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Wonwoo was nervous. Really nervous. Usually, he was a pretty relaxed person, but today was different.
His music show debut. His first time performing in front of so many cameras, his first time meeting so many other artists, including established, popular ones with mainstream success, his first time having tens of staff members hovering around him.
Wonwoo’s previous album had blown up, and he had been invited to sign with a bigger agency, one with well-established artists and in-house producers and a café just for the employees and artists. Although, if Wonwoo was being honest, anything would’ve been bigger than his previous two-man agency. Joining the new company was an opportunity that Wonwoo had lapped up, even if the company said they wanted to promote him like an idol. Wonwoo didn’t care, if that was what he needed to do to get people to listen to his music, he would do it. The company had offered him almost complete creative freedom, and that was enough for him.
But performing at a music show. That was a big deal.
Wonwoo had always felt like each performance was a small step up, each crowd slightly bigger than the last, each venue slightly nicer and each time getting paid slightly more. But a music show was a massive jump. He had never performed with cameras trained on him before, never had so many staff members rushing around him, never had to do a backstage interview with idol MCs. It was a lot.
He had been woken up at butt-fuck o’clock in the morning, had to put makeup on and have a stylist slick way too much product into his hair and then he had to walk from waiting room to waiting room, greeting all the other artists.
Wonwoo wasn’t built for this, he was too shy. Well, not shy, but he was reserved. This wasn’t his idea of a good time.
His manager, Seungcheol, had told him that it was important that he act upbeat and happy to meet his fellow performers, but God, Wonwoo was tired.
He had some sort of solace in the fact that his friend Vernon’s group, Seventeen, was promoting their new album currently too, so he would be able to see a familiar face.
---
Wonwoo knocked on Seventeen’s door politely and waited until a man slightly shorter than him, with wide shoulders and messily parted hair, opened the door. He stepped into the room
“Hello, I’m Wonwoo. I look forward to seeing your performance today,” Wonwoo said while bowing.
The man laughed. “You’re so formal, holy shit. There’s no need, Vernon told us all about you. You can relax.” Wonwoo was ushered further into the room.
“He did?”
“Yeah, he said you were pretty nervous, but he knew you would do well. Anyway, I’m Chan. That’s Jeonghan, Soonyoung and Seokmin,” he said, pointing at three guys who looked like they were doing some sort of intense hand-slapping game on one of the couches. When they heard their names, they looked up and waved.
“You’re Wonwoo, right?” Soonyoung asked. Wonwoo nodded. “Dude, your last album was so good, I had it on repeat for weeks.
“He did,” someone else piped up. “It drove us all crazy.”
“Ah,” Chan said. “That’s Seungkwan. Don’t take him seriously, everything annoys him.”
“Yeah, especially Lee Chan!” Seungkwan said to Wonwoo.
“Sounds like a you problem,” Chan said with a light laugh.
Seungkwan made a fist and pulled it back as if to hit Chan. “You’re such a brat!”
Chan just laughed. Shit, his laugh was pretty. And his smile was so wide and bright, just looking at it instantly made Wonwoo feel better.
Chan sat down on one of the couches and patted the spot next to him so Wonwoo would join.
“Anyway,” Chan said. “Are you nervous about your first music show performance?”
“You have no idea,” Wonwoo said. “I think I only got like two hours sleep last night because I couldn’t stop pacing.”
Chan giggled. Holy fuck. “I’m sure you’ll do amazing. You have that aura.”
“What aura?” Wonwoo asked.
“The aura that you’re a born performer.” Chan turned his body so he was directly facing Wonwoo. “I would know, I’m also a born performer.”
A sock came flying from the other side of the room and hit Chan on the head. “Shut up, Chan. You’re so cocky,” Jeonghan said.
Chan laughed again, this time a full-body laugh, that has him tipping his head back and then collapsing forward onto Wonwoo’s shoulder. Wonwoo wanted to get down on his hands and knees and thank whoever gave Chan the most beautiful laugh in the world.
When Chan stopped laughing, he looked up at Wonwoo, and his cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were sparkling.
Luckily, before Wonwoo could embarrass himself by staring, speechless, at the most enthralling person he’d ever seen, Seungcheol interrupted. “Wonwoo, we have to go. You still have other artists to meet.”
Wonwoo stood up. “It was nice to meet you all,” he said, bowing.
He left the room to a chorus of “bye”s, and as soon as he was fully out, he collapsed against the wall.
