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Technically, it’s all Park Han’s fault.
Seo Jeongwoo loves his best friend— he really, really does.
Han has done numerous things to help him in his exploits: tutored him in his least knowledgeable subjects, covered for his ass when he missed practices, showed up with soup when he was violently ill. An A+ best friend, never missing a single mark or fucking up considerably bad. Han hasn’t even said anything remotely mean to him— and if he has, it was a lighthearted joke that could never be misinterpreted. Not a single fuckup.
Until now.
Again— you could twist the situation into blaming it all on him. It’s Park Han who infiltrated Jay Lawrence’s friend group, it’s Park Han who pursued Jay Lawrence, and it’s Park Han who got involved with Jay Lawrence, leading the rest of his friends to hate Jeongwoo’s guts.
It was three months ago when Han had burst into the locker room, nearly knocking Steven and Chihen onto the ground. He had a look on his face that suggested nothing innocent, cheeks flushed and chest heaving up and down. It’s a look Jeongwoo knew very well, a look that meant, oh god, I’ve just started something I don’t know how to end.
The issue in question was Jay Lawrence Gaspar, the nerdy Filipino boy that Han had a gargantuan crush on for the past year and a half. He must have looked like an idiot pining over JL— considering Han was one of the more popular athletes at their university, approached by a dozen starry-eyed pursuers that would’ve died for a date. All those attempts were dodged by a beat-red Han, a man who had no idea how to deal with such feats despite his campus-celebrity status.
JL’s friend group consisted of the incredibly humble three: JL, the theater major and tennis player, Shuaibo the fashion major, and social science major Woongki— the bane of Jeongwoo’s existence and the holic relic of his captivity.
You could consider JL’s friend group to be the stereotypical “nerds” of the campus, though Steven would call that stupid and ridiculous. But nobody could deny the popularity of his own friend group: Steven, Han, Chihen, and Jeongwoo— all star soccer players. And it wasn’t any secret that the university students saw them as two separate entities, on two entirely different planes of existence, even if the four of them vehemently disagreed with the notion. Which is funny, considering Jeongwoo and Han would probably bark if JL and Woongki told them to.
Jeongwoo can’t even blame the guy. If his best friend was messy situationshipping with someone he didn’t quite know, it would only be natural to villainize him and the rest of his friends. He can’t fault Woongki for being uneasy about him as a person— or disliking Steven and Chihen for that matter. He’s a shooter for Jay Lawrence and Jeongwoo knows that it’s just the thing a best friend does.
Realistically, he’s the moron for developing a crush.
It didn’t matter that Cha Woongki couldn’t stand to be in the same room as him for more than a few seconds, fixing a glare before sauntering away from the vicinity. Jeongwoo couldn’t even clear the air if he tried. He’d made it crystal clear— stay away from my best friend, you dimwitted jocks!
It gets considerably worse.
Han isn’t evil, the rest of his friends know this. A messy situationship could be easily avoided if Han would just ask the kid out. Han hasn’t done anything bad to JL— he’s just kind of an idiot. It doesn’t help that JL’s friend group likely have a preconceived notion of what popular jocks are like, anyway. Arrogant, aloof, playboys. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jeongwoo and Han are the poster children of pathetic, yearning imbeciles. But JL and Woongki don’t know that.
If you quizzed him, Park Han would tell you he’d done everything by the book.
Brought JL flowers after practice, took him out to dinner at expensive restaurants, let him choose all the boundaries of physical intimacy, stayed with him until the sun set. He’d sent more than a million good morning, my loves and dream of me, Yence’s that Jeongwoo can count. He’d ditched practices just to see JL perform in his musicals, willing to piss off the coach in favor of seeing his beloved boy. Jeongwoo can see it— that man loves Jay Lawrence to bits.
Everything by the book.
Then what exactly is the problem?
Han’s fear of rejection outweighs the positives. How does he know JL wants him back just as fervently? How does he know JL wants to love him? Their relationship started off purely physical— he can’t possibly assume the theater kid wants a future with him.
Why not just ask him?
As mentioned before, Park Han is pathetic and stupid. Every time their friends pop the question, Han’s eyes turn glossy and teary, dramatic confessions of love and fear spilling from his lips. Jeongwoo can’t believe he’s not a theater major himself.
So maybe it is Park Han’s fault.
Maybe if he could just face his fears, he could stop royally fucking up Jeongwoo’s game. Maybe, if Han could scream his love from the rooftops, Jeongwoo could finally redeem himself in Woongki’s eyes.
Maybe.
🤯
It started like this.
The first time Jeongwoo met Cha Woongki, it was a meet-ugly in the most literal sense.
He’d imagined so many scenarios of meeting the love of his life— so many of them cringe and inexplicably full of gay yearning. Someone tripping and falling into his arms, saving someone from an oncoming soccer ball, running into someone with a pile of books in his hand, looking confused in the library so someone could ask if he needed assistance.
He would put on his dog-like charm, flashing a dazzling smile and enchanting them with his big boba eyes. Certainly, he would be successful.
None of these things happened.
It was at the end of month one— JL and Han were deeply involved at that point, with Jeongwoo hardly seeing his best friend during the week. He’d call and text him, only to get photos of JL cuddled up against Han’s chest, eliciting an eyeroll. He really didn’t think much of it at first. It’d been a while since Han had the courage to engage in romance. He was supportive of whatever Han wanted to do, and JL seemed like a nice kid.
He’d never really seen JL’s friends around, either. Han only discovered JL from a play he watched a year and a half ago, enthralled with his on-stage presence. He wasn’t even supposed to be at the play, dragged along by Chihen who was working backstage. It was like the stars aligned, or whatever romantic bullshit Han spewed. It probably wasn’t, because it only caused a mess.
Jeongwoo was honestly excited to meet JL and his friends. He’d never had the chance to do so before, only catching glimpses of the Filipino boy when he dragged Han away from their hangouts. He knew that JL was part of some of the nerdier clubs, but that was pretty endearing. Han loved his nerds and so did Jeongwoo.
Meeting them probably would’ve been totally fine if Han hadn’t forgotten to send a good morning text to JL the last day of the month. He didn’t mean it, but forgetting to do something he’d done every single day for the past three weeks likely sent JL into a panic.
Jeongwoo was heading out of the locker room after an extra practice session, completely unassuming and exhausted. Nothing about his day had gone remotely right— he’d nearly failed his exam, dropped his latte all over himself, and missed every single pass during practice. He was trying to get home and relax before bashing his shit into a wall. Maybe he’d join Chihen at the gym or hang with Steven for a late night outing. Anything would be better than wallowing in his own misery.
He didn’t even see the guy coming at first, eyes trained on the ground with his fists clenched at his sides. He wasn’t quite in the mood to speak to anyone until he could decompress.
It was just a slight bump to the shoulder, a quick passing of two strangers that could’ve been ignored. Jeongwoo didn’t think anything of it until he turned around to briefly apologize.
Silky smooth reddish-brown hair, glasses, and a tan beret. Cute. Really cute.
It took three seconds for Jeongwoo to process who was standing in front of him, an unreadable expression plastered on his charming features. Even the rest of his outfit was cute, sporting an oversized brown sweater and loosely fit jeans.
Cha Woongki, JL’s best friend.
Sure, he’d seen the guy before. Glimpses of his bouncy personality from the corner of his eye, accompanying JL wherever he went. He’d definitely seen clips of him in his dance cover group too, recognizing that he was incredibly talented. Sometimes he caught a glance in the selfies JL would send to Han. He, however, didn’t quite notice how attractive he was until that moment.
He hadn’t properly introduced himself yet and deeply wished it had been any other time than then. He was sweaty and grossed, irritated and tired. A cute boy manifesting in front of him was not cool.
A dopey grin immediately spread across his face, the misery in his soul temporarily healed by the sparkle in Woongki’s eyes and the blush lightly dusted across his cheeks. He had hints of eyeshadow on his eyes as well, accentuating just how pretty he was. His lips were pouty, too, something that Jeongwoo had a tough time prying his gaze away from. He slightly bowed, ready to introduce himself and finally bridge the gap between their friend groups and maybe ask Woongki for his—
“YOU.”
Full stop.
Jeongwoo blinked, looking up mid bow in confusion. What?
Woongki took a step forward, triggering Jeongwoo to stumble backwards, not expecting the sudden proximity. Woongki’s pouty lips turned into a deep frown, his eyebrows narrowed and cautious. Clearly, he was in defense mode and Jeongwoo had no clue why.
“You!” He said again, shoving a finger directly against Jeongwoo’s chest, causing him to step back further towards the building behind them. His eyes were wide with shock, too terrified to say anything as the beautiful boy crowded his space.
“M-me?” Jeongwoo asked, scared out of his mind. What on earth had he done to warrant this?
“Tell your meathead best friend to stop fucking around with my best friend’s feelings!”
Oh.
Oh no.
Okay. He could diffuse the situation. He could get this under control. It was all just a misunderstanding— Han had no intention of playing with JL’s feelings, he was just a pure coward at heart. Of course, it must have looked evil from Woongki’s point of view. It was only natural for him to believe.
Jeongwoo nervously laughed, rubbing the nape of his neck. “Ah, no you see you’ve got it wrong that’s not really—”
“Quiet!” Woongki quipped, smacking his palm against the wall behind them, effectively caging Jeongwoo in. It would be ridiculous to note that Jeongwoo’s heart may have skipped a beat.
“D-did Han do something to JL?”
Woongki glared harder, sizing Jeongwoo up as the older trembled.
“You’re playing dumb. Right. Just as I thought.”
Jeongwoo glanced at the hand planted by his head, gulping. “No no, I swear—”
“Tell your friend to get his shit together or leave JL alone. And leave the rest of us alone for that matter. I don’t want anything to do with you or your idiot friends, Seo Jeongwoo.”
Another pang of attraction jolted through Jeongwoo— Woongki knew his name!
Defeated, the black haired boy put his hands up in defense. “Okay. I’m sorry.”
Absolutely no fight. There was no way he was going to talk back.
Woongki wrinkled his nose and finally backed up, still in attack mode. Jeongwoo swore for a second the guy was going to kick him directly in the shins. It’s up in the air whether or not he would’ve liked that.
With a pout on his face and his heart ramming against his chest, Jeongwoo watched as his newfound infatuation briskly walked away.
A deep breath escaped his lips. Jeongwoo gripped onto the wall to stabilize himself, the memory of Woongki’s palm there still burned into his mind.
What the fuck just happened?
Jeongwoo recounted things as he knew them.
Cha Woongki was very pretty and feisty. His type. For sure his type.
Han had royally fucked up. Somehow. Again.
Jeongwoo was taking the hits for it.
Woongki and his friends wanted Jeongwoo and his friends’ heads on a stick.
Fuck, man.
Whipping out his phone, Jeongwoo panic-texted the group chat.
⚽💪
Jeongwoo: PARK FUCKING HAN
HAN????
HANI
WAKE UP
ARE YOU EVEN UP????
Steven: what is going on
what is ur deal
??
Jeongwoo: did he break it off with JL today???
Steven: mm, no? he definitely didn’t. i thought they went home together last night. or they were generally together at some point yesterday. like per usual.
dude what’s wrong 😭😭 did JL talk to you?
Jeongwoo: his best friend just held a gun to my head
i swear to god
Chihen: lol
Steven: what???
what are you talking about 😭
zhang shuaibo threatened ur life? or the other guy
Jeongwoo: cha woongki!!! the pretty one!! i bumped into him and was going to finally introduce myself and he kabedoned me into the wall!
Steven: dude 😭
Chihen: LOL
Jeongwoo: were you aware that woongki and his friends want us dead???
Steven: i assumed they probably arent thrilled with us lol but maybe not dead
i mean, it can’t look very good from their end, no? 😭
han can’t get his shit together.
HAN WAKE UP. DO YOU OR DO YOU NOT LOVE JAY LAWRENCE GASPAR 🎤👂
Chihen: no hes definitely sleeping
i dont think he was feeling well
Steven: is it possible hes not responding to JL because of this?
is this why woongki is trying to rock your shit?
tough luck man
Jeongwoo: does this mean every time han fucks up i get the shit end of the stick??? 😭
are you KIDDING me??? 😭
⤹ Reply to Jeongwoo: cha woongki!!! the pretty one!! i bumped into him and was going to finally introduce myself and he kabedoned me into the wall!
Chihen: hey hold on. go back. pretty?
ayo 🤨
Steven: he really is pretty
jeongwoo are you into him?
Jeongwoo: well that would just be fucking unfortunate wouldnt it be
yeah
Chihen: LOLLLLL
Steven: can you tell us exactly what happened. did he actually kabedon you or are you being dramatic
Jeongwoo: he slammed me against the wall (exaggeration) and told me to tell han to stop fucking with his best friend’s feelings 😭 then he called him a meathead and told us specifically as a friend group to leave them alone. he full named me. i can’t believe he knows my name. wow.
Chihen: you sound aroused
Steven: oof
okay
yikes
is he…even remotely aware that this is a really bad misunderstanding? 😭 like does he have any idea that han comes to us sobbing his bitch eyes out over JL?
Chihen: practically speaking, its probably the same on woongki’s end. JL probably goes to him and shuaibo crying
Steven: well shit that certainly complicates things
damn jeongwoo. youre catching strays my man 😭
Chihen: ive been in the gym too much. is there a reason theyre not dating yet? hasn’t it been a month???? theyre always together
Steven: okay well han is scared shitless and thinks JL doesnt want him like that. i mean i guess a month isnt that long enough to tell if someone wants to date you? but they seem pretty involved.
Chihen: so it sounds like han is afraid of rejection and JL thinks hes getting played.
lol thats absurd
Steven: its not like i can blame him 😭 han hasn’t asked JL out yet but hes going thru the motions of a legitimate relationship
Chihen: how did it even start anyway???? did he not ask him on a date first?
Steven: mm no it was more of an fwb type beat
badddd idea. bad.
Chihen: ??? 😭 why would han willingly put himself in that situation if he liked JL for so long???
Steven: i think it was because he figured it was the only way he could ever have him. no strings attached was better than nothing
Chihen: okay well CLEARLY there are strings attached on both sides here
do we deadass have to intervene
and lowkey should we go check on him??? 😭 hes still not responding
Steven: hm. yeah. probably LOL
jeongwoo?
Jeongwoo: what 😩
Steven: u gotta be strong king
ur crown is falling
Chihen: lol he’d let woongki throw him around like a ragdoll i know his type
Jeongwoo: CHILL ON ME MAN 😭
Steven: okay chihen lets stop bullying jeongwoo he does not deserve the strays and lets head over to han’s apartment and have an intervention
Jeongwoo: this is NOT how i wanted things to go
Steven: 🤷♂️ we’re just gonna have to damage control since han won’t do it himself
The group chat died within minutes, Jeongwoo still pressed against the wall, remembering the anger in Woongki’s eyes. Well, shit. He didn’t even do anything wrong! Why did he deserve to be attacked like that?
How was he supposed to charm the man when Woongki was ready to light a fire under his ass?
Jeongwoo wasn’t one to prove himself, either. He was not dominant in any sense of the word, and Woongki was a very very pretty boy. He’d already crumbled within seconds, giving up his pride instantaneously. What was he supposed to do? Fight back and make Woongki hate him more? Absolutely not.
In misery, Jeongwoo took the bus to Han’s apartment, not ready for the conversation they were about to have. He hated confrontation and he knew Han also hated it. They were two sides of the same coin.
By the time he got there, his friends were already piled in front of Han’s door, concern written all over their features. Steven looked frazzled and Chihen looked sweaty. The usual.
“Hey hyung,” Chihen said, focused on Han’s bedroom door. “We knocked but he’s not answering.”
“Kick the damn door down he could be dead!” Jeongwoo said, pushing his way past them.
“Okay, dramatic. He’s not dead I can hear him snoring,” Steven rolled his eyes, cracking the door to Han’s room.
And he was right— Han was tangled up in his sheets, snoring away. Something was definitely wrong, however, Jeongwoo immediately noticed that his phone wasn’t plugged in. It was probably dead, too. Great. So that confirms part of his theory.
“Oh lord he looks red as a tomato,” Steven said, dropping to his best friend’s side and placing the back of his palm against Han’s forehead. “Yeah, he’s burning up.”
“And he didn’t say anything?!” Chihen said, pulling the blankets off a sweaty Han.
Steven shrugged. “You know how he is.” He gently shook his friend. “Hani? You okay man?”
Groaning, Han slowly opened his eyes, lightly coughing.
“Oh, it lives,” Chihen said.
“How long have you been passed out?!” Steven said, helping his friend sit up. He looked towards Chihen, motioning for him to fetch some water. “You didn’t make a peep all day.”
Han dragged his hands down his face, clearly in some sort of aching pain. “My bad. I woke up this morning and was up for about 5 minutes before I went down again. I don’t even think I opened my phone.” He groaned again, wiping the sweat from his face. “Speaking of my phone—”
“I just plugged it in,” Jeongwoo said, getting ready to order his friend some soup.
“You’ve missed quite the drama,” Steven said, stifling a laugh.
“Man, shut up,” Jeongwoo hissed.
“Oh god,” Han suddenly said, eyes growing massive.
“You gonna puke?”
“No— give me my phone right now!” He said in a panic, clawing at his friends.
“It hasn’t turned on yet—” Jeongwoo started.
“I didn’t say good morning to Yence! I told him we were going out for ice cream today! Fuck, what time is it?!”
There it was.
“Dude. It’s like 7 pm,” Steven said, clearly anticipating Han’s panicked reaction. His best friend buried his face in a pillow, screaming into it.
“I’m cooked.”
Steven laughed in disbelief. “Okay. No wonder Woongki jumped Jeongwoo.”
Han pulled the pillow away from his face as Chihen came back to shove water in his hand. “Huh?!”
“It’s true. He kabedoned him against the wall. Allegedly.”
Han looked towards Jeongwoo in confusion. “What?!”
Jeongwoo squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to recount the events. But he simply had to.
“I wanted to introduce myself to him, since you’ve never made the effort to. Then he called you a meathead and told us to leave him and his friends alone. Han. I love you man, but you really need to sort things out between you and JL,” he pleaded, despite knowing it was the last thing he should be doing while his friend was sick. “I know you want to date him.”
“Oh god,” Han said, the pillow returning to his face. “I’m sorry, I know.”
“It doesn’t help that Jeongwoo here seems to have the hots for Woongki. Which I’m figuring is never going to work out if you don’t prove yourself worthy in the next month,” Steven added. “Respectfully.”
Han looked at Jeongwoo with regret in his eyes, a silent plea to forgive him. Jeongwoo only shrugged.
“It’s not like I can control what Woongki thinks. I can’t even be mad at him.”
“You can’t be mad at any pretty boy, for that matter,” Chihen scoffed.
Jeongwoo ignored him, urging Han to just sip his water. A few moments passed in silence as the three monitored their sickly best friend. Jeongwoo ordered some miyeokguk and fetched clean sheets, gathering the sweaty ones to throw in the wash.
“I really do like him,” Han blurted out once he’d downed the cup of water. “Like— I’m definitely in love with him, no doubt about it. I know it hasn’t been long enough to say this, but I really don’t care. It was never physical for me.”
Jeongwoo sighed. “We know that.”
“I just don’t know how I can approach this. We didn’t start innocently or romantically. And that was largely my fault, but JL didn’t say he wanted anything different, either.”
“I hate gay people,” Chihen joked. “You people cannot communicate worth shit.”
Steven sighed. “Lay off him, he’s about to pass out again.” He refocused his attention onto Han. “You need to tell him. I know you don’t want to, and I know it scares you. But for god’s sakes, Han, you’re going to lose him if you don’t. From the events that occurred today, it really seems like he thinks you’re playing him. You’re destroying your own character and unintentionally playing into the jock stereotype.”
Han’s eyes began to water, just as Jeongwoo suspected. “I would never do that to him.”
“I know you wouldn’t. But he won’t know that until you tell him.”
Chihen patted Han’s back. “Maybe give it a little more time. A month isn’t that long. Maybe if you said it now, it would scare him off?”
Steven shook his head. “No, I think they’re on the same page but refuse to talk about it.”
Han sniffed. “I don’t know how to tell him. I want it to be perfect.”
“I’m sure he already thinks that about you. He’s just waiting for you to say it,” Steven said in his older-brotheresque tone.
Chihen cocked his head. “You could say the same for JL, too. Why hasn’t he said anything? This goes both ways.”
Steven’s mouth dropped open into an o shape. Chihen certainly wasn’t wrong.
“You’re both terrified,” Jeongwoo said, shaking his head. “But I can’t say anything, I’d be scared, too.”
“You’re both helpless. But I love ya’ll,” Chihen laughed.
Another bout of silence, interrupted only by Han’s wet cough. Chihen fetched him more water.
“So what now?” He asked, clearing his throat. The other two shrugged.
“You’ve got to tell him.”
Han squeezed his eyes shut with a grimace. “Okay. I will. Tonight.”
“Okay back up maybe not when you’re fighting for your life,” Steven said, guiding Han to just lay back down. “But you should update him on how you’re doing.” He glanced at Han’s phone, finally turning on. There was a barrage of missed calls and texts from multiple people.
“Should we call him from your phone and talk to him? So we can fight for our honor and character?” Jeongwoo half joked, punching in Han’s passcode.
Steven scoffed. “Honestly, not a bad idea.”
Shrugging, Han nodded his head. “I’ll be right here to beg for his forgiveness, anyway.”
“Don’t be dramatic,” Chihen said, buried in his own phone.
Jeongwoo didn’t know why he was so nervous clicking on JL’s contact. He knew damn well that Woongki was likely in the same vicinity as him, probably talking shit alongside Shuaibo. Maybe hearing Steven, Jeongwoo, and Chihen on the phone would help their case. He’d take a pic of a sickly Han and send it just for good measure.
The phone rang exactly twice before someone hurriedly picked it up. Jeongwoo went rigid as Han’s eyes widened in anticipation. JL’s voice was clear as day.
“Hani?” It sounded despondent, like he was maybe crying.
Oh lord.
“Yence?!” Han said, like it’d been years since they’d last spoken. His eyes were wide and teary, like the dumbass emoji he constantly sent in chat. Ridiculous.
“Hani…did I do something wrong? You didn’t speak to me all day.”
There was whispering in the background of the call, a clear indication that Woongki and Shuaibo were absolutely present, probably huddled around the cell phone ready to ream the jocks for their idiocracy. He is sure they were expecting Han to say something incriminating.
“No baby, I’m just really sick. I passed out this morning.”
It wasn’t an excuse, and Jeongwoo hoped to fucking god Woongki and Shuaibo believed Han whole-heartedly. But Han’s voice was totally shot, a testament to his honesty. Someone clicked their teeth in the back, making Jeongwoo’s blood curdle. It felt like fucking judgement day.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve come over immediately.”
“I didn’t want you to worry about me, Yence. I never want my baby to worry.”
Chihen and Steven inwardly cringed at the baby talk. You had to give it to Han though— there was no shame.
“I’m mad, Hani. I want to take care of you. Is anyone even there right now?” JL sounded considerably relieved.
Han looked between Chihen and Jeongwoo, motioning for them to make their presence known.
“Yeah,” Chihen said first.
“Yup,” Jeongwoo added, screwing his eyes shut.
“He’s alright, JL. He wasn’t answering us, either. Sorry to scare you. Next time we’ll let you know when he’s out of commission,” Chihen said, attempting to mend the situation. “You should really have our numbers.”
Jeongwoo’s heart jumped to his throat. Did that mean Woongki would be in possession of his number?! For practical purposes!
“Hm,” another voice said in the back, ultimately confirming that the three boys were together. “That’s not a bad idea. Send your contacts from Han’s phone and we’ll add them. Since it’s important we stay in close range.”
It was Shuaibo, the latter part of the sentence sending a chill down Jeongwoo’s back. Right. Close range. For being jumped.
“He better not be lying,” Woongki’s voice became clear, Jeongwoo’s eyes going wide. “How do we know he’s not lying?” He asked out loud, knowing full well everyone would hear. He did not give a fuck. Unfortunately, it only made him more attractive.
“Nah, he’s fucked up. I swear on my life,” Chihen said, grabbing Han’s phone and snapping an extremely unflattering photo, immediately sending it over. “He’s so out of it he forgot to plug his phone in this morning.”
“Give me that!” Han griped, mortified at the state of his appearance. “Oh god. I look awful. Yence baby, don’t look at that!”
Steven rolled his eyes before mouthing at Jeongwoo to say something. He vehemently shook his head, terrified to utter a word. Steven gently smacked his shoulder.
“We found him half dead. I swear. Don’t uh— don’t kill us. Please,” Jeongwoo finally spoke.
Steven and Chihen physically recoiled.
“Right. Whatever,” Woongki’s voice came again. He was irritated for sure, but at least it seemed he believed the situation. That was progress.
“Can I come over, Hani?” JL suddenly asked, excitement in his voice. “I miss you. Let me take care of you.”
“Of course, baby,” Han cooed, paying no attention to Jeongwoo’s heart dropping to his ass. He had to get out of there in case JL’s brigade strung him up by the neck.
“Right. Well now that this is settled, we’ll leave you to it, JL. Call if you need us to haul him to the doctor,” Steven said, clasping his hands together.
“Yeah, we’ll be on call,” Chihen added.
Jeongwoo didn’t say another word. He didn’t want to piss Woongki off any further. Han made an obnoxiously loud smooching noise before hanging up, a dopey smile spread across his sickly face.
“Stop it. You look jaundiced,” Chihen said.
“Such a loverboy,” Steven snickered.
Han only groaned, tossing over in the bed. “I like him so bad. It’s killing me.”
“Yeah no I couldn’t tell with the excessive use of Yence and baby,” Chihen joked, throwing a clean blanket over Han’s shivering frame. “You’re down horrendously bad. So get a move on with it.”
“Agreed,” Steven laughed. “Let’s exit the premises, though. In case Woongki tags along and wipes the floor with Jeongwoo.”
“Enough,” Jeongwoo said, dragging his hands down his face. “Your food will be here soon, Hani. I’m going home.”
“This will be resolved soon enough,” Chihen said, patting Han’s head. “Don’t die on us.”
It wasn’t resolved.
And that’s how it started.
🤯
Seo Jeongwoo is going to kill Park Han.
He’s going to expedite his death in any way possible, sending the man into an early grave. It’s the only way to end the cold war between them and JL’s friends.
It’s been two months. Two fucking months since KabedonGate.
Park Han still hasn’t confessed his undying love for Jay Lawrence Gaspar.
And against his own judgement, Jeongwoo’s burning crush on Woongki has only gotten more intense. Naturally.
Jeongwoo can count the entirety of their interactions on one hand.
A brief glare during practice, when JL was waiting for Han to finish. A look so jarring Jeongwoo was temporarily distracted— enough for the soccer ball to hit him square in the jaw. Deserved.
A threatening text message that said exactly one thing: Tell Han that JL is taking his exam. Not even a thanks. And Jeongwoo jumped with joy that Woongki even bothered to message him instead of Steven.
