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It was common knowledge that campus IT boy, Choi Yeonjun, had deep-rooted beef with top scorer, Choi Soobin. It was a wonder to others how a third-year and a fourth-year had managed to know each other so well to the point of hatred, though it didn't matter; what mattered was that the school population got a kick out of speculating their backstory.
The most common assumption was that the two had a complicated history back in high school, however, they had come from a small remote town, and there were no other students from their high school to confirm this theory.
Truth was, the two did have a long relationship dating back to high school, but contrary to popular belief, they were actually on great terms. More than great, actually— in fact, very romantic.
The rumours of their mutual hatred had started after an extremely misleading situation in the University courtyard during Soobin's first year.
As always, Soobin had taken on the task of nagging his boyfriend to stay on top of his academics. Yeonjun had gotten into the university on his Taekwondo scholarship, never one to be fond of studying. His boyfriend, however, had been consistently topping the cohorts since his first year of high school, even getting into the university on a full scholarship.
"What do you think you're doing here? Isn't there something else you should be doing?" Admittedly, Soobin was a little snappy that day, his tone far more irritated than necessary.
Yeonjun was sat on the grass underneath a big tree, together with his close friends Wooyoung and Chan. The three were chatting about anything and everything under the sun, it was clear that Yeonjun wasn't studying despite promising his boyfriend he would.
Immediately, the crowd around them began with the whispers, murmuring about how the younger clearly had something against the Taekwondo champion.
It only made things worse when Yeonjun had given Soobin the side-eye suspiciously, muttering a "let's talk about this later," before the younger had huffed and stormed off.
Later on, in their shared apartment, Yeonjun would gather his boyfriend in his arms, coaxing the problems of the day out of him. Soobin would rest his head against the elder's chest, concentrating on his boyfriend's soothing steady heartbeat and the hand carding through his hair. Eventually, Soobin will spill it all, apologising for his earlier comment. The couple will end their night in each other's embrace, lulled to sleep by comfort.
But the rest of the university doesn't see that, it doesn't matter to them, what did matter was the commotion in the courtyard, the side glance and the snappy tone. Strike one.
Strike two occurs not much later. The couple hadn't been seen together in school since the first incident, causing the initial misunderstanding to fester.
Soobin had been particularly clingy and whiny that morning, hellbent on annoying his boyfriend into abandoning his extra training to spend time with him watching cheesy rom-coms. He started the morning by clinging to Yeonjun's side, refusing to let go despite the man needing to pee. And after Yeonjun finally struggled out of his death grip and managed to relieve himself, Soobin insisted on koala hugging his boyfriend while they made breakfast, making it harder and harder for Yeonjun to say no. To make things worse, Soobin had made the ingenious decision to call Yeonjun "the love of my life" all morning, rendering the elder into a blushing mess. Yep, Yeonjun was definitely staying home.
Later on, when they finally snuggle into the couch, Yeonjun would open Twitter and decide to air out his (fond) frustrations there. I can't deal with Choi Soobin's acting like that this early in the morning, he would tweet, someone come collect him.
Leave it to Yeonjun to tweet without context: the University had just been served piping hot tea about their 'hostile' relationship.
The third and final strike occurs in a gen-ed class that the two shared, Yeonjun having to retake it after he failed in his first year. ("I'm here on a Taekwondo scholarship, I major in Kinesiology, why do I need to take General Chemistry? I hate chemistry.")
Soobin loved project work, he thought it was a wonderful opportunity to learn from his peers and train his ability to work in a team. Unfortunately for Soobin, the professor had thought it was a wonderful idea to pair them alphabetically, meaning that he was stuck with none other than Choi Yeonjun.
Now, don't get Soobin wrong, he loves Yeonjun with all his being, he's positive that he's never loved anyone as much as he loves the elder. Yeonjun is the sweetest boyfriend anyone could possibly ask for (not that anyone else gets to ask, because Yeonjun devotes all his love to Soobin and Soobin alone.), he's always able to read Soobin's moods perfectly, knowing just how to cheer him up, or the perfect way to celebrate happiness together.
But, but, but. Soobin has never been one to mix personal life with work. Sure, Yeonjun is the best person ever when it comes to literally any other aspect, but to work together on a project? And a chemistry one at that?
Yeonjun turns to look at Soobin from the row in front of him, wearing a shit-eating grin. He raises his eyebrows at his boyfriend, conveying a message that Soobin had swiftly decoded to be "you're doing all the work". Soobin knows it's a joke, he knows that his boyfriend would never actually push all the workload to him, but still, he can't help the loud groan that escapes when the professor announces "Choi Soobin and Choi Yeonjun" to be partners.
