WELCOME

[Kyungmin Han]

Kyungmin was on his fifth snack of the day. He hadn't exactly been keeping track - he relied on Kwanghee to keep bitching at him about how fat he was (which was totally untrue) - but he was sure it was somewhere around that number. It didn't really matter. Kyungmin was a growing boy; he needed the energy. And besides, he would work it off in the gym later anyways. As for now, the redhead was determined to enjoy his gigantic vanilla gelato and banana covered waffle with a sprinkling of pecans. He had already devoured half of the item, which was roughly the size of his face - no joke - and was digging into the other half with very little eating etiquette. Kyungmin tended to be a little messy when he ate, and being in a slightly public place did nothing to deter this. As of that moment he had a bit of gelato dribbling down his chin and he wiped it away quickly with the back of his hand.

Since his partner in crime Minho was off doing some commercial shoot or something, Daehan and Saejin were no where to be found, and Kwanghee was being his usual jerkwad self, Kyungmin had nothing to do. Sure, he could go hang with some trainees in the rehearsal studios, or practice his rapping or something, but the boy was feeling particularly lazy. It was just after three in afternoon and even though he had just woken from his afternoon nap, Kyungmin felt a distinct lack of energy. He was hoping a sugar high would get him up and going, but unless it kicked in soon Kyungmin was definitely considering another nap.

The cafeteria was unusually quiet. Sure there were people around - a few trainees in the corner, some staff over near the cafe portion on an obvious coffee break - but for the most part it wasn't as loud as usual. Still, it was two hours until dinner would really begin to be served, and not all people were as glutinous as Kyungmin so it was no wonder the place was quiet. Still, it unnerved Kyungmin. He was a bit upset that all his friends had all ditched him (though he knew their schedules made them, though in his opinion that didn't excuse them) and now he was forced to spend the afternoon all alone...and Kyungmin didn't like being alone.

It was his super sensitive ears that managed to sort through the dull chatter that surrounded him to hear the sound of footsteps coming his way. He glanced up from his almost-completed snack/meal, a bit of whipped cream topping his lips, to see just who had decided to approach him.

[Saejin Kim]

Rehearsing on his own took a lot of willpower, and willpower made him tired. Saejin had been working on his vocals because the song he'd written a week ago finally had a melody, and it was a challenging one. Maybe it was too much, he wasn't sure yet if it would fit the style of the group. He shouldn't have had time for a pleasure solo project, but even though the range was higher it did have a hiphop inspiration to it. Maybe it would fit? He toyed with the idea in his head nervously, when it came to his writing he was always afraid of rejection. Even though he received a ton of praise for it, he felt like people were just trying to be nice to him. It seemed sometimes like everyone was too nice to him, he wasn't used to being treated so kindly. He was rarely reprimanded, his group members were all like brothers to him, and even the trainees treated him either with respect or warmness. He secretly wondered if it was the same behind his back, but he also didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth so to speak.

His plan was to head back to the apartment and find someone to hang out with. Although he knew a few people in the company, his only real friends were his group members. It was kind of sad, but it meant he also considered them more than friends, they were easily his best friends. He admired them, and even if they intimidated him with their talent, it pushed him to be better. They helped him even when they didn't know it. He was wandering through the halls when a particularly nice smell grabbed his attention, it was sweet and vaguely fruity, and it made Saejin both hungry and thirsty at the same time. No one was probably at the apartment yet anyway... he could spare some time.

He tiptoed into the cafeteria and immediately spotted bright red hair. Kyungmin was a little hard to miss when it came to his appearance, and Saejin picked up the pace as he moved towards the older male. Suddenly he turned around to face him, and Saejin noted the whipped cream almost-mustache he was sporting. Unable to control the sudden laughter, Saejin burst out into the abrupt sound before hiding it with his hand and nodding apologetically to the few people nearby that he'd startled. Saejin spun the chair opposite Kyungmin so that he could lean on it backwards, and grinned at Kyungmin. "Annyeonghaseyo!" He chirped politely with a slight dip of his head before leering curiously and inspecting the almost-empty plate. "What were you eating Minnie? It made me hungry..." The younger male pouted puppy dog eyes (probably how he got the nickname) at the table and flicked them up almost expectantly from the plate to Kyungmin.

