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Riki is a bachelor of music student, he got a part-time job as a body piercer to make amends of his expenses at the university. His parents didn’t support his chosen college program so he got to do whatever it takes to graduate without depending on them.
Just one more year before he finished school, Riki would be able to make a living by doing what he really loves, which is dancing. He tries hard to maintain a healthy and fit body even though he barely got any rest.
He’s at the school during the day, and at the piercing shop during nighttime. He rides his bike on the way to school as exercise, avoids alcohol and smoking to stay at his peak all the time. As a future professional dancer, good health will be his best investment.
Riki has excellent control over his body, that must be the reason why his boss- Jungkook, which is the owner of the piercing shop liked all his works so far. His steady hands are popular among their customers too.
He's only an hour within his shift but this night is beginning to look like any other night. Riki laid back on his swivel chair and stared at the ceiling. The lights from the cars passing by reflect on the glass window, gleaming up his peripheral vision. The familiar song plays in the background from the queue of his overused playlist.
The wind chime on the shop’s door stopped Riki from dozing off as a customer who’s completely covered up walks in. Riki slowly stands up and greets, “Good evening, Sir.” With his voice lacking vigor, “What can I do for you?”
“Hi…Good evening.” The man approached him in front of his desk, fidgeting with the strap of his bag, as if he’s not supposed to be here at all. He seems sketchy plus his voice is oddly familiar, that’s why he got Riki’s interest.
“…I made a reservation under the name Lee Heeseung.”
His eyes slowly widened at the man in front of him, it all suddenly made sense to Riki. That voice... His sleepiness dissipates as this realization dawns on him. That’s his vocal music professor’s voice, Professor Lee Heeseung.
Okay he takes his words back. This night is definitely not like any other night.
“Professor Lee...” Riki speaks carefully, relieved that his voice didn’t waver from how intense his heartbeat is.
The said professor hadn’t seen Riki’s face yet because his head was down the whole time. Heeseung gasped under his mask when he heard the word professor, his hand unconsciously grabbed the cap on his head and covered his face with it even more.
When he finds the courage to see who recognized him, he finally looks up, “You– Why are you here?” A glint of panic registered in his eyes. He thought that getting recognized is the worst-case scenario, not until he sees his student who appears to be shocked as well.
Riki awkwardly scratched his own head to explain himself. “I worked here. As a matter of fact, I will be the one who’s in-charge of your piercing… Sir.”
The professor remained silent after that, obviously flustered to see his student. Conflicted if he’s going to proceed or not, he turned around to get his phone. He signaled Riki to wait for a bit, it seems like he will call someone. Riki bowed slightly and let Heeseung talk on his phone.
Heeseung went outside for privacy, the second his call went through the other line, he shouted, “Jay, I told you this is a terrible idea!” while Riki pretends to flip through the logbook pages, he overheard that last sentence.
Now that Heeseung is out of his sight, Riki can finally break down. He rubbed his face with both his hands and tried to relax by taking deep breaths. “Okay Riki, you can do this! Maybe it’s just one ear piercing. It couldn’t be that bad.”
He pep talks himself as he searches for Heeseung’s reservation form located under his table. His hands that are holding the paper are shaking, of all the professors in his university, it has to be the one who’s his biggest crush too!
He reads the details of Heeseung’s appointment, “Let’s see… wait- a navel piercing?! No, I can’t do this!” Riki facepalmed and slammed the paper down to the table.
“No, calm down Riki. He seems shocked to see you too,” He nods several times as he continues to talk to himself, “There’s still a chance that he will back out.”
But he completely loses it when he sees Heeseung walking back to the shop already. All his self-talk went down the drain when he realized that Heeseung would still proceed.
Well fuck, he’s not backing out.
Riki busied himself and prepared his tools as another way to calm down. Be professional.
He’s now alone with Professor Lee and he couldn’t help but to feel self-conscious with every move that he makes.
Heeseung returned in front of him, putting his phone back in his bag. “Sorry for that. I was just talking to my friend.”
“No worries Sir. I looked at your form already and it’s a navel piercing, correct?.” Riki eyed Heeseung up and down, he cleared his throat before speaking again, “Before we proceed, I need to check if your body is suitable first.”
