to a new intern in the logistics department. during the internâs introduction, hanbinâs eyes are trained on his phone screen, chin resting in the palm of his hand as he scrolls through the group chat. seok matthew, the hr managerâaka gossip centralâis blowing up his phone, talking about the relationship between the head of the finance department and his assistant, which hanbin knows for sure is a breach of companyâs guidelines.
he couldnât be less interested in interacting with new people, especially his juniors. he leaves as soon as the introductions are over, his eyes only flickering once towards the new intern, catching a glimpse of your soft features and round, wide eyes.
he doesnât dwell much, even if those eyes are seared into his head. he doesnât do love. doesnât believe in softness. heâs too awkward for that. then again, he also doesnât believe in overtime, wearing ties, or getting emotionally attached, and yet, here he is. three for three.
it isnât until three weeks later, during lunchtime, that hanbin sees youâthe new recruitâagain. he catches glimpses of you in the past few days, sure. the soft pastels of your clothes, those flowy sundresses that move past him when heâs in the cafĂ© down the road for his evening coffee.
however, he isnât expecting you to be sitting at his tableâin his and his friendsâ place. matthew and taerae, like always, will be five or ten minutes late.
hanbin blinks, then reluctantly makes his way over to you. confusion and frustration line his faceâconfusion because he doesnât expect to see you sitting where he and his friends have been eating lunch for years, frustration because he hasnât been able to catch a break from seeing you and now he is forced to be social against his will.
âyou,â is the best greeting he can offer as a cynical asshole who doesnât know how to approach softness.
hanbin watches as your head snaps up to look at him, your eyes wide and startled. he distantly notices the homemade bento box.
âyouâre in my seat,â he says dryly, his voice gruff but not unkind. his dark eyes roam over your face for a brief second, and as shameful as it is to admit, he did check you out.
your lips part, though no sound escapes you. for a few seconds, you stare at each other in awkward silence, only the chatter of other employees bustling in and out of the place keeping you aware of everyone elseâs presence.
then, abruptly, you are standing up, nervously closing your lunch box. hanbin, against his will, feels guilty for scaring you.
he is about to speak, but you beat him to it, your tone flustered: âiâiâm sorry. there weren't any empty seats today.â
and true, hanbin only now notices how full the cafeteria looks today, as if everyone from the building is suddenly cooped up in one place. he can also bet his life that it has something to do with the hr department and their weekly gossip meetings in random ass places.
he pinches the bridge of his nose. now, hanbin knows he is a cynical asshole, but he isnât a heartless bastard. besides, he couldn't let a new intern eat aloneâespecially not with how unfamiliar the environment could be for someone new.
âno, waitââ he starts, raising his hand as if to touch your shoulder to stop you, but he catches himself and instead gestures at the seat awkwardly. âyou can sit here,â he says reluctantly.
you blink up at him as if he had asked you to worship satanâor lick an anime character figurine, which he couldnât even dream of asking anyone to do.
âoh,â you breathe out, slowly sitting down again. hanbin notices that you are sitting on the edge of your seat, as if you are scared heâll ask you to leave any second. âare you sure?â
a muscle in his jaw jumps when he sees you starting to stand up again. âi am sure,â he responds tightly, then takes a seat across from you. he forces himself to relax, not wanting to intimidate you more than he already has.
he places his coffeeâas black as his clothes, and his self-proclaimed dark heartâand his lunch on the table, waiting for matthew and taerae. he notices something else about youâa keychain. a weird, stupid digimon keychain. he suppresses a scoff, because of course youâd have some weird quirks. a beauty like that doesnât come with all sweetness; eccentric personality is a must.
hanbin, uninterested in watching you eat, glances towards the cafeteria door, wondering how long matthew and taerae will take. he knows your name, though he doesnât want to interact with someone who is two years his junior.
but of course, you want to talk.
âwhat⊠if you donât mind me asking, whatâs your name?â you ask, your voice soft, almost lost in the loud chatter.
hanbin wants to scoff. unbelievable. you donât know him? who doesnât know sung hanbin in this building? he is the head of editorial department, for fuckâs sake.
âhanbin. i work in the editorial department,â he responds, a hint of reluctant indulgence in his voice. he doesnât want to tell you his occupation, so he simply skips it.
you nod, bringing a piece of chicken to your mouth and chewing it thoughtfully. hanbinâs gaze again lingers on that ugly digimon keychain, his eye twitching.