Kyungmin was known for always eating, in fact, Saejin had given up his snacks numerous times to the persuasive older male. Usually because he struck when Saejin was too tired to defend his stash, or after he was drunkenly passed out (which happened just about every time they ever went drinking). It had been a couple days since they'd gone out, but Saejin was still sporting a poorly concealed bruise on the left side of his jaw from where he'd had a... minor disagreement with a railing that got in the way of him falling down. He poked at it absent-mindedly and winced, blinking at Kyungmin through one eye. "What was your schedule today?" He inquired curiously, having had mostly free time after his vocal lessons (which he used to continue practicing anyway).

His finger scratched at the top of the table as he considered going to get something himself. However, he'd been binging on junk food lately so he worried that he should cut back. Maybe just a few bites would be okay?

[Kyungmin Han]

Kyungmin raised an eyebrow at Saejin’s little laughter spat. What was so funny? Was there something on his…oh. Kyungmin’s hand found the whipped cream he was sporting and he viciously wiped it away, momentarily embarrassed. It quickly passed and he cocked his head, inspecting the boy as he joined the table. A large grin encompassed Kyungmin’s maw, the few bites of his waffle that remained now completely forgotten in favor of his friend. He suddenly didn’t feel so lethargic.

The male’s deep brown eyes followed Saejin’s as they surveyed the almost empty plate. He blinked a few times before he decisively speared a remaining piece and held it out towards Saejin’s mouth, his own jaw dropping open as if silently encouraging Saejin to open his. However he quickly snapped it shut in favor of responding, though the piece was still offered, ”Waffle. The special this week is banana nut. I’ve had it like five times.” He prattled on. By now Kyungmin would have dropped the fork down onto his place, regardless of whether or not Saejin had accepted the older male’s offer to feed him a piece. ”It’s alright.” Kyungmin would have preferred his favorite: cream cheese strawberry with chocolate syrup….but that wasn’t on the menu anymore and he was still quite depressed over that fact.

The redhead leaned forward, propping a clothed elbow up on the table so that he could rest his chin in the palm of his hand. He nearly plopped it straight into his plate, since he wasn’t exactly paying attention to placement, but luckily he was a few centimeters off. Kyungmin was dressed quite well that day, considering his usual wardrobe. A lime green (somewhat wrinkled) t-shirt was pulled over a black long-sleeved undershirt and paired with black cargo shorts and some white and black sneakers. He had managed to coordinate without really noticing. Maybe the others were finally getting through to him with their wardrobe suggestions.

”Schedule?” Kyungmin blinked, as if Saejin had uttered some sort of foreign word. ”Oh. I dunno. There was probably something I had to do, but since Jason never came to get me I never bothered to check.” Kyungmin had a tendency to ignore his schedule and rely completely on Jason to get him back and forth to important events. If Jason hadn’t showed up it meant Kyungmin hadn’t had to travel anywhere for whatever he needed to do. In all likelihood, he had probably had a lesson scheduled, or something like that, and had missed it per usual. There was a distinct flippant tone to his voice – Kyungmin thought nothing of his own ignorance. Chances are he wouldn’t have done it even if he had known.

”Where have you been?” His voice sounded accusatory, and Kyungmin’s eyes narrowed in on Saejin’s face. There was no particularly angry emotion behind this expression – Kyungmin was faking it of course. At the same time, the boy was an incredible actor and he wanted to see Saejin squirm a bit in punishment for leaving him all alone this morning.

