#334: The Moment I Stepped Inside (Your World)

[sweetestjongin]

Title: The Moment I Stepped Inside (Your World)
Pairing(s): TaoKai, side pairings: SeHo, BaekChen
Rating: PG
Length: 17382
Summary: Jongin has the worst luck with technology and Zitao has never seen a customer come in on a weekly basis.

Author's Note: First of all, thank you, mods, for holding this fest and being so understanding and helpful! To the prompter, I hope you enjoy this and that it lives up to your prompt! This is the second fest I've signed up for, so it was definitely an adventure. To my beta, K, thank you so much for putting up with me and helping me with this. Without further ado, I hope everyone enjoys this!




Jongin swears he would lose his head if it was not attached to him. He knows he had his phone earlier, but after searching through his car for the last ten minutes it remains missing. He is late for dance practice though and he cannot afford to be late again. He gives up the search for now and starts to pull out of the parking spot only to watch his phone plunge off onto the pavement with the movement.

Without pulling out the rest of the way nor pulling back in, Jongin just puts his car in park and hits his head against the steering wheel with a groan. Of course, he would leave his brand new phone on the top of his car and then forget it was there. After a few minutes of berating himself, he slowly drags himself out of his car to take in the damage.

When he first got the phone, he swore he was going to get a phone case and take better care of it than the rest of his old phones combined. Sehun, like an ass, had laughed at him and continued to do so through the rest of their dance practice that day. Jongin knows once Sehun finds out what happened, he is going to tease Jongin relentlessly.

The phone looks repairable as far as Jongin can tell and he knows there is a repair shop near the studio. He had noticed it once when he was on the way to practice, the name made him snort out loud. He figures he can drop it off there and get it back once practice is over.

He wishes he could text Sehun to tell him he will be late, but with his phone out of commission, he figures being late again is not really out of the norm and his best friend probably expects it. Jongin feels bad for their new instructor though. He has been late to every single practice so far for various different reasons and he would probably be kicked out of the company if his talent was not so valuable. Tossing the phone into the passenger seat, Jongin buckles up and pulls the rest of the way out of his parking spot. The repair shop is only a couple of minutes away from the studio, so hopefully he will not be more than thirty minutes late.

☆☆☆

It's a regular Saturday afternoon at the shop and Zitao has been busy repairing cellphones almost non-stop. Saturday is always Zitao’s busiest day out of the week since he started working at Quick Phix, the seemingly only cellphone repair shop in the area. He does not understand how so many people could break their phones around the same time on a weekly basis, but here they are.

He is lucky he only really deals with screen replacements and elderly customers not knowing how to work their phones. Baekhyun and Yixing have the tougher jobs, seeing as they actually have degrees in some kind of technology field. This job is not even in the same ball park of the career Zitao wants to be doing. The only reason he is working here now is because it is a block from his apartment, has a decent wage, and the hours are flexible enough for his random modeling gigs.

That being said the job is not all that exciting. The most excitement comes from Baekhyun flirting with customers. Sometimes he succeeds and gloats, but when he fails Zitao gets to tease him for the remainder of the day. Zitao was unaware one little person could be such a huge ball of sleaze, but he is pretty sure subtle is not in Baekhyun’s vocabulary.

As of right now, Baekhyun is in the process of flirting with Zitao’s roommate, Jongdae, and Zitao is just waiting for the tables to turn. Jongdae has heard the stories and he is as much of a flirt as Baekhyun. While Zitao would love to watch it unfold, he is trying to pretend he is not eavesdropping while fixing an iPhone screen. As far as he can tell, Jongdae is winning if Baekhyun’s flustered voice is anything to go by.

“Are you from another planet? Because your ass is out of this world,” Jongdae drawls and Zitao can totally picture the look on his face, the smirk and the twinkle in his eyes. Zitao has to choke back a snort, so that he is not caught. He is never going to let Jongdae live that pick-up line down. It is by far the worst one he has heard Jongdae use.

The bell over their door jingles announcing a new arrival and Zitao tries not to groan out loud, because there is no way he is going to be able to eavesdrop now. With his back still to the door and the customer, he calls out their customary greeting. “Hello. Welcome to Quick Phix, I'll be with you in a second.” No doubt Baekhyun is too busy, at the moment, to help do what he is getting paid to do.

There is no response from the customer, but that does not phase Zitao in the least. He is used to a variety of customers, especially quiet ones. He continues to set the screen securely in the phone, making sure it will not fall out, before setting it down and turning around. “Hi, how may I help you?”

Tousled brown hair, sleepy eyes, plump lips stretched in a sheepish smile, engulfed in a soft pink hoodie, and holding out a phone that looks like it has had a personal disagreement with the pavement. The guy is a mix between hot and cute and Zitao’s mouth suddenly feels a little dry.

“Can you guys fix this?” A soft, deep voice like melting chocolate.

It takes a second for Zitao to register that the customer is talking to him, but then he remembers where he is and he tries his best to continue to look professional. Zitao gingerly takes the phone, looking it over before giving him a reassuring smile. “Yeah, it'll cost you sixty and take an hour to fix, if you're okay with that.”

“Sounds good.” The smile he gives Zitao makes his eyes form crescents and the only word that comes to mind is cute.

Zitao sets the phone down on the counter and grabs one of their forms and a pen, sliding it over to the customer. “You just need to fill this out and put an alternate contact down.” He nods and starts to fill out the form. Zitao cannot help but think that even his nose is cute.

Zitao almost forgets they are not alone until Baekhyun pops up next to him and leans in, making him almost jump out of his skin and wonder where Jongdae had run off to. “Dude, what'd you do to it?”

Zitao and the customer look down at the phone in question and the guy shrugs before going back to the form. “Dropped it.”

Baekhyun’s eyebrows furrow and he picks up the phone to inspect it more closely. “What? From a window on the third floor of your apartment complex?”

Zitao watches as the guy curls even more towards the counter to where he can only see the guy’s ears turning red and Zitao think it is adorable. When the customer finally straightens up to slide the form back to him, Zitao pretends he was not staring and realizes that Baekhyun has disappeared. The customer goes to take out his wallet, but Zitao stops him with a gentle smile. “Oh, you don't pay until you come back for your phone.”

“Oh okay.” The guy gives him an embarrassed smile.

Zitao idly fiddles with the form on the counter while he goes over the normal spiel. “Okay, so if you don't come back in an hour, we’ll use the alternate contact to let you know we're done. Of course, you're welcome to wait here if you want.”

“Oh, I'll just come back. Thanks.” Another smile and the customer is leaving the shop quickly.

Baekhyun magically reappears from wherever he had disappeared to in the last five minutes, looking awfully smug for someone who most likely got out flirted. “He was cute.”

Three simple words and Zitao knows that he had been caught staring. So he decides to turn the tables. “Did you get Jongdae’s number or did he get yours?”

The flush that spreads across Baekhyun’s face has Zitao grinning. Baekhyun huffs and stomps off to the back room, muttering about brats and leaving Zitao alone in the front of the shop. It gives Zitao a chance to look at the name on the form that is still on the counter.

Kim Jongin.

“Jongin. Cute.” Zitao mutters to himself, filing away the form and taking the phone to the back to find the right screen for it.
☆☆☆

Jongin manages to get to the studio exactly thirty minutes late and their instructor, Jay, does not look pleased. He apologizes profusely, his ears burning, and can hear Sehun snicker quietly behind him. Jay leaves them for a few minutes to let Jongin stretch before they start working on the choreography for their next showcase.

“So,” Sehun drawls, joining him on the floor to lazily stretch. “Why were you late this time? I saw you in your car when I left.”

“I broke my phone,” Jongin mutters, hoping Sehun will not hear it or maybe just take pity on him.

“You what?!” Sehun stares at him in disbelief, which Jongin does not understand because after years of being best friends Sehun should have expected this. It is a given that Jongin and technology just do not mix and every time Sehun introduces Jongin to people it is an obligatory part of the introduction.

“I forgot my phone on top of my car -” Jongin starts.

Sehun interrupts before he can finish. “And you tried to drive off and it fell off and broke? Right?”

Jongin just folds himself in half, hiding his face in his legs as his hands grip at his feet. He knows Sehun is gloating and he, frankly, does not want to see the stupid look on Sehun’s face. He mutters “I hate you” even it is muffled by his sweats, but hoping it is loud enough that Sehun hears him. Sehun’s guffawing is answer enough and Jongin thinks of ways for payback, like putting red hair dye in Sehun’s shampoo later to mess up that blond hair he is so proud of.

Jay comes back and Jongin already knows practice is going to be torture, a punishment for him being late again. As much as he hates it, he also secretly relishes the fact that Sehun will definitely not be laughing at him much throughout practice. They'll be too busy on the brink of dying for him to be able to spend valuable breath on silly things like laughing at Jongin.

By the end of practice, Jongin is collapsed on the floor, about done with today, and he really just wants to go home and take a nice, long shower. Sehun is almost passed out next to him, both of them a sweaty, heaving mess.

Sehun exerts enough energy to look at Jongin. “You going straight home?”

“I’ve got to get my phone from that shop, then I will. Why?” He closes his eyes, the bright lights of the studio are starting to give him a headache.

Sehun snorts. “Oh yeah, your phone. Well, I’m going to go visit Junmyeon. Don’t know how long I’ll be, so don’t wait up for me for dinner.”

Jongin does not even attempt to hide his grin, he already knows Sehun is blushing without opening his eyes to check. “Dude, when are you going to confess?”

Sehun has been pining after the TA from their History class that they took a year ago and Jongin loves teasing him for it. Jongin figures that if Sehun can tease him about technology, he has every right to tease Sehun about the massive crush he has been harboring. Jongin cannot see the appeal of Junmyeon’s dad jokes and dad attire, but Sehun eats it up like cake, very happily and eagerly.

Sehun weakly punches him in the arm and Jongin opens his eyes to see that he was correct about the blushing. Sehun scrunches up his face at him. “Shut up. When are you going to stop breaking your phones?”

