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Soobin took all the credit when he saw how happy Beomgyu was with Taehyun. After all, it was he who had introduced the two, spending weeks upon weeks persuading Beomgyu that the quiet college freshman would be perfect for him. Just the right amount of sass to compete with Beomgyu, but also a steadying calm that might help relax the sophomore. He just believed they would balance each other out.
And he was right. As soon as they met, they clicked instantly, each finding a shared love for video games and simply spending time in each other’s presence. Taehyun made Beomgyu blush and Beomgyu helped Taehyun open up. It took two dates for them to make things official, and the rest, as they say, was history.
From then on out, Soobin’s best friend Hueningkai dubbed the elder a “matchmaker” and demanded that he help set him up with someone suitable. Soobin promptly refused, because Hueningkai was far too wild to settle down with anyone and the boy also had no idea what kind of person he wanted to date. Not to mention, Soobin didn’t feel like interfering, since he knew he’d be the one privy to all of the gossip should the boy actually hit it off with somebody Soobin knew.
However, his other friend, Yeonjun, had approached him with the same request, and Soobin had accepted. He wasn’t as close to the elder, the boy was better friends with Beomgyu, but Soobin still enjoyed his company. The senior was like Hyuka, though a bit more organised in his chaos.
He ran around campus sporting a different hair colour every month, was the life of every party, and always had someone begging for his attention. Which is why Soobin was kind of confused when the boy asked for his help finding someone to date. The boy was wildly popular, it couldn’t have been that hard for him to find somebody on his own. But it was summer break and the pickings weren’t as plentiful since many students had returned home.
Soobin hadn’t been home since he moved—he had left for a reason—and Yeonjun had a summer internship that required him to stay in the city as well. And so, the week after classes let out, Soobin met with his hyung to try to get an idea of what type of person he was interested in. He didn’t have a formal system or anything, but he figured he might as well take it seriously. The last thing he wanted to do was set Yeonjun up on a date he ended up hating.
The two had agreed to meet at Yeonjun’s place, somewhere Soobin had been several times, but never alone. He felt a little awkward as he knocked, wondering if the usually-hyper boy would be more relaxed in a quieter setting.
The door opened, and Yeonjun’s bright purple hair—freshly dyed—greeted him first, before the elder shouted out. “Soobin-ah! My knight in shining armour, here to save my disastrous love life! Come in!” he cried, stepping back and waving his arm. Soobin smiled, giggling a little as he crossed the threshold. Yeonjun shuffled around him, closing the door before grabbing Soobin’s elbow and pulling him to the living room. “How are you? Enjoying the summer?” he asked, eyes sparkling.
Soobin sat down across from him in one of the loveseats and smiled, shrugging his shoulders. “So far, so good,” he answered. Yeonjun chuckled, falling into the other loveseat and crossing his legs. Soobin looked down as he figured out what to do with his hands, opting to fold them together over his lap. It felt a bit formal, but he didn’t know what else to do.
Yeonjun was staring at him with a soft smile, and Soobin didn’t look directly at him because he knew he’d blush if he did. It was an annoying habit of his, one that he couldn’t control, he just got shy whenever someone gave him their undivided attention. So he busied himself by looking at the potted plants hanging in the corner of the living room for a few moments.
He looked away before it got awkward, and flashed a smile at Yeonjun, who instantly returned it. “Well, if you’re ready, I guess I can start asking you some questions? About like, your type,” he said. Yeonjun nodded happily, sitting up a bit in his seat. Soobin pulled his phone out, opening his notes app and feeling like an actual professional matchmaker. He’s not sure how his degree in biology—once he earned it—was going to help him, but he supposed the matchmaking was more of a side gig.
He scrolled a bit, before leaning back and getting comfortable. He glanced over his phone at the elder, who was still smiling excitedly, leaning forward a little. “Guys or girls?” That was the first question, starting off pretty easy. He was pretty positive he knew already, but he figured he might as well be thorough.
Yeonjun giggled, falling back and tucking his legs up underneath him. “Guys,” he answered simply. Soobin only nodded, typing it in his notes. He could feel Yeonjun’s eyes burning holes into his forehead, and he wondered how the boy was able to so openly stare at someone. Soobin got shy the moment he made eye contact with someone across the room.
“Tall or short?”
Yeonjun tilted his head at this, appearing to be lost in thought, but he still answered rather quickly. “Tall, maybe even a little taller than me,” he said. Soobin nodded again, writing it down and adding the extra detail. Yeonjun was already tall, it narrowed the field a lot if he wanted someone taller than him. “Older or younger?”
“Doesn’t matter, but I prefer younger.”
The questions continued like that for a couple minutes, pretty generic, and Soobin was already coming up with a few people who fit the description. Someone younger, tall, with a quiet demeanour but who could also have fun when they wanted to. As they moved into the more specific questions, Soobin noticed that Yeonjun’s smile had turned into something closer to a smirk, and he didn’t really seem to be thinking that hard about his answers.
“What shared interests would you like to have?”
“A love for music, an affinity for baked goods, and they have to like binging animes.”
“Personality qualities?”
Yeonjun’s smirk shifted into an admiring smile then, his eyes gaining a glimmer of lovesickness. It just made Soobin confused. Yeonjun was so clearly thinking of someone in particular, why did he ask Soobin for help? But Soobin would get through this last question before pointing out that Yeonjun probably didn’t need his help.
“Someone sweet and caring, who puts others first but is also willing to be vulnerable, and let others take care of them. Someone who I can tease but also praise, who is okay with me being clingy and is okay being clung to.” He paused then, a dreamy smile gracing his lips as he gazed at Soobin. “Someone willing to open themselves up and let me in,” he finished, voice the softest it had been yet.
