Chapter Text
A whole day, thirteen hours, and seven minutes.
That’s how long it’s been since Joochan had asked him out after throwing nearly-dead flowers at his feet, blushing furiously. Jangjun tells Sungyoon he’s broken for thinking the display was cute.
The flowers are doing well; he’d put them in a vase of water and sure enough, the flower heads had raised, the color seeping back into the petals. He’d stared at them for a little too long, smiling stupidly.
“Not even the first date and he’s already this bad," Seungmin had mumbled when he’d passed by Sungyoon making heart eyes at the flowers.
And yet.
A whole day, thirteen hours, and eight minutes.
And still no call or hint from Joochan about where and when their date would be. Sungyoon groans and drops his head onto the table.
“He’s probably just busy,” Bomin tells him during lunch as he snaps his chopsticks apart. “I noticed he’s been spending a bunch of time at the library.” He pauses to slurp his noodles, making an appreciative noise. “I don’t know why though—we don’t have any quizzes coming up…”
“I know.” At least Joochan hadn’t been avoiding him. No, they’d been getting along surprisingly… unsurprisingly well during practice. Now, if Joochan can just alleviate some of his stress by setting a date…
He turns his head towards Jaehyun, who’s squinting at his phone with great concentration. “Hey, Jaehyun. Do you know when my date with Joochan is?”
Jaehyun points at himself, incredulous. “Me? How would I-” Sungyoon sighs, turning his head down again. Jaehyun might hang around Joochan a lot, but it didn’t change the fact the other is oblivious. He probably should have asked Donghyun or even Jibeom instead.
A pained yelp escapes him as a hand smacks his back, forcing him to straighten, followed by a loud voice. Jangjun. “Cheer up! He’ll call today, mark my words.”
Sungyoon sighs. Jangjun is the last person he’ll believe. “I’m sure,” he mumbles, no conviction behind his words.
Maybe he should give Jangjun more credit because Joochan calls him that very night.
He’s finishing up his homework late at night, scratching out and bubbling in answers in a mind-numbing pattern. Just as he’s about to give up and make himself suffer later by leaving it for the weekend, his phone rings. Sungyoon glances at it, surprised.
That’s strange. He hardly receives calls at this time of the night, and his friends prefer to text rather than call. His confusion only increases as he reads the caller ID.
Unknown number.
Gingerly, he drags the button to answer, raising it to his ear. “Hello?”
There are sounds of scuffling from the other side and hushed whispers. He catches a stray “just do it," followed by a number of hissed profanities. Sungyoon frowns. “...Is anyone there?”
A throat is cleared and then: “hey.” Sungyoon jolts upright.
Joochan!
Suddenly, he’s quite awake. “Joochan? How did you get my-”
“Tomorrow. Three. At the park. Don’t be late.” Before Sungyoon can get a word in, there’s a high-pitched beep and the line goes dead.
“...number,” he finishes.
Had the other seriously dropped this on him and—he pulls the phone away from his ear to check and sure enough, the screen reads call ended.
A chuckle escapes him before another, and then it escalates into full-blown chortles. What had he expected from Joochan?
Still grinning, he looks down at where the ended call is still on the screen. Well, at least he’s already getting something out of this: Joochan’s number.
Saving the number as a new contact, he types it out: Joochan. And then hesitates, glancing around as if someone is watching, before adding two more symbols.
Joochan <3.
Somehow, it looks right.
His phone pings with a notification, a message popping up on the top of his screen; it’s Donghyun, which has him arching a brow. The other hardly texts anyone, let alone Sungyoon. What can he possibly send at this time-
A video?
The image frozen on the file gives nothing anyway, just a blur of white and brown. Intrigued, he taps on it, and-
It’s a video of Joochan. Specifically, it’s a video of Joochan that had been clearly taken without the other’s knowledge, if how the fringe of Donghyun’s bangs and a single, crescent-shaped eye can be spied in the corner of the video is any indicator. Joochan himself is pacing the room, twisting his fingers as he mutters loudly.
“What if he didn’t get what I was talking about or what if he changes his mind and decides he doesn’t want to give me a chance after all and oh, God, I knew it, he hates me for not talking to him yesterday, why did I do that, it was such a bad idea, why-” He pulls up short, pausing in his pacing as his eyes snap to Donghyun. “Are you recording me?”
Donghyun’s phone lowers so it shows more of him now and less of Joochan, as if he’s trying to subtly escape notice. “No.”
“You motherfucker-” There’s a flurry of movement that has Sungyoon’s eyes hurting and the phone must have gotten knocked out of Donghyun’s hands because it lands face-down, shooting the ceiling. “Don’t you dare send that to-” There are yelps and more scuffling before a finger appears, the video cutting off.
Sungyoon would have been more concerned for Donghyun’s safety if not for the fact that the video had safely made it to Sungyoon, which means that Donghyun had survived. He reads the caption he had previously missed: this is what I have to deal with now because of you.
The corners of Sungyoon’s lips quirk up and he saves the video.
He lets the phone drop into his lap, leaning back in his seat as he stares at the ceiling, open-mouthed.
He has a date… with Joochan… tomorrow…
The giddy feeling he had when Joochan had asked him out has returned, a smile big enough that his cheeks hurt spread across his face and his skin tingly. Who had known he’d be reduced to this state, giggly because of the prospect of a date with Hong Joochan.
It occurs to him that he has no idea where they’re even going for a date. Joochan seems to be the type to show geared up in a full athletic assemble and drag him to the arcade for laser tag (which does not sound bad at all), but he seems also just as likely to lead Sungyoon to a coffee shop to sit and sip at coffee while discussing poetry and art.
The image of Joochan drowning in a sweater, hair fluffy and sporting a pair of round, wired glasses, fingers wrapped around a cup pops into Sungyoon’s head and he can already feel his cheeks getting hot. T-too cute.
Speaking of which-
“Oh, God,” Sungyoon says aloud, jerking upright. He glances at his closet, horrified. “What am I going to wear?"