“Oh… I didn’t know it needed to be checked first, the other staff didn’t tell me anything yesterday.”
“It’s not much, Sir. I just need to check if it’s pierceable. There are some who aren't compatible but it rarely happens.” Riki then guided Heeseung to the piercing room. Even walking feels weird here now that he’s with him.
“Raise your shirt for me.” Riki said in a nonchalant tone. He managed to say it just like how he would to his other customers but, the immense feeling of shyness is never leaving him.
“Right…” Heeseung hesitantly raised his shirt halfway, exposing his belly button. He couldn’t even look towards Riki’s direction now.
Riki began to check him, his eyes going down to Heeseung’s belly button as his heartbeat’s rate kept going up. Dismissing his thoughts of how slim and fair his professor’s waist is, how those lean muscles on his abdomen suit his long, yet narrow torso perfectly.
“I’m going to disinfect this area first, then we’ll mark it.” Riki said, making Heeseung flinch when he rubbed the wet cotton on his skin.
Heeseung panicked at first but now, he just finds this awkward situation oddly endearing. He should be worrying for his own state considering how his student’s hands shakily disinfect his navel, the very same hand that will pierce him later on.
“Riki, you’re shaking. Everything’s alright?” Heeseung is for sure a tease to bring that up but he’s just curious to see how he would react.
“I-I’m fine. I just drank my coffee, that's why.” Riki discarded the cotton and grabbed his marker, “I’ll mark your piercing now.”
Heeseung hummed, “Alright,” he smiled fondly when he saw Riki gulped nervously.
Once done in marking, Riki gets the piercing needle and the guiding scissor next. He’s looking at Heeseung from time to time. “Sir Lee, lay down here.”
Heeseung nodded his head and walked to the inclined chair in front of Riki. “I would appreciate it if you don’t tell anyone about this.” Riki looked at him confused, so Heeseung spoke again. “y’know…me getting a piercing and all.”
“Ohh that! No need to tell me Sir, whatever happens inside here, will stay here only.” Heeseung felt relieved when he heard that, “That’s nice to hear then.”
Riki bends down closer and positions the needle. Heeseung’s skin is soft and hot to touch, it has a sweet scent as well. Riki has so much more to say but gushing over his professor’s waist isn’t his job.
“Here we go… Take a deep breath for me…” Riki whispered.
“One more time, breathe in…” Heeseung follows Riki’s instructions while looking at him. The shaking on his hands was gone, his face looked even more focused now.
“…Breathe out.” Riki inserted the needle in one push. “Good job Sir, we’re almost done.” His other hand gets Heeseung’s jewelry, quickly inserting it on the barrel and twisting the lock in place. After realigning the piercing, it’s finished.
“That’s it, Sir. All done.” Heeseung relaxed for a bit, it didn’t hurt at all, it was faster than what he expected. He then sees Riki offering his hand to him.
“Let’s walk in front of the mirror so you can see it better.”
He took Riki’s hands, which were sweaty and cold. How cute.
They walk to the side of the room where the whole-body mirror is located. Heeseung stares at his piercing, it looks beautiful on him. “Thank you, Riki.” He said as he brings his shirt down, aware of Riki’s stoic eyes boring into him.
“You’re welcome, Sir. Here is the cleaning solution, pour this to clean your piercing. Do it daily, or every time you sweat.” Heeseung listened to the rest of Riki’s reminders, “Don’t change the piercing yet, you should wait six months or more for it.”
After paying, he immediately left the shop. He reminds himself to thank Jay later, it was him who suggested to Heeseung this piercing shop after all.
Riki watches Heeseung’s car as it drives away. He feels whiplashed but everything around him moves just the same- cars still passing by, lights reflecting on the glass, his overused playlist still in the background. Only he feels different, it’s like a storm has passed by, leaving his heart in a wrecked state.
Later that night while he’s asleep, Riki dreams of Heeseung… the image of his professor’s slim waist, with his hands slowly caressing its soft skin up and down. But before it could go any further, the sunlight creeps in between his curtains. It woke him up, feeling unsatisfied and wanting for more.
