To say he was disappointed would be a major understatement. When he asked Kim Dokja if he had any plans for the third of the month, he didn't expect Kim Dokja to respond with a yes.
Uriel, who was briefing him on a project's progress wasn't very pleased with Yoo Joonghyuk's distraction either. She managed to get a glimpse of Yoo Joonghyuk's phone and read the conversation he was having with Kim Dokja.
"Here's a deal," she said slowly. "Give me two days off, not from my leave days, Monday and Tuesday off and I'll let you have your time with Kim Dokja, no interruptions."
"Kim Dokja is busy on the day," Yoo Joonghyuk said sharply, his mood plummeting when he read the text Kim Dokja had just sent him, saying that he would be visiting his friend, the other stupid Yoo Joonghyuk for his thirtieth birthday and that he was meeting all his friends as well.
"Busy in the evening, not the day," Uriel pointed out.
Yoo Joonghyuk read through the message again. Kim Dokja did say that he was going out in the evening.
"Ask him if he's free in the morning, and arrange something," Uriel suggested. "Give me two days off. You can bring him back here, I'll even get out of my house for the day in case he says he wants to see me. And you'll get to hog Dokja all you want."
Yoo Joonghyuk gave it a thought. Not too bad of a deal. He could last a couple of days without Uriel, there was nothing major coming up and if something urgent did pop up, he would just call for her. Uriel would understand if it was something important.
And Uriel had the horrible habit of snatching away Kim Dokja whenever she was around.
"Deal," he said, typing on his phone, asking Kim Dokja if he was free to meet up in the morning.
"Great!" Uriel said brightly, getting her own phone out. "I'm going to make a group chat with the three of us."
Kim Dokja left to text in the new group chat and Yoo Joonghyuk joined, then Uriel put her magic to work.
Uriel started with a very apologetic message saying that she had something else to do on the weekend and wouldn't be able to join them. She sounded like she was heartbroken, but standing in his presence, Yoo Joonghyuk could see her happiness over the vacation she'd just gotten.
Uriel continued prodding and pushing in ideas and eventually, the plan of meeting at Yoo Joonghyuk's penthouse as always changed into going out for the day.
That didn't sound too bad, hanging out with Kim Dokja outside for a change.
Saturday morning dawned and Uriel walked into his house even before he started changing.
"You're going to wear that?" she said, almost disgusted.
"You said you are leaving," Yoo Joonghyuk snapped, but Uriel stayed, loitering around in his room.
"Wear something better," she said. "Dokja sees you like that every time. Change it up a little. You might even get a compliment from him."
"I'm not desperate for compliments. Get out."
"I'm not doing this for you," Uriel huffed as she sauntered past Yoo Joonghyuk and went through his clothes in his walk-in closet.
"I'm doing this for Dokja. . .If you go out in a suit, all dolled up like you're going for an award ceremony, people are going to stare. Do you want to make him uncomfortable?"
Uriel did have a point. They were going to the movies, he didn't think this through properly. Honestly, Yoo Joonghyuk would have preferred staying at home and watching something on the television.
But Uriel just had to tell Kim Dokja that he had never been to a theatre before and Kim Dokja went into a frenzy, insisting that Yoo Joonghyuk should experience new things.
Uriel had conveniently left out a little piece of information. He had been to a theatre before. Not the one people generally went to, he owned theatres, and he'd been there for the openings. He didn't stay for the entirety of any program or film, but that was beside the point.
He supposed it wasn't a lie after all. He'd never watched a movie in a movie theatre before, so it would be a new experience. Even if it was something he had already done before, going with a friend would be something new regardless.
Uriel shoved a shirt into his hands and then continued her search for suitable trousers.
"It's a shame we can do nothing about that nasty personality of yours," Uriel mumbled rather audibly. "Poor Dokja, he's too nice."
"You are no saint either," Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed. "Imagine how disappointed he's going to be when he finds out."
"Shut up!" Uriel snarled, throwing a pair of jeans Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't aware he owned at him.
Personally, Yoo Joonghyuk thought that Kim Dokja wouldn't mind what Uriel acted like; he was likely to be more entertained than disappointed. But he wasn't going to let Uriel know about that, let her suffer on her own.