In the end, Sungyoon’s sister comes to his rescue, listening to him as he stumbles over his lousy explanation of how his so-called enemy had turned into his not-so-much enemy, and now they were going on a date.
“Going on a date where?” She asks, and Sungyoon winces before answering that he doesn’t know and is expected to show up at the park tomorrow. To his relief, she only hums before beginning to rifle through his closet.
“Better play it safe then,” she says, pulling out an array of items before throwing them at his face. Sungyoon flinches back as a pair of earrings hit him squarely on the nose.
“Look where you’re throwing, idiot.” She ignores him in favor of running a calculating look over Sungyoon and then nodding.
“Wear those,” she instructs, pointing to the clothing in his hands. Sungyoon holds them up to get a good look at them. A simple white shirt along with a pair of jeans.
“Isn’t this too simple-” She hushes him, piling accessories into his hands. Chains, earrings, rings, a necklace. She really is laying it on thick with the accessories.
“The focal point of this outfit isn’t the base,” she insists. “It’s the jewelry, the accessories. You want her to look at you and be-”
“Him,” Sungyoon corrects quietly, and his sister continues without a hitch.
“You want him to look at you and be dazzled by your earrings, and think ‘wow, those earrings really bring out his eyes.’ Or, ‘those chains make his ass look good.’” Sungyoon’s spluttered protests are drowned out by her voice. “And now, it’s not simple anymore.”
She nods appreciatively when Sungyoon emerges from the closet, feeling dumb as he waddles over to her. “Perfect. And take this.” This time, Sungyoon’s instincts kick in and he’s able to grab the object she throws at him. A tube of pink gloss. “Use your makeup, I know you know how to use them. Don’t put too much on or else your date will have lip marks all over his face.” She grins before Sungyoon can curse her out, slipping out of his room.
Sungyoon slightly regrets enlisting in her help, but only slightly, because he’s not sure what he would have done without her.
And so here he is now in the park, checking his reflection on his phone camera for the nth time. His sister had been right about one thing; the accessories really had done wonders, and it looks like Sungyoon had put some effort into his outfit.
Sighing, he clicks his phone shut, sliding it into his pocket. Hopefully, Joochan will like it.
Speaking of Joochan…
He’s late.
To be fair, Sungyoon had arrived fifteen minutes earlier and it’s only three minutes past the time Joochan had told him. The other is probably just a minute away.
Still, Sungyoon can’t help but shift uneasily, unwelcome thoughts of whether this might be a giant prank being pulled on him by the other creeping in.
Don’t be stupid, he admonishes himself.
He tries to distract himself by observing the sky, where white puffs, like smoke, are billowed across the expanse of blue. The sky is even prettier than usual today, with the white and consistent blue. A picture of it would make a nice addition to his ever-growing album of the sky.
His fingers have hardly wrapped around his phone to snap a picture when there’s a voice calling out his name, pulling him out of his daze.
“Sungyoon!”
Sungyoon wheels around to the owner of the voice and-
Oh.
OH.
It’s Joochan rushing his way, flushed cheeks and heavy breathing giving away the fact that he had most likely sprinted the entire way here. He slows to a stop by Sungyoon, doubling over as he gasps for breath, hands gripping his knees before he straightens and-
Joochan looks stunning.
If Sungyoon looks as if he had put minimal effort into his outfit, Joochan is a stark contrast.
Striped shirt tucked into black slacks that unfairly accentuate the curves and dips of Joochan’s lower half, complete with chains slung over his hip. Silver cross earrings dangle from his ears, catching the light with every slight movement of his head. Lips cherry-red with gloss, but what really is the cherry on top is-
C-choker.
Joochan’s wearing a choker.
Sungyoon feels… Well, he doesn’t know how he feels. All he knows is that the strips of black, wrapped around the milky column of Joochan’s neck, leaves him feeling all sorts of clashing emotions, and none of them good.
“I’m not late,” Joochan says as ways of greeting and Sungyoon reluctantly drags his eyes away from Joochan’s choker and back to his face. Joochan is staring at him with a look that challenges Sungyoon to say otherwise.
Sungyoon glances at his phone; it’s 3:10, which means that the other is indeed late, but he’s not going to say anything.
“I just got here a minute ago,” he says instead, and the relief swimming into Joochan’s face nearly draws a chuckle out of him. “You’re fine.”
“Of course, I’m fine,” Joochan harrumphs. “You-” He finally looks at Sungyoon, properly, and immediately stops short. Sungyoon shifts his weight, self-conscious and incredibly aware of how minimal his appearance seems to the naked eye as Joochan continues to ogle.
Joochan continues to stare and the doubts continue to creep in. He knew he shouldn’t have trusted his sister on this; Joochan had come all dolled up, clearly putting thought and effort into his outfit, meanwhile, Sungyoon looks as if he’d rolled out of bed and thrown on the first thing in the closet.
Oh, God, Joochan is going to be severely unimpressed and regret asking Sungyoon out.
Joochan makes a small, choked noise. Sungyoon’s heart drops to his stomach. This is it, this is how far he’ll get in this date before Joochan decides ditching him is a better idea and then he’ll go home and hide in his bed and never come out of his room again-
“You—You look nice,” Joochan mumbles, and Sungyoon’s wild thoughts screech to a stop. Joochan pulls at the collar of his shirt as he speaks, seemingly embarrassed by his admission even if he tries to hide it. “Your face is pretty—I mean, your necklace is pretty.”
Sungyoon blinks. Had he heard that right? “Oh. You look pretty too.” It’s a compliment thrown out without much thought, but it might not have been the best thing to say because Joochan squeaks and ducks his head. He mutters something that Sungyoon doesn’t catch. “What’s that?”
Joochan peeks back up at him. “The… The choker isn’t too much?”
The choker? Too much? As in, what Sungyoon had been shamelessly salivating over the moment Joochan had stepped into his field of vision?
