Chapter Text
“I said okay!”
“Great. Maybe dating will make you less clingy.”
“Jihoon-ya, I said okay. Why did I say okay?”
Minhyun attacks the younger from behind with a back hug, wailing dramatically. His friend jerks forward, steadying himself before he can slam face-first onto his textbook. Notes are skewed all over the worn-out desk and Jihoon has been re-reading the same paragraph for the last 10 minutes since Minhyun had plodded in, moping.
“Ya! Get off!” Jihoon gasps as he whirls around, trying to unhand Minhyun in a flurry of limbs.
When Minhyun still refuses to let go, having buried his face deeper into Jihoon’s shoulder, Jihoon plops back into the chair with a sigh.
“Hyung, one date can’t hurt, and if it goes bad, it’ll just be another item to the List of Things You Hate About Ong Seongwoo.”
“Maybe, but it’s not like Seongwoo knows I hate him! Don’t I have to act a little interested since I was the one who accepted?”
Jihoon turns around with one eyebrow raised. Minhyun blinks back at him.
“Sure, I guess you can act interested. Seongwoo being the most attractive guy in the acting department and all. Maybe he’ll even be impressed with your 3-year-long one-man show portraying how much you’re so obsessed with him.”
Minhyun lets go in shock, Jihoon taking the opportunity to rub his sore shoulders.
“I’m definitely not obsessed!”
“Then why do we have a drinking game where we take a shot every time you mention Ong Seongwoo? Remember when Woojin got drunk during a lecture before we changed the rules to after 6pm only?”
Minhyun sits next to Jihoon, lowering his voice angrily, as people begin to give them dirty looks for disturbing the peace of the library.
“Hey that was only because Seongwoo turned up late to class because he was lining up for free doughnuts. And I was messaging you guys about how douchey he was.”
Jihoon rolls his eyes. “I know, hyung, he gave a doughnut to everyone except you because he didn’t have enough.”
“Exactly,” Minhyun says automatically. “Wait no, it was because he’s a douche! He ate two doughnuts, he said so himself.”
“First of all, I’m pretty sure he was apologising for eating two, not rubbing it in your face. Second, hyung, speak of the devil.”
Minhyun follows Jihoon’s line of sight to the library entrance, where the familiar figure of the man in question is strolling in, laughing animatedly with his other less-than-desirable friend Kang Daniel.
“What is Ong Seongwoo doing in a library,” Minhyun mutters under his breath, trying to hide himself with Jihoon’s psychology textbook. “I thought this would be the last place I’d ever see him.”
“Oh hey! Minhyun-ssi!”
Minhyun buries himself deeper into the textbook, hoping the voice was just his imagination. But he can feel the people who had given them dirty looks previously burning holes into his back. Maybe if he tries to make himself a little smaller, Seongwoo would take the hint and give up.
Alas, there’s a tap on his shoulder and he raises his head, Seongwoo’s annoying bright face staring down at him. Minhyun puts on his best poker-face. Ok, trust Seongwoo to be dense enough not to get the hint. But if he seemed nonchalant, Seongwoo would go away soon. Right?
“Minhyun-ssi, it’s me, Seongwoo, from Tuesday Literature,” Seongwoo voices brightly, and then falters slightly at Minhyun’s perfected blank look. “Um, I know you don’t really know me, but I just wanted to make sure that you’re still up for coffee?”
Minhyun blinks, the awkward pause feeling longer than it is. He wasn’t supposed to know who Seongwoo was?
“It’s just that when you said okay,” Seongwoo hurriedly sputters, breaking the silence, “I wasn’t sure if you were actually answering me, because you started walking in the other direction.”
Oh. This is good. If Seongwoo thought his accepting was actually a mistake, all he needed to do was confirm it.
But Minhyun forgot that the devil incarnate was sitting right next to him. Snickering, Jihoon leans in. “He definitely said okay, hyung. We were just talking about it, he’s so excited.”
Seongwoo’s face lights up, shifting his gaze. “Park Jihoon! You’re friends with Minhyun-ssi?”
Minhyun wants to roll his eyes at how quickly Seongwoo’s attention shifts elsewhere. Yes, talk about me like I’m not here, Minhyun simmers, giving Seongwoo his darkest glare while the other’s focus is occupied elsewhere. Wait, Jihoon is friends with Seongwoo?
