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“Out for dinner, huh?”
A familiar voice makes Euijoo freeze in place. He almost drops the fork from his hand, swallowing the peace of meat. He thought he forgot his voice, thought all the memories about him had faded out and left nothing.
Turns out he was wrong.
Because hearing him right now, in such a random place, feels weird. Not just weird, but almost unreal, because Euijoo can bet a hundred he hated restaurants.
But he still needs to remind himself that people change. It's been almost six years. Of course he might've changed his opinion on going out in the restaurants and wearing classic clothes.
Six years it's not six days.
They grew up.
They're not busy students anymore.
“As you can see,” Euijoo finally lets out without looking up. He takes a sip of his champagne, because apparently his throat has gone dry in just a few seconds.
“Are you here alone?”
Euijoo closes his eyes for a second, nodding. “Yeah, same as you, as I see?”
“Got me there,” a short pause. “Do you mind if I take a seat?”
Euijoo has no idea, actually. He doesn't know if he wants to face him right now.
But he nods anyway.
“What are you doing here, Yixiang?” He asks, trying to keep his voice steady, trying to sound interested.
Even though he is the exact opposite right now. He wants to know how he's going, he wants to ask if he'd find someone else. But of course it would be really rude to say something like that.
“Oh, I thought you forgot,” Nicholas sounds genuinely shocked. “I mean, my name- You rarely called me Yixiang back in the days.”
Euijoo stares at his plate, really fighting himself to not look up and meet Nicholas' eyes. He just thinks he might not be able to keep his face straight.
“How could I forget?” He lets out a breath with a brief shrug.
“Right,” Nicholas swallows. “Um, so I'm here just- I don't even know what I'm doing here, actually. I just thought going somewhere after work would make me more sleepy,” he chuckles, chewing on his lips.
It's his bad habit, Euijoo thinks, and he still has it.
“So you chose this expansive restaurant that requires booking a table like what… A week before?” Euijoo finally looks up just to meet Nicholas' lost gaze. “Sorry, didn't mean to sound like that.”
He doesn't know what's wrong with him, and it bothers him even more, because ten minutes ago he was thinking about his cat and how he should buy him something delicious on the way home. And now his head is full of thoughts and most of them are making him dizzy.
It's not time for reminiscing about their relationship.
It was six years ago.
He should've moved on like a hundred times by now.
But it is what it is.
“No, Ju, you're right, you got me there, too,” Nicholas tilts his head to the side. “I saw you here last week, and my friend owns this place, so- He just said you come here every Friday,” he shrugs with a soft smile.
Euijoo looks away at the nickname, trying to focus on something else just to make sure he's not blushing. Because it would be really embarrassing.
“Yeah, I do, something like a habit already,” he mutters, reaching out to refill his glass, but Nicholas is faster.
“Let me do this,” he gets up to refill his glass and asks the waiter for a menu.
“Thank you,” Euijoo mumbles, his heart pounding when their fingers brush. “So what you up to now? Still into sports?”
He takes a sip, watching Nicholas' ears becoming pink.
“Not really, I'm working on my first fashion project right now,” he bites on his lip nervously.
Euijoo lets out a giggle. “Ah, yeah, I remember your outfits back in the days,” he shakes his head slightly. “Everyone was staring at you, and I was just walking next to you and feeling proud, because you were my boyfriend.”
Nicholas smiles softly and tries to hide it, but the way his cheeks are turning red- Euijoo can't take his eyes off. He's even prettier now. How is that even possible?
“And I remember feeling like I'm the luckiest person ever, because you were so supportive,” he says quietly, not even paying attention to the fact that the menu is on the table. For a few minutes already.
Euijoo licks his lips quickly, nodding.
“Yeah, because you're really talented.”
“Just like you, Ju,” he raises his brow when Euijoo grimaces. “What? Remember when you won those games because you're so athletic and everyone wanted you to be on their team? And all of that while also being a book club ambassador?” Nicholas clicks his tongue. “I aspired to be like you, Ju, you're the coolest person I've seen.”