“Probably never, so if you’re trying to equate the two then that just makes you look sad.” Jongin rolls away before Sehun can punch him harder this time and groans as he slowly gets up. His muscles are screaming at him to get back on the floor and let them rest. However, he needs to go get his phone, figure out dinner, take a shower, and then sleep like he is dead to the world. “Anyway, I’ll see you when I see you. I need to go get my phone and then go shower.”

He grabs his bag and walks out of the studio, leaving Sehun whining on the floor.

☆☆☆

Jongin comes back five hours later to get his phone, paying for it, and promptly leaving. To say Zitao is a little put out with the lack of interaction is an understatement. When Zitao gets home, he whines to Jongdae who is sprawled out on their couch watching TV.

“He just paid for his phone and left.” Zitao knows Jongdae can hear the pout in his voice, even if he's in the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water.

“To be fair, Taozi, it was like six. He probably wanted to hurry and get home.” Jongdae has a point, even if Zitao does not want to admit it.

Instead he plops down on the recliner by the couch and decides to dig a little. “So, are you planning on putting Baekhyun’s number to use or is it just a trophy?”

Jongdae tilts back his head back just to look at Zitao, his lips curled into a smirk. “Wouldn't you like to know.”

“Yah, don't tease me.” Zitao whines, but Jongdae just goes back to watching TV and ignoring Zitao’s accusations of breaking the friend code.

Zitao gives up after a few minutes, too tired to really put up a fight. He'll find out one way or another, even if he has never been a patient person.

Jongdae fixes them a quick dinner after his show ends, which Zitao gladly inhales. He would probably be surviving on takeout and ramen if it was not for Jongdae’s ability to cook.

When Jongdae heads out for his shift at the bar, Zitao retreats to his room. It is not that he hates being alone, but the living room just makes him feel too alone, too small when he is the only one in it. So instead of feeling weird sitting on the couch by himself, he curls up in his bed with a sigh of contentment. He only moves to plug in his phone into its charger before continuing to browse through his social media apps until sleep claims him.

☆☆☆

It is Saturday again and Jongin is in the studio by himself. Jay has the day off and Sehun is, once again, spending time with Junmyeon. He remembers Sehun saying something about helping Junmyeon with organizing papers or something equally tedious. Whatever it is, Jongin does not mind having the studio to himself. It means he can concentrate on just himself.

He starts up the music, a hip hop song with booming bass that he can feel through the floor, and moves to the middle of the room. His reflection stares back at him before he looks down at his feet to start off the dance. Most of the moves are ingrained into his muscles by now and it takes little thought to do them. It is methodical in its own way and Jongin gets lost in the music until his biggest problem in the choreo. It is a set of moves that Sehun has no problem with, more familiar with b-boy dancing than Jongin is, and Jongin just cannot seem to get the sharp movements down.

Sehun says it is because of Jongin’s background with taking ballet from such a young age, that it makes his movements too fluid, like water, to be sharp for popping and locking. Jay once likened their dancing to art. Where Jongin is like soft scenery that has an almost ethereal feel, Sehun is like minimalism with sharp corners and patterns.

Not that any of those flowery words helps Jongin master some of the choreo, but it does help ease his frustration sometimes. Today is not one of those times, however. After messing up for what is probably the tenth time since he started, Jongin stands still and looks at his reflection. Chest heaving and hair dripping with sweat, Jongin can see the frustration radiating off of him. The music is still blaring and Jongin has completely lost the rhythm of the choreo. Instead of continuing with the choreo for their show, he starts to do pirouettes as fast and as many as he can. It is a basic move, something he has known how to do since he was little and something he cannot mess up.

It is almost like a slow motion scene in a movie when his phone leaves the pocket of his sweats unintentionally, in the middle of his third pirouette, and crashes into the wall behind him. He had completely forgotten about it, the heavy weight of the phone against his leg was just something that he is so used to by now that he barely noticed it.

“Fuck.” If he was not frustrated before, he certainly is now. He knows that his phone is broken once again. There is no way it stayed unharmed after an impact like that. Jongin walks over to it and picks it up with a whine. It is totally broken and he can barely see anything on the screen. Luckily there is a clock on the wall of the studio and Jongin realizes that the repair shop is going to close in the next hour. It gives him enough time to use the studio’s showers and get there to drop off his phone.

☆☆☆

There has not been much development between Baekhyun and Jongdae in the past week, as far as Zitao can tell. He has been watching them like a hawk and they are either really good at sneaking or there is nothing happening. Either way, it provides a kind of unique entertainment for Zitao to the point that he almost forgets about the cute boy, Jongin. At least, until a second ago, because Jongin is currently standing at the counter once again - this time in a cute baby blue hoodie - and holding out his phone.

Zitao looks at the phone incredulously and instead of their customary greeting, he just says, “Again?”

Jongin’s cheeks look a little pink when he sets the phone down on the counter. “Yeah, again. Um, can you guys fix it again?”

Zitao looks at the phone again and nods. “Yes, of course. It'll cost you sixty again and because it's so close to closing, it won't be ready until tomorrow morning. Is that okay?”

Zitao watches Jongin bite down at his bottom lip as he thinks and Zitao tries not to think about how kissable Jongin’s lips look. After a minute of chewing on his lip, making it noticeably red, Jongin nods. “Yeah, that's cool. I'll come in as soon as I can.”

Zitao slides over a pen and a new form for Jongin to fill out and it is almost like deja vu. “I'll need you to fill this out again and we'll be sure to call or text you tomorrow to let you know it's done.”

Zitao doesn't miss the little sigh that Jongin lets out and he tries not to smile. Jongin is really too cute in his oversized hoodie, hair that looks like he showered thirty minutes ago, and with his broken phone.

Once Jongin is done and out the door with a quiet thanks, Zitao slips the phone into its own clear bag and labels it ‘Priority’ before putting it away. He only has ten minutes until he has to close the shop, so there is no way he can work on it.

After locking the door and flipping the sign to ‘Closed’, he goes through the tasks of cleaning the counter and counting the drawer. Baekhyun hates this part of the job, but Zitao likes it, thinks it is relaxing. It is like winding down after a hectic day.

Once he is done, he leaves through the back exit, locking the door behind him. The walk home at night is always peaceful. They are more in a residential area, so there is not a ton of traffic and everyone is usually at home at this time. Zitao relishes in the quiet hum and cool air of the night.

When he gets to the apartment, he notices that Jongdae has already left for work and left him dinner in the fridge to heat up. It's some kind of chicken dish and Zitao grins while it heats up. He shoots Jongdae a message saying thanks and sends a couple of cute stickers to show his appreciation.

Jongdae has not responded by the time Zitao finishes the food, but Zitao did not really expect a response any time soon. Sliding into bed, Zitao comes up with an idea and grins as he sends Baekhyun a message with Jongdae’s work address and a winky face. He figures that even if they have been talking, Jongdae has probably kept his workplace a secret. Zitao knows Baekhyun loves to go clubbing, so really it is inevitable that he will find out, Zitao just gave a little push.

Zitao looks at the time and remembers he has to open the shop and fix Jongin’s phone. Feeling satisfied with himself, he cocoons himself in his blankets and gladly welcomes sleep.

☆☆☆

Jongin leaves the shop feeling weird without his phone. It was okay the first time, because he had practice to focus on and the only person he would want to contact was with him. Now he is already done with practice today and Sehun is out with Junmyeon still, as far as Jongin knows anyway. Getting in his car, Jongin makes his way to his apartment, hoping that Sehun is not home yet. Sehun has probably texted him since he broke his phone and with Jongin’s lack of response, if Sehun is home, he will undoubtedly question Jongin about it.

Thinking of his phone reminds him of how confused the worker at that repair shop was. It was embarrassing for Jongin, to say the least. It did not help that the worker - Zitao, if Jongin remembers reading the name tag correctly- is incredibly hot. Jongin had barely paid attention the first time he went to the shop, too focused on getting in and out to make it to practice. This time he was not rushed and he definitely appreciated the sight. Tan like Jongin, yet taller with pierced ears and red hair. It looked like Zitao worked out too, his build slightly bulkier than Jongin’s lean dancer body.

He thinks about Zitao the whole way home, wondering what kind of person he is. Jongin briefly entertains the thought of asking Zitao out, because Jongin has not been on a date in a while and he is, at least, attracted to Zitao. At the very least, it might get him laid. Though that is not something that Jongin really cares about and he shakes his head as a way to get rid of the thought. Instead of dwelling on his loneliness or how hot Zitao is, Jongin grabs his duffel bag after parking and thinks about food, showers, and sleep as he makes his way up to his apartment.

His luck does not seem to be entirely out, because Sehun is not home yet and that means he can eat a quick sandwich for dinner before going to bed. Kicking off his shoes and setting his duffel bag to the side, Jongin slides into the kitchen to make his sandwich. Their fridge is looking a little bare, but there is enough to make a turkey and cheese sandwich. He scarfs it down, not really caring about taking his time or even savoring it. At this point, Jongin is just going through the motions.

Once he downs a glass of water, he makes his way to his room and strips out of his clothes. His shower is quick and before he knows it he is sliding into the cool sheets of his bed, he groans at the way his muscles are protesting from the extreme dancing he did earlier. He gropes for his phone, only to remember that he had to leave it at that shop. At least, he has nowhere to go tomorrow and no need for an alarm. With that feeling of relief of having no real responsibilities waiting for him when he wakes up, he slips into a peaceful sleep.

☆☆☆

Zitao hates opening. He likes his sleep too much and he thinks that opening a cellphone repair shop at seven in the morning is a little extreme. Yixing said something about how they have to be open early enough that customers can get their phones before work. All Zitao hears is that he has to be here an hour earlier than the shop opens, so that he can set up and start repairing the previous night's phones. In short, it is too early in the morning and Zitao would rather be in his warm bed, asleep.

He rubs at his eyes as he stares down at Jongin’s busted phone. He is curious to know how Jongin keeps breaking his phone like this, but figures that maybe Jongin has just been having bad luck for the past two weeks. He gets to work after a rather large yawn and tries to keep one eye on the clock so that he can unlock the front door for customers.

