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Pretty.
The first time he saw him the first word that came to his mind was pretty.
It isn't everyday that something or someone caught his eye at school. Days were always the same: he got there early and slept on his desk with his pink pillow until the classroom started to fill little by little. He got used to the same routine and seeing the same faces, hearing the faint chatter through his sleepy haze. Falling asleep again just to wake up for lunch, leaving school to go work.
Nothing new.
So when the kid stood in front of the blackboard next to the teacher announcing his arrival, it was impossible to ignore his big, dark eyes. The lips that seemed to be permanently pouty and the cute cheeks that gave him a youthful look.
Suho has always appreciated beauty.
He finds beauty in flowers, the beauty of the different kinds of music, in color combinations, in that beautiful shade in the sky during the evening, in a warm hug from his grandma, in a meal after work, and of course, in people.
So it wasn't much of a surprise that he found himself admiring Yeon Sieun constantly.
Yes, he’s cute. Beautiful even. So he watched him everyday, from the back of the classroom and told himself it was just because he was bored.
Until he realized it maybe wasn't the reason.
—
The date went well. Not even a date, more like keeping company to the girl that had insisted on going out. Suho had finally agreed and took her to get some ice cream.
She was constantly smiling and batting her eyelashes.
And even though her eyes were pretty he couldn't help but compare them to Yeon Sieun's pretty eyes.
She kept pouting her lips every time she “accidentally” missed her ice cream cone and stained the side of her mouth, as if waiting for Suho to clean it up. He just gave her a smile. And a napkin.
And again his mind wandered to a pair of lips he had watched for a long time. A pair of lips that barely move when he speaks, if he even talks at all.
It was… unexpected. To be thinking about this other boy while being out with someone else. This other boy whom he had never even spoken to.
It doesn't mean anything.
Right?
He told himself it was just a coincidence. That he had gotten so used to the sight of him that he naturally came to mind.
So he decided to ignore it and pushed the memory of Sieun deep in the back of his head.
But it wasn't the last time it happened.
It happened constantly.
It wasn't like it bothered him, really. He's been attracted to men before; he has been on dates with a couple of cute guys he met during his shift at the restaurant, and he wouldn't consider himself a player, but he liked going out after work on fridays, and sometimes those nights ended up with him making out with someone.
He has never had any problem with that until he found himself thinking about his classmate in the middle of kissing someone outside of a noraebang. He wondered how it would feel if it was Yeon Sieun he was holding. If it was Yeon Sieun gripping his hair.
No, he wouldn't grip. Not at first. He would just rest his hands on my shoulders and—
God, what was he thinking?
He excused himself and went straight home.
—
He told his grandma one day. Because it just seemed like the normal thing to do since she always knew what to say.
“Sounds to me like you have a crush, Suho-yah”, she said with a little smile, “when I met your grandpa he had me hypnotized with his beautiful eyes”.
So that night, in the quiet of his room he thought about what that meant.
A crush.
On Yeon Sieun.
He thought about how he had found him pretty since the beginning, how he knew he was attractive and small, and even if he had almost failed P.E. he was still very much perfect in everything else he ever did. Not only did his looks seem perfect but he was very smart too. The smartest actually. He pictured him in his mind, walking to the front of the class to receive yet another prize for an academic achievement Suho wouldn't even dream of getting; how he had no expression other than a straight face.
He was always so quiet. And his eyes. So serious but so expressive at the same time. Always looking like he was on the verge of tears. He looks so sad sometimes it makes Suho want to hold him tight, comfort him, and never let him go.
And then it wasn't just about how attracted and curious he was about Yeon Sieun. It was about how he made him feel. The other boy had him feeling butterflies.
He nearly never got butterflies like that. Not since he had a crush on his kindergarten friend. And that only lasted like a week.
This has been going on for months now.
And instead of fading away, that feeling just keeps growing. Turning into something like want. It had him making up scenarios in his head where they went out together, fingers brushing softly against each other when they walked side by side, or dreaming about what having a date would be like. Wondering how Sieun would react if he finally reached out and said something.
