Work Text:
[00:53]
Nishimura Riki : hey r u awake
[00:55]
Nishimura Riki : hyung
[00:56]
Nishimura Riki : hello
[00:57]
Nishimura Riki : emergency
[00:58]
Nishimura Riki : hyung wake up
[00:59]
Kim Sunoo : Oh my god WHAT
[00:59]
Nishimura Riki : hyuuuung !
Nishimura Riki : oh ur awake
[00:59]
Kim Sunoo : Obviously, you woke me up. Now what’s the emergency? I have class tomorrow
[01:00]
Nishimura Riki : so do i ur not special? we literally go to the same school hyung
Nishimura Riki : but anyways so
Nishimura Riki : would you rather have everyone you know being able to read your mind or for everyone you know having access to your internet history?
[01:00]
Kim Sunoo : Riki are you serious it’s 1AM 😭
[01:01]
Nishimura Riki : don’t avoid the question hyung that’s suspicious
[01:01]
Kim Sunoo : What do you mean by that?? I’ll have you know i have NOTHING to hide
[01:01]
Nishimura Riki : why are u getting so defensive? kinda suspicious…… ig it’s true that it’s always the sweet-looking ones….
[01:02]
Kim Sunoo : I will strangle you, you better watch your back at school tomorrow.
[01:02]
Nishimura Riki : can u even reach that high?
[01:03]
Kim Sunoo : Goodnight, Riki. I’ll mute my phone now.
[01:03]
Nishimura Riki : gnight hyung <3<3
***
“Well, you look like shit”.
Sunoo turned to the voice speaking, glaring at his classmate and friend. Park Sunghoon looked as perfect as always, leaning over Sunoo’s desk with a smile. He did not have the dark circles Sunoo was currently sporting, after being woken up at 1AM when his first lesson was at 8:30. He hadn’t been able to fall asleep, laying awake and frantically wondering if maybe he did have something in his internet history he needed to hide well into the early hours. Not even his best concealer had been able to fix the problem.
Sunoo groaned, taking out his books from his backpack.
“It’s Riki’s fault. He kept me up”.
He put his books on the desk, and then leaned his forehead against them. It was another couple of minutes before the teacher arrived.
He heard Sunghoon get down next to him.
“Riki-ya?”
Sunoo sighed.
“Yes. If I see him I’ll kick his ass”.
Sunghoon chuckled, taking out his own books.
“Good luck”.
I’m surrounded by enemies , he thought grumpily to himself.
Sunoo hadn’t known the Japanese exchange student for very long, he had been introduced to him through his friends, since he had transferred to his underclassman and childhood friend Yang Jungwon’s class and then joined the dance club the rest of his friends were in. First, Sunoo was struck by how handsome he was. Tall and mysterious. But then, for some reason, he had the misfortune to find out that he was not as cool and collected as he seemed. Riki had seemingly seen him and then decided that Sunoo should be his victim. And such, came the nightly texts of nonsense.
It was annoying as fuck. But even more annoying, was that Riki was still very, very attractive, despite it all.
***
[00:56]
Nishimura Riki : hyung.
Nishimura Riki : would u rather take amazing selfies but look terrible in all other photos or be photogenic everywhere but in ur selfies?
[00:57]
Kim Sunoo : Both of those suck?
[00:57]
Nishimura Riki : hah i knew you’d like that one
[00:58]
Kim Sunoo : Like?? Come on now…
[00:58]
Nishimura Riki : ok what about this one: would u rather have a third nipple or an extra toe?
[01:02]
Kim Sunoo : Pass.
[01:02]
Nishimura Riki : wow u rly had to think before responding huh
[01:03]
Kim Sunoo : Goodnight Riki.
[01:03]
Nishimura Riki : would u rather find a rat in ur kitchen cabinet or a roach in ur bed?
[01:04]
Kim Sunoo : 👎
[01:04]
Nishimura Riki : sleep well look out for roaches <3
***
Sunoo had dreamt about roaches crawling all over him. Not even showering in boiling hot water for twenty minutes, which almost made him tardy for class, had fully erased the phantom sensation of bugs crawling over his skin.
***
[01:06]
Nishimura Riki : would u rather be alone all ur life or always surrounded by annoying people?
[01:06]
Kim Sunoo : Isn't the latter already my reality?
[01:07]
Nishimura Riki : hyung!
Nishimura Riki : how can u say that abt sunghoon hyung
***
“Hoonie, I will die alone and ugly if this continues, why don’t you care?”
Sunghoon snorted ungraciously, and began stretching his arms above his head. They were finishing up gym class, they had played badminton in pairs, but Sunoo couldn’t say he had managed to get much done. He was tired, and he really looked the part.