They had an inkling before that people thought of the two as enemies rather than lovers, but by the time the period had ended, the whole school was abuzz discussing how Choi Soobin and Choi Yeonjun hated each other.
3 strikes.
"You know, it is kind of funny if I'm being honest."
That night, Yeonjun sat on one end of the sofa, TV remote in his hand and mindlessly scrolling through Netflix. Soobin had laid on the elder's lap, face buried into his stomach as Yeonjun's free hand alternates between fiddling with his hair and rubbing circles with his thumb into his scalp.
"What is?" Soobin asks.
"The whole Uni thinks we hate each other… I think it's hilarious."
Soobin turns slightly such that he's now looking up at his boyfriend, a deadpan expression on his face as he gawks at the elder. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah! 'Cause of that first time you yelled at me, everyone believes we have drama from high school." Yeonjun snickers, "the only drama we had was me sneaking out of class to kiss you in the boy's locker room."
"Shut up, Hyung," Soobin says, face turning red. "That's not even drama… do you really find this funny?"
"Yeah! I've been head over heels for you since we met, and all these people are somehow fully convinced that we hate each other. Isn't it at least a little amusing?"
"Sure, I guess." The younger mumbles. "What should we do about all this?"
"Why should we do anything? Isn't it exciting to have a secret relationship? I think we could sneak around and kiss while we pretend we hate each other. Isn't that fun?"
Soobin sits up, staring incredulously at his boyfriend. "You want us to pretend to hate each other in public? Are you kidding me?"
"Why? It sounds so thrilling, like an enemies to lovers trope. Soobin and Yeonjun, rivals in school, partners in love." Soobin smacks Yeonjun for that. "Ow! It's a cool concept, Binnie. You haven't told your new friend about us, have you?"
Soobin shakes his head, "I came out to him, but I never mentioned us."
"Perfect! I mentioned last year to Wooyoung and Chan know that my boyfriend from high school was coming here, but I could try to convince them that I never mentioned that and they're imagining things."
"That's gaslighting, Hyung"
"Sure, doesn't matter. What do you say?"
Honestly? Soobin thinks it's a ridiculous idea, they should just clear the air and go about their day as a regular couple, not one that's engaging in some weird trope. But, Soobin is a weak, weak, man when it comes to Yeonjun, so he stares intently at his boyfriend's face before plopping back down onto his lap, muttering a "fine, let's do it" and burying his face into his stomach again. Yeonjun laughs in response, bending down to place a kiss on Soobin's head, thanking Soobin before he continues toying with the younger's hair.
The bell jingles as the cafe door swings open, Kai's laughter reaches Soobin's ears immediately.
"What took you two so long?" Beomgyu teases, "Soobin and I have been waiting for ages." That was definitely an exaggeration, it hadn't even been 10 minutes.
"Sorry," Taehyun apologises. "This fella over here thought it would be a wonderful idea to rearrange our room before we left, he was so sure we had enough time."
"And we did!" Kai protests.
"Yeah, but we were all sweaty and had to take another shower before leaving."
"Sounds like you had fun," Soobin comments.
"Yeah," Beomgyu huffs. "Must be fun to room with your best friend, too bad mine decided to ditch me for his expensive off-campus apartment."
"Sorry, Gyu." Soobin smiles apologetically.
Beomgyu had what they liked to call the 'roommate curse', stuck with uncooperative roommates since their first year, he had been filing requests after requests to change roommates, yet every single one that showed up seem to be deeply flawed in one way or another. It was a sensitive topic.
"How do you even afford the apartment alone?" Taehyun asks, "that estate is expensive, and I don't see you taking on jobs or anything."
Soobin simply shrugs, not wanting to tell his friends that his boyfriend's rich parents insisted on them staying off-campus and sponsoring their stay. "I got a good deal, I guess, it was within my budget."
Taehyun eyes him suspiciously but drops the questioning.
Soobin and Beomgyu had met during orientation back in their first year, Beomgyu had noticed Soobin because of his towering height, he was wandering around, seemingly looking around for something (actually, someone). He approached the taller and the two instantly clicked, very easily falling into the teasing banter of irritating each other. Soobin had met Taehyun and Kai the following year when Beomgyu introduced them to him as his close juniors from high school.
