Work Text:
"–woo! You're drooling."
Chanhee's worried face appears in his vision. Sunwoo instinctively scowls. He's obstructing the view of Eric's arms—
The what now?
Sunwoo mentally shoves the thought to the back of his head. He looks around before coming back to his senses. Right. He was at the bleachers overlooking the Creker University's baseball field. A training of some sort for a future competition, or so Eric says. Sunwoo remembers his best friend's constant rambles (Which are admittedly cute but don't ever tell Eric that.) about wanting to reach the regionals... or whatever that may mean. Not that he cares much about sports. All he really knows is what Eric tells him about it. He'd rather hole up in a studio and write random lyrics to catchy beats.
Or perhaps a song or two for Eric.
Huh?
"Yah. Sunwoo. Stop daydreaming!" Chanhee snaps his pretty hands dangerously close to Sunwoo's. The latter makes a face and swats it away, indignant.
"No I'm not hyung!" Sunwoo rolls his eyes. "Look at Eric go. Why not cheer for him instead of crowding my personal space?"
A blur passes by his peripheral vision. He turns his head, spotting a tiny figure zooming across the field. Eric. His lithe body weaves through the bodies crowding him, eventually reaching the other side and touching the ground. If he wasn't wrong, that was a touchdown. The crowd—or really just a few students watching the football practice like him—cheers. Sunwoo does so as well.
"Oh. So it is Eric." Chanhee wiggles his perfect eyebrows. He drags on the last syllable, smirking as he does so. Sunwoo refrains from sighing deeply. He's a very cool person. No need to get worked up over simple things like this.
Then Eric fans himself. With his shirt. Oh wow. Sunwoo couldn't take his eyes off his best friend's abs. Since when was it that defined? A single bead of sweat trails down, winking at Sunwoo before it drips down into—
Pause. What the fuck?
"You're staring." Chanhee raises an eyebrow at him. Sunwoo cannot decipher if Chanhee was disappointed or something along those lines. All he knows is Eric’s—
Okay. Let’s derail that train of thought.
But before that, Sunwoo has to defend his dignity, or what’s left of it anyways.
"I wasn't staring!"
"You absolutely were!"
Sunwoo wasn’t gay.
Note the past tense. He isn’t sure now.
Or maybe he isn’t. Maybe it was just a fluke? A weird day? Maybe it was the heat? Perhaps it was particularly hot that day and it made him delirious. Or maybe it’s because he hasn’t relieved himself within a month or so. Curse you school essays!
Maybe he should stop thinking about this lest he think about Eric’s cute smile—
Yes, shutting up right now.
Sunwoo picks apart at his fries. The greasy substance does nothing to distract him from his thoughts, so he scowls at the unsuspecting food.
Before he actually considers french fry homicide, Changmin slides into the seat in front of him with a smile. His hands fidget uncontrollably at the new arrival, and Changmin’s eyes descend upon those movements like a hawk. His dimpled smile grows wider.
“So tell me dear Sunwoo, what is this… ‘crush’ on Eric that Chanhee keeps on blabbering about?” Changmin smiles at him in this weird creepy way. The one he usually dons when he’s holding that creepy doll around. Sunwoo doesn’t know what to feel at this moment. On one side he wants to curl up in a hole and hide, perhaps live within his own so-called studio forever, never to see the light of day. On the other hand, the urge to scream in the cafeteria that Changmin is trying to murder him is becoming more apparent.
Sunwoo chooses none of that.
“Ugh…” Sunwoo buries his head into his palms. “Not you too!”
“So it’s real? You finally realized your lovesick look ov—”
“How’s Eric today?” Changmin couldn’t finish what he was saying before Chanhee covered his mouth, appearing out of nowhere. The latter suddenly yelps, instantly jerking his hand away. “Ouch! Stop doing that.”
“Why are you asking me?” Sunwoo frowns, electing to ignore Changmin’s unfinished sentence.
“Isn’t he your best friend?” Chanhee retorts, answering his question with another question. He brings out his packed lunch from under the table, a small square hello kitty container that Sunwoo distinctly remembers Chanhee used everyday in high school. As he opens it, Changmin snatches one and takes a bite from it. Ooh, cheese sticks.
“Can I have one?” Sunwoo speaks up. Chanhee rolls his eyes.
“No,” but Sunwoo reaches for one anyway. As he bites into it, the cheese melts easily in his mouth. He had to suppress his groan because it just tastes so good. Bless Mrs. Hee for teaching her son how to cook like her.
“Thanks,” Sunwoo grins. “Eric has Mr. Lee today.”
