Archive of Our Own

“Hey man!”

Seunghun chokes on his lunch after a strong slap on his back by none other than resident jokester, Park Jihoon. The elder glares at him through coughs. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“Nope, just helping you give a greater appreciation towards life since we’re somehow still alive when we have so many evolutionary flaws. Seriously, why did mother nature ever think it was a good idea to put the two holes for breathing and eating so close together?”

Seunghun rolls his eyes but doesn’t fight the smile that makes its way onto his face. “You’d think pointing out the human body’s fatal flaws would make me hate life more, not appreciate it more. What’s a communications major like you doing preaching about human anatomy anyway?” 

“What? I can’t expand my knowledge? Not like its an abnormal sight for me to be spouting random shit, anyway.” Jihoon takes a swig of his soda as he digs into his lunch.

“Well, now that you mention it...” Seunghun begins. Jihoon looks at him from behind a bite of his food. “A certain biology major comes to mind.”

Seunghun watches amusedly at Jihoon gagging. “Not cool,” Jihoon grumbles, mouth full of pasta.

“That’s payback for using me to take your romantic frustrations out on.”

“I did not!” Jihoon sputters.

Seunghun begins snickering again at the uncharacteristically tongue-tied Jihoon. See, the main issue is that Seunghun isn’t wrong. Jihoon has been struggling with a crush on a certain tall, lanky, clumsy, and, dare he admits, cute boy since the middle of sophomore year of college. The man in question was none other than campus heartthrob, Kim Junkyu.  

Jihoon had technically known Junkyu since senior year of high school, though he only really knew of him. Sure, they were both heavily involved in the fine arts department, but they stayed in their separate realms and friend groups. The high school dance team was a factor so entrenched in Jihoon’s high school career that he doesn’t have many memories outside of it and its associated activities. Jihoon had only ever seen Junkyu in passing, hanging with the chorus group. It was also a common sight to see the man swarmed by girls and even a few guys, forming a physically and metaphorically impenetrable barrier against anyone who wanted to try and get to know him outside of the chorus niche.

Jihoon had honestly forgotten about him until one fateful night during his college sophomore year. Him and his good friends, Seunghun, Woong, and Doyoung, were in the full swing of post-midterms celebratory moods and ready to seize the night. As they arrived, it seemed the party had already started, with the frat house already crawling with people and booming bass boosted music. As they reached the entrance, the door swung open with high school sweethearts, Hyunsuk and Byounggon, to greet them.

“Heya guys!” Byoungon cheerfully waved, already looking to be slightly tipsy. Hyunsuk, with an arm around his boyfriend, gestured them to come inside. “He dragged me down cause he saw you guys from the balcony. We tried to wait but, he kinda got roped into a round of shots through our rapper friends even though he’s supposed to be the older and responsible one.” Byounggon stumbled, cooing at how cute his boyfriend was at explaining what happened. Hyunsuk nearly toppled over as a result and laughter erupted from all of them.

“Well, I don’t think anyone is really the responsible one in our friend group,” Woong remarked fondly. “Anyway, lead the way.”

They followed the pair, introducing the group to other frat members and people in their social circle. Jihoon bumped into and greeted the innumerable amount of people that he recognized as they got led around.

“So who's staying sober tonight?” Byounggon asked, still somehow ever the mother of the group, even while drunk.

“Me,” Doyoung answered. “I have some volunteering work tomorrow to get up early for, so I’ll be leaving early, too.”

“And me, cause someone has to look out for these two idiots.” Woong pointed at Jihoon and Seunghun. Jihoon threw himself on to one side of Woong as Seunghun latched onto the other.

“But you love these two idiots.” Jihoon nuzzled his head into Woong’s shoulder. Woong laughed, trying to shake both of them off. “Yes yes, I love the both of you, too. Now get off. We gotta keep walking.”

They finally arrived at where all the food was laid out, which was connected to the karaoke area. 

“Oh! And here are the new people we adopted! You know the music festival that you guys were invited to perform in last month?” Hyunsuk’s hand motioned toward a group of five people.

Jihoon, Woong, and Doyoung all nodded. Jihoon squinted at one with fluffy black hair and soft looking bangs. He looked kind of familiar.

“That’s Yedam, Raesung, Noa, Junkyu, and Midam,” Byounggon excitedly introduced all of them. Wait, Junkyu? Kim Junkyu from high school? Jihoon watched as Junkyu politely declined a guy’s advances, Noa and Raesung glaring at the poor dude over Junkyu’s shoulder. Guess his reputation never really changed.

“Yeah, we bumped into them while waiting in line, but of course, since it was nearing exam season, we didn’t really get a chance to talk after we exchanged contacts. Not until recently,” Hyunsuk explained.

“Turns out,” Byounggon added, whilst snuggling a slightly uncomfortable looking Noa. “We all happen to go to the same college! And they live pretty close to us, too.”

“Mhm, now stop making Noa uncomfortable.” Byounggon threw a fit as Hyunsuk dragged him away.

Things slowly started progressing after that. Woong disappeared to god knows where, and at some point, when Jihoon was playing beer pong, he got a text from Doyoung saying that he went home. He also texted that he took Yedam home as well and to inform Hyunsuk and Byounggon about it. Jihoon raised an eyebrow at that, but he didn’t mull over it too much. After a round of drinks, some dancing, pool, and karaoke, Jihoon could safely say he was having the time of his drunken life. Seunghun had long abandoned him after losing at pool to Jihoon, not once but thrice. Now Seunghun had a bunch of bets and favors tacked onto him that he’d regret the next morning. Jihoon sniggered under his breath at the thought. Sore loser.

As Jihoon got bored with the group of people he was talking to, he started drifting around, looking for familiar faces. He spotted Woong out on the front porch, along with one of the guys Hyunsuk and Byounggon said they had adopted. Jihoon then decided to go back further inside, eventually seeing Seunghun sensually dancing with a dude named Younghee or Yohee or Yonghae or something. Whoever it was, all Jihoon remembered was Hyunsuk saying that he was a transfer. Eventually, Jihoon found himself back to the food area and noticed a cute looking guy with the pinkest lips and most angelic appearance he had ever seen. His face kind reminded him of a koala. Jihoon swore he was glowing under the fake chandelier lights. I shall call him gorgeous koala guy.

Suddenly, someone approached gorgeous koala guy, leaning against the wall next to him. Oh, not on his watch. “Heyyy,” Jihoon approached him. He forced himself between the two and leaned against the wall next to gorgeous koala guy. The other guy frowned, cursing at Jihoon under his breath. Jihoon flipped the other guy off.

Gorgeous koala guy giggled. Fucking adorable. Jihoon was gonna get diabetes from how cute he was. “Hello,” the other said. “Thanks for that.” Jihoon could tell he was at least slightly tipsy, too and was failing rather adorably to hide it.

“No problem,” Jihoon said, running a hand through his hair. “I think I need some fresh air. Wanna get out of here and leave these lame asses?” Gorgeous koala guy nodded eagerly. As they navigated through the crowd, gorgeous koala guy grabbed onto Jihoon’s hand. Warmth rushed to Jihoon’s face that was, in fact, not from all the alcohol he had consumed, and he squeezed the other’s hand. If they weren’t trying to shove through a bunch of people and stumble up a flight of stairs to get to the balcony, Jihoon would’ve probably taken a moment to marvel at just how perfectly their hands fitted together. They finally barreled through a set of double doors onto the wide balcony, where a couple had already claimed a place to make out. Gorgeous koala guy suddenly took the lead and dragged Jihoon to a spot with fewer people. Jihoon almost face-planted into the ground a few times going up a few more stairs on the balcony.

Gorgeous koala guy halted in his step abruptly and gently led Jihoon to the railings. They leaned on the decorated stone enclosing. Breathing deeply, Jihoon took in the view of the small stretch of campus in front of them. Jihoon could actually see quite a bit from their vantage point. He could even recognize the communications department’s tower. Jihoon looked to the side, remembering that the entire reason he was even up there was because of gorgeous koala guy. Rather than looking at the view, gorgeous koala guy’s line of vision pointed upwards at the sky despite there not being that many stars. Jihoon felt breathless as he observed the man standing before him. He was wearing a button-up with sleeves that cut off at his elbows, the top slightly unbuttoned to reveal a small expanse of chest and collarbones, and black ripped jeans. Jihoon couldn’t help but admire gorgeous koala guy’s body line whilst the man leaned against the railing, clothing stretched to his long frame.

Gorgeous koala guy suddenly looked over, catching Jihoon watching him. “What you are looking at me for?” the guy asked with a pout. Jihoon searched his alcohol addled brain for an excuse before an idea popped into his head.

“Hey hey hey, humor me and say ‘why bro’ after this next question I’m gonna ask you.”

Gorgeous koala guy did some sort of confused head bob, but Jihoon took his request as understood nevertheless.

“I don’t need to look at the sky to see a star, bro. Wanna know why?”

“Why bro?”

“Cause the brightest star is already standing in front of me, bro.”

Gorgeous koala guy gasped. “Bro.” They both lost themselves into a fit of giggles. Jihoon breathed deeply, trying to catch his breath.

“Oh oh. Close your eyes, bro.”

Gorgeous koala guy’s eyelids fluttered shut. Jihoon gulped, feeling his heart palpitate out of his chest at the other’s unwavering trust. Taking in the man’s face that was illuminated by street lights, Jihoon could only describe the other as breathtakingly beautiful, from the man’s lashes to his pristine skin. With a sudden rush of confidence, Jihoon rested a hand on the other’s cheek.

“What do you see bro?” Jihoon said more softly. He smirked, seeing gorgeous koala guy lightly shudder.

“Mmmmm, darkness?”

Jihoon leaned into gorgeous koala guy’s ear and whispered, “That’s my world without you, bro.”

“Bro,” gorgeous koala guy whispered back. His eyes slowly opened. His breath fanned over Jihoon’s face as Jihoon leaned back slightly. Suddenly, Jihoon realized just how close they were. He could feel the air around them thicken, and in a brilliant moment of Jihoon’s standard coping mechanism for filling up sudden silences kicking in, Jihoon blurted out, “Has anyone ever told you you looked like a koala?”