Zitao gets done with Jongin’s phone right before he has to open the shop. He puts it up front, under the counter, so that it is ready to go as soon as Jongin pays. He goes about the normal routine of opening the shop at a sort of sluggish pace. It is not that he is a slacker, but he is just way too tired to put his all into it. It is not like it will matter this early in the morning. Besides Jongin, they only have one other customer that is coming in early to get their phone.

Once he is done with everything, he pulls out Jongin’s form for the alternate contact. It is a phone number and Jongin put down texting over calling. Jongin even cutely added the owner’s name, someone called Oh Sehun. Zitao takes out his cellphone and types in the number.

Zitao: Hello, I am a worker at Quick Phix. Kim Jongin
put this down as his alternate contact.
Can you please tell him that his phone is
ready whenever he wants to come get it?
Thank you.

Zitao puts his phone in his pocket and makes his way to the back room so that he can work on the other customer’s phone. It is another thirty minutes, at seven-thirty o'clock, that Zitao finally gets a response. He was almost done with the other customer’s phone, but decided to pause long enough to check his phone.

Oh Sehun: k.

This is probably the shortest response Zitao has ever seen, but it is not like he was expecting a monologue. Shrugging, he pockets his phone once again and gets back to finishing the other customer’s phone.
☆☆☆

Jongin likes Sundays. Sundays mean that he gets to sleep in and let his aching body rest. Sehun absolutely knows not to disturb Jongin, even if he sleeps past lunch. It has been this way since the beginning of time, yet here Sehun is, sitting on the edge of his bed and clearly trying to hold back laughter.

“Jongin, wake up~ I just got a text message from some place called ‘Quick Phix’ and they said your phone is ready.”

Jongin barely registers what Sehun is saying, he is not awake enough nor does he want to be right now. So he does the only thing he can do at the moment, he groans and rolls over enough to put his back to Sehun.

A quiet sigh. “Fine, I'll tell you later. It's not like you need your phone right now.”

The last thing he hears is the soft pad of Sehun’s feet as he is walking out of Jongin’s room before he is fast asleep once again.

Jongin does not wake up until around one in the afternoon, still feeling sleepy but not as much as he is hungry. Shower trumps food, though. So, the first thing he does, after getting out of bed at the speed of a sloth, is jump into the shower and get clean. He wastes no time, when he normally would stand under the warm spray of water and let it soak into his soul, instead he scrubs as quick as he can and rinses off.

He takes enough time to dry off and slip on some sweats and a tank before making his way into the kitchen.

“Oh, you're finally awake. I was about to go check and see if you were still alive.” Sehun is currently sitting at their table, hovering over a plate with fried chicken.

“Did you get enough for me?” Jongin looks around, trying to spot the source of the chicken.

“I'm glad to know chicken is more important than saying hi to your best friend and roommate, but to answer your question, it's in the microwave.” Sehun nods his head at the appliance, like Jongin has not been living with him for the past four years.

Jongin does not even bother saying anything else until he is sitting down with his own plate of chicken. “Thanks for the chicken.”

Sehun just grunts around a chicken leg, wholly unattractive and Jongin would love to tease him about it if his own mouth was not stuffed full of chicken as well.

It is not until they are almost done with their food that Sehun speaks again, looking at Jongin like he is about to tease him. “Oh yeah, you probably don't remember me waking you up this morning, but a repair shop texted me and said your phone is ready?”

Jongin almost chokes on a piece of chicken. “Oh fuck! I forgot!” His food forgotten as he rushes to his room to change into something decent. He was too asleep to remember that Sehun had said something, all he really remembers is that Sehun was there and then left.

He can hear Sehun calling out to him while cleaning up their mess in the kitchen. “So you did break your phone again! You're going to go broke if you don't take better care of it.”

Jongin slides on a hoodie before leaving his room again, glaring at Sehun who is now settled on the couch and smirking at him. “It was just an accident. Anyway, I’m going to go get it. Be back later.” He hurries out of the apartment without waiting for a reply. He is definitely not going to tell Sehun that he broke his phone mid-pirouette.


☆☆☆


The other customer comes to get their phone before Jongin does. It is kind of surprising, but Zitao tries not to think much of it. He figures Jongin is probably busy and cannot get it yet. The day goes by slowly and Zitao is actually thankful when Baekhyun shows up for his shift at one.

“Baek~ Let me go get some food from the cafe, please?” Zitao puts his hands together in an attempt to look even cuter than he usually does.

Baekhyun is still taking his jacket off and putting his backpack down behind the counter, Zitao had barely given him time to come into the shop. He looks over at Zitao and shakes his head. “Yeah, yeah. Go. Get me a coffee while you’re at it.”

“Okay, I’ll be back!” Zitao bounds out of the shop, not wasting anytime getting to fresh air and sunshine.

He faintly hears Baekhyun yell “You better!” before the door closes behind him. The cafe he is heading to is the only one close to the shop and his apartment complex, so he likes to take walks to it often. They know his name by now, unless they hire a new barista and even then the barista usually learns his name quickly. The trip is quick and easy, paying and getting his order in only a few minutes from arriving. It helps to know Minseok, the owner, after all. Minseok has always had a soft spot for Zitao.

Zitao makes his way back to the shop, humming a little as he tries not to drop their drinks on the pavement. He nearly does when he rounds the corner to the shop and almost bumps into a little kid with his mother. He apologizes and gives the little kid a small wave with the hand holding the bread.

Thankfully there are no customers when Zitao walks back into the shop. Baekhyun is sitting on top of the counter, legs crossed and playing on his phone, as Zitao sets the drinks and bag down next to him.

“Your usual,” Zitao hands Baekhyun his coffee, who takes it gratefully. He then opens the bag of bread and realizes Minseok had slipped in the pumpkin bread that Zitao had been eyeing. “Oh, Minseok gave me an extra bread. Do you want a banana bread?”

“Hell yeah.” Baekhyun gladly snatches up the bread, stuffing almost half of it in his mouth. “God, Minseok really knows how to bake.”

Zitao hums in agreement around the pumpkin bread, holding his hand under it in an attempt to keep crumbs from getting everywhere. They eat the rest of their bread in silence, treasuring the deliciousness of the soft food.

“Oh, Baekhyun, did that one cute guy come back to get his phone? Kim Jongin?” Zitao does not wait for a reply, grabbing the remaining bread that is in the bag and making his way to the back room. He is so glad that Yixing had decided to add a mini fridge in their small break room. Sometimes they keep snacks and food they do not need to cook so they have something fast to fix for their break when they are too busy to leave the shop. Zitao puts the bread in next to a couple of bottles of water.

When he comes back to the front is when Baekhyun replies with a knowing smirk, “No, Kim Jongin didn’t come get his phone. Why?”

Zitao flushes, checking under the counter to make sure Baekhyun is telling the truth. He is, the phone is still in their little bin for fixed phones. He chooses to ignore Baekhyun’s question and pulls out his phone. Would it be too unprofessional to text Oh Sehun again? He could just say something like ‘Hi, we close at 8pm tonight. Please let Kim Jongin know.’, but maybe that is too pushy.

Zitao gets off at three, one hour from now, and he was kind of looking forward to seeing Jongin again even if it is only for a brief few minutes. Pouting, he leaves Baekhyun to fend for himself at the counter and goes about the shop to check on their stock, making mental notes of what they need to restock. A customer comes in - not Jongin - and Zitao lets Baekhyun handle them while he goes in the back to grab some phone cases to refill on of their racks. He is grabbing a handful when Baekhyun hollers for him.

He scowls as he comes out of the back room with the phone cases clutched to his chest, “Yah, what? Can’t handle one customer?”

Baekhyun is smirking at him, “I can, but I figured you would want to handle this one.”

It is only then that Zitao registers who is standing in front of the counter and looking at the both of them. Jongin is wearing a black hoodie this time and Zitao absently wonders how many hoodies Jongin owns. His hair is, once again, a mess, but a very cute mess. He looks sleepier than usual; like he can barely keep his eyes open right now. Zitao sets the phone cases down on the counter by Baekhyun and out of the way. Zitao puts on his best teasing smile. “Hey, I thought you would be here early, your phone has been ready since this morning.”

Jongin looks a little mortified. “Oh, uh, I just woke up, sorry.”

Jongin looking sleepier than usual makes more sense now and Zitao tries not to smile. Baekhyun barks out a laugh, however. “Dude, it’s like two in the afternoon.”

Jongin gives an awkward, embarrassed laugh while rubbing at the back of his neck. Zitao finds it endearing and elbows Baekhyun in the gut for being so tactless. Baekhyun backs off with a groan, escaping to the back room and muttering about boney elbows.

Jongin watches Baekhyun leave before looking at Zitao sheepishly. “I only sleep in on Sundays. It’s the only day I take a break. I meant to come in sooner, honestly.”

Zitao smiles gently. “It’s okay. You don’t have to explain yourself. You’re the customer, you can come get your phone whenever you want. I was just teasing you earlier, sorry.”

A shy laugh this time, Jongin’s cheeks look a little pinker now. “Ah, okay. Um, I can pay now if you’re ready.”

Zitao suddenly remembers what he is supposed to be doing and accepts Jongin’s payment, giving him the receipt and his phone at the same time. “Here you go. If you have any problems with it, like the screen coming out, you can come back and we’ll fix it for free.”

Jongin pockets the receipt and turns on his phone, watching the screen light up with startling brightness. He looks up, giving Zitao a small grin, and starts to make his way to the exit. “Thanks so much. Have a good day.”

“You too. Bye!” Zitao watches Jongin leave and sighs once the front door closes. Walking into the back room, he spots Baekhyun sitting on their table and playing with his phone. “Why are you back here?”

Baekhyun looks up with a wolfish smirk. “To give you time with your crush, lover boy.”

Sputtering, Zitao shakes his head. “He’s not my crush! He’s just...cute, okay?”

Baekhyun hops off the table and pushes past Zitao. “Whatever you say, lover boy. I’m going to go to the front. Your shift is over. Bye!”

He wishes he had elbowed Baekhyun in the stomach harder. He definitely does not have a crush on Jongin, he just likes his face and thinks he’s cute. Zitao shakes his head to himself and makes his way to their small break room to grab the bag of bread. He snatches it out of the mini fridge and steals a bottle of water while he is at it.

