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Juyeon wakes up when the harsh rays of the sun spills through his bedroom window and reaches his skin. The loud rumble of his stomach reminds him that he hasn’t eaten anything since yesterday’s breakfast. Dread spreads to Juyeon's body, effectively waking him up when he realizes that he fell asleep while working on his last assignment.
He anxiously opens his laptop to check whether he managed to submit his last requirement before passing out on his desk. Juyeon heaves a sigh of relief and slumps back on his chair when he sees that he managed to submit the last assignment for the semester. Passed exactly before 11:59 pm, he notes in his mind.
He leaves his room to find some decent food. He notices that the door to the room next to him is open and he can hear the whirring of the sewing machine. Juyeon decides to check on what his roommate is up to.
He knocks on Chanhee's door to announce his presence to the other boy that is busy sewing clothes in his room.
The blue haired boy looks up from his work station and gives Juyeon a smile.
"Are you up early or are you still awake?"
"Juyeon-ah, what even is sleep?"
Juyeon can't help but laugh at his roommate's question. Because he's right. Even he doesn’t know what sleep is anymore, being awake for more than 48 hours now with little to no sleep.
"I'll whip up some breakfast. Do you want some?" Juyeon offers.
"You really are an angel. Yes please!" Chanhee replies never leaving his eyes off of the clothes he's sewing.
Juyeon sees the rack of clothes beside Chanhee's working station.
"Is this for the show later?"
"Yes, just doing some last minute adjustments. I'm so nervous my hand keeps on shaking."
Chanhee is a fashion design student and tonight is the most important night of his life. It's his final fashion show where he'll reveal an entire collection made by himself.
Juyeon moves to stand behind Chanhee and lays his hands on him.
"I'm sure you'll do great." Juyeon assures him as he massages his roommates' stiff shoulders.
"Seeing all these clothes that you made, you don't have to be nervous. Just enjoy your show."
"I just have to be better than Yuri to wipe that smug look off her face." Chanhee hisses remembering his rival classmate. Juyeon only knows Yuri from Chanhee's stories, about how she tries to undermine him on every occasion.
"How about I make you your favorite iced coffee with oat milk to make you feel better?" Juyeon offers.
"That would be great. Thanks, Juyeon-ah." Chanhee replies as he lifts up his hand to hold Juyeon's.
"No problem, I got you." He walks away giving finger guns to the blue haired boy.
Juyeon proceeds to the kitchen of their small apartment. He opens the refrigerator and discovers that they are currently out of oat milk. Or any other food for that matter. Being both of them graduating this school year, neither of the two of them have the time to buy groceries.
The amount of ramyeons and sausages that Juyeon consumed this month is very alarming. The only time he gets to eat home cooked meals is when they order take outs and when his mother brings him side dishes every time she visits their apartment and cooks for them.
Everything's all good, normal, for Juyeon's standard that is (his friends say that it wasn’t normal and he needs to change his lifestyle but it’s his life, he can do whatever he wants, he reasons out).
"Chanhee, I'm going out to buy oat milk. I won't take long!" Juyeon shouts as he takes his car keys.
"Okay, also buy our groceries while you're at it!" He hears Chanhee answer back as he closes the door of their apartment.
Having the chance to smell the fresh air after spending almost every day of his week stuck in his room, Juyeon takes his time driving along the roads towards the nearest grocery store in their apartment. He opens the windows of his car for a minute, savoring the air and then closes it before he drives to the main road.
He really missed driving alone and the solitude that it brings, just him and the road, other medical school responsibilities be damned. A few more months and he can't wait to review for the board and kiss his uni goodbye.
As he was about to turn to the road next to the grocery store he noticed a sign that said “THE ROAD IS BLOCK DUE TO CONSTRUCTION”, that must be the reason why he noticed that the cars that passed by him can be counted on his hands.
The grocery store was just on the next street, he sighs, taking one last look at the sign, u-turned, and then proceeded to the next store he could find.
Unfortunately for Juyeon, when he bought all the necessary things that are needed in their apartment, the store ran out of oat milk.
Who in the world buys hoards of oat milk on a Saturday morning?!
He can’t turn back now because he already promised Chanhee that he would make him his favorite iced coffee with oat milk, emphasizing the needed ingredient that is out of stock right now.
Juyeon also does not want to disappoint his roommate by not fulfilling his promise as his roommate is already nervous for his fashion show this evening, he wants to cheer him up a bit even through this little act.
He hates it when he makes promises that he knows he can fulfill but he physically can't when everything is not going in his way.
With that on Juyeon’s mind, he puts the groceries on his trunk, goes to the driver’s seat, buckles up his seat belt, and then drives to the road leading to the airport, the last place that has the closest store he wishes that has oat milk and roads that are not blocked due to construction.
Juyeon deserves a standing ovation.
Nobody can't beat his perfect parallel park. Even after almost one month of not being able to drive his car, he still got it.
He should've gone first to Eric's dorm and grabbed the boy before going to his quest searching for oat milk, but alas he's here now, at the airport's parking lot, alone. Not that he doesn't like being alone but Juyeon also misses the noise that his friends bring.
