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Wonwoo arrived a few minutes earlier than he and Seungkwan had planned to meet. It was one of those rainy, brownish days - cold shifting in the air, making him shiver inside his heavy clothes yet somehow the world seemed embraced by a warm, comfy glow. The kind of day that envelops everything in a soft melancholy.
He pushed the door, and a small bell above it chimed softly, a gentle greeting. The café was just as cozy as he remembered, one of those he considered like hidden gems inside the bid city, always holding a charming scent of freshly brewed coffee, homemade chocolate cake and a hint of cinnamon lingering within the air. It was the perfect place for a day like this.
He chose a seat by the window to share with his beloved dongsaeng and settled in, allowing a quiet feeling to settle in his chest. Was it the weather, or something else entirely? He couldn’t quite place it yet.
A waiter approached the table with a polite smile. “Good afternoon, sir. Here’s your menu. You can place your order at the counter. Make yourself comfortable,” he said before moving on to another customer.
"Thank you,” he said politely.
It was a bittersweet kind of beauty, strangely comforting. Trying to shift away his inner contemplation, he pulled out his phone and decided to look through social media to see if someone else was also feeling like him. It was probably just because of the rain , he thought. Wonwoo wasn’t the type to scroll endlessly through those pages, let alone search his name to discover what Carats were posting about him or his members. But still, he clicked to open the 'X' app, where the world of Caratland usually exploded the most.
The very first thing that popped up on his timeline was a photo of him and Junhui—taken by a fan at Caratland and uploaded to a fansite dedicated to the two main cats of Seventeen. He smiled at it. It was a beautiful photograph after all, with super high quality, and the person behind the lens knew how to capture the best angle. That Carat was especially talented, he thought.
At the same time, a curious Wonwoo began to feel a bit anxious about a small detail he spotted in that picture. He couldn’t help but enter the profile. As he expected, there were dozens of moments of the two boys—sometimes apart, but mostly together—and many of them resembled that first image he saw. What caught him off guard wasn’t the number of photos, their beauty, or even the photographer’s talent anymore. But it was the way that person had captured him looking at Jun. He knew it wasn’t just an ordinary look. But why? How could someone freeze that one expression? Like they somehow knew something about it. About him.
In every single photo, his gaze was unmistakable. And carats were commenting everywhere that Wonwoo looked at Jun like he was his anchor. His axis. His gravity . He had a momentaneous panic trying to figure out how everyone came to that conclusion. Well, not that it was untrue, actually— he thought deep inside his head, it just wasn’t something he’d ever admitted. Not even to himself. He felt caught.
He zoomed back and forth his own expression, picture after picture, baffled.
“How is this even possible?” he whispered to himself.
“What is not, then?”
Wonwoo startled, nearly dropping his phone. He hadn’t noticed the smiley younger boy so close to him—nor even that he had already arrived.
Wonwoo blinked and looked at him with big round eyes. “Oh, Hi, Boo? How… When did you get here? I didn't hear you arriving. How long have you been here next to me?” - again, he felt caught.
Seungkwan was standing there, smirking as he pulled out the chair across from him.
“Well, long enough I should say... And you are looking at Jun as if you're chemically dependent on him in those pics, you know? Like your whole world’s gonna collapse if he’s not right in front of you” he teased with an amused exaggerated expression. “Oh right, hyung,” He plopped down into the seat. “have you ordered yet? I was craving an iced americano, but now I’m seriously rethinking about it—this cold is inhumane.” He wrapped his arms around himself dramatically, looking around the cafe. “This place is really nice”
“I haven't ordered yet. Choose yours first.” Wonwoo happily passed him the menu, but his head kept thinking about what the younger one said, “Ahm, but why did you say that before? About me and Jun, you're sounding like X's carats—how can you notice something like that?” - Wonwoo chuckled shyly.
“Oh?” Seungkwan shrugged and opened the menu. “Come on, you do it all the time, hyung. The moment Jun walks in, feels like reality just... stops for you. That’s it.” He chose those words carefully, yet Wonwoo got perplexed. “Anyway, I was behind you for a couple minutes, and you kept zooming in on your face in the pictures like you’d just been caught committing a crime—and when you saw me you reacted like you were committing one.” He laughed. “It was hilarious, hyung, and cute. So—should I order for you? What do you want? I’m already freezing, but ahh… iced americano really calls me.” He stood up before Wonwoo could reply.
