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Maybe it was stupid that Wong Yukhei was nineteen years old and still using a 3DS, but damn it he could still enjoy Pokémon at any age and Johnny was welcome to continue teasing him about it. Besides, it was cute to make himself in the tiny world, and he had religiously kept on StreetPass mode since he got it all those years ago. With it on, he could pass by all kinds of people and add them so he could play with them again later. Sure, most of them were probably twelve (and would still be able to beat him easily in Super Smash Bros) but that was neither here nor there.
Being a college student was stressful and he had every right to release that stress easily with video games. Moving to Korea last year and prepping for it before had taken some of his teenage time away. He was lucky to find Sicheng and Johnny when he had moved here, two other foreigners in the program he was in for perfecting his Korean, and now he stuck to them like they were his parents. And, well, they acted like they were sometimes.
Today was a casual day for him, his class had finished early and Sicheng was still working at the café on campus, so he had left early to stop by the discount game store before he would head to Johnny’s dorm. It was a routine walk he had gotten used to, and his 3DS customized with tiny KakaoFriends stickers was safely tucked away in his backpack. If he wasn’t so damn tall, he could be mistaken as a high schooler.
The streets were busy since it was just tapering off lunchtime, and he narrowly avoided bumping into several people and almost stepped on an ice cream cone a girl was crying to her boyfriend about dropping. He grimaced. If he had dropped his food like that, he would be crying too. His mind wandering to whether he should stop for ice cream, too, prevented him from avoiding the boy in front of him, and they collided almost enough for him to fall. Thankfully the boy had grabbed his arm to stabilize him, and Yukhei took a step back to examine who was in front of him.
The boy had blonde hair with brown roots barely peaking through, patted down the middle to frame his soft features. Despite the sharp eyebrows, his eyes were gentle, and his slightly pouty lips made Yukhei state for what was far too long to be socially normal. It was the first time since he moved that he found himself very much shaken by a person he had just met (put aside that both of his friends were crazily attractive as well). After staring for what he was sure was making the boy uncomfortable, he cleared his throat and bowed quickly.
“I’m so sorry, man! So sorry! Are you okay?” His nervousness jumbled a mix of Korean and English, which he was sure left the other boy confused. He nodded carefully, picking up the wallet that had fallen from his hands and giving a smile that Yukhei was sure just outsold the sun.
“It’s okay. No worries.” The other boy spoke English with a sweet accent, and the warmth in his eyes was the kindest interaction Yukhei had in a while. He probably thought he couldn’t speak Korean (not that he was entirely wrong) and the attempt to say even a line in English made his heart burst. Yukhei bowed again as the other boy popped his earphone back in and walked off down the street like he didn’t leave his heart beating at a million miles per hour.
***
“He was so cute though, man! So cute!” Yukhei had long given up on finishing this assignment tonight after bumping into that stranger earlier. Sicheng was sprawled across Johnny’s couch with Netflix playing on the laptop in front of him, enjoying the luxury of finishing his work early. Johnny was suffering with him too but he was lucky enough to be studious already. How in the world could Yukhei focus when there was a beautiful man on the streets that knew his face but not his name?
A break was surely in order, and Yukhei reached into his backpack to grab his 3DS. The green light indicating he had passed by people on his walk was blinking, so he went into the app and was greeted by a few people. One of the little characters, however, caught his eye. The strong eyebrows and pouty lips were quickly recognized and Yukhei couldn’t help but yelp, earning a glare from Sicheng as he turned his show up louder.
“What the hell?”
“This is him! He must have a DS cause this is his character!” Yukhei examined the tiny guy on screen who promptly introduced himself as Jungwoo and that his favorite game was Animal Crossing. Of course, this adorable human being just had to love Animal Crossing. Nothing would be more fitting after all. “Oh my God, that means he has my character too. We can play together! I can even message him!”
“You know, I expected maybe texting through Kakao or maybe an Instagram DM at the most.” Johnny chuckled at Yukhei’s glittering eyes. “Then again, can’t expect you to be normal.”
“What should I tell him?! Maybe I should just say hi. Or is that weird?”
“It’s a video game.” Sicheng snorted and clicked the next episode as Yukhei continued to freak out.