It's been a long time since they've bonded together and he can't help it, being a graduating student, due deadlines, projects, research, he's busy living his life as a student, as his friends are also.
Hurrying up now, he runs to the store and thankfully they have stocks of oat milk, very convenient for Juyeon. The line was not long and Juyeon easily paid for the oat milk. If he had known that it was this easy to buy the oat milk in the store just next to the airport then he wouldn't have wasted his time and went straight to the airport, his poor roommate must be starving right now.
Going back to his car, he opens the backseat door and puts the precious oat milk in the seat, he then proceeds to go in the driver's seat, closing his door when he realizes that the door in the backseat was open.
Juyeon checked before he went to the driver's seat that the door was closed. Is he being haunted right now in broad daylight, maybe a ghost of an oat milk lover's doing? Or does he need to tighten his grasp on reality because of sleep deprivation and not having the chance to drink his coffee before continuing in his quest? Yup, Juyeon decides that it's the latter.
He looks at the back seat, his eyes first landing on the oat milk sitting on the seat and then he sees a thigh clad in a black pants that looks more expensive than a thousand cartons of oat milk combined, almost crashing the oat milk but barely avoiding it. Wait......he sees what?!
"Haha hi?"
Juyeon’s eyes then fly up to the face of the voice that is barely out of breath, and he must’ve looked stupid as of the moment, with eyes and mouth wide open, dumbstrucked, the best adjective to describe his face and what he is feeling right now.
Juyeon had seen many beautiful people in his life, beautiful as if dappled by the lights, blurring backgrounds, kind of beauty. He was always surrounded by beautiful people like his friends,
Chanhee for example. His mother’s beauty can easily surpass a Miss Universe beauty, and he, himself, is aware of the fact that he is also beautiful, his past lovers can vouch for that.
And yet the boy in front of him, although he looks kind of stressed out, Juyeon swears that he hasn’t seen a person as beautiful (pretty, his mind supplies) as him.
“Uh- who are you?!” Juyeon squeaks out intelligently after a long minute of spacing out.
“This is the most random and strangest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I really need your help.” the boy replies anxiously, eyes wandering outside of the car’s window as if he is hiding from someone.
“I’m Jae, what’s your name?” Jae asks, his eyes now looking at Juyeon’s.
“Juyeon, Lee Juyeon, you need help? What kind of help? You must’ve been that desperate to climb on a stranger’s car, very unsuspicious if you ask me.” Juyeon replied sarcastically, eyes fleeting to look outside like Jae’s a minute ago, and then back to the boy’s eyes.
“This isn’t a prank, I really need your help, you see-- duck!” The other boy cuts himself mid sentence and then crouches on the car’s floor.
“What duck? There’s no duck outside-” Juyeon’s sentence was also cut when Jae grabbed his face to turn it towards him when Juyeon was looking outside frantically.
“Fuck, the car isn’t tinted”, the other boy said mostly to himself, “Act normal and don’t panic, look outside for a moment, what do you see?”
Juyeon’s eyes drifted outside and saw two men in black suits, one taller than Juyeon himself, and the other man more built but looks shorter by a few centimeters than the taller man.
They look like they were searching for someone in the way they keep on looking at the other cars like a certain someone could go and hide.
“Holy shit, are they looking for you? This is getting too intense for me, I’m warning you I haven’t drank my coffee earlier and it’s my first time getting six hours of sleep after two- wait three days I think? Yup three days of not sleeping, so it would be very nice of you to say to me right now that you are not the one they’re looking for.” He almost ran out of breath when he said that, I need to start going to the dance studio again, he notes in his mind.
A look of concern flashed through Jae’s face but it was quick and then it turned into an incredulous look.
“Dude, seriously, three days?’’
“Seriously.” He answers back by showing his most serious face to the other boy.
“You need help and when I said help, you need sleep and I also need help because as you can see, I was the one they’re looking for, I’m so sorry.” Jae replies with an apologetic smile. Stop fucking smiling what the fuck, he wanted to say but instead Juyeon asks, “Why are they looking for you?”
“I may have been from a rich family and I just came back from the U.S?” Jae supplies, tone a little unsure or he was just being considerate to Juyeon because it is obvious that the other boy was rich in the way he dresses himself.
“Oh, that explains everything, that sucks, I’m sorry you have to get through that.”
“It’s ok, I’m kinda used to it now.” Jae says smiling but Juyeon sees hurt in the other boy’s eyes.
“What do we do now? I shouldn’t just leave you here in case they come back.”
“I could go to a hotel?” Jae replies but Juyeon is not fond of the idea of letting this rich boy be outside when he almost got abducted earlier.
“What do you think about crashing at my place?” Juyeon suggests to the other boy that is suspiciously looking at him at the moment.
“I swear to God I’m not some random creep that’s taking advantage of the fact that you are rich, here’s my I.D. you can see for yourself.” He gives his identification card to the other boy and sees the look of relief in his face.