(Taehyun had offhandedly asked if Soobin had friends from high school that attended their University as well, but Beomgyu interjected very quickly, telling Taehyun not to bring that up. The younger two assimilated well into the school quickly, hearing from others about Soobin and Yeonjun's complicated 'friendship'. Soobin himself never said anything, though, but the tension was palpable whenever the two crossed paths on campus.
Soobin considered the three of them his closest friends, but none of them knew about him and Yeonjun.)
"Speaking of your apartment, Hyung, isn't it lonely there?" Kai speaks up.
"Lonely? Why would it be?"
"'Cause, you're living alone? I mean, my roommates suck, but at least it's not lonely." Beomgyu adds.
At this, Taehyun pipes up. "I mean, Soobin-hyung might enjoy being alone? But Kai clearly has something up his sleeves, he has that weird look in his eye."
"Okay, you caught me," Kai grins, stabbing his fork into the slice of cake in front of him dramatically. "So, I know a guy…"
"If you're trying to find me a roommate, Kai, I'm not interested."
"Nope, not a roommate… how about a boyfriend?"
Soobin splutters, almost chokes on his drink. "What?"
"Aw, come on, Hyung, I've known you for what? Over a year and I've never seen you interested in anyone!"
"Come to think of it," Beomgyu adds, "I've known him for over two years and I've never seen him interested in anyone."
Soobin rolls his eyes, "I'm just not interested in a relationship, that's all."
"Aw, come on! Give him a chance, he's liked you for a long time, you know? He just told me about it a few days ago and I really think you would like him! Plus, you're the most single person I know!"
Soobin almost snorts at that last statement.
"Here," Kai says, pushing his phone to Soobin. The screen displays a handsome man, but Soobin thinks this guy couldn't possibly compare to Yeonjun.
"Uh, not my type. No thank you."
"Aw, hyung! Why not just one date? Give him a chance."
"I'm really not interested in wasting my time on dates, Kai, can we please drop it?"
Kai frowns, seemingly ready to say more, but Taehyun squeezes Kai's arm warningly, and Kai drops the topic. Beomgyu, however, brings up a new one.
"So you're really not interested in anyone at all? Then, if you don't mind me asking, are you asexual?"
"What? You know I'm gay, I just have… different priorities right now. Please, let's talk about something completely different."
Fortunately for him, they really do drop the relationship talk.
Yeonjun finds it hilarious.
"Aw, I'm so glad you didn't agree to that one date, Binnie, I would've been so jealous."
Soobin smiles, "Why would I go on a date with a mediocre man when I have a whole Choi Yeonjun for myself?"
"Yeah," Yeonjun says, moving closer to invade Soobin's personal space. "But I heard you weren't interested in relationships… well… how about now?" Yeonjun moves to push his forehead against Soobin's right temple, tilting his head up to blow into Soobin's ear.
Soobin shudders at the air, leaning away from Yeonjun. "I think you're making it worse."
Yeonjun pouts, almost making Soobin return to his original position. But instead, Yeonjun pounces forward, making Soobin's back fall onto the sofa, the elder snuggling on top of him.
The best piece of news that year comes in the form of an email from Professor Kim. Earlier in the year, Soobin had expressed interest in participating in the planning of their yearly music talent festival to celebrate the winter solstice. As it turns out, he had been selected to head the event instead, he was overjoyed.
Another person who was beyond excited was his ever-supportive boyfriend, Yeonjun.
“Oh my god, Binnie! That’s so amazing, you’ve always wanted to join in planning this event, and now you’re in charge! I know you’ll do a wonderful job, I’m sure of it.” Yeonjun gathers Soobin into a warm hug, cupping his face and placing kisses all over, showing his boyfriend how proud he was.
“This is going to be the best winter solstice festival this university has ever seen, all because the best boy in the world planned it.”
Soobin laughs shyly, even after all these years of dating, he still feels a little shy when Yeonjun acts extra affectionate. "Thank you, Hyung. I appreciate it. I'm going to ask for your opinion a lot, though, because you have the best taste."
"Aw, baby," Yeonjun coos. "I chose you, are we so sure about my taste?"
Soobin scrunches his nose in distaste, trying to pull away from Yeonjun's hold out of spite. But the elder is far stronger from all his martial arts practice, he holds on tight to Soobin, not allowing his boyfriend to escape.
"Only kidding, of course, I have the best taste, look at you… and of course, I'll help you, I'll be the unofficial designer."
Soobin sticks his tongue out at his boyfriend, but thanks him anyway.
"Anyway, since this is going to be the best winter solstice festival in history, I'm going to participate."