“Oh my God,” he said, hand resting over his racing heart.
Seungcheol clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You okay buddy?” he asked.
But all Wonwoo can say is “Oh my God” again.
“Okay, Wonwoo. We need to keep moving,” Seungcheol said, pulling him away from the wall.
Wonwoo realised that his nerves had been replaced with a fluttering in his heart and he couldn’t think about the stress of the upcoming performance anymore.
---
That evening, Wonwoo got a text from Vernon.
Vernon: Dude, I wanted to see you before your big performance! I was just in the bathroom, you should’ve waited for me
Wonwoo: oh god, sorry. I got distracted
Vernon: haha, I heard ;) if it makes you feel any better, someone else was in a daze for the rest of the day
Vernon: and watched your performance veeeeery closely
Wonwoo: I don’t know what you’re talking about
Vernon: haha ok ;)
Goddamn.
---
Wonwoo is ashamed of this, but that evening he went on a Lee Chan deep dive. What that meant, in practice, was that he watched every recent Seventeen variety show and paid special attention to Chan. And then he watched all the Seventeen performances he could find and paid special attention to Chan.
Could it be considered a celebrity crush if he knew the person in real life?
But Chan had this energy that Wonwoo just wanted to be around. He was animated, and confident, and sincere.
Wonwoo was enchanted.
---
The next time Wonwoo was going to see Seventeen was at Inkigayo. And he had a plan. If Vernon’s words were anything to go by, his plan should be successful too, so Wonwoo was feeling pretty confident.
First, he went to the cafeteria and grabbed eight of Inkigayo’s famous sandwiches. Then he went to his dressing room and got out his little notepad. The notes were cat-shaped, and, don’t tell Jun, but they were one of Wonwoo’s favourite presents ever.
He set to work crafting the perfect note. On his third try he came up with:
Dear Chan
Message me sometime :) – 021960717
From, Wonwoo <3
He thought maybe the heart was too much, but he figured that it was the best way to get his point across without saying something embarrassingly cheesy like ‘I think your laugh is beautiful’ or ‘you’re quite possibly the cutest person I’ve ever seen’.
He folded the note in half and drew a crude heart with a smiley face in it on the outside.
He tucked the note into one of the sandwiches (the nicest looking one) and then placed them in a bag. Chan’s sandwich went in the bottom left corner so Wonwoo would know which one to give him.
“Okay, let’s go,” he said to Seungcheol, who just sighed.
“Okay, buddy, if this is what you want to do,” Seungcheol replied with a friendly slap on the back.
Wonwoo gave a short nod. Seungcheol snorted. “You know, I never anticipated you falling for an idol boy.”
“Shut up,” Wonwoo whined. He stood up, swung the bag over his shoulder, and walked out the door of his dressing room, trusting that Seungcheol would follow him.
Wonwoo’s confidence wavered once he was outside Seventeen’s dressing room. Seungcheol noticed and knocked on the door for him. Wonwoo didn’t know whether to be thankful or irritated.
But he didn’t have time to ponder this, as someone had already opened the door.
“Hyung!” Vernon said. “Nice to finally see you.”
“I’ll kill you Chwe,” Wonwoo said, stepping into the room.
“What are you doing here, anyway?” Vernon asked.
“Well, my dressing room gets lonely, and I felt bad that I missed you last time I visited, so I came to have a snack with you guys.” Vernon gave him a knowing look. Wonwoo ignored him. “I hope you’re not too full.” Wonwoo pulled one of the sandwiches out of his bag.
“Holy shit, Wonwoo, you’re our lifesaver. Seungkwan was just whining about how hungry he was,” Jeonghan said, taking the sandwich out of Wonwoo’s hand and tossing it to where Seungkwan was sitting across the room.
Wonwoo pulled out the rest of the sandwiches and handed them out to everyone. When he handed Chan the sandwich from the bottom left corner, he tried to give him a little smile, but it probably came out more like a grimace.
“Thanks, Hyung,” Chan said, ignoring whatever facial spasm Wonwoo had going on.
Wonwoo had just pulled out his own sandwich when Seungcheol spoke up. “Change of plans, Wonwoo, the sound tech needs us now. We have to go.”
Wonwoo is relieved, in a way. This meant he wouldn’t have to watch Chan find the note he had written and see how he would react. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.