“Hmm,” Changmin waves around a cheese stick. Was it his third? Fourth? “That's the professor that's always overtime, right?”
“Yes, him.”
“I see,” Sunwoo looks up to Changmin still devouring Chanhee’s food while the other is looking at him with a smirk. Not this again… What is it this time? “Do you know which class Juyeon is in right now?”
“How would he know my boyfriend’s timetable—”
“Shush.” A pointy finger drops on Changmin’s lips. Changmin blankly stares at Chanhee who quickly takes away his hand and to preserve his sanity. “So…” Chanhee trails off. Sunwoo just kinda stares. How would he know? Was this a trick question?
“How would I know?”
“Mhm,” Chanhee just nods slowly, like he knows something that Sunwoo doesn’t know. Like an inside joke that only he and Changmin are privy to. But one glance at the Changmin tells him that even he doesn’t know what the other is up to. “I see, I see.”
“What are you asking Sunwoo about Juyeon—”
“Hi~” Sunwoo looks over to the side, seeing the person they were just talking about, Juyeon. His eyes fold into crescents as he smiles at them. Chanhee and Changmin scoot over to the side, giving space for Juyeon to sit beside Changmin. It’s not as if there’s no space beside him… Sunwoo softly sighs. These two really.
“How’s class, Juyo?”
“It’s fine. Mrs. Seo didn’t hear the bell ring so we were dismissed late.”
“No homework then?”
“Nope! Though it was thanks to this couple who was loudly talking about—”
Sunwoo tunes them out. He locks eyes with Chanhee who only rolled his eyes. The two will be in their own world for quite a while.
“Wanna sit here?” Sunwoo offers, patting the seat beside him. Chanhee is quite skittish around PDA, especially Juyeon and Changmin who are literally one step away from cuddling each other.
“It’s fine.” Chanhee shrugs.
Bored once Changmin isn’t hounding his ass, Sunwoo fishes his phone out of his pocket. A selfie of him and Eric when they were still freshmen greets his own eyes. Eric still looks cute here. Not that he’s not cute right now but Eric’s short blue hair hits different. He checks the time, noting that he still has one and a half an hour of free time till next class. Speaking of, where was his cute best friend?
Sunwoo groans at the thought out loud accidentally. Chanhee looks at him weirdly before going back to texting someone over the phone.
What is happening to him? Maybe he’s tired. Or maybe he’s stressed. Possessed? Perhaps all of the above. So he stares at Juyeon for research purposes.
It was common knowledge that Juyeon is quite attractive. Even Sunwoo, in all his faux straight glory, could admit that. But that’s it. No “How soft would his hair be if I thread my hands through it” or “How would his lips feel like” thoughts. Just “Juyeon is attractive”. Period. End of discussion.
So maybe it was just a fluke afterall. Maybe he doesn’t actually like men.
A close senior passes behind his three friends. Younghoon. An equally pretty person. Hell, he could even pass for an actor or model. Even him just being busy on his phone (perhaps texting) with a coffee cup on the other hand was such a pretty sight for a very mundane occurrence. And still no random thought over his pretty features.
Sunwoo waits. He stares. Nothing, nada. No pining thoughts. Aha!
Sunwoo isn’t gay. He just needs sleep, that’s all. He’s not gay. He’s really not.
“Achoo!” Chanhee mock sneezes, then sniffs the air. “I’m allergic to bullshit.”
Oh, did I say that aloud?
“Who’s allergic to what now?”
Sunwoo freezes up for a second. He looks behind his back to see Eric in his rundown attire, looking cute as ever. Tiny and adorable. He still looks so small and cute drowning in a hoodie that is obviously larger than his size.
And wait— is that his hoodie? What the fuck.
“Hi Eric! We were talking about y—”
“Juyeon. We were talking about Juyeon.” Chanhee nudges Changmin with his elbow. The latter promptly shuts up before glaring at the former. Changmin then mutters quietly to the side, talking about how unfair that he keeps getting interrupted. Hopefully Sunwoo won’t be the one Changmin bites first when he eventually snaps.
“We were?” Juyeon, with his cute eyes and even cuter smile, asks cluelessly while scratching his head.
Sunwoo couldn’t say anything. He simply stares at Eric before looking down at his leftovers. Warmth slowly covered his cheeks. He touched his ears and yes, it was warm. He's blushing. Hopefully no one points it out later. Chanhee’s quick side glance at him said otherwise.
He glances at Eric again. That was a mistake. He just wants to combust. Eric looks incredibly cute with his own hoodie. Emphasis on the hoodie. That is his… And Eric is wearing it. He just wants to scream. And preferably hide Eric from the world. Or even kiss him on the forehead and hug him protectively.