He goes to school the next day, mentally preparing himself to see and attend Heeseung’s vocal lessons, but it seems like fate is not on his side today for Heeseung is apparently on a sick leave. The rest of the class celebrated because they had three hours of free time due to the absent professor. Only Riki didn’t celebrate, the unsatisfied feeling from his incomplete dream grew even bigger.
The piercing shop is only a ten-minute ride from his home. Jungkook was already waiting for Riki when he arrived.
“Good evening Mr. Jeon!”
"Riki! Hurry up! Your customer yesterday is here."
Riki halted his bike, “From yesterday…” He doesn’t want to keep his hopes up. But maybe… just maybe, fate is finally on his side today, for he hopes that the customer waiting inside is Heeseung.
“Yeah. The one who got the navel piercing.” Jungkook said. That’s all it takes for Riki to begin sprinting towards the shop. With excitement flowing in his veins, he is ready to face Heeseung again.
Jungkook opened the door and peeped inside, "He's here now. Thank you for waiting," stepping aside on the doorway for Riki to enter.
He saw Heeseung sitting on the sofa. But nothing could've prepared him at the sight of Heeseung wearing a crop top shirt and skinny jeans. The piercing that he made is now on full display. The gems attached to it are reflecting the lights of the shop, it's like shouting at Riki, tempting him to look.
Are the heavens testing him? After shamelessly dreaming of him last night, you're giving him this view?
"I'm here again... with my friend, Professor Jay." Heeseung spoke, and that’s when Riki realized he’s been staring for too long that he didn't notice anyone else besides Heeseung.
So, this is Professor Jay, the one he talked to on the phone yesterday.
"I showed him my piercing and he decided to get one specifically from you too. The problem is, he got drunk before his appointment."
Riki observed Heeseung's friend, and from the looks of it, he really was drunk. He's laying down on the sofa while singing but the words are gibberish.
"Sir Lee, I think it’s not safe to pierce someone in that state. Would you like to reschedule the appointment instead?"
Also… Isn't Heeseung supposed to be on sick leave? Whatever... it's not his business. He's just relieved that nothing went wrong on the piercing he made.
"I told him to reschedule already but look at the mess he’s in, he keeps insisting to do it tonight." Heeseung explained, with his pleading eyes goggling at Riki.
Riki was sure at first that he's not doing the piercing for his friend but, after seeing Heeseung like that, he feels conflicted.
Jungkook heard their conversation and offered to do it instead. He went with Jay to the other room. This leaves Heeseung and Riki alone in the lobby.
"Riki, I'm sure you know that I'm supposed to be on a sick leave... so keep this as a secret for me as well."
"Of course, Sir." In fact, Riki likes it, that Heeseung and him share these little secrets with each other.
"Don't get it wrong! I'm not using my teacher's authority on you, we're on equal grounds here. So, tell me, what should I do for you in return?"
“We don’t need to do each other’s favors Sir, I got you.” Riki said, making Heeseung flustered. Heeseung blinks a couple of times before answering Riki, “Okay then.”
Silence took over them for a while. Heeseung is scrolling on his phone while Riki scans through the customer reservations for tonight. He keeps looking at Heeseung. This is such a rare sight because he’s so used to seeing Heeseung with only slacks and suit coat at the university.
Should he take a stolen pic?...No way, that’s a crime.
Okay, just one pic!
He’s seen too many memes of people on the internet trying to take a stolen picture of their crush with the flash or shutter sound turned on so, he checked all of it before clicking the camera on his phone.
After taking the picture, he makes it as Heeseung’s icon on his contacts. Where did he get Heeseung’s number you ask? It’s from Heeseung’s appointment form last night. He saw it and saved it on his phone. God, he’s so miserable.
The door of the piercing room opened. Jungkook and Jay walk out from it, finally done with the ear piercings. Heeseung stood up from his seat and asked, “Is it done?” Which his friend replied with a nod, pointing at his pierced ear.
Heeseung assisted his friend on their way out. But before he could close the door, Riki let go of his self-control and asked, “Sir Lee! Are you going to attend university tomorrow?”
Heeseung then looked back and smiled fondly at him. “Yes. See you tomorrow, Riki.”
That smile, Riki dared to say, is the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. Time seems to slow down whenever Heeseung locks eyes with him. But it’s just not enough, this is merely just a peek and he wants to see the entirety.
