Chapter Text
Park Jihoon didn’t expect anything when he attended the blind date. His best friend, Kanemoto Yoshinori, roped him into one after weeks of persistent begging.
It started when Yoshi attended his housewarming party a month ago. Not really a party because Yoshi was the only party attendee, but Jihoon didn't have a friend beside him and he wanted to create a celebration for his first apartment purchase when he was only 28 years old.
Yoshi was giddy and wanted to invite their other mutual friends to liven up the party but Jihoon refused, not wanting to share his place with someone he was uncomfortable with.
Fortunately, Yoshi was a very understanding friend. Jihoon wasn't someone so closed off when they first met. They have been friends since their freshman in university. Both of them were that crazy duo who loved to attend every campus committee and had friends in every faculty. They also loved to attend parties arranged by different universities so they had acquaintances from the neighborhood campus too. It was safe to say both of them were the definition of insider in the dictionary.
But then, when they were juniors, Jihoon suddenly left to return to his hometown in Busan for a week with no contact at all. He didn't reply to Yoshi's calls or messages. Jihoon didn't inform his professor either so he was skipping classes for a week. After a week of silence, Jihoon returned and became another person entirely.
Jihoon focused on studying and rarely going out, his friendship circle gradually disappeared because Jihoon changed his number not long after returning to Seoul. Yoshi was so glad that Jihoon still kept in touch with him while the other lost his contact. After weeks of persistence, Yoshi got his and Jihoon's routines back to how they were before, even though not as active as it was.
Sometimes, when they were watching movies on his old battered laptop on their movie night, Yoshi saw that Jihoon was staring off into space, not paying attention to anything at all. Then, gradually his eyes became misty.
Jihoon loved to cry alone. When Yoshi caught it one time, Jihoon dodged his question and went to the bathroom. Yoshi didn't know what happened in Busan at all until a month before graduation.
"I like man," Jihoon confessed out of the blue when they were in the library, returning the borrowed books for their thesis. His face was void of expression.
Yoshi was dumbfounded, it wasn't the best place and time to come out of the closet to your best friend.
"I'm just saying. Glad to be your friend, Yoshi," said Jihoon as he signed the returned form and gave it back to the librarian.
"What does it sound like a farewell?" Yoshi quickly signed the form too and dragged Jihoon out of the library.
"It will be if you want." Jihoon shrugged his shoulders.
"What? You won't get rid of me until you die! Will you go out of the country after graduation? I'll follow you."
Jihoon stopped his step and looked at Yoshi, "I'm gay."
"And? Do you wanna get married in the US and not invite me? Who is your fiance?"
Jihoon was dumbfounded and then laughed. "No, I'm not. I was hired at KM Corp remember? I'm staying in Korea."
Apparently, at that time Jihoon thought Yoshi was homophobic. He wanted to come out to his friend before they went separate ways so he didn't feel the burden of hiding his secret. Yoshi was disappointed at Jihoon for thinking about him like that, but remembering the friends he kept in touch with even after Jihoon stopped going out with them, he realized why.
It was also that day when Jihoon said how he would never marry and would raise puppies as his child in his thirties. He went through the worst heartbreak in their junior year and Jihoon won't ever start a relationship again.
"No, he wasn't cheating on me. He was the only person I love, and I don't think I'm capable of loving someone ever again. He took my heart and put it in his suitcase with him when he left this country." Jihoon placed his hand on his chest, the motion crumpled his t-shirt. "This place is hollow, Yoshi-ya."
Yoshi didn't understand how someone as young as Jihoon could give so much of his love until it drained them. But looking at Jihoon’s clear eyes he understands, he has never met someone as sincere as Jihoon before.
So when they were 28, at Jihoon's housewarming party, Yoshi was eager to ask about Jihoon's ideal type. It started when Yoshi was sending selca of them carrying sojus and beer cans in their hand to Yoshi's girlfriend.
Yoshi laughed so hard and slapped Jihoon's arm after reading his girlfriend's text. "She said we need to wear protection and wear the one in my wallet before it expires."