[Saejin Kim]

Saejin actually took in how well-presented Kyungmin was and wondered if he'd been out to meet someone today. With the whipped cream now missing from his spotless appearance, he looked... well, like he was in a band. Saejin grinned at his secret thoughts, looking down at his own outfit curiously. Their styles kind of matched actually. Saejin was sporting one of his million hiphop style caps, black with silver outlining purple graffiti lettering which read 'Dream True' in English, not that he could really read it as he was a total beginner in English. His shirt was a loose sky blue with black swirling and grunge designs on the front, and a black vest with silver buckles with a chain hanging at the waist was sitting open on top. His jeans had factory-made fading and were loose enough to require a belt to remain on him. Since debuting, his style had grown distinctly more cool and funky... and admittedly he spent a lot of time coordinating. He'd started to really enjoy fashion.

As soon as Kyungmin offered up a piece of the remaining waffle, Saejin's slightly golden brown eyes lit up with a happy glitter. He leaned forward on his crossed arms and observed the older male's gesture to open his mouth. As soon as the fork was in reaching distance, he clamped down on it and powerfully seemed to remove every last bit of food from the fork as his lips slid off of it. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and chewed happily, his toes tapping the ground to express his quiet enjoyment. Even though he didn't eat as often as some people, Saejin really loved food... especially food that wasn't good for him. Boys nights in were a treat he spoiled himself with too often, and it always meant he came home with a ton of junkfood to prepare. "I love waffles." He mumbled obviously, licking the insides of his mouth just in case there was any lingering waffle taste.

Saejin was pretty easily pleased when it came to sweets, and in terms of fruit he really preferred banana over strawberry or any of the sour berries like blueberry or raspberry. Though melons were really his favorite, but who made a melon waffle? That just sounded unfortunately gross. "What?! It's amazing." The protest came with a dramatic gesture of hands before he settled down again. But he did grin and almost laugh at the fact that Kyungmin had had it five times already... and it was only Wednesday. He bit down on the laughter and leaned over to tug on Kyungmin's shirt. "Did you meet up with a girl today?" He asked honestly, no tone of teasing in his voice though it really could have suited the question.

He was distracted by the fact that Kyungmin had done absolutely nothing today... as usual. It was obvious he was a little envious, but he also worried that the older male would get in trouble. He didn't like to see anyone in the group get reprimanded, but he felt the others were already far ahead of him so he tended to be the most diligent with his lessons. "I have mine written up in a book, I usually call to check." His cheeks lit up a bit bashfully at the confession, Kyungmin sometimes teased him for being a good little boy, and if he didn't, Minho ALWAYS did. He always wondered how both of them succeeded so well with so little effort, he felt like there was some secret he was missing out on. Or maybe they were just born with it, could you be born with genetics for musical talent?

Saejin's eyes grew wide, his mouth opening in surprise before he closed it. "I was at vocal lessons!" He didn't know where else Kyungmin thought he would be, but he had a feeling like he was being caught for doing something wrong. "I'm sorry!" He waited eagerly for the scrutinizing look to fade from Kyungmin's face, knowing that he'd promised to go out for a movie when he had a day off. He'd been hoping for that to be either today or tomorrow, so Kyungmin had probably been hoping for today. Naturally, Saejin did the only thing he ever did in this kind of situation... he pouted.

[Kyungmin Han]

It wasn’t every day Kyungmin got to hang out with Saejin like this. Usually when they were together as a group they were too busy filming a music video or performing on stage. They didn’t have much time to just sit and chat, just the two of them. Sure, the boys had been alone in the apartment together before, but Kyungmin vaguely remembered being too distracted by video games in order to care about anyone, or anything else. Aside from that, when the band members were usually booked for CM’s or talk shows, Kyungmin always got paired with Minho. It was a natural pairing – they were best friends and they made for quite the entertainers when in the spotlight. While Kyungmin usually adopted his ‘cool’ persona, Minho was always joking and smiling and the contrast between the two made for quite a comedic moment. Still, Saejin was a good kid; a bit odd from time to time (girlish and too emotionally fragile in Kyungmin’s opinion), but a good kid.