âmy nameâs y/n,â you say, as if hanbin hadnât been present during your introduction. âiâm in logistics department. on the seventeenth floor.â
he bites his tongue to stop himself from uttering something rude. he knows everything you just told him. he has been working here for seven fucking years and knows the entire forty-floor building like the back of his hand.
however, as if to save him from making a fool of himself, matthew and taerae arrive, both holding their drinks and lunches. it is safe to say that neither hanbin nor his friends have had a taste of homemade food for a long timeânot with their busy schedules and hectic daily lives.
as they notice you quietly munching on your homemade lunch, their eyes go round with surprise. however, matthew, ever the social butterfly, is quick to soften his expression and slide into the empty space beside you.
taerae, on the other hand, is a bit more reserved (or pretended to) as he settles beside hanbin, placing his lunch and hazelnut latte on the table.
âiâm matt!â the guy on your left chirps, effectively startling you.
hanbin watches with thinly veiled irritation. your wide eyes flick to matthewâs chopsticks frozen midairâlike youâve been caught sneaking into someoneâs diary. noticing the awkwardness, taerae chimes in:
âkim taerae,â comes his juniorâs nonchalant introduction. hanbin wants to scoff. the boy is acting as if he doesnât cry watching titanic every. single. time.
despite meeting you for the first time, taerae and matthew surprisingly warm up to you faster than hanbin expected.
maybe hanbin really is emotionally constipated.
what hanbin thought would be a one-time thing with you sitting with them, turns into a daily routine. soon, you were a plus-one in their usual trio. matthew and taerae grew attached to you, and did everything they could to fill you in with the gossip.
by the second week, you were invited to their weekend movie nights. it didnât bother hanbin, really.
he stopped being wary of you when you commented on his coffee, claiming that it would taste better if he added sugar and a little creamer. at the start of the third week, hanbinâs coffee started tasting a bit less bitter, and a little sweeter.
by the end of the third week, his kitchen cabinets were filled with your favorite snacks, your scent lingering on his couch cushions and the blanket you always wrap around yourself with during their movie nights. the start of the fourth week didnât bring anything new, aside from hanbin becoming your reluctant driver. ever since he found out where you lived, he knew he couldnât let you go aloneânot with how shady your neighborhood is. though, it was expected that youâd live somewhere like this, considering that you are a young graduate who started working less than three months ago.
again, your scent lingers inside his car, clinging to the leather seats. even when another woman sits in his car, your sickly perfume canât mask your scent.
it is like you have fucking imprinted yourself on him, and hanbin is helplessly drawn to you against his will. you were like a calm to his chaotic thoughts and awkwardness.
he finds himself smiling at your texts. his usually bitter coffee is slowly being replaced by your favorite drinks. when matthew commented about your homemade bento and expressed his desire for a home-cooked meal, there were three extra lunchboxes on their table the very next day.
against his will, hanbinâs walls soften around you, melting like they were never carved out of stone.
âthis is my pet,â you say, pointing towards a smallâŠÂ plant? of course, hanbin knew you were eccentric.
itâs week six of⊠whatever the hell this is. friendship? closeness? emotional sabotage? hanbin is sitting in your small, cozy apartment, his back leaning against the side of your bed.
for someone who lives in a thirty-story high-rise apartment building, your place is surprisingly well-kept, and your neighbors are niceâa detail hanbin couldnât relate to. he lives in a condo, and his neighbors are stuck-up pricks at best.
his neighborâs dog also pisses on his doormat because the dumb bitch just could.
in three months, he knew about you more than he should. you are eccentric. beneath those shy eyes, you are a fierce, sharp-tongued brat.
if he thought being your senior would earn him respect, he was terribly, terribly fucking mistaken. your sharp, out-of-pocket responses often leave him gaping. though taerae and matthew absolutely worship you and your homemade lunchboxes.
hanbin couldnât believe those two dropped their loyalty to him because of your cooking.
traitors. he shouldâve known his friends could be swayed by very little.
now, there are so many things he knows about you:
âą you have a three "headed" pet cactus named dugtrio. best part is that it started as a single "headâ called diglett. hanbin was admittedly impressed about the obvious reason to change its name.
âą you have a massive sweet tooth.
âą you cry during titanic, too.
âą you have a knack for collecting those creepy anime figurines and ridiculously large band t-shirts.
âą your favorite food is gyudon.
âą your favorite dresses to wear during summer are floral-print sundresses.