Sunghoon let down his arms, sighing, and then motioned his head towards the far end of the hall, where the rest of their classmates had started assembling around the teacher.
“C’mon, Sunoo, I want to get out of here. I’m hungry”.
Sunoo sighed, but did follow his friend along, racket in hand.
“You don’t care about me. Ass”, he whined.
Sunghoon glanced at him over his shoulder, slowing down as they were getting close to the rest.
“You could always mute the conversation, if it really bothers you, y’kno? Or tell him to stop?”
That shut Sunoo up, because he knew Sunghoon was right. He was grateful for the gym teacher who started talking, just so he didn’t need to reply. He knew Sunghoon was right. If it was such a bother, he could really tell Riki off, he doubted the tall boy would refuse his request. But…
… he didn’t really want to. At the end of it all, he enjoyed the attention a bit, even if it interrupted his sleeping schedule. God, annoying.
***
[00:57]
Nishimura Riki : oh i found a bad one
Nishimura Riki : u ready?
[00:58]
Kim Sunoo : Do I have a choice?
[00:58]
Nishimura Riki : no, so hear me out
Nishimura Riki : you stay forever young, but…
[00:59]
Kim Sunoo : But?
[00:59]
Nishimura Riki : … but you have to eat your cat
[01:00]
Kim Sunoo : Riki noo why… who would want that 😭
[01:00]
Nishimura Riki : so that’s a no?
[01:01]
Kim Sunoo : OBVIOUSLY
Kim Sunoo : Although I don’t have a cat.
[01:02]
Nishimura Riki : you eat layla
[01:02]
Kim Sunoo : Jake’s dog????
Kim Sunoo : NO
***
He was getting too invested in Riki’s silly little questions. It was embarrassing, considering they didn’t talk much in person, like at the current moment when they all had lunch together. If they talked, they bickered. Sunoo wasn’t sure why, but he suspected on his part it had something to do with his embarrassing crush and the fear that any of the rest would figure it out. God, he hoped they hadn’t.
He tore his eyes away from Riki on the other side of the table, who was talking about dance practice with Heeseung, and looked down at his plate. The sight of the food made him feel sick. The chicken made him think about Layla. Poor Layla. Ugh.
***
[00:56]
Nishimura Riki : why do we desire what we cannot acquire
[00:57]
Kim Sunoo : That’s deep.
[00:57]
Nishimura Riki : yeah
Nishimura Riki : would u rather wear the same socks for a month or wear the same underwear for a week?
[00:58]
Kim Sunoo : And there it is. My cue to go to bed.
***
So, maybe lately, he had to stay up and wait until Riki texted him another one of his silly questions. He couldn’t help it. So, maybe, being tired the next morning was fully on him.
But it was also Riki’s fault, even more so when he never seemed to look tired despite being up late. Very unfair. So, it was Riki’s fault, just because he was handsome and Sunoo looked like a crack addict.
(Jake assured him he looked fine. But Jake was also too nice. Sunoo was too scared to ask Sunghoon, who wasn’t afraid to be honest about things. He’d take Jake’s word for it.)
***
[01:00]
Nishimura Riki : would u rather give birth to conjoined twins or to sextuplets?
[01:01]
Kim Sunoo : Riki. I can’t give birth in the first place, why would you ask ME that.
[01:01]
Nishimura Riki : my condolences </3 :(
[01:02]
Kim Sunoo : ??😭😭😭
***
[00:56]
Nishimura Riki : would you rather your parents arrange your marriage or marry ur most recent ex?
[00:57]
Kim Sunoo : I mean I don’t have any ex’s whatsoever
[00:57]
Nishimura Riki : youve never dated??? HAH
[00:58]
Kim Sunoo : Well, have you??
[00:58]
Nishimura Riki : i mean no but
[00:59]
Kim Sunoo : HAH!
***
[01:04]
Nishimura Riki : you dont have to pay for school tuition
[01:05]
Kim Sunoo : What’s the catch
[01:05]
Nishimura Riki : every year 20 cats will die
[01:06]
Kim Sunoo : PLEASE LEAVE THE ANIMALS ALONE
***
[00:49]
Nishimura Riki : would u rather date me or jungwonie
[00:50]
Kim Sunoo : I’d never date Won I grew up with him, that’d be like dating my brother 😭
[00:50]
Nishimura Riki : i’d rather date u than jungwon too
[00:50]
Kim Sunoo : Wait?
[00:51]
Nishimura Riki : gnight hyung :)
[00:51]
Kim Sunoo : No wait, what?
Kim Sunoo : Riki??
[00:53]
Kim Sunoo : Hello??
[00:55]
Kim Sunoo : Helloo???
