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“Brace yourselves SNU, for you will now witness… Kim Sunoo from the College of Business! I'm here to color the life of every single person here today, but watch out! I might also even—”
“Hey!”
Without warning, Jake’s silent observation of the ongoing event was interrupted by the sudden presence. Upon seeing his startled face, his best friend started to cackle out loud.
“Too surprised, aren’t we?” Sunghoon said in the midst of his laughter. “You see a guy this handsome and you become this focused?”
“I’m not,” he replied with an eye roll. “I just wanted to check out the new batch of students. You know, just to support our college or something.”
“Sure.” The taller crossed his arms and leaned on the wall, just right beside his friend who went to watch the event again. “‘Support your college’? Even though he’s in Business and you’re from Science?”
Jake glanced at his best friend once again with narrowed eyes. “Why are you even here? Where’s Jay?”
“I caught you, didn’t I?” Sunghoon chuckled once more before finally replying to the question thrown at him. “He’s rehearsing for the organizations' event next week. Why, will you be coming as well?”
“No,” he said in a whisper, “I’m busy.”
As Sunghoon had grown silent for a while, Jake turned his attention back towards the introduction of his university’s colleges. Which is why when the other spoke again out of nowhere, he jumped yet again in surprise.
“I bet you already have a crush on him.” Ever the dramatic that he was, Sunghoon earnestly patted the smaller on the shoulder a few times, all while he displayed a pensive expression.
“But don’t worry. Business, you say? I’ll get him to date you—you can count Jay and me for that.”
“Stop it!” Despite the annoyance already evident in his tone, the other continued.
“Oh, won't you ever notice someone like me~” Sunghoon sang, still keeping at it with his teasing.
“Hoon, won’t you please stop now?”
Right when he heard the serious tone accompanying the words that were kind of cute actually, Sunghoon stopped singing and settled on placing a hand over the crown of Jake’s head.
“Alright, I’m sorry.” After brushing through the older’s locks, he went and pinched his cheeks gently. And as though he'd already gotten used to his friend’s antics, Jake simply let him do his thing and looked back to the stage once again.
The freshman student he was watching earlier was already gone.
“But I’m serious about getting him to date you. That’s a promise,” Sunghoon spoke from beside him like he had just heard Jake’s thoughts, even winking for effect.
From there, Jake already knew that there was no use going against the other’s resolve, so he only sighed and nodded.
.
“Get the banners ready!”
“When I shout ‘rise’, we’re gonna have to raise our hands, alright?”
“Has anyone seen my left shoe?”
You got it right.
Here he was backstage, gaping at all of the students preparing for the presentation of organizations in their university. Despite earlier saying that he would not be attending, it took him merely a single incident to change his mind, and that was:
“They were talking about 'your freshie' in the college last week. What’s the name again, Kim Sangwoo?”
Jake choked while drinking from his cola. “Kim Sunoo! And what was ‘my freshie’ supposed to mean?”
Sunghoon cracked up at his irritated expression, catching the attention of all who were present in the cafeteria. Just like how he ignored the stares he collected, he disregarded the older’s accusatory question as well in favor of going on about his story.
“That’s the same thing, you’re just as head over heels for him,” he answered while laughing. He coughed once on the inside of his elbow before he finally returned to the original subject of the conversation. “He said he was interested in joining one of the organizations.”
“Oh? What's the big deal? Let him join then!”
Sunghoon raised a brow. “Aren’t you gonna ask which one he was the most interested in?”
All of a sudden, Jake’s cheeks visibly reddened, much to Sunghoon’s amusement. The older spoke again, staring at his soiled plate so as not to meet the other’s teasing gaze.
“Which?”
And because Sunghoon was just that kind of a person, he took a moment of silence before leaning over to whisper,
“SSS.”
And just like that fellows, Jake’s resolve to not attend the gathering finally came crashing down. How even, when it was as though those fox-like eyes pulled him along mercilessly?
As he watched the presentation of the rest of the organizations, Jake couldn’t help but think how one person whom he didn’t even know enough yet would make him come to an event that he swore not to attend? After refusing the offer to perform, he’d been expecting to just be in his condominium unit and studying all day. Or he could be sleeping in hopes of recovering the sleep he lost when he handled his org’s papers, being its secretary and all. Else, he could also be spoiling himself today by watching Netflix from his television that hadn’t been used at all in three months.
Yet he was here. After all the performances, here he was waiting for students who hopefully grew interested in their plans, projects, and platforms. It wasn’t that hard, actually; he was just sitting by one of the posts of their assigned table, assisting the newcomers who wanted to register or to buy their merch (or both), then continued to wait. Over and over again.
Until the famed Kim Sunoo showed up.