Anything.
Would he maintain eye contact? How would Suho survive that? Looking straight into those big, pretty and permanently wet brown eyes of his. It would take him apart. Melt him down completely.
He wanted them to become close. He wanted to be someone Sieun felt comfortable with. Someone he talked to willingly.
Yeon Sieun never talked to anyone. Never engaged in any type of conversation with his other classmates. He was just in his own world, earbuds always in listening to… what did he even listen to? He doesn't even know that.
How could Suho even expect to be the one to break that routine?
Would Sieun just suddenly accept hanging out with him without even knowing him? Would he even respond if Suho started a conversation?
Would he like me back?
So he fell asleep thinking about all the possibilities. All those outcomes that would probably never happen if he didn't do something about it.
—
Turns out the girl he went out with had a boyfriend.
And he wasn't very happy about their little ice cream “date”.
“Did you hit on my Na-eun?”, the guy asked. He was waking up from a nap, already missing the softness of his pink pillow against his face.
Everyone in the classroom's attention had turned to them.
“Lee Na-eun? Park Na-eun?”, he tried to remember her name.
“Son Na-eun, you dickhead!”
Ah, yeah.
“She kept DMing me. So we went out once. She's not really my type, though.”, he said, his mind going back to how he stopped paying attention to her as she started rambling about how her friends ‘annoyed the hell out of her’.
That seemed to anger him even more.
Suho didn't like to fight in the classroom, too little space to move around; he didn't think five against one was in any way fair.
They had baseball bats too, that also didn't seem fair, but he got his hands on one of them and swung it towards them.
So easily scared.
The fight with the others went on for such a short time it was almost laughable. But he could feel Yeon Sieun watching and that little proud part of his heart wanted to impress him.
“You son of a bitch!”, Na-eun's boyfriend— still nameless to Suho— yelled.
And Suho managed to keep his composure for as long as he could until the dickhead threw the bat towards his head. He dodged it and crashed into Sieun's desk, knocking over his things.
That did it.
“You crossed the line”, he said as a warning before throwing a last punch that sent the other to the floor, “Take him to the nurse's office. If you mention me you die, alright?”
Now he finally turned his attention to the pair of eyes that were trained on him. Oh how pretty Yeon Sieun looked up at him with his beautiful—
Sieun looked down at his pencil case and his things scattered across the floor.
“Ah… was that because of me?”, Suho asked, already knowing it was because of him.
But he had to say something. Anything to try to get a word out of Sieun. All he got was an almost muttered “yeah”.
Still, it was something.
“I'm so sorry”, he said as he gathered Sieun's pens and put them in the case again to leave it on his desk. Like this, from the floor he could feel Sieun's gaze laser through the back of his head so he stood up as quickly as he could.
The expression on his face remained the same, only for a slight movement of his brows, as if he wasn't expecting him to pick it up.
And just as Suho thought the other was done with him he heard his soft voice, “why do that in the classroom?”, Sieun said, clearly not impressed. Then he turned to his notebook again.
Suho couldn't contain his smile. But he composed his expression and went back to his desk.
Well, now he knows who I am.
—
His shower thoughts kept going back to Sieun. How that short moment of eye contact had made Suho so flustered, it had been hard to keep his expression neutral.
Yeah, Sieun had not been happy about the fight breaking his little bubble of concentration, but now he knew of Suho's existence and he had to take advantage of that.
Maybe try to say Ah, I'll buy you a meal as an apology or I got you a new pen by the way sorry for knocking your things off or please just give me one chance… Can I kiss you-
Suho covered his cheeks with his hands, his eyes shutting closed as the water hit his face.
He knew it was stupid to be so nervous about facing him again, but he felt so embarrassed everytime he thought back to how Sieun had looked at him with such an unimpressed face. He had felt so tiny as he slouched down to gather Sieun's things and now he had no idea how to change that first impression.
Having a crush was so embarrassing.