Gorgeous koala guy blinked dumbly at him. “Yes?”

Jihoon finger gunned him. “Cause you seem like a koalaty person.” It seemed like, even through tipsiness, gorgeous koala guy could not believe what he had just heard. He shoved Jihoon’s face away with his hand as he chortled. Seeing gorgeous koala guy react positively to his pun, Jihoon joined in as they both drunkenly laughed in each other, swaying and trying to support one another. Despite their best efforts, they failed at balancing themselves as gorgeous koala accidentally tripped over Jihoon’s foot, and in an attempt to catch gorgeous koala guy, Jihoon fell on his backside as well. They continued to enjoy the hilarity of their ridiculousness next to each other. And as they laid there, Jihoon then realized how tired he felt as he snuggled up to the warm body next to him.

And then it all went black.

Jihoon woke up the next morning feeling like shit. He cradled his pounding forehead as he inelegantly traipsed his way through his morning routine with the added step of popping Advil pills. When he emerged into the kitchen that connected to the living room, Seunghun was already sat at their island, looking equally worse for wear. A plate of the most delicious looking eggs sat in front of him that made Jihoon’s mouth water. Seunghun barely acknowledged him as he sipped on a cup of tea and scrolled through his phone. “There’s tea in the pot. Eggs are on the pan. Grab your own plate.”

“Thanks honey.” Jihoon managed a sleazy smile at his roommate.

Seunghun just took another bite of his egg. “Please don’t call me that.”

As Jihoon grabbed his breakfast, memories slowly came back in bits and pieces, gradually blurring as they progressed further into the night. “Hey Seunghun.”

Seunghun hummed.

“Do you know how I got home last night? I don’t really remember much after I had a drinking match against a group of Japanese exchange students with Dohwan, Jaehyuk, Seokhwa, Sungyeon, Yoonbin, and Yunseo.”

“Oh, Hyunsuk said he found you passed out on the balcony cuddling Junkyu. Then called Woong.”

Jihoon whipped his head around and immediately regretted it, hissing from the whiplash. “Say what?”

“Yeah, he even took a pic of you two. Wanna see? You guys look cute together,” he said nonchalantly.

“Kim Junkyu? The guy that was part of the group Hyunsuk and Byounggon adopted into our friend group?” A wave of memories came crashing down onto Jihoon like a tidal wave. Horror movie washed over him as everything came back in full force--the guy Jihoon intercepted, the hand-holding, the balcony, the awful flirting, and Jihoon’s panicked gay ass making that stupid, stupid koala pun.

“Yep. Ah, here it is!”

“Wait wait wait THE Kim Junkyu I knew from high school?”

“Uh hu- wait. You knew Junkyu in high school?”

“No- I mean-”

“Oh, Byounggon is gonna love it when he gets word of this. Anyway, here’s the two of you.” 

Seunghun shoved his phone into Jihoon’s face.

Jihoon’s jaw dropped. “I’m fucked.”

Seunghun peered quizzically at Jihoon. “Are you interested or something? Did you have some super secret crush on him back in high school? Scandalous love affair? Secret relationship? Eloping?”

“No, no, no, and no. I just knew of him, alright? We never really interacted.” Jihoon finished getting his breakfast as he stood at the island counter across from Seunghun.

“Well,” Seunghun swallowed the last of his eggs. “It shouldn’t be an issue then, right? As far as you’ve made it clear, there were no strings attached...right?”

Jihoon stared down at his food, saying nothing as the events of the night before replayed over and over in his head. Seunghun froze midair as he was about to take another sip of his tea.

“Don’t tell me-” Seunghun cut himself off. “You’re smiling.”

“Hey, look in my defense, we had a nice time together, okay!” Jihoon stamped his feet childishly.

“You literally haven’t seen him since high school, and you had one drunken one night stand-”

“Excuse me! We didn’t do anything even close to scandalous for your information. All we did was hold hands!”

Seunghun loudly slurped his tea over Jihoon’s protests before he calmly put the cup down. “Jihoon, you’re being defensive.”

Jihoon placed his forehead in his hands in defeat. “I’ll be fine, right?” He muttered.

“My guide to understanding Park Jihoon has a passage that goes something along the lines of, a telltale sign that Park Jihoon is falling for a guy is when he gets defensive about it instead of joking about it like he jokes about everything. Whether or not you’ll survive, purely depends on everything that happens afterwards.”

A pause rested between them as they challenged one another with deep, soul reaching gazes. After a couple of seconds of staring, Jihoon relented with a sigh. “I’m fucked, aren’t I?”

Seunghun patted him on the back.

After that incident, Junkyu started appearing everywhere, even places Jihoon swore he’d never seen him in before. The first place he began appearing in was their fortnightly group study sessions. Originally, the group only included Jihoon, Seunghun, Hyunsuk, Byounggon, and Woong when he was off shift after the end of the day, where he’d still graciously make the others drinks as long as they paid for it. It probably helped that the owner of the store was a relative to Woong, allowing them all to stay after hours and still get drinks. Now the group expanded to a massive size of eleven people, that of which included Junkyu. Thankfully, it allowed Jihoon to gauge if he was actually attracted to Junkyu in a space he was already somewhat comfortable in.

For the most part, the first study session as eleven people was smooth sailing. Jihoon had done a successful job at being his normal jolly and witty self. Right as Jihoon was almost convinced that the feelings he had were only a fleeting one night thing, he accidentally met eyes with Junkyu. Instead of looking away like most people did when they accidentally matched eyes with another person they barely knew, Junkyu gave Jihoon a kind, lipped grin before turning away. However, Jihoon’s gaze lingered, mouth slightly agape, as the other went back to listening to Hyunsuk ramble about something unrelated to their assignment. When he caught himself staring, he embarrassingly turned the other way to see Seunghun looking at him with a shit eating grin. Jihoon kicked the taller male under the table.

The most mind boggling place Jihoon found Junkyu was in his statistics class. Apparently, he had been in the exact same lecture hall with Junkyu, and he hadn’t noticed him for an entire semester. To be fair, the class size was one of the biggest, and Jihoon had discovered they sat at separate ends, him closer to the front and Junkyu closer to the back. However, the moment Junkyu spotted him from across the room, Junkyu seemed keen on sitting right next to Jihoon from then on. Seriously, who just decides to start warming up to a dude they met at a party that made shitty bro pick up lines? Junkyu apparently.

In Jihoon’s mind, that had officially marked the point of no return--the beginning of Jihoon’s deterioration from a very determined single person to a very whipped single person.

Jihoon then spent the good rest of his sophomore year trying to fight his growing feelings for Junkyu. Summer was a well appreciated break from it all. The bright side to Jihoon’s predicament was that he technically had been harboring his little crush for only half a year in counting, allowing it to subside and almost vanish once junior year eventually came around.

The realization that his insignificant attraction for Junkyu had mostly disappeared became one of the things that made him look forward to the beginning of the year. Another thing Jihoon looked forward to in the beginning of the year was club recruitments, which is what Jihoon is doing right now in their college plaza. 

Seunghun, as usual, is his partner in crime, and thus far, they’ve already racked up a sizeable interest list. He goes to the back of the booth and digs through their cooler.

“Catch,” Seunghun says, throwing Jihoon a water bottle.

Jihoon catches it without even a glance and takes a gulp. As he wipes his mouth, Jihoon asks, “How much longer before we switch out with Woojin and Hyunjin?”

“30 minutes.” Seunghun runs back next to Jihoon as a group of people approach the booth. After they answer all their questions and present their club, Jihoon and Seunghun go back to observing the crowds and messing around.

“I am so glad we invested in a tent and fans. Imagine suffering under the sun for two hours,” Jihoon comments absentmindedly.

Seunghun crosses his legs as he gently leans against one of the thin poles propping the tent roof up. “God, I know right? I’m pretty sure the only reason a third of the people came to our booth was to exploit the giant fans.”

“Capitalism!” Jihoon raises a fist grandiosely. Seunghun follows suit, bellowing, “Marketing majors!”

“Praise our one man PR team, Park Woojin!”

“Science! Glory to mankind!”

“Hey hey,” Seunghun stops abruptly, attention suddenly turned elsewhere. He pats Jihoon’s arm as he points at- oh fuck .

Walking alone along the red bricked pavement is none other than the object of many of Jihoon’s waking thoughts, Kim Junkyu, and like the asshole Seunghun is, he obnoxiously waves him over. “Yo! Junkyu!”

Jihoon freezes in his spot. Act normal . Junkyu spots Jihoon and slows, expression briefly turning curious before his eyes brighten in familiarity. Act. Normal.

“Hey Seunghunnie! Hey Jihoonie!” Junkyu waves as he closes the distance to the dance club booth that Jihoon was busy currently trying to calm himself in. Hearing Jihoonie come out of Junkyu’s mouth for the first time in a while also was definitely not affecting Jihoon.

“Ey wassup!” Jihoon goes for their typical handshake, Junkyu automatically reciprocating. Jihoon suppresses a gulp at the hand to hand contact. Seunghun greets similarly as he asks, “Interested in joining the dance club?”

A part of Jihoon desperately wants Junkyu to say no. Another part of Jihoon is chanting for Junkyu to say yes. 

“Actually, I was thinking about joining.”

Seunghun gasps, hands balling into excitement. “Really?”

“Wait, aren’t you vice president of the a capella club?” Jihoon prods.

Junkyu scratches his head. “Yeah, but I think I can manage both. That okay?”

“Well then, if you’re sure...” Jihoon plants his elbow on the table, propping his chin on top of his fist. “Are you ready to sell your soul and wallet to the gods of sweaty men and-” Seunghun quickly juts his hand over Jihoon’s mouth, muffling the rest.

“Yep! That’s fine! As long as you can make it to most of the meetings. Competition will be a little different, though. That of which, you will be able to learn more about in our first meeting next Tuesday. Just put down your name, contact, and what times you’d be able to make it to dance meetings.”