"Really? Hyung, that might really help with the festival's outreach!"
"Of course, baby, and if I win, I'm going to grab you and kiss you on stage, in front of everyone. Like this,"
Before Soobin could register what Yeonjun had said, the elder surges forward, pressing their lips together in a deep kiss. He smiles against the younger's lips, tilting his head to deepen it even more. His hands cup Soobin's head gingerly, tilting it slightly as well.
When they break apart, Yeonjun tells Soobin that his smile rivals the sun.
The moment Soobin saw Wooyoung walk towards him on campus, he should've known something weird was going to happen.
Jung Wooyoung and Lee Chan were very good friends of Yeonjun's, but Soobin had never met them properly because of the weird arrangement Yeonjun had roped him into. Neither Wooyoung nor Chan knew about their situation, and Yeonjun definitely hadn't bothered to even give them a fake story behind their "tension".
"Choi Soobin!" Wooyoung called.
Soobin exchanges a quick look with Beomgyu before turning around to greet the senior. "Uh, hi?"
"My name is Wooyoung, Jung Wooyoung. I'm a fourth-year and I plan on participating in the winter solstice festival."
"Dude," Yeonjun groans from behind, "why are you talking like that?"
"Hush, it's my first time meeting Soobin, I need to be polite."
"Yeah," Chan snickers, "by giving him all your personal information… don't forget to give him your credit card info too."
Soobin stands there awkwardly, purposely ignoring Yeonjun's gaze on him. Beomgyu reaches out to grab Soobin's wrist, ready to pull him away when—
"I heard you were in charge of the festival this year, I know this guy probably hasn't been the nicest to you, but please don't sabotage me or anything because of him! I may be his friend but I swear I have never once thought anything bad about you."
Soobin's head snaps up immediately, looking at Wooyoung. "Where did you hear that?"
"He told me about it," Wooyoung points at Yeonjun, "I swear he's on top of all your activities, it's like he's obsessed with you or something."
Soobin meets Yeonjun's eyes, the elder bows his head in apology. "It's not confirmed… I haven't gotten back to Professor Kim yet… but don't worry, I would never sabotage anyone."
"Oh, sorry for bringing it up. I guess Professor Kim told him or something, you know how she favours him."
Soobin nods, not sure how to continue this conversation, not sure that he wants to continue this conversation when Yeonjun is standing right there looking like a kicked puppy; when he's sure that everyone else near them is eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Okay, well, we're late for class, so… It was nice meeting you guys," Beomgyu begins, grabbing Soobin's wrist, he turns to look at Yeonjun. "Well, sort of."
As they walk to class, Soobin's phone pings with a message from Yeonjun. sorry baby :(, It reads, i thought u told beomgyu alr so half the sch wld know…..… i'll make it up to u i promise
"You're lucky Wooyoung assumed Prof' Kim told you about it," Soobin pinches Yeonjun's cheeks. "Or I'd have to deal with you."
"Maybe I want you to deal with me, sweet baby."
"Ew, that sounds weird… anyway, I'm going to make your wallet hurt."
"Do it," Yeonjun laughs, placing a kiss on Soobin's cheek. "I want to spoil my sweet baby."
Soobin doesn't do much, he just orders take out from a slightly more expensive Chinese restaurant, knowing that Yeonjun would like it too.
"So, Wooyoung says you're obsessed with me, huh?"
Yeonjun smiles back, a loopy grin hanging on his face. "You bet I am."
Soobin's not proud of his work ethic.
Of course, he had gotten back to Professor Kim rather quickly, in fact, he had confirmed it with her that very day Wooyoung confronted him. Soobin was— quite frankly, overwhelmed. Planning the winter solstice festival had been his dream since he first entered the University, but he didn't expect it to be so demanding. On top of that, he had to juggle his school work. Of course, Yeonjun had been helping him out in whatever way he could, but it was inevitable that Soobin had to bear the brunt of it.
A few nights of burning the midnight oil, and Soobin had fallen victim to a fever caused by exhaustion.
The morning he woke up with a fever, his friends had insisted on coming over to bring him soup. His sleep-addled brain combined with the fever haze led to him giving his friends his address, completely forgetting that they would encounter Yeonjun if they came over.
Despite being friends for over a year, this would be their first time visiting the apartment. Soobin makes a mental note to inform Yeonjun about it.
Yeonjun enters the room with a few pills and a cup of water in his hands, he hands them over to Soobin as he settles beside the younger, one hand reaching up to card through his sweaty bangs. "The medication is the drowsy kind, but you definitely need to sleep, you haven't been taking care of yourself. Sleep more, okay? I'll go get some groceries so I can cook you a meal. Call me if you need anything."