***
He wasn’t sure how he ended up in this situation, but over the next three weeks he found himself passing by Jungwoo every time he went out. He never saw him explicitly, but he would sit down and open his 3DS to find a tiny Jungwoo giving him a cute unique greeting every time. Sometimes it was just a “hello! uwu” or a little emoji. Other times it was a compliment to the little hat Yukhei may be wearing in game. Each time he would get the little message his heart would burst into a million more hearts, and he’d grin at his screen and take a photo with his phone to save it for later. It was a strange set of interactions to anyone else, but over time they ended up playing games together briefly.
Before Yukhei knew it, he had a tiny little crush on the other boy, who he had only met once and felt like more of an online crush if anything. He hadn’t even heard his voice again after the first brief meeting, and it had made Yukhei more nervous than ever.
He was stuck downtown at a coffee shop waiting for Sicheng, and a few glances at the rain pooling outside was making him worry if he would get there safely. It was a cozy afternoon, his 3DS on the table as usual, and it suddenly lit up with a green light. Yukhei practically jumped out of his seat, and when he opened it to find it was indeed Jungwoo, he scanned around the café to find where he might be. Finally his eyes settled on a blonde mop of hair that was in line to order and he jumped up, hurrying over and tapping the shoulder of who he assumed was Jungwoo. Once the man turned around, rather startled, it was confirmed.
Jungwoo slowly pulled his headphone out and a grin lit up his features. “Hi again!”
“Jungwoo! Er – I can call you that right? I’m Yukhei, or Lucas, whichever is easier I guess!” He couldn’t help the rambling but was lucky that Jungwoo kept the grin on his face until he had finished.
“It’s nice to officially meet you, Yukhei. I thought you couldn’t speak Korean, though..?” The line had moved up so Jungwoo paused to order a drink and step to the side to talk to Yukhei.
“My fault, I was just flustered when I bumped into you. I’m studying it now though so I’m not the best or anything!” A bright smile made Jungwoo smile more, grabbing the drink when it came out and walking over to the table Yukhei had been sitting at waiting for Sicheng. A text indicated that he was running late anyway, and he couldn’t be more thankful to his hyung. “So, uh! What are you doing around here?”
“I like to get tea when it rains, it’s comforting since I don’t have any roommates to chill with.”
Yukhei was in the international dorms for now so he had a few other Chinese roommates, but in a few months he’d have to get a regular dorm or get an apartment. Since he was sociable, he couldn’t imagine not being surrounded by people. Maybe it was also how clingy he was with the friends he had.
They made a few more small conversations before Sicheng walked in partially soaked, the umbrella clearly not covering his shoulder very well. One shiver and a glance around finally settled him into finding Yukhei and sitting down. “Sorry I’m late, Kun needed help after his food exploded in the microwave.”
Yukhei excitedly glanced between Sicheng and Jungwoo, the latter boy waiting for Sicheng to notice him. It took a minute for him to adjust and take off his jacket before he did, and he stuck out a cold hand. They shook it and Yukhei mentally cursed himself for not shaking his hand too. It did look impossibly soft after all. “This is Jungwoo!”
Sicheng raises his eyebrows as if to say the Jungwoo? But thankfully he didn’t say it out loud. “Ah, I’m Sicheng. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too!” Jungwoo’s adorable smile lit up his face and Yukhei’s heart.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?” Once again, his hyung came to his rescue to ask things he was too distracted to.
“I’m 21, born in 98.” Jungwoo looked expectantly at Yukhei. Of course he was older than him, it seemed like everyone was these days.
“I’m 20, I was born in 99. Sicheng is 21 too but he hasn’t had his birthday yet.” He rambled on for Sicheng instead of letting him talk, and soon it fell into Jungwoo and Yukhei talking while Sicheng sat on his phone. The hours dwindled away and the rain started to subside for a little bit, leaving the inky sky to show behind it. Yukhei had learned that he goes to their college too but was majoring in Music at the moment. After being shown his Instagram and song covers it made a hell of a lot of sense, and he wondered why he wasn’t a trainee instead. Clearly he had the visuals and the talent, but it was a competitive business so he decided not to pry too much.
Before he knew it, their time together had come to a close and Sicheng was nudging him to leave. Jungwoo stood up to leave too and Yukhei followed suit.
