Min-jae's heart stopped.
Lee Jun-ho stood wide-eyed staring at his two work colleagues sitting together. He fidgeted with his grey blazer folded softly over one arm. Dressed in a pristine, snow white shirt and sleek black trousers, Min-Jae noted how nice Jun-ho looked today. Black hair was loose, messy and parted in the middle. Two buttons on his shirt were unbuttoned, teasing eyes with his skin. Grey trousers clung loosely to his skin, exposing his toned form.
It irked him how effortlessly handsome Jun-ho is.
Jun-ho casually ambled closer, following their waitress to their assigned table. Their eyes locked briefly, but Jun-ho gave a disapproving shake and averted his gaze. Following closely behind his boss was the sharp tapping of heels attached to a tall lady dressed in a long, scarlet dress.
Their seats? Directly next to them.
Min-Jae's cheeks were flush with pink. He looked around and fiddled with anything he could find - sleeve, table, napkins, cutlery - in an attempt to pretend he didn't just make eye contact with his boss while in the arms of a man. His secret, yet not so secret, ex-boyfriend.
Another waitress came along to set down some drinks for them both. It was a pungent red liquid that was thick as it dribbled into the glasses. The bottle was long, and made of glass that held a mysterious dark tint. It was almost completely opaque, but a thin line could be seen climbing down the glass as she poured the drink.
"Don't you remember?" Dae-hyun cocked his head and thanked the staff with a quick raise of his glass. "This was your favourite. Please tell me you still like it," he laughed and pulled Min-Jae closer to his body. His arm still wrapped around the meek man's shoulders squeezed him into his side.
Min-jae used to be a wine person, red, white, rosé, anything. The key words being 'used to.'
He hummed and subtly slid the glass of wine a few inches back.
"No answer? Are you mad at me because I remembered?" He pinched his cheek. "You're still so cute."
It was about time he posed the question. "What do you want with me this time?" Min-jae asked, flatly.
"What are you talking about?"
"You only show up when you want something." He scoffed when a hand slipped the glass back towards him.
"You're overreacting again, don't you remember the last time you did this–"
"Stop, I don't need you to remind me."
Dae-hyun's arm fell from Min-jae's shoulders as he reached for his phone. "I'm back for good, this time." A sigh erupted from his lips. Min-jae could see him scrolling through his phone, probably his…
All colour drained from his face.
His pictures. A phone was thrust in his face, multiple pictures of him with Dae-hyun. Some innocent and some…less innocent. Ones he didn't even know had been taken. Ones showing soft skin in various contexts, and in various angles.
"When did-"
The red-haired man took a sip of wine with his free hand. "I told you already, I want you back. Don't make me repeat myself."
"And I told you no." Min-jae shuffled away as much as he could, despite the lack of free space available.
Dae-hyun clicked his tongue and put away his phone. "I'll give you some time to think it over. I know you, and I know that you wouldn't want our little secret to get out."
Silence lingered in the air and food appeared in front of them. He barely registered the plate being placed in front of him, distracted by his own heart pounding in his ears, too fast, too loud. Every inch of his skin felt like it was burning and freezing at the same time.
He'd ordered, or rather the towering male had ordered for him, the sea bass with rice and a plate of salad on the side. The thick, oily scent of the fish hit him first. Min-jae wanted to vomit at the smell of food.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Dae-hyun asked, already digging into his dish with chopsticks and sauce.
"I'm not hungry," his voice pleaded somewhat, and his stomach growled in anger.
"You still got that thing with food? You're hopeless, Minmin."
Dae-hyun leaned over to help himself, picking bits off Min-jae's plate with bamboo chopsticks. Min-jae glanced over to the wine; it started to look more appealing now. Dae-hyun's movements made the wine glass shake ever so slightly - the brilliance inside the glass moved like calm, red ocean waves.
A voice dragged him out of his thoughts, one that chuckled and hit Min-jae with a horrifying feeling of familiarity.
"So you two really are friends?" A figure approached. Well, looks like his boss finally arrived to make the situation even more awkward.
"Of course, didn't you believe me?" Dae-hyun pulled out his signature playful pout. "Min and I are just catching up." He pulled his junior close in a tight, momentary squeeze.
There it was again, 'Min.' He needed to stop being so obvious about how close they are – how close they were, he mentally corrected himself.
"Hah, I didn't believe you actually had friends." Jun-ho directed that to Dae-hyun, but Min-jae felt a sharp twist in his chest. Jun-ho's tone was light, almost joking, but there was a hidden weapon in his words.
"We weren't supposed to be here for very long," Min-jae said softly, his voice cracking at the end.
"Ah nonsense, you're welcome to join us."
Dae-hyun looked across at the company Jun-ho kept. A young lady, clearly somewhere in her early twenties, sat at a table alone looking bored and tired. She checked her watch at least twice in the brief glance that Dae-hyun gave her.
He flicked a careless wrist in her direction. "Why don't you ask your pretty lady friend to come over and join us?"
Min-jae felt disgust well up in the pit of his stomach. There was a twinge of bitterness making its way up.
Jun-ho's strong hand was loosely placed on the back of his neck. "Uh, no, actually I was just on the way to the bathroom. I thought I'd say good evening on the way."
"Ah, what a shame. I thought it would be nice to meet the lady who was so obviously smitten with you." A grin curled at the corner of his lips.
Min-jae's throat tightened. The room felt smaller, the noise sharper. He mumbled something incoherent and pushed back his chair. "Excuse me," he muttered, barely audible. His legs carried him before his mind could. The air hit differently as soon as he left the table; less suffocating.
The bathroom door swung open, and he barely made it to the sink before his body betrayed him. Bitter acid burned his throat as he heaved. Again and again, until his knees trembled and his vision blurred. His fingers clutched the cold porcelain as if it could ground him.
He turned on the tap, rinsed his mouth, but the taste wouldn't leave. His reflection looked back at him, pale and shaking. At that moment, Min-jae wanted to disappear. He wanted to run, but running meant he had to return to the dining area and Dae-hyun would see him leaving. Probably.
Was it worth the risk?
From behind the door, he heard laughter echo faintly from the dining area. Min-jae pressed his forehead against the mirror. His chest rose and fell, uneven. He could still taste salt in the air.
CLANG
The door flew open, as a man ran into the bathroom. Min-jae flinched and pulled himself back to his feet.
Drops of sweat ran down the man's panicked face, eyes deep with concern. "Park Min-jae?!"