Saejin’s question caught him off guard. At first he didn’t understand why Saejin would have even asked that question. Usually the company frowned on relationships, especially if the performer was new. They wanted their idols to look available but never be available. That way the crazy Korean fan girls and fan boys could keep up their cute fantasies; fantasies that would of course lead to them buying more merchandise. Then he realized that he was inadvertently mentioning Kyungmin’s attire. While normally an allusion like this would have eluded Kyungmin (he was a bit daft), the little tug Saejin gave to his shirt was help enough for Kyungmin to connect the dots. He wrinkled his nose, ”Girl? Ew. No. Why?” His response was almost immediate, his face morphing into what appeared to be a mix of horror and disgust. It was hard to tell whether or not he was joking.

In reality, Kyungmin had never truly shown any interest in girls. It wasn’t that he didn’t like them; it was more that he simply didn’t care. Korean girls were a bit of a hassle - high maintenance, weak….annoying. All that oppa, oppa crap made him physically ill. Thus he avoided the at all costs, preferring to focus in on honing his skills as an idol and a video gamer. Had he been in America he would probably be a bit more open to dating. The girls were more outgoing and overall expected less from their boyfriends – which was fine for Kyungmin since he was kind of a flake.

Kyungmin’s face shifted back into a grin as he completely left the topic. He didn’t really want to talk about females. They bored him. Saejin’s little blurb about the schedule was skimmed over in favor of addressing his last few words. Kyungmin darted a hand forward to flick the boy on the forehead, ”You better be sorry.” He grumbled, ”I had no one to entertain me this morning.” Saejin’s pouty face was glossed over – something like that wouldn’t work on Kyungmin. A distinctly disinterested look encompassed the redhead’s mug as he suddenly glanced down at his dish, lost in thought. A few seconds later he jerked his head up, a large, Cheshire-like grin revealed, ”Hey, wanna hit a club tonight?”

[Saejin Kim]

Admittedly Kyungmin was someone who Saejin secretly admired, and naturally that made him a little awkward from time to time in the other boy's presence. He was always a little uncertain around him and Kwanghee, this was one of the first times when he felt almost relaxed around him... almost. Maybe the lack of Minho helped things. The two were prone to ganging up together, and while it was honestly funny and he didn't mind, it left him at a loss as to how to join in. He wasn't as witty or naturally talkative. The shyness apparently would fade with experience, but he still didn't see himself as an idol so that natural confidence was a little lacking in him yet.

Saejin was honestly happy when Kyungmin responded to his not so thinly veiled questioned in a satisfactory manner. He often worried about one of the guys trying to secretly date, and what kind of position it would put the rest of the group in. He knew it wouldn't be him- he was horrible with girls and they made it well known. The older guys on the other hand... they had more female followings than they probably knew what to do with, and he'd even heard of some talk from the other girls in the company about them. It gave him a bad feeling, he liked the way things were now. Uncomplicated was good, girls were complicated. "No reason." He smiled and released his hold on the shirt, nodding his head in approval. "Your outfit is cool." He felt like stating the obvious in order to explain his strange question.

When Kyungmin perked up again, Saejin was not expecting the physical attack from out of nowhere and didn't dodge in time, not even by an inch. He made a small 'nngh' of surprised pain, nursing the stinging area with one finger and wincing across the table with intent. "Don't I have enough bruises from last week?" As he grinned, the forgotten bruise on his jaw received another curious poke. Yep, still hurt. Just as the topic came up in conversation, Kyungmin was all over it and already thinking of a repeat. Well, maybe if they went to a dance club he could convince them to do more show-off dancing and less show-off drinking. He could handle dancing all night, but he could only handle drinking for, oh, a good hour or so. "T-tonight I... hey, I guess I must have tomorrow off." He tapped his chin on either side thoughtfully before nodding, the movement slightly cautious. Why didn't he memorize his schedule yet? The others were rubbing off on him.

