=͟͟͞͞ ★ 14

                                    

                                          
seokmin split up his energy at work pretty well. he was often praised by the managers for his ability to sell many high-ticket items and his ability to form a connection with all of his tables. soonyoung said it was because seokmin was so kind that he could sell someone a bag of potatoes, and they would give in just because of the way seokmin smiled at them. seokmin just thought that there was no truth to the older boy's words, but he still found himself flattered at the thought.
seokmin loved receiving compliments for his work ethic. but, on the other side of that, he spent a good part of his time just goofing around with his friends. when certain guests were being annoying, he would share looks with seungkwan from across the dining room. he'd even exchange sighs with soonyoung when he went to the back to grab his food for his tables. 
and when things were slow, seungkwan would run to the back and grab soonyoung to drag the older boy to the host stand, where seokmin was waiting with a handful of cookies in his mouth. the trio spent an embarrassing amount of time gossiping there, switching back to professional mode whenever someone walked in. the bartenders, who had a great view of the host stand, always remarked how funny it was to see the three switch up from tossing gummies into each other's mouths to politely greeting new guests within the same minute.
seokmin always made sure to keep these things separate, for the sake of not getting distracted from his actual job. but sometimes, he would see minghao drift over to the host stand to strike up a conversation with seungkwan, and he would just smile to himself and wish he could join them.
minghao's presence was something that brought seokmin peace. just having the boy back in his life felt like a miracle of some sorts. even better, minghao got along well with his best friends, and it was like his childhood and adulthood were colliding in such a heartwarming way. 
sometimes, he wondered if things would have been different if the two of them had kept in contact when minghao moved back to his home country with his family. truth be told, seokmin desperately wanted to, but it was ultimately minghao that said that he didn't want to. it was something that troubled seokmin throughout most of his adolescence. 
but now they were adults, there was no one getting in the way. no overbearing parents, no strict bedtimes, no leftover feelings... well, seokmin may have been unsure about that, but regardless, he was happy to have minghao back here in his life. it was like he had been given a second chance, and he didn't want to waste it by doing something stupid.
now, seokmin wasn't naive – though he did like to pretend that he was. he was very much aware that he used to have romantic feelings for minghao when they were kids. but that was all it was, childish feelings. minghao moved away when they were around thirteen years old, and seokmin was at the age where everyone was still telling him he didn't know what he was feeling, that a thirteen year old boy didn't understand what love was. seokmin knew what it was, he knew that was what he felt for minghao back then. 
but that was in the past. seokmin had a reason to start over new, and that was the person who came back into his life. so he would do his best to rekindle his relationship with minghao and make sure that minghao enjoyed his time here so much that he never left again.
okay, so maybe there may have been something else there. but seokmin was nothing if not an avoidant person, so he would pretend that there was nothing to worry about. 
seokmin thought it was so interesting that seungkwan and soonyoung stood around and complained about mingyu's and chan's presence, for different reasons. meanwhile, seokmin was over the moon at the idea of getting to reconnect with minghao. of course, seokmin knew that the three of them were in entirely different situations, but he hoped that his best friends could just take advantage of their time and make amends with these people who came back into their life. of course, that was easier said than done.