“Please, I want a super hot cappuccino,” This is the only thing I can deal with right now, warmth , Wonwoo thought, then buried his face in his hands. His cheeks were burning. How could Boo Seungkwan find his emotional crisis so funny?
“I can see you do. But I got you, my friend " he answered. When the younger came back, the waiter followed him shortly, placing their drinks in front of them.
Still, Wonwoo was reeling. “Something doesn’t make sense to me at all, how could a Carat capture something they don't even know about?... and how could you … but, you know, coming to think of it, it's not like you're different from me though, you also look at Jun in a very fond way and they are not uploading it everywhere, why are mine?” Wonwoo found himself lost scrolling at that profile all over again.
The other boy was amused by the topic while sipping his beloved coffee.
“Iced americano was indeed created by gods…” he rolled his eyes with pleasure. “And hyung, listen, I may have noticed it because I know you , I can't read minds nor take guesses, but I look a lot at you too, not only at Jun,” Seungkwan said gently. “We all do, actually. You don’t even need to speak out loud. Every look, every pause, every moment you think no one notices—it’s just clear to us. Like we are to you . - he sipped his coffee - And carats, you know, they ship us with each other every time, that one was just lucky with her shots , I suppose.”
“And yeah,” he continued, “I look at Jun—but I don’t really think it’s the same, hyung, And I think you know that too, you just can't admit it yet. I admire him. I’m a proud HuiHui boy.” He grinned as he mimicked Jun’s iconic cat ear gesture with his fingers. “But you Jeon Wonwoo… ahh” Seungkwan leaned in slightly, a thoughtful look on his face. “Sometimes you look at him like he’s casted a spell all over you. Like he’s your entire galaxy, and you were made just to orbit him. If he goes left, then you go too. If he suddenly decides to turn right, you don't think twice before changing your own directions, you just follow.”
Wonwoo groaned in disbelief. “Entire galaxy?... That’s so dramatic, Boo. And I’ve never done any of that. We just happen to like the same things, the same places, directions, it’s just normal. Jun didn't do anything to me” he assertively contested.
“Oh, hyung, please you need to pay some attention to yourself,” Seungkwan replied, knowingly. “And no, Jun didn’t do anything to you. He just is . That’s enough.”
Wonwoo leaned back in his chair, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. “Since when have you realized all this? Do you possibly run this fanpage?” He lifted his phone, showing it to the younger, who laughed.
“I told you, hyung, you don’t have to say a word. We've lived side by side for more than a decade. We know each other better than anyone. I don't need to own a fansite when I can say straight to your face that Jun has some kind of power over you, and you should figure that out quickly, for your own good” - Seungkwan spoke so fast that Wonwoo didn’t even have time to react.
“Yeah, maybe you're right…” Before he could complete his thoughts and pull himself together in his seat, he heard the bell sound loud and clear. Wonwoo turned instinctively to look at the opening door.
Someone was entering. Unconsciously, his world immediately stopped syncing, his heart skipped a thousand beats when he recognized that silhouette that was appearing in the doorway. Everything was now void, empty, silent. Him .
Jun walked in, tall and effortlessly graceful, flawless. Wearing a fluffy brown cardigan and a black beanie with little cat ears, the same one from Caratland. He’s matching the weather, Wonwoo thought . Jun shook off his umbrella and scanned the cafe before locking those beautiful big shiny eyes with them, his face lighting up with a smile sweeter than this cappuccino . Then, he finally started walking towards their table. Towards him. Boo was right. Carats were right. Wonwoo was just orbiting the existence of Wen Junhui. Now he caught himself completely aware.
That rainy, cozy day cracked open like thunder inside his chest. He was bewitched by this brownish comforting figure getting closer and closer to him. That feeling wasn't about the weather anymore.
Damn those sparkling eyes.
Damn that adorable smile.
He is indeed my galaxy, Wonwoo thought.
“Seungkwan,” he whispered to the younger, “I’m really screwed.”