—
He was scrolling on his phone inside a stall in the restroom when the door opened and Yeongbin and his friends entered, laughing loudly and vaping freely as if they were allowed to do it.
He usually tuned out whatever the hell they talked about, but after he heard Sieun's name being muttered during their conversation it was impossible to ignore them.
“I don't like him talking back to me”, Suho heard in between laughs and coughs, already feeling like the smoke was clouding his lungs and the words made circles in his mind.
He wasn't gonna let those assholes target Sieun.
It didn't end there. Listening to them talk about Sieun so degradingly was definitely bringing Suho to a point where he could easily break someone's arm, and he was ready to face them until he heard the door open again.
“Ah, there he is”, he heard one of Yeongbin's friends.
Sieun-ah.
Get out of here.
“Yah! Yeon Sieun. Come here”. No response; a short pause. Now Suho could hear the others making their way to the entrance. The water was running; Sieun was most likely washing his hands, earbuds in as always, listening to something that remained a mystery to everyone else.
Unarmed. Unprotected.
So Suho opened the door just in time to slam it on the guy's nose, pretending to be unaware he was even there.
“Ah, sorry. My bad.”
This should be enough for now.
—
Only it wasn't. And those guys were not done.
Suho loves exercise. The only time of the day he felt carefree was when he had his mind focused on going as fast as he could.
But that same day, during P.E. he had finished running— before everyone else, of course— and sat down to rest only to find Sieun running in his everyday uniform. And after what he heard in the restroom he immediately knew Yeongbin had taken his clothes.
Who else would do something so childish? It was also obvious by the way he and his friends kept making fun of him, he heard their mediocre Sieun impressions, heard how the others joined their laughter and just like that he had enough of it, throwing his shoe to the back of the asshole's head. The same one he slammed the door on.
Once again, everyone's attention turned to him.
Silence.
“Bring it here”, he said, pointing at his shoe that rested a few feet away from the stunned guy.
The other’s whispered, looked around, and Suho was so done with everyone.
The boy walked to him, his head down, his hand holding the shoe.
Once he was in front of him, Suho analyzed him, looking up and down, wanting to make him feel inferior, like a bug about to be stomped on.
He took his shoe, “What's your name?”, he asked.
“Lee Jeong Chan”
Ah. Jeong Chan-ah. What a bitch.
He thought about making him say sorry, but he didn't want any of his half-assed apologies. He was so annoyed he couldn't even meet his eyes. He dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
Yeon Sieun finally finished his last lap around the field. He looked like he was about to pass out. The heat, the tiredness, the boys laughing, everything seemed to be making Sieun lightheaded.
“Someone take him to the nurse's office” the coach said and Suho was already on his feet, ready to help Sieun get inside, to hide him from the sun, he was willing to carry him to the nurse's office until he heard him talk, “No, I'm fine”, be said between breaths, “really, I'm fine… I'm fine”
So Suho took a step back and watched as Sieun make his way inside the school by himself.
—
“Did you see them?” “Yes! Sieun is definitely cooked” "They were fighting!” “Sieun stands no chance, though. Not against them” “Hell no, he couldn't even free himself” “He could've lost consciousness” “You think he would have kept choking him?”
What the fuck happened?
Suho heard whispers in the classroom, boys gossiping in the hallways, some others claiming they were there when the whole “choking” thing happened, but every conversation was so different. He didn't know what was a rumor and what was the truth.
He couldn't stay any longer, though. He had to work and he knew Sieun had cram school. He probably left already.
So the rest of the day, while he was working, he couldn't take his mind off of Sieun. Is he ok? he asked himself. He wanted to make sure he was fine. To see with his own eyes that nothing bad had happened to him.
Did they leave a bruise?
He had to know. So when an address that was very close to Sieun's home popped up for a delivery, he accepted quickly.
He knew where Sieun lived since that one time he was delivering something nearby and saw him arriving after cram school, opening his door. Apartment 902, building 101.
He parked his motorcycle and ran upstairs, not wanting to waste any more precious time he could be making sure Sieun was all right.
