Chapter Text
At first Gihun never noticed the behavior change, but lately he started noticing a pattern.
The constant mumbling, fixing a tie that was already perfect, avoiding the name of a specific someone like he’d catch the plague.
Seokwoo is hiding something.
It was the middle of the day, rush hour had finished a while ago, leaving Gihun with little to no energy as he walked over to the front door and flipped the sign from ‘Opened!’ to ‘Closed’.
He turned back to face the man sitting on his stool fiddling with his tie. Gihun frowned.
“Alright, tell me what’s wrong with you,” Gihun said as he walked up to Seokwoo, “You’ve been acting weird the last few weeks.”
A strained smile stretched its way on the salesman’s face.
“Aww, Gihunnie, are you worried about little ol’ me?” He asked with a playful tone, the older man rolled his eyes in response. Tired of witnessing the same facade that his friend put on, would it kill him to be a little serious?
“You’ve been glaring at your coffee ever since you ordered it and mumbling random words,” Seokwoo scoffed, “Don’t start giving me that look! Want me to get Inho?”
“I really don’t care if you decide to call your husband,” Seokwoo said, “Inho-hyung doesn’t scare me as much as you think, Gihun-ssi.”
Hah- funny… As if you didn’t come in here last year whining about what Inho was going to do to you, Gihun thought to himself. Though that bitter thought immediately vanished and was instead being replaced with the realization of what Seokwoo had called Inho as. This little..!
Ignoring the unusual heat surfacing to his face, Gihun glared at the salesman who shrugged as if he was speaking factual information. Alright then.. Plan B. Gihun sighed heavily, pretending to slouch as he dramatically walked towards where Seokwoo sat, taking out his phone as he said.
“Well, I guess I have no choice but to call Junho—“
“Don’t.”
Bingo!
He knew it! It was something about Junho!
“Called it,” Gihun chuckled lightly, Seokwoo’s eyes widened, he looked way grumbling to himself about playing dirty, something that Gihun doesn’t really care about. He brushed him off, taking a seat next to Seokwoo, tilting his head as he carefully inspected the man’s expression, the unusual silence creeped Gihun out, “So, what’s going on between the two of you?”
Seokwoo ignored the question.
Well, what could he say? Clearly, whatever it was is making him act like a whole other person. until letting out a small groan of annoyance as he turned to face the older man, “It’s..” Seokwoo paused, biting his lip, weighing what would sound right to describe the situation, “It’s difficult… right now, Junho and I… We’re taking a break–”
A gasp interrupted him, ugh, dramatic much?
Gihun looked at him agape, stuttering over his words, raising his hand to point at Seokwoo who gently pushed it back down.
“A break?! What happened? I thought you and Junho were happy?” He started, “DId you two get into a fight? Aish, don't tell me it was because of last week! I mean he has stayed silent recently….”
Seokwoo stared at him confused, listening to Gihun ramble on and on about Junho. The two had a recent argument about two weeks ago, their work schedules have been chaotic recently causing them to not have enough time to spend time together.
The only way they would see each other was if one of them was asleep. Of course the two were becoming frustrated by this change and only about half a week ago they’d argued, a few tears shed, but in the end they found a way to compromise. They made up thankfully…. In more than just words.
It was nothing too serious, but why is Gihun talking as if they–
Oh.
Suddenly it all clicked in Seokwoo’s mind, wow… No wonder Gihun is looking at him like he grew two heads, poor choice of wording. Whoops!
Gihun raised an eyebrow, Seokwoo smiled sheepishly. “Apologies, Gihun. I didn’t mean it like that,” He received a glare in response, “Forget about it! I meant that Junho and I are just focusing on our own work in the meanwhile.” Seokwoo said, “Rest assured, we’re still together and I have no means of leaving him.”
Well that’s good to know…
“I’m guessing you’re still conning people?”
Seokwoo scowled at him, “Don’t push your luck Mr. Seong.”
“It’s a joke, relax.” Gihun said, patting Seokwoo on the shoulder. It was reassuring for the man to find out that Seokwoo and Junbo’s relationship was still good, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was more to it, the reason why Seokwoo is acting so strange within the last few weeks. It wasn’t just whatever Junho had spoken about.
Breaking the silence, Gihun looked back at the salesman, speaking softly, “It’s more than that, isn’t it?”
Seokwoo quickly turned his head away, his act was caught, of course it would. It’s pathetic isn’t it? He’s known in his work environment for being ruthless and charming; Yet here he is, anxious over a decision he’s thought about long ago, it wouldn’t hurt to tell Gihun, he could keep his mouth shut. Gah! What do I have to lose?
Taking in a deep breath, Seokwoo faced Gihun who stared at him with concern. Here goes nothing.
“Gihun, I trust you well enough that you won’t blab your mouth to anyone about this,” He said, carefully choosing his words, he waited until he saw Gihun nod his head, “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I decided to follow through with this decision…”
God damnit, why does he feel so nervous? Seokwoo shook his head, it’s not like he’s talking to Junho anyways! Just get to the point!
“I’m…” Yes, that’s it.. Just speak! “I’m going to propose to Junho tomorrow night.”