---
For the next couple of days, Wonwoo waited for a text. He was practically glued to his phone, keeping it within arms reach and with the sound on constantly (probably the first time he had done that since buying it).
But the text never came.
Wonwoo was in a crisis.
He thought that Chan was into him, Vernon’s texts seemed to clearly suggest that he was. And Wonwoo thought that the intent of his note was pretty clear. But Chan wasn’t texting. Why not? Wonwoo was questioning everything.
By the time Wednesday rolled around, Wonwoo just wants to crawl up into a ball and die. Chan still hadn’t texted! It had been two full days! Chan had managed to post on Seventeen’s Twitter account (not that Wonwoo was checking or anything), but he hadn’t texted Wonwoo.
Maybe this was Chan’s way of sending a message to him to back off, or maybe Chan had just forgotten, suggesting that he wasn’t actually into him. If Wonwoo had received a note from Chan, he would’ve been bursting to text him, so maybe Chan didn’t feel the same.
But Wonwoo wasn’t a coward. He was not going to hide away in shame. If Chan was going to turn him down, Wonwoo was going to act like he didn’t really care.
---
Wonwoo’s stage outfit for Show Champion was a muscle-tee with a leather vest over the top and a pair of black skinny jeans and combat boots. Wonwoo liked it, it shows off his hard-earned biceps and emphasised his long legs.
He first saw Seventeen when they were waiting in the corridor for their soundcheck.
“Hyung!” Chan called. “Come here!”
Chan had to be talking to him. Wonwoo tried to act confident and strolled over.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey Wonwoo, your soundcheck sounded amazing. I’m so excited for your performance today!” Chan was his same level of excited. Wonwoo tried not to let it throw him off.
“Thanks, Chan.” He leaned against the wall and tried to ignore Seungcheol pulling faces at them out of the corner of his eye.
Wonwoo realised that this was the first time that he and Chan had stood next to each other for longer than a second. It allowed Wonwoo to notice that Chan’s height, the perfect height to rest his head on Wonwoo’s shoulder without straining his neck. The perfect height for Wonwoo to push him against a wall and kiss him senseless. It made Wonwoo a little weak in the knees.
“I like your outfit today,” Chan said.
“Oh, thank you,” Wonwoo said, glancing down. “I thought it was a little much, but I’m glad you like it.”
“It is definitely not a little much. I might go and hug your stylist if I could find her.” Chan let out a light laugh. And then he placed a hand on Wonwoo’s bare arm. His bicep. “It is very flattering.”
Wonwoo tried not to break down. He also tried to deny himself the temptation of flexing his arms; that might be a little embarrassing.
“Leave Yeonhee-noona alone! She is a very nice lady who doesn’t need to be bothered!” Wonwoo exclaimed.
Chan squeezed his arm slightly as he laughs, tipping his head forward so his hair brushes Wonwoo’s shoulder lightly. “I’m sure she is. A very smart one too.”
“Okay, guys,” Jeonghan interrupted. “Chan, stop whatever… this … is, we have to get to soundcheck.”
Wonwoo felt his face flush.
On one hand, it was super embarrassing that other people (apart from Seungcheol, of course) noticed their flirting, but on the other hand, it was nice to know that it wasn’t just him who was interpreting it in that way.
But Chan didn’t dignify Jeonghan with a response. Instead, he just gave Wonwoo’s bicep a tighter squeeze, where his hand was still lingering and said “See ya later Wonwoo-Hyung” before running off.
Wonwoo tried to avoid the temptation to slump against the wall.
He failed.
“Dude, am I misreading things here?” Wonwoo asked Seungcheol.
“No, Chan was definitely flirting with you. That was the most blatant flirting I’ve ever seen in my life, probably.”
“Okay, good.” Wonwoo paused. “Then, if he was flirting with me, why didn’t he ever text me?”
“I don’t know, Wonwoo. I’m as stumped as you are.”
Wonwoo groaned. “Vernon said that their company doesn’t check their phones anymore, so that’s not the problem, and he seems interested.”
“Cheer up, buddy. Let’s get back to the dressing room.”
Wonwoo gathered the strength to shuffle along behind him.
---
That evening, Jeonghan called a meeting of the Seventeen Gay Members club. The club consisted of Chan, Jeonghan and Seungkwan. Seokmin complained about being left out, but Jeonghan swore it was for his own benefit. Vernon refused to partake, despite qualifying, claiming that Jeonghan and Seungkwan were too dramatic and that Vernon could handle his problems on his own.