“N-no,” he blurts out after a few seconds too long, desperately trying to figure out a better way to phrase “no, I like it very much. Too much in fact. It makes me feel lots of strong emotions. One of them the urge to bite your neck” in a way that won’t have the other running the other way screaming. He finally settles for a simple, “it… suits you.”
If relief had swum into Joochan’s face before, it floods it now as he finally looks Sungyoon in the eye. “Th… thanks. My sister made me wear it and I was convinced it was too much, so…” He trails off while Sungyoon digests his words.
They truly are more similar than he had originally thought.
He gestures to himself, his clothes. “ My sister picked these out for me too, and I thought she was being too simple. Guess we both underestimated them.” Joochan blinks in surprise.
“Really?” At Sungyoon’s nod, he gestures to Sungyoon. “I didn’t expect that, because you always look cool out of school-” He stops in his tracks as if realizing what he’s saying. “I mean-”
Sungyoon arches a brow, intrigued. He thinks he has an idea where this is going. “No, please continue.” Joochan quickly looks away.
“I forgot what I was saying!” Before Sungyoon can press him about it, he’s checking his phone, gasping. “We’ve been standing here for too long! Let’s go before we waste any more time.” With that, he strolls away, Sungyoon chasing after him.
“You know, you didn’t mention where you’re taking me to,” he points out casually, falling into step next to Joochan. Joochan’s head whips in his direction.
“I didn’t?”
“Nope. Only told me to be at the park at three and hung up before I could ask anything.” Joochan’s eyes widen as he speaks, reviewing the minimal conversations they had shared over the course of the last few days, and Sungyoon can see the moment he hits him that he hadn’t.
“That!” His voice grows quieter. “That was an… accident. I was short on time.”
A smile curves Sungyoon’s lips. “Short on time?”
“Obviously.”
“And not ‘cause you were nervous enough that you forgot to mention it?” Joochan glares at him, the type where there’s no heat behind it, the frown only used to mask his flustered state.
“No! Why would I be nervous about talking to you?” Joochan scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re not that important-” He squeaks to a stop as Sungyoon casually drapes an arm around his shoulders, drawing him closer. “W-what’re you-”
“Hm, I don’t know,” Sungyoon says, the teasing edge to his words purposeful. It’s a surprise, really, that he hadn’t realized far earlier that Joochan’s angry front had been mostly Joochan hiding how he can’t keep his cool around Sungyoon. “Maybe it’s because you…” He lets the words hang midair. “...like me?”
The sound Joochan emits is one he wants to bottle up and listen to forever, especially as Joochan rips himself out of Sungyoon’s grip, hands clenched. “Of course not!”
“Then explain why I’m on a date with you right now?”
“Because!” Joochan hesitates, realizing he’s been pushed into a corner with no way out. He turns his nose up. “I feel bad for you.” Sungyoon hums, eyes alight with amusement.
“I’m sure that’s what it is. You don’t like me, at all.” When Joochan nods, he lets out an exaggerated sigh. “That’s too bad, because I like you.”
The confession is easy and honest, slipping from his tongue naturally as if he’s noting the weather.
The hitch in Joochan’s breath and the way he stumbles over his own feet is worth it. Sungyoon doesn’t bother looking back to check the expression on the other’s face instead continuing as if he hadn’t just admitted to being interested in Joochan. “You still haven’t told me what we’re doing.”
Joochan hurries to catch up to him, and Sungyoon can see how his ears are bright red. “I thought—I thought getting something to eat first would be good, and you like coffee, right? So I thought the café-”
Ah, so a coffee shop date after all. Sungyoon hadn’t been so far off in his guess-
“And I know that you take vocal lessons and like to sing and I like to sing too, so I thought we could go and do some karaoke?” Sungyoon slows down just the slightest as Joochan continues to ramble, something catching his eye.
On Joochan’s right palm, the one gesturing in the air as he talks rapidly, is inked in black. And not just mindless splotches of black, but scribbled words and sentences, lists.
It’s hard to read with how it’s smudged here and there and smooshed together to save space, but Sungyoon can make out the title.
Things to do and not do on date with Sungyoon.
And just like that, Sungyoon thinks he knows who his first (and hopefully, forever) love will be.
Joochan’s still talking, every word that comes out of his mouth faster than the last. “-and then we can, um, walk through the park afterward, because it’s really nice at night during this season, but you can just leave after karaoke if you want, and—actually, you don’t have to go karaoke if you don’t want to, we can just go to the café, that’s fine to-” He stops as Sungyoon lays a hand on his shoulder, glancing back questioningly.
“Thanks, Joochan,” Sungyoon says, and Joochan stares at him, face turning pink, then white, then red.
And he means it, his thanks. Because it’s clear to anyone with eyes the effort and thought Joochan has put into this, from how he had fretted over his outfit, to doing his best to think over what Sungyoon enjoys and align his interests with their date activities. The scribbles on his hands, scrawled reminders and notes, just goes to show how determined Joochan is to ensure everything goes smoothly.
Sungyoon’s heart squeezes as he remembers Bomin off-handedly mentioning Joochan had been spending much of his time at the library.
Joochan’s eyes are round and confused as he stares at Sungyoon, clearly confused as to where the sudden gratitude had come from. “What for?” for like
Sungyoon only smiles, offering no answer as he sweeps past Joochan. “I love walking at night,” he hums in response, shooting Joochan a side-long grin. “What’s your go-to drink?”
Sungyoon learns lots of things by the time he and Joochan have made their way into the coffee shop, pushing the doors open with a tinkle.
Joochan likes taking pictures. Joochan plays the violin, the guitar, and the piano, and wants to learn the drums. Joochan prefers dogs over cats (this results in a heated discussion that goes on for minutes, ultimately ending up with Joochan grudgingly allowing Sungyoon to claim that cats are better, even if he mutters afterward that they’re not). Joochan’s entire body laughs with him, folding in on itself. Joochan has a habit of cocking his head and tapping his chin when he’s mulling over something.
