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it’s virtually impossible to not know of the itoshi brothers on this campus; their reputation of being gorgeous but absolutely untouchable precedes them.
you’ve never had a class with sae— being in two completely different disciplines, the only time your paths cross is at the gym. not that you ever approach him, god no. you’re much smarter than to willingly subject yourself to someone so cold and condescending, thank you very much. you’ve seen how that’s gone over for other people, and you'd much prefer to keep your self-esteem intact rather than delude yourself into thinking that you might be “the one” to finally get through to sae.
however, you do find yourself… staring at him when you’re at the gym. it’s not in a creepy way, you swear. it’s just that there’s not many people who bother to go to the gym early in the morning before classes, and he obviously knows what he’s doing when he’s using the complex machines that you’ve always wanted to try, but have been too intimidated to even attempt to use. so, you’ve taken to watching him do a few reps on some of the machines while you do your warmup on the treadmill and then approaching the machines a few minutes after he’s left it. you feel kinda stupid following him around the gym like a lost puppy, but after a few weeks you’re already starting to notice that using the machines is paying off, so you swallow your embarrassment and keep doing it.
besides, it’s not like you’re the only person in the gym ogling him. you just happen to be doing it for more respectable reasons (not that you’re entirely innocent when you’re watching him— you’ve had to look away on more than one occasion when he gets to doing bicep curls, for your own sanity).
in fact, people staring at sae and his brother when they’re in the gym is such a normal occurrence that you’re genuinely surprised when he comes up to you and proves that he seems to have actually noticed you watching him.
it’s midterms, so naturally, you’re a bit out of it, the stress leaving you distracted as you think about all the work you have to get done before the end of the day. despite how busy you are, you still came to the gym to blow off some steam— you’re quite proud of yourself for rolling out of bed this morning instead of wallowing in your misery.
it happens like a train wreck in slow motion. at first, when you see sae walking in your general direction, you’re unconcerned. but as he draws nearer, gaze locked on you, you start to question yourself, wondering if maybe you didn’t get as much sleep as you thought and now you’re hallucinating.
no such luck for you, though. when he comes to a full stop beside the machine you’re on, watching you expectantly, you can feel your heart come to a full halt as well, experiencing equal parts dread and awe as you process what’s happening. you reach up to press the pause button on your headphones and one side of it off your ear.
when you look at him, he just blinks and says, “your form is wrong.”
you blink back, uncertain of what to say or do. “oh, um—” you look around, not wanting to meet his gaze. “thanks for letting me know.”
after a moment of awkward silence, he sighs— as if you’re inconveniencing him and he’s not the one who approached you first— before taking a few more steps forward. sirens go off in your head as he leans over you and reaches forward, nudging at your arms with his fingertips. “bend more at the elbow, and pull in before you lift up,” he instructs. you do as you’re told, but he stops you as you’re bringing your arms back down. “don’t let your elbows lock all the way. and don’t let the weight drop entirely unless you’re done with the rep. you’ll hurt yourself if you keep doing that.”
the next rep is the longest one of your life— not just because you can feel the strain more now that you’re using the machine properly, but mostly because sae is standing right beside you the entire time, making sure your form is correct and you don’t slip up again. once you let the weight drop, you spring out of the seat, eager to get out from under the microscope he’s decided to hold over you today for whatever reason.
“well, uh, thanks again.” you pick up your water bottle and nod at him politely, already beginning to turn on your feet. the stairmaster on the other end of the gym looks more appealing now than it ever has.
“your incompetence is distracting,” he says, stopping you in your tracks. you glance back at him, stunned. he sounds annoyed, yet he adds, “just ask me how to use a machine if you need help.”
your ego is a little bruised, but your friends will not shut the hell up about how you’ve gotten explicit permission to talk to itoshi sae, which— yeah, okay, you guess your pride can take a bit of a beating here and there if it means you get to talk to him.