It's ok. Just knock and act clueless.
One knock.
Nothing.
Another knock.
Silence. He should be back at this point, right?, he thought.
“Who is it?”
God, he's here. “Delivery!”
What do I do? He didn't know what to say, as always when it came to Sieun. He was out of breath and with no excuse to be there.
“I didn't order anything”
Well shit. Come on.
Improvise.
“You didn't? But this is the address”
And the door opened. And how pretty those eyes looked at him, surprised to see him and so shiny, reflecting the light from the hallway.
“Oh? The nerd?”, great line, Suho. Really. “Why are you here?”
Could anyone blame him, though? His mind turned to mush whenever they made eye contact. He was lucky he still had his helmet on. He felt like he was going to faint, a mix of the adrenaline from running and the worry he felt, and now the weight of it being lifted from his shoulders, relief washing over him as he saw Sieun standing behind the door.
His expression was so unbearably cute as he looked down at the food bag in Suho's hand, his eyebrows lifting, his lips pouting unconsciously, “I didn't order it”, he said.
“Really?”, he checked the receipt, “Building 102, apartment 902?”
“This is 101”
“This is for 102… my bad, got it”, Suho said and since the door was still open he took that as an invitation. Before Sieun could close it he stepped inside quickly, “Can you give me a glass of water?”, he sat on the floor, placing the bag next to him and taking his helmet off. “I'm getting dehydrated. It'll be your fault if I faint” which was very much the truth, but not for the reasons he was making it up to be.
Sieun was just looking down at him, standing motionless and expressionless as he does most of the time. And helpless Suho just wants to break the ice. “It's not much, just some water, please.”, he says and Sieun looks away, "Please? Don't just stand there, I'll collapse, I'm dying! Really!”, he insisted.
Sieun finally walks to the kitchen. “Now I'm even losing my voice!”, he says loudly.
Then the other comes back with a bottle of water that Suho takes from his hands and downs completely. He really felt his throat starting to close, the aftermath of his lies catching up to him under the cold gaze of Sieun's eyes.
He avoided eye contact while he drank the whole bottle, catching his breath against the wall. He felt even more out of breath than he had ever felt during P.E.
“What a ridiculous prick”, Sieun muttered loud enough to hear him clearly. Another bad impression, huh?
He stood up from the floor and suddenly noticed an already fading mark on Sieun's neck. It was a handprint.
Those assholes… “Well thanks. I'll buy you three bottles of water tomorrow.”, he reached for the bag and turned to Sieun again, “Study hard… See you tomorrow”, and just like that he was out of apartment 902, alone with his thoughts again.
The handprint.
It somehow felt very wrong to Suho that they had left a mark on Sieun. A mark that only meant violence. That meant despise.
Sieun didn't deserve that.
But was Suho even allowed to feel that way? What right did he have to feel the need to rip those guys to pieces? They’re not even friends. Hell, they're hardly acquaintances. Their only connection is being classmates.
At that point It didn't even matter what Suho was allowed or not to feel. All that mattered was that he felt the need to protect him, to keep him safe from the world and the cruelty he knew highschool boys were capable of.
—
Suho watched from afar as Yeongbin and his friends approached their new classmate, Beomseok. They appeared pretty calm at first but Suho knew they were just waiting for the right moment to start messing with him. They seemed to enjoy annoying just about anyone who was introverted.
The tiredness of working all night was catching up to him so, since nothing was out of the ordinary, Suho—as he usually did— tuned their voices out to rest his head on his pillow and close his eyes for a few minutes; that was until the only voice that had the ability to break through the wall of his mind spoke firmly.
“Move”, said Sieun, “that's my seat”
Suho opened his eyes, gaze trying to gain focus on the scene in the middle of the classroom.
Yeongbin, who was sitting on Sieun's desk turned around, an annoyingly sarcastic look on his face, “I don't want to”.
“I said move”, Sieun's tone still even, no raising of his voice, no wavering. Just a plain tone, fist holding a pen, looking so brave standing up for himself. Suho likes him so much.