Joochan shares more in common with him than he would have ever thought and Sungyoon’s falling too fast.
The coffee shop is one that Sungyoon’s familiar with; he’s visited it before during exam season, earphones in, and countless coffee cups scattered around him. Its brick walls and wooden chairs are similarly a familiar sight; what isn’t familiar is the bright head of red bobbing here and there.
The barista turns and Sungyoon gapes.“Youngtaek?”
At the sound of his name, Youngtaek snaps into focus, his already-large eyes widening even more as they land on them. “Joochan! And… Sungyoon? What’re you two doing here?” Sungyoon frowns.
“What’re you doing here?” He asks instead of answering, registering Youngtaek’s name tag and apron just as Joochan answers.
“Taek started working here this month, didn’t you know?” No, Sungyoon hadn’t known, and the revelation makes him somewhat worried. “There’s a reason I come here so often,” Joochan says slyly. “It’s because it’s easier to bribe him into giving me free food.”
As Joochan talks, Youngtaek’s gaze darts between them, trying to figure them out. “Are you guys here together?” He asks finally, and when they nod, his eyes widen even further. “Woah, no way. You two? What’re you-” His eyes linger on how close they’re standing, shoulders pressed together, on the earrings dangling from their ears and the touches of makeup. Something like realization flickers over his face. “Oh, you guys are here for your d-”
Someone hisses loudly and Youngtaek stops, a guilty smile making its way over his face. “Anyway, take a seat! I’m the only one working today since it's a slow day, so I’ll take your order soon!” With that, he moves away, leaving Sungyoon frowning. Had he imagined that?
Joochan points at the fluffy chairs at the end of the shop. “Yes! The best place to sit isn’t taken for once! Come on!” He eagerly bounces away, Sungyoons’s feet following him.
As they take a seat, Sungyoon glances around. His brow wrinkles. Youngtaek had said it had been a slow day but there’s at least, other than him and Joochan, six other customers in the store. Surely, this number can’t be considered to be “slow?”
Huh.
He pushes the thoughts away by instead focusing on the menu, showcasing a number of foods and desserts. His mouth waters just by reading the descriptions, and it hits him how hungry he is. He glances up at Joochan, who’s rocking back and forth slightly, like a tightly-coiled spring. “What’s your favorite?” He asks, and Joochan’s eyes light up like he’s been waiting on Sungyoon to ask.
He watches with awe as Joochan’s prattles off about the menu, and it’s cute—so cute, how Joochan’s is so enthusiastic as he jabs his fingers at various items on the menu, launching into a full description of each item, from the contents to the pros and cons of each.
“-the bubble waffles are good, but they always skimp on the ice cream. But Youngtaek’s here today so maybe I can tell him to give me some extra…” As he chatters, his expression changes with every thought said aloud, from one of delight, with a slight smile, to consideration, lips thinned and humming low in his throat before he’s stricken with an idea, face brightening. Sungyoon soaks it all in, every detail of Joochan’s face and voice. Dazedly, he thinks how soothing it is to listen to the other talk when he isn’t lashing out at Sungyoon or one of the others.
Fuck, Joochan’s just talking about getting Youngtaek potentially fired from his job for doing favors for Joochan, but Sungyoon doesn’t think he’s ever been more enamored.
“Whipped," someone coughs and Sungyoon’s head lurches up from where he had been resting it on his hand.
What the fuck-
Joochan doesn’t seem to have heard it, because he’s still talking, now analyzing the benefits of ordering a mousse. “Everything about the teddy bear mousse is good—it’s rich, sweet but not too sweet, and also so cute-”
Sungyoon’s eyes sweep the room, searching. He knows for a fact he hadn’t imagined the voice this time. But no one seems to be the suspect, because the people in the shop are all people he’s never seen before.
In fact, they all seem to be quite… peculiar people, all mostly dressed in dark and long clothing, save for one who’s dressed in buttercup yellow. A few of them have sunglasses perched on their noses. Sunglasses indoors?
He eyes one man who sports a wide hat in addition to a mask, covering his face. Either he’s bent on keeping his identity hidden, or refuses to expose even a sliver of himself to the sun. Either way, it’s truly a workout for him to enjoy his drink, as he slips down his mask to take a sip of his coffee and Sungyoon catches sight of-
No way.
His blood chills and he quickly reverts his attention to Joochan, hoping against hope the other hadn’t had the realization Sungyoon has just had.
The six other customers in the shop aren’t just innocent passersby craving a cup of coffee or a bite of a cake, no.
No, the customers are their dumbass friends minus Bomin, creeping in on their date and hidden under poorly-thrown together disguises.
...he can’t trust anyone on this team.
The coughing when Youngtaek had been able to point out that they were on a date must have been one of them, then, as had the mutter whipped. Sungyoon’s willing to bet they had been Jibeom and Jangjun respectively.
And now that he’s aware of who exactly the customers seated in the coffee shop are, if he just looks and listens a little more closely-
“It’s so hot, I can’t breathe-”
“Shut up, Jaehyun. Do you want us to be found?” Donghyun sounds exasperated as usual, and Sungyoon hadn’t taken him to be the one invested in their relationship. Then again, Donghyun had been the one responsible for the video last night. Seungmin seems the most disinterested, scrolling on his phone as Jaehyun grumbles and Donghyun yaps back.
Jaehyun whines, sounding very much like he’s on the verge of falling apart. “I didn’t even want to do this-”
Sungyoon loses track of Jaehyun’s voice as his attention shifts to the pair a little further away, exchanging no words but somehow still so loud: Jangjun and Jibeom.
The two sit opposite each other with books held out, reading intently. In Jibeom’s case, he’s holding a newspaper that’s clearly outdated. As expected, Jangjun is the one dressed in bright yellow, and quite confident in it as well.
There’s no way they can get even more obvious, Sungyoon thinks, but he’s proven wrong as he looks closer to find Jibeom’s newspaper is held upside-down. It takes everything in him to not lose it.
