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Sung Hanbin has added Kim Gyuvin to BOOK READERS
Hanbin: We have a new member!
Hanbin: I found him in the library
Ricky: what? we have a new member???
Gyuvin: i wasnt in the library
Hanbin: You were in the library
Gyuvin: no i wasnt?
Hanbin: Moving on.
Hanbin: We meet every Monday and Wednesday
Gyuvin: im not free any of those days
Hanbin: We meet every Tuesday and Thursday
Ricky: hold on why are we switching up the meeting times…
Hanbin: What are you talking about? I didn’t
Ricky: YOU LITERALLY JUST DID?
Hao: i dont see anything
Hanbin: Exactly
Hanbin: Now, we should talk about the next book we want to read
Hanbin: With a new member, I think we should start over
Ricky: wait we were literally in the middle of Percy Jackson
Hao: starting over sounds like a great idea!
Ricky: ?
Hanbin: Wonderful
Hanbin: Alright, is there any suggestions from the crowd?
Hao: captain underpants
Hanbin: Good, I like that one
Hao: i know right
Ricky: ugh whatever
Ricky: do you guys want to read to kill a mockingbird?
Gyuvin: WHY DO YOU WANT TO KILL MOCKINGBIRDS!!
Ricky: can we kick this mf out
Hanbin: No, we legally need at least four people to be considered a club
Hanbin: Which is why I grabbed him from the bathroom
Hanbin: I mean the library
Gyuvin: what
Hao: hambinnie are the votes tallied
Hanbin: Yes
Ricky: huh???
Ricky: already??
Hanbin: Yep
Hanbin: Final decision is Captain Underpants
Hao: good i voted for that one
Ricky: there's no way
Ricky: can i get a voting total
Hanbin: Yeah one second
Hanbin: There was one vote for To Kill A Mockingbird, one vote for Harry Potter, and two votes for Captain Underpants
Ricky: bruh
Ricky: im guessing new guy was harry potter then?
Gyuvin: YASSSSSSS
Ricky: alright
Ricky: thats at least more respectable than fcking captain underware
Hanbin: *Underpants
Ricky: hanbin please
Gyuvin: it was the only book name i rember...
Ricky: umm... alright
Ricky: well is that all
Hanbin: Almost. Let’s all say what snack we are willing to bring
Hanbin: Popcorn!
Hao: chips!
Ricky: ig ill bring the juice boxes
Gyuvin: pickles
Ricky: pickles???
Hanbin: Yummy!
Hanbin: See you guys on Tuesday!
Ricky: omfg
-
Ricky was always the voice of reason in the book club. After spending years with only Hao and Hanbin, the couple that made one collective decision at all times, it was almost as if there were only two of them participating. With a new member, maybe the vibes would be different. At least they can collaborate for the next vote, and he wouldn't be stuck in the middle of the library holding the second book of Captain Underpants.
"Ricky, you were supposed to buy the first book in the series." Hanbin peeked up from his hardcover, raising an eyebrow, “That doesn’t look like the first book to me.”
"I honestly think they tell the same story in every single book," Ricky replied with a sigh. He'd read enough books to know that any series of picture books has the same method. Introduce the hero, state the trouble, hero saves the trouble, Captain Underpants is naked, then it ends.
Hao brought up a wooden chair, the same book in hand, joining the three in the circle. “That feels wrong to say.”
“How so?”
“Because they obviously have different covers,” Hao pointed out, shoving the two books next to each other. “See? Mine is darker blue.”
Ricky rolled his eyes. “Where is this new guy? He said he was going to show up. We changed the whole meeting time for him.”
“He’ll be here.” Hanbin said, looking around, “Maybe.”
That wasn’t good enough. Minutes passed, and he was starting to lose hope, convinced Gyuvin was just a social experiment made up by Hanbin to get their club to enough members. Until, a taller figure appeared, holding onto a thick book, shoving his way into their makeshift circle.