An audible scoff at one of his dance performances, one Jeongwoo was attending for Han and JL. Jeongwoo couldn’t stop staring at the way Woongki moved. Of course.
And that was it.
In his pathetic nature, Jeongwoo hadn’t made any legitimate move to befriend the feisty boy. On one hand, he really wanted to make himself look less like an asshole but on the other hand, he sort of enjoyed the rush.
Everyone likes Cha Woongki, that’s a given. It deeply hurts his soul that the friendly boy is energetic and full of life when he’s not around Jeongwoo. He giggles and smiles when he’s with his friends or even with people he doesn’t know yet, charisma oozing from his pores. Jeongwoo wishes so desperately that Woongki would just spare him one single smile. Then he’d be held over for life.
Woongki isn’t just cute to him. He’s not that shallow of a person, against popular belief.
He has his own atmosphere, his own little orbit going on. Jeongwoo can’t believe how extroverted he is in nature, excelling at literally everything. He’s a social sciences major, too, and vice president of the debate club. Then he’s captain of the K-pop cover team and a TA for beginning hip hop. Not to mention the impeccable style, dressed in neutral tones and warm eyeshadow. Sometimes he’s sparkly enough that Jeongwoo can see him glimmering in the distance. Or maybe he just naturally glows like that.
Jeongwoo’s game isn’t as horrendous as Han, he knows this much is true. But he also isn’t great at going for what he wants, especially when he’s so easily overpowered. People normally come to him so he doesn’t have to stress over pursuing himself. But Woongki is different— Woongki deserves time and attention, he deserves to be asked out with a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne. It’s just that serious.
Jeongwoo is also certain that Shuaibo doesn’t seem to hate him as much as Woongki does, which is at least good. He can only hope the Chinese boy is somewhat defending him, considering he awkwardly waves with a sympathetic expression on his face. Perhaps he’s had a good experience with a jock before. Who knows.
Jeongwoo is happy to be far enough that he can admire Woongki, accepting that he’ll probably never have the chance to even be his friend. That’s enough for him— Woongki isn’t someone that’s attainable, even with his campus status. He’s a little too far out of reach, even if Woongki didn’t hate his guts. Besides, having a crush is way easier than acting upon it.
So when his phone pings at the end of a Friday practice, Jeongwoo nearly shits himself at the name flashing on screen.
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): hey
open my text right now please.
Scrambling in fear and anticipation, Jeongwoo swipes with record speed.
Jeongwoo: Oh, hey Woongki-ssi.
He cringes inward upon himself. That feels way too formal for their weird friend-in-law situation.
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): you don’t have to speak to me like that. thanks.
Jeongwoo: okay. sorry.
what’s up?
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): tell park han to get to the social science building right now or i want your acl on my desk by monday
jeongwoo: oh
ok 😔
totally. whatever you say king.
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): please don’t patronize me.
In horror, Jeongwoo realizes how sarcastic he must sound over text. Woongki doesn’t know that he’s pathetic like that.
Jeongwoo: IM SORRY. I DIDNT MEAN IT LIKE THAT
SORRY
Great. Another double text. Now Woongki is going to think he’s a fan.
Predictably, he doesn’t respond. Does this mean he should also be accompanying Han? Perhaps this is his only chance to breathe Woongki’s air.
Adrenaline courses through his veins as he loops back to the soccer team lockers, blasting through in fear that Han already went home. Thankfully, he finds him still changing out of his cleats. His best friend looks up in confusion.
“You good?” He says, running a towel through his wet hair.
“I was threatened again.”
Han’s face falls. “Oh no. What did I do this time?”
Jeongwoo groans and takes a seat next to him. “This is not cool. I’m taking your hits. Woongki is going to tear the tendons from my flesh with his bare teeth.”
“Right, yeah. Like that doesn’t turn you on.”
Jeongwoo hits his best friend. “Asshole. This is serious!”
Han laughs, way too calm for the situation. “What’s wrong, though?”
“He wants you at the social science building right now.”
Han raises an eyebrow. “Like right now right now?”
“Right now. Get up.”
Han jolts up, neglecting to change out of his jersey. JL likes when he wears it, anyway. He slings his bag over his shoulder and drags Jeongwoo outside.
“Nothing should be wrong. Yence and I are going to the movies in an hour and he’s sleeping over.”
As usual.
Jeongwoo’s eye twitches. “Hani. It’s been almost three months.”
Sighing, Han kicks a rock in frustration. “Jeongwoo, I swear I almost did it yesterday. I almost asked him to be my boyfriend! I had flowers ready and I was going to take him to the Han river this weekend.”
Jeongwoo rolls his eyes so hard his head hurts. “Then what on god’s green fucking earth stopped you?”
Han makes a sound akin to a growl. “He said something that almost made me throw up.”
“And that was…?”
“You’re such a good friend, Hani.”
Jeongwoo’s blood runs cold. Are we deadass right now?
“I hate you two. Genuinely and utterly.”
Han throws his head back and yells at the clouds. “I didn’t know what to do! I was ready to give him the best night of his life and promise to cherish him forever! What did I do wrong?!” He kicks another rock and continues his rant. “But after he said it, he looked devastated, like he didn’t mean it.”
Jeongwoo kicks a rock in Han’s direction, half-hoping the idiot will trip over it. “He probably didn’t mean it, you moron. Why couldn’t you have just clarified?”
“Because it was awkward after that. I just dropped him off.”
“And what did you say before he told you that?”
Han thought for a moment before responding. “I said that I love all my friends deeply and that I’d do anything for them.”
Jeongwoo squeezes his eyes shut, attempting to be patient. “Han. That was a general statement.”
Han cocks his head, eyes wide. “What do you mean?”
“He didn’t say you’re a good friend to me, Hani. He said you are such a good friend.”
Han drops his head. “Oh.”
“He said it, watched how you reacted, then realized you probably misunderstood what he meant. And then both of you were too afraid to make the correction because neither of you want to bring up a relationship.”
Han looks like he's about to burst into tears. “Yeah. Yeah that checks out.”
“So fix it. Ask him. My lovely beautiful incredible Yence who I’d hurl myself off a cliff for, what did you mean by that? Punctuated by that stupid pleading emoji.”
“Okay first of all, fuck you. That is not how I address him. Also, you’re one to fucking talk.” He shoves his best friend. “Second of all, I do not use that emoji.”
“You do.”
“Shut up, I'm not done!”
Jeongwoo doesn’t say anything, refocusing his attention to how they are only a few feet away from their destination. Dread begins to settle in his stomach.
“Third of all. I can’t just bring it up now! It’s gotta be the right moment again!”
“You said it was the right moment two months ago! Now look where we are! His friends are plotting my death, Steven and Chihen are getting spared for some reason, and you’re going to break this kid’s heart.”
Han stomps his foot on the ground. “Never! I would never do that!”
“Not intentionally! But it’s looking that way!”
Han is gearing up for an argument, his hands becoming extra animated.
“You don’t understand, I’ve never felt like this for someone before, he—”
“Hani?”
The two bickering men are interrupted by the soft voice coming from beside them. It’s JL, dressed in one of Han’s sweaters, eyes wide and concerned. Oh fantastic! Another sentence for the guy to misunderstand.
Han stops mid-argument, his hands loosely falling to his sides. Blush immediately begins to settle on his cheeks, ears turning bright red. Easy. So incredibly easy.
“Hi my lovely Yence,” he says, completely disregarding that Jeongwoo was dead right about how he addresses the man. “I missed you.”
Mind you, they’ll probably wake up in the same bed tomorrow morning.
JL cocks his head, pretty brown hair falling over his forehead. “Is…something wrong?” He narrows his eyes. “Who were you…who are you talking about?”
Jeongwoo can visually see the blood drain from Han’s face. Hah. Get his ass.
“Nobody, baby! Nobody at all.”
Jesus christ.
“Oh,” JL whispers, looking down at his feet.
Jeongwoo looks at his best friend, desperately trying to get him to clarify. The man has just suggested that Yence is nobody to him. If misleading the love of his life was an olympic sport, he’d be winning gold.
“I just thought…” JL starts again, watching in sadness as Han increasingly grows panicked.
“No— no wait!” Han drops his bag and dives to his almost-boyfriend, embracing him in a bear hug and planting kisses all over his face. Right, so he can do all of that but not say I love you let’s go out.
With those two being joined at the hip, Jeongwoo finally notices who is standing behind them.
It’s Cha Woongki, with a glare on his face. Naturally.
Jeongwoo gulps down the attraction budding in his chest, trying very hard not to notice Woongki is wearing shorts today, a matching brown set complete with a beret. He’s dotted on freckles, and there’s a little bit of orange blush on the apples of his cheeks. Meanwhile, Jeongwoo is wearing a semi-sweaty gray tee and black sweats. His hair is also probably a mess, in need of a trim.
He gives an awkward wave and the brightest smile he can muster while Woongki crosses his arms. Shuaibo joins him, actually giving Jeongwoo a friendly smile and wave. He gently nudges Woongki, the older immediately dropping his arms and loosening his glare. He gives Jeongwoo a curt nod.
“Hani, stop!” JL giggles from the side while Jeongwoo and Woongki have a faceoff, separated only by the romantic mess of their best friends. Jeongwoo doesn’t even notice them.
Then Woongki takes a step forward and Jeongwoo is just glad there isn’t a wall behind him. Shuaibo gives Jeongwoo a particularly empathetic look which cannot be good.
“H-hey,” Jeongwoo starts, subtly backing up. He doesn’t know why he does this however, because Woongki is just going to continue crowding his space. “What um. What did you need?”
Woongki cocks his head, eyes still narrowed. “Han forgot to bring JL’s jacket back.”
Oh.
Okay. Significantly less important than he thought, certainly not serious enough to tear out his own anterior cruciate ligament. He probably still would do it, though.
“Is…that it?” Jeongwoo carefully says,
Woongki gives him another calculated look. “I didn’t think you’d actually come.”
Jeongwoo blinks. “Was this…a test…of sorts?”
Woongki looks down at the ground, pursing his lips. “Maybe.”
Jeongwoo sighs. “Cha Woongki, what kind of person do you think I am?”
The beautiful boy glares. “I’m not answering that question.”
No, of course not.
Shuaibo joins the two, giggling away. “Hey, sorry about this. I think JL just wanted to see Han. I don’t think he would be giving the jacket back, anyway. He always says it smells like him.”
Jeongwoo relaxes internally, thankful for Shuaibo’s comforting presence. He definitely doesn’t hate him like Woongki does. Maybe this is his in.
“Yeah, no problem. I uh, I’m always one text away.”
“And look how fast you got here,” Shuaibo says, nudging Woongki again. “You two are such gentlemen.” Another nudge. Shuaibo is fighting for his honor?
“Hani would never miss the chance to see JL. I also…wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to say hi.” Jeongwoo inwardly cringes. He is so fucking obvious.
Woongki narrows his eyes. “And why is that?”
Jeongwoo gulps. “Oh well…I just…uh.”
Woongki’s stare is burning him from the inside out, those pretty brown eyes keeping a firm boot on his neck. If only they could be full of admiration instead of resentment.
“I just thought it would be nice to get to know some of JL’s friends. Since we haven’t really spoken before.”
“Ah,” Shuaibo says, still smiling. “I appreciate it. JL says nice things about you and the others.”
Yeah, that cannot possibly be true.
“Are you excited for the movie, Hani? I’m going to feed you so much popcorn you’ll burst!” JL says, hearts practically floating around him. Jeongwoo and Woongki’s eyes simultaneously twitch.
“Of course, baby, then cuddle sesh?” Han replies, as if his best friend isn’t right next to him. Lost in his own little world, no care at all.
Woongki looks as if he’s about to burst a vein. Shuaibo has the kindest smile on his face. And Jeongwoo just wants to leave.
“I should um. I should get going,” Jeongwoo says, accepting that he’s not going to get his best friend back until tomorrow. “Sorry if I bothered you guys.”
Shauibo waves his hand. “Not at all. Thanks for bringing him.” He nudges Woongki for the umpteenth time.
“Yeah,” Woongki begrudgingly says, refusing to say thanks.
“I’ll see you two around?” Jeongwoo awkwardly says.
“For sure,” Shuaibo responds, sighing at the two lovebirds beside them. “Thanks again.”
And with that, Jeongwoo pokes his best friend and indicates that he’s leaving. Han hardly notices him, too distracted with tightly hugging his pseudo-boyfriend.
Woongki meets his eyes for a quick glance, enough to jumpstart Jeongwoo’s beating heart once more.
This will just have to do.
When he gets home that evening, he doesn’t really expect anything to happen. Chihen is already home from the gym, passed out on the couch like he lives there and Steven cancelled their gaming sesh. He showers, giving himself a good look in the mirror and realizing he really does need a trim. Would Woongki find him prettier if he could see his big eyes? Would the puppy stare work to convince Woongki that he’s actually a loyal dog? Is it pathetic that all his thoughts orbit around a boy who hates him?
He sighs so loud that Chihen stirs in his sleep. There’s a roster of people that would love to go on a date with him yet all he wants is someone he simply cannot have. How dare his best friend be a coward and ruin his chances with the friendliest boy on campus? Rude.
He heads to his room, phone pinging in his pocket. He whips it out with a yawn. The phone nearly clatters to the floor as he realizes who it is.
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): thanks.
It’s a simple text, and Jeongwoo knows it was only prompted by Shuaibo, but it still makes him warm all over.
Jeongwoo: you’re welcome. anytime.
He pauses, debating whether or not he should double text once again. He probably shouldn’t, but does anyway. It’s not like he can get worse in Woongki’s eyes at this point. He’s already a lost cause.
Jeongwoo: i’m sorry if i make you uncomfortable. or if ive done anything to make you upset.
Stupid. Stupid. Why would he address it?
The text bubble comes up for a second before it disappears again, giving Jeongwoo terrible anxiety. Over the course of five minutes, it comes up again and again. He wants to know what the other is thinking, desperately wondering if his plea came across genuine enough. He wants to know if Woongki is even considering forgiving Jeongwoo for simply existing.
His phone finally pings.
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): its fine.
It’s a terribly unsatisfactory answer, but it’ll do.
At least he’s a microstep further than where he started.
🤯
Jeongwoo does not want to fucking be here.
Contrary to popular belief, he doesn’t actually like parties. Most of the popular beliefs people have about him are wrong, anyway.
He didn’t want to go but Steven convinced him it’d be a great distraction. He also argued it was a great opportunity for Han and JL to get drunk enough they’d confess together. Jeongwoo also argued that they probably wouldn’t remember shit the day after. Whatever, he said yes. Maybe he would meet another pretty boy that actually wanted him.
He’s had two shots of soju, not bothering to take another. He’s bored out of his mind, pressed up against a sticky wall. It’s more fun to people-watch, anyway. It’s not like he’s going to get lucky anytime soon.
Steven is somewhere chatting up the other sports teams, expanding his circle. Chihen is on the couch talking to a pretty kid with pink hair, and Han is definitely in a room somewhere with his beloved JL. And Jeongwoo has no idea if the dude brought his nefarious little friends.
Being a wallflower will simply have to do, since he’s convinced he’s more or less the current chaperone. He doesn’t really have the urge to get drunk, considering his friends are doing that at the moment. Han is a messy drunk and Steven starts speaking English in his thick Australian accent. Chihen is nonchalant as always.
He himself is a pretty useless drunk. Fits the narrative.
He doesn’t expect anyone to notice him, even if his good looks have gotten him popular on social media. He’s finally trimmed his hair, allowing his eyes to show through, and he’s wearing a black dress shirt with the first three buttons undone. Not for seductive purposes, he’s just sweating. At least he looks handsome.
“Hey!” A friendly voice comes from the side of him.
It’s Shuaibo, dressed in a pretty sheen top with glitter on his clavicles. Jeongwoo realizes in horror that if Shuaibo is here, then Woongki must be, too.
“Oh, hey,” Jeongwoo says, shaking himself out of wallflower mode. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Yeah,” Shuaibo giggles. “Last minute decision. Wanted to make sure JL got home safe.”
Jeongwoo hesitates before he asks the following question. But he just has to know.
“Is uh…is um. Is Woongki—”
“He’s here,” Shuaibo says, grinning suspiciously wide.
Oh no. No no no. Shuaibo can’t have already clocked him. The Chinese boy takes a sip of his drink and smirks.
“What? You think I can’t tell you have a colossal crush on him?”
Jeongwoo’s eyes go wide, a certain degree of fear spreading throughout his body. This is hell on earth. He doesn’t want to be read like a book by a guy he’s met exactly once.
Shuaibo notices Jeongwoo’s panic and laughs. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell him. He’s still getting over his little grudge.”
Jeongwoo throws his head back against the wall and groans. “He hates me.”
Another laugh. Shuaibo doesn’t seem to be taking this seriously.
“He doesn’t really.”
Jeongwoo’s eyes snap back open like a dog responding to a treat clicker. “What?!”
“Well, he certainly doesn’t like you.”
Jeongwoo’s heart falls again.
“But I can guarantee you, he doesn’t hate you. It’s all faux anger, anyway. JL is our best friend, and Woongki would do anything on earth to keep him safe. He’s gone through some shit, I promise it's not personal.” Shuaibo takes another sip of his drink. “It doesn’t really seem like Han has any actual intention of hurting JL, but I can see the fear in JL’s eyes when he talks about wanting a future with him. I mean generally speaking, your friend hasn’t done anything remotely evil yet.”
Jeongwoo groans. “He’s not playing JL, I swear to you on my life he’s not. But he’s scared to tell him how he feels.”
“For someone so popular, I’m kind of surprised,” Shuaibo laughs.
Jeongwoo feels strangely at ease, like he can tell this guy anything without it coming back to bite him in the ass.
“It’s just how he is. Plus, everything started off purely physical. How do you ask your fwb to date you?”
Shuaibo nods his head. “Good point. JL had the same fears. What if Han only wanted him for his body? I thought it at first, too. But then he started showing up to his apartment with flowers at the door.”
Right. Everything by the book.
“So they’re on the same page? But don’t know it?” Jeongwoo asks, somewhat relieved.
Shuaibo nods. “For sure.”
“And we can’t just…tell them ourselves?! So this will stop?”
Shuaibo shakes his head and tsks tsks. “They’ve got to fight their own battles.”
Jeongwoo drops his head, ready for it to explode. They’re never winning this goddamn war.
“But you and Woongki…” Shuaibo starts, abruptly bringing the conversation back to where Jeongwoo doesn’t want it to go. “What’s the tea there? Why do you like him?”
“First of all,” Jeongwoo starts, “how did you know?”
“That you’re into him?” Shuaibo begins cracking up. “The double texting? The fright in your eyes when Woongki looks at you? The immediate surrendering? Come on, man. I know your type.”
Jeongwoo wants to bash his shit into the wall. “And…you don’t think I’m evil?”
“Nah. Nobody as pathetic as you is even capable of being evil.”
Okay, an unnecessary read. Whatever, he probably needed to hear that.
“What do I need to do to get him to not hate me?” Jeongwoo nearly pleads, hands held tightly at his sides.
Shuaibo thinks for a moment, tapping his foot. Jeongwoo uses the silence to examine his surroundings, desperately searching for any sign of his burning crush. He would hate for Woongki to see Shuaibo and him fraternizing.
“Woongki isn’t as mean as he likes to pretend he is, as you’ve probably observed. He’s also not immune to handsome men, either. I don’t think it would be particularly hard to get through to him. Besides, you’re kind of his type.”
Jeongwoo’s heart considerably speeds up. “His type? What is his type?”
Shuaibo grins nefariously. “Taller men that will bark for him if he asks. Loyal, soft and emotional. Up to date with the geopolitical state of the world. Not afraid to be around his exuberance.”
Jeongwoo looks down at the ground, colorful shoes filling his peripheral. He’s all of those things. He really is.
“Oh.”
“I certainly think he’s attracted to you, by the way.”
Jeongwoo’s eyes cannot possibly get any bigger.
“His gaze lingered yesterday when you dragged Han to us. He was kind of blushing, too. Maybe he doesn’t want to be attracted to you, but he sure is.”
“Do you just read people all day?”
Shuaibo shrugs. “It’s fun.”
Jeongwoo sighs and asks again. “So what do I have to do?”
“Well first of all, we kind of have to wait until Han mans up. Then we have to let the dust settle a little bit. Then maybe you can move in.”
Yeah, nevermind. A lost cause.
“Or you could try now. You could really prove yourself.”
“How?!”
Shuaibo shrugs again. “Impress him somehow. Find reasons to see him. I don’t know, be genuine. It’s not hard to see that you’re not an idiot jock. At least I can see you’re not.”
“I don’t think any of this is going to work. He shoved me against a fucking wall.”
Shuaibo laughs. “I’m sure you loved that.”
Jeongwoo grips his chest in dramatic fashion. “I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest. He was so close to me. And he smelled so sweet.”
Shuaibo physically cringes. “Yeah, you’re gone.”
“At least he has my number.”
Shuaibo slowly nods, clearly entertained. “Riiight.”
“But seriously,” Jeongwoo says, genuine gratitude pouring into his heart. “You’re a real one for this. And thanks for not hating my guts and giving me a chance to explain things.”
“It’s cool. I’ll continue to put in a good word for you two. He’ll come around eventually, I’m sure of it.” Shuaibo grins, giving a quick wave before he heads off into the sea of drunk university students.
Jeongwoo probably shouldn’t drop to his knees in a packed condo, but he needs a moment to collect his breath. He’s not even drunk but he’s floating in euphoria, struggling to process that he has just a sliver of Woongki’s point of view.
His type?! Blushing?! Lingering gazes?! What the fuck.
Okay, so maybe he does have a miniscule chance at busting down Woongki’s walls. But what exactly does that mean for him?
He can’t keep yelling at Han to confess when it simply doesn’t work. And he also doesn’t want to be a weirdo and keep showing up in front of Woongki’s face. There’s not a clear game plan to follow here except for giving up. Maybe Woongki will just have to come around on his own time. It’s not hard to observe Jeongwoo’s character, anyway.
Speaking of.
Jeongwoo’s mind blanks out when he sees who’s in the distance, thankfully not yet noticing his presence. Why does Woongki always appear at the worst possible times?!
And it’s really bad because why is he dressed like a runway model?! He’s wearing a long-sleeve brown shirt that’s slightly cropped at the waist, fitting snugly around his body. A handful of chains dangle from black cargo pants with boots on his feet. He’s wearing heavier makeup, too, that same glitter reflecting from the inner corners of his eyes. He’s got some colorful things in his hair as well, so distracting that Jeongwoo nearly allows himself to get stepped on.
He’s beautiful. And it pains him that Jeongwoo can’t bring himself to say it to his face.
Woongki goes through the motions of greeting nearly half the people at the party, bouncing up and down with a huge grin on his face. Even though it isn’t that serious, Jeongwoo gets more and more sad as he observes the energetic boy. All smiles and friendly laughs, hugs and cheek kisses for all who know him. Except for Jeongwoo.
This is so sick and twisted. He might as well just leave the damn party.
And he almost does, dragging himself up from the floor to take one more shot and text his friends that’s throwing in the towel for the night. He’ll have more fun booting up Skyrim on his pc. Anything is better than yearning like a dog for someone who doesn’t want him.
He strategically makes his way through the onslaught of sweaty bodies, pushing his way to the exit. He can see Woongki from his peripheral vision, trying so desperately to avoid bumping into the guy. But the condo isn’t very big, and he can see just about everyone and everything from where he’s standing.
And of fucking course Woongki sees him.
Bumps into him, even. Just a slight brush to the shoulder that sends a jolt of electricity down Jeongwoo’s spine. He squeezes his eyes shut and tries to ignore Woongki’s immediate attention on him. There’s a bout of silence before the younger speaks.
“Oh, it’s you.”
Jeongwoo wants to kill himself at the sight of Woongki’s bright and enchanting smile falling because of his presence. He’s on the verge of just dropping to his knees and chanting please please please please please. But he has some self respect left.
“Hi Woongki. Sorry.”
Woongki scoffs, rolling his eyes. Jeongwoo can’t help but notice that his waterline has also been filled in with a glittery brown, shaded with a little bit of black. And it doesn’t help that he smells absolutely fucking divine.
“You just apologize for everything, don’t you?”
“I’m sorry.”
There’s almost a faint smile on Woongki’s lips that Jeongwoo does not miss. Okay, maybe the pathetic rizz is kind of working?
“It’s whatever. Have you seen JL?”
Jeongwoo shakes himself out of it, tearing his eyes away from the necklace fit around Woongki’s neck. He cannot make himself out to be a creep on top of everything else.
“Probably upstairs with Han. I saw him about an hour ago. Either that or they left together.”
Woongki looks visibly irritated. “Right. Yeah. Of course.”
“If JL is drinking, Hani will take care of him. I promise you this,” Jeongwoo says, attempting to stop Woongki from walking away.
The younger gives him a look from top to bottom— almost as if he’s checking Jeongwoo out. The older full body freezes.
“Yeah. Alright. But if not, I'm killing you. Tonight.”
“Yes sir. I mean— fuck.” Jeongwoo is going to die. “I’m sorry. That’s cool, too.”
Jesus.
Woongki gives him a calculated look, eyes furrowed in confusion, like he’s trying to unravel Jeongwoo’s thoughts. The older can’t tell if that’s a good or bad thing.
“Can I…maybe…um…get you a drink?” Jeongwoo asks, desperately trying to save face. He’s a hot soccer player he can do this. (He can’t).
“Mm. No thanks.”
Immediately rejected. Jeongwoo is about to cry.
“Right, yeah. Stupid of me to ask. Sorry. Enjoy the party!” Jeongwoo says, abruptly shoving his way back to the kitchen. Fuck it, he’s throwing back at least three more shots. He cannot be lost in his thoughts of kissing Woongki until his lips are swollen right now. It’s going to make everything worse. The more Woongki shows disinterest, the more he’s going to fall deeper.
Steven is in the kitchen when Jeongwoo gets there, taking a break from yapping with his friends to watch as Jeongwoo plants his palms down on the counter, looking mortified.
“Shot, please,” Jeongwoo says, ignoring the concerned looks.
“You…good?”
Jeongwoo vehemently shakes his head. “I just got rejected.”
Steven makes a grimacing face. “By your boy?”
“Not my boy. Never imply that again or he’s going to find and kill me.”
Steven throws his head back and laughs, clearly a little bit tipsy. “Right, yeah. I highly doubt he’s capable of that, but you’d let it happen.” He pours Jeongwoo a shot of green apple soju, watching as his best friend immediately knocks it back.
“Another.”
“Are you gonna be okay man?” Steven says, hesitantly pouring another. “We can like, leave. So you can recover or whatever.”
Jeongwoo shakes his head, taking the shot. That should be enough liquid courage for the night. For what? He’s not quite sure yet.
A few minutes later, Han and JL come down from the upstairs room, giggling away holding hands. Their cheeks are flushed and Jeongwoo knows the both of them are probably intoxicated, so he keeps a close watch. He’s never seen Han with a bigger smile on his face except when he’s with JL. He can’t help but feel a pang of jealousy in his chest.
