Chapter Text
Seoul, April 2023
Siho yawns in the lecture hall as their professor in communications history continues talking for three straight hours. He looks outside the window and sees some students littering all over the university grounds, probably on their way to the cafeteria already since it was almost lunchtime.
“As part of your midterm project you will be researching the history of communication devices, the submission would be in the next two weeks. It can be done in pairs or individually,” Professor Park announces to everyone.
A kakaotalk notification has popped up on his lock screen. He opened the message and it was a picture of a pasta platter. God, he couldn’t wait for lunch already. It comes with another message.
ChaMin Hyung:
‘We made aglio olio pasta today!’
He replied with a ‘hyung, feed me pls’ and got an immediate reply.
‘Come to the restaurant then, my favorite customer :3’
‘thank you chef-nim!’
‘I love having the perks of being Cha Minho’s friend <3’
‘knew it, seven years of friendship yet you only want me for food’
He decided to tease him ‘:oo I thought we have established that already’
‘>:(‘
Siho chuckles quietly and closes his phone. He brings his attention back to their professor who was still talking “We won’t be having a meeting until next week so I am expecting everyone to do the project. Class dismissed.”
The class dispersed with hushed conversations as they rustle out of the classroom. Siho felt a tap on his shoulders while he was fixing his bag.
“Hey Siho, are you doing the project individually?” Sejin, his block mate, asked
Siho shrugged “Maybe I will, I don’t need more freeloaders”
Sejin pouted “Stingy as always, where will you start your research?”
He put his bag over his shoulder “I’m gonna ask my uncle if he has one, he loves hoarding antique stuff” he answers, patting her shoulder “I’ve got to go, my pasta is waiting for me, bye!”
But before he could go, she held onto his bag and stopped him “It’s your friend from culinary again? Minho sunbaenim? Kim Siho stop gatekeeping and share your blessings!”
Siho stuck his tongue out to her in a teasingly “No way, go find your own personal chef”
Siho arrives at the gates of the house where his uncle lives the next day. It took him about five hours by bus. He messaged him regarding his project and his uncle immediately agreed to help. The villa was perched on the edge of the coastline with the ocean stretching out before it. Its rustic wooden structure exuded warmth and charm, The walls were painted a soft cream color, complementing the sound of waves crashing against the shore and the salty breeze sweeping through the air. There were also a few beach houses in the area. But unlike his uncle’s, others seemed like they were used as rest houses, unlike his uncle who liked to live in such a peaceful retreat.
As he approached the porch, he was greeted by the gentle and harmonious sounds of wind chimes hanging gracefully in the breeze. Their delicate metallic tubes swayed in unison, producing a symphony of soft, tinkling notes that added to the tranquil ambiance of the house, all blending together to create a peaceful and relaxing environment.
As soon he stepped inside, Siho’s nose was greeted with the potent scents of the natural and synthetic oils and alcohol in making perfume. The air was thick with the sweet, floral aroma of perfumes and colognes. He trudged further into the house, looking for his uncle who seemed to be working on one, as the scent of musk become stronger.
Siho could also now hear the faint sounds of the radio becoming louder. He finds him in his workroom that was dimly lit, with shelves upon shelves of colorful bottles and jars lining the walls. The labels were written in elegant script, each one promising a unique and tantalizing scent.
He was greeted with a warm smile, placing the dropper delicately on the beaker and hugged him “Siho! You’ve arrived!”
Siho returned the hug “The villa auntie let me in”
“Have you eaten already?” his uncle asked, doting on him like always.
He nodded and smiled “I ate lunch before coming here”
His uncle patted his head “That’s okay then! I’ll just ask my friend to bring us some coffee and pastries from his shop later. You can bring your stuff to the guest room and rest first, I know it takes hours to come here.”
"Can I look for the radio too?" Siho asked him
“Sure, I believe it’s just in my study” He smiles “You already know the way around here”
“Thank you, uncle, I’ll leave you to your work then. See you later!”
Siho returned to the living room to get his backpack and went to the guest room on the second floor where they will be staying. Siho yawns as he put his bags down to their temporary residence for a while and jumped on the double bed. He looked at his phone only to be disappointed by the lack of a network signal. He turns his phone off and readies himself to start with his project.
The floors creaked beneath his feet as he walked, the sound echoing through the quiet hallways. The air remained thick with the faint scent of musk. He assumes that it's the base scent that his uncle had been working on. Despite their age, the hallways were well-maintained with polished wood floors. The occasional piece of modern technology, such as a computer or a flat-screen TV, seemed almost out of place among the antique furnishings of the villa.