âą you love going on picnics.
âą you hate winter because you catch colds easily.
âą you are afraid of bugs.
âą you like three pumps of hazelnut in your coffee.
simple enough, except it is not. not for someone like hanbin, who is so used to preserving his peace and running away from getting deeply attached.
itâs another day at the office when hanbin sees you walking towards the elevators, your bag slung over your shoulder. you are wearing a white sundress with blue floral prints. the fabric looks light and soft, and the way it wraps around your body makes hanbinâs fingers itch.
now, he wouldnât mind being holed up inside an elevator with you. he never takes the elevator with youânot when itâs only the two of you. however, he saw one of his colleaguesâyang minhoâand he knew he couldnât let you deal with that guyâs strangeness alone.
he wasnât a bad guy, but hanbin definitely does not want his grubby hands to even brush against you. so, he fastens his pace, slipping an arm between the elevator doors to stop them from closing.
thank god the doors didnât close on his fucking arm. the last thing he needed was to have a witness while he loses his dignity.
he notices how your eyes widen before the corners of your lips curve into a bright smile. and, as shameful as it is to admit, hanbin couldnât deny he had started developing a strange fondness for you.
âmorning,â he grumbles, the back of his neck feeling far too hot for his liking.
beside him, you chirp out your greeting, âmorning, hanbin!â
hanbin huffs, pressing the button for the seventeenth and thirty-first floors. from across him, minho offers him a sly smile, as if he knows something hanbin doesnât.
âhanbin, howâs your hand?â your voice, tinged with barely hidden concern, pulls him out of his thoughts.
âhm?â he leans down slightly, brows furrowed in confusion before he realizes what youâre asking about. his handâthe one he burned after arrogantly claiming that he could cookâmakes his ears turn red as the memory of him embarrassing himself in front of you surfaces.
âiâitâs fine,â he responds, tugging at his tie to loosen it a little.
fuck, the accident wasnât his fault. it had been completely yours. you were standing too close, the scent of your shampoo and sweet perfume was too distracting. then you had to go ahead and touch him, albeit innocently, but it had been enough to rattle his entire system.
hanbin truly hates the way you affect him. he couldnât even remember when it started, but one day you were all around him. under his skin, on his couch, in his carâyouâre choking him. youâve had him in a chokehold since the day he saw you; he was just too much of an idiot to notice until it was too late.
as hanbin leans against the wall of the elevator, he feels your shoulder brushing against his arm. he is far too aware of your presence, his senses heightened by your proximity. but he doesnât get to dwell on those straying thoughts when the doors of the elevator open on the sixth floor, and dozens of people enter.
hanbin and you are pushed to the very back, and minho ends up right in front of you. usually, he wouldnât care for anyone else if they were being cornered in a crowded elevator. but it isnât anyone elseâitâs you. so, before minhoâs filthy hands can touch you, excused as an accident, hanbin slips between them, pushing you further against the cool wall of the elevator.
his arm comes to rest above your head to keep himself from pressing his entire weight against you. hanbin watches you flinch, your speech stuttering, eyes wide like a fawnâs. he doesnât comment, simply leaning his head down until his forehead presses against the crown of your head. the scent of your shampoo wafts in the airâsweet and floral, like meadows bathed in sunlight.
he sighs, his hand balled into a tight fist. god damn you, why do you have to make him feel like this? three months is not enough time to fall for someoneânot for someone like him.
someone who doesnât deserve this kind of sweetness in his life. and that thought terrifies him. he is unfamiliar with this sort of intimacy, where touch isnât even required. just silent understanding and a presence that is too stubborn to move.
âyou,â he breathes out, voice low enough only for you to hear, âwhat are you doing to me?â
it was a rhetorical question. hanbin knows exactly what youâre doing to him, even if you claim not to understand your effect on him.
itâs the alien intimacy, the urge to just⊠just be with you that terrifies him.
hanbin is used to fast-paced scenes. heâs used to bodies tangled in fleeting passion, quick and forgettable. heâs used to attraction, release as per his bodyâs need. but what he isnât used to is gentleness. this foreign sweetnessâthat is so you.
you donât make him want to take you to his bed. no. you make him want to just look at you, to understand you, be with you without touching you, as if you are a piece of art heâd ruin with a single hand.
heâs never cared to learn someoneâs smallest quirks. never noticed how anyone speaks, or if they pause mid-sentence when theyâre shy. but you? he memorizes everything. but here he isâdoing everything he never saw himself doing. if someone told him that heâd fall for someone like you, heâd have punched them before asking the source of their nonsense.