“I don’t have my I.D and passport with me, but you can rest assured that I am not a murderer.’’ Jae replies, smiling widely, “And you’re twenty-two?” Juyeon nods in response.
“Call me hyung then, I’m a year older than you.”
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On the drive back home, Juyeon and Jae began to talk to each other about casual things. Things like, “How’s med school, Juyeon-ah?” Juyeon was surprised at the soft way Jae said his name, he answered that it was hard but he enjoys learning difficult terms and what are the things he must do to make an effective care plan for his patients.
“How about you hyung? What are you doing in the U.S.?” Juyeon asks, taking his eyes out of the road for a second to look at the other boy in the passenger seat.
“I've been studying business administration there for about five years now, it’s actually my first time in a while going back here in Korea.” Jae replies, his eyes wandering outside to see what changed after he went to the U.S. “Not a lot has changed here huh?” Jae comments and Juyeon hums back a response.
Juyeon learned that Jae likes strawberry milkshakes, he’s excellent at different kinds of sports, he also learned that the other boy has an older brother named Sangyeon (“‘Sangyeon’, like the crown prince name?” Juyeon asks in surprise, the name wasn’t common in South Korea because a high status person already has it. “Yes, ‘Sangyeon’, like the name of the crown prince of South Korea.” Jae replies laughing at how comically wide Juyeon’s eyes were at what he said.)
He learned how Jae’s eyes light up whenever he shares something he loves, and Juyeon also learns that he likes the way those eyes light up.
It’s only almost more than an hour ride back home, but Juyeon feels that he already knows who Jae is all his life, he finds out that he doesn’t hate it one bit.
The thing is, Juyeon wasn’t expecting to bring something or another person back to their apartment except for the groceries, the carton of oat milk, and himself. He didn’t think what Chanhee’s reaction would be.
The last time he brought something home his roommate said no, Juyeon-ah, you just can’t bring a stray cat into our apartment every time you see one even though they are cute, while stroking the cat’s head and then proceeds to join Juyeon the next day on the nearest Homeless cat shelter.
Chanhee was almost crying while turning over the little black kitten. If only their landlord allowed pets in the apartment they would’ve kept the tiny ball of joy.
Surely, Chanhee wouldn’t be angry if he brought home a rich, beautiful friend he just knew, right? There was only one way to find out.
“Chanhee! I’m back!” Juyeon shouts as he opens the door with Jae behind him, holding the other groceries because he insisted to help Juyeon carry it.
“I thought you wouldn’t be back, I was about to call delivery because I am goddamn starving.” Chanhee answers back, Juyeon can hear the boy opening his room’s door when Juyeon invites Jae in and puts the groceries on the table.
“You brought someone home? I thought I told you already that you shouldn't bring damsels and gentlemen in distress didn’t I, Ju-'' his roommate's voice was cut off and Juyeon, whose eyes were already closed, ready for Chanhee’s lecture, suddenly opened and saw his roommate’s eyes and mouth wide open, a mirror of what he looked like when he first saw the boy causing his roommate’s reaction.
“Oh my God, is that- is that the number eight look on Prada SS22 Menswear Collection? Holy shit Juyeon, I told you not to bring just anyone in our apartment but are you resulting in abduction now? You should’ve told me that you needed money Juyeon-ah, instead of abducting a Prada model straight out from the runway!” Chanhee said looking distressfully at Jae and Juyeon who looked like he wanted to disappear because the latter boy was laughing out loud on what Chanhee had said and on Juyeon’s reaction. Before Juyeon can speak to explain himself, Jae beats him to it.
“I’ll take that as a compliment and also to make things clear I’m not a model, but Juyeon here saved my life, not abducted me from the runway.”
Jae and Juyeon explained to Chanhee what happened at the airport's parking lot while Juyeon was preparing Chanhee's iced coffee with the oat milk he bought, and also prepared breakfast for the three of them.
He noticed that Jae was a little uncomfortable in his clothes and asked the other boy if he wanted some change of clothes and offered him some which he agreed to.
While Jae was changing his clothes in the bathroom Chanhee stopped drinking his iced coffee for a moment to look at Juyeon.
"You look like a male housewife Juyeon-ah, you look whipped, it's only been a day! I get that you like pretty people but really?" His roommate has an incredulous look on his face.
"Hey! I'm not whipped and I'm being hospitable so stop saying nonsense things." Juyeon replies by almost shouting but then he realizes that Jae can possibly hear what they are talking about so Juyeon pouts in return.
When Jae returns wearing Juyeon's shorts and his black shirt that looks too big on the other boy, he can't help his face from being red, and turns redder when Chanhee whispers, "Whipped."
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Their breakfast, kimchi fried rice, Juyeon’s specialty, and Jae presented to cook the eggs to sunny side up to complement the dish, was gone in an instant. They continued telling Chanhee what happened at the airport, made introductions to each other. (“Oh, so that’s why you knew where exactly to find my clothes.” Jae said when Chanhee introduced himself as a graduating fashion design student.)
They didn’t notice the time when the three of them were busy chatting with each other. It turns out Chanhee likes Hyunjae’s company just like Juyeon. He brought Jae for his safety and in turn the other boy made a new friend.
