Kim Dokja sat, slumped at the dining table, reading an action-packed web novel that had a rather good plotline. It was not unique in any way, he had read tons of stories with the same progression, but this story was nice. The writing was mediocre, but the characters were memorable.
It was still ongoing. If it was a completed work, Kim Dokja was sure he would have binged the whole thing in a day or two.
A notification slid down from the top of his phone screen, interrupting his reading. He would have ignored it, but it was from Yoo Joonghyuk so Kim Dokja put the story he was reading aside for a little while.
'It's a nice picture
You mentioned not having a pfp
I thought it was time for a change'
Oh, it seemed like he was awake. Hmm, it was time for everyone to be up and moving. It was just the occupants of the house who had trouble waking up because they'd all gone to bed late. Kim Dokja would have been among them too if he'd gone to sleep as well.
Yoo Joonghyuk was still typing.
'Nice pic too Dokja-ssi
No, I don't mind
Let's keep it matching
The pic is what you ask credits for?
You were ready to give away your idea for free'
Kim Dokja smiled a little, his fingers going to type back a reply.
'Ownership rights, Joonghyuk-ssi
I'll want credits for whatever I want credits for'
Yoo Joonghyuk's reply came in quickly.
'How am I to mention your credits then?
You don't have a watermark
And good morning, Dokja-ssi'
'Good morning to you too!'
Kim Dokja was getting faster at finding suitable stickers. He'd never used to so many stickers in a conversation before, it was silly, but fun.
'I just saw your messages
I'm not used to receiving texts when I'm not online'
God, he felt bad for that man. Kim Dokja was used to receiving texts at all odd hours of the day.
'Sorry
I could not respond sooner'
Eh, this guy. Why was he like this? Why would he apologize for something like that? Were people supposed to be this nice?
'Don't be sorry
Not your fault Joonghyuk-ssi
I wasn't expecting a reply
I texted you at 3 am
Any reasonable person would be asleep at the time
No worries at all
And you don't have to apologise'
Kim Dokja felt he should have just typed it all out in one message, instead of spamming the guy like this. Oh, who cares? It was too late anyway.
'Had your breakfast, Joonghyuk-ssi?'
'Not yet
You?'
'Same
Not yet
Everyone's still sleeping
I'm the only one awake'
Kim Dokja just remembered that he'd forgotten to turn on the lights. He did not want to disturb anyone's sleep so he had been sitting in the dark, at the dining table, the light from his phone screen worked just fine, so he didn't bother turning on the lights and eventually, he forgot about it. Well, not that he needed it anymore anyway, morning light was seeping into the flat through the windows.
'Did you just wake up?
Did my text wake you up?'
'Nah
I was awake
I was reading a web novel
When do you usually wake up Joonghyuk-ssi?'
'5 am'
'At 5?
Really?'
'Yes'
'Woah, you're like those health and well-being influencers'
'I wouldn't say so
But thank you if it was a compliment '
Kim Dokja held in a laugh and found a sticker of a bowing puppy.
Yoo Joonghyuk sent a sticker of an unimpressed peach in reply.
See! This was what he meant by Yoo Joonghyuk being cute. He didn't look cute in the slightest, heavens no; he looked like a mob boss. But he was a little cute with what he did.
What was that called again? Gap moe? Han Sooyoung would have written a protagonist based on Yoo Joonghyuk if she'd ever met the man, she'd say that this was the selling point of it all. And hey, he could see the appeal.
Kim Dokja was brought out of his thoughts of a protagonist Yoo Joonghyuk by the man's text.
'You didn't go drinking with your friends?'
'We were drinking at his place
We didn't go anywhere
Just at home'
'You didn't drink?'
'I did
Not a lot though
Just couldn't sleep'
'Were you awake this whole time?'
'Yeah
Went for a walk
To the convenience store
Had some coffee
Came back
I was reading a new web novel until you texted'
'Did something happen?'
Kim Dokja blinked.
'How did you know that?
Am I being that obvious?'
'You fall asleep quickly whenever you drink'
Ah, right. Kim Dokja had been more drunk around Yoo Joonghyuk than he had been around his friends, even though he'd known Yoo Joonghyuk for a lesser time. They had simply started off, getting to know each other under the influence. And after that, it had carried on. Though they rarely ever drank together anymore, they were more than familiar with each other's drunken habits.
'Nothing important'
'So something did happen'
'It's the same old stuff really'
'Does this involve the idiot boy?'
Kim Dokja sighed softly, his fingers moving over the keyboard again.
'When will you stop calling him that?'
'Never'
Kim Dokja snorted. Good looks, culinary skills, a strange ineptitude in communication and a childish sort of stubbornness seemed to run in the Yoo family.
Kim Dokja decided to change the topic.
'What do you do waking up at 5 every day?'
'Work out
Then I make breakfast
Then work'
'Very productive!
Couldn't be me'
'You should try it sometime
Living healthy'
'No thanks'
Yoo Joonghyuk sent him an exasperated bunny sticker.
'If you have free time
Call me'
Kim Dokja frowned a little and looked at the time in the top corner of his screen. 07:38.
His first thought was, shouldn't he be getting ready for work? Then he remembered it was a Sunday and no one had to go to work.
'Now?' he asked.
'If possible
Yes'
He could call him, it wasn't something difficult. He had been doing nothing anyway. It was just a little. . .