“Haiiiiiii,” JL says in a slurred voice, letting Han twirl him around in the kitchen.
Steven gives him a fist bump. “What’s up? You two look cozy.”
JL maniacally giggles as Han embraces him in a tight backhug. “We’re gonna head out soon.”
“You sure you can get home okay?” Steven asks.
“Mm. We’ll take a cab.” JL can barely finish his sentence before Han starts planting kisses all over his cheeks. They probably did other things in that damn bedroom. Jeongwoo wants to curl inwards upon himself, desperately wishing he had Woongki hanging off his arm.
“What’s up with you?” Han asks, pulling his attention away from JL. “You look pale white.”
“Cha Woongki rejected him apparently. He’s sulking,” Steven answers, holding back a laugh.
JL pouts, his colored eye contacts glimmering in the lights. “Woongki is being ridiculous, he doesn’t actually hate you.” He hiccups, following this with a giggle.
Okay, at least both of Woongki’s friends can confirm this fact.
“I offered him a drink. He said no,” Jeongwoo pouts.
JL isn’t paying attention to him anymore, gripping Han’s cheeks and squeezing them together. “Mahallllll, what the hell…you’re so pogi.” His bottom lip juts out. “Pakiss nga.”
Without speaking, Han immediately kisses him, probably familiar with the words. Jeongwoo stares in disbelief.
“Sorry,” JL giggles. “Woongki is giving you hell? Again?”
Jeongwoo nods, too defeated to answer.
“Mm. I’ll talk to him.”
Jeongwoo shakes his head. “No, don’t do that. He’s going to hate me even more.”
JL rolls his eyes. “He definitely thinks you’re cute.”
Jeongwoo’s head falls against the counter, an attempt to knock himself out of it. “Please don’t tell me that. Why are you all saying this to me?!”
JL doesn’t answer, too busy making out with Han. Jeongwoo simply gives up.
“Tough luck, man. Sorry,” Steven says, patting Jeongwoo’s back.
Another shot. Jeongwoo doesn’t want to think tonight.
An hour goes by with Jeongwoo sulking in the kitchen, proceeding to undo three more buttons as he considerably heats up. He doesn’t love being drunk, acutely aware that he gets annoying, clingy, and sad. It’s a bad idea, too, more thoughts about Woongki pouring into his head. The alcohol doesn’t really help him like he thought it would, torturing him rather than comforting him.
His eyes are glazed over as he watches the onslaught of people his age, dancing up on each other or kissing in the corners. He half wishes he was one of them, lost in someone’s lips. He hasn’t kissed anyone in months— it’s a nice thought.
He sees Shuaibo give a nod to Steven, which he barely processes as strange in his drunken stupor. JL and Han are in the middle of the living room, their bodies pressed together in any way but innocent. He’s utterly sick of seeing them be happy.
And Woongki appears, too, surrounded by a gaggle of girls. He’s absent from the scowl, a drink in his hand as he sways to the music. Who got him the drink? Did he get it himself? Is he entertaining other men? It’s not like Jeongwoo has any kind of claim on him.
Jeongwoo must look insane right now, slowly blinking at the scene in front of him. He doesn’t even care that he’s shamelessly staring, completely lost of all his self worth. He probably needs a cup of water but it doesn’t really matter.
He almost vomits when Woongki makes direct eye contact with him, that lovely smile slowly fading away. The sparkly boy cocks his head, eyes narrowing as Jeongwoo refuses to stop staring. In horror, he realizes that Woongki is swiftly making his way over to him. This is where it ends. When the prettiest boy he’s ever seen kills him in front of everyone. So be it.
Woongki approaches him with a bit of difficulty, clearly struggling to remain balanced in his intoxicated state. Jeongwoo doesn’t even think twice before reaching out to steady him, only realizing his mistake when Woongki glares.
“Why are you staring at me? You want to fight?” He says, though there’s not a lot of venom in his tone. Even if he could fight, the punches would be uncoordinated.
Jeongwoo doesn’t even have it in him to properly respond. “No?”
Woongki humphs. From the corner of his eye, Jeongwoo can see a worried-looking Shuaibo. He gives Jeongwoo a look that says, do you want me to come save you? But Jeongwoo shakes his head.
“Why—” he hiccups, “are you looking at me so much?!” Another hiccup.
Jeongwoo might as well just be honest. Woongki won’t remember it in the morning.
“Because you’re pretty.”
Clearly, Woongki isn’t expecting such a response. His eyes go wide, remnants of the glitter beginning to rub off on his cheeks, some of the eyeliner smeared with it. He looks prettier like this, if possible. If only Jeongwoo had the privilege of wiping it away.
“You!” Woongki says, sticking a finger into Jeongwoo’s chest. “Will not seduce me like Han did JL! I will not fall victim to your games!” He’s belligerently drunk, much worse than Jeongwoo is. At this point, it doesn’t matter what's going on, Jeongwoo recognizes immediately that Woongki needs water.
“We can talk about this later. Please drink some water,” Jeongwoo says, moving towards the sink. Woongki catches his arm, yanking him back.
“I spend every night comforting him! You don’t understand what Han is doing to his heart! And I won’t let you do the same!”
Jeongwoo ignores him, pulling away to get him a cup of water.
“All you jocks are the same! You don’t care about what you do to people, you just care about your interests!”
Wrong, Woongki is horribly wrong. But Jeongwoo lets him continue with his spiel. He fills a cup of water.
“All JL wants is someone to love him, not to play him! Do you know the kind of shit he’s been through?! Do you think I really believe that someone like Han wanted JL out of nowhere?! We’re not even in the same social circles!”
That doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter.
Jeongwoo shoves the cup in Woongki’s face, temporarily stopping his rant. Scowling, Woongki reluctantly takes the cup. He sips on it, but doesn’t stop his tirade.
“And here you are calling me pretty?! What, am I your target?! So you can proceed to lead me on for three months! Do you people have a roster of victims?!”
Jeongwoo’s heart is breaking, honestly speaking. Being yelled at with a barrage of statements that are grossly untrue is not making him feel too great. Even if he knows this anger is irrational and stupid, he still wishes Woongki didn’t believe every damn stereotype the campus spits about him. He’s not a meathead, he’s not a player, and he’s not looking to lead anyone on.
“Woongki.”
“And how dare you have the audacity to act like you don’t know what’s going on! Like you don’t have an evil best friend!”
“Woongki.”
“I can’t believe you’re just here shamelessly staring at me. Just because it’s a party does not mean you have the right!”
Shuaibo is closer now, inching up behind the angry boy and threatening to drag him away. Jeongwoo pleads with his eyes, begging him not to. He can handle this. He has to say something.
“And guess what?! JL is gonna go home with that man and come to me crying tomorrow because it’s another night that means nothing. It’s causing so much turmoil and distress within my friends! I hate—”
“Woongki,” Jeongwoo sternly says, using the last bit of confidence to cage the boy in between him and the counter. This is probably a bad idea, but he doesn’t care.
There’s silence between them, only the sounds of partygoers filling their ears. Woongki’s eyes remain wide as he processes what’s going on. He hiccups and his cheeks go bright red.
“G-go away,” he whispers, suddenly bashful, like all the fire has dissipated from his veins the moment Jeongwoo raised his voice.
“Can you at least listen to what I have to say?” Jeongwoo pleads, leaning in just a little closer. He can smell Woongki’s perfume— white linen and small traces of something floral. The younger doesn’t move from where he’s captured against the counter.
“Make it quick,” Woongki says under his breath.
“Nobody is playing anybody, okay? Why is that so hard to believe?!”
Woongki doesn’t answer, like the guilt is slowly crawling up his throat.
“I’m not what you think I am and quite frankly it's against your own morals to believe such things! You like everyone! But me! And I haven’t done anything wrong!” Jeongwoo pants, slightly regretting the last three shots. But at least it gets his thoughts out. “My best friend is a lot of things, but a sleazy heartbreaker is not one of them. He’s scared, ok? He loves JL, he really does.”
Woongki sinks back into the counter, clearly defeated. It seems he doesn’t know how to react, used to Jeongwoo’s immediate submission. The guilt is really obvious now, written all over his face.
“If he loved him, he wouldn’t be dragging this out,” Woongki quietly refutes. Jeongwoo violently shakes his head.
“You don’t understand. They keep having these horrific mismatched conversations! Han doesn’t think JL even wants him like that!”
“He does!” Woongki shouts, his face inches away from Jeongwoo’s.
Jeongwoo’s arms fall to his sides, releasing Woongki from the cage. But the younger doesn’t move. Jeongwoo deeply sighs, fighting off the sudden nausea.
“We can’t keep fighting for them. We can’t be the ones having this conversation,” Jeongwoo admits, throwing his head back to stare at the ceiling. “This is absurd.”
Woongki is quiet for a moment, still standing in place. Jeongwoo is shocked he hasn’t left yet.
“You…really swear that Han doesn’t mean ill intent?”
Jeongwoo looks back down, finally noticing their height difference. Panic shoots through his system once he realizes Woongki is no longer glaring at him. He’s pouting, lower lip all glistening and enticing. Fuck.
“I promise, okay? Now for the love of god will you please stop being so mean to me?” Jeongwoo turns on the puppy dog eyes, big and desperate.
Woongki stares up at him, like he’s genuinely considering the option. Now Jeongwoo hopes he’ll remember it in the morning.
“Okay.” His voice is soft and calm, an entirely different side of him that Jeongwoo never expected to see. “But you better be right.”
“I am,” Jeongwoo says in a gentler tone. “Please finish the water. I’m not leaving until you do.”
Woongki slowly nods his head, quietly obeying. It’s oddly strange, a 180 to their normal interactions. “But stop…staring at me.”
Jeongwoo hurriedly looks to the side, immediately backing up. “Sorry.”
The younger finishes his cup and awkwardly waits for Jeongwoo to say something else, like he’s waiting for the okay to leave. Jeongwoo can only muster up so much courage.
“Who’s taking you home?”
“I am,” a voice comes from behind, a hand resting on Woongki’s shoulder. It’s Shuaibo, relief on his features. He didn’t have to deescalate the situation.
“You’re sober?” Jeongwoo asks, even though he’s not even sober himself.
“Yeah, there’s just soda in my cup. Thanks for watching over him.”
He didn’t really watch over him, he just got yelled at. But sure.
Woongki gives Jeongwoo a lasting gaze that Jeongwoo can’t quite read before looping his arm through Shuaibo’s. He then looks over his shoulder one last time before the two make their way out of the party, implying that Han has already taken JL home.
Well. At least he kind of got through to him.
A little bit of liquid courage remains in his system. He pulls out his phone and opens Woongki’s contact. He types faster than his brain can comprehend how stupid it is.
Jeongwoo: i meant what i said with no weird underlying intentions btw
you’re pretty.
the prettiest.
He takes one more shot before heading home.
🤯
Jeongwoo wakes up with a gnarly headache, as expected.
He also wakes up with a series of texts from multiple people.
The groupchat, JL and— Woongki?!
With anxiety building alongside the dizziness, he checks everybody else’s messages before Woongki’s.
Shuaibo: Hey
If he doesn’t say it tomorrow, Woongki is sorry. That was pretty mean of him 😓
Thanks for making him drink water. Lol, I wasn’t sure if I needed to come and get you out of that situation. But it looks like you handled it okay. I heard everything.
Let me know if you’re feeling alright. 🙂
Jeongwoo’s heart settles for a moment, appreciative of Shuaibo’s kindness. He says thank you and opens up the group chat next.
⚽💪
Han: WHAT THE FUCK
WHO WAS GOING TO TELL ME JL CALLED ME MAHAL LAST NIGHT???
Chihen: he doesn’t…already call you that? 😭
Han: HES ONLY SAID IT ONCE
Steven: lol he starts speaking tagalog when he’s drunk and in love
Han:
im going to DIE
Steven: isn’t he literally right next to you right now? 😭
like IN bed with you?!
Chihen: they definitely went home together yeah
Han: he’s still sleeping
my precious baby. he looks so cute right now
Chihen: creep
Steven: enough about you two
jeongwoo? you up? shuaibo told me what happened last night with you and woongki
Chihen: wait why are you talking to shuaibo
Steven: woongki was having it out apparently. drunk yelling at jeongwoo.
Han: huh???
what?!
Steven: okay well you were too busy doing god knows what with JL
leaving your best friend to fend for himself
they had a little altercation about YOUR love life, mind you. beefing about someone else’s mess is crazy
Han: what did i do this time???? 😭
i took jl out for dinner the night before!!!
Steven: you did nothing i think woongki just drunk ranted his feelings
Chihen: so when did you start speaking to shuaibo actually
Steven: and who was the pink haired kid on the couch
Chihen: enough.
Han: isn’t that juwon?
Chihen: park han shut the fuck up
Han: ??????? isn’t he your tutor????
Steven: hm.
Chihen: do not change the subject????
jeongwoo wake UP
PLEASE
The group chat ends there. Jeongwoo is too sick to even deal with their bullshit right now. JL’s message, however, comes as a surprise.
han’s boy: hey 😓
shuaibo told me what happened. im so sorry 😭😭
im going to have a very stern talking with woongki
i swear to you that he really isn’t this bad. really!
Sighing, Jeongwoo messages him back.
Jeongwoo: its fine
he was probably just drunk
He gets an immediate response, indicating he’s finally woken up beside Han.
han’s boy: not fine!!!
he really cares about me 😅 i know thats not a great excuse but its an explanation
just to be transparent, both him and i had a really bad experience with some athletes our freshman year. it was worse for him. got his heart absolutely obliterated.
Jeongwoo: ah. yeah. i get it.
han’s boy: its not going to happen again, i promise.
Jeongwoo: its cool.
He doesn’t mean to sound so cold, but he’s kind of over it and dreading Woongki’s text. And once he sees it, he almost throws up.
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): hey.
can we meet somewhere today? if you have time?
Jeongwoo chooses to ignore that Woongki didn’t even acknowledge the messages he sent the night before. He looks at the clock, noting that it’s already 3 pm. Woongki sent the messages an hour prior, probably just as hungover.
He slowly types back, doing a very good job at appearing nonchalant.
Jeongwoo: yeah, for sure.
where do you want to meet?
It takes 10 minutes for Woongki to respond, giving Jeongwoo enough time to make himself look somewhat presentable. He showers and fluffs up his hair, throwing on a plaid shirt.
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): can we meet at the foha cafe on campus?
Jeongwoo: yeah. i can be there in 30 min
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): that works.
Jeongwoo doesn’t say anything after this, already reading just how awkward the vibes are. Last night didn’t necessarily solve anything, even if their conversation ended amicably. He’s going to have to face Woongki and unpack whatever the fuck that was— or unpack whatever Woongki even remembers.
It can’t possibly be any worse than where they started.
He spritzes some cologne on, making sure he smells and looks nice. Maybe he’ll wear his glasses today and look even less intimidating.
His stomach hurts all the way to the cafe, still recovering from the nausea. He really should’ve eaten some congee or something before rushing to Woongki. But waiting to see him is never going to be an option. He stares out the window of the bus, trying to distract himself from the pure nerves. He’s sick, scared, and tired. Another great time to see Woongki.
Unfortunately, the boy is already waiting outside of the cafe when Jeongwoo gets there. Despite being terribly drunk the night before, Woongki looks as bright as ever. He’s wearing an oversized pink hoodie, complete with baggy pants. It’s a low effort outfit, but he still manages to look perfect.
Jeongwoo slightly bows, hoping this won’t go awry.
“Hey.” Woongki looks Jeongwoo up and down again. “Do you drink coffee?”
“Yeah,” Jeongwoo responds.
Woongki nods, heading into the cafe. Jeongwoo tries his best not to stare at the back of Woongki’s head as he orders for the both of them. The older assumes that some kind of apology is about to happen, his heart speeding up considerably.
They sit down near the window, late afternoon sunlight easing Jeongwoo’s incessant aching. Woongki’s brown hair looks more red in the sunlight, sparkling as always. Jeongwoo can see his eyes better, too, watching as they trace each and every one of his movements. Awkwardly, they begin to sip on their lattes.
“Thank you,” Jeongwoo whispers.
Woongki’s lips are pouty again, a little bit of gloss painted over them. He allows 2 minutes to go by before he’s opening his mouth.
“I owe you an apology.”
There it is.
Jeongwoo can feel his beating heart in his throat. Woongki takes a deep breath.
“I don’t remember everything I said to you last night, but Shuaibo filled me in. I’m really sorry. I was drunk and angry.” Woongki looks out the window before continuing. “I meant what I said about JL going through some shit. His last relationship was a mess and I just can’t bear to see him so lovesick for no reason again.”
Jeongwoo nods. “It’s okay.”
Woongki shakes his head. “It’s not. I took it out on you last night. Realistically, I was furious when I saw the two of them come downstairs. It’s not fair that Han keeps putting off asking JL out, but I shouldn’t be getting mad at you instead of him.”
He’s right. At least he’s self aware.
“And you did kind of get me last night. It isn’t within my morals to assume such things, but you can’t really blame me for doing so. It’s been three months, and I’ve watched my best friend cry every other day.”
“Han cries to us, too.”
Woongki looks shocked. “He does?”
Jeongwoo nods with a small laugh, easing into the conversation. “He is not in control of the situation, not as much as you think he is.”
“Oh,” Woongki says under his breath. “I just thought—”
“I know what you’re thinking. Popular soccer jock pursues your nerdy best friend. How did he even know about JL in the first place? If he’s not a player then what’s taking so long? And if Han is not to trust, then his jock friends are not to trust, either. I get it.”
Woongki takes a minute to process. “Well…yeah.”
“I can refute all of these claims.” Jeongwoo takes a sip of his drink. “First of all, Han loves cute nerds. He saw him perform in a play about a year ago because Chihen was working backstage. Instant crush. He’s also not very brave, so being a player is out of the question, even if everyone wants him. Second of all, he’s taking so long because he’s scared out of his mind that JL doesn’t want him like he wants him. He keeps misunderstanding what JL says to him, but is too afraid to clarify in fear of facing the concept of a relationship. Third of all, the rest of us aren’t players, either. And best believe we are on his ass about asking JL out, too.”
Woongki is looking down at his drink, clearly guilty. He’s got that same soft expression that Jeongwoo got a glimpse of last night, eyes tender and sweet.
“Okay,” he finally speaks. “I think I believe you.”
Jeongwoo raises an eyebrow. “You think?”
Woongki shakes his head in a panic. “I do, sorry. I’m trying to deconstruct these stereotypes.”
“Don’t get mad at him for this— or me for that matter, but JL mentioned that you got your heart broken by an athlete as a freshman?” Jeongwoo asks, testing the waters.
Woongki groans. “Ugh, yeah.”
“What…happened?”
Woongki shrugs. “Exactly what it sounds like. I got involved with someone on the soccer team…like Han…and he told me he wanted to date but was actively sleeping with other people. Just constantly leading me on,” Woongki says, squeezing his eyes shut as he recalls the events. “I really really liked him.”
“I’ll kill him,” Jeongwoo blurts out, immediately slapping a hand over his mouth in horror.
But it’s okay, because for the first time, he makes Woongki laugh. A harmonious giggle that makes Jeongwoo’s heart grow inexplicably warm. He needs to make it happen again and again and again.
“Sorry, that was out of pocket.”
“It’s okay,” Woongki is still giggling. “I just wasn’t expecting you to be so…defensive or protective.”
Or pathetic, Jeongwoo thinks. He’s not going to say that out loud.
“You’re not what I thought you were like. I don’t really know what I was expecting, either. My friends and I don’t normally talk to the sports players.
“Why not hang around us, then?” Jeongwoo asks, hope in his voice.
Woongki playfully rolls his eyes. “As if. What would we even talk about?”
“Chihen is a huge nerd! He’s not a gym bro!”
“You mean he’s not just a gym bro,” Woongki corrects.
Jeongwoo laughs and nods. “We’re not that bad, I promise. And you should see Han when he’s not with JL. It’s like he needs that boy to breathe.”
Woongki sighs. “Well it’s certainly the same on our side of things.”
“So…” Jeongwoo cautiously starts. “We’re…good?”
Woongki nods with a soft smile. “We’re good.”
“You’re not going to threaten me again?”
Woongki physically cringes, screwing his eyes shut. “No. Sorry about that. I didn’t mean them.”
It’s Jeongwoo’s turn to laugh, knowing full well the threats were empty. They still scared him, though.
It takes a few more minutes for the following silence to be comfortable, two souls sipping hot coffee to ease their hangovers. Despite how he felt on the bus, Jeongwoo feels particularly at peace. Woongki definitely doesn’t hate him, so he’s good on that front. But it doesn’t seem like he’s romantically interested, either. Whatever. A win is a win.
“Jeongwoo?” Woongki suddenly asks, his voice timid.
“Hm?”
“Did you actually mean it?”
“Mean what?”
Woongki’s ears slowly turn a shade of magenta. He fervently avoids eye contact. “You called me…pretty. The prettiest.”
Of course, his drunk words come back to haunt him. Great.
Blushing, Jeongwoo nods his head. “Yeah. Of course I did.”
“Oh,” Woongki whispers.
“Sorry. If that’s weird to say.”
Woongki gently shakes his head. “It’s not.”
“Distractingly pretty, even. And you’re full of life, which adds to the beauty. And you’re smart. And a social butterfly.” Jeongwoo stops himself before he can drone on and on. This is already vulnerable enough.
Woongki is violently blushing now, gripping onto his latte with white knuckles. Is Jeongwoo getting through to him? Does he like being called pretty? Even if it's coming from someone he didn’t like at first?
“Stop it,” Woongki shyly says.
“Sorry.” Jeongwoo dips his head.
Another moment of quiet silence, this time with something heavy hanging in the air. Jeongwoo has to use all his strength to not stare the boy down. The blush is just so cute.
“I should um, I should go check on JL now,” Woongki says, finding an excuse to leave the situation.
“He’s with Han.”
“Fuck,” Woongki whispers.
“I’m not busy, though.”
Woongki’s eyes widen. “What…are you implying?”
“I can make us some hangover congee.”
“At…your place?” Woongki slightly narrows his eyes.
Okay, maybe immediately inviting Woongki to his apartment right after making up is not a good look.
“...yes?” Jeongwoo carefully says.
Woongki thinks for a moment, playing with his fingers.
“I’m sorry, that was stupid of me to ask. Nevermind I’ll see you—”
“No, I’ll go,” Woongki hurriedly decides. Jeongwoo can still see the hesitance written on his features. He’ll have to make this worthwhile.
A wide grin flashes across Jeongwoo’s face. “I can cook, I swear.”
Woongki shyly laughs and gets up from the table, following Jeongwoo out the door. It’s a bit strange to sit so close to Woongki on the bus, but Jeongwoo welcomes the proximity. He smells a little different today, more decadent than flowery. Their shoulders are touching, and it’s enough to make Jeongwoo freak out inside. In a panic, he remembers he does have a roommate at home.
⚽💪
Jeongwoo: STEVEN MAKE THE APARTMENT LOOK PRESENTABLE
RIGHT FUCKING NOW
Steven: brother it is a sunday
im not doing shit
Jeongwoo: i have company
Steven: theres no way you caught a body
Jeongwoo: its woongki, asshole
Steven: HUH????
didn’t we just establish he yelled at you last night??? 😭
Han: can you guys stop blowing up my phone yence and i are tryna watch something
Steven: silence it, idiot
Han: PAUSE???
YOURE BRINGING WHO OVER???
wait hold on im at your place with yence rn 😭
Jeongwoo: why 💀
Han: you have the nice tv!
Steven: thats you in the living room???
Jeongwoo: ????? you just heard noises and let it be????
Steven: i thought it was chihen 😭
Jeongwoo: dude 💀
Han: yence is asking if woongki apologized? apparently he said he would
Jeongwoo: yeah he did
Steven: you sly little fox
why are you bringing him over immediately 🤨
Jeongwoo: i offered to make hangover congee wtf is wrong with you 😭
Steven: 🤨
Chihen: okay so how did that convo go
Jeongwoo: really well
he said sorry
he was blushing i think?? i might be delusional
Han: yence says “i told you so.”
“Who are you texting?” Woongki says, jolting Jeongwoo out of it, the phone clattering to the floor. Woongki raises an eyebrow.
“N-no one.”
“Right,” the younger says, picking up Jeongwoo’s phone and handing it to him. He doesn’t miss the message from Steven flashing across the screen. He stifles a laugh as Jeongwoo rushes to respond.
Steven: GAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
Jeongwoo: STOP IT HE FUCKING SAW THAT 😭
Chihen: LMFAOOOOO
Han: rip
Steven: my bad 💀
well if hani is in the living room with jl it probably looks fine
unless youre going to your room 🤨🤨
Jeongwoo: STOP IT????
“Everything okay?” Woongki speaks again, implying he knows exactly who Jeongwoo is speaking to. The older violently nods his head with an awkward smile, hiding away his phone.
They get to the apartment in comfortable silence, with Jeongwoo leading Woongki into the complex. At some point, he’d silently grabbed Woongki’s bag before the younger could even protest. He’s got both bags slung over his shoulder as they make their way up the stairs.
“Do you live with anybody else?” Woongki asks.
“Mm. Steven.”
“And I live with JL, as you probably figured.”
“No wonder you’re always together.” Jeongwoo laughs
“Shuaibo practically lives with us, too. He’s always over.”
“Chihen and Han don’t leave us alone, either.”
Woongki grins. “We should join forces.”
“I never thought you’d ask,” Jeongwoo says, caught off guard. JL and Shuaibo were right— Woongki isn’t as mean as he pretends to be. It didn’t take very long for him to chill out. Maybe if Jeongwoo calls him pretty another five times he’ll get sweeter.
Jeongwoo isn’t particularly overjoyed to see Han the minute he walks into his apartment, noticing that JL is barely visible against his chest and under the covers. They’re bundled up watching a movie together practically morphing into one. Jeongwoo’s eye twitches.
Upon seeing his best friend, JL outstretches a hand. Woongki bounds over and takes it.
“I’d never thought I’d see you here,” JL giggles maniacally, wiggling his eyebrows. “Did Jeongwoo hyung finally convince you that he’s worthy of your presence?”
“Shut up,” Woongki says, gently slapping his best friend.
“Shuaibo said you were a big meanie.”
“I said sorry!”
“He probably deserved it, honestly,” Han says, shoving popcorn into his mouth.
“Hani!” JL shouts, slapping his almost-boyfriend. “Be nice!”
“Did you guys go out?” Han asks, playing with JL’s fingers like a stim toy.
“Yes,” Jeongwoo responds, opening the cabinet to fish out the rice. Woongki takes a seat at the kitchen table, silently judging the happy couple. “For coffee.”
“Mm. Gay,” Han whispers under his breath. JL slaps him again.
“Are you two feeling alright? You were the drunkest,” JL asks, pausing the movie.
“I certainly feel better than this morning,” Jeongwoo says, washing the rice. “Woongki? What about you?”
“Not great. Hoping the congee will help.”