“Shoot, it’s 11:24 am already? I need to go and prepare the clothes and meet my models at the venue. It was really nice to talk to you Jae, please join Juyeon later to go and see my show, I will be overjoyed if you come.” Chanhee asks Jae as he looks at him with pleading eyes.
“It would be an honor for me to see your designs on the runway.” Jae answers while smiling brightly.
Juyeon and Jae helped Chanhee put the clothes on his car and Chanhee hugged both of them for good luck before he drove away, leaving Juyeon and Jae alone in the apartment.
“What do we do now?” Jae asks, turning himself to face Juyeon.
“We sleep.” Juyeon replies making Jae laugh but follows Juyeon back into the apartment.
Juyeon let Jae sleep on his bed and he took his sleeping bag to sleep on the floor next to his bed. At first, Jae was insisting that Juyeon should be the one sleeping on his bed but Juyeon’s stand that the other boy was more tired comparing to him and Juyeon also said that if Jae doesn’t sleep on his bed then he will not sleep also, making the other boy sigh in defeat and then positions himself to be comfortable in Juyeon’s bed.
For the past hour, the apartment was filled in silence. The sound of soft breathing and light snoring was heard in Juyeon’s room.
Juyeon was the first to wake up, he checks to see if Jae was still sleeping and he sees him curled up on one side, he looks very comfortable on that position and Juyeon tries his best not to laugh because he remembers how the other boy was difficult to convince to sleep on the bed but now sleeping soundlessly on his bed, curled up like a cute shrimp.
Juyeon carefully stand up not to awaken the boy sleeping on his bed and then proceeds to go outside of his room and clean up the piled up mess mostly on Chanhee’s room and then in the kitchen.
When Jae woke up after almost thirty minutes, Juyeon had already finished cleaning up the apartment.
He lets Jae wander around inside their apartment, while he goes back to his room.
"What are you doing?" Jae asks when he enters Juyeon's room, as he sets up his pc on the small desk that he has in his room and then proceeds to sit on the floor.
There is not much to see and do in Juyeon and Chanhee’s apartment. Looking around his room, he feels that it is too bare and is full of books that he needs as reference on their research.
The only thing Juyeon can consider as fun in the room is the game console that he has that wasn’t even the latest version, he did not have enough time to buy the new one.
He also can’t give Jae his readings on Principles of Surgery for him to read and let Schwartz entertain Jae out of his boredom.
He also can’t let Jae go outside because that would risk them seeing his abductors.
And right now, Juyeon and Chanhee are the only ones who know that Jae is in their little apartment safe and sound.
So with all the variables now listed down, Juyeon’s conclusion to save Jae out of his boredom is to let the other boy watch him play League of Legends with his friends.
"Jacob hyung, Sunwoo, and Eric, my friends from uni, have been bugging me for weeks to play LoL with them, and since I'm not that busy I'm gonna try and carry their asses to win the game." Juyeon replies as he opens discord and clicks In-Game Overlay.
To be honest Juyeon is not that good at playing the game but he thinks that he’s not that bad either, he isn’t that kind of person who boasts about what they’re good at, but somehow in the presence of the other boy beside him made him do otherwise.
Maybe it is due to the different aura that surrounds him that Juyeon can’t point out and it made him want to appear appealing in front of the other boy and he doesn’t even know why he wants that.
"LoL? What's that? As in Laugh out Loud?" Jae questions him while taking the place on his left side on the floor.
For a moment Juyeon looks away from his pc to look at Jae incredulously but he only sees a raised eyebrow and confusion visible on the other boy’s face.
If Juyeon didn't know better in the short time that he has spent with him then he would have thought that Jae was being sarcastic on asking him what LoL is, but the look on Hyunjae's face is just pure curiosity and thankfully he thinks, that he does know better.
He did just meet him today when the other boy entered his car and suddenly asked for help.
But really though? Is there no League of Legends where Jae is in the U.S.?
Even his halmeoni knows what it means as she always saw Juyeon play the game on their house during summer break and keeps on nagging at Juyeon how too much use of technologies can ruin his eyesight but what they don’t know is that his eyesight is already ruined and Juyeon memorizes the Snellen Eye Chart every time they went to the clinic to get his eyes tested so that they won’t prescribe him to wear glasses. He really needs to stop doing that, he thinks.
"Oh, you really don't know what LoL is? Wait okay so uhm let me just-"
"You know I can see you type on google what LoL is, right?" Juyeon shrugs his shoulders
"Yeah wait- oh there it is, League of Legends is a team-based strategy game where two teams of five powerful champions face off to destroy the other's base. Anyways just watch me play and then you'll know how it works." He says as a burst of voices comes out on the speaker of his pc.
Somehow he feels that deciding to turn on discord as they play as of the moment gives him a sense of uneasiness, like something will happen and it would backfire at him.
He really should lower his intake of coffee to two cups from the five cups that he has everyday, though it does fuel him to function for the whole day it also makes him extra nervous about everything.