Yep, It’s definitely clear he’s not straight.
Fuck.
With these great revelations comes great responsibility. For the uninitiated gay-panicked Sunwoo, he outright ignores it. Out of sight, out of mind. And this meant ignoring the source of the problem.
Perhaps that was a wrong move.
At first he tries to avoid meeting Eric alone. It was hard considering the two of them were attached almost all of the time. He tries to cancel on most of Eric’s spontaneous outings but one look from the younger and he instantly caves. It’s not his fault Eric’s pouts were incredibly adorable!
He doesn’t try to convince Eric to study together in the library knowing he wouldn’t get anything done. Both of them often study together just so Sunwoo knows that Eric is doing his own work. Eric can be… really forgetful. The amount of times he almost forgot to pass in his work could not be counted on both his hands.
(“Have you already found a topic for the essay for Mrs. Jo? I’m just missing one source and if only Wikipedia could be—”
“Wait, wait, wait. We have an essay for her class?”
“Eric, how many times have I told you have to keep track of your assignments—”)
And as Sunwoo would expect from his best friend, Eric took notice. He always does. Both of them know each other too well and it was a small miracle the other hasn’t prodded or confronted him for so long. Perhaps it was because of college. It sure is Exhausting (the capital E was intentional). But both of them would always find the time to be together, to comfort one another. So Sunwoo deciding to avoid Eric? Big red flags for the latter.
So his best friend, bless his kind soul, has decided to corner Sunwoo in their little hidden corner in the library. Oh only if he knew that his predicament was actually Eric himself.
“Sunwoo.” Sunwoo's gaze flickers right at Eric’s own eyes. He averts his gaze, still embarrassed. If only he saw the worried look on the other’s face. “Mom is inviting you for dinner again this Saturday.” Sunwoo doesn’t dare look up. He just knows Eric will have his signature puppy face on. He doesn’t want his sanity to break down at the sight of the other so he writes down another sentence for the essay he was writing. Gotta finish this essay on time, right?
He keeps writing, starting another paragraph. “Sure. I’ll come.”
“Sunwoo,” Eric’s voice drops down, the usual glee accompanying his voice gone.
Sunwoo doesn’t look up. “Yes?”
“You know you can tell me anything, right?” Sunwoo’s eyes meet Eric’s earnest ones. His mind blanks.
His eyes are so pretty…
Enough seconds have elapsed and the worried look on the younger’s face becomes apparent. He still hasn’t answered because he was too fascinated how Eric’s eyes seem to twinkle under the library’s fluorescent lights.
So he panics.
“I-I know.” Eric looks at him with his eyebrows furrowed. Even Sunwoo himself felt the panic in his voice. Eric stays quiet for a few seconds before shaking his head.
“I won’t prod right now but you can always talk to me, okay?” Sunwoo gulps. He breaks his eye contact with Eric. “Wanna head to the coffee shop later?”
Goddamn his nose looks perfect. And damn his lips are so fine… How would it feel—
“Sun?”
“O-oh yes! Gladly.” He stutters out. Chastising himself for being too obvious, he sends a shaky but genuine smile to his best friend. Eric returns it.
Has his smile always been this beautiful?
Sunwoo sighs. This is gonna be a long day.
For the record, Sunwoo did try this thing called ‘confessing’. Multiple times. If you consider running away at the last second an attempt.
It's not entirely because of his own cowardice. Sunwoo was busy with groupworks and studying that he didn’t have the time to even concoct a proper plan to confess. There will be a perfect time, Sunwoo would always say to himself. (A lie. He already finished most of his groupworks in time and Sunwoo barely studies.)
But if you think the devil works hard, Chanhee works harder.
The tell-tale sound of a lock clicking in place echoed within the quiet halls. And the running water from a single shower stall where Eric was somewhat taking too long. Something primal at the back of Sunwoo’s head was elated to see Eric almost naked but the conscious Sunwoo squashed it down as soon as the thought arose. There is a much bigger problem afoot.
“Chanhee?”
“This is your chance Sunwoo.” Chanhee’s voice had a chastising lilt in it. “Take it.”
Honestly, Sunwoo should have expected it. Chanhee pulled him away several times within this week, asking about his progress. His only reply was always an “I’m working on it.” Each try brought him a deeper frown each time. Perhaps he’s had enough this time.
“How will we get out? We can’t stay here all night.” Chanhee shrugs at him.