“Jeongwoo is such a house husband. He cooks, he cleans, he works. He also barks if you ask nicely,” Han snickers. “Or rudely.”
Jeongwoo shoots him a glare while Woongki giggles.
“As if you’re not the same way,” JL says, Han’s smile immediately dropping.
This is good— the merging of their friend groups is going impossibly smooth. Woongki doesn’t seem to hate Han, nor is he glaring at him. Yence seems relaxed and not concerned for Jeongwoo’s safety. Woongki is smiling now, which is a privilege Jeongwoo didn’t think he’d ever have. He’s swinging his feet off the chair and watching as his best friend clings to Han. He’s cute like this, so unbelievably cute.
“Jeongwoo?” he suddenly says.
“Yeah?” He’s in the middle of chopping green onions.
“You’re staring again.”
Fuck.
“Right. Sorry.”
“You should see what your contact is in his phone,” Han says from the living room. “It explains everything.”
Jeongwoo’s heart jumps to his throat. “No, absolutely not! Han, what is your fucking problem?!”
Woongki cocks his head. “Wait, what is it? Why do you already have a name for me?” He gets up from where he’s sitting, making his way over to a panicked Jeongwoo.
“Let me see!” Woongki says, reaching for Jeongwoo’s phone sitting on the counter. The older slaps his hand over Woongki’s, eyes blown wide in fear. Woongki softly whines and uses his other hand to pry Jeongwoo’s away.
The contact is subtle, but Jeongwoo revels in how soft Woongki’s fingers are against his. Manicured, probably, and slender. He wonders what it would be like to lace their hands together.
“Let go,” Woongki demands, narrowing his eyes.
“Nuh uh. You can’t see that. Like actually.”
“Please?” Woongki puts on a look that Jeongwoo absolutely cannot fucking resist. Sighing, he punches in his passcode and hands Woongki the phone with his contact open. He doesn’t even bother putting up a fight.
Woongki covers his mouth. “How long…has it been like this?”
“Two months, at least,” Han calls in the back. JL slaps him a third time.
“Oh.”
“I’m sorry.”
A huge smile spreads across Woongki’s face, blush following. He softly sets Jeongwoo’s phone down and looks up at him with doe eyes. “No one’s ever called me that before.”
“You’re kidding.”
Woongki nods. “It’s true.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Oh my god, they’re flirting!” JL whispers, even though Jeongwoo can hear every word. “I foresaw this happening!”
“Jeongwoo is pretty charming. Most of the time,” Han whispers back.
The two boys in the kitchen ignore them. Jeongwoo starts the rice, listening as the melody plays. Woongki doesn’t move from where he’s standing.
“Two months.”
“Ignore that. Please,” Jeongwoo pleads.
“So this whole time…you’ve thought that? Even when I was…”
“Coming for my throat? Yeah,” Jeongwoo confirms. Might as well. His pride has withered away.
“And you still kept that as my contact?”
“You know what he was thinking?” Han pipes up again. “Oh no, a pretty boy in a beret shoved me up against the wall and threatened me! Oh no what a nightmare, he’s threatening to hurt me! No wait Woongki-ah, don't walk all over me and beat the dogshit out of me!”
“Hani!” JL screams, a fourth and final slap reverberating throughout the living room.
Jeongwoo sighs and turns around, opting to just breathe through his nose in pure embarrassment. He can hear Woongki giggling behind him as the two boys bicker on the couch. He wishes Han didn’t have to be in the goddamn apartment when he’s trying to woo his crush over.
He doesn’t even react when Steven comes out of his room with a towel around his neck. Great. This is exactly what he needs.
“Whoa. It’s a party in here. A double date?” He laughs.
Why would he imply that it’s a date?!
“Mm. Maybe,” Woongki says so quietly that Jeongwoo almost doesn’t hear him.
Jeongwoo chooses to not acknowledge that statement. He’ll tweak out over it later.
“Well. I’m headed to the gym with Chihen. You guys have fun.” Steven looks at Woongki. “If you’re going to kill my roommate, make sure you clean it up.” He laughs and makes his way out the door. Jeongwoo is just glad he’s not going to stay and tag team him with Han.
“Fuck you,” is the only thing Jeongwoo can say.
The congee cooks for the next 45 minutes, with Jeongwoo and Woongki opting to watch the rest of whatever movie the lovebirds have on. Jeongwoo doesn’t miss that Woongki seems unnaturally close to him, their legs pressed up against each other’s. He can feel the heat from the other’s body, warming up his own skin. Is he doing this on fucking purpose?! Berate him for three months and then taunt him the moment they make up?
Jeongwoo keeps it together the best he can, momentarily thrown off by the sound of the rice cooker singing to life. He jolts up from his seat and ignores the look that Woongki gives him. Jeongwoo already misses the contact between their bodies.
He prepares four bowls for all of them, making Woongki’s the prettiest. The younger smiles impossibly wide.
“Thank you, really. You didn’t have to.”
Jeongwoo shrugs. “I wanted to.”
“Even though I’ve been so mean.”
“I don’t um…I don’t really mind that part.”
Han and JL look at him with the most deadpan expressions. Jeongwoo is just grateful Han doesn’t open his bigass mouth.
Woongki stares at him for at least a minute before he finally starts eating, choosing not to respond to that statement. Jeongwoo will hyperanalyze all this in the group chat later.
“It’s good. Thank you, Jeongwoo hyung,” JL grins. Hani gives his best friend a nod of approval. Unfortunately, he was dead right about Jeongwoo being the perfect house husband.
They all eat in comfortable silence, with a few yawns between the four of them. It’s a lazy Sunday, and Jeongwoo kind of just wants to sleep in. His thoughts are plagued by a sleepy Woongki, however, buried in his chest. He probably still smiles in his sleep, too, or maybe even molds into the shape of Jeongwoo’s body. Jeongwoo remembers just how soft his hands were, and wishes they’d find their way to his torso. He’d hold him forever if he could.
By the time they’re done, Jeongwoo’s stomach is full and finally feeling normal. He can’t help but notice that Woongki’s eyes are slightly drooping, a clear indication that he too, is about to pass out. He almost feels bad for keeping him held hostage at his apartment. Silently, Han gets up and leads JL back to the couch, settling him against his chest. Jeongwoo doesn’t doubt they’ll also probably fall asleep.
“You tired?” Jeongwoo breaks the silence.
Woongki nods, a small pout on his lips. Jeongwoo is inwardly clawing. He wants to reach over and squeeze Woongki’s reddened cheeks. He wants to kiss him so bad.
“You can nap here if you want.”
Woongki looks at him suspiciously. “That seems inappropriate.” The grin on his face suggests otherwise.
“Right. Yeah. Forget I asked.”
Jeongwoo looks over to JL and Han cuddled up on the couch, already slumbering away. He wishes he could be like them— but also not like them. If Jeongwoo had the chance, he’d ask Woongki out in a heartbeat and avoid any kind of misunderstanding. Right now, he can’t quite tell what the vibe is between them. He still feels as if he’s walking on ice.
“I’ll walk you to the bus stop then?”
Woongki nods with a smile. “Mm. That would be nice.”
Without speaking, Jeongwoo takes Woongki’s bag again and leads him out the door, quietly shutting it so as to not awaken the couple on the couch. He’ll do it later.
When they get to the bus stop, Woongki gingerly takes his bag. He’s looking down like he wants to say something.
“Thanks for the coffee. And thanks for letting me explain things,” Jeongwoo breaks the silence. “I really enjoy your presence, if that isn’t obvious.”
“Mm. Thanks for making me lunch. And sorry again.” Woongki is bashful, eyes still trained on the ground. Jeongwoo wonders if a hug is in his cards.
“Feel free to um. To bother me any time you want. Even if it’s a threat.” Jeongwoo cracks a smile. His heart stutters when Woongki gently slaps his shoulder.
“Don’t say that.”
Jeongwoo just shrugs. “Text me when you get home?”
“Mm,” Woongki smiles. “I will.”
He takes a few steps towards the bus stop before waving bye to a smiling Jeongwoo. He doesn’t even drop eye contact when he gets on the bus, staring through the window. Jeongwoo is cheesing so hard he requires a moment to still his beating heart. When the vehicle pulls away, he jumps in the air like Mario.
He doesn’t waste a single second before he’s blowing up the chat.
⚽💪
Jeongwoo: oh my fucking god
oh my GODDDD
FAHHHHHHHHHHHH
Steven: ?
what did i miss
Jeongwoo: i want him so bad
carnally
i need him in my lap NOW
Chihen: so im assuming lunch date went well?
Jeongwoo: it wasn’t a date
Steven: it kinda was
Jeongwoo: it wasn’t!!!
Steven: yeah alright
did you say anything else to him? like what happened when i left
Jeongwoo: asked if he wanted to stay and nap
Steven: 💀
Chihen: 💀
Jeongwoo: WHAT
thats not weird he was exhausted 😭😭😭
poor baby was about to fall asleep
Chihen: stop it you sound like han
i can only handle one gay couple at a time
Steven: says the boykisser
Chihen: die
Jeongwoo: but he doesn’t hate me anymore!!!! im fucking FREE
AND FUCK YOU PARK HAN
WHEN YOU WAKE UP FUCK YOU
DATE JAY LAWRENCE ALREADY
Steven: happy for you brother
don’t fuck this up
Chihen: yeah dont be like park han
be direct
Steven: shots fired
Jeongwoo: okay im going to sleep
please pray that woongki texts me when i wake up
im going to go dream about him 😍
Chihen: homo
Closing his phone, Jeongwoo makes his way back to the apartment with a kick in his step.
Okay— this is going exceptionally well. Cha Woongki isn’t looking at him with a death glare anymore and there’s a noticeable amount of blush when Jeongwoo compliments him. Now that he knows Han’s intentions, maybe things will go smoothly from here on out. Maybe he can ask him out on a proper date before he loses the opportunity. He’s certain others are waiting to snatch Woongki right up. He can’t let that happen.
He gets home soon after, both Han and JL still nestled together on the couch. They don’t look like they’re in a complicated situationship— JL is laying on Han’s chest with their hands intertwined. Like a fucking fairytale.
He hates happy couples but still pulls the blanket over them, anyway.
Ten minutes later, he gets a message.
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): thank you for feeding me :’ )
i’m home ^-^
Jeongwoo clamps a hand over this mouth. Oh my god, he’s unlocked the cute emoticons.
Jeongwoo: good
He stares at the screen, garnering confidence for the next text. He hits send before he reevaluates.
Jeongwoo: sleep well, pretty woongki
He silences the phone before the other can even respond. It takes one minute for him to drift off to sleep, a smile lingering on his face.
🤯
It’s Tuesday, and something is happening.
Woongki didn’t respond to the last message, but Jeongwoo is half sure it’s because he was flustered. Or at least he hopes that’s the case.
They haven’t spoken since, but he waved to Jeongwoo on Monday. He also followed him on Instagram. And liked the last selfie. Seo Jeongwoo is hyperanalyzing everything down to the T. Steven and Chihen have gone between wanting to kill him and Park Han. They rotate.
But the happening of sorts— has nothing to do with Jeongwoo and Woongki. Well, it probably will.
Honestly speaking, it shouldn’t be happening on a Tuesday. Who the fuck makes a grand display of affection on a Tuesday?
They’re on the field, minutes after practice has ended. Jeongwoo squints before he can see the full scene— vision blurred by burning sweat. It’s Park Han, lugging a bouquet of roses from the locker rooms with Steven by his side. What the fuck is he doing now.
Then Jeongwoo remembers the brief texts he received this morning—
Han: i need one of you TODAY. RIGHT after practice
Jeongwoo: go away im trying to sleep in
Steven: boo you whore
im free hani
Han: today is the DAY!!!!
Jeongwoo blinks, realizing exactly what Han meant.
But right after practice?! Who does that? Okay. Maybe a man who’s put it off for three months does that.
JL is standing on the stairs adjacent to the soccer field with Shuaibo and Woongki by his side. He’s covering his face with his hands and backing up ever so slowly as Han runs towards him with the damn bouquets. Jeongwoo moves a little closer to hear the exchange.
“Jay Lawrence Gaspar!” Han shouts, chest heaving up and down. He drops to his knees right in front of his lover. “Will you be my boyfriend?”
There’s a chorus of cheers from the remaining team members still on the field, confused but in a celebratory spirit. Steven, Shuaibo, and Woongki are excitedly clapping while Jeongwoo pumps his fist in the air. Fucking finally.
Han encases his new boyfriend in his arms, dropping the bouquet of roses so he can pick JL up. He plants kisses all over the Filipino boy’s face and whispers “Mahal kita,” into his ear.
Honestly, it’s really sweet. Jeongwoo can’t even be irritated, despite the hell Han put him and his friends through. They yelled at him over and over for being a coward— confessing in front of a ton of people is a pretty good way to refute that claim. It’s also a great way to convince JL and his friends that he is not playing. And it looks like it’s done the job.
Shuaibo catches Jeongwoo’s eyes first, a knowing smile on his lips. He gives a small wave before Jeongwoo makes eye contact with Woongki next. There’s some sort of mutual understanding there, that both of them no longer have any reason to beef— not that Jeongwoo had any beef with Woongki in the first place. JL and Han continue being cute on the sidelines while the remaining friend group look at each other.
“So…” Woongki speaks up, looking directly at Jeongwoo. “What now?”
Shuaibo shrugs. “We could go play mini golf or something.”
Steven joins the three of them, laughing. “Hey, Bobo.”
“Hi hi,” Shuaibo smiles widely.
Jeongwoo looks between the two of them with narrowed eyes.
“Wait, when did you the two of you even—”
“Guyssssss!” JL suddenly crashes through their little party, jumping into his friends’ arms with tears streaming down his face. “I have a boyfriend now!” He’s also holding a teddy bear in one arm, pressed close to his heart. Han stands just a few feet away with a huge smile on his face.
“It’s about time,” Woongki says, rolling his eyes. But he’s also smiling.
“I’m so happy,” JL sobs as Shuaibo wipes his tears away. Han immediately bounds over to take JL into his arms, stealing him back away from his friends. Great— they’re all going to be subjected to pure rot for the foreseeable future.
“Something came over him this morning,” Steven confirms. “Jeongwoo had no idea what was going on.”
“It was like 9 am, dude.”
“You gotta be ready for the grind.”
Shuaibo laughs. “I was serious about going mini-golfing. Or like, some sort of celebratory hangout tonight. Maybe bowling?”
“I’m down,” Steven answers first. The rest silently nod their heads. Except for Han and JL, who are in the process of making out.
“Should we make a group chat?” Shuaibo pipes up.
“Yes, please,” Jeongwoo says a little too quickly. Steven throws him a look.
“Perfect. I’ll add everyone to it when I get home. Then we can decide on what we’re doing?”
“Are these two even going to be there?” Steven says, watching Han and JL in disbelief.
“Well good riddance if not,” Shuaibo jokes. “Maybe they need some time to themselves.”
“And away from us,” Jeongwoo adds.
All of them stifle a giggle.
“I gotta go take a shower, then I’m good to go,” Jeongwoo says. He is not showing up to a friend hangout looking like a wet rat. Especially not in front of his Woongki.
“Same,” Steven says, slinging his duffle bag over his shoulder. “We’ll see you guys later?”
The boys all nod. Han and JL don’t pay them any mind.
Score— they’ve joined forces.
🤯
gays & co 🏳️🌈
Woongki has added Shuaibo, Han, JL, Jeongwoo, Steven, Chihen to the chat!
Chihen: congrats to the happy gays. i saw the video
Han: VIDEO?????
JL: woongki change the group chat name right now 😭
Han: WHAT VIDEO???
Woongki: oh i had hyeongjunie’s boyfriend film it
Han: who tf is hyeongjunie 😭
Woongki: serim’s boyfriend lol
Han: serim has a boyfriend???
Woongki: you soccer boys are unbelievably popular with us nerds lol
JL has changed the group chat name to Prettyz 💅
JL: there
Shuaibo: i fear this name isn’t any better LOL
JL: shut up gay boy
Shuaibo: ????
Steven: guys please what are we doing for dinner 😭
JL: can we get pho :3
Han: yes baby
Chihen: thanks for consulting with the rest of us
Woongki: anything for his princess puppytwink
JL: ENOUGH
Woongki: BADING
JL: ABA
WHAT EAF SHUT UP KA NA LANG
Woongki: ^-^
Han: yence this isn’t you look at me
Chihen: 💀💀
im going to leave this chat 💀
Chihen has left the group chat.
JL has added Chihen to the chat.
Jeongwoo: again. why are we acting like you dont kiss boys
Chihen: only sometimes 😒
Han: tell me about juwon
Chihen has left the chat.
Steven: so about the food
pho? i dont really mind
Jeongwoo: yeah i dont care LOL
Woongki: 👍
Shuaibo: 👍
Han: 👍
Steven has added Chihen to the group chat.
Chihen: pho is fine lolz
“You’re grinning like an idiot,” Steven says, coming into the kitchen all nicely dressed while Jeongwoo manically giggles at his phone.
It’s fun, being in a group chat with everyone. Woongki is funny, too, which is just awful for his sickly pathetic beating heart. It’s not like it’s an official date with everyone going together, but he feels like it’s a start.
Woongki: can we go bowling after :3
Jeongwoo: yes pls
Steven: its a school night
Chihen: you are the last person to gaf about that
Jeongwoo: no prac tomorrow tho 🤷🏼
Han: true lol
let’s go bowling
i’m crushing all of you
JL: : <
Han: not you baby
we’re in this together
Jeongwoo: oh brother this guy STINKS
“You ready?” Steven asks, slapping Jeongwoo’s back, pulling him away from the screen.
“Yeah,” Jeongwoo says, straightening his dress shirt. He’s wearing all black, probably a little bit too formal for where they’re going. He just hopes Woongki likes men who dress in sleek black and smell like Versace Eros cologne.
“You smell like male manipulator,” Steven remarks, nose twitching.
“Fuck you.”
“We can take my car,” Steven laughs. He calls out to the rest of their friends. “Hani, grab Chihen, we're leaving!”
Han emerges from his room with his Taiwanese counterpart, dressed in something similarly formal to Jeongwoo. They could honestly be twinning. Chihen on the other hand is just wearing a plaid shirt.
“Both trying to impress your boys tonight?” Chihen snickers.
“Well, my boy. Jeongwoo isn’t quite there yet,” Han says, fixing his hair in the mirror. “But I’m sure tonight will be a turning point.”
“You going in for the kill?” Chihen asks.
“He’s more likely to be the kill,” Steven says, ushering them out the door. Jeongwoo ignores the comment.
They pile in Steven’s car as Jeongwoo continues to text the chat.
Jeongwoo: we’re on our way
Woongki: us too
JL: im so excited ^-^
our first hangout together as a couple!!!!
and with woongki not hating your guys’ guts :’ )))
Woongki: you didn’t have to clarify 🙄
Shuaibo: he’s right though 😅
JL: can i expose him now that we’re all gathered here today
he was playin in ur face so bad jeongwoo
OOHHHH I HATE HIM EUGHHHHHH
(he didn’t)
LOL
Woongki: you bading ass bitch
i did hate him 🙄
Jeongwoo: oh
Woongki: no wait dont read that
Chihen: why are we airing this out in chat im cryin
JL: we have to be transparent
Chihen: yeah it certainly took a few months to figure that one out
Han: 🙄
Jeongwoo: no i get it. athletes are evil sometimes
han was not being very smart about it
i’d shoot for my bestie too
Woongki: u get it
sorry jeongwoo : <
Jeongwoo clutches his heart upon reading Woongki’s umpteenth apology, getting a snicker from the boys in the car. He doesn’t know why, but seeing Woongki again causes anticipation to rise in his stomach. He’s sure he’ll look all nice too— his fashion being one of Jeongwoo’s weak points. Their second time together after CafeGate. Will they ever even address KabedonGate?
“I’m looking forward to seeing your interactions,” Steven says with a grin.
“You and Shuaibo have a thing about stalking people.”
“Yeah so what about that actually?” Han says, leaning into the driver’s seat.
Steven shrugs. “While you idiots were beefing, I befriended the guy.”
“Wait, you’ve been friends this whole time?” Chihen says, also leaning into the driver’s seat.
“Since the moment Han became entangled with JL,” Steven confirms with a laugh. “None of you noticed.”
“I fucking knew it,” Jeongwoo says in disbelief. “You little traitor.”
“Not a traitor. I was trying to bridge the gap, you know. But your little crush was just too stubborn.”
“Were you talking shit about me?!”
“Mm. Yeah.”
Jeongwoo hits his best friend.
“Lovingly. You know, Bobo is quite sassy.”
“Nickname basis now?!” Chihen exclaims.
“You guys would’ve noticed if you were paying literally any attention.”
Jeongwoo huffs, leaning back into his seat. Unbelievable. His own best friend, out to get him.
They get to the pho place a few minutes after Woongki’s friend group, waving as they pull up. They’re all dressed up quite cutely, with Woongki immediately catching Jeongwoo’s attention as always.
He’s in the beret again. Does he know Jeongwoo loves the beret?
He’s wearing an oversized pink sweater with a white collar underneath, complete with a white pair of shorts. It’s like he’s intentionally taunting Jeongwoo and knows exactly how to lure him in. The beret is tan, which goes nicely with the neutral tones on his face. He notices Jeongwoo’s staring and smiles. Finally, a smile for him and him only.
“Haniiiii,” JL whines, skipping over to his boyfriend. The rest of the men collectively sigh. It hasn’t even been two fucking hours.
Nobody reacts when Han picks him up by the waist, swinging him around. Jeongwoo can’t even front, he wants that with Woongki so badly.
“We saved you a table,” Shuaibo said, joining Steven’s side. The older throws an arm around his neck as the seven boys pile into the small restaurant.
They really shouldn’t be going out when everyone has classes the next day but also who cares.
Even if they’re on good terms now, Jeongwoo doesn’t actually expect Woongki to park himself right next to him, their thighs pressed together. It also doesn’t help that Woongki’s bare legs are out, too, against Jeongwoo’s black slacks. Terrible. Absolutely terrible.
And what’s this? He smells like peaches and cream? Jeongwoo might as well kill himself.
It doesn’t take long for everyone’s order to be put in, light conversation flowing throughout the table. It’s the first time Jeongwoo has ever seen these people in one room together.
“Are there more of you?” Chihen asks Woongki as he sips his water.
“Hyeongjun, Seongmin, and Dongpyo sometimes join us. And Juwonie.”
Chihen pauses for a moment while his friends look at him.
“Juwon you say?” Steven perks an eyebrow. “Veryyy interesting. Chihen, wouldn’t you like to know more about that?”
“Oh yeah! Juwonie mentioned that you’re his art theory tutor?” Shuaibo says, adding fuel to the fire. Despite appearing calm in front of Jeongwoo, it seems there’s a side of him he’s not seen yet. A little shit of sorts.
Chihen coughs. “Yeah. Art tutor.”
Steven and Jeongwoo look at each other with a smirk.
Woongki looks around the room, stifling a giggle. “Are you all gay?”
“Depends on who you ask,” Han answers, JL curled around his arm.
Jeongwoo hadn’t even considered Woongki wondering about whether or not he kisses boys. It’s not really rocket science, though. Jeongwoo likes pretty boys— ones that are kind of mean to him. And one is sitting right next to him, all sweet and alluring.
He manages the best he can throughout their amicable dinner, keeping it cool every time Woongki shifts against him. He finds distractions in learning about the lore of Woongki’s friends. JL is an international student and so is Shuaibo— both scouted by Woongki’s incredible gift of befriending virtually anyone. There’s also a younger exchange student, Daisuke, living with his family back home. Jeongwoo is loosely familiar with their majors but learns that Woongki also minors in political science. He’s also a walking encyclopedia of girl group dances, but he argues Hyeongjun and Dongpyo rival him in this field. Shuaibo wanted to be an idol, and JL can sing like a motherfucker.
It’s also abundantly clear that Woongki can tell he was dead wrong about his assumptions. Han is flustered any time JL puts his hands near his face, which is crazy considering they’ve essentially been dating for three months. And Jeongwoo definitely stutters when Woongki looks at him. Steven and Chihen are relatively cool, but still not anything like what people think they are. Jeongwoo doesn’t even consider them “jocks,” but everyone else does.
It’s around 9 pm when they all finish, still in the mood to go bowling. Jeongwoo is kind of curious if Woongki is good at that too, considering he’s good at literally everything else. They talk amongst themselves about who is on who’s team, deciding it’s best to split up to bond.
Jeongwoo somehow gets roped in with Shuaibo, JL, and Chihen. Steven, Woongki, and Han band together. Jeongwoo is kind of sad he’s not on Woongki’s team, but being his rival is also not too unfamiliar. JL is also not ecstatic about being separated from his beloved, but Han assures him that they’ll reunite soon enough. Irritating.
Jeongwoo isn’t great at bowling, but he’s also very distracted. He doesn’t know if he’ll be able to handle one-on-one hangouts with Woongki if he’s just going to be feral inside the whole time. He’s a gentleman through and through— but this also does not change his inner monologue. Woongki even takes his beret off midway through their match, which does nothing good for Jeongwoo’s heart. His hair is all fluffed up and all the older wants to do is run his nails through it.
Shuaibo snaps his fingers in front of Jeongwoo’s face. “Focus. We’re going to lose because of you. I know my best friend is irresistible but you have got to stop making it so obvious.”
He sounds serious, which is ridiculous because it’s just bowling.
“You have to know I’m trying my best,” Jeongwoo pleads, watching as Woongki narrowly escapes the gutter.
“Try harder.”
Jeongwoo pouts, watching as JL gets up to play.
“Shuaibo?”
“Hm?”
“Do you think…Woongki would actually be interested in me? Like…romantically? At all?”
He’s never thought about it in the context of it legitimately being a possibility, even if he knows Woongki thinks he’s attractive. He’s probably all the way at the bottom of the roster, not even at the forefront of the younger’s mind. He’s only brave enough to hurl out compliments because he doesn’t think it will benefit him in the long run. Might as well say them.
The Chinese boy laughs to himself. “You’re kidding.”
“I’m serious! Is it that unattainable?!”
“No, that’s not what I’m laughing at. Didn’t I tell you at that party exactly what Woongki’s type in men is?”
Jeongwoo pouts. “I didn’t think about it seriously. He only recently started liking me, you know.”
Shuaibo crosses his arms.
“Generally speaking, don’t you find it odd that you’re the only one Woongki hated? He wasn’t coming for Steven or Chihen’s neck, right? And he caved at that party. Immediately— like he was waiting for you to snap and defend yourself. And what do you do? You cook for him, you call him pretty, you are at his beck and call. Come on, Jeongwoo-ah. Think a little harder.”
Jeongwoo thinks about it for a minute, watching as his muse jumps around with JL, hand in hand.
Okay. Wait.
Why did Woongki shove him up against the wall? Why did he know his full name? Why did he avoid eye contact when Jeongwoo trapped him against the counter? Why did he imply the lunch was a date? And why did his gaze linger at the bus stop?
Jeongwoo slaps a hand over his mouth. Shuaibo just laughs at him.
