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Suho knew that Baku knew that Suho knew. After waking up from the coma, few things quickly became clear to Suho.
The first was that, despite his seemingly cold exterior, Sieun loved Suho. They were platonic soulmates kind of friends. Like you know, fall into a coma for each other type of guys. But he digressed. Point is him and Sieun are ride or die.
But, the second thing is, that somehow, Sieun managed to get three (3!!) more ride or die friends during the time Suho was napping with no care in the world. Gotak, Juntae, and Baku were the kind of friends you find once in a lifetime. How Sieun managed to get four with his don’t look at me or I will kill you vibe is beyond Suho. Or well… it’s not really. Sieun may seem cold, but that’s just because people don’t take the time to peel those outside layers off. Because underneath all that? Sieun is pure. He desires to be loved and to love others, something that was scarce in his life before. The point is, Suho is elated to see his best friend with his Eunjang gang.
This leads him to the third, and most definite thing he has know in his life, like ever. Park Humin aka Baku is so fucking deep in love with Sieun that it could rival the Mariana Trench itself. And it’s obviously fucking mutual. How does he know it? Well, let’s fucking see…
1.
It was one of those days when the gang (which he has been, quite literally, christened into by Baku and Gotak – there was that whole ritual thing they did… a lot of confetti and weird chanting…) was there to cheer him on during his physical therapy. It was weird at first when they tagged along with Sieun, but right now he was grateful for their presence. The therapy was, pardon his french, fucking exhausting. He was tired physically and mentally, but having friends present eased the experience.
“Let’s take a short break, yeah?” Jaehyun, his physical therapist, proposed after seeing Suho’s eyes linger on his friends for too long. “Go cause mayhem for a bit.”
“You got it!” replies Suho. Despite exhaustion, his cheeky smile was always in place.
The long hours of physical therapy did pay off. Suho could walk around on his own, albeit still with crutches, but the strength in his arms and legs was slowly but surely coming back.
He made his way over to the bench occupied by the guys, but he faltered after noticing that Sieun was gone. “Where’s my Sieunie at?”. He was looking straight at Humin, and he swears the other grimaced at his word choice. My Sieunie.
“He went to get some drinks from the vending machine. He lost at rock, paper, scissors.” Juntae says while fighting Gotak over who should play the next level of whatever mobile game they were playing together.
“He must have hated missing even a second of me sweating buckets,” replies Suho.
“I bet he’s analyzing all the exercises you’re doing and then making notes when he gets home. He wants to know what to do when you’re in pain.” Baku says with an expression that was a weird mix of sympathy and awe. “The Ice Princess cares after all.”
“What kind of nonsense are you saying about me again, Baku?” Sieun appeared out of thin air. Suho always said that the guy was as quiet as a cat. He observes Baku’s reaction, and he definitely sees the guy’s eyes soften as he looks at Sieun.
“I’m just telling Suho how much you care about him. You’re a hermit who won’t tell him yourself, and he needs to know.” Baku says with a huge grin, which morphs into horror as he gets hit with a water bottle. Straight in the face.
“I show love through actions.” Yeah, Suho will admit. Quite painful actions in fact.
Despite his pretend annoyance, Sieun distributes the drinks, helps Suho sit down on the couch, and makes his way to take the empty seat next to Baku. The space left is so small that they’re touching from arm to leg. Baku blushes and avoids Sieun’s gaze. Sieun turns to him to examine his face. “It didn’t actually hit you hard, did it?” his voice is filled with concern and his hands reach out to touch Baku’s face. Since when was Sieun this touchy-feely? Suho guesses things do change when you’re in a coma for that long.
“Ugh, umm, we-well no I’m fine” Baku stammers out. He takes Sieun’s hands into his, and pushes them away from his face. “I’m a man of steel, Princess.”
And you know, Sieun might be hard to read, but Suho is very acquainted with the subtle crease of an eyebrow, a quick quirk of a lip. So he sees it, clear as day, that at this moment, Sieun, his collected and stone-like friend, fucking blushes and bites his lip. In this economy?!
Alright, listen, Suho knows that his first argument might have been weak. Any man, faced with another handsome man that holds your hands and calls you endearing names, might have blushed. It’s normal, y’know. However, there’s no other explanation for what he’s about to tell you next…
2.
