The giggling got louder. Jung Heewon was gasping for air and Lee Seolhwa looked close to tears. Yoo Sangah was trembling, her smile wide and Lee Hyunsung was starting to go purple in the face trying to keep his laughter in. Even Yoo Joonghyuk looked fairly entertained.
Lee Jihye batted her eyes disturbingly and giggled when she finally stood right in front of Jang Hayoung. Jang Hayoung, who was shorter than Jihye by a centimetre or so, pushed herself up onto her toes and Lee Jihye promptly bent her knees, so that Jang Hayoung was towering over her.
By now, Kim Dokja had more or less figured out what the fuck they were on about.
His first thought was 'Seriously?'
His second thought was, 'Ah, should've recorded this.'
He wanted to show it to Yoo Joonghyuk and he was sure the man would find it funny. And Uriel Noona would have the time of her life laughing at it.
"This is for you," said Lee Jihye, holding out the plastic bag with both her hands.
Jang Hayoung clasped a hand over Lee Jihye's and then placed the other on her cheek.
"Kim Dokja," said Jang Hayoung in that low, raspy voice. "I don't care for flowers, you are the most beautiful flower here."
Han Sooyoung wheezed and slid off the armchair, her knees knocking into the floor. Lee Hyunsung choked again and required both Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon to slap his back before he accidentally died.
"Oh, Yoo Joonghyuk," Lee Jihye turned her face like a demure maiden, still batting her eyes.
"Kim Dokja," Jang Hayoung leaned closer.
"Yoo Joonghyuk, my love."
Lee Seolhwa was wiping away at her face nearly weeping out of mirth. Kim Namwoon was tapping on the floor, guffawing onto the tiles, shaking all over.
"What the fuck is wrong with you all?" Kim Dokja blurted out and the dam broke.
Any restraints they were exercising were thrown out of the window and loud raucous laughter rang throughout the flat, even summoning the kids out of their room to check on the adults.
It was quite a concerning sight for the kids to see. Lee Seolhwa, Kim Namwoon and Lee Hyunsung were crying and sniffling. Han Sooyoung was still trying to breathe properly and Yoo Sangah was trembling from head to toe, her smile stretched so wide that it looked painful. Jung Heewon was slapping her knee as she guffawed, and bent over. Jang Hayoung and Lee Jihye were clinging onto each other, trying to keep the other up, but only ended up dragging each other to the floor laughing, and Yoo Joonghyuk's face was twitching madly with the effort he put into keeping his grin away.
"What's wrong?" Mia asked.
"They're all being crazy drunks," Kim Dokja told her.
The laughter doubled, if that was even possible.
"They're fine," Kim Dokja reassured the kids. "You go back to playing. Go, have fun!"
It took a while for the room to gain some semblance of sense, getting themselves off the floor and sitting properly in their seats, clutching their sides, still sniffling, gasping and hiccupping.
Whatever. Kim Dokja decided to have his drink in peace. Let them do whatever they wanted, it wasn't like his explaining would stop them from making fun of him. They might as well enjoy themselves.
Kim Namwoon had got onto his feet and now it was a three-man show.
Jang Hayoung and Lee Jihye were back where they had previously left it off, looking into each other's eyes with smouldering looks, saying, "Kim Dokja", "Yoo Joonghyuk" repeatedly like some trashy romance movie.
"Kim Dokja!" Kim Namwoon roared at the pair.
He switched up into a tamer persona, a hand over his mouth as he said softly," Dokja-ssi, don't leave us."
What were these drunkards doing now?
"Fuck you," Lee Jihye, aka, Kim Dokja in the drunken play, held out a middle finger as Jang Hayoung snickered darkly, glaring at Kim Namwoon behind her. "I don't need you anymore, I'm going off with the love of my life, the man of my dreams, my Yoo Joonghyuk."
"But, Dokja-ssi, the indestructible vow that binds our souls in camaraderie for eternity," Kim Namwoon sobbed.
"Oh!" Lee Seolhwa chirped. "That's me."
"What the fuck is that even supposed to mean, you chuuni?" Lee Jihye snorted. She sniffed and got back into character.