“Chan,” Jeonghan said when they were all sitting comfortably on Seungkwan’s bed, “explain what the fuck is going on with Wonwoo.”
“Ugh,” Chan said, flopping back into Seungkwan’s cushions. He ignored the pointed look Seungkwan gave him. “He’s so hot, don’t you think so? Did you see his outfit today? I thought I might die. And he’s got a really cute smile, and he laughed at my jokes! And have you seen him perform? Holy shit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything sexier.”
Seungkwan crinkled his nose. “Okay, so you’ve got a massive hard-on for him, we already knew that.”
Chan didn’t argue.
“So…” Jeonghan said, “Are you going to ask him out?”
Chan paused. “I mean, probably. You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take, right? I don’t mind if he says no.”
Seungkwan barked out a laugh. “He’ll say yes. I guarantee it.”
“Yup,” Jeonghan agreed. “When you were talking that one time in our dressing room, he couldn’t stop staring at you and looked like he was going to pass out.”
“And,” Seungkwan interjected, “in the corridor the other day, I saw him literally collapse against the wall after you walked away.”
“Yeah,” Jeonghan said. “I think your feelings are very much reciprocated.”
“Good,” Chan said, and then floundered. “Now what?”
“Aww,” Jeonghan said. “Baby gay can’t work out how to ask out his crush,” he teased. He grabbed Chan and hugged him tightly, ruffling his hair aggressively.
“Hyung, stop it!” Chan complained, but Jeonghan’s arm was locked around Chan’s neck.
“Seriously guys, what am I supposed to do?” Chan asked from his position under Jeonghan.
“I usually just tuck my number in our album so they get it when we exchange with other groups,” Seungkwan said. “But we’ve already done the album exchange with Wonwoo, so that’s off the table.”
“You what?” Jeonghan shrieked, finally letting go of Chan. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m an adult, Jeonghan. I don’t have to tell you every time I decide to shoot my shot. Besides, it would be embarrassing if they never ended up texting.”
“Seungkwan, I am hurt. I never knew I meant so little to you.” Jeonghan clutched his chest.
“Shut up, Jeonghan,” Chan said. “Any other ideas?”
“You could just slip it in his pocket when he’s walking past,” Jeonghan suggested.
“No!” Chan yelled. “He might think I’m trying to grope him!”
Jeonghan cackled. “At least your message will get across.”
“Oh my god, I know!” Seungkwan interrupted. “Seunghee told me that the latest thing is putting your number in those Inkigayo sandwiches. You could do that.”
“Didn’t Wonwoo bring us sandwiches last time? You could claim that you were just returning the favour!” Jeonghan said.
“Yes!” Seungkwan said. “That would be so cute.”
“But Sunday is so far away,” Chan whined.
Jeonghan patted him on the head. “Patience is a virtue, young grasshopper.”
---
On Sunday, Chan was prepared. He wrote a cute note, which was currently tucked into the pocket of his jeans, on a sticky note he had stolen from Seungkwan. He planned to ask Vernon to go with him to deliver the sandwiches (Vernon knew nothing about the plan, so he wouldn’t start acting weird, hopefully).
After the hair and makeup noonas had left, and Chan had drunk enough coffee to feel sufficiently awake, he got onto his next task. Taking selfies.
Chan had thought about this a lot and decided that if he wanted to send Wonwoo a cute selfie, he had to take one now, while he was looking his best.
So, he was sitting on the couch in their dressing room, taking selfies from every angle. And then he moved to stand by the window, wondering if natural light will look any different. Then he went to the bathroom and tried the lighting in there.
The other members were looking at him like he’s crazy, but Chan didn’t care. Seduction is a fine art.
Once he felt he had a sufficient selection, Chan went to Jeonghan (self-proclaimed king of selfies).
“Hyung,” he whined. “Which selfie is the best? I need to look cute and hot, but not like I’m trying too hard.”
Jeonghan laughed. “You’ve never cared this much before.”
“But this is for Wonwoo,” he whined. “It needs to be perfect.”
“Oh my god,” Jeonghan groaned. “What happened to shy Chan who blushed if a cute boy even looked at him.” Jeonghan reached over to squeeze Chan’s cheek.
Chan batted him away. “Seriously, Hyung. Which one?”
Seungkwan came up and peered over Chan’s shoulder. “That one. You look cute,” he said, pointing at Chan’s screen.