“Thanks!” As Junkyu scribbles down his information, Jihoon blankly stares at him, slowly processing that this was really happening. Jihoon tears his eyes away to Seunghun, whose face is adorned with an inquisitive and knowing smug. 

“So what made you want to join the dance club anyway?” Seunghun asks, breaking the silence.

Junkyu softly lets out a breath of air. “Oh, reasons. Mainly cause I know people who are joining this club, and I've always been interested in dance. Just never had an opportunity for it I guess.” As Junkyu finishes filling in the blanks, he puts down the pen and dazzles Jihoon when Junkyu looks back up at him and Seunghun. “Welp, thanks guys. See you during the meeting!”

Seunghun casually replies back the same as Jihoon gives an oddly pitched, “Yep! See ya!”

“So,” Seunghun begins with a hand on his hip, “You said that you mostly lost your feelings for Junkyu over the summer. Still like him?”

The beat that would have made Jihoon’s answer sound at least a little convincing passes. “No,” Jihoon utters, slightly pained. Seunghun shakes his head.

If anyone asks whether or not Jihoon is avoiding his responsibility as part of the dance club’s leader team, he would just say that he’s just been really busy. And it’s not like he’s avoiding all of his responsibility. All he asks for is to be absent from one meeting.

“But Jihoon! It’s only the beginning of the year!” Doyoung protests. “How do you already have so much work?”

Jihoon dramatically flips his wrist to his forehead and cries, “Oh you pure little sophomore. If only you could understand the woes of a junior’s pressure and the terrible evils of professor- ow!” Doyoung huffs, arms crossing over his chest after giving a rather injurious hit to Jihoon’s forearm.

“Hey, not so hard,” Jihoon whines, giving his best impression of a puppy dog face. Much to Jihoon’s expected disappointment, Doyoung is unphased.

“Look, I know your crush is going to be at the orientation-”

“-which is not what this is about. I’m telling you I’m busy-”

“Uh uh uh!” Doyoung puts a finger over Jihoon’s lips. “Jihoon, we need you.” Jihoon looks into Doyoung’s dark brown eyes, the younger’s small black pupils reaching to the bottommost pits of Jihoon’s soul. If there’s anything that Jihoon has learned about Doyoung over the years, it’s that Doyoung had long ago mastered the you-will-succumb-to-my-whim black hole stare, and there has only been a single time Jihoon had ever been able to worm himself out of it’s hypnotic effects. Maybe if Jihoon stares back hard enough, those black holes for pupils will just suck him into the bottomless depths of nothingness.

“And you can deny all you want, but you know missing any dance meet would kill you,” Doyoung adds on. “And you know I’m right.” Jihoon sighs. Why does he always have to be right?

Jihoon groans. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll go to orientation.”

At this, Doyoung beams up at him. “And plus, you love talking to the new recruits. You’re basically just a giant dog that loves attention trapped in a human body.”

Jihoon clutches his heart and wipes a fake tear. “Ouch, that hurt Doyoungie.”

“I’m still right.”

“Yeah yeah.”

Jihoon’s animated participation in the club leader meeting didn’t change, but his animated insistence on the decision to not talk much during the first meeting of the year had caused an array of confused looks from all the other club leaders. Well, everyone except for Seunghun, Woong, and Doyoung.

Honestly speaking, he really wasn’t lying when he said he was a bit busy. In one of his courses that already had a reputation for having a big workload, the new professor they got was way more heavy handed on essays and assignments. There was only one time in the morning that worked for him, so exaggerating a few details with the backing of his friends allowed him a bit of room for finessing and diversion from his usual behaviour.

The only downside is that Jihoon’s incoming dilemma is now solely in the cruel hands of fate. He may have done a bit of praying before the orientation began so that a certain someone does not come to the morning time like Doyong said he probably would. Jihoon takes his spot at the side of the stage. It feels a bit odd not being on the podium where he’d always snatch the spotlight. He feels a comforting hand on his shoulder as the clock nears the time for the meeting to begin.

“Hey,” Woong says.

“Hey to you too,” Jihoon replies. Woong moves his hand to grab both of Jihoon’s hands together. “You okay?”

“Fit as a fiddle.”

Woong just smiles gently at him. Jihoon genuinely doesn’t think he needs the comfort, but Woong has the ability to make any room feel a little lighter. He appreciates him either way as people begin to file into the room. He assists in handing out pamphlets and welcoming everyone in, jumping into service mode. It admittedly takes his mind off of the specific someone he hopes isn’t coming to the morning meeting for a bit, until Jihoon looks up at a person he’s handing the pamphlet to.

There Junkyu is. Jihoon’s brain stops for a second. His greeting falters, before he immediately jerks himself back to liveliness. Junkyu goes to sit, and it takes every ounce of Jihoon’s strength to not watch Junkyu find his seat.

It takes even more strength for Jihoon not to very obviously stare down Junkyu in the crowd as Jihoon picks a spot on the wall to lazer into. Jihoon gets two revelations throughout the orientation. 

The first is that him not being in the limelight makes it even harder to try and not think about the man sitting in the audience. Speaking had never been something that was difficult to Jihoon. Given the chance, he could talk on and on about anything and everything forever. He was good at it, and had he just done what he normally would’ve done, Jihoon could’ve had suffice distraction to not think about internally telling himself to not think about Junkyu the whole time.

The second is that Junkyu looks unreasonably good in a beret. Okay, maybe this was less of a revelation and more of an observation, but if his brain was going to obsess over Junkyu, he could at least try obsessing over the male’s fashion choice and not him directly. Is Jihoon being counterintuitive? Yes. Is he still technically very much thinking about Junkyu? Yes. Does he care? No. The voice telling Jihoon he’s in denial can shut it.

But the most important thing is that the orientation ends, which means all that’s left to do is to answer any last questions, clean up, and leave. Also, Jihoon really needs someone for him to eject words at. Thankfully, being part of the side team means his main job is to assist attendees instead of clean up, a good enough exchange for not being able to contribute much to the presentation itself. Not being able to say more than a few words was torture for him, and Jihoon can’t help but relish in the release of tension as he almost throws himself into a group of people to discuss his passion and the club of his passion.

He eventually meanders into the hall, walking with the people leaving to finish up conversations and say goodbyes. Finally, the last person retreats down the hall, leaving Jihoon in accomplished silence. Someone taps his shoulder. Jihoon readily turns around.

And sees Junkyu. Jihoon’s mental processes grind to a halt.

Junkyu shifts shyly. “Uhm, hey Jihoon,” he greets.

“H-hi Junkyu.” Shit, he stuttered. Jihoon is purely alone with Junkyu and no one else to help fill in the space or add to the atmosphere. There’s no snarky Seunghun or playful Byounggon or excited Hyunsuk or cheery Woong or mischievous Doyoung to serve as a barrier between him and Junkyu. They’re alone outside of the dance room, and the accomplished silence that Jihoon had previously been basking in has been rudely replaced by an awkwardness that makes Jihoon want to crawl into a ditch. Anyone would be better than just him and Junkyu alone standing in awkward silence.

Do something. Jihoon looks up at Junkyu’s head. “Where’d you get that frenchie hat? Did you oui oui baguette some Parisian street shop for that?” Jihoon you fucking idiot.

Junkyu stares with an unreadable expression. It’s even worse that Jihoon can’t decipher him because he can’t predict what would be the most reasonable course of action. Heat rises in his neck. At this point, Jihoon is expecting the worse. A scornful look. A realization that Jihoon is just one part comic relief and two parts disappointment. Maybe even an anime bitch slap.

Then, the unexpected happens. Junkyu’s shoulders relax, and he replies like it’s nothing. “Korean street shop actually. I can’t speak non non escargot unfortunately.”

Jihoon flushes before he chuckles warily, a mix of shock, delight, and relief that Junkyu played along. He gets a sense of reassurance seeing Junkyu relaxed as he tries regaining his composure. Jihoon clears his throat. “So uh, why did you want to talk to me?” Jihoon internally facepalms, realizing the redundancy of his question. Cause you’re the asshole people are supposed to go to for questions. Idiot.

“Oh,” Junkyu laughs nervously. “Reasons. I forgot my question actually. See you around Jihoonie!” Jihoon watches Junkyu dash away, leaving his dumbfounded and love-stricken self rooted to his spot.

If there’s any place Jihoon is guaranteed refuge, it’s the veterinary clinic his cousin, Hyoyeon, owns. She graciously allowed him to work part time after Jihoon took a summer crash course to get a permit with an additional month of rigorous employee training. Every Saturday, he gets there at a god awful 6:30 am until 11 am, since she needed someone to fill in then. He’s only a receptionist. Well, he actually does a lot for a receptionist, especially since it’s a smaller one catered to university students. The catch is that he’s usually painfully bored due to lack of activity in the morning, but after recent events of encountering a wild Kim Junkyu, Jihoon appreciates the mundanity for once in his life. 

Thus, he goes through the usual cycles of his routine. Say good morning to Hyoyeon, and who, like the responsible adult she is, is already there. Check inventory. Make sure everything is up and running. Review the day’s appointments. Be relieved at the fact that Junkyu never assigns appointments in the morning. Look through and reply to emails.

As Jihoon finishes making sure all medical documents are in order, he spins around to see his death sentence enter the door.

“Fuck.”

Junkyu blinks, eyes watery and red rimmed. “I’m sorry?” His voice shakes uncertainly.

“Er, I mean, can I help you?”

Junkyu’s hair sticks up in every direction as he breathes heavily, indicating that he probably ran all the way to the clinic. He wears nothing fancy, just a straight black t-shirt and sweats, and Jihoon may or may not explode at the endearingly unkempt sight in the present moment. However, Jihoon manages to get ahold of himself as he notices the matter at hand. Junkyu’s arms cradle Ruby, Junkyu’s cat, who’s meowing pitifully.