Yeongbin's eyes fell to Sieun's fist, sensing a threat, “are you fucking crazy?”, and how Suho reveled in seeing him so altered by Sieun that even if he seemed harmless he never let anything shake him. Yeongbin, on the other hand, was radiating anger.
Time to step in.
“Why are y’all so chatty these days?”, Suho said, and as their attention turned to him, the tension dissipated, “I'm trying to sleep. Do you mind?”, he nuzzled his face in his pink pillow.
Yeongbin took a deep breath, “Watch it”, was the last thing he said before leaving.
And with that, Suho resumed his very needed nap.
—
He never expected that his first physical contact with Yeon Sieun would be to stop him from almost killing another classmate.
He also never expected to find this other side of him so… attractive. It’s not like it was a big surprise— he likes everything Sieun related—, but yeah, he wasn't prepared for it.
His eyes went from his usual tired look to a manic one. Angry, crazy… “hypnotizing”, he remembers his grandma saying.
He's a lunatic. A beautiful one.
He knew there was definitely something going on with him since he started slapping himself to stay awake during the exam, but oh boy was he not expecting to see him breaking Yeongbin's nose as if it was nothing, stabbing others with a pen out of all things.
Where did all that strength come from?
He didn't like those guys either way, though; always messing with others, bragging about their money, objectifying people, acting as if they were untouchable and superior.
“I asked you nicely. I told you to stop.”
True.
Suho knows he did (he heard him say those words— kept them in his mind since he rarely ever talked). And these were clearly the consequences. Most likely not the ones Yeongbin had expected— if he even did at all; it's not everyday the one being bullied completely beats their bully’s ass. So Suho was pleasantly surprised to see Yeon Sieun standing up against that dickhead. He had it coming. All of them had it coming.
But he knew that the teacher would arrive any minute now and Sieun didn't seem to have the intention of stopping anytime soon. So he had to do something.
Right before he could stomp right on Yeongbin’s already broken nose, Suho threw Sieun to the ground. A little harder than he intended, but how else was he supposed to do it,? Go all ‘Sieun, look at me this isn't you?’ As if that would work with anyone. There was nothing else he could've done to stop the hate-fuelled boy.
“Don't cross the line, alright? Know when to stop”
A very pissed off Sieun stood up slowly, manic eyes now trained on a new target.
“What?”
What? Suho hadn't thought that far into his actions.
“Uh well think I'm like your guardian angel who just woke up from a nap”, he really didn't think this through, awkwardly standing, laughing a bit, throwing a paper plane that was next to his hand to distract himself from the fact that Sieun was looking at him as if now he's about to stab him with a pen.
“Is this funny to you?”
It sounds stupid, but even in this moment the last thing he wanted to show was fear. He wanted Sieun to know he can handle it. Can handle him. Why? Only heaven knows. And maybe a tiny corner of his heart.
“A little bit”, not the best response to a guy having a manic episode, but he didn't know what else to say.
Sieun throws his pencil case to his face and attacks him with a chair. A chair for god's sake. There really is something wrong with him. And still, Suho is not scared of him. Just very, very curious.
Just how far can this guy go?
“Knock it off, nutcase. Or you're really gonna get hit”
Sieun is still swinging the chair towards him, so Suho dodges and hits him in the face, hard enough to make him lose his balance.
“I said knock it off”
“Don't tell me what to do”
And now a deafening silence goes through the room. It feels as if it's just the two of them, and even though Suho had been craving for contact, for that pair of beautiful eyes to look at him and only him, this wasn't what he had envisioned when he made up different scenarios in his mind during the night.
Sieun reaches for another chair and-
“What are you doing?!”, the teacher yells, bringing everyone back into reality.
Suho knew how being punished could affect Sieun academically and he couldn't let that happen. His record has been clean since he started and how could Suho let that be ruined for him? Sieun, who could lose his chances of getting into his preferred university for breaking an asshole's nose with a book when the guy clearly deserved what he got.