He is taking a big gulp of water while leaving the break room when he notices that Baekhyun had left his phone on their work table. He would not normally snoop in his friends’ phones, but Baekhyun did tease him and he has been dying to know what was going on between his coworker and his roommate. Zitao tiptoes to it and gingerly picks it up like it is a ticking time bomb. He listens for a second to see if he can hear Baekhyun coming before unlocking the phone and going to its messages. He finds the messages between Baekhyun and Jongdae, reading the most recent messages of them making plans for Friday. He quickly exits out and sets the phone down where it was when he hears Baekhyun’s voice getting closer and makes a hasty exit out the back door before he can get caught.

Zitao gloats the whole walk to his apartment. He knew that they would hit it off. The two biggest flirts he knows, it was bound to happen. He is only marginally sad when he finds that Jongdae is not home, but spams him with all the winking stickers he has downloaded.

Zitao is not really in the mood to eat a proper lunch and it is too early for dinner, so he decides to just eat the rest of the bread from the cafe. He sits in the kitchen at their little table and eats, not really interested in watching television nor getting yelled at for leaving crumbs on the couch. With nothing to really distract him, his mind wanders back to Jongin. Zitao will probably never see him again. As much as Zitao would love to see Jongin again soon, he would weep for Jongin's wallet. In the last two weeks, Jongin has spent, at least, one hundred and twenty dollars. This is why Zitao takes good care of his phone, he cannot afford to have his phone fixed every week or even every other week. Zitao tries to stop himself from thinking about Jongin. It does no good to pine after a complete stranger that he might not ever see again.

Throwing away the bag for the bread, Zitao whips out his phone and decides to message Jongdae.

Zitao:
hey, what are you up to?

Dae:
just out shopping, you?

Zitao pouts, wondering why Jongdae didn't wait for him to get off work so they can go shopping together.

Zitao:
without me? :(

Dae:
like you have money to spend

Zitao:
how would you know??

Dae:
you spend all of your
money on designer stuff

While Jongdae does have a point, Zitao cannot help but feel offended. He could have went shopping today if he wanted, he got paid yesterday after all. Instead of trying to defend his honor, he just closes out of the messages and decides that this is the best time to take a nap. He makes his way to his room and the moment his face meets his pillow he is dead to the world.

☆☆☆

Jongin wants to cry as he looks down at his phone from the window of his apartment, three stories up and he is pretty sure the phone is busted. He was just trying to get a better picture of a puppy he saw outside and had opened his window. He was not trying to let his grip slip and let his phone fall onto the pavement below, however. Luckily the puppy and the man walking it were several feet away when it dropped, so no one was hurt.

Jongin makes his way down to the sidewalk outside of the apartment complex. He is thankful that Sehun is not home yet, because Sehun would be teasing him about his inability to keep technology intact. Jongin is not even sure why he has such bad luck when it comes to technology, but it is the reason he went without a cellphone for months before.

Speaking of cellphone, Jongin stares down at the one he just destroyed yet again. It even landed screen down, there is no way for it not to be shattered. Jongin picks it up carefully, turning it over to reveal the shattered screen. He almost wants to throw it down on the ground out of frustration, but there is no point. It would not be satisfying, because the damage is already pretty extensive.

“Did you break your phone again?” Sehun’s voice comes from behind him and, of course, Jongin’s luck would be this bad.

“Where did you even come from?” Jongin lets out a loud whine before turning around to face Sehun, who points behind him towards the parking lot behind him. Jongin silently curses his luck and holds out his phone. “Yes, I dropped it out of our window.”

Sehun looks stunned for a second, looking from the phone to the window three stories up. Jongin thinks the laugh Sehun lets out is a mix of disbelief and amazement. “How the hell did you even manage that? You know what, nevermind. You were probably trying to take a picture of a dog or something. Anyway, Junmyeon invited us to go out to eat, so are you game?”

Jongin tries not to blush at the fact that Sehun guessed correctly. He wants to believe that he is not that predictable. “Ah, yeah, if you guys don’t mind me stopping to drop my phone off at that repair shop?”

Sehun rolls his eyes and walks with Jongin as they head back to their apartment. “Of course, just hurry up. We’ll wait here, so that we can carpool in Junmyeon’s car.”

“Oooh, Junmyeon’s car.” Jongin smirks, elbowing Sehun in the side. “You’re totally taking advantage of this.”

Sehun pouts, using his bony shoulder to almost push Jongin off the sidewalk. “I am not. I actually like Junmyeon. Him having a nice car and some money is just a bonus.”

Laughing, Jongin pats Sehun on the back reassuringly. “I know, I know. I’m just teasing.”

Instead of going back up to the apartment, Jongin walks straight to the parking lot to his car with Sehun following close behind. Jongin notices Junmyeon sitting on the hood of his car that is parked a few cars away and waves when Junmyeon looks up from his phone. Junmyeon waves back, though looking a little confused as to why they are going to Jongin’s car instead of his. Sehun holds up a finger, mouthing “one second” to Junmyeon before turning to Jongin. “I’ll let him know what’s up and we’ll wait for you inside.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll be back as quick as I can.” Jongin slips into his car and doesn’t waste time getting out of the parking lot and on the road to the repair shop. He wonders if that one worker, Zitao, will be there again. Jongin’s embarrassment is starting to get worse with how many times he has had to come in and show Zitao his phone. Not to mention that Zitao is really hot and that just makes it even worse. He is pretty sure that Zitao probably thinks he is a loser by now. Who else breaks their phone this frequently and is not a loser or an old person?

☆☆☆

The past couple of days have gone by without incident. Zitao’s shifts are abnormally boring and there has been no cute guy coming in with a phone that’s seen the seventh circle of hell. Zitao is a mixture of disappointed and relieved over that. On one hand, he has not seen Jongin since Sunday and, on the other hand, that means Jongin’s phone and wallet is okay.

He tries not to whine to Baekhyun about it, only messaging Jongdae occasionally through his shifts with a “no jongin today” and a sad sticker. However, Baekhyun must have a sixth sense for desperate and lonely people, because just about every day this week he has asked Zitao if Jongin came back.

Today is no different. Once again, Zitao had to come in early so that Yixing could go to a doctor appointment and Baekhyun’s shift does not start for another thirty minutes, so he is just sitting on the counter and teasing Zitao. “No Jongin?”

“Nope.” Zitao does not say anything more in hopes that short answers will make Baekhyun drop the subject.

“You think he’ll come back this week too?” Apparently short, clipped answers is not a deterrent to one known as Byun Baekhyun.

“Who knows. Anyway, are you going to get your ass off the counter? What if a customer comes in and sees you?” Zitao tries to push Baekhyun off of said counter, but Baekhyun centers his weight to one spot and it’s like pushing at a boulder. “Ugh. Get. Off. The. Counter.”

During their tussle, because Baekhyun decided to retaliate and put Zitao in a headlock, the jingle of bells go completely unnoticed.

“Um, do I need to come back another time?” An all-too-familiar voice makes them jump apart.

“No!” Zitao shouts, clearly startling Jongin. “No, sorry. He’s just being a pain. What can I help you with?”

Jongin pulls out his phone, showing the shattered screen. Zitao can, honestly, say that he does not know whether to be impressed or feel sorry for Jongin. It is probably a mixture of both. On one hand, Zitao has never seen someone come in weekly for repairs. On the other hand, this really has to be hurting Jongin’s bank account.

Baekhyun lets out a low whistle as they take in the damage. “Man, you really have some bad luck. I would definitely not recommend taking any bets for a while.”

Jongin’s cheeks turn pink and he slides the phone onto the counter. “Yeah, I really need to buy a phone case, but I haven’t had time.”

Zitao is almost baffled that Jongin has gone without a phone case for this long. Zitao always buys a phone case with a new phone, it is a rule because he cannot afford to be breaking his phone. “You know, we have phone cases here if you want to look at them when you come back to get your phone.”

Jongin looks stunned, looking around at the racks and racks of cellphone accessories. It is like he just now realizes that there is other stuff in the store. “Oh wow, yeah. I’ll do that.” Jongin turns back to Zitao with a sheepish grin. “By the way, do I need to fill the form out again?”

“Unfortunately, yes. It’s company policy.” Zitao pulls out their form and tries not smile at the pout on Jongin’s face as he slides it over to him.

Zitao chooses not to stare at Jongin filling the form out this time and instead turns to Baekhyun who is smirking at him. “In twenty minutes, I’m out of here.”

Baekhyun’s lips turn down in the fakest pout Zitao has ever seen. “Aw, you don’t want to hang out with me?”

“Why would I?” Zitao sticks his tongue out at Baekhyun before pouting himself. “I have to figure out dinner tonight, because you’re stealing my cook for a date.”

“Poor Taozi,” Baekhyun reaches out to pat Zitao’s head but Zitao slaps his hand away, “I’m sure you can find something to eat in the apartment. You’re not completely useless.”

Zitao rolls his eyes and turns back to Jongin who is already finished and looking at them with a pink tint to his cheeks. Before Zitao can say anything though, Jongin looks directly at him and says, “Uh, if you want, you can come eat dinner with me and my friend?”

Zitao is speechless, stunned by the offer and the fact that Jongin’s face is red. Baekhyun is the one to break the awkward silence with a slap on Zitao’s back and a laugh. “See? There you go, Taozi. He would love to join you for dinner.”

That snaps Zitao out of it and he pushes Baekhyun away, waving his hand as if to wave off Baekhyun’s reply. “I wouldn’t want to impose. It’s nice of you to offer though.”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t have offered if I thought you would impose. You’d actually be saving me from being a third wheel. My friend is bringing his long time crush and it’s honestly exhausting being their third wheel.” Jongin’s shy smile is really way too cute and it wins Zitao over. How can he not spend time with Jongin, the person he has had a slight crush on for the past month, and also help him out?

Zitao chuckles. “Okay, you’ve convinced me. As long as it is not going to break the bank.”

A grimace appears on Jongin’s face, as if he had not thought of that possibility and that it is an actual possibility. “I’ll pay if it is. I’m the one that invited you anyway.”