“Thanks, Seungkwan. At least someone around here is helpful.”
“Channie!” Jeonghan whined. “Why are you so mean? I thought I was supposed to be your favourite Hyung.”
“My favourite is Soonyoung, and you all know it,” Chan replied.
“Love you, Chan,” Soonyoung called from across the room.
“Love you too,” Chan called back, poking his tongue out at Jeonghan.
---
“Come with me,” Chan said to Vernon when he had prepared the sandwiches.
“Why?”
“I have sandwiches for Wonwoo, because he brought us some the other day.”
“Okay,” Vernon said. “Please don’t flirt with him too much, I might throw up.”
“Okay Vernonie.” Vernon never said how much too much was, though, so Chan had a loophole.
When they got to the door of Wonwoo’s dressing room, Chan began to freak out. He thought he could be confident doing this, but now he was second-guessing himself.
“He likes me, right?” he said to Vernon.
“Umm… yes. What does that have to do with giving him sandwiches.”
“Nothing,” Chan scowled. And because he refused to look like a coward, he knocked on the door.
It was Wonwoo’s manager who opened up. Chan bowed. “Hi, Manager-nim. We brought some sandwiches for Wonwoo and you.”
“Oh.” The manager looked uncomfortable. “Wonwoo, Chan and Vernon are here.”
Wonwoo came to the door, looking like he was trying to hold back a smile. “Hey guys.”
“Hey man,” Vernon said.
Chan put on his best grin. “Hi Wonwoo, we brought sandwiches for you and your manager, to return the favour from last week.”
“Oh.” Wonwoo’s cheeks flushed slightly. Chan tried to tamp down the internal cheering it caused. “Thanks, that’s really nice.”
Chan handed one of the sandwiches to Wonwoo. “This one’s for you.” And then he put the other one in Wonwoo’s other hand. “And this one is for your manager. Don’t mix them up.”
“Oh.” Wonwoo stared at his hands. “Okay.”
“We have to go now, but it was nice to see you.”
“Yeah,” Vernon added. “Text me later. We finish promotions soon, so we can hang out then.”
Chan tried not to scream with jealousy.
“Sure thing. See you later Chan.”
“See you later,” Chan said.
---
Wonwoo laid the two sandwiches on the table and stared at them. Seungcheol came to stand beside him.
“You okay, buddy?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Wonwoo said.
“Why don’t you know.”
“Well, I don’t want to get my hopes up.”
“That he left his number?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, Wonwoo. His actions suggest that he didn’t know there was some sort of intent behind you giving him the sandwiches last week.”
“Oh.”
“So he might’ve just missed your note. That might be why he didn’t text.”
“Oh.”
“Do you want me to open them for you?” Seungcheol asked.
Wonwoo sighed. “No.” He paused and then groaned. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Wonwoo didn’t know what to think. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, and dramatically open a sandwich for nothing. But on the other hand, if Chan had left a note, he didn’t want Seungcheol to see it first.
He started loosening the plastic around the sandwich, and then he saw it.
It was a pink piece of paper, folded in half. Wonwoo’s fingers almost started trembling.
He unfolded it and began to read.
Wonwoo-Hyung! You’re really hot and cute! I like you a lot! And Vernon said that you like me too so please text me – 021990211
Wonwoo read it over and over again until he couldn’t hold back the smile coming over his face. He was grinning so hard that he had to cover his face with his hands in case his stylist thought he was crazy.
“So,” Seungcheol said teasingly. “It looks like someone’s happy.”
“Shut up, Seungcheol. Please don’t ruin my mood.”
“Wonwoo, I think that a tsunami could hit, and you would still be on top of the world.”
Wonwoo didn’t dignify that with a response immediately. He just tucked the note in the back of his phone case, but not before reading it for the nth time, and smiled.
“You’re just jealous that you don’t have someone super-hot flirting with you.”
Seungcheol scoffed.
---
When the managers were driving Seventeen home that evening, everyone was pretty wiped out.
That was until Chan sat bolt upright. “Oh my God!” he exclaimed.
Jeonghan groaned. “What, Chan?”
“What if when Wonwoo gave us sandwiches last week, he was trying to give me his number?”
“Wait,” Seungkwan said, straightening out of his slumped position. “You’re probably right.”
“Oh no,” Chan groaned. “What if he was sad that I didn’t text him? This is terrible.”