Soobin nods obediently, croaking out a weak 'thanks' before Yeonjun tucks him into bed, coaxing him to go back to sleep.
He forgets to tell him.
When Soobin wakes up, it's to the faint aroma of Yeonjun's delicious cooking wafting in from the kitchen. He remains laying down, staring up at the ceiling as he musters the energy to crawl out of bed. Sure, he's still tired, but right now he needs his boyfriend's cuddles the most.
The doorbell rings. Soobin suddenly remembers that his friends promised to come after lessons, he shoots out of bed, letting out an "ack" as he moves far too fast for his sick body. Nausea hits, and he falls back onto the bed with a light thud.
"Stay in bed, baby! I'll get the door."
Soobin wants to yell for Yeonjun, tell him about what lies ahead should he open that damned door, but he can't find it in him to do anything but lie there as he awaits his impending doom.
He hears the door creak open, and there's a moment of eerie silence before— "WHAT THE FUCK?"
Whoomph, there it is.
"CHOI YEONJUN?" He hears Kai yell, followed by Beomgyu's "DID YOU CALL HIM BABY?"
By the way that the yelling stops and he hears the door swing close, Soobin assumes that Taehyun had done some damage control. There's 4 sets of footsteps padding towards their room, Yeonjun probably a good distance away from the rest.
The door creaks open and Soobin sits up, his boyfriend's head peaks through the gap in the door frame, a pained expression on his face. "Uhm, your friends are here… Soobin."
Soobin grimaces at how awkward Yeonjun is acting, the only time the elder calls him 'Soobin' is when they're in school, trying to not give their relationship away. The hesitation in his voice shows that Yeonjun really doesn't know how to act, doesn't know if they should keep the facade up in front of the trio.
He groans loudly, plopping back down onto his pillow. Three years of acting all down the drain. At Soobin's action, the door swings fully open as Yeonjun rushes to his side, mumbling about how he should really be more careful when he's sick. He rearranges the pillow below Soobin's head, trying to ensure the younger is as comfortable as can be.
A cough can be heard from behind and Yeonjun freezes in his place, it is clear that he had forgotten about the presence of Soobin's friends when he had rushed to Soobin's side. He slowly straightens up, then turns to leave the room quietly, avoiding eye contact with any of Soobin's friends.
"Hyung…" Soobin calls weakly, "is it okay if I tell them?"
Yeonjun laughs awkwardly from where he's standing, "I don't think we have a choice."
"Okay then… can you stay?"
Yeonjun nods quietly, turning back and sitting by Soobin on the bed. Soobin beckons for his friends to enter the room properly, asking them to make themselves comfortable.
"I would ask what he's doing here…" Taehyun begins, "but it's pretty obvious that he lives here, and that the two of you are… something…" he gestures to the pictures hung on the wall, the oldest ones dating back to when they had just met in high school.
"Would you believe me if I told you that we are roommates who can't stand each other?"
"Hyung," Taehyun sounds incredulous, "he called you 'baby'... and that's literally a picture of you two kissing, labelled '3rd anniversary'."
"Time to come clean, boo." Yeonjun pats Soobin's thigh.
"Boo?" Kai gawks as Soobin glares at Yeonjun for using such a nickname in front of his friends.
"Okay! Fine, yes. Yeonjun-Hyung is my boyfriend, we've been dating for almost four years now… this is why I couldn't room with you, Beomgyu."
Beomgyu pouts at that, "Yeah, is this why you don't do sleepovers too? 'Cause you're too busy snogging your boyfriend every night."
Soobin's jaw drops at that statement, his face flushes rapidly, not knowing how to respond aside from gawking at Beomgyu wordlessly.
"Why are you booing him? He's right." Yeonjun says.
The younger smacks his boyfriend's arm, turning to his friends. "Nevermind, I have no boyfriend. I just broke up with him."
"Hey!"
"Wow," Kai muses. "How did you meet??"
"Let me tell the story," Yeonjun interjects. "I think my sick baby needs to rest."
Soobin tries to hide his cringe at Yeonjun being so blatantly affectionate in front of his friends, but he doesn't hide it well enough if Beomgyu's snickering is any indication to go by.
"So, my parents are a bit older because they wanted to focus on their careers before having children. I grew up in Seoul before we moved to a smaller town when they retired. I met Soobin when I was in my third year of high school, we had just moved over from Seoul and I was a city boy struggling to adapt to living in a more rural area. His mother had asked him to show me around… and the rest is history. I don't really think there was any chance that I wouldn't have fallen for him."