Zitao tries not to grin at how cute Jongin is being. “I can pay for myself. Your bank account has to be hurting because of this past month.”

That clams Jongin right up, the blush becoming more prominent if that is even possible. Zitao takes the opportunity to put Jongin’s form where it needs to be and give Baekhyun the broken phone. “Baek, just text me when his phone is done, please”

Baekhyun does a mock salute, with that evil smirk on his face, and takes the phone to the back room so he can work on it later. Zitao has another fifteen minutes to go before he can officially get off work and tells Jongin as much.

Jongin gives him a soft smile. “I can wait. Can I use your phone to text my friend?”

Zitao pulls out his phone and hands it over. “If it’s Oh Sehun, then he should already be in the messages from last week.”

Jongin nods his head as he taps on the messages icon and scrolls until he sees the message from Sehun. Zitao watches as he types out a pretty decent sized message, probably explaining that Zitao is joining them and that he is waiting for Zitao to get off work. Jongin hands his phone back to him and turns to look around the shop. “I didn’t even realize you guys sold all this stuff. I can’t believe I didn’t notice until today.”

“You were probably just too focused on getting your phone fixed.”

Jongin hums, probably in agreement, and starts to walk towards the racks holding phone cases. Zitao watches for a minute before slipping into the back room to find Baekhyun, who just so happens to be sitting on their work desk and typing away on his phone. Baekhyun does not even look up, just says, “What is it, lover boy?”

Zitao goes to stand in front of him and tries to put on his award winning pouty face with hands clasped together by his chin to add to the whole effect. “Baek, please, please, please don’t tell Jongdae about this. Let me tell him first, I don’t want him making fun of me while simultaneously acting like my mother via text during this dinner.”

Baekhyun purses his lips as if deep in thought about Zitao’s request. He is not even looking directly at Zitao; his eyes are darting from the ceiling to the floor. It is only after a minute of this that Baekhyun finally replies. “Fine-” Zitao interrupts him, cheering quietly - “But! You owe me. I want you to take one of my opening shifts. I don’t know which one yet, but I’ll tell you when.”

“Deal! Okay, so do you think you’re okay if I leave a few minutes early?” Zitao is hopeful. Baekhyun is already doing the one request, so he may be feeling soft enough to let Zitao go ahead and leave.

Baekhyun puts his hands to his face, sighing into them. “Fine. Go before I change my mind.”

“Thank you, Baek.” Zitao sneaks in a hug before Baekhyun can take his hands away from his face and darts back to the front of the store. “Jongin, Baekhyun said I can go a few minutes early, so do you want to go ahead and go?”

Jongin looks up from a phone case that he was staring at and flashes a brilliant smile. “Yes, of course. Let’s go.”

Zitao clocks out before grabbing his phone and keys from under the counter. He follows Jongin out the front door and towards the parking lot when he realizes that he is going to have to ride in Jongin’s car. It is kind of weird that just yesterday Jongin was just a customer that Zitao has talked to a handful of times and now Zitao is about to get in Jongin’s car and eat dinner with his friends.

“Ah, sorry for the mess.” Jongin looks a little embarrassed as he opens the passenger door for Zitao, which he cannot help but internally squeal over how gentlemanly Jongin is.

Zitao tries to find this so-called mess that Jongin is talking about, but besides a bag of what looks like dog treats, he doesn’t see anything. “I don’t see a mess, just dog treats.”

Jongin blushes yet again and closes Zitao’s door once he is properly buckled in. When Jongin gets in on the driver’s side, Zitao decides to ask, “Do you have a dog?”

Jongin just shakes his head as he starts the car. “No, I want one, but I just don’t have a lot of time to take care of one. The treats are for when I can find the time to stop by the animal shelter and spend some time with the dogs there.”

Zitao is speechless and thinks that Jongin has to be a literal angel. There is no way someone so hot can be so cute and sweet too. “Wow, that’s really sweet of you.”

“It’s nothing really. I think it’s more for me than the dogs, to be honest. Playing with dogs makes me happy, almost like therapy whenever I’m stressed out.”

He still thinks that Jongin is an angel. For a few minutes, they sit in silence and Zitao watches Jongin tap his fingers against the steering wheel as he drives and wonders if it is a nervous habit of Jongin’s. “So, tell me about your friend and his crush. That way I’m prepared when I meet them.”

Jongin’s fingers stop tapping against the steering wheel at that and a big smile takes over his face as he starts talking about his best friend and his best friend’s long time crush. It seems to ease the obvious nervous tension in the car. The conversation lasts until they reach Jongin’s apartment complex.

Sehun and Junmyeon are already waiting outside as they pull up into a parking spot. Zitao has to take a second to get over how absolutely bizarre this is before getting out of the car and following Jongin to what seems to be Junmyeon’s car.

“Zitao, this is Sehun-” Jongin waves his hand vaguely at the lanky kid on the left before gesturing to the other man- “This is Junmyeon. Sehun and Junmyeon, this is Zitao. He works at the-”

“Repair shop. We know, Jongin. We’re not stupid.” Sehun smirks, reaching out his hand to shake Zitao’s. “Hi, I’m actually surprised you’re here. Jongin normally doesn’t have the balls to ask someone out.”

“Sehun!” Jongin hisses, moving to punch him in the arm. “I asked because I overheard he didn’t know what to do for dinner and I didn’t want to be subjected to you making goo-goo eyes at Junmyeon for the next hour or so by myself.”

Sehun seems to clam up, his ears and neck turning pink, and Junmyeon appears to be completely oblivious. Zitao is trying his best not to laugh right now. It would not be a good first impression and, for some reason, Zitao would really like to make a good impression with someone so close to Jongin. “So, now that that’s out of the way. Let’s eat?”

That breaks the awkward standstill and Junmyeon clears his throat, gesturing to his car. “Go ahead and get in. Sehun and I already had a place picked out, hope you don’t mind Thai food.”

“I haven’t had Thai in a while, so I definitely don’t mind.” Zitao’s stomach seems to agree when it growls loudly. He would feel embarrassed, but Jongin’s does the same a second later causing all of them to laugh.

Jongin and Zitao slip into the back seats while Junmyeon starts the car and Sehun buckles himself up in the front passenger seat. Zitao did not think this could get any weirder, but sitting in a stranger’s car because another semi-stranger asked you to join them for dinner is pretty up there on his scale of weird shit.

“Nice car, Junmyeon.” Zitao comments, appreciating the leather seat underneath him.

Junmyeon smiles at him through the rearview mirror. “Thanks, Zitao.”

Sehun turns in his seat enough to look at Zitao. “Any music preference?”

“Why are you asking like this is your car?” Jongin butts in.

Sehun looks over at Jongin with a smirk and Zitao can already tell that they tease each other a lot. “Because Junmyeon lets me choose whenever I’m in the car. I’m just trying to be courteous, Jongin.”

Jongin looks like he is about to start an argument, but Zitao decides to save Junmyeon and himself from that. “I don’t care, any music is fine, Sehun.”

After that, Junmyeon and Sehun exchange words here and there, but for the most part the ride to the restaurant is quiet. Zitao is not sure how much weirder this night can get, but he has a hunch that it might just surpass his expectations.

☆☆☆

Jongin is ninety-nine percent sure that this might be the worst decision in his life. He is not even sure why he just, all of the sudden, decided to ask Zitao out to dinner. He just knows that he almost felt jealous with how comfortable Zitao and Baekhyun seemed around each other. Then when he overheard that Baekhyun had a date and Zitao was unsure about what to do for dinner, it is like his mouth took over by itself and he is blurting out an offer that he cannot exactly take back without looking like a jackass.

So here he is following Zitao, who is following Junmyeon and Sehun, into this Thai restaurant and absolutely not panicking about how strange this all is. It is like he just stepped into the twilight zone and his body is not his own. He is Kim Jongin, the person who waits until someone else asks him out and is usually alone because of that very reason.

It does not help that Zitao looks very hot, even in his black work polo with the sleeves slightly stretched over his biceps. It also does not help that Jongin is standing behind Zitao and can see the way his black jeans hug his ass and thighs. Jongin completely avoids Sehun’s knowing smirk when he looks back at Jongin as they wait for their table.

When they are finally seated in a booth, Jongin is not sure who he hates more, Sehun or himself. Sehun is not making this easy on him, but also Jongin is the reason for this situation. Conversation is stilted while they all look at their menus and figure out what they want to eat. He almost wants to glare at Junmyeon, as well, because this restaurant obviously caters more towards couples. The low lighting and the fact that the booth is small makes it seem that way, at any rate. Zitao is practically pressed against Jongin with how tiny the booth is and Jongin cannot help but admire and curse how good Zitao smells.

“I think I’m going to get the seafood udon. What about you?” Sehun looks over at Junmyeon with so much affection that Jongin tries to not pretend he is gagging.

“I think I’ll get that too.” Junmyeon smiles.

Zitao leans over and whispers into Jongin’s ear. “Are they always like this?”

Jongin ignores the goosebumps on his neck from Zitao’s breath and whispers. “Worse, just wait.”

After ordering their food, Jongin and Zitao watch as Sehun and Junmyeon get lost in their own little world. The conversation is completely lost on Jongin and he is sure Zitao feels the same way. Jongin feels Zitao move as much as he can in the booth and turns himself so that they are kind of facing each other and not having to scar their retinas with the intense eye fucking across from them.

“You were right. I understand why you asked me to come with you now.” Zitao looks a cross between uncomfortable and amused.

Jongin grimaces. “I don’t even know why they bothered inviting me. This happens every time. I’m just glad I have someone to talk to.”

Now Zitao just looks amused. “So why did you agree to come with them if you knew that they are like this?”

Zitao has got him there, but he just shrugs. “Because eating alone sucks?”

Zitao nods his head solemnly. “You’re right. I usually eat alone, because my roommate works nights.”

“Oh, is he the one Baekhyun is going on a date with?” Jongin remembers Zitao mentioning Baekhyun stealing his cook.

“Yep. Jongdae. He usually cooks dinner, but is gone before I get home. He gets off early today, but then he’s going out with Baekhyun.” Zitao shrugs.