When the door closes, he slowly sits back on his chair, all of his strength getting sucked out of his body. When did his feelings become this intense for Heeseung?
“That student of yours is head over heels for you.” Jay said when Heeseung dropped him off at his home.
“And? It’s just a crush, nothing bad about that.” Heeseung isn’t oblivious. He saw Riki’s stares, how Riki took a picture of him just now, how Riki fidgets his hand when he talked to him and how Riki’s face lit up when he smiled at him.
Jay leaned on the door before looking at Heeseung, “Crush is not a bad thing, but you’re his teacher.” He said, emphasizing the last word for Heeseung to hear.
“What about it? I’m not doing anything!” Heeseung furrowed his eyebrows, seeing nothing wrong with his actions.
Jay snickered, “You’re unconsciously being nicer to him than usual because you know that he likes you.”
“Sorry to break it to you but I’m always nice to my students. Now, go inside! You reek of alcohol!”
Jay rolled his eyes at him and opened the car door, even stumbling on his feet several times while walking. Heeseung couldn’t let this pass and thought he had to take a video of this. After making sure that Jay made it inside alive, he drove off with their last conversation stuck in his mind.
“It’s not a big deal.” Heeseung said to himself. He’s taking a U-turn when his phone beeped once. He looked at it and read the message.
‘Sir Lee, your friend forgot his bag at the shop.’ He never gave his number to Riki but he did write his number in the shop’s form.
Heeseung replied with, ‘I’ll get it right away. I’m on my way back there.’
His phone beeping once again, ‘Okay, Sir. Drive safely.’
Heh, look at this brat telling me to drive safely.
It’s ten in the evening, still early. But he has better things to do than fetching a lost bag, like viewing his lesson plan for example. Jay is lucky because Heeseung likes to play the role of a good friend. He changed his route back to the piercing shop while he swore to himself he’s not going to take care of a drunk friend ever again.
Good thing there’s no heavy traffic at this hour so he got there quickly. He parked his car and realigned his head cap and face mask before going inside. You can never be too careful with disguises when you’re a teacher going in public places. The university he works at is a little bit conservative.
Once inside, he sees Riki assisting a customer so he waits until they finish talking. After the customer left, Riki finally saw Heeseung and smiled, “Sir Lee!” His enthusiasm made Heeseung smile at him too.
He runs towards him, carrying Jay’s bag. “Here. He left it on the chair.”
Heeseung takes it, feeling rushed, “Thank you, Riki. I’ll let him know tomorrow,” And begins to walk towards the exit. “I’ll get going now.”
The customer before him left already but this shop is open until midnight while classes start at 9 in the morning. This student of his is admirable, with barely enough time to rest, Riki still managed to excel both in his study and in his job.
“Wait! Sir Lee!” Riki caught up to him and tugged at Heeseung’s forearm gently. That contact made Heeseung turn around, taken aback by their sudden proximity. “Y-yes?”
“It’s getting late, would you like to have a cup of coffee first before you leave?” Riki said, looking at Heeseung expectantly.
“That sounds delicious but I better leave now, I don’t want to be a bother.” A cup of coffee sounds amazing but Jay’s words were still stuck at him. Being nice to a student that has a crush on you is enough, but being closer and even nicer is too much.
Not wanting to let this opportunity go to waste, Riki insisted again. “You’re not a bother Sir! That’s my last customer tonight, I’m just actually waiting for my boss to come back before we close.”
This brat can also be persistent huh. Where is that shaking man who pierced me last night??
“It’s okay, really. I’ll just do a drive-thru.”
“Just wait here Sir, I’ll prepare it right away.”
Before Heeseung could speak again, Riki already ran back to the kitchen. He came back in a little more than a minute. He really prepared it quickly, just like what he said. “Here’s your coffee Sir. Do you like more cream or sugar?”
Heeseung takes the cup of coffee, just the aroma alone is making him sober. “No, this is fine. Just relax and sit, don’t tire yourself any further because you have classes tomorrow morning.”
Ni-ki followed what he said and sat in front of him. This is a different kind of awkwardness. Different from when they’re in the piercing room. Maybe it dawned on them at the same time that they are teacher and student spending time together outside the university, sipping on their hot coffee, not talking about school-related stuff.
