Title: a chance (a taste)
Rating: G
Fandom: Like a Dragon, specifically Like a Dragon 8
Relationship: Han Joongi/Zhao Tianyou
Wordcount: 350
Short summary: Seonhee's sudden message to take Han Joongi out for a few days ends up being a chance for Zhao Tianyou to take him to Hong Kong.
On the table are a dish each of seafood, duck, and tofu. On the other side of the table is his partner with just a hint of a smile. But that’s fine; this is Zhao’s treat. It was hard to pick only three dishes when they are currently sitting at one of the best Cantonese food restaurants in Hong Kong, but Zhao will take whatever he can get. Because any extended time with Joongi is...
Sudden, like the message from Seonhee while Zhao was cleaning up his kitchen for the night. After everything with Ebina and Bryce had concluded, Zhao had returned to his “normal” life of cooking, eating, sleeping, and not hearing much from his workaholic partner. To get a message from his partner’s boss instead was…
Seonhee: Can you take him off my hands for a bit?
Zhao: What, you have a hot date or something?
Seonhee: Maybe.
Seonhee: Rather, you have a hot date now to look forward to.
Zhao: Yeah, yeah.
That was enough for Zhao to close his restaurant for 3 days. It’s not like he needs the restaurant to operate to pay his bills. And it’s good to take vacations, even unplanned ones.
Zhao hadn’t traveled much outside of Yokohama, so at first he had no ideas. But with Seonhee willing to pay for their flights (wanting Joongi out of the country), Zhao ended up picking Hong Kong. It was somewhere easy to fly to, somewhere with good Chinese food, and somewhere they could hike.
Zhao is still feeling that earlier hike, but now they are here so he’s good.
“Aren’t you going to eat? The duck smells delicious.”
“Hmm, so that’s the one that caught your nose?”
“Mm.”
Despite being in a relationship, because they spend so much time apart, Zhao hasn’t quite picked up on Joongi’s culinary preferences. It stings Zhao’s pride a little as a chef, but that’s just how things are if one wants to be with Joongi...
But Zhao has his chance now. A dinner date and a night afterwards in the hotel room, where he can taste that…