"Yeah alright. We should text the guys to give them a heads-up." But that might also cause certain members to vanish unexpectedly from their last lessons of the day... Unless they were already waiting at home, he hadn't even gone back to check yet. If they were drinking, he should also eat something more substantial than a bite of super sugary waffle... and probably change. He liked what he was wearing though... maybe if they went to a more casual club he could keep the outfit. He didn't like the stuffy attitudes of some of the people in the more 'upper-class' clubs they'd gone to anyway, too many famous people with too many egos. Saejin didn't have the patience for grandstanding with other groups who recognized them. Jealousy was an ugly fact of the industry.

[Kyungmin Han]

Had Saejin chosen to voice his admiration of Kyungmin, the older boy's ego would have inflated quite drastically. Though he expected the younger boy to look up to him (he was awesome after all), Kyungmin liked to hear verbal praise. This was clearly shown via the gigantic smile that grew on his face with Saejin's compliment regarding his outfit. Kyungmin's expression practically screamed 'I know right?' but he kept his mouth snapped shut. Though the habit of accepting compliments without a second thought had been built into him from an early age, Kyungmin had quickly learned that acceptance just didn't fly in Korea. He needed to be humble, to reject the compliment and replace it with one of his own. This had proven particularly difficult for Kyungmin. He had never been the type to dish out compliments in the first place. Still, he had evolved to handle the influx of praise, no longer accepting it in an over-enthusiastic manner, but also not issuing compliments of his own. He figured that was good enough.

"Don't I have enough bruises from last week?" At first the instance that Saejin was alluding to escaped Kyungmin entirely. He had been too busy going over plans for that night in his head that by the time Saejin replied Kyungmin was already practically ignoring the boy. Luckily enough he was able to bring himself back to reality long enough to quickly search his memory banks for the night Saejin was referring to. When he was finally able to yank that file out to the forefront of his mind, Kyungmin erupted into such uproarious laughter that he immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the immediate vicinity. It took a few seconds for him to calm down, his voice full of mirth as he snuck words out in-between bouts of laughter, "Hahah. You. Rail. Fell. Hahaha. Soooo funny!" Kyungmin finally calmed down enough, his brilliant smile replaced by a mock-serious expression, "But seriously. That rail just didn't like you molesting it. As long as you leave them alone you should be fine." The twinkle in his eye was exceptionally bright as he fought back his laughter.

"Tomorrow off?" He rose an eyebrow. The boy hadn't even considered their schedules and there was Saejin all worried and what-not about free time. This kid really liked adhering to the rules, didn't he? Kyungmin knew Jason would disapprove of a trip to a club - it offered the opportunity of a scandal. What if someone took a picture? What if they were discovered drunk outside somewhere? What is Saejin made out with a rail again? There were a lot of what-if's, but Kyungmin wasn't about to start living his life worrying about every little detail. A night out on the town would do them some good. Hongdae wouldn't be too crowded (it was Wednesday after all and who the fuck goes clubbing on a Wednesday), and it was likely that no one would recognize them - they weren't that popular yet, and most idols tended to avoid Hongdae because the clubs were just too crowded, hot, and dirty. "Relax. Even if you drink too much it'll be fine. I'll even try to remember to carry you home this time!" Unlike last time, when Kyungmin had gotten distracted by a nearby arcade shortly after Saejin had his battle with the rail. Even though the leader had been the most sober of them all, ultimately it had been Kwanghee that had carried the poor boy to a taxi.