Ni-ki suddenly remembered the day Heeseung first walked in here. He couldn’t keep in his laugh. “I remember how shocked you were when you saw me here.”
Heeseung laughed at that too. “Who wouldn’t be? That’s the last thing I expected.”
“Seriously Sir, you looked like a child who got caught stealing candies!”
“You dare say that to me? Brat!” Strangely enough, Heeseung kinda likes this- Riki’s company and proximity. If not for their statuses, he feels like Riki is a friend that he never had.
“That’s a compliment Sir! I’m saying you look younger than your age.”
Their cups of coffee are long forgotten. Heeseung is only halfway finished, Riki doesn’t even take one sip of his coffee yet. They talked about lots of things, discovering that they have many things in common like playing games, staying up until dawn, sunsets, legos, and even a ramen brand.
“I didn’t know you had a mischievous side like this. You’re always quiet in my class.” Heeseung said. Riki would always be on the last row.
“I’m shy around strangers but I get past it eventually. Sir Lee, you surprised me too. I thought you’re always a serious person, you don’t laugh often with the students’ jokes.”
“It’s because I know all of you are just trying to talk to me and distract me from continuing the lessons.”
Riki shakes his head at that, “We’re just trying to make you smile. Some even betted money for it. Whoever gets to make you laugh wins.”
No wonder why his students always ask him absurd things during his discussions. “Really? All of you could’ve told me you want to see me smile,” Heeseung jokingly adds, “I always knew I had a cute smile,”
“Yes Sir, you do have a cute smile.”
Huh?
Heeseung was flustered but he didn’t let it show. He faked a laugh to ease the tension. “Hahhaha right! I know! Hahahha!” Heeseung looked at Ni-ki’s still stoic face. Brat! C’mon, laugh it off!!
Riki just keeps on going. The more he spends time with Heeseung, the braver he gets. “You should smile more, I personally want to see it more often.”
“Hahahha is that your advice to change me into a cooler professor?” Heeseung panicky grabs his coffee and takes a sip, even though he’s clearly had enough. This shouldn’t be happening. Heeseung needs to leave now. He should’ve gone home.
“Well, I believe Sir Lee is perfect just the way he is.”
“Don’t cross the line. Don’t practice your pick-up lines on me brat!” Heeseung stands up and gets Jay’s bag, “I should go now, I still have to drive.”
After Heeseung said that, someone opened the door. It’s the manager, who’s just in time to save Heeseung from this situation.
“Oh, we still have a customer. Sir Lee, right?”
“Mr. Jeon, you’re back.” He heard Riki say and that’s Heeseung’s cue to leave. “I’ll be going now. Thank you for your service. Bye!” Heeseung didn’t even wait for their response and went straight to the door.
Crush is not a big deal but this is, whatever Riki is trying to do.
He got out of there as fast as he could. He ran like he was running for his life. He floored the gas pedal like he’s being chased.
He got scared not because of Riki’s advances, but because of how it made him feel– giddy and elated, which is definitely not supposed to happen.
It’s eight in the morning, there’s still plenty of time left before Heeseung’s first class so he met with Jay at the cafeteria. Jay is a teacher in the university too, he teaches in the fashion design department.
“I bought this luxury bag with my hard-earned money, good thing your student kept it with him.” Jay says as he checks his bag. It can only be expected from a designer, treating his fashion items like it’s their offspring.
“It’s called customer service Jay. Don’t feel emotional now.”
“You’re so annoying and it’s only morning. You know what, I actually like your student now. Be nice to him.”
Heeseung scoffed at that, “You’re so quick to change your mind just because of a bag.” And besides, Heeseung will probably keep his distance because of what happened last night.
They nod at the students that were greeting them a ‘good morning.’ Heeseung can see many students from the music department here right now.
An uncomfortable feeling surges inside Heeseung, and the source of it is from his student, Riki who’s sitting two tables away from them.
He’s looking at Jay but his real focus is on Riki. He’s with other students which Heeseung assumed were his friends. Even from afar he can see them looking in his direction while nudging at Riki’s arm. After several attempts from his friends, Riki finally stood up and is now walking towards them.