Suho feels like a fly on a wall. Well, technically, there are no walls here as it is an outdoor basketball court, but you catch his drift…He, Sieun, and Baku met up an hour ago to play basketball. Actually, Sieun and Baku were playing. Suho was just a spectator. Gotak and Juntae were missing, both using a suspiciously similar excuse of having to clean their houses…Whatever, the story is not about them. It’s about the two idiots who are now manhandling each other on the court. Or more like Baku, the big oaf, is throwing around the lighter-than-a-bird’s bones, Yeon Sieun. Surprisingly, Sieun doesn’t look too mad about this. Wait, he’s actually smiling.
“Ya, Baku! Put me down, you neanderthal!” He’s not really screaming it, but if you compare it to his usual gentle, impassive voice, he’s actually yelling it to the world.
“But you fit so perfectly in my arms, Princess!” He screams while pretending to bench press Sieun. He then seems to realize what he just said, shoots Suho a look, and guiltily puts Sieun down. “Ahaha, joking. Sorry, Sieun.”
Sieun looks disappointed. “Oh, I didn't actually mind…” But Baku appears not to be listening and crouches down, pretending to tie his shoes. They are Velcro shoes.
Sieun gets a determined look all of a sudden. “Humin-ah, can you teach me how to make a 3-point shot?”
Baku honestly gasps. “Anything for you, your highness!” He gets the ball, saunters up back to Sieun, and promptly falters when he realizes what he agreed to. “Um, I’d have to like, show you the proper hold and all…”
Sieun wastes no time and gets as close to Baku as he can without stepping on the other’s toes, and looks at him through his lashes. “I don’t mind.” Suho is not convinced by that innocent act. He knows his Sieun too well to fall for this. That guy, bless his soul, wants to get all up on that. If you get what Suho means.
Baku blushes but seems otherwise none the wiser. He stands behind Sieun, catches his hands, and puts him in the correct position. “You have to bend your elbows like this. And make sure to use your fingertips. Yes, like that! Work your wrist.” Well, to Suho, this all sounds more like bedroom talk, but whatever. He does not want to imagine THAT.
Sieun gets the shot after only three tries, the little genius he is. Baku promptly launches himself at the unaware guy, and they both end up on the court’s floor. Nose to nose. Almost mouth-to-mouth. They both hold their breaths, and Suho feels like he’s watching some cheap rom-com. How are they real?
“Anyone ever told you that you have very kissable lips?” Says Baku at the same time as Sieun goes: “You’re so big.” They both go wide-eyed and scramble to stand up.
Baku seems to remember Suho then, looks at him in horror, and, after making a quick excuse about needing to piss, he promptly disappears. Suho is getting a headache because of these two…
3.
“Suho, I’m so sorry,” says Baku with a guilty look. Suho swears his eyes glisten.
“Huh? What, uh, about?” Suho not sure what the big chunk of muscles is talking about. A second ago Suho was just chilling in a booth at Baku’s father’s chicken place and waiting for the other guys to show up. Now he’s got a crying Baku in front of him, and he is sure he must have blanked out.
“There is something I need to tell you. I’ve been fighting with myself over bringing this up. But I honestly can’t hold it in anymore.” Suho believes that. The guys looks like he’s about to burst with whatever information he’s holding back.
“Bro okay, first calm down. Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad. It’s not like...murder or anything right?” Suho asks, only half joking. He heard stories from Gotak and Juntae about what went down between Eunjang and the Union.
Baku gets serious all of a sudden: “It’s way worse than murder bro.” Now Suho is definitely worried.
“Ok, lay it on be Bakubro.” He knows Baku likes endearments, maybe this will cheer him up.
“Well, you see...I’mactuallyinlovewithYeonSieun.”
Suho’s not sure what to say to this rambling apart from: “Pardon?”
Baku blushes and looks at his hands, avoids eye contact. “I said that I’m in love with the Ice Princess. And I wasn’t gonna say anything, because I didn’t want to be a shitty friend. But I got the feeling that you realized what my feelings for Sieun are, and, well I decided to come clean.” He finally looks up at Suho and his expression is so pained Suho considers calling the hospital.