Ricky blinked. He was cute.
“Sorry I’m late,” The boy said, offering a bright grin, “I couldn’t find the library.”
“It’s got a big sign that says library,” Hao said.
“Well… anyways,” He placed the book in his lap, “I’m Gyuvin. Hanbin, I met you and your boyfriend already, and this guy is…” His eyes set on Ricky, widening, “Woah, you’re that cool kid!”
Ricky pointed a finger at himself, “Me?”
“Yu-huh. That one guy who is quiet in the back of math class.”
“How does that make me cool?”
Gyuvin shrugged, “Umm… because you look cool? Anyways,” He brought the book to his chest, “I brought the second Harry Potter book.”
Hanbin gasped and Hao nearly jumped from his seat.
Ricky sat still, enjoying the show Gyuvin was putting on. At least they should forget about him bringing the wrong title. Gyuvin didn’t even hit the right series.
“Gyuvin, we were supposed to bring Captain Underpants,” Hanbin replied, slumping his shoulders, “Did you read the votes?”
“Oh, we all have to read that?”
Hanbin nodded, “Yes.”
“But, I don’t want to.”
Ricky placed a hand in front of his mouth to hold in a snicker. Gyuvin was funnier than he thought.
“That was the voted on book. Even Ricky has it,” Hao mentioned, motioning to the small paperback lying on his lap.
Gyuvin’s eyes flicked back and forth, “That’s not even the same cover!”
Hao looked back at Ricky, “See, I told you it was noticeable.”
He slumped deeper in his seat. So much for a coherent book club. At least, Gyuvin was bringing the energy he needed. Maybe they’d finally get to a book on their own reading level in the near future.
“Alright, well, just remember for next time. We can read the books we brought today.” Hanbin said.
Ricky’s ears perked up, “Really? So I can read To Kill A Mockingbird?”
Gyuvin placed a hand on his chest, “Please don’t kill them!”
“No, it’s just a book.”
“You’re killing them with a book?”
“I’m not killing any mockingbirds!” Ricky shook his head, reaching deeper into his backpack, pulling out the few books he had in queue. Just in case, you know, he finished Captain Underpants early. “It’s the book I suggested before it was voted off.”
Gyuvin pursed his lips, “Why did it get voted off?”
Ricky let out a groan, rubbing his face, “You tell me. Captain Underpants won for some reason.”
“Alright, alright. Let’s solve this for next time. For now, just read. I’m so fucking excited to dive in I can hardly wait,” Hao said, his hands already ready to flick the book open, “He’s going to go on so many crazy adventures.”
“Yes, that sounds like a good idea,” Hanbin agreed with a nod, also looking extremely eager to open the book up, “We’ll talk later.”
With one last glance at Gyuvin, Ricky offered a small smile, delighted to earn one back.
Their book club might be a fucking mess, but. (That’s the end of the sentence)
-
Hanbin: Alright, book worms! Let’s discuss what we should do for the next meeting
Hanbin: I had a lot of fun with Captain Underpants and I think it would be fun to continue the series.
Hanbin: The second book is about attacking talking toilets and oh my golly gee I am almost jumping with excitement
Hao: ive never met toilets that can talk!!
Hanbin: I know!
Hanbin: Thoughts?
Ricky: can we pls do a different book for the club
Ricky: why dont yall just read that book on your own time
Ricky: dont you two live together? why do you need to go through a book club to do this
Hanbin: That’s actually not a bad idea. I have genuinely never thought of that
Hao: ricky you genius!
Ricky: bruh
Gyuvin: bruh
Ricky: alright. with that problem solved, can we look into a different series now?
Ricky: i wouldnt mind doing harry potter tbh
Ricky: it looked interesting based on gyuvin’s many gasps from yesterday
Gyuvin: they MADE him LIVE under the STAIRS!!!!