I don’t feel good about this. Heeseung wants to leave but he and Jay are still not finished eating their meals. He already expected Riki to stand in front of them. But now that he’s here, Heeseung froze on his seat.
Riki bows at them, “Good morning Sir Lee, Sir Jay,” he slowly puts two coupons on their table. “The shop owner wanted me to give these to you. He intended to give this to Sir Lee last night but he couldn’t.”
Yeah brat, because I ran out of there.
Jay picks up the coupon, “Oh, what’s this? And thank you for my bag by the way.”
“You’re welcome Sir. It’s a discount coupon for the both of you.”
Jay’s face lit up at that, “Really? That’s nice, we will be back for sure. Right Heeseung?”
Heeseung didn’t talk and just nodded his head. Jay finds him weird for being quiet all of a sudden ever since Riki approached them. After giving the coupons, Riki excused himself and went back to their table.
“What’s gotten into you? Something happened?” Jay asked.
Heeseung tried to divert the topic from him and said, “I’m hungry so let’s just finish eating.”
“What? Did that student of yours make a move on you or something?” Jay asked again, and Heeseung didn’t give an answer. Jay laughed while chewing his food, he knows that Heeseung’s silence means yes. “Then why don’t you say anything back to him? You always do this. Finding someone interesting then when they pursue you, you will back out. Heeseung, this is why you’re single!”
Heeseung stands up, “I’m not doing this conversation with you Jay. You just told me the other night that I should not get close to him, that I’m his teacher.”
“But it’s different now.” Jay said, following Heeseung up to the staff room, “I thought you’re just fond of him as a student, turns out you like him.”
“Jay… I don’t.”
“For someone you said you don’t like, you’re awfully bothered by his presence. I know you, you like him.”
Indeed, Heeseung likes Riki. Jay already dropped the bomb. Both of them look at each other desperately, each has a different reason. One is saying not to push the idea anymore before it gets unhandy, and the other one is hoping it will blossom even further.
Heeseung sighed, “You’re a coworker with bad influence,” glancing at the clock, it’s almost time for their first classes. Luckily, he was saved from Jay’s nagging.
“I know. Just give it a shot, Heeseung” Jay said before he left back to his department.
Heeseung feels agitated, he finds himself weighing the consequences of what Jay intends him to do. Is it even worth it? A trivial thing such as liking someone over his professional principles, is it worth it?
He wants to say no. The answer should be no. But it’s unbearable how Heeseung couldn’t still decide.
With the seniors’ recital coming up, Riki couldn’t find the time to dwell on his feelings. It’s a requirement for them to pass this semester. Needless to say, he chose to do dance instead of playing instruments or singing. Which made it even more impossible to see Heeseung because he’s directly coaching the ones who chose to sing.
Riki even took a month off from his part time job to focus on making his own choreography for his dance piece. Mr. Jeon immediately approves of his request, considering that he hired Riki knowing that he’s still a student and had no control of the university’s demands.
It’s been two weeks since then, Riki made a fair progress for his choreography. He’s half-way done but it’s not something to celebrate. It’s a two-minute piece, there’s still lots to do, he needs to choreograph the other half and master the whole piece within the remaining time he has.
His friends have a lot on their plates as well. Jungwon, who’s a psychology student is busy with his internship while Sunoo from the mass communication program is busy preparing, their department is assigned to host the recital.
Riki has no one else to talk to, and it adds to his, what Jungwon called as restlessness. He wants to do something, he wants to finish as soon as possible but, he can only feel himself being stressed out throughout the whole process.
Riki is now desperate, desperate enough to walk all the way from the music department up to the fashion department. He needs a hard reset, and his desperate self-thought Professor Jay would provide him something.
Jay opened the door for him, they both nodded their heads at each other. “Hello, Sir Jay.”
Jay invited him inside to sit, he kind of vaguely knows why Riki went here. “What’s up? How’s your preparation for the recital going?”
“I’m not done with it, Sir but it’s not bad.” Riki looked like he wanted to say something else so Jay beat him to it.
“If it’s not bad then my initial thought is correct, this is about Heeseung.”
Jay tapped his foot impatiently on the floor, “Heeseung likes you back.” He has no filter, no brakes, no beating around the bush.