"Juyeon hyung, is your ass ready to be carried by us again? I hope you practiced playing when you weren't busy burying your head in your assignments." The loudest voice from the speaker said, Sunwoo really just laid him bare like that.
Well, having a friend like Sunwoo he should’ve known that this was coming, like a man guilty of his crimes he looks away from Jae who is looking at him with questioning eyes.
“Yah Sunwoo! I didn’t get ca-carried away by you guys, the audacity of this ma--’’ Juyeon reasons out while his eyes are looking everywhere around the room except Jae, he was cut off by another voice.
“But we did carry your ass on our last game Juyeon-ah, do you remember that you keep on respawning on the fountain because you kept on dying during the play?” The sweet voice on the speaker pounds the last nail on the coffin for Juyeon.
Now, he’s physically trying to avoid Jae’s eyes, even turning his back on the other boy wishing that the tile he is sitting on right now to swallow him whole.
Juyeon hears Jae trying his best to prevent his laughter from coming out and Juyeon can feel his cheeks heat up like it’s on fire.
He is so embarrassed how Jacob and Sunwoo chose this time to remind him how badly he played in their last game together.
“I really love the dakgangjeong that Juyeonie hyung brought us the last time we played because we almost lost the game because of him. ‘S such a shame that Haknyeon hyung didn’t get to taste it though.” Eric adds on roasting Juyeon.
“Changminie hyung told me that the fried chicken was so sweet and crispy, maybe I can get a taste of it if Juyeon hyung plays like he did last time, fighting hyung! Do your worst!” Haknyeon, the little devil that he is, answers back even having the nerve to cheer Juyeon up to do his worst.
At the mention of dakgangjeong, Juyeon noticed from his peripheral view how Jae paused suddenly from reading the beginner’s manual on the tab where Juyeon searched what LoL is, he must have done it during the time Juyeon was trying his best not to look at the other boy.
The shine on Jae’s eyes that also passed quickly when it came didn’t escape Juyeon’s sight. He reached out quietly to the mouse and muted his mic in discord.
“Hey, are you ok?’’ Juyeon asks while waving his hand in front of Jae’s face.
Jae blinks back at him, “Yeah I’m good!” he answers back quickly like a mouse caught in a trap.
‘’Do you not want to watch us play? Or do you want to rest?” Juyeon asks concerningly while searching the other boy’s face.
He did go through a lot today considering that he was almost abducted by men in black suits.
Juyeon’s worried that the other boy must be exhausted because he was spacing out.
“No! Uhm… it’s not like that! I really want to watch but---” Jae’s answer was disrupted by the loud rumble of his stomach.
Juyeon swears he never saw someone turn pink as Jae was and how pretty he looks with a pink blush on his cheeks. Juyeon thinks he’s also just as hungry as Jae is because his mind is making him lose it.
Jae hides his face on his hands, “This is all that dakgangjeong fault’s! Believe me when I say that I’m not usually like this.”
“Hey, do you want me to make a bet with the guys that if we win the game if they made me play mid and lead us to victory then they give me a box of dakgangjeong?’’
Jae slowly raises his head from his hands, cheeks and ears still slightly flushed, “Can you do it though?”
“Well, you just have to wait and watch for thirty minutes and we’ll see.” Juyeon answers back confidently.
Fifteen minutes passed with Juyeon respawning for three times, all of their towers miraculously still up, constant swearing and shouting of Sunwoo, Eric, and Haknyeon coming from his pc’s speaker, Jacob reminding them about their language, Jae never taking his eyes off the screen the whole time and from time to time telling Juyeon what he must do leading him to only die three times, Juyeon thinks that winning the game with him playing the mid role is impossible.
He finally admits to himself that there is no excuse for how he really sucks at this game even after all the other times that he’s played it in the past.
Having lost faith that he can still win the bet, Juyeon sighs and looks at Jae whose focus is on the screen.
“Jae, do you want to try and play? If you only want to, you look like you’ve already gotten the gist of how to play it.” He offers it to the other boy.
“Me? uhm… are you sure with me playing the game?” Jae asks him not quite believing what he’s saying.
“Yeah, I’m sure, no pressure.” He answers back sturdily, already standing up to change seats with the other boy.
“Ok, ok, let me try, don’t blame me if we won’t be able to get that box of dakgangjeong.” Jae’s smirk was widening as they exchanged places in front of the pc.
“I won’t, I promise.” Juyeon’s smile was as wide as the smirk on Jae’s face.
Fifteen minutes later, the word Victory flashed on the screen, its blue hue reflecting on Juyeon and Jae’s face. Both of them are still unsure if they really won the game.
“Holy shit we’re buying Juyeon hyung a box of dakgangjeong!”
Eric’s loud shout brought Jae on reality, filled with adrenaline and relief he laughs with a loud burst of HA, startling Juyeon and the look on his face must have been funny because now the other man can’t stop laughing leading to Juyeon on joining him fill his little room with boisterous laughter.
They found themselves hugging their middle on the floor and inhaling as much air as they could as their stomach hurts from laughing so much that they’re almost crying.