"No," she turned her nose to the air. "I don't care about you and our friends anymore. I'm going on a date with my Yoo Joonghyuk and going to be late for your birthday party and everyone's birthday parties from now on."
"That's right," Jang Hayoung cackled. "I am going to keep Kim Dokja all to myself forever. Suffer, peasants."
"Tsk!" Kim Namwoon crossed his arms, going back to the rough character he was playing from before. "You deserve to die, you pathetic vermin. How dare you go back on our camaraderie!"
Who was that even supposed to be? . . .Well, if the other one was Lee Seolhwa, then this was probably Yoo Joonghyuk. Only Kim Namwoon's rendition of Yoo Joonghyuk was ultra mega chuuni.
"I don't care," Lee Jihye blew a raspberry. "I'm off in a big fancy, bling bling car with my new hubby!"
"Hohoho!"
"Hehehe!"
Looping their arms together, Lee Jihye and Jang Hayoung trotted away, off the 'stage', hopefully concluding their play.
Kim Dokja brought the can to his mouth and took another swig.
It was going to take some time for everyone to stop laughing.
Kim Dokja finished his first beer and took another, holding his palms against the cold tin can.
"How did we do?" Lee Jihye said, finally, panting a little as she slumped onto the floor before Kim Dokja.
"Do what?" Kim Dokja said simply.
"Don't even lie," Kim Namwoon snorted. "Everyone knows. Captain and Seolhwa Noona saw you today, giving flowers to that other Yoo Joonghyuk guy you're always yapping about."
Ah, so that's how they knew he had got sunflowers.
They'd seen him? He didn't know that. He did know that they were going out on a date that morning, and well, the city centre was a reasonable place to be for a date. But even so, the chances of running into each other were so low. What a coincidence.
"You were there?" Kim Dokja turned to the couple in question. "Why didn't you say hi?"
Yoo Joonghyuk glowered at him.
"We wanted to, Dokja-ssi," said Lee Seolhwa. "But we were on the other side of the road and by the time we crossed the road, you had already met up with your date."
"You could have always just called me and I'd have seen you," Kim Dokja said very glad that they hadn't called him or caught his attention. "Next time, if you see me, just shoot me a call."
His mood would have been the worst if he'd seen Yoo Joonghyuk and Lee Seolhwa out on a date first thing in the morning and that would have led to having a horrible day out with the older Yoo Joonghyuk. Kim Dokja was really glad he hadn't seen them at all.
"Ah, we don't want to bother you when you're busy, Dokja-ssi," said Lee Seolhwa. She was always nice.
"Eh, what are you saying?" Kim Dokja waved his hand dismissively. "Just call me whenever, really. You guys aren't a bother at all. I'd have loved to say hello. I could have even introduced you guys."
"Yo," said Han Sooyoung, slumped in the armchair, having finally caught her breath. "What did he say when you gave him the flowers?"
"He said thank you," Kim Dokja shrugged. "What else was he supposed to say?"
"Did he spit on your face and throw the stupid flowers out of the window?" Kim Namwoon sounded very eager.
"He's not a mannerless bastard like you," Kim Dokja snapped. "He put them in water the second he got home."
There were cries of, "Awww!", "That's actually really nice", "That's sweet."
"What did you do, Dokja-ssi?" Yoo Sangah said curiously.
"Nothing much," Kim Dokja drank some more of his beer. "We went to the movies first, then we had lunch, then we went to a cafe, had some cake and went back to his place."
Kim Dokja ignored Han Sooyoung's raised eyebrows and Jung Heewon's low whistle.
"And then we just talked for a while, I forgot about the time and had to rush back here," Kim Dokja finished.
"Did you kiss?" Lee Jihye inched closer to him.
"Why would we kiss?" Kim Dokja sounded confused.
While he didn't quite like what they were insinuating, he also knew that there was no way to stop them. It was better to send them off in circles until they finally dropped it in frustration.
"Why do you think, genius?" Han Sooyoung scoffed sardonically. "Because you're an ugly squid and the only way to break the spell is to get a kiss. How's that for a reason?"
Kim Dokja rolled his eyes dramatically.
"We're friends, don't be ridiculous," he said. "We were hanging out, it wasn't a date."