“Uhm,” Junkyu sniffs, and Jihoon feels like an asshole. “I know you guys aren’t an emergency hospital, but can you please help? Ruby suddenly started vomiting this morning, and I originally thought it was just regurgitation, but then I started seeing bile, and she just wouldn’t stop vomiting. She can’t eat or drink anything and-”

Jihoon leaps up from his chair, running from behind the reception desk. He puts his hands on Junkyu’s shoulders, letting out, “Hey hey, Junkyu. Look at me. Breathe. Slow down.”

Junkyu gulps, frantically nodding his head, as Jihoon instinctively rubs his thumb against Junkyu’s neck. “C’mon, let me take you back.” Junkyu obediently follows Jihoon’s lead as he calls out for Hyoyeon. They quickly get into an examination room before his cousin calmly and swiftly examines Ruby. Jihoon quietly watches the exchange between his cousin and Junkyu. An abrupt and tense quiet suddenly fills the atmosphere of the room. Hyoyeon’s eyes snap to Jihoon. “Get them to Young Gate Emergency Hospital. I’ll send the hospital what I have. You know where my keys are. Don’t worry about your shift. Just bring my car back as soon as you can.”

“Got it.” Jihoon places a hand on the small of Junkyu’s back as they go out into the small hall. “Junkyu, go wait at the front. I’ll be out in a sec.” Without waiting for affirmation from the other male, Jihoon quickly turns to grab Hyoyeon’s car keys. He runs back into the lobby and out onto the sidewalk where Junkyu is already waiting for him.

“Follow me.” Jihoon motions in the direction of Hyoyeon’s car. They jump in. Jihoon starts the car and drives off.

The trip is filled with Junkyu murmuring and babbling to Ruby. Suddenly, Ruby begins retching again.

“Open the glove box. There are extra bags in there,” Jihoon instructs. Junkyu hushes and whispers, “Oh Ruby you’re gonna be okay. It’s gonna be okay, sweetie.”

Jihoon sneaks a look at the sad sight, feeling his chest twist and contort. The puke fills the air with a putrid smell that has Jihoon repeating to himself to focus on the road and to get to the ER as fast as he can. Thankfully, the early morning roads are relatively free, and it doesn’t take much longer to arrive. They get out of the car, sprinting to the entrance. Their pace slows down slightly once they’re inside, speed walking to the reception desk. Jihoon takes a scan of the waiting room and finds consolation in the fact that it doesn’t seem too busy. Meanwhile, Junkyu finishes spitting out all his information. Not but a moment after, a veterinarian in scrubs comes and takes Ruby away as Junkyu watches her until he can’t see her anymore.

“Junkyu?”

“Hm?’ Junkyu distractedly replies. “Oh, I’m fine.”

Jihoon exhales lightly. “Let’s sit down at least.”

They collapse into two comfortable chairs. Jihoon takes the chance to calm his heart rate and reobtain his senses.

“Hey,” Junkyu mumbles. “Thanks Jihoon.”

“Mm, no problem.”

There’s a thin spread of light chatter but not much else is going on in the waiting room. Jihoon locks onto a snack room equipped with a coffee machine. He may have already had coffee this morning, but this is definitely deserving of another cup.

“Want bean juice?” Jihoon proposes. When Junkyu looks at him with piqued curiosity, Jihoon gestures at the snack room. “And if not some good ole’ energy dirt, then at least something to fuel human photosynthesis? I’m guessing you haven’t had your morning fixture of complex sugars yet.” Junkyu snorts. A wispy smile etches itself onto his handsome face. Jihoon resists the urge to run a finger over those chapped lips. “Sure, and it’s called cellular respiration.”

“Same thing.” Jihoon waves his hand dismissively at the other as he stands up. They walk side by side to the room in silence and continue to do so while getting coffee. Jihoon drums his finger, engrossed in nothing except for the rising disbelief of the situation he’s currently in. He steals a nervous glance at Junkyu, who looks ready to doze off any minute next to him. Arms frame a nest of black hair as Junkyu is bent over the counter, resting his head on it face down.

“You know you can go rest on one of those couches, right?”

Junkyu makes a noise of acknowledgement. “I should probably stay awake for Ruby, though, shouldn’t I.”

Jihoon sighs, not able to find the willpower in him to try and persuade the other to rest in a proper position. He zones out, listening to the drip of the coffee. He then remembers that food is a thing. As Jihoon walks over to a vending machine, he asks, “Whaddya want?”

“Cheese crackers,” Junkyu’s muffled voice replies.

With snacks in hand, Jihoon goes back over and pokes Junkyu with the cheese crackers. More muffled noises come out of Junkyu. “Just put it next to me.”

Jihoon huffs amusedly. “Thought you wanted to stay awake.” 

Junkyu grumbles intelligibly as Jihoon nudges at him. Jihoon checks back over at the fancy coffee machine, blankly wondering how in the world he managed to work the thing now that he takes another look at it.

He finds himself nearly zoning out again. The sound of coffee dripping brings his mind wandering again in dullness. His eyes roam back to the figure bent over the counter to the right of him, wondering if he should say anything. “Nice pussy.”

Junkyu lifts his head, sleepily bewildered. Jihoon’s eyes turn into saucers. Brain. Why.

“-cat. I’m sorry.” Jihoon tries to look anywhere but at Junkyu and his shame. “I- just uhm, trying to lighten the mood. Sorry, that was really inappropriate of me.” Unfortunately for him, Jihoon’s eyes instinctively go back to looking at Junkyu, who might as well have turned into a dot jpg.

“Uhm, Junkyu?” Jihoon says carefully.

Suddenly, Junkyu raises a hand against his mouth as his eyes light up into crescents, and one of the most raucous yet wonderful laughs Jihoon has ever heard comes out of Junkyu’s mouth. “Well,” Junkyu responds through breathy chuckles, “That definitely woke me up.” Junkyu pushes himself off the counter and stretches, complemented with a little groan that sends Jihoon reeling. Fortunately, before any more stupid shit flies out of Jihoon’s mouth without his permission, Junkyu says, “Thanks for accompanying me this early in the morning by the way. You should probably go back and return your cousin’s car.”

Jihoon waves a hand. “No no it’s fine. Hyoyeon would probably kick my ass if I left you alone anyway as a fellow animal lover. Plus, she told me not to worry about my shift, so I’m taking that as I’m taking today off. I’ll get it back to her before the end of the day. Don’t worry.”

Junkyu’s eyebrows scrunch up in worry. “You sure? I wouldn’t wanna inconvenience you.”

“I’m sure I’m sure. And you are definitely not an inconvenience, trust me.” In Jihoon’s head, his words continue on silently. After all, if it’s for you, then it’s worth it.

“Jihoon! You are running away from your gay thoughts!” Seunghun cards his fingers through his blond hair in distress as he follows an even more distressed Jihoon.

Jihoon speeds up. “No! I’m running away from you and your unsolicited concerns!”

“You were the one who invited me out for lunch!”

“To vent! Not to have unwarranted romantic counseling for fuck’s sake!”

Seunghun chokes on his words. “Jihoon- please! Just hear me out!” Seunghun increases into a light jog. “Please Jihoon, this is the first time you’ve ever liked someone like this!”

“Well, all my previous dating experiences don’t really provide much of a good track record when it comes to me dating, now does it! Cause clearly, every time I’ve liked someone ‘like this,’ it always somehow manages to turn out tragically awkward or just tragic.”

“But he seems different! When I say ‘like this,’ I’m not referring to you, I’m referring to Junkyu! Literally everyone I know vouches for him to be a stand up guy!”

Jihoon spins around. “So what if he’s different? The issue isn’t him then, it’s me! I can’t do serious for shit and you know this! It’s basically second nature for me to turn anything into a joke!”

“-and insult.” Seunghun finally catches up to Jihoon, slightly out of breath.

“-and insult! See?!”

Seunghun pleadingly looks up at Jihoon, hands on his knees. “Don’t you think it’s worth a try to at least tell him?”

“You know what else is worth a try? My sanity.” Jihoon crosses his arms, looking down at Seunghun.

At this, Seunghun stands up. “That’s exactly my point, Jihoon! He’s kind of part of our friend group now AND he’s in the dance club now, too. Which means, you’re going to be seeing him a lot more. I know you didn’t have good past dating experiences. I’ve been through most of them with you, but this is the first time you and I have both felt almost completely sure about the same person and you know this.”

Jihoon attempts a glare at him before his shoulders droop. “Man, I really have it bad, don’t I?” Seunghun massages Jihoon’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll respect whatever decision you make, of course, but as your best friend, I think I’m allowed to give some advice on this. It’s the first time I’ve met anyone who continuously isn’t phased by your inability to distinguish between flirting and roasting.”

Jihoon snorts. “Thanks.”

Seunghun pats him. “No problem.” Despite what appears to be presumptuous patronizing, Jihoon really does know that Seunghun wants the best for him. When Jihoon had entered college, he had done so after hauling himself across the country, far away from his old city. He had nothing but two suitcases full of clothes and the bare necessities to confront his new life. Walking into the freshman dorm and meeting Seunghun that day felt like a lost and wary adventurer finding a wise old merchant, except the wise old merchant was a towering but welcoming sophomore in an even bigger cardigan and the lost and wary adventurer was he, Park Jihoon, tripping through life one skittish hop at a time. 

Even though Jihoon has technically known Doyoung longer, he still isn’t as close to Jihoon as Seunghun is. They were technically childhood friends up until Doyoung moved away in middle school. The younger had moved back by the time Jihoon was in his last year of high school, and by then, they were almost strangers. It didn’t take until Doyoung had somehow ended up at the same college as Jihoon for them to reconnect. On the other hand, Seunghun, who Jihoon has only discovered very recently in his life, quickly became his most trusted confidant. They are somehow always on the same confounding wavelength, able to speak in sarcastic remarks, alien tongues, mysterious body language, and jabbing railery. Seunghun was the one to introduce him to the college’s dance club. He was the one to bring him into their friend group with open arms. To get him settled. Show him around town. Warn him of people and red flags he refused to see. Stay by him through his break ups and mistakes.