“Hello, is this the booth for the Science Society of SNU?” asked the lad with a blinding smile that stretched from ear to ear.
From his current activity of stacking the T-shirts carefully, Jake stopped in his tracks when he realized that he was the one being spoken to. As he panicked upon recognizing the other, he failed to notice one of the shirt’s plastic wrapping on the floor, therefore ending up stepping on it and slipping down.
Although unlike what he expected, he did not actually fall down to the floor and land on his butt, because instead, he remained on his feet because of his catcher’s secure hold around his waist.
“Are you okay, hyung? Were you hurt? I could take you to the infirmary if you broke anything?”
The other helped him stand up properly and regain his balance. When his mind supplied him with the reason for the other’s presence, Jake turned to him and shook his head, as if it would bring him back to consciousness.
“No, it’s okay. I’m okay,” he replied with the wave of a hand. Seeing the younger’s wide smile, he eventually found himself slightly smiling as well and unknowing of his ears also flushing. “Oh and by the way, yes, you’ve come to the right place. Can we help you?”
The man nodded. “Yes, hyung! You got our interest so we would like to sign up today.”
‘We’?
.
“Dude, are you sure the wrappers gotta be that crumpled?”
Jake paused from his peaceful reflection upon hearing Jay’s voice. Right when he recognized whose voice it was, he was immediately met with his friend sitting on his left.
But before he could even reply to the latter, he felt cold, large hands place themselves on his shoulders, making him almost jump in shock. He didn’t even need to look anymore to already know who it was.
“You seem to be too jealous of Fox Eyes. Didn’t he say they were just friends?”
In an instant, he removed the hands kneading his shoulders and turned back around to face his friend. “I’m not jealous!”
Right on time, the whole room suddenly fell silent for no reason, making his near-shout a bit too audible to all the people inside. Out of embarrassment, Jake’s cheeks flared up and he quickly uttered a ‘sorry’ to everyone. When he looked at his two companions again, he was met with the both of them currently laughing hard among themselves—some friends they are truly.
“Alright, fine, we already know that you are in fact not jealous,” Jay replied after finally getting over his laughter. He put a palm over Jake’s head and proceeded to ruffle his hair, which only annoyed him more.
“Okay, but think about it. What right do I have to get jealous? We aren’t even close,” he said mostly just to himself, but the two still ended up hearing him.
“You sure you two aren’t close?” Jake nodded at the question.
“Then why is he heading straight for us now?”
“Huh? What—”
And it was true. When Jake glanced up, he was greeted with a Sunoo-shaped figure right before him. From his seat on the floor, he could see how the fluorescent lights cast a glow from behind Sunoo’s head, like he was an angel with his very own halo.
A moment of silence and a couple of awkward blinks were all it took before Jake stood up upon his friends’ teasings of: ‘He needs your help!’ ‘He said he needed you,’ ‘Look who's lucky!’ along with some fist bumps and high fives behind him. When he had fixed himself and stood up properly, he faced the young man and there realized how he was actually taller than Jake. From the newfound knowledge, he could only let out a long-drawn sigh.
“Oh, were you already tired, hyung? I'm sorry, we should probably do this next time—”
“No!”
Before he even realized it, his hand had already wrapped itself around Sunoo’s wrist to prevent him from leaving. When he noticed, he quickly pulled away—and at all costs, tried not to look back so as not to be met with his friends’ continued teasing.
“No, I'm not busy at all! What did you need help with?”
.
"I'm sorry for troubling you again, hyung. I'm embarrassed.”
Both of them were currently sitting in the middle of a bustling coffee shop. They agreed to just meet at the said place because aside from the differences in their schedules, Jake thought he could use the coffee at the soonest possible time.
And that was where he went wrong.
Little did he know, the mere presence of one Kim Sunoo before him was enough to get his heart beating like he just finished running a kilometer marathon. But to be fair, he still did run all the way here just so he could show up on time, and might he say that it was all worth it because he saw the other earlier than he expected to.
Still, he blames all his anxiety on the iced vanilla latte he just ordered—even though it was decaf.
“I promise, Sunoo, it's really fine. I wasn't supposed to do anything today anyway.” False. He still had two essays due later at night and a topic presentation for a class tomorrow.
“Ah, that's good then, I guess. But… I don't know, did you like to be here, hyung? You can always back out, you know.”
“Oh no, no.” Jake waved his hand in the air. “It's fine, it's actually an honor to be interviewed even. Besides, it's nice to spend time with you like this after all.”
‘Even if I did it every day' was left in his thoughts. Before him, though he probably wouldn't have realized, the other's cheeks are starting to flush as well at the implication of his words, then coughed once in an attempt to decrease the awkwardness building between the two of them.