“Minhyun-hyung and I are roommates.” Jihoon turns to Minhyun with the most deceivingly sweet expression. “Seongwoo-hyung and I were partners for a class last year.”
Minhyun stares at the angelic facade, jaw slack.
Jihoon changes direction back to Seongwoo, expression still disgustingly innocent. “Minhyun-hyung just had to hurry to his next class. He was asking my opinion on whether I thought you heard him say 'Okay!' He’d never miss getting coffee with you!”
“Oh I see, that’s great!” Seongwoo glances nervously at Minhyun. “I’ll see you tomorrow at 1pm, Azalea Hills then?”
Minhyun just stares at him, mind still racing with the fact that Jihoon somehow became friends with Ong Seongwoo and didn’t tell him about it.
“Hyung, what about 10am? Minhyun-hyung’s a morning person,” Jihoon offers instead, voice still laced with sugar. That snaps him out of his trance. Saturday 10am was when he and Jihoon always cleaned their apartment.
But before he can retaliate in the name of hygiene, he notices Seongwoo grinning at him, nodding wildly. Reevaluating, Minhyun forces out his best fake chuckle, squeezing his eyes into crescents. “I’ll see you then. Tomorrow. 10am.”
Jihoon nudges Minhyun, fluttering his eyelashes, and Minhyun fake-laughs back. You’re dead, Minhyun glares with his eyes. Thank me later, Jihoon retorts.
Their eye-fight is interrupted by nervous stammering.
“Hh-hi. I’m D-daniel.”
Jihoon looks strangely at the other man, who had somehow moved from Seongwoo’s side to the seat next to him.
“Um, okay?”
Daniel’s face turns bright red, but before he can open his mouth to embarrass himself any further, Seongwoo quickly grabs his arm and drags him away.
“See you tomorrow, Hwang Minhyun-ssi!”
Minhyun waves politely, waiting until Seongwoo has passed the doors before slamming his forehead into the desk.
It’s not that Ong Seongwoo did something drastic that changed Minhyun’s opinion of him forever. Minhyun isn’t even sure when it started. It just seems that many small things occurring over several years had boiled down to an immense dislike.
Like Seongwoo leaving a candy wrapper on his desk one day after class. Or Seongwoo pronouncing Shakespeare’s name as “Shackspeare”. Just these things alone mentally confirmed the fact that Ong Seongwoo was the type of person he didn’t want to associate with.
At least not willingly, Minhyun thinks, drumming his fingers on the coffee table. He had woken up early to get ready, woke Jihoon up to quickly get some cleaning done, and now he was here, in Azalea Hill.
The cafe is bright and airy, with quiet groups of people chattering over brunch and coffee, scattered in various areas around the space. It's clad in a light-coloured timber, making it feel warmer than it actually is. He’s sitting at a table near the entrance, ready to make a quick escape in case anything goes wrong.
He glances at his phone. 10.00 am. That was another thing he hated about Ong Seongwoo. He was always late.
“Minhyun-ssi! Sorry for being late!” Seongwoo bursts into the quiet café, panting.
Wait a moment, he isn’t late. He’s right on time. Minhyun gazes at him, suddenly uncertain.
Seongwoo saunters over, dropping down onto the chair with a dramatic sigh. Then he seems to catch himself, quickly glancing at Minhyun before straightening up and putting his hands in his lap.
“Ah, the coffees!” Seongwoo bounds back up, rushing to the counter. Minhyun chuckles to himself as Seongwoo’s small leather backpack bounces on his animated form.
Seongwoo’s dressed rather nicely today, with black skinny jeans, a white knitted turtleneck, and a beige overcoat. It just accentuates how badly he dresses every other day, Minhyun thinks to himself.
He watches silently as Seongwoo easily makes conversation with the girl at the counter, musing carefully at the array of coffees described in the menu. He tears his eyes away when his phone flashes with messages from the group chat.
Daehwi 10.01 am
Hyung! Good luck today!
Jihoon 10.01 am
lol don’t “accidentally” spill coffee on him hyung
Woojin 10.02 am
who wants to bet that minhyun spills coffee on seongwoo
Jinyoung 10.02 am
Me
Jihoon 10.02 am
Me
Daehwi 10.02 am
I’m sure he won’t!
Guanlin 10.02 am
Me
Minhyun smiles softly at his dongsaengs’ messages. Of course, Minhyun only gets roasted, but he doesn’t mind. He makes up for it with numerous hugs, kisses, and cheek-pinching in person.