Daeyeol is the only one out of them who looks somewhat put together, dressed decently in a trench, back to them as he makes a show of sipping coffee and staring out the window. Sungyoon can almost believe he’s here to just enjoy a warm drink, except Daeyeol isn’t subtle about sneaking looks at Sungyoon and Joochan.
Even Daeyeol….
So their youngest had been astute enough to not join in on whatever this is, but their eldest isn’t? Sungyoon thinks he needs to have a little talk with Daeyeol. At least he can trust Bomin-
“Oh, you guys are here too?”
He takes it back.
Bomin has the audacity to look surprised as he strolls in. If it hadn’t been for the fact that Sungyoon knows that Bomin has plans to go into acting, he would have bought it. Sungyoon looks back at Joochan. There’s no way Joochan doesn’t see past the—never mind. He’s been completely fooled.
“Bomin? There’s four of us here now!” Joochan exclaims, and Sungyoon resists pointing out that, no, there are ten of them here.
“Oh, me?” Bomin says, still putting on the airs of someone who had strolled in casually with no idea that they would be here. “Donghyun wanted coffee.”
A table away, someone curses. “I told him not to use that excuse!”
Sungyoon holds back from burying his face into his hands.
The charming smile that Bomin has reserved specifically for getting out of sticky situations, especially as he meets Sungyoon’s eyes and realizes that the older is quite aware of everyone’s presence, is back on his face and he moves away from them. “Don’t let me intrude on your date! Ignore me.”
Ignore them, when they are all hidden under terrible disguises, not even bothering to be subtle about their ogling, and listening intently to every word that comes out of Sungyoon and Joochan’s mouths?
Whatever they’re doing here, Sungyoon refuses to let it ruin his date with Joochan. Fine then, he’ll ignore it.
Shifting his focus away from the others back to Joochan, the corners of his lips tug up as Joochan seems to gain his bearings. “Oh,” he says, “I was talking too much, I think-”
Sungyoon immediately shakes his head. “Not at all,” he urges, because listening to Joochan speak is his new favorite hobby. “Don’t stop talking.”
The way Joochan perks up at his assurances, a breath of relief passing his lips before a smile replaces the frown that had been curving his lips, is frankly adorable.
The notion that Joochan is cute only increases as Youngtaek comes over to them to take their orders and Joochan blathers out a whole list of items that only seems to increase each time he checks the menu again, and Sungyoon can’t find it in himself to be concerned, not with how excited and delighted and pretty Joochan is.
“No coffee?” He asks when Joochan opts for an iced honey and grapefruit black tea instead of something containing coffee like Sungyoon’s own iced Americano, and Joochan pulls a face of distaste.
“Too bitter,” he says, accentuating his words with a scrunch of his nose. “Coffee is only for late-night study sessions or mornings I wake up too early.”
Sungyoon soaks it all in, filing the information away in the new folder his brain has seemingly created, labeled Hong Joochan. He has an inkling that the folder will only grow in size from now on.
And if he had been reminded time and time again about the time and effort Joochan had put into his date to make it perfect, he’s proven once again as Joochan gets his order right without a beat of hesitation.
“How did you know?” He asks, amazed, and Joochan blushes pink and stutters that he’d heard it around. Sungyoon catches the slight movement of his hand to hide the writing anyway.
The strawberry parfait they’d ordered might be laden with sugar, but nothing can combat the sweetness of Joochan’s smile and the rosiness of his cheeks whenever they meet eyes.
Sungyoon should give the others more credit; to his pleasant shock, they don’t try to meddle with or sabotage their date, and Joochan remains blissfully oblivious to their presence. Thank fuck, because Sungyoon would rather not face his reaction to finding out their friends had been following their every move.
Should’ve just asked Jangjun where Joochan was going to take me, he thinks, because this plan has Jangjun’s name written all over it. He’s willing to bet the other had been in charge of their horrendous outfits as well.
Youngtaek stops by to slip them pastries and a drink on the house. Sungyoon tries to refuse but he’s ultimately shut down by Joochan who glares and waggles a finger at him. “Never say no to free food,” Joochan tells him before proceeding to swallow a biscuit whole. Sungyoon watches on in amusement, shaking his head.
The bad feeling he’d had earlier is back when Youngtaek announces that he has a “special drink” just for the two of them. At first glance, it’s harmless. Two shots of something that looks to be some sort of tea, pink and sprinkled with gold stars on the top.
“A love shot!” Youngtaek exclaims, placing one in front of each of them. “A toast to your budding relationship.”
Never mind, the others did not deserve any credit, because the smile Youngtaek is sporting at the moment screams that he’s been made to this by their friends. He resists a sigh.
Oh, well. Joochan seems delighted, pulling out his phone to snap pictures of the pretty drink, and if it’s free anyway…
He’s hardly wrapped his fingers around the cup when Youngtaek’s batting away his hand with an affronted screech. “What-”
“Not like that!” Youngtaek says, shaking his head. “The proper way to drink it is to link your arms and then look each other in the eye…”
Sungyoon blinks as Youngtaek guides his arm to loop around Joochan’s, yanking him closer to and oh—Joochan’s face is closer than he had expected it to be-
“And now, drink!” A little dazed from Joochan’s sudden proximity, Sungyoon does as he’s told, the chillness of the drink sliding down his throat a secondary sensation with how he’s caught up in the realization that Joochan’s eyes really do curve beautifully and what he had thought had been eyeliner are actually the short, thick lashes that fringe his eyes, fluttering with every blink.
Snap.
The sound startles him out of his reverie, head snapping to his right and immediately training onto where the sound had come from. It’s Jaehyun, who is determinedly staring the other way. The phone camera angled their way is not hidden well.
Sungyoon is going to have a talk with not only Daeyeol, but a long, long talk with the rest of their friends as well.
“Let’s get out of here,” he tells Joochan as they split the bill, and the other is quick to agree. They’re waved off by a beaming Youngtaek yelling after them to come anytime!