“He can’t like me. There’s no way.”
“Why not? You certainly fit the criteria.”
“But that means—” Jeongwoo stops himself when Woongki throws a concerned glance at the two of them. Thankfully, he’s distracted when the next person is up to bowl. Jeongwoo breathes out and continues in a whisper. “You’re implying that he was interested from the start?!”
Shauibo has a devilish grin on his face. “He’s always thought you were cute.” He doesn’t elaborate, skipping over to bowl his turn. Jeongwoo just stares in disbelief.
Woongki’s team beats his, predictably. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that this would happen. And maybe he did purposefully bowl bad so Woongki would feel victorious when he did better.
It also doesn’t help that he’s stewing on Shuaibo’s words. Yeah, nothing makes sense. Or maybe it does? Woongki hated him, but also thought he was cute. Woongki wanted to fight, but also didn’t want to talk? Woongki wanted to—
“Jeongwoo?”
The voice that knocks him from his thoughts is none other than the center of them, staring up at him with wide eyes. Maybe he knows that he’s the main problem in Jeongwoo’s life.
Jeongwoo looks around at the others, all lost in their own conversations. They’re still in the parking lot of the alley, riding the hangout high.
“You look very confused right now.” Woongki smiles.
Jeongwoo awkwardly grins. Woongki is not wrong. He is so very confused.
“Ah…it’s nothing.”
“You sure?” Woongki looks over at the others then back to Jeongwoo. In the moonlight, he looks a lot more alluring— the glitter on the inner corner of his eyes gently sparkling. “We could split off on our own, you know.”
Woongki tilts his head, waiting for a response. Jeongwoo is far too distracted by the way the shadows are dancing on his cheeks and just how lovable he looks in this moment. Maybe at the start he was far away from his goal— opting to just take what he could get. But now, he’s so close. He could reach out and hold him.
“Jeong…woo?”
The older shakes his head. “Yes?”
“You wanna do our own thing?”
Jeongwoo blinks. “W-what?”
Woongki laughs, melodious and light. “The others are distracted. Let’s go get ice cream or something.”
“Just us?”
“Are you stupid?” There’s a massive grin spread across his face. Jeongwoo’s heart is soaring above the clouds.
“Y-yeah, for sure. Totally. Let’s um,” he looks towards his friends, “let’s get ice cream.”
Shuaibo is the only one who notices the two, perceptive as always. He gives them a smile and a wave.
It feels weirdly rebellious, sneaking off with Woongki like this— even if all his friends have his location. They’ll probably connect the dots themselves, anyway.
Woongki and Jeongwoo walk side by side down the street, heading to whatever dessert shop is the closest. There’s a comfortable silence at first, with Jeongwoo just wanting to listen to whatever noises Woongki makes beside him. Some of the charms on his bags clink every so often, and sometimes he quietly sighs.
“That was really fun,” Woongki speaks first. He sounds entirely genuine.
“It was. I like your friends,” Jeongwoo responds honestly.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this but I actually like your friends, too.”
Jeongwoo rolls his eyes. “See? If you had just given us a chance. Even if it was only me you hated.” He sort of mumbles the last part, not missing how Woongki’s eyes go a little wider.
“We should do something that you’re better at next time,” Woongki says. “I need ample competition.”
“Just tell me I suck at bowling.”
“You suck at bowling.”
Jeongwoo purses his lips and nods. He doesn’t answer this, instead pointing to an ice cream parlor across the street from them. It’s not busy, either, with most university students already gone home for the night. A boring Tuesday.
“They’re actually really normal,” Woongki confesses as they briskly cross the street. “Your friends. And you’re right about Han. Didn’t realize he was so in love.”
“We’re never gonna hear the end of it now. If you thought he was bad before, it's about to get insufferable.”
“As cringe as it is, JL deserves someone like that.”
Jeongwoo nods as he pushes the door open for Woongki. “Han is a top tier boyfriend, I swear.”
Woongki narrows his eyes. “And how would you know that?”
“Because we’re cut from the same cloth. Obedient or whatever.”
The ice cream parlor door jingles as the reality of what he’s just said settles in. His cheeks go bright red.
“Are you saying you’re an obedient boyfriend?” Woongki doubles down.
“No! I mean— yes.” He deeply sighs. “Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Interesting,” Woongki says with a grin. “So you’re saying you wouldn’t have any issue doing what I tell you to do?”
Jeongwoo can hear the violent thumping in his throat, spurred on by Woongki’s playful words. He must know what he’s doing to Jeongwoo’s heart, considering the colossal grin on his lips. Who asks something like that?! In an ice cream shop?!
He fumbles with his wallet and pretends to read the menu, fervently avoiding eye contact. He can still feel Woongki’s gaze on him, a pout on his lips.
“W-what kind of flavor do you want?”
“Answer the question, Jeongwoo.”
“Personally, I really like pistac—”
“Jeongwoo~” Woongki sing-songs. In one swift motion, the younger grabs ahold of Jeongwoo’s collar and yanks him closer, forcing eye contact between them. He’s standing on his tiptoes, inches away from Jeongwoo’s face.
“Woongki, wait—”
“I want two scoops of strawberry. Please,” he says, letting go of Jeongwoo’s collar— not before smoothing it out. He fingers the buttons with a sick grin, completely distracting Jeongwoo from forming any coherent thought.
“U-uh. Right. Yes. Two scoops of strawberry ice cream, please,” Jeongwoo stutters to the bored-looking girl at the counter. She is not getting paid enough for this.
“Hm. So it’s true.”
“W-what’s true?”
Woongki beams. “That you’ll do whatever I say.” He’s still playing with the buttons on Jeongwoo’s collar, slyly teasing unbuttoning one. Crazy. He’s crazy.
“Go on,” Woongki continues, “order yours.”
With his heart in his throat, Jeongwoo orders his ice cream while Woongki continues to screw around with his collar. The girl at the counter is side-eyeing them like crazy but he doesn’t really care. Woongki is touching him, voluntarily! And he’s not getting shoved up against a wall!
They get their ice cream in silence, with Woongki finally pulling away from Jeongwoo. There’s a satisfactory smirk on his lips right as Jeongwoo gets a barrage of texts. He looks down at the screen for one second, realizing it’s just his friends.
⚽💪
Steven: you slick mfer
i can see ur location and jl can see woongki’s LMFAOOOOOOOOOO
Chihen: get to making out and spare us the details
Han: no give me the details
yence loves the chisme
Steven: im sure woongki will tell him everything
but seriously
GOOD LUCKKKKK JEONGWOOO
BAGGGG THAT BOYYYY
Yeah, he’s not answering that.
“Our friends wondering where we are?” Woongki inquires, hopping onto a chair.
“They know where we are, I fear.”
Woongki snorts. “Should I be mysterious and turn my location off?”
“No, that will just incriminate me further.”
“Why? What’s wrong with being alone with me?”
Jeongwoo takes a massive bite of his ice cream so he doesn’t have to answer this. It freezes his teeth to the bone but he powers through it. Woongki kitten licks his.
Silence settles between them again, with Woongki still staring him down. One thing about him is that he never lets up for a single second. It's simultaneously terrifying and kind of hot.
“What flavor did you get again?” Woongki asks. There’s a mischievous glint in his eye that strikes a certain degree of fear in Jeongwoo’s heart.
“Mango.”
“Can I try?”
Jeongwoo’s entire body takes a screen shot. What the fuck.
“You want…to try my ice cream?”
Woongki shrugs. “What? You a germaphobe?”
No actually, that would just casually be an indirect kiss, he thinks. More than an indirect kiss, honestly.
He forces his body to move again, refusing to fumble this glorious opportunity. He presents the cone to Woongki. The younger happily licks the side where Jeongwoo’s mouth hasn’t reached yet. Would it be fucking insane to immediately take a chomp right there?
“Delicious,” Woongki smiles, licking his lips. “You wanna try mine?” He holds the ice cream in front of Jeongwoo’s face, not even giving him a second to refuse.
Cautiously, Jeongwoo’s eyes trail over the frozen treat, desperately looking for an area not touched by Woongki’s mouth. He has to be a gentleman— he has to be.
“Oh my god, take a bite or I’m going to mamabird you.”
The statement does its job, effectively striking fear into his heart. Jeongwoo freezes his teeth again and bites into Woongki’s strawberry ice cream. He doesn’t even process the flavor, too distracted with the fact that they have now kissed. Sort of.
“Good?” Woongki asks, completely unbothered.
Jeongwoo slowly nods, mouth sewn shut. It takes a few seconds for him to drink in this interaction while Woongki happily continues eating his treat. The younger is unbelievably chill about subtle forms of flirting. Must come from years of being sought after.
Jeongwoo is hoping to eat the rest of his ice cream in silence, but that’s not likely with the way Woongki occasionally stares him down. He thinks back to him and Shuaibo’s conversations, connecting the dots together within his mushy head. He always thought you were cute.
Jeongwoo is having a stroke. His involuntary nemesis turned companion is offering forms of flirtation after months of declaring war, indirectly kissing him and throwing mixed signals. His friends are being weirdly cryptic and he has no idea where the current boundaries lie.
“You want more?” Woongki asks, narrowing his eyes at Jeongwoo’s blanked-out expression.
Jeongwoo shakes his head. “Do you want more?” He says, gingerly offering his mango ice cream again. He doesn’t actually expect Woongki to lean in and swipe his tongue right where Jeongwoo just bit. There is no way he is imagining this.
There’s ice cream on the corner of his lip, tempting Jeongwoo to just wipe it off with his thumb. He stares at it instead.
“Something on my face?”
“Uh. Yeah.”
“Well get it off, then.” Woongki giggles. “You’re so awkward.”
Jeongwoo nervously folds up a spare napkin and wipes at the corner of Woongki’s mouth, not missing the way the younger sits perfectly still and leans his body forward. Okay. Definitely not imagining things.
“You’re um— a social sciences major, right?” Jeongwoo says, pulling them away from the flirty moment in an attempt to calm his heart. He knows a lot about Woongki, but they’ve never had a conversation about each other in depth outside of group discussion.
“Yeah. What about you?”
“Accounting.” He cringes when he says it, acutely aware he fits the stereotype of being an athlete. He actually does like numbers. “But I like the arts, too.” He’s not saying anything to purposefully impress Woongki, he really does like going to see plays with Chihen.
The younger nods. “Any extracurriculars?”
“I like to sing.”
“We should go to karaoke, then,” Woongki says with a smile. “You can sing with Yence, although he’s really good.”
Jeongwoo smiles. He knows this, he’s heard the voice messages of JL singing Han to sleep. He would be thoroughly cringed out if JL’s voice wasn’t so beautiful.
“I know you dance.”
Woongki perks an eyebrow. “You do?”
Jeongwoo gives him an incredulous look. “I went to one of your performances, silly. You scoffed at me. Besides, who doesn’t know you dance? You’re literally the captain.”
There’s a light blush on Woongki’s cheeks. “Oh. Yeah. I guess you’re right.”
“You’re really good. I couldn’t stop staring.”
Woongki pouts. “Well now I feel vulnerable. Maybe I should go to one of your soccer games?”
Go to one of his games?! Like he’s his boyfriend or something?!
He can imagine it now— pretty Woongki, cheering from the stands like JL does for Han. He’s half sure that it would make him play about ten times better than normal. Especially if he was wearing his jersey, just a bit too oversized for his frame. And he’d have water ready for Jeongwoo, or maybe he’d reward him with kisses every time he scored a goal.
“Would you? I’d love to see you there.”
“Hm,” Woongki says, licking his lips. “I’ll think about it.”
That’s plenty enough for Jeongwoo.
It doesn’t take long for the two to finish their ice cream, with the girl at the front throwing them side-eyes to get out of the shop before it closes. Occasionally, both their phones buzz with messages, likely from the group chat. Neither check, opting to just enjoy each other’s company without being buried in their phones. It’s kind of nice to not say anything and have the silence no longer charged with tension.
The bell jingles when they eventually leave the shop, noting that it’s late enough that they should probably return to their friends, assuming they’re even still in the parking lot. For a fleeting second, Jeongwoo feels his right hand brush with Woongki’s as they walk side by side. He tries to ignore the feeling until Woongki speaks up.
“Your hands are kind of cold,” the younger says, grabbing one of Jeongwoo’s hands with his own. They stop walking for a moment, with Jeongwoo trying not to freak out. He watches as Woongki smoothly presses his hand flat against his own, briefly pointing out the size difference between them.
Definitely flirting.
“Bigger than mine,” Woongki smiles, bringing his lips to Jeongwoo’s hand and blowing hot air on it, attempting to thaw the coldness away.
Jeongwoo feels the tingles go all the way up his spine, Woongki’s soft breaths sending shivers through his body. Woongki wordlessly motions for Jeongwoo’s other hand, repeating the same motion. Realistically, Jeongwoo’s hands are really only cold from the ice cream, but he’s not going to stop Woongki from touching him so much.
“There,” Woongki says, dropping Jeongwoo’s hands. “Better?”
Gulping, Jeongwoo nods his head. “T-thanks.” He can’t bring himself to say anything normal.
Their friends are shockingly still there— sitting on the sidewalk while they exchange anecdotes. It’s really only been about 30 minutes, with Woongki and Jeongwoo’s absence not sorely missed. Shauibo, of course, sees them first and offers a wave. He’s comfortably sitting shoulder to shoulder with Steven while the couple practically sit in each other’s laps. It appears that things are going swimmingly.
“Welcome back, our rising couple,” Steven jokes. Jeongwoo only glares at him, also receiving a smack from Shuaibo. Woongki doesn’t really react to this statement, instead parking himself on the other side of Shuaibo.
“What did you two even do?” Chihen asks, acutely aware he is the only one without a man to flirt with. He’ll do that later.
Woongki coyly shrugs. “Stuff.”
“We went for ice cream,” Jeongwoo quickly clears it up.
“Boo. Without us?” JL pouts.
“If I brought you and Han in there the girl at the front would have killed us on sight.”
The couple simultaneously scoff.
“Plus, it’s closed now,” Woongki grins, giving Jeongwoo a look. “Sorry, Yence.” He lazily leans against his best friend.
“Are we down for another hangout sometime later again?” Steven pops the question, looking at the time. “It’s getting kind of late.”
There’s a chorus of yeah’s throughout the group. Excitement coils in Jeongwoo’s belly as he thinks about this becoming a recurring event. Maybe it’ll lessen the intensity of his crush if he’s around Woongki enough. Or it will make it worse.
The boys slowly arise and stretch, clearly stalling the hangout. It's a comfortable environment, with everyone becoming familiar with one another. Woongki hops back over to Jeongwoo, unaware that he’s still coming down from his high.
“Are you free sometime this weekend?” He boldly asks, putting his hands on his hips. It’s like Jeongwoo can’t refuse him or something.
“Like…for the group hangout?”
Woongki squints his eyes and frowns. “No. Like you and me. Again. Away from our prying friends.”
“Oh.”
“Is that a yes, Seo Jeongwoo?”
Jeongwoo is particularly bad at talking tonight. It doesn’t help that Woongki’s counterparts are giving him a thumbs up, egging it on.
“Yes. I mean— I’d love to.” He nervously plays with his hands behind his back while Woongki continues to look at him like he’s grown three heads.
“Text me?” Woongki says with a sly smile.
“Of course.”
“Good.” He turns around before Jeongwoo can get another word in to save himself from the humiliating responses. It’s no use. Woongki has only seen him at his worst— yet to see him at any of his bests.
The parting of JL and Han is deeply irritating, but at least Jeongwoo won’t have to hear about it all night (Han is staying with JL). The rest of the boys bid each other farewell as Jeongwoo heads home with Steven and Chihen. Woongki gives him one last final wave that’s friendly and cute, a true testament to their newfound friendship.
Chihen doesn’t waste a single breath before he’s on Jeongwoo’s ass.
“So what was that about?” He starts, climbing into Steven’s car.
“Going to get ice cream without the rest of us?” Steven adds on.
“Is he a good kisser?”
“Are you going to confess with a bouquet of roses on our field?”
“Is he aware he has you on a leash?”
“Enough!” Jeongwoo half-shouts, ignoring how his friends manically cackle. “Nothing happened!”
Chihen raises an eyebrow. “You were gone for a good amount of time.”
“Okay something happened,” Jeongwoo hesitantly clarifies. His friends all collectively lean into his space.
“Did you kiss for real?!” Steven whispers.
“No, asshole. We just…shared ice cream.”
“Like a single cone?!” Chihen exclaims.
“No! Not that either! We just…took bites out of each other’s ice cream.”
“Ah,” Steven says, starting the car. “You put your tongue where his was. Got it.”
“Why would you say it like that?!” Jeongwoo covers his face with his hands, groaning into the back of Chihen’s seat. He’s not going to hear the end of it.
“I think he’s flirting,” he says, defeated. “I think.”
Chihen scoffs. “Are you stupid?”
“I think he’s always kind of liked you,” Steven laughs. “Nobody wastes that much energy on hating someone unless they’re actually into them.”
Jeongwoo doesn’t know if Steven came to this conclusion by himself or if Shuaibo is feeding him this information. It doesn’t matter, everybody knows that something undeniably gay is happening between the two of them.
Shuaibo heavily implied that Woongki has a crush on him, but Jeongwoo is having a difficult time wrapping his head around this possibility. But then he compared their hand sizes, offered his ice cream, and bossed him around with a giant grin on his face. He can’t be like Park Han and misunderstand every little hint Woongki throws at him. At the same time, it’s different being in Han’s position— it’s much easier to feel insecure when you’re the one crushing. He’d be a hypocrite if he sat there and pretended like Woongki wasn’t deliberately flirting with him.
Chihen falls asleep on the short drive home, effectively stopping him from incessantly teasing Jeongwoo. It gives the older too much time to think and get inside his head, ping-poinging back and forth between making a move or just letting things go at Woongki’s pace. If he waits too long, then he’ll be just as incompetent as Han. But if he doesn’t wait, then he might be rushing things. But if he waits, then he goes against his own words of not being an idiot. If he doesn’t—
His phone pings, knocking him out of it. It’s like Woongki specifically knows every time Jeongwoo is having a crisis.
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): i had so much fun : 3
Jeongwoo: i had fun too :)
thanks for taking me away from the couple. needed a break
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): youre welcome
i needed it too
Jeongwoo can’t tell if Woongki wants the conversation to end. He types and backspaces multiple times before he decides to be bold again.
Jeongwoo: get home safely, pretty woongki
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): 😊😊😊
you too
He thinks it’s the end of it, putting his phone away just as they pull into their apartment complex. Chihen begrudgingly wakes up and stretches his arms as they pile out of the car. Jeongwoo is going to sleep well tonight, considering he’s one step closer to his goal.
As they enter the apartment, his phone pings again.
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): how does saturday sound?
Jeongwoo: what?
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): to hang silly
Jeongwoo: oh! yes. of course
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): mm. perfect
you can plan this time
Jeongwoo: you don’t want to choose?
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): i chose ice cream
your turn
Jeongwoo feels the nerves crawl up his throat. He doesn’t like having all the power, too accustomed to letting Woongki drag him around. At the same time, this might be his chance to thoroughly impress his crush. He’s a little awkward, but he’s definitely got the romantic part down.
Jeongwoo: okay :)
it’ll be a surprise then
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): im looking forward to it
dont let me down
Jeongwoo: never
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): ^-^
ill talk to you tomorrow
sleep well, handsome jeongwoo
Jeongwoo thinks he might be imagining the last text, staring at the screen until his eyes hurt. Woongki thinks he’s handsome? Okay, it’s really not that out of the question, Jeongwoo is just not adjusted to the concept of it actually being true. It’s not like Woongki’s friends haven’t told him this directly.
He gets into bed with little mini Woongki’s swirling around his head, some smiling and blowing him kisses. A few of them glare at him, reflecting their earlier days, and some of them give him the cold shoulder. But most of them are the version he saw tonight— bold, sometimes bashful. A flirty, beautiful boy that Jeongwoo cannot believe has expressed genuine interest in him.
As much as he loves Park Han, he vows to be nothing like him in the pursuit of romance.
He’s not going to fuck this up.
🤯
On Thursday, Woongki texts him bright and early.
It makes Jeongwoo pop off his pillow, still recovering from the other night and the events that transpired. It’s a new kind of dawn— Woongki maybe wants him. He has to change the way he looks at things and readjust to how he interacts with the guy.
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): good morning :3
Jeongwoo: hi pretty woongki
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): do you have lots of classes today?
Jeongwoo: yes 😔
but no practice : D
what about you?
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): im running rehearsal for a performance later today
then lots of homework
Jeongwoo: mm so busy
such a hard worker :)
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): after friday i’ll be less stressed
Jeongwoo: is friday your performance?
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): yeah
Jeongwoo: where?
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): in front of the administration building. its for a club night market event!
Jeongwoo: can i go?
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): 🙈🙈🙈
you can if you want :)
Jeongwoo: i wanna
i love to watch you dance. so charismatic and cute
Jeongwoo freezes, staring at the message he’s just sent. He’s never called Woongki anything other than pretty and wonders if he’s overdoing it. Honestly speaking, there’s a whole list of adjectives he could choose from and throw at him.
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): hyungggg
im blushing :3
Jeongwoo clamps a hand over his mouth and burrows under the blanket, kicking his feet while the sheets tangle around his legs. Holy shit he’s so in. He’s wide awake, ready to conquer the day with the newfound energy provided by the boy of his dreams.
Jeongwoo: me too
ill come tomorrow then :)
Jeongwoo realizes in glee this means he’ll be able to see Woongki for two days in a row, maximizing the time they’ll get to spend together. He can pull out all his tips and tricks for making someone fall in love with him, even though they’ve never actually worked before.
He thinks back to the hand-comparing and the ice-cream sharing and wonders what it would be like to actually have that much confidence. Woongki must already know that Jeongwoo wants him bad. Embarrassingly so.
prettiest boy i’ve ever seen in my life (woongki): i’ll see you then :P
cheer for me ^-^
Oh, will he.
Woongki doesn’t text him for another eight hours, which is perfect because Jeongwoo has to lock in for an exam. As much as the younger motivates him, he’s also a sizable distraction from his actual schoolwork. He might as well just tape a photo of Woongki to his desk to revitalize his academic brain. That would be totally normal.
Friday comes easy after Jeongwoo’s grueling exam, giving him an ample excuse to ditch his last class at the end of the day. Besides, Woongki is performing at five pm with the rest of his team. The event is a night market as Woongki mentioned, hosted by the International Friendships club. Jeongwoo is half certain Shuaibo is on the leadership board. It’s a fun occasion, with food and music for the whole campus.
Chihen accompanies him this time, with Jeongwoo suspecting it’s because Juwon is going to be involved with the arts’ aspect of the event. He doesn’t really know exactly what’s going on between them, but he assumes he’ll find out soon enough. Chihen isn’t as nonchalant as he thinks he is.
He’s not surprised to see Han and JL already prancing around the tables, hand in hand. In fact, Jeongwoo didn’t hear a peep from Han after their Tuesday get together. Jeongwoo knows that their honeymoon phase will last at least a year and a half. He’ll have to bag Woongki before then so the coupley bullshit won’t feel as insufferable.
“Jeongwoo hyung!” JL calls, dragging his boyfriend over. They already have stained lips from some kind of treat. Or maybe they just made out, he can’t really tell. “Are you here to watch Woongki perform?”
Jeongwoo nods, embarrassed. “Aren’t you in the performance?”
“It’s just him and a few others for his performance.” He leans closer to Jeongwoo with a smirk. “Woongki looks really cute today. You’ll just have to see for yourself.”
Jeongwoo’s face goes bright red as the possibilities run through his head. Is he in the beret again? Or maybe some heavier makeup? Or maybe he’s in darker clothing and completely switched it up? The thought of Woongki with black hair and a stylistic harness and…
Someone gently smacks his shoulder. Of course, it’s Shuaibo with a massive grin on his face. It’s just him today, without Steven by his side.
“I know what you’re thinking about.”
“Let me live,” Jeongwoo murmurs, humiliated by his own thoughts. It’s like everyone can see right through him.
Chihen is smirking to himself until a pink-haired boy comes bounding over, a blinding smile on his face. Within seconds, Jeongwoo realizes he’s finally going to meet Juwon after hearing whispers of his name for months. A sickening smile grows on his lips as he can finally torture Chihen back.
“Chihen!” Juwon says, his pink bangs curled at the ends. He’s got a bit of lip gloss on and he’s wearing a big fluffy sweater. Jeongwoo can absolutely understand why Chihen is silently losing his mind— the guy is exactly his type.
“Hi Juwonie!” Chihen says impossibly soft, his ears growing red. Jeongwoo scoffs under his breath as he watches his best friend melt in the presence of this pink ball of sunshine.
“Ah, is this Jeongwoo-ssi? Nice to finally meet you,” Juwon says, bowing. “I hope I get to meet the rest of you today, as well.”
“You sure will,” Jeongwoo grins. “Chihen? Aren’t you going to introduce your friend here to Han?” Chihen gives him a look that can only be described as violent.
“I’ll kill you,” he whispers while Jeongwoo remains smiling.
“Payback, asshole.”
Gritting his teeth, Chihen focuses his attention on introducing Juwon. Juwon himself doesn’t seem to catch the teasing, just happy to be there. He excitedly greets JL and doesn’t notice the way Chihen is fighting demons in front of him.
Jeongwoo finds himself alone with Shuaibo for a few moments, the two of them watching their friends interact. He brings it upon himself to pay closer attention. Juwon definitely likes Chihen, considering how he’s holding onto his arm. He’s also looking at him any time Chihen is not making eye contact. And sometimes, he giggles just a little too much.
“You’re observing,” Shuaibo says.
“I’m trying to be more like you.”
“So you can pay attention to how Woongki acts around you?” He laughs, crossing his arms.
Jeongwoo turns and glares at the taller, choosing to ignore the statement. “What time does Woongki go on stage?”
Shuaibo shrugs. “Should be in about thirty minutes or so. After the announcers take the stand. Why? Just can’t wait to see him again, huh?”
Shuaibo isn’t wrong. His conniving little attitude is diabolical but he’s not wrong.
Jeongwoo hasn’t seen Woongki since Tuesday. He didn’t show up with JL to their practices, either. Every once and a while Jeongwoo will see him on campus but this week he was not granted any such luck. And since Han has been held hostage by his boyfriend for the past few days, he hasn’t had any opportunity to see the boy at all. He should be grateful, considering Woongki is interested enough to be texting him. But he also didn’t text him on Wednesday, which sent him spiraling into a panic. Realistically, Woongki also probably had an exam.
Han always said Jeongwoo would be a clingy type of boyfriend. He cannot let that be the truth.
“Is it so wrong to miss him?” Jeongwoo finally responds, watching as a few club organizers shuffle things on stage.
“Hm. Woongki likes boys that give him their undivided attention.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Shuaibo shrugs once more. “You should tell him you missed him when you get the chance. He’ll light up like a christmas tree.”
Jeongwoo sighs and leans against a pillar. “Sometimes you feel like the ominous movie character that drops advice and dips.”