Gyuvin: AND HES A WIZARD
Hanbin: Can you not spoil? Thanks
Ricky: bro what
Ricky: that is the whole point of the series omfg
Ricky: thats like me spoiling captain underpants by saying he wears underpants
Hao: HE DOES???
Ricky: sigh
Ricky: can you just do the tally thing for this pls hanbin
Hanbin: Yes.
Hanbin: Tallying!
Hao: oh boy i cannot wait
Hanbin: Results are in!
Hanbin: Three votes for Harry Potter, one vote for Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Ricky: who the hell voted for that ?
Hao: 😶
Ricky: oh my god
Ricky: well, we win ok harry potter yay!
Gyuvin: YASSSS
Hanbin: Sounds fun! Can’t wait to learn about Harry and all of the pottery he is going to do!
Ricky: oh thats not
-
On Thursday, Gyuvin was the first one there for their meeting. He was sitting hunched over a book, eyes eagerly trailing across the page, intently focused on the story. Ricky watched him for a moment before slowly stepping up, unwilling to bother the man. If anything, Gyuvin was the most sane person they’d ever had in the book club, so Ricky would be glad to get to know him better.
Granted, the bar was on the floor, but that was always something.
Ricky took his seat and decided to look through the first few pages while he waited for Hanbin and Hao to show up. Overall, the series looked interesting and he was happy to escape the horrors of Captain Underpants.
Hao and Hanbin stumbled in minutes late, looking like they’d just run a marathon and spent a month in the empty forest alone. Ricky squinted his eyes, “Why do you two look like that?”
With a deep breath, Hanbin stumbled into his chair, shaking his head, “We were up… all night… reading the rest of the Underpants Captain series.”
“What?” Ricky exclaimed, “All night?”
“Yes!” Hao butted in with a nod, “So many shirtless adventures, but damn was it worth it! Those toilets stood no fucking chance!”
“No, they did not!”
When Ricky looked up, Gyuvin was looking right at him, face as blank as they came. He smiled, finding amusement in the nonchalant look. Ricky mouthed something along the lines of, ‘You get used to it.’
Gyuvin let out a laugh of his own, nodding.
Hanbin cleared his throat, “Well, after such an intense night, I genuinely don’t know how Harry and his pots are going to beat Captain Underpants, but I’m willing to give it a shot. Did you bring the pickles, Gyuvin?”
“Oh, yes!” He nodded, reaching into his bag to pull out an excessively large jar of pickles.
Maybe Ricky was wrong with Gyuvin being the most normal out of them.
Then again, he did like pickles.
“Who wants one?” Gyuvin asked, twisting the jar open, reaching a bare hand in to grasp the top of a slippery pickle.
Ricky raised a hand, “Me!”
Happily, Gyuvin handed it over, and Ricky enjoyed every last bite.
Granted, he probably wouldn’t have accepted it from Hanbin or Hao if either had stuck their hand in a pickle jar and just offered him one raw, but Gyuvin had a charm.
That charm was questioned when Gyuvin didn’t so much as wipe off the pickle juice from his hand, using the wet fingers to turn the page, leaving behind a splotch of green.
Ricky could only stare, blinking, until Hanbin called the attention back.
“Okay! First page of Harry Potter! Let’s join back in thirty minutes when we’ve finished.” Hanbin said.
“What? Thirty minutes?” Ricky replied. “Doesn’t that seem long?”
“Umm…”
“No.” Hao added, staring at the title, “I’m still on the second word.”
“Alright.” Ricky took a deep breath. He wondered how the hell they had gotten through all those damn Captain Underpants books, but he learned to not question it over the years.
All he could focus on while reading was the way Gyuvin’s facial expressions showed exactly what was on his mind. Instead of reading Harry Potter, Ricky began to read their new club member, realizing that Gyuvin was much more interesting than any book. Maybe it was a good thing Hanbin allowed them to have thirty minutes for the first page. It was easy to keep up.