"You guys literally did everything people do on a date!" Jang Hayoung snapped. "How's it not a date?"
"I do the same with you guys also, what are you saying?"
"I told you we were spoiling him," Jung Heewon threw her hands up. "See! He's already blind as is, now he's ruined completely."
"Hey, hey," said Han Sooyoung. "Give a detailed run-through of your date."
"It was not a date," Kim Dokja said testily.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Han Sooyoung gave an irritating wave of her hand. "Date, hang out or whatever bullshit, give a run-through."
Kim Dokja ran a hand down his face, groaning wearily.
"I was supposed to meet him in the evening," Kim Dokja started. "But because I had to come here, he said he'd we could just meet up in the morning. It's his birthday too. And usually, Uriel Noona's with us, but she was busy with some other thing, so she wasn't able to join us."
"That's another character we need to meet," said Jung Heewon.
"I've never heard you call anyone Noona before, Dokja-ssi," Yoo Sangah said pleasantly.
"It does sound a little weird, no?" said Lee Jihye, Jang Hayoung and Kim Namwoon nodded.
"It's because I didn't have anyone to call Noona," Kim Dokja said dully. "You're all younger than me."
"What about your ex-girlfriends?" Kim Namwoon demanded.
"Again, younger," Kim Dokja sighed.
"Che, predator."
"Come here, you punk, I ought to knock some sense into that dumb skull of yours."
Lee Jihye snickered happily, she always liked seeing Kim Namwoon get his ass handed to him.
"Tch, tch, we're going off-topic," Han Sooyoung called. "So, then what happened?"
"Then what. . .Ah, Uriel said he's never been to the movie theatre before, so I said we'd go," Kim Dokja said.
There was a lot of noise as multiple people cried, "He's never been to the movie theatre?!"
"Exactly," Kim Dokja nodded. "I mean, I don't know the specifics as to why he's never been there and I haven't tried finding answers yet. Don't want to force anyone to talk, you know. And I thought we might as well take the opportunity and go outside for the movies."
"Which movie did you watch?" Jung Heewon asked.
"Romance," Lee Hyunsung suggested.
"Did you do something in the dark?" Lee Jihye wiggled her eyebrows and Kim Namwoon gagged.
"Did you at least do the arms around shoulders thing?" Han Sooyoung sounded like she was pleading.
"We watched the movie in peace and then left," Kim Dokja deadpanned. "I don't know what you're thinking, but we just watched the movie. It was an action thriller, I think. So-so, I didn't feel it was worth buying the ticket for it."
"So you really did nothing?"
"We watched the movie. That's about it."
"God, you're so fucking boring," Han Sooyoung groaned, cracking the soju bottle open in her annoyance and taking a swig directly from the bottle, shuddering once she swallowed.
"Then?" Lee Seolhwa prompted.
"Then we went for lunch."
"Where?"
"Did you have steak? At a nice restaurant? With wine and all?"
"In the afternoon? Isn't that day drinking?"
"No, it's fine dining."
"Alcohol is alcohol, man, I don't know what you're on about."
"I actually took him to our dumpling spot," said Kim Dokja and everyone fell quiet, whipping their heads around to ogle at him. "He really likes Murim dumplings too, and I usually get him takeout, so I thought I'd bring him there once."
"He's actually just a friend then, huh?" Han Sooyoung huffed out before carefully tipping the soju bottle over her can of beer, making a mix of the two drinks in the can because she was too lazy to go get another glass.
"Yes. That's literally what I've been telling you since day one," Kim Dokja droned.
"Or," Han Sooyoung sang. "He's the one."
"Really? You took him to our spot?" Jung Heewon said.
"Without asking us first?" Kim Namwooon demanded.
"Hey, I found it first," Kim Dokja scoffed. "I was the one who told you about it, I'll take whoever I want."
Their reactions were reasonable. It might sound like nonsense, but Kim Dokja never took his exes or anyone he was in a romantic relationship with to that spot. That was a treasured place reserved only for his friends.
"After lunch," Kim Dokja decided to finish this whole mess and be done with it. "We went to a cafe, got some coffee, cut this tiny cake, 'cause it was just the two of us. And then we still had time, and his place was nearby, so we decided we'd wait there until I had to leave."