Kim Dokja typed out a quick, 'Okay' and then pressed the little icon on his screen to call Yoo Joonghyuk.
"Hello," Kim Dokja said quietly, putting his phone against his ear.
"Hello, Dokja-ssi," Yoo Joonghyuk's voice responded. "Good morning."
"Good morning," Kim Dokja repeated.
"I was getting ready to prepare breakfast," Yoo Joonghyuk said. "And I couldn't text you at the same time. I thought a call would make it easier."
"You didn't have to, Joonghyuk-ssi," Kim Dokja made sure to keep his voice low so that he wouldn't wake anyone up. "You can prepare your food in peace," he said with a chuckle.
"It's not a bother," said Yoo Joonghyuk. "And talking about it might help you feel better."
Kim Dokja didn't immediately understand what he was talking about. It took him a couple of seconds to understand and something in his chest warmed up at the realisation.
Yoo Joonghyuk had asked to call so that he could comfort Kim Dokja by lending an ear and listening to his stupid love life troubles again, like he always did.
"I've gone years without telling anyone, you know," Kim Dokja said into his phone. "If you keep doing this, I'll end up depending on you."
"I don't see how that's a problem."
"Of course, you don't," Kim Dokja huffed lightly, getting to his feet. "Give me a minute, Joonghyuk-ssi. Everyone's sleeping here, don't want to wake them up."
"Understood."
Kim Dokja still had his wallet in his pocket, he just had to stuff his power bank into his pocket and he left the flat again.
It was much brighter when he stepped out this time. The breeze was still there and the city was coming to life. Kim Dokja set out on another aimless walk, maybe around the complex like he often did with Yoo Joonghyuk.
"I can talk now, I'm outside," Kim Dokja said. Maybe he should think about investing in a pair of Bluetooth earphones. He could just hold his phone comfortably then.
"Good," Yoo Joonghyuk responded. "Feel free to tell me anything."
Kim Dokja pursed his lips, thinking.
"What are you making for breakfast?" he asked.
Yoo Joonghyuk seemed a little surprised by it.
"Bugeoguk," he answered after a few beats of silence. ". . .I'm getting the rice now."
"Sounds tasty," Kim Dokja hummed. "Did you drink last night too?"
"No, I just had the ingredients," Yoo Joonghyuk said. "I wanted to use them up before they expired."
"Hmm, I see. . .I guess I should go grocery shopping too," Kim Dokja wondered out loud. "I have way too many side dishes in my fridge though."
"Throw them out if they're too old," Yoo Joonghyuk said firmly. "Don't force yourself to eat it if it's old."
"I'd rather not waste food," Kim Dokja muttered. "And it's edible anyway, it's not expired. It's just fine. . .I think we'll be having something spicy today, since everyone was drinking last night; whenever my friend wakes up and decides to cook, that is. The younger ones, Jihye, Namwoon and Hayoungie, they drank like it was their last day alive. They're going to have horrible hangovers."
"Are you not hungry?" Yoo Joonghyuk said. "If you've been awake all this time, did you have something?"
"I'm not really hungry."
"Make something regardless. You need energy."
Kim Dokja laughed a little.
"Yoo Joonghyuk will come at me with a knife if he finds out that I've done something to his kitchen while he was sleeping—Ah, that reminds me, Han Sooyoung and I had teamed up to annoy my friend last night. We both got him the same set of kitchen knives this year for his birthday," Kim Dokja told him.
"And here's the thing, Han Sooyoung always gets him kitchen knives, even when he doesn't need them. She's been doing it for years now. And he always gets so mad. We nearly escaped getting stabbed yesterday."
"Keep doing it. It sounds like a great prank idea," Yoo Joonghyuk said and Kim Dokja stifled his laugh behind his hand.
He bowed to the security guard at the gates as he walked out of the complex and into the street. There was no destination in mind, he was just walking wherever his feet took him.
"My friends saw us yesterday, apparently," Kim Dokja said. "Yoo Joonghyuk and his fiancée, Lee Seolhwa; they were out on a date and they saw me. I don't think they recognised you, because Yoo Joonghyuk didn't throw a big fuss about it."
"Hmm."
"And they told everyone, so they put me under interrogation last night asking me about what we were up to."
"What did you say?" Yoo Joonghyuk said and Kim Dokja could hear the tap running in the background. He was probably washing the rice.
"Nothing much, just that we went to the movies, had lunch, coffee, you know, just what we did. . .They've got the wrong idea though."
"I suspected as much. They're quite eager, your friends."
"That they are. Lee Jihye even put up a whole drama, you know. I wanted to record it and show it to you. It was hilarious."
"Drama?" said Yoo Joonghyuk.
"Mm-hmm. Their rendition of what it was like when we met up yesterday morning. She called your car fancy bling bling."
". . .It's not really bling bling," Yoo Joonghyuk said slowly. "I wouldn't say that. Fancy, perhaps."
Both of them laughed lightly.
"They all want to meet you," Kim Dokja glanced at his sneakers. "I told them I'd ask you if we could meet up next time."
"Will an honest answer do?"
"Yes. Please," Kim Dokja stopped himself from physically nodding just in time.
The running of the water stopped before Yoo Joonghyuk answered, "I don't really want to."
"Can I be honest too?" Kim Dokja said.
"Of course."