"So you just watched a drama yesterday? That's why Changbin-hyung kicked Chris and me out yesterday?" Felix looked torn between laughing and pretending to be angry. It was kinda cute.

Minho took great care to fold one of the cafeteria's tissues, and Hyunjin wisely got up and changed seats so Felix was between them. They were in the small cafeteria of the dance department, which offered healthy snacks for almost affordable prices.

"So?" Hyunjin shrugged. "It's not like you and Chan-hyung needed to be at our place."

"Hmm," Minho frowned at his tissue, "so did you have a nice time with Changbin?"

It sounded like a threat. Hyunjin swallowed and busied himself by taking a sip of his water to avoid answering what clearly was a trick question.

"Hyunjin!"

Hyunjin jumped at the noise and turned in his seat.

Changbin smirked at him from across the cafeteria. He looked – good. Really good. Hyunjin barely managed not to choke.

Remembering their act, Hyunjin rose to his feet and waved. "Changbin-hyung! Over here." In his black leather jacket, ripped black skinny jeans and silver chains around his neck and attached to his belt, Changbin looked great. Well, he always looked great, but usually Hyunjin was able to breathe normally around his friends. What was happening? Was it the smirk? It was definitely the smirk. Changbin casually sat down next to Hyunjin, casually leaning into his space, casually waving hello to Felix and Minho, and yeah, no, actually, maybe it was the eyeliner.

"How were morning classes?" Changbin casually rested an arm behind Hyunjin on the back of his chair.

Two could play this game. "Exhausting," Hyunjin sighed and melted into Changbin's side. "But I'm at least fifty-one percent sure it's because today's a Monday."

Minho crumpled the tissue in his fist. "Why isn't Sungie with you?"

"Chan-hyung just texted," Felix smiled at his phone. "He says that they thought it better if we didn't flaunt our relationship this month, because if people realise Hyunjin's friends are dating Changbin-hyung's friends, the whole thing loses credibility."

"It's not like it's a secret we're dating," Minho grumbled, "but I guess that makes sense. After all, your new couch is on the line."

"Thanks, hyung," Hyunjin smiled widely. "We're also on a mission to be the cutest couple on campus. Even if you tried, you and Jisung wouldn't stand a chance."

The tissue in Minho's hand ripped. "Careful now."

Felix's laughter diffused the tension. "We all know Chan-hyung and I would win that. Just ask Jeonginnie and Seungmin."

"Seungmin and I dated for one day, and now I'm suddenly incapable of being in a cute couple?" Minho tried to look upset but failed utterly.

"You didn't date, hyung," Felix sighed, "you fake-proposed to him to get freebies for Jisung."

"Squirrel-print socks, Lixie," Minho shook his head, "you would have done the same if it had been a kangaroo, don't even attempt to lie."

Felix turned up his nose but didn't deny it, and Hyunjin met Changbin's eyes.

There was a spark there, in Changbin's dark eyes. A soft smile in the corner of his lips. Like he was sharing a secret with Hyunjin and Hyunjin was all too happy to share it. Just them and their friends, lunch and the noise of the cafeteria fading.

Then Felix got another text from Chan, noticed the time, and they all dispersed into different directions to their theory classes.

Hyunjin, Felix and Minho met up in their usual studio after classes, with Hyunjin and Felix arriving an hour before Minho. They spent that hour freestyling to Runner's High and Matroshka and giggling their way through Wow. Minho walked in on their fifth replay of Wow, shook his head and joined them, and then promptly introduced Hyunjin to the wonders of Zone and We Go. They didn't end up practising their own choreographies.

On the way home Hyunjin listened to Itzy and marveled at the number of texts from his kpop dance friends. Four hundred texts in half a day didn't even happen when BTS had a comeback. ... but it would definitely happen for Shinee, Hyunjin realised. The texts were all about Taemin's comeback that Hyunjin had noted down in his calendar, but with the whole dating thing he'd not even realised the date.

Taeul:
Hyunjin-oppa!!! Let's try the choreo!!! Please please please

Euntak:
oppa uwu pls u know we love u the most

Hyunjin:
lmao alright, I'm on my way home but I'll take a look and think about how we'll do it

Euntak:
thank u oppa! u're the best!!! <3

Taeul:
Hajin-unni said she and her friends will also prepare for Saturday, you could work out the moves with them!!

Hyunjin:will you let her know to text me if she needs any help?

Taeul:
Of course, oppa!

When Hyunjin returned home after a brief stop at a grocery store, he didn't bother changing out of his dance clothes – which today consisted of simple black leggings and a short sleeved shirt. He pulled up youtube on his laptop and lost himself in Taemin.

The choreo for Criminal was... well, not easy, obviously, but more than whether or not he'd be able to teach it to a bunch of thirteen year olds, the tied hands seemed to tease him with a familiar itch – one that seemed to scream you need to figure out how this is done and replicate it to perfection or you'll never stop thinking about what could have been. After years of dancing and perfecting the smallest of steps, this was familiar.

No time like the present.

He listened to the song while he rummaged through his closet and eventually found an old black tie he hadn't worn in years at the back of his socks drawer. Why didn't he own ties? And why was tying them so difficult? The slippery fabric seemed to escape him every time he tried to tie it, but after fifteen minutes of struggle it was finally secure.

The next struggle was piecing together the bits of choreography shown in the middle of aesthetic shots of Taemin being his stunning self, but the dance practice would probably not be out for a few days so Hyunjin tried not to feel sorry for himself. Luckily, the beginning seemed to be a lot of slow, sensual moving more than detailed technical moves.

