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Two people who identify as strangers text each other. While one knows who the opposite is, the other doesn’t. Heeseung, president of the student council, decided that it be a good idea to download an app called “Strangermaker.”
Though the name doesn’t sound logical, he figured the purpose was to match and connect with strangers. Talk for one week, find someone else, and repeat. So when he officially matches with a stranger with the bio of a “verified cutie.” He instantly decided to try to request to chat.
Clicking on the tick button, he recalls having to wait no more than one minute for a message from the “verified cutie.”
“Well, hello!” The stranger texted. As a basic courtesy, he immediately replied with a simple acknowledgment, “Hi!” Waiting for a reaction, he sees the stranger's status as typing. Awaiting, he sees the stranger already starting to ask multiple questions.
“What’s your hobby?”
“How old are you?”
“Are you attractive?”
Heeseung widens his eyes. What was with that sudden question? “Why are you asking about my attractiveness?” Feeling stunned, Heeseung rethinks, was this even a good idea. Should he uninstall or ghost this person?
“Sorry, that just sprung out of nowhere. I’m just trying to see if there’s any as attractive as the person I am interested in.” Oh, that was unexpected. The stranger has a crush. How adorable. “Oh, don’t worry. But if you were to ask me what I was out of ten, I would be an eleven.”
Egoistic much, Heeseung grins, so far they seem to have something in common, being interested in someone. Ever since he joined that student council to get more hours of duties, he became fond of that one little fox-eyed male.
His name is Kim Sunoo. The one and only extroverted friend Heeseung has as his best friend. But cut the introduction. How did Heeseung even get himself to like this little male?
To the answer, it was the first day of student council orientation. The purpose of these days is to bond and at least find someone you can rely on. So, when Heeseung found him sitting in the middle of chatty students, he sighed and wandered across the room–till he saw someone sitting across from him.
Thinking that he needs to step up and talk to someone or he will become a loner, he leans onto the table–grabbing every drop of his courage. “Hi, I was wondering what your name is.” A simple way to start a conversation, right? Yes, but maybe the response he got back was way too unexpected.
“Oh my god! Hello! My name is Sunoo, Kim Sunoo. I had been waiting for someone to start a conversation! And I can’t believe it would be you!” He sees the male all excited abruptly. That transition of those sharp eyes that instantly changed into somewhat excited ones left Heeseung a bit froze.
What’s so special about him that Sunoo needed to get all jumpy? “I heard that you were that one hot- sorry, good-looking male around, and you were like what.. mysterious? I heard from people you had those dark aurae around you. They also said it was hard to have a conversation with you.”
Tilting his head, Heeseung squinted, “Dark aura?” Well, to be frank, he gets the good-looking part. A lot praised him for his look, but never in his life did he ever receive a comment about his aura.
“Well, it’s just a little thing people said, but.. yeah.” Sunoo finally calms down from his sudden spike of energy spilling up all over the table. Before Heeseung could frown at him and ask all sorts of questions, he heard the voice of the so-called leaders of the club.
“Hello, everyone! Welcome to the student council! We are grateful that all of you chose to join this friendly club of ours. Now as soon as possible, can everyone find a pair to work with for our activities planned?”
Heeseung pursed his lips, and his eyes then landed on Sunoo. Though the conversation they just encountered was weird, he had no choice considering how everyone got on their feet to find their just-met friend.
“Partners?” He sees Sunoo giving him a warm smile and extending his hand, “Sure.” He shakes his now partner's hand. So that is how these two opposites that had barely anything in common found themselves suddenly talking even more day by day.
To the point they even found themselves doing duties and always partnered up, even once or twice getting shipped, they both had multiple laughs together and bickerings. They both barely had any arguments–signifying a healthy friendship.
So, one day, Heeseung got assigned with Sunoo to grab cups of coffee for their club.
The reason why they were always together only led to an answer. They both are going to be the upcoming leaders of the club. But, of course, the two oblivious friends always denied the rumors of them becoming leaders.
Still shaking their head at the thought of becoming a leader, they strode towards a nearby coffee shop that sells the cheapest yet refreshing iced drink after exiting the school gate.
“Hey… wait, I think I left my wallet!” Sunoo patted his pockets. The wallet filled with money handed over for the coffee was gone. They can’t possibly pay with Heeseung’s cash. “Give me a minute! I will run to school!” So there Sunoo dashed into the gate with Heeseung all stood there without a word leaving his mouth.