“Okay. Hold up. Yes, I obviously figured out you liked Sieun. You’d have to be blind not to see it. Or well, you’d have to be Sieun I guess… But, what I want to know is why you’re so upset about this? Did you finally confess to him and he rejected you? I don’t think that’s possible…” Suho muses.
“What did you just say?” Baku sound mad all of a sudden. “I just told you that I’m in love with your boyfriend and you’re concerned about me?!”
“My what?” Suho is sure he misheard.
“Yeon Sieun. Your boyfriend. The guy you’re in love with? Who’s in love with you? Who waited for you when you were in a coma?” Baku says frantically, like he can’t believe he has to spell it out for Suho.
“You know that I’m not dating Sieun right? Me and him are platonic soulmates, like with a capital P. I would quite literally die for the guy, but I would not, in any universe, want to suck his dick.”
Baku is as red as a big strawberry and Suho can honest to God see steam coming from his ears. “Please stop talking about Sieun’s dick…So what you’re saying is that there are no romantic feelings between you guys? That I was losing sleep over this…over nothing?” Now he’s laughing like a maniac. Suho is seriously scared for his life.
“Humin-a! Suho-ya! We’re here!” Juntae’s voice cuts through the loaded silence between Suho and Baku. My savior. “What’s wrong with him?” Juntae asks Suho.
“He’s having an existential crisis. Don’t mind him”. Suho says and scoots over to let Gotak and Juntae sit next to him.
Sieun puts his hand on Baku’s head. Oh wow, that guy is gonna lose it, Suho thinks and sits back to enjoy the show.
Sieun pats Humin’s head. “You okay Big Guy? Did Suho traumatize you with one of his stories?”
Baku looks up at him with a blank face and says monotonously: “Sieunie…You’re not dating Suho?” Suho did not think he had that kind of courage within him.
Sieun looks at Baku as if he grew a second head. “You thought I was dating Suho? Is that why…” He trails off and blushes.
“Why what?” Chimes in Gotak. Suho can bet he is loving the drama.
Sieun goes even redder. “Why you never made a move on me?”
Baku jumps from his seat startled. “What?! You knew I liked you this whole time?!”
Sieun takes a step back and looks at his feet. “I’m not blind. But I didn’t say anything, because you were sending me mixed signals? Like last week when you held my hand when we were passing that busy road, but as soon as we saw Suho you let go and then ignored me for like an hour? What was I supposed to think?”
“Wow they are both idiots. I wish I had some popcorn.” Juntae says, unbothered by the death glares he receives from the male leads of his own private k-drama.
“Sieun-ah, I’m sorry.” Baku says as he reaches for Sieun’s hand. “I realized I was falling in love with you, but I thought I shouldn’t since you were dating Suho. Which I guess you weren’t…I’m such and idiot!” He let’s go of Sieun’s hands and pulls at his own hair, distressed.
Sieun catches his hand to stop the abuse to his precious locks. “Humin-ah, I’m sorry too. I could have said something as well. How about we go talk in private, now that we have cleared the air?” He looks up at Baku with those big boba eyes and Suho knows that Baku will never be able to say no to him.
“Go talk it out. We will wait here.” Juntae, always the mediator, ushers them out. They watch Sieun and Baku disappear outside.
“Alright. That’s one clueless pair of idiots gone. I guess we should do something about the second one, too.” Suho says and looks at Juntae and Gotak that sit pressed together next to him.
Gotak goes red, Juntae scoots away. “Mind your own business, man!” Juntae screams and leaves to place their order.
4.
The chicken arrives, and Suho goes outside to look for the lost lovebirds.
“Did you really think I was dating Suho?” He hears Sieun’s voice.
“It was hard not to. You guys are, like, you know, soulmates.”
“But it was always you that I would touch, and ask to walk me home, and share my meal with. I blushed every time you would pat my head, or lift me up so that I would reach the hoop when we played basketball, and when you called me Princess too…” Suho looks around the corner and sees Baku pressing Sieun against a wall. They are holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes. I’m gonna be sick. This is too cute.
“I guess I’m just a blind idiot.” Baku laughs. He looks happy.
“Hmm, maybe. But you’re my idiot.” Sieun leans in and kisses Baku sweetly. Suho backs away and let’s them be.
The End.