Kyungmin leaned back and stretched his arms out straight. He dropped a hand down to fish in his pocket and pulled out his iPhone. It was way too early to think about going out yet. They would have plenty of time to shower, eat, play video games, eat some more, etc. etc. Kyungmin was already attempting to pencil in another nap, and just thinking about it caused him to jerk a hand up to stifle a yawn. His eyes darted from side to side as long fingers deftly flitted across the screen of his phone, typing in a text message to Minho. He didn't glance up as he spoke, "Way ahead of you." Within moments the typing fiend had texts out to Minho and Kwanghee (Daehan was too young). He abruptly stood, shifting past Saejin, one hand dropping to pat the kid on the head, "Let's go." And without hesitating any longer (or returning his tray to the correct area), Kyungmin headed towards the door.

[OOC: we can end it with your next post OR continue it with them walking - your choice. I also took minor liberties ]

[Saejin Kim]

Saejin usually fed off of his hyung's endless energy. So when the older male started grinning at the praise, Saejin smiled widely along with him. In a way, he felt almost proud, he had been one of the people nagging at Kyungmin to pay more attention to his wardrobe. He always had the coolest style for his hair, and Saejin knew with a nice outfit match that he would look super cool. Apparently he was right, because Kyungmin had been getting a lot of attention from people in the cafeteria, and not just because he was being loud (as usual). Saejin knew he liked attention and compliments, there was nothing wrong with that, he was a little on the opposite spectrum though. When people complimented him he went into stuttery red alarm and ended up bashfully mumbling something stupid before blurting out 'thank you' or 'oh not really...' depending on the "severity" of the compliment. He wished he had Kyungmin's self-assured nature, even if some called it over-confident.

He was mulling over his thoughts when the redhead suddenly broke the silence, the sound making Saejin jump a little in his seat. He playfully narrowed and then rolled his eyes, putting his jaw heavily in his hand on the table (which, hurt like a bitch because he pressed on the bruise). He startled again at the pain and rubbed his jaw, opening his mouth and then closing it before replying to Kyungmin's accusations of inanimate object harassment. "Funny for you! It seriously hurts." His fingers delicately stroked over the purple-red-concealer colored skin before responding again. "Molest it?! It's a pole... I couldn't see straight. Would it be better if I hold onto you next time?!" He stuck out his tongue and then grimaced lightly at the image of him having to grip Kyungmin for dear life. He would probably just Saejin off and run away, and make fun of him for inevitably falling down, the jerk.

"Mmhmm..." He was about to ask if Kyungmin had the day off too, before realizing it didn't matter and he would probably have no idea. Saejin did definitely like adhering to the rules, maybe too much sometimes. Like in the case where he went to work on the main vocal line for a new song with Daehan, and ended up being the victim of his hangover... good thing they'd had a garbage bin in the room. Apparently he'd ruined the mood for recording though, he couldn't choose when his stomach decided to empty itself. He really thought that it was a progressive thing; the more he went out and drank, the better he'd get. Except the last part hadn't happened yet. Was he getting stronger? He was still the first one under the table after all these months. "I'm not counting on it." He responded with another sticking out of his tongue. He knew how Kyungmin got when he was drunk. He was everywhere- there one second, on top of a railing or statue the next, disappeared entirely, and then suddenly next to someone. It was like he turned into superman.

He watched Kyungmin flip out his phone and felt a little bad. Sometimes he stayed in to keep Daehan company, but then again he had mentioned he liked having the place to himself some nights. He apparently just holed himself up and used the peace and quiet to work without distractions. The more Saejin thought about it, the more that seemed like the ideal conditions for him to work, so in a way they did him a favor by leaving him behind. "What are we going to do? It's only 3pm." He wondered aloud, noticing Kyungmin's yawn and assuming he'd have to occupy himself for an hour or so while the redhead passed out. He grabbed the tray without thinking after he was patted on the head, and trotted quickly over to dump it and stack it in record time before running back to catch up. No one would have said anything, but Saejin was bad at acting like a celebrity, he was too damn self-conscious and considerate.

((It's all good want to continue at the flat after this or timeskip to the evening/getting ready?))