He isn’t blind, honestly. Jihoon sees it, too. How Junkyu never whispers about him where Jihoon could obviously see him. How Junkyu seems to always wear the same pleasant expression no matter who he’s around. How Junkyu seems to never mind his constant chaffing or his very outward demeanor. In fact, he sometimes goes along with it, too. The only issue is, that fact only makes Jihoon even more unnerved. He has nothing to adapt to him. It’s just him, bare, exposed, lying on the ground and waiting for something to snap him back to cold hard reality. 

Seunghun slaps his hands on Jihoon’s shoulders, causing the shorter to jump in surprise.

“This time, there’s no weird gut feeling towards any of this. I’m sure about it. You can do this. We’re gonna get you through this, confession or no confession.”

Jihoon smiles up at Seunghun. “We’re gonna get me through this, confession or no confession.”

“But preferably confession.”

Seunghun gets a well-deserved punch for that.

Because lady luck is always on Jihoon’s side, Jihoon did get another course with Junkyu, again. Rather than statistics, it’s speech, and rather than sitting on the opposite sides of class and not being aware of the other’s existence for an entire semester, Junkyu immediately took his spot next to Jihoon, already knowing they had the same course since everyone shared their schedules in the group chat.

At the very least, Jihoon is used to Junkyu’s presence in class enough that he can pretend he doesn’t have festering feelings for him. Plus, it’s speech. He’s got a course to enjoy.

One day while packing up, Junkyu asks about meeting up for coffee to get Jihoon to help him on a speech their doing.

“Oh, let’s look over it during the group study session this weekend. You’ll be surrounded by all the loudmouths- I mean, good speakers.” Jihoon winks at Junkyu as they leave their seats.

Junkyu laughs. “Definitely right about that. But uh, I meant like, just the two of us.” Junkyu’s lips purse. “Maybe sometime during the week?”

“Oh. Uh, sure.” Jihoon’s knees suddenly feel weak as they navigate into the hall. “I’m good Monday and Wednesday evenings and Friday mornings.”

“Oh! I can do Monday and Wednesday evenings, too,” Junkyu replies excitedly. They’re standing outside of the class now as Jihoon becomes blatantly aware of the tell tale signs of his feelings screaming at him. “Meet at Woong’s cafe?” Junkyu questions.

“Yeah. Yeah!” Jihoon replies with the half of the brain power that isn’t being used to convince his brain that what this is, isn’t a date. “See you later this Wednesday?”

“Ah, if it isn’t too sudden, what about today after classes since we end at the same time?” Junkyu gleams at him.

“Sure.” The word spits out before Jihoon can even get the chance to remember that he originally planned to go to the dance room to practice. He curses himself.

It’s a Monday, also known as his busiest day. He stares at his phone in his bag more frequently than usual, caught in contemplation every time he does. A holy trinity of thoughts--what he affectionately ends up dubbing as his triple tragic first world problems during his public relations course--continuously spins around his head. To construct a visual, there is one particularly stable pillar known as his studies. It is located in the shadows on the far back left corner of his brain in a region known as important life stuff. On the right, is a pillar very visibly named by the engraving of the words, Seunghun’s unsolicited advice, on it in the most obnoxiously appealing font Jihoon can think of. It’s Comic Sans, of course, because he has taste. That pillar is a little loose, but still fairly firmly implanted into the region known as the support system for his sanity.

And then at the very front--the very blinding, shining, and teetering prominence--is a pillar simply known as Kim Junkyu.

The aerial view is a skewed scalene triangle that vaguely represents how much Jihoon sucks at life, such as when Jihoon spends the whole day before a not-date worrying about said not-date. He then realizes that it’s too late to panic to Seunghun about it upon becoming aware that he’s walking down the block to Woong’s cafe. Jihoon rationalizes in his head that it’s nothing more than a hang out. It’s probably just a one time thing. Junkyu just needs help. They’re getting coffee, and they’re doing work today. It is not a date. Brain. You can shut up.

He stops right before the glass windows of the cafe and takes a deep breath. Jihoon, just be normal. You can do this. He walks forward and into the shop, where Junkyu is already sat at a table. When he sees Jihoon, he immediately gestures him over with a brilliant smile. The great thing about tables is that Jihoon can hide the fact that he keeps wiping his hands on his pants. He isn’t really sure if his clamminess is actual sweat or just warmth from the coffee that they order, but he likes to entertain that it’s just the coffee. 

“So the speech?” Jihoon starts in an effort to get things going before anything could potentially get a turn for the worse.

“Right right! So I’m actually not the best at speech…” Junkyu trails off, looking over the printed script of his speech.

Jihoon blinks in shock. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Junkyu answers whilst scratching his head. “Surprising, right? But I’m just not good at speaking in formal settings, so I was hoping you could help look over my script and my notes for it. And then maybe practice speaking some of it.”

“Sounds good.”

They dive right in, Jihoon making notes of places to inflect and where to make changes. Whilst Junkyu tests out the tone for a part they changed, a thought surfaces in Jihoon’s head that this is kind of nice. From the afternoon sun to the bustling coffee shop background, Jihoon can’t help but feel like he’s in some kind of teenage romance or chick flick movie. When they finally finish brushing up Junkyu’s speech, Jihoon checks the time on his phone and realizes they still have some time before Jihoon is supposed to go home from his personal dance practice.

After Junkyu looks over his paper with a satisfactory look, he says, “Thanks Jihoon. I really appreciate you helping me.”

“No problem.” Jihoon aawkwardly sits and drinks his coffee as Junkyu shuffles through his papers. “Uhm,” Jihoon says, “So what’s the game plan now, you heading home?”

“Well,” Junkyu looks out the window thoughtfully, “I guess…”

Jihoon tuts. “Awwww, ain’t that a little rude, bro? You just gonna up and leave your date hanging?” Wait, what did he just say?

Junkyu turns back. “Well.” He leans forward onto the table, resting his chin on the back of his hands. “If you insist so sweetly.”

A wall of, oh my god he flirted back, fires off in Jihoon’s head. The pillars are collapsing. His mind is collapsing. Oh god- “We take the same psychology course, right?” Jihoon manages to divert the topic.

“Oh yeah, we do. We’ll just study together then?”

“Sure, but I prefer the term, self inflicted human knowledge Pavlov’s conditioning, by the way. Obligatory brainwashing for short.”

“That’s one heck of a clunky name. Don’t you need a biological stimulant for that?”

“What? The threat of failing a class isn’t enough of a stimulus?”

Junkyu rolls his eyes upwards in exasperation. “Technically, imminent academic doom is a human construct, not a biological stimulus. Also, humans are a bit more complex than a dog.”

“But technically, we’re also animals,” Jihoon flicks his wrist pompously, “I’ll have you know I have very intellectually stimulating conversations with my dogs back home. Very enlightening discussions about good doggos and treats. You don’t meow at your cat?”

Junkyu exhales. “Well, yes, I do. I’m pretty sure every pet owner talks to their pet.” Jihoon tucks away the mental image that forms in his head. Junkyu. Meowing at his cat. His cat meowing back. Junkyu. Meowing. Fuck. Fluffy fuck. But still. Fuck.

“Are you gonna suggest our pets should be a biological stimulus to study better?” Junkyu asks.

“No,” Jihoon claps his hands and points at Junkyu, “But that is a genius idea, my good man.”

“We should also probably get to studying, my fair gentleman.”

“You right.” 

They do end up digging their heads into their textbooks, only exchanging brief words about confusing concepts. Contrary to popular belief, Jihoon, in fact, does have some semblance of a work ethic after almost failing a core class back in middle school. Least to say, his house turned into a parental dictatorship hellscape for a good month, though it was all in good nature of his parents wanting the best for him.

He jolts when he hears his phone alarm ring. “Have to go?” Junkyu speaks up.

Jihoon sighs, vaguely feeling a familiar sense of dejection. Happiness, but with a pinch of dejection. “Yeah. I’ll-”

“Hey,” Junkyu suddenly voices, hand signaling for Jihoon to stop in his movement. “We- we should do this every Monday and Wednesday.”

Jihoon blinks. He then swallows. “Sure- I mean, wait- really?”

Junkyu chuckles at Jihoon’s surprise. “Yeah, I mean of course you don’t have to, but everyone warned me that you would be potentially distracting, ya know. But...I really did enjoy working with you.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes with a light snort. “That’s cause it’s you.”

“Hm?” Junkyu asks, head tilted slightly.

Jihoon’s eyes widen, realizing his slip of the tongue. “Uh- like you know- cause I was with you. And some people work better when there’s other people around, like me, and my friend’s are just dickwads. Yeah.”

Junkyu supports his cheek with his palm. “So is that yes?”

Jihoon says, “Y-yes! Yeah!” enthusiastically, maybe a bit too enthusiastically.

“Hey uhm, instead of going to the cafe today, can you help me with something?”

Looking back on it, it began as such an innocent question. As the day dragged on however, Jihoon’s traitorous brain once again started spiraling down a path of insanity.

Not even a week and a half into their coffee shop not-dates, Junkyu had broken their routine and asked for help on the choreography for the regional competition. 

Junkyu had said through text that they’d meet outside of the doors at the end of the dance department’s wing. Jihoon had gotten to the doors, scanning around the area, before he laid sight on Junkyu strutting towards him. Despite Jihoon’s initial misgivings, he had found himself melt just a little into Junkyu’s easygoing smile and demeanor, and for the short walk to find a practice room, he could busy himself with the placidity Junkyu seemed to radiate.

So Jihoon finds it strange how the awkwardness returns when they enter into the dance practice room. At least, it feels awkward for Jihoon. The dance room is Jihoon’s sacred place. The disruption of Junkyu’s entrance into its sacredness feels similar to the way Junkyu disrupted Jihoon’s mental state when Junkyu entered his life. Junkyu cants his head. “You good?”

Jihoon rapidly blinks. “Ah yeah. Is your body ready?” Jihoon asks, staring at Junkyu clad in a tank top and sweatpants. Must he look good in everything he wears?

Junkyu’s lips press into a grin. “My body is ready.” Jihoon flushes. He can admit; he walked himself right into that.