Jongin puts all of this information together and slowly realizes. “So, if Jongdae didn’t have a date, you would’ve waited until late to eat dinner? You know, that’s bad for you.”

“Better than eating instant ramen, which is the extent of my culinary skills.” They both chuckle at that and the awkwardness between them slowly dissipates as they wait for their food to arrive.

It is not until they are just starting to chow down on their food that Sehun even acknowledges anyone that is not Junmyeon. He looks at Jongin for a brief second, before staring Zitao down with a grin. “So, Zitao, are you single?”

Jongin sputters, glaring at Sehun as if the look alone could shut up Sehun’s big mouth. Jongin looks over at Zitao to apologize, but Zitao speaks before he can say anything. “Yeah.” Zitao leans forward with a leer. “Are you interested? I’m not typically into guys my height, but I could make an exception.”

“No thanks.” Sehun frowns, clearly realizing that he is not getting his way. It wipes the grin off Sehun’s face, at least. Junmyeon looks way too amused as Sehun seems to be trying to find more of a response to that. While Jongin secretly tries not to chortle at how quick Zitao is to make Sehun’s plan on embarrassing them backfire. Jongin can appreciate someone that is able to keep up with Sehun’s smartass.

“Sehun is single too, but he has someone he likes.” Jongin smirks. He is definitely not letting Sehun win this.

Junmyeon perks up, looking at Sehun curiously. “Is that right, Sehun?”

“It’s complicated.” Sehun mutters, glaring at Jongin and basically waving a white flag. It serves Sehun right for picking on Jongin when Sehun has been pining after the same person for so long and not doing a single thing about it.

From then on out a peaceful quiet falls over their table. Junmyeon occasionally asks Zitao some questions about his job and which phones are the least likely to break. Jongin listens for the most part, because he does not feel up to talking about his crappy luck with technology.

Jongin hears Zitao’s phone go off and watches as he unlocks it and responds to the message he received.

Zitao turns to him with a grin. “That was Baek. Said your phone is fixed and that we could pick it up after we finish here.”

“Awesome.” Jongin is relieved that his phone was fixable, yet he is not really envying his bank account right now. He is definitely going to find a phone case, so that he can hopefully avoid costlier repairs.

Luckily everyone is pretty much finished, so all that was in order was the bill. They decide to split the bill, Jongin not minding paying for Zitao. Before Jongin can even attempt to pay, Zitao snatches up the bill and gives the waitress his card.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Jongin pouts, because he was completely willing to pay for Zitao.

Zitao just smiles at him sweetly. “It’s fine. I feel bad for your wallet anyway. Let me do this. Maybe next time you need someone so that you’re not a third wheel, you can hit me up and pay me back.”

Jongin wonders if Zitao would be okay with him hitting him up without being a third wheel, but he does not ask. He feels like he has stepped over enough lines today. “Deal.”

☆☆☆

The second time getting in Jongin’s car, after being dropped off by Junmyeon, is less bizarre and more comfortable. They joke and chat the whole way to the shop and Zitao is pleased by how much has changed since this morning. Just this morning, they had barely said a few sentences to each other for the past month, but now they have had a whole conversation and eaten dinner together. Despite how abruptly this came about, it feels natural to Zitao and he hopes that this is not just a one-time thing.

When they get to the shop, Yixing is behind the counter and Baekhyun is already gone for his date. Zitao waves. “Hey, boss.”

“Hey, Taozi. You must be Kim Jongin?” Yixing flashes Jongin a dimpled smile before looking under the counter and pulling out Jongin’s phone.

“Can I look for a phone case real quick and pay for it altogether?” Jongin is back to looking sheepish and Zitao still finds it cute.

“Yeah, of course. Zitao, you should help him.” Yixing’s eyes are twinkling and Zitao tries to keep the blush from his face for being found out so quickly by his boss.

Zitao wraps his hand around Jongin’s arm and gently pulls him towards the phone cases that would fit his phone. He tries not to think about the fact that this is the first real physical contact between them and points out some potential cases. “You’re going to want to get one that is durable and with a slightly raised lip to help prevent damage to your screen. They’re a little more expensive than the light, decorative ones, but it’ll save you money in the long run, I promise.”

Jongin is pretty quiet as he looks at the cases and by now Zitao has his hands to himself. Jongin settles on one of the more decent cases that Zitao pointed out and gives Zitao a grateful smile before stepping up to the counter to pay for everything.

Zitao cringes at the cost, but here is to hoping that it will be the last time Jongin needs to come in to get his phone repaired. Now that he thinks about it, it is kind of sad because who knows if Zitao will see Jongin again. He is not even sure if he should ask for Jongin’s phone number. This is completely uncharted territory for Zitao and he does not know how to proceed.

Jongin puts his phone in the new case and tests out normal daily functions, like unlocking the phone and texting. A little nod of his head is how Zitao can tell he is satisfied with the change and Zitao thinks it is endearing how he looks like a little kid giving a toy the seal of approval. “Everything good?”

“Yeah, it feels sturdy and looks fine. Thanks, Zitao.” That shy smile is back.

Zitao grins. “No problem.”

They say goodbye to Yixing and leave the shop together. Zitao is going in the same direction as the parking lot, so they end up walking together. That awkward atmosphere from earlier is creeping back between them and Zitao is not sure how to really dispel it.

He still is not sure when they reach Jongin’s car. It almost feels like the end of a date, yet it technically was not one even if Zitao definitely wanted it to be one. Should he ask for Jongin’s number? Should he ask him out for an actual date? He has to say something before this gets even more awkward. Zitao says the best and safest thing that he can think of, “I had a good time. Thanks for inviting me out.” It is too dark outside to tell if Jongin is blushing, but Zitao thinks he probably is.

“Me too. It’s no problem, really. We saved each other tonight, I probably wouldn’t have been able to finish my dinner with those two and no distraction.” They both laugh quietly at that. Zitao does not blame Jongin, Sehun and Junmyeon are extremely into each other and completely oblivious. Jongin shifts his stance a little and looks at something in the distance before looking at Zitao again. “Hey, uh, can I have your number? Just in case, you know, I get stuck being a third wheel again.”

Zitao’s heart feels like it might fall out on the ground, it is beating so hard. He did not expect Jongin to ask, after all Jongin, so far, has come off as someone who usually does not make the first move. Even him inviting Zitao out to dinner seemed out of the norm for him, so Zitao feels almost flustered by this. “Y-yeah! Of course!”

Zitao is embarrassed by how eager he sounds, but Jongin’s smile makes him feel a little warm and he is fine with embarrassing himself if it means Jongin will smile at him like that. Jongin takes out his phone and hands it to Zitao so that he can type his number in.

“Okay, done.” Zitao hands it back and grins.

“‘Taozi’? Am I allowed to call you that?” Jongin smirks up at him, clearly amused.

Zitao flushes from how flirty this all seems, but he is not going to let Jongin out flirt him. “I wouldn’t have put it in there like that if you couldn’t.”

It seems to work, because Jongin looks back down at his phone and begins typing. “I’m gonna text you, so you have my number. I mean, if you didn’t already have it from the forms I filled out. Not that you would have had a reason to save my number before and yeah, I don’t know what I’m saying anymore.”

Zitao is chuckling by the end of Jongin’s last sentence and he absolutely knows Jongin is blushing despite the lack of light. Zitao is almost sad he cannot see it, because he is sure that Jongin’s whole face, ears, neck are probably flushed right now. “It’s against company policy to use a customer’s phone number for personal reasons.”

“Right, of course. That makes perfect sense.” Jongin’s hands are covering his face by now, but Zitao still hears him sigh despite it being muffled.

Zitao does not realize what he is doing until he is already patting Jongin’s head reassuringly. He withdraws his hand quickly, at the same time thinking that Jongin’s hair really does feel as soft as it looks, and smiles when Jongin looks up at him. “You should probably go get some rest. I think you’ve had a long day.”

Jongin runs a hand through his hair and Zitao catches himself wanting to do the same. “Yeah, you’re right. Well, I’ll talk to y-” Jongin looks around the parking lot- “Wait, do you need a ride home?”

Zitao realizes Jongin was looking for Zitao’s car in the parking lot, but the only car here is Jongin’s. “Oh no, it’s okay. It’s only like a five minute walk from here.”

“Oh okay, well then be careful and text me later?” Jongin looks hopeful.

“Of course.” Zitao gives Jongin a thumbs up that makes Jongin laugh a little.

Zitao watches as Jongin gets into his car and drives off. He feels oddly warm for how chilly it is, but it does not bother Zitao. He feels good, happy, and he practically runs home with a smile on his face. He is just glad Jongdae is not home to see or hear him celebrating this little victory in the living room.

☆☆☆

When Jongin finally gets home, Sehun is waiting for him in the living room. He barely has time to take off his shoes when he sees Sehun’s head pop up from over the couch and a big smirk on his face. “So, did you get his number?”

“Really, Sehun? I just got through the door.” Jongin walks over to the love seat and plops down with a sigh. “To answer your question, yes.”

“So when are you going to ask him out on a real date?” Sehun has settled back into his previous position on the couch aka sprawled out with his legs dangling off end.

Jongin takes out his phone and stares at it, like it might have all of the answers. “I don’t know, Sehun. I don’t even know if he is, I don’t know, not straight? Or interested in me in that way.”

Sehun sits up and looks at him with such a deadpan face, it is almost comical. “Are you kidding me, Jongin? He totally likes you. Why else do you think he agreed to go to dinner with you?”

Jongin shrugs. “Because he was hungry and didn’t want to eat ramen?”

Sehun rolls his eyes and falls back onto the couch. “You’re ridiculous. He could have just went and bought him something else to eat. He had money, he did pay for both of you after all. He obviously likes you and you’re just being ridiculous.”

“Says the person who still hasn’t confessed to his year long crush, even though it’s obvious he likes you too.” Jongin brings his knees up to his chest and gives Sehun a pointed look.

“I think you’re mistaking like like for liking like a little brother.” Sehun frowns, Jongin is not sure if it is at what he just said or the situation in general.

Jongin snorts. “That’s a lot of likes.”

