Chapter Text
Downtown Seoul Restaurant
The evening lights were on outside the restaurant's panoramic windows, the tables were filled with food and alcohol, and the student party was in full swing. The freshmen were having a blast, offering drinking games at every turn. Upperclassmen gathered at neighboring tables and grilled meat. Loud laughter could be heard from time to time as the party to celebrate the start of the new school year brought together almost all of the students in SNU's Business Administration program.
Seungcheol, sitting at a table with the guys from the basketball team, slowly sipped his beer and felt relaxed for the first time in a long time. The friends were discussing their coach's tactics for the new season. Practices would begin soon, and closer to the middle of the fall, the team would play friendly games with other universities, which were traditionally held before competitions. Everything seemed to be going as it always had.
"Maybe you can come watch us train, sunbae?" asked a student sitting across from Seungcheol.
It's going on as usual.
The rookie looked at him with undisguised admiration. Of course, he was the captain of the SNU team, Choi Seungcheol, a man who was a relentless force on the field, leading the team to victory. Two years without a loss, two gold medals in intercollegiate competitions. A solid character, an aura that suppressed the will of his opponents, skills, speed, strength, leadership - those around him could say a lot about Choi Seungcheol.
Only the others were noticeably quiet, discreetly glancing at each other.
"Sewon-ah, why are you being so rude? Try to make the main team first. Coach Lee appointed a new captain and he's a terrible pain in the ass...'' Mingyu abruptly stopped talking and received a warning punch under the ribs. Seungcheol interrupted his friend so that he wouldn't scare the youngsters in vain.
"Park was a good forward last season, so it's no wonder the coach put him in," Choi shrugged and twirled a roll of meat and lettuce with his chopsticks.
The guys at the table agreed and quickly changed the subject.
Mingyu exhaled quietly and turned to the sophomore. "Anyway, train hard to make it to the main roster."
"Okay!" the boy replied enthusiastically and sneaked a look at Seungcheol. It was obvious that the newcomer had not been properly informed.
Seungcheol grinned, trying to hide from everyone at the table how hurt he really was by Coach Lee's decision.
"If I have time, I'll stop by. Text me your schedule later," he picked up another piece of meat with his chopsticks.
"You should focus on your internship," Mingyu grumbled as he transferred the remaining meat from the grill to Choi's plate with his tongs, "Here, eat it."
Seungcheol smiled with the corners of his lips, took a sip of his beer, and in a rush of longing tenderness thought about what a good friend Mingyu was.
Internships, final year, exams - all the reasons Gyu always gave when explaining the change of captain to the uninitiated. Seungcheol was sure that the old crew did the same because of Kim. They defended their former captain.
Seungcheol made an unnoticeable grimace as his knee hurt even more. He didn't feel like eating at all. His thoughts returned to a topic that had been on his mind all summer - all excuses seemed pathetic. If he could go back, nothing would stop him. Examinations? He'd pass them somehow. He'd never had a greater passion than basketball anyway.
Unfortunately, four months of rehab allowed him to walk, but not to be on the court with the team.
"Hyung? Seungcheol-hyung, are you listening to me?" Mingyu's hand touched his shoulder. Seungcheol blinked and looked at his friend. He noticed the silent question in his worried look.
"Are you okay?"
"...uh, yeah? What?" Seungcheol smiled back at him and raised his beer, taking another sip.
He didn't want to give his friend any more reason to worry. There was nothing wrong with him right now. He's alive and he can walk. And he's fine.
Mingyu looked at his face for a few seconds before giving up and sighing. At that moment, everyone else's attention was caught by a loud wave of cheers coming from the freshmen. Seungcheol followed the direction of the students' enthusiastic glances and noticed a man who had just entered the hall accompanied by the administrator. The freshmen immediately jumped up and waved their arms, inviting him to join them.
"It's Jeonghan! Yoon Jeonghan, over here, over here! Hello! Yoon Jeonghan!" the cheering continued as he hurried over to the table and sat down on the seat that had been prepared for him.
He looked... vaguely familiar. Seungcheol tried to get a better view of the guy, but the crowd of students prevented him from doing that. The only thing Seungceol could make out was that the young man was wearing a black tracksuit and his dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. A few strands of his hair fell down over his face, making it difficult to see his profile.
The freshmen were all focused on him, flanking him on all sides.
A voice from the side said, "Wow, this guy's really gonna be in our uni. I didn't realize that the campus news had actually mentioned him."
Another person said knowledgeably, "Even a celebs are getting higher education nowadays."
With a puzzled expression, Seungcheol looked around at his neighbors.
"Who is he?" Choi asked. He really wondered why there was so much noise.
The boys looked at each other in confusion.