“Who’s that?” Seongwoo’s sat back down, buzzer in hand. When Minhyun looks up at him, he quickly adds “Minhyun-ssi.”
He turns his phone over. “Just Jihoon and his friends.”
“Ah! Jihoon!” Seongwoo’s face lights up, in the exact same way it did yesterday. “How long have you known each other for?”
“Since Jihoon entered university?” Minhyun doesn’t go any further, still confused as to how close Seongwoo and Jihoon are. When he had tried to mention it over takeaway last night, Jihoon simply brushed it off, instead distracting him with cat videos.
“Oh, um,” Seongwoo looks down, playing with the buzzer between his fingers. His knees bounce up and down, and he nervously glances at the counter, where the girl is still making their coffees.
“Who’s your favourite writer?” Seongwoo blurts out after a while.
Minhyun stares blankly, willing his mouth to move. But his brain has short-circuited, the connections broken. The only thought filling his mind is ‘Why can’t I say anything?’
Reading was the best part of his day. At any time, if Jihoon so much as mentioned the word ‘book’, he’d usually go on a long spiel about the latest poems he’s read, and his carefully thought-out analysis of each stanza.
But with Seongwoo, in the flesh, right in front of him, not in his imagination, not at a distance being glared at after coming into class late, his mouth feels dry. As if sensing his contemplation, Seongwoo raises his eyes to meet his, and they awkwardly maintain each other’s gaze at Minhyun’s inability to answer the question.
Suddenly the buzzer rings, and they both startle at the vibrations. Seongwoo gets up hurriedly, and Minhyun takes the opportunity to close his eyes and breathe slowly, reassessing his approach.
The first thing that comes to mind is the advice he had given himself yesterday. Just. Act interested in him. He opens his eyes, moistens his lips, and clenches his fists with newfound vigour.
He sees Seongwoo trying to walk back, awkwardly balancing coffee cups in each hand.
“Ah, Seongwoo, let me help you!”
Seongwoo jolts, eyes wide in alarm at Minhyun rushing forward with hands outstretched. The sudden movement causes the coffee to spill all over his turtleneck, dyeing the fabric in varying shades of brown.
“Fuck.”
Fuck.
Minhyun simultaneously swears in his head as Seongwoo is swearing out loud. Then Seongwoo is taking off his coat, emptying his pockets onto the table. His grimace shifts to a strained smile.
“I’ll be right back, Minhyun-ssi! Don’t go anywhere!”
He can't, he's frozen on the spot in shock, only his eyes moving as they follow Seongwoo hurrying into the bathroom. The chatter in the cafe has died, and he feels every pair of eyes on him. When Seongwoo is out of sight, he reanimates, rubbing his brow slowly as he remembers what Jihoon said in the group chat.
Minhyun quickly picks up his phone to lament his sufferings, but it’s already bright with a string of notifications. He scrolls up to the top message.
Daniel 10.00 am
im in position
Daniel 10.01 am
ur an idiot buy him the coffee
Daniel 10.05 am
wtf say something
remember to ask him what’s jihoons type
oh and about literature
lemme copy and paste the speech u wrote
Daniel 10.06 am
Minhyun-ssi, I know we don’t know each other too well, but you’re really smart and I heard you got top of the class in literature last year. If it's no trouble, could you help me with my assignment?
Daniel 10.08 am
HAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHA
HAHAH
HAHAHAHHA
Minhyun looks up, and spots the big frame at the edge of a booth, shoulders heaving and hands buried into his face. Daniel’s smile is so wide, the upturned corners of his lips are peeking out from beneath.
He feels his heart drop.
So Seongwoo wasn’t actually asking him out on a date. He just wanted help on his assignment. Minhyun groans internally, a tidal wave of regret washing over him.
And then the tide retreats, leaving annoyance. His subconscious draws upon all the hatred built up over the past few years, and Minhyun presses his lips in a tight line, fist squeezed. This is what happens when you’re subtle.
As Seongwoo re-emerges from the bathroom, stained turtleneck slung over his forearm, leaving only his ratty Ninja Turtles t-shirt that Minhyun dislikes so much, he gets a great idea.
I’m going to be nice to you, Ong Seongwoo. I’m going to be so nice, it’ll hurt.