Seokmin suddenly seemed to realise what was going on. “Is that why there was paper in the sandwich he gave me?”
“Seokmin! You at my Wonwoo note?”
“Maybe.” Chan just stared at him. “I didn’t know! I’m sorry! I was just so hungry that I took a massive bite. I think I ate some plastic too.”
“Seokmin,” Chan whined. “Wonwoo was probably sad that I didn’t text him and it’s all your fault.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Seungkwan said. “You don’t know if Wonwoo was sad.”
“Yeah, Seungkwan, that’s why I said probably.”
“Wait,” Vernon said, all of a sudden becoming aware of the conversation being held around him. “Is that why we gave Wonwoo those sandwiches today?”
“Obviously, Vernon. Please keep up,” Jeonghan said.
---
At the same time, Wonwoo was busy crafting the perfect text to send to Chan.
Option 1 – Hey Chan, Wonwoo here. Thank you for leaving the note ^-^
Option 2 – Hey Chan, this is Wonwoo. How was your day?
Option 3 – Hi Chan, this is Wonwoo. Thank you for your note today. (Vernon is right btw 😉)
This was impossible.
Option 4 – Hi Chan, this is Wonwoo. Thank you for the sandwich today. Would you like to get something to eat later?
Option 5 – Hey Chan, Wonwoo here. I think you’re handsome too.
Option 6 – Hi Chan, this is Wonwoo. How are you?
Maybe option 6 was the best. Chan seemed to be a straightforward guy, maybe Wonwoo could let Chan decide where the conversation would go. He shouldn’t overthink this.
Wonwoo took a deep breath and pressed send.
And almost immediately got a reply.
Chan: I’m great! Thank you! How are you?
Chan: Your performance was amazing today. Are you sad that you’re done with promotions?
Wonwoo: I’m good 😊
Wonwoo: Yeah, a bit sad but also excited to get some proper sleep.
Wonwoo: When do you guys finish?
Chan: Only one more week left? When promotions are over, would you like to hang out?
Wonwoo: That sounds great 😊 What would you like to do?
Chan: Just to be clear, that did mean a date.
Wonwoo: Haha, it’s okay Chan. Your note made that very clear.
Wonwoo: BTW, I think you’re handsome too
Wonwoo: And Vernon was right.
Chan: :))))))))))))
Chan: We’re not really allowed to leave the dorms to go on a date, but we can hang out on the rooftop and have some food.
Chan: The view is really nice, and it’s quiet.
Wonwoo: Sounds great Chan
Chan: But you have to buy the food, since you’re older
Wonwoo: Okay ❤️
Wonwoo: I’m excited. Just let me know what day.
Chan: Will do :)
---
A week and a half later (after texting almost every day and receiving a lot of cute selfies), Wonwoo was sitting in the car with Seungcheol outside Seventeen’s building.
He had a plastic bag of lamb skewers on his lap because he read somewhere that Chan liked them, a blanket tucked under his arm and two cans of beer in a little cooler bag.
Wonwoo was even wearing a second jacket just in case Chan got cold and Wonwoo got the opportunity to do a romantic gesture.
He had texted Chan to let him know that he was here, and Chan had told him to wait a couple of minutes.
“You’re freaking out, aren't you, Wonwoo?” Seungcheol said.
“Shut up,” Wonwoo said quietly.
Seungcheol reached out an arm and squeezed Wonwoo’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine, don’t even worry. You’re a good-looking guy and Chan thinks you’re sex on legs so even if you embarrass yourself, he’ll be able to look past it.”
“You’re not helping,” Wonwoo whined.
“Wonwoo, you’ll do fine. Chan is a nice guy and he really likes you, so you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Wonwoo heard a chime from his phone.
Chan: Come up now :)
“Okay, I guess I’m off then.”
“Go get him, kid,” Seungcheol said, giving Wonwoo’s shoulder another squeeze.
Wonwoo took a deep breath and got out of the car.
---
They met on the roof and Wonwoo laughed when he saw that Chan had also brought a blanket.
“It’s always good to have a spare!” Chan said with a big grin on his face.
“Very true.” Wonwoo sat down, removing one of his jackets. “I brought lamb skewers. And beer.”
Chan’s eyes lit up. “I love these! Thank you!” Wonwoo knew that. He saw it on one of the Seventeen Fun Facts websites he had found.
Chan sat down next to him; their crossed knees pressed together. Chan gave him a soft smile.