"Have you been on a desert island for the past two weeks? There were rumors all over the university that Yoon Jeonghan had enrolled at SNU. Yoon Jeonghan. What? You've never heard of him?"
The name didn't mean much to Seungcheol. His friends, disappointed by the lack of response, had already managed to open the university's news portal and found the post. Choi picked up his phone and saw a face on the screen that he recognized in a split second. No kidding, this young man had been appearing in front of his bedroom window since the beginning of summer. On a giant banner advertising luxury watches.
Seungcheol stared at the photo and blinked in surprise. The familiar mole on his cheek and the beautiful cut of his eyes caught his eye. It was definitely him. There was no doubt anymore. "The handsome young man from the billboard" Seungcheol mentally called him as he looked out of the window in the morning, lying on his bed before the new day began. Could this man really be sitting at the table next to him right now?
It took Seungcheol some time to realize. He had lived in Seoul since childhood, not in the poorest neighborhood, but he had never seen a celebrity in person. And now, someone who had seemed so far away was sitting just a few meters away.
Seungcheol didn't even realize it when he started to peek at the freshman's table. He missed half of the basketball player's conversation. Someone poured him another beer, someone accidentally kicked his foot under the table and started to apologize.
Seungcheol just thought that the "handsome young man from the billboard" was actually very fragile. He rolled up the sleeves of his black windbreaker, exposing his thin wrists, and held chopsticks lightly while picked his salad. The freshmen looked at him from all sides, seemingly questioning him constantly without letting him eat.
The young man seemed to have an incredibly attractive expression on his face. Seungcheol didn't notice that the corners of his lips turned up when young man laughed. Catching himself smiling, Choi looked away sharply.
He tried to see something interesting in the lettuce leaves. But he couldn't stop thinking about this miracle with the cute hairdo in front of him. Slowly, everything inside him began to demand to see the young man again. The feeling was like an awakening interest.
Seungcheol exchanged a few words with Mingyu and took a few sips of beer to calm his racing heart. When he had made up his mind, he looked at the freshmen again.
It took Choi's fingers clenching his napkin to keep his gaze steady when he realized that some of the freshmen and Jeonghan himself were looking curiously at their table.
"...and that's where the upperclassmen sit. See those jocks over there? Those guys play basketball for our university," the girl with the deep cleavage sitting to Jeonghan's right spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.
Seungcheol met Jeonghan's gaze. Choi held his breath for a moment as they made eye contact. He smiled broadly, revealing the top row of his teeth. Jeonghan smiled back, nodded slightly and looked away.
"There, look at the guy in the gray t-shirt. He was captain last year!" the girl added even louder. She seemed to be drunk.
Seungcheol saw Jeonghan flinch and say something softly to the girl. Then she made a "T-sh-sh-sh" gesture as she mockingly switched to whispering.
Yoon Jeonghan glanced at Seungcheol again and looked embarrassed.
With nothing better to do, Cheol just nodded at him, and then watched how the guy awkwardly fixed his hair and abruptly switched to talking to the other freshmen at his table.
Time passed, but Jeonghan didn't look in his direction anymore. Seungcheol slowly finished his beer and meat and leaned back in his chair, running his finger along the edge of his plate. He wondered if he should approach the "handsome young man from the billboard". Something made him want to, but Choi couldn't figure out why. And what to say?
A new onset of nagging pain in his knee did the trick, tying him to his chair for an indefinite amount of time. Too bad he couldn't take a painkiller now. The last thing he wanted to do was limp in front of everyone.
After another hour, the freshmen started talking about moving to karaoke. Some of the upperclassmen, who were already quite tipsy, enthusiastically supported the young people's initiative and began to gather.
"Are you going with them?" Seungcheol asked Mingyu, watching the movements of the thin silhouette out of the corner of his eye. Jeonghan rose from his seat after the others.
"I have to follow Sewon. His mother won't be happy if she knows that I let him go alone," Mingyu sighed weakly. His parents were on good terms with the boy's parents. Seungcheol could understand why Mingyu didn't stay with him. "What about you? Will you take a taxi home?"
Seungcheol nodded in the hope that Kim wouldn't be worried about him now.
"Go, or they'll leave without you," he said and waved his friend towards the exit.
People were already gathering around the door.
It was amazing how a hundred drunken students could act so coherently as they gathered to continue the party.
Seungcheol watched as the hall emptied and the room grew quieter. After most of them left for karaoke, the others said goodbye to each other and hailed taxis. One of the last to leave was the girl from the party organizers. She paid for their dinner and then said goodbye to Seungcheol.
As the room emptied and the waiters began to clear the tables, Seungcheol got to his feet, gritting his teeth against the sharp pain, and walked slowly toward the exit.