When both of them calmed down, just then Juyeon realizes that he is lying on the floor, Jae’s face so close from his, the thick long lashes and the beauty mark on the nose of the other boy clearly visible on Juyeon’s sight, instead of thinking how on earth did Jae win the game when he just played it for the first time, he thinks how the color of laughter on Jae’s face suits him so well. Jae is really pretty, he thinks to himself.
When the box of dakgangjeong arrived, Jae's excitement couldn't be hidden from Juyeon.
"It's been so long since I ate this, I'm actually going to cry." Jae's eyes were glistening as he picked up one piece of chicken, while looking at Juyeon for confirmation.
"Go eat up hyung, you deserve it." He brings the box near to Jae's side and the other boy looks like he will burst out of tears at any moment.
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Time flew by while they were eating, one more box of dakgangjeong was ordered because one box wasn’t enough for the two of them (Juyeon enjoys watching Jae eat his chicken that he didn’t realize Jae was eating his share, not that he minded it tho).
“What was the time of Chanhee’s show again?” Jae asks after swallowing the last piece of chicken he has been eating.
“I think that the start of the program will be 6 pm?’’ Juyeon replies a little unsure. He was not the best at knowing what times things like this starts, heck he sometimes doesn’t know that he has a project to pass until his blockmates messages him if he understands what to do on their task.
“It’s 4:00 pm already! We have to be there early if we want to say good luck to Chanhee before the world sees his masterpieces!” Jae exclaims, picking up the empty boxes of dakgangjeong and cans of soda on the floor that they had been sitting.
“Is that how it works?’’
“Yes, Oh my God, Juyeon-ah hurry up and help me clean!” The other boy shoves some of the tissue on Juyeon’s hand and he wipes the spots on the floor that has been wet because of the sodas and sauces of the dakgangjeong.
When they finished fifteen minutes later, Juyeon had no idea what to wear for the event, he forgot to ask Chanhee if the event was formal or casual.
He turns to Jae who can be seen brushing his teeth in the bathroom because the door was opened.
“We have a major problem hyung!” Juyeon shouts at Jae so that the other boy can clearly hear him.
“Wahst ish it? Washt dsa problem Juyeon-ah?” Jae asks, poking his head outside the bathroom door.
“I don’t have anything to wear hyung.” Juyeon sighs as he looks at the hoodies, jeans, monotone colored shirts and polos on his closet.
“We just have to be there to cheer Chanhee right?” Jae asks, finally coming outside from the bathroom to join Juyeon in front of his closet. He receives a nod from Juyeon.
“Then we can wear whatever we want Juyeon-ah, it doesn’t mattter.”
And that’s how they found themselves, both of them wearing hoodies that Juyeon owns, the other man clad in ripped jeans that Juyeon also owns, and him wearing a black pants in turn.
“We look like a sight for sore eyes hyung.” Juyeon whispers to Jae when he sees other people wearing tuxedos and glamorous dresses in their way.
“I bet they’re looking at us because you look effortly handsome in a hoodie Juyeonie.” Jae whispers back at him and what the fuck he called me handsome! Juyeon internally panics and he can feel the heat travel around his neck up to his ears.
“I think it’s because of how you look pretty even in my hoodie hyung.” Juyeon shoots back and he swears he’s going to melt on the spot when he sees the blush on the older boy’s face.
Juyeon feels Jae bumping his shoulder with him when the other boy sees him looking at him.
“We just need to go backstage and find Chanhee right?” Jae asks Juyeon, trying to change the topic of the conversation they just had.
“Yup, he must be there finalizing the look of his models.”
“C’mon Juyeonie lead the way, I think I had enough of people staring and judging us with their stares.”
“This way hyung, follow me.” He grabs Jae’s hand and the other boy lets him guide him through the crowd to the backstage.
When they arrived at the room that was assigned for Chanhee, three of his models were already fully dressed with the clothes that his friend designed and Juyeon is so proud of him, but the problem is, the blue haired boy was nowhere to be seen.
“Hey Ian, have you seen Chanhee?” Juyeon asks the other model that was sitting in front of the vanity mirror, retouching his make up.
“Juyeon! I think I saw him go to the bathroom, I think he was crying though.” The other boy replied, concern was visible in his eyes at the mention of their friend crying.
“Got it, we’ll check on him now, don't worry.” Juyeon replies with a comforting smile to the other boy.
He turns to look at Jae who nods at him and follows him to the bathroom. Juyeon knocks on the door before he opens it and Jae joins him to enter the room.
“Chanhee, are you here?” Juyeon asks softly. After Juyeon asked, they heard a rustle on the last bathroom stall. Jae goes in front of it and knocks on it lightly.
“Do you want someone to talk to?” Jae asks, gesturing at Juyeon to come to his side.
When the door opened, they saw Chanhee sitting on the closed lid toilet, his makeup a mess from crying, and hugging himself trying his best not to take too much space on the stall.
