Chapter Text
Juntae is nervous. He feels like he’s shaking, and he probably is. He’s sitting in the same U-shaped booth he was in when Seongje brought him the “gift”, and he can’t stop playing with his fingers, scratching on his cuticles. He already made his thumb bleed, and it was hard enough to hide to make Juntae stop for approximately two minutes.
All his friends are here, sitting mostly across from him, each of them with their own drink and a course book in case of Sieun and Suho. The table in front of Juntae is left empty. Baku and Hyeontak bicker about a series they watched recently, but Juntae can’t focus enough to contribute in any way, even though he was the one who recommended it to them.
He’s preparing for a disaster.
Because sure, Junate invited his friends for a study session in the cafe. But he also invited Seongje for a date.
At the same cafe. At the same time.
This is the only way he could think of to bring them all to the same place. There is no way Baku and Hyeontak will ever agree to spend time with Seongje, and the last time Juntae mentioned in passing that they could spend time with his friends, Seongje laughed out loud. So, Juntae had no choice but to get creative.
He’s somewhat prepared for the consequences. He knows Baku and Hyeontak will be unhappy, and that means they will be loud. Juntae chose the back booth for that reason. Sieun will be annoyed that his study time is interrupted, and when Sieun is annoyed, Suho is grumpy. He can handle that.
The person he’s worried the most about is Soengje. When he was organising the meeting, he couldn’t think of any other excuse than a date.
And the only thing Soengje hates more than sharing Juntae is their date being interrupted.
The last time some drunk man was trying to pick a fight in the same BBQ restaurant they were eating, not even in the same section, just the same restaurant and Soengje dragged him out by his collar and then came back five minutes later with bruised knuckles. They got a free dessert for that.
So, he’s nervous. The last thing he wants is a fight. Something that half of the people invited are known for. Well, it’s all the people except Juntae.
The cafe door opens with a quiet melody, and Juntaes’s head snaps towards them, just in time to see Seongje's eyes spot him. Juntae can tell he hasn’t seen the others because he has one of the genuine smiles on his face, meant only for Juntae. Despite everything, it helps to calm Juntae down a bit. He knows Seongje; he’s his boyfriend. He won’t do anything to hurt him, even if it’s emotionally. Seongje is too obsessed with him.
Seongje goes directly towards the counter, correctly assuming Juntae hasn’t ordered anything yet. Soengje always asks him to wait. With the corner of his eye, he watches him order drinks and then point at something in the display window.
Juntae wonders what he will end up with. He doesn’t know the logic behind Soengje’s selection of his desserts, but he almost always chooses something Juntae had already had his eyes on. He briefly wondered if Soengje somehow bribed the cafe staff to pay attention to Juntae's choices, but they go to random places, so it’s very unlikely.
The idea of Seongje knowing him so well, to always choose when he wants, scares him, so he doesn’t think about it.
Juntae looks down at the table when he sees that Seongje is already paying. He doesn’t want to see the change from a Soengje’s version of soft smile to annoyance or anger. He hears footsteps slow down and then stop near the booth, and he knows it’s Soengje.
“Bunny, if you want to ruin my day, there are less bothersome ways.”
All heads, except Juntaes and Sieuns, snap towards Seongje with various noises of surprise and anger. Sieun grips his pen with more strength, releasing breath through his nose, fast and sharp. Juntae leans over the table and gently plucks the pen from his hand. It’s better not to risk it.
“What are you doing here?” Suho sounds apprehensive, but he’s probably the least annoyed out of all of them. They updated him about the union fights over the weeks, and he is angry at Seongje for even attempting to fight Sieun, but knowing that Seongje lost, and in such a spectacular way, makes him smug. He doesn’t hate spending time with Seonegje because he can use that to gloat about his boyfriend's superiority and other amazing qualities he believes Sieun has.
He wonders if Seongje will ever talk about him this way.
“I was invited to spend time with Juntae.” And with that, all heads turn towards him.
“Look at that, all those times you got hit in the head finally show themselves,” Baku exclaims. “We were invited by Juntae. To study.” He says as if there were any open books in front of him.
“Rich for you to say, Baku the punching bag.” Seongje laughs. He’s still standing next to the table, with his hands in his pockets, looking like he’s not planning to join them anytime soon.
“I invited all of you.” Juntae chimes in before they continue the argument. He saw how deep a breath Baku took. “Seongje, please sit.”
Seongje frowns, but he does sit without objection. Juntae sends him a grateful smile.
“Yes, okay.” Juntae clears his throat. “Please remember we are in a public space, and that arguing would disturb not only other people here, but also the staff, so we should all remain calm and not scream.” He looks at each of them for a long moment, but he knows it’s probably a moot point.
Baku scoffs, but he does nod in the end. Hyeontak nods too, but he’s grimacing the entire time. Seongje, Sieun, and Suho don't react, but he’s not as worried about their reaction as the others.
There is a moment of silence, where everyone expects something, but is not sure what. Juntae clears his throat again.
“Seongje and I are dating.”
There is another long pause, and Juntae starts to worry that he somehow didn’t admit to it out loud, but then Baku jumps to his feet, slamming his hands on the table.