“I’ll come back later. Do what you will with your time.” He slips away back into the hallways, leaving Sunwoo and a showering Eric alone. Sunwoo shifts around his seat, becoming nervous all of a sudden. To calm himself, he grabbed the carelessly thrown towel at the space beside him. He folds it into a square, noting the initials of SYJ on one of the corners.
Sunwoo looks up as the sound of running water stops. He stands up, walking towards the only shower stall closed with a folded towel in his hand.
“Sunwoo? You’re still here?” Eric calls out. Sunwoo stills. He instinctively shivers. Oh my, his voice sounds very sexy… Oh my god Sunwoo you did not just think that.
“Mhm.” Sunwoo hums, not trusting his voice to crack. Giving the towel to Eric as quickly as possible, he runs back to his seat with flaming cheeks. He fans himself as he feels heat rise up his neck. Oh how far has the mighty fallen. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm his utterly gay self down. The sound of a door opening didn’t register in his mind.
And then he opens his eyes.
Maybe he shouldn’t have.
Because standing in the center of the room was Eric in all his topless glory.
Sunwoo chokes.
“Take a picture. It would last longer.”
“Shut up,” Sunwoo gaze flits around the room, never once looking at Eric. Maybe. Just maybe. He did plan for Eric to come out of the shower without a shirt. But you didn’t hear that from him! “If I could, I would.” He mutters.
“What did you say?” Eric scrunches his eyebrows in this very cute way. Sunwoo stomps down the urge to coo. Eric is pretty and cute whether he likes it or not.
“Hmm?”
“You mumbled something. I couldn’t hear it.” Eric pouts. And Sunwoo’s mind malfunctions. He’s so cute I wanna just cuddle him and give him kisses. On the lips. God, his crush is getting out of hand.
Sunwoo tries to dismiss his muttering earlier, “It wasn’t anything really. Ignore me.” Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. Now Eric is going to ask about until I cave in…
“I’m sure it wasn’t nothing,” Eric walks toward him, still shirtless. He isn’t smiling now. His lips were pursed. And his oh so enticing abs were just on display. Sunwoo averts his gaze when he catches himself staring again.
“Let go of this just this once. Please?” Sunwoo said, eyes going everywhere but his best friend.
“Sunwoo-yah.” Eric holds his hands. Sunwoo felt goosebumps rise. He hopes Eric doesn’t notice. “Don’t say that. I care about your opinions.”
“No you shouldn’t say that!” As if Eric’s hands were scalding, Sunwoo pulls his hand away. He doesn’t acknowledge the hurt face of his best friend. “Ugh. I hate this.”
“Sunwoo?” Eric’s voice cracked. Sunwoo winces.
“Youngjae. You might be confused or weirded out after this but,” Sunwoo dares to look at Eric right in his eyes. It was now or never. “I like you.”
“What?” Eric stares at Sunwoo with eyes wide open. His lips part in shock and Sunwoo can’t help but compare that Eric looked a bit like a tiny puppy staring at its owner with his own puppy eyes. He’s very cute.
Sunwoo dispels the thought away. Now isn’t the time for thoughts like this.
“I’m sorry.” Sunwoo grimaces. Eric looks… hopeful? Sunwoo couldn’t decipher what that suspicious twinkle in the other’s eye meant. Not now when he was starting to panic. “Please don’t be mad? I know that you might be weirded out right now but please hear me out—”
“Sunwoo. I’m not mad—”
“— I’m not trying to jump you or anything so—”
He felt something touch his lips. Soft. Timid. Were Eric’s lips this soft?
Wait, pause. Fuck, did Eric just kiss him??!!
Sunwoo, like when he is presented with something Eric related, malfunctions. Granted, it wasn’t a real kiss and more of a peck, but it still led Sunwoo to stop in his tracks and freeze in shock. His heart thrummed wildly.
Oh my god my crush just pecked me on the lips. My crush. Eric. What the fuck is happening?
“You look cute when you ramble.”
Sunwoo, the manly aspiring singer-songwriter who has a penchant for playing video games, whimpers. Very unlike him, truly.
“Did you just kiss me?” Sunwoo asks, face still in disbelief.
“What? This,” Eric leans in to give Sunwoo another peck on the lips. “Kiss?”
Sunwoo finally laughs. Is this real?
Eric looks at him with this very happy and… sappy look (Adoring? Endeared?) and it makes him very soft. Maybe I would like to stay in this dream a little while longer.
“This isn’t a dream, dumbass.” Eric laughs. Even his laugh is pretty…
“Y-you heard that?” Sunwoo mumbles, pouting.
“Obviously.” Eric shrugs. “You’re thinking out loud.”