Junkyu is surprisingly good. There were definitely more than a few times where Jihoon simply ogled at the way Junkyu moved, and he fully takes advantage of his position as mentor to admire him. In Jihoon’s defense, he’s just appreciating talent.

When Junkyu finishes the dance, Jihoon nods, running over the observations in his head. “Start again from the second half of the first verse. Go until the chorus.”

Junkyu does what Jihoon says as Jihoon tries to find the right words to explain himself. Jihoon feels heady as he collects his thoughts, as if wading through a thick fog.

The music builds as it reaches the bridge, before Junkyu stops where Jihoon told him to. Jihoon stands to demonstrate. “Do a broader swing of your upper chest and move your arms through the movement, not before or after.” Junkyu follows, or attempts to at least. He ends up looking like a worm trying to be seductive. It is both highly amusing and uncomfortable for Jihoon to witness. He sputters through wheezes. “W-wait, not like that. You’re lookin’ like an octopus during mating season. I need you human sexy, not fish sexy.”

Junkyu blushes. “Octopuses are mollusks, not fish,” Junkyu says, trying to cover up his embarrassment. 

“Potato, puhtahto. Same thing.”

The moment dies down, and Jihoon finds himself at a loss of what he’s going to do next. Well, he does, but meeting eyes with Junkyu is hard when Jihoon is trying to get Junkyu to do a complicated body roll. Jihoon tries explaining it a few different ways, all falling flat.

“Are you uncomfortable?” Junkyu suddenly asks.

Jihoon panickedly answers, “No?” He sees Junkyu frown, and he panics even more.

Junkyu huffs, though as far as Jihoon can tell, it isn’t out of annoyance. “Then...could you come over here and help?”

Jihoon knows what Junkyu wants him to do, but he thinks he might actually faint if he steps any closer to Junkyu, especially since they’re both in tight dance clothes and are heated up from dancing. He opts for ignorance. “Er, and do what exactly?”

“You know…what you do for other people? Like, physically guide them and move their body to what the correct position should be?” Junkyu elaborates, tone unsure and choppy.

“A-ah,” Jihoon stutters. “Yeah, okay. I can do that.”

Jihoon takes timid steps towards Junkyu. He slides behind Junkyu, wrangling his unbridled inner conflict as he drags his hands to be placed on Junkyu’s sides. By no means is Jihoon a person averse to skinship. Jihoon actually loves affection. It’s just that, when being normally affectionate, Jihoon isn’t fending off thoughts of fantasies back hugging a person. Or rubbing the person’ shoulders. Or kissing the person’s ne- He’s getting ahead of himself. Jihoon stumbles over his explanation, dread building as him touching Junkyu drags on longer and longer. Junkyu must notice Jihoon’s increased stiffness because Jihoon’s eyes are fidgeting, and he’s leaning his upper body back away from the other, as if trying to magnetically repel himself from the man standing in front of him. Their eyes meet in the mirror. Jihoon can confidently describe his expression looking something akin to a deer in headlights.

Junkyu then proceeds to start wiggling, much to the confusion of Jihoon. “woOOoobly wooOOobly woooOObly.”

“Junkyu- what-”

“Look man, if you’re just gonna stand there, I’m gonna be stuck sleuthing like an octopus on stage. I’m pretty sure no one would want that.”

Jihoon stifles a snort at the mental imagery. “Hey, the leader team is always open to new concepts. I’ll make sure to pitch sexy fish-

-again, mollusk.”

“-whatever, sexy mollusk, in the next meeting, though I don’t think octopi make wooOObly woOOOobly noises.”

“It’s octopuses, not octopi, and how would you know? You’re not the biology major here, I am. And you, are the member of the dance club’s leader team and one of the best dancers here. Now would you help me out, Park Jihoon?” Junkyu turns his head back to look at Jihoon mischievously, emphasizing Jihoon’s name.

Jihoon narrows his eyes at Junkyu’s sass. “Whatever you say, nerd.” Even though absolutely nothing Junkyu said was special, something snapped in the tense atmosphere. As Jihoon continues to help Junkyu throughout the choreography, he realizes that for once, it isn’t Jihoon leading the conversation. Junkyu jabs, taunts, and cracks jokes, and Jihoon gets swept away into it. He doesn’t fight against the current. He doesn’t want to.

As they finish up, they’re chatting away about spy drone birds. Jihoon opens the door for Junkyu as they talk.

Jihoon spots a familiar head of blonde over Junkyu’s shoulder. His voice quiets, seeing Seunghun, who has also stopped in his tracks. Junkyu turns around. “Oh, hey Seunghunnie!” Junkyu greets merrily.

Seunghun’s faint surprise fades into warmth as he returns with, “Hey, Kyu. Hey, Jihoonie.” Seunghun is smirking now as he looks at Jihoon. Jihoon hopes his gaze burns his holes into Seunghun’s eye sockets.

Jihoon momentarily switches his focus to Junkyu, who's looking at Jihoon confused. “Hey, can you go ahead? I need to say something to Seunghun real quick. I’ll catch up.”

“Okay,” Junkyu replies without question and leaves. Seunghun walks up to Jihoon. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“You, too. Just so you know, nothing has happened.”

Seunghun laughs. “Well, I wasn’t going to interrogate you anyway, considering you have someone to walk home with. You are absolutely going to tell me about this later, though. Now go back with Junkyu, Little Miss Defensive.” Jihoon flips him off before scurrying away to catch Junkyu. It doesn’t take long as Jihoon sees Junkyu afar down the path. Jihoon waves his arms, calling, “Hey! Wait up!” Junkyu stops, waiting for Jihoon with a mirthful expression. Jihoon gets to Junkyu’s side as they resume their conversations about potentially government controlled animals that eventually transitions into exotic pets they’d be willing to try and take care of.

Reaching the spot where they split comes too soon. “Back to the animal friendly apartments, huh? Must be chaotic.”

Junkyu chuckles. “Only a bit. It’s not like there’s an animal poop disaster every other week.”

“Yeah, sounds rough,” Jihoon replies and then pauses. He isn’t usually one for silence, but he feels reluctant to go, not wanting to kill the vibe Junkyu had cultivated all the way back at the dance room. “Well, next week at the cafe again?” Junkyu asks as the corners of his smile emphasizes his cheekbones.

“Yep, later!”

They part ways, leaving Jihoon in a bubble of floaty elation. His limbs are loose as he kicks his legs on the pavement and swings his arms at his side. He even does a little twirl, dancing to the enlivening tune from his earbuds. It isn’t until he’s back in his campus apartment that he registers that his cheeks ache. Jihoon touches the sore muscles, realizing he was smiling all the way back.

“Park Jihoon. You have some explaining to do.” Seunghun sits across from Jihoon at their small dining table. They were inside the small apartment after having decided to try and cook something for the first time in a while.

“I have a right to remain silent,” Jihoon retorts, stabbing his food.

“And I have a right to know what’s happening with my best friend. This isn’t a cop movie, bud, but if you insist on me grilling your ass, heard from Woongie that you’re having coffee shop dates with Junkyu?” Seunghun says, crossing his hands under his chin. “And just two weeks ago you were worried about scaring the poor guy off.”

Jihoon mentally curses, forgetting about Woong’s looming presence. “He just wanted my help with speech class, and then it sort of turned into a weekly study hangout thing.”

“Uh huh.”

“Soooo...you’re not gonna question it?”

Seunghun hums. “You may like withholding things, but as far as I’m aware, you’re not a person who usually bends the truth.”

Jihoon nods sagely. “Well...uhm. Is there- do you-”

“C’mon, you can spit it out.”

“Is there anything else you wanna know?”

“Do you like being with him?”

Damn, straight into business. Jihoon wouldn’t expect anything less from Seunghun, but Jihoon is never any more prepared to his friend’s bluntness than the first time Jihoon was confronted with it. 

Jihoon hesitates. Not because he needs time to think--it’s an obvious answer--but because he feels dumb admitting it. “...yes.”

“Do you know his flaws?”

“...yes. Some of them...”

“Are you okay with them?”

“...yes. I think…”

“Do you feel comfortable around him usually?”

“..yes.”

“Do you like his personality?”

“...yes.”

“Do you want to keep being with him?”

“...yes.”

“Do you like him?”

“...yes.”

“Do you love him?”

“...” Jihoon stares at his almost completed food.

Seunghun puts his chopsticks down. “You should tell him.”

Jihoon snaps his head up at him. “So soon?”

Seunghun raises his eyebrow. “What do you mean so soon? You’ve known him for over half a year already, and you two are already pretty close. Didn’t it take like three months for us to become best friends?”

“But-” Jihoon deflates. “You know this is different.”

“I know, I know, but Junkyu is different in general. Again, give it a chance to at least tell him,” Seunghun flicks Jihoon’s forehead.

“And how should I go about this?”

Seunghun shrugs. “I don’t know. You already got the coffee shop aesthetic down. Try something cute. Ohhh~ Maybe get Woong to bake him something that asks him out!” His hands curl into fists eagerly.

“What? No, that’s cheesy.”

“Please, Jihoon. You’re always cheesy,” Seunghun replies exasperatedly.

Jihoon scowls jokingly at him. “I’ll just ask him. Sweet and simple, ya know?”

Seunghun gives him a look.

Jihoon looks back.

Seunghun puts his hands up. “Alright, whatever works for you. Take the floor.”

Jihoon genuinely reacts shocked. “Wait, seriously?”

“Mhm, I trust you aaaaand I trust Junkyu won’t run away screaming bloody murder from you.”

Jihoon laughs deprecatingly. “Thanks.”

“No problem. But when do you plan on telling him then?”

“Probably the next coffee session…”

“You sure?” Seunghun puts his hands on his hips.

“Look, I know what you’re thinking, but well, I didn’t exactly give myself time to contemplate the first time Junkyu asked me to go study at a coffee shop together-”

“-you know you can call it a study date and not spontaneously combust into flames, right?”

-shut up. But yeah, sooner than later seemed to work the first time. Might as well get the rejection over with.”

