⠀⠇restaurant

@choi minho His hand was larger in her own. Warm, too. He was not embracing her and yet she felt warm all over when he held her hand, as though the heat in his own was enough to make her feel that way. Comfortable, that was. He always made things comfortable for her, always looking out for her and giving her the attention she needed. It felt childish, really, to want attention from her lover so badly, but perhaps it only made sense. Jennie wore an armor of ice in her office, that it often felt... lonely. The texts that she would receive from Minho throughout the day made it much more bearable. /He/ often made her days more bearable. If only she could express that to him. She did not know how.

She was silent as they entered the restaurant, although her attention was entirely on him. She liked how he opened doors for her, asked for tables for the both of them, and made sure that she sat down first before taking a seat himself. She liked that he didn't have to ask her, or wait for her to say something. Jennie often liked taking charge at work, that it was nice for someone else to do it outside of her office for a change.

"We're not in a rush, are we?" she tilted her head, eyes twinkling with amusement as they looked into his beautiful, brown pair. "We're on a date, baby. Not a quick lunch during our break."

@park wonbin seungmin nods at the boy's answer. reasonable. he turns his head to find the 'baby' in question, but instead meets a toothy grin of one of his friends. the two are clearly in a good mood after a few drinks, but they're still definitely clear-headed, unlike the poor underclassman opposite them. the realisation comes to seungmin with a soft 'click' in his mind, and it isn't groundbreaking, but it does make for an interesting coincidence. he replies to his friend with a shake of his head in mock disapproval.

"my passengers for the night, yes," seungmin says as he picks up a piece of meat. "not too good at babysitting, are you, if you leave the kid like that?" he gives a quick nod to the underclassman and... whatever he's doing to impress his friends. "they clearly won't be done in fifteen minutes." seungmin puts the meat in his mouth and chews, relaxed, then swallows. "i'm not sure if it will give you any peace of mind, but i could send him home. he'll probably leave with my friends."

@jennie kim Getting out of the car, Minho had shut the door behind him to see the other quickly rounding the car, as he instinctively grabbed the hand the other had offered hip, sliding his fingers in between hers, he nodded lightly at the others sudden question. “That sounds really nice actually,” he began to lead the two of them inside. “And intimate.” He added.

Once the two went inside of the restaurant, Minho had asked for a table for two before they were lead to an open one for the two to sit at, “We won’t take long here, that way we can make sure to get more relax time.” He said offering the other to take her seat before he took his

@kim seungmin the answer to the boy's question was seated a few seats away, face flushed from soju and minutes away from falling over. "babysitting," wonbin deadpans. his younger cousin jaehyun had always been more of an extrovert, but underneath his charismatic facade was a pure heart desperate to please. judging from the current situation, wonbin deduces he must've been pressured by the two older guys sitting across from him to drink.

wonbin runs a hand through his locks and releases an annoyed sigh. "maybe it really isn't soon enough for me." he quirks a brow in surprise when one of the seniors pouring another round of alcohol into his cousin's cup turns to look in their general direction. it's when he shoots them a cheeky smile and thumbs up that wonbin realizes it's meant for the student in front of him. "don't tell me those are your friends..."

@choi minho "Let's," she agreed with a soft chuckle while opening her door. She paused to yawn, eyes squeezing and welling with tears, and she knew at that moment that she might not be able to make it to the shower tonight. Still, she liked to stick to routine, and knew that she would force herself to, no matter what. Even if it meant sacrificing what little time she had with her beau.

"Wanna shower together tonight?" she asked out of the blue once she rounded the car to stand directly in front of it. She held out her hand to him, fingers spread wide for his to slip into. "Promise it won't be anything but a shower. I just want to relax with you and go to bed."

@park wonbin the boy's answer earns a quirk of seungmin's eyebrow, but it still doesn't steal seungmin's focus from the sizzle of the meat on the grill. he contemplates the boy's question with a hum, flipping another piece before he comes up with an answer. "doesn't look soon enough for you," seungmin offers an answer with something that's close to a soft laugh, as his eyes follow the boy's chopsticks from the grill to the boy's face.

"is it obvious?" seungmin asks, putting down the tongs and switching them out for his cup of water. "designated driver." a simple explanation, which seungmin believes is befitting of the boy's interest in even receiving one. maybe this boy's 'dilemma' is just a little more interesting than seungmin's previous conversation, or maybe it's just because seungmin sees a similarity, but he asks another question. "what's your reason for coming in the first place?"