It was going relatively fine, given this was the first time Hyunjin copied this particular choreo, and the limited view the music video gave of the choreo. Slowly, he worked himself forward, move for move, repeating the movements again and again. It was good progress until he tried to take the tie in his mouth to pull it off and he realised that he had tied the tie a little too well.

"... I fucked up."

Cursing, he tried to twist his wrists out, but the fabric only tightened. Trying to loosen the knots with his teeth didn't help either.

Defeated, he sank to his knees.

The click of a lock and the door opening startled him.

"Hyunjin? What –" Changbin froze on the threshold, tripped over nothing and nearly landed on his face. He brought up his arm just quickly enough to avoid a bloody nose. Frantic, he stumbled to his knees. "I'm sorry!"

"What?" Hyunjin squinted. Changbin was framed from the light in the stairwell, while the living room was only dimly lit from Hyunjin's laptop, Criminal currently paused. Either darkness had settled really fast or Hyunjin had lost all track of time.

"I'm really sorry!" Eyes adjusting to the light, Hyunjin could see a dark blush over Changbin's face and neck. "I can come back later, uh –" Changbin stumbled to his feet and back out of the door.

"What – wait!" Hyunjin rose to his feet and ran to catch the closing door. "Hyung, why are you running, I need your help!"

That somehow froze Changbin again, and he turned to Hyunjin with wide eyes, red to the tips of his ears. "Hhrr?"

Hyunjin blinked. Changbin must be really tired. He held his bound hands towards Changbin. "Could you untie me, hyung?"

Changbin made another choking sound. "Um, yes, of course," he said, voice hoarse. "Let's – go inside first?"

"Thanks, hyung," Hyunjin turned on the light and waited patiently for Changbin to take off his shoes and coat before he held his wrists out again. Changbin dropped his phone twice and Hyunjin reached out to hang up Changbin's coat with his bound hands, as Changbin's fingers were shaking.

"Sit down?" Changbin asked softly. "Those knots look complicated."

Hyunjin grimaced. "I noticed." They sat down next to each other, and Hyunjin gladly handed his hands over. Changbin's hands were warm and he took care to not tug too harshly on the tie. It was slow work as he tried to get his fingers to move the way he wanted.

"You need to be careful to not tie this in a way you can't get out of," Changbin spoke quietly, eyes fixed on one of Hyunjin's more complicated – but effective! – creations. "Especially if you're alone. Well, actually, also if you're not alone, no matter how much you trust your partner."

... what. Hyunjin stared.

"You probably shouldn't use fabric like this, either," Changbin continued as he freed one of Hyunjin's wrists, "the edge would have cut you if you'd struggled just a bit harder."

It was true, too. Hyunjin's wrist was covered in angry red lines, most of them fading already but slightly stinging still.

"... Just use padded cuffs next time. Don't hurt yourself."

"Hyung," Hyunjin opened and closed his mouth several times. Understanding washed over him like cold water. "I'm – I... oh my god. It's not what you think!"

Changbin looked up and smiled kindly in Hyunjin's general direction. Not that Hyunjin processed that. "It's okay, it's nothing to be ashamed of, Hyunjinnie."

Was this really happening? "Hyung, I know!" Hyunjin couldn't help the slight panic creeping into his voice. "I just really wasn't... I was trying to learn a Taemin choreography."

"What?" Changbin looked up sharply. His eyes found Hyunjin's open laptop, the video paused on the moment Taemin took his tie between his teeth. Then Changbin blushed an even darker shade of red and focused on Hyunjin's still bound wrist. "This is embarrassing. I'm sorry for assuming."

The tension left Hyunjin in a single breath. He laughed breathily, feeling warm all of a sudden. "It's okay, hyung. I mean, you did walk in on me kneeling in a dark room with my hands bound. It's only logical to come to conclusions." (And it would explain why Changbin nearly fell on his face and then tried to run away.)

Changbin made another choking noise, but the tie fell from Hyunjin's wrist so he ignored that in favour of rubbing some circulation back into his hands. This proved that Hyunjin should really wait for some sort of dance practice video before attempting that again, because unless Taemin was an actual god he had to have some easier way of doing this part in the choreo that didn't involve a second person coming in to untie him.

"Thank you for saving me, hyung," Hyunjin smiled at Changbin, "I'll be sure to follow your advice and be safe next time."

"Yeah –" Changbin cleared his throat before he smiled back, "you do that."

"Did you eat yet?" Hyunjin asked, powering off his laptop. At Changbin's nonverbal headshake, Hyunjin nodded. As he thought. "Me neither. I bought some vegetables and eggs we can add to ramen, if you feel like it? Otherwise there's... toast, maybe. Rice, definitely."

"Whatever you want," Changbin murmured, "I'll go take off my makeup and change into more comfortable clothes."

"Okay, hyung." Hyunjin smiled and left for the kitchen, getting started with the food.

Halfway through the water boiling, Changbin joined him to help cut some of the vegetables. Hyunjin told Changbin about his afternoon of listening to 3Racha songs, making sure to not laugh too hard at Changbin's face when he rapped you can be Fiona today, I'll be Shrek and Changbin predictably looked like he wanted the ground to swallow and digest him.

Later, when he was lying in bed waiting for sleep, he wondered why he hadn't cooked meals with Changbin before, why everything they'd done in the past few days felt monumental and so... nice. Good. Listening to Changbin talk about his music was good, and talking to someone about music who didn't immediately think of movements to go with it but rather the lyrics and composition was a fascinating take. Changbin listened to Hyunjin when he forgot what he was talking about and just rambled on about random things.

So why had it taken Trevor and an offer of money for them to talk to each other for more than a few minutes a day to coordinate grocery shopping or cleaning? No matter how much Hyunjin tossed and turned that night, he couldn't figure it out.