Seunghun sighs and shakes his head. “Oh, Jihoon. As long as you don’t spontaneously combust into flames during the date. I know I said I trust the two of you, but still, remember to watch out for yourself,” Seunghun advises heartily.

Fate and luck must be out to get Jihoon. Junkyu somehow gets sick and sooner becomes later. Still, Jihoon manages a way to willingly involuntarily meet up with Junkyu. Junkyu’s friend and roommate, Midam, had asked Jihoon if he could bring his class notes to Junkyu, which Jihoon had agreed to since it was convenient for him to do so. On the way, Jihoon had also decided to pick up a resupply of Ruby’s medicine to save Junkyu the effort of needing to pick it up on his own.

Jihoon fishes for the spare apartment key that Midam had given him. He invites himself in before taking his shoes off. “Junkyu?” he calls. “You there?”

He hears nothing. Must be asleep. Suddenly, he hears meowing and sees Ruby coming towards him. Jihoon pets her and coos, “Hey there girlie. How ya doin’?” Ruby nuzzles against his hands. Jihoon drops the notes and medicine on Junkyu’s counter as he scans the space. There’s a bit of clutter here and there, but over all, it’s pretty cozy. Jihoon bends back down and scratches the back of Ruby’s ear. “Have you eaten yet? Should I treat you to something?” Ruby just looks back up at him with wide, glistening eyes. Jihoon sets out to check Ruby’s bowl.

Suddenly, he hears shuffling from the other side of Junkyu’s bedroom door. “Hmmm, Jihoon? Is that you?” The door creeps open, and Jihoon is met with a disheveled and sniffling Junkyu.

“Jihoonieeeeeee,” Junkyu slurs. “Why are you here?” He cocks his head lazily as he goes towards Jihoon. His eyes are droopy and a pink flush spreads across his cheeks and dots his nose.

“Oh uh,” Jihoon feels a blush reaching up his face. He wants to snuggle, wrap Junkyu up in a blanket burrito, and feed him soup for the rest of the day. The idea is seriously tempting. “I dropped Midam’s notes for you off on the kitchen counter. I also brought a refill of Ruby’s medicine. Just in case.”

Junkyu collapses on the couch. “Thank youuuuu. You’re an angel, Jihoonie,” He mumbles, “Would you like to sit down?” Junkyu blearily looks up at Jihoon inquisitively after he asks the question. Jihoon breathily laughs at the other’s attempt at being hospitable despite his illness. Jihoon can feel sweat building up under his collar in the company of Junkyu right now, even though Jihoon is pretty sure he himself isn’t sick. Can you contract a virus and have it show symptoms that quickly?

Suddenly, Jihoon feels movement against his leg. He peers down to see Ruby rubbing against him. He can’t fight the urge to smother Ruby in rubs and pats again. “Awwww Ruby, are you sad your owner is sick right now? Do you want me to stay and help take care of you?” Jihoon babbles to her. He feels eyes on him as he ruffles Ruby. Jihoon looks up and sees Junkyu watching him with a dopey smile.

“What are you looking at?” Jihoon tries teasing against the increasing temperature of his ears. 

“You two are so cute,” Junkyu says dreamily. His cheeks look somehow redder than they were moments before.

Jihoon stands abruptly. His movements are twitchy as he says, “I should go. My next class starts soon.” Junkyu pouts. It’s suddenly harder for Jihoon to breathe. 

“Okayyyy, thanks for coming Jihoonie.”

“No problem. Get better soon.” Junkyu pushes himself up to the couch, staggering as he does so. “Lemme walk you to the door.”

“No no no! It’s fine. You should go back to sleep. Here, I’ll take you back to your bed.” Jihoon goes to loop his arms under Junkyu’s. Junkyu complains, weakly trying to push Jihoon away.

“But I’ll get you siiiiick,” Junkyu protests, but Jihoon drags him back anyway. They get through the door, before Jihoon lets Junkyu go, and Junkyu thumps on the bed. Jihoon watches Junkyu crawl back under the covers. He hears him say a muffled, “Thanks again…”

Jihoon smiles. He turns and softly shuts the door behind him. Jihoon goes back out, heart beating wildly as he leaves.

To say Jihoon was in a world of panic the day before would be an understatement. He’d spent the evening pacing his bedroom and having Seunghun try and calm him down. Junkyu’s untimely sickness had given Jihoon some room to breathe, but that also gave Jihoon more time to obsessively play every worst case scenario a hundred times over in his head. Jihoon was a person who was confident in every aspect except dating. There was once a younger, dumber Jihoon who had a balloon of an ego when it came to romance, but it quickly wilted with every disastrous venture.

He repeat his words and Seunghun’s words in his head. He’s going to be fine. He’s going to confess. Junkyu won’t hate him afterwards. He’s gonna be straight to the point. Maybe compensate for the awkwardness afterwards with some humor.

He is going to be fine, and he is going to confess.

Jihoon walks in like normal. He greets Junkyu like normal. They start talking like normal.

“Are you hot?” Jihoon asks. “Your face is red.”

Junkyu blinks owlishly at him. “Er, a little?”

It’s then Jihoon sees that Junkyu seems to be blushing, and his imagination runs amok. Brain, no! Get ahold of yourself!

An uncomfortable atmosphere settles, and Jihoon curses himself. This was meant to be sweet and simple! Fast and fresh! Swift and saccharine! Thankfully, the coffee comes none too soon. He takes a sip, hoping to use the gesture to transition out of the strangeness currently between them.

When Jihoon puts the cup down, he pales and nearly spits the coffee out as he sees the latte art. He looks up at Junkyu, whose mouth is agape.

Jihoon’s eyes flicker back down. A now very distorted, Will you go out with me?, in elegant font stares back at Jihoon. On the opposite side of the coffee cup Jihoon drank from is a, yes, in cute and small letters. On the side Jihoon drank from is what he assumes was a cruel, cruel no.

“Wow, my lack of romantic intuition even manifests into coffee. This is definitely a new low for me,” Jihoon blurts out, a self deprecating attempt to lighten the mood. When he looks at Junkyu, he sees the other is disheartened with slumped shoulders.

Jihoon flails. “Wait wait! No, don’t misunderstand!”

Junkyu frowns. “Misunderstand what? I’m sorry. This was a mess.” Junkyu shifts uncomfortably, preparing himself to leave.

“I- no no! I just- god why am I like this!” Jihoon flips the cup to the yes side and chugs the coffee before slamming it down on the table. “I like you back!” Jihoon yells. The coffee shop submerges into silence with everyone looking at Jihoon. He catches Woong smiling at him. The elder winks, and Jihoon flushes even more. He suddenly feels a hand slide over his. He turns back and sees it’s Junkyu’s. He thinks that he wants to keep holding it.

“Why don’t we go out?”

And luckily for Jihoon, their hands stay clasped as Junkyu drags a dazed Jihoon out. They begin walking, not really having a set place to go. Their shoes scrape along the pavement. Cars pass by. The noises of the college town fills the silence between them, but it isn’t an uncomfortable silence anymore. It just feels more like a weight, a subject to breach, a new page to turn.

“So...was that a yes?” Junkyu’s voice lilts upwards nervously. He runs his thumb over Jihoon’s knuckles.

“Yeah,” Jihoon breathes.

“Okay, good. Good.” Junkyu nods his head, though it seems to be more of an affirmation to himself that any of this is happening rather than a reply to Jihoon. Jihoon finds it endearing.

“Sorry for- er, about the thing- the uh, weird confession back there by the way,” Jihoon stammers. Great English Jihoon. Your communications professors would be proud.

“Oh- oh no! It’s fine! I’m glad it wasn’t actually a no…” Junkyu trails off.

Jihoon sucks in a breath, and says, “Yeah, I’ve discovered over the years that I don’t exactly have the best streak of luck when it comes to the whole dating scene.”

“Same, actually,” Junkyu exhales with a hint of humor. Jihoon squints at him. “Really?”

“Yeah. Been told that I’m apparently easy to take advantage of. Not something I want to exactly go into right now.” Despite Junkyu’s honesty, he still smiles apologetically at Jihoon, as if he feels bad for withholding what seems like very personal information from Jihoon.

“Oh yeah, don’t worry about it. I understand. Well, for me it’s kind of been the opposite. I’m loud and unpredictable-”

“That you are.” Junkyu chuckles, though there doesn’t seem to be any malice behind the statement. “Not in a bad way, I mean!” Junkyu rushes to correct himself.

“Haha, yeah don’t worry. I know you were complimenting me.” Jihoon wiggles his eyebrows, causing Junkyu to cringe. “But I’ve always been apparently ‘too much’ to handle, ya know? Even my ultra clingy ass ex said that, even though he always wanted to ‘spend time with me.’ Turns out, he just wanted to mold me into his ideal version of a boyfriend.”

Junkyu frowns sympathetically. “That’s awful.”

“Yeah, it was,” Jihoon continues solemnly. “I’ve had about 6 relationships, I think? One in high school. The rest is spread out between freshman and sophomore year of college. Although, I don’t really know if I should count the 6th one considering I got the hell outta dodge after a week after finding out he had a pretty extensive infidelity record.”

“Oh, I remember that! Raesung was the one who found out and told you about, right?”

Jihoon hums. “Yeah, didn’t realize Raesung had a knack for snooping around, that scamp.”

Junkyu rolls his eyes. “Okay, what do the two of you have against each other? I still remember Raesung venting to me about you, even all the way back in high school.”

“He’s just annoying! I think, some people are just destined to dislike each other’s guts for eternity. No matter what we do, we always end up butting heads and arguing. Not my fault we can’t get along- Junkyu don’t give me that look.”

Junkyu humphs in a singing tone. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You sure about that? Last time I trusted you, everyone ganged up on me and Raesung and made us do seven minutes in heaven together. It was seven minutes in hell I tell you. Hell .”

“Oh please, I could tell you 2 bonded in there.”

“Look, I don’t know what you think we did in there, but it definitely wasn’t holding hands, telling our sob stories to each other, and making friendship bracelets, okay?”