-
Ricky certainly didn’t expect the thoughts of Gyuvin to extend past club time but, well, that was proven wrong. He was in science class, wondering about the thought process Gyuvin would have for navigating their work. Those weren’t normal thoughts to think, he realized, as it seemed like some shit Hao and Hanbin would do. And they’d been stuck to each other for as long as he could remember.
It wasn’t logical. They were there to attempt to read books, not create a relationship. Ricky had to stay focused.
But, he walked into the cafeteria and caught sight of a familiar top of hair, rushing to him instantly.
“Gyuvin? Can I sit?” He asked the boy, whose face was stuck in a familiar book.
He looked up, smiled, then nodded, “Yes. Hi Ricky!”
“Hello. I see you’re enjoying Harry Potter.”
“Oh, yeah, so much. Who knew reading was so fun?” Gyuvin’s voice was cheery, though his book still reeked of pickles. There was a smaller jar in his lunch box as well, and Ricky feared that might be the only thing he ate, “I’m so glad Hanbin recruited me.”
Ricky nodded, deciding to pull out his own copy, “Me too. It’s nice to have another member. Someone to advocate for books that aren’t Captain Underpants.”
“I respect your patience.”
“Oh, they’re not all that bad,” Ricky shrugged, “I enjoy being around them, but it’s nice to chat with someone else every now and then.”
Gyuvin looked up with a nod, “Yeah. I agree. I’m new so, well, I don’t really know anyone else.”
“Well, I’m glad you joined the best club in this school,” Ricky said with a grin.
God, Gyuvin was cute.
-
Hanbin: Hello Captain Under-Panters!
Hanbin: See what I did there?
Ricky: umm… no not exactly
Gyuvin: LMAODISUFHSHDSHDJKSHD THATS HILAROISDOUFIDHFHJDFHGD
Ricky: oh wait now i see it yeah that was kinda funny
Hao: ?
Hao: 🤨
Ricky: quiet
Hanbin: Thanks for a great week of meetings with our new member! Gyuvin you’ve been a joy to have around, and I would like to offer you a position on E-Board!
Gyuvin: woah really!
Hanbin: Yes! I am the President, Hao is the Vice President, and Ricky is the Secretary, Treasurer, Marketing Director, Communication Director, VP of External Affairs, VP of Internal Affairs, Social Media Manager, Public Relations Chair, Social Justice Chair, Community Service Chair, and the Official Club Representative!!
Gyuvin: U JUST MADE THOSE UP
Ricky: no unfortunately its all real
Ricky: dont ask me idk
Hanbin: I’m offering you the position as Book Leader
Ricky: ok you actually just made that one up
Hanbin: Yes I did!
Hanbin: You are in charge of leading us and making sure we stay on track
Gyuvin: oh, ok
Gyuvin: i get it
Gyuvin: let me do a progress report
Gyuvin: everyone pls tell me your progress
Hanbin: Page 4
Hao: page 4
Ricky: i finished the damn book
Gyuvin: me too!
Ricky: oh thank god
Gyuvin: yeah, it was great, right?
Ricky: yeah! i really enjoyed it
Gyuvin: same i cant believe they defeated voldemort in the final battle at hogwarts
Ricky: ?
Ricky: huh ?
Hanbin: Will see you all next week!
-
Surprisingly, the second week ran more smoothly than the first. They’d established a rhythm with reading, and Ricky was even brave enough to sit his chair next to Gyuvin’s instead of across. His plan was simple. With every meeting, he was going to scoot their chairs in closer together, until Gyuvin was forced to look up at him and begin a conversation, seeing him in a different light.
With the way he already considered Ricky to be the cool guy, that didn’t seem to be that hard to do.
Gyuvin had also apparently finished the entire Harry Potter series, so he went back to read Captain Underpants for some reason, offering another set of enticing reactions.
Occasionally, he’d tap on Ricky’s shoulder, leaning in to whisper, “They defeated the talking toilet!”