His heart grew heavier with the arrival of silence. As he slowly crossed the hall, Seungcheol thought of many things at once. About how just last year he would have been one of those who could spend three hours at karaoke. About how most of the guys he had a good relationship with wouldn't even notice his absence now.
He wished things could be the way they used to be, but all he had to do was hobble to the taxi, hoping the car would come quickly and he wouldn't have to stand for long.
He also regretted that he had let Jeonghan out of his sight during the commotion. Honestly, he wouldn't be able to look at the banner in front of his house like he did before.
The stairs to the first floor seemed like hell to Seungcheol. While he could still climb up with Mingyu's help, going down by himself quickly reminded him why he couldn't play basketball. His knee bent heavily, sending waves of pain up his thigh.
By the time Choi stepped outside and breathed in the night air, drops of sweat had formed on his forehead and his mood had sunk below the base. A deep sense of hopelessness unfolded in his soul, threatening to break out.
"Don't give up. Stop panicking, Cheol-ah. We have to call Dr. Min tomorrow and start the second course of rehabilitation," guy mentally scrolled in his head, trying not to give up.
Outside, it was cooler and easier to breathe. Seunchol looked around, trying to find the right one among the parked cars, but the taxi hadn't arrived yet. Instead, he noticed a familiar figure standing alone about twenty meters away.
"Why hasn't he left?"
Seunchol looked closely at the young man, but he was too focused on his phone to notice him.
"Should I call him?"
Choi decided that it would be a bad idea since they basically didn't know each other. So he decided to approach him on his own, clenching his jaws and slowly walking forward.
When there was about three meters between them, Jeonghan felt a movement behind him and turned around.
Seungcheol stopped. He noticed the slight panic in the eyes of the person opposite him. He didn't scare him, did he?
"A freshman? The guys had already left for karaoke," Seungcheol blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "Over there," he pointed his hand in the direction of the sidewalk, feeling that he looked rather foolish.
It was obvious that the young man wasn't lost. He certainly wouldn't be forgotten in the parking lot.
"Hello, sunbae," he said in a muffled voice and bowed slightly to Cheol, "I didn't go with the others.
Seungcheol sensed that he was upset about something.
Jeonghan looked at his phone again and bit his lip.
"I called for a taxi, but the car won't come," he explained, "and the time meter has stopped working... I can't reorder," he said, his voice getting quieter and his eyebrows furrowing.
"Let me take a look," Seungcheol suggested. His bad mood gradually faded.
The young man came closer and held out his phone.
"We-el," Seungcheol said in a low voice and scanned the taxi app with his eyes. He could feel Jeonghan's eyes studying him. "Here you have to cancel the ride before the end. You have to press confirm twice here," he turned the screen towards the guy, "Try to rebook now."
Jeonghan took the phone back and then they stood in silence for a few minutes while he made a new reservation.
The breeze blew against their cheeks, which were hot from the alcohol they had been drinking. Seungcheol froze. He watched the young man's hair ripple and his eyebrows furrow as he stared intently into his phone.
Up close, Yoon Jeonghan's beauty felt different than in the photo. It was warm and appealing. No photo would have been able to convey something like that.
Seungcheol was mesmerized by the moment. Even the pain seemed to subside, allowing him to secretly admire the person in front of him.
"I did it!" Jeonghan exclaimed happily and looked at Seungcheol with a radiant look. Choi felt his lips form into smile regardless of his will.
"Great," he congratulated, still smiling "How long until the car arrives?"
"Uh, five minutes." There was no trace of the sadness that had surrounded the young man.
"I'll wait with you, just in case," Seungcheol said faster than he thought.
Yoon blinked in surprise, but nodded and looked around.
"Can we sit down then? Over there."
Seungcheol agreed, ignoring the fact that he would hardly be able to stand up afterwards.
They walked slowly to the bench and sat down next to each other.
"Are you waiting for a taxi as well, sunbae?" - Jeonghan asked, putting his phone in his pocket.
Seungcheol nodded and tried to ease the pain with slow breathing.
- You...
- So...
Both suddenly fell silent, surrendering to each other. Seunchul smiled and gestured for the boy to introduce the word.
"Sunbae, what's your name?" Jeonghan smiled back and looked into his eyes.
Cheol felt his heart tickle. He bravely pulled himself together and answered with a calm voice:
"Choi Seungcheol. What's your name?"
"I'm Yoon Jeonghan."
Both of them suddenly fell silent. The fact that they already knew each other's names and were only introducing themselves out of formal necessity hung unspoken in the air.
Jeonghan grinned and tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear.