"So… this apartment?"
"My parents are quite… well off, so they insisted on us staying here and they pay for all this. I'm kind of his sugar daddy."
Soobin's head peeks out from where he had hidden under the covers in embarrassment, groaning a loud "Hyung" at Yeonjun calling himself his sugar daddy.
"I wanted to do a 'best friend judging your new boyfriend' thing, but since you've been dating longer than I've known you… I don't think I'll get my chance." Beomgyu mutters bitterly.
"Damn right," Yeonjun says. "Binnie is my princess, so there's no need for evaluations here."
"Please stop," Soobin whispers, but it seems like Yeonjun is hellbent on embarrassing him in front of his friends.
"This is why you've been rejecting all the dates I've been trying to set up for you, why didn't you just tell us?" Kai crosses his arms.
Yeonjun wraps an arm around Soobin protectively, "so you're the one trying to get my Binnie to go on dates… please stop, I get jealous, you know."
"I didn't say anything because this guy thought it would be hilarious for us to make everyone think we hated each other when we were actually dating. It all started because of a few misunderstandings in my first year."
"Wow, and you didn't even tell your best friends?"
Soobin rolls his eyes at Taehyun, "Hyung's friends don't know either. As of right now, everyone in the Uni who knows is sitting in this room."
"That's so cool, babe, we're like a little club or something."
Soobin smacks his boyfriend's arm in a final attempt to get him to shut up.
They answer a few more questions before Yeonjun announces that Soobin needs to rest, he says that the three boys are welcome to stay, but they'll have to leave Soobin alone in the room so that he can take the nap he needs.
Eventually, they leave with the promise of being invited over more often, seeing as Soobin and Yeonjun has nothing to hide from them anymore. Yeonjun makes them promise not to spread their secret, though, because he wants to announce Soobin as his boyfriend in the most romantic way possible. His stern gaze makes Kai gulp in fear.
Flashing lights and the loud boom from the speakers overwhelms Soobin, he regrets agreeing to join the party Kai had Yeonjun rope him into.
(“Aw, come on, baby! Going to at least one party is a part of the Crucial College Experience™!”
“Did you just say T-M out loud?”
“Hell yeah! I’m Choi Yeonjun. Come on… I’ll be there!”
Soobin is fully aware that if he really doesn’t want to go, Yeonjun would never force him, he’d be fully willing to ditch the party and stay home for a night of Netflix (and Chill?). But, Soobin also knows that Yeonjun had always wanted to attend a party with Soobin, wants Soobin to try different things, step out of his comfort zone at least once.
“Okay, but only if you’re there.”
“I’ll watch you all night long, baby.”)
Yeonjun is somewhere amongst the crowd, subtly watching Soobin, ready to pull him out of the situation if he gets too uncomfortable. Soobin is too uncomfortable, but he suppresses the feeling and tries to enjoy himself, if not for him, then for Yeonjun.
Beomgyu had run off sometime early in the night, trying to ease into a conversation with this senior he swore he didn’t have a crush on (lies, Soobin thinks), leaving him with Taehyun and Kai, his bodyguards.
Yeonjun had picked out his outfit earlier that night, even helping him apply makeup to ensure Soobin felt as confident as he could. Soobin looked a little too good, however, seeing as how Yeonjun almost called off the night’s plans so he could have Soobin all to himself. Kai wouldn’t allow it, though.
So here Soobin was, standing in the middle of an unfamiliar crowd, trying to negate his feelings such that he could have a good time, for his boyfriend.
What he completely didn’t expect, was for a man his age to show up in front of him, dazzling smile, trying to woo Soobin off his feet.
The man was tall, admittedly, but definitely not taller than Soobin or even Kai. He wore a low-cut shirt, exposing his collarbones, tucked into a nice pair of black jeans, trying to accentuate his features.
But Soobin didn’t notice that. His eyes flitted around, trying to locate Yeonjun. When he found him, he noticed how the elder was glaring at the man’s back, eyebrows knitted together and his grip on his cup was so tight his knuckles were turning white.
“Hey,” the man breathes, Soobin feels the stench of alcohol blow into his face, his nose scrunches in distaste. “Soobin, right?”
He nods, trying to be polite.
“You look really pretty, and you’re smart too, huh? The whole package.”
Soobin wants to respond, tell this man to fuck off, ready to prattle on about how he’s absolutely not interested in relationships in this present moment.