But he also didn't want to be caught up in the fire. He didn't want the school to call his grandma, who would be worried sick if she heard what happened.
So he looked from Sieun to the teacher and then back before he finally spoke, loud and clear, “Put it down! What are you doing? Teacher, I was trying to stop them from fighting and I was almost put in danger”, yes, that sounds… decent?, “I'm really sorry”, he bowed and looked at a wide-eyed and very confused Sieun, “Quick, apologize.”
He could hear his heartbeat in his own ears.
He didn't have time to process anything; he had just woken up from a nap when everything went to shit. He was so shaken up and the ache in his body was starting to flare up that he had to catch his breath. Sieun stood there, still looking at him, making no sound other than the heavy breaths leaving his mouth as his chest heaved.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
“Now!”
Again there was no movement.
God, Sieun do something; I'm trying to save your ass.
Sieun bowed, “I'm sorry”, he said quietly.
The teacher told him to go outside, she followed right behind him, telling the students to clean up the mess while she called Yeongbin's mom and his friend's families.
One day, Suho was really gonna get in trouble for the boy's fault. But he knew, deep down, that he wouldn't mind the trouble. That as long as Sieun was okay, he'd do anything.
Again and again.
To keep him safe.
—
The next time Suho had the chance to be alone with Sieun, it was really awkward.
“What happened?”
The classroom was completely empty, except for Sieun sitting on his desk. No other sound than the scrape of his pencil against the notebook.
“Where did everyone go?”
Sieun looked back at him, and for some reason his usually sad gaze looked even more pained. And suddenly Suho was speechless.
It hurt to see him like that. Suho felt his chest constricting, not knowing what to do to make Sieun feel better.
He always feels so stupid when he thinks like that.
Sieun doesn't care about him. Knows nothing about him other than the fact that he went on a not-quite-date with a girl who has a boyfriend and that he beat that boyfriend's ass. Knows him as the one that barged into his house and emptied his water supply. As the guy that stopped his fight, as the one who slammed him to the ground and punched him in the face.
Suho sat down and grabbed his pillow to rest his head on it, still looking at Sieun who sat in silence and left out an occasional sigh, and imagined how things would be right now if he had left a better first— and second… and third— impression.
He imagined what they would be like if he had sucked it up and introduced himself from the beginning. Would they be close now? Maybe.
Would Sieun have lost control like he did yesterday? That seems like a part of him already so maybe the answer is yes. But what things would remain the same as now and which ones would change?
I should ask grandma.
Right now instead of thinking of what could've been he should be thinking about what he can do. What he wants to do. He wants to cheer him up, see if it's possible to make him smile. How? He has no idea, but he has to at least try.
He fell asleep on his desk. Sieun, as always, present in his dreams.
—
He was on his way to make a delivery. It was really late already, which meant he had spent hours trying to come up with ways of approaching Sieun and by now he had come up with zero ideas.
The address wasn't too far, maybe 5 more minutes and he'd be done and on his way to deliver some more. He wouldn't have time to go back home today, already planning to go straight to school after work and shower there. Maybe get a couple of hours of sleep on his desk if he didn't get interrupted.
He had already decided to take a break from thinking of ways to cheer Sieun up until he finished his work, when a bus with the very object of his affection appeared into his line of sight and shattered his resolve.
Suho's motorcycle sped up just as his pulse quickened whenever he was about to do something without previous consideration.
Screw it.
The red light got them to a stop and he admired Sieun's beautiful side profile before taking a deep breath and honking the horn repeatedly. The other boy turned to look at him through the glass, his face a mix of confusion and surprise. His pretty, wet eyes looked a little less pained than they did earlier in the day.
Suho waved animatedly, wanting to appear friendly and casual, keeping his cool as if he wasn't so close to bursting with embarrassment.
Sieun opened the bus window.
“How come we keep crossing paths with each other?”, Suho asked, “Were we married in our past lives, huh?”, Great job, Suho. Scare off the pretty boy, “Where are you going?”