Shuaibo laughs at this, not entirely denying it. Maybe if he was a little more elusive this would be the case.
“And you know what?” Jeongwoo turns to face him, having to slightly look up. “What are your intentions with my best friend?” He’s asked Steven about Shuaibo, but he’s never asked Shuaibo about Steven. The Chinese boy seems to know everything about his love life so it’s only fair to pester him right back.
Shuaibo raises an eyebrow and pretends to be shocked. “Me?! And your best friend?!” He pushes his long blonde hair behind his ears. “I’m sure you’d love to know.”
“He may look strong but he’s fragile inside!” Jeongwoo says, pressing an accusatory finger into Shuaibo’s chest.
Shuaibo frowns. “You don’t even know my intentions yet, what are you accusing me of?”
“I don’t know yet. But I’m watching you.”
“Hm. Steven is my friend. I have no intention of hurting my friend. He’s fun to be around, too. He’s also a really great trainer.”
“Trainer?! You’ve been going to the gym with him?!”
Shuaibo throws his head back and laughs. “You are terribly unobservational.”
Jeongwoo grumbles and crosses his arms. Steven and Chihen are vague about their love lives while he and Han broadcast it to the whole damn friend group. Once he gets whatever he’s got going on with Woongki sorted out he’ll start sleuthing everybody else out.
The announcer begins to speak halfway through his conversation with Shuaibo, sending his heart rate right up. From what he can remember, Woongki’s cover team are the only performers for the night. This means he can really focus in.
Sure enough, the man speaking introduces Woongki’s cover group after the crowd goes quiet. There’s only six of them on stage, two of which Jeongwoo immediately recognizes as Dongpyo and Hyeongjun. And by god— Jeongwoo’s prayers have been answered.
Woongki is wearing the most intense clothing he’s seen so far, with a sleek black shirt fit snugly around his waist and a pair of black cargo pants with chains dangling off the belt. He’s got a subtle smokey eye and his hair looks just a little darker than normal. Jeongwoo didn’t think he could be any more attracted to Woongki than he is right now, gripping onto the pillar for dear life while Shuaibo silently cackles at him. This is so sick and twisted. Other people have to perceive his Woongki?!
“Oh my god,” Jeongwoo silently says under his breath.
“He can pull just about anything off,” Shuaibo grins. “Nice and versatile.” He’s deliberately teasing him while Woongki beams on stage, oblivious to his admirer.
There’s loud cheers while the six members of the team set up on stage, with Woongki front and center. Bang bang by Ive cues and Shuaibo excitedly claps his hands together along with JL who has just joined the two.
Now, Jeongwoo has seen Woongki perform before. He’s had the good fortune to watch the talented man in real time. But this is the first time that he’s really in love— with Woongki even encouraging his presence. Just the thought of Woongki performing for him is making him lose his shit, his gay little heart going a million miles per hour.
He’s the center, of course, as any captain would be. And you can tell he taught the dance, too, which is ridiculously attractive. Jeongwoo is briefly jumpscared by Shuaibo gently placing a hand over his heart, monitoring the way it violently beats. His taller friend snickers before going right back to cheering for his best friend along with JL.
Woongki is so entrancing that Jeongwoo can’t even really hear the music. He’s acutely aware that he must look thoughtless right now, a dopey grin spread across his face as he shamelessly tracks Woongki’s each and every move. The way his features contort, the way his body rolls with precision, the way he knows everyone is watching him.
It would be incredible if he actually got to call him his boyfriend. Then he could scream it at every performance and rub it in everyone’s faces. That’s right— Cha Woongki, the nerd prince, all Seo Jeongwoo’s.
It gives him enough motivation to call out Woongki’s name as he cleanly hits the chorus, catching the boy’s attention for a brief second before he locks back in. Jeongwoo clamps a hand over his mouth.
“Oh my god he noticed me!” He excitedly slaps Shuaibo’s shoulder.
“He’s not an idol, you idiot,” Han says, though he’s distracted with the performance as well.
He could be an idol. He should be.
The performance ends with impossibly loud cheers from everybody in the crowd, overjoyed by the lively show. More and more students have begun to trickle in as the club event ramps up, no doubt spurred on by the cover team. Jeongwoo deliberately claps his hands louder than everyone else so Woongki can find him again.
And he does almost immediately, spotting his friends and bounding down the stage with Hyeongjun and Dongpyo right by his side. Jeongwoo doesn’t even notice his fellow teammate, Serim, standing just a few feet beside them until Hyeongjun hops into his arms. It’s a pairing he’s never thought about before but in hindsight it really makes sense. Serim is the same kind of loser that he and Han are.
“Devoured, as usual,” Shauibo claps his hands together.
“Our talented Woongki,” JL adds.
Woongki’s smile is brighter than anything Jeongwoo has ever seen and it strikes him directly in his heart. It doesn’t help that he directs that smile right to Jeongwoo after he catches his breath.
“Jeongwoo hyung, you came!” He says it so gleefully, like he was waiting to say it all week. Jeongwoo doesn’t know what’s so surprising about this, he still would have come even if every single limb of his was shattered.
What he doesn’t expect, however, is for Woongki to wrap tight arms around his torso in the most electrifying hug Jeongwoo’s ever experienced. He falters for a second, staring into the distance with gigantic eyes until he’s slowly reciprocating, snaking his hands around Woongki’s heaving frame. He’s all toasty and warm, which heats Jeongwoo’s skin up considerably in the chilly evening air.
He can hear Shuaibo and JL cooing in the back, silently fanboying over the interaction. He’d be fanboying too if Woongki wasn’t clinging to his stomach. The side of his face is pressed against Jeongwoo’s chest, and he’s terribly certain Woongki can hear the pitter-patters of his overzealous heart. He shudders when Woongki snakes his hands further up Jeongwoo’s back, tightening his hold. Okay, Jeongwoo is not mistaking these signals.
Gingerly, Jeongwoo gives a cautious pat to Woongki’s head. The younger receives it well, looking up with a huge grin. Jeongwoo lets out a sigh of relief.
“You looked incredible.” He thinks for a second, remembering Shuaibo’s subtle advice. “And I missed you.”
Like clockwork, Woongki’s smile grows impossibly large. He hops up and down for a few seconds, shaking Jeongwoo’s body around with excitement. It’s so fucking cute.
“It’s only been a few days…” he’s shy again, even though he’s still holding onto Jeongwoo. “But I missed you, too.”
Reciprocated! Jeongwoo has to collect himself so he doesn’t scream at the top of his lungs. His friends are deadly side-eying him but he figures he deserves that. Though he’s almost entirely certain Shuaibo is proud of him.
Woongki shoves his face back into Jeongwoo’s chest again. He mumbles into his shirt.
“I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
Right, tomorrow.
Jeongwoo has prepared something. He’s mulled over it for a few hours, pestering his friends about the idea itself. It’s a foolproof plan— continue to showcase his house husband cooking skills and take Woongki on the prettiest picnic date known to man. Make him homemade food, bring him to some blooming sakura trees, play ambient music in the back. Hell, he’s willing to make fucking flower crowns for the guy. It’ll be perfect. And maybe he can try his luck with ending the night with a romantic movie.
“I can’t, either,” Jeongwoo whispers, running his fingers through Woongki’s silky hair.
Han coughs and pokes his best friend’s shoulder. “His friends are here, too, you know.”
Woongki finally brings it upon himself to peel away from Jeongwoo, the older sorely missing the contact. “Sorry. I forgot to introduce everyone.” He dramatically presents Dongpyo and Hyeongjun to the group, the two offering equally blinding smiles. Jeongwoo knows that the three are pretty like-minded when it comes to their outstanding extrovertedness, something that he greatly admires.
Now that he thinks about it, Serim was unnecessarily excited to end practice the last couple of weeks. He assumes being a boyfriend is a new feat for him. He makes a mental note to talk to the guy later so they can maximize their joint yearning.
The club event will last for a few good hours, which gives Jeongwoo ample time to stay by Woongki’s side. He figures being around him longer will settle his heart enough to be able to handle tomorrow. Besides, he has to subtly throw back some signals himself.
“We’re gonna walk around,” Han says to Jeongwoo, bidding the two farewell.
Shuaibo nods. “I’ll tag along with them. You two have fun.” He winks before sauntering off, leaving Jeongwoo and Woongki together.
“Just us again,” Woongki beams. “This is nice.” Without giving Jeongwoo any proper warning, he links their arms together. “Shall we explore?”
Jeongwoo starts to wonder if this is technically their second unofficial date. He’s still going at Woongki’s pace, happily taking whatever the younger gives to him. He won’t dare offer his hand yet, determining that as far too intimate for where they currently stand. But he adjusts his arm so Woongki is as comfortable as possible, making sure to keep the same pace as they aimlessly wander.
“Oh! They have tanghulu. Do you want some?” Woongki points at the booth in the distance, the sugary fruits sparkling in the lights. Maybe this is another opportunity for an indirect kiss. Is this Woongki throwing hints that he actually wants a kiss? No— that’s too much of a selfish thought for right now. Jeongwoo is going to take this slow and steady.
“I’d love some.”
Jeongwoo is promptly dragged over to the booth while Woongki purchases two sticks, one of strawberries and the other of grapes. He does actually expect Woongki to offer him the first bite, happily feeding him. He mentally blocks out the fact that they’re indirectly kissing once more.
They take a seat while they eat their fruits, legs pressed together. Woongki’s bangs are getting a little long and every other minute Jeongwoo takes it upon himself to gently brush them out of his face. He’s making his own moves, even if they’re a lot less obvious. Woongki doesn’t seem to notice, either, the action becoming entirely natural between them. Jeongwoo is also deeply distracted by how healthy the younger’s hair is.
“Were you planning to come to this before knowing I was performing?” Woongki breaks the silence, a little bit of sugar on the corner of his lip. Jeongwoo mindlessly wipes it away.
“No. I came for you.”
Woongki cutely humphs. “You weren’t interested in seeing my team in general?”
Jeongwoo shrugs. “I’d only want to watch when you’re in the covers. Like I said, you’re so fun to watch. If I had just a sliver of your stage presence I’d be a lot more approachable.”
Woongki frowns. “You’re plenty approachable.”
“You didn’t seem to think so a few weeks ago,” Jeongwoo jokes, hoping that it’s not too soon. Thankfully, Woongki bashfully smiles and knocks his shoulder with his own.
“I’ve turned a new leaf.” He eats a grape. “Besides, you really are approachable. I was wrong at first— you’re kind of the ideal boyfriend type.”
Jeongwoo freezes. What does that even mean? And why would Woongki say the b word so casually?!
He’s always perceived himself as a little bit clumsy and terribly gone when he’s in love. It’s never occurred to him that other people might have a different perception of him. He’s sort of ran with the “jock” title, even if it’s entirely ridiculous for a multitude of reasons. Since when did being a soccer player even constitute being a jock?! Isn’t that just for American football?
“How so?”
Woongki takes a second to collect his thoughts. Jeongwoo holds his breath.
“Well, you’re really kind. Even when I was mean to you, you didn’t change the way you spoke to me. Well— except for the night at the party, but that was you just defending yourself.” He tilts his head. “I’m kind of appalled by your patience, honestly. Even with the way you treat your friends. They seem to drive you nuts but you don’t complain about it.”
Jeongwoo’s heart grows warm. Has Woongki really noticed all of these things?
“I have no reason to be anything else but kind,” Jeongwoo murmurs under his breath. Woongki smiles at this, continuing his spiel.
“When we were still beefing, you said something to me that sort of changed the way I felt even before we spoke at the party.”
Jeongwoo perks an eyebrow. Did this mean…he had a chance even back then?
“You texted me and apologized for ever making me feel uncomfortable. Which you hadn’t, I was just standing on business. But the fact that you even apologized when you didn’t have to was making it very difficult to hate you.”
Jeongwoo doesn’t know what to do with the sudden honest conversation they’re having in the middle of campus. He welcomes it, though, wondering what other secrets he’s going to uncover. It doesn’t feel forced, either, with the sentences shared in between bites of the sugary treats.
“You kind of dress like an ideal university boyfriend, too. Your aura is just…really boyfriend? I don’t know how to explain it. This sounds ridiculous,” Woongki giggles.
What a nice thing to hear about himself. University boyfriend? Is that what he’s going to be?
Woongki isn’t even done yet.
“You can cook. And you wait for me to do things before you do anything yourself.”
Clocked.
Woongki has already figured out that Jeongwoo will probably do anything he asks, but this is a new kind of vulnerability. He’s certainly caught onto the fact that Jeongwoo doesn’t take steps until he knows those boundaries are comfortably crossed by Woongki himself. It is very boyfriend of him, the extra mile of respect. He’s just like that.
“Ah, and you’re really softspoken.”
Is Woongki trying to fucking kill him?!
“Even when you raised your voice,” Woongki laughs, recalling the incident like it makes him giddy (maybe it does?!) “You still sounded kind.” A beat goes by. “I really would like to hear you sing.”
It’s too much— way too much for Jeongwoo’s failing heart to handle. He’s afraid that if he opens his mouth now, a string of pathetic confessions will fall from his lips.
“So, yeah. Boyfriend type beat. Shuaibo and JL agree.”
Jeongwoo slowly nods his head before speaking. He’s going to hold in his feelings for now, waiting for the right time to spill them.
“That’s…really reassuring. Thank you. I appreciate the kind words.”
Woongki grins. “It’s about time I said some. You normally do all the complimenting.” He gently nudges Jeongwoo’s shoulder again, their feet bumping into each other.
“Then…what does Han give? If not university boyfriend?” He’s genuinely curious (and looking for a way to steer the conversation into a lighter tone— just to still his beating heart).
Woongki thinks, his lower lip jutting out. “JL regarded him as a prince at first. I don’t think personality wise he fits that, for obvious reasons. Princes have a lot more self respect.”
Jeongwoo can’t help but laugh at the jab.
“A very die-for-you romantic. A Romeo or Jack Dawson vibe.”
Woongki certainly isn’t wrong on this front. Han also sobs his eyes out to romance movies.
“Pretty spot on.”
Woongki locks eyes with Jeongwoo. “What about me, then?”
Oh god. Jeongwoo was particularly ignoring this. How can he respond without sounding grossly in love?
“You’re hesitating. Do you hate me, Seo Jeongwoo?”
“No! God, no,” he starts to stutter, fumbling over his words. But Woongki only laughs, a clear indication that he has more fun teasing him than anything else.
“Tell me?”
Jeongwoo takes a deep breath. Okay, no confessing. But he’ll be as honest as he can without revealing the whole truth right then and there.
“I see you as the person that everybody wants to be friends with. You’re like the glue of every friend group and the leader of anything you take on. A social butterfly, but also like the blooming wildflower that all the pollinators flock to.”
Jeongwoo cringes inward upon himself. Way too poetic.
Woongki kicks his feet while his face slowly turns into a pretty shade of pink. Being showered with love looks so good on him.
“You’re friendly, and you make a huge effort to make everybody feel welcome. To me, you’re just the most desirable kind of extrovert. Which is why it was kind of jarring when you seemed to like everybody but me.”
He didn’t mean to end that last part so depressingly, but it is the truth. Having to see Woongki give love to everyone else but him was especially difficult. But it also wasn’t terribly hard to be part of that roster in the end.
“That’s sweet,” Woongki says under his breath, staring at the single and final strawberry on the stick. He lifts it up to Jeongwoo’s lips. “Take the last one?”
Jeongwoo gently shakes his head and pushes it to Woongki’s lips. “No, you.”
University boyfriend. Incredibly so.
Woongki takes the final bite in glee. What a lovely conversation to have before their first actual date. A warmup of sorts.
Loud music begins to play at the front, distracting the two from their thoughts. Woongki hops off the bench they’re sitting at and pulls Jeongwoo down with him. Instinctively, the older offers his arm once more.
“Should we peruse?” Woongki asks, eyes trailing over the various booths.
“Lead the way,” Jeongwoo responds, his heart impossibly full.
They don’t have another deep conversation for the remainder of the night, mutually deciding that most of those other feelings can be unpacked at a later, more intimate time. Instead, they focus on the silly games and events offered to the students.
It’s truly astonishing how easy it is for Woongki to make Jeongwoo laugh, his little antics an absolute joy for Jeongwoo to revel in. The way he’s so animated and expressive with everything he does, making it so fun to be around. He makes cute noises when he’s disappointed and pops up in excitement when he wins at the games. He also keeps whacking Jeongwoo’s shoulder in the most gentle way possible, which makes the older giddy with attraction.
The entire time, Woongki remains glued to Jeongwoo’s arm as they exhaust all the events. They also don’t see their friends for the rest of the night, with Chihen and Juwon especially missing in action. Jeongwoo has no idea where they went after the performance but knows he’ll hound Chihen about it when he gets the chance.
They stay until the end of the event, tummies full of various sweets and savory snacks. It’s the most lovestruck he’s been in a very long time, already missing Woongki while he’s still attached to his hip. He’s relieved to know that they’re perfectly compatible after their initial bumping of heads.
It’s pretty cold when the final booths begin to wrap up, a clear sign that it’s about time to head home. The right side of Jeongwoo’s body, however, is nice and warm from Woongki’s presence being there the whole event. He’s going to solidify the feeling into his brain forever.
“Thanks for coming, truly. I had so much fun,” Woongki happily says. “You didn’t have to stay but I’m really glad you did.”
Jeongwoo nods, already missing the younger’s contact. “Of course I stayed. I missed you.”
He’s glad he says it again, because Woongki clasps his hands together in a bashful way. He’s going to utilize this killer line time and time again.
“Are we still on for tomorrow?” Woongki asks, hope in his voice. As if Jeongwoo would cancel plans.
“Of course. You better be ready for the Seo Jeongwoo extravaganza. It’ll be so worth it.”
He’s going to spoil him rotten. Woongki is not ready for the amount of sap he’s going to be subjected to. Jeongwoo is going to university-boyfriend to the absolute maximum capacity.
“So excited,” Woongki grins.
He lingers, in the same way he did at that bus stop. It’s abundantly clear that he doesn’t want to leave Jeongwoo’s side just yet. Jeongwoo can’t stop thinking about how happy he’ll be when Woongki is finally wrapped up in his arms. He just wants to fall asleep to the sound of Woongki’s beating heart against his.
“Would you like me to walk you to the bus stop?” Jeongwoo offers.
Woongki shakes his head. “Shuaibo will go home with me, don’t worry. But thank you. I’d go with you otherwise.”
Jeongwoo is disappointed but also knows that maybe it’s best to leave things right here. Tomorrow will be better than his dreams.
“Noon. I’ll come get you,” Jeongwoo says, offering his signature boyfriend smile. Woongki nods.
As a final parting action, Woongki briefly laces his hand with Jeongwoo’s, giving it a quick squeeze before he turns on his heels and goes to find his best friend.
Jeongwoo’s heart is bursting with rainbows and a bright garden complete with Woongki wildflowers that grow and grow and grow until they’re blooming with hues of color. He lights up his world and so many others without knowing it.
He’s not going to let him go.
🤯
Saturday morning is the most excited Jeongwoo has been in months.
It’s like his bones are vibrating under the skin, an electrical current charged by the thought of seeing Woongki all dressed up for him. It’s a nice and sunny day— Jeongwoo would be stupid if he didn’t take a million pictures. Maybe a possible lockscreen?
He’s gone all out. Finger sandwiches, fruit ades, cake (he forced Han to help with this one), gimbap, onigiri— any kind of thing he could make look cute. Woongki still has no idea what they’re doing or where they’re going, but Jeongwoo told him to wear something fit for nature. Of which he then said— Seo Jeongwoo, you better not take me on a fucking hike.
Jeongwoo knows Woongki well enough to know he should never take him on a hike. That’s a Steven-Chihen activity. But a picnic should be innocent enough. He even has a soft blanket with a collection of Sanrio characters on it. Steven took one look at it and called him gay. Deserved.
He’s dressed nicely, too. As nice as one should look when connecting with nature. A simple pair of jeans and a light blue sweater that really sells the boyfriend look. He might pull out a dumbass pickup line if he’s feeling brave.
He’s stealing Steven’s car to pick his date up, making sure he has the bouquet of flowers ready to present at the door. A bundle of tulips seemed to be the best option according to the old ahjumma down the street.
He saw Woongki the day before but that doesn’t deter his nerves from ramping up again, gripping onto the steering wheel with white knuckles. It’s incredible how much the younger has an effect on him. It’s like he hasn’t seen him in a whole week.
He takes a few good minutes when he pulls up in front of Woongki’s apartment, staring at the tulips in his passenger seat. Is it too much? Is he going too fast? It doesn’t matter, it’s way too late to back out now. He whips his phone out for moral support.
⚽💪
Jeongwoo: its happening
i’m going to throw up
Steven: you got this
be a man!!!! even though you cry a lot
Han: if it helps to know, woongki is also just as excited LOL
and maybe woongki likes it that you cry
Chihen: good luck
you should be dating by the end of the weekend
Jeongwoo: i highly doubt that
⤹ Reply to Chihen: you should be dating by the end of the weekend
Han: you never told us where you and juwon went btw
Chihen: 🙄
FOCUS please
Jeongwoo: thanks guys 😔 😔
i’m so afraid im going to fuck up
Han: you cannot possibly be worse than me
Jeongwoo: at least you’re self aware
Chihen: he very clearly wants you hyung 🤷🏼♂️
you’re also like naturally very sweet
Steven: very true
very boyfriend
Jeongwoo stifles a laugh. He knows he’d be a good boyfriend to Woongki.
He takes one look at the woven basket in the back of Steven’s car and finally builds the courage to grab the flowers and exit the vehicle. He peeks into the mirror, fixing his slightly grown out bangs. He’s only just started to be around Woongki when he looks appropriately presentable.
He’s shaking by the time he’s standing in front of the door, holding onto the flowers for dear life. But someone must’ve already known he was coming because within seconds someone whips it open, scaring Jeongwoo to death.
Predictably, it’s Shuaibo. With a huge smile on his face.
“Well hello, handsome. Your date is all ready to go.”
Giggling, Shuaibo steps aside to reveal Woongki in all his glory.
Jeongwoo’s knees almost buckle at the sight. Which is pathetic, because he always fucking reacts this way.
It’s the goddamn beret again. But this time, he’s wearing a light blue knitted sweater, not totally dissimilar from the one Jeongwoo is wearing. He’s wearing a pair of white jeans as well. And he swears there’s a little bit of glitter in his hair.
“Cute, right?” Shuaibo says. Jeongwoo swallows. Does he really have to say this out loud?
“Very.” He’s still staring.
“Ah. Hyung, we’re matching!” Woongki smiles, poking Jeongwoo’s sweater. “So handsome.”
So it’s a regular occurrence now, hearing that he’s handsome from Woongki. He cannot believe he even got to this point.
He snaps himself back into boyfriend mode and presents the flowers to Woongki, who in turn squeals and happily takes them. He gives them a sniff and giggles again.
“Thank you,” he says. “I’ll put them in my room.” He shoves the flowers into Shauibo’s hands and tackles Jeongwoo in a bear hug. Jeongwoo tries not to notice that a little bit of glitter from his hair is transferring onto his sweater. Now he’ll sparkle like Woongki does.
He hugs back just as fervently before speaking. “You ready to go?”
Woongki looks up at him, all starry-eyed. “Mm.”
As always, Jeongwoo offers his arm and waves goodbye to Shuaibo, who excitedly claps his hands together. Woongki skips the entire way to the car, clinging onto Jeongwoo like they’re already dating.
“Since when did you have a car?”
Jeongwoo laughs. “I don’t. It’s Steven’s. So if it’s dirty, that’s not my fault.”
Realistically, there’s just a bunch of gymware in the back of Steven’s car. Woongki only giggles.
“It’s okay. You went out of your way. I appreciate it.” He gets into the car. “Where are you taking me?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“We’re touching grass?” He sounds excited, which is a great sign. Jeongwoo is just hoping to not disappoint him.
He lets Woongki take charge of the aux, urging him to put on whatever. He puts on a popular k-pop song while they head to the mystery location.
It’s a local park with some colorful blooming trees, complete with a view. Jeongwoo scouted a few different places beforehand in order to make everything perfect. There’s a suitable area for a picnic and a street of nice boutiques as well as cafes next door. It smells pleasant and clean, which is what Woongki deserves.
“Give me a hint?” The younger asks. Jeongwoo stubbornly shakes his head.
“You’ll just have to see for yourself.”
He likes seeing Woongki pout, those lips shiny and inviting. He’s going to kiss them one day.
The park thankfully isn’t too far away from Woongki’s apartment, with the car ride only being around fifteen minutes. He’s terribly nervous that the food in the back didn’t get shook around too much (if everything doesn’t look perfect he’s seriously going to kill himself)
Like a gentleman, he bolts to the other side of the car to let Woongki out, which makes the younger roll his eyes.
“Don’t spoil me.”
Jeongwoo is unfortunately going to do just that. He takes Woongki’s hand and gently pulls him out of the vehicle. Then he grabs his little woven basket of goodies as well as the small ice chest full of drinks (both of which are really heavy).
“Can I help you with anything?”
“No!” Jeongwoo says a little too quickly, shutting the car door closed with his foot. Woongki doesn't fight back, instead letting the older lead the way.
Jeongwoo has a specific tree picked out already, a yellowish-orange Ginkgo with ample shade for being gross and romantic. He scrambles to lay the freshly cleaned Sanrio blanket out under the branches, double-checking that they’re protected enough from the sun. It’s not too hot, but Jeongwoo doesn’t want Woongki to be uncomfortable. He’ll shield him with his body, anyway.
Carefully, he lays out each and every finger food one by one, making sure they’re all nicely plated. Woongki sits criss-crossed in silence, watching as Jeongwoo obsesses over everything. There’s a knowing smile on his lips as he giggles.
“Wah, you made so much. A picnic all for me?”
Jeongwoo nods in focus mode. “All for you.”
He cringes at the words, once again teetering far too close to honest feelings. But it’s okay, because Woongki is giggling and positively reacting across from him. He’s getting slightly braver.
“It’s so nice out.”
“I made sure it was nice today. I wouldn’t have taken you out if it wasn’t,” Jeongwoo says, pulling out glass bottles of his home-made drinks. He’s even put dried flowers in them. He opens a bottle of strawberry lemonade and holds it up to Woongki’s lips.
The younger happily sips and mewls. “This is delicious. What can’t you make?”
Jeongwoo wonders if the next few hours will be a series of feeding each other like an insufferable theme-park line couple. He’s becoming Park Han in a multitude of ways. Harrowing.
To prove this point, he unwraps a spicy tuna onigiri and feeds it to Woongki, who accepts anything Jeongwoo is giving to him. He’s even cute when he eats, which is maddening. Jeongwoo isn’t even hungry himself— he could spend a lifetime hand feeding Woongki and remain satisfied.
He continuously feeds the onigiri to Woongki as he swallows each bite, which elicits a muffled laugh from the younger.
“Eat some yourself, please.”
Jeongwoo shakes his head. “You first.”