When he first spotted Kim Dokja through the tinted windows of his car, standing on the side of the road, his phone pressed to his ear, Yoo Joonghyuk didn't recognise him.
Maybe he should start taking Kim Dokja out to different places. He looked good in that new outfit of his. He probably wore the same thing every time because he was used to it and found no reason to dress up.
His second surprise came with the flowers that Kim Dokja held out for him with a dazzling smile.
Yoo Joonghyuk felt his lungs constrict every time he looked at the flowers. He wondered if he was mildly allergic to the flowers. He couldn't bring himself to put them away though, so he held onto them and slowly, his breathing eased out and it became comfortable again.
He was just thinking of learning more about flowers so that he could gift Kim Dokja a bouquet like this on his birthday as well, when Kim Dokja said, "I'll get you better flowers next time."
Did he just read his mind?
"Pardon?"
Kim Dokja fidgeted with his hands in his lap, his pale cheeks blooming into the prettiest shade of pink.
"You don't have to take it if you don't want it," Kim Dokja said, turning away from him.
Did he make him upset? He hadn't meant to. He was just surprised.
"No, I do want it," Yoo Joonghyuk blurted out before Kim Dokja could take it back.
"Okay," Kim Dokja said easily and Yoo Joonghyuk's throat refused to work again.
". . .okay," he managed to say.
Maybe he was allergic to these flowers, or something in the bouquet. He felt like he was breaking out into a fever, and no matter how hard he swallowed, there was something stuck in his throat that refused to go away.
He picked up the water bottle in the car and took a large gulp. It didn't work as well as he had hoped it would, but it alleviated his condition a little. He could live with it.
"You don't have to look so sad about leaving it in the car," Kim Dokja said, clearly amused.
"It could die," Yoo Joonghyuk said, gently placing the flowers on the seat. He would like to keep it with him at all times, but it would look ridiculous to carry it around at all times, not to mention the inconvenience. He had no choice but to leave it behind in the car.
"Technically, it's already dying," said Kim Dokja. "But they put it in that green foam block, you know? The one that holds water?"
Yoo Joonghyuk nodded.
"Yeah, so it won't wilt away so soon," Kim Dokja continued. "And since it's just going to be sitting in the backseat, I'm sure it'll be fine. We might end up late for the screening and miss the movie."
"That won't happen," Yoo Joonghyuk got out of the car. "We have more than enough time."
Yoo Joonghyuk was reminded of how little he went out when found the stares he was getting uncomfortable. A little girl of around five years of age looked at him and got scared, promptly breaking out into sobs and running to her mother.
It wasn't surprising. Most kids were like that around him. The only child who didn't cry or get frightened before him was Yoo Mia.
Kim Dokja's reaction was something unexpected again. Kim Dokja didn't often show discomfort so viscerally, but here he was, a frown on his face, looking not worried, but...indignant.
Oh, he was worried about him.
Yoo Joonghyuk was touched.
He always thought that friendship was overrated and the hype was all just a marketing ploy. But this wasn't too bad. He supposed there was some truth in what everyone said, about having someone.
"Dokja-ssi, I'm fine. You don't have to worry too much," he said.
Kim Dokja looked up at him. "Did I make it obvious?"
Yoo Joonghyuk nodded. "Yes, you were frowning a lot."
Kim Dokja's frown deepened for a second, then his face smoothened out into his usual blank face.
"I wanted you to have a good experience," Kim Dokja said with a sigh.
"I am having a good experience," Yoo Joonghyuk said truthfully.
"A better one then," Kim Dokja grumbled.
Making his first friend in his thirties was ridiculous, he wouldn't even have believed it was possible, but better late than never, right?
It really felt good to have someone who would feel indignant on his behalf, even if he himself didn't care about it. It felt good to have someone on his side, even if it was for the silliest of things.
"It's the best with you already," Yoo Joonghyuk told him.
Kim Dokja blinked and pulled his bottom lip into his mouth.
Kim Dokja had a habit of doing that.
Whenever he was contemplating his words, he would suck his bottom lip into his mouth, hold it under his teeth and release it slowly, then open his mouth and speak.