“Hey guys.” The blue haired boy smiles at them and his voice breaks before the tears fall from his eyes. Juyeon and Jae were quick to enter the stall, Juyeon on Chanhee’s left, while Jae on his right side, engulfing the blue haired man in their embrace.
Juyeon can feel the uneven breaths of Chanhee on his neck when the other boy puts his face on it to calm his crying, he can also feel the constant brushing of Jae’s hands to his arms that was hugging Chanhee’s back while he strokes his friend’s back to calm him down.
When Chanhee’s breath was back to normal, Juyeon decided to ask him what was wrong.
“Do you guys remember Yuri?” Chanhee asked them, and both of them nodded at his question. Who wouldn’t remember Chanhee’s nemesis when one of the topics they had in the morning was how his classmate of his was always doing her best to sabotage and undermine Chanhee in every way possible.
“She stole two of my models while I was busy with my other ones. She reasoned out that I don’t need the five outfits that I’ve made for tonight because I was exempt for this project and that her two models suddenly caught fever before she could help dress them up.” Chanhee was almost crying again because of his frustration, and Juyeon can’t help but feel bad and angry for his friend.
He doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment.
He knew how much time and effort Chanhee had put to the five clothes he created, he was there on his side when his roommate was afraid for his designs to fail the expectations of his proffesors, Juyeon was there putting up all nighters to make sure that Chanhee was getting enough sleep because he’s been waking up in the morning and noticing that the whirring of the sewing machine didn’t stop even when the sun was starting to rise up.
“She’s a bitch.” Juyeon’s thoughts of fury were interrupted and he could feel his roommate take a sharp breath when they heard how angry Jae’s voice was.
“I know right Jae! She’s a bitch alright hahahaha!” The atmosphere in the stall changed in that instant when Chanhee started to laugh out loud at what Jae had said.
“Hey I’m being serious! Stop laughing hahahaha.” The room that was filled with crying was now filled with the laughter of the three of them.
Juyeon was glad because Jae had been there with them, he didn't know what he would do if he saw Yuri outside the room, he was glad that even though they met this day, they gained a friend that was already willing to fight for them because they were hurt.
“You know I’ve got an idea.” Juyeon said to both of them. Their eyes turned to Juyeon full of curiosity.
“You only needed two other models to show your other outfit right?” Juyeon asked Chanhee, and the bright look was returning to his friend’s face.
“Ohh, I like where this is going, ok what do you propose?”
“How about we model for you? What do you think?” Jae finishes the thought on Juyeon’s mind.
“I think that’s magnificent! Oh my God, why didn’t I think of that when I had two friends who can easily beat all the models out there!” Chanhee exclaims, already standing up from the bathroom seat. The lights all returned to his face, and he never looked so happy before in the past that Juyeon has seen his friend this happy.
“What are you two doing? Get up! There’s no time to waste!”
Juyeon looked at Jae and smiled, the older boy turned to him with a wide grin on his face and then nods his head at Juyeon.
“Are you ready to blow their minds, hyung?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be Juyeon-ah, let’s fucking do this.”
Juyeon felt like everything was a blur in the way Chanhee made him wear the black suit with a low neckline, low like he can feel his pecs coming out to the view but his roommate said that it was only normal. The concept of the fashion show is all about suits, and he is proud to say that Chanhee nailed it.
“We’ll start in 3 minutes! I need every model to proceed backstage please!” The staff said on his little megaphone.
When Juyeon turned and saw Jae wearing the outfit the same as Juyeon’s but his was white, he couldn't feel but be awestruck. Jae’s beauty was enchanting and Juyeon felt like falling.
“I can’t believe we’re really doing this.” Jae says to him, his voice giddy, and the blush on his cheek was more seen because of his light makeup.
“Me too hyung, this feels like a dream.” You feel like a dream.
“Well if this was a dream then kindly don’t wake me up.” Jae replies, eyes shining bright as he looks at Juyeon.
Don’t wake me up also hyung, I want this moment to last forever.
✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖
The fashion show was a success. Although Juyeon can’t remember how he walked down the runway he can only remember Chanhee that he shouldn’t smile no matter what happens (“Shouldn’t I be smiling if I was a model? That’s the purpose right?” Juyeon asks Chanhee and his roommate looks at him fondly.
“That’s how it works Juyeonie, just go with it.” Jae’s voice was soft with a little laughter at the end of it.)
After all of them finished walking through the runway, all of the models were crowding the backstage busy congratulating all of the fashion design students who made the event successful. He sees Jae’s fawn colored hair among the crowd and he was on his way to say that he did well when he was blocked by the other model on his way.
Juyeon supposes that they can see each other in Chanhee's assigned room to congratulate their friend. With that in mind he goes to meet Chanhee.
“What did you say? Jae hyung is missing?” Chanhee asked Juyeon, worry laced in his voice.
“I was searching for him for thirty minutes now. I thought that he’d be here and beat me to congratulate you but he was nowhere to be seen.” Juyeon doesn’t know what to do now. He feels like the older boy’s abductors went back and successfully abducted Jae when they were all busy congratulating each other and preparing for the after party.