"I have been to his place so many times before, don't even start," he said when he saw Lee Jihye open her mouth with a smug expression.
The teen closed her mouth.
"I've known him for two years now, I've been to his place before. He even helped me out with the project management certification I had to do," Kim Dokja thought he'd better clear up any potential misunderstandings.
"You two work together, don't you, Dokja-ssi?" Yoo Sangah said.
"Not exactly," Kim Dokja shook his head. "He ranks way higher than me, we don't even see each other at lunch. He's technically my superior, though I don't exactly have to report to him or anything."
There was a short bout of silence which was finally broken by Jang Hayoung.
"Then what did you do?" she asked. "After you went to his place?"
"We just talked," Kim Dokja said. "I was showing him the pictures on my phone and we just talked. I forgot to check the time and he gave me a ride to my place because I was late."
"A nice man," Lee Hyunsung muttered.
"He is," Kim Dokja agreed.
"Hey," Han Sooyoung said slowly, her eyes on the ceiling in deep contemplation. "You've hung out with him before."
"Yes," Kim Dokja dreaded whatever was coming next.
". . .Does that mean. . .Did he say something when he saw you today?" Han Sooyoung's head lolled onto her shoulder and her gaze landed on Kim Dokja. "Our Yoo Joonghyuk and Seolhwa said you two were being very lovey-dovey with each other."
"What's that even supposed to mean?" Kim Dokja said languidly. "I don't think he said anything when he saw me today. What's there to say?"
There were heavy sighs at his response.
"You were touching," Yoo Joonghyuk's voice came as a surprise.
"So?" Kim Dokja said. "Since when is physical contact between friends banned?"
"You let him touch your face," Yoo Joonghyuk stressed like that explained everything, annoyed at Kim Dokja's previous statement that he considered stupid.
Kim Dokja stared back in confusion.
"So?" he said again. "I let all of you touch my face too."
"You don't," said Han Sooyoung.
Kim Dokja blinked, turning away from Yoo Joonghyuk to see if Han Sooyoung was just joking. She didn't look like she was.
"What? You pull my cheeks whenever you're annoyed," Kim Dokja reminded her. "And the kids touch me all the time. What are you talking about?"
Han Sooyoung gave him a condescending look.
And surprisingly, everyone else also considered this a serious topic to be discussed and were on Yoo Joonghyuk and Han Sooyoung's side.
"I mean, wouldn't anyone find it weird if someone just touched your face out of the blue?" Kim Dokja said reasonably.
"Ahjussi," said Lee Jihye. "I've seen you flinch and move away when that ex-boyfriend of yours, the one who's always crying, he did that 'surprise, guess who it is' thing and you just moved away immediately."
"I've seen it too," Lee Hyunsung gave his support.
"You are a little awkward when it comes to touch," muttered Jang Hayoung.
"The kids don't touch your face either, Dokja-ssi," said Yoo Sangah.
"Yeah," Jung Heewon nodded. "Only Han Sooyoung gets past your in-built detectors. You've got this reflex, you'll move out of the way whenever someone comes at you. And even with her, you only allow her to do that when you feel sorry about something you did and want to escape punishment."
"You are twitchy," Yoo Joonghyuk stated. "Always have been."
"What the hell?" Kim Dokja snorted, faking confidence.
Twitchy? Well, that would make sense for Yoo Joonghyuk. He could suppose that he had unintentionally flinched away from him, finding the contact a little awkward.
They didn't get to be in physical contact a lot even though they were friends for the longest time.
Yoo Joonghyuk and Kim Dokja met when they were angsty teens, not to mention, Kim Dokja was still taking time to shed off his fear of his bullies. At that time, yes, he was twitchy and jumpy and Yoo Joonghyuk stuck close, but never crowded his personal space, giving him room to breathe always.
The first time they had been touching, not just accidental brushing of hands and shoulders, was when Kim Dokja got sick in high school and Yoo Joonghyuk cuddled with him under the blankets.
It wasn't something that happened often. And they went to different colleges, even though they were thick friends, physical contact was a different matter.