As Siho traversed through the large villa, he found himself in his uncle’s study. The study was actually just another room that was transformed into an antique room by his uncle. The air is filled with the smell of old books and LPs, and the soft glow of warm lighting casts a cozy and inviting ambiance throughout the room. The windows cast long beams of sunlight that filtered through the dust. The walls are lined from floor to ceiling with towering shelves of random trinkets that his uncle seemed to be collecting. Everything seemed older but nevertheless, well-kept.
There was a piano in the corner. He sat at the piano and pressed random keys. The quiet hum of activity, punctuated by the occasional creak of every key that was struck, added to the room's timeless and serene atmosphere.
He looked at the rest of the room displays, looking for the item he needed for his project. In one corner, his eyes land on the amateur radio that lies on one of the shelves. He grunted as he picked up the old radio.
Gosh, old stuff really is heavy, thank god we have portability these days. He thought.
Siho put the device down on the table and turned the power on. He smiled seeing the device flicker to life, probably after almost decades of no use. Dusting the microphone, he placed the headphones gently on his right ear. He twists the tuning knob to random frequencies, not expecting anything but garbled static noises from old, untuned ham radio.
He clears his throat and tests the radio “Ah, ah, hello? Can anyone hear me?”
Siho's breath hitches when he hears a breath that wasn't his, and then a voice answered on the other end.
"Yes, I can hear you, you've reached Seoyeon High School’s radio and broadcasting club."
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Seoul, April 2001
April hits in a flurry of cherry blossoms as sunshine softly kissed Jaehyun’s cheeks when they step foot on their campus one spring day.
It was a time for the pinks and the greens. People were out and enjoying the mild weather and the scent of flowers permeating the air. Few students could be seen wandering around the campus as the rest were telling stories about their spring break. Some were in groups laying across the grass and all the benches were occupied by students.
Must be fun.
However, all Jaehyun felt at that moment was to stop himself from sneezing from all the pollen inducing his allergies. It was too floral for his own good. He sighs, this is why he preferred woody and musky scents.
Jaehyun, together with his friend Jungwoo walks to their building on their way to their first class of the day. The senior building sat in the middle of the campus. There is a large fountain at the façade as soft winds blow on the cherry trees that stretch across the campus yard.
“Hey Jaehyun, have you thought about who we will recruit to host the radio program?“ Jungwoo asks as he continues to text furiously on his new flip phone.
“I don’t know yet, there have been applicants but none of them seemed to have what we’re looking for” Jaehyun stresses. He looks at his friend pointedly who seemed to be addicted to texting “Don't ask for my text credits when you run out”
Jugwoo rolls his eyes and decides to tease him “What we’re looking for or what you’re looking for?”
Jaehyun just sighs out of frustration. Their proposal to launch a new radio program has been long overdue because of some roadblocks. The school has plans to defund their club to focus more on sports extracurriculars and this was basically their last shot to prove to the school admin to keep their club alive. But weeks before the pilot, they were still struggling to find someone to carry their program.
It was Jaehyun’s first major project in the club he spearheads and everything has to be perfect. This program was basically his child that he just birthed after months.
“We have to find someone who could bring in listeners” Jaehyun replied
Jungwoo hums “Wait, I just thought of someone” still staring at his phone waiting in his inbox. Jaehyun waits for him to continue, desperate for an answer, “You know the top student of our university who transferred in our year? He is basically the school celebrity. He’s very pretty and cute” Jungwoo gushed “and has a nice voice too”
Jaehyun furrows his eyebrows and looks at him expectantly, curious about how someone would be called ‘pretty’ in an all-boys high school. “We have a transferee? In the middle of the school year?”
Jungwoo looks up at his phone that seemed the first time that day “See, this is what you get when you don’t go to school for a week.”
“I told you it's my seasonal allergies!” Jaehyun defends himself
Jungwoo stares at him with judging eyes “Sure sure, whatever you say- yah, It's him” He points and shouts “Hey! Kim Doyoung!” he waves enthusiastically.
He looked in the direction where his friend was looking. A boy- no scratch that- the most beautiful person he has ever seen standing in front of the building entrance turned his head and smiled at them, well technically Jungwoo.
“Wouldn't it be nice if he’d join, it would be perfect for our image” Jungwoo adds.
For once, he doesn’t doubt and second guess Jungwoo’s idea, he just silently agrees.
And suddenly, everything turned comically cinematic for Jaehyun. The birds were chirping and the cherry blossoms were falling. Anytime soon, come out with a guitar playing a song that suits the season. As soon as he saw the person who put the supposed beautiful spring season to shame, his heart skipped a beat. It was as if time had stopped, and all that existed in the world was him. Kim Doyoung was standing across them, surrounded by people, but to him, he was the only one there.