Woongki wrestles the onigiri out of Jeongwoo’s hand and pushes it to his mouth. Immediately, Jeongwoo takes a bite. Their third indirect kiss. This is getting intense.
They finish the shared onigiri while a few birds chirp above their heads. This could not go any better, honestly. Jeongwoo cannot believe they started their journey with his ass pressed up against a brick wall. He’s so glad his friends aren’t watching this go down.
“Do you cook for your friends, too?” Woongki asks, downing the lemonade.
“Sometimes. I withhold dinners from them when they’re irritating.”
Woongki laughs. “I would, too.”
“But I’d be happy to cook for you whenever you want. You know where I live.”
“Mm. You can cook anything?”
Jeongwoo nods. “Anything for you.”
He mentally slaps himself. He can’t keep saying shit like this.
“Just as I thought,” Woongki says under his breath, reaching for a slice of gimbap. He hums in satisfaction.
“You’re such an ideal husband.”
Yesterday he was an ideal university boyfriend, today he’s an ideal husband. This is fantastic. He might as well be frolicking on cloud nine.
“I can’t believe I almost let you slip through my fingers,” Woongki pouts again. “It’d be a shame if someone else claimed you before I did.”
Panic settles in Jeongwoo’s stomach as he tries to process what Woongki has just said to him. Claim him?! Is he calling Jeongwoo his?!
“Oh,” is all he can really say in response. Woongki perks an eyebrow at this.
“You’re always in a perpetual state of confusion. Which is cute. But you really have to learn how to take compliments.”
It’s not his fault— Woongki is just so direct. He likes that Woongki knows exactly what he wants, but sometimes it’s too much for his fragile heart to handle. He’s not always sure how to respond, even if he loves every word.
“I’m sorry. You make me nervous.”
Woongki gently shoves his shoulder. “Cute.”
Jeongwoo is not going to last much longer if Woongki keeps saying shit like this to him. He’s going to accidentally blurt out how in love he is within the next couple of days. And Woongki is unbothered, too, confidently saying how he feels like it doesn’t send Jeongwoo into a crisis every time. He wonders what it would be like if he could match that energy.
“Try the other drink. It’s lavender matcha.” He pops open the glass. This time, Woongki waits to be fed. He sips and claps his hands together. “It’s lovely.”
The sun is nice on their skin, thankfully not hot enough to make them sweat. It’s also not too crowded, with most of the park people on the further end with all the cherry blossoms. There’s a pleasant aroma and a breeze, which adds to the ambiance. They continue to feed each other while Woongki comments on Jeongwoo’s flawless cooking.
“A picnic. I should have guessed,” Woongki says. “Very boyfriend. And sweet.”
“I was afraid you wouldn’t like it.”
“You made everything by hand and obsessed over it. It’s perfect. I’d be a dick if I didn’t like it.”
Jeongwoo looks down at the grass, following the movement of a small army of ants looking to steal away some crumbs of rice. “You deserve the best,” he whispers quietly.
His attention is pulled back when he suddenly feels the soft presence of Woongki directly in front of him. The younger cups Jeongwoo’s cheeks together and squeezes.
“So sweet.” He squeezes again, playing with Jeongwoo’s face like playdoh. “And your eyes are so cute close up.”
Too close, he’s way too close. He can smell whatever fragrance Woongki has spritzed himself with. Light and flowery. He can’t even look away.
“T-thank you.”
Woongki loudly giggles. “You’re so much fun to mess with.” His hands slide down to rest at either side of Jeongwoo’s neck. “Seo Jeongwoo, you’re already so good to me.”
Already? Jeongwoo doesn’t know what Woongki is planning. He also doesn’t know how long Woongki plans to keep his hands on him. Cautiously, he rests his own hands on Woongki’s thighs. Scandalous.
Woongki brushes his thumb against Jeongwoo’s neck and the older feels the spark go down his spine. But just as he’s comfortable with the contact, Woongki crawls back across from him again to continue munching away. He’s very good at teasing, which Jeongwoo assumes will kill him eventually.
Right, the photos!
To distract himself from the gay panic, Jeongwoo whips out his phone and aims it at Woongki.
“Can I take photos of you?”
Immediately, Woongki begins to pose. He’s also good at that. Shocking.
“Get my good side. Make me look pretty.”
“I don’t have to try to do that,” Jeongwoo says honestly, beginning to snap away. Woongki, as expected, is incredibly photogenic. Jeongwoo will absolutely be changing his lockscreen later.
He must take around sixty photos by the time he’s actually satisfied, encouraging Woongki to pose with everything in their sight. With the food, under the Ginkgo tree, amongst the grass. He’s not a bad photographer if he does say so himself. But most of it has to do with how beautiful Woongki is as a person. He’s going to go to ridiculous lengths for the purpose of a perfect picture.
When Jeongwoo finally puts his phone down, Woongki is laid against the blanket giggling away. He takes his own phone out and snaps a picture of Jeongwoo from the terrible angle below him.
“Please delete that,” Jeongwoo pleads, making an effort to snatch away the phone. But Woongki resists, kickstarting a series of photos that Jeongwoo knows he looks stupid in. But he also knows better than to fight back.
“Aw, but you look so cute!” Woongki is looking at a particular photo where Jeongwoo’s eyes are as big as saucers. “Is your boba really worth it?”
Jeongwoo blushes, trying to snatch the phone away. Instead, Woongki catches his wrist and pulls him down to his face, inches away. Jeongwoo is trying very hard to avoid looking at his lips.
“Stop that,” he whispers impossibly soft.
“Mm. No.” Like a few minutes before, he pinches Jeongwoo’s cheeks. He also pushes away his hair. “Seriously, I want to eat your eyes.”
“I’ll take them out and give them to you.”
Fuck. He can’t seem to stop saying some bullshit.
“You only talk in poems,” Woongki says. “So boyfriend.”
Jeongwoo might be fucking crazy but is Woongki trying to tell him something?! Boyfriend Jeongwoo…of Cha Woongki?! It has a nice ring to it.
Woongki is still playing with Jeongwoo’s face— squeezing his cheeks, fucking with his hair, poking his neck. In return, Jeongwoo rests his hands on the base of Woongki’s shoulders, mindlessly rubbing his thumbs. It’s nice, settling into the innocent intimacy.
For a few minutes, it seems like Woongki starts to fall asleep. Jeongwoo doesn’t blame him, the weather is nice and their bellies are full of food. Without saying anything, Woongki shifts his position to lay on Jeongwoo’s legs, getting comfortable. There’s a lingering smile on his face as he closes his eyes and adjusts.
With nothing to curb his excitement, Jeongwoo simply threads his fingers through Woongki’s hair. He’s acutely aware they’re in public but figures everyone else is distracted with their own activities. It’s not like he’s going to put a stop to this madness.
Besides, it’s heartwarming that Woongki feels safe enough to fall asleep on Jeongwoo’s body. He’s totally at peace, hands folded on his stomach as he softly breathes. For a second, Jeongwoo stops touching his hair, checking to see if Woongki has really fallen asleep in the middle of the day. He leans down closer, his nose just barely brushing Woongki’s.
He’s scared half to death when Woongki catches his hand and redirects it back onto his head, causing Jeongwoo to jerk back.
“Keep petting. It feels nice,” Woongki demands.
If there’s one thing Jeongwoo is particularly good at, it’s taking orders from men he’d jump off a cliff for. Even though it makes him terribly nervous to continue, he rethreads his fingers through Woongki’s hair, this time more deliberately. A satisfied sigh spills from the younger’s lips as he readjusts again. He’s moving like a cat, pressing his head closer into Jeongwoo’s tummy. He might as well be purring.
Jeongwoo is the chosen one at this moment, with this particular cat deciding to pick him. There’s a bird that lands just a few feet away from their picnic, curiously trotting over for any crumb of food. Instead, he finds two men all snuggled up. It chirps before turning away.
They stay like this for a while. Jeongwoo has to fight the urge to just take a nap himself. But that would mean having to move Woongki from his comfortable resting place. His back is aching and his legs are going numb but he’d rather die than make this known. He’s not even sure where they’re supposed to go from here. Are they friends? Kind of. Doesn’t really feel like that. But they’re not whatever Han and JL were, either.
As Woongki gently snores on his legs, things become increasingly clear.
He has to tell him.
It’s not like it’s a secret, and it's not like he’s rushed it. He’s crushed on Woongki for months leading up to this point, even during the times he didn’t think he stood a chance. He sat through conversations of Woongki’s friends being purposefully cryptic and spent countless nights thinking all these things through.
Jeongwoo isn’t stupid at this point, contrary to what his friends say. He knows that this is reciprocated in some way, even if he’s entirely certain he likes Woongki a lot more than Woongki likes him. It’s the only reason he’s hesitating so much. Woongki only had a few weeks to catch up while Jeongwoo has been past the finish line for months.
They came dangerously close to the conversation yesterday. He might as well just spill everything sooner or later.
More than a half an hour goes by with Jeongwoo in the same position, now resting his hand on Woongki’s head. He stopped counting Woongki’s lashes when he started to overthink about the state of their relationship. It’s as if Woongki can always somehow sense something is wrong— suddenly stirring and stretching his arms, right hand smacking Jeongwoo’s left cheek.
A little gasp. “My bad.”
Jeongwoo only smiles, shaking away his all-consuming thoughts. “It’s okay. Did you nap well?”
Woongki slowly sits up, not making an effort to pull away from the proximity to Jeongwoo. He cracks his neck and squints at the sun.
“I did. You’re so comfy.” He flips over his phone and widens his eyes at the time. “Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?!”
Jeongwoo only shrugs. “You were tired.”
Woongki stares at him, acutely aware that Jeongwoo hasn’t moved in about 45 minutes. As to confirm this fact, Jeongwoo awkwardly stretches out his long body, ignoring the pain.
“Sorry. Thanks for being my pillow, though,” Woongki giggles, squeezing one of Jeongwoo’s cheeks. It seems to be a regular occurrence now.
“Any time,” Jeongwoo says, grimacing while he finally moves his legs.
Woongki sips the last of the strawberry lemonade as he assesses his surroundings. “Are you still hungry?”
Jeongwoo shakes his head. Honestly, he’s just sleepy. And he also probably should have planned more than just a picnic.
“How about a walk?” Woongki suggests, getting onto his knees with a yawn. “I’ll actually help you put everything in the car this time.”
It hurts a little to stand up, but Jeongwoo pushes through it. They’ve picked at most of the food he made, but he absolutely overdid himself. At least he’ll be able to send Woongki home with plenty of leftovers.
And Woongki does help him pack everything into Steven’s car, true to his word. He continues to compliment Jeongwoo’s incredible attention to detail as they stroll back to the center of the park, hands hanging loosely near each other.
There’s a specific vibe that Jeongwoo can’t quite place, certainly spurred on by their little moment of intimacy. There are words teetering at the tip of their tongues, stalled by the steps they take together. But neither find it in them to actually say them.
The park is distractingly pretty, which is good for Jeongwoo at this moment. He can temporarily stop staring at his muse and find beauty in nature. But then he starts thinking about how the flowers would look in Woongki’s hair, or how cute he’d look laying in the tall grass. Unfortunately, all roads lead back to the boy right next to him.
“Where’d you learn to cook?” Woongki asks, watching as a dragonfly zips by.
“My mom.” He sounds like such a cliche. “And TikTok.”
Woongki snorts. “Did TikTok teach you how to take a boy on the perfect date, too?”
Jeongwoo shakes his head. “Nope. All me.” Then he stops in his tracks, whipping to the side. “Perfect date?”
Woongki giggles and playfully shoves his shoulder. “I literally cannot think of anything more perfect than this.”
“Not a hike?”
“I’ll kill you.”
Laughing, Jeongwoo nudges Woongki back. “I’d never do that to you. I don’t like hikes, either.”
Woongki lets out a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad you’re not a gymbro.”
Jeongwoo furrows his brows. “Is that a dig on my friends? I can be a gymbro sometimes!”
Woongki rolls his eyes. “You go to the gym?”
Being a soccer player, Jeongwoo has to have some semblance of strength, although he mostly skips in favor of napping. And when he does go, he’s just getting mogged by his best friends.
“Occasionally.”
“Let me go with.”
“You’re serious?” Jeongwoo exclaims.
“No, not really. I’d watch you, though.”
Right, he should have expected that answer. It would be weirdly intimate, though, Woongki watching him struggle to lift weights and work his muscles. Then he realizes exactly why Woongki would want to go.
“I’ll invite you next time.”
“Mm,” Woongki hums in satisfaction, kicking a rock. His eyes are trained on the man-made pond in the middle of the park, complete with a little duck family. There’s a wide smile on his face as he observes.
“How have JL and Han been this week? I’ve hardly seen my best friend,” Jeongwoo pipes up, genuinely curious. Park Han has utterly disappeared from his life.
“Awful. Just awful.” Woongki shakes his head. “They both whine a lot. Like— they harmonize whine. In the middle of our living room.”
“In public?!” Jeongwoo doesn’t even know why he’s asking, he already knows the answer.
“Shuaibo has threatened to get out the spray bottle. I’ll let you know if that works.”
Jeongwoo laughs. “Just slap Han. That’ll work.”
“If I so much as lay a finger on that man, my own best friend is going to exile me from the apartment.” He shudders. “And Yence makes a noise every time Han hand feeds him. It’s entirely too much.”
Jeongwoo tilts his head. “You would hate that in a relationship?”
“I don’t think I’d be that bad.”
“True. You don’t make any cute noises when I feed you.” He’s playing with fire.
Woongki narrows his eyes. “Do you want me to?”
Jeongwoo shrugs, heart hammering against his ribs. “Anything you do is cute.”
Woongki pouts. “Boo. You’re so easily impressed.” He kicks another rock as his ears turn pink.
“All you ever do is impress me.”
Another shove, this one particularly harder. Jeongwoo pretends to stumble back in fear as Woongki rushes to stabilize him. The older only laughs, prompting Woongki to latch onto his sweater. It’s kind of ridiculous, running away from Cha Woongki in a public park.
They might as well belong in a vignette sequence that plays during the middle of a cheesy romcom, ignoring everyone else as they exist in their own world. Except Woongki is kind of fast, which is unfortunate for Jeongwoo. Every time he thinks he can get away, the younger is koala-ing him to death. He hopes he’ll die this way.
He doesn’t realize how much time they spend at the park until he notices the deepening colors of the sky, suggesting that they’ve essentially been out all day. Considering his earlier escapades, he’s incredibly relieved that everything went to plan. It’s the smoothest he’s been for the past three months, even if he felt like he was going to die every second. He’s getting comfortable with the idea that Woongki really does want to be around him. It’s a fantastic milestone.
Woongki clings to Jeongwoo’s arm when they head back to Steven’s car, head resting against Jeongwoo’s shoulder. Though he always clings, he’s definitely closer this time around. He plays with the fabric of Jeongwoo’s sweater and purposefully lets their feet entangle every couple of steps. He’s showering Jeongwoo in so much attention that he doesn’t quite know what to do with himself.
One thing’s for certain, he’s not going to be happy if Jeongwoo drops him back off home.
Jeongwoo had visions of the night ending in a movie— so he’s going to take that chance.
When they pile into the car, Jeongwoo pops the question while his voice slightly shakes.
“You wanna watch a movie?”
Woongki is still gripping onto Jeongwoo’s arm. He leans forward as his eyes narrow. “Where?”
“Um. Back at my place?”
Woongki looks even more suspicious, squinting. “Now?”
Jeongwoo gulps. Is this a sleazy move?
“Uh, yes?”
“In…your room?”
“We can watch it in the living room?” Jeongwoo is shitting his pants.
There’s a half minute of silence of Woongki staring the older down. Then his face melts into glee as he claps his hands together.
“I’d love to! I don’t want to go home right now.”
Jeongwoo feels the tension in his body release as he sinks back down in the driver’s seat, sighing in relief. He’s got to remember that Woongki gets most of his enjoyment from fucking with him.
Noticing the panic on Jeongwoo’s face, Woongki laughs and pokes his cheek.
“Stop overthinking. I would've been upset if you sent me home.”
Well, thank god Jeongwoo was right about that one.
He starts the car with his lips shut and begins the journey back to his apartment. Woongki puts on his music again.
“I want to spend the entire day with you,” he clarifies, one hand still lingering on Jeongwoo’s arm. It’s like he’ll die without some sort of contact that keeps them linked together.
“Me too.”
Realistically, he wants to spend the whole weekend with Woongki. Or his entire life. Either works.
By the time they reach Jeongwoo’s apartment, the older realizes in horror that he wasn’t able to properly warn his roommate, too distracted with Woongki’s presence. He also half-hopes that Han will continue to find himself at JL’s place rather than his own. He’s not certain Steven will be able to put up with both pairs of lovebirds. Han is rarely at his own apartment, anyway.
He leads Woongki up the steps, pressing a finger to his lips.
“Why are you acting like you’re sneaking me in?” Woongki whispers, rolling his eyes. “I’ve been here before. Everyone knows we’re currently together.”
“You’re precious cargo,” Jeongwoo jokes, ushering Woongki through the front door as he opens it.
“Oh, so suddenly I’m contraband?”
Jeongwoo laughs, following Woongki inside. His smile drops, however, when he finds Steven with his hands on his hips.
“I assume the date went well,” Steven says, moving to clear their messy dining table. “You’re lucky that Chihen just left with Han.”
“He wasn’t with JL today?!” Jeongwoo asks incredulously.
“No, he’s going to JL’s right now.” He crumples up a piece of paper and tosses it into the trashcan before offering a smile. “Hi, Woongki-ah. Is he treating you well?”
It’s not really a surprise that Steven feels slightly paternal about the younger— he does this with most of his friends. He also knows that nobody on earth can treat Woongki better than Seo Jeongwoo.
Woongki hums and excitedly nods his head. “He’s such a dream. Are you aware you have a live-in prince?”
Jeongwoo hopes to god Woongki cannot feel his heart rate right now, considering the younger is still holding onto his arm. He’s been called a lot of things in his life, but it’s euphoric to know he’s been upgraded from “jock” to “prince” in Woongki’s eyes.
Steven cringes. “Mm. Not sure about that one. But I’m glad you two are having fun.” He looks back to Jeongwoo. “Sleepover time?”
Okay, no. That is not what Jeongwoo was thinking. Would it be nice? Yes. But it’s not what he was thinking.
Woongki shrugs. “Maybe.”
Jeongwoo’s eyes widen as he snaps his head in Wongki’s direction. “Y-you want to stay over?”
“I said maybe.”
Right, he’s just going to leave it at that.
Steven snorts. “Well. I’m heading out to dinner. The place is all yours for a bit.”
He probably wasn’t heading out to dinner, but Steven can be a good wingman when he feels like it. Within the next few minutes, he’s out the door, leaving the two alone again.
“It’s getting late. Should I make popcorn?” Jeongwoo asks, watching from the window as the sky darkens. “We can watch whatever you want.”
Woongki nods, nuzzling against his shoulder. “I’d like that.”
He’s like velcro, refusing to peel away even when Jeongwoo is attempting to set up their little movie date in the living room. He takes a handful of pillows and blankets from his own room and throws them onto the couch, lazily creating a nest of sorts. He prepares a giant bowl of popcorn and offers ten different refreshments while Woongki squishes his cheek against his shoulder. He really hopes Woongki is this clingy going forward.
Finally, when everything is set up, he flops onto the couch with a deep sigh.
“What are we watching?” He says with his face muffled against a pillow.
“I kind of want to rewatch Kpop Demon Hunters,” Woongki says as a half joke, crawling next to Jeongwoo. “A comfort movie of sorts.”
“I don’t mind,” Jeongwoo grins, scrambling for the remote. He gets underneath the covers as he pulls the famed movie up, completely disregarding the fact that Woongki follows suit.
It suddenly dawns on him and this will be the closest they’ve been so far, together under the blankets. His brain short-circuits when he realizes that at some point or another, they’re probably going to end up cuddling. He’s never going to be able to focus on the movie like this, nor is he going to be able to stop his heartbeat from being dangerously loud. And Woongki already seems to be steps ahead of him, pressing their thighs together before the film even starts.
“Uh, let me just hit play.” Jeongwoo fumbles with the remote, hitting play. He reaches over to shut the lamp off too, shrouding the two in the light coming from the screen.
Instantaneously, Woongki wiggles closer to Jeongwoo’s frame, throwing his right arm around the older’s torso. He tucks his head underneath Jeongwoo’s chin and hooks one leg over Jeongwoo’s.
Jeongwoo freezes, not expecting them to get right to it. Woongki notices his reaction and peers up.
“Is this okay?”
Jeongwoo furiously nods, forcing his body to adjust accordingly. He snakes a hand around Woongki and places careful fingers in his hair. His left hand finds Woongki’s arm and rests there comfortably. He can feel the younger humming against his chest.
The first quarter of the movie plays with the two like this, all warm and cozy. Jeongwoo finds that it’s easier to regulate his heartbeat when Woongki is entirely absorbed into the film, taking deep breaths when Woongki reacts to the scenes. But sometimes the younger will shift their positions, making Jeongwoo’s heart start up all over again. Either way, he can’t seem to get over the pure delight of Woongki being this close to him.
He’s soft, so soft. And he smells so lovely, too. And he’s warm.
Jeongwoo would be lying if he said he was paying attention to the movie instead of Woongki’s body on his. He’s definitely not taking surreptitious sniffs of his hair or mindlessly playing with his fingers. He’s also definitely not imagining taking Woongki’s face and deeply kissing him.
It’s torture, it’s heaven. He’s never going to like someone else as much as this.
“Hyung?” Woongki suddenly whispers when the movie is more than halfway over, likely detecting Jeongwoo’s crisis mode again. “Are you okay?”
He’s fine, he’s not fine. He’s elated but also stressed the fuck out. He’s not sure how to answer.
Woongki pauses the movie and shimmies closer to Jeongwoo’s body. “You’re being weird again.”
“Am I?”
Woongki nods. “You are. Are you uncomfortable?”
Jeongwoo furiously shakes his head. “No…nothing like that.”
“Then what’s wrong?” Woongki gently brushes a stray piece of hair away from Jeongwoo’s eyes.
The way they’re looking at each other right now is far too intimate for Jeongwoo’s liking. Woongki’s hands are loosely held at either side of his face and he’s perilously close to straddling him. He can’t use the movie as an excuse to get out of this, either, with it being paused and silent. He weighs his options for a solid minute before he ultimately decides on the best course of action.
Fuck it, we ball.
“Cha Woongki, do you like anyone right now?”
His throat slightly closes up as he squeezes his eyes shut. Why didn’t he just ask if Woongki likes him?!
Dumbfounded, the younger slumps back onto his knees. “Huh?”
Jeongwoo scrambles to speak. “I mean, do you maybe have any interest—”
“Hyung?”
“I don’t know if I’m misreading the signs but I just wanted to make sure if—”
“Jeongwoo.”
“I know I’m really not that good with words or being direct but I just really really—”
It’s like a repeat of the party a few weeks back— with Woongki struggling to shut Jeongwoo up instead of the other way around. But this time, it’s Woongki’s lips that do the job instead of Jeongwoo’s hands slapped against the counter. Soft, deliberate, and sweet.
The kiss only lasts for a few seconds before Woongki pulls back, a knowing smile on his lips. Well, it worked a little bit too well. Jeongwoo stares into the distance, mouth slightly parted in shock. There’s a million things he should be saying right now, but the only thing that centers his thoughts is Woongki Woongki Woongki Woongki.
“...like you. I really like you,” he finally finishes his thoughts as Woongki actually straddles onto his lap.
The younger throws his head back and laughs. “I know you do.”
“You do?” Jeongwoo asks, but for the purpose of just forcing himself to say something. He knows that Woongki knows. Everybody fucking knows.
Woongki nods, resting his palms against Jeongwooo’s chest. “I like you, too.”
Jeongwoo sits up impossibly fast, scaring Woongki half to death as he places his hands at either side of the younger’s waist. “You do?!”
“You can’t be serious, Seo Jeongwoo.”
In a panic, Jeongwoo begins to word vomit. “Cha Woongki, I’ve liked you since the beginning! I am extremely interested in romantically pursuing you! Seriously!”
Woongki continues to laugh, loving every bit of this exchange. Jeongwoo just burns with humiliation.
“Why are you saying it so formally?”
“I’m not Park Han! I don’t want to beat around the bush! It’s not worth it to drag things out when I know what I want right now! And I’m not scared of anything, because I already know what it feels like to be hated by you!”
Woongki frowns at the last part of the statement, even though Jeongwoo is entirely right. But there really isn’t anything to be scared of when their relations started out with Jeongwoo’s worst fear. Woongki can no longer do his worst, even if he suddenly decides to reject Jeongwoo right then and there.
The younger pouts, an action that heavily tempts Jeongwoo into stealing a second kiss. He wants a longer one— deeper and fully appreciative of how Woongki’s pouty lips taste. He figures he’ll get more chances later. Right now, what’s important is doing what Park Han couldn’t.
“I didn’t hate you,” Woongki mumbles, finally admitting it.
He hinted at it yesterday, but Jeongwoo didn’t expect him to actually say it out loud. He finds himself putting his hands over Woongki’s, still resting on his chest.
“You didn’t like me. At all,” Jeongwoo stubbornly argues.
Woongki silently shakes his head. “That’s not true.”
Jeongwoo realizes they’re going to have the talk— one that goes deeper than the day before. With Woongki sitting on his legs in Jeongwoo’s shared apartment. He prays to god Steven doesn’t come barging in.
“Elaborate?” Jeongwoo asks, almost afraid of the answer. But it can’t be that bad, considering they’ve already kissed. Woongki takes a deep breath before speaking.
“I saw you before Han ever got his hands on JL. I thought you were really handsome. Just a small hallway crush, nothing serious. I like soccer players, as we’ve established. But then Han got involved with my best friend, and something came over me.”
Jeongwoo nods, still in possession of Woongki’s soft hands.
“The first time JL and Han hooked up, he pretended like it was fine, like he didn’t immediately catch feelings. But by the third time, he was crying so hard I had to hold him to sleep. I don’t know if Han said something wrong— or if he just self-sabotaged himself, but it made me so irrationally upset,” he says, slowly filling in the blanks. “He probably just assumed the worst, considering the worst had already happened to him. To me, too.”
Jeongwoo swallows, not daring to make a single move as Woongki begins his spiel. He’s connecting all the little dots in his head, drawing conclusions and following the timeline. He’s getting all his curiosities answered right now, after months of wondering.
“And after a while, I realized it probably wasn’t all Han’s fault. JL isn’t great at communicating when he’s so scared. And I really didn’t like you at first, but it’s because I was afraid you’d be like the kind of men my best friend and I faced.” He takes a second to gather more of his thoughts. “But that day we ran into each other…”
Jeongwoo braces himself as much as he can, still pinned against the couch.
“I thought…for sure you would have fought back. But you didn’t. I felt kind of bad after that interaction.” He looks to the side, eyes lingering on a stray pillow. “And you were still sweet to me after that. And then, oh god—” he squeezes his eyes shut, “then the party, which was so not cool of me.”