Compared to how boisterous he had been in the café, Joochan is strangely quiet, fingering the cuff of his sleeves as he glances at Sungyoon and away like he’s trying to formulate words. “Um… Sungyoon.”
Sungyoon stops, turning to the other. Joochan’s stopped a little way back. “Hm?”
Joochan scuffs his feet. “We can, um, end our date here.” Sungyoon’s heart stutters in his chest.
Joochan… doesn’t want to continue their date? Suddenly, Sungyoon is micro-analyzing every little thing he’d done and said the past hour, from every flex of his hands to the crinkle in his shirt, which he smooths it out. He had thought they’d been getting along well and that Joochan’s just as interested in him as Sungyoon is, but had he imagined it all-
“Since you already spent a lot of time with me,” Joochan says, and his voice is quieter now, a stark contrast to the boy who’s usually snappy and bold. “So I’d understand if you want to leave now…”
Sungyoon’s chest loosens.
Joochan thinks Sungyoon hadn’t enjoyed every bit of their date already, but he can’t be farther from the truth. Grinning, he tucks his arms behind his head. “Don’t you remember? I like you.”
With that, he walks off, leaving Joochan scrambling to catch up to him.
“Karaoke?” Sungyoon asks once Joochan is in step with him again and the other only nods, seemingly rendered speechless.
The karaoke room is small, just enough for a group of three or four to fit snugly. There’s a single couch shoved against the wall, opposite it the karaoke machine.
And it’s dark; the only light is from the colored lights that line the ceiling, changing colors every few minutes. As of now, it’s a deep blue, painting the entire room in the color.
Joochan pulls the door shut behind them and Sungyoon realizes with a start that it’s just the two of them.
Just the two of them, in a dark room. Alone.
The last time they had been in a room alone, Sungyoon had ended up kissing Joochan.
Joochan turns to him and Sungyoon quickly schools his face into something that hopefully doesn’t give away the number of scenarios running through his head. He holds a microphone out to Sungyoon, who takes it. “You’ve done this before, right?”
Sungyoon fiddles with the buttons on the mic until he finds the on switch. “A few times.” He eyes Joochan’s relaxed posture as he crouches by the karaoke machine and smacks buttons without hesitance. “You seem to know everything.”
Joochan nods, still pushing buttons. “I come here pretty often,” he explains. “Used to come with some of our other friends like Jibeom or Donghyun and sometimes Jaehyun, but they all got tired of me and so it’s just me now.”
“Not just you, since I’m here and I’ll come with you from now on,” Sungyoon says. He wonders if he’s said something wrong when Joochan stiffens.
If he had, Joochan doesn’t point it out. Instead, he turns, pointing at Sungyoon and then the screen. “Duet?”
He nods, a smile already creeping to his lips. “Duet.”
Joochan grins, sly and mischievous, and Sungyoon grimaces as he spies Joochan’s selection: an old Korean song in the female key, filled with high and difficult notes.
Joochan isn’t the slightest bit miffed, probably experienced in attempting this song dozens of times before. The smug smile he has as he sings the words clearly and hits the notes perfectly tells him as much.
Well, then, if it’s going to be like this…
Sungyoon raises the mic to his lips and the surprise on Joochan’s face when he nails it perfectly is everything.
The clear challenge flips a switch in Joochan because the other is returning with twice the intensity, eyes shining with competition.
Whatever bits of hesitance that had been left falls away and it’s just him and Joochan, singing their hearts out in the darkness of a karaoke room. Joochan belts out a particularly beautiful note and Sungyoon’s heart sings along with him.
The look Joochan gives him afterward as he sings the following lyric, admiring and wondering, renders him unable to think for a second and he stumbles over the lyrics.
Joochan’s laugh while pointing at him is more a beautiful melody than any of the songs they’re playing.
They play a several recent hits and Sungyoon’s reduced to peals of laughter as Joochan dances along, movements clumsy and expressions exaggerated. He takes the laughter personally, crossing his arms and huffing, telling Sungyoon "you try it since you’re so confident."
He does, doing just as horribly and now they’re both on the floor, clutching their stomachs as they laugh.
Joochan sings a ballad, voice sweet and coated in honey and dusted in sugar, and Sungyoon wonders how he had not fallen for Hong Joochan the day he had walked into him singing in the music room.
The light flickering to violet as he sings, bathing him in purple and catching onto the sparkle of his eyeshadow, is something else entirely, and Sungyoon’s heart feels as if it’s crawled up and nestled itself into his throat.
At one point, his eyes flutter open to lock onto Sungyoon’s, and Sungyoon’s drowning, drowning in Joochan and his voice and his eyes that seem to hold the very stars themselves-
Sungyoon’s vocal cords finally tire and he lets the mic fall from his hands, uncaring of how it bounces against the floor. Joochan, on the other hand, only seems to be full of even more energy, even as his bangs stick to his forehead from the warmth of the room and the continuous singing, although it’s more melodious screeching than singing by now.
“I can see now why they stopped coming with you,” Sungyoon says warily, collapsing onto the couch with a groan. Joochan makes a noise of offense.
“Hey!” Sungyoon chuckles.
“I didn’t say I don’t like it,” he says, and Joochan’s mouth forms a circle. Sungyoon rolls onto his side, propping his head onto an elbow. “I think I’d like to come again. Preferably with you.”
Joochan’s mouth closes, and now he’s fiddling with his mic and there it is again; the feeling of overwhelming endearment Sungyoon feels whenever Joochan is in the picture. “Me too.”
Sungyoon cocks a brow. “What was that?” Joochan squeaks.
“Nothing!” He’s back in his huffy state which Sungyoon recognizes as Joochan trying to cover up how flustered he is. He swats at Sungyoon’s leg. “Stop taking up all the space, move over!”
He really doesn’t want to. His body is completely relaxed and moving sounds like too much work. He attempts to shuffle over, giving up immediately and falling limply with a whine. “No.”
Joochan growls. “Move-!”