He didn’t usually have a response.
Hanbin and Hao finished the second meeting of the week marveling about how Harry was finally introduced as a wizard. They were thoroughly impressed and talked about how they ‘didn’t see that one coming at all.’
Ricky was about to stand and resume later, ready to consider his slowly crafted plan for next week when Gyuvin reached to tap him on the shoulder.
“Hey, do you want to hang out?”
He blinked, making sure he heard that correctly, “Do I want to what?”
“Like, hang out. I don’t know. Grab dinner, see a movie or something. You seem cool.”
Ricky’s heart pounded in his chest. He sat blinking for a moment, thinking he had at least a few more weeks before they actually hung out outside of school. What would that consist of? Talking and getting to know each other, probably. All things he had interest in.
A jumpstart to his plan. Nothing could go wrong with that.
“Yes, definitely. When do you want to go?”
“I was thinking now if you’re free,” Gyuvin said with a smile, his stance so casual, as if asking people to hang was a regular occurrence for him.
Ricky had the confidence to look over at Hao and Hanbin, watching their faces resemble 😮 and 😁 respectively. They looked happy, eager, and interested in watching the interaction unfold. What could go wrong? They seemed to know best in terms of relationships.
“Yeah, I’d love to.”
-
Hanbin: Hi Crazy Kids!
Hanbin: I hope the movie was fun!
Hanbin: Don’t move over to the movie club now haha
Hanbin: Seriously, don’t. I need club this for my resume.
Hanbin: Anyways!!!!
Ricky: movie was fun
Ricky: gyubin bought me popcorn
Hanbin: Is that a pet name?
Hanbin: Gross
Hanbin: Isn’t that right HaoHao?
Hao: yeah, gross
Hao: my hambinnie
Hanbin: ♥️
Gyuvin: ya we had fun
Gyuvin: will hang out again
Ricky: definitely!
Hanbin: You guys are cute!
Hanbin: Fighting!
Ricky let out a light chuckle, resting his phone down on his lap. The movie had just ended, and his heart was still pounding with Gyuvin’s palm resting over his thigh.
“They’re pretty funny,” Gyuvin murmured, moving his attention back to the credits rolling from the Five Nights at Freddy's movie, “How did you get wrapped into the club? Were you abducted like I was?”
“No, I actually like reading,” Ricky replied, “Surprisingly.”
“That’s not surprising! I’ve actually found it to be fun, I guess I just needed a push to start reading.” Gyuvin said, his head moving to the side, brown eyes resting on Ricky, “Though, there was a pretty cute guy in the club, too. Maybe that was a bit of an incentive to continue reading.”
“Oh,” Ricky couldn’t stop a smile from crawling to his face, “You’re too flattering. Has anyone ever told you that? And your hair compliments your eyes perfectly.”
Gyuvin’s eyes creased, “Why, thank you. I think your hair is carefully constructed and the one deserving of compliments.”
“What, you think you can beat me in the compliment battle?” He raised an eyebrow, moving his body to the side to get a better look. Gyuvin better be prepared to lose.
He shrugged, “I’d say I’m open to the challenge.”
“Please, I’ve been surrounded by nothing but lovebirds all my life,” Ricky smiled, “You’re going down.”
“Oh shit, are you pulling out the Hanbin and Hao tricks on me?”
“Maybe.”
“I see. Wouldn’t it just be enough for me to call you ethereal, though?”
Ricky mentally cursed. Damn, Gyuvin was good.
“I think the books are steadily improving my language skills.”
“You started reading a week ago.”
“What can I say? I’m a fast learner.”
“Fast learner, indeed,” Ricky replied with a playful sigh, feeling his heart swell as he reached forward to brush a piece of hair out of Gyuvin’s face, enjoying the sound of the giggle that fell from his lips.
The book club was the glue that pulled them together. Maybe Captain Underpants was helping with more than just the talking toilets.