“Shut up. Anyway, you should text him. You haven’t dated in like two years. And no, that one date you went on last year does not count.”

Jongin is not going to try to argue at this point. Instead he opens his messages, takes a deep breath, and sends Zitao a text.

Jongin:
Hey, hope you made it home safely. :)

Jongin tries to set his phone down next to him, not wanting to stare at it until Zitao responds, but his text notification goes off before it touches the couch.

Taozi:
I did, thank you! I’m guessing you made it home safely too.
Did you find Sehun and Junmyeon sucking face?

Jongin snorts before right out laughing. He really likes Zitao, despite barely knowing him. Jongin responds and stares down at the conversation with a grin.

“Gross. I feel like I’m a third wheel right now when there’s not even a third person here.”

Jongin does not hesitate to throw one of the couch pillows at Sehun’s face and does not feel bad when Sehun groans in pain. Sehun has no room to talk anyway.

☆☆☆

They text often after that night, much to Zitao’s surprise. Mostly just asking how each other is and talking about something stupid their friends did. Occasionally Zitao will send Jongin a picture of him behind the scenes at a modeling gig, which Jongin will reply with a picture of himself, usually sweaty from dancing.

It is amazingly normal and comfortable. Zitao loves it, the fact that there is no more awkwardness between them. Even if it does not evolve into a relationship, despite Zitao’s interest, he is happy with this easy friendship between them.

Baekhyun keeps teasing Zitao about him taking it slow or not outright asking Jongin out. It has been three weeks since the “double date” and Zitao has only seen Jongin a handful of times when he stops by the shop to see Zitao on the way to practice. Baekhyun and Jongdae have been insufferable since that night, as well. Constant teasing, on top of having to watch them flirt and sometimes cross the lines of public affection, is wearing Zitao down.

“Why don’t you just ask him out? Ask him to go to a movie with you this Saturday or something. I think it’s unfair of you to wait for him to ask, when he already did that three weeks ago.” Baekhyun is once again sitting on the counter, even if he is supposed to be working right now.

“Easy for you to say. You’ll ask completely strangers out with no problem. I just don’t want to mess up what I have going on with Jongin. I’m okay with being friends.”

“Yeah, okay. What if he is thinking the same thing and you two are just running circles around each other?” Baekhyun does have a point, but Zitao is still not sure about whether he should ask Jongin out or not.

Instead of replying, Zitao goes to the back room to work on fixing a phone, wanting to take his mind off the topic. Despite that, after a few minutes of working on a screen, he gets to thinking about Jongin again. He knows that, so far, Jongin has made all the first moves and, logically, that should mean that Zitao should make the next first move. However, Zitao just feels like doing that would be stepping over the line when it comes to Jongin. He does not want to make Jongin uncomfortable or feel that he has to agree to going on a date.

Zitao’s phone decides to go off, interrupting his thought process. Putting the repair tools down, Zitao retrieves his phone, noticing Jongin had texted him, and quickly unlocks it.

Jongin♡:
Hey, are you busy this Saturday?


Zitao almost stands up to go chew Baekhyun out for messaging Jongin, but he realizes that there is no way Baekhyun could have Jongin’s number. It is just uncanny how Baekhyun was just talking about asking Jongin out for this Saturday and then Jongin messages him about this Saturday.

Zitao:
No, what’s up?

Jongin♡:
Me and Sehun have our showcase
on Saturday and I was just wondering
if you wanted to come watch?

Before Zitao can even reply, Jongin sends another message that makes him smile.


Jongin♡:
I’ll even give you a backstage pass.

Zitao:
I would love to. :)

Jongin♡:
Awesome! I’ll send you the address
and time after practice.

Zitao grins while pocketing his phone and picking up the repair tools to continue working on the phone in front of him. His mood has significantly improved and he is feeling oddly driven to get all of his work done today.

☆☆☆

Jongin lets out a loud sigh, drawing Sehun’s attention from the TV show he is watching.

“Why the sigh?”

“Zitao said he would come Saturday.” Jongin sets his phone down next to his thigh and runs his fingers through his hair.

“And? You’re acting like it’s a bad thing. I thought you wanted him to come.” Sehun has paused the TV show at this point and is looking at him with confusion.

“I do!” Jongin sighs again. “It’s just...I invited him because I wanted to, but now I’m worried that I’ll mess up.” He really is worried. He does not want to mess up in front of Zitao and look like a loser. He is sure Zitao thinks he is clumsy, thanks to him constantly breaking his phone, and he does not want that to happen with his dancing.

“Dude, you’re worrying for nothing. We’ve worked our asses off. You’ve worked your ass off to make sure the showcase is perfect.” Sehun does have a point. “Besides, I bet fifty bucks that Zitao will want to fuck you after the showcase.”

“Ugh, why are you so crude?” Jongin throws one of the loveseat pillows at him, trying to get rid of that grin. “Anyway, you’re right I shouldn’t worry. I have been working my ass off for this.”

Sehun’s smug face is no better than his grin. “Of course I’m right. Now go back to texting and flirting with Zitao and let me watch my show.”

Jongin pouts, not liking how Sehun knows him so well sometimes. It does not stop him from picking up his phone again and sending a picture of a puppy to Zitao, knowing the other will appreciate the cute picture. After another minute, Jongin quietly mutters, “Thanks, Sehun.”

Sehun gives him the cheesiest smile and Jongin knows that if he was closer Sehun would have pulled him into a hug by now. “What are best friends for.”

Saturday feels like it came way sooner than Jongin wanted, but there is nothing he can do about it at this point. They are at the auditorium already and had just got done with rehearsal. They have about an hour until the actual showcase and they still have to get dressed, hair styled, makeup done.

Sehun is sitting in his chair next to Jongin, on his phone probably texting Junmyeon, while the hair stylist works her magic. Jongin decides to check his phone, as well, but there is no new messages and he is not really that worried. It is still a little early. His parents usually wish him luck fifteen minutes before his performances. It is even possible that Zitao will not text him before the showcase.

Jongin pushes everything to the back of his mind as he lets the hair stylist and makeup artist do what they want with his head. He really cannot afford to be worrying about anything besides doing his best for the showcase. Anything else can come afterwards, when he is done dancing, sweaty, and not full of adrenaline.

It is twenty minutes before the showcase that he gets his first text message with good luck wishes. His parents text soon after and tell him that they are on the way. Sehun and him are already done getting ready, they are just standing in the back and stretching as the auditorium fills with people.

Ten minutes before they go on stage is when Zitao texts him and Jongin smiles down at his phone.

Taozi:
I’m here! Good luck!
I’ll come backstage afterwards. :)

Jongin types a quick message of thanks and hands his phone over to Jay, who is waiting beside them.

“Are you two ready?” Jay looks more excited than nervous, which is what Jongin wishes he could feel but Jay is also not the one going on stage in front of hundreds of people.

Sehun and Jongin just nod, which earns them both a pat on the back from Jay. At this point, talking would just break their concentration and right now, five minutes away, they are in the process of getting their minds in the right place.

When the lights dim over the whole auditorium, Jongin and Sehun step out onto the stage and get into position. They both take one last deep breath before the spotlight shines down on them and the music signals the beginning of a performance they have spent hours and hours perfecting.


☆☆☆

Zitao had thankfully made it to the venue on time, even if he only had ten minutes to spare. He had to open the shop this morning and got off work with enough time to grab some flowers before Jongin’s showcase. Choosing what flowers to buy for Jongin proved to be more difficult than he originally thought. He eventually had to grab a random bouquet, because he was running out of time and he would rather not be late over some flowers.

He texted Jongin as soon as he stepped into the auditorium and found a seat. The seat was a few rows back from the stage and almost right in the middle. Zitao thinks it is probably the best seat in the venue, at least to him. It gives him a perfect view of the stage, anyway. Setting the bouquet down on his lap carefully, he checks his phone for the time. It is only a couple of minutes until the time the show is supposed to start, so he takes a picture of the stage and posts it on his social media sites with a “Here to see a friend dance :)”.

When the lights start to dim, Zitao pockets his phone and stares up at the stage, searching for Jongin. It is too dark to see anything for a minute, but then a bright spotlight turns on and there is Jongin and Sehun posed and waiting. The music starts up and Zitao is immediately enthralled.

The performance starts off slow, making Jongin and Sehun look ethereal up on stage. The heavy makeup and the simple black and white outfits a nice contrast. Zitao does not know much about dance, but it looks amazing and Jongin is absolutely glowing on stage. It is hard to take his eyes away from the performance, not that Zitao would want to.

The auditorium is so quiet, it is almost like everyone is either collectively holding their breath or they forgot how to breathe altogether. Jongin and Sehun work together so fluidly, showing such precision and grace, it is captivating and inspiring. The gradual change in dancing styles makes the transition seem so natural and Zitao can feel his own adrenaline building up with the bass in the music.

The crowd remains silent as Jongin and Sehun end the performance with a pose. It is not until the spotlight is turned off and the lights are slowly turned back on to show Jongin and Sehun bowing that the crowd finally stands up and cheers. The sound of the cheers and clapping are almost deafening. Zitao makes sure to add his own voice and clapping to the mix, because that performance was one of the most beautiful and passionate things he has ever seen in person.

Zitao watches as both of them straighten to take another bow, Jongin’s chest is still heaving from the performance and they are both incredibly sweaty. When they finally walk off the stage to the back, the crowd begins to calm down and settle back in their seats for the other performances.

Zitao shimmies his way out of his row and makes his way to backstage with the bouquet before the next act, flashing the backstage pass Jongin had dropped off at the shop yesterday. It takes him a few minutes and asking a couple of people before he finds Jongin’s and Sehun’s dressing room. However, he has to stop a few feet away, because it looks like Jongin is talking to his parents and Zitao really does not want to impose.

Once the coast is clear and Jongin walks back into the dressing room, Zitao approaches cautiously. The door is still wide open, so he raps his knuckles against the doorframe and smiles when Jongin turns around. “Hey.”

Jongin’s still made up in his stage outfit, his makeup only a little smudged, and he looks even more ethereal up close than he did on stage. Zitao did not think it was possible, but his breath is caught in his throat as Jongin walks up to him with the softest smile Zitao has ever seen. “Hey.”

