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“What cologne do you use?”
“Huh?” said Haknyeon confused by the sudden question.
“What cologne do you use?” Eric asked again, the boy looked at him confused.
“I don’t know… I got it as a gift, why?”
“You smell fruity” Haknyeon looked at Eric like he was crazy, right when he was about to smack him with a book the younger realized what he had said. “No, no, no, not like that I mean you smell like tangerines.”
“Oh well, I went to my hometown this weekend maybe the smell got stuck in my clothes”
Haknyeon and Eric weren’t strangers but they were not friends either, if anything they could call each other acquaintances. Their friends were dating, they had many friends in common and they had most of their classes together but they just never had the urge to become friends, or at least that was what Haknyeon thought. Eric was always captivated by Haknyeon, he didn’t know why or what about him but there was something that always attracted him, perhaps Eric avoided Haknyeon all these years in an attempt to ignore the strange feeling he got when they were near each other and as consequence, they never got close to each other, or maybe they just never got to talk to each other, yeah sure it was that.
Eric spent the rest of the class thinking about Haknyeon, he sat behind him for this particular class so he would catch a glimpse of him from time to time trying to not be too obvious. If anyone asked, Eric would deny having a crush on Haknyeon but his brain could not stop thinking about the man’s soft pillowy pink lips, the way he slightly would stick out his tongue when he was too focused on something, or the delicious citrusy scent that he could currently smell. Everything in his mind revolved around Haknyeon but he would still deny having minimal interest in him, mainly because he was too intimidated by the older to even try to make a move, it took all of his courage to even tell him about his cologne and he ended up looking like a clown. Most people would say Haknyeon was a very chill person, and even laugh at the idea of him being intimidating to someone but not for Youngjae, he was terrified of the effect the man had on him.
He snapped out of his thought bubble due to certain someone snapping his fingers in front of him, trying to bring him back to reality. To his (bad) luck, that certain someone was the reason he got lost in his thoughts in the first place. “Hey, class just ended,” Haknyeon said when he noticed the younger was finally back. Youngjae blushed as he shook his head, embarrassed, trying to get rid of his thoughts and focus on what was going on. Haknyeon seemed to notice and giggled softly and Eric could feel his heart skip a beat with the beautiful sound of his laugh. “Thanks for telling me, I kind of died and came back to life right now” Eric joked trying to sound relaxed, which apparently worked because his classmate just smiled at him and started putting his things away.
“Idiot” Eric whispered to himself, Haknyeon looked back at him with a frown that quickly turned into a laugh when the younger realized he had heard him and his eyes widened in embarrassment. “Oh my god I’m sorry, I was talking to myself I would never be rude to you out of nowhere一”
“Sohn Youngjae you are a very weird man” Haknyeon laughed once again. At least he finds me funny, Eric thought. He began to pack his things too, trying to ignore the obvious blush all over his face. “Anyways” Haknyeon sighed while grabbing his bag, “Are you coming to Jacob’s apartment today?” the younger nodded in response, still organizing his things and trying to not look at his acquaintance’s face anymore. “We can go together then!” he suggested with enthusiasm while the other boy froze at the mention of spending any more time together. “Or not if you don’t want to”
In theory, of course, Eric would love to spend time with Haknyeon. He would adore spending his time doing nothing but looking at the other man all day but of course, that would be a little weird. After the events that took place in the span of less than an hour, Eric wasn’t sure that he could spend any more time with his crush without dying of embarrassment, he was so nervous for no reason that he kept making a fool of himself, Haknyeon was sweet enough and laughed at his awkwardness but what would happen when it was no longer funny and it became plainly awkward? Eric was usually a pretty laid-back guy but Haknyeon would make him become an anxious mess for no reason, it wasn’t even his fault, he could be standing doing nothing and Eric’s heart would start beating at an inhumane pace just by seeing him. He couldn’t be an asshole to Haknyeon just because his heart would act crazy every time the older was near, feelings aside, he was his friends’ friend for years so the least he can do was try to act normal and not be an asshole to him. It took all the strength in him to say “No, let’s go together” but after seeing the smile on the boy’s face at least he knew it was worth it.
Eric grabbed all of his belongings and began making his way to Jacob’s apartment with Haknyeon by his side.
-
Jacob’s apartment was on campus so they decided walking would be the best option, they were halfway there but the walk so far had been absolute silence. Haknyeon wasn’t a quiet person and Eric knew that but he also knew that he was shy with everyone who wasn’t his close friends. Basically, Eric knew that if he didn’t want the whole walk to Jacob’s to be silent he was the one that would have to start the conversation.
“Ju Haknyeon you’re like a meter afar from me and I can still smell tangerine all the way over here,” Youngjae said in an attempt to start a conversation. Haknyeon stopped walking, Eric did too and looked back at him. “Does it bother you?” he asked, but Youngjae could not figure out if the older was hurt or genuinely asking.
“What? Of course not! I love tangerines!” Eric walked back to where Haknyeon was standing, “I was just saying, it’s genuinely amazing” he finished saying, giving him a smile.
“So you do like tangerines then?” Haknyeon asked.
“Of course I do!” Haknyeon raised an eyebrow and laughed quietly, Eric didn’t realize how close he was to Haknyeon until now, they were face to face with only a couple of centimeters separating them, he quickly became hyperaware of his surroundings but at that same time, Haknyeon grabbed one of his hands and began doing circular motions with his thumb in the palm of the boy’s hand. “You know” Haknyeon began speaking, “I always thought you hated me or had a problem with me” Eric tilted his head like a puppy, not understanding the direction of the conversation. “But a tangerine is a hell of specific citrus to mention” Haknyeon chuckled while looking at Eric directly in the eye, being able to see how nervous he was, “and that tells me one thing” he stopped tracing circles on Eric’s hand to intertwined their fingers and place them in his chest, “you don’t hate me, you must have asked someone where I was this weekend” Eric stood there, frozen but allowing Haknyeon to grab his hands and uncover the facade he had been putting on for so long. “I think you actually might like me”
“I could just like you as a friend though” Youngjae replied, but it was useless to try to keep his cover on, the boy had already discovered his feelings for him, he just wanted to tussle with him a little bit. “If you wanted me as a friend, why would you be so nervous when I’m just grabbing your hands?” Eric smiled.
Youngjae closed the short distance between them. Lips moving together at a slow pace, enjoying the moment with no hurry. Haknyeon’s lips were as soft as he had ever imagined, even softer and plushier if that was even possible, and Haknyeon felt like a big weight just disappeared from his shoulders the moment their lips touched each other, he felt relieved to be right about Youngjae’s feelings and willing to accept them. Time disappeared as the kiss progressed but in reality, it wasn’t long, after all, they were in public and didn’t want to cause a scene.
“You also taste like tangerines” Haknyeon laughed.
“You are a strange man, Sohn Youngjae”