Jeongwoo relaxes. He thinks back to KabedonGate and how ridiculous that was.
“It felt like you were testing me,” Jeongwoo whispers.
Woongki begrudgingly nods. “I didn’t want you to be who I assumed you would be. And you weren’t.”
Jeongwoo plays with Woongki’s fingers with a grin. “I guess Shauibo was right. I had to prove myself.”
Woongki glares, putting more pressure on Jeongwoo’s chest. “What?! What did that little traitor tell you?!”
Jeongwoo laughs, coughing a little from the weight on his chest. “Before you blew up on me at the party. He gave me some very helpful insight. And JL’s drunk words incriminated you further.” He takes one hand and pushes away the bangs from Woongki’s face. “You’re kind of a tsundere.”
“Shut up,” Woongki whispers, but makes no further statement to defend himself. It only proves Jeongwoo’s point.
Jeongwoo finds himself calming down as Woongki clears everything up, coming to terms with the fact that everything has indeed been mutual. He gently brings one of Woongki’s hands to his lips and presses a kiss to each and every knuckle. The younger doesn’t say anything, instead letting it happen.
“I wouldn’t like me, either. Even if it was irrational. If the popular guy went for my best friend with no prior knowledge of who he was before, I’d be extremely suspicious. That’s why I couldn’t quite hate you back. And of course— I’d never be able to hate you at all. You’re too pretty. And you’re too attractive when you want to kill me,” Jeongwoo admits, finding that he can no longer hold himself back.
In horror, Woongki slaps Jeongwoo with his free hand. “Don’t say that! What is wrong with you?”
“Don’t you like men who’ll do anything you say?” Jeongwoo presses more kisses to Woongki’s hand. “I’m your guy. Whatever you want.”
Woongki’s eyes dart to the side as Jeongwoo gently rubs his thumb over his hand. “You’re too nice for how I treated you,” the younger whispers.
“None of it was actually mean.”
“You still didn’t deserve that.”
“You’re apologizing now, aren’t you?” Jeongwoo cups Woongki’s cheek with a quiet giggle. “Besides. I was into it.” He smirks, attempting to lighten the mood. He doesn’t like seeing Woongki so genuinely upset with himself. It’s not like he was doing any actual harm. But the accountability is just another reason to love him.
The unspoken subtle intimacy is driving him wild, with the final line finally dissolved. The kiss crossed a boundary he’d never dared to even poke at, all in the palm of Woongki’s hands. And he’s reciprocating everything, too, right as he speaks his mind. So seamless— when they can be honest with themselves. It’s like earlier at the park, but with much more at stake.
A few beats go by as Jeongwoo waits for Woongki to say more. When he doesn’t, he pulls their bodies closer. Woongki doesn’t complain, melting into his chest.
“Will you kiss me again?” He whispers, staring at Woongki’s lips.
Without speaking, Woongki snakes his hands around Jeongwoo’s neck and gives him a proper kiss. And of course— it’s everything Jeongwoo has ever dreamed of. The pillowy softness, the sweetness, the way Woongki cutely sighs when Jeongwoo catches his bottom lip in between his teeth. It’s perfect, even though it didn’t quite start out that way.
When they finally pull away, Jeongwoo takes a second to catch his breath. Woongki presses lasting kisses to the entire expanse of his face, all tickly and saccharine.
“Seo Jeongwoo, I am extremely interested in romantically pursuing you,” he echoes Jeongwoo’s humiliating statement from earlier. “In case it wasn’t clear.”
Honestly speaking, Jeongwoo feels kind of bad for unintentionally throwing so many strays at his best friend. But Han has the perfect boyfriend now, so he’ll live.
“Don’t you think you’ve bullied me enough?” Jeongwoo jokes with a massive grin on his face, silently motioning for Woongki to kiss him again. Deep down, he wants Woongki to bully him forever.
Kpop Demon Hunters is simply unimportant for the time being. They can sing along to the Saja Boys later. Jeongwoo is far more interested in kissing Woongki silly.
They’re minutes into making out when the front door rumbles, causing Woongki to fly off of Jeongwoo’s lap. Within seconds, Steven is marching through the door with a bag of takeout hanging off his arm. He doesn’t look particularly surprised to see the two looking oddly suspicious on the couch, lips all red and swollen.
“Yeah,” he speaks. “That’s about what I expected.”
Jeongwoo watches in pure embarrassment as his best friend casually puts the takeout into the fridge and whistles to his room. “Be safe!” He calls before shutting his door.
Jeongwoo lets out a breath before locking eyes with Woongki, who immediately bursts into a fit of laughter. It’s terribly contagious, and Jeongwoo finds himself laughing along despite his humiliation. It only takes a second before Woongki is crawling back onto Jeongwoo’s lap, locking their legs together. He kisses up and down Jeongwoo’s neck with loud smacking noises that tickles Jeongwoo to no end.
“So…sleepover?” The older cautiously asks. “Only if you want.”
Woongki plops back down onto Jeongwoo’s lap. “Only if you let me wear your clothes.”
“I have an entire wardrobe you can steal from.”
Woongki makes a squeak of approval, scrambling off Jeongwoo’s lap. Even though his legs are once again tired, Jeongwoo hurriedly crawls off the couch and begins to bunch up all his blankets. He’s not quite sure how he managed to actually bag the boy of his dreams, but the last thing he’s going to do is fuck it up.
In comfortable silence, Woongki helps Jeongwoo tidy up the mess they made in the living room. Thankfully, Jeongwoo cleaned his own room before he went and picked Woongki up— just in case.
“It smells nice in here,” Woongki comments, folding some of the blankets and placing them on Jeongwoo’s bed.
“Thank you,” Jeongwoo says bashfully. He always burns incense to keep the smell nice and fresh.
Woongki throws a pillow onto the bed and pops over to press a kiss to Jeongwoo’s cheek. “I’m going to steal your clothes now.” Nodding, Jeongwoo gladly presents his wardrobe to the younger.
“There’s towels, too. If you want to take a shower.”
Woongki nods, grinning ear to ear as he looks through the insane amount of hoodies Jeongwoo has stockpiled in his dresser. He’s kind of the boyfriend staple— with about twenty hoodies Woongki can steal at a time.
His heart skips a beat when Woongki pulls out a particularly old soccer jersey with the numbers 01 on them. Oh god, another one of his fantasies is coming to life.
Woongki holds it up to his chest, noting just how much bigger it is on him than Jeongwoo. He deviously smiles. “Hot.”
“It’s old.” Jeongwoo responds, ignoring what Woongki just said.
“Can I wear this one?”
“You can wear anything you want.”
In glee, Woongki pulls the jersey to his chest and snags a pair of black shorts as well as a towel. All Jeongwoo can really do is stare with the dumbest smile spread across his face, all cute and happy.
“Thank you!” Woongki says, pressing the fabric to his nose. Jeongwoo goes bright red. “It smells like you.”
Without giving Jeongwoo proper time to respond to this insane statement, he skips into the bathroom to take a shower. It takes Jeongwoo a solid five minutes to account for the events that have just occurred, barely processing the literal makeout session on the couch.
Like he does in every crisis event, he pulls out his phone. Unfortunately, he realizes Steven has already beaten him to it.
⚽💪
Steven: woongki and jeongwoo were definitely making out on my couch
lol i should have betted on this
Chihen: oh!
Han: [ voice message attached ]
sorry that was yence squealing
Steven: ouch?? my ears???
Jeongwoo: HOW DID YOU KNOW WE WERE MAKING OUT
Steven: do you think im stupid seo jeongwoo
Chihen: hyung you are such a bad liar anyway lol
Jeongwoo: it was BAD timing
we JUST CONFESSED
Steven: 😱😱😱😱😱
park han look at that!
Han: kys
Chihen: congrats bro i told you it would go well
Steven: ugh now i have to deal with BOTH of you gross couples
and jeongwoo GET back to your man
or is that him in the shower
Jeongwoo: literally who else would it be
Steven: chihen sometimes appears dude idk
Han: yence says he’s with juwonie
Chihen: jay lawrence you conniving little rat
Han: HEY
TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW
RIGHT NOW!
nevermind yence is laughing
youre on THIN fucking ice chien chihen
Chihen: and im skating
Mildly annoyed, Jeongwoo tucks his phone away and silences his notifications. He doesn’t know why he goes to the group chat when they’re just going to exacerbate the chaos. Instead, he opts to tidy up his room and make sure that his bed is nice and comfy for a pretty boy to sleep in.
When Woongki finally exits the bathroom, it takes everything in Jeongwoo not to lose his mind. Standing before the bed is Woongki with wet hair and Jeongwoo’s oversized soccer jersey, hanging longer than the length of the shorts. His bare legs are out, something that Jeongwoo is trying very hard to ignore.
And now, he smells like Jeongwoo. If things couldn’t get any more intense.
The younger skips over, pressing a chaste kiss to Jeongwoo’s lips. “Go shower. You’ll have plenty of time to stare later.”
Pathetically, Jeongwoo chases Woongki’s lips before he’s promptly shoved into the direction of the bathroom. So he does what he does best and follows orders.
He makes an extra effort to smell especially good tonight, lathering on the body wash and grooming himself carefully. He even shaves the small bit of stache hair that’s barely noticeable, worrying that maybe it’s uncomfortable to kiss with. By the time he’s done drying his hair, Woongki is already buried under his blankets on his phone.
When he notices Jeongwoo is finally out of the shower, he opens his arms wide. Without skipping a beat, Jeongwoo crawls under the covers and selfishly engulfs Woongki into a tight hug. Seamlessly, they find themselves comfortably tangled together once more.
Woongki’s cheek is squished against Jeongwoo’s chest while Jeongwoo cards his fingers through Woongki’s hair. He leans down to press a kiss to the top of his head, too.
“We can take it slow,” Jeongwoo finally speaks, using his free hand to pull the younger closer. “I know we just sort of started this. But I’m happy to move at your pace.”
“Ah,” Woongki says with a giggle. “Boyfriend core.” He nuzzles his cheek further into Jeongwoo’s chest. “I’d like that.”
“I still want to prove myself to you.”
Woongki sighs, tracing shapes into Jeongwoo’s tummy. “I can’t think of one test you wouldn’t be able to pass with me. But I’m happy to keep testing you.”
“And with all due respect, don’t be like your best friend,” Jeongwoo cautiously says. “When you feel a certain way, please tell me. When you want something, please tell me. Please be direct. I have no means of misleading you, either. Okay?” He asks, lifting Woongki’s chin up.
Woongki silently nods, leaning forward to connect their lips together. “Okay.” They kiss again. This time, a little longer.
Jeongwoo finds it ridiculously easy to fall asleep with Woongki curled up against his side, safe and sound. His deep breaths are an elite form of ASMR and he’s distracted by the way Woongki fits in his jersey. His legs are warm and soft, a perfect place for Jeongwoo to rest his hands. And his heart beats perfectly in time with his own.
He’s done it.
He’s actually done it.
🤯
Jeongwoo, to his great delight, wasn’t imagining the events the night before.
In fact, if he woke up without Woongki tucked into his side, he’d probably scream and throw up the whole day. But thankfully, he doesn’t have to worry about that because the younger is sleeping soundly right up against his chest. With strewn blankets and oddly placed pillows and limbs poking out in every direction. He is positively warm and sounds like a small engine when he sleeps.
Jeongwoo peers over at the time. It’s only noon, with a handful of mixed texts from the usual suspects. The messages at the top of his screen only make him smile.
Steven: happy boyfriend day
since youre gay and have a boyfriend now
now you have literally no excuse to miss the gym
can you pick up some protein powder for me later too thanks okay bye gay ✌️
He’ll respond later. Right now, there is a sleeping man in his bed that needs to be kissed.
Slowly but surely, he gently presses a series of kisses to Woongki’s temple, hoping it’s enough to wake the boy up. He doesn't want to scare him awake, or irritate him first thing in the morning. Woongki softly whines in his sleep, adjusting so that he’s completely smushed up against Jeongwoo’s upper chest, mindlessly grabbing onto his body. What a gift— he’s even clingy in his sleep.
“Woongki-ah? Do you want to get up?” Jeongwoo says softly, pressing a particular long kiss to the younger’s temple. “I’ll make you breakfast.”
Begrudgingly, the younger stirs awake. The first thing he does when he opens his eyes is reach for Jeongwoo’s lips. He makes a noise when he kisses him, a mwaaaah of sorts.
For some reason, Jeongwoo had the fleeting fear that Woongki would wake up with no memory of their confession, instead reverting to their first month. Having something so desirable only makes him more afraid of it falling apart. But with the way Woongki is all over him, the fears slowly dissipate. New relationship jitters are normal, anyway.
Speaking of relationships— what are they?
“Mm. Why are you overthinking in the morning?” Woongki says, gently biting Jeongwoo’s collarbone. It tickles, offering a small distraction.
He must be Shuaibo’s twin because the both of them can clock his uneasiness at any given time.
“Seo Jeongwoo, let’s date,” Woongki suddenly says, kissing the older’s chest. “Does that make you feel better?”
Immediately, Jeongwoo relaxes as he stares at the ceiling. Fuck. That was too easy.
Giggling, Woongki lazily crawls onto Jeongwoo’s lap. “I knew that’s what you were stressed about. Your heart rate sped up.” He leans down and deeply kisses him, gripping onto his shoulders.
Relieved, Jeongwoo eagerly kisses back. When they pull away, he looks up with the dopiest smile on his lips.
“Do I have the boyfriend title? Or is that reserved for a few weeks from now?”
Woongki cocks his head and pouts, clearly in thought. He trails more kisses up and down Jeongwoo’s neck before finally answering the question, deliberately teasing him as one does. Jeongwoo feels as if his heart is going to burst out of his chest, desperate to know where they stand.
“You’re my boyfriend, because there really is no other way to describe you. But in order to maintain this title you have to be good to me. And you have to take me on more picnic dates. And make me more food.” Woongki decides, grinning ear to ear.
Jeongwoo’s hands find themselves at either side of Woongki’s waist. “I can do that and more.” He leans up, finally initiating a kiss for himself. “It won’t be hard.”
“Mm. Any requirements for me, then?” Woongki asks, swiping his thumbs over Jeongwoo’s heated skin.
Realistically, no. Woongki could beat the dogshit out of him and he’d still come crawling back. But he also knows that Woongki would never treat him like that.
“You’re perfect to me.”
Woongki rolls his eyes and pushes Jeongwoo back down onto the bed. The older gladly flops down. “I’m serious!”
Jeongwoo looks to the side and thinks for a moment. There’s not a whole lot he could say to honestly answer this question. He’s just going to look like a simp.
“Don’t be afraid to be a little mean to me at times?”
He cringes at his own words, almost regretful of saying them. But once again, it’s not like it’s any secret.
“Did you…like being shoved up against a wall?!” Woongki asks incredulously, pretending to be scandalized.
“Very much so,” Jeongwoo admits, an embarrassing smile on his lips. “Honestly speaking, nothing could’ve deterred me from liking you. Because the more you expressed disinterest, the more I wanted you.”
Woongki winces. “Ugh. You’re such a cliche.” He grins impossibly large. “But that’s kind of hot.”
“Like you.”
This earns him a weak slap to the shoulder as well as a kiss to the lips. Jeongwoo greedily takes both.
It’s difficult to get out of bed when all they can be is disgusting and cute (Jeongwoo is pretty horrified to know he’s essentially the same breed as his best friend— shocker). Every time he tries to get up, Woongki pounces back onto him and kickstarts another round of kissing. He’s kind of starving, but Woongki’s lips will just have to do until he lets them both get up.
After at least another hour of fucking around, the younger finally releases Jeongwoo’s shackles and sends him to the kitchen (according to Woongki— where he belongs. Jeongwoo isn’t arguing with this). While Jeongwoo prepares miso, Woongki opts to stare him down.
“You’re so pretty, hyung.”
Jeongwoo shakes his head, chopping up the tofu. “You’re prettier.”
Woongki frowns. “You’re the one with the cute eyes.”
“You really like my eyes, don’t you?”
Blushing, Woongki nods. “Put them in my miso.” He maniacally giggles for a few seconds before slapping a hand over his mouth.
Jeongwoo pauses. “What?”
“Oh my god we’re just like them,” he says in horror, referring to Han and JL.
Jeongwoo laughs. “No, we communicated efficiently.” He thinks for a second. “But other than that, yeah we kinda are.”
Woongki sighs, playing with his hands. “I guess it can’t be helped.”
“It’s much different when you yourself are in love,” Jeongwoo casually admits, stirring dashi into the broth.
“You’re right,” Woongki smiles, resting his face on his knuckles.
If there was one thing Jeongwoo might’ve been wrong about, it’s thinking Woongki didn’t like him as much as Jeongwoo liked him. He asked to date first— and he also didn’t point out that Jeongwoo indirectly said he was in love. They must be on the same exact page.
Like always, Woongki is absolutely elated to be eating anything Jeongwoo makes him. Happily slurping and sitting so close to Jeongwoo that their elbows keep bumping into each other. Jeongwoo is still loosely distracted by what Woongki is wearing, hanging loosely off his shoulder.
“You should take one of my hoodies,” Jeongwoo says, sipping on his miso. He lightly adjusts the jersey so that it’s covering Woongki’s clavicles.
“But when it doesn’t smell like you anymore I’m taking another one,” Woongki pouts, chewing on some tofu. “You always smell really nice.”
Blushing, Jeongwoo giggles. “You can have as many as you want. I’ll personally recharge them for you every week. You’ll never have to go one day without smelling just like me.”
Ugh. So painfully boyfriend. He’s grossing himself out and regretting some of his choice words towards Park Han.
Gleefully, Woongki finishes his soup. His warm lips find their way to Jeongwoo’s cheek, making an audible smacking noise.
Jeongwoo isn’t even shocked when Steven comes out into the living room this time, looking completely uninterested with the couple. He waves before lazily pulling out a box of cereal.
“Slept well?” Steven asks, rubbing his eyes.
Woongki enthusiastically nods. “Jeongwoo hyung is so comfy.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Steven shrugs, pouring milk into his bowl. He takes a second before putting his airpods in. “Congrats you two. I’m glad at least one couple made it to the finish line without a thousand detours.” He gently smiles, patting Jeongwoo’s back before disappearing into his room.
Jeongwoo is proud of himself in this regard. He would’ve looked like the biggest idiot on the planet had he refused to follow his own advice. Thankfully, Woongki’s directness made it a lot easier to navigate. There’s something ironic about getting together quicker with the guy that hated him versus the couple that had been in love for months. But he digresses.
The rest of the day is ultimately lazy, with Woongki and Jeongwoo opting to just rot in bed together, exchanging embarrassingly cringe moments. Jeongwoo likes to ask him about all the moments Woongki noticed him before their infamous meeting and Woongki likes to ask Jeongwoo about which moments made him fall in love.
They have a lot of time to talk about these things, but it’s nice to start somewhere. Jeongwoo doesn’t have much anxiety knowing that they’ve already established a healthy form of communication. He doesn’t feel like anything he can say will throw things off, either, judging by the stars in Woongki’s eyes when they lay together.
He does have some empathy for Han, though.
It is particularly hard to be proactive when you’re the subject of romantic exploits. Clearing things up to a hot-headed Woongki was a lot scarier done than said. At least JL didn’t start off hating Han like Woongki hated Jeongwoo.
But as Woongki kisses him stupid in his own room, Jeongwoo knows that one thing is for certain.
Being hated was totally worth it.
🤯
To absolutely nobody’s surprise, Seo Jeongwoo is a terrific boyfriend.
He’s by the book like Han is, except a lot cringier and extremely calculated. He runs a tight schedule switching out Woongki’s boyfriend-hoodies every week and makes sure he brings him little snacks during his particularly grueling dance practices. He shows up to Woongki’s performances with ridiculously glittery signs and forces his friends to tag along with. He even packs little bento boxes with those juvenile little rice molds of Sanrio characters.
Woongki is also a good boyfriend, which just sends Jeongwoo over the moon.
He shows up to Jeongwoo’s soccer games wearing that damned jersey that Jeongwoo wants to frame on his wall (it’s also his lockscreen and homescreen), loudly cheering Jeongwoo’s name. He doesn’t shy away from the cringe, instead parading it alongside JL. And Jeongwoo was right, it makes him play about ten times better. And he gets victory kisses, too, in front of his entire team. They don’t care, it makes him play better.
Aside from his phenomenal gift-giving, Jeongwoo is exceptional at saying the right things when Woongki asks trick questions when he’s bored to tears in class.
prettiest boy: hyung what’s your type
Jeongwoo: hm?
baby focus on your work
and what are you talking about? we’re dating
prettiest boy: answer
i’m tryna see something
Jeongwoo: you wound me 😪
but whatever you say
my type? really pretty. good fashion. has his heart in the right place. braver than the marines. not afraid to speak his mind, or be active about the things that matter. sometimes kind of mean, but only because he’d go to great lengths to protect the ones he loves. very flirtatious. smells like sugar and flowers
🤔🤔🤔
flusters me easily, tells me what to do. drags me around and makes me laugh. even yells at me when he’s drunk (it’s kind of cute he should do it again). the most beautiful boy ive ever seen or spoken to, someone i'm going to spend all my days spoiling and loving down to his bones, dispelling any kind of negative stereotype he once had about me.
i would write a list, but i’d rather spend the time it would take to write it by his side
by your side
prettiest boy: what the fuck seo jeongwoo
can we please make out
right now
Jeongwoo: woongki FOCUS 😭😭
prettiest boy: that was so sweet wtf why are you perfect
i require your presence carnally
what is your problem
oh my god
Jeongwoo: you asked!
prettiest boy: i didn’t know you were going to go full shakespeare on me!
i was just bored!
and i guess i never asked you about what you liked about me before
Jeongwoo: everything
prettiest boy: >: (
okay. im going back to class before i lose my mind
ill meet you after your practice so we can kiss
and don’t forget about bowling later, hani wants a rematch
Jeongwoo: okay baby
love you
prettiest boy: love you more MUAH
It’s no surprise that the weekly friend hangouts do become a thing, too, considering the two official couples now linking the two groups together. Sometimes it feels like Shuaibo and Steven are the ominously looming guardian figures quietly watching over the group. Jeongwoo still really isn’t sure what’s going on between them, but he at least knows that Chihen is on date number three with Juwon. He was able to finally wrestle that information out of him with Han as backup.
On one particular night, Jeongwoo loses at bowling so badly he gets tag-teamed bullied by everyone including his own boyfriend. It also doesn’t help that it’s the first time Jeongwoo personally speaks to Woongki’s other ride-or-die’s— Seongmin, Dongpyo, and Hyeongjun.
He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t fucking terrified when the three pulled up staring him down, clearly suspicious of his intentions. He only felt himself relaxing when he did something so irrevocably boyfriend that Dongpyo slowly nodded his head in approval. Hyeongjun’s boyfriend and Jeongwoo’s fellow teammate, Serim, could only offer him a sympathetic text before the hangout. It seems they both had to pass a test of sorts.
“Don’t mind them, they’re all bark no bite,” Shuaibo says as they watch Steven bowl a perfect strike. “Besides, I think Seongmin and his boyfriend Minhee started out similar to you two.”
Jeongwoo spares a glance to the three boys sitting on the benches, completely distracted with Steven’s arms. Thankfully, their attention has been pulled away from Jeongwoo for the night.
“You understand. They only mean the best,” Shuaibo smiles.
During most of their outings, Jeongwoo finds it the most comfortable to hang with Shuaibo while his boyfriend violently bowls with his friends, more entertained by watching than joining. Besides, he still pulls helpful tidbits from the younger.
“I think I can handle anything at this point,” Jeongwoo says, sipping his soda. “They don’t look like they want to kill me right now, at least.”
Shuaibo’s eyes are trained on Steven’s exposed biceps. “Mm. They’re a little distracted.” Jeongwoo doesn’t miss the way Shuaibo dreamily stares. It didn’t once occur to him that perhaps his advice guy would also be crushing.
“Are you and Steven—”
“Hyunngggggg!” Woongki speaks up before Jeongwoo can really crack down on Shuaibo’s ass. “It’s your turn!”
Jeongwoo squints at Shuaibo, who in turn puts his hands up in defense with a smirk on his lips. He’s going to figure out what the hell is going on between him and Steven at some point or another.
But right now, his boyfriend is dragging him to the alley, forcing him to play his turn. Like the last few throws, his sad ball goes straight into the gutter. Woongki’s protective brigade burst into a fit of laughter and point at him. Well, he’d rather this than be scrutinized for being a bad boyfriend.
Woongki pouts, getting on his tippy toes to press a kiss to Jeongwoo’s lips.
“It’s okay, you’ll do better next round!”
“No!” JL shouts, pushing his boyfriend in front of Jeongwoo. “Hani is going to win this!”
Awkwardly, Jeongwoo and his best friend watch as their boyfriends argue over who is better at bowling. The answer is neither, both of them suck. But they also have extremely competitive and kind of scary partners that would rather die than lose.
With a sympathetic smile, Han pats Jeongwoo’s back.
“I’m just glad I’m not the only one now,” he whispers into Jeongwoo’s ear as JL makes a particularly offended face at Woongki.
“Tell me about it,” Jeongwoo responds, debating whether or not he should pull Woongki away from JL so they can actually finish this game.
While the two best friends argue, Jeongwoo notices that Chihen and Juwon are sneaking away towards the back of the building, heading to god knows where. He notes that those two are especially good at being elusive. Jeongwoo might as well start hunting them for sport.
Ironically, it’s a Tuesday again. They should not be out on a Tuesday.
Han finally gets the two to stop bickering and bowls his own turn, probably worse than Jeongwoo. JL’s competitive spirit immediately dies as his boyfriend’s ball goes into the gutter, making Woongki pop up in joy. The bickering starts again, causing Han to slowly back away.
Behind them, Steven and Shuaibo sit thigh to thigh while Woongki’s bodyguards look at them suspiciously. Chihen and Juwon have long disappeared, and Jeongwoo is just glad that everybody showed up tonight.
Once Woongki finally finishes going after his best friend, he turns his attention to an observant Jeongwoo. He bounds over, jumping into his arms.
“Sorry. You’ll win for me, won’t you?”
Nodding, Jeongwoo presses a kiss to his forehead. He can hear JL make a noise of disgust before kissing his own boyfriend. He’s even competitive in the boyfriend department.
“I’ll try,” another kiss. “But if I don’t, I’ll make it up to you later.”
“Dinner and movie?” Woongki asks, hope twinkling in his cute little eyes.
“Mm,” Jeongwoo confirms, wrapping long arms around Woongki’s torso before dragging them both back to their seat, completely disregarding the game. Ignoring Dongpyo’s death glare, Jeongwoo kisses Woongki in front of the entire bowling alley.
“I love you,” he whispers, making sure that the bodyguard brigade can hear it nice and clear. He presses a kiss to Woongki’s ear, making the younger giggle and squirm.
“I love you, too,” is Woongki’s only response.
Jeongwoo can only hope Woongki Kabedons him again.