Besides, Yoo Joonghyuk was never one for hugs and all that. The only people Kim Dokja had seen him willingly give hugs to at any instant were Mia and Lee Seolhwa.
Hell, Kim Dokja was in physical contact with Han Sooyoung and Jung Heewon more than he was with Yoo Joonghyuk.
"Am I really?" he asked, genuinely curious.
He got a lot of nods and grunts of affirmation.
"Well," he licked his lips. "That's weird. I never noticed."
"We can see that," Han Sooyoung drawled. "But apparently, you were fine with this Joonghyuk-ssi guy. Want to tell us what that's about?"
"I really don't know, I can't tell you what it's about," Kim Dokja said exasperatedly. "I didn't even know I had such a habit until you told me just now."
He attempted introspecting.
He could understand why he would have flinched away from physical contact. All the physical contact he'd known as a child and adolescent was painful.
Han Sooyoung was easily touchy, though. She would put her arm around his shoulder, quite a feat for her, really. She would throw herself over his lap, punch him jokingly, pinch his cheeks, and tug his hair. Even Jung Heewon would slap his back genially, and clock his head lightly whenever he said something she considered really stupid.
Hmm, but they rarely ever came across as threatening to him.
Well, they could be incredibly dangerous when they wanted to be, but he didn't find their physical being threatening. Kim Dokja knew he still went cold on the inside when he came a bit too close to someone with a large frame, the memories of being overwhelmed by people stronger than him were unforgettable.
But he was used to Yoo Joonghyuk, he'd known him since high school, even before he was as buff as he was right now. And Lee Hyunsung was every bit a puppy, really. Lee Hyunsung didn't fall all over him either, so Kim Dokja was comfortable with him.
The only people who ran at him and hugged him were the kids. And they were small. Nothing for Kim Dokja to go into defence mode.
Even with his exes, he wasn't particularly clingy or big on physical affection. He knew how this would come off as, but he benefited from it in the end, he didn't see how it mattered. The only time he'd been with someone who had a larger frame than him was on that one one-night stand. The man wasn't particularly a giant but had a more solid and larger build than Kim Dokja had, and even then, Kim Dokja was the one on top.
Things didn't make sense then, did it? He should easily be jumpy around the older Yoo Joonghyuk then. He remembered he had been very much on guard when he had first met the man. What changed now?
. . .Oh. That's what changed.
He could easily imagine Yoo Joonghyuk's hand petting his head.
It was a secret Kim Dokja was going to take to his grave. He was touch-starved and craved validation and affection so much that just a head pat would make him crumple like paper.
God, that was so embarrassing! He really needed therapy. At this rate, if Yoo Joonghyuk ever hugged him and told him he'd done well, he'd probably end up bawling his eyes out.
He'd even ended up sleeping in the same bed with the man, twice, knocked out drunk. And he was a bit more used to hugs now, with Uriel running at him. Now that he thought about it, Uriel often attacked him with hugs, a lot more than his friends did.
He was glad this issue was brought to light.
Kim Dokja jolted out of his thoughts when an empty beer can hit his knee.
"Did you even hear a single thing I just said?" Han Sooyoung sneered at him.
"What?" he said dumbly.
"Son of a bitch! What dreamland were you in?"
"Do you need some water, Dokja-ssi?" Lee Hyunsung asked.
"Ah, I'll get the ice out," said Lee Seolhwa.
"No, no, that's alright," Kim Dokja reassured them. "I'm fine. I was just thinking."
"Thinking what?" Jung Heewon demanded.
"About what you said," Kim Dokja shrugged. "And I think I'm just comfortable around him. . .Not to say I'm not comfortable around you guys. You're free to...I don't know, whatever, I guess—Just, I mean. . ."
He struggled to find the words to convey his thoughts properly. Maybe he should drink some ice water, his brain wasn't working properly under the influence of alcohol.
He gave up with a sigh. "He's a good person, very considerate, and it's easy to be comfortable around him, I guess."
His declaration was met with silence and though his eyes were on the can in his hand, he could feel their eyes on him.
"Good person?" Han Sooyoung said, urging him to speak more.