“Ugh… Not this again.” Groaning, he rests his head on his hands, embarrassed by his actions. He’s not normally this uninhibited.
“So am I that dreamy?” Perhaps he’s regretting his confession right now. Eric will never live this down.
“Shut up!” Sunwoo groans out loud, again. “I never said that…”
“I like you too, Sunwoo.” To this, Sunwoo startles. Eric said what ? He stares at Eric with wide eyes, hopeful.
“What?” Sunwoo says. His heart thrums beneath his ribcage. He feels it permeate through his body, warming the chills he’s been feeling since earlier.
“I said I like you too.” Eric pouts again. Cute. “If it wasn’t very obvious…”
“You? Obvious?” Sunwoo lets out a laugh. Eric wasn’t obvious if it was the case. Eric was someone who loves to give out affection to anyone he’s close with. He always clings to people. So what if he notices that Sunwoo always chooses to cling to him when given the chance? It was given since they were close since they were children, right?
“Yah. Don’t tell me you don’t notice?”
Or maybe he missed something?
“Didn’t notice what?” He asks. He really doesn’t know if Eric already dropped hints that he was too dense or clueless to make sense of.
“Sunwoo,” Eric was pouting and whiny now. It doesn’t make him annoying. Sunwoo thinks it’s endearing even. “I gave you flowers and chocolates on Valentine's Day. I took you to an amusement park for your birthday. I told you it was a date, Sunwoo. So you didn’t really think anything?”
“No…?” So those were real dates? Dear Lord. Sunwoo pinches the bridge of his nose. Were there other signs that he didn’t see?
“Chanhee was right. You are downright dumb.” He lets out an offended gasp.
“I can’t tell if that’s an insult or not.” Sunwoo huffs. He crosses his arms, more offended than anything.
“At least you're my little dumb baby.” Sunwoo sputters. Heat rises to his cheeks and to his ears. He knows a blush is dusting his cheeks right now. Even a simple pet name is enough to fluster him. Eric’s power unfortunately.
“I’m older than you!” Was what he childishly replied.
“At least I’m less dense than you!” Eric sticks out his tongue. Sunwoo does the same.
“Hey! I’m not—” Sunwoo couldn’t finish his sentence when he saw Eric suddenly shivering. It dawned on him that Eric hasn’t put on a shirt yet. “Put on a shirt, quickly.” Sunwoo then averts his eyes again. He tries not to sneak a peek at Eric’s own abs.
Oh my god they were so defined … Sunwoo instantly looks away when the thought registers in his mind.
“Aww, a little shy now baby?” Eric has a teasing smile on his face. Sunwoo inadvertently giggles, suddenly shy. It incites something deep within him. He squashes it down.
“Yah! Eric, stop teasing me!” Sunwoo simply slaps Eric on the arm.
Oh wow, that is firm alright.
The latter only smirks at him. “Put on something! You’d get a cold and we don’t want that.”
Silence eventually reigns as Eric tries to put on his clothes. In a typical Eric-like fashion, he struggles to put it on. Sunwoo immediately helps his best friend who’s currently drowning in his large shirt.
Or did Eric just want him close to him all this time? Sunwoo thinks. Oh…
As soon as Eric’s face appears again, his nose bumps right into Sunwoo’s. Both of them stare at each other, unmoving.
“Can I kiss you? Properly this time?” Sunwoo gulps.
“Yeah.” He breathily agrees. His lips met with Eric.
It’s not glamorous. It’s not magical. It’s not wonderful. More like a messy and clumsy and probably more teeth than one would expect. But it’s fine. It felt great. He wouldn’t trade this for the world.
“I said I would want to take a picture of you topless.” Sunwoo mutters when he and Eric eventually pull apart for air. When those words register into Eric’s mind, he lets out an ungodly sound. His ears burn red.
“What?!” Oh now he’s the one being shy .
“Of you and your abs and—” Sunwoo adds more detail. Eric shrieks, swatting Sunwoo’s arms like his life depended on it. Sunwoo cackles in response.
“Sunwoo, you can’t just spring that up on me!”
(“So, I convinced Eric that you’ll come to your senses and figure out your own obtuse feelings eventually. Even someone incredibly dense like Juyeon—”
“Stop slandering my boyfriend when we’re literally here!”
“—thought that both of you were dating. So naturally, we took a bet who would be the first to confess—”
“What the fuck— So you’re telling me both of you bet on me and Eric getting together?!”
“Simply put, yes.”
“...so you two weren’t dating all along?”
“Juyeon we’ve talked about this—”)