âiâŠi donât know what youâre talking about,â you whisper, your voice so quiet and soft, and hanbin wantsâŠ
he could feel the warmth of your body, soft against the hard planes of his muscles, the gentle caress of your breath against his neck.
âfuck itââ just as hanbin is about to do something reckless, like kiss you or lay his heart bare in a fucking elevator of all places, their small bubble is rudely popped by someone.
and thenâminho taps his ass, as if that piece of shit hadnât realized itâs hanbin heâs touching.
a goddamn cockblock. but hanbin is glad minho did that; otherwise, heâd have confessed in an elevator like some lovesick fool. or worse.
annoyed, hanbin pushes himself away from you, though the cramped space doesnât allow him to go far. reaching behind, he grabs minhoâs hand, a disappointing sigh leaving his lips.
âthatâs my ass youâre touching,â hanbin deadpans, and suddenly the entire elevator falls dead silent. he slaps his hand away, rolling his eyes. âlearn the difference between a manâs and a womanâs butt.â
minhoâs face turns red in an instant, his eyes widening in horror as if he has now come to an abhorrent realization.
you, on the other hand, are still pressed against the elevator wall, your shoulders trembling as if the moment a few seconds ago never happened.
âsâsir!â minho sputters as the doors slide open on the seventeenth floor.
hanbinâs gaze flickers over to you, and he tilts his head to the side, gesturing for you to get out. you offer him a smile thatâs far too cheerful for hanbinâs mood, but he doesnât say anything and nods in acknowledgment. as you move past him, your hand brushes over the underside of his wrist. he knows itâs not an accidentâhe saw the way your fingers hesitated before making contact with his skin.
however, that doesnât stop him from feeling his skin burn from that single touch. as you step out of the elevator and the doors close behind you, he is left to stare at the empty space, while a flustered minho stammers out apologies.
as he gets off on the thirty-first floor, minho follows him like an obedient puppy, his dark hair only making the flush on his ears and cheeks stand out more. hanbin stops mid-step, and minho nearly crashes into his back.
ânext time i see you pulling things like that,â hanbin starts, turning to face minho with a disapproving scowl, âiâll put you through a door, understood?â
minho nods, keeping his head down to avoid hanbinâs hard gaze. the day hasnât even started, and hanbin feels a headache growing just behind his eyes.
sighing, he rubs his forehead. âif you understand, then go finish your article and bring it to my office, okay?â
another nod, and minho scrambles like his ass is on fire.
hanbin watches him for a second, then turns to walk over to the huge glass windows, the city skyline as alive as ever. grey clouds move over the city like a blanket of smoke, and he wonders if itâll rain. all he knows is that this is going to be a long, torturous day.
true to his speculation, hanbin never got the chance to have his lunch. matthew, taerae, and you texted him, but he hadnât responded. some files and progress reports on the companyâs products were missing, and despite it not being entirely hanbinâs responsibility, he knew the chief operating officer would come after his ass because heâs the head of the editorial department.
itâs close to six in the evening when he gets a text from matthewâa simple invitation: movie night at your place. hanbin pinches the bridge of his nose, grabs his coat from the small couch pushed against the wall beside the large windows, and leaves his office.
his fingers move across his keyboard, typing a messageânot for matthew, but you. it sounds more like an order when hanbin sends it:Â meet me at the parking lot. weâre leaving together.
hanbin passes a very focused yang minho on his way to the elevator, who, upon seeing him, stands up hastily, almost knocking over his chair.
âsirâ!â hanbin pauses, looking over his shoulder toward minho and raising a single, questioning eyebrow. âi arranged the files and informed our team to be ready for a presentation tomorrow!â
by the way minho is speakingâlike a trained soldierâhanbin half expects him to throw a salute. instead of responding verbally, hanbin nods, amusement flashing in his dark eyes.