"Why the fuck she always thinks I'm the bottom," Jihoon grimaced, as he opened the can of beer to start mixing.
Yoshi's girlfriend, Gayeon, accepted the fact that she shared his boyfriend with Jihoon after Jihoon crashed their date a hundred times. It wasn't what Jihoon wanted, who wanted to be a third wheel, but Yoshi kept inviting him to his date.
At some point, Gayeon just sighed and started to call Jihoon as Yoshi's boyfriend. Sometimes she introduced him as that when they were hanging out with new people. That freaked some people out, but Gayeon was weird like that.
Therefore, at the housewarming party, they did a video call because Gayeon was feeling sorry-not-sorry that she couldn't attend 'The Most Boring Party Ever'. Jihoon just gave her a middle finger and went on to unpack the tteokbokki they ordered. Yoshi and Gayeon kept talking sweetly to each other, not recognizing Jihoon's presence anymore. They matched each other so well that Jihoon sarcastically said, "I'm jealous."
Both of them went silent and Yoshi hung up his phone after a rushed goodbye. Yoshi ran to the kitchen, caged Jihoon at the kitchen island, and started questioning him about his ideal type.
Maybe, Yoshi was tired of Jihoon being alone for almost 7 years and he wanted him to have someone like he had Gayeon. But Jihoon didn't want to be in the relationship, he was pleased with his life. His work was well paid so that he could buy an apartment, his family still cared for him even though he rarely returned home, and his friend was always with him every day. His life was completed, he wasn't lonely.
But, Yoshi could be very persistent and Jihoon didn't want him all over his face, so he said his ideal type nonchalantly. He didn't even know if what he said was true or not. He just wanted the conversation to end and back to partying.
Unfortunately, being the manager of the human resource department at the most well-known company in Korea had its perks because Yoshi called him six days later, saying he scored him a date and asking what day he would be free.
"Does your job description include blind date arrangement, Yoshi-sshi?" whispered Jihoon, he signaled his assistant to go out of his room for a second. Kim Doyoung nodded his head and went out of his room after putting the iPad with a planner app on Jihoon's desk.
"Yes. Identifying, screening, and interviewing candidates. He's the only one who goes to the last step, your evaluation," answered Yoshi smartly.
"Are you working for me?" Jihoon furrowed his eyebrow, scrolling the planner his assistant scheduled.
"What? You gonna pay me?"
Jihoon scoffed, Yoshi was working in a Big 3 Technology company and he was talking money to him. "Stop talking nonsense, I don't have free time."
"Liar. You were closing the deal last week, what work do you need to do?"
"Doyoung literally just gives me my schedule. It's packed."
"Take a photo of it and send it to me."
"Are you serious? That's a company's secret." Jihoon brought his hand to comb his hair back, then remembered the way he gelled it this morning so he put his hand down.
"I'll text Doyoung and arrange it myself."
"Why the fuck do you have my PA's number?"
"Because you love to act like you are busy."
Jihoon eyed the placard on his desk that said 'Product Leader - Park Jihoon'. "I am busy." Jihoon gritted his teeth.
"Shut your trap. I'm hanging up."
"Fuck you."
"In your dream." Yoshi hung up first.
Jihoon gagged and dropped his phone. A few minutes later, Doyoung entered his room again and said, "Yoshi hyung said he wants your time this week. Should I arrange it for Friday?"
"Hyung?" Jihoon was shocked, wondering when the two of them got close.
"Yes, we have met a few times. I'll put it on this Friday." Doyoung opened his iPad, ready to note it down in the calendar.
"You met a few times? When? Why didn't I know about that?"
"Like a month ago, why did you interrogate me?" Doyoung pouted.
Jihoon bit his lips, his headache growing. "Forget it. And no, don't schedule anything with Yoshi this month, I'm packed."
Doyoung pursed his lips, glanced down at his iPad, and nodded his head. "Well, okay. I'll tell Yoshi hyung. Anyway hyung, the development team's sprint starts at 2 PM at Meeting Room 2."
"Alright, thank you Doyoung."
"That's my job."