However, before he has the chance to, Kai steps forward, pushing Soobin behind him. “My friend here is taken, please stop hitting on him.”
And Soobin’s mouth almost drops open, because what the fuck, Kai, nobody is supposed to know that.
The man’s mouth actually drops open, no one on campus has any idea that their top student was taken, this was hot gossip for sure.
Luckily, though, Taehyun manages to step in to do damage control. “He means, Soobin is taken by academics and planning for the winter solstice festival, he doesn’t have time to date and he isn’t interested in it either.”
“Yeah! That’s what I meant.” Kai tries to recover.
"'Sokay, " he slurs, "you can just come with me for the night."
Soobin scoffs at that. He side-eyes him, looking up and down. "Sorry to burst your bubble," he says, hand gesturing to his get-up, "but I'm not at all interested in… all this."
At Soobin's attitude, the man's jaw hardens, but fortunately for them, he holds his tongue, walking away without another word.
“It’s okay, Kai, don’t worry about it,” Soobin assures him immediately, knowing that Kai would beat himself up over his mistake. His eyes travel back to where Yeonjun is standing, his eyebrows are still furrowed, though his posture is less tense. When his eyes meet Soobin’s, he relaxes even more.
“I think I’m going to go home,” Soobin tells the boys. “Say bye to Beom for me, don’t worry, I’m fine. I can handle myself until I find Hyung.”
Taehyun nods, waving goodbye to Soobin as he swiftly manoeuvres Kai to the kitchen to get more drinks.
Soobin exits the frat house, messaging Yeonjun as he makes his way over to where the elder had parked his car. babe i want to go home, he types, i’m making my way over to the car, you want to come?
omw, Yeonjun replies, and Soobin tucks his phone into his pocket as he unlocks the car and slides into the driver’s seat.
Not even five minutes later, Yeonjun opens the door to the passenger’s side, smelling faintly of alcohol and the strong cologne he had applied earlier.
“You didn’t drink?” Yeonjun asks, “you can drive?”
“Yeah,” Soobin replies. “I didn’t feel comfortable drinking there, so don’t worry, I’m completely sober. Let’s go home, then?”
“Actually, how about we get some ice cream at the convenience store? It’ll be a midnight date.”
Soobin smiles as he starts the engine, “that sounds wonderful.”
They buy their ice cream and sit by the road till they finish it, talking about how their night went. When Soobin tells Yeonjun that he didn’t particularly enjoy himself, Yeonjun places a comforting kiss on his nose, assuring Soobin that he doesn’t need to attend another party ever again if he doesn’t want to.
When they return to their apartment, they wash up and order takeout, snacking on the food as The X-files plays on the television, Soobin tucked snuggly into Yeonjun’s side.
A global pandemic.
While it is an inherently bad thing, Soobin just knows that his boyfriend is excited to be stuck at home with him all day. Unfortunately, he can't say the same for himself. While spending all day every day with Yeonjun is a dream come through, the entire country going into lockdown means that the winter solstice festival must either be cancelled or brought online. The only two possible outcomes are all his efforts going down the drain or having twice his current workload.
Thankfully, after long discussions with his committee and professor Kim, they had decided to move the festival online. (Yeonjun had climbed onto the table dramatically, yelling "the show must go on!")
The winter solstice festival is the most anticipated event of the school year, so one week into lockdown, a Zoom Webinar is held for Soobin to disseminate updates about the festival.
Yeonjun doesn't attend the webinar, choosing to simply bug Soobin whenever he has questions to be answered. Instead, he does his home workout in the living room, waiting for Soobin to be done so they can begin their intense Mario Kart competition.
Soobin sits in front of the computer nervously, Yeonjun staying by his side to calm him down till he had to turn on the camera. He smiles weakly at the camera as he begins sharing his screen, his face display turns into a small pop-up in the corner.
The webinar overruns, what was supposed to be a quick 30-minute briefing is about to hit the 45-minute mark. Soobin can't understand why Professor Kim had decided to send him more information to disseminate halfway through his briefing, but he reads it out diligently anyway.
Yeonjun had timed his workout perfectly such that they would both be done at similar times, so when Professor Kim sends another message and he still hears the shower running, he thanks the heavens that Yeonjun had decided to take his own sweet time.
But his gratitude is short-lived, because while he's speaking, the door to the room swings open, and in walks Yeonjun wearing nothing but a towel tied around his waist. Yeonjun must have assumed that Soobin was done because as he walks in, he says, "baby, I was thinking—"
Soobin's camera is on, and his microphone is unmuted.