An idea pops into Sungyoon’s mind, and it must be the exhaustion and the jumbled thoughts of how pretty Joochan is, coupled with how hot the room is that sends a rush of courage through him. Whatever it is, it prompts him to pat his lap and smirk at the other. “Sit here instead.”
It’s a joke, mostly. He expects Joochan to be taken aback, or maybe blush and vehemently refuse. What he doesn’t expect Joochan to do is spit out a “fine!” and clamber into his lap.
For a moment, Sungyoon’s mind goes into overdrive.
Now, Sungyoon likes to pride himself on not giving in to his hormones like most boys his age. And so far, he’s been successful in keeping his thirsty thoughts about Joochan (and his choker) to a minimum.
But…
But how can he expect his mind to not drop straight into the gutter when Joochan’s a heavy weight in his lap, thick thighs straddling his hips, palms pressed against Sungyoon’s chest?
How hot it is in the room isn’t helping either; the sweat that beads Sungyoon’s neck and causes his shirt to cling to his chest is an uncomfortable sensation that is only growing with every passing second.
He’s intimately aware of the thighs clamped on either side of his hips, holding him down, of Joochan’s hands splayed over his chest. Sungyoon’s eyes betray him and flicker up to the choker encircling Joochan’s neck, eyes following the movement of Joochan’s Adam’s apple as he gulps.
He meets Joochan’s eyes and regrets it immediately.
Joochan’s pupils are blown wide as he stares down at Sungyoon under him, his breaths short and quick. The tension between them, between their locked gazes, is thick enough that Sungyoon thinks he can slice it with a knife.
Joochan shifts, dangerously close to brushing against Sungyoon’s lower regions, and his thoughts scatter, panicked. Say something, anything-
“You’re heavy,” is what he blurts out of his stupid, stupid mouth and just like that, the taut string between them loosens and the moment is gone, Joochan smacking his chest. “Ouch-”
“Fuck you,” Joochan grouses, even as there’s no heat behind it. “I guess I’ll just-” He makes a move to push himself off of Sungyoon’s lap but Sungyoon is faster, arms shooting out to wrap around Joochan’s waist and yank him back down. He buries his face into the crook of Joochan’s neck for good measure, anchoring him there.
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he mumbles into Joochan’s neck, a hand sliding up to finger that damned choker. “Stay.”
Joochan shudders in his grip and then goes still. Sungyoon dares to pull away just slightly, to look into his face.
The lights have flickered to red now, and it’s hard to make out anything that isn’t the glitter of Joochan’s eyeshadow and the glimmering highlight smeared across his cheekbones and…
Have Joochan’s eyes always been this bright?
His gaze drops to Joochan’s lips, cherry red and glossy. Parted slightly, just begging to be kissed. The tip of a pink tongue darts out, wetting his lips and Sungyoon’s throat feels too dry.
He forces himself to look back up, to look at Joochan, who he can swear is closer than he had been just moments before. Sungyoon’s fingers still trace the velvet edge of Joochan’s choker, creeping up to trail them over his jaw and Joochan lets him.
Lets him drag his fingers down the angle of Joochan’s jaw, smooth over a cheek, rub against the corner of an eye, until finally settling a thumb against a plush lower lip. The hitch in Joochan’s breath is audible.
Sungyoon tilts his head minutely but Joochan seems to take notice of it anyway, adjusting along with him. They’re close enough now that they’re drawing breath from each other, short, little puffs of air. Somewhere along the way, Joochan’s hand has slid up to rest against the back of Sungyoon’s neck, tugging on the short hairs there.
The hand on Joochan’s hip tightens and Sungyoon leans in-
A bell that must be meant to twinkle but is clearly out of order wails across the room and they lurch away from each other, except Joochan’s hands are still clutching to his shirt and neck and the last thing Sungyoon sees is Joochan’s expression slack with surprise before they’re both crashing to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Groans of pain rise from where they’re a pile on the floor.
Shit, that hurts.
“What the fuck,” Sungyoon starts, attempting to collect himself but it’s hard to when he’s still processing Joochan and his eyes and lips and-
“Forgot our time is over,” Joochan wheezes out, the breath knocked out of him from the fall. “Get off, you’re heavy.” Numbly, Sungyoon does, and it’s only when Joochan stands up, legs wobbly as he dusts himself off that he’s seized by the realization that he’d nearly kissed Joochan!
And they had gotten interrupted!
“What’re you muttering about over there?” Joochan asks, squinting at him, and Sungyoon quickly shakes his head.
Sungyoon’s thumb is stained red with lipstick and some part of him, even after they’re long gone, stays behind in the karaoke room with Joochan in his lap, their breaths mingling and his hand pressed against the small of Joochan’s back.
By the time they reach the park, the sun is sinking into the earth, casting its dying rays over them. It’s mostly quiet save for the random interjection but it’s not the silence that’s heavy with awkwardness and spent desperately wondering what to say next, but the silence that’s comfortable and wraps around them like a blanket. The silence Sungyoon would have never imagined he would be so content to be in with Joochan.
Fall leaves scatter by their feet, withered and beautiful as they clamber onto the dock overlooking the lake. The leaves complement the sky, where only the very smallest wisps of the sun can be caught, staining the blue around it in reds and oranges. The faintest outline of the crescent moon can be spied behind the clouds, like a silver claw.
Joochan’s hand brushes against his, so slight that Sungyoon almost misses it.
Suddenly alert, he glances down at their hands. They’re only a little ways apart, so it’s no surprise that Joochan’s had brushed against his. He dismisses it as an accident.
Except his hand knocks against Sungyoon’s again, fingertips pressing against Sungyoon’s for less than a second before retreating. It can’t be an accident this time, and he blinks with a realization.
Is Joochan trying to hold his hand?
His insides melt a little. It’s entirely possible Joochan is trying to hold his hand and is too shy to grab it and slip his fingers through Sungyoon’s. And if it’s true-
Joochan’s hand slaps against his and he nearly jumps out of his skin, twisting to frown at the other. “Wha-”
“There was a bug!” Joochan blurts out, and Sungyoon stares at him. A laugh threatens to escape from him.