âyouâre a good boy, arenât you?â hanbin drawls, pressing the button for the elevator. his amusement mounts as minho grows visibly flustered and turns back around to fix his table nervously. shaking his head, hanbin looks back at the small screen as he waits. after a few seconds of silence, he adds, âyou can take a day off, yeah?â
he doesnât bother looking back at the flustered boy as the elevator doors slide open. hanbin steps inside and presses the button for the ground floor. he distantly catches a loud, albeit nervous, âreally?!â as the doors close.
hanbin will have to text minho later to assure him. in all honesty, he only took minho in his team because the boy is easy to rile up. he is perhaps the same age as you, which really explains his efforts to make friends with you. hanbin just hopes he wonât pull anything weird, or heâd have to fire his ass.
as the elevator descends, hanbin slumps against the wall, exhausted, his head hanging low. the stiffness in his back nags at himâsubtle but irritating. for someone used to standing strongâor at least pretending toâheâs been feeling a little too vulnerable lately. itâs a weakness he wouldnât dare admit to himself, let alone anyone else.
the elevator halts at the ground floor with a soft ding, and hanbin steps out. his eyes scan the underground parking lot, searching for any sign of you. it doesnât take him long to find you. youâre standing right in front of his black honda civic type-r, your hair pulled up, skin slightly dewy under the dim lights.
an irrational thought slips into his head, whispering a compliment he doesnât dare to voice.
youâre ethereal. especially in that damned sundress.
you notice him before he can even speak, your gaze lifting to meet his as his footsteps falter to a stop in front of you.
âoh,â the word leaves your lips in a soft breath, the faintest smile tugging at the corners of your mouthâsweet, yet knowing. it makes something twist deep in his chest. âyouâre here.â
itâs a simple acknowledgment, but it lands heavier than it should. thereâs something beneath itâa warmth, a familiarityâthat coils through the silence between you. hanbinâs chest tightens, not from unease but from that slow, maddening spark that always seems to ignite when youâre near.
âyeah,â he mutters, his voice low and rough, adamâs apple dipping as he swallows hard. his eyes donât leave yours. âiâm here.â
his gaze flickers away from you, a stubborn heat creeping up his neck. being this close feels too intimate, too much for his non-committing self.
hanbin steps back, tilting his head toward the car. âletâs go,â he mutters, clearing his throat with forced casualness. he hesitates for a heartbeat before moving to open the passenger door for you. his dark eyes catch a small, nearly invisible scratch on his car; his ears burn red with embarrassment.
fuck, why canât he act normal?
once you slide inside, hanbin shuts the door gently and rounds the car to slip behind the wheel.
clicking his seatbelt into place, he starts the engine and glances at you. âdo you need anything before we head home?â he asks, pulling the car out of the parking lot and onto the bustling night streets.
you hum thoughtfully, eyes flickering to the passing scenery, the city lights passing by in a fluorescent blur. âwould you mind if we make a small stop at the bakery?â you turn to look back at him, and for a brief second, you think you saw his grip tightening around the steering wheel, leather creaking under his fingers.
after a second, he exhales, then shakes his head. ânot at all,â he responds.
the drive to the bakery takes less than five minutes, the silence inside the car interrupted by the screeching of tires. hanbin gets out first, rounds the car to open your door before your fingers can even brush the handle. it startles you, but you step out with a warmth creeping on your cheeks.
inside the bakery, itâs warm. the sound of ceramic dishes clinking together fills the air, an old, eighties song playing over the brown radio placed on a wooden rack. the scent of sweets hits you as soon as you step inside, hanbin hovering behind you closely. he guides you towards the counter, a hand resting comfortably on the small of your back.
as you busy yourself with choosing the pastries, hanbin merely watches you, his expression soft. the exhaustion from earlier melted into something tenderâadoration, and a sense of unease. he knows he shouldnât feel stupidly jealous when someone tries to hit on you. you two werenât even dating. hell, you probably donât even like him like that, but fuck itâthe second he saw a sleazy dude standing a little too close to comfort and murmuring something, he acted before thinking, and in a blink, he is squeezing into the small space between you and that guy, his back facing you as he glares at the dude. âsheâs fine,â he grumbles, eyes narrowing, âyou might wanna step back.â
that sleazy guy glared at him in return, but stepped back nonetheless. as the guy leaves, hanbinâs shoulders slump a little. he turns to look at you, his heart giving a treacherous leap when he finds you staring back at him.