But when he spoke extensively about topics he was interested in and had to wet his lips because he felt they were dry, his tongue would dart out just a little, swipe across his lips and then vanish into his mouth again.
Yoo Joonghyuk had probably gotten ahead of himself. Maybe all these people weren't staring at him after all, they were probably staring at Kim Dokja.
That would make a lot of sense. Yoo Joonghyuk himself could barely take his eyes off Kim Dokja. Kim Dokja should really dress like this often. He wouldn't mind changing the company dress code to casual so that Kim Dokja would have more opportunities to dress like this. And he really did look good in white.
Exasperation flitted across Kim Dokja's face when he stared up the stairs they would have to take to climb to the top where their seats were. Yoo Joonghyuk held in his laugh when Kim Dokja took a deep, determined breath and started his steady trek upstairs.
He wondered how it would be if he took Kim Dokja on some outdoor activity like hiking. He could imagine Kim Dokja complaining all the way, dragging his feet, slouching upon every surface he could, gasping and panting for breath, sweating, his face red. . .
Yoo Joonghyuk mentally slapped himself out of his thoughts. Where the hell was it going? He had started out imagining making fun of Kim Dokja, why was it taking a depraved direction?
Trudging behind Kim Dokja, Yoo Joonghyuk kept his eyes pointedly on the stairs under his feet.
He was not going to look at Kim Dokja's ass. He was not. He was a good friend, and he was not going to gawk at him like this, that too in public.
Luckily Kim Dokja didn't notice Yoo Joonghyuk's mental battle and found their seats, settling down comfortably.
Yoo Joonghyuk had some difficulty getting used to everything, unlike Kim Dokja. He seemed quite familiar with this. He must have been to such places plenty of times with his other friends.
"Have you been to theatres often?" Yoo Joonghyuk didn't know why he found the need to ask that. Kim Dokja nodded in response and said that he'd been to theatres near his house and that it was a popular date idea.
"It's my first time here, though."
He could live with that. He wanted Kim Dokja to experience new things as well, so this could be considered as such.
"I see. . . Have you dated a lot?" Another question he didn't know why he had voiced. He should have just kept it to himself.
Kim Dokja chuckled a little and said, "I guess you could say that. I have dated a lot."
He already knew that Kim Dokja had many exes, but he didn't like how Kim Dokja had probably taken all of them to the movies like this. He didn't have a definitive number of people Kim Dokja had dated, but he was sure he would dislike it even if it was just one.
Yoo Joonghyuk hated the idea of being just another passing, meaningless relation in Kim Dokja's life. Perhaps it was an impossible future because Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't a significant other, but a friend and Kim Dokja prized his friends.
"It makes me sound promiscuous, doesn't it?" Kim Dokja said sheepishly.
In his pettiness, Yoo Joonghyuk said, "A little."
He was expecting Kim Dokja to make some comment in fake anger and pout a little before laughing. But taking him aback, Kim Dokja's face twitched and he turned his eyes away to the screen.
No, that wasn't what he wanted.
"It reminds me of some comic that my secretary likes to read," Yoo Joonghyuk changed the topic. Kim Dokja liked stories, he liked Uriel, he could distract him with this.
"Does it?" said Kim Dokja.
"Mm."
"What was it about?"
Good. Mission accomplished.
"I can't be sure," said Yoo Joonghyuk. "But I think there was some character who could never find someone to be in love with. It was a little difficult to find a plot because it was mostly lewd drawings."
He had been looking for Uriel in her house one day, he didn't remember what it was that he wanted from her but he was sure it was something urgent, but his secretary was missing and a comic book in her living room had caught his attention.
He had barely flipped through a few pages completely uncensored images staring back at him, so he closed it and put the book back down, very alarmed with his secretary tastes and hobbies. While he would have liked to tell her off, it was her personal life and he had no right to annoy her about it.
"Ah, smut, you mean?" said Kim Dokja.
He knew what it was? Did Kim Dokja read those comics too? Did he exchange books with Uriel, is that how they grew so close so quickly? Kim Dokja did like stories, so it wouldn't be surprising if the two of them bonded over it.