“Buuuuuuut?” Junkyu’s eyes twinkle at Jihoon.

Jihoon sighs. “Okay, fine. We did talk a little, but just cause we don’t fight anymore, doesn’t mean we’re friends still.”

Junkyu turns back towards looking at the side walk. “Hey, it’s an improvement. Plus, you’re gonna have to get used to him eventually. He is my best friend after all.”

Jihoon scoffs. “Which I respect. I am capable of being civil, thank you very much. But the bottom line is, it’s not like he’s your boyfriend-” the words, but I am, get stuck in his throat, “-the most I’ll do is tolerate him.”

“Wellllll,” Junkyu says. “We were actually boyfriends before we were friends,” he mentions collectedly.

Jihoon jerks his head at Junkyu. “Wait, WHAT? You dated him?!”

“Calm down calm down. We eventually realized we were better off friends, obviously, but yes, I used to date him.”

Jihoon opens his mouth, but Junkyu cuts him off before Jihoon can say anything. “And don’t worry, I don’t like him anymore. I never really did and neither did he. It’s why it didn’t work out.”

Jihoon sniffs. “Okay then, but I only trust you because you’re the one saying it. Raesung isn’t gonna be let off the hook that easily."

Junkyu rolls his eyes again. “I’ll be sure to let him know that.”

“Mhm, make sure to emphasize that I’ll be a better boyfriend than him, too.”

They both freeze in their steps. Junkyu’s wide eyes pierces Jihoon, and Jihoon thinks he might actually die. “Uhm- Oh hey look! A bench. Why don’t we sit down,” Junkyu points out skittishly.

“Er, yeah,” Junkyu’s eyes avert quickly to the ornate, maroon seat.

They sit down. Their hands are still together, so Jihoon takes it as as sign that he hasn’t completely fucked up yet.

“Uhm,” Jihoon starts, broaching the impending topic, “Are we boyfriends now?”

“I-” Jihoon fearfully watches Junkyu’s reaction, trying to read his face when Jihoon still only has about a fifty percent success rate with reading Junkyu.

“I… I guess you’ll have to take me out on a date then?” Junkyu lifts his head up, his ears reddening. It makes Jihoon want to touch the tips of them and tease Junkyu to death as payback for all the times Jihoon thought he was gonna die of an emotional stroke because of Junkyu. As Jihoon’s face splits into a hopeful, toothy smile, Junkyu opens his mouth again. “Will you-”

“Wait!”

Junkyu blinks.

Jihoon mentally slaps himself for his bad timing. “Hang on, wait. At least let me ask you out! You can’t be taking all the glory for this, too! Ya know, I was planning on confessing today, too, but you beat me to the punch! I still need to retain some of my dignity, damn it!” Jihoon whines. At this, Junkyu bursts into snorts.

“Kim Junkyu,” Jihoon takes Junkyu’s other hand into his and turns so that he’s facing Junkyu directly. “Will you go out with me?”

“Yes,” Junkyu replies through exasperated giggles. “Where do you wanna go?”

“Uh,” Jihoon replies dumbly, “Honestly, didn’t think that far.”

“Didn’t you just say you had some dignity to retain?”

“Hey! I did in fact save some of my dignity. I just only needed a little,” Jihoon pouts at Junkyu, whose grin lights up his whole face and the fireworks in Jihoon’s chest.

Jihoon huffs. “How about dinner this weekend by the lake? And then we could walk down to the boardwalk afterwards?”

Junkyu nods. “Yeah, that works for me.”

“So then, it’s a date?”

“It’s a date.”

They smile warmly, indulging in one another’s presence.

A loud growl rips from Jihoon’s stomach.

“Uhm,” Jihoon utters, mortified from his stomach ruining the moment. Junkyu snorts through his nose. 

“Think you drank the coffee too fast earlier.”

“Yeah, it was probably that.” Jihoon looks away sheepishly. He takes out his phone. “Oh wow, we’ve been out here for a while.”

Jihoon lifts his head back up to see Junkyu’s smile falter. They stand. Suddenly, Jihoon is being pulled into an embrace. “I’ll see you this weekend then?” Junkyu asks into his shoulder. Jihoon replies with a, “Yeah,” as he relaxes into the hug.

Seunghun seemed content, and Jihoon was over the moon. Jihoon had only felt slightly bad that Seunghun had to listen to his brimming excitement for the past few days, but Jihoon could tell Seunghun wasn’t truthfully that annoyed by it. For once, there was no fretful probing, no nagging, or masked perturbation from the other. As for Jihoon, the most amount of pre-date anxiety he got was making sure he didn’t forget his wallet. 

The underlying worries do make an appearance, of course. It’s almost like a prerequisite for every first date, at least for Jihoon it is. What if something horrific happens to either of them? A robbery? Accident? Kidnapping? Surprise axe murderer? However, those queasy gut feelings disappear when Jihoon spots Junkyu waiting on a bench, shaded by a tree from the afternoon sun. “Hey kyu-tie.”

“You had to do that, didn’t you?” Junkyu’s expression is only fond despite his faux annoyance, accustomed to Jihoon’s quips.

The restaurant and the lake are both a bit a ways downtown, so they have to take the metro. Jihoon spends it playing hand games with Junkyu, proudly earning his title as thumb war champion. Junkyu gets his share of winning too at rock, paper, scissors and getting to pay for a majority of the meal. Fine for Jihoon. He would’ve considered it a win either way. One is a win for chivalry, and the other is a win for his wallet, not that Jihoon would’ve minded paying for it.

Their leisurely amble continues among the bustle of downtown. They point out boutiques and make note of small corner shops to visit for the future. A stray thought wonders if that future will have Junkyu in it. Jihoon brushes it off. Too presumptuous. Too soon. He intends to not forget the lessons he learned from his past failed relationships.

Jihoon forces his conscious to let go and get whisked away into the conversation they’ve been having. He doesn’t question how they got from dance genres to possible scientific takes on the anatomies of mythical creatures, but all Jihoon knows is that if he can get Junkyu to laugh when Jihoon suggests echidnas are the physical manifestations of punished gods, let the banter carry on!

“Seriously, who the hell thought backwards feet was a good idea?! Doesn’t matter if mother nature or whatever god out of the millions that exist did it, I refuse to believe that it is a creation any being is proud of. Not because echidnas are abominations but because they subjected a poor animal to shitty evolutionary adaptations. It has to be some form of punishment! The only animal I can think of that has it worse is the kiwi. Those poor pregnant kiwis.” Jihoon shakes his head as Junkyu supports himself with an elbow on Jihoon’s shoulder.

Junkyu inhales deeply, trying to get ahold of himself through his near hysterical guffawing. “I mean, there is a reason why they have it. It’s not like they’re completely immobile with backwards feet. Now imagine them bipedal.”

“Oh. God.” Jihoon feels like he’s creating artificial traumatic memories for himself to have flashbacks to later on. “Why did you tell me to imagine that?! Quick! Say something else!”

“Uh uh, platypus!”

Jihoon gets taken aback. “What? Why platypuses?”

“Uhm, cause ever since you mentioned echidnas I’ve been thinking about platypuses, too? Did you know they’re related?”

“They’re what now?!”

Their conversation gets cut when they get to the restaurant. It’s mid-range priced and family owned. Jihoon likes the restaurant because it’s homely. It’s comfortable and reminds him of gaming marathons and bed tents in living rooms. Junkyu’s presence only adds to the warmth. Jihoon has been here a few times with Seunghun, Doyoung, and Woong, so the owner recognizes him. She kindly gives them a nonexistent couple discount, much to the bashfulness of both Jihoon and Junkyu, both of whom are now blushing messes.

The dinner isn’t all that special, which is the way Jihoon likes it. Usually, he takes the first date as a way to get to know the other person, but Jihoon finds it a bit odd to be doing that to someone he already knows pretty well. Still, Jihoon finds himself surprised at stories of highschool and their hometown. Experiences that they missed with each other all those years and feel a world apart, even though they were never really that physically far from the other.

Dinner is finished relatively quickly as they have one more destination, something that Jihoon doesn’t often do with first dates. Junkyu seems to have a habit for breaking Jihoon’s first date habits.

With bellies full, they joke and stroll to the lake, where the sun has already begun it’s slow descent under the horizon. Jihoon takes Junkyu’s hand as they walk towards the boardwalk under the vibrant palette of the sky, the boards resonating dull thuds under their footsteps. They get to the edge farthest from the lake’s shore. A gentle pause holds itself in the air as they take a moment to absorb every beautiful fragment the scene has to offer.

“Beautiful sunset,” Jihoon says breathlessly.

“Mhm,” Junkyu hums.

Jihoon turns his head towards Junkyu and gets an idea. “Especially when it’s reflected in your eyes.”

Junkyu rolls his dark brown irises with a smile. “You’re awful.”

“You know you like it,” Jihoon winks. “You know what else is beautiful?”

Junkyu still looks exasperated but he looks up at him with a bit of curiosity. “This is gonna be cheesy isn’t it.”

“Just humor me, bro.”

“Wait a second. This seems familiar-”

“Look into my eyes, bro.”

Junkyu leans in. “Are you just bragging about yourself?”

“Nah bro, look at what’s reflected in my eyes.”

Jihoon watches as the realization dawns on Junkyu. A smile forms onto Jihoon’s face as a wave of achievement washes over him.

“You’re my sunset, bro-”

“Just shut up and kiss me.” Junkyu closes the remaining distance, capturing Jihoon with his lips. Jihoon quickly molds himself into Junkyu’s hold, hands on Junkyu’s waist. Junkyu wraps his arms around Jihoon’s neck as they slowly move in tandem with one another, slow breaths and languid kissing. When Jihoon finally separates from Junkyu due to lack of oxygen, Junkyu suddenly breaks into little giggles. Though Jihoon doesn’t really know what Junkyu finds funny at the moment, the charm of his delight makes Jihoon join him, too.

“Honestly, it was kind of funny. You’re my sunset too, bro,” Junkyu says. At this, Jihoon’s giggle turns into a laugh before he goes in for a peck on the lips.