âheâŠhe didnât touch you, right?â he asks, feeling his face heating up a little. you only offer him a nod, lips curving in a soft smile before you turn to place your order. when your order was packed, hanbin paid for it, claiming that itâd be his treat.
the drive back to your place is mostly silentâdisturbed only by the song playing on the radio and your occasional humming. hanbin keeps stealing glances at you, his body relaxed and expressions serene. he almost forgets when was the last time he felt soâŠcalm in someone elseâs presence.
once in your apartment, you change into something comfortableâa loose t-shirt and cotton shorts. when you walk into the living room, you find hanbin taking out the snacks and blankets.
a text from taerae lit your phone, reading:Â weâll be a little late. mattâs girlfriend is throwing a fit. literally.
you respond with a simple reassurance. youâve met his girlfriend once, and sheâs extremely kindâthough she keeps matthew on his toes. she has joined you for movie nights, even offered to arrange them at her place, but her schedule leaves her little to no time.
âtaerae said theyâd be a little late,â you tell hanbin, walking over to help him puff up the pillows.
hanbin offers you a small nod of acknowledgment. his tie is already loose, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, suit jacket hung neatly on the hanger as if itâs always belonged there. the two of you move around the kitchen, preparing snacks and a light dinner in easy silence.
under the butterscotch glow of the kitchen light, youâre plating kimbap rolls while hanbin arranges the desserts. the quiet stretches until you speak, voice low and teasing.
âyou were weirdly heroic,â you say, noticing the subtle clench of his jaw, the twitch of a muscle in his cheek. âback at the bakery, yâknow?â
âare you sick, hanbin?â taerae asks, and from the corner of his eye, hanbin notices you turn to look at him too. âyour face is all red.â
before he can respond, matthewâs girlfriend chimes in from where sheâs perched on his lap. âheâs probably frying in shame. you know how easily he embarrasses himself.â
hanbin bristles, narrowing his eyes at her.
she giggles, slumping further into matthewâs hold. sheâs like a wildcat, and hanbin canât help but wonder what matthew even sees in her.
as the room quiets, broken only by the movieâs dialogue, hanbin shifts closer to youâsubtly. or at least, he tries to be subtle. his hand brushes against yours, and for the first time, he doesnât pull away. instead, he threads his fingers through yours, holding on softly but sure.
hours slip by, the laughter fading until the room is bathed in the pale glow of the ending credits. hanbin leans back against the couch, eyelids heavy, but when you glance over, his gaze is already on you.
the silence between you feels different nowânot tense or uncertain, but easy, full of something neither of you can name.
your friends are already half-asleepâtaerae curled up in a fetal position with a baby blue blanket wrapped around him, while matthew and his girlfriend are doze off, tangled together on the couch.
you rise from the floor, gathering empty dishes and snack wrappers to carry into the kitchen. hanbin stays behind for a moment, pulling a blanket over matthew and his girlfriend, ever aware of his friendâs fragile immune system. then he joins you.
neither of you speak as you work side by sideâyou washing the dishes, him drying and stacking them neatly on the rack. the silence is comfortable, filled only with the low hum of the tv and the distant sounds of the night city.
âabout earlier,â you say quietly, and you can feel him tense beside you.
the dish slips a little in your soapy hands; you rinse it, setting it gently on the rack before looking over at him. hanbinâs still holding the towel, frozen mid-motion, eyes fixed on the sink as if it can save him.
you take a small breath, voice barely above a whisper. âi like you too, if youâve been wondering.â
he blinks, shoulders relaxing as the words sink in. the corner of his mouth curves up slowly, almost shyly, before a soft laugh leaves himârelieved and disbelieving. he sets the towel down and leans against the counter, watching you with that boyish grin you havenât seen in a while.
âyeah?â he murmurs, rubbing the back of his neck. âthen maybe i can finally askâgo out with me? a real date this time. a picnic and dinner, not just takeout and friends.â
you smile, the warmth of his words sinking deep. âiâd like that.â
for a moment, neither of you move. the city hums beyond the window, the faint flicker of the tv painting both your faces in blue light. hanbin lets out a quiet sigh and reaches over to wipe soap that had somehow managed to get on your cheek.
âsaturday, then,â he says, voice low and certain.
you nod, heart light. âsaturday.â
he lingers a little longer before stepping back, turning off the kitchen light. the two of you head toward the living room, the soft glow of the screen guiding your way. taeraeâs already snoring, matthew and his girlfriend murmuring in their sleep, the smell of butter and sugar still hanging in the air.
as you settle down to sleep in the living room, surrounded by the people youâve come to cherish, you couldnât help the smile curving on your lips. itâs idiotic at best, but you couldnât help itâand by the looks of it, neither can he.
when you fall asleep, huddled by the foot of the couch, hanbinâs hand finds yours under the blanket. before you could fully go out, you feel the warmth of his lips on your temple.
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