alone together || h.s au

three: any reason i get to be close to you

The following weeks Harry sees less and less of Min Ji — he only sees her once a day instead of twice a day like he usually does. There are days when he doesn't see her at all because she leaves before and returns home after he does. At first he was worried that it had something to do with the way she abruptly left him alone in the hallway when they got home from Niall and Brooklyn's place, but he found out later on that it's because she has been busy with her project at work and not because she's avoiding him. Which is a relief. Because he doesn't know what he'd do if that's the case.

"Didn't get your daily dose of Min Ji this morning?"

Harry blinks and finds Niall perched on the edge of his desk, fashioning a knowing grin. He didn't even realise that his friend has finished his meeting and he certainly didn't realise that he's zoned out. He was doing a last minute research for his article before his mind went elsewhere -- he got distracted so easily lately, he swears -- and he ended up thinking about Min Ji. It has become a common occurrence -- him thinking of Min Ji -- but he would never disclose that to anyone. Especially to Niall.

"Hey, how did the meeting go?"

Niall gives Harry the 'don't think I don't realise that you're avoiding my question' look (yes, it's a real look and yes, he gets it a lot these days) and he responds with an innocent shrug. Harry knows nothing gets past his best friend but that doesn't stop him from trying.

"You know how it is," Niall answers hurriedly before he repeats his question earlier, but he phrases it a little differently. "Did you talk to Min Ji this morning or last night?"

Harry knows better than to change the topic again because if there's one thing he knows about his best friend, it is that if he's set his mind on something, he can and will annoy you until he gets what he wants. Like when he managed to convince Brooklyn, the one person in the office who swore that she would never fall for his trick, to make a bet with him almost two years ago. He still finds that fascinating up until today.

"No and no," he replies. "So are we still having drinks together this evening?"

"Yeah, 'course. But Brooklyn and I are meeting up for dinner later so I can't stay for too long."

Right. The dinner date that those two have been planning since a couple of weeks ago because they haven't done that in a while due to their busy schedules. "That's fine."

"Are you sure you don't want to join us? I think they won't mind if we change the reservation for two to--"

"Don't do it," Harry interrupts his friend before he could finish his sentence. This is his fifth time turning down that offer because ever since Niall and Brooklyn managed to make a reservation earlier this week at a restaurant that opened up recently, he has been asking him if he'd like to join them. Obviously the answer is no because one, it's a pretty upscale restaurant and two, he thinks he has third-wheeled them enough. "You two deserve a date night without me third-wheeling."

Niall frowns, a disapproving look written all over his face. "You know we don't see it that way."

"Of course," Harry chuckles as he pats his friend's knee. "But tonight you deserve to spend some alone time with your girlfriend and no, spending time at your flat doesn't count."

Niall rolls his eyes but eventually he relents. "Fine."

"Sooooo, it's a fancy restaurant," Harry points out, wriggling his eyebrows. "Are you planning on doing something special tonight?"

"What?"

"Like, I don't know, propose to her?"

If Niall were a cartoon character, his eyes would've bugged out of his sockets right about now and it would've been super funny. But human Niall makes him laugh too because the pure look of shock mixed with confusion on his face amuses Harry.