@jennie kim Minho let out a soft laugh, as the other commented on his casualty on he explanation of his day at work, it was something he was used to, and sometimes the cases were horrible, and he never wanted to think about them again, but the ones like this he had slowly gotten used to. "Sometime's it's like that." he added.

He unbuckled his seatbelt shortly after she did, a soft smile embracing his lips at the others touch, he leaned over slightly to give her a small peck slightly off to the side of her lips, before leaning back, his hand holding the handle of the door ready to go out, but not opening it just yet. "Sounds like a plan to me, and..." he paused for effect. "I would like that." Finally opening the door slowly to get out "Let's go eat."

@kim seungmin after typing in his address into google maps, wonbin quickly figures out that the restaurant was located right next to a bus stop and the route home was only twenty minutes long. “depends.” he turns his attention to the boy sitting across from him, surprised that he even attempts to initiate a conversation, as half-assed as it may be. maybe it’s true that boredom drives you insane.

“does fifteen minutes count as soon?” wonbin replies, glancing at his phone. that was exactly when the next bus would arrive. he purposefully reaches over with his chopsticks to grab the freshly grilled meat the boy had just finished flipping. “doesn’t look like you want to be here either.” popping the last few pieces of kalbi into his mouth, wonbin dabs his mouth clean with a napkin, full from the meal and fed up with stale conversations.

@park wonbin it's been five years of university 'mixer-slash-dinner's and sitting at the corner seat, seungmin wonders if there's any purpose to them at this point. he's met enough people across these five years, and few of the people he calls his friends were found in said dinners. still, he gives the underclassmen beside him to change his mind and dips his feet into their conversation.

and seungmin tries, but despite a few laughs, his interest wanes and wanes until it's completely lost. he angles his body away slightly, slipping out of the conversation right beside him. glancing up at the boy across the table, seungmin sees that he's engaged in a brief conversation and takes this as his cue to pick up the pair of tongs. though, seungmin notes that 'engaged' hardly seems to be the right word, based on the boy's expression.

"not leaving anytime soon?" seungmin asks, without addressing the boy. seungmin isn't even looking at him, his eyes instead trained on the meat that he's flipping. but seungmin figures there's no need to; they're the only ones outside of the conversation, in a bubble of their own at the corner. "doesn't look like you wanna be here."

@kim seungmin wonbin always chooses the corner seat. less people, perfect vantage point, and the most convenient access to an unnoticeable exit. speaking of the latter, he’s tempted to do just that. being forcibly dragged to attend a dinner with rowdy college kids desperate for any form of social interaction was not how he wanted to spend his friday night.

the student sitting in front of him seemed strangely familiar. prim, proper, and noticeably awkward. the type of person you could easily forget, wonbin concludes. losing interest, he diverts his attention to the grilling meat. before he’s able to reach for the tongs, the woman seated besides him (wonbin had already forgotten her name) immediately plates his food for him with a shy tuck of her hair.

he thanks her with a rehearsed smile. she's about to bombard him with another set of boring 'get to know you' questions when she's dragged into another conversation by the rambunctious pair to her right. at this point, all wonbin wants is the space to have his meal in peace.

@choi minho "You say that so casually," Jennie replied, a quiet, amused laugh laced in between her words. And while her words came so sparingly, she had always been interested in his line of work. She had thought about going into criminal defense, before, until she realized that she would never be able to handle it, no matter how curious and interested she was towards crime. So, in a way, she was living vicariously through Minho. She admired him for being able to keep a level head despite the stress that came with his job.

"As long as it wasn't hell," she repeated with a chuckle, unbuckling her seatbelt when the car came to a full stop. Upon seeing him yawn, she reached out to rub and squeeze his shoulder whilst offering him a warm smile. "Yes, let's get some food and call it a night right after. Speaking of, would you like to stay over tonight?"

@jennie kim "it's just a small cartel case, there's been a few of them causing troubles and what not." he said explaining the case that he was working on, he described a bit more as to what kind of leads he had and a bit more, as he took his gilfriends hand bringing it up to place a small kiss on it subconsciously.

"that's true," he nodded lightly knowing that he couldn't ask too much about her work, "as long as it wasn't hell." he gave her a soft reassuring smile before he pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and parked the car, it wasn't anything too fancy but something good enough for the both of them. "let's get some food, and then we can get some rest for the night." he said trying to stifle a yawn, knowing that it had been a long day for the both of them.