Sighing, Heeseung decided to whip out his phone to brush and adjust his hair. Until five minutes later, an old uncle drunk in broad daylight was approaching him. “You youngsters! Always skipping school! Can’t you prioritize your studies instead of running aw-!”
He then hears the old uncle gagging, getting the hint of the drunk uncle. He then steps back, not knowing what to do. “Hey! What are you doing? Come back, you bastard!” The uncle started moving forward with his soju bottle.
“Calm down! I am not skipping school. I am just grabbing something for my club.” Heeseung tries explaining. Only to be spitted with illogical words. “Club? Do you youngsters go clubbing? You guys are so irresponsible-”
“Ack!” He sees the drunk uncle suddenly gripping his crotch tightly before kneeling in defeat. There revealed his lifesaver, “Sunoo!” Heeseung's eyes remained surprised.
“Come on, this drunk male is just trying to cause trouble. Let’s go.” Feeling dragged, he finally landed his eyes on Sunoos intertwined hands with his. Sensing his cheeks turn rosy, Heeseung realizes Sunoo didn’t lie when he said he would be back quickly–but not in one minute.
Did sunoo just save him by kicking the balls of a drunk male that won’t celebrate Father’s Day anytime soon? Did sunoo also intertwine his hands to drag themselves away from danger? Did Sunoo finally capture Heeseung's heart in two years?
It felt like a fever dream. Never in Heeseung’s life had he ever thought about falling in love with his close friend. Still not realizing why his heart was pounding from the early stage, they finally entered the cafe shop Allowing the breeze to seep through their now sweaty intertwined hands.
As Sunoo loosen their grip leading him to remove his hand, Heeseung mentally grumbles at the loss of warmth. Seeing the shorter male already walking up to the cashier to place an order for the club, he stands beside Sunoo while jabbing him on the sides.
Feeling a glare, he grins, “Thanks for saving me, Sunoo.” The expression of the shorter male then switched to a smiley one, “You’re most welcome, Lee Heeseung!”
Sound stupid how Heeseung could fall in love with Sunoo within that time frame–right? Yeah. So when he recalls this love incident, he asks the stranger on the other end after accidentally leaving him on read for a solid minute.
“How are you interested in that person you said?” Heeseung typed on his phone. Immediately seeing the opposite person typing, he finally sees the stupid reason.
“Because he is a green flag.”
“Is that all?” Heeseung snorted. “No... I would say it, but you won’t be able to read all that! But just so you know, he is a ten out of ten in every possible criterion, like sports, he is so good. His appearance is a blessing to look at. Personality, chef kiss.”
Chuckling at the sudden simp that appeared from the stranger–whom he just met minutes ago, he kept the conversation going without realizing that time would slowly go by like raindrops.
-
“It’s almost the one-week mark.. do you think we should exchange social media?” He sees the now-nick-named “cutie” text. “Sure! What’s your username?” Heeseung typed.
It’s officially been six days since they had been texting, and Heeseung found himself quite fond of this stranger. It’s almost as if the reason was that he types and feels like sunoo. Just then, he sees the username given,“@ksn_143.”
Wait, what? Heeseung frowns–that’s the username of his best friend. Blinking his eyes in disbelief, Heeseung realizes he has been texting the stranger he figured was Sunoo the whole time.
Heeseung then felt a need to hide his cover. He immediately excused himself only to quickly log into his old account, which was his supposed spam. Letting out a sigh of relief at the count of five followers, Heeseung thinks this could be believable for now.
“I added you!” Heeseung texted while trying to add a hint of excitement which was not how he was feeling right now. Refreshing the page, he then sees his follower request getting accepted. “I accepted you! Come on, let’s text there!”
Ditching the Strangermaker app, he then had a plan. If this is Sunoo, he would like to find out who the guy he is interested in is. “Cutie, who’s your little crush?” Heeseung asked, trying to dig out information.
“I can’t tell you that!” He sees the text from Sunoo. Groaning, he types a reasonable excuse, “We don’t even know each other! I will eventually forget about it.” Adding a pouty emoji, he sees Sunoo in defeat.
“Okay.. but let’s do it in a hangman way.” Sunoo then typed out his first hint. “He has eight letters.” Revealing the clue, Heeseung instantly counted his name letters. Smiling at the thought of the hint matching, he then pretends to guess.
“A?” Heeseung asked. “Nope!” The cutie then drew the first line and sent it to Heeseung. Trying to act oblivious, Heeseung said, “L?” Waiting for a reply, he suddenly saw an unexpected answer. “Yeah!”
But within a few seconds, he heaved a sigh of relief, “Wait, no! Sorry, that’s their surname.” Already sensing that he is on the high-chance list. He started plucking out random initials from his name–only for it to be the result that he wanted.
