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practicing this late alone in the dance studio isn’t ideal. jackson knows that but he can't help it.
he also knows that his mom would skin him alive if she knew he was neglecting his sleep in order to dance for a few more hours.
but as the saying goes: desperate times call for desperate measures.
the end of the school year is coming up in a month and a half, which means that, consequently, finals week is too. on top of that, jackson is now a dance major which means that his end-of-the-year performance is creeping up as well. and as a new student, it stresses the hell out of him.
to balanced all of his workload, jackson decides to study during the day and to dance during the night. it might make him sound like some vigilante that performs his illegal acts when the sky is dark but, truth be told, jackson is simply bad at managing his time and doesn't see any other solutions.
he’s just really trying to survive his first year in this new college.
today has been particularly tiring. it’s the first time he tries out his new schedule and he's slowly losing all hope to continue like this. he had class in the morning and then went to study at the library the whole afternoon. after a quick but nourishing snack, he headed to the dance studio and practiced until now.
long story short, it’s past one in the morning now and he's tired.
as he scolds himself for not drying his hair properly after the shower he took following his practice (which could lead to rheumatism in the future, his mom had repeated so many times), jackson walks into the empty student lounge close to his dorm to prepare himself a hot cup of tea.
except, it's not empty.
sitting at a table right in the middle of the lounge is a black haired boy, probably around the same age as jackson, with a cup in his own hands.
his presence startles jackson, who lets out an embarrassing shout as the door falls shut behind him.
“oh god, you scared me,” jackson says, clenching the left side of his chest, trying to calm his beating heart.
the other guy chuckles softly, looking unfazed but slightly apologetic. “sorry, man.”
jackson’s eyes quickly scan his surrounding, trying to familiarize himself with this place that he visits so little. he spots a kettle on a counter across the room.
“it’s okay. i just didn't expect anyone to be using this place at this time.”
the other boy hums in understanding.
when no other words are exchanged, jackson power walks awkwardly around the room, grabs the kettle and puts it under the faucet to fill it with water. when he judges that he has enough water for one or two cups of tea, he closes the faucet and clicks on the boil button on the kettle. as jackson waits for his water to boil, his curious eyes find their way to the other person in the room.
the dance major observes attentively the other boy. he looks like he has smooth skin and defined cheekbones. he has thin lips and a high nose bridge. multiple piercings hang from his ear and jackson figures that his hand must feel heavy from all the rings around his fingers. the boy is dressed in a loose black t-shirt and a black pair of ripped skinny jeans. he's whistling an unfamiliar tune as he sips from his cup. his dark eyes, half shielded by soft black hair, stare into space.
he’s cute, jackson concludes. really cute.
jackson snaps out of his scrutiny when the kettle announces that the water is ready with a beeping sound. he grabs a clean cup, pours the water in it and adds his bag of tea.
as he twirls the bag around the cup to help the tea diffuse into the water properly, jackson’s eyes fall back on the mysterious boy who still hasn't said anything since jackson started preparing his tea.
the social butterfly in jackson urges him to start a conversation with the other boy even at this ungodly hour.
“can i join you?”
the dance major tries to ignore the way his voice echo too loudly in the quietness of the lounge.
to jackson's surprise and relief, cat-like eyes meet his and a small smiles curves the lips of its owner.
the boy gestures to the vacant chairs around the table he is seated at. “be my guest.”
slowly, jackson makes his way to the table and sits on a chair in diagonal to the other. as he makes himself comfortable in his seat, he sips his tea while looking over the rim of his cup. from underneath the messy mop of dark hair, jackson spots two adorable dots over the other’s left eye.
twin moles. god, can he get any cuter?
feeling the need to break the somewhat awkward silence, jackson tries to think of what to say next but cute boy beats him to it.
“what do you have there?” he motions with his chin towards the cup between jackson's hands.
jackson swallows his mouthful and lowers the cup on the table.
“oh, this is tea!” jackson smiles, as he tilts the cup to show its content to the other boy. it's funny how enthusiastic he can get from talking about tea.
“chrysanthemum tea, to be precise. my mom has it shipped from hong kong to me every month.” when jackson sees the impressed look on the boy's face, he continues, “it helps my body calm down from a workout and sleep peacefully at night.”
cute boy raises an eyebrow. jackson can't decide if he finds it cute or sexy as hell.
“you workout at night?”
“yeah...” jackson frowns a bit. “i don't have much of a choice at this point if i want to balance equally all of my work.”
cute boy hums as if he understands and brings his own cup to his pink lips.
“what are you drinking?” jackson asks, curious as ever, while drinking a sip of his tea.