“I will kill you!” He hisses at Seongje and then turns to Juntae with the weirdest mix of anger, annoyance, and worry written all over his face. “You don’t have to do this, Juntae. We can help you.” He whispers the last part, which makes Seongje roll his eyes. He’s sitting shoulder to shoulder with Juntae; he can hear everything anyway.
Juntae shakes his head violently. He tries to push Baku back into his seat, but he’s too stubborn for it. He expected Seongje to enjoy the madness, but when Juntae glances at him, instead of a cocky smirk, his face is scrunched in anger.
“It’s not like that!” He screams louder than he planned. He quickly looks around before repeating it quieter. Softer. “It’s not like that.”
“How is it then? Because this,” Hyeontak waves his hand between Juntae and Seongje, “isn’t something Juntae I know would do.”
Seongje visibly sneers. In the blink of an eye, he’s on his feet with one hand clenched around Hyeontak's hoodie. Juntae hasn’t seen him so angry, probably ever. Even while fighting with the Union, he was mostly amused. He’s not now.
“Seongje.” Juntae pleads. He doesn’t say anything else. Soengje either will listen to that or he won't listen to anything. There is no way to tell which one it will be this time.
They all wait, frozen, for Seongje's decision. Baku looks like he’s preparing for a fight, but neither Sieun nor Suho seem hostile. Sieun’s eyes jump between all of them with the slightest frown. Sugo, for some reason, is smirking again. Juntae doesn’t always understand what goes through his head.
The cafe staff chooses this moment to arrive, and apparently, they are used to teenagers fighting because she just leaves Seongje’s order on the table and leaves after a small polite smile. It breaks some of the tension.
Seongje releases Hyeontak’s hoodie and sits back down. He pushes Juntae’s part of the order closer to him, and Juntae absentmindedly notes that Seongje did order the one cake he was looking at when they arrived.
“Be careful with your words, fucker.” Seongje sneers once she’s done. “Don’t delude yourself that I won’t drag you outside and beat you to a pulp.”
“There is no need for that!” Junate says loudly before Hyeontak can say anything else. “Can you all just calm down! Please.”
It takes a moment, but they all nod in agreement.
Juntae takes a deep breath, already feeling his cheeks heating. “Seongje and I are dating. We have been for a while now. And no, he didn’t force me.” He adds when he sees Hyeontak opening his mouth. “It’s also not Stockholm syndrome, so you don't have to worry.”
He takes a sip of his drink, an iced latte with vanilla syrup and a scoop of ice cream, before continuing. “I’m telling you because I want you to know, because you are my friends. Seongje didn’t know I was planning on doing it, that’s why I had to lie to all of you,” He mouths sorry towards Seongje, and he shrugs in return. Juntae knows he’s forgiven.
“And so you fully understand, I was the one who kissed Seongje, not the other way around. I wanted it. I instigated it.”
Everyone looks between Juntae and Seongje, who finally went back to his laid-back, confident self. Baku is red in the face, but Juntae can’t tell if it’s because of the admission or the idea of Juntae wanting Seongje.
“And what are you getting out of it?” Sieun finally asks, and Juntae did hope he would be the first one to talk. He might hate Seongje because of the Union and the fight, but he’s also the most reasonable out of all of them. If someone can see logic in Juntae and Soengje dating, it would be him.
“I’m getting Juntae,” Seongje says like it’s the most obvious thing, and possibly for him it is. “What else could I want?”
Suho turns slightly to hide his laugh, but because he sits so close to Sieun, his shoulder shakes a little with it.
“Oh my god. I can’t believe you just said that.” Hyeontak exclaims.
Juntae feels like laughing because Seongje doesn’t even realise how he sounded. For him, it was an obvious statement, but for everyone else at the table, that was a giant admission of his feelings. If Seongje knew how it sounded, he would either not say it, at least not with Juntae’s friends there, or he would pick a fight over it to prove how cool he really is.
Juntae is not planning to tell him; he will just enjoy it. And the shocked look on his friends' faces.
“Are you…” Baku starts and then visibly abandons the thought.
“Seongje.” Sieun shifts in his seat. Suho, ever so tuned to him, shifts as well. “Leave us for a moment, will you?” It’s not really a question, but Seongje doesn’t look like he considers that threat as something worth paying attention to.
Juntae sighs. “Seongje, please let us talk for a moment. I will sort it out. You should have a cigarette, take a few deep breaths. We don’t want a blood bath here.”
Seongje rolls his eyes at the request, but Juntae knows better. He doesn’t want to leave because he doesn’t want the group to talk to Juntae about his relationship without him being there. He considers it a threat. But he does leave, as Juntae asked him to do so.
“Drink your coffee.” He mutters before getting up. “It’s melting.” Juntae watches him until the doors close behind him, and then some more.
“You don’t mind that he’s smoking?” Suho asks.
Juntae looks back at his friends and shrugs. “It’s something he does. What right do I have to make him stop? Besides, he switched to flavoured cigarettes after the first time I helped him with his wounds. Now every time he smokes, it smells like chocolate or apples. It’s kind of nice. It reminds me of him every time I smell it.”