Riki needed a few seconds to process what Jay just said. The sound of his foot tapping matches Riki’s heart, “Honestly, you can just move on and find another person. Someone who’s less complicated than Heeseung. But you don’t want that, do you? If you pursue him enough, he’ll eventually give in.” Jay added.
Riki was speechless, he expected a reality slap from Professor Jay, that he should stop his delusions over his potential relationship with Heeseung. All he got was words of encouragement instead. “Why are you telling me all of these, Sir?”
Jay smiled before answering his question, “I may be a bad coworker but, I’m a good friend.” He walked past Riki while saying one last phrase, he has a class to attend to. “It’s been years since he became single and I have a feeling you’re going to break that streak, I just don’t know when.”
Didn’t really know what to respond, Riki can only let out a ‘thank you’ to Jay as he leaves him standing in the middle of the room. Jay didn’t even plan to be the matchmaker between them but, a little push will go a long way. Riki went there for a hard reset, but Jay gave him a bump up to Heeseung instead.
After that conversation with Professor Jay, Riki’s mind became clearer. Hearing that Heeseung likes him made his restlessness go away. He was able to focus on the things that he needed to do right now.
And now it begins, his countdown until the recital day comes. When it’s done, he can move forward and focus on the next thing, rather… someone.
One week before the recital, Riki invited Sunoo and Jungwon to give feedback on his piece. All he gets is teasing and praise from them. Saying that he shouldn’t even be worried because there’s nothing to give feedback about.
“You really asked us to find a flaw on this? How?” Sunoo asked with his eyebrows furrowed at Riki.
“Honestly if you didn’t get a perfect score for this, the system is rigged.” Jungwon added.
Riki felt good about what they said, he just needs to do it over and over again so making mistakes on the stage won’t even be a possibility.
The day before the recital, he saw Heeseung in the hallway, walking with other professors from their department. A one second glance at his direction is all he wished for Heeseung to grant him but it didn’t happen.
They just walked past each other, as if nothing was happening between them.
But isn’t it wrong for Riki to expect something? Because the truth is, nothing is happening in the first place.
The feeling of restlessness came back to him, he wanted to do something, before Heeseung forgets, before Heeseung dismisses him completely, and before he knew it, he’s buying snacks for Heeseung and leaving it on his desk with his name written on it, a desperate move for a desperate man.
It was finally the recital day. The seniors were granted the first-row seats. While the professors had to perform for the opening. So here he is, in front of the stage, looking at Heeseung in awe.
Heeseung is wearing a white, long-sleeved top, with strips of clothes attached to it. The white hue from the clothes radiates and makes it look like Heeseung is glowing. His heart was swayed with Heeseung’s beautiful voice, a two-minute song felt eternity to him. He feels breathless throughout the whole performance, Heeseung’s voice slowly fills him up until it overflows.
Heeseung scanned the crowd, it’s not a big movement but since Riki is staring, he sees it, how Heeseung flinched ever slightly when their eyes meet, how Heeseung quickly dismissed his gaze before it even registered on Riki’s mind.
And here it is, my restlessness consuming me once again.
Riki can feel it, the nothing that he had with Heeseung is slipping away in his own hands before he can even grasp it.
After the opening, the seniors are next to perform on the stage. When it’s Riki’s turn, he saw Sunoo and Jungwon on his way up to the stage cheering for him. He waved at them and gave a thumbs up.
Whenever he’s dancing, it is always his moment of serenity. So, this time, he dances not for the sake of his performance, but he dances to escape the restlessness that’s eating him.
It’s a two-minute escape but it calms him. He finished his piece with no mistakes, with no regrets, with the crowd cheering for him, but above all, he saw Heeseung’s retreating figure from the crowd.
Riki didn’t hesitate, he quickly went down the stage and ran to Heeseung.
Riki believes that all encounters start in a trivial way, and it’s up to you to make it become more than that. If Riki is to let it end like this, then it will really end like this.
What he needed was a trigger, a catalyst to push himself to do something, to make his relationship with Heeseung become much more. And all the things that happened this month were his catalysts.
Following Jay’s words, Riki starts to pursue Heeseung.
The door of the staff room suddenly opened, revealing Riki behind it. Heeseung stands up from his seat, “What are you doing here? Didn’t you still have programs left?”