Wonwoo felt his heart stutter in his chest. Chan was so goddamn cute.
“Good,” Wonwoo smiled.
Chan began to unpack the food and Wonwoo just watched.
Chan wasn’t wearing makeup today and he had his glasses on. His hair was unstyled but neat, parted on his forehead. He was wearing baggy blue jeans and a comfy hoodie with a black jacket over top. He looked impossibly soft and beautiful. Wonwoo wanted to squeeze him and also pin him to the floor.
“Wow, these smell amazing. Thank you, Hyung!” Wonwoo smiled.
Chan took his first bite and seemed to shake with excitement.
Wonwoo took a sip of his beer. “Do your hyungs know you’re here?” Wonwoo asked.
“Yeah,” Chan responded. “This is like our secret date spot that the company doesn’t know about.”
“Oh, does your company not let you date?”
“No, we’re allowed to. But we only really want to tell them when we’re in a serious relationship, you know? It’s embarrassing to tell middle-aged men secrets about your personal life.”
“Ah, makes sense.”
“Does anyone know you’re here?”
“My manager drove me.”
“Seungcheol, right?” Wonwoo nodded in response. “He seems really nice; it must be good to have someone supportive like that.”
“Oh, definitely,” Wonwoo said. “Moving to a proper entertainment company, and doing proper promotions and stuff was really hard to get used to, so I really appreciate having a familiar face around.”
“Oh, has Seungcheol been with you for a while?” Chan looked genuinely interested and his eyes were trained on Wonwoo while he chewed.
“He has. He was my friend’s older brother. I wanted someone to help get me more performances, and Seungcheol wanted to get into the entertainment business so it just worked out.”
And they continued to talk. At some point, after they finished eating, Chan shuffled to sit next to Wonwoo, pressed right up close. Wonwoo wanted to self-combust.
And feeling Chan’s hearty laugh vibrate through his chest might’ve been the most beautiful thing in the world.
Then, Chan tipped his head onto Wonwoo’s shoulder and Wonwoo wrapped his arm around Chan’s waist. It felt right.
“You know, Wonwoo. I really like you,” Chan said quietly.
“Thank you Channie. I really like you too.”
Chan giggled. Wonwoo wanted to kiss him.
“Well,” Wonwoo continued. “I was worried because I gave you a note with my number and you never texted me. I thought I misread things.”
“Seokmin ate it,” Chan said.
“He what?”
“He ate the note you gave me. And I only found out after I gave you that note. I was so mad.” Wonwoo could hear the pout in his voice.
“Oh no!” Wonwoo laughed. “But it all worked out in the end, so it’s all good.”
“Yeah,” Chan said. “But I would’ve wanted to keep your note! And put it on my wall or something. But now it’s in Seokmin’s stupid stomach.”
“I kept your one,” Wonwoo said. “Wait, look.” Wonwoo grabbed his wallet from where it was sitting beside him and showed Chan where it’s been placed in the window slot at the front. “See.”
Chan just stared at him. “Oh my God.”
Wonwoo chuckled slightly nervously.
“I’m going to kiss you know,” Chan said.
And before Wonwoo had time to say anything in response, Chan was balancing his hand on Wonwoo’s thigh and was leaning in to kiss him.
Wonwoo tried not to suck in a breath in surprise and immediately kissed Chan back. He placed a hand on Chan’s cheek and could feel the beginnings of his stubble against his palm.
Chan broke the kiss and giggled. “Hyung,” he says, removing his own glasses, and then he reached up to delicately remove Wonwoo’s too. “You look cute without your glasses, Hyung.”
“Sure, Channie, but I can’t see anything,” Wonwoo responded.
“You don’t need to see right now,” Chan said, cheekily.
Wonwoo laughed and kissed Chan again.
Chan moved his hand to place it on Wonwoo’s waist and Wonwoo put his other arm around Chan to pull him in even closer to deepen the kiss. Wonwoo could hear Chan groan slightly.
Chan then broke the kiss to change his position to straddle Wonwoo. When Chan started kissing him again, their position allowed Wonwoo to pull Chan in so close that their chests were touching.
Then, Wonwoo felt a squeeze on his bicep. He almost jumped at the sudden sensation.
“What are you doing?” he wheezed.
“Well, I saw your arms the other day Hyung, now I need to feel them too.”
Wonwoo tipped back his head and laughed, while Chan took the opportunity to squeeze his other bicep.