“coffee.”
jackson almost spits out his precious tea.
“the heck, it's-” jackson quickly glances around the room for a clock. instead, he finds the time on the microwave. “-1:31 am and you're drinking coffee?”
cute boy shrugs.
“ah okay, i get it.” jackson chuckles as if he has it all figured out. he puts down his cup of hot tea on the table and turns his whole attention to the other.
“you have to stay up all night to study so you're relying on coffee right?” he doesn't wait for cute boy’s answer before continuing, “i would’ve said ‘been there, done that’ but i don’t drink coffee. my mom has discouraged me in doing so when i was young, so i never picked up the habit. i’m more of a tea kinda guy, you know? but i’ve definitely been in a similar situation where i just needed to stay awake no matter what. tea helps sometimes, but not always-”
jackson stops talking, suddenly aware of the fact that he's rambling. cute boy is watching him with amused cute eyes and a mischievous cute smile.
heck, is he really that incredibly cute or is it my tired mind messing with me?
“i'm rambling right now, am i not?” jackson nibbles on his bottom lip nervously. “god, sorry, i just talk a lot sometimes. why don't i let you talk? overall, what i mean is that i've seen a lot of my friends survive on coffee while pulling all nighters to study. are you doing that too?” he flashes the boy his best smile to indicate that he has finished speaking.
“it’s okay, i don’t mind you talking so much. it’s quite cute.”
jackson tries his best to control his facial expression to act unaffected by the compliment.
his inside feels all tingly.
must be the tea, jackson nervously tells himself, while taking another sip of the drink.
“but no, actually, i just can't sleep,” cute boy continues. “also i enjoy the peacefulness of this usually busy lounge.”
jackson blinks a few times in confusion.
“you do know that coffee is a stimulant to the central nervous system which means it will keep you awake, right?”
“yeah, i know.” cute boy shrugs. “i just gave up on the possibility of sleeping, i guess. i can't do it anyway most nights; i can only manage a couple of hours of decent sleep. so, instead of wasting my time doing nothing in my dorm, i come down here to drink coffee. i like the bitter taste of it.”
“that's crazy.” jackson blurts out. “to intentionally drink caffeine this late at night with no intention of staying awake? that's crazy, dude.”
“perfect term to describe my insomnia.”
jackson lets out a low whistle. “an insomniac who drinks coffee at night. never heard of that one before.”
cute boy only chuckles. “technically, it's morning since it's 1:31 am.”
that makes jackson laughs loudly and the other boy seems satisfied with the reaction.
“sorry, by the way,” jackson says when he finally calms down.
cute boy shoots him a confused look. “you don't have to apologize for my insomnia.”
“oh no! i was saying sorry for disturbing your peaceful area,” jackson explains while gesturing around the room.
cute boy looks shocked before quickly recovering and grinning lazily.
“ah, don’t worry about it. it might be 1:31 am but it doesn't mean that i mind some company.”
“cool, i mean, i’m glad to hear that i’m not bothering you.”
after that, jackson goes back to enjoying his tea. the other boy doesn't talk either, but he's looking at jackson as if he’s trying to figure out something.
jackson was never good with silence, so he breaks it after a few seconds.
“what major are you in?”
cute boy finishes his sip of coffee before turning his attention back to jackson.
“i used to be a dance major until last year.”
“wait, really? i’m a dance major! just started this year.”
a small smile curves the lips of cute boy. “oh yeah? that's cool.” jackson beams at the approval in the other boy's face.
“what's your name, by the way?” cute boy offers him another cute smile. “i feel like we never introduced ourselves.”
“oh right! i’m wang jackson. nice to meet you,” jackson introduces himself, offering a handshake to the other.
with a firm grip, cute boy shakes his hand with a soft smile on his lips. “im jaebum.”
jackson’s eyes flash with recognition. “im jaebum as in jb, the b-boy king?”
cute boy’s — or should jackson just start calling him jaebum now — smile drops. “don't call me that,” he groans. “i thought the name died.”
“oh no, yugyeom still talks about the legendary b-boy king.”
“yugyeom?”
“yes, he's my friend! he's a dance major as well! he’s a big fan.”
“oh, i actually think i heard of him. awfully tall kid with a mushroom haircut? i heard he has a talent for freestyling if i'm not mistaking.”
“that would be him, our mushroom head! gyeom is crazy talented when it comes to freestyling. or any type of dance for that matter. which is why i need to practice instead of sleep to get on his level before the dance showcase.”
jaebum nods and offers him a sympathetic smile. “i know the feeling.”
jackson grins back and twirls the bag of tea around in his cup. “so if you're not a dance major anymore, what do you do?”