He clutches his chest. Oh no.
“Hello,” Doyoung greets them with a curt nod.
Jungwoo is right, he really has a nice voice.
“Do you remember me? I’m Kim Jungwoo, I sit behind you in class”
Doyoung nodded and gave him a tight-lipped smile “I do”
“And this is my friend here! He’s your seatmate and lab partner who had been absent for a week”
He could feel Jungwoo nudging him but Jaehyun only stood there like a pole. That was until Jungwoo noticed his friend in a trance and pinched his side “Jaehyun, Jeong Jaehyun.”
“Ah, Jeong Jaehyun, the one who made me do all the work in last week’s lab,” Doyoung says in a monotonous tone, “Nice to finally meet you.”
Jaehyun scratched his neck and felt his cheeks warming up “I’m sorry about that, it's my...allergies”
“So, what can I help you guys with?” Doyoung asks them, clutching his books tighter in his arms.
“We’re here to recruit you for our club!” Jungwoo answered for them
Doyoung raises an eyebrow “Oh? What would it be?”
“You see, we’re members of the radio and broadcasting club and we’re looking for a host for a program we’ll pilot this season. Would you be interested?”
“I’ll….” Doyoung trailed off “...think about it, I guess”
“That’s good enough for us,” Jungwoo claps. “If you need more convincing, Jaehyun here will show you around the broadcasting room. Our club is the best!”
“What? I will?” Jaehyun whipped his head toward his best friend in shock. It was only then he realized that he wasn’t inputting anything into the conversation. And why was he getting volunteered by Jungwoo to do stuff?
Jungwoo ignored him and slung an arm to Doyoung “You can walk with us to the class, Doyoung!”
Before he could even reply Doyoung was already being dragged by Jungwoo to their class, and all Jaehyun could do was follow behind them.
It was already past 5 pm when their last class of the day ended. There were only a few students left with after-school extracurricular activities around the school and the skies were already tinted orange. Jungwoo immediately darted out of their class with a path on his shoulder, not even bothering to wait for him with an excuse of ‘meeting his online friend’.
Turns out that Kim Doyoung was indeed popular, both as a new and handsome face.
Multiple people crowded Doyoung immediately when they were trying to recruit him for their respective clubs. Jaehyun simply watches the scene unfold from the corner of his eyes.
“Kim Doyoung, you should join our dance club! We’ll have a performance on students week” A classmate slides a sign-up form on his desk.
Someone tops the form with their own “Join ours instead! You don’t have to dance, all you have to do is sit and sing . ”
“No, he should be joining us instead. Teacher Lee gives us members student credits in his classes”
“Sorry, I don’t want to” Jaehyun heard Doyoung answer.
Collective whines were elicited by the group “Aw, can you think about it first” they persuaded followed by multiple "Yes yes, come on, please Doyoung"
Jaehyun didn’t hear more after that, looks like it was almost impossible to recruit Kim Doyoung now. He walks out of their class alone towards his locker before going to their club room. That was until he felt someone trailing behind him. Jaehyun stopped walking which made the person bump into his back.
He turned to look at the person behind him “Are you following me?” he blurts out and immediately regrets it when he sees who it was.
Doyoung looks at him with wide eyes, and tilts his head “Uhm, isn’t this the way to the broadcasting club?”
‘Wow, those eyes are expressively cute’. Jaehyun shook his head at the thought.
“Uh, what?” His brain cells short-circuit. Because why is Kim Doyoung talking to him? When he has their classmates ready to wait on him hand and foot, and not even two weeks have passed since he transferred.
He doesn’t miss the way Doyoung blew air to his bangs “I thought you guys are recruiting” he says, raising an eyebrow.
“I thought you didn’t want to join school clubs”
“I said I wasn’t interested in joining them” Doyoung answers pointedly “and I promised Jungwoo that I’ll think about it and I did, so…I’d like to join you ” he emphasizes
Jaehyun tried to act cool when he could literally feel his ears heat up. He's still the president of the radio and broadcasting club after all. “Would you be fine to undergo some screen and voice tests tomorrow?”
Doyoung lets out a breath and looked relieved “Okay then, I guess I’ll just see you again tomorrow. It’s nice meeting you Jeong Jaehyun!”
Jaehyun quickly scampers his way to the radio and broadcasting club’s room. He sees Johnny, who was also a senior club member and their radio operator, inside the booth who looked like was wrapping up their equipment for the day.
“What happened to you?” Johnny asks, looking at him weirdly when he bursts into the room breathless.