Wow, that actually feels so much better saying it outloud. I’m so proud of myself, Seokwoo smiled, patting himself on the back internally. He waited for Gihun to speak, yet a few minutes passed and all he got was silence. Which both concerned and irritated Seokwoo, because hello? He just said something terrifying, marriage proposals!
Instead of the gasp he expected to hear from the other man, the reaction to his statement was the sound of someone choking. Seokwoo’s eyes widened, he immediately stood up from his seat watching in shock –and disgust– as Gihun coughed, choking on his own saliva, punching his chest with his fist. He was almost concerned with how red Gihun’s face had become. Seokwoo was this close to calling Inho or an ambulance until he heard the man breathe for once.
“You’re going to what?!”
Gihun felt like he was mishearing things, of course he was! There’s no way he heard what he thinks he just heard coming out of his friend’s mouth. He waited, Seokwoo sighed heavily, appearing annoyed that he even had to repeat himself.
“I’m going to propose to Junho.”
Was he dreaming or is this reality? Gihun blinked multiple times, hell, he even pinched himself to see if he was asleep! But no, this was real life.
"Holy shit...."
Park Seokwoo, the man who hated almost everyone he met, the man who only cared for money and business, the one who swore that the idea of romance and dating was nothing but
“wasted time”. The very same man who is now about to propose to someone.
“Inho is going to actually kill you.”
Seokwoo frowned, “Wow, thanks for the support Gihun.”
Ah- Bad time!
“Sorry, sorry!” Gihun shook his head, wow, this is just too much right now, yet it explains the behavioral change. “Can you blame me though? Park Seokwoo, an over-achiever who cares for money and ranks, the man who doesn’t dream about settling down or finding love, is now telling me he’s going to propose to his boyfriend.”
Seokwoo scoffed, okay, exaggerating much! He wasn’t that bad a few years ago! Sure his persona was much more different, but all in all he’s still the same. Yet he does notice a change in himself ever since he met Junho.
He sighed to himself, staring deep into his coffee mug as he sat down once more on the stool. He really has changed hasn’t he?
“I dunno,” He said quietly, “I guess I just.. Know more about what’s really important,” he frowned, the words felt weird coming out of Seokwoo’s mouth. Furrowing his eyebrows, he thought more about why he was even coming to this idea, yet he already knew his reasons.
“It’s like I found my other half, the one that I feel connected to. Without Junho, I’m missing a part of me. Without him, I’m nothing. I know now that I truly see myself with him for the rest of my life, I do want to continue waking up everyday with him by my side. To come home and find him drinking his all too sweet coffee working on some papers.”
There we go, now it felt right, a small smile replaced the frown, “He’s special to me, and I only wish to continue loving him for as long as I live in marriage.”
Seokwoo could imagine it right now. Quiet nights, the chaos between the afternoon, soft laughter. His smile grew.
Gihun on the other hand looked aghast. His mouth left hanging open, closing ever so little trying to speak yet no words came out. Was this really the same man he’s befriended years ago?
“Are you sick?”
The older man leaned forward, pressing the back of his hand against Seokwoo’s forward. His hand got slapped away, grumbles coming from the man in the suit. Gihun scoffed.
“Sorry sorry! It’s just.. I’m shocked. In a good way of course!” Gihun stood up, stretching his arms, feeling a bit of the tension in his muscles loosen a little. He walked over to the other side of the counter, he has a few more minutes to spare until he reopens again. Yet a question finally popped into Gihun’s mind as he grabbed a few bags of coffee beans.
“Wait, do you even know what you’re going to do?”
Seokwoo scoffed, of course he does! He had weeks to plan after all.
“Tomorrow marks the anniversary of when Junho and I went on our first date,” Seokwoo replied, going onto his phone and pressing on the calendar app, the date marked and highlighted with a pink color, “I want it to be special for the both of us. I plan on taking him out for dinner and by the end of the night I’ll ask the question.”
There, it was as simple as that.
The calm and confident air that Seokwoo was feeling slowly dissolved as he heard Gihun chuckle.
“Seokwoo, it has to be more than that, where are you going to ask him?” Gihun asked with a smile, he leaned his upper body over the countertop, resting his head on the palm of his hand, “You can’t do it in the restaurant. Junho doesn’t like public declarations, it’ll put too much pressure on him to say yes, pick a spot where it’ll be quiet, in the moment, you know?”
The new information settled deep into Seokwoo’s mind, a sense of self-doubt pierced inside. It was true, he doesn’t want to force Junho into saying yes.
Gihun didn’t seem to notice the wavering anxiety he caused, humming to himself as he walked over to the sink, washing a few cups.
“Trust me, my ex-wife hated that I proposed to her in the middle of the park. I was young and stupid, she still said yes but I knew then that special moments like those are better if it’s just the two of you.”
Seokwoo nodded his head, even if Gihun couldn’t see it. Alright, he’ll just have to make a new plan. He still has the rest of the day, it’ll be enough time to figure things out.
“Thank you for the advice, Gihun-ssi.”
With that he left, a new sense of determination to make tomorrow as memorable as he can. How bad can it get? Just follow Gihun’s advice and he’ll be fine!
Right?