"Did you enjoy the party?" - Seungchul asked, realizing that he had no idea what to say. He's never... tried to get someone to like him before.
"Noise and fuss," Jeonghan stretched out. "I've been trying to remember their names, but I feel like my head is all messed up," he exhaled, but then, as if he'd come to his senses, he added:
"It was fun... Yeah."
Seungcheol grinned and looked at his hands clasped in his lap.
"I know what you mean. You'll remember everyone eventually anyway."
Jeonghan nodded.
"And you? Did you enjoy it?"
Seungcheol thought for a few seconds.
"It got interesting towards the end," he looked at Jeonghan, who had a slight blush on his cheeks.
"Saeryn obviously drank too much soju."
"It's okay."
"No. It's not nice to talk about people in front of them!" Jeonghan said, shaking his hands.
Seungcheol only noticed now that Yoon was a bit drunk. Maybe that was the reason why he defended Cheol. After all, Jeonghan himself had time to be discussed by just about everyone that night. And something told Choi that Jeonghan had heard at least half of what they said.
"Never mind. People often forget personal boundaries," Seungcheol's voice sounded measured and calm as he scanned the young man with his eyes.
Jeonghan didn't look too drunk, but his eyes were getting sleepy and a blush was forming on his cheeks. He fiddled with the folds of his clothes with his slender fingers and rocked back and forth slightly.
"Yes," he whispered, smiling sadly. "I knew it would be like this, but I decided to come today anyway. Manager Soo said it wasn't necessary, but..." Jeonghan started to sway even more and Seungcheol put his arm behind Yoon's back to prevent him from falling off the bench. - "...I was curious," Jeonghan whispered quietly, as if he was telling Choi a secret.
Seungcheol noticed that Yoon Jeonghan was beginning to feel sleepy. If he had been sober, he would not have been so open with a stranger. Carefully, Seungcheol put the palm of his hand on Yoon's shoulder and held him gently.
They continued to sit in silence, each with his own thoughts. Jeonghan examined the pebbles under his feet while Seunchul tried to ignore the heat that warmed his palm. After a few minutes, the phone in Yoon's pocket vibrated and the boy clumsily stood up, taking the warmth with him. He turned to Seungcheol and looked down at him with a smile. The features of his face were even more mesmerizing in the light of the night lanterns.
Cheol couldn't take his eyes off him.
"Thank you, Seung-Cheol-shi! - Jeonghan bowed his head and the smile on his face grew wider. "You're not as formidable as as you've been described," he added. Then he turned and ran towards the car that had stopped at the curb without Choi noticing.
Seungcheol opened and closed his mouth. He watched as the young man jumped into the taxi with lightning speed.
"You're not as formidable as you've been described." the words hang in the air.
In his confusion, Seungcheol didn't have the slightest recollection that his taxi had actually been at the other end of the parking lot for over ten minutes. He watched as the car with the young man inside drove smoothly onto the street and disappeared into the stream of light. The wind blew into his face, cooling his body. The pain in his knee grew again as he tried to stand. It only got it the second time
Jeonghan's words ran through Choi's mind over and over again.
Is he sleeping? Could it be that he is still in the hospital and his inflamed mind has decided to play a prank by telling a fairy tale?
On the way to the car Seungcheol tries to make sense of everything that has happened. Overcoming the pain, he sits down in the back seat and pays the fifty thousand won extra for the wait.
The business class cabin lulls him into a warm and quiet atmosphere. A soft melody plays in the background, and the Cheol rests his head on the back of the seat and covers his eyes. Going to a party in the afternoon, Seungcheol didn't know what to expect. This evening threatened to be terribly lonely. He was meeting everyone for the first time since the accident and he could clearly feel the curious looks. Only now it wasn't admiration from the other students, but pity. The guys on the team had tried to be supportive of him during the festivities, but the way they tried to be softer with him drew the line between them even further.
However, for some reason, Seungcheol didn't feel sad right now. He felt light-hearted and wanted to face the new day sooner. He signed up for another round of rehabilitation and took Yoon Jeonghan out to eat at the restaurant with the best view of the city.
On the verge of falling asleep, Seungcheol didn't think about the fact that they had never exchanged phone numbers. He didn't think about the fact that they were still two strangers and that Jeonghan came from a completely different world. Instead, he imagined them sitting together at a table in a famous restaurant on the eightieth floor. Jeonghan smiled at him and raised a glass of wine with slender fingers. Even in his black tracksuit, he looks like he's stepped off the cover of a magazine. They eat and laugh. The conversation builds on itself and it seems as if they've known each other for a long time.
Seungcheol smiles with his eyes closed and sinks so deep into a pleasant fantasy that he is no longer aware of the pain in his body.
~~~