"Is that what it's called?" Yoo Joonghyuk asked.
"The ones that have too many explicit scenes, right? Yeah, they call it smut. Well, they call it a lot of different things," Kim Dokja said casually. "But it's the tag. I didn't know that's what Noona read, I thought it was the classic romance novels."
Oh, he didn't know. Yoo Joonghyuk was relieved.
"She collects posters and things of the stories she likes. It's her hobby," Yoo Joonghyuk gave away Uriel's secret. Kim Dokja wasn't someone who would judge her badly anyway, it was fine. "Something called BL too."
He saw the mischievous glint in Kim Dokja's eyes and held in a sigh; he had figured out this pattern already.
"I'm aware it's called Boys Love," he said sharply. "Don't call me too old again."
"What? What do you mean by that?" Kim Dokja pretended to be guiltless, blinking slowly, looking every bit like an angel, but Yoo Joonghyuk knew better.
"I can see it on your face. Don't even try."
Kim Dokja's face broke into a broad grin.
Oh, well, as long as he was happy.
"You seem familiar with it. Do you read it often?" Yoo Joonghyuk asked.
"Not really. I've read one, it was more of a high fantasy with a romance subplot," Kim Dokja said. "I mostly read web novels instead of comics, so I can't really say I know a lot about it. I'm more of a fantasy reader than romance, but I don't mind if the story has romance. As long as it contributes to the plot, anything's fine."
"Fantasy," Yoo Joonghyuk made a mental note to find fantasy novels and books to read so that he would have something to bond over with Kim Dokja.
He was not going to let Uriel steal Kim Dokja away, to hell with that.
"A little bit like the Lord of the Rings," Kim Dokja said and Yoo Jonghyuk supposed he could find audiobooks to listen to while working out or cooking or whenever he had time since he might not have a lot of time to actually read the books.
It was a mediocre movie and Yoo Joonghyuk would have been very annoyed about wasting two hours of his day if it wasn't for the company he had. Being with Kim Dokja, even the unsatisfactory movie seemed better.
Even with Kim Dokja's years of experience as a reader, having gone through countless similar plotlines and Yoo Joonghyuk's personal experience dealing with selfish people in power, they weren't able to guess the movie's ending.
They ranted like middle-aged ladies about the movie on their way to the car, it might as well have been gossip. Their conversation trickled from topic to topic and Yoo Joonghyuk found himself explaining how advertisements worked to Kim Dokja and how while smartphones were incredibly popular these days, televisions were still in demand.
Kim Dokja listened with immense concentration, he even asked questions sometimes. Kim Dokja would have been an incredible student if he had chosen a better stream, Yoo Joonghyuk felt.
And Yoo Joonghyuk felt he would be a terrible teacher. He kept getting distracted and his thoughts would jumble up inside his head. It probably had to do something with Kim Dokja's intense gaze, looking him right in the eye. Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't someone who would get intimidated easily, he had dealt with people far more dangerous and persistent than Kim Dokja and he had never wavered like this.
No, it wasn't all his fault; Kim Dokja had very pretty eyes, anyone would have been distracted.
Kim Dokja brought him to the dumpling place he liked and often got him dumplings from.
He looked excited to bring Yoo Joonghyuk to this place and Yoo Joonghyuk felt the eagerness seep into him as well when Kim Dokja led him to the entrance of the smallest restaurant he had ever been to.
"I've been coming here since I was in college. They know me well. And they don't do takeaways, but they make an exception for me. They're nice people."
"You've mentioned," Yoo Joonghyuk said.
"I have?" Kim Dokja asked and Yoo Joonghyuk nodded.
Kim Dokja might have forgotten, it had been almost a year, but Yoo Joonghyuk remembered it clearly. Kim Dokja had brought him Murim dumplings for his birthday, on his first visit to Yoo Joonghyuk's place. Yoo Joonghyuk got the chance to have Murim dumplings after years and that too on his birthday, he considered it one of the best birthday gifts he had ever received.
It came very close to the flowers he had received this year. . .Oh, and he was having dumplings again this time. He could crown this as the best birthday he'd ever had in his thirty-five years of existence.