“I think we should go and report this to the police. Who knows what might happen to him now, this is the most crucial time for cases like this.” Chanhee said while he grabbed his bag and car keys.
They decided to take Chanhee’s car with his roommate driving it because Juyeon was so worried he was almost trembling. When they had arrived at the police station, they went to the officer and they were asked what their concerns were.
“Officer, we have a friend who was almost abducted this morning, we didn’t report it because we felt that there was no need to, but just earlier this evening we attended a fashion show event and after it was finished he was just gone.” Juyeon explains to the officer across the table.
“What do you say his name was again?”
“His name is Jae.” Chanhee answered for Juyeon.
“What’s his surname?” Juyeon was about to answer but he realized that the other boy didn’t tell him what it was.
“Uhm, he didn’t say what his surname is but he is twenty-three, 5’10’’, he has a slim build and fawn colored hair.” Juyeon describes to the officer while the man types Jae’s description.
Juyeon looks at Chanhee who looks shocked and confused next to him looking at his phone.
“Did something happen?” Juyeon asks Chanhee, going to his side.
“Kevin bombarded me with messages and I just saw it now. He said that I was trending?”
“I’m happy for you!” Juyeon said, embracing the other man suddenly.
“But, Juyeon-ah, look at this.” Chanhee’s voice was muffled at Juyeon’s chest and Juyeon let go of him to see at his phone.
“What’s that?” Juyeon asks as he takes Chanhee’s phone into his hand.
“Read it.” Chanhee replies, his eyes going on the floor looking betrayed, angry, sad, and hurt.
Juyeon was afraid of what he would see based on Chanhee’s reaction. He was afraid to see something bad next to his friend’s name, he was afraid to see on the news that someone found a body that he definitely knew after the happiest day in his life that he spent with him. But Juyeon wasn’t sure why Chanhee looked betrayed. He took a deep breath and looked at the screen on Chanhee’s phone.
“College student dresses the missing Second Crown Prince of South Korea.”
That was written brightly on the screen of Chanhee’s phone, pictures of Jae from the runway were attached to the article.
He felt that his heart that was falling crashed on the ground in tiny fragments.
Juyeon now knew why his roommate felt betrayed.
Juyeon realizes that Jae has been giving him hints ever since at the airport's parking lot.
The two men in black suits, if Juyeon wasn't panicking during that time he can recognize that the taller man was the head security of the Royal Palace, Kim Youngoon, and the more built man, the second in command of the head security were Kim Youngkyun, his little brother.
Jae wasn't being abducted, he was afraid that he would be caught by the men of the Royal Palace whom he was running away from.
If Juyeon had discovered that almost the whole of South Korea were searching for the older boy who disappeared at the airport without a trace, then he would've known all of this.
Oh how easy Juyeon is to fool.
What Juyeon really hates though is that he isn't sure if all the time that he has spent with Jae was real. Juyeon can't help himself from overthinking all the what if's, he can't help but hate himself for falling for a boy he's met for the first time and it turns out that the boy was lying to him the whole time.
It has been three weeks since it quieted down in their apartment. With all of the news reporters swarming in front of their place, bothering the other tenants that live alongside them.
Finding every chance to speak with his roommate to ask how he got the Second Crown Prince to wear his design and how he got from missing at the airport to walking in a fashion runway hosted by University students.
Juyeon was glad that no reporters could be seen outside, maybe the Royal Palace decided to play their card and help their poor soul to be tormented by news reporters every day.
It was a peaceful day for a while.
Juyeon was lounging on their sofa when he heard a knock on their door.
He tries to make himself look presentable because he was still in his pajamas from last night. He checks the time and he sees that it was only eight in the morning.
He walks his way towards their front door and opens it.
Juyeon can't believe who he is looking at right now.
In front of him is the boy who left them hanging three weeks ago, leaving them to worry and find out that he was lying all along, hands holding a bag and when Juyeon looks at it, he sees a carton of oat milk inside.
"Hi, I'm Lee Jaehyun, twenty-three years old, the Second Crown Prince of South Korea." Jaehyun looks at him unsurely if Juyeon would still accept him even after what he'd done but Juyeon beats him to it.
He hugs Jaehyun as tight as he can and said, "I knew that you idiot, I hate you.''
"I'm sorry but I didn't catch your name, what is it again?" Jaehyun replies smiling, still acting in his role whatever it was.
"Lee Juyeon, and if you won't say yes to the question that I will ask you, then I will forget that you existed even if you're the second crown prince of South Korea."
"What is it, Juyeon-ah?" Jaehyun asks, his eyes bright and Juyeon can see as he widens his hug to the other man to look at his face, the glimpse of apology, fondness, and is that admiration he sees?
"Lee Jaehyun, Second Crown Prince of South Korea, will you join me for a date today? And also meet Chanhee because you're gonna need more than one carton of oat milk to reconcile with him." Juyeon asks, looking straight at Jaehyun's eyes, his eyes smiling along his mouth.
"Yes, Juyeonie. I'll be honored to do so." Jaehyun replies, and Juyeon feels that he is being whole again.