“music.” jaebum's eyes immediately light up as he says it. “i’m writing, composing, arranging, and all that jazz.” he brings his cup back to his lips before adding, “no pun intended.”
“do you sing too?” jackson asks in awe.
“yeah, i do. i’m actually releasing a new track soon under the name of defsoul, if you want to check me out on soundcloud.”
jackson snorts. “defsoul?”
“hey, don't laugh,” jaebum says defensively but he doesn't sound that offended. “it can't be worse than jb, the b-boy king.”
“i'm sorry, you're right,” jackson laughs, waving his hand dismissively. “so, about the song, you wrote and composed it yourself? are you singing it too?”
“it’s actually a collab with a good friend of mine. he goes by ars but his real name is choi youngjae. do you know him?”
jackson shakes his head. he hasn't been in this school long enough to get to know everyone. but he's almost getting there.
“anyway, he’s an amazing artist. i always love working with him. most of the song is written out already. we just can't seem to find a title yet to complete it.”
“tell me what's the song about! who knows, maybe i could help.” jackson sends jaebum a cheeky wink which makes the other’s eyes disappear into crescents.
jackson decides that he enjoys having tea/coffee with jaebum.
it goes on for two to three weeks. every time jackson has a late night dance practice, he goes to the student lounge afterwards to make himself a cup of tea. and like every time, jaebum is there, at the same table, drinking a cup of coffee.
almost every day around 1:31 am, they talk about nothing and everything. jackson shares his worries about the upcoming showcase while jaebum tries to reassure him and to keep his mind off of it for an hour or so by talking about new songs he’s working on.
they bond. jackson can definitely feel something between them and he hopes that it is not his overly optimistic brain that is reading the signs wrong.
when jackson meets up with jaebum for the sixteenth time (not that he's counting), he brings another box of tea with his usual one.
“here,” jackson says after sitting across jaebum, in his usual spot. he hands to the music major the box of tea. “this is lotus plumule tea. it's a calming tea. if you drink it before going to bed, it is known to help you fight off your insomnia and help you sleep peacefully.”
jaebum accepts the box with a small smile and inspects the box, reading the description and ingredients at the back of it.
“i asked my mom to ship it from hong kong. apparently, it's really effective but also quite bitter. but you drink your coffee dark so it shouldn't be a problem, right?”
after inspecting the box for a few more seconds, jaebum finally looks up, a discreet smirk on his lips. “is this your way of trying to get rid of me? you want this lounge all to yourself, is that it?”
jackson gasps. “oh my god, no! i would never do such things. you have to believe me! i was even reluctant in giving it to you at first because, honestly, i was a bit afraid of what it would mean if you were able to sleep every night. i really like hanging out with you here after my dance practices and everything. but if you were to sleep, i know you wouldn't show up here at this time anymore and i, probably, wouldn't be able to see you anymore…”
jaebum’s smirk turns into a soft smile that jackson has grown to love in these past few weeks. “i’m just messing with you, jackson.” he sets down the box. “i want to thank you for this gift. for thinking about my well-being and for going as far as shipping something from hong kong for it. i'm really touched by this.”
it's jackson's turn to smile, a shy one. “it's no problem. i think sleep is important so i hope it works. even though it means that we don't see each other anymore.”
jaebum laughs softly. “jackson, we can always hang out during the day. after i get a good night of sleep.”
his words make jackson smile a hopeful smile.
two days later, jackson can't tell if he's happy or sad when he drops by the student lounge, after one of his late night practice, only to find it completely empty.
at least, it means that the tea is working and he's actually getting some proper sleep, jackson reassures himself as he sits down in his usual seat at their usual table but across an empty chair.
a week or two pass with the dance major drinking his tea alone in the lounge after every one of his practices. when jackson comes back to his dorm after his, finally, last late night practice before the showcase, a cd case is sitting on his bed. an artsy black and white image of a girl is on the cover along with the words ‘1:31 am by ars & defsoul’.
jackson feels himself smile as he reads the title. when he opens the case, a small letter falls from it.
thanks to you, jackson, i was able to find a title for the track. also thanks to you, i am actually sleeping these past few days. so i would like to keep the promise i did a week ago and properly thank you in person:
want to grab a drink with me at an actual café this time?
— jaebum
p.s. please don't freak out and think i’m some stalker that broke into your room. i asked your friend yugyeom to drop this off for me.
p.p.s. you weren't wrong when you said that he was a 'big fan’...
(going on a date when he's in the middle of his finals week isn't ideal. jackson knows that but he can't help it.)