“If I remember correctly, you gave them a good feel then too.”
“It’s important to get a second opinion.” Chan squeezed again.
“Do they pass your test?” Wonwoo asked.
“Hmm,” Chan pretended to think. “I think they do. I’m sure these muscles are useful for many things.”
“Ahh, Chan. What kind of things?”
“Well, you know,” Chan teased.
“I think I do,” Wonwoo said. Wonwoo pushed Chan’s shoulder, “Lie down, Channie.”
“Ooh,” Chan said, smirking.
Wonwoo grabbed his second jacket from where it was lying beside them and rolled it up and placed it under Chan’s head as a pillow.
“Wow, what a gentleman,” Chan laughed.
“Shut up,” Wonwoo said and then positioned himself so he was hovering over Chan and started to kiss him again.
Wonwoo liked this new angle, he liked pinning the smaller boy to the ground, and he especially liked how Chan took the opportunity to put his hands up Wonwoo’s shirt and trail his blunt fingernails up and down Wonwoo’s chest. When he got to Wonwoo’s nipples, Wonwoo groaned into Chan’s mouth. It seemed to go on for ages, until Wonwoo’s arms began to ache.
Wonwoo could feel himself growing hard, which wasn’t ideal. He didn’t really think rooftop sex would be a great idea. He tried to ignore the impulse to grind down on Chan.
But then he heard a text chime from his phone. There was literally only one person it could be, Seungcheol.
Wonwoo groaned and rolled off Chan. “It’s Seungcheol.”
“Oh,” Chan said, pouting.
Wonwoo grabbed his phone off the ground.
“He said he’s almost here.”
“Can’t you stay?”
Chan was still lying on the ground, his hair spread around him like a fan and his cheeks flushed red. Wonwoo wanted nothing more than to throw his phone around and return to Chan’s lips.
“I’m sorry, Chan. I have to go.”
“Ugh,” Chan groaned, heaving himself into a sitting position.
They began to clean everything up. When they were done they stood by the door to the roof.
“Goodbye kiss?” Chan said, his face tipped up to Wonwoo’s.
Wonwoo’s heart clenched in his chest, and he dropped everything he was carrying to pull Chan in and kiss him. Chan wound his arms around Wonwoo’s neck to pull him closer.
Then, Wonwoo decided to test his luck and squeezed Chan’s butt.
Chan yelped and pulled away from Wonwoo, but kept his arms wrapped around his neck. “What was that for?”
Wonwoo shrugged. “You have a nice butt.”
Chan laughed. “It’s the dancing, I suppose.”
“Well, in that case, dance as much as you can.”
Chan flopped his head onto Wonwoo’s shoulder and laughed. Wonwoo thought that he would never get tired of that sound.
Then Wonwoo’s phone went off again and he bent down to gather the stuff he had dropped.
“I had a really nice time tonight Chan,” Wonwoo said.
“Me too,” Chan was giving Wonwoo a soft smile that made Wonwoo’s knees feel weak.
“I’ll text you.”
“You better.”
Wonwoo smiled and hesitated a bit before leaning down to kiss Chan on the cheek.
“See you.”
And Wonwoo was heading down the stairs, unable to contain his grin.
---
When he got into the car, Seungcheol took one look at him and smirked.
“Looks like you had a good time.”
“Shut up and drive, old man.”
Wonwoo was still smiling when they got home.
Six months later
Wonwoo tucked a note inside the card he had written Chan for their six month anniversary. It would be perfect.
Dear Chan,
I think you are very cute, and your laugh is beautiful.
Message me some time – 021960717,
Wonwoo <3
He sealed the envelope and tucked it in his jacket pocket, ready to drop in Seventeen’s mailbox. They couldn’t spend the day together but Wonwoo thought this was the least he could do.
“I’m just gonna drop something off at Chan’s,” Wonwoo said to Seungcheol.
“’Drop something off’, is that what the kids are calling it?” Seungcheol replied from the other room.
“You’re so weird,” Wonwoo said, and he was out the door.
---
That evening he got a text.
Channie: Hi, is this Wonwoo? This is Chan
Wonwon: Yes, it is 😊 Thank you for messaging me.
Channie: Well I had to! You’re really hot.
Wonwon: lol
Wonwon: I hope you had a good day today. Hyung will take you out to dinner next week
Channie: You better. I miss you
Channie: And I love you
Wonwon: I love you, too ❤️