Zitao realizes he should probably say something, but his brain has become his worst enemy, so he just shoves the bouquet towards Jongin. “These are for you.”

Jongin’s smile widens as he takes the bouquet and smells it. “Thanks, they’re beautiful. Did you like the performance?”

“Of course.” Jongin is standing so close, looking like a painting, and Zitao has been wanting to kiss him since five seconds into the performance. He looks around for a second, realizing that they are completely alone. He is not sure what might happen, but right now he is willing to take the risk and finally make a first move. “It was beautiful. You’re beautiful. Can I kiss you?”

Jongin’s eyes widen at the last part, a blush beginning to spread across his cheeks, but that soft smile is back. Zitao cannot keep his eyes off Jongin’s lips. “Yes.”

Zitao freezes in place, part of him did not expect Jongin to agree, but that does not last more than a few seconds. He brings his hands up to cup Jongin’s face, drawing close until they are a breath away. Zitao pauses long enough to let Jongin stop this, just in case. He wants to make sure that Jongin wants this as much as he does. Instead of pulling away or stopping Zitao, Jongin leans in more and Zitao takes that as his cue to proceed.

Jongin’s lips are so plump and soft against Zitao’s and he almost loses it when Jongin sighs into his mouth and pulls away. His lips are still close enough to brush against Zitao’s as he whispers, “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.”

Zitao leans back in, unable to get rid of his grin as he kisses Jongin again and again. They are so lost in each other that they have completely forgotten they are standing in the middle of a dressing room with the door wide open for anyone to see or walk in.

“You totally owe me fifty bucks.” Sehun’s voice makes them startle apart, though Zitao does not miss seeing the sight of Jongin’s swollen, spit slick lips - he did that - before he turns around to face the intruder.

“What?” Zitao looks from Sehun’s smug face to Jongin’s frowning one.

“I bet Jongin fifty bucks that you would want to fuck him after the performance.” Sehun is leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed against his chest.

Zitao joins Jongin in frowning, turning to him and completely ignoring Sehun. “I just want you to know that I didn’t have any ulterior motives to kissing you, besides maybe finally asking you to be my boyfriend.”

Zitao watches as Jongin’s face morphs from frowning to smiling to stunned and then grinning. “Are you asking me out?”

“Yes.” Zitao licks at his lips, his mouth suddenly feeling dry, but he does not miss Jongin catching the movement.

“Then yes.” Jongin wraps his free hand around Zitao’s nape and pulls him down for another kiss. This one is so much hotter and heavier, Zitao’s blood feels like it is boiling. He slides his fingers through Jongin’s hair, grasping at the strands between his fingers, deepening the kiss.

Zitao wants to push Jongin up against the wall, pick him up and have him wrap his legs around Zitao’s waist. However, this is neither the time or place to be doing that, but Zitao definitely keeps the mental image for later.

When they break apart, they are both breathing heavy and smiling at each other. Zitao looks away long enough to see that Sehun is gone, probably not wanting to stay to watch his best friend suck face. He is grinning when he looks back at Jongin. “So now that we're boyfriends, you want to have dinner with me tonight?”

Jongin laughs loudly, slapping Zitao’s arm with the bouquet he is still holding and covering his mouth with the other. Zitao thinks he is absolutely the cutest person Zitao has ever met, even if he is a little confused by the laughter. Jongin takes a minute to calm down enough to talk and says, “Don't you think we're doing this a little backwards? Shouldn't we be going on dates first and then becoming boyfriends?”

“Usually.” Zitao chuckles, because Jongin is right. It was what Zitao would have wanted to do if things had happened normally, but he just could not hold back earlier. Neither could Jongin, it would seem because he is pulling Zitao into another brief kiss.

“It's fine. I owe you a dinner anyway.” Jongin pulls away long enough to put the bouquet down on the couch that is against the wall by the door. “But you-” Jongin takes his hand and starts leading him to the door “-need to go so I can get cleaned up and changed. Go ahead and go home, I’m going to be a little bit. I have to talk to a few people before I can leave. I’ll text you when I’m done.”

Zitao pouts, but does as instructed. He does not leave without one more sweet kiss, though. Smiling into it before Jongin pushes him away with a laugh and gently closes the door in his face. He does not see Sehun on his way out, but he is sure Sehun will reappear soon to tease Jongin.

☆☆☆

Jongin gets cleaned up, changing into the shirt and jeans he brought with him. Sehun returned a few minutes after Zitao left and is currently in the process of wiping all of his makeup off. So far, he has not said anything to Jongin about what had happened earlier, though Jongin is sure that Sehun wants to say something.

It is not until after they are both done getting changed and ready to leave that Sehun talks. “So, you and Zitao, huh?”

“Yep.” Jongin opens the door to the dressing room, letting Sehun out first.

Sehun turns and waits for Jongin to grab his duffle bag and bouquet and close the door behind them. “So, you don’t think that it was too quick? Like made in the heat of the moment?”

“Do you think it’s a mistake?” Jongin peers over at Sehun as they walk side by side out of the building.

“I think that’s up to you. I just know that this isn’t normally your style.” Sehun looks at Jongin pointedly. He is right, this is not normally Jongin’s style.

“I haven’t really been doing things normally when it comes to Zitao. I’m happy with this, though. I really like him, Sehun.” Jongin blushes at the confession, he hasn’t even really told Zitao this. Everything was so sudden and then he had to make Zitao leave, there was no real time to talk about things properly.

“That’s all that matters then, Jongin. I just wanted to make sure.” Sehun pats him on the back before they part ways. Sehun is getting a ride with Junmyeon, because Jongin had drove them both here. Jongin would feel bad for not inviting Sehun out too, but he knows that Sehun is just going to use this as an excuse to get Junmyeon to take him out to dinner.

Jongin leans against his car and pulls out his phone. He told Zitao he would text him after he was done and he still has to decide on a place for dinner. After a little google search, Jongin gives Zitao an address and tells him that he will meet him there in twenty minutes.

Jongin is in the process of closing his car door after getting in when his phone slips out of his pocket right before the door shuts and gets caught between the edge of the door and his car. Jongin opens the door quickly, his phone falling to the pavement, and looks down at it with a mix of disbelief and frustration. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

It takes Jongin a minute to pick his phone up, because the disbelief over what just happened is overwhelming. When he does pick it up, looking at the screen that is now cracked where the door had caught it, he makes a sound between a growl and a groan. “How? How did I manage to do this?”

He thinks that he could probably be put in the Guinness Book of World Records with all the weird ways he has broken his phone’s screen. Tossing his phone in the passenger seat, Jongin closes the door and turns his car on. There is no reason for him to sit here and stew over how terrible his luck is. He has a boyfriend to go meet and dinner to go eat.

It takes him thirty minutes to get to the restaurant he told Zitao to meet him at. He easily finds Zitao at a table close to the entrance when he walks through the door. It is hard to miss the red hair, pierced ears, or the fact that Zitao’s tall, tan, and handsome. Zitao does not see him though, because he is looking down at his phone with a frown.

Jongin makes his way to the table, casually sliding into the seat across from Zitao without a word. Zitao looks up and the frown is replaced with a smile. “Hey, I was getting worried. You weren’t answering your phone and you were ten minutes late.”

Jongin ducks his head, his ears are probably red right now, but he takes out his phone and slides it across the table. “Sorry, I couldn’t answer because I cracked the screen right where you would swipe to answer calls.”

Zitao stares down at the phone and then looks up at Jongin with confusion. “How did you even manage this? You’ve got the case on it.”

“Honestly, I don’t even know I managed to do this. It got caught between the edge of my car door and the car, somehow.” Jongin rubs at his face, feeling the frustration coming back. “It was like a freak accident or something. I think that I should give up on having a phone.”

Zitao chuckles and takes one of Jongin’s hands into his own, rubbing the back of it with his thumbs. “It’ll be okay. They’re coming out with phones that are getting more and more indestructible every year.”

The waitress interrupts their discussion to take Jongin’s drink order and Jongin waits for her to get far enough away to respond. “I think I would end up breaking even the most indestructible phone. I’m like the iceberg that took out Titanic.”

Zitao snorts and it is like the dam breaks, because now they’re both laughing and it is possible that they could get kicked out for being so loud. Both of them have tears in their eyes, wiping at them while still chuckling. Zitao is the first one to be able to calm down enough to talk. “You have the worst luck with technology I have ever seen. I’ve never seen a customer come in as many times as you have.”

Jongin kicks at Zitao under the table, but smiles while muttering “Shut up.”

“How did you even break your phone the other times?” Zitao looks amused but also genuinely curious.

“The first time?” Jongin thinks for a second, trying to remember what happened the first time. “Oh! I left it on top of my car and tried to drive away. It fell off onto the pavement.”

“Oh my god. What about the second time?”

Jongin looks down at the menu in front of him, trying to remember if the second time was the incident at the studio or the time he dropped it out of his window. After a second he remembers that it was the studio one, because the window one was the same day as the double date. “I was dancing at the studio and it flew out of my pocket. Hit the wall. I think it left a dent in the wall too.”

Zitao is hiding his smile behind his hand, but Jongin can tell he is five seconds away from laughing again. “Okay, the third? The day we went on that double date.”

“I dropped it out of my apartment window that’s three stories up. I was trying to take a picture of a cute puppy.” Jongin pouts, remembering that he did not end up getting that picture.

“That sounds like something you would do.” Zitao chuckles.

When they finally look over their menus and give their poor waitress a break by finally ordering, dinner goes by smoothly with small talk and laughter. It is honestly the most natural, easy going date Jongin has been on in a long time. He realizes how absolutely smitten he is with Zitao and hopes - knows - that the feeling is mutual.

It has got to be the weirdest way to start a relationship, but Jongin feels like something - maybe fate if he lets himself believe in that stuff- brought them together and, despite the broken screens, he is not unhappy about that. He is actually the exact opposite of unhappy and he hopes that maybe the unconventional start of their relationship is a sign of something that will be long lasting, full of surprises and affection, and maybe with less damaged phones.

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