“Oh… home”
“What?”, he asked, his helmet and the noise of the street making it harder to listen to anything else other than his heartbeat drumming in his ears.
Sieun looked around, as if embarrassed to have to shout, “Home!”
“From cram school?”
“Yeah…”
Of course Suho knew that already, but Sieun didn't have to know just yet.
Having this casual conversation with him was making Suho so giddy he couldn't help but smile. And this time Sieun didn't look sad or annoyed at him, just genuinely surprised and so, so cute Suho wanted to squish him. Bite him. Tell him just how otherworldly he looked in his eyes.
Sieun took a breath and then, “I'm sorry”
“All of a sudden? If you're sorry, buy me something to eat later”, the light turned to green, “I'm off! See you later”, he waved quickly and it was just after taking off that he realized...
Did I just make a heart?
The nonchalant Suho he thought he was before was completely gone. Liking someone is so weird. It's like having no control over your actions. He was doing things without thinking, all the words leaving his mouth felt like absolute nonsense.
Oh grandma, what should I do?
—
“You can start by being friends, dear.”, was what his grandma told him over the phone after he told her how he kept leaving bad impressions over and over, “now wash up, honey. So you can get some sleep afterwards, ok?”
The water at the school showers was freezing cold. It felt nice after a long day of running and driving from place to place. It felt grounding, comforting even. It helped him feel less flustered after he remembered his encounter with Sieun.
He just wanted to clear his mind. He splashed water on his face, ran his hands through his hair and stretched his arms, trying to get his shoulders to relax.
He turned off the water.
—
He slept better than he expected. His dreams were so sweet and soothing it felt like a reward. He was interrupted, of course, as the teacher entered the classroom. The start of the day was uneventful, the first two classes were extremely boring. The only thing he could focus on was the way the sun made Sieun's hair shine against the golden skin on the back of his neck.
As for the actual class, there was nothing new other than reading from their text book so he took another nap, wondering if he could continue his dream where he left it off that morning.
It was like a movie. He pictured a park, no one there other than him and—
A tap on his shoulder.
Him and—
Another tap. Waking him up. He was so ready to complain, but nothing could've prepared him to see Sieun next to him. Looking at him expectantly.
“It's lunch break”
“Mhm… yeah I'm good”, he turned his head around and closed his eyes tightly. He couldn't face him. Hell no. Not now after how he embarrassed himself yesterday night—
“My treat”
Huh? Suho turned to look at Sieun. “What's with that look?” He really wished he could tell what he was thinking but it was impossible to understand. Eye contact with Yeon Sieun made Suho feel crazy.
“I won't eat”
—
Of course it didn't take any convincing from Sieun's part to get Suho into the cafeteria. He willingly followed behind as the boy left the classroom.
“you know, It's not like I was expecting something fancy… but I already paid for my school food”
“Don't eat then”, Sieun seemed to not be bothered by his presence, eating away, his cheeks full with the bite he took. Chewing silently, looking as pretty as ever. Suho could watch him for hours and never grow tired. He had never seen him so carefree.
“I'll eat well”, Suho said before absolutely devouring his food. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until he took the first bite, and after that it was mouthful after mouthful.
“So… why do you sleep at school?”
“Oh, I come here right after work. If I go back home I know I will oversleep.”, he said, still chewing on his rice. “Grandma says that even if I don't get into college I still shouldn't skip school.”
Sieun just looked at him.
“Do you like listening to music? You always have earbuds in. Kinda rude you know?”
Is he gonna notice I've been watching him? Why did I say that—
“It's annoying”
“What is?”
Sieun picked on his food, looking down at his plate as he replied, “I wear earbuds so people won't talk to me”.
“Well you're fucking weird, man”.
Sieun looked up from his food, “And look who's talking”.
Oh, what a nice surprise. He could get used to this. Suho couldn't hold his smile anymore.
Start by being friends is what his grandma had said, and this, right now, felt like the start of something.
Suho likes him.
He likes him so much.
And he will try his best to make Sieun like him back.