He cleared his throat “Nothing”
Johnny simply hummed and shrugs “I finished transmission testing”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yup, we can start daily broadcasts of announcements as well as the pilot of the program as soon as possible”
“About that, can we schedule a voice and screen test with the rest of the members tomorrow? I think- Kim Doyoung is interested to join and host the program”
“Wow,” Johnny says in awe “You already recruited Kim Doyoung?”
Jaehyun whips his head fast, almost breaking his neck “You know him?”
“Who doesn’t?” Johnny chuckles “Make sure to lock the room when you go,” he tells him when he clocks out from his duties.
When Jaehyun was sure that he was the only person left in the room. He bumps his head repeatedly due to the embarrassment of his and Doyoung’s encounter after class.
“Ah, what do I do?” He asks the club’s pet goldfish. The fish just stares at him with its boba eyes and turns its back to swim away from him, well, as far as the medium-sized round aquarium could take him.
While he continues to beat himself up over thinking that he ruined his image to Kim Doyoung on their first meeting.
Jaehyun hears screeching noises of static on their club’s Ham radio. The light in the transceiver continuously flickers on and off.
Huh? I thought Johnny already had turned everything off.
That was what he thought until a muffled voice spoke amidst the static “Ah, ah, can anyone hear me? Hello?”
He presses on the microphone and speaks “Yes, you've reached Seoyeon High School's radio and broadcasting club. Is someone using this frequency?”
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Seoul, April 2023
Siho dropped the handset with a loud thud to the wooden table out of surprise.
He heard a faint ‘ow!’ from the other line. He picked up the hanging handset right above the floor.
"Ouch, that hurt my ear." he hears him complain
Siho couldn't speak, he looked at the parts, and he was pretty sure that the antenna wasn't even set up properly. He fiddles with the knobs and buttons of the transceiver but it doesn’t seem to work as he still heard the person on the other line continues speaking.
“CQ CQ, is this frequency in use?” The voice spoke once again.
To say that he was shocked to see that someone still uses Ham radio these days was an understatement. But nevertheless, excited that his project is going better than expected. Was this what Graham Bell felt when he made the first phone call?
The person on the other line spoke again “CQ CQ do you copy? If you could, please respond.”
“Oh, maybe it was just a mistake, I’m dropping this-”
“Wow! This thing really works!” Siho exclaims
He could hear the other chuckle “Is this your first time using a Ham radio?” the boy on the other line asked
“It is” Siho answers. He notes that the voice on the other line was deep, but nevertheless, youthful.
“I think we should start introducing ourselves first,” the boy on the other line tells him “I’ll go first, I'm Jeong Jaehyun. A senior from Seoyeon High School.”
“ Heol! I know someone who also went there!” Siho claps “My name is Siho, Kim Siho. I’m a first-year communication major from Hankuk Univesity,” he says. “I’m guessing I’m a year older than you then”
“Nice to meet you Kim Siho-nim ? Can I call you that?”
“Oh sure, you can speak comfortably Jaehyun-ssi”
Siho sat comfortably on the window sill and leaned on the frame “This is amazing, I didn’t think that this would actually work.” he says, still in awe.
“Really?” he could picture Jaehyun scrunching his eyebrows, “I thought Ham radios are a trending hobby these days”
“Oh is it? Jaehyun-ssi, then can you help me with my project? I need to write a research regarding amateur radios”
He could hear shuffling on the other line “Sure? I mean, I’m also interested in radios in general. Though my friend is more into texting these days since he got his new phone.”
“Thank you, I’ll hold onto that”
Silence passes between them, and he thought that the line got disconnected. That was until Jaehyun spoke again with a muffled static sound “How about you?”
Siho hums “What about me?”
“What do you do? Any hobbies”
“I don’t have many hobbies except pestering my friend to feed me” Siho laughs and boasts about his friend “He’s a culinary major! I swear he’s the best cook ever-” he was cut off when he heard his uncle knock on the door.
His uncle pokes his head in between the frame and the door “Hey, Siho! It’s time for snacks, I said I’m gonna introduce my favorite nephew to my friend”
Siho clicked on the mic before answering him “Ok, I’ll be there!” he clicks on the mic again “-hey sorry I have to go, my uncle just called for me”
“Oh ok” Jaehyun replies
Siho bit his bottom lip “Will I be able to talk to you again?”
“Hmm,” Jaehyun hummed “It’s up to you, Siho-ssi. Let’s finish that project of yours.”
Siho jumps from his seat when then the connection suddenly gets cut off by static radio noises. He looks at the handset and grins.