Hey guys! So sorry for the delay, but I'm still here! I'm just gonna get going with the chapter, y'all have been waiting long enough c:
I do not own Mystic Messenger.
The rest of the night flew by in a blur of Zen's narrowed eyes and Yoosung's nervous laughter at Saeran's every passing. Soon enough, the blond and the silver-haired men stood outside in the cold, a lit cigarette held between Zen's lips, the only sound around them being the rustling of the soft breeze.
Zen lifted his hand, removing the cigarette from his mouth, a cloud of smoke coming with it.
"So," His voice was soft- a clear attempt to make Yoosung open up, "Nothing happened after I left last night, huh?"
Yoosung blushed, scuffing his feet on the ground of the sidewalk before him, his hands shoved into his jacket pockets in a manner a child would while being chastised.
"I just had a short conversation with him!"
"And you're smitten already." Zen smirked as he inhaled from his cigarette once more, raising a brow as Yoosung turned to him indignantly.
"I am not smit-" Yoosung faltered as Zen gave him that 'you-are-a-horrible-liar-and-you-know-it' look, back-pedalling into himself, "Okay, maybe I am, but it's not like anything could happen- for one, he is gorgeous, and two, I'm boring, and-"
"Yoosung."
Yoosung froze mid-sentence as Zen's hand came to rest on his shoulder, a gentle smile on his best friend's lips.
"Just try talking to him. Okay?"
Yoosung stared up at him for a moment, slowly nodding before even realizing he had done so.
"..Okay."
The next morning...
Yoosung sat at a table in the coffee shop, directly opposite of Jaehee and Mavis, sat side by side, matching aprons wrapped around their bodies. The two looked at each other as Yoosung stared into his cappucino with dead eyes, clearly unable to have slept a wink, his hands curled up into his blonde, unruly hair.
"So... You embarrassed yourself, I'm guessing?" Jaehee spoke softly, breaking the tension.
"I made an absolute fool of myself." Yoosung dropped his hands down to the table, looking at her in exasperation as Mavis smirked at the corners.
"Well, that's no surprise, buddy."
Jaehee smacked her arm, a short proclamation of 'Mavis!' escaping her lips, as though scolding a toddler. She sighed, turning back to Yoosung as he continued.
"Zen wants me to talk to him, but- I don't even know what I would say!"
Mavis and Jaehee exchanged soft glances, Mavis giving a soft nod, squeezing Jaehee's shoulder, rising from the chair and leaving the room. Jaehee reached across the table, placing a hand on his arm.
"Yoosung, the best advice I can give you is to trust your gut. Go with what feels right to you. When it comes to feelings, and relationships, I feel that's always the best decision you can make."
Yoosung sighed softly, nodding to himself, only half-listening to her as his mind spun with an intensity he'd only felt during his worst headaches.
"Maybe... Maybe you're right."
That evening...
Zen and Yoosung sat at the bar of the Golden Palace, Zen staring as Yoosung sat idly swirling the ice around in his glass. The manager came by, smiling as he leaned on the counter.
"Sad to see the new boy isn't here?"
Zen brought a delicate hand to his heart, feigning pain.
"Oh, he's broken up over it."
Yoosung smacked him, glaring at him in frustration.
"Zen!"
The other two laughed, leaving Yoosung to roll his eyes, pushing his glass forwards in a silent question for another, to which the manager quickly complied, placing the new drink down in front of Yoosung, leaning over to pat him on the shoulder.
"Don't stress so much about it, boy. He's harmless."
Yoosung let out a loose breath, staring at his reflection in the drink, "That's not what the pounding in my chest says."
The owner smiled, glancing over at Zen, who gently smiled back, before turning back to Yoosung.
"Why don't you try talking to him alone the next time he's here? Maybe you'll get to have a nice chat."
"A nice chat," Yoosung sighed, taking a swig from his drink wiping his mouth after, "Right."
A couple more hours passed by, Yoosung still sitting at the bar at close- Zen had left shortly after the manager gave Yoosung some advice, something about Jumin coming home from a business trip tonight and needing alone time. Yoosung didn't want to think about it too much- it was too damn awkward. As much as he loved Zen, he didn't want to think about what he and Jumin did behind closed doors.
The bar cleared out, and Yoosung watched as the manager began stacking chairs and cleaning tables himself. Yoosung stood up, swallowing the last of his drink, walking over to him.
"Nobody here to help you?"
The manager smiled weakly as he continued moving chairs.
"One of the other boys called in sick today, and nobody could cover, so- just me today."
Yoosung nodded over to the tied up bags of bottles and cans by the back door.
"Want me to take those to the back? Ease the load?"
The manager laughed softly, giving a small nod.
"Anybody else, I'd have to say no, but I've known you long enough. Just take em to the back, through that hallway."
Yoosung nodded, smiling as he turned to go grab the bags. He hauled them over his shoulders, following the winding hallway to the back room. He placed the bags down, looking to see if he could find a specific place to put them down. He heard footsteps coming down the hall, and he began to call over his shoulder.
"Hey, Manager, do I just leave them he-" He froze mid-word, his eyes falling upon the form of blazing red hair turning the corner, accompanied by brilliant eyes and a dazzling smirk, "-re?"
Saeran leaned against the doorway of the room, his arms crossed in a teasing fashion, his eyes scanning Yoosung.
"Well, what's this lost sheep doing back here?"
He wore a coy smile on his lips- it made butterflies dance in Yoosung's stomach. The blond straightened up, trying to force back the heat in his cheeks.
"I was just- um, helping the manager bring this stuff back here since he was by himself, and I just- I wasn't sure if these go here, or, y'know-"
Saeran smiled wider, stepping closer to him, Yoosung's words falling from his lips- a lost afterthought.
"I'm joking with you. He probably didn't tell you that I promised to come help with cleaning duty."
Yoosung had no response to this as Saeran stepped even closer- so close that Yoosung could feel his breath trailing over his nose, his minty eyes glistening as they stared him down.
"Why do you look so scared of me?" His voice was lower than usual- his real voice, not his customer service voice. The butterflies intensified.
"I-I'm not."
"You're shaking."
"I do that sometimes."
Saeran chuckled to himself, his eyes trailing up along Yoosung's body once more.
"What are you, a chihuahua? You're funny," He smiled softly, meeting Yoosung's gaze once more, his eyes growing half-lidded, "I like funny people."
Yoosung let out a slow breath as they held eye contact, his eyes unable to resist the temptation of glancing down at Saeran's perfect, pink lips.
"I... I can keep being funny."
Saeran smiled, slowly taking the bags from near Yoosung's feet, taking a step back before moving towards the back door that lead to the alleyway.
"Good."
The door closed behind him, leaving Yoosung standing alone in the centre of the room. Yoosung brought a shaky hand up to his chest, his heart pounding unforgivably beneath his sweaty palm.
That's it for chapter 3 ~ I hope you guys like this so far!
I also wanna make a little note- I'm aware that the Yoosung and Saeran are a lot different than how I usually write them. But, given that this is an AU scenario, nothing that happened in Mystic Messenger, happened. All that is the same, is the characters. So I'm just portraying Yoosung as the socially awkward Veterinarian, and Saeran as the flirtatious mystery boy. Saeran's extremely different personality will make more sense later. c:
:D
~Pixil-8