Kim Dokja nodded. "Yeah. He's nice. Observant, really kind."
"Oh, yeah, he even makes you food, doesn't he?" Jung Heewon said over her drink. "Remember? It tasted like heaven, didn't it?"
Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah nodded.
Lee Jihye gasped so loudly that it had everyone looking at her in alarm, worried that she might be having some life-threatening crisis.
"Ahjussi," Lee Jihye spat, perfectly alright. "Are you cheating on Master?"
"Yeah!" Kim Namwoon joined in. "Why're you eating some other bastard's cooking when Captain's here."
Oh, that's what they were on about.
"He's my friend too," Kim Dokja rolled his eyes. "And stop exaggerating everything. It's not that big of a deal."
"It is that big of a deal," Lee Jihye huffed. "I know you'll eat anything, but seriously, how can you substitute Master's heavenly cooking for someone else's?"
Kim Dokja sighed softly.
"That guy's cooking was awesome too, wasn't it?" said Jung Heewon. "It was great actually."
"It was really good," Yoo Sangah told them.
"Yeah, never thought I'd find anyone who could rival this bastard when it came to cooking," Han Sooyoung said nodding at Yoo Joonghyuk who raised his eyebrows, almost challengingly.
"What?!" Lee Jihye and Kim Namwoon bellowed.
"Better than master? No way!" cried Lee Jihye.
"Hey, it's not even possible for anyone to be better than Captain," Kim Namwoon said. "He's got the hands of a god when it comes to cooking."
"That's what I'm telling, you brat," Han Sooyoung scolded. "He was as good as this guy."
"Maybe he's ordering it from somewhere and saying he made it," Kim Namwoon said and the theory made sense, everyone looking to Kim Dokja for answers again.
"I've seen him cook right before my eyes," Kim Dokja said wearily. "He's good at it. He doesn't get to cook often though, he's quite busy."
"Is he picky like this guy?" Jung Heewon jerked a thumb in Yoo Joonghyuk's direction.
"No, he eats just fine," Kim Dokja answered. "He does prefer his own cooking, but because he doesn't have much time for it, he compromises."
"I really want to meet him now, Dokja-ssi," said Lee Seolhwa. "We've heard so much about him."
"I'll ask him if he can meet us the next time we meet up," Kim Dokja promised and there was some excited cheering.
He hoped Yoo Joonghyuk would refuse again when he asked.
"He's older than you, no?" Jung Heewon said and Kim Dokja nodded.
"He's tall, muscle man," Jung Heewon listed out, extending a finger with each item.
"Is he pretty? Cute?" Jang Hayoung piped up. "He doesn't seem your type."
"That's exactly why it's special," Han Sooyoung clicked her tongue. "It's that trope, you guys. The unexpected, Mr Wrong becomes Mr Right kinda story."
"Why're we still talking about that?" Kim Dokja was tired. "Let's talk about something more productive, please."
"Is he pretty? Answer the question," Han Sooyoung didn't consider his words worth any attention.
"I don't know," Kim Dokja snapped back. "The hell do you mean pretty?"
"Pretty, you dumb bastard, pretty!" Han Sooyoung bellowed. "Nice face, nice lips, nice eyes, nice nose—Pretty?"
"He has a nice face, but I wouldn't say pretty, I guess," Kim Dokja said. "I don't think he can be called pretty."
"Is he cute then? Like my Hyunsung?" Jung Heewon said, and Lee Hyunsung flushed deeply.
". . . I—Not exactly," Kim Dokja blurted out, a little table aback because the first thing that came to his mind was 'Yes', but that clearly didn't make any sense.
Yoo Joonghyuk? Cute? No, he wasn't.
"He doesn't look cute, exactly," Kim Dokja elaborated, more to himself. "But he can be a little cute sometimes, you get me?"
He was cute, in the terms he could act cute sometimes, especially that whole fiasco with the flowers that day, he'd have thought it was some kind of invaluable treasure the way he was handling it. And the way his mood bounced around when he couldn't fit them in the vase and how he looked so pleased when they managed to get it in.
And the stickers he'd send when they texted. The way he'd called Kim Dokja to the CEO's office because he was worried he was eating alone.