—
Like what Jihoon said at the beginning. He didn't expect anything at all from this blind date. He was still not ready to begin a relationship and to make it worse, it was with someone he didn't know at all. He really couldn't have a relationship with someone he didn't know personally. He should know what their habits were, how they would react in particular situations, and every little thing about them. So that was why all of his exes were his friends or his best friend.
But, persistent was Kanemoto Yoshinori's middle name. He was tortured for these past few weeks by him. Not to mention, his favorite and cute PA, Doyoung, became a victim of Yoshi's stubbornness too. One day, Doyoung came and begged him to just accept Yoshi's invitation because he wasn't paid enough for this. It was a lie of course, Jihoon knew how much Doyoung was paid. But for his PA's mental well being he scheduled the date on Friday at 6 PM, just 2 hours before he needed to make a trip to Busan so he could bail as fast as he could if his date was an ass. His mom was making sure he went home tonight because the next morning they had a family plan.
Jihoon arrived 10 minutes early at the appointment place. He gave his key to the valet and was stunned looking at the restaurant entrance. It wasn't like he had never been to this kind of place before, all his business meetings took place in this kind of high-end diner to please the client and also made a statement of Jihoon's position at the company. However, it was unnerving to attend this place for a blind date. His date must want something from him to spend this kind of money on their first meeting, right?
Even though he was a friend of Yoshi, the third-generation rich Japanese immigrant, they rarely enjoyed luxury that much. So it was a new place for him.
He was directed to his table after making the reservation for Kanemoto Yoshinori at the front desk. Jihoon gulped his saliva after seeing the flowers on the table and the candle that had not been lit yet. His table was positioned at the corner with the best view of the Han River.
"I'll order after my company arrives," said Jihoon to the waitress as he looked at his watch. Should he bail right now? He really couldn't stand this atmosphere. He would go after the clock hit 6.01 PM, he didn’t care.
Just as he was answering his mom's text, reassuring her he would go home and he wasn't lying this time, he heard the sound of a chair scraping the carpeted floor and someone said 'Thank you' quietly to the waiter who helped him.
Jihoon looked up from his phone, taking a glimpse of a man in a suit who smiled politely at the waiter and immediately looked back down. Jihoon felt his palms sweat a ton and his phone might have slipped out because of how hard he grasped it.
The hell.
"Hello, I hope you are not waiting that long." The man sat down in front of him.
The sound was so close yet so far. The way he said those sentences with unique diction took him back to the summer in high school. When he was sitting at the schoolyard, waiting for someone to finish his supplementary class.
"Um, I'm Kanemoto Yoshinori's acquaintance," said the man timidly because Jihoon wasn't responding.
Jihoon didn't know what was going on, the restaurant was too quiet for him to pretend he didn't hear what the person was saying. He hoped he would disappear right this instant, he hoped his bangs would cover his pale complexion as he looked down, and he hoped that the person in front of him wouldn't realize who he was.
Jihoon's shaking hand quietly grabbed the work bag beside him, trying not to alert that person. His mind was running crazy, trying to figure out how to get out of this place without the other person getting suspicious.
Should he say that he was at the wrong table? No, he shouldn't say anything. What if he recognized his voice?
Jihoon decided to just run without saying anything. He could send an apology through Yoshi, it wasn't like they would meet again after this. No, he would make sure both of them would never meet again after this. Jihoon stood up while still looking down and turned around. But before he could leave, the person grabbed his hand and prevented him from leaving.
"Hey, are you okay?"
It took Jihoon by surprise, their eyes met. The eyes brimming with concern collided with the eyes that were brimming with unshed tears.
No, I'm not okay, Choi Hyunsuk.
Jihoon yanked his hand away and walked briskly to the restaurant entrance. He didn't hear someone following him, maybe the man was as shocked as he was. Jihoon hoped the man was as affected as he was. He didn't want to be the only stupid one who still hung up on his past. The valet approached him and went to his car after Jihoon instructed him to.
Jihoon rubbed his eyes hard, trying to ignore the wetness he felt on the back of his hand.
After his car arrived, he got in the car and drove away quickly.
He got a 4-hour drive to go.