Hanbin wakes to the grating sound of his alarm, groaning as he reaches over to shut it off. He feels a weight draped over his chest—a reminder of last night's entertainment. Blonde hair spills over his shoulder, and he squints, trying to recall the guy's name. Jian? Jiung? He can't be bothered. They'd matched on Tinder a few days ago, exchanged a few messages, and one thing led to another. Now here he is, sharing his bed with a nameless hookup he can barely remember.
Hanbin sighs, carefully pushing the guy's arm off as he slides out of bed, yawning as he stretches. The blonde stirs, muttering something unintelligible, but Hanbin's already out of the room and headed for the bathroom. As he splashes cold water on his face, he tries to recall the night before. It was fun, sure, but nothing too memorable. They'd met up, chatted briefly at a bar, and the rest of the night had been a blur of flirting, laughter, and hands on skin. The usual routine.
Back in his room, Hanbin grabs his phone, scrolling through his schedule for the day. He has an assignment due for one of his classes and dance practice later. Doable, he thinks. At least he doesn't have any early classes, giving him some time to pull himself together after last night. He shoots a quick text to his friend to confirm their meet-up after practice, then heads to the kitchen to start making breakfast. He figures he might as well whip something up for his guest, even if he can't remember his name. At least he's polite like that.
He's in the middle of flipping pancakes when he hears footsteps padding into the kitchen. Two arms snake around his waist, and the guy murmurs a sleepy, "Good morning," into his shoulder. Hanbin feels the guy's grip tighten slightly, and he chuckles, patting his arm in a way that's just friendly enough to hint that this is the end of the line.
"Morning," Hanbin replies, as casually as if they've been friends for years. He lets the guy hang onto him for a few seconds before slipping out of his hold and gesturing to the pancakes on the plate. "Here, eat up. I've got a full day ahead of me."
Blondie smiles, seeming a bit shy now, his cheeks faintly pink as he glances away. "Thanks. I didn't expect breakfast."
"Don't mention it," Hanbin replies with a shrug, taking a sip of coffee.
He hears the guy start talking about their night—something about how he had a good time and that it was too late for him to go home afterward. Hanbin just nods, tuning him out as he thinks about his day ahead.
As Blondie munches on his pancakes, Hanbin finishes his coffee, barely listening to the casual chatter floating around the kitchen. The guy's talking about something that happened last night—maybe a joke Hanbin told, or some part of their conversation—but Hanbin's mind is everywhere but there.
His thoughts drift for a second to Haneul, the serious, red-haired tutor he'd met three days ago. The one who, despite Hanbin's best efforts, hadn't budged at his advances. Hanbin thought it would make so much sense if Haneul wasn't into boys but that man practically breathes "homosexual". It was a bit annoying admitting Haneul isn't into him in particular but thrilling nonetheless, and now he finds himself wondering if he'll see him around campus today.
Hanbin couldn't quite pinpoint why he was still thinking about the guy. Maybe it was Haneul's calm refusal of his invitation for a drink. Or that cool, professional distance that somehow only made Hanbin want to break it more. The image of Haneul's red hair, his slightly narrowed eyes, and that barely-there smile all flicker through Hanbin's mind as he zones out, only snapping back when Blondie waves a hand in front of his face.
"Earth to Hanbin?" Blondie laughs, his fork hovering over the plate. "You good?"
"Yeah, yeah. Just thinking about my day," Hanbin replies smoothly, with a practiced grin. "By the way, I've got some things to take care of, so you'll have to head out soon."
Blondie nods, seeming to take the hint, and gets up to gather his things. "Alright. Hey, last night was fun. Maybe we'll hang out again sometime?"
Hanbin chuckles, waving off the comment with a nonchalant shrug. "Maybe."
As the guy heads out, he glances back, offering a little wave. Hanbin returns it, a polite smile tugging at his lips. "See you around," he calls out, though he knows he's already halfway to forgetting this one.
The door clicks shut, and Hanbin sighs, turning back to the empty kitchen. He leans against the counter for a moment, his gaze lingering on his phone. Swiping it open, he pulls up Tinder, scrolling to his match history, and with a few taps, deletes the guy's profile from his list. "Wasn't worth it anyway," he mutters to himself, a faint smirk playing at his lips. He's already decided that the guy was fine, but nothing memorable.
But as he taps his phone screen again, his thumb hovers over Haneul's name, still fresh in his memory. Just yesterday, he'd managed to find Haneul's social media profiles after a solid hour of scrolling through mutual friends and connections. It turns out Haneul attends the same university as him—a discovery that had felt like some kind of amusing irony. Now, he's considering whether it would be worth it to try bumping into him.
The thought lingers as he heads to the bathroom, peeling off his clothes and stepping into the shower. Warm water spills over his shoulders and he wonders if he might find an excuse to wander around the music faculty—the grad students' area, specifically. Maybe Haneul would be there, and maybe, just maybe, he'd get the chance to spark up another conversation.
Hanbin chuckles softly at himself, shaking his head. It's ridiculous, he knows that, but Pretty Haneul is worth the chase.
As he towels off and wraps up in a fresh shirt, he hears a faint, muffled voice from his bedroom. The hookup guy must have forgotten something. Rolling his eyes, Hanbin steps out of the bathroom.
"Hey, I'm heading out!" Blondie calls, his voice trailing from the hallway. "Hope I see you around."
"Yeah, see you," Hanbin replies, more out of habit than interest, and he hears the door close for the final time.