“Thank you.” Sunoo raised his stare and sent him a grateful—and honestly too handsome—smile. At that, Jake felt like the world had stopped suddenly, and in that world, the fact that he was with Sunoo today was the only thing that mattered.
“Hyung? Hello, can you hear me?”
He was torn out of his daydreaming when he noticed a hand passing through his vision. In his surprise at the suddenness of it all, Jake knocked his coffee over on accident; when he failed to catch it, he could only watch as it fell down, as if it held the answer to his life's greatest mysteries. Just a few seconds after, he sighed then faced his companion again.
“Sorry, Sunoo.” He let out a humorless laugh. “I don't think I'm being my usual self today.”
Sunoo raised a hand up to wave a waiter over, then turned his attention back to Jake once again. “It's fine, hyung, I understand. We all have those days.”
“No, you don't understand.” Jake brought his head down in shame. “I'm your senior, I'm expected to be more level-headed than you.”
To distract himself from both his embarrassment and nervousness, he glanced at one of the cafe’s crews beside him, now mopping up the spilled cold drink. But unlike what he expected, his freshman companion spoke again, right when he felt the ghost of a grip on his left hand.
“Hyung, please don't think much about it. It's okay, it's not a big deal. If you want, I could buy you something else?”
“Oh,” Jake swiftly pulled his hand away and brought it to his chest. “You don't have to. It's embarrassing.”
Sunoo laughed, seemingly finding his immediate refusal amusing. “Then just think of it as my token of appreciation. Would that be fine?”
Unintentionally, Jake’s sight landed on the other’s expressive eyes. What he thought were plain black irises actually displayed a lighter brown when passed through by the sun’s rays, while under them were small, cute lines that only showed up when the younger’s smile was at its fullest.
For the second time that day, Jake stilled and only managed to respond with another nod.
After receiving the new drink Sunoo bought for him—’hot chocolate, just so you would calm down a bit’—Jake had already long forgotten about his own discomfort. Every single word they had exchanged amounted to additions for both their colorful narratives of each other.
When their simple date interview had finally reached its end, both of them went home with smiles gracing their faces. The reason: both marveled at the new phone digits flashing from their respective phone screens.
.
If anyone were to ask Jake about it, he’d say he is no stranger at all to the difficulties brought about by university life.
Could you imagine shifting to another course yet still having to take the same subjects as in his first year? Yes, he’s already spent two years in this same university, and to be fair, sophomore year would be his third year even. It was just his luck that he started school at a considerably early age, which is why the additional year was still just reasonable.
While that may be the truth, there seems to be a giant ‘BUT’ written on a placard on his forehead right at that moment. But, he still couldn't understand how for some reason, he still couldn't make sense of how to manage the difficulty of it.
He had just finished reading materials from two subjects which were each about fifty pages long. He was about to move on to the next when suddenly, the probability that he would get yet another almost-failing mark in the upcoming test just entered his mind. Unlike what he had earlier planned, he turned out to not be able to finish it all that day.
How then, if he can’t even read the words in the books anymore because of the tears clouding his vision? As if that wasn’t enough, he also recalled how for the past week, he had only been able to sleep for more or less five hours at night. Thinking about it, that was actually even longer compared to when they had their finals last year, and just like that, he readily fell into another spell of despair.
Since he’d already lost track of what to do anyway, Jake decided to bury his face between the pages of the book he was holding so that the others in the library won’t see him crying. But though he kept his sobbing as quiet as he could, he couldn’t stop his shoulders from shaking.
“Jake-hyung?”
From his right, Jake heard the voice he’d grown to recognize in the past few months. That was all thanks to their numerous org meetings, but alas, this was not the perfect time. He cannot be seen by the other right now—he just can’t.
He tried to ignore him, silently wishing for him to go away and brush it off as just mistaking him for someone else. But the moment he felt a hand touch his shoulder, Jake knew there was no escaping from it.
Jake raised his stare towards Sunoo, and upon seeing those same foxy eyes carefully gauging his distress, he couldn’t help but just throw himself into the younger’s arms.
Before he even noticed, he already had Sunoo’s hands gently caressing his back and ruffling through his hair. He finally let himself sob without reservations, and even though the sounds in their surroundings tuned him out, he still did not miss the soft words of comfort whispered in his ear.
From his exhaustion not only of that day but also for the entirety of the week, Jake could only lean his head against Sunoo’s shoulder and there continued to cry. He didn’t even realize how much time had passed anymore; all he knew was at that moment, he felt how safe, important, and loved he truly was.