Baku makes a face at that, but he keeps quiet. He huffs and puffs a bit, clearly wanting to say something, but not being ready.
“How did it even happen?” Hyeontak asks.
“We just… got close, I guess. I helped him a lot with his wounds; we talked and spent time together. Soengje took care of me. I haven't paid for any of my orders since we started to go out to eat, after the BBQ place.” Juntae gestures towards his drink. “And it’s not like I can’t pay for my drink. I can, so don’t get me wrong, it’s not some sort of scheme where he counts my debt or something. Seongje just likes spending money on me. I think he doesn’t know how else to show he cares.”
“And the fighting?”
“It’s Seongje.” Juntae shrugs again, taking a bite from the cake. It’s delicious. “It’s not something I can change about it, and I don't really want to. The fighting, as much as I don’t like seeing the aftermatches most of the time, and as worried as it makes me, is fundamentally him. He wouldn’t be the Seongje I lo–, I’m dating, without it.”
“I don’t like it.” Baku scoffs. “I don’t trust him either.”
“I’m not asking you to like it. Or to trust him. I’m asking you to respect my decision.” Juntae smiles slightly. “I am with Seongje. We’re dating. And I’m planning to date him for a long time.”
“Even if we all hate him?” Hyeontak asks.
“Even if you all hate him.” Juntae confirms. “It will be hard, since I will have to split my time between all of you, but I don’t want to break up with him. I like him. I really, really like him.”
“We only want what's best for you,” Sieun says after a moment of silence. “And if you think that’s what Seongje is, we will accept it.”
“Well, hold on–”
“We will.” Sieun interrupts Baku. “Because this is what you want.”
Juntae sends Sieun a bright smile. He finally feels all his stress disappearing. He’s so glad this conversation ended well. He doesn't know what he would do if his friends straight up refuse to accept his relationship. Junate wasn’t lying, either. If they didn't accept it, he wouldn't break up with Seongje, either way. Juntae doesn't think he would survive that.
“I won’t make him my new friend,” Baku says after glancing at Hyeontak. “But I promise not to punch him when he joins us.”
Hyeontak nods in confirmation. “Call him back.”
“Thank you!” Juntae beams and quickly sends Seongje a message. Not even a second later, the cafe doors open and he walks in. He joins them at the table with an easy grin, but Juntae notices how his shoulders are more tense than usual, how the smell of his cigarettes is stronger, as if he had one after another for the entire time he was outside.
Sieun leans closer over the table and stares Seongje down. “If you ever break his heart, I will stab you, and not even Suho will be able to stop me.”
Seongje leans closer too, his grin growing to his ‘warning! Danger!’ size. “If I break his heart, I will come find you.”
***
They are back at Seongje’s apartment, squeezed on the couch despite the space, and half watching a movie. After the cafe, Seongje stole Juntae away for—‘the date that was promised, you lot can fuck off’—dinner in a nice dumpling place. Juntae ate plenty under Seongje's watchful eyes and had a glass or two of peach wine, so he’s feeling sleepy despite it being only 9 pm.
He’s resting his head on Seongje’s shoulder, and his legs are thrown over his lap. Seongje absentmindedly runs his fingers over his ankles and shins where he can reach under Juntae’s sweatpants.
It’s another night, Juntae’s parents are away, so Juntae is sleeping over. It's the fourth time this week. Every day Juntae announces he will stay the night, Seongje’s grin grows bigger and bigger. Juntae is a bit worried that he will ask him to move in. He’s not sure how he will break the news to his parents.
“Why did you do it?” Seongje asks quietly. It’s not soft, he’s not able to speak softly just yet, but Juntae can always tell when he attempts it.
“Did what?”
“Tell them about us.”
“Oh.” Juntae shifts to move away, but Seongje's hand on his leg strengthens, keeping him in place. “You didn’t want me to?”
“It doesn't matter to me if they know or not. I don’t care about them. I was just surprised.”
Juntae hums in understanding. In reality, he had few reasons for telling his friends, but the most important one was sharing what he had. He doesn’t want to hide. He has no reason to. So he tells Seongje just that.
“There is no reason why I wouldn’t tell them.” He does lean back slightly to look at Seongje’s face. “You are important to me. I want people I care about to at least tolerate each other, so when we go as a group to celebrate something, I can invite you too.”
Seongje looks away with a frown before looking back. “Is it pity?”
“What? Why would it be a pity?”
“I don’t have family, and I’m not close with anyone except you. Is that why you introduced me as your boyfriend to your friends?”
“Seongje, we are boyfriends. There is no other way I could have introduced you to them. And I didn’t do it out of pity, you idiot, I did it because I’m selfish and I want you all with me when we do something together.”
Seongje scoffs. “They’re not happy about this.”
Junate shrugs. “I expected it. But I also didn’t want to keep this a secret. There will be times when I’ll want all of you with me, like birthdays or celebrations. Or even just to have all my favourite people with me.” He shrugs again with a small smile.
Seongje doesn’t say anything to that, not sure what his answer should be in the first place. He pulls Juntae’s head back on his shoulder and settles.