There had been no bug.
He spares Joochan the embarrassment and pushes down his urge to laugh. “Thank you then.”
If Joochan doesn’t grow some balls and take his hand soon, Sungyoon is going to be the one to do it inside. Just as he’s making up his mind, Joochan’s knuckles graze against his and Sungyoon doesn’t dare to breathe, because will he finally-
Joochan’s hand hesitates and pulls away and Sungyoon’s about to groan—except it doesn’t slip away and he’s looping his pinky around Sungyoon’s, interlocking tightly and-
OhmyGodsocutewhatthefuck-
Somehow, this is more intimate than holding hands. Sungyoon’s face is far too warm as he locks his pinky, dying internally.
Joochan is cute, Joochan is so cute, oh my God, Joochan is too shy to hold his hand so he linked their pinkies instead how can someone be this cute-
Focusing on the sky above them, now dark with the night, hardly quells the screaming in his head but he tries anyway. “Ah, pretty,” Sungyoon murmurs thoughtlessly, admiring the sky, the stars blanketed it across it. Joochan watches him curiously as he digs out a phone to angle it at the sky before nodding, satisfied with the picture.
Noticing Joochan’s curious gaze, he tilts his phone to show the picture he’d just taken. Joochan perks up.
“You like taking pictures of the sky too?” He asks, nearly chirping when Sungyoon nods.
Sungyoon mourns the loss of Joochan’s hand as Joochan unlinks their pinkies in favor of searching through his own pockets. It’s quickly forgotten as Joochan shoves a phone in his face, showing off his album of pictures. They’re pictures of the sky as well, Sungyoon realizes. Dozens of them, just like his own collection.
“I do too!” Joochan gasps out, and he’s so, so bright as he exclaims excitedly, launching into a passionate explanation of why he loves to take the pictures.
It’s as if he’s glowing, hands gesturing in the air, face alight with a smile, eyes twinkling like that of the stars in the sky and-
Sungyoon wants to kiss him, to feel that smile against his own.
And so he does.
It’s nothing more than a quick, stolen kiss under the cover of the night. A gentle press of his lips against Joochan’s, tasting the strawberry of his gloss, swallowing his pretty smile.
And then he’s moving away and Joochan is-
Joochan is an echo of when he’d been in Sungyoon’s arms earlier, breathless and flushed and beautiful as he stares at Sungyoon, eyes wide and round.
“W-what’s that for?” He finally asks, and Sungyoon blinks thoughtfully because that’s unfair—how can Joochan ask him that?
Does he not see the effect he has on Sungyoon?
“You…” What can he even say? “You just looked incredibly pretty,” he says, and even if it’s true, it’s hardly all of it. No, it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
“O-oh.” For once, the other seems to be at a loss of words, and then he’s turning away, hiding the pink of his cheeks. “Of course I am!” His reaction draws out a chortle from Sungyoon.
Joochan’s pinky finds its way back to his, and Sungyoon’s heart squeezes painfully as he links them together once more.
He’d be glad to stay for the rest of the night, their hands swinging between them and the taste of Joochan’s strawberry lip gloss on his lips, but Joochan’s phone rings, and Sungyoon can hear the tinny voice screaming on the other side. He watches with amusement as Joochan replies grumpily, holding back from kissing the scrunch of his brow away.
“I need to go,” Joochan says the dreaded words, disappointment clear in his voice. “I-” His face twists like it’s painful for him to say it. “I had fun."
He doesn’t skip a beat. “Me too.”
They stand in silence for a few moments, not quite ready to part just yet. Joochan clears his throat. “See you.”
He pulls away, hesitant and unwilling, pausing like he wants to say something and Sungyoon hopes—but then he’s walking away, figure growing smaller and smaller as he retreats.
Sungyoon sighs, turning back to face the lake, already thinking how he’ll collapse back in his bed and bury his face in his pillow, reviewing every little moment of the day-
Except the day isn’t over yet.
There’s a shout and he’s lurching around, turning to see Joochan running back to him. Sungyoon squints in confusion. Had he forgotten something?
“Did you-” The words are knocked out of him as Joochan fists a hand in his collar and yanks him down, smacking a kiss—a rather aggressive kiss—onto his cheek before letting go. Sungyoon stumbles back, hand flying to his cheek.
“Goodnight!” Joochan shouts, as if it’ll combat his embarrassment, and then he’s turning tail again, running into the night, leaving Sungyoon behind, hand on his cheek as he gapes at the other.
He touches the place Joochan had kissed, gently. His fingers come away red.
A slow, stupid, stupid smile spreads across his face.
“And at that moment, he knew. He was in love.”
“Hush!”
“No, you hush— ouch! Jaehyun, stop whacking me with your elbow!”
“It’s your fault for being so close!”
The smile dies on his face.
No way.
He takes one step. Then two. Then three, until he’s standing in front of a collection of bushes, disbelief filling him as he pulls them apart, because no way-
Jangjun, Jaehyun, and Jibeom grin up at him from where they’re crouched on the dirt, guilty smiles plastered on their faces.
They stare at each other, until Jangjun wiggles his fingers at Sungyoon, still grinning. “Yo,” he says, and both Jibeom and Jaehyun burst into speech all at once.
“Please don’t be angry we were just curious-”
“We wanted to make sure Joochan didn’t do or say anything stupid-”
“And it was Jangjun’s idea!”
“Yeah, it was Jangjun’s idea!”
Said accused Jangjun makes a sad little noise. “So after all I’ve done for you two, you turn on me? I’m wounded.”
Before either of them can reply, there are the audible sounds of Sungyoon cracking his knuckles, and they all freeze. “I don’t care whose idea it was,” Sungyoon starts, and there it is, the frightening quirk of his lips and calm expression he sports whenever he’s angry. “But someone needs to start talking soon.”
Fuck.