The younger's face heats up incredibly fast and he stops mid-sentence to whip his head around and stare at his boyfriend. Yeonjun had noticed that the webinar is still ongoing and the rising blush on his face matches Soobin's. He mutters a quick apology and leaves the room immediately.
Soobin returns to the computer and he wraps up his briefing, face still red.
When he's done, he ignores the incessant pinging on his phone, full of messages from acquaintances who cannot believe what they had just seen. He makes his way to the living room where he finds Yeonjun on a video call with Chan and Wooyoung, spluttering out excuses for hiding his relationship.
Seems like the whole University now knows.
"Hyung?" Soobin asks as he pads over to his boyfriend.
"Soobin!" Wooyoung exclaims, voice staticky as it travels through the speakers. "Yeonjun, let us speak to your boyfriend." He places emphasis on the last word.
"Oh my god, I cannot believe it," Wooyoung keeps talking, "I asked you not to sabotage me because I thought your boyfriend was your enemy, and Yeonjun! You just let me stand there and make a fool of myself in front of him?
"To be fair, I try to stop you, but for a different reason," Chan interjects.
"Tut, tut, tut! No wonder you knew all his schedules! I was making fun of you for being obsessed with your boyfriend oh my god… I was teasing you for not knowing you had a crush on Soobin when you were literally dating him! I was the fool! Me! It was me! Yeonjun was the evil bastard of a best friend!"
Wooyoung was clearly having a meltdown while Chan just seemed to be enjoying the drama. Soobin turns to an exasperated Yeonjun, "how long has this been happening?"
"I got the call the moment I stepped out of the room."
Soobin laughs at his boyfriend's frustrations, but he soon realises that in his haste to get out of the room, Yeonjun still hadn't changed out of his bath towel. He shoos his boyfriend away from the sofa, telling him to go and put on some clothes while he properly introduces himself to his friends.
"YEONJUN IS NAKED!?"
It takes a while, but Wooyoung eventually calms down (with dinner promises on Yeonjun’s part) and accepts Yeonjun’s apology. (But not without calling him a bumbling idiot for coming up with this arrangement in the first place.)
Soobin settles down beside Yeonjun on the couch, fried chicken placed on the coffee table in front of them. The two had decided that after all this chaos, they weren’t really in the mood for Mario Kart.
“Hyung, should we just drop the act? I don’t think we can hide it anymore after you literally walked into my camera without a shirt.” Soobin asks.
“Hm…” Yeonjun hums, hand casually rubbing circles in Soobin’s nape. “I had plans to woo your ass with my eventual grand reveal, such a pity that it happened this way.”
Soobin leans into the touch, “you already woo-ed my ass, Hyung, no need to do more.”
Yeonjun turns to look at his boyfriend, smiling widely as he spends time appreciating him.
“Let’s just announce it then, what’s the easiest way?”
“Hm… how about a post? Don’t think we can do anything else in this situation.”
“Okay then, a post it is.”
They both decide to tell their friends first, this time, hoping to avoid another Wooyoung debacle.
(yay! was Kai’s response, i get to tell the whole world that i’m friends with both choi soobin AND choi yeonjun><
well, Soobin says, i get to tell the whole world that choi yeonjun is my boyfriend.
Soobin receives the punishment of being temporarily removed from the groupchat.)
The post goes up a few days later, and the two quickly become the talk of the town. It’s rather weird, Soobin figures, that he’s only released one statement about his relationship, and yet his entire timeline is talking about it, how even some people he’s never met before seem to have strong opinions about their relationship.
(They become the unofficial it-couple on campus, Soobin thinks it’s ridiculous considering how there’s no one on campus, but Yeonjun thinks it says something about their impact.)
And even though Yeonjun was the one who wanted to start with the whole fake enemies arrangement, he’s also the one who relishes showing off his boyfriend all over social media.
When Soobin wakes up early to prepare breakfast for the two, Yeonjun uploads an Instagram story calling him ‘hubby material’. When Soobin wakes up with his hair all over the place, Yeonjun uploads three videos calling him the cutest boy in the world. When they cook dinner together, Yeonjun “vlogs” the entire process, even providing his own commentary.
Soobin thinks he’s the happiest he’s ever been, he has Yeonjun tucked at his side, the whole university now knows about his wonderful boyfriend. His friends are beyond supportive, and Yeonjun’s friends like to include him in all of their weird antics.
“Hey Binnie, want to prank the university again?”