Soobin blushed at the sweet words, puffing his cheeks out as he carefully transposed everything to his notes app. He never knew Yeonjun to be so poetic. It was a side of him that gave Soobin butterflies, even though he had never felt that way around the elder. After he finished typing, he put his phone down and gave the other a smile. Hopefully it didn’t look as awkward as it felt. “It sounds like you already have a person in mind,” he remarked.
Yeonjun blushed then, before shrugging, sitting up and finally breaking eye contact as he looked down at his feet. “I would still like to know who you think would fit what I want best,” he said, voice a little muffled. Soobin nodded, staring at the boy before darting his gaze away, chewing his lip as he thought of potential matches. Only a couple popped into his mind, all people he didn’t know that well, but that had some of the defining characteristics Yeonjun wanted.
“There’s Lee San, he’s a junior majoring in music production—.”
“No. Too snobby.”
Soobin’s eyes popped and his mouth parted in a surprised ‘o’, before he nodded. He hadn’t expected Yeonjun to so quickly shut the option down. He scrambled then, hastily searching through names in his head. He really wasn’t the most experienced, and this situation was kind of proving to him that he didn’t entirely know what he was doing. He hoped Yeonjun wouldn’t be too disappointed if Soobin ended up not being able to find anyone for him.
“He’s not taller than you, but there’s Park Sunwoo from the debate team—.”
Yeonjun cut him off with a groan, standing up and shaking his head. “He’s not even into guys, Soobin-ah,” he whined, putting his hands on his hips. He didn’t seem mad, just a little frustrated, but it still made Soobin look down in shame. He was starting to regret agreeing to help. Just because he had one successful couple didn’t mean he was an expert. “I’m sorry,” he said, lifting his head. Yeonjun dropped his arms, sitting on the couch instead, which brought him closer to Soobin.
“It’s okay, I know you’re trying. I know I’m being very specific,” he reassured. Soobin wanted to laugh. Specific was an understatement. The boy was being picky. He watched as the elder pushed some lavender locks out of his eyes, and then pursed his lips. “I want him to have dimples. And to hate math with a passion,” he said, eyes flicking over to Soobin.
Soobin blinked a few times, before grabbing his phone to add it to the ridiculously long list he had created. He heard Yeonjun sigh a little as he did, but he wasn’t sure what for, so he ignored it, punching in the two new traits. He locked his phone then, biting his lip as he avoided Yeonjun’s gaze and picked at a loose thread on his shirt. “Maybe I can go do some research and come back? I can’t really think of anyone else off the top of my head,” he explained.
He heard another audible sigh, before he was suddenly being pulled up out of the chair by his elbow. His eyes widened as Yeonjun marched him to the centre of the living room, a hand on either side of his torso. He looked determined, eyes set, and lips pressed together tightly. Soobin was thoroughly confused, and a lot embarrassed, cheeks burning.
“Someone taller than me,” the elder said, moving right into Soobin’s space and purposefully bumping his forehead against the other’s brow bridge. He backed up then, reaching up and poking his thumbs into Soobin’s cheeks. “Someone with dimples.”
And oh no. No fucking way. The dots were connecting in Soobin’s head and this could not actually be happening. But as Yeonjun crossed his arms and huffed, Soobin went over his answers to the questions in his head and wondered just how stupid he really was.
“Someone who hates math, loves bread, and would sacrifice themselves if it meant saving another,” Yeonjun went on, raising his brows. Soobin swallowed, words lost and heart racing. His mind was a jumbled mess, trying to process exactly what was happening. He wasn’t sure he was able to. All he could do was blink a few times and let out a confused noise.
It made Yeonjun groan, dropping his arms and grabbing Soobin’s hands. “It’s you, Soobin, I described you,” he said, exasperated. He looked at Soobin almost desperately, eyes big and wide and frustrated. Soobin could only blink rapidly, mouth opening and closing several times because how the fuck was he supposed to respond to an indirect confession?
He had never thought of Yeonjun that way, but he had also never been blind to his beauty or his charm. He always made Soobin smile, laugh, and was the one to put him at ease in a stressful social situation. Now that he really thought about it, his hyung was always there for him when he could be. Checking on him, making sure he had enough to eat, and the boy loved physical contact. But Soobin just thought it was a Yeonjun thing, not something exclusively reserved for him.
“You want to date me?” he managed, voice weak and breathy. Yeonjun blushed now, the pink complimenting his purple hair beautifully. He nodded, taking Soobin’s hand again. “If you’ll let me,” he replied. Soobin gulped, suddenly nervous but also feeling strangely light. He certainly didn’t not want to try dating Yeonjun. Sure, it was a little fast, but the boy was right in front of him, looking ethereal and waiting for an answer.
So Soobin decided to follow his heart and nodded. And Yeonjun’s answering smile was so breathtaking and pure and perfect, Soobin instantly knew he had made the right decision. The elder squeezed his hand and moved closer, eyes shining brightly. “I’m going treat you so well, Soobinie,” he promised, voice sincere.
Soobin blushed furiously, words escaping him for the nth time in as long, but he found he didn’t need words. Because Yeonjun closed the distance between them and kissed Soobin. It was light and over in an instant, but it set Soobin’s world on fire. Yeonjun seemed to be feeling the same way, and he didn’t waste a moment before he kissed the taller again, this time with a bit more pressure and a bit more purpose.
Soobin kissed back, sliding his free hand around Yeonjun’s back to hold him in place. When they parted, he bit his lip, heart going a million miles a minute. Yeonjun didn’t move from where he was, just gazed dreamily at the younger.
“I’d say your success rate is still 100%,” he breathed. That made Soobin giggle, and this time, he’s the one who leaned in.