After he had calmed himself down, he looked once more at his company, yet upon glancing up, he did not expect his freshman friend to already be looking at him as well. With his mind devoid of anything but appreciation for the other, Jake only stared at him for who knows how long, all until he remembered that they were still in such a public place as a library.
“Sorry, Sunoo,” he said while trying to find his handkerchief inside the mess of his bag. But Sunoo beat him to it, proceeding to wipe Jake’s tears himself with his gentle fingers instead.
The former still did not reply just so he could regard Jake for a while. He raised a hand to fix his hair back into a decent style after it had been messed up by his crying.
“Hyung, you did nothing wrong. What are you apologizing for?”
Jake pulled away from the hug and started to sit properly in his seat. He leaned back then sighed a few times before answering.
“I might have affected you with my negative energy today. I swear I didn’t mean to, it’s just that you were the first person I could see—”
He was cut-off mid-sentence when Sunoo took one of his hands and played with it. Jake looked at his face and sure enough, he had that kind smile on his lips again. In a flash, all the gloom in Jake's body was replaced with anticipation.
“Did you really think I’d get angry at you for that?”
Sunoo gazed straight into his eyes, and right then and there, Jake felt as though his soul was being swallowed by two black holes through the two narrow but deep eyes.
“Well, it’s not like that… I just thought it must’ve been inconvenient for you. Not to mention how I even wrinkled your clothes, look.”
He let the younger keep on squeezing his hand with his fingers, starting from his thumb all the way to his pinky. Only until he finished doing so did Sunoo start to speak again.
“What if I told you that… I’m willing to iron my clothes every week anyway?”
“Huh?” Jake’s head tilted to the side in confusion. As he proceeded to wipe the leftover tears on his face after his break-it-down session, he continued, “What do you mean?”
“Hyung…” This time, Sunoo sat up properly as well.
“Whenever you’d need someone, please know that I’ll always be here for you.”
And as it felt like it came out of nowhere, the older found himself unable to reply again. Especially since the words he heard came from Sunoo himself—was he dreaming?
His short moment of quiet contemplation was broken by his companion’s laughter. “You’re not dreaming, hyung.” Ah. So he had said his thoughts out loud then. Embarrassing, but if he was truly bestowed upon the privilege of having Kim Sunoo by his side whenever, what else can he still be scared about?
“You’re so cute, you know?” he said, earning him an automatic nod.
“I know,” Sunoo answered, his brows playfully moving up and down. Teasing as he was, he still allowed the older to further examine his face until his fingers reached his own eyes.
“Your eyes are cute too.” Jake gazed straight into his eyes which were, of course, staring right back at him as well. “When you’re happy, do you still see me from the corners of your sight?”
“Hm?”
Jake released Sunoo’s face from his hold and moved farther away from him once again. He looked at his nails as he thought of what to say next and there came to realize how interesting they actually were. He spoke again.
“Sunoo. I’ve only known you for three months, but why does it feel like… like…”
“Like?”
“Like… I mean… but before that, please promise me you won’t distance yourself from me after this?”
Sunoo smiled a bit, making his eyes form two little crescents. “Promise,” he said and leaned further to intertwine both their pinkies together. From the sweetness of the gesture, Jake had to let out a sigh before he continued to speak.
“The truth is, I want to be with you all the time. You make me happy. Look, right when I’m feeling down just now, it took only you to make me feel better again…” he started. “Sunoo, please don’t find me weird, but these days, I want to…”
“Hm? You want to…?”
Jake turned back to the gaze he’d been avoiding the whole time. He had made up his mind; he’s gotten used to being swept away into the corners of Sunoo’s sight anyway, so what difference does it make if, when this day ends, it remains the same?
“I want you to notice me too, Sunoo.”
From what he heard, Sunoo raised a single brow before full-on cackling hard, enough to catch the attention of some in the library. For that, he let out a hushed apology.
“Sorry, sorry. But what did you just say, hyung? You wanted me to notice you?”
Right away, Jake’s face contorted into a frown at the other’s reaction. It might be strange a confession indeed, but was it reasonable to be laughed at just because of it? He doesn’t think so.
When he had calmed down from his laughter, Sunoo brought his stare towards Jake once more. Before he replied, he first gave him some sort of... a meaningful smile?
“Didn’t you know?”
Jake’s brows furrowed further at what he heard. “Know what?”
“That these eyes see only you?”
And more likely than not, he didn’t. Maybe between the two of them, it was him whose windows to the soul were narrower enough to not have seen it coming. But of course, that much doesn’t really matter anymore anyway.
What does matter? The amount Jay betted on when he said ‘it’ll take four months before the two finally start dating’. Beside him, Sunghoon chuckled to himself while he counted the twenty dollar bills in his hands.