“Yeah, his name goes by Heeseung...” He hears the grumble from the other line through the text. Punching his fist up, he wiggled his legs while feeling overjoyed. Still not wanting to blow his cover, he then complimented. “Oh, that’s cute! Even the name sounds good-looking.”
Grinning at his self-compliment, he sees the stranger blushing with the emoticons sent. “You know, I have to go to sleep now. I am quite tired.” Heeseung then thought, tired? It’s only seven in the evening. “Okay, sleep well.” Heeseung pouted as their conversation was short.
Plopping his phone on the side and looking up at his ceiling, he lays on the bed while replaying the moment. So this is how Heeseung finds out both feel the same way, huh?
-
It’s been a week since the incident happened, and Heeseung has been texting in disguise as a stranger on social media. Whereas, whenever using their contacts, he has been texting as his typical self towards Sunoo.
As Heeseung settles down on his only allowed student councilor president seat–that he always has to fight Sunoo for it. Heeseung looked at the empty room and rummaged through papers in boredom–until he saw a “resignation” envelope handed to him.
“What’s this?” Heeseung stared, only to figure in a second. “You’re telling me you’re quitting student council? You’re a vice president Sunoo..” Heeseung whined while feeling confused. “I mean, I think I served enough duties. What more do you guys need me for?”
Seeing the shorter male shrug, Heeseung rubs his temples. No way Sunoo is leaving this club. Not even a part of Heeseung can function–without Sunoo's presence, especially among desperate students waiting for their attention to be approved. How is he going to accept this resignation letter?
“Sunoo... what do you mean...” Heeseung falls back into his seat while staring at the finely printed envelope. “I’m just saying, I think I need a break as well.” Heeseung then sighs, “If you need a break, you can tell me. I can cut your duties and handle it myself.” Hearing a huff from the shorter one, he sees Sunoo’s expression change.
Heeseung then hears a concerned reply, “That would be selfish of me... you need a break too.” Seeing the pouty sunoo, Heeseung stood up on his feet to cup Sunoo's face. “It’s okay. Come on. You know I would be even worse without you here, right?” Heeseung shamelessly confessed.
“Then... I will stay if you answer this question.” Heeseung then tilts his head to think. One question only? That would be easy, “Sure thing, ask away.” Without a second thought, he then sees Sunoo with his doe eyes.
“Do you like me?”
Heeseung’s eyebrows twitched, “All of a sudden?” Still not releasing his touch on the shorter one, he feels Sunoo’s hands slowly gripping his wrist. Feeling Sunoo slides his fingers to intertwine both hands on Heeseung’s hands, he leans closer.
“I heard from someone... that you had been undercover as a stranger talking to me.” Seeing that slow grin crawling up on Sunoo’s face, he tightens his grip on Sunoo’s hands. “What do you mean?” Heeseung frowned and said with a feared voice.
“You were that guy I met on Strangermaker, right?” Sunoo then tilts his head purposely. Seeing the taller male sigh in defeat, he finally smiles, “So it is you!” Letting go of their grip, he clasps his hands.
“So what if it’s me.” Heeseung gazed. “Then you should know who I like by now, right?” Sunoo brushes Heeseung’s hair back. Huffing, Heeseung teased, “I don’t know who he is..” He looked around the room while avoiding eye contact.
“You’re so mean,” Sunoo grumbled. Chuckling back, Heeseung places his grip on Sunoo’s waist. “Yet you love me.” Heeseung sighed in defeat while Sunoo whined, “So, are you going to hurry up and tell me whether you like me or not.”
“Hm... later?” Heeseung jested. “Heeseu-!” Just then. Sunoo was cut off by butterflies swarming around Sunoo’s stomach. He felt Heeseung’s lips on his forehead. “Does this answer your question now?”
Sunoo then blushed and looked away, wanting to jump to conclusions. He then said, “Then it’s official. We are together now.” Heeseung cups Sunoo’s face making them lock eye contact, he asked. “Are you still going to quit?”
He then sees Sunoo’s mischievous smile. As he grabs the resignation letter from resting flat on the desk, he opens it to reveal the paper that wrote, “Tricked you!”
Heeseung huffs in disbelief to his horror Sunoo exposes, “Thanks to Ni-ki, I could confidently do this!” Heeseung’s eyes widened at the sudden confession from Sunoo. He then takes out his phone and lies to Sunoo.
“I am going to find someone else on Strangermaker.”
“Hey! Don’t you dare!”