“I finally caught you, Sir Lee.” A triumphant smile formed on Riki’s face, locking the door behind him, “Can we please talk now?”
“W-what is there to talk about?”
Riki looks at him unimpressed and says, “Us.” He noticed the opened food packages on Heeseung’s desk, “So you’re eating it all along. Do you find it to your liking?” Another smile appeared on his face.
“Why buy it then? You’re just wasting money so I ate it.”
“It’s not gone to waste, Sir Lee,” Riki put his hands on the desk and leaned forward to Heeseung, “You have crumbs beside your lip.” Riki raises his hand to remove it for him. He can feel Heeseung’s lip trembling against the tip of his fingers as he wipes the crumbs off slowly.
Heeseung couldn’t move away. “What should I do…” He helplessly said out loud, not a question for Riki but a question for himself.
Riki removes his hand from Heeseung’s face, “Just give in,” he walks to the other side of the table, disregarding the only thing that’s keeping him from hugging Heeseung. Caging him in his arms like this, he’s just as warm and cuddly as Riki expected him to be.
Heeseung didn’t realize that he’s already leaning onto Riki’s hug. Riki whispers to him, “If you tell me to wait until I graduate, I’ll do it. Just promise me you’ll accept me by then. Just… do something… anything. It’s frustrating this way.”
Heeseung feels it, his resolve shaking, his resolve continuing to crumble down the more Riki enveloped him of his warmth. He raises both of his hands and hugs Riki in return.
His mind is a mess but he feels at peace, like they belong to be with each other’s arms, like this is a right thing to do, as a teacher, as a student.
But does right or wrong even matter now? Because it’s always been wrong right from the start, the moment Heeseung felt something for Riki.
“We don’t need to wait that long,” Heeseung breaks away from the hug and cupped Riki’s face, “I’m accepting you now.” When he said that, it’s like accepting the so-called forbidden fruit with his hands– instead of feeling guilty, it felt liberating, stripping the remainder of his innocence, if there was anything there to begin with.
Riki widens his eyes at him, his chest is visibly moving up and down. He even took a few steps back, not knowing what to do with himself, “...Did I hear that right?”
His hands were all over the place, first pointing at Heeseung, “I heard that,” then covering his mouth in disbelief. His clueless hands finally found its destination, grabbing Heeseung by the shoulder, “you can’t take that back,” and shaking it several times before pulling him into a hug again.
“I won’t take it back,” Heeseung laughs and reciprocates the hug, “I like you, brat.”
Riki tightened the hug even more, “Enough of you running away! From now on, we will like each other freely!” They’re so close they can feel each other’s heart beating between their chests. A gush of emotions flooded Heeseung’s heart, biting that forbidden apple destroyed the gates that were suppressing it the whole time.
“Yeah,” Heeseung moved away from the hug to search for Riki’s eyes, he smiled at him dearly, so dearly that Riki had to catch his breath, “Let’s do that, Riki.” Heeseung promised to himself that from now on, he will always face Riki, what they have right now even though it’s not much yet, he will make it grow, he will make it last.
As he looks at him, the light from the ceiling shining on them reveals the tiniest details he failed to notice back then from always running away. He notices Riki’s moles, a bit absurd but it reminds him of chocolate chips. He also noticed his new piercings on both his ears, he wonders if Riki did it himself.
Riki’s body frame slouched, almost looking like he’s melting after Heeseung said those words. He rests his head on Heeseung’s shoulder and whispers, “This feels nice.”
For Riki, this feels like the aftermath of a painstakingly long, dreadful war. The adrenaline rush slowly subsiding, your emotions finally catching up to you, and it will drain you physically but you will gain what you’re fighting for as you manage to remain standing until the very end, victorious.
Heeseung and Riki started dating, a series of trivial things happened from then on, such as; stealing glances at each other while Heeseung discusses in front of the class, the butterflies in Heeseung’s stomach every time Riki addresses him without using Sir or Professor, Riki sneaking out to eat lunch with Heeseung everyday in the staff room, or Heeseung accompanying Riki every night at the piercing shop.
All of these trivial things combined further drive their relationship, making what they have from nothing, to more than something trivial.