[01:01]
Kim Sunoo : I swear to god are you serious??
[01:05]
Kim Sunoo : Nishimura Riki !!!!!!
***
“Nishimura Riki!”
Sunoo’s voice rang through the corridor, and normally he would be embarrassed over the way people turned to look at him, but for now nothing mattered more than the sight of his tall friend standing by his classroom, next to Jungwon.
He walked up to them in quick steps.
“Sunoo hyung?”, Jungwon asked, sounding confused.
Sunoo looked at him quickly, giving him a tight-lipped smile.
“Can I borrow Riki for a moment? I need to speak to him”.
He looked back at Riki, who met his gaze. For a tense moment, it looked as though the boy would take off, but then he let out a heavy sigh, and hung his head.
“Alright”, he simply said.
Sunoo swallowed, nodding.
“Great, let’s go outside”. He turned to Jungwon again, who was looking back and forth between him and Riki, looking concerned at this point. “We’ll be right back, don’t worry Wonie!”
Jungwon furrowed his brows for a moment, before relaxing his face, nodding.
“Don’t take too long. Our break is only 15 minutes”.
Sunoo nodded, giving him a tense smile, and then grabbed hold of Riki’s sleeve, pulling him along to the door by the end of the corridor, where they hopefully could find some space outside.
They stepped outside, and thankfully it seemed to be pretty empty at this hour, most having class right now. Still, he grabbed hold of Riki’s sleeve, and pulled him along the building, rounding the corner, and they reached a more secluded area of the school.
Feeling satisfied, Sunoo turned to Riki, taking a deep breath. Riki was looking at his feet, looking awkward and nervous. Well, welcome to the club , Sunoo thought to himself.
He opened his mouth.
“Okay, I’ll cut to the chase: what did you mean by that text yesterday, Riki, because I don’t get you and if you’re pulling another prank on me, I swear…”
Riki’s head snapped up at that.
“‘ Prank ’? What do you mean, when have I been-“
Sunoo gritted his teeth. He was gonna get gray hairs at this point. He took a deep, calming breath, before speaking again.
“You’ve been texting me silly things pretty much every night since we got to know each other? How’s that not pranking?”
Riki blinked, eyes wide and face flushed.
“I was hitting on you”.
Sunoo’s mouth fell open, but not before his face grew flushed.
“‘ Hitting on- ‘, by keeping me up at night and teasing me? What are you, twelve?”
Immediately, Riki looked away, and his lips formed a small pout. He looked as if he wanted to shrink down. At once, Sunoo felt bad. Okay, sure, it hadn’t sounded anything like flirting, but maybe he was too harsh. He just…
He swallowed, and lifted his hand, hesitating slightly before putting it against Riki’s elbow.
“Sorry, that was… I’m just… I’m flustered. I really… thought you were picking on me, Riki, and…”
Riki turned his head back, looking down into his eyes.
“I like you. I’m sorry if I made you feel bad. I’ve just never liked someone before, and Jay hyung said that if you liked someone, you should make an effort to talk to them and make them pay attention to you in return, so I just… winged it”.
Sunoo blinked. Lots of things to take in at once. Never liked anyone before? Jay giving advice? What? But one thing in particular…
“I like you too”.
The words came out automatically, but even when he realised that he was the one who had spoken, he couldn’t regret them. Especially when they caused Riki’s eyes to widen, and then immediately after made his face to blossom up in a wide and toothy grin.
“Really?"
Sunoo nodded, throat feeling dry, face hot.
"You’re not joking?”, Riki continued.
Sunoo swallowed, shaking his head. Wow, was this real?
“You’re the prankster here, not me”.
Riki let out a laugh, showing teeth and gums. It was quite the vision to behold. Sunoo couldn’t help but mirror his expression. After a moment of just smiling at each other, the taller man held out his arms, and Sunoo didn’t hesitate to step into them, hugging the taller boy close. God, he smelt nice.
After a moment, Riki spoke, breath coming out against Sunoo’s forehead.
“Will you be my boyfriend?”
Sunoo was glad the other’s shirt hid his face, because he knew it had got to be pink as a peach.
“Of course, yes, I’ll be your boyfriend”.
Riki missed his next class, but no one but Jungwon cared about that. And he wasn’t so mad about it, when he found out the reason. Sunoo pretended he didn’t see Jay begrudgingly give Sunghoon some cash under the table upon them telling their friends the news. He was too happy to get annoyed at this point.
***
[01:05]
Nishimura Riki : hyung?
[01:05]
Kim Sunoo : Yeah?
[01:06]
Nishimura Riki : would u rather i was ur first or ur last love?
[01:07]
Kim Sunoo : Both. You already are.