“It was really lovely seeing you, Yukhei.”
“Can I get your number?” He blurted it out before his brain could catch up, and Jungwoo let out a giggle that he wish he captured on video.
“Of course, beats exchanging one line every time we accidentally pass.” Jungwoo took Yukhei’s phone in his small, pale hands and typed in his number gently. The name was saved as ‘Kim Jungwoo’ with a tiny flower emoji next to it. It was cute, awfully cute and awfully fitting for the man. “Message me when you get home, okay?”
He said it so cutely that Yukhei could feel his insides melt, and if it was possible he was turning into a puppy right then and there. Jungwoo waved goodbye and gave a bow to Sicheng before leaving the coffee shop, and Sicheng had gathered their belongings to follow suit. “God, you’re so gross sometimes. Grab your bag before I throw it at you.”
***
The next few weeks were uneventful save for the tests he had to take – which he’d rather not think about. His Korean was improving a lot now that he could text Jungwoo, who would test him by only texting in Korean when he should be studying. The rewards would be a game of Pokémon or something else, and then he would go back to working. There was a clear improvement in Yukhei’s want to learn and Johnny and Sicheng didn’t let it go unnoticed.
“Is it cause of your boyfriend?” Sicheng said it easily in Chinese, causing Johnny to whine that he couldn’t understand. He repeated it again in Korean and Johnny nodded.
“He’s…he’s not my boyfriend!”
“Why do you always blush or leap for your phone when he texts you then?” Johnny quipped back, to which Yukhei had no reply. “Must be nice, if I text Sicheng he leaves me on read.”
“We aren’t dating, dumbass.”
“Maybe not yet, but –” Johnny was interrupted by Sicheng’s pillow hitting his head.
While they continued arguing in the back, Yukhei got absorbed in his thoughts. It was true that they had talked nonstop since they had gotten each other’s numbers and it had been deeper talks than just video games, too. But they hadn’t even seen each other in person since the day in the café so it made the dynamic awkward to Yukhei. Was this normal here? Seoul was a fast pasted city after all.
He was lucky to have finished one of his midterms early and was lingering on campus to wait for Kun, Sicheng’s roommate, and Sicheng to finish. Lately all he did was wait around for Sicheng and Johnny it seemed.
Absorbed in his phone, he didn’t notice that Jungwoo was coming down the walkway. Fine by Jungwoo, he took the opportunity to sneak up and wave in front of his phone. Yukhei jumped back and looked up, the soft face he was missing thankfully appearing before him. “Jungwoo.” He said it more breathlessly than expected.
“Hi, Yukhei!” He was wearing an oversized sweater and light wash jeans today that made him look so comfy and warm which didn’t help to make Yukhei not stare. “It’s been a while. Are you waiting for Sicheng?”
“Yes, actually. Did you finish a midterm?” Yukhei tucked his phone in his back pocket despite needing to know where to meet him still.
“Yep! All done for now. I think I aced it too.” A signature giggle slipped out, and Yukhei swore everything was right in the world.
Naturally they started walking around without any real destination, savoring the time to speak face-to-face. It was a nice spring day of course but Yukhei suspected it was because of Jungwoo being there. Yukhei’s phone went off and he took it out of his pocket to read Sicheng. He paused to take it, Sicheng asking where the hell he was and why he wasn’t answering for the last ten minutes, to which Yukhei said he’d call back in a second. He gathered courage as Jungwoo stared at him with a quizzical look and cleared his throat.
“Jungwoo, can I be your boyfriend?” He said it so quickly it blurred to be more like ‘jungwcanibeyouboyfriend’ but judging by Jungwoo’s face he seemed to have understood.
“Sure. Let’s go out, Yukhei.”
“Can I kiss you then?” It came out as a whisper despite all of the excitement build up inside of him. Jungwoo nodded and stood on his tip-toes with his eyes closed, waiting as if he was a princess and Yukhei was his prince. His heart fluttered again as they pressed their lips together, something chaste and gentle that was pulled out of quickly.
“Isn’t Sicheng waiting for you?” Yukhei’s head was spinning with the scent of Jungwoo, but he nodded, so they took each other’s hands and made their way down the walkway before his hyung could kill him for being late.