“Now you're glazing, I'm not that cool,” Euijoo runs his hand through his hair.
“And yet you're visiting this expansive restaurant every week, huh? What are you doing for life?”
Euijoo purses his lips, not knowing if he can avoid this question.
“I don't- I can't tell you here,” he almost whispers. “But I work in the music industry, with big celebrities.”
Nicholas gasps, pressing his palm to his mouth.
“Oh, fuck, Ju, you're really- Wow,” he mutters. “I told you you're cool as hell,” it makes Euijoo roll his eyes. “Can I ask you something?”
A single nod, even though Euijoo's not sure.
“Are you dating someone right now?”
Oh.
He should've seen this coming.
“No, I'm not,” he says simply. “I've tried once or twice, but… I think I wasn't interested at that time,” Euijoo shrugs briefly, so Nicholas purses his lips.
“Yeah, same. I mean, I had a boyfriend and we dated for like five months, but that's all,” he sighs. “I don't know why I'm telling you this, sorry,” a short nervous laugh.
Euijoo clicks his tongue. “Come on, what's weird about it? We're not kids, that's absolutely normal to have a relationship after we broke up, it's been years,” he says with a soft smile.
“I know, it's just… Am I the only one who missed us?” It sounds so small, Euijoo doesn't know what to say.
Of course he missed those times, how could he not? They were really happy with each other, their relationship was healthy, just like their breakup. It was sad, but they knew they needed to do that for the sake of their future. Nicholas moved to another country to gain some experience, and Euijoo stayed here, changing a few jobs and finally finding the right one that gives him enough money and doesn't make him look like a zombie.
They did not agree to not talk to each other, of course they didn't. It just happened and they didn't want to change anything. Read as: Euijoo didn't want to bother Nicholas.
“No,” Euijoo sighs. “Me too… I missed us,” he chews on his lips. “But I thought maybe we changed too much? Maybe we're not the same teenagers as before?”
Nicholas tilts his head to the side, lips pursed.
“Yeah, of course we changed. But have you ever thought about… What if?” He frowns, looking down at the table. “What if we tried again? Do you think it would be worth it?”
“Do you live here again?” Euijoo asks, the heat crawling up his neck. A short nod. “Do you have plans for the weekend?”
Nicholas seems to understand where he's heading, his eyes glued to Euijoo's.
“I don't, why?”
And Euijoo's phone starts buzzing from the notifications.
“Wait, sorry, that's-”
“Work?”
“-Yuma,” Euijoo mutters, reading the texts, and rolls his eyes. “My friend, he's babysitting my cat right now, and he said he has a date. So, um,” he pauses, taking a deep breath. “Do you wanna see my cat?”
“Your cat?” Nicholas scuffs, but the smile grows on his face.
“Yeah, Tiny, he's a kitten,” Euijoo takes another sip.
“You know what that means?” He frowns, trying to find something that means Euijoo's joking.
“Of course I know what that means,” he clicks his tongue. “So?”
“Okay, yeah, why not,” Nicholas stands up and asks for the check, making Euijoo shush him.
“What are you doing?” He asks as he gets up from his seat. “I can pay for my own dinner.”
Nicholas takes a step forward to leave a quick kiss on his cheek. “I know, but considering this is our first date, and I planned this, I will pay for this,” he shrugs simply.
“Okay,” Euijoo gives up quickly, making Nicholas wink at him. “You drive?”
“Your car?”
“Yeah, if you didn't drink,” he blinks slowly, already feeling the bubbles starting to work.
“I'm sober, so give me the keys.”
And just like this, walking out of the restaurant with Nicholas by his side, Euijoo feels like something flutters inside him. Is this something new or is this something forgotten finally wakes up? Could be both.
Because when they sit in the car, doors locked, and Nicholas leans over the console to kiss him, Euijoo can tell it feels perfect. It feels not just as good as it was six years ago, but even better.
So yeah, it definitely worth a try.