@choi minho "what is the case about?" she asked, buckling in her seatbelt before leaning back against the seat. she turned her head towards him to give him his full attention, reaching out her hand towards him with her fingers spread wide. she missed his touch, and truthfully she usually preferred to display her affection through contact.

"my day was alright," she answered then, glancing out the window to get an idea of where they were going, only to come up blank because her brain couldn't bring itself to work properly at this hour. she was drained, really. turning to him, she offered a reassuring smile. "just the same as usual. you know i can't give you that information without breaking privilege, but just know that it didn't feel like hell."

@jennie kim giving a small squeeze in return when the other took his hand, minho had took her gestures assuringly and didn't say much more before the couple made it to the car. minho couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle, as he started his car, and buckling himself in. "if i did what you did, i would need a bottle of those a day." he joked lightly, but was also very serious; minho had actually admired the work jennie was able to do.

he had started his drive towards the restaurant after he knew the other was settled and had a bit of the painkillers, and he started to answer her question. "it was quite busy actually, we had got a new case, and i think i already have a lead on it, gotta go tomorrow evening to go question some civilians." he casually stated. giving a small nod before giving a small glance towards jennie and after explaining returned the question. "how was yours?"

@choi minho there was something quite magical about the kisses he would give her after a long day of work, because it seemed to have gotten rid of the fatigue in her brain and muscles in an instant. well, at least most of it. she was still tired, but she wasn't as visibly exhausted anymore, the smile upon her lips lighting up her face like the new york skyline. lacing their fingers together, she squeezed his hand and nodded in response to his question, a little too tired to say anything she could simply gesture with a nod or shake of her head. quietly, she followed him out of her building and to his car, planting a kiss on his cheek before letting go of his hand and sitting in the passenger's seat.

the first time she spoke to him that evening followed a laugh as she picked up the aforementioned water bottle and painkillers. "how did you know?" she mused, leaning in to give him another kiss on the cheek. headaches came often for her—it was the reality of working for so long with little breaks. sometimes she would work without eating a single bite, which never was a good thing. she just forgot, sometimes, and she wasn't going to tell minho that. the last thing she wanted was for him to worry.

after popping a pill in and washing it down with water, she turned to him, a gentle expression upon her face. "how was your day, honey?"

@jennie kim minho had been in the firm a few times already, sometimes for work but more recently he'd been coming just to see jennie. it was quite different for him, but something he was slowly getting used to. his phone gave a light buzz in his hand upon the others reply, and not long after she was appearing in the lobby in front of him. even though the pair was still new, she had never failed to bring a smile to his face, he reached his hand out for the other to take, before placing a small kiss on the top of her head in greeting. "it's nice to see you, darling." he started towards the exit. "are you ready to go?" he asked, almost rhetorically, knowing the other wouldn't have left her office if there wasn't some things that she still needed to do.
leading the two outside, minho walks the other to his car, before opening the passenger door for her. "there's a water bottle and some headache medicine there if you need it." he said making sure all her extremities were inside the car before shutting the door and getting in on the driver side.

@choi minho work had been exhausting all day, to say the least. the hours have passed like grains of sand through her fingers, patience running thin with every tick of the clock. she had nearly forgotten that she had plans past the many documents and meetings she had throughout the day until she spared a glance at her clock about ten or so minutes before the scheduled time. "oh, ," she cursed under her breath, quickly reverting her attention back to her monitor to finish reading the memo her paralegal sent to her fifteen minutes ago. approving it, she finished the last of her billing, then closed out of her computer, making sure she was not missing anything before heading out of her office and down the elevator, just in time to receive that message that he had just arrived. With a soft smile, she quickly responded with a small heart and walked out past the doors when they opened at the lobby.

@jennie kim after getting off of work minho had a little time left to go home, shower, and put on a fresh set of clothes before he was supposed to be at the firm to pick up jennie. he had grabbed a bottle of water and some headache medicine before heading out of the door, and to his car. checking the time to see that he was running on time, if not a bit early. he didn't like to keep the other waiting on his behalf especially when getting off of work. upon arriving at the firm, he had parked his car, and getting out, before entering the firm, to greet the other in the building, able to walk her out to the car. he sent a quick text letting her know of his arrival